En - French Preposition

En - French Preposition The French relational word en is almost constantly utilized straightforwardly before a thing with no article, or after specific action words. Employments of en Before a Noun En can mean any of the accompanying: Area il est en jail - he is in jailjhabite en banlieue - I live in suburbia Timeâ (en versus dans) en aoã »t - in Augusten trois jours - in three daysen semaine - during the week To accomplish something like or as Je te parle en ami - Im addressing you as a friendIl agit en enfant - Hes acting like a child Means explorer en train - to go via trainrentrer en taxi - to return by taxi Condition or appearance à ªtre en bonne santã © - to be in acceptable healthã ªtre en guerre - to be at warã ªtre en pajama - to be in night wear Change traduire en franã §ais - to convert into Frenchse dã ©guiser en... - to camouflage oneself as...transformer une salle en authority - to change a room into an office Material un pull en laine - fleece sweaterune maison en brique - block house Action words with en The French prepositionâ enâ is required after specific action words when they are trailed by a thing. agirâ enâ â â to actâ like/asavoirâ confianceâ enâ â â to trustcasserâ enâ (morceaux,â trois)â â â to break in(to) (pieces, two)seâ changerâ enâ â â to change intoconvertirâ (quelqueâ chose) enâ â â to convert (something) intocouper enâ (deux, cinq)â â â to cut in (two, five pieces)croireâ enâ â â to accept inseâ dã ©guiserâ enâ â â to camouflage oneself asã ©crire enâ (franã §ais, ligne)â â â to write (in French,â on line)mesurer enâ (mã ¨tres)â â â to measure in (meters)seâ mettreâ en colã ¨reâ â â to get madseâ mettreâ en routeâ â â to set outpartirâ enâ (guerre)â â â to leave for (war)partirâ enâ (voiture)â â â to leave by/in (car)traduire enâ (franã §ais)â â â to convert into (French)transformerâ qqchâ enâ (qqch)â â â to change s.t. into (s.t.)seâ vendreâ enâ (bouteilles)â â â to be sold in (bottles)voyager enâ (train, taxi)â â â to travel via (train, taxi)

6 Holiday Gift Ideas to Fund 529 Plans

'Tis the season for presents piled high, stockings stuffed with St. Nick's gifts, and maybe -- just maybe -- a little bit of holiday cheer for the 529 college savings account, too. After all, those electronic gadgets will soon become obsolete and the designer clothes won't fit this time next year -- but contributions to a child's education will grow more valuable over time. If you're savvy, you might be able to get a bit more bang for your buck this year, says Laurel Alberty, president of Alberty Financial Planning Services in Atlanta, Ga. "We're in tough times, so people are looking for new avenues to get these accounts funded," she says. "There are a number of options." Here are just a few ideas: Send invitations. Many parents are reluctant to ask for 529 account gifts, but sites like FreshmanFund.com and Ugift can help do the asking. Send out e-mail invitations to friends and family, perhaps along with Jane and Johnny's mile-long gift lists, to remind them that the 529 option is available. Many grandparents are especially eager to help out grandkids, and this can be a great way to encourage it, says Angela Baier, a spokeswoman for CollegeInvest in Denver, Colo. "It's not unlike in days past where grandparents would give a savings bond. This is today's way of doing the same thing," she says. Ask friends and relatives to split their gifts. You don't need to blow the entire holiday budget on toys. If you've got friends or relatives who are happy to shell out, say, $50 for your child's gift, ask them to spend half as much on a toy and write a check for the other half to the child's 529, says James White, president of J.H. White Financial Services in Pottstown, Pa. "I wouldn't advise giving gifts only to a 529 -- but (splitting a gift) can teach kids an important lesson about the value of an education. These contributions can be viewed every statement as a gift that keeps on giving." Ask for a gift to a child's 529 account -- for yourself. If you can't bear to see junior go without the latest Xbox World Demolisher game, consider asking relatives to direct the 529 gifts to you -- especially if you don't need a new tie or bath soaps. "A lot of times, relatives just want to see the kids getting toys, so if they can give (to the child's 529 account) through the parents, they might feel better about it," says Alberty." And parents, in general, would much rather have the financial stress taken off of them." Buy through Upromise. The Upromise registry is an easy way to add a few dollars each month to a 529 account at no cost to you, says White. "Companies from Target to L.L. Bean lend their support to Upromise," he says. "If you buy something from their store through the Upromise site, a percentage of that purchase is put into a Upromise account, which in turn goes to a 529." For those with a big holiday shopping list, purchasing through the registry can mean a healthy boost during the holiday season. As an additional incentive, many retailers increase their contributions for those who buy through the Upromise site during November and December. White says that over the past several years, he's added about $1,000 to his two sons' 529 accounts solely through Upromise purchases. Redeem those extra credit card points. If you've got points languishing on your credit card, there may be no better time than now to redeem them for cash and park the money in a 529 account. When sweeping new credit card regulations go into effect soon, card companies may reign in rewards or make them more difficult to redeem, so make the most of them now and help fund your child's education. Research your state's 529 tax breaks. November and December are the peak season for 529 contributions, according to Baier. "In Colorado, historically, contribution numbers double in December," she says. Perhaps people are thinking about the holiday season, but they may also be trying to take advantage of tax credits and deductions. More than 30 states offer some sort of income tax break on 529 contributions. If you itemize your taxes and want to get more bang for your 529 buck, contribute by Dec. 31 to take advantage of the perk when you file your 2009 tax return. "You can give a great gift, and you get to write it off as well. You can't say that about a truck or a game for the Wii," says Baier. Posted December 11, 2009 'Tis the season for presents piled high, stockings stuffed with St. Nick's gifts, and maybe -- just maybe -- a little bit of holiday cheer for the 529 college savings account, too. After all, those electronic gadgets will soon become obsolete and the designer clothes won't fit this time next year -- but contributions to a child's education will grow more valuable over time. If you're savvy, you might be able to get a bit more bang for your buck this year, says Laurel Alberty, president of Alberty Financial Planning Services in Atlanta, Ga. "We're in tough times, so people are looking for new avenues to get these accounts funded," she says. "There are a number of options." Here are just a few ideas: Send invitations. Many parents are reluctant to ask for 529 account gifts, but sites like FreshmanFund.com and Ugift can help do the asking. Send out e-mail invitations to friends and family, perhaps along with Jane and Johnny's mile-long gift lists, to remind them that the 529 option is available. Many grandparents are especially eager to help out grandkids, and this can be a great way to encourage it, says Angela Baier, a spokeswoman for CollegeInvest in Denver, Colo. "It's not unlike in days past where grandparents would give a savings bond. This is today's way of doing the same thing," she says. Ask friends and relatives to split their gifts. You don't need to blow the entire holiday budget on toys. If you've got friends or relatives who are happy to shell out, say, $50 for your child's gift, ask them to spend half as much on a toy and write a check for the other half to the child's 529, says James White, president of J.H. White Financial Services in Pottstown, Pa. "I wouldn't advise giving gifts only to a 529 -- but (splitting a gift) can teach kids an important lesson about the value of an education. These contributions can be viewed every statement as a gift that keeps on giving." Ask for a gift to a child's 529 account -- for yourself. If you can't bear to see junior go without the latest Xbox World Demolisher game, consider asking relatives to direct the 529 gifts to you -- especially if you don't need a new tie or bath soaps. "A lot of times, relatives just want to see the kids getting toys, so if they can give (to the child's 529 account) through the parents, they might feel better about it," says Alberty." And parents, in general, would much rather have the financial stress taken off of them." Buy through Upromise. The Upromise registry is an easy way to add a few dollars each month to a 529 account at no cost to you, says White. "Companies from Target to L.L. Bean lend their support to Upromise," he says. "If you buy something from their store through the Upromise site, a percentage of that purchase is put into a Upromise account, which in turn goes to a 529." For those with a big holiday shopping list, purchasing through the registry can mean a healthy boost during the holiday season. As an additional incentive, many retailers increase their contributions for those who buy through the Upromise site during November and December. White says that over the past several years, he's added about $1,000 to his two sons' 529 accounts solely through Upromise purchases. Redeem those extra credit card points. If you've got points languishing on your credit card, there may be no better time than now to redeem them for cash and park the money in a 529 account. When sweeping new credit card regulations go into effect soon, card companies may reign in rewards or make them more difficult to redeem, so make the most of them now and help fund your child's education. Research your state's 529 tax breaks. November and December are the peak season for 529 contributions, according to Baier. "In Colorado, historically, contribution numbers double in December," she says. Perhaps people are thinking about the holiday season, but they may also be trying to take advantage of tax credits and deductions. More than 30 states offer some sort of income tax break on 529 contributions. If you itemize your taxes and want to get more bang for your 529 buck, contribute by Dec. 31 to take advantage of the perk when you file your 2009 tax return. "You can give a great gift, and you get to write it off as well. You can't say that about a truck or a game for the Wii," says Baier. Posted December 11, 2009

William Golding s Lord Of The Flies - 1731 Words

Humans are capable of demonstrating a wide range of emotions and actions; thus it can be said people are for the most part, dual natured. History is the biggest evidence to support this; for the cruel, bloody wars but also the random acts of kindness that keep the world from falling into complete despair. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the ominous novel explores the descent into madness of a group of boys that crash land on a stranded island amidst the commotion of the Cold War. As the book progresses, the main character, Ralph, assumes power over the group as an elected leader while Jack, a more violent boy, initially assents to Ralph being chief, but later on finds himself falling into the temptations of violence and gathers a†¦show more content†¦From the early start of the book, the boys begin to fear an unknown â€Å"beast† that takes on numerous forms and shapes; and it becomes one of the main forces for causing the boys to fall into violence and chaos . When the boys were discussing the existence of the beast in a meeting, Simon takes the chance to offer his own opinion of what he believes the beast is, â€Å"maybe there is a beast†¦ What I mean is†¦ maybe it’s only us† (Golding 89). The boys do not understand the concept he introduces, and thus react rashly, denouncing Simon as crazy. Although the boys in the book can not comprehend what Simon refers to, Golding uses this quote to imply to readers that the â€Å"beast† is not an actual monster, but a product of human fear. It is a feeling that everyone can relate to, the irrational fear of the unknown. While the boys can clearly see the creeping vines and moving objects in broad daylight, during the night, shadows and anxiety begin to alter the lines between reality and imagination. The more rational boys, such as Ralph, Piggy, and Simon, have a slightly tighter grasp on the distinguishment of the two, but the others, specifically the young and unk nowing littluns, have nightmares and are struck with bouts of terror out of fear of the beast. Later on, after the time on the island had taken its toll and split the boys into two groups, the tribe led by Jack, in a vital scene of the plot, kill a sow and spear its head on a wooden stake in the ground. Jack

Foxconn s Good Reputation Associated With Foxconn

Abstract In recent years, Foxconn has been the target of numerous news scandals targeting wages, employee benefits, and working conditions. With every news scandal that broke out, Foxconn was put at risk of losing their largest contractor, Apple. In an attempt to clear the bad reputation associated with Foxconn, Apple enlisted the help of the Fair Labor Association to audit the factory and produce a report which monitors Foxconn and aims to hold them accountable for their actions. The FLA went in to survey the workers and publicly report their findings to the public. The results were enough to silent allegations of misconduct. The report proved wages were increased, employee benefits were found to be more than sufficient, and employees were found working in favorable conditions. Foxconn has shown impressive progress but ultimately, the issues are complex and will take time to fix. Introduction Imagine waking up before the sun, working a twelve hour shift in a factory that employs hundreds of thousands only to return home and repeat the cycle (Chang, 2010), a life of eternal darkness. This is the perception western media has spoon-fed to American citizens. However, in reality, Foxconn--the victim of labor scandals in recent years--is a safe haven that shields its workers from the hardships of living in a developing country. Foxconn acts as a lifeline to countless factory workers by putting food on the table with raisedShow MoreRelatedManaging Organisational Change at Foxconn’s Factories in Contemporary China4629 Words   |  19 Pagestheir goods produced or assembled in China, and they have been able to squeeze their costs and transform them into a lower product price for their potential customers. However, as the economic development and the workers’ perceptions toward lives have changed dramatically, these firms have faced severe issues with their corporat e policies. The raise of employee salary has become a trend in China and has given these manufacturers tremendous pressures on their financial performances. One good exampleRead MoreSupply Chain of the Iphone 4 Series2440 Words   |  10 Pagestransform, and deliver a product or service,’ (Verma and Boyer, 2010). Apple products are known to be at the top end of technological advancement, as one might expect, they involve a lot of components. Apple in California designed the iPhone 4. Foxconn assembles it in China with many of the components coming from all around the world including Germany and Switzerland. One of the biggest costs for apple when making the phone is paying its chip suppliers like Samsung, who provide vital componentsRead MoreEthical and Governance Issues Raised3252 Words   |  14 PagesChinese manufacturers of its products. In the drive for larger margins and lower product prices, Apple has forgotten to protect the quality of life of workers of its Chinese sub-contractors (Rein 2010c). The case study focuses on one such company, Foxconn, where six of its workers have committed suicide this year. This is widely presumed to be caused by the sub-standard working conditions. Last year, a worker accused with stealing an Apple iPhone prototype killed himself after being beaten by securityRead MoreCorporate Social Responsibility And A Company1926 Words   |  8 Pagesprofitability of the company. According to Sprinkle and Maines (2010) the costs associated with practice CSR separated into opportunity costs, sunk costs and recurrent costs. Opportunity costs defined as any activity that could not have been undertaken due to capital and labor being bound to the CSR activity, which might result in lost revenues. Secondly, although CSR can help the company build up their positive corporate image and good corporate citizenship, for some companies the process is too slow to seeRead MoreThe Healthy Potion Business Has Been Operating For 10 Years2105 Words   |  9 Pagesoperating stores, (Good and Kahn n.d.) suggests firms that produce high levels of outputs will have low costs as there are less fixed costs per unit. HP further benefits from purchasing economies of scale is where they are buying big bulks of supply and receives discounts which lower their cost of production than smaller firms. Offshoring business in China can also create a major weakness due the loose laws and regulations. Looking at the case of Apple, who outsources its business to Foxconn. Apple givesRead MoreMultinational Corporation : An Powerful Acceleration For Administrators2041 Words   |  9 PagesINTRODUCTION Due to the globalisation is developing rapidly worldwide, doing business effectively is the best way to ensure the economic’s growth as well as to gain more reputation for the organisation. In global expansion strategy, a multinational corporation (MNC) is considered as the most powerful acceleration for administrators. Acknowledging the advantages of MNC, many businesses started to invest in developing countries to target the cost-benefits and broaden their scope of activities. ThisRead MoreCritical Analysis : Critical Coding2179 Words   |  9 PagesREVIEW The literature review evaluates Human Resource Management at Apple Inc., in the light of researches and reports available on the topic. In their research, Guo et al (2012) study the infamous suicide incident by an Apple Inc. employee working in Foxconn in China. The study, while relating the media projection of the incident in China and US, comes out with very interesting findings. The paper finds out that more than 80% of the reports in Times Magazine referred to it as the â€Å"human rights abuse†Read MoreA Business Situation Analysis Of Apple Inc.3339 Words   |  14 Pagesfiscal year 2015 (Sparks, 2015). Apple also has no debt and therefore is not directly affected by interest rates or credit markets. †¢ Brand reputation. Apple has a reputation for being highly innovative, designing well-functioning products. The Apple brand is valued at $124.2 billion and is the most valuable brand in the world in according to Forbes (The World s Most Valuable Brands, 2015). †¢ Retail stores. Apple’s retail stores ensure high quality customer experience; provide direct contact withRead MoreCase Analysis Product RED1261 Words   |  5 PagesCause marketing †¢ Conscious consumerism †¢ CSR a two way proposition Product (RED)’s strategy was to promote not just the RED products but making sure that they are compelling and are sold. They made sure that products are good for Global Fund and profitable for businesses or partners involved rather than asking for money as charity or producing one item and selling it to raise funds. Product (RED) associated its self with bigger names like GAP, and Giorgio Armani (Youngme Moon M. N., 2009, p.Read MoreApple History and Development3725 Words   |  15 Pagessecretiveness damaged the companys reputation. †¢ Not shareholder-friendly. Has abused option granting in the past and refuses to pay a dividend despite a huge (and growing) cash level, no debt, and gobs of free cash flow. Opportunities: - Very loyal customer base which has expanded beyond the Mac-heads of the 1990s with the iPod and the iPhone. The iPad has had a very successful launch. This seems to be leading to more sales of computers. - Has a well-deserved reputation for high-quality products that

Should Prisoners Have the Right to Vote free essay sample

The United States is one of the worlds strictest nations when it comes to denying the right to vote to citizens convicted of serious crimes. They are prisoners; of course they shouldnt have the right to vote. The government did right by denying them their right to vote. Once you are imprisoned, most of your rights are taken away from you. You are now a felon, depending on your sentence, whom has to abide by the rules of the prison. It was mentioned that prison is meant to be rehabilitative, but not all rison sentences are meant to be rehabilitative but purely punitive. Life without parole and death row inmates are not in there for rehab. When individuals commit a crime and are sentenced to prison, they should lose those rights because theyVe proven to be non-productive and non-deserving of the rights and privileges you and I enjoy. Im not going to Just throw this stink-bomb out there; everyone knows the only political party who wants this is the Democrats, because they would receive 99% of the criminal vote. We will write a custom essay sample on Should Prisoners Have the Right to Vote? or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Prison was created to punishment those for their unlawful actions. When you become a prisoner, you are still human but you are a human that has disobeyed or went against the law. Prisoners should receive the basic human needs of food, clothing, medical attention and exercise. When sentenced they are taken out of society with their privileges also taken away. Like the saying goes If you cant do the time, dont do the crime. Most prisoners get far more privileges than they deserve. They should not be allowed to vote. When you are apart of the society, you are allowed the privileges the citizens of the society have. Once you commit the rime, your privileges are taken away from you. Laws are instituted agreement of the constitution that made to be upheld. They are created for a reason. Because they have gone against the law, Jail time is the punishment for what they did. Not rehabilitation, which is only for people that have short term Jail time. All the rights should be vanished from the ones that are being imprisoned Fact of the matter outside the prison walls or fences is free world of bylaws. In conclusion, Just like getting a DUI you lose your right/privilege to drive. If you are in Jail at the time of an lection you lose the right/privilege to vote. Voting is a privilege, not a right, and people who are in Jail have forfeited that privilege. Voting is arguably the most important task for a citizen of our country, and is the best way that people can make an impact on our government. People in Jail have already proven that they cant be productive members of society, so they shouldnt get this important task. Violating freedom is up to that perspective individual and once that has been scorn freedom is no longer the American dream. By walkeraulisha

Models, histogram method are i... free essay sample

Models, histogram method are independent of the shape of a cluster, trained simple and rapid way. In evaluation also, they can be utilized in several clock cycles per pixel needed for accessing memory. It was concluded that non-parametric models often outperform parametric ones with the cost of high storage requirement.Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are mathematical models that stimulated by means of human nervous system. In skin detection, ANNs had been applied for specific functions and systems. In illumination reimbursement, dynamic method, in mixture with different strategies, and direct classification, variety of ANNs such as MLP, SOM, PCNN, etc, are exploitedA multilayer perceptron (MLP) is a feed forward synthetic artificial neural network that consists of several layers of nodes in a cyclic directed graph, every layer absolutely linked to the next one. Every neuron is a processing detail with a nonlinear activation feature besides for input ones. A common approach to educate MLPs is back propagation (BP) which is used at the side of optimization techniques along with gradient descent. We will write a custom essay sample on Models, histogram method are i or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Nonetheless, skin color distribution of same person defers under different illumination conditions. Even more, if a person is moving the apparent skin color also changes since position is relative to camera and light changes. Human vision system can adapt with the change but digital cameras cannot. To detect rapid change in illumination for skin detection, two types of approaches were taken- color constancy and dynamic adaption. Color constancy transforms image contents to a known illuminant that can represent contents in an image. But estimation of the illuminant is a complex problem. All approaches assume existing camera characteristics and illuminant distribution. Moreover, in general skin color constancy, color constancy is used as a preprocessing step. Dynamic adaption approaches adapted by skin color model to detect changing environment. Cho et al proposed an adaptive threshold for HSV color space. A threshold box in HSV color space is used to separate skin and non-skin pixel. However, to get a robust color representation with varying illumination is a major problem. The neural network based approaches are a promising since it does not make any explicit assumption.2.5 SVM ModelsSupport vector machine (SVMs) are supervised method applied to many pattern recognition tasks as well as human skin classification. The use of annotated training set of skin and non-skin pixels, an SVM training algorithm constructs a model which attempts to assign pixels into the two training class, making it a non-probabilistic binary linear classifier. An SVM model is a representation of the pixels as the points in space, mapped so that skin and non-skin pixels are divided by a clear and as wide as possible gap. New pixels are then mapped into that same space and predicted to a category based on which side of the gap they fall on. Han et al. [81] exploited an SVM based on active learning to detect skin pixels for gesture recognition, claiming that in compare with other applications.Performance ComparisonAs a way to carry out a fair empirical evaluation of skin and skin segmentation strategies, its essential to apply a standard and representative training and test set. Different methods have presented their evaluation results based on different sets and for those using the same test-set, even different photos may have been used.From color space point of view, it seems that for those method in which the skin and skin cluster is greater compact, the specific policies are less complicated to design. But accuracy isnt always different in view that color spaces and consequent rules are convertible. However, the overall performance of Bayesian classifiers has been also extraordinary but with highly excessive false detection rate.Additionally the more memory is utilized for construction of table, the better result is achieved. Bayesian methods are evaluated with SGM, GMM, MLP and SOM seems to be better. Phung et al. [7] have in comparison the performance of multiple skin detection methods. The Bayesian classifier outperforms other techniques with a quite excessive difference. Due to the field evaluation nature of multispectral methods, it is not currently possible to compare the performance of these techniques either among themselves or with other systems. However, the high accuracy of such systems in most of normal situations is not questionable.Its tough to derive a strict and truthful conclusion. Moreover, Bayesian classifier with maximum wide variety of bins and huge training set accompanying with Bayesian community had been the great classifiers in terms of accuracy. From speed, computation and implementation cost, however, theres trade off among strategies. With developing new strategies and techniques in recent years, former techniques are set apart, whilst precision gets first priority. But, these methods are much slower than most of traditional methods which makes them incompatible for real-time applications.2.6 Clustering TechniquesIn this study, a clustering method is used, for that reason some clustering methods are discussed here. Clustering is a division of data into groups of similar objects. In each group, named as cluster, consists of objects that have similar properties and dissimilar compared to objects of other groups. If data is representing in cluster it will lose some fine details but achieve simplification. Most data clustering problems are considered NP-hard. Those methods can be categorized into different paradigms -Partitional Clustering, Hierarchical Clustering, Density-based Clustering, Spectral Clustering and Gravitational Clustering.2.6.1 Partitional ClusteringAs the name suggested, in partitional clustering, data is divided into non-overlapping subsets such that each data instance is assigned to exactly one subset. For example, k-means [82] and k-medoids are most famous example. K-means clustering applies an iterative approach. At first it choose the means of cluster commonly known as centroids. Afterwards, it assigns data points to its nearest centroids. This approach is efficient in terms of computational speed and simple to use [83]. However, main shortcoming is vulnerability of random seeding technique. If the initial seeding points are not chosen carefully, the result will be dissatisfactory. For this reason a updated method name k-means++ [84] was proposed to improve However, K-mediod is an improvement of K-means also to deal with discrete data, which takes the data point, most near the center of data points, as the representative of the corresponding cluster

An Occupational Therapy Essays

An Occupational Therapy Essays An Occupational Therapy Paper An Occupational Therapy Paper An occupational therapist is a trained and licensed health care professional who can make a complete evaluation of the impact of disease on the activities of the patient at home and in work situations. Hobbies and recreational activities are considered when an assessment is made. The most generally accepted definition of occupational therapy is that it is an activity, physical or mental, that aids in a patient’s recovery from disease or injury. The Occupational therapist takes a history from the patient by conducting a thorough interview. Questions are asked about hygiene, eating, dressing, getting in and out of bed, driving, cleaning, working and the patients sex life. A physical examination is conducted extensively concentrating on range of motion. Observations of deformities are noted because they may hinder the performance of the patient. The therapist assesses the need for splints or supports which might benefit the patient and helps design specific assistive devices. â€Å"It is the job of the occupational therapist to innovate plans to overcome the imposed limitations while helping the patient reduce strain and prevent further damage by teaching techniques that conserve energy† (Sasser 75). There are numerous ways to make daily living easier. The most crucial part of therapy is assessing the patient’s environment. All the people, cultural conditions and physical objects that are around them, create their environment. The behavior and development of people is a direct result of the interaction between them and their surroundings. A patient’s behavior is greatly effected when they are mismatched with their environment. â€Å"A persons environment match is present when the persons level of competence matches the demands of the environment† (Cole 75). Full participation by the patient is required to make it practicable. The importance of occupational therapy is to help the patient use what they have to the fullest. Therapists know that in this particular field there will not be a dramatic improvement, but there will be a better quality of life lived by the patient. In today’s world, it is extremely important to keep accurate records on all aspects of care giving. According to Sladyk, â€Å"Documentation is one of the most important duties an occupational therapist can have aside from treating the patient† (191). As occupational therapy students, it is imperative that we develop these skills and become proficient in the art of technical writing. As technical writers, we will use evaluation reports, daily progress notes, summary reports and discharge plans. Accuracy and attention to detail in the content of these reports is essential in treating and determining the progress of our patients. Documentation is the means by which we communicate our treatment to other health professionals and third party payers. In most cases, it is necessary to communicate effectively to others, orally and in writing the status of the patient. In addition, documentation is an important aspect of our field because it conveys the status and condition of the patient and our plan and evaluation of said condition to other caregivers. Medical records will be read by the doctors, nurses and in some cases by those submitting payment to the insurance companies. It is important that as occupational therapy students we develop documentation skills early and continue to refine these skills throughout our careers. In order to implement the guidelines for excellent technical communication, we need to remember the three major reasons to be honest as a communicator. First, we must keep in mind that technical communication is not about using words and pictures to mislead or lie to people. It is about helping people understand how to make wise choices. â€Å"If you lie or mislead, people can be hurt† (Markell 12). Secondly, a patient can worsen in condition if we fail to honestly report our findings. Thirdly, our organization could get into serious legal trouble if we are dishonest. This can lead to lawsuits and malpractice. A treatment plan is likely to be the first formal piece of documentation an occupational therapy student is likely to write. â€Å"Both the Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA) and the Occupational Therapist-Registered (OTR) participate in the treatment evaluation and the resulting treatment plan† (Early 94). The OTR is ultimately responsible for the treatment plan. The COTA implements the plan and delivers treatment. After the evaluations have been completed, a comprehensive treatment plan must be documented. This documentation is done by the COTA and later reviewed and checked for accuracy by the OTR. Each facility has established it’s own method for documenting a treatment plan. Some facilities have developed critical pathways that dictate the treatment plan, reducing the paperwork. Generally, a treatment plan includes problems, assets, goals/objectives, treatments, and outcomes/discharge criteria. Accuracy is paramount in all medical records. Inaccurate writing causes many problems as unclear writing. Therefore, it is key to be accurate as well as neat and understandable. The slightest inaccuracy will confuse the reader. A major inaccuracy, naturally, can be dangerous and expensive. Markell states, â€Å"Accuracy is a question of ethics so our communication must be as objective as possible and free of bias† (13). Documentation that is understandable is legible, easy to read, and void of jargon. The occupational therapy practitioner should remember that others will be reading his or her documentation, and they might not understand the jargon familiar in OT. Documentation that is concise and free of spelling and grammatical errors is understandable. As occupational therapists we must follow our code of ethics which places the patient in the highest standard of quality care. This care involves everything from the evaluation to the treatment. A discharge plan includes instructions for the patient and their family. This plan requires accurate technical communication skills. Precision in our instructions can lead to easier implementation of a follow-up plan. â€Å"The follow-up plan is important in maintaining the patient at his or her current level of improvement while not under the supervision of the therapist† (Sladyk 79). This is critical in the patients overall recovery. Technical writing skills such as creating progress reports and developing status reports are needed in building a strong occupational therapy treatment plan. It is also useful in evaluating patients and documenting their abilities in the beginning of treatment and progress at the end of treatment. These reports are read by all those involved in the treatment and recovery of the patient. A progress report communicates to a supervisor and/or organization the current status of patient. The status report keeps them informed of changes, setbacks or progress. The tone should always be objective, neither defensive nor casual. It should be professional and clearly detailed. A time pattern is used in all of the documentation we will be writing. Dates are crucial in showing the time frame that a therapist has implemented. Aside from documenting the progress of a patient, dates are also used as evidence of treatment in order to allocate further funds from insurance companies to continue rehabilitation. The first step in writing a therapy treatment plan, Aquaviva states, â€Å"is to establish a list of problems that the patient is facing and show behavioral evidence that these are problems affecting their daily life† (52). To do this, the therapist should review uniform terminology and make a written list of problems. Activities of daily living (ADL’s), must be evaluated and listed. Problems are stated and the behavioral indicators for each problem are noted. With many patients, the occupational therapist is likely to identify more problems that can realistically be addressed during treatment. Therefore, the therapist must set a priority list of problems to be addressed. Identifying patient assets can help prioritize treatment problems. The use of lists, another technical writing aspect, is helpful. Using lists can be useful in structuring a treatment plan for a patient. The therapist may want to begin a patient on a certain task. Using a list can clearly allow the therapist to prioritize the treatment plan. Less important items can be left for last or eliminated. Sometimes, a few tasks can be grouped together, allowing room for other tasks to be added to the treatment plan. The greatest strength of an occupational therapy plan is the use of functional activities. â€Å"Through functional activities, the therapist provides treatment that is relevant to the patient, which will promote independence† (Okeema 77). Functional activity promotes repetition and maintains interest. Listing these activities for the patient promotes utilization of a task and encourages the patient to remain focused and active in their rehabilitation. Therefore, an effective use of lists can facilitate the treatment process. Critical thinking skills as well as technical writing skills are essential to becoming a competent occupational therapy practitioner. These skills include information gathering, organizing, analyzing, generating, integrating and evaluating. It is essential that as occupational therapy students we become self-determining, independent thinkers. Technical writing skills will be used throughout our career. Mastering technical writing will come with practice and will prove to be one of the most instrumental elements we have learned in our curriculum. Aquaviva, J. D. Effective Documentation for Occupational Therapy. Bethesda, MD: American Occupational Therapy Association, 1992. Early, M. B. Mental Health Concepts and Techniques for the Occupational Therapist Assistant. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Raven Press, 1993. Markell, Mike. Technical Communication: Situations and Strategies. 5th ed. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s Press, 1998. Okeema, Kathleen. Cognition and Perception in Occupational Therapy. Gaithsburg, MD: Aspen Publishing, 1993. Reed, K. L. Quick Reference to Occupational Therapy. Gaithersburg, MD: Aspen Publications, 1991. Sasser, Martha. The Practice of Occupational Therapy. 2nd ed. St. Louis, MO: Mosby- Year Book, Inc, 1998. Sladyk, Karen. OT Student Primer: A Guide to College Success. Thorofare, NJ: SLACK Incorporated, 1997.