Obviously, perpetuation of the species is the key bond between men and Essay

Obviously, perpetuation of the species is the key bond between men and women; however, in this age of greater reproductive freedom is this bond still as preva - Essay Example The entire scenario has undergone a change in perception since World War II, which witnessed gender role changes on a massive scale. So much so that relationship experts now argue that there exists a universal bond between men and women that goes beyond the traditional reproductive roles, however differently or specifically they are construed by differing cultures. The traditional concepts of gender roles arose from an era when men occupied the workplace and women the home, and the only occasion for them to get together was for romance. They now work together, play together and socialize together. Such changes bring the different aspects of a universal bond to the fore, though there are several challenges that such relationships face. Talcott Parson’s model of the nuclear family has compared a traditional view with a more liberal one, even as he continued to support the view that the feminine role was an expressive one, carrying out internal functions while the masculine role was â€Å"instrumental†, focused on external functions. At one extreme, he admits that there are situations when all barriers cease to exist and other bonds do come into play. Hence Parson’s model can be seen as one of the earliest scientific proposals of the theory of a universal bond. In reality, the actual behavior between individuals is most often somewhere in between. (Quotes from Talcott Parsons. Concepts for Sociology). There are several challenges to non-romantic male-female relationships. Don OMeara, Ph.D., at the University of Cincinnati-Raymond Walters College, argues that relationships devoid of lust are genuine, but difficult to identify. Further, the platonic relationship would always be in danger of slipping into a sexual one, posing another challenge. Traditional gender inequalities in how power is wielded do affect the roles even in platonic relationships, causing strains in the universal bond. Since there are more doubters

Treatments for Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

Treatments for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) CHAPTER 5 – TREATMENT As we have read previously, clinically isolated syndrome may develop to multiple sclerosis and because there is no way of determining whether an individual will undergo to develop MS after having an episode of demyelination, making the decision to treat and monitor the ongoing changes very difficult. Evidence have suggested that the earlier the start of disease modifying agents in the early course of MS the more effective they are. There are numerous studies have indicated that starting disease modifying agents after clinically isolated syndrome delays the onset of MS, but these studies remains controversial. There have been arguments whether or not to start disease modifying agents after a clinically isolated syndrome. Those who support the start of these agent following diagnosis of CIS cite the results of some clinical trials that shows that these drugs reduce the risk of developing to MS by one third. A â€Å" treat all early â€Å" approach have been proposed as best to ensure all people who would go on to developing MS do receive the treatment . The other side of this argument have existing evidence for the disease modifying agent in MS shows only modest short term effectiveness in high risk cases of CIS. Treatment is unnecessary for those who would never gone on to developing MS after CIS. Four large clinical trials have been conducted to determine whether early treatment following an episode of CIS can delay the 2nd clinical episode, and therefore the diagnosis of clinically definite MS 5.1 Controlled High-Risk Subjects Avonex MS Prevention Study (CHAMPS) The goals of the study are: The early induction interferon beta-1a (AVENOX ) treatment can delay the 2nd episode of demyelination which in turn can signal definite MS If the treatment would have any benefits on MRI detected brain lesions. Subjects have in this study had experienced a single episode of isolated neurological event suggesting demyelination and had multiple clinically silent MRI lesions, which they represent a high risk for a second neurological attack (definite MS) (40, 41). The results indicated that AVENOX (interferon beta-1a) had significantly delay the 2nd neurological attack, and MRI finding showed that AVENOX can decrease the volume of brain lesions and as well as fewer lesions . Based on this study, the FDA approved that patients with clinically isolated syndrome with MRI detected brain lesions to receive AVENOX .figure(2).(40)(42) Figure (2): impact of interferon beta following first neurological attack Source:https://quo.novartis.com/extavia/images/extavia_EFFICACY1_banner.jpg 5.2 Early Treatment Of MS ( ETOMS ) The goals of the study are: Determine if very low doses of interferon beta 1a (REBIF) delay’s the onset of clinically definite multiple sclerosis in people who experienced only one clinical event but had multiple MRI lesions (43,44). Results indicated that: The group of people who received interferon beta-1a (REBIF) who developed clinically definite MS (34%) is fewer than the group of people receiving placebo (45%) during the period of the study.(45) The number of new lesions has decreased in the treatment group and the demyelination areas is significantlylower.figure(3).(45) Figure (3 ): compression between the groups receiving REBIF and placebo Source:http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/archives/image.cfm?archiveid=100714type=imgname=rebif-01.jpg 5.3 Betaseron In Newly Emerging MS For Initial Treatment (BENEFIT) The goals of the study: Determine if interferon beta-1b can delay the onset of clinically definite MS in subjects with first clinical sign of MS or CIS who are at a high risk for developing MS (46). Results At day 255 of the study, one quarter of the subjects in the placebo group had developed clinically definite MS. In the other hand, it took 618 days for approximately same number of subjects in the treatment group to develop clinically definite MS. (47) After the two years study, it was determined that 28% of the subjects under the treatment group had developed clinically definite MS compared to the 45% of the placebo group (47) The FDA has approved that patients who have experienced CIS and have MRI feature consistent with MS to receive the treatment with Betaseron figure (4). Figure (4): comparison between Betaseron receiving group and placebo group Source:http://www.iodine.com/label-content/261fde67-efb2-4bd7-947e-4f68a56e76ff-c71a5c99d2acf2ddb0e66c9266460f4c.jpg 5.4 The pre-CIS study Study goals Determine the period of time it takes for subjects diagnosed with clinically isolated syndrome receiving glatiramer acetate ( Copaxone ) to develop a second attack that would confirm the diagnosis of definite MS. Results indicated that the group who received glatiramer acetate in comparison with the placebo group, has significantly reduced the risk of developing clinically definite MS. Based on these results, the FDA has indicated to that individuals who have had first clinical episode and MRI feature consistent with MS to receive copaxone as treatment. Based on these trials , it have been approved the necessity of starting treatments as soon as possible for clinically isolated syndrome patients and those who have first clinical episode and MRI evidence suggestive of multiple sclerosis (48). The interferons agents should be used with high cautions by depressed patients or individuals with history of depression because of some evidence indicated that these meds may progress the depression symptoms. In patients with depression the physician should give best possible treatment decision to not worsen the depression episodes and in same time have positive effects in the case of treatment purpose (49). 5.5 Interferon beta medication Avonex (interferon beta- 1a): it has been shown in the previous clinical trials to reduce the frequency of relapses in MS and the number of the new lesions on MRI, and it also reduces the disease progression. It has been also shown that Avonex reduces the risk to develop MS in clinically isolated syndrome at high risk patients. Uses: CIS and relapsing forms of MS (secondary progressive MS). Dosage: 30 micrograms once a week: IM injection. Side effect: flue-like symptoms following the injections, depressions, anemia, elevated liver enzymes and liver toxicity. Betaseron (interferon beta-1b): in the previous clinical trials, betaseron has shown that it reduces the frequency and severity of relapses. In addition, it also showed that it reduces the number of new lesions or even active lesions on MRI. Like Avonex, betaseron have also the ability to delay the onset of MS in people with CIS and has been approved by the FDA for this use specifically.(50) Uses : CIS and relapsing forms of MS ( secondary progressive MS ) Dosage : 250 micrograms once every two days : subcutaneous injection Side effects: flue like symptoms after injections, injection site reaction, depression, elevated liver enzymes and low white blood cells counts. Rebif (interferon beta-1a): has shown to reduce the frequency, relapses and the number of new / active lesions on MRI. Like avonex and betaseron, rebif has demonstrated that it can delay the onset of MS in patients with CIS. But, unfortunately it have not been approved by the FDA for this use yet. (51) Uses : CIS and relapsing forms of MS ( secondary progressive MS ) Dosage: 20 micrograms every day : subcutaneous injection Side effects: flue like symptoms after injections, injection site reaction, depression, elevated liver enzymes and low white blood cells counts. Copaxone (glatiramer acetate): in addition to interferon beta drugs, Copaxone has shown to reduce frequency of relapses and the number of new/active lesions on MRI scan. It’s been used in relapsing remitting type of multiple sclerosis. Until the present, the mode of action have not been discovered. Some theories have been suggested but no scientifically proven theory is discovered.(51) Uses : CIS and relapsing remitting forms of MS Dosage 44 micrograms 3 times a week : subcutaneous injection Side effects: injection site reactions, a reaction after injection, anxiety, chest tightness, dyspnea and flushing. In conclusions, there is no definite treatment of multiple sclerosis or clinically isolated syndrome in the presence of demyelination of the central nerve system. But, reducing the amount of the lesions, frequency of the episodes and prolonging the period of developing MS in high risk patient is the goals we are looking for. CIS can be difficult to diagnose or to determine whether or not to start the treatment, and the physician may find a hard time to find the best decision in these cases keeping in mind that the sooner the beginning of the treatment the less progressive the disease is (52). 5.6 Prevention Given to the heterogeneous etiological factors and often idiopathic characteristic of CIS, there are no clear means of prevention exists. In postinfectious patients with CIS, prevention of the infection is the best means of prevention. In acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, almost 70% of cases are associated with infections and 5% (approximately) with vaccination. acute disseminated encephalomyelitis rates are estimated with 1.5 per millions (2 per million) in association with live measles vaccine compared to 1 in 1000 risk of postinfectious ADE with measles infections, suggesting that vaccines may decrease the risk of post infection complications. Unfortunately, vaccines are not available for all bacteria and viruses (53).

Essays --

Andre Ribeiro Ms. Michael Pre-AP English II 1-15-13 Rough Draft Charles dickens was not only one of England's first great novelists, but also one of the most prevelant, enduring figures in using fiction to effectively communicate his ideas, as well as criticize social and moral ideals throughout the Victorian era. Through "A Christmas Carol", Dickens uses the wealthy, excentric caricature of Ebeneezer Scrooge as well as the symbolic meanings of the three ghosts to convey and portray a sense of pity and uneven distribution of wealth and class during his time. Each groups of symbols and characters play a vital role in Dickens' critique of Victorian society, as well as include solutions for the issues that persisted. In the instance of "A Christmas Carol", Dickens was directly inspired to write a Christmas story highlighting the struggles that the poor faced during the major Depression that occurred during the 1840's, as well as the need for charity from those that were considered 'well-off'. Having suffered continual hardships as a child, Dickens' attitude toward the wealthy was in fact bitter. As a result, his feelings toward the wealthy, represented by Scrooge as a whole group, was one centered around resentment and disregard. The Cratchits, however, portrayed the lives of many impoverished peoples during the era, and described them as being hardworking simpletons with a kind-hearted spirit, regardless of their situation. Tiny Tim was one such example, as he always blessed everyone on multiple occasions, despite his continuing ailments. One key element in Dickens' description and thoughts towards Victorian Society is that of moral standing and the satisfaction and happiness of the very contradicting social cl... .... Equality was not a forefront topic during the time, and Dickens was outspoken and intelligent to the extent of pointing out flaws that many members of the current time never pondered. Social issues tend to become increasingly important as time persists, even more so than economic issues. This account completely disregards the social standings of specific members and focuses more on ones morality. If equality is not reached, and a 'Scrooge-like' transformation does not occur, even in today's society, the social system may collapse upon itself, and an entire "middle class" may be entirely disregarded. A solution is always at arms reach, but it all begins with the individual. Each human being is in its own respect, much like Scrooge. Moral changes are needed, and the decisions one makes today could potentially affect the lives of many for generations to come.

Imagery in Macbeth

Shakespeare’s Effective use of Imagery to Display Powerful Themes â€Å"Fair is foul and foul is fair: Hover through the fog and filthy air. † (1. 1. 11-12). This famous chant lies in the opening scene of William Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth, providing dark evil imagery to evoke the senses and set a tone for the play. Images are strong sensory techniques that can be used as a basis for much further development in any piece of literature. A black cat, a dark alley and a stormy night are all modern day symbols of mystery and evil doings.Authors often times use these or similar images to embellish the plot by designing a setting or giving the characters more depth. More significantly, images provide a solid ground which gives underpinning to important themes of the writing. William Shakespeare very skillfully uses imagery to support prevalent themes of his drama Macbeth. Poison of the mind, the power of ones thoughts and hypocrisy are all significant themes carried throughout the play by effective use of imagery in reference to serpents, ghostly visions and ill-fitted clothing.Powerful images creep through the tragedy at every scene to construct a venomous atmosphere of false virtue and self-deceit. To start, Shakespeare effectively uses serpent imagery to illustrate the idea that power may act as a virus that poisons the mind and leads to moral and self-destruction. For instance, the power that Macbeth achieves through the violent act of murdering Duncan acts as a disease embedded into his mind that warps and twists his thinking.His only focus now is what evil acts must be done in order to ensure that his crown is safe. He expresses these poisonous thoughts when speaking to his wife about his idea to exterminate those threatening his title â€Å"O, full of scorpions is my mind. † (3. 2. 36). The powerful image of scorpions crawling through his brain, injecting their venomous thoughts effectively demonstrates how power can act as a poi son that challenges moral thinking and sets people on a wrath of destruction.By providing a very sinister, wicked image of the diseased mind a common theme of the poison in power is successfully illustrated to the reader. Similarly, Lady Macbeth emphasizes the idea that in order to carry out those actions necessary to maintain such power they must possess poisoned blood â€Å"look like the innocent flower/ But be the serpent under’t. † (1. 5. 64-65). This striking image that compares Macbeth to a serpent enhances the suggestion that his strive to maintain authority has transformed him into a toxic creature with venomous blood.Such compelling imagery gives the reader a sense of his sickly soul, thus further amplifying the idea that supremacy acts as a sickness that infects the mind and disrupts moral judgment. In summary, the use of serpent and poison imagery firmly expresses a central idea of the play; power is a virus that contaminates the mind and leads to moral and self-destruction. In the same way that Shakespeare uses imagery to emphasize the idea of power acting as a virus, he also makes use of images to portray the theme that the physical world (reality) is not always as real as the thoughts in one’s mind.First of all, as Macbeth is preparing the murder of King Duncan his innermost thoughts come to life when his anxiety gives rise to the hallucination of a dagger, the handle pointed to him and the blade aimed at Duncan. In a soliloquy, Macbeth expresses his confusion when he is unable to clutch the blade â€Å"Mine eyes are made the fools o’ the other senses, or else worth all the rest. † (2. 1. 43-45). The vision is so strong to him that Macbeth is unable to determine whether his eyes are incorrect or his other senses (such as the sense of touch) are failing him.The ghostly vision and Macbeth’s heavy belief in what clearly isn’t there illustrates the power in one’s thoughts compared to the reality of the universe, further highlighting a key theme of the play. Furthermore, Macbeth experiences an even more passionate response to illusory thoughts when he believes to see the ghost of Banquo sitting at his place the night of his feast. At the sight of the ghost, Macbeth loses all sense of reality and begins speaking to the ghost amid all of his guests; â€Å"Prithee, sit there!Behold! Look! Lo! How say you? Why, what care I? If thou cans’t nod speak too. † (3. 4. 69-70). Once again, the way Shakespeare depicts the power of these visions to Macbeth through his ghost imagery better reinforces the strength of our internal thoughts. Shakespeare’s use of ghost imagery, and more notably Macbeth’s strong reaction to them, positively expresses the theme of one’s inner thoughts providing a stronger reality than the physical world.In a similar fashion to the way Shakespeare applies ghost imagery to depict an idea of the strength in one’s innermost thoughts, he effectively constructs the lesson that hypocrisy goes against nature and will not work in the long run with his use of clothing imagery. The clothing imagery is used to demonstrate that the persona Macbeth is attempting to possess is not actually his; the moral standards he claims to have as a loyal King do not match with his actions. For example, when Macbeth is given title Thane of Cawdor, he asks Angus â€Å"Why do you dress me in borrow’d robes? † (1. . 108-109), indicating that they are literally not his, they belong to the current Thane of Cawdor. However on a more symbolic level, the image of these borrowed robes demonstrates that Macbeth’s honors do not really belong to him. They have been borrowed, even stolen and he should not possess such a title. Thus, the clothing image helps to emphasize the idea that false virtue is unjust, further developing a major theme in the drama. Also, the clothing imagery throughout the play aids in revealing this theme by hinting at the idea that Macbeth’s new title does not â€Å"fit† him right.For example, in act 5 when Angus speaks of Macbeth â€Å"Now does he feel his title hang loose about him, like a giant’s robe/ Upon a dwarfish theif. † (5. 2. 20-22), the reader is given a very awkward an obscure image, revealing Macbeth as a small, dishonorable man covered in garments that are unsuited to him. This advances the thought of Macbeth standing as a fraud; his clothing is not tailored to his size just as his personality is not tailored to the position he holds.He does not belong in that position of power, he should not be in that position of power and the obscure image if ill-fitted clothing really proves the idea that this is not right, it is unnatural. In short, Shakespeare’s use of clothing imagery helps to develop a central theme that hypocrisy is against nature, further emphasizing his ability to illustrate prevalent themes through images. Evi dently, Shakespeare utilizes a variety of images to effectively illustrate the important themes of Macbeth.His use of poison imagery to display the virus of power, ghostly images to portray strength in one’s innermost thoughts and clothing imagery to demonstrate that hypocrisy goes against nature are all examples of the way Shakespeare employs this technique. This cunning use of words that appear to the senses give the reader a powerful picture to provide further understanding of underlying themes already present in the writing. Such a method of writing has since been used by many other authors to enhance their writing and better depict significant themes.

Child and young persons development

Understand the kinds Of influences that affect CYP's development Criteria Describe with examples the kinds of influences that affect CYP's development including d) background e) health f) environment 3ackground: The children I'll be working With Will come from a wide range Of backgrounds that will have an impact on their development, such as family composition, culture and beliefs etc.If a child iS from a different culture or belief from most of the other children in the class, then here may be certain rules in that belief that may stop them being involved in a play activity the other children may be taking part in. The child may feel excluded and lonely their physical development could be affected but also their social development could be affected. Health: The children and young people come across may have a number of health issues or disabilities.If a child has a disability that restricts them participating n activities this may have an effect not only primarily on their physical development but also their social development. To avod this, the child must be included as best they can and for them to feel valued. Also Is a child is from a low income family they may not nave the correct diet and nutrition to help them to grow. This may also affect their physical development. Environment: The main environments where a CYP develops Will be their school and home. Both at home and atschool if a child is nurtured and given time then they will develop faster and to a higher level.At home whether the CYP is cared for by parents. grandparents or arers then they will be the first people that the child will develop a bond with. Activities such as read too, and with them and letting them know that their opinion matters will help develop positive growth. A child that is sat in front of a computer playing games may not develop and learn key skills as quickly as a child that has lots of interaction with parents/carers, The surrounding area of the home and school can also hav e an effect. Their development will grow if there are libraries. arks, community centres for Sport and other activities. There they will interact With peer and adults developing a range Of skills. criteria describe with examples the importance of recognising and responding to concerns about children and young people's development. Recognising an Issue with a CYP's development Is Important and responding to any concerns is vital! If during work In a school I have a concern about a pupil's development I would first raise It with the class teacher. I may be asked to record my concerns In-case actions are needed to be taken later.I would need to be sensitive to both the child's and their parent's teelngs and even It others have already raised an issue I should still intorm scrTleone senior in the school. An example that may tind of a child's development being compromised could be a pupil that is new to a school that struggles with English as they may have recently moved to the 13K. This could have an effect on not only their intellectual development through not being able to complete the work done in class, but also their social development. If the pupil has trouble Child and young persons development Understand the kinds Of influences that affect CYP's development Criteria Describe with examples the kinds of influences that affect CYP's development including d) background e) health f) environment 3ackground: The children I'll be working With Will come from a wide range Of backgrounds that will have an impact on their development, such as family composition, culture and beliefs etc.If a child iS from a different culture or belief from most of the other children in the class, then here may be certain rules in that belief that may stop them being involved in a play activity the other children may be taking part in. The child may feel excluded and lonely their physical development could be affected but also their social development could be affected. Health: The children and young people come across may have a number of health issues or disabilities.If a child has a disability that restricts them participating n activities this may have an effect not only primarily on their physical development but also their social development. To avod this, the child must be included as best they can and for them to feel valued. Also Is a child is from a low income family they may not nave the correct diet and nutrition to help them to grow. This may also affect their physical development. Environment: The main environments where a CYP develops Will be their school and home. Both at home and atschool if a child is nurtured and given time then they will develop faster and to a higher level.At home whether the CYP is cared for by parents. grandparents or arers then they will be the first people that the child will develop a bond with. Activities such as read too, and with them and letting them know that their opinion matters will help develop positive growth. A child that is sat in front of a computer playing games may not develop and learn key skills as quickly as a child that has lots of interaction with parents/carers, The surrounding area of the home and school can also hav e an effect. Their development will grow if there are libraries. arks, community centres for Sport and other activities. There they will interact With peer and adults developing a range Of skills. criteria describe with examples the importance of recognising and responding to concerns about children and young people's development. Recognising an Issue with a CYP's development Is Important and responding to any concerns is vital! If during work In a school I have a concern about a pupil's development I would first raise It with the class teacher. I may be asked to record my concerns In-case actions are needed to be taken later.I would need to be sensitive to both the child's and their parent's teelngs and even It others have already raised an issue I should still intorm scrTleone senior in the school. An example that may tind of a child's development being compromised could be a pupil that is new to a school that struggles with English as they may have recently moved to the 13K. This could have an effect on not only their intellectual development through not being able to complete the work done in class, but also their social development. If the pupil has trouble

Why Swinging Puts You to Sleep (And Benefits of Sleep)

Why Swinging Puts You to Sleep (And Benefits of Sleep) Sleep  is characterized by periods of non-rapid eye movement that are periodically interrupted by intervals of rapid eye movement (REM). It is in the non-rapid eye movement stage, that neuron activity slows and ceases in areas of the brain such as the brainstem and cerebral cortex. The part of the brain that helps us get a good nights sleep is the thalamus. The thalamus is a limbic system structure that connects areas of the cerebral cortex that are involved in sensory perception and movement with other parts of the brain and spinal cord that also have a role in sensation and movement. The thalamus regulates sensory information and controls sleep and awake states of consciousness. The thalamus reduces the perception of and response to sensory information such as sound during sleep. Benefits of Sleep Getting a good nights sleep is not only important for a healthy brain, but for a healthy body as well. Getting at least seven hours of sleep helps our immune system  fight off infection from viruses and bacteria. Other health benefits of sleep include: Sleep Clears the Brain of Toxins Harmful toxins and molecules are cleansed from the brain during sleep. A system called the glymphatic system opens pathways to allow toxin containing fluid to flow through and from the brain during sleep. When awake, the spaces between brain cells decrease. This greatly reduces fluid flow. When we sleep, the cellular structure of the brain changes. The flow of fluid during sleep is controlled by brain cells called glial cells. These cells also help to insulate nerve cells in the central nervous system. Glial cells are thought to control fluid flow by shrinking when we sleep and swelling when we are awake. Glial cell shrinkage during sleep allows toxins to flow from the brain. Sleep Enhances Learning in Newborns Theres not a sight that is more peaceful than that of a sleeping infant. Newborns sleep anywhere from 16 to 18 hours a day and studies suggest that they actually learn while they sleep. Researchers from the University of Florida have demonstrated that an infants brain processes environmental information and produces appropriate responses while in the sleep state. In the study, sleeping infants were induced to squeeze their eyelids together when a tone was sounded and a puff of air was directed at their eyelids. Soon the babies learned to squeeze their eyelids together when a tone was sounded and no puff of air was administered. The learned eye movement reflex indicates that a portion of the brain, the cerebellum, is functioning normally. The cerebellum is responsible for the coordination of movement by processing and coordinating sensory input. Similar to the cerebrum, the cerebellum contains several folded bulges which add to its surface area and increase the quantity of information that can be processed. Sleep May Prevent Diabetes A study from the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute indicates that getting more sleep can lower the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes in men. The bodys ability to process glucose in the blood improved in men who had three nights of adequate sleep after limited hours of sleep during the week. The study indicates that adequate sleep improves insulin sensitivity. Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood sugar levels. Over time, high levels of glucose in the blood can damage the heart, kidneys, nerves, and other tissues. Maintaining insulin sensitivity reduces the chances of developing diabetes. Why Swinging Makes You Fall Asleep Faster By measuring  brain  wave activity in sleeping adults, researchers have determined what many of us suspected: that gently swinging makes us fall asleep faster and promotes a deeper sleep. They have discovered that rocking increases the length of time spent in a stage of non-rapid eye movement sleep called N2 sleep. During this stage, bursts of brain activity called sleep spindles occur as the brain attempts to stop processing and brain waves become slower and more synchronized. Enhancing the amount of time spent in N2 sleep is not only conducive to a deeper sleep but is also thought to help improve memory and brain repair mechanisms. Sources: Cell Press. Need a nap? Find yourself a hammock. ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 21 June 2011. (www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110620122030.htm).University of Florida. Newborn infants learn while asleep; Study may lead to later disability tests. ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 18 May 2010. (www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100517172254.htm).NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Brain may flush out toxins during sleep; Sleep clears brain of molecules associated with neurodegeneration: Study. ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 17 October 2013. (sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131017144636.htm).Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (LA BioMed). Getting enough sleep could help prevent type 2 diabetes. ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 18 June 2013. (www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130618131848.htmm).

World Food Distirbution essays

World Food Distirbution essays World Food Distribution and Hunger Problem It is ironic that the world food supply has continued to increase over the years, (FAO, 1986) that in the next century a global food supply will be enough to meet food demand and yet hunger and famine continue to stalk a large section of human kind. World food distribution is not equal and whereas there is overproduction in the Western World to a point where surpluses have to be destroyed... (Ndiritu, 1). Read this statement, and think about it for a while, what does it tell you? As you read on I will try to explain to you why the food distribution throughout the world is not equal and how it increase hunger throughout the world. There are countries that are making more food than the people consume, this mainly happens in the core countries. There are other countries that are making food that are way below than what an average person consumes, this mainly happens in the poor countries. This problem involves everybody in the world, not just the poverty and hunger stricken peopl e. Another reason for the inequality of the worlds food distribution is the people are not being properly or not even being educated agriculturally. Location plays a big part in food distribution, for example if a group of people live far out in a hot, humid climate the food will most likely be spoiled when it arrives. Us humans waste a lot of food, without thinking about it. A lot of people do not think much of quantity when they prepare their food. They will prepare a too much and end up throwing it away. We throw away a lot of food without thinking about it. When a person goes to restaurant they order a big portion of food and they dont finish it and they end up throwing it away, instead of having it bagged up to take along. There are plenty of other ways we waste food, for instance, a farmer grow too much food that he cant sell or eat, he throws it away that was just a c...

What are the differences between the SAT and ACT

What are the differences between the SAT and ACT SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Are you curious about what the differences between the SAT and ACT are? If you want a summary, click here to see quickly whether you would be better at the SAT or ACT. But if you want the nitty gritty details about the differences, read on below! 1. What are the content differences on the SAT vs ACT? Take a look at the content difference below. Are there any items that you love or hate? If so, then give the relevant test an extra point. Tally up the points at the end to see which is ahead: 1A. Math The SAT and ACT are very similar in terms of math, but the ACT has more and harder math. Both Tests Cover: Properties of Integers and Rational numbers Sequences Linear and Quadratic Equations: Word problems: Functions Basic Geometry, including Lines, Triangles, Polygons, Circles, 3-D and Coordinate geometry Data Interpretation, Statistics and Probability The ACT Also Covers: Matrices Complex numbers Trigonometry Logarithms Conic Sections 1B. Writing/English Like the Math section, both tests cover the topics below and the ACT also covers the topics listed at right. Both tests cover: Faulty ModifierParallel ConstructionSentence FragmentsPronounsVerb FormsConciseness and RedundanciesNumber AgreementIdiomsAdjective vs Adverb The ACT also covers: comparison/descriptionword choice (non-idiom)transitional logic: which words are best to move from one idea to anothermacro-logic: how to order sentences and paragraphsauthor’s formality and tone 1C. Reading The main difference between the SAT and ACT Reading sections is that the SAT includes fill-in-the-blank questions and the ACT’s Reading is only passages and questions about them. The SAT covers: Passages: main point, identifying details, inferring information, vocabulary in context, and the function of specific parts Sentence Completion: relationship between 2 words and vocabulary-based questions The ACT covers: Passages: main point, inferring information, vocabulary in context, and the function of specific parts Fact Finding: without line number references, find and explain a phrase or sentence Comparisons/Contrasts Cause-Effect Author Method 1D. Science The SAT does not have a Science section, so if you like science, the ACT has a huge advantage for you. Basic Science Knowledge (Physics, Chemistry, Biology) Data Representation: analysis, interpreting trends, and calculations based on data Research Summaries, including: Experimental design/Researcher intent Hypothetical Experimental changes Interpreting experiments Understanding of viewpoints Comparing viewpoints 2: What are the rule differences on the ACT vs SAT? Guessing: On the SAT, there is a  ¼ point penalty for each wrong answer (each correct answer is worth 1 full point). There is no penalty for omitting (just not answering) a question. On the ACT, there is no guessing penaltyguessing wrong and omitting are the same. Passages:While SAT passages do tend to follow the same basic patterns, they are not labeled by type or topic. The ACT, on the other hand, always labels its 4 passages (that are always in the following order): Literary Narrative, Social Science, Humanities, and Natural Science. Sections:The SAT doesn’t title its sectionsMath is obvious, but Reading and Writing have to be differentiated by question type. The ACT titles its sections in huge bold letters. Questions:The tests have very similar question styles in Math and Reading; the English questions in both tests involve students choosing how to replace underlined parts of sentences and paragraphs. However, they differ in how they apply this format. The easiest way to understand this is to compare the English section of the ACT to the Writing section of the SAT. You can download a PDF of each test here:SAT,ACT. Test Structure:The SAT alternates between Math, Reading and Writing sections, and until thechange in 2016, the essay is always the first section (in 2016 it will be the last section and optional.) There are always 10 SAT sections: 3 math, 2 writing, and 3 reading, and 1 experimental section that is not identified (it looks like all the other sections) or scored. They don’t go in any particular order, but you’ll never see 2 math sections back-to-back. A sample order of SAT sections might be: Essay Math Writing Reading Experimental Math Reading Math Reading Writing So, in the end, on the SAT, you’re scored on 8 sections and the essay. The organization of the ACT is much simpler: it has 4 sections that are always in the following order: English, Math, Reading and Science. Sometimes there is an experimental section, but it’s always Section 5, so you know which one it is. 3. How can I see these differences myself? Take a look at three real ACTs from the past, and three real SATs from the past. Examine the real tests themselves and see how they feel different! Also, check out our article on whether the ACT or SAT measures your IQ better. What's next:Are you better on the ACT or SAT? Use this one surefire method to find out. Read about whether you'll be better on the SAT or ACT.

Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 67

Assignment - Essay Example I intend to have all the written information written in simple English. Sponsors only help when they are aware of the obstacles. I will inform all the sponsors of the problems that I may encounter while trying to market the application to other students from other universities. Anticipated surprises may lead to increase in costs for a project and time delays.5 I have informed the project’s sponsors that there of an increase in costs because of anticipated costs of system maintenance and marketing costs of making leaflets that capture all the information regarding the benefits of using the application. Micromanagement is not health for any business or project.6 Creating an effective relationship between sponsors and managers warrants trust. To avoid issues of trust for this project I have provided the sponsors with all the schedules. The sponsors are active and I trust that they will do their part. Bertsche, Racheal. "Seven steps to strengthen your bond with your sponsor." Project Management Institute. Web. 22 Sep 2014.

Therapeutic encounter exercise with reflective piece Essay

Therapeutic encounter exercise with reflective piece - Essay Example Despite of that, the patient shows strong long-term memory and upper body. He is sociable and is partially-independent. With his current state, the barriers, goals and facilitators were discussed as his findings had shown. The goal of the nurse is to assist the patient to become independent as much as possible with support and care that he needs especially for the tasks that he cannot perform. Therapeutic encounter involves the life-changing perceptions of the client towards himself with the assistance of health practitioner who regularly reflects and makes great influence to the client (Pickhardt, 2011, paragraph 7). The practice is related to helping the client cope up with his situation and changing his perspective in life for the better. With that in mind, empathy becomes an important factor in therapeutic encounter which is known as a â€Å"cognitive attribute that involves an understanding of experiences, concerns and perspectives of the patient, combined with a capacity to communicate this understanding,† (Convingtonn, 2003 as seen in Rakel et.al. 2011). The existence of empathy then creates a bond that allows the health practitioner to assist to connect and to help the patient in the process of healing. For the case of the study, the therapeutic encounter was linked to Orem approach which is a model that allows the nurse to assist the patient with self-care. The patient slowly learned how to take care of himself through the guidance of the nurse instead of the nurse doing everything for the patient (Pearson, Vaughan, and Fitzgerald, 1996, p. 5). Enhancing the capabilities of the patient to take care of himself would render him to be self-sufficient in some ways. The following information is divided into four sections: findings, facilitators and barriers as well as one main nursing goal with thorough discussion for each. The findings are based on the

Evaluate a research source Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Evaluate a research source - Essay Example The authors are remarkable in terms of credibility. Robert Jimenez is a university lecturer who is engaged in the development of English instruction and Brian Rose is a doctoral aspirant who focuses on the effective teaching strategies for English learners (Jimenez & Rose 407). Their article claims that it is vital to include relationship building directly on the program of teacher education. Teaching is very important, and one may argue that it is exactly those teachers who are effective instructors who create the most meaningful and productive relationships with their pupils. Nevertheless, the authors claim that building meaningful relationships is a part of teaching that is largely ignored in almost all agendas of teacher education. Without a doubt, there seems to be a great deal of benefit in endowing pre-service educators with the instruments and know-how they require to form a relationship with their students at a more profound and useful ways. As mentioned in the article, â€Å"manifestations of care are probably more important in children’s lives than any particular curriculum or pattern of pedagogy† (Jimenez & Rose 405). However, the authors stress that teaching and programming can and must be imbued with sympathy, compassion, or con cern in mind. The connection between consideration or sympathy and instruction becomes more pronounced in English teaching and learning. The authors claim that with mainstream learners, the capacity to create meaningful, healthy, and productive relations is usually ignored because communication difficulties are not that many or serious, behaviors are not misconstrued as frequently, and instructions can draw upon their personal experiences to build deeper relationships with their pupils. Basically, meaningful relationships cannot be ignored or seen as marginal or secondary when catering to English learners. The authors provide appropriate and relevant evidence to substantiate their

Human Resource Management PT 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Human Resource Management PT 3 - Essay Example Job analysis drives job descriptions through the identification of clear requirements (or the ‘what’) in a job (Martires, 2004). It was qualified that job analysis has two phases: job description and job specification; where job description presents the detailed job content including title, code number, department, nature of the job, responsibilities, processes or tools used, working hours, immediate superior, compensation and benefits, risks or hazards, and other pertinent aspects related to job content. During the hiring and acquisition process, the job analysis and job descriptions take the paramount role of defining the needed requirements asked by the position. As above noted, the job description that results as an outcome of job analysis would provide HR personnel who are involved in the hiring process with the needed information required by the organization, to ensure that the person to be selected would have the competencies and qualifications expected to match identified job content. As such, these provide the needed structural guidelines that assist recruitment personnel in streamlining applications who would match the tasks with their academic, work experiences, and skills set. To sum, the use of job analysis and job descriptions in the hiring process is to ensure that the person hired would do the right thing and do them well (Henson, 2011). The use of job analysis and job descriptions are critical in the health care or medical area since the accountability of health care practitioners is the lives of patients who seek medical interventions and health care services. Likewise, the diverse factors that impinge and affect health care organization need to be constantly reviewed, evaluated, and incorporated in the job analysis, as required. This was corroborated by Hernandez (2009) when he asserted that the health care

Ethical Consumer Behavior Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Ethical Consumer Behavior - Assignment Example Consumer behavior is one of the most important subjects that are studied in the marketing and management fields. This concept is defined as the study of the groups, individuals and organizations regarding the methods and process that they utilize for the selection, securing and disposing of the services, products, ideas, or experiences. This subject mainly refers to a detailed assessment of the satisfaction of consumer needs and the influence that the applied processes have on the society and consumers. The concept of consumer behavior combines various elements from the sociology, psychology, economics and social anthropology. It strives upon understanding the entire process of the decision -making of buyers, both individually and in groups (Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, 2006). It studies characteristics of individual consumers such as demographics and behavioral variables in an attempt to understand peoples wants. It also tries to assess influences on the consumer from groups such as family, friends, reference groups, and society in general. The concept of ethical consumerism has gained a lot of significance in the shopping segments of United Kingdoms and the United States. Ethical consumerism is defined as the concept in which the consumer depicts such activism which is practiced through the concept of positive buying and favoring of ethical products. According to this concept, the consumers are empowered to make ethical decisions, the consumption choices that are ethically informed and are provided with reliable and authentic information on corporate behavior. In order to assist the consumers with ethical buying behaviors, various standards and tables have been developed by the organizations. These include Fair-trade, Organic Foods, Made in the USA and various other standards which formulate a certain benchmark to be followed (Bird, Kate, and David, 1997).

Agriculture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Agriculture - Essay Example I also ate kales, carrots and potatoes for lunch. Supper comprised of rice and beef. On the second day, I ate oat porridge and eggs for breakfast, chicken and soybeans for lunch. Supper included potatoes, pumpkin and beef. For both days, I ate bananas, grapes and apples and drank orange juice in between meals. The source of the foods included groceries and stores. Kales, carrots, potatoes, apples and oranges were purchased from groceries while bread, chicken, rice, soybeans, oats and, beef, milk, pumpkin and eggs were purchased from stores. My experience with the assignment is that I got the opportunity to know the various kinds of foods that are grown and processed in the United States. The assignment also gave me a deeper understanding of natural foods and processed food. I further got to discover that there are many foods on the market that have additives and which pose a threat to people’s health. In general, my experience was explorative. In terms of shopping, I managed to shop differently. I was keen on checking the state of the food and the ingredients that had been used in processing. I read more labels with the aim of comparing the ingredients in similar foods from different processing companies. I was also keen on establishing the kind of additives that had been used for instance for preservation and flavoring purposes. At the sores, I asked more questions. For example, I asked about how the foods were transported from their source to the groceries and stores. I also asked what the storekeepers and gro cery owners did to ensure food remained fresh and in good shape. I further inquired whether other consumers were concerned about where the food they purchased came from. During the process, I managed to change my definition of ‘local’ to include additives. The new definition, therefore, became foods that are grown within the Unites States of America and which contain additives that are locally manufactured.

Ethical Consumer Behavior Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Ethical Consumer Behavior - Assignment Example Consumer behavior is one of the most important subjects that are studied in the marketing and management fields. This concept is defined as the study of the groups, individuals and organizations regarding the methods and process that they utilize for the selection, securing and disposing of the services, products, ideas, or experiences. This subject mainly refers to a detailed assessment of the satisfaction of consumer needs and the influence that the applied processes have on the society and consumers. The concept of consumer behavior combines various elements from the sociology, psychology, economics and social anthropology. It strives upon understanding the entire process of the decision -making of buyers, both individually and in groups (Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel, 2006). It studies characteristics of individual consumers such as demographics and behavioral variables in an attempt to understand peoples wants. It also tries to assess influences on the consumer from groups such as family, friends, reference groups, and society in general. The concept of ethical consumerism has gained a lot of significance in the shopping segments of United Kingdoms and the United States. Ethical consumerism is defined as the concept in which the consumer depicts such activism which is practiced through the concept of positive buying and favoring of ethical products. According to this concept, the consumers are empowered to make ethical decisions, the consumption choices that are ethically informed and are provided with reliable and authentic information on corporate behavior. In order to assist the consumers with ethical buying behaviors, various standards and tables have been developed by the organizations. These include Fair-trade, Organic Foods, Made in the USA and various other standards which formulate a certain benchmark to be followed (Bird, Kate, and David, 1997).

INndividual Assignment 5 Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

INndividual Assignment 5 - Article Example Products and services can be spread to others through status posts and pictures, thus the advertising companies get the benefit of passive advertising at a very low cost (88). For example, in the global social networking website Facebook, large companies took the advantage of both interacting with their consumers as well as getting their feedback and photos of the product to gain a wider range of audience. The more people â€Å"like† their pages, it is correlated with many people becoming more aware of their products, which spells as a success in their advertising campaign in Facebook. Using this network in advertising products can be an effective strategy in the promotion of new products and showcasing best-selling items to others, which is why many companies were already on this bandwagon of advertising by making their own product page known among network users. Many companies created their own pages in the social networking giant, and a blog post in 2010 shows which companies and products gained the most number of â€Å"likes† among its users (Porterfield). The blog explains the successful marketing strategies of the top 10 Facebook product pages, two of which, Red Bull Page (ranked number 1) and The Twilight Saga Page (ranked number 9) would be discussed here. First is how Red Bull was able to gain top rank in 2010 for number of â€Å"likes†, which was accomplished by numerous interactive links in the page such as games and video-uploads, as well as the use of attention-grabbing images for fans to â€Å"like† their page (Porterfield). The company did not use too many texts, but rather focused on creative advertising so as to grab the attention of social networking users. Because Red Bull removed the complexities of too much reading and instead used interactive and creative strategies of gaining the interest of interne t citizens, they were able to gain many fans and rank number one in the list. Red Bull as an energy beverage is not a

Zanzibar Commission For Tourism Tourism Essay

Zanzibar Commission For Tourism Tourism Essay 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the Zanzibar Commission for Tourism Under that Act ZCT is responsible with many functions including licensing (operation) of all the tourist establishment in Zanzibar, Monitoring and supervision of the Zanzibar tourist, Assisting potential investors, etc (ZCT, 1992 ) 1.2 Mission Zanzibar Commission of Tourism (ZCT) on regarding the development tourism in Zanzibar has the mission to be the most interesting, miscellaneous island targeted in the Indian Ocean constituency that will be more interesting in the world. According to that mission ZCT combines various types of tourism such as: Culture Tradition, Performing Arts, History Archaeology, Beaches, Culinary (spices), Medical (herbs) ,etc (ZTPS, n/d) 1.3 Introduction and background of the problem In order to survive in todays business environment,in small companies, particulaly Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in tourism industry utilize innovative techniques as a basis of competitive advantage. At the moment globalized world, SMEs have turn out to be more imperative for developed and developing countries since they produced high percentages of overall production, employment and revenue collection to the government. The most important and the greatest growing sectors of the overall economy, tourism in Zanzibar contains many SMEs that make an effort to be doing well in aggressive and quickly changing business situation. SMEs play a critical role not only in national trade but also in international trade. The previous information from different sources such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) shows SMEs in many countries account for a very substantial proportion on local and export market (Knight, 2001). Porter (1991) argues that in order for any industry to compete within the business environment, it has to adopt competitive advantage strategy, so the owners and stake holders should be able to identify their competitors. The competitive advantages for any organization are superior skills and resources. Therefore any source of advantage is like a drivers of cost or differentiation advantages. (Porter, 1985). Like any SMEs, in order for tourism SMEs to survive in competitive business environment, SMEs should be more entrepreneur and innovative,it means that should perform well in dynamic locations and not in regulated markets. SMEs could have low performance and unstable environments due to delay of product innovations, the working operation was not aggressives even throw the enterprenuership could be benefited in various ways but does not provide a sustainable competitive advantages. (Hult and Ketchen, 2001). Above all, the innovation, promotion, lowering of the price, differentiation, creativity, all these cannot be performed well without the adoption of ICT(Kotler and Armstrong ,2008). Indeed, the nature of any industry cannot compete with its competitor to bring the superior value to their customers without the appropriate adoption of ICT. ICT is regarded as the main force of sustainable competitive advantage and a strategic weapon especially in the tourism and hospitality industries (Poon, 1993). Generally, most of the tourism industry should be well equipped with ICT, which include radio, television, as well as newer digital technologies such as computers and the Internet, have been touted as potenti ally powerful enabling tools for tourism change and reform. These changes and reforms include services such as e-commerce, e-booking, e-reservation and not only that ICT facilitate the information processing system. In order to survive strong competition and current economic crisis in the region, SMEs involved in hotel industry have to improve the quality of its services. What is the role of tourism SMEs in the process in order to gain customers satisfaction through service quality and business improvement? It is generally accepted that ICT is a modern instrumental tool that enables the SMEs entrepreneurs to modify their tourism methods. It is used in order to increase the tourist interest. The extended use of ICTs drove the society into a new knowledge based form where information plays an important role for the SMEs as well as tourist satisfaction. In Zanzibar there is a significant research gap on small tourism business and failure to identify critical weakness of small and medium sized tourism enterprises. A number of studies on tourism have been conducted, however very little has been studied about tourism SMEs and particularly how these SMEs engaged in adopting ICTs for more productivity and overall total economic growth of the Zanzibar .The need to undertake a thorough tourism analysis in Zanzibar has been realized recently. For example, It is important to have a database on tourism development if, students, policy analysts, planners, decision makers and entrepreneurs to be up to date with drive of tourism industry .As a large number of tourism SMEs are involved in the delivery of tourism products and that they are also potential for future development of tourism is a need to carry out studies that might show how small and medium tourism business develop, function, conduct business and how they contribute to local and nati onal economic development. Zanzibar has many tourist attractions and contributes high percentage of economy of the country and that the tourism sector is dominated by SMEs. However there is a continued absence of studies on small tourism firms, therefore it is important to do research on tourism SMEs. 1.4 Statement of the problem There are different kinds of ICTs used in tourism activities such as e-reservation, tele- and video-conferencing and e-booking tools. The extent into how these products services are used by the SMEs involved in Zanzibar and their potential to improve the sector has not been explore enough. Challenges facing these SMEs in application of ICT are not known and areas for improvement have not been investigated. Given the mounting global demand on usage of ICTs in tourism, there is therefore a need to look at the impact of ICTs application on SMEs engaged in tourism sector in Zanzibar. This study is learning to address the issued. 1.5 Aim of the research To examine /explore the role and use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in enhancing the competitiveness advantages of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Zanzibar Tourism operation. 1.6 Research objectives The main objective of this study is significantly examined how ICT help to create competitive advantage in tourism sector in Zanzibar. Not only that but also to identify constraints facing SMEs using ICT. Specific objectives: To examine the awareness and the extent of ICT utilization in Zanzibar tourism SMEs sector To identify constraints and opportunities of ICT usage in tourism sector in Zanzibar To find out solution options to overcome the shortcoming of the ICT utilization in tourism SMEs in Zanzibar 1.7 Research questions For the purpose of meeting the above objectives, the study comes up with the following questions: How do Zanzibar tourism SMEs aware and utilize the ICT in their business? How do Zanzibar SMEs perceive profitability and performance of their business in relation to use of ICT in their business? What measures have been taken to solve the problems of lack of use of ICT? 1.8 Scope of the study This study was conducted to investigate how usage of ICT and its application in sectors, involved in tourism industry could help the way business is run and hence contribute increased efficiency and effectiveness. Due to the time constraint this study covered the part of Zanzibar Islands which is Stone town and the portion of North East Coast zones which includes Kiwengwa village, Matemwe village and Nungwi village because this area is more active in tourism activities in Zanzibar. 1.9 Significance of the study This study intends to disclose the influence of the ICT as a competitive advantage strategy that can be applied in SMEs in the tourism industry. The study is expected to be of much value to a number of peoples and organization as follows:- The results obtained from this study will provide some recommendation to the Governing Authority, which is expected to bring insights into Zanzibars SMEs on how ICTs usage can bring competitive advantages against their competitors so as to accelerate economic growth of Zanzibar. It will help the policy makers of the country to appreciate the implications on ICT in SMEs in tourism to increase the quality of services in hospitality industry. The research will provide sufficient information to be used as a reference on this area of the study and to fulfill the requirement for the Degree of Master of Business Administration in Information Technology Management in Coventry University. 1.10 Limitations of the study Some data are confidential so it was difficult to get the current data. Financial constraints, so it could be difficult for a researcher to cover all the Zanzibar regions due to financial constraints. 1.11 Summary of the chapter This chapter was introduced the introduction of the study, the introduction of Zanzibar Commission for Tourism (ZCT) was done under this chapter where all services offered were summarized and the mission statement of ZCT were also started. Also in this chapter the researcher discussed something about the aim of the research, research objectives, research question and statement of the problems. Not only that but also the researcher briefly discussed the significance of the study, scope of the study and limitation of the study. CHAPTER TWO 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction This part provides definition of the important terms and concepts which are used in this study including ICT in tourism sectors, the conceptual frame work of this study, the performance of tourism in SMEs, and the opportunity and challenges of tourism in Zanzibar. 2.2 Definitions of the terms and concepts 2.2.1 Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) Morrison (1996) argues that it is difficult to define the term SMEs because there are no universal criteria that can be used to determine the size of the business, as a result, Olomi (2009) noted that although the SMEs all over the world contribute a major role in social development, its definition varies from one country to another and even from one institution to another in the same country. An enterprise may be perceived as small in terms of physical facilities, production/service capacity, market share, and number of employee. Olomi (2009) cited that ,the United States Agency for International Development-USAID (1993) ,suggested that SMEs can be defined by considering combination of both qualitative and quantitative criteria and should include one among the aspects such as number of employee, capital investment, share capital, number of share holders, number of stakeholders, total asset, turnover, market share, geographical market coverage, organizational complexity, composition of management and degree of formalization. In Tanzania, the SMEs Development Policy (2002) classifies SMEs under the consideration of employment size and capital investment of the organization. A micro-enterprise is one with fewer than five employees, a small enterprise with 5-49 employees, a medium enterprise with 50-99 employees and a large enterprise with more than 100 employees. In contrast with the Capital investments the definition was based at the range from less than Tshs 5 million to over Tshs 800 million. For the purpose of this research, the Tanzania SMEs Development Policy of (2002) definition will be adopted because it is based on the local environment of Tanzania, where SMEs are characterized by family ownership and local area of operation, which is not the case to other countries. This illustrated in the table below:- Table: 1 Category of SMEs in Tanzania Category Employees Capital investment in machinery Tshs Micro enterprise 1-4 Up to 5mil Small enterprise 5-49 Above 5mil to 200mil Medium enterprise 50-99 Above 200 to 800mil Large enterprise 100+ Above 800mil Source: SMEs development policy (2002) Accordind to Zanzibar Youth Employment Action Plan.(2007), Zanzibar has a large informal sector operation where more than 80 percent of the workforce is believed to be engaged in. Majority of the establishments in the informal sector are micro, own account or employing less than 5 people. This situation is linked to low skills base as a result of limited opportunities for skills training, working capital and inadequate support for off-farm activities in rural areas. From a gender perspective,women have low participation rates and fewer skills than men. Women account for only 19 percent of total employees compared to 81 percent for men in this sector. This sector is dominated by private individuals through 1,541 registered businesses in 2002. Out of this number, only 6% employs more than 10 people while 79% of the industry employs less than 20 people and only 3% of registered industry employs more than 100 people (SME Policy, 2006). The potential is still there for more employment opp ortunities especially to out of school youths and those from different vocational training centers. The Zanzibar SME policy (2006) is aiming at developing and creating conducive environment through participation of public and private sector for the purpose of increasing employment provision, income generation and poverty reduction. The policy and the MKUZA aim at increasing job opportunities through SMEs. SMEs are important to the national economic, but they are facing a number of problems, both administrative and financial and thus fail to contribute fully in employment creation. Apart from the SMEs sector, Zanzibar has a small manufacturing sector. Manufacturing sector in general is at infant stage and has not been fully exploited to its maximum potential to increase its contribution to the economy and welfare of the people. There is a wide potential for investors to come in, invest in big industries and thereby generates employment on the youth. The importance of manufacturing sector in terms of employment creation and development of linkages with the rest of economy is well understood. Employment opportunities that exist in manufacturing take into consideration its linkages with agriculture, tourism, and trade. Other opportunities that could be generated include those from agro-processing, production of souvenirs, transportation, and other new activities that will meet demands of tourism and trade. 2.2.2. Importance of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) There are many benefits that obtained from SMEs in day to day operation forexample there will be about 1.7 millions business engaging, in micro enterprises operation which is about 3million persons that will be about 20% of Tanzanian labour force (URT,2003) The SMEs was be the labour intensive by creating the employment opportunity at different level of investment.The estimation will be shown as about 700,000 new entrants in every year as a labour force, not only that about 500,000 of it are school leavers with few skills, while the employment trend in public sector will show about 40,000 are the new entrants and about 660,000 remained to be unemployed (URT,2003) as cited in Temba(n/d) According to that the trend will be shown in Tanzania will be characterised by low rate of capital formation and normally the SMEs will tend to be more effective in the utilisation of employment situation in the country (URT,2003) as cited in Temba(n/d) The development of SMEs will promote the distribution of economic activities within the country and boster the technology in easierst way,this is because due to lower overheads and fixed costs in their normally operation, therefore the owners of SMEs must be tend to show the greater resilience in the face of recession by holding their business (URT,2003) 2.2.3 Information Communication Technology (ICT) The literature shows that there is no universally accepted definition of ICT, because the concepts, methods and applications involved in ICT are constantly evolving on an almost daily basis. Blurton (2002) as cited in Badnjevic and Padukova (2006) defines ICT as a diverse set of technological tools and resources used to communicate, and to create, disseminate, store, and manage information. Kumar (2001) claimed that ICT is the study, design, development, implementation, support, or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware. ICT deals with the use of electronic computers and computer software to convert, store, protect, process, transmit, and securely retrieve information. 2.2.4 The adoption of ICT by SMEs: Obviously, ICTs are more than computer or internet even though they focuse on business technology.Therefore ICTs include the software and hardware telecommunicaton and information management techniques, also the ICT can be used to creates,receive, retrives and distribute/ transform information in a wide range. (Porter and Millar, 1985, Brady et al,2002) SMEs in tourism operation are important tools on contribution of the economy in the country in particulaly ICT has more effective use and better position of working performance and rapidly change the new technologies and creates the tourism organization in more competitive.(Hartigan, 2005) In recent years, SMEs have acquired direct access to digital technologies for individual task development.In previous this opportunity only for large companies to use computing and communication capabilities to coordinate their work. On the other hand, ICT reduced the expenditure on cost consumption and improve the performance in organization due to certain kinds of communications and coordination can occur. (Summut-Bonnii and McGee, 2002). (Ragaswamy and Lilien, 1997).On the business today their was certain changes that global interdependencies are becoming more critical thus, companies/organization realized they need to take advantage of ICT capabilities for improving their competitiveness and productivity. 2.2.5 ICT and SME competitiveness The presence of ICT and use it could lead to increase the competitiveness of SMEs due the faster and more conscientious communication channel, it means the use of ICT has increase the competitiveness of SMEs also enables the establishment of litheness associated with different trading partners due to more consistency of channel of communication. In addition the increases of the biggest enterprises it comes through introduced of ICT in many organizations and adapt quicker to changing operational conditions. For that reason the aggressive compensation of SMEs possibly will turn down. Normally well-built enterprises not relay comfortable information as SMEs; therefore the realistic decision is not costless if needed appropriate information. However SMEs contain the improvement of slighter interior harmonization expenditure as each and every one resolution is completed by a small number of assessment makers. (Raymond 1993, Mà ¼ller-Falcke 2001) The economies of extent can be condensed due to lowering the operational expenditure with the presences of ICT, particularly internet monitor the enterprises situation for appropriate information to obtain the exacting information concerning sellers, buyers and clients that was absent of accomplish. In addition delivery of goods, funds transmission and banking system facilities are reliable, this will enables SMEs to be expanded regionally and internationally. Finally most of the SMEs are located in outside the town areas due to competition of larger enterprises,transportation and communication costs that, ICT might increases the competition for enterprises and becomes more effectivelly and productivity or the enterprises to be close down. (Annual Forum at Misty Hills, Muldersdrift (2001)) 2.2.6 ICT as a business tools The use of Information, Communication and Technology is very important in current business operations. Entrepreneurs need to understand the market situation before doing any business and the preferred types of products at particular time. This knowledge can be sought through ICT system. The use of media is important in advertising and promoting business inside and outside the country. The available public and private media institutions can be utilized to publicize the available potential of products and services undertaken by youth and others.(Zanzibar youth Employment Action Plan, 2007). ICT is technologys version of economic growth, to satisfy the needs and wants of the community over time. Organizations are forced to adjust and take advantage of the opportunities provided by ICT in order to stay competitive. Businesses that do not take advantage of the ICT will run the risk of losing customers and their competitive advantage (Sharma, 2002). Some of the functions that technology has impacted are information search, advertising, consumer buying patterns and behaviors (Hanson, 2000). On a global scale, all industries have been affected by the emergence and implementation of technological advances. All above, ICT can be employed to give users quick access to ideas and experiences from a wide range of people, communities and cultures. The positive impacts of ICT can be seen in the following aspects: Economic impacts: ICT, in combination with globalization and the information uprising have reshaped the employees. By raising the momentum of international communication, ICT has enabled corporations to subcontract jobs, both in the industrialized as well as professional sector (Lippis, 2007). Social impacts: ICT has influenced societies on numerous levels. They have comprehensive the contact of public administration, leading to a centralization of district administration into city centre. They have lead to new forms of employment in innovation and production of ICT and a stipulate for highly accomplished specialists. On the other hand, ICT has enabled professionals in certain industries to be replaced by unqualified human resources, or even completed exclusively redundant. Lifting productivity: Investing in ICT can have a powerful effect on productivity in almost every industry, driving innovation, cutting costs, and opening up new opportunities. ICT can boost profits, help small firms overcome limitations of size, and enable even small enterprises to establish a global presence. Nevertheless, to take full advantage of the opportunities of ICT, we need to develop the skills of our workforce at every level, from front-line staff to senior management. In summing up, ICT has the potential to change the tourism SMEs in improving the productivity at a lower cost and to raise the quality of information. It contributes to make the tourism penetration around the globe. In todays world, people want to find the appropriate tourist destination, booking and buying airline ticket, check in and getting boarding pass when they are sited at their home or working place. All these can be done with the support of ICT. 2.2.7 Tourism Holloway (2004) defines Tourism as the business of providing for different types of visitors; overnight or longer stay and day visitors and includes accommodation, car parking, entertainment and attractions, food and drinks. According to Beech and Chadwick (2006), the widely accepted modern definition of tourism is that given by the World Tourism organization (WTO) which describes as the activities of persons traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business or other purposes. In tourism sector, various travel operators, hotels, restaurants and travel agencies have been active in development of Internet and e-commerce. The Internet allows travellers to access and recommend the tourism information directly as well as , reviews the local tourism information, this was done previously through the physical offices of large travel agencies. Therefore most of Information Communication Technology (ICT) capture the compensation of direct discounted sales of airline tickets and travel packages, due to both online/offline agencies have shifted on selling leisure products involve high operating expenses. Given that Internet and others travel agencies allow the customer to make comparisons in a price of air tickets and other services of the online travellers (OECD, 2004) 2.2.8 The competitive advantage Porter (1985) views that a competitive advantage is an advantages over competitor gained by offering consumer greater value than competitors offer. His view on competitive advantages is at the heart of a firms performance in competitive market. He argued that a firms ability to outperform its competitors lay in its ability to translate its competitive strategy into competitive advantages. Kotler and Armstrong (2008) suggested an advantage that firms  has  over its competitors, the way of building relationship with targeted customer, understanding their needs better than competitors do and deliver more customers value. That is it is the extent a company can differentiate and position itself as providing superior customer value. The competitive advantage is a way of giving a company an edge over its rivals and an ability to generate greater value for the firm and its shareholders. The more sustainable the competitive advantage, the more difficult for competitors to neutralize the advantage (Walker et al, 2006) 2.3 Performance of Tourism SMEs 2.3.1 Trade, industry and tourism Zanzibar Povery Reduction Policy Report (2003) has the broad objective of this sector in order to create a competitive manufacturing and trading sector, which is geared towards for economic diversification in order to ultimately alleviate poverty. The sector is aimed to provide opportunity for further participation of the private sector. The fundamental goal is to equip and facilitate this sector in building its capacity, create better working environment and institute legal and institutional framework for the enhancement and expansion of its activities. The tools to be used are the National Trade policy, Promotion of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Private Sector Involvement and Development. Zanzibar has a strong determination to develop tourism as an economic sector to provide foreign exchange earnings, creating employment opportunities, stimulate local economy and diversify the economy. On the other side most of the tourist guides and/or RoGZ believes that on development of tourism factors, tourism is a vital socio economic that participate effectively and successfully in order to manage their life and to be more development. This can be implemented through the Zanzibar National Tourism Policy and the Indicative Tourism Master Plan. Since the inception of the ZIPA in 1991, the investment process has been very positive and progressive. Statistics shows that by the end of 2002, ZIPA had approved about 242 projects with a total proposed investment value of USD 403 million. Tourism sector takes the lion share with 70% of total projects with proposed capital of USD 313.8 million. In 1985, the number of tourists who visited Zanzibar was 19,368; while the number of tourists has reached in the range between 85,000 and 100,000 annually. In 2001 Zanzibar earned approximately US$ 46 million in forex from international tourism, this accounts for approximately 15% of the GDP. This contribution is projected to increase to around $ 116 million and 21% of the GDP by 2012. (Zanzibar Povery Reduction Policy Report, 2003) 2.3.2 Contribution to GDP Tourism already makes a significant contribution to the economy of Zanzibar. It is provisionally estimated that the sector accounted for about 14% of GDP in 2001, with 12% for Tanzania as a whole. This contribution is projected to increase to around 21% by 2012.(Indicative tourism master plan ,2003) 2.3.3 Foreign exchange earnings According to the preliminary results of the International Visitor Exit Survey Zanzibar earned some $46 million from the spending of International tourists in 2001. To this must be added an allowance for the spending of tourists traveling to Zanzibar on internal flights (who are not presently covered by the official statistics). This raises total visitor expenditure to $55 million in 2001. Allowing for the imports from foreign countries that are utilized by the tourism sector, net foreign exchange earnings from tourism are estimated at $46 million in 2001. This figure is projected to increase to some $116 million by 2012. Even allowing for leakages on imports, it is clear that tourism is a most important sources of foreign exchange, and helps considerably to offset the trade deficit which widened from $51 million in 1997 to $86 million in 2000, reducing to an estimated $50 million in 2001.( Indicative tourism master plan final report,2003) 2.3.4 Contribution to employment According to (Indicative tourism master plan final report,2003), there exists no official data on the employment generated by the tourism sector, it is estimated that currently some 5,800 persons are directly employed by the tourism industry in Zanzibar, of whom approximately 4,400 persons (76%) are employed in the hotel/guest houses sub-sector. The remainder is employed in tourist restaurants, tourist shops, ground tour operators, airlines (state-owned and private), the Commission for Tourism and other tourism-related government departments or as tour guides. In addition to those directly employed in the tourism sector, there are many more-perhaps, as many again, who derive part or all of their employment from supplying goods or services to hotels, restaurants, etc, or who otherwise benefit from the spending of persons who are directly or indirectly employed in tourism. Thus, total tourism-generated employment in Zanzibar could presently be in the order of 37,000 jobs or full-time j ob equivalents. This number should further increase to around 48,000 jobs by 2021, if, as is hoped, the tourism sector returns to a path of sustained growth. Indeed, Zanzibar Vision 2020 envisages that as much as 50% of all jobs in the modern sector could be provided in tourism and the free zones by 2020. Zanzibar Growth Strategy (2007) has accorded tourism as one among the three lead sectors of the economy. In recent years the economic growth in Zanzibar has been driven by the increasing contribution and growth of the service sector, (including tourism) which represents up to 43 percent of GDP (2006).According to Zanzibar Youth Employment Action Plan(2007),arque the employment in tourism sector they believed to employ 56,000 people most of them in hotel operations of which 60% are Zanzibari youth. They are mostly engaged in building of the hotel and other infrastructure as well as in services such as tour guiding, transportation and hotel services. The potential is still there, and the government hopes more people especially youth with further be employed in this sector. 2.3.5 Contribution to government revenues The tourism sector makes a substantial contribution to government revenues through the wide range of fees, licenses and taxes levied on the sector. While precise figures are not yet a

The Story of the Crusades Essay -- Essays Papers

The Story of the Crusades The Story of the Crusades is a book that was written in 1963 by Alfred Duggan. The book’s title tells you what the book is about, the Crusades. The book follows the Western Christian’s perspective on the 200 year event, from 1095 to 1291. It starts out setting up the plot (which most good books do), then sets up the plot, and keeps on setting up the plot. The book is very slow at the beginning, then slowly starts to move but not fast enough. If I were rating this book on how exciting it was, I would not forget to count the number of times I almost fell asleep trying to read it. But the Crusades have always interested me, so I couldn’t give up on the book, The book covers all of the crusades, but it also covers all of the down time between the crusades, which is not interesting to read. I am sure it is very important to know about, but a book should be fun also, considering its written as a story, and not as the Bible. There were interesting parts though. Especially During the 3rd crusade, I never learned about the Muslim assassins who played a big part. Also I found it interesting to read more information about King Richard who was kidnapped by The Duke of Austria. Another interesting part of the book was the attitude the author took on the First Crusade. He named the Chapter â€Å"The Great Lords Ride Out†. Mr. Duggan portrays the first crusade a lot different than I have been taught in the past. The way I’ve been taught about the C...

Security Methods to Protect Your Privacy Essay -- Exploratory Essays R

Security Methods to Protect Your Privacy Privacy and security issues have become one of the top concerns among computer users in today’s market. It has become a game of survival of the fittest in protection of your security. The only true way to defend yourself is knowledge. You should prepare your self against hackers, spammers and potential system crashing viruses and web bugs. Lets focus on how you can protect yourselves from the would be thieves. There are several ways to protect your information from the outside world; you just need the ammunition to do it. Because this has become a focal point for computer and Internet user’s, many companies are capitalizing on a growing industry and producing software packages to prevent privacy intrudion. A couple of ways that you can protect your self are URL encryption, OS shielding, JavaScript filtering, and cookie control. All of these are effective ways of protecting your self. But take caution, these are not guaranteed to complete block out intruders and completely protect you and your information. They are merely preventive steps you can take. URL encryption is a method that prevents your ISP, network administrator, or other intermediaries from easily tracking and logging the sites that you visit. This prevents companies from gaining information on your surfing habit and purchasing habit on the net. Companies have been accumulating data on us for years without our permission. Once these companies or have the information they can make money on us by selling the information to other companies or as I stated the government. Why should they make money on our information without our consent? The URL encryption also protects the user from potential Internet pr... ...llow you on their sites without the ability of planting or accept some form of a cookie. In this case you can use Safe cookies. A safe cookie allows you to accept cookies safely so you can surf WebPages without being tracked or monitored by the Website. The cookies are encrypted, very much like the URL encryption, and automatically erased when you leave the site. All of these methods are just some of the more popular techniques that people can us to protect their vital information. As stated earlier they are not failsafe, but are good proactive measures that everyone should take. The information age is growing leaps and bound. But with all the good it brings, it also brings the bad. If you plan and prepare yourself you will survive and retain your privacy. Once you loose your privacy it is impossible to get it back, so take control of your information. Security Methods to Protect Your Privacy Essay -- Exploratory Essays R Security Methods to Protect Your Privacy Privacy and security issues have become one of the top concerns among computer users in today’s market. It has become a game of survival of the fittest in protection of your security. The only true way to defend yourself is knowledge. You should prepare your self against hackers, spammers and potential system crashing viruses and web bugs. Lets focus on how you can protect yourselves from the would be thieves. There are several ways to protect your information from the outside world; you just need the ammunition to do it. Because this has become a focal point for computer and Internet user’s, many companies are capitalizing on a growing industry and producing software packages to prevent privacy intrudion. A couple of ways that you can protect your self are URL encryption, OS shielding, JavaScript filtering, and cookie control. All of these are effective ways of protecting your self. But take caution, these are not guaranteed to complete block out intruders and completely protect you and your information. They are merely preventive steps you can take. URL encryption is a method that prevents your ISP, network administrator, or other intermediaries from easily tracking and logging the sites that you visit. This prevents companies from gaining information on your surfing habit and purchasing habit on the net. Companies have been accumulating data on us for years without our permission. Once these companies or have the information they can make money on us by selling the information to other companies or as I stated the government. Why should they make money on our information without our consent? The URL encryption also protects the user from potential Internet pr... ...llow you on their sites without the ability of planting or accept some form of a cookie. In this case you can use Safe cookies. A safe cookie allows you to accept cookies safely so you can surf WebPages without being tracked or monitored by the Website. The cookies are encrypted, very much like the URL encryption, and automatically erased when you leave the site. All of these methods are just some of the more popular techniques that people can us to protect their vital information. As stated earlier they are not failsafe, but are good proactive measures that everyone should take. The information age is growing leaps and bound. But with all the good it brings, it also brings the bad. If you plan and prepare yourself you will survive and retain your privacy. Once you loose your privacy it is impossible to get it back, so take control of your information.

Reflections on Social Work Essay

Social work is a profession that requires commitment to improving the lives of others as well as the community around you. As a social worker, the NASW Code of Ethics which states the mission you have as a social a social work professional. The mission â€Å"is to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty.† (NASW, 2008). By following these ethics, social workers are leading by example and showing that they have respect for not only their responsibilities as a social worker but more importantly, their clients. The Code of Ethics contains four major sections that make it up as a whole. The most important part of the Code may very well be the six core values: 1. Service, 2. Social justice, 3. Dignity and worth of a person, 4.Importance of human relationships, 5. Integrity, and 6. Competence. These six values outline the essence of what it means to be a social worker. By demonstrating these values through your actions as a social worker, you are showing compassion, trustworthiness, and integrity. These are just a few of the key characteristics that are essential to this profession. Although it can be hard at times, you must keep a non-biased attitude towards your clients’ situation in order to handle a situation in the most professional manner possible. Social work unique from other helping professions in that you are not only improving the life of a client, group, or family, but working hand in hand with the community around you. It is important to embrace these values in order to successfully improve the welfare of everyone involved in your profession. From a young age I believe that I have always had a passion for helping others. Helping professions also run in my family; my mother is a preschool teacher and one of the most compassionate women I know. My father has a business degree but he has surprisingly been my biggest inspiration to pursue a career in social work. In his spare time, my father is a very active member of our church and does everything he can to help with fundraisers and goes into the city every month to feed the homeless. He is also a member of Big Brothers Big Sisters in Baltimore and even won â€Å"Big Brother of the Year.† He is selfless and puts in time for these things even  with his busy career. He has encouraged me to make the most of my college years and to pursue a degree that makes me happy, not necessarily one that paid the most. In high school, at the time, I thought that my calling was to be a veterinarian and help animals. I began my college career at a small school in Pennsylvania but soon after figured out that the school and the path to being a veterinarian was not for me. When I transferred to Shepherd, I switched my major to elementary education. After the first semester, I had a chance to job shadow and take an education course but again I did not feel this major was quite the right fit. I thought long and hard about what major I could pursue that would fulfill my passion for working with children as well as help them. That is when I realized that social work was the perfect match for me. Over the past few summers, I have worked at a YMCA summer camp as a counselor. In my position, I worked with the age group of five and six year olds. However, my job went deeper than just simply supervising kids and planning activities. An aspect of my job that I never thought would affect me were the parents. Every day when the kids would get dropped off at camp I would get a chance to speak with the parents and also get a small feel for what this child’s life was like at home. It fascinated me that by just the parents I could get a glimpse of why a child behaved the way they did. It really got me thinking about how I could positively impact the lives of these children by simply making their summer at this camp a wonderful experience. It occurred to me that some of these children do not get to spend any time with their parents because they work all day every day and this is why they are at camp. It made me sad for these kids but at the same time motivated me to be the best counselor possible. As a social worker, I hope to have a profession that involves helping children; being a school guidance counselor, a therapist, or p ossibly even being a social worker in the pediatric ward of a hospital. Social work will be a good fit for me as a helping profession because I believe I have a passion for seeing and helping people improve. Some important characteristics I possess that will help me reach my potential in this profession are good listening skills, integrity towards others, compassion, and most importantly willingness to help others. A key aspect that sets social work apart from other helping professions is putting other people before yourself. This is not say that you should completely disregard your own feelings and more importantly gut feelings  about a situation, but you must be willing to put your biases aside in order to fully assist your clients. I have always been good at listening to others when they are having problems and just need a shoulder to lean on. I think that listening is extremely important, maybe even more important than giving advice. Sometimes you do not need to give your opinion or advice, but by simply listening, you are helping someone take that weight of what they were feeling off of their shoulders. Some expectations that I have of the social work profession that it will not a lways be easy and that there is potential for emotional burnout and stress. Some reservations that I have about being a social worker is that I may become too emotionally involved with a client’s situation. I know it is important to stay as impartial as possible and stay focused on helping your client in the best way you know how. It is also important to have a good relationship with your clients but at the same time you need to remain professional and unbiased. Since I want to have a job that involves working with children, it may be difficult at times to not get emotionally connected. It is harder with children because they are helpless in their living and family situations. For example, if a child is being abused at home it might be hard to not get upset and want to reach out and help that child. You are helping the child but you must do it in a way that is looking out for the child’s best interest and without getting too emotionally and personally involved. A practice setting that I would be attracted to working in would be a school or a ho spital setting. Working in a school setting, I could work face to face and individually with children as well as even groups and classrooms of children. Being a guidance counselor or just a school social worker in general, I could educate children as well as help them with their individual problems. In a hospital setting I would want to work in a pediatric setting. Working in this setting would allow me to help children who are recovering or going through traumatic sicknesses. Being able to help children who are probably scared in the hospital, I would be able to help them alongside with their families to make the experience of being in a hospital as painless as possible. A setting that does not appeal to me would be working with the geriatric population. I have visited nursing homes a handful of times to see relatives that were sick or no longer able to take care of themselves and I do not like the atmosphere. The thought of growing old and death are things that I  am not very comfortable with. However I think it is important to keep my options open and maybe later on I will develop more interest in this area after taking more social work courses. An aspect of social work that appeals to me is that no matter what work setting you are in, you are able to work alongside other professions as well to reach a common goal. Although this was only an introduction course and a small glimpse into the social work profession, I can see that that there are endless possibilities with a social work degree. It opened my eyes to so many career options that I never even knew about before and even sparked new interests. I hope that one day I have a fulfilling and rewarding career as a social worker and make a difference in the world, even if it is small.