Meaning of life Essay

â€Å"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. † –Nelson Mandela The importance of learning is to enable the individual to put his potentials to optimal use. Education makes man a right thinker and a correct decision-maker. It achieves this by bringing him knowledge from the external world, teaching him to reason and acquainting him with past history, so that he can be a better judge of the present. With education, he finds himself in a room with all its windows open to the outside world. A well educated man is a more dependable worker, a better citizen, a centre of wholesome influence, pride to his community and honour to his country. A nation is great only in proportion of its advancement in education. Education is Self Empowerment. Receiving a good education makes a person strong enough to look after himself in any given situation. It keeps him aware of the given surrounding as well as the rules and regulations of the society. It’s only through knowledge that one can question authority for its negligence or discrepancies and only then that can a person avail his rights as a citizen and seek improvement in the structural functioning of governance and economy. As a whole, people can bring about development only when they know where improvement is necessary for the greater good of mankind. Education gives a better understanding to the person, it helps realize potential and qualities one possesses as a human being. It helps tap into latent talent, so that people can sharpen their skills. Education teaches what man lives and struggles for. It cultivates an integrated life. By so doing, it gives significance of life. It helps restores financial stability and dignity of life. It is the essential basis of a good life. Education enlightens and lifts a nation to heights of progress. The problem in India is that it has adopted democracy without preparing the ground for it by educating population. But its never too late to undertake mass programmes of Adult education or Social education. Adult education is the education of grown up men and women. In the complex modern times, people must be knowledgeable and be aware of what they are doing and what is being done to them. To create such sentience every responsible citizen should take up this social cause and educate the knowledge deprived people. Teaching a daily worker for just an hour daily can change their lives in propitious ways as it was rightly quoted by Neil Armstrong, ‘One small step is a giant leap for mankind’. In recent history our country has taken up good measures to ensure a high educated population by taking up several social causes and concentrating on the rural areas, since they comprise a majority but the system has been laid back due the restraints imposed by old cultural ethics. For the past few centuries in India, the girl has been completely neglected even as a human being, her sole purpose of life has been to feed the family and bear a child. Good education has been denied to women. It is argued that women have their domestic duties to perform and that, if they were educated, they would bury themselves in their books and have little time for attending to the management of their households. But what people fail to understand is education involves knowledge of the means by which health may be preserved and enable a mother to consult such modern books as will tell her how to rear up her children into healthy men and women and skilfully nurse them and her husband, when disease attacks her household. The purpose of education is not just earning a livelihood but education makes an individual into a good human being, which is passed on to the next the kith and kin. It is true that, the education of girls has lately taken a slight leap but this is only in a very small segment of Indian society. Unless the motion is fast and continuous, and includes more of poor urban and rural girls in the field of education, there can be no hope of having a developed and first world country status for India. â€Å"When a man is educated, only he is educated but, when a woman is educated, a family is educated. † – Indira Gandhi â€Å"Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farworkers can become the president of a great nation. It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another. † – Nelson Mandela.

Communication and Collaboration Strategy Essay

Being able to accomplish a task with a team can be both rewarding and challenging. Learning how to effectively work with a group of people from diverse backgrounds can ultimately be draining. First and foremost there has to be an understanding that everyone is not the same, personalities are different, attitudes are different, work habits are not the same, and definitely learning styles are different. Becoming more sensitive with other team members actions or behaviors is a must. This will help to guide the team as a whole in developing different work strategies to reach the success of the team. The tests that I took to determine my personality and learning style were called â€Å"Multiple Pathways to Learning and the Personality Spectrum. † My highest most dominant personality scores were about equal between â€Å"organizer, thinker, and giver† my weakest point was being an adventurer. It also revealed that I my most dominant learning style is bodily-kinesthetic, musical, intrapersonal, and interpersonal but I am also verbal-linguistic. I find that I do agree with the results of these tests and I will use these learning styles to connect to my fellow team members that are in my group and those that are yet to come. I can use these beneficial techniques in my studies and work on those benefits that I am not yet strong in. There are other different personality types that were mentioned in the tests, they include: Thinker, Giver, and Adventurer, along with Organizer. They can all have an effective way that can increase the advance of a team. Thinkers are good at solving problems, and are very efficient when constructing models, while still able to analyze things. The Givers are peaceful, helpful, and caring and are very useful when dealing with human relationships. During times of conflicts between the team givers are exceptional at resolving the conflict and are seemingly good at negotiating (Carter, Bishop, & Kravits 2007). The Adventurer are individuals who love to explore new things. They often excel at new ideas and are also problem solvers. They also are always thinking of new ways to learn and are very good a puzzles and riddles. The different learning styles that are helpful in a team environment are: visual-spatial learning, verbal-linguistic, interpersonal, and logical-mathematics. People with the Verbal-Linguistic learning style are those people who are good in remembering terms, and familiarizing sentence structures, syntax, and word meanings (Carter, Bishop, & Kravits 2007). These individuals are also good in grammar, and would excel in teaching, and discussion. The best way to communicate with these individuals would be to be as clear as possible. Individuals with interpersonal learning style like being around people so this would best work in a team environment. Always in a clear manner they have no problem expressing themselves either verbally or non- verbally. The best way to deal with these individuals would be to allow them to express their concerns and find a way to get the job done. Being kind and warm with these individuals will help to further the progress of the team. Individuals with logical-mathematics are always reasoning logically. These individuals have above average skills when it comes to scientific reasoning and using tables and charts. It is best to use logical communication skills when dealing with this learning style. Maybe make presentations with charts and graphs or just plain common sense. When dealing with a team environment you have to first set ground rules and figure out a way that everyone can have their voice heard. This will ensure that no one is left out and everyone participates without any problems or conflicts. But should they arise being patient with one another and allowing an open floor for discussion will be beneficial to resolving any conflicts and getting the job done.

Abundance of drama Essay Example for Free

Abundance of drama Essay Arthur Miller (560) , The Crucible (395) , John Proctor (276) , Mary Warren (139) , Tituba (113) company About StudyMoose Contact Careers Help Center Donate a Paper Legal Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy Complaints ? She and the other girls give the names of innocent people who had nothing to do with witchcraft leaving the act with a dramatic hysterical close as all the girls try to cleanse themselves of the confrontation with Beelzebub hinting at the future prospects of the play. The act steadily builds up to when Tituba is accused at the end of the act of witchcraft. Each ingredient of the, story, which we know is hearsay, is added until it comes together and there is sufficient evidence for her to be accused by Hale. The story, which has been building, takes a turn and instead of the inquisitive nature of which it started, it becomes more action orientated and becomes a name and shame game where people are incorrectly blamed and gives a dramatic effect to the audience. This final dramatic scene of the act is placed there to end the act with a mini peak of the story and to keep the audience interested and wanting more. Act two begins with a long conversation between Proctor and his wife. They talk about the every day things but the stage directions and language Miller uses, like the scene with Proctor and Abigail, strongly projects the dramatic effect on the audience and emotions of the relationship. Proctor is not at ease with his wife, the atmosphere appears tense and uncomfortable. He attempts to make conversation, â€Å"are you well today? † which is not the sort of thing a husband would say to his wife. He tries to make her happy by complimenting her: â€Å"it’s well seasoned† and grinning. It is obvious that the atmosphere could be cut with a knife â€Å"as gently as he can† depicts that he is carefully choosing his words and trying to be a good husband but desperately trying not to bring up the affair. But it is not in vain as Goody Proctor reacts warmly to him, â€Å"blushing with pleasure†; giving an inkling that she still loves him. Though the feeling is that of betrayal and guilt there is a warm, gentle fragment of loyalty and love emancipated out of their conversation, which proves they still both feel love towards one another. Mary Warren comes in to the house-hold to discuss the events which took place in Salem earlier on and that, â€Å"Aye a proper court they have now. They’ve sent four judges out of Boston,† and that â€Å"39† women have been accused of witchcraft. She then proceeds to talk about the accused and that Mrs Proctor has been accused. This shocks them and that Rebecca nurse has also been accused, as she is a well-respected person in the Salem community and adds to the drama. Both of the women have enemies who wish to destroy them (Abigail and Mrs Putnam) and two rival factions are now clearly taking form, Goody Proctor is arrested. The home scene between Proctor and his wife is placed before she is arrested to dramatically show how innocent and plain Goody Proctor was and the contrast of her seeing John in the wrong by her being arrested, this dramatically portraits injustice. Proctor’s actions towards the arrest of his wife are dramatic as he runs out adding to the action and pace of the scene, â€Å"I will not have her chained! † The fact he will not have her chained when they are authorised to do so indicates conflict and gives drama, the use of an apostrophe shows his anger again adds gives a dramatic effect to the audiences Towards the end of the act pressure is placed on a character this time it is Mary who is being pressurised by the now fiery Proctor due his wife’s imprisonment. Proctor tries to force Mary to tell the court about the â€Å"poppet† which Mrs Proctor was arrested for, â€Å"You will tell the court how the poppet come here. † Mary claims she â€Å"cannot†, which she repeats and she begins to cry. Proctor’s language creates his mentality with the omnipotence of his language and the harsh anger which has built up inside to terrify Mary to get her to divulge her information to the court, â€Å"Aye naked! And the wind will, gods icy wind will blow! † His use of the word icy creates the chilling ominous threat to all the people who are dishonest and shows that he himself would not do it or he would be severely hypocritical. This, from what he said, is the first indication of his stern and ethical character and that Mary’s character is frail and easily manipulated both by Abigail and Proctor. Not only does the dramatic structure give the end of the act a dramatic finish but also the end of the act uses language to get across the seriousness and religious terror being brewed in Salem. Act three is set in the courtroom, the cases are being investigated and the questions and debating ensues. Mary now forced by Proctor to support Goody Proctor tells the court that she lied the day before. However she shows her weakness when she herself is blamed by Abigail, and cracks when Abigail condemns her by pretending that there is a spirit conjured by Mary, â€Å"Let me go Mr Proctor, I cannot, I cannot†. This leads to Proctor to loose his cool and condemn Abigail for doing all of this to spite him and to rid the world of his wife. He now has to admit to committing the sin of adultery: â€Å"I have known her sir! † This leads us to the turning point in the play. Proctor reveals to the court that his wife never tells a lie and that she would tell the court about his affair. By stating the truth it would obviously mean that she was telling the truth about the witchcraft and proving her innocence but would she be able to disgrace Proctors, name, which means so much to the people of the time period that the play was set. Miller’s dramatic structure brings the play to a mini climax if not the most important one by great structuring of the play; the play reaches a cross-roads. If Goody Proctor tells the truth it undermines everything that Abigail has said and shows her as a liar and everyone wrongly accused is released and brings about the end of court. But if she lies it means that all the people who have kept their morality and not lied will be charged. It defines the future of the factions and the play, having been built up throughout the opening acts. This is well dramatically structured to create complete unpredictability and a sense of curiosity as to how it will end. She is brought in and interrogated. Goody Proctor’s body language portraits the tension: â€Å"liking her lips to stall for time† now created in the court, as they all know this is the defining moment. She thinks about what she should say and â€Å"glances at Proctor† looks for help. In, agony, she answers the questions. Hard thought and constant silent pauses build the pressure within the room, â€Å"Is your husband a lecher? † Danforth the judge asks her. â€Å"No. † The pressure is lifted and the stomach churning feeling of the characters and audience takes over, this is summed up by the comment, â€Å"oh god! † when Goody Proctor realises what she’s done. But by lying, going against everything she stands for. She obviously forgives Proctor as she took one for him when he had committed adultery this shows the romantic drama that she loves him so much she would give up her morals for his name. Abigail then starts off again pretending to draw attention on to herself, that Mary is conjuring spirits and uses her power to create mass hysteria. Miller liberally uses exclamation marks to emphasise the shouting and adding to the general madness of the courtroom. Abigail’s actions are dramatised and create a lot of fear, â€Å"Abigail pointing with fear† and which is added to by having all the girls at once shouting. It gives a fearful representation that the girls are possessed by some sought of satanic spirit. Mary shifts the blame onto Proctor who is then accused by the court. This is dramatically used as the story declines after the climax in act three and the story needs to be built up quickly to reach the final climax. In Act four this is done by the hysteria and the fact that Proctor is now being blamed by Abigail and ironically the reason the trouble started was because she wanted him, now she is getting rid of him and achieving nothing. In Act four Proctor has an emotional talk with his wife as she tries to persuade him to confess and be released. Miller goes to work on giving the audience’s heart strings a pull using again language and stage actions to show the emotions of love and despair and create a great sense of drama using dramatic devices. Goody Proctor has forgiven him and believes; whatever, he does â€Å"it is good man that does it†, and thinks she drove him to have an affair. She states that, â€Å"John, I counted myself so plain, so poorly made no honest love could come to me! Suspicion kissed you when I did†. She thinks that there was nothing to love about her and before it was not her who kissed him but personified. This also implies that now when they talk and hold each other it is pure love for the first time in their relationship bringing a sense of romanticism to the ordeal that they’ve been through. Miller’s dramatically structure places the conversation before the final and ultimate climax to act as the calm before the storm and to increase the pressure on John and ultimately be decisive to the final sequence of events. Proctor is to be hung but because he was persuaded he confesses but all the official figures want his confession in writing. By doing this he is giving up his, name. He realises that he will die before he will give up his name and rips up his â€Å"life† which he had signed. This then brings us to the most powerful and dramatic action within the whole play in my opinion as, â€Å"His breast heaving, his eyes staring, Proctor tears up the paper and crumples it, and he is weeping in fury, but still erect. † This shows that he will not sign away his, name, showing his courage. He has thrown away his life but still stands â€Å"erect†, they’ve pushed him all the way physically and mentally but he has not fallen keeping his dignity, ethics and pride, which we know mean so much to him as does his life which is why it is so dramatic. Miller has created a twist luring the audience in with Goody Proctors persuasion, hooking them in with signing the confession but masking the fact he was to â€Å"rip up his life,† and die for what he believes and becoming a type of martyr or tragic hero. Miller’s, The Crucible, is structured to gain dramatic effect. Each act takes on the same structure and has very similar properties. The first two scenes to begin with build up information about different events, which take place off stage. All acts build up to a climax, giving away hints about the next act and each act ends with pressure being placed on a certain character. Act one it is Tituba; act two it is Mary; act three Mary and Mrs Proctor and act four John Proctor. â€Å"The Crucible† is a fitting name for the play as a crucible is a melting pot, which eventually displaces the pure from the waste. Which also happens in the play each act is a small melting pot as in act one, the different things are added by way of the story being built up and then heated. The heat in act one is Hale and overall the whole play is a melting pot. The story built up, the heat added by the way of the court and the pure displaced from the waste. The pure, being the characters that wouldn’t pass on the blame because they were too strong and would not give up their morals. The irony is that the people who deserved to be killed i. e. Abigail and Paris compared to the remorseful Proctor and the innocent Rebecca nurse. Miller created a dramatic play by incorporating dramatic language, stage directions and the play is structured in such a way that it gives the audience an abundance of drama. Abundance of drama. (2017, Oct 17).

Week 3 dq's Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Week 3 dq's - Essay Example Even though the number of shares increase, the total value of these shares remains the same thus resulting in no direct benefit. The benefit of stock splits is said to only lie in the future. A lower share value can bring the market share price to â€Å"an acceptable trading range† (Stickney, 2004, p. 545). The resulting higher trading volumes, more investors and continuing good performance of the company can potentially result in a higher stock price. Dividend Policy: The dividend policy varies from company to company. A company can give dividends in form of cash or more stock for each share owned, have a stock repurchase offer, a combination of both, or to retain earnings and not announce any distribution of profits. Each has its merits and demerits. Cash dividends incur higher tax rates and usually appeal to investors who are low-end taxpayers. Stock dividends, in which additional company shares are offered at a proportion of existing shares dilute the shares and bring no immediate benefit to the shareholder. They only allow the investor to merely have a potential of future higher net value. Purely from the shareholder’s perspective, stock repurchase can offer higher value to a large percentage of investors as the stock price increases after repurchase and if the investor sells, the money they gain by selling stocks falls in the lower capital gains tax bracket (Bierman, 2001, p. 112). Finally, companies that retain their earnings offer value by gaining shareholder confidence in its growth and thus a higher stock price. Sources of Venture Capital: Venture capital is offered by investors looking for unusually higher returns. They are willing to work with higher risks and invest in companies with perceived profits or growth. The money can come directly from these investors, specialized venture capital firms, investment banks or other financial or brokerage institutions with similar investment policies. VC’s Due Diligence: Venture capitalists,

Odwalla Juice Case Study Analysis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Odwalla Juice Analysis - Case Study Example Even though the company was faced with several financial constraints as its proceeds dropped by almost 90% (Harvard Business School, 1997, p. 1), one might have expected that the company would collapse altogether or that even if there exists enough backup budget to run the company, management would loose the zeal to continue operating with the same set of customers who might have developed negative attitude towards the company. However, management decided to rise above the challenge and give the company a new image. Clearly, this is a challenge that comes with several subsequent problems especially when it comes to the regaining of customer trust (Ducharme, 2002). Important players within the organization No organization works in a vacuum. Clearly, the success and victories of any company to becoming either a local, national or international entity depends on the efforts of a number of coordinated strings often referred to as stakeholders (Esposito, 2001). On the whole, there could b e two major groups of stakeholders identified for a typical producer based company like Odwalla and these are profit oriented stakeholders and non-profit oriented stakeholders. ... For instance at the break of the news of contamination of the apple juice, the community showed that it indeed had a stake in the company when immediately, the FDA was made to investigate the cause of the problem (Harvard Business School, 1997, p. 1). Customers also showed their stake when their refusal to continue patronizing products from the company led to as much as 90% fall in the profits of the company. Target groups of the organization In the present circumstance, one of the chief and key target groups that the organization can have as part of its stakeholders; of whom there would be periodic attention and concentration are suppliers. These are forever going to be an integral part of the company’s success especially as the company continues to depend on external sourcing for the supply of its raw materials. In fact until such a time comes when the company will be in a position to have a production farm to supply it with fresh apples as raw materials, suppliers should be considered as important target groups. It should even be noted suppliers have important roles to play in preventing such major calamities as the contamination of products. This is because if supplies of raw materials are identified to be contaminated or sub-standard in any way, this can greatly affect the eventual outcome of the company’s production. Finally, suppliers hold a lot of stake in deciding the profit that the company makes because if the company has a very good bargaining power with suppliers, it can be spending less on expenditure and thus gaining more as profit. The role of management and the role of production Going through the case study, it can be said that management has rightly identified its role in bringing the company

The story about my friend Ali Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The story about my friend Ali - Essay Example Soon though, my family, including myself, relocated to the United States of America, and at that time, I was apprehensive of the relationship that shared with Ali. Until the time that we were together, things were good for us however, we had never given any thought to what life would be like without the other person around. We did not realise that we had grown so close to each other that it was impossible to spend some time apart. As Ali and I both entered our teens, we used to spend nights talking to each other on the phone, and our parents and friends knew that there was something special between us. I, however, remained naive to that fact and would take all my problems to Ali. He would answer patiently, â€Å"Look inside yourself, you’ll find the answer soon.† So when it was time to move, I asked him, â€Å"What will happen to us?† and I recall that he said the same thing, in the calmest manner possible. Fortunately, Ali and I did not have to grow apart becaus e he soon followed me to America, but to fulfil his dreams of becoming a medical surgeon. I was overjoyed that Ali would once again be by my side, but despite the closeness being reinstated, I always felt that Ali thought of me as his little sister. That was what I told myself when he was always nice to me. This was probably because I felt this way about all my other male friends too and did not know how to think differently of him even though I always knew that he and I shared something completely out of the ordinary with each other.... Till the time that we were together, things were good for us however, we had never given any thought to what life would be like without the other person around. We did not realise that we had grown so close to each other that it was impossible to spend some time apart. As Ali and I both entered our teens, we used to spend nights talking to each other on the phone, and our parents and friends knew that there was something special between us. I however, remained naive to that fact and would take all my problems to Ali. He would answer patiently, â€Å"Look inside yourself, you’ll find the answer soon.† So when it was time to move, I asked him, â€Å"What will happen to us?† and I recall that he said the same thing, in the calmest manner possible. Fortunately, Ali and I did not have to grow apart because he soon followed me to America, but to fulfil his dreams of becoming a medical surgeon. I was overjoyed that Ali would once again be by my side, but despite the clo seness being reinstated, I always felt that Ali thought of me as his little sister. That was what I told myself when he was always nice to me. This was probably because I felt this way about all my other male friends too and did not know how to think differently of him even though I always knew that he and I shared something completely out of the ordinary with each other. I never bothered to segregate the relationship that I shared with Ali into something different than what I had for everyone else around me. Soon, the time came for Ali to express himself to my friends by telling them the inevitable – the fact that he had feelings for me. My friends, Natasha and Rustam, however always knew this to be true because they knew about our history together and how he was

Operations Issues in Hospitality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Operations Issues in Hospitality - Essay Example to assist people with related or interdependent job’s to examine ways in which their teams work together, at the same time identifying strengths and weaknesses, and developing plans to improve team functioning. In essence, team-building is a task-oriented activity with an emphasis on interpersonal interaction. The processes taken into account in team-building are setting goals, developing interpersonal relations, role analysis to clarify team members job, and overall analysis ÃŽ ¿f the team process. There is also an endeavour to use substantial contact among members to foster trust and openness, and there is a pronounced emphasis on changes that will lead to improvement in specific aspects ÃŽ ¿f team performance. For an operations manager to be more effective in his organisation to carry out functions and the duties required to operate the business effectively, it is essential to pass on authority to his management team to purse certain activities. The process ÃŽ ¿f delegation for the operations manager is one ÃŽ ¿f the major functions ÃŽ ¿f effective management. The process ÃŽ ¿f delegation relives the operations manager from involvements in the day to day detail running ÃŽ ¿f particular activities involved in his business operation but not absolves the operations manager from the responsibility ÃŽ ¿f ensuring that the duties ÃŽ ¿f his delegated are correctly and efficiently performed. It is necessary to delegate at every level ÃŽ ¿f management and supervision delegation has to take place, either because ÃŽ ¿f the need for specialist knowledge which the delegator does not process or because ÃŽ ¿f the amount ÃŽ ¿f work the operation manager has to perform and because ÃŽ ¿f the physically impossible by the huge volume ÃŽ ¿f work load. (Rutherford 2002) According to Eyre 0Forecasting is normally done for two periods, short-range and long-range. Both are necessary if the operations manager is to be successful in achieving its objectives in the long term and so can formulate plans for such

Traditional Chinese Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Traditional Chinese Society - Essay Example Mencius and Confucius are the major characters supporting the lowering of women dignity in terms of social positions. The Ming dynasty of traditional Chinese, was considered different in the way they exercised power. Sima Qian one of the great grand historian, explains how patterns of dynastities were practiced in the past. He was given the responsibility of compiling document of the Chinese heroes by his father before he passed away. Brook (37) suggests that in the Late Ming Courtesan, there three policies brought out periodically by different characters, they included the transmission, transaction and the transfiguration. Transmission policy took about the portrayal of courtesans, in a particular historical mode mediating itself in distinctive contexts and genres. In this policy, Hongyu Huang explains how Wu Weiye tries to allegories a courtesan’s disaster in the invigorated poetry as history convention. This was in turn accepted by eighteenth century imaginary tale and late Qing opinionated poetry. Wu Weiye himself was groundbreaking stature in Chinese writing establishing in office, a new poetic style called Meicun ti. The sequence of Wu’s long tale that contain the seven syllabic lines, expresses the Ming Qing family upheaval with the stress on people’s predicaments in the face of countrywide and personal crises. The Wu’s famous rhyme â€Å"Ballad of Yuanyuan,† customarily customary construes the better cynicism against the whole turncoat Wu Sangui and compassion for unplanned femme fatale. Transaction policy involves economic exchange to the distribution of cultural capital, gawk and body sandwiched between patrons and courtesans. Lawrence Yim reviews Qianyi’s poet, which involves how Qian Qianyi and Liu Rushi that made a very nice corpus called exchange poem, at the commencing of their relationship in the late Ming. The poetry becomes a fascinating object in collection of the Ming –Qings customary and lite rary memories. Its purpose is not to go over the Qian-liu legend, but to probe the intriguing parts of female’s body in their replaced poems (Mungello 46-47). Transfiguration policy tends to undercut the circuitousness of desire and the descriptions of history, by suggesting radical subjectivity characteristic to woman or the complexity of the subjectivity itself. In this policy, Ling Hon Lam studies an obscure called untalented where she defies her biographers’ narrative finality with the Ming’s downfall. The late Ming courtesans went through gender boundaries by skillful self- performance as poets, loyalists and knights-errant. Paradoxically, this suggested an aura tic image of a male subject integral rather than challenged, but was capable of holding onto despite the globe around him falling apart. This obstruct also discusses an obscure courtesan called Xu Feng and a chuanqi opera with a title called Xinghua Shan, is attributed to her. She gets married to a quiet family of Changshu and she is seen performing like lampoon of liu due to her incompetence in poetry and over behaving amidst her patrons. We find that the two biographies composed by Qian’s associates, describe the mysterious execute of Xu Feng with her ferocious apparition correspond with the submission of Nanjing. In traditional Chinese society, women were greatly oppressed due to the fact that men were seen as the central part of the family. For instance, the forerunner to whom a Zhou or a Shang family king made

Recycle (Indiana State recycle center) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Recycle (Indiana State recycle center) - Essay Example The center later turned into an educational center and a community-wide recycling center (ISU). Following the lecture about the recycling processes and the coverage of the recycling at Indiana University, I learnt that many materials, which I viewed as non-usable, are valuable resources that can be recycled for further use. Some of the materials that I discovered to be recyclable include news papers, old books, cardboards, waste paper, glass containers, plastic films and bags, metallic beverage cans, bottles and plastic containers. Before the lecture, I did not know that empty bottles – after using the contents they contain – could be used for a better course. Since the lecture, I started collecting all waste materials, and taking them to the neighboring recycling center – where they recycle all that is recyclable and effective dispose what they cannot recycle (Braungart and McDonough 47). Through the lecture on the recycling at Indiana University, I discovered t hat the heavy pressure on the production resources of the world could be reduced through recycling. For example, he explained that iron and aluminum deposits are reducing continually, but went further to explain that the waste cans that are disposed at the garbage collection area can be used to substitute the diminishing resource inputs. He gave us an example of plastic cans, demonstrating that the disposed cans are usually as good as new; therefore, through recycling these disposed containers, canning companies can reduce their costs of operation. Therefore, from the lesson, I learnt that recycling has many advantages, including that it reduces the pressure on production resources, reduces the impacts of waste disposal and reduces the costs of doing business – particularly in the area of sourcing for inputs (ISU). During the lecture, the agent from the recycling center explained the long term effects of recycling, including that it reduces the impacts caused by pollution on the environment. One example he used, made it clear to me that recycling is a channel for safeguarding the future of humanity. For example, when plastic cans and the waste materials from the health center are incinerated, they produce toxic smoke, which increases the rate of ozone layer depletion – which increases the levels of global warming. But in the case that these waste materials are not taken through the process of incineration, which uses a lot of energy and in some cases pollution-causing smoke, the waste can be recycled for newer use, over and over again. The recycling of the waster reduces the costs of producing new plastic cans and other plastic products; it reduces the energy levels consumed by industrial plants, and reduces the pollution caused by inappropriate waste material (ISU). Therefore, in the long term, the benefits of recycling reinforce the availability of resources, increase the sustainability of the environment and improve the profitability of differ ent enterprises. Through the lecture, I learnt that recycling can be practiced by all people, young and aged; poor and rich, as well as those in business and those that use the recyclable materials at home. For example, among the young, spoilt toys can be recycled for new plastic, and among the aged, many waste items like spoilt computers and vehicles can be surrendered for recycling. Among the poor, simple materials like paper bags

Early Intervention Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Early Intervention - Assignment Example Due to the increasing number of children who have development delays or problems, various strategies have been developed in order to address such problems. One of these strategies is known as early intervention. Early intervention has become one of the most popular and widely used strategies when a child faces developmental difficulties. Such strategy is hinged on the assumption that the earlier developmental problems are detected, the more it is possible to overcome. Early intervention applies to children of school age or younger who are discovered to have or be at risk of developing a handicapping condition or other special need that may affect their development. Moreover, it depends on in the provision of services that the children and their respective families need. These services are most often aimed at reducing the effects of the child's developmental condition. Early intervention may be taken from two contexts. It can be used either for remedial purposes or for preventive uses. Early intervention as a remedial strategy is aimed at lessening the effects of the child's condition on himself and his family while early intervention as a preventive strategy focuses on thwarting the occurrence. There are various types of early intervention programs. ... Early intervention programs may begin at different ages, but usually, it is best to begin as early as possible. Two examples of intervention strategies are play therapy and counseling. Each of these are used for a variety of purposes and aimed at achieving different goals. According to the British Association of Play Therapists, play therapy is defined as, "...the dynamic process between child and Play Therapist in which the child explores at his or her own pace and with his or her own agenda those issues, past and current, conscious and unconscious, that are affecting the child's life in the present. The child's inner resources are enabled by the therapeutic alliance to bring about growth and change. Play Therapy is child-centred, in which play is the primary medium and speech is the secondary medium." On the other hand, counseling is a commonly used term in psychology. Basically, counseling is aimed at helping the family deal with the problems that the child may be encountering. Since the problems of a child may be rooted to certain family issues, counseling will help the family resolve whatever issues that may cause the child problems. Why use Early Intervention According to United States Department of Education, there are three primary reasons why early intervention is utilized. There are three primary reasons for intervening early with an exceptional child: to enhance the child's development, to provide support and assistance to the family, and to maximize the child's and family's benefit to society. A study of human growth and development will show that it is during the preschool years that a child develops the fastest. It is during this stage that the child learns the most. If the most teachable moments or stages of greatest

Persuasive Essay, the Player, All Realities Are Fictitious Essay Example for Free

Persuasive Essay, the Player, All Realities Are Fictitious Essay Our world consists of many realties. Two being commercial, and the other, artistic. A commercial reality is one of indulgence, and pleasure, always aiming to suit those who yearn for it. Artistic reality however, is open to interpretation. This means there are many possible outcomes. One could be saddened or depressed by the reality, and others, joyful. It is because of this uncertainty in artistic realities that the film industry, as well as many other industries, have taken it upon themselves to glorify the truth. It is because of the clashing of these two realities, that reality as a whole becomes difficult to interpret. The statement that every reality is fictitious, is rather bold however. Although in numbers, there are a few people who hold very strong moral and have a sense of quality in what they do. The Hollywood film industry is entirely commercial. Offering little or no interest in writers work that consists of depth, moral and truth. This reality consumes those considered as naive to the industry. Commercial realities are realities that are created by people who want to escape their own and subconsciously create a reality that is deemed impossible in the â€Å"real† world. Commercial realities are attractive to most, because you can experience something otherwise unimaginable. It is us, the audience of massive Hollywood productions, that show true appreciation of films made by producers who show no other interest than creating fictional nonsense and profiting from us . The film making industry is created by artificial characters living paranormal lives that we aspire to have. However, who can jump from a 4 story building and land on the ground with no injury? Who can be stabbed and instantly heeled by only a bandage and continue battling the world with heroic attributes and a vision to sustain â€Å"humanity as we know it† Commercial realities are fictitious, and it leaves us dreaming of a better life, and fantasizing over it. Many of our youth are involved in lives that are run by action, violence, recklessness and stupidity. A contrasting reality to those of commercial is that of artistic. This reality has deeper meaning to it, and value. Artistic reality may be generally defined as the attempt to represent subject matter truthfully, without artificiality and avoiding artistic conventions, implausible, exotic and supernatural elements. Artistic reality is better known as ‘realism. ’ Realism revolted against the exotic subject matter and exaggerated emotionalism and drama of the Romantic Movement. Instead it sought to portray real and typical contemporary people and situations with truth and accuracy, and not avoiding unpleasant or sordid aspects of life. Artistic realities often reject changes wrought by Commercial Revolutions. Artistic realities reveal the truth, which means they may emphasize the ugly or sordid. Artists use their work as a form of expressionism, which is open to interpretation. They see true value in their oeuvre, as they see ordinary, everyday subjects as the depiction of naturalism. Many people attempt to depict things accurately, from either a visual, social or emotional perspective. Theatre Realism shares many stylistic choices with naturalism, including a focus on every day (middle-class) drama, colloquial speech, and mundane settings. Realism rejects imaginative idealization in favour of a close observation of outward appearances. Often artistic realities can be labelled as fictitious. This is due to the majority of society being so consumed by commercial reality that they no longer can differentiate from commercial actually being fake, and artistic as being real. Commercial realities enhance the breeding of money. Commercial values manipulate the very anatomy of a natural, mundane reality. Commercially precious films of ‘reality’ have become the organ grinder’s monkeys of money. They are made to increase the generative value and staying in power of money, the power of money to breed money, to fertilize itself. They are not made to empower people and provide certain value. Artistic reality however, leaves no stone unturned. Realism sees no value in money, and it sees no reciprocal (mutual? Would this be better? ) material possession that could be exchanged for money. Artistic realities merely capture that which is tangible and accurate. Society may attempt to defend themselves by escaping this as it may be deeply depressing. It is the confusion of distinguishing between commercial and artistic realities that ultimately reduces both to nothing but fictitious mumbo jumbo that controls our lives. The difference between the two is huge, however difficult for ‘commoners’, or those not involved in the film industry, to interpret. Whether an individual comprises their lives of commercial or realistic values, these values can be labelled as fabricated or factual. The film industry’s repackaging and misrepresenting the truth to suit themselves is profitable. This profitability is their ultimate ruling guideline. If a film does not provide profits, the film was a total failure, regardless of its realism. Artistic realities are open to interpretation and provide a bit of freedom for people to choose the outcomes of scenarios. Painters, writers, film makers and news reporters are some of the main people involved in the way reality is interpreted because they are in the spotlight. Every one watches them, reads their papers or interperates their work. It is important for people to recognise that regardless of the message that is trying to be brought across, reality is subjective, and hence, it may appear fictitious to anyone apart from their maker. Commercial or artistic.

Group Counselling Essay Example for Free

Group Counselling Essay In an effective functioning group, the members are striving to carry what they are learning in a session into their everyday lives. They do this by formulating plans to practice between sessions, by making a commitment to do homework assignments and by practicing a variety of new behaviors outside of the group. Perhaps the two most important phases of a group are its beginning and its end. The beginning because that is where the tone of the group is set; the end because that is where learning is consolidated and action plans are typically formulated. (pg 164) There are some tasks to be carried out during the closing session! (ending a group) * Members are encouraged to complete any ‘unfinished businesses’ they may have with other group members or the leader. * Members are taught how to carry with them what they’ve learned and esp. how to talk to significant people in their lives. * Members are assisted in making specific plans for change and in taking concrete steps to put the lessons learnt into effect in their daily lives. * Leaders help members discover ways of creating their own support systems after they leave the group. * Specific plans for follow-up and evaluation are made. NB. The more behavioral approaches like; transactional analysis, behavioral group therapy, RE behavior therapy and reality therapy – place primary emphasis on the above mentioned tasks. This owing to the belief that, members ought to consolidate their learning, practice homework assignments and develop a specific action plan, if they expect to make significant changes in their lives. Body: Time is limited in a group counseling session. The leader therefore, constantly remains aware of that and teaches participants how to best use the time available to them. Leaders also need to train members on how to pace themselves so that they do not wait until the end of the session to introduce work that cannot be addressed in the short time remaining. Good Practice to Carry Out When Ending a Session: I. Asking Members to Sum up! The leader may allow about 10min at the end of a session for members to summarize what the session has meant to them individually. Some questions that may be asked to help members consolidate their learning include; a) Could you briefly summarize what the session has meant for you? b) What steps towards your goal are you willing to take between now and our next session to make changes in your life? c) Was there anything unfinished for you today that you would like to continue in our next meeting? d) What was the most important thing that you experienced during this meeting? e) What touched you most in other people’s work today?  f) What did you learn about yourself? g) Did you get what you wanted from this session? (what in specific?) Questions like these assist members in identifying specific behaviors they must want to change, both in the group and in daily life. They also reinforce their commitment to make changes. II. Dealing with Unfinished Work! In the case that some work in a session isn’t going to be finished before the group ends, the leader can help bring a sense of closure simply by acknowledging those incomplete explorations or feelings that are left unspoken. This he can do by simply asking the client to differ the discussion until the next session. For example, â€Å"Since we’re running out of time today, would you be willing to reflect on it a bit between now and the next meeting, maybe do some writing, and bring it up again then!† #Activity during this time# Psychodrama: There is a procedure for closing a group session in Psychodrama that increases the chances that members will be able to identify and deal with unfinished business. Psychodrama emphasizes allowing enough time for the sharing and discussion phase for each session. #Sharing which comes first, consists of nonjudgmental statements about oneself. Then after the personal sharing, time is allotted for a discussion of the group process. Members who have engaged in a role-playing enactment are invited to share their reactions to those roles. Others are asked to tell members who participated in a psychodrama enactment how they were personally affected by the work and what they learned from it. III. Arrange Homework Assignments!  Having members announce Homework assignments or some means of carrying further the work they have done in a session, and then report on the same, at the beginning of the next session is a closing technique – it also links the ending session to the next. Homework can be deviced by members themselves or the leader. Keeping in line with behavioral approach, it is important for leaders to teach members that; â€Å"the crucial change is the one that takes place in the real world.† And this is where homework comes in handy. The main point is that insight alone rarely results in behavioral change. [‘Insight needs to be translated into action for change to occur’ – premise of the Adlerian Perspective.]pg. 168. IV. Making Your Own Comments and Assesments!  Leaders may form a practice of giving their reactions, a group process commentary or a summary of the meeting towards the end of the session. Leaders might comment on; * The cohesion of the group  * The degree to which members freely brought up topics for work * The willingness to take risks and talk about unsafe topics * The degree to which they interacted with one another (as opposed to speaking only directly to and through the leader) * Their willingness to discuss difficult concerns Leaders might use write up notes about each session during the week and use those comments at the beginning of the next session as a catalyst for linking the sessions! Another way to close session is to set apart the last 5min for members to fill out brief rating/assessment sheets. The ratings can be tallied in a few minutes and the results presented at the beginning of the next session. A rating scale of 1-5 can be used. Questions that can be asked include; a) To what degree were you involved in this session? b) To what degree were you willing to take risks in the group? c) To what degree did you trust other members in the group? d) To what degree has today’s session stimulated you to think about your problems, your life situation, or possible decisions you might want to make? e) To what degree were you willing to share what you were feeling and thinking in the session today? f) To what extent are you willing to actively practice some new behavior this week? g) To what degree did you prepare yourself or think about this session before you came today? h) To what degree are you willing to non-defensively take the feedback you receive and consider it carefully? i) To what degree did you see the group as productive today?

High Turnover Rate in Long-Term Care in Nursing

High Turnover Rate in Long-Term Care in Nursing Lisa Krier Introduction There is a serious problem in this nation, and it is only getting worse. By the year 2030, the number of elderly in the United States, 85 years or older, is expected to reach 8.9 million (Barondess, 2007). According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s website, two-thirds of people reaching the age of 65 will require the services of a long term care facility at least once during their lifetime (Harris-Kojetin, Sengupta, Park-Lee, Valverde, 2013). As the population continues to age, the population of those over the age of 65 is projected to soar to 88.5 million by the year 2050, and the oldest of the old, those 85 years and older, is estimated to reach 17.9 million and account for 4.5% of the U.S. population (Harris-Kojetin, Sengupta, Park-Lee, Valverde, 2013). The 85 and older population often have the highest disability rate and their need for long term care placement is the greatest (Harris-Kojetin, Sengupta, Park-Lee, Valverde, 2013). Unfortunately, the number of women who are 20 to 50 years old, the population most likely to provide the work force of direct care staff, is only expected to increase less than 10% during this same time (Barondess, 2007). In the United States, the shortage of direct-care staff is a serious problem that is worsening (Barondess, 2007). Recruitment and retention of direct- care staff is extremely challenging and is exacerbated by the growing division between the number of those needing care the number of those providing the care (Barondess, 2007). Discussion Long term care facilities experience very high turnover rates among direct-care staff (Barondess, 2007). This problem is costly, threatens the quality of care provided to patients, increases workloads, and can lower morale among the remaining direct-care staff, with all of this contributing to continual and increased turnover (Barondess, 2007). According to the Institute of Medicine’s website, among direct-care staff there was a 71% turnover rate nationwide in 2008 and they were more likely to not have health insurance and to use food stamps (IOM, 2008). The high turnover rate of direct-care staff costs employers on average $4.1 billion annually (IOM, 2008). Direct-care staff contributes greatly to the physical and mental health of long term care patients (Stone Wiener, 2001). Patients depend on staff for assistance with activities of daily living and direct-care staff is the ones providing this care (Stone Wiener, 2001). According to the CDC, in 2012, direct-care staff spent on average 2.46 hours per day per patient, while RNs spent 0.52 hours per day per patient, and LPNs spend 0.85 hours per day per patient (Harris-Kojetin, Sengupta, Park-Lee, Valverde, 2013). As the direct-care staff spends much time caring for the patient, real attachments between the care givers and patients can occur (Eaton, 2000). Direct-care staff potentially can help to improve the patient’s health and psychosocial functioning by providing positive interactions (Eaton, 2000). In this regard, high turnover rates in the long term care setting can affect patient care and patients may suffer both physically and emotionally as a result (Hayes et al., 2006) . Staff turnover in the long term care industry increases the cost for caring for those patients and affects the quality of care provided (Rosen, Stiehl, Mittal, Leana, 2011). In order to increase the retention of nursing assistants, administrators need to address the problem of low job satisfaction among these employees (Rosen, Stiehl, Mittal, Leana, 2011). The following is a plan of action developed to address the problem of low job satisfaction and the high turnover rate of direct-care staff. Core Competency The core competency that will be addressed is managing patient-centered care (IOM, 2003). In 2003, the Institute of Medicine identified patient centered-care as: â€Å"identify, respect, and care about patient’s differences, values, preferences, and expressed needs; relieve pain and suffering; coordinate continuous care; listen to, clearly inform, communicate with, and educate patients; share decision-making and management; and continuously advocate disease prevention, wellness, and promotion of health lifestyles, including a focus on population health† (IOM, 2003). In order for patient-centered care to be effective the staff must collaborate and coordinate care (Finkelman, 2012). Knowledge, Skills, and Attributes The KSA (Knowledge, Skills, and Attributes) that will be utilized for the Leadership Development Goal is team building conversations. High staffing turnover rates threaten the quality of care provided to patients and increases the financial burden of caring for those patients in long term care (Rosen, Mittal, Leana, 2011). When direct-care staff has been asked what promotes the best care, the staff rated communication highest (Scott-Cawiezell et al., 2004), and also rated communication as the greatest weakness in the organization (Kostiwa Meeks, 2009). Direct-care staff believes that they have a greater influence on quality of life for the patient than any other staff (Kane et al., 2006), and that high turnover rates undermine their relationships with patients (Bowers, Esmond, Jacobson, 2000). Direct-care staff believes that the quality of care for patients is reflected in the quality of care for staff by the leadership (Burke, Summers, Thompson, 2001). Given how direct-care staf f feel about their ability to affect patient care and their need to feel supported by the leadership, sitting down with them and having conversations about how best to build the team is essential (Kostiwa Meeks, 2009). Leadership SMART Goal I will examine the high turnover rate of direct-care staff in this long term care facility and meetings will take place with the direct-care staff and the management to begin building a strong team by engaging the direct-care staff in conversations regarding job satisfaction, reviewing peer-reviewed articles and credible websites, and to obtain information regarding job satisfaction from the direct-care staff through the use of employee surveys administered during the first meeting. SMART Goal Format Specifically, all direct-care staff, consisting of Certified Nursing Assistants and Medication Assistants, will sit down with management on a monthly basis to have team building discussions. The goal is to retain the direct-care staff by improving job satisfaction through providing access to authority, information, and teamwork (Boudrias, Gaudreau, Laschinger, 2004), and therefore allowing the direct-care staff to have involvement in decision-making (Kostiwa Meeks, 2009). These meetings will be scheduled during the first week of every month in the facility’s classroom and will occur at different times during the week to accommodate the direct-care staff from all of the shifts. The effects of these meetings, improvement in job satisfaction (Kostiwa Meeks, 2009) and the retention of direct-care staff (Rosen, Stiehl, Mittal, Leana, 2011) will be measured by selecting five direct-care staff members from each of the three shifts and having them participate in a series of surveys (Kostiwa Meeks, 2009). The employees selected to participate in the surveys must have completed the probationary period of employment. The first survey that will be administered is a psychological empowerment survey which consists of four categories, meaning, impact, competence, and self-determination (Spreitzer, 1995). Each category contains three questions and when all of the responses from each category are combined, an overall empowerment score is obtained (Spreitzer, 1995). Each item is rated on a seven point scale and higher scores represent opinions of increased empowerment (Spreitzer, 1995). The second survey that will be administered to the direct-care staff is the Organizat ional Cultural Inventory (Cooke Rousseau, 1988). This inventory assesses what the direct-care staff believes to be the behavioral expectations of them in the facility (Cooke Rousseau, 1988). The direct-care staff’s beliefs of service quality, commitment, role clarity, and role conflict are assessed on a scale from 1-5, or â€Å"not at all† to a â€Å"very great extent† (Cooke Rousseau, 1988). High scores are indicative of stronger validation of the construct (Cooke Rousseau, 1988). The third survey that the direct-care staff will be asked to complete is a nursing assistant job satisfaction survey (Ejaz, Noelker, Menne, Bagakas, 2008), which includes 18 items that measure the employee’s satisfaction with recognition and communication time, the time allotted to complete tasks, resources available to staff, teamwork, and leadership practices (Ejaz, Noelker, Menne, Bagakas, 2008). High levels of job satisfaction are related to high scores on the survey (Ejaz, Noelker, Menne, Bagakas, 2008). This goal is attainable as consistent meetings will take place on a monthly basis with direct-care staff and those in management. The direct-care staff will have the ability to have direct input and will have access to peer-reviewed research articles and evidence-based research provided by the management of the facility. During the first meeting, the credible websites of the Center for Disease Control (CDC, 2014) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM, 2008) will be reviewed for vital information regarding staffing issues in long term care. During the second meeting, which will take place during the first week of the second month, the research article The Relation Between Psychological Empowerment, Service Quality, and Job Satisfaction Among Certified Nursing Assistants, published in the Clinical Gerontologist (Kostiwa Meeks, 2009) will be reviewed in correlation with the results of the surveys taken the previous month. The results of the surveys will be reviewed with the direct-care st aff and an initial plan of action will be drawn. The articles Some Potential Solutions to High Direct-Care Staff Turnover Rates published in the Annuals of Long-Term Care (Barondess, 2008) and Stayers, Leavers, and Switchers Among Certified Nursing Assistants in Nursing Home: A Longitudinal Investigation of Turnover Intent, Staff Retention, and Turnover published in The Gerontologist (Rosen, Stiehl, Mittal, Leana, 2011) will be discussed and made available for the staff to review at the third meeting, taking place during the first week of the third month. After the plan of action is created, it will be discussed at each monthly meeting to determine if the plan is succeeding in the goals set forth as well as any revisions that may be necessary. This goal is realistic as perceptions of empowerment and service quality have been shown to be strongly and positively related to job satisfaction (Kostiwa Meeks, 2009). Communication with management also affects job satisfaction (Scott-Cawiezell et al., 2004) as direct-care staff has consistently rated communication as the greatest weakness of their facility (Kostiwa Meeks, 2009). Suggestions made by the direct-care staff will be reviewed with management and changes will then be implemented with input and discussion from the staff as well as management. The time frame related to this goal will consist of monthly meetings with the direct-care staff and management both present. These meetings will take place during the first week of each month, with varying times to accommodate staff from all shifts. The surveys will be administered during the meeting in the first month, and then at six month intervals to measure whether or not job satisfaction rates are increasing. The program will be evaluated at the end of the first year to determine if the job satisfaction has increased and the turnover rate has decreased. Any changes to the program will be made at the end of the first year. Conclusion As the baby boomers retire and the population is expected to become much older, with 2/3rds of individuals over the age of 65 needing long term care services at least once in their lives, it is imperative that there is a sufficient workforce to care for these individuals (Harris-Kojetin, Sengupta, Park-Lee, Valerde, 2013). As the population of women aging 20 to 50 years of age, the population most likely to provide the work force of direct-care staff, is only expected to increase less than 10% over the next 20 years, it is imperative to see job satisfaction rates improve and the turnover rates decline in this workforce (Barondess, 2007). With a comprehensive plan that includes involving the direct-care staff in the decision making process, having management and the direct-care staff participate in team building conversations on a monthly basis, and utilizing credible websites and peer-reviewed journal articles to obtain valuable information, this is one problem that can have a succe ssful resolution. References Barondess, L.H. (2007). Some potential solutions to high direct-care staff turnover rates. Annuals of Long-Term Care, 15(10). Retrieved from http://www.annalsoflongtermcare.com/article/7860 Boudrias, J. S., Gaudreau, P., Laschinger, H. K. S. (2004). Testing the structure of psychological empowerment: Does gender make a difference? Educational and Psychological Measurement, 64(5), 861-877. Bowers, B. J., Esmond, S., Jacobson, N. (2000). The relationship between staffing and quality in long-term care facilities: Exploring the views of nurse aides. Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 14(4), 55-65, 73-55. Burke, G., III, Summers, J., Thompson, T. (2001). Quality in long-term care: What we can learn from certified nursing assistants. Annuals of Long-Term Care, 9(2), 29-35. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2014). Fast stats: Nursing home care. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/faststats/nursing-home-care.html Cooke, R. A., Rousseau, D. M. (1988). Behavioral norms and expectations: A quantitative approach to the assessment of organizational culture. Group Organization Studies, 13(3), 245-273. Eaton, S. C. (2000). Beyond ‘unloving care’: Linking human resource management and patient care quality in nursing homes. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 11(3), 591-616. Ejaz, F. K., Noelker, L. S., Menne, H. L., Bagakas, J. G. (2008). The impact of stress and support on direct-care workers’ job satisfaction. The Gerontologist, 48(Special Issue 1), 60-70. Finkelman, A. (2012). Leadership and management for nurses: Core competencies for quality care (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. Harris-Kojetson, L., Sengupta, M., Park-Lee, E., Valverde, R. (2013). Long-term care services in the United States: 2013 overview. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. Hayes, L.J., O’Brien-Pallas, L., Duffield, C., Shamian J., Buchan, J., Hughes, F., et al. (2006). Nurse turnover: A literature review. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 32(2), 237-263. Institute of Medicine (2003). Health professions education. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. Institute of Medicine (2008). Retooling for an aging America: Building the health care workforce. Retrieved from http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2008/Retooling-for-an-Aging-America-Building-the-Health-Care-Workforce.aspx Kane, R. L., Rockwood, T., Hyer, K., Desjardins, K., Brassard, A., Gessert C., et al. (2006). Nursing home staff’s perceived ability to influence quality of life. Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 21(3), 248-255. Kostiwa, I.M., Meeks, S., (2009). The relation between psychological empowerment, service quality, and job satisfaction among certified nursing assistants. Clinical Gerontologist, 32, 276-292. doi:10.1080/07317110902895309 Rosen, J., Mittal, E.M., Leana, C.R. (2011). Stayers, leavers, and switchers among certified nursing assistants in nursing home: A longitudinal investigation of turnover intent, staff retention, and turnover. The Gerontologist, 51(5), 597-609. Scott-Cawiezell, J., Schenkman, M., Moore, L. Vojir, C., Connoly, R. P., Pratt, M., et al. (2004). Exploring nursing home staff’s perceptions of communication and leadership to facilitate quality improvement. Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 19(3), 242-252. Spreitzer, G. M. (1995). Psychological empowerment in the workplace: Dimensions, measurement and validation. Academy of Management Journal, 38(5), 1442. Stone, R. I., Wiener, J. M. (2001). Who will care for us? Addressing the long-term care workforce crisis. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.

Jim Morrison; From Boy To Legend Essay example -- essays research pape

Jim Morrison; From Boy to Legend "hope is just a word when you think in Table Cloths Laughter will not end her funny feeling or assuage our strange desire Children will be born" Jim Morrison Jim Morrison is often thought of as a drunk musician. He is also portrayed to many as an addict and another 'doped up' rock star. These negative opinions project a large shadow on the many positive aspects of this great poet. Jim's music was influenced heavily by many famous authors. You must cast aside your ignorance and look behind the loud electric haze of the sixties music. You must wipe your eyes and look through the psychedelic world of LSD. Standing behind these minor flaws, you will see a young and very intellectual poet named Jim Morrison. Jim Morrison's distraught childhood was a contributing factor to Jim's fortune and his fate. As a young child, Jim experienced the many pains of living in a military family. Having to move every so often, Jim and his brother, and sister never spent more than a couple of years at a particular school. Jim attended eight different schools, grammar and high, throughout his schooling career. This amount of traveling made it hard for a young child to make many friends. In high school, Jim had an especially hard time. The only real friend he made was a tall but overweight classmate with a sleepy voice named Fud Ford. Although there seems to be many negative aspects of Jim's child hood, many positive did arise. The traveling done by the Morrison family brought Jim through may different experiences and situations. For instance, while driving on a highway from Santa Fe with his family, he said he experienced the most important moment of his life. The Morrisons came upon an overturned truck of dying Pueblo Indians. This moment influenced Jim and later beca... ...e. His notebooks and intellect are now the basis of the Doors and the fortelling of his death. All of the past are now part of the present and the songs all come from the same root. Jim's adoption of Aldous Huxley's, Doors of Perception, was now his number one motto. The drugs taken were only to help open these many doors in his mind. Although his mind seemed lost in the infinite drug world of the unknown, Jim Morrison was the "American Poet." His crave for knowledge was driven by his wondrous mind and only used drugs, not as an exit , but rather as an entrance. The world of Jim Morrison is not well known by many. Most see an alcoholic, others see an addict, and yet more see a deranged waste of a person. But for those who take the time to care, those who take the time to learn and understand will find out that behind the "American Poet," was a young genius. "This is the end, beautiful friend, This is the end, my only friend, the end, of our elaborate plans, the end, no safety or surprise, I'll never look into your eyes again... Jim Morrison

Capital Punishment: Is It Right or Wrong? :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

Capital Punishment is a controversial topic discussed in today's society. Capital punishment is often not as harsh in other countries as we may call harsh in our country. There is a heated debate on whether states should be able to kill other humans or not. But if we shall consider that other countries often have more deadly death penalties than we do. People that are in favor of the death penalty say that it saves money by not paying for housing in a maximum prison but what about our smaller countries that abide by the rule of the capital punishment. If one were to look at the issues behind capital punishment in an anthropological prospective than one would see that in some cases no one would assume that capital punishment here in the U.S. is bad. Now those opposed say that it is against the constitution, and is cruel and unusual punishment for humans to be put to his or her death. I believe that the death penalty is against the constitution and is cruel and unusual punishment. The death penalty is cruel because you cannot punish anyone worse than by killing them. It is an unusual punishment because it does not happen very often and it should not happen at all. Therefore, I think that capital punishment should be abolished, everywhere.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I understand that capital punishment is the death penalty, and has been legal in most states for many years and has been legal around the world but its still wrong. Most countries will use capital punishment without justifying the cause. Even though here in the U.S. you can have a trial but other places are bad. Everyone can form there own opinions but just because a kid steals from a store isn’t right but in Iraq but the kid would eventually go to jail and get the capital punishment. America's laws are based on the Constitution. They are considered to be justifiable and what should be right; and are supposed to be the foreground for future laws. It is unconstitutional, though, for an American to be sentenced to his or her death. The eighth amendment states that "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted" (US Constitution). It would be against the Constitution for an American to be put to death because it can be considered cruel and unusual punishment.

An Analysis of Araby in James Joyces Dubliners :: Joyce Dubliners Araby Essays

An Analysis of Araby      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are many statements in the story "Araby" that are both surprising and puzzling.   The statement that perhaps gives us the most insight into the narrator's thoughts and feelings is found at the end of the story.   "Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger. (32)"   By breaking this statement into small pieces and key words, we can see it as a summation of the story's major themes.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   At this point in the story, many emotions are swirling about in the narrator's head.   His trip to the bazaar has been largely unsuccessful.   He was late arriving, was unable to find a gift for Mangan's sister, felt scorned by the merchants, and suddenly found himself in a dark room.   These surroundings left him feeling both derided, and with a sense that this eagerly anticipated trip had been in vain.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Many other situations caused him to feel driven and derided by vanity.   His reflections of the "charitable" life of the priest who occupied the narrator's house before the narrator make us wonder if the priest led a life of vanity.   His early obsession with Mangan's sister now seems in vain.   "I had never spoken to her ... and yet her name was like a summons to my foolish blood. (4)"   He feels ashamed and ridiculed by his earlier inability to communicate with Mangan's sister.   He sees how distracted he was by his anticipation of the bazaar.   He recalls that he " had hardly any patience with the serious work of life. (12)"   The narrator is embarrassed by the time he had wasted, and the ease with which he became distracted.   The near total worthlessness of the bazaar at the time the narrator arrives is an extreme example of vanity.   Not only does the narrator feel ridiculed by the vanity involved in this situation, he also feels driven by it.   The simple conversation he carries on with Mangan's sister regarding the bazaar drives him to direct all his thoughts toward the glory that will be the bazaar.   A sort of irony can be found in the fact that something that he devoted all his "waking and sleeping thoughts"

Shared Service Costing

Helps In Identifying correct adoption of costing method which facilitates a transparent cost chargeable to Business Units (recipient of shared services) with granular Insight of the cost constituents. Introduction: In today's highly cost conscious environment, enterprise wide cost savings can be achieved by consolidating common work and infrastructure by using Shared Services units.But Business units often complain that Shared Services end up costing more than they targeted to save and also have the below questions:- â€Å"What are my Shared services costs made up off? † â€Å"Shared services costs are too high and affecting my product profitability' Shared services are unable to answer these questions due to lack of cost transparency in their cost models.Typical reasons for lack of cost transparency in shared services cost models are:- using complex costing methodology which makes measurement, chargeable and report to Business units difficult Lack of standardization of alloc ation logic Inability to completely automate the cross charging process Shared Service oodles † Our Shared services models enable cost transparency for multi-functional and reciprocal services rendered by Shared Services units.Cost transparency in context of Shared Services is to show the Business Services it consumes Cost of delivering these services Breaking the cost down to activities and resources involved in producing these services Allocation logic for cross charging On demand â€Å"what – with respect to demonstrate how costs change due to change In demand for services ,resource drivers and allocation logic Various automated cross charging models which reflect reciprocal services among Shared Services and eventually charge out to the Business are as follows:- Reciprocal costing model This costing model makes one time assignment of cost between Shared Services and eventually charges out Business for the Shared Services cost. This method Is easy to understand, fai rly accurate and facilitates In tracing cost to the origin. It also differentiates the rate at which Shared service unit Is charged with that charged to Business. Recursive costing model Services and Business. This method is accurate and reflects simultaneous charging at the same rate to Shared service and Business.Business benefits of the models: – (Positive Business Outcomes) Substantial reduction in lead time of calculating cross charging rates by eliminating manual and Increase in frequency of variance reporting which leads to repetitive interventions improved control of costs Detailed breakdown of cost of each service by the activities ensured and resources utilized Facilitates root cause analysis by tracing costs to origin for each service provided by Shared Services Availability of accurate and timely actionable cost data to analyze performance of Shared Services units and impact of its cost on Business Business benefits delivered.

Drug Testing and Ethics Essay

Is drug testing an unwarranted invasion of employee privacy? Which is more important–getting drugs out of the workplace or protecting the privacy of the employee? What about other health-threatening activities, i. e. smoking outside of working hours, unprotected sex, etc. Should employers be able to question or test employees or potential employees about these activities? Both of these scenarios are tricky ones. On the one hand, any employer would want to get drugs out of the workplace. On the other hand you don’t want to invade an employee’s privacy. At the same time some jobs may require employees to conform to a certain standard of behavior both on and off the job, but how much is too much? How much should be employees be judged and how high of a standard should be set. Where do we draw the line? Shaw and Barry in their text Moral Issues in Business state â€Å"A firm has a legitimate interest in employee conduct off the job only if it affects work performance† (Shaw & Barry 2010, p477). It can be argued that as long as the drug use doesn’t affect the employee’s work performance, then he shouldn’t be tested. If he is tested and the result is positive, but work performance is satisfactory, then drug use should not be considered as grounds for termination. Perhaps a better way to state this could be that as long as employee performance meets or exceeds the expected standards, then drug testing should not be used even if drug use is suspected. Egoism can be used to argue from both points of view. According to this theory, â€Å"an act is morally right if and only if it best promotes an agent’s interests† (Shaw & Barry, 2010 p59). Following this theory, if the employer drug tests several employees and fires all who test positive, then they are acting in their best interests. On the other hand, if the employee’s best interests are served through their drug usage, then the employee has acted in the best moral way that he can. Using this theory does however raise some interesting questions. If the best possible person for a specific job is fired as a result of a drug test result, and the company’s performance in that specific department falls as a result of this, then was the action a morally right one? From a personal point of view, I believe that drug testing should be used only if the job requirements demand it. I don’t see any need for the person who picks up my garbage to be tested. I do however see a need for the school crossing guard at my children’s school to be tested. The person who shovels the snow from my driveway in the winter and mows my lawn in the spring and summer doesn’t need to be drug tested. My doctor should be. Several years ago my husband and I had a spat over my decision to hire the town drunk to do some lawn work and prune some tree branches off our roof. In all fairness I had no idea that he was the town drunk when I hired him, I was out in our backyard picking up fallen branches and he walked by at that moment. He asked if I had any odd jobs to be done and since he came across as clean and presentable and lucid I hired him on the spot. It wasn’t until three weeks later when my husband came home early and saw Bruce (the town drunk) at the top of a 50 foot tree sawing branches off that he realized who his new handyman was. Since he was usually the one on call at night whenever Bruce had one of his â€Å"benders† and had had cleaned him up several times, he now knew where Bruce was getting his drinking money from. My husband came home and told me he’d fired him. I rehired Bruce a day later. My reasoning was that he’d never shown up drunk, he did a great job on any task I set for him and his fee was reasonable. It was within my best interests to keep Bruce employed therefore I was acting as an egoist. It was within Bruce’s best interests to remain employed since it gave him the money to support his habit. He was acting as an egoist. We were both also following the theory of Libertarianism under which each person is free to live as he or she wishes â€Å"free from the interference of others† (Shaw & Barry, 2010 p122). My husband in his decision to fire Bruce was also acting partially from an egoist point of view since an unemployed Bruce meant a sober Bruce which meant no trips to the ER which meant that my husband wouldn’t have to deal with a cursing, screaming, bloody drunk Bruce. At the same time he was also acting from Kant’s theory which states that â€Å"Only when we act from a sense of duty does our action have moral worth† (Shaw & Barry, 2010 p69). My husband felt that it was his duty as a member of the medical profession, not to enable a habit that could possibly cause harm to an individual. A high incidence of false positive results in drug testing is another reason for the argument that drug testing should not be used. In researching this paper I was surprised to learn how many over the counter drugs can produce false positive results. According to an article on The National Center for Biotechnology Information website entitled â€Å"Commonly prescribed medications and potential false positive urine drug screens† published Aug 15th 2010, â€Å"A number of routinely prescribed medications have been associated with triggering false-positive UDS results. Verification of the test results with a different screening test or additional analytical tests should be performed to avoid adverse consequences for the patients. † Some of the more common drugs that could produce false positive results were nonprescription nasal inhalers such as Vicks, antihistamines, antidepressants, and antibiotics such as Amoxicillin which has been associated with false positive urine screens for cocaine. Employers should not be able to question or test employees about other behaviors that they might consider health threatening. This is a rather grey area and raises the questions of where to draw the line. For example if a company which is trying to reduce health insurance costs, decides to eliminate all smokers from their payroll since it costs more to insure smokers, shouldn’t they then eliminate overweight employees who are more likely to develop health problems than fit ones? What about employees with pre-existing conditions such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure or kidney problems? Shouldn’t they be eliminated as well? Should employers be allowed to use polygraph tests to â€Å"screen† out potentially costly employees who may engage in illegal drug use or any of these activities? The polygraph test, or as it is more commonly known, the lie detector test measures several physiological with in the human body such as increased blood pressure, increased pulse and respiration. However in spite of what most people believe it is not the most reliable test. Shaw and Barry in their text Moral Issues in Business list three assumptions made by those who advocate for the use of these tests. These assumptions are *  1.  Lying will automatically trigger a distinctive response to the question. * 2. Polygraphs are very accurate. * 3. Polygraphs cannot be beaten. (Shaw & Barry, 2010 p480). Unfortunately for these advocates while the polygraph test measures bodily responses to questions it cannot indicate whether or not the response is actually a lie. A person who has a history of being abused may register different reactions to questions along that subject area and all that these reactions may indicate is discomfort to the question not necessarily that the response to the question itself is a lie. Opinions vary as to just how accurate the tests are with the percentages ranging from 90% to as low as 55%, the higher percentages coming not surprisingly from the American Polygraph Association. Finally polygraph tests can be beaten and even generate false positives. Spies John Walker and Aldrich Ames both passed polygraph tests as did Gary Ridgeway the â€Å"Green Killer†. Ames actually passed two different polygraph tests. Since these tests are costly, using them as a screening method for either new hires or present employees may not be the best solution and should be considered on a case by case basis. Other methods should be used before resorting to polygraphs testing such as drug testing which may indicate previous drug use (although as has been mentioned earlier some false positive results may occur) or even background tests which may turn up questionable incidents. If during the course of these two checks questions are raised about the employee or new hire, then the employer could resort to the use of a polygraph. It could be argued that utilizing either or both of these two other methods is even more costly to the employers but I would say that any employer who needs to use a polygraph test to weed out potentially costly employees could afford to administer the extra tests to be absolutely sure. Fortunately for most employees, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988 which protects the rights of employees and outlines the usage and restrictions of lie detector tests states: â€Å"The EPPA prohibits most private employers from using lie detector tests, either for preemployment screening or during the course of employment. Employers generally may not require or request any employee or job applicant to take a lie detector test, or discharge, discipline, or discriminate against an employee or job applicant for refusing to take a test or for exercising other rights under the Act†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ It then goes on to outline just which employers are permitted to utilize lie detector tests †¦ â€Å"Subject to restrictions, the Act permits polygraph (a type of lie detector) tests to be administered to certain job applicants of security service firms (armored car, alarm, and guard) and of pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors, and dispensers. Subject to restrictions, the Act also permits polygraph testing of certain employees of private firms who are reasonably suspected of involvement in a workplace incident (theft, embezzlement, etc. ) that resulted in specific economic loss or injury to the employer. † (United States Department of Labor website) My argument to using a polygraph test therefore would be that assuming that the employer fell into one of these categories then yes they should be permitted to utilize lie detector tests but only as a last resort. I submit this argument using the rule utilitarianism theory. This is not to be confused with act utilitarianism. Under act utilitarianism, â€Å"we ask must ask ourselves what the consequences of a particular act in a particular situation will be for all those affected. If its consequences bring more total good than those of any alternative course of action, then this action is the right one† (Shaw & Barry, 2010 p63) The action that produces the greatest amount of happiness is the right one. Rule utilitarianism asks â€Å"what moral code †¦ a society should adopt to maximize happiness. The principles that make up that code would then be the basis for distinguishing right actions from wrong actions† (Shaw & Barry, 2010 p80-81). Under act utilitarianism, if 20 employees were polygraphed and 15 of them failed the test and were fired as a result, then the action would not be a moral one since more people would be left unhappy rather than happy. Using those same figures, if the rule or moral code that needed to be followed was that of a no drug policy, and the same 20 employees were polygraphed and again 15 failed and were fired, then the action would be a morally right one since firing the 15 employees made sure that the moral code was enforced. References http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20689123 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygraph_test http://www.dol.gov/compliance/guide/eppa.htm#who

Purple Short Crabs

Purple Shore Crabs, Hemigrapsus nudus, are small crabs that are similar in structure to true crabs. They have carapaces that are commonly found to be 4-5. 6 cm. A distinguishing characteristic of the Purple Shore Crabs is their lack of setae. They are usually found to be dark purple, olive green or red with white or cream marks, on their carapace. Their legs match the color of their carapace but have white tipped claws. Though Purple Shore Crabs are capable of living out of water for several hours, they require moisture to survive.These crabs respire with a gill system in which they take in oxygen-rich water orally, obtaining oxygen by diffusion then expelling the excess water and carbon dioxide through their gills. They are commonly found under rocks anywhere from low-tide to mid-tide zones as well as reefs as far down as 10 metres. Purple Shore Crabs prefer an environment in which the shores are medium-energy to high-energy. When their shelters are disturbed, they tend to race towa rds shelters such as other rocks, ledges, holes and crevices.Purple Shore Crabs are scavangers with dietary preferences that include worms, dead organisms, molluscs, small gastropods, small crabs, algae, carrion and seaweed. The purpose of our investigation is to determine whether there is a relationship between the relative distance to the shore and the population density of Purple Shore Crabs. To determine this, 3 transects were placed perpendicular to the shoreline of Eagle Bay, Bamfield.A random number generator was used to determine 5 completely unbiased numbers. These numbers were used to establish the distance of which the quadrats were placed. For each number, 1 quadrat was placed by the top left corner of each of the 3 transects. To calculate the population density of Purple Shore Crabs, the number of Purple Shore Crabs within each quadrat was counted and recorded. To avoid re-counting of an individual crab, crabs were counted after being collected in a bucket.

A Comparative Analysis of Community-Based Tourism in Uganda and Kenya

1. Introduction As pointed out by Tasciet al (2013), the contribution made by tourism to the growth of the economy can be enormous. Given the great potential of the tourism sector, several models have been developed over the past few years. Community-based tourism, developed in the 1990’s by authors including Pearce (1992) has been suggested to provide for sustainability in the industry (Beeton 2006). Community-based tourism (CBT) can be defined as a bottom-up approach that ensures the involvement of the local communities in the planning process (Koster 2007). Given the potential of CBT, many rural areas are increasingly relying on tourism as an alternative to economic development, replacing their former reliance on forestry, mining and agriculture (Lopez-Guzman et al. 2011). Rural areas are considered important tourist destinations as they appeal to many tourists (Butler et al. 1998). This paper conducts a comparative analysis of community based tourism between Uganda and Kenya. The paper wi ll first define the concept and then explore the demographics and history of tourism in Kenya and Uganda, and finally examine the socio-economic and environmental impacts. A comparative analysis will be done between the two countries by highlighting similarities and differences. 3. Community-Based Tourism Model: Overview The notion of CBT can be traced back to the alternative approaches developed in the 1970s which were concerned with issues beyond the strictly economic (Tefler 2009). During this period, development in the tourism sector began to focus more on community-based initiatives and stressed more on the participation of the local individuals (Giampiccoli & Kalis 2012). The concept brought together issues of sustainability, local empowerment and self-reliance. CBT has come about due to the desire for a more inclusive approach to planning that incorporates local values (Koster 2007). The concept of CBT has suffered from competing and ill-thought-out definitions. For example, Suansri (2003) and Ramsa & Mohd (2004) view CBT as a tourism venture wholly managed by the local communities. On the other hand, Scheyvens (2002) and Mearns (2003) are inclined to see it as involving a degree of participation or partnership with other stakeholders playing a part. Perhaps the problem with defining the concept can be attributed to the fact that CBT may mean different things to different people. Despite debate over meanings, the CBT framework used in this paper is that initiated, planned, controlled, owned and managed by the local people with the aim of meeting the needs of the entire community. Private enterprises at the micro-level can be considered as part of the definition if the focus is on communal well-being rather than individual profit. The benefits should accrue to the local community and CBT should respect and preserve local culture. 2. Background to Tourism in Kenya and Uganda: Demographics, History, Socio-Economic Considerations andEnvironmental SustainabilityTourism plays an important role in Kenya, accounting for 10% of GDP and 9% of employment. It is also increasingly profitable with a 17.9% rise in earnings from the sector between 2009 and 2010 (Ndivo et al 2012). Amongst African countries, Kenya is currently ranked 5th for international tourist visits, with approximately 1.5 million international tourists in 2008 (Bunyere et al. 2009). Because it has the potential to generate employment and prosperity, it has been given an increasingly important role in national socio-economic agendas, with a number of key policies and strategies created including the National Tourism Master Plan (Ministry of Tourism Kenya 2009), Tourism Policy (Government of Kenya 2010) and Tourism Bill 2005 (Ndivo et al 2012). Although there is potential to develop tourism around the country, historically interest has centred on the beac hes of the south coast, national parks and game reserves (Ndivo et al 2012). According to a survey conducted by the EU, 63% of EU visitors in Kenya chose coastal areas as their tourist destination (Kibicho 2004). Wildlife is also a popular attraction, with70% of the tourism earnings in Kenya coming from wildlife-based tourism (Bunyere et al, 2009). Given the critical importance of the tourism sector in Kenya, it is extremely vital to protect and conserve these significant resources. Indeed, conservation policies and collaborative schemes have been already been put in place. There is a large area of protected land, and 10% of Kenya’s land has been designated as national park and game reserve land (Akama et al., 2011). Critical biodiversity areas and the rich cultural coastal region form the flourishing tourism sector in Kenya. Although measures to protect Kenya’s ecology have been put in place, there are concerns over sustainability, and the country continues to experie nce accelerated decline and destruction of critical biodiversity areas. There has been a decline in wildlife population in national parks and game reserves at rates similar to non-protected areas, indicating the state’s inability to protect critical biodiversity (Akama et al., 2011). Moreover, coastal tourism which has for decades dominated has experienced a rapid decline in the recent years owing to the tribal clashes that have erupted (Cheung 2012). Kenya’s coastal tourism industry experienced a period of unprecedented dismal performance with 56% of the hotels closing in 2008 (Akama et al., 2011). Although much of the violence that occurred was tribal in nature, findings indicate that lack of community participation and involvement in tourism activities in the coast was a major factor contributing to these ethnic clashes. Had the local communities been involved in the tourism activities, such ethnic flare-ups would have been averted. The ethnic flare-ups, land use co nflict between local communities and wildlife managers, threats of extinction of species and the apparent inability of the state to protect critical biodiversity areas have led to a new realization of the importance of community based tourism in Kenya (Korir et al 2013). Considerable effort has now been made to provide support to CBT enterprises including donor funding. Further, a framework that gives impetus to successful and sustainable operations of CBT ventures has been linked into the overall national policy (Akama et al. 2011). History of Ugandan tourism sector and socio-economic contributions Tourism also has a role to play in the Ugandan economy. Similar to Kenya, main tourist products in Uganda are nature-based and are linked to wildlife game reserves, forest reserves and national parks. Other attractions include cultural heritage, community development, eco-tourism and faith-based tourism (Paul, 2004). The importance of involving the local communities in tourism activities is also evident in Uganda. Conflicts between the locals and the government have largely been due to their lack of involvement in planning and development activities. For example, after the establishment of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in 1992, conflicts arose between the locals and the park. The conflicts that led to the burning up of 5% of the park by the local community was evidence enough that the park would not be protected without consent and local support (Mujuni et al. 2003). A collaborative management plan was however set up which promoted participation of the locals in park management and revenue sharing. As a result, conflict ended and the locals committed themselves to protecting and preserving the park. The experience showed the importance of local community involvement in tourism activities. Uganda used to be a key leader in tourism in the past. In the early, 1960s Uganda used to be the main tourism destination in East Africa(Frederic, 2011). However, the unpreced ented turmoil of the 1970’s and early 80’s led to a decline in the tourism industry (Paul, 2004). As a result, Uganda lost its position as a top tourist destination in East Africa to Kenya. However, the government that took over in the mid 80’s restored peace and stability (frederic, 2011). Since then, the sector has been steadily increasing despite lagging behind Kenya in terms of its contribution to GDP. Unlike in Kenya where tourism contributes around 10% of the GDP, Ugandan tourism industry is estimated to contribute 4% of the total GDP(Sanchez-Canizares, 2013). Nonetheless, there has been an increasing trend in tourism with the number of international tourist visits increasing from 468,000 in 2005 to over 940,000 in 2010 (Paul, 2004). Given that both countries are still developing, it is worthwhile to examine some of the similarities and differences between the two countries. Comparative analysis of community based tourism between Kenya and Uganda Similarit ies Socio-economic impact The two countries share certain things in common starting with the embracement and recognition of community based tourism as an important tool for reducing poverty. Both countries have embraced and given emphasis to development of community based tourism as an important tool for poverty reduction (Sanchez-Canizares, 2013). There are several community based tourism projects in both Kenya and Uganda. Some of the popular community based tourism projects in Kenya are: the Kimana Community Wildlife Sanctuary, Mwaluganje, Sera Conservancy and Kalacha Bandas in Marsabit among many other(Tang, 2013) Similarly, Ugandan ministry of tourism has laid emphasis on the importance of community based tourism in the country. The idea of community based conservation has become the focus of the industry. Perhaps this has been driven by the recognition of the benefits of involving the local community in tourism development including: poverty reduction, decline in conflicts with the ministry over land use d and reduced poaching activities (frederic, 2011) Some of the successful community based projects in Uganda include Lake Nkuruba Nature Sanctuary, Buhoma Community Restcamp, Mgahinga Community Campground, Busingiro and Kaniyo Pabidi community project, Ruboni Community Campground and Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary(Zeppel, 2006). Participation of the locals in these projects is high. For example, in Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary, the local people are involved in community-guided walks and bird watching tours (Zeppel 2006). Both countries seem to be embracing community tourism as an important tool for reducing poverty. Another similarity can be seen with the funding of these projects. Most of these projects are donor funded. Kenya is heavily reliant on donor funding. In fact, almost 100% of community based tourism development activities in Kenya is donor funded. For example, funds from USAID and World Bank were used to set up an electric fence around the Kimana Community Wildlife Sanctuary (Jona than et al. 2013). Mwaluganje, another community based tourism development activity, was established through donor funding. Sera Conservancy that was formed to empower the local Samburu communities in Kenya was established with funds from USAID. The EU has also played a major role in funding community based tourism development in Kenya. In 2000, a massive grant of 5.5 million Euros was released by the EU which saw the establishment of 16 community based tourism developments in Kenya (Ruhiu 2007). Other key players funding CBT in Kenya include international bodies such as the UNDP, conservation based NGOs such as AWF, Pact Kenya and WWF; and national agencies such as Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and Kenya Forest Research Institute (KEFRI) (Jonathan et al. 2013). It is clear that donor funding has played a major role in the development of community based tourism in Kenya. The government’s role has merely been the provision of an enabling environment such as security, programme coordination and policy formulation (Ruhiu 2007). Similarly, Community Based Tourism Enterprises (CBTE’s) in Uganda rely predominantly on donor funding. The Mgahinga Bwindi community project was established with funds from the World BANK (Mujuni et al. 2003). Moreover, the two major associations Uganda Community Tourism Association (UCOTA) and (NACOBTA) in charge of promoting community based tourism in Uganda by providing loans and training to the local communities are predominantly donor funded. NACOBTA is 99% donor funded whereas UCOTA is 44.8% donor funded (Elisa et al., 2001) UCOTA empowers the local Ugandan communities to improve their livelihood through participating in sustainable tourism development activities. The association helps the local communities by aiding in the sale of handcrafts, providing accommodation, and tour guiding. Furthermore, both countries have witnessed improved livelihoods due to community based tourism activities. For example, the Mgahinga Bwindi Community Project in Uganda has improved the livelihoods of the locals living around Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Many of the local population living nearby have been employed as park rangers and ‘porters’ (labourers). The community has also benefited through improved infrastructure including roads, education and health facilities. About 60% of the Mgahinga Bwindi Impenetrable Forest Conservation Trust has been devoted towards development of local community projects (Adams & Infield 2013). The local communities in Kenya have also benefited from employment and improved livelihoods. The locals living near Mwaluganje, Sera Conservancy and Kalacha Bandas in Marsabit have benefited from schools, clinics and boreholes which have been built by these projects (Ruhiu 2007). Further, pro-poor tourism have assisted women with bead making through provision of platform for selling their products. Whilst these benefits are encouraging, participation of the locals in both countries is still far from enough. Although some of the locals have managed to secure jobs and improve their livelihoods, most of them are paid low salaries, an equivalent of 30 pounds per month (Ruhiu 2007). This certainly doesn’t really improve their livelihood that much. In fact, critics have argued that community based tourism and tourism in general should not necessarily be relied on as a tool for poverty alleviation. According to them, tourism does not compete well with sectors such as agriculture whic h have higher potential of reducing poverty. Environment impact Also, community based tourism in both countries have led to positive impacts on the environment. For example, in Uganda, KAFRED has created awareness among the local communities bordering wetlands about the importance of protecting and preserving the environment (Adams & Infield 2013). This has led to a reduction in encroachment and eucalyptus planting in the wetlands. Further programs such as the National Wetlands Program and Semliki conservation project which have risen from CBT activities have established village by-laws governing the use of wetlands (Adams & Infield 2013). Environmental education has played a role in ensuring sustainability of tourism. Similarly, in Kenya, involvement of the local people in tourism activities has led to reduction in wildlife poaching and destruction of forests. Community wildlife and conservation ventures in Kenya have played a major role towards protecting the environment and preserving wildlife (Jonathan et al. 2013). Environment degradation ha s reduced and conservation measures strengthened with the help of the locals who are employed as park ranges and ‘porters’. Community based tourism and eco-tourism have led the way towards responsible travel with important environmental benefits. Differences Having highlighted the similarities, it is important to identify some of the differences in community based tourism between the two countries. One particular difference relates to the extent to which community based tourism is promoted. CBT in Uganda is only limited to areas within or along the forest reserves and national parks. Almost all of the community projects are within or along the forest reserves and national parks. For example, the Buhoma Community Restcamp is within the impenetrable Bwindi Forest national park. The Mgahinga Community Campground project lies next to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park (Zeppel 2006). Others including the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary, Busingiro and Kaniyo community project and the Ruboni community campground are located along or near national parks and forest reserves (Zeppel 2006). Community based tourism activities in Uganda continue to be limited to areas lying within or along the national parks and forest reserves. This has been echoed by Industry operators who have highlighted ‘limited efforts to promoting community tourism at the national level’ as one of the main concern of tourism development in Uganda. In stark contrast, community based tourism is promoted at the national level as evident with the opening up of new areas of possibility such as sports tourism, eco tourism, adventure safaris, horse and camel safaris, walk tours, and cultural tourism among many others (Cobb 2006). Further, programs such as the Enterprise Development Program have been implemented across the country to build the local capacity and integrate communities into tourism development activities. Such programs ensure the mobilization of the community through seminars, debates, regional workshops and participatory trainings (Ruhiu 2007). Further the local communities are provided advisory services on product development and market access which helps strengthen growth of their enterprises (Cobb 2006). This has been driven by the realization of the potential of community based tourism to reduce poverty, and multiplier effects of the tourism sector as a whole in driving the economy. Perhaps another difference that can be pointed between CBT in Kenya and Uganda relates to the coastal attraction. While community based ecotourism ventures along the coastal region form the flourishing tourism sector in Kenya, Uganda being a landlocked country does not have any coastal attractions (Mulinda & Wilbert 2009). Coastal attraction features provides Kenya with an edge over Uganda(Wilbert, 2009). Beaches, sun-basking, the aquatic life at the coast and rich culture that includes performances, dances and the contemporary ways of living of the coastal people make it a popular tourist destination. Another difference is related to the marketing and promotion of CBT activities. Unlike Uganda, Kenya has invested more in marketing and promotion of tourism activities. For example, last year, Kenya budgeted $34 million dollars for tourism promotion and marketing. This is in stark contrast with Uganda’s budget of only $90,000 (UIA 2014). While this may be seen as impacting on development in the overall sector , community based enterprises are also affected in terms of the number of visits and revenues generated from sale of products. Uganda’s funding of the sector remains very low despite the potential of becoming a multi-billion sector. The slow pace of tourism in Uganda can be attributed to the lack of identity at the international level. While Kenya has promoted their visibility at the international level, Uganda is still lagging behind in terms of investing fully in promotion of tourism. While CBT in Kenya has grown much faster than Uganda, it has not developed as expected owing to many factors including in adequate funds for marketing and promoting tourism, transparency and governance issues, lack of marketing skills and absence of a system for ensuring equitable sharing of the opportunities and benefits accruing from tourism activities. For example, while Kenya’s budget for promotion of tourism may be $34 million, the Kenya Tourism Board receives only $6 million. Further, funding remains a major problem in both Kenya and Uganda. Given that these countries are still developing, there are very limited financial resources for supporting CBTEs. Even when these finances are incorporated in government budgets, they are often inadequate to support CBT developments (Ruhiu, 2007). As a result, community based tourism has often relied on foreign investment which may lead to the rise of neo-colonial structures discussed above as foreign investors seek control of tourism resources. Whereas Kenya may be ahead of Uganda in terms of pro-tourism development, it is still far from being developed as it is still prone to failures resulting from limited funding, poor infrastructure development, lack of formal education, political influences and inadequate representation of the locals. CBT in Kenya still remains very low with lack of local representation in the workforce. While the industry may boast of over 500,000 jobs, the employment opportunities remain inequitably distributed (Cheung 2012). Most of the local communities are missing out on employment opportunities as these are being taken over by the outside workforce. According to a survey conducted by Bruyere et al. (2009), 64% of the local community members found the employment opportunities to be insufficient. Kenya’s community based approach to tourism development is still largely skewed to the interest of tourism (hotels, hospitality and service) with limited representation of the locals. There are also political considerations to take into account. For example, a neo-colonial structure has emerged within the industry as some foreign investors seek control of tourism resources. (Cheung 2012). This has resulted in social and political disempowerment of the locals as neo-colonial structures have made it increasingly difficult for them to participate in the planning and decision making process. Although there exist more opportunities for local entrepreneurs to invest in the industry compared to Uganda especially given the ongoing development agenda that encourages of the growth SMEs, a divide of power continues to disengage and disempower the local communities. The majority of Kenyans continue to live below the poverty line with the highest incidence of poverty occurring in tourist destination areas. 5. Conclusion The above has looked at the notion of CBT with particular reference to the situation in Kenya and Uganda. From the analysis, both countries seem to share certain commonalities and differences as well. For example, community based tourism is embraced in both countries and recognized as an important tool for reducing poverty. Also, both countries are heavily reliant on donor funding. Moreover, the locals in both countries have experienced improvement in their livelihoods through employment opportunities, and access to school and health facilities. Further, Pro-poor tourism has assisted women with bead making through provision of platform for selling products. Both countries have also seen improvement in their environments which has resulted due to community development projects and conservation ventures. In Uganda, programs such as the National Wetlands Program and Semliki conservation project have established village by-laws governing the use of wetlands. Community wildlife and conser vation ventures in Kenya have played a major role towards protecting the environment and preserving wildlife. There are also sharp differences in CBT developments in both countries. For example, community based tourism activities in Uganda are limited to areas lying within or along the national parks and forest reserves. In stark contrast, community based tourism in Kenya is promoted at the national level as evident with the opening up of new areas of possibility such as sports tourism, eco tourism, adventure safaris, horse and camel safaris, walk tours, and cultural tourism. Another difference is that Uganda being a landlocked country does not have coastal attractions. On the other hand, beaches, sun-basking, the aquatic life at the Kenyan coast and rich culture that includes performances, dances and the contemporary ways of living of the coastal people make it a popular tourist destination. Additionally, Kenya has invested more in marketing and promotion of tourism activities comp ared to Uganda. While Kenya has promoted their visibility at the international level, Uganda is still lagging behind in terms of investing fully in promotion of tourism. While CBT in Kenya has grown much faster than Uganda, it has not developed as expected owing to many factors including in adequate funds for marketing and promoting tourism, transparency and governance issues, lack of marketing skills and absence of a system for ensuring equitable sharing of the opportunities and benefits accruing from tourism activities. Nonetheless, the future of tourism in both these two countries lies in community based tourism. The potential of CBT to reduce poverty and make the sector sustainable is enormous. Not only can CBT help in enhancing biodiversity conservation but it can also generate income and bring economic growth to the local communities. 6. References Adams, W. and Infield, M. 2013. Community conservation at mgahinga gorilla national park, uganda. Institute for Development Policy and Management, Manchester. Akama, J. and Starry, P., 2000. Cultural tourism in Africa: strategies for new millennium.Africa International Conference, Mombasa, Kenya. 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