Philippine Educational Status Essay

Philippine education is patterned after the American system, with English as the medium of instruction. Schools are classified into public (government) or private (non-government). The general pattern of formal education follows four stages: Pre-primary level (nursery, kindergarten and preparatory) offered in most private schools; six years of primary education, followed by four years of secondary education. College education usually takes four, sometimes five and in some cases as in medical and law schools, as long as eight years. Graduate schooling is an additional two or more years. Classes in Philippine schools start in June and end in March. Colleges and universities follow the semestral calendar from June-October and November-March. There are a number of foreign schools with study programs similar to those of the mother country. An overall literacy rate was estimated at 95.9 percent for the total population in 2003, 96 % for males and 95.8 % for females. Compared with other countries, the literacy rate in the Philippines is quite high. Moreover enrolment rate is 99. 9% in primary level and 77. 8% in secondary level, which is higher than Singapore and the highest in ASEAN countries. However while statistics on educational attainment may be high, the economic situation in the Philippines is still not so good. The Philippines has succeeded in expanding its education in quantitative terms, but now they have to think about â€Å"Quality of education†. Three government organizations handle education in the Philippines. These are the Department of Education, Culture, and Sports (DECS), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). In 1999, the Department of Education, Culture and Sports, which governs both public and private education in all levels, stated that its mission was â€Å"to provide quality basic education that is equitably accessible to all by the foundati on for lifelong learning and service for the common good.† The Department also stipulated its vision to â€Å"develop a highly competent, civic spirited, life-skilled, and God-loving Filipino youth who actively participate in and contribute towards the building of a humane, healthy and productive society.† All these ambitions were embodied in the development strategy called â€Å"Philippines 2000.† The academic year in the Philippines is patterned after its wet/cool and dry/hot seasons. The hottest months of the year are from March to May, thus making them the â€Å"summer break.† The wet season starts in June, which also marks the beginning of the academic school year. Beginning 1993, DECS increased the number of school days from 185 to 200. The school year ends during the first few weeks of March. The Philippines, a Catholic country, has a two- to three-week break during Christmas in December and a four- to five-day break at the start of November to celebrate the Day of the Saints and the Day of the Dead. The language of instruction has been a much debated topic. For a country dispersed over 7,107 islands, with 11 languages and 87 dialects, colonized by Spain for more than 300 years, and educated by the Americans, the decision to pick a particular language of instruction has been very controversial. The languages used for instruction have switched from Spanish to Tagalog, to English to the local vernacular, including some Chinese languages, and Arabic, which is used in the southern part of the country. According to an official publication of the U.S. Library of Congress, the Philippine census reported that during the 1990s a total of 65 percent of Filipinos understood English. During the last four decades of the twentieth century, education in all levels had vastly improved. In the compulsory elementary level, from 1965-1966, there were a total of 5.8 million students enrolled, 4.5 percent of which were in private institutions. In 1987-1988 these numbers grew to 9.6 million enrolled, 6.6 percent of which were in private schools. By school year 1999-2000, 12.6 million were enrolled with 7.1 percent in the private sector. This level is for grades 1 through 6—ages 7 to 12. The various Philippine grade levels are referred to with cardinal numbers (one, two, three) rather than ordinal numbers (first, second, third). Secondary education is taught for 4 years from ages 13 to 16. Primary and secondary schools are taught from Monday to Friday, starting at 7:30 A.M. The school day begins with a flag raising, national anthem, and pledge of allegiance. Students usually have an hour for lunch. School cafeterias are mostly non-existent and those that exist are largely inadequate. Students either go home for lunch or pack their lunch. Some parents, usually mothers, come to school to bring warm lunch for their children. Classes resume for the afternoon, until about 4:30 to 5:00 p.m. In some areas, due to lack of facilities, certain schools are forced to have double shifts, minimizing the hours children spend in school. Access has been a problem for certain sectors of the population and DECS has made this the number one priority. In the secondary level for 1965-1966, approximately 1.17 million students were enrolled with 62.3 percent in the private sector. In 1987-1988, there was a total of 3.49 million students enrolled, 40.8 percent of whom were in private schools. By 1999-2000 there was an overall total of 5.1 million students, with 24 percent in private schools. Higher education in the Philippines is strongly in the private sector. Most bachelor degrees are for four years. Students are usually from 17 to 20 years old. In 1985, the private sector of higher education was close to 80 percent of the student population. Of these institutions one-third are considered non-profit, while two-thirds function for monetary gain. This has lead to the reputation of certain schools as â€Å"diploma mills† and to the more serious problem of producing unqualified, unemployed, and underemployed graduates. During the 1970s, there was a wide discrepancy in the literacy rates of the various regions of the country. The capital region of Metro Manila had a 95 percent literacy rate; the Central Luzon area had a 90 percent literacy rate while the We stern portion of Mindanao had a 65 percent rate. Three principal indigenous languages in the Manila area are Cebuano in the Visayas, Tagalog and Ilocano in the northern portion of Luzon. In 1939 Philipino (which is based on the Tagalog language) was made the national language. Philipino later evolved to Filipino which is based on the languages used in the Philippines. English still remains the most important non-indigenous language used by media, higher education, private, primary and secondary schools, government administration, and business. Only a handful of families have maintained speaking in Spanish. The multiplicity of languages used in the Philippines has not affected its literacy rate of 94.6 percent, one of the highest in East Asia and the Pacific region. Technology use is starting to gain momentum in the overall education of the Philippines. In 1999, there were 93 Internet Service Providers (ISP) in the country. By the beginning of 2001, the participation of nongovernmental organizations and the private sector in educati on was evident with the donation of 1,000 personal computers for use during school year 2001-2002 in 1,000 public high schools of 16 regions. The program, called One Thousand PCs, has four major components, namely: curriculum development with the creation of a one year course on computer education as a specialization in entrepreneurship; teacher training for recipient schools; courseware development through the creation of Information Technology materials; and the purchase of hardware from the private sector through the Adopt-A-School Program. The Department of Trade and Industry chaired this project. Curricular development is under the jurisdiction of the DECS. Authority slowly trickled down to the municipal/local levels as the system shifted to decentralize decision-making and empower local schools. Despite these efforts, much of the important decisions, such as the purchase of all public school textbooks, is done by DECS. Important curricular changes needed to respond to emerging student needs are limited due to budgetary constraints. Three tests are administered to students, the preparation for which must be addressed through further curricular development. These tests are the National Elementary Aptitude Test (NEAT), the National Secondary Aptitude Test (NSAT), and the National College Entrance Examination (NCEE). The Philippine population grows at a rate of 2.07 percent per year. In July 2000, the estimated population was 81,159,644 people. About 37 percent of this population was from birth to 14-years-old. A 2 percent yearly population growth translates to about 1.6 million children born every year. This growth rate strains the resources of the educational system. During 1999-2000, a 2 percent increase in the number of students meant 8,000 more classrooms needed. The deficit was 29,000 since DECS was able to build only 6,000 new rooms for the year. More teachers required (total lack of 21,000 since the budget allowed for hiring only 4,700 new teachers) 400,000 more desks (of the 2.2 million needed, only 500,000 were purchased) and 10 million additional textbooks with a ratio of 2 students per book. To alleviate this strain, certain schools hold double sessions (one in the morning and another in the afternoon) in elementary schools. Some high schools even have triple sessions due to space and resource problems. As for gender distribution in the elementary level, male and female students are almost equally represented, while there are more females students at the secondary and higher education level. In rural areas, men are expected to do work while women are allowed to pursue education. Males have a higher rate of failure, dropout, and repetition in both elementary and secondary levels.

Promoting National Unity in Sri Lanka Through Education

It took three decades of war, ethnic conflict and loss of thousands of lives for Sri Lankans to realize the importance of unity. Sri Lanka now stands in a position where the country is gradually recovering from brutal wounds of war and this is high time for the nation to look into aspects of promoting unity among diverse cultures and ethnic groups to avoid the reoccurrence of such a tragedy. One way of achieving unity among different ethnic groups is through education. Enlightenment of the nation about the importance of unity can only be achieved by educating people.This essay will analyze the ways of achieving unity through education with relation to the Sri Lankan society. Language is a powerful tool which can be used to achieve mutual understanding among cultures. It can also be used to share knowledge. So it is important to break language barriers between people in order to bridge them through communication. As the 20 million population of Sri Lanka consists of people belonging t o diverse ethnic groups where, more than one language is used, it is important to promote a trilingual education system, provided the most widely spoken languages in Sri Lanka being Sinhala, English and Tamil.The learning of all aforementioned languages should be made compulsory at primary level. Education in schools should be offered in all three mediums and the equal importance of these languages should be emphasized. The adaptation of a trilingual policy in education will facilitate the access to cultural texts and knowledge and promote unity through interactions between students where, mutual understanding can be achieved. Equal importance to all the cultures should be given and students should be educated to respect the customs and traditions of other cultures and religions or racial groups.Once steps are taken to break the language barrier, interactions between students from all parts of the country should be promoted. This could be done through extracurricular activities such as organizing cultural festivals and organizing field trips where students from the North can visit schools in the south and vice versa. Also schools could work together on joint ventures or projects where students will get opportunities to make new friends. The system of schools around the country should be linked to acilitate the knowledge sharing g process and this could be done through the implementation of a common platform, for an example as a social network among schools for sharing ideas and knowledge. National coherence will be achieved through interaction of cultures and this will promote national unity. The education system should be reformed to promote divergent thinking and it is important to change the attitudes of students from the contemporary social views of attributing a person to a specific nationality (Sinhalese, Muslim or Tamil) to attributing people to the common nationality of Sri Lankan.This should be taught at the school level so that future generations wil l hopefully have a different but positive attitude towards other cultures besides their culture. Promotion of learning cultural studies and peace and conflict studies as a linked subject at secondary and tertiary levels where students will be given transfer scholarships to different areas of the country to study about culture and traditions of a particular ethnic group and also be given opportunity to study and research about post conflict consequences.Creation of a platform for tertiary level students to present findings from their researches to help the process of national decision making, this can be achieved by creating partnerships with state universities and the assistance of university academics can also be used in national policy making with regards to reconciliation.In my opinion, the above four factors, Adopting a trilingual policy and Promotion of learning cultural studies and peace and conflict studies as a linked subject at secondary and tertiary levels interactions amo ng students, promoting the concept of a common nationality and are the most important to be considered when achieving national unity through education. Concentrating on the significance of two of the above factors in achieving national development, the adaptation of a trilingual policy plays key role in this narrative.As unity is promoted through mutual understanding, individuals can unite and work together towards attaining national development. Since equal significance will be given to all the nationalities and thereby language and cultural disputes will be solved and the reoccurrence of a tragedy such as the ethnic conflict which crippled the Sri Lankan economy will not take place.Peace is the most important factor to achieve national development, for a war torn country, achieving economic stability would be a mere dream. As for the importance of interactions between people for national development, it can be stated that greater interaction between diverse groups of people facili tates the process of sharing knowledge in different cultures. This knowledge can be used to develop modern technologies and sciences.Knowledge and the creation of intellectuals who are nourished with rich cultural knowledge can help develop innovations and policies that will help the country achieve economic growth and stability. In conclusion it is to be understood that when considering the above factors, giving equal significance to all ethnic groups, adopting a trilingual policy and developing people to people contacts is important to achieve national unity and national development. As a saying goes, ‘United, we stand, Divided we fall’.

Is Google Making Us Stupid Essay

In his article, â€Å"Is Google Making Us Stupid,† Nicholas Carr, a former executive editor of the Harvard Business Review and a member of the steering board for the World Economic Forum’s cloud computing project, criticizes the overall impact of the internet, as a whole, on the human process of thought, comparing his past level of conception to â€Å"a scuba diver in a sea of words† whereas his current understanding simply â€Å"zip[s] along the surface† (Carr 68). Carr targets the prominent internet search engine as the black sheep for web user’s dwindling in capacity to comprehend and concentrate on high-brow literature. However, due to the fact that the objective of the corporation is to ultimately be monetarily successful, Google’s approach to providing proficient, while immediate, information is not based upon their own preference, but rather that of its’ consumers. Based on trends on college campuses, Scott Carlson, a journalist for The Chronicle, finds the number of students using libraries has drastically decreased over the years, using the convenient â€Å"‘virtual library’† at their disposal instead (Carlson 1). This infers research found on the internet is the same, and or suffice to that acquired from a hard-back encyclopedia, periodical, etc. Therefore, while I agree with the general trend of decreased absorption Carr suggests, the internet still contributes to human potential for critical, deep thought through the application of habituation and the numerous online resources offering the equivalent of any printed scholarly work. My inclination to agree with Carr’s theory is solely based on his reference to the work of Maryanne Wolf, a developmental psychologist, who elicits that the skill of deciphering symbolic characters into an understood language is not instinctive (Carr 69). Instead, in parallel to any activity one would like to develop themselves in, â€Å"practicing the craft of reading play[s] an important part in shaping the neural circuits inside our brains† (69). The many interruptions encompassing the internet, such as info-thickets, e-mails, headlines, blog posts, etc., undermine the brains’ ability to transfer newly learned information into your long-term memory. Multitasking by attempting to read bits and pieces of a handful of information online is not beneficial and rather proves to be a less efficient way of preserving knowledge. According to the Social Science Research Network, in a study of the brain’s ability to process various data, switching mindsets proved to incite mental exhaustion. By analyzing the affects of these assorted changes in five separate experiments, the researcher found that â€Å"switching mindsets is an executive function that consumes self-regulatory resources and therefore renders people relatively unsuccessful in their self-regulatory endeavors,† simply concluding that it is in one’s best interest to â€Å"try to change hats as infrequently as possible† (Hamilton 10). Like muscle memory, the brain retains its ability to understand complex literature material only if training, or reading, is continuous. Yet, skipping out on the workouts of â€Å"immersing [oneself] in a book†¦or getting caught up in the narrative† will overtime deteriorate this strength, depreciating a powerful recollection into a weak grasp (Carr 67). Though I concede that skimming online undermines one’s effort behind scholarly reading, I still insist that the internet provides more benefits than detriments. The nature of technology, in general, broadens our potential to change our environment and has historically provided the power for civilizations to develop. From the late 21st century to the present the World Wide Web has been that force and statistics show its presence directly draws a parallel to an improvement of our brainpower. According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, seventy six percent of technology stakeholders and critics disagree with Carr and accept the statement: â€Å"people’s use of the Internet has enhanced human intelligence; as people are allowed unprecedented access to more information they become smarter and make better choices† (Anderson 1). While thirty two percent of professionals, like Association for Computing Machinery U.S. Public Policy Councilman Gene Spafford, think â€Å"most writing online is devolving toward†¦quick, throwaway notes with abbreviations and threaded references,† the overwhelming majority agrees that by 2020 the internet will have boosted and advanced our ability to comprehend, inscribe and exchange knowledge (Anderson 10). These statistics are vital because they shed light on the long term positive effects of Google and the Internet, altering the premises people have established prior to research. The argument of advertisements being distracting and undermining the reader’s focus is a valid point. Carr describes these commercials as overwhelming â€Å"the medium’s content with hyperlinks, blinking ads, and other digital gewgaws,† which scatter our interest and distribute our attentiveness (Carr 71). However, the law of habituation refutes this theory, stating that our response toward a stimulus lessens with increased exposure. According to the Harris Poll, sixty three percent of U.S adults completely ignore banner and search engine advertisements and ninety one percent ignore nearly all commercialized announcements (Braverman 1). The perception Carr creates of ads, specifically hyperlinks, is misleading for he depicts the internet user to have very little say, if any, and is often coerced into utilizing the resource. In reality, rather than â€Å"propelling you toward [related works],† they merely serve as suggestions used at the expense of the consumer (Carr 67). What Carr does not draw attention to throughout his article is the fact that internet tools, like cookies, and hyperlinks, are solely approaches supporting the web’s convenience. Therefore, a correlation may exist between the surfing of the internet and lower reading comprehension and concentration levels, but there is no way to measure an online reader’s intent and correspond it to the depth of what they read. Carr is mistaken because he overlooks the serving nature of the internet and attempts to draw parallels between Google and Taylorism. The â€Å"industrial choreography† of Taylorism suggests that in order to achieve maximum results, an individual system of work must be established (71). By drawing this comparison, he utterly disregards human ingenuity, depicting internet users as cookie cutters following â€Å"the perfect algorithm† to suit our requests (72). As Peter Norvig, Google Research Director, conveys, â€Å"Taylorism shifts responsibility from worker to management, institutes a standard method for each job/Google does the opposite, shifting responsibility from management to the worker, encouraging creativity in each job† (Anderson 2). While Carr presents a suitable case to support his dilemma, his tendency to prove the null hypothesis of Google is overly pessimistic. His argument that the long term influence of the internet on our comprehension and concentration will be damaging is blemished. Although researching online may not be traditional, exposure to information we intentionally choose to look at only leads to obtained knowledge we did not know before. I italicize intentionally to make a point: the medium of information people use is based on their preference. When discussing reading over scholarly literature versus scanning for a quick answer, the fact is both are optional at the disposal of the consumer. In response to advertisements being distracting, not only are there web sites containing few, if any, but humans generally ignore them as well. Thus, if it were definitively true that the intelligence Google provides was overall harmful, the blame could not be put on the corporation. Instead, the people whom the business adhere to are at fault. Because of these reasons, and the strong correlation between the internet’s unlimited amount of knowledge and improving intellect, Google and the Web as a whole are large contributors to human potential. Works Cited Braverman, Samantha. â€Å"Are Advertisers Wasting Their Money?† PR Newswire. Harris Interactive, 3 Dec. 2010. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. Carr, Nicholas. â€Å"Is Google Making Us Stupid?† The New Humanities Reader. Ed. Richard E. Miller and Kurt Spellmeyer. 4th ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2012. 67-74. Print. Carlson, Scott. â€Å"Technology As Students Work Online, Reading Rooms Empty Out –Leading Some Campuses to Add Starbucks.† The Chronicle. The Chronicle, 16 Nov. 2001. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. Hamilton, Ryan, Kathleen Vohs, Tom Meyvis, and Anne-Laure Sellier. â€Å"Being of Two Minds: Switching Mindsets Exhausts Self-Regulatory Resources.† Social Science Research Network. Social Science Electronic Publishing, 18 Dec. 2010. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. Rainie, Lee, and Janna Anderson. â€Å"Future of the Internet IV.† Pew Internet & American Life Project. Pew Research Center, 19 Feb. 2010. Web. 23 Sept. 2012.

Christianity verses Feminism with a focus on gender violence against Essay

Christianity verses Feminism with a focus on gender violence against women - Essay Example I was determined to know the roles played by religion and the feminists as discussed in the essay. In this discussion, I will relate Christianity and feminism focusing on gender violence especially on women. In the discussion, I will introduce many concepts integrated in the gender violence; explore the traditional Christian and the feminist’s ways of their violence against women. I will also examine the three books discussed in the class throughout the term and integrate them in my work. Domestic abuse can simply be defined as the war waged in the family against immediate family members especially the spouses2. Domestic abuse employs wide range of tactics such as physical or psychological warfare to their victims. In the Christianity, this is combined to shifting of blame, prejudice and fallen theology making it an entangle issue which is difficult to resolve3. However, â€Å"with all the goodwill and readiness to counter the domestic violence problem among the Christian families, it is close to impossible until the female subordination doctrine which is centrally placed on the issue of gender violence and is also what perpetuates the issue is dealt with.†4 This discrimination, which is institutionalized, thrives on unreasonable fear and hatred for women. Furthermore, it perpetuates the abuse and prevents the Christians from responding to the victims compassionately using bible principles5. Ingersoll further observes that gender based violence forms one of the major violence afflicted to women in the society of today6. In the religion of Christianity, women abuse has become one of the major marital problems being attended by the priests and the counselors. The spousal abuse perpetrators mostly use biblical injunctions and religion to justify their actions. The essay has debunked the myth that it is only through religion that women can be safe from the many kinds of gender violence7. The

HR & Development Essay (Unit III) Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

HR & Development (Unit III) - Essay Example ppropriate guideline for an effective brainstorming process includes making a clear and simple introduction of the idea or problem that needs to be brainstormed (Rothwell & Kazanas 1999). Introduction of the problem creates an avenue for conducting a thorough review on the rules governing the entire brainstorming process. This means that each participant gets an equal chance of presenting his or her idea. In other terms, the process should be welcoming to everyone by avoiding commenting during the proceeding of the brainstorming process. It thus discourages any evaluation hence allows room for duplicate ideas. The next step should be communicated after members contributions. That is, explaining what is required to be done then offer all the members of the group or team some private time to think over the brainstormed question or problem (Sharma, 2008). Finally, open the discussion for the member of that group to devise and come up with a suitable solution. In an on job scenario, the brainstorming process would be applied in solving leadership wrangle within the organization. The companys management team would come up with diverse ideas concerning the problem facing the management and tries to come with a suitable solution. That is, in matters concerning the top most position in the management hierarchy all the concern parties should contribute their points of view on regard to the qualities that need to be consider while selecting the suitable person for the post (Sinha and Sinha 2009). Another common problem that arises in an on the job situation is the issue on the process of performance appraisal. For instance, it requires a team or panel to determine or decides suitable criteria to be adapted while appraising the employees. In other terms, they devise and determine the demerit on which an employee should be accorded or subjected to any form of appraisal or appreciation for high performance (Dubrin, 2009). Group work and teamwork has a disadvantage of

Company risk management analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Company risk management analysis - Assignment Example A year later in 1988 Vodafone was listed on the stock exchange. After three years in 1991, Vodafone separated from Racal Electronics and since that time, it was quoted as Vodafone in the stock exchange. In 1999, Vodafone merged with AirTouch Communication producing one company known as Vodafone Airtouch plc. The dawn of the twenty-first century saw greater developments for Vodafone Plc as it introduced Vodafone Live! in 2002 and went on to commercially launch its 3G services in Europe. A year later in 2005 the company launched a fixed mobile convergence product in Germany called Zuhause and acquired controlling interests on Hutchison Essar Limited in India. Since 2007, the company has been involved in a number of acquisitions and partnerships in Europe, Asia and Africa. Currently, Vodafone holds a market leadership position as the largest mobile carrier in terms of subscriber base. Vodafone’s Business Model Business models are very important for the existence of every business enterprise (Casadesus-Masanell, Ramon, and Ricart 2011). Models give a business a sense of direction and purpose (Chesbrough 2010) and basically define what the business is all about, what it seeks to achieve and the steps it will take to achieve the outcomes (Osterwalder and Pigneur 2010). The business model of Vodafone Plc is quite simple; it consists of five steps with the shareholder in between. The first element in the model consists of Assets; these include networks, supplier relationships, distribution, people, and brand (Vodafone 2013). Vodafone aims to have a great mobile network in all of the markets in which it operates. This mainly involves providing their customers with far-reaching coverage, reliable mobile connections, and increasing speeds and data capacity. Figure 1: Vodafone’s Business Model (Source: Vodafone 2013) Vodafone plc indicates in its annual report (2013) that it combines ongoing high level of network investment with a commitment to securing the b est possible portfolio of the spectrum. The next asset for Vodafone is people; the company has a highly skilled, motivated and diverse workforce. Vodafone expects its employees to be key in advocating for its products and services. Distribution is the other asset owned by Vodafone; the company reaches its customers through the over 15 thousand stores it owns as well as through a broad network of exclusive distribution partners and third-party retailers. According to Vodafone (2013), the Internet is becoming an increasingly important channel for distribution. The fourth item is the brand; Vodafone is ranked as one of the first most valuable telecoms brands in the world being worth over US$27 billion. This brand strength is one of the major drivers of purchasing decisions for consumers and enterprise customers. The final asset listed by Vodafone is its supplier relationships, the company has a large-scale global reach and is a key strategic partner with a large number of suppliers wit h whom it works together to develop innovative services and offer many new innovations. The next element in Vodafone’s business model is it its customers. According to Vodafone (2013), the company boasts over 404 million customers globally making it one of the biggest mobile operators in the world. The ranges of its customer

Homebase Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Homebase - Coursework Example The balanced scorecard tool is explained before designing the scorecard for the case company. Also the use of the balanced scorecard in the performance evaluation and monitoring of the modern businesses are discussed. Both the balanced scorecard outcomes and the designed strategy map are explained and analyzed to provide suitable recommendations to the Board of Directors of Homebase for deciding on the future strategic direction of the company. The recommendations are given with the aim of supporting the management of Homebase to take suitable corporate and business decisions and devise the appropriate strategies for the achievement of the business goals and objectives and for implementing the formulated strategies in the most efficient and value adding manner. Homebase  is a home improvement retail company based in the United Kingdom. The company operates in the segment of home improvement and garden centre and is a subsidiary of the famous Home Retail Group. Homebase operates with 323 outlets across different locations in the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. The company is a highly successful retailer in the United Kingdom which has recorded a profit of GBP 18.9 million in the financial year 2013-2014. Also, the revenues for the company were recorded to have a value of GBP 1.46 billion in the financial year of 2013-2014 as per the annual report published by the company. The vision of the company is to provide the customer groups in the country with a wide range of home improvement products and services within a differentiated environment. The company aims to provide both convenience and value for its customers through its operations (Crawford, 2008). Homebase uses a number of strategies in its operational, financial, human resource management and other business functions for the purpose of developing consistency in its service provision and for creating competiveness and success in the dynamic business environment in which it functions. The

MARKETING ASSIGNMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

MARKETING ASSIGNMENT - Essay Example e strategies to address those needs, and development of long-term association with the customers by providing them with the products and services they required. â€Å"The Marketing concept resulted in a separate marketing department in organization and today we can see many organization have structured themselves as marketing organization where every employee is contributing towards customer satisfaction whether or not he’s a marketing person† (â€Å"What is Marketing?†). The marketing concept depends to a large extent upon the research conducted by the organization to identify the particular segments of customers, and their individualistic and collective needs. Marketing teams can achieve the satisfaction of their customers by identifying the target market and adopting the right marketing mix to achieve their objectives. The main marketing concepts are the identification of the customers’ needs and ways to fulfill them, assessment of the changing environment and the modifying needs of the customer with it so that not only the present needs of the customers can be addressed, but also measures can be taken to satisfy the expected needs in the future. It is very important for the organizational personnel to realize that marketing of the product or service an organization makes is not entirely the responsibility of the marketing department, but every department as well as individual in the hierarchy of organizational structure has a responsibility towards it. I have had personal experience of working with a firm in which the entire responsibility of marketing was limited to the marketing department, and other firm in which the responsibility was equally distributed among all departments so that the whole organization was structured into a marketing organization. I felt a lot of difference between the effectiveness of marketing between the two firms. Limitation of the marketing responsibility to the marketing department in the first organization was the

Health Policy Delivery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Health Policy Delivery - Essay Example Stakeholders include the government, private healthcare providers such as hospitals, health plans, office-based clinicians, industry groups or the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device manufacturers and marketers, professional associations, industry and trade associations, advocacy groups, and consumers (Donaldson and Gerard, 1993). In the policy process, UK health policy encompass knowledge and effects on the networks between national government systems, arm's length bodies, the NHS, patient groups and charities, as well as information and processes in the Demand-side reform, Supply side reform, Transactional reform, Regulation or the Healthcare Commission, NICE, Therapy knowledge of gastroenterology, dermatology, cardiovascular medicine, anti-infective, sleep medicine, pain management, palliative care, oncology and neurology, identifying and utilising opportunities arising from non-medical prescribing, effective collaboration with patient groups, medical societies and Royal Colleges, managing national and regional guideline programmes producing timely responses and positive outcomes, knowledge of controlled drugs legislation, implications for commercial teams and preparation of submissions for Home Office consultations, knowledge of the NHS changing environment and incorporation into business plans and strate gic marketing, Parliamentary lobbying - understanding the process, networking and influencing, submissions to Government organisations including the Home Office and Health Select Committee (Donaldson and Gerard, 1993). A policy is a deliberate plan of action that guide decision-makers in order to achieve rational outcomes that apply to governments, the private sector, organisations and groups as well as individuals (Jenkins, 1978). Policy could also refer to the process of making important organizational decisions, such as the identification of different alternative programs or spending priorities, or choosing among a list on the basis of the impact or result they will have. These can be political, management, financial, and administrative mechanisms arranged to reach explicit goals and objectives (Birkland, 2001). Birkland (1995) have pointed out that while "the study of politics has a long history, the systematic study of public policy, on the other hand, can be said to be a twentieth century creation. It dates, according to Daniel McCool, to 1922, when political scientist Charles Merriam sought to connect the theory and practices of politics to understanding the actual activities of government, that is public policy," (p.4). In most instances, according to Bridgman and Davis (2004), the eight step policy cycle includes: 1. Issue identification - In this process, emerging problems are identified, although

Three Men in a Boat Essay Example for Free

Three Men in a Boat Essay British humor is often hard to grasp for Indians, with their references and rambling. But Jerome K. Jeromehits the nail on the head with ‘Three Men In A Boat‘ and brings out British absurdities and traditions in a comic way. This book though meant to be a travelogue of sorts ended up, inexplicable as one of the most loved funny stories of all time. And even after 100+ years since publishing, the jokes remain fresh and witty! It outlines the story of three men – Jerome and his two friends, Harris and George and their dog, a fox terrier called Montmorency on their holiday on the River Thames in Oxford, England as the three men suffer from some weird ailment. So they set themselves off on a trip to cure themselves – a boating trip. Apparently, that was quite common in those times, which is around 1889 when the book was published. The travelogue portion is quite apparent as along the trip, Jerome mentions all the villages and landmarks they pass, such as Hampton Court Palace, Hampton Church, Monkey Island, Magna Carta Island, Marlow etc and the few titbits about the culture in those places. But this, though intended to be the main part of the book was overshadowed by the comic instances that cropped up and the book gave up and now is just a humorous tale. Jerome often digresses and starts off random anecdotes and ponders upon life. From friends to friends-of-friends to historic characters, Jerome’s detours truly know no bounds. He gives up brilliant character sketches of not only Harris and George, but of Montmorency also. From how his Aunt Podger used to take a week long refuge at her mother’s place when Uncle Podger donned the role of a handyman trying to fix â€Å"little† things in the house to how the making of Irish Stew from all the leftovers compelled Montmorency to add his bit by bringing a dead-water rat, each episode will leave you giggling in delight. And the best is that it describes the common frustrations of life that you and I go through. The downside of the book is that the return journey back up the Thames is wrapped up in just one chapter which leaves you slightly hurt and bewildered at the sudden ending. But the wry and sarcastic humour and wit with the misadventures, exaggerations, mad caps, twists and sheer silliness in this P. G Wodehouse-y book leaves you pleasantly happy at the end. Of course, one can’t help but read this book in a proper British accent. Be it in their heads, or out loud. And that would be perfectly fine.

Isolation of Sarracenin from Root Barks of Strychnos Spinosa

Isolation of Sarracenin from Root Barks of Strychnos Spinosa On isolation of Sarracenin from Root barks of Strychnos spinosa and its Antimicrobial Properties. A known iridoid, Sarracenin, was isolated from the root bark of Strychnos spinosa. Its structure was elucidated by 1D and 2D-NMR experiments, and comparison with reported data. This is the first time it has been isolated from this species. The compound showed significant antimicrobial activities against Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Shigella dysenteriae, Klebsiella pneumonia, Candida albicans Candida tropicalis, Candida thrusei, and Candida stellatoidea, respectively. The genus Strychnos (Loganiaceae), consist of about 75 accepted species found throughout the tropics and subtropical Africa [1]. Strychnos spinosa is commonly known as Kaffir orange, Spiny monkey orange or Natal orange. It is utilized variously in African traditional medicine for ailments such as dropsy, earache, snakebite, fever, elephantiasis, fever epilepsy and rheumatism [2]. The isolation and structural elucidation of the iridoid sarracenin from the root bark of this plant and its antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Shigella dysenteriae, Klebsiella pneumonia, Candida albicans Candida tropicalis, Candida thrusei, and Candida stellatoidea, respectively, is hereby reported. Results and Discussion. The compound was obtained as fine, transparent, needle shaped crystals. It was determined as Sarracenin using 1D and 2D-NMR experiments, and comparison with reported data [3, 4, 5]. Some revisions to reported chemical shift assignments [3, 4] based on our DEPTq135, H, H-COSY, HMBC, HSQC and NOESY data are suggested. Table 1.1HNMR Data of Sarracenin in CDCl3 (ÃŽ ´ in ppm, J in Hz) based on fig. 1A DEPT spectra: DEPTq 135 spectrum gave the proton chemical shifts 166.77 (quaternary or methylene), 150.08 (methine or methyl), 112.32 (quaternary or methylene), 91.68 (methine or methyl), 88.13 (methine or methyl), 68.99 (methine or methyl), 51.42 (methine or methyl), 35.06 (quaternary or methylene), 32.26 (methine or methyl), 22.06 (methine or methyl), 18.70 (methine or methyl). The conclusion by Miles et al, [3] that signals at 35.1 and 22.1 are due to methine (C-5) and methylene (C-6), respectively, does not agree with our results; otherwise, we agree with their 13 C conclusions. Similarly, Wang et al, [4] report of chemical shifts at 91.7 as quaternary, 112.3 as methine, 18.7 as quaternary and 166.8 as methyl (Table 2.) is at variance with their justifications on HMQC and HMBC data. In addition, Wang et al, [4] reports 1HNMR (400 MHz, CDCl3) ÃŽ ´ 5.78 (d, J = 1.6 Hz), 1.34 (d, J = 6.5Hz, 3 H) as signals for protons at C-1 and C- 10, respectively; no protons are located at those positions (Figure 1A). It would seem a different numbering scheme was used, however, two different numberings were considered (Figures 1A 1B) neither agreed completely with Wang et al, [4]. Those assignments would appear to have distorted conclusions on 1H, 1H-COSY, HMBC and HMQC data (Tables 1 2). 1HNMR (400 MHz, CDCl3) ÃŽ ´ 7.46 (s, 1H), 5.79 (t, J = 1.9 Hz, 1H), 4.99 (dd, J = 3.5, 0.8 Hz, 1H), 4.22 (q, J = 6.5 Hz, 1H), 2.98 (ddt, J = 10.7, 4.0, 1.9 Hz, 1H), 2.44 – 2.31 (m, 1H), 1.68 (dddd, J = 10.0, 5.3, 2.9, 1.0 Hz, 2H), 1.35 (d, J = 6.5 Hz, 3H). Table 2.13C-NMR Data of Sarracenin in CDCl3 (ÃŽ ´ in ppm) based on fig. 1A Key * = Major areas with observed variation. It was noted that the compound contained 11 signals using13C-NMR and DEPT spectra, including two Me, one CH2, six CH, and two quaternary carbons. Analysis of overall NMR spectroscopic data revealed the signals at 1 2 E Figure 1A. Numbering of Sarracenin as by Miles et al, [3] and present work, B: Numbering as on www.chemspider.com[6] C: Important HMBC correlations, D: Important NOESY correlations, E: Important 1H-1HCOSY correlations. 1HNMR (400 MHz, CDCl3, TMS)ÃŽ ´7.46 (s, 1 H), 5.79 (t, J = 1.9, 1 H), 4.99 (dd, J = 3.5, 0.8, 1 H), 4.22 (q, J = 6.5, 1 H), 3.76 (s, 3 H), 2.98 (ddt, J = 10.7, 4.0, 1.9, 1 H), 2.37, 1.68 (m, dddd, J = 10.0, 5.3, 2.9, 1.0, 2 H), 1.35 (d, J = 6.5, 3 H); 13CNMR and DEPT (100 MHz, CDCl3, TMS) 166.77 (ester C=O), 150.08 (olefinicCH), 112.32 (olefinic quaternary carbon), 91.68 (CH), 88.13 (CH), 68.99 (CH), 51.42 (ester OCH3), 35.06 (methylene), 32.26 (CH), 22.06 (allylic CH), 18.70 (CH3) Antimicrobial activity The antimicrobial activities of sarracenin were assayed against some pathogenic microbes obtained from the Department of Medical Microbiology A.B.U. Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Nigeria. The compound showed significant antibacterial and antifungal activities against Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Shigella dysenteriae, Pseudomonas aeroginosa, Klebsiella pnuemoniae, Candida tropicalis and Candida stellatoidea (Table 3.). This points sarracenin out as a major medicinal principle of Strychnos spinosa and lends justification to its use in traditional medicine. Experimental Collection of Plant Material The root bark of Strychnos spinosa was collected from Katsina-Ala, Benue State, Nigeria, in August, 2013. The bark was air-dried and their size reduced with the aid of a wooden mortar and pestle. Extraction and Isolation The ground material (750 g) was macerated for 72 hours using 500 mL each of hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol. Preliminary antimicrobial screening revealed the ethyl acetate extract to be most active against test microbes. Thus the ethyl acetate extract (10 g) was separated by Vacuum liquid chromatography. A very gentle gradient elution was used from hexane through to ethyl acetate. Thirty fractions (25 ml each) were collected and allowed to evaporate to approximately half their initial volumes. Fine needles were observed in fractions 20-25. These were monitored by TLC on ethyl acetate- methanol (1:1) solvent system and plates visualized using iodine vapour. The combined needles (221 mg) were further purified using SephadexLH20 with methanol-ethyl acetate ratio (1:1) as solvent. 1HNMR, 13CNMR and 2DNMR experiments were carried out on the purified compound using 30 mg. Its melting point was 123 – 1240C determined using Electro thermal IA 9300 (Gallenkhamp capillary melting point apparatus with a thermometer). Antimicrobial Assay The compound (0.01 mg) was weighed and dissolved in DMSO (10 mL) to obtain a concentration of 10 Â µg/mL (This would subsequently be used to determine the antimicrobial activities of the plant). Mueller Hinton and Sabouraud dextrose agar were used as growth media for the microbes. All the media were prepared according to the manufacturer’s instructions, sterilized at 121 oC for 15 min and were poured into sterile petri dishes, allowed to cool and solidify. Disc diffusion method was used to screen the initial crude extracts. Sterilized media were seeded with a standard inoculum (0.1 ml) of test microbe, Mueller Hinton for the bacteria and SDA for the fungi. The inoculum was spread evenly over the surface of the media using a sterile swab. A well (6 mm) was cut at the center of the inoculated medium using a standard cork-borer (6 mm diameter). Solution of the extract (0.1 mL) was introduced into each well of the inoculated medium. The inoculated media were incubated at 37 oC fo r 24 hours for bacteria and at 30 oC for 7 days for the fungi, after which plates were observed for zones of inhibition of growth. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration of the compound was determined using the broth dilution method. Minimum bactericidal concentration and minimum fungicidal concentration (MBC and MFC) were also carried out to determine whether the test microbes were killed or only inhibited. Ciprofloxacin, Fulcin and Fluconazole were used as positive controls. Table 3. Antimicrobial Activity of sarracenin Key: S = Sensitive, R = Resistant, = (No turbidity) No colony growth, Ã ° = MIC or MBC or MFC, + = (Turbid) Scanty colony growth, ++ = Moderate colony growth, +++ = Heavy colony growth References Sitrit, Y., Loison, S., Ninio R, et al. (October 2003). Characterization of monkey orange (Strychnos spinosa Lam.), a potential new crop for arid regions. J. Agric. Food Chem. 51 (21): 6256–60. De, B.B. and Bisset, N.G. (1988). Alkaloids from the leaves of strychnos wallichiana steudelEx. A. DC. Indian Drugs 26 (2): 90-91. Miles, H. D.,Kokpol, U., Bhattacharyya, J.,Atwood, J. L.,Stone, K. E.,Bryson, T. A. and Wilson, C. (1976). Structure of Sarracenin. An Unusual EnolDiacetalMonoterpene from the Insectivorous Plant Sarracenia Java.J. Am. Chem. Soc. (6) 1570 Wang, Y., Wei, Q., Yang, L., and Liu, Z. (2003). Iridoid Glucosides from Chinese Herb Lonicerachrysathaand their antitumor activity. J. Chem. Research (S) 676-677 Yang, X., Li, E., Zhang, Q., Yuan, C., and Jia, Z. (2006). Five New Iridoids from Patrinarupestris. Helv. Chim. Acta. (3) 762-770 http://www.chemspider.com