Cultural Supression: Abusive Behavior Towards Women and Its Effect on the Spread of Hiv/Aids

Africa is facing a devastating crisis with respect to the AIDS epidemic, currently accounting for over 70% of the world's HIV-positive population. There are, of course, many factors that drive the explosive transmission of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, but in the tangled web that is the epidemic in Africa, many of these issues share a common thread. The oppression of women in Africa can be considered the virus' cultural vector. Females are rendered powerless in African societies, and existing gender inequalities are largely responsible for the spread of the disease.Females' disadvantaged position in society is intrinsically linked to the subordination of women in their relationships with men. In order for progress to be made, an examination of gender relations and empowerment for women must take place. To be successful, AIDS campaigns must be built on the existing organizational skills of women, but must incorporate men as well. The blatantly skewed distribution of power in Afric an patriarchal societies makes women extremely vulnerable but has dangerous implications for all.To examine the forces that steer the epidemic down its course, the epidemiology of HIV and AIDS in Africa must first be considered. More than 80% of all HIV infections in Africa are acquired through heterosexual contact. This statistic is grossly out of balance with the 13% rate of infection through heterosexual contact in the United States. Vertical transmission from mother to child is the second most common route for the virus to take in Africa (Essex et al. , 158). These rates are generally much higher than in the United States and Europe, where the use of a drug called nevirapine has drastically reduced mother-to-child transmission.This disparity is a direct result of differences in the nations' wealth. African nations simply cannot afford to provide the drug to infected pregnant women. The continued transmission of HIV through contaminated blood during processes such as blood transf usions is another dismal consequence of poverty and inferior health services in many African countries. This method accounts for the third most important mode of transmission, one that has been virtually eradicated in many countries because the technology is available to prevent it (Essex et al. 159). Part of what makes the situation in Africa so devastating is that the primary roads the virus travels in Africa were shut down long ago in other countries. Much of the world's population already takes many of the roadblocks for granted. The transmission route of heterosexual contact is so heavily traveled in Africa that it demands an examination of sexual behavior. Before we delve into the workings of intimate relationships, however, the fine points of gender inequality in the public sphere must be examined.These social conditions spill over into every aspect of life, tainting women's casual and sexual relationships with men. Women are systematically disadvantaged in African society. M ale bias in the structures of society is reflected in day-to-day behavior, embedded in legislation, policy, political and religious ideologies, and cultural conventions (Baylies et al. , 6). Examples of this trend abound. The Civil Code of the Empire of Ethiopia designates the husband as the head of the family and gives him the authority to administer household property.The husband is given the right to control and manage common property and to make all decisions regarding it. While the Code requires that the husband act judiciously and not alienate property without the consent of his wife, strong traditional and cultural beliefs discourage women from enforcing this requirement (African Region Findings). In Kenya, the Constitution permits the application of customary law to personal matters. The Constitution contains no provisions for gender as a basis for non-discrimination and consequently, even gender-biased practices are held as valid and constitutional.Women's access to economi c resources in Kenya is largely defined by customary laws (African Region Findings). Inheritance is usually along the male lineage; women do not inherit family property. Not only do women have less access to income and possess much less wealth than their male counterparts, but they also contribute more hours of labor than men do (Baylies, et. al. , 7). In a village meeting held in rural Lushoto, Tanzania, in 1996, coordinated in response to AIDS, even two of the men present agreed that women take the heavier burden. A man, if you need him, is always out,† an elderly man spoke out, â€Å"whereas the woman is the one at home, taking care of cooking and all other household affairs. . . . We get up in the mornings and go about our business and don't concern ourselves with whether [the children] eat or not,† he continued. â€Å"We leave it all to mama. We give orders, we are ‘dictators' in the home† (Baylies et al. , 191). Most of the men, however, did not share his capacity to see the situation in this way. One male maintains, â€Å"as a man you have so many things to attend to, and you rely on her to think of things like soap for washing† (Baylies et al. 190). Women's limited opportunities also translate into reduced access to education.Their lower levels of literacy contribute to their more limited access to information about sexually transmitted diseases and HIV (Baylies et al. , 6). Cultural conventions prevent them from asserting themselves in public, squelching any hope of improving their situation in this way. Since their work is confined to the domestic field, women's labor does not command market value, leaving them dependent on those members of the household who operate in the cash economy (Baylies et al. 7). Economic need often drives women to enter into prostitution. The selling of sex, many argue, is often the only choice African women have â€Å"between starvation and survival† (Essex et al. , 538). It is the l ink between women's position in wider society and position in sexual relations that is crucial to understanding their vulnerability to the virus. UNAIDS reported in 1999 that in sub-Saharan Africa 12 or 13 women are infected with the HIV virus for every 10 men (Russell 101). Women have characteristically been viewed as responsible for transmitting the virus.Prostitutes are blamed for spreading HIV to clients, and mothers are blamed for passing it to their children (Essex et al. , 3). Females are thought to have a polluting influence and are treated as â€Å"vaginas or uteruses,† â€Å"whores or mothers,† and â€Å"vectors or vessels† as opposed to people (Essex et al. , 3). Instead of regarding women as blameworthy for the severity of the AIDS epidemic in Africa, they should be more accurately perceived as occupying a cultural niche in which they are highly vulnerable to contracting the virus.Since women are forced to relinquish the driver's seat to males in the public sphere, they certainly have no say in the nature and timing of their sexual activity in the private sphere, leaving the roads HIV travels open to traffic. Intimate relations revolve around the same â€Å"notions of personhood† that operate in the larger society (Baylies, et. al. , 7). The outcomes of these gender ideologies take form as sexual practices. The foundation of these sexual understandings seems to be that women are expected to give but not receive pleasure.Sexual norms prescribe relative passivity for females, while according sexual decision making to men (Baylies et al. , 7). Tolerance is expected for the greater sexual mobility of men. Female fidelity is usually viewed as necessary while male infidelity is consistent with the extension of the familial line (Essex et al. , 534). The double standard expectation is that women will enter into a marriage as virgins but men will not. In patriarchal, sub-Saharan African cultures, marriage can be defined as a leg ally and socially sanctioned relationship between a man and a woman within which procreation takes place (Essex et al. 534). Women are not viewed as people capable of sexual pleasure but as the means by which to achieve an end. That end is the perpetuation of the family line. This prime value on marriage and motherhood presses young girls into risky, multiple-partner relationships long before they are psychologically or physically mature. Young women cannot refuse the sexual demands of older men nor bear the social stigma of being without a husband or children (Essex et al. , 536). Women are powerless within their relationships and have too little power outside of them to abandon partners that put them at risk.How, then, do these social and sexual patterns account for the severity of the AIDS epidemic in Africa? Many claim that male privilege is what drives the AIDS epidemic, even going so far as to call AIDS a form of mass femicide (Russell 100). Diane Russell bluntly states, †Å"Those women who contract HIV/AIDS from their male partners because of their sexist attitudes and behavior, and/or because of their superior power and dominant status, are? when they die? victims of femicide† (102). There are many examples of manifestations of male domination that can be fatal for female partners.Male refusal to use condoms is perhaps the most critical of these behaviors. Utilization of condoms is the one factor that would undoubtedly reduce transmission rates drastically. Women are not even allowed to ask, â€Å"Can we have sex? ,† so it is even more difficult to bring up condom use (Russell 103). However, if a woman does find the courage to ask her male partner to use a condom, not only will he almost certainly refuse, he is likely to beat her. â€Å"Talk to him about donning a rubber sheath and be prepared for accusations, abuse or abandonment,† relates Johanna McGeary in TIME magazine.Her article also related the story of a nurse in Durban, who, coming home from an AIDS training class, suggested that her husband put on a condom. He proceeded to grab a pot and bang on it loudly, attracting all the neighbors. He pointed a knife at her and demanded: â€Å"Where was she between 4 p. m. and now? Why is she suddenly suggesting that? What has changed after 20 years that she wants a condom? † One man, who had already infected his wife with HIV and was developing open herpes sores on his penis, objected to his wife's suggestion of using condoms, accusing her of having a boyfriend (Russell 103).Even educated men, aware of the AIDS risk, balk at the suggestion. McGeary heard the same answer come up again and again: â€Å"That question is nonnegotiable. † Several myths account for the lack of condom use, even when they are distributed for no cost: your erection can't grow, free condoms must be too cheap to be safe, condoms fill up with germs, condoms from overseas bring the disease with them, condoms donated by forei gn governments have holes in them so that Africans will die (McGeary).Some men simply decide they do not like the way condoms feel, and that is enough to decide the issue. When interviewed, one couple in Kanyama, Zambia, reported using condoms for contraception, but the husband started to complain that they were â€Å"burning† him and was not going to continue using them (Baylies et al. , 98). The established trend is that women must risk infection to please men. Women compromise their sexual safety to men's pleasure by even more drastic physical means. Throughout Southern Africa, many women practice â€Å"dry sex† to please their husbands.This involved drying out the vagina with soil mixed with baboon urine; some use detergents, salts, cotton, or shredded newspaper (Russell 102). Not only is dry sex reportedly very painful for women, it causes vaginal lacerations and suppresses the vagina's natural bacteria, both of which increase the likelihood of contracting the HIV virus when engaging in sex with an infected partner (Russell 103). Since women are already twice as likely to contract HIV from a single encounter than are men, this is extremely dangerous (McGeary).The decision to engage in dry sex can be made for economical reasons as well. The prostitute who dries out her vagina can charge more, 50 or 60 rands ($6. 46 to $7. 75), enough to pay a child's school fees or to eat for a week (McGeary). This is in contrast to the 20 rands ($2. 84) she might receive otherwise. Since male economic privilege plays a major role in forcing women into prostitution, any AIDS deaths resulting from it can be considered femicide. Economic disadvantage for females drives them to participate in other â€Å"dirty† deals.Teenage girls especially are easy prey for older, wealthier â€Å"sugar daddies,† men who provide money and goods in exchange for sex (Essex et al. , 536). Sex has been referred to as the â€Å"currency by which women and girls are ex pected to pay for life's opportunities, from a passing grade in school to a trading license† (Baylies et al. , 7). Girls as young as ten and eleven in Tanzania have been reported as having sexual relations with men for chips, Coke, money for videos or transport to school (Baylies et al. , 11).Sexual networking has dangerous implications for the spread of HIV, leaving many young women with much more than they bargained for. Yet another expression of male dominance on which the virus thrives is the practice of female genital mutilation. This practice, which has roots in the patriarchal society, is defined by the World Health Organization as the removal of part or all of the external female genitalia and/or injury to the female genital organs for cultural or other nontherapeutic reasons (Russell 104).It is designed to cater to men's sexual preferences and reinforce their control over women. The tendency of mutilated genitals to bleed, especially during intercourse, puts women at high risk for contracting the virus, as does the repeated use of the crude instruments used to perform these operations. The tools are often used on a number of girls on the same occasion (Russell 105). This practice is imposed on millions of girls in Africa. It is an attack not only on their bodies but also on their womanhood, on their personhood, and on their ability to protect themselves from a deadly disease.Tolerance of male promiscuity is a further social construction that strips away females' autonomy with fatal consequences. Men are accepted as sexually voracious by nature. â€Å"They are like that, and you can't do anything,† says one girl in Lushoto (Baylies et al. , 128). Many families' economic situations require that husbands are gone for months at a time in order to work, and they are certainly not expected to abstain from sexual activity during this time. Another Lushoto girl, married to a trader often away in Dar es Salaam, reports that she is afraid of her hu sband, worrying â€Å"he may infect me† (Baylies et al. 128). Her concern is absolutely justified. When a wife suspects that her husband has many partners outside the marriage, she is not entitled to refuse to engage in sex. â€Å"You are a wife, what can you do? † is the sad reality for most (Baylies et al. , 128). Marriage is an institution of vulnerability for women in Africa with respect to HIV. In general, it is men who bring HIV into a marriage (Baylies et al. , 11). Women can be infected, not through promiscuous activity on their own part, but as a consequence of being faithful to their husbands.The prevalence of AIDS in Africa also transforms sexual assaulters into murderers. The problem of rape is especially highlighted in South Africa, where a woman is estimated to be five times more likely to be raped than a woman in the United States (Russell 106). It is an extremely rare event that a rape is reported at all; 75% are believed to remain unreported (Russell 1 07). The existence of rape gangs is also a serious problem in South Africa. The term for recreational gang rape is jackrolling, and it is considered a game, not a crime.An analysis of gender relations in Africa provides insight into how and why HIV spreads so efficiently. The question now becomes what should be done with this knowledge to generate prevention strategies. It is obvious that women must become more empowered for the epidemic to be slowed with any significance. Russell claims that the first order of business requires educating people about the role played by male domination in the spread of HIV and AIDS, and that policies must then be developed to eliminate manifestations of patriarchy (109).It is clear that education should focus more on gender issues than the need to avoid risky sexual behavior. However, as has been demonstrated over and over, increased knowledge does not always translate into changed behavior. Baylies and Bujra investigate the potential of women's gro ups in campaigns of protection against HIV in Africa. They also point out that if economic dependence on men is a factor underlying women's vulnerability, greater economic security should serve to empower women. For this to occur, women would require higher levels of education.How men should be involved is another debatable issue. Male behaviors not only put their partners in danger, but themselves as well. Therefore, not only do men bear responsibility in this area, but it would be in their interest to assist in the process. One thing is clear: if the AIDS epidemic is to become any less of a problem in Africa, women will have to be empowered. Though AIDS is certainly a virtually impossible fire to extinguish in any context, the patriarchal society and exploitation of women not only fuels the flames but turns a fire into an inferno.For millions of African women, this hell is the reality. Their inferior position in larger society renders them powerless in sexual relations. The manife station of these social constructions emerges in sexual practices and behavior that not only allow HIV to transmit at alarming rates, but also are blatant violations of basic human rights. When African women are no longer denied these fundamental rights, a decrease in the severity of the epidemic will undoubtedly follow.Works Cited African Region Findings. The World Bank Group, No. 126, January 1999. ttp://www. worldbank. org/afr/findings/english/find126. htm April 29, 2002. Baylies, Carolyn and Janet Burja. AIDS, Sexuality and Gender in Africa. NY: Routledge Taylor and Francis Group, 2000. Essex, Max, Souleymane Mboup, Phyllis J. Kanki, and Mbowa R. Kalengayi, eds. AIDS in Africa. NY: Raven Press, 1994. McGeary, Johanna. Death Stalks A Continent. Time Magazine, 2001. http://www. time. com/time/2001/aidsinafrica/cover. html April 29, 2002. Russell, Diane E. H. and Roberta A. Harmes, eds. Femicide in Global Perspective. NY: Teachers College Press, 2001.

Language of the Neanderthal Essay

It is understood that the Neanderthal was an exceptional thinker and communicator; but there are heavy debates that question whether or not it spoke with a language. Some argue that the hyoid bone of the Neanderthal was too high in relation to its larynx to enable its tongue to form words, while others argue the opposite. With respect to both theories, it was indeed a linguistic hominid. The Neanderthal skull is more similar in shape to the Homo sapien than that of hominids before it; which would make it reasonable to believe that it was able to speak using language. Since it was the transitional species however, it may have been limited in its development of language usage. History of the Neanderthal Before analyzing the arguments discussing the language used by the Neanderthals, it is important to understand what is known about them. Homo neanderthalensis is the last species in the evolution of hominids, which is not considered a â€Å"modern human.† After many years of study, and dozens of findings, scientists observed the differences in the shape of Neanderthal skulls compared to Homo sapiens. They discovered that the brain was smaller, the bones were much more robust, and that the Neanderthal had no chin. The first findings of Neanderthals were in Belgium, Germany, and Gibraltar, in the early to mid 1800s. Some of the most important findings of the Neanderthal were in the La Chapelle- aux- Saints caves of Southern France. The ideas that have come from these rolling hills have both hurt and helped the progress for valid information in Neanderthal studies. In 1908, Jean and Amà ©dà ©e Bouyssonie’s findings led many scientists to conclude that Neanderthals lived strictly in caves. This is now proven to be false. These rumors however, created widespread generalization that made Neanderthals appear vastly inferior to modern humans. One such generalization held sway and brought about artistic depictions of the Neanderthals being sluggish and  awkward creatures. These depictions were created in reflection of the reconstruction of the â€Å"OId Man of La Chapelle- Aux- Saints† by French paleontologist, Marcellin Boule. The bones in the reconstruction of this particular Neanderthal were arthritic; and â€Å"although Boule was aware of the deforming illness†¦his reconstruction apparently did not take it into account sufficiently† (Sommer 2006:213). It wasn’t until the mid- 1900s that paleoanthropologists discovered that the Neanderthal walked upright and wasn’t slouched over at all. Discussions on the Neanderthal Hyoid Bone Despite all of the progress that has been made in figuring out just who Homo neanderthalensis was, anthropologists still have a long way to go. There are many sub-topics about the enigmatic skeletal remains of the Neanderthal that are stirring up heated debates in the world of anthropology, and are still left to skepticism. One of the most controversial is whether it was able to speak with flexible tongue movements that were able to create sophisticated variances in sound; that moreover allowed it to live with social interactions that rivaled the ones we use today. The hyoid bone and larynx position of the Neanderthal compared to Homo sapiens is the most explored aspect of this debate of language. In these arguments, the morphology of the organs and bones in the neck are often times more of a concern than their functionality. The hyoid is a U shaped bone, responsible for harnessing the movements of the tongue. It is located just above the larynx, which is also known as the voice box. The larynx and hyoid bone are positioned in a way that work together to form the words heard among modern day humans. In the early 1970s, scientists E.S. Crelin and Philip Lieberman reassembled the larynx of the Neanderthal and came up with a strong theory that is still agreed with today. They found that the Neanderthal â€Å"larynx is positioned high, close to the base of the skull, and the tongue lies almost entirely within the oral cavity† (Lieberman 1975:494). Lieberman is an expert in the evolution of language and has spent a greater part of his career discussing the major differences between Neanderthal and modern human language. He has written volumes that greatly detail the morphology of the Neanderthal’s mandible and laryngeal bone structure; and has for the most part concluded that Neanderthal language was nowhere near that of modern day humans. Shortly after Lieberman and Crelins’ reconstructed Neanderthal skull, there was not yet an actual Neanderthal hyoid bone found; and other scientists and thinkers in the 1970s disagreed with the way the Neanderthal skull was reconstructed. They based this off of the fact that Crelin was using only five specimens of Neanderthals from the La Chapelle Aux Saints site and also that the culminated skull was reconstructed incorrectly. Many paleontologists believed that the way it was put together would have made it impossible for it to swallow food. â€Å"One cannot help wondering why the vocal tract remodeling concentrates so heavily on La Chapelle when La Ferrassie I is in a much better state of physical preservation† (Carlisle and Siegel 1978: 370).Despite the valid statements made by Carlisle and Siegel that account the pristine condition of the skull that was put together at the La Ferrassie I site; it still did not give any more evidence that pointed to advanced vocal communication among the Neanderthals. Around the late 1980s the first Neanderthal hyoid bone was found in the Kebara Caves of Mount Carmel, Israel. It was discovered in the middle Paleolithic layers of soil that date back to sixty thousand years ago. Upon investigation of the bone, it was discovered that it was nearly identical to those of modern humans. It is important to point out that many of noted paleontologist, Philip Lieberman’s studies were based on comparing the hyoid bones of Chimpanzees to Neanderthals. Lieberman and his colleagues reached a consensus that Neanderthals spoke more like Chimpanzees than modern humans. Chimpanzees have been reportedly able to communicate with very subtle changes in tonality, which indicates there is a primitive language there. That being said, the shape of the hyoid bone of the chimpanzee is worlds apart from the Homo sapien. Whereas, previously mentioned the hyoid was nearly identical to the Homo sapiens’. The chimpanzee’s hyoid bone is much smaller and narrower in comparison to its larynx which is partly what makes its language usage, extremely limited. Not only that, but its brain is much smaller than not only the modern human, but also the Neanderthal. Lieberman’s vast knowledge of Linguistics has made him an important figure in Archaeology, but his morphological ideals that are commonplace have left out some of the more obvious similarities between Neanderthals and Humans. Neanderthal DNA The functions of the DNA structure of the Neanderthal are often times abandoned entirely in the arguments defending their â€Å"lack of language.† Proteins extracted from digs surrounding Neanderthal sites have been analyzed in labs and their DNA structures have given researchers positive reinforcement that the Neanderthal was very similar in its genetic makeup. According to Dr. Julien Riel- Salvatore from the University of Colorado at Denver, â€Å"Genetically, they [Neanderthals] share with modern humans a distinctive mutation of the FOXP2 gene, which seems to be intimately associated with speech† (Julien Riel-Salvatore, personal communication 2011). This same mutation is not exhibited in the Chimpanzee. Neanderthals and Human Breeding There are other debates that coincide with Neanderthals being able to speak, for instance a study that shows Neanderthals may have been able to breed with humans. This is a paradox in that it would rule out the term Neanderthal entirely, because in order to breed, an animal must be of the same species. If this is true not only would it point out that Homo neanderthalensis could speak as eloquently as the Homo sapien, but the Homo neanderthalensis was a Homo Sapien. The differences would be more in the light of behavior, nomadic skills, and tool technology that made the Homo Sapien with a chin able to out-survive the other. Playful notions aside, this is still a very debatable sub-topic of Neanderthal language and many more discoveries will have to be made to prove its total validity. Misleading Theories Other noted archaeologists believe that the large nose of the Neanderthal made it incapable of speech, insisting â€Å"†¦Contrasts in facial morphology probably led to nasal-like vocalizations†¦[and for]†¦advanced hmmmmm sounds† (Mithen 2006: 226). The brief description that Mithen uses to back up this opinion does not prove anything about how the nose may have certainly caused vocal limitations. Its nose was larger in size, but so were other parts of the Neanderthal, and they were no impedance to how it got around. Conclusion Corrosion of bones and more importantly muscle tissue make many aspects of anthropology a challenging field. It is not always clear how the muscle  tissue that once surrounded the skeletons of our ancient relatives operated in relation to nerves, connective tissue, and bones. The Neanderthal is a confusing hominid because of its somewhat smaller cranial capacity, and extremely large skeletal frame. The shapes of its bones are like larger replicas of ours, aside from the skull which is unique in its brow ridge and lack of chin. The conclusions of inter-breeding seem a bit far-fetched. It may have been able to speak as well as modern humans, but perhaps in comparison to the Darwin Finches, its slight variances in structure may have selected it to extinction. Acknowledgements I would like to thank Dr. Riel- Salvatore for his feedback on the Neanderthal. I am not a professional analyst in anthropology, and am grateful that he was able to provide me with some of his personal inquiries on the controversial debates centered on Neanderthal language. Works Cited Boellstorf, Tom (Editor) 1978 Additional Comments on Problems in the Interpretation of Neanderthal Speech Capabilities Vol 80 American Anthropology Association, Virginia. Lynch, Michael (Editor) 2006 Mirror Mirror on the Wall: Neanderthal as Image and Distortion in Early 20th- Century French Science and Press Vol. 36. SAGE Publications, California. Mithen, Steven 2006 The Singing Neanderthal. Harvard University Press, Massachusetts. Riel- Salvatore, Julien (Interview) 2011 Original notes from email. Ruff, Christopher (Editor) 1996 Structural Harmony and Neanderthal Speech: A Reply to Le May Vol. 45 Wiley-Liss, New Jersey.

All Primary and Secondary Education Should Be Free Essay

Education is an important asset to any one’s life and should be available to every one of all ages. Certain levels of education should be available to people of different levels and should be easily accessible. We need a basic form of education in our everyday lives. If we did not learn simple arithmetic such as how to count or if we did not learn how to read, we would suffer in the real word. If we bought something, people could rob us of our change simply because we cannot count. We would not be able to learn if we cannot read. We would rely on pictures to describe things for us and to convey the message to us. We would lose the thrill of reading. All these basic skills are taught in primary school and everyone should have access to primary school education. It is essential that everyone goes to school and if money is what is stopping them, then the government needs to make a plan to help correct that. Primary education should be made free as it allows people to develop their brains and gain a basic knowledge of the world. The government should provide institutions which learners can attend to be educated which they currently do and they are called government schools. These schools should be subsidised by the government for people who really can’t afford school fees. If people have enough money and choose to attend a private learning institution and have to pay school fees, they should do that at their own will. School should be made compulsory from age six when children are able to understand and grasp concepts more easily until about the age of sixteen where they will have a broad knowledge of the world and can decide whether they want to further their studies in a more specialised way. The quality of learning should be of a good quality at all levels of education. Secondary education expands on the knowledge that learners have received from primary school. It is still a broad range of knowledge but more important knowledge is given to learners especially in terms of career choice paths. It should be free or subsidised by the government for people who are really underprivileged or who really can’t afford school fees. School gives children a basic knowledge in problem solving skills that they may need in their everyday lives. Secondary education is compulsory up until grade 9 since grade 10 is when learners choose specific subjects which they feel may help them later on in life or in the career they are interested in. School should be compulsory till the end of matric. It would keep young people off the street and they would be doing something constructive such as improving their education. Nobody wants to hire a sixteen-year-old which is the age you are allowed to leave school at. Those sixteen-year-olds end up jobless, sitting at home or can become involved in gangs or drugs. Instead of wasting their time, they should rather attend school. They choose not to go to school because they are lazy and need that push to make them do something. They stand a much better chance of getting a job with a matric certificate. Finishing school up until matric level also allows you to explore new areas in your life and so that you can help find yourself, your talents and your interests.

Access to Treatment and Quality Care Research Paper

Access to Treatment and Quality Care - Research Paper Example The paper concludes that the problems that individuals are facing on accessing mental health services are persistent problems that have to do with different forms of unstable payment systems. Unlike other illnesses, mental disorders face massive inconsistency and subjective limitation in insurance coverage. The quality of the care that is provided will vary between the insurance providers and knowing the differences and the similarities and the rap preview to the impact in both sectors will help us to determine the strengths and weaknesses. Once we determine the attenuating circumstances in one of these mental health treatment sectors, it will ease the road for professionals to work on it and find a way to bridging the gap. The non-profit public mental health care refers to services operated by government agencies; for example, state and county mental hospitals, and services that financed with various government resources such as Medicaid. The Community Mental Health Services Block Grant a Federal-state program that finance health care services for individuals, who are poor and disabled, and federal health insurance program primarily for older Americans and people who retire early due to disability (Heyman 2001). Mental healthcare coverage is a very controversial topic especially in the United States. Many attempts have been made beginning in the twentieth century to provide a universal healthcare coverage to all those Americans who were not insured but most of them ended up in failure due to the influence of some groups, like doctors, who saw it as a way of curtailing their freedom to practice in the service of their patients. Wynia (2007), states that many of the early efforts to provide discounted healthcare were pressured out of existence by physician groups but the rising cost of healthcare has made it a mandatory issue to be

Waste Management return-on-investment Assignment

Waste Management return-on-investment - Assignment Example Grading awareness will help isolate education needs among staff members on waste segregation according to their level of health hazard. Secondly, reviewing of all materials and items of medical supplies the hospital utilizes. This helps in identifying most wasted items thereby regulating the overall usage per day to limit waste generation (Abd El-Salam, 2010). The hospital must have a standardized method of weighing hospital generated wastes this is useful in determining daily waste generation necessitating possible adjustments in areas that generate most wastes (Abd El-Salam, 2010).It must be routine to review procedures and regulations on dealing with hospital waste. Regular maintenance of hospital incinerators and sewage system greatly lower extra cost caused by malfunctioning of these systems. Thereafter, proper assessment of the numbers, emplacement, condition, colour coding and means of collection specified (Abd El-Salam, 2010). The next step is to map the area of disposal and monitor intermittent storage area as well as waste on transit. The hospital should have a definite area of waste

Rhetoric & Popular Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Rhetoric & Popular Culture - Essay Example That is, our specific behaviors are the reflection of popular culture presented in advertisements, movies, television shows and magazines (Brummett). This paper aims to rhetorically analyze the pop culture related to advertisement. It will discuss pathos and logos, tone and style of DKNY Fragrance advertisement. Rhetoric analysis basically corresponds to the use of words in order to influence the audience (Brummett). This communication strategy is extensively used in marketing. Advertisement is one of the core components of marketing which builds awareness about a particular product and its distinguishing features. It plays a vital role in increasing sales through the specialized use of linguistics and visuals (Brummett). Description Let’s consider an example of DKNY Fragrance advertisement. This ad exceptionally uses the concept of rhetoric and popular culture, for instance the product name â€Å"Be Delicious: The Fragrance for Women by DKNY† is in itself very attracti ve and provoking. Moreover, the visuals consisted of colors and graphics appeals the target audience. A fair looking girl is presented with fruits around her to support the concept of deliciousness. Among the fruits the DKNY fragrance jar is placed in such a way that viewers can easily relate the natural element of fruits and the product (Fragrance). Although women tend to use a lot make up and cosmetics but they in reality want to be perceived as naturally gorgeous and refreshing. Hence the advertisement was designed using the rhetoric strategies to stimulate women’s instincts of natural beauty. The ad was initially published in Cosmopolitan Magazine which successfully drew the attention of readers while the lines actually persuaded them to purchase the product. The significantly attractive looks of the model played a major role in grasping the attention of majority viewers. In addition to this the overall theme, soft colors and use of language associated with the product we re equally convincing (Fragrance). Pathos and Logos Appeal The advertisement of â€Å"Be Delicious† was typically based upon pathos and logos. Pathos is basically an emotional appeal which is substantially used in marketing (Brummett). For instance, you must have observed many help projecting pictures of dying children in order to generate donations for poor. They are basically using the emotional appeal to drive an individual to participate in the fund raising campaigns. Similarly in the advertisement of DKNY Fragrance the name of the product â€Å"Be Delicious† actually provokes strong emotions among the target audience which persuades them to purchase the product. Pathos is not only used in words, rather the images and overall advertisement theme is a significant source of emotional appeal. For instance, the particular facial expressions of the model, arrangement of fruits and fragrance jar along with the background colors actually makes the foundations of rhetoric use in the advertisement (Fragrance). Logos, as opposed to pathos persuade people through proper reasoning and hence they are often used as logical appeal in marketing strategies (Brummett). For instance, cosmetic manufactures especially using herbal raw material emphasizes upon the health safety and long lasting effects of their products. Herbal products logically do not have any significant health hazards and this fact acts as a competitive advantage

The critique of We are raising a generation of deluded narcissts Essay

The critique of We are raising a generation of deluded narcissts - Essay Example The current generation of students is highly obsessed with success and fantasy, courtesy of the negative media influence on their psychology. A study undertaken for 47 cumulative years has indicated that freshmen in colleges and universities, up to a tune of 30% are regarding themselves as gifted and self-driven to success, yet their test scores indicate otherwise (Ablow, n.p.). It is the toxic psychological impact that the media has on children, adolescents and young adults that is giving such young people the illusion of being celebrities, though in a more unrealistic world. Through social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter, young people have obtained the sense of control in their world, where they display to the world what they would want the world to see, akin to the celebrities, sportsmen or movie stars, while controlling and blocking those who may poke holes into their self esteem issues (Ablow, n.p.). The friend following and the friend lists they have managed to gene rate out of such social media platforms, which are purely based on false love and false fame, make them feel that they are already stars. Playing different types of games also makes them feel as if they are Formula 1racers or sharpshooters, thus deluding their minds psychologically, such that it is the social media, the computers and the computer games that have turned into the psychological drugs addiction of the 21st century. This explains why young people are doing anything to distract themselves from reality, through becoming more and more drunk, tattooed, smokers and drug addicts, to help them sustain their false pride. This article has touched on the center nerve of the youth problem; technology, social media, advertisement and carefree society thus does little to control the unrealistic pride and fame that young people are displaying. Nothing can be true, than the fact that many lonely, lowly esteemed and less confident youths and adolescents have found salvation in the

Answer 4 questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Answer 4 questions - Essay Example After the dinner, each of the artist stands beside their work and Frida, Pablo and Claude visit them at different times. The new artists give an explanation regarding the source of inspiration on their work and these famous artists give their comments regarding the work of the new artists. Being in the field before, they are viewed to be more experienced and therefore their comments are important for the new artists to guide them through their artistic journey (Berghaus, 2000). Postmodernism is regarded as rejection of sovereign individual who is autonomous and emphasizing on anarchic collective experience that is autonomous. It is a deviation from modernism in explaining reality. Postmodernism in architecture refers to replacement of formalized and functional spaces and shapes of the modern style by aesthetics that are diverse. On the other hand, postmodernism in literature explains the representation of ideologies and styles using downright, unrealistic and impossible plots, unreliable narrators and dark humor. Examples of postmodernism in the last four Fiero chapters are in the explanation for quest for meaning and identity and liberation. Fiero in this case examines the mood of anxiety and alienation reflected arts and for identity and liberation, offers a relationship between ethnicity and visual arts. Postmodernism is reflected in the assessment of global movements for racial, political and gender equality. Postmodernism music is music that disregard s formality and focuses on creativity. Postmodernism therefore is different from modernism, romanticism and realism due to its aesthetic nature (Somigli & Moroni 2004). Jazz is mainly an art of the performers and not of the performers because its presentation majorly depends on how well it is performed regardless of how it is composed. Jazz is primarily defined by the voice of its performers and only secondarily by the contribution made by the composers. It has more technical musical activities that can

How would you describe spirituality What are some spiritual practices Research Paper

How would you describe spirituality What are some spiritual practices that are comonto various religions around the world - Research Paper Example Man always tries to live a life of Godliness, and gaining the original purpose of God through creation. In other terms, spirituality can be defined to mean being alive by the support and influence of the unseen, immortal and spiritual aspect of God. Other aspects illustrate spirituality in a context of not only the religious organizations but also through the physical health of being mentally sober and under no influence of substance and drug abuse. Sanity also denotes a sense of sober spirituality. There are common aspects of spirituality which include the attractedness to self and one to another, the general enlighten in terms of who we are and what our future holds, and the higher power, either through the system of religion affiliation and the religions or some form of unknown super power. By spiritual awareness, people find the meaning and purpose of life as regards to all mankind or to personal life. Through engaging in religious practices, rituals and spiritual practices, human beings gain a sense of direction and belonging in terms of their spirituality. It can be argued that all religious practices and rituals have a direction towards the spirituality of a person but spirituality may not necessarily be dependent on them wholly. Rituals are meaningful in that they awaken the spiritual connectedness with nature, other people, and the general universe and creation. The sacred rituals are more often related to religious practices such as prayers, meditation, spiritual ceremonies etc, while the secular have no connection to religion. They may include partying for fun, sporting activities and many more. Human beings ascribe practices and rituals to religion and systems of believe. However, it is well known that there are very many different religions and systems of beliefs in the world. Nevertheless, some universally accepted practices define

Design-ICT Modelling CW Essay Example for Free

Design-ICT Modelling CW Essay I have completed my analysis of the current system; therefore I will be interviewing, observing and identifying the user requirements. In addition, the success criteria have been successfully accomplished. These steps will help me with the design of my new system before it is implemented: Worksheets: Most of the system will be based around worksheets. Here is a list of the ones that I will produce. * Main Menu This will be the menu giving access to all the worksheets stored in the system. * Ordering- This worksheet will be the most frequently used one because it is where customers choose the halls, the decorators, caterers, music artists, venues, bars. They want to buy as well as give their personal details and available budget. This worksheet will also give the individual costs of each item available for purchase and allow calculations to be made by the spreadsheet based on the products that are chosen. * Venues This will display details of all the different venues available that are available in different areas in London * Decorators- This will display details of all the different decorating companies available with the different designs available and at the different prices. * Caterers This will display details of all the different caterers company available with what food types are available. * Music Artist- This will display details of the different music artist available and the types of music they play and how much they will charge. * Drinks (Bar)- This will display details of all the different the drink the bar sells and how much they will cost. Graphs and charts: The new system will be used to display the results of the calculations it makes in an easy-to-read format. This is why graphs and charts will need to be made. They will be used to show the number of bookings in every month and the amount spent on refurbishing the venues and the bars. These will be used to give the profits made by the business every month so they know how they are progressing as a business. Macros: The macros will be used to navigate between different worksheets can be done faster if buttons are formed within every worksheet. These buttons will be the names of every worksheet so the user can click on the name of the worksheet to open it up instantly without having to open up a list of all worksheets as they will already be listed. Algorithms: Many calculations need to be made by the spreadsheet and this is only possible when formulae are programmed into cells. Formulae are needed because without them, the staff would need to make every calculation themselves which would take a lot of time. Therefore, formulae are the solution to this problem as they work out the calculations. Testing: Once the new spreadsheet system has been made and everyone is pleased with the worksheets, graphs, macros and formulae created, I will need to test my new system in order to check whether it accomplishes all the success criteria given. User documentation: When the new spreadsheet system has been implemented, successfully tested and I am sure that it works, I will need to create a user guide that will make it easier for the staff at JJ party planners to use the new system. The user guide will include instructions on how to program certain cells with formulae for making calculations and how to select items and change them according to a given budget. It will also come with a technical guide to help with troubleshooting in case the users face technical difficulties with the system. Evaluation: The last thing I will do will be to evaluate the system by checking how it works according to my specifications. Inputs These are the inputs that need to be put into the system for it to work: * Customers name, date of birth, address and contact number * Venue, decorator, caterer and music artist wanted , budget * Date of booking Processes The system should be able to produce the outputs by carrying out the following processes: * Search for the Venue, decorator, caterer and music artist available * Calculate total prices and recalculate when the booking is changed * Increasing the quantity of the Venue, decorator, caterer and music artist available * Collecting information and calculating the profits based on the number of sales and costs. Outputs The system should be able toproduce a number of outputs from this information: * An invoice for every sale which the company keeps. This invoice should give the name of the customer, the customers contact number or address and the bookings made and total price of the booking sold as well as the date of the sale. * A receipt after a booking is made to give to the customer. * Graphs showing profit made at different times so my client is aware of how the business is progressing. * Reports showing models that have been newly bought venues or contract with new decorator, caterer and music artists

Philippine Environmental Laws Effect: Hospitality

Philippine Environmental Laws Effect: Hospitality The current environmental laws in the Philippines are policies of the state that aims to protect, conserve and develop our natural resources and the ones found and living with it. Executive Order Number 79 Section 16, Article II of the 1987 Constitution provides that the State shall protect and advance the right of the Filipino people to a balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature. It shows that the state want a protection not just on nature but also on its sovereign people. Living in the rhythm and harmony of nature is what the state wants for its people. But that was a long time ago people are contented living a simple life they are already satisfied with what the nature can offer to them. People as time goes by seek more and find ways on how to get more resources on our nature that they wouldnt mind if its already endangering the nature. Presidential Decree 1152 Philippine Environmental Policy defines the policy objectives and the strategies f or the various aspects of environmental management, such as air and water quality management, natural source development, land management, and waste management. It launches a comprehensive national program of environmental protection and management, with reference to policies and standards of noise, air quality, water quality, classification of water and waste management. In this program the proper protection and management that was supposed to be done was not followed. Quality management is needed. It is one of the major factors that cause diseases on people because our resources were not of good quality nowadays. It recognizes that a clean and healthy environment is for the good of all and should therefore be the concern of all. Clean and healthy environment is not what all Filipinos have. Only a few can experience what a healthy and clean environment is because majority of the people tend to go to urban places and eventually pollute it. Presidential Decree 389 (P.D. 705) The For estry Reform Code codifies updates and raises forestry laws in the country. It emphasizes the sustainable utilization of forest resources. When we say sustainable it is how we use the resources properly and how to maintain its productivity for future generations. This law wants to eliminate illegal logging and other forms of forest destruction which are being facilitated. Taking Care of our forest is very crucial specially to us who are living on elevated areas we are more prone on Landslide and the ones living beneath us is also affected with flashflood, mudslide and others. It is important that we would take care and propagate trees on our forests. Presidential Decree. 856 Sanitation Code places the responsibility in the local government units for he solid waste management in his area of production. People in Cities are too many it causes pollution due to overcrowding the resources is not sufficient to support the population living in a certain place. A lot of people dont practice proper hygiene on themselves and even on their environment. Overcrowding leads to unhealthy practice and lifestyle. Presidential Decree 1181 (supplements the provision of P.D. 984) providing for the abatement, control and prevention of vehicular pollution and establishing the maximum allowance emissions of specific air pollutants from all types of vehicle. We invented so many things that really have a negative impact on our nature as we go through modernization so many substances is being used that served as a poison to our natural resources and slowly killing and destroying it. The state has no control and supervision on it. The use of Cars that produce smoke, chemicals on pesticides and insecticides and even using spray will harm our mother nature. It is negligence on our part we are supposedly the stewards of it but what we are doing is we are destroying it. Lack of discipline also is happening we dont mind the laws that were made to safeguard our nature and also ourselves from harm. The environment were living in right now is not what the state envisions for us. These are general policies that pursuit a better quality of life for the present and future generations. It provides objectives and strategies for the various aspects of environmental management. Nature is really one of the major sources of income before and even nowadays. But the equal opportunity was not imposed properly by the state proper resource allocation is needed. Strictly implementation of the laws passed is not enough we need to make the citizens abide with rules and regulations not because it is one of their responsibilities as a citizen, but because of the fact that we need this law that will serve as our guidelines and manuals to continue living in ecologically balanced and healthy environment. How Hospitality and Tourism Management Course is affected in current environmental Law? The quality of the environment, both natural and man-made, is essential to tourism. However, tourisms relationship with the environment is complex. It involves many activities that can have adverse environmental effects. Many of these impacts are linked with the construction of general infrastructure such as roads and airports, and of tourism facilities, including resorts, hotels, restaurants, shops, golf courses and marinas. In Hospitality Industry we offer products and services that are tangibles and intangibles. Attractive landscape sites, such as sandy beaches, lakes, riversides, and mountain tops and slopes, are often transitional zones, characterized by species-rich ecosystems. Hotel and Tourism Industry is anchored on natural resources. And it is where we usually build infrastructure we usually convert and developed the place to cater to our guests. The fact that most tourists chose to maintain their relatively high patterns of consumption (and waste generation) when they reac h their destinations can be a particularly serious problem for the industry as Philippines a developing country without the appropriate means for protecting our natural resources and local ecosystems from the pressures of mass tourism. Hospitality and Tourism Industry contributes a lot with this destruction. As a number one contributor our industry is affected with many these laws imposed it limits our capacity to render and innovate more on our products and services offered to our present and future guests. The Industrys business areas, the facilities being operated and managed as well as our locations and activities are also affected. We need to comply with environmental legislation, regulation and standards. We also need to identify the extents to which environmental issues are being considered and addressed in the operations, services and products of the organizations that are part of our industry. The Industry needs to commit on how we are going to manage the operations and ser vices to achieve environmental objectives and targets. The Hospitality and Tourism Industry must show where the organization stands on its environmental performance in relation to its operations, services and products. These environmental laws can make major impacts on the organizations activities, services and production processes. Those processes may have cause impact on the environment. It will take into considerations the planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance of all properties facilities and services. We need to develop or adapt procedures and technologies to the benefit of both the environment and wider community and still maintaining in reaching or exceeding our guests expectation. The practice of our staff, contractors, suppliers and customers must be with of responsibility for their actions and to comply with their environmental obligations. Suppliers taking part in the environmental protection initiatives will be considered. Purchasing strategies with th e suppliers and the materials needed is also affected we need to make sure that it does not add cost to the problem. Like in purchasing initiatives we must consider those who are committed to sustainable environmental development, and continuously seek environmentally-friendly products and services that represent genuine value for money. The industry need to devise the most innovative and practical environmental improvement initiatives. We need to provide products and services that have the minimum adverse impact on the environment. The industries employees and staff is also affected they need to carry out regular internal programmes of education and training to enhance environmental awareness amongst themselves. How can Hotel and Tourism Management Course help to improve the current environmental situation in the Philippines? Tourism can be considered one of the most remarkable socio-economic phenomena of the twentieth century. From an activity enjoyed by only a small group of relatively well-off people during the first half of the last century, it gradually became a mass phenomenon during the post World War II period, particularly from the 1970s onwards. It now reaches larger and larger numbers of people throughout the world, and is a source of employment for a significant segment of the labor force. And now Hospitality and Tourism Industry is one of the largest and fastest growing industry in the world has growing adverse impacts on our environment. It provides considerable economic benefits for many countries, regions and communities; its rapid expansion has also had detrimental environmental and socio-cultural impacts. Natural resource depletion and environmental degradation associated with tourism are serious problems. The management of natural resources to reverse this trend is thus one of the most difficult challenges for governments at different levels. The main environmental impacts of tourism are (a) pressure on natural resources, (b) pollution and waste generation and (c) damage to ecosystems. Furthermore, it is now widely recognized that not only uncontrolled tourism expansion is likely to lead to environmental degradation, but also that environmental degradation, in turn, poses a serious threat to tourism. Tourism is closely linked to biodiversity and the attractions created by a rich and varied environment. It can also cause loss of biodiversity when land and resources are strained by excessive use, and when impacts on vegetation, wildlife, mountain, marine and coastal environments and water resources exceed the carrying capacity. This loss of biodiversity in fact means loss of tourism potential. Global tourism is closely linked to climate change. Tourism involves the movement of people from their homes to other destinations and accounts for about 50% of traffic moveme nts; rapidly expanding air traffic contributes about 2.5% of the production of CO2. Tourism is thus a significant contributor to the increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Air travel itself is a major contributor to the greenhouse effect. Passenger jets are the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions. The number of international travelers is expected to increase, adding greatly to the problem unless steps are taken to reduce emissions. Despite its many adverse impacts, tourism can help improved the current environmental situation by preservation and conservation of sensitive important sites in our country. Furthermore, tourism that focuses on cultural and historic sites (sometimes referred to as heritage tourism) can be the driving force for the preservation and rehabilitation of existing historic sites, buildings, and monuments. The Hospitality and Tourism Industry can contribute to environmental conservation through: (a) Direct financial contri butions; we can contribute directly to the conservation of sensitive areas and habitat. Contributions to government revenues; governments collect money in more far-reaching and indirect ways that are not linked to specific parks or conservation areas. User fees, income taxes, taxes on sales or rental of recreation equipment, and license fees for activities can provide governments with the funds needed to manage natural resources. Such funds can be used for overall conservation programs and activities. (b) Improved environmental management and planning; Sound environmental management of tourism facilities and especially hotels can increase the benefits to natural areas. But this requires careful planning for controlled development, based on analysis of the environmental resources of the area. Planning helps to make choices between conflicting uses, or to find ways to make them compatible. By planning early for tourism development, damaging and expensive mistakes can be prevented, avo iding the gradual deterioration of environmental assets significant to tourism. (c) Environmental awareness raising; Tourism has the potential to increase public appreciation of the environment and to spread awareness of environmental problems when it brings people into closer contact with nature and the environment. This confrontation may heighten awareness of the value of nature and lead to environmentally conscious behavior and activities to preserve the environment. (d) Protection and preservation; Tourism can significantly contribute to environmental protection, conservation and restoration of biological diversity and sustainable use of natural resources. Because of their attractiveness, pristine sites and natural areas are identified as valuable and the need to keep the attraction alive can lead to creation of national parks and wildlife parks. (e) Alternative employment; Tourism can provide an alternative to development scenarios that may have greater environmental impacts. ( f) Regulatory measures; Regulatory measures help offset negative impacts. It controls the number of tourist activities and movement of visitors within protected areas and it can limit impacts on the ecosystem and help maintain the integrity and vitality of the site. Such limits can also reduce the negative impacts on resources. Limits should be established after an in-depth analysis of the maximum sustainable visitor capacity. The Hospitality and Tourism Industry has now an increasing agreement on the need to promote sustainable tourism development to minimize its environmental impacts and to ensure more sustainable management of natural resources. The concept of sustainable tourism, as developed in the United Nations sustainable development process, refers to tourist activities leading to management of all resources in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, and biological diversity and life support systems. These sustainability concerns are, therefore, beginning to be addressed by governments at national, regional and local, as well as international, levels. In addition, given the leading role of the private sector in the tourism industry has many initiatives that have also been taken by this sector. The main policy areas regarding sustainable tourism are: (a) the promotion of national strategies for sustainable tourism development, including the decentralization of environmental management to regional and local levels, (b) the use of both regulatory mechanisms and economic instruments, (c) the support for voluntary initiatives by the industry itself, and (d) the promotion of sustainable tourism. The Industry needs to formulate and effectively apply an appropriate mix of regulatory and economic instruments for both sustainable natural resources management and environmental protection. The most direct tool for promoting sustainable tourism involves the use of r egulatory mechanisms, such as, integrated land-use planning and coastal zone management. In many cases, it may be necessary to protect coastlines through rigid building restrictions, such as, existing legislation that bans any buildings within a defined distance from the coast. It is also essential that environmental regulations be applied transparently throughout the tourism sector, regardless of business size, type of tourism activity concerned or location. Mass tourism, in particular, should be carefully monitored, regulated and sometimes even prohibited in ecologically fragile areas. In protected areas, such as national parks and natural world heritage sites, tourism activities should be strictly subject to the preservation of biological diversity and ecosystems, not stressing their limited capacity to absorb human presence without becoming damaged or degraded. The Industry has voluntary industry initiatives which tend to oppose greater government regulation and taxation of the industry on the grounds that they are ultimately detrimental to efficiency, competitiveness and profits. The tourism industry has thus developed several self-regulation and voluntary initiatives to promote greater environmental sustainability. These include waste and pollution reduction schemes, voluntary codes of conduct, industry awards and eco-labels for sustainable tourism. In addition, environmental management schemes to encourage responsible practices have been promoted in various sub-sectors, including hotel and catering, recreation and entertainment, transportation, travel agencies and tour operators. To achieve this emphasis it must be directed to sustainable ecotourism development as the core in this industry supported by expansion in the hospitality service sector. There is inadequate skilled manpower in this sector but the future of tourism needs product diversification, opening up of new tourist circuits, promotion of domestic tourism and provision of skilled manpower. The programme in Ecotourism and Hospitality Management is designed to train manpower to meet these challenges. Sources: http://www.chanrobles.com/eono79-2012.php#.UFWWlLLiYpA http://mboard.pcaarrd.dost.gov.ph/forum/viewtopic.php?id=12137 http://bio427.blogspot.com/2010/10/environmental-laws-of-philippines.html http://www.gdrc.org/uem/eco-tour/envi/index.html http://www.mtnforum.org/sites/default/files/pub/1423.pdf

A1 Steak Sauce Case Study

A1 Steak Sauce Case Study Chef Brookes of England originally created A1 Steak Sauce in 1824. He was chef to King George IV of England with his partner Chef Henderson Brand. Legend has it the king was so delighted with the sauce that he declared it A1 and thus the name was born (Kerin Peterson, 2010). In 1830, Chef Brand stole the recipe from Chef Brookes and began commercial production under the Brand Co. label in 1831 (Wikipedia, 2011). Today, A1 Steak Sauce is owned and manufactured by Kraft Foods (Kerin Peterson). It is the leader in the steak sauce category with a 54 percent dollar share and 46 percent volume share (Kerin Peterson, 2010). It has high brand awareness and asserts, Nine out of ten steak houses serve A1 (Kerin Peterson, 2010). This case will provide a summary and analysis of A1 Steak Sauce with an emphasis on pricing strategies as well as an assessment of the companys strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Problem Identification Summer holidays such as Memorial Day and Forth of July are essential for steak sauce brands because this is when a significant percentage of products are sold. Approximately 10 percent of A1 Steak Sauce volume is sold during each holiday week (Kein Peterson, 2010). During these holidays, advertising competition is intense because retailers support only one brand in a particular category during a promotional week (Kerin Peterson, 2010). Lawrys, a direct competitor to A1, is promoting a new steak sauce product beginning April 2003 (Kerin Peterson, 2010). They want to aggressively advertise the new product with Publix on Memorial Day (Kerin Peterson, 2010). Publix is the largest grocery store chain in the United States (Kerin Peterson, 2010). A1 usually advertises with Publix on Memorial Day because this results in a majority of product sale. If Lawrys is allowed to advertise with Publix, then A1 will not meet its 2003 fiscal profit target. Chuck Smith, senior brand manager for A1, scheduled a meeting with his business team to assess the situation and formulate a plan (Kerin Peterson, 2010). They will discuss marketing and pricing strategies in response to Lawrys new product introduction. A1 wants to retain position as market leader in the steak sauce category. Case Analysis Kraft Foods is the largest food company in the United States and the second largest food company in the world (Kerin Peterson, 2010). Kraft Foods has a portfolio of 67 major brands, each with over $100 million in annual sales (Kerin Peterson). Their portfolio includes categories such as coffee, frozen pizza, cheese, candy, cereal, mayonnaise, and barbecue sauce (Kerin Peterson, 2010). Kraft Foods direct competitors include Unilever, General Mills, PepsiCo, and Nestle (Kerin Peterson, 2010). Unilever is the largest consumer product company in the world, which owns and manufactures Lawrys (Kerin Peterson, 2010). Kraft Foods and Unilever aggressively compete in several food categories such as salad dressings, mayonnaise, and marinades (Kerin Peterson, 2010). Unilever has $50 billion in sales annually (Kerin Peterson, 2010). The company portfolio includes products such as Dove, Slim-Fast, Vaseline, Close-Up, Breyers, and Axe (Unilever, 2011). The companys financial goal is for 200 of their brands to have $1 billion in annual sales (Kerin Peterson, 2010). Although Unilevers revenue is $18,547 million more than Kraft Foods, their income after taxes is $957 million less than Kraft Foods (Kerin Peterson, 2010). Kraft Foods spends 15 percent of operating revenue on advertising (Kerin Peterson, 2010). A1 advertising focuses on television spots running throughout the year (Kerin Peterson, 2010). Customer promotions make up five percent of operating revenue (Kerin Peterson, 2010). In addition, A1 supports a partnership with beef producers (Kerin Peterson, 2010). Retail margins are 30 percent for all A1 flavors (Kerin Peterson, 2010). A1 has increased its price over the years and has a gross profit margin of 83 percent (Kerin Peterson, 2010). Ten percent of revenue goes towards in-store promotional efforts and trade promotions (Kerin Peterson, 2010). The retail price for A1 Steak Sauce is $4.99 for a 10-ounce bottle (Kerin Peterson, 2010). The A1 line includes a number of flavors, which are original, sweet tangy, bold spicy, thick hearty, and smoky mesquite (Kerin Peterson, 2010). The majority of sales are made of A1 original flavor (Kerin Peterson, 2010). The retail price for Lawrys Steak Sauce is $3.99 for an 11-ounce bottle (Kerin Peterson, 2010). However, Lawrys is not A1s biggest competitor. The retail price for A1s biggest competitor, Heinz 57, is $4.79 for a 10-ounce bottle but the product is different in taste and appearance (Appendix A). Heinz does not market directly against A1; instead, they advertise a multifaceted brand message (Kerin Peterson, 2010). Lawrys Steak Sauce will place enormous marketing weight to promote its new product (Kerin Peterson, 2010). The company will allocate $20 million on advertising during the summer months (Kerin Peterson, 2010). Although Lawrys shelf pricing is significantly lower than A1 and Heinz, loyalty in steak sauce brand is high with limited competition (Kerin Peterson, 2010). Identifying the Root Problem Components A1 Steak Sauce has several issues that will affect marketing and pricing strategies. The issues are brand awareness, pricing strategies, product promotions, financial allocation for advertising, and fiscal profit margins. First, A1 Steak Sauce is the best selling brand in the category. It is the original steak sauce in the industry, which is dominated by a few competitors. The company holds 54 percent of the steak sauce in dollars (Kerin Peterson, 2010). The remaining competitors make up 46 percent of steak sauce dollars divided between them. Introduction of Lawrys may reduce A1s percentage instead of the remaining competitors percentage. Second, Publix may let Lawrys advertise on Memorial Day. Lawrys will offer a two-for-$5 promotional price point (Kerin Peterson, 2010). If Lawrys enters into an alliance with Publix, then revenue of A1 Steak sauce will significantly decrease. A1 sells about 10 percent of volume on Memorial Day weekend (Kerin Peterson, 2010). Third, it is standard practice that manufacturers cover the cost of in-store price reductions in order for retailers to keep their margins constant on a percentage basis (Kerin Peterson, 2010). Price matching is an option but will significantly decrease profit margins. In addition, existing customers may hold out purchasing A1 until the price drops again. Evaluation of Alternatives A1 Steak Sauce has several alternatives to evaluate, which are categorized as offensive or defensive strategies. Offensive strategies include encirclement, flanking maneuver, or frontal assault. Defensive strategies include decreasing the incentive for attack or increasing structural barriers. In addition, the company can formulate a novel marketing concept in reply to Lawrys. First, encirclement may immerse Lawrys with product availability, strategic pricing, and variety of flavors. Second, a flanking maneuver will attack Lawrys weakest area and capitalize from the strategy. Third, a frontal assault will cause A1 to price match and copy the promotions of Lawrys. A risky maneuver is to decrease the incentive for attack. A1 Steak Sauce will considerably drop its prices, which will slash Lawrys prospects of future revenue. However, it will decrease A1s prospects of future revenue as well. Increasing structural barriers will retard Lawrys marketing and advertising strategies. A1 Steak Sauce can enter into formal agreements with distributers and suppliers or be involved in backward vertical integration. A1 will try to decrease costs by increasing scale economies. The company can introduce new products into the market, which will arrest entry by competitors. A1 Steak Sauce can negotiate ideal shelf placement and sustain a greater percentage of space in the steak sauce category. The company can procure end cap displays, specifically near the meat and beef aisles. In addition, the company can collaborate with major restaurant chains to place A1 on every table and include it in the ingredients list. Consumers who are indifferent to steak sauce brand may purchase based on price alone. Acquiring new consumers will be financially advantageous because of loyalty to their brand. A1 Steak Sauce can offer samples of steak sauce in supermarket kiosks. Capturing the palate of new consumers through samples can result in longitudinal sales. SWOT Analysis (S)trengths A1 Steak Sauces high quality and brand awareness distinguishes it from the competition, which is limited to Heinz 57, Lawrys, and various private label brands. The company enjoys the largest percentage of market share in the steak sauce industry. A1 holds the title of being the original steak sauce in the industry. Consumers highly associate A1 with barbeque foods such as steak. Nine out of ten steak houses serve A1 (Kerin Peterson, 2010). (W)eaknesses A1 Steak Sauce is strongly associated with steak and not other meats. This makes brand extension difficult. Past efforts in brand extension were unsuccessful. A1 is used during meals that include hamburger and steak, which is infrequent. Combined with a small serving size, a bottle of A1 will last a considerable amount of time. (O)pportunities A1 Steak Sauce can strategically market and advertise during television cooking programs. There are dozens of cooking shows in addition to a television network. Forming partnerships with television shows will be paramount in successful brand awareness. A1 is available worldwide. The company can market and advertise in other countries and languages. This will guarantee brand awareness at an international level. (T)hreats A1 Steak Sauces most immediate threat is the introduction of Lawrys. A1 does not want to be runner-up on Memorial Day advertising. Lawrys offers an 11-ounce bottle of steak sauce for $3.99 compared to A1s 10-ounce bottle for $4.99. If beef prices continue to rise, consumers will be price-conscious on related condiments. Recommendation A1 Steak Sauce has a competitive advantage due to large profit margins, brand awareness, and availability at retail stores and restaurants. The large profit margin allows A1 to adjust their pricing strategies during the summer holidays. However, price matching can be sabotaging because existing consumers may hold out to purchase until the prices drop. Effective pricing strategies are essential for attracting new consumers to the A1 Steak Sauce brand. The company should advertise to new consumers because these individuals are more likely to purchase other brands. Offering a bundled package with meats will keep profit margins high and add to the appeal of a premier product. A core competency is A1s ability to have a recognized and distinguished brand position. Existing consumers are not likely to switch brands on one of the biggest grilling days of the year. Existing consumers enjoy the flavor of A1 and, therefore, will be skeptical experimenting with other brands. New consumers may purchase a steak sauce brand based solely on the lowest price. Capturing the palate of new consumers will be possible by offering samples of A1 Steak Sauce prior to the summer holidays. A1 has strong sustained relationships with retail stores and restaurants. This gives A1 priority in advertising during the summer holidays. In addition, if Lawrys advertises on Memorial Day but does not have expected sales, then retail stores will lose revenue as well. A1 Steak Sauce is the leading brand in the industry. The company can price it higher than its competitors due to its high quality and brand awareness. Decreasing the price will reduce the perception of quality, which is paramount to the brand.

Parallel Experiences of Three Troubled Women in Cunninghams, The Hours

Parallel Experiences of Three Troubled Women in Cunningham's, The Hours According to Chronicles magazine, "Woolf was undeniably a brilliant writer." Woolf's work of Mrs. Dalloway was read by fifteen-year-old Michael Cunningham in order to impress an older girl in school. As he stated, "the book really knocked me out." Once older, Cunningham wanted to write about Mrs. Dalloway, but thought not too many people would want to read a book about reading a book. He then thought he might want to read a book about reading the right book. Hence, The Hours was written. Cunningham would incorporate Mrs. Dalloway into "a book about reading a book." The Hours weaves through three woman's lives. As the novel unfolds, it shows that these three women are related by parallel experiences. The first narrative is Virginia Woolf, the famous author. She is one of the main women in this complex story. Woolf has a troublesome life. She has multiple thoughts of suicide and death. She is anorexic and caught in a marriage that is doomed. The first chapter by Cunningham tells of Woolf's suicide drowning in 1941. Cunningham tells of the demons within Woolf's head and the consequently her fatal death from listening to these voices. The novel then moves to the stories of two modern American women who are trying to make rewarding lives for themselves. Laura Brown is a fragile middleclass housewife and mother in 1951. She lives a miserable life trying to play the model suburban housewife. Throughout The Hours, Laura is reading Mrs. Dalloway, which is Virginia's novel. Her obvious mental illness doesn't allow her to always connect and understand her environment. Situations that seem simple to the average person, such as making a cake, are beyond difficu... ...fter reading the story and watching it, I still have difficulty interrupting it. Yet, by looking at the ambiguities, gaps and strategically placed metaphors I can understand it better. Cunningham does a good job of tying these three stories together into a novel about reading a book. I would highly recommend this book to the advanced reader. Works Cited Axemaker, Sean. "Driven to Live." Rev. of The Hours, by Michael Cunningham. Eugene Weekly: 23 Jan. 2003 "Be Afraid of Virginia Woolf." Chronicles: March 2003. Cunningham, Michael. The Hours. New York: Picador USA, 1998. Doig, Will. "Man of The Hours: Michael Cunningham's Unlikely Runaway Smash." Metro Weekly 23 Jan. 2003. Merriam-Webster. Webster's New American Dictionary. New York: Smithmark, 1995. Sipiora, Phillip. Reading and Writing about Literature. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2002.

Free YGB Essay: Deciphering a Passage of Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown :: Free Essays on Young Goodman Brown

Deciphering a Passage from Young Goodman Brown " Lo! There ye stand, my children†¦'" In the first line of this passage, the figure is trying to gain the trust of the people congregated around the alter. This figure, Satan, is standing before the citizens of Salem addressing them as 'my children' in order to lure them into a false belief in him as their savior. His deep, solemn, and almost sad tone commands sincerity and, seemingly, his feelings of sadness that their belief in God did not work out. 'His once angelic nature' is used to portray that he too was once a follower of God but also chose the road to evil in an effort to empathize with the people of Salem. 'Depending upon one another's hearts, ye had still hoped, that virtue were not all a dream,' was said by Satan to suggested he knew that some of the people of Salem desperately tried to believe that they could be saved and that there were another way other than through evil. Satan then cries, 'Now are ye undeceived! Evil is the nature of mankind.' This is to imply that he is wiping the sleep from people's eyes and it uncovering the truth- that evil is the only way- the natural way. Only through evil can the masses can be happy instead of through any other belief. He again welcomes the people standing before him into his evil kingdom through 'the communion of your race!' "Young Goodman Brown" is a portrayal of one man who bids farewell to his wife, Faith, to undertake a secret journey into the night. He sets off on his way at sunset into a thick forest to rendez-vous with an old man who is to lead him to this secret deep in the woods, the secret being a meeting to welcome the people of Salem to Satan's evil kingdom. Goodman Brown, throughout the story, is in conflict with himself as to why he is doing this. He tries to turn back many times but is once again drawn to this inevitable journey by the old traveler. Once he arrives near the meeting, he hears Faith succumb to Satan and rushes to be with her. Goodman Brown then awakes in the forest and returns to Salem. He sees the people who had attended the fiend-worship and can only think evil thoughts of them and their hippocratic ways.

Curleys Wife Victim or Dynamite? Essay

Introduction In the novella, â€Å"Of Mice and Men â€Å", written by John Steinbeck, he is able to portray the fact that the character that was mainly involved in Lennie’s downfall was Curley’s Wife or that she has brought all the problems for the men living working in the farm. There are different points of view on whether she is Miss Dynamite or a victim. Nevertheless there are different facts that need to be considered for both sides of the argument. Second Paragraph One of the arguments of the novella is whether Curley’s Wife is Miss Dynamite or on whether she is a victim. She comes in the story as a very strong character and the reader is able to perceive this. She is always trying to seduce men and this is incorrect as she is a married woman. â€Å"She smiled archly and twitched her body†. This gives the impression that she is not interested in what others think and the only thing that she is thinking about is in having fun. Women that were married weren’t supposed to that kind of fun. She conveys that she is not concerned about her husband. If she would be interested in her marriage she might maybe have a good time and in some way start loving her husband. However there is the detail that her husband is not always with her â€Å"I’m trying to find Curley Slim†. She is really not interested in finding Curley, she just wants some companion but she could talk that with her husband and start to solve the problems within them and start to enjoy the company between them. Moreover she should not act as a victim and she could really do something about the fact that she is bored. She could read a book or do some other activities and as mentioned before she could talk to her husband about it. What she is doing is not benefiting anyone, she is getting herself and the workers into trouble and she, instead of becoming a nice person to be around, becomes an annoying person. On the other hand there is the argument that she is a victim on how she is being treated and the fact that she is really lonely and that her husband does not pay any attention to her.

Federalism in the Philippines Essay

A pleasant morning to everyone, I am, AB Political Science. I am here in front of you to discuss about the value and importance of education. First of all, what is education? As far as I am concern, education is the delivery of knowledge, skills and information from teachers to students, inadequate to capture what is really important about being and becoming educated. The proper definition is basically the process of becoming an educated person, but that begs the question of what counts as an educated person. Being an educated person means you have access to optimal states of mind regardless of the situation you are in. You are able to perceive accurately, think clearly and act effectively to achieve self-selected goals and aspirations. Therefore, education is the process of mapping your experiences and finding a variety of reliable routes to optimal states of mind when you find yourself in non-optimal states. But, what was the problem behind in regards of education in our country? The first thing that comes up in my mind was the mentality that we Filipinos posses and also the corruption as well in our country. First, let me give you my short perspective about the corruption in country. As a senior Political Science student here in Adamson University, I was able to know about how our government runs and also the process and purposes on each and every department in our country. In our country there are three main branches of the government such as the Executive Department, Legislative Department, and the Judiciary Department. In every department in our government there are their own agencies, organizations, departments, or bureaus that help to execute and implement the rules and regulations that our government possesses. This agencies or organizations are known as the Quasi-department or also known as the four department of our government. As far as I know each department of our government was their own way of corruption. The biggest budget that our government has is the Department of Education but sad to say that this department is also the one of the agencies or organizations that has severe corruption in our country. The best evidence that I can tell you is the Public Schools that our country has, look at the public school in our country especially in the urban areas and you will see the evidence lack of chairs for the young students, low salaries for the teachers, and very old equipments for teaching and this all caused to poor standards of teaching and learning. In this connection, I am strongly believe that we should not all blame this failure to our government. The duty of our government is to protect us, maintain our economic progress, and give us due process of law that I think our government failed to implement and execute. But, like I said earlier we Filipinos has also our own mistakes and wrong mentality the â€Å"Bahalana mentality† that one of the reason why many of our country men did not prosper in their life. People should think twice or much better more than twice, before they acts or decide things. The problem of our generation today is that, some of the students did not really know the real value and importance of education. Some of them adopt the â€Å"Bahalana mentality† they rather choose to destroy their life instead of going to school and have a better future. Some of the students now a day did not really knew the real obligation of a true student. Some of them tend to go to the computer shops and play online games or worst going to bar and get drunk and waste the money that their parents gave them. I am not speaking in front of you all as representative of the conservative people but rather a victim of this tremendous crime. So, I am strongly encouraging all of the students to change their bad hobbies into a responsible students and also a responsible citizen of our country. Thank you.

Abortion from a Kantian and Utilitarianism Perspective

Population Growth You and me, we aren’t that different. But when we compare ourselves to the 6. 2 billion people in this world or even the 287. 4 million in the United States, we start to become really different. Take all of the high-rises and stack them up and I bet we could go to the moon. Now you tell me that is not over-population. This world is growing with people everyday and it doesn’t stop. Because of the population and its growth our resources are becoming limited. Our garbage production on this planet is atrocious! It all needs to stop right now.If we stop populating this world with more people we would become better off later on. Like I said our natural resources are limited and everyday a lot of them are getting thrown in the trash. These are all things that have to do with population. Everyday we are changing the environment around us, whether it is building roads, houses or any other thing in that matter. In doing so we are taking up space on Earth. Which means that we are running out of room to grow. And pretty soon we will have no room to grow on this planet. In Bangladesh there are 2,405 people per square mile.Hong Kong is virtually made of high-rises that 6. 8 million people live in. The Chinese region of Macaa is 57,369 people per square mile. These numbers are all because we are running out of room to grow, thus we are turning to high-rises. Brazil has a population of 176. 5 million people and eight out of ten people live in towns or cities and it grows 1. 3% each year. 1. 3% is what the world’s average growth rate is. And you think that is bad, look at Africa, which has a growth rate of 2. 4% and of course is the highest in the world.Tokyo, Japan, home of 34 million Japanese, is the largest city in the world. Mexico City, Mexico has 22. 4 million el locos living in it. New York, New York, has 21. 8 million people in its borders and is the 4th largest city. Sao Paulo, Brazil, has 20 million people that I get to go meet a nd it is the 5th largest city. The 8th largest city is Los Angeles, California that is home to 17. 8 million Americans. The 19th largest city is Rio de Janeiro, which is home to 12 million Brazilians who I also get to meet. Number 26 is Chicago, Illinois, home to 9. 7 million Americans.Like I said, this world is growing. In 15,000 BC, 5 million people started hunting and gathering food for themselves. In 5,000 BC there were 66 million people in the world and they could finally settle in one place and farm. And now look at this world! The numbers of humans has never been on the downfall for very long. But the world’s growth rate has been falling at more or less . 1% annually. As you recall, the average growth rate is 1. 3%. In about 40 years from now, more than 50 countries will experience negative growth with a world growth rate at about 0. 34% per year.Like I’ve said, there are some natural resources that are running out. 70% of the Earth is covered in water. Only 25% of water supplies are clean and healthy in Ethiopia. 69% of water we use is for farming. Since 10,000 BC, humans have destroyed half of our world’s forest. Lets face it; mineral resources are finite and should be recycled for future generations. For example, the 287. 4 million Americans use ten times the amount of oil Africa does with 840 million people. Although this is not a renewable resource, it is a natural one we are going to run out of real soon.As common sense kicks in, we realize that the more people there are the more oil we use. Now you can take that fact and apply it to ANY resource. To set it straight, 2,000 years ago there were 250 million people in the world. 1700. 679 million people 1900. 1. 63 billion people 1920. 1. 96 billion people 1950. 2. 52 billion people 1990. 5. 29 billion people in the world. In 1999 the world hit 6 billion people. Today there is about 6. 3 billion and it is growing every day. This is not a good thing. Our environment is being stret ched to its limits and it has to stop. We need to stop it by stopping population growth.

Role of the Learning Mentor

A 2, 500 word assignment which examines the role of the learning mentor and analyses the strategies used in supporting science, evaluating the impact on pupils’ learning. This essay will explore and evaluate the role, the responsibilities and the purpose of the learning mentor. It will highlight and review strategies used in schools today to support children’s education, assisting them to develop skills and achieve their full potential. The learning mentor has a large range of duties which require the ability to encourage social inclusion, collaborate with external agencies for specialist support and expand care to families and carers.Responsibilities also include the contribution to the assessment of pupils, the transition and pastoral care of vulnerable students and to identify and remove barriers to learning that some young people are faced with during their time in education. All of these areas will be considered and analysed. I will thoroughly examine current pract ice, theory and reflect upon my own development. Whilst examining the role of the learning mentor, I will be specifically looking at science and how it is taught and supported in schools today.My aim is to highlight the importance of the learning mentor and the impact they have on a child’s achievement and success. It will also indicate how the learning mentor’s holistic approach builds self confidence, a sense of emotional belonging and overall creates the best conditions for students to flourish academically as well as personally. Consequently, this will allow me to develop and improve my own practice and professional progression in the future. Education has not always recognised the holistic needs and development of children.However, over the years, the education system has seen a considerable amount of changes. It has been revolutionalised, transforming teaching from learning by rote to a multisensory, child centred, personalised education. This is due to many fact ors such as the development of technology, changes in society, values and attitudes, the recognition of children with additional needs and the implementation of learning mentors and support staff. So, when were learning mentors first introduced into schools and why?In 1999, as an out come from the 1997 White Paper, the Excellence in Cities (EiC) initiative was launched by the government to raise standards of attainment and was first piloted in disadvantaged, inner-city schools. As stated in Excellence in Cities: The National Evaluation of a Policy to Raise Standards in Urban Schools 2000-2003 (2005), Britain was in need of ‘inclusive schooling that recognises the different talents of all children and delivers excellence for everyone’. To achieve this objective, EiC implemented a gifted and talented programme, to provide extra support for 5-10 per cent of pupils in each school.Learning Support Units (LSU’s) were also introduced to provide intervention teaching and support programmes for difficult or vulnerable students and learning mentors were created to help students overcome educational or behaviour problems, ensuring that schools were inclusive of all. As highlighted by M. K Smith (1999) schools were able to utilise Learning Mentors for different matters according to their individuality, however the government did set out for the leaning mentor, four main objectives. These core beliefs from EiC are explained in Good Practice Guidelines for Learning Mentors (DFES 2001).Firstly, the learning mentor should have high expectations for every pupil, meeting the needs of all and taking an individualised approach to teaching and learning, ensuring barriers are removed so children can aspire regardless of the difficulties they may come up against. Barriers to opportunities could include family problems, bullying, low self esteem and poor social skills. The learning mentor must also establish good working relationships with pupils, parents, the com munity and other outside agencies.By creating a network, schools are able to work collaboratively to promote diversity, share good teaching practice and enhance performance throughout the area. The role of the learning mentor was not only introduced to improve the progress of low ability students, following a report by J. Freeman in 1998 which investigated research on the teaching and learning of high ability children, the government recognised that ‘provision for the highly able was not satisfactory’ and that children who are gifted and talented ‘have as much of an entitlement to have their needs addressed’ OFSTED (2001).Therefore, learning mentors provide extended learning opportunities to pupils to assure the prevention of a ‘glass ceiling’ that could potentially restrict performance. Besides from the objectives set out by the government, the role of the learning mentor is complex and extensive. Good Practice Guidelines for Learning Mentors (DFES 2001) makes clear that they are disciplinarians, nor classroom assistants. They are an active listener, a role model, a guide who negotiates targets and supports pupils, carers and parents whilst remaining reliable, non judgemental and realistic. R.Rose and M Doveston (2008:145) defines mentoring as ‘learning within a social context’ with learning mentors recognising ‘the necessity to ensure that students feel both comfortable with and in control of the learning process. ’ This social collaboration is clearly influenced by Vygotsky (1962) and his theory of social constructivism. A key point of Vygotskys theory is the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). As explain by Oakley (2004), the ZPD is the gap between a child’s actual level and the level of which the child could achieve with the guidance from an experienced adult, in this case, the learning mentor.This adult intervention can also be linked to the idea that Bruner put forward, labelling th is type of assistance as ‘scaffolding’. A concept where a more able person provides guidance and support until the learner becomes independent. When evaluating the helping relationship, G. Egan’s theory takes a holistic, person centred approach, resulting in the ability to ‘develop more options in their lives’, Egan (1990:7). The changes brought about by EiC have shaped the way education system is today, with teachers and learning mentors taking on a child centred, holistic, inclusive and personalised approach.In 2006, the Department for Education and Skills published the 2020 vision: report of the Teaching and Learning in 2020 Review presenting a vision to provide pupils with personalised learning offering a more adaptable curriculum. The 2020 vision: report of the Teaching and Learning in 2020 Review (2006:3) points out that ‘When taken as a whole across the education system, in all schools, for all pupils, we think personalising learning has the potential to transform education. ’ The Assessment for Learning Strategy 2008 explains the importance of assessment in education.It aims to ensure every child is aware of their performance and how to improve allowing them to become independent initiators of their own learning and by informing parents and carers of assessment outcomes, children are also supported at home. In schools, assessment for learning happens constantly by teachers, learning mentors, teaching assistant and peers. Examples of formative assessment are precise learning objectives, peer and self assessment and immediate verbal or written feedback. Summative assessment gives a broader view of improvement and uses standardised tests.Assessment is essential for schools to plan the next steps for pupils in order to close the gap in attainment and is vital to effective personalised teaching and learning. In 2008, OFSTED evaluated the impact of assessment for learning on inclusion identifying that it is benef icial to pupils with special educational needs (SEN), providing pupils with the opportunity to discuss, question, explore and review ‘builds an understanding of what success looks like and how to apply skills’ OFSTED (2008:21).Assessment for learning therefore clearly goes hand in hand with personalised learning allowing children, teachers, learning mentors and parents to reflect, evaluate and advance. Subsequently, as indicated by Capel and Gervis (2009: 135) when feedback is given in conjunction with praise, pupils are more motivated to continue to make effort with a positive approach to the activity. Maslow (1970) made this very argument with his hierarchy of needs theory explaining that in order to feel the need to fulfil one’s potential, other needs such as self esteem or love and belonging must be met first. Aspects of Maslow’s theory can also be seen in government frameworks used in schools. Although currently under review, Every Child Matters (2003 ) has five outcomes, areas which are central to the learning mentors work. For example for children to ‘be healthy’, the learning mentor may be involved with setting up breakfast clubs, arrange sporting activities or promote healthy dinners. As for ‘staying safe’ they might organise police visits, implement a listening room or create an anti bullying initiative.For children to ‘enjoy and achieve’ they may perhaps provide one to one intervention to support achievement, have homework clubs and offer assistance for transition. The learning mentor could also arrange community work, school council groups and circle time, giving pupils the opportunity to ‘make a positive contribution’. And to allow children to achieve economic well-being, the learning mentor may possibly organise work experience, seek career advice and work with parents and other outside agencies. As a teaching assistant, my role differs from that of the learning mentor. The responsibitlies of the teaching assistant, although still aim to support pupils to reach their full potential are not as broad at the support offered by a learning mentor and is approached from a somewhat different angle. This is highlighted in a video at teachermedia. co. uk 2 outlining the differences between these two roles. From my experience, teaching assistants are usually classroom based; however work together with teachers and learning mentors to ensure the best type of individual support can be provided for all.With experience of supporting and teaching the national curriculum in year 3, I have observed the learning and development of many children. One subject which always usually requires a range of support strategies is science. Science is not just the teaching of facts and theories. As stated in the report, Primary Science (2003), teaching science equips pupils with indispensable skills that are transferable throughout different parts of the curriculum. The report e xplains how the main aim of primary science is to ‘stimulate pupil’s curiosity in the world around them and encourage critical and creative thinking’ (2003:1).The National Curriculum (1999) sets out the statutory programme of study for science, the four main areas of teaching are, life processes and living things, physical processes, materials and their properties and scientific enquiry. For pupils to achieve in science there is a balance needed between teaching factual knowledge and the skills of scientific enquiry. For example, students must be given the opportunity to address questions scientifically, plan and carrying out experiments, build on previous knowledge and interests, evaluate and discuss ideas.The teaching of science is essential as it promotes learning across the curriculum including spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, key skills, thinking skills, communication, application of number, working with others and information technology. à ¢â‚¬ËœSuccessful Science’, a report by OFSTED (2011) found that the impact of good teaching could be seen when more practical science lessons were taught, when pupils were involved in peer and self-evaluation and when the pupils were given the opportunity to develop the skills of scientific enquiry by taking part in decision-making, discussion and research.Teaching was seen to be more engaging when the science that they were learning about had relevance to their lives and experiences. When I was asked to plan and teach block of lessons on magnets to a group of middle ability year 3 children, it was important to take into account many factors. How much science motivates children? What teaching strategies and theories to use? Would it need to be differentiated and how could I ensure progress had been made? The plan involved a range of multisensory activities such as testing magnetic materials around the school, finding the strongest magnet, watching videos, labelling the irecti ons of force. Such activities were tailored for multiple intelligences, Gardner (1983) and also exercised both right and left brain skills ensuring the engagement and motivation of both boys and girls, Cheminais (2008). The lessons had clear, precise learning objectives as research shows that this works as classical conditioning, the action of providing a lesson objective will result in the learner’s response in knowing what to expect to learn, Gange and Medker (1996). Theories that influenced the teaching strategies used include both constructivists and social constructivist teaching.For example, for the pupils to develop their scientific enquiry skills, the activities were designed to allow them to construct their own learning through experiences. This meant that by planning and carrying out an experiment to find the strongest magnets, the students gained the knowledge that the strongest magnet is not always the largest magnet. Alfrey (2003) explains that Piaget thought tha t children have to assemble their own comprehension and ‘assimilate’ from such experiences, creating mental structures called ‘schemas’.Piagetian theory views the role of the adult as someone who is to provide a rich, stimulating environment for children to naturally discover, explore and actively build their own schemas through stage appropriate activities and tasks that will eventually support assimilation and accommodation. Some aspects of social constructivist teaching methods were used in the lesson, for instance the pupils were collaboratively seeking answers, and they shared their ideas, had group discussion and developed their listening skills.During the session the children asked lots of questions, this again showed just how involved the children were and how they were actively seeking answers and explanations. Talking Science Pedagogy (2008) summarises five teaching models used in science. Direct interactive teaching was used in the lessons when t he magnets were first introduced to the children. Scientific vocabulary was taught such as north and south pole, magnetic field, attracts and repel.When the children learnt that opposites attract and the same repel, we used girls and boys to create an analogy in order to help them to picture it. During the lesson some issues did arise that could have potentially affect learning. The children had their own presumptions about magnets which lead to misconceptions. To identify these, the students were asked to discuss what they already knew about magnets, and then create a mind map with the findings. These included, ‘they stick to stuff’, ‘they stick to anything metal’ and ‘big magnets are strongest’. .