A Strategic Framework for Customer Relationship Management

A Strategic Framework for Customer Relationship Management Introduction: This article explores the plethora of literature available on CRM and relationship marketing and emphasizes the need for a single, process-based framework that helps in making a comprehensive CRM strategy followed by its successful implementation. The objective is to highlight CRM’s role in enhancing customer value and, in turn the shareholder value.Various CRM and marketing experts, who provide their views in the article, emphasize the need for a cross-functional, process-oriented approach which identifies three alternative perspectives of CRM within a holistic organizational context. They try to identify five key cross-functional CRM processes starting from a strategy development process, followed by value creation process, multichannel integration process, an information management process, and in the end performance assessment process.Based on these 5 pillars, they put forward a new conceptual framewo rk specifying the roles and functions associated with each element in the framework. Summary: CRM is a strategic approach that is concerned with creating improved shareholder value through the development of appropriate relationships with key customers and customer segments. There is a need to develop relationship marketing strategies and IT architecture to create profitable, long-term relationships with customers and other key stakeholders.The article is organized mainly in three parts. Firstly, it explores the three alternative perspectives of CRM. Secondly, it considers the need for a cross-functional process-based approach to CRM where the strategists develop criteria for process selection and identify the five key CRM processes. Next, they propose a strategic conceptual framework that is constructed of these five processes followed by the examination of the components of each process. Hence, CRM can be defined with three perspectives forming a continuum.At one corner is the nar rowly and tactically defined particular technology solution, followed by wide-ranging technology (customer oriented IT and Internet), and customer centric approach (holistic approach emphasizing creation of shareholder value) as we move towards right at the other end of the continuum. Processes are the backbone of any initiative or a framework. Absence of a strategic framework for CRM is one reason for the disappointing results associated with many CRM initiatives.The strategic perspective starts with reviewing the following four process selection criteria for marketing and business processes which are now augmented by 2 new additional suggestions. 1)The processes should comprise a small set that addresses tasks critical to the achievement of an organization’s goals. 2)Each process should contribute to the value creation process. 3) Each process should be at a strategic or macro level. 4)The processes need to manifest clear interrelationships. 5) New: Each process should be c ross functional in nature. 6)New.Each process would be considered by experienced practitioners as being both logical. The refining of CRM strategy can start with the interaction research as interaction and communication play a crucial role in the various stages of research. It consists of interaction with various executives, meetings and group discussion with emphasis on testing concepts, new ideas, and results. On the other hand, the process identification and CRM framework creation begins with identification of generic CRM processes which are used by an expert panel of experienced CRM executives.The resultant five generic processes are: the strategy development process, the value creation process, the multichannel integration process, the information management process, and finally the performance assessment process. These five key generic CRM processes help form a preliminary conceptual framework which is continuously improved for better business results and increased share value . Next are the business/customer strategy and the value creation processes.The business strategy process can commence with a review of a company’s vision and its relation to the CRM model. It is followed by the review of the industrial and competitive environment. Here the traditional industry analysis is augmented by more contemporary approaches for deeper environmental analysis and the understanding the impact of disruptive technologies. Customer strategy on the other hand, deals with CRM perspective which requires a cross functional approach, especially when different departments are involved in strategy development.Other important facets are information management process and performance assessment. Information management is concerned with the collection, integration and use of customer data and information from all processes. It involves managing assets like the data repository, IT systems and analysis tools. Data repository provides a corporate memory of all customers. Systems include the organization’s computer hardware, software, middleware IT, front office and back office applications like SFA and call center management.Lastly, analysis tools support many activities involved in interfacing directly with customers with technologies like data mining. The article also talks about Multichannel Integration process, which takes into account the combinations of different channels with customer interaction perspective. It takes the outputs of the business strategy and value creation processes and translates them into value-adding activities with customers. It ensures that the customer experiences remains highly positive within those channels. Analysis:Even though, there has been enough emphasis on the cross-functional, process-based CRM strategy framework that aims to help companies, it is mostly based on large industrial companies and not the small and medium sized companies. I agree with the views that the size and complexity of such enterpris es are most likely to post big CRM challenges, but small scale initiatives should be considered as well. I concur with objective of the article which deals with a process-based conceptual framework and cross functional approach for strategic CRM model.Also, I agree with argument which has been put forward again and again in the article for the need of an acceptable definition that encompasses all facets. The framework proposed in the article is just a beginner’s model, yet a potentially useful starting point for the development of improved insight into these aspects of CRM theory. But according to me, because of the changing scenarios and fickle nature of market there is still a need for delimiting the domain, agreeing on a definition for CRM, and building a research agenda. I would like to add that certainly there is a need for measure and control the CRM performance.But, at the same time traditional approach for performance measurement systems will not be suitable for cross functional CRM. There have been new initiatives like balanced scorecard which enables a wide range of metrics designs. It consists of shareholder results and performance monitoring. Ideally, it should reflect the performance standards necessary across the five major processes to ensure that CRM activities are planned and practiced effectively and that a feedback loop exists to maximize performance improvement and organizational learning.The article also explores the multiple channels, such as field sales forces, Internet, direct mail, telephony, traditional television, e-commerce and m-commerce, including e-mail to interact with its customers. For example, making use of e-commerce opportunities and the fundamental economic characteristics of the Internet can enable a much deeper level of segmentation granularity than is affordable in most other channels. With the advent of Internet, interactive digital television, mobile telephony and text messaging, wireless application protocol, and 3G mobile services can be utilized in this field.The challenge lies in the ability of strategy to uphold the same high standards across different channels enhancing customer experiences. As far as associated value goes, I believe that outputs of the strategy development process leads to programs that both extract and deliver value and maximizes the lifetime value of desirable customer segments. It includes determining what value the company can provide to its customer along with what value the company can receives from its customers.These value propositions include the relationship among the performance of the product, the fulfillment of the customer’s needs, and the total cost to the customer over the customer relationship life cycle. Like any other initiative, measurement is an integral part through the use of the metrics. The performance assessment sees that the organization’s strategic aims in terms of CRM are in alignment with the acceptable standard and that a basis for future improvement is established. Conclusion:Often, the organizations are plagued by the lack of a widely accepted and appropriate definition of CRM along with the failure to recognize its constitution. This can lead to the failure of a CRM project as this way the organization views CRM from a limited technology perspective or undertakes CRM on a fragmented basis. The plethora of information requires a cross-functional integration of processes, people, operations, and marketing capabilities that is enabled through information, technology and applications.The options provided in the article explore the opportunities like cross-selling and up-selling to acquire or strengthen customer database. To ensure that technology solutions support CRM, it is important to conduct IT planning from the perspective of providing a seamless customer service rather than planning for functional or product-centered departments and activities. On the organization’s front, the focus is on increasing customer lifetime value by determining the variation in potential customer profitability across different customer segments along with the prepositions like customer acquisition and customer retention.

Outline current policies and legislation relating to children and how these affect your practice Essay

First of all what is the difference between â€Å"policy and legislation†. â€Å"A policy is a document that outlines what a government is going to do and what it can achieve for the society as a whole. It also outlines any and all methods and principles that the government or any entity, for that matter, will use to achieve its directive. Legislation is another term meaning statutory law. These laws have been enacted by a legislature or the governing body of a country. Legislation can also mean the process of making the law.† Before being able to take a position held in a school I would have to be DBS Disclosure and Barring Services which are replaced the CRB check**. This is a regulation within the law which will be looking at an individuals criminal history ranging from convictions, cautions down to warnings. In the Protection of Children Act 1999 it states that all adults working with children must be DBS checked. Any person who is found to have their name on this l ist with a criminal offense regarding children will not be allowed to work within this area. I would have to work under the law of the Children Act 2004 which is there to make sure the welfare and health of the child is protected, this also includes the Every Child Matters in which all children deserve and should expect the levels of care and adhere to this. This also includes in this green paper allowing all services to share information on children that they have concerns over, this is to help all the services have a better understanding and have the knowledge of that particular childs risk history so to evaluate what the next appropriate step is to take for this particular child.

VOIP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

VOIP - Essay Example However, it is as well a tool that makes things simpler and rationalizes a broad variety of business applications. Telephony is one of the most useful inventions. Moreover, VoIP is also the base for modern integrated communications applications such as Web and video conferencing that can change the way people conduct businesses (Cisco, 2011). Additionally, VoIP offers a lot of benefits over customary phone system. This is the major reason that more and more people are particularly turning to VoIP communication technology. One of the major benefits of VoIP is its less cost. VoIP is recognized to be inexpensive even a lot of people utilize it for free. If anybody has a computer, a microphone and speakers along with a high-quality Internet link, they can communicate through VoIP for free (Unuth, 2011). In addition, VoIP telephone calls can be done either to some other VoIP systems and devices, or to usual telephones on the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). In this scenario, the calls from a VoIP device to a PSTN device are normally acknowledged as "PC-to-Phone" communication calls, however VoIP device may not be a PC. Additionally, calls from a VoIP system to another VoIP device are usually acknowledged as "PC-to-PC" calls, even neither device may be a PC (Tech-Faq, 2011). Moreover, the primary idea to switch to VoIP technology for telephone service is cost reduction. VoIP is becoming more and more famous for the reason that of price benefit to customers over customary telephone networks. In fact, VoIP cuts monthly phone bill with a whopping 50%. In addition, it allows less costly worldwide or long distance call rates that are normally one-tenth of what is charged by customary phone businesses. Thus, these attributes make it an extremely high-quality alternative and one could avoid costly hotel phone charges as well as cell phone roaming cost. Though, what one needs is immediately a superior speed of

Is there such thing as a normal sexual orientation Essay

Is there such thing as a normal sexual orientation - Essay Example Traditional perception of sexuality takes it origins from the ancient times. Ruse (1988) implies that Ancient Greeks and Jews were the groups who were primarily influential on the morality of modern civilization. However, over the matter of sexual orientation, Greek and Jewish thoughts enter the conflict, and it is often the Jewish tradition that proves triumphant. As a result, people’s perception that the â€Å"normal† sexual orientation is heterosexuality has long since become tradition. This essay will argue that in spite of traditional views against homosexuality and bisexuality, there is no such thing as a normal sexual orientation. It will further conclude that heterosexuality as a sexual orientation is a socially constructed view. On the one side, there are several factors that prove the existence of the concept of normal sexual orientation. Firstly, the religious way of looking at sexuality forbids any homosexual acts. For example, Magonet (1995) notes that Juda ism, as one of the oldest monotheistic religions, considers homosexual acts as a â€Å"halakha† (which means a violation of traditional Jewish law). In addition, Hertzberg (1991) implied that The Torah forbids the act of homosexuality, which is known as mishkav zakhar, and considers a homosexual act between two men to be an abhorrent thing (which is known as to’evah), and is punishable by death—a strong prohibition. Likewise, Islam regards homosexuality as a sin and a vast deviation from the norm: "We also sent Lut: He said to his people: ‘Do ye commit lewdness such as no people in creation (ever) committed before you? For ye practice your lusts on men in preference to women: ye are indeed a people transgressing beyond bounds. Quran 7:80-81)’†. Moreover, according to a pamphlet produced by Al-Fatiha, there is a consensus among Islamic scholars that all humans are naturally heterosexual. All Islamic schools of thought and jurisprudence consider gay acts to be unlawful and sinful (Habib, 2010). Like Judaism and Islam, Christianity also does not accept homosexuality, and considers it is an illicit lust that is forbidden by God. He said to His people of Israel, "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination (Leviticus 18:22).† "If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them (Leviticus 20:13).† In these passages from The Old Testament of the Bible, homosexuality is condemned and shown as a prime example of a sin, a sexual perversion. A Christian can neither alter God's viewpoint nor depart from it (Boswell, 1980). They may believe otherwise, but this does not change how Christianity as a whole views homosexuality. From the scientific perspective, sex is made for reproduction and a male and female’s genitals are designed to mate with one another. Arguments from biol ogy have proven to be very powerful in maintaining heterosexual relations. The anatomical construction of genitalia is a great necessity for heterosexual relations. It is not possible to create future generations without heterosexual relations between genders not only for human being, but also for animal species. For example, Kant, in his Lectures of Ethics, argues that homosexuality is unnatural in that it "degrades mankind below the level of animals, for no animal turns in this way from its own

Contract Law, The Law of Personal Property Essay

Contract Law, The Law of Personal Property - Essay Example exemption clauses. According to the provisions of this act there are three broad divisions of control: first, is the control over contract terms that exclude or restrict liability for 'negligence', secondly, control over contract terms that exclude or restrict liability for breach of certain terms implied by statute or by common law in contracts of sale of goods, hire-purchase etc. Thirdly, a more general control in consumer contracts and standard form contracts over terms that exclude or restrict liability for breach of contract, or which purport to entitle one of the parties to render a contractual performance different from that expected or to render no performance at all. If the term of the contract comes within the purview of this act then the control regime will take its form in either of the two ways i.e. the restriction or exclusion of liability may be rendered absolutely ineffective or it may be effective only in so far as the term of the contract satisfies the test of reasonableness. ... It can be said that subject to certain exceptions, the Unfair Contract Terms Act,1977 only applies to contract terms 'excluding or restricting' specific types of liability; but they are extended to include terms such as : (a) making the liability or its enforcement subject to restrictive or onerous conditions;(b) excluding or restricting any right or remedy in respect of liability, or subjecting a person to any prejudice in consequence of his pursuing any such right or remedy, (c) excluding or restricting rules of evidence or procedure. The practical difficulty, however, is to distinguish such terms from provisions that prevent a contractual duty from arising or circumscribe its extent, or which merely allocate the responsibilities under the contract between the parties(5) The Courts should determine whether a term in a contract 'excludes or restricts' liability by asking whether it deprives a contracting party of the contractual performance which the parties reasonably expected(6). The Unfair Contract Terms Act,1977 for most part exclude or restrict 'business liability'. It means liability for breach of obligations or duties arising - (a) from things done or to be done by a person in the course of a business.; (b) from the occupation of premises used for business purposes of the occupier. As a general rule, greater protection is afforded by the act to a person who deals as consumer than to one who does not. In order that a party should have dealt as consumer, two conditions must have to be satisfied. First, the party must not have made the contract in the course of a business or held himself or herself out as doing so. Secondly, the other party must have made the contract in the course of a business. 'R.&B

Home Health and Hospice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Home Health and Hospice - Essay Example Medicare is composed of three parts; Part A, Part B, and most recently part D. Part A and B were the initial divisions of the Medicare Program. Part A covers the health care received in hospice and health care without monthly premiums. It is the insurance portion of Medicare. Part B covers doctors’ services as well as other outpatient care absent in part A with an added monthly premium, which in 2008 cost about $96.40 every month (Shi & Singh, 2010). Changes in payment permitted people to make hospice services payment on a prospective basis under four care levels and adjusted by the wage index in an area. The local adjustment was important because it allowed low rates in regions with low wage levels and high rates in regions with high wage levels. This was followed by a new wage index, which comprised of a mix of both new and old wage indexes however; the new index was still based on hospital wage data. The Medicare hospice rates also varied according to the level of care that a beneficiary received. Initially, the payment system by Medicare was linked to the â€Å"Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA)†, and it had a huge influence on the number of home health as well as hospice care agencies. Initially, the implementation of BBA led to the exit of these agencies from the market as it reduced medical reimbursement, and the number of providers. Implementation of the prospective payment system (PPS) generated improved growth and financial stability of agencies. It stopped the decline in the number of home health providers. With the PPS, Medicare paid home health and hospice providers for every 60-day â€Å"episode of care.† The amount paid for the 60-day period was a set amount based on a standard rate and adjusted to the type as well as the intensity of care offered known as a case mix formula. The home health PPS depended on a 153-category case mix adjuster to set payment rates anchored in patients attributes like functional status, clinical ri gorousness, and the requirement for rehabilitative therapy examinations (Shi & Singh, 2010). Initially, Medicare hospice coverage consisted of 290-day benefit periods and an indefinite number of 60-day benefit time. Coverage can extend beyond this period given that a six-month prognosis is the doctor’s best estimate. There is also provision for patients to move out of and back into hospice care. When out of the care, patients regular Medicare or other insurance cover them. Medicare reimburses the providers of home health and hospice care on a per diem basis. This kind of payment covers all services offered by the hospice (Shi & Singh, 2010). There are numerous different rates that vary according to the level and type of care offered. Concerning eligibility for home and health care under Medicare, a patient has to present a medical justification to qualify hospice and home health benefits. Initially, eligibility criteria varied, depending on the hospice program. However, patie nts had to have a progressive, irreversible illness limited life expectancy, and they had to opt for palliative care instead of cure-focussed treatment. The presence of a family member or another caregiver was required continuously when the patient was no longer able to care for him or herself. Initially, for a person to be qualified for Medicare benefits, he or she had to be qualified f

European Discovery of the Americas in 1492-1650 Assignment

European Discovery of the Americas in 1492-1650 - Assignment Example Trade started booming as English merchants got raw materials for their industries and the farmers and settlers found land to cultivate and a large land to put their large population. The lack of religious persecutions also made them opt to stay and start to develop this previously â€Å"bare and underdeveloped land.† With peace and stability prevailing in this new land while there was an increasing instability in the old one (at least the Europe part of it) and lack of political shenanigans, the new world‘s development soared and started even surpassing that of the old world (Elliot 25).The arrival of the Europeans in the Americas brought both negative and positive effects. The Colombian Exchange brought in animals (specifically livestock which were previously lacking in the Americas), some different varieties of crops and pets. These included cattle, horses, pigs and crops such as sugarcane which were planted in the southern part of the new world (which is now South Ame rica specifically the Dominican Republic and even Haiti). Since the new world also had its own unique products in the form of raw materials which were transported to Europe, trade began to grow which benefitted the new world more since its proceeds were used to invest more in their nation (Crosby 64).The negative effect brought by the arrival of the Europeans was that they brought with them diseases (these diseases included smallpox) that were previously nonexistent in that land. These strange diseases had no cure and they killed much of the population of the new world. They also brought much stronger weapons like the guns which could not be compared to the swords and arrows and they, therefore, killed many native Americans that tried to fight them much easier and faster. There was also an introduction of religion and new cultures which was both positive and negative (positive in that there was an emergence of religious diversity and negative as it led to the abolishment of the trad itional beliefs and cultures).

Unit 2 seminar art and Humanities Research Paper

Unit 2 seminar art and Humanities - Research Paper Example Art is the work of an artist that is based on his intentions of presenting to others certain object, opinion, view point or idea of spending life. Art does not imply similarity of work and following specific guidelines and it could vary from capturing significant to commonplace things. The purpose of art is to give some message to viewer in artist’s own way. It can be in the form of imitating real life things or creating abstract patterns (Bjone, 2007). The painting in the text looks vague and confusing with no clear cut features that could explain what is depicted in the painting. It seems to me that a barren building is being shown with an open door at the end and the impression of darkness is created which looks horrifying and mysterious. It also appears to me as the image of a mountain or a valley at night time. In other words, the work seems to be meaning different things when looked at with different perspective. However, in my opinion, it means chaos, disorder, unrest, mystery and horror. It cannot be stated as a weakness if an art looks different to different people as it depends on the perception of the viewer and approach with which he observes an artwork. Art is in fact an imitation of real life objects and it can take any form in showing its likeness to viewer (Foster,

Globalization within my Community Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Globalization within my Community - Essay Example The term â€Å"globalization† is of rather recent vintage (traceable to academic commentators in the 1970s), and has come to convey a variety of political, economic and cultural connotations (Scheuerman, 2006). Contemporary notions of â€Å"globalization† have transcended the purely economic approach of Karl Marx, or the spatial concept of the annihilation of distance by John Dewey. Instead today, it implies the attributes of deterritorialization, which refers to a delinking of activity from its site, of social activities taking place irrespective of geographical location of the participants, or across vast distances between them, such as is made possible by electronic means of communication. Secondly, globalization also implies the growth of social interconnectedness across geographical and political boundaries, which are not haphazard but predictable and regular. This entails the effect of events and activities in distant places that exert a force and impact on local and regional endeavors far removed from the origin of the activity (Tomlinson, 1999 in Scheuerman, 2006), an example of which is the networks of financial institutions and markets that make possible international business activity . Thirdly, globalization also refers to the speed or velocity of social activity, which refers to the time element while deterritorialization and interconnectedness which were concerned with the spatial element. Fourthly, globalization is a long-term process, yielding persistent and relatively permanent effects in the social context. Finally globalization is a multi-pronged process that affect economic, political and cultural arenas of social life, as previously mentioned. Somewhat removed from the metropolitan areas of New York City and downstate New York, my community is commonly referred to as rural, evoking visions of pastoral settings, picturesque small towns and quaint family

Research on ''Job stress'' and statistical analysis Paper

On ''Job stress'' and statistical analysis - Research Paper Example The finding revealed that a significant negative impact of Job 'Job stress'' and statistical analysiss satisfaction on the level of stress. A significant negative impact between the employment status and the job stress is also realized. Introduction Workplace life plays a vital role in an individuals’ social life. The dynamic nature of the work environment has forced people to engage in job related task leading to avandornment of the social life. The unsatisfactiry state of employees makes them to concentrate on aspect or tasks that will result to improvement of their output. On the other hand, the status of employment also pushes people to strain and get stress. For instance, individuals with greater levels of job stress may be unsatisfied with the kind of work he or she does and hence leadss to unhappiness at work place. Such issues triggers burned outs or frustration when such an individual encounter a snmall challenge. Such inccident impacts negatively on the organizations output leading to low profits. The goal of theis research id to find out individuals factors that implacts on the oevrall performace and one’s job satisfaction. The most appropriate group to interview is the workers in the teaching fields are they the most affected. Previsous studies showed that the gender of an employee contributes a lot to the level of stress that one gets at work place. Other factors such as job satisfaction also influence the empployees overall performance. Since most organization is striving to increase its employees’output, the employees tend to struggle to satisfy the company’s needs. The level of stress that an individual has depends greatly on the factors that cause it. Beehr and Newman (2012) define stress as a situation that compels an individual to stray from the normal state as a result of disturbed physiological condition. From this definition, it is crucial for us to emphasise on stress management at work place. It is found out t hat the state of most individuals in the teaching fraternity is innfluenced by demographic factors. Job related stress within workers is mostly affected by role management in the organization. The management of role in the organization can be a key factor which instills stress on workers. Role stress in this context refers to any organizational undertakin that has detrimental effects on the employee. There are roles of the management that stand out to conflict to the wishes of the employees (Beehr 2011). Work and family are disjoint; therefore the family status on an individual can greatly affect the workers’job life. The situation is two-way traffic; where the family life is the source of stress that manifest at work place or the job life being the source of stress that will be spilled to the family life. Connection between job satisfaction and job stress Many researchers have tried to find out the connection between job satisfaction and stress. Job stress and job satisfctio n are two critical aspects given concentration in the HRM research projects. Stamps & Piedmonte (2010), argued that a significatn connection between job stress and job satisfaction. Another reserch by Cooper, et al (2011) also revealized that the root cause of job stress is job disatisfaction. In addition, Fletcher (2010) found out that soneone can be stressed because he or she is not satisfied with the kind of work he does. Theoretical Framework and Hypotheses

Hume and his contemporaries Essay Example for Free

Hume and his contemporaries Essay Live art performances, marked by an overture of spirituality, consciousness, physical introductions to pain, drawn further on to include specific rituals, symbolisms, varied states of emotions brought by self-inflicted hurt and eventually, culminating in a wild display of frenzy and shocking images, are less likely to please the uninitiated audience than it will provoke a sense of awe and wonderment among performance art critics. In a similar situation, Marina Abramovic’s attempts to upend the static discourses of physicality, mental states of mind and art that pervade current Western hegemony, understandably, can only be regarded in the extremes by people steeped firmly into formal traditions. Either her method of performance will elevate its spectators to a heightened degree of appreciation, therefore merit a thunderous welcome to a novel brand, sui generis, of art of our time at the end of each scene; or her gruesome didactics on the body’s threshold for pain, simply fails to pass muster. Her performance practice, a risk more than anything else, certainly inspire debates on whether or not to set moral, perhaps even social limits to art in order to determine, in precise and concrete terms, at which point creativity and imaginative art themes and performances become either delightful to the senses or noxious to the sensitivities of the general public. The idea of drawing the line along and between different shades of extremes, although already evinced clearly in the works of Marina Abramovic, seems to fit the consensus on the idea of censuring the bold and burlesque, stripping it off its material enunciation and expression to mitigate the horror and revulsion inherent in the exposition, or in the worst case, totally ignore it until the novel yet misunderstood facade fades from inattention. However, thanks mainly to Marina Abramovic’s unwavering desire to reach her audience, despite the sometimes hostile reception during her performances itself, in ways that continually push the envelope of spectator tolerance, did she carry her work from the esoteric art circles to mainstream. To wit, in one of her collaborative performances with Ulay, entitled Incision (1978), while purposively eliciting reaction, probably direct participation, from their audience, one of the spectators primed the climactic resonance of the work by jumping into the stage to kick Marina Abramovic as she was lying prostate right in the middle of the act. In her biographical work, she writes that although she expected the attack to happen any moment during the performance, she did not realize the immediacy and steeled resolution of that man who assailed her (Abramovic, 1998). Photographs of the show caught the man with a leg lifted, jumping into the air. â€Å"The next photograph shows Abramovic lying on the floor, and the man seems to be landing from a kicking action [†¦] the audiences interrogation manifested in a spontaneous physical attack (Tang, 2005). Ethical and moral questions, as well as aesthetic controversies have been discussed quite animatedly as early as the 18th century. Philosophers, like David Hume, have started to addressed the tough issues about morality, art and taste—the chief concerns that pervaded his era. Cynthia Freeland, introducing the notions of Taste and Beauty, in a book about defining the slippery strands of art, writes that Hume and his contemporaries â€Å"would not have approved of blasphemy, immorality, sex, or the use of body fluids as appropriate in art† (Freeland 2001). As a caveat to this general statement, it must be understood that even though 18th century consciousness all the way up to the present have not been too open in giving cognizance to art that smack of Marina Abramovic’s own brand of carnal art expressions, there are already extant cultural and social systems which places importance into shamanistic and ritualistic gestures. Among art critics and historians, some pursue a theory of art as ritual: â€Å"ordinary objects or acts acquire symbolic significance through incorporation into a shared belief system† (Freeland, 2001). In the same vein, Freeland further digs deep in history to provide evidence in varied cultural rituals that depict blood and physical pain. She avers that â€Å"when a Mayan king shed blood before the multitude in Palenque by piercing his own penis and drawing a thin reed through it three times, he exhibited his shamanistic ability to contact the land of the undead† (2001). Other modern artists try to recreate a similar sense of art as ritual, just as much as Marina Abramovic has had for the last three decades. Diamanda Galas, for instance, â€Å"fuses operatic wizardry, light shows and glistening blood in her Plague Mass† (2001), supposedly to exorcise pain in the era of Aids. Herman Nitsch, Viennese founder of the Orgies Mystery Theater, promises â€Å"catharsis through a combination of music, painting, wine-pressing, and ceremonial pouring of animal blood and entrails† (Nitsch, n. d. in Freeland, 2001). As it turns out, these very rituals are ingrained in Western traditions. Illuminating examples of which are the amount of blood depicted in European’s, and verily much of the cultures in the modern world today, two main belief discourses: that of the Judeo-Christian and the Greco-Roman. By taking a cursory review of religious and classical texts of Western traditions, we are able to immediately uncover a plenitude of blood representations and ritualistic sacrifices. In the Old Testament, Yahweh is seen to require â€Å"sacrifices as parts of His covenant with the Hebrews† (Freeland, 2001). Similarly, Agamemnon â€Å"faced a divine command to slit the throat of his own child [†¦] the blood of Jesus is so sacred that it is symbolically drunk to this day by believing Christians as promising redemption and eternal life† (2001). Such myths and religious stories are rather germane to Western art. We read of Homeric heroes wining the favors of their gods and goddesses by sacrificing animals. Likewise, the tragedies of Lucan and Seneca â€Å"piled up more body parts than Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Sreet† (2001). Not surprisingly, likewise, Renaissance paintings are never without a hint of blood draped at the canvassed in hard red-acrylic paint whilst Shakespeare’s tragedies typically concluded with swordplay and stabbings. The preceding examples of ritualistic performances which involves blood and sacrifices, death and disease, murder and trials, are very instructive with regards to our penchant for the macabre and the dreadful. It is in these premises that Marina Abramovic draws much of her inspiration to create an art, pro forma, that bespeak of our capacity to endure scenes of gore and violence—if only on a less exacerbated state. Her performance, for the most part, certainly places importance on the symbolic values of ceremonies, gestures and artifacts. Albeit appearing random and spontaneous, her methods establish a logical connection between her consciousness while performing and her body’s means of coping with the strength of self-infliction. In the nascent days of her art, she has performed controversial after controversial explorations into the limitations of the mind and the body. Rhythm 10, in 1973, was the first in a series of abject surrender to the inevitability of suffering. Alone in the stage, she prepared a set of knives to be used as piercing objects in a risky game of Russian hand roulette. Without signs of hesitation, she proceeded to stab the spaces between her fingers in a rough yet determined fashion. Each time she made the mistake of cutting her flesh; she dropped the knife and took out another one to repeat the process all over again until she made use of all ten knives (Abramovic, 1998). The following year, in the performance entitled Rhythm 5, she sought to re-evoke the energy of extreme body pain by constructing a huge star soused with combustible petroleum liquid. At the onset, the structure as lit to flames, and while she was standing right outside the contraption, she religiously clipped her fingernails, cut her hair and them inside the burning star. The denouement of the program was when she danced around and then flew across the flames into the center of the burning star. Serious and life-threatening complications ensued when the smoke that engulfed her from inside asphyxiated her to the point that she no longer had control of her actions. The medical team and the audience, who were all there to watch, started to suspect that something was terribly amiss. Fortunately, the quick responses from the stand-by technicians saved her from an untimely death caused by severe smoke inhalation (Abramovic, 1998). In the same year and the years that followed, Marina Abramovic designed similar art experiments that were meant to test the limits of herself and her body, and later the audience and their tolerance for vicarious agony through her body. Rhythm 2 and Rhythm 0, were performed with the hopes of proving that the consciousness can go beyond the rubric of psychological triggers in mind. The sole aim of both was to uproot the inherited tendencies of the mind to reel from stark images and provocative gestures. She sought to cultivate in the audience a sense of indifference in order that one may reach a virtual catharsis what with all the sharp and strong representations between the body and suffering. For artists like Marina Abramovic, it is clear to them that what they are performing, and while in the act of performing, there is a higher purpose that they wish to achieve regardless of the methods by which these are made possible. They have a firm understanding and appreciation for every act and gesture that they make. None of such are done without rhyme and reason. For artists like Marina Abramovic, everything that happens during any performance, in spite of the harsh opinions of critic that meet them right afterwards, makes a lot of sense. However, audiences who see and react to these artists do not enter, much less share the beliefs and values, or with prior knowledge of what will transpire, with that of the artist. When asked about the origins of her creativity and ideas for her art performance, Marina Abramovic happily recalls her childhood memories with her parents. As if to show indeed that her style was a result of previous life experiences that may be susceptible to a psychoanalytical reading, she narrates: â€Å"A long time ago I made a piece called Art Must Be Beautiful, Artist Must Be Beautiful. At that time, I thought that art should be disturbing rather than beautiful. [†¦]My life is full of such contradictions. [†¦] My father and mother are divorced. As an adult, I recently wanted to go back to help them because of the war. With the embargo, there is nothing in the stores. [†¦] I called my father to ask him what he needs, and he dictates a long list antibiotics, bandages, penicillin, toilet paper, coffee, sugar, powdered milk, all these basic things for survival. Then I call my mother and ask what she needs. She says, I need Chanel lipstick, Absolute Red, Number 345, and hair spray. I am between these two. † (Abramovic, 2005) Most modern art, in this case, within the context of theatre, videos and live performances, fail to provide ample background reinforcement against the dominant traditions and systems of belief. What invariably happens is that the audiences will remain ignorant to, consequently, unappreciative of the complexities and undertones of the supposedly artful, meaningful and profound gestures. The audience, instead of sharing that same degree of catharsis, sacrifice and initiation, will shy away. They themselves are alienated from the performance so much that they are brought far afield the community, forcing them to abandon the art because of pure shock and horror, largely as a result of their ineligibility to feel as the artists do (Freeland, 2001). Damien Hirst, the ‘Britpack’ artist who sparked controversy in the 1990s with his motley display of macabre high-tech exhibits of â€Å"dead sharks, sliced cows, or lambs in glasses of formaldehyde, [†¦] has parlayed his notoriety into success with his popular Pharmacy restaurant in London† (Freeland, 2001). By no means, therefore, are the works that revolve around symbolisms, spirituality, humanity and fatalism seldom reflects the nature of most of our ritualistic traditions. Symbols of pain and suffering that are central to many religions, cultural systems, political and social units, may come off to the lay person as undesirable and may even cause the same panic as had the man in Marina Abramovic’s performance. Art performance that utilizes imageries that hint at violence, torture and distress, when it is performed in the public who has no inkling of its context, meaning and history are in danger of misconstruing art for capricious display of filth and tripe. As with all in theatre, the performer must work against mutual projection between audience and performer, the identification in which [we] believe so readily in the other as the keeper of our treasure and our disease (Tang, 2004). Valie Export, a similarly omnipresent and provocative figure in the world of art performance, shares the same problems of audience interaction, although not as much as Marina Abramovic. Beside art performance, her repertoire includes film, text, painting and photography to name a few. These avenues of artistic expression gravitate towards her criticisms for feminism and gender. A staunch activist and a progressive performer, she has oftentimes been called a woman living an anachronistic life. This is due to her revolutionary ways to present her ideas that even her colleagues, who without proper notice of her intentions to perform, usually end up dismissing her as too fanciful and idealistic. Her works on ‘Asemie or the Inability of Expressing Oneself Through Facial Expressions’ (1973) and ‘Touch Cinema’ (1968) garnered both fame and distress. Chief of the reasons that contributed to an admixture of reception from the critics and audience is the fact that her ideas do not create strong meaningful associations that the people can readily identify with. Humor and parody may be part and parcel of her work as a performer, but these effects are not what she contemplated to be so. Indeed, while she wanted to catch the attention of her spectators, her ultimate goal is to instruct them of the subtle messages regarding feminism, modernism and ritual art. Export, along with the controversial artists at the turn of the 21st century, became (in-)famous in the recent decades because of her startling presentations of objects and her body (Mueller, 2004). Of her earlier works, ‘Aktionshose: Genitalpanik’ or ‘Action Pants: Genitals in Panic’ (1968), Export engaged the audience, piquing their imagination and belief, with a series of photographs, simultaneously permitting them to engage her as the tangible representations of the images presented in the collage. In an art theater in Munich, dressed to the nines, with the crotch cut out of her pants, Valie Export threaded each row person-to-person, showed her outfit thereby giving the film-viewing public with a palpably visual representation with a real female body. In doing so Export tackled the pornographic reduction of women in static representations just when ideas of feminism and gender were starting to develop during that time. Her message is commensurate to a direct, unapologetic, political affront to the abstract objectification of the female body as a fetish. She moved an aesthetic gesture beyond the representational context of the safe boundaries of art into an actual encounter with a public. Export effectively brought to the fore the various dimension of simple, albeit arresting, bodily gestures â€Å"both to produce and to represent action [. . . ] by stressing the moment and the process of its own production† (Stiles, n. d. ). Export repudiated the representational static sign and discharged an interventionist act by revealing her yonic-self to the public vis-a-vis the photos on the display. Art performance, in the recent decades since its entrance in the mainstream, has, and is continuing to encompass a wide field of human proclivities which spans across a whole, comprehensive range of emotions, symbols and design. Although traditional views on aesthetics and taste still influence much of the productions in the art, more and more innovative, socially-informed, stunningly beautiful works of art performance are being (re-)invented and (re-)discovered every time. It doesn’t matter whether these newly created art forms subscribe to tradition or to the taste of the general public. What matters most is the never-ending quest to plumb the full extent of our humanity as individuals and as a community. Art performance is yet to supplant, at least equal the popularity of video-films, cinema, photography and painting in terms of the instances that these are demanded by the public. But with the works of Marina Abramovic, Ulay, Damien Hirst, Valie Export et al and their boundless passion to break the mold and stun the public to enlightenment, art performance can be considered as a significant cornucopia of art studies and of artistic expression. A number of critics do give favorable comments to Marina Abramovic’s performances and ingenuity, Valie Export’s live photography sessions, Hirst’s â€Å"gleaming vitrines with suspended animals inside† (Freeland, 2001). However, it must be noted that even if the critics find them beautiful and artful still its startling content warrants full attention; nothing short of shallow and pedantic in all respects of praise and criticism. Freeland writes, perhaps disinterestedness has some small and specific role in approaching difficult art by enabling us to try harder to look at and understand something that seems very repugnant to the senses (2001). The work’s content and the artist performing are just as crucial as the theories that surround art performance. It is not so much as merely an arbitrary act done through the caprice of a strange art performer. It is instead, a manifestation of our natural tendencies, our history, our sense of taste and what is beautiful, our entire spirituality and lastly, our consciousness set against the body as a tool to perceive reality. Art performance as practiced by these artists is a celebration of the body and of our community. An excellent performance and performer do more than take the audience to elevated heights, but also give them a sense of being truly and undeniably alive. And such, makes all the difference. References Abramovic, M. (2005). Marina Abramovic: the biography of biographies. New York London: Charta Publishers. Abramovic, M. (1998). Artist body: performances 1969-1998. New York London: Charta Publishers. Freeland, C. (2001). But is it art? : blood and beauty. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc. Mueller, R. (1994). Valie Export: fragments of imagination. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. Stiles, C. (n. d. ). Aktionshose: genitalpanik (action pants: genital in panic). Retrieved January 15 2008, The Galleries at Moore database. Tang, A. (2005). Gazing at horror: body performance in the wake of mass social trauma. (Masters of Arts program, Rhodes University 2005). .

Say No to Columbus Day Essay Example for Free

Say No to Columbus Day Essay It is my belief that although many people celebrate the holiday of Columbus Day, that it should be celebrated because Christopher Columbus was not who he had seemed to be. I have learned that not only did he not know where he was, but he wasn’t even the first to discover the New World. He also committed a mass genocide against the Arawak’s. Columbus Day is a U.S. holiday that commemorates the landing of Christopher Columbus in the New World on October 12, 1492. Columbus Day was unofficially celebrated in a number of cities and states as early as the 18th century but did not become a federal holiday until the 1937. For many, the holiday is a way of both honoring Columbus achievements and celebrating Italian-American heritage. Throughout its history, Columbus Day and the man who inspired it have generated controversy, and many alternatives to the holiday have appeared in recent years When Columbus first arrived at the Bahamas, he was greeted by the Arawak Indians who showered him and his crew with gifts and food. After being around them for some time, he decided to take the search for valuable items to a new level. He took some of the people by force and demanded to know where the materials like gold and such were located and then he forced them to show him and start to find them, sort of like slaves. He also learned that the Arawak people were so generous that they would give him anything he asked them for; he then proceeded to ask them for nearly all of their belongings which had any monetary value. The fact of him doing this is easily enough to prove that he was just out for money and did not care about any of the Arawak Indians or his crew for that matter. He is said to have been greedy enough to take credit for finding land even though a crew member, Rodrigo, had found it first and it is also said that he is to have taken the $10,000 yearly pension for life (Source B). The second treachery Columbus was a part of was the taking of the Arawak Indians as slaves and servants, here is a quote from his journal: â€Å"They would make fine servants†¦With fifty men we could subjugate them and make them do whatever we want† (Source B). This just shows that he is a man who doesn’t care about other people’s feelings and is perfectly fine with killing and enslavement, two things America is against. In total, the records show that originally, Columbus rounded up 1,500 Indians, he chose 500 as the best, killed the other 1,000, and 200 died on the ship due to poor living conditions and starvation. The 300 who were left were auctioned off as slaves in Spain. Nearly all of the rest of the Arawak people were killed by foreign disease. A third and final reason why we should not celebrate Columbus Day is because Christopher Columbus did not find North America on purpose and he was also not the first to find the continent. Leif Ericsson of the Vikings found North America and had already established a settlement in Nova Scotia by the time Christopher Columbus found his way here which just proves that his skills as a navigator and a sailor were not even very great, if he kept sailing to Asia and had not found North America, he would have done a circle around the world, missed Asia and ran into Africa. Many Americans view Columbus as a heroic figure whom is celebrated every year. Children look up to him, as an amazing person for being able to â€Å"discover† America and citizens are able to spend a whole day off from work/school to reflect on his greatness. However, this greatness should in no way be glorified, because it is absurd to call Columbus a hero. Columbus had taken credit for things that he didn’t accomplish, brutally abused Native Americans and caused slave trade, which led to mistreatment of Native Americans for years to come. I strongly believe that Columbus day should not be celebrated because of the torture, slavery, and lying that was caused by him. Columbus had taken credit for things that he didn’t accomplish. He wasn’t the first to discover America since there were already people living there  and others had known about this land. Also, there was a myth being taught at schools that had said Columbus was the one to prove the earth was round. Many educated Europeans had already believed in the world not being flat during the time of Columbus. However, those who didn’t agree with this statement mocked the ones who did. Lastly, Columbus was not the first non-American to discover the new world. â€Å"There is, indeed, considerable evidence that people from all around the world, including Europe, had visited the Americas for trade, fishing, refuge, and even settlement.† (Source: Why We Should Abolish Columbus Day by G Rebecca Dobbs) Therefore, Columbus had not truly succeeded in the things we know about him and did more negative things than positive. Columbus Day, a holiday dedicated to the famous explorer for his achievement of arriving in the New World. We construct plays, arrange parades, and have erected monuments of Columbus to praise him for his discovery; for he had triggered the wave of European interest in the Americas. When it comes to the roots of Columbus’s arrival in Hispaniola, most people think that he arrived on an island with primitive natives who gladly gave up their land to him†¦without so much as a complaint. Only recently have the true accounts of his expedition come to light. Nowadays, the innocent and naive tale of Columbus’s discovery has turned into a story about a horrifying and unjust conquering of a land, and the domination of its inhabitants. When Christopher Columbus arrived in Hispaniola in 1492, he had thought that he arrived in India, and he expected for the land to be inhabited by the Indians. Instead he landed in present day Hispaniola, which was home to the friendly, and defe nseless, Arawak people (also known as the Taino people). They had never seen Europeans before with their giant ships, extravagant clothing, and strange language; so they were excited and interested in meeting Columbus and his crew. The Arawak brought the Europeans gifts, food, and water. They wanted to open their home to the newcomers, and hoped to be able to become acquaintances with them and that they would trade with each other. Instead of returning the natives’ generosity and kindness, Columbus treated them cruelly, by making them slaves and forcing them to work to exhaustion and death, slaughtering thousands of men, women, and children till there was only five hundred Arawaks left by 1550, and not giving them  enough food, so they died from famish. Christopher Columbus has been viewed as a hero for several centuries. Children in elementary schools all over the nation are taught that he discovered America. However, there were many other people who were indigenous to the land already and the Vikings arrived in America almost 500 years before Columbus. Christopher Columbus, as it turned out, was responsible for widespread genocide; he permitted his men to rape, murder, mutilate and enslave indigenous people. The evil deeds of Columbus far outweigh the few accomplishments he achieved. It doesn’t make sense for the United States to recognize this supposed Christian with a national holiday, so America should stop celebrating Columbus Day. The initial recorded Columbus Day celebration in the United States was on October 12, 1792. Nevertheless, the first official Columbus Day happened in 1892, when President Harrison issued a proclamation for Americans to commemorate the day. The Knights of Columbus lobbied state legislatures to legalize the holiday. Colorado did so on April 1, 1907. New York followed suit in 1909. In 1971, Columbus Day was designated as a federal holiday on the second Monday of October (Library of Congress).

Observation of Challenging Behaviour by Child

Observation of Challenging Behaviour by Child ECE 214 Observations and Child Development Early Childhood PORTFOLIO ASSIGNMENT 40 % Sociogram Write an anecdote that describes the behaviours that concerns you. You may include more than one example from different instances. Child’s name: Alisha Observer: Meng Ting Yu (Angela) Age/D.O.B: Date: March 3, 2014 Time of Observation: 4:30 p.m. 5:00 p.m. Setting: Bayview fairway public school Purpose: The purpose of this observation is to identify the child’s challenging behaviour. Context: It is afternoon free play time in the gym; there are 11 children in total and three adults. Two boys are playing basketball; three are running around and six girls are playing roller cart game with teachers. Observation: I was playing the roller cart game with Alisha in the gym, she cross her leg and sat on a cart. She held a Hula in her hand and asked me to hold on the other side to drag her around. After a while, C came and asked â€Å"can I join?† I said â€Å"sure†. Then Alisha started pushing at her, said â€Å"no, I don’t want you to play here†. C looked at Alisha then looked at me. Then I looked at Alisha and ask â€Å"She is your friend, we don’t push our friend. She would like to play with you. Can you tell me why you don’t want her to stay?† â€Å"Because she’s been mean to me all the time† Alisha answered. C continued keep silence and looked at Alisha, â€Å"Alisha, I didn’t been mean to, because you didn’t be nice to me†. Then I said â€Å"but she didn’t be mean to you today. She loves to be your friend, why don’t we forgive her past and try to build a friendship with C?† Alisha looked at C, thought about it and said â€Å"ok, I’ll try†. Alisha walked toward to the shelf from her table, she then bend her knees down and took out her favourite board game â€Å"Candy Land† with her both hand. She then stand up and jumped quickly back to her table and ask S, â€Å"S let’s play Candy Land together†. Alisha and S walked to the back of the room; they sat down on the floor face to face. Alisha opened the box with her both hands and took out the ice cream character for herself. S took out the board map of the game from the box, she opened and put it between them, and then she put the candy shape spinner on the top of the map with her right hand. Alisha looked in the box and found a marshmallow character and hand it over to S and said â€Å"Here S, you can be marshmallow†. S looked at the box and said â€Å"No I don’t want the marshmallow, I want the Gingerbread man†. Both of them put the character at the bottom of the map and ready to start the game. â€Å"I’m first because I’m the youngest† said Alisha. She took the spinner into her left hand and rotated the spinner between her right thumb and index finger. The spinner pointed at the edge of color green and almost at peanut area, so she moved her â€Å"Ice Cream† on the peanut area. S looked at the spinner and said â€Å"Alisha, you suppose to move to one green, is pointing the green area†. â€Å"No, is peanut† Alisha replied. S took the spinner in her hand and start to show Alisha, â€Å"Look its green!† â€Å"No, you moved it, give it back to me† Alisha start yelled at S. S did not give back the spinner to Alisha, â€Å"No is my turn now†. S rotated the spinner, she rotated it with her left thumb and index finger and the spinner stopped and pointed at the cupcake. She moved her Gingerbread man to the top of the map almost near the end, and then Alisha became angry. She yelled at S â€Å"No! You are cheating! You s upposed to be red!† Alisha took the Gingerbread from the top to the bottom and put beside her ice cream man. â€Å"Look Alisha, it pointed at the cupcake, you have to follow the rule† said S by showing the spinner. Then Alisha stood up and bent her elbows beside her body and yelled â€Å"No, this is not fair, you’re cheating†. S stood up and took the game tutorial sheet from the box and showed to Alisha, â€Å"Look Alisha, it says move the character to the next space, to matches the colour.† I have already talked to you in the hall way about my situation. The problem of the child in my placement is playing games. Write a developmental inference based on the sociogram where you describe the child’s problem in developmental terms. Provide an in text citation to support. Inference: According to the observation, Alisha seems to have trouble in social, emotional and behavioural. Children misbehaviour are based on their own perspective, for example, when Alisha think C’s arrival into the game is being mean to her, so she started to push C around with addition of a loud voice. Both verbal and non-verbal behaviour comes up in her mind without thinking, and she did not realize that her word and action can hurt other’s feelings. As children enter the school years, they become much more selective about whom they choose as friends. Just as kids compares themselves to others, they also start making judgments about other children (Cherry), just like Alisha judge that C is not her friend because they contain different personality. She observed C by looking her outfit, appearance and her friends, then think about it whether this person can be friend or not. Children at the age 6 to 8 try to convince others that their views are right, just like Alisha judged with S about the spinner. The child did not have enough ability to identify or understand the rule of the game. In order to achieve her goal of winning the game, she would rather use cheating strategies to succeed. The biggest problem is that the child is ego-centrism; she thinks that her own behaviour is correct instead of allowing others to do the same. Base on Piaget’s levels of moral reasoning, she did not know that the rule of the game is unchangeable, she think maybe change the rule will be more enjoyable, but her action might cause cheating without telling other about her own rule at the beginning of the game. Create a developmental goal based on your inference. These goals are to be written in paragraphs. Outline your rationale or reason for your goals. This should be the detailed evidence to back up your goal. Why is your goal developmentally appropriate for this child? Ensure you follow APA formatting. My goal for Alisha is to develop her social and emotional skills base on activities. The reason is because she needs to learn self-regulation and empathy for another’s feelings while interact in the game. In Erickson’s second stage, children are trying to master skills at home, school and in their community. When they are successful they get the tools they need for important social tasks such as getting along with others. When they are unsuccessful, they feel inferior—set up a pattern for possible failure throughout life (Santrock, 2012) Games with Rules Record an anecdote of a child playing a game with rules. Child’s name: Alisha Observer: Meng Ting Yu (Angela) Age/D.O.B: Date: March 10, 2014 Time of Observation: 4:30 p.m. 5:00 p.m. Setting: Bayview fairway public school Purpose: The purpose of this observation is to identify the child’s behaviours during the game. Context: It is afternoon free play time in the classroom; there are 20 children in total and three adults. Four boys are chatting with each other, five girls are knitting, three boys are playing blocks beside the window, five boys are playing words puzzle game, and three girls are playing board game. Observation: Alisha walked to M and pulled her hand, said â€Å"Let’s play games together†. She pulled M to a table with games. They took out the game board together and four chess pieces with different colour. Alisha took the entire green colour and placed them one by one at her side, â€Å"Here you can be the yellow side† she said by picking all the yellow chess and handed over to M. â€Å"I like red; I want to play the red side† M replied. â€Å"No you can’t have red, you must be yellow† Alisha began to rise her voice up. Then M asked â€Å"why†, â€Å"because this is my game, you must follow my rule† she answered. M said â€Å"no, I don’t like yellow, if you don’t give me red, I’m not play with you†. Alisha looked around the room then said â€Å"fine, you can be red†. Alisha placed all four colours of chess on the board and started to do the dice. After few turns, Alisha continued took her green chess and began to move. When she moved to the yellow area, she substituted for yellow chess and continued move on. M saw it and said â€Å"hey, Alisha, you can’t do that. You suppose to use the green one; you can’t switch it during the game.† â€Å"Oh yes I can. This is my rule for this game† Alisha looked at M and answered. Write a developmental inference which explains the child’s knowledge of games with rules using course resources. Base on this observation, Alisha seems to having trouble playing games with others. She usually likes to make up her own rule while playing board games. She did not understand that the rule of the game must set up before the games begin; also she will play in her own way without telling others about her rule at the beginning, this sometimes makes people confuse or think she cheated the game. Before they start the game, the hierarchy of roles is established for individuals and roles. Alisha always goes first without asking the other child, she often self-talk â€Å"I’ll go first† and others just keep silence. In Erickson’s theory, for middle childhood it is important to be good at something in school. For example, Alisha is the girl who takes seriously about winning, in her world, winning means â€Å"I am the best†. If Alisha win a game, she will raise her voice in front of the other child and said â€Å"oh yeah, I win†, then the child will tell Alisha that playing game is for fun not about winning. She did not understand the process of playing a game is more enjoyable social with other children; also this is not appropriate way to express her feeling. Create a developmental goal and how you would implement it based on your inference. Outline your rationale or reason for your goals. Why is your goal developmentally appropriate for this child? Ensure you follow APA formatting. My goal for Alisha is to let her understand that participant in the game will be more interesting than winning the game. According to Piagets research and theory, convince constructive educators of the value of group games for intellectual and moral development as well as for social and physical development (Piaget J., 1932/1965). Social and moral development is promoted as the child tries to figure out how to cooperate and negotiate with partners in order to play fairly (DeVries) such as group games. Playing in a group will lead the child to learn to problem solving and cooperate from each other, for example, one child can read about the rule at the beginning of the game, then decide the role of who will go first; another child can be the referee which avoid foul. The reason I plan to set up the group game is because Alisha often like to cheat in the game in order to win the game, but this may cause the game finish faster, and also she did not show respect to other children. From th is point, group game can help the child learn to empathize other’s emotion and express her feeling in proper ways. When conflicts arise, other child and adult can support and help (scaffolding) Alisha discuss rules and reach mutual agreement about how to play the game by following the rule, and learn to negotiate and compromise. Self-Concept and Stage of Friendship Interview your child for the purpose of understanding the child’s Stage of Friendship according to Selman. In order to avoid any negative effect on the children’s relationships in the room, ask the child to think of a friend, but not name them! Then ask the child to describe what makes that person of friend and what friends do with each other. Write up what happened in the interview using an anecdotal format including your questions and the child’s answers. After snack time, I took a chair and sat beside Alisha, â€Å"hi Alisha, do you have any homework today?† â€Å"No† she answered. Then I said â€Å"okay, can I ask you some questions?† She nodded and replied â€Å"sure’. I asked â€Å"the first question is who do you usually or like to play with? Think of the name in your mind, and do not speak out.† Alisha stood up and looked around the room, â€Å"Okay I got one in my head.† I asked â€Å"is it a girl or a boy?† â€Å"Of course is a girl† Alisha replied. I continued asking â€Å"So why do you think she is your friend?† â€Å"Because we are in the same class, and we are cousin. Her mom and my mom are sister, and we live really close. Oh and she help me to do my homework sometimes. Can I go get some water? I’m really thirsty†. I stop my writing and looked at her, said â€Å"sure, go ahead†. When she came back, she asked â€Å"can you play Candy Land with me?† â€Å"I just have three more questions for you to answer it, and then I will play with you, okay?† I answered. Alisha seems fidgeted in her seat, but she still listened to my questions. â€Å"Alisha, what do you think a friend is?† She said ‘I don’t know, someone I like and doesnt been mean to me†. â€Å"How do you treat your friend?† I asked, she then answered â€Å"we play games together†. â€Å"Okay the last question is how many friends do you have?† Alisha stood up and count the number by pointed other child with her left index finger, said â€Å"Hmm, I guess everyone is my friend†, she sat on her chair and continued â€Å"except A and BS, they are the oldest, especially they are boys. Can we play now?† â€Å"Yes sure, go get your game and set up on this table.† I said. What can you infer regarding the child’s stage of friendship according to Selman? According to Selman’s five stages of friendships, the children at the age between 3 to 7 years old like to play with a friend who lived nearby, such as Alisha’s cousin. They went to the same school, live in the same area, their age are close and as well as family relationships. At this age, Alisha view her cousin as momentary playmate, it shows that they both are having fun while playing with each other. However, Alisha always likes to play in her own way and expect others to follow her rule, she have very limited ability to see other perspectives, she will think that other child will have the same thought as her. If other children do not agree with her, she will get upset very easy. Alisha is the girl who likes to do things in her own way, and she changes frequently. For instance, she might say â€Å"C is my best friend, I like to play with her† for today, and the next day when she find out S is playing a game that she interested in, she will say â€Å"S is my best friend now†. On the other hand, Alisha likes to play with a child who has similar cultural with her. For example, C is a nice Chinese girl in our room, but Alisha does not like to play with her because she think that C always be mean to her. Base on a third person’s point of view, C always friendly to Alisha and never have any misbehaviour to her, all the things come up in Alisha’s own perspective. I also find out that she usually sit with her cousin and her other friends instead of Chinese. Analysis of self-concept Ask the child a series of questions that will let you infer the child’s understanding of sense of self ; Self-concept (p. 370) class notes During homework time, I interviewed Alisha again. I sat in front of her but she continued eating her snack. So I began to ask â€Å"what do you think about yourself?† she took a carrot in her hand and said â€Å"I’m the best, because I always win†. I continued asked â€Å"do you like your cousin S? What do you usually do with her?† she said â€Å"we do almost everything together. But we usually play games.† After I took note of her sentence, and asked â€Å"another question, who do you think is the leader? And who is the follower?† â€Å"Me, I’m the leader because I’m the youngest. She has to listen to me† Alisha pointed to herself. In the early years as kids realize that they are independent individuals and progressing to a firm understanding of whom they are and what they like. (Santrock, 2012) Works Cited Cherry, K. (n.d.). Social and Emotional Development in Middle Childhood. Retrieved from Psychology: http://psychology.about.com/od/early-child-development/a/social-emotional-development-in-middle-childhood.htm DeVries, R. (n.d.). How to Promote Childrens Development Through Playing. Retrieved from Moral and Intellectual Development Through Play: http://www.uni.edu/coe/regentsctr/publications/Moralandintellect.pdf Kelly. (n.d.). The Cognitive Developmental Theory. Retrieved from Moral Development in Children: http://ehlt.flinders.edu.au/education/DLiT/2000/KESPres/cog.nit Piaget, J. (1932/1965). The moral judgment of the child. London: Free Press. Santrock, J. (2012). Children. New York: McGraw-Hill. Please submit this page with your assignment.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Case Study Essay -- Case Study

Case Study: A thirty six year old male has developed severe muscle weakness throughout the body. The condition began fifteen months ago with a left foot drop and within a year, he described difficulty with speech and swallowing, muscle twitching and cramping, and muscular atrophy throughout the upper and lower limbs. Within the last two months, his breathing has become more difficult, and there has been a noticeable difference in his voice. Prior to the fifteen months, he presented little to no symptoms. The patient, a medical doctor, has a wife and two young children. What began as seemingly innocent muscle weakness and cramping has lead to this patient’s fatal diagnosis. He is one of 2.5 per 100,000 people worldwide who have been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and will mostly likely die of respiratory failure within 2 to 3 years. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS is a is a highly degenerative disease involving the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary movement. The disease is sometimes referred to as Lou Gehrig’s after the New York Yankees baseball player who was diagnosed with ALS in 1939. The disease causes degeneration of upper and lower motor neurons. These neurons connect the brainstem and spinal cord to muscle fibers and send electric impulses to the muscles. Without proper communication, the muscles begin to weaken and atrophy. Individuals with ALS will lose their ability for voluntary muscular control. Usually, bladder and bowel control are spared, though this is not always the case. Cognitive functions and sensory nerves are also typically spared, but the affected individuals may present symptoms of dementia. Initial symptoms generally include muscular weak... ...ological degeneration could happen in such a swift manner. I only hope that a better understanding of the causes of ALS can help find a cure. Works Cited ALSInfo: Lou Gherig’s Disease (ALS) [Internet]. 2011. Sanofi aventis US LLC; [last updated 2011 November 8; cited 2012 March 22]. Available from http://www.alsinfo.com/ Hayes SM. 2001. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Update on Anatomy, Physiology, Pharmacology, and Management. In: Riolo L, editor. Topics in Physical Therapy: Neurology. American Physical Therapy Association. Lesson 9. McKinley MP, O'Loughlin VD. 2006. Nervous System Disorders. In: Wheatley CH, editor. Human anatomy. 2nd ed. Boston (MA): McGraw-Hill Higher Education. p 431. Umphred DA. 2001. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. In: Allen A, Zipperlen R, editors. Neurological rehabilitation. 4th ed. St. Louis (MO): Mosby. p 363-385.

Rhetoric Description :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The blinding sun light spilled onto my exhausted underside from the window across the room as the unlaundered shirt was whisked away. The sight of the dank pullover was replaced with an anxious peering face. I knew that look in his face well. He had grown imaginative last night and was staring at my strained body, almost seemingly considering if what he had in mind might be too much for my experienced frame. Then as if he had made his decision a smile broke his expression and with the tip of his toe he flipped me into his eager hand and my torturous day was about to make its start. I knew what was in store for me and for a brief moment reminisced about the days when a simple coast down a crevice strewn alley was the extent of it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He shoved me under his arm and flew down the stairs to the checkered floor of his kitchen. I gripped myself as I was tossed to clatter against the table and there I lay as he wrestled cabinets’ open and clattered silverware onto the table. The chair shrieked as it was pulled out, as if it was trying with all it’s might to stay rooted in its spot. The sound of slurping cereal was drowned out by the sneak attack of sound beckoning from the other room. He jumped up out of his seat spilling some of the contents of his bowl onto my nose as he sprinted to pacify the shrill wails of the phone. â€Å"Yeah man, it’s sick†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.probably will get me sponsored in no time flat†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦yah I’m gonna practice it today, bring your cameras†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  I’ve heard that conversation before. I knew what it meant. I was ready.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He rushed back into the room threw his meal into the sink with no remorse and flicked me back into his hands with little effort. I was actually starting to feel a bit antsy wondering what was in store for me. His body was throbbing as he pressed me against his ribs and his palms were clammy against my scarred underside. I knew that he was excited and my thoughts synchronized with his own filling me with exhilaration. We trudged to the doorway after he pounced into his chaotically laced shoes and wedged his ear phones on his head echoing the cacophony of an angst filled symphony.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He slammed the front door without looking back and carefully dragged his feet across the coarse surface of the driveway making sure there were no hindrances accumulated to the soles of his feet.

From Servitude to Freedom in Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre Essay

From Servitude to Freedom in Jane Eyre   Ã‚   Charlotte Bronte's novel, Jane Eyre, skillfully reveals that Jane, the protagonist, has the qualities of endurance, valor, and vitality, yet she is refused self-contentment by the confined society in which she lives. Not only is this work a love story, but it is the tale of a young orphaned girl and her struggle for love and independence. Through the various environments Bronte provides, Jane oscillates between education and containment and also between freedom and servitude. Beginning at Gateshead, Jane has her first experience of containment in dealing with the Reeds. John Reed blatantly smothers Jane's space by treating her like a slave, and Mrs. Reed enslaves her in every way. Mrs. Reed treats Jane as a stepchild instead of a niece and oftentimes sides with her children even if Jane is right. For example, in the incident with John Reed, Jane is reading a book about birds and secretly wants to be able to fly away from all of the bad things at Gateshead. When John condemns Jane for reading "his" books, Mrs. Reed sends Jane to the Red Room even though Jane did not initiate the fight. The torturous experience for Jane becomes a type of containment in which she must obey her aunt and cousins, as a slave would obey his master. Jane feels then that she must resist everyone, Bessie, Miss Abbot, her cousins, and especially her aunt. She is urged by these same people to pray and repent and is locked yet again in an eerie room. Jane encounters another character, Mr. Lloyd, who attempts to degrade her by making fun of her for crying. Her physical containments, along with her mental ones, are coming to her one after another and take her to her limit. Jane deals with many emotions she fee... ...rlotte Bronte. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1990.    Jane Eyre. Dir. Franco Zeffirelli. Perf. William Hurt, Charlotte Gainsborough, and Anna Paquin. 1996    Jane Eyre. Dir. Julian Aymes. Perf. Timothy Dalton, Zelah Clarke. 1983    Kadish, Doris. The Literature of Images: Narrative Landscape from Julie to Jane Eyre. New Brunswick: Rutgers UP, 1986.    Linder, Cynthia A. Romantic Imagery in the Novels of Charlotte Bronte. London: MacMillan, 1978.    McLaughlin, M.B. "Past or Future Mindscapes: Pictures in Jane Eyre." Victorian Newsletter 41 (1972): 22-24.    Peters, Joan D. â€Å"Finding a Voice: Towards a Woman’s Discourse in Dialogue in the Narration of Jane Eyre.† Studies in the Novel. 23 no 2. (1991): 217-36. Zonana, Joyce. â€Å"The Sultan and the Slave: Feminist Orientalism and the Structure of Jane Eyre.† Signs. 18 no 3. (1993): 592-617

Cruise Shipping

This industry can be traced back to around the 1400s when the first transatlantic voyage took place (Destination Yacht Charters). The speed of these cruise ships was very low during these years, but this was changed when the steam engine was invented in 1712 by a scientist named Thomas Newcomen (Briggs, 2009). The evolution of the steam engine led to the formation of the first shipping firm, the Black Ball Line, in 1818, which offered scheduled services to its passengers (Lytyson, 2009).With the steam engine, the cruise shipping continued to flourish in the 1800s and the early 1900s as the number of passengers traveling for business or leisure grew. However, with the arrival of passenger airplane from the Boeing Company in 1960s, the industry started to decline and this was attributed to the speed of these airplanes (Cruise lines, 2009). With the airplanes people could travel to more destinations within a short time in comparison to the cruise ships. This made the shipping companies to change their goals and to focus on tourism instead of passenger services.Furthermore, with the stiff competition from the airplanes, the industry still managed to flourish since they concentrated on improving the voyage itself. These companies concentrated on making their ships more comfortable and even provided extensive entertainment inside the cruise ships for the passengers. In addition, with †The Love Boat† television show in 1977 to 1986, the image of cruise shipping was improved and made better (Boyd, 2008 ). Recently, with the luxurious and superior entertainment provided on-board, the voyage has become the center of attraction and not the geographic destinations (Cruise working, 2009).This has made the cruise shipping industry to become one of the fastest growing industries in the transportation sector. Factors contributing to Cruise industry growth The economy in many countries is stable and growing and this has led to increased wealth amongst the people in those countries. With increased wealth many people can afford to travel for leisure. To a large extent, this is contributing to the continued growth in number of passengers experienced by the industry. For instance, between 1980 and 2003, the North American market grew at a rate of about 8. 4% per annum (Dowling, 2006).Globalisation is stimulating the market of container transport. The increase in the market of container transport is contributing to cruise shipping growth. In the Trans Pacific the number of containers transported in 2004, increased by about 15. 3% to more than 622,000 standard containers (Hapag-Lioyd, 2005). With the increase in the market, more ships are being built with even large capacity in order to tap the profits incurred in this transport industry. The peaceful environment experienced in most parts of the world is contributing to cruise shipping industry growth.For instance, in Iraq when peace was restored, tonnage at Aqaba port increased by about 28% to abou t 6. 5 million tons, in the first four months of 2003 (Stensgaard, 2007). The war in Iraq led to many ports being closed and people could not visit the country. However, when the war ended, materials for reconstructing the country entered the country through port Aqaba and this has led to its growth. With peace in many nations cruise ships can move freely in the waters as the number of safe ports increase leading to more destinations where people can visit.The tourism sector is growing at a fast pace and this can be attributed to many countries especially African countries investing more money in marketing their country's heritage. In many African countries the tourism industry is one of the major sources of income. In a country like Kenya, in 2006, revenue from tourism reached $800 million, thereby making it the largest foreign currency earner followed by horticulture and tea (Wallis, 2007). The fast growth in the tourism industry is facilitating the growth in the cruise industry a s both industries depend on each other mutually.The advancement in technology has enabled cruise ships to communicate with the loading and the off-loading ports and even with other ships. With modern communication, the ships can easily request for assistance when facing problems in the waters such as engine failure, explosions, among others, from other ships or nearby harbours. Furthermore, with the technological advancements, faster ships are being built thereby reducing the time spent in waters. The passengers can therefore reach their destinations in shorter time periods.In 2007, the world fuel price was more than $100 per barrel (Mati, 2008) but in 2009, prices have reduced to about $59 per barrel (Associated Press, 2009). The reduction in the fuel prices is a boost to the cruise shipping industry as it helps in reducing the package prices thereby enticing more passengers to cruising. Some people might find cruising expensive but with the reduction in package prices cruising wil l be made more affordable to them. To some extent, this is contributing to the increase in the number of cruise passengers. Strengths Cruise itinerariesThey provide the cruise passengers with a wide variety of services to choose from. There is a wide variety of cruise ships which offer different services. For instance, there is the Disney Cruise which offers exquisite activities for children and adult flair, the Royal Caribbean which offers magnificent sporting activities, the Costa cruises, which has put more emphasis in providing dining and entertainment in accordance with the Italian heritage, and many others (Lovetoknowcruises, 2007) Capacity The magnitude in size allows the cruise ships to carry a very large number of passengers at a go.The largest cruise ship can carry more than 6000 passengers (Wise, 2007 ), while the largest plane can carry more than 850 passengers at a go (Lewin, 2009). In terms of space, the cruise ships are more comfortable than the airplane and vehicles. Because of the large space in cruise ships, movement is not restricted and people can move around freely while in airplanes, vehicles and trains there is limited space and movement is restricted. Privacy and value In cruise ships privacy is ensured and respected. Because of its large capacity, it is designed like a hotel with rooms for the passengers.In cruise ships, the voyage is package priced and this usually includes food, room, and entertainment, among others. In most cases the passengers would spend more money on a vacation of same quality on land than on voyage (Hillman, 2009). This therefore shows that cruising is cost efficient than land vacation. More relaxation Land tourism is tiring than cruise shipping. In land tourism, the vehicle may encounter problems like engine problems, tire puncture, and many more, but in cruise shipping the problems are almost negligible.Furthermore, the hotel personnel pamper their visitors at a lower level in comparison with the cruise shippi ng personnel (Hillman, 2009). In cruise ships the passengers are treated with much respect and their requests are usually met in time. In addition, food is provided and the passengers do not have to carry their own food, while in land vacation you either carry your own food or look for restaurants that provide quality food and these restaurants are usually hard to come by.The problem of packing and unpacking your belongings is not experienced in cruise shipping (Hillman, 2009). The passengers will only unpack once throughout their cruising as they move from one place to another and will only pack once when they are back to their homes. Weaknesses Diseases infections The passengers in cruise ship are exposed to a high risk of disease infections such norovirus, maladies, among others. In 2004, about 300 passengers of the Carnival cruise line ship were infected with stomach malady while they were on-board (Water quality and health council, 2009).Consequently, in 2007, about 7 crew memb ers of the Majestic America Line cruise ship and 26 passengers were infected with norovirus while on-board (Baldwin, 2007). The norovirus has no cure but is controlled by antibiotics. The closed environment in the cruise ship provides suitable conditions for disease infections to spread swiftly since there is much human contact and food contact. Some of the reasons leading to disease infections include neglecting to disinfect restrooms and kitchens, washing hands among others (Paddock, 2009).The rate of disease infections in the cruise ships is reported to be on the rise and this could affect this industry adversely. Maintaining sanitation in cruise ships is becoming a problem for many shipping companies since it requires more funds and some companies are reluctant. Environmental pollution The cruise ships produce significant amounts of wastes which are mainly disposed with minimum regulation since they are not subjected to the same environmental policies as the industries on land ( Commoy et al, 2005).Researches done have shown that cruise ships produce carbon dioxide three times more than airplanes (Environmental Leader, 2008 ). Furthermore, in cases of accidents as was observed at the coastline of the Antarctic island, the Norwegian ship spilled fuel as it ran aground (Reuters, 2007). Spilling fuel in the waters is harmful to aquatic life as it deprives them oxygen (Smith, 2009). In addition, in many cruise ships there is no energy conservation mechanism, a lot of energy is used in moving, in the restaurants, for laundry and in the movie theaters.There is significant wastage of energy in the cruise ships. Terrorism Historically, terrorist mainly target the transport industry since the security in the maritime borders is lower in comparison to land borders (Loy, 2001) . For instance, in 1985, Palestinian terrorists attacked the Italian cruise ship killing at least one American (Ensor, 2003). The perception by people of a terrorist threat can restrict the crui se industry growth. Some people may not prefer cruise shipping because of increased terrorist activities thereby reducing its market as people fear for their lives.Terrorist activities may instill fear in some people thereby restricting them from traveling as they prefer staying in one place or going for land vacation which is much safer. Speed and price When compared to airplanes the cruise ship are expensive and consume a lot of fuel. In terms of fuel efficiency, studies carried out have shown that cruise ships are the worst in fuel efficiency when compared to airplane (Davison, 2009). Furthermore, in terms of speed cruise ships are very slow.For instance, the world’s fastest ship, Olympic voyager took seven days to visit three continents while an airplane can take only several hours at most (Hammond, 2000). The aviation sector is providing stiff competition as they try to improve the speed, the comfort and even the services provided to its customers. In addition, the aviat ion sector building big planes with larger capacity to cater for the increasing number of passengers. Limited port facilities The modern technology is enabling ports to become more efficient and effective in the services they provide to the shipping industry.However, the rate at which new technology is being adopted by ports is very slow and this can be attributed to high cost as upgrading requires much capital. Majority of the ports have not upgraded into using the modern technology and this has become a hindrance since few cruise ships can dock at that port in a day. It takes a lot of time to clear a cruise ship to dock. In addition, there are ports which have upgraded their facilities into using modern technology, but have limited loading capacity and therefore cannot accommodate large ships.This is negatively affecting the cruise shipping industry as it continues to build larger ships. Availability of the cruise itineraries Cruise itineraries are not available throughout the yea r they are restricted by seasons, some itineraries are available during the summer while others during the winter. This therefore restricts passengers from traveling to some destinations during a particular season. For instance, the Alaska cruise operates during summer only while during winter it is off-season, this restricts people who want to travel amongst the Alaskan glaciers (lovetoknowcruises, 2007).Furthermore, there are some itineraries which are not available in many ports such as the Caribbean and Mediterranean voyages which are usually available throughout the year but are limited by the number of cruise ships that provide them (MacCalla, 1994). Limited exploration time and destinations In cruise shipping there is limited time spent on land, a lot of time is spent on-board. This gives the cruise passengers little time to absorb the cultures of local communities when visiting a place. In addition, the voyage is restricted to the coastal areas, only the airplanes, trains am ong others can go inland.This therefore makes people who want to visit inland places to prefer using airplanes over cruise ships. Future of cruise shipping industry The number of passengers has been increasing annually and this is a big boost to this shipping industry. However, with economic downturn in the world, the cruise shipping industry will be affected adversely. In 2009, the number of passengers in cruise ships is expected to grow by about 3% which is a significant reduction from the growth observed from 2006 to 2007 of about 11% (Berman, 2008).With this significant reduction in passenger growth, the cruise shipping industry is still better placed than most sectors. The passenger number especially that of British cruise passengers is anticipated to grow by 2010 as new cruise ships providing better services will be in the market. From the trend observed in1995 to 2005, whereby the number of European passengers tripled from about 1 million to about 3. 3 million, this growth ra te is anticipated to reach 4 million annually by 2010 and to about 5 million by 2015 ( Seatrade Cruise connection, 2007).The new ships are expected to provide better itineraries thereby attracting more passengers to cruising. Even though, the cruise shipping industry is facing some serious challenges, the future looks bright. Furthermore, with the advancement in technology, the efficiency and effectiveness in ship building will be greatly improved and ships will be build much faster thereby meeting the increasing passenger demands. From the current trends observed, in 10 to 15 years the cruise shipping industry will expand greatly and become one of the largest industries contributing to the world economy. Word Count: 2347.Reference List Associated Press, (2009). 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