Friday, September 6, 2019

A Historical Perspective on Reading Research and Practice Essay Example for Free

A Historical Perspective on Reading Research and Practice Essay This article has responded to both internal and external forces resulting from gradual and dramatic transitions based on historical perspectives. This has permitted a reasonable reflection and a sense of wisdom that is susceptible to loss when one engages in it. The underlying reason is the critical dimension to the present day events and issues analysis resulting from the broadened reading culture. In the late 20th century, reading became a recognized study field with systematic research programs aiming at ascertaining its fundamental nature and its acquisition process. This resulted from the confluence of social, educational, political and economic factors. Quantitative and qualitative changes in U. S. public schools’ systems after the World War II provided favorable environment for the reading transitions. Reading processes and skills were broken down into constituent parts which were practiced and reinforced in a systematic and orderly manner during classroom sections. Reading became a conditioned behavior based on certain environmental contingencies. Individuals positively responded to learning from repeated and controlled stimulation from the environment. This stimulus-response relationship was accompanied by rewards and punishments led to the habituation of the reading act (Alexander Fox, 2004). Therefore, academic learning involved identification of the preferred behaviors prerequisites and training. This aimed at untangling the chained links in reading so as to train the learner in each component skill. In addition, material effectiveness was structured and controlled in the delivery of environmental stimulation and practice opportunities. Emphasis on studying observable behavior focused on reading as a perceptual activity which included identification of visual signals and validating diagnostic instruments and remedial techniques. However, alternative human learning theories which focused on perceptual process as a whole still operated on underground which examined that reading is per introspection rather than through behavior. Human beings could make a coherent sense out of the perceptional data through whole-word recognition, context comprehension and word identification thus considering reading as a unique human activity owning definitive characteristics. Increased interest in internal mental structures and processes ignited by the advancements in neurology and artificial intelligence has caused transformations in the learning institutions. Moreover, the dissatisfaction with behaviorism as an explanatory system caused changes. The article points that present institutions should conceptualize learning as a natural process rather than conditioning and that language should be developed through a meaningful use. Also learning to read should be viewed as an inherent ability rather than a reflective action with laborious skill acquisition. As a result, reading research unified the literacy field through language arts. Learning to read became a matter of arriving at a facility due to the understanding quest within a language-rich environment. The growing attention to the structure and processes of the human mind and increased federal funding by the Unites States led to creation of research centers caused another theoretical transformation. These new researchers explained human language as an interaction between symbol system and mind. Learning as a natural metaphor was replaced with a mechanistic information processing metaphor. Text-based as a form of learning, involved knowledge which was organized and stored within the individual mind (Alexander Fox, 2004). In addition, Knowledge base was depicted as powerful, persuasive, individualistic and modifiable since it was linked to the individual’s perspectives on what they had read, their interpretation and recall out of the written text. The information processing of this period resulted in cognition-related constructs which strengthened the aforementioned characteristics of knowledge. Furthermore, it focused on the individual mind. This was because the computer-based guiding had little considerations of socio-cultural influences in processing linguistic information. To add on, the research studies stressed on individualistic interpretations of written text and exhibited that the knowledge of the students could be greatly modified through training, direct intervention and/or overt instructions. Other contributors of improved text comprehension were instructional environments and pedagogical techniques. In view of any reading approach, there must be a shift away from the neurological argument to much concern for naturalism in the materials and procedures used to teach reading. Moreover, they should create unity within the language arts. The cognitive psychology gave a new viewpoint for literacy and educational researchers. It studied literacy with naturally occurring texts in natural settings with holistic and aesthetic school of thought. It aimed creating a mutual understanding arising in the social interaction of individuals in particular contexts at a time (Alexander Fox, 2004). The dominant perspective was learning being a socio-cultural collaborative experience and the learner being a member of the learning community. Reform on modern schools  Present day schools should anticipate for motivation in the form of readers’ achievement of goals, interest and involvement in the learning experience with change in perception of texts, reader and reading. This can be achieved due to the introduction of the hypermedia and hypertext forms of learning which has increased the attention in classroom discourse thus improving the students’ academic. Effective orientation has to be done so as to capture the complexity of reading and recognize the changing nature of reading as the reader engages in a range of reading-related, goal-directed activities. With the dichotomization of reading into learning to read and reading to learn, it has led to integrated and developmental learning perspective. Engaged learning has led to the acknowledgement of the fact that reading extends to the texts students come across daily such as nonlinear, interactive, dynamic and visually complex materials transmitted using audiovisual media. Current learning institutions should learn about the potentials of alternatives nonlinear media and examine how pedagogical techniques and learning environments can be adapted to aid readers from struggling with traditional texts. Students should be encouraged to participate in meaningful and goal-directed text-based learning. Moreover, attention should be drawn to create a personally and socially valuable body of knowledge. Strategies are put in place to promote reflection, choice and deliberate execution on the learner’s part which actively engages the leaner thus developing the reading perspective. To be complete, readers, and learners should focus on demonstrating fluency in reading and other basic linguistic skills. Workable solutions  Some of workable solutions would include provision of personally relevant texts, both traditional and alternative that will promote deeper and wider student engagement in their learning. Putting in place technological advancements capable of transforming learning and teaching through production of proliferated information sources and different text types can also be productive. Involving high-stakes testing and efforts to institute national standards have hastened the students’ learning since they prescribe the content and skills learners should have acquired at various institutional levels. Investments in basic reading skills and components in special education institutions have helped struggling readers since researchers have greatly supported. Changes which might improve things One of major consideration that should be put in place is recognition of the fact that reading is invariably physiological, psychological and sociological thus an integrated orientation is a prerequisite. Therefore physical, visual, and neurological stimuli to the learning processes should also be employed. In addition, every reading process needs to enhance the psychological interpretation, storage and retrieval of text, goals formulation and expression of interests. Sociologically, a reading culture that focuses in intra-individual and inter-individual communication through linguistic media that are socio-culturally influenced can also play a big role in changing the existing education. Lastly, a fine-grained reading view that incorporate brain structures and mental activities of an individual and social behavior have to be integrated meaningfully throughout these orientations.

Thursday, September 5, 2019

Overview of Leadership Personality Theories

Overview of Leadership Personality Theories CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION â€Å"The study of leadership rivals in age the emergence of civilization, which shaped its leaders as much as it was shaped by them. From its infancy, the study of history has been the study of leaders—what they did and why they did it† (Bass, 1990). According to Keith Davis (1967), â€Å"Leadership is the ability to persuade others to seek defined objectives enthusiastically. It is the human factor which binds a group together and motivates it towards goals†. Barnard in 1938, defined leadership as, â€Å"The ability of a superior to influence the behavior of subordinates and persuade them to follow a particular course of action†. Leadership has a range of definitions but at its simplest it is concerned with the ability to influence others to accomplish goals. The concept of leadership, and the study of the phenomenon, has its roots in the beginning of civilization. Various work-related variables such as work environment, worker motivations, leaders, managers, leadership style, have been the subject of study for almost two centuries. (Gregory Stone, Kathleen Patterson, 2005). The organizational focus of the leader emerged over this period, from organizations operating with an authoritarian style to ones that operate with a more comfortable work environment. Today, organizations are in a transit stage of empowering, encouraging and supporting personnel in their personal and professional growth throughout their careers. The focus of leaders has changed over time, which has influenced and shaped the development and progression of leadership theory (Gregory Stone, Kathleen Patterson, 2005). Researchers have examined leadership skills from a variety of perspectives. Early analyses of leadership from the 1900s to the 1950s focused on identifying the differences between the characteristics of a leader viz. a viz. a follower. Study findings suggested that no single trait or combination of traits fully explained the abilities of a leader. Later studies, examined the influence of the situation on leaders skills and behaviors. Subsequent leadership studies attempted to distinguish effective from non-effective leaders. These studies attempted to determine which leadership behaviors were exemplified by effective leaders. Leadership studies of the 1970s and 1980s once again focused on the individual characteristics of leaders which influence their effectiveness and the success of their organizations. The investigations led to the conclusion that leaders and leadership are critical but complex components of organizations. Leadership is necessary for a variety of reasons. On a supervisory level, leadership is required to complement organizational systems (Katz Kahn, 1978) and to enhance subordinate motivation, effectiveness and satisfaction (Bass, 1990). At the strategic level, leadership is necessary to ensure the coordinated functioning of the organization as it interacts with a dynamic external environment (Katz Kahn, 1978). Thus leadership is required to direct and guide organizational and human resources toward the strategic objectives of the organization and ensure that organizational functions are aligned with the external environment (Zaccaro, 2001). Research on leadership has been divided into 8 major schools (John Antonakis, Anna T. Cianciolo, Robert J. Sternberg, 2004): Trait School of Leadership (1900s) Behavioral School of Leadership (1910s) Contingency School of Leadership (1960s) Contextual School of Leadership (1960s) Skeptics (1970s) Relational (1970s) New Leadership (1970s) Information Processing (1980s) The trait movement gave way to the behavioral styles of leadership in the 1950s. This line of research focused on the behaviors that leaders enacted and how they treated followers. The well-known University of Michigan (Katz, Maccoby, Gurin, Floor, 1951) and Ohio State (Stogdill Coons, 1957) studies identified two dimensions of leadership generally referred to as consideration (i.e., employee-oriented leadership) and initiating structure (i.e., production-oriented leadership). Leader behaviors are often discussed in terms of whether the behavior is oriented toward (a) task processes, (b) relational dynamics, or (c) change. One consistent theme in the literature is that behaviors can be fit into four categories: task-oriented behaviors, relational-oriented behaviors, change-oriented behaviors, and what we refer to as passive leadership. Initiating structure represents task-oriented behaviors. It describes behaviors such as defining task roles and role relationships among group members, coordinating group members’ actions, determining standards of task performance, and ensuring group members perform up to those standards. They describe leaders as being clear about expectations and standards for performance, and using these standards to shape follower commitment, motivation, and behavior. Moreover, initiating structure discusses dealing with deviations from those standards via the use of structure and routines. Relative to initiating structure, consideration leader behaviors describe more relational-oriented behaviors. In particular, leaders high on consideration show concern and respect for individual group members, are friendly and approachable, are open to input from others, and treat all group members as equals (Bass, 1990). A common theme among relational-oriented behaviors is that the leader acts in ways that build follower respect and encourage followers to focus on the welfare of the group. It should be noted that certain aspects of transformational leader behaviors (e.g., individualized consideration) also consist of a relational orientation, which is a point that will be revisited later in the manuscript. Leader behaviors oriented toward facilitating and driving change in groups and organizations represent a third category of leader behaviors that is conceptually distinct from task and relational-oriented behaviors. According to Yukl et al. (2002), change-oriented leader behaviors encompass actions such as developing and communicating a vision for change, encouraging innovative thinking, and risk-taking The present study deals with two dimensions of Leader Behavior, Initiating Structure and Consideration Structure. â€Å"Initiating Structure reflects to the extent to which an individual is likely to define and structure his role and those of his subordinates toward goal attainment† (Fleishman Peters, 1962). It refers to the leader’s behavior in endeavoring to establish well-defined patterns of organization, channels of communication, and methods of procedure. Initiating structure refers to getting the job done. The individual who exhibits behavior highly oriented toward initiating structure is one who sees or recognizes the job to be done and more to accomplish it. This individual is task-oriented. He strives to fulfill the purposes of the organization, often at the expense of others concerned. Initiating structure reflects behavior which: Emphasizes the quality of work. Clarifies everyone’s responsibilities. Is continually planning to get everything done. Offers new approaches to problems. Is first in getting things started. Encourages the meeting of deadlines. â€Å"Consideration Structure reflects the extent to which an individual is likely to have job relationships characterized by mutual trust, respect for subordinates’ ideas, and consideration of their feelings† (Fleishman Peters, 1962). It refers to behavior indicative of friendship, mutual trust, respect and warmth in the relationship between leader and members of his staff. Consideration reflects concern for individuals in a group and their feelings. The individual exhibiting behavior highly oriented to consideration, tries to maintain close understanding between members of a group. This person is more concerned with group cohesiveness than with accomplishing specific purposes. Consideration is reflected by a person when he: Finds time to listen to others. Does little things to make it pleasant to work with him. Shows interest in others as persons. Compliments others for their work. Has an open ear. Has others share in making decisions. A combination of both initiation structure and consideration structure is the most productive type of leader behavior. A study conducted by Bruce M. Fisher and Jack E. Edwards, on ‘Consideration and Initiating Structure and their relationships with Leader Effectiveness† suggested that situations play a major role in determining the best suitable leader behavior. Leaders play a very important role in the formation and functioning of teams. Henderson and Walkinshaw (2002), defined the effectiveness of a team as, â€Å"The accomplishment of a desired result, especially as viewed after the fact† and the measure of effectiveness as â€Å"The extent to which a team meets the demands which are placed upon†. Work teams in organizations have three features. First, they are real groups – intact social systems, complete with boundaries, interdependence among members, and differentiated member roes (Alderfer, 1977). Second they have one or more group tasks to perform, producing some outcome for which members bear collective responsibility and whose acceptability potentially can be assessed. Finally such teams operate in organizational context. This means that the group, as a collective, manages its relations with other individuals or groups in the larger social system in which it operates. To perform well, a team must surmount three hurdles. It must: (1) exert sufficient effort to get the task accomplished at an acceptable level of performance; (2) bring adequate knowledge and skill to bear on the work; and (3) employ task performance strategies that are appropriate to the work and to the setting in which it is being performed (Hackman and Morris, 1975). Teams are formed for the express purpose of accomplishing critically important goals. Its formation does not automatically lead to performance. In fact, without significant and ongoing nurturing by the leadership of an organization, teams can actually make things worse. It is helpful to understand the building blocks required for a team’s success. Robbins and Judge (2012) describe a three dimensional model that articulates its foundation. Dimension 1 relates to the importance of Context. Organizations need to support the construction and sustainability of a team, and the team itself requires an environment of comfort for its members; psychological safety is essential so members can feel free to speak up and engage without ridicule. Performance feedback and motivational systems must also be in place. Dimension 2 suggests Composition is vital. In addition to knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) of its membership, the leader needs to focus on the peoples components as well Dimension 3 reveals Process is important. Teams must have clear purpose and specific goals. It is hard to motivate without all members having a clear idea of the direction the unit is heading. In addition, mechanisms and agreements must be in place to deal with conflicts that arise and/or the members who are not â€Å"getting it done† Since teams are a dominant feature in organizations, its effectiveness is paramount to the success of the business. To that end, leaders must understand the dimensions that make a team successful and then work diligently to make it happen. In addition, when teams derail, mechanisms must be in place to bring it back to life; it is the responsibility of the leaders’ to make it happen.

Wednesday, September 4, 2019

Results Chapter on CMV Infection Research

Results Chapter on CMV Infection Research Results This study has been conducted on 366 patients with suspected CMV infection attending pediatric department at Zagazig University Hospital. Table (1): Age distribution of the studied patients (except for neonates with congenital anomalies) (N=344)       Studied patients (N=344) No. % Age (years) Mean  ± SD 9.9  ± 3.4 Median (Range) 10.0 (3.5 18.0) The mean age and standard deviation (SD) of ages of the studied patients (except for neonates with congenital anomalies) in years as shown in table (1) was 9.9  ± 3.4. Table (2): Age distribution of neonates with congenital anomalies (N=22) Studied patients (N=22) No. % Age of neonates with congenital anomalies group (days) Mean  ± SD Median (Range) 4.1  ± 1.6 4.0 (2.0 7.0) Table (2) shows that The mean age and standard deviation (SD) of ages ofneonates with congenital anomalies were 4.1  ± 1.6 days Table (3): Sex distribution of the studied patients (N=366) Studied patients (N=366) No. % Sex Male 202 55.2% Female 164 44.8% Table(3) shows that 55.2% (202 out of 366) of the studied patients were males, while 44.8% were females. Figure (1): Pie diagram showing sex distribution of the studied patients (N=366) Table (4): Distribution of the risk factors among the studied patients (N=366) Risk factors Studied patients (N=366) No. % Malignant hematological disease with chemotherapy 43 11.7 % Receiving repeated blood transfusion 164 44.8 % Fever of unknown origin 16 4.4 % Critically ill patients lying in the ICUs with prolonged hospitalization 28 7.7 % Receiving corticosteroids or other immunosuppressives for long period 22 6 % Chronic renal failure with haemodialysis 64 17.5 % Fever with pancytopenia 7 1.9 % Neonates with congenital anomalies 22 6 % As shown in table (4) and figure (2),44.8% of the studied patients were receiving repeated blood transfusion, 17.5% were suffering from chronic renal failure and receiving haemodialysis, 11.7% were suffering from Malignant hematological disease and receiving chemotherapy, 7.7% were critically ill patients lying in the ICUs with prolonged hospitalization, 6% were receiving immunosuppressive agents for long period, 6% were   neonates with congenital anomalies, 4.4% had fever of unknown origin, and 1.9% suffered from fever with pancytopenia. Figure (2): Pie diagram showing Distribution of the risk factors in the studied patients (N=366). Table (5): Results of ELISA IgM and IgG for CMV in the enrolled patients (N=366) ELISA results Studied patients (N=366) IgM Positive 60 16.4 % Negative 306 83.6 % IgG Positive 93 25.4 % Negative 273 74.6 % Over all seropositivity Positive both IgM and IgG 109 29.8 % As shown in table (5), out of the 366 studied patients, 60 (16.4%) and 93 (25.4%) were positive for CMV IgM and IgG in an ELISA test respectively. Table (6): Agreement between ELISA IgM and IgG in the studied patients (N=366) ELISA IgM ELISA IgG Total #Test P-value Negative Positive Negative No. 257 49 306 0.469 0.000* (HS) % 94.1 % 52.7 % 83.6 % Positive No. 16 44 60 % 5.9 % 47.3 % 16.4 % Total No. 273 93 366 % 100.0 % 100.0 % 100.0 % #  Ã‚   Kappa measure of agreement P< 0.05 is significant. Statistical Significance Standards for strength of agreement for the kappa coefficient: ≠¤0=poor, .01-.20=slight, .21-.40=fair, .41-.60=moderate, .61-.80=substantial, and .81-1=almost perfect. Table 6 shows that there is a moderate agreement between ELISA IgM and IgG in the detection of CMV in children with high statistical significance. Table (7): Prevalence of CMV IgM seropositivity among different risk groups Risk Factors No. Studied patients (N=366) Positive IgM No. % Malignant hematological disease with chemotherapy (43) 8 18.6 % Receiving repeated blood transfusion (164) 36 21.9 % Fever of unknown origin (16) 8 50 % Critically ill patients lying in the ICUs with prolonged hospitalization (28) 0 0 % Receiving corticosteroids or other immunosuppressives for long period (22) 0 0 % Chronic renal failure with haemodialysis (64) 8 12.5 % Fever with pancytopenia (7) 0 0 % Neonates with congenital anomalies (22) 0 0 % Table (7) and figure (3) show that the highest prevalence (50%) of CMV IgM seropositivity was reported from patients suffering from fever of unknown origin. Figure (3): Bar chart showing prevalence of CMV IgM seropositivity among different risk groups Table (8): Association between CMV IgM seropositivity and different risk factors Risk factors No. Studied patients (N=366) Test p-value ELISA IgM Positive (N=60) Negative (N=306) No. % No. % Malignant hematological disease with chemotherapy (43) 8 18.6 % 35 81.4% #11.17 0.010 (S) Receiving repeated blood transfusion (164) 36 21.9 % 128 78% Fever of unknown origin (16) 8 50 % 8 50% Chronic renal failure with haemodialysis (64) 8 12.5 % 56 87.5% #  Ã‚   chi square test P< 0.05 is significant. *statistical Significance Table (9): Prevalence of CMV IgG seropositivity among different risk groups Risk factors No. Studied patients (N=366) Positive IgG No. % Malignant hematological disease with chemotherapy (43) 0 0 % Receiving repeated blood transfusion (164) 63 38.4 % Fever of unknown origin (16) 0 0 % Critically ill patients lying in the ICUs with prolonged hospitalization (28) 0 0 % Receiving corticosteroids or other immunosuppressives for long period (22) 0 0 % Chronic renal failure with haemodialysis (64) 8 12.5 % Fever with pancytopenia (7) 0 0 % Neonates with congenital anomalies (22) 22 100 % Table (9) and figure (4) show that the highest prevalence (100%) of CMV IgG seropositivity was reported from neonates with congenital anomalies. Figure (4): Bar chart showing prevalence of CMV IgG seropositivity among different risk groups. Table (10): Association between CMV IgG seropositivity and different risk factors Risk factors No. Studied patients (N=366) Test p-value ELISA IgG Positive (N=93) Negative (N=273) No. % No. % Receiving repeated blood transfusion (164) 63 38.4% 101 61.6% 53.96 0.000* (HS) Chronic renal failure with haemodialysis (64) 8 12.5% 56 87.5% Neonates with congenital anomalies (22) 22 100% 0 0% #  Ã‚   chi square test P< 0.05 is significant. *highly statistical Significance Table (11): Results of real time PCR for CMV in the enrolled patients (N=366) Real time PCR Studied patients (N=366) Positive 36 9.8% Negative 330 90.2% Table (11) shows that 9.8% (36 out of 366) of the studied patients were positive for CMV in real time PCR test. Table (12): Results of nested PCR for CMV in the enrolled patients (N=366) Nested PCR Studied patients (N=366) Positive 29 7.9% Negative 337 92.1% Table (12) shows that 7.9% (29 out of 366) of the studied patients were positive for CMV in nested PCR test. Figure (4): Results of real time PCR and nested PCR for CMV in the enrolled patients. Figure (5): 1st run nested PCR showing band at 435 bp. Figure (6): 2ndrun nested PCR showing band at 159 bp. Table (13): Prevalence of CMV infection in the studied patients (using real time PCR as a gold standard test) Risk factors No. Studied patients (N=366) Positive No. % Malignant hematological disease with chemotherapy (43) 36 83.7% Receiving repeated blood transfusion (164) 0 0% Fever of unknown origin (16) 0 0% Critically ill patients lying in the ICUs with prolonged hospitalization (28) 0 0% Receiving corticosteroids or other immunosuppressives for long period (22) 0 0% Chronic renal failure with haemodialysis (64) 0 0% Fever with pancytopenia (7) 0 0% Neonates with congenital anomalies (22) 0 0% As shown in table (13), CMV infection (using real time PCR as a gold standard test) was only reported from patients suffering from malignant hematological disease and receiving chemotherapy, where   83.7% of these patients were positive for CMV. Figure (7): Figure (8): Table (14): Titer of CMV viremia in patients with malignant hematological disease receiving chemotherapy Quantitative PCR Studied patients (N=366) Mean  ± SD 6907.30  ± 15846.04 Median (Range) 623.50 (3.70 57500) The mean titer and SD of titers of CMV viremia in patients with malignant hematological disease receiving chemotherapy as shown in table (14) was 6907.30  ± 15846.04. Table (15): Results of Nested PCR for CMV among different risk groups Risk factors No. Studied patients (N=366) Positive No. % Malignant hematological disease with chemotherapy (43) 29 67.4% Receiving repeated blood transfusion (164) 0 0% Fever of unknown origin (16) 0 0% Critically ill patients lying in the ICUs with prolonged hospitalization (28) 0 0% Receiving corticosteroids or other immunosuppressives for long period (22) 0 0% Chronic renal failure with haemodialysis (64) 0 0% Fever with pancytopenia (7) 0 0% Neonates with congenital anomalies (22) 0 0% Twenty nine out of 43 patients suffering from malignant hematological disease with chemotherapy with a percentage of 67.4 were positive for CMV in a nested PCR test as shown in table (15). Table (16): Relation between ELISA IgM and real time PCR and nested PCR in the studied patients (N=366) Agreement between ELISA IgM and real time PCR and nested PCR in the studied patients (N=366) Laboratory findings ELISA Test P-value Positive IgM (N=60) Negative IgM (N=306) No. % No. % Real time PCR Positive (n=36) 8 22.2 % 28 77.8 % # 0.05 0. 320 (NS) Negative (n=330) 52 15.8 % 278 84.2 % Nested PCR Positive 8 27.6 % 21 72.4 % #0.082 0.090 (NS) Negative 52 15.4 % 285 84.6 % #  Ã‚   Kappa measure of agreement P< 0.05 is significant. Statistical Significance Standards for strength of agreement for the kappa coefficient: ≠¤0=poor, .01-.20=slight, .21-.40=fair, .41-.60=moderate, .61-.80=substantial, and .81-1=almost perfect. As shown in table 16, there is poor statistical agreement between ELISA IgM and PCR reactions in the detection of CMV in children with no significance. Table (17): Relation between ELISA IgG and real time PCR and nested PCR in the studied patients (N=366) Agreement between ELISA IgG and real time PCR and nested PCR in the studied patients (N=366) Laboratory findings ELISA Test P-value Positive IgG (N=93) Negative IgG (N=273) No. % No. % Real time PCR Positive (n=36) 0 0 % 36 100 % # -0.137 0.001* (HS) Negative (n=330) 93 28.2 % 237 71.8 % Nested PCR Positive 0 0 % 29 100 % #-0.165 0.000* (HS) Negative 93 27.6 % 244 72.4 % #  Ã‚   Kappa measure of agreement P< 0.05 is significant. *highly statistical Significance Standards for strength of agreement for the kappa coefficient: ≠¤0=poor, .01-.20=slight, .21-.40=fair, .41-.60=moderate, .61-.80=substantial, and .81-1=almost perfect. A high statistically significant non-agreement is present between ELISA IgG and PCR reactions in the detection of CMV in childrenas shown in table 17. Table (18): Relation between real time PCR and nested PCR in the studied patients (N=366) Agreement between real time PCR and nested PCR in the studied patients (N=366) Laboratory findings Nested PCR Test P-value Positive (N=29) Negative (N=337) No. % No. % Real time PCR Positive (n=36) 29 100 % 7 2.1 % # 0.882 0.000* (HS) Negative (n=330) 0 0 % 330 97.9 % #  Ã‚   Kappa measure of agreement P< 0.05 is significant. *highly statistical Significance Standards for strength of agreement for the kappa coefficient: ≠¤0=poor, .01-.20=slight, .21-.40=fair, .41-.60=moderate, .61-.80=substantial, and .81-1=almost perfect. Table 18 shows that there is an almost perfect statistical agreement between real time PCR and nested PCR in the detection of CMV in children with high significance. Table (19): Relation between real time PCR and nested

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Analysis of the Poem, 35/10, by Sharon Olds Essay -- Poetry Analysis

In the poem, â€Å"35/10† by Sharon Olds, the speaker uses wistful and jealous tones to convey her feeling about her daughter’s coming of age. The speaker, a thirty-five year old woman, realizes that as the door to womanhood is opening for her ten year old daughter, it is starting to close for her. A wistful tone is used when the speaker calls herself, â€Å"the silver-haired servant† (4) behind her daughter, indicating that she wishes she was not the servant, but the served. Referring to herself as her daughter’s servant indicates a sense of self-awareness in the speaker. She senses her power is weakening and her daughter’s power is strengthening. It also shows wistfulness for her diminishing youth, and sadness for her advancing years. This wistful tone is again shown when she asks, â€Å"Why is it /they begin to arrive, the fold in my neck /clarifying as the fine bones of her/ hips sharpen?† (4-7). She is demanding an explanation for why she must turn older. She is jealous that as her daughter is on the threshold of puberty, becoming more beautiful, she is on the threshold of middle age, b... Analysis of the Poem, 35/10, by Sharon Olds Essay -- Poetry Analysis In the poem, â€Å"35/10† by Sharon Olds, the speaker uses wistful and jealous tones to convey her feeling about her daughter’s coming of age. The speaker, a thirty-five year old woman, realizes that as the door to womanhood is opening for her ten year old daughter, it is starting to close for her. A wistful tone is used when the speaker calls herself, â€Å"the silver-haired servant† (4) behind her daughter, indicating that she wishes she was not the servant, but the served. Referring to herself as her daughter’s servant indicates a sense of self-awareness in the speaker. She senses her power is weakening and her daughter’s power is strengthening. It also shows wistfulness for her diminishing youth, and sadness for her advancing years. This wistful tone is again shown when she asks, â€Å"Why is it /they begin to arrive, the fold in my neck /clarifying as the fine bones of her/ hips sharpen?† (4-7). She is demanding an explanation for why she must turn older. She is jealous that as her daughter is on the threshold of puberty, becoming more beautiful, she is on the threshold of middle age, b...

Monday, September 2, 2019

Essay --

According to the Reuters one method that was created by the government to counter smartphone addiction is called â€Å"A horse riding therapy programme†.This programme is getting its results.One person whose surname is Kim has addicted to smart phone.She gave an interview to the television programme.She said(14 years old girl) that she had used to sit and chut with her smartphone for seven hours a day,even overnight if her mother had gone on a trip.Her(Kim’s)mother attempted a different kind of therapy like music, art to daughter’s smartphone addiction.When all of these therapy was not worked,the government suggested to create a new kind of therapy, which is called the†Riding Healing Center†,a therapy organisation that uses horse-riding to treat behavioral and emotional disorders. Kim told that she had cared about horses and thought about how she could ride them better, which helped to her to lose interset in smartphones and the internet.She has had a different kind of professional counseling at the centre like art, music but Kim(14 years old girl) believes riding horses help most.Yoosook Joung(Doctor of child psychiatry at Samsung Medical Centre) told that horse-riding was a very fun activity, but it was not just a simple physical activity but involved a living thing, the horse-riding was a new experience, which had combined physical activity with an emotional connection wi th a horse, so the horse riding had helped to prevent or overcome smart phone and internet addiction."Yoon Ga-eun(A riding instructor at the center) told that a horse was an animal that anyone could easily make emotional connection to. " The Korean Riding Association has two therapy centres and about 50 people a day go through its programmes to treat a range o... ...latonin, our natural sleep chemical, so our bodies do not register that we are tired. If you sleep with your phone right next to your bed, any late-night texts or alerts will disrupt your sleep patterns, even if you do not fully wake up to respond.Finally, tell your relatives and friends that if it is an emergency or if they really want to contact you, they should make an actual phone call instead of a text.And try to keep your phone hidden during social activities. Focus on the conversation. Take a mental picture instead of an Instagram shot, or write down a tweet idea on a piece of paper and save it for later. Initiate eye contact instead of screen contact. Whether we realize it or not, we are not as great at multitasking as we think we are. So if you are going to spend time with friends, spend time with them, not waste so much time to chat with your smart phone.

Reaction Paper to Common Schools Essay

When I first started watching this video, I thought that it was just going to be another boring homework assignment like in all my other classes. To my surprise, the video actually wasn’t boring at all. I enjoyed watching it and would recommend it to anyone to watch. I enjoy informative videos and documentaries. What stands out in my mind about the video is how God was actually brought up and taught in the schools back then. The children were given the book The Primer and the hornbook which had a prayer in it. It’s crazy how much has changed since that time. Now in many schools when the Pledge of Allegiance is said, people will leave out â€Å"under God† because nobody wants to offend anybody who doesn’t believe in God. Even now when I look back at my elementary days, times have changed quite a bit. I remember when my teachers would have the class pray before we would go to eat lunch. As I child, I never thought that it was a bad thing to do. If anything, it would make children feel a little more appreciative of what they have instead of what they do not have. There was also times around Christmas and Easter when we would do projects that would involve God but nobody would ever make a big deal about it. Recently I have gone back and observed in a few classrooms in my hometown and it is totally different. Teachers don’t mention religion at all. Children don’t even say the Pledge of Allegiance and if children have a conversation about religion amongst themselves, the teacher has them stop talking about it. As a child that had religion in school, I feel grateful I was able to have that. Some children don’t have parents that take them to church or have anything to do with it and that little bit of prayer in school was the only thing they had. That gives children a sense of comfort that there is a higher power that is on their side. As a future educator, I feel like I know the boundaries as to where to draw the line with religion and school. I know not to be pushy or make any students feel uncomfortable about religion when they don’t believe the same way as someone else.

Sunday, September 1, 2019

Performance of Bshrm Graduates as Employees of the Different Establishment in Calbayog City Essay

Background of the Study The Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Restaurant Management (BSHRM) program is geared towards equipping students with the necessary knowledge, skills and attitude to provide quality service in the hospitality industry. The program contains subjects that will address the needs of different sectors in the hospitality industry, such as culinary, front office, tourism, resort and hotel operations. Its primary concentration is on the development of practical and management skills which are achieved through the combination of theoretical classes, practicum exercises and experiential learning. Graduates of this course will possess business management and accounting skills to be able to compute daily sales, recipe costing/cost control and inventory management. The program also helps students to develop effective communication and interpersonal skills which are very essential in establishing positive employer/employee/customer relations. Today, this program at present has been given focus among enrollees in tertiary education being their future career. Every organization needs to be aware about organization performance and retention within doing activity in the business field. High performance and retention is a very importance concern by the company that should be given attention because with the high performance and retention, the organization can survive in the globalization era. Challenging for organization existence which facing in organization is not only from inside organization itself but therefore can be from external organization or companies. There are no specific skills required for BSHRM because everything can be learned. However, you need to possess certain attitudes and qualities for you to succeed in this course: First, you have to be comfortable giving service to others. This means that you enjoy and take pride in your work; Secondly, you must be approachable and friendly while maintaining professionalism; most importantly, you have to be an  effective communicator, both in written and oral English. You will meet and provide service to different people of different nationalities, to eliminate the language barrier; you have to speak English well enough to be understood. BSHRM graduates are one of the most sought after employees in terms of work abroad. Career opportunities are more or less the same with the above mentioned job positions. The salary levels can be 3 to 6 times higher than in the Philippines. But, how far does BSHRM graduates become successful contributor of the success of the organization they belonged with. How they perform based on the theory and practice they have acquired. This is the reason of conducting this study on the identification of the â€Å"Performance of the Bachelor of Science in Hotel and restaurant Management (BSHRM) Graduates as employee in the different Establishments in Calabayog City. The main purpose of this query is to find out the level of performance of the graduates in BSHRM on the employment aspect. Statement of the Problem Generally, the study will be conducted in order to know the performance of the Graduates of the Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Restaurant Management (BKSHRM) as employee in the establishment in Calabayog City. Specifically, it sought to answer the following problems of the study: 1. What is the profile of the respondents in terms of their: a. Age? b. Sex? 2. What is the level of performance of the respondents in terms of their; c. Age? d. Sex? 3. What are the kinds of Jobs that the respondents are performing? 4. What is the relationship between the kind of job of and the profile of the respondents? Objectives of the Study The study will aimed to know the performance of the Graduates of the Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Restaurant Management (BSHRM) as employee in the establishment in Calabayog City. Specifically, it aimed to: 1. Determine the profile of the respondents in terms of their: a. Age; b. Sex; 2. Assess the performance of the respondents in terms of their; c. Age; d. Sex; 3. Identify the kinds of Jobs that the respondents are performing; 4. Discuss the relationship between the kind of job of and the profile of the respondents. Significance of the Study The findings of this study will be beneficial to the following: Graduates. They will be given an idea of their performance as graduates in BSHRM and the relationship of the kind of their job and their profession.  NWSSU Administration. This will be significant to the Administration of the Northwest Samar State University in their assessment of the curricular offering of the course for further development. Employer. This will help them identify the level of performance of their employee as to the fitness of the Job the employee is connected to and their profession. Students. This will help the student in their proper selection of their course in college to be able to find a job after graduation. Future Related Studies. This might be an additional reference to the future research that might be conducted related to this topic. Scope and Limitation of the Study The respondents of the Study will cover the Graduates in NWSSU with the degree on BSHRM who are presently connected to the different establishment in Calbayog City as Employee. They will be the subject of the study, their profile and their performance in their kind of job. This will be conducted in Calbayog City where the respondents are presently working. The study will be limited to only to the graduates of BSHRM in NWSSU. The researcher will assume that not all graduates covered considering time, and financial aspects. The conduct of the study will only focused on determining the performance of the graduates in BSHRM in NWSSU who are currently working in the different establishment in Calbayog City. Theoretical Framework In this type of study, the following theories were considered in order to understand the level of performance of the employees in the different fields. We examine compensation contracts for managers in imperfectly competitive product markets. We show that strategic interactions among firms can explain the lack of relative performance-based incentives in which compensation decreases with rival firm performance. The need to soften product market competition generates an optimal compensation contract that places a positive weight on both own and rival performance. Firms in more competitive industries place greater weight on rival firm performance relative to own firm performance. We find empirical evidence of a positive sensitivity of compensation to rival firm performance that is increasing in the degree of competition in the industry. The high relevance of individual performance is also reï ¬â€šected in work and organizational psychological research. To get a clearer picture about the importance of individual performance in empirical research we conducted a literature search in the twelve of the major work and organizational psychology journals. Conceptual Framework Individual work performance is an issue that has not only grasped companies all over the world but also fueled a great deal of research in ï ¬ elds of management, occupational health, and work and organizational psychology. Numerous studies on individual work performance have been conducted. However, different approaches of studying individual work performance circulate in today’s literature. Whereas the ï ¬ eld of management has primarily occupied itself with how one can make an employee as productive as possible, the ï ¬ eld of occupational health has focused on how to prevent productivity loss due to a certain disease or health impairment. Work and  organizational psychologists, on the other hand, have an interest in the inï ¬â€šuence of determinants, such as work engagement, satisfaction, and personality, on individual work performance. ——————————————– [ 2 ]. http://pinoyhotelier.com/bshrm–ched–suggested–practicum–program.html) [ 3 ]. C. E. Bachelor of Hotel and Restaurant Management: Undergraduate Thesis at West Visayas State University , Iloilo City ; 2012 [ 4 ]. Article first published online: 17 DEC 2002, DOI: 10.1111/0022-1082.00180: The American Finance Association 1999 [ 5 ]. Michael Frese, et. Al., Performance Concepts and Performance Theory., University of Giessen, Giessen, Germany [ 6 ]. Linda Koopmans, et. Al., Conceptual Frameworks of Individual Work Performance A Systematic Review