Impact Factor:1.137 | Ranking:21/36 in Social Sciences, Biomedical | 81/136 in Public, Environmental & Occupational Health | 5-Year Impact Factor:1.396Source:2012 Journal Citation Reports® (Thomson Reuters, 2013)
Sally Nathan s.nathan{at}unsw.edu.au School of Public Health and Community Medicine, UNSW AustraliaNiamh Stephenson School of Public Health and Community Medicine, UNSW AustraliaJeffrey Braithwaite Australian Institute of Health Innovation, UNSW AustraliaEmpirical studies of community participation in health services commonly tie effectiveness to the perceived legitimacy of community representatives among health staff. This article examines the underlying assumption that legitimacy is the major pathway to influence for community representatives. It takes a different vantage point from previous research in its examination of data (primarily through 34 in-depth interviews, observation and recording of 26 meetings and other interactions documented in field notes) from a 3-year study of community representatives’ action in a large health region in Australia. The analysis primarily deploys Michel de Certeau’s ideas of Strategy and Tactic to understand the action and effects of the generally ‘weaker players’ in the spaces and places dominated by powerful institutions. Through this lens, we can see the points where community representatives are active participants following their own agenda, tactically capitalising on cracks in the armour of the health service to seize opportunities that present themselves in time to effect change. Being able to see community representatives as active producers of change, not simply passengers following the path of the health service, challenges how we view the success of community participation in health. © 2013 SAGE Publications. Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore and Washington DC
Showing posts with label Questions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Questions. Show all posts
Monday, November 11, 2013
Friday, July 12, 2013
Ask 4 Questions About College Savings Plans at Banks
Parents shouldn’t pick a college savings plan solely because it’s sold by their bank.Parents shopping for a college savings account have at least one place they can visit: a local bank. But before putting their money into an account offered by a bank, there are a few things they should know.
"Your bank may say, 'We have a college savings plan,' which may be true and legal and okay," says College Savings Plans Network Chairman Mike Fitzgerald, but it may or not be a tax-advantaged 529 plan.
Only six states offer 529 plans where banks act as the program manager, the direct contact for consumers: Arizona, Indiana, Montana, Nebraska, Alabama and Illinois.
[Understand how to juggle multiple 529 plans.]
But even outside of those six states, banks could still offer an adviser-sold 529 plan, experts say. An adviser-sold plan is a 529 plan that is sold through financial advisers instead of directly through a state agency or program manager. The drawback is that these plans generally have higher fees, but the plans offer more investment choices and one-on-one help from a financial adviser.
Parents who want to find out what the bank is really offering should ask these questions recommended by Fitzgerald and Rob Seltzer, a California-based certified public accountant and personal financial specialist.
1. Is it a 529 plan? The first question a parent should ask is whether the product the bank is offering is a 529 plan. A college savings plan that isn't a 529 plan can have all the same investment ingredients such as savings, certificates of deposits and mutual funds. But because it's not an official 529 plan, it doesn't qualify for federal tax benefits, state matching grants or state tax credits and deductions, says Fitzgerald.
[Learn how to earn high interest with a 529 plan.]
The other drawback of a college savings account that's not a 529 plan is that the account could have a larger effect on a student's financial aid award if it's in the student's name, he says. This is because children's assets and income impact financial aid awards more than a parent's income and assets. If a parent starts a 529 plan for a child, the money in the account is counted as parental assets.
2. Is it a direct-sold plan? A direct-sold plan is a plan offered directly by the state, and which generally has lower fees on investments, Fitzgerald says. The alternative to a direct plan is an adviser-sold plan that generally has commission fees built into the cost because the investment plans are sold by advisers. Banks can run a direct-sold program on behalf of the state.
First National Bank of Omaha, for example, is the program manager for Nebraska's direct-sold 529 plan. Parents can find out who manages their state's 529 plans at collegesavings.org.
3. Is the bank affiliated with a brokerage? Banks generally handle college savings plans that aren't 529 plans, whereas affiliate brokerages sometimes sell the 529 plans. If a 529 plan is an adviser-sold plan, your bank could have investment advisers who can enroll you in a 529 plan or have a business relationship with a brokerage that will sell you a 529 plan product, Seltzer says.
This doesn't mean parents will pay higher fees than they would with another adviser-sold plan, but it can mean your bank may be splitting the commission on your investments, he says.
That could give the bank a reason to encourage the individual to choose that brokerage over another or instead of a direct plan that has lower fees.
Corrected 6/26/13: A previous version of this article misstated Mike Fitzgerald’s position.Answer 3 Questions to Write Your Personal Essay for a U.S. College
You might wish you could just close your eyes and the personal statement for college would write itself. But even if it could, it wouldn't sound like you. To avoid having your personal statement sound fake, you'll still need to write it yourself.
Many international students struggle with writing a personal statement. Part of the college application, it is a short essay that asks you to tell the admissions department about yourself.
While that sounds simple, it can be tough to figure out what to write about and how to write it.
Some students tackle these challenges head-on, and they are the ones who are most likely to submit a genuine piece that shows their thorough self-reflection. You can too by asking yourself the following questions.
[Find out which universities draw the most international students.]
1. Are you trying to find the perfect topic? If you are struggling to do so, just stop and think: Do admissions officers look for a perfect topic? Every anecdote is its own precious story, and the way you tell it is what matters.
Your words, expressing your self-reflection combined with your original background, are the ones that admissions officers would like to discover, not a perfect essay similar to thousands of applications they have already read.
Don't worry if yours is not about a volunteer trip to Africa or a journey abroad that changed your life. If you have a great-grandpa whom you admire for his passion for gardening, write about what you learned from him that helped you, a teenager. If you love swimming, write about how the feel of the water helps you think through your difficulties.
As a prospective international student, you can use your home country as inspiration. Showing how your background makes you a good candidate for a U.S. college can strengthen your application and set you apart from your American peers.
Just keep calm and try to add depth to the ideas you have right now.
[Learn how to evaluate your dream U.S. college.]
2. Are you writing about someone else? Don't waste this precious opportunity by imitating a great essay you read somewhere. Writing about an ideal – or someone else – might be easy at first, but you will soon find out that your ideas and inspiration run out quickly.
In the college application package, you have only one chance to tell the admissions officers who you are in your own voice, not through your professors' perspectives or school documents. That chance is your essay.
Self-reflection is not always easy, but it's all about you and it's unique. Be honest and be you. Write, think and then rewrite until you get a true sense of how your piece could sound better.
Ultimately you will be surprised by how much the process of writing this personal statement helps you understand your dreams, your passions and yourself more thoroughly.
[Ask about cost and reputation before applying to a U.S. college.]
3. Are you procrastinating? Another big mistake applicants make is not starting early. It delays your application process, makes you rush unnecessarily at the end of the application season and can lead you to miss deadlines or send your piece to the wrong school.
Many of my friends wish they could have had more time to write and proofread their personal statements more carefully. That would have helped them avoid submitting a statement with lots of grammatical mistakes or that used phrases that only speakers from their native country would understand.
Prospective international students whose first language is not English should plan to take extra time to revise and proofread their essays. It is not always easy to choose the right phrases that can clearly express your ideas. The earlier you start, the more time you have to sharpen your personal statement.
In my own experience, rushing to get the piece finished has never given me a happy feeling, and I was never satisfied with the result.
Rather than writing your personal statement just to get it done, treat the process of writing as a journey to discover yourself. From there, your inspiration should blossom.
Mai-Linh Bui, from Vietnam, is a junior at Drexel University, studying Communications, French and International Area Studies.
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