Prison Classification

Inmates first experience usually occurs in a classification or reception center, where they are given a battery of psychological and intelligence tests and are evaluated on the basis of their background, offense history, personality, and treatment needs. Some states have instituted rigorous classification instruments designed to maximize the effectiveness of placements, thereby cutting down on the cost of incarceration. Prison classification is a method of assessing inmate risks that balances the security needs of the institution with treatment needs the individual. Effective classification can reduce prison infractions and create a safer environment of both inmates and staff. External classification places an inmate at a custody level that will determine where he or she will be housed, internal classification determines the cell or housing unit, as well as the facility programs to which the prisoner will be assigned. External classification systems are now being used in all Federal and state prison systems in the United States. Internal classification systems focus on those decisions that are made for the incoming prison population. Georgia Department of Corrections has a special prison called Jackson diagnostic center. Georgia Diagnostic and classification prison is a Georgia Department of Corrections prison for men in unincorporated Butts County, Georgia, near Jackson. The prison holds the state execution chamber. The prison, the largest in the state, consists of eight cell blocks containing both double-bunked and single-bunked cells. The prison conducts diagnostic processing for the state correctional system, houses male offenders under death sentence, and carries out state ordered executions by lethal injection. The prison complex also contains a special management unit that houses some of the most aggressive and dangerous prisoners in the correctional system. The Georgia Diagnostic and classification prison serves as a central hub where sentenced felons begin the process of being admitted into the Georgia state correctional system. Many county jails are paid by the state to house the sentenced felons until space becomes available in the prison system. Based on published research statistics by the Georgia Department of Corrections, inmates who are being diagnosed and classified undergo a battery of tests and diagnostic questionnaires. Tests and diagnostic notions include: the culture fair IQtest; Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT) (reading, math and spelling); scope of substance abuse (summary, detailed report); latest mental health treatment; PULHESDWIT medical scale; criminality, alcoholism, and/or drug abuse in immediate family; one or both parents absent during childhood; manipulative or assaultive tendency diagnostics; and criminal report with prior incarcerations and a full account of all previous and current offenses.

Coca Cola Manufacturing

The Coca-Cola Company (KO) is the world's largest beverage company, and it owns or licenses more than 500 nonalcoholic beverage brands. The company owns four of the world's top five nonalcoholic sparkling beverage brands: Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Fanta and Sprite. The prototype Coca-Cola recipe was formulated at the Eagle Drug and Chemical Company, a drugstore in Columbus, Georgia, by John Pemberton, originally as a coca wine called Pemberton's French Wine Coca. He may have been inspired by the formidable success of Vin Mariani, a European coca wine.In 1886, when Atlanta and Fulton County passed prohibition legislation, Pemberton responded by developing Coca-Cola, essentially a nonalcoholic version of French Wine Coca. When launched, Coca-Cola's two key ingredients were cocaine and caffeine. The cocaine was derived from the coca leaf and the caffeine from kola nut, leading to the name Coca-Cola (the â€Å"K† in Kola was replaced with a â€Å"C† for marketing purposes). Coc a – cocaine Pemberton called for five ounces of coca leaf per gallon of syrup, a significant dose; in 1891, Candler claimed his formula (altered extensively from Pemberton's original) contained only a tenth of this amount.Coca-Cola once contained an estimated nine milligrams of cocaine per glass. In 1903, it was removed. After 1904, instead of using fresh leaves, Coca-Cola started using â€Å"spent† leaves – the leftovers of the cocaine-extraction process with trace levels of cocaine. Coca-Cola now uses a cocaine-free coca leaf extract prepared at a Stepan Company plant in Maywood, New Jersey. In the United States, the Stepan Company is the only manufacturing plant authorized by the Federal Government to import and process the coca plant, which it obtains mainly from Peru and, to a lesser extent, Bolivia.Kola nuts – caffeine Kola nuts act as a flavoring and the source of caffeine in Coca-Cola. Kola nuts contain about 2. 0 to 3. 5% caffeine, are of bitter flavor and are commonly used in cola soft drinks. In 1911, the U. S. government initiated United States v. Forty Barrels and Twenty Kegs of Coca-Cola, hoping to force Coca-Cola to remove caffeine from its formula. The case was decided in favor of Coca-Cola. Subsequently, in 1912, the U. S. Pure Food and Drug Act was amended, adding caffeine to the list of â€Å"habit-forming† and deleterious† substances which must be listed on a product's label. Coca-Cola contains 34 mg of caffeine per 12 fluid ounces (9. 8 mg per 100 ml). How is the most widely recognized product in the world made? How are the required quality standards met for every single unit of that product? Coca-Cola's bottlers and canners are concerned with a range of processes involved in transforming resources into the bottles and cans of drink that we are familiar with. The transforming resources are the managers, employees, machinery and equipment used by The Coca-Cola Company and its franchisees.Primarily, C oca-Cola is manufactured by franchisees who are the world's leading bottling and canning companies. This franchise business is strictly controlled by The Coca-Cola Company. The production of Coca-Cola involves two major operations: 1) Creating the packaging material 2) Bottling and canning the finished drink For many years, Coca-Cola was produced in glass bottles. Because of the high cost of distributing bulky bottles, they had to be manufactured close to where the bottling took place. Today, this is no longer so important since new packaging methods have revolutionized the process.Advanced bottling and canning technology makes Coca-Cola cans and bottles very light but extremely strong. The Company has invested a lot of time and money in research and development to ensure the most effective life cycle impact of its packaging. By using the minimum quantities of materials in packaging, the cans and plastic bottles are simple to crush or to reprocess at the end of the initial life cycl e. Cans are delivered in bulk to a canning plant. At this stage the cans are shaped like an open cup ready to receive the liquid drink.They are not fully formed because the ring pull end has still to be fitted. After they have been inspected to check that there are no faults, each can goes through a rinsing machine to make sure it is clean and ready for filling. Coca-Cola consists of a concentrated beverage base and a liquid sweetener which are combined to form the syrup from which the drink is made. The Company ships the concentrate to bottling and canning plants where the franchisees mix it with sugar and local water. The water is passed through a number of filters to make sure it is absolutely pure.Carbon dioxide, which makes it fizzy, is also delivered to the canning plant where it is stored and then piped into the manufacturing process through a carbonator and cooler. The Company specifies what equipment franchisees will use to carry out these processes. Samples are taken regul arly for chemical analysis, and staves make frequent spot checks to ensure that plants are maintaining the Company's standards of cleanliness and quality. The Company provides its franchisees with the most up-to-date technology available and many of them use the latest computer technology and statistical process control methods.The packaging and the finished drink are combined by a rapid filling process. Every minute hundreds of cans pass along an automated production line and are filled with a precise amount of Coca-Cola. As the cans move along the production line, they are seamed to include the ring pull end and produce the finished can. The ends are inspected to make sure they are smooth and do not have any gaps or leaks. An individual code is stamped on the cans so that each one can be traced back to the point and time of production. A date code ensures product freshness.The manufacture of Coca-Cola is carried out by a set of processes called continuous flow production. On a pro duction line, a process is continually repeated and identical products go through the same sequence of operations. Continuous flow production takes this one step further by using computer-controlled automatic equipment to produce goods 24 hours a day. Throughout the production process, quality control personnel monitor the product and take test samples. To guarantee that there are no errors, quality control inspectors take statistically selected samples at the end of the production line.Using chemical analysis, these inspectors can guarantee that the product meets the exact specifications; they also check that there are no faults in the packaging. A ‘fill height detector' uses an electronic eye to ensure that the cans are filled to the right quantity. Cans that are not properly filled are rejected. The canners then prepare the cans for distribution to retailers such as supermarkets, shops and garages. A machine called a case former creates the casing that protects the cans as they are sorted onto pallets.The cans are stored temporarily in a warehouse before they are collected by large distribution trucks. The bottling process, whether in glass or PET (plastic), is very similar. Each plastic bottle starts as test-tube size and is blown up like a balloon into the final bottle shape. Whereas franchisees receive cans that already have the logo and any promotional details on them, bottlers apply the labels from large reels once the bottles have been formed. At the end of the bottling line, bottles are automatically sealed with a cap immediately after they have been filled.

Cost Pools and Cost Objects

Topic 6: Management Accounting and Cost Case: Shelter Partnership a. My main learning outcomes from Topic 6 and the Case Study; 1)Firstly, I realize management accounting has much to offer. Somehow I can handle physics but not accounting. Now thanks to this course I can appreciate and make sense of it. The bit that really caught my attention was seeing how management accounting can be really useful for business planning, cost management, budgeting and performance measurement. It offers critical and more objective inputs for decision making. On my part, I would say this is one of my most important learning outcomes as it changed my personal view and outlook of accounting. 2)I have learnt that a good costing system is needed to get a better grip on the â€Å"actual† cost of my products and services. Gaining a better understanding of the Cost Pools (and the types of cost) and how these costs are allocated to the Cost Objects is a good starting point. 3)I realize that it is very important to identify and define the Cost Objects properly from the start. While I may like to define the Cost Objects narrowly, it should only be done to the extent it is economically viable. )I recognize that there are a number of ways to allocate indirect costs (from the Cost Pools) to the Cost Objects and these can cause distortion. It is therefore imperative to establish a meaningful and acceptable way of allocating such cost to better reflect the true cost. This leads to my next learning outcome. 5)Stephen Covey’s â€Å"begin wi th the end in mind† rings true here. If I had wanted to measure and analyze the Cost Objects by products, services and countries(Multinational Company), both the Cost Objects and the way cost is allocated needs to be defined early. In this case, a deeper engagement between my Marketing Department and the Finance Department is necessary to fine tune the costing system. 6)When looking at the cost numbers, it is imperative for me to consider and discern the context and assumptions used in arriving at the numbers since these are not â€Å"standardized†. b. Applying the learning outcomes to my own organization. 1)I work in a large IT company and my portfolio includes Marketing, Consulting and Strategic Account (Client) Management. In the area of Account Management, the company had recently implemented a system to track the profitability of each Client. In the case of revenues, it is a relatively simple process. However, getting a truer picture of the cost of providing professional services to each of our clients is a major challenge. In a sense, our client account is a â€Å"Cost Object†. 2)In a typical project undertaken for our client, professional services are provided by dynamically formed teams made up of Project Managers, Business Consultants, Senior Project Leads, Business Analysts, Programmers and Testers. Presently we are allocating cost to each of our clients according to the numbers of professional man-days consumed by the clients based on a â€Å"blended† man-day rate. The following is a simplified illustration of how cost is allocated. 3)We have room for significant improvements in the way we allocate cost. a. Labor cost which is a direct cost becomes a little complicated due to the project nature of the service. But since our systems captures the actual time-sheet for each employee according to projects, we should be able to eventually allocate labor cost directly to the Client, â€Å"Cost Objects† and give a truer reflection of cost. . Secondly, we should explore for more appropriate ways for allocating indirect cost such as travel & ticketing administrations and office space which is presently added into the blended rate. Since administration for travel and ticketing only applies to overseas projects, In-Country projects should not be â€Å"burdened† with t hese costs. Similarly, office space is only applicable for projects running out of our own premises and should not be loaded to projects undertaken at specific clients’ premises. At any one time around 50% of our staff is based outside of our office. )We found the shortcomings in cost allocation affects our decisions on pricing, discounts, expense provision, use of resources (especially when contending for resources), budgeting and business planning. 5)We have some multi-nationals clients, and I am curious about the effect of establishing overlapping â€Å"Cost Objects† to present a group/enterprise level view in addition to the present individual client level view. In our case, we have local offices in a number of countries and resource sharing is quite extensive, however no cost transfer has been allocated to the individual client account.

The main challenges and opportunities with expanding the sonic and Essay

The main challenges and opportunities with expanding the sonic and compositional potential of the piano - Essay Example Paddles, knobs, and notes may reduce its popularity and acceptability among pianists as well as from the audiences. It will help to increase the creativity of performers, composers and will satisfy the aesthetic senses of the audiences. The electronic implication in the piano and extra functionality is not easy to be fitted on the same keyboard. Their operations require extra switches and knobs that would pose an irritating hindrance in the instrument’s smooth play. Kim earlier attempt to produce new harmonics from the existing object on a piano became fail. However, the most important task for the project is to make a blend from a running piano with the sampler creating pleasantly coherent interfaces. It is also important to contain the economic aspect of the new piano in order to get acceptance from people. The electronic and computer interventions will surely increase the cost of the piano. Furthermore, it will be a real challenge to limit the size of the piano. Kim and Kate are also working to develop travel version of PNOSCAN for easy handling. The assemblage of the PNOSCAN in a piano is a laborious work of hours, and it is needed to be more simplified and easy. They want that the pianist should have access to the extended sounds produced from the super piano without any rearrangement in the keys of the piano. Also, three separate patches suggested by Kate are to be placed on the same keyboard that may hinder the free operation of the instrument and interact with the sounds in order to produce sound beyond its sonic abilities.

Racism Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Racism - Term Paper Example One time in history, when the Portuguese discovered the sophisticated African tribes, they were impressed as well as threatened by their complex societies. These same tribe were later transferred to America as slaves. From the civil war to the 1920's there was very little racial uprising. Lynchings were a common practice but the Blacks kept to themselves. In Tulsa Oklahoma, in 1921, the Black responded to a white mob, this was the first riot to be noted in a newspaper. When oil was discovered both whites and blacks became prosperous. As there was much migration from other cities, crime and poverty were rampant. The "poor white" felt that the colored people did not have the right to be wealthy as they were inferior. Individual harassment or everyday racism started well before a young colored man was wrongly accused of having touched a white girl in an elevator, the impetuous for a group of white men to join together with a common idea. Each generation uses the same principal of the us e of everyday racism transferred into group racism. Introduction Each decennia has had it's own personal face of racism. It has changed depending on the social, political, historical arena. What is important to note, there is always a weaker group and a dominant group which is determined by prejudice, financial differences or inequalities. The 1920's has been chosen as a starting point of this document as it is a turning point in the political arena of the 20th century in racial discrimination. The first significant riot occurred in the 1920's for the first time since the Civil War. This is a historical analysis of the many different faces of racism in the United States since the 1920's. One example will be taken from each generation to be analyzed and a conclusion will be drawn as to how it has been carried into the next generation. A final conclusion will be made showing by comparing examples of racism in over 100 years, one can conclude that it is as much a phenomena of society a s it is a human behavior to want to differentiate from the other and make yourself feel superior. Racism is as individualistic as is group orientated. Definition The initial definition of the word racism implied that each individual group showing a differentiation from the general population was divided into a separate group. The group could be based on geography, ethnic, origin, religion or any other specific criteria. The sociological definition of the word racism is the hatred of one person or group by another or the profound belief that the group you represent has an ethnic superiority over another group.(Ekhart 2007) Any factor can provoke another person or group into racism. The significance of racism in the United States has changed the political arena and helped change the Constitution.(Rubel) The turning points of the 1920's The 1920's newspapers reported that the Tulsa Race Riot was set off by a mob of 100% Americans on a wild rampage. Nothing was reported in the newspaper at the time as to the reasoning or what actually happened. It was only recently that the president of the National Association of Colored Peoples, Walter F White published The Eruption of Tulsa analysis giving the reasons for one of the first riots since the Civil War. The population of Tulsa changed from a sleepy western town to a vibrant rich oil town over night. From 18 000 people ,the population grew to 90 000. As a

Humanities essay on historical, cultural and artistic periods of

Humanities on historical, cultural and artistic periods of origin of images - Essay Example his style and for the first time in art destroyed the space between the people viewing the art and the event covered in the painting, in this case the entombment of Christ (Gardner & Fred 67). During this period, paintings were required to remove all sorts of superstitions and lasciviousness. Paintings also lacked adornments with beauty to excite lust and everything in it was orderly. The counter0reformation period, as directed by the church, also removed profanity and indecency by ensuring that holiness was observed in the house of God. Caravaggio’s work, especially the entombment of Christ, were especially striking for their serenity and orderliness, unlike the Last Judgment by Michelangelo that came under attack from the Church (Gardner & Fred 69). This was especially so in the counter-reformation period with its nudity that was later covered with painting over it. Judgment day also contained the Charon, a pagan symbol. These symbols were completely absent during the counter-reformation era. Judgment day was also criticized for not showing a bearded Jesus Christ or a seated Christ, which was required to create orderliness and serenity in the counter-reformation era. Another painting from the reformation era that came under attack was the Last Supper that was criticized for its dwarfs, drunken Germans and extravagancy. The painting of Madame de Pompadour is an embodiment of the high Rococo style of art that shows the madam in a nonchalant demeanor, which symbolized her high standing in society. The painting is also tracing her progression to official mistress from the bourgeoisie and finally to lady-in-waiting. The book, bookcase and quill all point to a pleasure in correspondence and the arts, which was the norm in French high society at the time. Her pose, which shows her as relaxed and confident, points to her new leisure that, was also associated with French high society. The rococo style, while initially being prevalent in decorative arts also crept

General Stored website report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

General Stored website report - Essay Example Besides, businesses have the capacity to place advertisements on Internet servers running from basic promoting too far reaching virtual brochures. Electronic Commerce is characterized as purchasing or selling, goods and services or data by means of computer systems, predominantly the Internet. Electronic Commerce has expansive incredible profits for both customers and the business included. These incorporate 24hour administration deals and buy administrations for both business and customers expanding the measure of offers for both customers and the business. There are no geological limits thus improving more deals for the business crosswise over diverse locale. There is a plausibility of making more deals channels for the merchants and the likelihood of offering numerous more items on the web. The overall revenue is high since there isnt quite a bit of costs acquired amid the item sale deal. Cross offers does happen a ton since the seller can compliment products expected to oblige the obtained merchandise. There is the E-mail promoting continuing serving to tell clients of new merchandise accessible in the business, when there are deals on checked costs of great or to simply convey new value records on things to customers. Much larger amount of discernment about your clients conduct, preferences, wants and so forth with this incredible information about your clients conduct on your e-trade store it will permit you to adjust your store over the long haul to make it more viable. Over the years mobile apps have also been added to the means of electronic Commerce to be practiced. This has generally made it really easy to even reach a new wide range of clients that do not have access to PC systems. Electronic commerce has generally made shopping really easy for all. This report is to help measure up and investigate client response to some of the renowned General stores websites

Finance & Public Expenditure in Scotland Since Devolution Essay

Finance & Public Expenditure in Scotland Since Devolution - Essay Example As an after effect of the constitutional change in UK, the distribution of revenue throughout the regional and territorial government in relation to its corresponding public expenditure was greatly affected. (McLean, 2003) In order to minimize and prevent an unfair distribution of UK revenue among the Enlish and British territories such as the Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, the need to examine the Barnett and the traditional Goschen formula used in the allocation of money to its corresponding territories arises. In line with the increasing concern over the use of Barnett and Goschen formula in the United Kingdom, the researcher will first conduct an in-depth analytical research study on the budgetary, financial arrangements, and public expenditure of Scotland including the impact of devolution over its finances. In the process, the researcher will discuss a brief history behind Scotland’s financial arrangements prior to devolution in 1999 including the application of the Goschen formula. The researcher will also provide an analytical description of the Barnett formula since its inception back in 1978 and subsequent revival in 1992. Eventually, the researcher will examine the strength and weaknesses of using the Barnett formula versus the Goschen formula. As stated in the third edition of the Statement of Funding Policy that was published by the Treasury back in July 2002, the financial arrangement between the United Kingdom and the Administration in Scotland follows the conventions for Scotland way back before the devolution. (Scotland Office, n.d.) Using the public expenditure framework controlled by the UK government, the HM Treasury allocates budget for the public expenditure of U.K., Scottish Executive, and Northern Ireland. The devolved Scotland administration normally receives a block grant. There are legally two components under a block grant known as the: (a) redistributed national non-domestic rates (NNDR); and (b) the Revenue Support

Risk management for small and medium transit agencies Assignment

Risk management for small and medium transit agencies - Assignment Example Elimination / minimization of hazards The mentioned Act merits that all the hurdles in the way of smooth working are to be addressed properly to take concrete steps to eliminate or minimize it. Potential hazards which may cause irreparable damage to life and assets should be taken seriously for removal. In case elimination is not possible then two options are left to address this issue, either to separate it or minimize it. By applying mentioned tactics, we may put to the hazard at its lowest ebb. The chain of control meant for ongoing monitoring and to analyze the risk that are in the way (Health and Safety in Employment Act). Initially, the business sector showed its anger on the inclusion of Health & Safety cover for the employees in the Employment Act 1992 with a view that they have to bear unnecessary burden of expenses that relates to health and safety measures for the employees within their area of operations of small to medium sized business concern (Health and Safety in Empl oyment Act). On the public side, it was applauded by the workers and treated this act of government, a step in the right direction. The effectiveness of this act can be gauged with this fact that it proves its lasting and positive impact. It definitely reduced the incident that took place in the past within the premises of working place in New Zealand prior to promulgation of this act (Health and Safety in Employment Act). Example Take the example of Ruth who  engages himself for the sewing of fashion garments that enables  Lavina to sell it from her apparel outlet called Lavina Modes. He does the job for Lavina on piece rates who, according to the broader term of the Act is the employer of Ruth. Therefore, where she works may be considered as place of work. In case Ruth does the job independently where the role of Lavina is an independent contractor. By all means as per the terms of the Act, he may be treated as self employed. It is a case of multiple factors, inclusive of reso urcing, economic dependence and the control of Lavina over Ruth. Employment Relations Act (ERA) The New Zealand Employment Relations Act 2000 came into being to safeguard the interest of human resources. Later on it was amended by the Parliament to meet the requirement. Courts and Authorities Under the mentioned Act, numbers of courts have been established to deal with the issues of Employment, Employers, Employees and the Self employed. The judges of the Competent Courts are appointed on the advice of Attorney General and the members of Employment Relations Authority are appointed by the Attorney General on the advice of the concerned ministry. The mediation service is the prerogative of labor department. These courts are empowered by the section 187 of ERA on the matter that relates employment disputes. The employment court in question has the status of the High Court of New Zealand (Rudman, 2009). According to Section 157, Employment Relations Authority has to carry out the inves tigation of the matter handed over to find out the factual status of the case and to resolve the issue between the employer and the employee. As per Section 144, Mediation Service is being provided by the Labor Department. However, section 164(b) empowers parties involved in disputes to resolve the issues themselves before knocking at the door of Employment Rel

Fourth amendment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Fourth amendment - Research Paper Example The origin of the amendment can be traced to the efforts by the Americans to suppress disputes in the infamous rebellious slanderous prosecutions. There was a violent disagreement in the state on what the phrase â€Å"Represent the People† meant. The Revolutionary period was characterized by mob actions that were instigated by; (a) taxation without representation, (b) the general searches’ enforcement of the tax laws; they lacked enough evidence of unlawful activity. The authority to perform the searches was provided by the British Parliament which was the legislative authority at that period. The mob grievances were further extended by the American’s inadequate indulgence in the decisions about how and when the searches could happen (Taslitz, 2006). The Revolution was motivated by the political theory and the disputes over the seizure and search policy. There was also concern over the insults that the people were being subjected by the state forces. A section of the insult was on the basis of the class; the uneducated, subordinate, and the low born officers were allowed to perform searches in the homes of high ranked free householders. The colonists were offended by the people who did the searches and the mode of choosing the suspects. The choice of suspects was done arbitrarily without enough supporting evidence of the wrong done by the individual and it lacked guidelines that would limit the officer’s discretion. The injustice was so intense and it was once equated to the ongoing slavery at period (Taslitz, 2006). In other words, the Amendment addressed the issues during the colonial America that involved the issuance of searches without a cause or a warrant of arrest. The Amendment is meant to safeguard the people of America from privacy violations in the form of seizures and searches of their cars, homes and other properties. The Amendment also covers issues concerning the unlawful arrest of people. The amendment is

Purnell's Domain of Culture for Argentina Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Purnell's Domain of Culture for Argentina - Essay Example Extended families are the norm and Argentines accord high respect to their elders. Willingness to Share Thoughts, Feelings, and Ideas Argentines are strongly vocal in sharing their thoughts, feelings, and ideas. They believe that it is important to be frank, direct, and open with others, although they balance their candor with tactfulness and diplomacy (Whittle, 1998, p.171). They do not like offending others, so they are careful in hurting other people’s feelings. They are unreserved with their opinions, but they are warm and friendly people who readily welcome guests into their country and homes (ISEP, 2010). Argentines are passionate in talking about art, literature, politics, sports, and music. They also openly talk about their families, because they are proud of their ancestries and achievements in life (Whittle, 1998, p.171). Though open to many issues, some Argentines are sensitive to people who do not cheer for their football team when watching at their arenas and some think that it is taboo to talk about Argentina’s relationships with the U.S., Brazil, or Great Britain (Bao, Clark, & Symington, 2010, p.42). Practice and Meaning of Touch Like other Latin American cultures, the Argentines practice touch as part of their communication strategies. People often touch each other while talking, especially family and close friends (Whittle, 1998, p.172). ... Touch is important to Argentines because it symbolizes respect and love. Health care providers are also expected to understand the meaning of touch to healing (Bosco, 2007). Nurses are most especially expected to touch patients while caring for them, such as patting their hands or shoulders to show empathy for their emotions. Spatial and Distancing Strategies When discussing something with friends, Argentines commonly do so in a close manner, even with strangers (Whittle, 1998, p.172). They maintain little distance with other speakers, particularly since they come from high-context cultures where lesser distance means more warmth and honesty (ISEP, 2010). Still, friends may speak closer with each other than other strangers, specifically if these strangers come from other cultures and Argentines may feel that the latter are not comfortable with close-distance communication practices. Eye Contact Argentines speak with each other using strong eye contact (ISEP, 2010). Maintaining eye co ntact means that people respect each other (ISEP, 2010). Argentines use direct eye contact with family and friends. They also do so even when they speak with strangers. Younger people also look directly at their elders to show their respect, although they may look down when they feel embarrassed and have wronged the latter. Gestures and Facial Expressions Argentines are passionate in expressing themselves, which some races would see as melodramatic and aggressive (Expatica.com, 2004). When discussing issues or problems with others, Argentines use â€Å"very punctuated gestures, facial expressions, choice of words and tone of voice† (Expatica.com, 2004). The words â€Å"disaster, chaos or cry† are common in their daily

Psychological Effects of Alcoholism Essay Example for Free

Psychological Effects of Alcoholism Essay Alcohol is a well known substance that has been present ever since. It provides a variety of functions for different people from the earliest times until today. In the past, alcoholic beverages were served not only as thirst quencher; it also played a significant role in the aspect of religion (Watson). Alcohol connotes pleasure and sociability through the enhancement of the quality of life. Most alcoholic beverages are well represented in wine, beer, and spirits. They have been accounted for numerous positive and negative effects upon consumption (Watson). While alcohol has been proven to be beneficial if taken moderately, its misuse may lead to alcoholism. Alcoholism is one of the prevailing social problems of today. Alcoholism is noted to be a chronic disease wherein the body becomes dependent on alcohol. It is characterized with alcohol obsession, and the person with alcoholism is unable to control the amount of alcohol being taken. Alcoholism can cause serious problems and may affect a persons relationship, health, finances, and work (â€Å"Alcoholism†). The physical effects of alcoholism are evidently well recorded. It is a general knowledge that the abuse of alcohol may lead to serious problems, most especially the abrupt deterioration of human health and its detrimental impact on the internal organs. Thus, most people often associate the impact of alcoholism on the physical health. However, what is less considered are its psychological effects that are much more damaging and equally painful to the physical effects that the alcoholic person is aware of (Briggs). It was found out that alcohol consumption and mental health are closely affiliated in numerous ways. Based from the summary presented by the institute of alcohol studies, â€Å"mental health problems can result [in] excessive drinking, but that problem drinking can lead to mental health problems† (Tolevanen et al. qtd. in Cattan and Tilford 142). Aside from this, it was suggested that external factors are major contributors to mental health and alcohol problems. These external factors include genes, social and family environment, psychological and culture influence, the perception about the impact of alcohol, and the level of acceptance for alcohol consumption (Tolevanen et al. td. in Cattan and Tilford 142) Moreover, the influence of the expectancies of alcohol greatly affects how people drink. Take for example the young and middle-aged adults. Since the said group of people has a positive perception on the effects of alcohol consumption, they tend to consume more alcohol. It was concluded that people who use alcohol consumption as a coping strategy perceive the effects of alcohol to be positive, and that alcohol reduces the repercussions of factors that induce stress (Satre and Knight qtd. n Cattan and Tilford 142). Hence, although there were evidences that alcohol consumption may have positive psychological effects, it is still apparent that the negative impact of alcohol on human psychology overshadows its positive effects. Depression, Anxiety, and Suicide Since alcoholic beverages are depressants, by the time they begin circulating within an individuals system, they decrease the activity carried out by the nervous system to the brain (Naq). Thus, it was noted that depression may be the cause or aftermath of alcoholism. Some studies suggest that the effects of alcohol have two phases, the initial of which is that it produces a feeling of euphoria which is then generated to depression by the time the alcohol level in the blood has gone down (Institute of Alcohol Studies [IAS] 6). It was also stated that, when an individual consumes an amount of alcohol that is more than the bodys capacity, it would result in stress. In the spur of the moment, a series of psychological manifestations of stress can be observed through anxiety. Certain conditions, such as restlessness, nightmares, and overwhelming fear, are some of the anxieties felt or experienced by an alcoholic (Naq). Dependence in alcohol also results in heightened emotions. Most alcoholics are in a high risk of depression and anxiety, creating a strong link between suicide and alcoholism (IAS 6). Aggression and Violence Many researchers have proven the link between alcoholism and aggression. It was believed that the excessive consumption of alcohol does not only promote aggressive behaviors, but it may also lead to victimization. Alcohol disrupts the normal functions of the brain. Thus, alcohol encourages aggressive behavior and violence. Violence is within the category of aggression, which is characterized by behaviors that are often threatening and hostile. The percentages of alcohol related violence are alerting, and the figures are still raised in the upper limits (U. S. Department of Health and Human Services). According to Bancroft, the consumption of alcohol allows offenders to act on what they desire (47). Because of this, offenders become more insulting and intimidating. Most often than not, perpetrators deny the activity and use alcohol as an excuse. Courts sometimes condone perpetrators who blame the committed crime to drinking problems (Bancroft 48). Obsession Alcoholics are identified as intense and obsessed people (Zimberg 4). Once a person becomes dependent to alcohol, obsession with drinking is the likely result. For an alcoholic, there is no difference between a large and small amount of alcohol. Because of alcohol dependence, a person loses interest with other activities except to get the next drink (Naq). Memory loss  An alcoholic is more likely to experience periods where one cannot remember a thing, otherwise known as ‘blackouts’. It is important to take into consideration that alcohol abuse may result in memory loss, which in turn, may be psychologically damaging and self destructive at great levels (Briggs). Apart from this, the dependence in alcohol has a great association with brain damage and cognitive impairment which may lead to an advance stage known as alcoholic dementia. When such advance case of memory loss is combined with amnesia, the intellectual function of the brain is then lost (IAS 16). Socio-Psychological Effects of Alcoholism The socio-psychological effects of alcoholism may be short term or long term. One of the most prominent short term socio psychological effects of alcoholism is ‘disinhibition’. This is well manifested when an individual lacks self regulation and control which leads to numerous anti-social behaviors. Furthermore, alcohol has the capability to repress a persons ability to respond to emotions and decrease inhibitions which, in the end, may cause the alcoholic to exhibit risky behaviors (Curtin et al. qtd. in â€Å"Short-term and Longer-term Effects†). Disinhibition also may result in activities that greatly affect the society such as crime and violence. For instance, in Australia, where alcohol is deeply embedded in the culture, out of 70% of crimes committed, 41% were done under the influence of alcohol (National Health and Medical Research qtd. in â€Å"Short-term and Longer-term Effects†). Long term socio-psychological impact of alcoholism is apparent in a family. Alcoholism is recognized as a â€Å"family disease. † In a family, the alcoholic may be a father, mother, teenager, and other close relative. Alcohol dependence of one member of the family may lead to family disruption and may put the whole family at risk that may last for a very long time. In a recent study done by the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services and SAMHSA’s (Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration) National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information, the numbers of American adults who have been vulnerable to alcoholism reached up to seventy six million (Parsons). Most family problems are blamed to alcoholism (Parsons). Family members take on different characteristics as a way of adapting to the situation. In the case of the family’s child or children, various attitudes may be noticed: (1) Family hero is a way by which a child acts on the responsibilities, exhibiting obsessive perfectionism and doing things that are â€Å"too good to be true;† (2) Scapegoat, wherein misbehavior and delinquency is a form of escape to the situation; (3) Lost child is characterized with passiveness and isolation from others to withdraw from the situation; and (4) Mascot, by making fun of the situation through comic relief (Donatelle and Davis qtd. n â€Å"Short-term and Longer-term Effects†). In the case of the spouse of the alcoholic, the spouse has to take on the status of both parents. This may cause the spouse to develop feelings of hatred, self-pity, and anti-social behavior. The spouse is also likely to become extremely exhausted, leading to physical and mental illness. Moreover, the non-alcoholic parent has the tendency to neglect the children (Berger qtd. in Parsons). The effects of alcoholism are not limited to the physical aspect. It is evident that it has adverse psychological effects that do not only affect the alcoholic individual, but extend to the society where the alcoholic belongs. Furthermore, based from the results that were framed from the study, it is suggested that comprehensive analysis on the psychological effect of alcoholism according to gender should be done so as to give further justification on the subject.

Google SWOT Analysis

Google SWOT Analysis 1. Introduction In the recent years, with the development of globalization and world economy, the market competition becomes fiercer and fierce. Modern corporations are paying attention to their external and internal environment, as well as the achievement of corporate social responsibility. In this way, they can improve themselves according to relevant analysis. This essay will use SWOT framework to analyze Google’s external and internal environment, use PESTE framework to analyze MacDonald’s and the influence of social responsibility on Fonterra’s decision making. At last, an overall conclusion will be made. 2. SWOT analysis for Google Google is an American multinational high-tech corporation and devotes itself to internet search, cloud computing, advertisement technology and other fields. It develops and provides large number of products and services based on internet. Its major profits are from advertisement services. After about twenty years’ development, it is recognized as the largest global internet search engine with billions of users. SWOT framework is used to confirm the corporations’ competition strengths and weaknesses, external opportunities and threats so that they can connect the internal resources with external environment together (Kurttila, M., Pesonen, M., Kangas, J., Kajanus, M. 2000). Strengths. The most powerful strength lies on its brand image. According to the most valuable brand list, Google was rewarded as the most valuable brand around the world with another 40% growth last year. In the past few years, Google ranked in the top of the brand list. In order to maintain its brand value, it manages to improve itself all the time. For example, Google X lab even tried to use fire balloon to provide Wi-Fi service for remote areas. Such creativity idea has inspired its brand value. In last year, Google Project Glass made great progress (Friesner, T. 2011). And Google would promote more revolutionary products for commercial world and its clients which indicated its brand value. The second strength is its people-oriented service and it is the best reason for Google users’ selection. Its search results are not prejudicial because it refuses payment for ranking and insists on offering search results which are closest to users’ psychological demand. The inte rface of Google remains clean and neat with quick loading rate. And searching results are not involved with any commercial operation and people would not see any mandatory advertisement. In addition, Google cares about details. Its logo looks like a little nifty. The colorful circle letters seem quite amiable (Jian, X. 2007). The humorous that Google shows anywhere makes users relaxing. Weaknesses. The appearance of search bomb exposed the cynicism of Google. It was out of some internet joke from politics or entertainment. When users type WMD in the search box, Google page may show presentation of â€Å"error†. The title may show â€Å"unable to display mass destruction weapon†. But Google does not intend to make any measures. Brin and Page stated they would not influence information searching. However, such attitude will result in loss of some users because they doubt Google’s problem resolving ability. In addition, the relaxed work environment and loose lifestyle are not suitable for everyone. Some old workers complaint they are discriminated because the environment tends to be personalized and full of youthful spirit (Halligan, B., Shah, D. 2009). In addition, such environment could not motivate its employees to a large extent. Opportunities. Exploring other fields is possible direction for Google’s future development, just like Baidu entered into B2B market. With strong infrastructure base, Google is able to launch new products and services for its users. For example, it introduced Android’s software to update its platform for mobile services. Google TV, Google glass, Double Click for Publishers, and other products have stimulated its users (Moussa, S., Touzani, M. 2010). It is widely regarded as a creative corporation. In this way, it can expand its market share now and then. In addition, Google can transfer its internet search into entity search. For example, Google can build its entity book database with books contents instead of only book’s cover and price. Although it will increase its cost, it can help people access what they want. As a result, Google can expand its market share and win users’ hearts. Threats. Leaders with talents have created the wonderful brand. But can Google maintain its initial core value when the leaders leave away? The humanism and creativity are from inspiration of Brin and Page. It is critical for Google to find proper successor to maintain its brand value. When Microsoft is using operating system to bundle browser to promote its IE system, now it is paying great attention to search engine. It will pose great threat when Microsoft bundle the search engine with its operation system. Google will lose great number of users. It has to take active measures to improve its customers’ brand loyalty. 3. PESTE framework on MacDonald’s As the largest multinational chain restaurant, MacDonald’s has more than 30,000 branches around the world. It mainly sells hamburger, chips, fried chicken, soft drink, salad, fruits and other fast food. However, its external environment is changing so that MacDonald’s has to make some measures to maintain and develop its business (Bivolaru, E., Andrei, R., Purcaroiu, G. V. 2009). PESTE framework can help analyze its macro environment effectively. Political factor. Political stability is critical for MacDonald’s normal operation. As a typical and widely recognized American culture, it can represent American flag in some degree. Since September 11 event, America became the leader of anti-terrorism which made itself the major target for terrorism activities (Yeu, C. S., et al 2012). With strong chain network around the world, adding that its restaurants always have intensified customers, it has large possibility that terrorists will regard it as the target. According to the global media press, explosion events occur in MacDonald’s restraints every month. In this way, it will damage its brand image and result in potential loss of customers. Economic factor. In the United States, competition in fast food market has turned white-hot. The financial crisis has influenced negatively in the fast food industry. On the one side, brands without competitiveness and brand value have to exit the industry while MacDonald’s itself will suffer more negative impact from shrinking consumption power. With limited market capacity, the owners open more and more branches. Every fast food restaurant is trying to attract potential customers by continual products creation and marketing creativity. MacDonald’s strongest competitor, Burger King is aggressively promoting its management reform. Wendy’s restaurant has promoted new salad production line. In addition, the number of chain stores under the brand of Mike Walls is more than the MacDonald’s. What are worse, railway fast food restaurants and other Sandwich restaurants are increasing by 12% every year (Paul, R., Roy, S. K. 2014). Under such circumstance, it is h ard to maintain its current market share. Social and cultural factor. With so many chain stores around the world and gaining profits in every region, MacDonald’s takes responsibility as well, such as the conflicts among different regions and ethics. With different cultural backgrounds, people’s values and consumption customs varies too much. For example, in May 2001, about 500 protesters held activities in MacDonald’s in New Delhi and other largest commercial cities. They threw cow dung toward MacDonald’s restaurants and looted one of them. And they asked Atal Bihari, president of India to shut up all the chain stores in India. The cause of the protest was MacDonald’s used beef ingredient to make fried chips but most Hindu believers regarded cattle as holy article. Hence, MacDonald’s has to compensate for India believer, vegetarians and other relevant institutions (Kulkarni, S. S. 2012). Besides, such event damaged MacDonald’s economic loss and brand image as well. Technological factor. The modern technology develops quite fast and the productivity is increasing as well. The scientific inventions and new technology application can shorten the new product development circle. When the product updating accelerates fast, MacDonald’s has to develop new products faster. In addition, with advanced and standardized chain operation model, MacDonald’s can establish its market by qualified products, amiable service and clean dining environment. It can arrange scientific training plans to improve its staff quality as well. Environmental factor. Consumers now are inclined to pursue green and harmless products. Hence, MacDonald’s attaches great importance to green and healthy dietary. Simultaneously, people are caring about environmental protection and putting an end to white pollution. For example, in the last year, bird flu was found in Beijing Restaurant and many customers did not dare to have dinner in its restaurant which damaged its brand image in some degree (Azim, P., Azim, S. 2012). In addition, MacDonald’s was accused of producing white pollutions and many environmental protectors protested its action. As a result, MacDonald’s exchanged its plastic into paper package. 4. Corporate social responsibility analysis on Fonterra Fonterra Co-operative Group was founded in October 2001 with head office in Auckland New Zealand. Fonterra is a merger of the two largest diary corporations in New Zealand. Now it is the largest corporation in New Zealand and the sixth diary producer around the world with annual sales of $8 billion. On August 2, 2013, Fonterra claimed that one factory found clostridium botulinum in its whey protein concentrate which caused brand damage to Fonterra (Gray, S., Le Heron, R. 2014)Although Fonterra concentrated on establishment of corporate social responsibility, there are still many aspects that it should make measures to improve. When Fonterra is creating benefits and shouldering legal responsibility on shareholders, it must be responsible for its employees, consumers, community and environment (Greening, D. W., Wall, J., Elias, S. R. 2012, December). 4.1 Fonterra’s social responsibility analysis from the classical viewpoint Although the primary is to implement economic responsibility, Fonterra must obey all the laws and regulations and drive its employees, partner, suppliers and other relevant parts to act behave as well. Ethics responsibility is the expectation from the society. Fonterra should reduce its negative impact of its operation activities, products and services. Dairy products are critical for people’s health so that Fonterra must take 100% attention to concentrate on its products quality. The optimization of industrial technology updating and industrial structure, development of Green Corporation, capability of a large employer, protection of environmental protection and social security must be attached great importance to (Kong, D. 2012). In addition, Fonterra should take active part in public interest and support community education, health, humanism care, culture and art, urban construction etc which can make it a good citizen. 4.2 Fonterra’s social responsibility analysis from the socio-economic viewpoint The economic benefits that Fonterra can bring are cost reduction and government grants. Firstly, Fonterra can raise the payment for its employees’ welfare standard which can improve their working enthusiasm and increase productivity. Simultaneously, the good image that Fonterra has can attract more talents and investors and increase its competitiveness. In the long run, Fonterra can reduce its operational cost and improve its sustainability. Secondly, Fonterra can bear social responsibility to increase its market value and gain the government grant or tax preference. The contribution toward employees, government, investors, public benefits and environmental protection is positively correlated with corporation value (Fu, S. 2014). Information users will expose relevant information to the external world to indicate its good performance and increase its market value. Speaking of the social benefits, it is reflected on corporation image and organizational culture. Hence, Fonterra can shoulder social responsibility to improve its social reputation, build brand loyalty among customers group. Good image will increase the trust and independence toward Fonterra’s products, especially for Dairy Corporation. Customers will consider the social responsibility together with its commercial reliability (Stahl, G. K.et al 2013). The implementation of social responsibility will expand to its product design, manufacturing period, product quality test and after sales service. In addition, by providing its employees with safe and comfortable working environment, building good labor-capital relationship, Fonterra can build a stable and loyal employees team and it can enhance their responsibility as well. Organizational culture will be built. 5. Conclusion This essay has analyzed Google’s internal strengths and weaknesses, McDonald’s political, economic, environmental, social and cultural, technological and environmental aspects and Fonterra’s social responsibility. In this way, readers can get a better understanding of their marketing environment and social responsibility issues. 6. References Azim, P., Azim, S. (2012). Impact of Constructive Marketing Strategies on Return (Revenue Profitability): A Case Study of Mcdonald’s. Journal of Asian Business Strategy, 2(7), 153-169. Bivolaru, E., Andrei, R., Purcaroiu, G. V. (2009). Branding Romania: a PESTEL framework based on a comparative analysis of two country brand indexes. Management Marketing, 4(4), 101-112. Friesner, T. (2011). History of SWOT analysis. Marketing Teacher, 2000-2010. Fu, S. (2014). The role of Chinese social media in reputation management: the case of Fonterra (Doctoral dissertation, Unitec Institute of Technology). Greening, D. W., Wall, J., Elias, S. R. (2012, December). Developing Theory in Corporate Social Responsibility and Social Entrepreneurship. In Proceedings of the International Association for Business and Society (Vol. 23, pp. 91-97). Gray, S., Le Heron, R. (2014). Globalising New Zealand: Fonterra Coà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ operative Group, and shaping the future. New Zealand Geographer, 66(1), 1-13. Halligan, B., Shah, D. (2009). Inbound marketing: get found using Google, social media, and blogs. John Wiley Sons. Jian, X. (2007). The Google Development Mode of the Library. New Century Library, 2, 005. Kong, D. (2012). Does corporate social responsibility matter in the food industry? Evidence from a nature experiment in China. Food Policy, 37(3), 323-334. Kulkarni, S. S. (2012). McDonald’s ongoing marketing challenge: social perception in India. Online Journal of International Case Analysis, 1(2). Kurttila, M., Pesonen, M., Kangas, J., Kajanus, M. (2000). Utilizing the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) in SWOT analysis—a hybrid method and its application to a forest-certification case. Forest Policy and Economics, 1(1), 41-52. Moussa, S., Touzani, M. (2010). Ranking marketing journals using the Google Scholar-based hg-index. Journal of Informetrics, 4(1), 107-117. Paul, R., Roy, S. K. (2014). Case Study 11: Marketing of Services: The McDonald’s Way. In Marketing Cases from Emerging Markets (pp. 99-112). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Stahl, G. K., Pless, N. M., Maak, T. H. O. M. A. S. (2013). Responsible global leadership. Global leadership: Research, practice, and development, 240-259. Yeu, C. S., Leong, K. C., Tong, L. C., Hang, S., Tang, Y., Bashawir, A., Subhan, M. (2012). A Comparative Study on International Marketing Mix in China and India: The Case of McDonalds. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 65, 1054-1059. Appendix. Google’s brand value

Agritourism Development In Sri Lanka Tourism Essay

Agritourism Development In Sri Lanka Tourism Essay Sri Lanka is an agricultural country and agriculture plays a vital role in the economy of the country contributing 12 GDP and 38 employment opportunities (Central Bank of Sri Lanka, 2010). Majority of the population of the country is in rural areas and the livelihood of most of these people is directly or indirectly related with agriculture. However, agriculture now has reached a relatively stagnation situation due to many problems in the sector such as high cost of production, low productivity of farm lands, poor marketing and processing facilities for agricultural products. Because of these problems, most of the people are moving out of agriculture and migrating for urban places finding jobs. This creates many socio-economic problems in rural as well as urban areas. Hence, adding extra income generating activities either through new enterprises on the farm or off-farm employment to sustain the field of agriculture would certainly enhance the economy of rural people. One of these ac tivities is agritourism that can help to find extra income, employment, and economic stability on their existing assets in a sustainable way. Agriculture is the most familiar industry for the rural people in the country and also barriers to entry the agritourism are fairly low as in comes under Small and Medium Enterprise (SMEs). Small-scale farms already have many of the assets that visitors seek. It can absorb the extra labour available in rural areas. When these factors are concerned, agritourism is highly suitable for Sri Lanka. 5.3.1 Agritourism development in Sri Lanka Looking at the current situation in Sri Lanka, it is not specifically recognized for agritourism as a part of the tours. The government promotion of the field is relatively very low compare to other tourism sectors. Focusing to currently available agritourism  options in Sri Lanka, some of the major attractions are the privately owned farms such as CIC Farm (Windsor park) in Hingurakgoda, Paradise Farm Kitulgala, New Zealand Farm Nuwara-Eliya, Ceylinco Fruit Farm Midigama are the famous ones. Few local Community-based agro tourism and Individual Operations are also in practiced in a small scale (Malkanthi and Routray, 2012). However, in the country, the potential for agritourism is high. There is a good agriculture sector in the country with attractive rural landscape. Also variety in agricultural climate helping to cultivate different crops in different parts of the country, the countrys complex paddy-cultivation system, tea, rubber, coconut, fruit farming and horticulture are some examples of this diverse agritourism potential (Malkanthi and Routray, 2012). The country has an agricultural heritage which is 2,500 years old. Visitors not only learn about modern agricultural processes but also appreciate traditional methods employed many centuries ago. The ancient irrigation systems comprise more than 25,000 tanks ranging from small water bodies to those that are colossal, such as the Parakrama Samudra in Polonnaruwa. The opportunity to intertwine agritourism with heritage tourism will definitely add more flavour to the niche-market experience. (Galappatti, 2012). http://lmd.lk/2012/01/01/sustainable-tourism-3/ With the end of the war, provision of basic infrastructure such as road facilities, clean water, and electricity for many rural areas is now going on successfully by the government. Country is economically and political stable and now peaceful. Furthermore, a large number of local and foreign visitors travel across the country annually. Most of these visitors can be easily attracted if the operations are managed well. Resources rich culture and cultural diversity, geographical characteristics, and socio-cultural entities, smiling faces, visitor friendly behavioural pattern, and delicious culinary would essentially be helpful in promoting agritourism in rural Sri Lanka (Senanayaka an Wimalaratana, 2010). Hence, there is a possibility to give the tourists a wider choice in Agritourism in the country. 5.4 Tourism policies in Sri Lanka Tourism is a vital area in the policy framework of a country. The present government has identified tourism as an effective driving force in the countrys socio economic development. The programs vision for the tourism sector is to make Sri Lanka the foremost leisure destination in the South Asian Region (Ministry of economic Development, 2010). The program believes that the human resources, natural and cultural endowments values and ethos will be fundamental in transforming Sri Lanka into a centre of excellence and offer tourists the highest values of authentic experiences in its unique setting. http://www.sltda.gov.lk/ Tourism policy in Sri Lanka has a quite long history. At the early stage (1960-1980) the policies were formulated focusing the development of mass tourism in the country. Since it was a big investment to run a tourist operation with lots of facilities, ordinary people couldnt do it and so, most of the benefits of tourism in this period had gone to the affluent society such as main hotel owners and tour operators. But, with the introduction of sustainable tourism concept in 1980s, a turning point of the tourism policies of the country took placed. As a result of it, rural tourism, ecotourism, nature tourism like niche tourism operations were initiated making the opportunity to engage in tourism by the local community and get some benefits. The Development Policy Framework of the Government of Sri Lanka is committed to a sustainable Tourism Development Strategy. Protection of the environment and distribution of economic benefits to the larger cross section of the society are key components of this overall vision. It aims at positioning Sri Lanka as a model tourist destination benefiting from the countrys natural advantages of having the highest biodiversity in Asia backed by a strong culture, historical artefacts, exotic beaches, green environment and friendly people all of which are solid building blocks for tourism development. The Sri Lanka Tourist Board was the primary agency of charge in promotional and organizational responsibilities of the tourist industry in Sri Lanka until 2005. It was the main regulatory and administrative authority of tourism facility development and activates in Sri Lanka as per the Tourism Development Act No.14 of 1968. Under this Act, the Sri Lanka Tourist Board approves registers and license all tourist establishments and proposed developments. In the year 2005, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) was established under Section 2 of the tourism Act No. 38, as the apex body for Sri Lanka Tourism, replacing the Sri Lanka Tourist Board. Currently, Sri Lank Tourism Development Authority is dedicated towards converting Sri Lanka to be Asias leading tourism destination by developing diverse, unique and quality tourism services and products that would make Sri Lanka as a unique destination in the world. Recognizing and developing tourist specific, unique products and servic es, preparing and executing Tourism Development Guidelines, and assisting and implementing the legal and executive process for new services and products development are the main responsibilities of it (Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, 2010). Exiting plans for the development of tourism industry in the country are; Tourism Master Plan, Sri Lanka in 1993, Southwest Coast tourism and community infrastructure development study in 2000, Ecotourism Development Strategy of Sri Lanka in 2003 and Sustainable Tourism Master Plan, Northwest Coast Sri Lanka in 2006-2007 (Government of Sri Lanka, 2007). The Tourism Development Strategy 2010-2016, the Future-Development Policy Framework is implementing in the country successfully. The government believes the multiplier effect of tourism development in formation of employment opportunities and distribution of wealth through a variety of economic activities predominantly in the SME sector, taking the advantage of SMEs being able to link micro enterprises from one side and large scale corporate sector on the other side. The tourism sector has been identified as one of the key sectors propelling the countrys economic growth. According to the core philosophy of the present master plan for tourism development, the ultimate beneficiaries of tourism development strategy should be the people of the country: the farmers who supply rice, vegetables and fruit, the fishermen who deliver the catch of the day, the craftsmen who produce souvenirs, the guides who escort the visitors and the young men and women serving in the industry with the unique Sri Lankan hospitality. 5.4.2 Strategies involved There is a great scope for promoting tourism particularly within the region due to historic and cultural ties of Sri Lanka with the South Asia, Middle-East and Far-East. Sri Lanka is part of a region which includes already industrialized economies such as Japan, Korea, and Singapore and rapidly emerging economies such as India and China which are capable of altering the economic landscape of the world during the next few decades. Sri Lanka also with its unique geographical location, diversity, quality human resources, peace and stability has all the ingredients in place to play a key role in the regional development as a fast emerging market economy in Asia (Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, 2010). The Tourism Development Strategy 2010-2020 is addressing the wider important issues related to the industry including the government policy, capacity and manpower build-up requirements, infrastructure development, improving service standards, marketing and promotions, regulations, guidelines, public relations, tourist safety and improvements to domestic tourism (Table 5.4). In this ten year master plan, several important strategies that are going to be covered are creating an environment conducive for tourism, attracting the right type of tourists to the country, ensuring that departing tourists are happy, improving domestic tourism and contributing towards improving the global image of Sri Lanka (Tourism Development strategy in Sri Lanka, 2010). Table 5.4 Summary of Tourism Policy strategies and targets Source: The Department of National Planning of Sri Lanka, 2010 5.4.3 Policy Framework to Support Investors and the Industry The government has addressed several policy related issues that are affecting the industry such as, (a) the restoration of a simple tax regime to obtain benefits for the stakeholder (b) simplification of licensing procedures to make easy and quick procedure of getting license (c) reduction of the high electricity tariffs to overcome to cost of tourism operations (d) unification of the regulatory environment and creating a single authority for tourism promotion to make efficient and effective management mechanism,(e) creating opportunities to promote shopping of internationally reputed branded products and entertainment to enhance the quality standards, (f) simplification of the investment approval process by setting up of a One Stop Shop for tourism related investments to motivate the investors, (g) streamlining the process of alienating government land for tourism development projects to overcome the space problem, (h) attracting internationally reputed tourist hotels to enhance the standard of the industry and, above all (i) environmentally friendly, clean-city concept for urban development to make cities attractive for the visitors, (http://srilanka.travel/catalog/view/theme/default/image/pdf/English.pdf, 2012) 5.4.4 Ecotourism policy in Sri Lanka There is no separate policy for agritourism or rural tourism. They are still under the ecotourism policy guidelines. Ecotourism policy was formalized in the recent past and therefore, it has a very short history. With the expansion of the ecotourism sector and the related institutions, in year 2003 government has taken the initial step to develop the ecotourism sector with the help of the Norwegian Technical Assistance program and prepared the document ecotourism policy guidelines. It is a detailed document and all policy aspects regarding ecotourism have been explained clearly. The main features of the policies have been summarized in the table 5.5. This national ecotourism policy outlines the principles, objectives and actions that necessary to facilitate the development of a sustainable tourism industry that contributes to resource conservation while optimizing economic benefits for the current and future generations of the country. The regulations have been compiled as to help al l those involved in tourism in Sri Lanka to ensure that the industry is developed, managed, and regulated in a sustainable manner, to appropriate standards. By highlighting the core requirements of ecotourism, it is intended that the regulations will enable planning bodies to make fair and informal assessment of proposed ecotourism development, activities and facilities (Sri Lanka Tourist Board, 2003) . 5.4.5 Need for Agritourism policy As mentioned before, agritourism is similar to ecotourism in several ways. Both are rural tourism sectors and niche tourism operations. They have very close links with local residents, natural environment, rural development and local governments. So that, most of the aspects of agritourism development such as establishment, management, can be handled by the ecotourism policy in the country. However, when agritourism is concerned, it has a strong forward and backward links with one of the big sectors agriculture. Agriculture is the backbone of the economy of Sri Lanka. The ecotourism policy is unable to handle the agricultural side of agritourism such as agricultural land management, loans and credits, training and education, quality control of farm products, marketing of agricultural goods and services etc. As per the present statistics and future estimations of visitors in the country in the chapter 6.3, there will be a good demand for agritourism in near future. Moreover, as explai ned in the chapter 6.2, the present visitors are not satisfied with many attributes of agritourism operations due to poor levels. Furthermore, according to the chapter 6.3 regarding the local residents perception on the contribution of agritourism for the local development is not so high. In this context in order to have a better satiation, it is important to have a separate set of policy for agritourism development. Fortunately, the current government has realized the importance of agritourism and it has been included in the future development agenda (Ministry of Finance and Planning, 2010). Therefore, it is timely important to pay attention on important policies by now to motivate the agritourism development in the country Table 5.4: Ecotourism Policy in Sri Lanka Aspect Description Principles of Ecotourism 1. Minimize alleviate negative environmental, social cultural impacts. 2. Optimize revenues for industry and for re-invest in conservation. 3. Optimize the active involvement of equitable distribution of economic benefits to local communities. 4. Educate visitors and citizens about the importance of conserving Sri Lankas natural cultural heritages. 5. Promote ethical behaviour responsibilities towards the nature cultural environment. 6. Manage operations such that there are long term benefits to the resource, industry and the local community. 7. Deliver a high quality, value-for-money, enlighten and participatory natural resource and culture-based experience for visitors. 8. Encourage travel in a spirit of humanity, respect and learning about local hosts, their culture and the natural environment. Objectives of ecotourism 1. to promote facilitate the development of ecotourism sites, activities and facilities in a manner that is consistent with the principles of ecotourism. 2. to educate all stakeholders about the concept of ecotourism, the economic opportunities that it offers and the actions that are required to develop a successful industry in Sri Lanka. 3. to expand the range of ecotourism products, services and facilities available in Sri Lanka. 4. to increase the number of Sri Lankans involved in ecotourism and facilitate the development of community-owned and managed ecotourism enterprises. 5. to contribute to and influence a more sustainable form of tourism in Sri Lanka, through a diverse range of measures: incentives, education, guidelines, regulations and marketing. 6. to contribute to conservation of natural eco-systems. Ecotourism policy interventions 1. In the planning and regulation of the ecotourism sector. 2. In developing, managing and operating ecotourism facilities and activities. 3. In ecotourism at natural and cultural heritage sites. 4. In Community/local economic development. 5. In conservation, education and awareness and 6. In Ecotourism implementation. Source: Ministry of Tourism, Sri Lanka, 2008 5.4.6 Agritourism Policies in Other Countries The development of agritourism raises substantial policy issues. Two reasons for this are that agritourism may generate significant externalities and that it is of considerable economic importance as an activity. Development policies are decisions taken by the government for the improvement of particular sector/aspect of a country and agritourism development policies are decisions drawn by the government for the improvement of the agritourism sector of a country. Many countries that are conducting agritourism have developed agritourism development policies according to their own context. Many government agencies have introduced policies and programs with the aim of encouraging agritourism development. A wide variety of government laws and regulations are essential for the smooth functioning of agritourism Operations and sustainable development in future. After reviewing the many policies and programs aimed at agritourisrm development, support can be categorized into three areas: fina ncial aids, technical information and marketing strategies. These broad strategies tend to promote agritourism development by affecting either supply or demand. Financial Aids Incentive policies and programs directed at increasing agritourism development have been launched in many countries (Hjalager, 1996; Frater, 1983). In Britain, the Farm Diversification Grant Scheme came into effect in 1987 and provided financial assistance to farm operators wishing to set up an ancillary business on or adjacent to their farm (Gasson, 1988). This policy was aimed at maintaining the farmers income while the government reduced support prices for agriculture products. Unfortunately, the policy did not prove to be successful, since many farm operators chose not to participate in the program (Ilbery, 1992; Gasson, 1988; Winter, 1987). Financial assistance for agritourism development continues to be provided throughout many parts of Europe (Williams, 1996; Greffe, 1994; Frater, 1985). In France, farmers can obtain grants or loans to finance the conversion of farm buildings (Greffe, 1994). In West Germany, financial aid is available for agritourism facility development withi n the context of village renewal and regional development programs (Williams, 1996). Authorities in Portugal, Belgium, Spain and ltaly also provide financial assistance for rural development. The Irish government created the Operational Programme for Rural Development as a mechanism to diversify the rural economy (Williams, 1996). Initially this policy met with limited success, until it was modified in 1991 to expand its financial support and accept a wider range of participants (Williams, 1996; Reid et al., 1993 Technical Information Another type of action taken by authorities is the provision of technical information and consultation services to farm operators. In the United States, the Small Business Administration organized advisory and training services (Greffe, 1994). Workshops are devoted to such subjects as retail trade, home-based businesses, promotion of tourist products and managing businesses in the hospitality sector (Gustafson, 1997). In particular, the state of New York has developed several publications on how to open and operate a farm based bed and breakfast business. Authorities in this state have also initiated conferences for agritourism fanners. These sessions focused on issues such as promoting and merchandising your business, insurance and legalities, making your business multi-seasonal and thinking like a tourist(Williarns, 1996). In certain European countries, the systematic labeling of agritourism businesses has become a primary objective for some authorities. Onicials in France, Germany and Austria have developed a national system to ensure high standards amongst al1 agritourism operators (Williams, 1996; Greffe, 1994). The guidelines used by authorities are very detailed and are strongly enforced. Many countries have organized information through training sessions. The Nordic countries have responded to the needs of agricultural universities by providing courses through universities and colleges (Greffe, 1994). In Austria, the Farm Holiday Association provides training sessions on tourism trends, marketing and sales, investments and public relations. These services are provided for both the farm operators as well as staff members (Embacher, 1994). German officials offer training sessions to local farm operators which focus on the needs of paying guests (Williams, 1996). In Wales, a specific program has been set up, Getting into Rural Tourism, which is intended to train people in the management of paying guests (Greffe, 1994). Marketing Strategies In many parts of the world, government agencies are trying to bridge the gap between agritourism businesses and their potential customers by offering marketing support. Promotion could include such strategies as the development of brochures and also participation in tourism trade shows. In Belgium, it is the Office de Promotion Touristique that assumes this marketing role (Greffe, 1994). It is the Austrian Farm Holiday Association that promotes agritourism in Austria. This association is a w-operative marketing organization which links individual farm businesses on a regional, provincial and federal level (Embacher, 1994; Bramwell, 1994). In France, the Gites De France Services, Logis de France Service and the WF Tourisme were al1 created for advertising and marketing purposes (Greffe, 1994). The federal and state governments in Germany are instrumental in promoting farm-based accommodations, especially for the small and medium-size farms. (Oppermann, 1996). The Australian State Tour ism Industry Association plays an intricate role in marketing and promoting host farms (AFACT, 1997). Finally, in New York State, the promotion and marketing of host farms is accomplished through Farm Tour brochures (Hilchey, 1993). 5.4.7 Issues and Challenges of the Agritourism sector in Sri Lanka Firstly, strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of agritourism were analyzed the operators point of view. After that, these factors were also discussed with key informants and local government officers of the area to examine them in different point of views to get a complete picture of it (Table 5.5). Finally main challenges (weaknesses and threats) were clearly identified. Table 5.5: SWOT Analysis for policy related issues of agritourism using Operators, Key Informants and Local Government Officers Strengths Availability of farm land/s for the operators. Use of traditional knowledge and skills in farming and agritourism activities. Ability to use family labour Ability to integrate with other tourism sectors and arts and crafts industry. Positive attitude and enthusiasm of the operators Weaknesses Mostly small size farms Problems on ownership of some farm lands Less variety in supply of agritourism Lack of knowledge on foreign languages (especially English) of operators Lack of necessary skills Poor level of processing of farm products Problems with quality control of goods and services Limited scope for direct sales of the produce Poor publicity and promotion of operations Opportunities Natural scenic beauty, clean environment and attractive climate in farming areas Availability of human resource (labour) for farm and tourism work. Some support form government and some NGOs for the operations (credit facilities/ training programs). Support from local people (community participation). Since agritourism is getting popular in the world, raising demand and potential for expansion. Up coming supportive infrastructure development initiatives at national and provincial levels. Threats Lack of organization, a responsible authority for development, marketing, facilitation and regulation. Unavailability of a common agritourism development fund at local level Competition among agritourism operations Lack of systematic taxation for agritourism operations Weak management of negative impacts. Poor distribution of positive impacts Tourism development by operators merely focused on income generation. Poor level of infrastructure facilities. Insufficient government intervention Monopoly of tour operators. Lack of stakeholder collaboration. Political influences Low number of visitors Lack of community participation and participation readiness due to low socio-economic conditions. Insufficient capacity of local community to take part in agritourism development successfully. Unavailability of insurance policy for many destinations Lack of research in agritourism There are significant challenges facing by the agritourism sector at present. This requires designation management approach to come up with solutions resulted from a clear strategic thinking process. Further, to fully realize the opportunities assuring mutual benefits through tourism, capitalize on strengths, understanding shared responsibility of industry stakeholders and communicates it appropriately expecting strategic commitment from the industry. 5.4.8 Policy Suggestions for Agritourism Development in Sri Lanka Policy formulation is a systematic process. Identification of policy goal, formulation of policy objectives based on the policy goals, understanding of policy action for each policy objectives and identification of strategy for each and every policy action is the general procedure. When a policy is formulated, it is very important to follow all the steps of the process to have accurate policies. The policy goal of this study was to reach the agritourism development in the country. According to the SWOT analysis, a number of challenges (weaknesses and threats) of agritourism development were identified. In order to overcome these challenges, three broad policy objectives were drawn as agritourism development, visitor satisfaction and community development. Under each policy objective, relevant problems, suitable policy suggestions and policy strategy for each and every policy suggestion were formed. Several discussions with university lecturers were conducted in this regards. Results are present in the (Table 5.6). 5.4.8.1 Broad Policy Objectives of the Development of Agritourism Sector a. Agritourism Development in the Country Agritourism will be able to bring some support for life and prosperity of the country that is capable of sound economic prospects facilitating integrated development. It may require minimal additional investment and may utilize excess capacity of labour, capital, land, and natural resources. There are potential benefits of agritourism for local agriculture and rural communities. Tourists bring in money to local communities that keep rural communities alive and prosperous. Partnering of tourism and the green industry will help create and strengthen rural economics. b. Visitor Satisfaction in Agritourism Tourist satisfaction primarily reflected the service quality and is crucial to the continued viability of any service business, including agritourism businesses. Therefore, consideration on the aspect is important to successful destination marketing because it influences the choice of destination, the consumption of products and services, and the decision to return. Consideration should be on local and non local visitor satisfaction. It is vital to understand the areas such as how do visitors assess their satisfaction with tourist attractions as well as the factors influencing visitor satisfaction. c. Community Development and Agritourism It is obvious that the diverse communities that involve in agritourism seek fair rewards for their involvement, commitment, and resources deployed for development. The proposed agritourism development should focus on this aspect and be reasonable for delivering such rewards for the communities who actively take part in every aspect of agritourism from planning and development to operations. Table 5.6: Policy Goals and Respective Policy Suggestions and Strategies Policy objective Issues and challenges Policy suggestion/s (at different government levels) Relevant Policy Strategies Policy objective 1 Agritourism development Farm lands are small in size Provision of lands for needy agritourism operators by the national government Distribution or long term leasing of government lands Provision of access to public lands around the destination Introduction of Community-based agritourism for the farmers Networking of small scale agritourism operators Problems in the ownership of some farm lands Provision of ownership to the operators by the national government Provision of real ownership or user right. Avoid land disputes. Lack of capital for agritourism development Promotion of financial support systems by the national government Loans at concession rate for medium and scale farmers Loans at normal interest rate for large-scale operators Lack of knowledge and skills on agribusiness management Provision of required education and training, information technology and related extension services for relevant personnel by the provincial governments Workshops, seminars, awareness programs, lectures on agritourism development and marketing should be conducted in suitable time durations Unavailability of a responsible authority for development, facilitation and regulation of agritourism Formation of an Agritourism Management Group for relevant provinces by the provincial governments Agritourism management group should include representatives of all the categories of stakeholders and it should be the responsible body for coordinating, development, marketing, facilitation and regulation of agritourism activities. Low number of visitors due to poor level of promotion and marketing of agritourism Formation of marketing strategies by the Agritourism Management Group of the Province National government supported advertising and promotions Marketing via websites , face book, at

A Change of Fate in A Tale of Two Cities Essay -- Tale Two Cities Essa

A Change of Fate in A Tale of Two Cities      Ã‚  Ã‚   Authors may use one character to instantaneously change the fate of another character. Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities presents such situations through the characters Lucie Manette, Dr. Manette and Charles Darnay. Lucie, unaware of the existence of her supposedly dead father, Dr. Manette, suddenly discovers through Jarvis Lorry that her father still lives. Lucie learns of the optimistic plans to return her beloved father back to a healthy condition and her future involvement in her father's life. Dr. Manette, after 18 years of imprisonment and harsh treatment, experiences detrimental harm to his mental state and loses his ability to lead a normal life. However, Lorry reunites Dr. Manette with his daughter and travels with them to England in hopes of brightening Dr. Manette's future and improving his deteriorated condition. Later, Charles Darnay, a prisoner in England on trial for treason, receives an acquittal, barely escaping death. Darnay avoids a hi ghly expected guilty verdict with the assistance of his defense lawyers, Mr. Stryver and Mr. Carton. By examining Lucie Manette, Dr. Manette and Charles Darnay, the reader comes to see that through the assistance and intervention of others, one's fate suddenly changes to benefit him.    Lucie Manette experiences a positive change of fate with the sudden intervention and assistance of Mr. Lorry. Lorry unexpectedly notifies Lucie of the existence of her father, as he describes his plans and her role in reviving Dr. Manette to a healthy state. "But he has been found. He is alive...Your father has been taken to the house of an old servant in Paris, and we are going there: I, to identify him if I can:... ...tance of other characters. Mr. Lorry reunites Lucie with her father, Dr. Manette, brightening the future of both of them. Lucie, deprived of a father during childhood, suddenly discovers the existence of her father and her golden opportunity to bond with him. Dr. Manette, troubled by years of harsh treatment, begins his once unimaginable path to recovery. Later, Charles Darnay, a prisoner suspected of treason, avoids a highly expected guilty verdict with assistance of his lawyers, Stryver and Carton. Dickens masterfully depicts that one's fate can change at any instant to benefit him. Hopefully, such a sudden and beneficial change of fate will occur to people worldwide, especially to those living in a constant state of fear and violence. Work Cited Dickens, Charles. A Tale of Two Cities. The Oxford Illustrated Dickens. 1949. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1987.

Stereotypes and Stereotyping of Native Americans in The Last of the Moh

The Last of the Mohicans and Stereotyped Native Americans [1] Native Americans were part of this country long before our founding forefathers. They were the people that Christopher Columbus found inhabiting this land. There is even evidence to show that they have been on the American continents for thousands and even tens of thousands of years. Yet, somehow the European powers dominated these people, forcing them from their land to make it â€Å"ours.† In the early part of the twentieth century, a new industry began to develop; we call it the film industry. Along with the industry came movies that were made and are still made for the amusement of a mass audience. Some flaws did come with this industry, and among them was the depiction of Native Americans. â€Å"Anonymity is a feature of the Indian portrayed in film†¦many do not have names or speaking parts† (Bataille and Hicks 10). Native Americans often speak with a broken dialect or â€Å"baby† English. They are not able to fully understand or expre ss complete thoughts in the English language. This makes them appear to the audience as a lesser character. The second role of Native Americans in film is that of a sidekick or crony of some white hero, like Tonto in The Lone Ranger (1938). In these films â€Å"The Native American The Native American was placed into one of the following four roles: the first isthe comedic Indian, the jester of the frontier court. This Indian spoke in simple is clearly secondary in importance† and was never the hero (Crowdus 297). The two most significant roles of the Native American are the bloodthirsty savages and their counterparts the â€Å"noble† savages. [2] These two opposite characteristics were adopted from the â€Å"images and stereotypes wh... ...l, Stuart. â€Å"The Question of Cultural Identity.† Modernity and Its Future. Ed. Stuart Hall, David Held, and Tony McGrew. Cambridge: The Open University, 1992. 273-316. McWilliams, John. The Last of the Mohicans: Civil Savagery and Savage Civility. New York: Twayne Press, 1995. Pearce, Roy Harvey. Savagism and Civilization: A Study of the Indian and the American Mind. Los Angeles: University of California UP, 1988. Rosenstone, Robert A. Visions of the Past: The Challenge of Film to Our Idea of History. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1995. Schlesinger, Arthur M., Jr. The Disuniting of America. New York: Norton. 1992. Schwartz, Seymour L. The French and Indian War, 1754-1763: The Imperial Struggle for North America. New York: Simon &Schuster, 1994. Steele, Ian K. Betrayals: Fort William Henry and the â€Å"Massacre†. New York: Oxford UP, 1990.

How to Support Individuals With Specific Communication Needs

Support individuals with specific communication needs Unit 4222-324 (HSC 3029) 1 – Understand specific communication needs and factors affecting them 1. Explain the importance of meeting an individual’s communication needs Individuals who have communication problems need support to enable them to express themselves effectively. It is therefore important for the carer to be aware of the individuals preferred method of communication and also to support the individual to use their preferred method. Individuals have the right to communicate through their chosen method and their choice should be acknowledged and respected by supporting them. The individual’s right are particularly important when using specific communication methods and language because it’s their major way of communicating their needs and preferences. Communication is a basic human right. Without communication the individual is unable to realise or exercise their rights. Under the Human Rights Act 1998 all individuals have the right to ‘freedom of expression’. If unable to communicate they would be denied these rights. 2. Explain how own role and practice can impact on communication with an individual who has specific communication need As a carer it is your role and responsibility to support individuals to express themselves. The way in which you can do this is by assessing their needs, access information regarding their communication needs, providing the appropriate support, aids or equipment, encouraging and motivating communication, working with others and by monitoring the effectiveness of that support. Without the appropriate support the individual would be unable to express their needs or how they are feeling which can lead to both emotional and physical difficulties. By fully supporting individuals with specific communication needs you are able to support their rights. 3. Analyse features of the environment that may help or hinder communication It is difficult and frustrating to communicate effectively when there is background noise, therefore arranging the environment to aid communication is very important step to achieving effective communication with ndividuals. As a carer you should arrange the individual’s environment to facilitate effective communication and promote understanding. This can be done by ensuring privacy and going into a quiet room Some factors that can hinder good communication are:Poor lighting, individuals with poor sight are unable to see youBackground noise from the TV, radio, other individualsObstacles between you as a care worker and the individual eg furnitureInsufficient distance between you and the individual, leading to you encroaching on their personal space.4. Analyse reasons why an individual may use a form of communication that is not based on a formal language system Sensory disabilities Hearing loss Sight loss Learning disabilities Down’s syndrome Autism Physical disabilities Cerebral palsy Mental health problems Dementia Other mental health problems 5. Identify a range of communication methods and aids to support individuals to communicateBritish sign language (BSL)Picture exchange communication systems (PECS)Talking microwavesHearing aidsInterpreterTranslatorAdvocate1. Describe the potential effects on an individual of having unmet communication needs. Behaviour – If an individual is not supported to communicate effectively they can become increasingly withdrawn, depressed and isolated. This may affect their self-esteem and they may begin to develop feelings of frustration and uselessness. Their behaviour may change as they vent their frustrations with acts of anger or even violence. Others may become confused, angry and frustrated. These effects include:Physical and emotional problemsDepression Isolation, becoming withdrawn from othersFrustrationLow self esteemLoss of confidenceA feeling of uselessness2 – Be able to contribute to establishing the nature of specific communication needs of individuals and ways to address them 2.1 Work in partnership with the individual and others to identify the individual’s specific communication needsTalking to the individual or observing the individual interacting with others.Accessing previous records after permission has been sought from the appropriate person.Talking to colleagues who know the individual. Talking to family membersTalking to other professionals2.2 Contribute to identifying the communication methods or aids that will best suit the individual By observing the individual when they are communicating with you or others you will be able to identify the methods or aids which will best suit the individual. You may have noticed that the individual appears hard of hearing. You would then arrange a hearing test for the individual to establish if they have a problem and obtain equipment in the form of hearing aids, if needed. 2. Explain how and when to access information and support about identifying and addressing specific communication needs. During an initial assessment an individual’s ability and communication methods are established. This is done when an individual arrives into care. Everyone involved in the care of this service user is made aware of their needs and preferences regarding communication and any changes are recognised during reviews and shared with the team to ensure the individual’s needs are met. 3 – Be able to interact with individuals using their preferred communication 3. prepare the environment to facilitate communication 3.2 Use agreed methods of communication to interact with the individual 3.3 Monitor the individual’s responses during and after the interaction to check the effectiveness of communication By observing an individual’s communication cues (non-verbal signal used with or without speech to indicate the individual’s thoughts and feelings) and exercising effective listening, you will be able to determine if the individual has understood the communication. By asking closed questions you will be able to confirm that they have understood what has been said. Also by asking them to repeat what you have discussed you will be able to confirm their understanding. 3.4 Adapt own practice to improve communication with the individual. use closed questions to obtain yes or no answersuse open questions to encourage a more in-depth answeravoid asking too many things at once to prevent confusionallow the individual time to respondnot interrupt the individual whilst they are communicating or anticipate their responseshow the individual that you are interested in them.Use appropriate body language such as nodding, smiling and leaning towards the individual.Avoid using jargonBe aware of the different meanings of words e. g. Jam, could mean a preserve or could mean a blockage as in traffic jam.Keep communication simple4 – Be able to promote communication between individuals and others 4.1 Support the individual to develop communication methods that will help them to understand others and be understood by them As a carer you should encourage and motivate individuals to communicate by providing the correct support, aids and equipment. It is your responsibility to ensure that the individuals you provide care for and others involved in the individuals’ lives are able to communicate effectively. For communication to be effective everyone involved will need to have the same understanding of the communication method used. When supporting individuals with their communication you may need to support others with whom that individual wishes to communicate. This could include other carers, family, friends, peers or professionals. 4.2 Provide opportunities for the individual to communicate with others 4.3 Support others to understand and interpret the individual’s communication 4.4 Support others to be understood by the individual by use of agreed communication methods. For communication to be effective all the people involved will need to have the same understanding of the communication method used. When supporting individuals with their communication you may need to support others with whom that individual wishes to communicate. Support may involve the use of human aids, symbolic aids and technical aids. You will need to explain the appropriate communication method and also show the others how the communication aids work. Wherever possible the support given should encourage the individual to do as much of the communicating as independently as possible. 5 – Know how to support the use of communication technology and aids 5.1 Identify specialist services relating to communication technology and aids Aids and equipment are often provided through the social services department of your local council. The National Health Service (NHS) Hospital Eye Service can also prescribe a range of aids for people with partial sight. All blind and visually impaired people are entitled to a health and social care assessment from their local council. This means someone from social services  will assess their needs to make sure you get the equipment and services that are right for them. The local social services department can put them in touch with a rehabilitation worker, who can help individuals to communicate more easily 5. Describe types of support that an individual may need in order to use communication technology and aids Support may be provided in various forms. Some users will require regular support and advice with regard to use of the communication aid. Support can also come from within the user’s own family. It is important to identify the level of support each individual user has within their own environment. Family members can be of great help in supporting the user especially in the initial stages of using the communication aid. In order to ensure that the user obtains the maximum benefit from the new technology, training must be provided. The most important training needs for the user is competence in the use of the communication aid. This should consist of instruction in the operation of the particular communication equipment as well as maintenance and charging of the equipment if necessary. It may be important to provide training to all the carers, or it may be appropriate to select a few to be trained to deal with different aspects of the communication aid and its use in the environment. Explain the importance of ensuring that communication equipment is correctly set up and working properly. As a carer it is important that you ensure any equipment the individual use’s to communicate with, is available, working and is in a safe condition. With regards health and safety, electrical communication equipment should be checked by a qualified and approved electrician to ensure it is fit for use. The equipment should have a label attached to it stating when the equipment was tested, who by and when the next check is due. 6 – Be able to review an individual’s communication needs and the support provided to address them 6.1 Collate information about an individual’s communication and the support provided The initial assessment will be carried out as stated earlier collating all risks and preferences from the individual. This information together with the communication method the individual prefers and any aids which they use to support their communication will then be written into the individuals care plan so that any changes to the base line can be monitored. This record should include the nature of their communication differences, how they show themselves and ways which you have found are effective in overcoming the differences. 6.2 Contribute to evaluating the effectiveness of agreed methods of communication and support provided The agreed methods of communication and support are only effective for as long as the individuals communication skills remain the same. If their skills change then so do their support needs. As a carer you will be expected to recognise and report on changes to the individual’s communication skills. 6. Work with others to identify ways to support the continued development of communication. It is important that everyone involved in the care of the individual works as part of a team to establish the best support for that person. When changes occur it is important that the correct help and support is obtained immediately so that the individual does not feel frustrated or isolated by being unable to communicate effectively. Significant changes in an individual’s ability to communicate should be referred to the speech therapist or GP involved in the individual’s care for professional investigation and monitoring.