The Lost Symbol Chapter 67-70

CHAPTER 67 West of Embassy Row, all was silent again inside the walled garden with its twelfth-century roses and Shadow House gazebo. On the other side of an entry road, the young man was helping his hunched superior walk across an expansive lawn. He's letting me guide him? Normally, the blind old man refused help, preferring to navigate by memory alone while on the grounds of his sanctuary. Tonight, however, he was apparently in a hurry to get inside and return Warren Bellamy's phone call. â€Å"Thank you,† the old man said as they entered the building that held his private study. â€Å"I can find my way from here.† â€Å"Sir, I would be happy to stay and help–† â€Å"That's all for tonight,† he said, letting go of his helper's arm and shuffling hurriedly off into the darkness. â€Å"Good night.† The young man exited the building and walked back across the great lawn to his modest dwelling on the grounds. By the time he entered his flat, he could feel his curiosity gnawing at him. The old man clearly had been upset by the question posed by Mr. Bellamy . . . and yet the question had seemed strange, almost meaningless. Is there no help for the widow's son? In his wildest imagination, he could not guess what this could mean. Puzzled, he went to his computer and typed in a search for this precise phrase. To his great surprise, page after page of references appeared, all citing this exact question. He read the information in wonderment. It seemed Warren Bellamy was not the first person in history to ask this strange question. These same words had been uttered centuries ago . . . by King Solomon as he mourned a murdered friend. The question was allegedly still spoken today by Masons, who used it as a kind of encoded cry for help. Warren Bellamy, it seemed, was sending a distress call to a fellow Mason. CHAPTER 68 Albrecht Durer? Katherine was trying to put the pieces together as she hurried with Langdon through the basement of the Adams Building. A.D. stands for Albrecht Durer? The famous sixteenth-century German engraver and painter was one of her brother's favorite artists, and Katherine was vaguely familiar with his work. Even so, she could not imagine how Durer would be any help to them in this case. For one thing, he's been dead more than four hundred years. â€Å"Durer is symbolically perfect,† Langdon was saying as they followed the trail of illuminated EXIT signs. â€Å"He was the ultimate Renaissance mind–artist, philosopher, alchemist, and a lifelong student of the Ancient Mysteries. To this day, nobody fully understands the messages hidden in Durer's art.† â€Å"That may be true,† she said. â€Å"But how does `1514 Albrecht Durer' explain how to decipher the pyramid?† They reached a locked door, and Langdon used Bellamy's key card to get through. â€Å"The number 1514,† Langdon said as they hurried up the stairs, â€Å"is pointing us to a very specific piece of Durer's work.† They came into a huge corridor. Langdon glanced around and then pointed left. â€Å"This way.† They moved quickly again. â€Å"Albrecht Durer actually hid the number 1514 in his most mysterious piece of art–Melencolia I–which he completed in the year 1514. It's considered the seminal work of the Northern European Renaissance.† Peter had once shown Katherine Melencolia I in an old book on ancient mysticism, but she didn't recall any hidden number 1514. â€Å"As you may know,† Langdon said, sounding excited, â€Å"Melencolia I depicts mankind's struggle to comprehend the Ancient Mysteries. The symbolism in Melencolia I is so complex it makes Leonardo da Vinci look overt.† Katherine stopped abruptly and looked at Langdon. â€Å"Robert, Melencolia I is here in Washington. It hangs in the National Gallery.† â€Å"Yes,† he said with a smile, â€Å"and something tells me that's not a coincidence. The gallery is closed at this hour, but I know the curator and–â€Å" â€Å"Forget it, Robert, I know what happens when you go to museums.† Katherine headed off into a nearby alcove, where she saw a desk with a computer. Langdon followed, looking unhappy. â€Å"Let's do this the easier way.† It seemed Professor Langdon, the art connoisseur, was having an ethical dilemma about using the Internet when an original was so nearby. Katherine stepped behind the desk and powered up the computer. When the machine finally came to life, she realized she had another problem. â€Å"There's no icon for a browser.† â€Å"It's an internal library network.† Langdon pointed to an icon on the desktop. â€Å"Try that.† Katherine clicked on the icon marked DIGITAL COLLECTIONS. The computer accessed a new screen, and Langdon pointed again. Katherine clicked on his choice of icon: FINE PRINTS COLLECTION. The screen refreshed. FINE PRINTS: SEARCH. â€Å"Type in `Albrecht Durer.' â€Å" Katherine entered the name and then clicked the search key. Within seconds, the screen began displaying a series of thumbnail images. All of the images looked to be similar in style–intricate black-and-white engravings. Durer had apparently done dozens of similar engravings. Katherine scanned the alphabetical list of his artwork. Adam and Eve Betrayal of Christ Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Great Passion Last Supper Seeing all the biblical titles, Katherine recalled that Durer practiced something called Mystic Christianity–a fusion of early Christianity, alchemy, astrology, and science. Science . . . The image of her lab in flames rushed through her mind. She could barely process the long-term ramifications, but for the moment, her thoughts turned to her assistant, Trish. I hope she made it out. Langdon was saying something about Durer's version of the Last Supper, but Katherine was barely listening. She had just seen the link for Melencolia I. She clicked the mouse, and the page refreshed with general information. Melencolia I, 1514 Albrecht Durer (engraving on laid paper) Rosenwald Collection National Gallery of Art Washington, D.C. When she scrolled down, a high-res digital image of Durer's masterpiece appeared in all its glory. Katherine stared in bewilderment, having forgotten just how strange it was. Langdon gave an understanding chuckle. â€Å"As I said, it's cryptic.† Melencolia I consisted of a brooding figure with giant wings, seated in front of a stone building, surrounded by the most disparate and bizarre collection of objects imaginable–measuring scales, an emaciated dog, carpenter's tools, an hourglass, various geometric solids, a hanging bell, a putto, a blade, a ladder. Katherine vaguely recalled her brother telling her that the winged figure was a representation of â€Å"human genius†Ã¢â‚¬â€œa great thinker with chin in hand, looking depressed, still unable to achieve enlightenment. The genius is surrounded with all of the symbols of his human intellect–objects of science, math, philosophy, nature, geometry, even carpentry–and yet is still unable to climb the ladder to true enlightenment. Even the human genius has difficulty comprehending the Ancient Mysteries. â€Å"Symbolically,† Langdon said, â€Å"this represents mankind's failed attempt to transform human intellect into godlike power. In alchemical terms, it represents our inability to turn lead into gold.† â€Å"Not a particularly encouraging message,† Katherine agreed. â€Å"So how does it help us?† She did not see the hidden number 1514 that Langdon was talking about. â€Å"Order from chaos,† Langdon said, flashing a lopsided grin. â€Å"Just as your brother promised.† He reached in his pocket and pulled out the grid of letters he had written earlier from the Masonic cipher. â€Å"Right now, this grid is meaningless.† He spread the paper out on the desk. Katherine eyed the grid. Definitely meaningless. â€Å"But Durer will transform it.† â€Å"And how might he do that?† â€Å"Linguistic alchemy.† Langdon motioned to the computer screen. â€Å"Look carefully. Hidden in this masterpiece is something that will make sense of our sixteen letters.† He waited. â€Å"Do you see it yet? Look for the number 1514.† Katherine was in no mood to play classroom. â€Å"Robert, I see nothing–an orb, a ladder, a knife, a polyhedron, a scale? I give up.† â€Å"Look! There in the background. Carved into that building behind the angel? Beneath the bell? Durer engraved a square that is full of numbers.† Katherine now saw the square that contained numbers, among them 1514. â€Å"Katherine, that square is the key to deciphering the pyramid!† She shot him a surprised look. â€Å"That's not just any square,† Langdon said, grinning. â€Å"That, Ms. Solomon, is a magic square.† CHAPTER 69 Where the hell are they taking me? Bellamy was still blindfolded in the back of an SUV. After a short stop somewhere close to the Library of Congress, the vehicle had continued on . . . but only for a minute. Now the SUV had stopped again, having again traveled only about a block. Bellamy heard muffled voices talking. â€Å"Sorry . . . impossible . . .† an authoritative voice was saying. † . . . closed at this hour . . .† The man driving the SUV replied with equal authority. â€Å"CIA investigation . . . national security . . .† Apparently the exchange of words and IDs was persuasive, because the tone shifted immediately. â€Å"Yes, of course . . . service entrance . . .† There was the loud grinding of what sounded like a garage door, and as it opened, the voice added, â€Å"Shall I accompany you? Once you're inside, you won't be able to get through–â€Å" â€Å"No. We have access already.† If the guard was surprised, it was too late. The SUV was moving again. It advanced about fifty yards and then came to a stop. The heavy door rumbled closed again behind them. Silence. Bellamy realized he was trembling. With a bang, the SUV's rear hatch flew open. Bellamy felt a sharp pain in his shoulders as someone dragged him out by his arms, then lifted him to his feet. Without a word, a powerful force led him across a wide expanse of pavement. There was a strange, earthy smell here that he could not place. There were footsteps of someone else walking with them, but whoever it was had yet to speak. They stopped at a door, and Bellamy heard an electronic ping. The door clicked open. Bellamy was manhandled through several corridors and could not help but notice that the air was warmer and more humid. An indoor pool, maybe? No. The smell in the air was not chlorine . . . it was far more earthy and primal. Where the hell are we?! Bellamy knew he could not be more than a block or two from the Capitol Building. Again they stopped, and again he heard the electronic beep of a security door. This one slid open with a hiss. As they pushed him through, the smell that hit him was unmistakable. Bellamy now realized where they were. My God! He came here often, although never through the service entrance. This magnificent glass building was only three hundred yards from the Capitol Building and was technically part of the Capitol Complex. I run this place! Bellamy now realized it was his own key fob that was giving them access. Powerful arms pushed him through the doorway, leading him down a familiar, winding walkway. The heavy, damp warmth of this place usually felt comforting to him. Tonight, he was sweating. What are we doing here?! Bellamy was halted suddenly and seated on a bench. The man with the muscles unhooked his handcuffs only long enough to reaffix them to the bench behind his back. â€Å"What do you want from me?† Bellamy demanded, heart pounding wildly. The only response he received was the sound of boots walking off and the glass door sliding shut. Then silence. Dead silence. They're just going to leave me here? Bellamy was sweating more heavily now as he struggled to release his hands. I can't even take off my blindfold? â€Å"Help!† he shouted. â€Å"Anybody!† Even as he called out in panic, Bellamy knew nobody was going to hear him. This massive glass room–known as the Jungle–was entirely airtight when the doors were closed. They left me in the Jungle, he thought. Nobody will find me until morning. Then he heard it. The sound was barely audible, but it terrified Bellamy like no sound he had ever heard in his life. Something breathing. Very close. He was not alone on the bench. The sudden hiss of a sulfur match sizzled so close to his face that he could feel the heat. Bellamy recoiled, instinctively yanking hard at his chains. Then, without warning, a hand was on his face, removing his blindfold. The flame before him reflected in the black eyes of Inoue Sato as she pressed the match against the cigarette dangling from her lips, only inches away from Bellamy's face. She glared at him in the moonlight that filtered down through the glass ceiling. She looked pleased to see his fear. â€Å"So, Mr. Bellamy,† Sato said, shaking out the match. â€Å"Where shall we begin?† CHAPTER 70 A magic square. Katherine nodded as she eyed the numbered square in Durer's engraving. Most people would have thought Langdon had lost his mind, but Katherine had quickly realized he was right. The term magic square referred not to something mystical but to something mathematical–it was the name given to a grid of consecutive numbers arranged in such a way that all the rows, columns, and diagonals added up to the same thing. Created some four thousand years ago by mathematicians in Egypt and India, magic squares were still believed by some to hold magical powers. Katherine had read that even nowadays devout Indians drew special three-by-three magic squares called the Kubera Kolam on their pooja altars. Primarily, though, modern man had relegated magic squares to the category of â€Å"recreational mathematics,† some people still deriving pleasure from the quest to discover new â€Å"magical† configurations. Sudoku for geniuses. Katherine quickly analyzed Durer's square, adding up the numbers in several rows and columns. â€Å"Thirty-four,† she said. â€Å"Every direction adds up to thirty-four.† â€Å"Exactly,† Langdon said. â€Å"But did you know that this magic square is famous because Durer accomplished the seemingly impossible?† He quickly showed Katherine that in addition to making the rows, columns, and diagonals add up to thirty-four, Durer had also found a way to make the four quadrants, the four center squares, and even the four corner squares add up to that number. â€Å"Most amazing, though, was Durer's ability to position the numbers 15 and 14 together in the bottom row as an indication of the year in which he accomplished this incredible feat!† Katherine scanned the numbers, amazed by all the combinations. Langdon's tone grew more excited now. â€Å"Extraordinarily, Melencolia I represents the very first time in history that a magic square appeared in European art. Some historians believe this was Durer's encoded way of indicating that the Ancient Mysteries had traveled outside the Egyptian Mystery Schools and were now held by the European secret societies.† Langdon paused. â€Å"Which brings us back to . . . this.† He motioned to the slip of paper bearing the grid of letters from the stone pyramid. â€Å"I assume the layout looks familiar now?† Langdon asked. â€Å"Four-by-four square.† Langdon picked up the pencil and carefully transcribed Durer's numbered magic square onto the slip of paper, directly beside the lettered square. Katherine was now seeing just how easy this was going to be. He stood poised, pencil in hand, and yet . . . strangely, after all this enthusiasm, he seemed to hesitate. â€Å"Robert?† He turned to her, his expression one of trepidation. â€Å"Are you sure we want to do this? Peter expressly–â€Å" â€Å"Robert, if you don't want to decipher this engraving, then I will.† She held out her hand for the pencil. Langdon could tell there would be no deterring her and so he acquiesced, turning his attention back to the pyramid. Carefully, he superimposed the magic square over the pyramid's grid of letters and assigned each letter a number. Then he created a new grid, placing the Masonic cipher's letters in the new order as defined by the sequence in Durer's magic square. When Langdon was finished, they both examined the result. Katherine immediately felt confused. â€Å"It's still gibberish.† Langdon remained silent a long moment. â€Å"Actually, Katherine, it's not gibberish.† His eyes brightened again with the thrill of discovery. â€Å"It's . . . Latin.† In a long, dark corridor, an old blind man shuffled as quickly as he could toward his office. When he finally arrived, he collapsed in his desk chair, his old bones grateful for the reprieve. His answering machine was beeping. He pressed the button and listened. â€Å"It's Warren Bellamy,† said the hushed whisper of his friend and Masonic brother. â€Å"I'm afraid I have alarming news . . .† Katherine Solomon's eyes shot back to the grid of letters, reexamining the text. Sure enough, a Latin word now materialized before her eyes. Jeova. Katherine had not studied Latin, but this word was familiar from her reading of ancient Hebrew texts. Jeova. Jehovah. As her eyes continued to trace downward, reading the grid like a book, she was surprised to realize she could read the entire text of the pyramid. Jeova Sanctus Unus. She knew its meaning at once. This phrase was ubiquitous in modern translations of Hebrew scripture. In the Torah, the God of the Hebrews was known by many names–Jeova, Jehovah, Jeshua, Yahweh, the Source, the Elohim–but many Roman translations had consolidated the confusing nomenclature into a single Latin phrase: Jeova Sanctus Unus. â€Å"One true God?† she whispered to herself. The phrase certainly did not seem like something that would help them find her brother. â€Å"That's this pyramid's secret message? One true God? I thought this was a map.† Langdon looked equally perplexed, the excitement in his eyes evaporating. â€Å"This decryption obviously is correct, but . . .† â€Å"The man who has my brother wants to know a location.† She tucked her hair behind her ear. â€Å"This is not going to make him very happy.† â€Å"Katherine,† Langdon said, heaving a sigh. â€Å"I've been afraid of this. All night, I've had a feeling we're treating as reality a collection of myths and allegories. Maybe this inscription is pointing to a metaphorical location–telling us that the true potential of man can be accessed only through the one true God.† â€Å"But that makes no sense!† Katherine replied, her jaw now clenched in frustration. â€Å"My family protected this pyramid for generations! One true God? That's the secret? And the CIA considers this an issue of national security? Either they're lying or we're missing something!† Langdon shrugged in accord. Just then, his phone began to ring. In a cluttered office lined with old books, the old man hunched over his desk, clutching a phone receiver in his arthritic hand. The line rang and rang. At last, a tentative voice answered. â€Å"Hello?† The voice was deep but uncertain. The old man whispered, â€Å"I was told you require sanctuary.† The man on the line seemed startled. â€Å"Who is this? Did Warren Bell–† â€Å"No names, please,† the old man said. â€Å"Tell me, have you successfully protected the map that was entrusted to you?† A startled pause. â€Å"Yes . . . but I don't think it matters. It doesn't say much. If it is a map, it seems to be more metaphorical than–â€Å" â€Å"No, the map is quite real, I assure you. And it points to a very real location. You must keep it safe. I cannot impress upon you enough how important this is. You are being pursued, but if you can travel unseen to my location, I will provide sanctuary . . . and answers.† The man hesitated, apparently uncertain. â€Å"My friend,† the old man began, choosing his words carefully. â€Å"There is a refuge in Rome, north of the Tiber, which contains ten stones from Mount Sinai, one from heaven itself, and one with the visage of Luke's dark father. Do you know my location?† There was a long pause on the line, and then the man replied, â€Å"Yes, I do.† The old man smiled. I thought you might, Professor. â€Å"Come at once. Make sure you're not followed.†

Overview Of Parental Involvement Studies Education Essay

Parent engagement in instruction either at school or at place is of import for kids. In the U.S Department of Education research publication Strong Families, Strong Schools ( 1994 ) the parent is called â€Å" a kid ‘s first and most of import instructor † ( p.2 ) . In the first 18 old ages of life, a pupil merely spends 13 per centum of the waking, potentially-educative clip in school go forthing the other 87 per centum under nominal control of the parents ( Walberg, 1984a ) . Parents, therefore, control over 6 times more potentially educative hours than the school and offer a comparatively big and incompletely tapped resource for bettering academic accomplishment ( Graue, Weinstein & A ; Walberg 1983 ) . Parents are different from one to another, both in their relationship with their ain kids and their feelings or reactions towards schooling of their kids. They have their ain backgrounds, their ain concerns, their ain troubles with relationships and their ain tenseness s. Some parents are better able to associate to their kids than others. Some are warm and back uping, others may be rejecting or even negligent. Some parents are intelligent, competent people ; others may be uneducated, nonreader, and unable to hold on the significance of state of affairss affecting their kids, even though they love them ( Grolnick & A ; Ryan, 1989 ) . This chapter seeks to reexamine surveies on parental home-based engagement and kids ‘s academic accomplishment. The focal point is on assorted specific variables of parents ‘ home-based engagement that are conducive factors to kids ‘s academic accomplishment. This chapter is divided into seven different parts: ( 1 ) Part one: debut ; ( 2 ) Part two defines ( I ) parents ‘ home-based engagement and ( two ) academic accomplishment ; ( 3 ) portion three presents the overview of parental engagement surveies ; ( 4 ) Part four nowadayss function of households in kids ‘s schooling ; ( 5 ) portion five nowadayss parental home-based engagement and academic accomplishment ; ( 6 ) portion six describes act uponing factors on academic accomplishment including household size, economic position of the household, and parent ‘s instruction ; ( 7 ) portion seven presents the relationship between parents ‘ home-based engagement variables and kids ‘s acad emic accomplishment including ( I ) the relationship between prep engagement and kids ‘s academic accomplishment, ( two ) the relationship between monitoring of telecasting screening and kids ‘s academic accomplishment and ( three ) the relationship between larning installations in the place and kids ‘s academic accomplishment. 2.2 Definition 2.2.1 Parents ‘ home-based engagement Parents ‘ home-based engagement was defined by Nayarko ( 2010 ) , â€Å" Parental engagement in the acquisition activities of their kids at home-that is parental place engagement. It refers to the school-related activities, actions, and behaviors that perform at place that impact on the academic success of the kids. It includes activities such as assisting kids with their prep, treatment with the kids about their school advancement, proviso of words of encouragement, etc. † ( p.340 ) In other words, parents ‘ home-based engagement was defined by Pomerantz & A ; Moorman ( 2007 ) as â€Å" parents ‘ patterns related to school that take topographic point outside of school, normally, though non ever, in the place † ( p.375 ) . In this survey, parents ‘ home-based engagement shall be operationally defined as prep engagement, monitoring of telecasting screening, and larning installations in the place. 2.2.2Academic accomplishment Academic accomplishment was defined by two footings. 1. Academic – it contains to school topics or to Fieldss of broad humanistic disciplines or to the domain of thoughts and abstraction. 2. Achievement – it was denoted by cognition attained or accomplishments developed by students normally in the schools, measured by trial tonss or by Markss assigned by instructors. Academic accomplishment was defined as cognition required and accomplishments developed in school topics, by and large indicated by Markss obtained in trials in an one-year scrutiny ( Sunitha, 2005 ) . Academic accomplishment, in this survey, is defined as the symbol obtained by a kid in an scrutiny. In this respect, kids ‘s academic accomplishment is measured in footings of the kids ‘s public presentation as reflected in the one-year tonss, which were provided by the 2nd and 3rd class instructors with the blessing of the school principal. The academic classs of the pupils for one academic twelvemonth in 11 topics were aggregated and mean mark was used to define their educational or academic accomplishment. These topics are mathematics, Khmer literature, societal surveies ( moral and civic instruction, geographics, history and place economic sciences ) , scientific discipline ( natural philosophies, chemical science, biological science and Earth scientific discipline ) and physical instruction. 2.3 Overview of parental engagement surveies The first research in the country of parental engagement and academic accomplishment day of the months back to the early 1900 ‘s. E.C. Brooks, in 1916, conducted the first known survey of the effects of parental engagement on academic accomplishment ( Cooper, Lindsay & A ; Nye, 2000 ) . After questioning 268 4th, 5th, and 6th pupils, Brooks concluded â€Å" where parents are capable of steering the kid and are inclined to oversee the place survey, their kids win in school. But where the parents are illiterate or for other grounds are unable to oversee the place survey, their kids as a regulation either do slow advancement or are failures † ( as cited in Cooper et al. , 2000 ) . Since 1916, schools and society have both changed dramatically, but the implicit in findings of this survey are consistent with modern-day research. Numerous surveies have concluded that parental engagement in school is straight related to academic accomplishment. Research has overpoweringly shown that kids are more likely to hold higher academic accomplishment degrees and improved behavior when households are involved in the kid ‘s instruction ( Bryan, 2005 ) . Harmonizing to the categorization proposed by Pomerantz et Al. ( 2007 ) , parents ‘ academic engagement is a many-sided concept that includes both home-based and school-based engagement. School-based engagement has been defined as parents ‘ collaborating with the kindergarten or school. It has been shown that school-based engagement enhances societal operation and decreases job behavior ( El Nokali Bachman & A ; Votruba-Drzal, 2010 ) . However, it does non straight predict alterations in accomplishment. Home-based engagement, on the other manus, refers to parents ‘ engagement in their kids ‘s school-related activities at place, and has been shown to be related to kids ‘s accomplishment ( Pomerantz et al. , 2007 ; Jeynes, 2005 ) . Parents ‘ home-based engagement ; that is, parental behavior in advancing kids ‘s academic development, can be seen to stand for what Morrison ( 2009 ) refer to as larning environment. Harmonizing to ( Foster, Lamber t, Abbott-Shim, McCarty & A ; Franze, 2005 ; Hart & A ; Risley, 1995 ; NICHD ECCRN,2003 ) , the place acquisition environment describes the educational quality of the scene parents set up for their kids, including entree to larning stuffs ( e.g. , books and playthings, battle in larning activities in the place and community ( e.g. , shared reading ; co-viewing educational telecasting plans ; trips to a museum or menagerie ) , and positive acquisition behaviors ( e.g. , parent reading in forepart of kid ) . In add-on, In 1988 Ascher mentioned that home-based acquisition activities were one of the most effectual and efficient ways for parents to pass clip with their kids. Harmonizing to the U.S Department of Education ( 1994 ) , kids ‘s acquisition and behaviors are enhanced when households 1 ) read together, 2 ) usage Television sagely, 3 ) set up a day-to-day modus operandi, 4 ) agenda daily prep times, 5 ) proctor out-of-school activities, 6 ) talk with their kids, 7 ) commun icate positive values, and 8 ) express high outlooks and offer congratulations and encouragement for accomplishment. Based on these old surveies, some specific facets of parental home-based engagement ( homework engagement, monitoring of telecasting screening, and larning installations in the place ) were developed as a conceptual model for this survey as presented in Figure 1 since they affect kids ‘s academic accomplishment ; moreover, they are the most appropriate facets to be studied in the country. Figure 1 Parents ‘ home-based engagement and its relation to kids ‘s academic accomplishment 2.4 The function of households in kids ‘s schooling The place is really germane and important to a kid ‘s well being and development in ulterior life. Family is the primary cell of society where the kid ‘s upbringing must get down since birth, still in cradle. Harmonizing to Bronfenbrenner & A ; Ceci, 1994 ; Sameroff, 1994, in order to help and back up their kids in their attempts to run intoing the demands of school, parents need to hold knowledge about their kids ‘s schooling and entree to resources to help them. Since household is the first establishment through which kids learn who they are, where they fit into society, and what sorts of hereafters they are likely to see or hold, it can non be neglected in our effort to develop the kid. Therefore, it is really indispensable for the environment within which they are raised or reared to supply the conditions that are needed to develop their innate features. The kid is non ever in the place environment, but at times in the school, it would be worthwhile if parents l iaise with the governments of the school to guarantee a proper and digesting development of the kid. Grace, Jethro & A ; Aina ( 2012 ) shows that household whose kids are making good in school exhibit the undermentioned characters: aˆ? Establish a day-to-day household modus operandi by supplying clip and a quiet topographic point to analyze with kids and delegating duty for house clasp jobs. aˆ? Monitor out-of-school activities, for illustration puting bounds on telecasting observation, cut down clip of playing, and supervise the group of friends the students walk with. aˆ? Encourage kids ‘s development and advancement in school ; that is keeping a warm and supportive place, demoing involvement in kids ‘s advancement at school, assisting him or her with prep, discoursing the value of a good instruction and future calling with kids ( p.197 as cited in Harderves, 1998 ) When schools work together with households to back up acquisition, kids tend to win non merely in school, but throughout life. In fact the most accurate forecaster of a pupil ‘s accomplishment in school is non income or societal position, but the extent to which that pupil ‘s household is able to make a place environment that encourages larning and to show high outlooks for their kids ‘s hereafter callings and become involved in their kids ‘s instruction at schools and in the place ( Grace, Jethro & A ; Aina, 2012 ) . 2.5 Parental home-based engagement and academic accomplishment The effectivity of instruction has traditionally been measured by kids ‘s academic public presentation or academic accomplishment operationalised as kids ‘s classs or GPA. Walberg, Schiller, and Hartel ( 1979 ) assert that educational stimulation by parents in the place can account for every bit much as 50 per centum of the difference in classs and trial tonss among pupils. The belief that effectual parental engagement within the place environment will interpret into academic success has spurred the development of legion school-based plans aimed at increasing the educationally stimulating quality of the place. In 1983, Graue et Al. reviewed 29 controlled surveies of simple school-based plans to find whether parent preparation plans were effectual or whether success was attributed because these plans selectively attracted competent households or bright kids. A quantitative synthesis led them to reason that school-based place direction plans have big positive effects on pupil ‘s academic acquisition with an mean consequence size twice that of socio-economic position. Hickman et Al. ( 1995 ) provided grounds about the efficaciousness of home-based parent engagement schemes. Using structured interview format, these research workers examined the relationship between pupils ‘ accomplishment in high school and different types of parent engagement. Of the seven types of parent engagement examined, merely home-based parent engagement was found to hold a positive linkage with pupil class point norm ( GPA ) . Fehrmann et Al. ( 1987 ) and Keith et Al. ( 1986 ) examined informations from the monolithic High School and Beyond sample of 28,051 seniors to find the direct and indirect effects of prep, telecasting screening, and pupils ‘ perceptual experience of parent engagement ( in day-to-day life, school advancement, and influence on station high school programs ) . They found the pupils ‘ perceptual experience of parent engagement in their life was positively correlated with the classs of school seniors but non with their accomplishment on standardised trials. Other research worker, nevertheless, have identified a positive connexion between pupils ‘ tonss on standardised trials and parent attempts within the place. Revicki ( 1981 ) , utilizing a sample of 2nd grade pupils from two geographically different schools, found a correlativity between pupils ‘ reading accomplishment and household outlooks and proviso of linguistic communication stimulation and home-based educational/reading activities. Overall, some research workers found a positive correlativity between parental home-based engagement and pupils ‘ classs, while others found a positive connexion between parental home-based engagement and pupils ‘ tonss on standardised trials. 2.6 Influencing factors on academic accomplishment Size of household, economic position of the household, instruction of parents may hold an impact on the academic achievement degree of students. 2.6.1Family size Child from big households are non likely to have the same sum or the same type of verbal stimulation from grownups which kids from smaller households obtain and accordingly, kids from big households tend to make less good academically. The ground could be that kids from big households are improbable to take full advantage of educational chances provided and therefore resulted in retardation in school. Chatterji et Al. ( 1972 ) made an effort to analyze the effects of household size on academic accomplishment of the kids. The sample consisted of 230 pupils both male childs and misss reading in category VI and category VII in eight Bengali schools in Calcutta. The pupils were divided into high, medium and low rational ability groups. Entire Markss obtained in the one-year scrutiny were taken as step of accomplishment. The consequences showed that household size and the figure of siblings were reciprocally related to the scholastic accomplishment of the kids particularly in low rational degree. Same tendency was observed when Mathur and Hudal ( 1972 ) conducted a survey to happen the relationship between the size of household and academic accomplishment of the kids. The sample consisted of 100 pupils analyzing in category Ten in a high school in Amrutsar. The consequences revealed a negative correlativity between the size of the household and academic accomplishment which indicated t hat bigger the household lower was the accomplishment. Similarly, Cherians ( 1990 ) conducted a survey on household size and academic accomplishment of kids. The sample consisted of 369 male childs and 652 misss in the age scope of 13 to 17 old ages old that represented entire 7 standard population in Transkei. The Markss obtained by the students at the 7 standard external scrutiny conducted by the Department of Education of the Government of Transkei was taken. The consequences revealed a negative relationship between household size of the kids and their academic accomplishment. Poonam and Balda ( 2001 ) revealed that household size was negatively correlated with IQ of kids. Above surveies indicate that kids from little size households compared to larger households are academically good. 2.6.2 Economic position of the household Children live in different environment ; that is, some kids live in hapless households, whereas some live in good to make households. They have different cognitive abilities, competency and accomplishments, which affects on their academic public presentation in school. Many research workers carried out their surveies on the relationship between economic position of the household and pupils ‘ academic accomplishment and showed different consequences. Chatterji et Al. ( 1972 ) survey revealed that economic conditions of the household had no consequence upon the scholastic accomplishment of kids in all the three viz. , high, medium and low rational ability groups. Besides, Sood ‘s ( 1990 ) studied on academic accomplishment of pre-engineering pupils in relation to socio-economic position. A limited sample consisted of 120 pupils of pre-engineering category from four colleges of Ambala were picked up by the way. In this survey academic accomplishment was taken as Markss obtained by the topics in their concluding scrutiny in pre-university/higher secondary. Kuppuswamy ‘s socio-economic graduated table ( urban ) from B for mensurating socio-economic position was used. The consequences showed that there was no important relationship between academic accomplishment and socio-economic position. However, Mathur and Hundal ( 1972 ) indicated that the one-year household income bore merely a moderate correlativity with academic accomplishment. Saini ‘s ( 1977 ) survey consequences revealed a positive correlativity between academic accomplishment and economic position of parents. Further, Wangoo and Khan ( 1991 ) carried out a survey to happen out whether the pupils from authorities and private schools differed significantly with regard to their socio-economic position and academic accomplishment was concerned. The sample consisted of 180 female pupils from 10 authorities and ten private schools within the age group of 13+ were selected from Srinagar. Kapoor ‘s pupil ‘s graduated table was administered and the mean of two one-year scrutiny consequences was considered as the standard for the academic accomplishment. The consequences revealed that authorities and private school pupils differed significantly. So for as their socio-economic position was concerned i mportant difference on academic accomplishment found between pupils from private and authorities schools. The relationship between academic accomplishment and socio-economic position when computed on entire sample was statistically important. Similarly, Gill and Sidhu ( 1988 ) reported that socio-economic position of parents influences the school public presentation of the pupils. 2.6.3 Parent ‘s instruction Of the assorted place conditions, parent ‘s educational attainment is critical so far as the academic accomplishment of the kids is concerned. The general difference towards instruction of the uneducated parents frequently put the kid in a place of disability for rational growing and development. Burt ( 1961 ) observed that such a kid can a small in his place, because his parents know amazingly small of any life except their ain and have neither clip nor the leisure, neither the ability nor the temperament to leave what small they know. Educated parents in general are likely to happen themselves relatively in better economic status and this consequence in greater stuffs supports for the instruction of their kids. Bhatnagar and Sharma ( 1992 ) carried out a research to look into the relationship between instruction of parents and academic accomplishment of pupils in semirural scene. A sum of 85 pupils of Rajasthan metropolis were related. The consequences revealed that the kids whose parents attended school performed higher academic public presentation than the kids whose parents did non go to the school. This indicates parental instruction was significantly related to the academic accomplishment of pupils. Likewise, Chakrabarti ( 1986 ) conducted a survey with100 male childs selected indiscriminately from English medium schools in Pune and found that the kids whose parents were extremely educated and involved in their survey had better public presentation in both school scrutinies and accomplishment trials than those whose parents were rich but less educated and non involved in their kids day-to-day activities and surveies. Furthermore, in their survey Chatterji et Al. ( 1972 ) showed that parent ‘s educational degree was straight related to the scholastic accomplishment of their kids. Similarly, Mathur and Hudal ( 1972 ) revealed a positive correlativity between parent ‘s educational degree and academic accomplishment of the kids. Krishnan ( 1977 ) conducted a survey on 180 pupils from 6th to 9th analyzing in cardinal school, Tirupati. The sample was divided into 3 groups depending on their parent ‘s instruction every bit high, in-between and low groups. The consequences showed that parent ‘s educational position had important influence on the academic accomplishment of the kids. From the above surveies it can be concluded that parent ‘s educational degree has a important consequence on the academic accomplishment of the kids. Higher the degree of the parents, higher was the school accomplishment of the kids. 2.7 The relationship between parents ‘ home-based engagement and kids ‘s academic accomplishment Based on the conceptual model on parental home-based engagement developed in ( clause 2.3 ) , the empirical research related to the relationship between different types of parental home-based engagement and kids ‘s academic accomplishment will be reviewed. This subdivision is divided into three chief classs as followers: the relationship between prep engagement and kids ‘s academic accomplishment, the relationship between monitoring of telecasting screening and kids ‘s academic accomplishment and the relationship between larning installations in the place and kids ‘s academic accomplishment. 2.7.1 The relationship between prep engagement and kids ‘s academic accomplishment The pattern of delegating prep is non a new phenomenon. The history of prep has been marked by several epochs. Holler and Lovelace ( 2001 ) define prep as any undertakings that are assigned by instructors and intend to be carried out during nonschool hours. Originally, prep was assigned as a penalty to pupils and was based on recitation. In the 1950s, pedagogues incorporated prep into the course of study as a manner of widening acquisition. But in the sixtiess, pedagogues decreased the sum of prep to pupils in fright that excessively much prep would do mental emphasis. The educational reform motion of the seventiess caused pedagogues to re-examine pupils larning, and it was established that increased prep consequences in improved pupil accomplishment ( Holler & A ; Lovelace, 2001 ) . In schools today, prep is used to obtain three chief ends: academic accomplishment, improved duty, and parental engagement ( Holler & A ; Lovelace, 2001 ) . It is by and large agreed that pupils benefit when their parents get involved in their prep procedure. Empirical findings sing the impact of parental engagement in kids ‘s prep, nevertheless, are assorted. On the one manus, Hoover-Dempsey et Al ( 2001 ) reviewed the research on prep and found: ( a ) parents ‘ engagement in prep took many signifiers, from set uping constructions for prep to direct direction on content and acquisition schemes ; ( B ) parents ‘ engagement appeared to act upon pupil academic accomplishment through back uping the development of attitudes and properties ( e.g. , motive and self-regulation ) that support acquisition. For case, Patall, Cooper & A ; Robison ( 2008 ) have conducted the probe of parent engagement in prep. From a meta-analysis of 22 samples from 20 surveies correlates parent engagement and accomplishment. They found that puting regulations about when and where prep should be done has the strongest positive relationship with accomplishment. Puting regulations besides entails clearly pass oning outlooks, supplying guidelines and reenforcing behavior when regulations are followed. This scheme may be a peculiarly effectual manner to increa se the clip pupils attend to homework undertaking or the effectivity of how clip is used. They besides found that direct engagement assistance, which involves the parents giving feedback on prep truth or tutoring and giving direction about the content of prep, is positively related. Xu and Corno ( 2003 ) suggested that â€Å" household aid with prep † was related to middle school pupils ‘ behaviors of set uping larning environments and commanding emotions. Besides, there is apparent that prep improves accomplishment for high school ( Keith, 1982 ) , in-between school ( Keith et al. , 1993 ) and simple school pupils ( Paschal, Weinstein, & A ; Walberg, 1984 ) . Its positive influence extends to both standardized trial mark ( Walberg, Paschal, & A ; Weinstein, 1985 ) and classs ( Natrillo & A ; McDill, 1986 ) . And some research workers report positive between parental engagement with prep and school accomplishment. Epstein ( 1983 ) , in a longitudinal survey with interio r metropolis pupils, found prep activities ( naming to child and promoting & A ; assisting in prep ) produce important additions over clip, particularly in reading. Causal theoretical accounts by Keith et Al. ( 1986 ; 1993 ) with senior and eight class samples besides suggest a positive relationship between parents ‘ engagement with prep and pupil accomplishment although the consequence is indirect with parent influence strongly increasing the clip spent on prep which in bend additions accomplishment. On the other manus, parental engagement in prep is frequently found to correlate negatively with pupil accomplishment. For case, Bembenutty ( 2006 ) found that self-regulated acquisition ( such as self-efficacy, attempt ordinance, and intrinsic motive ) was a positive forecaster of math accomplishments as measured by the standardised trial, but parental engagement in prep ( frequence of look intoing prep and offering aid ) was found to be negatively related to math accomplishment of 10th class high school pupils. In their survey, Patall, Cooper & A ; Robinson ( 2008 ) found that supervising prep involved look intoing that prep is completed is negatively related to accomplishment. Weger ( 1993 ) besides found a negative correlativity between the sum of clip parents spent straight oversing their kids ‘s prep and their kids ‘s classs and accomplishment. Cooper ( 1989 ) has conducted the most extended probe of the relationship between prep and academic accomplishment. From a meta-analysis of 120 empirical surveies, he found that although there is a correlativity between prep and achievement the effects are really grade-level particular. The mean high school pupil with prep would out-perform 69 % of no-homework pupils, in junior high school the effects would merely behalf as strong, and in simple school there would be no consequence on accomplishment. Cooper discovered similar form when he examined the optimum clip a pupil should pass on prep. In simple school there is no relationship between prep clip and accomplishment, in junior high the accomplishment improved until the assignment lasted between one and two hours a dark and in high school the accomplishment effects continued above two hours a dark. Overall, the research to day of the month suggests that prep has positive influence on academic accomplishment with its effects going stronger as pupils progress in school. Parent engagement with prep appears to be an effectual manner to raise pupil accomplishment, chiefly because of its influence on clip variables. Correlation research, nevertheless, will non ever demo its positive consequence because parents may go involved with prep as a response to already bing accomplishment jobs. 2.7.2 The relationship between monitoring of telecasting screening and kids ‘s academic accomplishment The sum of clip kids spend watching telecasting varies from one to another. Television screening has been demonstrated to hold a little negative consequence on pupil accomplishment ( Fan & A ; Chen, 2001 ) , although its impact on academic accomplishment may be complex and depends on types of scheduling and sum of clip spent on watching Television ( Thompson & A ; Austin, 2003 ) . Nary ( 2004 ) tested the waies for the influence of Television sing on academic accomplishment utilizing informations from the 1997 Child Development Supplement ( CDS ) and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics ( PSID ) . The consequences suggest that Television screening hindered academic accomplishment non merely by cut downing the clip pupils spent on prep, analyzing and reading for leisure but besides by increasing their mental passiveness and impulsiveness. In add-on, the hypothesis that telecasting sing stimulated academic accomplishment was non supported. Fetler ( 1984 ) conducted a research with the capable base of 10,000 simple school pupils, in a survey of telecasting screening and academic accomplishment, to find the factors that influenced academic accomplishment. Television screening was measured by the sum of clip kids spent watching telecasting and the academic accomplishment was measured by mathematical ability and written look. The consequences indicated that sing telecasting for more than four hours a twenty-four hours was associated with lower accomplishment for all pupils. He besides found that kids improved in academic accomplishment with the mid scope of telecasting screening, but merely when telecasting screening was moderate ( 1-2 hours ) . Reviewing literature from the last 25 old ages sing the impact of telecasting sing on pupil accomplishment and necessary behaviors for school success, Thompson and Austin ( 2003 ) concluded that moderate degrees of meaningful and supervised telecasting screening may be better for k ids than excessively much or no screening at all. In their surveies, Williams, Haertel, Haertel and Walberg ( 1982 ) investigated the relationship between leisure telecasting screening and accomplishment. Their synthesis of 23 empirical surveies found a curvilineal relationship between telecasting screening and accomplishment with positive effects happening for up to ten hours of hebdomad. Beyond this, the effects seem to be progressively negative, particularly for misss and high ability pupils. Overall, telecasting sing appears to hold a little, negative relationship with school accomplishment. A survey by Keith et Al. ( 1986 ) besides found a little negative relationship between telecasting screening and academic accomplishment but their research does non bespeak a curvilineal form for optimum screening clip. Consistent with the earlier survey, high ability pupils are more adversely affected. In 1993, Keith et Al. found that parent engagement additions homework which decreases telecasting clip. In contrast, the high degrees of unsupervised mindless telecasting screening, particularly when it is done in stead of day-to-day reading or other academic stimulation, can hold the possible to exercise harmful effects on accomplishment ( Thompson and Austin, 2003 ) . Although telecasting sing did non look to hold a important impact on educational accomplishment, Keith et Al. ( 1993 ) suggests that parental engagement can actuate pupils to pass clip on more educationally productive activities. Clark, et al. , ( 1978 ) found that sing wonts typically increases throughout simple school old ages, and decreases during high school old ages. The old ages right before and after adolescence are the more opportune times to determine Television sing wonts. From these positions, parent puting bounds on kids ‘s telecasting screening clip or scene regulations about Television is necessary. The research conducted by Ridley-Johnson, Cooper & A ; Chance ( 1982 ) suggests that when parents set regulation about telecasting their kids have higher reading, math and ability tonss. Similarly, a more recent survey by Fan & A ; Williams ( 2010 ) , analyzing whether assorted elements of parental engagement predicted 10th grade pupils ‘ motive utilizing informations from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 ( ELS 2002 ) , showed that household regulations at place like the regulations for watching telecasting positively predicted pupil ‘s academic battle and intrinsic motive in both English and mathematics. As parents limit their kids ‘s entree to telecasting, it is possible that kids will pass more clip prosecuting in constructive acquisition activities that they enjoy and therefore heightening their intrinsic motive and battle towards faculty members. Patrick ( 1991 ) besides discovered that higher school societal surveies achievement is associated with â€Å" limited telecasting screening. † In decision, moderate telecasting screening does non look to hold a strong negative consequence on educational accomplishment. Nevertheless, parent monitoring of telecasting screening is advantageous as it can guarantee that sing does non replace other activities which have more good results. 2.7.3 The relationship between larning installations in the place and kids ‘s academic accomplishment Home acquisition environment is one of the favorable conditions for kids ‘s instruction. Lustberg ( 1998 ) suggested that it is of import that parents can supply an appropriate topographic point where kids can work at place. Besides, parents must supervise prep clip and do certain pupils have an atmosphere conducive to analyzing and forming their clip and duty. Saunders ( N.D ) found that parents pass more clip assisting their kids with prep and undertakings when there is both designated clip and topographic point for the kid to analyze. In a high-quality place acquisition environment, health professionals foster kids ‘s communicating accomplishments and cognitive development by supplying them with educational drama stuffs and prosecuting them in activities that facilitate acquisition. Harmonizing to the parent investing theoretical account ( Mayer, 1997 ) , kids ‘s success depends on the clip, money, energy, and back up their parents put in the kids ‘s â€Å" human capital † every bit good as cultural gifts, such as the value parents topographic point on instruction through their modeling of larning behaviors and battle in larning activities. The money households spend on their kids through the buying of playthings, books, and larning stuffs for the place, and the clip spent prosecuting kids in larning activities, are investings that contribute to a high-quality place acquisition environment. Melhuish et al. , ( 2008 ) examined the relationship between place acquisition environment and literacy and numeracy development in 2,875 kids who participated in a longitudinal survey from ages three to seven old ages. It was found that place acquisition environment was positively related to academic accomplishment. In another survey, Duthilleul ( 1997 ) examined how parental patterns were associated with accomplishment in reading comprehension among 4th graders in Montevideo, Uruguay public school. This survey found that one of the most consistent effects on pupil accomplishment in the literacy accomplishments is the effects of presence of a literacy environment at place ; pupils who have more books and school stuffs available at place tend to hold higher reading accomplishment tonss because they have more chances to larn, experience and develop literacy-related accomplishments. A more recent survey by Altschul ( 2011 ) examined the relationship between six signifiers of parental engagement in instruction and young person ‘s academic results. By utilizing of course representative informations ( N= 1,609 ) from National Education Longitude Survey, the survey found that parents ‘ payment for educational resources such as computing machine, typewriter, Atlass, books, pocket reckoner, day-to-day newspaper, magazines and dictionary in the place has a slightly greater impact on accomplishment than the other signifiers of engagement that parents spend clip engaging in enriching activities together and discoursing school-related affairs. Furthermore, Saunder ( N.D ) suggested that appropriate stuff is indispensable to student accomplishment. Harmonizing to Rasinski & A ; Frederiks, 1988 & A ; Zhang Carrasquillo, 1995, larning resources and chances available are of import factors in effectual place acquisition environment created by parents. The learning resources and stuffs help kids develop school-related accomplishments. In this type of larning environment, kids may experience at easiness when they work on jobs with their parents, and can frequently larn of course when their parents enable them to manage books at place. In 1996, Khare conducted a survey on place acquisition environment and academic accomplishment of simple school kids. The sample consisted of 212 pupils of in-between schools of Bhopal metropolis. Datas were analyzed by the aid of Product-Moment correlativity, t-test and analysis of discrepancy ( ANOVA ) for unequal cell sizes. The consequences showed important correlativity between place environment and accomplishment in misss and male childs. There is a important difference in school accomplishment of male childs and misss. It was besides found out that the effects of environment and gender on school accomplishment of pupil male childs were better than misss. In one survey ( NICHD, 2003 ) , the quality of place acquisition environment has been found to be a important forecaster of kids ‘s school preparedness accomplishments. Specially, kids with high-quality place acquisition environments show higher knowledge, linguistic communication, societal competency, motive to larn, attending and undertaking continuity than kids with low-quality place acquisition environments. Similarly, Fantuzzo, McWayne, Perry, and Childs ( 2004 ) observed that, in a low-income and urban sample, home-based household engagement in the autumn of preschool, characterized by actively advancing a place acquisition environment for kids ( e.g. , making a infinite for larning activities at place and supplying larning chances for the kid in the community ) , strongly predicted kids ‘s motive to larn, attending, undertaking continuity, receptive vocabulary accomplishments, and low behavior jobs later in the spring of preschool. From the above surveies it can be concluded that the quality of place acquisition environment has a slightly impact on kids ‘s academic accomplishment as it is the status for kids ‘s instruction.

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Explain why rising prices do not necesssarily mean declining living standards - Essay Example Some people are intended to spend loads of money and they also easily can do. In the last we will see how rise in prices affect the living standards.2 Before going into the depth of the topic we will discuss concepts of income in detail. It can be defined as the income of the individuals or people after adjusting for inflation. It can be measured by subtracting the inflation from the nominal income. Mathematically it can be written as: Real income is a more useful indicator of well-being; it is based on the amount of goods and services that can be purchased with the income. It involves real variables as real income, real GDP and real interest rates. These real variables can be measured in physical units (standards of measurements of physical quantities). Nominal Income is the income that has not been adjusted against inflation and decreasing buying power. It involves nominal variables as nominal income, nominal GDP and nominal interest rates. These nominal variables are calculated in monetary units (Each Country uses a Monetary Unit of some kind some may use more than one depending on the position and nature of the economy). Although real variables and nominal variables are different with each other and they are influenced by each other. Both are separate in nature and use. Labor is a calculation of the work done by human beings. It is usually contrasted with such other factors of production as land and capital. There are some theories created on this concept called human capital. This refers to the skills those workers own). Other theory is Macro-Economics system theory that thinks human capital opposition in terms. It is defined as a sustained raise in general price levels for some set of goods and services in a given financial system over a period of time. It is measured as the percentage rate of change of a price index. There are so many inflation measures in use as there are different

Effective and non-effective medications used to treat OxyContin Research Paper

Effective and non-effective medications used to treat OxyContin addiction - Research Paper Example Effective and Non-effective Medications Used to Treat OxyContin and Opioid Addiction OxyContin is an extended release form of oxycodone, which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1995 for the treatment of chronic pain. The FDA approval of this drug has played a role in overdose and death, as well as addiction, in the recent past (Okie, 2010). The molecular structure of OxyContin is similar to that of morphine, and is a member of the Phenanthrene family of compounds. OxyContin, or oxycodone, is a schedule II drug according to the Drug Enforcement Agency, and is used to treat moderate to severe pain and is DEA listed as a highly addictive medication. The drug itself, and not the metabolites, is the main cause of analgesia (Trescot et Al., 2008). Oxycodone and morphine were compared for similar psychotropic effects and dosage in healthy humans. It was found that the dosage ratio of oxycodone and morphine was approximately 3:1, as had been established in previous studies, but that the subjects experienced more pronounced psychotropic effects with oxycodone. The relief of pain, however, was similar with both drugs. Psychomotor impairment was similar with both drugs as well (Zacny and Lichtor, 2007). Intravenous administration of oxycodone, hydrocodone, and morphine was studied in healthy individuals to determine effects and potency. It was discovered that all three drugs had similar effects inducing dysphoria. However, potency was determined to be greatest in oxycodone, then morphine, then hydrocodone (Stoops et Al., 2010). The effects of oxycodone were compared to those of lorazepam and morphine in healthy individuals. Psychotropic effects were more pronounced in oxycodone treated patients compared to those treated with lorazepam. Unpleasant effects as determined by the patients were greater in oxycodone treated patients compared to those of lorazepam (Zachney and Gutierrez, 2002). Opioid withdrawal suppression was examined in healthy individuals wi th tramadol. After a regimen of oxycodone higher doses of tramadol suppressed withdrawal effects, as studies indicated. Feelings of sickness and nausea were initially associated with these effects, followed by suppression of oxycodone withdrawal effects. It was suggested that tramadol may be an effective drug for treating oxycodone withdrawal effects in humans (Lofwall et Al. 2007). Tramadol has low rates of diversion and abuse and mixed pharmacologic actions, including modest opioid agonist activity, and is an unscheduled atypical analgesic. To characterize the opioid withdrawal suppression efficacy of oral tramadol was the purpose of the study. Opioid dependent, residential adults were maintained on morphine for approximately six weeks. Substituting placebo for scheduled morphine doses 17.5 hours before experimental sessions that occurred twice weekly was the method for producing spontaneous opioid withdrawal. Under double-blind, double- dummy, randomized conditions, the acute eff ects of placebo, tramadol, naloxone, and morphine were tested. Outcomes included physiologic indices, psychomotor/cognitive task performance, and observer- and subject-rated measures. Prototypic opioid antagonist and agonist effects were produced by naloxone and morphine, respectively. Effects most similar to placebo were produced by Tramadol 50 and 100 mg. Tramadol 200 and 400 mg initially produced significant dose-related increases in ratings of â€Å"

Africa Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Africa - Article Example Access to food is a basic but most violated human rights throughout the world in recent times. World Food Summit 1996 hunger reduction target proved to be a failure regardless of the fact that food production grew faster than the world population. Throughout world, about 840 million people are malnourished and most of them are in Africa (Clover 5-7).Food security is a term used for adequate access to nutritious food which is considered as acceptable in a certain culture. Chronic food insecurity affected 38 million people, and hunger claimed 24,000 lives daily in Africa during 2003.Famine is the extreme manifestation of food insecurity, among 39 countries experiencing food emergencies in world, 25 are African. However, this is the crisis that emerged in slow motion. Africas state of food emergency is a consequence of a wide range of issues which include: structural poverty; famine and drought; adverse weather conditions; civil conflicts; political and economic crises; HIV/AIDS and ina dequate policy and decision making. Failure is identifying the intervening the developing issues are probably the major causes of Africa’s persistent vulnerability. In order to tackle these root causes, focusing on structural deficiencies must lead to long-term reconsideration process of food security. Moreover, WTO must restructure for active participation in poor countries. For a balanced approach in dealing with immediate food aid issues and long-term strategic plans, a multifaceted approach covering political, social, economic, and environmental factors must be devised(Clover 8-14). World Food Summit(WFS) held in 1996 established the target of reducing hungry people by at least 20 million every year during 2000-2015.Some countries have showed progress, however, annual decrease of 2.5 million is far below the level required to achieve the target by 2015(Clover

Holocaust & The Japanese-American Internment Essay Example for Free

Holocaust The Japanese-American Internment Essay Humanity. It is disconcerting to think about what we the humans have done to our own race. All because we believe in trying to find a difference such as our ethnicity, intellect, or looks to try to find how we are better than some. Hitler did this to the Jews as he wanted the world to have the Aryan race with the Holocaust, and America did this to the Japanese during the Japanese internment. The Holocaust and the Japanese internment are very different from one another yet they are both very similar to each other. The Holocaust was the systematic mass slaughter of Jews and other groups deemed inferior by the Nazis. The Holocaust began when Adolf Hitler, the fascist leader of Germany that would lead the world into World War II. He and his followers proclaimed that the Germanic people, or Aryans, were better then others and targeted the Jews as the cause of all previous failures Germany had made. In 1935 the Nazis passed the Nuremberg laws that deprived Jews their rights to German citizenship and forbade marriages between Jews and non-Jews. More laws came to the Jews as well later, even limiting what kinds of works that Jews could do. However, the situation began to worsen with the Kristallnacht, otherwise known as â€Å"Night of Broken Glass. When 17-year-old Herschel Grynszpan, a German Jewish youth visiting an uncle in Paris, shot a German diplomat living in Paris, wishing to avenge his father’s deportation from Germany to Poland, the Nazis retaliated with a violent attack on the Jewish community. On November 9, Nazi storm troopers attacked Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues across Germany, murdering about 100 Jews in the process. After Kristallnacht, many Jews saw that violence against them was only going to increase resulting in several German Jews to flee the country. Hitler first favored the emigration as a solution to what he dubbed as â€Å"the Jewish problem,† but the other countries such as the United States, France, and Britain, stopped the constant immigration of German Jews after admitting tens of thousands. Another plan was put into effect when Hitler discovered he couldn’t get rid of â€Å"the Jewish problem† by emigration and so he began to isolate them. He isolated the Jews by having them move to designated cities where they would be herded into desolate, overcrowded ghettos, segregated Jewish areas. By isolating the Jews in horrible conditions, the Nazis hoped they would either starve to death, or die from disease. This process went by too slowly, however, thus causing Hitler to take a more direct approach. His plan, the â€Å"Final Solution,† would lead to about six million innocent people’s deaths. The killings began as units from the SS moved from town to town hunting down Jews across Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. Together, the SS and their allies rounded up men, women, children, and sometimes babies to isolated spots. The SS would then shoot the people into pits which later became their graves. Jewish communities that were not taken by the SS were taken to concentration camps were Hitler believed that the horrible conditions of these camps would speed the total elimination of the Jews. The prisoners worked as slaves everyday for either the SS or for German businesses where they were beaten severely or killed for working to slow. The prisoners were given hardly enough food in these camps dieing of starvation or disease. In 1942, however it seemed like the worse had yet to come with the arrival of extermination camps. Extermination camps were equipped with huge gas chambers that could kill up to 6,000 people a day. SS doctors would separate the strong from the weak or other wise mainly the men from the young, the sick, the elderly, and the women. Those that were put into the weak category would die immediately, while the strong would work till over-extortion. About six million died, and fewer than four million survived, however those that did would never be the same again. The Japanese internment happened during 1942. It was where government propaganda would take a negative effect on society. After the attack on Pearl Harbor many Americans discriminated against the Japanese American. Everyone that even looked to be Japanese would be mistrusted and be labeled as â€Å"the enemy. † On February 19, 1942 President Roosevelt issued an executive order which rounded up every Japanese person that lived in the US as they were seen to be threats to the nation. Many endured names such as being called an â€Å"alien. † In March, the government shipped the Japanese to relocation camps where they were sure to be not in contact with the enemy. Any former possession that the internees might had had were usually gone shortly afterwards as their lands would be repressed. Despite the fact that most of these Japanese were Nisei, native-born American citizens whose parents were Japanese, and that some volunteered for military service they were still put into these camps. They were housed in barracks and used communal areas, for washing and eating. Over half of those taken in were merely children. These camps were then overseen by military personnel. All internees over the age of 17 were given a loyalty test were they were asked questions. 120,000 Japanese were taken in, and only 60,000 survived. In 1988, the U. S.  Congress passed legislation which awarded formal payments of $20,000 each to the surviving internees. At the end of the war some remained in the US and rebuilt their lives, others however were unforgiving and returned to Japan. Both the Holocaust and the Japanese internment are eerily similar to one another. The Japanese and the Jews were seen to be the enemy and needed to be isolated in camps. The camps had inadequate medical care and the high level of emotional stress the people suffered were too much. Both lived in overcrowded areas and were over watched by the military. Life in the camps was hard for both the Jews and Japanese. Internees and Jews had only been allowed to bring with then a few possessions. However, internees were given 48 hours to evacuate their homes. Consequently they were easy prey for fortune hunters who offered them far less than the market prices for the goods they could not take with them. A big difference is that while the Jews were given free food, the Japanese were rationed out at an expense of 48 cents per internee, and served by fellow internees in a mess hall of about 300 people. Internees slept under as many blankets as they were allotted. Leadership positions in both concentration camps and the relocation camps were given to German-born Jews and American-born Japanese. While, the government ideals may have been different, when they spew propaganda they seem to be very alike. While both cases are different, the Japanese internment and the Holocaust are still the same as well. A different location, and different procedures, these two cases had, but still for the same cause of government propaganda.

Lord Byron Essay Example for Free

Lord Byron Essay Lord Byron is considered to be one of the most important poet in his time. He was as famous for his personality as he was for his poetry. The way his life affected what he wrote made his poems even better. His works, life, and writing style are what made Lord Byron one of the most important poets of the Romantic Movement. George Gordon Noel Byron (Lord Byron) was born on January 22, 1788 in London, England. His dad, Captain â€Å"Mad Jack† Byron married his mother, Catherine Gordon, for her money. Throughout their marriage he spent away most of her fortune before he died in 1791. When Lord Byron’s father died he was left with nothing. After his father died he seemed to have a long life ahead of him. He had a birth defect that made him walk on his toes for his entire life and his mother was unstable. Lord Byron took out his stress by writing poetry. When he was only eight years old he fell in love. When he turned sixteen years old he was told that the woman he loved was engaged. He became very depressed and felt very ill. In 1798 his granduncle died and Lord Byron inherited his uncles estate. Now that he had some money, he went to Trinity College after spending his time from 1801 to 1805 at Harrow. In 1808, he planned to spend the year with his cousin, George Bettesworth. He was the captain of his own ship and in May of 1808 he died in the Battle of Alvon. So, from 1809 to 1811 Lord Byron spent the years cruising the Mediterranean. The Napoleonic Wars were going on in Europe at this time so he had to avoid most of Europe. During this time Lord Byron’s first book of poetry, Hours of Idleness, was published in 1809. The two-year Mediterranean trip gave him most of the material he wrote about in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. These two cantos were the first great successes he had. In 1813 Lord Byron apparently had more than a brother-sister relationship with his half sister Augusta Leigh. She was already the mother of three children. She gave birth to Elizabeth Medora in 1814. Elizabeth was thought by many people to be Lord Byron’s child, but in 1815 he married Anne Isabella Milbanke. They had a child named Ada in the same year, but the marriage did not last and they separated the next year. In 1816 Byron left England when rumors started of his debts. He was never to return back to England in his life. The only virtue they honor in England is hypocrisy, (Liukkonen, Petri) he wrote in a letter to his friend when he left England. He settled in Geneva, where he meant Claire Clairmont. She became his mistress, but at the end of summer he moved again. He spent two years working and writing in Italy. I was struck by his eyes I have never in my life seen anything more beautiful or more expressive, (Liukkonen, Petri) is a quote from a French writer that saw Lord Byron at an opera in Italy. While in Italy he, wrote several poems including Lament of Tasso, Mazeppa, and The Prophecy of Dante. During his stays in Italy he became very interested in drama. He wrote several dramas including The Two Foscari, Sardanapalaus, and many others. In January of 1817, Claire Clairmont gave birth to his daughter Clara Allegra. Lord Byron abandoned his daughter and she died in 1822 with a bad case of typhus fever. In Italy, he risked his life helping a secret group called the Italian Carbonari in 1820 and 1821. In 1824 he decided to take action and move to Greece. He joined a group called the Greek freedom fighters. By this time he was in Missolonghi, Greece. He unfortunately died here on April 19, 1824 of a fever. Lord Byron is the most well known of the famous romantic poets. His poetry had a recurring theme of being romantic. Lord Byron wrote many long romantic poems and some shorter ones in a traditional satirical style of poetry. His poems all varied in their subject matter. A lot of his romantic poems were about the many women he was involved with. An example would be the poem She Walks in Beauty, it is a poem about how beautiful he thought the woman he was in love with was. His poems also were about things he believed in. The poem, The Destruction of Sennacherib, shows that Lord Byron shared his religious views in his poetry. Throughout his travels he went to many places that were inspiration for his poetry. The Lament of Tasso was written when he was in Rome. He visited Tassos cell, which inspired him to right the poem. His vary in types of poetry and subject matter helped his poetry stay popular. Lord Byron’s poetry has many connections with what was going on in his life. He first started writing poetry to release the stress of the birth defect that he was born with. His different kinds of poetry were all connected with his life. He was most known for his romantic poetry. In these poems, he wrote about the relationships he had with woman. The places he travelled also influenced his poetry. His travels in Italy got him into drama and that was result of many of his best poems. How religious he was and how much he cared about what was going on around him showed in his life and in his poetry. He wrote about and it was also the reason he chose to move to Greece to help them rise over their rulers by joining the Greek freedom fighters. The connection between his life and his poetry is what made him as popular as he was. Lord Byron was one of the most famous and talented writers of his time. His life, poetry, and the way they were connected are what made him one of the most famous poets of his time. His poetry was an influence on the writing of other poets in his time and continues to influence poets today.

Organisation Management and Change Management in Virgin Trains

Organisation Management and Change Management in Virgin Trains Background of Virgin Train Virgin was enjoying a bureaucratic structure of management in the early days of its inception being a part of the public sector It has completely revolutionised the way railway system operates Back in the old days the trains system in Britain was controlled by British Railways and whatever the top management decided in those days was the order of the subordinate and they would have to follow it without any objection.. Today it only takes a couple of hours from London to Manchester which was unimaginable some 10-15 years ago. Currently there is no centralised reporting of the regional performance of British Rail. This step was taken particularly to meet the demands and needs of travellers and tourists in different regions of Britain. Each region has its own plan of development and upgrades which allows them to gain competitive advantage over other rail systems. The strategies made to maximise the profit and reducing costs of each regional office is the goal of the British Rail. (A)Relationship between Virgin Trains vision and culture of the company Vision is a long term strategy of a company. A vision does not define the goals that an organisation will be looking to achieve in the near future but there is a mission that is expected to be achieved at some point of time. Vision is usually held by the top management of the company as they are the acting stewards of the company. Vision allows the company to create a business plan which will include formation of small goals and formulating strategies to achieve those goals. It keeps on reminding the company about the direction in which it has to move and allow it to motivate itself. Mission statement is also part of the Companys Vision. A vision goes further. It paints a picture in clear language of where the organisation is going, linked to the behaviours it expects of everyone in the organisation. Vision is a broad perspective of what company wants and their approach to achieving their needs. Culture is defined by the way things are done in an organisation. The guru of a culture in an organisation is the top management they are the ones who govern the culture of an organisation. It is the behaviour and rules set by them which serve as a role model for their subordinates. The culture as explained in the case study of virgin train is Collaborate (Clan) Culture. This culture pertains to the thinking of the management acting as parents to the employees. All the employees irrespective of the level of hierarchy they belong to Has a say in the management decisions and work as a team. The development and training of the staff are also given importance and care of their needs is taken of so that the outcome is always a win-win situation. The CEO says that in order to follow the organisational vision the strategy is to breakdown the company vision into small achievable and measurable targets, so to comply with the performance management aspect of the company. The CEO of virgin train has clearly pointed out to its workers that he wants them to own the virgin railways. He wants employees to account for their own action, asses how effective they are in achieving organisational goals and bring about improvements in their work so to achieve the organisational goal. In practise vision is a way broad term than a mission. The three main elements of the Virgin Trains Visions is their strive to provide safe and reliable travel, to become and maintain a profitable business and last but not the least instigating an environment which allows its employees to share their opinions about the progress of the organisation and that their views are given weightage in the decision making process. [Hofstede, Geert (1977] (B)Influence of culture on the change management of the Virgin Trains What is Change Management? There are three important steps of change management namely planning, implementation and control. These steps are in relation to all those people who are affected by a change in the organisation. Change should always be brought after consultation with the all the major stakeholders as they are the medium through which the change will be brought and their non-involvement can lead to a resistance in change. There are some serious time and money invested in order to bring a change so it is expected that the change can be measurable, achievable and reliable. Infrastructural change does not require as much time and effort as to bringing a change in the mind-set of the people. For people to accept the change they need to be told why the change is brought and what is in benefit for change how it will be implemented and how it is sustainable. Change be implemented and is it sustainable for future developments and research. One of the healthiest exercises for change is to have one on one meeting with the key staff of the organisation who serve as the ingredient of the change and allow them equal participation in the change process so that the task of implementing the change becomes easy. It is interesting to know that different people have different acceptability levels to change for some it is just a matter of time and understanding the new ways of doing things but for some people that change is completely incompatible. Usually all the lower level staffs is communicated indirectly about change with memos and brochures. But there are people in this level of hierarchy as well who thinks that it is a call for them to leave the organisation. For people with such mind-sets there should be workshops and other training sessions being held so that they get the bigger picture behind the change brought. But if still there is resistance to change the organisation will have to consider firing that employee but inly as the last resource, following the philosophy that what does not align with the organisational goals is into an asset of a company but act as a liability. All in all change management is a process in which individual or organisation at large are invited to bring a transition from their current position to a desired position in the future. Example of change management includes change in mission, strategy, technology, operations and in the behaviour and attitude of the personnel. [Robert A. Sevier, July, 2003], [Jayme Alexandre, Jan 2009] Virgin trains have always kept an optimistic and forward looking approach. They make plans as to what they can do in their foreseeable future and try to implement the learning from their past to their future. It is a view prevailing in the business world that there is a strong link between the vision and the culture of an organisation. There is no doubt in the notion that the behaviour of the managers of an organisation set the tone for the subordinate and the approach in which the organisation wants their employees to go about things. Virgin trains value their employee and thinks that customer service is a CSF (Critical success factor).a as responding to the ever changing environment and changing customer needs with it. To bring a change in an organisation a clear vision is required for the change to take place smoothly. The managers of virgin train believe that the way for their organisational success is to listen to their customer feedback and then try to implement what is lacking in the current management structure. They believe that I is the lower level staff i.e. the technical support and logistics which comes in to interactions with the customers and in order to bring change these people those be given the task of implementing the change. It is the culture of virgin train is to delegate authorities to its staff so to allow them the bring change. They believe their lower level staffs are technically and commercially most skilled and competent to bring the change. Managers believe that employee would actively take part in the running of the company. They think that employees should be asking question, bring new ideas, and be ready to disagree and give better options on how to operate the Company and bring change. For Example: The employees of virgin train as their care for the environment and sustainable development urged the management to encourage recycling in offices and trains and Virgin train complied with it. The Change in Virgin train is aided with the help of strategies to support and bring the change. The primary motto of virgin train is to remain a profitable organisation. The key to this I customer retention which can only be done by providing the customers with a top notch and cost effective service. Virgin train realises that to achieve its objective they would have to cater to the needs of their customers. There usually two bands of customers one who value cost for which the cost leadership model is followed and the other ones who value quality of service being provided and there they belong to the niche market and want specialised and unique customer service which is in fact the reason they are paying the premium for. The management has the aim to train their front line employees as individual and independent leaders. They are given the opportunity to learn from their job i.e. given on the job training and development. The new strategy of Virgin Train is to put Customer First. The front line employees are expected to enhance customer experience by responding and catering to their needs and from their interaction with the customers try to devise and recommend new methods of operation to top management so that the customer experience can be further improved. The role of the managers in this scenario is to boost the morale and confidence of tits employee, motivate them with incentives and try to get the best out of them and whatever feedback and new ideas they get from their employees they should try to implement that. [Joanne Martin, 2001] (C)Contribution of the Virgin Trains Organisation Structure in the Change Management The organisational structure of a company plays a vital role in the change management process. Virgin Train has to adopt different strategies that could adapt to their organisational structure which allows flexibility, empowerment, independence, delegation of authorities and participation in decision making to its employees. The hierarchy of management in such organisation is although quite extensive but is immiscible so that the work of a higher level could in some circumstances be done by a lower level depending on the authorities and responsibilities of the person at lower level. Some of the Examples of the way Virgin Trains Operates will be discussed from here on. To discuss the current and future strategy thee are regular meetings held between the employees and the management. In these meetings the priorities for the business is rethought if, important matters needing management attention are discussed and the implementation of any new best practise in to the business model. In the meeting every region brings something new and important to share which allows the management to take decision based on past data for the future so that Virgin Group can gain an advantage over their peers. Each region May have people with different cultures and values so it is important that Virgin train responds to the needs of each region separately and bring such business strategies into play which benefit both the customers and serve the organisational purpose as well. Feedback from customers and mangers in different regions of operation of virgin train are always welcomed by managers as it allows them to know what elements of their service needs improvement and which of their current service is highly rated by its customers so that management know what areas need more time to be spent to improve their overall performance. For Example Feedback from customers on matter such as, what should be the menus of the flight and how much is the current ticket packages are suitable for them. Other than this what new destination should virgin start flights for and how often these flights should take place, this and many other related information helps management to take things head on which is always a factor for a customer when making travelling decisions. All these Ideas are taken in by the manger sand the ones which seems to be the most important and brought to the table with other top management and lowers staff as well to decide which ones will filter through the consensus in the decision making process and then how these can be implemented. This activity instigate a feeling of intrinsic reward in the employees who brought forwards the idea sand the feedback in the first place and it encourages them to do their work efficiently and discuss with the management as they believe their say hold an importance to the company. Besides welcoming change and giving feedback, the management of virgin also encourage constructive criticism i.e. challenging the ideas of other in an appropriate way. Employees are given 3 days workshops to train them how to receive and deliver constructive feedback. They are also taught about the vision of the Virgin Trains and how the leadership style currently undertook by the management of the Virgin Train affects them at workplace. Other than this some of the important outcomes of the workshops are mentioned below. It provides the employees an environment to share their opinions and thoughts about the organisation. Employees at different levels of the hierarchy come across each other, get to know each other and create a social environment which allows them the time to share things since they have been employed, so erasing personal differences if any. Employees get an idea of why the change is brought, how it will affect them and provides an opportunity to share individual concerns about the change if any. The HR Department go Virgin Train actively take part in the development and training of their employees. They consider themselves as the drivers of the change and have always followed the organisational strategy will focus on people. They tend to reward employees where they have performed well and such employees are then presented at various levels as a token of their achievement and an appreciation of the work they have done for Virgin Trains. Various award ceremonies are also held to reward individual and teams where they had performed well. Virgin Train also plays their CSR role (Corporate Social Responsibility) as they believe dignifies behaviour towards their environments and also in a way towards their employees. This approach shows their customers and staff that they care about their environment and does not always act in their personal profits. But in Essence what Virgin Trains is doing here is to earn the respect of the people and therefore it allows them to retain customers. An example of the charitable work done is to make donations to the CLIC Sargent which collects money to be spent on child cancer patients. It is therefore not wrong to say that Virgin Trains flow its organisational with Bottom to top Approach and their workshops helps in in this process. [Cameron, Kim S. Quinn, Robert E. 1999] (D) Strategies Implemented For Change Management Process in the Organisation and its Effectiveness: There few strategies which the management has adopted in order to manage the change process in Virgin Trains. Again any strategy made will be in alignment of the vision. At the recruitment process it is important to take note of that people who share the same vision and promote he same behaviour as encourages at virgin Trains should be selected. The appraisal process is another crucial stage ways of realising the work that an employee has done in a fixed period of time. Usually a 360 degree appraisal is the most popular method of appraisals, as it involves the customer, the employee and the manager, all of whom play a vital role in the business process. In discussion with the employee their contribution and development to the business should be notified and what personal short term and long term goals have the employee set for themselves. A tool made by virgin train to assess the need for promotion for an individual is the Talent Wheel. This is a set combination of behaviour, motivation, passion and knowledge and skills requirement which when fulfilled by an employee suggest that that employee is now worthy of a higher post or designation. There is plenty of learning opportunities for employees at various levels in the organisation. Internal and external courses are regularly held keeping in mind the training and developing needs of individuals and the departments in which the employee is working. In these courses basically the coaching skills are taught and how to take part in discussion and the importance of accepting responsibility. For front line staff and managers leadership programs are held to equip them to handle issues in a better way. The change management program of virgin Train is an on-going process which would have to be reviewed regularly to ensure that the change in the culture is smooth transition and is will be meeting the organisational objective. The motive behind the cultural change is not only to cope with employees in a better way but it is to operate the business in the most efficient way securing the organisational goal of maximising it profits. KPIs or key performance indicator is an effective tool foe measuring the performance of an organisation. Every organisations business is based on some key indicator or elements the fluctuations in which serious affect the business so if virgin train could track such indicators than it would know in what direction it is moving. Some of the KPIs that Virgin uses are: Sickness days/ days off, Staff turnover rates, Customer satisfaction and complaints. There can be many other indicators but these are the most important ones. Due to the strategy and the vision of Virgin Trains there has been cost saving reported in recent years due the discussion of management with the frontline employee and more often the employees challenge the managements decision which are then reviewed and implemented as a result of which company saves some valuable money. A recent example of this kind of work is that done by the Manchester division. What they did was to create a new ticket as a result of a problem face by a customer who was going to and fro from Huddersfield. The customer had to make a new ticket for the second part of the journey and this problem was sorted out by the people working in front line and a new ticket was issued which could work both ways. [David Herold, Donald Fedor,  (2008)] Conclusion: There is no doubt that virgin train continues to provide its customer with high quality serve and leisurely travel. The companys focus on their customers and employees has served as a booster for their performance and this is the reason they are way forward than their competitors. The involvement of employees in the decision making and their ability to bring solution to the business problems which are thought of from the customer point of view is another reason for virgin trains success. The management has fed the employees that they should continue to challenge the current practises and keep trying to come up with new ways of more effective ways of doing things. All in All it is the caring of employee, focus on customer satisfaction and the management leadership skills which have put Virgin Trains on the path of success.