Analysis of Article about Binge Drinking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Analysis of Article about Binge Drinking - Essay Example The author explains that college students under the legal age of 21, are drinking large quantities of 'hard liquor', like vodka, in the privacy of dorms and apartments, as a prelude to going out for the evening. This is a new college tradition, dating from the 1990s, a dangerous activity which often results in hospitalization and sometimes, death. He claims that the government made a grave error in legislation which prevents people aged 18-20 from legally consuming alcohol, driving the practice underground, making it attractive as "forbidden fruit". He expresses the belief, founded on experience and research, that if the legal age were lowered to 18, young people would learn to use alcohol sensibly, in an open, mixed-age, social environment, this-this a "saner approach", one which he observed at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. Like many young people, I have tried alcohol, mostly just a few beers at first, which I found gave me a pleasant 'buzz', made me laugh and feel more relaxed. But I always stopped at three bottles, it is so fizzy and can make me feel bloated. My friend's older brother usually bought the beer for us, when we first started drinking, and we only ever did it with friends, no adults were around. The boys usually drank a lot, often getting sick, aggressive, bothering us girls too much, and even passing out.   That spoiled the little parties for many of us and made me take care never to get so drunk as to lose control.   Until one weekend,   when my friend's parents were away and she had a party.   There were about 20 of us and it was fun at first, laughing and dancing, drinking beer and eating pizza.   Her brother said we should really try some 'real booze', we were missing out, and so I drank three big glasses of Southern Comfort and lemonade, after having had three beers.   I t tasted fine, I felt good for a while. Suddenly, the room was spinning, voices seemed louder, I kept bumping into people and furniture and finally, I went outside and lay down in the grass.   There was nobody else around me, I was scared and felt awful, the moon seemed huge and the sounds of everything were magnified.  

Analyze Vygotsky with my activity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analyze Vygotsky with my activity - Essay Example It allowed opportunities to interact with others and share their own observations, insights and conclusions regarding the activity. Observations in the implementation of the lesson plan included children talking to each other and commenting on their task. Vygotsky recognizes the â€Å"dialogic nature of all learning†. An individual engages in dialogues whether with others or just within his thoughts and this gives rise to care, concern, compassion for both oneself and others (Crawford, 2001). Interactions are likely to go through a process called intersubjectivity. This is when two people are engaged in a task and begin from different understandings but with interaction, comes to an agreed, shared understanding. This is usually manifested when children initially debate opposite arguments but upon more understanding of the concept because of listening to each other’s opinions, will both end up seeing the concept in one direction. Such intersubjectivity is apparent when the children choose from several nonstandard objects to measure with and may initially think differently from each other as to how many of those objects will be needed to measure a body part. The children may come up with different guesses, but upon validating their guesses with measurement, they come up with one answer. The lesson plan on measurements using non-standard objects is developmentally-appropriate for Kindergarten level. At this age, children need concrete materials familiar to them to make sense of some concepts. In this case, measuring with familiar objects becomes something the children can relate to. For them, knowing that one child is one popsicle stick taller than another is more meaningful to them than knowing that the child is three inches taller than another. It is because they actually know what a popsicle stick is and how it looks and estimate

English Language and Tourist Satisfaction

English Language and Tourist Satisfaction The tourism industry in the last two decades developed significantly in Malaysia. Malaysia has received 24.6 million tourists from all over the world in the year 2010, (Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen, Tourism Minister of Malaysia) and in a report conducted by WTO, Kuala Lumpur( the capital city of Malaysia), was among the top 10 Most visited cities by number of international visitors in 2010. All countries are looking for ways to attract more tourists. Because of this, tourist satisfaction has been a priority subject of research in recent years. Understanding what drives satisfaction for a tourist is one of the most relevant areas of research (Prebensen, 2006), as satisfied tourists tend to transmit their positive experiences to others and to repeat their visit (Alà ©n, Rodrà ­guez Fraiz, 2007) Although there are many definitions of satisfaction, Reichel (1978) defines tourist satisfaction as the result of comparison between a tourists experience at the destination visited and the expectation about the destination. According to Feng (2007) ), satisfaction is one of the most relevant variables when analyzing tourist behaviour, as it influences the choice of destination, the consumption of products and services, and the decision to return. Many factors are involved in making of a country a tourist preferred destination. Both the government and the private sectors must work hand in hand. The people in the front line must be capable of making the visitors feel that they have chosen the right vacation destination. Thus the emphasis on language proficiency is understandable. Language not only is a means for establishing a communication but also is a tool for fostering relationships. There are at least 1400 million people who live in countries that English has an official status, so it is not surprising that one out of five portion of the population of the world speak English at the level of competence and the rest are still in demand of learning this language ( David Graddol, 1997) According to Malaysias Government official website, 54366 visitors arrived from Europe from January to September 2011, 14725 visitors from North America and 21445 visitors from Oceania (Australia- New Zealand). Most of these travellers mother tongue is English and there are Asian and African tourists, who recognize English as the Language of the world. If these tourists can communicate in their mother language or any other language which has more usage, they can feel at home in those destination countries. It gives them confidence and makes them feel safe, resulting in increased levels of satisfaction. 1.1 Statement of the problem As it mentioned, an important component in the tourism industry is tourists satisfaction. The level of tourists satisfaction plays an eminent role in promoting the image of the country as a top tourism spot. Many researches reveals that the level of tourist satisfaction with a particular trip is the result of different factors (Peter Olson, 1996) which are generally assessed as a comparison between the tourists perception of the products and services he receives and the expectations generated before and during his trip (Barsky Labagh, 1992). The Hotel Industry comprises a major part of the Tourism industry.The hospitality industry has a main goal which is: to provide necessarry or desired products and services to travelers.Tourists do not just come for the facilities and attractions. They want to be treated right and well. Thats why a good command of English language is always regarded as an asset for personnels working in the tourism industry specially in the hotel industry. The importance of English is undeniable since for so many years English is considered as the most important medium of communication of the world generally.It is the language of power, prestige and success . This language as a global language can open doors throughout the world ( Philipsson, 1996) Although Malaysia has two official languages, English and Malay, our focus is on English because most visitors do not speak Bahasa Melayu, the national language.Most Malaysian residents, who speak English, speak it as a second language but many tourism interactions occur in English. Numerous studies have been carried out to measure the degree of tourist satisfaction, but very few papers have focused on analysing the possible relationships that this variable has with application of English language by tourism staff. Consequently, the main aim of this paper is to question if English language proficiency of the staffs working in the hotel industry has any impact on the level of tourists satisfaction with hotels in Malaysia or not. 1.2 Research question To what extend English language proficiency of the hotel staffs can raise the level of the tourists satisfaction in Malaysia. 1.3 Objective of the study To examine whether the English language proficiency of the staffs working in the hotel industry can change the level of tourists satisfaction in Malaysia. Chapter 2 : Literature Review 2.1 Importance of Tourism Tourism is a driving force for economic growth in Malaysia. Tourism creates employment opportunities for Malaysian residents and brings money into the economy. Tourism industry in Malaysia creates high effects in the economy of this country as well as developing unity and national integration (Gom , 1991) If tourism industry growth in Malaysia continues, it could push forward the countrys engine of growth which is manufacturing sector. International tourism can bring high amount of revenue. This earned revenue has a very important role in developing Malaysias economy (Sadi and Batels 1997) Tourism Industry has helped Malaysia in developing its quality of life and its socio-economic status. An evidence of that is the upward trend of tourism and hotel industry in Malaysia until 1997 (Poon Low 2005) . Today this industry is experiencing a year to year growth in foreign exchange earnings. In the 70 decade government put lots of efforts to develop several objectives such as growing the earning from foreign exchange , increasing the number of employments and the level of their income, developing regional areas and increasing revenue made by the government (Khalifah and Tahir 1997). From the tourism receipts (tourism revenue) contribution, there exists a steady growth. For example, tourism receipts increased from RM17.40 billion in 2000 to RM24.20 billion a year later and then increased further to RM25.80 billion (2002), RM29.7 billion (2004) and RM32.00 billion in 2005. In 2006 Malaysia received RM36.3 billion (USD10.4 billion) in tourism receipts. (The Financial Express 2007). A total of 24.6 million tourists arrived in Malaysia and spent RM56.5 billion in 2010 compared with 23.6 million tourists spent RM53.4 billion in 2009. Tourism is the 2nd largest industry in the country after manufacturing and has been growing since 2000 with international arrivals increasing by 9% per year. (New Straits Times 2011) The tourism industry in Malaysia is an important foreign exchange earner, contributing to economic growth, attracting investments and providing employment. The focus of the government is to enhance the countrys position as a leading foreign tourist destination, while promoting domestic tourism. (The Malaysia Governments Official Portal 2012). 2.1.1 Importance of Hotels The hotel industry in Malaysia is expanding rapidly due to the increase of foreign tourist. Tourism statistics of Malaysia has recorded MYR49.6 billion (about USD14.2 billion) earning from tourists in 2008, with 31.2% of the total tourist expenditures coming from travel accommodations (Euromonitor International, 2009). Without a dubt one of the main components that will put tourists in a positive mood and also affect their satisfaction is Accommodation.(Ekiz, 2009) .Here, hospitality establishments in general and luxury hotels, is documented well to be very important.(Heung and Lam, 2003). Malaysian hotels accommodated 68,886,154 guests in 2008 and had an average occupancy rate of 66%. The number of rooms supplied during 2008 increased by 3.4% (total of 165,739 rooms), while the number of hotels increased by 0.6% (total hotels 2,373) as compared to 2007 data.( Malaysia Statistics) According to Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board (2010) a total of 61,363,396 hotel guests were hosted in 2009, corresponding 60.9% occupancy rate. Hotels and restaurants alone provided employment for 1.7 million people, equivalent to 16% of the total employment in 2009 (Economic Planning Unit, 2010). Form the data mentioned above it is clear that the average occupancy rate in Malaysia hotel industry is significant even in the years 2008 and 2009 that the world was experiencing a recession period. As a result of the economy recovering , it is expected that this industry will face a strong growth in the number of tourists and occupancy rates .It should be mentioned that ,the growth of this industry has a significant impact on other related activities ,too. Food and beverage, entertainment and also shopping in Malaysia are some of those other activities.(Poon and Low 2005) 2.2 Tourists Satisfaction Oliver (1981) claims that tourist satisfaction can be seen as a tourists post-purchase evaluation of the destination. In many studies, satisfaction is distinguished as an antecedent of loyalty ( Kozak, 2001; Jang Feng,2006). Although Oppermann (2000) states that studies on tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty have not been thoroughly investigated, Chi and Qu (2008, p. 624) claim that customer satisfaction has always been considered an essential business goal because it was assumed that satisfied customer would buy more. Although measuring tourist satisfaction is not simple, several studies have been conducted to examine the influence of customer satisfaction on loyalty (Gummesson, 1993; Anderson and Fornell, 1994; Um et al., 2006; Hui et al., 2007). Gotlieb et al. (1994) assert that positive satisfaction has positive influence on tourists repurchase intention. Similarly, Baker Crompton (2000); Petrick et al. (2001), and Jang Feng (2006) have highlighted that satisfaction i s the primary antecedent of revisit intention. Importantly, there is an agreement among several scholars that satisfaction provide a ground for revisit and positive word of mouth recommendations which are the indicators of loyalty (e.g. Kozak Rimmington, 2000; Yoon Uysal 2005; Chi and Qu, 2008). In another view, Um et al. (2006, p. 1141) state that revisit intention has been regarded as an extension of satisfaction rather than an initiator of revisit decision making process. Kozak (2001) pointed that level of satisfaction as one of the most dominant variables in explaining revisit intention. Accordingly, in tourism destinations researches, it has been widely underlined that tourist satisfaction, loyalty and revisit intention have strong relationship (eg. Yoon Usal, 2005; Awadzi Panda, 2007), while a few studies disapproved the positive relationship between tourist satisfaction and revisit intention ( e.g. Um et al., 2006). 2.2.1 Other Variables Affecting Tourists Satisfaction with Hotels Tourists satisfaction with a hotel is a result of many aspects, such as their perception of product elements experienced as well as their expectations before- and during their stay. People go on holiday to satisfy one or several of their needs, whatever these needs are. To achieve satisfaction people try to behave in a rational way. (Nina K. Prebensen) Some variables which affect tourists satisfaction are : 2.2.1.1 Location When traveling, youll find that the locations of your hotels will play a big role in your overall enjoyment of the trip. Thats because a well-located hotel will significantly cut down on the amount of time you waste in traffic or trying to navigate an unfamiliar place. For business travelers, centrally-located hotels will increase productivity by allowing them more time to work and meet with colleagues. Location is an important reason for selecting a hotel, especially for economy and mid-scale guests. ( Jonathan Barsky Lenny Nash : 2003 ) 2.2.1.2 Facilities Comfortable hotels and accommodation facilities play a very important role in popularizing any tourist destination. If a person, who is quite far away from home, gets to enjoy the same facilities and comforts as he enjoys at his home, then he is bound to become attached to the place. On the other hand if the tourist ends up at a place where the hotels and accommodation facilities are not satisfactory, it is quite likely that he might never return to that place. (Suman Ahliya : 2008) 2.2.1.3 Price In his article, Jerry Garner mentions that more often than not, price is the major factor influencing satisfaction with a hotel. The more money saved on the cost of the hotel, the more you have for other things, such as souvenirs, dining out and even extending your stay. 2.2.1.4 Brand In hospitality industry, it takes time to get the trust of your target market unless your business is under the umbrella of a well-established name. As you gain trust from your target market, brand loyalty and customers satisfaction will follow. This will include loyal customers and sales promotion for your hotel. However, a good reputation is defeated if quality is not included in the purchase. (Joyce Ira : 2010) 2.2.1.5 Cleanliness and Hygiene Knutson (1988) argued that tourists considered cleanliness as important in selecting a hotel for the first time and revisits. Lockyer (2002, 2005) noted that cleanliness was highly rated by hotel guests as the main hotel selection determinant. Callan (1998) stressed that cleanliness of hotel room has been identified as the most important factor. Dolnicar (2002) further argued that hygiene and cleanliness was one very critical factor influencing tourists satisfaction. 2.2.1.6 Guest Experience The experiences of guests during their hotel stay directly impact repeat visits and recommendations (personal and online reviews, e.g., TripAdvisor). A positive/negative guest experience can impact a hotels reputation and may trigger recommendations or reviews about that experience. Guest experience factors which include past experience, reputation, recommendations, and online reviews, are critical to selecting a hotel by the majority of hotel guests. ( Jonathan Barsky Lenny Nash : 2003 ) 2.2.1.7 Safety and Security Knutson (1988) mentioned that leisure travellers were mainly concerned with a hotels safety and security. This concern might stem from the idea that leisure trips often involve families, and these travellers have a high sensitivity to what may occur around them when their families are involved. Marshall (1993) and Clow et al. (1994) revealed that security was cited as one of the most important criteria in selecting a hotel. Tourists want to be safe and secure in their accommodation, and are willing to pay for this. The safety and security system may differentiate one property from its competition, hence becoming a competitive strategy that helps a hotel to gain tourists confidence and trust. Ananth et al. (1992) found that leisure travelers were likely to express concern with regard to a hotels reputation and name familiarity. 2.3 English Language 2.3.1 What is a Global Language?! When a language develops in such a way that it can be recognised in every country we can say that it has achieved a global status. when a large number of people speak a language and that language is their mother tongue while that language has taken up by other countries across the glob we can say that language has gain a global status. In the case of English, united States of America, Britain, South Africa, Australia, Ireland , New Zealand, Canada, several Caribbean countries and etc. this language has been spoken as their mother tongue and in some countries like Ghana, Malaysia, Nigeria , India , Singapore , Vanuatu and etc. English has a special status.( Crystal, 1997) According to Crystal there exist 2 ways which we can help a language to be globalised : Firstly, we can make it the official language of a country and use it as the only medium of communication in every domain such as : courts, media, education , and politics. Secondly, while a language has no official status we have it as the prior language in the educational system and use it as the language of teaching. 2.3.2 A language in common In his book, English as a Global Language, Crystal says that : the idea of a single, common language emerged in the 20th century, particularly during the 1950s .Around this time, many international agencies and organizations were being formed. With the numerous languages of the member countries, interpreters were a critical element in the progress of these organizations. Crystal states that half the budget of international organizations can easily be consumed on translation and interpretation expenses. He also believe that when we have so many languages to translate, we will loose some information with each subsequent translation. He then argues that a global language is very necessary in preserving and conveying important information. 2.3.3 English as a global language In his book, English as a Global Language, Crystal states that : By the beginning of the nineteenth century, Britain had become the worlds leading industrial and trading country .This position allowed the British to spread English around the globe. The power of English was further developed by the growth of the United States.During the twentieth century, this world presence was maintained and promoted almost single-handedly through the economic supremacy of the new American superpower. As English-speaking nations acquired power, so to did their language.English is now the most widely taught foreign language in the world. English currently holds some form of special status in over 70 countries and is spoken fluently or competently by about one quarter of the worlds population ( Crystal ,1997) 2.3.4 English language in Malaysia Nowadays people in any countries use English, the cause was the United Kingdom Empire and United State of America as a dominance in economic was another cause later on. This language became the international language because its user had the most political and economic power of the world( Crystal ,1997) English then became more than just international , it changes to be the global language. International languages existed before speared as a result of settlement , inhabitation, migration and colonalization but some factors make English a different international language such as its prestige in the culture , science , technology and so many fields. This helped English to become globalized.(Leitner 1992) In Malaysia English language is assumed a second language. A language as a result of British colonisation. During the colonisation , the English language was used by the British who had a long presence in this adopted land . Since then English has existed in Malaysia for more than 150 years in Malaysia. After Malaysia independency in 1957 , Malay Language replaced the English language( Crystal , 2005) English language together with Putonghua have approximately 1.5 billions of speakers . So these two languages are the two most spoken languages round the world by the greatest number of people . Tourist from countries that English is the official language like United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand communicate through English. In Europe in 19 countries out of 29 countries, English language was the language which is the most common one( European commission 2006) Chapter 3 : Methodology In this chapter our first goal is to collect and record everyday English interactions within the tourism industry. Observation of interactions between tourism staff and tourists will be recorded in some hotels in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 10 hotels will be observed. All interactions will be observed through naturalistic observation and each interaction involves at least one tourism employee and at least one customer. In all the steps the researcher will make use of the advices of at least 3 official tour guides in Malaysia. 3.1 Participants According to Gay ( 1987): Random sampling is the best singe way to obtain a representative sample, No technique, not even random sampling , guarantees a representative sample , but the probability is higher for this procedure than for any other. 20 (males and females) hospitality staff at ten hotels is going to be observed. Within hotels, front desk staff, concierges, direction assistants, and food and beverage staff will be observed as the interaction between tourists and hotel staff is important for the researcher. 40 tourists (male and female) who stayed at each hotel will be asked to complete a questionnaire. A linguist will accompany the researcher in every observation makes. 3 official tour guides from MTGC (Malaysia Tour Guide Association) will contribute the researcher for getting more information. 3.2 Setting Ten hotels (3 to 5 stars) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, will be selected from the www.agoda.com travel and hotel guide website, this site is organized these hotels by rates, price and region of location. The researcher will choose those hotels which are suggested by the official tour guides. 3.3 Instrumentation Suskie (1996)believes that reliability and validity are very important to design a questionnaire. However it is difficult to develop designing a questionnaire which approaches a consistence level of response. According to Robson (1993) responses are reliable when they are obtained from the same sets of questions answered by the population The survey instruments are: A paper questionnaire containing questions about the level of satisfaction of the tourist who stayed in the hotels will be administered to all tourists with the same sets of questions. A set of 6 open ended questions for the semi-structured interview, will be asked from the hotel staffs, by the researcher. A voice recorder device for the linguist, to help her analyze and rate the English Language proficiency of the hotel staffs is needed too. In addition to the surveys and interviews, as supplements to the information, the author also tries to gather secondary data from tour guides. These include reports , comments, complaints and discussions by official tour guides. 3.4 Design A mixed method design can be described as a kind of research in which a researcher combines quantitative and qualitative research techniques, methods, approaches, concepts, or language into a single study (Johnson 2004).A mixed method design combines the strength of both quantitative and qualitative research approaches.Connelly (2009, pp.31) believes that the goal of mixed methods research is to draw on the strengths and minimize the weaknesses of both types of research. This research involves both qualitative and quantitative data analyses approaches because the investigation resulted in the gathering of a variety of types of information. To be more specific, quantitative data obtained through surveys ( questionnaire) among tourists and qualitative data obtained through interviews. For the Research methodology which has been designed to collect data from a specific population or samples selected from that population we typically apply survey. Questionnaires or interviews are commonly used for the instrumentation.(Robinson ,1993). To get data from individuals surveys are useful .sample surveys are important tools to collect and analyze data obtained from selected individuals .to conduct and apply basic social science, surveys are broadly accepted as a key tool for the research methodology. ( Rossi , 1983) Questionnaires has some advantages over interviews and other methods of data collecting, they are not expensive and they are much more easier to conduct and to be administered.( Leary 1995) 3.5 Procedure At each hotel, the researcher together with a linguist will enter the establishment acting as friends and observed the same interactions for 45-90 minutes. Researcher tries to be inconspicuous by either posing as a visitors waiting for someone in the lobby lounge, or by having a food or beverages at the lobby cafà © or restaurant. After the interactions ended, the researcher will introduce himself to the front desk staff with a semi-structured interview he will ask questions about the number of languages spoken at the hotel and the kinds of customers that regularly stay at the hotel. This data will collect so that possible correlations between price range, target audience, and number of languages spoken at the hotel can be analyzed. Then the linguist will rate the staffs observed. Level of English ratings will be conducted by a speaking rubric which includes six aspects of effective speech: vocabulary, pronunciation, grammatical accuracy, flow, and ability to engage in meaningful conversation. Level of Formality will be determined based on four criteria: degree of honorifics (e.g., sir madam), use of slang and colloquial terms, jokes, and percent of talk related to business. Notes will be taken about the price range of the hotels and the position (e.g., sales associate, concierge, front desk employee) of the tourism staff involves in the interaction. At the final step, the 3 official tour guides (from Malaysia Tour Guide Association) will check the result and will comment on the findings.

What is This Thing Called Love? :: essays research papers

What is This Thing Called Love? A wise man once said that love is a wonderful thing. Although this statement leaves sparse room for argument, it does little to define what love is beyond the vague realm of wonderful. It is my duty as a devout romantic to embark upon the seemingly difficult task of defining love by looking at the history, explaining what love is not, and examining the uses of love and the results of that usage. (Origin and Causes) The origin of the word is probably the most logical place to start. As with many words in the English language, love is a derivative of the Latin word "causemajoraproblemus" which means "You're miserable when you got it and miserable when you don't." The word was created to explain the biological phenomenon that existed when certain individuals came into contact with each other and either remained together or went about their lives separately. Regardless of the outcome, the relationship was usually characteristic of throat lumps, knotted stomachs, and weak knees, temporary loss of language, sweaty palms, dizziness, sneezing, and occasional nausea. Belligerent insanity also resulted. History clearly illustrates this. Can we ever forget the face that launched a thousand ships? Federally expressing Van Gogh's ear? The construction of Le Tour Eiffel? All of these were results of love and love lost. (Negation) Star-crossed lovers have stated that love is not hand nor foot nor any part belonging to a man. Matrimonial ceremonies also claim that love is not jealous or boastful. Let it be stated here that love also is not a gourmet dish, a domesticated animal, or a latest trend. Love is not a strategic defense mechanism nor the best kept secret at the Pentagon. Love is not another seasoning to bottle and stick on the dust-lined shelves of the spice rack. Love is not to be confused with adhesive tape. Instead, love is a great counterpart to late, evening thunder storms on hot July nights. Love goes well with cold pizza on picnic blankets.

Sakura: Cherry Blossoms

Warfare Introduction to World Music October 19, 2009 â€Å"Sakura Sakura† ( ), Who is the voice of sakura in japanese? † Chie Nakamura † Sakura ( ) is the name of a traditional Japanese folk song depicting spring, the season of sakura. Contrary to popular belief, the song did not originate from ancient times (as in, not from the Heian period or prior). It was first composed during the Edo period for children learning to play the koto. Originally, the lyrics â€Å"Blooming cherry blossoms† were attached to the melody. The song has been popular since the Meiji period, and the lyrics in their present form were attached then. It is often sung in international settings as a song representative of Japan. Throughout the ages there have been many rearrangements of the song, but Michio Miyagi's rendition is often regarded to be the best of them all. The cherry blossom is Japan's national flower and has for years appeared in the country's poetry, paintings, and music, as well as on its craft, clothing, and other commercial items. From January through June each year, there are numerous cherry blossom festivals held throughout Japan. Not surprisingly, there is even this popular traditional song, Sakura, Sakura (Cherry Blossom, Cherry Blossom), commonly sung to celebrate the national flower. Its melody and text date back nearly to Medieval times, and the song has been popular in Japan since at least the eighteenth century. The melody is simple and well-known to Westerners from various commercial incarnations, even if they recognize it only as some generic far Eastern tune. But it is hardly generic-sounding. The melody is charming in its sweet melancholy and forlorn sense of innocence. Its rising, opening phrases lead to a gentle but lovely fall, after which sonorities remain mired in lower ranges until the theme is heard again. The text is just as simple, speaking of the fragrance of cherry blossoms and likening their appearance to clouds. Those with an interest in Eastern and far Eastern ethnic music will find this song of strong appeal. ‘Dream of the Cherry Blossoms' by Keiko Abe, a Japanese virtuoso percussionist, is a 5 minute long piece for marimba based on an mprovisation on the tune of ‘Sakura sakura', and has become one of the most played pieces in the marimba repertoire. Also, Yukijiro Yokoh, a Japanese classical guitarist made an arrangement for the instrument. Which is, like Keiko Abe's version, a theme with variations in which he uses different guitar techniques to imitate the sound of the Koto. There are four main kinds of Japanese folk songs (min'yo): work song s, religious songs (such as sato kagura, a form of Shintoist music), songs used for gatherings such as weddings, funerals, and festivals (matsuri, especially Obon), and children's songs (warabe uta). In min'yo, singers are typically accompanied by the 3 stringed lute known as the shamisen, taiko drums, and a bamboo flute called shakuhachi. Other instruments that could accompany are a transverse flute known as the shinobue, a bell known as kane, a hand drum called the tsuzumi, and/or a 13 stringed zither known as the koto. In Okinawa, the main instrument is the sanshin. These are traditional Japanese instruments, but modern instrumentation, such as electric guitars and synthesizers is, also used in this day and age, when enka singers cover traditional min'yo songs (Enka being a Japanese music genre all its own†¦ . Terms often heard when speaking about min'yo are ondo, bushi, bon uta, and komori uta. An ondo generally describes any folk song with a distinctive swung 2/2 time rhythm. The typical folk song heard at Obon festival dances will most likely be an ondo. A bushi is a song with a distinctive rhythm. In fact, its very name means â€Å"rhythm† or â€Å"time,† and describes the ostinato pattern played throughout the song. Bon uta, as the name describes, are songs for Obon, the lantern festival of the dead. Komori uta are children's lullabies. Many of these songs include extra stress on certain syllables, as well as pitched shouts (kakegoe). Kakegoe are generally shouts of cheer, but in min'yo they are often included as parts of choruses. There are many kakegoe, though they vary from region to region. In Okinawa Min'yo, for example, one will hear the common â€Å"ha iya sasa! † In mainland Japan, however, one will be more likely to hear â€Å"a yoisho! ,† â€Å"sate! ,† or â€Å"a sore! † Others are â€Å"a donto koi! † and â€Å"dokoisho! † A guild-based system exists for min'yo; it is called iemoto. Education is passed on in a family, and long apprenticeships are common. On a more personal note this melodies of the Sakura if heard as an instrumental or with lyrics has a profound conjunction of sound for my neural map. The distinct harp, flute, and viola sound is extremley intense for one who has the intrest in a variation of melody this is def inatley the one piece you must listen to. I absolutley loved it.

Applications of computers in various fields Essay

Computers have their application or utility everywhere. We find their applications in almost every sphere of life–particularly in fields where computations are required to be done at a very fast speed and where data is so complicated that the human brain finds it difficult to cope up with. As you must be aware, computer now-a-days are being used almost in every department to do the work at a greater speed and accuracy. They can keep the record of all the employees and prepare their pay bill in a matter of minutes every month. They can keep automatic checks on the stock of a particular item. Some of the prominent areas of computer applications are: 1)In Tourism:[/B] Hotels use computers to speed up billing and checkout the availability of rooms. So is the case with railways and airline reservations for booking tickets. Architects can display their scale models on a computer and study them from various angles and perspectives. Structural problems can now be solved quickly and accurately. 2)In Banks: [/B]Banks also have started using computers extensively. Terminals are provided in the branch and the main computer is located centrally. This enables the branches to use the central computer system for information on things such as current balance,deposits, overdrafts, interest charges, etc 3)In Industry:[/B] Computers are finding their greatest use in factories and industries of all kinds. They have taken over the work ranging from monotonous and risky jobs like welding to highly complex jobs such as process control. Drills, saws and entire assembly lines can be computerized. Moreover, quality control tests and the manufacturing of products, which require a lot of refinement, are done with the help of computers. 4)In Transportation:[/B] Today computers have made it possible for planes to land in foggy and stormy atmosphere also. The aircraft has a variety of sensors, which measure the plane’s altitude, position, speed, height and direction. Computer use all this information to keep the plane flying in the right direction. In fact, the Auto–pilot feature has made the work of pilot much easy. 5) In Education:[/B] Computers have proved to be excellent teachers. They can possess the knowledge given to them by the experts and teach you with all the patience in the world. You may like to repeat a lesson hundred times, go ahead, you may get tired but the computer will keep on teaching you. Computer based instructions (CBI) and Computer Aided Learning (CAL) are  common tools used for teaching. Computer based encyclopedia such as Britannica provide you enormous amount of information on anything. 6)In Entertainment:[/B] Computers are also great entertainers. Many computer games are available which are like the traditional games like chess, football, cricket, etc. Dungeons and dragons provide the opportunity to test your memory and ability to think. Other games like Braino and Volcano test your knowledge. 7)Science: All branches of science, from astronomy to zoology, depend on computers to further their knowledge on increasing the life span of man. The MRI, the PET, and other computer-aided machines help doctors and scientists to better understand the people’s medical needs. 8)Communications: using computers will never be complete without using the Internet. This global network of networks have swept the lives of many people as daily tasks become handier, communications more convenient, and most of all, sources of information broader and more accessible. 9)Business: Computer has changed how we do business. Gone are the days of labor-intensive and manual way of inputting data through ink and paper. Now, with a few taps of keys and a few clicks of the mouse, good and productive business is on its way. 10)Government: Government offices also depend on computers for its basic needs. From simple letters to the more complicated projects are now being produced through the use of computers. Government agencies and their databases are now interlinked, making it easier for the agencies to monitor economic developments.

On The QT

On The QT On The QT On The QT By Sharon Opinions are divided on the origin of the expression on the QT, a slang expression which indicates that the subject under discussion is confidential. Most people agree that its simply an abbreviation of quiet, albeit a strange one, using the first and last letters. However, both the US and the UK claim first ownership of this phrase. US wordsmiths cite that countrys love of abbreviations, as evidenced by OK, PDQ and others, as evidence that on the QT fell into this tradition. The British claim comes via Robert Hendrickson, in The Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins. Hendrickson says that on the QT comes from a British ballad in 1870. However, this has been disputed as he provided no evidence for the claim. Back in the US, the Cambridge Jeffersonian of Ohio is reported to have published a vaudeville song from 1879 with the line: She tipples on the strict QT. George Moores A Mummers Wife seems to be the first place that the phrase appears in print. This was published in 1884. The phrase fell out of regular use for a while, then became popular once again as part of the tagline for LA Confidential in 1997: off the record, on the QT and very hush-hush. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Incorrect Pronunciations That You Should Avoid15 Words for Household Rooms, and Their SynonymsPeople vs. Persons

How to Make an Ultimate Guide to Skyrocket Your Keyword Strategy

How to Make an Ultimate Guide to Skyrocket Your Keyword Strategy As a marketer, you’ve probably heard about ultimate guides. You’ve probably read a few (at least), too. Maybe you’ve even created some yourself. Whether you call them â€Å"ultimate guides† or something else (like one of Business Casual Copywriting’s ten better suggestions), the idea remains the same: build a multi-chapter guide covering an entire topic in deep detail. Sure, they take time and effort to get right. But, when done well, they can rank for tons of keywords, establish you as a topical authority, and drive enormous amounts of traffic. In this post, we’ll explain exactly how to create an awesome topical guide, supported by a strategic keyword strategy that will 10X your results. Some things we’ll cover include: Choosing a topic for your guide. Planning the exact chapters you’ll create (and keywords to target on each one). Examples of excellent guides you can follow for inspiration. This is the exact process we walked through to build our own comprehensive guide to marketing strategy  we recently launched. That’s something we’ve gotten a lot of questions around, and we’re glad to share what we learned with you here on the Blog. Now, let’s roll up our sleeves and get down to business.

Analysing elements of integrated marketing communication

Analysing elements of integrated marketing communication In the past, the various elements of marketing communication mix were handled by experts in the relevant areas and regarded as separate functions. For example, sales department managed its selling activities independently; advertising campaigns conduct by advertising agencies whereas the sponsorship and direct marketing are conduct by specialists or consultants in these areas. Obviously, it can lead to frequently inconsistent and uncoordinated. Therefore, to change this situation to be better, integrated marketing communication should be implementing. There are some factors of implementing the IMC which are significant political and social changes, rapid technological development, and the empowerment of consumers. All these powerful forces have all contributed to creating a business climate in which marketers can no longer afford to ‘dictate’ to their target audience. Hence, marketers should learn to adapt with the new environment because marketing landscape has much ch anged over the last decade. It is an environment where consumers are able to evaluate the offers being made to them and to decide more independently how to satisfy their requirements. Consumers are more selective where they will ensure that the company provides what and when they want it. Thus, this has lead to significant changes in the way marketers promote their product offerings to consumers. So, we can say that the era of IMC is very important to company. DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS Integrated means that combine or coordinate separate elements so as to provide a harmonious, interrelated whole. In other word, when all marketing communication tool work together, it will be more effective than work as a single component. It will create more competitive advantages, boost sales and profit, while saving cost, time and stress if this concept is incorporated in marketing strategy. So, if the marketing communication tools are combined as a group it will produce more powerful outcome in the process of delivering customer superior value. Marketing The root word for marketing is market. Market is defined as a place for consumer and sellers to carry out transaction that required cash as an exchange medium for obtaining a product or service. Marketing can be defined in two perspectives which include old view or new view of marketing. From the new view of marketing, it is all about the creation of superior value for customers and building strong customer relationship in order to capture value and feedback from customer. It is different from old views of marketing which focus only on process of selling and telling the product to target market. Communication In  general, communication is defined  as  a  process of transmitting information and meaning from sender to receiver  either  in  verbal  or  nonverbal no matter it is occurred in a group or interpersonal.   This  process of communication  is considered successful if the receiver understanding inf ormation or message conveyed by the sender. There are two types of communication which is verbal communication and non verbal communication. Verbal communication includes written and oral presentation while non verbal communication includes an overall body language of the person which included the body posture, gesture and facial expressions. In marketing perspective, communication is defined as a process by which persuasive information is transmitted as promotional messages through one or more channels such as print, radio, television, direct mail, and personal selling.

Module Title- Journalism and Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Module Title- Journalism and Society - Essay Example The increasing contentious role of journalism is a major concern and therefore, we would be studying the role and impact of news media in the wider interest of the public. It is true that media, in all formats, exerts powerful influence. It is therefore, not surprising that in the last thirty years, number of ownership has been reduced to just 9 major media conglomerates (Bagdikian) who now own all the major media outlets which include TV, newspaper, radio, publishing houses and movie production houses. Since Media has the power to change public perception, news channels mostly have different channels for domestic and international audience and as per the coverage, content and the authenticity of the news, the media often gains an enviable status and popularity among the masses. The pressure on the journalists to conform to the diktats of the management has intensified. Richard Keeble has asserted that ‘In the face of the enormous cultural, ideological and financial power of the dominant media and their hierarchically organised management structures, it is not surprising that isolated journalists (driven by their consciences) feel impotent to effect change’. (2005, p58). Looking through the last two decade of media evolution, one finds that the democratic and conscientious approach towards various issues that so characterized the media in earlier years, has gradually turned towards capitalistic values. Initially, media served as a link between the community and the government. The newspapers and radio made conscious effort to raise the problems and issues which directly affected the community and their welfare. It acted as the watchdog of the public and made sure that the government adhered to policies and plans best suited for national and regional development. Gradually all that changed and the various media like newspaper and publishers, radio, TV network, motion picture etc. gravitated

History of my immigration or how I got the new life Essay

History of my immigration or how I got the new life - Essay Example Realizing that conditions were not going to get better in Tyver, I decided that immigration to the United States would be the best course of action for finding a more suitable and rewarding lifestyle. To accomplish those goals, I completed my Russian education by attending college while also working as a data entry clerk at a local factory. Five years later, further economic disruptions caused significant changes to my stable lifestyle in the Soviet Union, causing huge financial losses through lost bank accounts, job stability, and loss of pensions in the entire family. It is next to impossible to accurately inform an individual what it feels like to not know where your next meal will come from, however this was the reality of life in the Moscow region in the early portion of the 1990’s. Hunger was a common element of lifestyle as salaries regarding work outputs were delayed not only for weeks, but for years on end, due to any variety of broad economic rationales. Realizing that I could no longer sustain myself in Russia, I began to explore alternatives, as I had a great education, but no appropriate clothing, no job, and was only 25 years old. I happened upon a newspaper advertisement which stated Change your life and earn money in the process, which was a promotion for USA jobs. A couple of days later, I made the phone call, despite being apprehensive about potentially moving to a foreign country. This singular phone call changed my life entirely. Over a period of weeks, I began to collect all of the necessary information required to travel to the United States, including a visa and a travel ticket. By June 1, 1998, I was ready to leave Russia behind to begin a new life overseas. Though I was quite nervous about making the transfer, unsure of what I would find in the U.S., I realized that there could be no looking backwards if I wanted to find a new life and experience a better quality of living. Upon arrival, I found radical differences in the social

Degree in a Language Other than Ones Mother Tongue Article

Degree in a Language Other than Ones Mother Tongue - Article Example When the entire coursework one has to read and comprehend for the degree is in a language other than one’s mother tongue, it calls for an extra effort to see to it that everything is properly understood. It is definitely going to be tougher task than reading study materials in one’s own language. One has to assume that the student will be tested to have basic proficiency in the medium of instruction in which the degree is to be studied. However, a basic proficiency in the language may not be sufficient to follow different registers of the language. A degree course will necessarily feature a lot of specialist vocabulary that the student is supposed to pick up fast. For a foreign user of the language, it may take double the time to pick up such specialist words, since their explanations will also demand a working level knowledge of the language. This may in fact lead to initial hiccups which would dissuade many students from continuing the course. They may feel left out f rom the group of students who are more proficient and at ease in the medium of instruction.The problem mentioned above can in fact be overcome and turned into a benefit if the student is willing to dedicate quality time in enhancing her/his knowledge in the language simultaneously with the work done for the degree course. At least two dictionaries could be used to meet the challenges of the new language– one dictionary gives explanations of the words in the new language to the students mother tongue, and another dictionary gives simple explanations of the words in the new language

Executive Briefing Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Executive Briefing Paper - Essay Example Mentorship is not new to Burberry, although its experience is largely external, philanthropic, and along the line of corporate social responsibility. Presently, the Company is a corporate sponsor of IntoUniversity, a charity organisation dedicated to educating the youth through mentoring. Through its local learning centres, some of Burberry’s employees and managers are already dedicating time and effort as volunteers mentors and e-mentors, to Britain’s poor but deserving ‘young people [who] are inspired to learn’ (IntoUniversity, 2010). In 2011 alone, Burberry associates volunteered 5,500 hours of mentoring. For one particular Burberry associate, more than 200 young students were mentored globally in programmes ranging from three months to three years (Burberry Annual Report 2011/12, p. 64). Recent studies have highlighted the use of internal mentoring, as a technique to improve performance and enhance competitiveness. It is believed that by adopting intern al mentoring, the firm will benefit competitively. II. Proposition This paper proposes that Burberry engage in internal mentoring throughout the organisation until the highest levels, in order to enhance its competitiveness. Mentoring is seen as a tool not only for implementing social development programs external to the firm, but is also perceived as an effective instrument in pursuing the company’s strategic goal of remaining competitive. The viability of mentoring in Burberry will be discussed. III. Theoretical background Mentoring is ‘an intense and complex relationship where the mentor plays the role of peer and parent’ and functions as ‘teacher, advisor, sponsor, and friend’ (Ehrich & Hansford, 1999, p.93). Academic literature states that mentoring improves individual behaviour and performance, particularly in the training and encouragement of the young. However, the impact of mentoring on firm behaviour and outcomes has not been established, p articularly in the highest policy levels. Offstein, Shah and Gnyawali (2011) propose a model whereby the board of directors (BOD) mentors the chief executive officer (CEO), for the purpose of improving the CEO’s ability and motivation to ‘competitively engage the firm’ (p. 75). In the diagram that follows, the mentoring role of the BOD is depicted in terms of sponsorship, protection, and coaching or counselling. By providing legitimacy, a proper sense of discretion and risk-taking, and knowledge and learning, the mentoring exercise is expected to lead towards a greater firm competitiveness. Competitive behaviour is defined by their magnitude and complexity. Source: Offstein, Shah and Gnyawali, 2011, p. 80 According to the theory by Offstein, et al. (2011), competitive actions are ‘purposefully directed, specific, and observable.’ The model adheres to the principle that companies that undertake bold and complex competitive actions benefit as a result, because such actions disturb the status quo and establish new rules by which the competitive stage is reset. According to Schumpeter (1934) in his seminal study, first mover advantage (i.e., the advantage of being the first firm to undertake an innovation that defines a new competitive environment) generates abnormally high profits, until such time as other firms catch up and themselves pursue innovative actions in an effort to overcome the market leader. From the executive levels, mentoring by CEO to his division heads, and from them to the

Marketing Myopie article Critiques Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Marketing Myopie article Critiques - Essay Example Levitt tries to sell the theory to the very managers that he qualifies as failures for the lack of focus on the customers. Most theories of business would water down his arguments. Tailor making policies and shifting production to suit the customer is like having customers run the business. It is just impractical. Levitt gives an example of the transport industry. He details that the railway has been replaced by other means of transport that meet the needs of the customers. The railroad, according to him, failed to meet the needs of the customer. He argues his case that I was because they had a wrong definition for their business; product orientation. Levitt’s argument was unwarranted and misinformed. The reason the railway was overtaken by other means of transport in my view is due to the technological advancements. If there is a new invention in the transport industry today and airplanes are phased out, will the reason be due to lack of focus on the customer? Not really. Levitt goes on and on with the case studies of the theory. He makes mention of the movie capital of the world; Hollywood. He notes that the film industry has been overtaken by TV. His take is that TV entertains the customers while movies do not. There is no comparison between the two in reality. Television and film are two different entities in business. His argument is like saying that the canned food industry has beaten the beverage industry. Levitt gives the nylon and glass-based companies as success stories of focusing on the customer not the product. He says they have both customer and product advantages that emanate from their excellent technical competence. They apply excellent technical competence to fulfill the customers’ needs. His example of a success story in his theory is just hilarious. The clientele for glass and nylon are mega-companies who specify the quality they want not retail consumers. The feeble cases that Levitt

Degree in a Language Other than Ones Mother Tongue Article

Degree in a Language Other than Ones Mother Tongue - Article Example When the entire coursework one has to read and comprehend for the degree is in a language other than one’s mother tongue, it calls for an extra effort to see to it that everything is properly understood. It is definitely going to be tougher task than reading study materials in one’s own language. One has to assume that the student will be tested to have basic proficiency in the medium of instruction in which the degree is to be studied. However, a basic proficiency in the language may not be sufficient to follow different registers of the language. A degree course will necessarily feature a lot of specialist vocabulary that the student is supposed to pick up fast. For a foreign user of the language, it may take double the time to pick up such specialist words, since their explanations will also demand a working level knowledge of the language. This may in fact lead to initial hiccups which would dissuade many students from continuing the course. They may feel left out f rom the group of students who are more proficient and at ease in the medium of instruction.The problem mentioned above can in fact be overcome and turned into a benefit if the student is willing to dedicate quality time in enhancing her/his knowledge in the language simultaneously with the work done for the degree course. At least two dictionaries could be used to meet the challenges of the new language– one dictionary gives explanations of the words in the new language to the students mother tongue, and another dictionary gives simple explanations of the words in the new language

Marketing Myopie article Critiques Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Marketing Myopie article Critiques - Essay Example Levitt tries to sell the theory to the very managers that he qualifies as failures for the lack of focus on the customers. Most theories of business would water down his arguments. Tailor making policies and shifting production to suit the customer is like having customers run the business. It is just impractical. Levitt gives an example of the transport industry. He details that the railway has been replaced by other means of transport that meet the needs of the customers. The railroad, according to him, failed to meet the needs of the customer. He argues his case that I was because they had a wrong definition for their business; product orientation. Levitt’s argument was unwarranted and misinformed. The reason the railway was overtaken by other means of transport in my view is due to the technological advancements. If there is a new invention in the transport industry today and airplanes are phased out, will the reason be due to lack of focus on the customer? Not really. Levitt goes on and on with the case studies of the theory. He makes mention of the movie capital of the world; Hollywood. He notes that the film industry has been overtaken by TV. His take is that TV entertains the customers while movies do not. There is no comparison between the two in reality. Television and film are two different entities in business. His argument is like saying that the canned food industry has beaten the beverage industry. Levitt gives the nylon and glass-based companies as success stories of focusing on the customer not the product. He says they have both customer and product advantages that emanate from their excellent technical competence. They apply excellent technical competence to fulfill the customers’ needs. His example of a success story in his theory is just hilarious. The clientele for glass and nylon are mega-companies who specify the quality they want not retail consumers. The feeble cases that Levitt

Childhood Christmas to Adulthood Christmas Essay Example for Free

Childhood Christmas to Adulthood Christmas Essay Christmas as a child for me was very fun. I got many presents from Santa as well as many from relatives. Christmas was probably my favorite holiday of the year, to me it meant that if I was good enough Santa would bring me presents. Most of the time I was very good and never got into trouble. In my family when you go from childhood to adulthood it becomes a big deal. For starters you open presents with the adults. You also don’t have to worry about leaving with the other kids while the adults open presents. Seeing that I do not have kids I am sort of at a mid point of whether or not to look forward to this holiday. One of the many reasons I love Christmas is because my grandmother makes the best food. There is more food than any of us can eat and we have leftovers for days. My grandma makes most of the food and some people bring a favorite dessert. All of the food is set out on the dinning room table buffet style. We gather around to bless the food and then us kids get our plates first, most kids are picky I sure was at that age. You couldn’t hardly get me to eat anything as a kid so my plate was full of mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, rolls and probably green beans since I was not much of a turkey eater as a youngster. After we filled our plates with food we are free to eat wherever we please and since we are kids we normally go down into the basement away from the adults. After we eat then the dessert comes out. My favorite dessert would have to be pumpkin pie with cool whip on top. I could probably scarf down a whole pan of that stuff. There are only a few people in my family that like pumpkin pie so all of the leftover pie went to me. Every year we have Christmas lunch and presents at my grandparents house in Atwater California. My grandparents house is huge, they built it sometime before I was born. It is a three story house not including the attic, the first floor has a bathroom, living room, dinning room, and kitchen which has a door leading to the huge basement that could be more living space if needed. Then you have the second floor, that has three bedrooms, an office and 2 bathrooms. I love having Christmas at this house because it is the almost the perfect size for everyone to fit. My family’s very funny, they love to joke around with people. They are also very laid back and always on schedule. Every year we have almost the same people during the holidays. A few years ago we lost my great grandma and my great grandpa a few months after that. Four years ago my aunt Nikki and her husband Gary left for Georgia because that is where he got stationed. My eldest sister Elysebeth got married and has two children and they join us for family holidays. Some of my moms side of the family comes and that’s when things get loud considering we are very obnoxious and you basically need a hearing aid to hear anything. Over the past seven years I have gotten used to the change from childhood to Adulthood Christmas. I thought it was so cool to finally open presents with the adults. A few years went by and I started realizing that the transition was not exactly what I had been hoping for, and I did not want to be with the adults but by then it was to late so I got ov er it. Its not as fun as it used to be but I try to do the best I can for the little ones in the family who still believe in Santa. The downside of the food as an adult is that you have to wait for all the kids to get done filling there plates before you can fill yours. Yes, that sounds greedy but I love my food! Something that can also be a downside is where to sit, at this point all the little kids want to sit up at the table right next to you. The only problem with that is there are not enough seats for everyone to sit right next to you. So you have to be the bad guy and tell someone no. The setback about having Christmas at my grandparents house is that there are a lot of people and it can become crowded and overwhelming. From children running around to presents spread out everywhere. Everyone is either sitting in a chair, on the floor or standing up because there is no where to sit. With everyone catching up and bonding the walls sometimes echo and it’s to cold to have be in the backyard. A fly in the ointment for me about there being a lot of people is that I now start buying presents for everyone, which normally isn’t a bad thing because I love buying things for people but I have an enormous family. When you count all of us together during this holiday there is a total of about eighteen, which is a lot of money to spend! Over the span of time since I have joined the adults in the opening of presents has made me realize that it isn’t necessarily about the gifts. Its being thankful for what you have and the people around you. The  overall exp erience for is a great one because it brings family together and shows you what the holidays are really about rather than just opening presents, eating and leaving. I love my family and I wouldn’t trade them for the world.

Approaches To Challenging Behaviour

Approaches To Challenging Behaviour This essay intends to talk about innovative approaches to challenging behaviour in a specific Social Care Setting. The writer will discuss about approaches like counselling, the Low Arousal Approach, the Time-out Approach, Nonviolent Crisis Intervention, and many more and will then give examples using practical examples from practice placement. Challenging behaviour has being an issue on the spot light over the past years especially in young children and people with intellectual disabilities. This essay will also bring some issues that causes or promote challenging and aggressive behaviour in the social care setting. The term challenging behaviour was adopted from The Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps (TASH), and emphasises that behaviours represent challenges to services, rather than problems which are solely intrinsic to the individuals with learning disabilities. Emerson, et al (1987) suggests the following as a definition of severely challenging behaviour Severely challenging behaviour refers to behaviour of such an intensity, frequency or duration that the physical safety of the person or others is likely to be placed in serious jeopardy, or behaviour which is likely to seriously limit or delay access to and use of ordinary community facilities (Emerson, Barrett, Bell, Cummings, McCool, Toogood, Mansell 1987; cited NSH Evidence, 2011). There is a great concern for how people with challenging behaviour view themselves the issues of self esteem and self view. Work on communication and relationship goes hand-in-hand with these issues and is likely to contribute mightily to a persons self worth if he/she is having regular positive valuing experiences in interactions with others. This is an area which might require great thought and professionalism. However, it can be very difficult to be with and generally displays negative or abusive behaviour towards others. There is no doubt that these positive experiences are necessary and likely to increase peoples sense of feeling good about themselves, resulting in positive effects in their behaviour (Hewett 1998:7). Different peoples state of normal arousal may be at different levels; indeed some people with challenging behaviours may have a level of arousal which is normally very high. Many people with learning difficulties may experience, due to their difficulties with understanding what is going on around them. The trigger is the event occurring either within the environment or within the person which activates the state where the persons behaviour becomes challenging (Hewett 1998:154). For example, during my placement I was able to observe this arousal in the service users I worked with and what the social care worker staffs did in situations like that. We have a male service user in the house who suffers from Bipolar Mood Disorder (BMD), this means that sometimes he feels high and sometimes low which is controlled by daily medication. The following are signs that show when he is becoming unstable: burping, smoking, eating more than usual, talking excessively without waiting for reply (pressure of speech) sleeping badly, general bad mood, and giving out or teasing other service users. When he is unwell, he wakes up at the middle of the night because he gets mixed up between day and night. At this point there is always a wake up night staff with him when the service user is feeling high. According to Hewett (1998:164) the first indications of triggering in a person should lead to staff surveillance and vigilance this should be the start of tuning-in. Members of the staff need to start monitoring the person for the signs and signals that the persons feelings and behaviour are starting to escalate. When the staffs working with the service user notice that the service users behaviour is becoming unstable as explained above and the service user is presenting with a challenging behaviour to the staff and other service user in the house, the staffs will try to de-escalate the situation because the service user in question will be verbally abusing (teasing) other service user which will make the other service user to be upset and the service user will continue to talk excessively without waiting for response and their will be pressure in the service users tone. In this case, the staffs will bring these to the social care leader and the social care leader will then arrange for an awake staff that will be with the service user throughout the night. With regards to other service user in the house, we always organise outings with them like bowling, going to the pub and so on just to keep them away and they can have a break as well. Another service user in the house with moderate intellectual disability present challenging behaviour as a way of seeking attention. This service user is so much attached to a particular staff and when the staff is not working, the service users behaviour is completely different compared to if the staff is on duty. If the staff is on duty, the service user would want the staff to always be with her and attend to all her needs. However, if other staff tries to make the service user understand that the staff is busy for example, writing a report or giving personal care to other service user, the service user will become abusive and her tone of voice will be very high. Whenever the service user is in that mood, other service user in the house will be upset. The staffs use Behaviour Modification on the service user. Behavioural Modification according to Atherton (2011) is the approach used by behavioural psychologists to modify behaviour. It is usually based on the reinforcement of desir ed behaviours and ignoring undesired ones. Therefore, the staff uses a Star Chart for the service user to modify the service users undesired behaviour so whenever the service user is being aggressive to other staff because the service users favourite worker is not there, the service users sticker will be taken off and the service user has to earn it back with good behaviour unless the service user will be in trouble with her key-worker and the social care leader, because all the service user wanted was for the staff to come down and then the service user will be calm. This service user does not behave like this when another staff is on duty. Training courses in the management of challenging behaviour may help to provide carers with the belief that a person can cope with the violent and aggressive behaviours. This increase in confidence can increase the likelihood that a person with learning difficulties will have the opportunity to have access to ordinary community service (Blunden and Allen 1987; cited McDonnell 1997:160). This is because the reputations that people with challenging behaviour acquire can affect their relationship with their carers. Literally, you cannot have a positive relationship with a service user who frightens you. Training can help to build a relationship of trust between the client and the carer (McDonnell 1997:160). Particularly, staffs working in social care setting need more support and training in challenging behaviour because it is the key to identifying and maintaining the equilibrium of challenging behaviours being presented by the service users. An innovative approach to challenging behaviour is counselling. Counselling as defined by Elliot and Place (1998) is the process of listening to problems, advising on actions and explaining the constraints within which children and adult should operate. It is associated with paying attention to non-verbal cues, developing good listening skills establishing trust, maintaining positive attitudes, developing expectations and showing non-judgemental attitudes and respect for privacy (Papatheodorou 2005:56). Dave (1989) Carpenter and Apter (1988) went on and say that counselling aims to enable the client to increase their conscious awareness of distorted perceptions of existing realities, and to provide emotional support in order to reduce their level of frustration (Elliot and Place 1998; Dave 1989; and Carpenter and Apter 1988; cited Papatheodorou 2005:56). Counselling in this sense will work very well with the service user that uses challenging behaviour as a mechanism of seeking atten tion to the particular staff. It will be a good idea if the service users key worker arranges for an appointment with a counsellor because it will make the service user not only to understand that the staff is not just there to attend to her but to other service users in the house which will change the service users behaviour and attitude on it. Operant approaches have stressed the importance of the environment in causing and maintaining aggressive behaviours (Skinner, 1953, 1957; cited McDonnell 2010, 2). Reinforcement of behaviour, both positive and negative, has a causal effect on antecedent stimuli and behaviour. However, there is little doubt that the application of scientific approaches to behaviour analysis has led to significant positive developments in care settings. Early approaches tended to focus on the manipulation of consequences to behaviours and the use of token economy system to control and manage behaviours can provide some insight into the change and adaptation of behaviour technologies. Token economies tended to be used in larger institutionalised system in the past (Ayllon and Azrin 1968; cited McDonnell and Sturmey 2010: 5). This approach can be found in a social care because some service users might not like the house that he or she is living in, maybe due to other service users behaviour towards him o r her and this can increase the likelihood of aggressive and challenging behaviour. If the behaviour of staff inadvertently triggers aggressive behaviours, then altering these behaviours may have an impact on the management of aggressive behaviours. The construct of reflective practice in which an individual evaluate their performances in situations and learns from both positive and negative experiences (Schon, 1987) is useful to apply to staff who may experience violence and aggression in care settings. It is possible by staff, although in many cases they may be unaware of their influence. In the circumstances, it may be difficult to expect staff to examine their own contribution to these situations (Schon, 1987; cited McDonnell 2010: 20). This explanation shows the second scenario in this essay that the staff might have contributed to it, for example initially the staff might be showing too much attention to that particular service user and then the service user became too attached to the staff and the only way the service could get attention by the staff is by em ploying challenging behaviour towards other staff and service users when ever the staff is on duty. According to McDonnell 2010: 21) behaviour management strategies need to develop a questioning approach to managing behaviours, which should include an honest and critical appraisal of the staff members contribution to violence, aggression, and challenging behaviour. In order to achieve this, encouraging an open dialogue in human services about the role of staff beliefs and expectations in maintenance of aggressive behaviour is crucial. A low arousal approach is predominantly a staff based intervention which focuses on reducing arousal in crisis situations. Organisationally there is am emphasis on strategies which aim to reduce confrontation through primarily staff based reduction of arousal. Immediate staff-based strategies focus on the reduction of requests and demands and on the non-verbal cues and triggers employed by staff in conflict situations. A general reduction of rules and boundaries which may also create a culture of control are implicit aspect of the approach (McDonnell 2010: 24). De-escalation offers a nonviolent way to manage disruptive and assaultive behaviour. The technique can be used in all types of health care organization. A number of well-known programmes offer a consistent approach to the safe management of out-of-control behaviour. One general programme is Nonviolent Crisis Intervention provided by Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI). Another technique is Time-out which is a procedure used to help individual regain emotional control by removing him or her from the immediate environment and restricting him or her to a quiet area or unlocked room. It generally involves a brief of standard duration, such as 5 minutes or 20 minutes. Brief isolation (through a time-out) provides more learning trials and opportunities to see the consequences of behaviour. Time-out can be used very effectively as part of an early prevention programme (Joint Commission Resources 2002: 50-52). Conclusion Having gone through several books and websites, it is understood that staff might contribute to upsetting behaviour towards the service user thereby invoking challenging behaviour. Nevertheless, challenging behaviour is a serious issue among children, and people with intellectual disability especially those in residential home care. There are some techniques and strategies for example the low arousal approach, the time-out approach, Nonviolent Crisis Intervention, outlined in this essay which can help both the service user and their carers to be ware of their own behaviours which can trigger aggressive behaviour in others.

The Miraculous Reishi: Mushroom or Medicine? :: Botany

The Miraculous Reishi: Mushroom or Medicine? Ganoderma lucidum, otherwise known as the Reishi or Mannentake has been heralded by Asian cultures for many centuries. It is a polypore mushroom of corky or woody texture that appears to have a coat of varnish on the top. It is a shelf mushroom that grows on dead and dying trees. There are many varieties of Reishis. Akashiba is the red Reishi, the most potent; Kuroshiba--the black Reishi; Aoshiba--the blue Reishi; Shiroshiba--the white Reishi; Kishiba--the yellow Reishi; and Murasakishiba--the purple Reishi. (www.canited.com/w-reshi.htm) The Reishi mushroom is attributed with many health stimulating properties from general good health and recuperation, to longevity, sexual prowess, wisdom, and happiness. In certain cases it is used as sculptural artwork. Under certain conditions the fruiting body takes on what is referred to as an "antler" shape, that to some is aesthetically pleasing. According to Paul Stamets, this is a result of elevated carbon dioxide levels in the surrounding en vironment. Reishis may prove useful to the fight against cancer as well. More and more research is being conducted about compounds, in reishis, that stimulate the immune system. Historical Usage Reishi, Ling Zhi, or Saiwai-take, a mushroom of many names and uses. It has been documented with some pretty amazing properties for over two thousand years. "The earliest mention of Ling Chi was in the era of the first emperor of China, Shi-huang of the Ch'in Dynasty (221-207 B.C.)" (Stamets, 355) The Reishi is credited with longevity, increased virility and sexual prowess; the Chinese considered it one of the "Herbs of the Gods". In China it was believed that a tincture of this type of mushroom could bring the dead back to life. Often sold in Chinese medicine shops, commonly in tinctures with Ginseng. Ganoderma lucidum, or a closely related species, can be used to combat high altitude sickness. Himalayan guides sometimes employ the Reishi for this purpose. Mayan Indians have used reishis to fight and prevent communicable diseases. In China, sometimes a woman will give a man Reishis to express sexual interest. The antler form mentioned previously is favored for this purpose. Interest ing considering that the Reishi is supposed to stimulate sexual virility. Medicinal Usage The Reishi is a mushroom of many medicinal properties. Supposed to cure cancer, arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome, and a whole slew of other ailments. It is no wonder that it is supposed to grant its user a long healthy life. The Miraculous Reishi: Mushroom or Medicine? :: Botany The Miraculous Reishi: Mushroom or Medicine? Ganoderma lucidum, otherwise known as the Reishi or Mannentake has been heralded by Asian cultures for many centuries. It is a polypore mushroom of corky or woody texture that appears to have a coat of varnish on the top. It is a shelf mushroom that grows on dead and dying trees. There are many varieties of Reishis. Akashiba is the red Reishi, the most potent; Kuroshiba--the black Reishi; Aoshiba--the blue Reishi; Shiroshiba--the white Reishi; Kishiba--the yellow Reishi; and Murasakishiba--the purple Reishi. (www.canited.com/w-reshi.htm) The Reishi mushroom is attributed with many health stimulating properties from general good health and recuperation, to longevity, sexual prowess, wisdom, and happiness. In certain cases it is used as sculptural artwork. Under certain conditions the fruiting body takes on what is referred to as an "antler" shape, that to some is aesthetically pleasing. According to Paul Stamets, this is a result of elevated carbon dioxide levels in the surrounding en vironment. Reishis may prove useful to the fight against cancer as well. More and more research is being conducted about compounds, in reishis, that stimulate the immune system. Historical Usage Reishi, Ling Zhi, or Saiwai-take, a mushroom of many names and uses. It has been documented with some pretty amazing properties for over two thousand years. "The earliest mention of Ling Chi was in the era of the first emperor of China, Shi-huang of the Ch'in Dynasty (221-207 B.C.)" (Stamets, 355) The Reishi is credited with longevity, increased virility and sexual prowess; the Chinese considered it one of the "Herbs of the Gods". In China it was believed that a tincture of this type of mushroom could bring the dead back to life. Often sold in Chinese medicine shops, commonly in tinctures with Ginseng. Ganoderma lucidum, or a closely related species, can be used to combat high altitude sickness. Himalayan guides sometimes employ the Reishi for this purpose. Mayan Indians have used reishis to fight and prevent communicable diseases. In China, sometimes a woman will give a man Reishis to express sexual interest. The antler form mentioned previously is favored for this purpose. Interest ing considering that the Reishi is supposed to stimulate sexual virility. Medicinal Usage The Reishi is a mushroom of many medicinal properties. Supposed to cure cancer, arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome, and a whole slew of other ailments. It is no wonder that it is supposed to grant its user a long healthy life.

Essay on Toni Morrisons Beloved - Symbol and Symbolism in Beloved

Symbolism in Beloved  Ã‚     In the novel Beloved, the author, Toni Morrison, attempts to promote a variety of different themes and ideas by symbolizing them in minor events and situations.   This symbolism is evident throughout the entire novel and is very crucial to the understanding and analyzing of the text.   A good example of this is the ice skating scene.   Morrison uses this scene to represent the slow, but consistent, deterioration of the family living in 124 and to foreshadow the ultimate demise of the family unit.   Morrison writes repeatedly, â€Å"Nobody saw them falling,† yet in all reality they were falling, and falling fast (Morrison 174).   There are a number of details, including the setting, Sethe’s emotions, the choice of shoes/ice skates worn by each of the three female characters, and the ultimate goal of reaching heaven, which demonstrate this idea.   The ice skating scene takes place on a frozen stream, not too far from 124.   The ice is apparently solid, therefore providing a somewhat firm surface on which to skate.   Unfortunately, the ice is slippery.   This is symbolic of the three females in the story.   They all have a strong base, a sincere love for each other, yet no matter how hard they attempt to stay upright and proud, they always end up slipping and falling on the ice.   The frozen stream represents the future of the family.   The ice will slowly, but consistently, melt as the weather gets warmer, as time passes by.   As the ice melts, so does the firm base that supports the skaters and the family members will have no where to stand.   As the story unfolds, it becomes increasingly evident that Sethe is emotionally unstable.   Beginning with her life at Sweet Home, dealing with the everyday trials of sla... ... of loneliness and solitude.   By isolating Beloved and herself from the rest of the world, Sethe attempted to hide from the ugliness that existed outside of 124.   â€Å"They were lulled into a false confidence because they had each other,† neglecting even the bare necessities of life   (Finkbeiner 1999). Sethe and Beloved each had a pair of footwear, with Beloved having two skates and Sethe having two shoes. Denver’s condition was a more difficult one.   She was forced to skate on a single skate, which was very unstable.   In order to stay upright she was forced to seek help from the community, reach out to the people outside of 124.   Through this act she was able to bring healing to the family.   By reaching out to the community, she was able to combat the horrors of loneliness and racism.    Works Cited: Morrison, Toni. Beloved. New York, Penguin Books USA Inc, 1988.

Number one Analyze

Meaning: to identify and examine the basic elements or parts of (something) especially for discovering interrelationships Asses: : to determine the importance, size, or value of Compare: to describe as similar Describe : to give a representation or account of in words Discuss: to talk about (an issue) usually from various points of view and for the purpose of arriving at a decision or opinion Illustrate: to show or make clear by using examples Pizza hut has been around for many years.Today, it is considered one of the biggest fast food restaurants around the world. Pizza hut exists in many countries, and although its menu is the same around the world, it learned to adapt to every country culture and heritage by providing services and products that are advertised and sold according to the country itself. Pizza Hut started with only pizzas. And nowadays his menu has expanded and includes everything from pastas, appetizers, kids menus, salads, and of course the pizzas. It took a long ti me to expand the menu, but with the right advertising, pizzaHut did not have any problem. Until now, pizza Hut still works hard on advertising. Everybody knows pizza Hut through commercials, billboards, flyers, and of course the internet. There is a new deal, new promotion every so often. Having the right product and a good advertising team is not enough. A good restaurant should always worry about its services and always pay attention to the customer needs. A SWOT analysis shows the strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats Pizza Hut is going through in Lebanon.After taken over the market with ts pizza menu, Pizza Hut introduced a wider variety menu which includes pastas, and salads. The customers can now visit Pizza Hut even if they do not feel like having a pizza. It also introduced a PHD (pizza hut delivery) service, which is available in almost every town but it does not have many dine in locations comparing to other fast food restaurants such as McDonalds and Burger kin g. One of Pizza Hut regular customers, my friend Edward, spends most of his time eating pizza, and praises about Pizza Hut services and products.

History of biomaterials

Earlier surgical procedures, whether they Involved bimetallism or not, were generally unsuccessful as a result of infection Bimetallism, Joyce Y Wong and Joseph D Brannon (Deeds), CRY press, Boca Orator, FL, 2007 3 asses: Bone plates were Introduced to lad In the fixation of long-bone fractures. Many of these early plates broke as a result of unsophisticated mechanical design; they were too thin and had stress-concentrating corners.Also, materials such as indium steel, which was chosen for its good mechanical properties corroded rapidly in the body and caused adverse effects on the healing processes asses: Stainless steels and cobalt chromium alloys were introduced and great success was achieved In fracture fixation, and soon Joint replacement surgeries were Bimetallism, Joyce Y Wong and Joseph D Bronzing (Deeds), CRY Press, Boca Orator, FL, 4 MAMA asses: During the World War II, it was found that pilots injured by fragments of plastic MAMA (polymath matriculate) aircraft canopy did not suffer adverse chronic reactions from the presence of the fragments in the body.MAMA became ideal used after that time for corneal replacement and for replacements of sections of damaged skull bones 1950-asses: Following further advances in materials and in surgical technique, blood vessel replacements were tried in asses and heart valve replacements and cemented Joint replacements in asses 5 Year Investigators Late 18-19th century Development Metal devices to fix bone fractures; wires and century pins from Fee, Au, Gag, and Opt 1860-1870 J. Leister Aseptic surgical techniques 1886 H.Huntsman 1893-1912 W. A. Lane Steel screws and plates (Lane fracture plate) 1912 W. D. Sherman Vanadium steel plates, first developed or medical use; lesser stress concentration and corrosion (Sherman 1924 A. A. Zeroed Introduced [email  protected] (Corm alloy) 1926 M. Z. Lange Introduced 18-cosmos stainless steel, better than 18-8 stainless steel 6 Used carpenter's screw for femoral neck fracture 1931 M. N. Smithereens First femoral neck fracture fixation device made of stainless steel 1936 C.S. Venerable, W. G. Stuck Introduced [email  protected] (19-9 stainless steel), later changed the material to Coir alloys 1938 P. Wiles First total hip replacement prosthesis 1939 J. C. Burch Introduced tantalum (Ta) ASSES M. J. Doreen, A. Franchisee First used replacement 1946 J. And R. Jude First phonemically designed femoral head replacement prosthesis. First plastics (MAMA) used acrylics (MAMA) corneal 7 1947 J. Cotton Introduced It and its alloys 1952 A.A leaflet in heart valve must flex 60 timer per minutes without tearing for the life time of a patient (10 years or more) 0 Bulk physical properties: The dialysis membrane has a specified permeability, the reticular cup of the hip Joint has a lubricity, and the intraocular lens has clarity and refraction requirements 13 Absorbability 0 Absorbability is the ability of a material to perform with an appropriate host response in a sp ecific application (Williams, 1987) 0 Thus, absorbability is the acceptance of a material by the surrounding tissues ND by the body as a whole. A objectionable material should not do exhibit following characteristics: (1) irritate the surrounding structures (2) provoke an abnormal inflammatory response (3) incite allergic or immunologic reactions (4) cause cancer 14 15 Performance of bimetallism the material properties, design, and absorbability of the material used, as well as other factors not under the control of the engineer, including the technique used by the surgeon, the health and condition of the patient, and the activities of the patient.If we can assign a numerical value f to the probability of allure of an implant, then the reliability can be expressed as r=l -f If, as is usually the case, there are multiple modes of failure, the total reliability art is given by the product of the individual reliabilities RL =(1 -FL),etc. Art=RL re 16 Inert and evocative bimetallism 0 I nitially (asses-asses) the bimetallic designed were inert (not reactive with the body) to decrease the potential for negative immune response to the implant 0 Later (asses), the concept of inert bimetallic was replaced with that of evocative bimetallism. The evocative material interact with the body in a positive manner to remote localized healing Bimetallism – The Intersection of Biology and Materials Science,AS Tenement and GAG Mikes, Prentice Hall, 2009 17 Hard and Soft tissue replacement bimetallism 0 Bimetallism scientists must have an appreciation of material science.A wide range of materials are routinely used and no researcher will be comfortable in synthesizing and designing with all these materials and therefore specialization is the rule 0 There is tendency to group bimetallism into hard tissue replacement bimetallism (metals, ceramics for use in orthopedic and dental materials) and soft tissue placement bimetallism (polymers) for cardiovascular and general plastic surgery 0 Division is arbitrary though 18 Market perspectives (2008) 0 Mostly used devices are replacement heart valves, synthetic vascular grafts, hip and knee replacement, heart lung machine, renal dialysis equipment, and bone and dental implants 0 About 100,000 replacement heart valves; 300,000 vascular grafts; and 500,000 artificial Joint replacements are carried out in the United States every year 19 Do it yourself? 0 Assume that a bone implant (bone plate) leads to calcification. Will you consider it an appropriate or inappropriate host response? 20

Barbados Essay Research Paper Barbados is an

Barbados Essay, Research Paper Barbados is an independent state, once a British settlement, and the most eastern island of the West Indies. Its capital and merely port of entry is Bridgetown. The island is underlain with folded sedimentary sedimentations, and a surface bed of coral attains 90 m ( 300 foot ) in thickness. In the northeasterly parts, eroding has exposed rugged ridges and ravines. The clime is warm and pleasant. The mean one-year temperature is about 27? C ( 80? F ) , and small day-to-day or one-year fluctuation occurs. A dry season ( from December to May ) alternates with a moisture season. The mean one-year rainfall is about 1,500 millimeters ( 60 in ) . Barbados is one of the universe # 8217 ; s most dumbly populated states. About 90 % of the island # 8217 ; s population is black. The production of sugar cane and its byproducts, molasses and rum, long a pillar of the Barbadian economic system, has been replaced by touristry as the main industry. The development of light industry, offshore banking, and fishing and the variegation of agribusiness have been encouraged by the authorities. Barbados was settled by English settlers in 1627. To work the sugar cane plantations, slaves were brought from Africa, a pattern abolished throughout the British Empire in 1834. Laterality by a little group of British landholders continued, and a political rights mov ement began, ensuing in the initiation of the Barbados Labour party ( BLP ) in 1938 and an outgrowth, the Democratic Labour party ( DLP ) , in 1955. Barbados became independent on Nov. 30, 1966. Errol Barrow of the DLP, the first Prime Minister, was succeeded by Tom Adams of the BLP, who held office from 1976 until his decease in 1985. The DLP returned to power under Barrow ( 1986? 87 ) and Lloyd Erskine Sandiford ( 1987? 94 ) . Owen Arthur of the BLP became premier after elections in 1994 and was returned to office in a landslide triumph in 1999. In 1997, Barbados hosted a regional acme attended by the leaders of the English-speaking Caribbean states and U.S. president Bill Clinton. Late the undermentioned twelvemonth, a constitutional committee recommended that Barbados go a republic and replace the British sovereign with an elective president as caput of province. by Joey Markany Beckles, H. M. , A History of Barbados ( 1990 ) ; Butler, K. M. , The Economicss of Emancipation: Jamaica and Barbados, 1823? 1843 ( 1995 ) ; Davis, K. , Cross and Crown in Barbados ( 1983 ) ; Levy, C. , Emancipation, Sugar, and Federalism ( 1980 ) ; Payne, A. J. , and Sutton, P. K. , eds. , Dependency under Challenge: The Political Economy of the Commonwealth Caribbean ( 1984 ) ; Richardson, B. C. , and Lowenthal, D. , Economy and Environment in the Caribbean: Barbados and the Windwards in the Late 1800s ( 1998 ) .