Health Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Health Assessment - Essay Example From this study it is clear that  a health assessment is not a treatment but rather an evaluation and analysis of an individual’s health status in relation to the health continuum. A health assessment is done majorly for various purposes. First, a health assessment is done to establish a good relationship between a nurse and his or her patient. Secondly, the assessment aids the health care professionals to establish a patient’s potential and actual problems in addition to his/her strengths and weaknesses. On a broader spectrum, a health assessment lays the foundation for the nursing process. Subsequently, the data gathered from this process is used by nurses to diagnose problems that need nursing care.This paper discusses that separate health assessment into physical assessment and history assessment. History as a concept is significant since health tends to occur on a continuum. It is commonly understood in the nursing/ healthcare industry that focusing on the histor y of the patient provides critical data to the nurses. The level of healthcare assessment is dependent on the healthcare practitioner. However, majorly the focus is mainly bio psychosocial in general. For example, if a patient is in the emergency room, the main focus will be on the chief complaint and how to aid the patient recover. If the patient suffers from a heart attack, then initially the focus will be directed on the physical/biological problem.

History of Legazpi Essay Example for Free

History of Legazpi Essay DURING THE PRE-SPANISH PERIOD Early in the 13th century, Datu Balensusa and Dumagsil, two of the ten Bornean Datus led by Datu Puti, went from Panay to Laguna and the Bicol Region. Prehistoric dwellers mostly fishermen and farmers established a barangay on the mouth of Makabulo River called Sawangan (now Legazpi Port) , a small settlement by a mangrove swamp,Its inhabitants were headed by old chieftain, Gat Ibal,a descendant of Datu Dumagsil. The home grown name,Sawangan was another way to say Sabang indicating a† natural wharf created by the water from the sea†. Dwelling in tiny groups of huts which are made from rattan and nipa, small houses occupied this part of swampy and low land and its surrounding areas were known as Ibalon. DURING THE SPANISH PERIOD In 1573,under the Spanish expeditionary forces,Capitan Juan de Salcedo (Capitan Esteban de Manchaca) and 120 soldiers reached and explored barangay Sawangan. The natives gallantly fought the invaders but were no match for the conquistadores’ superior arms. Subsequently, the natives were converted to Catholism. In 1587,Franciscan friars of the Doctrina of Cagsawa began to convert the settlement to Christianity. Fr. Francisco de Sta. Ana,it’s first parish priest built the first chapel made of nipa and bamboo to house and established the first Franciscan mission in Sawangan, the â€Å"Mission de San Gregorio de Sawangan. In 1605, Sawaà ±gan was elevated to Visita Regular, having been previously under the spiritual ministry of Cagsaua since 1578. In 1616,Sawangan become an independent town separated from Cagsawa called Albaybay (meaning â€Å"by the bay†) finally shortened as Albay. It was declared the capital of the province of Partido de Ibalon (old name of the Province of Albay). The town was renamed Albay, then Legazpi, as Albay went on to refer to the province at present. Perennially rocked by minor eruptions of the Mayon Volcano for two centuries, compounded by sporadic attacks by Muslim pirates and the Dutch, the capital was partially destroyed by a major eruption on February 1, 1814. The catastrophe buried Cagsaua.The progress of the town was razed to the ground upon the eruption, Fr. Pedro Licup evacuated the community to Makalaya (today’s Barangay Taysan). Some of the people, however, remained in the old town and began anew as a barrio. In lieu of their former patron saint, St. Gregory the Great, which had also been transferred to Albay, they adopted St. Raphael, the Archangel and transformed the ermita into a church. They finally regained their old status but never changed the name of the place as Albay Viejo or Banwang Daan.Years later in 1856, Sawangan was restored and subsequently renamed Binanuahan (Banuang Gurang) which literally means â€Å"Old Town† or â€Å"ancient place or town wherein a town was founded† and/or â€Å"the former seat of a town†. It was made a Visita Tributaria of Taytay. The combined towns were later named Albay Nuevo (Bagumbayan – meaning â€Å"New Town†) with the residents of Binanuahan’s objections to the union. On July 17, 1856, Ramon Montero of the Govierno Superiora de las Islas Filipinas signed a decree which created the Visita of Pueblo Viejo, out of Binanuahan uniting the barrios (settlement communities) of Lamba, Bigaa and Rawis. On September 22, 1856, through a subsequent Royal Decree, the name Legazpi was officially adopted to including the visitas of Lamba, Rawis and Bigaa, and declaring it an independent town. It was formally inaugurated on October 23, 1856. Historically, the city was named Legazpi, to perpetuate to the memory of Adelantado Don Miguel Lopez de Legazpi. This was the agreement made between the original inhabitants of the place and the Spaniards during the former’s quest for autonomy. It took them 21 years, in which they sought the help and support of the Spaniards, then living in the town. As a sign of gratitude, the people readily accepted the name, which was also then proposed by the Spaniards upon fulfillment of their efforts. Now autonomous, and with a fast paced progress and prosperity,the port of Legazpi served as anchorage of ships sailing for Nuevo Espaà ±a (through Mexico) in the later part of the 16th century until it was elevated a Royal Decree by issued earlier on May 18, 1872 in Madrid and was later promulgated by Governor Juan Alamenos y de Vivar on December 3, 1874 as a port of entry open to world trade . Legazpi first became a city under the Becerra Law of 1892 promulgated by the Spanish Minister of Ultramar in 1894, which constituted the municipalities of Legazpi, Albay Nuevo and Daraga, into the Ayutamiento de Albay with the resentment of the Daragueà ±os. At the height of the Filipino-Spanish Revolution, the Civil Governor of Albay, Angel Bascaran y Federic and the Spanish residents fled Albay. Subsequently, a revolutionary Junta was organized by Don Anacleto Solano, who later turned over command to General Vicente Lucban, General-in-Chief of Operations of the Philippine Revolutionary Governments in the Southern Region. DURING THE AMERICAN PERIOD By January 23, 1900 the American forces outgunned Legazpi defenders, defeating the Sandatahanes led by Vito Belarmino and Jose Ignacio Paua at the Battle of San Rafael Bridge known as the â€Å"Battle of Legazpi†. With the American occupation in 1900, the city was dissolved upon reestablished Legazpi, Albay and Daraga as independent towns under a military government. In 1908, the Philippine Assembly, again, merged the three towns creating the Municipio de Albay which became the capital of the province. Giving way to bitter opposition from Daragueà ±os, realizing the merger was doing more harm than good to their interests, the Philippine Assembly finally separated Daraga from the capital town in 1922. DURING THE JAPANESE PERIOD Simultaneous with the bombing of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, the Japanese Imperial Army’s Kimura Detachment entered Legazpi on December 12, 1941. Yet again, countless accounts of the locals’ ultimate sacrifices, gallantry and heroism against the odds in the ensuing Guerilla warfare abound during that period. Under Japanese military administration for almost 4 years, the capital was finally liberated by American forces on April 1, 1945. DURING THE REPUBLIC Legazpi became a city for the second time on July 18, 1948 when Daraga and Legazpi were combined again to constitute its territory, under Republic Act No. 306. Re-Incorporating Daraga, Republic Act No. 306 elevated the town to today’s Legazpi City. However, bitter opposition from the Daragueà ±os ultimately prevailed with the passing of Republic Act No. 993 which repealed R.A. 306 creating the separate Municipalities of Legazpi and Daraga.With the re-creation of the two municipalities, the city was dissolved in June 8, 1954. Finally on June 12, 1959,Republic Act 2232 authored by Senator.Pedro Subido and Congressman.Jusfino Nuyda was signed by Pres.Carlos P.Garcia. This was later amended by Republic Act 5525. By virtue of this act, Legazpi became a city for the third time. .Legazpi was declared Albay Province’s seat of government as its capital city under Republic Act 2254. On February 27, 1973, With the onset of the Integrated Reorganization Plan of Pres. Ferdinand Marcos, the City of Legazpi was declared under Presidential Decree No. 125, to comprise its present territorial jurisdiction and the adjacent Municipality of Daraga. however, the decree was permanently mothballed. This plan also made the city as the regional administrative center of the Bicol Region (Presidential Decree No. 1). At present,the Gateway City of Bicol,Legazpi,is a bustling and very progressive city that is home of more than 180,000 citizens.

Posture Recognition Based Fall Detection System

Posture Recognition Based Fall Detection System A POSTURE RECOGNITION BASED FALL DETECTION SYSTEM FOR MONITORING AN ELDERLY PERSON IN A SMART HOME ENVIRONMENT ABSTRACT The mobile application is capable of detecting possible falls for elderly, through the use of special sensors. The alert messages contain useful information about the people in danger, such as his/her geo location and also corresponding directions on a map. In occasions of false alerts, the supervised person is given the ability to estimate the value of importance of a possible alert and to stop it before being transmitted. This paper describes system for monitoring and fall detection of ELDERLY PEOPLE using triaxial accelerometer together with ZigBee transceiver to detect fall of ELDERLY PEOPLE. The system is composed of data acquisition, fall detection and database for analysis. Triaxial accelerometer is used for human position tracking and fall detection. The system is capable of monitoring ELDERLY PEOPLE in real time and on the basis of results another important parameters of patient can be deducted: the quality of therapy, the time spent on different activities, the joint moveme nt, etc. The system, including calibration of accelerometers and measurement is explained in detail. The Accidental Fall Detection System will be able to assist carriers as well as the elderly, as the carriers will be notified immediately to the intended person. This fall detection system is designed to detect the accidental fall of the elderly and alert the carriers or their loved ones via Smart-Messaging Services (SMS) immediately. This fall detection is created using microcontroller technology as the heart of the system, the accelerometer as to detect the sudden movement or fall and the Global System for Mobile (GSM) modem, to send out SMS to the receiver. INTRODUCTION The leading health problems in the elderly community. They can occur in home as well as in hospitals or in the long-term care institutions [1]. Falls increase risk for serious injuries, chronic pain, long-term disability, and loss of independence, psychological and social limitations due to institutionalization. Nearly 50% of older adults hospitalized for fall- related injuries are discharged to nursing homes or long-term care facilities [2]. A fall can cause psychological damage even if the person did not suffer a physical injury. Those who fall often experience decrease activities of daily living and self-care due to fear of falling again. This behavior decreases their mobility, balance and fitness and leads to reduced social interactions and increased depression. The mortality rate for falls increases progressively with age. Falls caused 57% of deaths due to injuries among females and 36% of deaths among males, age 65 and older [3]. Majority of falls result from an interaction between multiple long-term and short-term factors in person’s environment [4]. Common risk factors include problems with balance and stability, arthritis, muscle weakness, multiple medications therapy, depressive symptoms, cardiac disorders, stroke, impairment in cognition and vision Detection of a fall possibly leading to injury in timely manner is crucial for providing adequate medical response and care. Present fall detection systems can be categorized [7, 8, 9] under one of the following groups: User activated alarm systems (wireless tags), Floor vibration-based fall detection, Wearable sensors (contact sensors and switches, sensors for heart rate and temperature, accelerometers and gyroscopes ), Acoustic fall detection, Visual fall detection. The most common method for fall detection is using a triaxial accelerometers or bi-axial gyroscopes. Accelerometer is a device for measuring acceleration, but is also used to detect free fall and shock, movement, speed and vibration. Using the threshold algorithms while measuring changes in acceleration in each direction, it is possible do detect falls with very high accuracy. Using two or more tri-axial accelerometers and combining them with gyroscopes at different body locations it is possible to recognize several kinds of postures (sitting, standing, etc.) and movements, thereby detecting falls with much better accuracy. An easy and simple method to detect fall detection of ELDERLY PEOPLE is using accelerometer together with ZigBee transceiver to communicate with Monitoring System through wireless network, and in this paper a system for monitoring and fall detection of ELDERLY PEOPLE using mobile MEMS accelerometers will be presented. . The first three functions provide recording in a database, and also a text message is sent to the supervisor with latitude, longitude and other useful data. Afterwards, you can detect the elder person through Google maps. Additionally, an application was implemented for the attending physician, which is connected with the database, through which s/he can obtain a complete picture of the patients’ status, to draw useful conclusions and proceed to possible change in medical treatment. EXISTING SYSTEM: An application for Apple IOS by using an accelerometer to detect falls. A possible drawback is that the development platform Apple IOS is not accessible to the average user. An application in Symbian s60 using machine learning algorithm takes 64 samples every two seconds from the accelerometer and decides whether there is a fall. PROPOSED SYSTEM: In this paper, we designed an application with the ability of automatic fall detection, by using the mobile sensors, warning signal by pressing a button in cases of emergency, detection and automatic notification to supervisors as well as visual display to passerbies. The application uses basically two incorporated mobile sensors, namely the accelerometer and the gyroscope sensor.A counter starts counting loudly on the screen from 30 to 0. If the counter reaches 0, then an SMS message is sent to the caregiver or relative and an entry is made to the Database. The first service detects the patient’s position and calculates whether the patient is further away than a set distance. When activated can give directions to the patient what route to follow to return back to home. APPLICATIONS: Automatic fall detection. Warning if the elder moves away from the place of residence directions given on the map. ADVANTAGES: Elder’s safety can be assured. Fast First aid or medical treatment can be guaranteed. DISADVANTAGES: Device Sensor should be carried out whenever the person moves over. SYSTEM DESIGN Architecture Diagram SYSTEM FOR MONITORING AND FALL DETECTION The whole system consists of a set of sensors (two or more sensors on the patient, usually MEMS sensors) which the patient wears on himself, local units to collect data that are placed in patient vicinity and systems for collecting. The tiny sensors in the strap are capable of measuring user orientation and motion in three-dimensions and it is constantly monitoring and analyzing the signals in real-time looking for movement indicating a fall. From the comparison Table Error! No text of specified style in document. .1, it shows that the system maybe a hindrance to the consumer in terms of price over the years. The aim of this project is to be able to provide equal standard of care at an affordable cost. The system is shown in Figure 1 the space is divided into sections which are defined by interior and exterior of the institution in which a system is operated. Each room is stocked with local receivers. Local receivers collect data from sensors that the ELDERLY PEOPLE are wearing on the clothes. The sensors are small and lightweight. One sensor is located in the upper garment and the other at the bottom. This is not limited to two sensors, if necessary, there may be more, but for the detection of falls to the back the system must have at least 2 sensors Local receivers pass information to the server. The server information is processed local health care service. Personal computers are used to browse the database collected a t the server. The database contains information about the mobility of ELDERLY PEOPLE, treatment efficacy, joints. All these data can be analyzed offline and used to adjust patient therapy. This has served a double function of the system Real-time patient monitoring and early detection of the fall in order to deliver medical assistance as soon as possible. In this application Free scale TM ZSTAR wireless sensing triple axis board is used (Fig. 2). It is very practical because of low power consumption, portability, and the ability to be mounted in small pockets inside the clothes of ELDERLY PEOPLE. Board is divided into sensory and receiver part. The sensor is placed at the patient and is equipped with an accelerometer, microprocessor, and transceiver with the antenna which sends the measurement data to the receiver. The receiver also has a microprocessor that adjusts the signals received through the antenna to send with the USB protocol. These data are sent to the server. The server collects process and stores the data. Each sensor that is connected to the patient is personalized, and its data are stored in a file under persons name to get an overview of all activities and physical stress of the patient FALL DETECTION USING TWO ACCELEROMETERS In this chapter the operation of the system through one of its functions and to the detection of fall will be described. The figures have been simplified for better understanding of the system. The algorithm used is improved algorithm given in, with better detection of backwards falls. Setup for accelerometer fall detection, consists of the measuring sensors with transmitter, receiver and server for data processing and fall detection. The fall is detected by the algorithm described in. It can be seen that fall detection algorithm uses data from both sensors that are monitored at the same time. This algorithm is able to distinguish between falls (forward, back word fall into a sitting position) and the normal daily activity, such as walking, mastering stairs, sitting in a chair, lying walking is also detecting by the sensors. However, these impacts are not isolated, and after them there is no significant change in orientation between the two sensors. Vectors are in the area that will call common zone .if an isolated stoke which causes a change in orientation of the body is detected, or the orientation of certain body parts in relation to the situation before the stroke, then with some certainty it can be said that the fall had occurred. Dataflow Diagram SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION Modules details Phase 1 Modules Fall Detection Location Tracking Phase 2 Modules Communication Route Map Integration Fall Detection: The FALL DETECTION is something that we have developed at Alert1 so you can be safe at all times. Whether you are a senior citizen and want to maintain your independence, a concerned family member looking for peace of mind, or a caregiver with patients, this tool has been developed for you. Prevention is key. Use it to inspect and detect hazardous areas in your home that could result in a fall. If you answer no to the questions, you have already taken action to reduce your risk of falling. If you answer yes to any of the questions, consider making the recommended change or adaptation to reduce your risk of falling. Location Tracking: Real-time locating systems (RTLS)are used to automatically identify and track the location of objects or people in real time, usually within a building or other contained area. Wireless RTLS tags are attached to objects or worn by people, and in most RTLS, fixed reference points receive wireless signals from tags to determine their location. The physical layer of RTLS technology is usually some form ofradio frequency(RF) communication, but some systems use optical (usuallyinfrared) or acoustic (usuallyultrasound) technology instead of or in addition to RF. Tags and fixed reference points can be transmitters, receivers, or both, resulting in numerous possible technology combinations. RTLS are a form oflocal positioning system, and do not usually refer to GPS,mobile phone tracking, or systems that use only passiveRFIDtracking. Location information usually does not include speed, direction, or spatial orientation. Communication: The table that maintained the mapping between the agent’s name and the landmark location is shared and updated by the agents who were on nodes within the landmark’s coverage. When the node is not a landmark node, the table is used as a cache table. If communication with the other agent succeeds, the locations and the agent names are registered in this cache table. It is possible for the agent to periodically get the location of the target agent and store it in the cache table. The use of a cache table enables agents to initiate direct communication with each other and reduce the communication overhead to landmarks. When the cache misses, the agent sends a request to the landmark to get updated information. Agents can also delete the information from the cache table. The communication between landmarks is implemented, however we only use this communication to call the target agent when there is no target agent within the coverage area. This primitive is used when the pro grammer deploys agents and makes deployment of agents easy. Routemap Integration: The integration of spatial maps in mobile was investigated using a spatial analog to sensory preconditioning. The GPS chip outputs the positioning information which is transferred over a GPRS link to the mobile operator’s GGSN (Gateway GPRS Support Node) and then to a remote server over a TCP connection. The TCP server stores the incoming positional data in a mySQL database. When a user clicks on the tracking page., Zope, which is an open source web application server, serves up an HTML page with an embedded javascript code. The javascript would run in the users browser and has instructions to retrieve the positional information from the mySQL database every second. It then integrates this information into Google Maps through Google Maps API which displays the position on a map. Since the positional information is retrieved every second and the maps updated at the same frequency, a real time GPS tracking effect is achieved. CONCLUSION Triaxial accelerometers can be used for detecting fall of ELDERLY PEOPLE. They offer low cost solution, and together with wireless connectivity solutions such as ZigBee provide efficient solution for both ELDERLY PEOPLE and medical personnel l. In this paper I have presented an intelligent mobile multimedia application that can be incorporated into modern mobile smartphones in order to be used for the needs of the elderly. It is in our future plans to evaluate this system in order to test its efficiency in actually helping these people sufficiently. It is also in our future plans to extend the system’s capabilities by incorporating new services. These services include the following: Embed a belt measuring heart rate as an external sensor Integrate a gyroscope sensor instead of an orientation sensor, for more accurate results Integration of social networks to alert senders Integrate public agency to alert senders Add a system administrator feature. References: A. Chan and N. Vasconcelos, â€Å"Counting people with low-level features and Bayesian regression,† IEEE Trans. Image Process., vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 2160–2177, Apr. 2012. E.Auvinet, F. Multon, A. Saint-Arnaud, J. Rousseau, and J. Meunier, â€Å"Fall detection with multiple cameras: An occlusion-resistant method based on 3-d silhouette vertical distribution,† IEEE Trans. Inf. Technol. Biomed., vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 290–300, Mar. 2011. Y. Hou and G. Pang, â€Å"People counting and human detection in a challenging situation,† IEEE Trans. Syst. Man, Cybern. Part A: Syst. Humans, vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 24–33, Jan. 2011 Y. Chen, L. Zhu, A. Yuille, and H. Zhang, â€Å"Unsupervised learning of probabilistic object models (POMs) for object classification, segmentation, and recognition using knowledge propagation,† IEEE Trans. PatternAnal. Mach. Intell., vol. 31, no. 10, pp. 1747–1761, Oct. 2009 F. Lecumberry, A. Pardo, and G. Sapiro, â€Å"Simultaneous object classification and segmentation with high-order multiple shape models,† IEEETrans. Image Process., vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 625–635, Mar. 2010

Fly-Boys, by James Bradley :: Review of Fly-Boys

Fly-Boys written by James Bradley, reveals the truth about nine young American World War II pilots that were shot down over the island of Chichi Jima. Out of the nine pilots one was rescued by a submarine. The other eight were captured by the Japanese, and disappeared. After the war the American government, along with the Japanese, covered up everything that had happened on Chichi Jima. Which had meant that the lives of the eight Fly-Boys were erased. Only the American and Japanese governments knew that the pilots survived the war. In this novel James Bradley reveals the story for the first time. Although, critics might disapprove on all this information making him seem bias, but in reality it is the truth that has just never been discovered. Many Critics, and readers that have reviewed this novel have different opinions on the style of writing that James Bradley chose. Some raise the question â€Å"is Fly-Boys an anti-American book? So far from reading this book I could see why many would think that. It seems as if James Bradley is making a mockery of America. In fact all Bradley is doing here is explaining the truth of our government that he had figured out by intensive research grabbing a plethora of information from untapped government archives containing documents that no one would have ever imagined existed. He is also trying to show how the Japanese got brainwashed into the things they thought, did, and acted upon. In the first few chapters the words chosen seem as if Bradley is praising Japan by giving a lot of information from the Japanese side of things to show how bad the Americans were, â€Å" While America cheered the fliers as its best and brightest, the Japanese had a very different view.....airmen who dropped napalm on defenseless civilians living in paper houses were the non human devils.† I personally think that Bradley is just stating the truth while others would look at this and ponder why would he say this if he is American wouldn't he want to leave all that out to make us look better. The way the author chose to write this was to show both sides of war and not just taking one side. He does say one thing about Japan which praises them and then contrasts it to America making it seem worse from that side.

Of Our Spiritual Strivings WEB Dubois Analysis Essay

In Of Our Spiritual Strivings, the two main messages that WEB DuBois has to share are of the dangers of double-consciousness and the idea that a Veil exists between White America and African America. He first realized this when he was at school and they were passing around visiting cards and one girl refused to give him a card, simply because of his skin color. He realized at that moment that there was a vast veil between white and black America. However I found it interesting that he had no desire to attempt to remove that veil. Instead his desire was for African Americans to stay close to their roots, but at the same time without assimilating into white culture. He also expresses this when he says â€Å"After the Egyptian and Indian, the Greek and Roman, the Teuton and Mongolian, the Negro is a sort of seventh son, born with a veil, and gifted with second-sight in this American world,—a world which yields him no true self-consciousness, but only lets him see himself through the revelation of the other world. † The African American is separate from White America, but yet is still American. DuBois desired that African Americans should not try to compromise with white america, but be proud of their heritage and yet still be recognized as Americans and not second-class citizens. This quote also leads into his second idea which is the idea that there should be a self-consciousness from African Americans. â€Å"It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. This continues on his idea that African-Americans should strive to be themselves and not something else, and not measure themselves by those that do not value them. In this next quote DuBois states that manhood is attained threw one state of mind, or self-consciousness, which is the viewing of oneself through their own lens and not thru the lens of others. â€Å"The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife,—this longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self. In this merging he wishes neither of the older selves to be lost. He would not Africanize America, for America has too much to teach the world and Africa. He would not bleach his Negro soul in a flood of white Americanism, for he knows that Negro blood has a message for the world. He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American, without being cursed and spit upon by his fellows†¦ † Double-consciousness should be discarded in favor of self-consciousness, because self-consciousness in the eyes of DuBois offered African Americans the chance to prove themselves to the world and show the world their abilities. America should not be set in the view as Africans would have it, but rather that America should be a land of incorporation, rather than assimilation. DuBois sought a land comprised of various cultures all equal to each other but no culture striving to be like another, because that would create a culture that would be dominant. He believed that every culture, African culture especially, had something to offer to America.

Essay on Should grammar be a focus in undergraduate composition classroomEssay Writing Service

Essay on Should grammar be a focus in undergraduate composition classroomEssay Writing Service Essay on Should grammar be a focus in undergraduate composition classroom? Essay on Should grammar be a focus in undergraduate composition classroom?Being literate has always been considered as a dignity. However, paying excessive attention to grammar when it is not the main focus of teaching is often severely criticized by educators. They say, grammar can contribute to better writing, but it is only one part of it, not the whole. Composition classroom is, for instance, aimed at developing students’ writing skills through research, argumentative writing techniques, and critical thinking. Meanwhile, it has become a matter of continuous debate whether knowing grammar rules and principles affects the quality of an ultimate text. As a student enters a first year course, it is implied that he or she has some basic grammar knowledge and writing skills. However, practice has shown that teachers’ expectations are not always satisfied. On the contrary, the majority of students composition teachers deal with are likely to have gaps in their early educat ion, which create a grand barrier for further advance.   Current research is intended to find out the significance of grammar for a composition classroom and to provide clear evidence that applying certain deliberate tools for instructing grammar from a freshman course on is a way to make the students of language art progress considerably.Controversies of Grammar InstructionEarlier, there was a widely spread opinion that there is no sense to worry whether your spelling is right or wrong as long as the English orthography is nothing but human convention. It was stated that this kind of convention has nothing in common with the natural order of things and the word can be written in any way with the same power. What is more, grammar was thought to distract attention from actual writing and thus to be harmful rather than helpful. The members of the NCTE Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar (ATEG) resume that grammar used to be â€Å"the skunk at the garden of the language art s† (Lanham 111). Earlier, traditional grammar instruction was really a curse for schools and their students. The notion of prescriptive grammar that was popular a few decades ago included continuous â€Å"skill drill† exercises. The students were expected to â€Å"swot up† a discrete set of rigid rules that were to be strictly followed and endlessly practiced (Turner 39).Taking over curriculum, grammar could really become an obstacle to the students’ advance. On the one hand, much precious time was spent memorizing and reproducing rigid formula. On the other hand, students could soon lose their interest to the major and change it for anything else. With time, however, the educators came to understanding that principles of writing are more important than the rules of grammar, and the alignment of forces altered. In other words, broader generalization came into being leaving each writer a chance to make his or her own choice (Butterfield 275). With the heig ht of language movement, the time for revolutionary change came. Prescriptive grammar was substituted by transformational, also known as descriptive grammar. The chief goal of innovation was to subordinate grammar instruction to the needs of a particular user. Descriptive approach made grammar instruction more flexible, practical, and more helpful in self-expression.Benefiting from GrammarOf course, knowing the grammar rules is not a panacea. In fact, fixing the grammar will hardly make an unsatisfying essay effective. There is much other stuff to attack when a teacher is to create a good writer. Still, poor grammar is often not so much the reason for poor writing as the inherent part of it. Grammar ignorance is often the consequence of careless attitude to reading and checking the original text by the author himself. Accurate and perceptive reading for revision is a necessary condition not only for higher literacy, but also for the overall writing skill. It is almost impossible to write a clear, coherent text without grammatical awareness. The latter is ultimately based on a sentence sense that is worked out through reading students’ own compositions, either aloud or to themselves. As Brandt (463) assumes, â€Å"Educators can no longer afford to assume that students acquire an accurate understanding of formal language structures through reading, writing, and speaking.†Further on, the ability to work with grammar constructions enriches the overall writing capacity of a student. A wealth of knowledge is rather a prerogative than a burden, and such exercises as â€Å"finding the subject-predicate core, diagramming sentences, searching texts for various constructions, comparing language varieties, expanding or imitating sentences, unscrambling sentences in a paragraph, and experimenting with the parts of essays and stories† (Newkirk 111) help the writers see the language as a system. Therefore, the writers feel free to find and utilize altern atives to make their thoughts sound clearer and more catching.In addition, Brodkey (82) states that the students who master the tools of writing and language structure together tend to be more confident and effective in their writing. â€Å"Many students will be able to recognize a sentence fragment as incorrect, but they may not know the concept by its correct name, why it is incorrect, or how to correct it,† Spellmeyer (273) notes. It goes without saying that many people possess inherent, intuitive knowledge of how to spell the words and sentences correctly, but the conscious employment of language opens larger opportunities beyond all doubt. Knowing grammar provides the writer with the confidence to experiment because only when you know what is right, you can play with what is wrong; it becomes much more interesting for a writer to introduce new stylistic devices or context neologisms   (Spellmeyer 163). Only in this way both native English speakers and second-language l earners become able to see the perspective of linguistic expertise while language is a bottomless resource.Tips for Teaching GrammarAlthough descriptive grammar has demonstrated a number of advantages as against prescriptive grammar, the latest studies reveal that both approaches are better in their combination rather than in isolation. Each of them has its benefits, so a good language art teacher should derive from both. Assessment and planning are probably the best items to start a sound instructional practice.The experience of educators who have already faced low levels of literacy among their first year students and who try their best to improve the situation can be summarized in several transparent rules. First of all, there is a need to present grammar principles as a review because of the students who really possess enough knowledge and would feel tired and bored if they have to go through the same way again. One more advice is to communicate the grammar skills as professiona l skills like proofreading or editing. At the same time, the teacher is to begin with the basic rules as they are the foundation for further knowledge. Although the language is full of terms, the aim is to reduce terminology for better comprehension and memorization. The advance from parts of speech to sentence fragments and clauses and then to run-on sentences, for example, would be the best scheme (Brandt 460). It goes without saying that grammar lessons should be concise, entertaining and always to the point. For that end, teachers often use handouts and power point presentations to make the material visual and clear. In order to entertain, teachers apply the practice of cooperative games, self-check quizzes, and interactive Web-resources.Further on, it is useful for a student to note his or her mistakes and corrections. Such an error journal makes a student more self-aware and diligent, while his or her motor memory is combined with visual memory (Anson et al. 172). While revisi ng and editing their drafts, students can simultaneously study grammatical options that certainly influence style and voice of the text. According to the representatives of ATEG, teaching grammar significantly depends on reading and language play, so these two fundamental practices should be prioritized in the composition classroom. As Turner (121) resumes, â€Å"the goal of effective grammar instruction is to weave it into the reading and writing that function as the backbone of the English curriculum.†After all, the needs of students should be the first and foremost criterion to depart from. Individual approach will never do a bad turn, so the students should have an opportunity to train grammar according to their own essays and to get individual assistance from the teacher in case of need.Conclusions The experience of numerous educators and researchers has shown that writing skills can never be mastered in isolation from grammar. Developing such writing skills as a sense o f effective organization, logical argumentation, manipulations with language and style is highly dependent on grammar knowledge. Once traditional school grammar became an uncompromising weapon to fight illiteracy, but its demands won a bad reputation. As long as grammar was taught in isolation, the wave of protests soon rose because grammar instruction took unprecedented time and effort and in this way did interfere with the educational process. Next, transformative grammar approach was introduced making more focus on the particular needs of a student and making the learning process more flexible and actual. The application of descriptive grammar within a composition classroom has proved that a wide variety of prose and poetry can be enhanced by effective vocabulary and creative sentence construction that is gained via grammatical options. It is stated that frequent training with grammar constructions makes the author express his or her own thoughts and emotions more fluently and pr ecisely. Grammar makes individual thesaurus broader and enunciation more flexible. A meaningful and relevant instruction should, nevertheless, be based on both prescriptive and descriptive grammar practices.While the practice of numerous composition teachers has shown that at the first course the level of students’ language knowledge is rather low, most of them have to spend much time not for review but for grammar mastery instruction from the very beginning. Consequently, grammar instruction and testing are obviously needed in the undergraduate composition classroom to make freshmen present a coherent argument and go through less critique on their rough drafts. For that end, intensive but not overwhelming guidance with practice should be provided on a regular basis. Above all, reading is still considered the best practice to improve one’s grammar, as most of grammatical patterns are easily absorbed from the context.