Observation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Observation - Essay Example The students also watched â€Å"Story Box†. The â€Å"Story Box† showed a story of Korean traditional folktale using key expressions. The story repetitively mentioned, â€Å"What time is it?† When they finished watching the clip, the teacher again clicked the repeat button to have them practice the dialogues. First, they practiced as a whole, then with their partners. When they were done practicing, they volunteered a short scene from the â€Å"Story Box† without looking at the script on the screen. 4. Speaking Activity – What time is it Mr. Wolf? (15min.) – The teacher introduced the game to students with short video, and the students immediately grasped the idea because there was a similar game in Korean culture. However, the teacher told them there are many variations to this game, so students should listen carefully to her instruction. Like the traditional Mr.Wolf game in Korea, the teacher explained that there is one wolf who will be standing at the back of the room facing the wall while other students will be standing at the front of the room facing the wolf. When they start the game, other students need to shout their key expression which is â€Å"What time is it?† then, the wolf will randomly choose a time and tell â€Å"It’s ______ O’clock.† For example, when the wolf says, â€Å"It’s five O’clock† the students need to take five steps forward. When they got to wolf close enough, the wolf will shout, â€Å" It’s dinner time!† and try to catch one of them to be the wolf again. The students loved role-playing the dialogues. They were able to memorize the script perfectly after practicing speaking as a class couple times. Most students performed without having their scripts on their hands. The students were very competitive during the speaking activity. Some students were only interested in winning, so they ended up not reading the full sentences. These students were also stressed when the strips were given to students with lower English

Factors That Contributes to Happiness in Your Future Career Essay Example for Free

Factors That Contributes to Happiness in Your Future Career Essay Some people think that happiness is everything. It’s the meaning of life. No matter what you’re into, what you do. If you’re happy, you’re living. Thus happiness is like the purpose of life that makes its sense. Obviously, every person desires to be cloaked in happiness in all spheres of life. And, doubtless, one of the most important sphere we want to feel comfortable in and pleasure from is work. However, happiness isn’t a self-creating feeling. Thus there’re objective factors that calling forth happiness in our career. So let’s talk about them. The first condition contributing happiness in our future career as social scientists is our profession and it’s goals in general. We mean, that as politologists we’re going to research multifaceted, versatile, changeable art of power principles and political government that draw the picture of our nowadays and dictates a style of life. Evidently, it’s not routine, boring work at which we will cover with cobweb. It’s an interesting, exciting and dragging occupation due to which we’ll always keep up with the times. It’s rapid tempo encourages professional development and prospects, broadens our horizons and stimulates contemplation and achieving new goals. Thus our future profession contributes to happiness in its essence. Another reason to feel happy in our future career is the attitude toward our profession in society. Evidently, it’s rather prestige and respectable. Moreover, it assists a person in achieving a high social status. Due to that we’ll understand the importance and necessity of our work and feel pride and pleasure from it. And when people hear frequently and appropriately they’re appreciated, it heightens their desire to work and delight from it. So being respected, highly valued in society can condition the felling of happiness in our future career.

Symptoms of Eating disorders Essay -- Binge Eating, Bulimia, Anorexia

Everyone has seen the modern day models, they’re everywhere; in magazines, on billboards, and in commercials. They even have a T.V. shows dedicated to them (America’s next top model, for example). These models are all skinny and seemingly perfect in every way. They are idolized and what most girls (and many boys as well) want is to be just like them, to be skinny, have the perfect body weight, and the perfect body figure. Some people end up taking it to the extreme though, and get sick. They become obsessed with how they look to the point where it’s unhealthy, and possibly even deadly, and develop what we call eating disorders, or ED for short. There are three main eating disorders: Binge eating disorder (which falls under eating disorders not otherwise specified, or EDNOS) (Levine 4), bulimia nervosa (BN) and anorexia nervosa (AN). An eating disorder is defined as â€Å"any of a range of psychological disorders characterized by abnormal or disturbed eating habits† (google definition). These eating habits include (but aren’t limited to) purging food, starving oneself, and binging on food at an unhealthy rate (Eating 1). Bulimia nervosa was first documented as an eating disorder in the 1970’s (Key 1). It is characterized by recurring episodes of binge eating, or eating large, unhealthy amounts of food in one sitting on a regular basis. After they fill up on food, bingers go to the bathroom and purge it from their stomachs, or throw it back up (Levine 1). This way they feel they can still enjoy food, but don’t have to suffer the fattening consequences. Purging is the most common way of expelling food, but some use laxatives as well, or even both (Eating 1). Although BN is more common than anorexia and binge eating, it is less deadl... ...ogy 146.1/2 (2012): 243-257. Academic Search Elite. Web. 20 Mar. 2014. Stephen, Eric M., et al. "Adolescent risk factors for purging in young women: findings from the national longitudinal study of adolescent health."Journal of Eating Disorders 2 (2014): 1. Academic OneFile. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. "Teen eating disorders may impact weight later: study." Reuters. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 31 Dec. 2013. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. "Update: Eating Disorders." Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 21 Dec. 2007. Web. 20 Mar. 2014. . Waldman, Amanda, et al. "Attitudinal and perceptual factors in body image distortion: an exploratory study in patients with anorexia nervosa."Journal of Eating Disorders 1 (2013): 17. Academic OneFile. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.

Essay on Tension Essay

The ‘Turn of the Screw’, which was written in the late nineteenth century, is acclaimed by critics for the build up of tension and the suspenseful atmosphere that its author, Henry James, creates throughout the novella. James achieves this by exploiting several characters and features of the book. James manipulates the prologue of the novella by creating a group of listeners who are in anticipation for the story; furthermore the character who narrates the story is not immediately able to retrieve the manuscript, this deliberate slow down of tempo, builds suspense preceding the tale and it prepares the reader for a thrilling story. The setting of the novella is also used to build atmosphere, a technique that James regularly employs is contrasting a moment of tranquil with one of danger. This produces a sharp difference and thus makes the scene of peril seem even more suspenseful. The ghosts of Quint and Jessel are perhaps the largest contributors to the atmosphere and tension within the novel; James uses both ghosts to create a threat to the children which causes tremendous tension and it is the central plot in the book. The children themselves are also manipulated by James to create atmosphere, their behaviour is continually reiterated as perfect and virtuous to such an extent that the reader is almost persuaded to think that their is something not quite natural about them. James uses the prologue to introduce the story and also to create a suspenseful atmosphere about what is to follow. During the prologue there are a group of guests who James uses to create tension. These listeners evidently enjoy listening to stories, especially if they involve ghosts and horror. â€Å"†¦ sufficiently breathless†, â€Å"no comment was uttered† are phrases which are used to describe their attitude towards the stories, clearly conveying the interest and avidness that the guests and frame narrator have for the stories being told. The listeners create an atmosphere of eagerness for the story which is very effective since James’ readers might also imitate this feeling. The character of Douglas plays a pivotal to the build up of tension in the prologue. Upon the first mention of his story, he plays on the emotions of the listeners by continually reiterating how horrifying and terrible the story that he has all of them waiting in anticipation for is. â€Å"It is quite too horrible†, â€Å"nothing at all that I know touches it†; Douglas is gradually building up the suspense before his story by mentioning how ‘horrible’ it is, this feeling of impending disaster that the other guests wait in buoyant expectancy for, before knowing the full details of the story adds to an atmosphere of suspense. The combined facts that the manuscript has to be sent for and further compounded by the knowledge that is locked away also contributes to the same effect, the prolonged wait for the manuscript adds to a feeling of avidness for the story and also the fact that it is locked away has cryptive connotations which suggest that its contents are so terrible that it must be kept away from the world. By now it seems that Douglas appears to have his listeners transfixed upon him and have necessity to listen to his story. The interjection, â€Å"oh how delicious† which was cried by one of the women present; the term ‘delicious’ possibly infers a feeling which is almost desperation for the story. Likewise the way, in which the audience gives a â€Å"unanimous groan†, when the telling of the tale is delayed suggests that they long to hear the story. This deliberate slow down, builds up the tension to what the audience and reader are prepared for a gruelling tale. The gradual build up of suspense through the prologue preludes the main story, in order to exemplify an atmosphere of anticipation and dread of what is to follow. James now uses the setting of the novella to create tension. He allows us to see into the Governess’ mind and we, like her anticipate Bly to be a place of dread since she â€Å"had expected something so melancholy†. It is usual for one to expect that a large country estate which is the setting of a ghost story will be isolated, old and gothic. James cleverly manipulates our assumptions to create an atmosphere of tension. Instead of the gothic building that we expect, we are introduced to something much more pleasant; the Governess upon her arrival is surprised and delighted at what she sees â€Å"what greeted me was a good surprise†¦ I remember as a most pleasant impression†. This peaceful setting lulls the reader into a false sense of security, however at the back of our minds is the idea from the prologue that the story will be horrifying which makes the reader suspicious of the circumstances surrounding the following events; thus creating an atmosphere of tension. This same technique is used before the introduction of Peter Quint. In the pages preceding his apparition there is a vivid description of an idyllic setting such as â€Å"the beauty and dignity of the place†¦ golden sky†. James does this in order to produce a sharp contrast when the ghost appears, making the emergence of the ghost more of a shock and therefore more terrifying for his audience. With the ghost of Peter Quint now firmly entrenched within the story, James uses him as a key contributor for creating an atmosphere of tension. James uses Miss Grose’s detestable presentation of Quint while he was alive in order to create tension. She describes him as â€Å"Impudent and depraved†, â€Å"spoiled†, these quotations give a negative impression of Quint and portray him as an antagonist. However perhaps worst of all he is also related by Grose as â€Å"clever and deep†, exemplifying him as calculating and sinister. Because of his negative introduction the reader is therefore continually persuaded to think of Quint as a dangerous to the children. Upon each appearance Quint is seen closer to the Governess and hence successively more threatening and horrifying. Additionally each time Quint appears he is closer to the children, leading us to suspect that his apparitions are with some sort of intention rather than random. As a result of our perception of him as somebody dangerous and also because he is getting closer and closer to the governess, the reader feels the suspense gradually building since we see him as a threat to both the Governess and the children. The first time she sees him he is distanced at the top of a tower although still narrating the scene as â€Å"stricken with death† suggesting dread, horror and fear. The second time there is only a window separating them and the governess by saying â€Å"A nearness that†¦ Made me catch my breath and turn cold†, makes the point clear that it was the closeness that made it more fearsome. However on the third appearance which is described as the most formidable, they are adjacent to one another, it is this that made the experience so terrifying according to the governess, â€Å"At such close quarters that gave the whole horror†. By making Quint continually more frightful James creates tension because the reader is constantly anticipating more horrifying encounters.

Evaluation of Leadership Development Plan of Maersk Oil in Qatar

1.0 Introduction One of the biggest challenges of the modern business era is the retention of a talented and skilled workforce for business organizations, and the development of future leaders within a company. Business organizations are required to employ a dynamic strategy to respond to the needs and aspirations of their workforce. A smart, well-designed employee development program can benefit a business organization to great extent in this regard and shape the future of the company by individually shaping the leaders of the future. Prior research indicates that employee development program is linked to higher levels of performance and output. It can create a reservoir of knowledge that can enable business organizations to do better than their competitors. The most important development aspect of any employee is training them in leadership skills which can benefit the business as a whole. Transformational Leadership is a framework which, according to Barling, Christie and Hoption, promotes the qua lities of â€Å"idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration† (reference). By displaying motivational qualities and attitudes a leader can improve the efficiency, proficiency and well-being of employees. The aim of the proposed dissertation would be to investigate employees’ leadership development plan at ‘Maersk Oil’, particularly in reference to transformational leadership training. Maersk Oil has been operating in Qatar since the 1990s as a major oil company. It works on the Al-Shaheen Field which produces significant amount of petroleum. The company’s current production level stands at 300,000 barrels of oil per day. As a result of that, Al-Shaheen Field is predicted to be the biggest contributor to oil production in Qatar, making the company significant for the Oil industry and the overall economy of the country. Maersk Oil is a multinational company which is part of A.P. Moller â€⠀œ Maersk Group, operating in various parts of the world. Like any major multinational firm, Maersk Oil Qatar has a diverse workforce belonging to various nationalities (Maersk Oil, 2012). The diverse workforce present in the organization needs to be managed in an efficient and effective manner. The dissertation will try to identify the importance of a leadership development plan, investigate the current practices of the company, evaluate its effectiveness, and identify common obstacles for employee’s leadership development plan at the company. The dissertation will also propose some recommendations based on its findings for creating a viable improvement to the leadership development program. The dissertation will be divided into five chapters. The first chapter will be comprised of the introduction, overview of the research, background, and research objectives. The second chapter will detail the research methodology. The third chapter will present a literature review and the oretical background of the research. Fourth chapter will present the findings and analyze the data. Finally, chapter five will present the results and conclusions of the research. 1.1 Research Objectives Investigate to what extent does the company care for its employees through its leadership development plan Identify the significance of employees leadership development plan Investigate practices of employees leadership development plan Evaluate the effectiveness of employees leadership development Identify most common barriers for employees leadership development plan 1.2 Research Questions What is the employees’ attitude towards the company regarding its transformational leadership development program? Is transformational leadership more efficient than other forms of leadership? How does the transformational leadership benefit the objectives and goals of the company? What is the significance of the transformational leadership development plan for both the company and its employees? To what extent do the employees consider the development plan at the company efficient? What are the common barriers associated with the transformational leadership development plan at the company ? 1.3 Rationale for the Current Research Although there is a large array of literature on human resource development, practitioners often come under criticism for doing very little to evaluate the learning and development solutions that have been designed to deliver whereby significant and often scarce resources are allocated blindly in development plans that are considered to be effective (Harisson, 2005). When undergoing financial stress, organizations often downsize human resource development budgets. Human resource development personnel undergo tight scrutiny in justifying their expenditures and are required to prove the effectiveness of their employee development plans. Thus evaluation of employee leadership development plan is a viable solution. The importance of evaluation in further signified as the learning and development theory and practices in the modern day is undergoing a considerable change in order to keep up with new circumstantial requirements. In fact, one of the major changes occurring nowadays and in th e upcoming years is the organizational changes driven by ‘higher integration between coaching, organisational development (OD) and performance management’ (CIPD survey, 2010: pg.6). Similarly Sloman (2007) made several important propositions regarding the ongoing change in the employee development practices and approaches (see appendix 1). The shift in the learning and development approach and employee development practices signifies the importance of evaluating the current practices of an organization to see whether they are abreast with the prevailing best practices. Additionally, employee development approaches and practices of the oil and gas rich Middle Eastern countries and the Gulf Nations is an under-researched area in HRM literature. Moreover, the available literature regarding employee development practices generalizes the Middle East and the Arab World rather than addressing individual countries or companies (Harry, 2007). The existing gap in the literature p ays way for the current proposed study to evaluate the leadership development plan at Maesrk Oil in Qatar. 2.0 Literature Review 2.1 Definition of employee leadership development Employee development plans have been defined as a set of planned efforts by an organization which facilitates the learning and acquaintance of knowledge, specific skills and behaviors for its employees; all of which are essential for them to be successful in their current jobs (Goldstein, 1993). Dotta (2009) defines it as a â€Å"sequence of concurrent activities, initiatives and programs that an organization is involved with to maintain, improve and enhance the skills, capabilities and performance levels of its workforce and other staff members†. Employee development plan encapsulates various individual development plans. A leadership development plan goes one step further than this: as well as providing all of the support listed above the employee is also being trained for a management role through the subtle development of the most desirable qualities. According to Department of Defense of USA (2006), an individual employee development plan is â€Å"a tailored written plan developed by the supervisor and employee outlining the employee’s developmental objectives and the developmental activity for achieving these objectives. The purpose of an employee development plan is to increase the current proficiency, development, and progression of the employee through a systematic development plan†. The personal progression of an employee can only be realized if they have been instructed in the transformational leadership qualities which will optimize the business as a whole. Based on aforementioned definitions, several important points can be stated: Employees’ development plan is aimed at enhancing the capabilities and competencies of an organization’s workforce. Employees’ development plan is also crucial for the progression of a career path. Through leadership development it is common for organizations to train and develop their employees to occupy critical positions in future. A transformational leadership development pro gram helps employees to understand the key roles of leadership and develop qualities which will make them an inspirational motivator to their workforce. 2.2 Significance of transformational leadership development In today’s business environment, which is characterized as multi-faced, highly complex, extremely competitive, and dynamic, organizations are required to be very flexible and adaptable in order to survive and succeed. Employee development, a practice that seeks to assist organizations in meeting their business goals through continuous learning and development (Harisson, 2009) is a critical element for achieving that flexibility and adaptability. So much that often human resource development personnel are qualified as ‘agents of change’ (Harisson, 2009). It is only through continuous, effective learning and development of employees that modern day organizations can acquire the essential competencies to adapt to a new conjuncture. Transformational leadership is significant as it not only benefits the leader in question, but also the morale of the employees. Candidates for the development program will be taught the traditional methods of leadership, such as how to ta ke responsibility and effectively manage a team, while also being taught to be motivational, inspirational and influential among their colleagues (Barling, Christie and Hoption). 2.3 Best Practices in Employee Development Plan Numerous studies have recommended several successful approaches towards employee development programs. There is a general consensus among researchers regarding the foremost need for an organization to conduct an analysis of its existing needs and requirements (Jacobs and Jones, 1995; Clegg et al, 2005). According to Jacobs, (1995) an employee development can be rendered meaningless if it does not respond to the organizational needs. Existing needs and requirements can be identified through an effective market analysis, analysis of existing and future labor trends. (Clegg et al, 2005). Since every organization needs to secure its’ future in the business industry it stands to reason that leadership is a high priority in the organizations needs, and transformational leadership can arguably give the best opportunity for employees to grow and develop along with the requirements of the company. Apart from the needs’ assessment, several best practices have been identified by h uman resource practitioners and researchers. A survey of best practices of 71 companies practicing employee development activities identified three underlying factors important for an effective employee development plan. These are: (1) individual development plans should be developed for key and high potential employees with the ability to become future leaders (2) the individual development plans and practices should be strictly aligned with organizational strategies and goals, with the future of the company in mind and (3) the entire workforce should be facilitated for its progression through the developmental process (Reynolds, 2005). 3.0 Research Methods and Approach 3.1 Research Philosophy Identifying a research philosophy is imperative for designing a viable research method as it determines the manner in which information regarding a research problem/question is collected, evaluated and applied. Researcher have identified mainly three research philosophies namely positivist and interpretivist and realist (Galliers, 1991). A positivist research philosophy perceives reality as a constant phenomenon; something that can be perceived objectively (Levin, 1988). It is a stance of a natural scientist. According to Hirschheim (1985 p.33), â€Å"positivism has a long and rich historical tradition. It is so embedded in our society that knowledge claims not grounded in positivist thoughts are simply dismissed as ascientific and therefore invalid†. Interpretivism, on the other hand, seeks to understand reality from a subjective perception in order to make sense of motives, actions and intentions of those that they study. They emphasize the social construct of the reality (H usserl, 1965). Interpretivists contend that reality and its perceptions can be better understood by placing people in their social contexts (Hussey and Hussey, 1997). Realists believe that the existence of reality is independent of human thoughts, emotions and beliefs. The research philosophy underpinning the proposed research is interpretivism. The research aims to evaluate the employee leadership development plan of Maersk Oil through the perceptions, attitudes and beliefs of its employees, managers, and executives; thus it aims to gain subjective insights for evaluation. 3.2 Research Approach and Strategy A research approach can be either deductive or inductive. The premise of a deductive approach is to test a hypothesis, explain casual relationships and enable generalization of a theory. On the other hand, inductive approach focuses upon building a theory by understanding a phenomenon seeking an answer for a question. The approach adopted for the proposed research is inductive, as this study will look to identify the weaknesses or strengths or the current employee development plan at Maersk Oil Qatar, and answer several proposed questions pertaining to its evaluation. The research strategy for this study will be exploratory as it will aim at providing insights and understanding of the nature of the phenomenon under study in new light. Within the exploratory approach, this study will utilize both qualitative and quantitative data. On one hand, statistical analysis will carried out for the survey responses which will be distributed among the employees of a company, whilst interviews wi ll be conducted with some senior officials and employees in order to gain insights regarding the evaluation of the employee development program. It will complement the understanding gained through the data analysis results. 3.3 Data Collection According to Yin (1994), there are five ways of collecting data; these are â€Å"experimental, surveys, archival analysis, history, and case studies†. This research will utilize a survey strategy. According to Kelley et. al, (2003) â€Å"the survey strategy refers to the selection of a relatively large sample of people from a pre-determined population, followed by the collection of data from those individuals. The researcher therefore uses information from a sample of individuals to make some inference about the wider population†. For the purpose of evaluating the employee leadership development plan, a questionnaire will be prepared, reviewed, and distributed to a random sample of Maersk Oil Qatar employees and people in leadership roles. Survey strategy will allow the researcher to collect a large amount of data within in short time with minimum costs and efforts (Naresh et.al, 2003). Interviews, the qualitative form of collecting data within survey method will be use d concurrently. Semi-structured interviews will be designed and conducted of several senior officials at the company. 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LSA Global (2008) ‘Top 10 training best practices for effective learning and development programs’. {online} http://jobfunctions.bnet.com/abstract.aspx?do cid=375846 (cited on 13th September, 2012) Maersk Oil (2012) ‘About Us’ {online} http://www.maerskoil.com/ABOUTUS/Pages/AboutUs.aspx (cited on 13th September, 2012) Naresh,M. et.al.,(2003) Methodological issues in cross-cultural marketing research. International Marketing Review. 13 (5) 7-43 Reynolds, S.(2005) Training and development managers share best practices and courseware through LearnShare. Toledo Business Journal. 5(2) 155-163. Sloman, M. (2007) ‘The changing world of the trainer: emerging good practice’, Oxford: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann. Yin, R. K. (1994) Case Study Research. Design and Methods. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc.