Evil Dead Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Evil Dead - Movie Review Example Applied upon on a vague background of movingfogappears the title, swaying waywardly. It fades away and the camera begins to move over what is exposed to be a dark pond in a gloomy forest in the kind of 'how do they do it' tracking shot for which the film is known (America Online, 1994). The camera races through the woods evading trees with inches to spare, in place of some subjective point of viewthat is clearly not human beings. The soundtrack is a loomingdissonance of hollow laughter and bizarre howling tones. Inter-cut with these glimpses of a world seen through the eyes of some inconceivable evil, are shots of a car wandering through a forest. Inside are five innocent looking youngsters, two of them are singing happily. There is no clear connection between the two until thecamera comes to the edge of the forest and takes a glimpse down onthe automobile that the youngsters are traveling in. At thesame time some kind of unknown force takes control of the car, almost crashing it into a meeting truck. It is then apparent that they are not welcome into these woods. A rather indiscrete indication is received in the way common to many horror movies of the lesser kind, most particularly the "Friday 13th" series. A slight remark, an improbablejustification and then the event is forgotten. What could go wrong They're blissful school kids going away to have fun. The bridge that nearly collapses beneath their car is passed in a similar, hasty fashion. Not even the hammock on the porch ofthe house that swings by it self without any wind draws more than a brief, uncomfortable glance. As is often the case in horror movies, the actualhorrorstarts off comparatively peacefully. The hints of what is tocomearerather subdued, but not essentially less scary. One memorable scene, for example,where one of the girls is making a drawingofaclockonthe wall; suddenly the swinging pendulum stops, as if this is only happening in her individual time zone, and her hand starts awkwardly to draw of its own concurrence. The result, on a torn, shrunk paper is a rudimentary sketch of a book with face-like features on thecover. As she regards it with a disgusted sort of wonder, thetrapdoor in the floor in front of her rattles on its hinges andsomething is heard diminishing down in the darkness. Technical Aspects "The Evil Dead", like all Sam Raimi films, contains an abundance of energetic, flamboyant camera moves and some very effectual editing. However, there are some who would say that this is nothing but cheap effects anticipated to cover up weaknesses in the story line, which is a bit like saying that any movement in a balletthatisn't necessary for the characters to get from one place to another is to be evaded. Camera moves canhave a splendor of their own, lending essence to people and things and making the screen seem 'less flat'. In "Evil Dead" they also serve to create a feeling of unknowingness and threat, especially combined with peculiar sound effects and a musical score that is often close to complete noise. Conclusion The total budget for the film was less than 350.000 American dollars (worldwideboxoffice.com). As a consequence, the make-up and effects don't look like something from

National Kidney Foundation Essay Example for Free

National Kidney Foundation Essay Today November 16, 2012, I had an interview with Pier Merone who is the division president in southern California and Nevada of the National Kidney Foundation. We discussed a variety of issues regarding problems, solutions, and awareness of the lack of organ donors and kidney diseases in California. One of the problems that we addressed during the interview was how California has a wait list of 7 years compare to the national level which is only 4 years today. According to Pier Merone, the reason why the wait list is longer in California than any other state’s wait list is because California has a higher population than other states as well as affecting groups such as elderly people and ethnic groups such as Hispanics and African Americans. Some contributing factors include social economic status, financial problems, family history, and health care issues. I asked Pier Merone how the organization is currently addressing the health problem regarding the lack of organ donors and she explained that the National Kidney Foundation is trying to complete their program which is called end the wait. In the end the wait program, they are trying to gain living donors to donate their organs because when a person dies, it is sometimes hard to save the organs in time unless the person is in a coma at the hospital or right next to surgeons before they die. Although a person may be on top of the wait list, they may not have priority. The wait list works by first come first serve but, it also depends on the donor’s and recipient’s age, blood type, etc. For example, if an older person is up next on the wait list as a recipient but, the only available kidney donor is from a young person, that kidney will likely go to the next best young age appropriate recipient. This situation works vice versa. According to Pier Merone, she mentions that by doing this they can â€Å"match the life with the same age so an older person wouldn’t receive a younger person’s kidney because if they only have about 10 years left to live, it wouldn’t be reasonable to give it to them† (personal communication, November 16, 2012). Besides going to local fairs, churches, charities events, clinics, and more to promote awareness of proper health care of kidney, the National Kidney Foundation also has two current programs which they are able to address these health problems. Pier Merone mentions that the first one is called the â€Å"kidney health risk assessments which is also known as KHRA and basically this gives people who might’ve the risk of kidney disease and it’s for the general public and they do pre-screening tests which consists of taking the patient’s blood pressure, measure height and weight also known as BMI, and giving a 10 questions survey to help determine the person is at risk† (P. Merone, personal communication, November 16, 2012). Another current program is called the Keep Program which is known as the Kidney Early Evaluation program. In this program Merone stated it is a â€Å"full on screening test which consist of a blood pressure test, BMI, blood test, and a uri ne test† (personal communication, November 16, 2012). These programs are for people who are uninsured, don’t quality for Medicare, low income families. On my next question, I asked what type of barriers the National Kidney Foundation currently have regarding to addressing these problems and Pier Merone mentions that â€Å"one of the greatest barriers would be awareness† (personal communication, November 16, 2012) because physicians today aren’t caring for it and aren’t promoting these issues such as chronic kidney diseases to their patients nor educating them of how to prevent them. As for my next question, I asked Merone what type of goals do the NKF are expecting to see regarding reducing or eliminating these health problems and she explained to me that there are many people today who are at risk which not only is caused by families’ history but, could also be other health factors such as hypertension, diabetes, and more. Merone mentions to me that â€Å"one of their goals is to bring out more awareness to people who are uneducated and have no clue that they are currently at risk regarding a kidney dis ease because the only people who are using their resources are only sick or affected people and they want to expand their groups of people to become more awareness of how serious this epidemic issue is† (personal communication, November 16, 2012). According to Merone, as of today there are currently 1 out of 3 people who are at risk to kidney diseases. Many of these serious stage 5 affected people would have to be put on a kidney dialysis as many of them are hoping to receive a donor that matches them. As Merone mention to me that if someone who is between the ages of 45-50 years old, they would only live for about 8 more years just with a kidney dialysis. However, with someone who is age 45-50 years and has a successful transplant can live another 22 years if they do the transplant before a dialysis. The last question I asked Merone was if there were any changes to their program in the future to better address what would it be? According to Merone she would like to not only see more funding because the NKF funding are basically done by individual donations, sponsors, corporations, and very few grants from the government. Merone also stated a new change they are trying to do is start a voluntary program called ambassadors. This program will consist of college students who will be going to all type of grade schools from middle to university, businesses, and more and promote the awareness of lack of organ donors and kidney diseases. â€Å"We would need an army to promote and address these problems to the general public, the more people we have the more people will know† (P. Merone, personal communication, November 16, 2012).

Use of Sex in Advertising Essay -- essays research papers

The use of sex in advertising may create unrealistic ideals for men regarding women, however, it is a powerful tool for selling products. Through the years advertisers have shown through their advertisements that sex does sell products. Especially when selling to the male viewers. Sex is the second strongest of the psychological appeals, right behind self-preservation, and its strength is biological and instinctive, the genetic imperative of reproduction (Taflinger). Sexual desire is an instinctive reaction in animals, and a person?s perception of a suitable mate is the basis (Taflinger). That perception is usually a set of criteria that the opposite sex must meet, and those that meet and exceed those criteria will provide the chance for the highest quality offspring with the best chance of survival (Taflinger). In time and energy, the male expends virtually nothing in sexual contact compared to the female, biologically, the best strategy for a man is to be promiscuous because the more women with whom he mates, the greater number of children containing his genes are possible (Taflinger). Thus, a man's biological criteria can be simple: ?she must be healthy, she must be young, she must be receptive, and she must be impregnable? (Taflinger). However, women have a greater physical, physiological and temporal stake in producing children, which means she is more interested in the quality of genes he brings and the help she will have while carrying, bearing and rearing the children (Taflinger). The purpose of advertising is to convince people that products are of use to them in one way or another, and advertisers must do it very quickly, because they do not have the time or the space to go into detail or explanations. The sex... ...ructed as objects to be viewed, either by men in the photograph or by the reader. Women?s bodies are used in ads as little more than props for selling products, such as the common photographs of a half-naked woman posing to sell jeans, cars, alcohol, and a myriad of other products (Jensen). The few available studies suggest that the media does have an impact because of the fact that the media has kept sexual behavior on public and personal agendas, media portrayals reinforce a relatively consistent set of sexual and relationship norms, and the media rarely depict sexually responsible models (Brown). Overall, sex influenced advertisements affect both genders. This being said it also affects one gender more than the other. Knowing that this is a factor, will there ever be a breaking point to show that these sex driven advertisers and advertisements have gone too far?

Ford Motor Company Essay -- essays research papers

Ford Motor Company Address: The American Road Dearborn, Michigan 48121, USA Public Company Incorporated: July, 1918 Employees: 383,300 Sales: $62.17 billion Stock Index: New York, Boston, Pacific Midwest, Toronto, Montreal, London   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Until recently, the Ford Motor Company has been one of the most dynastic of American enterprises, a factor which has both benefited the company and has brought it to the brink of disaster. Today Ford is the second largest manufacturer of automobiles and trucks in the world, and it’s operations are well diversified, both operationally and geographically. The company operates the worlds second largest finance company in the world, and is a major producer of tractors, glass and steel. It is most prominent in the US, but also has plants in Canada, Britain and Germany, and facilities in over 100 countries.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Henry Ford I, the founder of Ford Motor Company, was born on a farm near Dearborn, Mi in 1869. From boyhood, he had a talent for engineering, but it was not until 1890 that he commenced his engineering career as an employee of the Detroit Edison Company. Ford’s superiors at the electric company felt his hobby distracted him from his regular occupation, and despite his promotion to chief engineer, he was forced to quit in 1899.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Shortly afterwards, with financial backing from private investors, Ford established the Detroit Automobile Company. He later withdrew from the venture after a disagreement with business associates over numbers and prices of cars to be produced. Working independently in a small shed in Detroit, Henry Ford developed two four cylinder, 80-horsepower race cars called the â€Å"999† and the â€Å"Arrow†, with $28,000 of capital raised from friends and neighbors. Henry Ford established a new shop on June 16, 1903. In this facility the Ford Motor Company began production of a two cylinder, eight-horsepower design called the Model A. The company produced 1,708 of these models in the first year of operation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Henry Ford and his engineers designed several automobiles, each one designated by a letter of the alphabet: these included the small, four cylinder Model N (which sold for $500), and the more luxurious six-cylinder Model K (which sold poorly for $2500). In October 1908, ... ...a 25% share of Toyo Kogyo in November 1979, when a Ford subsidiary merged with the company). Ford imported Mazda cars and trucks, and in many ways treated Toyo Kogyo as a small car division.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1984, with costs reduced, Ford started to repurchase 30 million shares (about 10% of the company’s stock). It’s production of cars in Mexico increased and output was stepped up in South Korea. The following year Ford introduced the Taurus, a modern full-size automobile which had taken 5 years to develop at a cost of $3 billion. The Taurus proved highly successful and won several design awards.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sales and profits reached record levels in 1984, and in 1986 Ford surpassed General Motors in income for the first time since 1924. In addition, Ford’s market share increased to just under 20%. Ford Motor purchased several companies in the mid 1980’s, including the First Nationwide Financial Corporation, the New Holland tractor division of Sperry and 30% of Otosan, the automotive subsidiary of the Turkish Koc Group.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Ford Motors Company was, is, and will continue to be one of the greatest American enterprises.

Two Views of a Crime

Whether or not fault Is Justifiable Is concluded by opposing sides of a situation, with the conclusions consistently differing on multiple accounts. In William Shakespearean Hamlet two men, both alike in livelihood, though divergent in dignity, give speeches of persuasion regarding the same situation.Claudia, through means of vain diction and a tone of false self-contempt, demonstrates his justifiability of the fault committed unto Hamlet, who exposes Claudia as an â€Å"adulterate beast† with word choice of animosity and speaks with an attitude of nothing shy of a desire for titillation to annihilate any permissible defense of Classis's doing. The entire situation, coated with a thick layer of irony, entails a sinful man asking for redemption as well as a sinful man begging for justice. In the beginning of both speeches, the men identify Claudia as the initiator of the entirety of the situation.Hamlet, speaking to his son, distinguishes an â€Å"incestuous† and a †Å"traitorous† character. Although it has yet to be made clear that this character of â€Å"wicked wit† Is Claudia, It Is discernible that whatever character he speaks of Is Hough of as vile and disloyal to Hamlet. When Hamlet mentions his â€Å"seeming virtuous queen,† it is inevitable to recognize the â€Å"wretch† who holds the blame for his loss is none other than Claudia. While Hamlet illustrates the initiator as â€Å"lewd† and â€Å"garbage,† Claudia thinks of himself as one of â€Å"strong intent† and connects himself to Cain, the man known as the first murderer.This allusion instantly identifies Claudia as Hamlet's murderer understanding that Cain killed his brother for supposedly being God's favorite. In the case between Hamlet and Claudia, Hamlet Is inning while partaking in the Joys of Queen Gertrude. Hamlet has the â€Å"favored† and Claudia eliminates him from the picture for that reason. Both passages continue, Jou rneying along alternate paths. While Hamlet describes the scene of Classis's fault, Claudia demonstrates narcissism. The â€Å"vile and loathsome† death Hamlet suffered proves as nothing of importance to Claudia who approaches the situation with the conclusion that his â€Å"fault Is past. The dreadful scene Illustrated through Hamlets â€Å"cursed† memory serves as sensible reason for his IEEE that Claudia should have revenge sought about him, forced to pay for Hamlet's condemnation to Purgatory and compelled to pay for his disloyalty. Claudia, however, expresses few signs of guilt. He attempts to grieve, asking the heavens to cleanse his fault â€Å"white as snow. † Nevertheless, he understands that he may never beg â€Å"Forgive me my foul murder† while remaining In possession of â€Å"(his) crown, (his) own ambition, and (his) queen. With this conclusion presented, It Is evident through â€Å"his true nature† that there exists no â€Å"Incli nation† to rid himself of his â€Å"wicked rice(s). † The irony of the situation is presented in that Claudia, in search of redemption, finds redemption just beyond the life he now enjoys, but instead resolves to keep in winnings. While in Hamlet's speech, however, revenge is sought upon Claudia. If success is fulfilled on Hamlet's part, Claudia will not only be rid of his new possessions but also of his insignificant chance of forgiveness. Hamlet's speech concludes as his life has- â€Å"dispatched. Hamlet sends his son with resolves to â€Å"try what repentance can,† though he comprehends that little may come of it. In this comprehension, he explains that as his â€Å"words fly up, (his) thoughts remain below,† symbolizing the falsity of his guilt and his fake desire for redemption. From the standpoint of irony, Just as Hamlet possessed the inability to beg for forgiveness, Claudia will not experience redemption. He will meet the heavens â€Å"with all (his) imperfections on (his) head† Just as Hamlet was forced to experience due to Classis's hand. The Justifiability of Classis's fault lies in two opposing pairs of hands.While Hamlet, through diction of identifiable loathing, believes his brother deserves enmeshment for his doing, a sensible conclusion, Claudia concerns himself with his current well-being. Through language of self-love, Claudia displays fake guilt and knowingly fails to receive forgiveness. As Claudia leaves his need for salvation to the heavens, Hamlet leaves his burning desire for revenge to his son. The Justifiability of fault will continue to remain unknown due to inconvenience that only those associated with the situation may provide the conclusion, and unfortunately those in association will consistently be in opposition.

Simple Fâcher Verb Conjugations in French

Simple Fà ¢cher Verb Conjugations in French The French verb  fà ¢cher  means to make angry. Its a rather fun word and shouldnt be too difficult to remember. When you want to say made angry or is angering, a verb conjugation is necessary. A quick French lesson will show you how thats done. Conjugating the French Verb  Fà ¢cher Fà ¢cher  is a  regular -ER verb. It follows the most common verb conjugation pattern in the French language. What that means for you is that you can apply the endings you learn here to similar verbs like  admirer  (to admire) and  blesser  (to hurt). To change  fà ¢cher  to the present, future, or imperfect past tense, pair the subject pronoun with the proper tense. The table demonstrates which verb ending is added to the stem  fà ¢ch-. For instance, I am angry is je fà ¢che while we will be angry is nous fà ¢cherons. Admittedly, to make angry is not the easiest English conjugation, so you need to do some interpretation within the translation itself. Subject Present Future Imperfect je fche fcherai fchais tu fches fcheras fchais il fche fchera fchait nous fchons fcherons fchions vous fchez fcherez fchiez ils fchent fcheront fchaient The Present Participle of  Fà ¢cher The  present participle  of fà ¢cher  is  fà ¢chant. This is done by adding -ant  to the verb stem. Not only is this a verb, it can also become an adjective, gerund, or noun when needed. The Past Participle and Passà © Composà © The  passà © composà ©Ã‚  is a common form of the past tense was angry in French. To construct it, begin by conjugating the  auxiliary verb  avoir  to fit the subject pronoun, then attach the  past participle  fà ¢chà ©. As an example, I was angry becomes jai fà ¢chà © and we were angry is nous avons fà ¢chà ©. More Simple Fà ¢cher Conjugations to Learn There are a few more simple verb conjugations you may encounter with  fà ¢cher. However, the present, future, and past tenses should be your first focus of study. The subjunctive and conditional verb moods each imply that the verbs action is not guaranteed. Each has a slightly different meaning, but in some way express a question to the act of becoming angry. In rare instances, you will come across either the passà © simple or imperfect subjunctive. These are most often found in formal French writing, so you should be able to at least recognize them as a form of  fà ¢cher. Subject Subjunctive Conditional Pass Simple Imperfect Subjunctive je fche fcherais fchai fchasse tu fches fcherais fchas fchasses il fche fcherait fcha fcht nous fchions fcherions fchmes fchassions vous fchiez fcheriez fchtes fchassiez ils fchent fcheraient fchrent fchassent The imperative verb form may be extremely useful with  fà ¢cher  because its used in short and assertive commands like, Dont make me angry! (Ne me fà ¢che pas !). When using it, theres no need to include the subject pronoun: use fà ¢che rather than tu  fà ¢che. Subject Imperative (tu) fche (nous) fchons (vous) fchez

Acquainted with the Night by Robert Frost PR Essay Example

Acquainted with the Night by Robert Frost PR Essay Example Acquainted with the Night by Robert Frost PR Paper Acquainted with the Night by Robert Frost PR Paper Essay Topic: The Poetry of Robert Frost Hari Jani 2nd Period 10/29/13 Poetry Response The poem Acquainted with the Night by Robert Frost is about a person who feels isolated and depressed in their life but thinks everything is alright. The author discloses the isolation and depression the speaker is facing through the use of figurative language and tone. The title of the poem is an important part of the poem because it is repeated in the poem. The use of refrain in the first and last line notifies the reader of how important the title is to the poem; Acquainted refers to familiarity or experience the speaker has had with the Night or darkness; the speaker probably had an xperience or struggle with some form or darkness in their life. The title as well as words like rain, down, saddest, dropped, and cry impart a downhearted and melancholy tone throughout the poem. The author incorporates oodles of metaphors into the poem to depict the speakers thoughts and feelings. Night is an extended metaphor for the depression the speaker is inflicted with because it is the subject of the rest of the poem. The speaker has outwalked the furthest city light which is also a metaphor for depression and loneliness; the speaker is the cause of his solitariness because he alks into a distance himself, and the further he gets, the less light, or felicity he acquires. The metaphor for distance is also present when the speaker hears a cry from fa r away. The cry he heard from a horizon was not for him, and that brings about even more alienation and dejection. The luminary clock is a metaphor that compares a clock to the moon; the moon is not only the most distal thing in the poem to the speaker but also the radiant thing that reaches him when he is in duskiness. The author uses personification when he expresses time was neither wrong nor right. The time isnt actually right or wrong, but the speaker is in a state of limbo; he is lonely, grief-stricken, and vacuous but doesnt think there is anything amiss. The refrain, l have been one acquainted with the night implies that the speaker has no friends or family, and the have been insinuates that he has experienced this feeling more than once. The authors use of alliteration and rhythm grant the reader a better perception of the speakers actions. The consonant sounds in the line stood still and stooped the sound of feet give off the sound of footsteps; the rhythm of each line like I ight continues to escalate this sound. The rhyme scheme follows a certain pattern: ABA, BCB, CDC, DAD, and DD. This also amplifies the sound of feet walking. I find this poem to be quite depressing and sad. I sympathize with the person who is going through this dilemma, but I admonish them because they keep making the situation worse. If there is a problem, one should fix it instead of ignoring it and thinking nothing is wrong. IVe never been depresses or isolated, but I understand what a person going through that must feel like; the person is walking by themselves t night on a road that doesnt go anyn. vnere. There are probably a lot of people in the world who suffer from loneliness and woefulness. This poem teaches humans what not to do if they are inflicted with this dilemma. They shouldnt outwalk the furthest city light, or pass by the watchman. They should stay in the light to get help from a friend or a family member. This poem isnt nebulous about how the speaker handled this situation; he succumbed to his worriment. This gives people a paradigm of a person who was defeated by their problems, and they should look at this and do the exact opposite.

Mole Fraction Definition - Chemistry Glossary

Mole Fraction Definition - Chemistry Glossary Mole fraction is  a unit of concentration, defined to be equal to the number of moles of a component divided by the total number of moles of a solution. Because it is a ratio, mole fraction is a unitless expression. The mole fraction of all components of a solution, when added together, will equal 1. Mole Fraction Example In a solution of 1 mol benzene, 2 mol carbon tetrachloride, and 7 mol acetone, the mole fraction of the acetone is 0.7. This is determined by adding up the number of moles of acetone in the solution and dividing the value by the total number of moles of components of the solution: Number of Moles of Acetone: 7 moles Total Number of Moles in Solution 1 moles (benzene) 2 moles (carbon tetrachloride) 7 moles (acetone)Total Number of Moles in Solutions 10 moles Mole Fraction of Acetone moles acetone / total moles solutionMole Fraction of Acetone 7/10Mole Fraction of Acetone 0.7 Similarly, the mole fraction of benzene would be 1/10 or 0.1 and the mole fraction of carbon tetrachloride would be 2/10 or 0.2.

Accounting and financial management 4 Topics Assignment

Accounting and financial management 4 Topics - Assignment Example Financial distress is a state whereby a company is not able to meet the agreements it had with its creditors it normally results to a company being termed as bankrupt. Cost associated with financial distress are normally termed as costs of financial distress. Some of the costs of financial distress are classified into direct and indirect. Direct cost include; legal fees, auditors fees, management fees. Some of the indirect costs involved are, loss of goodwill, loss of trust by creditors, loss of customers. Method 2: the second method is used only when the risk imposed on a company remains the same as a result of its capital structure, the company is ready to incur as much debt as possible. The main aim of this method is to identify the level of debt at which the advantages of increased debt are not outweighed by the increase in risk that are financially distressed company is subjected to. It is also known as the intuitive view. The theory indicates that a firm should have as ideal level of gearing at which its WACC is minimized. Nevertheless this theory does not indicate where the ideal level is and this leaves trial and error as the sole method of finding it. When gearing levels are low shareholders regard risk increases as marginal. This results to cheapness of debt issues and this causes WACC to be lower. When gearing ratios are higher the volatility of shareholders returns increase. Dominance in cheapness of extra debt results in WACC increasing as the levels of gearing increases. In the case when the levels of gearing have escalated abnormally both equity and debt holders face a risk of bankruptcy as a result the cost of equity and the cost of debt rise with increased gearing and this therefore causes WACC to rise further They disregarded the capital structure which was irrelevant in determining the cost of capital. They argued that a firm have no optimal value and its value is determined by the business risk it

Analyse how effective a change of ownership has been for your chosen Assignment

Analyse how effective a change of ownership has been for your chosen businesses performance - Assignment Example Adidas Company markets the application of constant and updated technological innovation and excellence in generating a powerful competitive advantage. The highest level of orientation of technological development has created the expected value to customers as they provide high performance and quality shoes for the specific needs of the customers. This translates to a competitive advantage in the marketing of its products (Hussey, 2000). Adidas has also another advantage in the market of effective promotional methods for its products by associating them with popular celebrities and sports idols. This marketing strategy has generated a steady source of sales and income for the company. Therefore, the purchase of recognizable brand products safeguards their quality and this creates some extra motivation for their purchase. The company has also sponsored many events as part of its promotional strategy. This step gives the company a good brand recognition and reputation in the world. This is evident in the soccer industry as Adidas has a strong market share. The diversity and variety of products offered on the web such as shirts, bags, shorts, and shoes enables the customers to have a range of products to choose and buy. The firm has good brand recognition and reputation and has attained its stronghold in the soccer industry. This is evident from a stable distribution channel that is well monitored as it has various stores worldwide. Thus, it enables the customers to access their products easily and in good time after ordering. To crown it all, the company has a strong management team which helps to keep it on the right track (Gilgeous.1997). However, Adidas has various disadvantages in the market. The company is one step behind Nike and faces much competition from the Nike products. This is evident in the high quantity and quality of merchandise and products that

Social Inequalities in US Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Social Inequalities in US - Essay Example John Adams fully comprehended the paramount principles of equal natural rights and he reckoned with the question with the inequalities in a constitution of a people. It was achieved through the careful institutional arrangement. However, Massachusetts’s citizens criticized and rejected the constitution that excluded Negroes, Indians and mulattoes from the state voting process. He realized the need to distinguish the nature’s unequal distribution of activity from the artificial inequalities that subverted the foundation of liberty and a people’s decency. Given the inevitable nature of inequality the statesman’s though was directed at reducing its effects and promoted the conversion of â€Å"natural aristocracy† to betterment of the society. This has greatly facilitated for awareness and fight for equality. Racism is less predominant among the Americans in recent times in comparison to earlier times. Earlier in the United States’ history, racis m resulted in African Americans being treated as second class citizens, and denied the rights to do many things including vote and go to school with white children and lived in slavery or servitude for a significant proportion of American history. There have been marked changes in the way that races have been treated as American history has progressed, and African Americans as well as other races are now legally considered equals to whites. This is evident by the recent election Barrack Obama, an African American as their 44th US president. His election on the contrary has not ended racism but has propagated its transformation However, a survey conducted by a prominent writer and educator at Harvard, wise, shows that 11 percent of the whites in America still are slaves of being racist, treating people differently because of their race. Another aspect of equality is the issue of class. People exist in different classes, such as those who are wealthy and the poor, and those who come f rom different social background. It is common for people of a higher class to consider themselves superior to others. For example, even in the present time, many people who have enough money to own a house and live well look down on people who are not able to do this, often refusing to associate with them. Nevertheless, class relations have become better throughout American history, as people of lower class are no longer treated as slaves or servants, and are no longer prohibited from knowing or marrying those of a higher class. The recent improvement of security improvement among the middle and low class has greatly equalized the social class problem. Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the most profound civil right movement’s spokesmen and asserted for civil rights for African Americans on constitutional grounds. He emphasized on the legitimacy of the constitution in relation to the civil rights demonstrations. As the civil rights movement gained victory it revealed the vict ories in the terms of equality that were fought by the African Americans. Introduction of rights into the composition discourse is an example of a successful fight for equality to further develop racial equality by addressing literary issues. In the United States there has been a major improvement on issues regarding gender equality. Most women, in the 21st century, have benefited greatly from gender equality. Nevertheless some women still experience increased equality as a threat as imposing costs on them are augmenting. Post World War II has provided the necessity for

Stragegic management of human resources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6500 words

Stragegic management of human resources - Essay Example A customised version of Integrated Management Process (IMP) used by SAB to set the ball rolling relies on the same set of principles, techniques and practices as the case study demonstrates. Evidently, performance depends not only on hard and attenuating work of the personnel, but also on such essential characteristics as competence and ability to learn and develop. Despite the visible simplicity, the problem of effective training and development of employees faced by SAB during the attempt to solidify and further reinforce their market positions was exceptionally complex. A failure to properly, effectively and continuously train and educate the human resources in the right areas of the business, at the right time and at the right cost would have inevitably result in serious inefficiencies, considerable operational difficulties and even collapse of the organisation (Buckle & Caple, 2004). In order to evaluate the programme implemented by SAB one must be aware of the basic theoretical principles an effective programme must rely upon. An effective SHRD programme should be built around three basic theoretical concepts: organizational development change; leadership development; individual, group and organizational learning (Reid, Barrington & Brown, 2004). Although IMP focuses primarily on business planning, communication and performance management processes, the key element of the company's transformation was apparently learning since new skills and attitudes were required. In the past, learning focused primarily on individuals: people worked in large bureaucracies or assembly lines and, consequently, the goal of learning under such circumstances was training of the skills required for their functioning. However, since approximately three decades ago, the focus of learning in organisations began to shift from individuals to groups, and, what was even more important, the meaning underlying the constructs 'learning', 'training' and 'development' transformed dramatically. Scholars started conceiving these constructs as continuous rather than occasional while the purpose and the process of learning were also reformulated and recognised as vital for effective organizational performance (Harrison, 2005). Such continuous perception of learning as the key element of business transformation was probably the main factor of SAB's success: heavy investments in learning and development to support change turned systematic rather than being occasional. The systematic approach toward training, learning and development of employees emphasises such crucial element of the process as continuity while the earlier perspectives often viewed the process as linear and discrete with clearly defined beginning and end (Armstrong, 1996). Systematic approach to organizational development implies clearly identification of what employees should know and how they should act to be effective at a particular job; it also ensures that employees are adequately prepared in terms of the necessary knowledge, skills, and attitudes to fulfil their responsibilities (Kenney & Reid, 1994). Such systematic strategy implemented by SAB helped managers and supervisors get

American indian Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

American indian - Essay Example He was also known as â€Å"Liver-eating Johnston† because it was believed that he ate the livers of the Indians he killed as a sign of disrespect. In the movie however, Johnson was not really a violent man. He was only driven into vendetta when the Crow Indians murdered his family. Redford gave a great performance in this movie. Even with just Redford’s acting, the film could very well be a stand-out. Will Geer’s performance as Bear Claw Chris Lapp is also outstanding. The thing that I liked best in the movie is the fantastic cinematography. The film was shot in Utah Zion’s National Park. The setting is breath-taking and gives an excellent backdrop for the movie. The background music used in the movie is very appropriate and blends well with the scenery. I find the last scene of the movie very touching. Johnson is shown reaching his hand into the air as a sign of friendship in reaction to the Crow Chief’s raising of his hand too as a sign of peace b etween the tribe and Johnson. I find this scene also symbolic of the friendship that is to come between Johnson and the Crow Indians. There was so much meaning in this scene. In terms of accuracy, I think Pollack researched well about the language, culture and clothing at that time. The technology presented is authentic such as the use of the Hawken rifle.

Stragegic management of human resources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6500 words

Stragegic management of human resources - Essay Example A customised version of Integrated Management Process (IMP) used by SAB to set the ball rolling relies on the same set of principles, techniques and practices as the case study demonstrates. Evidently, performance depends not only on hard and attenuating work of the personnel, but also on such essential characteristics as competence and ability to learn and develop. Despite the visible simplicity, the problem of effective training and development of employees faced by SAB during the attempt to solidify and further reinforce their market positions was exceptionally complex. A failure to properly, effectively and continuously train and educate the human resources in the right areas of the business, at the right time and at the right cost would have inevitably result in serious inefficiencies, considerable operational difficulties and even collapse of the organisation (Buckle & Caple, 2004). In order to evaluate the programme implemented by SAB one must be aware of the basic theoretical principles an effective programme must rely upon. An effective SHRD programme should be built around three basic theoretical concepts: organizational development change; leadership development; individual, group and organizational learning (Reid, Barrington & Brown, 2004). Although IMP focuses primarily on business planning, communication and performance management processes, the key element of the company's transformation was apparently learning since new skills and attitudes were required. In the past, learning focused primarily on individuals: people worked in large bureaucracies or assembly lines and, consequently, the goal of learning under such circumstances was training of the skills required for their functioning. However, since approximately three decades ago, the focus of learning in organisations began to shift from individuals to groups, and, what was even more important, the meaning underlying the constructs 'learning', 'training' and 'development' transformed dramatically. Scholars started conceiving these constructs as continuous rather than occasional while the purpose and the process of learning were also reformulated and recognised as vital for effective organizational performance (Harrison, 2005). Such continuous perception of learning as the key element of business transformation was probably the main factor of SAB's success: heavy investments in learning and development to support change turned systematic rather than being occasional. The systematic approach toward training, learning and development of employees emphasises such crucial element of the process as continuity while the earlier perspectives often viewed the process as linear and discrete with clearly defined beginning and end (Armstrong, 1996). Systematic approach to organizational development implies clearly identification of what employees should know and how they should act to be effective at a particular job; it also ensures that employees are adequately prepared in terms of the necessary knowledge, skills, and attitudes to fulfil their responsibilities (Kenney & Reid, 1994). Such systematic strategy implemented by SAB helped managers and supervisors get

Regulatory and Conceptual Framework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Regulatory and Conceptual Framework - Essay Example International accounting standards will enhance the quality and transparency of accounting information. According to the principles of corporate governance, corporate reporting should ensure that the information is fair and transparent (AAA, 2003). Consequently, this results in the numbers getting beyond reproach in terms of integrity. It is very easy for companies to reduce the costs of transactions because there is a reduction in risk estimations by the market. However, the standards have the effect of increasing costs for small companies since they have few resources to implement the changes including training of accountants. Second, international accounting standards enhance flexibility in financial reporting because it is principle-based as opposed to the use of rules. This means that companies have many ways to arrive at a valuation that is reasonable and suitable to particular situations. This makes it very easy to read and interpret financial statements (FASB/IASB, 2008). On the downside, international accounting standards can promote manipulation because companies can selection a method of valuation of their choice. Most companies will decide to report only desired results while hiding financial problems. The result is that a company may appear more profitable than its real performance. Third, the use of international standards has the advantage of creating uniformity in financial reporting which improves comparability. It would be more accurate to compare the financial performance of companies using a uniform accounting standard than using different standards. It makes it easier for an investor to select an investment. On the downside, the international standard has not been accepted especially in the U.S. This has influenced other countries to hold out because they use the accounting standards adopted by the U.S. as a gold standard of measure. The situation is worse for foreign firms doing business in the U.S. because they

Han china and imperial rome Essay Example for Free

Han china and imperial rome Essay Rome was very successful because of its superior military authority. That is the main influential factor that cemented Roman power for nearly a thousand years. They had several advantages rapid development of the latest technology and vast numbers of infantry along with a stable senate system and much wealth to fuel their ambitions. It had sewers to control waste, aqueducts for plumbing and paved roads for transport which many other nations simply did not have. Rome had a large assortment of choices when it came to battle. Their army usually consisted of Hastati, Principes or Legionary Cohort in the later years marvelous soldiers and very useful ones to say the least. Having said this, they had access to exceptional horses as well and it was this mixture of troops that was a deciding factor in conflicts. Rome used its sheer force of numbers to overwhelm most enemies and surround them or cave in on their flanks causing a route very quickly. Mind you, tactics were used, but not effectively. The Romans took advantage of technological progressions and were only to happy to inflict deadly harm upon their foes with ballistae, catapults, onagers and numerous other siege equipment. The land they conquered poured much profit into the treasury which was distributed to the armed forces. This was able to give them the latest weapons, brand new armour, plenty of supplies and good morale. You can also look at the sheer amount of land they claimed through war the empire covered Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, parts of the Middle-East, Egypt, and the Africa coastline. Finally, the Romans brought the ideology of Christianity to the people in Europe influencing the events that were to proceed in the future greatly, something that has changed the world today. They will be looked upon in 1000 years (during the Middle Ages) with their beliefs, attitudes, values, lifestyle and ingenuity being emulated.

Psychological Distress Experienced by Medical Students

Psychological Distress Experienced by Medical Students INTRODUCTION The psychological distress of medical students is more commonly associated with stress, anxiety and depression [1]. It is a fact that tertiary medical education is highly stressful due to factors that include academic pressures, obstacles to their goal achievement, environmental changes, life challenges such as transition from school to university and the change in role from student to knowledgeable physician [2,3]. Even though there were studies suggested that some stress in medical school training involve stress, this stressful environment can exert a negative effect on the psychological and physical well-being of the undergraduates [5,6]. The stress can be defined as â€Å"a state of mental or emotional strain or suspense† and also as â€Å"a number of normal reactions of the body (mental, emotional, and physiological) designed for self-preservation† [7]. Stress is also defined as not just a stimulus or a response but rather, it is a process by which we perceive and cope with environmental threats and challenges [8]. On the other hand, anxiety can be defined as â€Å"an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts and physical changes. People with anxiety disorders usually have recurring intrusive thoughts or concerns. They may avoid certain situations out of worry. They may also experience physical symptoms such as sweating, trembling, dizziness or rapid heartbeat† [4]. While depression is more than just sadness. People with depression may experience a lack of interest and pleasure in daily activities, significant weight loss or gain, insomnia or excessive sleeping, lack of ener gy, inability to concentrate, feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt and recurrent thoughts of death or suicide [4]. However, for the sake of simplicity, these three most common condition psychological issues are coined into one term that is ‘stress’ as all of them are closely related [9]. Several studies have revealed that the incidence of stress among medical profession are increasing day by day and medical students have been found to experience higher level of depression and anxiety compared to the general population and to their same age group individuals [10,11,12]. The top ten main stressors found by Yusuf et al. at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) based on scores given by the medical students were all related to academic matters while Wolf et al. listed examination, class-work and financial responsibilities as their main stressor [13,14]. Therefore, it is critical for medical educators to understand the prevalence and causes of student distress, potential adverse personal and professional consequences, and institutional factors that can influence student’s health. It is suggested that an intervention programs could be implemented to reduce the stress levels [14]. OBJECTIVES The review was carried out to address the following questions: What is the prevalence of psychological distress experienced by medical students’? What are the socio demographical factors associated with psychological distress experienced by medical students’? METHODOLOGY 10 keyword were chosen to do the search for this project. Keywords – Malaysia, Medical students, stress, psychological distress, anxiety, depression, emotional disorder, mental health, undergraduates and trainee Literature review was carried out using the following electronic databases: PUBMED, Medline, Science Direct, Up-to-Date and Google scholar databases for articles on medical student’s distress in Malaysia. It was a systemic review of the literatures carried out from October 2014 to February 2015. Inclusion and Exclusion criteria All articles that published data related to stress or psychological distress/health of Malaysian medical students and written in English were eligible for inclusion in this study. The latest articles published since January 2014 was included. From the search, 20 full text articles were retrieved based on the relevance in relation to the topic. In addition, the reference list of the articles retrieved were also checked to find similar articles. RESULT Instrument used There are variety of tools used to assess psychological distress. The tools used will be selected based on elements to be assess. The most common one used for assessment of stress in Malaysian based study is General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) using 12 items or 28 items. The questionnaire was developed by Goldberg in 1978 which measures two important elements. The first one is the inability to carry out normal functions and the appearance of distress. The second is to assess the well-being in a person [15]. Other tools for used includes Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN), Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI) and Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS). Medical Student Stressor Questionnaire (MSSQ) was used to identify sources of stress or stressor [16]. Prevalence of psychological distress The overall prevalence rate of psychological distress among medical student in Malaysia are range from 14.3% to 56% [17,18]. The highest prevalence rate of 56% was obtained from Salina et al. where they did a survey on 101 medical students in University Malaya (UM). Based on SPIN scores, they conclude that 56% of the medical student who scored 19 or above have higher probability of having social anxiety disorder [18]. While the lowest prevalence of psychological distress with rate of 14.3% was documented by Yusoff et al. from the study among a cohort of University Sains Malaysia (USM) medical students where two cohorts of first year (2008/2009 and 2009/2010 intake) were compared. Cohort 1 was selected based on academic merit while cohort 2 was selected based on academic merit, psychometric assessment and interview performance. Based on GHQ scores, the results indicate that cohort 1 (prevalence rate of 26.3%) experienced more psychological distress compared to cohort 2 (prevalence rat e of 14.3%) indicating that stratification of student selection by using multimodal criteria might better identify medical students with good psychological health [17]. A study on psychological distress by using DASS scores was done by Nikmat et al. among 110 preclinical medical students of University Teknologi Mara (UiTM). The results were classified into mild, moderate, severe and extremely severe. It was further divided into two group which were ‘clinical’ for severe and extremely severe and ‘sub-clinical’ for mild and moderate. Out of 110 students, 5.5% of students had clinical depression, 24.5% clinical anxiety and 7.3% had clinical stress. Other remaining students experienced sub-clinical depression, anxiety and stress with prevalence of 36.4%, 35.5% and 30.0% respectively [21]. Yusoff et al. documented prevalence of depressive symptoms rate by using BDI scale among final year medical students stood at 21.7% [22]. Socio demographic variables Study years Stress among different years of students was studied by Sherina et al, Zaid et al and Yusoff et al. Cumulatively, They found that the stress prevalence for different years of study were varied. According to Sherina et al. based on the study in 2003, there was high prevalence of stress among 1st (48.6%) and 4th (41.4%) year medical students in comparison to students of second, third and final years. The most acceptable explanation was that 1st year student have to adjust to a new environment of medical educations. While the year 4 students whom just in their early days of clinical setting need to adjust their way with hospital setting and undergo clinical examinations which were totally different from pre-clinical years [23]. In addition to that, a study done by Zaid et al. in 2007 seems to support the findings of Sherina et al. with their results of having high prevalence of emotional disorder for the 1st (50%), but rather different for 5th (62.7%) year medical students. The extremel y high score documented by the final year students (5th year) was probably due to high expectations for them to become a competent doctors and to acquire good academic results, whereas the high score for the 1st year students might be because of the effect of stiff competition they faced to enter the medical schools and also due to process of adjustment to the medical education setting [24]. In contrary to that, in 2010 Yusoff et al. found lower stress prevalence in both 1st (26.3%) and final year (21.9%) students. Even other years of study also showed lower stress prevalence with 36.5% for 2nd year, 31.4% for 3rd year and 35.3% for 4th year medical students in comparison to result documented by Sherina et al. and Zaid et al. The probable reason was that 1st year students were at the beginning of their course, full of euphoria and still not yet face difficult subjects which make them less stressful. On the other hand, 5th year students possibly developed skills to manage their studi es and able to cope with stress. According to Yusoff et al. adaptation periods to the new phases of studies and impact of transition could be the reason of high prevalence in 2nd year and 4th year students [14]. Ethnics Although there was no documented significant association between ethnic and psychological distress, Johari et al and Sherina et al. managed to publish the prevalence of psychological distress between the 4 major ethnics in Malaysia. Sherina et al mention that Chinese and other ethnics had prevalence rate of 42.0% and 18.8% respectively, which was lower compared to Indian whom had the highest prevalence (48.1%) followed by the Malays (42.9%) according to Johari et al [23,25]. Gender To date, only few articles were found to study relationship of stress between male and female [14,18,23,24]. As expected, all studies indicate that female students have higher stress level compared to male, although only one; Yusoff et al. was able to achieve significant relationship statistically [20]. Financial problem There are two studies which was conducted inter universities (public universities) by Yusoff et al. and Johari et al. in 2009 and 2011 that highlighted the significant relation between psychological distress and financial difficulties [25,26]. While Radman et al. also obtained similar result in their investigation among private inter universities [27]. Apparently, Zaid et al. whom did similar research in one private medical school did not found any relation between financial issues and psychological distress [24]. Relationship problem Rather surprising fact found by Zaid et al. (2007) which stated that relationship problems with parent, siblings, friends and lecturers were not associated with psychological distress [24]. However, earlier research in 2003 by Sherina et al. did mention that there were significant stress level among medical students having relationship problems, and this fact was supported by Johari et al. in 2009 [23,25]. Apart from that, other types of relationship which can be consider a special relationship (marital and romantic relationship) might help to reduce stress level. As mentioned by Zaid et al. the students whom did not involve in special relationship were found having significantly more stress (51.7%) than (37%) in those who involved [24]. In addition, married students were proved by Johari et al. to be in significantly less stressed compare to single status [25]. Other factors Yusuf et al. in his study involving inter universities medical students, has found that there was a significant relationship between different universities and psychological distress. Perhaps different kind of modules, examination, environment, clinical structures do play a role [26]. While poor general health and younger also identified as significant factors for psychological distress [25,26]. Other factors such as types of school, number of siblings, religion and co-curriculum did not contribute to stress among medical student [14,18] REFERENCES N. Bayram and N. Bilgel, â€Å"The prevalence and socio-demo-graphic correlations of depression, anxiety and stress among a group of university students,† Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, vol. 43, no. 8, pp. 667–672, 2008. M. S. Sherina, L. Rampal, and N. Kaneson, â€Å"Psychological stress among undergraduate medical students,† Medical Journal of Malaysia, vol. 59, no. 2, pp. 207–211, 2004. Habeeb KA. Prevalence of stressors among female medical students Taibah.University. J Taibah Univ Med Sci, 5, 110-119. 2010 Kazdin A. Encyclopedia of psychology. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association; 2000. Linn BS, Zeppa R. Stress in Junior Medical Students:Relationship to Personality and Performance. J Med Education. 59(1):7–12.1984 Mosley TH Jr., Perrin SG, Neral SM, Dubbert PM, Grothues CA, Pinto BM. Stress, coping and well-being among third year medical students. Acad. Med. 69:765–7.1994 PRINCETON UNIVERSITY (2001). Word Net Dictionary. USA. Myers DG. Stress and Health. In: Exploring Psychology. 6th edition. New York: Worth Publishers. p. 402. 2005 Ko SM, Kua EH, Fones CSL. Stress and the Undergraduates. Singapore MedJ 40(10): 627-30. 1999 Dyrbye LN, Thomas MR, Shanafelt TD. Systematic review of depression anxiety, and other indicators of psychological distress among U.S. and Canadian medical students. Acad Med, 81, 354-373. 2006 Saipanish R. Stress among medical students in a Thai medical school. Med Teach, 25, 502-506. 2003 M. Dahlin, N. Joneborg, and B. Runeson, â€Å"Stress and depression among medical students: a cross-sectional study,† Medical Education, vol. 39, no. 6, pp. 594–604, 2005. Wolf TM, Faucett JM, Randall HM, Balson PM. Graduating medical students ratings of stresses, pleasures, and coping strategies. J Med Educ, 63, 636-642. 1998 Yusoff MSB, Abdul Rahim AF, Yaacob MJ. Prevalence and sources of stress among Universiti Sains Malaysia medical students. Malaysian J Med Sci. 2010;17(1):30–37. Goldberg D. Manual of the general health questionnaire. NFER Publishing Company.1978 Yusoff MSB, Rahim AFA, Yaacob MJ. The Development and Validity of the Medical Student Stressor Questionnaire (MSSQ). ASEAN J Psychiatry, 11. 2010 Yusoff MSB, Rahim AFA, Baba AA, Ismail SB, Esa AR. A study on psychological distress of two batches of first-year medical students underwent different selection admission processes. Malays J Med Sci. 2012 Salina M, Ng CG, Gill JS, Chin JM, Chin CJ, Yap WF.Social anxiety problem among medical students in Universiti Malaya Medical Center (UMMC): a cross-sectional study. Malaysian J Psychiatry. 2008 Ko SM, Kua EH, Fones CSL. Stress and The Undergraduate, Singapore Med J. 1999; 40:627–630. Yusoff MSB, Saiful M, Ahmad Fuad AR, Yaacob MJ. The prevalence of final year medical students with depressive symptoms and its contributing factors. International Medical Journal, 2011; 18, 305-309. Nikmat AW, Mariam M, Ainsah O, Salmi R. Psychological well-being, stress and coping style among pre-clinical medical students. Research management in state, University Teknologi Mara. 2010 Yusoff MSB, Saiful M, Ahmad Fuad AR, Yaacob MJ. The prevalence of final year medical students with depressive symptoms and its contributing factors. International Medical Journal, 2011; 18, 305-309. Sherina MS, Rampal L, Kaneson N. Prevalence of emotional disorders among medical students in a Malaysian university. Asia Pac Fam Med, 2003; 2, 213-217. Zaid ZA, Chan SC, Ho JJ. Emotional disorders among medical students in a Malaysian private medical school. Singapore Med J, 2007; 48, 895-899. Johari AB, Hassim IN. Stress and coping strategies among medical students international university of Malaysia, Malaysia University of Sabah and University Kuala Lumpur Royal College of Medicine Perak. J Community Health, 2009; 15, 106-115. Yusoff MSB et al. A study on stress, stressors and coping strategies among medical students. Int J Students Res, 2011; 1, 45-50.

History of the Old Testament of the Bible Essay -- Religion Christian

Studying the Old Testament is not as straightforward as some may think. Being able to recall stories of the Bible does not necessarily mean you have a thorough grasp on the history of Israel and the surrounding nations. Some people read and discuss the Bible without a solid understanding of the history and social issues that were going on at the time. Being able to relate to the stories in the Bible and struggle with some of the same problems faced by the people in the Bible gives you a greater appreciation for the works in the Bible. I feel that having a firm understanding of all the related history of Israel gives a student of the Old Testament a far greater understanding of why these stories are in the Bible and what was meant to be learned from them. In this paper I give brief, yet significant, explanations of the Old Testament from the death of King David to the Maccabean revolt. To begin our study and understanding of old testament it makes sense to start from the earliest time. King David is responsible for bringing together Israel into one nation. The idea that David is a prophet is debated among scholars and is something worth looking into, since these are decisions we must make regarding the Old Testament. Some believe that Psalms 22 is an accurate account of the crucifixion of Jesus; others find that there are large discrepancies within the passage and claim that the metaphors in the passage are taken too literally. As students of the Bible knowing the history of these works can help us better form our own opinion on such topics. We will find that this will be a common argument within the bible, whither to take it literally or metaphorically. After the Death of King David, his son Solomon becomes... ...nant of land, people and a blessing to all families. By this time in the Bible all three of these promises have been demonstrated. And the love of God for his people is finding to be everlasting, an idea that will be then carried into the New Testament. After reading these brief accounts of an enormous span of time we can begin to understand how and why the stories of the Old Testament are complied into the Bible. There is far more detailed accounts of all of the stories, people, places and issues I have mentioned yet this paper ties together all of them into a comprehensive paper which displays the interaction of all aspect of life from the time of the old testament. My goal for this paper was not to simply give a factorial timeline of events but go through the history of Israel and make connections within the span of King David up to the Maccabean Revolt.

T.S. Eliots The Wasteland Essay -- Eliot Wasteland Essays

T.S. Eliot's The Wasteland Traditionally, authors begin their compositions at the beginning and then proceed to an end, creating a logical flow of information towards a conclusion. T.S. Eliot threw most traditional form out the window as he composed The Waste Land. The voice changes, the structure varies, his allusions are elusive, and the first section of the poem is entitled â€Å"The Burial of The Dead.† This of course does not speak to a beginning, but to the conclusion of what could be one or many lives. Even before this heading, the epigraph evokes the feeling of something, (a something that the reader must work to comprehend) almost eternal, reflecting on a lifetime (an ‘almost eternal’ lifetime) with a melancholic eye. The reader of the poem begins with reflections on a life, a universal life, and with this understanding we can begin to unpack some of the images and make sense of the major themes of the poem. Without reading the entire poem, one can not hope to catch the significance of the initial passage or the epigraph; conversely, one might not comprehend the poem as a cohesive unit without its opening lines. Unlike Eliot, let us start with the genesis of the poem; ‘The Burial of The Dead.’ A major difficulty of this poem is its apparent lack of a single speaker. If there is an identifiable or specific speaker, they are contained within a few lines and then disappear into the background of the poem. The first seven lines are second or third person, singular or plural is not made clear. We are not given any perspective for these lines; therefore, the reader has nothing with which to orient himself. The vertigo continues once the language is taken into consideration. What do we make of his confl... ...events from ancient to present, coming together in one piece to produce a single feeling. Eliot sums up this feeling with the title. At once everything is connected through the poem and yet disconnected by time, place, and experience. I mentioned that the poem’s epigraph implied a reflection on an almost eternal life, The Sibyl (as well as Tiresias later in the poem) mirrors civilization’s history and the poem itself. Where Sibyl will not die she is in the process of decay, where history has not stopped it has broken down to a waste land. By bringing together these ‘broken images,’ Eliot constructed a summation of thousands of years of history. Many voices all speaking at once, alienated from one another by different times, different thoughts, and different experiences but connected through society’s common sub-consciousness and brought together by The Waste Land.

Educational Services an Overview

Development of an Instrument to Assess Student Perceptions of the Quality of Tertiary Education in INDIAN Context Suparswa Chakraborty Educational services can be categorized into five parts: (a) primary education services; (b) secondary education services; (c) higher education services (i. e. , education beyond secondary education includes all tertiary education); (d)  adult education; and (e) other education services (e. g. , liberal arts, business, professional). Such education and training encompass degree courses taken for college or university credits or non-degree courses taken for personal edification or pleasure or to upgrade work-related skills. Such education and training services can be provided in traditional institutional settings, such as universities or schools and in specialized institutions. Higher (tertiary) education, adult education, and training services are expanding rapidly. These services include academic and training courses on information technology; languages; executive, management and leadership training and hotel and tourism education. They also include educational testing services and corporate training services. Many of these are practical courses for use on the job. Some can be used as credits toward degrees; and some are non-degree courses. Increasingly, educational institutions and publishers are teaming up with information technology companies and other experts to design courses of instruction on a variety of subjects. Large companies also are developing education and training courses to improve the skills of their employees and to keep them up to date on their latest products. Such services constitute a growing, international business, supplementing the public education system and contributing to global spread of the modern â€Å"knowledge† economy. Availability of these education and training services can help to develop a more efficient workforce, leading countries to an improved competitive position in the world economy. Education is at present one of the least committed of services sectors, due to recognition of its â€Å"public good† element and the high degree of government involvement in its provision. The benefits associated with liberalising education services and facilitating greater and stronger public and private education services can co-existing which would benefit students and education service providers would get improved in the following manner: Facilitating access to education and training courses that in qualitative and quantitative terms which are not otherwise available in the public sector; and †¢ Providing a competitive stimulus to institutions with flow-on benefits to all students. †¢ The education services negotiations should aim to give consumers (students) access to the best education services wherever they are provided and through whatever mode of supply they are provided. †¢ Ensuring measures that consumers (learners) are not damaged by services of low quality, and a safety-net in such areas. There are cases, for example, where the quality of a service supplied by a â€Å"university† in one state is not necessarily of the same level as that supplied by a university of another state, due to the difference in higher education system of the two states. It has also emerged that the quality of education services fails to be correctly judged, in cases where the service is supplied by a â€Å"degree mill† of one university by means of Distance-Learning. It is difficult to arrive at a universally acceptable articulation of what quality in education means. At the same time, such articulation is critical since it plays an important role in shaping the practice of education. It has often been possible to bring about such quality in education at a small scale with intensive utilization of recourses. However, the provision/distribution of quality education by a large-scale system is a daunting challenge. ’ Quality’ as a term refers to ’how well’ certain objects and processes achieve their given aims. It is validating as well as comparative. Its most immediate connotation is ’better’. ’ Better’ as ifferentiated from ’good’, and implying the existence of at least two objects or processes, between which a comparison across a decided set of parameters can be established. Understanding quality in education requires an appreciation of the aims of education; the social and philosophical roots of these aims as well as determining the nature of the organisation and system that is best oriented to achieve them. Educational quality concerns typically encompass topics such as teacher training, textbooks and materials, evaluation and physical infrastructure especially institution buildings. However the quality of these processes/topics can only be understood with reference to the objective of the education system of which they are but a part. Educational objectives in turn are influenced by societal notions of a child, human learning and schooling. The most common worldly application of the term and concept of quality is in the context of products and services. To define quality in the field of education, it may be instructive to examine the more widely practiced usage of quality, and explore its appropriateness or applicability for education. Quality: A Conceptual Exploration Owlia and Aspinwall (1996) interpreted the quality for higher education in terms of the quality dimension by using Garvin’s quality framework (Garvin, 1987), service quality dimension (Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Berry, 1985; 1988), and software quality dimension (Watts, 1987). However, the dimension identification frameworks focuses mainly on defining the quality aspect of the product features (Garvin, 1987) and service features (Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Berry, 1985; 1988). We adopted a more comprehensive approach to classify the quality attributes of education. The framework we proposed is derived from West, Noden and Gosling (2000)’s viewpoint of quality in higher education. We called it the Input–Process–Output (IPO) framework in which ‘Input’ refers to the entry requirements, ‘Process’ refers to the teaching and learning process, and ‘Output’ refers to the employability and academic standings (as shown in Figure 1 below). This classification of quality attributes is in accordance with the organization’s operation system of converting the inputs (e. g. raw materials) into outputs (e. g. products and services) via the process (e. g. procedures). In this way, one can associate the quality improvements with the operating system of any organization, including those from the education sector. Some of the quality dimensions identified in Owlia and Aspinwall’s (1996) study are partially covered in the IPO framework. Current understanding and interpretations of the word ’quality’ owe much to their roots in the evaluation of manufactured products. Pioneering management techniques and concepts related to quality and quality management have become common place, and many applications to the field of education can be sought while cautiously keeping in mind the large differences between the commercial world and education. In fact, quality in education has increasingly been understood through the framework of users and in terms of its value for money. To the extent that the service of education and the provision of commercial services are similar, that is both have ’end-users’ and an expectation of ’value-for-money’, parallels are feasible. However, such parallels often regard the provision of education as similar to a marketable service such as getting a haircut. In such cases, (as the market understands it), the individual seeking the service is generally aware of the outcome that the service will provide her with–a haircut usually results in kempt hair for instance. In other words, the user has the means to evaluate the quality of the service. In the case of education, except for very specific skill-oriented training that has readily identifiable outcomes in the short term, it is not very easy to determine what the rather long term process of ’being educated’ will lead to. This is largely because the ’aims’ of education that is the pressing reasons for educating members of a population in any society or country, emanate from the need to create a social and intellectual environment as members of which individuals will be capable of making and acting on rational decisions concerning themselves and their society rather than building people with a specific set of skills. Most users–parents or children–in the case of education, do not have the means in terms of either understanding and/or experience to evaluate quality–whether the child is receiving an education (given the stated aims or those which a parent understands), except in very rudimentary ways–and how it could be better (i. e. through comparing it to some sort of ideal). In other words, the information asymmetry between the service provider and the user, especially poor users, is an important characteristic of education that must be taken into explicit account. In addition to the lack of a shared understanding of quality between consumers and providers, the field of education is also characterized by the absence of a consensus on the notion of quality. For instance, most consumers and the providers of a service, for example telephones, not only agree on what is meant broadly by ’high quality’ in their domain, but, until new technological innovation comes about, this notion remains largely constant. On the other hand, education likes many other systems or endeavours (such as good health, reform or democracy) has a continuously evolving discourse as well as vibrant debates on what constitutes quality, how can it be achieved and provided in the most optimal way to a large number of children14, making it difficult for such a constant notion to exist. Additionally, inherent in the concept of a desirable social and intellectual environment (to be evolved through educating the population), are ideas concerning values which individuals should possess as this is in the interests of society, even though all individuals themselves may not want to imbibe these (take for example, religious or racist tolerance, or fairness in the face of ’self-interest’). Many such values would not be pertinent as an outcome, were the individual’s education being carried out from a purely market oriented (i. e. mployability) perspective, but they are the founding principles of systems of governance such as democracy. This further jeopardizes the application of market or management-derived concepts of quality to education, since the good/commodity being examined for quality, i. e. education, contains many features not demanded explicitly and in some cases actually even shunned by its customers. Therefore, ’quality’ as appl ied to the provision of commercial services or products cannot be directly applied to the provision of education due to the nature of education, and the inherent ’aims’ in its provision. A Framework for Quality in Education As discussed above, the notion of quality in education is not one, which can be simply transcribed from the predominant concept of quality that has evolved from the commercial world. It needs to be unique to the field of education and based on a deeply contextual, need-based view incorporating pedagogic principles and educational aims rather than a fixed prescription or set of guidelines. A viable framework for quality in education could be envisaged as consisting of the following main components: Aims of education, curriculum, pedagogy and material, school organization and relationships, evaluation and assessment, and the nature of provision. The relationship between the design and constitution of these various components would have to be carefully conceptualized to ensure coherence in the experience of education by children. For instance, design of a curricular document needs to be based on the aims of education and epistemological concerns. Similarly, assessment needs to be understood as a means to strengthen and constantly improve children’s education in the context of the stated curricular objectives through appropriate pedagogic practice, rather then as a tool for classifying children as ’failed’ or ’passed’ and thus deciding whether their education will continue. Each of these aspects of education and its quality are discussed in more detail in the following sections. Aims of Education The ’aims of education’ refer to a broad set of principles that provide direction to the practice of education. They play an important role in determining the institutions, curriculum, and pedagogy and assessment system for providing education. What aims are worth pursuing in education is therefore an important question and the answer is often complex, especially in the context of a diverse socio-cultural milieu. In general, the aim of education could be articulated as building capabilities and instilling values in individuals considered necessary for leading personally and socially fulfilling lives. The form and nature of education in any society is deeply influenced by the notion of a human being predominant in that society, and is closely linked to the understanding of what is ’good’ for people which in turn is based on views regarding human nature, needs and potential. It is therefore not surprising and somewhat inevitable that different societies, and even different groups of people in the same society, propound different notions of education making it a contested concept. Other concepts that influence the process of formulating the aims of education include the understanding of human learning and the notion of a child in society. In education, learning is understood as ’. . . having acquired ability to do something on the basis of experience and effecting a change in the learners’ understanding’ and while learning, thus defined, is an inevitable outcome of living for most, ensuring that the aims of education become part of learning requires active teaching. What these aims actually comprise of, and more importantly translate into through the working of a system of education depends on the nature of governance in a specific nation. For example, France and Prussia historically implemented education systems designed by the elite aimed at developing their respective countries into industrial powers. Given that India is a democracy, the educational aims in the country implicitly imbibe the special characteristics of such a governance system. These include equal participation of all members, an interest in social relations and their control, the potential to make amendments without disorder, and institutions that are flexible to readjustment. As Dewey explains, even a superficial examination of a democratic government’s (such as India’s) interest in the education of its citizens yields that since a democracy dismisses the idea of external authority, education is a must to ensure that popular suffrage leads to an appropriately chosen government. Further, the author suggests that since democracy represents almost a way of life (since it requires understanding the effect of one’s action on others and thereby communicating and accommodating continuously on an individual, societal or communal level) rather than just a governance system, it is only through education that these capacities can be built and such behavior brought about. Further, given that education has been discerned as a means towards progress for not only social and economic prosperity but also for facilitating equitable access to commonly provided, individually appropriated experience, it is important that the distribution of education should be characterized by the ideal of equality of educational opportunity. This is particularly in the case of India where the social order represents pervasive inequalities of wealth and opportunity, and can often lead to social position in terms of wealth and opportunity being correlated with future access to, and experience of, education. This is where the public system of education provided by the state assumes importance as the large majority of India’s poor can afford to access education only through the government system since it is free, and this is likely to remain the case for the foreseeable future. Therefore, it is important to realize that in the context of India, the state has an active interest in shaping each citizen–indeed, the idea or concept of ’state’ itself virtually depends for its existence on education, since it is only education that can effectively transmit the ideal of a democratic state to the next generation, thereby ensuring its perpetual continuity. Following the 86th Constitutional amendment, free and compulsory education in the age group of 6 to 14 is now a fundamental right in India under Article 21 (A). Thus, the aims of a system of education reflect the underlying values on which it is built, which in turn are contextual to human society, with individuals viewed both as atomistic constituents of that society as well as a collective. In practice, the aims of education are often stated in somewhat indeterminate terms. For instance, an oft-stated aim is ’the all round development of children’. This statement clearly requires clarification if it is to provide any direction for the content or the process of education. There is a need to specify what defines such all round development and once a list is drawn it has to be determined whether to include all or select on the basis of relative importance. On the other hand, examples of very specific aims include the focus on producing skilled labour for the economy. While such an aim certainly provides some direction to the educational context, it is too narrow and can impede excellence in other worthwhile aspects of life. Formulating aims that refer to general abilities such as rationality, critical thinking, creativity and others as an end, do avoid being too narrow on the one hand, but are also relatively more specifically definable on the other; and therefore, may work better for school systems. By virtue of being better-definable they help educators translate educational aims into classroom processes. For instance, teaching the concept of numbers and other mathematical operations maybe one of the accepted means of inducing rational thinking in a child, and therefore worthy of inclusion in the curriculum. Further, it is important to ensure that the content and process of teaching mathematics to children actually does translate into rational thinking and does not get restricted to the narrow objective of passing examinations Other common classroom processes prevalent in many schools include repetition of words and poems after the teacher without adequate comprehension and copying ? Sart S (such as a flower) drawn on the blackboard without error. It is questionable whether such practices provide meaningful stimulation for expression or creativity. Meaningful decisions about content and method in education require consciousness of the aims of education as articulated by an education system. The above illustrations are indicative of the absence of such an awareness governing the practice of teaching. In order to ensure that classroom strategies actually emerge from the professed aims of education it is important to include teachers in the discourse on the aims of education and not restrict this dialogue to a few educationists. The agreed-upon aims of education should broadly constitute a ’philosophically and historically informed set’ whose rationale is ’fully stated, public, and revisable’. Indian scenarios The professional education sector in INDIA comprises various types of providers. The largest group is made up of Universities and Affiliated colleges, which are large institutions offering a broad range of vocational and academic subjects at various levels, and are attended by both young people (17-28 year olds) and adults. Deemed Institutions and Autonomous colleges are another substantial group and have traditionally catered for 17-15 year olds taking Advanced level courses. More recently, however, they have broadened both their course offering and their student profile. Specialist Colleges concentrate on specific areas of the curriculum such as management , engineering and professional or land based subjects. They often have well developed links with employers and industry because of the specialist nature of the subjects taught. Finally, Specialist Designated institutions cater mainly for adults, as do External Institutions. The latter, however, also cater to the needs of educationally disadvantaged students through Distance Learning Mode. The purpose of this study is to explore the professional education classroom and its effects on student persistence and satisfaction. In order to face the challenges of student retention, the classroom must be explored to determine how these experiences affect the student attrition process. The classroom is a part of the curricular structure that links different disciplines around a common theme. Understanding the elements of the classroom experience will provide students, faculty, staff, and administrators with a vital sense of shared inquiry. The classroom experience must be designed to provide positive experiences through the adoption of various learning strategies. The article seeks to ascertain to what degree the classroom experience enhances student learning and persistence and, if so, how it does so. Beyond its obvious policy implications, the study purports to provide the context for a series of reflections on the ways in which current theories of student persistence might be modified to account more directly for the role of classroom experience in the process of both student learning and persistence. The study identifies variables associated with student integration or lack thereof, into the educational environment and whether or not these variables have an effect on student persistence. Lastly, the study purports to provide the aspects of student satisfaction and student perceptions of their learning experiences. The Problem As a result of low retention rates, administrators are seeking strategies to create a positive atmosphere that is supportive in meeting student needs in order to ensure student persistence. There is a critical linkage that exists between student involvement in classrooms, student learning, and student persistence. Research studies have identified factors that contribute to and influence student decisions to persist, or leave college before accomplishing their intended educational goals (Astin, 1987, 1993; Bean, 1983; Braxton, 1995, Bogdan & Biklen, 1992; Endo & Harpel, 1982; Tinto, 1975, 1987, 1993). In particular, Tinto’s attrition model (1975, 1987, & 1993) is among those strategies that have been used in an attempt to describe and categorize the student attrition process. Although persistence in college is important, students’ overall satisfaction with their educational experiences and their interactions on the college campus are the most important factors (Tinto, 1993). Collectively, the educational environment and organizational culture is important in determining student satisfaction and their motivation to persist. Statement of the Problem Research studies in the past have analyzed student retention, particularly among traditional university student populations (Anderson, 2001; Astin, 1993; Braxton, 2000; Cope & Hannah, 1975; NCES, 1997, 1998, 1999; Noel et. al. , 1985; Tinto, 1975, 1987, & 1993). As McLeod and Young (2005) have proposed, it is necessary to investigate the factors that influence a student’s decision to remain or not to remain enrolled at a minority institution. The most important factor in predicting a student’s eventual departure from college is absence of sufficient contact with others (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1979). Ostrow, Paul, Dark, and Berhman (1986) found that supportive relationships enable students to better cope with the demands of the college environment. Few studies exist which focus on the higher education classroom and the manner in which it can effects student persistence and satisfaction of students enrolled on traditional university campuses. Evident in previous studies is the recognition that institutional variables do influence a student’s decision to persist in attaining their educational goals. There is a critical linkage that exists between student involvement in classrooms, student learning, and student persistence. The classroom plays an important role in the student learning and persistence process. According to McKeachie (1970, 1994) and Smith (1980, 1983), it is evident that multiple relationships exist between teacher behaviors and student participation in classroom discussions and learning. Student participation in the higher education classroom is relatively passive (Smith, 1983; Karp & Yoels, 1976; Nunn, 1996), and lecturing is dominant (Fischer & Grant, 1983). The author Nunn (1996) found that classroom traits, specifically a supportive atmosphere, are as important to student participation as are student and faculty traits. The recognition of the importance of classroom environment is part of another area of inquiry, namely the role of classroom context, its educational activities and normative orientations, in student learning. Instead of focusing on the behaviors of faculty, a number of researchers have focused on the role of pedagogy (Karplus, 1974; Lawson & Snitgen, 1982; McMillan, 1987) and, in turn, curriculum (Dressel & Mayhew, 1954; Forrest, 1982) and classroom activities (Volkwein, King, & Terenzini, 1986) as predictors of student learning. Generally speaking, these have led to a growing recognition that student learning is enhanced when students are actively involved in learning and when they are placed in situations in which they have to share learning in some positive, connected manner (Astin, 1987). As numerous researchers have suggested (Astin, 1984; Mallette & Cabrera, 1991; Nora, 1987; Pascarella & Terenzini, 1980; Terenzini & Pascarella, 1977), the greater students are academically integrated in the life of the institution, the greater the likelihood that they will persist. Students who feel they do not fit academically in the environment of the institution possess lower levels of satisfaction than those who feel they belong (Bean & Bradley, 1986; Pervin & Rubin, 1967). Astin (1993), Friedlander (1980), Parker and Schmidt (1982), Ory and Braskamp (1988), and Pascarella and Terenzini (1991), all suggested that student involvement in the classroom influences learning. When students are actively involved in the life of the college, especially academically, they will possess greater acquisitions of knowledge and skill development. Juillerat (1995) determined students who participate actively in their learning experience possess higher satisfaction rates than less involved students. According to Endo and Harpel (1982) and Astin (1993) student and faculty engagement, both inside and outside the classroom, are important to the student development process. Endo and Harpel (1982) suggested further those students who persisted which were reported to have had higher levels of contact with peers and faculty and also demonstrated higher levels of learning gain over the course of their stay in college. High levels of involvement prove to be an independent predictor of learning. The more time students invest in their own learning, the higher their level of effort, the more students learn. Braxton, Milem, and Sullivan (2000) wrote that research studies left social integration unexplained. Institutional type (Chapman & Pascarella, 1983), organizational attributes ( Berger & Braxton, 1998; Braxton & Brier, 1989), motivations for attending college (Stage, 1989), financial aid (Cabrera, Nora, & Castaneda, 1992), fulfillment of expectations for college (Braxton, Vesper, & Hossler, 1995), sense of community in residence halls (Berger, 1997), student involvement (Milem & Berger, 1997), life task predominance (Brower, 1992), and self-efficacy (Peterson, 1993) are among the concepts given to understand both academic and social integration and their effects on student departure decisions. Various constructs may also be derived from the role of the institutional classroom in the student departure process and the identification of forces that influence academic integration and social integration. Tinto (1997) suggested that if social integration was to occur, it must occur in the classroom, because the classroom functioned as a gateway for student involvement in the academic and social communities of a college. Thus, the college classroom constitutes one possible source of influence on academic nd social integration. Student Satisfaction and Perceptions of the Classroom Experience The authors, Bean and Bradley suggest student satisfaction is defined as â€Å"a pleasurable emotional state resulting from a person’s enactment of the role of being a student† (1986, p. 398). Overall life realization includes fulfillment with specific domains, such as student satisfaction (Coffman & Gilligan, 2000). Therefore, it is assumed that a students’ overall satisf action with the learning experience is an indicator of college persistence. In addition, Coffman and Gilligan (2000) further found that those students who withdraw from college prior to graduation are less likely to be able to identify someone on campus with whom they had developed a significant relationship. These students report low satisfaction with their personal interactions, social isolation, and absence of opportunities for academic contact. Most of these students report academic difficulties which occur in the classroom highly influenced their departure from college. According to Juillerat (1995), a student related variable that has been found to be connected to student satisfaction is institutional fit. The more acquainted a student is with the environment of the institution, the more he/she will fit into the culture of the institution. Students who feel as if they do not fit into the culture of the institution possess lower levels of satisfaction than those who feel that they belong. According to Juillerat (1995), student satisfaction is the extent to which a students’ perceived educational experience meets or exceeds his/her expectations. Student satisfaction can be defined by the positive and negative gaps in the expectation level and perceived reality. If a students’ expectation is matching or exceeds his/her evaluation of reality then seemingly the student is satisfied. On the other hand, if a students’ expectation is higher than his/her evaluation of reality then seemingly the student is dissatisfied. This approach to defining student satisfaction assists institutions in determining satisfaction levels and closes the gap between reality and expectations. Bean and Bradley (1986) determined that the number of friends a student has, along with his/her confidence in his/her social life, has a significant effect on satisfaction levels. Weir and Okun (1989) found similar results in the amount of contact a student has with peers, faculty, staff and administrators was positively correlated with academic satisfaction. The availability and formal and informal interaction with faculty, staff and administrators for interaction with students is related to student satisfaction and persistence. Endo and Harpel (1982) further suggest that a student expectation for peer involvement academically is a contributor to student satisfaction and persistence. Another important factor of a students’ overall satisfaction with the learning experience is their perceptions of their academic programs of study. The authors Bean and Bradley (1986) suggest if a student is academically integrated and interested in their course of study, motivated to study, and likes the faculty teaching the course will possess high satisfaction. Juillerat (1995) suggests, stimulating coursework and high teaching ability of professors is related to academic satisfaction. The purpose of this study is to explore the higher education classroom and its effects on student persistence and satisfaction. In order to face the challenges of student retention, the classroom must be explored to determine how these experiences affect the student attrition process and ultimately the BRANDING of the Institution by minimizing the GAPS in the service delivery. The classroom is a part of the curricular structure that links different disciplines around a common theme. Understanding the elements of the learning experience will provide students, faculty, staff, and administrators with a vital sense of shared inquiry. The classroom experience must be designed to provide positive experiences through the adoption of collaborative learning strategies. The article seeks to ascertain to what degree such strategies enhance student learning and persistence and, if so, how they do so. In conclusion, administrators in higher education should embrace an understanding of strategies for minority student retention. Administrators have continuously overlooked the essentially educational and developmental character of persistence as it occurs in most institutional settings. There is a rich line of inquiry of the linkage between learning and persistence that has yet to be pursued. Administrators must continue to fully explore the complex ways in which the experiences in the classroom shape both student learning and persistence. The author Braxton (1995) questioned the role of faculty teaching in student satisfaction and persistence. Administrators must be equipped to face the challenges of minority student retention and be proactive in their approaches retain minority students. A students’ ability to be connected to the institutional environment and their ability to adapt to the organizational culture are related to vocational and educational stability, student satisfaction, and student success. The institutional environment and the organizational culture mediate student academic and social experiences in college. Educational stability, student satisfaction, and student success are the building blocks of the retention process this service quality delivery only reinforces the EDUCATIONAL BRAND. [pic]