Effective Presentations Essay Example for Free

Effective Presentations Essay Presentation is used to summarize, defend or even argue important ideas to an audience. Thus, the beginning of the presentation gains the attention of audiences and establishes its purpose. Selecting the context, designing the learning experience and producing efficient, effective and appealing presentation can be easy though it is the hardest part (Courses Surveys, 1977). To produce an appealing presentation, one should keep the design short and simple in order to produce effective design. The color should be used to emphasize a word or use a transition to disclose the answer to a question. The designer should evade the confusion. It is better off to have extra white space than having irrelevant piece of clipart that can be distracting. Fewer words should be chosen rather than more words and use closely cropped photographs than cluttered distance shot (Courses Surveys, 1977). The viewers should be kept focused and interested. This can be done by using key phrases and including only essential information. The word should be limited and simplified and avoid using of much bullets per slides. The presentation should be easy to follow by keeping the important information visible. The punctuation and font case should be considered. For instance, use of all caps makes the statements more difficult to read. The font size and type used should be simple and easy to read. Thus the designer should avoid using fancy and script fonts as they are hard to read on the screen. The font type and size should be visible to the audience and uniform throughout the presentation (Courses Surveys, 1977). Consequently, the background colors and that of the text should be contrasting. It is preferred to use dark text on a light background. Color should be toned down to make the light colors easy on the eyes. Patterned or textured backgrounds reduce readability of the text. The color scheme used should remain consistent throughout the presentation. In addition to that, when using a theme or template for a design, it should be appropriate to the audience. Therefore, a layout should be straightforward and clean if the design is aimed for business and if aimed the audience to be young children, it should be full of colors and variety of shapes (Courses Surveys, 1977). The number of slides should be limited to ensure that the presentation will not be too long and drawn out. This prevents the problem of continually changing the slides during the presentation which can be a distraction to the audience or viewers. For the presentation to be effective and more attracting there should be a combination of photos, charts, graphs and even embedded digitalized video with text to add variety and keep the presentation interested to the viewers. In addition, excessive use of animation and transition should be avoided. This is because the audience can be distracted by too much of the transitions and animation bearing in mind that slide shows is meant to be a visual aid but not a focus of the presentation. Also animation should be consistent in the presentation by using of animation schemes and the same transitions should be used throughout the presentation (Courses Surveys, 1977). Finally, the designer or rather the presenter should make sure that his/her presentation can run on any computers. This can be done by using PowerPoint’s package for CD or Pack and Go features when burning the presentation to CD. This will facilitate the presentation to be viewed by much audience. Summarily therefore, an effective and efficient presentation is usually planned, organized, and tailored to a specific audience to help facilitate the behavior change, desired by the presenter. Presentations always engage face-to-face communication and can be made on a one-to-one basis or can be given to a very large group (Courses Surveys, 1977). References Courses, E. Surveys, T. (1977) The Computer for the Professional: Effective Presentations Microsoft ® PowerPoint ® tutorial, Preparing Presentation Slides Tutorial, Presenting Effective Charts and Graphs Tutorial, and 8 Secrets to a Knockout Business Presentation, New York: Prentice Hall.

Understanding Disabilities :: Personal Narrative Writing

You don't have to work too hard to find places where your awareness of disabilities helps you see things clearly and understand more about your own world. I'm interested in art and I'm working at the Museum in town this summer. I'm helping develop an education program that will interest younger kids in the museum's collection. I have been looking everywhere to find out how to get kids to look at paintings that otherwise might not interest them at all. I saw something on the Internet which I thought would give me some ideas. It is a Web site created by Tom March called "2 Views 4 U." He uses questions to get the viewer to compare sets of interestingly matched paintings. I especially liked his combination of "The Scream" by Edvard Munch and VanGogh's "Corridor in the Asylum." March tries to get the viewer to define mental illness by comparing the two painters' interpretations of it. He starts out by asking us to think about the two titles of the paintings and he draws us into examining how each of the painters uses repetitions, shapes, lines, color, and patterns to represent his view of mental illness. I think he does something positive for art and disability by insisting that we look for "cool things" that attract us to each painting. March asks us if it is more disturbing for us to see a person who is mentally ill or to see through the eyes of someone who is disabled. What he is really asking is whether Munch or Van Gogh communicates the feelings of mental illness best. My experience with the Disabilities Awareness Newsletter has given me a good perspective on this question. Getting to know kids with disabilities through my connection with this Newsletter has increased my respect for letting people with disabilities tell their own story. I have understood more about disabilities by just listening than I could ever have imagined. It has been like looking at a piece of art work painted by a person with a disability.

Language and Memory Essay

Language is the medium of communication. It can be verbal or written, making use of different conventional symbols and sounds. All social creatures on Earth have their own languages such as bees, ants, and apes. Human language is the most complicated of all because of speech. It is an evolving process of signs and symbols. It consists of different elements such as phonemes, syllables, words, grammatical categories, sentences, discourses, and many more. One of the characteristics of language is that it is symbolic. It makes use of symbols like pictures, diagrams, letters, numbers, and alike. Examples of this characteristic of language involve the hieroglyphics of ancient Egypt and the ancient symbols of the Mayans. Thus, it is important for humans to be able to understand and memorize the symbols in order to establish communication. Memory plays an important role in the process of language. It is the faculty of the mind which stores knowledge, previous thoughts, impression or events. Every word that is used, whether in isolation or used in a sentence has a meaning and that is stored in our brains (Kutas, et al, 2000). There are different types of memory. The first one is the short-term memory which recalls events that happened from a few seconds to a less than a minute ago. Long-term memory, on the other hand, is a stronger memory, which can recall events a few minutes after it happened. Episodic memory is responsible for personal experiences. Since language is composed of symbols and sounds, the human brain acts as a catalog of these symbols and their corresponding meanings. This is called semantic memory (â€Å"Types†, n.d.). Nature and Function of Semantic Memory Semantic memory is essential in language. It consists of independent ideas. These consist of information such as the location of the Great Wall, the shape of an apple, or the colors of the rainbow. Semantic memory organizes ideas and assigns them to words and language, which are essential in establishing communication. In a book entitled, â€Å"Essentials of Human Memory† written by Alan D. Baddeley, semantic memory does not actually mean an association between words (1999). Baddeley pointed out that semantic memory is actually concerned with concepts or ideas, having relation to words but are not words themselves. He argued that much of the information stored in the semantic system consists of perceptions and acquired knowledge. It is mainly a collection of experiences, more than what words can convey (p. 157). There are many views as to the nature of semantic memory. Baddeley quoted a number of psychologists that have their own theories. Roger Brown and Eric Lenneberg described the nature of semantic memory using colors. According to them, focal colors, or colors that have short names are easier to remember such as red, blue and green. The findings support the Whorfian hypothesis, which states that shorter words can easily be remembered (157). Functions of Language Language is a medium of expression that can either be spoken or written. According to Patrick Lockerby, language is â€Å"a coding system and a means by which information may be transmitted or shared between two or more communicators for purposes of command, instruction or play† (2009). Language has many functions but can be simplified into three. The first is the informative language function. This is essential in communication and channeling of information. It is used to describe the world or ideas towards it. This function involves statements with value or truth. The second is expressive language function. Here, language is used as a medium of feelings and attitudes. Examples of this are poetry and prose. There are two aspects in this function of language. These are evoking certain feelings and expressing feelings. The third function of language is called the directive language function. It is commonly found in requests or commands. It is not normally regarded to as true or false. There are other functions of language aside from the three basic functions. The ceremonial language, for example, is used in a way that it mixes the expressive and the directive language for the use of performance. The statement â€Å"I do† in a marriage is an example of performative utterances denoting action. There is also phallic language where there is a transition from spoken language to body language (â€Å"Functions, n.d†.). Stages of Production Basically, the process of language production begins at the source of the information, which is the sender. The message is conceptualized and then encoded to linguistic form, which involves the usage of words and sentences. The linguistic form is then encoded to speech. Speech is the one responsible for delivering the encoded information to the listener through sound. The sound is decoded by the listener into its linguistic form, which is then decoded to its original meaning (â€Å"Language†, n.d.). Memory and Language Bruce A. Crosson and Bruce Crosson discussed the relationship between language and memory in their book, â€Å"Subcortical Functions in Language and Memory†. Before any information is stored in the long term memory, it must first be converted to linguistic system with semantic characteristics. Thus, the ability to retrieve verbal memory of a certain entity is dependent on how the represented entity is accessed. This supports the importance of language since it is dependent on verbal memory (1992). Moreover, meanings or words and symbols are stored in the semantic memory. An evidence of this is the ability to develop one’s vocabulary (325). There are also studies which suggest a significant relationship between the semantic memory and language. A study by Marta Kutas and Kara D. Federmeier proved that semantic memory plays a role in language comprehension as revealed by electrophysiology. An electrophysiological brain component called the N400 reveals the nature and timing of an active semantic memory during language comprehension. Results show that sentence processing is influenced by the organization of semantic memory. In the left hemisphere, the semantic memory appears to pre-activate the meaning of forthcoming words (2000). The relationship between memory and language was studied by Viorica Marian and Margarita Kaushanskaya. Their study involved testing accessibility of general knowledge across two languages in bilinguals. Mandarin–English speakers were asked questions such as â€Å"name a statue of someone standing with a raised arm while looking into the distance†. The respondents were likely to answer Statute of Liberty for the English speakers and Statute of Mao for the Mandarin speakers. When the accuracy of the answers was measured, it showed that language-dependent memory has an effect on both languages. In measuring the speed of answering was measured, it showed that only the bilinguals’ more proficient language is the only ones affected by language-dependent memory (2007). The results of this study suggest that there is a strong relationship between memory and language. Also, linguistic context at the time of learning may become integrated into memory content. Conclusion In conclusion, language plays a very important role in communication and learning. It represents ideas, thoughts and attitudes that are embedded in the linguistic system. Language also has many different functions. Basically, these functions are informative, expressive, and directive. Memory and language are closely related. As mentioned before, any information, before, entering to the long term memory must be converted to a linguistic system first. Semantic memory thus, is significant in language production since the information in the verbal memory is dependent on how to access its representations. References Baddeley, A. D. (1999). â€Å"Essentials of Human Memory†. The Psychology Press, Ltd. â€Å"Common Forms and Functions of Language† (n.d.). Introduction to Logic. Retrieved 16 May 2010 from http://philosophy.lander.edu/logic/form_lang.html. Crosson, B. A., & Crosson, B. (1992). â€Å"Subcortical Functions in Language and Memory†. New York, New York: The Guilford Press. Kutas, Mand & Federmeier, K. D. (2000). â€Å"Electrophysiology Reveals Semantic Memory use in Language Comprehension†. Trends in Cognitiv Sciences, 4 (12). â€Å"Language Production†. (n.d.) Wikepedia. Retrieved 16 May 2010 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_production. Lockerby, P (n.d.). â€Å"What is Language?†. The Chatter Box. Retrieved 16 May 2010 from http://www.scientificblogging.com/chatter_box/blog/what_language. Marian, V. & Kaushanskaya, M. (2007). â€Å"Language Context Guides Memory Content†. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review. 14 (5), 925-933.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Types of Memory†, (n.d.). Brain Training Software. Retrieved 16 May 2010 from http://www.positscience.com/about-the-brain/brain-facts/types-of-memory.

Health Reform An Integral Part Of Economic Recovery

Health reform constitutes our most important domestic priority and is an integral part of economic recovery. Since 2000, health insurance premiums have almost doubled, growing three times faster than wages. This means foregone opportunities for chronic disease management and prevention. As the American economy continues to transform, it is expected that fewer and fewer employers will offer coverage. From 2003 to 2007, the number of â€Å"under-insured† families – those who pay for coverage but are unprotected against high costs – rose by 60 percent. We have by far the most expensive health system in the world. We spend 50 percent more per person than the average developed country -- spending more on health care than housing or food.†¦show more content†¦A 21st century strategy for health reform in the United States must harness the commitment of all Americans and the power and resources of all sectors of society. It must involve both social and pe rsonal responsibility to achieve a healthier United States. All Americans should be able to live in communities in which they can achieve the best of health and well-being, receive high quality, effective, and compassionate care when it is needed, and be protected from economic hardship due to medical expenses. Now is the time for individuals, families, schools, businesses, health care providers, scientists, foundations, and the government to work together to move our nation and world towards a healthier, more secure and prosperous future (Blumenthal Cortese, 2011). For that reason, the following initiatives should go into the planning and designing of our 21st century healthcare systems. First, ensuring public health agencies are able to receive and share information with healthcare professionals by using certified electronic health record (EHR) technology. EHRs can improve public and population health outcomes. By efficiently collecting data in a form that can be shared acro ss multiple health care organizations and leveraged for quality improvement and prevention activities. By making it easier for organizations to collect standardized, systematic data will improve reporting capabilities. With more and better data