5 Proofreading Habits You Should Adopt Immediately

5 Proofreading Habits You Should Adopt Immediately In a blog published on his website Career Talk Pro, writer and consultant Brian Hirth lists a collection of some of the worst rà ©sumà © typos and faulty word choice examples hes seen. However hilarious they might be to read over in retrospect, the job seekers who submitted these words and phrases in their rà ©sumà ©s and cover letters likely didnt find the lost opportunity funny.Here are a few of the most egregious mistakes:i am a prefectionist and rarely if if ever forget details.Proven ability to track down and correct erors.Lurnt Word Perfect computor and spreadsheet pogroms.Develop an annual operating expense fudget.In my 3rd year of BA houners English.Received a plague for salesman of the yearMy role included typing in details of accounts, customer liaison and money-laundering duties.Extra Circular ActivitiesAt secondary school I was a prefixIn my spare time I enjoy hiding my horseDear Madman (instead of Madam)My hobbits includeRestaurant skills: Severing customersIm an acc urate and rabid typistObviously, these mistakes would have never made it into the final draft if the writer had proofread correctly, or had someone else look over their rà ©sumà © and cover letter before submitting it to a potential employer. In cases like these, Im sure it was very clear to the employers that the applicants didnt want the jobs enough to ensure these mistakes were corrected. Such mistakes look unprofessional and careless- two qualities that employers avoid in employees.Proofreading your work is not only smart- it can make or break your chances of getting a job, earning a promotion, or completing a degree. As with any skill, developing useful habits can help ensure that any content you submit, both professionally and personally, leaves the best impression.Developing useful proofreading habits can help you achieve professional success. Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash.Habit #1: Know your tendenciesDo you often confuse your and youre? Or maybe you have a habit of wri ting run-on sentences? Keep these tendencies on a list that is easily visible whenever you sit down to write something.All writers have tendencies toward certain grammar mistakes and syntax errors. These are usually corrected the longer someone writes and works to perfect the craft of it. However, especially if you havent had a lot of experience writing- or if youre learning English as a second language- knowing your tendencies is a good way to ensure adequate proofreading whenever you write.As you develop this habit, include on your list all of the grammar, spelling, or syntax errors you tend to make. Over time, youll begin to notice patterns you can identify as tendencies in your writing, and work to correct them each time you write. Being aware of the type of mistakes you often make is the first step to becoming a better writer (and proofreader).Habit #2: Print it outAfter youve written something, if you have access to a printer, go ahead and print it out. Proofreading your work after printing out a hard copy does several things:It allows you to make corrections directly on the paper for a visual understanding of your error tendencies (see habit #1).It gives your eyes a rest while proofreading, after staring at a screen. According to this article by the American Optometric Association, Computer Vision Syndrome, also referred to as Digital Eye Strain, is a vision-related problem that can happen after prolonged computer, tablet, e-reader and cell phone use. According to the article, to help alleviate digital eye strain, follow the 20-20-20 rule; take a 20-second break to view something 20 feet away every 20 minutes.Heres another great reason to print it out:Viewing a computer or digital screen is different than reading a printed page. Often the letters on the computer or handheld device are not as precise or sharply defined, the level of contrast of the letters to the background is reduced, and the presence of glare and reflections on the screen may make view ing difficult.Viewing distances and angles used for this type of work are also often different from those commonly used for other reading or writing tasks. As a result, the eye focusing and eye movement requirements for digital screen viewing can place additional demands on the visual system.American Optometric AssociationHabit #3: Find a second pair of eyesSpeaking of eyes, even the most seasoned writers know to have someone else look over their work before it is published. Sometimes, you can write a phrase or word so often that it seems correct, even though it isnt. This is why its always important to make the habit of finding a second pair of eyes to look over your writing.Preferably, this other reader should be a professional editor, especially if your content is extremely important for professional or academic pursuits. As a writer and editor, I would never send in an article to a magazine or a query letter to a publication without first having a fellow editor look over it for me. There have often been small details I missed after writing a piece that another editor will catch upon first reading.Another thing that happens is after you focus so intently on writing something, your brain will often fill in words that arent on the printed page, causing you to miss the word entirely. This happens because youre overthinking the sentence or paragraph. Having another person read over your writing is the best way to catch this kind of mistake.If you cant afford to hire a professional editor, at least consider having someone look over your writing for you. This could be a friend, relative, classmate, or professional acquaintance, and could help you catch a missed error you wouldnt have otherwise seen.Find another person to be a second pair of eyes and catch mistakes you might have missed. Photo by Nonsap Visuals on Unsplash.Habit #4: Read out loudReading your work aloud is a great proofreading habit to adopt, particularly because it helps you hear mistakes you migh t otherwise miss when only reading it in your head. If a sentence doesnt sound right when read aloud, youll notice it immediately. Its one of the best habits you can adopt to ensure that everything you write is proofread correctly every single time.According to The Write Practice, reading the words aloud is a proofreading technique that will change your life. Not only does this technique help with grammar, such as knowing where punctuation should go by hearing the pauses that happen, it also helps you catch run-on sentences that leave you out of breath after reading. Reading aloud also helps you find holes in your logic or missing information that needs to be included, along with awkward word placement or repetition. Sometimes, its impossible for me to catch repetitive phrasing or words unless I read my writing aloud first. After doing so, the repetition becomes clear.Habit #5: Give it timeAnother important habit to develop for proofreading is to give it time. Preferably, after youv e written something, you should sleep on it, meaning put it aside to proofread the next day. Many writers have learned over the years that the best time to write or proofread your writing is first thing in the morning- after that first cup of coffee (if caffeine is your thing) and after youve had a restful nights sleep.If you dont have this much time, at least give yourself a few hours between writing the content and proofreading it. Not only will you be able to proofread better- youll give your brain the time to reset and prepare for the different processes copyediting requires.Heres the science behind why this is a good idea. The way the brain functions while writing (creating) is different than how it works in the proofreading process. Martin Lotze researched what the brain looked like while writing. Using an fMRI while his subjects were writing, he first had 28 writers copy an excerpt. He then had the same subjects write a short story for three minutes.During the actual writing activity, the occipital lobe (responsible for visualization) became more active, as the writers were seeing the scene take place in their minds as they wrote. During this creative process, the hippocampus and front of the brain became active, as factual information and plotline were processed. Expert writers used an additional part of their brain- the caudate nucleus, which is the region of the brain that handles automatic functions.In another study, The Science Behind What Writing Does to Your Brain by Erika Rasso, the writer explored research related to how the writing process differs from the copyediting or proofreading process. She notes:Copyediting is an action involving a complex network of different cognitive process to do. The basic building blocks of this complex network are attention and memory†¦ Retrieval from both short-term and long-term memory are required to hold the information the copyeditor is reading in their head and to reference knowledge of grammar, style and other parts of the manuscript.The Science Behind What Writing Does to Your Brain by Erika RassoAs you can see, taking time between the two processes (writing and proofreading) gives your brain the opportunity to switch gears. This is an important step to ensuring youre able to proofread while your brain is at optimal performance.Developing important habits for proofreading will help save you from embarrassing errors and any unprofessional faux pas. Learn them now and youll find that you make fewer errors the more you practice.

Four Social Media Mistakes Could Keep You From Getting Hired

Four Social Media Mistakes Could Keep You From Getting Hired You often hear about how social media can be leveraged to help you get a job, but what about when the process backfires? It happens †¦ and more often than you might think. But this doesn’t mean you need to deactivate your Facebook account and swear off Instagram forever. Instead, read up on four common social media mistakes in order to avoid these pitfalls and enjoy a productive job search. 1. Leaving Your Profile PublicA whopping 77 percent of employers use social media networking sites during the candidate recruitment process, according to a 2013 Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) study. Unless you’re up for completely whitewashing your entire social media presence in order to deliver a 100 percent professional impression, simply set your profile to private instead. With one click of the page, you remove the possibility that companies will stumble upon something on your Facebook page that could result in your elimination from consideration.2. Leaving  Unprofessional Content on Your ProfileEven if your profile is set to private, there’s no excuse for unprofessional photos. Take time to remove all potentially incriminating pictures and posts - from rants about your last boss to evidence of that one crazy night on spring break. These can only come back to haunt you.Also, keep in mind that your profile picture is visible to all - â€Å"friends† or not. Choose something professional: this photo may well be the first impression you make on a recruiter.3.  NegativityNegative or gossipy tweets and disgruntled Facebook posts about current and past jobs and bosses do not reflect well on you. This applies to those penned by you as well as others left on your profile. For employers looking to judge your work ethic, level of commitment, and sense of integrity, unprofessional comments on social media set off alarm bells.And skip the profanity while you’re at it: 63 percent of employers have reconsidered hiring candida tes based on encountering the occasional four-letter word in their profiles.4. Improper GrammarIf you think that your Facebook posts are immune from the grammar police, think again: a staggering 66 percent of recruiters factor spelling and grammar into consideration when checking out the social profiles of candidates.And don’t forget that your current â€Å"friends,† â€Å"followers,† and â€Å"connections,† are all potential future colleagues and/or employers. Careless posting

Insurance and risk management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Insurance and risk management - Essay Example Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurance companies differ in a number of ways, among them being the services that they offer. For instance, Blue Cross insurance specializes in the provision of medical and travel insurance. As a result of the rising cost of hospitalization and medical treatments, Blue Cross insurance, ensures that these uncertainties are covered to safeguarded American citizens. The Blue Cross travel insurance plan takes care of any medical emergency costs to ensure that people do not worry while travelling (Blue Cross Insurance Inc., 2012).. Blue Shield, on the other hand, specializes in the provision of insurance cover for buildings, equipments found both in and outside the building, coverage for company vehicle for staff, company stock as well as commercial liability. These forms of insurance cover are not provided by blue Cross insurance. Basically, Blue Cross Insurance is similar to other types of insurance with regard to the type of contracts. Firstly, just like any other form of insurance, it offers personal contracts (Blue Cross Insurance Inc., 2012). In this regard, it insures person or persons, instead of the property of these persons. This is evident from the travel insurance and its medical covers. Secondly, Blue Cross contracts are unilateral just like other types of insurance. This is evident as it makes an agreement with the insured who is expected to pay some premium, thus forcing it to perform its side of the bargain by indemnifying the insured in case of any lose suffered such those than happen in the course of a journey. Thirdly, it is evident that the contracts provided by Blue cross are conditional just like those of other insurance. This is because, before an individual enters into a contract with Blue Cross, first the insured is required to fulfill certain terms and conditions which the insured mus t perform in the event of a

Wealth and Poverty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Wealth and Poverty - Essay Example From this study it is clear that  underdeveloped nations are those that have poor systems of governance, economic as well as welfare of the people. These countries have poorly developed infrastructure that is essential for economic development, in addition, their education system does not play a major role in empowering its people to be innovative and creative, for this reason, its people live in poverty.According to the report  wealth can be defined as the plentiful or abundance of valuable resources and possessions that can be exploited by an individual or a country. An individual, community, region or country having these resources is said to be wealthy, however, the lack of awareness about the availability of these resources and means to exploit them can leave an individual or that party being dependant. Poverty, in contrast to wealth, means a general scarcity, in this case, it may refer to an individual or state as well. Poverty, just as wealth can also be defined according to the context in which it is being derived, however; there are two main approaches to this issue, it can be absolute or relative poverty. Absolute poverty can be described as a situation where people in a certain place have minimal or no access to the basic requirements of life, which are; food, shelter and clothing. On the other hand, relative poverty refers to the situation where people are completely barred from taking part in what is considered as a normal and acceptable standard of life in a community or society in general.

High school Essay Example for Free

High school Essay * Literacy is a human right, a tool of personal empowerment and a means for social and human development. Educational opportunities depend on literacy. Literacy is at the heart of basic education for all, and essential for eradicating poverty, reducing child mortality, curbing population growth, achieving gender equality and ensuring sustainable development, peace and democracy. (Why Is Literacy Important? UNESCO, 2010) * The notion of basic literacy is used for the initial learning of reading and writing which adults who have never been to school need to go through. The term functional literacy is kept for the level of reading and writing which adults are thought to need in modern complex society. Use of the term underlines the idea that although people may have basic levels of literacy, they need a different level to operate in their day-to-day lives. (David Barton, Literacy: An Introduction to the Ecology of Written Language, 2nd ed. WileyBlackwell, 2006) * To acquire literacy is more than to psychologically and mechanically dominate reading and writing techniques. It is to dominate those techniques in terms of consciousness; to understand what one reads and to write what one understands: it is to communicate graphically. Acquiring literacy does not involve memorizing sentences, words or syllableslifeless objects unconnected to an existential universebut rather an attitude of creation and re-creation, a self-transformation producing a stance of intervention in ones context. (Paulo Freire, Education for Critical Consciousness. Sheed Ward, 1974) * There is hardly an oral culture or a predominantly oral culture left in  the world today that is not somehow aware of the vast complex of powers forever inaccessible without literacy. (Walter J. Ong, Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word. Methuen, 1982) * We expect the contradictory and the impossible. . . . We expect to be inspired by mediocre appeals for excellence, to be made literate by illiterate appeals for literacy. (Daniel J. Boorstin, The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America, 1961) * Women and Literacy In the history of women, there is probably no matter, apart from contraception, more important than literacy. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution, access to power required knowledge of the world. This could not be gained without reading and writing, skills that were granted to men long before they were to women. Deprived of them, women were condemned to stay home with the livestock, or, if they were lucky, with the servants. (Alternatively, they may have been the servants. ) Compared with men, they led mediocre lives. In thinking about wisdom, it helps to read about wisdomabout Solomon or Socrates or whomever. Likewise, goodness and happiness and love. To decide whether you have them, or want to make the sacrifices necessary to get them, it is useful to read about them. Without such introspection, women seemed stupid; therefore, they were considered unfit for education; therefore, they weren’t given an education; therefore they seemed stupid. (Joan Acocella, Turning the Page. Review of The Woman Reader by Belinda Jack [Yale University Press, 2012]. The New Yorker, October 15, 2012) * From the website of California Literacy, Inc. The literacy rate in the US has many educators in search of answers about this problem that has plagued our country for decades. Instead of decreasing, the numbers of literacy has steadily increased over the years. This raises a lot of questions about our education system, how it is ran, and why there is such a problem with illiterate people in our country. (quoted by The New Yorker, Nov. 22, 2010) Pronunciation: LIT-er-eh-see Language * Six Common Myths About Language * Key Dates in the History of the English Language * Introduction to Etymology: Word Histories Elsewhere on the Web * The National Institute for Literacy (US) * The Literacy Project * National Literacy Trust (UK) Resources for Writers * Reference Works for Writers and Editors * Grammar and Usage Advice Sites * Sites for Correcting Common Sentence Errors Related Articles * orality definition and examples of orality * illiteracy definition and examples of illiteracy * aliteracy definition and examples of aliteracy * Adult Education What Is Adult Education * Writing Degree Do I Need a Writing Degree Richard Nordquist Grammar Composition Guide * Sign up for My Newsletter * Headlines * Forum Advertisement. Related Searches achieving gender equality paulo freire education curbing population growth critical consciousness paulo freire personal empowerment Explore Grammar Composition Must Reads * What Is Grammar? * Euphemisms for Death * Commonly Confused Words * 400 Essay Topics * Introductions to 30 Figures of Speech Most Popular * What Is a Metaphor? * Writing Topics: Argument * Top 20 Figures of Speech * 400 Writing Topics * metaphor See More About: * english language By Category * Writing Tips * Business Writing * Correcting Errors * English Grammar * Punctuation Mechanics. * Composing Sentences * Words * Composing Paragraphs * Composing Essays * Rhetoric and Style * Exercises and Quizzes * Readings and Resources * Grammar Rhetoric Glossary Grammar Composition 1. About. com 2. Education 3. Grammar Composition 4. Grammar Rhetoric Glossary 5. Icon Lower Case 6. literacy definition and examples of literacy * Advertise on About. com * Our Story * News Events * SiteMap * All Topics * Reprints * Help * Write for About * Careers at About * User Agreement * Ethics Policy * Patent Info. * Privacy Policy * Your Ad Choices  ©2013 About. com. All rights reserved. The Greatest Literacy Challenges Facing Contemporary High School Teachers: Implications for Secondary Teacher Preparation Mary B. Campbell Saint Xavier University Margaret M. Kmiecik Saint Xavier University Secondary teachers face significant challenges in their efforts to increase the literacy levels of adolescents. Encouraging teachers to speak out about these challenges and to recommend initiatives that may improve literacy practices for adolescents is vital for future reform efforts. This study examines the questions: What are the greatest literacy challenges facing high school content area teachers? and What will help to diminish these challenges? The data collection questionnaire was distributed to teachers in eight high schools throughout the greater Chicago area. A discussion of the findings suggests compelling directions for secondary teachers and teacher educators. 2 Reading Horizons, 2004, 4, (1) WHILE SEVERAL REFORMS in higher education teacher preparation have made a difference in more teachers being highly prepared and qualified (Smylie, Bay, Tozer, 1999), preparing teachers to meet the literacy demands of secondary students still remains inadequate. Improving literacy learning in our nations high schools needs serious elevation as an educational priority at all levels. The 2002 NAEP (National Association for Educational Progress) Report indicates that 36 percent of students in grade 12 performed at a proficient level, indicating that only a little over one-third of our nations high school seniors can understand challenging material (Feller, 2003). This was a decline in performance from 1998 when the NAEP reported the percentage of seniors who performed at the proficient level as 40 percent (U. S. Department of Education, 1999). Additionally the 1998 report states that no more than 6 percent of the adolescents performed at the advanced level which demonstrates students ability to analyze and extend the meaning of the materials they read. The NAEP data further show more than one-third of the students did not demonstrate competence at a basic level of literacy. The International Reading Association has taken a substantial leadership role in elevating attention to middle school and secondary literacy issues by establishing the Commission on Adolescent Literacy in 1997 (Rycik Irvin, 2001). The work of this Commission resulted in the published document, Adolescent Literacy: A Position Statement (Moore, Bean, Birdyshaw, Rycik, 1999), which recommends principles for teachers to consider when supporting the literacy growth of secondary students. Still much more comprehensive work needs to be done as challenges still persist and teachers, administrators, and staff developers have asked for more examples of practices that might renew and revitalize their efforts for middle and high school students (Rycik Irvin, 2001, p.4). Teaching has greatly increased in range and complexity over the last decade. Teachers now find themselves in highly pressured environments (Pincas, 2002). Faced with the reality of overcrowded classrooms, high stakes testing, and standards-based environments, using instructional practices that move students to higher levels of thinking through more authentic forms of learning are lost. Additional factors Secondary Teaclher Literacy Clhallenges 3  that compound the situation are high student mobility, absenteeism, minimal student engagement, misbehavior, missing homework, cultural and linguistic diversity, special needs, and increasing numbers of students from poverty and single parent households (Alvermann, Hinchman, Moore, Phelps, Waff, 1998). Regardless of the number or degree of challenges, teachers still remain accountable for fostering literacy growth among all students. Efforts to improve literacy learning for secondary students must take seriously the realities and challenges persistent in todays high schools. Reform theorists who suggest improvement can be made through a series of workshops, enhanced technology, sanctions and the like, (Smylie, Bay, Tozer, 1999, p. 59) are naive at best. A new paradigm requires comprehensive and systemic change. It also requires a serious re-orientation towards broad organizational, political, and economic presuppositions on which definition and acquisition of change must be based. Moreover, it involves a commitment to putting teachers at the forefront of the reform process. Valencia and Wixson (2000) argue that it is time for the voices of teachers to be heard. Without empowered professional voices, we lose the potential for constructing serious reform. Emerging Directions If students are to achieve high literacy standards, evidence strongly suggests that what teachers know and can do is one of the more important factors influencing student achievement. (Darling-Hammond, 1999, p. 228). Research also makes it clear that if teachers are to negotiate the demands of new standards and new students, they must have access to a deeper base of knowledge and expertise than most teacher preparation programs now provide (Darling-Hammond, 1999, p.229). While several studies have looked at reform in teacher preparation programs, Schwartz (1996) concluded that reform changes in teacher preparation have resulted in little more than adjusting on the margins (p. 3). Particularly troubling, in secondary teacher preparation, is the limited attention given to the challenges existing in schools in which future teachers must help students to achieve literacy, and the problems 4 Reading Horizons, 2004, 4, (1) of schooling in a broader social context. Moreover, in many states, secondary teacher preparation programs include a requirement of a content area reading course, whereas in other states there is no equivalent requirement. This has remained literally unchanged for years, even as secondary students continue to struggle with reading and writing throughout the high school curriculum. The wide-spread standards movement has made some impact in requiring newly certified teachers to demonstrate competency on specific literacy knowledge and performance indicators. However, the depth of what is needed to teach content area literacy in secondary schools requires more than one course, and/or a few standards. Connecting Two Distinct Communities Education can no longer be seen as an exclusive function, and the traditional structures cannot remain isolated from social change. Faculties in colleges and universities and the practicing teachers in secondary schools have no choice but to adjust to new paradigms. While it is now more common to find partnerships and institutional collaborations between university faculty and secondary teachers, many of these need redefinition. In many partnerships, practicing teachers have related there has not been a high level of reciprocity, as the universities are too dominant (Campbell, 2002, p. 22). Each entity must put into the equation improvement strategies that are meaningful to their respective organizations; that is, they need to identify areas where they truly need help from one another. Then institutionally and programmatically, they need to find ways to work together to make those intended improvements a reality (Howey Zimpher, 1999, p. 299). High school teachers and teacher educators alike are looking to move beyond  yet another good idea to realize reconceptualization and transformation for secondary literacy education. This means engaging high school teachers in the process of secondary teacher preparation, determining what factors pose the greatest challenges to literacy development and using this knowledge as a cornerstone for improving Secondary Teaclher Literacy Clhallenges literacy practices in schools. Failure to confront these challenges effectively will undoubtedly compromise the ability of teachers to serve as effective agents of change. Purpose The purpose of this study was to identify the problems secondary teachers face that impede literacy learning in the classrooms and to yield information that may inform the preparation of future secondary teachers. Two broad questions emerged to guide this study: o What are the greatest literacy challenges facing high school content area teachers? e What will help to diminish these challenges for current and/or future high school teachers? The Study ParticipatingS chools and Teachers The schools that participated in this study included eight high schools, seven public and one private. The researchers purposely selected the schools to ensure ethnic diversity as well as urban and suburban representation. Six of the high schools represented grades 10-12 and two included grades 9-12. The school principals granted permission to graduate students enrolled in a Masters Degree Program in Reading to place the High School Literacy Survey in the school mailboxes of the teachers. A total of 450 questionnaires, including a cover letter and a stamped return envelope, were distributed to 9-12 teachers. Two hunared and two questionnaires were returned, realizing a return rate of 45 percent. There were no follow-up attempts to obtain a higher return rate. Most respondents (71 percent) had advanced degrees beyond the B. A. or B. S. : among these were 68 percent with a M. A. and 3 percent with a Ph. D. Teachers from 18 different subject area fields responded to the survey. English (18 percent), mathematics (16 percent), and science (15 percent) teachers comprised the majority of participants. The remaining teachers represented the following subjects; art (3 percent), 5. 6 ReadingHorizons, 2004, 45, (1) business (4 percent), technology (4 percent), drivers education (1 percent), foreign language (6 percent), history (7 percent), library (1 percent), music (1 percent), physical education (3 percent), reading (1 percent), radio/television (1 percent), social studies (8 percent), special education (3 percent), theology (3 percent), and vocational education (4 percent). Teachers with more than 10 years of experience accounted for 63 percent of the sample, while 37 percent had 10 years or less. Teachers working in suburban areas surrounding the greater Chicago area comprised the majority (67 percent) of the sample population, with the remaining 33 percent coming from urban schools. Forty-four percent described their schools as predominately diverse ( 50 percent), 32 percent considerably diverse (30-50 percent minority), 17 percent somewhat diverse (10-30 percent minority) and 7 percent primarily white (less than 10 percent minority). The Questionnaire We collected the data from a survey instrument, High School. Literacy Survey, designed and constructed by us. The questionnaire requested two types of information: * objective, relating to educational degrees, content field of study, years of teaching experience, diversity of school population * subjective, relating to opinions and values in teaching and learning The subjective portion of the survey was comprised of two broad questions. The first question asked teachers to identify 5 of the 20 factors that posed the greatest challenges in helping their students to attain literacy in their subject field. Respondents wrote the numeral 1 next to the statement representing their greatest challenge, the numeral 2 next to the statement representing their next greatest challenge, and so forth through the numeral 5. (See Appendix) The twenty statements, defined as challenges, were derived from the literature on content area reading. An extensive review of the literature Secondary Teaclher Literacy Clhallenges 7 resulted in identifying twenty challenges, however, these may not represent all possible factors and they may not represent factors that teachers would have included if they were to construct the questionnaire. A space was provided for teachers entitled other for their convenience in identifying additional factors that pose as challenges. Since no specific theory was identified to serve as a foundation for the selection of factors, they represent an eclectic representation. Additionally, the factors were not defined on the questionnaire, indicating that a singular definition cannot be assumed and that the factors may represent multiple meanings in the field. The second question invited the teachers to respond openly to the question, What do you believe will help to diminish these challenges for current and/or future high school teachers? Findings Percentages were used to report the data on the high school teachers perceptions about the factors that challenge them most in helping their students to achieve literacy in their subject area. Table 1. Percentage Responses of Factors that Represent the Greatest Literacy Challenges Factors Percent 1 2 3 4 5 Total Assessment of student learning 2 1 1 2 2 8 Classroom environment 1 2 1 2 6 Classsize 4 4 6 8 5 27 Cultural and language diversity 1 1 2 among students Curriculum 1 2_ 1A _3 7. 8 Reading Horizons, 2004, 45, (1) Factors Percent 1 2 3 4 5 Total Helping students to construct. meaning from text Helping students interpret graphics in text Helping students to learn and use critical thinking skills Helping students to locate and organize information Helping students to understand concepts and vocabulary Homework issues Integrating technology for teaching and learning Selecting materials for teaching and learning Organizing and managing the classroom for learning State/district/school standards for students Struggling readers Student motivation/interest/attitudes 3 6 6 7 7 1 1 3 2 16 8 12 11 12 1 5 5 4 3 8 3 6 11 12 5 8 10 6 7 1 5 2 1 3 1 4 1 2 2 3 1 1 1 1 2 9 9 8 8 8. 33 17 17 8 7 1 5 5 5 3 19 29 7 59 18 40 36 12 5 8 6 42 82 Students with special needs Secondary Teacher Literacy Chiallenges Factors Percent 1 2 3 4 5 Total Students who lack study skills 11 13 13 13 7 57 Writing skills of students 2 8 5 7 8 30 (A ranking scale, with 1 meaning greatest challenge, 2 next greatest challenge, and so forth) The top five challenges as reported in Table 1 were: * student motivation, interests, and attitudes (33 percent) o helping students to learn and use critical thinking skills (16 percent) o students who lack study skills (11 percent) o struggling readers (9 percent). o helping students to understand concepts and vocabulary (8 percent). The least perceived challenges were cultural and language diversity among students (2 percent) and selecting materials for teaching and learning (5 percent). Examining the data of the largest responding groups of content area teachers, English, mathematics, and science, yielded similar findings. All three of these groups identified the same top two challenges as did the total group. The English, mathematics, and science teachers third, fourth and fifth rankings were: * English (3) homework issues (4) students who lack study skills. (5) writing skills of students o Mathematics (3) students who lack study skills 9 iO Reading Horizons, 2004, 45, (1) (4) homework issues (5) helping students to locate and organize information e Science: (3) students who lack study skills (4) helping students to understand concepts and vocabulary (5) helping students to construct meaning from text The teachers were also asked to respond to the following openended question, What do you believe will help to diminish these challenges for current and/or future high school teachers? Seventyseven percent of the teachers wrote responses to this question. The resppnses were grouped by similar topics from which themes emerged. Table 2 reports the percentages of the most frequently occurring responses to the open-ended question. Table 2. Themes and Percentages of Responses for Confronting the Greatest Challenges Most Frequent Responses by Theme Percent Better basic skills instruction in elementary schools 64 More parent responsibility and support 58 Mandatory inclusion of critical 39 thinking questions on all assessments Study skills classes for incoming students 33 I Iimprove teacher preparation/more methods for 28 secondary teachers. Greater respect and support from society 20 Practical/useful staff development 11 Secondary TeachterLiteracy Challenges 11 Most Frequent Responses by Theme Percent Teacher task forces making policy decisions 9 instead of politicians and administrators Complete restructuring of the current traditional 7 education model A center at each high school for struggling readers The most common responses cited by the majority of teachers to confront the greatest challenges (Table 2) were better basic skills instruction in elementary schools (64 percent) and more parent responsibility and support (58 percent). Sample responses given by less than 50 percent of the teachers were mandatory inclusion of critical thinking questions on all assessments (39 percent), study skills classes for incoming students (33 percent), and improvement of teacher preparation with more methods for secondary teachers (28 percent). Discussion The results of this study provide insight for the continuing efforts to improve the literacy levels of secondary students. They are, however, neither exclusive nor exhaustive. They are offered with no claim for the universality or total generalizability, but they are offered as a common ground for thinking. Student Motivation andA ttitudes High school teachers identified student motivation to read, write, and do other literacy-related activities as their greatest challenge. The teachers written comments on questionnaires indicated that much of the class-assigned reading is often boring and not relevant to the students own interests and experiences. They also stated that the students who will not read are as much at a disadvantage as those who cannot. Student 12 Reading Horizons, 2004, 45, (1) motivation was ranked the greatest challenge of all for the participating teachers. The dilemma of identifying and implementing strategies to motivate adolescents is not new to literacy practice. The data from this study confirm what the research (Alexander Filler, 1976; Au Asam, 1996; Benware Deci, 1984; Collins-Block, 1992; Guthrie Alao, 1997; Schraw, Brunning, Svoboda, 1995) has documented over time: that student motivation, interests, and attitudes are indeed authentic challenges. Teaching adolescents to become active, motivated, and selfregulated learners is a continuing issue in secondary schools. It is during the adolescent years when reading motivation and attitudes appear to worsen, especially for poor readers (McKenna, Kear, Ellsworth, 1995). Serious attempts to advance literacy skills require interventions that address motivation and attitudes as much as interventions that assure cognitive changes in the learners (Verhoevan Snow, 2001). This generally does not happen. Motivational constructs are usually not given significant vigilance in relation to student cognition and thinking, and at best, are given only passing and superficial attention. A further problem is that standard reading texts and uniform curricula make life somewhat easier for teachers and administrators, but they make it very difficult for students to get involved with the material at the level that is right for them, and therefore to find intrinsic rewards in learning. In the classroom, the teacher is the key element in motivating students to learn. The responsibility is great and the ramifications even greater, yet many responding high school teachers stated they were not adequately prepared in their teacher preparation programs with the knowledge, skills, and instructional strategies to ignite the spirit of their students. These teachers indicated they want more ideas, support, and freedom within the school curriculum to take the lead, and more ways to experience first-hand, in-field, motivational issues in their teacher preparation programs. Critical Thinking Skills. Teaching critical thinking skills was the second greatest challenge for teachers. Large numbers of teachers indicated they feel underSecondary Teachter Literacy Clhallenges 13 prepared in pedagogical methods to help studenis conceptualize problems and solutions. Assisting adolescents to become proficient with these skills is a prodigious challenge for secondary teachers. The capacity for abstraction, for discovering patterns and meanings, generalizing, evaluating, and theorizing is the very essence of critical thinking and exploration. For most students in the United States and throughout the world, formal education entails just the opposite kind of learning. Rather than construct meaning for themselves, meanings are imposed upon them. Frequently, students often accumulate a large number of facts along the way, yet these facts are not central to their education; they will live their adult lives in a world in which most facts learned years before (even including some historical ones) will have changed or have been reinterpreted. Whatever data they need will be available to them at the touch of a computer key. If students are to learn critical thinking skills, teachers must teach them and engage their students in genuine problem solving discussion. Generally these skills are best, and likely only taught and assessed, through extended discourse. This is difficult to do in crowded classes where it is near to impossible to carry out extended discussions. The commitment to teaching these skills in all content areas means gaining support from the public. It also means that teachers must gain the knowledge and skills to do so through teacher preparation programs and inservice education, taking into account the real-life situations and parameters in todays classrooms. Study Skills Students who lack study skills ranked as the third greatest challenge to teachers. The importance of study skills has been documented over time in the professional literature (Flood Lapp, 1995). What is known is that many people of all ages have difficulty reading and learning, largely because they are not using appropriate techniques or good learning habits. Often, the adolescents who are dropping out of schools are doing so because they believe they carnot learn. For the majority of these students, they lack suitable reading and study techniques, which 14 Reading Horizons, 2004, 45(1) impede their growth in learning and contribute to their negative beliefs about themselves and school. Although most secondary teachers have a thorough understanding qf their subject, many responding teachers in this study indicated they lack the knowledge of instructional/study strategies by which to help students internalize the concepts. Research shows that with an organized system of study, students can increase their comprehension of subject matter up to 50 percent (Annis, 1983). As nations seek to assist adolescents in gaining higher levels of literacy, the knowledge and skills that teachers need to teach their students effective study habits and strategies may likely become central to the curriculum in secondary teacher preparation programs and in the curriculum of secondary schools. Struggling Readers Struggling readers ranked as the fourth greatest challenge to the high school teachers. Teachers responded that these students can be found hiding out in content classrooms. They frequently are passive and disengaged. , Many have found coping strategies to help (them get by, but they do not significantly improve their literacy skills or their knowledge in the content areas. I Although comprehension of text material is difficult and sometimes impossible for struggling readers, there are research-based strategies that have proven to be successful when used with struggling readers. One such strategy is instructional scaffolding, an effective strategy that gives students a better chance to be successful than if left on their own (Vacca, 2002). Pedagogy, which includes instructional techniques for diverse learners, is glossed over in many teacher preparation programs for secondary teachers. However, it is as important in the preparation of high school teachers as is cognitive knowledge (Darling-Hammond, 2000). If high school teachers are to make substantial contributions to all adolescents, it will require more knowledge of relevant instructional methodologies. Darling-Hammond (2000) found that teacher subject-matter knowledge was related to student achievement only up to a certain point. Secondary Teacher Literacy Challenges 15 Marzano (2003) asserts that the importance of the relationship between pedagogical knowledge and student achievement has been consistently reported in the research literature. Furthermore, in a study conducted by Ferguson and Womack (1993), they found that the number of courses teachers took in instructional techniques accounted for four times the variance in teacher performance and student achievement than did subject-matter knowledge. Teachers stated that more information about how to assist the struggling readers in their classrooms is sorely needed in preservice teacher education programs. Additionally they need to know that the strategies and support to assist these learners are realistic for todays classrooms. Key Concepts and Vocabulary Helping students to understand concepts and vocabulary ranked as the fifth greatest challenge. Every subject area has its own vocabulary and modes of argument, and its language is the common denominator for learning subject matter knowledge. Vacca and Vacca (2002) agree: they state, Vocabulary must be taught well enough to remove potential barriers to students understanding of texts as well as to promote a longterm acquisition of the language of a content area (p. 160-161). Teachers want more knowledge about ways to teach vocabulary and concepts to adolescents, strategies that will provide adolescents with a deeper and richer entry into the content area of study, and strategies that will work in the classrooms of today. Intriguing Findings It is a noteworthy finding that the cultural and language diversity among students in the classrooms was not identified among the greatest challenges. The majority of teachers in this study were from diverse schools, and yet only two percent ranked this to be a challenge. Equally notable was the fact that state, district, and school standards, writing skills, and integrating technology were not identified among the greatest challenges. 16 Reading Horizons, 2004, 45, (1). Of all the findings, the most revealing was that provided by the drivers education teachers: whereas every other content-area group of teachers, albeit art, music, business, foreign language, etc. , ranked student motivation as the greatest challenge, they did not. This is not surprising as it supports the findings of this study as well as long standing research in the field, as cited in Marzano, 2003. The hypothesis being that when motivated, students strive to learn.

Analysis of Nike Essay -- Nike Tennis Shoes Retail Businesses Essays

Analysis of Nike Basketball players â€Å"wanna be like Mike†, but shoe companies â€Å"wanna be like NIKE.† NIKE is the worlds #1 company and controls more than 40% of the US athletic shoe market. The company designs and sells shoes for just about every sport, including baseball, volleyball, cheerleading, and wrestling. NIKE also sells Cole Haan dress and casual shoes and a line of athletic wear and equipment, such as hockey sticks, skates, and timepieces. In addition, it operates NIKETOWN shoe and sportswear stores and is opening JORDAN in store outlets in suburban markets. NIKE sells its product to about 19,000 US accountants, in about 140 other countries, and online. Chairman, CEO, and co-founder Phil Knight owns. Nike Co. is very interesting, as well is a popular brand. Nike, pronounced NI-KEY, is the winged goddess of victory according to Greek mythology. She sat at the side of Zeus, the ruler of the Olympian pantheon, in Olympia. A mystical presence, symbolizing victorious encounters, NIKE presided over history’s earliest battlefields. A Greek would say, â€Å"When we go to battle, and win, we say it is NIKE.† Synonymous with honored conquest; NIKE is the twentieth century footwear that lifts the world’s greatest athletes to new levels of mastery and achievement. The NIKE â€Å"swoosh† embodies the spirit of the winged goddess who inspired the most courageous and chivalrous warriors at the dawn of civilization. Among artistic representations of Nike are the sculpture by Paeonius (c. 424 BC) and the â€Å"Nike of Samothrace.† Rhodians probably erected the latter, discovered on Samothrace in 1863 and now in the Louvre Museum, Paris, about 203 BC to commemorate a sea battle. Excavations have shown that the sculpture was placed alighting on a flagship, which was set in the ground in such a way that it appeared to float. If you were to break the word NIKE down, you would get Ni-key. The pronunciation for Nike is ‘nI-kE. Its function is noun, and its etymology is Greek NiKE. If you defined the word NIKE, you would find out that it means the Greek goddess of victory. Another meaning and definition of a word is SWOOSHING. Main entry: Swoosh, function is noun, and it is an act or instance of swooshing. The origin of the swoosh dates back as far as 1971. Phil Knight was supplementing his modest income from Blue Ribbon Sports Inc. by teachi... ...enior labor official reiterated complaints that workers in Nike-contracted factories faced inhumane treatment. ``Violations of labor rights generally are occurring in their smaller contractor joint venture or wholly-owned ventures in which the Vietnamese side has minimal control,'' said Tu Le, a senior official from the Vietnam Labor Union. Nguyen's report was to be released today in New York. Just weeks ahead of the report, Nike announced it had hired former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young and his Goodworks International group to review a new code of conduct for the company's overseas factories. The measure was aimed at quelling mounting criticism that working conditions at factories in Indonesia and Vietnam were substandard. Nike uses five manufacturing plants in Vietnam, where it takes advantage of low-cost labor and relatively high production standards. About 3 percent of Nike's output is produced in Vietnam, a Nike spokesman said in an earlier interview. Michael Jordan became the first athletic mega businessman. His role as a spokesman for Nike turned that athletic-shoe and- apparel company into the world leader, earning both him and Nike millions of dollars. Analysis of Nike Essay -- Nike Tennis Shoes Retail Businesses Essays Analysis of Nike Basketball players â€Å"wanna be like Mike†, but shoe companies â€Å"wanna be like NIKE.† NIKE is the worlds #1 company and controls more than 40% of the US athletic shoe market. The company designs and sells shoes for just about every sport, including baseball, volleyball, cheerleading, and wrestling. NIKE also sells Cole Haan dress and casual shoes and a line of athletic wear and equipment, such as hockey sticks, skates, and timepieces. In addition, it operates NIKETOWN shoe and sportswear stores and is opening JORDAN in store outlets in suburban markets. NIKE sells its product to about 19,000 US accountants, in about 140 other countries, and online. Chairman, CEO, and co-founder Phil Knight owns. Nike Co. is very interesting, as well is a popular brand. Nike, pronounced NI-KEY, is the winged goddess of victory according to Greek mythology. She sat at the side of Zeus, the ruler of the Olympian pantheon, in Olympia. A mystical presence, symbolizing victorious encounters, NIKE presided over history’s earliest battlefields. A Greek would say, â€Å"When we go to battle, and win, we say it is NIKE.† Synonymous with honored conquest; NIKE is the twentieth century footwear that lifts the world’s greatest athletes to new levels of mastery and achievement. The NIKE â€Å"swoosh† embodies the spirit of the winged goddess who inspired the most courageous and chivalrous warriors at the dawn of civilization. Among artistic representations of Nike are the sculpture by Paeonius (c. 424 BC) and the â€Å"Nike of Samothrace.† Rhodians probably erected the latter, discovered on Samothrace in 1863 and now in the Louvre Museum, Paris, about 203 BC to commemorate a sea battle. Excavations have shown that the sculpture was placed alighting on a flagship, which was set in the ground in such a way that it appeared to float. If you were to break the word NIKE down, you would get Ni-key. The pronunciation for Nike is ‘nI-kE. Its function is noun, and its etymology is Greek NiKE. If you defined the word NIKE, you would find out that it means the Greek goddess of victory. Another meaning and definition of a word is SWOOSHING. Main entry: Swoosh, function is noun, and it is an act or instance of swooshing. The origin of the swoosh dates back as far as 1971. Phil Knight was supplementing his modest income from Blue Ribbon Sports Inc. by teachi... ...enior labor official reiterated complaints that workers in Nike-contracted factories faced inhumane treatment. ``Violations of labor rights generally are occurring in their smaller contractor joint venture or wholly-owned ventures in which the Vietnamese side has minimal control,'' said Tu Le, a senior official from the Vietnam Labor Union. Nguyen's report was to be released today in New York. Just weeks ahead of the report, Nike announced it had hired former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young and his Goodworks International group to review a new code of conduct for the company's overseas factories. The measure was aimed at quelling mounting criticism that working conditions at factories in Indonesia and Vietnam were substandard. Nike uses five manufacturing plants in Vietnam, where it takes advantage of low-cost labor and relatively high production standards. About 3 percent of Nike's output is produced in Vietnam, a Nike spokesman said in an earlier interview. Michael Jordan became the first athletic mega businessman. His role as a spokesman for Nike turned that athletic-shoe and- apparel company into the world leader, earning both him and Nike millions of dollars.

Diabetes in Developing Countries

Diabetes in developing countries Deaths from diabetes, which has two primary forms including type1 and type2 diabetes, have become a significant problem in the world. Nowadays, diabetes is still a disease not having precise method to cure. As a result of surplus blood sugar, it has a negative effect on the human body and leads to several complications, such as vision problems, kidney damage, nerve damage and heart and circulation problems (Pollock, 2006). Consequently, the increased risk of these diseases makes it become one of the major causes of deaths.For example, according to the WHO (2011), more than 346 million people were diagnosed with it worldwide and between 50% and 80% of them died from CVD. With the development of health care, the mortality in developed countries was decrease, while the situation in developing countries is so serious that 80% of diabetes deaths exist in low and middle income countries (WHO, 2011). For instance, such countries in The Middle East, Pacific I slands and Southeast Asia had 115million diabetic patients in 2000 and the WHO (2011) predicts that the number will double between 2005 and 2030.To mitigate the effects of diabetes, the causes of it need to be detected. Type 1 diabetes, which is known by lacking insulin production, results from several causes and possible factors. First, genes attribute mainly to it. More than 18 genetic locations related to it have been discovered by researchers and they have found that people with an especially HLA complex which means human leukocyte antigen, are more likely to develop it. A good illustration of it is other autoimmune disorders may caused by such complexes, such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, or juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (Smith, 2010).The second factor is a viral infection which may affects the disease by attacking immune system. For instance, Kamiah (2010) states that a series of diseases from gastrointestinal problems to myocarditis can created by the coxsa ckie B virus. In addition, there are some special conditions which may attribute to it. For example, certain drugs including corticosteroids, beta blockers, and phenytoin, rare genetic disorders such as Klinefelter syndrome and Wolfram syndrome, and hormonal disorders such as acromegaly and hyperthyroidism all raise the possibility of it (Simon, 2009).It has been one of the most increased diseases worldwide, however, type 2 diabetes is more common. Unlike type 1 diabetes, causes of type 2 diabetes, which results from the ineffective use of insulin (WHO,2011), usually are multifactorial. First, being overweight or obese is a primary reason for it. The increased risk of it may bring several complications including heart disease, stroke and some cancers. A good illustration of this is 82% of people with it are caused by overweight or obese and such complications (Vann,2009).The second is genetic factors which have been found more than 10 genic material associated with it. For example, there are more possibilities for people to get it if they have close relatives having it, such as parents and siblings. Thirdly, ethnic origin also plays a part in it. For instance, NHS (2010) points out that people with it from South Asian, African, and Middle Eastern are six times likely than people in the UK. In addition, incorrect living styles such as poor eating habits, too much TV time and physical inactivity also have a negative effect on it.It is often not a single factor but two or more causes above combined to lead to it. According to the CDC (2010), such combinations give rise to approximately 95% of it in the U. S. As can be seen from data, diabetes in developing countries has become a huge problem and the mortality from it has a continued increase worldwide. Not only government, but people should change their attitudes and aware the importance in order to prevent it.