MBA Sample Essay - What Matters Most to You

What matters most to you and why?I must confess that, until I read this application question, I had never given much thought to determining exactly what I consider most important in my life. I believe I am one of many applicants who confront this question without a ready-made answer, and I am astonished by the realization that so many of us lead our lives without reflecting on our roles. That is all the more perplexing when we consider that many of these individuals are businesspeople, that is, individuals entrusted with disseminating their companies visions and missions.So I took some time over the past few weeks to reflect on my personal history, present context, and future plans. By carefully analyzing my actions, attitudes, and behaviors, I have finally come up with a solid answer to this complex question. My priority, to put it rather succinctly, is a lifelong pursuit to improve myself as a human being.Greek philosophers divided the human essence into a trilogy of mind, spirit, and body, and I find this a useful framework to break my life down into its three major dimensions: professional, spiritual, and personal. In my quest for self-improvement, I seek to make progress in each of those areas.THE PROFESSIONAL DIMENSIONFor me, work itself is not a goal unto itself; rather, it is a mean to achieve my objectives. Nevertheless, it is a very important aspect of my life; on average, after all, 40% of our time is spent on duty. Besides financial rewards, work gives me the opportunity to refine and share knowledge, build relationships, help people, overcome personal challenges, grow as a professional, and participate in a social environment.For example, I feel proud of my ability to work with different people, even if they are difficult to deal with. When I was an Executive Trainee in HSBC, I supervised the work of a younger trainee, Aline, in the Credit Scoring Team. After her first weeks at work, everybody considered Aline a person with good performance but wit h a difficult personality. Although I agreed that she exhibited an overly aggressive behavior, I managed to conquer her respect. Even though I consider myself an usually impatient individual, I learned the importance of tolerance—two months after I left HSBC, I heard that she had been fired for her attitude.My flexibility is related to my eagerness to contribute to the learning environment of my workplace. While working in the Commercial Department of Samarco, for instance, I was part of a team that developed an Intranet site to inform our colleagues about the market, customers, and competitors. At HSBC, I co-founded a study group to learn about the financial market.Although those initiatives were valuable, another important accomplishment taught me how professional determination and adaptability can result in rewards of a more personal nature. In 1997, I started working as a teacher at a new computer school. In order to attract new students, the school set low fees and grant ed scholarships. Thus, students were usually poor, not very well educated, and responsible for supporting their families. They placed their hopes for a better life on learning computer skills.At first, I was intimidated. I had no previous work experience, and teaching a class of 24 would be a challenge unto itself. As classes went by, I developed a great relationship with the students. I often spent extra time with them and became a sort of counselor. Seeing them progress from hardly using a mouse to creating complex worksheets just four months later was enormously rewarding. Many found better jobs or were promoted. In the last class, they gave me the most precious thank-you card I have ever received: it was simple, yet heart-felt. Besides improving my communication skills and sharing my knowledge, I learned to work with people from different backgrounds and to establish nurturing relationships. Most importantly, I proved to myself that I can be useful to my community, and I realize d that helping others brings the greatest rewards imaginable.This ability to adapt has allowed me to create a valuable network that crosses many industry boundaries, from mining and metallurgical companies to banking and telecommunications. A few months ago, for example, a Bain colleague was having a hard time developing a credit policy for a client, and I was able to contact a friend at HSBC who could help my colleague with his project. That episode reminded me that friendship, besides being a source of pleasure, can be a great resource in difficult situations.These achievements, combined with my other professional successes, have helped to shape me not only on a business level, but also on a personal level. As I plan out my next career steps, I seek a diverse environment that will allow me to continue this multi-track development. I believe that Stanfords MBA program is a perfect match for this expectation, since it would go far beyond presenting me with intellectual challenges: i t would further develop my interpersonal skills, enhance my network, and balance my strong analytical background.THE SPIRITUAL DIMENSIONI come from a religious family, which taught me early on the importance of contemplation. Since my teenage years, I have developed a keen interest in authors who seek to present overarching theories about life. Writers like Neale Donald Walsch, Brian Weiss, Deepak Chopra, and James Van Praagh have introduced me to some unconventional theories about the meaning of life. Walsch, for instance, believes that all living beings together comprise the figure of God. His theories have opened my mind to different concepts, and through them I have realized that we should not limit our vision of life to a single, pre-conceived notion.This open-mindedness, coupled with my interest in spiritual matters, has led me to develop a keen interest in other religions. As a high school exchange student in Tennessee, I spent six months with a family that played an active r ole in the local Methodist church; later on, in Europe, I attended a Baptist church in order to better understand the liturgical differences between the different sects of Protestantism. All along, I have managed to maintain the principles of ethics and integrity which my Jesuit-run school in Brazil instilled in me.At Stanford, I will share these spiritual perspectives with fellows and professors. The schools diverse pool of students, featuring different religions and personal beliefs, will in turn enrich my own experiences; through them, I hope to acquire new points of view about the most complex and divergent dimension of life.THE PERSONAL DIMENSIONI come from a typical well-structured Brazilian family. My father runs his own business, and my mother gave up her job when I was born in order to raise me and my younger sister, Flà ¡via, in the best way she could. I am privileged to belong to a family that could afford to send me to private elementary and high schools, since in Brazi l public schools are tragically inadequate (although public universities are generally excellent). Given this good fortune, I feel a moral obligation to assist those less fortunate than myself. To date, I have tried to fulfill this obligation through volunteer work such as helping the homeless during an unusual cold weather in southern Brazil. In the future, I plan to create jobs for people and, together with my future wife, to run a charity house for children in Northeastern Brazil, the countrys poorest region.This willingness to travel far and wide in pursuit of my goals has given me a geographical mobility which has helped to broaden my social awareness. I have already lived in three different Brazilian cities—Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, and Sà £o Paulo—each of which plays a major role in the Brazilian economy. Each possesses a distinct economy, culture, and history, but the three share the scarcities and community needs typical of urban areas in developing countries .I grew up keenly aware of such needs. When I was a child, my parents often took me to visit the small towns where my grandparents lived. Campos Gerais, the one I know best, is a very poor rural town where as a child I experienced the total absence of electricity. By interacting with these communities, I learned to value the most basic commodities. Elsewhere, I constantly sought to enrich my experience and improve my understanding of my country and its complexities. This social insight has shaped the way I think about business, and I am determined to share it with my business school peers.My solid relationship with my fiancà ©e, Renata, whom I will marry next year, is surely the most important aspect of my entire life. Renata is a young doctor, and her background balances my perspectives. We have been together for over 6 years, and during this period has shown me the value of the true love. Moreover, Renata is the type of person who sticks to details that usually escape me. Through her influence, I have learned to appreciate each moment of life with the highest intensity. A few weeks ago, I woke her up in the middle of the night just to show her how bright and beautiful the full moon was—something I would never have paid attention to before I met her. Furthermore, I deeply admire her efforts in the hospitals where she works, and I am immensely proud of the determination with which she approaches the difficult obligations of the medical profession.Renata and I share a love of sports, which I have always been passionate about. I placed second in a state-wide judo championship in Minas Gerais, and I regularly practice skydiving, scuba diving, rock climbing, spelunking, and sailplane flying. By challenging myself, I acquire a more clear perception of my own limits, both physical and psychological. As a typical Brazilian, I am passionate about soccer, playing it at least twice a week. I have found that sports are a great way to make friends, and at Stanford , I look forward to joining The Outdoors Club and teaching peers how to play Peteca (a sport using shuttlecocks, very popular in my home state of Minas Gerais).This interest in sports is closely connected with my passion for nature, and specifically for fauna. Through my membership in Ambiente-MG, an entity that seeks to study and disseminate practices of how to use natural resources wisely, I have become very concerned about the criminal destruction of nature. I believe that mankind must progress consciously, taking good care of the environment. In Brazil, by visiting the Tamar project, which aims to protect marine turtles from extinction, I learned that individual action is the building block of change; with every turtle that is saved, the Tamar project makes significant progress in its ambitious quest.Given this multitude of interests and concerns, this is my ultimate aspiration: to look back seven decades from now and feel proud about my achievements. I feel that so far I have b een able to successfully balance the professional, spiritual, and personal dimensions of my life, but I am aware that I must work hard to make myself the very best person I can be to my family and to the world.At Stanford, I will pursue not only the top-notch graduate business education crucial for my future career goals, but also the even more important challenge of life experience. The Stanford MBA program fulfills my expectations in every sphere, and I am confident that its stimulating curriculum and dynamic environment will make an invaluable contribution to my pursuit of self-improvement.

Financial Accounting Regulation in the United Kingdom essays

Financial Accounting Regulation in the United Kingdom essays In the U.K., the  ¡statement of intent on accounting standards ¡Ã‚ ¯ was issued in 1969 by the council of the ICAEW. The statement announced that standards would be produced in the future, with four objectives. Firstly, to narrow the difference and variety in accounting principles. Secondly, to disclosure the accounting bases. The third one is the disclosure of departure from established standards and the finally, is the wider exposure for major new accounting proposals. To this end, the Accounting Standards Steering Committee ( ASSC ) [ Later the name was changed to the Accounting Standards Committee (ASC) ] was set up by the ICAW to improve accounting disclosure. Since 1971, recommendations from professional accounting bodies have been in the form of Statement of Standard Accounting Practice ( SSAPs). Edey points out that the standards that have been produced fall into four types. Type 1 standards is one that states companies must tell the user what they are doing, that states that companies must disclose their accounting policies. Type 2 standard seeks uniformity of presentation, for example, it is concerned with uniform treatment of associated companies. Type 3 standard relates to the disclosure of specific items, for example, extraordinary items and research and development expenditure. The need for this type of standard arises because the treatment of these items varied so much in the past. Type 4 standard relates to the problem of income meas urement and asset valuation. The current cost accounting standard clearly falls into this category. There are standards that in fact could be said to be of more than one type, for example, the extraordinary item standard. The advantage of dividing standards up according to their roles is that it becomes clear that some standards clearly satisfy their objectives while other standards do seem to fail on the grounds that could have been predicted by the critics of the standards ...

How should the USA deal with China should they contain or not contain Research Paper

How should the USA deal with China should they contain or not contain China - Research Paper Example This year featured spats between China versus Philippines; China versus Vietnam; and China versus Japan. The disagreements are loudly triggering diplomatic tensions as Chinese government send forth their marine vessels in shores that are within the territorial jurisdictions of other Southeast Asian countries. The situation alarmed the international community, especially United States of America, because this Chinese territorial aggression also strategically affects its geographic control in the Pacific regions and with allied countries. This brought us the core issue, must US contain China or not? What is Containment? Before variegated positions are explicated, let us define first what containment all about is. Containment is a foreign policy strategy of the United States at the height of cold war which was prominently used by George F. Kennan in 1947 against communist nation to isolate and marginalize it to lessen it influence or remove its political clout from allied countries.1 Ex perts posit, by experience, that the containment theory of US resulted to the intervention of United States in Vietnam, Central America and in Grenada.2 This was also adopted by US President Truman as part of the Truman doctrine and is also widely discussed in US and Iraq conflict.3 Containment is historically started in a long telegraph sent by George Kennan from Moscow to Washington in 1946 about the Soviet’s refusal to join the International Monetary Bank and World Bank which detailed the practices of the country and anent recommendation to use the policy of containment—which ultimately led to that historic Cold War.4 From a psychological vantage, containment is a control theory aiming at establishing internal and external factors to develop a law-abiding behaviour which could be considered as a defence or a protective insulation against potential conflict or delinquency.5 Shouldn’t Contain Some political analysts argued that US shouldn’t contain China albeit the reactions of other countries who presumed that US intervention will help balance the power amid incessant aggression of Chinese soldiers to Hanoi, Philippines and Japan. Chinese however demanded from US, which was sought for intervention by aggrieved parties to refrain from getting involved asserting that the conflicting parties can resolve maritime and territorial disputes through bilateral consultations.6 This call generated political mass actions by peoples who rallied in the streets and in Chinese embassies or even conducted live-fire drills (e.g. Vietnam) to demonstrate their disagreement with China’s two-face diplomatic strategy in relating with them: offering a hand for bilateral consultations but at the same time, aggressively sending marine soldiers within sovereign states’ shores to claim ownership or prior rights thereof.7 Affected countries wanted to internationalize the issue while Chinese opposed this effort to bring the international communit y to multilateral discourse on this problem arguing

Technology in business Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Technology in business - Assignment Example These aspects are not present in other management functions and therefore requires a manager with such knowledge as depicted by Austin, Nolan and O’Donnell (43) Barton seems to have learnt a lot concerning his assumption that â€Å"you can’t know enough about technology to manage without a crew of nerd sidekicks’† (Austin, Nolan and O’Donnell 49). The novel depicts how Barton discovered what it takes to be a good IT manager, which is far from the assumption he had before. This is manifested from the fact that despite him being an IT manager, he had absolutely no knowledge with regard to the complexity resided â€Å"below the floorboards† of IT system (Austin, Nolan and O’Donnell 46). Therefore, the only way to prove a point was by advancing his education through reading of books pertaining to IT. At the very beginning, we find that Barton’s plans to engage only five senior members of the staff while excluding others like John Cho, who is responsible for security matters did not go well with the other members of the staff. From the argument, all the senior members of the IT staff expected the discussion to involve every staff member so that they could amicable talks of things that are going on, the challenges facing the IT and future risks for the company. Nevertheless, Barton had no such plans as we see through Fenton’s and Ruben’s interjections during the meeting leading to breakdown of discussion (Austin, Nolan and O’Donnell 40). His plans also failed due to the fact that despite him being the senior most manager of the company, he had no enough knowledge of IT issues as manifested during his discussion with the senior members of the staff. An IT organization is structured in that manner to ensure that work is performed in accordance with the missions of the organization so that the goals can be met. This ensures that each department or employee knows what the organization expects of him or her for effective

Vanessas Maturing Process Theme Of Entrapment English Literature Essay

Vanessas Maturing Process Theme Of Entrapment English Literature Essay The theme of entrapment is a dominant theme in Margaret Laurences A Bird in the House. This is the theme that the author uses to shape most of his characters in the literary work. Vanessa Macleod is a protagonist in this story growing as the environment around her suggests. Margaret takes a Vanessa into an observational status where she would monitor activities around her. This would in turn affect her tremendously as she grows up. At the beginning, Vanessa is only twelve and the story tells of her growth till marriage with Chris. Margaret suggests to the reader that a person is changed significantly from his or her associations with the surrounding. As the story glides on the reader sees the many forms that Vanessa assumes in a bid to attain personal freedom. It is a quest for personal freedom although no character in the work attains it. This whole nature affects the way in which Vanessa grows. Remembrance Day is the story that starts at the beginning of the Margaret literary work. Vanessa is a teenager being influenced so much by hormonal changes in the body. En route to the church she observes the nature in which her father is in. According to her she felt pity for him although she did not really understand why this should be the case. As she was taught heaven is a beautiful place, probably, hence people should enjoy in the passing of their loved one. This is not the case and the imagination makes her engage her father into a conversation; I wondered what he believed in. I did not have any real idea what it might be. It is the nature of inquisitiveness of teenager children. Her father answers some questions that she asks him but they are not satisfactory, another demonstration of curiosity. It is easily seen how observable Vanessa is; He was frowning deeply and I could see the pulse in his temple à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ When he raised his head, he did not look uplifted or anything like that. He merely looked tired. This is the observation status that Margaret puts her protagonist in the play. This characteristic will be evident all through the discussion because it is the property that makes Vanessa make choices. The past affects the future as brought out in this play. They are written as reflections or discussions in the play. At the time when Vanessa discussed religion with her father, she would not understand his answer. Later he passed away from a short illness and while she was passing through her fathers belongings she came across a love letter and picture of a young French woman pp 107. Five years down the line she had grieved her father missing the companionship but is ignited by a single discovery that brings her fathers memories with nostalgia. It is at this moment that she understands that the past still lingers in the present. Imagination also plays an important role in Vanessas life and journey to growth. She was not going to participate in the activities of Remembrance Day owing to the fact that she despised military men. She did not understand the meaning of the day not until she had a brief epiphany of what death really is. He came to understand the meaning of this day by imagining what his dad felt while he watched his brother fade away in his death. Moreover the day too was important to her grandmother and by imagination she understood the pain of a mother. It was real when she lost her father. Vanessa learned the importance of the day when she found the love letter. The reflections of the past bring about moments of truth when the departed dwelt among their loved ones. Again she learns from the past and how the past affects the future. It is her journey towards maturity. It is also important to point out the relationships that Vanessa has. Some are distant without direct associations, while some are observational and others are interactive. In addition there is that solitary part which is marked by realizations and reflection, devoid of relationship. There are plenty of examples of these four categories of relationship. In Social Learning Theory of psychology studies, there are references of child growth in cognitive abilities through relationship hence the name social. In this breathe a great deal of learning that brings about maturity in Vanessa is through relationship. Some lessons are learned earlier while others are learned immediately the relationship hits a rock bottom. The latter is the most common in Margaret Laurence book. Vanessa greatly learns from consequences rather than having the intelligence to postulate in the future the results of certain actions. As seen with the relationship with Chris, Vanessa harbors important information that is crucial to her boyfriend; Chris was twenty-one. The distance between them was still too great. For years she had wanted to be older so she might talk with him, but now she felt unready pp. 140. Day in day out she tries to figure out how to communicate with Chris. All is late when Chris is admitted to a mental hospital. From this she learns the necessity to be open when she regrets having kept secret this information from Chris. She blames herself of Chris deterioration in health. It is the communication between partners that keeps relationship work out, a good lesson she learns. Grandfather Conner is a perfectionist but they had a distant relationship with Vanessa. There was no close contact between the two. However, through observation Vanessa was able to attain knowledge on the importance of being perfect. It is entrapment in discussion but learning from a distance. She understands this during t he sale of the brick house; She wanted to tell the new owners of the Brick house to trim their hedges, to repaint the window frames, to pay heed to repairs. She had feared and fought, yet he proclaimed himself in her veins pp. 191. Another aspect that contributes very much to her growth is the escape she has to reality. She exhibits resistance to a number of things in the story. At a tender age she attended the church just as her parents required. However at the time she was already curious of what she wanted to do with her life. As a result it is evident that she is always in conflict with her relatives. The interesting part is how she dealt with the resistance. Instead of showing it clearly, she actually blocked everything out. It is an attempt to independence. In particular during Sunday school lessons, she conceived stories in her mind with her as the main characters but without meaning; I was prepared, for the question was the same each week. I rarely listened in Sunday school, finding it more entertaining to compose in my head stories of spectacular heroism in which I figured as a central character, so I never knew what the text had been.. However, they were very important in passing time. In one way Vanessa knew what was important to him. She was interested only with certain things but ignorant of unimportant and uninteresting things. This way she was able to lean on a sided kind of growth and maturity. This form of resistance does not stop there. After her fathers death they move to the brick house where they lived with her grandfather. Occasionally she would get busy writing exaggerated adventure stories as a means to fulfill her thirst for personal freedom; I wanted only to be by myself with no one else around. She was so insecure to live on her own since the brick house represents strength where she may turn to. Even when Nanuk presents her with a relationship offer, she is still reluctant to be with him. In general Vanessas journey to maturity is an amalgamated package of life experiences with those who she came in contact with. Her relationship with her father made her indecisive in many occasions. Her father was indecisive as seen from the conversation he has with her daughter Vanessa. When asked about his thoughts about heaven, he gives thoughtless answers which affect Vanessa quite a bit. Down the line in her life, Vanessa meets with Chris. She is in a state of making a decision that is supposed to affect her life. However, she is unable to make the final decision whether to talk to Chris or not. Consequently, Chris is admitted in a mental institution. Her grandfather, Conner is a firm person and a perfectionist. He used to talk with a firm voice, raised all the time in a bid to make everything perfect. On the contrary he was able to analyze situations and make firm decisions about them. When Nanuk wanted to date Vanessa, he would constantly tell her that he was not fit for her. He stood with this decision till the end. Clearly Vanessa learned from her grandfather. When they left the brick house for new owners, she gave instructions on how to maintain the windows and hedges perfectly as they were. She reacted in a manner that her grandfather would. At another instant while talking to her brother, she engages in a conversation on how to name her dog. At one point she realizes her grandfathers voice echoes in her voice. When they moved to the brick house after the death of her father, Vanessa met her aunties who were soft spoken and humble. They had a loving character just like her mother. She immediately took their side and became humble, predictable and loving. In fact the story symbolizes her as a birch of logs in the basement. She is also similar to her mother. In the work it was evident that after a quarrel her mother and aunt would go in the kitchen and speak in whispers. In actual sense they would worry perpetually. This trait was adopted by Vanessa who would go about her worrying ways whisperi ng in inaudible undertones. Her grandfather also influences her in a number of ways. While she dated Nanuk, Conner would constantly resent him since according to him he was not to be trusted. In one way these were pointers thrown in here and there by grandpa. Although she loved him, she was taught not to follow love only in a person but to search for better qualities. They turned her into a self reflecting person who would ask rhetoric questions within, just to have better understanding of relationships. It was evident with Chris. In conclusion her journey to adulthood is one that is marked by influences through relationships between her and her immediate people who would throw pointers here and there for her. They nurtured her to what she became in adulthood. Work Cited: Laurence Margaret. A Bird in the House. Berlin: McClelland Stewart,2010.

Concern Over Electromagnetic Fields Health And Social Care Essay

Our usage of electricity on a day-to-day footing is now taken for granted in Britain. We live and work surrounded by an of all time increasing array of electrical power public-service corporations, yet over a decennary ago concern over electromagnetic Fieldss ( EMFs ) exploded after Paul Brodeur wrote a series of articles in the New Yorker Magazine in June 1989. Because of Paul Brodeur ‘s repute his articles had a catalytic consequence on scientists, newsmans and concerned people throughout the universe, taking in November 1989 to the Department of Energy coverage that â€Å" It has now become by and large accepted that there are, so, biological effects due to field exposure. † Prior to the commercial handiness of manmade electricity, worlds were exposed to merely natural EMF forces, viz. the magnetic field of the Earth, electric Fieldss caused by charges in the clouds, sudden electric and magnetic Fieldss caused by buoy uping or by the inactive electricity of two objects rubbing together. The last century has seen Britain become progressively surrounded by semisynthetic EMF. In our society, where the usage of electricity is extended, exposure to EMF from the huge array of electrical contraptions and equipment, constructing wiring, distribution lines, and transmittal lines is common and for sustained periods of clip. There has been considerable research carried out on assorted facets of EMF and it ‘s consequence on human wellness, top outing with the Californian Department of Health bring forthing an EMF survey bing over $ 7Million and 8 old ages to finish. EMF frights have generated survey after survey and sparked a demand for a modern set of statute law and directives for employers climaxing in the drafting of a European directive. I work in the Power Utilities Sector on Power Generation Plant. Does EMF present a echt day-to-day wellness hazard to me? Against the context of the abstract and background in this papers. Working in the power public-service corporations industry within the electrical, instrumentality and control field, this possible injury is of both involvement and significance to me. I feel hence this topic should turn out both motivation and educational to reexamine. The information and decisions will finally be used for personal development and presentation of personal competency. Each reappraisal article must run into the following standards to be considered for reappraisal: Be a research article or study Primary or Secondary Research Contain Research Methodologies where possible.5. Search FootingsThe undermentioned initial hunt footings have been drafted to supply a footing to bring forth this critical literature reappraisal: EMF, EMF Exposure, EMF Health, EMF Safety, EMF Human Health, EMF biological, EMF malignant neoplastic disease, Electro Magnetic Health, Electromagnetic Adverse Health, Electromagnetic Fields Human Health4. Literature ReappraisalPulling initial ideas on the construction and research paradigm this reappraisal will take are that with my EIC background and industry cognition it would be unlogical that the research worker and the investigated are wholly divorced. I am and will be influenced by my experience and old interactions with electrical theory and experimentation when reexamining EMF literature. This cognition suggests a positivism attack utilizing an Epistemic stance necessitating the apprehender and the known to be independent is dismissed. All research requires a starting point and for this subject the most suitable attack to utilize is the Interpretivist attack utilizing an Epistemology stance. The apprehender and the known influence each other ; ( Lincoln & A ; Guba, 1985 ) There have been a big figure of surveies into the factor EMF exposure may play in the wellness and unwellness of populations referred to in medical nomenclature as Epidemiology ; the basis of public wellness research. Meta-analyses and other more complete reappraisals of leukemia and encephalon malignant neoplastic disease are summarised in this reappraisal with peculiar attending to exposure assessment methodological analysiss utilised by these surveies. Breast malignant neoplastic disease ( see Reference 1 for reappraisal ) and non-cancer results such as Alzheimer ‘s disease ( 2, 3 ) , amyotrophic sidelong induration ( ALS ) ( 4,5 ) and cardiovascular disease ( 6,7 ) have non been sufficiently studied, but face similar challenges in footings of exposure appraisal. These surveies are non considered any farther in this paper. One of the four known basic natural forces, EMF is defined as â€Å" The cardinal force that is associated with electric and magnetic Fieldss and is responsible for atomic construction, chemical reactions, the attractive and abhorrent forces associated with electrical charge and magnetic attraction, and all other electromagnetic phenomena. It is carried by the photon. † ( English Dictionary, 2009 ) In 1992 S.Richardson published ‘Occupational Risk Factors for Acute Leukaemia: A Case-Control Study ‘ in the International Journal of Epidemiology vol 21. This Journal is a equal reappraisal papers which gives grounds there is a procedure of self-regulation by a profession or a procedure of rating affecting qualified persons with this related field giving an early feel of research credibleness to research farther. Although no formal statements are made as to the writer ‘s certificates, the publication is written by members of the International Committee of Epidemiology and so an premise can be drawn that he is both qualified and respected in this field being portion of an elective commission. The survey uses a quantative methodological analysis, clearly saying his aims, variables, case-controls and informations aggregation methods, utilizing a questionnaire and a standard interview format to roll up statistical informations. As the rubric suggests the research metho d is a corporate instance survey, utilizing chemical and toxin exposures aswell as EMF to look into the phenomena of AL. The information collected and it ‘s trust on human remembrance will necessarily hold some defects and this human fallibility factor with the modified experimental factor utilizing instance controls and blind analysis to better on past contradictions, suggests a Postpositivism attack. The information does back up the belief that EMF is an occupational factor for acute leukemia. A really similar method to this is described by the writer ( M.Gerin et al 1985 ) for obtaining occupational exposure histories and is celebrated as a sucessful theoretical account by ( Inter-rate understanding in measuring occupational exposure in a case-control survey, Goldberg M et Al 1986 ) nevertheless it is earlier acknowledged ‘that however a questionnaire merely provides a foster step of exposure with possible misclassifications which cut down the power of the survey to observe a difference in the exposure of instances and controls ‘ ( Kleinbaum D Lifetime larning 1982 ) . ‘Risk of Cancer among Danish Utility Workers – A Nationwide Cohort Study ‘ ( C. Johansen 1998 ) was one of the largest representative research surveies, conducted by Christoffer Johansen who is the MD of the Institute of Cancer Epidemiology, Danish Cancer Society. The writer appears good respected and extremely qualified in his field of expertness keeping both PhD and DMSc awards. The survey informations is for 32,006 employees of 99 Danish public-service corporation companies covering both private and province owned installings. C.Johansen uses an intrinsic instance survey to supply a greater apprehension of power public-service corporation occupational exposure compared to the general public malignant neoplastic disease degrees.4. DecisionsEpidemiologic probe of possible associations of EMF exposure with hazard of chronic disease is an remarkably hard endeavor. Certain decisions can be drawn nevertheless: a ) The epidemiologic surveies conducted on possible wellness effects of EMF have improved over clip in edification of exposure appraisal and in methodological analysis. Several of the recent surveies on childhood leukemia and on occupational exposures in relation to grownup malignant neoplastic disease are near to the bound of what can realistically be achieved by epidemiology, in footings of size of survey and methodological asperity, utilizing soon available measuring methods. B ) Exposure measuring is a peculiar trouble of EMF epidemiology, in several respects: aˆ? The exposure of involvement is unperceivable, omnipresent, originates from multiple beginnings, and can change greatly over clip and over comparatively short distances. aˆ? The relevant exposure period, for malignant neoplastic diseases at least, is before the day of the month at which measurings can realistically be obtained and is of unknown continuance and initiation period. aˆ? The appropriate exposure metric is unknown, and there is no substantiated biological mechanism or carnal theoretical account from which to ascribe it. degree Celsius ) In the absence of grounds from cellular or carnal surveies, and given the methodological uncertainnesss and in many instances incompatibilities of the bing epidemiologic literature, there is no chronic disease result for which an aetiologic relation to EMF exposure can be regarded as established. vitamin D ) A big organic structure of high-quality informations exists, with measurings of exposure, strong methodological analysis, and big survey sizes, for childhood leukemia and encephalon tumors and for occupational exposure in relation to adult leukemia and encephalon tumors. Among all the results evaluated in epidemiologic surveies of EMF, childhood leukemia in relation to postpartum exposures above 0.4 I?T is the 1 for which there is most grounds of an association. The comparative hazard has been estimated at 2.0 ( 95 % assurance bounds ( CL ) = 1.27-3.13 ) in a big pooled analysis. This is improbable to be due to opportunity but may be partially due to bias. This is hard to construe in the absence of a known mechanism or consistent experimental support. In the big pooled analysis, merely 0.8 % of all kids were exposed above 0.4 I?T. Further surveies need to be designed to prove specific hypotheses such as facets of choice prejudice or exposure. On the footing of epidemiolog ic findings, there is grounds for an association of ALS with occupational EMF exposure although confounding is a possible account. Whether there are associations with chest malignant neoplastic disease, cardiovascular disease, and self-destruction and depression remains unsolved. Overall, despite 20 old ages of extended epidemiologic probe of the relation of EMF to hazard of chronic disease, there are still epidemiologic inquiries that need to be resolved. To be of value, nevertheless, future surveies of these inquiries must be of high methodological quality, of sufficient size and with sufficient Numberss of extremely exposed topics, and must include appropriate exposure groups and sophisticated exposure appraisal. Particularly for childhood leukemia, small is to be gained from farther repeat of probe of hazards at moderate and low exposure degrees, unless such surveies can be designed to prove specific hypotheses, such as choice prejudice or facets of exposure non antecedently cap tured. In add-on there is a demand for surveies in worlds of possible physiological effects of EMF that might associate to hazards of chronic disease.

Psycosocial Assessment of the Soloist

Running Head: Strengths Based Assessment 1 Strengths Based Assessment: The Soloist By Colleen Austin SOWK 587a University of Southern California Professor Brittani Morris Strengths Based Assessment2 Character Identification Describe the character you choose as your focus. Include race, ethnicity, age, religion, sex, marital status, living situation, educational level, internal strengths (coping mechanisms, skills, experience, ability to connect to others, resilience, determination, flexibility, commitment, loyalty, etc. ). Mr. Nathanial Anthony Ayers is a middle aged, black African-American man.He is spiritual but identifies with no specific religion, he does pray in the movie, saying the Our Father. He is unmarried, and is homeless. He displays signs of mental illness, most likely schizophrenic as evidenced by his paranoia and he hears voices. He began to hear voices in adolescence. At one point he thought his sister was trying to poison him, so he forced her to eat the food she bro ught to him. He lived in the basement of the home he grew up in. It wasn’t obvious, but he must have remained living with his sister after his mother died.When he went to Juilliard, he got an apartment and the voices became more prominent. There is no evidence that he was ever diagnosed with a mental illness. He has a difficult time maintain relationships with others because he is mentally ill and continually talks to himself. Nathanial has a high school education. He was also accepted and completed some classical music training from Juilliard, according to a teacher there, he just stopped showing up. What happened in his life from that point until the present is unknown. Although he is homeless, one of his possessions is a violin, which only has two strings.In doing this, Nathanial shows determination, because even though he doesn’t have a complete instrument he stills continues to play it. Strengths Based AssessmentPage 3 Nathanial shows loyalty to his music. He is a lways playing his violin and in fact talks about his loyalty to his music when he states that â€Å"he is holding on to his faith in the power of his music. † (The Soloist, 2009) Nathanial shows a lot of inner strengths. He has determination, which is evident by the fact that he continues to play the violin, although it only has two strings.He is resilient, evidenced by the fact that he has been homeless for many years, schizophrenic and yet he is surviving on the streets of L. A. Nathanial shows no flexibility. When Lopez brings him to the apartment, he says that he will play the violin there, but he will not stay there. It was not his apartment he said. II. Significant Relationships Describe 2-3 significant relationships this character has to other characters in the film, both in terms of role and in terms of the resources and/or challenges that this character offers to your focus character.Nathanial’s most significant relationship is with Steve Lopez, a reporter for the Los Angeles Times newspaper. Lopez is fascinated by Nathanial when he discovers that he is a classically trained musician, who is homeless and writes a column with Nathanial as his subject. It isn’t clear at first what Lopez’s motives are, other than to write a column that is entertaining and widely read by Los Angeles. Initially, it is obvious Lopez is using Nathanial as his focus. Lopez is divorced although he continues to have a relationship with his ex-wife who is also Strengths Based AssessmentPage 4 is boss at the Times. In fact his ex-wife tells him that there is possibly a book that could be written about Nathanial and essentially accuses him at one point in the movie of exploiting Nathanial. This relationship shifts over time. He is single and finds himself thinking about Nathanial’s â€Å"plight. † He becomes emotionally invested in Nathanial, in that he feels that he can help this homeless, mentally ill man toward a better life. What he do esn’t understand is that Nathanial is comfortable in his life. He has become accustomed to his homeless life.Lopez, although his latent motives appear to be altruistic, actually causes Nathanial a great deal of stress. He tries to convince the manager of the Lamp Community that he should force Nathanial to see a psychiatrist and be put on medication. David, the manager of the Lamp Community could be another of Nathanial’s significant relationships. He allowed Lopez to leave the cello that was donated by a reader at the facility, because that was the only place that Lopez would allow him to play it. He didn’t want him to have it on the street.David was instrumental in helping Lopez to finally learn what the best thing was that he could do for Nathanial. Lopez needed to be his friend, David told him. That was really what Nathanial needed. Someone he could trust. David was, in this sense, an advocate for Nathanial. He made Lopez understand that Nathanial didnâ€⠄¢t want to see a psychiatrist and even if he did, there were no guarantees that he would even take his medication. It is possible that Nathanial knew that on medication he would not be the same musician. Strengths Bases AssessmentPage 5Graham Clayton, the music teacher, was another character whose relationship to Nathanial was significant. He was teaching Nathanial to play music other than Beethoven, Nathanial’s favorite. In fact, there was a statue of Beethoven in a square and that was where Steve Lopez looked to find Nathanial. Not only did Clayton offer music lessons, but he also offered him spiritual guidance. He set up a recital for Nathanial, however when Nathanial showed up to play, he began to hear voices and when Clayton put his hand on his shoulder, Nathanial reacted with such fear that he nearly assaulted Clayton.Nathanial ran, which was one of his best coping mechanisms, that and playing music III. Community Analysis Describe the two most significant groups/commu nities that your focus character belongs to and/or aspires to belong to in the film. There is one significant community to which Nathanial belongs. And one community that it appears he would like to belong. The first community is the Lamp Community, a shelter for the homeless and often these homeless people are mentally ill. The other community is the music community. Nathanial wanted to be a classic cellist when he was younger.He was excited when Lopez brought him the cello and wanted to keep it with his grocery cart full of belongings. The Lamp Community offered Nathanial food, shelter and clothing. However, he spent most of his time sleeping on the streets, going to the facility only when he needed something. They did offer group sessions for the homeless, but it wasn’t clear what the topics of the group discussions were. The music community would have offered Nathanial the opportunity to advance his career as a musician, however because of the schizophrenia; the audience was a Strengths Bases AssessmentPage 6 barrier to Nathanial’s playing his cello.Lopez found an accomplished music teacher who was willing to teach Nathanial to bring him back to the level he was at when he was at Juilliard, and even brought him new music to play. Playing music and being part of the music community was something that Nathanial desired, however, his illness prevented him from becoming fully invested in pursuing it. I think the Lamp Community was a valuable community resource for Nathanial. It was a safe place for him to go, and in fact the night after the disastrous recital, Lopez found him there having a meal and David told him that he had spent the night in his apartment.When asked why he spent the night there, Nathanial alluded to the fact that he wasn’t a young man anymore and that his body couldn’t take the streets. I think that if Nathanial wanted to see a doctor and take medication, he could have gotten those resources from the Lamp Communi ty. The music community could have provided a less intimidating arena for a recital. Although it seemed to be a very relaxed outdoor atmosphere, putting Nathanial up on stage was asking for disaster. Perhaps the music community could showcase musicians like Nathanial in a much less intrusive setting.Analysis of the Symbiotic Relationship. (This wasn’t required but I wanted to add it. ) I think the relationship between Steve Lopez and Nathanial Ayers worked both ways. The scene where Lopez falls off his bike, goes to the hospital where everything is chaotic, then goes into an MRI and is claustrophobic has so many similarities to Ayers’ life it may have been purely coincidental. I think that was an experience that Lopez had to draw upon while he was trying to â€Å"help† Nathanial. Just like Steve Didn’t want the help at the hospital, neither did Nathanial want Strengths Bases AssessmentPage 7Steve’s help. The mere act of trying to get Nathanial out of his comfort zone was enough to trigger a schizophrenic episode. At the end of the movie, Steve realized that the best thing that he could offer Nathanial was his friendship. Nathanial trusted Steve by the end of the movie. When they first met, Nathanial wouldn’t shake Steve’s hand, but at the end of the movie when Steve offered him his hand, Nathanial took it. Strengths Based AssessmentPage 8 Resources Foster. G. , and Krasnoff, R. (Producer), & Wright, J. (Director). (2009). The Soloist  [Motion picture]. United States: Dreamworks Pictures.