Principles of supporting business events Essay

Principles of supporting business events Section 1 – Understand how to support the organisation of a business event 1. When organising a business event, describe the range of support activities that may be required. You will have to organise a venue, depending on type of event get appropriate size, make sure venue is available for particular dates, depending on location check transportation and accessibility get appropriate equipment for different types of presentations, what types of gadgets, will be or not needed some hearing aid, depending on size of venue and event. Arrange speakers, food and drinks : that will depend on how long the event is, will it be just few hours or all day or perhaps few days. Make sure range of food available, for example vegetarian or diary free. Send invitations, advertise the event, get documentations, licence and insurance cover if necessary travel and accommodation: that again will depend on type of event and how long it is going to be, for example if the event is international I have to organise things like visas, airport pick up, hotel and arrival to the event itself 2. Complete the table below by identifying two ways of providing support before, during and after a business event. Before During After 1. Invite speakers 1. Meet and greet, look after during the event, distribute documentation. Collect feedback. 1. Analyse feedback, circulating notes. 2. Book travel and accommodation. 2. Offering information, book taxi, deal with lost property, collect informal feedback 2. Contributing to analysing event. Section 2 – Understand the purpose of displaying professional and helpful behaviour whilst supporting a business event and how to do so 1. Explain the purpose of displaying professional and helpful behaviour when supporting a business event. Professional and helpful behaviour will make more efficient and effective event leave external and internal customers satisfied. Always helps to meet people with a smile and asking if you can help with anything, give people clear instructions what is happening for example when breaks will be taking place, how much time will occupy different speakers or activities so keeping everyone informed and as a result resources will be not wasted and people are generally more cooperative towards professionalism. On contrary not been helpful, for example, will create tension within people and lack of knowledge will leave people unsatisfied. 2. Describe ways of exhibiting professional and helpful behaviour whilst supporting a business event. There are few ways to exhibit professional and helpful behaviour. First thing people note, of course, is appearance. It is pleasant to see clean, well groomed people. It gives first positive impression and people’s mind already set for professionalism. Again a smile can do a lot when meeting people, smile means you want to help and ready to help. Smile invites to ask questions and leaves with positive attitude. When listening to a person it is important to keep eye contact as it relaxes people and if you listen attentively people again feel positive and that is exactly what you want them to feel about whole event and experience. Keeping everyone informed and get your job done such as paperwork, materials for event, answer questions, including phone and computer your main aim and recipe for successful event. Section 3 – Understand how to deal with problems encountered when supporting a business event 1. What are the main types of problems that may occur when supporting a business event? You should include at least three different types of problems in your answer. There could be many problem occur during event from very stressful to minor. They all fall into three categories: People problems Equipment problems Process problems 2. Identify possible solutions for each of the problems you have listed in Question 1 above. Possible solutions to event problems: 1. Always remain calm and polite, apologise to attendees if they experiencing a problem. 2. Find out exactly what the problem is and solution and if you can solve the matter, if not identify the colleague that can 3. Take appropriate action or undertake tasks specified by the colleague in charge† 4. Double check everything, use reliable supplies, proven techniques. Check equipment yourself and ask to do so your colleagues. Seek advice from experience people, reviews and other available sources. Remember what kind of problems you had at the previous events. 5. Ask yourself what kind of things could go wrong, what if main speaker doesn’t arrive in time, what if equipment fails etc. Plan what solution to problems could be beforehand. You should always check that problem was solved and make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Dissent from Puritanism Essay

During the early part of English colonization of the Americas the main group of people that were sent to the Americas was religious and political outcasts. This included Puritans, Quakers many other religions, debtors and political dissidents. The Puritans and Quakers came to the Americas in search of political freedom. The Puritans settled in the northeast region of the United States mainly in modern day Massachusetts. During their long nearly 4 month Journey across the Atlantic Ocean the boat goers grew close to each other because of the treacherous voyage. This caused theses people to group together and form towns with government based on their religion, Puritanism. Puritanism was one of the driving forces behind the formation of early successful northeastern towns and colonies in America. Many people who immigrated to the northeastern English colonies of the Americas had a strong dislike for Puritanism. Many believed the religion was too archaic in its beliefs and ways of life. Because of the animosity of non-puritans towards puritans and vice versa this caused the two peoples to form separate ettlements and very distinct cultures. Due to the differences in the cultures and the increase of immigration to New England the new settlers had to find new geographically suitable locations to start new settlements, therefore fully populating the entire New England colony. This gave New England a wide variety of culture, goods, natural resources and the capability to export large amounts of goods to the mother country for a profit. The non-puritans had settlements more based on economic ethics and systems that would financially help the settlement. Puritans had ettlements with more theocratic governments and more devotion to their religion. Although the governments of the two cultures were somewhat different they were also similar in many ways as well. Both governments were democratic. The puritans had a direct form of democracy where only white male land owners could vote. The problem with this is that once the colony started to fill it became harder and harder for young white men to find a piece of land suitable to settle on and start their families. With no land they had no say in their government as well. This drove many young Puritan Men to leave their theocratic settlements to seek other settlements where land owning was not necessary to have a say in government. This allowed puritans and non-puritans to culturally diffuse and further enrich the culture of New England. The non-puritan settlements had a representative or indirect form of democracy. These settlements followed a more English form of government. They also were mostly follows of the Anglican Church (the most common religion in England at the time). Because of the religious diversity in early New England and the abundance of natural resources (mostly large amounts of lumber) the colony was able to thrive. The religious acrimony between the puritans and non-puritans actually helped the English colony of New England reach its full economic potential by spreading out the population of the settlers. Many factors contributed to the formation of New England, but The objection of Puritanism and Puritanism itself was the paramount reason that New England did as well as it did and as early as it did. Dissent from Puritanism By halpin19

Anaesthetic care

Anaesthetic care In the following text I the author will provide an account of the anaesthetic care given to a paediatric patient in my care during a surgical procedure to repair her cleft palate. I will discuss the rationale behind the chosen anaesthetic technique and will analyse why the method was identified as the most suitable backing the findings up with related literature. The text will explore the care given to the patient and the preparation needed to ensure a safe procedure starting from the pre-assessment visit right to the anaesthetic room looking at the roles of some of the multi disciplinary team members involved in the child’s care. An episode of care for any individual patient is a complex series of interactions that make up the process of care. The recipient of this anaesthetic care is an 8-month-old female, who, as patient confidentiality forbids the use of her real name (NMC 2002a) shall be known as Eve. Eve was born at 41 weeks gestation, during a routine prenatal scan at 23 weeks gestation an abnormality of her facial structure was noted, her parents were informed of this and counselling and advice was offered. The extent of the abnormality was not seen until Eve was born. She was born with a unilateral cleft lip and palate, which is were there is a single cleft of the lip, and the hard, and soft palate are also divided (Shprintzen and Bardach 1995) but was otherwise fit and well. In accordance to Watson et al 2001 clefts of the lip and palate may be isolated deformities or may be a part of a syndrome. Eve has not been diagnosed with a syndrome there for this is an isolated deformity. Watson (2001) suggests that non-syndromic clefts are multi-factorial in origin and could occur due to gene involvement, various environmental factors or embryo development in relation the mothers life choices during pregnancy i.e. excessive alcohol, drug abuse etc. Eve had previously undergone the first stage of the surgery, which was a repair to her cleft lip. This is done between the ages of two and four months within our trust. This is mainly due to cosmetic reasons but also to encourage oral feeding and sucking and to encourage the tissues to grow at the same rate as the child’s facial structure (Watson Et al, 2001). Eve was admitted to hospital the day prior to her surgery. Eve’s mother had requested this rather than attending pre-admission clinic as she had problems with transportation to the hospital. This highlights good communication (Department of Health, 2003) between the nursing staff and Eve’s mother, which is of benefit to both the child and the family’s needs (Clayton, 2000). The Department of Health (1989) states that the welfare of the child is paramount, however Smith and Daughtrey (2000) believe that it is also important to ensure that parental needs are also met. Wong (1999), states that good family centred care is considerate of all family members’ needs and not only the needs of the child. The initial assessment of Eve involved her primary nurse, Eve and her mother Joanne. The cleft palate pathway was used as assessment aid and highlighted any needs that Eve and her family had. The anaesthetist (Dr A) then examined Eve and was able to explain the procedure to Eve’s mother. This meeting with Dr A provided Eve’s mother with both verbal and written information therefore equipping the family with knowledge and support (Summerton, 1998).

Case study analysis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Analysis - Case Study Example For this case, the hotel ventured into launching a nationwide campaign for to go green without losing its customers. The firm had a challenge of balancing its corporate strategies with environmental management plans (Slye, 2015). The hotel needed a personnel, who could engineer the delivery of excellent and trendy hotel experiences and at the same time, reduce the hotel’s ecological footprints. The hotel chose on Business Evolution Consulting as the project manager and the latter firm helped to formulate a plan called the Kimpton EarthCare (Slye 2015). The program so far has remarkable benefits to both the hotel group’s management and customer experience. Planning the project occurred in three phases, the first of which was of remarkable success. The remaining two faces of the project are yet to be completed. They include a recycling project, and replacement of the hotel equipment including fabrics with organic materials. The two latter projects faced objection from a section of stakeholders. In ensuring proper and reasonable arguments on the returns from investing in the two projects, there is a need for a review of fundamental lessons from the first project. The first lesson for stakeholders is the fact that the firm has a desire for excellence and creation of difference in approach to balance between corporate strategies and management of the environment. For such a case, it is justified all stakeholders in the corporation should consider that there has already been past success (Silverman & Thomas, 2006). Success is because the company put the project as a part of its vision. There is a generalized ideology for the advocacy for environmental care among the business across the globe. The company already has a history of venturing into managing the environment, which makes it unique among the customers. Some people may consider that the Green initiative is no longer news to the public because the corporate headquarters has the plan

Eco2a Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Eco2a - Assignment Example One major difference in the recording of transactions that exists between the two types of organizations in is the fact that profit based organizations maintain only one general ledge whereas non-profit organizations maintains several ledgers depending on the number of projects being funded (Articlesbase, n.d.). Another main difference in the recording of transactions between the two types of organizations is in respect of recording equity. In Non-profit organizations, transactions are recorded under net assets while in the profit oriented organizations, owner’s equity applies. With the fund management recording system characteristically applied by non-profit organizations, each donation is classified and utilized with respect to the limitations set by specific donors or group of donors. This is, however, not the case for profit oriented organizations where funds are used and classified without such limitations (Articlesbase, n.d.). In conclusion, the main difference in the recording of information in profit oriented and non-profit oriented organization relates to the maintenance of ledgers, recording of equity, and limitations regarding the use of funds. Articlesbase (n.d.) For-profit Vs. Non-profit: The Difference in the Accounting System. Retrieved from http://www.articlesbase.com/software-articles/forprofit-vs-nonprofit-the-difference-in-the-accounting-system-1548973.html Medical records management is vital for every healthcare organization. As the name suggests, the medical records department deals with the recording of patients’ medical records. A patient’s medical record includes details of bio-data, diagnosis, medical history, treatments, examinations and tests (Beck, 1989). The department helps in the efficient running of the hospital as well as in the proper care of patients. For example, medical coding and documentation helps provide quality services through the sharing information of patients’ records appropriately. The

Event Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Event Management - Assignment Example The purpose of fundraising is usually organized by an individual or a social organization for non-profit purposes. However, fundraising is also used to obtain funds from potential entities that are capable of investing money in the interests of an organization typically for financing some strategic operation in which case, the practice of fundraising indicates towards a for-profit motive. There are a number of ways in which fundraising is usually organized. The first and the foremost among them is by way of an annual endowment that is usually received from either a governmental agency or a financial institution. Such an endowment is usually given on a periodic basis whenever the beneficiary has invested money on a prior basis so as to entitle it to receive such a periodic financial return. This form of fundraising is usually adopted by non-profit organizations in order to ensure a periodic flow of income that helps the organizations to perform its yearly activities (L. Peter Edles, 2006). There is also another form of fundraising, which is different fr... For example, a non-profit entity may sell devotional books in order to generate the necessary funds. It is also not uncommon to see banners in stores which say that a part of the proceeds would go towards the benefit of war veterans. This not only helps boost sales, but ensures that the intended target audience benefits in the end. There is also another form of fundraising wherein the organization that is to receive funds, does not receive it in the form of monetary funds, but rather some gifts are donated to it, in which case it is known as an 'In-kind gift'. The practice of fundraising is nowadays being vigorously being carried out over the internet too. Thus, it can be seen that the fundraising is carried out for a number of purposes by a number of entities for both profit and non-profit purposes (Adrian Sargeant and Elaine Jay, 2004). SPONSORS The concept of sponsorship is another important aspect of event management, wherein it is concerned with receiving financial and other forms of support from an individual or an organization in order to organize an event. Apart from supporting events, sponsorship is also utilized for supporting individuals as well as organizations that are in need of funds and are themselves unable to generate it on their own. Under sponsorship, the individual or organizations that arranges for providing the required assistance is referred to as a 'Sponsor'. Therefore, a sponsor would either have the necessary financial backing or the requisite capability to provide support such as personnel, infrastructure etc. or a combination of both. Unlike a fundraiser, a sponsorship is an activity that is intended to benefit both the Sponsor as well as the entity that receives the funds from the

Saudi Arabia and the World Trade Organization Term Paper

Saudi Arabia and the World Trade Organization - Term Paper Example On the face of it, membership in the WTO means, primarily and for the most part, a reduction in tariffs, increase in foreign investment, and the importing and exporting of products and services on a level never before seen in the country. A deeper analysis shows that this has led and will continue to lead to fundamental changes in the basic business and financial structures within the kingdom, which has had an almost immediate effect on the cultural and social policies and attitudes within the Saudi Arabia. In order to attain a better understanding of these policies and what Saudi Arabia's membership in the WTO means for global enterprise and free trade we will need to consider the following three areas of analysis: 1) The economic, political and social conditions which existed just prior to Saudis accession into the WTO and the motivations that prompted them to initiate the process, 2) The obligations and stipulations of membership in the WTO for Saudi Arabia and what changes this h as led to both internally to Saudi Arabia and externally in the rest of the world, and 3) The ramifications of this accession in the long-term for global enterprise and free trade in other parts of the world. ... II. WTO Background It is important initially to highlight some of the features of the WTO in general that have precipitated many of the important changes in Saudi Arabia and how the WTO sees itself as more than a simple trade agreement and why this perspective is important for global enterprise. The successor organization to General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT), in 1982 the so-called Uruguay Round of negotiations set the stage for the promulgation of the WTO. Designed to set best practices for international trade, offering a comprehensive and robust forum for trade-related negotiations as well as a dispute resolving mechanism, the WTO has expanded its role via the Doha agenda (WTO 2007) and not only sees itself as regulating body for trade but as a body that seeks to grow and develop multilateral enterprise and global trade of its member nations. This includes but is not limited to offering technical assistance to the least-developed countries within the WTO, promoting agricultural and private sector development in such countries as well as creating favorable circumstances to encourage specific types of trade with certain developing states. This expanded mission has had many positive results for both developed and developing nations as this allows for more fruitful engagement with countries along multiple lines of trade such as in Saudi Arabia, for example, where these policies have promoted growth and commerce in non-oil related sectors. This commitment is in-line with WTO's general mission as a body created to liberalize global enterprise and this liberalization has been the focal point for much of the debate in kingdom of Saudi Arabia. III. Prior to the WTO It

Health and safety Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Health and safety - Essay Example In this situation, the building is an educational institution with students, teachers and administrative staff. While constructing the new building, the aspect of health and safety of the people present in the old building and future health and safety concerns for the new building and its users should not be neglected. There are many chances of accidents and hazardous situations for which, there should be preventive measures and safety precautions that can be adopted by the people. There should be safe escape passages for the people, suitable equipment to control the situation and a professional security force to handle any hazardous situation (Managing health and safety in construction 2007). The major concern in constructing a new eight-storey is the closing of escape route that is opposite to the Leighton building. During construction, there can be a fire outbreak that cannot be handled if the fire escape route is closed. This report contains a detailed overview of the risks and hazards involved in constructing the new building, statutory requirements, safe systems of work for daily operations, control measures that should be adopted to reduce the risks and hazards involved. In case of a good structure, the building will offer lesser chances of damage to people present in it while in the opposite case, people’s lives will be endangered because of their presence in that building (Derek 1986). In this situation, the old building that is already there contains an escape route that is closed for the construction of new building. Huge machinery that is luffing tower crane will be operative outside an educational institution and the escape passage in case of any hazardous situation will be closed. This can create a problem and it should be considered in legal terms. Building regulations demand the inclusion of a safe passage in case of some disastrous situation (HSE 2006). The administration of School of Forensic and

Fires in the built environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Fires in the built environment - Essay Example Furthermore, in major conflagrations long hooks with ropes were used to pull down buildings in the path of an approaching fire to create firebreaks. Steven Edward's career began, not in the Fire Brigade, but in the Film Industry. He had a great job cutting and editing film, great salary and prospects but no excitement. For years he wanted more than "just a job", he wanted the "thrill factor" to go with it. It was talking to his uncle, a retired Senior Officer commended for bravery and stationed in Harrow, who encouraged and convinced him that he had the makings of being a great fire fighter and that that the way forward. He told him all he needed to know to join the Brigade from applying for the job, training and how his career would develop. He was full of praise for the fire fighters who he considered to be his "extended family" and very proud to be a fire fighter. Newly married at the age of 26 years old in November 1980 he decided to take the plunge and with the support from his wife, he joined the Brigade. He first had to undergo a medical, which included physical strength and lung capacity, good vision and hearing. He then spent 18 weeks training which covered theory lessons and practical skills such as searching rooms, working in smoke and using fire-fighting and rescue equipment. At home he was difficult to live with but managed to pass with flying colours whilst others failed to make the grade. He began his career at Soho Fire Station in London and was put to work ventilating fires once they were extinguished. It was a further six months before he was able to assist his colleagues in tackling fires and to eventually get to do what he was trained for. A typical rota for each fire fighter consisted of 2 days working 9am -6pm day shifts, followed by 2 nights working 6pm-9am in the morning, which followed by 4 days leave. The duties during the day consisted of: equipment check - especially breathing apparatus and any machinery to be used tea break a list of "to do's" is always in place for each station to carry out on a daily basis which cover each day of the year a list of "monthly tests" which are carried out; and a list of yearly tests, which might be carried out. There is then what is known as a period of "stand easy" which is a break of about 15 minutes at 11am where each officer can talk and discuss anything with their fellow officers. After that time there are numerous Fire Safety visits whereby Fire Officers visit Schools, Hospitals, Nursing Homes etc. in the Local Community to help in the prevention of fires and promote safety. On duty at Soho Station were 3 engines ready for action at any one time. After lunchtime a series of training schedules and/or lectures would be carried out. By 4pm some officers would then attend the gym. It is the general consensus nowadays that fire fighters are fitter than ever before (this can only be said for this country at least) with the trends changing - encouraging healthy eating and a consistent gym training schedule. His most vivid memory during his time as a fire fighter was when he was on night duty almost 10 years ago. It was during a night shift that a "shout" was received reporting a fire in

Organisations & Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Organisations & Environment - Essay Example Other sectors such as industries, forestry and wastes are 4%, 2% and 1.4% respectively. (cait.wri.org, 2006) However, UK only produces about 11 percent of the GHG produced by the United States. This paper compares the GHG emissions of UK with other nations such as the United States, Italy and France, providing an analysis of the current status of UK in GHG emissions, enabling us to conclude that UK must work towards lowering its GHG emissions. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) has taken steps towards curbing total emissions, which would make changes internationally. The United States produces nearly 23.11% of the total GHG emissions, ranking 1st in world emissions. When converted to carbon di oxide equivalents, the US produces 92641.4 parts. This is by far the largest amount produced by a single nation and the US is certainly focusing on reduction of emissions by involving in activities to reduce emissions such as emission trading. When compared with the UK, emissions are much more which is directly related to the large area and the population of industries in the United States. Italy also contributes to global emissions in considerable amounts but its emissions are much lesser than that ok the United Kingdom. However, statistical details provide proof that the emissions produced by Italy have risen over the past few years, even after the Kyoto protocol, which means that UK is doing a better job in curbing GHG emissions. Italy ranks 10th in global emissions, producing about 1.86% of the total emissions. When converted in terms of carbon dioxide equivalents, it produces 7454.2 parts. The emissions produced by UK in terms of carbondioxide equivalents are 9232.3 parts, more than that of Italy or France. This may be due to the rapid emergence of industries in UK. The total emissions produced by France accounts to 1.62% of global GHG. It produces 6483.3 parts in terms of carbon dioxide

Automobile - Opel Essay Example for Free

Automobile Opel Essay Introduction – A museum is an institution that cares for (conserves) a collection of artefacts and other objects of scienti$c, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Museums have varying aims, ranging from serving researchers and specialists to serving the general public. Purpose of study – ?A car represents status. A car is symbol of power. There are many car enthusiast’s in our country. ?There are many rich people that own a antique or a latest high technology car. ? And on other had there are many people who cannot a/ord such an expensive car but have a great interest in them. ?Most of the car museums we see holds only the vintage cars. ?Thus there is a need felt to provide a new building typology which can o/er a range of cars to view, from vintage to the modern, for all the car enthusiast’s to look out. SOURABH SHALGAR FOURTH YEAR (CM) ROLL NO:27 1 An Automobile Museum – Same as an ordinary museum, an Automobile museum is a museum where a range to cars are for display for the people to view. Purpose of an Automobile Museum – ?The main purpose is to provide a stage where people can display there cars. ?Giving people an opportunity to see a wide range of cars under one roof. ?Along with that providing ancillary activities such as a track for drag racing , where various events can be performed. ?Helping the car companies to display there cars which can help them advertising there brand, and giving a chance to people to compare between to companies. ?Along with that to provide all the amenities to ensure the comfort of the visitor. ?To make the Museum a tourist attraction so that it will be a revenue generation place for the city. Aim – ?Attract people to visit the museum. SOURABH SHALGAR FOURTH YEAR (CM) ROLL NO:27 2? To provide display for a variety of cars and companies. ?To knowledge people about history of the car companies. ?To make the museum a tourist attraction point. ?To entertain the visitors. Design Strategies – To achieve the aims , the components which can be used in design are ; ?Granduarness should be created by the structure which can act as the landmark of that place. ?Ambience should be created such that visitors should enjoy. ?Display areas created should keep the Status and luxury of the car companies. ?Metal Innovative Architecture must be used to give the structure the iconic look. SOURABH SHALGAR FOURTH YEAR (CM) ROLL NO:27 3.

Mandatory Minimum Sentences and Drug Policy Reform Essay Example for Free

Mandatory Minimum Sentences and Drug Policy Reform Essay The use of mandatory minimums within our judicial system is not winning the war on drugs. This country needs drug law reforms to turn the tide on the war on drugs, and minimize their impact on our society. This comes from rehabilitation programs that are more effective and less costly for our government. Introduction Our country has gone to extremes to try and win the war on drugs. There is no evidence to show that they have made any real impact in ending or even lowering the use of drugs in this country. In1986 the federal government enacted mandatory minimum drug sentences. These laws force judges to comply with a minimum prison sentence based on the nature of the drug crime. By doing this, the federal government has tied the hands of our judges to use their judgment depending on the case. Their argument for this is it will deter people from committing drug crimes in the future. My argument is that we are treating an addiction which needs both medical and psychological help to resolve, not longer prison sentences. Argument for Mandatory Minimums In 1986 mandatory minimums were enacted to put an end to the cocaine and crack epidemic that was going on in our nation’s inner cities. The focus was if they could apprehend the drug kingpins and lock them away for many years in prison, they would lose their realm of control of the drug world. The reality of the situation is that many gang leaders are in prison today, and have just as much control over the drug trade as they did when they were free men. Many say that the laws have inadvertently become a racial problem within this country. Laws on mandatory minimum sentences are much harsher on crack than cocaine. Since crack is predominantly used among African Americans within this country, they received much harsher punishments than cocaine users who are predominantly white. Argument against Mandatory Minimums We are not simply dealing with a bad behavior that is a scourge on society. We are dealing with extremely addictive drugs that a prison sentence will do almost no good in helping people kick their habits, and thus their old way of life. These people need medical and psychiatric help in order to rehabilitate them into the nine to five taxpaying Americans that our country wants them to be. Many drug dealers started out as users and began to sell the drug in order to pay for their own habit. Mandatory minimum prison sentences for people who are sadly destroying their lives to maintain their own personal habit are not going to be reformed in our nation’s prisons. Most of the people within our prison system are their because of non-violent drug crimes. They are not horrible people who are their because of rape, murder, armed robbery, etc†¦ People who argue in favor of mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses say it is working by putting dealers behind bars. The fact is though that most of the people behind bars due to these laws are low level dealers. â€Å"In fiscal year 2005, 61. 5% of all federal crack cocaine defendants were low-level offenders such as mules or street dealers. Only 8. 4% were high-level dealers. † (Mandatory Minimums) Mandatory minimums only go by the weight of the substance that you were selling. It is clear by this data that the weights set in our current laws do not target high-level dealers as well as they were intended to. Rehabilitation Centers vs. Prison Rehabilitation of our country’s drug users not only has a higher success rate than that of our prisons, it is also more cost efficient. It is what you refer to as a win-win. The amount of people within our jail and prison systems is estimated to be above six million people. Approximately half of these inmates used drugs regularly the month prior to their apprehension. It is fair to say then that nearly half of our prison population is candidates for drug rehabilitation programs rather than prison systems. The average cost for incarcerating an individual for a year is $20,000. The average cost of treatment at a rehabilitation center is around $9,000. It currently costs our government around one billion dollars annually to incarcerate its prison population. By taking the half of the prison population that are habitual users and putting them in treatment centers, the government could save a quarter of a million dollars a year. Not only that, but the repeat offender rate for those that have gone through the treatment centers is only a fourth of that for prison sentences. Drug courts are a new movement going across our nation. A court system set up to deal with drug crimes only. Drug courts are set up to give first time offenders a second chance. Conditions of sentencing typically involve mandatory drug testing along with therapy. If first time offenders can successfully complete the treatment program in most cases their crime is removed from their criminal record. Since many first time offenders are juveniles or young adults, this allows them to receive federal aid through FAFSA. In turn it makes it easier for them to receive higher education services, which gives them a better chance at getting the skills they need for jobs. This in turn makes it more unlikely that they will revert to their old lifestyles of drug dealing now that they are treated for a drug addiction and have been given the tools they need to succeed. Drug courts are very strict though. If a participant in the program fails to attend a therapy meeting or has a positive return on a drug test, they are sent directly to jail. The program is only for those who want to change their lives. It is true that there are some people who do not want to change and they should be in jail if they do not want to reform to the laws of this country. The idea of drug reform in this country may be a daunting task, but it needs to be done. If we do nothing about the problem it will never go away, and as it has shown so far it will only get worse. The old ways of thinking are clearly not working. Something needs to be done about this problem. There is a reason why we have the highest incarceration rate of all industrialized nations. It is because half of our incarcerated citizens are non-violent drug offenders. If we can move towards treating an illness instead of punishing a crime, our country will be better off. Less people will be incarcerated and will be productive, moving our country towards a better tomorrow. Mandatory Minimum laws within this country need major reform due to the injustice that they create. While most of the injustice was done inadvertently, nonetheless it is still there. Our country has failed to take one step closer in winning the war on drugs. It is time for America to realize it has a drug addiction problem that cannot be fixed with lengthy prison sentences. Our country needs to change the mandatory minimum laws. Cocaine and crack need to be punishable equally. In this country it is estimated that there are four million people with addictions to either crack or cocaine. About half of the nation’s prison population is in there for non-violent drug offenses. With a prison population of one and a half million people, that’s three quarters of a million non-violent drug offenders not receiving the correct treatment. Cocaine use has continued to rise since the 1980’s while crack use has stayed steady. Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in this country. It has had research to show that it is a gateway drug. Users of marijuana are more likely to try drugs like crack and cocaine. Studies show that most users of marijuana have tried the drug before their sophomore year in high school. Educational systems such as D. A. R. E. are already in place as good educational tools against drugs. Our society needs to be honest about the dangers of drugs. Many anti-drug commercials of the past could go as far as to say a hit of marijuana will make you kill your parents. Many commercials of today are starting to show more honesty. Instead of saying that buying pot is the same as putting money into the hands of terrorists, they are stating the truth that it does typically make you less active. This in turn usually leads to people not completing goals, and not completing any of their goals. Alcohol is the second most illegally used drug by minors. Education about the dangers of alcohol is equally important. Alcoholism is a major problem within this country, which typically has major effects on families. Alcoholism can lead to violent households. More teens die from drinking and driving than any other way of death. Alcohol like marijuana is considered a gateway drug. This is why it is so important that we attempt to stop irresponsible drinking behaviors. Essentially drug addicts are addicted to the feeling of euphoria that comes upon them when endorphins flood the brain with the use of the drug. Drug rehabilitation centers have found great success at treating people with addiction to crack and cocaine with anti-depressants. The National Institute of Drug Abuse is taking a different approach to the problem. They are developing a cocaine-vaccine that virtually eliminates all effects of the drug. This would ensure that even if an addict were to have a relapse, the drug would have no effect, and the incentive to do the drug is taken away. Dealers of crack and cocaine usually were crack and cocaine users first. These drugs are incredibly addictive. For users to support their habits many of them turn to dealing the drug. If our society can find a way to break the cycle of addiction there is hope that we can start to turn the tide on the war on drugs. Our government simply has to recognize that we are dealing with an addiction crisis, and not necessarily bad people who are the scourge of society. Drug courts are a new movement going across our nation. A court system set up to deal with drug crimes only. These courts are now operating or have plans to be operating in all fifty states. The first drug court was established in Dade County in 1981. Drug courts are set up to give first time offenders a second chance. Conditions of sentencing typically involve mandatory drug testing along with therapy. If first time offenders can successfully complete the treatment program in most cases their crime is removed from their criminal record. Since many first time offenders are juveniles or young adults, this allows them to receive federal aid through FAFSA. In turn it makes it easier for them to receive higher education services, which gives them a better chance at getting the skills they need for jobs. This in turn makes it more unlikely that they will revert to their old lifestyles of drug dealing now that they are treated for a drug addiction and have been given the tools they need to succeed. Drug courts are very strict though. If a participant in the program fails to attend a therapy meeting or has a positive return on a drug test, they are sent directly to jail. The program is only for those who want to change their lives. It is true that there are some people who do not want to change and they should be in jail if they do not want to reform to the laws of this country. Along with anti-depressants and revolutionary new research being done to address this nation’s addiction to drugs the twelve step process is the most used system for drug rehabilitation. The twelve step process forces the user to admit he or she is powerless over the drug and that a higher power can help them restore their sanity. This has its own constitutional conflictions with the separation of church and state. The twelve step process is only one option that can be taken towards drug rehabilitation though. It could be set up where defendants could choose a faith based rehabilitation program through the state or a non faith based rehabilitation program. There is no one strategy that works for every addict. Each case needs to be dealt with on a personal basis. They need to get to the bottom of why they want to use drugs. There is typically an underlying issue in a user’s life that causes them to search for an escape. The escape that ends many people in prison for lengthy sentences happens to come from crack and cocaine for too many people. Our rehabilitation centers need to work closely with the patients’ family whenever this is possible. Most drug users have families that are drug users as well. It is a perpetual cycle that continues to go on. It continues to go on because the underlying problems within the family are not addressed and they continue to turn to drugs in an attempt to escape the issues. Families are typically the best support system for a user trying to go clean. Without the help of the family or a family like atmosphere, users find it difficult to see a reason why they should quit. They need to see the impact that it makes on their loved ones to make it real to them. The ugliness needs to be shown in order for the user to see the full consequences of his or her actions. I am not proposing that we get rid of prison sentences for drug offenders by any means. We should only offer rehab to first time offenders who will be able to show whether they truly wish to change their lives for the better. If you have been through the program once and reverted back, then you have not proven to society that you are willing to be a productive law-biding citizen. Everyone deserves a second chance, but not necessarily a third or fourth. Rehabilitation of our country’s drug users not only has a higher success rate than that of our prisons, it is also more cost efficient. The amount of people within our jail and prison systems is estimated to be above six million people. Approximately half of these inmates used drugs regularly the month prior to their apprehension. It is fair to say then that nearly half of our prison population is candidates for drug rehabilitation programs rather than prison systems. The average cost for incarcerating an individual for a year is $20,000. The average cost of treatment at a rehabilitation center is around $9,000. It currently costs our government around one billion dollars annually to incarcerate its prison population. By taking the half of the prison population that are habitual users and putting them in treatment centers, the government could save a quarter of a billion dollars a year. Not only that but the repeat offender rate for those that have gone through the treatment centers is only a fourth of that for a prison sentence. Rehabilitation centers have a success rate of sixty to seventy five percent. When those figures are applied to the prison population that means that at the lowest success rate twenty five percent of our prison population would become productive members of society. While the repeat offender rate for rehabilitation centers is between forty and twenty five percent, prison are seventy five percent. With our current system over half a million of our non-violent offenders will be back in prison for the same crime, while with rehabilitation at worst it would be around three hundred thousand. The key to success with our rehabilitation centers is to provide long term assistance. It will be much better off for the nation as a whole to treat the triggers of addiction before it gets out of hand. Yes it is the addicts fault the he or she is addicted, but this does not mean that we should let society hurt on a principle of stubbornness. We should help our fellow man stay clean if he wants to be clean. With long term assistance programs for patients of rehabilitation programs, the success rate can reach as high as ninety five percent. I am not naive enough to think that this high of a number will work just as well for prisoners. Some prisoners simply do not want to break their addiction. If they do not want to change their lives, there is very little that rehab will do for a patient. Society has treated the drug problem within this country with extremely harsh punishments. We have been blind to see that we have been approaching the problem with the wrong strategy. Rehabilitation and education are the two strongest weapons in the war on drugs. If we change the lives of drug offenders, we will be able to exchange a large portion of our prison population into productive members of society. This would turn people who used to be a burden on taxpayers into taxpayers themselves. This would ultimately help the economy of America and the overall quality of life. The idea of drug reform in this country may be a daunting task, but it needs to be done. If we do nothing about the problem it will never go away, and as it has shown so far it will only get worse. The old ways of thinking are clearly not working. Something needs to be done about this problem. There is a reason why we have the highest incarceration rate of all industrialized nations. It is because half of our incarcerated citizens are non-violent drug offenders. If we can move towards treating an illness instead of punishing a crime, our country will be better off. Less people will be incarcerated citizens are non-violent drug offenders. If we can move towards treating an illness instead of punishing a crime, our country will be better off. Less people will be incarcerated and will be productive, moving our country towards a better tomorrow.

Dyscalculia Wheres The Difficulty Education Essay

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

Free College Essays - Self-discovery in Shes Come Undone by Wally Lamb :: Shes Come Undone

She's Come Undone: Self-discovery  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Throughout She's Come Undone, Wally Lamb emphasizes the importance of self-discovery to one's life. Dolores has several epiphanies throughout the course of the novel, including her realization that all of her failed relationships are not solely her fault. She learns she is worth loving and is capable of surviving on her own. With each discovery about herself, Dolores learns to love herself a little more and blame herself a little less. Dolores' first realization is a sub-conscious one. Right before she tries to commit suicide she telephones her mother's childhood friend Geneva (Lamb 249). This is a cry for help and is her first step towards recovery. Dolores' next discovery comes after a long period of therapy, paid for by Geneva. Dolores' therapist, Dr. Shaw, attempts to rewrite her childhood from the time she was in the womb on. He takes on the role of her mother (268). As her negative childhood memories are replaced by positive ones, Dolores gains a new sense of self-esteem and confidence. She loses all of her extra weight (269). Dolores funnels her energy into creative pursuits like Etch-A-Sketching rather than self-destructive behavior. Eventually she is able to leave Dr. Shaw's care and go into the real world to provide for herself (283). Perhaps Dolores leaves the care of Dr. Shaw too soon. Shortly after getting her own apartment she begins dating Dante. Ashamed of her past, she creates a fictional life story for herself. She lives a lie the whole time she is living with Dante. She writes to her grandmother and falsely describes her marriage. When she catches Dante sleeping with one of his students, she finally wakes up. She realizes that no man is worth the pain of losing her identity, and she also realizes that her identity cannot be defined by the man she is with. After her grandmother's death she finally reveals her true self to Dante. In frustration and anger she tells him all of the events of her past, from her weight problems to her rape to her time spent in a mental institution. She feels completely free for the first time. Dolores' final stage of self-discovery comes with her relationship with Thayer. She realizes that he is what she has truly wanted for her entire life. It is the first time she has found luck and happiness in love.

Life Means Life - Original Writing :: Papers

Life Means Life - Original Writing The sly shoves and kicks from policemen didn't bother me. It was the look on their faces. They turned up their noses as if the smell of me was too foul to endure. Their eyes seemed to darken at the sight of me. The first time it really hit me that I was going to spend the rest of my life in prison was only when they took away my personal belongings. Everything that gave me a sense of identity, of individuality was carefully listed and placed into that blue plastic box - a Mars bar which I have loved since I was a little lad; my keys that never worked first time you twisted them in the lock; my worn and familiar clothes that I refused to throw out just because they were old, and my wallet with the picture of - my girlfriend who says she no longer loves me. These small insignificant things that made me an individual were stripped away literally and all that was left was me. Me. It made me break down right there in the room while they were removing the laces from my shoes. "We don't want any hangings tonight do we?" said the surly officer. A humiliating, brutal and invasive search of my naked body followed amid sniggers and crude comments from the men in blue before being marched to my cell. By this point I was beyond caring. A switch in my mind was flicked and I stared straight ahead, silently following the instructions of the uniformed guards neither flinching nor responding to anything anyone said or did. The door slammed shut and I surveyed my new home with its hard bed and a bucket in a corner. I was placed in solitary confinement `for my own security' which meant I didn't have to face the other inmates immediately although I realised at some point that I would have to. Solitary confinement - time to give me think about the weeks and months leading up to this point and the crime they say I committed.

Hydrogen Essays -- essays research papers

Since the beginning of the scientific revolution in the early nineties the mankind looks for an energy source that is clean and renewable; solution of this problem would be probably the most common thing in our life - WATER. Water consists of two chemical elements, hydrogen and oxygen. Each molecule of water consists of two hydrogen (H2) atoms and one oxygen (O) atom. Chemical binding between these three atoms is very stable and strong. Therefore, the reaction of hydrogen and oxygen is under normal circumstances very intense and generates a lot of energy. 2H2 + O2 Â ® 2H2O + energy Both, hydrogen and oxygen are gases at normal temperatures and pressures and the product of this reaction is pure water, usually in its gaseous form - steam. Now it may look like hydrogen is the ideal power source that mankind is ever since looking for. More than 70 % of the Earth surface is covered by water, therefore hydrogen is renewable and unlimited. Reaction of hydrogen with oxygen generates a lot of energy and it does not have any negative output, only water. But, the respectable power hidden in water is known for more than 200 hundred years and as long scientists are trying to find a way to extract this energy, rather how to split the water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen can be used to power cars, rail engines, airplanes, to produce electricity and heat. But, although the technical breakthrough in 19th and 20th century brought hydrogen into experimental use in many applications, there are still many problems to deal with. There sure is a lot of misinformation about hydrogen gone to public, so here are the basic facts about hydrogen as a power source according to the Nuts & Volts Magazine. Hydrogen on earth is not a fuel. It is only an energy carrier. Following the definition of the word fuel, fuel is a substance that is capable of delivering new energy when burning or other chemical reaction occurs. On the other hand energy carrier is a substance that is only able to move previously acquired energy from one place to another. To be accurate, water molecule is energetically very advantageous for both oxygen and hydrogen atoms and needs much energy to disintegrate it again into hydrogen and oxygen atoms, or better H2 and O2 molecules, therefore H2 and O... ...national strength of all the countries that do not have any important petroleum resources and every country could be self- sufficient with hydrogen. For example U. S. trade balance sheets show that oil imports drain 1 billion dollars from the U. S. economy every week. Important is also the "clean transport effect", thanks to an engine that does not produces any carbon dioxide or other environmentally dangerous emissions. Hydrogen could be considered to be more safe than gasoline, if safety prescriptions are not violated, in case of an accident hydrogen would quickly evaporate and ascend in the atmosphere, while gasoline would stay spilled on the ground. Hydrogen caries much more energy than gasoline, is more engine saving and also the fuel cell technology promises further development and increasing reliability of hydrogen powered cars. Following United States Department of Energy we can expect regular hydrogen-powered traffic in 20 maybe 30 years. Although, until now no hydrogen-powered cars are in production and hydrogen-powered engine is only under development hydrogen stays the main alternative fuel of the future. Hydrogen Essays -- essays research papers Since the beginning of the scientific revolution in the early nineties the mankind looks for an energy source that is clean and renewable; solution of this problem would be probably the most common thing in our life - WATER. Water consists of two chemical elements, hydrogen and oxygen. Each molecule of water consists of two hydrogen (H2) atoms and one oxygen (O) atom. Chemical binding between these three atoms is very stable and strong. Therefore, the reaction of hydrogen and oxygen is under normal circumstances very intense and generates a lot of energy. 2H2 + O2 Â ® 2H2O + energy Both, hydrogen and oxygen are gases at normal temperatures and pressures and the product of this reaction is pure water, usually in its gaseous form - steam. Now it may look like hydrogen is the ideal power source that mankind is ever since looking for. More than 70 % of the Earth surface is covered by water, therefore hydrogen is renewable and unlimited. Reaction of hydrogen with oxygen generates a lot of energy and it does not have any negative output, only water. But, the respectable power hidden in water is known for more than 200 hundred years and as long scientists are trying to find a way to extract this energy, rather how to split the water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen can be used to power cars, rail engines, airplanes, to produce electricity and heat. But, although the technical breakthrough in 19th and 20th century brought hydrogen into experimental use in many applications, there are still many problems to deal with. There sure is a lot of misinformation about hydrogen gone to public, so here are the basic facts about hydrogen as a power source according to the Nuts & Volts Magazine. Hydrogen on earth is not a fuel. It is only an energy carrier. Following the definition of the word fuel, fuel is a substance that is capable of delivering new energy when burning or other chemical reaction occurs. On the other hand energy carrier is a substance that is only able to move previously acquired energy from one place to another. To be accurate, water molecule is energetically very advantageous for both oxygen and hydrogen atoms and needs much energy to disintegrate it again into hydrogen and oxygen atoms, or better H2 and O2 molecules, therefore H2 and O... ...national strength of all the countries that do not have any important petroleum resources and every country could be self- sufficient with hydrogen. For example U. S. trade balance sheets show that oil imports drain 1 billion dollars from the U. S. economy every week. Important is also the "clean transport effect", thanks to an engine that does not produces any carbon dioxide or other environmentally dangerous emissions. Hydrogen could be considered to be more safe than gasoline, if safety prescriptions are not violated, in case of an accident hydrogen would quickly evaporate and ascend in the atmosphere, while gasoline would stay spilled on the ground. Hydrogen caries much more energy than gasoline, is more engine saving and also the fuel cell technology promises further development and increasing reliability of hydrogen powered cars. Following United States Department of Energy we can expect regular hydrogen-powered traffic in 20 maybe 30 years. Although, until now no hydrogen-powered cars are in production and hydrogen-powered engine is only under development hydrogen stays the main alternative fuel of the future.

The Inequality Between the Low and High Class in Brazil

Brazil is the largest country in South America and it has the strongest economy in Latin America. The country has the seventh largest economy in the world by nominal GDP. Brazil is rich in natural resources and it focus on agriculture and industrial power. Despite the improvement on income distribution and bringing the middle class population to 95 million people which is a little bit more than half of the population in the country, poverty in rural areas are still very severe in Brazil. According to Rural Poverty Portal, â€Å"In the country as a whole, about 35 percent of the population lives in poverty, on less than two dollars a day. (1) The population in Brazil is about 197 million and with 35 percent of population living in poverty is equal to two times the population in Canada. Most of the poverties in Brazil are concentrated in the North East region of Brazil and it can be considered the single largest concentration of rural poverty in South America. The North East region in Brazil is the undeveloped part of the country where the population have no access to education, health care, technology and even clean water. Several causes of poverty in Brazil are land tenure, lack of access to a good education and also skill training. Through the literary short stories and Brazilian made films, we can somehow picture how different is the life between the lower and higher class families. The inequality is a very big issue in the country and even though the stories and films are fiction, it still shows us a reality that Brazil has been facing for a long period, which is the big gap between the rich and the poor. One of the films that shows the poverty in the rural areas of Brazil is â€Å"Behind the Sun†, directed by Walter Salles. We can see how the violence is a very big problem in the story because of a land dispute between a family and neighbour. According to Scielo, â€Å"It is customary to state that the poorer strata of the population are more violent and that they cause the social disorder and disturbances that assail the country. † ( Minayo, 1) It is true that the lower class would be more involved in violence since they are tired of working so hard and not getting anywhere, and it affects them emotionally. Furthermore, the film starts with a background of very dark orange which may represent the very hot weather in Brazil and it makes the viewers to somehow feel the tiredness, the hard working people in rural areas in Brazil. The film begins with a very depressing color which almost represents â€Å"hopelessness†. The scene that most caught my attention and I think it was very meaningful to the viewers is when the oxes start to turning in circle over and over again. It brings a significant message of no matter how hard the people work in rural areas; they will always be in the same routine and will never be able to have the chance to succeed in life. Moreover, as we could see, one of the main characters, Pacu, a very simple and humble boy, speaks a Portuguese with several grammatical errors such as â€Å"mais melhor† and â€Å"eles que tava perdido†. Illiteracy is another big problem in Brazil, especially with the lower class population, who live in the rural areas. Lower class people that live in the interior do not value education as much as people from higher classes. Sometimes it is because they are so focused on working to support their family that they do not have time to think about educating their children. Other times, they do not even have money to buy food, so how are they going to support their children to go school? Many children who are born in lower class families do not have the opportunity to be educated, not because they do not want; however, it is because their parents cannot afford and they are incapable of sending them to school. There are approximately 14 million people that are illiterate in Brazil; which means that they cannot read and write. Fortunately, in 2003, Brazil launched the â€Å"Bolsa Familia†, where the government support poor families with 140 Reais which is equivalent to 80 dollars to benefit the family to send their children to school, accessing health care and other social assistances. In addition, the literary story â€Å"The Hour of the Star† by Clarice Lispector also helps the reader to imagine how the lower class women's lives seem like. In recent years, women had played a big role in the contribution to the Brazilian economy. Today, Brazil even has a woman president in charge of the country, Dilma Rousseff. Wealthy women in Brazil seem to always be able to have a free pass to succeed in life, although many lower class women in Brazil do not receive the same opportunity. Higher class women always succeed thorough high society connection or using the power of the money. Macabea, the main character, from â€Å"The Hour of the Star† can represent all the lower class women in Brazil. Since Macabea lost her parents when she was very young, she became an orphan. Therefore, that is probably one of the reasons why she had difficulties succeeding in life due to the absence of parents supporting and guiding her. According to SOS Children’s Village, â€Å"In regions that are marked by high unemployment rates, children often face a substantial risk of growing up in an unstable domestic environment. â€Å"(1) It is possible to imagine how an orphan girl would need to go through without parent’s guidance. Moreover, the story also highlights that due to Macabea status of being poor, her lover, Olimpio, believes that he would not have any chance of advancing in life being with her. Instead, he chooses to date her co-worker, Gloria, who was smarter and prettier than Macabea. In addition, the title of the narrative, â€Å"The Hour of the Star†, is about Macabea who wanted to be a cinema actress. Unfortunately, people would not pay attention on her and the fact of her being poor, there was almost no chance for her to become who she wanted to become, which is a very sad reality that actually exists in Brazil. In Brazil, the poor still suffers inequality, they have almost no chance to succeed in life and they are pretty much ignored by the society. The poor is almost invisible to the society and the poor keeps getting poorer. For Macabea, she only sort of becomes famous after being hit by a Mercedes Benz, which is a â€Å"luxurious and imported item†. She did not become â€Å"famous† because she was hit in an accident, but the fact is because the â€Å"Mercedes Benz† was involved in it. People are always curious about the rich and the famous. They are not interested in the â€Å"insignificant† lower class people that are considered a burden to the Brazilian society. According to a journal article, â€Å"For upper-class women, the result is a life of almost total leisure, in which they have servants to do all the work. For lower-class women, their survival often depends upon their ability to obtain one of these jobs. Approximately one-third of the women employed in Brazil work as household workers, including cooks, housekeepers, and child care workers†. (Brazil, 1987) Most of lower class women in Brazil work as housekeepers and child care workers to middle and high class families. Due to low or no education, they are only able to afford low skilled jobs. Yet, about two years ago, Brazilian television program has launched a reality show named â€Å"Mulheres Ricas†, which means rich women. The reality show is about five very wealthy women who travel by private jet, eat from gold plates and women who would spend many thousands of dollars in clothing and imported bags. The show has been criticized internationally by comparing them to 11. 5 million Brazilian living in slums. The reason of the criticism is because it somehow proves hat the higher class only care about their own comfort by ignoring the real issues that is occurring in the country, which is the severe poverty. In Brazil, there is definitely a very big gap between the poor and the rich. Although the poverty is a big issue in the country, according to a recent report, Brazil has been creating 19 millionaires a day since 2007. Yet, the poverty in Brazil is causing several other problems such as th e drug traffic. Most of the times, the people who are involved in drug traffics, are the lower classes people. We can find people from all ages involved in the traffic. According to SOS Children’s village, â€Å"In the country’s largest cities, particularly in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, children without parental care often end up on the streets where they are vulnerable to gang violence, sexual abuse and drug addiction. â€Å"(1) Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city in Brazil, has a place called â€Å"favela† where the drug traffic has been a problem for several years. The movie, â€Å"Elite Squad: The Enemy Within† by Jose Padilha, illustrates a â€Å"fiction-reality† that occurs in Rio de Janeiro. The movie unquestionably shows to the viewers that â€Å"human rights† do not exist in Brazil, since the higher class people are the ones that hold all the power while the poor are not even recognized by the society. In the film, it mentions that the police would invade the â€Å"favelas† killing all the poor people involved in the drug traffic; however, they would not invade luxury apartments killing or arresting people because they receive some commission from the rich. In other words, the police officers are tipped with the money from the drug traffic from â€Å"higher class† people. Most of the times, if a person from a higher class commit a crime; they would use their money to avoid getting arrested and going jail. According to The Guardian, the Brazilian jail's population has doubled since the year 2000 due to the drug traffic. Of course, the majority of people who are in jail are from the lower class. Additionally, there is a scene in the film that might have caught many viewers attention. It is when the military killed one of the members in jail. The scene somehow send us a message by saying that it was not a big deal killing one of them since they are â€Å"trouble† anyways. I believe that the movie certainly try to send a message by saying that Brazil needs to start listening to the lower class opinion and do not ignore or kill them without any reasons. The lower class and higher class people in Brazil share something similar and that is: both are humans. â€Å"Human rights† should be more clearly addressed in the country and the â€Å"Rich rights† should be banned. Most of Brazilian literary narratives and movies that we have watched in class, it involves children and adolescents working and not receiving any education. According to SOS Children’s Village, â€Å"Quite frequently, young children have to engage in labour activities in order to put food on the table for an entire family. In the state of Piaui, approximately 26 per cent of children between 10 and 15 years of age are working. † (1) Looking at the Brazilian demographic, Brazil is certainly a very young country with 25 percent of the population being under 15 year old. The country depends on these young populations for the economic and social growth in the future. Yet, looking at the national estimates, about 24,000 children and teenagers call the streets their home. The lower class children definitely have the disadvantage of not getting any education and no hope for a better future. While the higher classes children will still be the ones to succeed in life and dominate the country. If the inequality between the rich and the poor in Brazil does not change, the poor will always remain poor and it is possible that the problem can become more severe in the future. Even though many literary stories and movies composed by Brazilian authors are â€Å"just stories† or â€Å"fantasies†, some of them still try to send an indirect message to the public that â€Å"social class† in Brazil is a problem and it needs to be changed. In addition, the movie, â€Å"Four days in September†, directed by Bruno Barreto, is about a reality that happened in Brazil years ago, involving the MR8 group, who was fighting against the military dictatorship and fighting for human rights. The group was formed by some young members, who were very naive, did not have much experience in life and did not think about future consequences that they could face by being involved† in this type of activity. Thankful to this group formation, Brazil has overcome the military dictatorship. Although, the country has overcome the dictatorship, human rights are still a problem. Showing that you have money is a way to receive respect from people. In the movie, there is a scene where one of the young members of MR8 goes to a bakery to buy bread; however, the baker underestimated him by asking if he had enough money to buy. The way you dress, the way you speak and the amount of money that you hold is the way that people are going to treat you. If you dress badly and is considered part of lower class, your opinion will not even be considered and there is almost zero respect towards you. Therefore, I believe that many people in Brazil are confused between â€Å"human rights† and â€Å"class†. According to the federal government in Brazil, â€Å"The following human rights problems have been reported: unlawful killings, excessive force, beatings, abuse, and torture of detainees. †(1) Most of the times, the people who are suffering under those problems are the innocent lower class population, who is sometimes always blamed for any issue that occur in the country. In, it is correct to assume that â€Å"money† can solve anything. On the other hand, since the lower classes do not have enough money, they get severely punished for their actions or even blamed for things that they have not committed. All in all, even the literary stories and movies are fictional, the Brazilian authors or directors seem to always try to incorporate the fiction with the reality that is faced in Brazilian society. As we could see from the short stories and movies, â€Å"class† is a very big issue and it is confused with â€Å"human rights†. The poor still face several consequences while the higher classes ignore the surrounding by using â€Å"money† to solve most of their problems. Inequality between the lower class and higher class is a big issue in Brazil that has to be solved before getting worse. It is also crucial for the country to understand the difference between â€Å"human rights† and â€Å"class†. I believe that if the poor is listened and given more opportunities in the society, they will also be able to succeed in life. It will not only decrease the poverty in the country, but it will prove to the people that the people from the lower classes also have the potential, but the only thing missing is the opportunity given to them.