Evaluate the Assessments You Have Carried Out, Stating Whether You Believe They Were Fair, Valid and Reliable

Evaluate the assessments you have carried out, stating whether you believe they were fair, valid and reliable. During the Skype assessments I carried out on 2 learners, who are studying the nvq level 2 in customer services. My job was to observe the 2 learners and assess their ability, and then match against the criteria set for the units which I was observing them for. For both of my learners there are a number of assessment methods I have tried, in order to understand their learning ability. From doing these assessments I have understood where my weaknesses, strengths are, along with the learners. Personal Statement I started off by asking them to write in their own words, how do you maintain a positive and customer friendly attitude, and how you communicate effectively with customers? By them completing these personal statements, it gives me an understanding that they know what their job role is. As these two points which they have written about in their words, are the two units. Basically what I have asked them to do is sum up in their own words what they have understood from the units. I believe that by assessing learners through this method, it is a fair, valid, and reliable. This is because I know the learners, and the information which they have written about is valid because it is in their own words, from their own understanding. However there may also by the disadvantage of doing a personal statement. This is because I believe that there may be a possibility that a personal statement could be written by someone else, as there is no validity and proof of this being created by the learner him/herself. However I have followed these personal statements with questions which brought me to the conclusion, that my learner’s personal statement is valid, fair and reliable. Observation I also used the observation method to assess my learners. I asked my learners to carry out tasks which they have to do, in conjunction with their daily work routine. I observed my learners as they made calls externally and internally, which showed me how good their communications skills are. They called customers and discussed issues which they were having, whilst I was observing their quality of assistance. I believe that this method is fair, valid and reliable, because I can see, hear and also take notes whilst they are carrying out the tasks. From my experience I think that this method of assessment is very good as it gives the assessor a wider choice of observing. But at the same time I would say that it also is not so good, as the results may not be correct. Sometimes the learners may not respond accurately, as they may feel embarrassed, they may not feel too well, and there are other various reasons. Oral questions At the end of the assessment, and also during the assessment, I stopped my learners and asked various questions. Sometimes I asked questions relating to what they were speaking of, for example, one of my learners was talking about CRM, and I had no idea regarding this. So I asked her to explain about it. In a similar way I asked them questions relating to the course. I think the assessments are fair, valid and reliable as they are put on the spot, and answering these questions shows their understanding and capability of the course. Written Questions/Case Study As part of the assessment, I sent a couple of questions which they had to answer in a time limit of 20 minutes. These questions were to determine their skills around the course and their practicality of work. I selected these questions from the criteria of the units which I was assessing them on. These questions are knowledge based, which means that they had to answer in detail, explaining their views and choices. In a same way I set a case study for the learners, where I gave them a scenario, and at the end asked them questions regarding the scenario. Whatever the answers were, the learners had to explain why they chose this answers. I believe this method of assessment is fair, valid and reliable, this is because the learners must write answers from their own understanding of the unit. But along with this, many times learners get the feeling to cheat. However I have carried out some questions which made me believe that the answers were valid. Discuss whether the assessments went well and what would you do differently next time I believe that the overall assessment itself went well, as I came to conclusion after carrying out each method of assessment. I asked my learners to do a personal statement, writing in their own words relating to the unit. Although this is a good way to get an understand of the learners ability, I strongly feel that rather, I should ask them the question, and they answer me, which I could then write down. I believe both observations are really good method of assessing the learner, as i just watched and noted what they were doing, and didn’t need to interfere with their task. But I believe that a Skype method may not be so well, as I felt the learner may not have been so comfortable with this. This is because I could see her, where as she could not see what I was doing. This then becomes a barrier to both sides communicating effectively. So I think that next time when an assessment takes place, both sides should be able to see what both sides are doing. I don’t think my oral questions were so good, I believe they were straight forward and easy to answer. This is because I had less time to prepare the actual assessment itself. And I believe that if I had more time then I could have constructed these questions more complex, which then could be more challenging for the learners. I think that next time I plan for these methods of assessments, I should create a good series of questions, which could give me a better understanding of the learner’s knowledge. As for the written question and the case study, although I believe they are strong methods of assessment, as they allow the assessor to evaluate the learner’s knowledge. I also think that sometimes learners may take advantage of being distant and cheat. I believe that these methods of assessments should be carried out whilst the assessor is watching via Skype. Identify any learning points for your own development. From the feedback received from my tutor, I believe there are two main points which need to be developed before the next assessment, as they relate directly to assessments. The first learning and development point that I need to work towards is the grammar and spelling of my work. I need to make sure that all my work is proof read before sending of for marking. Although this has been my weakness, and I have been advised to always keep this in mind. I believe that this happens due to me rushing through everything. So I believe that if take everything one step at a time, it could reduce the grammatical errors. I could also reduce this by always proofreading work, which would highlight the errors. On a development note which has come to me newly, is the selection of words. I have been told by my tutor that the feedback you gave included the term ‘sweet’ to describe the communication of one of the candidates. My tutor advised me that I must be on the safe side and avoid these terms, as they are deemed offensive. I believe that this is true and I could work towards improving this, where next time I should think of the words I select before giving feedback. Explain how you will continue your professional development to ensure current expertise and competence in your own vocational area as well as assessing. I will use my CPD plan in order to ensure that my current expertise and new experiences are brought to real practice. Every time my tutor, or my colleagues who monitors my every lesson gives me feedback on what I can improve, I put that in my personal development plan. I then try and implement those, and once I have achieved this I tick on the plan. For example, I have been informed more than twice by my colleagues to always go back to lesson objective whilst teaching. I also have been informed by my tutor about my grammar and proof reading my work. So I have created a note on my plan, and now that I have put this action into practice I have ticked off this note. Now until I bring proofreading fully into practice, i will not tick this off. I will be using my CPD plan to note any improvements which I need to make, and then as an outcome assess if that objective has been met. I will continue to practice until this objective has been met, and once it has I will tick this objective off. By following this CPD plan, it will enhance me in my expertise and advance my skills.

The College Experience Essay - 713 Words

The College Experience Tomorrow is the first day of what I will become. I wrote this in my diary the night before my first day of college. I was anxious as I imagined the stereotypical college room: intellectual students, in-depth discussions about neat stuff, and of course, a casual professor sporting the tweed jacket with leather elbows. I was also ill as I foresaw myself drowning in a murky pool of reading assignments and finals, hearing a deep, depressing voice ask What can you do with your life? Since then, Ive settled comfortably into the college scene and have treated myself to the myth that Ill hear my calling someday, and that my future will introduce itself to me with a hardy handshake. I cant completely rid my†¦show more content†¦Now Im taking classes, paying dearly for each credit, and hoping that an career will spring from it all like Athena from Zeus. Not a day passes where I dont reexamine my choices, and question myself as to what I would like to do to earn money. Majoring in majo ring has been my motto as Ive thrown myself over a few areas in which I hold interest. Nearing the stage where I must announce a major or two, I can no longer hide with my motto in hand. Perhaps the biggest contributor to my anxiety in this issue is my financial situation. If money were no object and my classes, books, and credits were free, I would be one of the grey-haired, life-long students in the front row. I would accumulate over fifteen degrees ranging from poetry prowess to molecular biology, and I would take my sweet time in doing so. Heck, I might even live in the dorms for a few years. As my bank account will clearly state, along with the decisions of our not-so-benevolant governor, my university education is not so idyllic. Because I am being propelled by financial aid and a scholarship, I feel a painful itch that I must sort through my college education in four or five years or plan to take out a twenty-year loan. Ive heard all the stories about Jackie who switched her major seven times before finally becoming a physicians assistant, or Larry who took eight years to settle on becoming an optician. Ive alsoShow MoreRelatedA College Experience1716 Words   |  7 PagesThe restaurant is quiet, excluding the older women in the back. When the interview starts it is very quiet and awkward, but once she starts to give more and more information about the process of college and the obstacles she overcame, the interview flows naturally. There are many forms of a college experience, there is not caring, there is learning, and there is having fun. Tracy Zalud, current third grade teacher, had a mixture of all of those during her years of attending Illinois State UniversityRead MoreThe Importance Of College Experience In College707 Words   |  3 PagesCollege. What you just read is a pretty scary word to young adults fresh out of high school everywhere. With college comes the responsibility of living on your own and with living on your own comes with doing your own laundry, being responsible for putting food in your mouth, taking care of yourself when you’re sick and bills. Can’t forget those! Those factors that comes with being a freshman in college are pretty terrifying, however, they will be the best years of your life. You find yourself inRead MoreMy College Experience In College763 Words   |  4 PagesGoing to college is a whole knew experience, and it can be scary to some freshman. Going to coll ege can be a great experience or it can not be a great experience it all depends on yourself. Going to college may mean bad eating habits, or there may be a high level of stress. Going to college may mean that it is the first time to be away from home all on your own. There are many aspects of being a freshman in college, and One aspect that every freshman at a university experiences is living on theirRead MoreMy College Experience And My Experience In College922 Words   |  4 Pages When I walked into college for the first time I had various expectations. Some of which were good and some were bad. For instance, after listening to people talk about it, just the thought of going to college was terrifying to even contemplate, but then sometimes it would appear to be impossible. However, after experiencing college firsthand I can say that my expectation and the reality were quite different. Although it can be intimidating, an enormous amount of work, and a considerable amountRead MoreThe Importance Of College Experience In College1782 Words   |  8 Pages While college is often seen as the greatest years of a person’s life, the college experience has proven to be a time of extreme transformation and development. However, given the number of contexts that are influencing students to pursue a postsecondary degree, one’s transformative process can vary significantly from person to person. As a result, colleges must continue to work to develop a greater awareness of the students they are serving, while also considering valuable initiatives that willRead MoreCollege Is A Unique Experience Essay1386 Words   |  6 PagesCollege is a unique experience. Relatively few individuals get to experience this unique opportunity. There is probably no period in your life where you have more choices, more free time, and as wide a range of activities. With this period of time also comes a high level of responsibility. Four steps to help you succeed in college are, managing your time, taking effective notes, studying, utilizing campus resources and having hope.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first step is to learn to manage your time. A goodRead MoreMy College Experience790 Words   |  4 PagesCollege is all of what you make it. You meet many new people, and see many faces. You will start new friendships, and possibly end some that you’ve had for a while; just know that it’s okay when it happens. Friends come and go, especially in this big transition. That’s what the college experience is, one big transition. Whether you are moving to a new city/state or even just moving down the street, college is a whole new chapter. It does pay off to be social in college, but you still need to haveRead MoreMy College Experience705 Words   |  3 PagesI had a lot of experiences in almost four months in USA. Be in college for the first time in my life is one of the most awesome for me. I’ve graduated in Brazil last year, and I was really excited to go to the college for the first time in my life, and f or my surprise wouldn’t be in Brazil, but in USA. This made me feel a lot of feelings. I was nervous, excited, determined, etc. After all bureaucratic process, I finally started my flight and arrived here. I took the first day searching about theRead MoreMy College Experience874 Words   |  4 Pagesof going off to college for the first time, made me a little bit nervous. Would my roommate and I get along, would I make new friends, would I find my way around campus, get to the right classrooms, and grades? Some of my most memorable moments have been meeting my roommate and making new friends. Not only have I met a number of new friends in the dorm, but also in my classes. Together, my new friends and I were soon able to find our way around campus and to the classrooms. College life has been suchRead MoreCollege Is An Experience Of A Lifetime866 Words   |  4 Pages College is an experience of a lifetime when you go to college you have the opportunity to change your whole life around and start over and grow into an adult , you have fun in college you meet new people and embrace your creativity to others an d show them who you really are. College can also be a scary experience but it s all in how you live your life and how you cherish your education and career , it s best that you go to college with a clean mindset with no worries or problems it s best you

De trop - French Expression

Expression: Pronunciation: Meaning: Register: Notes: de trop Tu as ajoutà © un morceau de sucre de trop. Il y a trois livres de trop. Tu bois de trop. Nous avons payà © de trop. De trop vs trop (de): With nouns: de trop trop de adverb of quantity de trop trop de cinq kilos de trop trop de kilos vs un morceau de sucre de trop trop de morceaux de sucre trop de sucre vs With verbs: de trop trop de type of conjugation compound verbs dual-verb conjugations de trop trop Je mange de trop Je mange trop Jai mangà © de trop Jai trop mangà © Il peut sà ©nerver de trop Il peut trop sà ©nerver De trop Je me sentais de trop. Ta remarque à ©tait de trop. De trop More Expressions with deMost common French phrasesFrench expressions used in English

Depth, Desire, Determination, and Disclosure Essay

Depth, Desire, Determination, Disclosure It was just for a second that we exchanged eyes. He stared at me and I stared at him. Then suddenly a chill went into our spines; we both put our eyes down acting like we had seen each other for the very first time, while we were roommates, well at least for ten days. I couldn’t blame him for that and neither could he blame me. Situations were same for all of us-more than fifty people-living together there and sharing the same schedule. Five of us shared the same room; we went to bed at the same time and woke up together at the sound of a common alarm. â€Å"Same room† and yet we were so distant. Nobody ever uttered a word. There was not a single person who had†¦show more content†¦And this was the rightest decision I ever made; those ten days-the most utilized ten days of my life. But what made that journey of self-liberation most memorable was a lesson that I learnt. Like I stated before, the meditators were required to maintain noble silence- the silence of body, speech and mind; so any kind of communication was not possible. I, during that period of ten days, either consciously or unconsciously conjectured what my fellow meditators were in real life, especially my roommates. I even had conversations with them, well in my mind, of course. I accumulated whatever I had known about other people who were similar to my fellow meditators and added those characteristics to the image I had formed about the meditators in my mind; the image which I was sure to be an unequivocal truth. But to my greatest shock, when we were allowed to break our noble silence and even encouraged to speak with each other on the tenth day of the course, my supposition about their behavior was nowhere near to reality. But, I thought, this way the only way I assimilated information about m y surrounding and from today onwards it was officially unviable. And I started thinking about the several times I made the same mistake in the past. From that day on, I really began to see things from different points of view and started looking at things from others’ perspective. IShow MoreRelatedFiber Optic Network For Overall Broadband Systems Essay1422 Words   |  6 Pagesfundamental standards of fiber optics correspondence. Segment III takes a gander at the history and development of fiber optics correspondence while area IV shows some imagined future patterns in fiber optics correspondence. In area V, we reach the determination for the paper. 1.BASIC PRINCIPLES OF FIBER OPTIC COMMUNICATION: Fiber optic communication is a communication technologynthat uses light pulses to transfer information from one point tonanother through an optical fiber. The information transmittednisRead MoreFrederick Douglass Reflection Essay2012 Words   |  9 Pagesreligious. 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The Amber Spyglass Chapter 25 Saint-Jean-Les-Eaux Free Essays

The cataract of Saint-Jean-les-Eaux plunged between pinnacles of rock at the eastern end of a spur of the Alps, and the generating station clung to the side of the mountain above it. It was a wild region, a bleak and battered wilderness, and no one would have built anything there at all had it not been for the promise of driving great anbaric generators with the power of the thousands of tons of water that roared through the gorge. It was the night following Mrs. We will write a custom essay sample on The Amber Spyglass Chapter 25 Saint-Jean-Les-Eaux or any similar topic only for you Order Now Coulter’s arrest, and the weather was stormy. Near the sheer stone front of the generating station, a zeppelin slowed to a hover in the buffeting wind. The searchlights below the craft made it look as if it were standing on several legs of light and gradually lowering itself to lie down. But the pilot wasn’t satisfied; the wind was swept into eddies and cross-gusts by the edges of the mountain. Besides, the cables, the pylons, the transformers were too close: to be swept in among them, with a zeppelin full of inflammable gas, would be instantly fatal. Sleet drummed slantwise at the great rigid envelope of the craft, making a noise that almost drowned the clatter and howl of the straining engines, and obscuring the view of the ground. â€Å"Not here,† the pilot shouted over the noise. â€Å"We’ll go around the spur.† Father MacPhail watched fiercely as the pilot moved the throttle forward and adjusted the trim of the engines. The zeppelin rose with a lurch and moved over the rim of the mountain. Those legs of light suddenly lengthened and seemed to feel their way down the ridge, their lower ends lost in the whirl of sleet and rain. â€Å"You can’t get closer to the station than this?† said the President, leaning forward to let his voice carry to the pilot. â€Å"Not if you want to land,† the pilot said. â€Å"Yes, we want to land. Very well, put us down below the ridge.† The pilot gave orders for the crew to prepare to moor. Since the equipment they were going to unload was heavy as well as delicate, it was important to make the craft secure. The President settled back, tapping his fingers on the arm of his seat, gnawing his lip, but saying nothing and letting the pilot work unflustered. From his hiding place in the transverse bulkheads at the rear of the cabin, Lord Roke watched. Several times during the flight his little shadowy form had passed along behind the metal mesh, clearly visible to anyone who might have looked, if only they had turned their heads; but in order to hear what was happening, he had to come to a place where they could see him. The risk was unavoidable. He edged forward, listening hard through the roar of the engines, the thunder of the hail and sleet, the high-pitched singing of the wind in the wires, and the clatter of booted feet on metal walkways. The flight engineer called some figures to the pilot, who confirmed them, and Lord Roke sank back into the shadows, holding tight to the struts and beams as the airship plunged and tilted. Finally, sensing from the movement that the craft was nearly anchored, he made his way back through the skin of the cabin to the seats on the starboard side. There were men passing through in both directions: crew members, technicians, priests. Many of their daemons were dogs, brimming with curiosity. On the other side of the aisle, Mrs. Coulter sat awake and silent, her golden daemon watching everything from her lap and exuding malice. Lord Roke waited for the chance and then darted across to Mrs. Coulter’s seat, and was up in the shadow of her shoulder in a moment. â€Å"What are they doing?† she murmured. â€Å"Landing. We’re near the generating station.† â€Å"Are you going to stay with me, or work on your own?† she whispered. â€Å"I’ll stay with you. I’ll have to hide under your coat.† She was wearing a heavy sheepskin coat, uncomfortably hot in the heated cabin, but with her hands manacled she couldn’t take it off. â€Å"Go on, now,† she said, looking around, and he darted inside the breast, finding a fur-lined pocket where he could sit securely. The golden monkey tucked Mrs. Coulter’s silk collar inside solicitously, for all the world like a fastidious couturier attending to his favorite model, while all the time making sure that Lord Roke was completely hidden in the folds of the coat. He was just in time. Not a minute later a soldier armed with a rifle came to order Mrs. Coulter out of the airship. â€Å"Must I have these handcuffs on?† she said. â€Å"I haven’t been told to remove them,† he replied. â€Å"On your feet, please.† â€Å"But it’s hard to move if I can’t hold on to things. I’m stiff – I’ve been sitting here for the best part of a day without moving – and you know I haven’t got any weapons, because you searched me. Go and ask the President if it’s really necessary to manacle me. Am I going to try and run away in this wilderness?† Lord Roke was impervious to her charm, but interested in its effect on others. The guard was a young man; they should have sent a grizzled old warrior. â€Å"Well,† said the guard, â€Å"I’m sure you won’t, ma’am, but I can’t do what I en’t been ordered to do. You see that, I’m sure. Please stand up, ma’am, and if you stumble, I’ll catch hold of your arm.† She stood up, and Lord Roke felt her move clumsily forward. She was the most graceful human the Gallivespian had ever seen; this clumsiness was feigned. As they reached the head of the gangway, Lord Roke felt her stumble and cry out in alarm, and felt the jar as the guard’s arm caught her. He heard the change in the sounds around them, too; the howl of the wind, the engines turning over steadily to generate power for the lights, voices from somewhere nearby giving orders. They moved down the gangway, Mrs. Coulter leaning heavily on the guard. She was speaking softly, and Lord Roke could just make out his reply. â€Å"The sergeant, ma’am – over there by the large crate – he’s got the keys. But I daren’t ask him, ma’am, I’m sorry.† â€Å"Oh well,† she said with a pretty sigh of regret. â€Å"Thank you anyway.† Lord Roke heard booted feet moving away over rock, and then she whispered: â€Å"You heard about the keys?† â€Å"Tell me where the sergeant is. I need to know where and how far.† â€Å"About ten of my paces away. To the right. A big man. I can see the keys in a bunch at his waist.† â€Å"No good unless I know which one. Did you see them lock the manacles?† â€Å"Yes. A short, stubby key with black tape wound around it.† Lord Roke climbed down hand over hand in the thick fleece of her coat, until he reached the hem at the level of her knees. There he clung and looked around. They had rigged a floodlight, which made the wet rocks glisten brilliantly. But as he looked down, casting around for shadows, he saw the glare begin to swing sideways in a gust of wind. He heard a shout, and the light went out abruptly. He dropped to the ground at once and sprang through the dashing sleet toward the sergeant, who had lurched forward to try and catch the falling floodlight. In the confusion Lord Roke leapt at the big man’s leg as it swung past him, seized the camouflage cotton of the trousers – heavy and sodden with rain already – and kicked a spur into the flesh just above the boot. The sergeant gave a grunting cry and fell clumsily, grasping his leg, trying to breathe, trying to call out. Lord Roke let go and sprang away from the falling body. No one had noticed: the noise of the wind and the engines and the pounding hail covered the man’s cry, and in the darkness his body couldn’t be seen. But there were others close by, and Lord Roke had to work quickly. He leapt to the fallen man’s side, where the bunch of keys lay in a pool of icy water, and hauled aside the great shafts of steel, as big around as his arm and half as long as he was, till he found the one with the black tape. And then there was the clasp of the key ring to wrestle with, and the perpetual risk of the hail, which for a Gallivespian was deadly: blocks of ice as big as his two fists. And then a voice above him said, â€Å"You all right, Sergeant?† The soldier’s daemon was growling and nuzzling at the sergeant’s, who had fallen into a semi-stupor. Lord Roke couldn’t wait: a spring and a kick, and the other man fell beside the sergeant. Hauling, wrestling, heaving, Lord Roke finally snapped open the key ring, and then he had to lift six other keys out of the way before the black-taped one was free. Any second now they’d get the light back on, but even in the half-dark they could hardly miss two men lying unconscious – And as he hoisted the key out, a shout went up. He hauled up the massive shaft with all the strength he had, tugging, heaving, lifting, crawling, dragging, and hid beside a small boulder just as pounding feet arrived and voices called for light. â€Å"Shot?† â€Å"Didn’t hear a thing – â€Å" â€Å"Are they breathing?† Then the floodlight, secure again, snapped on once more. Lord Roke was caught in the open, as clear as a fox in the headlights of a car. He stood stock-still, his eyes moving left and right, and once he was sure that everyone’s attention was on the two men who had fallen so mysteriously, he hauled the key to his shoulder and ran around the puddles and the boulders until he reached Mrs. Coulter. A second later she had unlocked the handcuffs and lowered them silently to the ground. Lord Roke leapt for the hem of her coat and ran up to her shoulder. â€Å"Where’s the bomb?† he said, close to her ear. â€Å"They’ve just begun to unload it. It’s the big crate on the ground over there. I can’t do anything till they take it out, and even then – â€Å" â€Å"All right,† he said, â€Å"run. Hide yourself. I’ll stay here and watch. Run!† He leapt down to her sleeve and sprang away. Without a sound she moved away from the light, slowly at first so as not to catch the eye of the guard, and then she crouched and ran into the rain-lashed darkness farther up the slope, the golden monkey darting ahead to see the way. Behind her she heard the continuing roar of the engines, the confused shouts, the powerful voice of the President trying to impose some order on the scene. She remembered the long, horrible pain and hallucination that she’d suffered at the spur of the Chevalier Tialys, and didn’t envy the two men their waking up. But soon she was higher up, clambering over the wet rocks, and all she could see behind her was the wavering glow of the floodlight reflected back from the great curved belly of the zeppelin; and presently that went out again, and all she could hear was the engine roar, straining vainly against the wind and the thunder of the cataract below. The engineers from the hydro-anbaric station were struggling over the edge of the gorge to bring a power cable to the bomb. The problem for Mrs. Coulter was not how to get out of this situation alive: that was a secondary matter. The problem was how to get Lyra’s hair out of the bomb before they set it off. Lord Roke had burned the hair from the envelope after her arrest, letting the wind take the ashes away into the night sky; and then he’d found his way to the laboratory and watched as they placed the rest of the little dark golden curl in the resonating chamber in preparation. He knew exactly where it was, and how to open the chamber, but the brilliant light and the glittering surfaces in the laboratory, not to mention the constant coming and going of technicians, made it impossible for him to do anything about it there. So they’d have to remove the lock of hair after the bomb was set up. And that was going to be even harder, because of what the President intended to do with Mrs. Coulter. The energy of the bomb came from cutting the link between human and daemon, and that meant the hideous process of intercision: the cages of mesh, the silver guillotine. He was going to sever the lifelong connection between her and the golden monkey and use the power released by that to destroy her daughter. She and Lyra would perish by the means she herself had invented. It was neat, at least, she thought. Her only hope was Lord Roke. But in their whispered exchanges in the zeppelin, he’d explained about the power of his poison spurs: he couldn’t go on using them continually, because with each sting, the venom weakened. It took a day for the full potency to build up again. Before long his main weapon would lose its force, and then they’d only have their wits. She found an overhanging rock next to the roots of a spruce tree that clung to the side of the gorge, and settled herself beneath it to look around. Behind her and above, over the lip of the ravine and in the full force of the wind, stood the generating station. The engineers were rigging a series of lights to help them bring the cable to the bomb: she could hear their voices not far away, shouting commands, and see the lights wavering through the trees. The cable itself, as thick as a man’s arm, was being hauled from a gigantic reel on a truck at the top of the slope, and at the rate they were edging their way down over the rocks, they’d reach the bomb in five minutes or less. At the zeppelin Father MacPhail had rallied the soldiers. Several men stood guard, looking out into the sleet-filled dark with rifles at the ready, while others opened the wooden crate containing the bomb and made it ready for the cable. Mrs. Coulter could see it clearly in the wash of the floodlights, streaming with rain, an ungainly mass of machinery and wiring slightly tilted on the rocky ground. She heard a high-tension crackle and hum from the lights, whose cables swung in the wind, scattering the rain and throwing shadows up over the rocks and down again, like a grotesque jump rope. Mrs. Coulter was horribly familiar with one part of the structure: the mesh cages, the silver blade above. They stood at one end of the apparatus. The rest of it was strange to her; she could see no principle behind the coils, the jars, the banks of insulators, the lattice of tubing. Nevertheless, somewhere in all that complexity was the little lock of hair on which everything depended. To her left the slope fell away into the dark, and far below was a glimmer of white and a thunder of water from the cataract of Saint-Jean-les-Eaux. There came a cry. A soldier dropped his rifle and stumbled forward, falling to the ground, kicking and thrashing and groaning with pain. In response the President looked up to the sky, put his hands to his mouth, and uttered a piercing yell. What was he doing? A moment later Mrs. Coulter found out. Of all unlikely things, a witch flew down and landed beside the President as he shouted above the wind: â€Å"Search nearby! There is a creature of some kind helping the woman. It’s attacked several of my men already. You can see through the dark. Find it and kill it!† â€Å"There is something coming,† said the witch in a tone that carried clearly to Mrs. Coulter’s shelter. â€Å"I can see it in the north.† â€Å"Never mind that. Find the creature and destroy it,† said the President. â€Å"It can’t be far away. And look for the woman, too.† The witch sprang into the air again. Suddenly the monkey seized Mrs. Coulter’s hand and pointed. There was Lord Roke, lying in the open on a patch of moss. How could they not have seen him? But something had happened, for he wasn’t moving. â€Å"Go and bring him back,† she said, and the monkey, crouching low, darted from one rock to another, making for the little patch of green among the rocks. His golden fur was soon darkened by the rain and plastered close to his body, making him smaller and less easy to see, but all the same he was horribly conspicuous. Father MacPhail, meanwhile, had turned to the bomb again. The engineers from the generating station had brought their cable right down to it, and the technicians were busy securing the clamps and making ready the terminals. Mrs. Coulter wondered what he intended to do, now that his victim had escaped. Then the President turned to look over his shoulder, and she saw his expression. It was so fixed and intense that he looked more like a mask than a man. His lips were moving in prayer, his eyes were turned up wide open as the rain beat into them, and altogether he looked like some gloomy Spanish painting of a saint in the ecstasy of martyrdom. Mrs. Coulter felt a sudden bolt of fear, because she knew exactly what he intended: he was going to sacrifice himself. The bomb would work whether or not she was part of it. Darting from rock to rock, the golden monkey reached Lord Roke. â€Å"My left leg is broken,† said the Gallivespian calmly. â€Å"The last man stepped on me. Listen carefully – â€Å" As the monkey lifted him away from the lights, Lord Roke explained exactly where the resonating chamber was and how to open it. They were practically under the eyes of the soldiers, but step by step, from shadow to shadow, the daemon crept with his little burden. Mrs. Coulter, watching and biting her lip, heard a rush of air and felt a heavy knock – not to her body, but to the tree. An arrow stuck there quivering less than a hand’s breadth from her left arm. At once she rolled away, before the witch could shoot another, and tumbled down the slope toward the monkey. And then everything was happening at once, too quickly: there was a burst of gunfire, and a cloud of acrid smoke billowed across the slope, though she saw no flames. The golden monkey, seeing Mrs. Coulter attacked, set Lord Roke down and sprang to her defense, just as the witch flew down, knife at the ready. Lord Roke pushed himself back against the nearest rock, and Mrs. Coulter grappled directly with the witch. They wrestled furiously among the rocks, while the golden monkey set about tearing all the needles from the witch’s cloud-pine branch. Meanwhile, the President was thrusting his lizard daemon into the smaller of the silver mesh cages. She writhed and screamed and kicked and bit, but he struck her off his hand and slammed the door shut quickly. The technicians were making the final adjustments, checking their meters and gauges. Out of nowhere a seagull flew down with a wild cry and seized the Gallivespian in his claw. It was the witch’s daemon. Lord Roke fought hard, but the bird had him too tightly, and then the witch tore herself from Mrs. Coulter’s grasp, snatched the tattered pine branch, and leapt into the air to join her daemon. Mrs. Coulter hurled herself toward the bomb, feeling the smoke attack her nose and throat like claws: tear gas. The soldiers, most of them, had fallen or stumbled away choking (and where had the gas come from? she wondered), but now, as the wind dispersed it, they were beginning to gather themselves again. The great ribbed belly of the zeppelin bulked over the bomb, straining at its cables in the wind, its silver sides running with moisture. But then a sound from high above made Mrs. Coulter’s ears ring: a scream so high and horrified that even the golden monkey clutched her in fear. And a second later, pitching down in a swirl of white limbs, black silk, and green twigs, the witch fell right at the feet of Father MacPhail, her bones crunching audibly on the rock. Mrs. Coulter darted forward to see if Lord Roke had survived the fall. But the Gallivespian was dead. His right spur was deep in the witch’s neck. The witch herself was still just alive, and her mouth moved shudderingly, saying, â€Å"Something coming – something else – coming – â€Å" It made no sense. The President was already stepping over her body to reach the larger cage. His daemon was running up and down the sides of the other, her little claws making the silver mesh ring, her voice crying for pity. The golden monkey leapt for Father MacPhail, but not to attack: he scrambled up and over the man’s shoulders to reach the complex heart of the wires and the pipe work, the resonating chamber. The President tried to grab him, but Mrs. Coulter seized the man’s arm and tried to pull him back. She couldn’t see: the rain was driving into her eyes, and there was still gas in the air. And all around there was gunfire. What was happening? The floodlights swung in the wind, so that nothing seemed steady, not even the black rocks of the mountainside. The President and Mrs. Coulter fought hand to hand, scratching, punching, tearing, pulling, biting, and she was tired and he was strong; but she was desperate, too, and she might have pulled him away, but part of her was watching her daemon as he manipulated the handles, his fierce black paws snapping the mechanism this way, that way, pulling, twisting, reaching in – Then came a blow to her temple. She fell stunned, and the President broke free and hauled himself bleeding into the cage, dragging the door shut after him. And the monkey had the chamber open – a glass door on heavy hinges, and he was reaching inside – and there was the lock of hair: held between rubber pads in a metal clasp! Still more to undo; and Mrs. Coulter was hauling herself up with shaking hands. She shook the silvery mesh with all her might, looking up at the blade, the sparking terminals, the man inside. The monkey was unscrewing the clasp, and the President, his face a mask of grim exultation, was twisting wires together. There was a flash of intense white, a lashing crack, and the monkey’s form was flung high in the air. With him came a little cloud of gold: was it Lyra’s hair? Was it his own fur? Whatever it was, it blew away at once in the dark. Mrs. Coulter’s right hand had convulsed so tightly that it clung to the mesh, leaving her half-lying, half-hanging, while her head rang and her heart pounded. But something had happened to her sight. A terrible clarity had come over her eyes, the power to see the most tiny details, and they were focused on the one detail in the universe that mattered: stuck to one of the pads of the clasp in the resonating chamber, there was a single dark gold hair. She cried a great wail of anguish, and shook and shook the cage, trying to loosen the hair with the little strength she had left. The President passed his hands over his face, wiping it clear of the rain. His mouth moved as though he were speaking, but she couldn’t hear a word. She tore at the mesh, helpless, and then hurled her whole weight against the machine as he brought two wires together with a spark. In utter silence the brilliant silver blade shot down. Something exploded, somewhere, but Mrs. Coulter was beyond feeling it. There were hands lifting her up: Lord Asriel’s hands. There was nothing to be surprised at anymore; the intention craft stood behind him, poised on the slope and perfectly level. He lifted her in his arms and carried her to the craft, ignoring the gunfire, the billowing smoke, the cries of alarm and confusion. â€Å"Is he dead? Did it go off?† she managed to say. Lord Asriel climbed in beside her, and the snow leopard leapt in, too, the half-stunned monkey in her mouth. Lord Asriel took the controls and the craft sprang at once into the air. Through pain-dazed eyes Mrs. Coulter looked down at the mountain slope. Men were running here and there like ants; some lay dead, while others crawled brokenly over the rocks; the great cable from the generating station snaked down through the chaos, the only purposeful thing in sight, making its way to the glittering bomb, where the President’s body lay crumpled inside the cage. â€Å"Lord Roke?† said Lord Asriel. â€Å"Dead,† she whispered. He pressed a button, and a lance of flame jetted toward the tossing, swaying zeppelin. An instant later the whole airship bloomed into a rose of white fire, engulfing the intention craft, which hung motionless and unharmed in the middle of it. Lord Asriel moved the craft unhurriedly away, and they watched as the blazing zeppelin fell slowly, slowly down on top of the whole scene – bomb, cable, soldiers, and all – and everything began to tumble in a welter of smoke and flames down the mountainside, gathering speed and incinerating the resinous trees as it went, until it plunged into the white waters of the cataract, which whirled it all away into the dark. Lord Asriel touched the controls again and the intention craft began to speed away northward. But Mrs. Coulter couldn’t take her eyes off the scene; she watched behind them for a long time, gazing with tear-filled eyes at the fire, until it was no more than a vertical line of orange scratched on the dark and wreathed in smoke and steam, and then it was nothing. How to cite The Amber Spyglass Chapter 25 Saint-Jean-Les-Eaux, Essay examples

Point of Care Devices for Troponine and Creatinine †Free Sample

Question: Discuss about thePoint of Care Devices for Troponine and Creatinine. Answer: Recommendation for Best Assay Device for Measurement of Troponin The measurement of the cardiac-specific troponins, troponin T (cTnT) and troponin I (cTnI), concentrations in our blood is a fundamental element of the assessment of patients who aresuspected to be having coronary ailments. Point-of-care test devices for assessment of cardiac troponin has the possibility of reducing turnaround time for assay results when comparison is done with core laboratory test methods[i]. Accelerated protocols have paved the way for success of these point-of-care devices in their field. Among the five assay devices for troponin measurement, that is i-Stat Troponin I/Abbott, Triage troponin I/Alere, RAMP troponin I/Response Biomedical Corp, Cardiac Reader Troponin T/Roche and AQT90 Flex troponin I/Radiometer, the recommended device is i-Stat Tropnin I/Abbott due to the number of advantages it has over the other devices. The most desirable feature of this device is that the sample amount 16L required for this device to work is least when compared to other devices. The ability of this device to measure troponin at low concentrations leads to better therapeutic intervention. The technique used by this device is ELISA which is an accurate and highly sensitive test method. The specificity for ELISA is also more in comparison to other techniques[ii]. Heparin, the normal anti-coagulant of blood can be used for preparation of the sample, that makes the process of sample preparation easier[iii]. In order to be implemented properly, any point-of-care device, assessing cardiac troponine, must reduce the turnaround time in a significant manner while not hampering the analytical performance, and on the whole the diagnostic performance. The i-Stat Troponin I/Abbott has the analytical turnaround timeof 10 minutes which is less when compared to the other devices. Recommendation for Best Assay Device for Measurement of Creatinine Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a global health issue as the number of patients suffering from this ailment has doubled in the recent years. Creatinine is the important biochemical marker for assessing functioning of the kidney and this marker is being used across the globe for estimating the glomerular filtration rate (eGFR)[iv]. The assessment of creatinine level in blood has being getting attention in the recent times for aligning the lates methods, like, point-of-care devices, with other techniques[v]. Among the five point-of-care devices for creatinine measurement, that is Reflectron Plus, Piccolo xpress, DRI-CHEM 4000, Pentra C200 and i-STAT, Piccolo xpress is the recommended device that can be used. The preferred type of sample for device is whole blood and Piccolo xpress uses whole blood as the sample type. In addition, this device can also measure creatinine in plasma. Plasma can give results that are more reliable in comparison to whole blood due to the fact that the sample is cleaner[vi]. However, the sample centrifugation requires additional 10 minutes and therefore is not a desirable process for point-of-care devices. The Piccolo xpress has the advantage that the sample is spun to separate out the plasma and as a result measurement of creatinine is carried out on plasma from the sample of whole blood. The centrifugation process of Piccolo xpress gives effectiveness to the device. In spite of the fact that 12 minutes is the time for analysis, the device is recommended as the time includes that required for centrifugation. Reference [i] Bingisser R, Cairns C, Christ M, Hausfater P, Lindahl B, Mair J, Panteghini M, Price C, Venge P. Cardiac troponin: a critical review of the case for point-of-care testing in the ED. The American journal of emergency medicine. 2012 Oct 31;30(8):1639-49. [ii] Gan SD, Patel KR. Enzyme immunoassay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Journal of Investigative Dermatology. 2013 Sep 30;133(9):1-3. [iii] Linkins LA, Dans AL, Moores LK, Bona R, Davidson BL, Schulman S, Crowther M. Treatment and prevention of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia: antithrombotic therapy and prevention of thrombosis: American College of Chest Physicians evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. CHEST Journal. 2012 Feb 1;141(2_suppl):e495S-530S. [iv] Jha V, Garcia-Garcia G, Iseki K, Li Z, Naicker S, Plattner B, Saran R, Wang AY, Yang CW. Chronic kidney disease: global dimension and perspectives. The Lancet. 2013 Jul 26;382(9888):260-72. [v] Shephard MD. Point-of-care testing and creatinine measurement. [vi] Suganda S, Tang L, Carr J, Sun Y, Pounds S, Hayden R. Comparative evaluation of whole blood versus plasma for quantitative detection of cytomegalovirus using an automated system. Diagnostic microbiology and infectious disease. 2016 May 31;85(1):23-5.

The first binary system Essay Example

The first binary system Essay This essay will look at the history of computers, beginning from Stonehenge and going right through to today. It will look at what the future holds for the world of computing and I will try to determine the start of this particular technology. It will go on to discuss the computers of today and more importantly what the future holds for computers. I will try to briefly out line the history of the computer, presenting my findings chronologically. The continuous progression of the computer has lead us to the advanced machines they are today and offer us an insight into the pattern of future developments. Throughout the essay I will include information from a number of different resources, which I will use to explain and analyse my findings. I have traced the first findings of computer science back to many years ago when man still dwelled in caves. The religious and animalistic traditions of early man required instruments to calculate particular religious dates. From this Shamanistic traditions man created a primitive calculating device, counting notches on sticks or marks on walls. This primitive technique evolved and big Stonehenge structures were erected, these can still be seen today in Salisbury England. The enormous structures are today monuments of mans desire to calculate and compute information. Over on the other side of the globe in china the abacus was born. The abacus aided the calculation process and therefore must be considered a computing device. The way the abacus works shares similarities with the dictionaries definition of a computer. This is the place value notion and the retrieve and store method mentioned in the dictionary. Twelve centuries later, an 18-year-old taxpayers son invented a numerical wheel to help his father calculate tax. The device was called a Pacaline named after its creator. The problem with the Pascalator is that it could only be repaired by Pascaline. This resulted in job loss and techno phobia which still occurs today. The device was later improved and can still be found today in water meters and modern day odometers. We will write a custom essay sample on The first binary system specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The first binary system specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The first binary system specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The real beginning of the computer as we know them today is a result of the English mathematician Charles Babbage. He hoped there would one day be an automated computer powered by steam. It was never constructed, but outlined the elements of the modern day general-purpose computer. Babbages computer was a real analytical engine, it had built in control and allowed instructions to be represented in specific order, rather then numerical order. An American inventor set a task to create a faster computer using the jacquard loom concept. The computing process used cards to store dates, this differed from previous methods, which used cards to instruct the computer. This system enabled the computer to work faster, store more information, and resulted in fewer errors. The creator Hollerith brought his machine, known as the punch card reader, in to the business world. The company later became the International Business Machine or IBM. The punch card system become very popular in the 60s and was used by business and the government. Holleriths machine was limited to certain tabulation and could not accommodate more complex forms. The first binary system was developed by a German in 1941. The binary system was a programmable computer design composed of zeros and ones. The binary representation proved important in the design of modern day computers.  The punch card machine became so well established and reliable, that Howard Aiken collaborated with the engineers at IBM and refined the IBMs standard automated computer to build the Howard Mark 1. The Mark 1 remained in use until 1959, even thought other machines had surpassed it in performance. It provided vital calculations for the navy in world war two. Meanwhile over in Great Britain a mathematician named Alan turning wrote a paper called Computable numbers. Alan Turnings paper described a hypothetical device that presaged programmable computers. The Turning machine was designed to perform logical operations and could read, write, or erase symbols that were written on squares of a infinite paper tape. The purpose of turnings paper was not to invent a computer but rather to describe problems that are logically possible to solve. Turnings hypothetical machine has characteristics that resemble modern day computers. The hypothetical machines memory allows it to read, write, and erase data, just like modern day RAM. Back in America the Havard Mark 1 was highly successful opening doors for further developments by Americans computer giants. The second contribution to the computing world was the ENIAC or electrical Numerical integrator. ENIAC is generally considered to be the first successful high speed digital computer and was used from 1946 to 1955.