Adoption Of ICT In The Tourism And Hospitality Industry Essay

Abstract Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) have revolutionised the travel industry in the last decade. eTourism reflects the digitalisation of all processes and value chains in the tourism, travel, hospitality and catering industries. It emerges as a term describing the entire range of applications of ICTs on tourism and the implications for the tourism value chain. Major opportunities and challenges have emerged and need to be addressed by all industry players. However, the level of eTourism developments varies between regions, countries and continents. The tourism sector is experiencing an acceptance of ecommerce to the extend that the whole industry structure is changing .The web is used not only for information gathering but also for ordering services .A new type of user is emerging one who acts as his or her own travel agent and build a personalised travel package .This research focuses on evaluating the current status of Meikles Hotel Zimbabwe in order to study the adoption of ecommerce applications on the hospitality sector. 1. Introduction Mathieson and Wall (1982) created a good working definition of tourism as â€Å"the temporary movement of people to destinations outside their normal places of work and residence, the activities undertaken during their stay in those destinations, and the facilities created to cater to their needs.† The tourism industry requires a diverse range of information and lends itself well to the support offered by developing multimedia, communication technologies and information systems .The internet provides an extra ordinary connectivity and the ability to communicate efficiently and effectively directly with customers at a reasonable cost .Its potential to generate more revenue is not questionable but is acknowledged as something the tourism industry in developing countries needs. According to the World Tourism Organization 2002, Tourism in many developing and least developed countries is the most viable and sustainable economic development option, and in some countries, the main so urce of foreign exchange earnings. Implications of the Internet and other growing interactive multimedia platforms for tourism promotion are far reaching and alter the structure of the industry. This research aimed to explore the impact of ICTs and the  Internet in particular for the future competitiveness of the tourism and hospitality industry. This paper explores the current state of eTourism development and examines the use of the Internet in the sector. The rapid development and commercialization of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for the travel and tourism industry has prompted hotels and other enterprises in this sector to increasingly adopt these technologies. This is based on the expectation that the new ICT based technologies and processes would lead to an improvement in their operating efficiencies and customer service levels. Buhalis, D. (2003: 77). The ICT based products and processes help the hotels to enhance the operating efficiency, improve the service experience as well as provide a means to access markets on a global basis. Brussels, 2005. Says ‘The use of ICTs is a relevant opportunity for growing and strengthening a local tourism industry, and for the development of destinations economies overall. Specifically ICTs have the potential to increase destination incomes for financing economic and social development’. While ICTs were used in the hotel industry from the late seventies in the f orm of Computerized Reservation systems and Global distribution systems, it was only in the 90s that the ICTs began to make a difference in the hospitality sector. Nowadays the internet has turned into an informative channel providing both individuals and organisations with different types of information making them aware of new tourism and old travel opportunities and offers enabling them to compare the offers, have online purchases and provide feedback. It has also turned into a source for travel agencies and organisations to promote their services and products to their potential customers. As the internet is being used worldwide it was important for Meikles hotel to implement hence the creation of its web site www.meikles.com Meikles Hotel Meikles Hotel is situated in the heart of Harare and overlooks the historic landmark and colourful flower gardens of Africa Unity Square. According to Experience Zimbabwe, Meikles is consistently voted as one of the best hotels in Zimbabwe, Meikles Hotel is a proud member of The Leading Hotels of the World, a prestigious hospitality organisation which represents some of the world’s most acclaimed hotels, spas and resorts. Established in 1928, the organisation exists to meet the needs of discerning travellers and for a  hotel to be recognised by this body, it needs to exceed every expectation and achieve exacting standards of excellence. Executive chairman Mr Onias Makamba says ‘Meikles Hotel has won the prestigious Association of Zimbabwean Travel Agents (AZTA) award for Best City Hotel in Zimbabwe for an astonishing 15 consecutive years’. This award is voted on by AZTA members and is based on feedback given to travel agents by their many clients across the worl d. Problem Definition There have been a lot of changes in the rapid growing world of technology. Changes in the technological world have made organizations to change the way they conduct their day to day business in order to provide satisfactory services delivery. Effective delivery of service is defined by Martin (2004) as providing products and services that bring utility to users and customers. E-tourism is offering significant benefits for organizations that integrate the technology into their organizational information systems. This versatile technology improves information quality and accessibility, increases operational efficiency (service delivery) and enhances effective management (Maamar, 2006). Despite these highly perceived benefits of e-tourism its adoption has been relatively slow in Zimbabwe. Currently, there are no studies which have been carried out in Zimbabwe to identify the benefits and challenges of adopting ICT in the tourism and hospitality industry. Hence it is the ideal time to ca rry out an investigation on the adoption of ICT in the tourism and hospitality industry. Objectives The key objective of this research has been to examine the Adoption of ICT in the tourism industry mainly looking at Meikles Hotel in Zimbabwe .In particular the research examines the level of ICT diffusion in tourism enterprises. Another objective is to Identify the factors affecting E-tourism in Zimbabwe The paper also assesses how eTourism concepts and techniques can contribute towards the improvement of the Zimbabwe tourism competitiveness. RESEARCH QUESTIONS I. At what rate is ICT being adopted in the tourism and hospitality industry in Zimbabwe? II. What factors are encouraging or discouraging the adoption of ICT in the tourism and hospitality industry of Zimbabwe. 2. Literature  review Literature review is a â€Å"systematic, explicit and reproducible method for identifying, evaluating and interpreting the existing body of recorded work produced by other scholars† (Khan, 2008, p.41). The literature review focuses on the impacts of ICTs on tourism and the eCommerce developments in Zimbabwe. It also includes a brief section on Tourism in Zimbabwe which provides the contextual environment that determines the requirements for eTourism in the country. 2.1 ICT Developments and eCommerce in Zimbabwe There are various factors that have affected the adoption of ecommerce in Zimbabwe, these include : Software development tools are still evolving .It is difficult to integrate Internet and e-commerce software with some existing (especially legacy) applications and databases .Special web servers are needed in addition to the network servers, which add to the cost of ecommerce. The Standard June 5, 2011 says the adoption of the multiple currency system in 2009 presented a strong opportunity for the growth of e-commerce in Zimbabwe. It said Zimbabwe now had a chance to catch up with the rest of the world if the financial and retail sectors took the lead. Internet accessibility is still expensive and or inconvenient .Powertel Communications, a government owned internet provider, is one of the 12 POTRAZ licensed Internet Access Providers in Zimbabwe. In June 2014 Powertel mobile broadband price were $50/month .The price of the modem $45.Every Zimbabwean cannot afford these prices. The Fin ancial Gazette 3 Oct 2013 states Despite the growth of the Information Communication Technology (ICT) sector in the country, which has seen internet penetration rising from five to 47 percent in the past five years, the cost of accessing the internet still remains high. The improved internet penetration is largely credited to the ICT Strategic Plan crafted by the then ministry of ICT under Nelson Chamisa. Customers’ attitudes towards online shopping remain skeptical, mainly because of worries about product quality, product delivery, and security and privacy issues (Ghazali et al., 2006; Scott & Scott, 2008). People do not yet  sufficiently trust paperless, faceless transactions .Payment security and privacy concerns are one of the major non technological barriers that prevent consumers from completing transactions online Lack of trust in e-commerce and in unknown sellers hinders buying. Online fraud is also increasing. Some customers like to feel and touch products. They are afraid that if they purchase without actually touching the products they might not get exactly what they ordered. Also, customers are resistant to the change from shopping at a brick-and-mortar store to a virtual store. The lack of stand ­ards in technology and its applications eventually increases the cost of system integration for effective and efficient management in distribution, operation and communication worldwide. Large hospitality corporations have invested to transform their systems into a total netware system; however, small and medium-sized tourism enterprises (SMEs) struggle to integrate the systems due to a shortage of financial sources Factors Determining the Adoption of ICTs In Zimbabwean Hotels There are a number of factors that affect the adoption of ICT in hotels these will be discussed below. In the hotel industry, the geographic location of a hotel has a major impact on its operations and profitability. The geographical location of a hotel would greatly determine the profile of its visitors, the size of its market and the level of competition that it has to face. A hotel will therefore be more inclined to adopt ICTs if it expects the ICT based facilities to either provide greater competitive advantage or to blunt the advantage enjoyed by its competitors considering the characteristics of its customer profile, its market size and the intensity of competition that it has to face. Thus based on the profile of a hotel’s visitors, the size of the market, or the intensity of competition, hotels may differ in their levels of ICT adoption propensity. The market size, in terms of the number of tourists who visit the location, will also be a significant factor that affects ICT adoption , since hotels  in smaller underdeveloped destinations may need to use the internet and other ICT based technologies to a greater degree to reach out to the global population than hotels located in developed destinations. According to Bajaj and Nag (2005) a range of advanced ICT systems such as Decision Support System (DSS) can be applied to gain substantial benefits on practical levels not only by large organisations, but also by small and medium-sized business organisations as well. Bajaj and Nag (2005) argue that DSS integration by small and medium-sized organisations can assist management by generating a set of alternative solution options to management problems of various levels complexities The competition level among the hotels in a location, can also influence the adoption of ICTs. The general occupancy rate in the location is an indicator of the competitive intensity among the hotels in a location. High levels of occupancy rate at a location imply that the competition is low, and the hotels can expect to get their rooms filled with relative ease while low levels of occupancy point towards higher levels of competition to attract customers between the hotels in the location. High levels of competition may prompt the hotels to aggressively use ICT based technologies both for attracting customers as well as to increase the efficiency of its operations. The size of the hotel has an important effect on ICT adoption. Effective adoption of several ICT technologies requires a substantial investment of resources. Lack of resources may affect the inclination of small hotels to adopt costly ICTs and therefore large hotels can be expected to be more inclined to ICTs. Further the risky nature of investing in new technologies may prompt small hotels to wait till the technology has stabilized before investing in it. Another aspect of the hotel size that can influence adoption of ICTs is the inclination to change within the organization. Large hotels have been found to be more resistant to change than small firms. This fact tends to suggest that large hotels are less inclined to adopt ICTs than small hotels as long as the investment required is not a consideration. The scope of activities that the hotel is engaged in can also influence adoption of ICTs. Since ICTs enable an effective integration of activities of an organization, hotels with varied lines of activities would find more use in the adoption of ICTs than hotels with a relatively lesser span of activities. 2.2 Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the Tourism sector The internet has become a key application in the tourism industry. Tourism providers have been using the internet to communicate, distribute and market their products to potential customers worldwide in a cost- and time-efficient way. In fact, the individual company website had become the most important platform for e-commerce, followed by electronic markets. The main focus of e-business processes in the tourism industry has been on customer facing activities and services, i.e. primarily e-marketing and e-sales. Online booking and reservation services were widely accepted among consumers and business travell ers already in 2005. Similarly, online purchasing had become a relatively well-used application in the tourism sector. Parsons and Oja (2013) mention online reservations systems as one of the greatest impacts of ICT on tourism and hospitality sector. Tourism has closely been connected to progress of ICTs for over 30 years. The establishments of the Computer Reservation Systems (CRSs) in the 1970s, Global Distribution Systems (GDSs) in the late 1980s and the Internet in the late 1990s have transformed operational and strate ­gic practices dramatically in tourism .The tourism indus ­try at first focused on utilizing computerized systems (e.g., CRS, GDS) to increase efficiency in processing of internal information and managing distribution. Nowadays, the Internet and ICTs are relevant on all operative, structural, strategic and marketing levels to facilitate global interaction among suppliers, intermediaries and consumers around the world. In this section, we will provide the concepts and definitions of the key terms related to the Internet and ICTs. 2.2.1 Electronic tourism (e-tourism) It is the application of ICTs on the tourism industry (Buhalis, 2003). Buhalis (2003) suggests that e-tourism reflects the digitisation of all processes and value chains in the tourism, travel, hospitality and catering industries. At the tactical level, it includes e-com ­merce and applies ICTs for maximising the efficiency and effectiveness of the tourism  organi ­sation. At the strategic level, e-tourism revolutionises all business processes, the entire value chain as well as the strategic relationships of tourism organisations with all their stakeholders. E-tourism determines the competitiveness of the organisation by taking advantage of intranets for reorganising internal processes, extranets for developing transactions with trusted partners and the Internet for interacting with all its stakeholders and customers. The e-tourism concept includes all business functions (i.e., e-commerce, e-marketing, e-finance and e-accounting, eHRM, e-procurement, e-production) as well as e-strategy, e-planning and e-management for all sectors of the tourism industry, including tourism, travel, transport, leisure, hospitality, principals, intermediaries and public sector organisations. Hence, e-tourism bundles together three distinctive disciplines: business management, information systems and management, and tourism. II.2.2 Computer reservation system (CRS) The 1989 CRS Regulation51 defined a ‘computerized reservation system’ as a system for reserving and booking seats on commercial flights electronically, as well as storage and retrieval of itineraries. Several airlines own and market such systems, which are used by travel agents. A few include: Sabre (produced by American Airlines), Amadeus, and Worldspan. It is a database which enables a tourism organisation to manage its inventory and make it accessible to its partners. Principals utilise CRSs to manage their inventory and distribute their capacity as well as to manage the drastic expansion of global tourism. CRSs often charge competitive commission rates while enabling flexible pricing and capacity alterations, to adjust supply to demand fluctuations. Airlines pioneered this technology, although hotel chains and tour operators followed by developing centralised reservation systems. CRSs can be characterised as the â€Å"circulation system† of the tourism product . II.2.3 Global distribution systems (GDSs) The business dictionary defines a global distribution system as a worldwide computerized reservation network used as a single point of access for reserving airline seats, hotel rooms, rental cars, and other travel related  items by travel agents, online reservation sites, and large corporations. The premier global distribution systems are Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre, and Worldspan. They are owned and operated as joint ventures by major airlines, car rental companies, and hotel groups. Also called automated reservation system (ARS) or computerized reservation system (CRS).Since the mid 1980s, airline CRSs developed into GDSs by gradually expanding their geographical coverage as well as by integrating both horizontally, with other airline systems, and vertically by incorporating the entire range of principals, such as accommodation, car rentals, train and ferry ticketing, entertainment and other provisions. In the early 1990s, GDSs emerged as the major driver of ICTs, as well as the back bone of the tourism industry and the single most important facilitator of ICTs globalisation (Sheldon, 1993). In essence, GDSs matured from their original development as airline CRSs to travel supermar ­kets. Since the late 1990s GDSs have emerged as business in their own right, specialising in travel distribution. 2.2.4 Intermediaries Intermediaries (brokers) play an important role in commerce by providing value-added activities and services to buyers and sellers. The most well-known intermediaries in the physical world are wholesalers and retailers. Traditionally, intermediaries of the travel industry have been outbound and inbound travel agencies and tour operators. However, the Internet restructured the entire touristic value chain, forcing the existing intermediaries to take up the new medium and to develop corresponding business models. 2.2.5 e-Travel agencies ICTs are irreplaceable tools for travel agencies as they provide information and reservation facilities and support the intermediation between consumers and principals. Andreas Papatheodorou – (2006) Travel agencies operate various reservation systems, which mainly enable them to check availability and make reservations for tourism products. Until recently GDSs have been critical for business travel agencies to access information and make reservations on scheduled airlines, hotel chains, car rentals and a variety of ancillary services. GDSs help construct complicated itineraries, while  they provide up-to-date schedules, prices and availability information, as well as an effective reservation method. In addition, they offered internal management modules integrating the â€Å"back office† (accounting, commission monitor, personnel) and â€Å"front office† (customers’ history, itinerary construction, ticketing and communication with suppliers). Multiple tr avel agencies in particular experience more benefits by achieving better coordination and control between their remote branches and headquarters. Transactions can provide invaluable data for financial and operational control as well as for marketing research, which can analyze the market fluc ­tuations and improve tactical decisions Hotels use ICTs in order to improve their operations, manage their inventory and maximise their profitability. Their systems facilitate both in-house management and distribution through electronic media. ‘Property management systems (PMSs)’ coordinate front office, sales, planning and operational functions by administrating reservations and managing the hotel inventory. Moreover, PMSs integrate the â€Å"back† and â€Å"front† of the house management and improve general administration functions such as accounting and finance; marketing research and planning; forecasting and yield management; payroll and personnel; and purchasing. Understandably, hotel chains gain more benefits from PMSs, as they can introduce a unified system for planning, budgeting and controlling and coordinating their properties centrally. Hotels also utilise ICTs and the Internet extensively for their distribution and marketing func ­tions. Global presence is essential in order to enable both individual customers and the travel trade to access accurate information on availability and to provide easy, efficient, inexpensive and reliable ways of making and confirming reservations. Although Central Reservation Offices (CROs) introduced central reservations in the 1970s, it was not until the expansion of airline CRSs and the recent ICT developments that forced hotels to develop hotel CRSs in order to expand their distribution, improve efficiency, facilitate control, empower yield management, reduce labour costs and enable rapid response time to both customers and management re ­quests. Following the development of hotel CRSs by most chains, the issue of interconnectivity with other CRSs and the Internet emerged.This reduces both set-up and reservation costs, whilst facilitates res ­ervations through several distribution channels 2.3 Tourism in Zimbabwe In the past, tourism contributed significantly to the GDP of Zimbabwe, and created many employment and business opportunities for locals in the 1990s. But it has faced a great decline since 2000. A number of Zimbabwean tourist attractions are marketed online by South African companies and they have created an impression to some international tourists that they are located in South Africa. E-tourism has always seemed like a no-brainer for Zimbabwe, as money can be paid direct to hotels and suppliers. But obstacles like the lack of access to communication in remote areas, uncertain electricity availability, high cost of bandwidth, the lack of integrated, real-time reservation systems and local online payment gateways have thus far stymied progress. However, with the arrival of voice and data-oriented telecommunications in some remote tourist areas, there is more access to information via websites by foreign tourists looking for a good holiday resort. In other parts of Africa, arrival o f cheaper bandwidth has lessened the barriers to communication and the world’s Online Travel Agencies like Expedia are showing a real interest in the continent. Ten years ago no-one was talking about online tourism. The tourism trade tended to focus on going to big trade events like World Tourism Markets, with brochures and doing support advertising in key markets. The travel agents tended to suggest where people went and to some extent picked the destinations. As a result, a great deal of the revenues went to large, international hotel chains and not much of the money was retained locally. According to The Zimbabwean (22 June 2011) 56% of travel globally is booked online and the rise of the Online Travel Agents has been unstoppable. These OTAs, as they are known in the trade, include Expedia, Travelocity, Lastminute.com and Bookings.com – who have significant market share in Africa. Expedia has actually opened an office to focus on Africa. It goes on to say In 2005, less than 2% of tourism revenues in Africa came from online booking. In 2010, buoyed by the World Cup, that percentage rose to 5% and looks set to go to somewhere between 15-20% by 2016. The World Cup may have been a one-off boost but it accelerated the growth of online tourism in South Africa. 50% of Americans read an online review before booking internationally and that’s usually  either Trip Advisor or Facebook. (Trip Advisor is now owned by Expedia). Most in ternational travellers have credit cards and increasingly expect to be able to book online for anything from the smallest travel lodge to the largest hotel chain. So what are the barriers? The missing piece was e-commerce. There used to be no route for doing online transactions in other countries in Africa including Zimbabwe. Online distribution by the OTAs requires a reservation system that offers real-time availability. OTAs won’t do business with you unless you have that. In Zimbabwe there are few tourist resorts offering e-commerce reservation and booking services. Shearwater Adventures in Victoria Falls offer online booking and payment services, which have attracted a large number of tourists over the years. The second missing piece was the ability and tools to do online marketing. The companies needed marketing skills, especially with social media. Today’s tourist wants to hear from other travellers (through Facebook and Trip Advisor) and are not that interested in what the hotel has to say. For example, hotel chains Africa Sun and Cresta Hotels have invested in websites and Facebook groups where reviews are easily accessible to prospective tourists. Now that the data oriented communication and cheaper bandwidth is slowly becoming available throughout the country, telcos and ISPs need to focus specifically on those industry sectors that are most likely to make the online transition fastest. It must be possible in the near future for a herita ge site in Binga to be marketed online to the world and attract visitors. 3. Research Methodology To fulfil the objectives of this research a number of methods were used. Both primary and secondary data were therefore essential. Given the dynamic nature of the subject area, multiple primary research approaches were adopted, including both qualitative and quantitative methods (Phillip, 1998). Bryman (1998) explains that the two methods are complementary rather than competing, especially for exploratory research. The researcher made use of the internet and some library books to carry out the research and establish the solutions to the research objectives .First a qualitative approach was adopted in order to enable the appreciation of all aspects of the subject and to develop a set of the most critical variables  to be included afterwards into a questionnaire. The main objective was to objectively establish the level of eCommerce and the on-line representation of Zimbabwean tourism. The second stage involved semi-structured interviews aimed to elicit critical issues and to explore the key factors that determine the development of eTourism in Zimbabwe. In-depth interviews are considered as the most appropriate method to obtain information about perceptions, attitudes and beliefs. Judgmental sampling was employed and interviewees were selected as pioneers in eTourism in Zimbabwe, as determined by their online presence assessed in the previous phase of the research. Owners and marketing managers of organisations that run innovative web sites, as demonstrated by the methods used to interact with their clientele, were targeted and an interview was requested. The sample was chosen to include interviewees who would be informed, reflecting their particular experience and outlook on the research area. Twenty five telephone contacts were made and 28 interviews were finally conducted, which resulted in a 51% response rate .The reasearcher also made use of the questionnaires. The questionnaires designed by the researcher had both open ended questions thus allowing a respondent to fully express the answer and closed questions which only provided simple choice of answer such as yes or no. Questionnaires were used by the researcher because they saved time and they were an inexpensive way of surveying a cross section of people. Questionnaires allowed the researcher to guide the respondent along the lines regarding the topic under study and responses obtained from closed ended questions are easy to analyze. Questionnaires allowed the respondents to give freely the confidential information since the respondents were not required to disclose their identity. The researcher favoured the use of questionnaires because the analysis of data from close-ended question was easy. However data collection through the use of questionnaires required a significant commitment, expertise, time and material resources. The researcher also noted that questionnaires were highly inflexible as they gave no room to rephrase questions, furthermore, some questions remained unanswered and it affected the research findings. The researcher used simple wording in the questionnaires so that the respondents would not fail to understand the questions, that is, the researcher used simple wording to elaborate the meanings of what was being asked and required. The researcher also used face to face interviews. The researcher employed structured interviews to obtain detailed and specific information from the Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Mr Mzembi. The questions presented to the Minister sought to determine the factors affecting adoption of ICTs in Zimbabwean hotel and also how far Zimbabwean hotels are in terms of adoption of ICTs. The interview also sought to discover challenges to implementing ICTs and compliance at different hotels. The interview process proved time consuming and required persistence since the honourable Minister was a busy person and he was not easily available. The actual interview session had a length of 15 minutes due to the Minister’s busy schedule. To avoid inconveniences, an appointment via e-mail and telephone call prior to interviewing visit was made. Goodman (2003) states that certain biases exist due to the tendency by the interviewer to ask wrong questions and be supplied with answers he expects to get. The researcher eliminated such errors by avoiding leading questions and taking a listener approach instead of providing suggestions. Probing was only applied as a means of seeking clarifications. This technique was used because interviews are highly flexible and the researcher was able to rephrase the questions to make the respondent understand better. Dennis (2003), states that an interview is whereby the researcher and the respondents discuss verbally with each other either face to face, over the phone or over the internet. Interviews allow probing on open ended questions, clarifications on ambiguous questions and sequencing of questions is easily changed. However, the researcher noted that interviews were costly to run in terms of money and they are time consuming because the interviewee was a busy person hence the need of an appointment and the need of a telephone call reminding the interviewee about the appointment before the  time. The researcher also noted that the interview failed to give anonymity to the respondent, hence, there was a greater chance of being given biased information. RESULTS Eight hotels participated in the survey Meikles hotel, Holiday inn (Bulawayo), Victoria falls, Regency Fairmile, Kadoma hotel, Midlands hotel. At the outset the author quotes from a number of previous reports, which indicate that ICT has not been implemented effectively in the hospitality industry Evidence from the literature review has shown that there are a number of factors, which affect technology adoption. These factors include organisational readiness, external pressure, internal expertise, support of owner or manager, user participation, efficient and effective use of any external expertise. The barriers which were uncovered by the research: IT management training, dependency on outside experts and size and scale of enterprise are all directly related to the ‘other’ factors which influence ICT adoption. The level of significance of these barriers varies between the tourism sub-sectors surveyed. This study has added new knowledge in terms of the significance of a n umber of further barriers to ICT adoption. They include peripheral or rural location, security concerns, cost issues, lack of capital, and personal background of the owner manager. A closer analysis of findings has revealed that although technology is available, some of it is obsolete or not necessarily functional. Hotels possessed various outdated versions of software packages which did not seem to serve them well. . The mode of Internet bookings is an important determinant of their success. A lot of Internet booking systems generates a booking in email format rather than integrating into the hotel’s reservation system online. This obviously limits the usefulness of these systems. DISCUSSION The adoption of ICTs at Meikles Hotel is proving to be growing fast; this was noted by the stakeholder preparedness to harness it. Meikles hotel being a  five star hotel recognised internationally, this pushes them to move along with technological changes. Meikles hotel is interested in improving in their service provision through the use of e-commerce, and the results of this study show that this is being done at a fast pace. The top management at Meikles hotel are quite literate hence the adoption of ICT is faster compared to other hotels .The C.E.O is a holder of an honours degree in Computer science .Although the use of ICTs has not yet revolutionalised Meikles Hotel’s service delivery; it has changed how some services such as bookings are being done. Meikles hotel has a website developed and maintained by an inhouse programmer .Their website is user friendly and they have all the information that one needs about the hotel. Meikles hotel started offering wireless network services to guest in 2006.They use Fidelio management system which integrates all the information from the reservations, banqueting, finance departments and the restaurants. They use point of sale systems. CONCLUSION It can be noted that the adoption of ICTs at Meikles Hotel is proving to be growing fast and it has been done to a very large extent. Although the use of ICTs has not yet revolutionalised Meikles Hotel’s service delivery; it has changed how some services such as bookings are being done. References Buhalis, D (1998), â€Å"Strategic Use of Information Technologies in the Tourism Industry†, Tourism Management, Vol.19, pp.409-421. Connolly D. J and Olsen M. D(2000) â€Å"An Environmental Assessment of How Technology is reshaping the Hospitality Sector†, Tourism and Hospitality Research, Vol.3 (1), pp.73 to93. Cooper, C., Fletcher, J., Gilbert, D and Wanhill, S (1998) Tourism Principles and Practice, Pearson, Essex. Hoontrakul and Sahadev (2005*) â€Å"Determinants of E-commerce Usage in the Hotel Buhalis, D. (1997) Information technologies as a strategic tool for economic, cultural and environmental benefits enhancement of tourism at destination regions. Progress in Tourism and Hospitality Research, 3 (1), 71-93. Buhalis, D. (2003). eTourism: Information Technology for Strategic Tourism Management. London, UK: Pearson (Financial Times/Prentice Hall). Morrison, A., Taylor, S., Morrison, A., and Morrison, A. (1999) Marketing small hotels on the world web 2 (2), 97–113. O’Connor, P. (2000) Using Computers in Hospitality, 2nd edition. London: Cassell. Peacock, M. (1995) Information Technology in Hospitality. London: Cassell. O’Connor, P. and Frew, A. (2000) Evaluating electronic channels of distribution in the hotel sector: a Delphi study. Information Technology and Tourism, 3 (3/4), 177–193. O’Connor, P. and Horan, P. (1999) An analysis of web reservations facilities in the top 50 international hotel chains. International Journal of Hospitality Information Technology, 1 (1), 77–87.

Poverty in Botswana Essay

Poverty is defined either in relative or absolute terms. According to Datta, 1995: 99, relative poverty is the deprivation in comparison to the living standards of other people who are the majority. On the other hand, absolute poverty refers to lack of minimum resources to maintain a minimum standard of living. The statistical measures used by the governments conceal so much about poverty, its extent, victims, and even the distribution. This is because mostly it is seen in economic terms such as Gross National Product or the per capita income which has been employed as the real indicator of social welfare. However it has been noticed that this method of measurement is concealing a great deal of information on poverty e. g. the internal variation in the progress in economic development by different groups in the population. Since Botswana achieved self governance in the 1966, it has experienced rapid economic growth; poverty in the rural areas has persisted over these years. There has also been brisk development to show in terms of infrastructure, education and health development. Botswana just like any other African country is still considered a third world country hence the endemic poverty has not escaped this southern African state considered to be having huge economic growth annually. Even though significant progress has been made in the last two decades in terms of economic growth, i. e. per capita gross domestic product increasing from 1,600 dollars in 1980 to nearly 10, 000 dollars today, most analysts argue that there is slim chances of the country halving the number of people living on less than a dollar a day by 2015. According to the household survey done in the country in 2002/2003 the unemployment rate was 23. 8 percent. It also indicated that income inequality in Botswana also increased between 1987 and 2003 hence analyst argue that poverty is not only quite widespread but also deeply rooted because it has persisted despite growth. However according to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), 47% of the populations live below the poverty line, that is, they live on less than one dollar a day. Further half of female headed households live on less than one dollar a day (Challenges 2006-7: Poverty in Botswana persists despite growth). This UNDP survey also indicate that the poorest 20% of the population get a merely 4% of the national income while the 20% richest share a whooping 60 percent of the total national income. According to McFarlan M in his paper;’ The Micro economic impact of HIV/AIDS in Botswana’, this statistics shows the high level of inequality in Botswana. That the urban- rural divide intensifies the already rampant inequality. The further statistics shows that four out of five members of a household still depend on the income from a family member in urban and that about one-fifth of rural households do not have any income source that could be recorded (MacFarlan M et al 2001) Women education Poverty does not necessarily refer to lack of possessions or income, experts argue that it also refer to lack of skills, knowledge, understanding and empowerment. It also refers to as a household’s financial inability to meet its basic nutritional, education and shelter needs (UNICEF, 1993: 77). Poverty hence tend to be more severe in particular groups in a society like low income groups, female- headed households, rural communities who cannot access social amenities like schools. Poverty, women and lack of education has been reported in many parts of the world, both in developed and developing countries. These uneducated female household heads are relatively younger and poorer. With lack of information and having high dependency burden, the circle of poverty continues. Poverty in Botswana has remained mainly a rural phenomenon whose bulk population are women. The female headed households are highly affected. This trend has been a cycle where female- headed house holds whose offspring are female end up heading their own households with inherited poverty. Botswana’s rural women lack access to economic opportunities and resources. Women also have no access to opportunities in economic resource exploitations. They lack access to agricultural land and other resources like technology, employment and credit. Whenever a poverty alleviation program fails in the village, it is women who feel the pinch because they form the bulk of those who depend wholly in agriculture.

Biography of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

I turned this world upside down, a young novel by Martin Luther King (1). A day when Martin Luther saw a dream, the world would be different, we promised to be free. Until he informed the world, this dream is rising. He was born in Atlanta's house on Tuesday, January 15, 1929. Martin was the eldest son, but he has sisters named Kristen. His parents were Martin Luther King Sr. and King Williams of Alberta. When he is young, he can sing and play baseball hymen. Biography of Martin Luther King (Jr.) (15th January 1929 - 4th April 1968) was born in Michael Luther King, his name has been changed as follows. Martin. His grandfather served as pastor of a pastor of Ebenezer Baptist church in Atlanta from 1914 to 1931. Since then, his father has served, and from 1960 until he died, Martin Luther served as a common pastor. - Biography of Martin Luther King, Jr Martin Luther King, Jr. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, January 15, 1929. His parents are Martin Luther King, Senior. And Alberta Williams Ki ng. His father is an important member of the black community in Atlanta and also the minister of the Baptist church. His family emphasized reliable reliance on the need for education. Kim joined a local public school that was isolated and devoted to learning. At the age of 15, Kim studied at the Morehouse University and graduated in 1948. Dr. Martin Luther King, a biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, was born on January 15, 1929 (9). Martin Luther King Jr. began attending a 3 year old kindergarten in 1932 (3 years old). A year after I went to elementary school, after Martin Luther King declined school, I learned that his second grade teacher was 5 years old. - During the civil rights movement of the 1960s, some black and white supporters played a courageous role. The most prominent and long-term activist of the African-American rights movement is Martin Luther King Jr., and Kim's idea stimulated the ideal perspective of equality. Martin Luther King Jr. made a strong speech by fighti ng for equality, performing a parade, maintaining a positive attitude in the face of adversity Martin Luther King Jr., Martin Luther King Jr. not only explains the purpose but also expresses a distinctive style. He is an inspiring speaker, an inspiring leader. Inspired by the speech and action, Dr. Martin Luther King stimulated his importance in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. - On April 22, 1967, James Earl Ray (James Earl Ray) escaped from prison in Missouri and was convicted of armed robbery on April 22, 1967. Lei hatred of black population and support for Nazism has contributed his right to assassinate secretly among pacifist leader Martin Luther King (Martin Luther King, Jr.). In times, Martin Luther King (Martin Luther King, Jr.), a powerful political, religious belief, his latent existence as Martin Luther King (Martin Luther King, Jr.) erased, as many people accused him promoting equality between black and white Making a target target Biography of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. January 15, 1929 - April 4, 1968 Biography of Dr. Martin Luther King Nationality of America: American occupation: Civil rights leader Occupation: Minister (religion) Michael King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 It was. Atlanta's grandfather, Adam Daniel Williams (1863 - 1931). He is the second son, Michael King Sr. (1897 - 1984) and Alberta Christine Williams King (1903 - 1974) the first son. Michael Jr. has sister Willie Christine (born in 1927) and his brother Alfred Daniel Williams (b). Martin Luther King Jr., Martin Luther King Jr. not only explains the purpose but also expresses a distinctive style. He is an inspiring speaker, an inspiring leader. Inspired by his wonderful speech and action Dr. Martin Luther King stimulated his importance in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. - On April 22, 1967, James Earl was convicted of armed robbery and fled to Missouri State Prison on April 22, 1967. Hatred for Lei's black group and his support for Nazism have fueled his ri ght to assassinate secretive pacifist leader Martin Luther King (Jr.). At that time, a strong political and religious belief of Martin Luther King (Jr.) made him a potential target. Because many people accused him of promoting equality between African Americans and Caucasians. Biography of Martin Luther King (Jr.) (15th January 1929 - 4th April 1968) was born in Michael Luther King, his name has been changed as follows. Martin. His grandfather served as pastor of a pastor of Ebenezer Baptist church in Atlanta from 1914 to 1931. Since then, his father has served, and from 1960 until he died, Martin Luther served as a common pastor. - Biography of Martin Luther King, Jr Martin Luther King, Jr. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, January 15, 1929. His parents are Martin Luther King, Senior. And Alberta Williams King. His father is an important member of the black community in Atlanta and also the minister of the Baptist church. His family emphasized reliable reliance on the need for education. K im joined a local public school that was isolated and devoted to learning. At the age of 15, Kim studied at the Morehouse University and graduated in 1948.

Accounting for the Substance of Transactions Essay

Accounting for the Substance of Transactions - Essay Example Though giving an account of the economic summary of the activities of the organization is a straightforward job, generally, an effort is made to give better perception of the organization to be presentable to the Shareholders and other stakeholders by inflating the earnings or assets or deflating the liabilities or losses or manipulation of depreciation methods, stock valuation and accounting development expenditure. Here, two factors influence the presentation. The legal provisions and accounting provisions. The presentation which is correct in legal angle may not be founded on sound accounting principles and may vary from the underlying economic reality. The managements, may, therefore, sometimes choose the best and most advantageous of these two options to present the economic substance of the transactions according to their wishes. Certain artificial transactions/combination of transactions undertaken by the organization are such that it is very difficult to assess the net effect the entire exercise. The assessment of net effect of such various activities of the enterprise may be captioned as â€Å"substance† of a transaction. "substance" of a transaction. Assessment of the substance of the transactions is found necessary to provide reliable, fair and accurate information about corporate performance and to ascertain the actual state of affairs of the business organization. The need is felt very seriously as the various distortions in Financial statements are on the increase, among other things, defining the nature of assets and liabilities and inclusion or non-inclusion of such assets and liabilities in Books of Accounts. Such events not only distort the substance of the economic activity of the organization but also fail to project the actual problems faced by the organization, depriving the organization to initiate remedial steps to address the real problems. Accounting reforms comprising provisions for reporting of substance of transactions are therefore, found necessary. Statement of principles of Accounting prescribe the activities that should be reported on in financial statements, the various dimensions of those activities that should be prominently furnished, the features that information should have if it is to be mentioned in the financial statements. The main role of the Statement of principles is to provide conceptual input into the ASB's work on the development and review of accounting standards. The Statement is not, therefore, neither an accounting standard nor does it contain any requirements on how financial statements are to be prepared. The prominent among the principles for reporting the Substance of the Transactions is definition of assets and liabilities, accounting for subsidiary undertakings, and the activities to be excluded from the business organization's financial statements and those to be included, thus setting standards for presentation of Financial statements. Factors like legal requirements, cost-benefit considerations, i ndustry-specific issues, and the desirability of evolutionary change and implementation issues are also covered. Reporting the Substance of Transactions' implies the addition of Application Note G 'Revenue Recognition'. This clears the ambiguity regarding the treatment of revenue and, in particular, the treatment of turnover (as a subset of revenue). This Application Note deals with revenue recognition from the supply of goods or services by a seller to its customers. It sets out basic principles of revenue recognition which should be applied in all cases. It also provides specific guidance for

William Rainey Harpers Influence on the University of Chicago Research Paper

William Rainey Harpers Influence on the University of Chicago - Research Paper Example He was considered an academic prodigy, since he was only fourteen when he enrolled at Yale and it took him only three years to earn a Ph.D. Image 1.- William Rainey Harper Image 2.- Logo of the University of Chicago William Rainey Harper became a full professor of divinity in 1880, after accepting an instructorship in Hebrew Theology at the original University of Chicago, and soon after, in 1886, which was also the university’s final year, he was named president. When the university closed, he went back to Yale, started teaching Semitic languages (Hebrew, Assyrian, Arabic, Aramaic, and Syrian) to graduates, and became an instructor in the divinity school. Harper was the first one to recruit a woman, Alice Palmer Freeman for a dean at the University of Chicago. â€Å"Chicago in its early years was renowned for the opportunities it offered to women as students, faculty and staff. This commitment, however, was exceptional.† (Thelin, 2004. p.143) As a genius when it comes t o organization and an innovative leader, Harper brought American higher education to a higher level, in cooperation with civic leaders and donors in Chicago. William Rainey Harper- An Introduction Harper was born on July 26, 1865 and he died on January 10, 1906. He lived a short life, only 41 year, but he accomplished more that many people do in a much longer life. Always ahead of other people, even in his early life, he was considered a prodigy. He was so advanced that he began with his college preparations at the age of eight. When he was ten, he enrolled in Muskingum College, in New Concord, Ohio. There he studied languages and music. Four years later, after graduating from this college, Harper enrolled in Yale University and completed his postgraduate studies in 1876; it took him only three years to earn his Ph.D. in philology. He worked at various positions at Yale University and Denison University. He became the first president of the University of Chicago and a great contribu tor to the development of the modern university in the United States. A most interesting and inspiring personality, Harper wrote various textbooks and advocated lifelong learning. According to Thelin (2004. p.120), â€Å"Understanding his biography is essential for understanding the modern American university.† William Rainey Harper married Ella Paul Harper in 1875, and soon became a parent of four, three sons and one daughter. The president of the University of Chicago Shortly after being selected to help with the organization in the University of Chicago, at the age of thirty-five (in 1891), Harper was selected as the university’s first president. He took this job very seriously and set standards quite high. Elevating the salaries of the faculty members and, Harper attracted the best scholars to the university. As he was an expert in every area of education, he expected high level of education of his employees. â€Å"Chicago’s William Rainey Harper stands out even in an era of heroic leaders. He became a local hero of sorts, dubbed Chicago’s â€Å"young man in a hurry†Ã¢â‚¬  (Thelin, 2004. p.120) Harper was so well known, locally and nationally, and his influence was so great that the University of Chicago became known as â€Å"Harper’s Bazaar†. William Rainey Harper and the University of Chicago William Rainey Harper was also giving public courses on the Bible, besides lecturing and overseeing journals, a corresponding school, and the printing office. His reputation as a prodigy attracted the attention of John D. Rockefeller who wanted to found a university and was ready to donate generous amounts of money for the cause. Rockefeller, whose aim was to create and endow a

Employee Monitoring Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Employee Monitoring - Essay Example 1). What U.S. employers can do, and what they should do to maintain a productive workplace, may be two different things. The short-term gains of increased security and perceived productivity can lead to long-term losses in employee morale and greater health care costs from stress and injury -- concerns that also have costs associated with them. This paper will examine the issues of employee monitoring, particularly regarding computer and Internet behaviors, to see whether these policies are good for business. Developments in legal thought and workplace application will be tracked from two early and often-cited cases, Shoars v. Epson No. SWC 112749 (Cal. Super. Ct. 1990) and Smyth v. Pillsbury Co., through a recent case that would seemingly demand an employer's duty to monitor in Doe v. XYC Corp NJ. Super., A-2909-04T2. outside the workplace" (Kizza & Ssanyu, in Weckert, 2). As workplace computer and Internet use increase, so does monitoring of those activities. Correspondingly, more software is now available and affordable for employers to monitor everything from e-mail use to downloading activity to keystrokes per hour, which the authors say has made the monitoring behaviors more evasive and intrusive. Sales of e-mail monitoring software alone have jumped from $139 million in 2001 to an estimated $662 million this year, according to International Data Corp. (Wakefield, para. 1). Historically, emplo Historically, employee monitoring evolved from production line supervisors standing over and watching line workers to ensure they remained on task and tally sheets to record work output. In its early days, Ford Motor Co. would send investigators to inspect employees' homes and finances to determine if they were worthy of the company's profit sharing options (Lewis 21). Employers have long been concerned about employees' non-work-related telephone usage, both in terms of time and long distance costs. Video surveillance in work areas has long been a matter of fact, to protect both employer and employee interests. Drug testing became an issue first for public transportation employees in the 1980s and now many companies require pre-employment screening. Credit, criminal record and other background checks and psychological testing are also common, especially during the interview and hiring stages. Author Frederick S. Lane III, in his book The Naked Employee: How Technology is Compromising Workplace Privacy, explains that businesses are knowingly taking a risk when they implement monitoring policies. They are balancing the cost in time and dollars of surveillance and in lowered morale against the potential returns. "The bet is that the investment in increased surveillance will pay off by reducing employee theft and sabotage, increasing productivity, preventing lawsuits, avoiding violent incidents in the workplace, and preventing terrorist attacks" (11). Early computers were hardly worth worrying about, Lane notes. But the advent of Windows technology and the Internet give plenty of diversions, from solitaire games to shopping. Necessary Evil Employers have legitimate concerns for monitoring employees behavior beyond productivity measures. Security issues range from protecting trade secrets to safeguarding confidential customer data. Excessive use, particularly in downloading

Proof read and punctuate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Proof read and punctuate - Essay Example Sharks have long been credited to have survived more than any other species on this planet as they survived the ice age and maintain their balance, but the same animals are today on the verge of their extinction due to massive hunting by humans. About 6 years back, when I was 13 years old, I weighed nearly 100 kg. My father was concerned about my weight and put me in a weight loss camp where I was introduced to sports and eventually developed a love for the same and it helped me to lose 30 kg. From then on I have accustomed myself to play sports daily and the constant fear that I would gain weight goaded me to play more. I began playing street soccer which I found to be a really amazing game. I enjoyed the sport so much that I kept thinking about the team and sometimes even dreamt about the goals I had scored during my sleep. My team friends became closer than my family and we all endured the pain and exhaustion of the sport together. Continuous and fervent practice helped us become the second best team in the street soccer league and three of my friends had already begun to play for teams. One day we were playing with this Egyptian team who had come from Cairo, when I started to show off my tricks and moves specifically in the defense. My teammate Majdi was getting irritated with me as after scoring 2 goals I was no longer concentrating in scoring goals. He was always rough with me and so I just wanted him to feel bad. When he pulled my shirt I ran faster so that the referee would see and when he wanted to tackle me hard I jumped or moved from the ball, thus allowing others to see him and feel disgusted about him. In one instance I got the ball which Saud, my cousin, crossed over from the far right and taking the ball I did this trick while passing Majdi and Hassam, who was the other defense. I then passed the goal keeper and was walking slow as I wanted to go down and push the ball with my head when Majdi came

Management Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Management Communication - Essay Example c. Given your reputation for hiring the coolest cats in town, the big question is why the heck don’t I work there yet? I’m driven, way smarter than average, and would feel right at home in Vegas, baby! d. In addition to being an enthusiastic Zappos’ customer, I am also a customer service professional myself. A brilliant idea came to me last week while I was having yet another satisfying moment with your customer support crew: I want to be part of the team that can create such positive experience for customers. The fourth applicant has the most appealing application message that really attracts attention. The applicant has used words that touch on the current customer service at the company, being a loyal customer, and is already aware of the kind of service required f employees at the company. 2. You like to put applicants at ease right away, so you usually start interviews by asking an offbeat question to break the tension while also prompting the candidate to reveal something about his or her personality and knowledge. Which of these questions would you choose to start an interview? The most appropriate question to start an interview would be the one that aims at determining the level of commitment that an applicant is willing to demonstrate towards the job if selected. For instance, the question (b) suggests a tough task that can either attract negative response, a tactical answer, or completely positive one. 3. Zappos likes employees who can think on their feet, even when faced with outlandish questions and circumstances. Which of these questions would you use to judge a candidate’s ability to grasp a problem and begin developing a solution? a. You are a scientist with the Environmental Protection Agency, specializing in toxic wastes from electronic products. You’re testifying before a congressional committee, and a senator wants to

Enron Corporation Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Enron Corporation - Article Example This proved to be a blatant violation of the accounting rules and eventually led to the mess that resulted in the bankruptcy of Enron and criminal prosecution of several Enron employees. Secondly, Mr. Kenneth Lay held a great deal of responsibility because he spearheaded the overstatement of Enron's income for four years prior to the bankruptcy. This effectively and efficiently led to his conviction for securities fraud, wire fraud and making false and misleading statements. Thirdly, Mr. David Duncan held some of the responsibility because he was aware that there were violations with regards to the rules of bookkeeping and was bounded by the ethics of his profession to report such violations. By not doing this, he was responsible to some degree for the final collapse of Enron. Fourthly, the accounting firm of Arthur Andersen held the responsibility because they were hired as auditors to ensure that the accounting rules were being followed. At any point during the audit, they could ha ve reported the misdoings of the Enron officials. Finally, the stock analysts held some blame because they continued to recommend Enron stocks even after the value of shares in the Enron Corporation fall drastically in late 2001. 2.

Interviewing for the Future Essay Example for Free

Interviewing for the Future Essay Interviewing is considered by many people to be an art. As an adolescent, I never had the chance to interview someone before and it really made me have to expose myself to the world outside of my comfort zone. Being only eighteen years old, I wanted to explore my future career path a little more in depth from somebody who knows the field. I chose to do my interview on someone I admired off campus who works in my field of interest. As a freshman in college, most students don’t know which direction they want to go in, most of them are undeclared. Upon entering CCSU this fall I, too, was undeclared; however, very recently I discovered that I wanted to work in the field of dentistry. I noted that I wanted to talk to an expert, somebody who had been in the field for many years so I could get a concrete grasp on what a day-in-the-life was like. I decided that I wanted to know more on the field and conducted an interview with Lyudmila Adamitskaya, a dental hygienist at Smiles for the Future a pediatric dentist office in Glastonbury, CT. Before I decided to conduct the actual interview, I did some basic background research on Smiles for the Future. I looked at their company website to get a sense of what the atmosphere was like. After I got the general idea of what the pediatric dentistry field was similar too, I brainstormed a variety of questions. I wanted to know what it was like for Lyudmila and what the work environment was like. I had already known quite a bit about the actual field itself, but I wanted to find out things about the pediatric dentistry field that a person couldn’t read about in Chemistry books or through Anatomy lectures. I wanted to discover why she liked her job and what she didn’t like about her job. I desired to know the obstacles she had to overcome and if her expectations were fulfilled from what she had perceived them to be while in college. At first I couldn’t find the right words to put down on paper prior to the interview. From the in class essay we read â€Å"The Art of Interviewing† I took away a central point that really stood out to me, â€Å"Substance is powerful to conduct a meaningful interview† (Foster 1). This quote really jumped off the page for me because it made me think that if I didn’t have the questions I wanted answered, then what was the point of even doing the interview? This point certainly got me to brainstorm for quite a long time to get the right questions. I took away another point from the essay, â€Å"If the interviewer already suspects what content is coming then why conduct the interview?† (Foster 1). This acknowledgement made me really concentrate on questions I could not possibly know the answers to, so that my interview would be meaningful to me and not just a waste of time. I knew that going into the interview, I was going to be nervous but I had no idea what was going to happen. On the afternoon of September 24th, 2012 I walked into the colorful pediatric office of Smiles for the Future in Glastonbury, CT. I anxiously waited until Mrs. Lyudmila Adamitskaya was finished with a small girl who looked as if she were around six or seven years old. I looked around at my surroundings and noticed many toys thrown about the waiting room. Normally, this wouldn’t bother me, I love working with children; however, today seemed different. I couldn’t place what it was that bothered me so much about this but I was abruptly pulled out of my dream-like state when Mrs. Adamitskaya greeted me with a warm and cheery â€Å"Hello!† The first thing I noticed about her was her bright purple scrubs. Her hair was neatly tied back and she had a professional, but friendly, demeanor about her. We shook hands briefly and she invited me to come to the back, into room six. She invited me to sit in the patient’s chair, which was significantly smaller than I was and we shared a brief ice-breaking laugh at the situation. She asked me how old I was and I told her I was eighteen and conducting the interview for my English class. I also told her how I was considering going into the field of pediatric dentistry. Immediately, I saw her face light up and I smiled at how much I could tell just from that simple body language she really enjoyed her job. I opened up the interview with the most basic question I could think of; what made you want to become a dental hygienist? She paused momentarily, trying to search for the right words, a puzzled yet relaxed expression on her face. Finally she stated with an enormous smile, â€Å"I always wanted to work in the medical field or dental field to make a difference in people’s oral and overall health† (Adamitskaya). Just that statement alone told me most of what I needed to know about Mrs. Adamitskaya’s attitude not only towards her patients, but towards all people. The statement told me that she genuinely cared how people were doing and she wanted to make a difference in the community. I nervously looked around the room at small stuffed animals and butterfly wallpaper and asked, â€Å"Do you like your work environment?† Mrs. Adamitskaya looked relieved and a little less under pressure. She quickly stepped back into the upbeat woman I first had seen and said, â€Å"I love my work environment because I get to work with amazing doctors and team members who dedicate their work and knowledge to improve and educate people about oral health† (Adamitskaya). This really perked my interest that she felt so strongly about the field and how much her doctors and co-workers cared for other patients as much as she did. I wanted to know more so I added â€Å"Do you like your job? What’s the best and worst part about your job?† She glanced around, looked at me and smiled. â€Å"I don’t like my job.† She paused, gave me a strange look and continued, â€Å"I love my job! I love it because everything we do is for our patients and it brings positive feedback. It encourages patients to keep coming back. It’s always rewarding to work with patients and make a difference in people’s lives and build relationships. The worst part would be the cost of health insurance for families† (Adamitskaya). I could sense she felt bad about the state of the economy, and briefly went on to discuss with me how â€Å"unfortunate it is that most families struggle to put food on the table at night while balancing family and school life† (Adamitskaya). When I saw how much this bothered her it made me eager to get more information on her personal background and struggles. I was nervous to ask at first, but my inner child’s curiosity got the best of me and I rather excitedly asked â€Å"What obstacles have you had to overcome to get where you are today?† She laughed a little; I’m assuming at how embarrassed I looked, I must’ve been a little flushed because my face felt hot as I waited for an answer. She proudly said, â€Å"Going through my college years, I didn’t speak English until I came to America when I was 22 years old. I was raising two children, working full time for minimum wage at Subway to put myself through school. I was trying to learn English and all the dynamics that go into a dental hygiene program at the same time. There were nights I didn’t sleep, but I did it all to provide a better future for my family† (Adamitskaya). It was at this point in the interview I really felt a huge personal connection with Mrs. Lyudmila Adamitskaya. I told her that I, myself, had been working two jobs and putting myself through college full time and she simply replied with a soft smile, â€Å"All hard work has rewards† (Adamitskaya). After this significant quote, Mrs. Adamitskaya wasn’t just another dental hygienist I was interviewing; she became somebody I truly admired. But I had to know if all that she worked for paid off for her and if in her heart her expectations were fulfilled. I asked, â€Å"Were your expectations fulfilled when you entered your career field from what you thought it would be like in college?† She eagerly answered very quickly, â€Å"Yes! They were fulfilled for certain. I am very pleased with what I have achieved over the last ten years of working as a dental hygienist† (Adamitskaya). When she said that her expectations were fulfilled, it somehow made me feel much more relaxed about the career path I had finally decided I wanted to go with. I then asked her what her opinion was on the industry in terms of job openings for after I completed college. She hesitated; looking almost worried, and said, â€Å"It’s easier to find a part time job rather than a full time position because of the economy, but it is an ever growing field and will always expand† (Adamitskaya). Her words had a way of relaxing me almost instantly. Mrs. Lyudmila Adamitskaya was definitely a woman who I would love to go back to for a second, third or even fourth interview with. She was extremely honest, kind and opened up her office doors to me in a very warm and friendly environment. I thanked her for meeting with me, shook her hand again and told her that I would love to meet with her again in the future to talk about dental hygiene and the wonderful world of pediatric dentistry. She laughed at my humor and said to â€Å"stay in school.† I walked back to my car with a newfound confidence in my ability to interview somebody. What I took away from this experience was not only how to interview a person I wanted to know more about, but how to go with the natural flow of conversation to fulfill my own curiosity. I had tons of questions lined up on paper, but I realized when I got back to my car that I hadn’t asked any of the basic questions I had written on the paper. I found that it was much more natural to talk from what I honestly wanted to know than from what I brainstormed in the midst of cramming all of my homework into one night. I learned that interviewing really isn’t as difficult as it had seemed before. It takes determination as well as a sense of confidence and curiosity in the subject to conduct a successful interview. Interviewing, from this experience, showed me that it’s not just about the answers, but how carefully the questions are tailored to how the person responds to a statement that is made. I learned that interviewing is truly an art form in itself. Work Cited Adamitskaya, Lyudmila. Personal Interview. 24 Sept, 2012. Foster, Linda. â€Å"The Art of Interviewing.† 25 Sept, 2012.

Introduction To Leadership Following And Communication Management Essay

Introduction To Leadership Following And Communication Management Essay Introduction to Leadership Leadership is a very important interpersonal behavior that a managerial position employee or employer should have. What is leadership anyway? The definition of leadership is: Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal. Northouse (2007, p3) There are four main factors in leadership which will greatly affect the quality of an individual to be a leader: Leader As a leader, he must be able to gain the trust from the followers, as nobody else will determine whether the leader is successful or not. In order to gain trust from them, the leader must have a good understanding on who he is, what he know and what he can do. If he failed to be honest to himself, the followers will lack of confidence on him and left uninspired. Followers For a successful leader, he must do his work and know the nature of his every single follower. By doing this, he will be able to have a good understanding of the followers nature, needs, emotions and motivation, as the followers play an important role of getting the job done. Communication Always lead through two-way communication. Feedback will be useful when collecting data and information needed for making decisions. Besides, while receiving feedback or suggestions from the followers, the leader can know what the followers needs and problem. At the same time, it is also consider an act of concerning the welfare of the followers. Situation Every situation that a leader had faced before might be different with another. Therefore, whenever a new situation happens, a leader must observe carefully and use his judgment to decide the best way of solving the situation or else the problem will be still existing and causing more problems. Question A According to Weber (1947), charisma is described as a certain quality of an individual personality, by virtue of which s/he is set apart from the ordinary people and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically, exceptional power or qualities. These are such as are not accessible to the ordinary person, but are regarded as of divine origin or as exemplary, and on the basis of them the individual concerned is treated as a leader. Such leaders have a very charming, persuasive personality about them, whom are skilled at communicating with others and can be very convincing at times. Many leaders are looked on as born naturally with charisma, but it does not mean it cannot be acquired. Charisma is often considered as to be a trait, an internal character which is acquired. However, charisma is an exception, as it is inborn in everyone but at different quantities. But this does not mean the level of inborn charisma is static throughout our lifetime. Developing other characters such as communication and social skills may further enhance ones charisma levels. Charisma also depends on people perception. A person is only charismatic if people feel he or she is charismatic. So, charisma can be acquired. Charisma is not a mandatory requirement to be an effective leader. Many world leaders today do not possess much of charisma, but nonetheless, remain as leaders of their nations. Other factors such as creativity and innovation can drive a leader towards effectiveness. Trust is another factor that can be forged between a leader and follower which leads to a more effective leadership, with the absence of any charisma. Charisma can be considered as an additional boost but not a requirement to become an effective leader as they may have other leadership qualities. Even without charisma, one can still be an effective leader. Question B Charismatic leadership is not the same as transformational leadership. Both of the leadership have a different concept from each other. Charismatic leadership can be defined as people with a great confidence in themselves, having a clear vision of their actions and most importantly, they have their own individual charm, personality or influence over the society. Charismatic leaders are able to know the needs of their supporters. Therefore they can create a vision that will allow everyone to know future will be improved (Awan, 2010). Martin Luther King, Jr. is a good example of a charismatic leader. He is able to include a vision of colour blind society within the Americans value. He inspired the Americans to accept Afro-Americans in the country and give equal treatment to them. On the other hand, transformational leadership is a leadership that helps subordinates to improve themselves and create a better vision for them so that they can become a leader as well. Transformational leaders focus more on motivations, inspirations and encouragements. Besides that, they have good communication skills which allow them to build good relationship with others (Kurnik, 2010). They also appreciate their subordinates efforts, ideas and contributions so that they will continue to work harder. One good example of a transformational leader is Abraham Lincoln. He is one of the greatest presidents of The United States. He had a vision for the country, which is develop the country into a successful country. Sometimes he visited his front lines troops to encourage and motivate them so that they do not lose their spirit. Transformational leadership and transactional leadership are both different types of leadership. In transformational leadership, subordinates are expected to achieve higher than their original goals. However, in transactional leadership, subordinates are motivated at a normal standard level. Transactional leaders also relate rewards that are desired by subordinates with the goals and achievements. Besides that, transactional leaders only provide necessary resources to their subordinates and clarify their expectations. They will only monitor their subordinates from aside but only involved when the performances standard is not met. Other than that, transformational leaders focused on the ends while transactional leaders negotiated over the means (Sir MacGregor Burns, 1978), which means transactional leaders focus on the whole process while transformational only focus on the achievements or results. Question C Culture is briefly described as the group norms, beliefs and values that makes an organizational unique and also, defines its nature of business. Organizational culture, referred as corporate culture in some organization is the system consisting of shared actions, formal rituals, procedures and protocol, values that develops in the organization to act as guidance on how the members should behave. Strong culture refers to an organization that has a deeply shared value system and the norms and beliefs are followed by the members without fail. As a result, it leads to higher level of business performance. Being able to understand one another, they are able to synchronize, improving their efficiency and effectiveness without wasting the organizations time and resources. In addition to that, a stable social system is developed and the need for bureaucratic controls is reduced. Organizational culture would also impede the business progress of an organization, as Fons Trompenaars [1] stated that culture is the way in which a group of people solves problems. Thus, choices to solve the problems and how may vary as the cultures vary in different organizations. Rather, they would agree on other peoples idea but their own. As stated by Bruce M. Tharp, there are four types of organizational cultures that impede business progress. They consist of control, compete, collaborate, and create. Firstly, control or hierarchy culture is the rules and procedures that guide the members to perform their tasks and control their behavior. Strong culture would impede business progress, because members would not respond to any changes in the organization as they adapted to the shared value system. For example, members of the organization are always given extra time to prepare for incoming projects but the new rule (change) enforced states that the extra time is unnecessary and members have to start the projects as soon as they receive them. Next is compete, otherwise referred to as market culture. Fierce competition from other organizations is also another factor, making it harder for the organization to achieve its goal and success in the market. The organization has to be both efficient and effective to provide a strong competition. However, strong culture impedes faster learning and improvement to the organization which could result in losing the business to competitors. Moving on to collaborate, also known as clan culture is to describe the organization as a whole team. By coming together as a team to tackle problems, problems can be solved quickly. However, this would impede business progress by having the same point of views. There are no second or third opinions involved as the members would have the similar mindset and way of thinking. Therefore, the members would agree on the decision without thinking much from a different perspective or comparing opinions. One of the last culture that impede business progress is create/adhocracy culture. Being flexible and innovative is also important in assuring the organizations and business success, as well as being ahead of others. Creativity is also a part of the adhocracy culture. However, the strong culture of sharing the same values and beliefs would prove difficult for members to come up with fresh and innovative ideas. In addition to strong culture, members of the organization are not able to adapt and troubleshoot complex problems. In the end, strong culture impedes the progression of business. Conclusion Leadership is an essential value for managerial person, no matter in which area the person in. Therefore, one must do his best on setting a good example to the followers and trust their ability to complete their work, so the followers will be inspired and always give their best towards the leader or the organization. Even though that theory can understand and memorize easily, one must still put some effort on practicing on it as it cannot be obtained easily like a technical skills. Furthermore, when a person has leadership lies within himself, the followers will believe and respect the decision made by the leader, and thus perform the work efficiently and effectively. In conclusion, the organization will be benefit and the employees will do their best all the time.

Roel of Violence in Edwin A. Abbotts Flatland :: Abbott Flatland Essays

Roel of Violence in Flatland      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Some people turn to violence when something does not go  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     their way, or someone says something they do not agree with. It  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     does not take brains to solve a problem with your fists; it just makes   people look immature, and uneducated. Fighting and violence is  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     more prevalent at Bloomsburg than in many of the students home  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     towns. It seems that people are to busy or to drunk to just sit down   and talk things out like reasonable people.  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Violence plays a major roll in the novel Flatland.   It seems like someone is always disagreeing with someone, and creating a   conflict, as when the square resorts to violence by sending his  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     hardest right angle into a violent collision with the stranger, only   because the square would not let himself be convinced of the  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     mysteries of Spaceland, or if an infant whose angle deviates by half a   degree from the correct angularity is summarily destroyed at birth.   If we destroyed all the mentally retarded people at birth because  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     they have flaws, and are not like everybody else, or if everyone  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     attacked people just because of something they said that we did not   believe--if this happened all the time, we would completely destroy   the world.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚           Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The college scene is really horrible when it comes to violence.   Members of fraternities and sororities are terrible at staying calm,   and controlling their temper, because of alcohol, and other drugs.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     When a person drinks he becomes this monster of violence, a  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     fighting machine. People lose all senses of right and wrong when  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     they have the beer muscles on. A slight bump of the arm at a party  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     can trip the switch of a drunk, violent person. Even the weakest  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     person can experience this amazing feeling of power if she drinks  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     excessive amounts of alcohol. In small towns about the only  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     violence there is to see is in the bars, and taverns. Usually it is the   uneducated, lower-class people just blowing off a little steam. Life   in a small town is for the most part simple.

Invisible Race and Gender in Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison Essay

In Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, the unnamed narrator shows us through the use motifs and symbols how racism and sexism negatively affect the social class and individual identity of the oppressed people. Throughout the novel, the African American narrator tells us the story of his journey to find success in life which is sabotaged by the white-dominated society in which he lives in. Along his journey, we are also shown how the patriarchy oppresses all of the women in the novel through the narrator’s encounters with them. One of the major motifs in Invisible Man is blindness. The first time we’re shown blindness in the novel is at the battle royal. The blindfolds that all of the contestants wear symbolize how the black society is blind to the way white society is still belittling them, despite the abolishment of slavery. When he arrives at the battle, the narrator says â€Å"I was told that since I was to be there anyway I might as well take part in the battle royal to be fought by some of my schoolmates as part of the entertainment† (Ellison 17). Although, the white men asked him to come to the battle royal in order to deliver his graduation speech, they force him to participate in the battle royal, where the white men make young black men fight each other as a form of entertainment for them. When the black men put their blindfolds on to fight in this battle, they are blind, both figuratively and literally. They can't see the people they are fighting against, just as they can't see how the white men are exploiting them for their own pleasure. Shelly Jarenski claims â€Å"the Battle Royal establishes the relationship between white power, male power, and (hetero)sexual power, the â€Å"self-grounding presumptions† of dominant subjectivity† ... ... Jerilyn, and Ellen Silber. Women in Literature: Reading Through the Lens of a Gender. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2003. Print. Butler, Robert. "Ralph Ellison: A Biography." African American Review 42.3/4 (2008): 759. Biography Reference Bank (H.W. Wilson). Web. 27 Nov. 2015. Jarenski, Shelly. "Invisibility Embraced: The Abject As A Site Of Agency In Ellison's "Invisible Man.." Melus 35.4 (2010): 85-109. Academic Search Premier. Web. 27 Nov. 2015. Johns, Gillian. "Jim Trueblood And His Critic-Readers: Ralph Ellison's Rhetoric Of Dramatic Irony And Tall Humor In The Mid-Century American Literary Public Sphere." Texas Studies In Literature & Language 49.3 (2007): 230. Biography Reference Bank (H.W. Wilson). Web. 27 Nov. 2015. Dickstein, Morris. "Ralph Ellison, Race, And American Culture." Raritan 18.4 (1999): 30. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 27 Nov. 2015.

Peyote Information :: essays research papers fc

Just a Drug? Throughout our entire lives we have always been told that drugs are bad. They have terrible consequences on our bodies, and can cause us to do things that we wouldn’t normally consent to do in a sober state. Drugs can have adverse and varying effects on people, but no matter what the drug is we have been made to believe that its use is bad. What if a drug was more than just a way to escape reality, or to feel good? Peyote is a drug that has had more than just physical use and meaning to people for over 400 years. It is used as a spiritual catalyst by many Native Americans, and is believed by them to cause a direct psychic link to God. People around the country have varying views on peyote use, but who can say that it is bad? If the drug does have bad effects on the body, Native Americans have surely accepted that as a reasonable tradeoff for the spiritual journey peyote brings. So is peyote as a drug, or it’s use in Native American religion, bad?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In order to understand and base an opinion on a religion that is centralized around a drug, you must first understand the drug itself. Peyote is a small, round cactus that grows in the southern US and Mexico. Rather than spines or spikes, peyote has fuzzy tufts that stuck out from it’s edges. Only about an inch of the cactus is viewable above ground, with the majority of it being the deeply buried, carrot-like root structure. The small portion that is above ground is harvested, and is referred to as the peyote â€Å"button†. It is consumed either freshly cut, or dried, and has some extreme effects on the body.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The effects of peyote are quite strong, and cause an array of feelings and emotional perceptions. According to www.xs4all.nl; â€Å"†¦ There is a feeling of strange intoxication and shifting consciousness with minor perceptual changes. There may also be strong physical effects, including respiratory pressure, muscle tension (especially face and neck muscles), and queasiness or possible nausea†¦ After this the state of altered consciousness begins to manifest itself†¦..among the possible occurences are feelings of inner tranquility, oneness with life, heightened awareness, and rapid thought flow†¦these effects will deepen and become more visual. Colors may become more intense. Halos and auras may appear about things. Objects

Meaning of life essay Essay

?â€Å"You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life† (Camus). If you spend your whole life searching for one thing you will waste your life and it will only take a few moments for time to pass you by. The meaning of life is nonexistent and imponderable. ?â€Å"The meaning of life is contained in every single expression of life. It is present in the infinity of forms and phenomena that exist in all of creation† (Jackson). The meaning of life is simply the way you view it. Like religion everyone has different philosophies and opinions and only those who give life a meaning have the true understanding of the meaning of life. My Opinion on the Meaning of Life I believe the meaning of life is to give life a meaning, because there truly is no meaning otherwise. I believe everyone adds their own meaning to life. The meaning of life is never universal, never complex. I believe the meaning of life should be simple and potentially whatever we want it to be. I do what I do because I want to. It’s that simple for me; I do it because it means something to me. â€Å"Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can† (Kaye). I believe this quote is saying that you should give life your all and do whatever it takes to make your life the way you want it. This is saying someone should do what you believe the philosophy of your life is. Many people go about their lives searching for the meaning of life and how it applies to them but in reality they will waste their lives away looking for something that does not exist. â€Å"There is not one big cosmic meaning for all; there is only the meaning we each give to our life, an individual meaning, an individual plot, like an individual novel, a book for each person† (Nin). â€Å"Life has no meaning. Each of us has meaning and we bring it to life. It is a waste to be asking the question when you are the answer† (Campbell). This is saying how we bring the meaning to life and our thoughts and ideas on what we believe life is and should be. I do not believe in the idea of there being one specific meaning but millions for each and every soul around the earth. Various populations will all agree to disagree about their views but in retrospect you realize that everyone is right. Everyone gives their own meaning to the idea. Purposes and meanings will change, but the overall meaning to life, that there is no true meaning, will always stay the same. I believe the meaning of life is to give life a meaning. Works Cited ?†Albert Camus Quote. † BrainyQuote. Xplore. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. . ?†Anais Nin Quote. † BrainyQuote. Xplore. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. ?†Danny Kaye Quote. † BrainyQuote. Xplore. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. . ?†Michael Jackson Quote. † BrainyQuote. Xplore. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. .

Public health Essay

The difference in the roles of the public health nurse and the community health nurse lie not in the types of care offered but in the level at which this care is offered to patients. The public health nurse provides care to individuals or to the members of a family. The community health nurse, on the other hand, provides on-going care and tips to a wider base of persons within a community. The goal of the public health nurse is to promote the wellness of the persons that reside within a community, so this role is often confused with that of the community health nurse. In fact, in many regions and countries, the terms are used interchangeably. However, while the role of the public health nurse is to identify and deal with distinct illnesses being faced by persons at a given time, community health is concerned with the identifying issues in the physical and social environment that may affect the etiology of disease. The community health nurse works to educate the public regarding any such issues found to be of medical concern rather than merely to treat specific people with specific illnesses (Lundy & James, 2001).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is often the case, however, that the role of public health nursing is contained within that of community health nursing. One particular definition of community health nursing gives its role as promoting and preserving health within a given population through education and the integration â€Å"of skills relevant to both nursing and public health† (Lundy & James, 2001, p. 874). Another definition demonstrating this integration of public health nurse’s role into that of the community health nurse is found in a journal by the ACHNE. It states that â€Å"Community health nursing is a synthesis of nursing theory and public health theory applied to promoting and preserving the health of populations† (qtd. in 2001, p. 874). It can therefore be seen that community health nursing extends beyond simply promoting prevention and good health practices; it also includes some measures taken by nurses toward ameliorating the effects of diseases being suffered by individuals in a given instance. This incorporates the role of the public health nurse. Therefore, the main difference between the two still appears to be the level at which the care is offered to the members of a population. Reference Lundy, K. S. & S. James. (2001). Community health nursing: caring for the public’s health.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sudbury: Jones & Bartlett.

Why I Want to Become a Radiologic Technologist

I would like to know if this essay is okay. Please give me some feed back. I wrote the letter double space. Should it be single space? I also have my name and the desired program on the top left hand. I am not a great writer and my grammar sucks. My Purpose in Life It is not hard to write about why I want to be a radiographer. Some people may tend to sit in front of the screen thinking for minutes or hours to write the first sentence. It was simple for me I want to help people. Throughout my life, I was always interested in helping people and fascinated with the medical field. I was not certain in what I wanted to do in the medical field, but I knew whatever it was it was going to make me a better person. A few years back I was in a car accident and injured my back. I had an MRI and some basic x-rays done. While in the care of these highly trained and friendly technicians, I came to realize this is what I wanted to do. I believe that our soul purpose in life is to help others. Since my car accident, I realized how I could accomplish my main goal in life. I can help people by being a radiographer. It may sound a little cliched my story, but it is the truth. Since I have been attending college I thought about being a nurse then a dental hygienist, but I never had that feeling that most people get when something is right. The feeling when you find that special or right thing. Like buying a house, car, or even finding that special someone. The sensation is a warm enthusiasm feeling that consumes the heart. It is a feeling that takes all control of all emotions. When I realized and was introduce into the field, I knew it was love at first sight. I wanted to know more about radiology. Before I joined the military, I did some observation in the E. R. in a hospital on Long Island, New York. I observed and spoke to a few radiology technicians and the more I discovered about the field the more I knew it was for me. I enjoy being active and being on my feet. In addition, it is very physical and I enjoy having a job that can keep me in shape and is not lways putting me behind the desk. After I left the military, I moved down to Fl to be closer to my family. I miss my family from all those days away from either being in another state or from being deployed. I was looking into colleges that provide a radiology program and only found University of Central Florida and Valencia Community College. I am currently attending Valencia Community college and taking classes to get into their radiology prog ram. I started to do volunteer work at Florida hospital. While volunteering I was introduce to a few radiology technicians. Before long, I found out that Florida Hospital is a teaching hospital. They gave me information and I talked to a few students that are in the program. They told me that their experience in Florida Hospital is great and that the teachers are phenomenal. Also being a Christian I thought it would be a great opportunity to learn more about my religion. Also, I feel that being in a Christian institution I can better understand people and life. I know that being a radiographer is challenging and demanding both physically and mentally. I accept the challenge because challenges are what make us who we are. When overcoming any challenges it gives me a sense of accomplishment and gives me more self-confidence that I can do much more. I know someday I will be a radiographer because I am determined and very focus on accomplishing my goal, my dream. I am outgoing and big on teamwork. I work hard and take pride in what I do and what I believe in. I just hope that I can inspire people as those friendly radiographers inspired me.