The Crucible – Performance Review

The Crucible A joint cast from Melbourne High School and Mac. Robertson Girls’ High School were recently involved in a production of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. The cast, led by Gilbert Stalinsfield as John Proctor and Greta Nash as Elizabeth Proctor, was able to captivate the audience for an the entirety of the performer. Director Anne-Marie Brownhill’s interpretation of the play, while short, allowed for each actor to contribute his or her own ideas to the story without removing the overlying theme of the empowerment provided through lies and playing on people’s fears.Each actor showed a deep understanding of the plot and was able to convey the message about McCarthyism and the symbolism of the witch hunts for the way people were suspected and persecuted in the 50s when McCarthy was most influential. Miller’s work successfully illustrates the parallels between the series of events that occurred in the late 1600s known as the Salem Witch Trials a nd the events that had been occurring during the time that The Crucible was written in the 1950s. The combined cast from Melbourne High School and Mac.Robertson Girls’ High School were incredibly impressive in their demonstration of these issues and the effects that these situations can have. Leading the female cast was Year 11 Alexandria Liistro. A shock choice for the role, Liistro understood her character and was able to portray the vindictive Abigail Williams to perfection. The seduction of John Proctor and lying to the judges appeared to come naturally in this wonderful performance, which employed the technique of realism to enable the character to be understood by the audience.It was hard to find a member of the audience who, after seeing the play, didn’t feel a sense of disgust towards the way Williams had acted throughout the plot. Liistro seemed to play on this disdain shown towards her and her character by not only the audience but also the actors on stage. S he truly showed the manipulative nature of Abigail Williams. The gentle giant James Ness was very cleverly chosen to play Judge Danforth, the deputy governor of Massachusetts that presided over the Salem Witch Trials in this play. Ness’ giant stature and booming voice commanded attention as he delivered a pitch-perfect performance.The way in which Ness was able to control an entire act with his presence throughout the trials of Elizabeth Proctor, played by Greta Nash, made for very intense and enjoyable theatre. Ness was also able to convey the subtle compassion that Danforth has when he is offering Proctor the chance to save his own life by admitting to the heinous crime of devil-worshipping. The power in the delivery of every line by James Ness sent shivers through the audience and kept them interested from the first time he is seen on stage until the end of the play. The choice of costuming was very successful in portraying the true intentions of each character.Abigail Wil liams was dressed in a black with a red headband, showing the evil that litters her soul, while the rest of the girls that were testifying against ‘the devil’ in court were wearing black with green headbands, showing the confusion and sickness that dominated their understanding of what they were doing. The green of the headbands worn by the group of girls were matched with the green light used in the first act when Betty Paris has fallen sick due to the witchcraft that has been performed. Both John Proctor and Elizabeth Proctor wore lighter colours dominated by white and light greys.This choice of colour was to display the purity and innocence of these two people, despite what was happening around them. Secondary characters that cared only a little bit about the witch trials that were occurring but only for selfish reasons, like Giles Corey, were placed in costumes dominated by greys to show both the good and the evil in them. The set design and direction for this inter pretation of The Crucible was very well thought out. The early acts of the performance are dominated by a very crowded stage by both actors and props. This adds to the effect of the confusion that is intended displayed throughout the beginning of the play.As the acts continue, it appears as though there is more and more unoccupied space on the stage to allow for the real message of the play to be conveyed through the words of the story and the performance of the actors. The stage for the final act is completely bare and very few actors are on stage at once. This set being stripped for this section was so that the raw emotion delivered through the acting was more powerful and more easily observed and understood. The set appears to be a symbol for logic and altruism. As the play continues, so does the logic and altruism displayed by any of the characters.

Communication Studies Essay

This blog is for students of the Community College of St Vincent & the Grenadines who are to be entered for CAPE Communication Studies examination in May 2008. The blog contains information about the course syllabus, administration and assignments as well as the course content. Wednesday, March 05, 2008 The expository presentation for CAPE Communication Studies Internal Assessmblies The presentation has two distinct parts * A FACTUAL presentation on an aspect of your portfolio theme * A presentation about your research including an evaluation of two sources of information used to prepare your factual presentation. It will have all the following 6 elements present 1. An introduction (statement of topic) In the introduction you will give a brief explanation of topic/ theme and a preview (with a thesis statement) of what you are going to cover. For example. â€Å"My theme is Returning Migrants to St Vincent. Returning migrants or returnees are a group within the population of St Vincent who have spent a significant time away from the island and have then returned to permanently settle again. Returning migrants often are retired from their previous occupation which they pursued in a more developed country such as the United States, Canada or Great Britain or they have been working in another Caribbean state. According to statistics from the Customs Department given to me by Mrs B Chalres in an interview 4361 people claimed the concession for returning residents in 2005. Returning migrants experience 5 phases of adjuststment when returning which can be termed as â€Å"culture shock†.† Theme ; Returning Migrants to St Vincent. a group within the population of St Vincent a significant time away from the island returned to permanently settle retired from their previous occupation (the United States, Canada or Great Britain) OR working in another Caribbean state. Customs Department (Mrs B Charles) â€Å"4361 people claimed the concession for returning residents in 2005†. Returning migrants experience 5 phases of adjustmentwhen returning which can be termed as â€Å"culture shock†. 2. A rationale In the rationale you need to explain why you picked the theme and it can form part of the introduction. In the rationale you should mention any personal interests, current academic links and future career plans which influenced your decision to choose the theme For example I chose the theme returning migrants to St Vincent and specifically to focus on culture shock because I am a wife of a returning migrant. I have a BSc honours in Sociology and the concept of culture shock is part of socio-cultural studies carried out by Kavelo Oberg 1958. In the future I will be submitting my Masters thesis on this specific issue. 3. Discussion of issues The discussion of issues is the factual presentation about the theme and its narrowed focus based on the thesis statement. It should have a distinct organisational pattern and you should aim for one of the expository structures such as cause and effect, process analysis, analysis by division, classification etc (See Writing in English) It should also be referenced and include any research findings. You will also need to give a conclusion to your factual presentation as a sort of sub conclusion don’t wait until the end Here is an example of a possible outline for my example presentation (not all of it). It uses the organisational pattern of process analysis Remember you cannot read from a script! Culture shock 5 phases Honeymoon, rejection/ regression, conformist, assimilation, reverse culture shock Honeymoon Centre for Overseas Travel â€Å"the tourist phase† Questionnaire (300 returning migrants) 78% not feel â€Å"tourist† 82% â€Å"elated† Rejection Oberg – frustration etc Questionnaire 50% wanted to return after 3 months, Reasons, poor service, backward attitude, nothing to do, boring Interview Dr Sheridan Mental health presentations tend to be in 1st 4 months of return. 4. Challenges of research You need to discuss what difficulties you faced in preparing your factual presentation. If you did not have any difficulties then just explain why. For example (in note form) Questionnaires – time consuming, identifying sample, Other sources – no central data on returnees, newspaper articles useful Academic research not on St Vincent 5. Evaluation of two sources For this aspect of the presentation you need to discuss your research. The two sources need not necessarily be given as a reference in the presentation but they should be relevant. You should try to select two different types of data source e.g. a newpaper article and an interview. You may want to very briefly summarise all your sources before evaluating two for reliability and validity. Please see other parts of the blog for information on reliablity and validity. For example (in note form) Secondary sources: academic text books and journals, local and international newspapers and magazines, web sites: international public organisations e.g. Peace Corps general sites e.g. Wikipedia Primary sources interviews of experts in St Vincent questionnaire of returning migrants. Questionnaire of returning migrants Reliable: primary data source, research method suited to collecting data for social research Valid: Problem with sample size as total population of RMs unknown Problem with generalisation as differences between UK, US and other RMs more research needed. Overall reliable and reasonably valid The Experience of Return Migration: A Caribbean Perspective, Joan Phillips and Reliable Denis Conway, Ashgate Press, London 2005 Author expert Phd Social Anthrop. Specialised Caribbean writer – Canada Publisher: reputable, specialst academic main interest Social research Valid Recently published Problem no reference to St Vincent Overall general but very reliable and valid source 6. Conclusion The conclusion should be slightly different to the internal summary conclusion in your discussion of issues. At this stage you can express a personal view or put forward a possible solution. For example (in note form) Returning migrants YES culture shock 3 ways Honeymoon Rejection Conformist NO assimilation Solutions Programme – promote overseas, keep in touch, Information – government FINALLLY See my other post about the reseach using the internet for idea. Make sure that you are aware of the requirements for acceptable notes during the exam and be familiar with the marks scheme – it is not only content that is marked but also presentation skills.

Substance use Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Substance use - Essay Example Research confirms that during the 8-year study period, teens that call for help from poison control rose by a shocking 76%. Although amphetamines are taken for general cures such as headache and body pain, they can be abused easily. Since amphetamines act as stimulants and can be addictive. The modifications that occur in the brain chemistry by abusing this drug can lead not only to addiction but the need to have continual use of this drug. This cause and effect relationship can no doubt create an amphetamine addiction. An individual with this addiction will engage in a criminal activity by either hiding their drug use or stealing it to fulfill their addiction. This is clearly detrimental to society as it leads to an economic burden of society paying additional taxes. Amphetamines are usually listed in schedule II of controlled substances due to various reasons. One of the key reasons is the fact that amphetamines have a medium severity for high capacity for abuse but can be utilized for medical use. Other drugs that are also classified in schedule II consist of: marijuana, heroin, and AMT. Consequently, the schedule I list differs from schedule II since drugs such as heroin; LSD and marijuana are highly abusive and cannot be used for medical purposes.

Building matrices ( to answer my PICO question) Assignment

Building matrices ( to answer my PICO question) - Assignment Example It would have been externally valid if it had selected a sample that would represent a larger population. However, it might be still useful as a primary source. The study yielded reliable and valid results, but it would have been improved by ensuring that a study group instead of the caregivers controlled the medications. Additionally, most caregivers are family members who have les education on the actual purpose of drug administration. Adler, G., Mueller, B., & Articus, K. (2014). The transdermal formulation of rivastigmine improves caregiver burden and treatment adherence of patients with Alzheimers disease under daily practice conditions. Int J Clin Pract, 68(4), 465-470. doi:10.1111/ijcp.12374 Arranz, F., & LÃÆ' ³pez-Pousa, S. (2013). Characteristics of patients with Alzheimer’s disease who switch to rivastigmine transdermal patches in routine clinical practice. PPA, 47. doi:10.2147/ppa.s38719 Andrade-dos-Santos, G., Canineu, P., Pardi, P., & GonÃÆ' §alves, I. (2011). Influence of Rivastigmine transdermal on butyrylcholinesterase levels in patients with Alzheimerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s disease. Alzheimers & Dementia, 5(4), 332-336. Gauthier, S., Robillard, A., Cohen, S., Black, S., Sampalis, J., & Colizza, D. et al. (2013). Real-life effectiveness and tolerability of the rivastigmine transdermal patch in patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s disease: the EMBRACE study. Curr Med Res Opin, 29(8), 989-1000. doi:10.1185/03007995.2013.802230 Moretti, D., Frisoni, G., Binetti, G., & Zanetti, O. (2014). Comparison of the effects of transdermal and oral rivastigmine on cognitive function and EEG markers in patients with AlzheimerÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s disease. Frontiers In Aging Neuroscience, 6.

Analyzing My Writing Experience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analyzing My Writing Experience - Essay Example While my writing experience is far behind the renowned essayists like Ralph Waldo Emerson or Michel de Montaigne, I am amazed reading their works. Montaigne’s wisdom, curiosity, and directness have set an example for other famous essayists and writers such as Francis Bacon, Charles Lamb, and even Emerson; Montaigne is known as â€Å"the father of familiar essay". Among Montaigne’s works that made a mark is Essais that gave a name to a favorite literary composition – the essay.Apart from studying literary compositions from the 19th century, I also enjoy reading essays from periodicals and glossy magazines.In reading a magazine, I always look for the essays contributed by some writers or readers. Narrative essays are more fun to read. Some are ten-paragraph essay while others have simple five paragraphs with uncomplicated and comprehensible thesis and details. In times when I do not prepare tax returns for my clients, I try putting my thoughts on paper. And when i n a nostalgic mood, I dig on my personal box to read the essays I have written. Writing is one of my hobbies, yet a very useful hobby in my professional life. For now, all I do is business correspondence for the clients in my tax practice. But since I started evaluating and internalizing the essays and other literary works that I read, I noticed some changes in my writing style. Even my clients noted the change: the letters I write for them no longer have the same conformity yet the formality is maintained.

WST Abstract Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

WST Abstract - Essay Example Changing the perception of women as leaders can lead to more cooperation, increase innovation and profits in all workplaces where the women will be given a chance to lead. Creating role models and steps necessary to motivate and encourage young women to join leadership positions will help kill the stereotypes that only men can take some job positions. This will not only balance gender in top leadership jobs but also give women a chance to exercise and deploy their skills in success of the economy. It will also give them a chance to prove to the world that women can also do whatever men can do. Creating more women leader will address gender parity regarding to transition from college to workplaces. A larger percentage of women graduate from colleges worldwide but these percentages are not translated to workplaces. This simply because girls are discouraged from being aggressive, ambitious, taking risks and self-advocacy. This explains why the best brains among women, upon exit from college do not get those top jobs across all the sectors. Creating an environment for women to thrive enables others to understand that success of women is not based on luck but on working hard. Women may have not been able to get into top jobs in the past but empowering them and making them understand that failure is not lack of ability; it is because of lack of opportunity and a good environment for them to thrive as men. In conclusion, it’s clear that gender racialized economic injustice in our modern society can be encountered by empowering women, motivating them and creating an environment for more women to join leadership. Studies have shown that women make better managers and make business thrive. So, empowering more women to join leadership not only solves the racialized economic injustice but also make businesses to

Newspapers Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Newspapers - Assignment Example Although there are certain number of people, mainly of older age who still believe in reading newspaper for getting updated about what are happenings in and around the world the present generation of youth as well as people who remain busy in their respective jobs prefer internet or web to get updated about the news. The news brings about conflict, create difference of opinion among people which help them in a way to figure out what is right and what is wrong. The newspaper is a way by which people can gather information about what is happening all across the globe. In the era of technological advancement newspaper still have its importance as in the developing and developed countries people still have to rely on print media to get details about the happening across the world. But, in addition to that in the developed countries, print media have to come up with new innovative ideas to survive as the internet is more of a common thing in those countries, so dependency on the newspaper in now reducing in those countries. 2. PEST Analysis: Definition, Purpose and Business Benefit: Generally PEST analysis associated with the external factors that affect any company’s overall performance. ... According to them, these four factors differ in different countries but a proper PEST analysis always helps an organization perform better in the competitive world (Analoui & Karami, 2003, 74). According to Kotler (1998), PEST analysis is a productive strategic tool for analyzing market growth or decline, business situation, potential and course for operations. According to his analysis, PEST analysis is helpful because there are continuous changes taking place in the society which creating an uncertain environment and also have its impact on the performance of the organization. The use of PEST analysis is helpful for the organization in strategic planning, developing its marketing strategies, for business development as well. 3. PEST analysis for the newspaper industry in the developed economies: With the continuously developing technologies and availability of internet facilities in almost every household of the economically developed countries, it is a crunch time for the print me dia to look closely to their marketing, promotional strategies and if needed have to make necessary changes. Political aspects: From the very beginning newspaper plays an important role in setting up the political mode of any civilization. By virtue of the reports published in newspapers regarding different political party’s agenda, thought process people decide whom to choose or support. On the other hand, political situation of any country also help the newspaper industry to blossom. Stable political condition, freedom to express views, access to all political parties and leaders, support from them at the crunch time all help the newspaper industry to do its job effectively that is providing good and true

How does college experience affect future experiences Essay

How does college experience affect future experiences - Essay Example Students learn to listen and pass their ideas articulately with good communication skills. In order to score good grades, students must be committed to attending all the classes. This is also true at the workplace. Employees are expected to be at their work place every day with few off days. Results are what matters in colleges in spite of how hard one works. At the workplace employees are also expected to deliver on their targets without excuses. Time keeping is a critical factor in our college lives. Both in college and workplace we are required to observe time and be punctual always. (Staley & Staley, 2012) observes that students should be able to exhibit the work ethic they had in college in their work life. The way they worked hard to achieve good grades should be the same way they will strive in their work places to meet the standards set by the organization. Most students have at one point been given a group work assignment. This experience prepares them to work in committees in future. They are also expected to be good team players from the experience they gain through the group work. In college students meet others from different races and cultural backgrounds. This enables them to appreciate and co-exist peaceful with other people from different backgrounds in their future endeavors. It helps them develop socially and intellectually. The extra co-curricular activities students participate in help in drilling discipline and enhancing self esteem. It also develops students socially since they interact with many people. Students are also thought to obey rules which in turn them into responsible citizens once they grow up. The values and characters developed in college can have a huge influence on success in the professional life. As (Staley & Staley, 2012) summarizes it â€Å"Thanks to having gone to college, you can begin your career with ready-to-go professional

Compare & Contrast Modern Conservatism and Modern liberalism Essay

Compare & Contrast Modern Conservatism and Modern liberalism - Essay Example In this discussion of the idea of liberty it must be understood, then that the Constitution is a contractual tradition that is used in order to define how liberty can be expressed, which might be considered a contradiction. However, when examining the Constitution, it is based on defining how each person cannot impede the will on another and what constitutes an infringement that has surpassed the rights of the individual and imposes on the next. It is a difficult and sometimes indistinct structure of what impedes the individual to express their freedom and what is the imposition of the individual of another to express their won liberty. Conservatism traditionally means that there is an adherence to morality that is founded in a respect for authority. A conservative wanted to maintain the status quo with a rejection of things that were either modern or secular (PPT Classical Conservatism 1). Current conservative beliefs are at their core not much different than this with the resistance to science and to secularized governmental separation. The current conservatives seem to desire to assert morality as an absolute over the beliefs of all people rather than allowing for the differences that emerge in a diverse society. One tenet of classical conservatism that seems to have changed is the idea that society is in need of restraints (PPT Classical Conservatism 2).... Where classical conservatism once believed that human nature was essential wicked and needed to be held to a high morality, contemporary conservatism believes that there should be less government. The government should remain out of the business of creating regulatory constraints on behavior because the economic system will naturally weed out what is and is not appropriate for society. Free enterprise should be specifically free in order to gain its goals without having to comply with rules that govern its morality. Change is also resisted by conservatives both classical and contemporary. In resisting change, the status of the current society is maintained and the theory that if something is not broken it should not be tampered with is in full swing for conservatives (Guide 41). The belief that the moral high ground is established by the continuation of a system in which some are benefited, usually those that are conservative, is the foundation for the resistance that exists in the c onservative political belief system. The system that emerges over time will tend to favor the elite of a society because for a time it will go unchecked as it continues to have the appearance of working. An example is the deregulation of the mortgage system that was well predicted to be a bad idea, but in the end the system broke rather than being changed to be more effective. The reason for this is that it was making money. When it comes down to it, the ‘morality’ of a system and the resistance to change comes from a belief that as long as it can be exploited it should not change. In contrast to the belief that morality should be imposed and that constraints on human nature

Urban Archaeology Site In North America Essay Example for Free

Urban Archaeology Site In North America Essay With the aim of dealing with the theoretical, methodological and realistic features of doing archaeology in the contemporary cities of the North America, a novel field of archaeology has come into view over the last 20 years called urban archaeology (Dickens, 1982). Whilst archaeologists have a long pact with the archaeology of cities particularly, the primitive early development of urbanism, industrial cities were long measured too new to be useful to archaeologists. Archaeology was made in modern cities pre-ceding to initiation of a proper discipline of urban archaeology, but it was mainly limited to investigating antique relics and features that were met by urban development projects. Archaeologist Bill Iseminger while in the Illinois prairie, points out outline of a 40-acre majestic plaza that was the Times Square of an outlying American past. (Staski, 1987) A thousand years ago this was the largest city in America north of Mexico, he says. Between 10,000 and 20,000 people lived here before the complex was abandoned under strange conditions earlier to 1400. (Savoye, 2000) But with archaeologists now revealing main parts of the Cahokia Mounds here, the dig has imprisoned public interest as a porthole into Americas heartland capital of the first millennium. The more I study their culture, the more Im convinced they were just like us, says Brad Koldehoff, a University of Illinois archaeologist. (Staski, 1987) Though this main Cahokian site is a secluded oasis nearly eight miles east of St. Louis the primeval metropolitan area spread out in all directions, covering some 255 sq miles of Mississippi flood plain. Lately, Mr. Koldehoff has been leading an archaeological excavation consented by law as a product of excavator job on a new drainage system To Cahokian archaeologists, even soil articulates quantities. The Mississippians the standard name given to Indians that lived beside the river but left no written evidence of their individuality not only moved earth to build mountains, they moved it to even out swales for table-flat plazas. And that is exactly what Koldehoff and his team is seeing, confirming earlier theories that a plaza covered the area a millennium ago. Its unreal sometimes, being there alongside one of the busiest interstates in the country, your mind 1,000 years away, he says. You uncover an old piece of ceramic pipe or a shirt, and then you look up and see the skyscrapers of St. Louis across the river. (Savoye, 2000) Contrasted with ancient Egypt or Incan and Mayan cultures, where stone structures and carvings accept a surfeit of clues about prehistoric ways, Cahokia defers its secrets reluctantly. Cahokia relied on moderately fast-weakening wood for building. That, accompanied by reasonably wet weather circumstances that obliterate relics such as leather goods, makes the task of a Cahokia archaeologist very hard. What archaeologists do make out about the Cahokians ruin is rather worrying. After an actually vivacious growth era, a self-protective fortification’s was built around the outskirts of the plaza. Separate archaeological efforts have exposed proof of lethal raids on societies in remote areas. As the decades developed, the wood intended for houses and reconstruction of the walls tapered in diameter. Archaeologists propose that this points to extensive deforestation. There may have been an increase consequence, in which deforestation led to failure of fuel and game and also silted streams, thus lessening fish counts and causing flooding. How harsh these troubles were and whether they added to pressure on the political system is unidentified. The only thing archaeologists are certain of, founded on present proof are that Cahokia appears to have died away sooner than ended suddenly in a natural disaster or human catastrophe. Though, the Cahokian society ended, though, it lived on for hundreds of years as a sophisticated and possibly varied culture. In isolation, historians say, it provides an important picture of a civilization that has often been labeled as not-so-noble savages in film and fiction (Buchanan, 1978). References Buchanan, R. A.1978, Industrial Archaeology: Retrospect and Prospect. In Historical Archaeology: A Guide to Substantive and Theoretical Contributions, edited by R. L. Schuyler, pp. 53-56. Baywood, Farmingdale, New York Dickens, R. S. Jr. 1982 Archaeology of Urban America. Academic Press, New York. Savoye, Craig, 2000, From urban dirt, ancient city emerges. Christian Science Monitor, 08827729, Vol. 92, Issue 33 Staski, E. (editor) 1987, Living in Cities: Current Research in Urban Archaeology. Society for Historical Archaeology, Special Publication Series, Number 5.

Dyscalculia Wheres The Difficulty Education Essay

Dyscalculia Wheres The Difficulty Education Essay Mathematics is a subject that is challenging for almost every learner, during all the years of education. However, there are a great number of pupils that experience this challenge, in an even worse degree. These learners have to deal with a difficulty called, dyscalculia. Dyscalculia is a specific learning difficulty, which characterises a number of people, who face severe difficulties in mathematics, and it is caused by a combination of biological, environmental and cognitive factors. The focus of this essay, will be on explaining in more detail, two specific difficulties that are related to dyscalculia. These difficulties are, the numerosity difficulties, which are basically difficulties in understanding the most basic principles of mathematics, and the difficulties with number processing and calculation, which are related to the way individuals, process the numbers, in order to make mathematical calculations and solve arithmetical tasks. A new phenomenon has drawn the attention of researchers in the area of learning difficulties, the last few years. This phenomenon is associated to the area of mathematics, and specifically, to the difficulties that learners have in the particular area. A great number of pupils have difficulties in understanding the complex concept of mathematics, something that does not necessarily mean that these difficulties are caused by a learning disability. However, there are several learners that have an extreme difficulty in Mathematics (Reid, 2003, p. 252), a difficulty that is related to a specific type of learning difficulties, which is called dyscalculia. Dyscalculia can be defined as a condition that affects the ability to acquire arithmetical skills. Dyscalculic learners may have difficulty understanding simple number concepts, lack an intuitive grasp of numbers, and have problems learning number facts and procedures. Even if they produce a correct answer or use a correct method, they may do so mechanically and without confidence (DfES, 2001). In other words, learners, that are dyscalculic, may have difficulties, not only in the procedures that are important in solving a maths problem, but also they may have difficulties in understanding the basic notions of mathematics, such as what does the magnitude of a number represents or what the maths symbols signify. Therefore, the difficulties that dyscalculic learners face, in the area of mathematics, can be rightly considered as more severe than the difficulties that pupils, who dont have a specific learning difficulty, face in maths. Regarding the causes of dyscalculia, there seems to be a variety of biological, environmental and cognitive factors that lead to this learning difficulty. In particular, a study by Shalev et al. (2001) revealed, that children, who have siblings with dyscalculia, are at a very high risk of becoming dyscalculic, in comparison with the general population. This study supports the idea that was firstly introduced by Kosc (1974), which proposes that dyscalculia is related to genetic factors. This idea is also supported, by a research with monozygotic and dizygotic twins, which revealed a percentage of 58% and 39% respectively, between the siblings, in the emergence of dyscalculia (Alarcon et al., 1997). In addition to this, there also seem to be some differences between dyscalculic individuals and individuals who dont have a difficulty in maths, in the way their brain functions, during mathematical procedures (Shalev and Gross Tsur, 2001). According to several researchers (Levin et al., 1996; Levy, Levy Reis and Grafman, 1999), who studied the brain activity of two dyscalculic adults during arithmetic processing (Shalev and Gross Tsur, 2001, p. 339), there seems to be a unilateral activation of the frontal and parietal areas of the left hemisphere of the brain and also a deficiency in the parietotemporal region of the specific brain hemisphere, in dyscalculic individuals. On the contrary, individuals, who dont have a specific learning difficulty, during mathematical procedures, have a bilateral activity on their prefrontal and inferior parietal cortices (Rueckert et al., 1996 in Shalev and Gross Tsur, 2001, p. 339) rather than a unilateral activation. One cannot be sure though ho w accurate is this fact about dyscalculic individuals, because the studies, that took place in order to examine the brain differences of dyscalculic individuals in comparison with the general population, had a sample of only two people with dyscalculia, who were adults. This small sample may not be very representative of the dyscalculic population in general, and therefore the suggestion that there are differences in the brain activity of dyscalculic individuals, in comparison with individuals without maths difficulties, during mathematical procedures, may not be factual and may need further examination. Furthermore, there are several researchers, who dont believe that dyscalculia, is a learning difficulty that has a biological basis. They consider a number of environmental factors to be more accurate in explaining the nature of dyscalculia (Shalev and Gross Tsur, 2001). Specifically, they believe that factors, like not having the opportunity for a proper education (Miller and Mercer, 1997; Gifford, 2005) or not being confident about your mathematical skills (Gifford, 2005), is the reason why several learners have dyscalculia. However, one cannot be absolutely sure that the difficulties, an individual has in maths, because of these factors, could truly cause dyscalculia or if they just characterise an average person, who has several difficulties in maths which can be reduced by improving these factors. Maybe further research, which will examine if dyscalculia stays persistent even after improving these factors, could solve this reflection. Another environmental factor, which may lead to dyscalculia, is the anxiety that is generated to the learner, because of maths (Ashcraft, 1995). According to Ashcraft (1995), maths anxiety can cause dyscalculia, because learners with this type of anxiety tend to feel really nervous when they have to deal with maths, something that makes them to do mathematical calculations really quickly. Therefore, the learners, because of their hastiness in making mathematic tasks, they may have low performance and inaccurate results in mathematics, something that could be considered as dyscalculia or it could make the situation for a dyscalculic learner even worse (Ashcraft, 1995). Also, maths anxiety could lead to low self confidence. Still, it is more possible that maths anxiety worsens and not causes dyscalculia or math difficulties in general, because if dyscalculic learners are forced to make arithmetical procedures hastily, then they probably will make more mistakes or they wont be able to solve a maths problem at all, because of the pressure they might feel. Furthermore, maths anxiety is something that all students and not only dyscalculic students may experience at some point, as a result of the complex nature of mathematics, and therefore its causal role for dyscalculia is questionable. Overall, one may assume that maths anxiety is not necessarily a causal factor for dyscalculia, but it is a characteristic that a dyscalculic learner could present. Regarding the cognitive factors that are responsible for dyscalculia, there seems to be a belief that a dysfunction on the visuospatial abilities or the verbal and auditory comprehension abilities, of an individual, can cause dyscalculia, as well as other cognitive disabilities (Rourke, 1993). In addition, several other researchers (Geary, 1993; Koontz and Berch, 1996) believe that problems with the working memory, can also lead to dyscalculia, because it affects the effort of learners in performing mathematical procedures. According to a research by Temple and Sherwood (2002) though, children with dyscalculia didnt have any differences in comparison with children without dyscalculia, in any of the tasks that measured their working memory, and also a correlation between the working memory and the arithmetic ability measures, was not found. Therefore, it is not certain if working memory difficulties have a causal role in dyscalculia or if they appear at the same time with the difficul ties that are linked to dyscalculia (Butterworth, 2005). Overall, a combination of all the factors, that are considered to play a causal role in the development of dyscalculia, may clarify in a better way the concept of dyscalculia. This is because, dyscalculia seems to be a disability that is more possible to be generated by a great number of factors, just like dyslexia (Frith, 1997), rather than by only one, and therefore, it could be better understood if it was seen as whole. That is, to be seen from all the aspects that could generate it, rather than from one aspect only. A better understanding of dyscalculia may also arise by examining the difficulties that are linked to it, and not only be examining the causes of it. Specifically, there appear to be several difficulties that can be identified on dyscalculic learners, difficulties, which in a way, are connected with each other. These difficulties have to do, with the way learners comprehend mathematics from their simplest form to their most complicated one. In particular, they have difficulties with understanding arithmetical concepts, like the numerosity of a number that refers to understanding the magnitude of a number, with the processing of mathematical facts and the calculation of them, which refers to how a learner processes the numbers and the maths symbols that he sees in order to solve a task, and also with difficulties that may be associated with other learning difficulties, such as dyslexia and ADHD, because of the high co morbidity there is between dyscalculia and these two learning difficulties (Shalev and Gross Tsur, 2001; von Aster and Shalev, 2007). For example, in the case of co existence of dyscalculia and dyslexia, the learner has maths difficulties that are related to language, such as reading mathematical problems and solving maths exercises following the correct sequence (Reid, 2003; Bennett, 2006). In the case of dyscalculia and ADHD, a possible difficulty that a learner may have, is not being able to finish a maths task, because of the lack of concentration he may present, something that usually characterises learners with ADHD. This difficulty may also be present to dyslexic learners as well, because of the high co morbidity there is between dyslexia and ADHD, and therefore a learner may have dyscalculia, dyslexia and ADHD concurrently (von Aster and Shalev, 2007). From this, one can assume that there are four categories of dyscalculic learners; learners with dyscalculia alone, learners with dyscalculia and dyslexia, learners with dyscalculia and ADHD, and learners with dyscalculia, dyslexia and ADHD. Even though the issue of the difficulties that a learner may present, because of the co morbidity between dyscalculia and these two other specific learning difficulties, seems to be really exciting and interesting, this essay will focus on the difficulties that characterise learners with dyscalculia alone. Specifically, it will focus on the difficulties that dyscalculic learners have with numerosity, number processing and calculation of mathematical procedures, rather than on the difficulties that result from this co morbidity. In particular, the first difficulty mentioned above, which is numerosity, refers to the abstract form of numbers, which reveals their magnitude (Butterworth, 2005), and it should be the first thing that learners should learn, in order to be able to understand mathematics. As Butterworth (2005, p. 3) indicated, numerosity can be the basis of arithmetic. The numerosity refers to an abstract type of numbers, because it is possible for numbers to be arranged in different sets that can be represented by different parts, which may have abstract or concrete substance, like straws, sticks, sounds etc. (Butterworth, 2005, p. 3). In addition, when several parts are being put in a specific set to form a number, something that represents the numerosity of this set, the learners can easily understand them, in comparison when they see these parts (e.g. dots on dice) in a different order (Mandler and Shebo, 1982). Therefore, numerosity is significant in learning and understanding the numbers, and w hat these numbers represent, especially when it is presented in specific groups. According to Butterworth (1999), there are four principles that a learner should follow in order to comprehend what numerosity is. Firstly, he must know the one to one correspondence principle (Butterworth, 1999 in Butterworth, 2005, p. 4), which refers to the ability of a learner to recognise when the numerosity of two sets of numbers is the same, by examining the parts of each set which must correspond to each other (Butterworth, 2005). In other words, in order for two sets to have the same numerosity, they must be constituted by exactly the same number of parts. Secondly, it is important for the learner to understand that numerosity is a variable and not a fixed concept and that different sets may have different or the same numerosity. Thirdly, the learner must have in mind that numerosity can be abstract, and therefore the sets may be represented not only by concrete things but by invisible, abstract things (Butterworth, 1999 in Butterworth, 2005, p. 4) as well. Finally, it is i mportant for a learner to be able to identify numerosities of sets of four objects the most, without needing to count them verbally. One can suppose that these principles are truly essential in order for a learner to be able to understand the complex meaning of numerosity, because in fact, these principles compose the concept of numerosity. Therefore, by being able to comprehend these aspects, a learner will be able to understand numerosity as well. Regarding the abilities that a learner must have, in order to have an appropriate understanding of numerosity, Piaget (1952) talked about three basic abilities. The ability to reason transitively, the ability to understand the stability of the number of items in a set, and the ability to recognise the abstract nature of the items that form a set despite their personal characteristics, like their colour or shape (Piaget, 1952 in Butterworth, 2005, p. 4). Specifically, the first ability refers to logical calculations that a learner can make, after examining several facts. For example, if there are three items, from which the two have the same size and the third is smaller, then the learner must be in position to identify that the third item will be smaller not only from the first item, but from the second item as well. The second skill that should characterise a learner, in order to possess the idea of numerosity, is to know that the number of items in a set will not change if there is a modification in their sequence, except if an item is removed or added to the set. The third ability, is relevant to the suggestion made by Butterworth (2005) regarding the abstract character of numerosity and also the one to one correspondence principle, because it has to do with the fact that the characteristics of the items of a set cannot affect its numerosity, and therefore it is possible, two sets that are structured by different items, to have the same numerosity. The principles, mentioned by Butterworth (2005), and the abilities, mentioned by Piaget (1952), about the comprehension of the concept of numerosity, may be affected in dyscalculic children, because these children have already problems in understanding the general idea of numerosity (Butterworth, 2005). Specifically, children with dyscalculia seem to have difficulties in comparing the magnitudes of several numbers (Geary, Hamson and Hoard, 2000) and also in counting tasks (Koontz and Berch, 1996), something that could lead to the conclusion, that these children have numerosity difficulties, as numerosity is the basis of this type of abilities. Regarding the counting skill, in order for a child to be able to count, he must firstly know the counting words, then he must connect each counting word with only one object, and finally he must have the awareness that, the last counting word he says, is the total number of all the things in a group that he counted, something that basically is the numerosity of the group (Butterworth, 2005). These three characteristics represent the three principles, which were suggested by Gelman and Gallistel (1978) to be essential for the ability to count, and they are called, the stable order principle, the one to one principle and the cardinal principle, respectively (Gelman and Gallistel, 1978 in Butterworth, 2005, p. 7). Two other principles were indicated by Gelman and Gallistel (1978 in Butterworth, 2005, p. 7) as well, which are the abstractness and the order irrelevance, and refer to the ability to recognise the abstract nature of numbers, something which was noticed by Piaget (1952) as well, and the awareness that the order, in which a learner starts to count the items in a group, is not important, as long as he counts each item only once. The principles indicated by Gelman and Gallistel (1978), depend on the principles of numerosity and therefore, in order for a learner to encompass these principles, he must first encompass the idea of numerosity (Butterworth, 2005) A dyscalculic learner may have difficulties with counting, because as it was noticed by Geary (1993) and Koontz and Berch (1996), dyscalculic children may have several difficulties with their working memory, and therefore they will find it difficult to count a large amount of objects. This is because, they probably wont be able to maintain in their memory the number of the items that they have already counted, in order to count the rest of them and therefore to find the total number of the items. This difficulty seems to be associated with the third principle, which was indicated by Gelman and Gallistel (1978), because if a learner is not able to remember the items that he counted until one point, he may then consider as the last number of a set, which will represent the total of the items as well, an incorrect number. In addition, sequential and visuospatial difficulties (Bennett, 2006; Rourke, 1993), that usually characterise dyscalculic learners, may also affect a dyscalculic lear ners skill to count, because he may find it difficult to count an item only once, following the one to one principle (Gelman and Gallistel, 1978 in Butterworth, 2005, p. 7), because of the confusion he may have about the sequence of the items. Therefore, one can assume that this kind of difficulties, affect not only the ability of a dyscalculic learner to count, but his knowledge about numerosities as well, as numerosity is essential for counting. These particular difficulties, can lead to the appearance of other maths difficulties as well. These difficulties have to do with the number processing and calculation abilities. According to McCloskey, Caramazza and Basili (1985, p. 173), the number processing skills, have to do with the ability of a learner to understand and produce numbers, and the calculation skills, refer to the facts and procedures that are necessary in making mathematical calculations. In particular, McCloskey et al. (1985, p. 173) referred to two different systems that are related to these skills, which are the number processing system and the calculation system. The number processing system, is composed by two subsystems, the number comprehension subsystem, and the number production subsystem (McCloskey et al., 1985, p. 174). These subsystems include two units, the Arabic numbers unit and the verbal numbers unit, which have to do with the appearance in which the numbers are presented, either in digit or in oral / written form correspondingly. Each of these units is divided into a lexical processing and a syntactic processing element (McCloskey et al., 1985, p. 173). These two elements are associated to the ability, to recognise each part of a number (lexical processing) and to the ability to recognise, according to its elements, the specific number (syntactic processing). For example, if the number 516 is presented to a learner, either in Arabic or verbal form, he must be able to recognise the meaning of each number of the set, something that has to do with the lexical element, and to understand that, with this order, the specific numbe r, will have five hundreds, one tens and six units, a procedure that depends on the syntactic element (McCloskey et al., 1985). Dyscalculic learners may present difficulties on one of the subsystems of the number processing system and consequently, on one of the units or the elements that these two subsystems include. Specifically, a research by Benson and Denckla (1969) with one dyscalculic individual, revealed a difficulty in the production of numbers of both forms and in the lexical processing of numbers, whereas the individuals comprehension and syntactic processing components, were fine. In addition, McCloskey et al. (1985) noticed in two dyscalculic individuals, that one of them had difficulties in distinguishing the magnitude of two numbers when those numbers were presented verbally, and the other individual had difficulties when the numbers were presented digitally. Even though the difficulties indicated by Benson and Denckla (1969) and McCloskey et al. (1985) are difficulties that a person could notice in dyscalculic learners, one cannot be sure about the reliability of the results of the specific studies, because the sample they used was really small and because the studies took place several years ago, and consequently the particular results, may not be adequate for today. However, some of these difficulties, like in the case were the individual had to compare two numbers about their magnitude, seem to be associated to the concept of numerosity mentioned above, and therefore these difficulties, may be sufficient in characterising dyscalculic learners. Regarding the calculation system that was indicated by McCloskey et al. (1985), it is constituted by three units and it depends in some point on the number processing system. These three units, work independently from each other, and have to do, with the way the maths symbols, or words, are processed, with the arithmetic facts, and with the calculation procedures (McCloskey et al., 1985, p. 179). The first unit refers to the ability of a person to understand what calculation he must do, in relation to the maths symbol or word that is presented to him (McCloskey et al., 1985). For example, when a person sees the symbol x or hears the word multiply, he knows that the operation he must do, is multiplication. However, a dyscalculic learner may confuse the arithmetic symbols and, even though he may know the right answer, he may answer incorrectly. Something similar happens when the arithmetic symbols are presented with words, but with the difference that when maths problems are related to language, there is a belief by several researchers (Reid, 2003; Bennett, 2006) that these problems are more associated to maths dyslexia rather than to dyscalculia, and therefore this suggestion is more related to the co existence of dyscalculia and dyslexia, rather than to dyscalculia itself. Overall, difficulties with the arithmetic symbols or words may be generated by visuospatial (Rourke, 19 93) or language difficulties (Reid, 2003; Bennett, 2006) that sometimes characterise dyscalculic learners, thus dyscalculia can be characterised by difficulties with the operational symbols as well. The second unit is related to the ability of an individual to maintain and retrieve from his long term memory, the correct answers of specific mathematical facts (McCloskey et al., 1985). An example of arithmetic facts, is the knowledge of a learner about the times tables. This unit is independent from the first one, because a learner may have difficulties in recognising the operational symbol, but his answer may be correct when another symbol is used, or he may do the right operation but retrieve the incorrect arithmetical fact. For example, Ferro and Botelho (1980), noticed in a dyscalculic learner, that instead of adding two numbers when she saw the symbol +, like for example 9 + 2, she multiplied them and answered 18 instead of 11. In addition, McCloskey et al. (1985) observed that a dyscalculic individual couldnt retrieve the correct answer in a case of multiplication, even though he understood the concept of multiplication adequately. Several dyscalculic learners may face diff iculties in learning or in retrieving arithmetical facts (Russell and Ginsburg, 1984; Kirby and Becker, 1988; Geary, 1993; Temple, 1994; Ginsburg, 1997; Jordan and Montani, 1997; Geary and Hoard, 2001; Shalev and Gross Tsur, 2001), and a reason for this may be the fact, that some dyscalculic individuals have difficulties with their working memory (Geary, 1993) or with their long term memory, as well (Reid, 2003). This, may limit the ability of a learner to maintain or to retrieve a mathematical fact from his long term memory, and therefore to cause him difficulties that characterise dyscalculia. The third unit of the calculation system refers to the abilities that learners have in making mathematical calculations (McCloskey et al., 1985). These abilities are related to the way learners comprehend and learn the procedures of executing math calculations, something that in dyscalculic learners is usually impaired (McCloskey et al., 1985; Temple, 1994; Butterworth, 2005). For example, dyscalculics may have difficulties in completing procedures in which they have to carry a number, whilst doing a maths operation, because of the fact that they may put the number on the wrong place, something that leads to wrong calculations. Also, they may have difficulties with procedures, in which they must do two different mathematical operations at the same time. Both of these difficulties, may be the result of sequential difficulties (Bennett, 2006), or again of memory difficulties (Geary, 1993; Reid, 2003), that are considered to be related to dyscalculia, and therefore dyscalculics may face this kind of difficulties, as well. The specific model for number processing and calculation abilities, even though it was created several years ago, is in general lines, sufficient in explaining this type of abilities, in relation to dyscalculia. In addition, the aspects described in the model, seem to be have a common ground with the numerosity, described above, regarding the causes of the difficulties that dyscalculics may present. Therefore, one can assume that similar methods can be used, in order to help a dyscalculic learner to limit his difficulties with numerosity and with number processing and calculation abilities. Specifically, several researchers suggest that multi sensory methods (Bennett, 2006) in combination with the learners learning styles (Chinn, 2001; Marolda and Davidson, 2000; Sharma, 1989) can be vital in teaching and helping dyscalculic learners. This is because, by focusing on the way that an individual learns the best, one can help this individual to grasp the concepts of numerosity and of nu mber processing and calculation, in the greatest extent, and by using multi sensory methods, he will make the learning for the individual to be fun, less stressing and more motivating. With this way, the learner will probably feel more confident, and therefore more determined to improve his difficulties in mathematics. In conclusion, dyscalculia is a very recent issue in the area of learning difficulties, and

charhf Character in Huckleberry Finn Essay -- Adventures Huckleberry

The Importance of Character in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is one of the world’s most acclaimed books. Twain accomplishes this with his extraordinary power of humor, his use of dialect, and by creating complex and unique characters. Developing his characters is one of the greatest assets he has in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. A character that exemplifies this most is Huck Finn, first appearing as rouge, but later transforming into a character with high moral values. Early on in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, we see Huck as a rogue figure. He jokes about killing people, and he insists that it must be fun. The idea of a gang seems good to Huck and all the other boys, so they all decide to "take an oath and write [their] name in blood" (Twain, 9). All of them are now part of this vicious gang and swear "to kill the families of boys that told secrets" (Twain, 9). The whole idea of doing things that are written about in books excites Huck, so he sticks with this plan and follows Tom; that is, until he gets on the river. On the river, Huck and Jim are free of the society that binds them. Jim is free and does not bear any of the prejudices of the world that plague him on the shore, says Ben Christensen. Jim does not have to live in fear of being beaten for being himself and he does not have to worry about being called stupid. Also, he says that Huck is allowed to think for himself here -- unshaped by the thoughts of society. He is always saying how Jim does not act like any other black he had been told about. Huck’s morality prevails on the river (Christensen). There are many spots on the river where Huck... ...oke can hurt no matter what race a person is. Huck knows the difference between right and wrong and knows to stay away from wrong. Huck also knows the importance of friendship and is willing to go to Hell to preserve the friendship between himself and Jim. Even though he does not show his moral traits, Huck is a moral character whether he likes it or not. Works Cited Christensen, Ben. Huck Finn’s Contention With The Values Of Society. Online. February, 1995: http://internet.ocii.com/~benjc/essay/english/huckfinn.html. Pain, Albert. Huck Finn Comes into His Own. Online. 1999: http://marktain.miningco.com/library/biography/bl_paine_ch153.htm. Rasmussen, Kent. Mark Twain A to Z: The Essential Reference to his life and Writings. New York: Facts on File, Inc., 1995. Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Bantam Books, 1884.

Soliloquies Essay - Kates Soliloquy in The Taming of the Shrew :: Taming Shrew Essays

Kate's Soliloquy in The Taming of the Shrew Kate's soliloquy brings about a joyous conclusion to The Taming of the Shrew. The audience leaves the theatre with a pleasant feeling, glad that such a shrew could be tamed so well. Kate herself realised the error of her ways, making the men feel confident while making the women feel safe. Moreover, the audience found the speech to be very sound and sensible, as the views expressed in the play were extremely popular at that point in time. Kate, in realising her iniquitous ways, made the men feel extremely confident of their status in Elizabethan society, and effectively reinforced their beliefs about their own strength. Also, Shakespeare succeeds in creating a feeling of safety for the female audience, as well as in making them feel as through they are accepted for their kindness to men, and in the norm. Women, not having a strong role in society at that time, enjoyed receiving praise and encouragement for their purpose in society. Furthermore, they felt vindicated as Kate solemnly insulted the disobedient women (Bianca and the Widow), telling them to "Come, come, you froward and unable worms!". It may also be said that this play, as well as similar plays of the Elizabethan era, assisted in contributing to the oppression of females in society for an innumerable amount of years. After the conclusion of The Taming of the Shrew, including Kate's soliloquy, the audience is left with a proud feeling - proud of the fact that Petruchio tamed such a shrew so well. The men of the audience are about with feeling of satisfaction and justification. Shakespeare skillfully catered towards both sexes by using Petruchio much like the stereotypical action figure of today; a character who does the unbelievable effortlessly and leaves the audience in awe. In the play Petruchio, short after the inception of his skillful wooing, begins a plan "to kill a wife with kindness". Craftily he gives her anything that she pleases, only to swipe it away when he finds a flaw in the item. he also resorts to keeping Kate as a prisoner in his home, until she slowly becomes subservient and submissive to him.

Advanced Medical Technology Solution Essay

Would you, as Mr. Winter, recommend a loan to AMT? If so, on what basis? As Mr. Winter, I would recommend a loan to Advanced Medical Technology Corporation (AMT). There are several reasons why I would recommend a loan to AMT. The biggest factor is this company is still in the growth / infancy stage of its life cycle. They have invested large amounts of capital into the research and development, and marketing of its products, and it is too soon to see the rewards from these investments. Some of the changes that need to be made in order for a loan to be approved for AMT include improving manufacturing efficencies, short-term loans, operations, and managing their accounts recieveables. The manufacturing operations of AMT can be streamlined which will enable AMT to see greater profits. Right now they are building in ten to twelve week lot sizes, and they are not always making the products they need. With the investment into a information system, they can streamline this process. This was installed in 1984, and they are making progress. I would recommend reshuffling some positions (i. e. , MRP, planning, master data) in order to obtain the full benefit of the information system. They can build larger lot sizes of some products which will cut down on the direct labor costs for the materials. Making only the products they know they have demand on will minimize the excess and obsolesnce amount they have to reserve for each quarter. AMT can also improve its accounts receivable days outstanding ratio by having more control over it’s A/R. Having someone do background checks on new customers instead of granting all new customers the same 30 days. Some customers with poor credit history should be given no credit, and must pay COD or before the products are shipped to minimize risk of default. Well-known customers or customers with great credit can be given more than 30 days. Also, collection of past-due accounts should be pursued more aggressively. Based on the criteria mentioned, and the financial statements, I would give AMT the full $8 million line of credit. The company has had great growth in its revenues. Although this company has not been profitable over the last three years, if it had to turn a profit, it could do so by eliminating research and development. Just by selling existing products, it would have had a net income of $3. 8 million in 1985 if it did not have the research and development expense. I am not advising the removal of R&D, I am just providing a worst case scenario for the company. Ending the R&D department would cause no new products, and new improvements to existing products in an ever changing evenronment. This company has the potential to become profitable in 1986, and pay down significant amounts to its debt by the end of 1987. And they need to pay down some debt in order to improve their working capital which was fine in 1983, but because of expenses (possibly related to the installation of the information system) in 1984 its working capital has soured.

Firefighter Injuries and Deaths Essay

While civilian deaths and fatalities have gone down by 53. 6 percent in the last 20 years, only 20 percent decrease of the same has been reported from the firefighters. In fact, in the last 20 years, the United States has recorded an increased number of deaths and fatalities more than any other time in history. 1999 recorded the highest deaths at 112, followed closely by 2003, which recorded 105 deaths. This rate begs the question, are the fire fighters working more to ensure civilian safety, while risking their own lives? Safety standards during fire fighting Safety standards in the firefighting department have seen tremendous improvements in the past 20 years (Pessemier, B. 2009). This includes increased training among the fire fighters about the safety standards and better work practices, in addition to the purchase of better and efficient fire fighting equipment. In the last 10 years, a 34 % death increase was recorded among the firefighters. This in turn indicates that despite the improvements in the fire fighting department, there has been a decrease safety measures in the fire services. According to the US, fire Administration (FEMA), the approximate number of firefighters who have perished in firefighting activities in the last 20 years average to 100 firefighters annually. This trend was at its worst in the 1980’s, took a downward trend in the early 1990’s and resumed the high number in the late 1990’s. A study carried out between 1990 and 2000 by FEMA to establish the real cause of the injuries and deaths among the firefighters revealed that 44 percent of firefighters die due to heart attacks. Fatal injuries was second accounting for 27 percent of the deaths, burns and asphyxia ranked third accounting for 20 percent of all deaths(FEMA, 2008) The report also revealed that firefighters aged above 35 years stands more risk of medical related deaths. Such include heart attacks and stroke. Below 35 years, firefighters were more prone to traumatic injuries that eventually led to their deaths (FEMA, 2008). The report further revealed that 60 percent of the casualties fell under the above 40 years age bracket, while a third of them were aged above 50 years. This too begs the question, is age a factor when analyzing the rising deaths among the firefighters? This question can be answered by a closer look at the affiliation of the firefighter fatalities. 57 percent of all firefighter fatalities were affiliated to volunteer fire fighting agencies. These agencies had both volunteer fire fighters and volunteer personnel. However, seeing that career personnel make a mere 26 % of the fire fighting agencies through out the country, the proportionate of volunteers suffer fatalities. In fact, career firefighters only account for 33 percent of the fatalities. Here, the question of age pops again. An approximate 40 percent of the volunteers are aged above 50 years. Training is of outmost important for both career and volunteer firefighters because it prepares them on response tactics and safety procedures. Training on emergency response, incident command, safety and hot fire cases should be sufficient. However, at least 6 percent of fatalities in the past 10 years occurred during training. This was a higher number than what was recorded in the preceding 10 years. Physical fitness training has been the leading cause of training fatalities, followed closely by live fire and equipment drills (FEMA, 2008). Fatalities of volunteers and career firefighters are only recorded as a firefighter death if the person was on duty and if his death occurred 24 hour after he/she completed a fire related call on behalf of a fire department (Medgenmed. medscape. com, 2006). The Occupational safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued safety guidelines in 1980, as a way of combating the rising deaths and fatalities among the fire fighters (Marshall, S. T, 2004). In the guidelines, the organization authorized the use of fire-retarding clothing and self-contained breathing equipment. Although it was not clear, whether it was the guidelines or the decreased number of fires that were registered between 1979 and 2002, the number of fatalities in the fire services decreased annually by 52 percent in the three year period (Marshall, S. T, 2004). The working conditions To comply with OSHA’s regulations, firefighters are required to carry a self-contained air apparatus weighing 30 lbs. They must also wear protective clothing, which wears another 30 lbs. Although this offers more protection to the firefighters, critics argue that the additional 60 lbs that the fire fighters have to drag along during a firefighting exercise adds to physical stress and may lead to exhaustion, which is a leading cause of cardiac arrest related deaths(Marshall, S. T, 2004). The protective gear and the oxygen apparatus that fire fighters carry in their fire fighting exercises has also been blamed for an increased aggressiveness among the firefighters. The worrying thing about such aggressiveness is that most firefighters do not realize that the safety gear does not offer overall protection against death. Lack of adequate information about conditions that may be tackled and those that are too risky is also insufficient (Marshall, S. T, 2004). Unlike earlier times where firefighter based the decision to fight a fire from indoors by how hot their ears were, modern day hoods cover the ears and the temperatures can rise to fatal levels without the fire fighters recognizing it. That is the leading cause of many flashover incidences, where everything in a building, including the firefighter ignites concurrently due to very high temperatures (Marshal, S. T, 2004) Unlike earlier times where veteran firefighters knew it was time to leave a building when they felt dizzy or started coughing, the modern day breathing devices shield them from inhaling smoke. The tell tale signs that may signify the need to leave a building are therefore disorients them from the realities of a dangerous indoor environment. When smoke concentration becomes too high, there can be a sporadic ignition of the area. As such, even the training on working in zero visibility conditions comes to naught, as the firefighter will be engulfed in the random fire within a short time (Marshall, S. T, 2004). The OSHA regulations further require fire fighters not to start a fire fighting exercise unless a team of at least four people has been assembled. This requirement was put in place as a means of ensuring that assisting firemen were available just in case those fighting the fire needed it. Although noble in its intentions, Critics argue that this piece of regulation, known as 2 in/2 out protection standard hinder less than four firefighters who arrive at the place of fire on time to manage fire spread before it grows. As such, they argue that time that could otherwise be used to combat the spread of the fire is lost as fire fighters attempt to establish rescue teams (Marshall, S. T, 2004). Deaths that occur when firefighters are traveling to the fire destination are also on the rise. This are documented as Motor Vehicle Collisions (MVCs), and has accounted for an average of 22. 5 percent annual fatalities in the US since 1984. In a haste to respond to fire alarms, majority of fire fighters who perished in MVC s are in private vehicles. This is because the fire fighters can respond to a fire emergency from anywhere. Most MVC fatalities resulted from collisions. Disregard of the traffic rules is a major cause of such fatalities as firefighters forget/ignore wearing seat belts (USFA, 2009). In 2007, data by the OFPC Academy of on fire Science on fire fighter casualties revealed that 33 percent of all casualties was not determined, while 26 percent either suffered fractures, dislocation, sprain, swelling, strain, amputation or a crush. 13 percent were suffering from undisclosed pain and an equal percentage suffered abrasions, bruises, cuts, wounds or punctures. 4 percent had been affected by hazardous inhalants, while an equal number suffered burns. Two percent of the casualties had shortness of breath. Human error also plays a significant role in firefighters deaths. Sometimes, the firefighters may be too ignorant to safety precautions that they end up jeopardizing their own lives. In other cases, some one else’s negligence or omissions may end up casing fire fighter deaths. The latter is best explained by the four young fire fighters who perished in the North central Washington fire in 2001. The four young men were part of a crew that had been pulled to a safe location after the fire became too enormous, but later sent out in an attempt to fight it. The water pumps that were to draw water from a nearby Chewuch River refused to start and the young men deployed their fire resistant tents on a poor ground just steps away from a safer ground (Maclean, J. N, 2007) Programs that would reduce death and injuries among firefighters The protective gear used by firefighters during fire fighting mission has been subject to criticism for a long time now. To begin with, there were gaping incompatibilities between components such as the hood, the SCBA and the gloves. In past years, the quality of the hood and the SCBA greatly improved. The weak link to the protective ensemble thus became the gloves. Many fire fighters claimed that the gloves hindered them from performing tasks such as manipulating switches, holding tools and grasping straps. The reason behind this was that the gloves could not fit perfectly, with the finger gloves being too long. Fire fighters also said that the materials used on the gloves decreased a person’s agility and thus could affect the response time (LaTourette, T, 2003). To rectify these weaknesses that may end up causing injuries to the firefighters, I would suggest that materials, fit and the agility of the firefighters be considered before the manufacturers can settle on the specific material to be used on the firefighting gear. Another concept that would have significant impact death and injury reduction among the firefighters is the safety culture concept (Pessemier, W. 2009). This would require empowering individuals and organization with risk handling skills that would not compromise their fire fighting goals. This means that the firefighters would be trained on fire fighting methods that poses minimal risks to their wellbeing. The fire departments in different states will also need to develop and implement effective systems to manage vital safety behaviors among the firefighters. In addition, the state needs to provide sufficient funds for the continued training of firefighters on critical safety measures. Members of the fire service departments must also be willing to challenge any assumption, value or practice that they think can jeopardize their safety (Pessemier, W. 2009). Another approach that can decrease the number of fatalities that happen to firefighters, is adopting the safe person model. This model, which was proposed by Mark Jones, a deputy fire officer in the UK, would also work in the United States. Jones described the safe person model as the combined responsibilities between individual firefighters and Organization responsibility. Individual responsibility requires the fire fighter to be a competent person, able to work with a team whereby the fire service takes the initiative of selecting people suited for the fire fighting exercises, providing them with the right information, instructs and trains them accordingly, in addition to providing them with protective equipment and right supervision( riskinstitute. org). Deaths that occurred due to motor vehicle collisions as firefighters respond to emergency calls can also be reduced by training the fire fighters on basic road safety tips. Such includes wearing safety belts at all times and driving carefully despite the need to get the emergency venue on time. According to USFA statistics, only 21 percent of the firefighters who died on MVC cases had worn their seat belts when the collision occurred (USFA, 2008). Checking on the fitness of volunteers should also be a priority for all fire services. Health screening before the volunteers can be given the green light to work should be mandatory. This should be made in order to evaluate each person’s medical history. Such should include their age, weight, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, weight, Family history and their physical tolerance levels (Sharkley, B. 2008). People aged above 45 years, who have physically inactive and those who have heart disease threat factors should be taken for extra checkups. Those with conditions such as high blood pressure should not be considered as the condition could end up in heart problems during exertion. Healthy adults should then be taken up as volunteers after the medical review. After taking up the firefighting volunteer roles, people aged 40 and more years should ensure that they continue engaging in cardiovascular activities. This is because regular exercises reduce the risk of developing heart diseases. Firefighters who have experienced situations that could have cost them lives should also be encouraged to speak up as other people can learn from their experiences. As noted by John B and Tippet Jr. (2005) in their report titled â€Å"Improve Leadership, report near misses†, encouraging firefighters who have experienced near-misses would serve as a learning venue for other firefighters. Such a program would be voluntary, confidential, secure and non-punitive for the firefighters who tell their personal accounts (John, B & Tippet,Jr. 2005). Laudable firefighter fatality reduction initiatives Under the auspices of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF), firefighting organizations convened a meeting in 2004 and came up with 16 initiatives that if implemented would see to the reduction of the firefighters fatalities in the United States. They include: ensuring that fire fighting organizations had a responsible and accountable leadership, include tactical planning and strategic approaches at all levels when responding to emergencies, encourage firefighters under their organizations to employ safe practices only and develop a training and standardization mechanism which should be followed by all organizations. Additionally, the organization suggested that there should be a set standard for fitness standards, and that all initiatives towards decreasing the fatalities among firefighters should be documented. Conclusion Reducing the number of deaths and injuries among the firefighters is a challenge that would take efforts from both individual fire fighters and the firefighting organizations that they work for. It takes individual assessment to gauge the risks involved in a firefighting scenario and hence such requires good personal choices. On the other hand, it is the responsibility of the firefighting organizations to ensure that people working in the organization either as career firefighters or as volunteers meet the medical and physical requirements. It is also the organizations prerogative to ensure that firefighters are trained accordingly, have the right equipment and that they have the correct firefighting wear. Only then can people in the United States realize yearn to have fewer deaths among people who take up the hardest job and risk their lives when doing it. References John B and Tippet Jr. (2005). Improve leadership, report near misses: Learn from others about saving ourselves. Retrieved January 28, 2009 from http://www. iafc. org/displayindustryarticle. cfm? articlenbr=27206 Jones, M. (2008). Concept, policy and Practice: The UK fire context. Retrieved January 28,2009 from http://www. riskinstitute. org/peri/images/file/S908-D7-Jones. pdf LaTourette, T. Et al: (2003). Protecting Emergency responders. New York: Rand publishers. Maclean, J. N. (2007). The Thirty Mile Fire: a Chronicle of Bravery and Betrayal: New York. Henry Holt Marshall, S. T. (2004). Suppressing Volunteer Firefighting. Publication: regulation. Retrieved January 28, 2009 from http://www. allbusiness. com/human-resources/workplace-health-safety/317752-1. html Pessemer , W. (2009). Synopsis: Developing a safety Culture in the Fire Service. Retrieved January 28, 2009 from http://www. everyonegoeshome. com/newsletter/2008/february/safetyculture. html Sharkey, B, J. (2008). Cardiovascular Risks of Wild land Firefighting. Retrieved January 28,2009 from http://www. firejock. com/articles/Cardiovascular%20Risks%20of%20Wildland%20Firefighting. htm US Fire Administration (USFA). (2008). Historical overview: firefighter fatalities. Retrieved January 28, 2009 from http://www. usfa. dhs. gov/fireservice/fatalities/statistics/index. shtm

Tennessee Temple

Islam is the religion articulated by the Quran, a book considered by its adherents to be the verbatim word of the single incomparable God and by the Islamic prophet Muhammad's demonstrations and real-life examples. The word Islam is a homograph, having multiple meanings which are directly interpret as peace. Other meanings include submission or the total surrender of oneself to God. The origin of Islam dates back to the creation of the world. All the prophets who came to this world preached the same message of believing in one God and to accept them as His messenger. The prophets were also blessed with a manifestation of divine will or truth. Likewise, Prophet Mohammad was also a messenger of God. He revealed the truth and the way of life through the Holy Quran. Before the birth of Prophet Mohammad, the Arab society was sunk into darkness. Although the Arabs believed in the unity of God, but they also claimed that God has entrusted His duties to various gods, goddesses and idols. For this purpose, they had more than 360 idols. They considered angels as the daughters of God. They were ignorant of social values. They were nomadic people who were dependent on cattle for their living. There was no government or law. All power existed with the rich. The society was full of barbarity and brutality. Tribes fought with each other over trivial matters for centuries. A slight argument over horses or water could lead to the slaughtering of thousands of innocent people. It was the birth of Prophet Mohammad in 570 A. D in the city of Makkah which brought a revolution to the entire fate of the nomadic Arabs. He became famous among the people of Makkah at a very early age because of his allegiance and reliability. He was widely known as Al-Ameen or honest, trustworthy. At the age of 40, when Mohammad was meditating at Mt. Hera, he received a revelation from God. The angel Gabriel said to him, â€Å"Iqra† which means â€Å"to read†. Mohammad replied â€Å"I cannot read†. Gabriel embraced and released him. Then the first five verses of God were revealed to him who said, â€Å"Recite in the name of your Lord who created! He created man, out of a (mere) clo th of congealed blood. Recite; and thy Lord is most bountiful. He who had taught by the pen, taught man what he knew not. † Mohammad started proclaiming the message of believing in one God. The people who once called him â€Å"Trustworthy† and â€Å"Honest† boycotted and plotted to kill him. In 622 A. D. , due to worsening living conditions and social isolation, was broken in 629 A. D by the non-Muslims of the Makkans. Mohammad moved towards Makkah with 10,000 men and the battle was won without a single Prophet Mohammad migrated to Medina along with his followers. This flight was known as Hijrah and marks the beginning of the Muslims calendar. Mohammad's message spread rapidly and the number of followers increased in Medina. During the next few years, a series of battles were fought between various tribes of Makkah and the Muslims of Medina. In 628 A. D, the Treaty of Hudaibiyah was signed between the two parties. Truce was declared for 10 years. The treaty bloodshed. Mohammad died in 632 A. D, at the age of 63 in the city of Medina. Mohammad's death brought a huge catastrophe among Muslims. People could not believe that Mohammad had left them forever. Many of the followers were perplexed and distraught, and claimed him to be still living. At that time Mohammad funeral, Abu Bakr, who was the most respected of all the followers affirmed that, â€Å"O people, those of you who worshipped Mohammad, Mohammad has died. And those of you who worshipped God, God is still living. † Now being a Muslim requires that they read their Quran or their bible. â€Å"Reading† The Quran is the â€Å"Word of God† to Islam. About 4/5 the length of the New Testament. Muslims believe the identical book is in Heaven and Allah sent the angel Gabriel to Mohammed to reveal his â€Å"Word†. The Quran is divided into 114 chapters or Surahs. The Surahs are revelations given to Mohammed during his 23 years of â€Å"Prophet Hood† from 610 AD to 632 AD. The Quran, composed during Mohammed’s lifetime corresponds to the time and circumstances of his life. The Surahs or chapters can be divided into three time periods. The earliest Surahs are the shortest and known as Early Meccan, and date from 610 to 622 AD. Composed in Mecca, prior to Hejira where Mohammed fled to Medina in September 622 AD. The Median Surahs were composed during the time Muslims controlled the city of Medina. They date from 622 to 630 AD. The doctrine of Jihad was introduced as war was waged against Mecca and its idol worshipers. Animosity toward the Jews and Christians increased as they rejected Mohammed as a prophet from God. Late Meccan Surahs were between 630 and 632 AD. The last 2 years of Mohammed’s life after Mecca surrendered to his authority. Surahs were at this time not collected in one book but were memorized and collected on various items. In the battle of Yamamah in 633 AD many of the Hafiz died. The Hafiz were Muslims who had committed much of the Quran to memory. With the urging of Umar, Zayd ibn Thabit, one of Mohammed most trusted secretaries was appointed to the task of collecting the Quran into one book. Still later after different versions of the Quran began to appear Zayd was put in charge of collecting all the Qurans throughout the Muslim world and issuing an authorized copy in the place of one’s collected. The Quran makes the appeal to its beauty and consistency with previous scriptures as proof of its inspiration. The teaching of Quran and Hadith (sayings of Prophet Mohammad) revolves around two Arabic words namely, Emaan (Faith) and Amaal (Acts). Emaan is like the roots of a tree and Amaal are the stems, leaves or other parts of it. Just as without the roots, the tree cannot survive, similarly, without faith, the acts are useless. The teachings of Quran emphasize mostly on the beliefs and an overview the acts, whereas the Hadith explains both beliefs and acts in details. Muslims believe that although there may be reservations in the Hadith, but Quran is free from all the mistakes and is infallible. Quran is comprised of 114 Surahs (chapters) and 6236 Ayats (verses). Quran was preserved through writing and memorization. Undoubtedly, today Quran is the only book which is fully memorized by more than 10 million people all over the world. The teachings of Quran confirm the revelations of other books and scriptures on various prophets. But, at the same time, all these books are considered to be corrupted with time and do not contain the original script of God. The six articles of faith are the main doctrines of Islam. All Muslims share beliefs in God, Angels, Scriptures, Prophets, Resurrection and Divine Creed. They also believe in the five pillars of faith. These are duties each Muslim performs to demonstrate his or her faith. They include: Testimony of Faith, Prayer, Almsgiving, Fasting and Pilgrimage or taking a trip somewhere.

Parenting skills: Discussion Questions Essay

1. What role do you think discipline plays in developing a child’s self-esteem? What forms of discipline best serve the self-esteem of the child or adolescent? a. I think discipline plays a vast role in developing a child’s self-esteem, it determines the way the child will make their decision. Knowing the difference punishing and abusing a child plays a key role. Although both can be considered a form of discipline, punishing a child to harshly can affect them in the long run. They will develop a low self-esteem and become scarred for life. The child can grow up themselves to give unreasonable punishment to children they may have. The forms of discipline that best serves the self-esteem of a child might include boundary-based discipline, and emotion coaching. 2. List and discuss how activities, clubs, or sports, impact the self-esteem of children and parents. Provide at least two activities, clubs, or sports in your answer a. Children that participate in spots, clubs, etc. are more likely to have a high self-esteem. While a child participates in these groups they can achieve and accomplish goals that can higher their self-esteem. When a child is devoted to a sport, striving for a goal, and working hard they become satisfied with themselves as well. Such as volleyball, players working hard on different techniques on how to win a game, that takes time, effort, and determination. After winning, the trophies are handed out, the crowd goes crazy over the win, it puts the child/athlete on top, making them thrilled over what they’ve just accomplished leading to high self-esteem . Being involved in a debate club can provide you a boost of excitement knowing that whatever your thinking is heard and knowledge is being shared with those who are present, after winning against someone else gives you that high self-esteem, knowing you’ve just accomplished a great self-achievement.

Structural Collapses

Structural collapses are disasters that require efficient and immediate responses by engineers and other emergency services. This report discusses these responses in order to expose barriers and issues that could potentially cause a structural failure. It is imperative that each role is played at the highest degree of efficiency in such a disaster to minimize casualties and maximise safety. For this to occur, ICT engineers become critical to the instant response of such a disaster as through harnessing technology, they are able to monitor important data and effectively establish a reliable communicative network. Furthermore, communication before any structural collapse is necessary, as it serves to improve accuracy through peer to peer assessment and collaborative data. (Matsushiba & Nishi 2010; Chintalapudi et al 2006; Ferworn & Ribeiro 2010; Lawson 2005) Structural health monitoring (SHM) is highly effective in preventing structural collapses. SHM is a low cost sensor network technology that collects extremely significant monitoring data of a structure and is used to identify any potential faults in the pre collapse, as well as the specific reason of failure in the post collapse (Matsushiba & Nishi 2010; Chintapaludi et al 2006). Such data is considered to be highly valuable in response to a structural collapse and its value is confirmed by Matsushiba & Nishi ‘The system monitors structural vibration caused by earthquakes, detects structural damage and predicts performance and lifecycle of the structure' (2010, p.76). The monitoring data collected thus results in not only the location of any structural damage, but as well as the overall performance and condition of the structure. With this, the SHM system is able to determine a structures approximate lifespan and thus reducing its overall operational costs (Chintalapudi et al 2006). In addition to this, since the sensors are at low cost they are economically viable allowing for mass placement especially for large structures. This indefinitely improves safety as well as its property of monitoring wirelessly. Therefore with the use of such an advanced piece of sensor technology, the SHM system is highly effective in the prevention and thus response to structural collapses through constant monitoring. Instant communication is essential during a structural collapse. Communication is the basis of teamwork and collaboration. Such an idea becomes extremely significant during a structural collapse as it is required for engineers and emergency services to communicate, but actively play another role completely. This level of communication is necessary as through such differences in experience and skills, the collaboration is resultant in a much more precise analysis and in turn, a highly efficient approach to the structural collapse is found. Therefore the integration of technology becomes vital as it accelerates communication such that it becomes seamless and instantaneous, which is specifically necessary for such an immediate response to a disaster. As stated, ‘in emergency management it is imperative that the communications be reliable and responsive' (Ferworn & Ribeiro 2010). During a structural collapse, instant communication is clearly essential as any delay of significant information could lead to further failure or disaster (Ferworn & Ribeiro 2010). Such significant information could very possibly be from as discussed above, a SHM system which through its data can effectively determine the location of damage (Matsushiba & Nishi 2010; Chintapaludi et al 2006). This essential type of data being instantaneously shared between the different teams during a structural collapse is of immeasurable value. Furthermore, through the application of technology, instant communication becomes more dynamic and reliable, especially due to its wireless property. Therefore, the establishment of such a network is highly recommended. Communication beforehand is necessary for future preventions. In the prevention of structural risks and damages, engineers and other significant roles need to communicate effectively beforehand in order to maximise the overall insight into a structure as similarly discussed above (Ferworn & Ribeiro 2010). Such pre communication involves peer to peer reviews and collaborations. With peer to peer reviews, structures beforehand are assessed by different people and thus aspects, effectively exposing much more potential faults rather than being reviewed by similar people in the same field of experience (Lawson 2005). Pre communication through collaboration is also an essential factor in the prevention of structural collapses as it allows for the full sharing of knowledge and in turn creates a sense of openness as well as teamwork (Lawson 2005). Such a positive atmosphere is a catalyst for strong and critical thinking, inevitably leading to strong structures accordingly. These peer to peer communications have been discussed and described as ‘powerful tools to improve safety as well as to improve performance' (Lawson 2005, p.319). Due to the degree of effectiveness that they have upon engineers as well as other services, and thus the prevention of structural collapses, organisations have been formed to support these concepts. Such notable examples is the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) and the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO). These organisations have implemented strategies like the peer to peer reviews and collaborations, which have resulted in the improvement of cooperation and the prioritisation of safety (Lawson 2005). Conclusion It is evident through these findings that ICT engineers skilled with modern technology become invaluable before, during and in the response to a structural collapse. This is due to their many abilities such as monitoring a structure through wireless sensor technology like the Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) system which provides copious amounts of important data (Matsushiba & Nishi 2010; Chintapaludi et al 2006), or the establishment of a network which essentially is a source of instantaneous communication, and thus teamwork (Ferworn & Ribeiro 2010). This teamwork through communication should also be established before any collapse, as it is a necessity to effectively share essential information with other engineers and services alike (Lawson 2005). The issues within a structural collapse though, can be realised to be very specified in accordance for the need of collective data and group cooperation. This is clear through the prioritization of safety and maximizing efficiency. In result, situational change is also be a factor in terms of priorities for a structural collapse response. Therefore for engineers, it is a common ground for the collaboration of skill and knowledge in order to truly become successful in the response to a structural collapse.