Computerized Enrollment System Essay

Improvement in computer world means the act of making new arrangement or style of doing work, activities, and processes efficiently, effectively and faster from the past, that brings convenient to the people. Improvement is an opportunity for every one and in any organizations, the researchers want to have a part in this improvement either it be great or small, if there’s opportunity to be a part of this improvement the researchers wants to grab this opportunity. In this present world, technology is growing faster specially computer technology, using this kind of technology, information can be view very fast as well as to make reports out of this records through printing. In a school, computerized schedule retrieval is a great help to students, faculty and staff in terms of retrieving schedules of a student, subjects, instructors, rooms, and specific section and use it for a specific purposes. Using this kind of system can contribute improvements to the school. Look more:Â  example of perseverance essay In making schedules manually, it will take a long process since the staff assigned to it should assure that there is no conflict of schedules between rooms and instructors. The personnel should assure that the instructor should have not exceeded to the maximum load. The personnel should also assure that the schedules of those students should be distributed in regular school days, for night classes schedules should be in night time, and for weekend classes schedules should be in weekend days. Because of this the personnel becomes tired and sometimes when the personnel reviews the schedules, conflict of schedules occur, and posting the new schedules of every room can’t be done. And in the side of the students, they get tired writing the subjects and schedules in the form during enrollment. And finding vacant rooms in a specific time takes a time, since someone should go around and look for a vacant room. The researchers were hoping to reduce the time spent in creating the schedules, without conflict schedules, to reduce the time spent in getting schedules during enrollment, to access easily the schedules of rooms to find vacancy. Background of the Study Creating and retrieving schedules is not an easy job. It requires patience and perseverance. Patience in assigning every subject to a specific instructor in specific rooms, assuring that every schedules of every subject should be distributed in regular days, the personnel assigned to do this job assures that in every regular days a students should have a scheduled subject. The personnel assures that there’s no conflict of schedules like having 2 classes in the same room and time and Instructor is handling two classes at the same time. Perseverance that even if the personnel were very tired, he/she still needs to review the schedules to assure that all schedules were complete and no conflict of schedule. Many students get tired in writing their schedules with the same information in 4 different forms in every semester and in irregular students they find it difficult to add a subject, assuring that the schedule of the subject will not be conflict to the subject that he/she has. When the instructor was trying to find a vacant room in a specific time the instructor needs to look for the posted schedule in every room to find a vacant room and it takes time and energy finding for vacant room in the entire building. And sometimes because there’s not enough time new schedule of every room will not be posted. Because of these problems the system will hopefully give a solution for these problems.

The Concept of Administration and Organization

THE CONCEPT OF ADMINISTRATION AND ORGANIZATION A: WHAT IS ADMINISTRATION First definition: â€Å"Administration can be defined as the activities of groups cooperating to accomplish common goals†. There are particular key elements of administration. Cooperative: the word cooperative is the first key element in this definition. Human activity is cooperative if it has the effects that would be absent if the cooperation did not take place. * Group Activity: Administration includes activities of more than one individual. * The term ‘cooperative’ is defined in terms of the results of the human activity.When two men together roll a stone which neither of them could roll alone they are cooperating. * Thus the essence of administration is the utilization of cooperative action for the accomplishment of common goals. * Common goal: the second key element of the above definition is the goal or purpose. * It is the common goal which encourages members to come together. Coopera tion among members is possible when they share a common goal. The idea of goal is central to the concept of administration in the sense that if there was not a goal, the members of the group would not come together and cooperate with each other. Without the formulation of an objective or goal, no one within the group would know what to do and they would not get involved in any activity. * When someone determines the objective and the group is formed, than the group members will start to think about what they can do for the accomplishment of that objective. * Second Definition: In another definition, administration is defined as â€Å"an activity or process mainly concerned with the means for carrying out prescribed ends†. * Here, again in this definition the accomplishment of a specific goal is an important element of the administration. This definition indicates that administration is mainly concerned with the means that are necessary for the accomplishment of pre-determined goals. * It seems that a new element is introduced, that is the concept of means. Means: The means are the ways by which something is done or obtained * A division of labor is necessary among the members of the group to accomplish a common goal. * There is also a need for an authority structure to control and coordinate the activities of the individuals involved. ** Division of labor and authority structure are means (among others) for carrying out prescribed ends. Cooperation and any other method is also a means used in the administration. * Any new definition of administration may introduce some other elements or concepts but in essence they would be concerned with cooperative activity in the accomplishment of desired goals. Third definition: According to Waldo, for example, â€Å"Administration is a type of cooperative human effort that has a huge degree of rationality†. * Any new definition of administration may introduce some other elements or concepts but in essence th ey would be concerned with cooperative activity in the accomplishment of desired goals.Third definition: According to Waldo, for example, â€Å"Administration is a type of cooperative human effort that has a huge degree of rationality†. * Here, ‘rational action’ is introduced as a new element of administration but still cooperation is accepted as a necessary element of administration. * In Waldo’s definition, rational action is defined as actions correctly calculated to realize the given desired goals with minimum loss to the realization of other desired goals. B: What is Organization? ) Amitai Etzioni defines organization as â€Å"social units (or human groupings) deliberately constructed and reconstructed to seek specific goals’. This definition implies that the basic elements of organizations are individuals. Thus the first key element of organization refers to the grouping of individuals. * The second element of organization is that they are in tentionally constructed for accomplishing specific objectives. * The third element is the concept of goals. Organizations are established for the accomplishment of certain goals.

Local Literature

A significant amount of literature is available on inventory systems. A majority of the findings are derived from experiences in the US, Japan and Western Europe. Some inventory systems however, can be affected by variations in local conditions such as infrastructure, customs, duties, and regulations. Hence, it is essential to view such systems in an international context. To frame this research, we will examine the literature on operations in NIC countries followed by an analysis of local conditions in Thailand. A number of articles are available that examine the inventory setups in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Korea (Amsden, 1989). For example, Cheng (1988) and Hum and Ng (1995) examine the workings of Just In Time (JIT) systems in Hong Kong and Singapore, respectively. Other studies related to inventory management include facility location decisions (Sisodia, 1992; Nambiar, fielders, and Van Wassenhove, L. N, 1989; Mathews, 1997) and distributed systems. These studies indicate that Thailand is not as industrialized as the other NIC countries such as Singapore, and infrastructure shortcomings play an important role. Next, we will examine the literature on the quality of infrastructure in Thailand. Infrastructure affects both the productivity and effectiveness of manufacturing companies. It has a direct impact on the distribution of raw materials, parts, and finished goods to customers. The few studies focused on Thailand have primarily addressed infrastructural problems in Thailand (Chalamwong, Chalongphob and Wattanalee, 1994; Chalamwong, 1993). In identifying the infrastructure-related problems, Yukio (1990) calls for the Thai government to pay closer attention to transportation systems in their effort to attract more Japanese and foreign investment. Sibunruang (1986) also points to infrastructural constraints having a bearing on the development of the Thai economy. The present government, however, does realizes the importance of infrastructure for the country's overall economy. In its efforts to improve infrastructure, the Thai government has privatized telecommunication service and has started seeking help from private local and foreign companies to cope with the road shortage. The government has also approved a number of projects for the construction of highways in and around Bangkok. Furthermore, the airports in Thailand are now better managed. Although infrastructure remains a problem, there is a substantial pool of investors looking to open shop in Thailand. Information on production and inventory management practices in Thailand can help managers better understand and identify approaches that might be suitable for their companies' operations in that country. As noted earlier, no research on inventory management in Thailand has been undertaken and reported in the literature. The next section presents the methodology used in examining the types of inventory systems employed by foreign companies in Thailand.

Oxygen Isotope Perturbation and Its Effects on Temperature and Essay

Oxygen Isotope Perturbation and Its Effects on Temperature and Salinity in the Bay of Bengal - Essay Example Oxygen isotope ratio is a climatic proxy, an environmental variable, and it assists climatologists, including paleoclimatologists, to determine certain important climatic parameters, both existing and past, from it. (UNST 232a Mentor Section Assignment 5) Another phenomenon the isotopes are involved in is that oxygen accumulates in the calcium carbonate (CaC) of the shells of marine animals called foraminifera -"Forams". The isotope ratio in the shells depends upon on the temperature and existing isotope ratio of the water in which the animals live or lived. Over periods of time these animals die and their shells descend to the bottom of the sea and form layers that present researchers with important data from which past temperature and isotope ratios can be determined. (UNST 232a Mentor Section Assignment 5) The isotope ratio in any singular stretch of water changes over time. Water molecules made up of the lighter isotope evaporate easily leaving water molecules with the heavier one back in the seawater. When the evaporated water precipitates back into the sea there is little change in the ratio but when the water vapour precipitates on land the lighter isotope is transported to land from where it may come back to the sea via rivers and other waterways or it may remain trapped for thousands of years in the form of ice if it is precipitated as snow on places like the polar icecaps and high mountain tops. (UNST 232a Mentor Section Assignment 5) During normal times the isotope ratio in sea and ocean water is fairly constant but during glacial periods when the icecaps advance beyond normal limits the isotope ratio shifts in favour of for obvious reasons. This is in a comparative sense to normal times. (Oceanography 540, 2002) The isotope ratio is expressed as delta (lower case) with the isotope contents expressed in parts per thousand (per mille) as the following equation demonstrates. = - / x 1000 Higher negativity in indicates greater depletion. (UNST 232a Mentor Section Assignment 5) The standard in this case is of 'Standard Mean Ocean Water' or 'SMOW'. (Oceanography 540, 2002) 3. The 'Foram' Fractionation Factor The foraminifera species being investigated in this report is the planktonic

Stocks Returns Investment Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Stocks Returns Investment Analysis - Essay Example The value of R-square suggests that all variable have explained the excess returns of MYR by 47.22% which is a moderate percentage. If the intercept of the equation is analyzed, it can be observed that it is insignificant because p-valued computed is higher than the critical value of the 0.05 level of significance. Excess marker return is the best predictor among the three variables, so that it has predicted a beta coefficient of 1.7, which means that the stock is quite risky as it 0.7 time more than that of the market. However, SMB and HML did not effectively predict the excess returns of MYR.The model fit of TAH reflects that it is not quite good as hardly 14% of the stock return is explained by the model. Another interesting thing that can be noticed is that all the three variables of the Three Factor Model are unable to predict the excess returns of TAH as all of them having p-values higher than the critical values of 0.05 which is the significant level. Hence, the excess return of the TAH is found to be independent of the Three Factor Model.If the model fit of BHP is observed, it can inferred that the overall model fit is quite strong as it presents that around 77% of excess returns of BHP are explained by the Three Factor Model. If individual factors are analyzed, it can be noticed that intercept remained insignificant due to higher p-value statistics. EMR has come out as the best predictor indicating a beta coefficient of 1.38, which reflects that the stock is 38% more risky than the market.

Preschoolers grow their brains Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Preschoolers grow their brains - Essay Example It helps in doing away with the ‘I cannot do it’ attitude that is among the beliefs that makes most people fail to achieve their goals. It also leads to the children becoming more independent in making choices and also thinking of ways that they can solve future problems. The children become more responsible and view ways of solving issues instead of becoming escapist. The model of thinking helps children become more creative and enhance their critical thinking abilities that take them along the way in their entire lifetime (Shelby and Christie 33). The article is also paramount for the adults as according to the article; the teachers explain that they are also able to think more and grow in their skills. It has also particularly influenced me as I have realized that there are simple, but practical way of coming up with solutions without conflicting in a negative way (Shelby and Christie 32). In a nutshell, the article emphasizes more on developing problem solvers and children that are prepared to solve challenges even in their adulthood. The concept of coming up with children who can think critically to solve problems, communicate effectively, collaborate with others and those with creative and innovative skills should be highly embraced and

Writer's Chioce Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Writer's Chioce - Movie Review Example For instance, the movie depicts the overflowing of Manhattan as a wind-caused surge, even though this epic wave, which is also known as tsunami could only be stimulated by a marine earthquake or tremor or a meteorite strike, rather than by a hurricane or an alteration in the North Atlantic Current. The stun frosting in the view of the hurricane goes against the laws of thermodynamics (Rehill, 2009). The filmmakers are honest about the truth that it is not a precisely realistic scenario. The promotion material given by the film firm Fox says that once scientists converse about sudden climate change they imply ten or five years, but for theatrical reasons, the whole thing was condensed to a couple of weeks. In order to depict the dramatic impacts of a vital climatic catastrophe in a short time span, they only took acknowledged weather limits such as storm surges, tornados, hailstorms and cyclones blizzards. Conversely, given the constraints and rules of the genre, it is astonishing to what level the filmmakers have attempted to include some sensible background. For instance, in the early moments of the film, the director reveals a United Nations climate convention in Delhi where Jack Hall talks about the probable risk of a blackout of the North Atlantic Current (Ebert, 2005). During the convention, Jack Hall states that a blackout may occur in a thousand years or hundred years, or may not at all. Several real climate experts have said a similar thing. In this manner, the actor shows what climate experts think in a realistic way in the movie. The director of the movie shows the politics of weather change. It is disturbingly realistic how the leader of the United States delegation, who is the vice president in the movie, reacts to Halls speech. This implies that small prospects with few words of dialogue are smartly used to initiate a number of key conflicts and ideas, which are extremely recognizable to climatologists but not

Article review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 8

Article review - Essay Example Nursing practice is evolving and nurses today are expected to be familiar in history taking and be professional always about how they do it. This article gives tips on how a comprehensive and complete history can be taken by nurses who are increasingly being delegated this important aspect of health care delivery. The authors give out steps to take during history taking so that it is systematic and all essential information obtained (including sensitive information). The nurses must be careful not to divulge confidential personal information and also make sure that there is prior consent obtained to get personal information related to history taking. Nurses must make sure that the environment in which they take information is appropriate and comfortable to the patient and additionally, they must establish rapport with the patient by making all appropriate verbal and non-verbal communication gesture. Some nursing experts prefer taking history in a set pattern or sequence but this is not very important. What is crucial is that all the needed information is obtained to get a comprehensive picture of the patients past and present health status. Communication is important to gain the patients trust so even the manner of how the questions are phrased or asked should be considered. Questions can be open-ended but nurses can ask more specific questions later on to clarify some information and make sure they got it right. Accuracy is crucial as the health assessment will serve as the basis for the doctor when making a diagnosis and when considering the course or type of treatment that is appropriate. The authors took extra efforts to present their ideas in an easily understandable manner, even placing important points inside a box such as appropriate communication skills, the desired sequence in taking history and listing by category using major body systems the usual kind of symptoms each body system will present if

Were any gains won by women in the First World War both limited and Essay

Were any gains won by women in the First World War both limited and temporary - Essay Example Women knew many things like being a baker and running dairies, they were also blacksmiths, silversmiths, tailors, painters, and can perform other jobs done by men. Even though they worked side by side with their husbands, they were not paid for their work. Things were the same elsewhere, as in UK. As related in the Hub pages, before the outbreak of World War I, the role of women was similar. Their roles consisted mainly of domestic jobs, nursing, teaching, and farming. Although a few of them worked in factories, they were paid less than men. Thus, we will see here that women were not treated favorably by society and it was an accepted standard at that time. The impact of the war on women’s lives When World War I broke out, things slowly changed for women. During World War I, war industries caused the heavy employment of women. (Bryant Joyce, March 2, 2009) Three million women workers and more got employed in food, textile and war industries. Women’s role changed rapidly because of the war. In UK, many women enlisted in the Women’s Auxiliary Corps. Women were employed in communication lines, cooking, catering, and clerical jobs. They also became truck drivers and ambulance drivers because men were engaged in battles (Hub pages). Their most important contribution, Bryant Joyce, mentioned is the takeover of the farms and growing of much needed food. In Britain, 113,000 women joined the Women’s Land Army which was set up in 1917, to provide a workforce to run the farms (Hub pages). Women were at work everywhere. They learned almost all the kinds of jobs that were previously held by men. The war provided the opportunity for women to grow and learn the job skills they were not allowed to do before. In Russia, women joined the Legion of Death. These women pledged to take their own lives rather than become German war prisoners. They agreed that death was better than to remain captives. Working as nurses, hundreds of women risked their lives to help in the treatment of wounded soldiers ( hubpages). The spirit of volunteerism was very much felt during the times of war. At the beginning of the war, the government gave very little recognition to the efforts of these women. Undaunted, these women utilized their skills such as running charities, cooking, knitting, gardening and sewing. At great length, their contributions became essential, so the government began to direct and legalized their hard works (Vries, Jacqueline). During the war, the focus of attention of different women’s organizations was volunteering their services to the country rather than entrants to wage work. Historians, however, debates that their work was simply an extension of their traditional housework, while, others say that the leadership and ingenuity of women had contributed to the newly recognized status at the end of the war. Vries believed that leaders of women’s organization took these as a chance to connect their war services to women’s emancipation. At the outbreak of war, Milicent Garrett Fawcett, President of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies, urged suffragists to find positions of service in order to prove themselves â€Å"worthy of citizenship† (Vries,Jacqueline). It is therefore unsettled whether volunteerism or philanthropic works transformed the lives of these women after the

Situating the Situationist International Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Situating the Situationist International - Essay Example ench faction started to adopt the concept of â€Å"constructed situation.† The members of the S.I were outraged by cultural capitalizations and economic markets. These were perceived to be the hijackers of aesthetic experience. In 1958, S.I co-founder Guy Debord and a section of the rest of the group decided to sabotage the International Assembly of Art Critics which was taking place in Belgium. They condemned the commercialization and institutionalization of art by the event, and called for subversive and new aesthetic ideologies. The approaches used by the S.I included the use of protesting text, hand-out copies, forcing themselves into press meetings and clubs, and throwing of pamphlets into crowds. They also used to throw leaflets from buildings into cars and over windows. These approaches still live with the present day representation and politics. Situationism has, however, evolved. In the middle of the 20th Century, situationism aimed at redesigning its context and the attitude of the public with the purpose of achieving integration and to have anyone enjoy the art world. Newer methods and re-appropriations of situationist methods are both aesthetically and politically successful. The devised methods have been more successful in exposing or opposing deceptions of capitalism than the ill-fated earlier methods where artists found themselves ignored, crushed or scorned. The interventions of the Situationist international have a mild impact both aesthetically and politically. Newer methods and re-appropriations have been, however, more successful than the historically devised ones. The author of this anthology seeks to emphasize on the S.I’s engagement with cultural politics and art of their time during the 20th Century. He builds majorly on their activist and political stance and the interaction of Guy Debord with other members of the group. Published in 2004, this book supplements both political and aesthetic sections. It also provides some hard-to-find

Teams in organizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Teams in organizations - Essay Example Cross-functional teams include employees from different work areas who come together to complete a particular task. Such teams are usually effective in bringing people from various specialties and diverse areas together. Virtual teams rely on technology to bring together physically dispersed members to accomplish a task. The technologies allow members to collaborate online even when they are physically separated (Daria, 2015). Teams are important in organizations because they bring together member from diverse backgrounds and experiences hence wider points of view. The diversity in teams enhances decision-making, performance, and productivity. Teamwork ensures that tasks can be done faster and efficiently because many people are involved. However, there are some disadvantages of using teams in organizations. Conflicts may arise within teams because of individual difference and affect the organization. Communication may also be problematic due to diverse backgrounds and experiences of members hence lower productivity. Teams can also suppress individual creativity and thinking. The most effective teams within my organization are the cross-functional and self-managed teams. The diversity within cross-functional teams allows people from diverse specialties to exchange information, develop ideas and solve problems. Such teams are effective because early coordination among various specialties enhances innovation, speed, and quality. According to Kozlowski & Bell (2001), the ability of self-managed teams to work on their own without supervision increases their efficiency (p.

Why Person Centered Values Are Important Essay Example for Free

Why Person Centered Values Are Important Essay We all have our own values that have developed as a result of our family and childhood experiences, and as a result of our friendships and relationships. Our values are also influenced by people in our local community, as well as by national figures and the media. Support workers in social care are expected to promote particular values. There are two important points to note. First, the idea that learning disability workers are supporting a person. It is not a question of being in charge or in control, because choice and decision-making should lie with the person, as far as possible. Second, it is very important that these principles are part of your everyday work. There should be nothing special about them, they should be part of day-to day life. Within a few days of starting work with people with learning disabilities, it should be clear to you that everyone you work with is an individual, with their own particular likes, dislikes, strengths and personality. Services and support workers should always focus on the individuals they are working with, rather than the needs of a group of people. You and your colleagues should have the hopes, dreams, interests and needs of each person you support as a top priority in your daily work. Why it is important to promote rights  and values When we talk about promoting rights and values, we mean: • actively using those rights and values to influence everything we do • seeing them as having an important role in all our work as learning disability workers  encouraging their use as the standards by which we and others judge the quality of life of the people we support, and the  quality of the services that support them.  This is a big task. The use of values as standards is a huge challenge to services. But the idea is central to the basic principles of supporting people with learning disabilities.  To demonstrate that you have understood this, you should be able to discuss why it is important to work in a way that promotes these values when supporting those who have a learning disability. The following example  should help you to develop the skills you will need to discuss values in relation to the lives of the people you support. Person centred values mean that people with learning disabilities should: • no longer be marginalised and isolated within society • have the same social status as other people • no longer be subject to exploitation and abuse • have their opinions taken seriously • have their adult status recognised • have the same citizenship rights as other people. The General Social Care Council (GSCC) is the organisation set up by the government in 2001 to register and regulate all social care workers. It has produced a Code of Practice which states that social care workers should work in a certain way. You can see some of these requirements in the table below: Code of Practice for Social Care Workers requirements Protect the rights and promote the interests of service users and carers Strive to establish and maintain the trust and confidence of service Users and carers Promote the independence of service users, while protecting them as far as possible from danger or harm Respect the rights of service users, while seeking to ensure that their behaviour does not harm themselves or other people

Tourism Revenue Sharing (TRS) Benefits

Tourism Revenue Sharing (TRS) Benefits 1.1 Background Tourism Revenue Sharing (TRS) has been identified by various environmentalists and conservationists as the best way to offset human-wildlife conflict which impedes local support for national parks (Hulme Murphree 2002). By channeling tourism revenue to local residents, conservationists hope to offset wildlife costs and improve local attitudes toward conservation. To date tourism revenue-sharing programs have met mixed success (Western 2001).This study looked at the extent to which revenue sharing policies are put into practice and look at what projects funds are distributed across, beneficiaries of revenue sharing and the criteria used to determine them and look at implications for inequality, the livelihood impacts of revenue sharing and determine whether policy makers meet their commitments and the constraints to revenue sharing around Bwindi impenetrable National Park in Uganda. The growth in tourism industry has been one of the most profitable in national and communal economies in the Africa that were recently recognised by international and other global activists of development and environment concern. This has resulted in the need for several governments to transform from their earlier practices of managing tourist areas in conformity with the need to protect the environment and improve peoples livelihoods. As one of the ways to protect the environment and promote tourism, several national parks officials in Uganda like in many other parts of Africa have barred people from using them freely and tourism is now regarded as a tool to promote conservation and provide people with opportunities to improve their economic situations. Tourism in Uganda has been transformed from the traditional trend of activities based only on viewing animals to one that is ecologically oriented and at the same time benefiting the local communities around them. So-called eco-tourism therefore is an environmentally responsible form of tourism to relatively undisturbed natural areas in order to enjoy and appreciate nature, promote conservation, encourage low visitor impact and provide for beneficially active socio-economic involvement of the local population (IUCN 1992). Eco-tourism aids conservation of the natural environmental heritage through sustaining the well-being of the local people through provision of revenue for planning, management, and evaluation, stimulation of economic tourism through tourist expenditures and even creation of markets for local peoples products (Hulme and Murphree 2001). Local communities here, refers to the group of people living in or near the protected area and usually have to gain or lose something as a result of the distant management and access to resources in this area (FAO 1992). Living adjacent to the Park, these people often pay the highest costs in terms of the park existence or pose the greatest threat to them and receive the least benefits compared to other beneficiaries (Adams and Infield 2003) and yet, it is local communities regarded as holding values and preferences compared to state interests embedded in protected areas. The development and success of eco-tourism put much emphasis towards winning local peoples support and even maintaining positive attitude towards ecotourism and conservation. For eco-tourism to succeed there is need for collaboration and full participation of the local communities in both conservation and management of natural resources, upon which eco-tourism is based (Obua 1996). This helps to create good relationship and a sense of ownership on the side of local people. Failure to do this can be a cause for conflict and resentment between the park management and local people (Mutebi 2003). According to Groove (1993), eco-tourism came up as a result of three basic reasons; First, dissatisfaction among tourists with the standard of mass tourism; second, the increased awareness amongst tourists of their potential impact on the host environments and the indigenous societies; and third, the love for adventure and nature by tourists. The origin and development of ecotourism in Uganda was based on the growing awareness that protected areas were alienated from local people and had many chances to fail without local peoples support (UWA 1996). As a result of this, there has been development of eco-tourism as a variant of conservation and revenue generation because it is believed that eco-tourism can generate revenues that may be re-invested in protected areas to facilitate conservation and improve peoples livelihoods. It is argued that ecotourism helps to provide a sustainable tourism option. This is achieved through its emphasis of the areas carrying capacity concept and the possibility of increasing the well being of people residing around these areas through sharing with them receipts from tourism, as is being done at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP) In 1991 BINP was upgraded to National Park status. The shift from Forest Reserve to National Park had more implications than just a change in management. It also had a major impact on the surrounding communities; they were no longer allowed to enter the area. This implied that they no longer were able to utilize resources, as they had done traditionally. People who traditionally depended on forest resources for their survival in terms of energy, building materials and non-timber products for their livelihoods were denied access. The Forest Department used to allow free extraction of the non-timber products of the forest (Namara 2006). In addition to loss of access and control over park resources, people residing adjacent to the national parks bear costs related to wildlife conservation in terms of crop and livestock raids. However, despite the losses and costs suffered by local communities to wildlife conservation, tourism revenues were being collected both at national level and on park gates without necessarily scaling down to local people (Hulme and Murphree 1999). In an effort to manage and distribute diverse natural resources, the government of Uganda embarked on policies, regulations and acts through the parliament to ensure adequate implementation and protection of natural resource use (UWA 2001). A revenue sharing scheme was introduced in Uganda to enable local people benefit from forest resources and improve on their livelihoods. The success or failure of this policy is the core concern of this research. This study sought to investigate if the Uganda Wildlife statute of the 1996 policy implementation that requires 20% of park entry revenue to be allocated to the people residing around the park for their development benefits was achieved. According to the literature available, revenue sharing is under pressure and subject to claims from the Uganda Wildlife Authority to meet management costs in several other National Parks that earn little revenue on their own. These claims constrain adequate distribution and use of revenues to compensate for the real and perceived economic costs foregone for Park conservation among local people. This rise the concern for accountability and transparency in setting up sustainable programs needed to improve peoples livelihoods. These research ob jectives set grounds for finding solutions to such problems. 1.2 Problem statement Despite the growing body of literature on revenue sharing, there are still conflicting debates about the success and failures of community conservation in Uganda (Hulme and Murphree 2001). There is however, a paucity of studies on revenue sharing in Bwindi National Park, a situation that warranted research. It is equally perplexing that studies conducted about revenue sharing in various National Parks, have shown that their benefits are far less than the cost and prospective of resource use within the Parks (Hulme and Murphree 2001). This has been attributed to the fact that revenues obtained from tourism are distributed without frequent planning and understanding of social, cultural and economic contexts of areas surrounding the park. Bwindi National Park has a protection status but local people continue to invade the park and carry out illegal activities like pit sawing and snaring to supplement their subsistence activities (Madden 1999). To solve the tension and conflicts around the Park, UWA, CARE and IGCP embarked on programs like revenue sharing, sustainable use of non-timber resources and conservation education. Hulme and Murphree (2001) reported in chapter to that funds obtained from revenue sharing were used in constructing schools, health clinics and road construction. However, it was not known whether and how revenues intended for community development through revenue sharing benefited local people. This was owed to the fact that there was uncertainty of the revenue sharing policy and practice, community and individual level of access to revenues obtained from the park, and how tourist revenues compensate and support the livelihoods and development of local people. There was thus a need to undertake this study to understand how best conservation could meet local community needs and benefit people residing along the Park in line with national policies, while protecting the environment. 1.3 Research Objectives 1.3.1Goal The goal of this study was to examine park revenue sharing and its livelihood impacts to residents around Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, western Uganda. 1.3.2 Specific objectives -To examine the extent to which revenue sharing policies are put into practice and look at what projects funds are distributed across. -To identify beneficiaries of revenue sharing and the criteria used to determine them and look at implications for inequality. -To assess the livelihood impacts of revenue sharing and determine whether policy makers meet their commitments. -To identify the constraints to revenue sharing around BINP 1.4 Justification It is believed and evidenced those good relationships between people and parks are a major element of ensuring sustainable conservation. Due to some benefits associated with people residing adjacent to national parks, community attitudes towards national parks have improved over time. According to UWA, the revenue sharing scheme aims at empowering local communities in local resource management and tends to ensure sustainability and improved rural livelihoods. As a development study student, I thoroughly scrutinised how policy impacts implemented from top government levels without the consent of local people can be a big setback in determining peoples development at the local level. The main intention was to look at which extent revenue sharing policies were put into practice. The concern was whether local people benefited from resources available in their localities; and whether these benefits related to revenue sharing. By evaluating the level of benefits obtained as a result of revenue sharing, recommendations on policies suitable for the local community were made. This research is important for both governments and non-government agencies that are involved in implementing conservation policies. This work intends to identify and look at the gaps between policy and practice, and formulated possible recommendations to ensure better sustainable livelihoods of people living around Bwindi National Park. CHAPTER TWO:LITERATURE REVIEW ECOTOURISM, ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION AND PEOPLES LIVEHOODS The chapter provides a documented review of the general concept of ecotourism as a part of environmental conservation and likens it to the livelihoods of local people. The chapter begins with the history of environmental conservation in Uganda and then links it to natural based tourism as a way of combining tourism and protecting the nature, while developing communities residing around such areas. 2.1 Background of environmental conservation and tourism revenue sharing in Uganda In Uganda like in any other tropical areas, people residing adjacent to forested areas normally depend on forest resources for survival. Before changes restricting peoples access and control over these resources were made, they solely depended on such for income, food, energy, medicine and hunting (FAO 1992). Hulme and Murphree (2001) reported that the international and national conservationists claim that forested areas are vulnerable to human activity and a threat to biodiversity. To counter this, new management policies that restrict peoples access and control over these areas are thus normally established. To ensure protection and control over forest losses, major forest reserves including Bwindi were turned into National Parks and put under a single management unit Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) (Archabald and Naughton 2001), Tourism revenue sharing is not a new idea in Uganda. As early as 1950s, the Chief Game Warden declared: African Local Governments should receive a portion of the revenue accruing from game license fees to increase their interest in faunal matters, and thus encourage them to render greater assistance in the preservation of game and the enforcing of game laws (Archabald and Naughton 2002), This encouraged more reserach in revenue sharing Studies in revenue-sharing started early in 1952 and sustained until Independence in 1962. In general, a part of revenue from tourism fees was given to districts. No attempt was made to channel revenue directly to residents neighboring the park. However the Game Department shot wildlife caught raiding farms and offered local citizens the game meat (Naughton-Treves 1999). They further argued that no official facts that linked revenue sharing payment agreements to local communities with conservation policies While there are reports of local chiefs apprehending poachers, other chiefs and kings continued to hunt wildlife illegally despite revenue-sharing programs. One warden concluded that ‘A far greater awareness of the value of game animals has been shown by the Kingdom Governments and District Administrations, but on the whole they have not made any significant effort to stamp out poaching (Tennant 1963, p.33). Revenue-sharing projects continued after Ugandas independence, but in 1971 the country plunged into a 15-year civil war and the government lost control of wildlife and parks entirely (Hamilton 1984). With peace in 1987, Ugandan civil society began to be rebuilt. Eventually the national government endorsed biodiversity conservation and began shoring up the national park system and ‘upgrading several forest reserves to national parks (Sebukeera 1996). Due to the increased pressure by International donors and other non government organizations the government of Uganda recognized the importance of community-based approaches to national tourism revenue-sharing and adopted a new park policy in 1994. To check the viability of the new policy, a pilot project was established in Bwndi Impenetrable and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, in which 20% of revenue/income from gorilla tracking permits would be distributed to local communities residing near the park. Local communities welcomed the pilot project optimistically and it ran efficiently. Uganda National Parks (UNP) regulated that all the parks in the country set aside 12% of their total income for revenue sharing (Uganda National Parks 1994) Two-thirds of tourism revenue was to be shared with local communities neighboring the park, while the remaining third was to be divided between the parks home district government and a central pool at national park headquarters designated for communities surrounding those parks that generated very little income. The 1994 national mandate to share park revenue offered only a vague definition of the target beneficiaries as those people living adjacent the parks that are affected by, and affect the park (Uganda National Parks, 1994). Park level managers defined the target community as all parishes neighboring the park, a definition that emphasizes proximity to the park and pre-existing administrative units. In Uganda, parishes are subdivisions of districts governed by local elected leaders. They border three parks involved in the study extending up to 3 km from the park border in Mgahinga, 7 km in Bwindi, and 8 km in Kibale (UWA 2001). According to Archabald and Naughton (2001), the 1994 revenue sharing policy mandated Park Management Advisory committee (PMAC) with the responsibility to administer tourism revenue-sharing funds for each specific park. Although it was not specified in the national policy mandate, the park management committee decided to elect Parish Park Committee (PPC) representing to represent each parish in all the three study sites, to work as a link between local communities and Park Management advisory committee (PMAC). The 1994 tourism revenue sharing policy required that collected funds be used to benefit projects that would serve to improve high number of peoples livelihoods. However, this policy had to change prematurely after the Ugandan legislation merged Uganda National Parks and the Game Department into the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) in 1996 (Archabald and Naughton 2001). The newly amended legislation set a change in revenue sharing policy from that of 1994, which included 12% share of all income obtained from the park, to 20% of fees obtained at each park (UWA 1996). Policy makers hoped the increase in tourism revenue-sharing would result into improved livelihoods and park popularity to local communities (Baliikowa 2008, Archabald and Naughton 2001). The change in TRS policy theoretically intended to increase the amount of money distributed to local communities as an alternative forgone for their free interaction with the park. The policy change and change in management from Park Management Authority Committee to a local parish level committee weakened institutional sustainability for TRS and made the 1996 tourism revenue-sharing policy given less priority and the policy saw a decrease in funds due to the exclusion of fees for viewing gorillas and chimpanzee (UWA 2001). According to Archabald and Naughton (2001) TRS scheme process was still bared with irregularities. Revenues generated under the 1994 mandate were later redistributed to local communities in 1998, four years after policy implementation. This slip in redistributing tourism revenue share continued until 2002 when UWA passed out another policy that started to be implemented in 2001 (UWA 2001). 2.2 Ecotourism Tourism is an ancient activity that has become so diverse in its objectives and setting that it is now broken into a variety of sectors of which one of the most and rapidly growing sectors is that of nature based tourism. Obua (1996) referred nature-based tourism to that is directly dependent on the use of natural resources in a relatively undisturbed state. This is contrary to mass tourism whose development in natural areas has often led to the degradation of the very features that first attracted the tourists to the area. Owing to the above, a new concept was developed with an environmentally responsible approach called sustainable tourism. WTO (1993) defined sustainable tourism as any activity managed in a way that enables it to continue indefinitely. As a sustainable program, ecotourism is the fastest growing segment of the nature based tourism sector. 2.2.1 Ecotourism and the local people To be sustainable, ecotourism must involve local people in its planning, development and management (Obua, 1996). Cater (1994) highlighted that tourism can encourage better basic services such as water and electricity; and also create jobs for local people, increase their income levels and support other social and environmental benefits. Cater further stresses that to link sustainable tourism to economic development, its benefits must have an impact on the livelihoods of indigenous communities to warrant improved management of their environment. Cater further notes that, not only should the local, people receive tangible benefits from ecotourism development but their education and, sensitisation on the importance of conservation is of paramount importance. Dueto the fact that most of the remaining natural forests are under the control of the government in Uganda, ecotourism offers local communities opportunities to become more involved in the management of their village forests and see material benefits coming from them. Rea1isation of the benefits from the parks by local people is often accompanied by a decline in deforestation and poaching (Obua, 1996). This has made ecotourism show potential to provide a practical and effective means of providing social and economic benefits to the local people. Obua (1996) notes that, education levels and income influence local peoples attitudes towards ecotourism. This is because education increases ones awareness of the importance of protection and conservation of the environment and natural resources and determine the extent to which the local people depend on protected area for their livelihood. If provision of such services is not properly implemented however, the local people may harm the con servation goals. This therefore stresses a need for continual monitoring of development programs targeting people surrounding the park. 2.2.2 The success of ecotourism The success of the management of protected areas greatly depends on the degree of support and respect accorded the neighbouring communities. Where protected areas are looked at as a burden, local people can make protection and conservation completely impossible. However, when tourism is seen as a positive development, local communities would combine their efforts together with park management in providing protection to the area from external forces and destruction mostly by the locals. Involving local people is a vital factor in reducing infringements of conservation regulations such as poaching and indiscriminate tree felling. Due to corruption however, conflicts develop owing to non-equitable sharing of benefits offered by conservation bodies and the conservation area itself. This physical exclusion from the very resources upon which they depend for their basic needs threatens to ecotourism development (Laudati 2007). It is important to note that there have to be economic incentives for conservation. A major incentive is to secure, restore, and develop the capacity of ecosystems to generate ecosystem services (including food, timber, pollination, seed dispersal) because this capacity constitutes the very foundation for social and economic development (Daily 1997). Conservation science has a major role to play in identifying the role of functional groups of organisms, their redundancy, and their response diversity in relation to ecosystem services and in recommending ways to sustain diversity in this context. 2.2.3 Impacts associated with ecotourism development The viability of ecotourism has received substantial attention among conservationists as a potential tool for sustainable development Debates about Uncontrolled and controlled or restricted tourism has raised a lot of controversy among scholars. The majority of the literature supports the concept behind ecotourism; however, even the supporters like Cater (1994) express caution over the hidden risks inherent to any nature based tourism activity. The potentially negative impacts from tourism have a number of faces. Uncontrolled tourism may lead to ecological disturbances and environmental degradation; create unwanted social and drastic economic impacts as well. The restrictions meant loss of forest resources and land which was once used by locals for agriculture to maintain their livelihoods. Crop raiding is another problem faced by people living around parks. Despite restrictions and damages done on their crops, efforts to compensate local people who depended on forest resources especially land were insufficient (Balikoowa 2007). This has resulted into increased poverty among local people and there is an urgent need among stakeholders and the Uganda Wild life authority to solve this problem. Alternatively, ecotourism has the potential to positively contribute to the development of an area. However, in order for this potential to be realised, a number of conditions must be fulfilled. These include; the regional market, management capacity, ecological and cultural attractions development, adequate infrastructure, access and security, and well-defined linkages between the local residents and conservation activities (Cater, 1994). Whereas some of the conditions are out of control of most tourism stakeholders, certain conditions can be achieved through active management. In the absence of active management, the true ecotourism potential in any given area will not be realised, and it is highly probable that negative impacts will occur. The concept of ecotourism in conservation helps to ensure deliberate and planned policies geared towards reducing the negative impacts of tourism activities on the environment. This is done by minimising impacts in one place by developing new attractions or activities for tourism in different places. Ecotourism here therefore encourages diversification necessary for development. As a form of integrated tourism where all stakeholders are involved (operators in the industry, conservationists, lawmakers, and local people), it encourages cooperation, planning and support for sustainable development. Ecotourism offers the local people the opportunity to improve their livelihood through the various economic activities that are developed and to participate in nature conservation or environmental management. The need for ecotourism development in Uganda has resulted into the initiation of the revenue sharing program. This implies that 20 percent of the profits from park entry fees are given to the communities. Each parish adjacent to the park boundaries is given a share of the money. The money used to be invested in infrastructure benefiting the whole parish, such as schools and feeder roads. It appeared that this strategy did not have the impact UWA was looking for, a big part of the communities did not link these improvements with the National Park. The strategy of UWA therefore changed, they start focusing on directly improving the situation on household level, for instance by buying goats for the villagers (UWA, 2002). In relation to the above, in order to improve the relation between the local communities and the Park Authorities, people are allowed to gather products from the forest in some areas of the park; this can be done in the so called Multiple Use Zones (MUZ). The products that can be extracted in these zones are medicinal plants, craft materials and seed collection for on-farm planting outside the park. The products that can be extracted are all listed, at this moment 36 species of medical plants and 21 species for basketry purposes are listed. In addition, some farmers are allowed to use the park for placement of beehives for honey collection (Plumptre, Kayitare et al. 2004). These MUZ are not accessible for all surrounding communities, only those communities who have signed a MoU can access the park, these are at the moment the communities in fifteen out of twenty parishes bordering the Bwindi. 2.2.4 Community participation and ecotourism development Cater (1994) defined community participation as a situation where people act in groups to influence the direction and outcome of development programs that will affect them. Agencies promoting any community participation program need to deal with organised entities with conventional procedures for making and implementing group decisions. Cater (1994) further notes that much as generating such an entity is hard, working with existing authorities may not be reaching all of the target beneficiaries or all those whose cooperation is essential to the project. Kiss (1991) stressed that local participation towards the development of an ecotourism project involves all people who are directly affected by wildlife from the protected area or have an effect on it. According to Ziffer (1989), increased local peoples involvement in conservation results into low negative impacts on the environment where as low involvement yields high negative impacts by the local people. 2.3 The UWA Revenue Sharing Scheme In an effort to compensate and sustain people residing in areas adjacent to the parks, conservationists and Uganda Wildlife Authority recognize the need for programs that would benefit local communities who affect and are affected by protection policy of the forested areas. Uganda national parks adopted a revenue sharing policy in November 1995 and the government of Uganda passed a legislation under Uganda Wildlife Statute of 1996, which under section 70 (4) stated that the board shall subject to subsection 3 of section 23 pay 20% of the park entry fee collected from a wildlife protected area to the local governments in the area surrounding the wildlife protected area (UWA 1996). From the collections, revenue sharing was one of the means of improving community park relations soliciting support from local communities around protected areas in order to ensure sustainability (Archabald and Naughton-Treves 2001), and indeed the report continued to emphasise that revenue sharing provided a mechanism of attempting to address fair and just distribution of benefits from protected areas to local communities who bear the biggest cost of protected areas (Hulme Murphree, 2001). My research therefore aimed at identifying whether this policy had been put into practice. Its level of success and peoples perception on revenue sharing among communities residing around Bwindi National Park were looked into. 2.4 Attitudes of the local people towards conservation Allport (1935) referred attitudes to a mental and neutral state of readiness, organised through experience, exerting a directive or dynamic influence upon the individuals responses to all objects or situations with which it is related. Attitudes are thus not born with but learned and have objective reference, differ in valence and like most psychological concepts; can be deduced from the observed antecedent stimulus and the consequent behaviour pattern. According to Lindberg (1991), local peoples attitudes towards conservation are mostly induced by ecotourisms contribution to the local economy. This can be in form of increased incomes by the local people, increased employment opportunities and even general infrastructure without forgetting participation of all stakeholders at all stages (government officials, protected area personnel and the local people). Contrarily, negative attitudes result from the negative impacts that local people acquire from ecotourism development. These may be in form of inflationary pressure on local economies and exclusion of the local people from management and use of resources on which they depended on for their basic needs (Cater, 1992). The involvement of several stakeholders makes it difficult for policy makers and beneficiaries of tourism revenue share fail to meet their intended objectives which justifies Laudats statement that â€Å" Individuals for whom the projects are intended are minimally consulted, and policies are not negotiated with the input of local residents but are determined and evaluated based on institutional core values and foreign parameters of success† (Laudati, 2007), increasing vulnerability of local communities as a result of poor coordination and management between Uganda Wildlife Authority and National policy makers. 2.5 Constraints to revenue sharing Constraints to revenue sharing stats with the vague manner in away which benefactors are defined by some scholars For instance, according to Uganda National Parks (1994) beneficiaries are defined as people living adjoining the parks that are affected by, and affect the park. Thus, Agrawal (1997) arg

The role of parents in young childrens development

The role of parents in young childrens development Introduction The following essay proposes to look into the changing role of parents within the context of childrens development and learning, focusing in particular upon the way in which government policy has impacted upon this change at both an ideological level and a grass roots level. We propose to concentrate upon the change in language and focus inherent within contemporary curriculum documents, analysing the shift in policy discernible within the Early Years Foundation Stage as a means of accenting the changing role of parents with regards to childrens development and learning. This, therefore, clearly represents an especially complex topic to attempt to tackle with the vast array of reforms to educational standards witnessed over the course of the past two decades constituting a watershed moment in the history of social welfare provision in the contemporary era (Ball, 2008:1-11). We cannot, in the final analysis, divorce the education reforms of the 1990s and the first decade of the twenty first century from the broader changes to the welfare state that have come about as a result of a combination of economic, social and cultural forces in the post-modern epoch. Education today should therefore be seen within the context of the broader ideal of market forces, which shape the socio-political pattern of life in every post-industrial democratic capitalist state. Concepts relating to increased competition, social inclusion and the fostering of a decidedly a market mentality consequently dominate the contemporary policy making agenda with regards to the provisi on of education (Jones, 2002:143-170; Tomlinson, 2005:48-71). Thus, where, prior to the advent of the privatising policies of the Thatcher era and the neoliberal assault that characterised the first two terms of the Blair governments education was conceived of as a matter for the state and central government, after the widespread reforms to the public sector administered over the course of the past two decades, education has increasingly become the concern not only of the government but also of private sector institutions as well. As a result, local businesses and families have been increasingly integrated into the concept of educational provision in the contemporary era with this new policy initiative resting upon the twin pillars of partnership and accountability (Chitty, 2004:114-119). Partnership therefore represents the key concept underpinning all education and social reforms at the dawn of the twenty first century, constituting evidence of a shift in emphasis at government, local and settings level away from a top-down approach towards a bottoms-up approach. (Gasper, 2009:1) As a consequence, it is important for us to note from the outset the way in which the role of parents and of the family and the home should no longer be seen as being separate from the role of the state as the primary educational provider. Rather, we should make a point of underscoring the way in which the vast array of education and social policy reforms witnessed over the course of the past two decades represents a protracted process best understood in terms of the blurring of the boundaries between the public and the private spheres set to the backdrop of a devolved vision of welfare provision in the contemporary age (Alcock, Daly and Griggs, 2008:108-130). In this way, policy makers have intended to establish a clear and concise framework for education provision that would eventually positively impact upon paradigms relating to inclusion, equality, selectivity and most importantly standards (Alcock, 2008:48-50). It is within this radically altered landscape of welfare provision, education policy and social policy reform that the new educational framework for twenty first century Britain has been constructed with parents invited to play an increasingly prominent role in the development and learning of their children, particularly young children in a pre-school context (Clark and Waller, 2007:1-19). As a consequence, it is prudent to begin our examination by analysing the Early Years policy initiatives of the New Labour government and their broader impact upon parents and the family in order to establish an ideological and conceptual framework in which the remainder of the discussion can effectively take place. The Early Years policy initiatives and the family The election victory of New Labour in May 1997 telegraphed a major turning point in the way in which early years education provision would be meted out in contemporary Britain. Indeed, compared to the relative inertia of the previous Conservative government, the New Labour regime can be seen to have radically altered the very concept of Early Years social policy with much greater attention being paid to the way that young children are looked after and taught during the preschool years (Palaiologu, 2009:3-10). This fits neatly into the broader policy objective of raising standards and imposing a discernible market mentality into education, which we briefly outlined during the introduction. Improving the way in which early years education is provided will, in theory, have a positive impact upon the way in which primary and secondary education is provided with a new generation of economically independent young adults emerging from the reforms enacted during the last decade of the twenti eth century and the opening decade of the twenty first century. Viewed from this perspective, Early Years education policy in the contemporary era can be characterised in terms of a social construct; part of a much broader vision of a reinvigorated twenty first century British society built upon ideals relating to equality and cohesion as opposed to difference and segregation (Baldock, Fitzgerald and Kay, 2009:39-43). When, for instance, we pause to consider the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (2008), we can see that the New Labour government has taken significant policy making steps towards reconstructing the provision of education for young children around the new paradigms of accountability and partnership. Furthermore, by analysing this document we can see the foundations upon which this new early years educational has been built with the role of the parents underlined at a fundamental level, especially with regards to fostering a working relationship with the education professionals charged with bringing about reform to the youngest elements of contemporary British society (Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, 2008:6). As a consequence, we should acknowledge the important change to the partnership approach where, rather than teachers working with parents under the auspices of the old Childrens Act of 1989 where professionals were conceived of as an aid to parents in need of advice and help concerning bringing their children up, under the auspices of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, professionals and parents are supposed to work together during the key, formative years of a young childs educational, social and cognitive development. In this way, the role of the contemporary education professional at the early years foundation stage is integrated around childrens lives and childrens learning (Tarr, 2009:92-111). As a result of the fresh, partnership-centric ideological impetus fuelling the policy initiatives of the New Labour government, we can begin to see a new working partnership between the state, education professionals and parents emerge that is increasingly reminiscent of the relationship between the producer and the consumer in the private sector with educational change being underpinned by greater scope with regards to educational choice (Coffey, 2001:22-37). In integrating parents and the family into the policy making landscape of the Early Years Foundation Stage the state can be understood to have facilitated an increase in choice with both parents and professionals working out the best way to move forward with regards to implementing government policy (as opposed to simply following legislative guidelines as was previously the case). When, for example, we consider the advent of the Sure Start Centres in the UK and the way in which these state-funded nurseries and day care institutions look to adopt a decidedly holistic interpretation of early years education, incorporating educating parents as well as children, we can see the extent to which the blurring of the boundaries between the public and the private spheres has served to incorporate a wholesale re-configuration of the role of the parent within the context of the development of their children (Weinberger, 2005:31-43). Indeed, according to Valerie Wigfall, Janet Boddy and Susan McQuail, parental involvement is a vital component in the ongoing development of childrens services in the contemporary era, especially in state run institutions such as Day Care centres which have been built upon the premise of partnership as the key concept upon which childrens learning and growth can be further consolidated (Wigfall, Boddy and McQuail, 2007:89-101). As a direct result of this fundamental shift in both policy and practice, the concept of partnership need no longer be thought of solely in terms of government rhetoric and political hyperbole. Unlike, for instance, the concept of partnership as it relates to the community and the police which, on account of the special authoritative powers placed upon the police force, is a partnership more in name than in practical purposes, understood within a discussion pertaining to education, the ideal of partnership is a contemporary, relevant manifestation of policy and practice at both a central governmental level as well as a local grass roots level. Without the active input of parents, New Labours Early Years initiatives would differ little from previous governments attempts at overhauling and modernising the British educational system. By including parents within the policy making framework of young children, the state has therefore championed a radical new approach to rights and responsi bility in contemporary society whereby the government plays only one part within the broader tapestry of public service provision. This is especially true with regards to education where the New Labour government has made a clear and identifiable effort to tackle deep-seated inequalities in all aspects of the British educational system (McKnight, Glennester and Lupton, 2005:69-93). We should, at this point, though acknowledge the essential paradox that resides at the epicentre of the discussion whereby, on the one hand, the state has advocated a de-centralised approach to government, reducing the impact of policy upon practice in the process, while, on the other hand, the state can be seen to have presided over a period of policy overkill where, as far as education and indeed all social policy reform is concerned, there has been dramatic rise in the visibility of the government as both the arbitrator and instigator of education policy and educational standards (David, 1999:111-132). This paradox is a reflection of the uneasy relationship between the public sector and the private sector as well as the conflicting demands of instilling a policy making landscape built upon the harmony of the home and the family while at the same time championing education policies aimed at getting parents back to work as quickly as possible. Understood in these terms, New Labours educational reforms enacted since 1997 can be understood in broad terms relating to industrial policy with pupils and parents alike both being conceived of as economic actors working within the framework of a more efficient early twenty first century state (Stedward, 2003:139-152). This paradoxical relationship between economic and social policy, and between the public and the private spheres, is likewise mirrored in the often uneasy relationship between professionals and parents within the context of Early Years welfare provision. To understand more about this paradox and the way in which it impacts upon the governments vision of a more egalitarian society constructed upon premises pertaining to choice, competition and inclusion we need to turn our attention towards attempting to understand the home-school setting as the bedrock of the partnership approach to education and social policy that defines New Labours approach to governance. Home-school setting partnership The changing role of the home-school partnership reflects the constantly shifting landscape of policy and practice with regards to childrens development, especially children operating within the context of the early years. Where, previously, education was interpreted as a matter for the state with teachers constituting the primary means of educating young children about both themselves and the world in which they live, today there is an increasing emphasis upon the home as the new locus for learning with a radically new vision of educational culture being founded upon a partnership between the school place and the home (Beauchamp, 2009:167-178). As Miller succinctly observes, education is not something that happens to children; is something that they do. (Miller, 2002:373). Thus, we should observe the fundamental difference between a passive early years education and an active early years education with the latter representing the front line of contemporary approaches to young childrens education and preschool development. It is therefore the stated aim of contemporary policy makers to instigate a partnership approach towards an active Early Years education with professionals, parents and day care workers all expected to move away from the passive approach to young childrens development which many educational researchers and experts believe represent an outmoded method of educating preschoolers. When, for instance, we pause to consider the way in which the curriculum for the Early Years Foundation Stage has evolved over the course of the past decade, we can better understand the extent to which the home-school partnership represents the ideological backbone of the new active approach to young childrens learning and development. Unlike the national curriculum in the primary and secondary stages of the educational system, which is conceived of as a rigid framework where teachers and students must adhere to certain rules and regulations, the curriculum at the Foundation Stage is a much more amorphous concept where teachers and education practitioners have more leeway with regards to discerning the best way of improving learning and instigating development. Thus, the curriculum for the Foundation Stage is not defined by dictatorial rules; rather the curriculum for the Foundation Stage is underpinned by guiding principles which, in this instance, are understood as: a unique child , positive relationships, enabling environments, and learning and development. Each of these guiding principles is further augmented by four commitments that explain how these principles can be put into practice. (Department for Children, Schools and Families Website; first accessed 02.04.10) Examining the guiding principles of the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework serves to bring to light some important points on both the perspective of parents and young childrens learning that are crucial to our understanding of the subject matter at hand. Firstly, it is clear that, in keeping with the shift towards a discernibly more active educational environment, young children are expected to learn and develop through doing, not merely through being told about themselves and the world in which they live by adults. Thus, we should, once again, underscore the significance of an active Early Years curriculum which focuses upon development, social interaction and play as much as language and cognitive development. This, in turn, has impacted upon the role of the adult within the learning and development of young children with a much greater emphasis placed upon adults as educational enablers charged with creating a learning culture in both the home and the school or day care enviro nment which, in conjunction with one other, can help to significantly and positively impact upon learning and development. By this we mean to state that, rather than passively transferring information to young children as a means of educating and developing them, adults working within the Early Years setting are expected to adopt a more involved, participatory role in the learning and development of young children. For instance, according to the Northern Ireland Curriculum Guidance notes, young children require adults who will treat them as individuals and sensitively participate in their play. (Miller, Cable and Devereux, 2005:96) In this way, therefore, the revised role of the adults as the key enablers within the broader context of young childrens learning and development represents the convergence of the four guiding principles for the Early Years Foundation Stage with the principles of a unique child, positive relationships, enabling environments, and learning and development all being underpinned by a new role ascribed to adults as facilitators within the new educational environment offering a decidedly more active approach to the Early Years curriculum underpinned by ideals relating to playing, moving and learning as a way of young children becoming better acquainted with the world and the society in which they live (Parker-Rees, 2007:13-24). It is under the auspices of these guiding principles for the Early Years Foundation Stage that the new home-school partnership has been championed with the key part to be played by parents being underscored time and again, as the following excerpt from the Departmen t for Education and Skills attests: Partnership with parents should be a key aspect of provision. Parents should be recognised as childrens first and enduring educators, and should be seen as key partners in supporting childrens learning and development. (Draper and Duffy, 2006:151) Understood in this way, the home and the epicentre of the private sphere that this represents is no longer seen as constituting a separate realm from the educational environment of the school and day care centres. Rather, understood in these terms, the home and the school appear to have been fused into one realm where children learn and develop through play and interaction with adults in both the school environment and the home. Parents, therefore, are interpreted as educators in the same sense as educational professionals which, has created fresh dilemmas for both parents and teachers seeking to construct a common ground upon which these new Early Years guiding principles can flourish (Nurse, 2007:9-19). As a result, it is prudent to turn our attention towards highlighting the true nature of the key problems and dilemmas of the partnership approach to learning and development within the Early Years context in order to understand how partnership in preschool education can be made mor e effective. In this way, we will be better able to comprehend the nature of the paradox that characterises the blurring of the boundaries between the public and the private spheres. Making partnership effective: Obstacles to effective partnership Perhaps the greatest obstacle to championing an effective partnership approach to Early Years provision concerns the views of both the parents and educational professionals who are the key actors charged with responding to the vast, fundamental changes to education policy and social policy witnessed over the course of the past two decades. Put simply, it is clear that not all families and parents wish to be involved in partnership. Some families and parents will expect education professionals to perform the task of educating their children, keeping within the guidelines of the Early Years framework as is the case with children operating in the primary and secondary spheres. There are a number of reasons why this, quite logically, is the case. Firstly, we have to acknowledge the pressures upon working parents in the contemporary era where, with many mothers and fathers having full time jobs, parents do not feel as if they are able to make the time to take such an active role in the le arning and development of their children. Understood in this way, when parents drop their children off at day care centres, nurseries and other preschool institutions, they expect the education professionals working within these buildings to take care of all the important aspects of learning and development so that parents can get on with their own work commitments while at the same time getting on with the basics of parenting once they finish their jobs in the evening. The idea that the task of learning and development should be undertaken on a partnership basis with parents having to take on the role of educational enablers in addition to working appears as something of an anathema to many parents and families. Ultimately, this is a problem arising from the generational aspect of the vast array of education and social policy reforms enacted in the contemporary era whereby many parents assume that the conditions in which they were brought up remain the same at the present time. As a result, we have to underline the nature of the obstacle posited by a lack of perspective afforded to parents attempting to understand the new educational parameters dictating the pattern of Early Years provision at the dawn of the twenty first century. As Norman Gabriel observes, adults concepts of childhood are rooted and rigid; as such we have to be aware of the major obstacle to partnership manifest in the way in which parents think of the early years and preschool provision where conceptions of childhood harboured by adults are inherently difficult to change (Gabriel, 2007:59-69). We must, therefore, observe the dichotomy between traditional interpretations of early years learning and modern notions of early years learning and the way in which this threatens to undermine the partnership approach to Foundation Stage education in the contemporary era (Waller and Swann, 2009:32-40). The paradox of the blurring of the boundaries between the public and the private spheres can therefore be seen to have been meted out in a practical level within the context of the partnership approach. Although, in theory, there exists fertile grounds upon which parents and education professionals can work together in order to improve the learning and development of young children in the Early Years Foundation Stage, in practice there remain many obstacles to achieving a consensus between the public and the private spheres as they relate to the partnership between parents and education professionals. Overcoming the considerable divide between theory and practice remains one of the gr eat obstacles to achieving a harmonious, effective partnership during the Early Years Foundation Stage. We also have to take note of the other ways in which parents might be put off working with teachers and professionals within the context of the contemporary partnership approach to education and welfare provision. We should, for instance, bear in mind that many parents will naturally shy away from any involvement with any form of state and welfare services because of a previous history of neglect or incompetency. Some families and parents that have been involved in child protections proceedings, for example, are afraid of engaging in any kind of partnership approach to early years education because of the inherent possibility that their children could be taken away from them. A lack of trust on the part of some parents is therefore another major obstacle to attaining an effective relationship between the public and the private spheres. Furthermore, we must take due note of important social and cultural differences in contemporary multicultural society whereby diversity can negatively impact upon attempts at fostering an effective and harmonious partnership approach to education provision in the early years. Certain ethnic, racial and religious groups will not, for instance, be versed in the modern approach to child care provision championed in the vast majority of western post-industrial capitalist states and, as such, will not be prepared for the joint venture of learning and development that characterises the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum. There are also a number of related issues to consider involving single mothers whereby much of the language and rhetoric surrounding the education and welfare reforms of the past two decades have been shrouded in problems pertaining to gender inequalities and socio-economic differences. As a result of all of these inter-related factors, we have to acknowledge the impl ications of diversity and difference upon Early Years Professionals (EYP) who will be faced with a variety of social, economic, cultural and political obstacles to partnership at a practical level (Tedam, 2009:111-122). Although policy makers might assume that, in theory, professionals and parents ought to understand the need to work together in order to raise educational standards, in practice there remains a considerable divide between the school place and the home which is mirrored in the vast differences in society at large. Overcoming these obstacles cannot be achieved solely via recourse to policy and principles; rather, education professionals and parents need to be able to find a common ground so as to put into practice some of the ethics and ideals talked about at a settings and policy making level. Thus, improved communication between parents and professionals represents the greatest opportunity of the new partnership approach to education provision and it is towards such a scenario that we ought to now turn our attention before necessarily attempting to formulate a conclusion as to what this means for parents within the context of young childrens learning and development. Fostering Good Communication We have already noted the chasm that exists between theory and practice when it comes to implementing the reforms to Early Years policy enacted over the course of the past two decades with parents and professionals having to work together, bringing together two very separate spheres of the private and the public sectors. The crux of the problem consequently relates to a lack of communication between the two spheres with parents in particular being wholly unsure as to the new guidelines and principles which form the backbone of contemporary Early Years policy. It is, therefore, up to the Early Years Professionals to better equip parents with the requisite knowledge they need to assist their understanding of the deep-seated changes that have occurred to education and indeed the whole concept of welfare provision at the dawn of the twenty first century. This increasing emphasis upon good communication as a means of bridging the divide between Early Years Professionals and parents has been addressed in a number of recent policy documents published by the New Labour governments departments. For instance, one of the key documents for the training and professional development of teachers and Early Years Professionals is the Common Core Skills and Knowledge for the Childrens Workforce (Department for Education and Skills, 2005), which observes at the point of introduction the significance of effective communication and engagement with children, young people, their families and carers. (Tarr, 2009:102). As a consequence, it is clear that fostering good communication between teachers and parents serves to narrow the divide between the private and the public spheres (Beckley, Elvidge and Hendry, 2009:53-63). This has been proven in a number of independent studies and surveys undertaken in recent years. A developmental project undertaken at the Pen Green Centre in Corby, England, for example, found that increased dialogue between professionals and parents from the outset directly and positively impacts upon the learning and development of children in the Early Years. Positive communication related to childrens achievements and learning served to erode some of the barriers that exist between families, carers and education professionals. The results suggest that rich and challenging dialogue can develop when early years practitioners work collaboratively with children and families and when, given the opportunity, parents demonstrated a deeper and more extended interest about their children and became more equal and active partners. (Einarsdottir and Gardarsdottir, 2009:200) Thus, it is evident that, as we outlined in the above chapter, effective partnership between the home and the school place can occur where parents are willing to engage in such a collaborative developmental scenario. Furthermore, it is evident that parents will be more likely to engage in the partnership approach to Early Years education when the teachers and professionals make parents and families feel as if they are equal, active partners as opposed to pupils being taught how to bring their children up (Beckley, Elvidge and Hendry, 2009:53-63). Thus, it is also clear that good communication and effective dialogue between education professionals and teachers is the key to achieving this more effective, harmonious partnership where parents feel as if they are playing an active role in their childrens learning and development. It is, therefore, crucial that Early Years Professionals instigate a dialogue with parents and families from the very beginning of the relationship. In this way , the partnership approach to development and learning can become normalised and routine. More importantly, parents, carers and families will not feel as if teachers and Early Years education practitioners are encroaching upon their own sphere of influence. Thus, the key to creating a more effective partnership approach to Early Years education rests not in perpetually merging the private and the public spheres; rather, success within the context of partnership rests upon adopting a fresh perspective where teachers retain influence in the classroom, parents retain influence at the home and where both parties can meet in an open manner in the territory that exists between the two. With this in mind, we must now turn our attention towards reaching a conclusion as to the changing role of parents within the context of young childrens learning and development. Conclusion We have seen how a fresh approach to welfare provision in the contemporary era has telegraphed a completely new ideology of education based upon a partnership approach with a bottoms-up policy of integration and accountability being championed at both a policy making and local level. This, in turn, has had a clear and identifiable impact upon the role of the parents as educational enablers with the previously private sphere of the home being opened up to the same curriculum and policy making objectives that serve to shape the school place. In this way, the role of the parent has become merged with the role of the Early Years Professional with both parties being charged with improving standards by working together to positively influence the learning and development of preschoolers. There are, however, obvious obstacles to achieving a harmonious partnership between parents and Early Years education practitioners with the blurring of the boundaries between the public and the private spheres resulting in a discernible sense of paradox with regards to rights and responsibilities concerning the learning and development of young children. Parents and families still expect professionals to take care of the education of their young children while, conversely, teachers and practitioners are swamped within an avalanche of policy overkill that makes the day to day job of teaching increasingly difficult. Finding a lasting, durable common ground between these disparate spheres represents the greatest

Death is not to be Feared :: essays research papers

Could I possibly die tomorrow? In a week? Or do I still have many years ahead of me? These are some questions many people often ask themselves. The fear of death affects many individuals, but it certainly didn?t affect a philosopher by the name of Socrates. He argued that death is not to be feared and personally I both agree and disagree with him. Death, it surrounds us, it could be waiting for us at any corner, whether it is a car swerving out of control, a heart attack, or a nasty slip on ice, we tend to try not thinking about it too much, but it?s something unavoidable, something we all eventually come to. I believe that pretty much everyone dreads it in one way or another. I also believe that it is the unknown that many people really fear, the uncertainty of what comes next if anything. For most people there?s always the question of what comes after they die. Some believe that there?s a place reserved for them up in the sky and their life will continue, others think it leads to a state of peace and reconciliation. No one really knows, and that is what scares people that most. The uncertainty of it is truly nerve racking. They can theorize and think about it as much as they want but it is still an unknown event. Another reason that leads to a fear of death is the actual event of dying. It is because dying can involve a great deal of suffering and pain. Drowning, being burnt alive, and being strangled are the ways of dying that engage in an imaginable agonizing physical pain. I?m sure that anyone who has thought about death has also thought about how their own lives may come to an end. I personally wonder about how I will move on from this world, asking myself questions such as: ?will it hurt? or ?will it happen in my sleep No one wants to suffer and the thought of any kind of pain before dying is very frightening. Even though death is something extremely mysterious, maybe it?s not the death people fear, but dying unprepared. They become anxious because of the fact that there are so many things they wish to accomplish in their lives, so many things they haven?t done. I think this is where the fear of death can be even further coded into their minds. Death is not to be Feared :: essays research papers Could I possibly die tomorrow? In a week? Or do I still have many years ahead of me? These are some questions many people often ask themselves. The fear of death affects many individuals, but it certainly didn?t affect a philosopher by the name of Socrates. He argued that death is not to be feared and personally I both agree and disagree with him. Death, it surrounds us, it could be waiting for us at any corner, whether it is a car swerving out of control, a heart attack, or a nasty slip on ice, we tend to try not thinking about it too much, but it?s something unavoidable, something we all eventually come to. I believe that pretty much everyone dreads it in one way or another. I also believe that it is the unknown that many people really fear, the uncertainty of what comes next if anything. For most people there?s always the question of what comes after they die. Some believe that there?s a place reserved for them up in the sky and their life will continue, others think it leads to a state of peace and reconciliation. No one really knows, and that is what scares people that most. The uncertainty of it is truly nerve racking. They can theorize and think about it as much as they want but it is still an unknown event. Another reason that leads to a fear of death is the actual event of dying. It is because dying can involve a great deal of suffering and pain. Drowning, being burnt alive, and being strangled are the ways of dying that engage in an imaginable agonizing physical pain. I?m sure that anyone who has thought about death has also thought about how their own lives may come to an end. I personally wonder about how I will move on from this world, asking myself questions such as: ?will it hurt? or ?will it happen in my sleep No one wants to suffer and the thought of any kind of pain before dying is very frightening. Even though death is something extremely mysterious, maybe it?s not the death people fear, but dying unprepared. They become anxious because of the fact that there are so many things they wish to accomplish in their lives, so many things they haven?t done. I think this is where the fear of death can be even further coded into their minds.

The American Dream as Portrayed by Various Authors :: Essays on the American Dream

The American Dream can be traced to the Declaration of Independence which states that â€Å"all men are created equal, that they are endowed†¦with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness† (Jefferson). These doctrines are the foundation of the rights of all citizens in the United States. For over a century these ideas have drawn people from foreign shores to America, the land of opportunity, a place where dreams can be achieved. The very concept of the American dream is built upon the idea that whatever you dream can be made to happen because there are few government barriers place upon the citizens. It is deceptive in its name the American Dream; for that implies that there is one dream for all. In fact, the American Dream is very personal. It means different things to different people, but it is always inspirational. It is the dream of its own citizens; some here for generations while some may be new citizens. The conce pt that this country offers opportunities that can be obtained by anyone provides people with the ability to dream their own dreams. The American Dream can be a motivational fire, but if ne wished to not be burned, one must focus on building a balanced life of family, honest work and love. lf had finished feeling and thinking. The kiss of his memory made pictures of love and light against the wall. Here was peace. (20.12) Although there is a stereotypical American Dream, people personalize it to make it their own. The attainability of the stereotypical goal cannot be evaluated because of the variations of this dream. For instance, the most common version is the idea of rags to riches. When Arnold Schwarzenegger came â€Å"here with empty pockets, but full of dreams, full of determination, full of desire" (Schwarzenegger 27), he was fulfilling the dream of an immigrant. While making the Keynote Address at the Republican National Convention in 2004, he stated that he wanted and achieved, success, a career and a family, which he owes to America (27). The traditional concept of rags to riches is not always the foundation of some people's dreams. In the novel The Great Gatsby, Gatsby’s dream is to relive his fantasy with his idealized former lover. He uses the rags to riches portion of the American Dream as a means to an end. He spends his life trying to gain Daisy’s love and subsequently a higher social status.