Barriers to Effective Communication Essay

As we all know, Criminal Justice has two main types of communication which are Verbal and Nonverbal. Each of these are subsets or components in the communication area. These components help us to breakdown ideas of communication for a better understanding. For the verbal communication, there is a cluster with four different areas which include: Blaming, Directing, Persuading and Problem Solving. Along with these components for the verbal, there are also two main things for nonverbal communication which include: Body language and Written word communications. When we are in a conversation with someone, verbally speaking is not the only thing that comes with communicating well. There is also the fact that you must be a good listener as well so you can understand what the other person is communicating. According to Grubb, Hemby, â€Å"Generally there are three purposes associated with either casual conversation or public speaking: to inform, to persuade, or to entertain† (Matthewson, 2009). You need to be focused and pay attention to detail when someone is attempting to inform you on critical information. To build better communication and a better understanding of what someone is saying, try repeating or saying everything you just heard. It will help you to remember more of the important issues that were brought up in the conversation. For effective communication, you want to make sure that you are to the point of what you are talking about and avoid going off topic. This is make sure that you are able to clarify what the other person is saying and it will help any kind of confusion that may occur. You may also run into someone who does not speak English or speaks it very well. With this, you need to make sure that you are clear and precise on the topic and have an interpreter  just in case they need help understanding. In the Criminal Justice field, many officers, lawyers, probation and parole officers face this challenge on a day to day basis. For having different types of languages around us at all times, we must be prepared for anything that can happen in the communication aspect. Cultural differences can and do affect verbal and nonverbal communication. When you are using nonverbal communication, you must watch how you use your body language such as your hands, eyes, leg movement, and the folding of your arms. Using each of these in a certain manner can show the other person that you are uncomfortable, that you are not really listening to what they have to say and or you don’t care about what they are talking about. These can also show some signs of lying and stress if you are not careful. Law Enforcement uses these signs when they are interviewing and interrogating suspects. Giving direct eye contact but yet your body language says something else can be misunderstood as hiding something. There are many different variables dealing with communication as well. When we have a conversation, we should always make sure that we do not miscommunicate information and the way we can do this, is by being more alert and understanding the different methods of communication. In the 7th paragraph in his article, Grubb says â€Å"KISS is an extremely effective acronym. â€Å" Keep it Short and Simple† is not an indicator of lack of intelligence or professionalism but rather an efficient way to communicate. Some police officers, through a sense of misplaced importance, feel compelled to use language that is inappropriate for the situation- inappropriate in the sense that it does not fit well in the context of the conversation or in the message that the officer is attempting to convey† (Matthewson, 2009). When writing a report which is considered nonverbal communication, you want to make sure you are using as much detail as possible but making sure at the same time, you are not going overboard to where it drowns out the report. You want to make sure that you have enough information and enough details that it explains what you witnessed or what happened. There have been cases  where less description is also good in a report as well. Along with writing reports, when you are in the Criminal Justice field, you want to make sure that when you are emailing, you are concise and yet brief. By explaining too much in your reports, this can in fact potentially be thrown out of court by a judge. Communication Frustration plays a role in the Criminal Justice field by people misunderstanding what they are reading and what they are hearing. This can mean life and death in criminal justice organizations. If all the officers are getting briefed on a case where they have to apprehend a suspect, it takes one officer not paying attention and it could very easily cost him or her their lives. Understanding and communicating well are very important thing to master in any type of law enforcement agency. There are advantages and disadvantages with communications dealing with formal and informal. Having the formal communication, allows uniformity within the organization, having informal communication allows free flow of information, but tends to restrict uniformity. Another thing that goes along with having a hard time listening, is the fact that there can be outside stress like family issues, financial problems. There can also be external issues with listening such as being biased about the subject that is being talked about, the subject being boring etc. Having active listening and great feedback will help in good communication as well. There are three different barriers that are in effective communication. The first one is Individual Practitioner Barriers. This affects more of the community based correctional staff. With it affecting this area, some may lack basic knowledge, abilities and skills to do their jobs correctly and efficiently. Some that have lack of all three of these things, have never participated in the training that is required by that specific job. The second is the Organizational Barriers. This kind of barrier deals with barriers that are in their organization be it the police department, court houses, attorney’s offices etc. This also limits the full implementation of evidence based information and the correctional practices. When dealing with  correctional practices, you need to have all the knowledge to do your job correctly and without many or no faults. The third is Systemic Barriers. With this barrier, it deals within the criminal justice and the social service systems. This can cau se competition between the different agencies due to shortages in funding, difficulties in sustaining collaborations and the lack of support from the court system. Clients may be pushed away due to the community practitioners not having the power to control what happens in the system. My real world example of effective communication is the time I was living with my aunt back in Bryan, Ohio. She and her ex were seeing each other at this time. He was always coming over to our apartment spending time with her, cooking, cleaning, and helping with everything that he could think of. Everything was going wonderful for a long time. Communication was at its best between all of us. Then one day, he had been drinking and I was very ill lying in bed. I heard a lot of yelling and screaming from my aunt telling him to get out and him yelling back telling her to shut up. I heard some slamming around out in the living room so I got out of bed, extremely dizzy to see what was going on. I walked out and they were each on one side of the TV holding on to it. Well I stepped in and told him to get out of the apartment. She was in no shape for any stress and I was s o sick I just about couldn’t stand up straight. After I told him that, he took the TV and pulled it off the stand hitting me and my aunt in the back with it. Almost pinning me in between the glass coffee table and the TV. If I wouldn’t have moved when I did, I would have been severely cut. Needless to say, I got on the phone call the police and my aunt and I filed a police report. Later that day, her and I were pulling out of the apartment complex when we saw his van across the street. As soon as he seen us, he flew across into the apartment drive almost hitting her car. As she was backing up to the office, I was on the phone to the police once again. His van was so close to her bumper, u couldn’t put a piece of paper between them. If it was not for me being in that car, he said he would have killed her. No matter what situation or scenario you are in, communication is the main thing you need to have. If you do not have effective communication, then anything can happen. People can get off murder charges, rape charges, any type of abuse charges. As we all know, Criminal Justice has two main types of communication which are Ve rbal and Nonverbal. Each of these have subsets or components. References Henderson, M. L., Mathias-Humphrey, A., & McDermott, M. J. (2008). Barriers to Effective Program Implementation: Rural School-Based Probation (Vol. 72). Seattle, Washington, United States: Administrative Office of the United States Courts. Retrieved December 12, 2013, from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/docview/213978183?accountid=458 Matthewson, J. (2009). Effective Communication in Criminal Justice: Process, components and various types. Examiner.com, 2. Retrieved December 12, 2013, from http://www.examiner.com/article/effective-communication-criminal-justice-process-components-and-various-types Wallace, H. &. (2009, January 15). Criminal Justice Law Exploring Issues, Developing Solutions. Retrieved December 12, 2013, from Criminal Justice Law: http://criminaljusticelaw.us/leadership/communication-frustration/

Notes on Horses of the Night

Chris the boy in the ML short story–faced adversity, the no money for school -depression years that Just got worse†¦ This combined with the love of learning and ambition to be an engineer†¦ Drove him to study and work†¦ First when he was away at HAS. †¦ Then when somehow he couldn't afford? To go to Univac In Winnipeg†¦ It drove him to rebel against going home to the farm(north of Waken)†¦ He cashed in his ticket and ran away to Winnipeg. James Eriksson: He tried to work to make money to go to College to succeed In his dream. He got sales Jobs†¦ So he wasn't paid money he worked on commission†¦ OnlyIf he got someone to buy what he was selling did he make money†¦ Let was the depression and the depression got worse. You studied this Is Social†¦. Keynes people even If they did have money did not buy things†¦. The psychology of uncertainty kept them from spending money because they needed what little they had Just In case thin gs got worse and some emergency came up†¦ The war came†¦ Soldiers got paid a salary†¦ Chris enlisted (joined the army). He could afford to go to school to be an engineer if he saved the money from being a soldier. Sometime in the horror of war Chris gave up ‘hope' of ever succeeding in being an engineer.As a result of ‘losing hope' Chris lost his ‘mental health'.. To put it another way†¦ As long as Chris had something to ‘live for'(dream to be an engineer†¦ Unrealistic or not) he could cope and deal with any adversity that came his way. Once he lost hope he became mentally paralyses: â€Å"He is so passive†. IMO as long as Chris had hope†¦ He had something to work for†¦ He had meaning in life. Without hope he had no meaning†¦ Nothing to live for†¦ Without anything to live for Chris had a nervous breakdown and ended up spending the lest of his life in the mental hospital.

Self-Preservation Japan Territorial Ambitions

The need for self-preservation was the motivating force behind Japan’s territorial ambitions. † In my opinion,self-preservation refers to the preservation of Japan’s territories as well as the achievement of self-sufficieny(autarky). Thus, I feel that Sources B,C and D support the statement while Sources A and E do not. Source B supports the hypothesis. It states the two reasons why Japan went to war and is reliable because it is a report of the Japanese government conference held in 1941.Source B states that Japan will â€Å"seek to establish a solid basis for security and preservation of the nation†and â€Å"advance south†. This shows that Japan wanted to protect its territories like China and sought to establish its military so that it could conquer more territories for more natural resources to reduce reliance on other countries . Also, Japan needed to â€Å"establish a solid basis for security† so that it could protect itself from externa l threats. Japan felt that in order to be more powerful, it needed to conquer more territories and preserve its current territories.To Japan, power was the key to self-preservation and thus, in order to satisfy its need for self-preservation, Japan became hungry for power and this ignited Japan’s territorial ambitions. Source B also states that Japan’s main reason for expanding its territories was the â€Å"policy that resulted in the establishment of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere†. Thus, I can infer from Source B that Japan conquered other territories because it wanted to achieve self-sufficiency.From my contextual knowledge,Japan established the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere on the pretext of wanting all the economies in East Asia to prosper together. However, Japan’s main aim was to control the economies and trade and at the same time, the countries’ natural resources. By doing so, Japan was able to gain more natural resour ces for its growing industries and population as well as use the Southeast Asian countries as overseas markets for Japanese goods. Hence,I feel that Source B shows that the motivation behind Japan’s territorial ambitions was its need for self-sufficiency.

Consumer Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Consumer Law - Essay Example Since D-I-Y is in the business of selling home improvement products, there is an implied condition that the varnish supplied is of satisfactory quality, especially since it is an in-house product. Was the varnish of satisfactory quality? There are two factors that would appear to indicate that it was not. Firstly, goods are deemed to be satisfactory if â€Å"they meet the standard that a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory†¦.taking into account all other relevant circumstances.†2 In the case of â€Å"Dà ©cor Shine† the instructions on the tins indicate that the product is suitable for use on all types of wood. But this is not the case – the product is not suitable for use on very old wood since it causes shrinkage. Therefore the description that has been used for the product is false and akin to misrepresentation3 and cannot be said to be the kind of goods that Alf intended to buy. In the case of Reardon Smith v Hansen Tangen4, Lord Diplock clearly highlighted grounds that could exist for breach of contract through lack of identification of the goods being purchased: Alf intends to buy varnish for treating old wood, Dà ©cor Shine is not suitable for use on old wood, yet the label implies that it is, therefore the description of the product is inaccurate – they are not fit for the purpose for which Alf intends to use them.6 The statutory test to determine the merchantable quality of goods is that they are fit for the purpose that they are to be used8. Secondly, there is another factor impacting upon the satisfactory nature of the product - it contains no instructions that it should be used in well ventilated conditions, a statutory warning that would normally be included with these types of products and which a buyer has a right to expect. Since Dà ©cor Shine is in the business of supplying building products, there is an implied condition that the goods being supplied are of â€Å"satisfactory

Thin film lab Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Thin film lab - Essay Example Introduction: Evaporation is a physical vapor deposition process, which involves vaporization of material to be coated through thermo-mechanical treatments, transport of that material in vapor phase to the substrate surface, and consequent deposition on the surface of the substrate based on adhesion (Pulker, 1999). Evaporation is a very common technique for film deposition, which has been used since ages to coat glass, silicon and other substrates with coatings of a very wide range of materials. The most common technique used to characterize film growth for evaporation deposited films employs measurement of surface film resistivity, which depicts the behavior of formation of islands of nuclei of various sizes, followed by Ostwald Ripening, sintering and cluster migration, leading to continuous film growth (Ohring, 1992). Using these vastly used deposition and characterization techniques, we deposited and analyzed copper films. Theory: Evaporation deposition technique involves three e ssential steps (Thornton, 1988): 1. Evaporation of material to be coated to obtain vapors for deposition. 2. Transport of vapors to substrate for deposition. 3. Physisorption of vapors on substrate surface, leading to nucleation and film growth. Resistance heating is a method to carry out evaporation of the target material. This is done simply by using wires or plates of high resistance, which have high resistance heating in accordance with Joule’s Law (COMSOL, 1998-2011). Wires, filaments, boats, plates or other shapes of these heaters may be used in accordance with the shape of the element to be evaporated. Refractory metals such as tungsten, tantalum and others are used for this purpose. Sublimation furnaces, crucible sources or electron beam evaporators can also be used as the heating technique (Ohring, 1992). Vapor phase transport depends on mean free path of the gas used. Mean free path is the average distance that a molecule travels in a gas chamber between two consecu tive collisions (Weisstein, 1996-2007). Pressure is the main factor controlling the mean free path. Depending upon the pressure and mean free path, different pressure ranges are termed as low vacuum, medium vacuum, high vacuum or ultrahigh vacuum as shown below: Figure 1: Vacuum Ranges Shown with Pressure Ranges for Comparison. Illustration from Ohring, 1992. Surface preparation is an essential part of surface deposition processes, which include surface cleanliness, substrate preheating, plasma assistance with evaporation and other factors. All these factors and the processing parameters of the evaporation technique combine to produce the morphology, growth rate and microstructure of the deposited films (Thornton, 1978; Holland, 1956; Caswell, 1963). Experimental Method: As has been mentioned, surface cleaning plays an important role in the deposition. To make sure the substrate is not contaminated – which may lead to deposit contamination – we used gloves throughout t he handling process. The four glass slides were agitated in a vibration tank to loosen contaminants, cleaned with alcohol, followed by blow drying of the cleansed slides with argon. These glass slides were then placed in marked containers. The evaporator preparation consisted of the following steps: 1. Tungsten wire was wound to form a filament. 2. Copper pieces, which were to be evaporated later, were placed on the tungsten filament at three places. 3. Glass slides were placed in premade stencils to ensure

Collaborative Teaching Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Collaborative Teaching - Research Paper Example This article provides information on the impact of collaborative and self-teaching for primary and early childhood education teachers. The article explores the effect of changes in the learning and teaching in a sociology paper for first years for the ECE students. Teacher educators wanted to know the effect of the paper changes influenced on learning and teaching the students. The teachers had a collaborative teaching relationship for three years creating an environment, which recognized the voice of the students through student-teacher engagement.Research question:What are the strengths and challenges of collaborative teaching in enhancing teaching and learning? The research question is important as it seeks to identify the successes and challenges of collaborative teaching, which is the basis for this research. Research hypothesis:Collaborative teaching influence teaching and student learning. The aim of the research was to test different approaches to teaching and learning in big classes through self-study by examining personal values and professionals practice. The research took three years from 2010 to 2012 involving two-teacher educators and a primary and ECE first-year teachers. The students were enrolled in the paper with the title of ‘Whanau’, which was taught to both the ECE and primary teachers doing Bachelor of Education degree. The participants worked together, shared feelings of satisfaction, joy, disappointment, and frustration and made room for solutions.

English 102 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

English 102 - Research Paper Example The principles that underline the seriousness of this problem include blocks like sexual activity, universal sex education, and the availability of contraceptive options. The prime and the most pondered upon issue which is being spread like fire all around the researches in contemporary literature is teen pregnancy which is why I will provide a basis of this issue with reference to its illustration through modern art. Different beliefs are held by different people; similarly various researches show various results. Hence, for the clarification of the causes and measures for the solution of this issue, all sides have been provided and presented objectively for the formulation of the readers own opinion. As the viewpoints provided are completely valid and applicable, thus this paper provides a study reference for the elimination or decrease in the problem of teen pregnancy from the society and improving the public health sector. Allen, Joseph P., Philliber, Susan, Herrling, Scott and Kuperminc, Gabriel P. â€Å"Preventing teen Pregnancy and Academic Failure: Experimental Evaluation of a Developmentally Based Approach† Child Development 68.4 (2006): 729–742. Print. The psychological reference of this work to various social and personal issues of public health is known well. The entire article puts forth the importance of social development in high school students and the scholars suggest that both teachers and parents are well aware of the practice. This article also points out the difficulty that students and teachers face in trying to implement the broad developmental tasks. According to the approach and estimates provided on page 290 of this book, it has been elucidated that the increase in the early pregnancy is among the two most troubling trends in our society. It is suggested that there is a link between the process of childbearing of the mother and that of their daughters. As compared to the above study, this book suggests various

An essay about the supply and demand Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

An about the supply and demand - Essay Example In order to maximize profit, suppliers have to sell their goods and services at high prices but this has to consider the purchasing power of the intended market. This paper is a critical evaluation of supply and demand as principles of economics. Concepts of Supply and Demand The Law of Demand The law of demand states that the higher the price of a commodity, the lower the quantity demanded cateris paribus, while the lower the prices the higher the demand (Fisher 36). Cateris paribus in this case implies that all other factors that influence demand are held at a constant. These are for example weather, taste and preferences, income among others. This is due to the fact that the law of demand is basically dependent on two variables i.e. quantity demanded and price. The following diagram is a demand curve, which is a graphical depiction of the law of demand. Fig 1 From the diagram, it can be noted that the quantity demanded was highest, (Q3), at the lowest price, P1, while it was lowes t at price P3, which was highest. However, it is important to note that not all goods abide by the law of demand. These are for example giffen goods and products that act as status symbols. Giffen goods are defined as inferior commodities whose demand goes up with rising prices while the vice versa is also true (Baye 42). Inferior, in this context, does not necessarily imply that the goods are of poor quality. For example, if the staple food in a family is rice, products such as meat may be perceived as superior. If the price of rice goes up, it would be normal to find people buying more rice and less of meat and when the prices go down, more meat is bought in comparison to rice. The two goods are not substitutes and in this case, it is assumed that the consumer can afford both items therefore eliminating opportunity cost. On the other hand, status symbols are goods whose value creates a perceivable higher social standing in the society (Gorman 29). For example, if the price of a Me rcedes Benz makes it unaffordable for the common market as opposed to that of a Toyota sedan, then, any person owning a Mercedes would be perceived as having an economic advantage over the owner of a sedan. It therefore goes without saying that a reduction in the price of a Mercedes would make it lose its value as a status symbol and that would definitely make it lose its demand to other more expensive and luxurious vehicles. On the other hand, an increase in its price would increase its value as a status symbol thus increasing its demand thereby defying the law of demand. Movements along a Demand Curve versus Shifts in Demand Curve A movement along a demand curve is dependent on one variable only which is price. From the diagram below, DD1and DD2 represents the demand for a commodity, with prices plotted on the Y axis while quantity demanded on the X axis. DD1 will be used to illustrate movement along a demand curve while DD2 illustrates a shift in a demand curve. Fig. 2 On the DD1 curve, it is notable that when the price was at p1, the quantity demanded was highest at Q3. However, after the prices increased to p2 and p3, the quantity demanded moved to the lower side i.e. from Q3 to Q2 and Q1 respectively. However, the demand curve shifted entirely to the right as a result of an increase in income. Notice that prices p1 to p3 remained static but still, the quantity

Who is really in charge of Platos Republic Essay

Who is really in charge of Platos Republic - Essay Example entitled ‘The Philosopher Ruler’: â€Å" The society we have described can never grow into a reality or see the light of the day and there will be no end to the troubles of states,†¦ of humanity itself, till philosophers become kings in this world, or till those we now call kings and rulers really and truly become philosophers †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Plato, p no. 263). Thus, Plato is convinced that the solution to the problems of the state is possible only when philosophers become rulers or rulers, philosophers. It is necessary to consider why Plato opts philosophers to be the right candidates to entrust Governmental affairs of the State. According to him, competence and good character should be the criteria for this selection. He believed that it is incorrect to select rulers either by their wealth or aristocracy; instead he emphasized on an aristocracy of talent. So he holds the view that philosophers who are of highest talent and are given the highest training should take up the responsibility of handling the affairs of the state. Thus, Plato sees all the qualities required of a good ruler in philosophers. One may wonder about the practicability of Plato’s ideal Republic and his solution to the problem- of entrusting philosophers with the task of governmental affairs. But one can never negate the goodwill, discretion and motivation behin d this

Advertisment procedure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Advertisment procedure - Essay Example Division of audience into small groups because of the increasing number of media outlets is called audience fragmentation. The increasing number of television channels, internet related ad technologies, digital signage etc have opened new opportunities for the advertising people and it is difficult for them to attract a wide range of people towards their ads because of the audience fragmentation. Most of the television like medias depends on their ad revenues and in order to get a substantial revenue from ads they need to attract as much as audiences or viewers as possible. Audience fragmentation is a major threat for such television like medias. Business media consolidation is a term used to refer the phenomenon of majority of the media outlets being owned by a small number of corporations. For example, Keith Rupert Murdoch has almost monopolized world of entertainments by introducing variety of print and television medias like, New York Post, The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd, The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun, American satellite TV systems, Star networks, Fox networks, etc. In order to conquer the internet, he started the social networking website like myspace.com. Such media consolidation is a big threat to the advertising world since, these corporate which controls majority of the media will try to execute their missions and visions through these media in order to safeguard their interests. The Consumer Credit (Advertisements) Regulations aim to ensure that credit advertisements give a clear and balanced view of the nature and costs of the credit on offer. The Regulations extend to all forms of advertising, including in print (for example, newspapers, circular letters, flyers, catalogues or billboards), on television or radio, on the internet, on teletext or by way of telephone canvassing (Credit advertising).

The importance of reading Essay Example for Free

The importance of reading Essay Reading has at all times and in all ages been a source of knowledge, of happiness, of pleasure and even moral courage. In todays world with so much more to know and to learn and also the need for a conscious effort to conquer the divisive forces, the importance of reading has increased. In the olden days if reading was not cultivated or encouraged, there was a substitute for it in the religious sermon and in the oral tradition. The practice of telling stories at bed time compensated to some extent for the lack of reading. In the nineteenth century Victorian households used to get together for an hour or so in the evenings and listen to books being read aloud. But today we not only read, we also want to read more and more and catch up with the events taking place around us. The various courses and classes being conducted in rapid reading support this belief. A person who is widely read is able to mix with others: he is a better conversationalist than those who do not read. He can stand his ground. Reading broadens the vision. it is in a way a substitute for travel. It is not possible to travel as much as one would like to and reading can fill in the gap created by the lack of travel. Reading, as Bacon wrote in his essay. Of Studies. maketh a full man: conference a ready man: and writing an exact man. Thus a widely-read man is a better conversationalist and is able to see the other point of view. Literature is a form of art which can cross barriers and if one does not know the language in which a piece of literature is written, one is willing sometimes to learn the language. Even if one does not learn a  language one reads the literary work in translation. This contributes to the growth of understanding and tolerance amongst people. Reading also helps one to see the present in relation to the past and the future, and thus develop a historical perspective. Care is needed to ensure that reading does not become a substitute for real life. The moment one ceases to enjoy the ordinary pleasures and happiness of life and is content to enjoy them vicariously through fictional and historical representations, one loses all the benefits of reading and loses contact with life. With the cinema and television taking up a great deal of attention of children, teenagers and even adults, the habit of serious reading is dying out. People are content to read abridged versions. see films, go through illustrated comics and be content. But just as reading should not become a substitute for the joy of living or drive out the other forms of entertainment, other substitutes should not be accepted for the pleasure of reading which lies in the act itself. One may be selective, may be discriminating but no one can afford to shut himself off from this rich and ever-growing world of literature.

Patient Risk Essay Example for Free

Patient Risk Essay This example of a reflective essay is presented in association with Price, B and Harrington, A (2013) Critical Thinking and Writing for Nursing Students, London, Learning Matters. Readers are introduced to the process of critical and reflective thinking and the translation of these into coursework that will help them to achieve better grades in nursing courses. Stewart, Raymet, Fatima and Gina are four students who share their learning journey throughout the chapters of the book. In this essay on the assessment of pain, Raymet demonstrates her reflective writing skills near the end of her course. Raymet had by this stage written several reflective practice essays and gained good marks. This time though she was encouraged to deepen her reflections, speculating selectively on how the account of pain experienced by a patient (Mrs Drew) might help her to work more creatively with patient perceptions and reported needs. N.B. Remember, copying essays such as this, submitting them as a whole or in part for assessment purposes, without attributing the source of the material, may leave you open to the charge of plagiarism. Significant sanctions may follow for nurses who do this, including referral to the Nursing and Midwifery Council. Assessing Mrs Drew’s Pain Mc Caffery and Pasero (1999) state that pain is what the patient says it is. If we accept that point, then nurses need to explore the patient’s perceptions of pain, as well as their report of experiences. The two are not quite the same. Patients may report their pain in a variety of ways, dependent on the nature and the intensity of pain and the context in which it is felt (e.g. whether they are ever distracted from the pain). Their perception of pain is a little more though and it includes the meaning that the pain has for them. It includes explanation of why the pain is there in the first place, what it indicates about their body and what it could  suggest might happen in the future (getting better, getting worse). The nurse assesses the account of pain shared by the patient, and this may be given in the form of a story. This is how it began, this is how it felt, this is what that meant to me and this is what I did about it (Mishler et al. 2006) In this essay I explore the assessment of pain as conducted with one 60 year old patient whom I will call Mrs Drew. Whilst the essay describes an assessment of pain with a single patient, I try to share too some ideas and questions that this provokes within me about pain assessment more generally. Mrs Drew made me think about other patients, future assessments and what I had to do as a nurse to help patients. To help structure this essay I use the framework described by Gibbs (1988). Whilst the episode concerned relates a stage in Mrs Drew’s illness when she challenged her treatment protocol, it also includes some of the memories and thoughts that this patient refers to regarding her earlier illness and past ways of coping with pain. In particular, it prompted me to question to what extent I as a nurse should recommend analgesia, drawing on what I had been taught about the effective control of pain. I had learned that it was better to control rather than to chase pain ( e.g. Mann and Carr, 2006; Forbes, 2007). Mrs Drew was diagnosed with lung cancer a year earlier and had initially had her illness treated by chemotherapy. This had helped her to achieve a remission that lasted for nearly ten months (Hunt et al, 2009 describe the prognosis of this disease). The cancer had returned though and spread to her spine and it was here that she experienced most of her pain.It was at this stage that the doctors explained that her care would now be directed towards her comfort rather than a cure—to which she had replied, ‘you mean palliative care’. Mrs Drew was supported at home by her husband Neil and visited on a regular basis by community based nurses to whom I was attached as part of my student nurse training. She was prescribed oral morphine and could decide within stated limits how many tablets she could take in any one 24 hour period. The situation I had visited Mrs Drew on several occasions over the period of a month when the community nurse and I were confronted by a tearful patient who announced that she did not wish to take the oral opiates quite as often as we were recommending. As she spoke she held her husband’s hand tightly, looking across to him as she described her experiences and feelings about the matter. Yes, there had been some bad nights when the pain had woken her and she had to sit up and watch television to try and distract herself. Yes, sometimes the pain made her feel nauseous, but she was alarmed at how frequently she was taking the ‘pain tablets’ and how this made her feel about herself. However well meant the medication was, it didn’t feel dignified to be so reliant on drugs, or quite so sleepy and unresponsive for such a high percentage of the day. Whilst the analgesia was working well when she took the tablets, the quality of life wasn’t what she wanted. The community nurse listened patiently to Mrs Drew and then explained that it was normal to have panic moments about such medication. Morphine had a reputation, one that people associated with misuse of drugs, rather than their therapeutic use. Used on a regular basis, the drug wouldn’t cause addiction and it would provide a great deal of reassurance to Mr Drew as well. The community nurse stated that she was quite sure that he respected his wife’s need to sleep when she wished and to build the rhythm of the day around her needs. At this point Mrs Drew shook her husband’s hand, and said, ‘tell her†¦tell her what we’ve talked about!’ Mr Drew then explained that his wife was used to dealing with pain, she had suffered recurrent pain in her neck and shoulder after a road traffic accident some years before. The pain had sometimes been severe, but he had massaged her shoulders and used heat packs that she found soothing. They had decided that they wished to use this technique now, keeping the morphine for absolute emergencies, when she was losing sleep and couldn’t eat as a result of the discomfort. The community nurse assured them that they were in charge of the analgesia and would be allowed to make their own decisions. She started to make notes though, and announced that she was making a referral to the cancer pain clinic, something that would help them to take stock of the situation. There was very good reason to suppose that this might be a problem associated with choosing the right dosage of the  morphine, rather than using supplemental pain relief measures. Mrs Drew responded sharply, ‘You’re not listening to me though Jane (the community nurse’s name—a pseudonym is used here), I want to use heat packs instead of morphine, at least during the day. I want to be more alive with my husband.’ The community nurse assured Mrs Drew that she had heard what she had said and respected her point of view. There would though be nothing lost by using the clinic to gain a further check on this matter. With that she excused us, explaining that we had a further appointment that morning and we left, having checked that Mrs Drew had a sufficient supply of her different medicines. As we walked to the car the community nurse empathised with Mrs Drew’s plight, saying that if she had lung cancer she would probably grasp at straws too. She would reach out for things that seemed more normal, and then observed, ‘but this isn’t normal is it, the pain she has isn’t normal. It’s not just a whip lash injury and old age.’ Feelings I remember that during this episode feeling a mixture of confusion, surprise, anger and impotence. Mrs Drew had surprised me by the way she had spoken, using what seemed to be a planned announcement. They had waited for and perhaps rehearsed this moment. Nothing in my experience to date had prepared me for such an encounter, at least in such circumstances, where we as nurses were so obviously working to support the patient. It was only later that I called the episode a confrontation. Mr and Mrs Drew had confronted the community nurse and I had been the largely silent witness to the event. As the discussion proceeded I remember making supportive noises, remarking how useful heat packs sometimes were and glancing across at Jane, who seemed to be signalling with her expression that I should leave this debate to her. I was trying to read her reactions to the Drew’s points and concluded that if I couldn’t support her arguments to the patient, then I should remain silent. The re were issues here that I perhaps hadn’t enough experience to deal with, at least, whilst ‘thinking on my feet’. My initial anger (with Mrs Drew for not acknowledging all that we were trying to do) quickly became displaced towards my colleague Jane. During the event I couldn’t explain why that was, but afterwards, when I made notes, I realised that it was because she seemed to have set the agenda in her own mind and to be requiring the patient to comply with concerns of her own. Put rather crudely, Jane seemed to be saying, listen I know about these things, this is a phase, an anxiety; you can work through all this. I believed at this point that she had missed the significance of the event, the way in which the Drew’s had arranged the conversation. For them, this was not a phase at all, but a considered and very important decision, one that they wanted the nurses to accept (Freshwater, 2002 and Edwards and Elwyn, 2009 emphasize the importance of negotiated care planning). My feelings of impotence were associated strongly with my lack of clinical experience. I have met this before. No matter how many placements I do, no matter how good the mentoring I receive, I keep meeting situations where I am unsure about how to respond next. I feel younger, less knowledgeable than I should be at this stage in my training. I want to reassure patients, to support colleagues and to give good advice, but there is not enough confidence to do that. If I felt unsettled and uncertain about Jane’s response to the Drew’s, right then I couldn’t easily explain that. I couldn’t offer a second opinion, couldn’t suggest an idea that might help support the patient. To my annoyance I couldn’t manage that either as we left the house. Jane had made some fair points, she  clearly seemed concerned about the patient’s needs, but perhaps she hadn’t spotted the right need—for Mrs Drew to determine in greater part how she de alt with her illness. Experience evaluated Afterwards, this short episode prompted doubts and debates about several important aspects of nursing for me. Setting aside the etiquette of learning in clinical practice, not challenging a qualified nurse in front of a  patient, there were problems here associated with supporting patient dignity, with my assumptions relating to analgesia and pain control strategies, and I realised, with my assumptions about types of pain and who had the expertise to define these. Dignity is more than simply using the appropriate terms of address, protecting the privacy of patients and attending to their expressed concerns (Price, 2004). It is about clarifying the ways in which they live and accommodate illness or treatment. It is about finding out what benchmarks they use to say that ‘yes, I am doing well here, this makes me feel good about myself’. Upon reflection, I sense that we on this occasion had not worked hard enough to discover how Mr and Mrs Drew define quality of life, or being in charge of their situation. We were more concerned with providing resources, sharing research or theory about medication and questioning the familiar misconceptions associated with morphine. To put it simply, we were ‘missing a trick’, reading the encounter as something that had happened many times before—the report of problems or anxieties, a request for help, rather than a decision that the patient and her carer had already come to. Reading situations well seemed, with the benefit of hindsight, to be the first basis for dignified care. ‘What is happening here, what will help the patient most?’ were questions that we perhaps assumed that we already knew the answer to. I realised that in my training I had already accepted the argument that patients would wish to remain pain free come what may and that the tackling of fears about prospective pain, was something that nurses engaged in. I assumed that because cancer pain represented such a major threat, because it was greater and more all encompassing, that there was little or no doubt that it should be removed. What was so unsettling, and took so much time to examine, was that Mrs Drew acknowledged the possible severity of metastatic cancer pain, but that she still preferred to respond to it using measures that had worked for her whiplash neck injury. Mrs Drew was willing to trade off a pain free state for something that gave her a greater sense of control and which perhaps enabled her husband to express his support for her in a very tangible way (preparing heat packs, massaging her back, rather than simply giving her the tablets). Mr and Mrs Drew questioned all my assumptions about best analgesia pr actice, and seemed to write a large  question mark on the textbooks I had read about chasing rather than controlling pain in palliative care situations (Mann and Carr, 2006). Reflections (learning opportunities) The episode with Mrs Drew left me uncomfortable because my past approach to pain management was theoretical. I (and I believe Jane too) regularly made use of science to decide what could be done as regards pain relief and to assume that patients would wish to achieve all of those benefits. This wasn’t about local applications of heat versus morphine, Mrs Drew could use both, it was about choice and how patients made choices—why they reached the decisions that they did. It was for me, about accepting very personally, that providing that patients are given all the relevant facts, alerted to the options, that they really are able to make choices that work for them. The very fact that Mrs Drews illness was now incurable, that she and her husband usually tackled pain together, meant that her solution to the challenge was different to those that many other patients arrived at. Having dealt with this pain for some time, knowing that it could and probably would get worse, meant that she was better equipped than other less experienced patients to make a decision here. This took nothing away from the benefits of sharing further discussion with pain clinic experts. I thought, Mrs Drew will stand her ground, she will insist on doing things her way if her husband is strong too. What it did highlight though was the importance of listening to patients, hearing how they perceive pain, how they narrate not only the pain but what they did about it. In this instance the narration was all about dignity, and coping, and finding ways to help one another and how this enables us to feel in the face of such a terrible illness. So, in telling us about her pain, what she did about it, using morphine when it was ‘absolutely required’, Mrs Drew was not reporting her ignorance of what could be achieved if the medication was used differently, but what she preferred to do as it enabled her to achieve different goals. Mrs Drew’s goals were about liveliness, alertness and stoicism, showing that she could bear at least a measure of pain. I wondered why I hadn’t listened carefully enough to such a story? Was it because of time pressure, or perhaps complacency, that Jane and I felt that we already knew what account would be  shared? Did we think that the patient would ask for help, more help, as the pain continued? If so, then our guesses had prompted us to behave as experts, and problem solvers, on the patient’s behalf. Perhaps hearing a patient narrative is about discovering what sort of role they would like you to fulfil. If so, then it might be a difficult role. I thought hard about how hard this was for Jane. She was going to be asked to witness Mrs Drew’s future pain, one that was now less perfectly controlled. She was going to be asked to reassure, to suggest measures that might help, without reminding the patient that she ‘already knew that you couldn’t manage pain that way!’ When I think about it now, that is very stressful for a nurse. It is about caring and allowing patient’s to make choices that we personally might not make. Conclusions I have drawn then three conclusions from the above reflection. First, that being patient centred is never easy and requires real listening and interpretation skills. My criticism of what Jane chose to do, to try and dissuade Mrs Drew from a course of action, recommending further appraisal of the situation, is an easy one to make. Nurses confront situations such as this relatively unprepared and react as considerately as possible. It is easy in hindsight to recommend other responses, a further exploration of what motivated Mrs Drew’s pain management preferences. Second, that experience can be a valuable teacher, the equal of textbooks. If nurses are interested in care, then we should be concerned with the sense that patients make of their own illness, the treatment or support that they receive. We need to understand what patients have to teach us and have to acknowledge that this means that we won’t always seem in control ourselves, expert and knowledgeable. Our expertise might be elsewhere, helping patients to reach their own decisions. Third, that one way to understand patient perspectives on illness or treatment, on pain management in this example, is to hear how they talk  about the situation. How do they describe the pain, how do they refer to what they did about it? The way in which the story is shared, how we coped, how this made us feel, is as important as the facts related. Sometimes a patient needs to feel stalwart, even heroic in the face of illness. Future care It would be foolish and unprofessional to recommend to other patients that they might not wish to remove pain, or that overcoming pain doesn’t always mean we don’t continue to experience it. For every Mrs Drew there may be many other patients who would welcome the complete removal of pain, so that they can die calmly, quietly, with their own version of dignity. But it does seem to me, that it will be worth thinking about the diversity of patients and how they prefer to cope when I assess pain and help manage this problem in the future. I won’t be able to walk away from the responsibility of debating whether I have explained all that I could, detailed the strengths and limitations of different ways of coping. I will need to find reflection time to ponder what patients have said and if necessary to go back and say, ‘I’ve been thinking some more about your words last week..’ knowing that this doesn’t make me any the less professional. References Edwards, A and Elwyn, G (2009) Shared decision-making in health care: achieving evidencebased patient choice, 2nd ed. Oxford, Oxford University Press Forbes, K (2007) Opiods in cancer pain, Oxford, Oxford University Press Freshwater, D (2002) Therapeutic nursing: improving patient care through self awareness, London, Sage. Gibbs G (1988) Learning by doing: a guide to teaching and learning methods, Oxford, Oxford Polytechnic Further Education unit Hunt, I., Muers, M and Treasure, T (2009) ABC of lung cancer, Oxford, Wiley-Blackwell/BMJ Books Mann, E and Carr, E (2006) Pain management, Oxford, Blackwell McCaffery, M and Pasero, C (1999) Pain: Clinical manual, Mosby, Philadelphia Mishler, E., Rapport, F and Wainwright, P (2006) The self in health and illness: patients, professionals and narrative identity, Oxford, Radcliffe Publishing Ltd Price, B (2004) Demonstrating respect for patient dignity, Nursing Standard, 19(12), 45-51

Background And Development Of Ir In Singapore Tourism Essay

Background And Development Of Ir In Singapore Tourism Essay The implementation of the Garden City movement after 70 years, the rapid development of tourism industry especially integrated resorts in Singapore has become one of countrys economic pillars, and visitors mainly from China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Australia and other countries and regions (Edgar and Taylor, 1996). Tourism in Singapore is a major industry and attracts millions of tourists each year. As for integrated resort (IR) in Singapore, it is a euphemism used because of opposition to casinos (Abbugao, 2010). Currently, there are two large integrated resorts built up and opened to the visitors i.e. Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands. Resorts World Sentosa is located at the southern coast of Singapore, and its attractions include a theme park of Universal Studios, Marine Life Park and a casino. It was developed by developed by Genting Singapore since 16 April 2007 and opened to the public in early 2010 (Resorts World Sentosa, 2012). There are many attractions and facilities provided in this integrated resorts including hotels, casino, casual and fine dining, resorts world galleria luxury fashion, shows, salon spa, maritime experiential museum and park. Similar history and development process is for Marina Bay Sands. It was developed by Las Vegas Sands since early 2006 and opened in January 2010. The integrated resort is featured with a convention-exhibition centre of 1,300,000 square foot, a hotel with 2,561 rooms, a shopping mall with 800,000 square foot, two floating crystal pavilions, two large theatres, and the largest atrium casino in the world with 1,600 slot machines and 500 tables (Marina Bay Sands, 2012) . The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is the key role in the development of integrated resort of this country. What STB tries to do is to conduct a long term strategic planning to promote integrated resorts as a key driver for domestic tourism development and keep in good relationship with both private and public stakeholders. STBs goal is to create exciting and innovative experiences for peoples visitors, in close partnership with the trade industry, thus etching forever in visitors minds an image of Singapore as a unique and compelling destination (STB, 2012). There are three areas of focus of STB i.e. strengthening Singapores position as a leading convention and exhibition city in Asia, developing Singapore as a leading Asian leisure destination, and establishing Singapore as the services centre of Asia (STB, 2012). As for IR development especially its casino business, STB supports its development from planning, design, construction and marketing. For instance, its strategic planning for Sentosa World Resort Casino is to make it a unique gaming centre for Asian tourists. 1.2 The Impacts of IR on Singapores Society The development of IRs in Singapore including Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa has great impacts on the local society from many aspects, positive or negative. The majority of these impacts include Political, Economic, Social and Environmental aspects. Political impacts are how and to what degree a government intervenes in the economy in tourism industry. In Singapore, political factors include areas such as tax policy, labor law, environmental law, trade restrictions, tariffs, and political stability. Political factors may also include goods and services which the government wants to provide or are provided and those that the government does not want to be provided. As for the impact of integrated resorts, the main political impacts are the political complaints of local residents on the inflow of foreigners which results from the conflicts of business and benefits of local residents and foreigners. This is proven by the political debates held before the built up of these ca sinos in Singapore where a petition that attracted tens of thousands of signatures opposites the decision and the opposition said that the final decision made had overruled consensus. Still, the major impact of the development of integrated resorts is economic impact. It is seen that tourism is a major contribution to Singapore economy. According to the lasted annual report on tourism statistics published by Singapore Tourism Board (STB, 2009), the revenue from tourism is S$ 15.2 billion. More importantly, there are other indirect revenues or GDP generated from the inflow of tourists for these integrated resorts such as the revenues of retailers in Singapore by consumption of foreigners. Also, there is an impact on employee rate with more workers hired by the opening of these two integrated resorts in 2010. In addition, transport in Singapore grows fast recent years exhaustively covers most, if not all public venues in Singapore, which increase convenience for tourists. This includes the well-known Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system (STB, 2010). Last but not least, there are more visitors for other attractions along with these two integrated resorts. Among other thin gs, popularly promoted tourist attractions include the Merlion, the Night Zoo, Orchard Road (shopping area), Chinatown, Little India and its many eating areas (STB, 2010). Social factors include the cultural aspects and include health consciousness, population growth rate, age distribution, career attitudes and emphasis on safety. As English is the dominant one of its four official languages, it is generally easier for tourists to understand when speaking to the local population of the country, however, with the consideration of more foreign visitors especially those from China, there are still many signs in Chinese presented in the attractions. Also, there is much criticism about the casinos in society especially its bad influence on the behaviors of Singaporeans. This is proven by the opposition of social workers in Muslim and Christian communities. They concerned the negative social impact of the casinos for worrying that these activities could increase the risk of problem gambling. Environmental impact is also a concern of the impact of these integrated resorts. Environmental factors include ecological and environmental aspects such as weather, cli mate, and climate change, which may especially affect industries such as tourism, farming, and insurance. Furthermore, growing awareness of the potential impacts of climate change is affecting how companies operate and the products they offer, both creating new markets and diminishing or destroying existing ones. There are many in the public worry about the impact of World Resort Sentosa for the protection of local natural environment for there are so many tourist inflows especially in the peak season which exceed the environmental capacity of the island and may threaten local environment stability. There are the impacts of the built up of these two integrated resorts that concerned most by local residents. 2. Body 2.1 Reason for IR Development in Ledyard Connecticut PESTEL is a strategic analysis tool that used to help organizations understand the external macro environment that the company face and consider (Richard, 2000). Also, I can be used to help identify the internal reason for developing integrated resort Foxwoods Casino in Ledyard, Connecticut. As for these reasons, they are summarized in the following paragraphs. Figure 1: PESTEL Analysis (Source: Richard, 2000) Political environment means the ruling partys nature, the social systems, governmental policies and guidelines etc. (Flethcher and Cooper, 19996). Generally, the government has the role to intervene the economy not for political stability but also for common benefits for the public. Through the development of casino-based integrated resort, the local government of Ledyard can rebuild local community for it can attract more new visitors and bring new sources of revenues for local residents. More importantly, it is a tool for local authority to compete with other ones nearby from many aspects. As seen from this aspect, the development of Foxwoods Resort Casino is a political decision to grow local strength in US economy and make benefits for local residents. Economic environment includes both macro-and micro-aspects (Nebel and Schaffer, 1992). Macroeconomic environment is related to the size of population, GDP and also the speed of national income growth and so forth. Microeconomic environment concerns with consumer income and other specific factors for business operation. As seen from this aspect, there are many benefits of the development of a hotel based casino in Ledyard. First of all, it is a key for local GDP growth through the consumption generated by travelers and gamblers. Secondly, more employment opportunities can be offered to local residents which are beneficial for the growth of local gross income. Last but not least, it is beneficial for the overall economic growth with the enhancement of transportation and related facilities. Social and cultural environment mainly concerned with the education level of residents, their beliefs, values and so on. Since there are different needs sourcing from various cultural and social backgrounds in different countries, it increases the potential costs for the integrated resorts to diversify its product design and marketing especially the latter one in different regions. Usually, gambling is regarded as a means of recreation, however, there are many concerns that it may lead to some illegal activities such as money laundering. Since Ledyard is equipped with a mature and healthy legal and social environment, the development of such a casino based integrated resorts can be acceptable. Technological means the importance of the development of technology investment and science especially those for IT. IT develops and update very fast, this becomes benefits for Ledyard to adopt new technology to help manage business operation of casinos as well as marketing its services nationally and internationally. Environmental factors concerns with environmental and ecological aspects like weather, and climate change, which can affect certain industries and the development of a service-based on integrated resort is environment friendly as compared with other economic activities. 2.2 Evaluation of Foxwoods Resort Casino The mixed-use concept means that there is a combination of institutional, cultural, residential, industrial or commercial uses of a single building, village, suburban or urban development, and these functions are functionally and physically integrated (Nebel and Schaffer, 1992). As for this case, it refers to an integrated development of a single real estate project. As one of the premier entertainment choices in Ledyard Connecticut, there a variety choice of entertainment and services offered in this destination including six casinos for gambling, hotels with four diamonds, world class spa, restaurants with all tastes, golf of world renowned services, exclusive retailers, convention and meeting space, and state-of-the-art theaters (Foxwoods, 2012). All of these functions integrated provide both business and recreation travllers endless possibilities of experiences. Along with these integrated functions, Foxwoods Resort Casino performs well in business. Although there is no direct da ta released from the official authority of the company, it is easy to see from its financial capacity of 1.5 billion dollars during the past years that it generates a lot of money for its shareholders and is still attractive in financial market. However, like other integrated resorts based on gambling, there criticism about problem gambling activities especially from those residents nearby (Olsen, 1991). According to local reports about Ledyard Town, there are some residents complain that gambling activities have affect some aspect of their lives and especially those young people become more speculative although they admit that there are still positive effects such as the increase in employment and local income. Also, since it is located in a small town as compared to other options such as Gambling integrated resorts in Las Vegas, its attraction is limited especially to those who living at the eastern part of the United States. Thus, as seen from this aspect, there is still a lot of work for Foxwoods Resort Casino to do for its future development and continuously generate incomes and benefits for stakeholders. 3. Conclusion Overall, Foxwoods Resort Casino did well in the past, however, in order to achieve sustainable development, there are still a lot of works to do, which can be summarized in to the following three aspects. First of all, there is a need for this integrated resort to integrate with other tourism and entertainment activities in Ledyard to achieve a combined effect and become even more attractive to potential visitors. As for this aspect, there are experiences that Ledyard can learn from Macau. It is well known that the dramatic increase of number of visitors to Macau is mainly due to the development of the gaming industry in this area. According to the Macau tourism board report, in year 2000, there were only 3 officially opened casinos in Macau because of the historical contract between the government and the casino company. In year 2002, the Macau government ranted the Wynn Resorts, Las Vegas Sands, Galaxy Entertainment Group and MGM Mirage and some other casino operators in Macau. Since then, the number of casinos increased dramatically. And because of the increased number of casinos, Macau is more and more attractive to the tourists whether they are professional gamblers, or they are just tourists who are curious about casinos. That is why the number of visitors to Macau has increase dramatically over the years. However, in recent years, the local government has developed many other options of tourism choices. As for attractions, there are many kinds of choices in Macau from special events to gambling activities, from historic to modern attractions. Table 1 below summarizes a sample of some attractions available in Macau by Jay (2004). It is easy to see that the categories of attractions in Macau include historical, cultural and sporting, natural, special events and built. Also, there are more exact attractions listed in the right column, which are the most famous attractions in Macau in each type that make it attractive to tourists. As for Ledyard, it can integrate the integrated resort casino with its natural beauty to develop more tourism attraction such as its unique glacial geography for the development of a Glacial Park for enhancing its attractions to potential tourists. Table 1: Recent Developments and Prospects of Macaos Tourism Industry (Source: Jay, 2004) In addition, since there are tourists with business purpose such as the needs for business meeting and convention, which is a attraction that should be emphasized and supported by local government of Ledyard and the integrated resort casino. The local government can make the development of integrated resorts sustainable by attracting business visitors to use current facilities like hotels and exhibitions centers are equipped at world-class levels, which make it attractive for more worldwide business activities and services as a gateway for local business men to the world outside. Meeting is a critical part in business operation, or saying in another way, it is an internal need for this kind of business travelers (Pearce and Lee, 2005). Also some organizations need to participate in convention to gain more opportunities to showcase their own products and services. This is also their internal demand. Thus they are push factors. However, good meeting and convention facilities and hospit ality services provide excellent meeting and convention services attract these business operators. The well equipped Foxwoods Resort Casino gives organization more opportunities to learn from others and obtain more international information. All these are external factors that help business operators choose meeting and convention services of the integrated resort and help its future sustainable development. Last but not least, according to Liu (2003), a tourism destination has to maintain its current strengths in order to achieve sustainable development. This is also applicable to Foxwoods Resort Casino and there must be activities conducted to strengths its current brand image and service quality. As for Foxwoods Resort Casino, the main events with comedy stars from TV and film, beloved singers, or Las Vegas style extravaganzas have to be continued every year to build up an event brand of entertainment with new data. These events include ISAACS BAKER and Victory that held every year. These events held usually have loyal participants and will be part of the brand image of Foxwoods and thus makes it attractiveness more sustainable. Also, there should be enhancement of the level of marketing activities with the application of new social media like YouTube, Facebook, Google + and Twitter to get visitors and consumer informed and connected for the built up of a responsible and strong brand image, which is critical for the sustainable development of Foxwoods Resort Casino and other integrated resorts in Ledyard Connecticut.

Is Death Natural? :: essays research papers

Is Death Natural? Many of the most beautiful and meaningful facets of life are the way they are £Ã‚ ¬ because they are ephemeral. I know that death is natural; Life runs its course before coming around again. Something present in or produced by nature is natural, such as an earthquake or typhoon, or a poisonous mushroom. Death is natural in the sense that to die is to conform to the ordinary course of living things in nature. Death has been modeled as an exponential increase in the rate of illnesses with age. Even with no micro-organisms attacking, the body is not well enough designed to function indefinitely. Something always breaks down eventually. What breakdowns, how many, and when they happen, is randomly distributed among individuals, except for conformance to average delays which may have been sculpted by evolution. Some of those functions our medicine can't re-establish or substitute for and some of those are necessary for life. In general, death is an unremarkable event in nature. To die of "natural causes" is not to expire in old age, as is the case in modern human societies, but to typically die young. Average human life spans between 20 and 30 years for most of our species history. Most people today are thus living highly unnaturally long lives. Because of the high incidence of infectious disease, accidents, starvation, and violent death among our ancestors, very few of them lived much beyond 60 or 70. There was therefore little selection pressure to evolve the cellular repair mechanisms (and pay their metabolic costs). As a result of these circumstances in the distant past, we now suffer the inevitable decline of old age: damage accumulates at a faster pace than it can be repaired; tissues and organs begin to malfunction; and then we die. It may turn out to be impossible to live forever, strictly speaking, even for those who are lucky enough to survive to such a time when technology has been perfected, and even under ideal conditions. The amount of matter and energy that our civilization can lay its hands on before they recede forever beyond our reach is finite in the current most favored cosmological models. As for age and death, one of the biggest factors actually has to do with cell replication. Most of our cells are not meant to live forever  ¡Ã‚ ­. We are meant to die. Your cells divide and divide and divide and their daughter cells do the same, so one and such forth.

Student Athletes Should Not Receive Additional Money Essay -- Argument

Student Athletes Should Not Receive Additional Money When a student athlete signs a letter of intent to play at a division one school, he or she is generally happy for the opportunity to perform at the highest level of college competition. Like all good things though, they eventually come to an end. After awhile athletes soon begin to realize not all of their expenses are paid for. Because some of the extra costs in college are put on student athletes, some suggest the NCAA and other sources should provide additional funding to help athletes out. This issue has created a heated debate over the relationship between money and college athletes. On the contrary, the stronger argument lies with those individuals that say student athletes should not receive additional money, and how the NCAA is dealing with the situation right now is fine. In other words, athletes competing at the division one level do not need to be paid any amount of money on top of obtaining a scholarship. If the current law the NCAA has now is working, then i t should not be fixed. Because this is such a huge topic, there are still arguments for the opposition. In contrast to the NCAA’s rules and regulations, those in favor of paying student athletes say money is a necessity to get through college. They say even though full ride athletes receive a free education, certain accessories still require money from their own pocket. Some of these items include laundry, clothing, phone bills, transportation, entertainment, toiletries, and eating off campus. The money for these things usually comes from parents or, if they are lucky, a grant of some kind is given to the athlete. But in order to receive a grant, a student athlete must apply for financial ... ...regarding college athletes receiving money many things would be different in the future. A major concern involves recruiting. Universities allowed to pay players would be able to buy recruits and this may persuade them to attend the school offering the most money. It’s almost like a free agent in professional sports. Attending the school with the most to offer decreases the likelihood of a fair playing ground for all of college athletics. As a result certain schools would be major powerhouses and it would stay this way forever. Concluding all the ideas and argument above illustrates just a small portion of why the NCAA has yet to pass a law of this magnitude. The evidence for all those in supporting athletes receiving money are not strong enough for action to take place. Overall if student athletes begin to get paid, collegiate sports will become corrupted.

Computers in Teacher Education :: Technology Learning Teaching Essays

Computers in Teacher Education The computer has changed many aspects of American society, and the Teacher Education field is no exception.A future teacher now has to consider the computer along with all of the traditional subjects when preparing to get a teaching degree.Literacy in American schools no longer means that a student can read, write, and do simple math problems.Literacy has a new branch that is required of all students to learn-the computer. The computer is a vital part of the education process of today’s youth.The process of getting a teaching degree now requires that the University student be literate and competent when it comes to using and teaching computers.Future teachers are trained how to utilize the computer to enhance lesson plans and supplement learning.Computers are not only used to drill students on previously learned material, but also to explore new ideas and find new resources.Kevin Ryan explores these new concepts of teaching in Those Who Can, Teach, â€Å"The technology-assisted teacher, however, was facilitating instruction as needed, to bring about a deeper understanding and relevance.†[1]The teacher is no longer alone when thinking up lesson plans and related activities.The computer provides teaching software as well as endless material on the internet that teachers can utilize in their classrooms.The internet provides websites to bring resources together for all teachers to share.The w ebsites include classroom management tips, grade book software, lesson plans, and connections to fellow teachers.Teachers are no longer alone in their classrooms, all they have to do is visit a website, such as http://webpages.marshall.edu/~jmullens/edlinks.html, and everything they could need is accessible from their computer. Some teachers may feel apprehensive to include the computer in their classroom activities, but according to the National Center for Education Statistics[2], more and more teachers are turning to the computer to enhance the learning process. Computers are changing every aspect of the education field.Not only are teachers using the computer to help their students learn, but also the students themselves are going on their own to find resources and information via the computer.According to Ryan[3] a project in Florida, called CHILD (Computers Helping Instruction and Learning Development) students who are grouped together and allowed to work on projects involving the computer and traditional classroom methods ultimately did better on year-end standardized tests than peers in conventional classrooms. The number of students using the computer is continually rising, usage averaging about 1-2 times per month.The Nation’s Report Card researches the usage of computers by twelfth-grade students.

Home Depot and Lowes Financial Analysis Essay

ANALYSIS: For the past two years (2012-2013) both Home Depot (HD) and Lowes (LOW) appear to be performing companies. However, overall Home Depot is a significantly stronger company. The total sales growth for HD is 3.0% versus 0.3% for LOW. A comparison of the Short-term Liquidity reveals that HD and LOW both have compatible current ratios. However, the Quick Ratio provides evidence that HD has a much stronger operational efficiency. The Days Receivable, Inventory and Payables all validate the efficiency of how HD is managing their inventory and accounts. Based on this simple fact alone, HD is performing well above LOW. The difference of profitability is highlighted at the significant difference in sales growth of HD (3.0%) versus LOW (0.3%). Within all categories of profitability, HD is out performing LOW. The return on assets to generating profits is proving to be very effective for HD. HD has separated itself from LOW in its capability and efficiency. HDs total asset and investmen t returns clearly separate them from LOW. The HD return on investments categories is almost double for HD over LOW. It is this efficiency that gauges hoe much more effective HD is at putting investments to work to generate revenue. The long-term solvency ratios show that HD is also a much more secure company. The interest coverage is comparable to both companies. However, the Long-Term debt to common equity shows the leverage that HD has over LOW. It only has a very conservative 2% reliance on their debt versus a very high 52.9% for LOW. This difference shows the risk factor that could potentially affect the ability of LOW to repay their debts. The market ratio shows similar price earnings for both HD & LOW. The beta is also compatible and highlights the risk that LOW is slightly higher than HD. The HD Common Stock Market to Book Return, illustrates how HD has almost doubled their market value of their stock to the amount invested by stockholders. This is an incredible strength for any company to achieve. LOW also has a solid ratio, just not as strong as what HD has. The cash flow from operation/net income shows a slight higher ratio for LOW. There was definitely a spike for all cash flow for LOW from 2012 to 2013. HD fell slightly behind LOW at the operational/new income ratio. However, HD is considerably stronger in the cash from operations/investment proving their ability of using internally generated cash from operations to expand the company if desired. The overall winner between HD an LOW is no  question: Home Depot! The company is simply performing much better than Lowes in virtually every financial category as a company. Regarding the DuPont Analysis. In the 1920’s the DuPont Corporation developed what became known as the DuPont analysis, a technique which uses basic accounting identities to break down the return on equity into either 3 or 5 component parts. Based on the information within the report, HD has consistently achieved greater success and proves to be secure enough that it will continue this future trend. The overall N et Income/Sales & Earnings to Price Ratio illustrates clearly that operationally HD is a much better company than Lowes.

Discuss of the Significance and Recent Trends in Operations Management

Operations management is an area of business concerned with the production of goods and services, and involves the responsibility of ensuring that business operations are efficient in terms of using as little resource as needed, and effective in terms of meeting customer requirements. It is concerned with managing the process that converts inputs (in the forms of materials, labor and energy) into outputs (in the form of goods and services).Significance and recent trends in operations managementOperations traditionally refers to the production of goods and services separately,although the distinction between these two main types of operations is increasingly difficult to make as manufacturers tend to merge product and service offerings. More generally, Operations Management aims to increase the content of value-added activities in any given process.Fundamentally, these value-adding creative activities should be aligned with market opportunity (see Marketing) for optimal enterprise per formance to be able produce professional managers capable of fulfilling strategic roles within business and government enterprises the need for the practice of operations management cannot be forgone. Operations management is very important in business operations since it forms the heart of the organisation by controlling the system of operation. Operations management deals with the design, operation, and improvement of the systems that create and deliver a firm’s primary products and services.Like marketing and finance, operations management is a functional field of business with clear management responsibilities. Guinness Ghana limited is a company in which produces alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages such as Guinness and Malta Guinness respectively.The effect of the global economic crisis has been profound on the UK business sector. As a result, a new generation of entrepreneurs and business owners looks set to emerge – and many individuals who found themselves lea ving college within the last decade will soon be seen to embark on careers which demand a significant degree of managerial skill.Subsequently, operations management has developed as a specialist subject of study on many management courses – but how does it differ from  other more well-known aspects of business such as sales management and project management? And what is its importance to business today?In the simplest terms, operations management is different because its primary concern is usually the efficiency of the production or delivery of goods or services within a company. Consequently, an operations manager will typically need to manage the amount of resources – for example, materials or labor – needed for the desired output.In more depth, those eager to study operations management on any one of many management courses in the UK and US will quickly learn of the diversity of, and complexities within, the field.The focus on such modules will usually cove r:facilities – including the planning and management of their location, analyses of production methods in order to ensure output is achieved with as little resource as possible, as well as issues with quality control and the risk of error.The importance of operations management today is therefore quite easy to see,even if not necessarily in reference to the subject as an entire job description, but instead referring to the skills useful to anyone in a managerial position.Indeed, with the growth of smaller companies – especially within the digital and media sectors -the latter is more significant.Increasingly, the trend among 21st Century industries is to offer both product sand services, such as specialist programmes and tools alongside consultancy, in an effort for businesses to differentiate themselves and to offer more to prospective clients. Those with operations management skills will therefore be more prepared for differentiation between planning, control and del ivery of either products or services.Recent Trends In operations managementGlobal Competition Operations Strategy Flexibility Cycle Time Reduction Business Process Re-engineering Supply Chain Management Workers Involvement TQM Lean ManufacturingRe-engineering etc. Organizations must improve their products as well as productivity to retain their market share. The long-term success of an organization requires investments in technology because new technologies can improve efficiency and productivity. In this chapter, we discussed how organizations can benefit from automation. Some of the recent technological developments in the field of operations management, which include computer-aided design (CAD), direct and indirect computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), flexible manufacturing system (FMS), and computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) were discussed in the chapter.Computer Aided Design (CAD) is used for designing products and processes on a computer terminal. Computer systems assist i n the creation, modification, analysis and optimization of a design. In Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM), computers are used either directly to control the processing equipment, or indirectly to support manufacturing operations. Automated machines usually perform a variety of operations, depending on the instructions received from the computer with respect to the sequence and operational specifications of a process.FMS is a form of flexible automation in which several machine tools are linked to the materials-handling system. A central  computer controls all aspects of the system. CIM refers to a computer application that connects various computerized systems into a single multi-functional system. Another development in the field of technology is artificial intelligence (AI). AI enables computers to exhibit some of the characteristics of human intelligence, like the capacity for learning, understanding language,reasoning and problem solving.EDI is a system, wherein standardized forms of electronic documents are transferred between two computer systems. Customers and suppliers or departments within the same organization can share and transmit information electronically in real time using EDI

ICT Educational Tour Narrative Report Essay

Learning is not only gained in school but also from the exposure outside the school premises, according to the tour committee on its rationale. Through this, they convince us to join the tour, The B.S. Information Technology Educational Tour 2013 in Manila. With the effort of everybody especially the faculty it happened last December 2-5, 2013.The purpose of it is not just for self-satisfaction but for the improvement of one’s mind in terms of learning knowledge, actual experience both in IT and form good camaraderie between fourth and third year students. Furthermore, it let the students to have an actual observation on how the different technological industries operate. Topics Learned As we visited different industries, somehow we learned from them. Like in TOEI Animation and Cutting Edge Productions, they taught us step by step processes on how to make an animation from lay outing to finishing .Although, there’s no multimedia subject in our curriculum but atleast they gave us an idea on how it works. In addition in UP-Diliman, we also benefited in the seminar in Android Apps, using Ubuntu an open source operating system and their students guided us to their different IT laboratories. Ma’am Christy told us the projects of their students focus in security problem to address, enterprise network and some information about AI or the Artificial Intelligence. Though, it is not already reach beyond my knowledge. Then on our third day, I learned from one of our tour how technology works in a factory. Imagine a fully automated and computer controlled manufacturing facility untouched by human hands. Industry Visited Our first destination is the Makati City Traffic Management System which is located at the Makati City Hall. This command control and communication  center was started in 2007.It is composed of 8 big and 48 small monitor screens that is open 24/7.They have installed CCTV’s in different streets and vicinity along Makati. In addition, each camera has a 30 times zooming capacity and can capture objects within 800 through this; they can monitor accidents or the flow of traffic in Makati. We’ve also tour around the Makati City Hall itself including the conference room, Mayor’s Office and session hall etc. After this, we continued to Sir Boy’s Republic for our lunch. Exactly 2:31 pm, we are now in TOEI Animation located in Eastwood.They are behind the famous animes like One Piece, Sailormoon, Digimon and etc†¦ This Company was started in 1986 and a 100% subsidiary Japan Animation and the first 2D animation to use system. After TOEI Animation, our next stop was the Cutting Edge Productions. Just like TOEI, it is also an Animation company. Some of their works are Dayo, shampoo commercials and etc.. We’ve ended our day by eating our dinner at Star City. Eventually, after eating breakfast in Wendy’s, we proceeded to ABS-CBN for studio tour. The acronym stands for Auto Broadcasting Network-Chronicle Broadcasting Network, one of the largest TV stations in the country. Then again eat our lunch at Sir Boy’s Republic. In the afternoon, we attended a seminar in UP-Diliman Campus. After that, we transferred to Engineering Building to make rounds. We had seen their highly modernized library and IT laboratories. On the third day of our tour, we dropped by at Somethin’ Fishy at Eastwood to take or breakfast. Then our instructors let us took a walk. After that, we continued to our next destination. The Gardenia Bakeries Phil which is located in Gardenia Centre, Star Avenue LIPP, Mamplasan Laguna. They gave us free sample of their products then we took our lunch in Tagaytay City. Then, we continued our tour to Enchanted Kingdom. There we enjoyed the different rides and returned to Hotel happy and satisfied. According to our tour guide being a tourist in Metro Manila, we need to visit Intramuros so we dropped by and took a long walk. After this, we ended  to University of Sto. Tomas which is located in Espaà ±a.Then for the last time, we returned to Sir Boy’s for our lunch. As follows, we proceeded to MOA, owned by Henry Sy.Some of the students met their relatives while others bought Pasalubong and the rest took window shopping. And the saddest part was to say goodbye and we continued to our last bus stop, the NAIA. Application on your Course After the tour, I have acquired new realizations, knowledge that I may use in my course. I can apply that self-realization in my motivation to pursue my degree. Though I can’t say that I can be an App developer or Animator someday but I was unable to realize the importance of technology, the possible jobs,the importance of being a skilled IT worker and many more. Therefore ,the educational tour is not only for the enhancement of theoretical learning but rather giving a student a complete idea of what the course may offer to his or her life and for the preparation in the future job. Personal Experience Most of my first times happened during our tour. It may be terrifying or death-defying experiences but I don’t have any regrets in joining the said tour. Although my aunt wasted a huge amount of money just to send me to this tour. It’s okay at least we learned, we experienced and feel motivated. It’s my first time to ride in a plane. I feel a little bit of nervous at first because I have a fear in height but I’m happy that I’ve conquered my fear. Then after going back to Manila it’s a De javu feeling. I was there not for any reason but to enjoy all the proceedings and being a tourist. It is a privilege because all you have to do was to eat, listen, learn, observe, unwind and sleep. I have been there a long time ago but it’s my first time to go to ABS-CBN which is one of my dreams. Eversince, I have been an avid fan of Kapamilya Stars. Although I feel disappointed because I hadn’t seen my favorite stars but knowing that they also reside there it’s a pleasure to me. The Eastwood City was also amazing because of its high structured buildings, it is also considered as one of the business center of  Metro Manila. Opportunities can be seen anywhere since that there’s a lot of jobs. They say there’s a lot of job but the question is the skills of applicants. I’ve realized that in order to succeed you need to strive hard ,be patient and the most important is study hard to acquired proper skills that may use in the future. Next first time is going to Tagaytay City; it’s a relaxing ambiance with cool weather. After that was the Enchanted Kingdom experience. The fun really never stops. Aside from bonding with my classmates and friend it’s a full package experience. The ride on Space shuttle and Rio Grande was all my first time and according to Christian if he will be given a chance he’ll go back there or shall I say we will if there’s a chance. On our last day, the Intramuros and UST experiences are also amazing. Intramuros being one of the most important historical place and unique events in the country happened there. While UST is also nice because of its place which is awesome. Aside from the cute faces of their students, they are also kind and hospitable and they entertained and answered all our questions in mind. I’m so blessed and thankful that I was able to join the tour. My deepest gratitude to the tour committee for their patience in asking for our balances and letting this to happened. And also to Sir Nemz, our tour guide for guiding us during the tour. Though, he is not a certified teacher but he is more than that. He told a lot of trivia’s, knowledge about the place and he made us laugh.

Jesters Pies

The report examines an in depth analysis of the Jesters Pies and its brand equity in the market. The report also looks at the brand associations of the product through which it is being recalled by the consumer. Interviews will be taken by consumers of Jesters Pies in order to get an understanding of the brand association. This will show what consumers feel, think and do with the brand. The report will also look at the elements that make the brand up and make it was it is which includes the logo, URL , name and slogan. This is an important part of a company because if these elements aren’t used in a correct way then there is a higher chance the brand won’t be as successful. Having an effective name, logo and slogan can have a huge effect, just look at Nike and their ‘tick’ symbol. The third part of the report will focus on the Jesters marketing programme. This includes an analysis on the product, pricing, communication and distribution of the brand. This is more about how the company operates in actual business rather than what the consumers think about the brand of the company. Finally to wrap the Jesters report up recommendations will be made to the CEO of the company. These will be based on the consumer knowledge and marketing evaluation. These recommendations will be made so the company can use them in the future to help improve their business and overall brand. Company Profile Jesters are a franchising company in New Zealand who are specialist in making and selling pies. Their menu ranges from the traditional Beef Pie to the not so traditional Spud Delux. Their company motto sums them up pretty well; â€Å"serious about pies†. Jesters are New Zealand wholly owned and managed Pie Company. However the first original concept of it was started in Perth in 1997 when the idea of making the finest, healthiest pies in the market, was first created. Jesters pride their Jaffle Pie range to be of good quality, fresh, taste and health. Jesters are located in four cities nation wide which includes Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington and Dunedin. With the first being opened in 2002 at Lynn Mall shopping centre. The business is spreading fast with 34 stores being opened in Western Australia and many more planned. The reason for success Jesters feel is because of the niche $1 billion fast food industry, which they feel, is growing fast. Also because of the uniqueness of the brand and products for sale are new and interesting for the consumer. With over 15 varieties of pies Jesters feels there is something for everyone. The company also caters for your family or a party along with the sit in restaurant layout. The company promises to the customer†¦Ã¢â‚¬ you’ll never stop at one!† (Jesters, about Jesters, 2007) Analysis of Marketing Mix Product Jesters Pies is a unique company in the New Zealand market. Even though the product they are selling is just a pie, which can be brought from any bakery, it is the first to sell them in a fast food style restaurant. Jesters Pies offers 15 varieties of pies which appeal to a wide variety of customers. This is important because you want to cater to as many people as possible so you get more customers. Jesters also diverse their product from other pies by confidently saying that theirs are the healthiest and finest in the market. Another attribute of the pies is that the filling is low fat, lean meats and fresh vegetables, which you probably couldn’t say about your local bakery pie. The final attribute of the product is no artificial colourings, preservatives and MSG are used. This is a good look for the product as it has become so important for consumers in recent times to eat healthy, fresh food (Jesters Pies, 2007). Price Pricing is very important for a brand as it can create associations in the mind of the consumer. It can also be used to build brand equity. So a company needs to price its products correctly in order to get the most out of the consumer. Jesters’ pies are ranged from $3.50 to $4.10. With the $3.50 pies being the classic beef, mince and bacon and egg and the more expensive pies are the fancier ones with more ingredients such as the Popeye which contains spinach mushroom and feta. The pricing strategy they have I feel is good as the consumer gets what they are paying for. The pies are more expensive than the bakery, but are of much better quality and better ingredients are used. Distribution Channel Distribution can have a huge effect on the equity and success of a brand. Distribution is so important because it is the process of getting the product to the consumer. Jesters use a direct channel method to distribution where they sell their product straight to the consumer through their stores. This is probably the most effective way for a brand like Jesters .Jesters Pies stores can be found around New Zealand and in some parts of Australia. They are located in four cities in New Zealand. However all the stores in the Auckland area are found a long way out from central Auckland, with only one store being located in the CBD. However they do have stores located throughout the country so their distribution is pretty good. Promotion/Marketing Communication Promotion and marketing is very important for almost every brand in any industry. Without it you would not be able to get your product into the market and gain awareness from your potential consumers. Jesters have not done a huge amount of advertising that we could recall or find. From what we did find was mostly advertising for magazine and billboards. This could be one reason for the fact that their brand awareness amongst consumers is not very strong. Television is the strongest form of media and is the best for developing a brand image and creating awareness. However even without this the brand seems to be getting more popular which could be put down to things such as word of mouth. With a bit more promotion and marketing the brand could become very popular as it is a unique fast food outlet. Brand equity for Jester Pies Brand equity is an intangible asset that depends on associations made by the consumer. There are various perspectives from which to view brand equity. Brand equity just does not include the value of the brand, but it also includes the value of proprietary technologies, patents, trademarks and other intangibles like manufacturing know how (article 1). So in case of jesters pies, jesters jaffle pies are not oven baked like traditional pie, but they are cooked in a unique jaffle pie makers using ultra-thin light puff pastry and finest quality natural ingredients. Therefore the the difference in technical know how adds to the brand equity of the product. (article2.) Another way to measure the brand equity is the financial aspect of the brand. In this case one way to measure brand equity is to determine the price premium that the brand commands over a generic product. In case of jester’s pies, the pies are priced at $ 3.40 which is normally higher than most of the pies in the market place. As jesters pies have positioned itself as a quality product and people are also willing to pay more for a quality product, it commands high brand equity. Brand equity also represents the added value endowed to a particular product or a service as result of past investments in the marketing of the brand. (Article 1). In case of jesters pies it commands very good brand equity due to its advertising and promotion. Jesters pies has used three mediums of advertising that is print radio and TV. Brand equity also helps the brand to grow globally.( article 1) As jesters pies is a successful brand in Australia, it can use its good brand equity to expand further in new Zealand and other countries as well. Brand Associations These are the things that consumer relates or associate when they think about the brand. It can be how the brand makes them feel, what they think of the brand, what comes to their mind when they think of the brand or even what they do with the brand. The interviews were limited as we only interviewed four people, however the information we got back was good as all consumers had pretty similar answers. This shows that the consumers are all getting similar associations with the Jesters Pies brand. From the answers to the interviews we came up with the following brand associations. †¢ People are aware of the jesters pies because of its logo and the colours used in it. †¢ Most of the people when asked about jesters pies, they have a positive response like, ‘good quality for the price’. So they provide incredible value for money by giving fresh, quality natural ingredients. They also provide fresh vegetables, lean meats and guarantee every pie meets health standards. †¢ People are also attracted towards jesters pies are because of the variety of the pies and value meals the company provides. †¢ People associate jester’s pie as specialised pie outlet. †¢ Most people think jesters as a healthy meal which is free of artificial flavourings, colourings and MSG. †¢ People don’t associate jester’s pie with its other products like sausage rolls, wedges, or coffee. But they feel that some changes can be made by introducing chips to the menu. Recommendations This report has analysed the Jesters Company. It has looked not only the marketing programme side but also the side of the consumer. From what we have found from looking at these components the following recommendations can be made- †¢ Firstly from what was gathered in the interviews not a lot of the consumers had seen much Jesters advertising and if they had it wasn’t very effective. Jesters should start advertising through the most effective medium, TV, this will increase brand awareness. †¢ Another recommendation follows on from the previous one. Jesters need to develop more awareness amongst its target customers. From people we have spoken to a lot of them were unaware of Jesters pies and the brand itself. In order to be successful brand awareness needs to be built up amongst the potential customers. †¢ Another issue gathered from the interviews was that the people who consumed Jesters said they were limited because of the lack of restaurants in handy locations. Perhaps to get more out there in the market they could locate some stores in key areas like around universities and more locations in the CBD