Education in Private and Public Schools Essay Example for Free

Education in Private and Public Schools Essay Over the past years, there has been lots of interest among the policy makers to compare private and public elementary and secondary schools in the United States. In a sense, both private and public schools follow the same general goals set out in 1979. These goals as Sizer pointed out are expected to serve equally well both the American’s public and private elementary and high school (p. 349). These goals according to Sizer aimed to develop the students’ fundamental scholastic capacity and to make them competitive and responsible individual. Both the private and public are expected to come up with this end, and to touch most aspects of an adolescent’s existence, mind, body, values and career. Generally, as reported by Teresa Mendez in her article said that private schools had performed very satisfactory during the latest Standardized Test for scoring higher than public school. This report summarized the concept that private schools are getting more professional in performing their jobs. This report is very significant since America has set educational policies that are common for both public and private schools. Sizer had stated in his book â€Å"What High School Is† that despite America’s multi-diverse culture and decentralized school government, most schools across America are common in terms of vision or goals related to academic achievements of students. However, as one will look into Sizer’s discussion of similar circumstances and scenario inside a high school in California, he or she can notice some problems regarding students’ attitude and behavior inside and outside the classroom. In particular Sizer portrayed this concept through Mark who is a student who is bored and uninterested with school requirements. On the other hand, there are teachers and staffs who are busy with work and mindful of responsibility at home. These two parties are both elements that comprise education and yet, it seems that the academic goals or vision are not emphasized. This is because; Mark being a recipient of the knowledge appeared to be passive and stubborn since knowledge is somehow undesirable on his view, while teachers and staff are not good mover or instruments of those knowledge. This concept presented by Sizer is common in America, and he seems trying to reconcile the educational goals with proper implementation by adapting some changes in terms of school policy. To better understand this, it is important to analyze the school system in America and how it tries to meet the present needs of the educational system of America, as well as its impact to the existing scenario in most schools. Given the same objective, we can expect less difference although we may expect much similarity between public and private high school education. But studies conducted by the National Center for Education Statistic showed that there are many differences in the public and private education. They explained that although the central goal of education is the same with public and private but both can freely choose objectives and goals related to what has been set up by the government (p. 7). This means that, each school has freedom to set objectives and goal, yet, all of them should match the overall goals of the central government. These goals are directed towards the fundamental academic achievements, career and economic competence, citizenship and civil responsibility, aesthetic awareness and cultural diversity of the students (Sizer, p. 349 – 350). In general, education in America as they view it should cater to the growth and development of individual for the country’s fundamental advancement whether in public or in private schools. It is evident in most schools in America that even though, private and public schools follow through same principles in terms of educational system, and yet, they are differ in many ways from curriculum to policies. The findings of the study done by the National Center for Education Statistic reveals that majority of the public school have curriculum with emphasis on basic literacy and reading skills as their most important goal, while private schools chose to put priority on religious development of their students (p. 8). However, other results of analysis and studies of NCES showed that faculties in public schools are more professional than those in the private school as public school uses a full range of professional living requirements. The article published by the NCES entitled â€Å"Teacher Professionalization and Teacher Commitment: A Multilevel Analysis† noted that teachers in public school are required to have a substantive training in areas of specialization, complete accredited training program, and passage of examination (p. 25). Whereas teachers in private schools, the report appears to be less professional on many ways (p. 25). The report also cited that there is more turnover of teachers in private schools than in public schools. This indicates that public school have more stable teaching force than the private school as public school teachers are receiving much higher salaries which is one of the important factor for teacher to stay in their work. Aside from that, the article noted that private school teachers receive inferior salaries that cause high turn over on the part of private schools. Thus, the report shows that despite the privileges and benefits received by teachers in public school, these teachers have shown lesser commitment as compared to teachers in private schools. In comparison, neophyte teachers from private and public school have greater commitment than those in senior level or those teachers receiving higher salary (p. 26-27). Other factors associated with increase in commitment in teachers according to study are: high-end-of career salary and individual autonomy for teachers. The professionalization and commitment of teachers affect so much the credibility of education imparted to students. Policies implemented in the school system certainly affect the general performance of the school. The goal which the school is heading have influenced not only on the teachers but among the student as well. Roelande Hofman said that studies have shown that private schools have a positive effect on academic achievement (p. 119). Hofman pointed out that private school have the freedom to the kind of students they want to enroll and kick out students who display behavior that violates their own set of rules. Because of this autonomy, it gives the private school authority to reject or to accept students which the public school had only limited autonomy (p. 19). On students and parents preference, private school seemed to attract more because of selection policy. Hofman noted that in public school, the diversity of students’ background as the individual characteristic of students home environment affect with the school. It means that the behavior and conduct of students in school affects the general performance of the school in the areas of character and conduct as Sizer has portrayed in his book, many of the students seemed to have lost appetite to seriously search and acquire knowledge through schooling. In fact, students’ activities inside the campus appeared to be unmonitored by the school authorities as students can transact illegal drugs inside the school premises. Whereas in private school, students activities are daily monitored and any unacceptable manner or any violation of the given rules would easily be met with either warning or punishment. The issue is that the student feels more responsible to study well as they carry in themselves the pride that they there among other students like them who are truly sincere in their study. In general, it appears that though the teachers in the public school have a much better salaries and benefit systems and are more stable in their position compared to their peers in the private schools, yet private school teachers are more committed in their work than teachers in the public school. Second, the policy and goals and vision seem to work well in the private school despite of the fact that teachers in the public school are more professional and more trained and more fitted to work because of the specialization in the field they are handling. Third, that despite of the fact that teachers in private school are less qualified in the position given the requirements required for a public school teacher, yet private school appeared to be preferential choice of parents and students for one more reason disciplined. The similarities between public and private have been quite obvious in the levels of commitment of female teachers than their male counterpart. Both the public and private teachers reflect that female teachers are slightly committed than their male counter part. The article cited that those who are more experienced teachers have less commitment than those new ones which is the same with the private schools. Aside from this, there was not much given similarities between the public and private school. In fact, some authors were even exaggerated to express that what is between public and private are distinct difference in all aspect. Thus, the similarities given were limited only in comparison of male and female teacher in the public as well as in the private school.

Importance Of Insurance Sector Economics Essay

Importance Of Insurance Sector Economics Essay The study is about the performance analysis of insurance sector of Pakistan. Financial safety is not stable in todays world. It does not matter how big earnings we have for a month or how huge savings we have there are often situations beyond our expectations or control. We cannot make us safe completely. This is why we need to take all the safety measures to secure our financial state and our lives as well. And to do this the best way is to have insurance. Insurance can be the best safe measure for the financial losses and the loss of life. Even if anybody has huge savings secure in a safe place there can always be some type of catastrophe that can pull out all of the savings. In such kind of situations insurance can only be the security measure that makes anybody safe and secure. When a contract is made with an insurance company that contract is called insurance policy. Insurance is basically a transfer of risk for transferring the risk on the company in return insurer must pay som e agreed amount called the premium. A company may cover all the loss or some part of it depending upon the policy. Insurances policies or contracts purchased when anybody feel that it is not possible to bear the loss completely. For example sudden health condition like any accident, heart attack, or anything else that may cause a serious loss of life or permanent loss or injury. In the same way financial accident may happens like house burn, theft, car accident, or property stolen or any business liability. These things are so expensive that anybody cannot pay all these losses or some of them from own pocket or savings. In these kinds of situations insurance helps a lot a person pays a small amount of money for the promise that a loss will recovered if any accident happens. Insurance is nothing but an agreement between an insurance company and a person to pay an amount for compensation in shape of occurring a loss of insured property or life. The amount can vary from a thousand to millions depending upon the insurance policy and premium agreed. Importance of Insurance Sector Insurance sector is very important sector in any economy. Because individuals and companies keep investing in new ideas in new businesses and in new ways of doing businesses. For doing that individuals and companies have to take a lot of risks and to avoid that riskiness or loss of investment or other important resources companies and individuals go for insurances to protect their investments or transfer of risks. In Pakistan insurance industry is 7th largest industry of the whole economy. Pakistan is a large country having a population near about 200 million of which majority are Muslims. As a religious belief many people avoid insurance to improve their living standards. About 65% of the population lives in rural areas and 60% to 70% people live below poverty line and their earnings are less than 2$ a day as a result less income to spend a less educated people as a result insurance industry in our country could not grow well as compare to other countries in the world. Economic Impact Insurance industry in Pakistan known as inadequate and in efficient less innovative products of insurance and monopoly of single state own insurance company name as state life insurance company of Pakistan. In 2001 state life insurance captured 80%of the total insurance market of Pakistan. And in 2005 the share was 74% of the total market. Though the share of state own company has go down in last few years and the share of private companies has increase a lot. But still insurance sector in Pakistan could not grow as compared to the international standards. The major reason of not growing the insurance industry in Pakistan is that the people are more religious and avoid insurances and companies do not offer innovative insurance products. Further insurance is divided in to two parts one is life insurance and the other is general insurance. In general insurance all other insurances include other than life insurance. Now five insurances companies are dealing in life insurance business of which four are private owned companies and one is state owned company. Out of those four private companies two are local life insurance companies and remain two are operating as foreign insurance companies. Performance and Growth Till 2005 the total amount received from policy holders in shape of premium 62% of total premium is of general insurance and remaining is of life insurance. Life insurance requires more capital. (SECP, 2007). About life insurance life insurance is divided into two major parts individual life insurance and group life insurance. Individual life insurances have big part in life insurance business which is 79% of total life insurances. And 20%share of group life insurances both group and individual life insurances have a 99% share of total life insurances. The other reaming 1% of total life insurance is of pension plans, health insurances, and children education plans etc. (SBP Report, 2005) If we see historically major life insurance business is owned by state owned company which is state life insurance company. State life insurance corporation or (SLIC) of Pakistan is the only government owned corporation that was made by merging 41 insurance companies in process of nationalization in early 1970(SBP, 2005). From that time state life insurance corporation became the leader insurance company in the country and having a 76% share of life insurance business. (SBP Report, 2005) Through the share of state life insurance corporation has decreased as compared with past but still state life insurance corporation has the major portion of the life insurances. But compare to international markets Pakistani market do not grow that much compared with other countries. There is urgent need for government to take steps to aware the people of Pakistan that insurance is beneficial for them so that the market may grow quickly and more investment come in Pakistan which is ultimately good for local economy and people of Pakistan. (Annual reports of life insurance companies 2001-2005) The above picture shows the overall performance of the insurance business in Pakistan done in the years of 2001 to 2005. The average growth in profits were almost 14% which a very handsome growth in a developing country. And the average ROA means return on assets is .4% which is a good result. Return on assets shows one rupee of asset generated the percentage of profit. Now about general insurances national insurance is the only state owned company that deals in the general insurance business in the country. Where as many private companies deals in the business of general insurance. There are five major categories of general insurance motor insurance, fire insurance, marine insurance, health insurance, and last one called miscellaneous insurance. Motor insurance having the largest share of 48% of total general insurance business. The reason behind this huge share is increasing number or cars on the road. Marine insurance having a share of 21% of total general insurance business. It is linked with the international exports and imports of services and products. Fire insurance is having a share of 18% of total of general insurance business and it is linked with the growth of industrial and construction business. Health insurance is having a 6% share of total of general insurance business. And miscellaneous insurance having a remaining share of 7% which includes aviation insurance, cash insurance and travel related insurances. (Insurance association of Pakistan, 2006) General insurances business is largely dominant by private companies, Government owned company having a share of 14% of total of general insurance business. Whereas a huge share is owned by the private sector companies which is 82% of the business of general insurances. And remaining 4% share owned by foreign companies. In the past few years Government owned companies have lost their share in the business of general insurances. (Insurance Association of Pakistan, 2006). The general insurance business has shown an outstanding performance in terms of profits. The average increase in profits over the five years was 52% per annum. And if talked about the return on assets it also showed a great result. The overall return on assets for over a five year period was 8%, which is a remarkable outcome. (Annual Reports of General Insurance Companies, 2001-2005) Now about the overall performance of insurance companies, before this section the individual performance of life and general insurances business was shown. In this section comparison of both life and general insurance would be shown which would show the overall picture of insurance industry of Pakistan. The map below shows the growth of premium, net profit growth and assets growth for life and general insurance business as well. The map below gives a comparison between general and life insurance premium for the five year period. The overall average growth in life insurance business has been 28% per annum. The average rate of growing of the general insurance business has been 22% per annum. Which means life insurance business is growing greater than general insurance business. (Annual Reports of Insurance Companies, 2001-2005) The below map will show the growth in profits of life and general insurance business over five year period. The average growing rate for the life insurance business has been 14% every year. And the average growing rate for the general insurance has been 52% a year. It clearly shows that the profits of general insurance business have grown much faster than the life insurance business. (Annual Reports of Insurance Companies, 2001-2005) History of the Selected Companies Jubilee Life Insurance Jubilee life insurance claims to bring global skills to Pakistan. For more than 15 years Jubilee life insurance doing business in Pakistan and claims to provide a better life, and the life of security and safety. Jubilee life insurance established in Pakistan in June 1995 as a public company, under the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s ordinance 1984. Jubilee life insurance starts its operations on June 1996. Jubilee life insurance companies shares are listed on stock exchange with paid up capital of 627 million rs. Jubilee life insurance proud to be having leading industries board of directors, and having the ability and experience to give Jubilee life insurance a better future for the people of Pakistan. Jubilee life insurance is under the Aga khan fund for economic development Switzerland. It is the monetary growth wing of Aga khan development network. It is a group of private agencies development looking for improvement of living conditions in selected areas of under developed countries. The association of Jubilee life insurance with Aga khan development network permits to attracts its worldwide knowledge and funds to give our customers in Pakistan with the finest insurance option already there in the country. Jubilee life insurance customers can be feeling safe in information that our process are secured by a globally accepted organization with worldwide excess. With popular assignments around Africa and Asia, Aga khan fund for economic development is one of the world leading private growing organizations active in the whole industry. EFU

Examining the Strategic Plans for Growth PepsiCo

Examining the Strategic Plans for Growth PepsiCo PepsiCo, Incorporated is a Fortune 500, American multinational corporation headquartered in Purchase, New York, with interests in manufacturing and marketing a wide variety of carbonated and non-carbonated beverages, as well as salty, sweet and cereal-based snacks, and other foods. Besides the Pepsi brands, the company owns the brands Quaker Oats, Gatorade, Frito-Lay, SoBe, Naked, Tropicana, Copella, Mountain Dew, Mirinda and 7 Up (outside the USA). The various strategic plans for managing and developing the growth of PepsiCo are as follows:- INTENSIVE GROWTH (Identifying the opportunities to achieve further growth within the current business) Product -market expansion grid is useful framework for detecting new intensive growth opportunities Market penetration strategy(The company first considers whether it could gain more market share with its current products in the current markets): Headquartered in Purchase, New York, with Research and Development Headquarters in Valhalla, The Pepsi Cola Company began in 1898 by a NC Pharmacist and Industrialist Caleb Brad ham, but it only became known as PepsiCo when it merged with Frito Lay in 1965.Major products of both the companies were before they got merged were- Pepsi-Cola Company Pepsi-Cola was formulated in 1898, Diet Pepsi (1964) and Mountain Dew (introduced by Tip Corporation in 1948). Frito-Lay, Inc. Fritos brand corn chips (created by Elmer Doolin in 1932), Lays brand potato chips (created by Herman W. Lay in 1938), Cheetos brand cheese flavored snacks (1948), Ruffles brand potato chips (1958) and Rold Gold brand pretzels (acquired 1961). So, the Pepsi -cola and Frito-Lay both were amongst the renowned and best sellers till they got merged. Market development strategy (next it considers whether it can find or develop new markets for its current products)-Pepsi-Cola was considered a takeover target not only because it ran a distant second in the soft drink sector to industry giant Coca-Cola Company, but also because little of the companys stock was in the hands of management. Following the creation of PepsiCo, however, the new companys directors held a much larger proportion of shares, with Lay holding a 2.5 percent stake himself. A second force behind the merger was Frito-Lays desire to more aggressively pursue overseas markets. The companys sales had largely been restricted to the United States and Canada, but it could now take advantage of Pepsis strong international operations, through which Pepsi products were sold in 108 countries. Product development strategy A third force was the perceived synergy between salty snacks and soft drinks. As Kendall succinctly related to Forbes in 1968, Potato chips make you thirsty; Pepsi satisfies thirst. The plan was to jointly market PepsiCos snacks and soft drinks, thereby giving Pepsi a potential advantage in its ongoing battle with Coke. Unfortunately, these plans were eventually scuttled by the resolution of a Federal Trade Commission antitrust suit brought against Frito-Lay in 1963. The FTC ruled in late 1968 that PepsiCo could not create tie-ins between Frito-Lay and Pepsi-Cola products in most of its advertising. PepsiCo was also barred from acquiring any snack or soft drink maker for a period of ten years. integrative growth INTEGRATIVE GROWTH (Identifying opportunities to build or acquire business that are related to current business) Each company faces challenge of selection between different marketing strategies of growth. PepsiCo has a bunch of strategies called integrated growth strategies to: Expand Global Leadership Position of the Snacks Business. PepsiCo is global snacks leader of the world, with No. 1 savory category of the share position in the virtually each key region around the globe. They have advantaged position for entire value chain in over more than 40 developing and developed regions in which they operate as the capitalization on the local manufacturing and the optimized go-to-the-market capabilities in every region, thus also the ability to have introduced the relevant products locally by using the global capabilities. Ensure Sustainable, Profitable Growth in Global Beverages. When combined with actions they are taking to refresh their brands across the entire beverage category, they believe this game-changing transaction will enable them to accelerate their top-line growth and also improve their profitability. They continue to view the significant areas of the global beverage growth, specifically in the developing markets or in the evolving categories. They will thus invest in the attractive opportunities and concentrating in the geographies and the categories in which they the leader or the close second and where competitive game thus remains widely open. Unleash the Power of Power of One. Combination of the snacks and the beverages-with the global high-demand and the local brands thus makes the company an essential and needful partner for the small-format as well as the large-format retailers. Rapidly Expand Our Good-for-You Portfolio. By investing to thus accelerate growth of the platforms, and they are using the knowledge from the initiatives to improve their beverage offerings and the core snack and thus also developing high nutritious products for the undernourished people around the world. Continue to deliver the commitments and the Environmental Sustainability Goals. They actively work with their farmers to promote sustainable agriculture and thus developing the packaging alternatives in both the beverages and snacks to thus reduce impact on environment. Cherish the Associates and Developing Leadership to thus sustain the Growth. By implementing tailored training programs to provide managers and the senior executives with leadership and strategic capabilities that are required in the rapidly changing environment. diversification growth DIVERSIFICATION GROWTH (identifying opportunities to add attractive business unrelated to current business) the US based company thus conducted the restructuring exercise in the year 1997-98 by thus spinning-off the restaurants and the bottling businesses. Restructuring was thus aimed to achieve the improved and increased focus on companys snack food operations (Frito-Lay) and core beverage (Pepsi-Cola). By thus successfully adopting new focus strategy since the year 1997, the company has thus emerged as second largest packaged consumer goods company (terms of the revenues) in world. By thus acquiring the leading beverages companies like the Tropicana (July 1998), the South Beach Beverage (October 2000) and the Quaker Oats company (December 2000), company has thus significantly strengthened the competitive position in beverages segment.

The Ethics of Stem Cell Research Essay example -- Genetic Engineering

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), stem cells are 1 "Cells with the ability to divide for indefinite periods in culture and to give rise to specialized cells." Stem cells are basically unspecialized cells that can, with proper physiologic or experimental conditions, become specialized cells. Specialized cells are usually called differentiated cells. These differentiated cells can then be used to repair damaged cells and eventually cure many diseases and disorders in humans. This could revolutionize the way society treats health issues. Instead of trying to destroy and sure a disease or disorder, doctors could simply grow new cells that would be able to repair or replace the damaged cells and tissue. Adult Stem Cells There are two major types of stem cells, embryonic and adult stem cells. Adult stem cells are the undifferentiated cells that are found in tissue and organs in adults. These cells are usually found mixed in with differentiated cells. These cells are used to repair and maintain the tissue in which they are found. Research of adult stem cells began in the 1960?s when scientists discovered them in bone marrow. Stem cells from bone marrow have been used in transplants for the past 30 years. Currently, scientists are unsure as to how adult stem cells develop. A major advantage to using adult stem cells is that each patient?s stem cells can be extracted, grown, and then reinserted into their body. This would ensure that the immune system would not reject the new cells. One of the problems with adult stem cells is that there are a very few number of stem cells in a sample of tissue. Another problem is that scientists are unsure about the flexibility of adult stem cells. Since they are found only i... ...ws-item94.htm >. Stem Cell Basics. 2002. National Institutes of Health (NIH). 16 Nov. 2003. ?Stem Cell Debate Revives an Old Ideological Battle,? New York Times [NY] 6 Jul. 2001. first ed.: A17 ?Stem Cell Research; Global Differences: As the U.S. Hesitates, Other Countries Move Ahead With Studies on Embryos,? San Jose Mercury News [CA] 7 May 2002, morning final: 1E. ?Tangled Issues In Congress: Cloning and Stem Cell Study,? New York Times [NY] 31 Jul 2001, first ed.: A17 ?Use of Cloning to Tailor Treatment Has Big Hurdles, Including Cost,? New York Times [NY] 18 Dec. 2001 first ed.: F2 What Are Stem Cells and What are They Used For? 2002. How Stuff Works. 15 Nov. 2003. . P1.http://www4.od.nih.gov/stemcell/figure1_primer0902big.jpg

The Return of Depression Economics :: essays papers

The Return of Depression Economics From the many economy-related books available I read The Return of Depression Economics by Paul Krugman. This book was written during the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990’s. Many say that Krugman wrote this book much too quickly to be fully correct on every issue that he wrote about in this book. Krugman mainly focuses on financial crises of the 1990’s and mostly on the Asian financial crisis. This book was very interesting to read even though I did not fully understand every issue he covered. In this book Krugman laid out the basic fundamentals of global economy and the choices we had to get ourselves out of the Asian financial crisis. With the Asian financial crisis done and over with, many of Krugman’s thoughts and choices are now out-of-date. Even though there were an option at the time but now dated, they were interesting and I agreed on many of his points. Krugman believes that Mexico’s crisis was a three-act play with Mexico as act one , Asia as number two and us finishing off as act three. During the 1990’s there have been many currency crises around the world. For example, Britain and Sweden in 1992 to Mexico and Argentina in 1995 to East Asia's rim in 1997 to Brazil in 1998-1999. These crises are better known as financial â€Å"panics†. There are many different things that can trigger a financial crisis but I will explain Krugman’s classic example of the â€Å"panic†. International investors in New York, Frankfurt, London, and Tokyo are known as main investors. These main investors invest their huge amounts of money in countries that they think are doing well. From this â€Å"hunch† they flood their billions of dollars, about $70 billion into Asia, into a country’s economy. If they feel that they have made a poor financial investment they quickly pull their money out of the market at huge losses. These main investors cause a stampede of smaller investors to also pull their money out of the economy at sale prices. Th is causes a panic and seems to have a snowball effect. So in effect the country that once was flooded with billions of dollars is left off worse and soon is facing economic troubles. This panic has a tendency to effect surrounding countries.

Acupuncture essay

Acupuncture Acupuncture is a traditional Eastern therapeutic technique that uses fine needles, inserted into specific points on the body along the meridians in proper speed to achieve a specific therapeutic goal. Acupuncture originated in prehistoric China, and it is based on such theories of Traditional Chinese Medicine as treating blockages of Qi, yin-yang balancing, five elements theory and pulse diagnosis. The functional system of channels and organs uses concepts of yin-yang balancing. Nowadays, acupuncture has become commonly used in many Western countries as well. Around 200 B. C. the Yellow Emperor’s textbook of physical medicine called Huang Di Nei Jing described the essential metaphysics of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The ancient Chinese doctors saw man as an integral part of nature and all things both in Yin and Yang around him were related to him, and things in Yin and Yang should be in balance. The original meaning of Yin is the shady side of the hill, and Yang is the sunny side of the hill. The opposites complement each other in a dynamic process. Thus, Yin and Yang cannot exist without the other, and the two forces always combine to make up the whole. This polar system of Yin and Yang has an important role in medicine and in the description of life processes in the human body and of their pathologic disturbances. † (Gabriel Stux, Brian Berman and Bruce Plmeranz, 2003, p88) Qi is the vital energy or life force, and it is omnipresent in nature and is apparent in all life in the form of change and movement. The action and movement of Qi expresses in every life process and every organic function. â€Å"In the body, Qi accumulates in the organs and flows in channels or meridians that are called Jing and Luo in Chinese. (Gabriel Stux, Brian Berman and Bruce Plmeranz, 2003, p. 88) The general theory of acupuncture is based on the premise that there are Qi. The fluent flow of Qi throughout the body is essential for optimal health. Blockag e of this energy is thought to cause disease. The aim of the treatment in Chinese acupuncture is to harmonize the flow of Qi by dissolving blockages and stagnation in the organs and channels. If the Qi of an organ is weakened, the function of this organ will be incomplete or faulty, but if Qi of an organ is present in xcess, the function of this organ will be excessive. Acupuncture can balance the conditions of excess or deficiency in the organs, and thus achieve an undisturbed function. The system of â€Å"five element†, like yin-yang balancing, is a philosophy concept and is a way of recognizing and analyzing things. The five elements are wood, fire, earth, metal and water. This system is used to explain the reasons of interaction relationship between all things in the nature through the interlinked relationship between the five elements.These basic elements are intimately interlinked. Each element is controlled by another, while itself simultaneously controlling a third ph ase. According to Chinese medicine, Qi flows through meridians, and there are11 organs interact intimately with the channels. The 11 organs are described as functional systems and subdivided into six Yang organs and five Yin organs. Large intestine, small intestine, stomach, urinary bladder, gallbladder and â€Å"Sanjiao† are the six Yang organs, and lung, heart, spleen, kidney and liver are the five Yin organs. Pericardium (a double-walled sac that contains the  heart  and the roots of the great vessels) is not considered as a Yin organ, but as part of the heart, having a channel. † (Gabriel Stux, Brian Berman and Bruce Plmeranz, 2003, p122) The 12 main channels form a system of three courses of channels at the body surface. Each course of channel consists of two pair Yin-Yang channels. One pair runs in parallel along the arm, and the other along the leg. This three courses flow in similar form. One Yin and one Yang organ form a functional unit, which involves a pa rticular tissue and the corresponding channels.Acupuncture points are located on those channels. By the application of needles, heat, or massage on acupuncture points, acupuncturists can make some damaged organs function better. A pair of channels consists of a Yin and a Yang channel. â€Å"Yang channels run laterally or on the dorsal side of the body, while Yin channels run medially or on the ventral side. † (Gabriel Stux, Brian Berman and Bruce Plmeranz, 2003, p125) There are 12 main channels, like the months of the Chinese zodiac, each representing a major organ system of the body. In addition, there are two extraordinary channels named Ren Mai and Du Mai.Ren Mai is the conceptional vessel, which counts as a Yin channel, while Du Mai is the governing vessel, which counts as a Yang channel. These two extraordinary channels and the 12 main channels together make up the system of 14 channels on which the 361 classic acupuncture points are situated. The 12 main channels form a system of three courses or cycles of channels at the body surface. Each course of channel consists four main channels, two Yin and two Yang channels. â€Å"One Yin-Yang pair runs in parallel course along the arm, and the other along the leg.An internal branch of the channel derives from the main channel running to the corresponding Yin or Yang organ. † (Gabriel Stux, Brian Berman and Bruce Plmeranz, 2003, p125) The first course is located on the ventral side of the body. It is made up of the lung, large intestine, stomach, and spleen channels. The lung channel starts at the chest wall and runs along the volar side of the arm to the corner of the thumbnail, and it belongs to the Yin polarity. The large intestine channel starts from the index finger and runs on the dorsal side of the arm to the face, and it belongs to the Yang polarity.The stomach channel starts from the face and runs ventrally down the body to the second toe, and it belongs to the Yang polarity. The spleen ch annel runs from the foot along the inside of the leg back to the chest wall, and thus it belongs to the Yin polarity. The second course is located on the dorsal side of the body. It is made up of the heart, small intestine, urinary bladder and kidney channels. The third course is located on the lateral side of the body. It is made up of the pericardium, Sanjiao, gallbladder and liver channels. These courses flow similar to the first course.A Yin or Yang channel axis is made up of two adjacent Yang channels or two adjacent Yin channels in the same course of channels. The Yang channel axes pass downwards from the arm to the leg through the head and body. The Yin channel axes pass upwards from the feet to arms through the body. The channel axes are important for diagnosis as well as for treatment. Acupuncture are very useful in treating some disorders, such as respiratory disorders, mental disturbances and illness, neurological disorders, skin disorders and disorders of the sense organ s, etc.. Many respiratory disorders are successfully treated by acupuncture.Especially in chronic conditions, such as chronic sinusitis, bronchitis, or bronchial asthma, acupuncture is more effective than other forms of treatment. External climatic influences such as cold, wind, dryness, and occasionally heat are sometimes the causes of a weakened lung Qi. Thus, acupuncture can dissolving the blockage and can strengthen the Qi. Acupuncture treatment is very effective in a large number of psychosomatic disorders, such as agitation or exhaustion conditions, insomnia, depression, sexual disturbances, drug addictions, obesity, and headache. Acupuncture has a harmonizing, sedative, or tonifying effect. Many points of the Du Mail, heart, pericardium, and gallbladder channels have strong psychological effects. † (Gabriel Stux, Brian Berman and Bruce Plmeranz, 2003, p287) Also, organs that are affected in mental disturbances can be treated by stimulation of the points of the correspon ding channels. Acupuncture also shows a good effect in migraine, chronic headache and trigeminal neuralgia. According to traditional ideas, chronic headache and migraine are attributed to a blockage of Qi in the Yang channels of the head.The pain in chronic headache is mostly caused by an internal disturbance of organs. The location of pain is very important in planning for an individual acupuncture treatment. However, trigeminal neuralgia is attributed to a blockage of Qi caused by wind, cold, or heat, together with pronounced internal disturbances of the liver or stomach. â€Å"In the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia, a large number of points in the face are needled on the contra-lateral side; they should be manually stimulated over and over again, for dispersing stimulation. (Gabriel Stux, Brian Berman and Bruce Plmeranz, 2003, p296) Acupuncture treatment is also effective in many skin disorders, such as neurodermatitis, acne, herpes zoster, psoriasis, and eczema. According to traditional ideas, the skin is related to the lung and the large intestine, and skin disorders are therefore treated with points on the channels relating to the lung and the large intestine. What worth mentioning is that points surrounding the disordered skin area should not be needled especially ulcerated regions.Acupuncture treatment is highly effective in disorders of the sense organs, deafness, tinnitus, vertigo, conjunctivitis and visual deficiency. According to traditional concepts, the ear is related to the functional system of the kidney and urinary bladder, while the eye corresponds to the liver and gallbladder. In addition, the ear is closely connected to the Sanjiao channels, which circles round the ear. Stimulation of the distal points of the Sanjiao is higyly effective in ear disorders. Negative effects of acupuncture were rarely reported, however, they do exist and special attention should be paid to. The most frequent complication of acupuncture treatment is the vasov agal episode. More serious complications reported include rare pneumothoraces, lacerations of viscera, compression of nerve trucks due to local hematomas, sepsis, transverse myelopathy, eschars and scarring, endocarditis, and broken needles. † (Ceniceros, Salvador and Geroge R. Brown, 1998) The first needles were sharp flints, and later metal needles had replaced sharp flints. Different acupuncture needles have different length and diameter. Usually, the length varies from 1. 5 to 15 cm, and the diameter varies from 26 to 36 gauge (0. 2 to 0. 5mm). Disposable needles are usually made of stainless steel with handles wrapped in copper wire. Today, most used needles are filiform steel needles because the steel is flexible and unbreakable. Filiform needles consist of a tip, a body and a handle. In most cases, 0. 3mm thick needles are used in acupuncture. When insert acupuncture needles, acupuncturist should hold them vertically use three fingers, the thumb on one side of the needl e and the index and middle finger on the other side.The needles should be held perpendicular to the three fingers and 1-2cm from the tip of the needles should not be held, especially with long needles, which are more liable to bend. There are two methods of insertion. One is fast method, and the other is low method. Fast method causes less pain, while low method may be painful. The insertion can be perpendicular (90 °), oblique (30 °-60 °), or occasionally tangential (10 °). The depth of insertion and the direction are given with the specific acupuncture point, but they can vary depending on the constitution of the patient.In China in the 1960s, electro-acupuncture (EA) was introduced into clinical practice, especially for treatment of chronic pain and neurological diseases. â€Å"Electro-acupuncture is aimed at stimulate the points electrically by attaching flexible wires (via small alligator clips) to the needles. † (Gabriel Stux, Brian Berman and Bruce Plmeranz, 20 03, p315) Electro-acupuncture uses one pair of needles which are attached flexible wires (via small alligator clips) to stimulate the points electrically, instead of twirling the acupuncture needles by hand.Pulses of electricity with the pulse width from 0. 1 to 1. 0 ms in duration are applied to the needles in order to stimulate nerves. One major advantage of Electro-acupuncture is that it is more convenient than manual therapy, and requires less skills and accurate needle placement. Acupuncture was first introduced to Europe in the 17th century. However, at that time, it was not widely accepted by Europeans. Most Western skeptics claimed that the traditional Chinese theory of acupuncture was merely anecdotal; therefore cannot be reliable.This situation has dramatically changed in the past 20 years. Lots of publications who went to China and saw the use of acupuncture have revealed the reductionism, causal mechanisms for many of the acupuncture effects in many leading Western journ als. It is estimated that over 300,000 physicians of over one million practitioners outside China use acupuncture treatment for chronic pain. About 90% of the physicians that were found in a recent study of German pain clinics used acupuncture. Also, there are over 11,000 physicians were interested in acupuncture in the USA.In Canada, more than 2000 physicians have taken courses given by the Acupuncture Foundation of Canada. In North America, besides physicians, veterinarians, chiropractors, and naturopaths also use acupuncture. In conclusion, acupuncture based on the Tradition Chinese theory of Yin-Yang balancing, five elements theory to dissolve any blockages in the vital energy Qi. Acupuncture treatments are very useful in variable areas of disorders; despite there may few adverse effects. Nowadays, acupuncture is more familiar to Westerns, and it is accepted by growing number of people in the world.

A Barred Owl and the History Teacher Essay

  Ã¢â‚¬Å"A Barred Owl† vs. â€Å"The History Teacher† Essay and  analysis â€Å"A Barred Owl† by Richard Wilbur and â€Å"The History Teacher† by Billy Collins both have adults lying to children. A childish tone is given off in â€Å"A Barred Owl† that helps the reader relate to the child’s fear while an ironic and sarcastic tone is given off in â€Å"The History Teacher† to show how the teacher’s attempt to keep the kids innocent quickly turns the kids’ thoughts from innocent to ignorance. Literary devices used by the authors guide the reader into seeing the effects of the adults’ lies, despite their good intentions.The childish tone of â€Å"A Barred Owl† is kept through the constant rhyming in the poem like â€Å"boom†¦room† and â€Å"heard†¦bird†. The rhyming combined with the childish tone helps put the reader in the frame of mind of the child and how the child thinks. When the owl makes noise, the parents say it’s the owl asking â€Å"Who cooks for you? â⠂¬  The child will think of her parents each time the owl makes noise, hereby deterring the child’s immense fear of the owl outside her window. The lies given off accommodate with the childish tone and help the reader look at the fear from the child’s point of view. The History Teacher† has the ironic and sarcastic tone that shows the teacher’s lack of an actual lesson. Each lesson the teacher gives, he wants to â€Å"protect his students’ innocence†. The lessons, which are presented as metaphors, contribute to the ironic and sarcastic due to the fact that the serious lessons are compared to trivial things that in no way relate to the actual topic. Even the teacher is affected by the irony and sarcasm as he walks home and sees the â€Å"flower beds and white picket fences† as confirmation that everything is perfect in the world.Again, the teacher compares something small to something bigger that he assumes. Danger presents itself in à ¢â‚¬Å"A Barred Owl† and adds a darker/dangerous tone. The combination of the dangerous tone and the childish tone, which is continued through the rhyming, shows the child’s point of view of the outside night. Although the child was comforted by her parents, she is still frighten she is and shows that she needs to be protected. In â€Å"The History Teacher†, after the lessons taught by the teacher, the children â€Å"leave his classroom for the playground to torment the weak and the smart†.This shows how the teacher isn’t teaching any real lessons for the children to learn from and use in life and shows the continuity of the ironic and sarcastic tone. The poems â€Å"A Barred Owl† by Richard Wilbur and â€Å"The History Teacher† by Billy Collins each show adults lying to children. Using different literary devices in each poem, both authors demonstrate the effects of the children being lied to. â€Å"A Barred Owl† relates the auth or to the child’s fear in the childish tone given off while â€Å"The History Teacher† gives an ironic and sarcastic tone to show the children’s innocence turn to ignorance.