On-Campus Living Requirements Personal Statement

On-Campus Living Requirements - Personal Statement Example The reasons accounted for this trend, tradition and/or practice is because studies have established that it promotes higher student retention rates (Garner 114). This is compared to students who live off-campus who according to the respondent from the interview exhibit higher dropout rates than those living on campus. There is a lot of research done by people in the field of higher education looking at the impact that living on campus has for students. It has been shown repeatedly that students on campus are more likely to have a higher GPA than the students who do not. They are more likely to stay at the institution and graduate than those students who do not live on campus. The reasons accounted for this trend, tradition and/or practice is because studies have established that it promotes higher student retention rates (Garner 114). This is compared to students who live off-campus who according to the respondent from the interview exhibit higher dropout rates than those living on c ampus. There is a lot of research done by people in the field of higher education looking at the impact that living on campus has for students. It has been shown repeatedly that students on campus are more likely to have a higher GPA than the students who do not. They are more likely to stay at the institution and graduate than those students who do not live on campus. There are exceptions to the mandatory on-campus living requirements including if someone has ever served in the military and/or is of a certain age usually above 22 years of age. These individuals are allowed to live off-campus because they are deemed to possess the necessary and required skills and abilities to live alone. The insistence on having a mandatory on-campus living requirement is also based on the need for institutions of higher learning to raise funds. These funds are used to support other facilities and amenities in the universities other than the accommodation facilities (Kuh et al 16). On-campus living requirements are policies are supported and opposed in equal measure by both students and parents depending on the perspective one is looking at it from. On-campus living is one of those life stages where young adults get to leave their homes and start living on their own away from home. On-campus accommodation acts as a transition in the journey towards independence (Kwoka-Finning 148). Students in halls of residence learn and acquire essential life skills that help them maneuver out in the ‘real world’ when they leave these halls of residence.  

Wooden churches in Eastern Europe Essay Example for Free

Wooden churches in Eastern Europe Essay Wooden churches in Eastern Europe represent distinctive feature of regional cultural heritage and are probably the most valuable contribution of this land to the world art treasury. In this research we will make an attempt to make in-depth analysis of relationships between architecture and design of these historical constructions in the light of local traditions and lifestyle. The study is divided into two parts illustrating materials and techniques used to create these fascinating buildings and key design principles tightly associated with regional culture. Construction materials and techniques. In Slavic world wooden constructions were dominant until mid-1950s. Vast territories covered with forest provided cheap, solid, and easy-to-access building material used for domestic, industrial, economic, defensive, public, and religious units. Most ancient architectural monuments of that area trace their roots back to early 10th century which is also recorded in chronicles and modern ethnographic materials. Traditionally architects recognize three styles of Eastern European wooden churches including Hutsul style (originated from the name of ethnical group in Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains), Gothic style, and Baroque churches adopted from western civilization . Hutsul churches have brought to us the oldest manner of Eastern European church building based on the principle of trinity – a church has three parts, three sections, and three towers. A Baroque tower gave name to 22 Baroque churches in this area. Churches with high spires and turrets represent the famous Gothic style in local communities. All wooden sacred monuments are based on log construction allowing various solutions in terms of horizontal planning and exterior design. Apart from quadrate frame, unique polygonal constructional forms are observed here especially in altar rooms. Fir, spruce, and pine were widely used in constructing non-load-bearing parts of the building while oak, red spruce, and yew were applied while creating bearers and ribbands for the construction. Typically, buildings were placed on strong foundation stones joined together by clay, lime, and sand. Older generations remember seeing eggs, bull’s blood, and breast milk combined together as an admixture for making the building stronger and more resistant to rains and storms . Initially for religious reasons no nail was used to make timber works and other constructional elements firm. This practice was very common to many wooden churches throughout entire region and some parts of Russia where this architectural phenomenon was present. Numerous conducted studies and artifacts found show that no-nail technique undoubtedly has to do with associations with crucifixion. To solve this problem local craftsmen were trying to create climate-friendly unions to keep construction in one piece. Their invention of unique blazes on assembling unions made it possible to start building churches without iron nails with decreasing use of even oak wedges. Unlike Slavs, German tribes preferred pole and light-frame constructions. This type of wooden temples can be encountered in England and Northern Europe including Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Similar architectural style has spread in Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, and Poland. The second biggest heritage of wooden temples is possessed by Norway and has strong historical roots directly connected with era of Vikings and their friendly relationships with Slavs . Exterior and interior design. One of the most distinctive features of monumental architecture is triple design symbolizing Trinity. Significant number of wooden churches consist of three parts emphasized by three towers. The middle log of the temple is the biggest construction with square shape which has altar room inside. The front part is a shorter copy of the middle log and serves as an assembly hall for nuns. The back part behind the altar room is the highest one and since it is always facing east as the beginning of a new day and life it has become a landmark for many travelers. Traditionally, location of all three parts corresponds to laws of symmetry which means that horizontal axis of the wooden church intersects with its vertical axis in the very middle of the building . In Middle Ages this so-called â€Å"triple style† was popular throughout entire territory of Kyiv Rus being applied on concrete churches as well. Irrelevant of construction material or religion practiced in the church Slavs would always build their churches on top of a hill or in some remote area. Only rare spiritual architectural monuments are located in the village downtown. People from Eastern European community still believe that both wooden and concrete churches are too sacred to be situated somewhere close to the city downtown full of noise and turmoil. Sacral buildings in Eastern Europe (primarily east of Slovakia and west of Ukraine) frequently had pronounced decorations on shingles. Wood carving ornaments covered approximately two thirds of the entire exterior design of the church. Rich decorations were stipulated by great number of carpenters and craftsmen who polished their talents on regular basis due to never-ending forests in the area. Many are still fascinated by remarkable iconostasis as a key and most valuable part of any church interior design. In wooden churches iconostasis is placed in altar room separating it from back part of the building. Iconostasis is a wall picturing sacred paintings decorated with gold. Together these paintings represent iconography which requires strict observance of holy rules and selection of topics. Typical iconostasis in wooden churches have three exits. The main one is located in the middle and is designed especially for the main priest. Two other ones house secondary priests and deacons which are not allowed to use the main exit decorated with carved vermeil. Many wooden temples in modern Slovakia, Poland, and Ukraine preserved ornamental conical, A-line, and pyramidal domes. Impacted by baroque, quadrangular roofs acquired four more corners turning into octagonal domes. Regardless of refusal from iron nails metal was still used to create additional functional details including crosses, gates, and window ironwork. Metal crosses placed on the top of each dome embodied creativity and talent of local artists. Apart from esthetic purposes, exterior and interior designs of wooden temples performed educational function as well. Artists painted walls using simple tools to educate people with Old and New Testaments. To do that they chose the finest wall of the temple with no windows or doors. Then using simple paint and brushes to make foliated lines on the wall they pictured Jesus, Maria, prophets, disciples, and evangelists. Interestingly enough, non-religious episodes were also portrayed on those walls which corresponded to feelings and thoughts of people at that time rather than specific sacral motives. Some icon illustrations were linked to specific life situations and peculiarities of local community which perceived some saints as guarantors for their existence and prosperity. Most frequent images included St. George who based on local beliefs was helping farmers, St. Nicholas who protected houses from fire and guaranteed well-being for carpenters, St. Michael as a sky warrior, and many other religious spirits. Such icons are marked with particularly exuberant ornament and thoroughly selected colors . Some of wooden temples in eastern part of Europe were not saved due to weather impacts and other negative influences. This is especially concerned World War I and World War II. Also active migration of local communities had negative effect on architectural monuments in general. However, once the church was built by permanent local community it was being taken care of appropriately. Experts in the field of sacred architecture say, Eastern Europeans created design and architecture for their religious buildings that would remind them of closeness with nature and necessity to enrich inner world on regular basis. This is the reason why interior design alongside with its iconostasis and paintings are so exuberant and rich. Unlike Latin churches, wooden temples in this part of the world fascinate by its perfect combination with surrounding environment. Color scheme here plays one of the most important parts since green forests and deep brown represent perfect match . Because of the painful losses in local wooden architecture the cultural value of each saved church has considerably increased and all wooden churches constructed in traditional manner are to be protected irrespective of age. In conclusion it would be appropriately to note that wooden churches in Eastern Europe symbolize peculiarities of local communities including religious beliefs, lifestyles, and geographical location. They represent special interest in comparison to other highlands such as the Alps which offer no architectural contribution whatsoever. Educative function of wooden temples remains very valuable even today since wall paintings provide better view of historical reality. Due to its geographical location eastern regions of Europe have been equally influenced by neighboring cultures but still managed to preserve their own architectural identity. Works Cited Bragg, Rick. Wooden Churches: A Celebration. New York: Algonquin Books, 1999. Patterson, Joby. Wooden Churches of the Carpathians: A Comparative Study. Bratislava: East European Monographs, 2001. Sopoliga, Miroslav. Pearls of Folk Architecture. London: Brand House, 1996

Life of Robert Hooke Essay -- Biography

A cell is the smallest unit of life that is classified as a living thing. The discovery of cells eventually led to the discovery of microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses, the invention of antibiotics to help fight disease, and ultimately founded the basis for what people know as medicine (â€Å"Hierarchy,† 2011). Robert Hooke, the man who suffered from smallpox at a young age and was not expected to live more than a few years, later grew up to attend the prestigious University of Oxford where he studied alongside famous scientists. Hooke made several important discoveries in the fields of science and medicine, including the invention of the microscope and the discovery of cells. As a result of Hooke’s discoveries, doctors today can understand how the body works on the smallest scale in order to treat diseases more efficiently. Ever since he was a child, Hooke always found a way to exceed everyone’s expectations. Hooke was born on July 18, 1635, on the western end of Isle of Wright in England. In the article â€Å"Robert Hooke Biography,† Hooke was described as â€Å"a sickly child who was stricken with smallpox at an early age and was not expected to survive more than a few years† (2011). Due to his poor health, Hooke was allowed to spend his free time studying things that interested him like science and mechanics. Since he was forced to stay indoors for most of his childhood due to illness, Hooke found a source of enjoyment in disassembling and reassembling mechanical devices. Hooke possessed the ability to recreate mechanical toys on his own like working clocks and toy ships with fully functioning miniature guns (Farrell, 2006). Hooke not only had an interest in mechanics but also had a great amount of talent in that area as well. His... ...pot, the universal joint which is still used in cars today, and the balance spring which is a main component in the watches we wear (2009). Most of Hooke’s major inventions are still around and used in every day life. By 1665 Hooke was appointed professor of geometry at Gresham College. The standard policy at Gresham was to never marry, so Hooke remained single and lived in his Gresham apartment for the rest of his life. Hooke’s mental and physical health began to decline rapidly with the death of his niece, Grace, whom he lived with and was very fond of. After Grace passed, Hooke began to isolate himself and began writing bitterly (Farrell, 2006). Hooke finally passed away on March 3, 1703. Hooke’s invention of the microscope and the discovery of cells ultimately laid down the basic building blocks for further discoveries in medicine and the study of disease.

Lin Article Critique Essay

However, when splitting the forty patients into two treatment groups, the clients were split randomly. This places twenty participants in each subgroup. Pyrczak (2008) suggests that number of participants can be so small that generalizing would be inappropriate. At the conclusion of the study caution was given to the small sample size provided, but it was noted that â€Å"the sample size was more than sufficient to detect meaningful statistical differences, a major goal of all treatment studies† (Lin et al. , 2004). This indicates that a generalization was drawn from the target group of residential drug rehabilitation clients and was not drawn from a diverse source. Some participant dropped out of the study resulting in a 35% completion rate (Lin et al. , 2004). This low rate does effect generalizing the findings of the study. The participants were similar on relevant variables in that all of the patients were diagnosed with a mental disorder, had a history of a chronic addiction, a poor response to treatment and relapse, legal issue related to addiction and little motivation to change (Lin et al. 2004). Critique of Procedures The procedures followed in acquiring participants in this study initially were not chosen at random. The forty-three patients selected for the study were from a residential drug treatment center that had specific criteria preferred by the researchers. However, when the patients were separated into treatment groups, â€Å"they were randomly assigned to FT or ADC† (Linn et al. , 2004). The treatments described in this study are sufficiently explained in detail. The researchers describe ADC, alcohol and drug counseling as a common treatment plan for substance abuse. The article is written in more descriptive detail about forgiveness therapy for the reason that its effectiveness is being tested. The treatments were administered by a therapist trained in both FT and ADC therapy with more than twenty years of therapeutic counseling experience. The treatments that were administered were monitored by taping the therapy sessions with a member of the team arbitrarily selecting the tapings for review of â€Å"consistency between expected and delivered treatments† (Linn et al. 2004). The same therapist conducted all the therapy sessions so that the personal effect is eliminated as a factor from this study. The therapist used the same methodology in both types of treatment programs. The setting for the experiment was a natural setting in the sense that it was not conducted in a laboratory. The therapy sessions took place within the current living environment of the rehabilitation residential facility. The researcher considered attrition in this study stating that, â€Å"given the high levels of mobility and chaos that characterize the lives of this client population, this dropout rate is not unusual. However, the sample size was more than sufficient to detect meaningful statistical differences, a major goal of all treatment studies† (Linn et al. , 2004). Critique of Instrumentation The evaluating instruments for the research did not include actual items in the research, but did explain in great detail the description of each instrument. The researchers also included research that supported validity of each assessment. Specialized formatting and detail was used when the instruments were administered in random order and the response format was provided. Restrictions were placed upon the research when the patience were initially chosen with the three dispositions of a chronic addiction with relapse, psychiatric diagnoses, poor response to treatment with low motivation to change, and legal issues dealing with substance abuse (Linn et al. , 2004). Multiple methods are used to collect information on each variable within this research. The EFI, BDI-II, CSEI, STAI, SSTAEI and vulnerability to drug use scale were used to obtain data on each patient and use for statistical analysis (Linn et al. , 2004). The researchers provided sources and well researched information for each published instrument. The self-report assessments were not administered anonymously, therefore, there is some reason of doubt that information obtained from patients could have been influenced by â€Å"social desirability or response-style biases† (Linn et al. , 2004). This researcher believes steps were taken to keep the instrumentation from influencing any overt behaviors due to the fact that all patients were exposed to the same therapist as a constant, expected occurrence, causing little deviation from the expected schedule.

Evolution of Management Thinking Essay

It was an era where so many alterations in the world Economy took place. In the closing decades of the 19th century there was a quest of seeking innovative ways to increase organizational efficiency and effectiveness. The Scientific Management Theory initiated on the basis of that. In this period of time crafts production was substituted by large factories in which a lot of technical revolutions have been taking place. The owners and managers were not capable of coping to these challenges therefore they hunted for advanced techniques to overcome this situation. As a solution the concepts of Job Specialization and division of labour came about. In this scenario workers who specialized in their respective tasks became more skilled. The Scientific Management Theory Fredrick W. Taylor was the architecture of the concept Scientific Management, â€Å"The systematic study of relationships between people and tasks for the purpose of redesigning the work process to increase efficiency†. It was believed that the most effective and efficient division of labour could best be determined by the concept of Scientific Management. There were four core principles in this concept. * Investigation and experimentation on organization performance * Codification of new methods/standards * Selection of employees according to codified standards * Establishing a level of performance and a pay system with rewards In 1910 most of the organizations were using this concept but selectively. Even though there was an increase in performance some disputes about this concept lead to an increase in trade union involvement. There were some major issues in this concept. * Availability of fewer jobs * Job dissatisfaction * Distrust among employees and employers. Some organizations redesigned the principles according to their vision. For example introduction of moving conveyer belts in Henry Ford’s factory can be taken in to consideration. However these approaches were not able to solve the emerged issues. Nevertheless Taylor’s work had a lasting effect on management production systems. Frank Gilbreth and Lillian Gilbreth who were the successors of Taylor studied how the working environment influences the performance of the employees. They made a heavy contribution in time-and-motion study. They demonstrated that by following arrangements organizations can solve their issues effectively. * Breaking up each job action into its components. * Finding better ways to perform the action. * Reorganizing each job action to be more efficient Administrative Management Theory Researchers attempted to discover how to create an organizational structure that leads to high efficiency and effectiveness. Theory of Bureaucracy was developed by Max Weber as a succession of these researches. Bureaucracy is basically a formal system of organization and administration designed to ensure efficiency and effectiveness. There were several principles in this theory. Weber identified several factors there should be in a bureaucracy system. Simultaneously Henry Fayol identified 14 principles that should be vital to increasing the efficiency of the management process according to his perspective. These studies of Fayol and Weber laid the foundation of modern management theory. Behavioural Management Theory This is the study of how managers should behave in order to motivate employees and encourage them to strive towards high levels of performance as an organization. In the previous theory there wasn’t a major concern about the employee viewpoint. Thus Mary Farker Follett explained why it is important to think about the human side of management. According to the studies of Follett managers should behave as coaches and facilitators –not as monitors and supervisors and the importance of direct inter communication between managers of different departments to make speedy decisions. She also promoted the concept of â€Å"cross functioning† which has been used in a great scale at present. Hawthorne effect is the discovery that a manager’s behaviour and leadership approach can affect the level of performance of employees. From this study emerged the concept of human relations movement. It is basically how the supervisors should be behaviourally trained to spice up worker’s motivation, cooperation and increase their productivity. Informal organization is one of the implications of Hawthorne effect. This is the system of behavioural rules and norms that come out in a group. The study of factors that have an impact on how individuals and groups react to in organizations has been identified as the organizational behaviour. Apart from these mentioned here the most significant approach was developed by Douglas McGregor. He supposed two different sets of assumptions which were named as Theory X and Theory Y. Management Science Theory This is a modern extension of Scientific Management Theory in this approach describes how precise quantitative techniques can be used in order to make the best use of organizational resources. Quantitative management emphasises on how arithmetic can be manipulated to achieve best practises in inventory and financial capital control. Operations management presents a set of techniques that can be utilized to improve production efficiency Total quality management focuses on the art of how the whole can be managed to achieve excellence. Management information systems provide the managers with adequate information about internal and external events of an organization to effective decision making. Organizational Environment Theory This is the set of conditions and forces that functions externally to the organization but affect a manger’s capability to acquire and utilize resources. This clearly stresses on how important it is to study the environment. The open systems theory and contingency theory developed in 1960 ascertains the importance of the importance of studying the environment. The Open –Systems View This is a system where external resources are acquired and converted into goods and services then sent back to customers for purchasing. And the cycle carries on. This system is considered as an open system. Organizations which use a closed system are likely to experience entropy, the tendency of a system to lose its ability to control itself and thus to dissolve and collapse. Contigency Theory It discloses that there is no best way to organize therefore characteristics of the environment affect an organization’s ability to obtain resources. Types of structures Above describes the differences between the structures. In conclusion managers in a Mechanistic structure can obtain inputs at a lower cost preferably in a stable environment and managers in an organic environment can react more quickly in a rapidly changing environment. These contributions constructed the foundation of modern management theories. References: New Era of Management Concepts and Applications 2nd Edition Richard L. Daft, Vanderbilt University Contemporary Management fifth edition Gareth R. Jones, Texas A & M University Jennifer M. George, Rice University