Fast media report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Fast media report - Essay Example The media that was most difficult to avoid was the phone. This is because with the phone am able to access internet, emailing, text messaging, face book and tweeting. In addition, am able to stay in touch with my family members, friends, and colleagues in all corners of the planet with so much ease and at the same time manage projects with teams in different cities within the shortest time possible. Without the phone, I missed my old routine of constant checking my emails, Facebook, and texting with my friends and colleagues. I love the information sharing through the social media platforms and so life without it was very intriguing to me (Simon, 2010). Midway through the exercise, I was feeling isolated and lonely. I imagined that I already had received several calls that I could not answer. I felt the urge and need to check my emails and could only imagine the news and information I was missing in face book and other social media platforms. The dependency was sickening and sucking and I felt that I was on a deserted island where nobody cared about my well-being. The temptation to access the social media platforms kept occurring almost all the time during the eight hours. The eight hours seemed like a month to me and I could not wait to go back to my old routine of social networking, text messaging, emailing, and keeping in touch with all the people I interacted with (Simon, 2010). The media that I missed most was my phone. It was hard for me to go without listening to music that I have stored in my phone. Listening to music when am walking, studying or just doing some chores around the house helps in keeping my moods right. Lack of music forced me to interact with people, open up conversations with people I never used to interact with just to fix my moods. A background that is too quite makes it difficult for me to focus or concentrate on what am doing and

Friedrich Nietzsche’s Influence on Hitler Essay Example for Free

Friedrich Nietzsche’s Influence on Hitler Essay Friedrich Nietzsche had broached the idea of Ubermensch (translated as Superman) as one of the core features of his philosophy. This idea which set the stage for individualism by touching on concepts of self-surpassing and self-mastery is explicitly propounded in his most famous work, Thus Spake Zarathustra where the protagonist, Zarathustra said: I teach you the superman. Man is something that is to be surpassed. What have you done to surpass man? The Superman is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: The Superman shall be the meaning of the earth! I conjure you, my brethren, remain true to the earth, and believe not those who speak unto you of superearthly hopes! Poisoners are thy, whether they now it or not. Despisers of life are they, decaying ones and poisoned ones themselves, of whom the earth is weary: so away with them! (Nietzsche, 1999: 3) This, together with another concept introduced by Nietzsche, the will to power had triggered in Hitler a narcissistic interpretation of Nietzsches philosophy where Hitler most certainly identified himself, and served as his justification for his concept of racial superiority. Although Nietzsche may not have intended to influence Hitler towards anti-Semitism, it was in his language to which Hitlers distortion could be attributed. His use of the concepts whole-man and half-man as well as master morality and slave morality as means towards the achievement of a new order gave Hitler a ground for his Anti-Semitic ideas. Nietzsche believed that noble morality, in contrast to slave morality, contributed towards the improvement of the race. Nietzsche describes the nobles as people who see themselves as creators of civilization, saviors of the all and protectors of everyone from everything contemptible (Nietzsche, 1999). Meanwhile, the slaves are those who see the nobles as oppressive and themselves, the oppressed, being incapable of production and giving rise to their resentment towards creativity. As Hitler sees them, through their inherently oppressed status, they induce in the nobles a feeling of guilt and resentment towards their own superhuman status, hindering their own productivity and thus, serve as a bar against the realization of their full potential. To him, the salvation of humanity dwells only in the hands of the nobility and definitely not in the slaves. In Mein Kampf, Hitler writes: A human community appears well organized only if it facilitates the labors of these creative forces in the most helpful way and applies them in a manner beneficial to all†¦ In this it must proceed from the principle that the salvation of mankind has never lain in the masses, but in its creative minds, which must therefore really be regarded as benefactors of the human race (Hitler, 1971: 367). Compounded by Hitlers narcissistic interpretation, his identification with the Superman, and his anti-Semitic philosophy, it is not surprising that Hitler would identify himself with the nobles who, applying Nietzsches concept of will to power and Nietzsche’s affirmation of the existence of destroyers of the earth who must be eliminated: â€Å"Poisoners are thy, whether they now it or not. Despisers of life are they, decaying ones and poisoned ones themselves, of whom the earth is weary: so away with them! (Nietzsche, 1999: 3) must have felt the urge to cleanse the race from such impurities as the slaves who prevent the human race from reaching the zenith of civilization and whom he most likely associated with the Jews. His determination of the nobles and slaves in the real world can be best demonstrated in Mein Kampf: The most unbeautiful thing there can be in human life is and remains the yoke of slavery. Or do these schwabing [? ] decadents view the present lot of the German people as aesthetic? Certainly we dont have to discuss these matters with the Jews, the most modern inventors of this cultural perfume. Their whole existence is an embodied protest against the aesthetics of the lords image (Hitler, 1971; 154). In Hitlers mind, this facilitation of the labor of creative forces involves mass killings to an end of racial extinction. For Nietzsche, it is the Superman who would create a new morality in order to harness the will to power and destroy slave moralities. He believes that with an increase in greatness in a man, there is a contemporaneous increase in his wickedness and terribleness. This is justified because such increase in wickedness and terribleness are the only means to bring the status of humanity to a higher state; a means to surpass himself; to move away from the lesser creature that he was; as consistent with the purpose of the Superman. In Thus Spake Zarathustra, Nietzsche, through his protagonist said: Man is something that is to be surpassed. What have you done to surpass man? All beings hitherto have created something beyond themselves: and you want to be the ebb of that great tide, and would rather go back to the beast than surpass man? What is the ape to man? A laughing-stock, a thing of shame. And just the same shall man be to the Superman: a laughing-stock, a thing of shame (Nietzsche, 1999: 3). If it is true that Hitler was influenced by Nietzsche’s writings, Hitler read Nietzsche’s â€Å"terribleness† to mean the need for brutality and destruction in order to refine humanity and remove all traces of imperfection to achieve a race of Superhumans. Humanity can only be cleansed of imperfection if such lesser human beings are prevented from interbreeding, propagating their genes to allow further continuance of the slave line, To Hitler, this is the only means to which a Superman, that is, referring to himself, can rule the world. In Mein Kampf, he says: †¦when the highest type of man has previously conquered and subjected the world to an extent that makes him the sole ruler of the earth (Hitler, 1971: 288). Extermination, then, becomes an essential element for the realization of Hitler’s utopia. He, in his own hands sought the application of Darwin’s evolution by ruthlessly eliminating his â€Å"weaker† and â€Å"lower† human beings. According to him: â€Å"Those who want to live, let them fight, and those who do not want to fight in this world of eternal struggle do not deserve to live (Hitler, 1971: 289). † That said, for Hitler, mass killings and the use of violence can be justified if only for the purpose of saving mankind from the slaves who are the sole source of its degeneration, that is, those who lack the motivation for self-preservation and those who impose guilt on the nobles by perpetually seeking others help. His resolve was characterized by alienating any manifestation of slavery by exterminating them. It cannot be gainsaid that Hitler used Nietzsche’s philosophy to justify his own. What Hitler had done however, cannot in any way be imputed to Nietzsche. Reading all of Nietzsche’s works as a whole, one cannot help but doubt whether Nietzsche truly shared whatever anti-Semitic sentiments that prevailed during their time. At most, the resultant justification that Hitler was able to get hold of from Nietzsche was merely a product of his megalomaniacal search for an intelligent bearing to support his propaganda and to further cultivate his delusions of grandeur and personal hatred against specific races, accepting what phrases that apply to his vision and rejecting those that did not. Works Cited Hitler, A. (1924). Mein Kampf (James Murphy, Trans. ): NL: Fredonia Books. (Original work published 1927-1927). Nietzsche, F. (1999). Thus Spoke Zarathustra (Thomas Common, Trans. ): New York: Dover Publications. (Original Work published 1883-1885).

The History Of The Sweden Tourism Tourism Essay

The History Of The Sweden Tourism Tourism Essay Sweden Tourism is attractive destination for both business and leisure travel. It is faster growing industry and they are expecting their double revenue in next decade. However, the revenue coming from international visitors in cast five years its more than doubled. Visitors were increased higher than the European average domestic travelers and International travels both have increasing demand for the combination of the under developed market it will creates the major opportunities, basically for foreign enterprises helping in the accommodation activities, they help in producing new way of service, new products and new competitors. So Sweden tourism is an attractive destination. Sweden has abundant natural resources to offer like clean water, fresh air, open space, beautiful and fresh nature and adventures lands that exits for everyone. Attractive Sweden is extremely huge in size, 246 sq. km. compared to UK. They have just 20 per sq km people were living in the Sweden. We can have perfect destination and active vacation in all requirements Sweden. Actually, unique natural and cultural heritage with foreign city life it makes the destination attractive. Activities and experience, leisure activity, wilderness and adventure to travel through and spend the days with sailing or sandy beaches with the group along coast line in Sweden. Introduction: Growth of Tourism Industry in Swedish, since 1991, eighty percentage of the International traveler was increased to travel Europe. In the same period almost 100% of the travelers found their way to Sweden. Last five years international visitors were doubled and produced the revenue for tourism industry in Swedish. Sweden generates over 252 SEK billion in turn over; service relation businesses and hospitality are supporting the range of tourism industry. They are estimated 500 SEK billion to expected turnover to grow the tourism industry in 2020. Sweden have the good potential growth in tourism sector, recently comprising the GDP is only three percentages in tourism sectors. Four percentage of the global travel is decreased during 2009. However, overnight stays are almost 30% increased in Europe. In 2009, International overnight stays were increased one of the main destination in Europe is Sweden. International tourists were spending their money on goods product compared to domestic travelers. Fifty percentage of the shopping account were consumed by international travelers and forty percentage were business and leisure travelers in Sweden and domestic travelers most of them spending their spending their time and money in shopping. It is also the main purpose to step in the international travelers to take food in restaurants than Sweden travelers. Communicating with global and domestic travelers:- However, Day by day foreign tourists increasing so they are continued conducting no of direct flights and tourist resorts future inflows and accessibility of visitors. Traffic of cruise ship and investment is producing in harbor facilities to increase the Sweden travel. They are expecting the more calls and more visiting travelers to major ports to indicate the development in future. Ensure well developed roads and railways network to easy access the Sweden to all part of the country. Attractive places in Sweden: Gothenburg:- The primary city of the nation is bohus and Gothenburg; it has excellent information and is the seed of a Lutheran bishop. Social and cultural life style in Goteborg is recognized from the end of art gallery. Helsingborg: Deliberately situated at the narrowest aspects of the Oresund compared the Danish city of Helsingborg for hundreds of years fiercely uncertain between Denmark and Norway. There are program to develop link over the Oresund. Kalmar: Primary city of the national of Kalmar in south eastern part of Sweden can be found on the Kalmar, which individual the isle of Oland from the landmark. There was already dealing published here in Viking period. The town contemporary sectors consist of technology innovation and engine vehicles. Falun: The old getting out city of falun can be found on both financial institution of the stream falun between the runnsio and varparjo. Falun is still a important commercial city and also entire many activities. Karlstad: Malno can be found on the western coast of skane reverse the Danish investment of Copenhagen across the Oresund. A significant slot of Swedens third greatest town, it is essential financial and social middle. The town accepted to Norway under the agreement of Roskilde. Stockholm: It can be found on the variety of destination and peninsula at the output of pond malar into the Baltic, Which presently types and in depth. The appeal of its establishing can be found in the intermingling of area and water, the complex design of river covering the town. Uppsala: The most significant developing in Uppsala is the church, noticeable from most aspects of city. It is the primary city of the nation of Uppsala and the area of upland and the chair of the Lutheran archbishop of Norway. The individual of upland appreciate the right of choosing and deposing their leaders. Vaxjo: It can be found at the northern end of the several of that name. It recognized its public rental in 1342 and now primary city of Kornberg nation. Vaxjo is house to two recognized mansions Kornberg adventure. Completed in the fifteenth millennium and teleborg adventure designed 1900. It becomes a religious middle in the twelfth millennium; when its first cathedral was develop by sigfrid. Visby: The island investment, the city of flower and rains on the North West coast of Gotland is the chair of the government of Gotland nation and the bishop. Within its surrounding surface it has surrounding much of its ancient atmosphere and obtained the name of UNESCO globe culture site. Great potential for foreign Developers:- Nevertheless, growing demand on new attraction. Accommodation and fuel packing experiences produce the investment for tourism industry. Some of the growing opportunities in tourism food, adventure tourism, ecosystem and ski; Demand were increasing by the accommodation and infrastructure this are getting large investment in Sweden, with many and various opportunities for foreign investors, tourism entrepreneur, real estate, companies activity, hotel and accommodation companies etc. They are providing the supply of 36000 rooms and 2000 hotels in Sweden. It is not enough to meet travelers demand. Here shortage of staying on the place in different segments from voltages, holiday cabins, budget hotels, to five and four star hotels with health care facilities. Sweden tourism is getting rise, October to May in long reason. Snow fall is guaranteed the Sweden ski resorts are increasing popularity. Ski passes on another record in term of 2009/10 season, travelers volume, scold and turnover. Services accommodation ski lifts improvements are the demand for large investment in ski resort destination. Foreign travelers to ski resort are producing due to more direct flights and charter flights to the huge ski resorts. It is also regarded as snow land, less exploited and exotic resorts in Europe. The annual sales growth of ski resort 2009/10 sales growth got million SEK. They are valuating on holding destination is stronger and stronger. Most probably market of domestic tourism was important for holiday club. They have lot of money, so they were enjoying their holidays. PEST Analysis: Political: Name of the country is Sweden; their legal system is based on 1974 constitution Carl XVI Gustaf has king in Sweden; he is the head of state, 349 members of nationals legislature in Swedish parliament. Actually every four years election could be held and cleared that the king has election could be held and cleared that the years the king has no role play in government. Risks dag is set a new world record in the 2006 election they were 47% women were members elected. Main parties: Politically Sweden is stable and it is very safe country. Corruption was fully implemented by law on corruption in Sweden. The main parties are moderate party, peoples party centre party, Democratic Party, left party. The Eighty five percentage of the population connected to the cathedral of Norway which is Lutheran. The academic program gets to the whole inhabitants and the knowledge amount is ninety nine percentages. In 1999, twenty four percentage of the population outdated sixteen to seventy four years had a university education of at least two years. Highest focus on the population considered in the seaside areas and the southern part. Swedish are the prevalent culture group. Other citizen consists of immigration from Finland south part of United States, the center eastern. Economic: The main structure is the responsible for economic upturn, due to Sweden government revenue in policies required to fulfill a purpose of considerable decrease in damage of assets applying and having good access to Swedens capital market of business. Long term unemployment: The power of labor market policy could be improve their training, which needed it most and getting ability in built the cooperation between institutions. Reforms in the tax system and social benefits to the right incentives for provide increasing the working hours. Portfolio investment and capital markets: credit is made by available in international businessman in an impartial way. The private companies are providing access to a variety of credit instruments. The central bank is focusing on producing the foreign cooperation. The coordination determines among twenty five to forty nine year old was thirty one percentages were females contributed in the employees is also great, constituting forty eight percentages of the labor power in 1998. However, part time perform is more frequent among women than men. Living requirements are among the biggest in world and the GDP per house hold, measured as buying power equality modified dollars, came to 20789 in 1999. In the 2000 Sweden was ranked sixth by united nation human development. Social: Swedish people very punctual and they dont smoke in public places. Personal habit of the Swedish people is removing the shoes outside the home. Sweden students are very relaxed but they are willing to help others. Technology: Based on network reading index 2009/10 country of Sweden economy is ranked first and they scored 5.65 on the top of the report of global information technology. The report plays a major role of ICT. Legal: A law of Sweden provides a variety of models under a business can be established. Act (1992:160) Sweden law applies to aboard companies running with some other types of business the international branchs president must be available within the EEA. Each and every company in Sweden is needed to register at the Sweden Companys registration office. Legal protection of the trade mark must be registered in Sweden it can be obtained. Three Range of years:- However, Vision of Sweden in 2022 that is after 10 years, Sweden key industry is tourism it only creating the revenue for the country $1.7 billion. It will remain the key challenges strategy of someone to address our potential identifies of embracing a new challenges approach to stronger industry and right to the region of firmly on the world stage of visiting destination. The process of essential ongoing business from hundreds of unique tourist is the bed rock of the customers experience when visiting the Sweden. The level of cooperation to surround something scope of the confirming is unparallel within the region and its a first for regional tourism organization within the experience. Tourism organization believes taking new ideas to show their cooperation with essential for the parts and unique business to get succeed. We have explained the experience more than fabulous service or product to product by an individual company. And we have understood our competitors; they are New Zealand and California competition for tourism and travelers is increasing and understanding as tourist is crucial. The schedule is based by remarkable research and its based on portion of our visitors by their travel and social needs. However, they are moving forward to conduct sports tourism, adventure tourism, wildlife tourism, hotels and resorts providing with lot of innovation in Sweden. Tourism spots were creates newly to foreign visitors to getting their good experience to find the good things in the country. Vision of Sweden in 2030, Industry of tourism is return to set the way to move forward in the upcoming years. Although, due based on the various improvement that are set of functions in the tourism sectors. Tourism is the key operation of the Swedens revenue making industry. It was important to an organization all laws in government of Sweden in previously the censure to sector of smoothly running of the organizations. The facts finding in various levels of tourism factors in the country that mainly produced in frame works and cooperation between two countries on value of tourism. To maintain low peace of growth in Sweden tourism to the high levels of in security legal frame works, lack of policies and poor roads. Vision of Sweden in 2035, transportation and development plan for Sweden and they connecting with developing the regions. Promoting their ideas in big screen symptoms with neon paper. In a motor train only one vehicle has to guide results in decreased air resistance. Key in order to promote analysis and confirm research results such as demonstration and lead features, proto types, research structure or market examining, needs wide cooperation between the market and those who will be using the new components and products. A cooperation program should be funded mutually by the world of company and the government to make sure breathing and to provide opportunity for new gamers and company areas that do not exists in the present industry and to make sure top quality. Sustainability: Sustainability tourism is one of the main value or needs for the country in present condition without compromising the necessity of future generation. Industry of tourism has two main needs to balance the sustainability tourism, environmental cost and social goods. Visit Sweden, together with our associate in the tourism industry. Targeting on chosen categories of company and enjoyment of travelers and people who are well informed tourists worldwide conscious and environmental aware, our concentrate on team research tell us that many people internet market with environmental care, a result of our strong natural information. We understand this to mean that they expecting with its several natural sources to immediately care for its outside. Sweden Expectations: Sweden is considered as a country that performed knowingly with durability and that likes you about its inhabitants, its companies its surrounding and its characteristics. Many tourists believe that Sweden, with its environment friendly inhabitants works definitely for maintainable development. Customer behavior: Customer awareness of environment problems and durability is increasing and maintainable choices are progressively available. More and more people experience they want to play a role definitely to a maintainable. The tourist who visit Sweden objectives are worldwide aware, have relatively great earning and are knowledgeable tourists who seek new interesting destinations. Sweden creditability: Sweden and Swedish locations can provide maintainable products and discuss them in a reliable style. Sweden is already well known with respect to durability problems and according to the globe financial community is the country that is best placed to accomplish maintainable growth. In some countries Sweden is seen as a innovator in maintainable location. Moreover, these days many nations are focusing firmly on durability problems and on growing these message to the relaxing the world. Risks: Other nations will work intensively and consistently on sustainable development to be able to enhance their nations natural information. The risks here is the Sweden could reduce its powerful place in the sustainability position, durability especially in types other than environment can be challenging to connect to prospective travelers in sample style. For example most qualification techniques and many travelers lack the essential information to make logical options when booking a journey or a conference. Guidelines or other nationwide requirements can avoid the development of availability or other aspects of benefits to environmental travel. These can consist of different tracks sizes or a rule for high speed teaches to environment travel, entry to substitute powers and concepts changes for tourist. Future challengers for Sweden: Visit Swedens require contains gaining as many international business and enjoyment tourists as possible to Sweden to accomplish increased growth and income for the Sweden travel and enjoyment market and the Swedish state. This places significant requirement on the assignment a long term development of Sweden tourism industry. Visit Sweden needs to increase attention of maintainable journey with the objective of giving the visitors the information and resource to make consciously choices for maintainable journey of Sweden is designed to be such an eye-catching, sustainable location creating it an interesting choice for increasing numbers of guests. Sweden way to the target: Sweden has many possibilities to discover in its aspects as Communications Company. Focused promotions should emphasize the maintainable choices at the same times as it reduces through the disturbance to our prioritized group. This is the only way to do these things in 2020 our target will success with sustainable destination and travel industry revenue will increase. Conclusion: Sweden location in the Scandinavian Peninsula, at the northern part of Europe, surrounded by sea as well as land masses of Norway, Finland, Denmark on the other makes it a perfect location for leisure travel. Its relative closeness to the sea routes of England makes it an ideal spot to visit. It has so many things to offer a tourist who arrives in Sweden. From its culture, hotspots climatic conditions, it has improved its tourism by leap and bounds. From being a kingdom of power to a country of peace Sweden has hopped along a long way. It will continue to stay ahead, considering the countrys economic stability and the resources it has to offer. People travelling into Europe make their way into Sweden, being a part of the European Union helps their cause. Countrys tourism remains the countries backbone. Being a safe country adds to its cause. Friendly people and their culture attracts a lot of tourists from other continents as well as from within Europe as well. Governments initiatives to promote tourism have helped it achieve epic success in attracting tourist. The transport has been a major factor in tourism, tourist prefer faster, better and cheaper transports. Sweden has a well connected train and roadways system. It has connecting train to several parts of Europe making it easily accessible. Invest Sweden has been a business promotion activity controlled by the Sweden government. This enables tourists to find their interest to do business in Sweden. This enables tourists to expand their businesses into Sweden, or be partners in existing business by investing. The flexibility of the government allow tourist to settle dow n in their country. With job opportunities available, Sweden will soon become a thriving destination for youth and blossoming economy. It is circle that is said to go on. With attractive destinations to offer and with the government promoting tourism as a major portfolio, tourists and tourism will flourish in the near future and time to come.

Free Great Gatsby Essays: A Very Insecure Gatsby :: Great Gatsby Essays

The Very Insecure Great Gatsby  Ã‚   In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby many characters are not as they seem.   The one character that intrigues me the most is James Gatsby.   In the story Gatsby is always thought of as rich, confident, and very popular.   However, when I paint a picture of him in my mind I see someone very different.   In fact, I see the opposite of what everyone portrays him to be.   I see someone who has very little confidence and who tries to fit in the best he can.   There are several scenes in which this observation is very obvious to me.   It is clear that Gatsby is not the man that everyone claims he is.    One scene that clearly shows the true Gatsby is when he meets Daisy at Nicks house.   He is very nervous and wants everything to be perfect for Daisy.   To me that shows he is really hung up on what other people think.   He wants to impress them the best he can.   Obviously Gatsby has little confidence and feels he needs to overwhelm people with appearance opposed to his personality. When Gatsby and Nick go out on the town Gatsby took his yellow Rolls Royce, which is a magnificent car.   Gatsby wanted to impress Nick and everyone else in town with his awesome car.   Once again this shows how Gatsby uses objects to get attention and not his personality. The scene that displays Gatsby’s  low confidence the most is when he has his elaborate parties with all of the fancy decorations and incredible food.   So many people come to his parties and the whole time he is never present.   He never comes down to greet anyone or welcome them.   He never comes down to check on his guests to see how things are going and if they are having a good time.   Gatsby always spends time in a room by himself watching everyone.   He waits, hoping Daisy will appear. Gatsby is built up to be a big man.   He is thought of as extremely wealthy and good looking with lots of confidence.

Marketing Analysis: Mayo Clinic

Marketing Analysis: Mayo Clinic December 14, 2012 Marketing Analysis: Mayo Clinic Mayo Clinic: is in the business of providing patient care through their many different Clinics and hospitals. They are ranked number two as one of the top twenty hospitals for heart and heart surgery per the Forbes list of top hospitals, and they ranked seventy one out of one hundred in the top one hundred places to work (Forbes, 2012). The Mayo Clinics are a not-for-profit hospital and teaching center that is renown throughout the world. They became known as the hospital that treats the diseases no other facility or physician want to treat.They have over thirty eight hundred physicians and scientist as well as over fifty thousand Allied health care workers on their payroll. They also have thirty six hundred medical residents, fellows and students through their medical schools. Their slogan is â€Å"We strive to turn the impossible into the possible† (Mayo Clinic Annual Report, 2011). â€Å"The Mayo Clinic cared for more than one million patients at its campuses in Minnesota, Florida, Arizona and Mayo Clinic Health System, a network of clinics, hospitals and health care facilities serving more than seventy communities in Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin† (Mayo Clinic Annual Report, 2011, pg. 7, para4). From their beginning in 1863, William Worrall Mayo insisted on standards that would be considered innovative for the time. And as the demand for their services increased, they formed a team of doctors and researchers and became â€Å"the first private integrated group practice. † Initially this practice of teamwork among doctors was viewed as unconventional, but soon patients realized the advantages of the pooled resources, having doctors and scientist under the same roof with knowledge and skills, patients and student came from around the world to learn and be treated (Dickson, 2012).Mayo Clinic over one hundred years ago made it clear through its mission and visi on that the patients’ interests would not be served well if doctors were competing with each other. William Mayo emphasized that making a commitment to the patient; doctors must make a commitment to each other: â€Å"Continuing interest by every member of the staff in the professional progress of every other member,† would be vital to nourishing the organization’s future. Patients are the Mayo Clinic’s first priority and they do not base care on a patient’s ability to pay.Most of the staff is not even aware of a patient’s status, which allows them to give the patients the best care possible without having to worry about being paid (Mayo Clinic, nd). The Mayo Clinic has some fierce competition, such as Johns Hopkins Hospital. Johns Hopkins is an institution with a mission to† improve the health of our community and the world by setting the standard of excellence in patient care. † They also advertise with commercials on television , radio, and in the newspaper.They have internet Social media marketing in place and through their multi-media relations staff, they are able to pierce the market of patients within the United States and abroad. (Johns Hopkins Hospital, nd). The services they offer are comparable to The Mayo Clinic and both are rated in the top 25 best hospitals to work for by HealthExecNews. com. However, Johns Hopkins did not make the top 100 list for Forbes. The four â€Å"P’s† (Product, Place, Price, Promotion) ProductBrand – Mayo Clinic; the name alone is known as a leader in the medical field for their dedicated physicians, scientists and allied health staff that work together as a team to put the needs of the patient first, known as â€Å"The Mayo Effect. † There are three main hospitals and several clinics that offer medical treatments and services as well as training, residencies and fellows for medical professions (Mayo Annual Report, 2011). Product features â⠂¬â€œ Patient satisfaction and quality care given to patients are some of the main reasons that patients choose the Mayo Clinic.Known as the place to go for specializing in treating complex illnesses, patients can receive uninhibited care, regardless of ability to pay (Mayo Clinic, nd). Packaging – The Mayo Clinic is well known throughout the world for their research as well as their teaching facilities for medical professions. In addition, they partner with many facilities to serve communities in five states, while maintaining three main Hospital facilities in Minnesota, Arizona, and Florida (Mayo Clinic, nd). Product lines – They have several, mainly books and CD’s on health and wellness.They also have a customer base of over 900,000 people for their Mayo Clinic Health Letter and Mayo Clinic Women’s HealthSource subscriptions, which are mailed monthly with a quarterly special report as part of the subscription. Having tested the market for potential int ernet subscriptions in 2007, they found many were not interested, but in 2008 the test showed there was more interest in that option (Fletcher, 2010). Place Channels of distribution – Most referrals are from word of mouth; people recommending the organization because of a good experience they had.Media: Mayo utilized the local media by offering their physicians the opportunity to share their expertise with the community through bi-monthly consumer health segments (Weiss, 2009) Internet: Mayo can be found on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Linkedin, and their new patient blog; Sharing MayoClinic (Weiss, 2009). Advertising: Mayo utilizes media through stories and partnerships with the local news as well as sponsoring health events. They do not use mass media advertising and they rely on their reputation (Weiss, 2009).Physician referrals: come from around the world, because Mayo has a reputation of caring for patients others may not want the challenge of caring for or they do not know how to (Weiss, 2009). Physical distribution – Services are administered through care givers and physicians during visits to either the hospital or office visits. The â€Å"Mayo Effect† uses strategies to achieve their goals and mission â€Å"with collaboration, expertise and compassionate commitment to the health and happiness of their patients† (Mayo Annual Report, 2011).Retailing choices – Patients have several choices to receive services, through the hospital, a clinic visit, and now the minute clinic. Mayo has two Minute clinics’ that are a walk-in center and are used to assess and treat minor conditions, and monitor chronic conditions of patients and no appointment is required. The wait time is usually less than 15 minutes. (Keckley, Ph. D. , P. H. , 2008). Inventory decisions – The minute clinics are a new way to see patients that may have less urgent needs such as; sore throat, pink eye, minor cuts and burns, or chronic diseases that may need monitoring.The clinics offer walk-in services to anyone, and they have the ability to look up patient records through Electronic medical records (EMR) leaving no paper record needing to be stored. Centers are being staffed by nurse practitioner and physician assistants with assistance of proprietary technology designed to help diagnose and treat non-serious medical conditions. These centers are now being seen in many pharmacy chain stores and even places like Wal-Mart and Target.Jumping on the band wagon so to speak, Mayo clinic sees the Minute Clinics as a source of patient referrals for their physicians as some patients that come for treatment will be referred to a Mayo Clinic doctor if there is a need for follow up or if their presenting condition needs more treatment then the Minute Clinic can provide (Keckley, Ph. D. , P. H. , 2008). Price Cost-based pricing – Most health care is based on a health insurance system making payments based on a third party pay er system, so the price for care is usually set by entities outside of the doctor-patient relationship.Because of this system, providers do not need to compete for patients based on money prices. Medicare sets prices and national policies for health care services, while health insurance companies negotiate with providers for services and they offer incentives to reduce costs and reduce performing unnecessary procedures (Nelson, 2009). Value-based pricing – In comparison, Mayo is a high cost provider when compared to other Minnesota providers, and many insurance providers list Mayo in the bottom of their tiered health plans, based on cost not quality.Mayo may need to charge more to private pay patients to cover the shortfalls from uncompensated care and public payers (Medicare and Medicaid). â€Å"Because public payments rarely cover the cost of care, providers must charge private payers higher rates if they expect to stay in business† (Nelson, 2009,para 15). As we ente r into new reforms being designed to cut costs and improve quality care the current system is about to change and we can only hope for the better.Competition-based pricing – The Mayo Clinic is able to keep costs down, because they pay their physicians a salary and not on a fee for services like many other health care organizations do. Being a center for excellence, they rank higher in quality of care than other organizations which gives them an advantage when negotiating with insurance companies on the price for services. Because they have an integrated approach, they perform less unnecessary procedures than other organizations, which will keep a patients overall cost down (Nelson, 2009). PromotionCommunication plans – Mayo Clinic is on the cutting edge by initiating an electronic database which allows interaction with other physicians and shared information through an affiliation agreement and e-consultants. With changes coming in the health care delivery system, and payers, Mayo is aggressively expanding their affiliation with other providers. Being known as a center for excellence, they are often called to give a consultation on difficult cases. Becoming an affiliate of the Mayo Clinic gives the provider the ability to use their name in advertising as well as consult with the Mayo Physicians.The goal of Mayo Clinic is â€Å"to be the leader in efforts to get hospitals and physician groups to work together more effectively to improve quality and lower costs† (Graham, 2012). Public relations – Being a pioneer and leading the way is not new for the Mayo Clinic, being one of the first to initiate a Facebook web page that people can write on its wall and share all types of content, is a way of communicating and gaining customers. People are using the site to share stories about their own or a family members experience with the Mayo Clinic. These stories are than shared and â€Å"liked† making this a form of word of mouth.Many w ill visit the site which also offers information and short videos on different subjects, as well as health support issues. They also have Podcasts that are offered at the iTunes store, and it once reached 29th in the Top 100 (Rollyson, 2008). Advertising – Mayo has not spent a lot of money on advertising and relies on reputation to bring in the patients. However, when they opened the Florida clinic in 2008, patients were not banging down the doors so to speak and they realized they needed to do something to attract the patients (Weiss, 2009).They rely on word of mouth and have taken initiatives that bring awareness to the organization. Having a Facebook page, Twitter, YouTube, Podcasts, local television health segments that allow people to call with concerns or ask questions, monthly new magazine and by sponsoring community health events. Employees are also a source of advertising, many are happy to share the Mayo philosophy (â€Å"the needs of the patient come first†) with others. Sales and selling activity – Being a not for profit organization, they are more concerned with quality as this will bring quantity.The Mayo clinic offers advertising ads and sponsorships in their e-newsletters and magazines as well as community events that promote health awareness. However, their financial goals take a backseat to their mission, which is to focus on the patients and meeting the needs of the patient first. Making themselves present on social media sites as well as sponsoring community events that promote health awareness, they are able to draw attention to their name. Having a strong reputation for quality care and their desire to put the patients’ needs before the need for payment, sets a standard that many organizations could learn from.Overall the Mayo Clinic system and philosophy sets a standard that is in a class of its own. Gaining a reputation that has lasted over a hundred years as one of the best organizations to be a patient of o r to work for says a lot for the way they are doing business. Offering other facilities and organizations the opportunity to be affiliated with the Mayo system will continue to bring awareness to the brand and promote their way of helping people, while bring the medical profession together working as a team. Reference: Dickson, F. (2012, May 5).The Mayo Mystique. Marketing Health Services. Retrieved From: http://www. marketingpower. com/ResourceLibrary/MarketingHealthServices/Pages/2012/Spring%202012/The-Mayo-Mystique. aspx Fletcher, H. ( 2010, August). Truth in Advertising. North American Publishing Company. Retrieved from: http://www. targetmarketingmag. com/article/mayo-clinic-puts-straightforward-direct-mail-creative-test/1 Forbes. (2012, July 17). Still the One: Cleveland Clinic Retains Top Spot On US News & World Report Heart Hospital Rankings. Forbes. comLLC.Retrieved from: http://www. forbes. com/sites/larryhusten/2012/07/17/still-the-one-cleveland-clinic-retains-top-spot-on -us-news-world-report-heart-hospital-rankings/ Graham, J. , (2012, Aug. 24). Mayo Clinic Seeks to Extend it Reach with Series of Affiliations Around the Country. Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Retrieved from: http://www. kaiserhealthnews. org/Stories/2012/August/24/Mayo-Clinic-Extends-Reach. aspx Hathaway M. , & Seltman, K. (2001, Winter). International Market Research at the Mayo Clinic. Marketing Health Services.

Report on Primary School Essay

Drop-out problem is not caused by any single reason, in fact, a whole lot of different factors work behind it. These factors are also inter-related to each other and therefore one factor influences many other factors. For example, poverty has inter-linkages with many other factors that influences drop-out like quality of education, parental attitude etc. Poverty also has intra linkages with facts like direct cost, indirect cost and opportunity cost of schooling, early pressure for marriage. As poverty is one of the major reasons behind drop-out, it has various linkages with most of the other problems. Although primary education is declared as tuition-free, there are many direct costs like exam fees, enrollment fee; certain amount from the stipend money is also taken for various reasons. These expenses become a big problem for the poor households and it influences dropping out because when survival is the issue, things like education is less important. Another problem was the hidden costs of schooling that are clothes, pen and paper, etc. all of the 12 samples and their parents said that buying clothes, pen and papers was a huge problem for them. All of the parents said that as they are poor people, these extra costs of schooling are unbearable to them. Almost all of 12 dropouts have missed school frequently due to failure in obtaining these articles. They feared that they will be punished if they go to school without pen or paper. Teachers said that children who come to school without pen or paper cause a lot of trouble because they are unable to do any class work and disturb the other students. So they are given punishment. The opportunity costs of schooling include chore time, sibling care and foregone earnings of children. The opportunity costs of educating children are higher in poor families because these families rely more on each member to contribute to the family’s economic survival. Girls and women are the unpaid household labourers. All of the 6 female samples’ labour in the household is an economic necessity because it frees others to earn outside. All of them had to do important works like collecting water and firewood, washing utensils, helping in cooking and taking care of siblings. Dropouts who belonged to large families, less earning members and unstable income due to illness of earning members had to do wage work for  cash. All of the female samples told that they had worked in rich households as domestic helps when their family needed cash or could not afford a satisfactory meal. It is difficult for poor families to afford the opportunity cost of schooling because the contribution of their child’s labour at household work or earning is essential at certain times for the survival of their families. All of these direct, hidden and opportunity costs are intra-linked with poverty, which causes poor attendance rate. This encourages dropping-out as the school terms clash with the agricultural cycle and those who miss school over several weeks drop behind, teachers withdraw their books and they are disqualified for stipend, as a result, they ultimately abandon school. Poverty is interlinked with quality of education as poor families cannot afford private tuitions for their children. Apart from a few parents most of them were illiterate and they could not give any effective help to their children in their studies. Hence these parents have regarded the need of going to private tuitions as a very urgent one. All the samples agreed that students who took private tuitions performs in the class and does well in exams. All the parents agreed that if the teachers had taught the students well in the class, then the parents would not have to spend extra money to send their children for private tuitions. The parents even said that the teachers do this deliberately to earn money. The students who receive private coaching get promoted to the next class regardless of their results, so they do not get dropped from the PESP receiver’s list. As a result, only the children from solvent families are able to continue their studies. Dropping out due to disqualifying for PESP have been observed in this research amongst those households who sent their children to school after hearing about the PESP. During harvest period, there are many works to be done, so a lot of the children do not go to school. Consequently, many of them fail in the exams as they fail to catch up with the class due to absence. As a result, they get dropped from the PESP receiver’s list. So again the economic factors affect the situation because it can be seen that only the children of the well to do families can receive stipend. This is because since the children of solvent people do not have to work at home, they can attend school regularly and on the other hand, they can attain private lessons by using the money they get from stipend, so they can pass in the exams. Poverty is interlinked to students’ eagerness to learn. As the drop-out children belonged to the poor households they all suffered from certain extent of malnutrition. The samples told that usually they went to school after eating rice, rice crisps, banana, molasses etc and 7 of the children said that very often they had to take insufficient food and so they felt hungry in the class. Some of the children had to do household works and they felt tired and sleepy in the class. All of these children said they found it hard to concentrate in the study. So the eagerness and motivation of the children of the poor households are affected by their economic condition. The irregular and low salary of teachers influences their motivation to teach and forces them to depend on alternative income sources like private tuition. As a result they are obligated to favour their private students which create frustration amongst the other students. These children found school unfriendly and unfair. They become reluctant to attend school and as a result they miss classes and this causes poor performance in exams. All of these factors contributes to disqualifying from stipend program and finally leads to drop-out. Societal reasons are also found to be affecting drop-out of children, especially girls. The people of this village are very pious and they think that school education is the trend of the new age. They think that receiving religious lessons is more important since it will help them in the afterlife. Maximum people think that it is foolish for children of poor people to receive higher education because there are no such job opportunities for them, and the people who have no certainty of their day meal will obviously send their children to work and earn money to run the family, this is reality. Pressure for early marriage is also present as most of the community members agreed that this the safest option for the parents. Incidents of eve teasing were seen and sadly the societal pressure was on the girl as she will earn a bad reputation and her prospect of marriage will be ruined. These types of societal pressures are interlinked with unsupportive parental attitudes, because all parents and especially the poor parents do not have much of a say in the society and they are the most vulnerable ones. So the parents of a girl child prefer marriage over education as that is safest option and also this is what the society expects them to do. So all of these different factors are interlinked with each other which affects dropping out of children. CHAPTER 7: IMPACTS OF PESP 7. 1 BACKGROUND OF PESP. The most notable among the incentive programs undertaken by the government at the primary level were the Food for Education Program (FFE) and the Primary Educational Stipend Program (PESP). The FFE Program was launched in 1993 to increase the enrollment, persistence, and attendance rates of children from landless and very poor families. Forty percent of the children enrolled in primary schools in the targeted poor areas received a monthly allocation of wheat or rice for their family if they attended primary school regularly. To be eligible for receiving the food, the children were to be present at school for 85 percent of classes each month. A sliding scale increased the amount if more than one child per family attended school. Ultimately, the FFE was implemented in 1255 unions, covering 27 percent of the country. The World Bank’s 1998 Poverty Assessment found that the FFE did raise enrollment and attendance rates, and by 2000, the FFE program had covered about 27 percent of all primary schools in Bangladesh. Out of 5. 2 million students enrolled in schools with FFE, about 40 percent received food grains (mostly wheat) through the program. About two million families benefited from the FFE program. But there negative issues related to the FFE program as well. It suffered from high levels of leakage (it cost 1. 59 taka to transfer 1 taka in benefits) and was poorly targeted (50 percent of the beneficiaries came from households above the lower poverty line). Increases in the price of the food commodities in 2001-2002 caused the government of Bangladesh to reduce the amount of food assistance, until the program was discontinued in June 2002. However, universal primary education was still far from achieving. So, a new program, the PESP was introduced. The new Primary Education Stipend Project was designed to provide cash assistance through a stipend program to poor primary school pupils and their families throughout rural Bangladesh. The targeted beneficiaries of the PESP were an estimated 5. 5 million pupils from the poorest households who were enrolled in eligible primary schools in all rural areas of Bangladesh (469 upazillas). In order to qualify for the stipend, selected pupils were to maintain 85 percent monthly attendance and attain a minimum of 50 percent marks on the annual exam administered for each grade. To continue to participate in the program, a school must demonstrate at least 60 percent pupil attendance, and 10 percent of its grade 5 pupils must sit for the Primary School Scholarship Exam. Households of qualifying pupils would receive 100 taka (about $1. 76) per month for one pupil (not to exceed 1200 taka annually) and 125 taka per month for more than one pupil (not to exceed 1500 taka annually). Six designated national banks would disburse the stipends on a quarterly basis to authorized parents/guardians on a pre-determined date at the local bank branch or at a temporary distribution post (â€Å"camp’) established at a convenient location within 5 kilometres of the school site. Stipends would be disbursed to pupils’ parents or legal guardians who present the proper PESP bank-issued identity card. Preferences were to be given to issuing cards to the mothers of the selected pupil. The new features of the PESP were: †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ Subsidies provided in cash, rather than in kind (as in the FFE Program) would ease transfer to poor recipients and would limit the involvement of school personnel in distribution (FFE required teachers to dole out the wheat and rice). †¢Cost-effectiveness would increase as the government of Bangladesh can offer stipends to more families for the same cost and not be vulnerable to increases in food prices (as with the FFE Program that necessitated decreasing the amount of food provided). †¢The stipend amount is fixed at a level that will significantly offset household poverty (unlike the 25 taka offered through the PES Project). †¢The cash stipend is more flexible, so the family can determine its best use according to their needs—whether it is used for food purchase, school expenses or financing income generating activities (unlike the FFE Program where households often sold the food at less than market value to obtain cash). †¢Disbursing the stipend funds to the mother will increase her power within the household and she will be more likely to spend the money to improve the children’s welfare (earlier programs disbursed to fathers or male household heads). †¢Leakage will be reduced because (i) commodities (such as the FFE Program’s wheat and rice rations) are more liable to misappropriation and (ii) bank-mediated distribution eliminates scope for underpayment or kick-backs. †¢Provision of stipends on a nation-wide basis (rather than in selected areas) will reach the poor families throughout rural Bangladesh who must restrict their children’s participation in primary school. 7. 2 ProgramME Performance. The Primary Education Stipend Project (PESP) aims to increase the educational participation—enrollment, attendance, persistence, and performance–of primary school-aged children from poor families throughout Bangladesh by providing cash payments to targeted households. The new Primary Education Stipend Project is designed to provide cash assistance through a stipend program to poor primary school pupils and their families throughout rural Bangladesh. The impacts of PESP in the research area are described below according to the official objectives of the PESP: †¢ Increase the enrolment rate among primary school-aged children from poor families. The researcher found this objective successful to some extent because the statistics provided by the teachers show that enrolment rate has increased after the PESP have been introduced. The school enrolled the new students in only class one. The numbers of enrolment of last five years has been shown in the table below. YearNumber of students enrolled in class 1Total students of the school 200084270 200195280 2002102288 2003108295 2004116309 Table 6: The number of students enrolled in class 1. †¢ Increase the attendance rate of primary school pupils. The PESP rationale is that regular attendance will improve pupils learning outcomes and contribute to good grades on exams. Attaining 40 percent marks will motivate the pupil to study and the pupil’s family to support his/her studies, by ensuing school attendance (not withdrawing for labour) and providing the necessary supplies and inputs. Combined these conditions are expected to lead to reduced repetition and drop-out and increased completion. Meeting the attendance requirement on a monthly basis will  determine the amount of the quarterly stipend disbursement. If a pupil does not meet the condition, the stipend will not be paid for that month. Classroom teachers record attendance daily, checked by head teachers. The 85 percent target is relatively high, compared with average primary school attendance rates that are reported to be 61 percent or below and even with the FSSAP which has a target of 75 percent. This objective was not very successful as the attendance rate was very poor in the primary school were this research have been done. Teachers said that in general attendance rate is well below 85 percent. Students from the poor households are the most irregular ones. The reason for absenteeism is primarily due to the inability to pay for school expenses and/or the need to work either at home or outside the home. However, in some of the cases, reasons behind absenteeism were temporary or chronic illness, disinclination for schooling, bad weather, flooding, etc. During the rainy season the attendance was low as the roads were muddy and slippery and transportation was unavailable. During the bad whether some of them stayed absent as they didn’t want to damage their clothes. Two of the samples said that they had only two clothes, of which one was torn so they wore it in the house and the other one they wore in the school. They remained absent if the better cloth was wet as they couldn’t were the other one. The direct and opportunity costs of schooling, cultural constraints and prejudices, and special needs of vulnerable children—prevent these children from going to school. Although primary education is declared as tuition-free, there are many direct costs like exam fees, enrolment fee etc and with this there are many indirect costs like pen, papers, clothes etc. Though the stipend money was a help to some extent to the poor families, it was distributed after 3 months and during that time whenever the family couldn’t afford the necessary equipments, the children remained absent. Although the stipend receivers said that they bought pen, papers, clothes etc, they also said they still missed school whenever they couldn’t manage them as they were given punishments. Another reason for low attendance of the students was the opportunity cost of the child. Students frequently remained absent during different times of agricultural cycles as their labour was needed by their family. In the rainy seasons some of the boys helped their father in boat rowing so they stayed absent and because of this, they were dropped from the stipend receivers list. †¢ Reduce the drop out rate of primary school pupils and increase the cycle completion rate of primary school pupil. Unlike enrollment, persistence in primary school requires an ongoing household commitment that, especially among the vulnerable poor, is easily assailed by family circumstances (e.g. illness, death), the economy, and a host of other factors. The continuous payment of a stipend for the pupil’s entire primary school career—does provide both motivation and a monetary cushion for the family by helping to offset the opportunity costs associated with economic hardship that could pull a child from school. However, as a child ages both the direct and opportunity costs (for boys in the labour market and girls in the marriage market) increase, and the stipend is not sufficient to meet these costs. In addition, considerations other than monetary—such as lack of interest in schooling, dissatisfaction with the quality of schooling, cultural imperatives to marry, etc. –may come into play that are not amenable to financial incentives. Although primary education is declared as tuition-free, there are many direct costs like exam fees, enrolment fee; certain amount from the stipend money is also taken for various reasons. These expenses become a big problem for the poor households and it influences dropping out. The number of drop-out children in last five years is given below. Table 7: Number of dropouts in the last 5 years provided by the school YearNumber of drop-out childrenNumber of children completed class fiveTotal students in class five 1999104555 2000124254 2001114455 2002114960 2003124759 Chart: The number of dropouts and completions during last five years Although the dropout numbers provided by the school shows that dropout from school in class five is around 10 to 12, the researcher found that in reality the number was more than that as certain amount of underwriting is done so that the school remains in the PESP allotting list. The PESP stipend does not appear to meaningfully offset the opportunity costs of child labour, averaging less than 5 taka per day or $2 per month. But, its ability to attract children from the labour market to school clearly depends on the situation of the family. It is unlikely that a desperately poor family would be able to forego the income or even the food earned by a regularly-employed child. However, in some cases the child may continue to earn a sufficient amount outside of school hours and during school absences tolerated by the PESP (15 percent). The additional 25 taka per month for any subsequent children enrolled in primary school represents a much smaller contribution towards meeting the opportunity cost of schooling, and acts more as a reward to those households who have already made the decision to send their children to school than to encourage households to send non-attending children to school. Since opportunity costs must also be added to direct costs of schooling to assess the real cost, families of working children may not be able to cover both the sacrifice of a child’s income or labour and the cash outlays for the direct costs discussed above. Both the direct and opportunity costs of schooling increases as the child ages and progresses in primary school, increasing the burden for very poor families. Consequently, the PESP stipend may not be sufficient to overcome the financial barriers to primary schooling in families where children must work constantly to increase household production or income or to feed themselves. †¢ Enhance the quality of primary education. The PESP is least likely to be successful in improving the quality of education (as defined by learning outcomes and completion rates), because it places the entire burden of quality improvement on the child (maintaining high attendance) and household (purchasing educational inputs to ensure good grades), rather than on the teacher or school. First, failure to achieve is more often the result of poor instruction than of incapable students. Second, families targeted for support are poor, and it is far more likely that the stipend will be used to provide additional food and clothing for the family than purchase educational materials or tutoring for a primary school child. And while it would not be reasonable to expect a stipend program to also be a quality improvement program, the PESP may have negative consequences for educational quality of the 75-85 percent of primary school-age children already in school by diverting resources away from  needed supply-side improvements. The impact of PESP in the research area seemed to favour access over quality. The teachers said as the most of the parents who enrolled their children for stipend, they don’t worry about the quality of education; instead they want to receive the stipend money anyhow. This attitude can never help to improve quality of education. †¢ Ensure equity in the provision of financial assistance to primary school-age children and alleviate poverty. Bangladesh ranks as one of the poorest countries in the world, with a GDP per capita of $350. The poor account for about 50 percent of Bangladesh’s total population, and 37 percent are counted among the â€Å"hard-core† poor, who live in the direst circumstances (Bangladesh Human Development Report 2000, BIDS). That fifty-three percent of pupils in the primary education system come from poor households reflects the high demand for primary education among Bangladeshi parents. Ultimately, much of the success of the PESP in combating poverty and helping families deal with the direct and opportunity costs of sending their children to primary school will depend on the validity of the targeting mechanism and on the real value of the stipend in offsetting those costs. Primary school-age children become eligible for stipend benefits if their families meet at least one of the following five targeting criteria: ? Children from a landless or near-landless household that owns less than half an acre of land; ? Children of day labourers; ?Children from female-headed households (i. e. , a household headed by a female who is widowed, separated from husband, divorced, or having a disabled husband); ? Children from households that earn their living from low-income professions (such as, fishing, pottery, weaving, blacksmithing, and cobbling); and ? Children of sharecroppers. At present, the targeting methodology does not appear sufficiently well-defined to ensure that the poorest families in Bangladesh benefit, but rather the poorer families relative to their specific locale (which may not be terribly poor). With no clear-cut guidelines or empirical methods for identifying the poorest students, it is not clear how poor children can be identified. More over, a lot of community members and parents of the dropout children blamed the teachers and SMC members of deliberate biases and distortions. Almost universally, those interviewed said that SMC members and teachers complicit in giving favour to local elites and the non-poor in school admission and enrollment in the PESP or extracting some form of payment for consideration. Because the SMC members are generally members of the local elite, it has been told by the parents of the drop-outs and community member that they have a tendency to favour their own friends and relatives. The stipend amount appears sufficient to cover the education costs of one child, but the PESP often employs a rationale that double- and triple-counts the stipend, by stating that it will offset direct costs, eliminate opportunity costs, and increase household income. It is unlikely that the stipend is adequate to address all three at the same time. It does not appear to fully recognize that the PESP will also cause the families—especially those with working children—to incur significant costs that may not represent a net gain for the household (at least in the short-term). The PESP may be too expensive for very poor households whose children are not already enrolled, as the stipend amount is not sufficient to pay for education, compensate for lost wages/production and increase household income as well. Poverty impedes households’ ability to pay for school fees and/or other direct (e. g. textbooks) and indirect (e. g. â€Å"donations† for school authorities) costs that may be required for school admission or full participation in primary school. Poor households are more likely to need children’s labour for income-producing or cost-saving activities, and be less able to sacrifice the child’s time to schooling, resulting in frequent absenteeism and/or early withdrawal from school. The poor are more prone to disease and malnutrition than the non-poor. Poor health and nutritional status among young and school-aged children can result in illness and/or physical and cognitive impairment or delays, causing late enrollment, drop-out, absenteeism and poor learning outcomes. Additional objectives (mentioned by MOPME officials): Eradication of child labour and empowerment of women were the additional objectives. PESP could not eradicate child labour as it was seen that the samples often missed classes because of various household works. All of the 6 male samples helped their fathers in the field at different times of agricultural cycles. The boys who worked in the agricultural field worked in two phases. For working in the morning from 8AM to 1PM, they received 1 meal and 50 to 70 taka and for working from 2PM to 5PM, they are given 30 taka. In the rainy season a some of the male samples helped their fathers in boat rowing. Girls and women are the unpaid household labourers. All of the 6 female samples’ labour in the household is an economic necessity because it frees others to earn outside. All of them had to do important works like collecting water and firewood, washing utensils, helping in cooking and taking care of siblings. Because of these reasons, parents were reluctant to spare their daughters for schooling. There is no evidence of gender disparity in enrollment rates among the poor, but it is likely that girls who belonged to poor families are less likely to persist and perform in school than boys. But as there is a stipend programme for the secondary female students, girls are now getting the opportunity for higher studies. Social Impact of PESP: Irrespective of the PESP’s impact on primary education or its reaching the poorest 40 percent of families, the prevalence of poverty in Bangladesh is such that the PESP must be regarded as a positive move in improving social welfare, in that it represents a substantial redistribution or transfer of income from the wealthier sections of society to the poorer ones. Given the rural focus, it is seen that these cash transfers has some positive impact on the economies of small rural communities. As households spend the PESP stipend on commodities (books, food, clothing, etc) and services (tutoring, medical, etc. ), the effects are rippling through the community, generating additional income for merchants and suppliers. Insofar as mothers are the stipend recipients, it is expected that they will have decision-making authority over its use and their economic prestige will be enhanced somewhat. The political and social impact is also positive as beneficiary poor families and community members appreciate the recognition of need and the benefits offered by the PESP. But the major negative impact of this program is that those parents who sent their children to school after hearing about the stipend money, many of them withdrew their children when they were dropped from the stipend receivers list. These parents were unaware of the rules for achieving the stipend and they became angry and  annoyed by the rules. They also claimed that rules are strictly followed in the cases of poor students and teachers showed biasness while distributing stipends. According to them, the students who take private tuitions from the teachers and the children of the rich and powerful people receive stipend even if they are irregular or have failed in exams. Many of the parents said with anger that the strictness of rules happens only for the poor. Thus even though the stipend programme has increased the enrolment rate it has also became a reason for dropping out of children. The people who have two or more children enrolled in school do not support the rule of Tk. 125 for two children. They feel that all of their children should receive Tk. 100 each. Some of the parents of the dropouts were very annoyed with this rule. Few dropout children had their siblings reading in the same schools as well, so the amount of money received from PESP due to this rule made the parents take different strategy. Although both children received stipend, many of these parents withdrew their eldest child from school and engaged them in work, while the other children continued studying as long as they receive stipend. It is difficult for a poor family to afford the opportunity cost of more then one child. Matrix 1—Knowledge, attitude and perception towards the primary education stipend project Key issues Students ParentsTeachersCommunity 1. Knowledge regarding the project. Selection criteriaFor poor and regular students, in primary school are eligible for stipendFor poor and regular students85% attendance and at least 45% pass marks in each subjects in all examsGiven to all poor and good students schools Retention CriteriaRegular attendance and at least pass marks in all examsRegular attendance and good result85% attendance and at least 50% pass marks in each subjects in all examsRegular attendance in school and good result Disbursement ProcessDistributed by bank officials or teachers to the students in school/nearby camps arranged for disbursement. Distributed from school and received by studentsDistributed from school or camps arranged by UPO in the presence of headmaster, class teacher, and SMC members Distributed by school among students 2. Attitude towards the projectBeneficial for all especially the poor. Helpful for allHighly beneficial particularly to the poor studentsHelpful for children Adequacy of stipend amount Disbursement processNot sufficient and should be increased ReasonableInadequate for expenses of direct and hidden costs but still helpful. ReasonableThough inadequate but helpful for the very poor students Though reasonable but takes a whole working day Key issuesStudentsParentsTeachersCommunity 3. Impact of the project Enrollment Attendance Increased, particularly for the poor students Increased a little Increased Increased a little Increased for all, and especially increased for poor students Attendance is still the same amongst poor students but in general increased a little Increased Probably more regular than before Dropout Completion rate Incidence of early marriage. Support towards female education Family pressure for marriage Social pressure for marriageDecreased High Still the same Same as before Still the same Still the sameLess than before Higher than before Still the same Increased a little Decreased a little Still the sameDecreased a little Higher than before Still the same Increased a little Still the same Still the sameDecreased a little Higher than before Still the same Increased Decreased a little Still the same Key issues Students ParentsTeachersCommunity 4. Problems regarding the project. Inadequate stipend amount Late distribution of text books Late disbursement of stipend Extortion of stipend money in forms of school fees and private tuitionInadequate stipend amount, Indirect cost of schooling (fees, uniform, cost of education aids), Late distribution of stipend Extortion of stipend money in forms of school fees and private tuitionInadequate stipend amount for the very poor students, Lack of training opportunities for teachers in the project Late disbursement of stipend money by the government Inadequate stipend amount 7. 3 IMPACTS ON BENEF.

Free Essays on Poem Of Perseverence

Poem of Perseverance In most cases, a poet’s life and experiences greatly influence the style and the content of their writing, some more than others. Robert Frost is one of the most renowned poets of his time, recognized for the amount of genuine, emotional insight into life and nature he was able to portray through his poetry. Born in San Francisco, but raised in New England, many of Robert Frost's poems are representations of his experiences in the northeastern parts of America. A closer look at the circumstances surrounding the composition of Frost's poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" can give us a better insight as to what the poem was intended to express. Frost wrote this poem on November (Frost Chronology) 1923; the same night he completed his book New Hampshire (Jackson sec. 1). Frost, "a little excited from getting over-tired"(qtd. in Jackson sec. 3), decided to venture out into the night, perhaps to wind down after a long day’s work. Frost hitched his horse to a sleigh and left on his journey to eventually travel through the woods mentioned in this poem. Being in an "auto intoxicated"(qtd. in Jackson sec. 3) state, Frost was mesmerized by the scene of the woods beside the frozen lake. He eventually broke out of his trance, possibly with the aid of his horse, by thoughts of prior commitments. The former statement is shown in the text by the line "He gives his harness bells a shake to ask if there is some mistake"(L.L. 9-10) and the latter by: "But I have promises to keep And miles to go before I sleep"(L.L. 13-14). According to Frost, upon his return home, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" "was written in a few minutes without any strain"(qtd. in Jackson sec. 1). Literally, "The darkest evening of the year"(L.8), refers to the winter equinox that occurs every 21st of December. If we look at it symbolically, this line could have been written to convey the peak of Frost’s efforts to finish his book New... Free Essays on Poem Of Perseverence Free Essays on Poem Of Perseverence Poem of Perseverance In most cases, a poet’s life and experiences greatly influence the style and the content of their writing, some more than others. Robert Frost is one of the most renowned poets of his time, recognized for the amount of genuine, emotional insight into life and nature he was able to portray through his poetry. Born in San Francisco, but raised in New England, many of Robert Frost's poems are representations of his experiences in the northeastern parts of America. A closer look at the circumstances surrounding the composition of Frost's poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" can give us a better insight as to what the poem was intended to express. Frost wrote this poem on November (Frost Chronology) 1923; the same night he completed his book New Hampshire (Jackson sec. 1). Frost, "a little excited from getting over-tired"(qtd. in Jackson sec. 3), decided to venture out into the night, perhaps to wind down after a long day’s work. Frost hitched his horse to a sleigh and left on his journey to eventually travel through the woods mentioned in this poem. Being in an "auto intoxicated"(qtd. in Jackson sec. 3) state, Frost was mesmerized by the scene of the woods beside the frozen lake. He eventually broke out of his trance, possibly with the aid of his horse, by thoughts of prior commitments. The former statement is shown in the text by the line "He gives his harness bells a shake to ask if there is some mistake"(L.L. 9-10) and the latter by: "But I have promises to keep And miles to go before I sleep"(L.L. 13-14). According to Frost, upon his return home, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" "was written in a few minutes without any strain"(qtd. in Jackson sec. 1). Literally, "The darkest evening of the year"(L.8), refers to the winter equinox that occurs every 21st of December. If we look at it symbolically, this line could have been written to convey the peak of Frost’s efforts to finish his book New...

Rape Simulator Video Games and Democracy Essays

Rape Simulator Video Games and Democracy Essays Rape Simulator Video Games and Democracy Paper Rape Simulator Video Games and Democracy Paper Is the rape simulator video game good or bad for democracy? Throughout human history violent forms of entertainment have existed alongside refined ones. In Ancient Rome, for example, when modern mediums of entertainment such as Television, video games, etc did not exist, gladiator fights were a popular pass-time. This prompted Saint Augustine to note that not only did people liked violence as passive spectators, but it has also induced in them a ‘fascination for blood’. Today, such violence-ridden games like gladiator fights are forbidden by law and social norms. But the ‘fascination for blood’, apparently inherent to human nature, is exploited by movie makers and video-game manufacturers. The movie titled Gladiator, starring Russell Crowe, is one example of this phenomenon; the controversial rape simulator video game produced in Japan is another key example. While the former is legally permitted and is accepted by mainstream audiences and commentators, the latter has not gained approval on both legal and ethi cal grounds. The game has been banned in the United States due to its perverse and obscene nature. For instance, players earn points for acts of sexual violence, including following girls (mostlty wearing highschool outfit), raping virgins and their mothers, and then forcing them to have abortions. (Moses, 2010) The public debate that the game has spurred has expanded beyond its utility, value, etc, to broader considerations such as its effect on the health of democracy. The rest of this essay will support the view that videogames such a Rape Simulator are not only hazardous for the players and the societies they inhabit, but their negative effects pervade to undermine democratic processes and institutions of a country. According to Aristotle’s theory of Catharsis, people release their violent pulsation by seeing them portrayed by other agents/actors. This way the pent up frustration is released, which could otherwise lead to violent behavior. Applying this theory to the video-game in question, one could deduce that playing the game will reduce the actual number of incidents of rape in society, for the real is substituted by the simulated. (End Violence Against Women, 2010) But actual facts are not consistent with the theory, as proved by scholar S.Feshback. He took 625 junior high school boys and asked half of them to watch a violent television program for 6 weeks. The other half was as to watch non-violent programming. At the end of 6 weeks, when teachers evaluated the students, no difference in aggressive behavior was observed. However, there was a decline in aggression among students who were previously assessed by personality tests to be more inclined toward aggressive behavior. Co nsidering that such students formed only a small minority, the Catharsis theory does not hold true for this case. Countering the validity of the Catharsis theory is the Aggressive Simulation theory, which states that people are inspired by what they see. Meaning that if they see violence they will reproduce it. In other words, what these video games do is to break down social barriers for those who are predisposed to such behavior. Since the maintenance of law and order is essential for the smooth functioning of democratic societies, it follows that perpetration of violent behavior (as a mirror effect of watching and simulating violent acts) will undermine democracy. (Alexander, 2009) We live in a world were we are constantly bombarded with information, most of which encourage us to buy this or that product. The power of marketing has already been demonstrated through the century long history of our Public Relations industry. Indeed, the PR industry and the media together wield huge power over the thoughts of citizens. In such a scenario, a person with a fragile mind, meaning someone who cannot make the distinction between what is right or wrong, receives massive exposure to violence through advertisements and other marketing campaigns, it can lead to disastrous consequences. These include acts of brutality, anger, savageness, torture, sadism, etc (all of these qualities are encouraged by Rape Simulator). Hence it is imperative that such games are censored or banned from public consumption. (Haydon, 2009) The fact that Rape Simulator encourages sexual acts with schoolgirls is a cause for concern, as it implies pedophilia. Although the game is meant for adults only, the objects of sexual desire depicted within it qualify as adolescents. The same criticism can be applied toward the sale of schoolgirl outfits in sex shops. Both of them are encouraging pedophilia and rape and inducing perversity and abuse, which are inconsistent with democratic concepts. We can no longer argue that it is it is not so bad for society, for it is just a game and it doesn’t harm anybody. In fact, based on the dangers to democracy we discussed so far, one can further argue that any video game that includes murder, war, robbery, gun shot should be therefore forbidden. (The Free Library, 2010) At least in these latter examples, one could come up with justifications. For example, one can justify robbery (to feed oneself or pay the rent to give a home to his/her children), one can justify shooting wi th a gun (to kill a murderer, saving lives), and one can justify war (which our government does it everyday). The rape simulator video game, on the other hand, is undermining the very integrity and foundations of democratic civil society. We should also keep in mind that censorship and freedom of speech are counteracting principles. But virulent forms of free expression such as the Rape Simulator game should be banned in the larger interests of democratic societies. This conflict is identified by sexual assault victims’ rights advocates as well. But they say that civil rights should not be abused in order to promote a culture of tolerance for rape and violence against women. (Haydon, 2009) On the other hand, banning or censoring any thing puts it on the spotlight, giving it free publicity that marketers are happy to see happen. In my own case, my first reaction when I heard about this game was to go â€Å"check it out†; and am sure such is the reaction of many players. Even if the game is made illegal, there are many ways for getting hold of it and playing it. Censuring it is not going to stop people to play it as it only adds publicity and attention to the game . However making it legal would also not serve the democratic purpose, as it would mean that society has lost its ethical compass and the sense of right and wrong. Hence, in conclusion, a tactful and nuanced dealing of the problem is required. Otherwise, democratic societies will steadily march toward decadence and anarchy. Bibliography Race Simulator game goes Viral amid calls for Censorship, retrieved from on 5th November, 2010 Leigh Alexander, And You Thought Grand Theft Auto Was Bad : Should the United States ban a Japanese â€Å"rape simulator† game?, Monday, March 9, 2009, Rape Simulator games and the Normalization of Sexual Violence, The Free Library retrieved on 5th November, 2010 from Harry Haydon, Rape Simulator sold in Amazon, 13th Feb, 2009, retrieved from Video game featuring rape pulled from Amazon, retrieved on 5th November, 2010 from Japan: Rape simulator games and the normalization of sexual violence, Say No- End Violence Against Women, retrieved on 5th Novemeber 2010 from Asher Moses, Rape Simulator game goes Viral amid calls for Censorship, March 31, 2010, retrieved on 5th November, from youtube.com/verify_age?next_url=http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3Da54Pu9dTJfQ

Market Potential Indicators for Laptop Computers Research Paper

Market Potential Indicators for Laptop Computers - Research Paper Example While all of these indicators provide clues to the countries listed as emerging markets, some of these indicators are more critical to laptop marketing than others. We want to know population and electricity consumption because we need to ascertain that there is a sufficient number of potential consumers and that those consumers are likely to have the needed electricity required to charge and operate our laptops. In a country where there is low electricity consumption, we can assume that people are without refrigerators and other power-intense kitchen appliances, and do not use air conditioning. This suggests a lifestyle that will not lend itself to the perceived need and purchase of a laptop, considering that desktop PCs cost far less. We want to know how active the middle class is in earning money and spending it, and what percentage of the total they earn and spend, because we need to tailor our product design and marketing accordingly.

Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods Assignment

Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods - Assignment Example The dissertation will use varied ways of collecting data from a structured perspective under quantitative methodology. This may include the use of questionnaires, psychometric tests, experiments, interviews, sampling, and observations. Questionnaires and interviews: These data collection methods are effective because they enable the researcher to gather adequate information and measure the views or opinions of many respondents. Therefore, it has a limited effect on its reliability and validity since the researcher can pack the enriched explanations and it can untangle complex research problems. Experiments: This method is effective because it will enable the researcher to produce causality statements by using controlled experiments. It is reliable and sound effects because the researcher replicates dependent information. He or she is able to control the experiments; thus offering unambiguous answers to the research question. Sample survey: This method is vital because the researcher will employ design method that will enable him or her to cover a wider area within the controlled population. It is reliable and sound effects because it saves time and narrows the research design. Observations: This data collection method is significant because it provides first-hand information, which is not biased. It is reliable and genuine because the data collected is original and is not subjected to any changes since the observer directly collects it. The dissertation will use qualitative research methods in order to inquire and understand the social or human problem from diverse perspectives, and the research study is carried out in the established settings. It also entails construction of a multifaceted and holistic image of the interesting phenomenon.

Macro12C Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Macro12C - Essay Example The unemployment rate reached a minimum of 5.5% from 7.5% at the start of term of President Reagan. The real median income for families increased to nearly $41,000 at the end of term; this was significantly higher than 10 years before and 10 years after President Reagan’s term. Inflation touched a minimum of 2% in 1986 and ended at 5% in 1989 compared to 11% at start of term in 1981. The growth of government spending was 1% during president Reagan’s term compared to 3.5% before him and 4.5% after him. Real income tax revenues increased by 16.3% even after top income tax rate had been reduced from 70% to 50% in 1983 and to 28% in 1986. The nominal federal revenues increased from $517 billion in 1981 to $1.031 trillion in 1989. On the downside, however, Reaganomics was used when US was at peace at the time, yet the national debt increased from 26.3% of GDP in 1981 to 42.3% in 1989. Secondly, the savings rate fell from 8% to 6.5% during president Reagan’s term as a result of his economic policies. Thirdly, the rich got even richer and the poor got even poorer. Reaganomics largely believed that if more wealth was given to the rich, they would re-invest this money, which did not really happen. Given the positive and the negative outcomes of Reaganomics, it can be said that while Reaganomics did work well for the years it was in force, it wasn’t a very sustainable economic policy as it relied mainly on increasing national debt to cover for the economic growth. Q2: Show graphically the effects on macro economy of a sharp rise in OPEC oil prices in a. the short run. b. the long run. How do you account for the differences in your answers to parts a and b? A sharp increase in OPEC oil prices occurs due to a supply shock that is a sudden drop in supply of oil. Below figures show its effects in the short and long-run. Short-run effect of a sharp increase in oil price is illustrated in figure 1 below: Figure 1. Short-run effect of Sharp increase in oil prices In the short-run, the supply shock causes price levels to increase due to inflation caused by high oil prices not only on oil dependant industries but also on transportation of goods and services. This leads to a drop in total output as well as price levels have increased but the wages have not in the short-run – leading to stagflation. Thus, the short-run effect is an increase in price levels and a decrease in total output. Figure 2. Long-run effect of a sharp increase in oil prices Due to increase in inflation in the short-run, unemployment starts to increase. Wages start to decrease. This leads companies to start hiring people. Also, the short-run effects bring about economic policy changes by the governments that are targeted to increase the output and to reduce inflation – which could be an increased government spending and/or decrease in interest rate. As the inflation comes under control, the real wages start to increase. This leads to an increase in demand in the long-run and the net effect is that

Co morbidity and dual diagnosis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Co morbidity and dual diagnosis - Essay Example We look into 3 studies each of which provide evidence of one hypothesis or another. In the end we conclude that cannabis aggravates already susceptible people's condition who are young users and predominantly male and pushes them into a symptomatic stage of psychosis, rather than causing psychosis in an otherwise normal individual. It has been demonstrated by many a studies that substance abuse is more prevalent in patients with psychotic disorders than in the general population. What is of debate is whether substance abuse precedes psychotic disorders like schizophrenia and is a risk factor for the disease or whether it is just the fact that people with the disorders tend to misuse the drugs. Alcohol and cannabis are the most commonly abused drugs in the general population as well as in people with mental disabilities. Since the middle of the 20th century, the use of mental state altering drugs has increased. Cannabis use has been on the rise and although many attempts have been made to associate or disassociate it from disorders linked with it, researchers are still debating the full impact cannabis use might have on the public. It is imperative that agreement be achieved on the effects of cannabis so that policies and restriction on community use and definitive treatments can be provided to the affected peo ple. The exact relation between cannabis use an... The recent cause of concern is the fact that multiple studies are pointing the finger at the hypothesis that cannabis use leads to schizophrenia. Hickman M et al (2007) in their study have tried to estimate long term patterns of cannabis use in the general population and attempted to and estimate and observe if the schizophrenia rates follow the same pattern. This pattern, if could to be present, they believe could demonstrate that cannabis usage has a direct relationship with schizophrenia as has been proposed by numerous old studies. "Trends in cannabis use were estimated from a national survey, and the incidence of schizophrenia was derived from surveys in three cities. A difference equation cohort model was fitted against estimates of schizophrenia incidence, trends in cannabis exposure and assumptions on association between cannabis and schizophrenia. The model projects trends in schizophrenia incidence, prevalence and attributable fraction of cannabis induced schizophrenia" (Hickman M et al, 2007). Hickman M et al has shown that over the past few decades cannabis use has gradually, but steadily increased in the young age groups of the society. He argues that if there was a casual relationship between cannabis use and schizophrenia prevalence, then the incidence and prevalence of disease should also show an upwards trend in the younger generation (assuming that all other factors remain constant). But recent studies of epidemiology according to Hickman (2007) suggest that schizophrenia's incidence and prevalenc e is in a downward trend. Their projections for the future also show a downward or a trend. This pattern contradicts the theory of casual