Wednesday, July 31, 2019
Religion and New Age Movements
Using material from item A and elsewhere, assess the view that most people today see spirituality and religious belief as purely private and personal matters. In society today religion can be seen in two different ways, as a private and personal matter or something to share with your community.Some sociologists would argue that religion and spirituality is a private matter because of televangelism, which is where people watch their religions services on television or go on online churches in the comfort and privacy of their own home when we have free time but other sociologists argue that this does not mean that religion and spirituality is a private matter, but that we have to use televangelism due to the fact we live in a postmodern society which means society is constantly changing and causes us to lead hectic lifestyles.This also links in with vicarious religion, which is where a small group of people practice for the wider community. Another reason why sociologists would argue t hat religion and spirituality is a private matter is that there has been a large increase in new age movements, such as; horoscopes, tarot cards and Wicca. Which focus on individualistic beliefs and self-healing, increasing amounts of these springing up indicates that because we live in a postmodern society we are starting to focus on ourselves more meaning that our beliefs are becoming privatised.Other sociologists would argue against this by saying that they are not a true picture of our religious beliefs, and are in fact, just fads, which we can pick and choose whether, we believe in them and don’t necessarily believe in them throughout our whole lives. This is linked to spiritual shopping, which is where we pick and choose which parts of different religions we believe in. Our beliefs are not a set structure and we have personal choice in what we believe. Also, another reason why religion may have become privatised is because of industrialisation, which caused us to no lon ger live in small tightknit communities.Before industrialisation churches and other religious organisations were often the centre of small tightknit communities and also, there was social stigma attached to not going to church before industrialisation. Industrialisation caused people to go from living in extended families to living in small nuclear families so that they could move round and find work where it was available, This lead to more hectic lifestyles and less time for people to go to churches meaning that they had to practise privately.Because of this, industrialisation also therefore decreased the amount of social stigma around not attending church allowing people to choose whether they actually wanted to go or not. You could argue that this means that religion is now more pure because we chose what we believe and don’t just ‘believe’ so that we fit into the rest of society. On the other hand, other sociologists argue that there are still other religiou s people about that still live in tightknit communities such as Muslims.Muslims tend to use their religion as a form of cultural defence to protect their identity from scrutiny from outsiders of their religion. But other sociologists would argue that this is a Eurocentric argument because Muslims do not use their religion as a form of cultural defence outside of Europe, and the reason they do it here is because of how they are represented in the media and because people connect them with fundamentalist attacks that happen causing ‘islamaphobia,’ Which is the irrational fear of Islam.Structural differentiation has meant that religion has become more privitised because we now live in a multi-cultural society we now have more choice in what we believe in allowing us to ‘spiritual shop’ Lyon did a study called ‘Jesus in Disneyland’ believes that we have become religious consumers, meaning that me pick and choose what we believe from all the differe nt religions in the world. This has been made possible because of globalisation creating stronger links between different countries and allowing us to have access to multiple types of religions with all different norms and values.This gives us greater choice between what we believe in and what we don’t. There are many methodological problems with measuring whether religion has become privatized, on of these problems is that ‘ how do you measure how many religious organisations there are? ’ this is a problem because it is near impossible to count every single religious organisation in the world because of the amount of cults and sects that exist that not everybody may now about. Sociologists argue that there has been a decrease on the number of religious organisations, and therefore religious belief is decreasing, but they do not take into account that it may not be religious belief that is declining, but that lack of funding has meant that the religious beliefs c ould not remain forcing people into practise privately, Also, how do you define what a religious organisation is.Another problem with measuring whether religion has become privatised is that you can’t know what people are thinking, just because they don’t visit a religious organisation, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are not religious, they may just not have the time to visit the organisation so instead use things like televangelism to practise at home.Also, just because people don’t attend religious organisations often, Stark and Bainbridge believe that the decline in traditional religions has created a demand for newer religions, this includes new age movements that focus on private practice. They believe this is due to people being naturally religious and needing religion as a compensator during times of crisis. They think that people still turn to religion for rites of passage and in times of life crisis, so, when people feel their life is unst able and they need something to make them feel better.
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
Love and War in Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried Essay
In The Things They Carried, as the title indicates author and Vietnam war veteran Tim O’Brien carefully describes all of the necessities of warfare carried by the men with whom he shared the war. In addition to the weapons and gear necessary for survival they carried within themselves the images and memories of home. O’Brien describes the various articles carried by individuals as well as the heavier items they would take turns carrying. The heaviest were â€Å"the things men carried inside†(25). Because of the heaviness it was often too much for one man and â€Å"they shared the weight of memory. They took up what others could no longer bear†(14). O’Brien indicates the heaviest memories were of love ones, particularly wives and girlfriends. Obrien describes the characteristics of the memories of love in a combat zone, memories that could be a saving grace or a dangerous self-destructive weapon.            Women occupy a very special place for the men of O’Brien’s platoon as they do for combat soldiers everywhere. The women they know and love, mothers, sisters, wives and girlfriends, are tens of thousands of miles away. At times they are as mentally and emotionally distant as they are in geographic terms. When firefights rage the soldiers’ thoughts by necessity become fixed and focused on the chaos of combat surrounding them and the thought of women can be fleeting or distracting. It may be a thought of the loved one they hope to see if they survive, or the thought may distract them and cost them their life or the life of another soldier. Women are as real as their vivid dreams yet upon awakening there is the doubt they ever existed. The space they occupy is the anxious and unnerving world mixed with hope and doubt, happiness and depression. With their letters they provide a link to the real world once occupied by the soldiers who may wonder if the women will be there for them if and when they return. The soldier may hope their girlfriend will be there and doubt she will understand. The thought of the girlfriend may provide a solid foundation on which to live on another day, or with a â€Å"dear John†letter inadvertently provide a seemingly hopeless depression. The women occupy a space unlike any other space in the thoughts of the combat soldier.            For Lieutenant Jimmy Cross the thought of â€Å"Martha, a junior at Mount Sebastian College in New Jersey†was a constant preoccupation (1). She was a daily part of his life, and he had a ritualistic devotion to viewing photographs of her. She was in many ways the embodiment of the contradictions women occupied in soldiers’ thoughts. She was not quite a serious girlfriend and lover who was devoted to him and would be waiting for him. In fact their relationship before the war was one-sided:            And then suddenly, without willing it, he was thinking of Martha†¦why so alone? Not lonely, just alone†¦and it was her aloneness that filled him with love. He remembered telling her that one evening. How she nodded and looked away. And how, later, when he kissed her, she received the kiss without returning it†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (11-12).            Yet Cross would not let go of his attachment to her. He blamed it for the death of one of his soldiers; â€Å"now Ted Lavender was dead because he loved her so much and could not stop thinking about her†(7). He felt that because of his preoccupation with her he failed to supervise his men and as a result Lavender was shot. As a result Cross decides to burn her photos and letters. Now â€Å"he hated her. Yes, he did. He hated her. Love, too, but it was a hard, hating kind of love†(24). His feelings for her were just one of the many contradictions of the war.            In some ways women became almost magical, and occupied the superstitious and surreal world of the thoughts and actions of men in combat. â€Å"Henry Dobbins carried his girlfriend’s pantyhose wrapped around his neck as a comforter. They all carried ghosts†(10). The stockings gave Dobbins the memories that comforted him. Later he became convinced it truly was a good-luck charm as a boobytrap failed to detonate after he tripped it and then survived a vicious firefight (117-118). For Dobbins and others the pantyhose â€Å"gave access to a spiritual world†and even after he receives a â€Å"dear John†letter he retains the pantyhose stating â€Å"the magic doesn’t go away†(118).            Other women, real or imagined came into the men’s lives through their stories. The most dramatic stories â€Å"are those that swirl back and for the across the border between trivia and bedlam, the mad and the mundane†(89). O’Brien recounts the story of the â€Å"Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong†, the girlfriend of a soldier who manages to have her visit him at his medical-aid base (89-91). â€Å"Mary Ann†is but seventeen years old, but quickly adapts to the blood and gore of her boyfriend’s job and becomes a valuable assistant treating the wounded. But then she becomes more and more fixated to the war, the culture and the environment of Vietnam. She becomes friendly with, and then a part of a contingent of the strange and isolated â€Å"greenies†, Special Forces soldiers stationed at the base. She eventually becomes a part of them.            Soon she cannot be found despite her boyfriend’s search. According to the story she began going out with the Green Berets on combat missions. When she returned she was no longer what she had been. He had a hard time recognizing her. She wore a bush hat and filthy green fatigues; she carried the standard M-16 automatic assault rifle; her face was black with charcoal. Mary Ann handed (her boyfriend) the weapon. â€Å"I’m exhausted,†she said. â€Å"We’ll talk later.†(102) Despite her boyfriend’s effort to get her away from the Green Berets and send her home she is hooked; â€Å"Vietnam had the effect of a powerful drug†(114). Soon, the story goes, Mary Ann disappears into the jungle, never to be heard from again, only occasionally spotted as a ghostly figure in the jungle. It is as though she served as a metaphor for the space occupied by women in the war. They were far away in a land so remote it no longer seemed to exist. Then against all odds the soldier is able to literally import the woman he loves. Then the war changes everything and destroys the relationship.            For O’Brien women also occupy a dual yet contradictory space in his life. His first young love is also his first collision with death. Although he and his girlfriend are only nine, O’Brien â€Å"know(s) for a fact that what we felt for each other was as deep and rich as love can ever get†(228). Tragically she is suffering from a fatal disease and dies. For O’Brien the memory of her, like his memory of fallen comrades, is and always will be sharp and vivid. For O’Brien the lost friends and lost girlfriend are united in death and brought back to life in the memories and stories of those who survive. It is the vivid image of a casualty of the war that inexplicably reminds him of his young girlfriend Linda; â€Å"all day long I’d been picturing Linda’s face, the way she smiled†(228). For O’Brien the dead will always be in a sense alive. The fallen troops and Linda are â€Å"all dead. But in a story, which is kind of dreaming, the dead sometimes smile and sit up and return to the world†(225).            If O’Brien’s lost girlfriend is a link to the departed his daughter Kathleen is the vision of life. He brings her to Vietnam when she is only ten, and seems to serve as the woman who will help him break his link to the deaths of Vietnam. She is too young to understand why her father has journeyed off the normal tourist sites to find the spot where a friend was killed and the body lost in the mire of a swampy river. She witnesses him as he performs a ritual burial of his late friend’s moccasins in the spot they found his body. It is though she is his tether back to reality, the present and life itself. Childlike she chastises him for his actions and cannot understand the importance of the places she visits. She tells him he is â€Å"weird†for coming back to Vietnam, innocently proclaiming â€Å"Like coming over here. Some dumb thing happens a long time ago and you can’t ever forget it†(183).            She presents the counterpoint of his life in Vietnam and it had to be an odd sensation for O’Brien to see his daughter in an area of Vietnam that is drastically different than the Vietnam of O’Brien’s death. It brings up the idea and question of whether O’Brien, in his wildest thoughts during his combat in that location that his daughter would stand in the same spot years later. Unlike the other women of memories and dreams Kathleen is able to be in Vietnam with him and help close that chapter of his life. As she notices a Vietnamese farmer staring at her father Kathleen asks if the old man is mad at her father. â€Å"No,†replies O’Brien, â€Å"All that’s finished†(188).            For O’Brien it seems as though he needs the female characters to make the connection between love and war and life and death. It is not always a successful link. His fellow soldier Norman Bowker had carried a picture of his girlfriend with him during his days and Vietnam but she had married. He saw her on his return, but while he could not bring himself to approach her and talk, he also could not pull himself from the memory and went past her house time and time (146). He later committed suicide.            Women seemed to occupy the same space and provide the same ironic and contradictory thoughts as Vietnam itself. They were vital to the combat soldiers, but not present with them, or present as a mysterious Mary Ann. They could give a soldier a reason to stay alive or a reason to care less about living. They could be a distraction to take a soldier’s mind off of the war or a distraction which could contribute to the horror of war. Like Martha they could be loved and hated at the same time. Like combat itself the women in the soldiers’ thoughts were both intensely private and yet communal. Works Cited O’Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried. New York: Broadway Books, 1990.
Poverty, Hunger Prevent Filipino Kids From Getting Basic Education
Twelve-year-old Marian (not her real name) is one of the millions of Filipino children whose education has taken a backseat due to poverty. The fifth of eight children, she fled her home when she was 10 because she said her jobless parents hurt her. Marian is supposed to be in the sixth grade this year, but she’s currently enrolled as a Grade 1 pupil, learning basic language lessons and math skills in a public elementary school in Cainta, Rizal. A certain â€Å"Ate Rowena†took her in and convinced her to go back to school.Marian has to face challenges in school. â€Å"Marami pong nanlalait sa ‘kin dahil Grade 1 ako pero malaki ako†¦hindi ko pinapakinggan yun kasi ito na po yung simula para maipagpatuloy ko po yung pag-aaral ko at makatapos po ako (Other children tease me because I’m still in Grade 1†¦but I don’t mind them because this is my chance to continue and finish my studies),†she said. Despite the challenges, Marian is lucky compare to thousands of other Filipino children. 1 out of 6 kids not in schoolOne out of six school-age Filipino children is not enrolled, figures from the Department of Education (DepEd) and the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) revealed. The net enrollment ratio (NER) or participation rate at the elementary level for school year 2006-2007 was 83. 2 percent, down by 1. 2 percentage points from the previous school year and a far cry from school year 1999-2000’s 96. 95 percent. The NER is the ratio between the enrollment in the school-age range and the total population of that age range.That means that out of all Filipino children aged 6-11â€â€which is the official age range for elementary pupilsâ€â€17. 8 percent or almost one-fifth are out of school. DepEd figures also show that from 1999 to 2007 participation in elementary education decreased, save for a 0. 19-percentage point increase in 2002. The rate of participation in secondary education is even wo rse. From 2002 to 2007, almost half or 43. 7 of all Filipinos aged 12-15â€â€the official age range for high schoolâ€â€failed to enroll. This is lower than the participation rate of 65. 43 percent in 1999-2000.With these figures the country is still far from achieving the Millennium Development Goal of providing basic education to all, the NSCB said in its report. The Philippines is also far from achieving its own Education for All 2015 Plan, which serves as the blueprint for the country’s basic education. Disparity among regions It is not just the overall figures that reflect that the country is unable to meet international and national goals for education. Government data show that there is a wide disparity in education figures among regions, with most of conflict-ridden Mindanao trailing behind urban centers.The National Economic and Development Authority in its 2006 Socioeconomic Report observed that despite a 0. 38 percent increase in the enrollment of children in 2006 compared to 2005, the figure is lower than expected. NEDA’s figures show that 12. 91 million of the 19. 25 million children enrolled in 2006 are elementary pupils while 6. 33 million were in high school. The overall figure is slightly higher than that of the previous year by only 72,969 children. â€Å"An assessment of the situation points to poverty as the main cause of thislower-than-expected increase. This is further exacerbated by the high cost of schooling-related expenditures. High school students seeking employment to augment family income also contributed to the low increase in enrollment,†the NEDA report stated. The Department of Education admitted that the country’s â€Å"volatile economic situation†is preventing children from going to school. Even with the â€Å"zero tuition†offer of the government, poor families are hindered by lack of employment, hunger and malnutrition, among other problems.â€Å"Time and again parents have complained of financial obstacles,†said Kenneth Tirado, communications officer of DepEd. Poverty to blame Poverty is one of the main causes of the country’s poor education record and has affected participation in education in more ways than one, according to â€Å"Education Watch Preliminary Report: Education Deprivation in the Philippines,†a study done by five advocacy groups including E-Net Philippines, Asian South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education, Action for Economic Reforms, Popular Education for People’s Empowerment, and Oxfam.Citing data from the National Statistics Office 2003 Functional Literacy, Education, and Mass Media Survey, the study said the top reason of people aged 6-24 for not attending school is employment or â€Å"looking for work,†with almost one-third or 30. 5 percent citing that reason. Lack of personal interest came in second at 22 percent, while the high cost of education came in a close third at 19. 9 percent. Other rea sons include, among others, housekeeping, illness or disability, failure to cope with school work, and distance from school.â€Å"The lack of interest among school children indicates a weakness on the part of the school system to make education interesting for the students. This may be due to poor teaching quality, inadequate facilities and supplies and poor infrastructure. Poverty, social exclusion, school distance and poor health are, likewise, factors that weigh heavily on children and dampen their interest to pursue schooling,†said the report.â€Å"The challenge, therefore, is how to make the school interesting and encouraging rather than intimidating; how to make it inclusive, non-discriminatory and poor-sensitive rather than exclusive and elite-oriented; and how to make it accommodating rather than restricting. Finally, the education content, process and experience should be made more meaningful to the children’s life experiences by ensuring appropriate, cultur e-sensitive and values-based interventions,†it added. Increase in budget does not helpGovernment figures show that the budget for education has increased over a 10-year period – from P90 billion in 1999 to P149 billion in 2008. It does not include the P4 billion acquired in 2007 from the private sector, a dramatic increase from 2003’s P400 million after Education Secretary Jesli Lapus re-launched the Adopt-A-School program in 2006. Despite the budget increase, government agencies observed a gradual decline in the net participation rate of students in the past nine years, especially in the regions.Luzon has the highest NER, followed by Visayas, with NERs on the opposite side of the spectrum, and Mindanao with the lowest percentage of school-age children going to school. The National Capital Region and Region IV alternately topped the NERs for elementary education, with the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon, having the highest NER from 2004 to 2006. Even NCR’s relatively high figuresâ€â€at least 92. 6 percent since 2002â€â€have declined by about 0. 6 to 2. 2 percentage points, except in school year 2006-2007 when it increased by a meager .03 percent. Region IX or Western Mindanao posted the biggest NER decrease of 12. 1 percent, from 89. 7 percent in 2002 to 77. 6 percent in 2006. Surprisingly, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao placed 4th out of the 17 regions, with no less than 85. 8 percent net enrollment rate. Unfortunately the trend didn’t continue until high school, where ARMM ranks lowest, consistently placing 17th with only 23. 7 percent to 35. 6 percent when it peaked in school year 2005-2006. The figures went down by three percentage points the next year.In school year 2006-2007 alone 13 out of the 20 provinces with the lowest elementary NER were from Mindanao, while in secondary education 17 were from the area. â€Å"Various programs have been created to cater to the lagging prov inces in Mindanao. DepEd has been implementing these projects with assistance from the private sector and Official Development Assistance from the US Agency for International Development and the Australian Aid for International Development,†said DepEd’s Tirado.Tirado said AusAID’s Basic Education Assistance for Mindanao is seeking to improve the quality of and access to basic education, while USAID’s Education Quality and Access for Learning and Livelihood Skills focuses on targeting high illiteracy and drop-out rates. â€Å"These two projects have contributed to the success of DepEd’s education interventions in Mindanao,†Tirado said. Another project, the Strong Republic Distance Learning School, was established in 2003 â€Å"to provide disadvantaged, impoverished sectors access to formal and non-formal school systems.†Tirado said the 2008 General Appropriations Act has a special provision for the construction of classrooms and scho ol furniture and the hiring of teachers in the ARMM. Peace in Mindanao needed Education advocacy group E-Net Philippines pointed out that since poor education in Mindanao can be attributed to poverty and armed conflict, a long-term solution to address its declining enrollment would be to bring peace to the area. â€Å"During armed conflicts, schools are used as refugee centers, thus disrupting classes.At the same time, children and teachers suffer from trauma which prevents them from effectively learning – or teaching, as in the case of teachers,†said E-Net’s national coordinator, Cecilia Soriano, in an email interview with GMANews. TV. She also said that since there is a concentration of Muslim students in Mindanao, the curriculum â€Å"should be founded on the Muslim wisdom while incorporating the core competencies that will provide children and youth the necessary knowledge to ‘compete’ in the labor market. â€Å"The group is also calling for a budget allotment of P70 million for Learning Centers in indigenous communities in Davao del Sur, Agusan, and South Cotabato, where education is virtually inaccessible, as well as an allotment of P800 million for alternative learning services targeting out-of-school youth. The DepEd provided P420 million to ALS in 2006, according to its March 2008 Performance Report from July 1998 to March 2008. Hunger, malnutrition In a March 2008 report, the Education department said hunger and malnutrition are also barriers to participation in education.In 2007, DepEd improved its school feeding program, with 300 percent more beneficiaries compared to the previous year. Tirado said that to make the distribution more effective, the DepEd-Health and Nutrition Council implemented a â€Å"targeted scheme†that categorizes â€Å"priority provinces†according to the severity of lack of food and vulnerability to hunger. DepEd started implementing the Food for School Program under the Acce lerated Hunger Mitigation Plan during the last quarter of 2005. It was done with the Health, Social Welfare departments, the National Food Authority and local government units.A daily ration of a kilogram of fortified rice is given as subsidy to families through preschool and Grade 1 pupils. The program, which covered 6,304 public schools nationwide and benefited 111,584 preschool and Grade 1 children, distributed a total of 25,338 bags of rice. E-Net Philippines said the strategy is flawed. â€Å"As a motivation to go to school, it sends the wrong message to poor children: go to school to get one kilo of rice instead of the value of learning; it is also an added burden for children as poor parents encourage their children to attend classes to be able to avail of the daily ration,†said Soriano.Strategy for patronage Soriano said the scheme has become a strategy for patronage as local government units select the beneficiaries of the program. â€Å"In fact in 2007, in April, when there were no classes, and just before the elections, the DepEd released rice to preschool and elementary and high school students,†said Soriano. â€Å"There were also problems in implementing the [strategy] which were exposed during the 2007 budget deliberations, such as alleged overpricing of rice, deficiency in deliveries and low quality of rice,†she added. E-Net believes there are other strategies to keep poor children in school instead of giving rice.Addressing health and poverty situations that prevent access to education are among the group’s proposals. Aside from the Food for School program, DepEd has also proposed increased funding for interventions aimed at children aged 5-11. (DepEd claimed that there were significant boosts in budget allotment to certain programs in 2006. These include the Preschool Education Program, which went up to P2 billion from P250 million, the settlement of unpaid prior years of teachers’ benefits, PhilHealth and GSIS premiums, which were given P1. 94 billion from nothing, and a P345 million boost in Alternative Learning Services.) E-Net’s Soriano, however, said there should be â€Å"more targeted education programs for child laborers, indigenous people, children and youth with disabilities and adult illiterates and other marginalized groups. †Despite the odds, Education Secretary Jesli Lapus is optimistic. â€Å"The key reforms and well-focused policy directions to improve basic education are slowly but surely bearing fruit,†he said, adding that the Education department â€Å"has been concentrating its human and financial resources on key performance indicators aimed at improving classroom instruction. â€Å"If it’s up to DepEd, the result of the National Achievement Results this year, where the mean percentage score increased from 59. 94 percent in 2007 to 64. 81 this year, the government’s Education project is a success. Whether this indicates that the country can inch its way toward achieving the 75 percent target MPS by 2010, or if the Education for All plan and the Millennium Development Goal can be met by 2015 is still to be seen. One thing is certain though, efforts at boosting education will only be futile if the poverty situation is not significantly, immediately improved.– GMANews. TV http://www. gmanetwork. com/news/story/111257/news/specialreports/poverty-hunger-prevent-filipino-kids-from-getting-basic-education Literacy is the ability to read and write. [1] The inability to do so is called illiteracy or analphabetism. Visual literacy includes in addition the ability to understand visual forms of communication such as body language,[2] pictures, maps, and video. Evolving definitions of literacy often include all the symbol systems relevant to a particular community.Literacy encompasses a complex set of abilities to understand and use the dominant symbol systems of a culture for personal and community developme nt. In a technological society, the concept of literacy is expanding to include the media and electronic text, in addition to alphabetic and number systems. These abilities vary in different social and cultural contexts according to need, demand and education. The primary sense of literacy still represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from a critical interpretation of the written or printed text.Key to all literacy is reading development, a progression of skills that begins with the ability to understand spoken words and decode written words, and culminates in the deep understanding of text. Reading development involves a range of complex language underpinnings including awareness of speech sounds (phonology), spelling patterns (orthography), word meaning (semantics), grammar (syntax) and patterns of word formation (morphology), all of which provide a necessary platform for reading fluency and comprehension.Once these skills are acquired the reader can attai n full language literacy, which includes the abilities to approach printed material with critical analysis, inference and synthesis; to write with accuracy and coherence; and to use information and insights from text as the basis for informed decisions and creative thought. [3] The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) defines literacy as the â€Å"ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts.Literacy involves a continuum of learning in enabling individuals to achieve their goals, to develop their knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in their community and wider society. â€Å"[4] http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Literacy In the Philippines, it is assumed that before the Spanish colonization, the natives of the Philippine islands were universally literate that all can read and write in their own respective languages. During the Spanish colonization of the islands, reading materials were destroyed to a far much less extent compared to the Spanish colonization of the Americas.The Spaniards tried to rub literacy in the islands to prevent the islanders to unite. Education and literacy was introduced only to the Peninsulares and remained a privilege until the Americans came. The Americans introduced the public schools system to the country which drove literacy rates up. English became the lingua franca in the Philippines. It was only during a brief period in the Japanese occupation of the Philippines that the Japanese were able to teach their language in the Philippines and teach the children their written language. After World War II, the Philippines had the highest literacy rates in Asia.It nearly achieved universal literacy once again in 80s and 90s. Ever since then, the literacy rate has plummeted only to start regaining a few percentage years back. The DepEd, CHED, and other academic institutions encourage childr en to improve literacy skills and knowledge. The government has a program of literacy teaching starting in kindergarten. New reforms are being brought in shifting to a K-12 system which will teach children their regional languages before English, as opposed to the 10-years basic education program which teaches English and Filipino, the country's two official languages, from Grade 1.Literacy in the 21st century Main article: New literacies Young school girls in Paktia Province of Afghanistan Economic impact Many policy analysts consider literacy rates as a crucial measure of the value of a region's human capital. For example literate people can be more easily trained than illiterate people – and generally have a higher socio-economic status;[42] thus they enjoy better health and employment prospects. Literacy increases job opportunities and access to higher education.Korotayev and coauthors have revealed a rather significant correlation between the level of literacy in the ear ly 19th century and successful modernization and economic breakthroughs in the late 20th century, as ‘literate people could be characterized by a greater innovative-activity level, which provides opportunities for modernization, development, and economic growth' [43] In Kerala, India, for example, female and child mortality rates declined dramatically in the 1960s, when girls schooled according to the education reforms after 1948 began to raise families.In addition to the potential for literacy to increase wealth, wealth may promote literacy, through cultural norms and easier access to schools and tutoring services. [citation needed] In 2009, the National Adult Literacy agency (NALA) in Ireland commissioned a cost benefit analysis of adult literacy training. This concluded that there were economic gains for the individuals, the companies they worked for, and the Exchequer, as well as the economy and the country as a whole – for example, increased GDP.The annual income g ain per person per level increase on the Irish ten level National Qualifications Framework was â‚ ¬3,810 and the annual gain to the Exchequer, in terms of reduced social welfare transfers and increased tax payments, was â‚ ¬1,531. [44] Broader and complementary definitions Traditionally, literacy is ability to use written language actively and passively; one definition of literacy is the ability to â€Å"read, write, spell, listen, and speak. †Since the 1980s, some have argued that literacy is ideological, which means that literacy always exists in a context, in tandem with the values associated with that context.Prior work viewed literacy as existing autonomously. Some have argued that the definition of literacy should be expanded. For example, in the United States, the National Council of Teachers of English and the International Reading Association have added â€Å"visually representing†[clarification needed] to the traditional list of competencies. Similarly , in Scotland, literacy has been defined as: â€Å"The ability to read, write and use numeracy, to handle information, to express ideas and opinions, to make decisions and solve problems, as family members, workers, citizens and lifelong learners.â€Å"[52] A basic literacy standard in many places is the ability to read the newspaper. Increasingly, communication in commerce and in general requires the ability to use computers and other digital technologies. Since the 1990s, when the Internet came into wide use in the United States, some have asserted that the definition of literacy should include the ability to use tools such as web browsers, word processing programs, and text messages. Similar expanded skill sets have been called multimedia literacy, computer literacy, information literacy, and technological literacy.[53][54] Some scholars propose the idea multiliteracies which includes Functional Literacy, Critical Literacy, and Rhetorical Literacy. [55] â€Å"Arts literacyâ₠¬ programs exist in some places in the United States. [56] Other genres under study by academia include critical literacy, media literacy, ecological literacy and health literacy[57] With the increasing emphasis on evidence-based decision making, and the use of statistical graphics and information, statistical literacy is becoming a very important aspect of literacy in general.The International Statistical Literacy Project is dedicated to the promotion of statistical literacy among all members of society. It is argued that literacy includes the cultural, political, and historical contexts of the community in which communication takes place. [58] Given that a large part of the benefits of literacy can be obtained by having access to a literate person in the household, some recent literature in economics, starting with the work of Kaushik Basu and James Foster, distinguishes between a ‘proximate illiterate' and an ‘isolated illiterate'.The former refers to an illiterate person who lives in a household with literates and the latter to an illiterate who lives in a household of all illiterates. What is of concern is that many people in poor nations are not just illiterates but isolated illiterates. Greek and Roman were written languages long ago. Ancient Chinese tested candidates for government positions. German and English both became written languages in about 800 AD. Teaching literacy Main article: Learning to read Teaching English literacy in the United States is dominated by a focus on a set of discrete decoding skills.From this perspective, literacy  or, rather, reading  comprises a number of subskills that can be taught to students. These skill sets include phonological awareness, phonics (decoding), fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary. Mastering each of these subskills is necessary for students to become proficient readers. [59] From this same perspective, readers of alphabetic languages must understand the alphabetic princi ple to master basic reading skills. For this purpose a writing system is â€Å"alphabetic†if it uses symbols to represent individual language sounds,[60] though the degree of correspondence between letters andsounds varies between alphabetic languages. Syllabic writing systems (such as Japanese kana) use a symbol to represent a single syllable, and logographic writing systems (such as Chinese) use a symbol to represent a morpheme. [61] There are any number of approaches to teaching literacy; each is shaped by its informing assumptions about what literacy is[citation needed] and how it is best learned by students. Phonics instruction, for example, focuses on reading at the level of the word. [60] It teaches readers to observe and interpret the letters or groups of letters that make up words.A common method of teaching phonics is synthetic phonics, in which a novice reader pronounces each individual sound and â€Å"blends†them to pronounce the whole word. [60] Another approach is embedded phonics instruction, used more often in whole language reading instruction, in which novice readers learn about the individual letters in words on a just-in-time, just-in-place basis that is tailored to meet each student's reading and writing learning needs. [60] That is, teachers provide phonics instruction opportunistically, within the context of stories or student writing that feature many instances of a particular letter or group of letters.Embedded instruction combines letter-sound knowledge with the use of meaningful context to read new and difficult words. [62] Techniques such as directed listening and thinking activities can be used to aid children in learning how to read and reading comprehension. In a 2012 proposal, it has been claimed that reading can be acquired naturally if print is constantly available at an early age in the same manner as spoken language. [63] If an appropriate form of written text is made available before formal schooling begins, reading should be learned inductively, emerge naturally, and with no significant negative consequences.This proposal advances knowledge and understanding because it challenges the commonly held belief that written language requires formal instruction and schooling. Its success would change current views of literacy and schooling. Using developments in behavioral science and technology, an interactive system (Technology Assisted Reading Acquisition, TARA) would enable young pre-literate children to accurately perceive and learn properties of written language by simple exposure to the written form. The broader impacts of this possibility are far reaching.The inability to read is prevalent around the world and even in American society. The cost of illiteracy as well as the huge cost of formal literacy instruction is one of the major financial burdens on societies. [citation needed] In addition, many students who are considered literate still have difficulty in comprehension which may be related to making reading instruction contingent on spoken language. By embedding the child in written language, their learning to read becomes embodied in the same manner as learning spoken language.This innovative intervention would also help redirect financial resources where they will have the most impact. Although 90% of private and public education spending is on children between the ages of 6 and 19, 90% of brain growth occurs before age 6. [citation needed] Spending for nurturing children for literacy before age 6 will be a large market and will have the most impact in improving the quality of life, especially for children without internet access. Public library efforts to promote literacy The public library has long been a force promoting literacy in many countries.[64] In the United States, the release of the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) report in 2005 revealed that approximately 14% of adults function at the lowest level of literacy; 29% of adults funct ion at the basic functional literacy level and cannot help their children with homework beyond the first few grades. [65] The lack of reading skills hinders adults from reaching their full potential. They might have difficulty getting and maintaining a job, providing for their families, or even reading a story to their children. For adults, the library might be the only source of a literacy program.[66] United States Programs have been instituted in public libraries across the United States in an attempt to improve literacy rates. Some examples are listed below. READ/Orange County, initiated in 1992 by the Orange County Public Library in California, is an example of a flourishing community literacy program. The organization builds on what people have already learned through experience as well as education, rather than trying to make up for what has not been learned. The organization then provides the student with the skills to continue learning in the future.[66] The program operate s on the basis that an adult who learns to read creates a ripple effect in the community. An adult who learns to read impacts not just himself but the whole community: he becomes an example to his children and grandchildren, and can better serve his community. [66] The mission of READ/Orange County is to â€Å"create a more literate community by providing diversified services of the highest quality to all who seek them. †Potential tutors train during an extensive 23-hour tutor training workshop in which they learn the philosophy, techniques and tools they will need to work with adult learns.[66] After the training, the tutors invest at least 50 hours a year to tutoring their student. Another successful literacy effort is the BoulderReads! program in Boulder, Colorado. The program recognized the difficulty that students had in obtaining child care while attending tutoring sessions, and joined with the University of Colorado to provide reading buddies to the children of studen ts. Reading Buddies matches children of adult literacy students with college students who meet with them once a week throughout the semester for an hour and a half.The college students receive course credit, ensuring the quality and reliability of their time. [67] Each Reading Buddies session focuses primarily on the college student reading aloud with the child. This helps the child gain interest in books and feel comfortable reading aloud. Time is also spent on word games, writing letters, or searching for books in the library. Throughout the semester the pair work on writing and illustrating a book together. The college student’s grade is partly dependent on the completion of the book.Although Reading Buddies began primarily as an answer to the lack of child care for literacy students, it has evolved into another aspect of the program. [67] While the children are not participants in the tutoring program, they do show marked improvement in their reading and writing skills th roughout the semester, due in part to the admiration and respect they gain for their college reading buddy. The Hillsborough Literacy Council (HLC), operating under the Florida Literacy Coalition, a statewide organization, strives to improve the literacy ability of adults in Hillsborough County, Florida.Working since 1986, the HLC is â€Å"committed to improving literacy by empowering adults through education. â€Å"[68] The HLC also provides tutoring for English for speakers of other languages (ESOL). Approximately 120,000 adults in Hillsborough County are considered illiterate or read below the fourth grade level. Through one-on-one tutoring, the organization works to help adult students reach at least the fifth grade level. 95,000 adults living in Hillsborough County do not speak English; volunteers in the organization typically work with small groups of non-English speaking students to help practice their English conversation skills at any time.http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/L iteracy#Philippines http://www. cea-ace. ca/education-canada/article/educated-parents-educated-children-toward-multiple-life-cycles-education-po http://rer. sagepub. com/content/78/4/880. abstract http://literacyencyclopedia. ca/index. php? fa=items. show&topicId=251 http://www. educationspace360. com/index. php/reading-writing-education-and-the-parents-influence-20458/ http://www. hfrp. org/publications-resources/browse-our-publications/parent-involvement-and-early-literacy http://thekristafaith. blogspot. com/2012/09/social-issue-illiteracy-in-philippines.html http://education. blurtit. com/118279/what-are-the-causes-of-illiteracy http://countrystudies. us/philippines/53. htm http://www. indexmundi. com/philippines/literacy. html http://k-12. pisd. edu/currinst/pfl/home. htm http://www2. ed. gov/pubs/OR/ResearchRpts/parlit. html http://filipinofreethinkers. org/2012/05/04/underestimating-parental-involvement/ Parental Involvement in School In this complex world, it takes more than a good school to educate children. And it takes more than a good home. It takes these two major educational institutions working together.http://www. ncpie. org/WhatsHappening/researchJanuary2006. cfm All the above studies (plus many more) are summarized in A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School, Family and Community Connections on Student Achievement, by Anne T. Henderson and Karen L. Mapp (Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, 2002). http://www. edpsycinteractive. org/files/parinvol. html related literature Studies have indicated that children whose parents and/or other significant adults share in their formal education tend to do better in school.Some benefits that have been identified that measure parental involvement in education include: Higher grades and test scores Long term academic achievement Positive attitudes and behavior More successful programs More effective schools All parents want their children to become successful, caring adults. Simila rly, many parents want to be involved with the formal education of their children. Sometimes, however, they don't know where to start, when to find the time, or how to go about making positive connections with the school.At the most basic level, parents can begin encouraging the education of their children by showing that they truly value education themselves. Discussion Question â€Å"Can you think of some ways that parents and grandparents might show their children that they value education? †Answers might include: Enrolling in classes themselves Showing an interest in reading Taking part in study groups Talking about educational issues Paying attention to school matters Showing concern for child's progress Giving time to the school-classroom, PTA/PTO, or library.Parent involvement is linked to children's school readiness. Research shows that greater parent involvement in children's learning positively affects the child's school performance, including higher academic achie vement (McNeal, 1999; Scribner, Young, & Pedroza, 1999; Sui-Chu & Willms, 1996; Trusty, 1998; Yan & Lin, 2002) and greater social and emotional development (Bredekamp & Copple, 1997; Fantuzzo & McWayne, 2002). Simple interactions, such as reading to young children, may lead to greater reading knowledge and skills (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998). And, children with richer home
Monday, July 29, 2019
Leadership Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words
Leadership Plan - Essay Example Being 27 years old and a soon mother-to-be, I believe my priorities are set in the right direction – I want to be a good mother first and then finish school and yearn for a successful career. This career will fulfill my intrinsic desires to reach the top, to show my mettle to one and all that I can make a serious difference. However one thing is for certain and that is the fact that I need to work my way through difficult times and understand how life offers chances to people every now and then. I need to grab the chances that come my way with both hands and be thankful to God for giving me a chance to do something constructive. Being in a leadership role would be one feeling that will elevate my status within the society as well as offer me a chance to understand that my hard work has paid the right dividends. (Chemers, 1997) I believe no work goes unnoticed and if a person applies herself whole-heartedly towards a task, success is sure to touch her feet sooner rather than la ter. Same is my case, where I see myself working towards attaining a task, a goal and an objective – all of which lead towards eventual success in the said field. However there are three different questions which I need to answer and this I will do during the length of this essay. At the present, I believe I am being too hard on myself. But then again this is a requirement for me since my Bachelor’s in Organizational Leadership is one rigorous program which will eventually prepare me into a professional on all counts. I am vying to pursue my Master’s so that I could give a practical shape to my thinking ideologies and see myself as a successful individual in the coming times. Presently I am working my heart out to attend the night school as well as working full-time as an administrative assistant in the marketing department of an organization. It has become hard on me but I know it will bring the rich dividends which I richly deserve, say 5
Sunday, July 28, 2019
Strategic Objective of Amazon.com Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words
Strategic Objective of Amazon.com - Essay Example Other competitors include Tesco, Wal-Mart’s ASDA, Argos.com and HMV’s online shopping.  The strongest competitor, however, remains eBay and Amazon needs to extend its product mix further. Wal-Mart and Tesco are also major competitors because of the wider customer base that these stores serve owing to the physical as well as online retail outlets.  Although the online business model greatly facilitates as e-commerce uses the uniform standard of e-commerce and technical expertise yet, on the other hand, Amazon has to consider the different laws in the countries it operates in.  Further, the case study states that the increase in annual disposable income will reach to US$5,000 and 617 million households will have access to the internet retailing option, out of which 143 million will be from the Asia Pacific.  There has been a change in consumer lifestyles which entails that consumers now prefer convenience because of the busy lifestyles and the hassle of going to different retail outlets for different things, they prefer buying from one retail outlet.  Shopping online means there are fewer car fumes, fewer carbon emissions and fewer impacts of global warming and pollution hence it is widely in acceptance to the global standards of environmental protection.  The customer database is maintained so that customers are provided with greater interactivity in the form of recommending similar products to customers, offering reviews by other users and online sales staff. Â
Saturday, July 27, 2019
Writer's Choice Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1
Writer's Choice - Assignment Example This is because companies produce their goods to target the global market and sourcing is a core consideration (Lechner & Boli, 2011) Future global sourcing will depend on negotiated worldwide performance parameters, a globally incorporated market system as well incorporation of global professionalism especially in marketing, human resource, engineering and source groups. One effect of sourcing globally is that companies no longer source components but rather source in systems and services. This is important to companies because they not only have to produce affordable goods for the global market, but the goods need to be of right quality and standard. Companies which source systems therefore have an easier way of controlling quality and price. Another effect of global sourcing is that as much as companies would still prefer traditionally cheaper markets of China, Eastern Europe and India, they cautiously check the unknown costs that arise from sourcing in these markets (Lechner & Boli, 2011) The articles relate to the week’s topic because they fulfill the objective of evaluating how organizations can control cost of production by ensuring that standards and quality are observed when sourcing from a global market. This results in production of quality goods and services which meet global standards and consumed by a global market. Prior to buying of a system or even a product, purchasers usually would be interested in finding out an estimation of the total of direct as well as indirect charges included in a specific transaction. The comprehensive figure is what is called a Total Cost of Ownership. One main challenge that organizations go through while implementing a Total Cost Measurement system is the length of time required to come up with a comprehensive Total Cost Measurement System. This is because organizations have to go through
Friday, July 26, 2019
Auditing & Accounting Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 2
Auditing & Accounting Ethics - Essay Example Auditing has to provide a reasonable assurance that financial statements(balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement) are free from material misstatements and present It is important to understand that auditing does not involve preparation of financial statements. The preparation of financial statement is an altogether different function and that is the responsibility of the management. An independent auditor’s report very clearly states this fact at the very start of the report. â€Å"It is management and/ or the directors of a company who are responsible for the preparation of financial statements which comply with relevant regulations and reflect the financial position of the company. Therefore certain elements of the preparation of company’s financial statements may be viewed as undertaking management functions and hence create a potential threat to the audit firm’s independence.(CISPA Guidance Note 6, page 1)i Generally audit is conducted to ensure that clerical accuracy of book keeping functions and the drawn accounting analysis there from. But the management may draw certain specific purposes of auditing besides reasonably ensuring true and financial position and results of financial performances. These purposes may be detection of frauds, valuing firm in a merger or take over scheme, the determination of rights at dissolution and like that. Financial statements are prepared adhering applicable GAAP. The purpose of auditing statements prepared under GAAP is to provide an independent opinion about the material misstatements in financial statement prepared as per GAAP. There may also be auditing other than expressing an independent opinion about misstatements. The purposes of such auditing are specific and predetermined by the management. As per John P Wilson and Ebrary (2006)ii these specific auditing purposes are: Independence of auditors is the most hotly discussed subject after the occurrences of scandals like Enron and other. In
Thursday, July 25, 2019
Role of Confucian scholars or advisors in government on the period of Research Paper
Role of Confucian scholars or advisors in government on the period of Tang Dynasty - Research Paper Example â€Å"The Tang dynasty was a dynasty that was characterized by such strength and brilliance that it is unprecedented by any other. The civil service examination was so refined, that the tests basic form was used in the 20th century. The role of the imperial and local government was amplified so that it centralized administration and enacted an elaborate code of administrative and penal laws.†(Tang Dynasty†¦.)The coup by Li Shihmin, the founder of the Tang Dynasty, proved to be a remarkable event in the history of China and it heralded many structural and administrative changes in the system of governance. The highlights of the achievements were new concepts in foreign relations, unification of national culture, more centralization of powers, radical changes in the fiscal policy that helped the overall growth of the nation from all ends. The good spadework done by the Sui dynasty that ruled previously in administrative, transport and communication areas helped Tang dynast y rulers to consolidate the gains. â€Å"Tang Empire was able to create a strong centralized government and work towards unifying the political and cultural divisions between its people†¦..The Tang emperors set up a strong centralized system of government, in which the emperor was the supreme authority†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Although most of the officials came from influential noble families, some officials were chosen through civil service examinations which tested a persons knowledge of classical Confucian learning and literary composition. With a staff of only 13,465 officials the Tang government was able to oversee a population of more than 50 million people.†(Influences†¦..) To understand the influence of Confucian Teachings on family and society, it is necessary for us to know something in brief about Confucianism. Wing-tsit Chan writes, â€Å"Confucianism did not begin with a tradition. Confucius (551-479 BC) taught various subjects on self-cultivation and the ordering of the society. To be
Delegating responsibilities is the key to effective management Assignment
Delegating responsibilities is the key to effective management - Assignment Example ted in many organizations, resulting in role duplication, confusion and overlaps that cause conflicts between members of an organization, and also results in inefficient use of manpower (Rao & Krishna, 2005:412). Thus, possessing the right delegation skills is very important, since poor delegation can be very disruptive and even destructive of an organization. Good delegation is associated with developing people within the organization to achieve their maximum potential, motivating workers and enhancing teamwork. In addition, effective delegation is a prerequisite for grooming the right successor to a management or any other relevant organizational position (Agarwal, 1986:172). This way, delegating responsibilities does not only make the management of an organization very effective, but it also helps in saving both time and resources, which would be applied towards training different organizational members for different leadership positions in the organization. On the other hand, the failure to delegate responsibilities effectively can cause frustration, de-motivation and confusion, which end up in a cycle of organizational conflicts and poorly accomplished tasks (Muir, 1995:6). Therefore, delegating responsibilities is not the key to effective management per se, but the effectiveness with which such delegation is done. This makes delegation skills a very important management skill that is worth improving for the managers (DuBrin, 2012:287). In fact, delegating responsibilities does not only help the management to share tasks and activities and have them accomplished, but is also the basis of the futuristic strategy for succession planning and personal development, and a necessary pre-condition for awarding promotions (Rao & Krishna, 2005:408). In this respect, through effective delegation of responsibilities, the management is able to solve several organizational issues that would require individual investment of time and resources. Thus, delegation is the
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
What is leadership ability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
What is leadership ability - Essay Example This ability involves exercising leadership skills and potentials over the subjects. If a person, for instance, has poor leadership ability, he or she will not be able to organize the subjects into maximized output. The lack of influence over the lead group will be an obstacle towards exploiting the capacity of the group towards output. A leader with strong leadership ability can on the other hand easily influence his group towards solving even difficult problems through motivational qualities. As a result, leadership ability is a measurable quantity that is determinable through its results. As Maxwell explains, effectiveness in organizational output is a result of leadership ability and is associated with measurable output values. A poor level of leadership ability therefore implies poor effectiveness into lower output of an organization while an effective leadership influences group members into high group effectiveness (Maxwell,
Tuesday, July 23, 2019
Cultural Assessment (M4C) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1
Cultural Assessment (M4C) - Essay Example Working upon doctrines of mind-body dualism, mechanical analogy, physical reductionism, definite regimen and control, and specific cause for every disease, the Western scientific paradigm offers treatments that are statistically different and proven. It has many implications for health care in U.S. in that it works upon the mind and body separately and the body is considered as a number of interrelated systems working together and any abnormality in any of these systems is cured by treating the cause of that disease. 2. Since, Western science looks at the disease from a mechanistic view, it focuses more on the treatment which makes it very expensive. The body is considered as all materialistic and if something is not seen under the microscope, it means that it does not exist. In a culturally diverse society as U.S., the Western scientific paradigm can be a problem because it may cause cultural clashes between the communities because of difference of opinions and beliefs.
Monday, July 22, 2019
Swingline Stapler Essay Example for Free
Swingline Stapler Essay The Swingline Heavy Duty Stapler is an office supply, more so than a household item. A casual attempt to purchase a heavy duty stapler online (e.g., Amazon or eBay) makes it clear that there are numerous sellers of this product other than Swingline. Names like Stanley Bostitch, Sparco, Paper Pro, Hunt, Arrow, and Rapid, to name a few; and this list doesn’t include the models offered by the brick-and-mortar retailers like Office Max, Office Depot, and Staples. A more extensive search would only add to the list. Searching by brand within any of these online sites, however, pretty consistently reveals Swingline as the brand with the most choices; and more often than not, Stanley Bostitch falls into second on the list by product count. This anecdotal evidence hints that collectively, Swingline and Stanley Bostitch may very well have a strong share of a crowded market; oligopoly or monopolistic competition – it could go either way. Page 2 In terms of establishing the price for its heavy duty stapler, it is important to Swingline to price it reasonably close to its many substitutes. The competitors for this product provide a â€Å"range†of prices that serve as a boundary for Swingline to use in determining the price for its product – a feature of monopolistic competition. Based on the brand listing information, I would expect that a major competitor, Bostitch, is the one that Swingline pays most attention to – Swingline’s pricing decisions are somewhat dependent on the expected response of Bostitch. This is a characteristic of an oligopoly. In one sense, it can be argued that a heavy duty stapler is a standardized product – it serves one function. Due to this, there is not a significant amount of advertising done to try to differentiate the Swingline Heavy Duty Stapler from its competitors. Sellers in monopolistic competition and oligopoly both advertise to point out product differences, but standardized products exist primarily in oligopoly and perfect competition; so, in this regard, oligopoly seems to be the correct fit. On the other hand, attempts are made to give us the perception that the heavy duty staplers are indeed different. Paper Pro, for example, tells us this about one of their models: â€Å"Patented unique staple-driving technology provides the power to drive a staple through up to 65 sheets of paper with the press of just two fingers.†Yet a different Paper Pro brand tells us: â€Å"80% Easier than other heavy duty staplers†. Not to be outdone, Swingline counters with a pitch for its complementary product: â€Å"70 sheet staple capacity with Swingline Optima High Capacity staples†. Add different sizes, shapes, and colors, and a case can be made for product differentiation. This would seem to bring monopolistic competition back into the mix. Finally, on the surface, it seems that barriers to entry would be minimal. The production of a stapler does not require a high level of technology or a significant amount of financial capital. For a new seller to successfully penetrate the existing market, however, it seems they would need to have a price advantage due to the relatively standardized nature of the product. The ability of Swingline and Stanley Bostitch to match any new competitor’s â€Å"sale†price could effectively limit entry into this market. Based on this criterion, a case can be made for both monopolistic competition and oligopoly. In conclusion, it seems that characteristics of both monopolistic competition and oligopoly are present. This would put the market for heavy duty staplers somewhere in the middle of the competitive continuum: perhaps some oligopoly-type behavior by Swingline and Stanley Bostitch, but more like monopolistic competition overall. Given what I perceive to be as an inability to earn a positive economic profit over time, I’ll hang my hat on monopolistic competition.
Sunday, July 21, 2019
The Health Needs Assessment
The Health Needs Assessment This assignment is a quasi-report on a health need assessment (HNA) which is being prepared, as part of this module summative assessment, in order to gather information on the basis of designing and implementing a programme, on a limited scale, of health and health care acceptable, accessible and identified in Southwark based on evidence of cost-effectiveness and is beneficial to the needs of this practice area. The aim of the report is to demonstrate a critical understanding of HNA and HNA policy at the community level. The use of local and national data in identifying health met and unmet needs by demonstrating an understanding the handling and interpreting local and national data. Using policies context of increasing exclusive breastfeed and using the right evidenced based intervention by emphasising on the advantages of increasing exclusive breastfeeding to infants up to six months old. The intervention of increasing exclusive breastfeeding is through the introduction of fathers as an initiative will be discussed in depth. In order to succinctly focus the critical analysis of the assignment the Hooper Longworth (1998) five steps theory of HNA will be used. Step 1) Getting started Step 2) Identifying the Health Priorities for the Population Step 3) Assessing the Health Priority Step 4) Planning for Health Step 5) Evaluation As stated above this is a limited assignment therefore not all the steps will be used. Health Needs Assessment (HNA) Definition Health Development Agency (HDA) (2004) define HNA as a way of identifying the health needs and inequalities being experienced by a specific population groups in Southwark and identifying their priorities for professional and service development to improve the health of that target population or individuals to reduce health inequalities. The HNA assist the HVs in identifying the wider determinant of health of the population and appropriate intervention put in place to meet that needs. Needs or who will be benefiting from the intended intervention must be identified and it must be cost-effective. Bradshaw (1994) identified four different needs which is termed the Taxonomy of Needs it is Felt needs what the individuals want, expressed needs what is demanded, normative which consists of both the met and unmet needs, and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ In this report the normative needs will underpin the HNA as both the met and unmet needs are going to be identify. Marmot (2003) suggests it is important for people to be in control of their lives and exercise autonomy instead of them being told what they have to do; this is a way of tackling health inequalities (DH 2003). It is Government national priority as resources were allocated to it. HV should make time to find their priorities and preferences and working with their community to achieve their goals. This is a way to achieve health equality and built social capital. Social capital is the way that HV could work with mothers and fathers in improving community relationships and trust which has a direct and positive effect on increasing breastfeeding continuation up to six months. Research indicates that peer education by lay people is sometimes more important than getting information by experts who are coming from a level of power. HMSO (2012) Healthy Lives Healthy People White Paper is an overarching document responding to Marmot Review Fair Society Healthy Live (Marmot 2010) is providing a framework in tackling the wider social determinant of health and health inequalities. It aims to build peoples self-esteem, confidence and resilience right from conception and into older age with stronger support for early years. It is underpin by the White Paper Liberating the NHS (DH 2010) providing the framework in commissioning services that has an impact on the health of the most needy in the community thereby helping in reducing health inequalities. Demography of Southwark Health inequality is defined as providing equal health to all across the different boundaries (reference). Southwark in a central London borough and is ranked 12th as the most deprived London Borough and 41st most deprived in England according to the Index of Multiple Deprivation in 2010 (reference). Pocket of extreme deprivation are concentrated in the centre of the borough. Data from the Charity Shelter UK (2012) reveal that Southwark are among the most vulnerable London Boroughs with 1 in 46 households are at risk of losing their homes. According to the 2010 census (NAO 2012) it has a diverse multicultural, multilingual and multi-ethnic population and 51% of the Southwark population is from the British minority ethnic (BME) group. This is a challenge In Southwark 4.1% compared to 3.1% in London of the households are homelessness and one is four households are overcrowded living in overcrowding homes (Shelter 2005) putting extra pressure and stress on families relations. However, the coalition government has recognised the overburden on the housing stock and in the process of funding new home building across England (). This will not relieve the housing situation in the sort term. children living in poverty 16986 (32.3%) (21.9% England and 29.7% London average) First time entrant to young justice 402 (0.7% or 4.8%) (Eng. 57291; London 8349) 16-18 NEET 330 (4.37%) (4.50% London 6.13% England) homelessness 510 (4.11%) (London 3.14%; England 2.03%) 4136 (90.56%) babies initiated breastfeeding after birth compared with 74.08% in England and 87.06% in London. 3446 (75.69%) breastfeed until six to eight weeks compare with England 47.02%; London 67.32%. Smoking status at time of delivery 202 (4.38) compare with England 13.19%; London 6.02% Under 18 years old conception 679 (61.5%) compare with 38.1% and 40.9% Infant mortality 79 (5.3%) England 4.6% and London 4.5% compared to England, 49 percent of the population is white British descent. The largest minority ethnic groups are Black African and Black Caribbean. Southwark has a young population. Overall the health profile of Southwark population is poor. Deprivation, crime, teenage pregnancy, and children living in poverty rates are higher than England average (Reference). Rationale The rationale is to identify the role of fathers in motivating and promoting their partners to breastfeed their babies as part of public health initiative thereby reducing health inequalities for both mother and infant. Furthermore, it will explore the health benefit of breastfeeding and the potential health risks factors to babies and mothers if exclusive breastfeeding is discontinued after six to eight weeks postpartum. Evidence has shown that exclusive breastfeeding infants until they are six months old greatly reduce childhood obesity and prevent them from acquiring other health problems when they are adults. Reducing smoking and increasing life expectancy are among Southwark health priorities together with the reduction of children obesity (Reference). In order to reduce childhood obesity research has shown that mothers should be highly encouraged to exclusively breastfeed their babies up to six months () and fathers are well-placed to encourage mothers whilst breastfeeding (). This underlines the reason Breastfeeding is among one of the Southwark health priorities as it an important factor in the reduction of child obesity. Such as reducing smoking and increasing life expectancy most importantly is the reduction of child obesity. Research has shown that breastfeeding up to six months is an important intervention to reduce children obesity. The rationale Data In 2010 there were 5131 live births, the highest birth rate in London, out of which 226 were young mothers under the age of 18 years old (National Office of Statistics (NAO) (2011) and Department of Health (2012) Links bf rates and health inequality The breastfeeding initiation rate was 73.9percent in 2012/13 Quarter 2, which is just less than the annual percentage for 2011/12 (74.1percent) and slightly higher than 2010/11 (73.7percent). The prevalence of breastfeeding at six to eight weeks 92% of mothers in Southwark initiate breastfeeding postpartum until 6-8 weeks. 1 in 4 mothers breastfed their babies 6 months, the remainder either revert to mixed feeding or exclusively formulae-feeding. decrease by 66% thereby coming down to a ration of 1 in 4 babies are breastfed by 6 months and over (Bolling et al 2007; NICE 2008). Initiation and duration rates of any breastfeeding rates are lowest among families from lower socio-economic groups, adding inequalities in health and continuing to the perpetration of the cycle of deprivation. BF rates are low in the UK for several generations, and professionals, childbearing women, families and the public at large have all been exposed to formula feeding as the norm. This is one of the reasons that mothers are encouraged by the midwives and HVs to continuously breastfeed their babies until six months and up to two years. It seems that most mothers discontinue breastfeeding their babies after six to eight weeks reverting to formula feeding which is classified as health inequalities. The intervention by fathers is important motivators in supporting mothers to increase breastfeeding rates up to six months thereby prevent health inequalities. The 2012 data in England, London and Southwark on initiation and continuation of mothers breastfeeding from two hours to six to eight weeks postpartum identified a slight increase from 76% in (year) to over 90% in 2013. The discontinuation of breastfeeding after six to eight weeks is as a result of either mothers are returning to work, feeling pain at breastfeeding or lack of family support. Fathers involvement by midwives and Health Visitors (HVs) from antenatal is an important intervention in supporting their partners to breastfed their babies until six months postpartum. The drive placed on mothers by midwives and Health Visitors (HVs) to continuously breastfeed are underpinned by International, National and local policies The determination placed on mothers by the Government and Health Visitors (HVs) to exclusively and continuously breastfeed their babies until six months postpartum is an important and effective measure that can protect their health and that of their babies with specific contributions and motivations from babies biological fathers. Healthy Child Programme (HCP) (2009) recommends that fathers are involved However, the HCP has conflicting information from the UK government which flexibly recommends formula or mixed feeding could be introduced after four months (17 weeks) however with the caveat it should be delayed until six months. This is giving conflicting information to both the mothers and Health Visitors (HVs) who tends to follow the UNICEF BFI UK guidelines. Risk Factors Ip and colleagues (2010) conducted a systematic review of the evidence on the effects of breastfeeding on short- and long-tem infant and maternal health and suggested that breastfeeding reduces the risk of diarrhoea and chest infection; atopic dermatitis and asthma; obesity and type I and type II diabetes (Sherburns-Hawkins et al. 2008); childhood leukemia; sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and necrotising enterocolitis. According to Breastfeeding also confers benefits on the mother by regulating fertility (WHO 2010) Employment, housing and income are primary determinants of health and health inequalities4. They affect individuals, families and society both directly or indirectly through wider social and economic factors, e.g. child poverty, educational attainment of children, social isolation, etc. London is arguably disproportionately affected by employment, housing and income as determinants of health due to demographics, higher living costs and the nature of its housing and employment markets Reference Lists Custworth L. Bradshaw J. (2007) A comparison of policies to enhance child well-being. Special Policy Research Unit, University of York. Hooper, J. and Longworth, P. (1998) Health Needs Assessment in Primary Health Care. Huddersfield: Calderdale and Kirklees Health Authority. Downloaded on the 23rd November 2012 www.geocities.com/HotSprings/4202/ hnawrk.html Shelter UK (2005) Full house? How overcrowded housing affects families. Downloaded on the 24th December 2012 http://england.shelter.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/66400/Full_house_reportL.pdf Stevens A. Gilliam S. (1998) Needs assessment from theory to practice. British Medical Journal 316, 440-444. Tate A., Lloyd T., Sankey S., Carlyon T., Marshall G., Jefferys P., Williamson K and Chung S. (2012) The housing report 2012: The coalition midterm review. Shelter, London. DH (2007) Implementation plans for reducing health inequalities in infant mortality: a good practice. The Stationery Office, London. DH (2003) Infant feeding recommendation. The Stationery Office, London. www.chimat.org.uk. www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/ifs2005 www.london.nhs.uk/publications/tools-and-resources/pct-perfromance-quick-guides
Investigating The Structure Of Pig Heart Physical Education Essay
Investigating The Structure Of Pig Heart Physical Education Essay Introduction There are three layers of the heart: the epicardium, myocardium and the endocardium. The heart, like a dual pump, which is to pump blood around the whole body, pick-up nutrients and oxygen, at the same time, helping eliminate deleterious wastes, such as carbon dioxide. Moreover, the heart consists of four chambers: two ventricles and two atria. The upper chambers are called atria while the lower chambers are called ventricles, they are separated by valves. Valves are one-way, see Figure 1(Lane, 2010b), hence, they play an important role in preventing the blood from flowing back. Figure 1 One Way Valve (Lane, 2010b) The left are right chambers are separated by muscular wall septum. Without this septum, blood from one chamber will be mixed up with the blood from another and be contaminated (Burnell, 2010). The ventricles have thicker muscles than the atria, they are strong enough to pump the blood out of the heart and circulate to other parts of the body. Besides, the pressure applied on the left ventricle is greater. As a result, the walls of the left ventricle are the thickest among all the walls of chambers (Burnell, 2010). The coronary artery supply blood to heart muscles and oxygenated, it under the groove on the front the heart and it branches over the front (Lane, 2010b) The pulmonary artery can carry blood to lungs to incept oxygen. It is used to travel the short distance to lungs because large volume of blood can be passed through and oxygenated. The pulmonary artery locates d of curving out of the right ventricle (Lane, 2010b). Methodology Apparatus The material and apparatus used in the experiment: the fresh pig heart, dissecting pan, forceps, scalpels, scissors and gloves. Methods and Observations Procedure 1: External Structure (Lane, 2010a) The heart was washed and placed into a dissecting pan. The colour of heart is pink, white colour exist in the top (maybe this colour is from fatty) and with much dried blood. It can be held by two hands and approximately is 13 cm 10 cm 7 cm. The heart is about 0.25 kg. The pericardium was found a covering the membrane of heart. The pericardium was cut by a scalpel so that the pericardium could be observed. The myocardium was located below the pericardium. The pericardium is a strong membrane. Thus, it is difficult to remove this membrane. It is about 1mm and colourless. The apex was located and was pointing down. The apex is easy to find, it is pink and pointed. The front of the heart was recognized by a groove that extends from the right side of the broad end to the left of the apex. There are many veined patterns in the front of heart, judged it in this way: the major blood vessels were on the top half running down to the apex. There were four chambers in heart. The left and right atria were found. Left and right chambers are distinct and atria are upper than the ventricles. Also, the left chambers are bigger than right chamber. Blood vessels at the broad end of the heart were located. The coronary artery was found its position; the pulmonary artery was located by finger curving out of the right ventricle; and the aorta was located behind the pulmonary artery. The pulmonary veins were found at the top of the left atrium. The superior vena cava was found in top of right atrium. The coronary artery is under the groove on the front of the heart. The pulmonary artery on the right side, the aorta is behind the pulmonary artery both from the top. The diameters of holes are about 3cm. The pulmonary vein is in the left side and behind the superior vena cave. However, the inferior vena cava can not be found. Figure 2 and Figure 3 are shown the external structure (Xia, 2010). Procedure 2: Internal Anatomy (Lane, 2010a) Using scissors, the pulmonary artery was cut through. The wall of the right ventricle was cut down continually, parallel to the groove of coronary artery. It is easy to cut through and the wall of the right ventricle. The wall is about 1cm thin and very smooth. A finger was used to push open the heart, the dried blood inside the chambers was washed out. Many blood clots exist inside. The blood clots are dark and jellified. The muscular wall of right atrium was measured. The right ventricle was felt the thickness and its smooth textured lining. The muscular wall of the right atrium was measured, about 1cm. The wall is very smooth. Inferior vena cava was found in the internal right ventricle, and the lack of valves was noticed. Inferior vena cava in the inside chamber lower left, which locate in right ventricle, near apex. The valve between the right atrium and right ventricle was observed. The valve between the right atrium and right ventricle is thin and easy to break. It was not easily seen. The network of irregular muscular cords was noticed. The network of irregular muscular cords was found everywhere. The colour of them is pink and ropy. It is hard to destroy. The septum on the right side of the right ventricle was found. The septum on the right side of right ventricle is very thick about 1.5cm. Using a finger, the pulmonary artery was followed to locate the right ventricle. The pulmonary valve was found. The pulmonary valve is very thin about 1mm and not seen to be intact. Figure 3 is shown the right side of heart (Xia, 2010). Using scissors, the heart was cut on the outside of left atrium downward into the left ventricle cutting toward the apex to septum at the center groove. The heart was cleaned. The wall of the left atrium is about 2.5cm. The wall of the left ventricle is thicker, about 3 cm and hard to cut through. Jellified bloods were washed. Semi-lunar valves were found. Semi-lunar valves are consisting two valves, about 1mm and pink. Mitral valve was found. The two parts of valves were seen and about 1mm. The left ventricle was cut across toward the aorta, to expose any valves. The left ventricle is hard to cut because the wall is about 3cm. The aortic valve was found. The valve is consisted of three flaps, the shape as half-moon, about 1mm. Figure 5 is shown the left side of heart (Xia, 2010). Figure 6 is shown the internal anatomy (Xia, 2010) Result Figure 2 The Front View of Heart (Xia, 2010) Figure 3 The Rear View of Heart (Xia, 2010) Figure 4 The Right Side of Heart (Xia, 2010) Figure 5 The Left Side of Heart (Xia, 2010) Figure 6 The Internal Structure (Xia, 2010) All these figures are at the end of report in the appendix. Discussion Initially, because the structure of heart is unfamiliar, the process was done slowly, and many aspects are uncertain. In addition, before the experiment a picture of heart structure was found, during the experiment the picture was used to compare with the real heart so that identification can be more easily achieved to find structures position. However, the correct position of picture is different from position in the real heart. The reasons may the diagram is idealized, the real heart is empty and collapsed, structures lack colour contrast to distinguish. When the wall of left ventricle was cut, it is more difficult to sever than the right ventricle. During procedure 2, some muscular cords were cut and some places were undistinguishable. The wall of left ventricle is much thicker than right wall because the left ventricle did the major work. The handout suggested that watching the diastole and systole of the heart. However, this is a departed pig heart, thus, the phenomenon can not be seen. In addition, valves are very thin, when the heart is cut, valves are easily destroyed by mistake, such as the pulmonary valve is not seen to be intact. Conclusion During the experiment, the heart was examined, its external structure, each vessels characteristic and position was found and recognized. In the internal anatomy, different positions of valves were found. Dimensions of different parts of heart were measured: the size of heart, the pericardium, the diameter of vessels holes, the wall of the right ventricle and atrium, the wall of the left ventricle and atrium, the thickness of semi-lunar valves, the thickness of mitral valve, the thickness of aortic valve.
Saturday, July 20, 2019
Mirror Neurons and Motor Memory Formation Essay -- Biology
WHAT ARE MIRROR NEURONS? Mirror neurons have been hailed by scientists as the most significant finding in neurology in the past decade, the key to understanding the secrets of human interaction and learning, and as significant to psychology as DNA is to biology. Mirror neurons are a newly-discovered structure of the brain responsible for the firing of neurons during both physical movement and the observation of physical movement. It is these firings during observation of movements that has scientists excited about their relation to learning and interaction. While mirror neurons have been found in both primates and humans, their role in terms of learning and perfecting motor skills is still unclear. The discovery of mirror neurons: The discovery of mirror neurons in macaque monkey was actually an accident during research on the monkeys. It was found that when placing peanuts in front of a monkey, a neuron would be fired whenever the monkey would reach for a peanut. This was to be expected: neurons are fired as signals to muscles to perform the movement. However, when a researcher grabbed a peanut while the monkey was simply watching, the neurons were still fired, implying a neurological link between physical movement and observation. While it is believed that mirror neurons are imperative for monkeys to understand what other monkeys are doing, the believed function of mirror neurons in human brains is much more extensive. Discovery of possible neuron mirror systems in the human brain have been found by the fact that areas in motor cortex become excited when a person observes another do an action. This same motor cortex is responsible for our physical movements, thus offering support that we too contain mirror... ...eversed and reinforced results. The ObsPract Towards data shows that repeated viewing of a movement reinforcing one's baseline does, in fact, translate to a reinforcement of the physical baseline. However, the ObsPract Opposite results show that viewing, and not merely practicing (as in PhysPract) a movement that contradicts one's baseline can affect that baseline. After viewing the contradictory film, the ObsPract Opposite subject's baseline was clearly altered, as now half of his involuntary movements followed the film rather than his previously-established baseline. Though not a complete change of the neural pathway, this clearly demonstrates that viewing an activity can affect one's brain, as was hypothesized. Sources Stefan, Katja et al. October 2005. Formation of a Motor Memory by Action Observation. The Journal of Neuroscience: Vol. 25, issue 41.
Friday, July 19, 2019
Only A Surfer Knows The Feeling :: essays research papers
Only a Surfer Knows the Feeling There is a guy from Hawaii that I know. Every day, he wakes up, straps his surfboards to the racks on top of his car, drives his car from a town called Ewa, across the island of Oahu, to a little beach known as Ala Moana Beach Park. He does all of this even before the sun comes up. He spends a few minutes just looking at the ocean, watching and surveying the waves and how they break. As soon as the sun makes its first peek over the horizon, he grabs a board, waxes it up, and jumps in the water. He then paddles his board through what many people call a journey: two hundred yards of dark cold water, blistering currents, and waves pushing back against each stroke made to push forward. He makes this journey to get to a point right past where all the waves break, to a point called the line-up. It’s here, where he waits for a wave that he catches back towards the shore, only to make the journey back through all the cold harsh currents and waves again. He catches a few waves, and the n catches one all the way back to shore, where he showers, gets dressed and then goes off to work. He has one of the most stressful jobs I can think of. He is a counselor at one of the local shelters for teenage runaways. He deals with teen depression, suicidal tendencies, and coordinates bringing these kids back together with their families. And even though these tasks aren’t what most people would want to have to put up with in their lives, he does it every day. Furthermore, as stressful as his job seems to be, this man is one of the mellowest guys that I know. When asked why he does this morning ritual every day, he said, â€Å"surfing helps keep me focused†. And I believe him.      Think about it for a moment, each time a surfer goes to a beach, waxes up his board, and surveys the waves from the shore, he is preparing to go into the water to do something quite amazing. This person is willing to test not only his limits, but also the limits of what the ocean can do to him. He wants to battle the power of the entity that covers over seventy percent of the earth, manifested in the form of a wave, and ride it for all its worth.
Thursday, July 18, 2019
A CRITIQUE OF THE SNOW CHILD, TAKEN FROM ANGELA CARTER’S THE BLOODY CHA
A CRITIQUE OF THE SNOW CHILD, TAKEN FROM ANGELA CARTER’S THE BLOODY CHAMBER. Throughout ’The Bloody Chamber’, Angela Carter takes the highly successful conventions that belong to once innocent fairy tales, and rips them unremorsefully from their seemingly sound foundations to create a variety of dark, seductive, sensual stories, altering the landscapes beyond all recognition and rewarding the heroines with the freedom of speech thus giving them license to grab hold of the reigns of the story. The Snow Child is one such story by Carter, where connotations seen in fairytales such as ‘Sleeping Beauty’ and ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ are in evidence and are fused together accompanied by the emergence of feminism to the foreground of the story, numerous examples of rich and highly effective and evocative symbolism and a certain element of sexuality. In essence, The Snow Child tells of a Count and his Countess who are riding on horseback when the Count suddenly expresses his desire for a girl with ‘skin as white as snow’, ‘lips as red as blood’ and ‘hair as black as a raven’. She then materialises before their very eyes, after which, the Count lifts her up, and sits her in front of him on his saddle. The jealousy oozes from the Countess, who after seeing this, has only one train of thought - how can she rid herself of The Snow Child? The Countess’s place is usurped by the child as is symbolised by the transfer of the Countess's clothes onto her, leaving the Countess naked. Eventually the child dies and the Count gets off his horse and rapes her before the dead body of the girl melts away and consequently, the Countess is re-clothed. This narrative clearly exposes how the heroines of fairy tales are the const... ...s she who demands the girl to ‘Pick me one’ when passing a ‘bush of roses’ - the rose that she picks eventually kills her as she ‘pricks her finger on the thorn’. As a result she ‘bleeds; screams; falls.’ Bizarrely, the ‘weeping’ Count gets off his horse and proceeds to rape the corpse in a horrific act of necrophilia - all the while, the Countess ‘watched him narrowly’, hinting at a spiteful evil glare. ‘He was soon finished’. In my opinion, it is at this point where the Count loses the little respect the reader would have had for him and suggests a certain degree of incapability on his part. Finally, the Countess ‘stroked her fur’ with ‘her long hands’ whilst the Count ‘picked up the rose, bowed and handed it to his wife’, suggesting a transfer of power at this late stage in the story. She drops the rose after touching it, declaring, ‘It bites!’.
The Balanced Scorecard Approach
Coca-cola Company (hereafter referred to as â€Å"the Company†or â€Å"the Organization†) is the owner of four of the world's top five nonalcoholic sparkling beverage brands known to almost every American. Coca-cola was established in 1886 and presently, it is operational in at least 200 countries having at the minimum 90,500 associates worldwide and serving â€Å"1. 5 billions†( The Coca-cola 2008 p. 1 )of customers each day .The Company’s overall goal, which is its mission is to â€Å"refresh the world in body, mind and spirit, inspire moments of optimism through their brands and actions and to create value and make a difference in all their engagements†( Mission, Vision, 2006) The Company is a manufacturer and seller of soft (carbonated) drinks with various brands, the most popular of which is the banner brand, Coke. In assessing its success, the Organization does not only count its monetary sales and profits but as well as its effect to the w orld in general.Coca-cola Company tries to be open and accessible to everyone who needs information on anything it does. Financial records, company information, customer-goal, investor values and press releases are all accessible at the Company’s website, www. thecoca-colacompany. com. Aside from the abovementioned mission, the Organization’s vision include the following (Mission, Vision, 2006): ? People: Being a great place to work where people are inspired to be the best they can be. ? Planet: Being a responsible global citizen that makes a difference.? Portfolio: Bringing to the world a portfolio of beverage brands that anticipate and satisfy peoples' desires and needs. ? Partners: Nurturing a winning network of partners and building mutual loyalty. ? Profit: Maximizing return to shareowners while being mindful of our overall responsibilities Moreover, the Company’s strategies are incorporated in its values which include the following: ? Leadership: â€Å"Th e courage to shape a better future†? Passion: â€Å"Committed in heart and mind†? Integrity: â€Å"Be real†? Accountability: â€Å"If it is to be, it's up to me†? Collaboration: â€Å"Leverage collective genius†? Innovation: â€Å"Seek, imagine, create, delight†? Quality: â€Å"What we do, we do well†SLP II. Indeed, customer is very important. Without a customer, any financial organization would not survive As Coca-cola’s way to retain existing customers and to encourage potential ones they have the following guidelines: Vision: Bringing to the world a portfolio of beverage brands that anticipate and satisfy peoples' desires and needs. Mission: Refresh the world in body, mind and spirit. Strategy: â€Å"What we do, we do well†To follow the guidelines and achieve what it wants, a set of very specific objectives must be met.The achievement of customer level objective, which includes â€Å"the satisfaction of custome rs, their retention, and larger market share†(The Balanced Scorecard) makes the business perform better. Why is the customer very important? Because there is a â€Å"direct correlation between financial results and customer. †(Shaw, 2000, p. 37) The Company, to satisfy its mission and vision, through its strategies for its existing and potential customers, the following objectives are setul: ? To satisfy customers with the gratifying taste of high quality products;? The introduction to customers of products with diverse and fortified products that are healthier. ? Production of healthy beverages lines which are tasty yet they are not damaging to health. The three objectives above are very important. The Company has acknowledge that â€Å"obesity and other health problems†(The Coca-cola, 2008, p. 12) may endanger the potential income of the Company as well as its name, which can be fatal to a company that†established reputations world-wide, and branding h as enabled international reputations to be created†(Kay, 1995, p. 15).Looking from these objectives, it can be seen that the third one is the most specific of the three. â€Å"production of healthy beverages lines which are tasty yet they are not damaging to health†would result to the â€Å"introduction of products taste diversity and fortification making them healthier†that would make customers satisfied with gratifying high-quality (healthy) beverages. This achieves the strategy of the Company stating, â€Å"What we do, we do well†and also its mission stating. â€Å"Refresh the world in body, mind and spirit†: an unhealthy drink would not satisfy the mind and spirit.
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