Who or That †That Is The Question

Who or That – That Is The Question Who or That – That Is The Question Who or That – That Is The Question By Guest Author This is a guest post by Charles Ray. If you want to write for Daily Writing Tips check the guidelines here. Some might think me an old fashioned, stuffy person when it comes to grammar. I realize that language, whether written or spoken, is a living thing, and that it changes with time; but, there are some modern conventions that I have problems with. Some things that young people say and write these days grate on my ear, and I resist them with all my might. One of the conventions that really gets my dander up is the use of ‘that’ in sentences when logic, and my ear, tells me that ‘who’ would be more appropriate. Here, for instance, is a sentence I encountered recently in a paper written by a college graduate: â€Å"The judge that decided the case came from the lower court.† Now, I assume the judge in this sentence is human, and when I struggled with English grammar many decades ago, this sentence would have earned red marks all over the page – and quite likely a failing grade. I would have been told in no uncertain terms that the correct formulation is, â€Å"The judge who. . .† I have been chided by many of my colleagues for my fussiness over this particular issue; and it is just one of many modern grammatical conventions that send me into orbit when I encounter them. They’ve pointed out that this is not ‘incorrect,’ and besides, it has become accepted usage among a large number of writers. Well, not this writer. Correct, it might be, and I’m not entirely convinced of that, but it just doesn’t sound right. It grates on my ear when I hear or read it. Just because a lot of people do something doesn’t make it the right and proper thing to do. In my dictionary, one of the definitions of ‘that’ is, â€Å"Adj. Being the one singled out or understood.† ‘Who,’ on the other hand, is defined as â€Å"What or which persons used as a relative pronoun to introduce a clause when the antecedent is a human, or is understood to be a human.† From these definitions, I will grant there is some merit to the argument that using ‘that’ instead of ‘who’ is not incorrect, per se. But, when we write, the purpose is to communicate, and when a ‘correct’ convention gets in the way of communication, it is ‘wrong.’ The language and its grammar are constantly changing, but this is no reason for us to blithely accept each change. We should in fact firmly resist any change until it is proven to be not merely correct, but right. I have not been convinced that substituting ‘that’ for ‘who’ is right, and until I am, I will continue to be the grammar cop who stands in the middle of the street with hands out saying, â€Å"Stop!† And, that is all I have to say about ‘that.’ Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:7 Classes and Types of PhrasesBest Websites to Learn English30 Nautical Expressions

Dividing a Word When Writing or Typing

Dividing a Word When Writing or Typing Sometimes it is necessary to divide a word at the end of the line because there is not enough space for the completion of the word. These days many computer programs automatically take care of this problem for you. However, if you are using a typewriter or handwriting on stationary it is useful to know these rules. In order to divide a word add a hyphen (-) typed without a space immediately after the first part of the divided word at the end of the line. For example ...The matter of job compen-sation is extremely important... Rules for Dividing Words Here are the most important rules to follow when dividing a word By syllable: Divide the word by syllables or units of sound. For example, important, im-por-tant - important has three syllables; thinking, think-ing - thinking has two syllables By structure: Divide the word into the smaller units of meaning from which the word is constructed. It may have a beginning (a prefix) such as un-, dis-, im-, etc., (im-portant, dis-interested) or an ending (a suffix) such as -able, -fully, (as in desirable, desir-able). By meaning: Decide how each part of the divided word is best understood in order that the word is easily recognized from the two parts. For example, compound words such as houseboat made up of two words combined to make a single word, house-boat. Here are six further rules to help you decide when and how to divide words. Never divide a word within a syllable.Never divide an ending (suffix) of two syllables such as -able or -fully.Never divide a word with an ending of two letters such as -ed -er, -ic (exception -ly)Never divide a word so that one of the parts is a single letter.Never divide a word of one syllable.Never divide a word of fewer than five letters.

Gaddafi Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Gaddafi - Essay Example Muammar Gaddafi attempted to kill the movement by applying force. He had been ruling Libya for 42 years and the people of Libya were in a desperate need of change. The brutal retaliation by Gaddafi was met with a similar disposition. The use of fire to curb a public emotion was condemned all over the world. The death of Muammar Gaddafi served as a denouement for the whole scenario and proved to be an ultimate victory for the democracy-craving people of Libya. This is probably the biggest news of the year so far and the story was promptly covered by all the media. The print media, newspapers and magazines have limited capacity to cover a news story. They need to edit the news more than the broadcast media because they have limited space on paper and they need to put the most important material and refrain from redundancy. These days, it mostly happens that a news story is covered by the broadcast media earlier than the newspapers. When newspapers were the most dominant means of news, the major headline of a news story was, apart from espying, written in a manner that meant to give people news for the first time. These days, it is done by the broadcast media as it they are quicker. The newspapers now tend to make their headlines in a similar manner but add some more information to the news story that the people already know about in the sub-headings. The aforementioned story about Gaddafi’s demise was covered by The New York Times. T he front said, â€Å"Violent End to an Era as Qaddafi Dies in Libya.† Qaddafi has been a well-known figure world-wide and the story of his death gave very less information about his past as to how he came into power. The news story focused more on the recent events that lead to his death. The rebels were hailed for their efforts to end an era of dictatorship. Their brief interviews were included. The NYT included brief interviews and views of the rebels but they were edited to a great degree. They were edited into succinct remarks. The interview of Omran Shaaban, the fighter who along with his friends claimed to be the first to have found Qaddafi hiding, was paraphrased for brevity. After briefly telling about the death of Qaddafi, the news article shifted its focus to the new political state of Libya. Qaddafi’s death had sent Libya into the hands of rebels it was a chief point of concern for the entire world. The news article presented a picture of new state of affair s and future possibilities for Libya. Then it mentioned the fact that the other rebel groups were very happy with the event and they had congratulated each other. Following the traditional â€Å"inverted pyramid† format, after mentioning the important facts, the news article then proceeded to tell the details of the death of Qaddafi. Broadcast Journalism has a capability of reporting the smallest of developments in a very prompt manner. The news of Qaddafi’s death was only a rumor in the beginning. News channels quickly reported that there were unconfirmed reports of Qaddafi’s death. They also mentioned that efforts were being made for the confirmation of the news. They had it confirmed that he had been

Determining the Impact of Information Systems Research Proposal

Determining the Impact of Information Systems - Research Proposal Example It is pertinent to define and explain a little about political organizations with a few examples of such bodies in the United States and Australia. There are diverse definitions or perceptions of political organizations and a few of them are worth mentioning. According to Leacock & Lee (1982) political organizations are comprised of â€Å"those portions of social organization that specifically relate to the individuals or groups that management the affairs of public policy or seek to control the appointment or action of those individuals or groups†. A legal perception of such bodies as perceived by the North Dakota Supreme Court defines political organization as â€Å"a political party or other group, a principal purpose of which is to further the election or appointment of candidates for legislative or executive office or to support or oppose the continuation, amendment, repeal, enactment, initiative, or referendum of any constitutional, statutory, or regulatory provisionâ⠂¬  (N.D. Code Jud. Conduct Terminology, 2006). A much narrower and even stronger definition is given by Radcliff-Brown, in the sense that they emphasize the words coercive authority and physical force to be a factor in politics. The common thread that runs through all the definitions is the element of control that a political organization can have over the society and individuals in the society. But only the legal definition mentions the term election and not the other two. This indicates that election is not mandatory for an organization to be considered political. So, a monarchy, where continuity is by birth rather than by mandate can also be considered to be political if has the power to control the society. It can also be applicable in the case of a dictatorship. Generally speaking, any group that fields candidates to be elected to positions of power in a government can be considered to

Mussoliniss Foreign Policy Essay Example for Free

Mussoliniss Foreign Policy Essay How consistent was Italian foreign policy between 1922 and 1943? Mussolinis main aim through foreign policy was to exalt Italys pride, which was seen severely deteriorated after the First World War. By the statement My objective is simple. I want to make Italy great, respected and feared Mussolinis objectives are clearly can be clearly deduced. However, historians still disagree over Mussolinis conduct of foreign affairs, in the years between his assumption of the premiership and the conquest of Ethiopia in 1935-6. Some support the view, once he acquired strong dominance on the communists, that the imperialism of 1930s was the unplanned response to domestic problems of a dictator whose main concerns where the internal consolidation of his regime. More recently, however, the balance of opinion has tended towards the belief in the underlying consistency of Mussolinis foreign policy. Mussolinis foreign policy operates along fairly well-worn paths, and his main areas of interest remained the Mediterranean, Africa and the Balkans Mussolinis foreign policy operates along fairly well-worn paths, and his main areas of interest remained the Mediterranean, Africa and the Balkans. As these two aims were, to some extent achieved during the 1920s, Iitalian foreign policy became increasingly expansionist in the 1930s, aiming not only to control the Mediterranean but as well, the African Empire. In the course of 1922-3 the weakness of Italys position became all too clear to Mussolini. He first failed to gain any substantial concessions in Africa or in the middle East from Britain and France when, at the Lausane, the negotiated a new peaceful treaty with Mustapha Kemal after his successful resistance would avoid the Treaty of Sevrà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s to be applied on Turkey. Secondly, he was also unsuccessful in exploiting in the interests of Italy the international crisis caused by the French occupation of the Ruhr in January 1923. Mussolini changed his role from mediator between France and Britain, who opposed the occupation, to opponent of at one point of a potentially anti-British building bloc, composed of the main Continental States. He was mistrusted by both, London and Paris and was set aside from the European stage. The incident in Corfu, in 1923 gave Mussolini the reputation of being a dangerous firebrand. In 1923 Mussolini seized the chance to occupy Corfu, a strategically important island guarding the Southern entrance into the Adriatic, given that the Greek government seemed to refuse to pay the 50 million lira compensation they asked for the assassination of an Italian general and his staff, who were mapping out for an international inter-allied Commission the new Greek- Albanian frontier on Greek territory. Mussolini not only rejected the Leagues intervention but began to build a military base in the island. The incident was celebrated as a great success for Mussolini however, in reality it was a diplomatic defeat for Mussolini, since he had been forced to leave Corfu by Anglo-French pressure. However, Mussolini felt obliged into adopting a more conventional foreign policy. Mussolini could not run the risk of isolating Italy from the rest of Europe, therefore seeked for to establishing closer relationships with Britain and France. Mussolini, in order to maintain an independent state, cultivated the friendship of Austria and Hungary and in 1930 a similar treaty with similar treaty with Austria. Relations with Austria became ever closer after Hitler came to power in Germany after Hitler came to power in Germany and Mussolini provided the arms and money for the Austrian chancellors private army. In 1924 the Pact of Rome was signed with Yugoslavia, by which Italy received the long-disputed town of Fiume, though a part of it, Susak, went to Yugoslavia, along with port Barros. Two treaties with Alabania were signed in 1926 and 1927, firmly established Italian influence in Albania. This marked the first stage in Mussolinis efforts to establish Italy in the Balkans where Czechoslovakia, Roumania and Yugoslavia were tied to France, Italys like enemy, ver closely. During the 1920 Mussolini realised that he needed the friendship of France and Britain in view that he could not yet attempt to have the Versailles treaty revised in his favour. He went to Locarno thus in 1925 he went to Locarno and signed the treaties which guaranteed the frontiers between France and Germany, as well as the ones between Belgium and Germany, and in 1928 he signed. In particular, he drew closer to Britain, and though he privately resolved to end British power in the Mediterranean, he saw her as a possible friend in any future conflict. The frontier between Libya and Egypt was reached through an agreement, and there was a possibility of British aid for the railway building in East Africa. During the 1920 therefore, Italy remained a member of the League of Nations and acted as good citizen of Europe. Mussolinis foreign policy therefore followed a peaceful path. However, the peaceful pattern which Mussolinis foreign policy followed during the 20s was to be changed suddenly in the 30s, and thus also the slight consistency it had been following so far. This was mainly caused by Hitlers advent to power, what obviously altered things considerably. Mussolini saw the potential of a German alliance against Britain and France to revise the 1919 settlement; on the other hand he took care of having Germany too close. In April 1933 Goering and Papen visited Rome, however, all what Mussolini could achieve was German agreement to the Four Power Pact (between Italy, Germany, France and Britain) to keep peace in Europe, thus replacing the League. It was even signed actually by Germany and Italy (on 15 July 1933). A crucial meeting with Hitler took place in his visit to Venice in 1934. The meeting went bad unfortunately, since Mussolini refused to have an interpreter despite his German being very poor, so the meeting meant little to either. Things became worsened by the crisis following the death of Dollfuss a month later, so that Mussolini was far from being an ally of Hitler in 1934-5. Mussolini even attended the Stressa conference in April 1935, which was called by France, and in which it had to be considered what action to take in order to guarantee the independence of Austria. Italy joined to the declarations and protests, partly in genuine hostility to Germany, but mainly to avoid British and French hostility. In the 1920s the Italian empire was hardly promising. In Lybia, which was the territorially the heart of the Empire , but only some 2000 Italians had settled there and by 1930 it was costing over 500 million lire per annum, compared with 107 million in 1921. There were two smaller Italian colonies which looked more promising, for they bordered on to Ethiopia (Abyssinia), one of the few remaining independent kingdoms of Africa. Italy therefore took special interest in Abyssinia, sponsoring her membership on the League in 1923 and signing a treaty of friendship in 1928. However, in view that Haile Selassie (the ruler) did not intend to allow his country to be dominated by a modern power (signature of a treaty with Japan in 1930) Mussolini considered the possibility of war to force Abyssinia under Italian control. The clue incident which brought war about was the Ual Ual incident, in which the Italians claimed the right to use this oasis, which was located in the border of Abyssinia and Italian Somaliland, which was marked in the maps as being part of Abyssinia. Italians in Ual Ual were therefore murdered in the oasis in December 1934. Mussolini demanded an apology as well as compensation from Abyssinia, while the Abyssians claimed investigation from the League of Nations, and were pleased in May 1935. Mussolini made preparations for his attack, by either building up forces and sounding out the attitude of Britain and France. In June, Enden, on behalf of the British government offered the Abyssinians a corridor to the sea through British Somaliland if they gave Mussolini part of Ogaden, offer however rejected by Mussolini. In the summer Italian troops under generals de Bono and Graziani arrived at Eritrea. Mussolini continued to make noises about his intentions, feeling disastified by the League resolutions in which it established that neither part was to be blamed by the Ual Ual incident. Italians brought war about provided that the meeting the held with British and French, in which Italy was offered the opportunity to develop Abyssinia provided that the Abyssinians agreed, did not satisfied Mussolini, since he foreshadow that it would be unlikely to obtain such agreement. The conquest of Abyssinia was regarded as a major triumph in Italy, ranking alongside the Concordat of 1929. Mussolini had said the Italian character has to be formed through fighting, and he stuck at this idea definitely between the 30 and until the 40s, completely contrasting the peaceful means through which Mussolini had been able to achieve good foreign relationships, by the 1920s. When the Spanish civil war broke out Mussolini supported immediately Franco and the Nationalists by providing them with men and equipment, on the grounds that he could not allow a communist government to be formed in the Mediterranean. It deepened the rift between Italy and Britain and France, and aligned Mussolini more firmly with Germany. In 1936, exalting the new closeness between Italian-German relationships, the October Protocols were signed. Italy conceded German predominance in Austria, while Germany recognised the Italian empire in East Africa. Both governments agreed on the danger of Communism and the need to keep a careful watch on alleged British plans for encirclement. There was also to be close co-operation between the two powers in Spain. The axis however was not a formal treaty and Mussolini was by no means committed to German alliance. Mussolini, on his visit to Berlin in September 1937, seemed more convinced than ever that Nazism was an invincible force in Europe and Italy had no choice but to ally herself with it. He thus distanced himself further from Britain and France, and joined with Japan and Germany in the Anti-Comitern pact on November. In 1938 Italys weakness was underlined by the fact that neither Shuschnigg nor Hitler bothered to contact Rome, when the Anshluss was signed. Mussolini also was powerless to back Schuschnigg in his attempt to renounce the ultimatum for the Anshluss. . Mussolini was to pay the price for his break with Britain and France in 1935. Mussolini therefore decided to retake Italys traditional policy of equidistance between the Western powers and Berlin. By the Munich agreement Musolini could effectively stop Hitler plunging Europe into war before he judged Italy to be ready for it. It was a considerable diplomatic succes for Musolini and was praised as the man who saved the world. However, Italys policy of equidistance did not last for long. Since Mussolini decided a full military alliance with Germany, since he considered than a German alliance was intended to be more an instrument of diplomatic pressure than a prelude to war. Mussolinis Foreign policy was therefore inconsistent in the sense that Mussolini not only switched his ideas rather frequently (aiming first to align with the Four powers, and then switching to establish closer relations with Germany, and at the end again with Britain and France), but as well in terms of its degree of aggressiveness, since through the 1920s Mussolinis foreign policy can be said to had been quite peaceful (foreign affairs were mainly solved through Treaties and Agreements), switching in the 1930s to a more aggressive foreign policy with the advent of Hitler. Between the 1930s and 1940s he used war mongering (e.g. The Spanish Civil War, the Abyssinian incident, and the Corfu incident).

Rab7a and CMT2b Essay -- Biology, Proteins, Cells

Rab7a and Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease Type 2b The aim of this essay is to review recent research into the Rab7a gene mutations and the mechanistic causes of Charcot Marie Tooth disease type 2b. It will ascertain if there is a clear forerunner in terms of theory of pathology due to Rab7a mutations. Any specific potential treatments for CMT2b that have been discovered will also be investigated Rab7a is a gene that provides the instructions to make the protein Rab7. Rab7 is one of over sixty Rab proteins identified within mammalian cells, all of which belong to the Ras superfamily. All Rab proteins are involved with the endo/exocytic, secretory pathways and each one associates with its own specific membranes and organelles, although it may share a membrane with another Rab protein. Rab7 has been discovered to function in the late endosomes, lysosomes and the autophagosomes. Like all Rabs, Rab7 is a monomeric GTPase that cycles from an active, GTP-associated, membrane-bound state to a GDP-associated state that is found in the cytosol as part of a complex with the soluble Rab GDP-dissociation inhibitor (GDI). To activate Rab7, a membrane bound guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) is needed. Once the Rab7 has gained a GTP at the loss of GDP and become anchored into a plasma membrane by a hydrophobic lipid anchor, two ‘switch’ regions conformationally change to allow recruitment and binding of other effector proteins that assist with vesicle transport, membrane tethering and fusion. See figure 1. Hydrolysis of GTP is accelerated by GTPase-activating factors (GAPs), and membrane insertion and extraction is partially coupled to nucleotide exchange (Grosshans et al, 2006) ... ...hin the cell may be particularly pronounced in the longer neurites of the extremities, providing support for Spinosa et al’s (2008) previous suggestion that CMT2b mutations affect the longer neurons due to the increased distance that molecules have to travel compared to other neurons. Valproic acid has been found to stimulate neurite growth in the presence of CMT2b-associated Rab7 mutants through Erk. Valproic acid (VPA) is a short-branched fatty acid, a mood stabiliser it is normally used to treat bi-polar disorder, and as an anticonvulsant (Manji et al, 2001 IN: Yamauchi et al, 2010). Yamauchi et al in 2006/2007 reported that VPA promoted neurite growth through the c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) pathways in mouse neuroblastoma cells. In 2010, Yamauchi et al studied the effect of VPA in a neuropathy model, again in mouse neuroblastoma cells (N1E-115 cells)

Student Satisfaction in Jose Rizal University

Introduction Students’ opinions about all aspects of academic life are now sought by educational institutions worldwide, generally, in the form of a satisfaction feedback questionnaire. It is this student satisfaction survey, within the context of student satisfaction in JRU Jose Rizal University. In the Philippines, Higher Education (HE) students were considered to be the â€Å"primary customers† of a University ,even before they were liable for the payment of â€Å"up-front† tuition fees. Students are the direct recipients of the service provided.As if to confirm this status of the â€Å"student as customer†, the Commision on Higher Education (CHED) has introduced a National Student Survey. This survey is aimed at first year students to seek their views on a number of aspects of teaching, assessment and support provided by their university and its courses. The results will ultimately be used by the school to produce league tables of university performanc e. The position of a university in any league tables will impact ultimately on its image.Image has a strong impact on the retention of current students and the attraction of potential students. Indeed recruitment and retention of students has been moved to the top of most universities’ agendas by CHED due to their desire to increase the JRU student population in line with Government targets. Poor retention rates may have adverse funding consequences for University . This paper takes the view that student satisfaction, retention and recruitment are closely linked.Thus student satisfaction has become an extremely important issue for universities and their management. The aim is to try to maximise student satisfaction, minimise dissatisfaction and therefore retain students and so improve the institutions performance across a number of league tables. Taking these criticisms into consideration the questionnaire used in the satisfaction survey asked only for perceptions of performa nce of a range of service aspects (as well as importance) but did not aim to collect data associated with expectations.Indeed, the survey questionnaire was designed around the concept of the service-product bundle. This concept is discussed in the next section. The service-product bundle The outcome of service delivery is a tangible product, and a â€Å"bundle† of goods and services as the product offering . The service-product bundle refers to the inseparable offering of many goods and services including what Jose Rizal University has to offer its students. This bundle consists of three elements: (1) the physical or facilitating goods; 2) the sensual service provided – the explicit service; and (3) the psychological service – the implicit service. For a university the facilitating goods include the lectures and tutorials, presentation slides, supplementary handout documents/materials and the recommended module text. It also includes the physical facilities such as the lecture theatres and tutorial rooms and their level of furnishing, decoration, lighting and layout as well as ancillary services such as catering and recreational amenities.The explicit service includes the knowledge levels of staff, staff teaching ability, the consistency of teaching quality irrespective of personnel, ease of making appointments with staff, the level of difficulty of the subject content and the workload. The implicit service includes the treatment of students by staff, including friendliness and approachability, concern shown if the student has a problem, respect for feelings and opinions, availability of staff, capability and competence of staff.It also includes the ability of the university’s environment to make the student feel comfortable, the sense of competence, confidence and professionalism conveyed by the ambience in lectures and tutorials, feeling that the student’s best interest is being served and a feeling that rewards are consist ent with the effort put into course works /examinations. All of the above are based on students’ perceptions of the various parts of the service and the data is usually collected via some form of feedback questionnaire.Why collect student feedback? (1) to provide auditable evidence that students have had the opportunity to pass comment on their courses and that such information is used to bring about improvements; (2) to encourage student reflection on their learning; (3) to allow institutions to benchmark and to provide indicators that will contribute to the reputation of the university in the marketplace; and (4) to provide students with an opportunity to express their level of satisfaction with their academic experience.The last bullet point as the rationale behind the survey undertaken for the particular research project described in this paper. Keeping customers satisfied is what leads to customer loyalty. Research conducted by Jones and Sasser Jr (1995) into thirty orga nisations from five different markets found that where customers have choices the link between satisfaction and loyalty is linear; as satisfaction rises, so too does loyalty. However, in markets where competition was intense they found a difference between the loyalty of satisfied and completely satisfied customers.Put simply, if satisfaction is ranked on a 1-5 scale from completely dissatisfied to completely satisfied, the 4’s – though satisfied – were six times more likely to defect than the 5’s. Customer loyalty manifests itself in many forms of customer behavior. Jones and Sasser Jr (1995) grouped ways of measuring loyalty into three main categories: (1) intent to re-purchase; (2) primary behaviour – organisations have access to information on various transactions at the customer level and can track five categories that show actual customer re-purchasing behaviour; viz, recency, frequency, amount, retention, and longevity; and 3) secondary beha viour – e. g. customer referrals, endorsements and spreading the word are all extremely important forms of consumer behaviour for an organisation. Translating this into university services, this covers intent to study at a higher level within the same institution, how frequently and recently a student used ancillary services, such as the library, catering and IT services, and lastly the willingness to recommend the institution to friends, neighbours and fellow employees. Issues impacting on student satisfaction Price et al. 2003) recently reported on the impact of facilities on undergraduate student choice of university. They surveyed a number of universities over two years in order to determine students’ reasons for selecting a particular university. The average results for the two years were fairly similar – the top eight reasons being; it had the right course, availability of computers, quality of library facilities, good teaching reputation, availability of â€Å"quiet† areas, availability of areas for self-study, quality of public transport in the town/city and a friendly attitude towards students.Clearly, students’ perceptions of a university’s facilities are one of the main influences on their decision to enrol. Coles (2002) found that student satisfaction is decreased when class sizes are larger in earlier cohorts, and when students are taking compulsory core modules rather than optional modules. The quality of any of the service encounters, or â€Å"moments of truth† (Carlzon, 1989) experienced by customers forms part of their overall impression of the whole service provided, (Dale, 2003) and by implication, their impression of the organisation itself.As Deming (1982) commented, most people form their opinions based on the people that they see, and they are either dissatisfied or delighted, or some other point on the continuum in between. In order to deliver high quality services to students, universiti es must manage every aspect of the student’s interaction with all of their service offerings and in particular those involving its people. Services are delivered to people by people, and the moments of truth can make or break a university’s image (Banwet and Datta, 2003).In order to deliver total student satisfaction, all employees of a university should Ad here to the principles of quality customer service, whether they be front-line contact staff involved in teaching or administration, or non-contact staff in management or administrative roles (Gold, 2001; Low, 2000, cited in Banwet and Datta, 2003). In a recent survey conducted with 310 all male Saudi Arabian students attending the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Sohail and Shaikh (2004) found that â€Å"contact personnel† was the most influencing factor in student’s evaluation of service quality.However, physical environment, layout, lighting, classrooms, appearance of buildings and gr ounds and the overall cleanliness also significantly contributed to students’ concepts of service quality. Galloway (1998) studied the role of the faculty administration office in one UK University on student perceptions of service quality. He found that it impacted directly on students and influenced their perceptions of the quality of the whole institution. The office performance also had a direct impact on academic and technical staff within the faculty.These front-line staff in their turn had a direct impact on students, potential students and other clients. The main predictors of quality for students were found to be: . office has a professional appearance; . staff dress smartly; . never too busy to help; and . opening hours are personally convenient. Banwet and Datta (2003) believed that satisfied customers are loyal, and that satisfied students were likely to attend another lecture delivered by the same lecturer or opt for another module or course taught by her/him.In their survey of 168 students who attended four lectures delivered by the same lecturer, covering perceived service quality, importance and post-visit intentions, they found that students placed more importance on the outcome of the lecture (knowledge and skills gained, availability of class notes and reading material, coverage and depth of the lecture and teacher’s feedback on assessed work) than any other dimension.This supports the findings of Schneider and Bowen (1995) who deduced that the quality of the core service influences the overall quality of the service perception. For universities the core service delivery method is still the lecture. Overall Banwet and Datta (2003) found that students’ intentions to re-attend or recommend lectures was dependent on their perceptions of quality and the satisfaction they got from attending previous lectures. This is supported by the research of Hill et al. (2003) who utilised focus groups to determine what quality education meant to students.The most important theme was the quality of the lecturer including classroom delivery, feedback to students during the session and on assignments, and the relationship with students in the classroom. Research by Tam (2002) to measure the impact of Higher Education (HE) on student’s academic, social and personal growth at a Hong Kong university found that as a result of their university experience students had changed intellectually, socially, emotionally and culturally. This growth was evidenced as students progressed from one year to another as their university career developed.Is this also the case with student’ perceptions of service quality and satisfaction? A number of researchers have suggested that this might indeed be the case (Hill, 1995; O’Neil, 2003) although obtaining valid and reliable data to support such a stance is difficult. This study aims to determine if there are differences in those aspects of a university service that stud ents consider important, as well as their satisfaction levels, associated with their year/level of study, i. e. first, second and third. MethodologyA quantitative survey was designed to elicit student satisfaction levels across the University’s service offerings. The questionnaire consisted of __ questions informed by previous research studies and subdivided into the various categories of the service product bundle including, lecture and tutorial facilities, ancillary facilities, the facilitating goods, the explicit service and the implicit service. At the end students were asked for their overall satisfaction rating and whether they would recommend the University to a prospective student.The satisfaction questions were preceded by a series of demographic questions that would allow the sample population to be segmented. These included, interalia, questions regarding gender, age, level of study, mode of study and country of origin. Participation in the survey was entirely volu ntary and anonymous. The length and complexity of the questionnaire was influenced, in part, by the balance between the quest for data and getting students to complete the survey. The questionnaire was piloted among 100 undergraduate volunteers.The length of time it took them to complete the survey was noted and at the end they were asked for any comments regarding the validity and reliability of individual questions. They were also asked if there was anything â€Å"missing† from the questionnaire. Based on the feedback received a number of questions were amended and the design of the questionnaire altered slightly. It took on average 12 minutes to complete the questionnaire. In order to get as large and representative a sample as possible, we conduct survey question in first year student in all courses in were targeted.Staff teaching these modules were approached and permission sought to utilise for a few minuetes of their lecture time in order to explain the rationale behin d the survey and to persuade students to complete the survey in class. Generally this â€Å"personal touch† was successful in eliciting a good response. Over the course of the two weeks the survey was undertaken, only one person refused to complete the questionnaire. Researchers are divided as to whether or not determinants of satisfaction should be weighted by their importance because different attributes may be of unequal importance to different people.In this study both satisfaction and importance were measured. There is no such thing as the perfect rating scale. However, some produce more reliable and valid results than others. Devlin et al. (1993) determined that a good rating scale should have, inter alia, the following characteristics: . minimal response bias; . discriminating power; . ease of administration; and . ease of use by respondents. In order to accommodate these characteristics, the rating scale contained five points with well-spaced anchor points representin g the possible range of opinions about the service.The scale contained a neutral category and the negative categories were presented first (to the left). Thus, undergraduates were required to respond utilising a 5-point Likert scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is very unsatisfactory, 2 is unsatisfactory, 3 is neutral (neither satisfactory or unsatisfactory), 4 is satisfactory and 5 is very satisfactory. This type of scale provides a common basis for responses to items concerned with different aspects of the University experience.The importance that students place on each criteria was measured utilising a 5-point Likert scale, where 1 is very unimportant, 2 is unimportant, 3 is neutral (neither important or unimportant) 4 is important and 5 is very important. Respondents were asked to tick the box next to the number that represented their opinion on each item. A sample of 865 students from a total within the Faculty of 3800 was surveyed. The questionnaires were analysed using SPSS v. 11 and Q uadrant Analysis conducted in order to determine those areas perceived as being the least satisfactory with the greatest importance rating.Finally, respondent focus groups were assembled to discuss some of the issues that required more in-depth analysis and which, due to constraints of space and time, were not explicitly asked about in the original survey. Results A total of — questionnaires were returned, although not all had complete data sets. Table I details the demographic mix of the respondents. Based on all student responses, the most important (i. e. list of the top ten starting from the highest value) and least important (i. e. ist of the bottom ten starting from the lowest value) aspects of the University service are shown in Table II. As can be seen from Table II the most important areas of the University services are those associated with learning and teaching. Interestingly, given the recommendations of a Government White Paper (HEFCE et al. , 2003) that from 200 6 all newly recruited university teaching staff should obtain a teaching qualification that incorporates agreed professional standards, the most important aspect of the service is the teaching ability of staff, closely followed by their subject expertise.The consistency of teaching quality irrespective of the teacher is also considered by the respondents as important, recognising that teaching quality can be variable. The students also recognise the importance of the lecture and tutorial, which is not surprising given that for most universities that is still the core service offering and is very much linked to the teaching ability and subject knowledge of staff. Teaching and learning support materials were Table 1. 1 Demographic mix of respondents GenderMale Female46 54 NationalityHome(Filipino)International89 4 Mode of StudyFull-time Part-time sandwich Level of studyLevel1 Level2 Level3 Note: Sandwich students are those whose program of study includes a year in industry Table 2. 2 Most important and least important aspects of service RatingMost ImportantLeast important 1Teaching ability of staffDecoration in lecture facilities 2Subject expertise of staffVending machines 3IT facilitiesDecoration in tutorial rooms 4LecturesFurnishings in lecture facilities 5Supplementary lecture materialsRecreational facilities TutorialsAvailability of parking 7Consistency of teaching quality irrespective of teacherThe layout of tutorial/seminar rooms 8White boardThe layout of lecture facilities 9The Learning Resources CentreThe on-campus catering facilities 10The approachability of teaching staffThe quality of pastoral support Note: Blackboard is a virtual learning environment that students can access off and on campus also ranked highly, particularly supplementary handout materials and the use of Blackboard for enhancing student learning.These are mostly associated with the explicit service delivered to the students and the facilitating goods. With regard to facilities, stude nts have ranked the importance of IT facilities very highly, reflecting the usefulness of connection to the Internet for research purposes and software packages for producing high quality word-processed documentation for coursework assignments and dissertations. This links well with the high ranking of the Learning Resource Centre where IT facilities can be accessed and books and journals ourced in â€Å"hard† copy or electronic copy. Table II also shows those areas of the service that students find relatively unimportant. These are mostly associated with the lecture and tutorial facilities and the ancillary services, for example, layout and decoration of lecture and tutorial facilities, catering facilities and vending machines. A further analysis was undertaken to determine whether different segments of the respondent population had similar or different rankings of the University services’ attributes with regard to importance and unimportance.With regard to mode of st udy, Table III shows the rankings for students studying full-time with the University. Whilst acknowledging the fact that 80 per cent of the sample population is full time students, the rankings of those service aspects considered most important are very similar to those for the sample population as a whole, the only difference being that â€Å"supplementary tutorial materials† replaces â€Å"approachability of staff†.Once again the majority of aspects considered least important are associated with the facilities and ancillary services When the views of Part-time students are considered, a number of interesting differences in their priorities are worthy of discussion. Table IV shows the rankings of service aspects for part time students. The IT facilities drops from third to tenth in their importance rankings, perhaps indicative of the fact that they have access to IT facilities at work and/or at home, thus rendering it less important relative to other aspects of servi ce.Blackboard (a virtual learning environment that allows teaching staff to make learning and other material available via the internet), on the other hand rises from 10th to 7th in importance indicating its usefulness as a teaching aid for students who do not attend the University on a daily basis and who may miss classes due to work or family commitments. Interestingly, the â€Å"helpfulness of technical staff† is considered unimportant, again reflecting their access to such help at work or a greater level of expertise on their part through working with IT on a daily basis. RankingMost importantLeast important Teaching ability of staffDecoration in lecture facilities 2Subject expertise of staffDecoration in tutorial rooms 3IT facilitiesVending machines 4LecturesFurnishing in tutorials 5TutorialsFurnishing in lectures 6Supplementary lecture materialsAvailability of parking 7Consistency of teaching quality irrespective of teacherRecreational facilities 8The Learning Resources CentreThe layout of tutorial/seminar rooms 9Supplementary tutorial materialsThe on-campus catering facilities 10BlackboardThe layout of lecture facilities Table III. Most important and least important service aspects for full-time students RatingMost importantLeast important Teaching ability of staffRecreational facilities 2Subject expertise of staffVending machines 3Consistency of teaching quality irrespective of teacherDecoration in lecture facilities 4Teaching and learning equipment in lecturesFurnishings in lecture facilities 5The Learning Resources CentreDecoration in tutorial rooms 6LecturesQuality of pastoral support 7BlackboardThe on-campus catering facilities 8Supplementary lecture materialsThe layout of tutorial/seminar rooms 9Supplementary tutorial materialsHelpfulness of technical staff 10IT facilitiesThe lecture facilities overall

“Good Day Sunshine” Poem Analysis Essay

Journal 1 I think â€Å"Good Day Sunshine† is the poem that I can identify most because this is the poem the author shows his happiness and excitement for get a new girlfriend. The meaning I draw from this song is that a man fell in love with his new girlfriend, referred to in the song â€Å"I feel good in a special way, I’m in love and it’s a sunny day†. We can also think the special day is the day that the author fall in love, although actually is a normal day, for the author is sunny and special. There is a poetic devices is used in this poem—rhyme. It can make the readers much better to feel the author’s feeling. Although this is a simple and easy understanding poem, the rhyme and the feeling inside that the readers may love it. Q: What is the image you get when you read this poem? Journal 2 For today journals, both of them are difficult for me to understand. Nevertheless, I can still draw something from the poem King Of Pain. In this poem, we can see that the author was under a great painful form â€Å"There’s a little black spot on the sun today, the same old thing as yesterday, there’s a black hat caught in a high tree top†. Because the author was under a great painful, everything in his eyes is black, old and shabby. Also, from the words â€Å"it’s my soul up there†, it told us that the author felt bad as the black old thing, it’s also mean that the author’s soul is out of his body. In this poem, we can easy to find couples of poetic devices in it. There are catharsis, similes and personifications. These poetic devices make this poem have a stronger feeling and let the reader much easier to understand. Q: What is the image you get when you read this poem? Journal 3 For today poems, actually all are not difficult to understand, they have seldom writing skills and poetic devices, like the poem Tom’s Diner. This poem not only a poem, but also the words of song. In this song you can easy understand that the author feel in love in the person who the author love so much, but the author feel shy and never to tell the person, so the author wrote this poem like telling a story to the readers. However, we readers can draw that the author had not shown the love to the one the author love at the end of the poem. I think this is a sad ending. For the poetic devices of this poem, I think we can name it telling stories. Q: Is the author a man or a woman? Journal 4 This is the most strange love poem that I have ever met. For the name of poem-My Mistresses Eyes. I think this is not the true mistress of the author, only the author loves this woman so much and treats her as a mistress. And now let us have a look to this poem, the author said â€Å"My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun; Coral is far more red than her lips’ red; If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head†. All of them are saying that his mistress is not beautiful, nice and even ugly. But this is a love poem, not a satire poem, how can the author wrote this in a love poem? As far as I am concerned, the author wrote this that mean he do not care how many bad qualities the woman had. We always say if you love a person, all bad things will become good. In this poem, we can see that metaphor and imagery were used in it. These poetic devices make this poem has a stronger feeling and let the readers much easier to understand. Q: What is the image of the woman you get when you read this poem? Journal 5 Vegetarians, obviously this poem is about a group of people who only eat vegetables and maybe also about their food. Then when you read this poem you will find my hypothesis is correct. The author wrote this poem not only describe the vegetarians and different kind of vegetables, but also want more people to understand what is vegetarian. This poem begins with â€Å"Vegetarians are cruel, unthinking people. Everybody knows that a carrot screams when grated†. Made the vegetables look like human being, describes the thing when vegetables were eaten. I think this author must love meat so much. There are two poetic devices in this poem, one is personification and the other one is imagery. These poetic devices make this poem has a stronger feeling and let the readers much easier to understand. Journal 6 All today poems are social commentary again, difficult part for me. As far as I am concerned, the strange fruit in this poem mean black people. So this poem tells us how the black people be treated in the past, the white people treated black people liked animals, not human beings. â€Å"Southern trees bear a strange fruit, blood one the leaves and blood at the root, black bodies swinging in the southern breeze, strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees†. Strange fruit just like black people, black people just like strange fruit, both of them were hung on the trees. This also mean white people treated black people as object, not human beings. For the poetic devices in this poem, it has personification and metaphor. These poetic devices make the readers much easier to understand how white people treated black people in the past.

Essay about Study Guide Question Ch

Essay about Study Guide Question Ch Essay about Study Guide Question Ch Ulises Lopez 4-24-14 Period 4 English Study Guide Questions Chapters #26-31: 1. What was Scout's fantasy regarding Arthur (Boo) Radley? Scout's fantasy regarding Arthur Radley would be, to have a normal polite conversation with him and she also fantasized for him to be like every other neighbor in Maycomb. 2. What did Scout hear Miss Gates say at the courthouse?†¨In class, Miss Gates said," That's the difference between America and Germany. We are a democracy and Germany is a dictatorship. We don't believe in persecuting anybody. Persecution comes from people who are prejudiced. Compare and contrast these two statements. †¨What does this tell us about Miss Gates? Scout heard Miss Gates say, â€Å"It's time to teach the blacks a lesson.† That quote tells us that Miss Gates is just a hypocrite that she is just as racist as Hitler was, but for a different group of people. 3. What happened to Judge Taylor? Someone was breaking into the judge's house, but then the judge and his dog frightened him away. 4. What happened to Helen Robinson? Helen Robinson was harassed by Bob Ewell. He harrased Helen because he was furious that he didn't win the trial. 5. What was Scout's part in the pageant? Scout was a ham in the pageant. 6. Why did Scout and Jem not leave the school until almost everyone else had gone. Scout was embarrassed because she fell asleep, came on stage late during the pageant and ruined Mrs. Merriweather's program. 7. What happened to Jem and Scout on the way home from the pageant? On their way home from the pageant, Bob Ewell attacked Jem and Scout. 8. Who saved Jem and Scout? Who killed Bob Ewell? Boo Radley saved Jem and Scout. He also killed Bob Ewell. 9. Why did Heck Tate insist that Bob Ewell fell on his own knife? Heck Tate insist that Bob Ewell fell on his own knife because he figured out that Boo Radley killed Bob, but he saw no sense dragging the one he

How to Stay Calm During Finals Week

How to Stay Calm During Finals Week While college stress is constant throughout the semester, college stress during finals week takes it to a whole new level. These six easy ways to rest and relax during finals week can help you make it through the madness. Remove Yourself From the  Stress Get time away/alone. Chances are, everyone you know at school is stressed during finals week, too. Take a few minutes to take a walk off-campus, treat yourself to a coffee in a place not full of stressed students, or find some other way/place that you can get yourself out of the finals-week environment, if even just for a few minutes. Unplug and Reboot Before Exams Spend 3-5 minutes not doing anything. This is often more challenging than it sounds. But take a few minutes to turn off all of your technology and sit and relax- even meditate, if you can. Those few minutes can calm your mind and your spirit while helping you  refocus and recharge. Have Some Fun Spend 15-20 minutes doing something purely for fun. The break for your brain will do wonders for its productivity later. Watch silly YouTube videos, read a trashy magazine, play a video game, or Skype with a friend far away. Hit the Gym Get some exercise in a low-stress situation. Translation: practice with your basketball team doesnt count. Go for a relaxing walk, ride your bike without knowing where youll end up, or go for a quick jog. And if its too cold outside, try something new in the gym. You might be surprised by how relaxed- and energized!- you feel afterward. Watch the Game Attend a sporting event.  If youre studying for finals at the end of the fall semester, chances are you can attend a football or basketball game during finals week. Leave your books in your room and really let yourself relax and enjoy, knowing that the time spent away will help your studying later. Get Things out of Your Brain and Onto Paper Make a list- and write down everything. For some people, making a list can really help reduce stress because it helps put things in perspective. The best way to get things organized  and to get a feeling of satisfaction is to write down every single thing you need to do- like eating breakfast/lunch/dinner, doing laundry, getting some sleep, and going to class. Getting things written down- and then crossed off- can do wonders for your sense of control and accomplishment during a very busy time.

Brain Disease Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Brain Disease - Term Paper Example In certain cultures, alcohol consumption is normal. However, even in case of cultural tastes, consumption of alcohol is more likely to turn to addiction if not strictly consumed within limits. Thus, some psychiatrists argue that consumption of drugs and alcohol must be viewed as personal habits and dealt with as such in order to return to normalcy. Deviant drug and alcohol consumption came to be regarded as personal choice not only recently by even in earlier centuries when religious bodies such as "the American Society for the Promotion of Temperance (ASPT), founded by Evangelical clergymen in 1826, also gained support from farmers, industrialists, and homemakers" (Boyer, Paul S, 2001). Protagonists of personal choice argue that even the most diehard consumer of alcohol has the free will to consume or abstain. Anybody conscious of his responsibilities will abstain due to personal and social pressures and economic dictates. Even heavy drinkers have the choice of abstaining in serious environment like business offices or production units where they are employed (HBO Addiction, 2009). Thus the argument that deviant drinker m... Thus the argument that deviant drinker must be medically treated and rehabilitated does not have strong enough basis to pursue medical treatment as the cure for drug and alcohol addictions. Medical treatment, if required, is mostly perfunctory. There are enough cases in organizations like Alcoholics Anonymous where people have opted out of heavy drinking without the use of any medical aid to prove that alcohol consumption is a matter of will rather than the charge of any bacteria or virus (Satel, Susan, 10 July 2007). Nonetheless, drugs and alcohol weaken the nervous system and organs such as the liver and kidneys. Hence, in the absence of a strong and healthy nervous system and other organs, the body becomes vulnerable to disease carrying microbes. Thus, drugs and alcohol abuse could be treated as medical threats even if they are not directly linked with microbes. Defenders of alcoholic consumption are on a difficult pitch when such consumption leads to physical and mental weaknesses. Drug and alcohol addiction may not be linked to "brain disease" but they certainly weaken the physique before long. Their attack on the nervous and digestive system makes the road to recovery difficult and dreary. The damages resulting from alcohol consumption may not be apparent to most people. It takes a heavy toll on the national productivity, and national and personal resource. "The direct effects of addiction are homelessness, unemployment and disease. The cost of interdiction and incarceration are estimated at over $200 billion annually, and the annual burden in lost productivity is another $129 billion" (Satel, Susan, 10 July 2007). The damages resulting from addiction

Pressures on employees at work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Pressures on employees at work - Essay Example The designed guidelines touch on the numerous and diverse demands made by staff workers and the degree of control that staff members have their duties and responsibilities. The guidelines additionally address the managerial support systems within a workplace, the degree of clarity of an individuals position and responsibilities attached to the position and staff relationships within the workplace. The guidelines provided by the Health Survey for England (HSE) are founded on broad studies. In the course of their formulation, HSE conferred with numerous stakeholders including employers, staff members, staff organizations and other interested parties. This approach was intended to improve the way organizations dealt with stress related issues at the workplace. Therefore, an individual may enquire what stress is. It is defined as an unfavourable reaction individuals have to intense demands or other forms of demands placed upon them. It is different from basic workplace pressure, which sometimes develops motivational tendencies. The unfavourable response can negatively affect the affected individuals mental health developing into extreme cases of anxiety and depression. Individual-environment fit theory states that the effects of stress may come about when intimidating workplace demands culminate into unevenness in the interrelation between a person and the environment of his or her workplace. Even though dominant, the framework is regarded by some scholars to have produced an unclear method to the analysis of work-related stress (Chemers et al. 1985) and it remains to be seen whether the confusion existing between the fit theory and its evaluation will end anytime soon. Another theory developed later known as the job strain theory has put emphasis on the interrelation between objective demands of the occupation environment and staff choice autonomy (Karasek & Theorell 1990). The focus is on the