Participatory Action Research Essay

The youth group was started in 2004 after the youths realized something was going wrong in the community and they were the right people to rectify the situation. They then came together and registered with the Ministry of Culture and Social Services Youth Affairs. It’s a non-profit making organization whose purpose is to address the needs of the youths and to improve the living standards of the community. The group brings together youths of both genders and has no ethnic or racial barriers as it believes youths from whatever background experience the same problems and must come together in order to solve them. Majority of the youths are trained in various fields of education and so it’s a pool of educated young men and women committed to be difference makers in other people’s lives. Currently the group has thirty five fully registered and active members but there is room for more members to join them. Since its formation, the group has provided their voluntary services beyond area of operation to improve the well being of the community. Their areas of activities include youths and community mobilization and awareness on HIV/AIDS, Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), guidance and counseling services, education on income generating activities, youth and community education on alcohol and drug abuse, education on leadership and administration, planning and accountability, tree planting exercise and offering voluntary services for the well being of the community. The group is seeking to address the most pressing needs that are affecting them and the community where they are living. These pressing need collaborative efforts as they cannot be solved by the community alone as they need technical expertise and some substantial funding. These needs were prioritized according to their impact in the community and they include; the high unemployment rate among the youth, gender disparity due to the culture, and idleness among the youths leading to irresponsible youth behavior, high infection rate of AIDS and other venereal diseases, drug abuse, poor farming methods leading to food insecurity and afforestation problem.. The members agreed that they had the brains, knowledge and skills and if put together and shared will bring a big change among the group members, other youths and the community at large. Though they have had challenges especially from the elderly community members when discussing on sexual issues, the group is committed to continue working until they have attained their set objectives. Their services to the community have effected some positive changes, which have commended by the community members. The group also works with other major stakeholders who have been helpful to the group in terms of training and financial support. These include the Community Based Organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations, Religious Organizations, Society and the Government to improve the living standards of the community. These stakeholders have been very helpful to the youth group because they have been offering training without charging them any fee, giving the youths some incentives as well as the community and funding their projects at some level. They have been able to work with the group since it was started and have promised they will continue working with them as long as keep the agreement with them. The possible research question that could be answered if the researcher collaboratively worked the major stakeholders is to find out whether their input into the group has had and positive impact to the youth group and to the community. This research question will be a guide to getting some critical information which will be used by the group to improve on the areas that they are not performing well (The research question could be as follows; What has been your input to the group and has it had any impact to the group and to the society? ) The benefits of doing the work the researcher is proposing is that it could again help the group to be able to identify their weakness and then find out solutions for them. It will also open another door for them to meet other partners through the researcher who will pump in some more useful input to the group. Through their interaction with them some critical issues may rise which could not have been solved, but it will be an opportunity to solve them. In one way the group could be advertising or selling itself and what they are undertaking through these formal discussions as the contents of the discussions will be published somewhere, which will get some support for the group. This could be beneficial to the group and to the researcher as he/she will be able to learn more about how groups work. As concerns to the ethical issues, the protocol has to be followed and the group has to be consulted first before anything happens. There should be respect for the group and any information about the group should be kept secret as it is. The researcher should make sure that he/she work within the guidelines of the group and should she/he need any information should follow the right channels but not go to public and tell the public about the group against their wishes References Luft, J (1984). An Introduction to Group Dynamics (3rd Edition). Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Toseland, R& Rivas, R. (2005) Introduction to Group Practice, Allyn & Bacon. New York.

The Bridge at Dong Ha

The book The Bridge at Dong Ha written by John Miller is a narrative description of the story of how a bridge on Cua Viet river separating north and South Vietnam was destroyed by a brave American marine captain named Ripley in 1972 in US Vietnam war. The destruction delayed the movement of Vietnamese forces from the north to the south by three long years. The book narrates this adventurous event in a gripping and wonderful language. The presentation and the language of the book have made it very attractive to the readers.The Bridge at Dong Ha 3 The Bridge at Dong Ha by John Miller The book The Bridge at Dong Ha written by John Miller is the story of a genuine marine war hero of America’s war history. It also displays the dedication to duty of a person. The backdrop of the story is US Vietnamese war. There was a strong heavy bridge built by the US army several years back on the Cua Viet River in Vietnam. The bridge used to separate North Vietnam from South Vietnam.America was loosing out in the US Vietnam war and a large army of Vietnamese forces were approaching from the north to take over the south. The book The Bridge at Dong Ha has described how an officer from US marine forces named Captain Ripley destroyed this bridge with tremendous courage and aggression on Easter Sunday, 1972. It is to be noted that the destruction of this bridge that delayed the advancement of the Vietnamese army towards the south for three long years.The book has given the detailed description of his courage and it is really fascinating to go through the book. The book is an excellent narration of the events of how a single man, with his tremendous courage and dedication towards his nation destroyed the bridge and stopped the aggression of the enemy force comprising of 30,000 soldiers and 200 tanks. All these are available in the website http://www. amazon. com/Bridge-Dong-Ha-Bluejacket-Books/dp/155750587X. Every action of the event has been described in detail in the book. To quote from the website http://www. amazon.com/Bridge-Dong-Ha-Bluejacket-Books/dp/155750587X, â€Å"Capt Ripley climbs over barbed wire fences, swings across the under girding of the bridge, and fights this battle from street to foxhole around the little The Bridge at Dong Ha 4 town of Dong Ha (just a few miles from the DMZ). The writing is wonderful and gripping, putting you face-to-face with the action as it unfolds hour by hour. † While describing the heroism of Captain Ripley, the author has stated how he hand walked on the beams under the bridge, holding detonators with his teeth and brought back the burning fuses back to shore.He did all the risky jobs by himself and saved the life of his fellow soldiers from sure death. This heroic act earned him a Navy Cross in 1962. All these have been stated in the website http://www. amazon. com/Bridge-Dong-Ha-Bluejacket-Books/dp/155750587X The toughest part of the entire operation is that when Captain Ripley was in the process of detonating the bridge, continuous light machines firing was going on from the northern side of the bridge from the Vietnamese troops. Under such heavy firing, Captain Ripley completed the entire operation, risking his whole life and safeguarding the life of his other comrades.All these have been mentioned in the above mentioned website. The description not only shows his courage, but also displays his level of intelligence as he took the decision of destroying the bridge against the command from his superior officers. To quote from the above mentioned website, http://www. amazon. com/Bridge-Dong-Ha-Bluejacket-Books/dp/155750587X, â€Å"Ripley's gallant effort was especially courageous since he was acting against a command suggestion to hold the bridge for a counterattack that could not have been mounted, and South Vietnamese troops were in disarray and fleeing to the South all around theThe Bridge at Dong Ha 5 Vietnamese unit he advised. Miller's narration of this small action tend s more toward the sensational than the historical. † Though some people say that the book opened in a relatively slow note, but actually the stage was being set for a drama and all the main characters involved were introduced one by one. They include ARVN Major Le Ba Birth; his bodyguard Three Finger Jack, US Army major Jim Smock; and Birth's advisor, Ripley – the hero of the event and also the book.It has been mentioned in the above named website that Ripley was a product of American marine, Airborne, Ranger and Seal training with some added polish from British Royal Marine. The emotional side of Captain Ripley has also been nicely described by the author in the book. There was a time when he charged into the middle of a mortar fire to save the life of a little young girl. The humanity side is also displayed while narrating the events related to the behavior of the radioman, the commander of South Vietnam unit and the commander’s bodyguard.Dedication of Vietname se men towards their nation has also been described in the book. This seemed to be a very balanced approach. Another part that needs appreciation is that the author John Miller interviewed in detail Captain Ripley about the entire event while penning down the history. It has been stated in the above mentioned website that many minor incidents of the operation has been so vividly described that many civilians may not understand or feel the reason behind those actions, but only marine people can feel and judge them.Due to these factors, the reading of the book is not only fascinating, but I feel it can be described more of an adventure history type. It seemed as if an historical The Bridge at Dong Ha 6 event is presented and written in the language of adventure. This factor has made the reading of the book attractive to the readers. This can be understood from the comments by a reader in one of the reviews posted in the website http://www. amazon. com/Bridge-Dong-Ha-Bluejacket-Books/d p/155750587X.To quote from that review, â€Å"It is difficult for a reader to appreciate this without almost an engineering drawing of the undersides of the bridge. I would have loved to see drawings showing the design of the bridge, with little arrows and annotations, ‘pulled xx pounds of explosives across this girder'†. Frankly speaking, I do not consider the above quote from the reader a criticism of the book. I feel that the reader has become so involved with the drama that he is expecting a Stallone or Jacky Chan type of Hollywood thriller while reading the book.The writing of the book is so thrilling and gripping. It seemed that he is watching a movie version of the book. A diagrammatic presentation of the event would satisfy that expectation. But obviously that is not done. I have never seen any thriller novel, where the story has been described in the form of a diagram. I really appreciate the initiative taken by the author in penning down the heroic act of Capt ain Ripley so that the message of his heroism can be known by the future generations. Only a narrative description would have made reading of the book quite boring and history type.His blending of adventure and history has really made the book attractive for reading to the masses. In all the reviews, I found that readers have openly stated that they like the dramatic presentation of this 186 pages book a lot. It seemed that the author really understands the pulse of the readers. The Bridge at Dong Ha 7 Reference List 1) Customer reviews on November 10 2002, December 27 1999, August 12 2006 and also Editorial reviews: Retrieved 12th March, 2009 from

“How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife” by Manuel E. Arguilla Essay

Baldo and his older brother Leon were both waiting for their visitor riding a carratela. When Baldo sa his older brother’s wife, who is Maria, he was amazed by her beauty as he narrates their journey to their home in Nagrebcan. Maria was felt a bit anxious because of meeting Leon and Baldo’s parents for the first time, but along their way home, she discovered the differences of the life of the people lived there and the life in the city where she met and fell in love with Leon. Characters Leon/Noel – Maria’s husband, older brother of BaldoMaria – Leon’s wife Baldo – Leon’s younger brother, also the narrator of this story Mother and Father of Leon and BaldoAurelia – Leon and Baldo’s younger sister Labang – the carabaoSetting Nagrebcan, Bauang La Union Plot Leon and Baldo waited for the arrival of Maria at the barrio. Maria was afraid that she will not be accepted by Leon’s father because she may not able to adapt their way of living in the province. Baldo was ignoring to his older brother’s question about why did they have to go to Waig instead of Camino Real. (The reason is that their father wanted to test Maria if she is worthy to be Leon’s wife.) Baldo discussed their travel to his father. Leon’s entire family talked to Maria. 1. Who among the characters in the story you appreciate most? Why? What trait/quality/characteristics you want to this character? Why? For my opinion, I think I appreciate Maria most. Because she accepted and respected Leon for what he really is. She didn’t care what Leon’s life back in Nagrebcan. She was a supportive and a loving wife to Leon. She was so endearing and kind-hearted lady. She was very keen to meet Leon’s family. The fact that the rural is different from the city can be somewhat discouraging but the closer hey get to the house, Maria still manages to overcome any trials.

Medicare Advantage Insurance plans can be confusing. How can families Essay

Medicare Advantage Insurance plans can be confusing. How can families choose the proper plan - Essay Example 330), and it introduced the concept of geography as an important factor in determining the correct health care plan. Much research has been done in the area of choice of the appropriate plans, as they illustrate the difficulty of choosing and the tendency to focus on easily available, invariant components of prices (Kling et al.). There are several examples, such as the research made by Choi et al, when fund fees weren't minimized in an experiment using mutual funds prospectuses. A research performed by Kling et al. showed that the majority of seniors are not particularly well informed about drug plans or particularly diligent users of information sources but was content with their costly choices. In their comparison group, more than 70 percent underestimated their potential savings. This clearly shows the necessity of clearly presenting information and rationally choosing the appropriate program to fit the needs of the customer. It is difficult to decide the most appropriate program that will balance the Medicare copayments with the person's own financial state. However, there are certain principles that can be followed to assure that an appropriate aspect of Medicare to be chosen. A person, first and foremost, should purchase a policy that covers all the deductibles and copayments for hospital and doctor bills, which means that the person will have to pay only what Medicare does not reimburse the provider for, and it limits the expense to relatively minor items (with the exception of nursing home care). The policy should also cover the skilled nursing facility co-payment for days 21 through 100 (Inlander, p. 104). A person should also look for policies that cover physician charges in excess of the Medicare-approved charge. Policies that cover these expenses should pay at least 80 percent of the excess fee up to the full balance billing limits for nonparticipating doctors. This offers further protection fro m large out-of-pocket expenses, which already cost Medicare beneficiaries billions of dollars each year. One should also remember to always use a participating physician in the Medicare program although this is not always possible. However, a directory of doctors who accept assignments from Medicare can always be found at the social security offices. Negotiations with the nonparticipating physician and ask him to accept the Medicare-approved payment. The basic features of the policy that a person desires to choose should have guaranteed renewability, no more than a six-month exclusion for preexisting conditions, no limitations to single diseases such as cancer, payment for services in full, rather than a fixed amount. Many benefit policies pay limited benefits and would not cover the Medicare deductibles or copayments. They may also provide no additional protection on the outpatient side, which is where patients need it more. Therefore Medigap plans, employee or retiree health plans, specific illness policies and long-term-care policies should be considered. Of these options, according to Inlander, the patients should keep any employer plan that they have. It may require a small contribution, but these plans were modeled after employee plans in more

Internation Monetary Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Internation Monetary Economics - Essay Example Therefore, there is a necessity of change. For this issues arising to be resolved, the whole system have to be reformed with much consideration on current international economics. The main purpose for addressing this paper is to spot the lessons that have been learnt from the international systems currency b policy makers. It further tries to apply what has been learnt to solve the euro crisis. The paper focuses on international system of finance, the role it plays in the ongoing current crunch and in the prevention and solving future ones. Generally, crisis recurs but their rate of occurrence and results can be mitigated and managed. Introduction The exiting crisis in the international scene may be ultimately bottoming out. ... The shortcomings of international systems of finance are noticeable in the current crisis. If one talks about the consequences, solutions and causes to the crisis, it is not possible to think of adaptation of international systems of finance to international economic configuration. In fact, from the moment the institution of Bretton woods was created, at the time crises were faced by most countries, there was discussion by policymakers on those institutions’ adequacy, possible alterations and their toolkits’ improvement. The main reason for this addressing the paper is focus on international system of finance, the role it plays in the ongoing current crunch and in the prevention and solving future ones. Generally, crisis recurs but their rate of occurrence and results can be mitigated and managed. Lessons learnt For more than two years in the past, the international economy has experienced the most extended crisis from the time of great depression. Turmoil in finance re ached its worst level as 2008 fell. Before then, it had begun in the housing market of the U.S in 2007 during the summer time. It then spread gradually to the international economy and most parts of America. The channel through which the crisis followed is length. To start with, it went through the linkages of financial sectors like the investments on cross-border on derivatives ofcredit.In most part of 2008, growth of the economy seemed held up, specifically in market countries that emerged. These markets gave rise to decoupling debate. Nevertheless, towards the end of the same year, spill of the financial turmoil began to the real economy. This led to a dramatic flop in economic activity, international demand and international trade all over the globe.

Can organizational cultures be changed Research Paper

Can organizational cultures be changed - Research Paper Example Despite the many changes that occur worldwide, an organization can stay impermeable towards change. According to Miller, et al. (2003), if the organization is deeply rooted with their institutional context, thickened and insulated from the outside world and with predefined organizational dynamics, then the said organization can be impermeable with change. An organization can be measured with its history. The values, philosophies, vision and strategies of the organization during their foundation years contribute to the culture of that organization. Every personal history of the individual within the institution contributes to the current and future decisions, behaviors and choices of the organization as a whole. And with time value, this organization becomes formalized and standardized thereby making them change resistant. The managerial practices and the core values demanded by this organization require new entities to follow their norms and whoever disagrees from it can leave anytim e. If the leaders of the organization are tightly bounded with their set of standards and rules, they are bound to stand resistive of what is around them making culture change impossible. This has been a reality in countries such as China, which is embedded with Confucianism, and Russia rooted with Communism (Miller,et al., 2003:393-394). Culture contributes highly to the overall functioning of an organization. It has an impact on the effectiveness of the organization which reflects the reasons why the organization existed in the first place. There have been a lot of researches done by various organizations to achieve that optimum effectiveness and functionality. According to Denison and Mishra (1995), for the function of a certain organization to be highly effective, there are various elements involved such as involvement, consistency, adaptability, and sense of mission or long-term vision. These traits can indicate the organizations flexibility, sense of response, open-mindedness, direction, and integration. With these traits evident in the culture of an organization, it is easier to predict the growth, quality, satisfaction, profitability and the overall performance. To gain these traits, it is inevitable for the organization to steer with change throughout time. With time factor drifting from one era to another, it is imperative for everyone to adapt with change. The change in technology, communication, transport, machineries and other aspects, humanity are forced into dependence upon these changes for greater gain. The advent of 20th century has toppled the traditional practices and various individuals and organizations must be creative in using their knowledge-based human capacity to balance their organization’s culture with the fast paced change happening in the world today. This has been a challenge for various minds, scholars and individuals to develop new and keen theories and methods applicable for organizations. Organizations of today are no longer conformed to the geographical location, religious beliefs and nationality. Instead, there is a global vision, expansion, influence and competition going on (Walsh, Meyer and Schooenhoven, 2006). This has been evident to the many industries that are present today. Multinational industries with global influence have adapted various changes in their organization culture to cope with the realities that

Human behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Human behavior - Essay Example Thus individuals’ omissions either willfully or accidentally in their actions have contributed to devastating occurrences. Common place accidents such as leaving an iron box on, a dropped cigarette or an electric heater left too close to flammable material have been reported to be major cause of fire fatalities in private residences (Grosse and Malvern, 2004). Consequently, most cigarettes’ related fires begin as a result of the smoker’s carelessness. Similarly, electricity is another commonly reported cause of fire in residential places due to human errors. This has been explained by (Grosse and Malvern, 2004) as emanating from either blown fuses or over warming of hot plugs and sockets. Faulty electrical wiring with exposed naked wires in the wall due to poor workmanship has also been reported to result in short circuiting, consequently starting a fire. Moreover, numerous reports have variously faulted the habit of leaving appliances like lamps, ovens and even baby monitors unplugged for over 24 hours a day. Grosse and Malvern (2004) explain that these implements have occasionally shorted out starting a fire. In the same vein, leaving fireplaces and heating devices such as pots, burners, stoves and lighted candles unattended in rooms have frequently resulted in devastating consequences according to the views of Duncan (2005). Research findings have associated majority of these causes to particular rooms in private residences. Duncan (2005), Elaine (2000) and Grosse and Malvern (2004) have variously demonstrated that the kitchen is the number one cause of domestic fires since it contains numerous hazardous items like the frying pans that can cause fire easily. Furthermore, majority of the mentioned risky items are probably stored in the kitchen. Overloading extension cords in the bedroom with electrical devices such as electric blankets or warmers and heaters with no lab-approval have significantly increased fire risks in the bedroom