Do Language Help Mould the Way We Think

Do language help mould the way we think? If we all spoke the same language, would we think in the same way? Discuss the issue using examples, details, and your personal experiences of English and your native language. Language is the tool for all of people around the world to communicate with each other; it is a product of human’s creativity which we can consider as the first evolution for the human kind. However, in different place, people use different languages which are differed in many ways: structure, pronunciation, meaning, and way of writing.Base on the Sapir-Whorf theory, language help mould the way we think; specially, the language habits of community. According to my way of thought, the way we think are affected by lots of different things; like education, family’s condition, environment, friends, traditions, †¦ . So, it do that language help to mould the way we think but we would hardly think in the same way even we spoke the same language. By evidence, in Vietnam, we all speak Vietnamese but there are still many different ideas which came out by different people when they are asked about the same topic.To be specific, they have been ask about the globalization, one said that it is all good for Vietnam on the way of development and it would be a big step for Vietnam to reach the high and stable economic which developed countries reached after globalization; others complained that it would make Vietnam losing many tradition and that the young people who are the future of our country would be affected and turned to support the tradition of foreign country; and others said that it would be fine to globalization with a good preparing and controlling by laws and media.Another evidence to prove that issue is that many young people in Vietnam studying English, some of them are really good and are to the levels that they can speak English fluently as American, but they still think in different way with the American. We can see it quite cl ear when we observe the cooperation between Vietnamese and American for example, they usually struggling with different thought about the way of working, the method that Vietnamese use to achieve the purpose usually softly and indirectly, on the other hand, American partners prefer strong and direct way of working.According to Chomsky (1983), language is considered as one aspect of cognition and its development as one aspect of the development of cognition; which means that language is important for people to mould the way of thinking but it’s just one of many aspects that we have to stable the way we think.Besides, a research of Somayyeh Sabah, a doctor from Islamic Azad University, said: â€Å"The relationship between language and thought is not generally posed in the hope that someone will come up with a definite answer†, it shows that even there are times that two or more people who use the same language have same answer or idea, they still indefinitely think in th e same way.For all of evidence that we have consider above, we can conclude that human are separated and each have their own way of thought, and that make the world’s diversity as well as help the world develop. In that process, language help us a lot to build the idea but it is not the only one; so, even we all spoke a same language, there still no chance that we have the same way of thought.

Analysis of Chocolat

Analysis of Chocolat In this extract from Chocolat by Joanne Harris, a mother and her young daughter, Anouk, have just arrived at Lansquenet-sous-Tannes, a small village in France. The story is told from the mother’s point of view in the first person. Only at the end of the scene – when a man asks â€Å"On holiday, Madame? † – we discover that the narrator is a woman. It is carnival time. The narrator describes the excitement of the participants using the senses. For example, the atmosphere is full of smells of foods which sound really good; â€Å"pancakes and sausages and powdery-sweet waffles† contrast with the cold of the winter.In the same way, the woman appeals to the sense of sight to describe the decorated carts which remind to some fairy tales; for instance, â€Å"a gingerbread house all icing and gilded cardboard† calls to mind Hansel and Gretel. Then, she compares the carnival with others that both she and her daughter have seen. â €Å"A procession of two hundred and fifty of the decorated chars in Paris last Mardi Gras, a hundred and eighty in New York, [†¦] drum majorettes with batons spinning and sparkling† tells us that the carnival itself is something typical of their lives.In this case, it can represent the new beginning in the new town. It also means that they have travelled a lot. Moreover, when Anouk asks her mother â€Å"Are we staying? † we understand that the child likes so much the new village that she wants to stay there. In contrast with the carts of the carnival, which are colourful and expressive, the houses of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes â€Å"leaning secretively together†. Only people have secrets, not the houses, so the author uses a metaphor to suggest something sinister about the place and probably to stimulate the interest of the readers.The small village looks apparently perfect. â€Å"There is no police station at Lansquenet-sous-Tannes, therefore no crime† means that people think that there are no crimes, but this does not convince the woman. â€Å"But for now everything is blurred†. There is also a strong presence of the church and of the religion in general. For example, the church is described as â€Å"aggressively whitewashed†; similarly, the priest is seen as â€Å"a black figure† who is compared to the Plague Doctor.The priest is also described with a â€Å"rigid stance† and â€Å"pale eyes† which confirms the idea of an unfriendly person. All the other residents are characterized in two different ways. On the one hand, there are the adults, who look suspiciously and with curiosity to the two protagonists. As the text says, â€Å"tourists are a rarity†. The sentence â€Å"I feel their eyes upon us† emphasizes the fact that the woman and her daughter are observed. On the other hand, the children transmit colour and vitality.For instance, the clothing of the adults are â€Å"brown, black or grey†; the children, instead, â€Å"flying colours of red and lime-green and yellow, seem like a different race†. The author uses a lot of adjectives, which add many details to the descriptions. For example, when the woman talks about her daughter, she says â€Å"her eyes, which are the blue-green of the Earth seen from a great height, shining†. This also helps us to understand the close relationship between the two characters.

Analysis of Consumer Behaviour in Relation to the Product - services

Purchasing an important car like Austin Mini Cooper can be afforded best by the lavish mod-con segment of people. According to the theory of reasoned action, prudent traditionalists can be considered as the least likely consumers for the product. According to the theory of reasoned action, the product can be brought by people from middle to higher income group (Cohen, Prayag & Moital, 2014). A country which has higher GDP and the lifestyle of the people is very privileged can easily afford the product or car like Austin Mini Cooper. Thus, for people belonging to a progressive state can very conveniently afford the product. The most likely buyers for going to a local cafe for the regular breakfast and coffee are the group of progressive cosmopolitan. The least likely buyers who would go to local cafe for breakfast and coffee on a regular basis are the prudent traditionalist. In accordance with the factors such as the concern regarding limiting everyday's expenditure by people affects the buyer behaviour of the customer (East, Wright & Vanhuele, 2013).   A state where the people are more progressive and the lifestyle is very much hectic, people do not have time to prepare their own breakfast and have the habit of rushing for work. In those scenarios, the people of the state would prefer to have regular coffee and breakfast on a daily basis at a local cafe. The most likely buyer or consumer who would join a gym and fitness centre includes the progressive cosmopolitan as these sections of people prefer to accept progressive things in life and love to remain updated with the lifestyle. For this section of consumers, the social factors play an important role it eh buying behaviour (Foxall, 2014). These would include the perception of the society towards their outlook regarding their health and fitness in order to always be presentable in the social gatherings. The least likely group of consumers regarding this subject are the anti-establishment firebrand. This tribe of people does not need a life that is organized or predictable. For them, the psychological behaviour comes into play while buying the service or product as they basically do not care what people think of them or their appearances. Therefore, these sections of people have the least possibility to go to the gym for their fitness (Horner & Swarbrooke, 2016). The most likely consumer for buying beers from the local bottle shop and watching footie at home would include the anti-establishment firebrand. According to the motivation need theory, this section of the Australians find their needs to be fulfilled by enjoying their beers in their home environment and they do not consider faring well with other people. Thus, they would enjoy having their own space with their sort of relaxation and entertainment in their own way without any outside interference (Schiffman, et al., 2013). The least likely tribe to buy beers from a local shop and watching footie at home is the lavish mod-con as these groups of people will look forward to maintaining their social status and image by being in the finer places and situations. Thus, they will not opt for going to shop for beer at a local shop rather would opt to go to high-class clubs. In this case, the social factors play an important role in the buying behaviour of the lavish mod-con tribe (Schà ¼tte & Ciarlante, 2016). The most likely consumer tribe who would order food online through the providers like Panda Food or Menu log, etc are the progressive cosmopolitan as they prefer exploring changes and privileges. They relish the initiatives and facilities that they can get.   while the least likely tribe to farewell regarding online food ordering through various services are the ambitious savers as they watch every spending and expenditure who would prefer to prepare their own food in order to save money (Solomon, Russell-Bennett & Previte, 2013). In this case of ambitious savers, their behaviour towards saving money is affecting their decision regarding not buying food through online ordering. For the services like installing renewable energy like solar panels in the houses, the most likely consumer base would be ambitious savers as they would prefer to save energy and opt for renewable sources of energy in order to save expenditures. The psychological  Ã‚   factors along with the   Maslow hierarchy need theory is having a significant role in the buying behaviour of the ambitious savers as their needs regarding the obtainment of energy along with saving money, both are being satisfied (Wikstrà ¶m, et al., 2014). The least likely consumers group for availing the renewable energy like solar panels are the lavish mod-on as they do not think regarding the minimizing expenditures. The social conditioning factors play an important role for the lavish tribe as they need to have the best of luxuries and therefore, would not consider the ways to minimize energy and money use. The most likely consumer base for buying home ware products at DIY hardware stores like Bunnings are the activist egalitarians as their psychological factors relating to the traditions dominate their decision making of purchase (Schà ¼tte & Ciarlante, 2016). They are not impressed by the luxuries around them and would rather opt for buying products that they require from the DIY hardware stores. The least likely consumer base for buying products from the DIY stores is the lavish mod-con. Shopping at Big W would have the progressive cosmopolitan the most as they embrace multiculturalism and love to be around the multiculturalism spaces.   The least likely consumer base who would opt to shop at Big W is the disillusioned pessimists. The psychological factors play an important role in their buying behaviour as they have pessimist feelings regarding everything (Wikstrà ¶m, et al., 2014). They would not appreciate the offers that would be available at the store. The most likely consumer base for availing food services at fast food restaurants like McDonalds and KFC are the progressive cosmopolitan on which their psychological belief regarding availing all the privileges and services that a city has to offer them. These people believe in embracing every aspect of a progressive state. the least likely consumer base to avail the food services at fast food restaurants like KFC   and McDonalds are the ambitious savers who would have the their sense of saving money to consider which influences theory buying behaviour. Playing a poker machine at our local RSL or League's club on a regular basis will attract a consumer base like the lavish mod-con as their social and psychological factors to have the best and refined things and luxuries of life would attract them to have this privilege (Horner & Swarbrooke, 2016). The least likely consumer base for the service would be ambitious saver who would not prefer spending their money on these luxuries which would not let them gain anything tangible in return. Cohen, S.A., Prayag, G. and Moital, M., 2014. Consumer behaviour in tourism: Concepts, influences and opportunities.  Current Issues in Tourism,  17(10), pp.872-909. East, R., Wright, M. and Vanhuele, M., 2013.  Consumer behaviour: applications in marketing. Sage. Foxall, G.R., 2014.  Consumer Behaviour (RLE Consumer Behaviour): A Practical Guide  (Vol. 3). Routledge. Horner, S. and Swarbrooke, J., 2016.  Consumer behaviour in tourism. Routledge. Schiffman, L., O'Cass, A., Paladino, A. and Carlson, J., 2013.  Consumer behaviour. Pearson Higher Education AU. Schà ¼tte, H. and Ciarlante, D., 2016.  Consumer behaviour in Asia. Springer. Solomon, M.R., Russell-Bennett, R. and Previte, J., 2013.  Consumer behaviour: Buying, having, being. Pearson Australia. Wikstrà ¶m, F., Williams, H., Verghese, K. and Clune, S., 2014. The influence of packaging attributes on consumer behaviour in food-packaging life cycle assessment studies-a neglected topic.  Journal of Cleaner Production,  73, pp.100-108.

Packaging and Pricing Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Packaging and Pricing Strategy - Essay Example Concepts have helped to make Lowes Home Improvement Stores the second largest home improvement retailer in the world today.(Fortune, 2008) Lowes constant drive toward market branding has influenced and helped many manufacturers to improve their individual products. One firm that has successfully integrated into the Lowes paradigm is Green Fiber. Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse is an American-based chain of retail home improvement and appliance stores. The Mooresville, North Carolina-based chain has grown from a tiny hardware store into the world’s second-largest home improvement retailer.(Fortune, 2008) Lowe’s is ranked 48 in the 2008 Fortune 500 Largest Corporations in America. (Fortune, 2008) The company has grown nationwide and today, its stores offer around 40,000 products in stock and even more products are available through their Special Order Service.(Lowes, 2013) One of unique branding success stories within the Lowes family is Green Fiber. Green Fiber has developed the capacity to turn what has previously been an environmental "problem" into a major commodity in the building products industry. Green Fibers natural fiber insulation offers a substantial environmental benefit: made from 85 percent recycled paper fiber, Green Fiber insulation products divert millions of tons of paper from landfill each year.(Green Fiber, 2013) As a natural fiber blow-in insulation made with no harmful chemicals, Green Fiber insulation products provide a safe option for builders and DIY homeowners that wish to improve the efficiency of their home insulation without introducing chemically treated materials.(Green Fiber, 2013) Green Fiber Cellulose Insulation provides a smart environmentally-friendly choice for home upgrades and new construction. Cellulose insulation is a cost-effective alternative to conventional fiberglass insulation.

(ZPICS), (RAC) and Healthcare Fraud Waste and Abuse Research Paper

(ZPICS), (RAC) and Healthcare Fraud Waste and Abuse - Research Paper Example Fundamentally, the practice of auditing started with the concept of oversight in which conventional Medicare auditing commenced with the practice of peer review organizations, commonly known as quality improvement organizations (QIOs) as was formerly established in 1982; and this program was designed to improve both efficiency and quality of Medicare services to the relevant patients; after this enactment, four major areas of Medicare were chosen for the purpose of scrutiny: care transitions, beneficiary protection, prevention and patient safety ((Blumen and Lenderman, 2010). the important legislation in the form of Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) was signed by George W. Bush on December 8, 2003 (About CMS, n.d.). In the following parts of this paper, first, background information has been provided in which basic information about healthcare system, fraud and abuse definitions have been given. It is followed by development segment in which more detailed view of the ZPICS and RACS ha ve been included. Subsequent to that, the HEAT uses have been elaborated in which examples pertaining to HEAT program and efficiency for delivering or satisfying the ultimate objectives of CMS. After this segment, impact section has been included in which the practical effort of these programs on the ground practices has been detailed. Before the summary part, strengths and weaknesses of these programs with regard to fraud, abuse and waste have been elucidated.

United States and Mexico's Collaboration Against Mexican Drug Cartels Essay

United States and Mexico's Collaboration Against Mexican Drug Cartels - Essay Example The main role of U.S. has been the supply of funding and intelligence to the Mexican authorities that support their domestic efforts in fighting the cartels. However, there have emerged cracks in this co-operation since it is becoming apparent that the two nations have divergent objectives in the fight (Stewart). While the Mexican government would like to eliminate or at least control the scourge at home, the U.S. government is more concerned with protecting her borders. In addition, some of the moves made in the U.S. such as the decriminalization of Marijuana are calling to question their commitment to the war and the extent to which they are willing to help fight the scourge. This paper will examine the efforts of these two neighboring States to combat jointly the drug cartels, with emphasis on the role of the U.S. in the partnership as well as how its actions weigh in on the fight. The U.S. drug strategy for Mexico is grounded on three principles, which are co-operation, containme nt, and willingness to take the responsibility for the problem (Walser 5). The co-operation between the two countries received a major shot in the arm when the former president Bush and Coldiron signed the Merida initiative that designated over $1, 4 billion dollars into Mexico and other South American nations. The idea  behind these funding was with the mandate to destroy the grip of organized crime in the regions (ONeil 64). In the recent past, the U.S has sent thousands of military personnel in Mexico to aid in training laws law enforcement agencies, they have also deployed drones to collect intelligence about the drugs crimes run-on sentence. In addition, over $3 billion is used in patrolling the U.S border to reduce the incidences of drugs being illegally brought into the United States.

Impact of culture on globalization strategies Essay - 1

Impact of culture on globalization strategies - Essay Example Accordingly, Manrodt & Vitasek (2004, 3) averred that â€Å"the literature is clear that global and transnational firms can benefit from a coordinated and integrated management of their key processes.† The complexity of managing global processes on a wider scale is eminent taking into account obstacles including â€Å"language, customs, current standards, education levels, and government regulations. Increased competition, demanding customers, and constantly changing business environments have forced management to seek radically different ways for their companies to succeed in the marketplace.† (Manrodt & Vitasek, 2004, 3) The authors opted to utilize two methods in to achieve their objective. The first method is the use of comprehensive literature on the subject of global process standardization. The second method comprised of an in-depth case study of an actual organization, the Modus Media International, Inc. (Modus) identified as a â€Å"leader linking metrics from strategy to the plant level across its 23 manufacturing/distribution facilities.† (Manrodt & Vitasek, 2004, 4) The study that was conducted interviewed senior management to line managers using structured standardized questions on Modus’s process management standardization practices. Manrodt & Vitasek formulated a framework for standardizing global processes enumerating six critical steps, to wit: articulate a strategy; adopt a process review of logistics; identification of key segments, processes and process attributes; determination of impact to customers; selection of improvement of key segments; and identification and training of the global segment owner. A background on the company and the case was initially provided. A supply chain conditioning maturity profile was designed to indicate each of the processes which had several attributes that helped employees determine their level

Islamic Terrorism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Islamic Terrorism - Research Paper Example But the attacks reveal more hatred for Western culture and intolerance towards other religion than any such religious preaching. Moreover misinterpretations of Islam, particularly the word jihad have been the root cause of terrorism. The Islamic terrorists and extremists have preached false religious beliefs to capture young minds. This has been proved by the review of literature of other research works as well as appropriate findings and analysis. The intensity of terrorism has risen to such a level that it has become a global issue. The Western countries like United States have been the major victims of such attacks. Thousands of people lost their lives in the 9/11 terror attacks. The killers have been Islamic terrorist who have made it a religious issue. They follow militant Islam which has a lot of deviations from the original teachings of Islam. Islam has assumed a violent image due to such terrorists which is not really the case. Clearly the Islamic terrorists have vastly misin terpreted the religion contributing towards its violent image (Emerson). Islam has always taught maintenance of peace. But some unscrupulous religious fanatics have been molding the religion as to their desire and giving lessons of violence to millions of Muslims. That is why it has been seen that Islamic nations do not give freedom of religion to its people (Richardson, Foreword). Even if the violenc

Criminal Law Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Criminal Law Assignment - Essay Example (Woolmington v. DPP)1 It is important to mention that for any offence to be proved it must be proved beyond reasonable doubt and the burden of proof is on the prosecution. Another important point that needs to be raised is that the actus reus and mens rea of the offence must coincide, however a broad approach int his respect has been adopted by the courts. The main elements required to prove an offence are actus reus, mens rea and the absence of any defence. (Lord Diplock in R v Miller)2 The actus reus and mens rea need to coincide, however the requirement is interpreted broadly. (Fagan v. Commissioner of Police3) One of the situation is where the conduct of the defendant created a situation of danger. (R v. Miller)4 The first point of homicide is murder. The actus reus of murder was provided by Sir Edward Coke in the seventeenth century whereby he stated that the act is committed if the defendant ‘unlawfully killeth any reasonable creature in rerum natura under the Queenâ€⠄¢s peace’. The definition of unlawfully does not include the killing of for example the use of reasonable force for self defence (Re a (Children)5. Clearly, Alice died because of the Barry punched her really hard on her head and therefore this is unlawful. As far as killeth is concerned that refers to the requirement that the acts of the defendant can be attributed to be a legal cause of death. Clearly the act of Barry had led to the death of Alice. As far as killing of the reasonable creature in rerum natura is concerned it means that a human life is taken. Clearly this is satisfied as Alice had died. Finally Queen’s peace means that it must have been within England and not the killing of an enemy at war. It can be assumed that Alice’s death occurred in England. Therefore on the facts the actus reus of murder has been satisfied. The next element is that of mens rea of murder which has been termed as ‘malice aforethought’. However, to be precise th e mens rea is the intention to kill or cause grievous bodily harm (Moloney)6 Intention discussed in Woollin and applied by Matthwes and Alleyne7 was described as defendants aim or purpose was to kill or cause grievous bodily harm or he know of such harm as being a virtually certain consequence of such an act, and any level below that of virtual certainty would not suffice. On the facts it is more than evident that Barry clearly did not possess the intention nor was he virtually certain of the consequences. Thus it is quite clear that the mens rea for murder is not satisfied. As far as voluntary manslaughter is concerned it is not relevant to the facts at hand as there was neither provocation or was there any diminished responsibility. Thus voluntary manslaughter in respect of the facts will not be argued. The next step is that of involuntary manslaughter. The first manslaughter that would be considered is that of reckless manslaughter. The change brought about by Moloney means that for manslaughter recklessness will suffice. However, on the facts it can be said that Barry was not subjectively reckless as he was not aware of the fact that Alice had an exceptionally thin skull. The next in line is gross negligence manslaughter which requires proof of a high degree of negligence. The approach can be seen from Lord Atkin’s judgment in Andrews v. DPP8 where he stated ‘[In the older cases] expressions will be found which indicate that to cause death by any lack of due care will amount to

Environmental Science in Todays World Essay Example for Free

Environmental Science in Todays World Essay Humans so dominate today’s world that there is no ecosystem on earth that has not been influenced to a greater or lesser degree of human activities. And, as long as humans remain on earth, such influence will not end. Sustainability will depend on learning to channel our efforts so that we play a positive supporting role as opposed to a destructive role toward ecosystems (Nebel Wright, 1993). Environmental risk is a reality of today’s world. The seemingly endless supply of synthetic chemicals, consumer goods, energy, and waste create new risks through chemical contamination, pollution, and environmental degradation. Environmental disasters such as chemical spills or explosions threaten millions of people living in the vicinity of manufacturing or storage facilities. The uncertain risks of global warming and ozone depletion loom ahead. A central factor of environmental risk is that it is usually involuntary. People do not choose to ingest chemical pollutants such as pesticides or industrial solvents in their food and water, to undergo workplace exposures to dangerous chemicals, to breathe polluted air, or to experience radiation exposure from nuclear fallout or faulty nuclear power plants. These environmental risks pose a unique problem to regulators charged with protecting the public health. Limited information may be available on the health effects of these risks. Consequently, in an effort to protect the public’s health, various government agencies study these potential hazards to determine the level of risk they pose. This effort to understand these risks, and to quantify their impact on human health, is the field of risk analysis (Moore, 2002). The scale of human occupation and transformation of the environment is now truly global. The adverse health effects of this ignorance may have been limited, as the environmental damage was on a local scale. However, in today’s world our activities are having an impact at a global scale, and global environmental change will become a major theme in public health research, social policy and development, and political advocacy in the 21st century. The conceptualization of the environment as a global public good for health should go some way not only in increasing an appreciation for this heritage and dependency, but should also enhance the interface between research and policy. This increased awareness and interface between key stakeholders might lead to effective action to ensure a sustainable future for current and future generations (Hester Harrison, 2002).

Assessment and process of medical education

Assessment and process of medical education Assessment plays an important role in the process of medical education as it is an effective tool which detect quality in students training to motivate and direct them to what they must learn(1). Assessment drives learning this statement focus on the essential role of assessment as well planned and implemented assessment has an important steering effect on learning because it transfers what is important to learn and motivate students for learning(2). Many people argued that as the curriculum should be the key which motivate learning while assessment should be designed to be sure that learning outcomes have occurred, So assessment tool must has clarity of the learning purpose and must be designed to drive educational intent and maximize learning(3). Constructive alignment is an important influential idea in which the students construct meaning from related learning activities and teachers apply learning environment which support planned learning activities to achieve the intended learning outcomes(4). So constructive alignment makes the teaching systems consistent when curriculum, learning activities and assessment methods are aligned with intended learning outcomes(5) . Moreover, assessment may reveal learning outcome which isnt expected but it is recognized as important outcome, so it must be integrated into the intended learning outcome as emergent outcome(6). Formative assessment promotes deeper learning as it provides students with feedback to encourage them to know their strength and weakness which reinforce students internal motivation to learn and improve their knowledge and skills(7). Summative assessment is a final assessment which determine the rank-order students and decide grades(1). Wass et al(7) argued superficial learning which aim mainly on passing the examination and they emphasized on the importance of feedback on students assessment which encourage student reflection and deep learning. However, Epstein(8) showed that summative assessment influence learning even in the absence of feedback as students study what they expect to be tested on. Although formative and summative assessment are stark in contrast, they are both necessary and distinction between them should be made to detect which assessment is suitable only for formative use or have sufficient rigorous for summative use(7). Van der Vleuten and Schuwirth(9) emphasize d that formative and summative assessment can be used with little difference with focusing on the development of comprehensive assessment programme in which both encourage learning and right decision about learners. I will focus my writing on written assessment as I am involved in assessing written examination of MSc of Radiology scince 5 years. According to Miller pyramid we use written assessment to assess the domain of cognition, either factual recall of knowledge knows or application of knowledge and problem solving knows how. We use written assessment in the form of essays and multiple choice questions in formative assessment of the residents and in summative assessment of final exam. Our final written exam formed of two papers of essays, each one formed of four essay questions with three hours duration for each, and third paper of 20 multiple choice questions with one hour duration. When we prepare a written exam we identify the level of residents training to apply test which assess knowledge appropriate to students experience. Essay questions are effective method for assessing cognitive skills as they can assess ability of students to form answer and measure their attitude and opinions, also they can give students effective feedback on their learning(10,11). But it has the disadvantage of being time-consuming test to grade and its test doesnt cover a wide domain. Newble and Cannon(11) stated that essay is either extended response questions which are useful in assessing higher cognitive skills like analysis, synthesis , problem solving, and restricted response questions used for testing knowledge of lower level but it has the advantage of being more reliable as scoring variation can decreased with it. Epstein(8) stated that well structured essay with clear framework can eliminate cueing and maintain more cognitive process with context rich answers. We usually used extended response questions by which we assess students higher level of knowledge, but I think for improving essay test utility, we must make mix of the two essays types with using clear words on constructing questions like using describe, criticize and compare instead of discuss to direct students to desired answer, as I find some poor structured essay questions in our exam, for example discuss radiological imaging of breast mass which I can change it to be compare between ultrasoun d and mammography for differentiating breast mass. Van der vleuten(12) stated five criteria to assess assessment tool utility which are reliability, validity, educational impact, acceptability and cost effectiveness. Reliability measures consistency of the assessment test and it is often described as reliability per hour of testing time as time is a limiting factor during exam, so essays are low reliable than MCQ because it require longer time to answer(13). Schuwrith and Van der Vleuten(14) stated that inter-case correlation of different essays in certain test is low as the essays numbers which can be asked in a certain test is limited. Chase(15) stated that essay scoring is a complex process as it has many variables which are essay content, writer, rater and other colleague variability with their significant writing effect. The most important type of reliability for rater-type assessment is inter-rater reliability, single inter-rater reliability (which mean correlation between two raters) ranges from 0.3 to 0.8 as this depend on topic of the essay, the essay length, the rater experience and the level of rater training(16). But Munro(17) et al stated that single inter-rater reliability can be regularly obtained as 0.7 if there is continuous extensive rater training. On agreement with those authors about increasing inter-rater reliability we already use double markers for assessing essays question and the mean of their score is calculated to be the end score. Essays are poor objective test for assessing learning outcomes as there is variability in the assessment scores through different examiner with variation of perfect answer (18,19). Norman et al(20) stated that providing structured marking of the essay may improve its reliability but it may cause process trivialization. Schuwrith and Van der Vleuten(14) emphasized that using one marker for each essay for all students is more reliable than one marker for all essays of the same student. Davis(18) stated that using double marking for the same question is mandatory to reduce variation incidence between the markers. Beattie and James(21) suggested using checklist in marking essay to reduce subjectivity and improve objectivity of essay as it provides the examiner with key point of each item and its allocated marks. As mentioned before, double markers are applied in our radiology department for assessing each question but we dont use checklist in marking the essay question, so I think this m ake our examination less reliable with poor objectivity and we have to use checklist with specific marks on each part of the question. Validity is the ability of assessing method to measure what is purported to(19). The valid method will reflect what the students achieved from intended learning objectives of the course, so increasing the test item is essential for more valid test, therefore the validity of the essays is limited(6). Brown(22) advises using large numbers of short essays to improve its reliability and validity and to reduce sampling errors. However, Davis(18) argued that as this may cause more time consuming to mark. As we begin to apply a test blueprint to determine the main content of the test which must have high content validity to cover intended learning objectives, we have to use larger number of shorter essays to be eight to ten short essays instead of four long essays according to test blueprint. Van der Vleuten(23) stated that assessment methods should have content validity which must be designed and mapped on a blueprint. Modified essay questions was initially produced by the Royal College of General Practitioners in London and are widely used now(11). Davis(18) stated the importance of using context rich scenario which will direct the students to answer with precise data and increase exam reality. Schuwirth and Van der Vleuten(14) showed that written case-simulation essay appeared to be more valid as its questions focus on history taking, diagnosis, investigation and examination findings which are closely related to real practice. However Swanson et al (24) argued that as these essays arent suitable for assessing problem solving questions. Newble and Cannon(11) showed that certain skills is needed for constructing modified essay questions to avoid giving idea about answers of a previous question or punshing the student on question constructing error. Also, Schuwirth and Van der Vleuten(13) emphasized that considerable structure of essay question is necessary but over-structuring may lead to limited i ncrease in its reliability, As we use essays in both formative and summative assessment we have to use modified essays instead of traditional essays especially in resident formative assessment as we returned it to students with its model answer for discussing during the tutorial, as this will encourage student critical thinking and reflection, but also we must take training about constructing modified essay questions to avoid poor form which may cause assessment error. Schuwirth and Van der Vleuten(13) advised using essays in limited occasions when objective tests are not suitable, Objective written tests like short answer question, matching exercise and multiple choice questions ( MCQ) have the advantage of being economic, rapidly scoring, high reliable and evaluate the student in large content(25). There are two major format of MCQ which are True/False format and single best answer. True/False format can cover a broad amount of the topics and are easily marked but they mainly measure definitions and simple facts(26). Case and Swanson(27) explained why using True/False format is markedly reduced as it is not only difficult to construct but it mainly used to assess recalling of isolated fact to avoid ambiguous items, also they cant detect if the student who identify correctly the false statement knows the right answer or not. Another disadvantage of true/false format is their high probability of guessing(28). To overcome guessing, negative marking was achieved in which there is deducing marks for the wrong answer, but these may produce negative psychometric results(25). We sometimes use true/false format instead of single best answer, as we think it covers a broad items in the curriculum and can measure complex outcomes but we dont apply negative marking for MCQ correction as we think that is stressful to the students, also I have bad memory about using negative marking when I was medical student at 2nd year I got 19/50 in physiology MCQ test and this caused to me poor willingness to MCQ risk. When, I read carefully a previous exam of True/False format, unfortunately I find some unambiguous questions which may cause a critical failure for these questions. So I think we must limit using these types only for assessing definitions and facts identifications and apply other types of objective tests to avoid the guessing probability of true/false format. This is in agreement with Schuwrith et al(13) who stated that True/false questions are only suitable when the question purpose is to evaluate if the student is able to determine the correctness of hypothesis. MCQ are able to evaluate broad range of learning outcomes within a short time and limited human intervention, also they have low guessing probability with free question of ambiguity(29). In the tutorial of decembrer 2010, there is a debate about effect of MCQ guessing on test reliability, but I learn from the discussion an interesting concept which emphasized that guessing doesnt change test reliability as good student is a good guesser. For constructing good MCQ items it is essential to have a good idea about the content, study the objective of the assessment and apply high quality form for items writing(27). MCQ consist of stem and several options, stem is formed of sentence or question and may be accompanied by diagrams or tables, while the correct option is defined as keyed response and the wrong options are called distracters(29,30). Case and Swanson(27) stated that MCQ must be well structured to be simple, easily understood with using plausible distracters, also grammatical errors especially using negative and inaccurate words like never, sometimes, frequently and usually should be avoided as they may lead to examinees confusions(31). Lowe(32) stated that the useful distracters should demonstrate a misconception between the students about the right option, so writing many plausible distracters is a difficult part for MCQ construction with more time consuming. The flaws of writing distracters which include using more than correct answer, using all of the above or none of the above, or making the right option is the longest one should be avoided(33). MCQ reliability increase with removing non plausible distraction(34,35). Although we choose MCQ from question banks or MCQ books to reduce the examination preparation time , unfortunately I find many drawbacks in our last MCQ exam, firstly one question contains doubl e negatives, also in another question I find it was easily to eliminate some distracters, while other questions contain inaccurate words which are sometimes and always. So I think we must take care during choosing MCQ distracters which should appear to the students as a valid answer while it is incorrect, also we must avoid apparent incorrect or plain distracters. So, we need to take training courses for MCQ preparation and writing MCQ stems and distracters to avoid MCQ flaws and constructing good items. Collins(30) showed that MCQ have the disadvantage of being test knowledge recognition rather than constructing answer. Mcaleer(31) argued that as MCQ are an objective test which doesnt allow students the chance for giving additional information and doesnt apply examiner to put judgment on student answer quality. I agree with Mcaleer(31) as we use MCQ as an objective test to assess understanding knowledge of a broad range of learning objectives within a short time. Reliability is refered to reproducibility of the assessment score and it is expressed as a coefficient which range from 1 for perfect reliability and 0 for no reliability. MCQ are widely used due its high reliability which is attributed to its ability to assess broad amount of knowledge by providing large number of items which address areas of context specificity within a short time(7,30). Downing(36) stated that written test especially MCQ has high internal consistency reliability as the test score would be near the same if exam is repeated at later time. Van der vleuten and Schuwirth(9) showed that the predominant factor which affect reliability is domain as competence depend on context specificity. While McCoubrie(25) argued that and he stated that the assumption of MCQ as a reliable test is weak as they are only reliable because they maintain a time efficient test with wild sampling of topics. Van der vleuten and Schuwirth(9) stated that the reliability of MCQ test in one hour is 0.62 which is increased to 0.93 for four hours test due to using more items number. Wass etal(37) stated that for important exam in which stakes are high a high reliability of 0.8 or more is essential to determine pass-fail decision but for formative assessment lower reliability can be accepted. Our final MCQ exam contain 20 questions with examination time of one hour, s has low reliability due to small number of items within short time which miss many objectives of our curriculum, So I think we have to increase the question numbers to cover more knowledge of context specificity and consequentially increase the test time to improve the test reliability. A criticism of MCQ validity as it measures the factual knowledge and doesnt integrate skills, attitude and communication skills(25). Downing and Yudkowsky(38) emphasized that knowledge is the single best domain which determine expertise, so MCQ is a valid competence method which assess cognitive knowledge. Collins(30) stated that MCQ have a high validity if it represents a wide sample of content that serve the objective learning outcomes. However, Shumway and Harden(1) critic that as MCQ asses discrete superficial knowledge not deep understanding as they designed to detect what students know or dont know. Blooms taxonomy of educational objectives is a hierarchy of knowledge for different cognitive level which are knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation(39). While educators simplified Blooms taxonomy into three levels which are knowledge recalling, comprehension and analysis, and problem solving(11). Case and Swanson(27) and Mcaleer(31) showed that well-structured MCQ can assess the taxonomic higher cognitive process like interpretation, application and analysis rather than assessing recalling of facts. Peitzman et al(40) argued that as they stated using higher-order MCQ doesnt improve MCQ validity but it makes them more real and acceptable to students and examiner. Also, Frederiksen(41) stated it is difficult to construct MCQ with rich context as item writers tend to escape from topics which cant be easily asked. In agreement with Case and Swanson(27) and Mcaleer(31), we try to choose MCQ level with different cognitive level, and when I revise our MCQ tests I find some questions which can assess recalling of knowledge(Q*) and other assess problem solving(Q**) for the same topic, example of this is: Q*:what is the effective measure which reduce radiation of CT chest? a-120 mA b-150 mA c-200 mA d-250 mA Q**:what of the following will reduce dose of radiation for CT chest? a-reducing mA from 250 to 150 b- reducing KVp from 160 to 120 c-reducing the pitch to be 1 instead of 2 d-reducing scanning time to be 1 instead of 2 Blueprint is an important powerful tool for integrated curriculum as it maintain assessing all its intended learning objectives.(42). Our faculty assessment centre members work in progress and they make many orientation about blueprint construction and its importance, also they asked all departments to finish their blueprint, but until now we evaluate our exams retrograde according to our ILOs, but unfortunately in some written exam we found that the items dont cover all topics of the curriculum and missed many ILOs, also in other written exam we find a focus on certain system rather than other systems which may produce bias of examination results as the questions sample doesnt represent a big domain of knowledge. So, I think we are urgently in need to use test blueprint which cover the learning objectives and assessing methods to identify the key topics which must be tested according to our objectives and determine the questions numbers according to their corresponding weight in the context. This is in agreement with Downing and Haladyna(43) who stated that blueprint reduce two validity threats which are under-sampling bias of the curriculum and constructing irrelevant items. Consequential validity is referred to the real impact of an assessment method on learning which appropriately drive students learning(25). Wass et al(7) stated that consequential validity refers to the educational consequence of the test as it produce the desired educational outcomes, which means that students should study subject rather than studying the test. Although consequential validity is an important process, it is ignored by many examiners(44). I think our written exam has significant educational impact on how our students study, as from my experience students study what they need to pass rather than studying the whole integrated information. To improve this, we have to use different forms of written assessment which must cover the important content of the curriculum, and it should be mixed with continuous formative assessment and feedback to steer our students to determine what they study and how they learn. This is in agreement with Van der Vleuten(12) who stated that asse ssment can drive learning through four ways: assessment content and structure, the question which asked and the frequency of repeated examination. Newble and cannon(11) advice using computerized optical mark reader to score and analyze MCQ tests as the computer programmed has the advantage of applying statistical data of the test which include reliability coefficient, standard deviation and test item analysis . In our exam we use a hand marking sheet of answers to correct MCQ. But recently our faculty bought a new computer machine for correcting the MCQ test, so we need to learn how to use it for interpreting the test information as these may help us to improve next exam. Shumway and Harden(1) emphasized that practicability of an assessment method depends on resources, expertise availability and their costs. Resource intensiveness is determined by cost of constructing and correcting the test items(45). Cost includes beginning and continuing resources which are needed for test implantation(1). Essay questions appear to be easily constructed items but specific answer key is needed which may cause more time-consuming for preparation(18). MCQ seem to be easy to grade especially with using computer machine but for good structured items more time is needed for construction(30). Shumway and Harden(1) stated that it is important to consider the relation between the assessment method cost and its benefit. Van der Vleuten(12) critics that as he considered investment in an assessment methods is an investment in teaching and learning process. I think we must take care about the criteria of each method and balanced them against each other as the outcome may change according to the assessment context specificity. Also, In agreement with Van der Vleuten, I think we must use different assessment tools especially for summative assessment for high stakes exam to obtain more reliable and valid assessment. Schuwirth et al(45) explained that students can answer correct MCQ by detecting the right answer but they arent able to answer it in the absence of MCQ options. Graber et al(46) explained the problematic effect of MCQ cueing which may cause diagnostic errors especially if diagnostic reasoning is assessed. Schuwirth et al(14) advise using extended matching items and short-answer question as they can reduce the cueing effect. Extended matching questions (EMQs) are good authentic test as they use real clinical scenario which need sufficient clinical knowledge and can test a wide range of topics for knowledge application and problem-solving ability like diagnosis, investigation and management(47). Beullens et al(48) emphasized that EMQs are able to assess extended learning and minimize recognition effect rather than memorizing facts which is needed for MCQ solving. McAleer(31) critics that as EMQs with its many different items and long list of suitable answers are difficult to construct. However, Schuwrith and Van der Vleuten(13) advice using EMQs as they are good reliable test with short time scoring. We dont have experience in EMQs, but after knowing its importance and its significant role for improving written assessment reliability, I think before applying this form we need training of how construct these questions and how practice them to avoid bad representation of some items. Short answer questions is an important assessing tool because they are objectively scored test as they need clear sets of answer with little guessing incidence(3). McAleer(31) critics that as he stated, although short answer questions are easy constructed item, it is used only to measure recalling of information as they cant measure complex learning outcomes like synthesis and information analysis. Epstein(8) stated that short answer questions can be used for summative and formative assessment but its reliability depend on mainly training the students how they answer these items. We dont apply short answer questions in our exam, but I think we can use in certain situation when we want to cover broad area of content and be sure that the students are able to supply an answer rather than choosing it from many options. Score determines the number of correct answers of an assessment but it doesnt represent the quality of students performance(49). Norcini(50) stated standard setting is the process by which pass mark of exam is determined to distinguish competent from non-competent students as it allows for variation according to the level of test difficulty. There are two types of standard setting: relative (Norm-refrenced) and absolute (criterion-refrenced) standard, in relative standard setting fixed number of students will pass the exam irrespective to their level of competence as it is related to peer performance and fixed percentage of success(50). In our faculty we use relative standard setting to select students with highest score for admission to postgraduate course when fixed number is determined. In the tutorial of , I gain a new information which is supposed from one of our peer who advice using relative standard setting for choosing lower achiever in formative assessment who need extra-training. Absolute standard setting is more suitable for competence test as accurate standard should be determined below which the candidate wouldnt be fit for particular purpose(7). Absolute standard setting may be test-centered method or examinee-centered method, in test-centered method (like Angoff method) the examiner evaluate every item to hypothetically determine how the candidate will get in each item(51). While in examinee-centered method (like contrast group method), panelists decide the pass score by detecting it on the score scale which should be most fit to the exam purpose(52). In our faculty we dont use any forms of standard setting as we use 60% as an ideal setting for pass/fail decision for all test types, But as we recently apply assessing centre in our faculty, I think we must use standard setting in our assessment, in my opinion I prefer applying modified Angoff method as an example of absolute standard setting as it is widely used in medical assessment and it can be used fo r many assessment types. This is in agreement of Smee and Black(53) who stated that modified Angoff method reduce the difficulties of traditional Angoff method ,for examlple the difficulty of detecting hypothetical borderline candidates in Angoff method which is facilitated by supplying the examiners with real test scores of previous assessment of the candidates. Norcini etal(50) stated that absolute standard setting is applied either as conjunctive or compensatory standard, In conjunctive standard the candidate must exceed each item separately to pass the total test, while in compensatory standard the test scoring permit the candidate to compensated poor performance in one item by high performance in another item. In our written assessment we use compensatory method in which the standard is achieved according to total test performance, but now I think we can use conjunctive method in assessing essay paper by which the candidates must pass each essay separately as this will improve their studying to pass in each item. Case and Swanson(27) stated that many medical schools provide their faculty with item analysis of their test before test results are announced by which a useful information about the quality of each item separately and the whole test quality are obtained. Items analysis will be valuable when it maintains effective feedback to test writers as this will improve their skills in further test construction, also it would be helpful in discarding poor items and detecting certain areas of the content which may need more clarity(30). Item difficulty is detected from the proportion of students who answered each item correctly, Items are considered difficult if 50% of students or less answered them correctly and low difficulty if 85% or above of students answer the item, while moderate difficulty which have 60-80% discriminating index are the most discriminating items(30). In the tutorial of December 2010, I gain an important information about the value of applying difficult items in the exam a s these will encourage students towards excellent and to study to get more marks, so I think we must apply certain percentage of difficult items in the exam to drive learning of our students. Item discrimination is determined by the difference of the percentage of correct response between two students group (top third and lower third) with discrimination ratio lie between +1 and -1 and acceptable index is in the range of -0.5 to +0.5(27). Good item has discrimination index closer to +1 as it can distinguish good student from poor one but if poor student can answer more item correctly than good students, this indicate negative discriminating item which should be excluded (30). Downing(36) emphasized that items of MCQ test represented sample of all questions which could be tested, so for test with good internal consistency the test score should be an indicator for the student score on any other set with relevant items. Although our faculty recently develop assessment centre, we dont apply item analysis to any exam, So I think before applying it, we are in need to orient our faculty members about the importance of item analysis and how we use its statistical data to detect c auses of low discriminations , discard poor question, and identify gaps in curriculum. Finally, we use written assessment to assess the major domain of cognition in its low level of knowledge recalling to its high level of knowledge application and problem solving, but as mentioned before, I think our written assessment has low reliability and validity as we use limited number of essay questions, and the percentage of essays marks are more than MCQ marks in our assessment, so we must apply using more objective tests of well structured MCQ, extended matching questions and short answer questions with more essays question especially modified essay, also we must determine the questions numbers according to their corresponding weight in the context and according to test blueprint, as these will facilitate sampling a broad range of relevant contents and constructs of our learning objectives. Although I finish my essay about written assessment, During studying this course I was interested in OSCE assessment and how apply it in our department, but I cant write about it as I dont have experience on applying it because we dont use it in clinical assessment and we use two long cases for applying report and ten short cases for radiological diagnosis for. Now I think we must apply using OSCE in our clinical assessment by using 10-20 stations, some of them are procedure stations like carrying ultrasound examination under observation and other pictorial stations on analyzing radiologic image like conventional, CT, MRI images, and answering context-rich questions related to images. Refrences Shumway JM, Harden RM. AMEE guide No 25: The assessment of learning outcomes for competent and reflective physician. Med Teach.2003;25:569-584. Wass V, Van der Vleuten C,Shatzer J,Jones R. Assessment of clinical competence. Lancet.2001;357:945-949. Dixon H.Candidates views of the MRCGP examination and its effect upon approaches to learning: a questionnaire stu