Talking With Your Hands. Professor Ramos Blog

Talking With Your  Hands. I’ve always been fascinated with languages, and many times in the past I’ve  tried  to learn. When I was young the first language I tried tackling was Japanese, but I  soon  realized trying to learn a language I was never going to use was, impractical. As  the  years  went by I kept experimenting to see which one might stick. I tried  Russian,German, French, Spanish and while I did take quite a bit from all these  languages, I  never quite found them usable for my daily schedule. Then one day after meeting my  neighbor I had finally found a language that both fascinated me and gave me a  reason to learn. There was a time in my life when I believed I was going to be homeless, but  that  tale is for another time. Long story short, my parents reached out to me when they  heard I was couch hopping and offered to house me as long as I went to college.  Without a second thought I packed my few belongings, went job hunting and  registered for college. At first, I set my major to be horticulture and botanical studies,  but then after two years of being in a job I hated, I finally found a job I hated even  more. Working at a plant nursery. I realized then working with plants as a career just  wasn’t for me and soon after I changed my major to art. Specifically sculpture and  special effects. When I saw how big the competition was to acquire a job in that field  (some people taking as long as 30+ years  just to get recognized) I saw that sculpting  would stay a hobby. I registered for a few  general education classes such as math and  English just to get the credits rolling and I  never really considered language as a  possible career. Around this time I took notice to  my neighbor. I remember taking out the trash one day and looking over to his open garage. He  was talking with his wife, only he wasn’t talking, he was signing. This is when it hit me  that I was living next to a deaf family. I put the trash cans aside and I have no idea  why I  did at the time, but I felt like I needed to introduce myself. I walked over and  Said â€Å"Hi my names Matthew!†Ã‚  He was just  as surprised with me as I  was with myself.  I felt I was over-enunciating  everything, because  subconsciously I felt  like it would  help (it didn’t). He stopped and said â€Å"Hi, I‘m Robert! I’m sorry what was  your name  again? You’re moving your lips all weird†. Bob is kind of portly guy, with a very open personality and he always seems to be  wearing a sports jersey of his favorite teams. He spoke with a muffled almost nasally  accent, which immediately pegged him as a deaf man. While our rapport was great at  first, we quickly found the language barrier and things became a bit awkward. While  I  could understand most of what he said, and he could read lips incredibly well, he  couldn’t  understand most of what I said. It was then when I decided to learn American  Sign Language. At the end of the semester I switched my major (again). I started by  first  learning a few  basic American signs like dog or apple. I would stay up for hours   at  night practicing with  both hands going through each letter of the alphabet   multiple  times. When I drove or walked through a store, I habitually practiced spelling  out  each of the words I saw. I would practice  every sign I knew and I would Google what  the sign was for specific  words I thought I  needed to know. I did this all while I was  waiting for spring classes to start. When the semester began I went through the motions of buying books and  school  supplies, then finally I attended my first ASL class. It was a pretty strange  experience  since I had never taken a language course up until that point. There were  two interpreters  there helping the instructor turn this 3-D language into something  audible for the class to  understand. I was instantly sucked in and terrified at the same  time. I was mesmerized by  the interpreters skill to understand everything being  signed and their seamless ability to make the switch between the two languages. I was  terrified because they were going to  leave after only two days. After that it was going  to be ALL sign Language, so naturally me  and many of the other students  felt  panicked. Although, after the interpreters left I felt this  strange surge of  confidence, I knew this was my calling and it wasn’t going to let it slip  by. I asked every question in the book, I was always the first to raise my hand and  very soon I became noticed by the other students, because instead of asking the  teacher  questions about what sign they should use, they would ask me. The least  qualified person. I saw this as an opportunity to learn, so I would ask the teacher  for  them. After the fastest 3 months of my life I walked from that class  now  conversationally fluent in a new  language. One that didn’t use sound to  communicate an idea, but instead pictures. After passing my first class with flying colors, I gave my neighbor a visit  and  needless to sign (see what I did there) he was blown away. We signed for hours  and  eventually we had to move our conversation to his garage, because it was getting  so dark we couldn’t even see  what we were talking about. He taught me more about  the language in that one moment of us  hanging out than anything I had learned in  my 3 months of being in class. He had shown  me so many different nuances, slang, and inside jokes deaf people used that were part of  the culture, things that simply couldn’t be taught in a classroom setting. This is when it dawned on me  my passion for  language could become a career, learning sign language stopped being  about my  neighbor and soon became about what I could do with my future. When summer came around and class registration opened again, I snatched the  first ASL 2 class I saw and got prepared. Class started and shortly after we finally met  our  new instructor, I noticed right away she was hearing. This somewhat disappointed  me, but  her background was impressive, she had been an interpreter for over 13 years  and had  been involved with the deaf community for even longer. She quickly noticed  my skill  level and took special attention to me. We would sign before and after class,  discussing  different options about interpretation careers and how she got to where she is today.  I still miss her, and I’ll cherish the time I spent in her class. I am now  currently in the next level of ASL Crafton has to offer.  This journey to  literacy in a new  language has changed the way I think and live my life  completely. It’s been proven  that learning a new language literally changes the way you  think.   I now know this to  be true for having experienced it first hand. It creates new  connections, it opens doors  and shows you parts of yourself and the world you might not  have known were there  before.

Rhodium Facts - Periodic Table of the Elements

Rhodium Facts - Periodic Table of the Elements Rhodium  Basic Facts Atomic Number: 45 Symbol: Rh Atomic Weight: 102.9055 Discovery: William Wollaston 1803-1804 (England) Electron Configuration: [Kr] 5s1 4d8 Word Origin: Greek rhodon rose. Rhodium salts yield a rosy-colored solution. Properties: Rhodium metal is silvery-white. When exposed to red heat, the metal slowly changes in air to the sesquioxide. At higher temperatures it converts back to its elemental form. Rhodium has a higher melting point and lower density than platinum. The melting point of rhodium is 1966 /-3 °C, boiling point 3727 /-100 °C, specific gravity 12.41 (20 °C), with a valence of 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Uses: One major use of rhodium is as an alloying agent to harden platinum and palladium. Because it has a low electrical resistance, rhodium is useful as an electrical contact material. Rhodium has a low and stable contact resistance and is highly resistant to corrosion. Plated rhodium is very hard and has a high reflectance, which makes it useful for optical instruments and jewelry. Rhodium is also used as a catalyst in certain reactions. Sources: Rhodium occurs with other platinum metals in river sands in the Urals and in North and South America. It is found in the copper-nickel sulfide ores of the Sudbury, Ontario region. Element Classification: Transition Metal Rhodium Physical Data Density (g/cc): 12.41 Melting Point (K): 2239 Boiling Point (K): 4000 Appearance: silvery-white, hard metal Atomic Radius (pm): 134 Atomic Volume (cc/mol): 8.3 Covalent Radius (pm): 125 Ionic Radius: 68 (3e) Specific Heat (20 °C J/g mol): 0.244 Fusion Heat (kJ/mol): 21.8 Evaporation Heat (kJ/mol): 494 Pauling Negativity Number: 2.28 First Ionizing Energy (kJ/mol): 719.5 Oxidation States: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0 Lattice Structure: Face-Centered Cubic Lattice Constant (Ã…): 3.800 References: Los Alamos National Laboratory (2001), Crescent Chemical Company (2001), Langes Handbook of Chemistry (1952), CRC Handbook of Chemistry Physics (18th Ed.) Return to the Periodic Table Chemistry Encyclopedia

Cloud Security and Privacy Issues Research Paper - 1

Cloud Security and Privacy Issues - Research Paper Example As a result of this technology, computing efficiency has been increased by offering centralized storage of data. On the whole, cloud computing security is thus the application of all the sets of policies and controls in order to protect data and this should not be confused with the available security software’s that are cloud based. Without cloud computing the web server will run as a single computer or a group of owned computers hence they will be powerful enough to serve a given amount of request per minute and with a certain amount of latency per request. This paper critically presents an elaborate discussion on cloud security and privacy issues from a wide perspective. Security and Privacy With the intention to make sure that data is secure and that its privacy is well maintained, cloud providers focus on the following areas. The first area is data protection. In order to be considered protected, data from one client are correctly separated from that of the other (Brandau & Tempest, 189). In that sense; data must be securely stored, and must be capable to move steadily from one point to the other. Identity management is the other area of consideration. Every business is entitled to a private system of identity management in order to manage access to computing resources and information. Companies like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft are the pioneer in using cloud computing technology. Just like any form of technology, cloud security contains reasonable share of confronts ranging from government intervention in foreign countries and attacks from hackers and they have been able to rise up from these challenges by securing and encrypting their servers through the SLL technologies and upgrading of their firewalls. With the support of stable operating systems like UNIX Google has been able to secure its E-mail system. With the flexibility and fixing of the security loopholes, cloud computing technology has proven to be a great success. Discussion: Cloud Secu rity and Privacy Issues In the event when an organization adapts to cloud computing technology, it implies that the organization users will be using one server power. In one way or the other, this greatly helps in conserving the computer power and diverse applications can be offered for the users and managed under the cloud server (Chakraborty, Remireddy, Raghu & Rao, 10). This is a clear implication that the client does not require going to the extent of downloading and installing the application on the computer system, but all the procedures will be stored and managed under the cloud server. With reference to different statistics, cloud computing model guarantees ease and on require network entree to a distributed pool of resources that are configurable (Brandau & Tempest, 184). For example; servers, networks, storage device application, and service can swiftly process with negligible management effort. By means of cloud computing, all this work is accomplished without the awarene ss of the end user on the physical location of the system that is delivering him with the service (John & Grier, 2). For this reason the phrase cloud computing is related with processing work from an identified static place. The Cloud Computing Architecture A more detailed module of the computing architecture is known as the back end and the front end. While the front end is the section that the customers or computer users can observe and it comprises the nodes and applications on the system. These are the elements which allow the user to achieve access to the internet through the end user interface from his personal system.

African and american politics of social change Essay - 1

African and american politics of social change - Essay Example Before the era of the civil rights movement, there was no existing political or social movement in America with profound effects on the political and legal institution (Wendy, 2008). The civil right movement sought to restore the missing and the violated rights of the black people living in America as guaranteed by the fourteenth and fifteens amendment. The movement altered the relation between the state and the federal government; this is because many of the times the federal government was forced to enforce laws protecting the black people in America. The civil right movement resulted to the reemergence of the judiciary in America; this included the Supreme Court whose role was to protect the individual liberties against the majority power. Even with the incredible progress from this movement, the existing racialism and inequity between the black and the white proved difficult to eliminate. With the progress, the blacks still faced lower wages, racial discrimination, and their neighborhoods still had higher crime rates. For the younger black the movement was too mainstream to generate the intended social changes, they wanted something that could give blacks th e same opportunities as the whites both economically and socially. They felt that the movement comprised more of the white perceptions than the black perception. The head for the civil rights movement was reverend martin Luther king; he was also the head of the "southern Christian leadership conference." (Wendy, 2008) The black power movement, on the other hand, rose mainly after the civil rights movement gained momentum, this in the early 960s going on. The movement marked the turning point for the differing relationships between the blacks and the whites in the United States of America. The movement had some proactive and positive force which aimed at helping

Interior of America Essay Example for Free

Interior of America Essay à lvar Nà ºÃƒ ±ez Cabeza De Vacas epic tales in Adventures in the Unknown Interior ofAmerica is one of the earliest recorded stories of exploration of the Americas. His story begins on April 14, 1528 and continues in great detail for eight long years. His narrative includes his personal experience as well as descriptions of the land he traveled and the native americans that he encountered. The detailed events that are present throughout Cabeza De Vacas adventure transform him into a man completely different than the one we were introduced to at the beginning of the exploration. The superior mindset that Cabeza De Vaca felt over the natives, the challenges that would threaten his faith and religion, and the view he had of his fellow christians would change him tremendously as an individual. The expedition, led by Governor Narvà ¡ez, began with a 600 men crew in Florida. On their journey, they faced many challenges. The men encountered storms, were attacked several times by native american tribes, endured slavery and captivity, suffered starvation and dehydration, as well as several other down falls that eventually contributed to the death of hundreds of the Spanish crew. By the end of the eight years, Cabeza De Vaca was one of only four men who survived the cruel journey. The ability to adapt to their surroundings helped those four men change their views from powerless to acceptance and ultimately resulted in their return to Spain. Cabeza De Vaca was accustomed to a life of higher society before the departure to America. He was born into a wealthy family which contributed to a feeling of superiority over others. This mind set traveled with him as he encountered many Native American tribes during the expedition. Cabeza De Vaca thought of the native americans as barbaric creatures and feared for his life at the thought of an attack from them. They loomed big and naked and from a distance looked like giants. They were handsomely proportioned, lean, agile, and strong. (CH8) He goes on to mention the intimidation of their weapons, Their bows were as thick as an arm. (CH8) Attacks were happening frequently, and after realizing that the circumstances were not promising, the Spaniards began to try a different approach.

The Concept And Antilogy Of Ne Essays -- essays research papers

The Concept and Antilogy of Necessity in 'The Things They Carried'; The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, a medley of short stories tied together by a common theme, examines the many facets of necessity and poses a question of just how valuable the things we hold to be necessities really are. During the confusion of war, the definition of necessity becomes rather slippery in the minds of the soldiers and in such desperate situations, a soldier may find himself holding on to all he can. Despite the fact that these objects may hurt the soldier or bring him to his demise, letting go of such articles is very difficult. The late Ted Lavender, whose death is only a memory throughout the book, is one of those men. When he was shot, the enormous amount of weight he was carrying at the time, the fear in his heart, and the weight of the bullet caused him to collapse instantaneously. Symbolically, the act of falling relates to the weight causing his ultimate downfall - death. The Things They Carried exhibits necessity in its advantageous aspects as well as its disadvantageous ones. It examines the burdens of each individual and the effects that the burdens have on the person in given situations. O'Brien deliberately makes the reader consider what constitutes a necessity by packing his story with heavy irony; a weight that sends conflicting images to the reader and causes him/her to examine the realms of necessity. The reader can go further and apply this distinction between real ne...

Evaluate Sociological Explanation of the Relationship

Evaluate sociological explanation of the relationship between gender and religious beliefs and practice. (33marks) Within religion, there are clear gender differences. In some regions, women aren’t to show any parts of their bare skin and are most certainly not allowed to become figures of religious authority, whereas in other religions, women are able to dress as they please and progress to one day become figures of religious authority. This difference in religion is also apparent in religious beliefs and religious participation.With regards to religious activity, and beliefs in God, sin, evil and life after death, generally speaking, more women than men participate in such activities. For example, in 2005 it was found that 1. 8million women in England were churchgoers, whereas only 1. 36million men were. Miller and Hoffman support this by finding that women express a greater interest in religion, have stronger personal commitment to it and attend church more, and this applie s to all ages, religious organisations and faiths.Bruce estimates that there are twice as many women than men involved in sects. Some sociologists have seen this difference in religious activity and beliefs as being connected to the different ways of which men and women see God – the god of love and forgiveness or the God of power and control. Sociologists have put forward several explanations for the gender differences in religious beliefs and practices, but most tend to focus on the reason for women’s relatively high level of participation and men’s low levels.Miller and Hoffman state that women are more religious because they are socialised to be more passive, obedience and caring – qualities that are valued by most religions, and it’s claimed that this is the reason why women are more likely to be attracted to religion then men. Men who are seen to have these qualities are also more likely to be religious, so perhaps it is not so much about the gender, and it is the way of which you are socialised.Miller and Hoffman also noted that women are more likely to have part time jobs, whilst also being fall time carers, so as a consequence of this, they have more room for organising their time to participate in religious activities. Women are also more likely to be attracted to the church as a source of gender identity. Greeley argues that taking care of other family members increases religiosity in women because it involves responsibility to ‘ultimate’ welfare as well as everyday needs. Similarly, Davie argues women’s closer proximity to both births – because they are those who give irth to their babies, as well as death because they are more likely to be the ones to look after the elderly when they are on their deathbeds. This brings them closer to ‘ultimate’ questions about the meaning of life that religions are ultimately concerned with. This also fits back in with the different ways me n and women come to see God. Women are more often associated with nature, and the healing role, because of this they may be more attracted than men to New Age Movements in particular.For example, Heelas and Woodhead found that 80% of participants in Holistic Milieu in Kendal are females, this is because such movements often celebrate the ‘natural’ and involve cults of healing which give women higher status and a sense of self-worth. Bruce argues women’s experience of child rearing makes them less aggressive and goal-oriented , as well as being more cooperative and caring, making them more attractive to New Age Movements. Men wish to achieve what women feel. Women may be attracted to New Age Movements because they emphases on the importance of being authentic, rather than merely acting out roles.Callum Brown argues New Age ‘self’-religion’s appeal to women’s wishes for autonomy and therefore attract women recruits. Women also on the othe r hand may be attracted to fundamentalism because of their certainties of a traditional gender role that it presents for them. Glock Stark, as well as Stark and Bainbridge argue that people may participate in religion because it compensates for social, organismic and ethical deprivation, which a person may be gaining a sense of. Glock and Stark argue these forms of deprivation are all common along women and this explains their higher levels of sect membership then men.Organismic deprivation stems from physical and mental health problems. Women are more likely to suffer ill health and seek healing through religion, and thus therefore more likely to join sects. With regards to ethical deprivation, women tend to be more morally conservative and thus are more likely to regard the world as being in moral decline and for this reason are attracted to sects, where their views are often shared. Social deprivation suggests that women are more likely to be poor, and this explains why there are more women than men in sects, since Sects try to gain their following from the poorer members of society.Feminists view religion as being mainly patriarchal. Many claim that religion is a patriarchal institution that systematically benefits males over females, for example in the sacred texts, where women are often unnamed. Alongside this, in almost all religions, the gods are all male, which suggests they claim women, have no power and sacred texts were also written and have been interpreted by males, and thus incorporate traditional male stereotypes and biases towards women.In some versions of Islam, women are not allowed to divorce their husbands, but their husbands may do so by saying so three times, alongside this, their husbands are allowed to have up to three other wives. In other religions, such as the catholic church, women aren’t allowed to have any involvement in religious practices other than becoming a nun, who is still seen as being subordinate in accordance to the other roles available for men, and they are also can participate in mass and so on by adopting their role as the Laity – women cannot become priests.In the church of England, women can become priests since the 90s, and in the church of Scotland, they could have become priests as early as the 1960s. Holms claim that the basis for women’s subordination is their sexuality. Menstruation is generally thought of to make a woman unclean and thus polluting holy places. This is why Hindu women are not allowed to go near family shrines when they are menstruating or pregnant. Muslim women are not allowed to come into contact with the Koran or enter the mosque whilst there are menstruating also.El Sadaawi claims that religion in itself is not oppressive towards women, women’s religious subordination stems from their oppression in the wider society. For example, the Bible and Koran were written in extremely patriarchal societies and scriptures used to justify and reinfor ce their position. Feminists point out that male and female characters in the Bible were not portrayed equally. Tough. Among the traditional regions, Aldridge points out that Quakers and Unitarians are very committed to gender equality, for example back in the 19th century, the Unitarians began ordaining women.

Communication Breakdown

Communication Breakdown Deborah Tannen in her essay â€Å"Sex Lies and Conversation† points out the problems in communication between genders. She focuses on conversational styles and on how a person’s expectations of one’s reaction may cause misunderstanding. She emphasizes the importance of something she calls cross cultural communication. Tannen believes that in order to communicate properly with the opposite sex we must learn their culture and adapt to conversation with them. First, Tannen describes the differences in how children socialize.Most of what we know about communication we learned when we were children. When women are little girls, they have best friends, ones we can share our secrets with. When we get a little older and have a relationship with the opposite sex we expect the same kind of communication. Tannen believes the importance is not necessarily the topic but the feeling that you get from conversation and points out ,â€Å"What is important is not the individual subjects that are disclosed but the sense of closeness, of a life shared, that emerges when people tell their thoughts, feelings and impressions† (51).We must learn to socialize with the opposite sex the same way we do with the same sex. If we could learn to connect and have the â€Å"sense of closeness† with the opposite sex we might be able to communicate successfully. Tannen’s research has shown that men socialize differently as boys and â€Å"Since they don’t assume talk is the cement that binds the relationship, men don’t know what kind of talk women want, and they don’t miss it when it isn’t there†(51). Tannen points out that boys learn to communicate in larger groups, often struggling not to be in the subaltern position of the conversation.Men do not like to listen; they like to feel like they are the superior person in the conversation. (51) Communication starts in childhood and what we have learne d to expect from conversations. Next, Tannen observes how men and women listen to each other and how this can cause misunderstanding between genders . She feels that there is confusion about what women expect and declares, â€Å"When women talk to each other in a close, comfortable setting, they often overlap, finish each other’s sentences and anticipate what the other is about to say† (53).Tannen also talks about listener noise. Women often will say â€Å"mhm† or â€Å"uhuh† and men do not do these things when they talk to each other. Women are looking for that â€Å"listener noise† and if he is silent, she thinks he is ignoring her but on the same token Tannen notes, â€Å"Men who expect silent attention interpret a stream of listener noise as overreaction or impatience† (53). Body language and conversational habits are causing women to feel like they are being ignored and men to feel as if they are being interrupted.When a woman is having a conversation they expect the listener to â€Å"express agreement† and be supportive of the conversation. Men, on the other hand, feel it is their conversational duty to express other positions in the argument. (53) Learning the importance of building a rapport with the person you are talking to may be another way to have successful conversation with the opposite sex. Finally, Tannen believes that learning how the opposite sex communicates is the key. If we can learn what to expect when communicating with someone then we can learn how to respond.Tannen suggests â€Å" A sociolinguistic approach by which male-female conversation is seen as cross- cultural communication allows us to understand the problem and forge solutions without blaming either party†(54). Tannen stresses the importance of telling the other person how you feel about their communication with you and advises,† Women who feel abandoned and deprived when their husbands won’t listen to or re port daily news may be happy to discover their husbands trying to adapt once they understand the place of small talk in women’s relationships† (55).It is really not the male or females fault that we communicate the way we do but it is our fault if we do not speak up and tell them it bothers us. When we are in a relationship with another person we just have to adapt to the way they communicate to make the relationship work. If a woman learns to accept that her husband is not going to communicate with her like her best girlfriend did in her childhood then she can look for other people to hold those types of conversation with. (55) Learning to communicate with the opposite sex involves many different things.Communication is something that is learned in childhood but mostly with the same sex. In order to have a successful relationship with good communication we must understand that men and women have very different body language when communicating and that they do not respo nd the same. Accepting that there is a difference in the communication of genders and learning to adapt is paramount in relationships. Tannen, Deborah. â€Å"Sex, Lies and Conversation. † The Norton Mix. Judy Sieg. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2012. 45-55. Print.

Top 10 Grammatical and Spelling Errors of 2013

Top 10 Grammatical and Spelling Errors of 2013 It’s that time of year again! This year I will address some of the top grammatical and spelling errors specifically found on resumes and business documents, both of which constitute a large portion of what I read. Here’s the list: #10 Inconsistencies in Bulleted Lists If you make a list of bulleted items, whether it be on a resume or on a website, make them consistent in terms of the part of speech you start with. Bullets that start with the words Provide, Assess, Ensure, and Designing are not parallel; nor are bullets that start with Creates, Teaches, Organized, and Fulfills. Perhaps the inconsistent word jumps off the page when listed this way, but I see mismatched bullets in many types of documents every day. Check your bulleted lists carefully! #9 Manager/Manger According to Wikipedia, a â€Å"manger† is â€Å"a feeder that is made of carved stone, wood, or metal construction and is used to hold food for animals (as in a stable).† A â€Å"manager,† in contrast, is a person in a professional setting who supervises a person or team. Don’t mix them up on your resume, or in your Christmas greetings ;-). #8 Principal/Principle â€Å"Principal† is an adjective meaning first, highest, or foremost in importance, rank, worth, or degree; or of, relating to, or being financial principal, or a principal in a financial transaction. It can also be a noun meaning a person with a leading role, or one who holds a position of presiding rank or who is a main participant in a situation. â€Å"Principle,† in contrast, is a basic truth, tenet or assumption. I realize this spelling distinction can be hard to remember. One trick I use to keep them straight is to think, â€Å"You’re my #1 pal† and know that the word ending in â€Å"pal† relates to someone or something that is #1. #7 PowerPoint/Powerpoint It’s a common error to miss the capital P in the middle of PowerPoint. Be careful when listing any computer programs on your resume to spell them correctly! #6 Set up/Setup â€Å"Set up† is a verb meaning to set something up or put something in a specified state. Notice that there is a word in between â€Å"set† and â€Å"up† in the definition of â€Å"set up,† which you can think of as being substituted with a space. You must set *something* (_) up. â€Å"Setup,† however, is a noun meaning the process of preparing something to be used. You might set up the menus in a restaurant if you work there, but you would go to a setup menu to get a computer program ready for use. #5 Inconsistent Dashes If you use dashes in between start and end dates on your resume, or between any items in a document, use the same length dash for every similar set of text! I almost always see inconsistencies, especially on resumes, and they appear unprofessional. Don’t write June 2011-July 2013 in one spot and August 2010- June 2011 in another. #4 Apostrophes This issue makes the list for the third year in a row. Main point: Creating a plural doesn’t require an apostrophe. One client, two clients. To make a singular word possessive, add an apostrophe ‘s’: e.g., I wrote one client’s resume today. To make a plural word possessive, add an apostrophe after the ‘s’: e.g., I reviewed 5 clients’ records and discovered errors in 3 of them. See Top 7 Grammatical and Spelling Errors of 2012 and Top 10 Grammatical and Spelling Errors of 2011 for more on this topic. #3 Everyday/Every day This is a repeat topic as well. Everyday is an adjective meaning â€Å"common† or â€Å"day-to-day.† Every day means â€Å"daily† or â€Å"each and every day.† Want to learn a trick to remember which is which? See Common Grammatical Errors: Everyday vs. Every Day. #2 Lead/Led The absolute most common spelling error on resumes is the use of â€Å"lead,† meant to be the past tense of â€Å"lead.† The past tense of the verb â€Å"to lead† is â€Å"led†! I would love to see this error disappear from the resume writing world. #1 Two spaces after a period! Sure there are people who still argue that two spaces after a period is acceptable, but I have been fully converted! I have trained my fingers and my eyes to put one space after each period, and I’m attempting to train my clients to â€Å"get with the program† as well. If it’s good enough for the Chicago Manual of Style, it’s good enough for me! Have a happy, healthy, and grammatically correct new year. And remember, I’m always open to hearing your suggestions for my 2014 list!

Scientifically Proven Ways to Start Thinking Creatively

Scientifically Proven Ways to Start Thinking Creatively There are lots of articles out there with advice on how to improve creativity. But how much of it is actually backed by scientific research? The following methods for boosting the imagination are all supported by published studies: Stop Organizing Your Workspace Apparently, keeping a messy desk serves as greater creative inspiration than keeping an organized one, according to a study published in Psychological Science. It kind of goes with the image of the mad genius who doesn’t know what color socks he’s wearing because he’s too busy inventing the internet. So, stop tidying up, sit down in your mess, and create. Paint Your Walls Blue The color blue has the ability to stimulate the brain’s creative synapses by reminding it of â€Å"the sky, the ocean and water, most people associate blue with openness, peace and tranquility† according to Juliet Zhu, a psychologist who conducted a study on color association and brain activity. This sense of peacefulness also allows people to feel supported enough to risk creative exploration. Turn Your Lights Down Low Dim lighting also helps stimulate creativity. It makes people feel â€Å"freedom, self-determination and reduced inhibition.† A study that asked students to solve creative problems found that those in the dimly lit rooms (150 lux) performed much better than those in a brightly lit room (1,500 lux). Buy low-wattage light bulbs for your room to help activate your imagination. Cultivate a Diverse Social Circle A study of Stanford Business School alumni revealed that the graduates with the highest level of creative thinking were those who networked extensively with groups of people outside their business colleagues. This exposed them to new ideas and allowed them to take more risks in thinking than if they were restricted to their normal social group. Hang Out in a Coffee Shop This has nothing to do with the intellectual tradition that coffee shops have or with the drink itself. It turns out that most coffee shops have a level of noise that supports creative thinking, as stated by The Journal of Consumer Research. Many coffee shops tend to have about 70 decibels of background noise. Extremely quiet environments like that of a library are good places to work if you need to concentrate and focus. But they don’t stimulate creativity. Travel According to the article in the Scientific American heading into the unknown can also spark the creative fires. A different setting where anything could happen and your routine hasn’t worn a groove into your brain can help create new pathways in the brain and inspire the imagination. It also creates â€Å"psychological distance† from the rest of your life, which allows you to be more open to new thoughts and solutions. Learn a New Language Along with travel comes multilingualism the ability to communicate in more than two languages. Whether you learn a new language in a foreign setting or at home, it doesn’t matter. The skill itself challenges the brain to refine its cognitive and problem-solving skills, leading to enhanced creative thinking. Meditate Adopting a meditative practice into your daily routine could help you improve creatively. A study from Cornell University observed the creative skills of a group of new meditators over the course of five months. The results were heightened mental flexibility and enhanced figurative skills. Exercise A little aerobic exercise is an incredibly useful habit to adopt. It not only ensures general overall health, but it improves mood and supplies the brain with fresh oxygen, thus enhancing your brain’s cognitive function and imaginative prowess. Next time you want to amp up your creativity, go for a short jog or bike ride, play tennis or go for a swim. Engage in the exercise of your choice to enhance your innovative abilities. Who wouldn’t want to be more creative if they could? Here’s your chance to make use any or all of these methods to improve your creative abilities and see a difference in your imaginative skills. Enjoy!

Sociology of Health Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Sociology of Health - Essay Example If both health and illness are viewed from a sociological perspective then it can be said that a body which breaks down should necessarily be repaired. Medical systems are required to systematize work around birth, disease, decay and death. Thus a person who is ill requires immediate programs to restore his health. Medical methods are necessary to organize one individual even when he is comes in this world. Illness and health are directly related to the social norms in this society. Illness is still excessively found in the lower classes of this society. This is because these classes are not provided with adequate health facilities on the right time. This shows the difference between the model of health and illness as the model of health clearly illustrates that one should be given adequate medical treatment faced by the problem of illness. However this is not possible because of the sociological factors which are involved in this concept. These factors include how one individual liv es and what age group does he belong to. It can be concluded that in order to practically apply the model of health it is necessary that all the problems encountered should be solved first. Ans. 3. Examine the key findings of the Black Report Ans. The Black Report was a research taken out in Britain in the 1980s to find out the issues about health and society. It gave an overview about the health social inequalities based on use of occupation as an indicator of social class. It analyzed the records of health of different people who belonged to different classes. All these results were analyzed according to the categories designed by the Registrar. The report concluded the over all issues of health in the UK. It stated that the health of the nation had improved over all but there was a difference of mortality among the classes. The individuals who belonged to the lower class were more vulnerable to diseases than the individuals who belonged to the upper class. It showed that the health standards descended as the class of people was lowered. The report clearly illustrated that all these health problems were related to the social factors such as low income, unemployment and poor living standards. The awareness factor was als o pointed out in the report as many people were not aware of different diseases which were being a cause of their death. The Black Report pointed out the basic factors which affected the overall health standards in the UK and desired a change in the overall system of the UK.4. Explain how the doctor / patient relationship influences the health of the patient Ans. There are contrary views on the doctor patient relationship in this world. Some doctors are of the view that if they get close to their patients then they are not able to properly treat their patients. However on the other hand it can be said that a good doctor patient relationship can lead to the recovery of the patient in an early time. This relationship is of a great influence to the patient's health behavior. Research has been done in order to find about the relationship between a doctor and a patient. A research conducted in Texas adopted the way of