Definition of Marine Biology

Marine Biology also refers to Biological Sciences or Biological Oceanography. Marine Science is the general term for research conducted in oceans and coastal or inland waters connected to the sea. This particular field is probably the best known to the public. Marine Biology deals with the study of micro and living organisms such as plants, animals, viruses, and bacteria in oceans, estuaries, and other bodies of salt water. In the feild of Marine Biology you plan, participate in, and administer research programs for government experiment stations such as private research centers, manufactoring irms, and medical service industries. Tools and equipment for this career includes lab animals, X-Ray and other lab equipment, computers, spectrophotometers, collections of specimens, and a Starting no later than high school, a Marine Biologist should obtain a solid education in as many basic sciences as possible including chemistry, physics, and biology. Mathematics is essential. Plane geometry, trigonometry, solid geometry, and two years of algebra are recommended. Good English is no less important, for both written and oral reports are a big part of Marine Biology. The tudy of a foreign language, especially French, German, or Russian should begin early. Degrees in this study are offered only to college graduate students. Most entry level jobs minimally require a Bachelors degree in a natural science from an accredited college or university. Doctoral degree holders face competition for independent research positions. Those with a Bachelors degree or Masters degree in biological sciences can expect better opportunities for nonresearch In order to be a Marine Biologist or in any line of work, you have to be really dedicated to your job. This is the job I have always wanted ever since I was a little girl. I always loved the water especially the ocean. I think there is so much to discover about it and there are so many marine animals yet to be revealed. If I ever do become a Marine Biologist I either want to work in the laboratory or work in the field. I think it would be interesting to travel to different parts of oceans and discover what kind of plants and animals hide beneath the deep blue waters. Laboratory technicians and testers can acquire more education experience. They can work their way up through research ositions and may reach administrative posts in government or industry. As a rule, high paying postions of prestige go to those with a Ph. D degree and a history of successful research. C. Earnings and Working Conditions Marine Biologists may work in a laboratory, classroom, museum and industrial setting, a botanical garden or zoo, or in a field. They may either work alone or with engineers, technicians, and other scientists at various stages of research or product development. Working conditions vary with the kind of work they do. Indoor work areas may be quiet, well lighted, and air-conditioned. Those who work in laboratories or industrial settings must keep work areas very clean. Ventilation systems generally provide protection from dust, fumes, and odors. Special precautions are taken to protect those scientists who work with infectuous creatures or poisonous chemicals. While working in the field some Marine Biologists travel to coral reefs in tropical seas and ocean waters in cooler climates having to work a The earnings of a Marine Biologist are complicated. Most of these researchers recieve a salary directly from an employer. They write roposals in order to have their research ideas funded by private and government agencies. The quality of their results often determines whether they recieve money for future efforts, and consequently, whether they work and for how long. The salaries of a Marine Biologist comes down to each persons education, experience, and At the present time the profession of Marine Biology is one of the least crowded of the science fields. There are only a few thousand Marine Biologists in research, with less than three thousand graduates working and teaching in the United States. Since there is a limited umber, opportunities in research are few and competition is stiff. It is said that by the year of 2006 employment in biological sciences will grow by 25. 1 percent, that is an increase of 20,000 positions. According to the 1990 Census, 48. 8 percent of this particular occupation were female, 5. 8 percent were black, and 3. 7 percent were Asian and Pacific Islanders. Employment opportunities will be good for scientists with advanced degrees. Those with lesser degrees may experience competition for available jobs in the future. Marine Scientits work in a surprising variety of disciplines. Some xamples are Archaeology which is the study of prehistoric and of ancient periods of history, based on the examination of their physical remains. Another is Anthropology which studies man both as an animal and as living in society , his origins, development, distribution, social habits, culture, etc. Sociology is the study of the origin, the history and the structure of the human society and its institutions. Engineering which is the science applying knowledge of the properties of matter and the natural sources of energy to the practical problems of industry, and other studies of human relationships with the sea. There are many advantages and disadvantages in becoming a Marine Biologis. If you do not like to work long hours or do hands on experiments than working a the field is not for you. An advantage to that is you can do indoor work, which would be in laboratories or classrooms. They are usually quiet and work with chemicals and radioactive substances. These are only a few of the advantages and disadvantages in the field of Marine Biology. The services have about 500 scientists. On an average they need 30 new life scientists each year. Newly comissioned life scientists are ormally assigned to a lab, while they conduct research under the direction of more experienced scientists. Summer and part-time employment may be available in industry, college programs in biological science or projects museums, zoos, and other institutions employing Biological Scientists. The Department of Agriculture participates in the cooperative education program, a federally sponsored program provideing work experiences and income. There are a variety of School to Work opportunities which include: informal apprenticeships, mentorships, job shadowing experiences or touring a local biological scientist.

Psychosis Portrayed in the Media

Impact of Media’s Portrayal of Psychotic Illness on Viewers Introduction Psychotic disorders are the more serious form of mental illness, particularly schizophrenia. Many multidimensional factors have contributed to the social stigma of psychotic mental illness, deeming it a social problem. According to Landsberg and Rock (2010), stigma and discrimination impacts policy and program response to the issue, causing limitations on our financing. As a result, there is a deficiency of resources provided by macro and micro level systems for individuals battling with the illness despite a recent shift in society’s perception. Programs such as National Alliance for the Mentally Ill and the Recovery Movement have been trying to increase public understanding of the illness, advocate for government resources, and emphasize supportive networks such as family, friends, and mental health providers (Hertz, 2010). Unfortunately, the complexity of this illness and lack of thorough understanding continues to reinforce and sustain the stigma. Additionally, individuals discharged into the community from institutions have not been well supported by micro-level services. As a result, many commit crimes and end up in jail. Landsberg and Rock (2010) found that many seriously mentally ill patients are in nursing homes, homeless shelters, and jails because of unmet needs. Community mental health centers have more patients than staff can handle (Hertz, 2010). In spite of various attempts, the mental health system is comprised of programs that â€Å"don’t work†, leaving many seriously ill individuals without proper care (Landsberg and Rock, 2010, pg. 258). These wide ranges of factors contribute to viewing serious mental illness as a social problem that is stigmatized as well. In terms of social stigma, there are several misconceptions. Hertz (2010) found that the public misperceives people with psychotic illness as homicidal. The truth of research indicates that these individuals are more frequently victims of crime perpetrated by others, or, tragically, by their own hands (Hertz, 2010). Unfortunately, the daunting ways in which symptoms may manifest prevent people from establishing any positive associations with such illness. The media portrays psychotic disorders through different perspectives, ultimately sending mixed messages to audiences about the nature and prospects of the illness. Landsberg and Rock (2010) stated that movies often picture the mentally ill as violent, negatively affecting our society’s willingness to enact needed changes and fund programs. The movies A Beautiful Mind, K-PAX, and The Soloist each portray a character living with a psychotic disorder, particularly Schizophrenia, who also demonstrates strength and resilience in their struggles. The intent of this paper is to discuss characteristics of psychotic illness, critically analyze these movies and their message to audiences, and assess accuracy within their portrayals. Brief History of Mental Illness as a Social Problem There are conflicting ideologies in terms of how to approach serious mental illness in the United States. While some adopt a â€Å"survival of the fittest† perspective and believe affected individuals shouldn’t receive assistance, others act as committed advocates for programs to service them. When looking at the recent history of mental health, several attempts at revolutionizing systems were made, and always seem to only partially work. As a result, more systems that partially work were created. The 1950’s through the 1970’s emphasized inpatient hospitalization for psychotic patients without much chance for their self-determination and self-empowerment. Solutions were very problem-focused, and patients received their treatment of insulin shock therapy. Socially, there seemed to be more emphasis on regarding anyone with a psychotic illness as â€Å"crazy†, and therefore someone to stay away from. The deinstitutionalization movement in the 1970’s and the creation of managed care was an attempt to steer away from â€Å"putting people away†. As a result, many hospitals were shut down. The problem with this system was the lack of funds allocated towards community-based services. Now that the patient’s length of stay at hospitals significantly decreased, patients have been discharged into the streets, and left to their own devices. While many have been receiving adequate services, many are not receiving proper care and result in committing crimes, engaging in other illegal activity, becoming homeless, or just functioning on a very low level. Hertz (2010) stated that the waiting lists for residual programs for the chronically mentally ill are months, if not years long. This implies the staggering amount of people not receiving proper aftercare. A true solution is yet to be discovered. Background on Psychotic Disorders with an Emphasis on Schizophrenia Schizophrenia is currently affecting nearly 2. 5 million people living in the United States, and 29 million people worldwide (Hertz, 2010). The typical beginning of this illness is during adolescence or early adulthood. Hertz (2010) reported that the onset can be gradual, starting with odd beliefs and mannerisms, while other onsets are acute with a sudden psychotic break. These research findings imply the complexity in how symptoms manifest, and pose a challenge for practitioners to pinpoint and potentially diagnosis. There exists a social misconception regarding psychotic disorders. Psychotic symptoms may appear in disorders other than Schizophrenia, and the presence of psychotic symptoms doesn’t necessarily indicate diagnosis of Schizophrenia. Hertz (2010) stated that withdrawal from reality marks psychosis, containing two major symptoms: delusions and hallucinations. Schizophrenia is particularly characterized as a thought disorder which builds on these symptoms to include impaired cognitive functioning such as â€Å"loose associations of ideas/thoughts and disturbance of affect† (Hertz, 2010, p. 285). There are several types of schizophrenia, and is defined by positive and negative symptoms which indicate the existence or deficiency of functioning. Hepworth, Rooney, and Larsen (2010) found that positive symptoms include delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and catatonic behavior. According to Hepworth, Rooney, and Larsen (2010), negative symptoms include flattened affect, restricted speech, and limited initiation of goal-directed behavior. The causes of psychotic disorders are ultimately unknown, and many different theories emphasize different contributing factors. According to Hertz (2010), genetics, heredity, and neuro chemistry determine varying degrees of predisposition to developing psychosis. This research finding implies that environmental and social stressors play a role as well. A Beautiful Mind John Nash is the main character in A Beautiful Mind who is predominantly battling with the paranoid subtype of schizophrenia. The movie follows the life of mathematician John Nash who is responsible for creating several ingenious theories such as game theory still used in economics today. He attended Ivy League Princeton University in the 1940’s after which he became a calculus professor at MIT five years later. Falling in love with one of his students, Mr. John Nash started a family and continued working on theories and concepts as a product of his mastermind. Gradually throughout the course of Mr. Nash’s academic and intellectual achievements, the movie directed attention to the display and effect of his psychotic illness. Several aspects of Mr. Nash’s psychotic symptoms were portrayed through different characters and plot points. His college roommate Charles, Charles’s niece Marcee, and Department of Defense agent William Parcher were three characters that were eventually revealed as part of his visual and auditory hallucinations. Agent Parcher also marked Mr. Nash’s delusional thinking when he invited him to crack a special code of their enemy at the Pentagon. Throughout the movie, viewers periodically see Mr. Nash involved with Parcher in various assignments that appeared prestigious and extremely intellectual. In the beginning of the movie, Charles’s character was designed for audiences to believe he was real, given the strong and realistic friendship that transpired between him and Mr. Nash. However, as the years went by and Marcee stayed the same age, Mr. Nash realized she was a figment of his imagination. Mr. Nash’s delusions have put his family in danger on numerous occasions. He nearly allowed his son to drown while bathing him, and accidentally knocked his wife Alicia over when agent Parcher told him to kill her. After Alicia had enough of his behavior, she called the psychiatric hospital where he was admitted to receive insulin shock therapy, a common treatment for psychosis in the 1950’s. After agreeing to take anti-psychotic medications, Mr. Nash was released from the hospital. Unfortunately, he ended up stockpiling the medication without aking them, resulting in relapse of his psychotic symptoms. Lesser and Pope (2010) stated that psychotropic medications are effective in ceasing or reducing psychotic symptoms but often have unpleasant side effects. Mr. Nash’s detrimental side effects included reduction in intellectual abilities, and impairments to his relationship with his wife. Ultimately, Mr. Nash has learned to manage his symptoms and live with his illn ess. The message this movie hopefully sends out to viewers is that serious mental illness can affect bright and well educated people, and that recovery is possible. Moreover, the movie encourages viewers to realize that even individuals with serious mental illness can excel in certain areas of life, if not reaching levels of genius. While the media, as previously stated, typically portrays individuals with mental illness as violent antagonists, Mr. Nash is portrayed as a protagonist despite his mild violence during psychotic episodes. Viewers likely feel compassion for him and want to see him win his battles. The movie accurately portrayed environmental stressors that may cause unpredictable emotional breakdowns. Mr. Nash’s character was portrayed as getting frustrated and angry when he thought he couldn’t fulfill the duties agent Parcher has assigned him. He was worried that the Russians are after him, and felt pressure to crack the code that never existed. Moreover, when he was admitted to the hospital, he perceived doctors to be Russian spies, a reasonable portrayal of paranoid schizophrenia. Luckily, Mr. Nash trained himself to transcend his symptoms by acknowledging, followed by ignoring, their existence. While it has been stated that the real John Nash only experienced auditory hallucinations, A Beautiful Mind seemed to incorporate visual hallucinations for entertainment purposes, inaccurately portraying and exaggerating Mr. Nash’s illness. However, accuracy was shown through the many psychotic breakdowns Mr. Nash experienced, demonstrating emotional and physical breakdowns. Although he put his wife and child in danger on numerous occasions, Alicia served as his main support system. Hertz (2010) stated that supportive networks are a critical variable in determining the quality of life of people with Schizophrenia. In fact, it is arguable that in this movie, Mr. Nash demonstrated more resilience and strength than is realistically common in the United States for people with psychotic illness. Not everyone has access to the kind of support he did given his prestigious status as a mathematician. Additionally, he had the support of his loving wife who never abandoned him and seemed to be the main source of his resilience. K-PAX Prot is the main character in K-PAX who demonstrates delusional thinking as part of his psychosis. As previously discussed, he didn’t necessarily have Schizophrenia. Prot was admitted to the hospital after claiming to be an alien from a planet called K-PAX. As psychiatrist Mark Powell begins to treat Prot, he learns of his excelling intellect in the subject of astronomy. Stunned by this wisdom, Mark introduced Prot to some astro-physicists who were puzzled by his recollection of traveling from a different planet by a means of light travel. Prot and Mike’s relationship grew stronger with each treatment session, and Prot revealed his knowledge of life on planet K-PAX. Prot also had a positive influence on other patients in the hospital who believed he was from a different planet. Prot began to display erratic emotional breakdowns that were indicative of his psychosis. He had an episode during some of his sessions with Mark, as well as in front of Mike’s family when he was invited over for dinner. Prot began to repeatedly mention that he is going back to planet K-PAX on July 27th. Mark started to make connections between what triggers lead to Prot’s hysteria. Additionally, he used regressive hypnosis to discover the significance of the date July 27th, suspecting he suffered from significant loss. He learned that Prot has attempted suicide after his family was killed on July 27th. When that date finally came, Prot was found catatonic, and the ending of the movie was open to interpretation. This movie sends several messages to viewers. One of them includes the strong impact trauma may have on individuals. Prot attempted suicide without success after his family was killed, marking the onset of his delusions. Hertz (2010) found that suicide attempts are a common and often overlooked occurrence within psychotic symptoms, and often occur during the first psychotic episode when the individual feels bewildered and out of control. His feelings of bewilderment were likely caused by seeing his family get killed, a realistic reaction to such a tragic occurrence. K-PAX hopefully teaches audiences to realize that many of the severely mentally ill individuals could have experienced significant loss in their lives that was out of their control, leading to their illness. There was nothing substantial provided in the beginning of the movie which aroused sympathy for Prot’s character. It is arguable that audiences could have perceived all his discussions about travelling from another planet as him â€Å"joking† around with authorities. He wore black sunglasses, and seriously spoke about life on another planet. However, as the movie showed several emotional breakdowns, it was evident that he has experienced significant psychological trauma of loss. Hertz (2010) stated that psychotic symptoms are often triggered by a significant loss, and environmental stressors can trigger neuro chemical events in the brain. The movie accurately portrayed the concept of surrounding triggers. For instance, Prot was reminded of the tragedy when the sprinklers came on at Mike’s house, causing flashbacks of his trauma. Assessing accuracy of his intense reaction is difficult, for, each individual reacts to triggers to varying degrees. His particular reaction involved crying and an appearance of deep sadness. The Soloist Nathaniel Ayres is the main character in The Soloist who is portrayed to struggle with Paranoid Schizophrenia as his psychotic disorder. The movie follows the life of Anthony Ayres, a man who became homeless as a result of his illness. Journalist Steve Lopez was desperately seeking material for a story to meet a deadline. One day he heard someone playing the cello so beautifully that he felt compelled to follow the music. As a result, he met a homeless man named Nathaniel who claimed to have attended Julliard for his musical talents. Steve tested his word by calling the school, only to find out that Nathaniel has indeed attended Julliard, but has dropped out after his second year. Steve ended up writing his story on Nathaniel. As their friendship progressed, Steve became more interested in Nathaniel’s safety, and wanted him to receive treatment. Flashbacks to the onset of Nathaniel’s Schizophrenia were portrayed to answer Steve’s questions as to why he is no longer in Julliard and living in a shelter. In response to the published story, readers responded with sympathy, and one woman even sent Nathaniel a Cello. Eventually, Steve convinced Nathaniel to perform in front of an audience which triggered his auditory hallucinations. The end of the movie displayed Nathaniel continuing to struggle with his illness, but no longer living in a shelter, marking progress. His friendship with Steve and his music seem to help manage his symptoms, according to psychiatrists Steve has consulted with. In addition to serious mental illness, The Soloist portrays another social problem that is stigmatized: homelessness. Hertz (2010) estimated that 60% of people with schizophrenia live in poverty, and 1 in 20 ends up homeless. The movie portrays Nathaniel as someone who has been exposed to treatments such as medications and shock therapy, and doesn’t want anything to do with them. It seemed as though he felt he belonged in a shelter as opposed to an apartment where his symptoms emerge. The message of this film is for audiences to realize that homeless people aren’t necessarily â€Å"lazy†, or â€Å"can’t get a job†. Conversely, they may have suffered from symptoms which inevitably led to that lifestyle. Through flashbacks, Nathaniel was portrayed as a productive and gifted member of society who attended a prestigious musical institution, and tried to start his young adult life living in an apartment. Unfortunately, he was overpowered by his auditory hallucinations, making him paranoid and scared. Hopefully audiences will reorient their mentality and not disregard homeless individuals as those that haven’t worked hard enough to attain a job and a place to live. Some of them have truly been overpowered by persistent mental illness. In terms of accuracy, The Soloist fairly portrayed the possible impact of stressors in the environment that trigger psychotic episodes. For Nathaniel, the pressure of performing well in front of an audience triggered â€Å"voices† which led him to run away. Additionally, unless an individual is medicated, it is rare for psychotic symptoms to not emerge. In the movie, Nathaniel was not receiving treatment at the time he became friends with Steve, and it was shown through his inability to have coherent conversations with him. Furthermore, he was unable to hold on to an apartment, and even felt comforted by the city street noises. His physical appearance was also unkempt and very colorful, reasonably displaying what someone with this disorder could potentially look like. Comparisons and Contrasts between Films There are several similarities and differences in the way media portrayed these characters suffering from serious mental illness. While the etiology, symptoms, and course of their disorders slightly differed, they all share a strong support system which provided them self-determination and potential for growth, similar to the goals of the Recovery Movement. Hertz (2010) stated that the presence of someone who believes in their recovery increase recovery rates. Mr. John Nash had the privilege of a supportive wife. Realistically, it may be an exception that an affected individual is a coveted professor with a family by his side assisting his struggles. Prot developed a relationship with his Psychiatrist. It is rare, if not unethical, for a patient’s psychiatrist to invite them into their home and introduce them to family members. More importantly, it seems rare for a psychiatrist to invest so much emotional effort into one particular case, especially one that is middle aged and has been in the practice for so long. Nathaniel formed a strong friendship with journalist Steve Lopez. Most severely mentally ill homeless individuals are not â€Å"discovered† by someone who decides to believe in them; most, as previously discussed, are underserved and not receiving proper treatment and care. While the storylines were touching and enlightening, they are very rare. These situations seem to be an exception rather than the rule, making the character portrayals inaccurate in terms of exaggerating the levels of support. Another important similarity accurately portraying psychotic disorders is the fact that there is no known cure. None of the characters were â€Å"cured† by the end of the movie, but rather found their own ways of coping with symptoms. The ultimate message was moderately accurate when showing psychotic mental illness; every single case should be viewed individually despite the one set of guidelines for diagnosis provided in the DSM-IV. Research has been clear about one thing: psychotic disorders remain etiologically perplexing and challenging to treat (Hertz, 2010). As a result, it is fairly easy for media to â€Å"play around† with psychotic illness through characters, since there is ultimately no absolute truth to reference, and thereby deem â€Å"inaccurate†. Since symptoms are a product of the person’s psyche, there seem to be no limits as to how creative psychotic symptoms and reactions may become. Interestingly, all three characters in the films are men. Research found that more men than women are given the diagnosis of a psychotic disorder (Hertz, 2010). Also, each movie emphasizes a different aspect of psychotic illness. A Beautiful Mind focuses on illness affecting a genius mind; K-PAX signifies the impact of a traumatic loss, and The Soloist show how symptoms can lead to homelessness. Conclusion According to Lesser and Pope (2010), psychiatry critic Thomas Szasz believed that the diagnosis of psychiatric illnesses was socially constructed, vary culture to culture, and is society’s way of labeling individuals when their behavior breaks social rules. Nonetheless, the use of the DSM system prevails in the United States, and many individuals â€Å"labeled† under its guidelines are in need of services, reinforcing mental illness as a social problem. The deinstitutionalization movement in the 1970’s as an attempt to serve the severely mentally ill has created a new array of social problems given the lack of funding anticipated for these goals. Hertz (2010) presented that the sickest people in our society are â€Å"lost in the cracks† as they are discharged from institutions to poor and inadequate aftercare. The media provides several portrayals of serious mental illness. The three movies chosen for discussion (A Beautiful Mind, K-PAX, and The Soloist) ultimately portray the strength and resilience possible even for the most seriously mentally ill individuals, when provided with emotional and social resources. Implicitly, hope is not lost, and Hertz (2010) proposed a solution to make a shift in our priorities: making a commitment to even the most disturbed members of our society. As demonstrated in the three films, two of which were based on real life people and events, individuals with even the most serious of mental illness can show strength and resilience. References Berzoff, J. , Melano Flanagan, L. , & Hertz, P. (2008). Chapter 13: The psychoses, with a special emphasis on schizophrenia (pp. 281-310). Inside out and outside in: Psychodynamic clinical theory and psychopathology in contemporary multicultural contexts (2nd ed. ). New York: Jason Aronson. Hepworth, D. , Rooney, R. & Larsen, J. 2010). Chapter 9: Assessment: Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, and Environmental Factors. (pp. 199-226). Direct social work practice: Theory and skills (8th ed. ). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole. Landsberg, G. , & Rock, M. (2010). Chapter 9: Mental Health. Social policy and social work: The context of social work practice. New York, NY: Pearson. Lesser, J. G. , & Pope, D. S. (2010). Chapter 17: Chronic illness and disability. (pp. 437-464). Human Behavior in the Social En vironment: Theory and Practice. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

SIDS: A Traumatic and Tragic Disease

SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) is a traumatic and tragic disease that affects thousands of babies throughout the world every year. There is no way of explaining the death of a child that has SIDS and there are no real ways of predicting if it could happen to any baby. What makes SIDS even worse is that the source of what exactly may be the cause of it is still unknown. Advanced research in the last 30 years has dramatically reduced the number of deaths. SIDS not only affects the infants but also the families of the infant and it proves to be a very tough and emotional experience for them. So what exactly is SIDS? The term SIDS was finally defined in 1969 as the sudden death of an infant or child, which is unexpected by history and in which a through post-mortem examination fails to demonstrate an adequate cause of death (Culbertson 3). Basically this is another way of saying that it is not known why these babies die. SIDS is not a new disease contrary to what some people might believe, but it has been happening throughout time, unexplained deaths of babies are even recorded in the bible. SIDS was probably the most neglected disease ever recorded in history of man. It wasn†t until recently that major steps were taken to figure out why babies were dying so unexpectedly and what could we do to prevent it from happening. So what exactly causes SIDS and is there anything we can do to prevent it? Well as of right now, the cause of SIDS is unknown. We do not know what causes SIDS and there are no consistent warning signs that might alert us to the risk of it. However, scientists and researchers have discovered many things that might attribute to the causes of SIDS. SIDS almost always occurs at night when the infant is sleeping. A higher incidence of SIDS is seen among premature and low birth weight children. Women who smoke and let their children be exposed to smoke give their children a higher risk of SIDS. Low birth rates among children have a higher chance of getting SIDS. Finally there is a much higher rate of SIDS when infants are placed on their stomach to sleep. (Culbertson, 8-10) One of the biggest recommendations physicians make to new parents today is to let their babies sleep on their back. Putting them on their back greatly decreases the risk of SIDS to their children. These are just some of the things that have been THEORIZED by scientists and researchers that are possibilities that could be attributing factors to SIDS. But of course these are all theories that have been developed by researchers by statistics. Statistics is one of the greatest tools we have today to help us learn about the characteristics of SIDS. Since we don†t know what it is, seeing how it works and what things we can do to help slow it down are obviously good. Throughout history, before SIDS was defined, the accepted explanation was that either the baby choked on itself or was rolled on by the parents during sleep. Possibly an accepted answer due to the lack of knowledge in the past but know we know that most of the time they were wrong. Since there is no cure for SIDS, scientists and researchers have been studying new ways of possibly preventing it from happening to infants. New nursing techniques developed over the last 30 years have actually dramatically reduced the number of infant deaths caused by SIDS. But still we must not forget the fact we still don†t know what causes SIDS itself. That is what makes this so terrible, that researchers have all these techniques to help prevent SIDS but we still don†t know what we are preventing. Death by SIDS leaves a traumatic and terrible effect left on the parents and family members. A SIDS death usually promotes intense emotional reactions among surviving family members. After the initial shock and disbelief, parents often fall into a prolonged depression usually of self-denial about if they killed their baby. This depression can affect their sleeping, eating, ability to concentrate, and general energy level. (Culbertson 190-193) Crying, weeping, incessant talking, and strong feelings of guilt or anger are all normal reactions. Many parents experience unreasonable fears that they or someone in their family is in danger. Over protection of surviving children and fears for future children is a common reaction. As the finality of the child†s death becomes a reality for the parents, recovery finally occurs. Birthdays, holidays, anniversaries often trigger painful memories of the loss (Culbertson, 186-188). Children can also be affected by the loss. Many children may develop a fear that they themselves might die. In many cases children will also feel guilty about the death feeling that possibly it was their fault. However, children may deny being upset and try to hide their emotions which is a reason why most parents have to talk with their children and assure them it is not going to happen to them. (Culbertson,190-193) One of the true bright spots about the fight against SIDS is that in the last 20 years, deaths caused by SIDS have dropped dramatically in the United States and the rest of the world. Currently the average in the world among SIDS deaths is between 0. 5-3. 0 deaths per thousand (Culbertson,11). When comparing to that when it was first studied at about an average of 15-20 deaths per thousand(Bergman,10-11), a major improvement has been seen. However, though it isn†t that high of a number, it still accounts for 20 percent of all deaths between the ages of one month and one year and 95 percent of that between 2 months and 4 months. Guntheroth,70-73). It is important to point out that most all statistics of SIDS come from developed countries, countries that have the money to perform autopsies on infants. We can only assume that in undeveloped countries, which have a very high infant mortality rate to begin with, the presence of SIDS is there and probably have a much higher rate than in developed countries because throughout the world, SIDS rates are very constant with one another wherever studies have and can be conducted. SIDS ranks only second to injuries as the greatest cause of death to children who are less than 15 years of age and it takes more lives than leukemia, heart disease, cystic fibrosis, and muscular dystrophy in that age period. ( Bergman, xi). So in conclusion to all of this, there still is very little information on what exactly causes SIDS. Unlike other diseases, which we know the cause of, SIDS is the one that we don†t have any knowledge on what the source is that causes it. One of the most important statements but disheartening is that SIDS is a â€Å"disease of theories†(Bergman, 12). Everything we know, all the information that is produced and published is all just a theory because we don†t even know what happened and what caused the death. So where do we go from here? What can be done to stop this terrible disease? Who knows. All we can do is sit back and hope someone†s â€Å"theory† is the right one and be thankful that this disease only affects 1-3 infants per thousand born. There are so many questions but not nearly enough answers and until that day we can only do what the experts tell us to do and hopefully the SIDS disease will almost become non-existent.

The impact of technology on today's lifestyle Essay

The impact of technology on today's lifestyle - Essay Example Moreover, a sociological increase into the way in which technology has shifted interpersonal dynamics, relationships, and communication has been conducted by a variety of researchers and convincingly pointed to the fact that the current era of texting, instant messaging, Facebook et al has significantly decreased the amount of time that individuals spend in face-to-face communication and has moved society convincingly towards something of a more introverted nature. Although introversion in and of itself is not necessarily a poor character trait, it must be noted that the overuse and reliance upon these technological tools which have already been discussed has created a dynamic by which formerly extroverted individuals are merely introverted and carrying out a great deal of interpersonal communication that one might otherwise carry out face-to-face via the Internet or other technologically enabled means. However, communication is not the only thing that suffers from an overdependence upon technology. As will be discussed next, memory recall and the perennial knowledge that any and all information can be readily retrieved has created a situation in which memory and the ability to recall tidbits of information are placed at a much lower premium than they might have been in an era in which the likes of Google or other prominent technological means by which data can be retrieved had existed. As can be seen, there is something to be said for the amount of memory recall that individual can possess and leverage as a means of readily interjecting key understandings and tidbits of fact, data, and history into conversations and pertinent situations. However, with an overdependence upon technology has, situation in which individuals have placed this premium of memory and recall far down on the list of priorities; choosing instead to merely

Three Ways That Create Value for a Firm Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Three Ways That Create Value for a Firm - Essay Example It is not merely identifying a product but as Durkin (1997) states innovative firms make investments in knowledge to develop new products which give them a monopoly in the international market. The second contention is on the resource-based theory (RBT) of the firm where rare and valuable resources give it a sustainable competitive advantage (Peteraf & Wernerfelt cited by Bowman & Ambrosini, 2000) while the third approach states that firms should be able to seize opportunities faster than other firms and gain value. The first approach pertains to product and industry innovation while the third concentrates on strategy innovation. The knowledge development in the first approach again would imply investments in resources – technical or human. Hence, all three approaches are not independent of each other although each has its own distinctive features. The positional approach is also based on Porter’s theory of five competitive forces which determine the firm’s profitability and attractiveness (Porter, 1985). The journal does not specify whether the industry and value of such firms relate to competitiveness in their own nation or the nation where products have been marketed. Pharmaceutical industries operate globally and hence this aspect is not clear whereas Porter insists that competitiveness and productivity pertain to national productivity, which should enhance the value of the firm in the nation in which it operates (Davies & Ellis, 2000). Resources can be defined as anything that gives advantage or disadvantage to the firm. (Mills et al, 2003). The support theory of Johnson et al (2005) divides the resources as threshold resources and unique resources, where threshold resource satisfies customer’s minimum requirements and unique resources contribute to competitive advantage and make it difficult for the competitor to copy the value. A successful business needs to secure the resources according to Scott et al (2005) which the journal specifies

The impact of firm resources and host country specific factors on Dissertation - 1

The impact of firm resources and host country specific factors on international entry mode strategy - Dissertation Example Data Gathering Instrument 62 List of Tables List of Figures Chapter 1: Introduction This study aims to determine the factors that influence the choice of entry modes that U.K firms may explore in their effort to establish a presence in a foreign market. Such factors shall pertain to either firm specific or country specific resources and attributes which exert an influence over the eventual choice of a mode of entry of a multinational firm into the host country. During the third quarter of the twentieth century, globalisation was considered a largely political issue, with implications concerning foreign dominance and power wielded by rich, developed nations over the developing and underdeveloped Third World countries. As a consequence, the globalisation commitment entered into by countries in multilateral agreements was met with slow progress and considerable suspicion by political and civic groups. Businessmen were quick to see the advantages, however, of gaining access to new market s opening up across borders. In deciding upon entering a foreign market, a firm takes on considerable risks, but foresees that there is an opportunity to earn considerable returns as well. It will therefore base its decision on whether or not there is a favourable trade-off between risks and returns – that is, whether the chances of earning returns significantly higher than it would in the local market would exceed the risks that it may be facing. This is the crux of the normative decision theory. On the other hand, behavioural theory suggests that a firm may also consider entry into foreign markets depending on the trade-off between the relative availability of resources in the targeted site compared with the home site, as against the degree of control that may be exercised, which is... The paper tells that in an era of expanding globalization, tastes and preferences of people in different countries and cultures have converged, due to many factors most prominent of which is the increased flow of electronic communications by which people across borders are able to exchange information and socially interact with one another. As a result, the fashion clothing industry has been rapidly expanding across the globe, with the development of brand loyalty and affinity playing a large part in the economic success of certain brands. Fashion clothing companies, in an effort to penetrate new markets and, in some cases, explore new, less costly sources of factors of production, contemplate cross-border expansion. The problem with such a strategy is that there is no one fixed approach to entering another market. Each situation is approached in its own context, because of the unique set of issues relating to each location’s political, economic, social, technical, legal, and environmental circumstances. The particular competencies and resources of the business also work to influence the feasibility of the company’s entry into a foreign market. It is thus possible for a company to select and control the conditions of its entry into other countries, such that it may develop channels of distribution with varying degrees of commitment and exposure. Three companies in particular – Marks & Spencer, Burberry, and Next – have pursued aggressive expansion strategies in foreign markets.

Emirates Airways Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Emirates Airways - Essay Example The company also has advantages gained from operating from Dubai since the employees pay is not taxed. The company invests heavily in the training of its workers and it was the first airline to launch a flight simulation course for its cabin crew. The training the employees receive also assists in building the customers experience on board the planes and also the employee’s future job marketability. Due to the cosmopolitan nature of the 48,000 employees as well as the global aspect of its operations, the company has consistently insisted on a non-unionization policy though this is still under further deliberation (Emirates, 2012). Planet Emirates airlines have led from the front where environmental responsiveness is concerned. Recognizing that the airline industry is responsible for over 2% of the global carbon emissions, the airline launched it ‘Environment’ program in August 2008 to streamline the green operations of its worldwide services. This program has been successful so far with new planes being sourced from eco-efficient companies and the first of these was an Airbus A380 (GreenAir, 2011). The staff has been trained in eco-efficiency with vibrant awareness campaigns and ambitious internal targets which have helped cut internal energy wastage and consumption by 37% in the past three years. The employees have been trained on measures aimed at increased waste recycling. The company boasts of starting is environmental responsiveness and sustainability measures well before it became a norm when in 1997, they sponsored the Dubai Desert Conservation reserve (Emirates, 2010). Apart from internal measure s, the company also sponsors many events and initiatives worldwide that are aimed at environmental conservation such as the Wolgan resort in Australia. Inside an Emirates plane, one will encounter one of the most eco-friendly kitchens with paper recycled being over 110 tons (GreenAir, 2011). The planes adopt navigational techniques that help minimize emissions and fuel usage as well as prevent time wastage. The Profit According to the company’s financial report (2013), the company has been consistently delivering a profit for 25years and its operations have been growing year in year out. In the 2012/2013 year the company reported an operating profit growth of 56.6%. The owner attributed profit grew by 52% to peak at AED 2,283 Million. This was against a backdrop of increased fuel costs as well as persistent pressures on the revenues. The crises in the Middle East, the volatile major currency exchange rates, as well as a weakened environment economically were other factors tha t threatened the company’s profitability. The company managed to grow the funds of its shareholders by 3.2% to stand at 10.4%. The stakeholders Emirates airline is the world’s largest air cargo carrier in terms of weight (Hagey, 2009). The

Bowling alley Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Bowling alley - Research Paper Example My aim in this paper is to bring out clearly the reasons why the construction should be carried, using geology/ soil and the water system of the specific place, 70 Greenwood roads, Marlboro NJ 07751 Block 122 Lot 39, to defend my opinion To achieve the above goal I have organized my paper into sections in which the first section, I have given the Environmental Impact Analysis of the specific place in relation to Geology/ soil, and the in the second section I have discussed the water system of the place pertaining to the aquifer of the water system. I have then concluded my paper with a final section that discusses the overall summary of why I think the team trying to deny the construction of the alley is bad. So let start with the Environmental Impact Analysis of the place. Geology/ soil First before looking into why the soil or rather the geology of the place supports the construction of the alley, it is very prudent to define the two key words, that is the geology and soil of a pla ce. Soil: soils are the results of weathering, mechanical disintegration, and chemical decomposition of the parent material. The products of weathering may have the same composition as the parent material, or they may be new minerals that have resulted from the action of water, carbon dioxide, and organic acids with minerals comprising the parent material. Geology: geology can be defined as the scientific study is which comprises the study of the solid rocks and the solid Earth, these rocks of that it are composed, and the various processes by with which the solid rocks change. Generally speaking, geology can be considered as the scientific study of the surface of almost all the celestial bodies, such as the geology of the mars and the geology of the moon. So, why is the geology or the soil for that matter very important before the construction of a building anything for this case a bowling alley? Well below is a list of the soils conditions, types, present in the place that support s the construction of the alley. GEOLOGY/ SOILS Following an analysis of the geology/ soils and the seismic hazards is founded primarily on a technical report by the Geotechnical Engineering Investigation of the Proposed five lane bowling alley. 1. The ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS a. Appropriate Physical Setting (1) Geologic Conditions In 70 Greenwood roads, Marlboro NJ 07751 Block 122 Lot 39, which is the project site is comparatively very level with an entire change in the grade of around 33 feet, west to east something that is less than 30% grade. An average elevation of the area is very roughly 740 feet almost above the mean sea level. The Immediate head-to-head properties, are usually characterized by the similar shapes and the elevations. 70 Greenwood roads, Marlboro is underlain by the Pleistocene and Holocene alluvium that had been deposited in the Valley next to the place, the structural basin that is surrounded by the mountains on the entire four sides. This alluvium can be es timated as being numerous hundred feet thicker. The deposits are usually very fine grained that consists of mixtures of silt,

Current Event Article 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Current Event Article 4 - Essay Example Generally, the economic decline in Jamaica is because of the unbalanced tax burdens, insubstantial ineffectual compliance structures and the escalating size of the informal sector. This trend has led the need for Jamaican government officials to develop ways to pinpoint, scrutinize, tax, and impose amenability on individuals and business working in the informal sector. The netted tax revenue from the unexploited tax base would not only contribute to Jamaica’s GDP but also alleviate poverty and improve the living standards of citizens. I think this article is important in accessing the challenges facing Jamaica and how these challenges can be solved. The current state of Jamaican informal economy requires fresh reforms to exploit the informal sector as a resource to the government. Principally instead of giving incentives and subsidies to foreign investors, theJamaican government should bestow them on local workers to boost their confidence in the tax authorities and tax system. The Government of the Jamaica can achieve these goals through fair tax imposition on all businesses, tax reduction rates, tax improvement compliance and enhancement of social platforms on overlooked areas. Once the citizens realize that the taxes are useful to their communities, this will ultimately expedite voluntary compliance and bring about economic growth. Ideally, tax reform is a challenging task to undertake and this could lead to withdrawal of foreign investors from Jamaica. The informal sector can underwrite economic growth in Jamaica if they have substantial incentives to join up the formal

PROTOTYPES IN THE GRAPHIC DESIGN PROCESS Research Paper

PROTOTYPES IN THE GRAPHIC DESIGN PROCESS - Research Paper Example It is their use that is referred to as prototyping. Through prototyping, which is a method of generating possible solutions and subsequent evaluation of the effectiveness of the solution in solving a problem, designers can make solutions before analysis. The discussion that follows under is all about the importance of prototyping to designers and their roles in the creation of prototypes which are fully functional for the ever-changing user interfaces. Graphic design regularly alludes to both the procedure of designing by which the correspondence is made and the results of designs which are produced. Graphic designers likewise receive arrangement based procedures by first creating potential arrangements. They then check to what degree the produced contemplations can take care of the issue. This strategy is known as prototyping. The idea of rapid prototyping as it applies to the graphic design process, is to create learning experience in a design assessment cycle that proceeds for the duration of the life of the relevant project. This cycle, which is well known as the spiral cycle or layered methodology, is thought to be iterative, implying that items are persistently enhanced as this cycle in the rapid prototyping proceeds (Danis et al. 2000, p. 17). The rapid prototyping gives the designer to start with the low fidelity such as a paper and a pen, then advances to a higher fidelity prototype. There are two types of prototypes that can be developed, that is, the vertical prototypes with less features on the screen and the horizontal prototypes with the whole screen having no underlying functionality. The prototype has got a good number of profits which includes; a prototype allows th e designer to make a more exact finished item. It provides for him or her capacity to apply finish control over discriminating design points of interest,

The way America is a dominant force Essay Example for Free

The way America is a dominant force Essay In terms of national identity, identify and analyse some of the roles television plays in the processes of globalization and identity formation. Discuss with reference to at least two British TV programs. In this essay I will be looking at the way television has an impact on the way has an affect on the way globalization, culture and identity is formed. To look at this I will be looking at the way America is a dominant force when it comes to marketing there shows to other countries and the way British shows have difficulty being accepted and also how British shows manage to create an identity through they way they act. American sitcoms have been a constant success in this country with such successful imports such as Friends, Seinfeld and Frasier, but what is the reason for there success in this country, looking at globalization, culture and politics I hope to discover why this is. First I will be looking at what globalization is and how this affects the way different programs from around the world are received, I will look at the differences in culture between not just the UK and America but various other countries that there shows are exported to. What is globalization in television? Since the 1980s there has been a steady rise in the transnational television in terms of that more than ever people own television sets and the fact that new technology has such as satellite and cable has allowed access to a completely new market. This has then lead to questions being raised about culture and cultural identities due to the fact that programs are now being beamed from all around the world. To understand how global television works you must first understand society since global television has an impact on society because when shows are being shown to different societies that there is always a different reaction to them. According to Kellner (1990) there is in excess of 750 million television sets being used in over 160 countries that are being viewed by over 2. 5 billion people a day. No doubt these figures have reached even a higher number today due to the fact there is now digital television and cable. The main fact with television that it is always changing, and what is yesterday is not what it is today, and what it is today is not what it will be tomorrow. However with television continuing this change, and as it continues its global expansion that there has been an uneven shift towards the west and in particular the USA. With the television originally being developed in the west and especially in America this has caused a shift in Americas favor so therefore they have been able to dictate what is shown not only in there country but by exporting there products to the rest of the world. However even though this is the main trend at the moment of America one way influence over the rest of the world this is not what globalization is about, globalization is more about a multi-directional and a multi-dimensional set of processes. Global television although it has allowed the development of new technologies with the influx ok Sky television and cable, has also been met with skepticism due to the fact that some countries prefer that the majority of there programs are created from there own country however with the dominance of America in the television market and there technology especially with Sky TV, this has been hard to regulate. Most countries have described these as threats because they believe that within the economics of television, the regulation of television and the identities, especially national identities, which are deemed to be in part the product of national television services. In other word what they are saying is that the majority of shows on there national television should be produced from there own country, and not to be overawed by Americas dominance and say no to all there imports. However this is a hard thing to do, due to the fact of Americas power and there development of new technology that has helped bring forward the Television, so with countries accepting this new technology there are therefore also accepting the influx of America shows. Although there is a reluctance to accept these shows, Im not talking about a reluctance to accept one or two shows. Im talking about accepting a lot of shows that outnumber countries own creations., however when the shows are shown and they become a success the channels controllers decide then to import more and more shows therefore they will start to outnumber there own shows. But if they are so against then importation of these shows why do they import so many, its because they are a success and they attract viewers, this will now lead on to why are these shows successful in our country. In Britain the dominant television company was the BBC this had dominated the television scene since it was created in the 1920s, until 1954 when the television act brought commercial television into the frame. The first such television station set up was Independent Television (ITV). The 1954 act had obliged that the ITV adopt norms of quality and balance, which were in essence the same of the public service developed by the BBC. In the 1980s another channel was set this was, Channel 4, unlike both the BBC and ITV channel 4 was not a maker of programs but a publisher, programs that were watched on channel either came from a mixture of ITV companies, imports or independent producers, this allowed the channel to show a different variety of programs that would not follow the same pattern as a BBC show, another purpose with channel 4 is to experiment with shows to bring in something that is not the same trend and to play with form and content. With the introduction of BskyB and cable, there was a limited impact at first, however over the years the performance picked up due to the fact there were more people getting Sky and Cable, and also there was an even more diversity of shows coming from the USA. This was shown according to the magazine Screen Digest, that in 1994 there was a market penetration of 12. 4 per cent rising to 14. 8 percent and in 1992 the BskyB audience share 4. 8 per cent (the Guardian august 1992) but this had risen to 8. 5 per cent (screen digest 1995) this was showing that even though it was a slow and steady process but cable and sky where both starting to become dominant forces in the television markets. Comparing how we run and regulate our television companies to America is a good way of seeing how the different cultures accept the way there television Is run, already I have looked at the way the British television system is run, now I will look at the way the American television system is run. The way the American television is organized is very complex, there are many players as they call them, these are the television stations, the networks and the productions companies, at the moment there are over 700 television companies, these stations serve the area that they are in geographically by purchasing and transmitting programs. There are not many television stations that produce there own programs apart from the news, so the majority of programs come from either the networks such as FOX and HBO or from production companies. In America a majority of television is also filled with advertising, these adverts are a massive source of income for the networks, especially when there are huge events going on for example the superbowl, as this is one of the biggest sporting attractions in America and millions of people will watch it therefore there has always been a bidding war to get there adverts shown at this time. That is one major difference compared to the way television is run in Britain, the American television network is dominated by adverts where as we have channels such as the BBC channels that do not rely on adverts. Compared to British television stations, American networks are by law not allowed to produce any primetime material, therefore this stations rely a lot on production companies to make there shows, this is the complete opposite to the BBC, who will produce there own shows. But even though our stations produce our own shows, and American networks rely on outside productions companies, why is it that there shows are more successful in our country than our shows are in America? Is it to do with culture, already have I explained the difference in the way that the American and British television systems are different, but why is it that we easily accept these shows on to our channels. One reason I believe that these shows are shown over here and why there is so many is that fact that the majority of the American shows are shown on channel four, channel four being the channel that is most like a American network as it relies on independent productions and therefore will export shows that are successful in other countries. Looking at American shows compared to British shows, British shows tend to be more about there won culture and how Britain is, although there is a tendency to see that Americans are very patriotic, I believe that this is not represented in there shows compared to British shows.

Home School versus Public Education in Society Essay Example for Free

Home School versus Public Education in Society Essay Are we aware of what social environment your child thrives in daily? Are the teachers who are educating our children, the right person to get the job done? What are the success rates of our children in the coming future? Are there similarities between public school and home school? Do you know the answers to these questions? There are similarities between public education and home schooled children, but let’s face it, there are differences in who will be educating our children, how much school will cost out of our pockets, whether our children will develop healthy relationships with other children their age, and whether or not our children will become successful human beings in society. This essay examines all your concerns as parents with school-aged children, and what education method may be better for your child’s future. To many parents in society, it always has been a worry that socialization may become jeopardized in a home school bound child. Many people believe that public educated children learn about socialization from â€Å"the school of hard knocks† in a public setting because they have to learn socialization skills on how to act around other children, and teachers, by a trial and error process. Truth is many teachers just do not have enough time in the day to teach every child the correct way to interact with others socially. The good side of social interaction in public schools is that our children do make close friendships in school, and they usually last outside of the classroom walls. On the other hand, in a homeschool setting, each parent has the ability, and time, to teach their own children the correct way to act properly, socially. As long as the parent takes the time to interact with their child and take them to other social events in the community, with other children and adults, the child has an upper-hand to get the best socialization that a parent could teach them. Is this a real life scenario? A study done in 2003, conducted by the Home School Legal Defense Association, discovered that homeschooled children were either as equally, or involved more, in community activities, voting, and employment, than those educated from a public school. The downside to home schooling your child is that they do not get the constant interaction with children throughout their day, and maybe making it harder for your child to make friends near their home. One question to ask yourself, â€Å"Is your home located near other children close to your child’s age?† Public education offers college educated teachers to teach the students, while home school offers the students’ parents to become the educators. For instance, in a public school environment, the teachers are college educated, and very fluent in the area of study that they are teaching their students, so it may be easier to come up with ways to teach the students how to learn and retain the information they are taught. But does every student learn the same? No! Some students need more attention than others, and sometimes one teacher is just not enough for all the students present in their classroom. Whereas, in a homeschool setting, children are given homework and tested by their parents at their discretion of what they may think their child needs to learn more of and test to show they have the knowledge needed on the subject or material. If the parents don’t quite know how to teach all the curriculum materials on each subject, then home schooling your child may not work for you. As long as the student is learning the material, and the parent is not helping the child by giving them the answers, then homeschool is an excellent way for your child to learn. The parent has the full opportunity to teach their child the way they want them to learn, and be proud of them when they succeed in their studies. Success Rates may also vary from both education backgrounds. Boys generally have a higher rate of drop-outs than girls, in every state in the U.S. The National Center for Education Statistics did a study on the classes of 2010, in the United States, and found that 78% percent of students had earned their degree, on time, within the four years they had begun high school. That statistic was an all-time high of the past forty years, however, 1974 was the last year that those graduation rates were actually charted. More importantly, major cities generally have a higher drop-out rate than students from suburb schools. Generally, because of the changes in the economy, students can be seen dropping out to help out their family when times are tough. When the economy gets weak, high school students have a tendency to drop-out of school faster than they might otherwise have done. In 2005, the Education Department started publishing an official estimate of high school graduation rates, and, surprisingly, all 50 states agreed to a standard method of calculating those rates by this year, 2013. Currently there are only 4% of school-aged children home schooled in America. That number may seem quite small to hear, but it has risen up 75%, since 1999, to make that four percent, today. The number of kids, whose parents are not enrolling their children into public schools, is growing seven times faster than students seem to be enrolling in the k-12 school years in public schools, year by year. Although it is harder for non-traditional students, like homeschoolers, to receive scholarships for schools, due to the lack of recognition in their education background, they do, however, enroll and attain their four-year degree at a much higher rate than a public educated student. In conclusion, it does matter where you send your children to become an educated young adult. We need to all consider the positive and negative aspect of the education path we send our children down. There are some questions to ponder when doing so. Think about what environment you want your child to be involved in daily. Decide whether you want to be the educator, or someone from a school. Think about what social environment you think you will see your child truly blossom in. Lastly, decide whether or not it is the right decision for your child, not just yourself and the family. References: Michigan Department of Education (2012). â€Å"Home Schooling in Michigan†. www.michigan.gov Beverly Hernandez. â€Å"Is Homeschool for You?† www.homeschooling.about.com Ellen, Mary. (2012). â€Å"Homeschool vs. Public School: Who’s Better Socialized.† Off The Grid News. www.offthegridnews.com Layton, Lyndsey. â€Å"National public high school graduation rate at a four-decade high.† The Washington Post. www.washingtonpost.com Lawrence, Julia. (2012). â€Å"Number of Homeschoolers Growing Nationwide.† Education News. www.educationnews.org

Parents Perception In Choosing Private Primary School

Parents Perception In Choosing Private Primary School The elimination of school fees from public primary school under the Governments policy in Cambodia in order to reach the EFA Goal by 2015 has increased student enrollments from year to year. However, the quality of education of public schools has reduced while the number of students who transfer from public to private schools has increased more and more. To obtain a better understanding of the factors influencing parents decision in choosing private primary schools for children, researcher has investigated the perception between two groups of parents, high and low educated parents. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data from 2 high educated parents and 2 from low educated parents. The interviews were conducted with the parents whose children studying à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹in a private primary school in Phnom Penh. Data was analyzed by using an interpretive analysis method. The findings indicated the different factors influencing the parents decision such as quality and standard of education, learning environment, security, safety and services. However, most parents consider about the quality and safety of their children because they dont have enough time to take care their children even their education during the daytime. According to the findings, most parents have a positive perspective on the choice of private schools even some private schools are expensive. They believe that the higher the school fees it set the higher in quality they will be offered. One of the parents; for example, transferred her child from cheaper to higher price in term of school fees and services. The children in wealthier and higher educated family background have a higher possibility of transferring to private schools than children from poorer and lower educated family background. Education plays an important role in socioeconomic development in every country. It can also improve human resources as not all the human abilities which are offered by birth. Education makes people feel confident, aware and active in term of knowledge and skill development (Rehman, Khan, Tariq Tasleem, 2010). It develops human abilities needed for economic and social development. Many years public schools play a very important role in developing the education as well as building human resources. However, in recent years, private schools have grown very fast by providing good quality. No matter the fee in private school is very high, parents are still happy to invest their youngsters in the private sector (Rehman et al., 2010). According to the report of the Education Management Information System (EMIS) of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports 2010-2011, private schools have been growing very fast. Private schools have done its privatization since 1992 under the supervision of MoEYS (MoEYS, 2011). Among 24 provinces and cities, there are only 9 provinces and cities that have sent their report of private schools to the EMIS office (MoEYS, 2011). Until now there are 264 private schools in the whole kingdom, but only 120 schools that provide primary education. Among 120 schools, 71 schools located in Phnom Penh (MoEYS, 2011). Cambodia is one of many developing countries with a recent history of rapid growth within the private education sector. Since Cambodia steps into a free market economy in the early 1990s, education has become a very important key to human resource development. However, while the demand of education begins growing faster and faster, public education is still in poor condition and unresponsive to the growing need and free markets that offer people what they want (Bernal, 2005). Bernal (2005) stated that since competition among public schools has not been introduced, parents are free to choose any schools they want for their children. On the one hand, competition among private schools is very strong, so each school has managed many kinds of strategies in order to attract the parents as well as their children to participate the school. Private school enrollment is not a simple function of parental preferences. The quality of private schools can be a high demand in which parents seek for their childs education (Desai, Dubey, Vanneman Banerji, 2008). Private education is often perceived to be about serving the needs of the high and middle classes, not the poor. Most of parents want to provide the best educational environment for their children. The parents decide to invest their children in form of education depends on number of social, cultural and economic factors (Rehman et al., 2010). Parents usually decide to choose the best quality school for their youngsters when they are dissatisfied with public school. Private schools are mostly more effective than public schools in terms of school environment, qualified teachers, smaller size of classes and parents education. Rehman et al. (2010) found that a great majority of parents seemed dissatisfied with the public school due to various reasons: qualified teachers, good relationship between schools and parents, class sizes and others. Choosing school for children, parents may make themselves feel more confident that children will be taught effectively and treated fairly (Spellings, 2005). Choosing schools carefully is an important way parents can help their children all what he / she can be. School choice is highly related to parents occupational status. The parents with higher occupational status prefer to choose private school rather than public school for their children. The school choice of parents show about their satisfaction with the school they choose (Rehman et al., 2010). Moreover, many parents consider teacher quality the most important factor to guarantee the quality of their children education while the other value school academic reputation and facilities (as cited in Wilkinson, Denniss Machintosh, 2004). According to the research of Wilkinson et al. (2004) stated that some teachers have perceived pressure in the public school system that may lead to the non-quality teaching condition. In contrast, private sector offers incentives, good working environment, and other benefits which encourage teachers to work hard by providing the best quality of education, thats why parents choose private school rather than public school. 1.2 Problem Statement Private education in Cambodia has expanded rapidly in number as well as absorbing more students. Private sector, especially private school, has become one of the potential partners with the government to improve and develop the education sector as well as human resources. The increasing competitions as well as the huge demand of education have led to the rapid expansion of the private sector, which is new in the history of modern education in Cambodia. Because these private education institutions are profit seeking, the majority of them are only to offer courses with high demand and high quality (Desai, Dubey, Vanneman Banerji, 2008). Moreover, the private education in Cambodia raises many questions concerning about future success and quality. On condition that its new existence and concerning among public, the private education keeps increasing students enrollment from year to year. This rising enrolment contributes to the continuous growth of private sector which the priorities of the private institutions are for profit, and depend mostly on students fee. Even the fee of some institutions increases more and more, students parents still choose private school but not the public one. Since the last few decades, public school seems to be less attention from parents in term of service, qualityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc. On the other hand, high income of families is also a key factor that affects the school choice. For instance, some parents who have higher income will send their children to a high-fee school (Wilkinson et al, 2004). Similarly, parents with lower income will send their children to less expensive private school or public school. Moreover, according to the study of Rehman et al. (2010) found that lack of education facilities, unsuitable teaching methods, poor discipline, less attention to the overall development of the children, overcrowded classes, lack of teachers interest and unsuitable educational environment are major reasons that the parents avoid the public schools. They also mentioned that the classes in public school are mostly overcrowded and become very hard for teachers to concentrate on the development of every student. These have aroused my curiosity to explore parents perceptions towards private schools in Cambodia. 1.3 Research objectives The purposes of this research are to identify the common factors as well as the reasons parents decide to choose private school for their children education and also to find out the factors which motivate parents to choose a particular school to educate their children. Researcher wants to explore the critical factors influencing parents decision to pursue their children study in the private sector and in choosing a particular private education institution. Another purpose for this research is to identify the different perception between parents who are in the city and suburb area. It also assesses how they view the quality of private schools based on their own experience. 1.4 Research Questions This study is conducted purposively to answer the following two research questions: What are the factors influencing parents decision to choose private primary school for their children? What are the different perceptions between high and low educated parents in choosing the schools for their children? 1.5 Significance of the Study This research is attempted to contribute to the discussion of critical factors that affect parents decision in choosing a private school as well as their perceptions of quality of private sector. It also gives an understanding of parents experiences of satisfaction and dissatisfaction in private and public education which would be aware of students need and the view of customers. So those private sectors may respond by designing suitable courses, programs, and service to meet students needs. The findings of this research will also allow public schools to be better informed as well as aware of new roles of private education sector as seen by parents perceptions. This may allow public education sector to readily reorganize some dissatisfaction factors by providing an education with higher quality. It would also contribute to the future growth, development and significance of private education sector in Cambodia. Definition of key terms This research will include 3 key terms that are particularly used to refer only in this study, but not in general. Private primary school is referred to non-government school which is run by private sector. However, this private primary school, from grade 1 to 6, is under the supervision of the Ministry of Education Youth and Sports. High educated parents mentioned in this research are referred to the ones who have the Bachelor Degree or higher. And they are referred to the ones who work as government officers, NGOs staff and company staff (As higher position). Low educated parents which mentioned in this paper are focused on the parents who have no Bachelor Degree or equivalent certificates. These parents may not work as government officers, NGOs staff or company staff, but they just sell things at the market or have a small business. 1.7 Proposed chapter outline of research paper This research contains five chapters. Chapter one gives detail background of the previous studies related to the topic. It also provides detail information of research problem, research objectives, research questions, then significance of study, and definition of key term. In chapter two, there will be literature review which will discuss on previous studies and how they related to this study. Then in chapter three, there will be methodology covering research design of qualitative, tools/instruments for data collection, sample size and sampling method, data collecting procedures, data analysis, ethical consideration, and strengths and limitation of the method. Findings and discussion will be presented in chapter four giving results of the research and together with some problems or solutions to be discussed. The last chapter is conclusion and recommendation and must be followed by reference list giving detail about the sources which are used in this research. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW Definition of Quality in Education Quality in education should involve learners, content, processes, environments, and outcomes (UNICEF, 2000). Learners are healthy, ready to participate and learn, and supported by their communities and families. Contents include literacy, numeracy, and especially life skills. Environments are referred to healthy, protective, safe, and provide appropriate resources and facilities to students in their learning processes. Outcomes are linked to national goals for education and positive participation in society in terms of knowledge, skills, and attitudes. OECD (2012) has combined the quality with equity which means that if social and personal circumstance such as ethnic origin, family background or gender, are able to access the educational fairness, the quality of education will increase higher and higher. 2.2 Comparison between Public and Private Schools Private schools have greater demand than public schools. Nowadays the idea that private education is always better than public education has become a common idea which is linked to discipline, level of attainment and individual attention (Bernal, 2005). This study was to evaluate parents school choice and this may produce exclusion of society and inequality. Particular populations, economically disadvantaged groups, immigrants and ethnic minorities are considered the same schools (Bernal, 2005). In contrast, research argued that an open market system is not important in order to ensure the social class reproduction. However, parents are free to choose the school for the childrens education. Then family income and number of children attending the same school has increased dramatically. Private schools are free to plan the model of what they prefer. The competition among private schools is very strong in all kinds of commercial and marketing strategies. There are five characteristics o f the market system in Spain: free choice of school, school sells themselves to parents, public financing to both form of provision, diversity, control and management. The tough competition between schools and the outcomes are similar (Bernal, 2005). The upper and middle classes go to private schools, while economically disadvantaged groups, ethnic minorities and immigrants go to the public school. Children who are in private school have higher reading and arithmetic skills than those in public schools (Desai et al., 2008). This paper explores the relationship by examining different economic status in the private and public schools; moreover, it indicates that while children from lower economic status are more likely to be physically punished in the public schools than their peers who choose private schools. The relationship between economic status and physical punishment is negligible in private schools. There are private schools for the poor and they are most likely to have the big effect on enrollment (Baird, 2009). Parents select private schools because they think that the schools will provide better education in term of quality and opportunities in the future for their children than the state schools. Baird (2009) also found that there is no relationship between a particular areas wealth and the enrollment in private schools. Private education should be generalized through out the world, not just in India especially for the poor. The less satisfied citizens are with the government schools; in contrast, the rich choose private schools for their children education. The government schools or state schools should provide better education in term of quality, particularly for the poor (Baird, 2009). Choosing private school is not the decision of parents alone, but it has to be shared by their children in this decision making. However, Bertola, Checchi, Oppedisano (2007) mention that expensive private school is supposed to be better than free public school in terms of quality and safety because parents will send their children to other schools if they dont offer better service. Student quality is likely very different in terms of across academic and vocational secondary school tracks (Bertola et al., 2007). Parents are positively associated with private schooling and may also appreciate the longer hours and flexibility of private schools schedules. Rational choice of theory suggests that parents are utility maximizes who can make their own decisions from clear value of preferences, that they can demand effective actions from local schools and teachers, and that they are able to be relied upon to pursue the best interest of the children (Bosetti, 2004). This presents a different perspective and argues that parents invest a mixture of choice when selecting schools. Bertola et al., (2007) argue that a school ing systems organization may consider that private school enrollment leads to worse subsequent activities in the future education or in the labor market. If students are different not only their families ability to pay but also their own ability to take advantage of their talent, theory predicts that private schools attract students badly when publicly funded schools are better suited to force progress not only their families ability to pay but also their own ability to take advantage of their talent. 2.3 School Fee affects on School choice Coulson (2009) finds that private school families are basically different from public school families because they choose the schools through the school fee. Some parents believe that the higher school fee they set the higher quality of education they will offer. The result of this research also provides clearer understanding about the expectations, ideals and experiences of parents influence school choice. Most of parents want to educate their children with the best quality of education environment. They want to invest their children depend on a number of cultural, economic and social factors (Rehman et al., 2010). In Pakistan, education is offered by both private and public sectors. Studying in public schools is free of charge while parents have to pay in private schools. The price in private school is higher; however, parents still send their children to private school because they hope that their children will receive better education. Since the last three decades, private sector has been considered as an important resource of education in Pakistan. Then the factors that motivate parents decisions about private sector are yet to be explored. Family size, education level of parents, income of parents, school performance and staff qualifications are considered as the major factors that affect parents choice in choosing private school (Desai et al., 2008; Rehman et al., 2010). This study has shown that about 88.5% were the view these schools have a progressive mode of education while 86% parents avoided public schools due to unsuitable educational environment. Even the school fees are high or low, there is no different between private and public schools (CEP, 2007). Holme (2002) suggests that poor families should be provided with the same quality of educational choices that the wealthier have. It is inequity that private schools seem to be established for the rich not the poor. 2.4 School choice influences on Students Achievement Choosing a school has direct effects on children development as well as childrens educational achievement, literacy, numeracy and scientific knowledge (Sylva, 1994). Moreover, formal educational qualifications are the main key for children to enter higher education or training and also employment. The results show that excellent attendance, cognitively oriented pre-school programs was associated with later school competence. Pre-school graduates were more likely than the control group to provide achievement-related answers to the invitation. Findings also suggest that early education changed the family achievement orientation. Most mothers whose children attended pre-school expected more from their children. The children themselves also show more pride in their achievement. Pupil cognitions, motivations and school performance also effect pupils development. Academic self-concept has an independent impact on children academic attainment and parental education (Sylva, 1994; Gibbons et al., 2009). A productive school normally produces high achievement for students for their school fee on investing with schools (Hoxby, 2003). If a school could raise students achievement while spending the same as the others, it would be expected to draw the students away from those schools. Low-productivity producers will be driven out by high-productivity producers. There are many different types of schools: for profit, for non-profit private schools, regular public schools, and charter schools (Hoxby, 2003). Moreover, it is slightly different from others because the others about the choices parents make for their children while this literature is about the influences of the school. Children developments such as pre-school education, primary school on childrens attainment, attitudes and behavior, pupil cognitions, motivations, school performance, social competence and attainment are likely to be concerned by most parents (Sylva, 1994). Gibbons and Silva (2009) argued that parents choose schools for children according to their high performance. Previous research suggested that school quality is not only one dimension about which children and parents concern, other school factors like pupil happiness and enjoyment of their learning environment are also considered. These lead the researchers consider about parents perceptions of school choice based on academic standards and related with the children wellbeing. Some researcher (Gibbons et al., 2009; Sylva, 1994; Coulson, 2009) found that atti tudes and experiences, among pupils and their parents linked to standard test score based measures of academic performance, and whether parents perception of school quality linked to their childrens happiness and enjoyment of school. Gibbons et al. (2009) assumed that parents choose schools for children according to their high performance. They suggest that school quality is not only one dimension about which children and parents concern, other school factors like pupil happiness and enjoyment of their learning environment are also considered. This need to be considered about parents perceptions of school choice based on academic standards and related with the children wellbeing. Bernal (2005) Baird (2009) also agreed that parents select private schools because they think that the schools will provide better education in term of quality and opportunities in the future for their children than the state schools. There is no relationship between a particular areas wealth and the enrol lment in private schools. Private education is assumed to be concerned only with serving the high or middle class, not the poor (Trooley et al., n.d; Baird, 2009). Children who were in the private unaided schools get higher score than government school students. Moreover, children in unrecognized private schools achieve higher marks in mathematics than government students, 83% higher in Hindi and 246% higher in English. Scores in the recognized private schools were higher. Researchers also found that children in unaided private schools were more satisfied than the government schools. Unrecognized private schools are assumed to be educationally inadequate. This assumption is untrue because there are many unrecognized private schools achieved universal basic education, education for all. Children in private unaided schools get higher achievement than government schools. Private unaided schools cost less than government schools; moreover, teaching commitment is higher in private unaided than the government schoo ls. However, these findings mean that nothing could be improved in the private sector for serving the poor (Trooley et al., n.d). According to the United Nation Millennium Development Goal of education for all (EFA), education should be provided equally, even the poor. Then; however, private schools still take part in contributing the knowledge, not only public schools, for all children equally with quality of education. 2.5 Transferring from Public Schools The quality of education in public schools has reduced and the number of students who transfer from public to private schools has increased according to suggestion make by some experts (Nishimura, M. Yamano, T., 2008). As results, researchers have found that the school quality has a positive impact on the choice of private schools. They found not only transfers from public to private schools but also between public schools. Children who are in wealthy households have a higher probability of transferring to private schools than children who are in poorer households. Nishimura et al., (2009) Trooley et al., (n.d) have shown that to maintain the quality of education is an urgent policy agenda for Nation Millennium Development Goal of education for all that have adopted free primary education policies to enhance the education system equally. There is a positive impact on the choice of private schools. So it means that private education play very important role in providing good quality of education, even for the poor. 2.6 Choosing School through where they live Even some public schools are as high in quality as or higher than that of private schools, parents still send their children to private schools (Figlio, 1997). Parents might find a well disciplined for their children, or might satisfy with a higher probability that their children can participate in extracurricular activities substantively. Figlio (1997) finds that parents might wish for their children to perform with a right peer group. Parents choose private schools for their curricula and academic emphasizes, discipline, and safety. Checchi et al. (2004) agrees that private schools allow parents to choose the quality of education and the amount of price that they believe appreciate and satisfy. Beside, this literature also indicates that resource indicators, out come indicators, and subjective assessments are the factors in which we can measure as quality of schools. There are many ways in which parents are involved in childrens education. And one of the most important ways is through choosing the best school for children to attend (Goldring, et al., 2006). Most of parents choose a school according to where they live. Private schools are available more and more for parents because of the increasing availability of leaflets or vouchers that are targeted to low-income families. Some researchers may compare the choice of the parents between public and private schools. Goldring et al. (2006) examine how parents make school choices and the dynamics of the choice progress with an emphasis of public schools. Then he also indicates that parents who participate in school choosing have five different ways: parental involvement, socials networks, educational priorities, demographics, and satisfaction with previous school. Parents who choose the schools also tend to be more involvement in childrens education. School quality can be related to its characterist ics such as: school demographics, school location, school atmosphere, and academic performance (Goldring, et al., 2006). Parents really concern about their childrens safety when it comes to how they travel to or from school (Faulkner et al., 2010 Figlio, 1997). Parents always look after children so they have to find the best ways for them to send them to school safely. However, some parents may allow their children travel to school independently (Faulkner et al., 2010). In contrast, children can be allowed to walk according to the street or the way to school is safe for them. And whether how far is the house from school. But others think that parents dont care how far it is if school provides the best quality of education. 2.7 Choice depending on familys background According to the study by CEP (2007) finds that key family backgrounds were considered as the prior factor that forces students or parents to choose public or private schools. Students who attend private schools receive no better on achievement tests than those who choose public schools in reading, Math, history, and science. Students who had attended any type of private school ended up with no more jobs satisfaction that those who choose traditional public school. However, students achievement depends on school they choose. If students attend private school with higher school fee, test scores will be higher (Alderman, Orazem, Paterno, 2001; Holme, 2002). Transferring from government schools to private schools is increasing because of the quality and higher achievement test scores. The strong demand for private schools is depended on the evidence of greater language achievement and mathematics in private schools than in public schools (Alderman et al., 2001). Parents education signi ficantly; however, reduces no-schooling option. When parents are educated well, they will concern more about their childrens education. Then private school is the first choice for their children even the school fee is high or really high, what they want is quality of education. The ability of high-income parents will allow their children to access to high-quality school by moving to a good school area. Parents concern about student discipline based on students racial and class background, particularly violence at school. Holme (2002) finds that according to the income parents earn, they can send their children to the best private or public school to ensure that children will get the best quality of education. The researcher has also found that high-status schools tend to attract more well-qualified teachers. That can result in providing students a challenging curriculum. Parents are sensitive about the location of schools, and prefer school with positive atmosphere as reflected in school discipline, class size, and school safety. Moreover, parents believe that private schools offer better education, additional resources, better policies and practices, and an environment more deductive to learning (OECD, 2012). Parents are well-informed about school curricul um and others important factors as mention above. Parents education and use of individual tutoring lessons also raise the possibility of private school enrollment. Parental involvement and share of students in private display no correlation with college enrolment. Bertola et al. (2007) suggest that as long as peer effects are relevant, the students from lower quality private school imply a similarly low quality of the education offered by this segment of the market. 2.8 Conceptual Framework There are several reasons that influent parents decision in choosing a private primary school. The study journals, articles, and reports from the above literatures provide different perspectives as well as reasons influencing parents decision in choosing a private school such as school fees, students achievement, safety, and family background. Choosing a school has direct effects on children development as well as childrens educational achievement, literacy, numeracy and scientific knowledge (Sylva, 1994). Children can achieve higher test scores depends on their abilities, together with the schools they choose. However, the best school will provide the best quality of education. Pupils motiv