How Students Can Leverage Part-Time and Volunteer Work - Guest Post by Gary Ryan

How Students Can Leverage Part-Time and Volunteer Work - Guest Post by Gary Ryan The following is a guest post by Gary Ryan, founder of Organisations That Matter. Edited by Brenda Bernstein, The Essay Expert. Summer vacations (or â€Å"holiday seasons† as they say Down Under), are terrific for many reasons. They present an opportunity to catch up with friends and family as well as to relax. For many students, summer means a chance to earn money and/or volunteer (especially if you aren’t taking extra classes). Unfortunately, many students don’t take full advantage of their holiday work. Too often I hear things like, â€Å"I’m just a check-out operator,† or â€Å"I just work at a cafà ©,† or â€Å"I just provide meals to homeless people.† There is no such thing as â€Å"just† a part time job- not if you are prepared to consider the employability skills that you are developing while doing your work! Below is a short list of ten employability skills that part time / volunteer work develops: 1. Communication skills 2. Problem solving skills 3. Initiative 4. Teamwork 5. Technology skills 6. Planning and organizing skills 7. Service excellence skills 8. Leadership skills 9. Learning skills 10. Self-management skills Let’s look at some examples of how you might develop these skills: 1. Communication If you communicate with your boss, other team members and/or the general public, then you have the opportunity to develop communication skills. Here’s a tip: Good communicators are good listeners †¦ which also means that you are good at asking questions. So, develop your questioning skills and your communication skills will skyrocket! 2. Problem solving Problems occur all the time. In every job. A computer won’t work. Another staff member didn’t turn up for their shift. The delivery hasn’t arrived and customers are waiting for their orders. The list goes on. Each of these examples is a wonderful opportunity for you to consciously practice your problem solving skills. Not only that, but you can create a bank of stories about how you solve problems. Can you imagine any of your future employers not wanting a problem solver? Neither can I! 3. Initiative Showing initiative is doing something helpful without having been asked. Every time you see that something could go wrong (like someone slipping on a banana peel) and you take action to stop that from happening (like picking up the banana peel) you are showing initiative. Opportunities to demonstrate initiative are everywhere. Keep your eye out for them and grasp them with both hands when they pop up. They also create great stories that can be used in interviews. 4. Teamwork There is hardly a job that exists that does not involve teamwork. Even if you work alone, you are probably still part of a team. Imagine an interview when you are asked about your experience of working in teams. If you’ve covered a shift for a teammate, taught someone something, or helped out in some other way, you will have a great answer to this question! 5. Technology Technology skills don’t just include using electronic devices such as computers and scanners. Using technology can mean writing on whiteboards, driving forklifts (providing you have a license) and whatever else you have to use to do your job. If you volunteer planting trees, the shovels, picks and other tools that you use are all forms of technology. By having a range of stories about your technological capacity, you can demonstrate your adaptability and ability to learn quickly. Most students don’t even think about these things as being relevant to their future. But, they are! 6. Planning and organizing In whatever work you are doing, show up on time and meet your deadlines. Employers expect it. Practice it and practice it now. 7. Leadership For those of you who have responsibility for a team or other staff, how do you treat the people you lead? What are your mental models about leadership? How are your personal values reflected in how you lead? Conscious thought about these questions can create wonderful leadership experiences for you as well as the opportunity to make relatively â€Å"safe† mistakes. Think about your personal theory about formal leadership. Try it out. See if it works. Learn how to lead by doing it when the opportunity arises. 8. Learning Part time and volunteer work always involves learning one or more of the following: technical skills policies and procedures cash management processes customer service procedures people’s names how to work in a team how to communicate the company mission / vision This list could go on. The point is, notice what you have to learn to do your job. You’ll have a mountain of examples to share in an interview! 9. Service excellence No job is worth its salt if you aren’t able to practice developing your service excellence skills. Quite simply, service excellence is like oxygen. In any job, we can’t live without it. The simplest and best practice to adopt is, â€Å"Everyone is my customer: my boss, my colleagues and my customers.† If you wouldn’t choose to be a customer of yourself, then you need to improve your skills in this area or you will likely â€Å"suffocate† your career. 10. Self-management In order to consciously practice the above skills you have to practice self-management. You will have all had a challenging on-the-job experience. How did you handle it? How did you overcome any negative experiences? Challenges at work require a significant amount of positive self-talk, time management, problem solving and communication skills. Develop them now! Part-time and volunteer work are goldmines as far as developing your employability skills. Take full advantage of your opportunities. The gold in this sense will come in the future when you get the job that you really want. So, enjoy your time off this â€Å"holiday season†- and make it an even more valuable summer by developing yourself in the workplace! Gary Ryan is the Founder of Organisations That Matter, author of What Really Matters For Young Professionals! and creator of the Yes For Success online platform for creating and executing a life of balance and personal success!

ELECTROPHORESIS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

ELECTROPHORESIS - Essay Example These are size, voltage, supporting media and buffer (electrolyte). Smaller molecules travel faster than larger molecules while high voltages cause faster migration than lower voltages. However, there is a limit to the voltage that can be used as very high voltages cause the gel to melt and affect resolution. Various solid supports have varying pore sizes and sieving properties thereby affecting the rate of mobility. The lower the strength of the gel the bigger the pore size and vice versa. The buffer, which is a function of pH, also affects mobility and separation. Therefore, the success of the procedure depends on the correct choice of buffer. There are two main forms of electrophoresis namely moving boundary electrophoresis and zonal methods (Holme and Peck 1998, p. 133). The moving boundary method uses a U-tube that contains the analyte in the lower portion of the U while the arms contain the buffer. An electric potential is directed to the buffer and the movement of the boundary with time matches the velocity of migration of the analyte. The most common application of the moving-boundary electrophoresis is during the investigation of the physical traits of molecules as well as in large preparative processes. Conversely, zonal techniques involve the application of the analyte on a large area of supporting medium. They are named according to the supporting medium used and include the various types of gel electrophoresis (agarose gel, SDS-PAGE etc), capillary electrophoresis, affinity electrophoresis, and immunoelectrophoresis (Gault and McClenaghan 2008, p. 169). They are often employed in the separation of proteins cont ained in serum and urine, haemoglobin, isoenzymes, and nucleic acids. Electrophoretic equipment may vary in appearance, but all of them retain a common basic design that includes a tank, supporting media, an electrolyte compartment, electrodes, a stable supply of voltage, and safety gadgets. A cover is often included to minimize

Assessment Accommodation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Assessment Accommodation - Research Paper Example Accommodation is a word that can be described as an adjustment of the certain environment or a curriculum format to allow an individual to have an access to the learnings that he could gain from it or to somehow to complete the assigned tasks. An example of accommodation is the use of sign language in the teaching-learning process in order for the student to understand the lesson. If accommodation is known to be the â€Å"adjustment† or â€Å"alteration† of the curriculum to accommodate the student’s needs, the modification is the â€Å"change in the curriculum† for the students who cannot go with the actual comprehension process during the class discussion. An example of this is the reduction of the number of assignments for a certain student who has a lower level of comprehension compare to an average student. There are times when teachers commit the mistake of thinking she is in a classroom with the homogenous type of students. However, in reality, students, in general, are heterogeneous. Students have different needs and different weaknesses. Take this status-quo for instance: â€Å"Based on Census and Immigration and Naturalization Services records, it is estimated that there are79 million school-age language minority children in the United States. This bilingual population is distributed throughout the United States with heavier concentrations in the southwest and northeast. The highest concentration is in the large urban areas.† (http://www.teachervision.fen.com) You need to be sure that your student can understand the language or the vocabulary level that is being used in discussing the lesson. If not, it is important to teach them first the essential vocabulary that they need to understand.  Ã‚  

Professionalism Study Essay Example for Free

Professionalism Study Essay People may look down at an individual for being more professional because that individual is not doing what everyone else is doing. An individual doing what is right in the work place is being a professional. If an individual follows the five keys to be a professional, character, attitude, excellence, competency and conduct, he or she will surpass his or her competitors. Character is who a person is, he or she know that what he or she is doing is the right thing. An individual who doesn’t take mediocrity, doesn’t look for the easy way out and doesn’t expect that his or her job will be easy is just the beginning. When an office is looking to higher an individual they look for integrity, and responsibility. These are some question an individual can ask themselves when looking to see if he or she has integrity. â€Å"Do you do what you say you’re going to do? Can you be trusted with confidential information? Are your expense reports truthful and reasonable? Employers want someone who can honestly answer questions like these with a resounding, â€Å"Yes.†Ã¢â‚¬  (http://www.corporatecomplianceinsights.com/top-10-character-traits-to-look-for-when-hiring-a-senior-professional/). Attitude and conduct would go great together because they have similar meanings, attitude; how an individual look and handles problems, and conduct; how an individual holds himself or herself together in the work place. A professional always has a friendly and welcoming aura about them, making others feel comfortable to come ask for help. Conduct is wrapped into an individual’s attitude because he or she â€Å"acknowledge people right away† (Professionalism is for Everyone, The Goals Institute, page 63). He or she shows everyone the respect that they deserve. A professional doesn’t believe that he or she is better than the individual that they are helping, or with his or her coworker. Attitudes to have in a work place are â€Å"enthusiastic, and efficiency† (http://www.careerealism.com/attitudes-workplace-get-ahead/) Excellency and competency also go together on the grounds that they both are how an individual works. Excellency is how well an individual excels at his or her job/career. Competency is the degree of expertise that an individual puts into his or her career. A professional always â€Å"press for excellence in all aspects of his or her life† (Professionalism is for Everyone, The Goals Institute, page 37). One knows what is expected of them in the work place. He or she does what is asked, when it is asked and does it in a timely manner. A professional strives to be better for themselves, for his or her family and for his or her friends. Never be someone who thinks â€Å"I’m just doing this for the money.† If one thinks that way he or she will never get to his or her dream job. Remember, character, attitude, excellence, competency and conduct will be an individual’s best friend. Works Cited Professionalism is for Everyone, The GOALS Institute, 2013 http://www.corporatecomplianceinsights.com/top-10-character-traits-to-look-for-when-hiring-a-senior-professional/ http://www.careerealism.com/attitudes-workplace-get-ahead/

Healthcare Reform Essay -- The Patient Protection and Affordable Care

The healthcare climate in the United States was grim. Per capita spending was amongst the highest in the world, and while more than four out of every five Americans had health insurance of some kind, spending on healthcare continued to increase and services continued to decline. Insurance companies had the ability to deny coverage when people became ill, and they limited their responsibility towards those who were insured by enforcing both annual and lifetime limits. Those who had pre-existing conditions had great difficulty getting insurance. Profit margins for insurance companies became steeper, but the health of Americans suffered. The number of individuals who were uninsured or underinsured due to the expense of insurance was rising, and debt due to medical bills was mounting and crippling the American people. Approximately 20% of all bankruptcies were linked to medical costs, and hospitals spent well over $1 billion dollars annually on uninsured patients and uncompensated bills. (Stephens and Ludlow 98, 101) The costs of this healthcare crisis went beyond the mere monetary. Those without health insurance were less likely to have regular physical exams and preventative care. An illness allowed to progress may become not only more expensive but also more difficult to treat. (Stephens and Ludlow 100, 101) Society bore the burden of inadequate healthcare as well, as the uninsured spent more time out of work with lengthier illnesses or injuries they may not have been able to afford to treat. Business productivity had the potential to decrease, and the nation as a whole can be affected. In March of 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, stating, "The United States Congress finally... ... Bill Philips, and Terry L. Schmidt. "The Intended and Unintended Consequences of Healthcare Reform." Healthcare Financial Management 64.10 (2010): 50-55. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 Feb. 2014. Holguin, Jaime. "America The Unhealthy - CBS News." Breaking News Headlines: Business, Entertainment & World News - CBS News. CBS News, 26 Feb. 2013. Web. 01 Mar. 2014. . "Physical Activity Fundamental To Preventing Disease." Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, HHS. US Department of Health and Human Services, 20 June 2012. Web. 06 Mar. 2014. . Stephens, James H., and Gerald R. Ledlow. "Real Healthcare Reform: Focus on Primary Care Access." Hospital Topics 88.4 (2010): 98-106. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.

Baby Blues in Europe

The population growth in most of the European nations is at critical point. The term baby blues have been used to describe the situation where families are opting to have fewer children due to various economic and social reasons. They are shying off from having an extra child due to the things they are experiencing day by day. The societies have become more affluent and when such a thing happens one the effects is the low fertility rates. On the other hand women have gained more freedom in the society.They are engaging in the work force, this has resulted in consumption boom contributing to the delay of marriage and the rate at which people are marrying, this further impact on the fertility rates. The impacts of the social changes that have taken place in the recent years have been compounded by the changing of the working patterns. Career patterns have replaced the unskilled labor which has increased the importance attached to the longer training periods and the unbroken periods of employment as one gains skills has further strengthened the idea of delaying childbearing.This is what has resulted to the baby blues in a continent that had the highest population growth some years back. (Golin, A; Bruno, L and Lori, A 1991) Some of these factors are: lack of a nanny to take care of the child, busy schedules, work related and many others. The birth rates are generally falling fast with many women either opting to have no children or families making a choice of remaining with only one child. This trend is worrying many governments as they foresee a big problem ahead.The population growth rate is negative in most countries in this part of the world. If the trend continues it shows that the population in Western Europe countries will shrink. This is a dangerous trend for the bloc that is aiming to counter the United States as the world power. In the United States the population has been growing at a higher rate in comparison to the Europe due to factors such as migrat ion, incentives from the government among others. What are the impacts of baby blues in the society?This is a question each and every government in Europe is trying to analyze and at the same time provides a workable solution to a situation that is threatening to impact negatively on the gains that this continent has made in the number of years. Having negative growth rate is not something any government in the developed world should be proud of. It is a risky affair that will have serious effects in the years to come. It means that at one given time Europeans countries will have a population imbalance where the number of the graying population will exceed the young people.This graying population will be a burden since there will be very few young working population to support them impacting negatively on the countries economic situation. (Golin, A; Bruno, L and Lori, A 1991) The trend will have an effect in the society especially in situation where the elderly have to be taken care of by the young. They require more money to cater for their medical bills and other expenses that come with the old age. This will be a burden to the younger population as they also have other obligation to meet.This population might also opt to have lesser families due to the added burden of caring of the elderly. If the trend continues beyond this point the problem will escalate for many years to come impacting heavily on the economic situation of these countries. The governments are concerned with this trend and they are up and planning on the measures to be taken to counter this negative development. The government can not afford to sit on the fence as it watches the population decline. This can have serious impact than imagined. It can threat the very existence of a nation.A nation whose population can not meet the needs of its economy is a t great danger especially if the other parts of the world more so those perceived to be the competitors are at an advantaged position rega rding the population growth. China and United States population are projected to rise tremendously in the next fifty years whereas on the other hand the European population has been predicted to decline by a great margin. This means that Europe will depend much on the countries with a positive population growth on labor, market and other activities.To many governments in this region, this is a dangerous development as it will affect their power situation where these nations may take its position in the world map of power. (Hantarais, L 2004) The governments need to be concerned and act on the situation as it can have serious effects on all aspects of the society. Declining population goes hand in hand with the economic slow down. When the older population is higher than the young working population the situation becomes grave as the government will be faced with the burden of taking care of this graying population which can be as sensitive as the baby population.In the next ten or m ore years to come it is expected that the European population level will be more than seventy million or roughly ten percent below its current level. The governments are busy trying to counter this negative trend as it may pose serious problems if it is not tackled early and in an effective manner. Births rate have fallen to levels where they can not be replaced and on the other hand the continent median age has climbed steadly. This poses a complex problem which need to be approached in a sober manner as it can result to every disastrous situation.A decline in the working population mean that the government can only promote immigration to counter a situation where the labor supplies dwindle ,this poses a serious problem as this population will only be attracted from the developing nations where there are population crises and the level of skills is often. To stop the decline the government has to come up with a workable solution which will solve this problem once and for all and he lp avert a situation where economic slow down is experienced further complicating the matters.(Hantarais, L 2004) Of particular concern is the need to replenish the declining workforce as this will have long term effects if left unchecked. With the population having reached close to seven hundred million people a decline can be the most unfortunate things for the nations in Europe. The governments having been faced with the challenge on how they will approach this problem may mean that the problem will be bigger than imagined, but with the proper planning and coordination of policies this is an issue which can be tackled.Population ageing will increase the number of dependent people creating a potential burden on pension and public health care. The tax burden will have to be passed to the few working population further complicating the issue as this group will be overburden by the financial obligation they are supposed to meet. This will only escalate the existing pro blem with a hi gher probability of increased baby blues. The fear of having many children or in some cases- no children at all- among the childbearing population in the western nations and Europe in general poses a great danger for this continent.If the current fertility levels persisted and immigration ceased altogether the European population would fall way below six hundred million by the turn of the century. What would this mean in a continent that is expected to steer the global economy to the next level in the century. It shatter the dreams of a powerful Europe in the world map while at the same time putting the continent at a disadvantaged position since the population in some the world regions is increasing at a higher rate.Therefore since this is a problem that will have far reaching effects for some years to come the government s in the respective countries need to move fast and come up with comprehensive policies which will help in solving this problem. (McIntosh, A 1983) The government s are not spoilt of choices they have to act swiftly to avert a catastrophic situation where economic meltdown might be experienced in future. One of the response would be to boost the birth rates, this can be achieved through giving incentives to the couples who are willing to have children.These incentives need to be as attractive as possible so that they can include many people. In such a move the birth rates might turn a round and the feared decline may not be experienced at all. Immigration has been mentioned as another option as far as solving this problem is concerned but some people have pointed out that it will only be short-lived since the immigrants will eventually adapt the trends that already exist in the receiving countries. Government has to approach this issue in a broader way to ensure that the end results are positive.Though some people have described the situation as the best for the continent since there would be minimal competition for resources, baby blues pres ent a dangerous situation for Western Europe as far as it future economic position is concerned. Bibliography Golin, A; Bruno, L and Lori, A. Population Changes in Europe, Labor, vol 5, Rome Italy (1991) Hantarais, L. Family Policy Matters: Responding to Family Change in Europe, The Policy Press (2004) McIntosh, A. Population Policy in Western Europe, ME Shape (1983)

Steroid Use And Steroids Use - 1076 Words

I can say something that less and less people can say these days; I love baseball. I like football and basketball just as much, but I do love the game of baseball. It’s America’s pastime, what is there not to love. But for some reason the MLB has been clouded with steroid use, more so than a lot of other professional sports leagues. Once I found this section in the readings I wanted to investigate it and dig a little deeper into how big of an issue it really is, and what the league has or has not done about it. Fortunately, this trend has seemed to fade away and become less of a problem. However, I would still like to dive into this subject and see the progression from when steroid use began to peak and see how the league and everyone else†¦show more content†¦This new stricter policy is what would bring the MLB out of the â€Å"steroid-era†. When most people think about PED use in baseball the obvious names come to mind: Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Rafael Palmeiro, and Gary Sheffield. However, some names they are not aware of are Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO), or the Biogenesis of America Clinic in Florida. What’s more, it is often unknown that a large majority of the players that have been suspended received their performance-enhancing drugs from those laboratories. According to a CNN article on the timeline of the BALCO scandal, in the early 2000’s BALCO came under investigation by federal agents in California, and by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency who received an anonymous tip that an undetectable, designer steroid was being distributed by the founder of BALCO (â€Å"BALCO Fast Facts,† 2016). MLB athletes named in this case included: Barry Bonds, Gary Sheffield, Jason and Jeremy Giambi, Armando Rios, Benito Santiago, and Bobby Estalella. All of these players were given the steroids by a man named Greg Anderson, who was their trainer. During this investigation, many high profiled play ers were subpoenaed to testify in front of a grand jury. Barry Bonds and Gary Sheffield both testified that they unknowingly took steroids that were given to them by Greg Anderson. Conversely, the rest of the MLB players testifying admitted to taking steroids given to them by Greg Anderson. Though players had been