Discovering the Culture of Inquiry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Discovering the Culture of Inquiry - Essay Example The value of research studies, whereby new medicines along with control groups, are tested for various health symptoms at different dosage levels, and then added to a standardized repository, cannot be overstated enough. Nurses use theory-based practices in first interviewing and working with patients to record health issues which are compromising those patients, including their environments. From there, a nurse can utilize the same theory or add on another theory to complement and enhance a treatment program, based on research conducted through the hospital or clinic’s repository of clinical information (Allred, Smith & Flowers, 2004). The Cochrane Center in Oxford, England, along with the Cochrane Collaboration, is one of the largest repository of clinical information which can be accessed by medical personnel nearly everywhere in the world. This, along with nursing theory practices, and researching the latest proven methods of medical practice, provide the best foundation for both nurses and their patients in getting the help they need (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2011). Allred, S.K., Smith, K.F. & Flowers, L. (2004). Electronic Implementation of National Nursing Standards-NANDA, NOC and NIC as an Effective Teaching Tool. Journal of Healthcare Information Management, 18(4). Available at

Global Finance Law question on ( Money Laundering & Terrorists Finance Essay

Global Finance Law question on ( Money Laundering & Terrorists Finance ) - Essay Example The money can be laundered by using various methods that are usually varied and can also range in the sophistication from the simple processes to the complex ones. The government usually has lots of problems when combating the crime of money laundering. It has no association with the drama that is involved in the cases of robbery or any kind of fear that that is imprinted on the people’s physic through the violent crimes. However, money laundering usually takes place after a predicate crime that can be a house robbery, a housebreaking or a drug dealing that takes place at a particular place. It is usually perceived to be an invisible problem due to the lack of information about the money laundering that is available to the people on streets, hence making it more difficult to tackle and deal with by everyone who is affected by it in one way or the other. When money laundering is done successfully, it allows the criminals of the society to maintain their control over the proceed ings and also ultimately provides them a legitimate cover over their sources of income. It plays a fundamental role and facilitates the activities and the ambitions of the drug traffickers, the terrorists, the insider dealers, the organized criminals, the people involved in the tax evasion along with many others who seek to avoid particular attentions from various people. The people who are not involved directly but do it by being involved in one way or the other are benefitted from money laundering. It hides their work from the authorities and the work they have done as a reason for their sudden increase in wealth in a short span of time which comes from the illegal activities they are involved in for most of their time. The engagement of people in these activities makes sure that it works according to their hopes in order to place the proceeds beyond the reach of any restrictions laid by the authorities or the reach of any of the asset forfeiture laws. Money laundering can be look ed upon by taking in different situations to make the study more complex: Classic Money Laundering A person who has an illicit income is believed to be involved in classing money laundering. This person is usually a drug dealer, a jewel thief or a conman. Such a person is usually worried about that he will have to suffer from the Al Capone treatment and will be convicted of the tax evasion even if the government does not put any kind of the underlying criminal activity on the person in the given situations. Modern Money Laundering The other way in which a person can get involved in the money laundering process is when a person has some big lump of cash that a person makes sure that it is not known to other people in the neighborhood in the society. Most of the times, this is an effort to keep the income hidden from the income tax department people. The other goal that is associated is to make sure that the money keeps coming without the attention of any other person in the society w ho might claim their authority or their part on the money that is involved. For this kind of money laundering, the focus is on making the money disappear from the notice of other people. A person is usually tended to use the facilities of foreign banks and other shell companies so that all their money can be kept hidden and their work goes on without notice. Disappearing the Money The easiest and the quickest way of disappearing money for a person, especially when it is in the form of cash is to stash it in the

Global Communication and Propaganda Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Global Communication and Propaganda - Essay Example A classical example is the use of the terms â€Å"collateral damage† during the Vietnam War. This approach was used as a way of distorting the fact that innocent people had been killed in the war zones or the notion that the warfare technology employed was unsophisticated (Vincent, 2006, p. 246). Image transfer refers to an attempt to tap positive public image portrayed by a concept or entity and share or transfer this publicity by associating with another product, group or program. The images or symbols are used with to create positive emotions surrounding the issue. The US employs this technique through advertising to transfer its cultural products across the globe through motion pictures, film, music, and fashion (Vincent, 2006, p. 247). Testimonial refers to the use of famous or familiar but unpopular individual to depict a product, group or program in a positive or negative manner. President George W. Bush used this technique on March 2012 accompanied by Bono, a U2 rock musician, in a speech delivered at the Inter-American Development Bank. This approach sought to garner support for his foreign policy and support (Vincent, 2006, p. 248). Plain folks are employed by communicators to convince their target audience that their ideas are valid or correct because they resonate with the views of other commonplace citizens. President Bush Jr., used the image of the image of the â€Å"Mission Accomplished† photo following the successful duty in Iraqi to depict the notion of a commander in chief that is fully in control (Vincent, 2006, p. 250). Card stacking employs selective presentation of facts, misrepresentation of information and a combination of confusing, logical and illogical statements with the intention of hiding the truth from the audience and discouraging informed decision-making. Hitler employed the â€Å"Big Lie† approach in attributing the defeat of Nazi Germany in the First World War by the Jews to the influence of the media (Vincent, 2006,

Professional development as an occupational therapist

Professional development as an occupational therapist The concept of reflection in learning is not new. It can be traced back as far as Aristotles discussions of practical judgement and moral action in his Ethics (Grundy 1982 cited in Boud et al 2005a P11). In 1933, Dewy stated that there were two kinds of experiential process leading to learning. The first process was trial and error and the second was that of reflective activity which involved the perception of relationships and connections between the parts of the experience.'(Boud et al 2005a P12). He explained reflection as a learning loop, continually feeding back and forth between the experience and the situation. (Boud et al 2005a). In more recent times (1980s), reflective practice has been introduced and divided into three core components: Things that happen to a person, the reflective process that learning has occurred and the action that was taken from this new perspective (Jasper 2003 p2). These can be summarised as experience-reflection-action cycle (ERA) and is a way that learning from experience can be understood and developed. Kolb (1984 cited in Jasper 2003) developed an experiential learning cycle which has been suggested to be the most effective way of learning from our experiences by linking theory to practice: Observation- Something that has happened to you Or that you have done Action Reflection reviewing event or experience in your mind Concept development/theorising- Understanding what happened (Kolbs experiential learning cycle 1984, cited in Jasper 2003 p3) As illustrated, reflection is an important part of the learning loop. Another significant part of reflection is that the process of learning continues so that the learner changes from Actor to Observer, from specific involvement to general analytic detachment creating a new experience to reflect and conceptualize at each stage (Moon 2005 p25). It has been suggested that reflection itself can be identified into two types of ways reflection-on-action and reflection-in-action (Schon 1983). Reflection-in-action is reflecting while doing the action, which occurs subconsciously, instinctively and unconsciously, often seen in the more experienced practitioner who can monitor and adapt their practice simultaneously. Reflecting-on-action involves thinking about action after it has occurred, often seen in novice practitioners who need to step back and think about the situation over in their minds. (Finaly 2004) Another style of reflection is Gibbs reflective cycle. It has characteristics of all other strategies/ frameworks for reflection that have been developed. However, Gibbs cycle stops at the stage of action and therefore does not provide a way to close the cycle or move to reflective practice in terms of taking action (Jasper 2003). This is because Gibbs framework had its foundations from an education context as opposed to a practice one: Description (what happened) Action plan Feelings (if it arose again (what were you what would you do) thinking and feeling) Reflective cycle Conclusion Evaluation (What else could (what was good you have done) bad) Description (what do you make of the situation) Gibbs reflective cycle (1988, cited in Jasper 2003 p77) Chris Johns model of structured reflection was developed in the 1990s. It has gone through many changes and the 1994 version is the easiest to use when beginning reflective practice. Johns says that the model: consists of a series of questions which aim to tune the practitioner into her experiences in a structured and meaningful way. It emerged as a natural sequence through which practitioners explored their experience in supervision (Jasper 2003 p84). The focus of Johns model is about making us aware of the knowledge that we use in practice. This is taken as a core question, which is explored through five cue questions, that are further divided into detailed questions: description of the experience, reflection, influencing factors, could I have dealt with the situation better and learning (Jasper 2003 p85). The framework is presented in appendix one. Many people have defined reflection, Johns (2009 p3) defined reflection as Learning through our everyday experiences towards realising ones vision of desirable practice as a lived reality. It is a critical and reflexive process of self-inquiry and transformation of being and becoming the practitioner you desire to be. Furthermore, Boud et al (2005a p18) suggested that reflection is a form of response of the learner to experience. Where experience is the response of a person to a situation or event e.g. feelings, thoughts, actions and finishes at the time or immediately thereafter. The situation or event could be a course or an unplanned reason in daily life. It could be influenced by something external or an internal or evolve from discomfort. Reid (1993 p305) proposes that reflection is a process of reviewing an experience of practice in order to describe, analyse, evaluate and so inform learning about practice There are many positive uses to reflecting on practice. Johns (2009 p15) suggests that the positive uses of reflection encourages the expression, acceptance and understanding of feelings .He suggests that feelings of negativity can be looked into and turned into positive ones in order to understand future situations and learn new ways of responding. Furthermore he suggests that reflection is empowering, which in the end will lead to desirable practice. Boud et al (2005b p11) suggested that In the case of reflecting on learning, firstly only learners themselves can learn and only they can reflect on their own experiences. Boud et al suggest that teachers can support reflection, but only have access to thoughts and feelings by what individuals decide to reveal about themselves. Therefore the learner is in total control. Secondly, reflection is a purposeful activity directed toward a goal and lastly the reflective process where both feelings and thoughts are interconnected and interactive. Negative feelings, can form major barriers toward learning. Positive feelings and emotions can improve the learning process, keeping the learner on the task and providing a stimulus for new learning. (Boud et al 2005b p11) Reflection can be used to support occupational therapy (O.T) principles and values, continuous professional development (C.P.D), ethical, legal and professional codes of conducts/standards of practice and it has suggested to be a core process competent, essential to O.T practice (Bossers et al 1999 p116). The College of Occupational Therapist incorporate the benefits of reflective practice in their learning strategies (McClure 2004). Reflection aids professional practice and the importance of this ensures high standards of care and is shown in documents such as A Vision for the Future (Department of Health 1993).This is also shown in the Professional Standards of Practice (2007) which states that O.Ts should maintain high standards of competence of knowledge, skills and behaviour (standard 4 professional development and lifelong learning and standard 1 service quality and governance) Ethically, lifelong learning and professional competence (standard 5.4 and 5.1) state that O.Ts shall continuously maintain high standards of knowledge, skills and behaviour and be responsible for maintaining and developing their personal and professional competence. (College of Occupational Therapists 2005). Reflection is also an important part of continuous professional development (Fish Twinn 1997, cited in Martin Wheatley 2008) and is now a requirement for registration to practice, as is evidence based practice which is an ethical and professional imperative (Duncan 2006 p8). The O.T Codes of Ethics states that O.Ts shall be responsible for maintaining evidence of their continuing professional development (College of Occupational Therapists Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct 2005, 5.3) therefore, this can be done through reflection. New learning and continuous professional development depend on how skilfully you can reflect on your and others practice, to gain new insights, see new relationships, make new discoveries and make explicit the new learning that occurs (Aslop 2004 p114). Any new knowledge learnt from the experience will be saved for future reference for when similar situations arise. (Aslop 2004 p115) To demonstrate reflective practice, In the following reflective account, I am going to use Johns model of reflective structure (1994) mixed with Gibbs reflective cycle (1988) and will be reflecting-on-action (Schon 1983). I feel both are extremely valuable models and help to express different ideas/feelings in different ways at different points. Other models I could have used are Goodmans levels of reflection (1984), Bortons development framework (1970) and Fish et al strands of reflection (1991). A mix of both Gibbs reflective cycle with Johns model of structured reflection, will combine theoretical reflection and practice environment. Johns model is helpful in having cue questions. It provides personal awareness of ourselves, our knowledge and actions .It asks what you could do rather than what you will do (Jasper 2003 p98). Gibbs reflective cycle provides a good framework for the reflective process e.g. learning by reflecting on an event and usually away from the scene of practice. It encourages a good description of the situation, looks at feelings and the experience, concludes where other options are considered and if the situation arose again, what you would do differently. The following narrative describes a critical incident that had a significant effect on me which made me stop and think and raised questions. This incident was the role of occupational therapists (O.Ts) within social care and the impact of this upon a service users journey. The names within this narrative have been changed to protect the innocent. The role of O.T and Social worker have been combined within social care producing the title Self Directed Support Practitioners (SDS practitioners) Occupational therapy as a new profession is facing new challenges from the introduction of the Health Professions Council. The council want greater integration of health and social care provision and the College of Occupational Therapists is preparing for these changes by seeking to refocus the organisations of the work of the O.Ts by its strategic document from interface to integration (Dimond 2004 P397). Hence the role of an S.D.S practitioner. Brian was a 60 year old man, who lived in a bungalow on his own; with no outside help e.g. care packages or adaptations. His daughter visited him on regular occasions to take him shopping, to appointments and check on his health. Brian was admitted to hospital due to a fall last year whilst using the toilet. The nearby hospital released him about 2 months ago after he spent a few nights there. His daughter reported that Brian was still having problems with self-care, cooking and general mobility. An S.D.S practitioner and myself carried out a home visit on Brian. We received a referral from Brians daughter regarding his health and ability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs). Upon assessment of Brian, we found that he used the sink (which seemed to be coming off the wall) to aid standing from the toilet. His mobility was generally good but had difficulties raising and lowing himself in and out of the bath and rising his legs over the lip. He had slight problems in the kitchen due to mild arthritis when opening cans and jars, lifting heavy equipment and gripping cutlery. Brians mood and motivation was very low and he seemed angry at life in general. His daughter said she could not cope with looking after Brian anymore and needed help with this. She also seemed very low in mood and appeared stressed. When we assessed Brian, I was unsure and slightly confused how to assess in an S.D.S way. I was thinking about my O.T values and beliefs and how I could incorporate these within the assessment. This would involve me assessing in a holistic way, promoting independence, empowering and motivating him as well as using activity as a therapeutic tool. I was unsure how to implement social work values as they seemed to clash with my own, for example I found it difficult to establish when it would be appropriate to provide care packages. This made me feel extremely confused and concerned that I was not providing the best service for Brian when carrying out the assessment and going against my professional ethics of respecting autonomy (decision-making of service user), beneficence (benefits of treatment against risks and cost), non maleficence (do no harm) and justice (distributing benefits, risks and costs fairly) (Butler Creek 2008) Overall I was trying to achieve independence for Brian with the least amount of equipment and help necessary. When assessing Brian in the bathroom, whilst he was sitting on a bath board and using a grab rail, he managed to lift his legs over the side of the bath and had good sitting balance. His toilet transfers needed support, so we offered a toilet frame to aid this. When assessing his kitchen abilities, Brian struggled to lift heavy pots and pans and filling the kettle. He also had difficulty gripping cutlery and standing for periods of time when preparing food. The S.D.S practitioner suggested meals on wheels to overcome the problems Brian faced in the kitchen. Throughout the assessment Brian was not very happy and laughed at his capabilities. He became very angry when we suggested that he used the equipment provided and he mentioned that he wanted a wet room and why could he not have one of these, as his friends had one fitted not that long ago. We explained sensitively that funding would not allow this and he was very capable of transferring safely with the equipment in place. This made me think about funding and O.Ts values and beliefs, which in turn made me feel unhappy as Brian could not have something he wanted and personally I can understand how comforting and aesthetically pleasing this would be. However installing a wet room could reduce Brains mobility, as he would no longer need to lift legs over the edge of the bath, maintain unsupported sitting balance and therefore would lose those skill. Therefore this idea would go against my O.T and personal beliefs. Also due to funding he was not eligible for such a major adaptation. The outcome of the event was not very good. Brian refused equipment and care packages and became angry. That made me feel sad as I wanted to help Brian, to live an independent life as possible and reduce the dependence upon his daughter. Due to Brian declining the equipment, we had to record and have him sign that he understood the risks of this. Looking back at the event, I feel maybe I could have convinced Brian further to accept the equipment and care packages suggested. Although the care packages conflicted with my O.T and personal values, as they take away independence, skills and the use of activity as a therapeutic tool; I can see a place for these with extremely impaired individuals. In Brians case I would have suggested adapting equipment within the kitchen, such as grips for cutlery, automatic tin openers, a kettle tipper and a perching stool. The emotions I went through during this experience were anxiety, excitement, and inquisitiveness during the start of the event, followed by sadness toward the end. The most important emotion for me was sadness. I feel that I can learn and grow from this, to tackle the situation differently next time. To evaluate, the good aspects of the experience was the enormous opportunities for continuous professional development as the role of O.T continues to grow. I also feel my understanding of O.T, social work, clinical reasoning and inter-personal/professional skills have been developed. I also feel more confident if I were ever to be in this situation again to promote and air my values and beliefs. However, I feel that the role of an S.D.S practitioner causes confusion, loss of role identity and crossing over of professional boundaries. The S.D.S practitioners themselves were not happy with this title and their role which caused problems within multidisciplinary teams. Although I feel not a lot went well, I believe if I had been more confident to contribute my O.T knowledge it would have aided the situation. The S.D.S. practitioner that I was with managed to balance out the professions well, but I feel provision of adapted equipment should have been encouraged. Her style of reasoning was perhaps due to little knowledge of O.T and herself coming from a social work background. I am now more prepared for the role of an S.D.S. practitioner. If carried out again I would definitely gain more insight into the values and beliefs of social workers and be more vocal about my O.T ones. I would have tried to encourage Brian to take the equipment and explained more as to why this was important. Perhaps reasoning with him that it was important for him not to lose his existing skills i.e. use it or lose it. I have learnt that theory; personal, professional standards, values and beliefs, ethics and legal issues often influence practice. I have learnt the importance of reflecting in order to develop myself professionally and personally. My needs in order to develop my professional practice at this stage of my career are huge. I mainly need to develop my knowledge, communication skills, professional skills and clinically reasoning skills. I have also learnt the role which I play within a team and according to Belbins team roles (2010), I am a monitor-evaluator mixed with team worker. This means I try to see all the options and judge accurately, working co-operatively sensitively and diplomatically (Belbin 2010). In general, looking back over the situation, the role of an S.D.S practitioner promotes big ethical issues. In the code of ethics It states that O.Ts can only provided services in which they have been taught to do so (5.1) and that O.Ts shall recognise the need for multi-professional collaboration but not undertake work that is deemed to be outside the scope of O.T. (5.3) (College of Occupational Therapists Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct 2005). Also ethically, are you doing good, doing no harm, promoting autonomy and justice (Butler Creek 2008) by working in such a manner? Am I affecting the service users human rights on freedom of thought, expression or conscience? (article 9 10) (Butler Creek 2008). Other issues that are concerned with S.D.S practitioner work is when working in such a way there is no team liability (every professional is accountable for their own actions and cannot blame the team for negligence which has lead to harm), no defence of inexperience (the patient is entitled to the reasonable standard of care whoever provides the treatment), determination of competence (carried out by competent colleagues or external assessors), refusal to undertake activities outside scope of competence (no O.T should undertake activities which are outside the scope of her professional practice) (Dimond 2004 P112). To conclude, reflection can identify learning needs, and new learning opportunities. It can illustrate ways in which we learn best, differently and new courses of action toward an event. Reflection can help solve problems supporting personal and professional development and offers an escape from general practice. Reflection shows us the cost of our actions, reveals our competences to others and achievements to ourselves. From observations, reflection lets us build on our theory, helping us to make decisions or resolve doubt and empower or release ourselves as individuals (Jasper 2003). However, reflective practice has been criticised for its lack of definition, modes of implementation and its unproven benefit (Mackintosh 1998 cited in Johns 2009 p22). Platzer et al (2000, cited in Johns 2009 p22) noted that students may be opposed to to reflection that would involve talking about themselves. This was also highlighted by Cotton (2001 cited in Johns 2009 p22) who suggests that reflection becomes a type of surveillance, assessment and control. Appendix One Johns Model of Structured Reflection. Core question what information do I need in order to learn through this experience? Cue questions (Jasper 2003) 1. Description of experience Phenomenon Casual Context Clarifying 2. Reflection What am I trying to attain Why did I get involved as I did What were the cost of my actions for: myself, family, patient, colleagues Feelings about experiences Patients feelings How do I know how the patient felt 3. Influencing factors Internal influences on decision-making External influences on decision-making What knowledge influenced decision making 4. How differently could I have dealt with the situation Choices available Consequences of choices 5. learning Feeling about experiences The sense made of this experiences thinking of past and future practice How experience changed my ways of knowing empirics, aesthetics, ethics and personal

Essay --

Orthodox Catholics - Orthodox Catholics are the most devout members of the Catholic Church. They adhere to the Church’s teachings rigorously by regularly participating in Church practices and rituals such as attending mass and other catholic ceremonies. They are fully immersed in the institutional life of the Church. Their Catholic identity is publicly manifested in their social, political, and economic life. Their social structure is almost entirely based around the church’s teachings, as well as immersing themselves around people who have the same strong catholic beliefs as themselves. It is likely that if conflict occurred between the Church’s teachings, family, work or social life, that the orthodox members will favour with the church. This was seen during the church’s child abuse scandals in 2009, members of the Catholic Church who didn’t have rigorously strict catholic beliefs tended to move away from the church after the scandals however the orthodox members remained loyal to the church. Orthodox Christians prevailed through Ireland from 1880-1990’s. Now however it is often regarded as just a ‘stereotypical viewpoint of Irish Catholism’ or something that is linked with previous generations. There has been a significant orthodox Catholics have also disappeared from the fields of education, health, and social welfare. DISAGREE ON ISSUES SUCH AS--- PROTESTS. Creative Catholics - The concept of creative catholic is used to describe Catholics who no longer strictly adhere to the Catholic Church’s teachings but rather choose which beliefs, teachings, and practices of the church to adhere to and which to ignore. Creative Catholics often attend church and receive the Holy Communion but disagree on the church’s strict teachings towa... ...re more open to debate and discussion. Yet they are not open to changing their religion. Being Catholic is like some indelible mark that they have accepted and have no desire to change. It is a coat they have always worn and feel comfortable in; they do not look for any other, because, in their eyes, no other coat would fit or suit their needs. Cultural Catholics appear happy to bring up their children as Catholics and to send them to Catholic schools. They may have lost some confidence in the Church because of the scandals concerning the sexual abuse of children by priests and brothers, but they like the rituals and celebrations that surround baptisms, First Holy Communions, Confirmations, weddings, and funerals. Even those who rarely give much time or thought to the Church would find it difficult to forego these events or to celebrate them in a Protestant church.

Classical music Essay

It is Saturday March 1 2008 and I have woken with an excited feeling in my stomach. Today, I am being treated to something I have never experienced before and I am looking forward to what is in store. My father, is taking me to a classical concert. I am 18 years old and big band music is not really my style, I appreciate music but of the modern variety rather than the old school kind. My father loves classical music and plays it constantly in his study. His favourite composer is Leonard Bernstein so it is today, with great animation, he is taking me to encounter his love of this music. We are attending the Waukegan Concert Chorus which is at 624 Douglas Ave, Illinois, the concert is a tribute to Bernstein & Williams; namely, In Remembrance of Bernstein & Williams. My father assures me that although my liking of music may not be to his taste, I will go away from the concert feeling uplifted and appreciative of what I have heard. Our journey takes us to Waukegan during the early evening and as we approach the venue I can feel a buzz in the air. Other attendees are heading towards the seating area and as my father and I locate where we are sitting, I am somewhat satisfied that we have seats near to the front. My father explained in the car, on the way, even though it is the music you are listening to, it is also just as important to watch the performance. Before me is a huge orchestra; perhaps the biggest I have ever seen, not that I have seen many. There is a plethora of various noises coming from the ensemble and as each musician tunes in their instrument and plays small excerpts from their music stand, it is perhaps unbelievable that any kind of harmony will occur at all. However, the moment the conductor enters the room, there is an eerie silence, almost as if someone had turned the musicians off by a control button. The conductor is a gentleman who turns to his audience and bows his head, turning and repeating this gesture to his orchestra. As the first piece of music is played I feel myself vibrating with the enormity of the noise. For many years I have heard my father’s classical records being played from behind the study door but to be present at a live performance was truly exhilarating. One of my favourites in terms of familiarity was West Side Story. The introduction sounded amazing; upbeat and vibrant, the instruments seemed almost alive. Even closing my eyes, which I actually did, I could hear each piece of equipment as it was used. The brass and woodwind instrumentalists brought intrigue and manoeuvre to the story of the piece being played whilst the drums added the extra element of spirit in the arrangement. Despite the variety of instruments played and the different roles they played within the piece, the unity came together with such an intensity, I was taken aback by its impact. The formation and structure of the concert allowed me to lose myself within the music, it was almost as if I were watching the musical itself. This perhaps was the purpose of the concert itself, it worked with an effortless outcome. As the flutes and violins played ‘I Feel Pretty’, I felt almost compelled to stand up and sing as the notes poured through the air. The tempo was light in places and amplified in others; the exaggeration of drama was as apparent as the subtlety of tenderness applied to the nature of the story. Its volume was deafening yet tolerable as each instrument alerted itself naturally within the composition. On occasion I did look around at other spectators, like moths to a flame, transfixed faces and total satisfaction and appreciation of what was before and around them. I did relate to this. As the concert came to an end, I did feel somewhat saddened that it was all over. The climax of the music was a crescendo of brilliance and I am pleased to say, my father’s original prediction of how I would feel, was absolutely correct. I felt euphoric and inspired by such a performance. I had attended the concert with an open mind and allowed myself to absorb the instruments intentions; I felt all the raw emotions of West Side Story and even the pieces of music played I had heard for the first time, still brought me a sense of appreciation.

A Beginners Guide to Economic Indicators

A Beginners Guide to Economic Indicators An economic indicator is simply any economic statistic, such as the unemployment rate, GDP, or the inflation rate, which indicate how well the economy is doing and how well the economy is going to do in the future. As shown in the article How Markets Use Information To Set Prices investors use all the information at their disposal to make decisions. If a set of economic indicators suggest that the economy is going to do better or worse in the future than they had previously expected, they may decide to change their investing strategy. To understand economic indicators, we must understand the ways in which economic indicators differ. There are three major attributes each economic indicator has: Three Attributes of Economic Indicators Relation to the Business Cycle / EconomyEconomic Indicators can have one of three different relationships to the economy:Procyclic: A procyclic (or procyclical) economic indicator is one that moves in the same direction as the economy. So if the economy is doing well, this number is usually increasing, whereas if were in a recession this indicator is decreasing. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is an example of a procyclic economic indicator.Countercyclic: A countercyclic (or countercyclical) economic indicator is one that moves in the opposite direction as the economy. The unemployment rate gets larger as the economy gets worse so it is a countercyclic economic indicator.Acyclic: An acyclic economic indicator is one that has no relation to the health of the economy and is generally of little use. The number of home runs the Montreal Expos hit in a year generally has no relationship to the health of the economy, so we could say it is an acyclic economic indicator.Frequency of the Dat aIn most countries, GDP figures are released quarterly (every three months) while the unemployment rate is released monthly. Some economic indicators, such as the Dow Jones Index, are available immediately and change every minute. TimingEconomic Indicators can be leading, lagging, or coincident which indicates the timing of their changes relative to how the economy as a whole changes.Three Timing Types of Economic IndicatorsLeading: Leading economic indicators are indicators which change before the economy changes. Stock market returns are a leading indicator, as the stock market usually begins to decline before the economy declines and they improve before the economy begins to pull out of a recession. Leading economic indicators are the most important type for investors as they help predict what the economy will be like in the future.Lagged: A lagged economic indicator is one that does not change direction until a few quarters after the economy does. The unemployment rate is a lagged economic indicator as unemployment tends to increase for 2 or 3 quarters after the economy starts to improve.Coincident: A coincident economic indicator is one that simply moves at the same time the economy does. The Gross Domest ic Product is a coincident indicator. Â   Many different groups collect and publish economic indicators, but the most important American collection of economic indicators is published by the United States Congress. Their Economic Indicators are published monthly and are available for download in PDF and TEXT formats. The indicators fall into seven broad categories: Total Output, Income, and SpendingEmployment, Unemployment, and WagesProduction and Business ActivityPricesMoney, Credit, and Security MarketsFederal FinanceInternational Statistics Each of the statistics in these categories helps create a picture of the performance of the economy and how the economy is likely to do in the future. Total Output, Income, and Spending These tend to be the broadest measures of economic performance and include such statistics as: Gross Domestic Product (GDP) [quarterly]Real GDP [quarterly]Implicit Price Deflator for GDP [quarterly]Business Output [quarterly]National Income [quarterly]Consumption Expenditure [quarterly]Corporate Profits[quarterly]Real Gross Private Domestic Investment[quarterly] The Gross Domestic Product is used to measure economic activity and thus is both procyclical and a coincident economic indicator. The Implicit Price Deflator is a measure of inflation. Inflation is procyclical as it tends to rise during booms and falls during periods of economic weakness. Measures of inflation are also coincident indicators. Consumption and consumer spending are also procyclical and coincident. Employment, Unemployment, and Wages These statistics cover how strong the labor market is and they include the following: The Unemployment Rate [monthly]Level of Civilian Employment[monthly]Average Weekly Hours, Hourly Earnings, and Weekly Earnings[monthly]Labor Productivity [quarterly] The unemployment rate is a lagged, countercyclical statistic. The level of civilian employment measures how many people are working so it is procyclic. Unlike the unemployment rate, it is a coincident economic indicator. Production and Business Activity These statistics cover how much businesses are producing and the level of new construction in the economy: Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization [monthly]New Construction [monthly]New Private Housing and Vacancy Rates [monthly]Business Sales and Inventories [monthly]Manufacturers Shipments, Inventories, and Orders [monthly] Changes in business inventories is an important leading economic indicator as they indicate changes in consumer demand. New construction including new home construction is another procyclical leading indicator which is watched closely by investors. A slowdown in the housing market during a boom often indicates that a recession is coming, whereas a rise in the new housing market during a recession usually means that there are better times ahead. Prices This category includes both the prices consumers pay as well as the prices businesses pay for raw materials and include: Producer Prices [monthly]Consumer Prices [monthly]Prices Received And Paid By Farmers [monthly] These measures are all measures of changes in the price level and thus measure inflation. Inflation is procyclical and a coincident economic indicator. Money, Credit, and Security Markets These statistics measure the amount of money in the economy as well as interest rates and include: Money Stock (M1, M2, and M3) [monthly]Bank Credit at All Commercial Banks [monthly]Consumer Credit [monthly]Interest Rates and Bond Yields [weekly and monthly]Stock Prices and Yields [weekly and monthly] Nominal interest rates are influenced by inflation, so like inflation, they tend to be procyclical and a coincident economic indicator. Stock market returns are also procyclical but they are a leading indicator of economic performance. Federal Finance These are measures of government spending and government deficits and debts: Federal Receipts (Revenue)[yearly]Federal Outlays (Expenses) [yearly]Federal Debt [yearly] Governments generally try to stimulate the economy during recessions and to do so they increase spending without raising taxes. This causes both government spending and government debt to rise during a recession, so they are countercyclical economic indicators. They tend to be coincident to the business cycle. International Trade These are a measure of how much the country is exporting and how much they are importing: Industrial Production and Consumer Prices of Major Industrial CountriesU.S. International Trade In Goods and ServicesU.S. International Transactions When times are good people tend to spend more money on both domestic and imported goods. The level of exports tends not to change much during the business cycle. So the balance of trade (or net exports) is countercyclical as imports outweigh exports during boom periods. Measures of international trade tend to be coincident economic indicators. While we cannot predict the future perfectly, economic indicators help us understand where we are and where we are going.