Learning Portfolio Essay Example for Free

Learning Portfolio Essay During the semester, I have had to develop a unique study structure that was going to maximize the efficiency with which I utilized my study time. Before starting the course, I read the study handbook so that I could get a rough idea of what the course entailed and the nature of information I would be required to familiarize myself with. This enabled me to identify other relevant sources of information besides the books suggested in the recommended reading list. In the process of reading these materials, I took brief notes of the ideas and points that appeared noteworthy. Being in a non-English speaking country, obtaining relevant books and other resource materials was somehow challenging. I learned to utilize the internet to get books and journal articles from electronic libraries and databases. I also had to subscribe to various journals so that I could get updated news about the course since I realized that criminology is a dynamic topic and it requires one to get case studies and briefs. After the onset of the course, I had to develop effective study habits so that I could organize my time while staying on top of my work. I realized that in order to succeed, I had to make the right decisions about managing my time and resources. I had to give my studies the priority they deserve and I did not let friends or family dictate to me on what aspects of my life were more important than others. My concentration and grasping ability is at its peak during the morning hours, at quiet and cool surroundings which do not offer any distraction. I engaged in discussions and debates surrounding the course material since I know getting the perspective of my fellow students and their contributions on the points I might have missed is very important. Concerning my assignments, I always make sure I have completed them on time and I review them before every class. I also co-relate assignment content and what is in my notes to ensure that I have completed them satisfactorily. I rely on my notes for this because they are very comprehensive since I review and update them after every class; usually including paraphrasing content in my own words and including examples. These study strategies I adopted during the semester are very effective, and after cross-checking with my fellow students and a collection of study guides available in the internet, I found out that they are still very relevant. Of course, I know there will always be ways of improving them as challenges mount. For example, I found out that I had actually misunderstood some concepts and ideas I had assumed I fully understood, so I need to liaise with my professor and study group more. When I started this course, I did not have a clear understanding of what was really expected of me. I did not know if what I was doing was right or wrong, so I had to get the help of my fellow students, friends who had already graduated from the course and my professor to help me learn how to express my points and ideas. I always want to feel that I am living up to expectation, so I always seek feedback to help me identify areas I can improve on. I have formed a consistent effort to request my colleagues and supervisors so that I can refine my perspective regarding key concepts and ideas. In my attempt to be an all-rounder, I specify the kind of feedback I need from my colleagues, professors and supervisors at work. I do not just ask for a critique of the quality and quantity of effort I put in my studies or my work, but I also seek to find out other people’s perception of how effective or ineffective my interaction with other people and the system is. I also gave some of my essays to friends and colleagues to read; and used their criticism and opinions to improve on my essay writing skills. I feel that I can use the feedback I obtain regarding my study and work strategies and quality to improve by developing plans of action based on it on a regular basis. Feedback is effective only if it is involved in the review of strengths and weaknesses so that the actions taken can be specifically tailored to build on my strengths and work on my weaknesses. It is however important to note that feedback can only be genuine if the seeker also reciprocates by giving feedback to the people he or she seeks opinion from. Even though some people may not like getting feedback on their performance especially if it is negative, I try as much as possible to reciprocate by giving genuine feedback to those willing to acknowledge it so that I can receive an equal measure in return. I would be honest if I say that this course has been an eye opener for me. Through planning my time to fulfill course requirements like attending to classes and completing my assignments in time, I have learnt to be more organized not only in class but in other spheres of my life. The need for efficiency made me engage in research in an attempt to identify better, faster and more effective reading styles, and I perfected these on this course. I have attained a better reading speed and I have become better in both written and spoken English. Through research and preparation for writing my essays, I have improved on my writing skills a great deal. I have learnt several referencing styles and I could even take a chance at professional writing as of now. Criminology requires articulate presentation of ideas, facts and arguments; and this course has increased my analytical skills and the depth of my thinking. In the past, I have sort of been what social scientists would call a right brain thinker. To me, an occurrence or a phenomenon was true or false, black or white. But the course has taught me to think from different perspectives. This has been a big change for me bearing in mind that I have been quite opinioned about criminology issues; but I have learned to pay attention and get many sides to any event. Starting university has had an enormous impact on my academic, personal and work life as well. Being a student and working at the same time is a challenge for many people. I work and study; and since I realize that both are important to my life, I don’t let one take the time of the other. I do not take time off to study or skip classes to work or because I worked late; but I do take some hours off to catch up on my assignments and to engage in extracurricular activities to refresh my faculties and also to write my essay. As far as my private life is concerned, my academic engagements have made it necessary to study on most nights and weekends; but the experience has been good since I have gained the ability to see things from an academic and professional angle and reason likewise. This course has definitely induced a lot of changes in me. For starters, I have learned to be flexible to divergent thoughts and ideas, and since I have learned so much in the process, I have found out that some of the opinions I hold regarding other people and occurrences are not necessarily justified. With an increase in knowledge comes a change in heart, and the new ideas, concepts and facts I have learned have changed my opinion and attitude a great deal. Since the beginning of this course, I have continually learned that there is so much information out there for me to absorb and apply in my essays, arguments and in my professional life. Information for real has the capacity to change someone’s beliefs. The more I am challenged, the more I have become aware of the need and the virtue of being able to tolerate the values, beliefs and attitudes of other people. By virtue of the amount of literature I have had to cover, my attitude towards work has changed. Work, be it academic or professional, is no longer an obligation to me, but an opportunity to improve my vistas of knowledge and my capacity to interact with people, information and real life circumstances. In other words, the course has given me an opportunity to grow in character as a person. Through the study of moral values as they apply in criminology and psychology, I have learned that morality is a very personal issue; and that not a single person can rationally claim to have more superior values as compared to others. In as such, my attitude to people has changed a lot, and I am no longer quick to judge the actions of others without first establishing the motives behind their actions. Creative and research and essay writing has taught me the importance of respecting intellectual property. I have come across so much written material in this course; materials which have increased my knowledge base in ways I could not have imagined. It is a matter of fact that people somewhere took their time to do research, derive facts and write them down plus their relationship to and application in real life situations. It is not only responsible but also ethical therefore to respect their rights to their work by responsibly using these works. Responsible use of literary material is achieved by avoiding plagiarism. This entails proper use of resources and the application of correct referencing techniques to cite the contribution of existing literature in any produced essays or research papers. I had never done any referencing before, but the resources providing guidelines for referencing available at the university website helped me a lot in learning how to responsibly utilize literary materials without abusing intellectual property. As I pointed out earlier, I did not know what was expected of me before actually joining this course. As the course progressed, I came to realize that it is actually a very interesting course. Even though it is quite challenging in terms of difficulty in comprehending some of the concepts taught, I do not regret taking it. The course has made me understand people better and have valuable insight on the motivations people have while committing some of the activities they commit. As I said earlier, I had to work as I undertook this course. The responsibilities could have been overwhelming for most people and their families, but the experience brought me closer to my wife who supported me throughout the duration of the course and has still continued to support me. In terms of my professional experience, the course has opened up my mind and conscience. I have met a lot of interesting people and the experience has made me a better communicator, improving the relationship between me and my work colleagues. I am a very ambitious person and I want to continue growing professionally, that is why I decided to further my education in the first place. My ambition sometimes brings me at odds with my colleagues, but I have known how to effectively handle their aggressions. I hope that these skills are going to push me up the professional ladder, even though this is going to take some time considering the system of my place of work.

Philip Larkins Faith Healing Essay -- Philip Larkin Faith Healing Poe

How typical in terms of subject, theme, structure and versification is Faith Healing by Larkin? Philip Larkin's Faith Healing In 1964, Philip Larkin published his third book of poetry, entitled 'The Whitsun Weddings'. One of the many critically acclaimed poems was 'Faith Healing'. In this essay, I intend to explore how typical this poem is in terms of subject, theme, structure and versification. In Faith Healing, women flock to an American Faith Healer for a blessing. The persona of the poem is written from an outsider's point of view, looking in at this sight. Faith Healing is divided into three stanzas, each of ten lines. Iambic pentameter is used to give 5 major stresses to each of the 10 lines. The three stanzas actually contribute to the action of the poem. In the first stanza, the women go forward to the Faith Healer; in the second, they leave and 'Sheepishly stray'. Finally, the poem concludes with the third stanza where Larkin analyses the situation. This versification is indeed quite typical throughout The Whitsun Weddings. 'Here' is another poem from this collection, and Larkin again writes in iambic pentameter. He uses the traditional versification to describe a journey from an industrial city to a place where much more satisfaction can be gained. This journey was also mapped by the structure of the poem. Larkin wrote 4 stanzas and each one marked a progression in the journey. This is similar to Faith Healing where each stanza moves the story onto the next event or occurrence. It is a similar case for 'Mr Bleaney' where every line is written in iambic pentameter, with only one exception for the first line. This poem also tells a story with the first four verses being descriptive befo... ...t we really desire whereas Faith Healing suggests that if these women had realised their loneliness earlier in life, they could have loved and been loved in return. This is only a slight difference; but is worth considering when asking the question of the typicality of Faith Healing. Overall, I feel that the similarities outweigh the differences and it can be concluded that Faith Healing is infact quite similar to a selection of the other poems in Whitsun Weddings. There are some differences and Faith Healing is unique in some respects, such as Larkin not experiencing this event personally. However, overall Faith Healing is a typical Larkin poem, with deprivation and loneliness as themes, iambic pentameter and enjambment as language features and with initially descriptive stanza's before moving on to conclude with a reflective and thoughtful panorama.

Four basic models of the BGS relationship Essay

Dutch-Bangla Bank Ltd is a commercial bank of Bangladesh. The Bank was established under the Bank Companies Act 1991 and incorporated as a public limited company under the Companies Act 1994 in Bangladesh with the primary objective to carry on all kinds of banking business in Bangladesh. It is one of the fast growing leading online banks in private sector. This is a descriptive report on Dutch-Bangla Bank Ltd. that mentions the activities of General Banking, On-line banking and corporate social responsibility (CSR) of the bank. The bank is established jointly by local Bangladeshi parties spearheaded by M Sahabuddin Ahmed (Founder & Chairman) and the Dutch company FMO. This report’s objective is to find out more information about CSR of Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited. I hope that my report on CSR of Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited would be a summarized view of CSR activities of Dutch-Bangla Bank. 1. INTRODUCTION Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model. CSR policy functions as a built-in, self-regulating mechanism whereby business monitors and ensures its active compliance with the spirit of the law, ethical standards, and international norms. The term â€Å"corporate social responsibility† came in to common use in the late 1960s and early 1970s. ISO 26000 is the recognized international standard for CSR (currently a Draft International Standard). Figure 1: Where big corporations spending CSR resources The banking sector of Bangladesh has a long history of involvement in benevolent activities like donations to diï ¬â‚¬erent charitable organizations, to poor people and religious institutions, city beautification and improving art & culture, etc. In a natural calamity-prone area like Bangladesh, there remains an existing and  distinctive CSR agenda focused on the business contribution to tackling social crises in the aï ¬â‚¬ected area. Dutch Bangla Bank Limited as a responsible corporate body has been playing a pioneering role in implementing social and philanthropic programs to help disadvantaged people of the country. Education, healthcare, human resource development, conservation of nature, creation of social awareness, rehabilitation of distressed people and such other programs are some of the important areas where the bank carries out its social and philanthropic activities. In 2010 alone, DBBL donated BDT 340 million towards social causes. 2. Origin of the report: This report is prepared as a partial requirement of the course, Business Communication, assigned by my course instructor Nigar Sultana on â€Å"Corporate Social Responsibility of Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited† submitted on 1th December, 2012. The recent activities of various kinds of business firms on CSR have inspire me to do this report on CSR of Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited. Some recent CSR activities also influence me to do this report on CSR activity of DBBL. 3. Problem & Purpose: This report is divided into two objectives. Those are : Primary Objectives: The primary objectives are – > To find out more information about CSR of Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited & new fields of their CSR. Secondary Objectives: > To develop skills of writing a formal report, techniques and principles as well. 4. Scope of the report: This report can be used by others as secondary information. The information of this report will be used for any other survey or making any other document. To find any new scope of CSR, anyone can take help from this report & its information. 5. Limitations of the report: I didn’t face any major limitations in this research. But, if I personally go DBBL’s head office, that will be more helpful for me. There is also some time pressure for making this report properly. Because of time limitations, I cannot collect my require information properly. 6. Findings: By investigate about CSR of Dutch-Bangla Bank; I’ve to know about their regular CSR activities. DBBL’s Corporate Social Responsibilities are- 1. In Education sectors, 2. In Health sectors, 3. In Social Welfare. 6.1 In Education DBBL is providing scholarships to students, especially for those who cannot continue their study due to financial constraint as well as to the meritorious and needy students every year since 2003. The bank awards around 300 new scholarships of Tk. 1,000 per month every year along with continuing scholarship for those studying at HSC level. The Graduation level scholarships of Tk. 2,000 per month are renewable for their entire academic period of graduation level. DBBL has decided to award financial support to SSC and HSC students this year. According to the official data revealed by Bangladesh Bank, DBBL spent more than Tk 172 million in various CSR activities in 2011. Dutch-Bangla Bank awarded scholarships to meritorious but needy students including physically disabled students who passed HSC Examination in 2010 and studying at graduate level. The Dutch-Bangla Bank Ltd (DBBL) also decided to donate Tk 9.73 crore to Dhaka University (DU) for establishing a research centre on the university campus. The DBBL Board of Directors in its 77th meeting decided to donate the money for constructing an 11-storey research centre ‘Dutch-Bangla Bank Centre for Advanced Research in Arts and Social Sciences Bhaban’ on the DU campus. The research centre, which would be the first of its kind in the country, will be supervised by renowned teachers, scholars and researchers. It will also  award scholarship to researchers and scholars at home and abroad. Some more information: # Handed over the Letter of Commitment for donating Tk. 9.73 crore to Dhaka University for constructing â€Å"Dutch-Bangla Bank Centre for Advanced Research in Arts & Social Sciences† on February 27, 2008. # Donated reference books to the library of diï ¬â‚¬erent educational institutions like BSMMU, Dhaka University etc. # Donated Tk. 15.00 lac for purchasing academic reference books for Dhaka University Central Library on June 8, 2006. 6.2 In Health DBBL is just not a bank, it also a producer of CSR. It has some contributions on health sectors of Bangladesh.DBBL do many CSR activities related public health such as they contributed to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) build a new auditorium and to by new equipments. Also donated an ambulance to Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU. Under the DBBL Smile-Brighter Program, Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited organized a 4 day-Iong plastic surgery operation, during September 06 to 09, 2006 in Faridpur for the poor cleft-lipped boys and girls at the bank’s own cost to bring back enduring smile on their faces. With generous financial support from the Dutch-Bangla Bank Foundation (DBBF), ICDDR,B is setting up a world-class blood bank that will provide transfusion services to patients attending its Dhaka Hospital and others in need. Some more Information: # Cleft-lip problem is not only a health problem but it aï ¬â‚¬ects the whole family along with the victim. Since 2003 DBBL is working with these vulnerable groups under its Smile Brighter Program to bring back smile on their face and to enable them to start normal life. This is a continuous program aiming to perform as much operation possible per year. Total 5,000 poor cleft-lipped boys and girls have so far been successfully operated across the country till date. # The Board of Directors of DBBL handed over the Commitment Letter for the donation of BDT 11.476 million to Dr. M. A. Salam, Director of ICDDR,B at a simple ceremony held at the conference room of ICDDR,B on June 03, 2009. # DBBL launched a free treatment over the country in many Public hospital in every week to eradicate diseses from the  country. # They also launched HEALTH CARE INFORMATION seminar over the country in different times in the year to convey the information’s over the rural and uneducated people. # DBBL is also contributing for the HIV/AIDS patients including women and children. They managed the ARV(Anti-Retro-Viral) to them and treat them properly. # As a part of Corporate Social Responsibility, Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited has donated an amount of Tk 2.02 crore to Diabetic Association this year. # DBBL donated generous amount of money to diï ¬â‚¬erent health organizations for medical instruments and medical infrastructural development such as operation theatres, laboratory, hospital building, etc. 6.3 In Social welfare Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited has been playing a pioneering role in executing social and philanthropic programs since its inception to reduce the sufferings of the common man and helping the disadvantaged people of the country. In order to implement programs related to social cause with more dedication, Dutch-Bangla Bank Foundation(DBBF) was established in 2001. A number of sectors are on the focus list of the bank. Education, health care, human resource development, conservation of nature, creation of social awareness, rehabilitation of destitute people and such other programs are some of the important areas where the Bank is carrying out its social and philanthropic activities. Dutch-Bangla Bank do huge amount of CSR for social welfare like, has donated a huge amount of money to EKMATTRA for establishing EKMATTRA-Dutch-Bangla Bank Academy to provide education as well as other facilities for underprivileged children of the country. Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited has extended financial assist ance amounting to Tk. 18.5 lac to 17 NGOs engaged in rehabilitation of the disabled children of Bangladesh on June 05, 2006. Some more information: # For the development of the vulnerable segments of Bangladesh, DBBL assisted to rehabilitate the acid and dowry victim women by providing one-time financial assistance for establishing small scale agro-based rural economic enterprise to be self-reliant. # DBBL provides financial support for  rehabilitation of physically handicapped, mental impaired, visually impaired, hearing impaired, autistic and street children by ensuring education and vocational training. # DBBL runs mass awareness programs on diï ¬â‚¬erent burning issues through print and electronic media. Some remarkable issues are as follows: Save the Nation from curse of Dowry, Stop Acid violence, Prevent Drug Abuse, Tree plantation and preservation of environment, Right of disable children etc. # Financial support to ‘Nirapad Sharak Chai’ for helping the victims of road accident and mass campaign for prevention of traffic accident. # City beautification and preserving environment to develop an eco-friendly society for healthy human life. 6.4 Rewards: # Southern University Bangladesh (SUB) conferred Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) award on the Dutch-Bangla Bank (DBBL) for its immense contribution to different fields in the society. # In 2007, the bank won the Bangladesh Business Awards for being the ‘Best Financial Institution’ mainly for its commitment to technology and community service. # The DBBL received an international award on CSR from Asian Institute of Management, Manila in the 3rd Annual Asian CSR Award ceremony. # Also granted numerous national and international awards for its role in the development of Bangladesh. 7. Recommendations: By knowing & analyzing regular CSR activities of Dutch-Bangla Bank, the bank can easily find out the new field or scope for their CSR activities. DBBL can increase their budget for CSR activity to increase their popularity & market share. They should give more attention for CSR in disaster relief. Because, their CSR on disaster relief is very helpful for the affected poor people. 8. Conclusion: While the Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited is a business enterprise, its Foundation, established in June 2001, is dedicated to working in social arenas with the greatest need, as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR). The Dutch-Bangla Bank Foundation carries out diverse social and philanthropic  activities in the field of education, health, conservation of nature, social awareness, human rehabilitation, and other programs to reduce human suffering. The social commitment of the Dutch-Bangla Bank and the Foundation is clearly reflected in their Vision and Mission. 9. Appendix: Bangladesh Bank annual CSR report 2009 Bangladesh Bank annual CSR report 2010 World CSR survey Annual report of DBBL Documents from Dutch-Bangla bank limited. 10. Bibliography: www.dbbl.com www.wikipedia.com/dutchbanglabank www.ssupport.com www.google.com www.bangladeshbank.org Daily Newspapers

The Crucible By Arthur Miller - 838 Words

Dylan Miller Mr. Brown Period 9 30 November 2015 Mass Hysteria in Salem The Crucible by Arthur Miller in a play based off of the Salem Witch Trials. The play ends with the town in mass hysteria. A girl is struck with lust, an innocent slave is accused, and a man struggles to do the right thing. Three characters that influenced the development of mass hysteria throughout the play are Abigail Williams, Tituba, and John Proctor. Abigail Williams was a beautiful 17 year old girl. She was working as a servant for John and Goody Proctor when she and Proctor had an affair. Proctor realized that what he was doing was wrong. He told Abigail that they needed to end the affair. Proctor stated â€Å"No, no Abby. That is done with† (22). He gently pushed†¦show more content†¦Tituba also contributed to the end result of mass hysteria in the town. Tituba was Parris’ black slave from Barbados. She was known to be skilled in voodoo tricks from her native country. Before she came from Massachusetts, singing and dancing was not seen as being associated with the devil. She was blamed for everything. After Abigail manipulated her into indirectly killing Elizabeth, she knew she would have received punishment. The reason she contributed to chaos in the town was because of Abigail. Abigail was very manipulative, so she was able to make people do things she wanted them to do - not necessarily things they wa nted to do. As a result, Tituba was charged, jailed, and eventually hanged. Chaos started when Abigail lead Tituba into conjuring the devil while they were in the woods. Finally, John Proctor played a major role in the town’s chaos. He stopped going to church, refused to get his second son baptized by Reverend Parris, and would mow the lawn on Sundays. Reverend Hale took time on his own to visit the Proctors. Hale visited them to ask why Proctor had not been attending church on Sundays. Throughout the town, Sundays were to be portrayed as days of rest, and were to be spent at church. However, Proctor did not like Reverend Parris. He did not agree with what he was preaching. Proctor stated â€Å"I have trouble enough without I come five mile to hear him preach only hellfire and bloody damnation†¦ There are many others who stay