Work-Life Balance Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Work-Life Balance - Research Paper Example Given the fact that we live in a world today that has fierce competitiveness as one of its main features, there remains no ambiguity in the ultimate work responsibilities one is rendered to fulfill along with fulfilling the family demands. Maintaining work-life balance is an issue which is hotly debated since the level of competitiveness has spiraled up with a blinding speed and many strategies have been presented by expert sociologists over the past many years for educating the novice people as to how they can stop all kinds of new and tiring problems from cropping up nearly everyday. Work and family relationships are more than often found at odds and highly conflicting which is why the reason I have chosen sharing the horrendous pressures I face everyday, personal sacrifices I make everyday to fulfill my family requirements, and the steps I take to frantically try to maintain a decent balance between my work and family. Considering the phenomenally engaging studies I have to contin ue in an order to establish a successful professional career, meeting up with the expectations of my wife and son presents a challenge fraught with difficulties and sacrifices. Struggling with competing family demands, especially when one has to spend countless hours in studying intricate subjects, raises a phenomenally tedious and grueling life situation which I have tried to picture in this paper. I happen to live in Canada with my wife and son and while I am doing my diploma from The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), my wife studies at University of Alberta. This is understandable that things take on a real different turn when not one but both partners have their own issues to deal with in life and not one of them has full time to spare for home and children. While both me and my wife are struggling really hard to complete our studies so that a better life standard could be established, I do not feel compelled to lie about the harsh realities of life and how many c ritically important things related to family are left at stake as hard battle for a secure future continues with seemingly no end to it. The battle for securing the basic necessities of life in Canada where earning significantly commendable feats at workplace is not an easy job is not fought by me alone, but my wife also has to deal with an extremely hectic study module due to which both of us are left with quite little time that we can share with each other and with our son. Had it been a situation where I already would have been working as a successful employee in some notable firm and earning respectable amount of money, I could have induced my wife to give up her busy schedule and devote her time to our son so that the incidence of gruel problems and fear of a broken family could be propelled down. But, considering the reality that not one of us are at the current time even at the beginning stage of our professional careers since we are in the process of making our way to that b eginning that grows over time to encompass a professional achievement, the looming prospect of a broken family seems quite hard to evade at times. This is also because of the factor that I find myriad examples of broken families around me nearly every single day of my life and the reason which lays the foundation for such tragic breakups could be more than often narrowed down to unavailability of time which happens to be a killing poison for even the type of couples who share phenomenal understanding. Considering my situation, I cannot rate my work and family according to the level of importance I allot each, rather both work and family are central to my life and finding a reasonable balance between the two is an issue I have gone through over and over again in my

Evaluate Assessment Activities Essay Example for Free

Evaluate Assessment Activities Essay Describe, use and evaluate two different assessment activities used to check the learning of either individuals or a group of learners. Analyse the purpose of assessment and produce a written justification of your chosen assessment method. Use an extract from your teaching practice portfolio and reflect on how your feedback has informed your learners progress and achievement and how feedback from others has informed your own professional practice. Introduction In my first year at College I have delivered Entry and Level 2 Motorvehicle Maintenance and with no previous experience of this course assessment was something I leant on the job so to speak. Initially it was games and questions and answers followed by tests which were mainly practical. As the year progressed I then started doing formal practical exercises (observed assessments), Web based exercises and finally multiple choice exam style questions. The Entry level course is assessed purely by portfolio (questions and answers plus job cards) but the Level 2 course has a summative exam element. These are spread over the year and total 5. The two I am going to discuss are the observed assessments and job card creation. Job card creation The first assessment method I will discuss is the completion of job cards. As part of the course (either group) the learners all complete practical tasks in the workshop. Indeed this is one of the highlights for them as they are not an academically based group on the whole. Each practical task is designed to reinforce the theory element that was covered in the previous lectures. During the practical we (staff) make sure the learners understand what they are doing and its relevance to the topic in hand. We also check they make notes to help with job card completion. Differentiation is also practised, not in the task itself but the bike they are given to work on. Some are easier than others for given jobs. Once the task has been completed and the workshop cleared up and all tools put away etc. (i. e. there is a break from the original task in hand) they all have to complete a job card to reflect what they have been doing. During this time I keep a close eye on what they are writing and often challenge them on various facts. I found ome learners struggled to remember what they had just done even with the help of notes whilst others completed the task almost unaided. During this task the results of assessing learning really became obvious. It was interesting that for the most part it was always the same learners that has the same problems. Over the year they did become better, some more than others. There were some however who had hit their ceiling with what we might consider these ver y simple tasks. Fortunately the course demands a very formative assessment approach and this final task of completing the job cards is almost a formality and not something you can fail at. The bulk of the course assessment was done actually during the practical task. This was more the case for Entry level learners than the Level 2 learners. Level 2 learners had to complete similar tasks etc. but were slightly better at completing job cards. Again this was not something they could fail at. If it was not right they simply adjusted it until it was. For the learners this task was not one they relished as almost exclusively they are kinaesthetic learners with an aversion to both reading and writing and often listening. This was consequently quite a hard task for the learners but a necessary one as the course demanded it as evidence of their learning. It did open the opportunity for discussion however and lots of them learnt a lot during these sessions. There was also an element of team work as for the most part they worked in groups doing the workshop tasks. As the year progressed and reflecting on my teaching portfolio, without exception all my learners improved and in some cases gained the confidence and desire to help others which was very encouraging. Interestingly this was the less able helping those that may have missed a session etc. A great boost in self confidence for them and the class generally. As the teacher from this whole workshop process I was able to differentiate between those likely to be technician material, those who may make fitters and those who were not going to make it in the field. With the benefit of hindsight these impressions are accurate so far. Observed assessments This is for the Level 2 learners only and involves carrying out a practical task on a motorvehicle under near exam conditions i. e. no talking to other learners in the room etc. They could talk to the teachers and ask some questions. This was a particularly instructive task for us the teachers as the learner is suddenly on his/her own rather than in a group as they had been in the normal workshop sessions. As the teacher we had few surprises with the performance of the learners but there were one or two early on. These were mainly because it was possible during the workshop sessions to take a back seat and let your group do most of the work. Because of this they were unsure when it came to their assessment which is only to be expected. Whilst most learners completed the tasks correctly there were a few problems as expected. Going back to my ethic of trying to treat them as adults I tried to relax them whilst doing the task and relieve the usual stress associated with this type of task. This was mainly around failure either in the task or to complete in the allotted time. I spent a lot of time reassuring them that if it didn’t work out it was not a problem, we would just do it again after some more practice. In the early assessments the learners looked as though they were treading on glass but as the year progressed and they relaxed and began to know our boundaries it became an enjoyable exercise for them. For the teacher again it provided a wealth of information on their progress, knowledge and confidence and gave us discussion material for both the learners and parents evening. These tasks gave the learners an opportunity to show their knowledge and expertise and consequently progress through the course curriculum. There was no learning from one student to another of course but there was a good competitive spirit around success and time keeping. The purpose of assessment ‘Assessment is a measure of learning, at a given point in time’ [ ]. Taken on its own this is rather insular so it should be noted that the assessment process is a ‘a two way process’ [ ]. This means that the teacher should take on board feedback from the assessment process and where necessary modify their teaching practices to improve the overall learning experience. At its simplest this is for planning further teaching and assessment. There are several methods of assessment, some of them formal e. g. observations, tests, exams etc. and some are informal e. g. questions and answers, quizzes etc. and finally there are initial, formative and summative assessments. In these early days of the course it seemed logical to use the above assessment methods as they were contributing directly towards the outcome of the course and its evidence based criteria. The college choice of examining board (City and Guilds) has left me very little scope for alteration of the assessment methods I have outlined. Looking forward though I plan to make the job cards a lot easier to complete which will aid in hitting the City and Guilds targets whilst going some way towards removing the dependence on reading and writing especially the English element. I have other plans to re-introduce this though with research based homework as the functional skills elements must not be neglected. Feedback from my learners on my initial attempts has been very encouraging. So, whilst my aim is to follow on what Dr Patrick Geoghegan says ‘the students could test themselves in a non-intimidating way that could be fun’ [ ] I realise there is a way to go but we have made great strides this year and next year will be better. Certainly, this year has been a steep learning curve for both the learners and teachers but we are progressing together and it is looking promising on the progression from one level to the next. I was observed by my supervisor and during the catch up session later received feedback about my teaching session. The most interesting point for me was the level of the lecture. It was a seemingly simple subject on exhaust systems but during the lecture the class and I got into an interesting discussion which veered off into the speed of sound through different temperature gases and so on. The feedback was simply to keep the lecture on track. To this end I have now started to pre-empt little diversions like this with additional slides either at the end or in a separate presentation. This way I can cover these points at a later time or at the end if appropriate. Separating these out also means when I put my presentations on Moodle I can only put up the core show and keep some back for differentiation purposes. Conclusion Good assessment techniques particularly formative ones can be embedded into the lesson and almost unnoticeable to the learners. There are of course the more formal techniques which are more obvious e. g. QA, tests etc. For myself I have been using a large range of assessment techniques some of which I did not even realise I was doing at the beginning. During the year the assessment process has been an interesting learning curve for both myself and my learners. I have involved them as much as I can and some of the feedback from them has been very insightful and consequently fed back into the process. Finally, feedback to the learner from assessment should always be as constructive as possible. This is supported by the following quote ‘assessment feedback †¦. should always be constructive’ [ ]. Bibliography Books Ann Gravells and Susan Simpson, planning and Enabling Learning in the Lifelong Learning Sector, 2008 Susan Wallace, Teaching and Supporting Learning in Further Education, Learning Matters, 2001 G Petty, Teaching Today, Nelson Thornes, 2009 Websites Geoghegan P M (2006) Hot potatoes formative assessment, in Every Student Matters Activities for Engaging and Widening Participation in Higher Education: A Preliminary Collection, Higher Education Academy Ireland Blending assignments and assessments for high-quality learning http://www. enhancementthemes. ac. uk/themes/IntegrativeAssessment/IABlendingInclusivity. asp

scientist :: essays research papers

My Scientist My scientists name is Angela Santos. She was born in Santo Domingo, which is the capital of the Dominican Republic. She lived with her father, her mother, her sister, and her grandmother. She was a very successful person and made her family proud. Her father, Marino Rodriguez, was self-employed and worked to support his family. Eventually, problems started to stir up in the family, and Angela ¡Ã‚ ¯s parents decided to get divorced. When they got divorced Justina Mueses, Angela ¡Ã‚ ¯s mother, had to work full time at the hospital, spending no time with her daughters. She went to work early in the morning, and came back from work very late at night. The girls stood home with their grandmother, Isabel, who taught them how to cook, clean, and take care of each other. Isabel taught the girls that even before they started thinking of getting married a woman should be educated and know how to take care of her house. Isabel played a big role in Angela ¡Ã‚ ¯s life, of course being her grandmother and everything, but she was there when she needed her and Angela appreciates all the help she got from her dear old grandmother. Isabel only went up to the third grade; however, Angela learned a lot from her grandmother ¡Ã‚ ¯s experien ces and stories. Maria Virtudes Rodriguez, Angela ¡Ã‚ ¯s sister, studied accounting, English, cosmetics, and managed to keep a GPA of a 3.25 in all her classes. She is a single mother, and is currently working at a restaurant in Downtown, Manhattan. She just came from Dominican Republic a year ago, and she is trying to support her son, Anthony, so that he gets the chance of studying in America. Maria is a hard worker, and spends most of her time at work; however, she always manages to spend time with her son because she knows it is essential. She gives thanks to the Lord everyday for her life, since she was about to lose it. Maria has sickle cell anima, and in giving birth to Anthony she lost a lot of blood. The doctors gave no hope for her or the baby, but praise be to the Lord almighty she was able to live through such a tough situation. Angela had a younger brother, but he died at the age of 3. He also had sickle cell anima, and it advanced so much he developed tuberculosis and died at such a young age.

International Language Essay

Across 294 countries in the world, there are about 6,500 languages are commonly using in the daily life. The domination of English has been proved as an international language all across with the coming of globalization in future, English is the language of diplomacy and international communications for the use of business, tourism, education, science, computer technology, media, Internet and etc. Without language, all the things couldn’t happen and stay in place like today. People nowadays who stand in the marketplace ordinarily using English as an international language for the purpose of fulfilling communicative needs, a common language to facilitate trade and communication seems unavoidable. Some people think that globalization will become a big threat to the national, cultural and even religious identities as using only a single language and ultimatum to the development of a country. Posses single language may lead to cultural corrosion, a loss of local linguistic knowledge, and mainly will cause to losing of own language which is the carrier of all their cultural values identity is the first thought of conservative minded while they firstly expose to the word of globalization. However, in my opinion, it is possible to use an official international language and still retain theirs own languages with their own cultures values identity. I presented to support that having a single language as an international official language not only provides the opportunities for social mobility and modernity but also removes the probability of losing the national language the carrier of identity by helping people to be identified to the whole world as they are given voices. It is getting involved in international interactions and communications is required. Therefore, to be an active participant in globalized relations, it is necessary to adopt the international language. Using an international language provides opportunities for people to make contributions to the formation and development of that language to lead to scientific and cultural independence. Language is only the instrument of communication for people around the world. Many countries had been adapted to the cultural with an official language or languages. In any country where there are innumerable languages spoken, there is a need for official languages to ensure the flow of communication between different sections of the population and the different states. Above all, international language is important as a common language for people, without language, there will be absence of interaction between people, while there will be a link occurred to no communication to no trading and etc. It’s also important in every aspect for the world. Nowadays, English is considered the universal language for business, international communications, entertainment, tourism, trade and technology. The majority of all resources on the internet are all in English, affecting people to learn English to take full advantage of it. More important, learning English is significant for human to being able for information exchange and connecting to others. In the prevalent globalization there is no doubt that an international language is unavoidability. While trading a business, language is playing an important role of people, if human found difficult in the activation of a common in language spoken, they cannot trade in business. In this sense, not only is an international language inevitable, but also a necessary for trading, commerce and economic expansion by the turn of the century. The criticism to opposing the using of an international official language contends that it would lead to cultural corrosion and a loss of cultural values identity. However, the use of an international official language does not mean that their local languages will disappear. If English already functions as a kind of unofficial international language but this doesn’t mean that people only converse in using English or they ignore their own languages. English is used in specific contexts such as trade, business, etc. and native languages are used for everyday instruction.

Moving beyond fit: the role of brand portfolio characteristics in consumer evaluations of brand reliability

DelVecchio’s article deals with the effects of brand extensions on company sales, especially with regard to the affected brands. Brand extension is hereby taken to mean how companies offer completely new products under the existing brand names. The target market could be the existing customer base or completely new one.Companies extending their brands are especially interested in increasing sales revenue by offering more products. According to DelVecchio (2000) the extensions could be a double edged sword to the implementing companies; it could increase sales to higher levels or could reduce brand loyalty to brands formerly dear to consumers. Marketing executives in companies intending to extend brands therefore have a hard task of investigating the level of brand loyalty before thinking about extensions.Understanding the risks involved with brand extensions should therefore be taken as the first step laying strong foundation for future sales. DelVecchio (2000) has specificall y stated that having many brands associated with the one being extended increases the possibility of success. This in consideration that respective company brands happen to have already proven themselves in the face of competition.Extensions are therefore seen by consumers as just another attempt for respective company to meet market needs and demands. Coca-Cola Company is the best example of a company that effectively uses its wide products to improve brand extensionality; its Coke drink is available in Zero, Vanilla, and Diet extensions (Makwana 2008)—all which succeed in their mission of satisfying specific market segments’ tastes.DelVecchio’s analysis leads to conclusion that brand loyalty is the foundation for successful brand extensions, which explains why companies that exceed consumer expectations succeed in their brand extension initiatives.Coca-Cola is yet another company whose consumer loyalty has boosted its extended brands, as well as remaining as t he world leader in carbonated drinks market. Ralph Lauren is another company that has been able to use its consumer loyalty to extend its Polo brand from clothing to home decor and furnishings. Consumers highly satisfied with the clothing had confidence in the new line of products and immediately embarked on making purchases.Companies whose products have narrow brand loyalty are on the other hand faced with diluted popularity of products being extended. For instance, Chrysler Motor Company faced with diluting popularity of its Jeep Liberty after extending this product into Jeep Patriot. Fact that Liberty had insignificant consumer base meant that extending it to Patriot would hurt it (Liberty) even further (BusinessWeek 2006). Indeed American car manufacturer’s current declining sales problems develop from extending unpopular products.These car assemblers go to an extent of one brand’s chassis for product extension purposes, such as Ford’s use of the popular F15 0 chassis to make more Ford brands. Unfortunately for such businesses, consumers end up understanding what is happening in the extensions and therefore feel cheated.The only solution is to ditch the affected companies’ products altogether and start patronizing competitors’ products. In retaliation to a point made previously in the paper, it is vital for companies to cultivate consumer loyalty in products they could be planning to extend in the future, failure of which result to loss of business even on well established products.ReferencesBusinessWeek, 2006, Jeep’s Misguided Compass, Available from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.businessweek.com/autos/content/oct2006/bw20061025_140103.htmDelVecchio, D., 2000, Moving beyond fit: the role of brand portfolio characteristics in    consumer evaluations of brand reliability. Journal of Product and Brand   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Management. Vol. 9 No. 7, pp. 457-471.Makwana, B., 2008, Coca-Colaâ⠂¬â„¢s Targeting Niche Market through Brand Extension.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Available from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.ibscdc.org/Case_Studies/Marketing/Brands%20and%20Branding/MA  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   R0089A.htm