Financing of University Education in Kenya

QN) With close reference to university education in Kenya, discuss the various means of financing education and evaluate the equity implications. To answer this claim, we start by defining critical terms so as to clearly get the full meaning of this assertion. Education is the process act or process of impacting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgement, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life.It can also be defined as the process of acquiring desirable skills, attitudes and knowledge, as for a profession University education means the totality of general and specialized knowledge and skills that enable a university graduate to solve problems that he encounters in industry or to perform scientific research or pedagogical work within the area of specialized knowledge that he has acquired.Financing refer to how people allocate their assets over time and conditions of certainity and uncertainity while education f inancing refers to any aspect of raising and spending revenue for educational purposes. Kenya as one of the developing countries in Afrca is faced with the problem of financing its education. Despite the role of the universities in teaching, undertaking research and training of skilled manpower for economic development, public and private universities in developing countries especially those in Africa are facing financial crisis.Universities in Kenya gets financial aids from different sources which include; finances from parents, self finance, Banks-some banks give education loans to students or parents, cooperative societies, Constituency Development Funds[C. D. F], scholarships from educational institutions e. g universities, charitable organizations, HELB loans, Harambees, Donations, bursaries among others. Sources of educational funds are both internal and external.Internal funds refers to finances from within the institution for example; Fees from the students, Income generatin g activities among others. While external funds come from outside the university for example; Religious organizations, Funds from central and local government, companies and organizations, scholarships, loans, International bodies, Non- Governmental Organization(NGO’s) etc.Central and local government are generally the most important sources of educational finances. The government is generally the most important and crucial source of funding for university education. The government through the parliament passed a bill that seeks to introduce radical changes to higher education, establishing a Commission for University Education(C. U.E) to be vested with wide-ranging powers as one of four new bodies running the sector in the country. The universities Act 2012 published on 24th September in Kenya gazette supplement 121 and signed by higher education, science and technology minister Margaret Kamar abolishes the decades old Commission for Higher Education(C. H. E) which has hithe rto regulated the sector and replaces it with the Commission for University Education.The universities Act 2012 stipulates that funds of a public university shall comprise: such sums as may be granted to the university by the parliament, such monies or assets as may accrue to or vest in the public university in the course of the exercise of its powers or the performance of its functions under this Act or under any other written law; and all monies from any other source provided for or donated or lent to the public university with the approval of the cabinet secretary responsible for finance and the cabinet secretary responsible for university education. this act mandates the central government to advance money to the public universities for running of the programmes and activities. The government gives grants to the public universities and this money is budgeted for, in the ministry for higher education budget and this is captured in the annual budget.The grants are given to all uni versities oblivious of the programmes that they offer. The government through the parliament passed a bill that saw the creation of the Constituency Development Act that was aimed to rationalize development across the country by ensuring that all areas across Kenya had a fair share of the money set aside for development. Through the various committees established in each constituency, students in the universities are able to access bursaries to aid them in paying school fees. This bursary is given to people who are needy and who cannot afford tuition fees.For the equal distribution of the funds, the Kenyan government is giving a lot of charters to the new mushrooming universities, this is to make sure all the regions in the country get access to higher education hence equity implications. Higher Education Loans Board(H. E. L. B) is another source of funding. H. E. L. B is a state corporation whose mandate is to source funds and provide loans, scholarships and bursaries to Kenyans st udying in recognized institutions of Higher learning. It was established by an act of parliament a statute known as Higher Education Loans Board Act 1995,,and it was legally as Act number 3 of 1995. It came into existence on 21st July, 1995 through Kenya gazette supplement (CAP 213A). higher education loans board administers the student loans scheme.The board is also empowered to recover all outstanding loans given to former university students by the government of Kenya since 1952 through Higher Education Loans Fund(HELF) and to establish a revolving fund from which funds can be drawn to lend out to needy Kenyan students pursuing higher education. The establishment of a revolving fund was expected to ease pressure on the exchequer in financing education which currently stands at 40% of the annual national budget. Its vision is to be the best preferred financier of Kenyans pursuing higher education and the mission is to provide affordable loans bursaries and scholarships to Kenyans studying in recognized institutions of higher education.The board disburses loans to any Kenyan undergraduate students enrolled in government or self-sponsored programmes in Kenyan universities and other universities in other member states of east Africa community recognized by the Commision for higher education(CHE) The government through Higher Educations Loans Board ensures equity is maintained in acquisition of higher educaton since throough the electronic and online application of the sponsorship by the government, all needy students can apply for the loan irrespective of where they come from since the loan is granted depending on the level of need.Besides the loan being given to only students who qualify to go to the university by getting the required cluster set by Joint Admission Board(JAB), also students who have attained the minimum entry requirements of being admitted by a university in Kenya which is a C+(plus) are able to access this grant hence allowing them to get uni versity education through the Self-sponsored program and thus ensuring equity across the two programs. Financing of higher education in Kenya is also be done by institutions and organizations. For instance, Kenya Youth Education scholarship Fund has a mission to help needy and deserving youth with limited financial resources who display academic excellence and the desire to acquire practical skills and knowledge to enhance self reliance by pursuing higher education. The scholarship that they advance to the qualified candidates only caters for tuition and upkeep only but the cost of other accessories like personal effects is on the beneficiary.This scholarship is mostly biased to women and the aim is to enhance equity so that the girl child can as well access higher education as their male counter parts who form a large chuck of the students in the universities. USAID is another institution that sponsors university in Kenya. Each year, it sponsors around 18 higher education scholarsh ips to Kenyan students. These scholarship are offered to students from marginalized communities in Eastern and north Eastern regions and urban slums of Nairobi. The scholarship targets the minority muslim group. For one to qualify he or she must have attained the minimum of getting entry in university in Kenya. The aim for the cholarship is to bridge the gap that is so prevalent in these regions since most people don’t get the chance to pursue higher education because of the cultural dictates where girls are married off at an early age and where girl-child education is not treated with a lot of importance that it deserves. The effort by USAID ensures that most girls from these environments get university education and empowers. Some universities get direct offers of international and local scholarships. For instance Kenyatta university through the office of Orphans and Vulnerable students gives scholarships to total and/or partial orphans to enable them to pursue their univer sity education with a lot of ease. The scholarship usually covers full tuition fees for students wwho are total orphans and have been admitted to Kenyatta university.The selection is done after a careful scrutiny of documents to ascertain the level of need for the applicants. For the case of partial scholarships, the university pays 25% of the total tuition fees every year until the end of the degree program. The scholarship is given to students with proven high level of performance and genuine need for financial assistance. The university also caters for other students who have been admitted to the university and are already enrolled in one of the its programs. It gives internal butsaries to students with financial need based on the level of vulnerable students.Also, the university awards post graduate scholarships which cover the tuition fees for masters programs. The scholarship is awarded based on higher academic performance. Many universities have followed suit and are awarding scholarships to their students. This effort helps in ensuring that as many people are able to access university education even those who come from poor and destitute backgrounds because when their tuition fees is paid for, then they find it very easy to get some money for upkeep but if they have problems of fees payment, then their education may be disrupted and may be halted.Other organizations like UNESCO have fellowships that are offered to both students and teachers who want to pursue higher education in fields that enhance sustainable human development and foster international understanding and a culture of peace. It offers fellowships in the following thematic areas; education, natural sciences, social, human sciences, culture, communication and information. The aim is to enhance equity and access of university education since these are mostly given to students who exhibit some level of financial need and are high performers in academics.

The Sustainabile Production Of Palm Oil Environmental Sciences Essay

This undertaking is centered on how the sustainability construction can be used to aline the environmental friendly patterns of palm oil production. It gathers together the fiscal and economic, environmental and societal dimensions of the concern. The methodological analysis consists of a straightforward analysis of the sustainability construct that includes three indispensable facets. The foremost one is the high income program of humanising the fiscal, economic and societal benefits and diminishing the environmental effects of the activities of oil thenar agribusiness over both the short- and long-terms. Second, in beef uping relationships and partnerships by familiarising and working with the employees, investors and stakeholders to talk about their demands and those of the industry in increasing the production of high quality merchandises from palm oil and its merchandises. The 3rd one is by meaning the dependability and committedness in continuing the high ethical motives of the industry in its daily procedures by bring forthing zero waste by full usage of its byproducts thereby diminishing pollution. It is our belief that industries are making the right thing by doing sustainability a portion of its twenty-four hours to twenty-four hours activity and it is besides our strong belief that the policies identified in the sustainability model are for the healthier growing of the industry in the twenty-first century.Work-packagesAt the clip this undertaking proposal was made, the word packaging is associated with the aim of this undertaking. They include To truly understand the value usage of the thenar oil To happen out other economic values of the oil thenar To place the by -products of oil thenar after treating and ways to better on the waste that is been generated. To truly understand the utility of a thenar tree. It is truly of import to understand that every portion of a thenar tree is significantly utile The procedures involved in the production of a thenar tree. To foreground ways in which palm oil production could be made more feasible in the production concatenation. To measure the possible part of clean ( er ) engineering to increase the environmental public presentation of the rough palm oil industry To analyze application barriers for cleaner production in rough palm oil industry To bring forth constructs for traveling the palm oil industry towards sustainabilityExpected ResultsIt is expected that this undertaking will demo assorted procedures involved in the production of palm oil. It will besides foreground countries that require betterment in footings of electricity coevals which could be used at the factory, watercourse production which is used in the sterilisation procedure utilizing the waste that is been generated from the factory. This undertaking will travel a long manner in doing us to understand the assorted merchandises which could be produced from the waste generated from the factory like the empty fruit brunch which could be in the production of soap and detergents, other merchandises which could be made from nonedible palm oil like Candles, Printing inks, Biodiesel, acids to lubricate fibres in the fabric industry, Cosmetics.Technical hazard anticipatedThis undertaking will non be expecting any proficient hazard. This is because the undertaking would be based on the research and audience from relevant thenar oil factory.Resources needSome of import resources will be needed for this undertaking. These resources will include: Internet information Information from oil factory Library informationBeneficiaries of the workThis undertaking will learn me some of import utilizations of palm oil and besides others uses that could be obtained from the waste that is been generated from the factory. I will besides larn some environmental issues that will be associated with the production of palm oil. This undertaking will be good to industries that produce palm oil for the efficient and feasible ways of palm oil production.IntroductionHistorical development of the universe thenar oilThe beginning of palm oil started in the rain wood of West Africa, where it was used as a footing of oil and vitamins. Its ingestion has been for more than 5,000 old ages. ( Chavalparit, 2006 ) Presently the oil thenar tree can be seen in many tropical states in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The most critical countries of oil thenar agribusiness is in South East Asia. States like Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand produce about 80 % of the universe ‘s palm oil ( Gopal, 2001 ) . Oil thenar seeds were introduced to Indonesia and Malaysia in 1848 and 1875 severally and the first industrial oil thenar plantation was introduced in Malaysia in 1917. ( Chavalparit, 2006 ) The autumn in monetary value gum elastic in the late 1920s exhilarated the agribusiness of oil thenar in Malaysia at that clip ; Nig eria and Zaire were the prima thenar oil manufacturers in the universe. From 1960-1995, the palm oil industry in Malaysia displayed a really fast development and of all time since it has been the universe ‘s prima exporter of thenar oil since 1966 replacing Nigeria, which had been the major maker and exporter since the debut of palm oil into the universe market. ( Chavalparit, 2006 ) More late, sustainability has received inordinate consideration with battles to integrate it into the palm oil concern scheme. In the sustainability model, the environmental, economic and societal characteristics are studied for their influences in both the short-run and long-terms. The three pronged policy of high income, value add-on and nothing waste are examined as portion of the journey towards corporate sustainability. Making so has one time once more revealed the benefits of the harvest in supplying oil to the universe. Oil thenar ( Elaeis guineensis ) was originated in the tropical rain forest part of West Africa and is one of the taking commercial oil harvests in that part. ( FAO ) The agribusiness of oil thenar serves as a agency of income for several people and truly the agrarian civilization of 1000000s of people in West Africa. The mention to oil thenar as a harvest of several values underlines its pecuniary importance. It consist of critical constituents which includes ; the fronds, the foliages, the bole and the roots which are used for legion intents which ranges from palm oil, thenar meat oil, thenar vino, broom, and palm meats cake. Review on the sustainable agribusiness is critical due to the planetary involvement on how palm oil plantations have evolved and a set of principles/ guidelines are necessary for the production of palm oil. Many indispensable advantages are antecedently within the oil thenar system of works physiology of high productiveness and effectual C assimilation. Oil th enar is ascribed with its great oil output per unit country. It yields two types of oils from the same fruit. They are palm meats oil from the seed or kernel inside the hard-shell mesocarp and palm oil from the flesh or meso carp. ( Y. Basiron, 2007 ) The thenar meat besides produces a left over merchandise which is known as thenar meat repast, which could be used to feed animate beings. These oils are taken out by cautious split-up at different phases of the milling procedure. The production of Palm meat is about 10 % of the sum of palm oil produced. Both oils have dissimilar utilizations and market mercantile establishments. The oil from the flesh or mesocarp ( palm oil ) is used mostly for nutrient, while the oil from the meat goes largely into the oleochemical industry for the production of soaps, detergents and toilet articles merchandises. Numerous biomass merchandises produced from the oil thenar are non used up efficaciously. Production workss or handle oil Millss often prod uce big sums of fibre-type merchandises which are in the signifier of empty fruit Bunches and fruit mesocarp fibers, which are besides used back in the plantation for mulching and other agricultural intents. Fruits fiber and the meat shell are used to bring forth electricity and steam for the factory by firing them inside the boiler. The easiness to entree energy at the factory helps to cut down the cost of palm oil production in relation to the energy required to pull out the meat and the oil. The oil been produced from the thenar histories for approximately 10 % of the entire dry biomass while the other 90 % shows a important beginning of fibre cellulosic stuff which awaits commercial use. It could be anticipated that upcoming biofuel will be centered on the alteration of cellulosic fiber or biomass into liquid fuel. This makes the oil thenar truly attractive as a approaching beginning of renewable energy from the biomass which, if decently harnessed sagely, will heighten the sust ainable production of palm oil. In the bio-based economic system, the handiness of biomass as feedstock for energy and merchandises will reasonably depend on the remains obtained from the agro-food concatenation. In this survey, the thought of increasing the sustainability of the thenar oil value concatenation will be expounded with the purpose to reap a verifiable sustainable biomass. It is made known that a common usage of both the valued comestible oil and biomass remains will ensue in a more sustainable value concatenation. In other words, it should be environmentally sound, economically feasible and socially acceptable. Palm oil production produces big measures of biomass byproduct which is five times the oil production and they are non utilised efficaciously to add value to the production concatenation. The present thenar oil production agreement is largely seen as unsustainable because of negative effects on biodiversity such as harm of virgin woods and nursery gas emanations related with bing waste dumping methods. The ingestion of byproducts for energy and green chemicals provides positions for be aftering a â€Å" certified † sustainable nutrient oil production concatenation that will accommodate good in the development of a bio-based economic system. The chief subjects for treatment of sustainable palm oil production so far, has focused on the jobs of plague and H2O direction, rain forest loss, biodiversity, dirt birthrate and reproduction and the emanation of nursery gasses. Exploiting the gettable energy that could be obtained from the biomass byproducts has been known and in most instances remains from oil production are used to present the energy necessary to run the works operation. This survey will concentrate at chances to work the bountifully gettable biomass wastes ( fiber, imperativeness bar, thenar foreparts, empty fruit Bunches, shells, etc. ) as renewable resources for fresh merchandises and energy that develop the sustainability of the palm oil production.ApproachFirst the possible usage of palm oil byproducts as a sustainable biomass beginning would be assessed by researching the gross handiness of byproducts, so factors to be considered in finding the possible net biomass handiness. The ensuing stairss will be tak en: The entire production of end-products and byproducts will be enumerated by giving a gross biomass production image. Then the bing concrete and jutting utilizations of the byproducts will be made available, in add-on, a belief treatment on the operation rate and efficiency of the usage, possible restraints will be reported to do byproducts available for energy and other usage. A short treatment will be given on the possibility of increasing the sustainability of the palm oil production by optimum byproduct use for energy and other intentsMerchandises and byproducts in the palm oil production concatenationBelow is the list of merchandises and by merchandises in the palm oil production concatenation at the field and at the factory. Palm meats cake PKC Crude palm oil CPO Kernel oil KO Oil thenar fronds OPF Empty fruit clump EFB Palm oil factory effluent POME Rootss Trucks Fiber Shell Some of these merchandises and by merchandises contains some foods which include N, K, P, Mg, Ca and besides H2O. Form this, it is seen that the sum of biomass is really big both in the field and at the factory. For illustration in Malaysia and Indonesia, which accounts about 50 % and 1/3 of universe thenar oil production severally, figures shows that the sum of biomass at the factory is estimated at 30 to 50 million dozenss and 70 to 80 dozenss at the field. These figures are conservative dry weight estimations.Practical and proposed utilizations of palm oil byproductsBelow are the list of practical and some proposed utilizations of palm oil by- merchandise Merchandises composing current/ possible usage Remark OPF Crude fiber, protein Mulch, mush, fiber, provender Distributed over plantation Root Mulch Excessively much available at one time, deracinating disturbs the dirt Short pantss Mulch, fibre board Excessively much available at one time, frequently at distant site of plantation EFB Cellulose, hemicelluloses, lignin Mulch, fuel, clump ash, fibre board, mush, paper EFB less good suited as fuel than fiber or shell and does roll up frequently Fiber Lignin Fuel for factory, fibre board Shell Fuel for factory, activated C briquette, atom board Silicate signifiers scale when burned Pome Suspended solids Methane production, fertiliser, provender, soap Methane emanation, river pollution are a job when non managed decently. PKC Oil, petroleum fiber, protein Feed, fertiliser Feed possible non to the full used. From the tabular array above, it shows that at present, most byproducts are used or disposed of within the system for agricultural intent like mulching or fertiliser and for energy production at the factory. Soon merely a part of the entire byproducts are utilised as fuel feedstock in works operations. Particularly, the EFB is barely used and this creates debatable consequence for its disposal since unfastened field/pile combustion is frequently no longer allowed. Effluent from the Palm oil factory is besides hardly used and this creates a job at the oil production Millss. This shows clearly that biomass use is non enhanced and that there is a demand for other utilizations. It is hard to acquire computed informations on the present usage of byproducts and peculiarly on the efficiency of such usage. In the undermentioned paragraphs I would wish discourse the issue of current use rate and efficiency of such utilizations.Use rate:Malaysia has rather a high use for field byproducts ( 80 to 95 % ) as mulch and for shells and fiber as fuel for the Millss ( 90 % ) . For POME and EFB the use rates are much lower ( 35 to 65 % ) ( Gurmit, 1999 ) Apparently the stuff is non easy used for energy production and benefits of returning the stuff to the field as mulch / fertiliser are considered excessively low to countervail the cost. Consequently literature indicates that these merchandises frequently form environmental jobs bring forthing methane and polluting waterways. A big figure of enterprises are afoot to happen ways of extenuating this job. In Yeoh ( 2004 ) it is estimated that in Malaysia methane emanation from unfastened of POME pools sum to 225.000 dozenss ( 1999 ) , which is tantamount to 5,17 million dozenss of CO2, or 3.6 % of the estimated entire emanations in Malaysia. Empty fruit Bunches are less attractive as a boiler fuel and are hence by and large non used for energy. For other states utilization rates should be lower than in Malaysia which has the most advanced thenar oil production system.Efficiency of use:Again, it is difficult to happen quantified informations here. It was discovered that the palm oil industry is one of those uncommon industries where really small effort is made to salvage energy. ( Husain et al, 2003 ) . The energy balance in a typical thenar oil factory is far from premier and there is significant possibility for betterment. Soon most Millss maps on low force per unit area boilers bring forthing steam for operating. In Malaysia, high force per unit area boiler systems are used to bring forth electricity and steam for operation at the factory and supply to the grid. It was predicted that signifier 1999 the annual thenar oil factory remains will ensue to 18 million dozenss of biomass big plenty to bring forthing 3197 GWh and 31.5 million dozenss of POME with a coevals potency of for 1587 GWh. Hashim ( 2005 ) This postulation was low compared to Yeoh ( 2004 ) who predicted that 2250 GWh electricity can be produced from POME through biogas. ( for 1999 informations ) . Based on the figures from Hashim ( 2005 ) the complete electricity bring forthing capacity from factory remains was given as 5000 GWh. Field remains amounted to twice the measure of biomass at factory. This excluded the roots. From the figures given above it shows that in Malaysia, the electricity supply potency is about15000 GWh. Malaysia histories for 50 % of the universe thenar oil production nationally, 30000 GWh of electricity can be produced from Palm oil remains. Menon ( hypertext transfer protocol: //www.ptm.org.my/biogen ) associated the additions from utilizing EFB as mulch in Fieldss ( alimentary value subtraction logistics costs ) and the net income when used for electricity production. It was discovered that the returns for electricity production was 3.5 times higher. Indeed, there are a figure of creativenesss which are present in Malaysia for the production of electricity from the by-product of thenar oil which are delivered to the grid. It must be observed that electricity coevals through combustion green goodss ash which encloses largely P and K and other foods which could still be reused in the plantation. The above illustration was based on electricity production to the grid. But still, several Millss are excessively unaccessible to bring forth electricity to the grid and other by-product mercantile establishments should besides be considered such as wood coal, pyrolysis oil, HTU oil, paper mush, fibre board, etc. In under developed or developing states, Millss will be excessively little to justify investings in the transition system and small informations and factory remains for efficiency and reuse of field could be found. Obviously recycling of POME and EFB is really limited.Discussion and decisionsIn the Palm Oil value concatenation there is an overall excess of byproducts and the use rate of these byproducts is low, as is particularly the instance for wastewater and empty fruit Bunches. For other mill by- merchandises the efficiency of the application can clearly be increased. For field residues, the chief use now is disposal as mulch and fertilizer. The efficiency and effectivit y of this application could non be determined here. Still this will depend on local conditions and it should be possible to give indicants of what recycling or valorisation system will be optimum here. By-products are considered at best as a nuisance which may take to environmental jobs. As the bio based economic system develops and markets for C impersonal merchandises grow those byproducts should be seen as resource. The first effects are going clear with bringing of sustainable thenar oil waste electricity to the grid in Malaysia. The primary benefit of external demand for byproducts is the resolution of jobs refering fouling byproducts and increasing the profitableness of the production by: aˆ? balanced recycling foods and C at the field, aˆ? increasing the efficiency of boiler fuel use at the factory aˆ? supplies of excess energy to local electricity cyberspace fresh economic activity and coevals of local employment by transition of biomass residues in value added merchandises. The increased food recycling will increase dirt birthrate and increase sustainability of palm oil production. Systems that minimise the remotion of foods and C from the system should be preferred. Still non all C and foods have to be re-cycled. What the optimum is between bio mass use and recycling varies harmonizing to dirt and clime. In the instance that external demand for byproducts of palm oil production materialises, larger sums of byproducts will go available. The palm oil industry will hold to weigh the ain demand for fuel and the demand for recycling of foods and dirt C against the cost of fertilizer and the net incomes of biomass transition. It is of import to cognize what are the optimal conditions here in order to plan sustainable systems that besides produce big measures of biomass for energy and merchandises. A really unsmooth conjecture is that 25 to 50 % of the byproducts may be available for energy export ( matching approximately to 30-60 million dozenss dry weight biomass ) . It would be a good development if the byproducts from Palm oil production were considered as a possible resource for CO2 impersonal energy and merchandises alternatively of a waste. A much more elaborate survey into the net mass balance and possible biomass production from the palm oil concatenation and the possibilities of happening added value for these merchandises in a biobased economic system is indispensable for developing economically, socially and environmentally sustainable palm oil systems. The acknowledgment that using byproducts for added value is good to the sustainability of palm oil production is indispensable for attesting the sustainability of the palm oil biomass energy and merchandises. Multi-stakeholder engagement is required for turn toing the sustainability of the nutrient oil supply concatenation. This would besides include foreigner ( non-food ) industries involved in energy and fiber merchandises selling. More information is needed to find how much biomass is needed at the factory for works operations and how efficient this usage is, how much foods can be removed from the system without impacting sustainability ( alimentary and C recycling ) , rating of the competitory potency of supplies to the market of energy, merchandises and C arrested development. More quantified information is needed on states outside Malaysia that have similar thenar oil waste disposal jobs and potencies to use these merchandises as a resource.

Humans & ability Essay

Humans’ most important ability is our ability to communicate through spoken language. The ability of humans to speak makes us stand out in the animal kingdom, according to many philosophers and scientists. It is just natural for humans to desire to know how we developed the ability of using language in communicating. This paper focuses on how the human language evolved. Through the comparative studies of the apes with the human language, it provided information to humans when the necessity for the language structure was developed. INTRODUCTION Study of Primates Communication Abilities. Since the ‘homo sapiens’ have been considered as the human’s cousin, the language of the apes have been studied. Some believes that the human language evolved earlier than them. The American Sign Language or ASL has been taught to a number of apes. Different approaches were also used from 1970s for some species of apes to be trained and taught disciplines of communication. Comparison of the Primate and Human Communication Abilities. Human children’s development of their language was compared to the studies made on different forms of primates. It was evident on human children that their development comes slowly as they grow older. Children in the earliest age start with a single word utterance. At fifteen months old of a child, utterance of two words comes easier. Protosyntatic structures in the language development of children come next with longer word utterances. At this stage, noun phrases were observed in the language structure too. This kind of language development on children is comparatively the same with many primates studied from 1970s to present. CONCLUSION The ability of primates to communicate with protolanguage may be a sign that apes can actually understand, learn, and communicate. However, in many instances where primates were trained and disciplined, it is also important to consider that none of the subjects were able to be taught to verbally speak. Moreover, primate language studies have never showed any language exhibitions from the primates in the wild. The protolanguage development on the human children may be a similarity on both but the primates lack the gestural complex in humans. Therefore, this comparison shows that the humans have the natural linguistic ability and the primates do not. WORKS CITED William O’Grady, et al. (1997). Contemporary Linguistics: An Introduction, 5th edition. New York : Adison Wesley Longman. Pg. 586. Savage-Rumbaugh, S. , Shanker, S. , & Taylor, T. (1998). Apes, Language and the Human Mind. New York: Oxford University Press. Deacon, T. W. (1989). The Neural Circuitry Underlying Primate Calls and Human Language. Human evolution, 4, 367-401.

Organisational Transformation in Practice Essay - 1

Organisational Transformation in Practice - Essay Example In this specific instance, the store’s general manager refrained from interacting with employees except when absolutely necessary. Even as there was a limited amount of employees, cliques emerged that hindered workplace efficiency and productivity. The environment had a strong negative impact on my mental and emotional well-being. In investigating these personal factors I implemented Gibbs’ (1988) reflection cycle. Fig. 1 demonstrates Gibbs’ reflection cycle. This cycle begins with a description of the underlining cause of the events and then moves in a clockwise pattern through stages of analysis and reconciliation. These stages are advanced through in the articulation of a patchwork text. Fig. 1 Gibbs Reflection Cycle PATCH II Underlying Causes In analyzing this specific workplace experience of change, I consider that there were a number of underlying causes that contributed to the experience. This specific organizational environment is best considered in terms of psychic elements, as the negative feelings and thought patterns I tacitly accepted and that were distributed throughout the organization occurred at the level of unspoken or unconscious communication. One recognizes this consideration within Michael Diamond’s (2008) concept of the unthought known. ... The consideration of the toxicity I experienced I recognize then can be articulated within this hybrid structural and psychodynamic model. Diamond (2008, p. 357) notes, â€Å"Organizational culture is predominantly unconscious and ultimately located at the core of intersubjective relations that shape values and artifacts at the surface of organization.† In this specific organization, there were great challenges in terms of direct communication between individuals. The cliques that developed greatly hindered organizational communication. It seems in this way the cliques were implemented as an institutional defence, as employees chose to hide behind the group facade. Splitting became a prominent defence as individuals would view another, or a differing group in entirely negative terms. This effected communication through indirect methods. Passive aggressive behavior became prominent among employees. In my personal experience at the organization I recognize that I would frequentl y attempt to schedule my shifts as to avoid specific people. This suspicious and paranoid behavior grew larger the longer I worked at the company. When I did have to work with employees I had previously attempted to avoid a general toxic environment emerged. Rather than having a strong managerial leader to delineate job tasks, there were many arguments among employees as to who would participate in specific tasks such as shelving the aisles or running the cash register. In many degrees these arguments reflected group dynamics and fight or flight behavior. The arguments were simply a means of avoiding work responsibility, but instead reflected power relations within the group. While

Not Specified Yet (ACCORDING TO THE TOPIC CHOSEN BY THE WRITER) Essay

Not Specified Yet (ACCORDING TO THE TOPIC CHOSEN BY THE WRITER) - Essay Example Latin American free trade experience started in Mexico and spread out to Central and South America, and has included multiple negotiations between the United States and several countries. In this paper, I want to draw your attention into the United States-Colombia free trade agreement, its history, nature, and foundation. I will approach important data and the potential impact of this relationship; finally, I will explain different difficulties and areas of conflict that have emerged. An institution could be defined as rules, both formal and informal, that guide human activities within societies (North, Douglass 1990). An important institution is International Trade, which accelerates technological transference, competition, and productivity. The United States has put in place numerous trade agreements: the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Central America-Dominican Republic-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR), and various bilateral agreements (Australia, Chile, Israel, Jordan, Malaysia, etc). For years, Colombia has been an unconditional ally of the United States of America, and has exchanged various resources with its Northern partner. The Andean Trade Preference Act-ATPA was enacted in 1991, during Bush administration, to combat drug production and trafficking in 4 Andean countries: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. It offered trade benefits to help these countries develop and strengthen legitimate industries (Office of the United States Trade Representative 2008). In 2002, the United States government extended trade preferences by a public law: the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act-ATPDEA, through which Latin American products and goods gained entrance without customs duties. According to the Office of the US Trade Representative, it â€Å"expanded trade benefits for

Advertising in context Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Advertising in context - Essay Example Advertising is very important for every kind of business.Every businessman is constantly looking for the new advantageous ways to attract new customers and get more profit with low expenses.In the modern world information technologies offer new opportunities and new kinds of advertising. According to recent researches, ‘online advertising to consumer time ratio is circa 50%’, which is quite significant amount and thus, implies great advertising possibilities hidden in internet marketing (Walters, 2009). This point of view was confirmed with general opinion expressed in BBC News in 2006 that print and TV media are not able to meet current marketing needs, which could be satisfied with online resources. It can be explained by low cost of internet advertising and by the fact that now when people spend much time in the internet, internet advertising can be used not only for internet business but for any kind of business (Walters J., 2009). Origin of internet advertising It i s commonly accepted that history of internet advertising originated in far away 1991, when CERN presented their brainchild – World Wide Web in Switzerland (Abbate, 1999). Firstly, internet was exploited by grass roots around 1994, when such companies as AT&T, MCI, Sprint, and Volvo asked HotWired  to develop online ads for their sites (Singel, 2010). However the practice was not very popular because online connection was pretty slow, internet resources were not developed, which caused serious inconveniences. At the end of 1994 Roy Schwedelson, one of the first promoters of internet usage for commercial goals, made a speech about online marketing possibilities at the Information Superhighway conference in order to stimulate more agencies to exploit the Web for advertisement goals. In January 1995 Prodigy firstly put their online site on commercial base for the subscribers. Soon, such companies as MCI, Air Walk,  and Jim Beam followed their example. In response for increase d interest in online ads NetScape, Google, and InfoSeek started to develop structured official platforms for advertising. In 1996 further initiative in internet marketing was taken by Microsoft, which became the leading Web advertiser in short time (The history of internet advertising, 2007). Probably, the first noticeable online advertisements appeared at AT&T and Procter & Gamble  sites, when they realized advantages and great future of internet technologies and started to invested serious money in their web pages development (Herman & McChesney, 2004). Gradually, more companies and marketing agencies appreciated how they could gain from internet advertising and it could be said that at the end of 1997 – beginning of 1998 the industry got general commercial acceptance. By 2001 such dinosaurs of World Wide Web as Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft, American Online, and Amazon achieved record number of views, which contributed about 125 to 442 million users. (Silk, Klein, Berndt, 20 01) Types of internet advertisements There are several types of internet advertising, which are widely applied nowadays: banner ads, unicast, sidebar, blogging and social network ads, pop-up ads, search engine submission and optimization, text links, floating ads, e-mail ads and many others (Rivers). Banner ads were developed to favor direct sales, which are also called branding sales, primarily. This kind of ads is similar to brick and mortar billboard ads, which main task is to provide consumers with certain information about particular brand briefly and awake their interest (Harris). Moreover, online banners usually imply that users would undertake some actions like clicking the banner or searching for further information. However, recent researches showed that nowadays banner ads are supposed to be quite ineffective: just 2-5 people out of 1000 click the banner while others simply ignore it (Wilson, 2009). Unicast ads are supposed to be more effective than classic banner ads and are presented with some kind of mini video commercials,

Assignment 6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Assignment 6 - Essay Example The issue was about a bill filed in the Congress of the Philippines of making Reproductive Health Services available to the general population. The argument was that, there is a high mortality rate of birth related deaths among impoverished mothers and such, mothers should be educated about birth spacing to reduce birth mortality and be given the means if they chooses to reduce their family size. Also, it was pointed out that the country being poor, where half of its population lives below poverty line and 21 % among them experiences hunger, family size should be managed according to their income. This can be done through the popular introduction of several methods of pregnancy prevention, including the usage of condoms and birth control pills. It was also discussed that condom can be used to stop the balloning HIV infection in the country which had exponentially increased in the last couple of years. This was however vehemently opposed by the Catholic hierarchy, and even went as far as threatening to excoummunicate the President of the Republic should he support the said bill.

Marketing of Dairy Products Made Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Marketing of Dairy Products Made - Essay Example Further, yak milk has a distinct flavor and caters only to a niche market, therefore; marketing, the category of yak milk will be more important than marketing this particular brand. Any marketing campaign will need to set the groundwork for yak milk benefits rather than Land ‘o Lake branded yak milk features. i. The team of professionals working on the project is experienced and has the expertise required. Simultaneously, the local Chinese team of Dr. Wu and Mr. Dongzhou is a very suitable partner, as they have the government contracts; the local perspective and the experience of working in the country that the team can count on to formulate a successful and far-reaching campaign. Further to the fact that Dr. Wu and Mr. Dongzhou have good government contracts, the political structure of the country is such that if the right officials are on board and are agreeable to the project, the campaign has better chances of success. ii. The government is interested in developing the Tibetan region and has been working on developing the infrastructure to empower the impoverished herdsmen. Thus the team will have the government’s support on its side if the team and the local partners lobby it with the officials as being a tool to improve the lives of the poor in that region. The team can promote the idea to the government that by selling their cattle’s milk, the herdsmen will be provided a viable opportunity for conducting business and raising the standard of living in the region. i. Even though the team from Land ‘ o Lakes has local partners, the team itself has relatively little experience of working in developing countries and therefore it will be difficult for them to truly grasp the nuances of local culture. ii. The advertising campaigns currently being undertaken are well developed and sophisticated, given this context, the yak milk project will have a very slight to nil margin of error in depicting local tastes.

The life of Zora Neale Hurston Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The life of Zora Neale Hurston - Research Paper Example In 1917, she enrolled in Morgan academy found in Maryland with the help of her former employer. After her graduation, she joined Howard University where she studied for one and a half years and secured a scholarship that saw her transfer to Barnard College for a degree course. Between 1928 and 1932, she studied human culture at Columbia University. In 1936, she got a Guggenheim Fellowship award for travelling and collecting folklore in the British West Indies and Haiti (Boyd 35). Throughout her life, Zora engaged in a number of jobs alongside her writing. She served as a secretary while working with Fannie Hurst (1889–1968); she later became a writer in paramount and Warner brother’s studios. She also worked as a librarian with the library of congress and finally as a drama tutor at North Carolina Collage for Negroes. Zora most celebrated work include her novel â€Å"Their Eyes Were Watching God† written in 1937, her collection of American folklore that included Tell My Horse (1939) and Mules and Men (1935). Zora worked on three other novels: Moses, Man of the Mountain (1939), a retell of the Mosaic biblical allegory in an African perspective, Seraph on the Suwanee (1948), a story of woman experience in love; and Jonahs Gourd Vine (1934), an autobiography of her father. Hurston met a number of people who significantly shaped her carrier life, this include notable African American writers such as Langston Hughes, Arna Bontemps and Jessie Fauset, all of whom belonged to the renown New Negro movement that was later change to Harlem Renaissance. Like many other writers, Hurston has her own critics. One of them is Darwin Turner who suggested that she was a "quick-tempered woman, arrogant toward her peers, obsequious toward her supposed superiors, desperate for recognition and reassurance to assuage her feelings of inferiority" (1979). Clearly, Zora was a

Styles of love Essay Example for Free

Styles of love Essay The styles of love depicted in this essay are friendship and selfless love. Two scenarios depicting each style of love are presented. Friendship John and Lynda met each other in the office when Lynda joined the company where John worked. Both of them are the silent type of persons, simple and intelligent. They did not mix with the loud people in the company but rather, they grouped with simple, happy and low profile people just like them. Their frienship grew into a love relationship as they got to know each other more including their personal family backgrounds. They have many similar interests, were always happy together and they got married. Selfless love Joel is second eldest in a family of eight children. He did not finish college and was frequently tasked to take care of his younger siblings when their mother was away. Belle, on the other hand, is an architect and being the youngest in a brood of six, was pampered in the family. In their married life, Joel was able to take the tantrums of Belle. He was patient and was the one who always gave in such that any argument between them did not result into a bigger fight. As years went by, Belle became more in love with her husband whose forbearance complemented her frequently volatile temper. Joel always understood Belle and placed her interests on top of his priorities. Similarities and differences between the two scenarios Both scenarios have what it takes to achieve consummate love. For as long as the characters in the stories are able to maintain the balance of intimacy, passion and commitment, then consummate love can successfully be maintained. In the first scenario, John and Lynda share similar interests and have the same attitude and personality. In the second scenario, Joel and Belle do not have the same attitude and personality owing to their different family backgrounds. Belle even has a higher educational achievement than her husband but they are compatible in terms of being able to complement each other’s physical and emotional needs. Styles of love that have been prevalent in my life Romantic love between my partner and me and friendship (storge, philia) within the family and with close friends are the styles of love that have been most prevalent in my life. Reference Rathus, S. A. , Nevid, J. S. , Fichner-Rathus, L. (2005). Human sexuality in a world of diversity. Allyn and Bacon: copyright by Pearson Education, Inc.

Analysis of TV Show “Friends”

Analysis of TV Show â€Å"Friends† Deep Analysis of the show â€Å"Friends† in terms of Television Pluralism First Section: HISTORICAL OVERVIEW: Creation: In American television history, a sitcom â€Å"Friends† was added by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which initially aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 and ended on May 6, 2004. It had 10 seasons in total. The casting for the television show â€Å"Friends† was miraculous. The story revolves around six friends living in Manhattan. The balanced chemistry between all the six brilliant actors justified the casting. Not to forget the legendary director and the writers, who with their words gave all the young and single, something to relate to. In a place where recession is normal, you have to fail a couple of times in order to win. It was a thought about those who work and struggle in their mid twenties, looking for jobs, at the basic stage of building and exploring a life they want. The director wanted to reach those particular people that are the targeted audience. Imagining about those young ones struggling in big cities, it is very expensive to live on their own, they all almost face same kind of difficulties, it’s a tough physical as well as emotional journey. Now, with a friend, it’s a lot easier, this general idea influenced director to transform it into development and so we had this show, its name reflecting the idea itself as knows as â€Å"Friends†. Six friends having six different characters as following: Chandler Bing (an executive in statistical analysis), Monica Geller (a chef), Rachel Green (fashion enthusiast), Ross Geller (paleontologist) and Joey Tribbiani (struggling actor). The writers had to modify the script in order to suit it with the casted actors. The actors very well played their respective roles and they became friends off air as well which really paid off well. Reception: It gained a lot of popularity and awards throughout its run. The show â€Å"Friends† became the first long running sitcom, when it got the highest rating for it on US television. Friends won an Emmy, award for the Best Comedy Series category, which was another first. The show was praised for lack of violent content. Although, there were few critical responses over some contents, it did not stop celebrities to play and guest appearance role in this show which includes: Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, Helen Hunt, Elliot Gould, Charlie sheen and others. Despite other competitive sitcoms Friends managed to remain at its place that is for both social phenomenon and hugely entertaining television show. According to one of the experts Friends is one of those show which marked a change in American culture. The portrayal of youth and the roles they play are well defined and represents a lifestyle that focuses around creating and maintaining relationship between a group of friends running their own lives and seeking support from each other In audience appeal, Friends was undoubtedly stayed in the nineties and as well as in the early years of twentieth century. As with time, the reviews got more positive than negative, it progressed and Friends become a most popular hit sitcom. It is still ranked as among time best TV shows (Cosgrove) Critics praised the series for having persistently spiky dialogue script and the chemistry among the most important actors was extra ordinary. Some praised the finale for being more touching and more satisfying as reflecting to the closure it gave. (Parish) Critical Reaction: Early reviews for the show were mixed (Friends Season 1). The producers always tried to match the right stories to location; it’s funny that it was never filmed in New York. They decided that filming outside would make the show less funny. The series was criticized for portraying New York the wrong way, by showing a group of friends which are struggling they are weak financially and they are not able to afford large apartments. With this being a minor criticism over the location, it also faced some serious accusations. The major criticism which it faced was focused on the use of sexuality charged themes specially the time for the show was when the kids usually watch television. Parents Television Council called it raciest sitcom, they claimed that all six characters were shown sexually on the go and the dialogues also contained vulgarity, and more sexual content. Monica’s approval on Chandler fondness for porn and that Joey’s several sexual par tners became the target. The PTC, in fact, called the show as one of the worst in US television as referring to its sexual content and vulgar language used by the characters in the show. Section Two: Full Examination in relation to Cultural Pluralism: The show was no doubt progressive. It started with negative responses and gained itself positive and best appreciation afterward which is still associated with it. As talking about the stereotypical conformity it represented in terms of race, gender, sexuality, or ethnicity. Race; The show did not support racism in particular all the characters were given balanced roles and there was not seen any hatred in terms of racism as it was shown that Joey belonged to some Spanish family. But Ross’s second wife Emily was British and they did make fun of her accent but there was no hatred seen as it was part of the humor being created at that instant. Looking into this matter more critically, the cast is always seen in a coffee shop called â€Å"Central Perk† and on the same sofa every day, it seems as if they are depicting the dominance and everyone else was not important and not worthy enough to be a part of their i.e. main characters’ conversation. When Ross dates Julie, a girl from chine, Rachel shows jealousy so she acts rude to her. This episode, where Julie is with all the other characters together in a group and she is being really nice to everyone including Rachel but Rachel, in spite of her kindness, abuses Julie and calls her names. Rachel is portrayed as a typical white woman perfect hair and all beautiful. Minorities even if dated do not last longer in the series. Whereas, white people managed to break the circle and they get accepted by everyone. Take example of Mike, Phoebe’s husband. The show does seem to enforce their typical, white, middle-class lifestyle status, from beginning to end, and it is because of these examples that this show â€Å"Friends† can be considered as racist, well just a little I would say. Sexuality; As far as sexuality is concerned there were many sexual contents, well I would say an appropriate amount of sexual context, there was however no nudity shown. There was this naked guy in their neighbors who they used to look pout from their window and describe what he’s doing in a funny manner but there was no nudity shown. Another aspect where sexuality was depicted in the show â€Å"Friends† was the fact that everybody used to think that Chandler was gay, Joey because of his several sleep around, they used to consider him womanizer. While lesbians, bisexual and transgender characters did not appear in television until 1970s now television sitcoms are seen featuring an entire genre for gays. Ross’s ex wife is shown Lesbian and Chandler’s father is shown transsexual. The show can be considered as conveying heterosexual values toward a younger audience. Gender; Analyzing the sitcom Friends in terms of gender equality or sexism, it seems like the overall show is perhaps written in conflict to the so called male dominated society; gender binaries that are traditionally known to keep down women. This show is about six friends , three males and three females, again showing the balanced equality in numbers, all in their mid twenties as the series starts, they are living in Manhattan, struggling to develop and manage satisfying careers and as well as romantic relationships. (Spangler) The show has conveyed an improvement in the depiction of women in television, through Rachel’s character. Here sexual freedom exhibits a liberated woman, free from the dominated stereotypes of male dominating society and also the traditional stereotypes that come with the women who sleep around. The way they showed Rachel’s character, at first she was dependent on her father’s money but then she started working as a waitress initially an d then progressing finally she succeeded in building an exceptional career for herself, she became an inspiration to all women. Ethnicity; this genre, situation comedy, has become an integral part of American culture. This show presented a window meant to show us the homes of our favorite characters to know more about their ethnic background and lifestyles like we came to know about Chandlers indifferent behavior towards Christmas and Thanksgiving. Another positive aspect would be the common national portrayal of group of friends who functioned as family units where rather than parents or siblings; they relied on each other for support. While if critically observe this, they failed to include minorities in the depiction of common national or cultural tradition. With the all-American lifestyle depiction, six Americans, unmarried, young people living and struggling totally depicting that today’s society is biased in choosing friends. Whites go for whites. It can be said that audience would not have watched the show with this fan following if it was about six minority friends. This show might have present ed a wrong conclusion about different ethnic groups. People do not want their children to be racist; they want them to be diverse. All of the six characters were never seen with a minority; they were shown hanging out in a cafà © or bar that too in a large city. Closely, I saw African-American or Mexican in the background. There was this episode where Joey went for this part in a play; after the scene was finished I had seen three minorities’ heads in the background there were countless of whites though. Later, Rachel find a new boy friend that is white as well, they do not show any coupling with black people. The show which I chose is a product of its time because of the positive responses it received, not to forget the targeted audiences was satisfied with the show it had given them something to relate to and enjoy watching. As the show shown a casual latter day sequence of shots, for example the friends always gathered at the coffee shop to discuss their issues and breakups. Television critics highly praised the run as having constantly sharp script and chemistry linking the foremost actors (Friends climax watched by 51m) few other scholarly and TV critics gave their reviews: the jokes could make you laugh a couple of time each episode and the stories written were innovative and very original (Havrilesky) one of the brightest series in comedy (Richmond) the show was successful in making a comeback to their viewer’s heat and marking their territory (Carter) Cultural Significance: There are very few of the sitcoms in the history of television which have had long-term Cultural impact. It does not matter how much you categorize the TV programs or how much influence the novel reality trend has on it; it is a fact that will remain that television sitcoms are not realistic. It’s impossible for it to be 100% real because TV is not reality. The stories included are however chunks of the maker’s perception. Which they always edit, filter, and script it to manipulate the audiences to drag hug amount of attention and fan following. Rachel’s hairstyle was noticed a lot tit was even nicknamed as â€Å"The Rachel† (Jicha) and adopted by many. Joe’s catchphrase â€Å"How you doin’?† also became popular and imitated by many as a pickup line or when greeting or making new friends. Chandler’s sarcasm and jokes also influenced viewers it also developed an alternative lifestyle where young people live unconventional domesti c lives, it brings to a close way that all you need is some good friends and you can put up family of your choice. This new way of living and developing relationships is not normally seen in conventional society. Pluralism: Today pluralism has become a basic value of public communication. Freedom of speech, freedom of expression, with other factor including pluralism, cultural variety, and acceptance toward other views and value systems has become a need for trend in society. (Gladkova) Television is a type of medium that makes it easy to carry on a conversation or to convey a message; it is a reference point to the culture for most of us. People who watch TV more often tend to compare themselves with those people in the TV and imitate their behavior, their way of talking, their way of dressing, and adopting their catchphrases or specific dialogues. Now take Friends in this scenario, it is reviewed that people consider that this is the most realistic sitcom as far as todays generation is concerned. Observe closely, the story is about three male and three female, all singles, struggling and surviving in New York on their salaries, job and part time jobs, they switch partners just as they change clothes. This is certainly not reality, maybe it is for the writers and the producers, but it is not for the rest of the world. As per the reality is concerned, makers of this show breathe high class lifestyles in town coastal big cities, they don’t look up to religious services and they don’t even know anyone who does, so through depiction of these television shows they end up reflecting the distorted reality of those who make the shows. And the sexual contents were there in excess which do not really set a good tradition, everybody has slept with everyone. Big changes sometimes happen with sitcoms, in Friends the characters ask out, date, and breakup. If, fortunately they get married, they have babies, or go to London. Writers use this in order to maintain the surprise factor, they couldn’t think of something new and something that can convey a message something useful let say they could have family that adopted a homeless kid. The show do not follow the ever changing context of real line, in contrast the viewer just tune in to see what’s next in the line which is systematically created; what happens next in a plotline. Like what would be the Ross’s reaction when he would see Rachel’s at the airport. Will Emily dump Ross after he took Rachel’s name on the wedding altar? Friends, nevertheless, depict postmodernism, and the absolute value of small community in which individual find his/her identity and safety. There was however no religion involved much, apart from occasions like Christmas. The characte rs weren’t shown visiting churches apart from only weddings. The other activities like drinking and smoking were however seen as often as it may get which was real enough. Works Cited Carter, Bill. Plot Twists Paid Off For Friends. The New York Times (2002 ). Cosgrove, Mather. TV Guide Names Top 50 Shows. CBS News (2002). Friends climax watched by 51m. BBC News (2004). Friends Season 1. CBS Interactive Inc. (2004). Gladkova, Anna A. The role of television in cultivating the values of pluralism and cultural diversity in children. Psychology in Russia: State of the Art 6.1 (2013). Havrilesky, Heather. Never forget your â€Å"Friends†. SALON (2004). Jicha, Tom. They leave as they began: With a buzz. The Baltimore Sun. (2004). Parish, Ken. Farewell to Friends The finale to the 10-year series wraps up all the loose ends. Fort Worth Star-Telegram (2004 ). Richmond, Ray. Season Premiere of Friends Leaves Room to Grow. Daily News of Los Angeles (CA) (1994). Spangler, Lynn C. Television Women from Lucy to Friends: Fifty Years of Sitcoms and Feminism. United States of America: Greenword Publishing Group, 2003.

Mentor Impact on Student Nurse Experience

Mentor Impact on Student Nurse Experience Explore the impact of the mentor on the learning experience of the student nurse The current study reports the findings of a systematic literature review of research regarding the mentorship of student nurses. Mentorship was evaluated in terms of its development, implementation, outcomes and wider effects and the identified research was presented and critically analysed with reference to each of these areas. It was found that although mentorship was based on policy and standards, the mentor role and mentorship relationship still remain unclear and requires further clarification. A need was also identified for the supervision and monitoring of both mentors and student nurses to be expanded with mentors being more available and the whole process being more regularly audited. Mentorship was found to indirectly enhance skill development through support, socialisation and the provision of opportunities to gain clinical experience. By creating appositive learning environment and mentorship relationship the mentor can maximise the probability that their student nurses will acquire the skills necessary to be an effective nurse. The effect of mentorship on patient care was identified as a complex issue with it being difficult to make confident conclusions regarding the size of any effect. It does appear that mentors can indirectly improve patient care by enhancing nursing skills in their students. Finally, the mentor can play a role in creating the learning environment and mentorship relationship which can help to ensure that the student nurses have a positive learning experience. The limitations which are associated with the methodology which was employed within this research are discussed along with the implications of the findings of this research for practice and future research projects in this field. It is concluded that mentorship has the potential to have a number of benefits for student nurses but that further research and improvements are required in each of the evaluation areas such that the effectiveness and feasibility of student nurse education can be maximised along with the quality of the care which is subsequently provided to patients. 2.0 Introduction The world of nursing has gone through a period of significant change over the last ten years. In the acute nursing environment, nurses arousing increasingly more complex health care interventions and have to incorporate the use of advances in both medical technology and disease management. Within primary care, nurses are required to face the burden of chronic disease and to facilitate patients beginning to self-manage their own health. S uch changes have been made as a result of Governmental policy and strategic approaches. For example, a Governmental economic review conducted by Winless (2002 and 2004)advocated changes to how services are organised and delivered. Such changes have resulted in there being a range of extra demands being placed upon the nurse, both during and after their training. The Royal College of Nursing (2004a and 2004b) acknowledged the change which is occurring and stated that nurse education needs to be assessed and adapted to meet the changing role of the nurse. Nurses are now required to undertake tasks which were traditionally performed by doctors. These developments have ensured that the issue of the effectiveness of a nurse’s training is of up most importance. Through these changes the need for effective mentorship within nursing has become ever more salient. As a result of the potential effects which mentor/student nurse relationship can have on the student’s learning, their experience of training, their subsequent performance on the training course, their future effectiveness as a nurse and ultimately on the quality of the care which is provided by the nurses, it is an important topic to consider within the field of adult nursing. Thus the mentor/student nurse relationship needs to be evaluated. People have been interested in relationships throughout history. As far back as the ancient times, Aristotle and Cicero were commenting and theorising about relationships (Poulakis 1997). In more recent years, novelists, play-writes, biographers and clinicians have all been interested in the study of relationships in terms of why they matter, how they work and how one can improve their effectiveness and efficacy(Wood and Duck 1995). However, it has only been in the last 50 years that researchers have started to empirically investigate inter-relationships between people. Such work has been undertaken from wide variety of perspectives including anthropology, child development, cognitive science, communication, social psychology, sociology, psychiatry and psychotherapy to mention just a few (Hinde1997). The focus of such researchers has started to address the issues regarding relationships between staff within the health care industry. This systematic review will focus on addressing the relationship between a mentor and a student nurse. Whenever one is considering these of a given intervention within a health care setting, any conclusions must be based upon the scientific research which has investigated its effectiveness and efficacy via methodologically sound techniques. Any such analysis will need to consider four key aspects, each of these will be the focus of this systematic review. The first key element of evaluation concerns the development of the intervention. Therefore this review will consider research which has assessed the theoretical and conceptual foundation of mentorship within nursing. This section will include a discussion of whether the mentoring of student nurses is based on policy or a set of standards. The second area of focus for this review relates to the implementation of the intervention. Clearly whenever one is analysing the effectiveness and efficacy of an intervention, one must consider the way in which the intervention is operationalized and implemented as this will be likely to significantly affect the ultimate success of the intervention. This section will address the way in which mentorship is employed for student nurses and whether or not sufficient measures have been put into place to ensure that the benefits of mentorship are maximised and that any potential drawbacks are minimised. The extent to which this mentoring is adequately supervised, monitored and audited will be assessed and critically analysed. The third key aspect of any evaluation process concerns the outcome of an intervention. Clearly an intervention can be assessed with regards to a wide range of outcomes such as economic factors, staff perceptions and customer perceptions. With regards to mentorship, it is important that it is evaluated in terms of the perceptions of the mentors, the student nurses and the patients such that a comprehensive evaluation of its outcomes can be achieved. As well as the perceptions of those involved, this section will address whether or not mentorship improves nursing skills and hence whether it helps to improve the care which is received by patients. The fourth and final area of evaluation which will be addressed by this systematic review concerns the wider impact of the intervention. As well as focussing on the direct effects of a strategy, it is also important to consider the effect which the intervention has on other relevant issues. In terms of mentorship in nursing, this will relate tissues such as whether or not a rewarding learning experience is related to the quality of the relationship that a student nurse has with their mentor. Although the focus of mentorship may be on improving the student nurses’ skills, it is important to critically evaluate the effect which mentorship has on the student nurses’ experiences of their training programme as this could influence their subsequent career choices. The following review will first provide some background information regarding the topic of mentorship and student nurses. The methodology which was employed within this systematic review will then be outlined. The findings of the systematic review will then be critically analysed in terms of the key evaluation aspects of development, implementation, outcomes and wider impacts The main findings of this research will then be summarised before the limitations which are associated with this research project are outlined and discussed. Finally the implications of the findings of this research will be considered along with the areas which should be the focus of future research projects within the field of mentorship and student nurses. 3.0 Background A significant amount of research has Been conducted regarding adult learning and mentorship within nursing (Bernard 1990). The teaching of student nurses has undergone significant changes in the past 20 years. These changes have particularly taken place as a result of Project 2000which changed the education of pre-registration nurses (United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting 1986). The previous diploma level system was replaced by the Common Foundation Programme which is comprised of the four branches of Adult, Child, Learning Disability and Mental Health. Through this process, registered nurses took responsibility for the learning of student nurses. The role of the nurse is adapting to incorporate these responsibilities with the Royal College of Nursing (2004a and 2004b) calling for a particular focus upon Quality, Flexibility and Diversity. Much has been written about the practitioner as facilitator, supervisor, assessor and role model, and the overlay of role functions (Bailey 1992, Clarke et al1986, Heron 1977, Mason 1987, Myrick and Wane 1988, Windsor 1987.Despite this, there is still a lack of consensus within the literature in terms of a clear definition of what is meant by the term ‘mentor’(Hearty 1986, Morel 1990 and Phillips et al 1996). It has been argued that the task of defining the term mentor is made more complicated byte fact that other terms are used, such as assessor, facilitator and supervisor, to describe the same role (Phillips et al 1996). As result of the wide range of aspects of the role which is played by mentor, it can be stated that a definition of mentor can only be general description as anything more specific would run the risk of excluding important elements of the position (Davies et al 1994). Forth purposes of the following review, the definition of mentor which was provided by Woolskin (1982) will be adopted: ‘Mentorship is a relationship which is aimed at guiding the novice towards an established place within the profession’ (Woolskin 1982) In the nursing profession the aims of the mentor will be to form relationship with their student nurses which helps the student to be successful in their training programme and to go on to be effective nurses in the future. Jarvis (1995) emphasised that it is important to focus on the mentor’s role as a function and as a relationship with the student nurse rather than being about them as a teacher or practitioner. Through this role the mentor can help to narrow the gap between theory and practice (Arbitrage and Bernard 1991). Indeed some have argued that mentor is in fact the wrong term to use within the health care industry as it is not equivalent to other industries in which the term mentor is used (Donovan 1990). However one conceptualises mentorship, the benefit of having a good mentor has been reported by student nurses within previous research. Ina longitudinal study, Gary and Smith (2000) interviewed 10 student nurses at five different points throughout their three year training programme. The participants also kept a diary as part of the research. It was reported that the students noted the importance of having mentor which represented a good role model. They also thought that it was important to recognise the likes and dislikes of the mentor as this had the potential to significantly impact on their assessment outcomes. The role of the mentor was found to be particularly beneficial at the beginning of the training process. As the training progresses the students felt that they grew in confidence as they became more competent. This ensured that they were more independent and that they placed a reduced demand on their mentor. Although their continued support was said to help the students finish the course and to choose longer term career in nursing. Therefore it does appear that through effective mentorship, the chances that a student nurse completes their training programme can be increased. Research has investigated the reasons why student nurses fail their training programmes. Two key areas of reasons have been identified. The first relates to the student nurse’s inability to cope with the demands and standards required by the course (Ehrenfeld et al1997 and Fulbrook et al 2000). It could be that a mentor can help to provide support and guidance for the student nurse to improve the chances that they can meet the requirements which are placed upon them and hence complete the training course successfully. The second key area of reasons for failure are those relating to personal factors(MORI 2003 and Royal College of Nursing 2001). This includes a range of possible factors such as financial, health or a change in circumstances. The mentor could also play a role here to help the student nurse manage their problems and to cope with them more effectively. The methodology which was employed within this research will now be outlined. 4.0 Method A systematic review aims to integrate existing information from comprehensive range of sources, utilising a scientific replicable approach, which gives a balanced view, hence minimising bias (Clarke Oman 2001, Hart 1998, Muldrow 1994, Oman and Goat 1993). Another words, a scientific approach will help to ensure that research evidence is either included or excluded based upon well-defined and standardised criteria. This should ensure that the possible effects of researcher bias should be kept to a minimum. Berkley and Glenn (1999)also states that systematic reviews provide a means of integrating valid information from the research literature to provide a basis for rational decision making concerning the provision of healthcare. 4.1 Reviewing Process Whenever one reviews or compares research reports, it is important that clear set of criteria are established upon which the evaluations can be made. Table 1 below outlines the global process which was used to conduct the literature review. This process was based upon that employed by Berkley and Glenn (1999). Each selected article was reviewed with reference to a number of different issues using a Table which was also based on Berkley and Glenn (1999). This review table is displayed in Appendix 1. Once obtained each article will be filed and stored appropriately. A computer-based list will be maintained of the articles which had been reviewed. Table 2: Core Principles Used in Reviewing Selected Research Articles (adapted from McInnis 2004) Systematic reviews Adequate search strategy Inclusion criteria appropriate Quality assessment of included studies undertaken Characteristics and results of included studies appropriately summarized Methods for pooling data Sources of heterogeneity explored Randomised controlled trials Study blinded, if possible Method used to generate randomisation schedule adequate Allocation to treatment groups concealed All randomised participants included in the analysis (intention to treat) Withdrawal/dropout reasons given for each group Cohort All eligible subjects (free of disease/outcome of interested) selected or random sample 80% agreed to participate Subjects free of outcomes on interest at study inception If groups used: comparable at baseline Potential confounders controlled for Measurement of outcomes unbiased (blinded to group) Follow-up sufficient duration Follow-up complete and exclusions accounted for ( 80% included in final analysis) Case control Eligible subjects diagnosed as cases over a defined period of time or defined catchment area or a random sample of such cases Case and control definitions adequate and validated Controls selected from same population as cases Controls representative (individually matched) 80% agreed to participate Exposure status ascertained objectively Potential confounders controlled for Measurement of exposure unbiased (blinded to group) Groups comparable with respect to potential confounders Outcome status ascertained objectively 80% selected subjects included in analysis Cross-sectional/survey Selected subjects are representative (all eligible or a random sample) 80% Subjects agreed to participate Exposure/outcome status ascertained standardized way Qualitative Authors position clearly stated Criteria for selecting sample clearly described Methods of data collection adequately described Analysis method used rigorous (i.e., conceptualised in terms of themes/typologies rather than loose collection of descriptive material) Respondent validation (feedback of data/researchers interpretation to participants) Claims made for generalizability of data Interpretations supported by data 4.2 Sources of Data The methodology employed within the research will involve obtaining data from three key sources: Computerised searches, Manual searches, and the Internet. Each of these data sources will now be considered in more detail. 4.2.1 Computerised Searches The methods used in this research will include a detailed computerised literature search. Multiple databases, both online and CD–Rom will be accessed to retrieve literature because they cite the majority of relevant texts. (Loy 2000 Ford 1999) The computerised bibliographic databases are:- †¢ MEDLINE †¢ EMBASE †¢ CINAHL †¢ PSYCHINFO †¢ British Nursing Info BNI †¢ Cochrane †¢ Science Direct (All Sciences Electronic Journals) †¢ Asia †¢ DETOC †¢ HMIC However because articles may not be correctly indexed within the computerised databases, other strategies will be applied in order to achieve a comprehensive search (Sindh Dickson 1997). 4.2.2 Manual Searches A manual search will be performed to ensure that all relevant literature is accessed. The manual searches will include:- †¢ Books relevant to the topics from university libraries and web sites†¢ Inverse searching- by locating index terms of relevant journal articles and texts †¢ Systematically searching reference lists and bibliographies of relevant journal articles and texts 4.2.3 The Internet The internet will provide a global perspective of the research topic and a searchable database of Internet files collected by a computer. Sites accessed will include:- †¢ Department of Health †¢ National Institute of Clinical Excellence †¢ English National Board of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting †¢ Google 4.3 Identification of Key Words The selection of key words is an important task as it will have significant impact on the articles which are identified in the search. One must choose appropriate words which maximise the chance that the most appropriate research evidence can be found. Databases use controlled vocabulary of key words, in each citation. To assist direct retrieval of citations techniques Boolean logic will be applied using subject indexing, field searching and truncation to narrow the topic focus (Loy 2000, Hicks 1996, Goodman 1993). As part of this approach, key words will be based on the components of the review question. An imaginative and resourceful technique of searching electronic databases will be used including recognising the inherent faults in the indexing of articles. Misclassification and misspelling will be included in the searches with searches utilising keywords and the subheadings, (Hicks 1996). Based on these principles, the following search terms will be used in different combinations: †¢ Mentorship †¢ Mentor †¢ Student †¢ Nurses †¢ Training †¢ Evaluation Further search terms may be used within the methodology if they are identified within some of the initial search items. Whenever one is searching literature ‘sensitivity’ and ‘’specificity’ are important issues when conducting searches of research on a database. The searches need to be as ‘sensitive’ as is possible to ensure that as many of the relevant articles are located. This may be a particularly salient issue with regards to the evaluation of mentorship in student nursing as the number of appropriate entries may be limited. Thus an attempt to locates many of these articles as possible becomes a more relevant and important objective. Furthermore, the search needs to be ‘specific’ Another words, it needs to be efficient where appropriate so that higher number of the articles identified through a database search can be included and hence the time allocated to reviewing articles which are ultimately of no relevance, can be kept at an acceptable level. 4.4 Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria In order that a manageable quantity of pertinent literature is included in this study, it is essential that inclusion and exclusion criteria are applied. In order that a diverse perspective of the topic is examined broad criteria will be used. (Benignant 1997). However, it is important to note that a balance needs to be achieved through which the scope of the inclusion criteria is sufficiently wide to include relevant articles whilst also being sufficiently specific such that the retrieval of an unmanageable set of articles is avoided. 4.4.1 Inclusion Criteria The articles which are highlighted within the proposed searches will be assessed in terms of whether or not they meet the following criteria. Each article will need to be viewed as appropriate with regards to all of these constraints if they are to be included in the final analysis.>From the pool of data which is obtained, the most appropriate articles which meet these inclusion criteria will be selected for use within the review. †¢ A literature review encompassing all methodologies will be applied ( Pettigrew 2003) †¢ International studies will be included †¢ Available in English †¢ Relate to the evaluation of mentorship within health care †¢ Relate to the training of student nurses †¢ Centre on the elderly population 4.4.2 Exclusion Criteria The articles highlighted by the searches will also be assessed in terms of whether or not they fulfil the following exclusion criteria. If a potential relevant article meets one or more of these criteria then they will be immediately excluded from the data set and will not be included within the analysis stage of the methodology. †¢ Articles relating to mentorship in industries other than health care will not be included †¢ Literature in a foreign language will be excluded because of the cost and difficulties in obtaining translation. †¢ Research reported prior to 1985 will not be included within this review. 4.5 Consideration of Ethical Issues Any research involving NHS patients/service users, carers, NHS data, organs or tissues, NHS staff, or premises requires the approval of ankhs research ethics committee (Department of Health 2001) A literature review involves commenting on the work of others, work that is primarily published or in the public domain. This research methodology does not require access to confidential case records, staff, patients or clients so permission from an ethics committee is not required to carry out the review. However, it is essential to ensure that all direct quotes are correctly referenced. Permission must be sought from the correspondent before any personal communication may be used. All copyrights need to be acknowledged and referenced. The researcher will also act professionally when completing this report and ensure that research is identified, reviewed and reported accurately and on scientific basis. The following set of chapters will now outline the research which has addressed the different aspects of the debate regarding mentorship and student nurse education. The following analysis will be conducted regarding the four different aspects of evaluation. As outlined by Kirkpatrick (1979) it is important to address each stage of any training intervention when conducting an analysis. Therefore, the development, implementation, outcomes and wider impacts of mentorship in student nurse education will all be considered. The most appropriate research regarding each of these four aspects will be critically analysed and compared to other relevant research findings. 5.0 Evaluation of The Development of Mentorship Programmes Whenever one is evaluating a health related intervention, it is important to first consider the policies, standards and theoretical perspectives which underpin the approach. In terms of mentorship, one must address the questions regarding the framework and structure which they are developed in conjunction with and to determine whether or not the approach was developed in an appropriate way. The policies and structures which underpin pre-registration nurses’ education has undergone significant changes in the last twenty years. This was particularly as a result of the introduction of Project 2000 (United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting1986). The transformation was centred around the introduction of a Common Foundation Programme which was comprised of four different branches: Adult nursing, Child nursing, Mental Health nursing and the nursing of people with learning disabilities. This replaced the previously used diploma level education system. Through these policies, a set of standards were established for the preparation of people who are going to teach nursing, midwives and specialist public health workers. A booklet which outlines these standards was produced by the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting (2004). This also sets out the guidelines for the qualifications which are recommended and required for these teachers. The English National Board has suggested that mentorship should be key part of the Project 2000 courses (An forth 1992). It is also suggested that there should be a policy to emphasise five key aspects of the role of a mentor in their relationship with their student nurse. These are Assisting, Befriending, Guiding, Advising and Counselling(An forth 1992). They also argue that the role should not include supervising, assessing or facilitating. The following discussion within this section will now move on to consider the mentorship role which has been derived based on these relevant policies and standards. The extent to which this derivation was appropriate and how the mentorship role is subsequently perceived will be outlined and critically analysed. This evaluation will now be conducted from the perspectives of theorists/researchers in this field, the student nurses and the mentors involved. In broad terms, these policies and standards appear to be appropriate in terms of providing a framework to govern mentorship within student nursing. However, one needs to look past the theoretical perspective and address the practical aspect of the development of mentorship. The extent to which these policies and standards are adequate when viewed during their application merits consideration. Researchers and theorists in this field have argued that despite these policies and standards, the role of mentor remains unclear as there are a number of models and frameworks which exist and which can be applied (Andrews and Wallis 1999). Furthermore, Andrews and Wallis (1999) also go on to suggest that many mentors attend short, local training courses which are not standardised. Although they may adhere to the appropriate standards, there still remains sufficient scope for mentors to receive different types and levels of training when becoming mentors of student nurses. Also, as a result of the continued use of the terms mentor, supervisor and assessor to describe similar roles, it is argued that this continues to contribute to the confusion within this field(Wilson-Barnett et al 1995). The policies and standards require a more specific focus such that more standardised definitions, roles and training programmes can be established and agreed by all of the key stakeholders in this debate. One of the more obvious stakeholders to consider are the student nurses themselves. The extent to which the mentorship of student nurses is appropriately grounded in policy and standards needs to also be assessed from the student nurses’ perspective. It needs to be seen to have logical foundations such that the students can have confidence in the system and that they can understand the purpose and objectives of the relevant policies and standards. One study which has addressed this topic was conducted by Watson (1999). A sample of 35 student nurses were interviewed using a semi-structured approach. The student nurses reported to key findings. Firstly they reported that the mentorship process was not sufficiently defined by the English National Board. They stated that although there were standards in place, they did not result in there being a clear understanding of what the role and purpose of a mentor actually was designed to be. The second key finding was that the student nurses perceived that the mentorship process was not clarified within their internal organisation. Irrespective of the over-riding standards outlined by the English National Board, the internal organisation could have put into place a clear structure and understanding of mentorship to ensure that its role was understood byte student nurses. Therefore, from the student nurses’ perspective, the presence of the appropriate policies and standards was not accompanied by an appropriate application and implementation of such guidelines. Having said this, the sample used in this study was relatively small and so the extent to which the findings can be generalised to the UK as a whole is questionable. Other similar explorative research has been conducted which has focused on the perspectives of the mentors The introduction of Project 2000 has placed a responsibility on many registered nurses to mentor student nurses. Although the relevant standards provided by the English National Board do address this area, again they do not appear to be standardised across the country. For example, Cahill (1996) found that there were a range of mentor selection procedures as well as a range of preparation and function definitions. Further research was conducted by Near (1997 and 2000).It involved collecting data from 155 mentors. They reported that these of the terms mentor, assessor and supervisor did result in them being confused over their role as a mentor. They were also unclear regarding their relationship with their student in terms of the nature which it should take and the extent to which they were supposed to help them. This in turn was said to lead to difficulties with regards to competency assessment as they were not sure what was expected of them and their students. Therefore, this section has demonstrated that policies and standards regarding mentorship have been provided by the English National Boards part of Project 2000. However, questions still remain regarding the extent to which these policies and standards have