Homosexuality as a Deviance: Discrimination In Society Essay

Deviance is a behavior that does not conform to social norms, therefore is socially created. Since most people in the United States believe that homosexuality is wrong, society has created homosexuality to be a deviance. Since deviance is relative and not absolute to a society, homosexuality is not a universal form of sexual deviance. There are many cultures that accept forms of homosexuality. The Western society is not accepting of it though, and many times this non-accepting view cause discrimination towards homosexuals. Is homosexuality a way for some people to deviate, or is it just the way some people need to live their lives? If that is the way of life for some people than society has to become accepting towards this lifestyle. Homosexuals are a minority since they differ from the accepted sexual orientation. They become objects of discrimination and contempt. Some of societies anti-homosexual attitudes come from homophobia. Homophobia is â€Å"the irrational fears of homosexuality in others, the fear of homosexual feelings within oneself, or self-loathing because of one’s homosexuality. It stems from ignorance and popular myths that give rise to homosexual prejudice†(Crooks 255). Homophobia is expressed in many ways, both subtle and direct. Telling jokes about queers, belittling their lifestyle, denying them housing, employment, membership into organizations, and engaging in violence against homosexuals. Heterosexuals also express homophobia by avoiding acts that would cause people to think they were gay. It affects men the most like this because it hinders male friendships. Men do not want to get too close to their male friends, or express emotions because they might be considered gay. Homophobia restricts the lives of both gay and straight people. Laws against homosexual behaviors have been very punitive. In the American colonies homosexuals were put to death by burning or drowning. Sodomy, which is oral or anal sex, was against the law in the United States until 1961. Illinois became the first state to repeal the sodomy laws. Now only 13 states continue to have sodomy laws. Even though these laws apply to all segments of the population, they are usually enforced against homosexual men. † Sodomy laws are used to harass homosexuals, especially gay men,  because women in general and lesbians in particular are socially invisible in society†(Eitzen 304). An example of the injustice of sodomy laws is the case of Matthew Leeman. He has been sentanced to 17 years in prison under Kansas State sodomy laws. The details of the case are 18 year old Leeman was convicted of giving a 15 year old boy consensual oral sex due to violation of the state’s sodomy laws. In Kansas sex with any minor is illegal, but there is also a Romeo and Juliet law that states sex with a minor is less of an offense if there is little age difference. Therefore if Leeman had given consensual oral sex to a 15 year old girl he would have received a 12 month sentance. But under the sodomy laws all same sex activities are illegal regardless of age, so the Romeo and Juliet exception does not apply to him. The case was appealed all the way to the Kansas State Supreme Court with the ruling upheld. So 18 year old Matthew Leeman will be in jail until he is 36 years old. The Supreme Court has upheld the right of states to prohibit sodomy in the case Bowers v. Hardwick in 1986. Recently the Supreme Court has decided it will revisit the issue of whether states can continue to prosecute homosexual men for having consensual sex in their homes. A descion is expected in June of 2003. Bars where homosexuals frequent are often raided by the police and many are arrested under the sodomy laws. This practice makes it difficult for homosexuals when they apply for jobs. Applications for employment ask if a person has a criminal record. Since some gays have records for violation sodomy laws, they must write it on their application. Both these offenses, having a record and being gay, makes employment less likely. Homosexuals, especially males, are highly discriminated against in activities considered to be super manly. Up until recently a person could not be gay in the military. Homosexuals were honorably discharged from the military. In 1993 President Clinton attempted to change this tradition. He received much opposition from politicians, citizens and the military. The result was a compromise, a don’t ask, don’t tell rule. This meant that the military personal was not to inquire about sexual preference, and that service members were not to be blatant about their sexual orientation. Another macho activity is sports. Gay men in sport have not been accepted. † There is much at stake in maintaining the silence about gay men in sports and in  discouraging gay male athletes from revealing their identities†(Coakley 234). To even talk about homosexuals in sports would threaten the system of gender classification. The fact is though there are homosexuals in sports and they are discriminated against. In the locker room athletes use anti- gay banter as part of daily life. Homosexuals in sports live in fear of the truth about their sexuality coming out. Although recently studies have shown that organized sports are becoming less homophobic. People in sports are becoming more tolerant of homosexuals. But the value of a homosexual athlete is of core importance. † Gay athletes with high human capital are much more likely to come out of the closet to their teams than are gay athletes with medium or low human capital†(Anderson 12). As homosexuals are slowly accepted by society, the gender lines that inhibit so many will slowly be erased. Another way homosexuals are discriminated against is through family rights. No State in America allows marriage between members of the same sex. Aside from the emotional benefits, there are legal benefits that come with marriage. Health insurance coverage, inheritance of property, and tax benefits are just a few advantages that come with a legally recognized relationship. Parenthood is another aspect of life that homosexuals are disadvantaged. The rights of gay parents are usually denied. When two people divorce it is most often the mother that gains more custody. â€Å"However if the mother is an acknowledged lesbian, this may jeopardize her claim to custody†(Crooks 266). A homosexual man has an even harder time gaining custody, because he has a double disadvantage. Many gay couples are also denied the right to adopt children; in some states it is even illegal. Some lesbian couples have children through artificial insemination. The problem with this is that only the mother of the child is legally recognized as the parent. There are only eight states that â€Å"second-parent adoptions by lesbians and gays have been approved in California, Oregon, Alaska, Washington, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Washington D.C.†(Strong 356). Being homosexual should not prohibit people from raising a legally recognized family. There are two ways that homosexuals deal with living in a hostile society.  The first is to conceal their sexual preference from the world. When they are in the straight world they act heterosexual, and only within the confines of privacy do they act gay. The second strategy is to be a gay liberationist. Instead of keeping their sexuality a secret, they are openly gay at all times. They challenge societal norms in hopes that there will be a change in attitudes. Gay liberationist rose about in the early 1970s, after an event that took place earlier. On June 28, 1969, the police raided Stonewall Inn, a gay hangout. Instead of dispersing as usual, the customers rioted. This incident drew a lot of needed attention to problems of police harassment that homosexuals faced. â€Å"In effect Stonewall resistance came to symbolize the birth of the modern gay rights movement†(Eitzen 312). Since Stonewall there have been many positive changes for gay rights. Now there are laws to protect the rights of homosexuals, where as before they had no laws protecting them. More and more people are coming out of the closet and are proud to be gay (A). As time continues homosexual rights will become stronger. This will only happen with the help of heterosexuals. Education is very important in the fight for gay rights. People must be informed that homosexuality is not a disease, or a sin; it is just the way of life for some people. Homosexuals are not monsters who should be put to death. Homosexuality has been around since before the written word, and each society deals with it differently. Our own society is not accepting of it. These are just humans who have a different sexual preferences than the members of normal society. Homosexuals have relationships, families, and even children, most of which are happy and healthy. They do things heterosexuals do such as serve in the armed forces and play sports. Yet society discriminates against them, even to the point of violence. Even though gay activists have made some difference in how society views their lifestyles, it is not enough. There needs to be more of a change. We as society should be more accepting of these people. If not we are the ones being deviant, with our policies of discrimination and harassment. Work Cited. Anderson, Eric. Openly Gay Athletes: Dealing with hegemonic Masculinity And Homophobia. University of California Coakley, Jay. â€Å"Sport in Society: Issues and Controversies† 7th ed. Boston: McGrawHill, 2001. Crooks, Robert. Our Sexuality. 6th ed. Pacific Grove: Brooks and Cole, 1996. Curtan, Jim. â€Å"Gay Liberation=Spiritual Liberation.† Genre 81 (2000): 74. Eitzen, D. Stanley. Social Problems. 7th ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1997. Strong, Bryan. The Marriage and Family Experience, Intimate Relationships in a Changing Society. 7th ed. Belmont: Wadsworth, 1998.

Not Either an Experimental Doll

Ryan Shellady Professor Mtisi Paideia October 31st, 2012 Placing Fault: A Look at Determining Who is to Blame for Lily Moya’s Downfall in Not Either an Experimental Doll The Separate Worlds of Three South African Women In today’s Western culture, it is hard to imagine a world without education. Adults and children alike view education as a common practice that is essential to everyday life. For Lily Moya, this is not the case. In Not Either an Experimental Doll, edited by Shula Marks, letters of correspondence reveal a relationship between Dr.Mabel Palmer, a well-known European supporter of black education, and Lily Moya, a girl growing up in apartheid South Africa. Lily writes to Palmer requesting acceptance into a school. Due to Lily’s amusing writing style, Palmer feels a connection to her. In turn, Palmer decides to find a way to fund Lily’s education. Throughout the letters, Lily alludes to this idea that she desires a more intimate friendship with Pa lmer; however, Palmer continues to assertively state that the relationship Lily seeks is impossible.In the end of the correspondence, Dr. Palmer releases her sponsorship from Lily’s education which means Lily can no longer attend school. For these two reasons, some critics will argue that Palmer is to blame for Lily’s mental breakdown at the end of the book. These people are mistaken; Mabel Palmer’s actions are not to blame for what happens to Lily. Fault lies in the differing cultures between Lily and Palmer, and in Lily’s stubbornness, egocentrism, and her inability to follow simple instructions.It is easy to infer that there are inevitable differences in culture between a European woman in her seventies and a fifteen-year-old African girl living in apartheid-ruled South Africa. In the introduction of the book, editor and expert in the field of South African studies Shula Marks articulates that the cultural differences between Lily and Dr. Palmer make f or a difficult understanding of correspondence etiquette. Not surprisingly, the world of the busy academic was remote from the concerns of a lonely and aspirant fifteen-year-old in Umtata.For Lily, still living in a world in which misfortune was explained in terms of individual wickedness and witchcraft, Mabel’s failure to reply could only be the result of the evil counsel of her advisers (Marks 18). Lily has been raised in a place where academia is not prominent. To understand why Dr. Palmer didn’t reply swiftly and quickly to each of Lily’s letters, Lily would have to understand all the work Dr. Palmer’s occupation entails. Lily would have to realize that people are sometimes simply too busy to write; however, as Marks notes, Dr.Palmer’s failure to reply was likely explained to Lily in terms of â€Å"individual wickedness. † Later in the same paragraph of the introduction, Marks goes on to describe Palmer’s point of view. For Mabel, Lily’s intense if adolescent religious experience was to appear as ‘religiosity’ and ‘self-righteous’, while she had difficulty remembering whether her ‘protegee’ was an Anglican or a Catholic, and had no idea that she was Xhosa, not Zulu (Marks 18). Palmer is under the impression that she understands Lily’s background, but Marks exposes Palmer’s ignorance of Lily’s culture.This lack of knowledge leads to poor communication between Lily and Palmer. However, Palmer does attempt to lessen her ignorance by asking Lily to write a paper, â€Å"The Life of a Native Girl in a Native Reserve† (Marks 87). In this paper, Palmer asks Lily to detail activities, problems, and daily routines experienced by a girl living in Lily’s society. Due to this attempt, Palmer’s failure to comprehend Lily’s expectations can be forgiven. Palmer tries to understand Lily and her background, but Lily cannot communica te any information in return.In the greater scheme, neither Lily nor Palmer is to blame for cultural variances. The only thing at fault in this particular case is that the two grew up in completely different environments. Circumstance is not solely to blame, however. In other cases, Lily’s personal faults are also to blame. The first of Lily’s individual weaknesses that lead to her demise is stubbornness; it plays a large role in why Palmer has such a difficult time dealing with Lily. On a number of occasions through the correspondence, Lily attempts to treat Palmer as though the two of them are close, intimate friends.Lily even goes as far as saying to Palmer, â€Å"I hope you stay for years, with me† (Marks 113). If this is not pressure enough, Lily goes on to guilt Palmer by proclaiming, â€Å"You cannot leave me alone in this merciless world† (Marks 113). When faced with these remarks, she needed to address Lily’s outlook on their relationship to make sure Lily understood that their interaction had to remain professional. You say that one of your reasons for wishing to be in Durban is that you want to see more of me, but have you ever asked yourself whether I wish do see more of you?As a matter of fact I do not. Your romantic and self-centered imagination has built up for you a picture in which you are to be my devoted and intimate friend. Now you must forgive me for saying that this is all nonsense. Even if you were a European girl of your age it would still be nonsense (Marks 136). Palmer makes it very clear that Lily’s feelings for her are simply not reciprocated. Palmer says she does not wish to see Lily, and that Lily’s perception of their connection is just â€Å"nonsense†. Critics will argue that Palmer’s tone here is too aggressive though.They’ll argue that Palmer should have anticipated that her words would hurt Lily deeply. They’ll back up their assertions with quotation s like the following where Lily jumps to drastic conclusions about Palmer not responding swiftly enough. â€Å"Your silence impresses me severely, in so much that patience fails me† (Marks 87). â€Å"I’m really worried now. It is a long time I have been waiting for yours [letter]† (Marks 91). One might claim that Lily displays great sensitivity and anxiety because of Palmer.These critics therefore argue that if waiting for a response from Palmer causes Lily this much distress, then it should be obvious to Palmer that critical words would cause Lily worse sorrow and anguish. These critics are wrong for two reasons. First, Lily still goes on to address Palmer on January 28th, February 6th, and again on February 16th of 1951 (Marks 143-145). All of these dates are after Palmer’s direct note from page 136 mentioned previously. Lily did not receive a letter from Palmer between these three instances.It is fair to say that Palmer’s annoyance is justified when she very recently asked Lily to respect boundaries. Secondly, the quotes these critics may use do not show that Lily is sensitive; rather they show that Lily is impatient and bullheaded. Lily keeps writing to Palmer so Palmer does not neglect her promise to help Lily get into school. Lily actually reminds Palmer of this promise. â€Å"So, please do not forget your promise that you would send me to school to complete the Matriculation Course† (Marks 94).Because Palmer does not write back quickly, Lily is worried that she isn’t getting her way, and stubbornly writes another letter out of impatience. Lily’s stubbornness to both get her way and to create a friendship that is deeper than a professional level shows a character flaw that certainly leads to her downfall. Lily cannot accept anything less than her own expectations; when she is faced with a disappointment, she spirals into a depression. Stubbornness is not the only character flaw leading to Lilyâ€⠄¢s downfall though. When Palmer addresses Lily about their relationship, she notes that Lily is â€Å"self-centered†.Lily’s egocentrism is yet another trait that ultimately leads to her breakdown. Palmer is correct when she states that Lily writes amusingly when it is about herself. â€Å"Looking back over my correspondence with you I realize that you only write interestingly and amusingly when you are writing about yourself† (Marks 138). For example, in Lily’s letter written on the 26th of January, 1949, the tone she uses in her writing has a pleading, begging feel because it is one Lily is writing to further her own attempt at finding an education.Kindly sympathise with me, a helpless orphan, I beg you †¦ I can be very glad if you answer me at your earliest possible and please I beg you do sympathise with. You can only show your sympathy by taking me to a college where I shall work with my level best my school work, and, I’m sure I’l l please you in any way in my character (Marks 59). For being a student with so little education, Lily really shows finesse in her writing ability. Her use of description in the â€Å"helpless orphan† bit tugs at Palmer’s heartstrings. Lily is even smart enough to know that tone and word choice an sway a person’s ethos, but like Palmer says, Lily only uses this for personal gain. Palmer, however, is not the only person that notices Lily’s egocentrism. Palmer notes that one of Lily’s caretakers also feels that Lily focuses on self too much. â€Å"†¦I understand Mrs Bomback thinks that she [Lily] is already inclined to think too much of herself†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Marks 128). Lily’s self-centered personality is clearly not seen by Palmer alone. This egocentrism leads Lily to see only her own needs in Palmer. When Palmer revokes her funding, Lily sees it as a great personal loss.This is yet another fault leading Lily to her mental breakdown at the end of the correspondence; moreover, it also leads to her difficulty following rules. An inability to follow instructions has already been demonstrated in Lily’s inability to accept a non-personal friendship with Palmer. This is, in fact, one of many instances in which Lily defies rules. In one instance, upon being told not to do so, Lily â€Å"entered a men Lecturer’s hostel with the purpose of receiving a lesson from one of them† (Marks 133). This is a clear violation of rules laid out by caretaker Mrs.Bomback. In another instance Lily was expected to come to an appointment with Palmer, yet she failed to show up (Marks 183). Arriving at an appointment punctually is an easy task to accomplish, yet Lily failed to do as she was told. This reason alone is one that Palmer lists as a reason for revoking funding for Lily’s education. Palmer confronts Lily twice for not following directions (Marks 136; 161). It is very clear to see that obstinate behavior causes Palmer to withdraw her funding leading to Lily’s mental break down.Some argue that Palmer’s withdrawal is ultimately to blame for Lily’s downward spiral. It is easy to see how misguided these people are if one considers that Palmer never wished to stop funding Lily’s education. She went out of her way to ask Sibusisiwe Makhanya for help to try and repair the problems Lily had been facing (Marks 121-122). It was only when Lily continued to break rules and disrespect Palmer’s wishes that Palmer had to quit. Lily made herself a lost cause. Is it fair to blame Palmer for Lily’s affairs after Palmer spent money out of her own pocket to assist Lily in all of her needs?No, it is absolutely absurd to claim Palmer is at fault. In Not Either an Experimental Doll, it is clear to see that Dr. Mabel Palmer is not to blame for Lily’s depressed state. Circumstance is responsible for the cultural differences between the two main characters thr oughout the correspondence. It is easy to identify Lily’s sense of stubbornness through her insistent attempts at making an intimate friendship with Palmer. Lily’s egocentrism shows in how her writing style changes depending upon whether she is writing about herself or others.It also is fair to call Lily egocentric due to the fact that more than one person identified her self-centered personality. An inability to follow instructions is apparent in different examples and Palmer notes that this is a reason why she terminated her sponsorship for Lily. Critics can continue to argue that Palmer is to blame for Lily’s psychiatric state, but ultimately the circumstances in which the two grew up, and Lily herself, are truly at fault. Works Cited Shula, Marks, ed. Not Either and Experimental Doll. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana UP, 1987. Print.

Assignment Report On Eight Domains Of The Nmc Framework

Assignment Report On Eight Domains Of The Nmc Framework The purpose of this assignment is to demonstrate my clinical and educational practice, especially in mentoring pre-registration nursing students, newly qualified nurses and internationally-educated nurses. All registered nurses have a professional duty to become mentors and play an important role in facilitating students to build their competency. I will aim to reflect on practice relative to the Eight Domains of the NMC framework and give an accurate analysis on how this can impact a student’s experiences and learning opportunities. Papp (2002) stated that, â€Å"student nurses highly value clinical practice and the possibilities it offers in the process of growing to become a nurse and a professional†. It is essential to create a positive learning environment that allows students to build confidence and therefore, bridge the gap between theory and practice. This promotes students’ interests in learning and encourages them to participate more. NMC Domains Establishing effective working relationships I was expecting a second-year student starting on the ward, therefore a students’ welcome pack was prepared and a discussion took place over the phone a few days prior the start day. The student had a few questions about shift times and was excited but worried to start, due to having no neurosurgical experience. I assured them that most of the other students were in that situation and that the team was looking forward to meeting and working with her. On the morning she arrived, I, as the nurse in charge, had allocated some of my morning duties to other members of staff so I could have an initial conversation with the student. In addition, I introduced her to the rest of the team, orientated her within the unit, and explained my role in the ward and the type of patients and how we distributed them. We discussed the student’s goals for this placement, the action plans to achieve them and further beneficial learning opportunities, for example: theatre time, bed meetings, shadowing specialist nurses, etc. I believe this initial meeting is an essential factor in building a mutual trust and working relation. Dunn and Hansford (1997) highlighted the importance of staff and student relationship informing initial perceptions of their learning environment as well as feeling part of an established nursing team. Facilitating Learning Within the initial conversation with the student I was working with, we discussed the learners’ objectives for this placement. I asked her what she felt she wanted from me as a mentor, what style of learning she preferred and what she felt assisted her to gain confidence with clinical skills. I discovered this made the student feel at ease in the learning environment. Furthermore, the student was reluctant and anxious to a verbal handover on the phone and we identified that as a goal to achieve in this placement. On the following days, I took the student and sat her next to me in three different occasions when I had to handover a patient to a local hospital. After she observed how I conduct myself, I asked her to go away and list the important clinical aspects she would need to inform the other hospital when doing a handover. A few days later, she had the occasion to handover a patient independently with me sitting next to her for support and with the list she made as a guide. She started very nervously but gained confidence towards the end of the call. She was very proud of what she had achieved and the approach allowed the student and myself to develop a learning plan based on the student’s needs. Research shows that clinical learning environments are considered as an anxiety and stress-provoking factor for pre-registration nursing students which can be barriers to learning. Effective and supportive mentorship help reduce anxiety and stress and could enhance students’ learning and performance. Assessment and Accountability Pellatt (2006) explains the importance of the nurses’ accountability when working with the students. As the nurse is accountable for the tasks they may delegate to the student, but insuring the student is competent in these tasks it will allow for safe practice. It is important to find out whether students have the traits to practice safely and effectively without any direct supervision on their own to be competent. A third-year student was allocated by myself the task of checking the vital signs of four patients. Even though the student was the one performing the task I, as the registered nurse, had the responsibility to check the observations were recorder and documented. When checking the patients’ observations charts, I realized that although they were filled out, one patient who should have been scoring on the Early Warning Score (EWS) system had not been identified and had been scored at 0. The EWS is a guide used to quickly determine the degree of illness of a patient. It has a policy to escalate and act quickly to prevent further deterioration (. As this student has been placed in the hospital for other clinical placements, I had expectations that he would have fully understood the EWS. We must work within our limits and if we do not know something, we must ‘ask’ in order to provide safe care. Moreover, I asked the student to evaluate his performance by asking him how well he thought he did. I listened to his side of the story and provide constructive feedback to identify his strengths as well as areas he has to work on. Giving constructive feedback is an important role of a mentor in student assessment. From this discussion, we put into place an action plan that allowed him to practice more on patients observations and study the anatomy and physiology of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. I gave him a list of articles about EWS and asked him to read and interpret them. I also directed him to a microteaching session of EWS system. Once he felt confident and comfortable with his skills, the sign-off mentor and myself allocated him with four patients and evaluated him at the end of the shift. By the end of the day, the student was competent and self-assured in carrying out vital sign observations and mapping them on EWS. Mentoring gives an opportunity to reflect on our own actions and beliefs and helps us change our practices. Upon reflection, I have acknowledged my own strengths and weaknesses as a mentor, and become more aware of my role as an assessor. Thus, sometimes, nurses fail to fail students because they are not adequately prepared for the role. However, when a student does fail to meet the necessary foundation competence required by the NMC, then the only option would be to fail the student based on these ground rules. I believe that it takes a skilled mentor to quickly identify when a student requires more support and guide them through their learning with all available resources. Evaluation of learning In mentoring a student nurse it is essential to continuously evaluate and reflect on practice. Vuorinen et al (2001) found that evaluation is an important aspect of professional development. Therefore, ensuring adequate evaluation techniques are being used is imperative to a student nurses progression. As a mentor I encourage and welcome feedback from students with regards to my mentoring techniques and the environment in which they are learning. There is a difference in being a teacher or evaluator compared to being an assessor, an important role aspect of being mentors (Webb Shakespeare 2008). Being a mentor is challenging, especially when there is a shortage of staff as it reduces the amount of time that mentors could allocate to student assessment. Not only is this important for the progression but also my reflection on a personal practice. Clynes and Raffery (2014) highlight that effective feedback should not only explore areas or current practice, but should empower the studen t to proceed with excellent practical skills. Create an environment for learning When we share feedback on the learning environment, it allows my colleagues and I to ensure the ward is deemed appropriate by students’. Saarikoski Leino-kilpi (2002) emphasizes the need for a positive ward environment and a good leadership structure within the ward in order to maximize learning potential. Midgley (2006) identifies the importance of learning in clinical practice and the balance of theoretical and practical work by student nurses. Working with a first-year student on her first placement, we identified her objective e of learning about basic nursing care and how to ensure patients met their Activities of Daily Living (ADLS) (Roper, Logan and Tierney 2000). In order to facilitate her objective, every morning we highlighted the patients with dependency scores that indicated they would need more nursing care that someone who was completely independent with their ADLs. We carried out the basic nursing care together until the student felt comfortable doing this by herself when appropriate. Every morning, she would highlight the patients’ needs and use this to plan the care she would provide. The student excelled in the care given to these patients and updated care plans as and when was necessary. Context of practice When I became ward manager that I currently work on, I realized that the handover was not as efficient as required. It was an area in which I felt we, as nurses, could develop our ward handover procedure. In addition, I felt important information was left out which will potentially improve our clinical care for the patients. Sexton et al (2003) discussed the use of good communication tools for nursing handovers in order to provide continuity of care. I decided to use Safety Briefing forms to emphasize the patients who needed more attention (e.g. risk of falls, step down from ICU, etc.) so that the whole team was aware of particular patients’ needs. The students and members of the team seemed to appreciate the simple tool which allowed them to discuss patients’ care, due to the structure they were provided with. I feel that introducing this tool to the team I work with has changed communication and in turn patients care for the better. Not only has it benefitted the current staff but it gives students the opportunity to practice and gain confidence in what can sometimes be challenging communication situations. Evidence based practice Brown et al (2008) recognized the importance of evidence based practice to ensure patients’ safety at all times. However, there are barriers which are identified including time and resources. The importance of applying theory to practice was highlighted by Upton. D (1999) therefore it is essential that a good mentor facilitates this. While working with a second-year student, we allocated him with a patient who had contracted Clostridium Difficile. The patient was nursed in a side room with isolation protocols in place following Infection control policy. The student working with me at the time discarded the apron and gloves inside the side room as per indicated. Nevertheless, he forgot to wash his hands to decontaminate them. Gerding et al (2014) provide evidence to show that C.Difficile spores will survive in the hands, therefore the evidence states that we must only use soap and water in these instances and ensure that patients and visitors use the same approach. I sat with t he student and showed him the evidence articles, asking him to read through them. In response, he acknowledged that he needs to improve his nursing care and took it upon himself to remind visitors before and after entering a room that washing hands with soap and water is a must. Leadership Bally J. (2007) recognizes the importance of leadership in ensuring effective nursing standards. Not only is it important for nurses to have good leadership support from their seniors, but it is also essential that all nurses are themselves good leaders. Latham et al (2008) states the importance of nurses supporting team members is imperative to good patient care and career progression. Consequently, it is evident that a mentor should have good leadership skills in order to be an advocate for their student nurse and support them though their training. Wilkes Z (2006) describes the mentors role a one of support but also objective and analytical. When working with a student it is always essential that the student’s objectives and aims are met though planning and regular discussions of feedback and encouragement. I met a student at her first neurosurgical placement. She developed a strong interest in our area and discussed her eagerness of seeing more aspects of neurosurgery, particularly brain tumors. I promoted her spending time with theatre cases of oncology, followed by shadowing oncology nurses and their discussions at the Multidisciplinary Team Meeting every week. She was also present at family meetings where the results were discussed with the patient and the treatment to follow explained to the family. The student enjoyed her time and felt that she engaged well with members of the medical team. We set up objectives for her to achieve and had different meetings afterwards to see if the objectives where achieved. She found ‘difficult and painful’ to break up sad news to patients and found that this area of neurosurgery was very challenging and complex but one she would love to dedicate to in the future. We went thought some literature together and shared experiences with he r so she could understand that feeling pain and sadness thrt4ough our nursing career when facing extreme upset situations were common to most of us and nothing to feel ashamed of.

Kayte Clark Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Kayte Clark - Case Study Example According to the US Employment Law different employee unions are not required to ask for such formal permissions prior to contacting any employee. Therefore Kayte accepted their request and allowed them to meet the employees but the company heads including CEO reacted negatively on her action. They passed a notice to the employees stating that Kayte does not have any right to allow employee unions in the organization. Later she was given a onetime retirement offer excluding all the social security and funding benefits. This was supposed to be accepted then and there but she refused to admit it. Consequently, after two weeks she was terminated. Her sudden termination from the organization represents a clear case of retirement discrimination which will be discussed in detail with reference to Employee Retirement Income Security Act: Title VII, The recommendations of National Labor Relations Board and State Torts. This shall be further linked with the elements she must prove for a prima facie case and the awards and damages that she must receive in return. Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA): Title VII Title VII of ERISA covers all the rights of employees while safeguarding them from any social or organizational harm. This is one of the most unique laws in USA as it is solely based upon the individuals who are currently working in an organization rather than contractors or unemployed people. Title VII consists of three fundamental tests through which legal associates recognize that whether an employee falls under this category or not. These include: Agency test i.e. the rights and control of employer over the activities of employees, Economic Realities test which defines the economic dependency of employee over the employer and lastly the Hybrid test which is the combination of agency test and economic test. In addition to this, the legal authorities scrutinize the employment claims as per the duration given to review the contract, nature of agreement either related to employment or retirement, the peculiar terms and conditions and the overall education and experience of the employee. This law is highly applicable in cases such as the one of Kayte because she had significant education and experience in the same organization. Moreover, the time given to Kayte in order to review the retirement package was insufficient neither she was given the opportunity to seek counseling from the company heads. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) NLRB is primarily responsible to improve the working conditions for employees while protecting their wage rights. It guarantees the right of forming an employees’ union in an organization while terminating the inefficient unions or employee groups. Moreover, it encourages the employees to join unions even without the consent of their employer so as to seek social and economic protection. Hence Kayte’s decision to allow the employee union in the organization is justified on the basis of N LRB elements. Furthermore the rules and regulations of National Labor Relations Board are applicable to every employee working at the level of local, state or federal government, in agricultural sector or in domestic service. It also extends protection to people who are employed by their family members or those who work as contractors. This represents that Kayte can easily

Case Analysis Research Striving for Best Academic Practice Study

Analysis Research Striving for Best Academic Practice - Case Study Example The best practice approach should vividly narrate the story one is communicating in a coherent manner. Individuals like reading good stories and people will understand the content in the case study if presented in an attractive way. A well-presented case study enables people to fathom the goals being discussed in the case study (Porter, 2011, 147). A good plot of the story enables the reader to identify the specific needs to be communicated in the case study and how those needs can help the reader attain his or her goals. It is pertinent to update the case study after a while in order to confirm to your customers that your services lead to a long- term benefit. The best practice approach should adopt a formatting style that is easy to read, as many people are not fond of reading huge text. To add taste to the formatting style in writing, some writing features ought to be included for example images, bulleted lists, headers and italicized words (Phillips, 2005, 162). A case study that utilizes these writing features helps individuals who are fond of skimming to grasp the vital information being communicated in a blink of an eye. This is of great importance as the reader can comprehend the basic notion and impression that can help him or her. In order to capture your intended target, case studies should incorporate the use of real numbers to solidify the intended meaning. It would convey a different weight in meaning to say that Facebook has steadily retained its success path where within its 15 months IPO, its average employees revenue returns was $ 1.3 million if real numbers were not included (Morris, 2013, 98). Real numbers create the real picture being depicted in the case study thereby enabling the intended target to grasp the impression communicated in the study. It is also pertinent to highlight some figures to improve on the clarity and to avoid ambiguity. The best practice

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English Language Mastery - Essay Example The out of class essays significantly helped me identify my strengths and weaknesses in the mastery of English language. When I was writing the two essays, I realized I could use some of the vocabularies that I had learnt in the course of my study. As featured in the essay on Inequality in America, I was able to use clearly and precisely words such as ‘perpetuate’, ‘rudimentary’ and ‘adamant’ among others. Such words, I did not have a slight idea of what they entailed. The same translates to the essay on The Effectiveness of Education in our Society. In addition, there was a clear mastery of sentence structuring. Initially, my sentences used to be lengthy and I used to receive comments that they were ‘ambiguous’. The use of speech marks has also been widely entrenched in my writings. I used to find it difficult to quote phrases from other sources and whenever I tried, there lacked coherence with the rest of my work. Through the essa ys, I was also able to perfect the art of writing an essay; this involves the arrangement of work into introduction, body and the conclusion. In addition, every beginning sentence of every paragraph had to carry a meaning that is explained in the rest of the paragraph.The in-class essay formed the foundation of my writing. These helped shape my skills such that the out of class assignments became easy to approach. There were myriad of challenges that I encountered through these assignments. Firstly, tenses were proving somehow challenging to master.

Causes and effects of Homeless Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Causes and effects of Homeless - Research Paper Example The author states that poverty plays the biggest role in rendering people homeless. This is because poverty and homelessness inextricably link. Agreeably, poor people face substantially hard times when paying for their house rent, food, education, child care, and health care among other things (Andersen & Taylor, 2010). Note that, one must make difficult choices especially when limited resources have to cover a number of these necessities. In most cases, according to experts, many people tend to opt for other things instead of housing since housing absorbs much of most individuals’ earnings (Levinson, 2004). A research carried out in 2007by the US Bureau of the Census 2007 found out that 12.5 percent (37.3 million) of the US population lived in poverty. The Bureau asserted that the 2007 findings were not statistically different from those of 2006 in any way (Ravenhill, 2008). Further studies on this subject indicated that increased erosion of employment opportunities for the l arger segment of the American workforce and the declined availability and value of public assistance are the two major contributing factors accounting to increased poverty. Advocates for homeless maintain that violence in homes is a factor contributing to homelessness, particularly in women with children. Facts about the homeless point out that almost half of all homeless youths and adult women with children experienced domestic violence prior to fleeing their homes (Andersen & Taylor, 2010). Nationally, studies reveal that most people who are now homeless could not withstand the kind of physical abuse they experienced in their homes and as such, they opted to run away or rather disappear from their previous settlement (Levy, 2010). Research findings from 2007 showed that of the more than 7,000 people counted during the One Night Count, over 1000 complained indicated that domestic violence is a significant element that contributed to their state of homelessness.

How the Declaration of Independence was accepted in America and Europe Essay

How the Declaration of Independence was accepted in America and Europe - Essay Example American Revolutionary War was the last part of the political American Revolution, so it was expected that the Great Britain would offer its colonies their rights; unfortunately, the colonists had refuted the civil liberties of the Parliament of Great Britain in ruling them with no representation. In the mid 1770s, revolutionaries were in charge of all of the thirteen colonial governments. They established the Second Continental Congress, while at the same time forming a Continental Army. Formal requests to the King to intervene on behalf of the colonial governments were ignored; rather, the outcome was the Congress declaring the colonial governments as traitors, which led to rebellion by the state in the following year. This led to Americans taking action and proclaiming themselves a new independent nation. They asserted jurisdiction and declined any obligation with the British rule. Later on in 1770, the Continentals incarcerated a British army, which resulted in France joining the war and supporting the Americans. Early the following year, the military had empowered with Britain, which resulted in Spain and Dutch Republic joining forces with Britain as French allies. During the course of the war, the British had utilized their naval power in taking over, as well as inhabiting the coastal cities. They had also gained control over the countryside where most of the occupants were avoiding them due to their comparatively small land army. The involvement of France was significant, since in early 1980s, there was a victory in Chesapeake which led to the surrendering of the second British army in Yorktown. Later on there was the signing of the Treaty of Paris that acknowledged the supremacy of the United States over a number of territories (Vigil 23). Effects of the Declaration of Independence on Revolutionary War Declaration of Independence had a number of effects on the Revolutionary War, some of which were negative, as well as positive. All the stakeholders invo lved in both the signing of this treaty and the revolutionary war either suffered or gained as a result. These impacts were tremendous, since the expectations of the Great Britain were completely diminished, while at the same time their colonies gained independence. By giving out the Declaration of Independence, which was accepted by the Continental Congress, the thirteen American colonies totally damaged their political connections with the Great Britain, since the Declaration highlighted the colonists’ tenacity in achieving their independence. By asserting themselves as an independent nation, the American colonists were capable of finalizing a legitimate coalition with the French government. Therefore, they achieve their cooperation in the war against the Great Britain. The British Imperial policies had for a long time oppressed the North American colonists, especially when it came to issues relating to taxation and frontier policy. Despite protests on these British policie s, Great Britain did nothing to change the situation; instead, this resulted in the closure of the port of Boston, along with the declaration of martial law in Massachusetts. Apart from that, the colonial government propelled representatives to a Continental Congress so as to synchronize a colonial ban on British goods. As a result of this, when war began between the British forces and American colonists in Massachusetts, the Continental C

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Major Flaws of Justice System of America Depicted in The Last Line of Defense - Essay Example In his article, â€Å"The Last Line of Defense† in The Atlantic, journalist, Raymond Bonner advocates the abolishment of death penalty in the criminal justice system of America; however, an overemphasis on the shortcomings of the system, one-sided debate, and biased tone deprive the reader of gaining comprehensive knowledge on the issue. He delineates how numerous underlying arbitrary elements influence criminal proceedings. Therefore, capital punishment can prove prejudicial to the accused. He appeals to the reader’s logic. He quotes two real-life criminal cases in detail to demonstrate how the accused were charged guilty despite evidence pointing to the contrary. For this reason, the author advocates the abolishment of the capital regime as it can lead to the execution of innocent persons. Furthermore, this renders the death penalty unconstitutional and unethical. As evident, the use of logos through referring to real life cases assists the reader in deriving rational conclusions on the issue of the death penalty. Similarly, he establishes ethos and credibility by providing a comprehensive and detailed account of the cases. Persuasive arguments are based on all three techniques as evidenced in this article. Bonner begins the article by expressing concurrence with Diana Holt, an opponent of the death penalty. From the very start, he expresses his disapproval of the capital regime by describing Diana Holt as a â€Å"crusader†. He goes on to portray her struggle against the death penalty as â€Å"heroic, long odds battle†. He deliberately depicts Diana Holt as a national hero in order to convince the readers of the rightfulness of his belief. This use of ethos is essential in building credibility and trustworthiness. Thus, the use of ethos in the title sentence unconsciously leads the readers to believe that the death penalty is undoubtedly unjust.

Explain how the relationship between the dose of drug given to an Essay

Explain how the relationship between the dose of drug given to an individual and the concentration of drug molecules - Essay Example These factors are discussed in more detail below, based on the description of Goodman, et al. (2011, ch. 2). The characteristics of the drug molecule itself that affect the drug’s concentration at the receptor site include its molecular size, degree of ionization, lipid solubility, and its affinity for serum and tissue proteins. The plasma membrane (of skin or intestinal cells, for example) is a common barrier to drug distribution; drugs that are not lipid soluble will not be able to permeate the membrane and not reach the target site. A drug of small molecular size will travel more easily through the membranes than a larger molecule, reaching the target in higher concentrations. Ionized molecules, and those that bind to proteins, also have difficulties in passing through the membrane. If the drug has a tendency to ionize at the pH of the intestinal lumen or the blood, the ionized form will have difficulty passing through lipid plasma membranes. If the drug interacts with tran sporter proteins on the cell membrane, its uptake into the cell may be increased or decreased, depending on the direction in which the transporter moves the drug. For example, the P-glycoprotein in enterocytes limits the oral absorption of some cancer chemotherapeutic agents by exporting them back into the lumen of the GI tract. Similarly, it has been found that multidrug transporters such as P-glycoprotein (PGP) and members of the multidrug resistance-associated protein (MRP) family are over-expressed in capillary endothelial cells in epileptogenic brain tissue, and, by transporting anti-epileptic drugs out, these proteins may be responsible for the pharmacoresistance of the epileptic brain to anti-epileptic drugs (LÃ ¶scher and Potschka, 2002). ... transporters such as P-glycoprotein (PGP) and members of the multidrug resistance-associated protein (MRP) family are over-expressed in capillary endothelial cells in epileptogenic brain tissue, and, by transporting anti-epileptic drugs out, these proteins may be responsible for the pharmacoresistance of the epileptic brain to anti-epileptic drugs (Loscher and Potschka, 2002). If a drug is capable of binding to plasma proteins such as albumin, then some of the drug molecules in the bloodstream bind to the proteins, while the remaining unbound drug molecules are available to reach equilibrium across all membranes and reach the target receptor. Thus, plasma protein binding limits the concentration of the drug at its site of action. When the site of action of concern is the brain, the capability of the drug to cross the blood-brain barrier determines the concentration of administered drug that can reach the target. The more lipophilic the drug in its unbound, non-ionized form, the great er will be its ability to pass through the endothelial cells forming the blood-brain barrier, and thus the higher will be its bioavailability in the brain. How the route of administration affects the fraction of the drug dose that reaches the target is also important. The most common route of administration is oral, however, this route has several implications on bioavailability, and the dose swallowed will not entirely reach the target site. Only a fraction of the ingested drug is absorbed from the intestine, depending on the factors discussed in the previous paragraph. As more absorption takes place in the intestine than the stomach, any factor that increases stomach emptying (such as such as lying down on the right side and level of physical activity) increases drug absorption as the

Resume Cover Letter samples Essay Example for Free

Resume Cover Letter samples Essay Dear Mr. or Ms. Last Name: Your opening paragraph should briefly introduce you and your interest in the company. If you are aware of a specific position or opening, refer to it now. This paragraph should also be used to mention the names of individuals you have met from the company (e.g., at the EIS, company event or other networking event), or the individual who directed you to this person. Cite other research that prompted you to write, such as a recent article on the company or a positive networking interaction. The last line in this paragraph should give a summary statement of who you are and why you are a strong fit for the position. Your middle paragraph (or two) should consist of specific examples from your background that would be of greatest interest to the company and consequently create the â€Å"notion of fit.† Do not just make broad generalizations about your skill set – any assertions about your skills have to be backed up with specific examples of how/why you have developed those skills. Focus on your skills and accomplishments and how they could contribute to the company, but do not simply restate what is on your resume. Demonstrate that you know about the organization and the industry. If you are a career changer, it is essential to clearly state your transferable skills from previous experience that directly relates to the skills required in the position you are interested in. Your closing paragraph represents your summation and should outline the key next steps. For example, state  that you would like to discuss employment opportunities or other information with the person and that you plan on contacting them on a specific date. If the company has a specific position available, ask for an opportunity to interview. Thank the addressee for his or her time and consideration. Include your telephone and email address in case the cover letter gets separated from your resume. Sincerely, (signature) Your Name Enclosure(s) (If you send resume or other materials.) Student Name 123 Riverside Drive Philadelphia, PA 19103 [emailprotected] Date Ms. Recruit Mint Best Company 123 Recruiting Lane New York, NY 10027 Dear Ms. Mint: As a first year student at the Wharton School, I would like to be considered for your product development summer internship program. After attending your on campus presentation in October, I became very excited about the exciting career opportunities and dynamic culture at Best Company. I was particularly impressed with Best Company’s ability to maintain a small company culture while offering the resources and professional development opportunities of a large conglomerate. Additionally, my conversations with Joe Smith and Susie Queue served only to strengthen my belief that Best Company would be the ideal place for me to leverage my strong analytical and marketing abilities to make a substantial impact in the consumer goods industry. I believe my strong finance and marketing background, along with my prior consumer goods experience will enable me to be an effective part of Best Company’s team. Prior to Wharton, I worked in the consumer goods industry for 5 years,  handling export sales and marketing products for a leading beverage firm. As the leader of a 15 person cross functional team tasked with launching the company’s first new product in 5 years, I learned a great deal about the importance of creating buy in at all levels of the organization and understanding consumers’ needs and preferences. Despite aggressive deadlines and budget constraints, I led the team to successfully launch a $10 million new product which continues to be one of the top 3 selling beverages in its segment. In addition, during my MBA training, I have focused on developing my strategic analysis and financial planning competencies, two areas which I know are critical success factors for product managers in Best Company. These skills, along with my prior work experience and passion for new product development, will enable me to significantly contribute to your business. I would welcome the opportunity to interview with your company when you are on campus on February 4. Please find my resume attached. I look forward to meeting with you soon and want to thank you in advance for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Wharton Student Enclosure: Resume Student Name 123 Uris Street, Apt 3 New York, NY, 10025 Date Ms. Recruit Mint Recruiting Coordinator Unilever 123 Any Street Anytown, State, 12345 Dear Ms. Mint: I am a first-year student at the Wharton School of Business planning on  pursuing a career in brand management. While attending your company’s presentation on October 4, I was particularly impressed with the entrepreneurial mindset of Unilever brand managers and their emphasis on both the qualitative side of marketing, creativity, and the quantitative side, market research. I believe that my background in consulting and strategic planning, combined with my exposure to marketing and consumer insight would be a strong fit for Unilever. Therefore, I am writing to request an interview for the Brand Management Summer Intern position in the Home and Personal Care business. Prior to attending Wharton, I acquired a diverse set of marketing, analytical and project management skills. My experience working directly for the Vice President of Market Research and Consumer Insight at Seagram’s Spirits and Wine on an ethnic marketing strategy will enable me to immediately grasp consumer marketing and demographic issues facing your products. My role as Manager in Strategic Planning for Seagram’s gave me the opportunity to interact with senior management, to work with marketing directors in foreign affiliates and to gain marketing experience with a global perspective. Specifically, I led cross-functional teams in Costa Rica, Venezuela and Mexico to refine marketing strategies for presentation to senior management. In addition, I managed several external agencies in public relations, advertising and events planning for a Captain Morgan awareness campaign which resulted in a 20% increase in brand awareness. I believe that my exposure to senior management and to the tactical side of marketing, combined with the skills I gained as a management consultant – analytical thinking, team leadership and client relationship management- will allow me to make an immediate impact at Unilever. I believe I possess the essential marketing and management skills to be a successful brand manager at Unilever and would appreciate the opportunity to interview on your closed list on February 8. Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to speaking with you soon. Regards, Student Name Enclosure: Resume Student Name 123 Arch Street Philadelphia, PA, 19111 Date Ms. Jane Doe Senior Recruiter Bank 123 456 Wall Street New York, NY 11111 Dear Ms. Doe: As a second year MBA student at The Wharton School of Business, I would like to be considered for your XXX position. Through discussions with current employees, including Victor Jones from your XYZ group, I am convinced that Goldman Sachs offers the best platform for a successful career. I have long been interested in the various financial innovations employing fixed income securities. This passion, combined with my strong banking experience this past summer and my very strong analytical and quantitative abilities, makes me a strong fit for your fixed income group. Over the past summer, I worked as a summer associate at Bank ABC in both equity research and corporate finance. I learned a tremendous amount about the operation of securities business and how to communicate and market one’s idea; however, it also made me realize fixed income securities and derivatives are a better fit with my quantitative and analytical approach than equities. Before business school I was trained and worked as a scientist in genetic research, during which I led teams in successful completion of two projects and further developed my communication and leadership skills. I would very much appreciate the opportunity to interview with your company when you are on campus on February 4th. I look forward to hearing from you. If you have any additional questions, I can be contacted at 215-XXX-XXXX or [emailprotected] Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, John M. Carter 123 Arch Street Philadelphia, PA, 19111 XXX-XXX-XXXX [emailprotected] Date Ms. Jane Doe Senior Recruiter Bank 123 456 Wall Street New York, NY 11111 Dear Ms. Doe, I just graduated from The Wharton School of Business and am extremely interested in pursuing a full time position in Sales and Trading with your firm. I am a highly motivated and outgoing individual, as evidenced by my previous work experience in the investment banking industry, and I am convinced that an opportunity in Sales and Trading would allow me to combine these traits with my analytical, computer and quantitative problem solving skills. Spending the summer rotating through the trading floor at Bear Stearns allowed me to realize that a trading environment with excitement, challenges and learning opportunities is where I need to be. While an analyst for Electronic Data Systems, I worked with Credit Suisse First Boston and Deutsche Bank traders and their systems. Prior to that, at Donaldson, Lufkin Jenrette I worked for the debt-trading desk, capital markets group and investment banking group. Through these positions, I gained substantial knowledge of the securities industry and experience in project management and business development. In addition, the demanding time constraints taught me to work well within a team. In addition, prior to starting at Wharton, I spent four months trading full time for my personal account. With these experiences, I feel that I have  substantial exposure to the markets and their trends and will continue to learn how to use them to my advantage. I have the educational background, academic achievement, practical experience, and passion to be an outstanding member of your team. I hope that you will find me well qualified for this position and I would like to reiterate my strong interest to discuss this opportunity and my qualifications with you further. I will contact you early next week to discuss a mutually convenient time for us to talk and look forward to meeting you soon. Thank you for your time and consideration; I hope to hear from you soon. Sincerely, Your Name goes here Student Name 1111 Ben Franklin Street Philadelphia, PA 19XXX XXX-XXX-XXXX [emailprotected] Date Ms. Tina Brown Assistant Vice President Bank XYZ 999 Wall Street 12th Floor New York, NY 11111 Dear Ms. Brown: As a second year MBA student at Wharton School of Business, I am writing to express my interest in the full-time associate position at Bank XYZ in the London office. I am impressed with the opportunities the firm gives its employees to work in diverse teams and to advise clients on cross-border strategic decisions. Over the summer I served as a Summer Associate in the Real Estate Industry Group of JP Morgan’s corporate finance division. On the third week of my internship I was assigned to work on a French acquisition for a major client and was thrust into a field in which I had no prior experience. My rapid  understanding of this new area and my solid transaction management, people management and strong analytical skills enabled me to make valuable contributions to the project. The subject matter was fascinating and convinced me to further develop my real estate expertise by attending relevant classes, such as Real Estate Finance and Real Estate Transactions. I am interested in building on my summer experience and building a career in investment banking, particularly in the real estate field. Should you require additional information, please contact me by phone or via e-mail. I look forward to meeting with you when you are interviewing on campus in October. Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, XXXXXXXXX Enclosure Student Name 123 West 21st Street Philadelphia, PA 19XXX Date Ms. Jane Johnson Strategic Planning Company ABC 101 JFK Parkway 5th Floor Any city, PA 19XXX Dear Ms. Johnson: I would like to express my interest in the XXX internship position with the Company ABC’s Strategic Planning Group. I have followed closely the movement of your company, and I have been very impressed. I believe that Company ABC has done a fantastic job leveraging its unique brand and assets into a relationship with the consumer that generates multiple streams of revenue from a single customer, and that it has done extremely well in creating new and profitable business segments for the company. Much of that success I attribute to the Strategic Planning  Group, and I would be very excited to use my skills in the development of the next set of strategies that will further strengthen that bond with the customer and that will produce consistent and profitable growth over the coming years. Prior to Wharton, I honed my team leadership, strategy development, and analysis skills while working at XXX Bank. I managed a project to boost net profits by $70 million per year by identifying dissatisfied customers and designing solutions to address their concerns. To succeed my team conducted focus groups to understand the reasons for card member complaints, brainstormed on programs to address these issues, created detailed cost-benefit analyses of proposed solutions, and ultimately coordinated the various groups necessary to implement our recommendations. The project required a comprehensive strategic vision, tremendous attention to detail, strong analytical skills, the ability to clearly communicate ideas, and the ability to mobilize groups with different agendas towards a common objective. I believe these skills would allow me to contribute to Company ABC by developing, analyzing, and implementing the next generation of business strategies. With my penchant for producing tangible results and my enthusiasm for tackling tough issues, I am confident that I can make significant contributions to Company ABC. I hope that you find my background and experience a good fit for your company, and I ask that you include me in your upcoming full-time interview schedule. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you for your time and consideration. Best regards, Student Name Steve Stevenson 222 Western Street, Apartment A Philadelphia, PA 19995 [emailprotected] 215-999-9999 mobile Date Mr. Jeff Jefferson Associate, Investment Banking ABC Bank 123 Wall Street. New York, NY 10004 Dear Mr. Jefferson: I am a first year MBA student at Wharton and am interested in interviewing with ABC Bank for a summer associate position in investment banking. After conducting informational interviews with Eric Erikson, Daniel Danielson, and David Davidson, I am very interested in becoming a part of the successful team at ABC Bank. Before attending business school, I worked for over four years in acquisitions at Company ABC, the nation’s largest health care REIT. My major accomplishments at Company ABC included: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Closing over 50 transactions totaling $425 million; Analyzing the acquisition of a $1.5 billion competing health care REIT; Preparing and presenting investment committee packages to the board of directors for transaction approvals; Leading multiple deal teams simultaneously on numerous transactions; and Ascending from analyst to assistant vice president through two promotions. I am confident that my skills and experience in the real estate industry will enable me to positively contribute to Company ABC. I appreciate your consideration for an on-campus interview with your firm in February. Should you require additional information please contact me at 215-999-9999. Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Steve Stevenson Steve Stevenson 222 Western Street, Apartment A Philadelphia, PA 19995 [emailprotected] 215-999-9999 mobile Date Mr. Jeff Jefferson Recruiter ABC Company 123 Main Street. New York, NY 10004 Dear Mr. Jefferson: I am a first-year MBA student at Wharton with a concentration in marketing and prior experience in market development. I recently read about the joint venture ABC Company is doing with XYZ Communications to expand its broadcast presence in the young adult market. I would be very excited to speak with you about how I could contribute to the success of this exciting new partnership. I believe my background and prior experience will enable me to be an effective part of ABC Company’s team. Prior to Wharton, I worked in the European consumer good industry for four years, handling export sales and marketing for a leading Italian beverage firm. My experience working with the primary European and North American markets gave me a range of essential skills, including insight into consumer purchasing behavior, distribution channels, and advertising and media planning. I successfully managed new product launches and campaigns throughout Europe, helping the company expand into new markets. During my MBA training, I focused on developing my strategic analysis and financial/investment planning competencies. I believe that these skills coupled with my passion for media would enable me to significantly contribute to your business. I would like the opportunity to discuss how my talents could be utilized at Company ABC. I will contact you during the week of February 18 to set up a mutually convenient time for us to talk. Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to speaking with you. Sincerely, Steve Stevenson David Green P.O. Box 5555 New York, NY 10010 215-XXX-XXXX Date Ms. Mary Davison Vice President Company XYZ 100 5th Avenue New York, NY 10101 Dear Ms. Davison: I am a first-year student at the Wharton School of Business pursuing a career in investment management and I am writing to express my interest in the XYZ position with Company XYZ. Your long-term investment perspective and multiple portfolio counselor system bring a richer perspective to your investments. In addition, your unique research portfolio allows your Research Analysts to directly contribute to your friends’ success. During four years in the management consulting industry, I concentrated on improving distribution and manufacturing activities in my clients’ supply chains. The projects I completed taught me the many factors that influence the performance of publicly traded companies and allowed me to hone my client relations skills. Both competencies would serve me well at Company XYZ. My current part-time equity research position at ABC Asset Management is also developing my equity analysis and valuation skill sets. The detailed  research I am performing is furthering my knowledge of how to best analyze a company’s future prospects. I am very interested in speaking with you about how I would contribute to the success of Company XYZ. I hope to have the opportunity to meet with you during you on campus interviews on February XX. Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to speaking with you. Sincerely, David Green Enclosure John Talksalot 155 East 45th Street New York, NY 10001 [emailprotected] 917-201-6716 Date Ms. Natalie Andrews Human Resources Associate Consumer Products Company ABC 555 Amsterdam Avenue Tarrytown, NY 10591 Dear Ms. Andrews: I am a first-year student at the Wharton School concentrating in marketing. I am writing to request an interview on March 3, 2003, for the Summer Associate Global Brand Management position. After attending your MBA Open House on October 21, 2003, and speaking with your colleagues, John Harvey and Jay Fisher, I believe Consumer Products Company ABC would be an excellent match for my future career in global brand management. My passion for the food sector stems from the early exposure I had by working in my family’s food business. I am also excited about contributing my four years of strategic planning and consumer insight to your company. As Manager of Strategic Planning at MasterCard, I led cross-functional teams that developed and implemented integrated marketing plans and successfully communicated our platinum card’s benefits to consumers with maximum impact  and efficiency. This role also afforded me the opportunity to interact with senior management from other divisions, work with marketing directors in foreign affiliates and gain marketing experience with a global perspective. I believe that my tactical success in expanding MasterCard’s brand name by targeting new consumer segments as well as my success in refining its core market strategies would enable me to make a fine contribution to your team. Thank you for your consideration, and I look forward to speaking with you soon. Best regards, Michael Talksalot Enclosure Jacob Jacobson 100 South 22nd Street Philadelphia, PA 19100 [emailprotected] Tel: (215) 999-9999 Date Ms. Karen Smith Campus Recruiting Manager ABC Consulting 150 Broadway New York, NY 10101 Dear Ms. Smith: I am a first year MBA student at the Wharton School writing to apply for a consulting position in your summer associate program. I am particularly interested in working in the Health Care practice of your New York office. After attending your company presentation and speaking with several consultants from your firm, including John Johnson of the Philadelphia office, I was excited by the opportunity to contribute to ABC Consulting’s innovative work in the health care field. Furthermore, I was impressed by the excellent structure of the summer program, and ABC Consulting’s strong reputation for focusing on both strategy and implementation. As a faculty  member at University of Pennsylvania Medical School, I led a number of basic science projects in diverse disease areas enjoying the opportunity to create and confirm hypothesis. (EXAMPLE) I also had the opportunity to gain managerial experience by collaborating closely with teams of biomedical researchers and ensuring the team thrived in environments of uncertainty. (EXAMPLE include sentence here about quant skills and an example of how you used them). My biomedical science training coupled with my strong leadership experiences and extensive quantitative skills will enable me to provide value to ABC Consulting and its clients. I look forward to speaking with you or your representative when you visit campus in February. In case you require additional information, please feel free to contact me at 215-XXX-XXXX. Thank you very much for your consideration Sincerely, Jacob Jacobson Ms. Susie Stephenson 1955 Sansom Street Philadelphia, PA 19101 Mr. John Johnson Company ABC Corporate Finance Date Dear Mr. Johnson: I am writing to apply for a position as a Summer Financial Associate with Company ABC. As a first-year MBA at the Wharton School, where I am majoring in finance and health care management, I have come to appreciate the unique opportunities provided by Company ABC. After attending your on-campus presentation, I am excited about the finance opportunities at Company ABC. I have been particularly impressed by Company ABC’s ability to maintain a  small-company culture while building a large conglomerate of consumer products, medical device and pharmaceutical companies. With over four years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, I have not only developed sophisticated analytical skills, but also the leadership capabilities necessary to address the growing financial and strategic concerns facing companies today. Most recently as a Financial Analyst at XYZ Pharmaceuticals, where I provided financial support for two therapeutic areas as well as business development activities, I mobilized my colleagues to offer a struggling business unit better financial support. I implemented more insightful ways to look at value options through financial analyses as well as provided deal support on several out-licensing and codevelopment opportunities. In addition, my previous work advising biopharmaceutical clients at ABC Consulting enabled me to fine-tune my communication skills. With my drive, skills, and experience, I am confident that I can make an immediate contribution towards the growth of Company ABC. I look forward to the opportunity to interview with you or your representative when you are on campus in February. Attached please find a copy of my resume. If you have any questions, I can be reached at XXX-XXX-XXXX. Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Susie Stephenson Date Mx. XXX XXX Company X Address City, State, Zip Dear XXXX, I am writing to apply for an XXX position with Company X’s ABC Division. After gaining additional perspective on ABC through my attendance at Company X’s information session and conversations with Benjamin Lim and David Kasper, I am convinced that ABC Division would be an ideal environment to  further my marketing career pursuits. I am impressed with Company X’s marketing training, cutting-edge drug research and ethics-driven culture. The pharmaceutical sales and marketing strategy insights I gained from health care consulting will enable me to make immediate and lasting contributions to ABC Division’s brand management teams. During my tenure at Consulting Firm Y, I assisted executives at Fortune 500 pharmaceutical companies in devising innovative, multi-channel sales and marketing strategies. By leveraging my creativity and analytical skills, I enabled my clients to differentiate themselves from their competition and enhance physician penetration and reach. My strong communication skills will also be valuable in crafting physician messaging and internally sharing information with my Company X teammates. This skill was recognized by upper management at Consulting Firm Y, as I was selected to lead firm-wide training on presentation crafting and storyboarding. Lastly, my initiative in developing a corporate knowledge sharing system at Consulting Firm Y reshaping ABC Pharmaceutical’s training and vendor qualification system, and serving on the Wharton MBA Curriculum Advisory Board demonstrate my leadership and involvement in continued enhancement of the environments where I have worked and studied. I look forward to the opportunity to interview and to continue to learn more about marketing career opportunities at Company X. Should you have any questions regarding my interests or qualifications, please do not hesitate to contact me via e-mail [emailprotected] or at XXX-XXX-XXXX. Sincerely, Student Name

Using Drama to Teach Literacy

Using Drama to Teach Literacy Abstract: The term ‘oracy’ meaning: ‘the ability to speak fluently and articulately and to understand and respond to what other people say’. was first used by Wilkinson in 1965 (Definition, Microsoft Encarta World English Dictionary). Since that time the fact that it is central to all aspects of the learning process and activities in which children engage in school has been increasingly recognised. The development of talking and listening skills is central to the reading process and to participation in all curricular areas. This term my focus was teaching oracy and literacy to year 4 children in an interactive and communicative environment created through the use of drama. By the end of the series of lessons I wanted children in year 4 to be able to identify social, moral and cultural issues in stories. Drama was employed as a tool to create roles showing how behaviour could be interpreted from different points of view. I shall present a discussion of the rationale behind the activities I have chosen, the ways in which the children engaged with them and the success of this approach to the teaching of oracy. I shall support my work with research evidence in the areas of talking and listening, the wider area of literacy, and research pertaining to effective teaching and learning generally. I will discuss what I found when I assessed the progress made by the children and the implication this has for my future role as a teacher by linking my work with the Professional Standards for Qualified Teacher Status and Requirements for Initial Teacher Training. Introduction: The acquisition of language, a complex process, is essential for effective communication throughout life. Creating opportunities for the development of oracy in the classroom is essential if children are to develop the ability to communicate. With research showing that children are increasingly spending time in solitary activities related to computers (MacGilchrist et al., 2006, p.12), thereby reducing opportunities for talking in the home, it is essential for schools to act as facilitators in the development of talking and listening. The National Literacy Strategy defines literacy thus: ‘Literacy unites the important skills of reading and writing. It also involves speaking and listening which, although they are not separately identified in the framework, are an essential part of it. Good oral work enhances pupils’ understanding of language in both oral and written forms and of the way language can be used to communicate. It is also an important part of the process through which pupils read and compose texts.’ (National Literacy Strategy: Framework for Teaching, p.3). The lack of reference to talking and listening as a separate area has been addressed in later recommendations with an acknowledgement that ‘language is an integral part of most learning and oral language in particular has a key role in classroom teaching and learning’ (DfES, 2003, p.3). The document is highly prescriptive in the means through which contexts for talk should be established. This paper will present work carried out with a year 4 class in respect of oracy taught through drama. I will evaluate the opportunities given to children for developing oracy and the ways in which children responded to the tasks. The role of talking and listening: For the past fifty years researchers have been making a clear case for the importance of talk in the learning process. The psychologists Vygotsky and Bruner have demonstrated the fundamental importance to cognitive processes and learning of speaking and listening (Lambirth, 2006, p.59). Talk is both a medium for teaching and learning and one of the materials from which a child constructs meaning (Edwards Mercer, 1987, p.20). I wanted the talking and listening activities to act as a medium for teaching and learning through the children’s interaction. My aim was that they would be teaching and learning from each other through their discussion group work. Their construction of meaning would come about as a result of their understanding of the text and the dilemmas faced by David (see appendix 2). Opportunities for developing talking and listening: Developing talking and listening skills is a complex process which must be carefully managed in the classroom. In all curricular areas oral skills should be constantly being developed through a range of activities and, like other areas of the curriculum, should be differentiated to allow for a range of abilities within the class (see appendix 2). Different subjects offer opportunities for different kinds of talk (DfES, 2003, p.4). It is therefore a very important feature of effective teaching to give children as many opportunities as possible to engage in a variety of types of talk. Children make sense of the world as they learn the communication skills to interact with others in their culture (Lambirth, 2006, p.62). Light and Glachan have shown that children working together and sharing their ideas orally can develop solutions to problems that they could not manage to solve independently (Light Glachan, 1985). Carnell and Lodge suggest that more school learning should be based on talk and dialogue between pupils as ‘it has the power to engage learners in learning conversations, keeps them open to new ideas and requires both honesty and trust (Carnell Lodge, 2002, p.15). Planning the activities: When planning the activities I sought to involve the following aspects: Modelling appropriate speaking and listening; Encouraging sensitive interaction; Ensuring goals are set with clear criteria for success; Planning opportunities for children to investigate, apply and reflect on language in use. (DfES, 2003, p.19) (see planning appendices 1 2). I chose to provide opportunities for talk in the context of drama, giving the children opportunities to engage with one another. Research has shown that children learn more effectively when given opportunities to share ideas. Grugeon points out that this is a skill, like others, and must be taught. ‘Children who are expected to work together in groups need to be taught how to talk to one another. They need talk skills which enable them to get the best out of their own thinking and that of all other members of the group (Grugeon et al., 2001, p.95). For this reason I modelled the activities for the children so that they would have a clear understanding of what they were required to do and how best to go about the tasks in hand (see appendix 2). Some of the children were tentative in respect of their engagement at the beginning of the exercise but the group work gave them opportunities to develop their confidence and self esteem. Developing appropriate talking and listening: It is important to be aware of the difference between incidental talk, in which children engage in the course of an activity, but is not directly related to the learning intentions, and talk which is a main focus of the activity. In my drama activities, I wanted children to be focused on their talk through appropriate activities which would engage them and hold their interest. When planning the activities I was aware of the need to engage pupils on the basis of their prior knowledge ‘To prompt learning , you’ve got to begin with the process of going from inside to outside. The first influence on new learning is not what teachers do pedagogically but the learning that is already inside their heads (Gagnon, 2001, p.51). It was with this in mind that I decided on David’s dilemma. I felt that the children would have sufficient previous knowledge of the ideas presented to be able to identify with the characters and the dilemmas faced by them (see appendix 2). Establishing Rules: In all conversations there are rules, for example, only one person talking at a time. Cordon suggests that ‘ children receive little help in understanding and appreciating the ground rules for group discussion’ (Cordon, 2000, p.86) an issue that I felt it was important to address through the establishment of guidance for the children. This is vital to the process so that all children have equal opportunities to participate in the talking and listening activities. Aims: My aims in the drama activities were: To encourage purposeful talk, the skills associated with which the children could later transfer to other areas of their learning. To develop children’s ability to work in a group. To enable children to develop the confidence and competence to present their work to a group of their peers. To develop children’s skills in forming opinions, responding to other children’s opinions and oral presentation skills. Drama as a tool for developing talking and listening: I chose to approach the teaching of speaking and listening through drama as it affords many opportunities for children to develop their speaking and listening skills. Drama helps children to understand their world more deeply and allows them an opportunity to find ways to explore and share that understanding (Wyse, 2001, p.213). Research about learning has shown that children learn most effectively when learning is meaningful to them. Learning happens in the process of coming to new understandings in relation to existing knowledge (MacGilchrist et al., 2006, p.52). For this reason I gave children the opportunity to create their own scenarios in acting out David’s dilemma. In the group activities I wanted the talk to be open-ended so that the children could question, disagree with, extend and qualify each other’s utterances (DfES, 2003, p.7). After their group activities children had the opportunity to share their ideas with the class, giving them important experiences in presenting their opinions and listening to the views of others. Children were actively engaged in tasks which gave validity to all of their ideas and opinions. When given opportunities, children are keen to engage with issues on text and challenge the conventions of the story (Baumfield Mroz, 2004, p.55). I wanted children to have experience of challenging the ideas they were faced with by developing their own responses to scenarios and the behaviour of characters. Links with reading: The development of effective talking and listening skills is vital to the reading process. Before their oral work, children were finding main ideas in the text to support their viewpoints (see appendix 1). Only after the children had established the supporting information they wished to use, were they in a position to verbalise their ideas. Reading and talking were also linked through the requirement that the children orally summarise the salient points in a written argument. Through a discussion of the ways in which authors are able to develop their ideas children can develop ways in which to present their own ideas to an audience. Effective questioning was essential to this part of the process to provide a framework for the development of the children’s ideas in the correct context. As children have more experience and gain more confidence in this type of activity they are able to act as effective peer questioners, a very useful aspect of pupil self-assessment. Through this process children can measure the success of their own learning. Baumfield and Mroz advocate the development of a community of inquiry to develop pupils’ critical analysis of text (Baumfield Mroz, 2004, p.58). Developing opportunities for talk: In the classroom a variety of types of talk occur throughout the day. The ways in which children interact with each other is very different to the way in which they interact with the teacher who does 70% of the talking in the course of a day (Baumfield Mroz, 2004, p.49). This clearly means that children are not being given sufficient opportunities to develop talking and listening skills critical to success in all other areas. To enhance the role of talk in shaping and developing learning requires a reduction in the teachers role as classroom controller and a shift towards an enabler of talk for thinking (Myhill, 2006, p.19). After the initial modelling and discussion, it was important for me to let the groups work, as far as possible, along the problem path independently. It was my intention to give children a variety of opportunities to engage in different types of talk. They had opportunities to talk in small groups when working on their scenarios and afterwards had opportunities to present their work to the whole class. Talking in groups: Working in groups has been shown to develop a sense of belonging in children, something which I regard as very important in the classroom. Osterman has pointed out that, ‘There is substantial evidence showing or suggesting that the sense of belonging influences achievement through its effects on engagement (Osterman, 2000, p.341). She goes on to say that children with a well developed sense of belonging in school tend to have more positive attitudes to school and each other. As shown in appendix 3 some of the children were lacking in confidence in the initial stages of the activities, something which I would seek to develop in children through more exposure to this type of activity. Resnick has pointed out that while the majority of learning in schools is individualistic in its nature, this is contrary to other aspects of life such as work and leisure activities which are much more social in the nature (Resnick, 1987). It is essential, therefore, that children develop the skills needed for group work so that they have ability to engage in participatory aspects of education. When planning the group activities for the children I was conscious of making sure that each child had a part to play in the development and presentation of each activity. Francis has pointed out that the majority of talking and listening activities involve the teacher doing most of that talking with the children interjecting at suitable gaps in the teacher discourse (Francis, 2002, p.29), something which I wanted to avoid by giving the children ownership of the activities. This would ensure that all children were engaged in the process and less likely to be passive. At the same time children had to be able to quietly listen to the views of others, thereby developing strategies for turn-taking. All the children engaged in the process very well. Assessment: Assessment for learning is a very important aspect of the teaching and learning process and from the point of view of my own professional development the ability to effectively assess pupil learning is a very important competence to have. As Dann has pointed out, ‘if assessment genuinely seeks to give some indication of pupils’ level of learning, pupils will need to understand and contribute to the process’ (Dann, 2002, p.2). In assessing the effectiveness of the activities it is important to assess the appropriateness of the children’s talk for the task. The children participated in the assessment process through their involvement in the plenary sessions. This was coupled with my observations of children’s success on the task (see appendix 3). All of the children achieved the objectives and reported that they enjoyed the activities. Children’s talk is a very good indicator of their understanding of a task. The fact that all the children exper ienced success with the tasks and were able to carry them out using appropriate language was demonstrative of their understanding of the characters and dilemmas with which they were faced. Talking and listening is very valuable to assess understanding particularly with children who have special educational needs and may have difficulty with written tasks. Myers has presented research carried out in primary schools which suggests that children who participate in group work enjoy the experience of working with others and find it very helpful in the learning process (Myers, 2001, cited in MacGilchrist et al., 2006, p.159). My evaluation of the drama activities leads me to agree with this, particularly in light of the comment made by one of the children ‘I wish we could always do drama with English’(see appendix 3). Children’s language, like most of their learning, responds to encouragement (Fontana, 1994, p.78). This is an important idea to bear in mind when giving the children feedback and it is important to praise their efforts at contributing. I would hope that this would encourage the children who were initially reluctant participants in their efforts in the future. What I have Learnt: I have developed a greater degree of understanding of the role of talking and listening in the curriculum as well as an understanding of how children progress in this area and what they should be expected to achieve. I hope to build on this in my future development and feel that I have made progress in terms of the standards laid out by the Training and Development Agency. Appendix 1: Literacy planning: Appendix 2: Lesson Observation Sheets: Appendix 3: Evaluation: Evaluation: Week 2 All groups were very engaged and enjoyed the task. They said that they wished they could always do drama with English. Possible action to be taken: More use of drama when teaching English. Assessments Child’s Name Objective achieved? Comments: Action: Andrei More able √ Very animated – leader of group Speaking ad listening skills Leo Middle Group √ Co-operative Robert Middle Group √ Tentative at first – more engaged with script Confidence building Oona Middle group √ Good directional skills Use of props (desk) Good team player Danielle More able √ Works well in her team. Alexandra SEN √ Tentative – very aware of being stared at. Confidence building References: Baumfield, V. Mroz, M. (2004) Investigating Pupils’ questions in the primary classroom in E.C. Wragg (Ed.)(2004) The RoutledgeFalmer Reader in Teaching and Learning. London:RoutledgeFalmer. Burns, C. Myhill, D. (2004) Interactive or inactive? A consideration of the nature of interaction in whole class teaching. Cambridge Journal of Education, 34, 1, 35-49. Carnell, E. Lodge, C. (2002) Supporting Effective Learning. London: Paul Chapman Publishing. Cooper, P. McIntyre, D. (1996) Effective Teaching and Learning. Buckingham:Open University Press. Cordon, R. (2000) Literacy and Learning Through Talk: Strategies for the Primary Classroom. Buckingham: Open University Press. Dann, R. (2002) Promoting Assessment as Learning. London: RoutledgeFalmer. Department for Education and Employment (1998) The National Literacy Strategy: Framework for Teaching. London: DfEE. Department for Education and Employment (2003) Speaking, Listening and Learning Handbook. London: DfEE. Department for Education and Skills (2003) Speaking, Listening, Learning: Working with children in key stages 1 and 2. London: DfES. Edwards,D. Mercer, N. (1987) Common Knowledge. London: Metheun. Francis, P. (2002) Get on with your talk. Secondary English Magazine, 5, 4, 28-30. Gagnon, G.W. (2001) Designing for Learning. London: Paul Chapman Publishing. Grugeon, E., Hubbard, L., Smith, C. Dawes, L. (2001)(2nd edition) Teaching Speaking and Listening in the Primary School. London: David Fulton. Lambirth, A. (2006) Challenging the laws of talk: ground rules, social reproduction and the curriculum. The Curriculum Journal, 17, 1, 59-71. Light, P. Glachan, M. (1985) Facilitation of individual problem-solving through peer group interaction. Journal of Educational Psychology, 5, 3-4. MacGilchrist, B., Myers, K. Reed, J. (2006) The Intelligent School. London: Sage Publications. Myhill, D. (2006) Talk, talk, talk: teaching and learning in whole class discourse. Research Papers in Education, 21, 1, 19-41. Osterman, K. (2000) Students’ need for belonging in the school community. Review of Educational Research, 70, 3, 323-367. Resnick, L.B. (1987) Learning in school and out. Educational Researcher, 16, 9, 13-40. Training and Development Agency (2002) Qualifying to Teach: Professional Standards for Qualified Teacher Status and Requirements for Initial Teacher Training. London: Training and Development Agency for Schools. Thompson, P. (2006) Towards a sociocognitive model of progression in spoken English, Cambridge Journal of Education, 36, 2, 207-220. Vygotsky, L. (1972) Thought and Language. Cambridge, MA: MIT. Wyse, D. Jones, R. (2001) Teaching English Language and Literacy. London: RoutledgeFalmer.