How Values Affect Decisions in Personal and Professional Life Essay Example for Free

How Values Affect Decisions in Personal and Professional Life Essay Abstract Many people have a set of core values, either personal, organizational, or cultural, that help guide his or her life, and that assist him or her in making decisions in their everyday existence. Most of my decisions are based on how they will affect my family, me, and my career. My family is the key factor in any decision I make. I have to consider what influence my choices will have on my family before I act on them. My success in my career choice of Information Systems is also an important value to me. I strive to improve my knowledge of information systems to the best of ability in order to further my career. This value has brought me to be results oriented, a hard worker, and a team player. Companies are now doing business with other companies in different countries. Organizations are now set up to where employees have to interact with different people to get the job done. If someone desires a long, prosperous career, they have to learn to work with diverse people of different cultures. Everyone has a set of core values that assist him or her in making decisions in their daily existence, and many people expect these values to lead them to live a wonderful life. Many people have a set of core values, either personal, organizational, or cultural, that help guide his or her life, and that assist him or her in making decisions in their everyday existence Values such as my family, friendships, and personal growth contribute to the choices that I make in my personal life. Values such as being results-oriented, a hard worker, a team player, and the desire to be successful guide me in making decisions in an organizational environment. I evaluate my core values before making any decisions that will influence them in anyway. According to author David Peters (2003): Personal ethics have been defined as principles of good behavior, a moral code of conduct, or a system to decide between competing options. But simply stated, personal ethics are nothing more than the rules impose on ourselves that govern our daily actions. (p. 30) For many people different factors and beliefs shape their values but, I believe that everyone shares one goal of living the best life possible not just physically but spiritually and mentally. Many of my decisions are based on how they will affect my family, me, and my career. My family is the key factor in any decision I make. I have to consider what influence my choices will have on my family before I follow through with them. For example, my returning to school keeps me from spending as much time as I would like with my loved ones. I thought about returning back to school long and hard and came to the conclusion that I need to return to school now before I have more children, my daughter gets to an age were I have to run her all over town for things that she wants to participate in, or any other life-changing event takes place. I came to the conclusion that I need to go now because it will only take between a year and half or two years to complete. By the time I am done with school, my daughter will be four and starting kindergarten, and that is a good time to also think about having another child. So I decided to go ahead and return to school and get my masters degree in information systems. If I know that a decision will drastically affect my family, I will go to them to get their input on the situation. My success in my career choice of Information Systems is also an important value to me. Roy Posner states, One of the interesting values in life is ones innate desire for continuous improvement. (Roy Posner 2006). I strive to improve my knowledge of information systems to the best of my ability in order to further my career. This value has brought me to be results oriented, a hard worker, and a team player. In the environment of information technology, everyone has to be team player because most of the positions require people to interact with each other. Whether the person is a systems analyst or a mail clerk, he or she will be part of a diverse group of people who have to work together effectively and efficiently to meet the goals of the organization as a whole. Culture is the key to peoples way of living, accepting changes and doing business is rapidly loosing geographical borders. (Kanungo, 2006, p. 23). Companies are now doing business with other companies in different countries. Organizations are now set up to where employees have to interact with different people to fulfill his or her job duties. If someone desires a long, prosperous career, they have to learn to work with diverse people of different cultures. At one time or another, everyone has had life experiences that help guide his or her decision making process. Nancy Haught (2006) states the following: For many people, from many different belief systems, their faith is the only factor that they see shaping their personal ethics. But most Americans would admit that other factors do play a part: parents or other relatives;? experiences such as a stint in the Peace Corps or a brush with the law. The factors that shape our ethics are varied, but it religion that often gets the credit, or the blame (p.C1) Many people have come to the realization that they dont have to have the world to live a good life. Although, someone may want a successful career, they shouldnt have to sacrifice other aspects of their life to obtain it. Other aspects of life are more fulfilling, such as a wonderful relationship with God, family, and friends. Many people have a set of core values that assist him or her in making decisions in their daily existence, and many people expect these values to lead them to live a wonderful life References Haught, N. (2006, March 11). Ethics values | definitions ethics, morals, values. The Oregonian, C1. Kanungo, R. P. (2006). Cross culture and business practice: are they coterminous or cross-verging? Cross Cultural Management, 13(1), 23. Peters, David. (2003) Your Personal Ethics ? is it time for a check up? National Jeweler, 97 (7), 30. Posner, Roy. (2006). The Power of Personal Values. Retrieved July 05, 2007 from http://www. gurusoftware. com/GuruNet/Personal/Topics/Values. htm.

The Cochlear Implant :: deaf community

The Cochlear Implant   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The cochlear implant is possibly one of the greatest inventions designed to benefit the deaf community. A cochlear implant is a device implanted internally behind a deaf persons ear with an external microphone, and is designed to provide artificial sounds to people who have nerve deafness in both ears and show no ability to understand speech through hearing aids. Since the development of the cochlear implant in the 1960’s, more than 10,000 people worldwide have been implanted with this device.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although this may seem like the perfect device to aid deafness, a lot of controversy still exists about the cochlear implant. There are many advantages and disadvantages about the implant. I will start by discussing the advantages.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The cochlear implant has allowed many deaf people to live out ‘hearing lives’. During the 1960’s, more primitive implants allowed for partial hearing, the percentage of words that could be understood without lip reading was about 12%, But with modern technology, that number has risen to about 80%, making conversations with a deaf person and a hearing person possible through speech without the use of sign language. Deaf people who have experienced hearing and language skills previously, benefit much more from the implant because they do not have to learn new sounds or words.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although the cochlear implant can benefit deaf people greatly, there are still many disadvantages. Of the 15 million people in the U.S. with significant hearing loss. Less than 1% are potential candidates the the cochlear implant. There is no standardized criteria for accepting or rejecting a candidate, but they often need to meet audiological, medical, and psychological criteria. As with all surgeries, there is some degree of risk, but because of the anatomical location being so close to the brain, these risks are much greater. Even though the cochlear implant may be suitable for more deaf

Stefan’s Diaries: The Craving Chapter 1

I picked out a heartbeat, a single life, in the near distance. The other noises of the city faded into the background as this one called to me. She had wandered away from her friends and left the well-worn paths. The sun had just set over Central Park, where I'd exiled myself since arriving in New York City fourteen long days ago. The colors in this expanse of wilderness were softening, sliding toward one another, shadows blurring with the things that made them. The oranges and deep blues of the sky morphed into an inky black, while the muddy ground dimmed to a velvety sienna. Around me, most of the world was still, paused in the breath that comes at the end of day when the guards change: Humans and their daylight companions lock their doors and creatures of the night like myself come out to hunt. With the ring Katherine gave me I can walk in the daylight like any normal, living human. But as it's been since the beginning of time, it's easier for vampires to hunt during the uncertain hours when day slowly becomes night. Dusk confuses those who aren't equipped with the eyes and ears of a nocturnal predator. The heartbeat I now pursued began to sound quieter . . . its owner was getting away. Desperate, I took off, forcing my body to move quickly, my feet to push off from the ground. I was weak from lack of feeding, and it was affecting my ability to hunt. Added to that, these woods weren't familiar to me. The plants and vines were as alien as the people on the cobbled streets a quarter mile away. But a hunter transplanted is still a hunter. I leaped over a twiggy, stunted bush and avoided an icy stream, devoid of the lazy catfish I used to watch as a child, until my foot slipped on mossy stone and I crashed through the underbrush, my chase growing far louder than I intended. The bearer of the heart I followed heard and knew her death was close. Now that she was alone and aware of her plight, she began to run in earnest. What a spectacle I must have made: dark hair askew, skin as pale as a corpse, eyes starting to redden as the vampire in me came out. Running and leaping through the woods like a wild man, dressed in the finery Lexi, my friend in New Orleans, had given me, the white silk shirt now torn at the sleeves. She picked up speed. But I wasn't going to lose her. My need for blood became an ache so strong that I couldn't contain myself any longer. A sweet pain bloomed along my jaw and my fangs came out. The blood in my face grew hot as I underwent the change. My senses expanded as my Power took over, sapping my last bit of vampiric strength. I leaped, moving at a speed beyond human and animal. With that instinct all living creatures have, the poor thing felt death closing in and began to panic, scrambling for safety under the trees. Her heart pounded out of control: thump thump thump thump thump thump. The tiny human part of me might have regretted what I was about to do, but the vampire in me needed the blood. With a final jump, I caught my prey – a large, greedy squirrel who'd left her pack to scavenge for extra food. Time slowed as I descended, ripped her neck aside, and sank my teeth into her flesh, draining her life into me one drop at a time. I'd eaten squirrels as a human, which lessened my guilt marginally. Back home in Mystic Falls, my brother and I would hunt in the tangled woods that surrounded our estate. Though squirrels were poor eating for most of the year, they were fat and tasted like nuts in the fall. Squirrel blood, however, was no such feast; it was rank and unpleasant. It was nourishment, nothing more – and barely that. I forced myself to keep drinking. It was a tease, a reminder of the intoxicating liquid that runs in a human's veins. But from the moment Damon ended Callie's life, I had sworn off humans forever. I would never kill, never feed from, and never love another human. I could only bring them pain and death, even if I didn't mean to. That's what life as a vampire meant. That's what life with this new, vengeful Damon as my brother meant. An owl hooted in the elm that towered over my head. A chipmunk skittered past my feet. My shoulders slumped as I laid the poor squirrel down on the ground. So little blood remained in its body that the wound didn't leak, the animal's legs already growing stiff with rigor mortis. I wiped the traces of blood and fur from my face and headed deeper into the park, alone with my thoughts while a city of nearly a million people buzzed around me. Since I'd sneaked off the train two weeks earlier, I'd been sleeping in the middle of the park in what was essentially a cave. I'd taken to marking a concrete slab with the passing of each day. Otherwise moments blended together, meaningless, and empty. Next to the cave was a fenced-in area where construction men had gathered the â€Å"useful† remains of a village they had razed to make Central Park, as well as the architectural bric-a-brac they intended to install – carved fountains, baseless statues, lintels, thresholds, and even gravestones. I pushed past a barren branch – November's chill had robbed nearly every tree of its leaves – and sniffed the air. It would rain soon. I knew that both from living in plantation country and from the monster senses that constantly gave me a thousand different pieces of information about the world around me. And then the breeze changed direction, and brought with it the teasing, cloying scent of rust. There it was again. A painful, metallic tang. The smell of blood. Human blood. I stepped into the clearing, my breath coming rapidly. The thick stench of iron was everywhere, filling the hollow with an almost palpable fog. I scanned the area. There was the cave where I spent my tortured nights, tossing and turning and waiting for dawn. Just outside it was a jumble of beams and doors stolen from knocked-down houses and desecrated graves. Farther in the distance there were the glowing white statues and fountains installed around the park. And then I saw it. At the base of a statue of a regal prince was the body of a young woman, her white ball gown slowly turning a bloody red.

The No Child Left Behind Act, High Stakes Testing - 776 Words

While America’s educational community is emerged in discussing the No Child Left Behind Act, high stakes testing, and what these new versions of old ideas actually mean for the larger society, the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) 2005 report shows that African-American males continue to spiral further down the achievement ladder. They are not thriving or surviving in many school settings. They have been flagged by Statistics as the highest rank among students who choose to leave school; are suspended, expelled, or kicked out of school. Unfortunately, the same is also true when it comes to poor test scores, low GPAs and high rates of referral and placement in special education. In stark contrast, African-American males are underrepresented in gifted education (NCES, 2005; Whiting, 2004; as cited in (Whiting, 2006, p. 222). This dismal data hold most true for African-American males in middle and high schools although elementary school age Afr ican-American males are included. As African-American males tread through the educational pipeline, they appear to become less academically engaged (Ferguson, 2001; as cited in Whiting, p. 222). Th ¬ey appear to have learned to underachieve (Ford, 1996; as cited in Whiting), to devalue academics and school (Ogbu, 2003, 2004), School for them is not a place to develop their sense of identity, particularly self-worth and self-efficacy (Whiting, 2004). In contrast, African-AmericanShow MoreRelatedHigh Stakes Testing And The Education System1529 Words   |  7 PagesHigh Stakes Testing has been overly integrated in the education systems. High-stakes testing are used to determine grade retention, school curriculum, and whether or not students will receive a high school diploma (Myers, 2015). Since the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001, high stakes testing has become the norm and mandating that students must pass a standardized test before moving up in gra de. As a special education director, the focus is to ensure the student’s accommodations are being followedRead MoreThe No Child Left Behind Act869 Words   |  4 Pages As far as learning for standardized testing goes there is a federal act involved that plays a role in the educational system and controls how the educational system teaches and tests these students. This act is named, The No Child Left Behind Act. This act makes standardized assessments mandatory for all fifty states. This law serves a purpose to test students in reading and math for grades three through eight. In high school, students are required to test and they are expected to meet or exceedRead MoreNo Child Left Behind Act Vs. Every Student Succeeds Act Essay1711 Words   |  7 Pages Boesenberg No Child Left Behind Act vs. Every Student Succeeds Act December 10, 2015: We Won, RIP No Child Left Behind! Headlines such as this one, seen on the American Federation of Teachers newsletter, were commonplace on this momentous day for all involved in the American educational system. Newspapers ranging from the New York Times to the Washington Post, to nearly every small town daily chronicle, celebrated the end of a much-maligned era; that of No Child Left Behind. On this momentousRead MoreThe No Child Left Behind952 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"In 2002, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law was the first to mandate nationwide testing at various grade levels† (Breiner, 2015). Since then, summative tests have been used to assess the achievement of students and increase accountability for both the schools and teachers (Kubiszyn Borich, 2013, p. 15-25). These summative tests, also referred to as high-stakes tests, are given annually to students in third to ninth grade in language arts, math, and reading (Roach, 2014; Shepard, 2003). ThereRead MoreEssay on austin educationalissues1652 Words   |  7 Pagesissues that currently exist in education include high stakes testing, common core curriculum, and the use of social media. High Stakes Testing Standardized tests are used throughout the country to measure student learning. High stakes tests are those used to measure students’ successes and failures. In the United States, high stakes tests are used for accountability purposes. These tests measure the success or failure of a school as a whole. High stakes tests have been a concern for America’s educationalRead MoreTaking a Look at Standardized Testing1518 Words   |  6 PagesStandardized Testing Currently Standardized Testing is one of the many issues currently plaguing the education community. Testing is a very touchy and controversial topic in the politics of education, particularly in the United States. There are many varying opinions debating on the successes and failures in the process of testing today. The controversies over standardized testing in the United State, and specifically New Jersey, stem from the testing process and the creation of these tests. SomeRead More No Child Left Behind Assessment Essay1289 Words   |  6 Pagesprofessors, psychologists or parents. The stakes are high; ideology and money are at stake, and accountability is on the line. Using standardized tests as quantitative measurement tools have important implications for American education, â€Å"quality of assessment is one of the key features of good teaching and setting appropriate assessment tasks should question students in a way that demands evidence of understanding† (Jimaa, 20011, p. 2 17). The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) education reform program is aRead MoreAssessments Hold Schools, States and Nations Accountable Essay1439 Words   |  6 PagesAccording to IRA standards, â€Å"the primary purpose of assessment is to improve teaching and learning† (International Reading Association, n.d.). This connotation would seem to contradict the uselessness of focused teacher-testing in today’s classroom during the major assessment phase of the school year. However, according to Johnson and Johnson (2002) and Steward (2004), they believe that assessments are useful in holding schools, states and nations, accountable throughout the educational process forRead MoreThe Reauthorization Of The Elementary And Secondary Education Act948 Words   |  4 Pages Every Student Succeeds Act was a new law that was signed into legislation in 2015 by President Barak Obama. ESSA is a biparty educational reform law was designed from several aspects of No Child Left Behind. The United States Department of Education (2015) stated that ESSA focuses on factors such as, advancing equity for the nations disadvantaged students by investing more in preschool programs, local innovations, reporting student progress on all high stakes assessments to all stakeholdersRead MoreStandardized Testing Is Not An Accurate Test Of A Student s Academic Ability1546 Words   |  7 PagesStandardized testing is not an accurate test of a student’s academic ability. Imagine sitting in a classroom and all you are thinking about is what information is going to be on the test. That is how students all over the United States are feeling every day leading up till testing season. Students every year are increasingly becoming more stress out. Every year there is more empha sis put on standardized tests. There are more effective ways to monitor student’s progress. Throughout the years there