Reading Comprehension Lesson Plans for ESL

Reading Comprehension Lesson Plans for ESL There are many reading comprehension and dialogue resources on this site (see list below). Each reading or dialogue contains the selection, key vocabulary and expressions and a follow-up quiz. These exercises are great for individual use on the internet. They can also be incorporated into a lesson plan to help focus on specific grammar or subject areas. The following lesson plan is a blueprint to using these resources for your classes. Aim: Provide context for various grammar or subject areas Activity: Reading / dialogue comprehension Level: Beginner to intermediate Outline: Decide whether youd like to incorporate the reading / dialogue into the lesson or assign as homework.As a class, review the key vocabulary section provided with each reading/dialogue. Make sure students understand this vocabulary. If they dont, ask them to explain it to each other or use a dictionary. As a last resort, explain the word or phrase to the class in your own words.Ask students to read reading/dialogue. If you are using a dialogue, have students first read the dialogue and then pair up to practice reading the dialogue aloud. Have students switch roles and practice a number of times. Go around the class and help students with pronunciation, intonation and stress.Ask students to do the quiz on their computer and keep track of their score. Open up the exercise to discussion. Possible questions: What did you think of this reading? Can you give other examples of this type of situation and which phrases you would use? etc.Key in on vocabulary by having students create a vocabula ry tree. Ask students to add to this tree by working in small groups to find appropriate related vocabulary and phrases. Take each key word or phrase and use in a variety of questions around the class. Encourage students to do the same in small groups. Here is a list of dialogues/reading comprehension resources on the site to use with this type of lesson: Beginner - Lower Intermediate The City and the Country - Comparative form, as ... as Interview with a Famous Actor - Daily routines, present simple Whats in Your Office? - Use of there is / there are, prepositions and office furniture vocabulary What Were You Doing? - Use of the past continuous in combination with the past simple The Oregon Weather Forecast - Use of the future with will for predictions, weather vocabulary A Business Presentation - Use of the present perfect An Interview - Superlative Forms Introductions - Basic questions used when meeting someone for the first time. Filling in a Form - Basic personal information questions (name, address, etc.) The Meeting - Schedules, future plans. A New Office - This, that, some and any with objects. Cooking - Daily routines and hobbies. A Great Workout - Abilities with can, making suggestions. A Busy Day - Plans for the day, responsibilities with have to. Planning a Party - Future with will and going to Intermediate Business English Deliveries and SuppliersTaking a MessagePlacing an OrderTomorrows MeetingDiscussing Ideas English for Medical Purposes Dialogues Troubling Symptoms - Doctor and PatientJoint Pain - Doctor and PatientA Physical Examination - Doctor and PatientPain that Comes and Goes - Doctor and PatientA Prescription - Doctor and PatientHelping a Patient - Nurse and Patient Dialogues Focusing on the Service Industry Cleaning Staff - Vocabulary and requests dealing with cleaning rooms and taking care of guestsA Drink at the Bar - Vocabulary and situations related to serving customers at a bar

Dont Waste Decimate

Dont Waste Decimate Don’t Waste â€Å"Decimate† Don’t Waste â€Å"Decimate† By Maeve Maddox A member of the DWT Forum called my attention to a strange use of the verb â€Å"decimate†: . . . today I came across a . . . usage that was new to me: A pundit said that Obamas failure to get his health care bill passed would have led to the decimation of his presidency. Decimate derives from decem, the Latin word for â€Å"ten.† It originated in a Roman military practice. To enforce discipline in the ranks, Roman officers dealt with a breach of duty by one legionary by punishing the soldier’s entire company. The men would be assembled and told to count off. Every tenth man was killed. The company had been decimated. It would be ridiculous in the 21st century to insist on using decimate only with its original meaning. However, it does make sense to confine the word to the sense of eliminating part of a group. H.W. Fowler stated that the meaning of decimate â€Å"is naturally extended to the destruction in any way of a large proportion of anything reckoned by number, e.g. a population is decimated by the plague. I expect that Fowler would classify â€Å"decimate his presidency† as a Slipshod Extension. Here are some more questionable uses from the web: Irrevocable mistakes can decimate an inherited IRA I hope, no I pray that I am wrong, but tonight, that wonderful audacious inspiring Presidential candidate will politically decimate his presidency and legacy. Bushs star-tinged vision decimated by his own budget And sadly, even with his departure, there remains [sic] far too many, who supported his efforts to decimate our democracy and delay efforts to stop those who lay waste to the world’s climate. Here, also from the internet, are some appropriate uses of decimate: We have to make decisions and deal with the economy. We’re not going to cut, cut, cut,† he said. â€Å"Because we cannot afford to decimate programs across the board. The ruling Zanu PF party continues with a covert plan, hatched by the Joint Operations Command (JOC) soon after the March elections, to completely decimate the MDC structures despite winning the June presidential poll run-off, the opposition party has said. Global Warming Will Decimate Arctic Peoples Decimate is a useful word. The indiscriminate use of it to mean merely â€Å"destroy,† chips away at the special sense of eliminating a large proportion of a group of people or things. Suggested alternatives: the ruination of his presidency mistakes can deplete/demolish/eradicate an inherited IRA politically destroy his presidency and legacy. vision shattered by his own budget who supported his efforts to demolish/exterminate our democracy Careful writers will weigh what they mean by decimate before throwing it into a sentence just because it sounds fashionable. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:What is the Difference Between "These" and "Those"?The Difference Between "will" and "shall"A "Diploma" is not a "Degree"

Integrated Marketing Communications Assignment 2

Integrated Marketing Communications 2 - Assignment Example First class passengers are served breakfast along with afternoon and evening meals. There is an onboard shop serving a range of alcoholic, cold and hot beverages. The train service has been identified in various industry awards. In the year 2010, it was awarded as Year’s Best Rail Operator at Travel Globe Awards. It is also known as one of the most preferred domestic passenger service in the United Kingdom. The trains are known to be environmental friendly as their carbon dioxide emission is 78% less than average domestic flights and 76 % less than cars (Virgin Trains, 2013b). Integrated Marketing communication Integrated marketing communication has become as a major phenomenon since early 1990s. Corporate and marketing communications are few of the critical persuasive factors used by organizations for market connection (Constantinides, 2006). The objective is to deliver certain perception of products, services and brands to consumers, customers and stakeholders. As a result o f the increasing variety of promotional and communication tools, modern day channels are able to disseminate messages in wide forms. According to Kliatchko (2008), â€Å"integrated marketing communication is audience-driven business process of strategically managing stakeholders, content, channels, and results of brand communication programs.† Marketing communication planning or mix can be characterized in the form of its communication strategies in the market. The various ways through which an organization communicates to its market are advertising, sales promotions, personal selling, direct marketing and public relations (Gronroos, 1994; Ferdous, 2008). Advertising Advertising can be described as a non-personal strategy for mass communication offering great level of command for people responsible for design, manufacturing and delivering of advertising messages (Fill, 2006). This message is transmitted in a particular style and manner which best suits the customer as well as management’s requirements. Regular usage of advertising is critical for creation and maintenance of brand personality, especially when it is integrated with other elements of the mix. It is a dominant form of advertising communication for many firms (Panda, 2003). In any case, advertising needs a carrier so that message can be delivered to the desired receiver (Pelsmacker, 2001). Sales promotions Sales promotion is used for delivering the action plans. Sales promotion and advertising harmonize each other as promotion is short term to generate sales and advertising is for long term awareness and relationship building. Sales promotion is also a non-personal form of marketing communication targeting a smaller audience. The techniques include offering better offers and adding value with the objective of future sales. Various presentation kits such as, catalogues, selling aids and brochures, are used for sales staff. Financial mechanisms such as, promotional pricing and incentive s, are used as a push strategy by companies (Young and Aitken, 2007). Public relations Public relations can describe as relationship management between an organization and its various stakeholders. It is an attempt to establish and preserve shared understanding, good relationships and goodwill with the secondary targets,

The effect of first gulf war on the gulf area Essay

The effect of first gulf war on the gulf area - Essay Example The consequence of war causes havoc and mayhem in the environment and ecological systems where battles are fought. The consequences of war are far-reaching not merely from the devastation and destruction of the fighting, but from the long-term repercussions and costs affecting culture, people, lands, water systems, and atmospheric conditions long after the fighting has stopped. Understanding some of the reasons why the first Persian Gulf War was such an environmental destructive war is the intent of this paper. The discussion in the paper will identify some of the effects of the first Gulf War on human life, its impact on animals and plants in the Persian Gulf region, and what made the war so environmentally reprehensible. The Persian Gulf War: â€Å"The Mother of all Wars† The â€Å"Persian Gulf War† fought in the Persian Gulf between August 2, 1990 and February 28, 1991 was a military effort fought in Iraq, Kuwait, and the Saudi-Arabian peninsula in the Middle East. T he claims that Kuwait a former British colony was illegally extracting oil out of Iraqi territory ignited the fighting between Iraq and Kuwait. In response, international military forces were assembled in efforts to stop the action and a United Nations coalition headed by the United States and 34 other nations from around the world converged on the Middle East using aerial, ground, and chemical weapons of warfare. The number of military lives loss in the Gulf War continues to be debated and estimating the number of civilian lives loss is relatively impossible. However, the casualties of war are not only the loss of human life, but also include the demise of governments, economies, infrastructures, and other support systems in the countries in which fighting occur. The list of the casualties or losses of war can include the physical and emotional health of people, the resurgence of future generations, the use of lands, the loss of minerals, and domination from outside military forces . The stress of fighting depletes and weakens the natural properties of the environment destroying Natures ability to regenerate properties loss during times of war. The evidence that the effects of the Persian Gulf War are obvious, in retrospect and continues to manifest themselves as the area undergoes yet more destruction and devastation with the environment as its most vulnerable victim. The â€Å"Mother of all Wars† as Saddam Hussein described it was such a war of destruction that the aftermath of devastation continues to unfold in the Middle East. Tracking the wreckage, the most telltale signs and evidence of the magnitude of the destruction the Gulf War had on the environment is the erosion and depletion of the land masses in the areas. The damage whether intention or consequential resulted in irreversible damage to the region. The aftermath of the fighting continues to plague the area jeopardizing the health and well being of future generations. Whereas the fighting w as primarily between Iraq and Kuwait the influence and impact of the fighting was experienced by military support from various nations from around the world and in neighboring countries adjacent to Iraq and Kuwait in the Persian Gulf. The map shows the general region in

Impact of Chronic Pain on Suicidal Thoughts

Impact of Chronic Pain on Suicidal Thoughts Abstract This research paper discusses the impact of chronic pain on the suicide attempts. It includes the prevalence and risk of suicidal ideation associated with chronic pain. The paper implicated the selection of work which identifies the psychological processes which are implicated in both the suicide literature and pain in relation to increased rate of suicidality. Although, this paper investigates impact of chronic pain on suicide[H1]; there is an immense need of programmatic research for the investigation of both pain and general specific factors of risk for examining the processes of psychology associated with it, and for the development of enhancing intervention to facilitate the patients in pain. How Does Chronic Pain Impact Suicide Victims Introduction The paper is intended to research the impact of chronic pain on suicide attempt. Throughout the world, suicide is endemic with varying methods and rates. The World Health Organization estimated the recorded suicide deaths in all over the world which represents 1.8% of all the deaths and is approximately 873000 per annum[1]. Rates of prevalence for suicidal ideation and fatal suicide attempts are very high. In a survey conducted in USA, the population indicated that 13.5 percent of respondents have had some kind of suicidal ideation experience in past, and 4.6 percent attempted suicide. These statistics give both the indication of the major issue of management and the index of distress. It signifies the increased consumption of health care, the economic costs related to the lives which are lost, and the immense personal suffering. The risk factors of suicide associated with pain and the behavior of suicide are remained difficult to differentiate as which one is most vulnerable. It is due to the fact that individuals completing and attempting suicide are represented by heterogeneous group which encompass to those with some disorders related to psychiatry like schizophrenia or depression, those with personality disorder or substance abuse issues, and those depilating and experiencing physical and chronic illness[2]. For maximizing the potential identification of the impact of chronic pain on suicide and preventing the deaths which could be avoidable, it is required to study not only the commonalities but also the risk factors which contribute to the suicidal ideation development across suicidal individuals. Chronic pain One out of every five adults, who attend basic medical care during any stage of a year, has been found suspected of having chronic non-malignant pain and it has been a common health related problem[3]. This problem is associated with lack of physical fitness, lower health conditions and poor quality of life. This problem has also been linked with the risks of increasing depression. After negative results of all medical treatments, the impact of chronic pain affect patients’ lives drastically, therefore, the patients of chronic pain convince themselves for committing a suicide attempt as they feel limited or no other choice. The suicide attempt concerning with these patients has been one out of seven solutions to their problem that are conceivable. Unluckily these facts have some truth. Some suggestions have been reviewed in the existing literature and these suggestions have proposed that the ideation of suicide is common in people who suffered from chronic pain. The occurrence of suicidal ideation has been found three times higher in chronic pain patients as compared to those who did not suffer from chronic pain[4]. There are a number of studies that avoid collective explanation of the findings due to the varied samples and suicide assessment methods. But some studies have indicated the existence of suicidal ideation at the rate of 7% in individuals having chronic pain, who were observed during a multi-disciplinary rehabilitation program in a hospital[5]. The researchers also observed the out-patients of hospital and recorded between 5 to 24 percent rate among chronic pain patients. The lifetime existence of suicidal ideation has been observed in 20 percent of patients, which shows no major difference between a community sample and treatment seeking individuals’ results. Another study revealed more significance and observed a group of members of a chronic pain self-help organization. The study resulted that around 50% individuals of that group had serious consideration of suicidality. Four different studies have recorded the existence of suicidality among chronic pain patients. These existing inadequate and limited data related to suicidality in chronic pain patients reveals that contribution of pain has been 4% of all the deliberate self-harm patients in UK’s general hospitals. The data also reveals that 60% of the patients were those who had been suffering from pain for the last six months or more[6]. The lifetime existence of suicidality has been observed from 5% in patients with musculoskeletal disorder, up to 14% in patients with chronic abdominal pain. The rate of suicidality has been recorded as high as double in patients with chronic pain, as compared to those who did not have chronic pain. According to a pain centre in the United States, the prevalence of suicidality was calculated and recorded with a rate of 23 patients out of every one hundred thousand people every year[7]. This rate does not seem to be as high as has been in psychiatric patients, but it is 2 to 3 times higher the rate found in general public. Two different studies related to suicidality have related the pain with the existence of high risks of suicidality in patients who had pain. The first study that was based on a ten year longitudinal observation of farmers revealed that patients of back pain had nine times higher risk of committing suicide as compared to those who did not have back pain. The results remain unchanged even after controlled usage of smoking, social status and getting older[8]. The second study that was based on an eight year longitudinal observation, revealed that patients with wide spread body pain or complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) had twice the risk of suicidality, violence and accident. Impact of Chronic Pain in Suicide Attempts Family History of Suicide A number of studies related to suicidality have recognized a strong relationship between the existence of suicidality and family history in patients[9]. Another study revealed that the there was 7 to 8 times high risk of occurrence of suicidal ideation in patients with chronic pain who had a family history of existence of suicidality as compared to those chronic pain patients who did not have a family history of suicidality and this remained unchanged even after significant adjustments in other covariates such as depression. Despite this relationship, the suicidality has not been significantly evaluated in other studies, in connection with the affects of family history[10]. The available data about suicidality has been unsuccessful towards the assessment of family history of suicidality which is another risk element for completed and attempted suicidality in patients with chronic pain. Previous Suicide Attempt A number of studies have confirmed that previous attempts of suicidality have played a major role in the development of consequent risk of suicidal attempts in chronic pain patients, in addition to depression’s effects or other covariates. The results observed converse results in depressed patients who did not have chronic pain. The studies established the outcome by stating that depressed patients who had chronic pain were twice as likely to have attempted suicide at least once in the past[11]. Different available studies related to suicidality have confirmed that previous suicidality attempts might be the cause of motivation towards further suicidality attempts and completed suicidality. However the available data has not been successful in assessing the patients with chronic patients. Being Female According to two different studies, female chronic pain patients have been more risks of suicidal ideation than male chronic pain patients[12]. These findings have been surprising because of the fact that ratio of suicidal attempts have been more found in men than women in the western world. However two different studies with comparatively smaller data samples have presented no significant statistical difference in data during the observation of suicidality in both genders[13]. Another possibility of higher occurrence of suicidality in females might be because of the fact that these data samples of population had overrepresentation of female with pain or rheumatoid arthritis disorder. Presence of Co-Morbid Depression According to four different studies, depression has played a major role in developing the risk of suicidal ideation in patients who had chronic pain[14]. In fact, the high co-morbidity between depression and pain; and between depression and suicide has not been a surprising finding because the depression has not always been helpful in predicting the suicidality in chronic pain patients[15]. Studies have also revealed that some of the patients with chronic pain, who also had depression, did not have suicidal ideation. Pain Specific Risk Factors Location and type of pain Location and type of pain might increase the risk of suicidality in patients. Several studies have confirmed that location of pain such as presence of back pain or widespread body pain have been among several causes of higher risk of suicidality as compared to those who did not have pain. Different types of pain with diverse characteristics and level of severity have been recognized as convincing in predicting the suicidal ideation. Patients who had migraine with aura have been found to be twice at risk of having suicidal ideation as compared to those who had migraine without aura, regardless of the existence of co-morbid depression[16]. Patients with abdominal pain have more risk of having suicidal ideation while patients with neuropathic pain were less vulnerable in terms of suicidal ideation. A study based on a mixed group of chronic pain patients revealed higher suicidal risk when compared with controls. But the data presented no difference between fibromyalgia patients and contr ols when each one of the group was separately examined[17]. The available data confirm the vitality of the studies in relation to the effects of different subtypes of pain on suicidality of patients. High Pain Intensity There has been a reasonable assumption that the high intensity of pain has a relationship with the degree of suicidality. Two different studies have observed the pain intensity in relation with suicidality. The first one revealed a significant relationship in both of them, while the other study found no relationship between pain severity and suicidal ideation[18]. Therefore, this shows the need of more clearer and helpful research so that the relationship between pain intensity and suicidality could better be understood. Long Pain Duration Long pain duration in a patient is likely to increase the risk of suicidal ideation. Patients with longer than three months duration of pain were examined against another group of patients with less than three months duration of pain on a range of psychological variables such as patients’ likelihood of suicidal ideation[19]. The study revealed that the risk of suicidality was higher in patients who had prolonged rheumatoid arthritis whereas those with less than three months of rheumatoid arthritis were comparatively at lesser risk of suicidality. Presence of Co-Morbid Insomnia Insomnia has been one the significant factors towards existence and absence of suicidality in patient with chronic pain[20]. The study also confirmed that patients with severe insomnia along with associated daytime dysfunction and greater pain intensity were more vulnerable to suicidal ideation. The severity of sleep-out insomnia has been found with 67% of the variance. The studies have been consistent in confirming the earlier researches that presented higher existence of insomnia and sleep disorders towards suicidality and give extra weight to the significance of the study of interaction present between the non pain specific and pain specific factors of risk while suicidality is investigated among patients of chronic pain[21]. Conclusion Patients who have suicidal ideation generally utilize primary health care services at a higher rate than those who have psychosocial health problems without suicidal ideation. Some health problems specific to patients with suicidal ideation are sleep disorder, bad smoking habits and more psychiatric symptoms than those who have not suicidal ideation but have psychosocial stressors. All of these associated problems and habits tend to contribute towards more discomfort in patients and more repeated visits. This research paper has given an overview of the features and the prevalence of the inter relationships existed between mental ill health and physical ill health along with suicide. It is clear that the chronic pain has a significant impact of suicide attempts therefore greater attention of policy is required and the provision of service is needed for the improvement of condition. Chronic pain has been identified as a major risk factor for patients towards suicidality, causing 13% of patients to have suicidal ideation. Around 19% of patients were those who reported non-suicidal morbid ideation. There is an urgent necessity of programmatic research to investigate both the pain and general specific factors of risk for examining the processes of psychology associated with it, and for the development of enhancing intervention to facilitate the patients in pain. Result In relation to controls, the risk of reaching to death by suicide is found to be doubled at least in the cases of chronic pain. There was life time prevalence of suicidal attempts between 5 percent and 14 percent of individuals which have experienced chronic pain, and suicidal ideation prevalence is about 20 percent. There are eight factors of risk for suicidalty in the chronic pain, inclusive of duration, intensity and type of pain and the sleep on set insomnia associated with pain, hence it is pain specific. References Courtenay E. Cavanaugh, Jill Theresa Messing, Melissa Del-Colle, Chris O’Sullivan and Jacquelyn C. Campbell. Prevalence and Correlates of Suicidal Behavior among Adult Female Victims of Intimate Partner Violence. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 2011. 372-383. Igor Elman , David Borsook, and Nora D. Volkow. Pain and Suicidality: Insights from Reward and Addiction Neuroscience. Progress in Neurobiology, 2013. 1-27. Afton L. Hassett, Jordan K. Aquino, Mark A. Ilgen. The Risk of Suicide Mortality in Chronic Pain Patients. Current Pain and Headache Reports, 2014. 1-7. Johannes Krause. Tim,Bogerts. Bernhard, andGenz. Axel. Risk Factors for Suicide–An Alternative View. CNS Neurological Disorders-Drug Targets (Formerly Current Drug Targets-CNS Neurological Disorders), 2013. 936-940. Kowal. John, Wilson Keith G., Henderson. Peter R., McWilliams Lachlan A. Change in Suicidal Ideation After Interdisciplinary Treatment of Chronic Pain. Clinical Journal of Pain, 2014. 463-471. Amy R. Murrell, Rawya Al-Jabari, Danielle Moyer, Eliina Novamo, Melissa L. Connall. An Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Approach to Adolescent Suicide. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL CONSULTATION AND THERAPY, 2014. Emilie Olià ©, Hilario Blasco-Fontecilla, Philippe CourtetTop of Form Bottom of Form . Pain in Suicidal Ideations and Behaviors. In Mental Health and Pain. Springer Paris, 2014. 183-190. Michael R Philips, and Hui G Cheng. The Changing Global Face of Suicide. Lancet, 2012. 2318-2319. [1] Emilie Olià ©, Hilario Blasco-Fontecilla, Philippe Courtet. Pain in Suicidal Ideations and Behaviors. [2] Afton L. Hassett, Jordan K. Aquino, Mark A. Ilgen. The Risk of Suicide Mortality in Chronic Pain Patients. [3] Kowal. John, Wilson Keith G., Henderson. Peter R., McWilliams Lachlan A. Change in Suicidal Ideation After Interdisciplinary Treatment of Chronic Pain. [4] Igor Elman , David Borsook, and Nora D. Volkow. Pain and Suicidality: Insights from Reward and Addiction Neuroscience. [5] Michael R Philips, and Hui G Cheng. The Changing Global Face of Suicide. [6] Amy R. Murrell, Rawya Al-Jabari, Danielle Moyer, Eliina Novamo, Melissa L. Connall. An Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Approach to Adolescent Suicide. [7] Courtenay E. Cavanaugh, Jill Theresa Messing, Melissa Del-Colle, Chris O’Sullivan and Jacquelyn C. Campbell. Prevalence and Correlates of Suicidal Behavior among Adult Female Victims of Intimate Partner Violence. [8] Johannes Krause. Tim,Bogerts. Bernhard, andGenz. Axel. Risk Factors for Suicide–An Alternative View. [9] Afton L. Hassett, Jordan K. Aquino, Mark A. Ilgen. The Risk of Suicide Mortality in Chronic Pain Patients. [10] Igor Elman , David Borsook, and Nora D. Volkow. Pain and Suicidality: Insights from Reward and Addiction Neuroscience. [11] Courtenay E. Cavanaugh, Jill Theresa Messing, Melissa Del-Colle, Chris O’Sullivan and Jacquelyn C. Campbell. Prevalence and Correlates of Suicidal Behavior among Adult Female Victims of Intimate Partner Violence. [12] Michael R Philips, and Hui G Cheng. The Changing Global Face of Suicide. [13] Emilie Olià ©, Hilario Blasco-Fontecilla, Philippe CourtetTop of Form Bottom of Form . Pain in Suicidal Ideations and Behaviors. In Mental Health and Pain. [14] Michael R Philips, and Hui G Cheng. The Changing Global Face of Suicide. [15] Amy R. Murrell, Rawya Al-Jabari, Danielle Moyer, Eliina Novamo, Melissa L. Connall. An Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Approach to Adolescent Suicide. [16] Johannes Krause. Tim,Bogerts. Bernhard, andGenz. Axel. Risk Factors for Suicide–An Alternative View. [17] Afton L. Hassett, Jordan K. Aquino, Mark A. Ilgen. The Risk of Suicide Mortality in Chronic Pain Patients. [18] Michael R Philips, and Hui G Cheng. The Changing Global Face of Suicide. [19] Johannes Krause. Tim,Bogerts. Bernhard, andGenz. Axel. Risk Factors for Suicide–An Alternative View. [20] Kowal. John, Wilson Keith G., Henderson. Peter R., McWilliams Lachlan A. Change in Suicidal Ideation After Interdisciplinary Treatment of Chronic Pain. [21] Emilie Olià ©, Hilario Blasco-Fontecilla, Philippe Courtet. Pain in Suicidal Ideations and Behaviors. [H1]How the heck does pain struck suicide?

Gary Kelly Essay

Mr. Gary Kelly is the chief executive officer, CEO, of Southwest Airlines. Mr. Kelly was the chief financial officer, CFO, for Southwest Airlines from 1989 until 2004. He has served as the CEO of Southwest Airlines since 2004. I will provide concrete examples of how Southwest Airlines displays its corporate culture. I will describe what traits and skills Mr. Kelly possess which make him an effective leader. I will identify the core competencies of Southwest Airlines. â€Å"According to Herb Kelleher, Southwest started on focusing on people as people and identifying them as valuable assets of the company. Herb Kelleher and his management team emphasize an easy going relaxed corporate style that provides employees with extensive operational independence. Southwest’s culture, which emphasizes employees as the airline’s â€Å"first customers† and passengers as the second, has been integral to Southwest’s success†. (Smith) The concept of treating your customers well and your employees better is not a new concept, by any means. The trouble with that concept occurs when the company loses touch with the people that actually pay the salaries, the customer. I have worked for a company, that no longer exists, that treated their upper managers like royalty; the IT person drove a company car that was a brand new Hummer. All of the profit went to bling and not back into the company. â€Å"The skills and traits that he possesses are human resourcing. Making sure his team has all the proper training knowledge and knows how to make his customers happy. He also believes in making sure his people (employees) are even happier. They are the key to making his business a success, if your employees are happy there is no reason why your customers will want to come back and be serviced by them. Kelly is a great decision maker in these trying economic times. With his decision making skills led him to the innovative idea of bags fly free. Tag that up with his leadership skills and there is no reason why this  company wouldn’t be a success†. (Shaw, 2013) I read somewhere that Mr. Kelly would hold cookouts for his people and that the overnight crews got upset because, due to scheduling, they could not attend. Kelly’s solution; the pilots and he held cookouts for the overnight crews at 2:00 am. That way the crews could enjoy the fruits of their hard work. Talk about insuring employee loyalty; WOW! The core competencies of Southwest Airlines that I was able to find are locking up fuel hedging contracts, keeping cost down through fast turnaround times, flying only one type of aircraft, treating customers like kings and queens, and treating employees even better than the customers. By locking up fuel hedging contracts, Southwest was able to pay less for the fuel than other competing airlines. While facing possible layoffs, Kelly challenged his ground crews to reduce the turnaround times from 55 minutes to 15 minutes. The crews were at to achieve that goal and eliminated the possibility of layoffs. By having a fleet of only having Boeing 737s, Southwest has been able to keep maintenance cost extremely low. Southwest has had their flight attendants play games with their customers, while in flight. An example of this is the flight attendants would say that the first customer to show them that they were wearing socks with a hole in them would receive a free round trip ticket anywhere that Southwest flew. As for treating their employees better than the customer; the whole cookout idea pretty much covers that core competency. I have provided concrete examples of how Southwest Airlines display its corporate culture. I had explained the traits and skills that make Gary Kelly an effective leader. I had identified the core competencies of Southwest Airline. With what I have learned about Gary Kelly and Southwest Airlines, the more companies and their leadership that try to immolate him, the more satisfying being a customer would become. References Shaw. (2013, May 24). http://www.antiessays.com/. Retrieved October 8, 2013, from Anti Essay: http://www.antiessays.com/free-essays/476967.html Smith, G. (n.d.). An evaluation of the corporate culture of Southwest Airlines. Measuring Business Excellence, 8(4), pp. 26-33.

The Differences Between Communism and Socialism

The difference between communism and socialism is not conveniently clear-cut. The two terms are often used interchangeably, but these economic and political theories are not the same. Both communism and socialism arose from protests against the exploitation of the working class during the Industrial Revolution. While applications of their economic and social policies vary, several modern countries—all ideologically opposed to capitalism—are perceived as either communist or socialist. In order to understand contemporary political debates, its important to know the similarities and the differences between communism and socialism. Communism vs. Socialism In both communism and socialism, the people own the factors of economic production. The main difference is that under communism, most property and economic resources are owned and controlled by the state (rather than individual citizens); by contrast, under socialism, all citizens share equally in all economic resources as allocated by a democratically-elected government. This difference and others are outlined in the table below. Communism vs. Socialism Attribute Communism Socialism Basic Philosophy From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs. From each according to his ability, to each according to his contribution. Economy Planned By Central government Central government Ownership of Economic Resources All economic resources are publicly owned and controlled by the government. Individuals hold no personal property or assets. Individuals own personal property but all industrial and production capacity is communally owned and managed by a democratically elected government. Distribution of Economic Production Production is intended to meet all basic human needs and is distributed to the people at no charge. Production is intended to meet individual and societal needs and distributed according to individual ability and contribution. Class Distinction Class is abolished. The ability to earn more than other workers is almost nonexistent. Classes exist but differences are diminished. It is possible for some people to earn more than others. Religion Religion is effectively abolished. Freedom of religion is allowed. Key Similarities Communism and socialism both grew out of grass-roots opposition to the exploitation of workers by wealthy businesses during the Industrial Revolution. Both assume that all goods and services will be produced by government-controlled institutions or collective organizations rather than by privately-owned businesses. In addition, the central government is mainly responsible for all aspects of economic planning, including matters of supply and demand. Key Differences Under communism, the people are compensated or provided for based on their needs. In a pure communist society, the government provides most or all food, clothing, housing and other necessities based on what it considers the needs of the people. Socialism is based on the premise the people will be compensated based on the level of their individual contribution to the economy. Effort and innovation are thus rewarded under socialism. Pure Communism Definition Pure communism is an economic, political, and social system in which most or all property and resources are collectively owned by a class-free society rather than by individual citizens. According to the theory developed by German philosopher, economist, and political theorist Karl Marx in his classic 1848 book, â€Å"The Communist Manifesto,† pure communism results in a society in which all people are equal and there is no need for money or the accumulation of individual wealth. There is no private ownership of economic resources, with a central government controlling all facets of production. Economic output is distributed according to the needs of the people. Social friction between white and blue-collar workers and between rural and urban cultures will be eliminated, freeing each person to achieve his or her highest human potential. Under pure communism, the central government provides the people with all basic necessitates, such as food, housing, education, and medical care, thus allowing the people to share equally from the benefits of collective labor. Free access to these necessities depends on constant advances in technology contributing to ever-greater production. In 1875, Marx coined the phrase used to summarize communism, â€Å"From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.† Pure Socialism Definition Pure socialism is an economic system under which each individual—through a democratically elected government—is given an equal share of the four factors or economic production: labor, entrepreneurship, capital goods, and natural resources. In essence, socialism is based on the assumption that all people naturally want to cooperate, but are restrained from doing so by the competitive nature of capitalism. Socialism is an economic system where everyone in society equally owns the factors of production. The ownership is acquired through a democratically elected government. It could also be a cooperative or public corporation in which everyone owns shares. Again, the four factors of production under socialism are labor, entrepreneurship, capital goods, and natural resources. As in a command economy, the socialist government employs centralize planning to allocate resources based on both the needs of individuals and society as a whole. Economic output is distributed according to each individual’s ability and level of contribution. In 1980, American author and sociologist Gregory Paul paid homage to Marx in coining the phrase commonly used to describe socialism, â€Å"From each according to his ability, to each according to his contribution.†Ã‚   What Is a Socialist Democracy? Democratic socialism is an economic, social, and political ideology holding that while both the society and economy should be run democratically, they should be dedicated to meeting the needs of the people as a whole, rather than encouraging individual prosperity as in capitalism. Democratic socialists advocate the transition of society from capitalism to socialism through existing participatory democratic processes, rather than revolution as characterized by orthodox Marxism. Universally-used services, such as housing, utilities, mass transit, and health care are distributed by the government, while consumer goods are distributed by a capitalistic free market.   The latter half of the 20th century saw the emergence of a more moderate version of socialist democracy advocating a mixture of socialist and capitalist control of all means of economic production supplemented by extensive social welfare programs to help provide the basic needs of the people. What Is Green Socialism? As a recent outgrowth of the environmental movement and the climate change debate, green socialism or â€Å"eco-socialism† places its economic emphasis on the maintenance and utilization of natural resources. This is achieved largely through government ownership of the largest, most resource consumptive corporations. The use of â€Å"green† resources, such as renewable energy, public transit, and locally sourced food is emphasized or mandated. Economic production focuses on meeting the basic needs of the people, rather than a wasteful excess of unneeded consumer goods. Green socialism often offers a guaranteed minimum livable income to all citizens regardless of their employment status. Communist Countries It is difficult to classify countries as being either communist or socialist. Several countries, while ruled by the Communist Party, declare themselves to be socialist states and employ many aspects of socialist economic and social policy. Three countries typically considered communist states—mainly due to their political structure—are Cuba, China, and North Korea. China The Communist Party of China owns and strictly controls all industry, which operates solely to generate profits for the government through its successful and growing export of consumer goods. Health care and primary through higher education are run by the government and provided free of charge to the people. However, housing and property development operate under a highly competitive capitalist system. Cuba   The Communist Party of Cuba owns and operates most industries, and most of the people work for the state. Government-controlled health care and primary through higher education are provided free. Housing is either free or heavily subsidized by the government. North Korea Ruled by the Communist Party until 1946, North Korea now operates under a â€Å"Socialist Constitution of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea.† However, the government owns and controls all farmland, workers, and food distribution channels. Today, the government provides universal health and education for all citizens. Private ownership of property is forbidden. Instead, the government grants people the right to government-owned and assigned homes. Socialist Countries Once again, most modern countries that identify themselves to be socialist may not strictly follow the economic or social systems associated with pure socialism. Instead, most countries generally considered socialist actually employ the policies of democratic socialism. Norway, Sweden, and Denmark all employ similar predominantly socialist systems. The democratically chosen governments of all three countries provide free health care, education, and lifetime retirement income. As a result, however, their citizens pay some of the world’s highest taxes. All three countries also have highly successful capitalist sectors. With most of their needs provided by their governments, the people see little need to accumulate wealth. As a result, about 10% of the people hold more than 65 percent of each nation’s wealth. Sources and Further Reference Engels, Frederick (1847). Principles of Communism.†Bukharin, Nikoli. (1920). The ABCs of Communism.†Lenin, Vladimir (1917). The State and Revolution Chapter 5, Section 3.The Difference Between Communism and Socialism. Investopedia (2018).Marx, Karl (1875). The Critique of the Gotha Programme (From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs)Paul, Gregory and Stuart, Robert C. Comparing Economic Systems in the Twenty-First Century. Cengage Learning (1980). ISBN: 9780618261819.Heilbroner, Robert. Socialism. Library of Economics and Liberty. Kallie Szczepanski  contributed to this article.