Consumer behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Consumer behavior - Essay Example He feels that reverse engineering of the human brain will take place by 2020 and then the inception of singularity will be in 2045. Technology will give enough power to machines to be able to evolve them and continue evolving. This means by then they will be able to completely imitate the human brain. The need for information is never ending. Information is endless and timeless. Singularity will ensure that human mind will be surpassed by the development of better software consciousness. The transformation, he feels will be more beneficial than of harm to the world at large. I feel that the technology evolution as spoken by Ray Kurzweil would be evolutionary for the organizations and business world at large. It will succeed in automating the business process, in analyzing and taking futuristic decisions on its own.The foremost advantage of singularity for organizations would be that it will save time and will bring down the costs of large corporations. Large firms cannot risk wasting their time in procedural maneuvers and unwanted delays. It will ensure quick processing of information and reduces the burden of paperwork. It is difficult to manage large firms without proper records, and so it will maintain work effectively with minimum chances of error. Such a system would strive for perfection; it keeps track of its order.

Lone Polar Bears Journey Essay Example for Free

Lone Polar Bears Journey Essay Advertisement analysis: Nissan LEAF Polar Bear A Lone Polar Bears Journey Nissan exhibited a 100% electric drive car, Nissan LEAF, to Japan and the US in 2010. It is the first zero emission car in the world that is mass produced. Nissan gave it a very good name LEAF. Deliveries to individual customers began in the United States and Japan in December 2010, and immediately the associated environmental- friendly campaign started. It is hard to tell something new on a banal topic like environmental friendly, but Nissan presented it in a very beautiful way through a series of advertisements. This ad, narrated a story that a lone polar come thousands of miles just to hug and thank for the contribution to his life that the first Nissan Leaf user made. Media This ad was put in CBS after the sitcom TV series The big bang theory. As a comedy which is set on the background of scientific genius and has much academic vocabulary, its audience are mainly people who were educated. Thus relevantly they have conscientiousness and responsibility of society and environment. LEAF, as it realized zero emission, will have a large impact on this category of audience and is easier to get sympathy and support from them which will achieve for marketing effectiveness. Target LEAF s target consumer are people who have an income on or above average, or have a life style that is fashion, high-quality or green, or willing to help the environment. Psychological techniques The main technique in the ad is to get sympathy. There are a series of touching scene in the ad, such as the lonely silhouette of polar bear in the boundless icy see, its sheltering from the rain in the underpass, its playing with a butterfly and greeting a palm civet, and its silhouette gazing at the bustling city night. Through a humanized story Nissan impressed audience successfully and unconsciously influenced consumer of the products environmental friendly idea, thus made the audience accepted and pproved the product. Assessment This advertisement captured the right media and target consumer, very importantly it impressed audience, and thus the ad is practically successful. As for the advertisement content itself, I think its success is based on three aspects. First, its narration and shots get strong sympathy from audience which makes them easily accepted the products environmentally friendly idea. Secondly, this is an ad that is memorable; its not easy for consumers to forget it right after watching. Thirdly, this advertisement sets people thinking to maintain the interest. One issue I personally concerned as a shortage of this ad is, it emphasized on â€Å"story rather than products. It didnt mention any introduction of the product and the only sound in the ad is the background music and the polar bears yowl. In this way consumers may remember the story but forget about the car. www.facebook.com/erniesautobody/posts/194360270588400 https://www.youtube.com/

novella :: essays research papers

Why do Filipinos Love Asian Drama? Asian novellas are what’s in these days. They are shown on almost every local TV Channel, sold on DVD and VCD in stores to sidewalks. What do these Asian-novellas have that make them very popular to us Filipinos? Why do Filipinos love Asian Drama? As a watcher of Asian novellas myself, I have seen that it is easy for us Filipinos to relate and appreciate these Asian novellas because these are shows played by actors who are our co-Asians. Watching Asian actors give us a sense of being at home. Filipino TV viewers are, I think quite tired of the local tele-novellela’s usual plots, storylines twists, and actors. Our tele-novellas’ story flow often take lots of episodes before anything meaningful happens. We Filipinos are tired of the same actors that switch roles for every new tele-novella. New, Asian actors, plots and storylines are a break from the usual race and faces of tele-novellas. The new Asian novellas that have taken us by storm have rather complicated storylines which people enjoy very much because for once in their lives they can experience a non-clichà © novella. I myself find the storyline of different Asian novellas that I’ve watch at least for a short while very amusing. The storyline is always unexpected.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Fast-paced Asian-novellas are injected with very funny scenes that include clever situations, jokes and even funny faces. You will also be surprised that even though these shows are from other Asian countries, the experiences of the actors are not very far from our day-to-day experiences that we might have. Viewers of Asian-novellas can also grasp a few foreign words and terms from sub-titled Asian novellas. That would be enjoying and learning at the same time! . My favorite Asian novella so far is a K-drama (Korean Drama) entitled Ruler of Your Own World (ROYOW). Though it has the formula plot (fatal disease, love triangle), it has a very unique storyline. And the actors weren’t even good-looking. ROYOW just had the right actors mixed with an exciting storyline. Storylines are what people are after in dramas. You can have the same plot but have millions of storylines. This is sad to say what is lacking in Philippine television.

Delegation is the assignment Essay

Delegation is the assignment of responsibility or authority to another person (normally from a manager to a subordinate) to carry out specific activities. It is one of the core concepts of management leadership. However, the person who delegated the work remains accountable for the outcome of the delegated work. Delegation empowers a subordinate to make decisions, i.e. it is a shift of decision-making authority from one organizational level to a lower one. delegation is good and can save money and time, help in building skills, and motivate people. Poor delegation, on the other hand, might cause frustration and confusion to all the involved parties. Some agents however do not favour a delegation and consider the power of making a decision rather burdensome. Delegation is about entrusting someone else to do parts of your job A manager alone cannot perform all the tasks assigned to him. In order to meet the targets, the manager should delegate authority managers could greatly reduce their stress by practicing a critical management skill – delegation. Delegation is one of the most important management skills. Good delegation saves the time, develops the subordinates, fosters a successor and motivates. Poor delegation will cause frustration, de-motivation and failures to achieve the task or purpose. Although it is easy to recognize the benefits that accrue from delegation, many managers still resist actually doing it The most important step for delegation is to recognize the common barriers to delegation. These barriers can come from supervisors (leaders), the team members, or the situation. 1. Barriers Related to Supervisor The biggest barrier to effective delegation often comes from supervisors. They must overcome their anxieties about giving others responsibilities in order to gain the benefits of effective delegation. In general, 6 barriers are related with the Barriers to delegation of authority from subordinate side would mean, the difficulties or problems faced by subordinate in accepting and using the authority delegated. These barriers include the following. †¢Authority delegated in theory, but means of exercising the authority not made available. For example, a subordinate may be delegated the authority to buy computer required in his department, but the purchase department drags feet  on actually buying the computer. The worst case of this type may happen when, for example, a project manager is given considerable authority for executing a project, but the project itself is not sanctioned. †¢The subordinate may not have authority over some of the people who must contribute to implementation of decisions made. †¢Required information for making decision may not be available. Many a times other supporting facilities like staff and office space may also be inadequate. †¢The subordinate may be already overburdened wit h work. †¢When a subordinate id delegated authority which elevates his position above those equal or senior to him this may be resented by them. †¢Subordinate may lack the skill and knowledge for effective decision making. †¢Limits of authority delegated not defined clearly. Generally delegation of authority with supposedly no limits is not very effective. †¢The subordinate has no motivation for accepting the additional responsibility that goes with the authority. †¢Authority delegated without matching responsibilities. This can make delegation directionless for the subordinate.

Language Acquisition and Development

A huge variation in the rate of vocabulary and language development can be observed   in children , and parents/caretakers should not expect all children to develop at the same rate .The development of speech is dependent on the environment that the child is brought up in especially the social interactions the child has with the members of the household. A child who is spoken to often and is exposed to the daily routine of the house/ neighborhood develops its own interpretation and relation between words and actions. Kids typically try to use the type of communication conventional in their community for example a child brought up in a active Spanish household may start waving its arms to communicate before actually forming the words when it sees the people in its orbit doing so. A child brought up in a silent household may not speak early as it has negligible exposure to the use of verbal or non verbal communication. The Motor function development in the child also impacts the rate of speech development. Children who are read to often or encouraged to speak are seen to make better effort at communication rather than those children left to their own devices. It is also found that children of working parents, who are left in day care, adopt the speech mannerisms they are exposed to in the day care center. There are instances when children develop speech when they find they are not getting what they want or need and vice versa. There also needs to be allowances made such as the health of the child and its behavior patterns.   The development of speech is also dependent on the interest displayed by the child in learning and participating in activities like play or reading.   Therefore we can see that children develop at different rates depending on their environment and internal biological development. The exposure that a child is given compounded with the pace of motor functions impact the age of speech for different children. References Wegner, Lynn (2007).Screening for Speech and Language Delay in Preschool Children: More Answers Are Needed. Pediatrics. 533-534. Nelson, Heidi D., Nygren, Peggy, Walker, Miranda, & Panoscha, Rita (2007). Screening for Speech and Language Delay in Preschool Children: Systematic Evidence Review for the US Preventive Services Task Force. Pediatrics, 298-319. Wertsch, James 1985. Vygotsky and the Social Formation of Mind. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.   

Free Essays on Pre Civil War

Pre Civil War Prompt: â€Å"Slavery was the dominating reality of all Southern life.† Assess the validity of this generalization for TWO of the following aspects of Southern life from about 1840 to 1860: political, social, economic, and intellectual life. Slavery was the dominating reality of all Southern life. The effects of Slavery in the south can be seen both socially and economically. Cotton was king and the white government of the South meant that slavery wouldn’t go away unless something of great magnitude happens to change everything. In America at the time, a slave was a piece of property that could be bought, sold, loaned, used as collateral, or willed to another if the owner wanted it. The economy at the time in the south was dying because not enough cotton could be picked up fast enough to profit. This would make slavery useless as it took a slave a whole day to pick out all the seeds from one piece of cotton. As this would happen, slavery would no longer be useful and they would all become free. It happened so that a Negro man by the name of Eli Whitney invented a machine called the Cotton Gin. This allowed the seeds of a piece of cotton to be removed from faster and safer. You would think that this would decrease the number of slaves a slave owner had but it worked the other way. Slave owners wanted more slaves to make more profit, thus cotton became the South’s leading export over tobacco and sugar. To a slave owner â€Å"Cotton was King†, the gin was his throne, and the black bondsme n were his henchmen.† (Bailey, 361) The Southern families finally had their taste of wealth just as the North has with their factories but the South wanted more. The farmers were greedy, money hungry people and as long as there was rich, fertile, soil for cotton, there were slaves working for the benefit of their owners. The invention of the cotton gin made farmers buy more land and this meant that they needed to get ... Free Essays on Pre Civil War Free Essays on Pre Civil War Pre Civil War Prompt: â€Å"Slavery was the dominating reality of all Southern life.† Assess the validity of this generalization for TWO of the following aspects of Southern life from about 1840 to 1860: political, social, economic, and intellectual life. Slavery was the dominating reality of all Southern life. The effects of Slavery in the south can be seen both socially and economically. Cotton was king and the white government of the South meant that slavery wouldn’t go away unless something of great magnitude happens to change everything. In America at the time, a slave was a piece of property that could be bought, sold, loaned, used as collateral, or willed to another if the owner wanted it. The economy at the time in the south was dying because not enough cotton could be picked up fast enough to profit. This would make slavery useless as it took a slave a whole day to pick out all the seeds from one piece of cotton. As this would happen, slavery would no longer be useful and they would all become free. It happened so that a Negro man by the name of Eli Whitney invented a machine called the Cotton Gin. This allowed the seeds of a piece of cotton to be removed from faster and safer. You would think that this would decrease the number of slaves a slave owner had but it worked the other way. Slave owners wanted more slaves to make more profit, thus cotton became the South’s leading export over tobacco and sugar. To a slave owner â€Å"Cotton was King†, the gin was his throne, and the black bondsme n were his henchmen.† (Bailey, 361) The Southern families finally had their taste of wealth just as the North has with their factories but the South wanted more. The farmers were greedy, money hungry people and as long as there was rich, fertile, soil for cotton, there were slaves working for the benefit of their owners. The invention of the cotton gin made farmers buy more land and this meant that they needed to get ...

MAYFIELD HIGH Essays

MAYFIELD HIGH Essays MAYFIELD HIGH Essay MAYFIELD HIGH Essay The reason for my first hypotheses is that girl enter puberty quicker than boys so for this reason girls growth spurt is earlier on in girls than it is on in boys, but in the later years boys tend to catch up to the girl and in majority cases they outgrow them. The reason for my second hypotheses is that girls at a younger age make more fat as it is needed because of the way the girls has developed. She needs this fat because her body is getting ready top bear children. Boys on the other hand dont put that much weight on in the early years because it is not needed but as they grow older they put on more weight on as muscle because boys are more powerful and stronger than girls because and their strength is needed. TYPES OF SAMPLING: Random Sampling: Random sampling is used to reduce bias so that a set of data is not one sided. Random sampling can be obtained by using a calculator. When using random sampling you must ensure that all samples are equally likely to be chosen. Stratified sampling: Strata means layer. A stratified sample is made up of different layers of the population. The sample size is proportional to the size of its layer. To do this the formula is the number in the year group *50 /number in the whole school. Random samples are then taken from each section of the population. Systematic sampling: If a sample of size t is to be taken from the population of size u then every t/u member of the population is to be tested. Every member of the sample is chosen at regular intervals from the list. A sample chosen in this way can be biased if low or high values come in a certain pattern. The starting point is chosen randomly. In order to test, my hypotheses I must take a sample from across a range of years. This is because the sample of year 7s must be in proportion o the size of the whole school. My stratified sample (males) My stratified sample (females) Stratified sample of 50 males Stratified sample of 50 females Year 7 males: 150/601*50 = 12 Year 7 females: 131/589*50 = 11 Year 8 males: 144/601*50 = 12 Year 8 females: 125/589*50 = 11 Year 9 males: 117/604*50 = 10 Year 9 females: 153/589*50 = 13 Year 10 males: 106/601*50 = 9 Year 10 females: 94/589*50 = 8 Year 11 males: 84/60*50 = 10 Year 11 females: 86/589*50 = 7 I have rounded my figures up I have rounded these figures up they add they add up to 53. up to 55. As with every stratified sample rounding errors could have occurred, so they couls have added to 54 or 56. I will now select my samples from the whole population using a random method. Cluster sampling: First you split the whole population into groups or clusters. Then you choose certain clusters using random sampling. This method is called cluster sampling. The sample is then every member of the cluster chosen. Cluster sampling is very cheap but it can be biased. Quota sampling: This is a sample where they try to involve as much of the population as possible. It is a method often used by research companies. The interviewer will normally be given instructions but they then will be left to choose the interviewees. Attribute sampling: In this type of sampling you would pick your sample based in an attribute which is totally unrelated to the variable being investigated. SAMPING I WILL CHOOSE I will choose to use random sampling and stratified sampling because these will make the results less biased as possible and the stratified sampling will give us the exact of people we need to use.

History of the 19th Century Whaling Industry

History of the 19th Century Whaling Industry The 19th-century whaling industry was one of the most prominent businesses in America. Hundreds of ships setting out from ports, mostly in New England, roamed the globe, bringing back whale oil and other products made from whales. While American ships created a highly organized industry, the hunting of whales had ancient roots. It is believed that men began hunting whales as far back as the Neolithic Period, thousands of years ago. And throughout recorded history, the enormous mammals have been highly prized for the products they can provide. Oil obtained from a whale’s blubber has been used for both lighting and lubricating purposes, and the bones of the whale were used to make a variety of useful products. In the early 19th century, a typical American household might contain several items manufactured from whale products, such as candles or corsets made with whalebone stays. Common items which today might be made of plastic were fashioned of whalebone throughout the 1800s. Origins of Whaling Fleets The Basques, from present-day Spain, were going to sea to hunt and kill whales about a thousand years ago, and that appears to be the beginning of organized whaling. Whaling in the Arctic regions began about 1600 following the discovery of Spitzbergen, an island off the coast of Norway, by the Dutch explorer William Barents. Before long the British and Dutch were dispatching whaling fleets to the frozen waters, at times coming close to violent conflict over which country would control the valuable whaling grounds. The technique used by the British and Dutch fleets was to hunt by having the ships dispatch small boats rowed by teams of men. A harpoon attached to a heavy rope would be thrown into a whale, and when the whale was killed it would be towed to the ship and tied alongside. A grisly process, called cutting in, would then begin. The whale’s skin and blubber would be peeled off in long strips and boiled down to make whale oil. Whaling in America In the 1700s, American colonists began developing their own whale fishery (note: the term â€Å"fishery† was commonly used, though the whale, of course, is a mammal, not a fish). Islanders from Nantucket, who had taken to whaling because their soil was too poor for farming, killed their first sperm whale in 1712. That particular species of whale was highly prized. Not only did it have the blubber and bone found in other whales, but it possessed a unique substance called spermaceti, a waxy oil found in a mysterious organ in the massive head of the sperm whale. It is believed that the organ containing the spermaceti either aids in buoyancy or is somehow related to the acoustic signals whales send and receive. Whatever its purpose to the whale, spermaceti became greatly coveted by man.   By the late 1700s, this unusual oil was being used to make candles which were smokeless and odorless. Spermaceti candles were a vast improvement over the candles in use before that time, and they have been considered the best candles ever made, before or since. Spermaceti, as well as whale oil obtained from rendering the blubber of a whale, was also used to lubricate precision machine parts. In a sense, a 19th-century whaler regarded a whale as a swimming oil well. And the oil from whales, when used to lubricate machinery, made the industrial revolution possible. Rise of an Industry By the early 1800s, whaling ships from New England were setting out on very long voyages to the Pacific Ocean in search of sperm whales. Some of these voyages could last for years. A number of seaports in New England supported the whaling industry, but one town, New Bedford, Massachusetts, became known as the world’s center of whaling. Of the more than 700 whaling ships on the world’s oceans in the 1840s, more than 400 called New Bedford their home port. Wealthy whaling captains built large houses in the best neighborhoods, and New Bedford was known as The City that Lit the World. Life aboard a whaling ship was difficult and dangerous, yet the perilous work inspired thousands of men to leave their homes and risk their lives. Part of the attraction was the call of adventure. But there were also financial rewards. It was typical for a crew of a whaler to split the proceeds, with even the lowliest seaman getting a share of the profits. The world of whaling seemed to possess its own self-contained society, and one feature which is sometimes overlooked is that whaling captains were known to welcome men of diverse races. There were a number of black men who served on whaling ships, and even a black whaling captain, Absalom Boston of Nantucket. Whaling Lives On in Literature The Golden Age of American whaling extended into the 1850s, and what brought its demise was the invention of the oil well. With oil extracted from the ground being refined into kerosene for lamps, the demand for whale oil plummeted. And while whaling continued, as whalebone could still be used for a number of household products, the era of the great whaling ships faded into history. Whaling, with all its hardships and peculiar customs, was immortalized in the pages of Herman Melvilles classic novel Moby Dick. Melville himself had sailed on a whaling ship, the Acushnet, which left New Bedford in January 1841. While at sea Melville would have heard many tales of whaling, including reports of whales that attacked men. He would even have heard famous yarns of a malicious white whale known to cruise the waters of the South Pacific. And an immense amount of whaling knowledge, much of it quite accurate, some of it exaggerated, found its way into the pages of his masterpiece.

Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Leadership - Essay Example As mentioned above, schools obviously function as an open system, taking input from the environment, putting it through a transformative process and producing the changed product back into the environment. The second major frameworks schools function in is rational. A rational system is a system which attempts to achieve a specific goal with maximum efficiency. Though schools have a wide variety of goals, they are often very specific: they want to educate students to the point that they meet required standards (whether the standards are set by a school board, an accredited body, or the school itself). They seek to give students a balanced life, by providing access to education (in the form of physical education classes) and food along with academic pursuits. So clearly schools meet the first part of the definition of a rational system: they have specific goals. Schools also try to meet these goals in as efficient methods as possible; they employ teachers with enough experience to cov er multiple subject areas (such as physical education and another subject), they try to economize by using textbooks which will not become outdated quickly or can be used for multiple classes. So clearly they meet the second definition of a rational system.

Book Report on Playing the Enemy by John Carlin Essay

Book Report on Playing the Enemy by John Carlin - Essay Example Uniting the blacks and whites in South Africa was considered a lost cause by many people, because the divide did not only center on colour, but culture as well. The whites had a more Western-influenced culture than the blacks who clearly embraced their traditional African roots. This was the challenge that Nelson Mandela, a black South African president faced. But he, being a man who rarely gave up, knew that if there was a God in heaven, then there was hope for unity, no matter how tall the obstacle is. With this, he took upon himself to find a way to unite the two camps of humanity that shared the same land. For he too believed that, as long as we both live in the same land, â€Å"your freedom and mine cannot be separated† (Carlin, 2008, 23). The book reveals that Nelson Mandela decided to make his move in a rugby game because rugby was one of the favourite recreational sports for the white South Africans. It was a sport the blacks did not take much part in, for they deemed it a white-man’s game. But despite this, there is some influence that sports can exert to people. It has the ability to make friends out of enemies, because it helps them come together to cheer for a common interest. Carlin (2008, Page 163) showed belief in the power of sport when he mentioned Mandela’s statement, â€Å"let us use sport for the purpose of nation-building and promoting all the ideas which we think will lead to peace and stability in our country†. The team in focus were the Springboks, the then national rugby team of South Africa. A significant number of people can be found who believe that, that team was one of the best rugby teams the nation ever had. But though it represented the nation, it was entirely composed of white men, and as expected, the audience was mostly whites. Strangely, Mandela saw this as a ripe field to promote his agenda. But this was no walk in the park for the great man. He would have to gather all the charm and charisma he had amassed during his 50 years of activism, and his strategy demanded a cause all South Africans could support. His strategy was pure genius. He agreed to host the 1995 rugby world cup games in South Africa. In addition to this he endeavoured to inspire the black South Africans to develop an interest for the sport. Although not fully successful in this endeavour, he managed to get enough blacks onto his bandwagon to ensure that his plan would work out smoothly. For the Springboks, they were facing one of the giants of the sport, the gargantuan New Zealand All Blacks, a team whose unparalleled success and discipline spoke for itself. This was no easy game for the Springboks and they knew it very well. Their chances of winning were small, but greater still, their chances of winning the hearts of their black countrymen were much smaller. Carlin specified some prominent men that contributed in making that day eventful. The first individual is Francois Pienaar the six foot Captain of th e Springboks. The other one is, Linga Moonsamy, Mandela’s top bodyguard on that day. Other prominent figures are, Niel Barnard, who was once the head of the intelligence services during the apartheid-era, and Justice Bekebeke a man that had spent a significant amount of time under death sentence for committing murder, and Desmond Tutu who is revealed

How does Learning and Employee Development Contribute to Research Paper - 2

How does Learning and Employee Development Contribute to Organisational Success and Performance Within Social Care Services - Research Paper Example The most essential component of a learning and development plan as per the respondents’ view are the skills and second most essential learning component required to enhance service delivery quality according to the respondents is that of knowledge. These findings are very positive and reflect a developmental, growth-oriented attitude. Trained staff is more competent and can perform better than untrained staff. To attain training there must be motivation among the members and they must be interested in learning and developing in order to benefit from the training programs offered to them. The research study has revealed that all the respondents realize the importance of learning and development training programs and are willing to learn and grow for the betterment of their selves and organization in turn. Garavanfurther suggested that a strategically integrated model of Human Resource Development would ensure that the concepts of training, development, education, and learning and backed up and embedded in strategic plans, operational plans, policies, and work practice. The findings reveal that the respondents are well informed about the importance of all these components of training and therefore it can be safely said that such a plan as suggested by Garavan can be very feasible for an organization like Loretto Care where chances of its acceptance at the managerial level appear to be quite high.

Abortion Issue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Abortion Issue - Essay Example Regarding the abortion dilemma, here we should adhere to the point that killing a person is a bad action, probably the worst thing to do, according to Kantian Deontology. If a fetus is a person, killing it through abortion beyond dispute is an immoral action, because it has intrinsically immoral roots. Moreover, taking into consideration the fact that a fetus is a person that can’t protect itself and completely depends on another human being, abortion appears to be an extremely atrocious kind of murder. According to Kant, such act as murder shouldn’t be committed under any circumstances ever, because it violates any rules of morality and doing it is unfair towards another person; especially if this person is a weaker vessel which a fetus is. Mill’s position on the matter of abortion is less strict and flexible than the Kantian one. Mill’s Utilitarian doctrine is based on the Greatest Happiness Principle, which claims that people should correlate their acti ons and decisions with their own utility; they should also don’t make any harm to other people, trying to reduce the overall quantity of unhappiness in the world. The fact that a fetus is a person and has a right to live seems to make the resolution of the abortion issue similar to the Kantian one because killing a person can’t bring much happiness to normal people. If to pay closer attention to different circumstances that make women bent on abortion, it turns out that in some cases abortion can be a moral resolution of a case.

Timber Certification in the Building Industry Dissertation

Timber Certification in the Building Industry - Dissertation Example tion gathered through interviews with forestry officials on the timber certification methods and their company history respectful of the sustainable forest management process. These interviews will focus on timber companies who have and have not received timber certification and the impact both have their business relationships with manufacturers and consumers. Primary/Secondary Sources The primary sources are very much dedicated to one of only a few certification groups, TRADA, and the main players. The main players in timber certification include the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), WWF 1995plus, PEFC, and, UKWAS as these groups are all related to the manufacturing side of the forestry industry. There are mainly two forms of primary sources to be used: journals, internet and company interviews in an effort to not only relay what, if any, timber certification has on both the forestry industry as well as on consumer impact. It will be important through interviews to obtain whether certification is fully understood or whether consumer's and merchant's tend to take heed of what certification means to them and the forestry industry in general; or, if there is a lack of understanding by both parties of what certification means. Through using questionnaires and interviews with these two parties will provide empirical data to be used in analysing whether timber certification is fully understood by the general public and if this information is being provided adequately by forestry industry officials. Secondary sources are entirely related to building and trade merchants and how timber certification can affect their business relationships with the manufacturing sector. This also includes the processes that have been put forward in developing forest management standards... The primary sources are very much dedicated to one of only a few certification groups, TRADA, and the main players. The main players in timber certification include the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), WWF 1995plus, PEFC, and, UKWAS as these groups are all related to the manufacturing side of the forestry industry. There are mainly two forms of primary sources to be used: journals, internet and company interviews in an effort to not only relay what, if any, timber certification has on both the forestry industry as well as on consumer impact. It will be important through interviews to obtain whether certification is fully understood or whether consumer’s and merchant’s tend to take heed of what certification means to them and the forestry industry in general; or, if there is a lack of understanding by both parties of what certification means. Through using questionnaires and interviews with these two parties will provide empirical data to be used in analysing whether timber certification is fully understood by the general public and if this information is being provided adequately by forestry industry officials. Secondary sources are entirely related to building and trade merchants and how timber certification can affect their business relationships with the manufacturing sector. This also includes the processes that have been put forward in developing forest management standards in order to look toward further sustainable forest management. Tertiary empirical data can be gathered in an effort to recognise.

Abortion Issue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Abortion Issue - Essay Example Regarding the abortion dilemma, here we should adhere to the point that killing a person is a bad action, probably the worst thing to do, according to Kantian Deontology. If a fetus is a person, killing it through abortion beyond dispute is an immoral action, because it has intrinsically immoral roots. Moreover, taking into consideration the fact that a fetus is a person that can’t protect itself and completely depends on another human being, abortion appears to be an extremely atrocious kind of murder. According to Kant, such act as murder shouldn’t be committed under any circumstances ever, because it violates any rules of morality and doing it is unfair towards another person; especially if this person is a weaker vessel which a fetus is. Mill’s position on the matter of abortion is less strict and flexible than the Kantian one. Mill’s Utilitarian doctrine is based on the Greatest Happiness Principle, which claims that people should correlate their acti ons and decisions with their own utility; they should also don’t make any harm to other people, trying to reduce the overall quantity of unhappiness in the world. The fact that a fetus is a person and has a right to live seems to make the resolution of the abortion issue similar to the Kantian one because killing a person can’t bring much happiness to normal people. If to pay closer attention to different circumstances that make women bent on abortion, it turns out that in some cases abortion can be a moral resolution of a case.

Women Maternity Clothing Store (Part 2 of Business Plan) Assignment

Women Maternity Clothing Store (Part 2 of Business Plan) - Assignment Example Majority of pregnant women are working class who require clean and appealing work attire. According to statistics the population between age 15- 19 years are at times jobless with few having successful careers hence need for product that would suit low, middle and high-income customers within the region. The region as described demands warm clothing owing to prevailing weather conditions. Weather is vital in this business and plays significant role in design of merchandises. The region experiences longer winter seasons and shorter summer seasons and is characterized by busy and low season, in this case the busy season for most stores starts during spring break ending around September. United States spring break starts around March influencing sales from maternity stores. This creates an advantage since most pregnant women would vacation away from their home states and would make whole new purchases of maternity clothing (Suttle 1). Those in the northern part require more protective clothing in form of coats and boots as compared to those within southern region due low temperatures, additionally the region is also characterized by storms and hurricane seasons which at times keep consumers away from town centers (Suttle 1). Therefore, the business needs to consider weather aspect in the planning process to avoid unnecessary losses. Despite an upward growth for maternity clothes in recent years, there is current demand for stylish maternity clothes at all pregnancy stages within the region to suit weather conditions (Ranson 1). The figure below shows the map of the target region and the level of unintended pregnancies. Majority are young expecting mothers who value trendy and stylish clothes. The United States is known to be one of the worlds largest countries, occupying an area of approximately 3,679,192 square miles (9,529,107 square

Steps in a case study method Essay Example for Free

Steps in a case study method Essay All studies require that a research problem be identified and stated, and must be simple, concise, and in clear terms. Such problem will be the focus of a case study. IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM OF THE STUDY The General and specific objectives of the study must be categorically expressed. Such objectives will be the bases in conducting research activities. State the Objectives of the Study The research must identify his sources of data or information, how he is going to select his sources, what variables are to be included and excluded, and how these variables are to be selected  or determined. Determine the Sources of Data The researcher should identify the procedures of data gathering, the tools used in data gathering so that the researcher will be able to proceed smoothly with the research activities according to the time frame of the study. Determine the Procedures of Investigation After gathering the data, they are collated, arranged, and presented for easy analysis and interpretation. Collate, Analyze, and Interpret the Data 1. The researcher may select convenient cases, which are not typical for a case study. 2. The researcher may find difficulty  selecting the factors to be studied due to different environmental settings and sampling sizes. Limitations or Weaknesses of Case Study Method 3. Hypotheses cannot be tested due to small sampling size and limited number of variables. 4. Reliable and genuine data may not be obtained in some case studies due to limited primary sources. Experimental Methods of Research 1. To test the external validity of a laboratory ndings. 2. To improve conditions under which people live and work. Several Reasons For Conducting Experiments in a Natural Setting: Experiment also Involves†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Manipulation of One or More Variables which includes the: -Independent Variable -Dependent Variable Internal Validity -Reliabililty -Sensitivity -External Validity Characteristics of a Good Experiment -if the cause and e+ect is interpretable, that is by manipulating the independent variable, it can cause a change in dependent variable. Internal Validity An experiment is reliable if the obtained di+erence is likely to be found again and if the experiment is to be repeated. Reliability -an experiment is sensitive if such experiment is likely to detect the e+ect  of an independent variable even when that e+ect is a small one. Sensitivity -if the ndings can be generalized to individuals, settings,and conditions beyond the scope of the particular experiment. External Validity To provide empirical tests of hypotheses derived from theories. -experiments can be used to test the e+ectiveness of treatments and program. Purpose of Conducting Internship -Experimental Control -Random Assignment Two Conditions for an E$ective Experiment -Covariation -Time Order -Plausible Alternative Courses Three Conditions of Control:

UK Guidelines for Eye Screening

UK Guidelines for Eye Screening DOES THE UK CURRENTLY SCREEN THE POPULATION FOR APPROPRIATE EYE CONDITIONS? WHAT IS SCREENING? Screening is a way of identifying those individuals who are at a higher risk of developing a certain health problem; this allows them to have appropriate early treatment and information in order to prevent further deterioration. There are many different screening programmes which are offered by the NHS, for example, Screening for newborn babies, Diabetic Eye screening, Cervical Screening, Bowel Cancer Screening etc. (Nhs.uk, 2017). The screening process uses tests which can be applied to a large number of people and is an initial examination which requires further investigation and follow up. There are many different types of screening, for example, Mass screening (e.g. chest x-rays for TB), Multiple screening (e.g. annual health check), Targeted screening for those at a higher risk of developing specific diseases e.g. battery workers would be at a greater risk of developing cancer or problems with their nervous system (Anon,2017) and lastly Opportunistic screening. Opportunistic scr eening relates to identifying those at a higher risk to see whether they actually have signs of a condition as we carry out the pre-screening process/sight test, for example, we tend to check the pressures and fields of the people (maybe should write of patients over..) over the age of 40 in order to check for any signs of glaucoma, however, this cannot be classified as screening as it is opportunistic (Anon, 2017). Within this essay I will mainly be discussing Diabetic Eye Screening and Amblyopia Screening, I will be analysing how well these relate and correspond to the criteria set by the WHO guidelines for screening, how the screening programmes could be improved and what screening programmes are out in the world which could benefit us if brought within the UK. A full discussion of the classifications of diabetes or amblyopia is beyond the scope of this essay. 10 CRITERIA 1968 WHO GUIDELINES FOR SCREENING There are 10 main criteria/principles that a screening programme should meet in order to be an effective, practical and appropriate way of screening within the UK. These were brought about in 1968 by Wilson and Jungner (WHO) (Patient.info, 2017). Further down in this essay how well Diabetic Eye Screening and Amblyopia screening match the 10 criteria will be discussed, table 1.1 summarises the findings and a potential condition that we could screen for in order to enhance appropriateness of screening for eye conditions within the UK (Gp-training.net, 2017): (TABLE 1.1) 1968 WHO GUIDELINES DIABETIC EYE SCREENING AMBLYOPIA SCREENING AMD 1. The condition being screened for should be an important health problem à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¼ ? à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¼ 2. The natural history of the condition should be well understood. à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¼ à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¼ à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¼ 3. There should be a detectable early stage à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¼ à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¼ à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¼ 4. Treatment at an early stage should be of more benefit than at a later stage. à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¼ à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¼ à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¼ 5. A suitable test should be advised for the early stage. à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¼ à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ » ? 6. The test should be acceptable. à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¼ à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ » à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ » 7. Intervals for repeating the test should be determined. à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¼ à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¼ ? 8. Adequate health service provision should be made for the extra clinical workload resulting from screening. à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¼ à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¼ ? 9. The risks, both physical and psychological, should be less than the benefits. à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¼ à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¼ à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¼ 10. The costs should be balanced against the benefits à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¼ à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¼ à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ » DIABETIC EYE SCREENING It is estimated that within the UK, 4.5 million people have diabetes and around 1.1 million people have yet to be diagnosed (Anon, 2017). It is essential that we screen individuals who have diabetes as the development of Diabetic Retinopathy is one of the major complications of diabetes and early diagnosis can lead to appropriate and effective treatment (Hamid et al, 2016). This Diabetic Eye Screening (DES) is separate from a sight test and is to be carried out annually. If a woman is pregnant she will be offered additional tests as the development of gestational diabetes is common i.e. diabetes which only occurs during pregnancy, however, if the mother already has diabetes she also has a higher risk of Diabetic Retinopathy development (Nhs.uk, 2017). 1.1 Attendance at Diabetic Screenings Forster et al. (2013), evaluated whether patients who did not attend their DES were at a greater risk of sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy (STDR).   They carried out a longitudinal cohort study over 3 years (2008-2011) in which diabetic residents were invited for the screening. Forster et al found that 5.6% of the patients who did not attend in 1 year for their DES developed STDR. 2.6% patients who previously had no retinopathy at their first screen had developed STDR when they did not attend in 1 year and 5.7% of participants developed STDR when they did not attend for 2 consecutive years. With participants who previously had mild non-proliferative retinopathy at their first screen, 16.8% of these developed STDR when they did not attend for their DES in 1 year and 17% developed STDR when they did not attend for 2 years. (is this in your own words if not results should be quoted just to avoid plagerism)The results found for referable maculopathy also followed the same pat tern but the affected participants were smaller. This longitudinal study has its benefits as a large number of data can be collected however as it is over the period of 3 years, there is a risk of individuals dropping out of the study and therefore data for one year may not be comparable to the data from the next year as there would be subject differences. The findings of this study suggest that there is importance for DES and it can be deemed as an appropriate eye condition to be screened for within the UK as it does allow early detection of diabetic referable retinopathy and the greater the time between the DES the greater the risk of the development of STDR. However whether we need to screen individuals annually could be further discussed (Forster et al, 2013). 1.2 Improvements for DES Screenings To improve how we currently screen within the UK for appropriate eye conditions we could consider, increasing the time between the DES by making them biennial i.e. every 2 years. Forster et al found that participants had a 10.84 times higher chance of referable retinopathy if they had not attended their screening for 2 consecutive years, compared to those participants who were screened for every year.(I think should be kept in but change to own words if not already.) He found that for those patients who attended every 2 years had no significant increased risk of referable retinopathy compared to those who attended annually. A number of benefits can be seen from increasing the time between the screenings. Firstly this would mean that less DES would be carried out, this frees up time and space; in practices, this allows more time for regular sight tests and at the hospital, it allows more space for other important appointments. Reducing the number of DES also means that fewer professio nals would be required for these screenings; this would cut down the costs made by the NHS. Some could argue that this could lead to a cut down in the number of optometrists who specialise in the DES, however, this would allow the current professionals specialised in the DES or the ones that do carry out the training to become more skilled and have more focused knowledge on DES. Scanlon et al. (2013), found that those who were not screened promptly after being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes had a raised rate of detection of referable diabetic retinopathy. The study didnt show whether those who were screened at a later date had a more severe form of diabetic retinopathy or whether it was anything to do with patient compliance but it did indicate that screening patients within the Quality standards set by NICE were more beneficial for the patients (Scanlon, Aldington, and Stratton, 2013). This supports that the UK does currently screen appropriately for eye conditions such as Diabetes and in a timely manner, as the earlier we screen a patient after being diagnosed with diabetes, the less of a chance for the development of severe/unnoticed diabetic retinopathy, as the development of DR is most prominent within the first two decades of developing the disease (Fong et al, 2017). In the UK, patients information once being diagnosed with diabetes is transferred via their GP to the Diabetic Eye Screening Services as soon as they are diagnosed, this allows appropriate treatment and screening for the patient immediately. We cannot solely rely on this study as it does not include any facts or figures regarding how raised the risk is for referable DR if a DES is not carried out every year. Therefore to improve screening within the UK; following Forster et al study, we could increase the time between the screenings i.e. make it biennial. The Health Improvement and Analytical Team of the Department of Health found that it would be more cost effective if the screening intervals were increased from one year to another when carrying out a cost-utility assessment for those who have low risk of development of Diabetic Retinopathy; these being defined as those who have been graded to have no background retinopathy in either eye, therefore one way of improving the screening in the UK could be by increasing the intervals between the DES (James, 2000). Currently, within the UK, Diabetic eye screening is offered to individuals who are 12 years and older. They are contacted by their local Diabetic Eye Screening service informing the patient as regards to what practices are available for them to attend for their screening i.e. a local opticians, hospital or clinic. Hamid et al. (2016) carried out a retrospective analysis of 143 patients aged between 7 and 12 in order to see whether DES should be carried out on children under the age 12. 73 of these patients were below the age of 12 and the other 70 were 12 years of age. He found that both these groups had a similar prevalence of background diabetic retinopathy (early stage of diabetic retinopathy) and none had STDR. From Hamid et al results, it can be seen that there would be no benefit to starting the DR at an earlier age as the same results are found in both groups, therefore supporting the current English protocol of starting DES at 12 years of age.   A DES test within the U K is fairly easy to carry out and requires the patient to be dilated; once the patient is dilated they are unable to drive for roughly 4-6hours in order for their pupils to return to normal.(this could be referenced from somewhere see if you can find from article or anything on how its done then reference that) This could be considered as some inconvenience to the patient as they may be required to take a day off work or prevent doing specific tasks that day however as the DES is carried out annually it is only a matter of a few hours, which could easily be rearranged or time off work can be taken. The risks of the drops are very low; a few symptoms could be experienced for example pain, discomfort, redness of the eye, blurry vision and haloes around lights which can lead to Angle Closure Glaucoma. ACG can be treated and the benefit of carrying out the DES is much greater and outweighs the risks. 1.3 DES Screening In India Currently, in India, in addition to the current Diabetic eye screening that is being carried out in practices, they are also going to be trialing (think it needs double ll m grammerly says youve spelt it the American way) Mobile DES services. This will benefit patients in several ways; firstly those who are not able to leave their homes are able to get screening and treatment readily. Furthermore, not all clinics have the appropriate equipment required in order to carry out DES, therefore, with the Mobile DES services patients are able to still get the adequate healthcare required. This is yet to be trailed therefore the success rates are unpredictable. If in the future, this helped patients get the adequate screening and healthcare required in India, then this could also be trialled within the UK in order for improving eye screening for appropriate conditions (Kalra et al, 2016). AMBLYOPIC SCREENING The common vision defects in children aged around 4-5years tend to include amblyopia, strabismus (squint) and refractive error (short or long sighted). (is this referenced from tailor et al like the next sentence, if not then needs a reference) An estimation of the prevalence of amblyopia in the UK varies between 2% and 5% (Tailor et al, 2016). Amblyopia is well understood and occurs when the nerve pathway from one eye to the brain does not develop adequately during childhood (Medlineplus.gov, 2017). Individuals are said to have an amblyopic eye when their vision is worse than 6/9 Snellen or 0.2 LogMar in the affected eye.(reference needed)   The UK National Screening Committee along with the recommendations from the Health for All Children agreed that orthoptic-led services should offer to screen for visual impairments for children aged 4-5 years (Legacyscreening.phe.org.uk, 2017). If the amblyopia is treated while the visual system is plastic i.e. still developing within the critical period (first seven to eight years of life), then this can be an effective way of restoring normal vision. Untreated amblyopia can have a negative impact on an individuals adult life; within the UK it was found that only 35% (36 out of 102) of people were able to continue their employment after losing the vision in their non-amblyopic eye (Rahi, 2002). 2.1 Testing The tests for amblyopia can include monocular visual acuity testing, plus or minus assessment of the extra-ocular muscles, colour vision testing, and binocular status (Stewart et al, 2007). The screening process can vary depending on the density of the amblyopia and age of the patient i.e. this would alter the treatment required. Patching seems to be the most common treatment for amblyopia and is seen to have improvements in vision if it is carried out adequately i.e. compliance is required. Stewart et al. (2007), researched the benefits of patching in which they found 40 children who were patched for 6 hours had an improvement in 0.21 to 0.31 log units of vision compared with another 40 children who were patched for 12 hours had a 0.24 log unit improvement. This supports the idea that patching can be carried out for fewer hours and still produce a similar enhancement in vision. However, when compliance was monitored there wasnt much of a difference between the hours, for the patient s prescribed 6 hours they tended to vary between 3.7 to 4.7 hours and the 12-hour patching children varied between 5.1 and 7.3 hours (Stewart et al, 2007). (maybe some more critical analysis of this study, I know youve got sample size and randomisation but if you can may add some more) These results suggest that Amblyopic patients can be patched for fewer hours and still have the same improvement in vision, however, compliance is necessary. Following on from this study when a randomised trial was carried out in order to see the effectiveness of Atropine and patching as a treatment of Amblyopia, it was found that visual acuity in the amblyopic eye improved for both, therefore supporting patching and atropine as adequate treatments for Amblyopia (Stewart et al, 2007). In this study equal, sample sizes were used and patients were allocated randomly, this allows the removal of subject bias and allows comparisons between the subjects and therefore more reliable results can be obtained. Furthermore, it was found that the younger the child, the less the occlusion in hours that would be required, therefore, the earlier we test the child for amblyopia the better the treatment (Stewart et al, 2007). 2.2 Problems with Patching Referring back to the 1968 guidelines in Table 1.1, patching may not be deemed as an acceptable form of treatment. When a randomised trial was carried out on 4 year old and 5 year old children it was found that they had experienced short term distress and were more upset when having to wear a patch alongside glasses than wearing glasses alone (Williams et al, 2006). Children also reported having been bullied whilst wearing a patch causing emotional problems which in turn led to long term adverse consequences. Williams et al. (2006) carried out a prospective study, in order to test their hypothesis by comparing children who had been screened preschool and required a patch and those who had not. 95% confidence limits were calculated and it was found that the risk of being bullied was the same for those who wore glasses and had been screened preschool and not. However, when comparing the preschool and school children and the rates of bullying whilst wearing the patch it was found that t here was almost a 50% reduction in the group of children who had been screened preschool (Williams et al, 2006). From these results, it can be concluded that pre-school vision screening would reduce down the bullying experienced by the children whilst wearing the patch therefore in order to improve screening within the UK we could potentially screen the children earlier to prevent the psychological stress that the child has to experience. During this study, the data was collected via an interview with the children. Childrens responses could vary depending on who was interviewing the child, the gender of the child (girls would be more(not would-they may be more likely to) likely to admit to being bullied) and other factors too(what other factors-either state them or leave it at the last point); therefore these results could not fully represent whether the child had experienced bullying and this factor should be taken into account when viewing the results. 2.3 Screening for Amblyopia within Japan Currently, outside of the UK, there are different screening processes which occur. The screening process for Amblyopia within Japan starts at the age of one and a half years old and then the children are later screened at 3 years of age by paediatricians. In The School Health Law based in Japan, the Visual Acuities of children ranging from 6 years old to 12 years old are taken by the school teachers then the children are screened by Ophthalmologists to screen for the eye diseases and amblyopia (Matsuo and Matsuo, 2005). Several studies over the years have been collected in order to compare the number of strabismus patients identified in different countries. Comparing these different studies it can be found that overall there were fewer children in Japan who developed strabismus, only 1.28% of the sample. Within the UK when a similar study was carried out it was found that 4.3% of the total number of children screened developed strabismus, this being much larger than those who develop ed it within Japan (Matsuo and Matsuo, 2005). This variation in results may suggest that the screening process in Japan is a lot more thorough compared to the UK and as children in Japan are screened for fairly early on in life, they are continuously kept an eye on, this could increase the detection of the early developments of Amblyopia and therefore appropriate treatment is also given fairly early on. (but is it screened more thoroughly in japan only because japanease children are more prone to amblyopia- is the prevalence of amblyopia higher in japan-if so then that might be why they screen earlier-find out) However, we cannot solely base the development of strabismus on the way we screen the children as there could be other factors as well. One way in which we could modify screening within the UK could be by screening children at an earlier age and more often as well; this would allow early detection of Amblyopia and therefore early appropriate treatment, reducing the number of strabismic individuals. Tailor et al. (2016) identified that a large area of controversy when discussing screening for Amblyopia is that it is currently not clear whether screening children earlier is associated with better outcomes and also whether it is more cost efficient or not, however it is widely agreed that starting screening for amblyopia at the age of 4 to 5 years old it seems to be clinically effective and also cost efficient at the moment therefore further research needs to be carried out in order to see whether we should move the screening for Amblyopia to an early stage or not (Tailor et al, 2016). IMPROVING SCREENING WITHIN THE UK AMD Within the UK to improve screening we could also screen for further conditions such as for Age-Related Macular Degeneration. AMD is an important health problem and accounts for 8.7% of all legal blindness worldwide. The development of Choroidal Neovascularisation (CNV) is the main cause of severe vision loss which leads to the development of Wet or Exudative form of AMD (Schwartz and Loewenstein, 2015). AMD development is pretty well understood by professionals and it can lead to changes in your central vision and also have an impact on the quality of an individuals life. Patients with AMD have reported more difficulties when performing tasks such as reading, leisure activities, shopping etc. (Hassell, 2006). There is currently no treatment for the dry form of AMD, whereas wet AMD is currently being treated using intravitreal injections of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) agents which lead to an improvement in 30-40% patients visual acuity (Schwartz and Loewenstein , 2015). In Table 1.1 an extra column has been added in order to compare how well AMD screening would relate to the WHO criteria if it was to be screened for within the UK. 3.1 Techniques It has been found that the treatment of AMD at an earlier stage is of more benefit than at a later stage. Treatment of CNV within 1 month was found to have a greater gain in visual acuity than treatment which was given after this timeframe (Schwartz and Loewenstein, 2015). If AMD patients were left untreated for a year they would lose two or three lines of vision on average therefore the earlier the detection of AMD the more beneficial (Anon, 2017). The screening process could involve an Optical Coherence tomography (OCT) and a fluorescein angiography (FA) alongside clinical examinations, for example, Amsler charts, Nosefield Perimetry, Near Visual Acuity etc. In Table 1.2 these examination techniques have been presented in a table and the Pros and Cons of each technique can be seen. TABLE 1.2 (Schwartz and Loewenstein à ¯Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¿Int J Retin Vitr (2015) 1:20) 3.2 Screening Criteria If screening programs were to be carried out within the UK for AMD, we would need to consider a few factors. Firstly, at what age would we start to screen individuals for AMD and how often these screenings would take place would need to be considered(-dont need highlighted bit). AMD is most common in individuals who are over the age of 65, however, can be seen in some in their forties or fifties, not only is it affected by age but smoking, family history, UV exposure and diet can also be risk factors for the development of AMD (Rnib.org.uk, 2017). There could be a few different criteria in which individuals would qualify for the screening process of AMD, a few of these criteria could potentially be: Any individual over the age of 60 years old. Any individual over the age of 50 years old with a family history of AMD. Any individual who experiences one or more of the following symptoms: difficulty reading with spectacles, vision not as clear as previously or if experiencing straight lines becoming wavy or distorted (Rnib.org.uk, 2017). Once this screening process is carried out the recall period could vary depending on the patients health, family history, and lifestyle, this could vary from yearly up to a 5 year recall period for those that are normal; have no family history of AMD and good lifestyle. If an individual is diagnosed with Dry AMD then these screening processes would occur much more regularly in order to monitor the health of the eyes and to detect Wet AMD at an early stage. A benefit for the proposition of screening for AMD within the UK is that it would lead to more jobs and professionals to be specialised within AMD. 3.3 Time Efficient       There are a few flaws with screening for AMD. If OCT images were not clear enough patients may need to be dilated, this would mean that the patient would not be able to drive for approximately four to six hours, which could result in the patients having to take a morning/afternoon or a day off work.(maybe you can find a study where people are asked about what they dont like in dilation and it might be they dont like taking time off-then can reference that here) If all the above techniques mentioned in Table 1.2 were to be carried in the screening process for AMD, this in itself would be quite a lengthy process and would also require time to be taken off unless it was carried out on an individuals none working day. Screening for AMD would involve Fluorescein Angiography this may not be accepted by some patients as it is an invasive process and requires fluorescent dye to be injected into their bloodstream. Therefore suitable techniques would be required in which the patient would cons ent to if screening for AMD was to be carried out within the UK. Furthermore, currently within the UK, only half the adult population (48%) have heard of AMD therefore screening for AMD within the UK could be a challenge as public awareness of this disease is very limited therefore the public may be unable to recognize any symptoms or changes in their vision being related to AMD (VISION 2020, 2017). The development of CNV can be very rapid and therefore patients may remain asymptomatic or mechanisms within the brain could lead to overcome the noticeable change in their vision during the early stages of this disease, therefore, it would be difficult to screen the patient in their early stages of AMD (Rnib.org.uk, 2017). Further information should be given to individuals in which they are informed of what symptoms to look out for and also what to do in these instances. 3.4 Costs Practicality Currently within the UK if patients require a private OCT scan this can vary in price ranging from thirty-five pounds (C4 SightCare) to eighty-nine pounds (Leightons Opticians). Free OCT scans may be carried out in hospitals settings or learning institutes, for example, The University of Manchester (Gteye.net, 2017).   If we were to routinely carry out OCT scans for everyone as a technique during AMD screening then this can be very costly if funded by the NHS, in addition, if this was to be carried out privately then patients may not be willing to pay that much for the AMD screening process and therefore the success rates for screening for AMD within the UK would be less as patients wouldnt attend the screening. Furthermore, other techniques such as fluorescein angiography can be costly to be carried out for example if patients require this to be carried out privately they may end up paying up to  £103 (Anon, 2017). Another issue arising with the potential to screen for AMD would be regarding the practicality of the screening process; the equipment and machinery are fairly large and would require the practices to have adequate space in order to carry out these screenings. In addition, the equipment itself is very expensive and companies may not want to invest in such equipment if there turnover isnt worth it. In order to overcome this, we could potentially just carry out AMD screening within a hospital setting however it would still depend on the amount of space available to carry out these processes. Overall screening for AMD is quite a lengthy process and if it was to be carried out within the UK it would require a lot of work in order to make the screening process affordable and time efficient too. CONCLUSION Overall, within the UK we currently do screen for appropriate eye conditions these including Diabetic Eye Screening and Amblyopia. We could further increase this by screening for conditions such as Age-Related Macular Degeneration, as it is a very serious eye condition and early detection and treatment is beneficial. However, there are quite a few different factors which need to be considered if screening for AMD was to be carried out as mentioned above. Also, there are currently limited studies on AMD and therefore further research should focus on AMD and the benefits of continually screening the patient. Currently, as screening is being carried out for Amblyopia, this could be an eye condition that doesnt necessarily need screening for. A Cochrane review(do you need to reference which one) found that there is currently not enough evidence to determine whether the number of children with amblyopia was reduced due to the screening programs or not. The main reason for this was that de finition of Amblyopia is widely debatable and there is a lack of universally accepted definitions of amblyopia, which makes the data collected from different studies difficult to compare. However, it is much easier to leave a screening process in place rather than to remove it as a whole as further complications can arise and screening for this is somewhat beneficial.   From the discussion within this literature, it can be seen that we do currently screen for appropriate eye conditions within the UK. REFERENCES Nhs.uk. (2017). NHS screening Live Well NHS Choices. [online] Available at: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Screening/Pages/screening.aspx#what-is. Anon, (2017). [online] Available at: https://www.med.uottawa.ca/sim/data/Screening_e.htm. [Accessed 5 Feb. 2017]. http://www.hsa.ie/eng/Publications_and_Forms/Publications/Chemical_and_Hazardous_Substances/Safety_with_Lead_at_Work.pdf [Accessed 9 Feb. 2017]. Patient.info. (2017). Screening Programmes in the UK. Find S

Ignorance In Your High School Principal; My Trip To His Office :: essays research papers

I walked into his office. The look on his face was distasteful. He made me feel inferior to him. Not the way you should feel around your high school principal. I didn’t feel welcome, or even accepted. His beady eyes burned holes in my skin. I sat. He gazed into my tired eyes, and he asked me the following, "What’s going on?" How am I supposed to respond to this sort of question? If I say "nothing," it’s a given that there is something. However, if I try to speak with him about anything, it will be like talking to a brick wall. Authority figures never have any compassion. They care only about the person that rules them. In this case it would be the superintendent. I reply with a comment which is very versatile, "Not much, and yourself?" He gives me a look of disappointment. The kind of look you get when your parents find out you’ve been skipping school for the whole first semester. He turns his back to me. I hate it when they do that. They always think you are going to be sitting there waiting for them to turn around. Like you think they are the most important person in the world. I don’t do that though, I just admire all the hoaky pictures and quotes on his white walls. Yeah, if he actually believed in all these sayings he wouldn’t be working here, I think. Suddenly, I feel my ears begin to burn. I try to do a play by play in my head of what I am going to say to him. I don’t know why I do that, it never helps. I always end up shooting off my mouth, and getting into trouble. He turns back around and informs me that I was absent this past Friday. LIKE I don’t know. He tells me I have to serve seven hours of detention. "Excuse me, Mr. Principal, Sir..." I begin. Only to be cut off with another, "I don’t want to hear it." I shut my mouth and let him ramble on. I have a lot of better things to do with my time, I think to myself. Listening to people you really don’t care to listen to is quite boring. So, I let my mind wander. I think of how many runs I could be snowboarding down at this very moment.

Water Balance Essay

According to Gildemeister, Berkeley is a west-coast Mediterranean climate (distinct wet and dry seasons). In the late spring and early fall, strong offshore winds of sinking air typically develop, bringing heat and dryness to the area. In the spring, this is not usually a problem as vegetation is still moist from winter rains, but extreme dryness prevails by the fall. The warmest and driest months are typically June through September, with the highest temperatures occurring in September. Mid-summer (July-August) is often a bit cooler due to the sea breezes and fog which are normally most strongly developed then (Gildemeister, 2004, p.109).Gildemeister also mentions the main controlling factor over the characteristics of the Mediterranean climate is the alternating influence of the subtropical high in summer and Westerlies during the winter (p. 111). During the summer, the subtropical high has expanded to its largest extent and most pole ward position, exerting its influence on subtro pical west coasts between 30o and 40o N and S latitude. Subsiding air from the high creates stable atmospheric conditions when coupled with cold ocean currents along these coastsTerre Haute has a mid-latitude continental climate. Ritter explains that rainfall in is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year. The wettest months of the year are May and June. The warmest month of the year is July with an average maximum temperature of 87. 30 degrees Fahrenheit, while the coldest month of the year is January with an average minimum temperature of 17. 70 degrees Fahrenheit Polar-type air masses collide with tropical type air masses causing uplift of the less dense and moister tropical air resulting in precipitation.Colliding along the polar front, these air masses turn and swirl into large extra-tropical cyclones steered by the polar front jet stream lying high in the troposphere. These huge systems generally work their way across the surface in a west to east fashion, embedded in the dominate wind flow of the westerly wind belt (Ritter, The Physical Environment). Potential evapo-transpiration is the amount of water that would be evaporated under an optimal set of conditions, among which is an unlimited supply of water. In other words, it would be the water needed for evaporation and transpiration given the local environmental conditions.One of the most important factors that determine water demand is solar radiation. As energy input increases the demand for water, especially from plants increases. Regardless if there is, or isn't, any water in the soil, a plant still demands water. If it doesn't have access to water, the plant will likely wither and die. Between April and October, potential evapo-transpiration significantly exceeds precipitation in Berkeley whereas except July & August potential evapo-transpiration marginally exceeds precipitation in Terre Haute.

Dialogue Between Couple

â€Å"How are you? † â€Å"Honestly? I feel like I’m dying. † â€Å"That’s never good. † â€Å"Tell me about it. † â€Å"I doubt I could if I tried. † â€Å"Do you think that—? † â€Å"Hold up! You have an ant on your cheek. † â€Å"Get it off! † â€Å"Alright, alright, relax! † â€Å"I can’t believe I didn’t feel it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Shit! † â€Å"What? † â€Å"I killed it. † â€Å"Kain! † â€Å"Sorry! † â€Å"It only wanted to be on my cheek! † â€Å"Why would it want to be there? I probably put it out of its misery. † â€Å"That’s not funny! It liked me because I smell good. † â€Å"Apparently died because you smell good. † â€Å"So I do smell good, then? † â€Å"Just be quiet and watch the sunset. † â€Å"I’m tired of sunsets.I want to see a sun rise; they seem more rare, and happy. † â€Å"That’s ridiculous. Sun rises happen as much as sunsets. † â€Å"Yeah, but less people stay up to watch them. I think I might stay up all night to see tomorrow’s. Do you want to? † â€Å"Not really. I have to leave in ten minutes. † â€Å"Have you ever watched the sun rise? Not just been awake, but intentionally watched the sun rise? † â€Å"Just once. † â€Å"Why. † â€Å"I wanted to get my mind off of something. † â€Å"What? † â€Å"Nothing. Why are you so talkative all of a sudden? † â€Å"I was just thinking about the ant. I don’t want to die an ant. † â€Å"You’re not dying anytime soon. † You never know when you’ll crawl onto the wrong cheek. † â€Å"Hmmm. † â€Å"It is pretty, though, the sunset. The way the crimson bounces off the clouds. † â€Å"Yeah. † â€Å"I wish it lasted longer. † â€Å"If it did I don’t think I’d be as pretty. † â€Å"I suppose you’re right. † â€Å"Look, I have to go, or I’ll be late. † â€Å"Do you really have to leave? † â€Å"Yeah, I’m sorry. Happy birthday, Mia. I hope you feel better. † â€Å"Thanks, me too. See you later. † â€Å"See you. † â€Å"Umm, are you going, or are just going to stand there? † â€Å"It was you. † â€Å"Excuse me? † â€Å"My first sun rise. I was worried about you. † â€Å"Could you– could you stay? Please? † â€Å"I don’t think I was leaving. †

Is Tourism the Best Way For Kenya To Develop?

In this report, I will be investigating how tourism is increasing Kenya's income and world standing. I will also, however, be investigating the positive and negative repercussions of tourism on Kenya's people, wildlife and landscape, before coming to my own conclusion on whether tourism should be encouraged as a source of income. Why might the government want to encourage tourism in Kenya? In comparison with other more economically developed countries (MEDC's) such as the UK, it can be seen that Kenya cannot be classed under the title MEDC as the country lacks certain characteristics necessary for the title. In comparison, however, with less economically developed countries such as India, it can be seen that Kenya does fit the criteria for a LEDC more convincingly. This is shown in the table below. If we look at this table, you can see clear contrasts between the figures for each country. On examining population, for example, it can be seen that the population of Kenya is just 28.8 million. This is less than half that of Britain, an MEDC which has a population of 59 million, and only just over 10% of that of the USA, also a MEDC with a population of 267.7 million. What this trend would suggest is that the higher the population, the more economically developed the country. India, however, an LEDC disproves this theory, with a population of 969.7 million. Usually, population is an indication of development, as a larger population would suggest a higher life expectancy rate, and higher GNP. Although this is true for some examples, there are always some countries which break the rule. When you compare the USA and Kenya, you will see that Kenya an LEDC has a low life expectancy of just 54 years and so in turn has relatively low population. Similarly if you look at the USA, you will see it has a very high population generated by its high life expectancy of 76 years. In India, however, quite a different trend is apparent, as even though it has a population approaching a billion, it has a very poor life expectancy of just 59 years. This is an example of an extreme, where too many people are flooding the limited resources available. The life expectancies of the LEDC's and MEDC's do have a clear trend, with few LEDCS having one over 60, (India is the highest above with 59) and few MEDC's having one below 76, (USA, being the lowest above with 76). As I began to explain, the reasons for these differences in life expectancy are due to the GNP of a country as the more money that a country has, the more money can be spent on improving living conditions. Providing a country is not at war, when the money is usually spent on arms etc, the money a nation earns is usually spent on improving education, infrastructure and health care. Naturally then, as is illustrated above, the more money (GNP) a nation has, the more it spends on such facilities so its people are healthier and live longer. Although this is not a problem for MEDC's such as USA and UK as they both have high GNPs, for LEDC's such as Kenya there are difficulties. Due to national debts, lack of resources and few developed businesses, LEDC's do not have the income required to improve living conditions to a satisfactory level, thus people living in LEDC's have less access to healthcare etc. and so are more susceptible to disease, thus they have lower life expectancies. We can now understand why Kenya faces these problems, as if we compare its GNP with the USA's, we see that on average a Kenyan person earns just $280 a year, compared with $26980 of the average American. Having less money to pay for education etc, Kenya is seemingly trapped in a spiral of poverty, as money is needed for education, but education is needed to make money. It is for this reason that the Kenyan government may want to embrace tourism as a source of income. Tourism is seemingly an ideal solution to Kenya's problem, as due to its many gam reserves and golden coastlines, it attracts millions of tourists every year. Tourism does not rely on the development of high tech businesses or the training of the population, it simply relies on using the nations resources, which in the case of Kenya are in the form of natural reserves and tropical conditions. When tourist visit Kenya they bring with them money on which many Kenyans rely. For Kenya, tourism is the key source of income, making more money than any exports, such as tea and coffee. The reason for this is that although 78% of Kenya's population are employed in agriculture, due to national debt and unfair trading conditions, the nations agricultural products are sold for pittance to large western corporations. With tourism, however, there is no middleman, the money goes straight from the tourists to the people, thus the government sees tourism as a more efficient means by which to increase their countries GNP than agriculture. The reason why this increase in GNP is important, is as with it will come an increase in education, health care and improvements in infrastructure. These three things are the basis of development from which Kenya can build a stronger economy and rise in the development ladder. In this way the increase in tourism can be directly linked to the increase in Kenya's GNP and in turn development level. Why are tourists attracted to Kenya? As you can see from the climate graph of Nairobi, the annual temperature in Kenya varies very little, it is consistently warm all year through, not dropping below 17 degrees even in winter. Being just in the Southern Hemisphere, Nairobi's summer begins about the same time as our autumn. From October the temperature begins to rise, eventually peaking in February and March, the summer months of Kenya, before dropping steadily by 1 degree a month back down to 17 degrees in July. As is the equator splits Kenya almost in two, there are several different weather systems in operation in different regions of Kenya. In the North the climate is hot with little rain, where as in the south, the coast is humid, the highlands are temperate and the lake Victoria region is considered tropical. Being situated midway between the coast and lake Victoria, Nairobi's wettest of months are in summer, as the increase in heat leads to an increase in evaporation, resulting in the moderate rainfall it experiences. From the graph we can see that just as Nairobi's temperature has two apparent peaks, in October and then in February and March, so too its rainfall follows the same trend. Beginning to rise at the start of these hot months, the rainfall peaks a month or so after the temperature, the highest amounts being 153mm in April and 132 in November. The rainfall then, however, drops with the temperature, falling to just 13mm in July. As I mentioned earlier the rainfall in Kenya is very varied. The wettest areas of Kenya are located in the East of the country and on the coast. On the coast the wet areas are spread in an even band along the sea front about 50 km in land. The reason for these heavy coastal rains is that due to the high temperatures, there are also high amounts of evaporation of sea water along the coast. Clouds are then formed when the vapour rises to a sufficient height for the air to cool enough to result in the condensation of the vapour. Blown from the sea, water vapour travels inland into Kenya. As the vapour approach the shorelines, the relief begins to increase, with the average land height increasing to about 100m above sea level, this increase in height in turn causes the air to rise, thus it becomes cooler and condenses to form the clouds which lead to precipitation. Inland in the East there is also a water source, lake Victoria which also supplies water vapour. Yet as we can see from the map, the wet areas venture far inland, hundreds of miles from any water. The reason for this is due to two key factors, the relief and the equator. As the wet area to the east lies on the equator, the air pressure in that region is considerably less than else where in the continent. This low air pressure encourages rainfall as it allows the water vapour to rise higher and so become cooler and condense into the clouds which produce precipitation. This low air pressure works together with the relief of the area, as from the eastern border of Kenya, reaching in to the source of the river Tana, there is a very mountainous area, with an average height of 3000 meters in places. This mountainous region also contributes to the low air pressure necessary for rain, as by rising 3000meters into the air, the mountains force the clouds of water vapour to rise as they pass over them. As I have mention previously, by rising the clouds become cold enough to turn into precipitation, thus the east of Kenya is more prone to rainfall. These weather conditions have had a knock on effect on the wildlife of the area also, there are thousands of different plant and animal species in the country. In lake Nakuru, for example, over 450 different species of birds exist in the ecosystem. The reason why the lake is so perfect for these birds is due to three main factors. Firstly, the water is very shallow across the lake, the average depth being just 2 meters, this allows birds such as flamingos to wade far out in search of food etc. It also allows fish hunting birds greater access to the fish, as they can't hide deep in the bottom of the lake. The second key reason why so many birds can live in the lake ecosystem is that as the water is alkaline, it is ideal for algae growth which thrive in such conditions. These vast supplies of algae are in turn eaten by vast supplies of fish, which along with their predators, provide ample food supply for the thousands of birds that feed on them. The third reason for the vast numbers of birds is that the water is clear and has very little sediment. This quality means that not only does the algae grow better as more sunlight gets to them (more photosynthesis) leading to more fish and so more food for the birds, but also it makes it easier for fisher-birds to see their prey so more food is available to them. As you can see from fig. 3, the Kenyan Savanna is also home to a multitude of animal species, all coexisting in one of the largest ecosystems on earth. Due to the amount of animals in the ecosystem, however, it is very sensitive to the slightest change in population in the various stages. If the number of leopards were reduced due to poaching, for example, then their could be far reaching consequences. Firstly, the decrease in leopards would lead to an increase in their prey, impalas and gazelles, as fewer are now being eaten. Reducing this control on the impala and gazelle numbers would allow more to mate, and so, within a few years, there would be a notable increase in their numbers. This increase, would in turn trigger a decrease in the Savanna grasses, as their would now be larger numbers of gazelle and impala eating them. With the decrease in grass there would in turn be a decrease in other animals which rely on it for food as there would no longer be enough to support them. These animals, buffalo rhinos and warthogs, would either leave the area or die off. This in turn would reduce the food available for large predators such as lions etc. so they too would begin to die out. The cycle has now come full circle with the reduction in the number of teritary predators thus the whole of the consequence chain would begin again. This example, shows just how fragile the ecosystem is and so should make us more concerned with the way we treat it. All the natural qualities I have mentioned above are key factors in Kenya's appeal in the eyes of the tourist that visit the country each year. The environment is one of these factors, being consistently hot all year through and having virtually no rain during the tourist season, thousands of tourists from Western Europe are attracted to Kenya's golden and unspoilt beaches each year. The vast tropical coastline is also accompanied by a large coral reef, boasting a wide variety of marine species. This therefore also contributes to Kenya's appeal. The main attraction of Kenya for most tourists, however, is the vast variety of wildlife that can be found in the game reserves there. For many tourists, being able to see wild animals in their natural habitat is more than a good reason to visit the country. The popularity of these parks is reflected by the fact that now over 40 of them exist in the country. Additional natural attractions include the physical features of Kenya, such as Mount Kilamanjaro, located on the border between Kenya and Tanzania, and Lake Victoria, located on Kenya's eastern border. Both of these sites are beautiful and attract millions of tourists. Does tourism bring more problems than benefits? Economic Effects Tourism is undoubtedly beneficial for the Kenyan economy, as over the last 35 years, it has grown into Kenya's largest source of income, overtaking tea and coffee in 1989 with 22% of the nations income. Tourism also supplies jobs for the local people, providing positions in hotels and also allowing the creation of small private businesses, such as tour van companies and cafes.. For these reasons tourism should, and will be encouraged. The controversy comes, however, when we take into account, just how much of the income from tourism Kenya actually receives. It can be argued that Kenya is being exploited by the larger holiday companies who operate there. Professional Kenyans, skilled in careers such as carpentry etc. are giving up their jobs to join tourism-related careers such as waiters. Figures show that the money coming in from tourism is increasing each year. The problem occurs, however, as this increase is followed by a decrease in other sources of income. Kenya is now running t he risk of becoming too dependant on tourism as a source of income. There is also the issue of just how much of the money generated by tourism goes to the Kenyan people, as figures show that in fact large overseas corporations are taking most of the money. For all of the money coming into Kenya, there is also vast amounts going out as a result of tourism. The Kenyan government for example has had to take out large loans from other countries in order to pay for the development of it tourist facilities. There are also goods that have to be imported for tourists and other amounts of money going out of Kenya as a direct result of tourism. I did mention that tourism creates jobs for locals, but how many companies will actually employ these natives? In many instances the foreign tour operators at work in Kenya, will use foreign air lines, import foreign food, build with foreign building materials and employ foreign tour guides. Some jobs are created for Kenyan workers, however, in the construction of the hotels, for example, employing a Kenyan work force is much cheaper than bringing in foreign labourers. Yet for any job with any technical skill foreigners are still drafted in, with the result that few Kenyans will ever be able to advance career wise higher than farmers or tour guides. In this way, it could be argued that tourism is weakening Kenya's economy, as the development of tourist orientated businesses are replacing that of more high tech developments that would raise Kenya's economic standing in the world economy. Although tourism is a quick way of earning money, it is not one that allows much room for development, as it will always rely on foreign money as opposed to investing in Kenyan business. What are the social effects of tourism in Kenya? The social effects of tourism on Kenya are probably the furthest reaching of all. Tourism permeates every aspect of Kenyan society, from the Savanna dwelling natives to the Muslims of the coastal regions. Similarly opinions of tourism are just as diverse, with some welcoming the ethnic mix while others despise it. The benefits of tourism on the Kenyan populations are clear. Tourism brings with it increased understanding between peoples of different nations and cultures. It also brings the money with which new developments, such as improvements to Kenya's infrastructure, are bought. Another key argument for tourism is that the money it brings, pays to help preserve Kenyan heritage, in renovating buildings and giving money to the natives. Some Kenyan, however, argue quite the opposite, claiming that tourism is a direct route to the decline of the Kenyan culture. Sacred rituals once performed by the Massi people, now become quaint stage shows and people are driven from traditional indus tries into degrading tourist serving jobs. Kenyans are becoming second class citizens in their own country, unable to go to the beach in case they spoil the scenery and forced to undertake degrading roles, it easy to see why the anti-tourism feeling exists. Some people promote tourism as a healthy mix of different cultures, yet it is apparent that this is not always the case. With them tourists have also brought drugs, fornication and alcohol to Kenya. The influx of white tourists has lead to thousands of Kenyans turning to prostitution for money. Kenyan men known as ‘Beach-boys' have also begun to operate, seducing rich white women in order to return to Europe with them when they leave Kenya. This interracial fornication is in turn contributing to a much larger problem. Due to the poverty in the country, 14% of the Kenyan population has aids, by having numerous sexual encounters while on holiday, white tourists are not only opening themselves up to infection, but they are also spreading it further through the Kenyan population. In certain areas, tourism shows blatant disregard for the local customs and culture. In the coastal regions of Kenya, for example, there is high Muslim population. In the Islam religion, women have to wear long black garments covering all of their body, except the eyes, as it is a sin to advertise themselves to men. When tourists walk through these settlements, however, women often wear bikinis or even go topless, this is a great disrespect and insult to the Muslim inhabitants. If this weren't bad enough, tourism has also lead to the opening of many bars and nigh clubs in Muslim areas. This again is a disregard for their culture as alcohol is strictly prohibited. Other positive repercussions of tourism, though, include a decrease in death rate by 5% in 20 years, as the improvement of services for tourists also benefit natives and the money the tourists bring is spent on health care and infra structures. A negative statistic, however, is a fall in birth rate by 3% in 20 years, already a low populated country it is worrying to think that many Kenyan youths are leaving for Europe with the tourists. This is yet again another example of the direct loss of Kenyan culture through tourism. On the other hand, though, the question must be asked whether without the money brought by tourism, Kenyan culture would be able to survive at all. What are the environmental effects of tourism in Kenya? The environmental effects of tourism in Kenya are perhaps the most obvious and worrying of them all, as the current way in which tourists and locals alike exploit the natural Kenya could prove to be the root to Kenya's down fall. As I have mentioned previously, Kenya has over 40 game reserves which are home to the variety of plant life and animal species that make Kenya so appealing. The problem that is arising, however, is that instead of preserving the reserves, locals and tourists are physically destroying them. The largest game reserve in Kenya is the Massi Mara, receiving millions of visitors a year. Due to its popularity, large amounts of locals are employed in transporting the tourists around the park in minibuses, which does not affect the park, were they to keep to the roads built for them. The problem occurs, however, as these minibuses go off road, into the heart of the reserve in search of animals. Showing total disregard for the animals, these bus drives drive within feet of them. Sometimes there can be as many as twenty buses on one animal so the tourists can get photographs. This armada of minibuses has had numerous effects on the environments of the large game parks. The most obvious being the traumatising of the animals. In the Massi Mara there have been notable decreases in the mating of animals as a direct result of the buses. In fact the constant intrusion, has lead many tourists to describe the Massi Mara as a zoo but on a larger scale. Another problem the buses cause is the compacting of the soil. By driving off road, the busses crush plants and compact the soil. This results in a lack of plant growth, which in turn means bare surfaces and thus more soil erosion so in the future there won't be enough soil left for plants to grow at all. Another popular way to view the animals of the Massi Mara is by Hot air balloon, as they do not crush the plants or ruin the soil, they appear to be the perfect alternative to minibuses. The problem still remains, however, that the balloons, like the minibuses still disturb the animals, the noise of a balloons burners can be heard for miles around and in one instance in the Massi Mara, a herd of rhinos were driven from the area by the noise. Another way in which tourism has negatively contributed to the Massi Mara, socially as well as environmentally, has been in the case of the Massi people. Living in the area for centuries, the Massi people were forced to move out without compensation when the parks open. Due to the influence of tourists, the Massi people now have to live on the very outskirts of the parks, where try to regain their normal, agricultural way of life. With this, however, another problem occurs, as in order to contain their animals the Massi build fences, the problem is these fences block animal migration roots and so kill the animals of the park. The Massi people's philosophy is that of, why should we conserve the animals, when we get no benefit from it. Despite these negative impacts of tourism, there have also been positive repercussions. The money earnt from tourism, for example, is reinvested into the park and the preservation of the wildlife within it. One use is payment of local guards, who patrol the park in order to prevent drivers breaking the law by going off road. Yet despite these preliminary measures, stricter guidelines will need to be enforced if the parks are going to remain a source of income for the future. It is not only the inland environments which are being affected, however, as the coastal regions are also being overwhelmed by tourism. As inland, tourism here has far reaching effects. One of the largest problems due to tourism is coastal erosion, as in order to build the hotels and other resorts, large areas of mangrove forests were felled. By felling these forests, the rain which falls on the coast has little interception, so it can run off rapidly towards the sea, eroding the land as it goes. Erosion is not only threatening fishing grounds, ports and farmland on the Kenyan coast, it is also threatens the large tourist hotels which bring millions of pounds into Kenya each year. If the coastal areas became unsafe, it would devastate Kenya's economy. Another worrying repercussion of tourism on the coast is on the famous coral reef situated off the coast. Like the game reserves, locals also have been exploiting the coral reef, providing boat trips to it for the tourists. The problem that is arising, however, is that the tourists and locals who visit it are in fact destroying the coral. Being one of the most beautiful and delicate ecosystems on the planet, coral can die just by being touched, and yet off the coast of Kenya the boat trips allow the tourist to walk on top of the coral and take souvenirs of their visit home. These souvenirs take the form of marine life such as starfish and in a year tourists can remove up to 141 tonnes of it. One of the worst culprits for the decline of the reefs are the local boat owners themselves, as they drop anchor in the middle of the reef and then drag it through the coral. All of these actions are turning Kenya's coral reef into a baron waste land of dead coral which will not regrow for hundre ds of years. It is therefore imperative that something is done to combat this problem. Conclusion As I have shown in my report, tourism is a double bladed sword for Kenya. The economy has become so dependant on the industry that it could not do without it and yet, at the same time tourism is destroying the very environmental qualities of Kenya that the tourist are coming to see. There is also of course the social effects which I have also mentioned, where the rush to make money from tourism has lead to a decline in national heritage. For example hotels etc. ruin historical landscapes of the area and ancient peoples such as the Massi abandon the life style they have led for centuries in order to make money from the tourists, by selling necklaces etc. It is surely clear then that something must be done in order to preserve Kenya, and this is down to you, the Kenyan government. The reason for most of these problems can be traced down to the government and their headlong leap into tourism without fully surveying what consequences would result. Similarly it has to be the government who correct these errors before it is too late. As I have mentioned, the government's current approach to tourism seems to be one of complacency. You have adopted the attitude that anything is viable, as long as it brings in money, but the question is just how much of that money you are receiving. At the moment, thousands of foreigners are being employed in Kenya as a result of the tourism industry, and there are thousands more people employed in companies abroad which make the goods these tourist complexes buy. I see these as thousands of potential jobs for Kenyans which are being given away. In many other tourist destinations, the government has introduced laws, allowing the construction of hotels etc. only by national unions and making it so that a certain number of native people have to be employed in the tourist complexes. Another option open to you is the investment in Kenyan industry. Rather than allowing goods to be bought from abroad, force these travel companies to buy Kenyan products by increasing tax on foreign imports. All these are ways of strengthening the Kenyan economy whilst maximising profits. Another law, which could be introduced in order to make tourism in Kenya more sustainable, is a building legislation specifying that hotels have to built in the traditional building style so as not to ruin the landscape and culture of the area. Not only would this then provide more jobs for Kenyan builders who specialise in traditional building techniques, but it would also remedy much of the over crowding and loss in environmental quality created by the large multi-storey eye sores currently being built. These are not just ideas that I am putting forward, however, as in some areas such as Lamu these techniques are being put into practice successfully. In Lamu the hotels are built to a traditional style, they are also built below the tree line so as not to spoil the landscape. The locals who stay in these venues also show more respect for the local Muslim culture there, wearing clothes which cover most of their body and only one bar is built in the area. On top of these improvements, the money earned by the hotels is invested back into the town of Lamu, paying for renovations etc. If this technique were to be applied else where in Kenya, I think it would meet with the approval of many of the anti-tourism residents who feel their culture is being destroyed. As well as restrictions on the building of tourist resorts in Kenya, there should also be restrictions on the way in which Kenya's natural habitats are exploited. On the Mombado coast, for example, laws should be made and enforced so that tourists can only see the coral reef through licensed boat trip operators. These boat trips would continue to employ locals, but through the use of glass bottomed boats etc. the way in which the coral is viewed would be limited so as not to cause damage. Similar measures also need to be implemented in the game reserves if the animals are to be preserved. Currently the laws there are not enforced. Firstly this could be done with the creation of more ranger jobs. Secondly, as with reef trips, the tours of the parks could be limited to licensed local drives who respect the parks environment by stealthily following animals and keeping to the paths with a trained local guide. Again such measures as these are already being implemented with success in areas like the Tsavo game reserve, where only one or two trips are made every hour, and the tourists stay out in the Savanna camped in tents etc. so as not to disturb the animals. On being interviewed after experiencing both forms of safari, tourist in fact preferred the Tsavo way, saying that if they returned it would be on the strength of their Tsavo experience. So, as you can see in many cases the restrictions that must be implemented will increase tourism as well as national income. Tourism should be encouraged in Kenya, but at the same time it must be remembered that unless it is sustainable, it will inevitably lead to a decline in the Kenyan culture as well as income. After all tourists will not want to come to a Kenya full of dwindling game reserves, baron seas and decayed culture.