How to Plan a Traditional Chinese Wedding

How to Plan a Traditional Chinese Wedding While Chinese weddings have become infused with Western wedding traditions, most Chinese weddings maintain some traditional cultural elements. Do you want to know how to plan a traditional Chinese wedding? From the engagement to the ceremony, heres what you should know. 1. Plan the Perfect Engagement As in Western culture, before a wedding, there must first be an engagement. In the past, most Chinese families relied on arranged marriages, but today, the majority of couples find their own match and marry for love. However, some elements of a traditional Chinese  wedding engagement remain intact. For example, the grooms family will typically send a betrothal gift to the brides family, which typically includes food and cakes. These gifts help seal the engagement. In addition to betrothal gifts, both the bride and grooms family will consult a fortune teller whose role is to help the family determine if the couple is compatible for marriage. The fortune teller will use various things such as names, birth dates, and time of birth to analyze compatibility. If all goes well, the couple will set a date for their marriage. 2. Choose the Right Dress For many Chinese women, picking the perfect wedding gown actually means picking three dresses. The typical traditional dress is called a qipao, which has been worn in China since the 17th century. Most women will wear one red qipao, a white Western-style gown, and a third ball gown throughout the night. The dresses are changed throughout the reception after courses are served. Some brides will even opt for a fourth dress, which they wear as they are saying their goodbyes as guests depart the wedding. 3. Invite Guests Traditional  Chinese wedding invitations are typically red and placed within a red envelope. Unlike the red envelopes used to give gifts of money, wedding invitation envelopes are typically wider and longer. The text is usually written in gold, which is a symbol of wealth in Chinese culture. Like in Western culture, the invitation features important information about the celebration. However, invitations are sometimes only mailed or hand presented several weeks or days before the wedding, as opposed to many months. The double happiness character, shuÄ ngxÇ Ã‚  (é›™åâ€"Å") is often written somewhere on the invitation. 4. Choose Decor Decorations at a typical Chinese wedding are usually provided by the reception venue. The Chinese character for happiness is often hung upside down as a symbol for the arrival of happiness. In addition to Chinese symbols, decor may include lights, candles, and flowers similar to those youd find at a typical Western wedding. Venues will often have a stage where the bridge and groom stands before the reception begins and while toasts are being made. Guests are not invited to the exchanging of vows, so the reception is the first time they see the couple.

The History of Hypodermic Needles and Syringes

The History of Hypodermic Needles and Syringes Various forms of intravenous injection and infusion have been around as far back  as the late 1600s. However, it wasnt until 1853 that  Charles Gabriel Pravaz and Alexander Wood developed  a needle fine enough to pierce the skin.  The syringe  was the first device used to inject morphine as a painkiller.  The breakthrough also  eliminated  many of the technical difficulties facing those experimenting with blood transfusion. Credit for the evolution of the universally useful hypodermic syringe with its hollow, pointed needle is usually given to Dr. Wood. He came up with the invention after experimenting with a hollow needle for the administration of drugs and found that  the method was not necessarily limited to the administration of opiates. Eventually, he felt confident enough to publish a short paper in The Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Review titled  Ã¢â‚¬Å"A New Method of Treating Neuralgia by the Direct Application of Opiates to the Painful Points.† At about the same time, Charles Gabriel Pravaz, of Lyon, was making a similar syringe that quickly came into use during surgeries under the name of the â€Å"Pravaz Syringe.† A Brief Timeline of Disposable Syringes Arthur E. Smith  received eight U.S. patents for disposable  syringes in 1949 and 1950.In 1954, Becton, Dickinson and Company  created the first mass-produced disposable syringe and needle produced in glass. It was developed for Dr. Jonas Salks mass administration of the new Salk polio vaccine for  one million American children.Roehr Products  introduced a plastic  disposable hypodermic syringe called the  Monoject in 1955.Colin Murdoch, a pharmacist from Timaru, New Zealand, patented a  plastic disposable syringe  to replace the glass syringe in 1956. Murdoch patented a total of 46 inventions,  including a silent burglar alarm, automatic syringes for vaccinating animals, the childproof bottle top and the tranquilizer gun.  In 1961, Becton Dickinson introduced its first plastic disposable syringe, the Plastipak.African American inventor  Phil Brooks  received a U.S. patent for a disposable syringe on April 9, 1974. Syringes for Vaccinations   Benjamin A. Rubin is credited for inventing the pronged vaccinating and testing needle or  vaccination needle. This was a refinement to the conventional syringe needle. Dr. Edward Jenner performed the first vaccination. The  English physician began to develop vaccines by studying the link between smallpox and cowpox, a milder disease.  He injected one boy with cowpox and found that the boy became immune to smallpox. Jenner published his findings in 1798. Within three years, as many as 100,000 people in Britain had been vaccinated against smallpox.   Alternatives to Syringes   The microneedle is a painless alternative to the needle and syringe. A  chemical engineering professor from the Georgia Institute of Technology named Mark Prausnitz  teamed up with electrical engineer Mark Allen to develop the prototype microneedle device. It is made up of 400 silicon-based microscopic needles - each the width of a human hair - and looks something like the nicotine patch used to help people quit smoking. Its tiny, hollow needles are so small that any medication can be delivered through the skin without reaching the nerve cells that create pain. Microelectronics within the device control the time and dosage of the medicine delivered. Another delivery device is the Hypospray. Developed by PowderJect Pharmaceuticals in Fremont, California, the  technology uses pressurized helium to spray dry powdered medications on the skin for absorption.

The Scientific Proof behind Marijuana Effects on Humans Essay

The Scientific Proof behind Marijuana Effects on Humans - Essay Example The debate on the legalization of marijuana to be used as a medical substance has lasted for a very long time whereby there are those who are for the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes, and there are others who strongly are against its legalization. The argument on either side is based on the benefits and risks associated with such a move whereby those who think that legalizing marijuana for medical use is beneficial to support its legalization, however, those who think that it would be riskier to legalize marijuana oppose the move. In order to understand the raging debate over legalization of marijuana, it is critical to understand the different views expressed by both sides and it is only after establishing the underlying points and issues that we can be able to have an insight into the debate surrounding marijuana in the USA. There are advantages of marijuana as espoused by the supporters of its legalization whereby the scientific studies have proved that marijuana has some medical value. This is not a new idea because marijuana has been used in the past for medical purposes in the treatment of various ailments classified under therapeutic and palliative groups. In addition to that, smoked cannabis is not only safe but is also effective in the treatment and management of diseases and conditions such as; nausea, pain, AIDs-related weight loss, and palliative care diseases. Nevertheless, marijuana usually makes a person feel high, or have a sense of well being that is why it is abused.

Movie Alice in wonderland Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Movie Alice in wonderland - Essay Example Tim Burton’s portrayal of Underland is visually unique as is his point of view. Burton as director is essential to the overall look and feel of the film. This film grossed $319.3 million at the box office and DVD sales to date. The setting of the film at times is rather creepy. This Alice is unlike any others in the Alice and Wonderland films previously made. Alice is curious, but strong willed and not easily swayed into what she, eventually, does by the end of the film. Alice is visually stunning, but the portrayal by the actors is weak, the story itself is rather weak. For a fantasy film it works, little kids would enjoy this film, as well, but the action and adventure is just not something that Alice in Wonderland should have shown. For a fantasy film, I would need to see at least the following three criteria. First, it must be visually stunning, Star Wars saga falls here. Second, it must have strange and unique creatures to its world, e.g. Hobbit / Lord of the Rings movies. And third, there must be a quest which the lead character needs to complete, whether or not it is destined for him or his own altogether, Harry Potter saga. Alice in Wonderland is visually stunning. From the colorations of the wardrobe to the design of the characters themselves, Tim Burton has a knack for stunning visualization. And like Star Wars, which is visually stunning with a grimy feeling to it, Alice in Wonderland, with its gothic, dark feeling to it, still is quite visually stunning with the varied shapes of the settings, to the wardrobe and the make-up of each and every character in the story. The visuals of a boring party, even felt as though it were stuffy in the room as I watched this scene, to the many different place in Undeland (as Wonderland is called in this film) where the visuals change and your feelings to go along right with them.At one point in the film, shortly after Alice arrives in

Upsides to Social Networking Essay Example for Free

Upsides to Social Networking Essay Within recent years, internet users have taken to social networking for their various personal needs. Social networks have become much more prominent in our increasingly technological world and the number of users using them are increasing. In Karen Goldberg Goff’s article, â€Å"Social Networking Benefits Validated,† she argues that Social Networking has various benefits for its users that will be essential throughout life. While social networks may show signs of danger to some people, the benefits do outweigh the potential dangers. Not only do social networks provide an online community, they provide users with many benefits and skills they may then use in their lives. Social networks provide great opportunities for socialization. As Monica Villa, founder of theonlinemom.com says, social networking â€Å"is allowing a lot of dialogue among people who may not otherwise have a chance for a lot of dialogue† (Goff). For those who want to be able to communicate with others, social networking is there to help them combat their shyness or there social isolationism by allowing them to connect with other people they can talk to. For those with disabilities, social networking is a useful means of communication to put their â€Å"personality at the forefront† while lessening the focus on the actual disability so that only the words, not the disability, are seen (Holmquist). In a report by the nonprofit child advocacy group Common Sense Media, â€Å"one in five teens said social media makes them feel more confident† (Wallace). It was also reported that more than twenty nine percent of teens report that social networking makes them less shy while twenty eight percent reported feeling more outgoing as a result of communicating through social networks. Twenty percent of the teens reported feeling more confident through social networking (fifty three percent of teens identified themselves as somewhat shy or really shy in general). Not all youths happen to be socially adept and social network provide them with a great virtual place to make friends, speak to friends, and be as vocal as they truly want to be (Social Networking). As for the socialization with friends already made, over half of the teens (fifty two percent) in the report from Common Sense Media said social networking made their relationships better as opposed to the four percent who said that  social networking has negatively affected their relationships (Wallace). With social networks, users can extend friendships and meet others with similar interests. Lisa Tripp, an assistant professor at Florida State University, says that â€Å"technology, including YouTube, iPods and podcasting, creates avenues for extending one’s circle of friends, boosts self-directed learning and fosters independence† (Goff). While many people go on social networking sites to talk to friends they may already know, these sites can also be used to find like-minded people with similar hobbies and interests (Goff). Teens can use social networking to expand their social circle and meet people who they would enjoy speaking too. Before social networking was available to communicate with people across the world, a fan of a certain character or film or even an idea might find himself isolated if there was not a person with the similar interest. In today’s world with social networking being so popular, the once isolated kid can now find himself speaking to m any other people just like him and may come to know that he can go out and seek peers to talk to (Goff). In the study by Common Sense Media, sixty nine percent of the teens said that they were able to know the students at their school better through social networking sites and fifty seven percent of the teens reported that they used social networking sites to make new friends (Social Networking). With the interactions with other people, users using social networks can build up their self-confidence as they share pictures and statuses about themselves and in return receiving positive feedback from their peers (Wallace). A way that one’s social network can be especially useful in the long run is when finding a job. Deborah Leuchovious, coordinator of PACER’s TATRA Project has stated, â€Å"Drawing on one’s own personal networks is one of the most effective strategies for finding employment (Holmquist). Through social networking, various helpful skills can be learned and practiced. The researchers from the Digital Youth Project, conducted at the University of Southern California and the University of California at Berkeley, found that â€Å"the constant communication that social networking provides is encouraging useful skills† (Goff). The study looked at thousands of hours of online observation and concluded that new opportunities are  created, as a result of social networking, for young people to deal with social norms, explore interests, work on ways to express themselves, and develop technical skills (Goff). For adolescents using social networking, they can develop skills needed to become independent, working adults in society as they will make a lot of decisions for themselves while online (Holmquist). The majority of skills learned online would be social skills. These skills give teens the ability to start thinking before they say things and to think about who they are while becoming more independent so that they can form their own personal identity (Holmquist). Other important skills learned would be technological skills that will be â€Å"essential to the digital economy,† as Monica Villa has stated (Goff). Not only will the technological skills be useful when communicating, they will also be of use when making the transition from high school to college and when making the transition of being an adolescent to being a competent citizen. By using social networking websites, one may have a place to go to for help when dealing with life’s problems. Although the place will be a virtual social network, there will still be a greater number of people who will actually show sympathy and provide help or guidance. Not all people will want to speak of personal problems verbally and social network provide a place to seek encouragement from fellow peers. An example of a situation where social networking helped to save a life happened recently when an eighteen year old posted on his Facebook page that he was thinking about jumping off the George Washington Bridge, which connects New York and New Jersey. After seeing his post, Port Authority officers contacted him and encouraged him to not go through with what he wanted to do and to go receive help (Wallace). Social networking can also have positive effects on one’s health. By providing an individual with a large social group, that individual will have an â€Å"impr oved life satisfaction, stroke recovery, memory retention, and an overall well-being† (Social Networking). The friends that one has on a social network also may serve as encouragement when dealing with health related issues such as exercise, dieting, and smoking (Social Networking). There are opportunities to learn about events and even personal interests  through social networking. For teens, social networking sites are second only to newspapers for their top news source and are able to spread information faster than any other source of media (Social Networking). Over fifty percent of the people in the study by Common Sense Media reported that they learned about breaking news from social media (Social Networking). Social networking even plays a large role in politics. Over a quarter of US voters that were younger than thirty reported to have obtained information about the 2008 Presidential campaign from social media (Social Networking). Aside from just learning about events, people can learn about how they can be involved in the world around them. By becoming aware of the world around them, adolescents will also learn about how they may also become involved and what they can do for social good. Social media sites can empower individuals to create meaningful, positive change (Wallace). Groups like Grow Global Citizens use social networks to increase teens’ awareness of the world around them and to allow them to become more â€Å"innovative about how they can get involved† (Wallace). Social media strategist, Elena Sonnino has stated that now teens can do much more in regards to their involvement aside from things like book drives and canned food drives (Wallace). When speaking of social networking, more concerns rather than benefits are mentioned. Since the benefits are not as mentioned as the possible dangers, people tend to believe that social networking may have harmful effects but this is not true. Most of what is told by news outlets is the negatives of social networking, such as how cyberbullying can turn tragic (Wallace). News outlets focus on the negatives without taking into account that â€Å"for every heartbreaking case of cyberbullying, there are many stories of teens using social media for good† (Wallace). Other negatives mentioned about social networking is that it causes teens to be lazy and that what they do online may not be safe. Mizuko Ito, from the Digital Youth Project, has stated that spending time online is essential for young people to acquire social and technical skills that are needed to be competent citizens in the digital age (Goff). Even though there may be risks that may be encountered online by some peopl e, youth who engage in risky behaviors in other parts of their lives are the most at risk (Holmquist). Parents may also become involved with their kids’ social network. They can view their  page at any time and even have their password to see what their kid is doing (Goff). To lessen the dangers of social networking even more, users also have the option to change their privacy settings so that certain details are hidden to others and even so that only people they know may contact them. The benefits of social networking have shown themselves to be useful and helpful in the increasing digital world. Not only do users gain skills of socialization, they also learn more about themselves and the world around them. Social networks are a great place to seek friends with similar interests, news, and also help. Although there may be possible dangers with social networking, they may be taken care of and do not seem great enough compared to the upsides of social networking. The benefits that social networks bring will become useful for other aspects of life. Social networking has achieved a way for users to not only gain essential benefits and skills in their everyday lives, but also throughout their lives. Works Cited Goff, Karen Goldberg. Social Networking Benefits Validated. Washington Times. The Washington Times, 28 Jan. 2009. Web. 7 Apr. 2014. Holmquist, Julie. Social Networking Sites: Consider the Benefits, Concerns for Your Teenager. Impact Newsletter. Institute on Community Integration, University of Minnesota, Fall 2009. Web. 7 Apr. 2014. Social Networking. ProCon. ProCon.org, 12 Dec. 2012. Web. 7 Apr. 2014. Wallace, Kelly. The Upside of Selfies: Social Media Isnt All Bad for Kids. CNN. Cable News Network, 22 Nov. 2013. Web. 7 Apr. 2014.

The Bag of Weed :: Personal Narrative Essays

The Bag of Weed "Come on, it's just one hit, no one will ever find out." We all gathered around the pipe, anxiously awaiting our turn. It was 1:00 in the morning and everyone was asleep, including the dean, or so we thought. Earlier that morning, a friend came up to me excitedly announcing her purchase. She had gotten a bag of weed. I showed a look of approval, not quite caring or knowing what was ahead. I soon would be part of that deal, but at a much higher price. After the evening activities, we all piled back into the dorm and started heading to each other's rooms. It was a Friday night, and it was nearly impossible to go to bed before 12:00. As our group of friends all sat there, the idea of getting stoned got thrown into the pot. Being at a Christian school, not very many of us had ever done that before, especially not in the dorm. "There's a first time for everything," one of the girls piped in. We all agreed it would be fun, but knew the consequences if we were to get caught. After contemplating it all, we decided to at least wait until 1:00, when everyone started going to bed. The time passed quickly as we discussed our plan. We would make a pipe out of an empty pop can, put towels under the door to help stop the smoke from leaking out, and turned on the fan by the window so it would help blow the smoke out. We definitely had it all figured out. The weed was brought out, and placed ever so carefully on the can. We passed it around, and one hit turned into two and two into four. By that time we were all laughing hysterically, obviously needing nothing to laugh at. After we put the weed away, we sat there laughing, joking, eating and just having fun, thinking we were good to go. Minutes later, a knock came at the door, making each of our heart beats come to a halting stop. As the door opened, the dean appeared like a ghost in the night and we all knew we were busted. "Where's the cigarettes?" she asked. We all sat there, looking dumbfounded, and wishing it were only cigarettes because the consequences for that were less severe. She stood at the door for a few minutes, staring at us with a look of complete disappointment on her face, before walking out the door, shutting it behind her.

Passages in IF I Stay by Gayle Forman

Sometimes you make choices in life and sometimes choices make you. † At 2:48 A. M. (Page 67) I believe life is all about the little decisions we make every day. There is a choice you have to make in everything you do. So we must keep in mind that, the choice we make, makes us. Because after all, everything Just a matter of choice. â€Å"†¦ Dying is easy. Living is hard. † At 10:40 P. M. (Page 62) Living is hard. Living without purpose and without someone who loves you is even harder.And life has a lot of ups and down. The world is a dangerous and scary place. It takes gut to face the world. It takes a lot of courage to stand for the world. Maybe it's too poignant but it depends on one's point of view. Dying is a life chance or a choice. It's easy to decide whether you want to die or not. Therefore I believe this statement is true. â€Å"Life might take you down different roads. But each of you gets to decide which one to take. † At 4:57 A. M. Page 73) This pa ssage is also about making a choice. There are many different roads we will encounter, but in the end, it depends on our own decision. Life is the greatest journey you will be on, so the decisions we make can affect our way of life. The decisions we make in life can make our life. â€Å"People believe what they want to believe. † 4:49 P. M. (Page 29) People believe what they want to believe most of the time. They believe things without any reason but they believe often times without good reason.Lots of people have reasons for what they believe, but when those reasons are proven wrong they till stand on their point of view. â€Å"Fake it till you make it. † 5:40 P. M. (Page 35) If you don't feel confident, pretend you are until you gain the experience that is all for real. Act like you are something so you can, in fact, become that thing. Though it might seem force in the beginning, soon it will become natural. The mind can be tricked, and you can balance your life in t hat little trick. You will learn what you need to and turn pretend confidence into the real deal.

Issues of Group in Iium

[pic] English for Academic Writting LE 4000 Dr. Faridah Abdul Malik Section 50 A Study on IIUM Students on the Issues of Group Workings Saiful Bahri ABSTRACT Under organizational behavior comes group behavior, how individual behave when working in group. This paper examines the posible errors that can be found in tasks done in group. The result showed that some of the errors are done on purpose due to laziness of IIUM students. Although, these students are aware of what causes the problems and what they should avoid to have a free-problem group work but they still manage to do them, either intentionally or unintentionally. Therefore, in reminding them, some ground rules and peer assessment should be adapted in each group. Keywords: free-rider, teamwork, miscommunication, and time management. INTRODUCTION Organizational behavior is the study of individuals and the behaviors they have within an organization and in a workplace setting. It is an interdisciplinary field that includes sociology, psychology, communication and management (Organizational Behavior Introduction, Catherwood Library). Group behavior is a part of the organizational behavior in which it falls under the interdiciplinary field of sociolagy, how individual work in small r large groups. Group behaviour differs from  mass actions  which refers to people behaving similarly on a more global scale while group behaviour refers usually to people in one place and having a coordinated behaviors. The members in a group should each be interdependence (depends on other member’s output as well), have social interaction (there should eithe r be verbal or non-verbal communication), have a perception of a group ( agreeing that they are a part of a group) and mush have common in purpose (to achieve the same goal). Working in groups have their advantages, one of them being, having a collective set of ideas. Having many people working on the same work allows the work to get not only your input but also from others in the group. This increases the quality, reliability and validity of the work. Although, problems may arise as well, as individuals have their own behaviors and may not be compatible with other people, and that then will effect the quality of your group work’s output. The purpose of this research paper is to investigate the possible errors that can be found in tasks done in groups. In details, the objectives that i want to reach is: 1. to understand how miscommunications can happen in a group among the IIUM students, . to determine whether IIUM students work together when given a group assignment, 3. to understand how time becomes a big constraint when working in groups among the IIUM students. Some terms that may be found in this paper are free-riders, teamwork, miscommunication, and time management. †¢ Free-rider A person that is in a group but not doing any work but still get rewards and benefits from the work done. †¢ Teamwork The collective work that members in a group put in to accomplish the assignment (task/job) that is given to their group. Each one of them gives contribution and work together in harmony in doint the work. Miscommunication When the members are not interacting among each other in doing the work, each are working separately, not knowing the growth of their work and not refereing to one another when one has reached a dead end with their work. †¢ Time management The way that a person manages or allocate their time in doing specific things in terms of whether they are on-time or not. LITERATURE REVIEW Working in groups are complicated because one has to adapt to all behaviors of the group members and if one cannot adapt, problems will start to rise. Some students are used to working alone all the time, therefore they will have difficulties in working in group. They will have to listen to other’s ideas, accept them, know how to interact and so much more. Like what Whatley (2009) said, without experience in group working, it will be hard for students to overcome the problems of working in group in which it will show in the quality output of your group’s work. Although, these students may not have the experience, their group members whom might have some (experience), may teach them or can lead the group knowing what and how to do it. This is the best part of working in groups, the students get to learn from one another. Leaning on one another in the group allows issues to be solved that arises from group work, the students should together come up with some basic rules that each should agree on and follow. If problems are left unsolved or undealt with, it may either grow bigger causing more and more problem but if lucky it would just go away. In either way, the members will be affected as they will feel some tension going around and might not perform as well as they could have. It is possible to go through the motion of a team project exercise and still not learn fundamental lessons about the essence of working in teams, ranging from communication skill to the ability to motivate others (Wolfe, Student Attitudes toward Team Projects). In the study of Dunne and Rawlins (2000), Hansen (2006) and Prichard, Stratford, & Bizo (2006) taken by Whatley (2009), it is known that a team project in higher level of education can provide a safe environment for learning about group working, with the help of guidance as a base for them to work on. Ford & Morice (2003), suggests that a micro management strategy should be opted in group assignments that would teach the students about how to act in when in group so that they can prepare themselves for when they enter the workforce. From Chang (1999), in the study, it was found that most students participated well and put effort in the group because they will be assessed by their fellow group members. Therefore, in the ground rules, assessment should be included, too, as Chang (1999) study showed how it motivates the student to perform. Running on ground rules, communication should be highlighted and stressed on it’s importance when working in group. In cases of free-riders or not distributing equal work among the group members, they should voice out and let other members know how you feel about it and how unfair it is for that to happen. They need to communicate amongst themselves and take part in doing the work. Whether the communications are done in all direction, horizontally or vertically, what is important is that it should be clearly communicated and spoken in language and terms that is able to be understood. Not only should communication be put in the ground rule but also the importance of time management. Therefore, as Whatley (2009) said, to ensure trust in the group, they (the group members) should agree on some ground rules and follow them. From Whatley (2009) again, she had mentioned that in gaining consensus among all the group members, a group must have some face-to-face meeting as well as having selecting some ground rules in order to have a clear and ambiguous communication in the group. â€Å"Conflict involves negotiation, whether it resulted in a Win-Lose or a Win-Win outcome. Naturally a Win-Win outcome is preferred. † (Chang, 1999) Free-rider is a serious problem in group work. Students who do not contribute effort and input will effect the other members emotionally, though, most times they do not show. It is very unfortunate that the student still have the decency of wanting their name to be included on submited work. It is all too possible to for students to let others do the heavy lifting of a team project, and yet reap the benefits of the eventual outcome (Wolfe, Student Attitudes toward Team Projects). It is possible for high levels of individual accomplishment to go unrewarded, or even punished, as a result of the factors beyong their control (Wolfe, Student Attitudes toward Team Projects). Yes, tonnes and tonnes of problems may arise from group work, but it offers some beneficial rewards also. For example, one get to share it’s ideas among the othe groupmates and in turn gets some ideas or feedbacks back from their groupmates. Futhermore, doing work in group eases the workload one has to do if is working alone. In groups, tasks are divided among all members and each are given own responsibilies in the group. From Ford & Morice (2003) findings, they found that even though students frequently encounter problems working in group but they would still prefer to work in group rather than individually. This shows that, eventhough they had problems but having the knowledge and ideas being shared in groups are more important that it can scratch out the negative side of group work to them. After conducting a statistical analysis on the test scores, it was found that students who participated in collaborative learning had performed significantly better on the critical- thinking test than students who studied individually (Gokhale, 1995). RESEARCH METHODOLGY This section discusses the methodology of the research. The main purpose of the research is to investigate to investigate the possible errors that can be found in tasks done in groups. To evaluate and assess the student of IIUM, 20 students were selected randomly. Data for the research were collected through questionnaire. This research uses only the quantitative research methodology. The instrument used to collect the data was questionnaire. A set of questionnaire containing 18 questions are divided into 4 sections was newly developed. Different question types, such as, ranking, yes-no, and open-ended were used in the questionnaire. The different sections of the questionnaire were: i) Background , ii) Communication , iii) Team work iv) Time management. The respondents of the study were the undergraduate students of IIUM from different kulliyyahs. On 3rd December 2011, a total of 20 questionnaires were distributed to IIUM students at different kulliyyahs and all questionnaire was returned. Of these number, 11 were male and the rest, 9, were female. No approval was needed in handing out the questionnaires in IIUM. During the actual study, questionnaire were distributed at various locations on campus, such as Economics Cafe’, KENMS, mahallah, HS kulliyyah and etc. Data were entered into the computer and analyzed using excel. Results were presented through frequency counts and other descriptive statistics. FINDINGS From the data collected, 11 of the respondents were male and nine of them were female, in which there were five of them who were 20 years old, two were 21 years old, seven respondents were 22 years old, two respondents were 23 years old and four of them were 24 years old. Most of the respondents are Malaysian, totaling to seven of them and the rest were Singaporean (four), Kyrgyz (three), Vietnamese (three), Indonesian (two) and Siamese (one). Most of the respondents were from Kulliyyah of Economics (six), one were from Kulliyyah of IRK, one from Architecture, one from Law, another one from Education, four being from HS, two were engineering students and the remaining four were from Kulliyyah of ICT. In which four of the respondents were first year students, another four were in their second year, seven being a third year student and five were in the fourth year of studying in IIUM. Figure 1: Student’s thought on group works [pic] Figure 1 shows the percentage of rankings on what students of IIUM think about group works, whether they like it or they prefer to work individually. As seen in the figure above, only 10% did not like working in groups whereas 25% said it was less preferred. 25% ranked them to be neutral on the issue, while another 25% and 15% of the respondents saying it is preferable and most preferable to work in groups, consequtively. Figure 2: Student’s preferred communication method [pic] Table 1: Communication method ranking |5 |4 |3 |2 |1 | |Call |0 |0 |3 |8 |9 | |Text |0 |0 |2 |5 |13 | |Email/Chatroom |13 |4 |2 |1 |0 | |Meet |7 |7 |6 |0 |0 | | | | | | | | Although, from Figure 2 and Table 1, the respondents showed otherwise. In Figure 2, comparison between the ‘Most prefered’ and ‘Not prefered’ ranks on the communication method is shown just to have clearer view of those who prefered to work in group and those who do not. The data in the table shows the whole data gathered on about how they really communicate with their groupmates. Figure 3 below shows the percentage on the students’ opinion to why miscommunication happens among their group members, in which most of them said because of misunderstanding, that is misinterpreting what one another is saying. 0% of them said because of language barrier (having hard time to commute in mutual language), 20% said it is because there are lack of meetings and the remaining 15% ticked ‘Others’. Those who ticked ‘Others’ said that because they are not able to accept other’s ideas and views. Figure 3 [pic] Figure 4: Experience with free-riders [pic] Figure 4 is for the section on teamwork. In which this figure shows the number of respondents having experience to grouping with a free-rider. As shown, 11 of them said they have and the rest never had. Apart from that, 35% of the respondents said yes that al l their members assigned the tasks equally, 10% does not and the highest percentage (55%) said only in some of their groups gives equal work and their other group does not. Refering to the questionnaire, Question 13 is similar to question 12, this is to make sure that there is reliability in the respondents’ answers, and there is. Basically, for those who answered that ‘only some of their group give out equal tasks’ (55% being 11 in number) said they were given extra tasks. These datas charts can be refered to in the appendix as Figure 7 and 8. Figure 5: Reason for finishing work late [pic] For the time management section, 15 of the respondents said yes it does take a long time for them to finish only their part. Interpreting that into percentage, 75% said yes (can be refered to Figure 9 in the appendix). Figure 5 above are data from those 75% that answered yes to taking a long period to finish own part, those who answered yes only answer this question. Therefore, seven of them said they are busy with other assignments, five says because the assignment is complicated therefore they need longer time and another three said they are just lazy to do their part earlier. Figure 6: Reasons for late to meetings [pic] In Figure 6, not all 20 respondents are being analyzed on, only thos who answered yes in showing up on-time to group meetings are being analyzed, that is 60%, the other 40% does not come on-time. For a better picture, this data is graphed into Figure 10 in the appendix. Moving on, most of these respondents said they come late because they are busy with other things, four of them said they do not like to be on-time, another four said things always comes up during those times and five of them do nont normally check the time therefore it is either their luck that they came on-time or not. Apart from asking about the respondents coming on-time, from the collected data none of the respondents’ other groupmates comes early to all meetings, but 7 said their group came early to most meetings, ten said their members came early to some of the meetings and the remaining three said none of them ever came early. DISCUSSION Under the communication part, it can be seen that with 20% respondents saying lack of meetings leads to miscommunication and not almost but all respondents agreed that the best communication method would be meetings. With that, looking at what they answered for the rest of communication part’s question, knowingly that face-to-face meetings are crucial, most of them only communicate through emails and chatrooms leaving with only seven respondents who actually is walking the talk (doing the meetings). This is supported by Whatley (2009), she had mentioned that in gaining consensus among all the group members, a group must have some face-to-face meeting as well as having selecting some ground rules in order to have a clear and ambiguous communication in the group. Miscommunication happens when they meet less, have language barrier, misunderstand one another, and being unable to accept what others have to say. These seven respondents sees the importance of ‘teamwork’ in accomplishing group works, therefore, they have them. From the analysis, the IIUM students have the awareness on the importance of having quality communication but somehow they are lazy in actually doing the things that would increase their communication’s quality. By having this meet-ups, all miscommunication can be overcome, even with language barrier, (if and only if the group members do not keep quiet about how they feel and what problems they ecounter with the group or task being assigned) when they have meet-ups and talk out their problems, and making sure each and every members understands the task they are being assigned. One of this paper’s research objective is to determine whether the IIUM students work together in their group, the obvious data that is graphed into Figure 8, shows that 55% of the respondents had been given extra tasks. From the datas gathered it can be seen that there are still those who free-rides on group assignment. Up to 11 respondents have had free-riders as their group member and all of the respondents said their group members would care if there was a free-rider in the group. Free-riders do not do any work, therefore when a free-rider exist in a group, tasks are not being allocated equally among all members as some of them have to do the task that was assigned to the free-rider. Proving this by the 55% of respondents saying yes that in some groups only that tasks were being distributed equally, other way of looking at it is that some does not distribute equally and another 10% said none of their group ever equally distribute them. Obviously, all members would not know that there is a free-rider until reaching to the compilation date, in which the free-rider do not have any work to send and would be giving excuses for it instead of doing it, and those members who care so much for the assignment would be doing the free-rider’s part of the work. Here are some statements to prove this. It is all too possible for students to let others do the heavy lifting of a team project, and yet reap the benefits of the eventual outcome (Wolfe, Student Attitudes toward Team Projects). It is possible for high levels of individual accomplishment to go unrewarded, or even punished, as a result of the factors beyond their control (Student Attitudes toward Team Projects). Looking at the time management aspect of the IIUM students, they are very undisciplined in finishing and submiting their part to other member, with a 75% of the respondents says they are usually late. Making their reasons to be because they are busy with other things, the assignment is complicated, and some even said they are just too lazy to get it done early. These students with this mentality (lazy to get assignment done early) are bad to be having in a group because they like to do things at the very last minute and with constraint in time, quality of work production would definitly not reach the standard. Although, in terms of being on-time at meetings, these respondents showed otherwise. Majority of them are on-time meaning that they do have time management under control. In some aspects the IIUM students are good with time management and in some they are bad. As proven by Chang (1999), in her study, she found that most students participated well and put effort in the group because they will be assessed by their fellow group members. In the peer assessment form, how each member manages their time in coming to meetings or submiting work on-time, should be included as this will motivate the students to manage their time better. CONCLUSION This study investigates the posible errors that are found in group work. It includes a bit on the importance of teamwork, how to overcome the issues and why the issues rise in the first place. The objectives of this study is to understand how miscommunications can happen in a group among the IIUM students, to determine whether IIUM students work together when given a group assignment, to understand how time becomes a big constraint when working in groups among the IIUM students. In overall, the findings shown that the IIUM students know the importance of group work, how to eliminate problems and so on so forth but they still do not do the things that will cut out problems. Like in time management, the respondents know that that should be one of the things to be disciplined on but still they do not submit or come on-time due to valid reasons or simply because they are lazy. All the communication, team work and time management are crucial issues that are linked to each other in a certain way. The IIUM students have to overcome the miscommunication problems because when working real jobs later, it is crucial to have a smooth flow of communication amongst all members, because work cannot be completed with quality without communication. Therefore, these students have to start training themselves from now so that it would not affect them later in working life. Without communication, there would be no team work. Without teamwork, tasks are harder to be accomplised bacause the reason they are being given to work in groups because it would create a better work outcome having variety of ideas coming from each members and that it would quicken up the complition time of the assignment because tasks are divided. Therefore, serious actions should be taken on free-riders because they create dissatisfaction among all the other members in which will lead to stress and tension among the members. Some ideas on how to iradicate some of the group work problems as were shown in Chang (1999), in which peer assessments were done on each group members, in which they have to be honest and truthful about each comment. As for the limitations that were encountered in finishing this research, in which there were not many, searching for articles and journals to do reviews on was a bit of a fuss. To find the ones that are compatible and having some point being similar to this research was difficult, although successfully, some was found. APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE The data to be collected will be used for academic purposes under the subject LE 4000, strictly. Background 1. Gender:( ) Male( ) Female 2. Age:†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3. Nationality:†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 4. Kulliyyah:( ) Economics ( ) IRK( ) HS( ) Architecture ( ) Engineering( ) ICT( ) Law( ) Education 5. Level of study:1/2/3/4 Communication For Q6 & Q7, rank them with these; 5 = most prefered, 4 = prefered, 3 = neutral, 2 = less prefered, 1 = not prefered 6. With you working in groups are:†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 7. Your communication method:( ) Call( ) Text( ) Email/Chatroom( ) Meet 8. Which do you think is the best communication method? (Among the methods given in Q8) †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 9. In your opinion, why miscommunication happen? ( ) Lack of meeting( ) Language barrier( ) misunderstanding( ) Others Specify others: †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Team work 10. Have you had any free-rider as a groupmate? ( ) Yes( ) No 11. Does your other groupmates care that there is a free-rider/s in the group? ( ) Yes( ) No 12. Do you and your groups equally distribute the work? ( ) Yes( ) No( ) In some groups, yes 13. Have you ever been given extra task to do in the group? ) Yes( ) No Time management 14. Does it take a long time to finish your part of your group assignment? ( ) Yes( ) No 15. If you answered ‘Yes’ to Q15, why so: ( ) Busy with other assignment( ) Complicated assignment ( ) Too lazy to get it done early 16. Are you always on-time for your group me etings? ( ) Yes( ) No 17. If you answered ‘No’, why so: ( ) Don’t keep track of time( ) Busy with other things ( )Things always come up( ) Don’t like to come early 18. How many of your groupmates usually come on-time to group meetings? ( ) All( ) Most( ) Some( ) None Thank you for your time. Figure 7: Equal work distribution pic] Figure 8: Extra task given [pic] Figure 9: Needs long time to complete task [pic] Figure 10: On-time to meetings [pic] REFERENCES Whatley, J. (2009). Ground Rules in Team Projects: Findings from a Prototype System to Support Student. Journal of Information Technology Education, 8, 161-176. Ford, M. & Morice, J. (2003). How Fair are Group Assignments? A Survey of Students and Faculty and a Modest Proposal. Journal of Information Technology Education, 2, 367-378. Gokhale, A. A. (1995). Collaborative Learning Enhances Critical Thinking. Journal of Technology Education, 7(1). Chang, V. (1999). How can conflict within a group be manage d? In K. Martin, N. Stanley and N. Davison (Eds),  Teaching in the Disciplines/ Learning in Context, 59-66. Proceedings of the 8th Annual Teaching Learning Forum, The University of Western Australia, February 1999. Wolfe A. M. (n. d. ). Student Attitudes toward Team Projects. Organizational Behavior. http://www. ilr. cornell. edu/library/research/subjectguides/organizationalbehavior. html Group Behavior. Wikipedia. 10 November 2011. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Group_behaviour Nishan Wimalachandra. Organizational Behavior. www. nishanw. org Jex, S. M. ,& Britt, T. W. (2008). Organizational Psychology: A Scientist-Practitioners Approach. Wiley; 2 Edition.

Free Essays on Jehovahs Witness

Exploratory Essay The religion sect I chose was Jehovah’s Witnesses. The person I interviewed was Miles Carrington, who is an Elder of the church Kingdom Hall. I will first begin talking about the background of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and then elaborate on the interview I conducted with Elder Carrington. Jehovah comes from the ancient manuscript that states God’s name is Jehovah. In Hebrew it is written as YHWH, which means Jehovah. As in Hebrew, it is read from right to left. Witnesses which is said in Isaiah chapter 43 verse 10, â€Å"You are my witnesses, it tells people what to do. It describes what there purpose is and describes what they should do.† And in Revelations chapter 3 verse 14, it says that Jesus Christ is the prime witness of his father Jehovah. The basis of the Jehovah Witnesses comes from second Timothy chapter 3 verses 16-17 â€Å"that all scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work.† Their church meetings are held three times a week regularly. The first meeting is held on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. untill about 9:20 p.m. The beginning subject of the meeting is called the Theocratic Ministry School where speakers speak about specific topics of religion. This service meeting also teaches people how to preach the Gospel. The second meeting is on Sunday from 12:30 p.m. untill 2:30 p.m. The meetings are about an hour long including song and prayer. The beginning portion is called the public meeting which is designed to talk about a vital topic such as family, future, problems, etc. This runs about 45 minutes long. The next part deals with the a magazine that Jehovah Witnesses have called the â€Å"Watch Tower†, which talks about different subjects dealing with similar issues of entertainment, family, etc. During ... Free Essays on Jehovahs Witness Free Essays on Jehovahs Witness Exploratory Essay The religion sect I chose was Jehovah’s Witnesses. The person I interviewed was Miles Carrington, who is an Elder of the church Kingdom Hall. I will first begin talking about the background of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and then elaborate on the interview I conducted with Elder Carrington. Jehovah comes from the ancient manuscript that states God’s name is Jehovah. In Hebrew it is written as YHWH, which means Jehovah. As in Hebrew, it is read from right to left. Witnesses which is said in Isaiah chapter 43 verse 10, â€Å"You are my witnesses, it tells people what to do. It describes what there purpose is and describes what they should do.† And in Revelations chapter 3 verse 14, it says that Jesus Christ is the prime witness of his father Jehovah. The basis of the Jehovah Witnesses comes from second Timothy chapter 3 verses 16-17 â€Å"that all scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work.† Their church meetings are held three times a week regularly. The first meeting is held on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. untill about 9:20 p.m. The beginning subject of the meeting is called the Theocratic Ministry School where speakers speak about specific topics of religion. This service meeting also teaches people how to preach the Gospel. The second meeting is on Sunday from 12:30 p.m. untill 2:30 p.m. The meetings are about an hour long including song and prayer. The beginning portion is called the public meeting which is designed to talk about a vital topic such as family, future, problems, etc. This runs about 45 minutes long. The next part deals with the a magazine that Jehovah Witnesses have called the â€Å"Watch Tower†, which talks about different subjects dealing with similar issues of entertainment, family, etc. During ...

Bishops in the Medieval Christian Church

Bishops in the Medieval Christian Church In the Christian  Church of the Middle Ages, a bishop was the chief pastor of a diocese; that is, an area containing more than one congregation. The bishop was an ordained priest who served as pastor of one congregation and oversaw the administration of any others in his district.   Any church that served as the primary office of a bishop was considered his seat, or cathedra, and was therefore known as a cathedral. The office or rank of a bishop is known as a bishopric. Origins of the term Bishop The word Bishop derives from the Greek epà ­skopos (á ¼ Ãâ‚¬ÃŽ ¯ÃÆ'ÃŽ ºÃŽ ¿Ãâ‚¬ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€š), which meant an overseer, curator or guardian.   The Duties Like any priest, a bishop baptized, performed weddings, gave last rites, settled disputes, and heard confession and absolved. In addition, bishops controlled church finances, ordained priests, assigned clergy to their posts, and dealt with any number of matters pertaining to Church business.   Types of Bishops in Medieval Times An archbishop was a bishop who oversaw several dioceses besides his own. The term metropolitan has sometimes been used for the archbishop of a city.The Pope is the bishop of Rome. The holder of this see was considered the successor to St. Peter, and the office grew in prestige and influence over the first few centuries of the Middle Ages. Before the end of the fifth century, the office was established as the foremost authority in the western Christian Church, and the  bishop of Rome  became known as the father, or papa, or pope.Patriarchs were bishops of particularly important sees in the eastern churches (which, after the Great Schism of 1054, would eventually become known as the Eastern Orthodox Church). This included the apostolic sees those believed to have been founded by Apostles: Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople, and JerusalemCardinal-bishops (now known simply as cardinals) were a privileged class as far back as the 8th century, and only those bishops who had received the red hat (a mark of a cardinal) could elect the pope or become pope. Secular Influence as Well as Spiritual Power Some Christian churches, including the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox, maintain that bishops are the successors of the Apostles; this is known as apostolic succession. As the Middle Ages unfolded, bishops often held secular influence as well as spiritual power thanks in part to this perception of inherited authority.   A Three-Fold Ministry by the Second Century Just exactly when bishops attained a separate identity from presbyters (elders) is unclear, but by the second century C.E, the early Christian Church had evidently established a three-fold ministry of deacons, priests, and bishops. Once the emperor Constantine professed Christianity and began to help followers of the religion, bishops grew in prestige, particularly if the city that constituted their diocese was populous and had a notable number of Christians.   Filling the Void After Collapse of the Roman Empire In the years following the collapse of the western Roman Empire (officially, in 476 C.E.), bishops often stepped in to fill the void secular leaders left behind in unstable areas and depleted cities. While theoretically church officials were supposed to limit their influence to spiritual matters, by answering the needs of society these fifth-century bishops set a precedent, and the lines between church and state would be fairly blurry throughout the rest of the medieval era. The Investiture Controversy Another development that arose out of the uncertainties of early medieval society was the proper selection and investment of clerics, especially bishops and archbishops. Because various dioceses were flung far across Christendom, and the pope was not always easily accessible, it became a fairly common practice for local secular leaders to appoint clerics to replace those who had died (or, rarely, left their offices). But by the late 11th century, the papacy found the influence this gave secular leaders in church matters opprobrious and attempted to ban it. Thus began the Investiture Controversy, a struggle lasting 45 years that, when resolved in favor of the Church, strengthened the papacy at the expense of local monarchies and gave bishops freedom from secular political authorities. The Protestant Reformation When the Protestant churches split from Rome in the Reformation  of the 16th century,  the office of the bishop was rejected by some reformers. This was due in part to the lack of any basis for the office in the New Testament, and in part to the corruption that high clerical offices had been associated with over the preceding few hundred years. Most Protestant churches today have no bishops, although some Lutheran churches in Germany, Scandinavia and the U.S. do, and the Anglican church (which after the break initiated by Henry VIII retained many aspects of Catholicism) also has bishops. Sources and Suggested Reading Eusebius. The History of the Church: From Christ to Constantine. Edited and with an introduction by Andrew Louth; translated by G. A. Williamson, Penguin Classics. John D. Zizioulas. Eucharist, Bishop, Church: The Unity of the Church in the Divine Eucharist and the Bishop During the First Three Centuries.

To Whome do we belong Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

To Whome do we belong - Essay Example nts and tragedies forces an individual to change his true self and wipes away everything he believes in forcing him to acquire a new identity in an unimaginable way. The work of Victor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning, will be used as a reference for the purpose of this paper. Obi was an ordinary Nigerian man, of the Igbo tribe, who was brought up in the best of moral character within the conservative Nigerian cultural setting. His problems began when he undertook a scholarship to further his education in Britain. The Western culture in Britain did not hesitate to influence him to a multi-cultured person, obviously bringing in conflict. In Britain, it was alright to take bribes, to marry a person from any tribe or race and to have sexual relations with them even before marriage. Actually, it was alright to do a lot of things. End of four years of study in Britain and Obi is ready to return to home sweet home. The only problem is the people back home are still the same as he left them four years ago: the same culture, same mind set, same believes, same everything. They do not allow marriage to certain casts (Obi’s girlfriend was from a cast that was considered an outcast, Osu) leaving him with no choice but to perform an abortion for the girl who was carrying his child. Bribery was an abomination and unheard of especially from a son of the village whom the community had made a collection for him to take higher studies so as to come back and help the village people maneuver around the new white-dominated Nigeria. Within a few years, he had changed a lot, but he was the one who changed not the world and now he was back to reality: he has roots as a traditional Nigerian man and uprooting them was hard if not impossible. He had no choice but to adapt to his old ways of life. Within no time, Ibo finds himself a prisoner of his multiple identity in a conflict that would later tear down his whole life; career wise, socially and morally, eventually turning him