Clinical Experience of Student Essay Example for Free

Clinical Experience of Student Essay My learning throughout the first year has been helped by an unerring optimism in the value of nursing, and an appreciation that each and every daily interaction augments my experience. This enthusiasm, however, has caused an inhibitory effect on my self-directed researching, and created conflict in some placement areas. While developing my role as a nurse, my activities as a person at home and beyond have diminished, as I attempt to adjust to the demands of both domains (Spouse 2003:109). I resent distracting influences, and frequently domestic pressures restrain my desired pace to accumulate factual knowledge. As described by Palmer et al. (1994:40), my learning can oscillate between two extremes, â€Å"all or nothing†. Spouse (2003) depicts the student nurses’ need to develop multi-tasking skills emotionally, mentally and physically as they are caught between the cultures of clinical areas, peer-driven University life and home. The conflicts arising from these settings create a disharmony, which I believe for some, may undermine nursing as a career choice. The competence of a future nurse is evaluated by evidence-based documents, instructors, mentors assignment and examination results and is based on a continuum of regular assessments. The learning experience of a student nurse remarkably influences own practice in clinical areas, as well as the performance level of the student in academic matters. First timers in clinical rotation engage themselves in the initial stage of familiarizing and accustoming one’s self to the practice becomes crucial. This is the point when printed theories in books and hand outs are recalled nd reshuffled in the mind in order to carry out the best intervention suited for a particular situation. It was never easy for the a novice student nurse to be assigned in the OB ward or in the emergency room without sufficient knowledge about postpartum care or familiarity with the basic instrument used in minor surgeries. Also, inadequate and ineffective education influences the manner that one gains necessary principles and skills needed in actual and assisted delivery cases. This has affected the coping strategies of the trainees to different problems arising in the clinical settings. In reality, some just performed as assistants instead of handling actual deliveries—this is also dependent to the hospital protocols—and some were just given free cases. This fact has urged others’ curiosity to get a hasty view of the first learning experiences of the other nursing students who are also in the same level. Some people ought to assess the level of students’ adjustment with the respect to different conflicts they have encountered so that appropriate improvements in nursing education programs will be obtained. The trend to commit oneself to healthcare field has not yet wiped out especially in nursing profession. Students seem to be devotedly engaging themselves into this line as seen with continuous enrollment of freshmen students and transferees, may it be influenced by financial demands, personal preferences, or just by current blooms. The Professional Regulation Commission reported that the country has an oversupply of 400,000 licensed nurses (Porcalla, 2008). With this fact that there are still thousands of nursing graduates in the country who are either unemployed or working as call center agents, clerks, salesladies or salesmen, discouragement in the part of the fresh high school graduates is still invincible. Though many say that those temporary jobs are just their means of earning money while waiting for the board examination, individual encounters prove that a significant percentage of those graduates would just end up working in the same condition; others fortunately have passed the board and served as volunteer nurses to gain experience during the initial years of the profession; and some might have dealt with hard life or just settled down rearing families. For so many reasons, nursing career—for some—terminates there, which should not be. Why is it that even universities have started to limit accepting nursing enrollees due to overpopulation of out-of-work nursing graduates, the governments need for ideal healthcare system is still unmet? The answer would be—it is a matter of competition! In the Filipino context, it goes, Matira ang matibay. As with the student admission criteria of one hundred eleven medical schools in the United States, education programs and requirements filter nursing students meticulously (Reynolds, W. Scott, P. A. , Austin W. , 2000). Spouse (2003:42) depicts the student nurses’ need to develop multi-tasking skills emotionally, mentally, and physically as they are caught between the cultures of clinical areas, peer driven university life and home. The conflicts arising from these settings create a disharmony, which Greenwood (2003) believes for some, may undermine nursing as a career choice. Aside from it, it is not new to hear stories about taking the course with the dictate of the mother in exchange for the big Dollar sign neither a complaint for expensive matriculations and a shelf of three-kilogram-books. According to Rep. Satur Ocampo, â€Å"Low and inappropriate budget of DOH for 2009 now pegged at 28. 9 billion still does not address the problem of the exodus of nurses in the country†(Porcalla, 2008). It is one of the major sicknesses of the country’s healthcare system which puts down the field. But with the growing population and high expectancies of quality care and competence, nurses should be skillful in integrating theoretical frameworks, as well as nursing philosophy, into real life situations so that high quality care can be delivered and optimal health will be met and promoted. Nursing is an art, an art of caring. Nurses are much involved in lots of health teachings and interventions; and are expected to portray a variety of roles. Be it as an educator, communicator, caregiver, counselor, advocate or as a leader, a nurse should possess a well-defined body of knowledge and expertise in the field especially on actual scenarios (Kozier et. al. ,2008). Student nurses may be perceived as trainees, yet it is far apart from that thought. It is incorporating oneself to and embracing the vocation of helping and providing care in order for mastery and dedication to be more likely. The developmental educative process in nursing is a sophisticated and complex combination of scientific, logical, humanitarian, communicative, experiences and psychomotor skills, designed to consolidate abilities to produce â€Å"knowledgeable doers† (Greenwood 2003, Sajiwandani 2000, Slevin 1992, Cheung 1992). Nursing students at this point of time should be cautious whether they have delivered or could deliver appropriate care. They have to be very vigilant because they deal with a lot of toxic things every single day (Tacdol, 2008). It is not anymore in a classroom setting, it is more of real life situations. When at the area, there is no room for mistakes. No more dummies. No more trials. The reflective process enables the students to gain a sense of proportion. While researched academic study underpins practice, there are frequently qualifications made by nursing staff about ward performed procedures, stating â€Å"real-life† situations employ differing methods to those taught in the class room. These instances challenge student’s assumptions and provide impetus for further clinical reflective investigation (Spouse 2003, cited by Greenwood 2003). They also serve to demonstrate the existence of multiple methods of care delivery, attuning them to motives and perspectives of other practitioners in the healthcare team, indicating that others have legitimate reasoning (Palmer et. al 1994 cited by Greenwood, 2003) The performance of students in the clinical area is greatly affected by difficulties they encounter especially in their first clinical duty. Factors include relationship with clinical instructors, misunderstandings arising from group works, hospital policies and requirements, alterations in contingencies when handling patients and so on. As new members of the healthcare team, adjustment to different stressors seems to be crucial. It is an undeniable fact that problems with the clinical instructor top all. Many claim that superiors sometimes do not provide favorable atmosphere for learning. Using negative reinforcement is one of the examples. Others found this as beneficial since it helps the students to ask questions, enhances perception, and inhibits recurring of errors. But many negate this assertion. Embarrassment, comparison to other schools, and stickling behavior of the superior notably outweigh the benefits it should have made. Although many have agreed that the student nurses are very effective in delivering their duties and responsibilities in the clinical areas, there should still be improvement in the learning scheme of the education provider because there is no room for mistakes in the medical profession because it deals with a very fragile thing-life- and a single mistake may cause an enormous damage which is death. The students must be prepared and trained well before their exposure in the clinical areas so as not to commit error (Babula et. al. , 2006). Group conflicts such as lack of teamwork have something to do in accomplishing case studies. Hospital policies and protocols may at times become annoying and confusing. Different shifts and location of clinical duties tend to be the second in the list. Personal moods and anxieties affect functioning of the whole personality which may result to unproductive planning and ineffective nursing interventions (Abaravar et. al. , 2006). Moreover, unexpected problems arising when handling patients are to be aided with harmonious interaction between the instructor and the students while correction and giving of remedies are done (Amania et. al. , 2008). The identification of these common conflicts that are actually the factors which affect the level of performance of nursing students in clinical duties extensively bring up good adaptation behaviors and ease up finding solutions to the mentioned conflicts. Because of the continuous efforts made by some concerned people behind the nursing education? students, educators, and also the registered nurses in the profession? improvements in nursing curriculum has been made. Though distinction between the old and new curriculum of the program have been clearly identified, effectiveness of each are still debated and talked about more often. For nursing education and nursing career does not end in passing all the academic subjects and completion of the PRC forms, one has to subject himself in difficult situations when nursing judgment becomes a necessity. As nursing student begins on the path of career, he or she finds new opportunities unfolding as from within which brighten the path ahead. The kaleidoscope image used on the cover of the 7th edition of Fundamentals of Nursing by Kozier and Erb is an everchanging piece of art with its colors, light and form. As it turns, it represents new opportunities for beautiful new designs. Seeking light and reflections to form new shapes allows one to open one’s mind to all possibilities a kaleidoscope has to offer (Kozier et. al. ,2007). Same with the field of nursing, there are many areas that a nursing student may have never imagined at the beginning of his or her journey. As nursing students open their minds and eyes to these wonderful chances, a good experience they had gained when they were still first timers would be a pertinent tool and inspiration in attuning upcoming difficulties and developing passion in the career. These would let them not to desist from this world of struggles. Conclusion A qualified nursing practitioner is a professionally trained integrated member of the health-care team. This professional education should be life-long, beginning with three years pre-registration factual knowledge and skill acquisition. As previously described there is a symbiotic relationship between nursing’s craft and nursing wisdom, and they are required in practice simultaneously. Despite the apparent impression given by traditional methods of education that these categories exist seperately, for nursing they are fluidly cohesive, one informing the other, through reflective analysis (Watts 1992:). The elements experienced by nursing students during their training are bonded internally together to authenticate their practice, by unleashing possibilities inherent in the situation between patient and the therapeutic self (Kirby and Slevin 1992). The following guidelines are intended to promote improvements in the student’s learning experience. Qualified staffs that direct pace and direction of study need to encourage students in imaginative and innovative ways to prepare them for adoption of new concepts and the flood of changes and that they will need to make in all aspects of their life. Support such as this will guide them through the vulnerable initial stages of their steep learning curve of level one, as echoed by the dissonance described in the first paragraph of the essay. Guidelines I would like to see better preparation of mentors by lecturer-practitioners within clinical placements, in order to foster environments of positive, constructively planned activities. From this, students can gain insight to challenge their assumptions and lay-view of nursing. In this respect, I would like those in the clinical settings to be encouraging students rather than attempting to degrade their efforts by dismissing their academic research based interest in the subject of nursing. I would like access to professional teaching staff in-college at all times, especially immediately prior to and post placement. I hope for tutor liaison with mentors more regularly within the clinical settings, serving to remind mentoring nurses that their duty to support students is real, and linked with Higher Education Establishments. I would like to see in-college mentors giving better, basic and consistent guidance while initially developing the concepts of critical reflective consciousness and the production of an evidence-base of knowledge thus strengthening the intellectual and practical growth of students.

Difference between functional and dysfunctional conflict Essay Example for Free

Difference between functional and dysfunctional conflict Essay Functional Conflict Susie Steel is a vice president in a real estate development firm called Hearts Development. She has spent enormous amounts of energy cultivating a relationship with a local town regarding an available plot of land. Susie would like to purchase the land to build townhomes for sale. She has developed an excellent relationship with the town politicians and community members. An issue has developed over the planned usage of the land, though. The town will sell the land to Susies company but feels that townhomes would be bad for the overall community. Theyre concerned with the additional cost and burden of kids that the townhomes would bring into the community. Susie understands the communitys concern and wants a win-win situation to occur. She feels that this issue will be a functional conflict due to the fact that the disagreement will bring a positive end result to both parties. Positive results of functional conflict include: Awareness of both sides of issues Improvement of working conditions due to accomplishing solutions together Solving issues together to improve overall morale Making innovations and improvements within an organization In Susies case, constructive criticism and discussion resulted in a compromise and a solution between the parties. Susie understood the towns concern but needed to find something to build that would bring revenue for the company. Through their joint meetings, the end solution was for Hearts Development to build a retirement community, which would only have citizens 55 and over living in the town. This would eliminate the issue of having more young people come into town and burden the school system.

Factors Affecting Human Intelligence Psychology Essay

Factors Affecting Human Intelligence Psychology Essay The objective of this context is to discuss human intelligence. To achieve the following sub titles constituted as guidelines for the discussion; anatomy of human of intelligence, theories of human intelligence and factors affecting human intelligence Anatomy of Human Intelligence Human nature has intelligence that governs the human mental ability and to as cognitive ability. Despite being a widely studied and debated topic there is still lack of a universal definition for intelligence because of its compound and many-faceted nature i.e it engages multiple areas of the brain, instead of just having one intelligence center. Intelligence facilitates the gaining of knowledge and consequent wide applications in solving problems. The roots of intelligence are biological and it is believed to have evolved over time and is connected to structure of the brain and its development in that the intelligence quotients are related to the brain volume (Frohlich, 2004). According to Sternberg (1981), psychologists and laymen agree that intelligent people are characterized by their capacity for solving problems, their expertise with language and their open-minded nature to innovation. According to Flinn et al (2004), the evolution of human intelligence has been so rapid compared to other species such that the human brain increased by about 250% in less than 3 million years. This is evidenced by remarkable behavioral changes of the past few generations. They further argue that the high evolution rates leading to greatest complexity in human are due to the demand of their environment citing ecological demands, such as hunting or climatic variability and selective pressures favoring other species compared to them. Research on human intelligence has become intense in trying to answer the several questions raised on basic structure and mechanisms of intelligence following the discoveries made in relation to genetics of intelligence and its functioning in the most recent stages of human development. In trying to classify intelligence, the following three classes were arrived at; social intelligence, natural or potential intelligence and academic intelligence. The social intelligence is a practical mode of intelligence used in making day to day life decisions in all fields. Natural or potential intelligence helps in acquisition of knowledge and cognitive abilities essential for easy interaction with the surrounding environment. The third form of intelligence is more of as measure of the cumulative levels of the former two types of intelligence describing the complexity of intelligence and is characterized by the IQ tests. Modern psychology classifies intelligence in two categories namely fluid int elligence and crystallized intelligence. Fluid intelligence is mainly the use of self acquired knowledge through life experiences to solve challenges and crystallized intelligence is more like academic knowledge as it largely depends on long-term memory. However all these different forms of intelligence are dependent and do not operate in isolation (Colom Pueyo 2000). Theories of Human Intelligence In an endeavor to understand human intelligence, there are various theories advanced to explain it. They can be divided into the unilateral construct based on unitary entity of general intelligence and those based on multiple dissimilar activities. Some of the theories discussed below include Psychometric approach theories, Piagets stages of cognitive development, Sternbergs Triarchic theory of intelligence and Gardners multiple intelligences theory. Psychometric approach to understanding intelligence is the most used and is based on psychometric tests. Some of the theories advanced based on this include; Charles Spearman in 1904 came up with Two-factor Theory of intelligence as a way of measuring general intelligence using Tetrad Differences. His basic inputs were common sense (native capacity) and sensory discriminations. It stated that every test can be divided into a g factor and an s factor. Where the g-factor measures the general factor or common function among ability tests and the s-factor measures the specific factor unique to a particular ability test. This however had its limitations because the g factor showed that any cognitive ability regardless of how different they were had a positive correlation (Spearman, 1904). Following the shortcomings of Spearman, L.L. Thurstone came up with the Centroid method for modern factor analysis. Modern factor analysis took in seven orthogonal factors referred to as Primary Mental Abilities; verbal comprehension, word fluency, numerical capability, spatial visualization, associative memory, speed of understanding and reasoning to yield multi factors, unlike Spearmans single factor yield (Thurstone, 1934). Raymond B. Cattel spotted a weakness in the former theories as a result of the use of single generation in trying to measure intelligence. He developed The Gf-Gc Theory measuring intelligence using fluid intelligence (Gf) and crystallized intelligence (Gc) to account for differences between children/adolescents and adults. The Gf represented the ability to discriminate and perceive relations while Gc represented the ability to differentiate earlier established relations using Gf. He supposed that crystallized intelligence increases gradually to old age where it slowly declines whereas fluid intelligence reaches a peak in adolescents and remains almost constant through adulthood (Carroll,1993). J. P. Guilford ventured more into the adulthood intelligence developing a Structure-of-Intellect model (SI model). The model had a 3-D cube shaped model with five categories of how the information is presented on a test, six operation categories of what is done on a test and six product categories of the form in which information is processed on a test. Upon conducting a test and filling all the categories, the point of intersection provides foundation for generating hypothesis of intelligence (Carroll, 1993). Using re-analysis of several data sets John B. Carrol proposed the Three Stratum Theory. This consists of three different levels of intelligence. The first layer represents narrow abilities that are highly specialized, the second level represents moderate abilities but in several areas and Spearmans concept was a sufficient representation for the third level (Carroll, J. B. 1993). The latest work using psychometric approach is the Cattel-Horn-Carrol (CHC) Theory. This is an amalgamation of The Gf-Gc theory, Horn theory and The Three-Stratum Theory. According to Horward Gardner (1999) psychometric tests had ignored other forms of intelligence of equal importance; that our minds handle different tasks using several cognitive mechanisms and not through a single centralized system. He therefore developed Theory of Multiple Intelligences basing his studies on both the normal and abnormal personnel coming up with eight different components of intelligence with the eighth one just added in 1999. Robert Sternberg came up with Triarchic Theory of intelligence based on three aspects of intelligence. These were creative intelligence (experiential), analytic (componential) intelligence and practical (contextual) intelligence; where analytical intelligence deals with academic brilliance, creative intelligence deals with insights, fusion and reaction to events while practical intelligence deals with acquiring knowledge, understanding and dealing with life challenges. He was of the opinion that general intelligence is only but part of analytic intelligence and therefore cannot give a full insight of intelligence. Following its use in evaluation of individual success in the modern times this has later been named as Theory of Successful Intelligence by Sternberg (Sternberg, 1984, p.271). Jean Piaget advanced one of the used theories in the development of school curriculums. He used the development approach in the study of intelligence. His view was that growing up is a process that has stages and every stage bracket has its maximum capabilities. The group stages of development he came up with are Sensimotor stage (0-2 years), preoperational stage (2-7 years), Concrete stage (7-11 years)Â  and formal operational stage (11 years and above). At Sensimotor stage (0-2) intelligence is based on perception and how other objects work, the thoughts occur mentally and cannot be expressed. In the preoperational stage (2-7 years) one learns to speak, image representation of objects with the thoughts being external. Concrete stage (7-11 years)Â  involves logic reasoning and thinking. The formal operational stage (11 years and up) is the final stage of development of human intelligence. His theory suggests that growth of intelligence is continuous process of assimilation and acc ommodation of new ideas and which lead to expansion of field of applications. Factors affecting Human Intelligence Human intelligence is affected by biological factors, environmental factors and ethical factors. Biologically genes pass cognitive abilities from parents to the children through the DNA. This is evidenced by a number of factors that include the correlation of IQs between an individual and the parent, hereditary brain diseases, similar IQs in identical twins, similarity in brain language areas among family members and cognitive skill such as verbal and spatial abilities, reaction times, and even some personality qualities, including emotional reactions to stress. Intelligence is connected to structure of the brain and its development in that the intelligence quotients are related to the brain volume. Since intelligence is affected by the brains some factors like ratio of brain weight to body weight, the ratio in for instance of brain weight to body weight in a fish is 1:5000 whereas in humans it is 1:50. Occasionally brains metabolic activity may lower intelligence for big brains. The size of the frontal lobe critically affects fluid intelligence tests Other factors affecting intelligence related to the brain include location of the grey matter tissue and its volume and the overall thickness of the cortex (Colom Pueyo, 2000). Environmental effects are affect intelligence of human population both at individual and group levels. Some environmental factors are either enhanced or suppressed by the genes of the individual. The social set up has impacts on the level of intelligence attained by an individual as it dictates things like what he does, what he values and how he lives. This is attested by the different level of intelligence of different communities living in different locations say urban-rural places. Their different tend to improve one aspect of intelligence compared to the other set up. Occupation of individuals also tends to affect their intelligence depending with the scope pr demand of their job jurisdiction. Education is also a major factor influencing level of intelligence; this will depend on the level of education where highly educated individual is likely to have a high level of intelligence compared to one with low levels of education in general skills and problem-solving and abstract thin king. Another environmental factor affecting intelligence is nutrition, it has been largely converged that prolonged malnutrition during childhood has long-term effects on level of intelligence. Intelligence is also affected by the manipulation of existing normal conditions; eugenics is currently being practiced to improve the human species by improving human genes. This is mainly to correct congenital disorders and cognitive skills. There are also studies being conducted to try coming up with artificial intelligence through increasing IQs and also using machines. There major cognitive skills of interest are reasoning, knowledge, perception and reaction (Flinn, 2005) Ethical issues also affect human intelligence. In this work the ethical issues discussed are privacy, accuracy and accessibility. Human intelligence is likely to be compromised by wrong information availed to it leading to wrong conclusions or decisions. Lack of information or refrained access to vital information required later translates to lack of knowledge which limits the level of operation of the human intelligence. Human intelligence is surely a not so well understood phenomenon that still requires more research to give a clear insight and understanding of its complex nature. Simulation and improvement of the advanced theories will be key to any further development in these field

Essay --

Living in Another’s Dream Gig, edited by John Bowe, Marisa Bowe, and Sabin Streeter, is a book with a collection of interviews of people describing what their job is like. One of the interviews deals with a film development assistant, Jerrold Thomas. This interview in particular raises questions which leads readers to ask why he stays at his current job and what opportunities are in the future for him. He hopes to become something bigger in the film industry and even went to film school, but is now stuck as an assistant. It is surprising to see him working for someone who treats him so badly, but yet still not leave. â€Å"The Meaning of Ethics† by Philip Wheelwright is an essay that explains seven different phases used in a moral deliberation. Each of them have their own purpose and help us make ethical decisions. Wheelwright’s assertion that an ethical person has to rationalize the consequences and imagine themselves into a predicted situation helps explain why Thomas continues working as a film development assistant even if he is being treated unfairly and is hoping opportunities for him arise. In â€Å"The Meaning of Ethics†, Wheelwright shows us different characteristic phases that can be perceived in a moral deliberation. There are many solutions to a problem but Wheelwright believes one should follow these phases. In Phase ii: Rational elaboration of consequence, Wheelwright says, â€Å"As this step involves predictions about a hypothetical future, the conclusions can have, at most, a high degree of probability, never certainty. The degree of probability is heightened accordingly as there is found some precedent in past experience for each proposed choices† (265). In other words, Wheelwright wants us to explore our options in every pos... ...ly, but he doesn’t want to admit the truth to himself and that is what is keeping his hopes up. Thomas knows that without Brads help, it will be much more difficult to become a producer, but he shouldn’t wait for something that has a chance of never happening. These phases may change people’s perspectives on how they will approach certain situations. It would help if everyone could apply these phases in their daily lives because it would eliminate tough situations where there is no time to think. Wheelwright gives his readers a better understanding of what an ethical person should think like. In Gig, Thomas uses two out of wheelwright’s phases, but even then he still wasn’t satisfied with the result. It all depends if these phases are applied in our lives correctly. They may not work one hundred percent correctly, but they will help make our lives a little easier.

The Narrative Voice in Araby, Livvie and The Yellow Wallpaper

The Narrative Voice in Araby, Livvie and The Yellow Wallpaper I hadn't really considered the importance of the narrative voice on the way the story is told until now. In "Araby", "Livvie" and "The Yellow Wallpaper" the distinctive narrative voices and their influences shed light on hidden meanings and the narrator's credibility. In "Araby" the story is told from the point of view of a man remembering a childhood experience. The story is told in the first person. The reader has access to the thoughts of the narrator as he relives his experience of what we assume is his first crush. We do not know how the girl feels about him. The narrator's youth and inexperience influence his perspective. His love for her is deep and innocent. As an adult, the narrator recollects his emotions for the girl with fondness, but the reader also detects a hint of regret as well. The narrator tells us that their first communication takes place when he goes to the back drawing room where the priest had died. There, in that sacred place, he spoke with the girl and made a promise that he would get her a gift if he was able to go to Araby. Soon after, "as a creature driven by vanity", he fails to retrieve a gift for her and is humiliated. I wonder if the narrator is implying that his true devotion to her was somehow blessed in the room where the priest died and when he allowed his sinful vanity to penetrate that love, he lost her. In "Livvie" the story is relayed by an omniscient third person narration. The narrator in this case provides insight into each of the characters, yielding to no one inparticular. The narrator uses subtle patterns in association wit... ...ten seen as representing an imaginative or "poetic" view of things that conflicts with (or sometimes compliments) the American male's "common sense" approach to reality". When society "values the useful and the practical and rejects anything else as nonsense", (feminine) imagination and creativity are threatened. Much like our narrator, women of that time were directed to suppress their creativity as it threatened the dominating male's sense of logic and control. "Perhaps the story was unpopular (at first) because it was, at least on some level, understood all too clearly, because it struck too deeply and effectively at traditional ways of seeing the world and woman's place in it". Works Dited Shumaker, Conrad. "'Too Terribly Good to Be Printed': Charlotte Gilman's 'The Yellow Wallpaper'." Journal of American Literature 57.4 (1985): 588-599.

diversity management: case study Essay -- essays research papers

Nightmare on Wall Street   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This case is all about facts and incidents about the harsh truths that lie behind the discrimination and harassment against women in the workplace. Males have predominately rules the workplace on Wall Street and had the perception of having no women take their glory. For years women were filling suits with the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) about the way men were treating them. Women were getting mistreated, demoted, harassed or even fired in some incidents for reasons beyond their control.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Robert Thomann is a good example of the mistreatment that was being laid on the female brokers. Thomann was out on 8 weeks maternity leave and when she came back, her branch manager which was known as the tyrant demoted her. Cueno, her branch manager, said that any sexual harassment charges would be deliberated in the Boom, Boom Room which was located in the basement of the firms building. It was a room decorated like a fraternity with a toilet seat hanging on the ceiling. After I read that, I could not believe it. The way the men were acting and treating women is unbelievable. Something needs to change at Thomann and other women keep filling suits against these male dominated managers that were not scared of any repercussions of the way they were acting. They did not think that they were doing anything wrong because their mindsets were all about the males in that industry were better su...

Integrating oral communication skills

The article I chose deals about the lack of practice in speaking skill in language teaching, and although it refers to Chinese schools, I found it relevant because the situations it refers to are very similar to the ones we face in most of the schools in our country. Since a very powerful motivation to learn a second language is to be able to converse with speakers of that language, speaking seems to be the most important skill to be developed.Although, it is also a huge challenge if we take into count on the one hand, the different micro-skills that learners need to manage, which vary from pronunciation of unfamiliar words to the appropriate use of formal and informal expressions. Furthermore, the very limited chances that students have to speak English outside the classroom make things harder for them. INTEGRATING ORAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS. Having a more integrated approach ensuring enough practice in oral communication by including speaking into reading and writing lessons, would be an appropriate option, which would hopefully offer important benefits.Student's acquisition of English could be improved by taking advantage of some interesting topics for reading and writing, which would provide a chance to discuss and test their language. In order to reach this goal, teachers are expected to go beyond the traditional courses and integrate different skills during their lessons. READING TO SPEAK. The activities presented here can helps students notice the difference between what they want to say and what they can really say, and maybe make them focus their attention on meaning first and on form later, and can be used both for intensive ND extensive reading classes. Reading to act. This in an activity in which students act out a story they have Just read, being encouraged to make as many changes as they want to the plot and dialogues, and it is organized as follows: Divide the class into small groups and assign each one a director to organize rehearsals. Students scan the story focusing on how to express it through their acting. They have a first rehearsal relying only on their memories. They scan the story again, searching for some variations and take some notes that an be used for the second rehearsal.A contest is held to determine who offered the best performance. An acting project helps to achieve four-skill integration and makes the reading task much more interesting. 2. – Reading to debate. Students are required to select an article containing a controversial issue which they can discuss about. The activity is organized as follows: Students are formed by pairs and agree on which position they will take. They scan the text without taking notes and debate about it, using quotes to support their arguments.They scan the text again, searching for useful expressions and ideas to support their position. Note taking is allowed so later they can participate in the debate by small groups or as a whole class, being encouraged to personaliz e their comments. This activity can improve student's understanding of the issue and helps them to defend their point of view about it. 3. – Reading to interview. This activity is a lot more flexible and can include texts of different genres and it is organized as follows: Students scan the text to get all the ideas they can.They form pairs with the roles of interviewer and interviewee. The first one has to ask questions related which can be answered using facts from the reading. They check the text again looking for further questions which can be noted down this time. They switch roles or find new partners if they want to and perform the interview again. A competition is held to decide on the pair who best represented the text. This activity provides students with an opportunity to orally express what they got from a text.