Fast Foods Essay

  Obesity among kids in the United States is on the rise. Many studies have shown the correlation between obesity and the fast food. The statistics show that in the United States almost six out of every ten people eat fast foods. The habit of eating fast foods is not a recent development. History has it that the practices could date as early as 512BC (think quest). During this period, some Egyptian restaurants offered a single dish of wild fowl, cereal, and onions. Ever since that, time restaurants have completely and progressively changed. Today there are thousands of restaurants all over the world. Most the fast foods sold always have some characteristics in common, in whichever part of the world the restaurant is located. It has been established that in most adults eat more fast foods because of the increasing working hours and not finding time for home cooked meal (Morgan, 2004). The other reason is that there are so many tasty choices for one to choose from. Furthermore, it does not take long to get the fast foods when one is in a hurry. Making it quite convenient for students and kids. Many American kids love fast foods like the specially created â€Å"combo† meals that are sold by the many restaurants specifically for them. The meals are always colorfully boxed and sometimes toys included for attracting the kids. Many kids seem to love the idea of going out with their friend and parents because they know that in process they get to buy the foods and snacks. Children would nag and insist on going out and have various kinds of of fast foods rather than having the homemade food. This is not surprising for they are easily lured by the attractive advertisement of fast foods oblivious of the dangers associated with them (Buzzle articles). The nutrition content of most fast foods is a worrying thing. Most of them have proven to be very unhealthy for kids and results in the increasing incidences of obesity among the them. These foods are sold cheaply something that consistently tempts the consumers to them.   It is a known fact that most of the fast foods are usually high in fat, cholesterol and sodium. Eating of these fast foods over along period of time lead to many health problems like the high blood pressure , heart diseases and obesity. Research data Various researches have been done to determine the extent to which fast foods are contributing to obesity not only in children but also in the entire human community. For example, a study by the USDA’s agricultural research service on some 90000US citizens established that over a quarter of adults in age group above 20 years eat fast foods daily. These foods are highly sugary; contain fats, carbohydrates and too many proteins (food navigator, 2004). Furthermore, research by a team lead by Mendoza aimed specifically at the content of the kid’s fast food. They targeted the meals served at some ten well-known regional restaurants situated in Houston. In their studies, the team found that only three percent of the food offered at these eating-places met the seven key standards set by the national school lunch program for meals intended for children in the kindergarten and through third grade. The meals which were referred to as the â€Å"best choice† were only made up of deli-style sandwich,-turkey, ham, roast beef or tuna-combined with a fruit, such as apple slices or raisins (ARS, 2009). Other meals include plain hamburger, fruit s, and low fat milk as well as a beverage. The meals that failed to meet the school lunch guidelines had more than 65 percent of fat. Furthermore, 75 per cent of the meals had too, little calcium, 82 percent had too little iron and 85 percent too little vitamin. Also according to Mendoza, the energy density of the fast foods not meeting the school lunch standards was 2.3 calories per gram compared to only 1.5 calories recommended by the standards. These findings though obtained from Houston alone qualify well to represent the reality nationally. According to the researchers, Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States. In addition, 10 of the restaurants there are among the 13 of the nation’s regional national fast food chains, which sell kid’s fast food (ARS, 2009). Most of these researches were spurred by the increasing levels in the number of obesity case among children. In fact, it has been established that more than 16 percent of children in the United States were overweight. In addition, there was a doubling in the estimated incidences of overweight among children and triple in the rate among adolescents. There was also the concern of by the pediatricians and other health care professionals that found the child obesity trend quite alarming and its potential death consequences. These findings related to the number of meals eaten away from homes. The rate of meals eaten away from home has grown from 20 percent in the   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1970s to more than 30 percent presently. In a Further survey by the department of agriculture food surveys of Americans, 25 percent of us children aged between four and eight would on a typical day take fast food (ARS, 2009) The effects The main consequence of this fast food has been the increase in the number of overweight children. These yummy tasty and low costs happy foods are the attributes. One big challenge associated with this fast food is that it is becoming socially accepted (Milos, 2010). Many purple would decide to overcome guilt by giving themselves a treat by going to consume these food. There are commercials all over urging people to get latest desserts and other food. This has made it look superficially right but that is not the case.   The various ingredients of these foods have distinct health effects. Some people argue that we are in an era of junk food. The children have been driven away from the green leafy vegetable and only relish these fast foods. The effects that come out are irreversibly harmful. The excess sugar in these fast foods and the sodas laed to diabetes in the children’s body. They may develop the type 2 diabetes that is more prominent with the grand parents and parents (my child health   Ã‚  Ã‚  ). In this case, the body fails to produce adequate insulin that controls the sugar levels and the body metabolism. In addition, the fats and saturated fats lead to high levels of cholesterol in the blood. The cholesterol is associated with many heart complications. Such heart problems can lead to increase in major heart diseases. Furthermore, the fats can ale to a condition known as dyslipidemia, which occurs when the LDL levels and triglycerides are abnormally high (Buzzle). These can put the children in a very precarious situation of coronary heart diseases. Some of these fast foods contain excess sodium that is a big contributor of high blood pressure. Increase in the blood pressure can lead to rupture and cracks in the blood vessel walls. The human body uses lipoproteins in repair of these walls converting it into substance that contains cholesterols hence lead to increase in the cholesterol levels ( Eric, 2005). As children, indulge more and more in this fast food, their bodies become deficient of vitamins and iron. This is because most of these foods do not contain such nutrients. They therefore become anemic. This makes them lethargic and get tired so easily. This is because their diets always almost become completely deficient of green vegetables and fresh fruits causing great deficiency of both macro and micro nutrient supplements in their bodies (my child health). The result of this is reduced immunity making the children to become highly susceptible to various diseases and ailments. The body also becomes deficient of calcium that makes their teeth to be very weak, nails and bones brittle. The various preservatives used in these foods may also be carcinogenic. Remedy to fast foods problems It is important to note that there is no such a thing as bad food. Any food can fit into a healthy meal plan. The fast food chains should therefore revamp their menus to respond to the customer’s comments. These has been observed in some restaurants for   example there are those that do not serve food with trans fat, but instead have more fruits and vegetables . According to the CYWH Staff, the following tips can be helpful in setting up a healthy diet. It is advisable to choose boiled foods over fried ones likes the grilled chicken sandwich instead of fried chicken or chicken nuggets. Secondly, one should     choose soups hat are not cream based. This means that if the names of these soups include something like â€Å"creamy tomato soup† or any of that kind, then they should be avoided. The foods should have low –fat salad instead of full–fat salad kind. One should choose low fat milk, or diet sodas instead of regular sodas, fruits drinks, milkshakes, or whole milk.   If you can access fruits and vegetables, they should be added to the meal. For example, have lettuce and tomato on sandwiches or burgers. When one orders for foods like pizza its good to add veggies instead of meat , as well as getting thin crust instead of deep fish. Conclusion Since many researches have clearly established that restaurants selling fast foods have great contribution into the effects of these foods like the obesity, there should be a regulation into their activities. A study by the NBER established that the proximity of these restaurants s to work places and learning institutions have had a big impact into these. For example for pregnant women, having such a restaurant within 0.10 miles increases the probability of gaining 20 kilos during their pregnancy( NBER). As for children, having the restaurants within proximity of 0.25 to 0.50 miles had the same implications. It follows that such restaurants should be away from children. Policies should be laid in place to restrict the availability of fast food in residential areas and schools. References Eric S, Fast Food Nation, Harper Perennial, (2005). Morgan S, (2004), Super Size Me, Movie Reviews Agricultural research service, kid’s fat food and obesity. Accessed on August 2, 2010   Ã‚   from http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/oct09/kids1009.htm Buzzle, Fast Foods and the Child Obesity. Accessed on August 2, 2010 from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.buzzle.com/articles/fast-food-and-child-obesity.html Milos P. (2010), Are fast food and obesity, accessed on august from  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://ezinearticles.com/?Are-Fast-Food-and-Obesity-Related?&id=357337 Think quest, Welcome to the Real Truth about Fast Foods and Nutrition, Accessed On  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   August 2, 2010 from http://library.thinkquest.org/4485/ My child health, Effects of Fast foods on children, Accessed on August 3, 2010 from  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.mychildhealth.net/effects-of-fast-food-on-children.html NBER, the national bureau of economic research, Accessed on August 3, 2010 from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.nber.org/aginghealth/2009no1/w14721.html

Elements of Marketing Essay

There are several views and definition of marketing. The most widely accepted definition is that of the American Marketing Association, the professional organization for marketing practitioners and educators, which defines marketing as â€Å"the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives† Elements of Marketing Marketing Research Marketing is by definition a process of planning and executing to meet consumer needs. It understands what are actual consumer wants and needs. Marketing research is the process in which collection of data by systematically helps to identify consumer’s needs. The Four Ps The heart of marketing strategy is the development of a response to market palace. Marketing by definition explains the concept of execution, pricing, promotion and right placement of goods, ideas and services. To respond to customers, a good organization develop product according to willingness of its purchaser, identify appropriate place for availability and finally and promote its product to create familiarity in its customers mind. Product, Price, Place and promotions are four Ps of marketing which are use many organizations to define its marketing strategy. Product: Product represents goods, services, or ideas offered by a firm. Price: Price focuses on what customers are willing to pay for services. What price actually suits to consumer to buy goods? A company provides good or services and a customer willing to exchange dollars to satisfy its needs. Place: Place represents the way or specific area in which company will distribute its goods or provide services to its customers. This decision company takes after careful and effective marketing research. Promotion: The final P represents promotion. Historically it is renowned with advertisement which is mean marketing. Promotions activities involve creating awareness in consumers mind to understand how they can meet their needs. Second approach is to define STP’s STP (segmentation, Targeting, Positioning) Segmentation: It is Process of dividing the market according to similarities that exist among the various subgroups within the market. The similarities may be common characteristics or common needs and desires. One of the main reasons for using market segmentation is to help companies to better understand the needs of a specific customer base. Mass marketing assumes that all customers are the same and will respond to the same advertising. By looking at ways in which potential customer groups are different from each other, the marketing message can be better targeted to the needs and wants of those people. Market segmentation strategies that meet these criteria can cover wide range of consumer characteristics. Subsets may be defined by basic demographics like age, race, or gender, for example. Other qualities, like educational background or income can also be used, as can location. Some of the potentially most powerful variables by which to segment a market are behavioral ones, including social class, lifestyle, and interests.

Ch 1 H.W Consumer Behavior

Q1:describe the interrelationship between consumer behavior and the marketing concept. A1: marketing concept determine the needs and wants of specific target markets and Deliver satisfaction better than competition. consumer behavior includes all the decisions a consumer makes when spending their time and money. The what, why, when, where, and how of consumer purchases are examined in consumer behavior. It is not just individuals, but households, families, and groups that influence the decisions we make. ————————— Q2: describe the interrelationships between consumer research, market segmentation and targeting, and the development of the marketing mix for a manufacturer of HDTV sets. A2: consumer research The process and tools used to study consumer behavior. Market segmentation : Process of dividing the market into subsets of consumers with common needs or characteristics Market targeting : The selection of one or more of the segments identified to pursue.The development of the marketing mix for a manufacturer of HDTV consist the product the features ,designs and the price including discounts and the place (distribution of the product ) and promotion ( the advertising) —————————- Q3: select any one of the company web sites and product specific site pairs listed in table 1. 1 that interests you . then systematically examine each of the two sites in terms of how you as a consumer respond differently to the two sites A3:We're not going to work publicity for this company, but we want to highlight how the company deals with customers and most importantly its olicy in respect for the customer and if we see the slogan â€Å"the customer is always right† appears to us every time we press a button to complete the purchase. —————————- Q4: Discuss The Interrelationships Among Cus tomer Expectation And Satisfaction, perceive Value And Customer Retention. Why Is A Customer Relation Essential? A4 :The goal of all marketers is to build and maintain successful relationships with their consumers. This occurs by offering a product which has benefits that the consumer values.In addition, they see the value of those benefits as exceeding the cost of the product – the cost in terms of money, time, and opportunity costs. If a product delivers value, the company is likely to have a high level of customer satisfaction. They will trust the marketer and continue to purchase the product. In addition, they will tell others about the product and speak highly of it when asked or when reviewing the product online. A company with strong customer relationships will be able to achieve a high level of customer retention – their customers will not defect to the competitor or stop using their product.They will retain these customer over time and will be more profitable due to these valuable loyal customers. —————————- Q5: Discuss the role of the social and behavioral sciences in developing the consumer decision-making model. A5: The input stage includes sources of information to the consumer – how they learn and are influenced by the marketer and their environment. The process stage ties to the decision-making process the consumer undergoes when considering a purchase.It moves from the inputs to the psychological factors involved in recognizing a need, searching for information, and evaluating alternatives. The output stage involves the actual purchase and the post-purchase evaluation. —————————- Q6:Apply each of the two models depicted in Table 1. 3 (i. e. , traditional marketing and value and retention marketing) to the marketing of cellular phone services. You may want to incorporate into your answer your own and your peers experiences in selecting cellular communication providers. A6:VALUE- AND RETENTION-FOCUSED MARKETING| THE TRADITIONAL MARKETING CONCEPT| Use technology that enables customers to customize what you make. | Make only what you can sell instead of trying to sell what you make. | Focus on the product’s perceived value, as well as the need that it satisfies. | Do not focus on the product; focus on the need that it satisfies. | Utilize an understanding of customer needs to develop offerings that customers perceive as more valuable than competitors’ offerings. | Market products and services that match customers’ needs better than competitors’ offerings. Research the levels of profit associated with various consumer needs and characteristics. | Research consumer needs and characteristics. | Understand consumer behavior in relation to the company’s product. | Understand the purchase behavior process and the influences on consumer behavior. | Make each customer transaction part of an ongoing relationship with the customer. | Realize that each customer transaction is a discrete sale. | Use hybrid segmentation that combines the traditional segmentation bases with data on the customer’s purchase levels and patterns of use of the company’s products. Segment the market based on customers’ geographic, demographic, psychological, sociocultural, lifestyle, and product-usage related characteristics. | Invest in technologies that enable you to send one-to-one promotional messages via digital channels. | Target large groups of customers that share common characteristics with messages transmitted through mass media. | Use interactive communications in which messages to customers are tailored according to their responses to previous communications. | Use one-way promotions whose effectiveness is measured through sales data or marketing surveys. Create customer tiers based on both volume and consumption patterns. | Cre ate loyalty programs based on the volume purchased. | Make it very unattractive for your customers to switch to a competitor and encourage them to purchase ‘better’ – in a manner that will raise the company’s profitability levels. | Encourage customers to stay with the company and buy more. | Base your marketing budget on the ‘lifetime value’ of typical customers in each of the targeted segments compared with the resources needed to acquire them as customers. Determine marketing budgets on the basis of the numbers of customers you are trying to reach. | Conduct customer satisfaction surveys that include a component that studies the customer’s word-of-mouth about the company, and use the results immediately to enhance customer relationships. | Conduct customer satisfaction surveys and present the results to management. | Create customer intimacy and bonds with completely satisfied, ‘delighted’ customers. | Create customer tr ust and loyalty to the company and high levels of customer satisfaction. |

Summary on King Faisal Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Summary on King Faisal - Research Paper Example He was also involved in diplomatic matters like the congratulations to the King of England on Britain's victory in the First World War, tramped the battlefields, walked the docks of London, and studied a Welsh steel mill. Indeed, Faisal was the kingdom's first Minister of Foreign Affairs and other responsibilities like serving as President of the Consultative Council, Minister of Finance, President of the Council of Deputies, Minister of Commerce, Viceroy of the Hijaz, Minister of the Interior, Vice-President and President of the Council of Ministers. In these years of service, Faisal polished his leadership qualities that embraced the teachings of Islam and the demands of the modern world. Again, when turbulent political currents swept through the Middle East, Faisal assumed the de facto leadership of the Arab world and guided its policies into the channels of moderation that suited his country and the interests of Islamic people. Indeed, Faisal was a modernized leader, an autocrat to the world, and a democrat to his people. Actually, Faisal featured in the world of man and the world of God (Saudi Aramco World Web). Saudi Arabia has faced different economic turnaround in the neighbourhood of time. In 1925, the government of Saudi attempted to establish a national currency by issuing its first coin followed by a silver riyal two years later. Indeed, paper currency was not unknown in Saudi Arabia. In 1939, the Arabian American Oil Company made its first oil payments to the Saudi Arabian Government that changed the Saudi economy so drastically. Moreover, in 1945 there was expansion of oil production and government's payments and purchases, and the injection of large amounts of cash into the economy. Additionally, in 1948 the Saudi government published its first detailed government budget, which proved unworkable. Nevertheless, under King Abd al-'Aziz, the monarch's strong predilection for austerity had been keeping the Saudi government spending in check. However, after his death in November 1953, there was relaxation on restraints on consumption as well as the rise of foreign exchange payments by Saudi Arabia plunging Saudi into economic downturn, low oil revenues inflation, and national debt. It is now that Crown Prince Faisal ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz Al Sa'ud thought of a course of action (Shea Web). Faisal, Ahmed Zaki Saad, an executive director of the International Monetary Fund, and Anwar 'Ali, director of the Middle East department of the IMF sought to rectify the economic situation in Saudi Arabia. After six years of good financial strategies and leadership, there was significant change in the economic situation in Saudi. The national debt had been paid, better infrastructure, better education, and health care developments. Hence, King Faisal was significant in revolutionizing the Saudi economy by offering good leadership (Shea Web). The success of King Faisal led to the launch of The King Faisal International Prize in 1976. The KFIP is an international project under King Faisal Foundation aimed at perpetuating King Faisal’s humanitarian legacy. Its mission is â€Å"to preserve and promote Islamic culture, education and reward excellence in academic and scientific research, provide assistance and develop self-sufficiency in less fortunate communities around the

Market Power, Price Discrimination, and Alocative Efficiency in Assignment

Market Power, Price Discrimination, and Alocative Efficiency in Intermediate-Goods Market - Assignment Example Such firms are usually said to have the capabilities of affecting either the standing market price or the total quantity of products within the market single handedly. Price discrimination is described as a situation whereby identical goods from the same organization exist in the market but sold at different prices. This mainly occurs in monopolistic or oligopolistic markets. With reference to the guidelines given, this paper will critically analyze the Market power, price discrimination, and allocative efficiency in intermediate-goods market while thinking about it in an economic way. In addition to this, the paper will aim at establishing how this topic will be a motivation to the marketing manager of an organization (Katz 2007). The party that would be interested with this topic is the marketing manager of an organization that has a command in the market. ... Such aspects balance the consumer’s ability to buy products, as, due to differentiated prices in the case of price discrimination, the consumers, regardless of their income levels, they are able to afford a good or a service. For instance, in the case of students, firms often reduce their products and services by 10% for the sake of students. They are typical examples of individuals in the society with low incomes. Due to this fact, their demands can be said to be more elastic. Due to reduced prices, they are able to access these services as well as products due to the reduced prices (Rey and Verge, 2008). Further, this topic, especially the market power, is essential as studying about it ensures that the marketing manager, or any one given the mandate to see an organization attain a commanding lead in the market, obtains appropriate information on how his company can generate sizable or substantial benefits in its operations while experiencing relatively low levels of liabili ties. . General Setting This topic is underlain in monopoly aspect of macroeconomics. To understand this, it is essential that one take on each notion at a time. Market power; commonly, market power is usually referred to as monopoly power. An organization with market power is usually said as having control putting the terms as well as conditions of exchange into consideration. As such, such an organization can effectively raise the prices of its products as well as its services and still not lose its clients. On the other hand, the company can reduce the prices and still not cause a price war amongst the competitors, which is usually ruining. When an organization offers a differentiated product or a service to the market, it is

Art History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Art History - Essay Example f culture that mystify the Europeans such as the political dominion and other ideologies, which suggested that the degree of realism cannot be ignored (Nochlin 34). Images of orientalists cannot be analyzed without clarifying the clarity. For example, the Jean-Leone Gerome Snake Charmer art work of 1860. It was considered as the visual document portraying 19th century colonial ideas. It focused on Asian language of a transparent naturalism. The methodology employed by Orientals when creating their paintings is quite an admirable aspect. This is because they are able to involve the audience. The other mystifying acts of the Europeans depiction of the oriental comes into being when they take a photograph of the Oriental towns without ever having time to study them perfectly, in an expression specifically known as ‘touristic presence’(Nochlin 37). The European in the paintings are depicted as being only the gazers who finally bring the Asian world into life as intended. According to Orientalist painter Gerome, the strategy was to make viewers see the reflections of the Oriental reality. Black people especially the female, were depicted in various paintings to give aesthetic value to white merchants. For example (Nochlin 49) says that â€Å"the presence of black servant in Moorish Bath scenes serves connotative as well as ethnic purposes†. From Jean-Leone Gerome’s painting of The Slave Market, it should also be noted that slaves were from the inferior culture and that they were traded according to their complexion, gender as well as sexuality. Trading of attractive women was done inside the opera house. The merchants were not the typical Orientals but civilized Parisians. The women in question usually dressed up provocatively to attract buyers willing to part with their money. There is one particular painting known as Manet of Olympia where a black maid was used to indicate sexual naughtiness, but also treated less as compared to a lovely white figure. Sultan

In the Lake of the Woods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

In the Lake of the Woods - Essay Example In the hypotheses chapters O’Brian has presented quotes from real books and reports (The My Lai court martials, histories, psychological books political biographies) and fictional sources (characters in the novel). As I see, the main aspect of the novel that grabs the readers and doesn’t let them go without completing it is its POV (Point of view). Usually authors use ‘one’ point of view as a tool to convey the mood and outlook they want to portray through their writing. However, a writer can even use first, second and third point of views together to diversify his storyline, which is what O’Brian has done in the discoursed novel. The element that gives this novel the feel of a first person narrative, despite of the fact that it is written in the third person is the ‘footnotes’. These are the footnotes that are included in the chapters and in which the narrator identifies himself and discusses his reasons for writing the story. Also he tells the problems he has encountered while writing it as the narrator has selected and organized the evidences to reveal thematic links between individual pieces of evidence, the main narrative, and his theories. Conseque ntly, the unique blend of two different points of views is the essential of â€Å"In the Lake of the

Athletes and Performance Enhancing Drugs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Athletes and Performance Enhancing Drugs - Essay Example Athletes playing football, hockey, and gymnastics commonly use Creatine. Side effects of taking Creatine include nausea, kidney damage, and weight gain. Anabolic steroids are hormone testosterone’s synthetic version (Helmenstine, 2013). Anabolic steroids are used to increase muscle strength and build muscles. Weightlifters and football players commonly take Anabolic steroids. They use can cause damage to liver and heart, halt the growth of bones, and cause the permanent shortage in the body stature. Steroid precursors are substances that are converted into anabolic steroids by the body. Â  Marion Jones was the first woman to be the winner of five medals in total during the Sydney Olympic games of 2000. Her titles were stripped from her after her confession about the use of banned substances (Menton, 2011). Roger Clemons who was once considered to be amongst the greatest pitchers in the history of baseball was accused of using anabolic steroids by the Mitchell Report between the late 1990s and the early 2000s. Lance Armstrong was caught using performance-enhancing drugs and he was deprived of his cycling trophies (Bucholz, 2013). People found it hard to believe that someone could even cheat them at a transportation method. Similarly, many other athletes have been caught using the performance enhancement drugs; Barry Bonds, A-Rod, Manny Ramirez, Ben Johnson, Floyd Landis, and Shawne Merriman to name a few.

Malaysia briefing Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Malaysia briefing - Article Example The introduction of the Internet from the West to the people of Malaysia have given people a new way to find information and is a great influence (www.bbc.co.uk). Traditional culture has also been replaced by the Western influence of â€Å"partying† for young people. Even the number of people speaking English in Malaysia demonstrates the extent that the West has influenced Malaysia (www.buzzle.com). Malaysia is a very multi ethnic country and the people there are very open to people of all cultures. Visitors should be aware that public displays of affection are not common or looked upon favorably. The sharing of business cards is a gesture meaning that there is a desire to keep communication going. Be advised that not all areas of mosques can be entered by non –Muslims. Shoes are taken off and left by the front door when entering a home. Visitors may be called a â€Å"male uncle† by those who are at least 10 years younger than the visitor (solrehab.com). Tipping is not a common practice in Malaysia, but a visitor can tip if the service was exceptional (www.goway.com). Rabies is a concern in Malaysia, so beware of animals (www.lonelyplanet.com). Religion brings with it societal norms that people are expected to follow. For example, if a non-Muslim wants a dog as a pet, they must first get permission from their Muslim neighbors. Also, couples that are not married are not allowed to be alone together in secluded areas. However, Malaysia is becoming more accepting of other religions and cultures in that when Chinese New Year comes around, many Malaysian workers offer to work the shift of their Chinese co-workers so that they may take time off to celebrate the holidays of their culture (www.absoluteastronomy.com). About 60% of those living in Malaysia are Muslim. Schools include Islamic instruction with non-Muslims studying morals and ethics instead. While the people of Malaysia are tolerant of other religions, there is a

Shakespeares Sonnet 12 and Seamus Heaneys Blackberry-Picking Essay Example for Free

Shakespeares Sonnet 12 and Seamus Heaneys Blackberry-Picking Essay Endeavor to confront Times scythe or surrender to fatalism? Compare and Contrast Shakespeares Sonnet 12 and Seamus Heaneys Blackberry-Picking By Sally, Kuok Si Nok, School of Translation and Interpreting, Beijing Language and Cultural University Human in all ages races through lives in an everlasting fight against time. Mens struggle against nature has been a timeless theme in the literary world. From the early 17th century Sonnet 12, Shakespeares When I do count the clock that tells the time, to Seamus Heaneys Blackberry-picking, written in late 20th century, both poems addresses the effect of Times scythe on the transience decayed in nature as a natural cycle of life; however, while Shakespeare adopts a positive attitude in suggesting procreation to defeat time as a temporary solution, Heaney reflects on the inevasible disappointment at the interference of natural law. To address the theme of natural cycle, Shakespeare employs elaborated diction and juxtaposes contrasting ideas to measure the passage of time, nature and youth through life: In line 1 and 2, brave day sunk in hideous night reflects the daily passage of time, line 3 and 4 link nature to humankind, by first evokes a flowers wilting stage to the image of black hair naturally aging an turning grey, line 5 to 7 discuss the progression of season from canopy to barren of leave, to white and bristly beard, indicating snow and winter. Since Heaney metaphorizes old man as white beard on the bier, it can be suggested that he also compares young maid to violet prime and young man to lofty tree. Thus, the implicit use of figurative language hints the universal law of nature on all creatures throughout Sonnet 12 a number which symbolizes hour and month (passage of time). With regard to Heaneys techniques of expression, he visualizes the decaying process of blackberry by reminiscing a childhood activity in rural Northern Ireland. In the poem, the specific temporal markings like late August, for a full week, At first, just one and every year vividly demonstrates the time sequence of blackberry growing before ultimate rot; the employment of color and texture like green, red, purple glossy and hard serves not only to illustrate the ripening blackberries, but also impact on the readers taste and tactile sensation. Most importantly, the reminiscence itself, utilizes both the perspective of Heaney as a young child and an adult looking back, and the half-rhyming pattern suggesting imperfect memory, both symbolize the passage of time and ageing process. The last line Each year I hoped theyd keep, knew they would not. suggests a repetitive emotional behavior and disillusionment, highlighting the natural law of life. Shakespeare and Heaney, though addressing the same theme, differ in the motivation and the attitude toward Times scythe. The former speaks of sterility of bachelorhood and recommends procreation as a means of immortality in the form of human race, whereas the latter blends autobiological account of disillusionment in rural life with the natural decay of blackberry, impacting the reader on the spiral of disappointment. In Sonnet 12, Shakespeare displays a strident attitude to persuade: first, brave day sunk into hideous night the antithetical choice of word establishes a stark contrast, not only between day and night, but above all, the courage and futility of battling against indefensible nature, for brave is meant to imply a visual brightness and gallantry. A man begins his live bravely, wanting to explore the world around him and learn as much as he can. Once he has reached his prime he begins to sink into his twilight years, and his beard begins to turn silver. The girls who once flocked to him have either been married or have lost interest. His beauty has waned, and been replaced by the wrinkles and gray hair that mark old age. His life continues thus until he dies; leaving the world with no one to keep his memory alive. Therefore, the repeated brave in the last line means to endure something without showing fear; in this case, that which much be endured is death, or time that will take thee hence. Second, the progression of natural creature to human emphasizes the universally incessant movement of time, further frightening his bachelor friend and readers. Lastly, the third quatrain shifts in tone and the speaker begins to talk directly to the young man, warning the inescapable fate of his beauty being engulfed by decay and eventual death. The personification of flowers images the general obligation of all creatures forsaking ones sweets and beauties to nourish offspring. Together with muscular rhyme, the palindrome-like metaphor pushes the poem to a climax. In Blackberry-picking, Heaney frames the the progression of pleasure to disappointment by two separated stanzas: he first describes his enthusiasm for picking blackberries, from tasting the first black berry of the season to the frenzy of excitement with the involvement of his peer friends; he then reflects on how his attitude towards the berries evolves into revulsion as the berries decay. Together with half-rhymes and abovementioned poetic structure, the elaborated diction and imagery associated with greed, lust, violence, sex and horror further highlight how the speaker laments the effect of time on joyful life and pleasure, both sharing a transitory nature. In line 3 and 4, one of the two only full rhymes of clot and knot invites readers to compare them, reinforcing the stark contrast between hard, unripened and soft, ripe berry. Amongst, the metaphor of a clot draws a comparison between the first berry of the season and a blood clot, first highlighting its soft juiciness and deep rich color of the berry and then associating it with flesh and blood. This introduces the sensual nature of berry-picking, which later violent and guilty association await. Words like flesh, thickened wine summers blood, hunger and lust are strong expression of human desires, usually pathological craving, which implies the intoxificating effect of the berries on the children and foreshadows of the loss of innocence in coming adulthood (Passage of time). The young ravenously gorge on the blackberries, tasting the stains upon the tongue and lust for Picking The enjambment of Picking marks the start of the next section of the poem the actual picking of blackberry, which can be perceived as the crime scene of human crippling nature. The children are sent out by hunger and desire, disregard of their inked-up hands and mouths, and randomly gather all possible containers like milk can and jam-pots in order to satisfy their bottom-less lust for berry. They frantically scour the hayfields and potato-drills, seemingly forbid any berry, ripe or not, to spare from their blood-stained mouth, oblivion to treasuring their spoils and throw them in until the tinkling bottom has been covered with green ones- fantasizing endless gratification. The last two lines in the first stanza push the crime, or the process of lust, to a climax, by juxtaposing the victims mutilated corpses staring like a plate of eyes and the assailants sticky palms like Bluebeards an allusion of a black fairytale in which a lord married a succession of bosom girls before murderi ng them. The second stanzas choice of word is the antithesis of the first: Rat-grey fungus, stinking, fruit fermented and sour starkly contrast with the not-long-ago euphoria, as the berries start to rot and go moldy, marking the post-climax downward slope of emotion plunging to the bottom. Thus, it may hint that Heaney subtly associates the arch-like process of pleasure to that of a sexual intercourse, by both diction and alliteration. Starting from first and flesh, to briar, bleached our boots and big blobs burned in the middle, then followed by pricks and palms, ending with filled we found a fur and fruit fermented, the deliberate use of alliteration pattern draws association to a complete process of copulation. Linguistically speaking, the labiodental /f/ hints the arousal and foreplay, then progress into bilabial /b/ implicating orgasm, finally ends with plosive /p/ and fricative /f/, indicating sudden stop of sensual pleasure along with frustrated insatiability. Therefore, when Heaney i ntroduces the speaker I lamenting that it wasnt fair and always felt like crying, he acts like a petulant child or a dissatisfied teenager. â€Å"At first, just one, a glossy purple clot Among others, red, green, hard as a knot. â€Å"That all the lovely canfuls smelt of rot.† â€Å"Each year I hoped theyd keep, knew they would not.† These full-rhyming couplets act as a framing device by introducing the first taste of blackberries and the excited frenzy of picking that stem from it, whereas the second couplet epilogue with Heaneys disillusionment by using antithesis to express the futility of fighting against fleeting time, from the perspective of an adult as he recognizes and looks back to the fundamental contradiction in his idea. Nevertheless, Heaney might sound less indulgent if he is alluding to a deeper significance metaphorizing blackberry and sensual pleasure as life itself. Hence, within this interpretive framework, Heaney can be understood as mirroring the same literary skill and message that Shakespeare conveys explicitly: using natural decay to intimate humans own mortality. Yet, the difference lies in the strong contrast in attitude and motivation, in which Shakespeare confidently persuades his bachelor friend whereas Heaney helplessly laments on his overwhelming fatalism.

What Makes Up Marine Ecosystems Environmental Sciences Essay

What Makes Up Marine Ecosystems Environmental Sciences Essay An ecosystem can be defined as an area where there is an interaction between all the non-living and living components. The complete group of organisms inhabiting the ecosystem can be called a community. The abiotic non-living components include such items as air, water, soil sunlight all of which may be critical to the survival of the organisms (Soper et al 1997). Odum (1969) described the ecosystem as a single entity composed of many different parts dynamically interacting with transfers of energy and considers the ecosystem to be a unit of biological organization made up of all the organisms in a given area (that is community) interacting with the physical environment so that a flow of energy leads to characteristic trophic structure and material cycles within the system. This more elaborate explanation is still applied today and is more relevant as it takes into account the important issue of energy flow between the components. Marine ecosystems include oceans, coral reefs, estuar ies and coastal areas such as lagoons and kelp beds. An appreciation of the fundamental definition described above allows us to understand how the ecosystem concept can be extrapolated from smaller marine ecosystems such as coral reefs or sea grass beds to bigger ones such as the Caribbean Large Marin Ecosystem (CLME) which is an interconnected complex of these and many other smaller ecosystems. Duda (2002) describes the large marine ecosystem (LME) as a vast marine area which begins with and includes coastal regions and estuaries and eventually stretches out to continental shelf limits and areas dominated by coastal current systems. Sherman et al (2004) use the following more detailed factors to develop criteria for demarcating LMEs ; bathymetry, hydrography, productivity, and trophically dependent populations. Several of the 64 LMEs spread out across the globe also occupy spaces which are semi-enclosed seas for example the Caribbean and Baltic seas are two semi enclosed seas which form the respective CLME and Baltic Sea LME (BSLME). Another factor used in determining the seaward extent of LMEs is the area affected by the major ocean currents of the world, hence, for example the North Brazil Shelf LME (NBSLME) is delimited by the North Brazil Current system and its extent. This factor therefore sometimes supercedes the 200 nautical mile of EEZ fisheries zone limits criteria. The understanding of the concept of the LME is fundamental to this study as the area of interest transcends the boundary between two adjacent LMEs namely the CLME and the NBSLME (see figure 1.) (Polygon delimiting actual study area needs to be inserted on this diagram) Figure 1. The Caribbean and adjacent Large Marine Ecosystems. (Fanning et al. 2009) Resources and Ecosystems Seagrass, coral reefs and mangroves are very common marine coastal ecosystems within the CLME. The outflows of two of the largest river systems in the world, the Orinoco and the Amazon have a great impact the LME of the Caribbean (CLME, 2007)., the former having the greater effect due to its closer proximity, approximately 100 km from the south coast of the island of Trinidad. The North Equatorial Current moves in a generally westward direction from the mid Atlantic region into the Caribbean basin through the Lesser Antilles and thus many of the islands within this area are impacted by its nutrient poor nature (see fig 2). The islands of the South Eastern Caribbean however, especially the twin island nation of Trinidad and Tobago are heavily impacted by the Guiana Current which enters the Caribbean along the northern coast of South America (fig 3). It has been stated that the freshwater outflows from the Amazon and Orinoco has a significant impact on the Guiana current (Morrison and Smith 1990). Muller-Karger et al. (1988) illsutrate that the Amazon River discharges the most amount of freshwater into the ocean from any single point source. The North Equatorial Current (NEC) as represented by the Mariano Global Surface Velocity Analysis (MGSVA). The NEC is the broad westward flow that is the southern component of the N. Atlantic subtropical gyre. It is fed by the Canary Current and its waters eventually end up in the Gulf Stream system, either via the Antilles current or through the Caribbean via the Guiana current. (Bischof et al. 2004) South equatorial current, North Brazil Current and North Brazilian Current are all terms which have been applied to the Guyana current. Flagg et al. (1986) suggest that the misappropriation of the names is due mainly to the seasonal nature of the adjacent currents. The Guyana Current starts off as the North Brazil Current which carries along the south American coastline up to the region of French Guiana where part of it diverges and rejoins the North Equatorial Counter Current. The Guiana Current is formed from the remainder which continues along the coast in a northwestward direction (Condie 1991) The Caribbean current as represented by the Mariano Global Surface Velocity Analysis (MGSVA). The Caribbean Current transports significant amounts of water northwestward through the Caribbean Sea and into the Gulf of Mexico, via the Yucatan Current. The source water for the Caribbean Current is from the equatorial Atlantic Ocean via the North Equatorial, North Brazil, and Guiana Currents. The counter-clockwise circulation of the Columbia-Panama Gyre is evident off-shore of southern Central America (Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama) and northern Colombia. (Gyory et al. 2004) (Gyory et al. 2004) The Caribbean exhibits a great degree of spatial and temporal differences when it comes to its marine environment. Coral reefs are a prime example of the diversity of its ecosystems and its species as most of the corals and associated species found in the region are endemic making this biodiversity of international importance (Burke and Maidens 2004) The interdependence and flow of energy from the nearshore more productive habitats such as the reefs, mangroves and seagrass beds to the less productive open ocean areas such as the planktonic and pelagic systems and the environmental conditions that influence them are not well understood at this point. Why conserve and manage marine ecosystems? The importance of marine ecosystems and hence the need for their sustainable management can be best illustrated by two main factors; the direct and indirect services they provide and the ensuing natural and human based stressors that they face. Marine ecosystem services Humans often view the oceans as a huge waste bin while simultaneously as a perpetual source of food. With five percent of the worlds protein supply coming from the sea and up to 15 percent is selected areas such as China and Japan our dependence on the ocean for food is immense. There is a wide range of services apart from being a food source that humans garner from the oceans, to fully appreciate these one must first come to terms with the varying scales of spatial distribution and time which these services may be provided. Obviously different regions will provide various services due to their different physical makeup and constituents for example near shore coastal ecosystems provide most of the services of a particular type due to their highly productive nature whereas open ocean areas provide most of the regulating services and chemical balancing mainly due to its immense size. The medical, spiritual, aesthetic values of the ocean are also great but often receive lesser attention. Recently much interest has been placed in carbon sequestration and the role of the oceans and marine ecosystems in acting as carbon sinks slowing the global climate change process Garcia and Cochrane (2005) mentions this and categorizes ecosystem services into four main areas; provisioning, supporting, regulating or cultural. The function of coral reefs, mangroves and even salt marshes in buffering coastal areas from wave and storm damage was apparent during the 2004 Asian tsunami and the 2005 Gulf of Mexico Hurricanes. It is well known that coastal habitats such as mangroves, salt marshes, coral reefs, and sea grass beds act as nurseries for young fish and other species while also providing a source of income and employment generation. The fisheries sectors of many a nation is fuelled by the highly productive upwelling zones mainly in and around New Zealand, Chile/Peru, South Afr ica and the western United States. Also in terms of biodiversity 16 of the 36 animal Phyla that exist occur only in the oceans, this fact has implications for the biochemical and medical fields for human use (Baskett et al 2005). Marine ecosystem stressors Most of the worlds population lives in or near to coastal areas for many different reasons. Primarily most of the jobs exist in and around the coastal zone as this is where many of the major cities and ports occur. Also food and recreation and leisure activities are gained quite easily from the seas. As a result of the high population densities experienced by the coastal regions a lot of the significant ecosystems and coastal marine communities are being negatively impacted due to human activities (Halpern et al., 2007, 2008). Pollution of various forms have caused increase nutrient enrichment, eutrophication, sedimentation due to land degradation and mismanagement and changes in the hydrological patterns. Climate ahnge is another signifjicant contributor the the deterioration of the marine ecosystems and have taken a heavy toll on coral reef systems in particular (Baker et al. 2008). GESAMP (2001) lists the modification and demolition of habitats, sewage run off and impacts on human health, rising eutrophication and nutrient enrichment and the decrease in fish stocks as well as alteration of sedimentation pattern due to hydrological changes and land degradation as some of the most significant issues facing coastal and marine areas and ecosystems. How are they Managed? Ecosystem Based Management (EBM) Conventional types of natural resource management have been replaced over the years by a more rounded approach ecosystem based management (EBM) which focuses not only on specific sectors but is more all inclusive. Traditionally, activities that influence the management process have been engaged independently and have not considered the collective impacts on the ecosystem (Curtin and Prezello 2010). EBM is a new approach that considers a broader range of contributing factors (ecological, environmental and anthropogenic) in designing a management technique. Management techniques including coastal management, fisheries management and the designation of marine protected areas (MPAs) help to drive EBM related models. Christie et al. (2007) also stress that ecological function and pertinent scales must be considered in the EBM process. Arkema et al (2006) summarize it most effectively: Ecosystem based management represents a much broader view than how marine ecosystems have been managed tr adition- ally, taking into account the interconnectedness and inter- dependent nature of the components of ecosystems, and the fundamental importance of ecosystem structure and functioning in providing humans with the broad range of services that are taken for granted. Cury et al. (2005) notes three key issues that must be adhered to in EBM; establishing lasting goals that are pertinent to the particular ecosystem, defining meaningful indicators, and determining suitable models, data gathering tools and means for analysis. INDENT (2006) provides an assessment of a wide range of indicators, while mechanisms for marine ecosystem management and monitoring are outlined by Hoffman and Gaines (2008). Biological monitoring makes use of indicator species and also considers numbers of particular species, this is especially useful in fisheries monitoring to detect when a disturbance in a specific area in this regard fisheries monitoring is considered a tool on its own. Tracking variations in the water quality or physical habitat is termed environmental monitoring and is separate from biological and fisheries monitoring. The multitude of stressors which influence the marine environment can have many sources, including estuaries, coastal areas and even far away areas such as watersheds. At the highest level therefore EBM should take into account watershed impacts (Guery et al. 2005). Also from a management perspective it has been suggested that an approach which begins at the lowest scale and then makes its way up to the level of large marine ecosystems thereby allowing a greater number of stressors and the services that they impact to be considered Agardy (2007) and Rosenberg (2006). Sustainable management and application of marine ecosystem services always need to consider the relationship between the socioeconomic and ecological parts of the entire system across the various scales involved. Indicators The fisheries resources within an ecosystem are directly related to the primary productivity of that ecosystem (Pauly and Christensen 1995). The ever increasing problem of coastal eutrophication can be monitored by utilizing ecosystem productivity as an indicator. Ecosystem characteristics can be observed through the use of satellite data. Satellite data that has been tuned to a specific region can provide data on nutrients, productivity, phytoplankton, and sea surface temperature (Aiken et al. 1999; Berman and Sherman 2001; Melrose et al. 2006). The 2004 National Coastal Condition Report II illustrates the use of five indices for coastal assessment put forward by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). These include water quality, sediment quality, benthic communities, coastal habitat, and fish tissue contaminants. These indicators and the entire methodology are gradually being applied to the international global environment facility (GEF) funded LME projects. The Gulf of Mexico LME and many European LMEs have suffered due to nitrogen overenrichment over recent decades. The 1970s Green Revolution which saw much of the wetlands of the world being transformed to agricultural lands and the subsequent fertilizer and livestock increase are said to be the major contributors to this process (Howarth et al. 2000 and Duda and El-Ashry 2000) with other contributors coming from urban sewage sources and automobile exhaust. Indicators used for Marine Management The increasing range and intensity of human uses has led to a need for efficient management of marine ecosystems in the region. Marine ecosystem indicators can play a key role in improving the planning and management practices within the marine environment for sustainable use (Borja et al. 2008b; 2009). Indicators enable managers and stakeholders to monitor the condition of an ecosystem and the impacts of its associated human activities. Indicators can also be used to support planning and decision-making for ecosystem-based management, including problem identification and policy implementation. More than a decade ago the chief method employed in assessing marine quality was the use of indicator species collected from the benthic communities. A wider approach is now being undertaken with the inclusion of the physical components as well as a greater range of biological components (Pinto et al., 2009). Fishes, phytoplankton and zooplankton are biological components that are now part of the ecosystem assessment process and are being used as indicators for marine quality evaluation (Borja et al 2009). True marine quality assessment is usually done by incorporating the various physico-chemical and biological elements of the system (Borja, 2005, 2006). Moloney and Shillington (2007) show that it is necessary to have indicators for ecosystem health however, individual indices can be applied for various aspects of the physical and chemical environment. Further work is required for the establishment of an effective method of defining the single indicator for assessment of marine qual ity (Borja et al., 2008a). The past approach had several deficiencies chief of which was it usually was based on just a few indicator organisms which may not have been a true representation of the ecosystem condition. On the other hand developing several indices based on several different organisms has seen a proliferation of indices (Diaz et al., 2004). Another key point to consider is the validation and testing of an index once it has been developed to ensure its accuracy. Obviously the usefulness or applicability of an index lies in its ability to accurately transmit the information about the quality of the study area for which it was designed (see Borja and Dauer, 2008). It is important to note that local scale indices have been generated in abundance in recent times not taking into account the interconnected nature of the larger marine ecosystems. A key step in index development is the multivariate analysis over areas where the ecosystem compositions are close by comparison. Borja et al (2009) have illustrated clearly that stakeholders and decision makers often need information on larger regions that cross habitat boundaries and thus scale is an important factor in index development. Nextà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. Indicators for marine management derived from Satellite Remote Sensing

Standard English Dialect Vs. Non Standard Dialect

Standard English Dialect Vs. Non Standard Dialect Standard English Dialect Vs. Non Standard Dialect for English Language Learners The United States is a culturally diverse nation. It is a country comprised of not only people of different ethnic backgrounds, but also with distinct dialects that are socially and ethnically related varieties of the same language. For example, there are those who speak English of upper-middle class New Yorkers and that of lower-class New Yorkers. Additionally, there are dialects that stem from different accents of people who immigrated into the country. Although most citizens of the United States speak with a dialect or accent, we tend to draw negative attention to those who speak differently than those who speak standard English (Parker Riley, 2010). This form of language is known as nonstandard English. For example, an educated person who commands the standard English dialect might judge a speaker of a nonstandard English, that comes from a lower socioeconomic status, lacking education or is unintelligent. This negative social judgement impacts English Language Learners because the language spoken in schools are normally referred to as Standard English and often attempts to remove regionalism and accents, both in spoken and written language (Adams, Michael and Ann Curzon, 2009). Although it is important to educate students in their new language standard dialect, teachers should not ignore their students dialects. Educators need to recognize that they show they value their students cultural and ethnic background so that learners do not feel alienated from their new country. Acceptance helps establish student empowerment and confidence to learn the new language and assimilate to the new culture.ÂÂ   However, there are certain situations that teachers should allow non-native English speakers to use their dialects and certain situations when students must be required to use standard English. Teachers must demonstrate when is the right time students should use their own dialects and when they should employ standard American English dialect. There are many ways to incorporate student dialect into the classroom. For example, students can be encouraged to do a research language project on dialect that requires them to interact within two different communities, their own and a community that predominantly uses Standard English. They can participate in a volunteer program that allows them to interact in these communities. As students perform their volunteer duty, they should also be cognizant on listening to how people speak in these communities and write down their observations. They can prepare to do a presentation that describes how individuals pronounce the same words in different ways. They should compare their own dialects with those of standard English. This assignment would allow English language learners to reflect upon their own language skills and improve acquiring the English language and the American standard English dialect. The teacher can ask administration for assistance in organizing these volunteer assignm ents or take the initiative to coordinate one on their own. Another way to incorporate teaching Standard English dialect is to educate students on stylistic registers, which is the different ways we speak depending on the social situation. For example, we speak differently when we are on an interview.ÂÂ   We might ask When shall I expect feedback from our interview, when speaking to a potential employer or your boss, versus When will you call me back? when speaking to a colleague or friend.ÂÂ   Stylistic registers occur daily in students lives. Students speak differently from how they speak to their teachers from how they speak to their peers or to their parents. It is important for English language learners to be able to decipher when to navigate speaking in their own dialects to when it is required of them to speak the standard American English dialect. Having students reflect on their own dialect through and showing them how to navigate through different speech patterns is essential to understanding Standard American English.

Comparing Destruction in Steinbecks Flight and Londons To Build a Fir

Journey to Destruction in Steinbeck's Flight and London's To Build a Fire Not many people have to face death in the cold wasteland of the Arctic or rugged mountains of California, but Pepe and "the man" do. Although the ironic destruction of Pepe and the man were caused by relentless forces of nature, their attitudes and reasons for going on their journeys differed. The setting in both stories consisted of extreme climate and conditions. In Flight the climate was desert hot during the day and chilling cold at night. "The Torres family had their farm, a few sloping acres above a cliff that dropped to the brown reefs and to the hissing white waters of the ocean. Behind the farm the stone mountains stood up against the sky." Pepe spent his last days in the mountains where the conditions were harsh. "His throat was almost closed with thirst. He crawled into the heavy brush feeling with his fingers for water. "There was no water in the bed of the stream, only damp earth." In contrast, the climate in "To Build a Fire" was frigidly cold. "Day had broken cold and gray, ...

Red Hot Chili Peppers Essay -- Botany

Red Hot Chili Peppers A passion for foods from the American Southwest is sweeping through the country. The main component and most popular item of this fad is the chili pepper, an item of tremendous variability and a staple of many people in Central America. In this country, chili peppers were once only found in specialized ethnic stores, but now it is just as likely to be found at the neighborhood Kroger. For most people, however, their knowledge stops here. Through this paper I hope to educate the reader on some other aspects of this intriguing vegetable, such as its history, chemistry, and uses. There is some confusion over what a "chili pepper" is. To many it is only the hot varieties of pepper, such as the jalapeno or the serrano. Others include the milder varieties, such as the bell pepper. Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language defines a chili pepper as "... the pod of any species of capsicum, esp. Capsicum frutescens." In this paper, the term "chili pepper will be used to describe both the hot and mild varieties. When asked to name the source of chili peppers, most people would name Mexico. However, despite the plant's popularity in that country, it is believed that chili peppers originated in South America, after which it spread to Central America. Pepper remains found in Tehuacan, Mexico, were dated to approximately 7000 B.C., showing that chili peppers were established long before Columbus arrived. In fact, chili peppers were among the first plants to be domesticated, due to its weedy nature and the easy transportability of its seeds (Andrews 1984). When Columbus arrived in the New World, he mistook the chili peppers for a relative of black pepper, Piper nigrum, which is why ... ... mankind. Works Cited Andrews, Jean. Pepppers. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1984. Creasy, Rosalind. "Chiles for Flavor." Organic Gardening Mar. 1990: 32-36. Johnson, Jon R, and Charles D. Johnson. "Two Zesty Alternatives to Bell Peppers." Vegetable Grower May 1992: 24-27. "Metabolism and Toxicity of Capsaicin." Nutritional Reviews 44.1 (1986): 20-22. Proulx, E.A. "Some Like Them Hot." Horticulture Jan. 1985: 46-53. Robbins, Jim. "It Feels Like Your Lips Are Going to Fall Off." Smithsonian Jan 1992: 42-51. Rowland, B.J., B. Villalon, and E.E. Burns. "Capsaicin Production in Sweet Bell and Pungent Jalapeno Peppers." Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry 31 (1983): 484-487. Smith, Paul G, Benigno Villalon, and Philip L. Villa. "Horticultural Classification of Peppers Grown in the United States." Hortscience 22 (1987): 11-13.

A summary of Literature Review of the Health Effects of Obesity

Heslehurst et al (2008), in a study about complications of obesity, sought to determine the effect of maternal BMI status on outcomes of pregnancy with immediate short-term obstetric resource implications.The study was a meta-analysis study that aimed to investigate the relationships between maternal obesity and its impact on obstetric care. Literature concerning cohort studies of pregnant mothers was searched. The pregnant women under study were required to have their anthropometric measurements taken within sixteen weeks gestation, followed up during pregnancy with at least 1 obese and 1 group for comparison.The meta-analysis showed that maternal obesity was significantly related to increased odds of instrumental and caesarian deliveries, hemorrhages, infections, longer hospital stay and increased requirement for neonatal care. Maternal obesity had a significant contribution to poor prognosis for mother and baby when delivering and immediately during the post-partum period.The Nati onal clinical for managing obese pregnant women and public health should urgently therefore come up with interventions to address health of mothers and their babies.Study 2Sullivan et al (2008) sought to investigate the effect of obesity on diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipedemia. The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) for 2000 and 2002 was used to estimate the impact of health on people with hyperlipedemia, diabetes and hypertension.Multivariate regression methods for controlling variables such as age, race, sex, ethnicity, education, insurance, income, smoking status, proxy response and morbidity were used.   Instruments used in the study include SF-12 physical component scale (PCS-12), mental component scale (MCS-12), visual analogue scale (VAS) and EQ-5D index. The least absolute deviation that was censored was used to for the VAS and EQ-5D while the ordinary least squares (OLS) were employed for the PCS-12 and MCS-12.It was concluded that, obesity significantly aggrava tes the association between diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipedemia and health function, health perception in United States.Merten et al (2008) undertook a study to investigate racial and gender differences in adolescent and young adult psychosocial outcomes. Sample size used was 7,881 African American (915 males and 1,073 females) and white (2864 males and 3029 females) adolescents. The study was basically concerned with examinations of psychosocial consequences that are encountered by obese adolescents.Results of the study showed that obesity in females is associated with lower status when one attains young adulthood. The obese females also tend to be depressive than normal weight females. However, obesity status does not affect the psychosocial outcomes in young adult males. There was no evidence to indicate an interaction between obesity and race.ConclusionObesity in individuals leads to both psychological and physiological consequences. Obesity in pregnant women causes various c omplications which include hemorrhages, neonatal trauma, caesarian and instrumental deliveries among others. Obesity in teenagers leads to low self esteem especially in girls. At the same time obesity exacerbates hyperlipedemia, diabetes and hypertension in individuals suffering from these conditions.ReferencesWang, F and Veugelers, P.J (2008). Self-esteem and cognitive development in the era of the childhood obesity epidemic. Obesity Reviews. 9(6): 615-623Qi et al (2008). Gene-environment interaction and obesity. Nutrition Reviews. 66(12):684- 694.Heslehurst et al (2008). The impact of maternal BMI status on pregnancy outcomes with immediate short-term obstetric resource implications: a meta-analysis. Obesity Reviews. 9(6): 635-683.Sullivan et al (2008). The impact of obesity on diabetes, hyperlipidemia and hypertension in the United States, Quality of Life Research 17(8):1063-1071Merten et al (2008). Adolescent Obesity and Young Adult Psychosocial Outcomes: Gender and Racial Diffe rences, Journal of Youth & Adolescence, 37(9):1111-1122. Other Sources for Literature Review of health effects of obesity

Mother to Son by Langston Hughes Essay

â€Å"Mother to Son†, published in 1922 by Langston Hughes, was one of the most famous poems he had written. Hughes was African-American and was born in 1902. While living in the 1900’s Hughes and his family experienced the hardships of racism, discrimination, and slavery. Therefore, this poem is not only words of encouragement from a mother to a son, but also words of encouragement to the entire African American community. This poem of inspiration let the community know that the difficulties that they all had to endure at the time were felt by all and that they were not alone in the struggle. Hughes wrote this from the standpoint of a mother encouraging her son to keep going no matter what hardships he may experience. She explained that life is hard and he is not the only one who has had to endure the experience of life’s hard lessons. The poem passes on a message from a mother to her son instructing him that he must remain optimistic despite the obstacles that life can bring. The mother compares her life to a set of old broken down wooden stairs. Using the metaphor that â€Å"life for me has not been any set of crystal stairs† (2, 20), she implies to her son that her life has not been easy or pleasant either. The mother continues to tell her son of the obstacles that she has overcome by describing the old wooden stairs. She says â€Å"it has had tacks in it and splinters and boards torn up and places with no carpet on the floor – bare.† (3-7) The tacks on the stairs were placed there by another person representing the wrong doings to her by another person and the splinters may have been the result of her actions. These tacks and splinters symbolize the cruel reality of life, as opposed to the ideal fantasy life, such as having a set of â€Å"crystal stairs†. Through the voice of the mother, Hughes uses the set of stairs as a metaphor for life and the hardships that they can bring. In spite of these obstacles the mother has moved up the stairs and has overcome them. She tells him she has â€Å"been a climbin’ on, and reachin’ landin’s, and turnin’ corners, and sometimes going in the dark when there ain’t been no light† (9-13). She means here that sometimes she was blind to where the  stairs or her life was leading her and the direction was unknown, but she still continued. The mother continues to encourage her son by telling him â€Å"not to turn back or set down on the steps ’cause you finds it’s kinder hard† (14-16). She is telling her him not to give up regardless of how hard things may seem at the time and if he continues on he will eventually overcome these obstacles that are causing him such despair. She believes that once you stop it is harder to get started again and she encourages him by telling him how she’s â€Å"still goin, honey and I’se sill climin’ and that life for me ain’t been no crystal stair† (18-20). She also tells him that she has made it and still has to encounter these obstacles even in her golden years and she did not give up and has not given up and if she is strong enough to make it then so can he. Through a mother’s voice Hughes uses metaphors, symbolism, and imagery. He also conveys a message of encouragement. Durring the time this he wrote this poem the message may have been directed towards the African American community; however, today the message is directed to all who feel like giving into the hard times that life can and will bring. Hughes also reminds us that we are not alone in these hard times and that everyone experiences the same hard times in some form or another. Langston Hughes’ died in 1967; I hope he knew that this poem spoke words of encouragement not only to the African American race but also to the rest of us needing some inspiration. His poem reminds up to be hopeful and to not give up on ourselves.

Reflecting on one’s Communication Skills Essay

Introduction Nursing students can enhance their learning through reflection that is, reflecting on a situation that involves nursing care (Parker 2006, p.115). In line with this thought, I shall reflect on an experience and discuss the communication skills I used or should have used during the patient encounter. I will use the three what model based on the work of Borton (1970) and Boud (1985) to help structure my reflection. Before going any further, I am invoking the provision in the NMC (2008) code which declares the need to respect people’s confidentiality; hence, the identity of the patient who will be cited in this reflection will be kept anonymous. He will be given a pseudonym and will simply be referred to as Mr. B What? Mr. B is a 75-year-old patient in a nursing home diagnosed with dementia. Initially, it was my mentor who initiated nursing care to him and I was instructed to continue its delivery. The rationale why my mentor assigned me to Mr. B was so I can sharpen my communication skills. During my interaction with Mr. B, I tried to remain calm and spoke in slow and short sentences. I also used simple words although at times, I cannot help but repeat what I have already said because I was not sure whether the patient understood my statements. So What? At first, I was honestly hesitant and quite nervous when I interacted with the patient. I was already aware of his condition; hence, I was in a dilemma as to how I can communicate with him. This experience helped me realise that communication is truly an important part of nursing practice. Mastering all the routine nursing tasks and other complicated nursing interventions will all have been for nothing if a nurse does not know how to initiate a nurse-patient therapeutic relationship or interaction which naturally begins with communication. To simply put it, Ellis, Gates and Kenworthy (2003, p.214) declare that good communication is vital to effective nursing. According to Collins (2009) good communication helps build a therapeutic relationship which is central to nursing. It is a must for a nurse to be able to communicate effectively with the patient because communication is the tool that will allow the nurse to reassure a patient, empower the patient, motivate the patient, put a patient at ease, and convey understanding of the patient’s concerns (Collins 2009). I realised that communicating with a patient with dementia is more difficult than I have actually predicted. His condition was definitely the barrier that hindered effective communication. Even though I spoke in clear, short and simple sentences, there were still instances when the patient did not understand what I said or may be pretended to have not heard what I said. With this, I realise that one effective counter against such circumstance is to establish and maintain genuine rapport with the patient which can be done through frequent therapeutic conversations with the patient. Rapport entails trust and confidence of the patient to the nurse. Without, a nurse will have difficulty convincing a patient to follow instructions or adhere to advices. The experience also led me to realise the importance of valuing non-verbal communication. Before, I honestly took for granted non-verbal communication because the patients I handled in the past had no cognitive impairments that hindered verbal communication. It was only during this experience that verbal communication is less reliable due to the patient’s condition. This experience pointed out that a patient’s facial expression, presence or absence of eye contact, and bodily gestures can all help decipher a patient’s mood, feelings and attitude towards the nurse and the interventions given by the nurse. Videbeck (2010, p.107) relate that it is crucial for a nurse to understand what a patient is trying to communicate by means of observing non-verbal cues. I learned that a truly competent nurse is someone who is able to assess not only what a patient can verbalise but also assess those non-verbal cues displayed by a  patient which may lead the nurse to truly unde rstand how the patient feels and what the patient needs. Now What The experience helped me learn the importance of both verbal and non-verbal communication. As an aspiring nurse, I have to continuously sharpen my communication skills because I shall be interacting with more varied patients in the future. I have to be able to establish rapport with each new patient and I can do this by communicating with them. I must maximise my communication with my patients because I can do a lot of things by communicating such as motivate, empower, educate and understand my patients. Conclusion To sum up, reflecting on an experience will help discover different important learning. It will increase one’s knowledge identify strengths and weaknesses in one’s skills. Communication is key to building rapport and therapeutic relationship with patients. A nurse must always improve on his or her communication skills in order to better deliver nursing care. References Collins, S. (2009). Good communication helps to build a therapeutic relationship. (online) available at: http://www.nursingtimes.net/nursing-practice/clinicalspecialisms/educators/good-communication-helps-to-build-a-therapeuticrelationship/5003004.article Ellis, R., Gates, B. and Kenworthy, N. (2003). Interpersonal communication in nursing: Theory and practice. London: Churchill Livingstone. Nursing & Midwifery Council (2008). The code: Standards of conduct, performance and ethics for nurses and midwives. London: NMC. Parker, M. (2006). Aesthetic ways in day-to-day nursing. In: Freshwater, D. (Ed.). Therapeutic nursing: Improving patient care through self-awareness and reflection. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Videbeck, S. (2010). Psychiatric-mental health nursing. 5th edn., Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Introduction Aseptic technique is the practice of carrying out a procedure in such a way that minimises the risk of introducing contamination into a vulnerable area or contaminating an invasive devise (Dougherty and Lister 2011, p.129). Aseptic technique includes several methods such as sterilising instruments, using antiseptic hand scrubs, and donning of sterile gowns, gloves, caps and masks (Cho and Alessandrini 2008, p.43). In line with this thought, this essay will explore the underlying rationales and evidence for the performance of two common methods of aseptic technique. These methods are hand washing and gloving which I personally performed many times during practice placements. Practising Aseptic Technique The delivery of effective nursing care rests on the hands of the nurse. This statement does not only apply figuratively but also literally because the hands of a nurse must not only be capable of performing tasks, it must also be clean while performing such tasks. Hand washing is simply indispensable in the performance of any and all kinds of nursing care activities. It becomes too mundane that sometimes it is intentionally or unintentionally neglected or performed in a manner that is less than satisfactory. As a student nurse, it was made clear to me that proper hand washing is a very important initial step in the delivery of nursing services. I have performed hand washing countless times, some at an acceptable standard while others below standard. The origin for strongly recommending or rather enforcing the need to perform hand washing may be traced from Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis who advocated the performance of hand washing with a chlorinated solution among doctors before assisting women in labour (Case 2011). White (2005, p.527) defines hand washing as the rubbing together of all surfaces www.newessays.co.uk and crevices of the hands using a soap or chemical and water. It is a part of all types of isolation precautions and is the most basic and effective infection-control measure to prevent and control the transmission of infectious agents. Hand hygiene which includes hand washing and gloving, is the single most crucial means of preventing transmission of antibiotic-resistant organisms such as the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA and vancomycin-resistant Enterococci or VRE (LeTexier 2011). The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (2003, p.28) or NICE in its guideline for infection control dictate that hand washing and gloving are two fundamental modes of preventing healthcare-associated infection. The World Health Organization (2006) highly recommends that health care workers wear gloves to prevent microorganisms present on the hands to be transmitted to patients and to reduce the risk of workers acquiring infection from patients. The effectiveness of donning gloves in preventing contamination of infectious agents has been confirmed in many clinical trials (WHO 2006). To reiterate, both hand washing and gloving are two of the most indispensable methods of aseptic technique; however, amidst the overwhelming evidence on the benefits of both procedures, there are still erring professionals. Nurses, doctors and other health care professionals still do err in the performance of such procedures. In my case, I have done it many times before but sometimes, I still forget to do it or consciously neglect to do it. Perhaps, the problem lies not within the knowledge of the need to perform it but rather on the manner by which it should be perform. There are varying ways and means of performing hand washing. In fact there are different kinds of hand washing. There is the medical hand washing which is similar to ordinary hand washing and there is also the surgical hand washing. Every institution has its own version on how to perform hand washing. This is also true for donning gloves. There are different brands of gloves each of which advertise some form of advantage over the other. There are also different modes of donning gloves such as the open technique and the close technique. There are also different varieties of gloves like clean gloves and surgical gloves. The differences and varieties with the way hand washing and gloving may be performed may account for the reason why some professionals err in the performance of these two important aseptic technique procedures. Another factor in the possible non-compliance of some healthcare professionals may be related to convenience in the performance of such procedures. For instance, when a nurse is overwhelmed by work-related stress due to high inpatient census, sometimes, the simple act of washing hands is intentionally neglected. As a solution to this, it is recommended to make hand hygiene convenient (JCR 2009, p.64). Instead of the traditional soap and water, it is possible to achieve the same effect with alcohol based scrub; thereby, eliminating the need for washing hands with water. It is also advisable to choose gloves that have special fit for different sizes of hands rather than the fit-all type of gloves. Conclusion In summary, hand washing and gloving are two common types of aseptic technique which are indispensable in the everyday practice of nursing. It has been well established that hand washing and gloving are crucial in the efficient delivery of services particularly in the aspect of preventing the spread of infection. Despite this known fact, some still err in complying with such procedures. References Case, C. (2011). Handwashing. [online] Available at: http://www.accessexcellence.org/AE/AEC/CC/hand_background.php Cho, C. and Alessandrini, E. (2008). Aseptic technique. In: King, C., Henretig, F. and King , B. (Eds.). Textbook of pediatric emergency procedures. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Dougherty, L. and Lister, S. (2011). The Royal Marsden Hospital Manual of Clinical Nursing Procedures: Student edition. 8th edn., Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Joint Commission Resources (2009). Meeting joint commission’s infection prevention and control requirements: A priority focus area. 2nd edn., Illinois: Joint Commission Resources. LeTexier, R. (2011). Preventing infection through hand washing. [Online].Available at: http://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/articles/2000/07/preventing-infection-throughhandwashing.aspx National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (2003). Infection control: Prevention of healthcare-associated infection in primary and community care. [online]. Available at: http://www.nice.org.uk/nicemedia/pdf/CG2fullguidelineinfectioncontrol.pdf White, L. (2005). Foundations of nursing. London: Thompson Delmar Learning. www.newessays.co.uk Nursing Essay: Sample World Health Orgnization (2006). The first global patient safety challenge: Clean care is safer care. [online]. available at: http://www.who.int/gpsc/tools/Infsheet6.pdf www.newessays.co.uk

Macbeth and Jane Eyre Essay

Macbeth by Shakespeare and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte have a similar theme. In both the novel and play, there is a contender edging somebody else on. In Macbeth, Lady Macbeth edges Macbeth on to first killing King Duncan and other people. In Jane Eyre, Jane pushes Rochester not to be scared and to let go of the safety nets and trust in others. In Macbeth, Macbeth turns from having a pure heart to a black and evil heart, while Rochester changes from having a closed heart to an open and trusting heart. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is seen as a courageous soldier who is loyal to the King but is corrupted from the witches’ prophecies and by his and Lady Macbeth’s ambition. This is because of the weakness of Macbeth’s character and the strong power of Lady Macbeth and how she is easily able to influence him. Her strength motivates him at the start but after, he realizes what he has done, but still decides to continue to go down his murderous, bloody path. At the beginning of the play Lady Macbeth appears as a kind wife of Macbeth’s but underneath lays a scheming and treacherous woman. She watered his seed and started the never-ending growth of the beanstalk from Jack and the Bean Stalk. Macbeth however was his own sunlight and let the plant just keep on growing higher with more and more thorns. The first time she waters the seed is when they first hear that King Duncan is sleeping over their house that night. Lady Macbeth asks her husband when the King would leave. Macbeth answers that the king would leave the following day. Lady Macbeth tells him otherwise however. â€Å"O, never shall sun that morrow see†¦ Your hand, your tongue: look like th’ innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t.† She tells him that she has to kill the king and nobody would expect it because he is being hospitable and letting the king stay at his house. To the King Duncan and the rest of the people, Lady Macbeth seems to be a nice sweet lady. However, she is really tricky and conniving. At First, Macbeth tries to back out last minute. He says, â€Å"We will proceed no further in this business: he hath honored me of late, and I have bought golden opinions from all sorts of people, which would be worn now in their newest gloss, not cast aside so soon.† He says that the king has only been nice to him and is a wise man and does not want to get rid of him so soon. Lady Macbeth shrewdly answers that he is a coward for not  wanting to go through with it and that he is not a man unless he does. Macbeth is convinced by her argument and decides to go through with it. Later that night while the king was fast asleep, Macbeth killed him. After the murder, Macbeth got paranoid and started to kill people left and right in order to make sure nobody would find out about the assassination he commit against King Duncan. That is an example of how Lady Macbeth stated the seed to sprout, but once it would come out of its shell, Macbeth could not put it back and instead would make it keep on growing until it would kill him. Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester are soul mates. When two people are meant for each other, they feed off of each other. In this particular case, Mr. Rochester feeds off of Jane more then the other way around. When they first meet at Thornfield, Rochester is cold and bitter while Jane is trying to be as nice and warm as she can be. When he falls off of his horse, he sprained his ankle. When she sees him fall, she runs to him and asks, â€Å"Are you injured, sir?† before even finding who he is or where he comes from. Her primary focus is to make sure that he is all right. He keeps telling her to go home but she insists on helping him. Later in the conversation, he realizes who she is but still has no idea who he is. Only later she learns who is the man she helped. That is the first time he meets someone who is nice to him without having secret intentions behind it to get a reward or just to get on his good side. From that moment on Jane and Rochester feed off each other to grow to become happy people. A few weeks after Rochester fell off his horse, somebody tried to kill Rochester by putting his room on fire during his sleep. It is suspected to be Bertha, his crazy wife. Jane sees smoke come out of Rochester’s room. She runs to his room and puts out the fire and saves his life. He feels indebted to her and invites Jane to have dinner with him. They both think the other one is not so physically attracted. After speaking during dinner however, they start to like each other’s personalities. He later throws a party where a beautiful lady by the name of Blanche Ingram attends. Rochester and her are suppose to get married but Jane gets in the way. Rochester realized that he could not marry Ingram because he realizes that he is in love with Jane. After many incidents and complications to get married, Jane runs away. While she is away, Bertha  Mason, a crazy woman who is Rochester’s first wife, burns down the house and kills herself and at the same time blinding Rochester. Jane hears Rochester screams her name about a year after she leaves. She magically hears it somehow and is able to tell that the person shouting is Rochester. She goes back to Thornfield and they marry. While he is blinded, he trusts her with his life and lets her guide him everywhere without being scared. A few months after they get married, thanks to her love for him and his love for her, he is able to see again. Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre are two great stories that share a theme. Although the outcomes are complete opposite, they both have someone affecting the other person in a positive or negative way. In Macbeth, unfortunately, the evil seed grew inside Macbeth’s body and caused him to go on a murder rampage. In Jane Eyre, fortunately, Jane is there to kill the sprout of the bad plant and implant a kind-hearted, lively, and firm maple tree.

Strategic Planning Process in Public Administration Essay

Strategic Planning Process in Public Administration - Essay Example Public administration encompasses reconciliation of in-built conflicts between democratic governance and administrative bureaucracy. Bureaucracies stay identical with managerial approaches established on uniform procedures, hierarchical structures and formalization that remain anonymously carried out. Management based bureaucratic strategies include planning, coordinating, controlling, directing and organizing. Public administration also involves behavior based democratic practices embraced from various fields such as sociology and remains utilized within the framework of accountability in democracy. Most notably, the field has considerably changed since the 1930s to incorporate social equity as an integral part of the government’s mission. In overall, public administration entails the formation and implementation of government or public policies. Public administration faces various complications, issues or barriers to the realization of efficient strategic planning process. A unifying set of principles remain absent in guiding practitioners while past practices remain insufficient in meeting the 21st century challenges. Hence, the intellectual framework needed to drive forward contemporary public administration as a discipline remains a necessity. It would be difficult to change laws and their cumulative effects also generate perverse outcomes. It becomes complicated to avoid rigidities accumulated over time in relation to rules, norms and laws while conserving the merit of law regimes in strategic public administration planning. Similarly, the field of public administration lags behind changes occurring in today’s practice. The internal systems of public organizations have low tolerance for risks thus making them to resist change or adapt slowly. Hence, many reforms have not brought about change leaving traditional approaches to restate themselves over time (Bourgon, 2011). The growth of non-governmental service delivery approaches such as loans , transfers, grants, tax credit and insurance comprise today’s bulk government spending. However, these approaches create a gap between service delivery and decisions on funding in the traditional accountability framework since public resources become allocated to organizations and individuals thought as could produce anticipated results. In this regard, this situation should be mitigated through the establishment of new accountability measures capable of producing desired results. The government lags behind in acting as the principal instrument in providing tangible and direct public services. As a result, complex public results cannot be achieved since public services in the present day remain increasingly intermediate, intangible and indirect. A high level of interdependence and wide dispersion of power remain increasingly uncertain in the presence of networked societies and global economy thereby adding onto the government’s responsibilities of addressing public is sues (Holmberg & Rothstein, 2012). Research activities on public administration add significance to the field’s theoretical base and literature regardless of methodologies used. This follows the fact that public administration as an applied discipline supports various research traditions. However, difference of opinions and conflict continues to exist between practitioners and scholars over the applicability and relevancy of the varying epistemic or research approaches in strategic planning. This raises questions as to whether public administration exists as a political, gendered or social construct or if reality could be an objective occurrence when undertaking strategic planning process (Riccucci, 2010). Open and