Business and Management Dictionary

As defined by the dictionary,† Goal is the purpose toward which endeavor is directed. † It is an end of one’s journey through life or the finish line of the race. Like in a project or a business venture, one must have the goal so that he can pick the best and strategic planning tool to be used through it. There’re so many strategies one can use in achieving his objective, however, SWOT Analysis had gone a long way in helping businesses (small or big) be more fulfilled. It’s easy to deal with as long as he can define the terms: STRENGTH, WEAKNESSES, OPPORTUNITY, THREATS, and can reach to a desired end state or objective.As defined in a Business and Management Dictionary: Strengths are the attribute of the organization that are helpful to achieving the objective. One’s personal power that is capable of attaining the purpose of his desired outcome while putting his hands on a risk. Weaknesses are the attribute of the organization that are harmful to achieving the objective. It makes one’s control of the plan be disabled if it can penetrate the whole idea of the venture. This may go further if he cannot design better-technique from overcoming it.It is an attitude most human possesses as defect, but he can choose not to be too overwhelmed by its attack by controlling all his ideas and perform excellent processes to go with the strength of his venture. Opportunities are the external conditions that are helpful to achieving the objective. In this strategy, identifying subsequent steps makes the techniques be planned well. If one can see the opportunity passing by his way, to accommodate it is neither a crime nor a waste of time. It’s a good requirement in making the venture be more visible and successful. It may just be an experience or a total shot for the business.He wouldn’t regret by not taking it because he can actually grab and use it as an asset for his goal. Threats are the external conditions that a re harmful to achieving the objective. This can be an indication of an impending danger of growing project or business. However, he can manage and ensure that this condition would be solved, avoid from failing and won’t affect any of his strong foundation if he can be too determined, willing to do all the necessary steps and risks he has at the start of his journey. Of course, better characteristics in every way his business and life go doubles up the result, to a better and effective performance.Being in a business or any venture is a very risky yet challenging endeavor a man can experience through life. Like life, if we would not, should not, could not give our best shot to it, then we may fail. By this, the hardships, sweats, tears, and blood we just invested in winning the race will just be all gone. It may be re-established, be successful as any other big companies in the world this time only if we can be stronger, more knowledgeable and willing to incorporate more on th e strategic planning model of the SWOT Analysis. Besides, ‘LIFE IS SWEETER THE SECOND TIME AROUND. ’

Letter in Response to Noelle Mcarthys Article Essay

Being different will only result in tears’ I can understand your point of view although I can’t help but disagree. Your personal experience may be true, moreover, it is only one story†¦ out of a possible 7 billion! You said that being unique will only mean you are picked on, but in my opinion this is not true as people look up to someone with a new style and it is often emulated, how else would fashions start? Perhaps one of your main points is how it is ‘instinctive ‘to blend in, follow the crowd as anything else will result in being bullied. Hans kruuk did an experiment where he marked an x on a gazelle, then release it back into the wild. This study showed the marked animal became a target and was killed every time. You then applied this to school children, saying they know it does not pay to be different. I say you cannot compare humans and animals. Animals eat each other, it is their way of life in contrast humans eat animals because we are the superior race bullying is a moral evil, not a natural evil. A group of scientists at Oxford University carried out a three-year study looking at why cats and kittens are scared of their owners, and if this is instinctive or simply developed in childhood. Their results showed that on average 90% of cats who are scared of humans were bullied as a kitten. No cat naturally tries to blend in, however it tries to make relationships. When kittens have abusive owners, it resulted in them becoming scared of all humans, as they might get hurt again. If you are a victim you become conscious and try to fit in to stop the event re-occurring, therefore this disproves your statement that ‘Every school child knows instinctively; it does not pay to be different’; this behaviour is learned. You say that no one should help someone being bullied, because they will become a target too, ‘so we keep away and we turn away when the predators pounce. ’ Lies. Front-page news headlines are often about courageous heroes who have saved someone from being bullied. Susan Dichander, a German civilian, won a Nobel peace award last year. She saved over 2,000 Jewish children effectively, being bullied by Hitler. She is now honoured to own the reward and her friends are family are so proud that she went against the majority and trusted instinct! Another statement you made was that it is better to ‘blend in’, if you look like everyone else, you will not be victimised. I say: what if you cannot change the way you look? Being the only black child in a white school would be hard, but you can’t change skin colour. Disabled people cannot blend in; if you are in a wheel chair, then there is nothing you can do to change that. To be liked is not about blending in, it’s not about what you look like, but it’s about your personality. Finally, I would like to applaud you for your article, you made some persuasive arguments but in contrast, bulling for children in 2012 is extremely different to the torment received in the 1970s. With the development of technology – Facebook, Twitter and all social networking sites ‘cyber bullying’ is a new usage. Bullies who are too scared to say something face to face, or simply do not want it to escalate into violence can send nasty messages over the internet anonymously (or so they think). This has been made a criminal offence, the police can track down where the messages are coming from, and that person may be prosecuted. You proved in your article, being different can also end in making new friends who like you for who you really are, these ‘endure’ for life – surely, that’s a difference worth celebrating.

OSHA Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

OSHA - Research Paper Example OSHA input in the working sector has seen the U.S employment doubled to over 130 million employees within the 7.2 or more worksites. The rate of recorded serious workplace illnesses and injuries has significantly dropped from10 per 100 employees in 1972 to about 3.5 per 100 employees in 2010. OSHA has a set of standards which cover the following cases: fall protection, asbestos, cotton dust, trenching, benzene, machine guarding, lead and blood borne pathogens. However, U.S still experiences many preventable fatalities and injuries linked to numerous hazards and unsafe condition that continue to exist within work places. This works serves to detail on OSHA fines, stricture and organization. Any individual operating in a construction or manufacturing industry should certainly be aware of Occupational Safety & Health Administration, or simply OSHA. OSHA exists to ensure safe working conditions as well as inform both the employer and employees, through citations, of the various regulations and standards that have supposedly been violated. It goes further to propose time limits for parties involved to correct the supposed hazards or, otherwise, they face the concomitant fines and penalties. Discussed below are some of the citations, penalties that they attract, and a case of Philadelphia building collapse where OSHA proposed some heavy fines to the responsible contractor (Hunter 12). In the event an OSHA officer discovers a violation that has a one to one linkage to job safety and health, but perhaps would not result to death or life-threatening physical harm, the maximum fine for this violation is $7000. Secondly, if the violation is significant to the extent that it may result to death or severe physical harm, and that the employer was aware of the violation, or should have been aware of the danger, the maximum proposed fine stands similar to the previous one at $7000. However, unlike the previous violation,

Review of a live jazz performance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Review of a live jazz performance - Essay Example Three shows that put the event on the going emerged as predominantly remarkable. The jazz-laden cookers spearheaded the event, Jonathan Batiste together with his band, as well as the Trio of Aaron Parks. Opening the event in Cape May on the stage were the Cookers. The Cookers presented themselves in a return act with a lot of strength in every position they stood (Ephland). At the forefront of the four performers, there was Billy Harper handling the saxophone of tenor, Donald Harrison handling the alto saxophone, the founder of the group David Weiss, and Eddie Henderson with the trumpet. They were supported by the naturally powerful section of rhythm of McBee Cecil on bass, George Cables on the piano and Billy Hart on the drums. In the combined sounds, there were many voices, although Hart particularly was very surprising, and brought menace. Hart was everywhere in his set, very effervescent and flamboyant than this assessor has ever seen in the many years of his presence in the indu stry (Ephland). Arrays of tunes were played, several of them as an ensemble in voicings that were out-styled. From the look of things and how everything was happening, some of the voicings required deep listening. You could see the horns moving from the front of the stage towards the wings; the soloing persons were as well involved in the performance. They went on playing a little of tunes from their recent CD known as â€Å"Time And Time Again†. The tunes included very interesting charts that held two-chord frames; with a melody that was dirge-like that slow-cooked in explosive singles from Harper, Cables and Weiss. "Croquet Ballet," by Harper was a slow cooker, along with driving singles from Cables and Harrison. Cables verse to Mulgrew Miller, known as "Farewell Mulgrew," got played in tribute to a good talent and friend. With blazing singles that came from Harper and

Health and safety (human resources) within an organization reported in Essay

Health and safety (human resources) within an organization reported in the media - Essay Example The HR department of an organization should ensure the safety and health responsibilities of the employees. Managing record of injuries and deaths, co-ordinating in occupational safety and health training programs and providing advice to the employers and employees will help the organizations to practice effective occupational health and safety management. Description An explosion in the Foxconn factory in Chengdu in May 2011 left four people dead and may more injure. Over the last decade or so Apple had become one of the largest and most successful companies in the world and hence there millions of people want to be a part of the organization. Among these there exists one certain Mr. Lai Xiaodong who was badly injured in the blast. As mentioned before there is little doubt over the achievements of Apple. But there is also no denying regarding the fact that various workers assembling the products of Apple such as the iPhones, iPads have to work in quite harsh conditions. Various repo rts have suggested that the problems are quite serious; as a matter of fact some are known to be deadly. Sometimes the workers have to do overtime and have to work seven days a week. Some reports also suggested that some of the workers of the company happened to underage also. Another major course of concern has been the disregard shown by the suppliers of the company towards occupational hazard. Few years back more than hundred workers of the company were badly injured as the workers were forced to use poisonous chemicals to clean up iPhones. There have been various reports in which the employees of Apple, both current and formed said that there were various cases where Apple was the first to report such abuses. ( Duhigg and Barboza 1). However, it seems that some major problems are still at large. According to reports since 2007 more than 50% of the suppliers were found to have violated the suppliers’ code of conduct. In the year 2010, few months prior to the explosion Mr. Lai joined the Foxconn factory, it was noticed by him shifts ran almost 24 hours a day. Mr. Lai was promoted quite quickly as he was made the in-charge of the maintenance group (Fox News 1). It is believe that just two weeks prior to the explosion an advocacy group in Hon Kong published a report regarding unsafe conditions at the plant in Chengdu. A copy of the report was sent to the authorities in Apple also. Unfortunately there was no response. It was believed that aluminium dust could be found all over the factory. Conclusion To conclude it can be said that health and occupational hazard are a major course of concern and need to be treated seriously. However, lack of monitoring and presence of ignorance among the authorities still looms at large across various companies, which includes multinational giants like Apple also. The case is a classic example of how negligence and lack of monitoring can lead to lethal accidents. Hence it is to be said the just like healthy pay outs resp ect for health and safety issue at work is of equal importance and needs to be treated to respectfully by the organizations to avoid such deadly accidents. Recommendations It is evident that, lack of monitory and negligence is the major reasons behind the workplace hazard in the Chinese manufacturing plant of Apple. The workplace environment was not healthy and safe for the employees. The supervisor has repeatedly sent

My first car Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

My first car - Essay Example I'll never forget that car. It was what was known as a fixer upper, a car that needed to be restored because the motor barely ran. I chose that model because I wanted to learn all that could about cars and how it was repaired. I had worked summer and after school jobs up until a month before my 16th birthday just so I would be sure to have enough money to buy the car that I wanted without having to ask my parents for any extra money to cover its costs. The month before my birthday, my parents and I made the sacred trek to the local 2nd hand car shop to make my purchase. I decided to purchase a sleek looking 1989 Mitsubishi Lancer, also known as the Cat's Eyes model. Just like with any 2nd hand car, it drove perfectly off the car lot and all the way home where I proudly parked my purchase next to my parent's cars in our driveway. I was on the phone in no time, asking my friends to come over for a joyride with me. As we piled into the car for my first ever excursion without a parent sitting next to me in the car, my dad could not help but holler out his concern for me going out so soon in the car. He was insisting on having his mechanic check out the car before I actually used it because he said I had â€Å"chosen the car like you were buying a candy bar at the store!†. I hate to admit it but my father's advice actually made sense. Maybe it was because the car was overloaded, or because I forgot to check the oil in the motor before we zipped out of the driveway but the car air conditioning broke down and we stalled about an hour and a half away from home. I had to call my dad who sent the auto club over to give us a tow home. Needless to s ay, my dad insisted that the car be towed to his mechanics shop that same day. The verdict from his mechanic was that the car motor was actually in pretty good shape for such an old car. However, the car needed some major parts replacements and, without sugar coating it, the mechanic immediately produced his estimate list that had my jaw drop from the sheer shock of the final cost for the â€Å"restoration† of parts and systems. The car needed everything from a brand new alternator to a set of window tints. Although I had saved money to purchase the car, I did not have enough set aside for such massive spending on the restoration of the machine itself. That is when my dad's mechanic and I came to an agreement, I could work off the parts that the car needed by helping out at the garage. In the process, he would also teach me all he knew about fixing car models like mine, just in case it came in handy. Who was I to refuse such an offer? And that is how I managed to get my baby, as I addressed my car, all dressed up and spruced up for my use. Needless to say, I became a regular grease monkey because of all the work that my car kept on ending up needing. It seemed like we would fix one part of the car, only to have another part break down a few days later. I think I became an expert on Mitsubishi Lancers because of all the repairs that I had to assist in completing. But I never verbally complained of course. After all, the repairs were only costing me my personal manpower and very little cash. The car served me very well while I was in high school. After we finished the restoration job that it required, the car ran practically repair and problem free for the next few years. However, I believe that the fact that I spent weeks

The Significance of Improving Productivity in the Hospitality Industry Essay

The Significance of Improving Productivity in the Hospitality Industry - Essay Example Introduction Productivity has a huge impact on all businesses; both individual and corporate. In fact, the hospitality industry is witnessing a steady decline in productivity after World War II, and for many decades the industry effectively hid its poor productivity behind the baby boom in the size of the market. According to estimates, the hospitality industry is only 50% as effective as other industries. Still, it is surprising to note that am effective strategy that could be used to measure the productivity in hospitality industry is not available. This work intends to check why productivity is important in hospitality industry; especially bars and clubs, and also it tries to analyse the existing notion of and attitude towards productivity in the hospitality industry. Thereafter, it tries to suggest some ways that can be adopted to improve productivity in the hospitality industry, especially bars and clubs. The Productivity Paradox of Hospitality Industry The main problem with hos pitality industry, according to scholars, is poor productivity. From studies, it became evident that most people in the hospitality industry possess relatively little idea about the importance of human resources in the hospitality industry. In the opinion of Mill (2010), in hospitality industry, the role of human resources has been undervalued. ... cording to them, despite the best efforts by the hospitality industry to incorporate information technology in operations, there is no evident improvement in productivity. According to them, an important reason for this lack of evidence lies in the fact that there is no effective tool for the measurement of productivity improvement. In addition, it became evident from the study that those who used technology did not use it to improve productivity, but to improve the guest experience. Another serious issue is that different people use different set of criteria to measure productivity (ibid). Similarly, the study by Ingram and Fraenkel (2006) looked into the perception of productivity among hospitality managers. It is pointed out that they possess little idea about the notion of productivity, and the more they tried to understand what productivity is, the more confused they became. The same opinion is revealed by Mill. So, it seems useful to look into the different ideologies on produc tivity. Definition of Productivity and its Measurement In the opinion of Gummesson (1998), it is both ambiguous and inadequate to measure service productivity. However, in the opinion of Reynolds (2004), as about 30% of the hospitality cost comes from labour, a general tendency in the industry is to reduce labour costs while maintaining productivity. However, an article published by the New Zealand Tourism Research Institute warns that the productivity targets achieved in this way will not last long. This is so because reduced costs will lead to a decline in service standards. As Kimes (2001) states, this poor service, in turn, will affect customer satisfaction, which, eventually, will result in poor sales, and finally, poor productivity. There are people like Parasuraman (2002) who argue

Research methods for business and management Case Study

Research methods for business and management - Case Study Example This can be done most effectively by examining the literature on the research topic and assessing how the data was collected for that body of research as well as the way in which the data was analyzed. Based on an examination of the literature, the researcher then determines the nature of the data to be collected as well as the most appropriate method for its analysis. Additionally, the researcher should be aware that quantitative methods prove to offer the highest level of scientific evidence in that depending on the research design it can determine causation, correlation and make inferences. These qualities are absent in quantitative research. Other considerations include the fact that unlike quantitative research methods qualitative methods are inductive in nature, extremely subjective, process oriented and explanatory. These qualities prove to be more anthropological than scientific (orientated toward natural science) in nature. In business and management, however, qualitative me thods may prove to be very effective in that it can arrive at an understanding of the way in which individuals behave through a description. Essentially, the utility of qualitative or quantitative methods are highly dependent on the research question/hypothesis as well the data being collected (Holden & Lynch, 2004). 2. What are the ethical issues that you believe to be most prominent in consideration of this piece of research Discuss the issues involved in the data collection, and the need for confidentiality and sensitivity. The investigation into the perception of the managers in Mauritius with regards to dividends is no different than any other body of research utilizing human subjects. In conducting this body of research as well as any other research involving human subjects, there are precautionary measures that may be undertaken. These measures take the current ethical framework for protecting subjects and are delineated in the principles of autonomy, beneficence, and justice. First, the principle of autonomy speaks directly to the requirement of research subjects to be treated as independent individuals. In so doing, they are free to decide whether or not they wish to participate in the research study and are free to drop out of the study at any point in time. Secondly, the principle of beneficence speaks directly to the notion that the researcher is obligated to maximize the benefits of the research while minimizing the potential of harm to the research subjects. If the benefits outweigh the risks , it is ethical to proceed with the body of research. If the risks to the subjects outweigh the benefits then it would be unethical to proceed with the body of research. Finally the principle of justice involves the equitable distribution of the burdens and benefits associated with conducting the body of research whereby certain individuals or group of individuals do not bear disproportionate risks while others bear disproportionate benefits. 3. Critically evaluate the relevance of the following research designs for this study and from this evaluation draw conclusions on

Wk6 Forum INTL304 HUMINT Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Wk6 Forum INTL304 HUMINT - Coursework Example Hungarian refugees were a good intelligence target since they were young and educated. The article notes that processing, resettlement procedures, and the federal government’s views on intelligence exploitation defined the methods of collecting information in this case (Coriden 2011, 1). Apparently, some refugees were willing to give intelligence to western powers in exchange of better treatment and to manifest their patriotism. In this context, the intelligence community depicted a high degree of dedication (Coriden 2011, 1). Nevertheless, the intelligence community encountered the challenge of exploiting the Hungarians despite establishing that most Hungarians crossed the border to seek refuge in the Free World (Coriden 2011, 1). The article notes that the ability of the intelligence community to collate and digest loads of information helped in filling major gaps in intelligence information (Coriden 2011, 1). From the article, I learn that intelligence agents or officers must understand the characteristics of human nature that include emotions, intentions and motivations of people. I also learnt that a young and educated population is a good intelligence target. Additionally, the intelligence community should work as a team since human intelligence can help in developing and maintaining foreign and national security. I learnt about the need for effective methods of collecting information. Dedication and professionalism are important aspects in human intelligence. Moreover, the intelligence community should aim gathering the information at a minimum cost and with utmost respect for the rules of human conduct. Coriden, Guy. 2011. Report On Hungarian Refugees. Central Intelligence Agency, Aug 03. https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/kent-csi/vol2no1/html/v02i1a07p_0001.htm (accessed February 12,

Literacy Survey of Bangladesh 2010 Essay Example for Free

Literacy Survey of Bangladesh 2010 Essay Indicator 1. Literacy Situation National 5 years and over Can write a letter for communication (Literate) 7 years and over Can write a letter for communication (Literate) Rural 5 years and over Can write a letter for communication (Literate) 7 years and over Can write a letter for communication (Literate) Urban 5 years and over Can write a letter for communication (Literate) 7 years and over Can write a letter for communication (Literate) 2. Literacy rate by Age group 05-09 10-14 15-19 20-24 15-24 25+ 15+ 15-24 3. Highest grade passed (5 years and over) Total No education ix 100. 00 38. 22 100. 00 35. 88 100. 00 40. 62 16. 43 67. 38 82. 17 75. 09 78. 63 52. 75 59. 82 78. 58 15. 78 64. 51 80. 57 76. 77 78. 67 58. 47 63. 89 78. 81 17. 10 70. 57 83. 98 73. 73 78. 86 46. 84 55. 71 78. 36 68. 40 70. 84 65. 95 65. 83 68. 09 63. 54 54. 19 56. 90 51. 39 51. 81 54. 39 49. 16 57. 53 60. 15 54. 84 55. 08 57. 56 52. 54 Both gender (%) Male (%) Female (%) The Bangladesh Literacy Survey, 2010 Indicator Class I-V Class VI-VIII Class IX-X SSC/equivalent HSC/equivalent Degree/equivalent Masters/equivalent Engineering/Medical Technical/vocational* Others 4. Training Received by Type of Training Technical/Vocational* Catering Service Garments/Tailoring Foreign Language In-service training Nursing Youth development training Other training 5. 6. Use of Internet Facility (15 years and over) Used internet Mode of Using Internet Cell phone Computer Both 7. Use of Internet by Level of Education (5 years and over) Total Class I-V Class VI-VIII Class IX-X viii 1. 12 0. 00 0. 48 3. 60 1. 49 0. 00 0. 54 4. 25 0. 74 0. 00 0. 43 2. 95 63. 80 33. 19 2. 98 63. 90 33. 30 2. 80 63. 68 32. 95 3. 37 1. 49 2. 00 0. 97 1. 38 0. 14 0. 70 0. 07 1. 26 0. 05 0. 34 1. 10 1. 92 0. 19 0. 74 0. 10 2. 05 0. 03 0. 53 1. 64 0. 84 0. 09 0. 66 0. 04 0. 46 0. 06 0. 14 0. 56 Both gender (%) 29. 56 13. 29 8. 05 5. 21 3. 08 1. 55 0. 85 0. 11 0. 08 0. 01 Male (%) 29. 80 12. 96 7. 97 5. 86 3. 81 2. 17 1. 24 0. 17 0. 12 0. 02 Female (%) 28. 30 13. 63 8. 12 4. 54 2. 34 0. 92 0. 45 0. 05 0. 04 0. 01 The Bangladesh Literacy Survey, 2010 Indicator SSC/equivalent HSC/equivalent Degree/equivalent Masters/equivalent Engineering/Medical Technical/vocational* Others Both gender (%) 3. 65 5. 95 13. 21 17. 76 27. 35 8. 00 4. 28 Male (%) 4. 27 6. 74 13. 47 18. 19 27. 20 8. 05 6. 36 Female (%) 2. 83 4. 62 12. 59 16. 57 27. 96 7. 84 0. 00 Indicator Radio 8. Use of Electronic Media by the Population for Education Purpose (%) Several times in last 3 months Several times in a month Several times in a week Daily No scope Male Television Radio Female Television 21. 94 6. 76 3. 06 2. 82 13. 60 22. 95 14. 24 10. 91 13. 87 9. 43 20. 46 5. 73 2. 67 2. 45 14. 17 21. 90 12. 08 9. 09 13. 01 10. 70 Indicator Library Book stall News stand Comm. centre 9. Visit to Public Places for Attaining Literacy Skill Several times in last 3 months Several times in a month Several times in a week Daily No scope 3. 04 0. 99 0. 41 0. 45 8. 26 10. 58 2. 73 0. 43 0. 27 6. 52 1. 72 0. 57 0. 26 0. 32 8. 00 0. 78 0. 18 0. 09 0. 36 9. 55 Notes: *= Technical/Vocational=Computer training, Motor driving/Motor mechanic, Welding, Electrical, etc, ix Acronyms BBS UNESCO UN UNV LFS ICT PSU UNDP UNICEF HH Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics United Nation Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization United Nations United Nations Volunteerism Labour Force Survey Information and Communication Technology Primary Sampling Unit United Nations Development Programme United Nations Children Emergency Fund House Hold xii The Bangladesh Literacy Survey, 2010 Section I Introduction and Overview 1. 0 Background Information pertaining to literacy is an important social indicator having direct bearing on different socio-economic factors, including employment. The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) has included a very detailed literacy module in the 2010 Labour Force Survey (LFS). The items that have been included in the literacy module are ability to write a letter, highest class passed, current enrolment in the educational institutions, skill development training, use of literacy skill in every day life, viewing of education-related programmes in electronic media such as radio and television, attending places having connection with educational attainment such as library, book-stall, news-stand, community-based educational centre, etc. , and use of latest Information and Communication Technology (ICT) such as internet for educational purposes. It may be mentioned that all the tables of the current report are weighted, based on 2010 Labour Force Survey. In Bangladesh, literacy rates available from different surveys and studies are significantly different. This is mainly due to the fact that the definition of a literate person is not uniform and standardized, and most of the surveys and studies are not based on competency test. In the present survey, literacy is defined by the ability of writing a simple letter for communication. The surveys and studies generally record the respondent’s statement relating only to his/her literacy status. However, comprehensive, reliable and timely data on literacy rate is important for formulating policies and improving the state of literacy level in the country. Statistical data on literacy rate is important for both government and other stakeholders. With this objective in mind, the UNESCO planned to carry out a household-based survey on literacy rate in collaboration with the BBS. 1 The Bangladesh Literacy Survey, 2010 1. 1 Objectives of the Survey The objectives of the survey were as follows: 1. To develop and adopt a methodology for providing regular quality data on the access and use of literate environment by individuals including adults and youth in Bangladesh. 2. To obtain regular quality data on the access of literacy program and usage of literacy skills in Bangladesh. 3. To build national capacities in monitoring the literacy program and measurement of individual access and use of literacy skills and literate environment. 1. 2 Scope of the Survey It is a nationwide household based survey. The entire country is the domain of the survey. The survey covered all persons who have attained the age of 5 years and above. However, people in special dwellings such as patients in hospitals, inmates in prisons, inmates in homes for special care (e. g. disabled, aged), boarders in boarding schools were not under the purview of this survey. This survey will produce national estimate by urban and rural. 1. 3 Sampling Design for the Survey The questionnaire of the household based literacy was part of the 2010 Labour Force Survey (LFS) questionnaire as a separate module, and this questionnaire was applied in the same PSU (Primary Sampling Unit) and in the same sample households. Therefore, it was not required to develop a separate and independent sampling design for this survey. A total of 43,945 households were covered of which 34,620 households were from rural areas and 9,325 households were from urban areas. The division wise allocation of the sample PSUs and households are as follows: 2 The Bangladesh Literacy Survey, 2010 Table 1: Distribution of PSUs by Divisions Divisions Rural Dhaka Chittagong Rajshahi Khulna Barisal Sylhet TOTAL 244 183 268 168 156 156 1175 Number of PSU Urban 126 63 46 42 26 22 325 Total 370 246 314 210 182 178 1500. Table 2: Distribution of Sampled Households by Divisions Divisions Rural Dhaka Chittagong Rajshahi Khulna Barisal Sylhet TOTAL 6829 5372 8277 5031 4361 4750 34,620 Number of Sampled Households Urban 3738 1785 1338 1111 690 663 9,325 Total 10567 7157 9615 6142 5051 5413 43,945 1. 4 Limitations of the survey The literacy survey 2010 is not a standalone survey, rather it is a modular survey. The information collected under the survey is based on the responses received from the respondents where no practical tests was administered. Therefore, there is a chance for an upward bias. The Bangladesh Literacy Survey, 2010 The survey was conducted with the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the main focus was on labour force characteristics such as employment, underemployment, occupation, industry etc. This provided an opportunity to collect data on literacy. Therefore, there might be underreporting of some questions. Special training is required for this special type of survey, but it was not done and the training was given simultaneously with LFS which may have some negative impact about the quality of the data. 4 The Bangladesh Literacy Survey, 2010 Section II Population Characteristics 2. 0 Population Characteristics Before discussing the education related information from the 2010 LFS, let us exercise the characteristics of the survey population in terms of their age-gender distribution and marital status. 2. 1 Age Gender Distribution Age-gender distribution of the population has been presented in Table-3. The highest proportion of population is in the age group 10-14 years, and the corresponding percentage is 12. 48 at the national level for both gender, followed by age group 0-4 (12. 22%) and 5-9 (11. 75%). These three groups constitute around 36. 5 % of the total population. Males constitute 37. 0% and females 36. 0%. There exist urban-rural variations in the age-gender distribution of the population. In the rural areas, the percentage of population for both gender of these three age groups was 37. 5% compared to 33. 0% for the urban areas. This may be explained by the higher fertility in rural than urban areas. Similar differences are also seen by gender. As regards population 70 years and over, the percentage is 2. 7% in rural areas and 2. 1% in urban areas. 5 The Bangladesh Literacy Survey, 2010 Table 3: Percentage distribution of population by age, gender and place of residence, 2010 National Both gender 100. 00 12. 22 11. 75 12. 48 8. 58 8. 80 8. 46 6. 83 6. 99 5. 55 4. 98 3. 69 2. 93 2. 45 1. 73 2. 56 87. 78 Both gender 100. 00 12. 65 12. 09 12. 77 8. 45 8. 45 8. 07 6. 60 6. 79 5. 45 4. 96 3. 68 2. 97 2. 56 1. 82 2. 71 67. 28 Rural Both gender 100. 00 10. 79 10. 64 11. 52 9. 04 9. 98 9. 77 7. 61 7. 66 5. 88 5. 02 3. 72 2. 80 2. 09 1. 44 2. 06 20. 50 Urban Male 100. 00 10. 83 10. 64 11. 68 8. 74 8. 52 8. 90 7. 58 7. 71 6. 16 5. 51 4. 33 3. 23 2. 28 1. 56 2. 35 10. 30 Female 100. 00 10. 75 10. 64 11. 36 9. 34 11. 46 10. 66 7. 63 7. 60 5. 61 4. 52 3. 10 2. 37 1. 89 1. 31 1. 75 10. 20 Age group Total 00-04 05-09 10-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70+ 5+ Male 100. 00 12. 26 11. 70 12. 97 9. 03 7. 75 7. 67 6. 36 6. 87 5. 64 5. 28 3. 97 3. 15 2. 62 1. 88 2. 85 44. 46 Female 100. 00 12. 18 11. 81 11. 98 8. 12 9. 88 9. 27 7. 32 7. 12 5. 46 4. 66 3. 39 2. 71 2. 27 1. 58 2. 26 43. 33 Male 100. 00 12. 68 12. 02 13. 35 9. 12 7. 53 7. 30 6. 00 6. 63 5. 48 5. 21 3. 87 3. 12 2. 72 1. 97 3. 00 34. 16 Female 100. 00 12. 61 12. 16 12. 17 7. 76 9. 41 8. 85 7. 22 6. 97 5. 41 4. 71 3. 48 2. 81 2. 39 1. 66 2. 41 33. 13 2. 2 Marital Status The marital status of population 10 years and over by gender and place of residence is presented in Table-4 and Figure-1. Around 60% males and 66% females aged 10 years and over are married. The percentage of unmarried is 39. 29% for males compared to 25. 61% for females. The percentage of widowed /widower was 1. 05% for males compared to 8. 52% for females. There exist some differences in urban and rural areas with respect to marital status. In the urban areas, 33. 34% males aged 10 years and over are unmarried compared to 39. 92% in the rural areas. As regards females, 27. 70% are unmarried in urban areas compared to 24. 95% in the rural areas. The percentage of widowed was 1. 06% for rural males compared to 1. 01% for urban males. For the females, the percentage of widowed was 8. 81% in the rural areas compared to 7. 59% in the urban areas. 6 The Bangladesh Literacy Survey, 2010 Table 4: Percentage distribution of population 10 years and over by marital status, gender and place of residence, 2010 National Marital status Both gender Male Female Both gender Rural Male Female Both gender Urban Male Female Total Never married Married Widowed 100. 00 32. 54 62. 73 4. 73 100. 00 39. 29 59. 66 1. 05 100. 00 25. 61 65. 87 8. 52 100. 00 32. 29 62. 84 4. 87 100. 00 39. 41 59. 54 1. 06 100. 00 24. 95 66. 24 8. 81 100. 00 33. 34 62. 38 4. 28 100. 00 38. 92 60. 07 1. 01 100. 00 27. 70 64. 70 7. 59 Figure 1: Percentage distribution of population aged 10 years and over by marital status, 2010 Never married 33% Married 62% Widowed 5% 7 The Bangladesh Literacy Survey, 2010 8 The Bangladesh Literacy Survey, 2010 Section III Literacy and Training 3. 0 Literacy and Training This section deals with the literacy level of population aged 5 and 7 years and over and the training received by the population 15 years and over. Literacy by age and place of residence, level of education by gender and place of residence are also discussed in this section. 3. 1 Literacy Situation Literacy level of population aged 5 years and over is given in Table 5 and Figure 2. At the national level, 55. 08% are literate for both gender, and the percentages for males and females are 57. 56% and 52. 54% respectively. Table 5: Literacy rate of population aged 5 and 7 years and over by gender, 2010 National Type of literacy 5 years and over Both gender Total Can write a letter for communication (Literate) Can’t write a letter for communication (Illiterate) 100. 00 55. 08 Male 100. 00 57. 56 Female 100. 00 52. 54 7 years and over Both gender 100. 00 57. 53 Male 100. 00 60. 15 Female 100. 00 54. 84 44. 92 42. 44 47. 46 42. 47 39. 85 45. 16 9 The Bangladesh Literacy Survey, 2010 Figure 2: Literacy rate of population aged 7 years and over by gender, 2010 Female Male Both gender 0 20 54. 84 60. 15 57. 53 40 60 45. 16 39. 85 42. 47 80 100 Literate Illiterate The literacy rate of population aged 7 years and over is slightly higher, 57. 53% are literate at the national level, and the corresponding rates for males and females are 60. 15% and 54. 84% respectively. 3. 2 Literacy level by place of residence There exist variations in the literacy rate by rural-urban residence. The literacy rate for population 5 years and over by both gender was 51. 81% in the rural areas compared to 65. 83% in the urban areas. The corresponding figures for males and females were 54. 39% and 49. 16% in the rural areas compared to 68. 9% and 63. 54% in the urban areas. As regards literacy rate for population 7 years and over, literacy rate for both gender in the rural areas was 54. 19% compared to 68. 40% in the urban areas and male and female literacy rates in the rural areas were 56. 90% and 51. 39% respectively compared to 70. 84% and 65. 95% for urban areas. 10 The Bangladesh Literacy Survey, 2010 Table 6: Literacy rate of population 5 years and over and 7 years and over by gender and place of residence, 2010 5 years and over Status of literacy Rural Total Can write a letter for communication (Literate) Can’t write a letter for communication (Illiterate) Urban Total Can write a letter for communication (Literate) Can’t write a letter for communication (Illiterate) 100. 00 65. 83 34. 17 100. 00 68. 09 31. 91 100. 00 63. 54 36. 46 100. 00 68. 40 31. 60 100. 00 70. 84 29. 16 100. 00 65. 95 34. 05 100. 00 51. 81 48. 19 100. 00 54. 39 45. 61 100. 00 49. 16 50. 84 100. 00 54. 19 45. 81 100. 00 56. 90 43. 10 100. 00 51. 39 48. 61 Both gender Male Female 7 years and over Both gender Male Female 3. 3 Literacy by Age Group Table 7: Literacy (persons who can write a letter) rate of population by gender and age group, 2010 Both gender Age group 05-09 10-14 15-19 20-24 25+ 15+ 15-24 Can write a letter 16. 43 67. 38 82. 17 75. 09 52. 75 59. 82 78. 58 Cant write a letter 83. 57 32. 62 17. 83 24. 91 47. 25 40. 18 21. 42 Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Can write a letter 15. 78 64. 51 80. 57 76. 77 58. 47 63. 89 78. 81 Male Cant write a letter 84. 22 35. 49 19. 43 23. 23 41. 53 36. 11 21. 18 Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Can write a letter 17. 10 70. 57 83. 98 73. 73 46. 84 55. 71 78. 36 Female Cant write a letter 82. 90 29. 43 16. 02 26. 27 53. 16 44. 29 21. 64 Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 11 The Bangladesh Literacy Survey, 2010 Literacy rate by age group has been presented in Table-7 and Figure 3. The age groups that have been considered are 5-9, 10-14, 15-19, 20-24, 25+, 15+ and 15-24. The literacy rate increases with the age group up to certain level, and thereafter, it declines. This indicates that the attainment of literacy is a recent phenomenon. Figure 3: Literacy rate of population by age group Can write a letter Cant write a letter 17. 83 100 32. 62 80 70 Percent 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 83. 57 82. 17 47. 25 40. 18 90 24. 91 67. 38 75. 09 5-9 16. 43 10-14 15-19 20-24 25+ 52. 75 15+ 59. 82 15-24 Age group Literacy rate for population aged 05-09 year is 16. 43% for the total population, which increases to 67. 38% for age group 10-14 year, 82. 17% for age group 15-19 year, thereafter, it declines to 78. 58% for 15-24 and 75. 09% for 20-24. The literacy rate for population 25 years and over is 52. 75% and 59. 82% for population aged 15 years and over. It is notable that the literacy rate in the age group 5-9, 10-14 and 15-19 is higher for females compared to males, whereas, for age group 15-24 and 20-24, male literacy rate is higher than that of females. The recent high enrolment of females at the primary and secondary levels has contributed to this higher literacy for females. The literacy rate for 25+ and 15+ population is higher among males than females. The corresponding figures for males are 58. 47% and 63. 84% and 46. 84% and 55. 71% for females respectively. 12 78. 58 21. 42 The Bangladesh Literacy Survey, 2010 3. 4 Training Received By Type of Training. Training received by population 15 years and over by type of training has been presented in Table- 8. Only 5. 0% of the population aged 15 years and over received some sort of training in their life. Such percentage was 7. 2% for males and 2. 8% for females. Table 8: Percentage distribution of population aged 15 years and over who received any training by gender and place of residence, 2010 Type of training received Total No Training Received Technical/Vocational* Catering Service Garments/Tailoring Foreign Language In-service training Nursing Youth development training Other training Bangladesh Both gender Male Female Both gender. Rural Male Female Both gender Urban Male Female 100. 00 95. 26 1. 32 0. 17 1. 33 0. 07 1. 00 0. 08 0. 19 0. 58 100. 00 100. 00 94. 96 1. 38 0. 14 0. 70 0. 07 1. 26 0. 05 0. 34 1. 10 92. 79 1. 92 0. 19 0. 74 0. 10 2. 05 0. 03 0. 53 1. 64 100. 00 100. 00 100. 00 97. 16 0. 84 0. 09 0. 66 0. 04 0. 46 0. 06 0. 14 0. 56 96. 04 1. 02 0. 12 0. 51 0. 05 0. 86 0. 05 0. 33 1. 02 94. 33 1. 35 0. 17 0. 58 0. 08 1. 44 0. 04 0. 53 1. 47 100. 00 100. 00 100. 00 97. 77 0. 69 0. 07 0. 45 0. 02 0. 28 0. 05 0. 13 0. 55 91. 60 2. 52 0. 21 1. 29 0. 13 2. 49 0. 04 0. 35 1. 38 87. 95 3. 71 0. 26 1. 25 0. 18 3. 97 0. 00 0. 51 2. 17 Notes: Technical/Vocational=Computer training, Motor driving/Motor mechanic, Welding, Electrical, etc, There exist urban-rural variations among those who received training. In the rural areas, around 4. 0% received training for both gender compared to 8. 4% in urban areas. The percentage of male and female training recipients was 5. 7% and 2. 2% in rural areas compared to 12. 1% for males and 4. 7% for females in the urban areas. 13 The Bangladesh Literacy Survey, 2010 As regards type of training received, the highest was technical/vocational (1. 38%), followed by in-service training (1.26%), garments/tailoring (0. 70%) and youth development training (0. 34%). This pattern is true among both males and females as well as in both urban and rural areas. 14 The Bangladesh Literacy Survey, 2010 Section IV Reading Habit and Practice 4. 0 Reading Habit and Practice This section deals with the reading habits and practices by the population aged 5 years and over. The items that have been covered are different reading materials used, writing practice in the work of everyday usage, and viewing the electronic media (Radio and Television) for development of education skill. 4. 1 Reading Habits by Type of Reading Materials The reading materials that have been included in this survey are road signs, names of stores, posters, pamphlets, newspapers, magazines, story and novels, manuals, reference books, bill/invoices and charts and maps. Reading habits by type of reading materials have been presented in Table-9. It is observed from the table that 25. 70% of the population aged 5 year and above read road-signs or names of stores several times in the last three months. Road-signs or names of stores were read several times in a month by 6. 95%. Such an activity was performed by 3. 68% several times in a week and 5. 30% daily. Reading of posters or pamphlets was performed by 20. 62% in last three months 7. 75% several times in a month, 3. 40% several times in a week and 4. 53% daily. Use of newspapers and magazines was not high, with only 9. 39% reporting read such materials several times in the last three months, 3. 54% several times in a month, 2. 27% several times in a week and 2. 81% used daily. Story and Novels as reading materials were used by only 7. 19% several times in the last three month, 2. 55%, several times in a month 1. 0% several times in a week and 2. 53% daily. Manuals and reference books were used by an insignificant proportion of the respondents. Only 2. 48% respondents used such materials several times in the last three months,0. 61% used 15 The Bangladesh Literacy Survey, 2010 several times in the last months,0. 12% used several times in the last week, and 0. 14% used it daily. Bills and invoices were also read by fewer numbers of respondents. Charts and Maps were used by only 1. 90% of the respondents several times in the last three months, 0. 35% several times in a month, 0. 14% several times in a week, and 0. 09% daily. It may be noted that more than 40% respondents can not read, and therefore, they could not use such reading materials at all. However, a high percentage of the respondents never used those materials, though they could read those materials. There exist urban-rural variations in the use of these reading materials. Use of all reading materials was higher in the urban than rural areas, particularly, reading the road-signs and names of stores, posters and pamphlets and newspapers and magazines. Table 9: Percentage distribution of reading times in last three months of population aged 5 years and over by place of residence, 2010 Frequency of reading habits Road Posters Newspapers Story signs or Names of Pamphlets Magazines Novels stores Manuals Reference books Bills Invoices Charts Maps etc. National Cant read Never read Several times in last 3 months 100. 00 39. 14 14. 86 25. 00 7. 27 3. 87 6. 94 2. 91 0. 00 100 41. 94 14. 82 24. 24 6. 95 3. 68 100. 00 38. 66 20. 03 21. 19 7. 36 3. 51 5. 57 3. 68 0. 00 100 41. 47 19. 25 20. 62 7. 13 3. 40 100. 00 100. 00 38. 85 33. 14 9. 97 3. 91 2. 62 5. 00 6. 52 0. 00 100 41. 65 33. 67 9. 39 3. 54 2. 27 38. 57 40. 60 7. 59 2. 74 1. 03 2. 54 6. 93 0. 00 100 41. 41 39. 02 7. 19 2. 53 1. 00 100. 00 38. 54 51. 44 2. 39 0. 71 0. 26 0. 40 6. 25 0. 00 100 41. 13 50. 37 2. 48 0. 61 0. 12 100. 00 38. 34 51. 96 2. 92 0. 79 0. 15 0. 21 5. 63 0. 00 100 41. 13 50. 37 2. 48 0. 61 0. 12 100. 00 38. 35 53. 21 1. 96 0. 37 0. 14 0. 11 5. 86 0. 00 100 41. 13 51. 25 1. 90 0. 35 0. 14 Several times in a month Several times in a week Daily No scope Not reported Rural Cant read Never read Several times in last 3 months Several times in a month Several times in a week 16. The Bangladesh Literacy Survey, 2010 Table 9: Percentage distribution of reading times in last three months of population aged 5 years and over by place of residence, 2010 Frequency of reading habits Road Posters Newspapers Story signs or Names of Pamphlets Magazines Novels stores Manuals Reference books Bills Invoices Charts Maps etc. Daily No scope Not reported Urban Cant read Never read Several times in last 3 months 5. 30 3. 07 0. 00 100 29. 97 14. 98 27. 50 8. 35 4. 51 12. 32 2. 38 0. 00 4. 53 3. 59 0. 00 100 29. 43 22. 60 23. 04 8. 13 3. 85 8. 99 3. 97 0. 00 2. 81 6. 66 0. 00 100 29. 63 31. 38 11. 85 5. 11 3. 77 12. 19 6. 07 0. 00 2. 53 6. 32 0. 00 100 29. 26 45. 77 8. 90 3. 43 1. 13 2. 57 8. 94 0. 00 0. 14 5. 16 0. 00 100 29. 22 57. 88 2. 89 0. 86 0. 23 0. 48 8. 44 0. 00 0. 14 5. 16 0. 00 100 29. 18 57. 18 4. 38 1. 38 0. 27 0. 42 7. 19 0. 00 0. 09 5. 16 0. 00 100 29. 24 59. 66 2. 16 0. 45 0. 15 0. 18 8. 17 0. 00 Several times in a month Several times in a week Daily No scope Not reported 4. 2 Literacy Practice by Performing Different Activities Literacy practice by performing different activities in the last three months by the population aged 5 years and over has been presented in table-10. Only 7% wrote personal letters several times in the last three months, 2. 40% wrote personal letters several times in a month, 0. 34% wrote personal letters several times in a week, and 0. 10% wrote daily. As regards writing official letters, 2. 60% wrote several times in the last three months 0. 94% wrote several times in a month, 0. 20% wrote several times in a week, and 0. 14% wrote daily. Filling out forms were done by 4. 89% respondents in the last three months, 1. 46% several times in a month, 0. 21% several times in a week, and 0. 13% daily. Writing a report several times in the last three months was done by only 1. 25%, 0. 42% in a month, 0. 13% in a week, and 0. 09% daily. 17 The Bangladesh Literacy Survey, 2010 Preparing bills and invoices in the last three months for several times was reported by 1. 19% of the respondents, 0. 49% several times in a month, 0. 12% several times in a week, and 0. 12% daily. As regards preparation of Charts and Maps, 1. 26% prepared these several times in last three months, 0. 27% several times in a month, 0. 17% several times in a week, and 0. 10% daily. Table 10: Percentage distribution of population aged 5 years and over by writing habit and performing activities, 2010 Frequency of reading habits National total Cant write Never write Several times in last 3 months Wrote personal letter 100. 00 46. 14 38. 53 7. 00 2. 40 0. 34 0. 10 5. 37 0. 11 Wrote official letter Filled in forms Wrote a report 100. 00 46. 22 46. 54 1. 25 0. 42 0. 13 0. 09 5. 18 0. 17 Prepared bills/ invoices 100. 00 46. 23 46. 72 1. 19 0. 49 0. 12 0. 12 4. 96 0. 17 Prepared charts , maps, etc. 100. 00 46. 37 46. 59 1. 26 0. 27 0. 17 0. 10 5. 03 0. 21 100. 00 100. 00 46. 20 44. 23 2. 60 0. 94 0. 20 0. 14 5. 56 0. 14 46. 10 42. 52 4. 89 1. 46 0. 21 0. 13 4. 55 0. 14 Several times in a month Several times in a week Daily No scope Not Reported There exist urban-rural variations in the use of writing skills, with more urban people using writing skills compared to rural people. 18 The Bangladesh Literacy Survey, 2010 4. 3 Use of Electronic Media by the Population for Education Purpose Use of electronic media such as radio and television for educational purposes has been presented in Table-11. Among the males, 21. 94% had listened to educational programmes of the radio several times in last three months, 6. 76% several times a month, 3. 06% several times a week, and 2. 82% daily. Educational programmes of television was viewed by more people than radio, where 22. 95% viewed it several times in last three months, 14. 24% several times a month, 10. 91% several times a week, and 13. 87% viewed it daily. Thus, although still low, watching television is more frequent than listening to radio programmes on education. The use of radio and television by females is slightly lower than that of males where 20. 46% listened to radio and 22. 95% viewed television several times in last three months. It is interesting to note that listening to educational programmes of radio or viewing of educational programmes on television was higher in rural than urban areas, with few exceptions. In the case of radio, 22. 44% rural males listened to it several times in last three months compared to 20. 28% for urban areas. For viewing the television several times in last three months, the percentage for rural males was 23. 18% as against 22. 20% for urban areas. In the case of females, 20. 65% listened to radio and 21. 68% viewed television several times during the last three months for the rural areas compared to 19. 83% for radio and 22. 64% for television in the urban areas. Table 11: Percentage distribution of population aged 5 years and over by gender, place of residence, habit of watching educational programmes in the electronic media in the last three months, 2010 Frequency of using different electronic media Male Never listen/observe Several times in last 3 months Several times in a month Several times in a week Daily National Radio 100. 00 50. 79 21. 94 6. 76 3. 06 2. 82 Television Radio Rural Television Urban Radio Television 100. 00 19. 40 22. 20 16. 77 9. 83 21. 51 100. 00 100. 00 27. 69 22. 95 14. 24 10. 91 13. 87 51. 74 22. 44 6. 72 3. 01 2. 51 100. 00 100. 00 30. 19 23. 18 13. 48 11. 24 11. 56 47. 64 20. 28 6. 86 3. 20 3. 87 19 The Bangladesh Literacy Survey, 2010 Table 11: Percentage distribution of population aged 5 years and over by gender, place of residence, habit of watching educational programmes in the electronic media in the last three months, 2010 Frequency of using different electronic media No scope Not Reported Female Never listen/observe Several times in last 3 months Several times in a month Several times in a week Daily No scope Not Reported National Radio 13. 60 1. 04 100. 00 53. 37 20. 46 5. 73 2. 67 2. 45 14. 17 1. 15 Television 9. 43 0. 91 32. 05 21. 90 12. 08 9. 09 13. 01 10. 70 1. 16 Radio 12. 59 1. 00 54. 75 20. 65 5. 62 2. 58 2. 03 13. 23 1. 15 Rural Television 9. 48 0. 88 35. 43 21. 68 11. 18 9. 23 10. 16 11. 13 1. 20 Urban Radio 16. 96 1. 19 48. 89 19. 83 6. 11 2. 98 3. 82 17. 22 1. 15 Television 9. 29 1. 00 100. 00 21. 06 22. 64 15. 03 8. 65 22. 27 9. 31 1. 04 100. 00 100. 00 100. 00 100. 00 20 The Bangladesh Literacy Survey, 2010 Section V Visit to Public Places for Attaining Literacy Skills. 5. 0 Literacy Skills Development Visit of the respondents to public places such as libraries, bookstalls, news-stands and village education community centres for reading purposes has been presented in Table-12. Only 3. 04% visited library several times in the last three months. Visits to other places such as book-stalls, news-stands and village education community centres were 10. 58%, 1. 72% and 0. 78% respectively. Visits to such places several times in a month were 0. 99% for library, 2. 73% for book-stalls, 0. 57% for news-stands and 0. 18% for village education community centres. Visit to these places several times in a week was 0. 41% for library, 0. 43% for book-stalls, 0. 26% for news-stands and 0. 09% for village education community centres. Daily visits to these centres were 0. 45% for library, 0. 27% for book-stalls, 0. 32 for news-stands and 0. 36% for village education community centres. There exist variations in the use of these places by gender and place of residence, with fewer number of people from rural area visiting these places compared to those in urban areas. Also, the number of females visiting such places were lower than their male counterparts. Table 12: Percentage distribution of population aged 5 years and over by gender, place of residence and habit of visiting different places of educational interest in last three months, 2010 Frequency of visit Male National Didnt get a chance Never Several times in last 3 months 100. 00 19. 55 67. 01 3. 04 100. 00 17. 29 61. 85 10. 58 100. 00 17. 42 71. 35 1. 72 100. 00 17. 64 71. 03 0. 78 Library Book stall News stand Comm. centre 21 The Bangladesh Literacy Survey, 2010. Table 12: Percentage distribution of population aged 5 years and over by gender, place of residence and habit of visiting different places of educational interest in last three months, 2010 Frequency of visit Several times in a month Several times in a week Daily No scope Not Reported Rural Didnt get a chance Never Several times in last 3 months Several times in a month Several times in a week Daily No scope Not Reported Urban Didnt get a chance Never Several times in last 3 months Several times in a month Several times in a week Daily No scope Not Reported Female National Didnt get a chance Never Several times in last 3 months 100. 00 17. 64 71. 03 0. 78 100. 00 19. 71 67. 85 2. 10 100. 00 18. 03 64. 90 7. 19 100. 00 17. 89 71. 71 0. 92 Library 0. 99 0. 41 0. 45 8. 26 0. 29 100. 00 18. 53 68. 74 2. 74 0. 94 0. 37 0. 45 7. 96 0. 28 100. 00 22. 94 61. 28 4. 02 1. 18 0. 54 0. 47 9. 25 0. 31 Book stall 2. 73 0. 43 0. 27 6. 52 0. 33 100. 00 16. 33 63. 56 10. 34 2. 65 0. 37 0. 28 6. 14 0. 33 100. 00 20. 49 56. 16 11. 37 2. 99 0. 63 0. 25 7. 78 0. 33 News stand 0. 57 0. 26 0. 32 8. 00 0. 35 100. 00 16. 29 73. 30 1. 47 0. 49 0. 21 0. 30 7. 58 0. 36 100. 00 21. 19 64. 89 2. 54 0. 87 0. 41 0. 38 9. 41 0. 32 Comm. centre 0. 18 0. 09 0. 36 9. 55 0. 37 100. 00 17. 15 71. 89 0. 90 0. 19 0. 11 0. 40 8. 99 0. 38 100. 00 19. 26 68. 20 0. 38 0. 13 0. 06 0. 21 11. 41 0. 35 22 The Bangladesh Literacy Survey, 2010 Table 12: Percentage distribution of population aged 5 years and over by gender, place of residence and habit of visiting different places of educational interest in last three months, 2010 Frequency of visit Several times in a month Several times in a week Daily No scope Not Reported Rural Didnt get a chance Never Several times in last.

Sleep Deprivation Effects On Academic Performance

Sleep Deprivation Effects On Academic Performance Sleeping is a necessity for human survival and crucial to our health. Not getting enough sleep can result in hallucinations, irritability, depressive behaviour, diabetes, poor dieting, interference with daily activities, lack of alertness and motivation as well as poor academic performance among students. The majority of the population realizes the importance of a sufficient amount of sleep, yet based on the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) done in 2002, 18% of the population get an average of less than five hours of sleep each night.1 If teenagers are not getting the required 8.5 9 hours per night, they generally make up for it by taking long naps, or sleeping in on weekends. Both of which are counterproductive considering it throws off ones natural body clock.2 Late sleepers tend to interrupt their sleep cycle when they are either in the 3rd or 4th stage of sleeping, which are both considered deep sleep or during the 5th phase, REM (Rapid Eye Movement), leaving them feeling groggy and tired. As a result, teenagers sleep instead of attending class, sleep during lessons, or arent as alert and observant as they could be during school hours. A study was done on 1,000 high school students and 90% reported feeling lethargic from sleep deprivation, with supported evidence that it had affected their school performance.3 A lack of sleep at a young age also increases ones chances of developing a learning disorder. Although there are other factors that influence students performance, sleep is a major one. Background: This report outlines the relationship between sleep deprivation among high school students and their academic performance. Academic performance in a way is immeasurable. It is commonly thought that it is measured based on the students marks in school, however performance is defined as the manner in which something reacts or fulfills its intended 1 Shields, M. (2005, November 16). Study: Insomnia. Statistics Canada. Retrieved May 27, 2010, 2 Why Catching Up on Sleep Doesnt Work. (2007, July 24). Cure:Insomnia . Retrieved May 27, 2010, 3 Taras, H. (n.d.). Poor Sleep, Poor Grades. The National Parenting Center. Retrieved May 27, 2010, purpose.4 Meaning, its the amount of effort one puts into their work in an attempt to succeed. A student can try their hardest to complete an assignment yet they still may not fully achieve the teachers requirements leaving them with an adequate mark. Although that does not normally seem to be the case, it does happen. For the sake of this report however, it is being measured based on marks. The amount of sleep a person has had can evidentially enough, be measured on a timely basis (hourly, etc.). As one sleeps, they go through 5 series of phases which include5: Stage 1: This is the transition between wakefulness and sleep. It is a relatively light sleep stage. The brain produces high amplitudes of theta waves. Eyes tend to move slowly and muscle activity slows down. Many people get muscle contractions during this stage. Light sleep lasts from 5 to 10 minutes. Stage 2: Eye movement stops, brain waves slow down and occasionally produce bursts of sleep spindles (brain activity). Heart rate slows down and body temperature decreases. This phase lasts about 20 minutes. Stage 3: This is the transitional stage between light sleep to deep sleep. Very slow brain waves called delta waves start to produce. Stage 4: This is often known as the Delta Sleep since the brain excessively produces delta waves. There is no eye or muscle movement. It is during this stage that people experience sleep walking, nightmares and bed wetting. This deep sleep usually happens for 30 minutes. Stage 5: This is the most commonly known stage REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. This is when most dreams occur. Breathing becomes more quick, eyes move rapidly, limb muscles are temporarily paralyzed (to prevent ones body from physically acting out their dream), brain waves amplify to the equivalent level that they are at when one is awake, also heart and blood rate increases. It is during this stage that males typically develop an erection and if the person sleeping is woken 4 Performance Define Performance. (n.d.). Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words. Retrieved May 27, 2010, 5 Stages of Sleep. (n.d.). Sleepdex Resources for better sleep. Retrieved May 27, 2010, up, they most likely will be able to remember their dream. REM sleep occurs about 90 minutes after falling asleep. The first cycle of REM sleep lasts a short amount of time, but with each series that occurs, the phase can gradually get longer and longer. However, these sleeping phases do not happen in sequence. We start off in stage 1, move into stage 2, 3 and 4. After stage 4, we go back and stage 3 and 2 are repeated before we enter into stage 5. Once REM sleep is completed, the body goes back to stage 2 and the cycle repeats again up to 4-5 times on average, if one is getting the right amount of sleep. An insufficient amount of sleep, especially at a young age, can manifest into challenging illnesses. As previously stated, sleep deprivation can result in depressive and oppositional behaviour, irritability, poor impulse control and/or over activity all of which are some characteristics of common learning disorders. Research has shown that relationships exist between inadequate sleep among children and developing Sleep Disordered Breathing (SDB), Periodic Limb Movement Disorder (PLMD), and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). 6 These syndromes can make simple tasks involved with learning, difficult for those who suffer from it. The Learn Disability Association of Canada (LDAC) found that over 80% of people with learning disabilities struggle with reading. 35% of students with learning disabilities end up dropping out of school all together. 7 A study showed that among adults ranging from 20-29 years of age, 28.3% had less than a high school certificate due to learning di sabilities. 8 These factors obviously make it tough for students to achieve exceptional marks and work to the best of their ability, but what may be part of the solution would be setting good sleeping habits throughout their lives. 6 Ivanenko, A. (n.d.). Sleep and Psychiatric Disorders in Children and Adolescents. Google Books. Retrieved May 27, 2010, 7 Gudbranson, C. (2000, June 7). Learning Disabilities Association of Canada Library and Archives. Learning Disabilities Association of Canada Activities. Retrieved May 27, 2010, 8 PACFOLD. (n.d.). Highlights of Putting a Canadian Face. Retrieved May 27, 2010, Methodology: The information collected for this report to substantiate the negative effects sleep deprivation have on students academic performance was gathered from an online survey (which is attached as Appendix A) and was conducted on Wednesday, May 20th, 2010 at Iroquois Ridge High School. Thirty-five students from grades 9 through to Super Seniors took part in the survey. Since the analysis does not involve experimental manipulation, it is considered an observational study. Followed by the initial survey, students that were not getting the recommended amount of sleep each night were asked to do a follow up survey (which is attached as Appendix B) in order to determine the reason why they are not getting enough sleep, and to grasp their awareness on the topic. The data was accumulated by clustered/multistage sampling. The seven participants selected from each grade, all from different cliques, filled out the survey and represented the larger population of Iroquois Ridge High School and out of those, whoever was not getting the right amount of sleep did a second survey. Students were picked from different groups to help prevent bias opinions that can be influenced by friends. Seeing as the thirty-five chosen students do not make up for a significant percentage of the total population, this creates a bias since they are speaking for the entire school. Other components that could have skewed the final results would be response bias. There is the chance that some students may have lied about their average in school due to embarrassment, or even about having a learning disability or bedtime for the same reason. One way that the affects of this inclination could have been decreased would be if a larger population were surveyed, that way the response bias could be outweighed and the overall results would be more reliable. The students average in school, alertness and hours of sleep per night were questioned in order to correlate the effects that sleep has on ones academic performance. To get a good understanding of why the individuals who suffered from sleep deprivation lacked sleep, they were directed to fill out a second, slightly more in depth survey to get a grasp of the students awareness of the importance of sleep, by asking them to identify illnesses that connect with not getting enough sleep each night and for the reasons why they are not getting a sufficient amount of sleep. Results: Thirty-five students attending Iroquois Ridge High School were given a survey in order to answer the question: Does sleep deprivation have an effect on students academic performance? The results showed that sleeping patterns do affect ones performance and that 22 out of 35 students (63%) were not getting the recommended 8-9 hours of sleep per night, as shown in both Figure 1 and Figure 2. Figure 1 is a bar graph that displays the results that were collected when 35 high school students were asked How Many Hours of Sleep Do You Get Each Night? Most students seem to receive 6 to 7 hours of sleep per night. Figure 1 Figure 2 is a pie chart that shows the average hours of sleep students get each night. It represents each total as a percentage of all responses. Merely 37% of students are getting the proper amount of sleep while the other 63% are not. Figure 2 Trying to Catch Up Can Be Too Much As a result of not getting enough sleep, students tend to try and make up for lost time by taking long naps, sleeping in when they should be at school, during class and sleeping in during weekends. However, these methods are detrimental because they mess up with the persons body clock. In some cases, too much sleep can result in a disorder called hypersomnia. Hypersomnia is clinically defined as getting more than 10 hours of sleep per night and feeling daytime drowsiness.9 Surveyors were asked how often they would rate themselves sleeping in during their first period class and ending up late, due to tiredness. The outcome was that 12% of respondents never had this issue, 26% rarely did, 31% would experience it sometimes, 20% had it happen often and 11% of students always have this problem. Figure 3 is a frequency pie chart that shows how often students ranging from grade 9 through to Super Seniors, end up running late to their first period class due to over-sleeping. Figure 3 Participants who were depriving themselves of sleep were further questioned in order to find out why. What were they doing that was keeping them up during the night? The most common factors were having stressful lives, part-time jobs and staying up on the computer/ playing video games. Followed by that was too much homework, hanging out with friends, living in a noisy environment, watching television, participating in sports/exercising, and not 9 Sleep Disorder Types and Symptoms. (n.d.). Sleep-Deprivation.com. Retrieved May 28, 2010, being in a comfortable temperature. Options that were not factors at all included having bad dreams and doing chores. A Norwegian survey done on 25,000 people found that individuals who having problems sleeping are most likely suffering from depression and anxiety. Its All About Routine and Discipline Based on the results of the survey, the vast majority of students are able to sleep whenever they want seeing as they do not have a set bedtime that is enforced by their parents. Figure 4 is the representation of the amount of students that have a set bedtime for every week night that has been imposed by their parents/guardian. It is evident that most high school students do not have such discipline, but a small 17% do. Figure 4 This leads to adolescents having an imbalanced body clock and if such a pattern develops at a younger age, it increases ones chances of developing a disorder, as previously mentioned. Teenagers with bad sleeping habits are 6.5 times likely to have metabolic syndrome than people who follow a good routine.10 Adolescents benefit from having constant sleep times that allow them to have the sufficient quantity of hours that they need. This is significantly affected by having regular bed times and rising times throughout the weekend as well. Just like when they were younger, parents need to get involved with their childrens sleeping schedule. Within this collected data 6 out of the 35 students claim to have bedtimes, all of which got approximately 8 hours of sleep a night with an average mark of 75%. While the rest of the students get about 7 hours of sleep a night with a 66% average in school. 10 Pytel, B. (2007, October 4). Lack of Sleep Can Kill: How Dangerous Is Not Sleeping?. Student Health Issues. Retrieved May 28, 2010, The Relationship between Hours of Sleep and Alertness A study done by the U.S. Army drew the conclusion that the loss of just one and a half hours of sleep can result in a 32% reduction in daytime alertness. 11 A similar outcome appeared in the analyzed data of the students attending Iroquois Ridge High School. Figure 5 (below) is a scatter plot that shows correlation between the students alertness from the time they wake up until lunch, based on the average amount of sleep they get each night. Each student was asked to rate their alertness on a scale of 1-5; 1 being not alert at all and 5 being extremely alert. This data was then correlated with the hours of sleep the students get each night, for a correlation of approximately 55.8%. Figure 5 The outcome of this examination had a strong correlation between alertness in the morning and the average hours slept at night. This means that the fewer hours of sleep someone gets, the less alert they will be and visa versa. The reason for this would be that the body was not able to completely rest and regenerate itself as it should, so upon trying to function normally the following morning, it will not be able to perform to the best of the persons ability. The correlation between these two variables was 0.56, proving that getting the right amount of sleep does greatly affect attentiveness. The Relationship between Hours of Sleep and Academic Performance/Grades Jennifer Peszka, a psychologist, conducted a survey on freshman at Hendrix College in order to distinguish students as either owls (later nighters), or larks ( moderately early birds). 11 Sleep Debt | Sleep Deprivation. (2010, May 8). Google. Retrieved May 28, 2010, From there she looked at how that associated with the students Grade Point Average (GPA). Sure enough, the owls averaged at 2.84 while the larks earned 3.18.12 The results of the survey done for students at Iroquois Ridge High School ended up with a very similar outcome. Figure 6 (below) is a scatter plot that shows correlation between the students average in school and the average amount of sleep they get each night. Each student was asked to identify their average in school based on the intervals of 10 from 0% 100%. This data was then correlated with amount of sleep each student gets per night, for a correlation of approximately 63.9%. Figure 6 The results from this portion of the survey had very strong correlation between the students grade and amount of sleep they were getting. Ultimately, this means that students who get the recommended amount of sleep each night consistently, will be able to work to the best of their ability during school which should help their overall average. On the contrary, students who lack sleep have a decrease in both physical and mental performance. The correlation between both variables was 0.64, further proving the point that sleep deprivation can negatively impact ones academic performance. Future Work: If more time and resources were available to do the survey, it would have conducted much differently. Firstly, a larger group of students would be sampled to get a better grasp of 12 Park, A. (2009, June 10). Larks and Owls: How Sleep Habits Affect Grades. TIME.com. Retrieved May 28, 2010, the general population as oppose to just thirty-five students representing everyone. As mentioned before, a larger population will also help outweigh the response bias. The written portion of the survey would be kept online because that appeals to my target audience (teenagers). However, the questions will be more concise. This way, there can be shorter questions that target certain areas of the study. To make the survey more reliable, various voluntary respondents, all with different lifestyles, will have their academic performance measured based on their visible level of alertness, as well as their actual marks. After going through their regular daily routine and prepare to go to sleep at whatever time is normal for them, they will be monitored in their sleep using an Electroencephalography (EEG). This measures brain waves and if read properly, it can tell the observant which stage of sleep the person is in. Upon waking up at their normal time, the phase at which they were sleeping in until they were woken up will be able to be determined. With that, predictions can be made on the type of day the person will have due to their emotional, physical and mental behaviour. Medical Records of the surveyor as well as any information on their family history will be reviewed to get a better understanding of where they came from and what their health is like. Ambitions, goals, hobbies, failures, fears, successes and experiences (good or bad) will be discussed with each candidate in hopes of figuring out where their head is at. A factor that could have been tested would have been the level of discipline with each student whether itd be with oneself or at home from their parents/guardian in terms of school work and sleeping habits. This data could be collected simply by asking; however, physically accompanying the student and observing would be much more reliable. The importance of this topic is not as widely known as it should be. Students, parents and teachers need to be informed about the effects that sleep deprivation can have on not only students, but everybody. The negative impact sleep deprivation can have on someones body, whether its physical, mental and/or emotional, is alarming. Try combining all of those struggles and productively make it through a day of school. If the topic were to be further discussed, studied and brought to awareness, academic levels of children all around the world could increase. Not to mention a decrease in depression, mental illnesses, insomnia and more if people decide to change their sleeping patterns to better themselves. Conclusion: The relationship between the amount of sleep a person gets and their performance academically correspond to one another quite well. This summative and the statistical data as well as research within it proves that the less sleep a student has will typically result in lower grades. Whereas getting the right amount of sleep (but not too much) can positively influence their performance. The key is to get your required amount of sleep each night. For teenagers, that is anywhere between 8.5 to 9 hours of rest. Out of the students surveyed at Iroquois Ridge High School, 34% claimed to be getting the proper amount of sleep. Adolescents would greatly benefit from having a regular, consistent sleeping pattern throughout the week, including the weekend. Meaning they go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day. This helps their body clock run by routine. Not getting enough sleep can result of a number of illnesses which in turn, will affect not only the students marks but their health as well. 63% of students surveyed said they got less than the recommended length of rest time. In both Figure 5 and Figure 6, it is evident that this took a negative toll on the students alertness as well as grades in school. Due to not getting enough rest during the week, teenagers often catch up by sleeping in on weekends. Contrary to popular belief, it is not possible to make up for lost sleep whether itd be by napping or sleeping in on weekends. Getting too much sleep can cause Hypersomnia which leaves victims feeling drowsy all day after having 10 or more hours of sleep the night before. Only 3% of surveyors stated to be getting more sleep then they need. However, in correlation to alertness and marks, it did not seem to have much of a negative impact. If the subject were to be discussed and researched even further, conclusions as to what chemicals are released when they body is at rest can be drawn. With this information, medication and cures for sleeping disorders can be create d to help those who suffer. Generally speaking, sleep and performance seem to go hand in hand. Teenagers need to set up their body clocks so that there is a set routine, with consists of falling asleep and waking up at the same time every day. Ultimately this will result in better academic performance as well as health. Work Cited Gudbranson, C. (2000, June 7). Learning Disabilities Association of Canada Library and Archives. Learning Disabilities Association of Canada Activities. Retrieved May 27, 2010 Ivanenko, A. (n.d.). Sleep and Psychiatric Disorders in Children and Adolescents. Google Books. Retrieved May 27, 2010, PACFOLD. (n.d.). Highlights of Putting a Canadian Face. Retrieved May 27, 2010 Park, A. (2009, June 10). Larks and Owls: How Sleep Habits Affect Grades. TIME.com. Retrieved May 28, 2010 Performance Define Performance. (n.d.). Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words. Retrieved May 27, 2010 Pytel, B. (2007, October 4). Lack of Sleep Can Kill: How Dangerous Is Not Sleeping?. Student Health Issues. Retrieved May 28, 2010 Shields, M. (2005, November 16). Study: Insomnia. Statistics Canada. Retrieved May 27, 2010 Sleep Debt | Sleep Deprivation. (2010, May 8). Google. Retrieved May 28, 2010 Sleep Disorder Types and Symptoms. (n.d.). Sleep-Deprivation.com. Retrieved May 28, 2010 Stages of Sleep. (n.d.). Sleepdex Resources for better sleep. Retrieved May 27, 2010 Taras, H. (n.d.). Poor Sleep, Poor Grades. The National Parenting Center. Retrieved May 27, 2010 Why Catching Up on Sleep Doesnt Work. (2007, July 24). Cure:Insomnia . Retrieved May 27, 2010 Why Sleep is Important and What Happens When We Dont Get Enough. (n.d.). American Psychological Association. Retrieved May 28, 2010 Appendix A Appendix B

Analysis of the Impact of Oil Prices on the Global Economy Essay

1. Introduction The price of oil becomes the bone of contention recently. Oil price seems to be hitting new highs with the regularity of a metronome. It is a bad news for customers who have to pay more on it. More frightening still, this situation may get worse before it come back to normal. No one can exactly predict when the pendulum will soon swing back again since all uncertain factors existing. From the supply side of view, the OPEC is the main producer, being prepared to add or subtract production to balance demand. Moreover, Russia is another major producer of oil in the world. They usually produce more when demand more and subtract when demand reduce to control the price of oil. Anyway, speculator is another factor we have to consider in short run. From demand side of view, every country is trying to reduce the consumption on petroleum, the government use tax strategy to control the oil price. Further more, government strategic oil reserves have to be considered as a factor which causes oil supply shortage. Next, let ¡Ã‚ ¦s discuss in detail how the demand and supply relation affect the price of oil. 2. Microeconomic Analysis 2.1 Analysis of Market Form There are not so many oil producers in the world; the countries that produce most of the world ¡Ã‚ ¦s oil have formed a cartel, which called Organization of Petrolum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Those countries controlled about three-quarters of the world ¡Ã‚ ¦s oil reserve. Within the OPEC countries, they tries to raise the price of its product through reducing in quantity produced and OPEC tries to set production levels for each of the member countries. From this point of view, oil market belongs to oligopoly which only a few sellers offer similar or identical products. In this form, the producers produce a quantity of output greater than the level produced by monopoly and less than the level produced by competition. The oligopoly price is less than the monopoly price but greater than the competitive price. Therefore, supply and demand theory can be applied in oligopoly form of market. 2.2. Supply and Demand Analysis 2.2.1 Oil Supply Analysis Supply refers to both the ability to sell and the willingness to sell by the producer. Actually, many factors can determine the quantity and individual supplies ¡Xinput prices, technology, expectations. The quantity supplied rises as the price rises and f... ...by tax. When the oil price goes up, the government will tax more on fuel, vice versa. Therefore, it will benefit the domestic consumers. Other factor is the Iraq influence, political unrest can leave the world without enough oil to go round. 3. Conclusion There are too many uncertainties existing in the world oil price. According to the analysis, the price may keep going up due to the shortage of supplies and increasing of demand without considering the speculators factor in short-run. In long-run, the oil price will definitely go down. On the other hand, the price may be peaked already. This will result of the speculators unloading their oil inventories, causing prices to fall sharply. Reference: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://blondesense.blogspot.com/2005/04/crude-futures-crudely-exploited.html 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  kjhj 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A titanic struggle between supply and demand, http://www.occupationwatch.org/analysis/archives/2005/04/a_titanic_strug.html (visited on 29th, April) 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Oil and the Economy, http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/speeches/2004/20041021/default.htm 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Time for OPEC to plump up its cushion, http://www.economist.com/agenda/displayStory.cfm?story_id=3759213

Web Portal :: essays research papers

The Problem with the Existing Architecture: The company has multiple standalone computing solutions and applications which it acquired through the purchase of provider companies. These systems are not fully integrated and are not compatible. They do not share data in real time making communication, access, and interoperability difficult. The current system does not provide a well designed and unified solution for customers. The different provider companies that XYZCorp has acquired currently have their own customer relationship management (CRM) systems. Currently, it is not possible to have interconnectivity and functionality between providers and external sources, causing customers to be unable to take advantage of and fully benefit from the range of services the company has to offer. Also, web technologies are not being used to their potential and backend applications are not integrated. A customer web portal, which can help to integrate services such as buying, selling, delivery, payment and overall customer support, is non -existent and a deterrent to overall consumer satisfaction and business growth. What is a web portal? In terms of defining exactly what a web portal is, it is important to understand its significance and role in business and technology. A portal can be thought of as a single, main gateway into an assortment of content. More specifically, a web portal is often the main starting point for an online user/web surfer. Web portals often consist of a collection of loosely integrated features with many resources and links to different services. They have become commonplace in today’s technology-driven lifestyle whereby web surfers utilize portals such as www.yahoo.com or www.msn.com. These websites are solid examples of web sites that have expanded to become a point of entry onto the information superhighway. These sites, just like many others that fall into the same category of â€Å"web portal,† provide a user with a number of features, content, and resources, such as links to information, news, and people as well as the ability to search the web. Businesses can benefit from this kind of technology by providing a web portal as the chief starting point for customer exploration and contact. Furthermore, a web portal is vital for a corporation that utilizes e-commerce. E-commerce refers to the retail, service, and business to business industries that make use of the web to facilitate the exchange of products and services between businesses, consumers, and manufacturers. A web portal can act as the starting point for a company that has introduced e-commerce into the way they do business.

Human History Essays -- Informative, Civilizations

God began His greatest work of creation. When God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground"(Genesis 1:26). As with the story of Adam and Eve in the Hebrew Bible, their goal was to define the moral principles that people thought should govern their dealing with the supernatural world, with each other, and with the rest of nature (Bulliet, â€Å"et al.† p.5). Evidences began to accumulate that human being had quite different origins somewhere in the nineteenth century. How can anyone believe in evolution, how could they think that it was possible for humanity to exist after being evolved from apes? To believe that this statement is true is to also believe that God was an ape too if we were created in his image. Evidences has also point out discoveries found of humans living in other part of the continents by their paintings and engravings on stone from thousands of years early. Migrations from Africa early humans first expanded their range in eastern and southern Africa. They ventured out of Africa. This also points out that this new species displaced older human populations, such as the Neanderthals in Europe, and penetrated for the first time into the Americas, Australia, and the Arctic. People would have been able to cross a land bridge from northeastern Asia in to North America, perhaps beginning around 18,000 B.C.E. some scholar date it earlier or later (Bulliet, â€Å"et al† p.9). It is believe that some early colonizer of the Americas may also have come by boat along the Pacific coast. Some of these early colonizers of the Americas have migrated southwa... ... his crew of ninety men â€Å"departed Friday the third day of august of the year 1492† toward â€Å"the regions of India.† However, there was this question, â€Å"Is the world flat?† Which bring up another question â€Å"What is holding the world up?† And one man quest to find out the answer. The meaning of human history is to realize the purposes of God to make a paradise on earth, to prepare a people for a life in community with a loving and holy God and for all humanity to know who He is. Nevertheless, if Columbus had not decided to taken this voyage one of the consequences would be people of the New World would have been left without the potential knowledge of Christianity and what they needed to know for their salvation. Indians and all other people were converted to the faith of Jesus Christ by the preaching of the word of God and by the example of good and holy living.

Terror and Violence in Nazi Germany from 1933-34

How far did the Nazi regime rely on terror and violence to consolidate its hold on power from 1933-34? Although most of the Nazi regime’s policies and actions were legal, the presence of terror and violence towards it opposition and citizens was most likely the key to the Nazi’s staying in power. With the aid of the SS and SA, the Nazis were able to stage coercive elections only allowing us to suggest unreliable results when it comes to answering this question.Hitler was appointed as chancellor on January 30th 1933. On the 27th of February 1933, the Reichstag building broke out into flames, four weeks after Hitler had assumed office of chancellor and weeks before his government had urged President Hindenburg to dissolve the Reichstag. The Nazis were able to convince the general public that this was â€Å"acts of terrorism† by communists. This meant at long last the Nazis could get rid of the KPD and all other political parties, whether they posed a threat or not. The Reichstag fire lead to the emergency decree which seized several rights of the German people such as freedom of opinion, personal freedom, freedom of the press and the freedom to organise and assemble. It also meant the German officials could detain whoever they wanted without a warrant. Three weeks after the emergency decree was announced, the Enabling Act (March 27th 1933) was passed. This gave Hitler the power to pass laws without the interference of the Reichstag or Reichsrat.As Hindenburg was aging he took less interest in day-to-day government activities, hence why he signed the enabling act as it effectively removed Presidential oversight. With the enabling act and the emergency decree both active, Hitler’s government was transformed into a legal dictatorship, allowing the Nazis to do whatever they wanted, however they wanted. The Nazis also controlled the media through propaganda minister, Dr Joseph Goebbels. On the 13th of March 1933, he was appointed head of the Reich ministry which was in charge of all media and public entertainment.On the night of book burning in Berlin, Goebbels condemned all books by Jews, liberals, leftists, pacifists, foreigners, and others as â€Å"un-German. † This lead to Nazi supporters in the educational sector, both students and professors, to burn these â€Å"un-German† books in attempt to â€Å"cleanse† German spirits. With the Enabling Act still active Hitler was able to pass a series of laws called the Gleichstaltung laws. Gleichstaltung means â€Å"coordination† or â€Å"bringing into line†. These laws were laid down to ensure a totalitarian state without any possibleobjection or opposition. They were also put into place to standardize Nazi-German lifestyle. All anti-Nazis were purged from civil service and schools. Gleichstaltung however also consisted of several organisations which were made compulsory. All these compulsory groups set up by the Nazis prepared the chosen gender or age group for life during the war. The Gleichstaltung laws allowed the Nazi’s to commence The Night of the Long Knives, within legal jurisdiction. The Night of the Long Knives was the termination or arrest of opposition to Nazis.Majority of the victims were prominent members and leaders of the SA such as Ernst Rohm and Kurt von Schleicher. Due to unemployment of up to six million, the SA had grown massively and were looking a lot less controllable to Hitler. At one point, the SA were Hitler’s personal army, great tension grew between Hitler and Rohm as they both had a difference of opinion. Another reason the SA was eliminated was due to homosexuality that was rumoured to be present in the group. This clashed with core Nazi ideology and it simply could not be overlooked by the Nazis.President Hindenburg died on the second of August 1934, this lead to Hitler combing the roles of both president and chancellor into one, known as the Fuhrer, giving him complete power over Germany. In evaluation, majority of Hitler’s rise to power was legal and even his acts of violence and terror were legal due to the Reichstag decree being active as well as the enabling act. Even with great election results, we cannot determine whether they were genuine or not due to coercive elections. Therefore it seems most of his rise to power relied on the acts of terror and violence.

Collaborative Health Care

Running head : IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY WITH LEADERSHIP 1 Improve Productivity with Leadership Natalie Misyuk Chamberlain School of Nursing Marilyn Smith NR 447 Collaborative Health care IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY WITH LEADERSHIP 2 Improve Productivity with Leadership Introduction Working in the VA has made me become a leader, I have been employed here for about 4 years and it feels like family.I started becoming a leader by learning though out my experience from my colleagues of my other jobs that I held and the knowledge I have acquired through my school that helped me prepare for the future. I want to be there for my whole career as a Registered Nurse and as a Leader in my clinic to improve productivity and processes. The two SMART goals that I have choose are: 1. Reduce late and cancelled appointments in the Women's clinic. 2. To provide the female veterans with the newest technology available on the market. I choose them because I want to be the best nurse advocate to my patients.Goal 1: Leadership Development My leadership development is about being a natural leader. I attend conferences, read books and keep myself updated on the different theories of leadership. I always wondered what kind of leader I would become but over the years I have learned to lead and improve my skills to become a natural leader. It is about certain strategies that you just have to have. Strategic thinking helps you to learn to step back from the day-to-day tactical details and focus on the â€Å"why†, not just the â€Å"what† and â€Å"how†.Being a good listener means to learn to pay attention and demonstrate to others that I value what they have to say. IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY WITH LEADERSHIP 3 Peer-Reviewed Articles The article that I found is called â€Å"Empowering others to take an active role in patient care† This article talks about how leadership traits are very difficult to apply into the real world when you try to learn them from someone. Each individu al is a leader within himself and is a product of individual xperiences, individual opportunities, and individual training who has been exposed to challenging situations, unique opportunities (Sara J. White 2012). It is simply not realistic to think, â€Å"How can I be like her? ,† or in â€Å"How can I be as good a leader as Abraham Lincoln? † When we think about the great leaders that we have come across in our lives, it would be difficult to retrace the knowledge, experiences, and perspectives that shaped their ability and effectiveness. It is difficult to acquire or develop the attributes necessary to be a good leader by seeing examples of ood leadership in others. Good leadership ability will result from applying knowledge useful in situations that require leadership, practicing the skills associated with leadership, and having the desire and motivation to exert these in appropriate situations. (Sara J. White 2012) Leadership is â€Å"about coping with change. â €Å"‘ This requires more specific knowledge, skills, and attitudes. The individual must have the knowledge necessary to be a good leader, including the knowledge necessary to develop a vision, stimulate change, work well with people, and become a person of influence.Credible Websites The website that will help me with the development of my SMART goal talks about â€Å"10 Tips to Improve productivity at work. † by Adam Gurian. It is a business professional website, but it can be applied to anyone that wants to improve processes in their work. He talks about how to quickly manage IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY WITH LEADERSHIP 4 difficult situations and how to be a leader at work, which will result in productivity in the workplace.The number one is to Act immediately on phone the messages, I never knew how important this is for my patients, but if you can return the phone call back to a patient that is in a great emergency then it can accomplish much maybe even and save the patien t's life. It all starts from the little things that we do as nurses to help our day run smoothly. Another important tool is to organize your tasks for the day, so you can tackle your most important priorities together, you will save time and be more efficient and produce higher quality work. By starting your day ith the most important task, you will increase your productivity and get your day off to a good start. This is a credible website that applies to my specific SMART goal because it talks about different positive ways to get the job done. This website is very helpful for employees in any field to be productive in their job. Informational Expert I have spoke with the Nurse Educator in my job about how to reduce late and cancelled appointments in the Women's Clinic. The nurse educator had informed us, for all the clinics the number one priority to reduce late and cancelled appointment is to make reminder calls at least 2-4 days in advance.We all forget things, and appointments a re among the easiest things to lose track of. Appointment cards are helpful, but in the end, a phone call is your best bet. Email, text message and other automated solutions are starting to make some headway, but a good old-fashioned telephone call is still the most effective tool to combat schedule disintegration. We are very busy in our clinic, so not all the time these phone calls are able to be made but for the most part we have to start making it our number one priority.The Nurse Educator told us to create a workbook where we will type everything out; the patients name, date or appointment, time, which doctor and for what reason. In this work book IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY WITH LEADERSHIP 5 we will keep track of patients who received the call, who the message was left for and who cancelled or just didn't show up. My goals are to be on top of these reminder phone calls and try to call everyday to the patients scheduled when I have some free time. In the worst case scenario when phone calls weren't able to be made, our clerk will send out reminder letters.I can definitely achieve my SMART goal this way, by working together as a team and collaborating with each other to meet our clinics goals. Goal 2: Organizational Planning I know this goal is a difficult one to achieve, because it is all about the timing and the finances of the VA hospital. It is one of the goals for our clinic to have the most recent and newest technology offered to the Women Veterans. A few months ago I went to a conference and I heard about the new Mammography technology that is being offered, which is called Computed Tomography Laser Mammography.This medical imaging technique uses laser energy in the near infrared region of the spectrum, to detect angiogenesis in the breast tissue. The technology uses laser in the same way computed tomography uses X-Rays, these beams travel through tissue and suffer attenuation. It would be great to see my clinic have one of these in the near future, I know how painful getting a mammogram can be and this new way o f getting a laser detector can do the best job pain free. Detect tumors, and any abnormal tissue with this pain free mammogram. Peer-Reviewed ArticlesThe article named â€Å"Exploring the Influence of New Technology Planning and Implementation on the Perceptions of New Technology Effectiveness† by Bellamy, Al talks about that organizations that recently installed new technology bettered the workplace and its effectiveness. Technology is believed IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY WITH LEADERSHIP 6 to have more effective outcomes when it is integrated systematically within an organization’s strategy process. Organizations that have good leadership, have good decision-making processes, and rganizational policies and procedures. Organization with new technology is much more effective in every way. An organization that is characterized by its members as being rigid and unwilling to change would probably approach new technology planning and implementation differently than an organization described as open and that does not resist change. There may also be parallel differences in the effectiveness in which new technology is deployed. The perceived climate of the organization may mediate the relationship among technology, the planning processes, and the perceived effectiveness of he deployment of technology (Bellamy, 2009). This all means that new technology in the workplace is for the better in every way, and the number one goal is to to better patient outcomes. The way that this article relates to my SMART goal, is by talking about that new technologies improves production and patient satisfaction. Credible Websites The website that talks about why technology is very beneficial to the workplace because it simplifies and reduces the labor involved to complete the task at hand. Technology is the use of any tool that was developed by man to enhance the productivity of any given task.This website has a differe nt approach about technology because it does not talk about the medical field with its new technologies, but it talks about technologies in the work place. This specific website talks about farmers utilizing various technologies to increase their farm production. New farm technologies improved in quality production and more foreign exchange was brought into our country because of this. The way that this IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY WITH LEADERSHIP 7 ebsite applies to my SMART goal is by talking about new technologies benefiting any work environment to improve the quality of the produce. The actual website is http://www. fiji. gov. fj Informational Expert My nursing manager has told my team that it is a great goal that we have thought of, however it is something that will take place not until the year 2015. The financial situation is very bad right now with the VA Hospital, after the hurricane Sandy, the Manhattan VA was destroyed which put us in great financial loss. New technologies are o n their way but we will just have to wait.My nurse manager recommended that the patients that are in a lot of pain doing mammograms the old way, can be referred to an outside specialty clinic that provide these types of special services with laser Mammography machines. Summary I have learned a lot in this research paper, being a leader in the work environment lets me realize that there are many things to look out for to keep the clinic running smoothly. Make pre-visit telephone calls is one great goal that I came up with, with the Nurse educator in order to improve productivity and efficiency.My goal is to continue learning about different leadership styles in my workplace and to continue to build and lead high performing teams is especially in the Women's Clinic. We must work closely together and wear many different hats to effectively meet our company's demands. I appreciated doing this research and learned a lot about how we can improve quality and productivity. Creating an envir onment that will promote problem solving is part of creating an effective team.My informational expert has taught me that you should never be afraid to communicate whatever it is you want to learn IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY WITH LEADERSHIP 8 more about, because it will only help you learn something new, you can never be wrong from asking a question instead of doing something without the correct answer. References Bellamy AL. (2007). Exploring the Influence of New Technology Planning and Implementation on the Perceptions of New Technology Effectiveness.Journal of Technology Studies, v33 n1 p32-40. 9 pp. White SJ ; Wilkin NE ; McElroy SR. (2012). Leadership development: Empowering others to take an active role in patient care. Journal of the American Pharmacists Association:(J AM PHARM ASSOC), 2012 May 1; 52 (3): 308-18. http://www. businessnewsdaily. com/3272-improve-productivity-tips. html http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Computed_tomography_laser_mammography http://www. fiji. gov. fj/index . php? option=com_content&view=article&id=739:technologies-improve-production&catid=97:features&Itemid=198