Ethical Issues in Social Research Essay

Ethics is a part of every society and is entwined in every aspect of daily living, however the meaning of ethics or what is ethical differs. Ethics is commonly associated with morality and Webster’s New world Dictionary defines ethical as â€Å"conforming to the standards of conduct of a given profession or group.† Knowing what a particular society considers ethical and unethical is what contributes to living successfully in that society. This is the same for researchers; researchers need to be aware of what is considered ethical and unethical conduct of scientific inquiry. From the time immediately after World War II until the early 1990s, there was a gradually developing consensus about the key ethical principles that should underlie the research endeavor; two events stand out as symbolic of this consensus. The Nuremberg War Crimes Trial following World War II brought to public view the ways German scientists had used captive human subjects as subjects in oftentimes g ruesome experiments. In the 1950s and 1960s, the Tuskegee Syphilis Study involved the withholding of known effective treatment for syphilis from African-American participants who were infected. Events like these forced the reexamination of ethical standards and the gradual development of a consensus that potential human subjects needed to be protected from being used as ‘guinea pigs’ in scientific research. There are several reasons why it is important to adhere to ethical norms in research. First, norms promote the aims of research, such as knowledge, truth, and avoidance of error. For example, prohibitions against fabricating, falsifying, or misrepresenting research data promote the truth and avoid error. Second, since research often involves a great deal of cooperation and coordination among many different people in different disciplines and institutions, ethical standards promote the values that are essential to collaborative work, such as trust, accountability, mutual respect, and fairness. For example, many ethical norms in research, such as guidelines for authorship, copyright and patenting policies, data sharing policies, and confidentiality rules in pe er review, are designed to protect intellectual property interests while encouraging collaboration. Most researchers want to receive credit for their contributions and do not want to have their ideas stolen or disclosed prematurely. Third, many of the ethical norms help to ensure that researchers can be held accountable to the public. For instance, federal policies on research misconduct, conflicts of interest, the human subject’s  protections, and animal care and use are necessary in order to make sure that researchers who are funded by public money can be held accountable to the public. Fourth, ethical norms in research also help to build public support for research. People are more likely to fund research project if they can trust the quality and integrity of research. Finally, many of the norms of research promote a variety of other important moral and social values, such as social responsibility, human rights, and animal welfare, compliance with the law, and health and safety. Ethical lapses in research can significantly harm human and animal subjects, students, and the public. For example, a researcher who fabricates data in a clinical trial may harm or even kill patients and a researcher who fails to abide by regulations and guidelines relating to radiation or biological safety may jeopardize his health and safety or the health and safety of staff and students. We can’t solve our social problems until we understand how they come about, persist. Social science research offers a way to examine and understand the operation of human social affairs. It provides points of view and technical procedures that uncover things that would otherwise escape our awareness. Often, as it goes, things are not what they seem; social science research can make that clear. Social research is often seen as an intrusion to people, as it is seen as a disruption in their normal daily activities. Social research examines a society’s attitudes, assumptions, beliefs, trends, stratifications and rules. Social research obtains personal information about people, information that might not be known by the people closest to them. The information obtained can then be revealed to other people such as lawyers and doctors and in the case of lawyers this information can then be revealed to their clients; therefore social researchers like to believe that the research will help all humanity. Popular topics of social research include poverty, racism, class issues, sexuality, voting behavior, gender constructs, policing and criminal behavior. Research can be conducted using surveys, reports, observation, questionnaires, focus groups, historical accounts, personal diaries and census statistics. There are two types of research: qualitative research and quantitative research. Qualitative research is inductive, meaning the researcher creates hypotheses and  abstractions from collected data. Most data is collected via words or pictures and mostly from people. Researchers are interested in how people make sense of their lives and in the research process itself. Quantitative research is the complete opposite and most often involves numbers and set data. Quantitative data is efficient but focuses only on the end result, not the process itself, as qualitative research does. Quantitative data is precise and is often the result of surveys or questionnaires. Voluntary participation is a major principle of research ethics and the same applies to social research. Everyone participating should do so voluntary and should not be forced in any way. Participants should also be informed that there is no reward for participating in the research and they will not be penalized if they do not want to participate. Voluntary participation does however, raise scientific concerns, a major one being generalization. This is said because it is believed that only people with the same personality or same traits would volunteer to participate in a particular research therefore the results will not apply to the population as a whole. There are instances where the researcher will not reveal they are doing a research because they will not want the subjects to be affected in terms of not wanting to participate. In these instances the subjects don’t get to chose if they want to participate, therefore the researcher has to ensure that they do not bring any harm to the subjects they are studying. Harm can be defined as both physical and psychological. There are two standards that are applied in order to help protect the privacy of research participants. Almost all research guarantees the participants’ confidentiality; they are assured that identifying information will not be made available to anyone who is not directly involved in the study. The stricter standard is the principle of anonymity which essentially means that the participant will remain anonymous throughout the study –even to the researchers themselves. The need to protect the subjects has been in part to violations against subjects by medical researchers, like the experiments performed on prisoners of war by Nazi researchers in World War II. Social research should never harm the subjects, no matter if it is voluntary or not. Social researchers should ensure that their research will in no way embarrass subjects or endanger their family life, jobs or anyone else they are associated with. Social researchers have an obligation to protect their subjects, therefore they have to ask the subjects very personal questions about their behavior, income or anything else that may personal agony or harm to the subject. It is because of this that all participants must be informed of the risks involved in participating in research projects. Social researchers should also be careful when writing books or articles about their studies because the subjects often read the books or articles and if they see themselves in a negative way. The key to research whether it is, voluntary participation or avoiding harm, is sensitivity to the issues being researched and experience with applicants. Even when clear ethical standards and principles exist, there will be times when the need to do accurate research runs up against the rights of potential participants. No set of standards can possibly anticipate every ethical circumstance. Furthermore, there needs to be a procedure that assures that rese archers will consider all relevant ethical issues in formulating research plans.

Minimising risk in fashion

Explain how Buyers and Merchants minimise hazard when planning ranges for their manner company. Gabrielle ( Coco ) Chanel stated ‘Fashion does non merely exist in frocks, manner is in the air, it is brought in by the air current, one feels it coming, breathes it in the sky and on the paving, it depends on thoughts clients and happenings’ ( Charles-Roux, 2005 p.11 ) . The undertaking of construing how the changing universe is likely to impact the consumer’s desire for manner merchandises is hard, and this is why manner purchasers and merchants turn to command tools.There are many control tools which a manner company will utilize throughout its concern construction in order to accomplish maximal net income borders and to assist understate hazard and to give themselves a strong competitory advantage over rivals. Control tools are a critical portion of a manner company in order for it to turn successfully and to stay competitory. Despite supplying a figure of advantages to a manner company, control tools besides present a figure of disadvantages and restrictions whereby they are merely utile to a certain point, and this is when other control tools need to be put into the equation. A cardinal control tool used in the purchasing procedure is Range Planning. Range Planning involves roll uping a commercially acceptable aggregation of garments within fiscal and design parametric quantities, prior to production and bringing ( Goworek 2007 ) .The development of a scope of merchandises for a new season raises of import strategic issues for manner retail merchants about new merchandises and markets. In any season there is ever a balance struck between updated rudimentss that will be repeated in some signifier, and wholly new manner merchandises. A utile tool to assist entree the scope of merchandises for a season and to assist understate hazard is the Ansoff product-market matrix. This planning tool helps separate the basic options for increasing gross revenues by pull stringsing merchandise and market chances. It works good for the manner industry where merchandises are of all time altering and new markets continually developing, hence this will assist to understate h azard when planning ranges. Buyers and merchants should recognize the strategic options indicated by the Ansoff Matrrix, and the differing deduction of each to developing merchandise ranges in a season ( Watts, 1998 ) . Basically these options represent different methods of increasing gross revenues which will basically assist to maximize net incomes. The trouble manner retail merchants face is where to strike the balance between the breadth of the scope they offer and the deepness of pick available in their scope of merchandises. ‘Range width’ refers to how broad a pick of merchandises is to be offered to clients. Some manner retail merchants e.g. Miss Selfridge, began selling vesture and accoutrements but have widened their merchandise ranges to include jewelry, make-up and a whole host of other merchandises reflecting the lifestyle demands of the consumer. The deepness of a scope refers to the picks of manners, colorss, sizes and monetary values available to clients in important Numberss of units within production classs. When purchasers and merchants are be aftering the scope, they need to look at their mark consumer to place what merchandise categorization should be included and how many of each categorization, this is to assist understate hazard. Product Mix is an of import component of Range planning. If assess ed right, harmonizing to consumer demands and wants, the right merchandise mix will assist to maximize net incomes. The advantage of holding a merchandise mix is that it can potentially increase the volume of gross revenues, widening the scope on offer helps to distribute the fiscal hazards which are potentially involved. In add-on adding new scopes to the trade name will assist to diversify the manner company and convey approximately new concern chances and aid to increase possible gross revenues and net incomes. Having a wide merchandise mix will besides assist to aim new clients every bit good as making and prolonging the involvement of current consumers. Furthermore Product Mix is a cardinal driver in the scope planning procedure. The disadvantage of Product Mix as a control tool is an increased hazard of stock markdowns if Product Mix on offer is excessively broad ( Shaw, 2005 ) . When be aftering a scope program construction many retail merchants and purchasers struggle to make up one's mind whether to go on with merchandises which have sold good in the yesteryear but which are going ‘old fashioned’ such as the Laura Ashley jumper daisy print frock ( Shaw, 2005 ) . A clear and up to day of the month statement of the retailers’ market place and mark client, based on uninterrupted research, will give the purchaser assurance to be ruthlessly matter-of-fact over what to include and what non to maintain in a scope. This will assist to understate hazard within the manner company. When be aftering a merchandise scope, the Product Mix and categorization program are of critical importance ; each merchandise will hold its ain single merchandise life rhythm ( Doha, 2013 ) . The merchandise lifecycle of a merchandise has four really clearly defined phases, each with its ain features, that average different things for concerns that are seeking to pull off the life rhythms of their peculiar merchandises. These four distinct phases consist of: Introduction, Growth, Maturity and Decline. These four phases will change well harmonizing to the type of merchandise which is being sold, and whether it’s a authoritative, craze or manner merchandise. Product lifecycle direction is an of import control tool within calculating gross revenues and seasons. It makes it possible to command the whole lifetime of a merchandise and the information connected with it. Efficient merchandise lifecycle direction enables companies to vie successfully in international planetary markets ( Stark, 2006 ) . Product life rhythm direction is the activity of pull offing a company’s merchandises all the manner across its lifecycles in the most effectual manner. In so making, it enables the company to take control of its merchandises. If a company loses control of its merchandises this can hold black effects. Therefore merchandise life rhythm direction is a cardinal control tool, for merchants and purchasers. During the development of a merchandise, it doesn’t physically exist, so during that stage of its life it’s hard to command. PML helps to convey better merchandises to market faster, and enable better support of customersâ€℠¢ usage of merchandises. It is of import to convey a merchandise to market rapidly, otherwise the client will take a competitor’s merchandise before yours get to market. An advantage for purchasers and merchants of utilizing the merchandise lifecycle as a control tool is that it helps cut down the cost of a merchandise. The merchandise life rhythm can be used by purchasers and merchants to assist understate hazard for their manner companies by reexamining old products’ lifecycles, where they peaked and where they started to worsen. This can be used to an advantage to assist be after the merchandise life rhythms of similar futuristic merchandises which will assist to command and gauge the life rhythm of a merchandise. It’s of import to cut down merchandise costs ; otherwise consumers may halt utilizing your merchandise and utilize a competitor’s alternatively. PLM enables the value of a merchandise to be maximised over its lifecycle. With accurate consolid ated information about mature merchandises available, low-priced ways can be found to widen their revenue-generating life-times. PLM gives transparence about what is go oning over the merchandise lifecycle ; it offers directors visibleness about what is truly go oning with products.. However the disadvantage of utilizing the PLC is that the merchandise lifecycle is merely a theoretical theoretical account and the merchandise lifecycle is non needfully reflective of all manner merchandises. Forecasting gross revenues and seasons is a critical control tool which purchasers and merchants have to implement in order to understate hazard with planning scopes for their manner company. Manner prediction looks at the fiscal parts and the comparing of the seasons’ gross revenues last twelvemonth. Additionally manner companies have to equilibrate the customer’s pick with the demand to accomplish the best return of stock investing. The get downing point for many manner retail merchants is gross revenues history, as it identifies what clients expect to purchase from the concern based on their current and past demands. Gross saless history may mention to last week’s gross revenues, and as such besides reflects customers’ current seasonal demands ( Douglas 1997 ) . There is much valuable information available to the purchaser from the gross revenues history of old seasons. Forms have likely been established of the type of manner ware which the retailers’ clients have purchased in the yesteryear. Best sellers from old seasons need to be replaced with new yet every bit profitable ware, The purchaser needs to through ally analyse which fact ors contributed towards an points bestselling position ( Goworek 2007 ) . Manner season is an of import component of the control tool ‘Forecasting gross revenues and seasons’ . Historically there have been two clearly defined and traditional manner seasons, which are Autumn/Winter and SS. Easy ( 1995 ) explains that retail merchants have organised themselves around consumer demand that has traditionally been influenced by conditions forms. In the yesteryear there have been two clearly defined and traditional seasons and these are still steadfastly ingrained in our civilization, even though they have progressively less relevancy to consumers and manner concerns. With a greater accent on fulfilling the manner demands of customers’ altering life manners, manner retail merchants have to purchase more rapidly and maintain scopes focused on what clients want at peculiar times of the old ages, as opposed to fulfilling two big period of demand, i.e. summer and winter. Another factor which has influenced client demand is greater travel, as clien ts require vesture for a assortment of climes and occasions out of season, e.g. swimsuit in winter. In order to understate hazard manner retail merchants have to purchase more rapidly and maintain scopes focused on what clients want at a peculiar clip of the twelvemonth, as opposed to purchasing to fulfill two big periods of demand. In order for purchasers and merchants to understate hazard is it critical that they besides ‘buy’ in order to fulfill discreet ‘user occasions’ . Increasing consumer demand is coercing retail merchants to retink merchandise ranges about changed client behavior. Product categorization is a cardinal component of Range Planning. It is critical for the merchant and purchaser to calculate the merchandise lifecycle of merchandises with different categorizations such as Fashion, Fad and Classic. The merchant plays a cardinal function in working with the purchaser to accomplish the right balance of merchandises within the seasons range. This is done by utilizing a combination of gross revenues history combined with forward gross revenues and tendency anticipations. The sum of manner and fad merchandise in the Product Mix will find the sum of flexibleness needed. It is noted that the manner manner tendency reviews begin many months in progress of a season. Normally at the terminal of the old season the purchasing and selling squad will hold undertaken what is known as a ‘seasons station mortem’ . The advantages of set abouting a seasons station mortem is that it is a utile papers for be aftering the future manner way of a manner concern and is helpful during the planning of a new season. It is of import to command the degree of stock and type of stock that is in the concern at any given clip ; this is carried out through manner prediction, and the scrutiny of merchandise classs to utilize in a season, such as Authoritative trench coats manner or crazes. The ware program is an of import control tool in order to understate the hazard of holding excessively much ‘cost’ that hazards being unsold ( Shaw 2005 ) . This relates to be aftering and profitableness. It is critical to observe that one of the most of import ends in successful selling is to help the procedure of accomplishing the planned degree of purchasing profitableness. ‘Buying profit’ can be defined as the difference between the cost monetary value paid for the garment and the retail merchandising monetary value in the store. The grade up or net income made between the two monetary values can be explained by the undermentioned merchandising monetary value equation. Retail merchandisin g monetary value ( RSP ) -Cost Price ( CP ) =Gross Margin ( or gross net income ) . WSSI is an of import control tool which is used every twenty-four hours in the life of a purchaser and merchant. Throughout the twelvemonth, it is critical for the merchant and purchaser to construct stock degrees in expectancy of trading extremum periods such as Christmas and high summer. The WISSI is really good at assisting the purchaser and merchant program frontward stock consumption into the DC. Every Monday gross revenues figures are awaited in order that purchasers and merchants can place fast selling lines that need reiterate bargains to guarantee that they are kept in stock. On the other manus it is besides the Monday figures which reveal the worst Sellerss that finally will necessitate holding their monetary values marked down. Thus the WISSI helps to pull off and command hazard. The WISSI is one of the most valuable studies used by the purchaser. It includes gross revenues and stock list degrees by manner for the old hebdomad. The WISSI acts as an overall control mechanis m to guarantee that the flow of stock and money in the concern is go oning expeditiously. WSSI is an of import control tool for purchasers and merchants because it significantly works alongside the bringing agenda. It lists the hebdomad and the twenty-four hours when the providers have been requested to present the garments to the DC. Being cognizant of precisely what is traveling to be delivered is besides of cardinal involvement to shop and promotional direction maps of the administrations ; this can assist pull off hazard and supply a competitory advantage for the manner company. One of the cardinal selling activities controlled by utilizing the WISSI is the facet of line degree monetary value change that regularly occurs within all manner concerns. Ideally at the start of the season, the purchaser and merchant purpose to make a monetary value construction that relates to the type of clients to whom they are selling. Monetary values must besides be competitory to guarantee they a re in line with major competition. Overall WISSI acts as the cardinal selling direction papers within manner retailing ; it is lone portion of a wider scope of be aftering paperss. It is shamelessly an internal fiscal control papers which is a sum-up of all the trading activity within the section and finally the full concern. There are disadvantages of WISSI as a control tool. Taken out of context, it can be a nonmeaningful page of figures. It requires careful reading, utilizing experience to pull strings both it and the purchasing, if the section is to win. It is of import to retrieve that manner is non formulaic ; merchants try to utilize it in a formulaic manner, bring forthing it without understanding. Therefore it is of import that merchants and purchasers do non respond excessively rapidly to sudden good and bad gross revenues forms ; reaction to the WSSI must be both considered and careful. Overall the of import of understanding the workings of WSSI should non be underestimated. Using this control document the merchant has considerable advantages and is able to maintain hebdomadal updates of yesteryear, nowadays and likely future public presentations of the section and direction to on a regular basis look into their public presentations against the original program. More significantly it acts as a decision-making tool to assist the concern make up one's mind what action to take on an on-going regular footing. This will more significantly assist to understate hazard and aid to maximize net incomes. To reason there are a figure of control tools which purchasers and merchants can utilize in order to understate hazard and maximize net incomes when planning ranges for their manner companies. There are considerable advantages of utilizing a figure of control tools in order to derive competitory advantages over similar manner companies and rivals and to assist increase net income borders. Manner companies will strategically utilize a combination of control tools in order program in front to give themselves the greatest opportunity of success. For a manner company to win it has to â€Å"reflect the demands and the desires of a coevals at a peculiar point in clip. It has to be of the minute, but with ageless values that will ever be recognised† ( Menkes 2001 ) Mentions: Ahmed Doha, Ajay Das, Mark Pagell, ( 2013 ) â€Å" The influence of merchandise life rhythm on the efficaciousness of buying patterns † , International Journal of Operations & A ; Production Management, Vol. 33 Iodine: 4, pp.470 – 498 Charles-Roux, E. ( 2004_ .The universe of Coco Chanel. Friends Fashion Fame. London: Thames and Hudson, p.11 Douglas C. West, ( 1997 ) â€Å" Pull offing Gross saless Forecasting † , Management Research News, Vol. 20 Iodine: 4, pp.1 – 10 Easy, M. ( 1995 )Manner Selling.Oxford: Blackwell Science. Goworek, H ( 2007 ) .Manner Buying. London: Blackwell. p44-45. Hines.T, et Al. ( 2007 )Manner Selling: modern-day issues.Routledge ; 2 edition ( 2006 ) Jackson.T, et Al. ( 2000 )Manner Buying and trading direction #Gerald Watts, Jason Cope, Michael Hulme, ( 1998 ) â€Å" Ansoff’s Matrix, hurting and addition: Growth schemes and adaptative acquisition among little nutrient manufacturers † , International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & A ; Research, Vol. 4 Iodine: 2, pp.101 – 111 Stark, J ( 2006 ) .Product Lifecycle Mangament 21stCenturyParadigm for Product Realisation. London: Dordrecht: Springer 2006. P 4-5

Fred Bailey Case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Fred Bailey Case - Essay Example This was not easy for Japanese since in Japanese culture, people first get to know each other and free conversation takes place only after a certain amount of familiarity is established. He made the same mistake when interacting with Japanese clients and instead of trying to know them batter, immediately launched into the project details. He also made no efforts to learn about the Japanese culture from the one American employee who had some knowledge of the Japanese culture. Fred’s lack of patience and his attempt to get results quickly rubbed the Japanese the wrong way and resulted in his feeling frustrated and unable to get any work done. 3. When selecting employees for oversees assignment, it would be a good idea to look for someone who is familiar with the local language. Also, person’s who have traveled widely are usually much more open to other cultures and adapt easily. People who have been brought up in households where they were exposed to more than one culture may also adapt better in foreign cultures. Besides a person’s cultural predisposition, it is also important to look the family. Usually, a person with well settled family may resist leaving everything and going to a foreign country. As a result, it is best to send employees who do not have many family obligations. If such a person is not available for a senior position, an organization may send junior employees and allow them to get to know the local culture, while a senior employee can make periodic visits and use the local experience of the younger employees to interact with the locals. 4. Fred’s organization could have given Fred and his family cultural adaptations classes to get them ready for their Japanese assignment. 5. As Dave Steiner, if I receive such a call from Fred, I would advice Fred to hang in while I explored the options. Next I would call other employees in Japan to understand what the problem was. I could also talk with the person who was at the position before Fred and ask him about his opinions. Once I understood what the problem was, I would ask Fred to go through a cultural acclimatization course and to hang in there for a few more months. If, after taking all these steps, Fred still insisted on returning, I would have no other option but to agree. But before that, I would advise Fred to better understand the Japanese culture and give it some more time. The case study presented here is related to the cultural problems faced while conducting international business. Hence, the two articles selected for this essay are both concerned with cultural issues in international business settings. Th e first article is titled â€Å"The Effects of Cultural Adaptation on Business Relations: Americans Selling to Japanese and Thais†

Glam Metal Scene Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Glam Metal Scene - Essay Example As MTV appeared, a new instrument became available for music bands seeking popularity and recognition. Sunset Strip in Los Angeles was the place of birth for this music and visual genre, for early 1980s’ populated local clubs and concert halls with a great number of heavy metal bands that desperately sought ways to stand out among others (Batchelor 165). Due to availability of video clips’ rotation, the bands put their stakes on extravagant visual image as a means of being distinguished among others: MTV made glam metal â€Å"very much a whole visual and stylistic thing† (Popoff 217). While many heavy metal bands were using rather extravagant elements of visual image like leather, spandex and teased hair, these elements were exaggerated and extreme in glam metal bands, for their members were typically dressed in bright and even womanly clothes, created big teased hairstyles, wore tons of makeup and jewelry. However, their generally androgynous look ran contrary t o their image of outstanding males with enormous sexual appetites and their lifestyle involving heavy drinking, multiple sexual contacts and even drug abuse, whereby Nikki Sixx can be mentioned as a heavy heroin addict at the time of hair metal’s extreme popularity. However, androgyny of hair metal bands of eighties was different from that cultivated by the glam rock bands that influenced the discussed genre: glam metal scene used androgyny as the instrument of entertainment rather than irony, being more explicitly heterosexual (Moore 105).

THE NURSES' RESPONSABILITY IN THE PREVENTION OF MEDICAL ERRORS Essay

THE NURSES' RESPONSABILITY IN THE PREVENTION OF MEDICAL ERRORS - Essay Example It identifies the six major medication administration rights that need to be observed during patient care. The study draws close attention to the health care provided by nurses as regards to patient safety with key measures being the errors and their frequency of occurrence. The implication of this study therefore is to sensitize the health care providers on the medication administration rights and how to apply them to reduce medication errors. A medication error is any event which is preventable that may lead to improper medication use or patient injury while the medication is in the control of a health care professional, consumer or patient. Under the state laws, injury to a patient that arises as a consequence of negligence or medical malpractice, results in a tort (Cima et al, 2012). This is punishable under a court of law. Medication errors may be related to professional practice, health care products, systems and procedure. Poor drug prescription including order communication, labeling of drugs, nomenclature, compounding, dispensing, administration and use are among the major medication errors. Therefore, there should be minimal or no room at all for errors especially human that may lead to injury of any form on a patient. There are nursing guidelines that govern nurses to help them prevent medication errors (Sherwood, 2012. ... In this regard, the nurses need to properly understand the six major medical administration rights during patient care. In simple terms, it is an attempt at improving safety at this point of care. This is especially for the vulnerable population such as the elderly in the society or the infants and children. Nurses are required to strictly observe the rights of medical administration. This is part of the many intervention aspects of nursing that help to reduce medical related errors. The various medical administration rights that should be adhered to are as discussed below; Right patient At times, busy hospitals and emergency centers can innocently misrepresent the identity of a patient either through the manual processes used or overlooked while under pressure. Therefore nurses should take proper records of a patient such as the names age and where from to act as identifiers. With the advancement in technology, the use of a bar-code system can be helpful in preventing probable medic ation errors. For example, a patient suffered injury as a result of being administered with a different patient’s prescription for blood thinner warfarin. The patient developed serious hemorrhage Right drug It is not possible for every nurse to know the drug facts for each drug and particular patients therefore it is advisable for every nurse to be knowledgeable about the drugs being administered to a patient. It is only professional and competent for a nurse to look up for more drug information in unfamiliar instances before administering a drug on a patient. It is the right of the patient to receive the right information on a medication, a right to receive correct medication and a nurse having knowledge on the medication they are providing. to prevent errors it is

Arranged Marriage Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Arranged Marriage - Term Paper Example According to the term paper "Arranged Marriage" findings, arranged marriages are marriages arranged by the family members of the two partners. Even today in many parts of the world marriages are arranged by the families of the incumbents. The decision-making process in arranged marriages is quite different to the ‘love’ marriages popular in the West (Batabyal, 2001). The reasons are scientific. The young persons are not mature enough to choose the right partner. Their decisions would be based on aesthetics and pleasure while a successful marriage has to consider the family background. The youth would be guided by friendship and external factors whereas the family members would probe into the socio-economic search of the other family. While the marriages in India too are fixed by the two families, the consent of the two partners is paramount. The Indian families grow up with the conviction that marriages take place between two families and not two individuals. Thus, the f irst step is to evaluate the family when the proposal comes in. Once the two families are satisfied with each other’s standing in the society, the two potential partners in the marriage are provided an opportunity to talk to each other. This remains restricted to one or two meetings but their opinion does matter. Only when they give their consent the marriage is fixed. No coercion is exercised although when the two partners are very young, they may be shown the right direction in evaluating the taking the decision. The final decision however, rests on the two partners concerned. Thus, it is arranged to the extent that the family finds the prospective partner but the two agents have the right not to agree or get married. This sort of arranged marriage is healthy as there is no exchange or subjugation as in Pakistan. In Pakistan exchange marriages take place between where the family members or the close relatives of the spouses take the initiative to fix the marriages. In such societies patriarchic authority persists even today and such decisions are usually based on socio-economic relationships (Zaman, 2008). The two partners agree to such exchange marriages fixed by their elders for them and Zaman says they â€Å"subjugate themselves as actors to the agency of corporate family structures†. The reason for the involvement of families in arranging the marriages has several reasons. Such marriages provide social security as has also been pointed out by Zaman as it also helps to combat the security risks at both the macro and the micro levels. While security is important, partner compatibility is equally important which is not given importance to in Pakistan. Batabyal discusses about the utility of the traditional methods of decision-making in arrange marriages. He suggests that

Economy of Switzerland Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Economy of Switzerland - Essay Example The country's political environment too is characterized by a high degree of decentralization with adequate amount of autonomy and authority delegated to the 26 cantons (Datamonitor, 2007). Macroeconomic indicators happen to be good measure of the economic development of a country as these measures keep track of the life-style of the citizens and the problems faced by them while trying to arrange for the living. Sound macroeconomic indicators help in strengthening the base for a lasting growth of a nation. Some of the macroeconomic indicators over the last couple of years can be summarized for the country as follows; Gross Domestic Product (GDP) happens to be the key driver of macroeconomic conditions in a country. It is calculated as1 'the total market value of all final goods and services produced in a country in a given year, equal to total consumer, investment and government spending, plus the value of exports, minus the value of imports'. Switzerland has seen consistent growth in its GDP over the years, but it appears that is not good enough for it to maintain its leading position amongst similarly placed nations. OECD (2007) in its survey, while lauding the high levels of GDP per capita for Switzerland, also expresses concern over the continuous erosion of Switzerland's relative position over the past decade. The report points out that while proper utilization of labor remains high, the productivity levels has dropped down in comparison to other developed economies like Germany, France, Denmark etc. The growth in real GDP for Switzerland over the period of 2001-2006 is as indicated in tabl e-1 Table 1: Switzerland real GDP (Swiss francs billion), 2001-2006 Table-2: GDP per capita growth in Switzerland compared to major Eurozone countries, 2001-2006 and forecast 2007-11 Year GDP (Swiss francs billion) Growth (%) Country CAGR 2001-2006 CAGR 2007-2011 2001 423 1.1 Germany 0.9 1.0 2002 425 0.4 France 1.4 1.5 2003 424 -0.2 Italy 0.6 0.9 2004 434 2.4 Spain 2.9 4.1 2005 444 2.2 Switzerland 1.0 1.4 2006 457 3.0 Source: Datamonitor, U.S Census Bureau International Database, National Statistical Organization- Switzerland CAGR 1.55% Source: Datamonitor, National Statistical Organization- Switzerland Even during the first two quarters of 2007 the GDP growth remained quite encouraging reaching 0.7% in each period, quarter on quarter (OECD, 2007). What is driving the growth is the acceleration in private consumption with an increase in the availability of more job opportunities and labour incomes. In fact in today's market driven economy what makes a big difference in the economic growth is the purchasing power of the workforce which sets a chain reaction in the form of more purchases, more production, and more contribution to the government in the form of taxes, more investments by the industry and expansion of the overall industrial outlook of the nation. Therefore, Switzerland seems to be preparing adequate ground for inviting more investments which obviously helps the government in shelling out more funds for infrastructure and social welfare sectors. For the year 2007 the GDP growth has been estimated around 2.5%, somewhat lower as compared to the 2006 figures but, in view of the global slowdown in economies this percentage appears good enough. The improvement in economic indicators is also on account of

Analyze a story Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analyze a story - Essay Example Her approach to her subject is quite diverse with respect to the locations and the variety of the crimes done by men to women. The paper seeks to analyze the story or article through the vivid presentation of the facts that the author is trying to say. At the initiation of the story, the author defines the boundaries of her analysis. She observes numerous atrocities occurring in various parts of the world but desists from tackling them with the reason that similar problems with the same magnitudes frequently occur in America. She claims that many people ignore the oppression existing at the very doorsteps of Americans, According to her; Americans suffer under the delusion that women in America have achieved equality. The real perception that she tries to tell her audiences is that they should not be complacent in the fight against inequality with respect to women. Instead of focusing on the problems of the world, Valenti throws a strong challenge to the contemporary Americans to stay focused and boldly face the atrocities beckoning at their door-steps. In addition, she tries to say that there is substantial progress that women movements have achieved in the past. However, she is skeptical about justifying that the prevalence of atrocities has halted. She emphatically says, â€Å"Women are still being raped, trafficked, violated and discriminated against -- not just in the rest of the world, but here in the United States† (Valenti 1). Through giving some of the recent examples of injustices such as the sexual assault of women in Colorado the author aims to open fresh wounds and induce the need for urgency in addressing the matter. The author introduced another dimension of perceiving the vulnerability of women to cases of injustices. She gives examples of instances where close colleagues and work partners have raped women. For instance, women serving in the military in Iraq are likely to become preys to fellow

eligion In United States Public Schools Essay Example for Free

eligion In United States Public Schools Essay The answer of the question is that students should be allowed to express any religion in United States Public Schools. I based my answer on the fundamental principles of the state with respect to the right to practice religion as well as my personal opinion. Therefore, I would like to submit that students in the United States should be allowed to practice any religion based on the separation of the church and state principle coined by the First Amendment of the Constitution. Other relevant instances and facts will also be used to explain this proposal like opposition of students of the mandatory prayer in school as well as the personal choice to express one’s religion through prayer. One reason that the students must be allowed to practice their own religion in schools is that it was the intention of the state that there will be a separation between the church and the state. All About History mentioned that the separation of the church and the state has been considered as part ad parcel of the legitimate, historical and political structure of the government and protects our freedom to practice religion (â€Å"Separation of Church and State†). In addition, it was also opined by Tripod that the separation of the church and state is considered a metaphor that well-known all over the world (â€Å"The Constitutional Principle: Separation of Church and State†). This is stated this way because there is really no exact provision of the Constitution that mentioned separation of the church and the state. The idea was impliedly yet strongly mentioned in the Bill of Rights in order to ensure that freedom of religion can be served to the people. The phrase existed because of Thomas Jefferson who wrote the Danbury Baptists that they should not worry because an imaginary wall between the church and the state will be established (â€Å"The Constitutional Principle: Separation of Church and State†). Second argument, the First Amendment of the Constitution clearly mentioned the basic ideals of the state concerning the freedom of religious practice. Volkomer (2001) wrote that, and I quote: â€Å"The First Amendment provides that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances† (425). It is then regarded by the government as a very important right since it was stated in the First Amendment of the Constitution. There is a clear prohibition that the legislature should not enact laws that favors any sectarian groups such that freedom of religion is thereby settled as a rule. If this rule will not be implemented, the very essence of liberty could not be exercised by the people. Imagine how scary on the part of the government to participate in matters those talks about religion when its very goal is to govern the people and not to make them godly. Besides, any governmental intervention on matters of religion would create chaos since we have different religious sects in the society. Political power may be seized by means of religion and everybody will use the name of God. Every religious sect will do everything in its power to influence policy-making in order to serve its interests to the disadvantage of the general welfare. Hence, students should be allowed in school to express their own way of worship and religious homage. Another argument to support the answer that students should be allowed to practice nay religion in public schools is that schools were not built to teach religious doctrines but to teach academic knowledge. It may be true that public schools are under the direction of the government yet the latter has no reason to direct it with regards to the incorporation of religious favor in schools. The mandatory school prayers made or required in some schools raked opposing views by students in public schools. The existence of public schools rests on education and not to basically proselyte. Kids in public schools are enslaved spectators. They are required to perform religious duties that they are not supposed to do either because they belong to other faith and or they have the right to practice their own beliefs. Therefore, the requirement that prayer should become an official element of the school day is improper and insidious (â€Å"Separation of Church and State†). In addition, religion must be treated as a private matter. It should be trifled upon by students in schools. Students in public schools must be given a chance to at least pray on their own decision and not because they were asked to do so. What is the purpose of faith when they should be forced to pray against their beliefs? There is none for that matter. The scheme that religious requirements in public schools be given would result to divisive attitudes of the students. It would create and build walls between students thereby giving them the opportunity to oppress the minority in terms of religious groups. It would disrupt the learning processes of the students in public schools. It must not be disregarded that public schools in America is for all students and not only for a particular group of students. It would be unfair if there were groups of religious believers who are given favorable situations on account of religious domination.

Slow Food Versus Fast Food Essay Example for Free

Slow Food Versus Fast Food Essay Introduction Most hotels at Victoria Falls have for decades prided themselves on a culture of serving leisurely, gourmet meals (especially dinners) prepared using local ingredients including a variety of game meat (e. g. buffalo, kudu, impala, warthog, crocodile, guinea fowl), local mushrooms and vegetable varieties, and ? sh from the nearby Zambezi River. Arguably, a signi? cant proportion of this food quali? es to be called ‘slow food’, because it meets the four criteria for slowlness (Rothermel, 2009). First, slow food must be freshly prepared from fresh ingredients, mostly vegetables, fruit and whole grains, and meat in small portions. Second, the food must be eaten leisurely in company. Third, it must be simple but varied in taste. Finally, it must be produced in an ethical and environmentally friendly manner. However, in recent years, fast food restaurants, led by Innscor brands such as Chicken Inn, Creamy Inn, and so on, have begun penetrating the market. Indeed the expansion of fast food chains in the last decade can be observed in several African countries. In South Africa, international chains such as KFC and McDonald’s are becoming virtually ubiquitous. Rapid growth of fast food restaurant chains has become a global phenomenon (Berta, 2003; Doherty and van Warner, 1995; Emerson, 1980; King, 2004; Lan and Khan, 1995; Parsa and Khan, 1989; Soeder, 1994; Walkup, 2008; Willging, 2008). In the resort town of Victoria Falls, most tourists have traditionally opted to eat at the hotels where they lodge. However, with recent entrance of fast food chains, hoteliers, facing the threat of losing market share, have been responding to the changing competitive forces. Victoria Falls has become a ‘slow food versus fast food’ battleground. The main aim of this paper is to explore how the contemporary slow food– fast food contention is enacted in an African tourist destination setting. An important point to make is that it is not suggested here that Victoria Falls hotels serve slow food exclusively. Indeed, most hotels in the resort, in addition to what would qualify as slow food, also serve items which could be labelled as fast food, such as Corresponding author: Muchazondida Mkono, School of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Southern Cross University, P. O. Box 157, Lismore, New South Wales 2480, Australia Email: [emailprotected] edu. au, [emailprotected] Downloaded from thr. sagepub. com at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University on March 14, 2013 148 burgers, fries, and so on, typically as part of their ‘still room’ menus for lunches and snacks. At the same time hotels at Victoria Falls have always accepted that the majority of their guests spend the day undertaking a range of ‘tourist activities’ away from the hotel (for example elephant riding, over-the falls helicopter ? ights, bungee jumping, game safaris, white water rafting) and will often ? nd a quick snack elsewhere, or be provided with refreshments by tour operators offering these activities. Breakfast is generally consumed at the hotel, as most hotel rates are charged on bed and breakfast basis. Thus the real contention as to the tourist’s choice of either fast food or slow food is centred around dinner. Tourism and Hospitality Research 12(3) Warner, 1995; Emerson, 1980; Lan and Khan, 1995; Parsa and Khan, 1989; Soeder, 1994; Willging, 2008). Research has mainly focused on the health impacts of this trend (Allen et al. , 2007; Bartlett and Bartlett, 1995; Blanck et al. , 2009; Bowens, 1994; Chandon and Wansink, 2007; Chaudhry, 1992; Crowley, 2002; Dundes and Swann, 2008; Fitch et al., 2009; Grazin and Olsen, 1997; Gregory et al. , 2006; Hawkes, 2003; Hodges, 2003; Parker et al. , 2006; Rubin, 1996; Schreiner, 2007; Thornton et al. , 2009; Xu et al. , 2011), with the majority of authors corroborating the view that fast food poses signi? cant health risks. As such Slow Food Movement enthusiasts advocate a return to slow food habits. At the same time, there is a growing health conscious, market (Bartlett and Bartlett, 1995; Gray, 2004; Grazin and Olsen, 1997; Jonsdottir, 1998; Hwang and Cranage, 2010). In response to this trend, many hoteliers position their menus as healthier and wholesome. A closely related debate to fast food–slow food discourse pertains to the authenticity of menus. Authenticity is a central topic in tourism sociological debates, and re? ects a search for the Authentic Other in tourists (Beer, 2008; Chhabra, 2010; Cohen, 2007; Connell, 2007; Connell and Gibson, 2004; Daniel, 1996; Johnson, 2002; Wang, 1999; Warner, 2009; Wherry, 2006; White, 2007; Xie, 2003; Yang and Wall, 2009; Yu and Littrell, 2003; Zheng, 2011). Slow food, with its use of local ingredients and traditional cooking methods, has a stronger claim to authenticity, while fast food can easily be criticised as deauthenti?cation and MacDonaldisation of cuisine cultures; as Americanisation of traditional food cultures. A noticeable gap in the literature with respect to fast food chain expansion relates to the impacts on hotel food and beverage sales and pro? ts, as well as how (slow food) hotels have reacted to the trend to protect their market share. For African tourist destinations, hotels have long been an important part of the destination’s ‘authentic’ image, and the MacDonaldisation of the food culture in these areas might destabilise the desired image. The impacts therefore are far-reaching. Literature review While the concept of slow food has been received with a lot of interest among academics (Emerson, 1980; Gardner, 2007; Hodges, 2003; Jennings, 2006; Paxson, 2005; Peace, 2008; Piggott, 2001; Sassatelli and Davolio; Schwaner-Albright, 2007; Scoffer, 2008; Vaughan, 2008; Walkup, 2008; Waterhouse, 2008; Waters, 2006; Wong, 2009; Wright, 2007; Yee, 1999; Zuber, 2002), existing research has so far not looked at how resort hotels offering what could be described as ‘slow ? ne dining’ have been impacted by the expansion of fast food chains in Africa. Further, most research on fast food and slow food has been conducted in Western and Asian countries. African case studies are noticeably lacking (Emerson, 1980; King, 2004; Lan and Khan, 1995; Parsa and Khan, 1989; Soeder, 1994; Walkup, 2008; Willging, 2008). The concept of ‘slow food’ was borne out of the Slow Food Movement, founded in Bra, Italy, in 1986 by Carlo Petrini (Jones et al. , 2003; Petrini, 2001). The movement aims at safeguarding food and agricultural heritage around the world, and educating consumers about traditional foods (Nosi and Zanni, 2004). Formed to counteract the rapid globalisation of a fast food culture, the movement has evolved from being a protest against the erection of a McDonald’s restaurant in an Italian town to a formidable international organisation that has enthusiasts all over the world (Jones et al. , 2003). Interest in slow food has grown parallel to increasing criticism of fast food, although some authors question the movement’s ef? cacy in challenging the seemingly ‘all powerful’ fast food industry (Jones et al. , 2003). Fast food, according to Rothermel (2009), typically bland, chewy, cheesy, crunchy, salty, meaty, nutty, fatty, and sometimes spicy, captivates the palette quickly, repetitiously, and obsessively. As such, fast food is consumed by a growing population, particularly in developed countries (Doherty and van Methodology The goal of this study is to provide an exploratory, inductive analysis of the slow food–fast food contention as it has unfolded in recent times at the tourist destination of Victoria Falls. As a starting point for future research, the study highlights the perspectives of hoteliers, speci?cally food and beverage managers. The philosophical approach adopted for this study was hermeneutic (interpretive) phenomenology, which is also a research method (LeVasseur, 2003; Lopez and Downloaded from thr. sagepub. com at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University on March 14, 2013 Mkono Willis, 2004; Wojnar and Swanson, 2007). The approach was adopted to make sense out of a local situation by providing a thick description (Denzin and Lincoln, 1994). The localised focus resulted in small-scale theories that are situated in speci? c personal experiences and perceptions (Riley and Love, 2000). The paper employs a highly re? exive and multivocal methodology where no single voice is priviledged (Riley and Love, 2000). Hermeneutic phenomenology is a particularly appropriate method for capturing subjective perspectives and lived experiences (Hegel, 1977; Ingram, 2002; Ironside et al. , 2003; Jonsdottir, 1998; Knibbe and Versteeg, 2008; LeVasseur, 2003; Lopez and Willis, 2004; Murphy et al. , 2009; Pernecky and Jamal, 2010; Racher and Robinson, 2003; Ross et al. , 2007; Sherrod, 2006; Simpson, 2007; Sinico, 2008; Szarycz, 2009; Wilde, 2003; Wojnar and Swanson, 2007). However, only a few hospitality researchers have adopted this methodology (Ingram, 2002). Hermeneutic phenomenology accepts that both the researcher and participants cocreate an understanding of the phenomena under study, while bringing into the research their own frames of references drawing from their different backgrounds (Wojnar and Swanson, 2007). Researchers under this orientation will therefore often attempt to acknowledge whatever biases they brought into the study, through a process of ‘bracketing’ (LeVasseur, 2003), explaining ‘where they are coming from’. As such, the researcher here acknowledges her own previous work experience in the hotel industry in Victoria Falls as signi?cantly shaping her frame of reference throughout the study. As Lopez and Willis (2004) argue, in the interpretive phenomenological approach, the researcher’s presuppositions or previous knowledge are valuable guides to the analysis, and can make the inquiry more meaningful. Wojnar and Swanson (2007) explain that hermeneutic phenomenology is most useful where the goal is to explicate contextual features of a lived experience as derived from the researcher’s and participants’ backgrounds, as well as their subjective experiences and perspectives. However, the researcher is not absolved of the responsibility to minimise, or if possible at all, eliminating personal biases from the ? ndings of the study. It is often very dif? cult for researchers to demarcate between bias and fact, as bias can be very subtle. Data were collected from 11 hotel food and beverage managers. Food and beverage managers are the hands-on food and beverage operations decision makers who are directly responsible for the day to day and longer term strategy of a hotel’s food and beverage operations. Of course, other managers in the hotel, such as restaurant managers, executive chefs,149 guest relations managers and functions managers may also input into the food and beverage operations. The researcher however felt their input was minimal and in most cases, involved more strategy implementation rather than strategy formulation. Thus food and beverage managers, as primary strategists in the food and beverage department, were identi? ed as the key informants in the hotels. Out of a judgement sample of 18 hotel managers in 18 hotels (2 to 5 star) who were contacted by phone and asked if they were available for an interview, 16 agreed and appointments were set up. However, only 11 were subsequently interviewed. The other 5 could not avail themselves giving various reasons including emergency meetings or busy schedules. The researcher used an interview guide to maintain focus in the interviews. Questions were very open ended allowing interviewees to air their views freely. The research revolved around the two major research questions: the extent of threat posed by the emerging fast food competition (if any), and hotel management reactions. All interviews were tape recorded and transcribed manually, verbatim. Data analysis was performed manually, through several stages, drawing from Benner’s (1994) hermeneutical analysis model delineated in Wojnar and Swanson (2007). The process began with reading and rereading transcripts reread to gain an intuitive feel for the data. Next, repetitious themes were identi? ed. The researcher then identi? ed exemplary quotes to illustrate themes. Findings and discussion The extent of threat The majority of managers felt that fast food companies were becoming serious competition for hotel restaurants: ‘‘It’s become a bit of a war really. We have our appeal, but fast food restaurants have ‘‘street’’ appeal. We offer ? ne dining. Both concepts have their appeal, I guess. ’’ The ‘war’ referred to above is not unique to Zimbabwe. Restaurant wars have occurred in other places where fast food restaurants have entered the markets rapidly (e. g. Watson and Caldwell, 2004). Some managers reported that some of their guests were using their shuttle buses to ‘sneak out for a burger dinner at a fast food restaurant in town’. In addition, and more worrying for the hotel industry in Victoria Falls, hotel food and beverage sales were reported to have been reduced signi?cantly due to fast food entrance. This was a great concern as managers Downloaded from thr. sagepub. com at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University on March 14, 2013 150 reported the negative bottom line impact of fast food restaurant expansion. However, others were con? dent of the competitive strengths of their hotel restaurants, perceiving no real threat from fast food. ‘‘I think tourists in our hotel prefer to taste our full service men. It’s gourmet. Fast to me is bland and ordinary. Plus unhealthy. Our food is prepared by world class chefs.’’ Tourism and Hospitality Research 12(3) white water rafting on the Zambezi River, elephant back safaris, and so on) might not be consistent with a slow destination image, or a slow tourist segment. Another interesting comment made concerned the in? uence of age in preference for fast food: ‘‘It appears to me that it is our younger guests who might be particularly interested in fast food. The older folks are put off by the noise in the fast food places’’. The health implications in relation to fast food and slow food have been widely discussed (Hodges, 2003; Hunt, 2004; Mair et al., 2008; Wong, 2009). Indeed this could be the biggest selling point for hotel food over food in this context, especially if the market is predominantly health conscious. This requires further inquiry. One of the managers felt that hotels’ competitive strength with respect to food and beverage was in the uniqueness and authenticity of their menus: ‘‘We sell cuisines that they can’t get anywhere else, our kudu and impala steak, for example. Our cuisine is authentic Zimbabweanness. We bring out the best of Zimbabwean and African food. ’’ Future research could investigate further the validity of this observation in more causal, quantitative research. However, some existing research would suggest that more younger people tend to prefer fast food compared to older people (Dave et al. , 2009). One manager drew attention to the attention paid to ambience in hotel restaurants, arguing that this is an important source of differentiation from fast food restaurants: ‘‘Our hotel restaurants have a special ambience which fast food restaurants simply cannot provide’’. Authenticity is a core concept in tourism research, and it is signi? cant that hotel managers are engaged with this discourse in their re? ection of work lived experiences. But to ascribe Zimbabweanness lends to us to the complex questions of who authenticates food as Zimbabwean or otherwise, what criterion must be used, and consequently to the questions of identity and, for a multiethnic society that Zimbabwe is, ethnicity as well. Indeed, ethnicity has been a source of socio-cultural tension with regard to representing Zimbabwean identity. However, this point constitutes a highly convoluted debate that cannot be treated in more depth in an exploratory study such as this one. One manager felt that Victoria Falls was a destination for the ‘slow’ tourist, who preferred ‘slow’ products and services, so that there was no real threat for hoteliers posed by the entrance of fast food. The slow food–fast food contention is a topical issue in contemporary hospitality management as it resonates with a nostalgic yearning for the past in modern society. ‘‘I think Victoria Falls attracts more ‘slow oriented’ tourists, I think. ’’ The role ambience in in? uencing customer satisfaction is widely recognised. However some fast food restaurants have made some strides in managing the atmosphere in their restaurants. For example, the Rainforest Cafe chain’s restaurant interiors depict a tropical rainforest with detail such as plant growth, mist, waterfalls, animatronic robots of various animals and insects (Williams, 2002). Thus hoteliers cannot become complacent about their restaurant ambience as sustainable sources of competitive advantage over their fast food restaurant competition. The researcher asked whether the cheaper prices associated with fast food was a concern for hoteliers. Some managers agreed that price was in fact the major source of competition: ‘‘The trouble is that a burger at a fast food restaurants costs little, say three of four dollars. Our dinners cost them $30 dollars thereabouts. So if the decision is an economic one, especially where it’s a big family, the fast food restaurant is an inviting option. ’’ Slowness is a contested phenomenon, and it is not clear cut what constitutes slow. Further, it is questionable whether Victoria Falls is indeed a destination for slow tourists. Indeed, the adventure oriented activities that Victoria Falls is commonly known for (bungee jumping, helicopter ? ights over Falls, cruises and However, some felt that there was no logic in comparing hotel food prices with fast food prices; that doing so would be akin to comparing ‘oranges with bread’. It is clear then that hoteliers have varying perception of who their competitors are: whether competition refers to other hoteliers, or whether it extends beyond the hotel industry. De? ning competition narrowly, however, is likely to be detrimental to a hotel’s long term competitive strength. Downloaded from thr. sagepub. com at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University on March 14, 2013 Mkono It was also highlighted by some managers that their clientele was ‘upmarket’ and therefore not very pricesensitive: ‘‘Most of our guests are internationals. . . . and price is not their primary criterion for choosing where they are gonna eat. They do not travel on a tight budget’’. 151 Victoria Falls. Hotels would need to think on a longer term basis if their strategies should shield them from the competitive threat effectively. One manager expressed apprehension about the potential ef? cacy of any potential reactive strategies, citing that tourists from countries where fast food consumption has become ingrained in lifestyle ‘‘can’t resist a cheese burger’’. Thus to some extent, in this manager’s view, the war was already lost. Since for some managers the real competition was lay in the differences in price levels, it was not surprising that hotels were expected to bring down their prices. Indeed, this had already been done in some hotels: ‘‘We have had to bring our prices down a little bit’’. Hoteliers would need to address the question whether they intend to target only the upmarket, or whether their target market can be de? ned more broadly. Considering that the government’s Look East Policy launched in the early 2000s has attracted a lower spending, more price-sensitive Eastern market, limiting the target market to af? uent high spenders might not be particularly wise as a marketing strategy. Hotels therefore ? nd themselves in a crossroads decision regarding whether it makes more business sense to bring their prices down to become more competitive in the face of fast food restaurant penetration, and accept any compromises this might bring to customers’ perceptions of their product and service quality; or to keep their price levels as they are in the hope that this lures a more high spending, perhaps elitist market. A particularly important point was the reference to health conscious tourists. It was the belief of some managers that a signi?cant proportion of tourists was becoming increasingly health conscious, and was therefore inclined to avoid eating fast food: ‘‘Our guests in general are becoming very health conscious. They ask for low fat, sugar free etc. They ask if our menu is organic. They know they can’t get healthy options at the fast food restaurant. That’s a fact. ’’ However, some managers were concerned about the effect of price cuts on their image. There was apprehension that tourists could assume that this was accompanied by a reduction in product and/ or service quality. The relationship between price and quality has been investigated in many marketing studies, suggesting that customers perceptions of quality are indeed affected by price. The theme of image for some extended beyond an individual hotel. The image of Victoria Falls as a tourist destination was seen as impacted by the expansion of fast food supply. One of the respondents asserted that this would compromise the ‘luxury resort’ brand image that Victoria Falls held internationally: ‘‘Victoria is a high end market destination. We are about luxury hotels, class. No offence to fast food restaurants. ’’ Conclusion and suggested future research Hotel reactions Most managers believed that the competitive threat posed for hotels by the expansion of the fast food industry in Victoria Falls was serious enough to warrant reformulation of competitive strategies. Among the changes that hotels needed to make was to change shuttle buses’ routes so that they would not pass through fast food restaurant locations: ‘‘We might have to change the route for our shuttle. The current pick up points are not good for us at all because fast food shops are staring at our guest right there where they get picked up. ’’ However, such a change cannot offer a permanent solutions as tourists are not necessarily restricted to the use of hotels’ shuttle buses for transport within The study sought to investigate hotel food and beverage managers’ experiences with and perspectives of emerging fast food competition. As such, the paper adds to a growing number of phenomenological studies in hospitality. Managers’ perspectives re? ect several interesting issues. Many of the responses suggest a signi? cant level of complacency, a refusal to accord fast food the status of formidable competitor. Some managers seem to think it ‘beneath them’ to even worry about fast food, and even more ‘beneath’ to engage in a ‘face-off ’ with them. The more ‘digni? ed’ option seems to be to pretend that fast food restaurants either do not exist at all, or to feign indifference. This begs the question whether this attitude is sustainable in the long term. The study also con? rms the dynamic and volatile nature of the tourist market. In an African destination Downloaded from thr. sagepub. com at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University on March 14, 2013. 152 where fast food consumption has been a once-in-awhile affair, the entrance of fast food is set to rede? ne food and eating culture. It is no longer a Western phenomenon. What is also important to realise is that fast food consumption is not restricted to the tourist market; that locals are also a part of the market. Future researchers might investigate the impacts of fast food expansion on the local population’s food culture, which will further case study knowledge on the so called MacDonalisation of society. Hotels might have to start actively targeting ‘slow tourists’. However, research on the characteristics and means of engaging this potentially growing market segment is still lacking. It is hoped that more African context-speci? c studies will be carried out on the expansion of fast food and its business and sociological impacts. An inherent limitation concomitant to phenomenology is the lack of generalisability of research ? ndings. Owing to the small sample, the perspectives represented here are not representative of any other context, although some may be ‘transferable’ to similar resort destinations where fast food chains are beginning to enter markets which have previously been dominated by hotels. Future researchers might want to engage in similar studies with a larger sample of informants, and perhaps on a wider spatial scale. Such studies could employ quantitative methods to explain causal relationships and test hypothesis, such as whether fast food entrance into a traditional hotel dominated market poses signi? cant threats to hotel food and beverage pro? ts. To complete the supply side perspective for this study, fast food managers also need to be included in data collection in future perspectives. It would be interesting to investigate why fast food restaurants have decided to expand into the Victoria Falls now, how they perceive the competition from hotels, how they have tried to gain market share, and their views on slow food–fast food debate in an environment where fast food continues to be criticised as unhealthy. How are they building their defence against this onslaught? How do they continue to thrive despite this worldwide onslaught? What will be even more interesting would be to compare the ? ndings made in an African context with those found in other, perhaps very different contexts. This research took a supply side bias, and thus fails to capture the perspectives of tourists who in fact make the choice between fast food and slow food. Thus future researchers might want to pursue either a market oriented approach, or better yet an integrative approach, which combines both supply side and consumer perspectives. In addition, future researchers who carry out similar studies in tourist destinations Tourism and Hospitality Research 12(3) could utilise the broader concept of ‘slow tourism’ as an analytical framework. Thus food choice and consumption are not viewed simply as acts in dining, but perhaps as a microcosm of a much more complex ‘slow tourism’ phenomenon. References Allen KN, Taylor JS and Kuiper R (2007) Effectiveness of nutrition education on fast food choices in adolescents. 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Compare Traditional Model Of Sport Development Physical Education Essay

Compare Traditional Model Of Sport Development Physical Education Essay In the essay one will compare and contrast the traditional model of sports development with Cote and Hays theory of socialisation into sport using data gathered from appropriate literature. One will critique each model and discuss how it is applied to a specific sport, drawing on strengths and weaknesses. The researcher will also use Cote and Hays theory and see how it reflects the current sports development agenda, critically evaluating it and drawing on other models of sports development to see if they further reflect the current agenda. Development Sport development models are there as a basis to provide some means of identifying the different roles and responsibilities for those involved in sports development, from the lowest to the highest levels of achievement (Hylton et al., 2002). The first continuum to be discussed is the Traditional sports development continuum (see figure 1.1), which Hylton (2002, p. 3) states that some argue is the clearest, locates development on a hierarchal basis from foundation, participation, performance and excellence. Excellence Performance Participation Foundation Figure 1.1 The Traditional sports development continuum. (Sports Council, 1988; Eady, 1994) Each level of the continuum compromises of 4 stages, firstly foundation focuses on the acquisition of basic skills e.g. Body literacy, Hand eye coordination, developing positive attitude to physical activity. The second stage Participation focuses on taking part in defined activities for a variety of reasons, recreation, health, fitness and fun. The third stage performance is a good club level and athletes/ players striving to improve through quality coaching, the highest level in the continuum focuses on achievement at the highest level e.g. International and elite players. The traditional sports development continuum has been further modified and refined to fit in with new policies and agendas, these are the House of sport Geoff Cooke (1996), and The active framework: Sport England (see figures 1.2 and 1.3.). Hylton and Totten (2002) explain that The House of sport model was built on the foundations of sport for all which has always been an ideal rather than a coherent realisable o bject. Figure 1.2. The House of Sport Geoff Cooke (1996) Figure 1.3 The active framework: Sport England When the researcher evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the continuum, one concluded a number of findings. Firstly the triangle shape is a simplistic model that shows the bottom to be broader, thus showing that the foundation level is bigger in terms of participation e.g. primary school children across the UK partake in sport or physical activity in school or in local athletics clubs. As the triangle gets narrow participation decreases, the weakness to the continuum would be that it is one dimensional, no indication to drop out or step down a level. The clearest strength to the continuum is that it is clear in what it takes to get to each level e.g. participation requires taking part in defined activities for a variety of reasons. The next model one will look at is the Cote Hays theory of socialisation into sport (see figure 1.4.). According to Cote and Hay (2002) young peoples socialisation into sport follows a general pattern: sampling, specialising and investing. The key features of the Sampling phase are that children participate in a range of sports, Macphail et al., (2003) state that a key feature of the sampling phase appeared to be an ongoing shifting of priorities as young people literally sample the sports available to them and that their key motivation is fun and enjoyment, and that the emphasis is on structured or deliberate play rather than training or deliberate practice. Cote and Hay define deliberate play as organised activities designed to provide enjoyment through active and pleasurable participation, Macphail et al., (2003) further support this by defining deliberate play as activities that are structured yet do not focus overly on technique. Deliberate practice involves activities specific ally designed to improve the current level of performance and are not inherently enjoyable (Macphail et al., 2003). According to Cote and Hay (2002) from the sampling phase, young people may either drop out of a sport, move into the recreation years or move into the specialising phase. The recreation years are where young people participate regularly in sports without aspiring to reach an elite level of performance while the specialising phase involves more deliberate practice and a reduction in the range of sports activities, According to Macphail et al., (2003) when people start specialising there is evidence to suggest that fun is more closely related to the excitement of competition and performing. From the specialising phase Cote and Hay suggest a young person has three options. The first is to drop out of a sport, the second is to enter what they call the recreational phase where sport is played relatively informally and for fun, and the third is the investment phase. Entry into the investment phase usually signals a focus on one activity and a commitment to intensive training and competitiv e success. These three phases of sport participation are outlined in Fig. 1.4. Figure 1.4. Cote and Hays Three Phases of sport participation. Source: Cote and Hay (2002a, p.488). Strengths of the Cote and Hays socialisation into sport model are that it accommodates a progression from the sampling phase to the specialising years and then to the investment/recreation phase, it also acknowledges that at any stage of involvement young people can choose to move to take part on a recreational basis or drop out (Macphail., et al., 2006). One considers a weakness to the model to be that it only considers children. When one compares the traditional sports development model with Cote and Hays theory of socialisation into sport, there are numerous differences. Where the traditional continuum is very direct and only has an arrow pointing upward, Cote and Hays theory shows that it allows movement freely between stages, particularly the investment years and recreational years. The traditional continuum does not show drop out, as the Cote and Hays theory shows that drop out can happen at any stage. The similarity between the two models is that it shows clearly what it takes to be at each specific level. There are numerous sports development agendas, one will discuss the key agendas and how Cote and Hays theory reflects on these. Participation in sport is the basis of all government policies, increasing participation in sport can have effects on the governments cross cutting agendas e.g. improving health. Cote and Hays theory reflects this as it caters for young people, increasing participation in young people can only have a positive effect on health agendas, Siedentops (1995) supports this as he suggests that junior participation in sport can achieve a public health goal, as does (sparling et al., 2000) they suggest that Physical activity has enormous potential for improving the health of the public. The key part of health issues is obesity amongst children, Evidence regarding the increased prevalence of obesity amongst children and young people in the UK is mounting (NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, 2002). As Cote and Hays theory considers childrens participation in sport and that the sampling phase is designed for deliberate play that provide enjoyment in a range of sports and activities, health will be improved in later life, as (Biddle et al., 2001) suggests that promoting physical activity in children is seen as important in encouraging them to adopt lifestyles which will be maintained into adulthood, thus lessening the risk of chronic diseases later in life, thus reducing pressure on the National health service. Developing wider community issues using sports and physical activity is widely used across the country, Long and Sanderson (2002) have proposed that community development approaches aim to mobilise local people and resources by enabling individuals and groups to develop through participation in sporting activity, which is therefore seen as playing a role in developing community identity and capacity to take action and change. Using sport to deal with community issues is one way of diverting children from a life of crime and drugs, the sampling phase caters for young people to diverse in a range of sporting activities, and by entering young people in as a means of reducing crime, can have benefits on society, an evaluation of the west Yorkshire sports counselling project (1991) supports this as it suggests using sport to reduce rates of re-offending by probation service clients, found that those who completed eight weeks or more of their sports counselling programme were significantly less likely to be re-convicted than a control group. Whilst reducing crime through sport, the regeneration of local communities will benefit Pack (1989) argued that sportcan, in conjunction with other social and economic policies, make a positive contribution to urban regeneration. Long and Sanderson (1996) conducted a survey amongst sports development officers and sports centre managers, they noted that while all our respondents were able to cite a range of benefits to individuals: they found it harder to identify those occurring at the community level, and when addressing the contribution to regeneration, were more likely to return to high level sport prestige facilities and elite performance (cups and Olympic medals). The responses relating to community development clustered strongly around interaction/cohesion/ community spirit, whereas those relating to urban regeneration tended to focus on civic pride and improving the profile of the city. This supports Pack (1989) statement and clarifies that urban regeneration can be improved through sports. Coaching is central to the development of sport at every level, with regards to cote and Hays theory, with the development of sports programmes designed to tackle wider social issues at the sampling phase and at the specialising and recreational years, the development of coaches is highly important. The Coaching Task Force Report (2002) explains that there will be a massive increase in after school sport and inter school competition creating an increased demand for sessional coaches on school sites. There is a growing demand for volunteer coaches at the grassroots level of sports to work with young people in their sampling years and in the investment years there will have to be increased commitment and skills from coaches at local, regional and national level to work with talented and gifted young people. Other Models of sports development are the Long term athlete development models, First LTAD Model, Balyi (1998), as shown in figure 1.5. Figure 1.5 LTAD Early specialization model The second LTAD model (2001), and the third LTAD Model (2003). The second model had been changed to consider late specialisation sports, such as athletics, combatitive sports, cycling, racquet, rowing and all team sports, the fundamental stage was added at the first stage to consider this. The third model considers changes to the late specialisation into sport and has a sixth stage as outlined below. Early Specialisation Four stage model: Training to train Training to compete Training to win Retirement/retaining Late Specialisation Six stage model: FUNdamentals Learning to train Training to train Training to compete Training to win Retirement/retaining When one considers if the LTAD Models cover the government agendas better than cote and hays one believes that the early specialisation and late models clearly define each stage of development more accurately. Whilst cote and Hays theory and LTAD is very similar, preference would be given to the LTAD as it clearly shows what age it takes to be at each level and at what ratio of training it takes to be at each level. This would help whilst comparing the agenda with the model, for example taking into account the age range of communities whilst creating initiatives. Conclusion The researcher has concluded a number of findings throughout the assignment, after critically evaluating the traditional sports development continuum and Cote and Hays theory of socialisation into sport one concluded that cote and hays theory further reflects sport and is more suited to sports development, as it allows room for drop out and movement between is stage. Whilst researching the current government agenda and how Cote and Hays theory reflects this one found evidence to show that current sports programmes are beneficial and important to improving health, decreasing obesity and health related issues later on in life. These programmes further help the governments attempt to use sport as a cross cutting agenda, as crime and drug use is decreased, this has proven to aid urban regeneration, by increasing community interaction, cohesion and community spirit. Coaching is improved at all levels of the cote and hays continuum, through sports programmes and this can only help future sporting talents as London 2012 is fast approaching.

Essay on Resolution of Conflict in The Tempest -- Tempest essays

Resolution of Conflict in The Tempest      Ã‚  Ã‚   The Tempest, like any text, is a product of its context. It is constructed in relation to moral or ethical concerns of 17th century European Jacobean society. The resolution of conflict appears 'natural' or an inevitable consequence if regarded in relation to the concerns of its context. The resolution of conflict in this play incorporates Prospero being returned to his 'rightful' or natural position as Duke of Milan, his daughter Miranda getting married to Ferdinand, and the party returning to Milan leaving the island to the 'monster', Caliban. The resolution is a consequence of the concerns of the time, including the idea of the divine right of kings, courtly love, and colonisation.    Conflict between the two brothers, Prospero and Antonio, for the powerful position of Duke is resolved when Prospero is crowned; this is presented as 'natural' through the idea of the 'divine right of kings'. In Jacobean society, the religious belief was that the King (James I at the time of this play) was divinely willed to have this position, and that there was a connection between God and the King. Shakespeare mimics this idea by often relating Prospero to God throughout The Tempest, with stage directions such as 'Prospero on top, invisible' which   positions him 'close to God' and by his power to manipulate and control the lives of others:    'mine enemies are a... ... conflict.    The resolution of conflict in The Tempest is thus naturalised and constructed as an inevitable consequence through the use of moral and ethical concerns in the play, including the 'divine right of kings', the 'great chain of being', courtly love, colonising discourse and expanding territory. The Tempest thus incorporates concerns of the Jacobean 17th century context, used to naturalise the resolution.    Bibliography    Shakespeare, W. The Tempest. Ed. Sutherland, J.R. (1990)    "Tempest & Court Masques" By H. C. Sherwood    Meller, A., Moon, G.T. Literary Shakespeare (1993) Sydney: Canon Publications    Lecture on "The Tempest" (1988)   C. Holmes   

An Essay on The Landlady by Roald Dahl -- The Landlady by Roald Dahl

The Landlady by Roald Dahl In the short story â€Å"The Landlady,† Roald Dahl’s use of foreshadowing prepared readers well for the end of the story. He used hints such as describing the outside of the bed and breakfast, giving details of the entry and the bedroom, and also telling the readers about the living room. To begin, Dahl used the outside of the bed and breakfast as a use of foreshadowing. The sign was described to be distinctive. It was portrayed to be luring the boy inside. Dahl used the opening of the door as a hint also. He explained that the woman debouched the door open, which would foreshadow that she was abnormal. The woman also had cheap rent at her bed and breakfast. This would draw potential customers in for her awkward ...

Osmolarity: Concentration and Sucrose Solutions Essay

My group and I conducted the experiment that estimates osmolarity by change in weight of potato tubers, this was conducted in order to explore the process of diffusion and osmosis and more importantly to investigate the question of â€Å"Does different concentrations of sucrose solutions have an effect on the final weight for the potato tubers?† In this experiment we estimated the osmolarity of potato tuber cores by submersing different potato cores into sucrose solutions of 0.0-0.6M, and weighing the potato. The results showed the weight of the potato tubers had the highest percent change in weight meaning that they weighed more than the initial weight in sucrose solutions from 0.0-0.3M; it also showed that sucrose concentrations from 0.4-0.6M the weight of the potato tubers decreased. My group and I concluded that the osmolarity of the potato was about 0.4M since the weight of the potato decreased by about -1.3%, which was the closest value to the initial weight of the potat o tuber. We also found that the potato was hypertonic to sucrose solutions of 0.0-0.3M and hypotonic to 0.5-0.6M. Introduction: Diffusion and osmosis are two types of passive transport. Diffusion is a random movement of molecules from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration. According to the book Biological Sciences, â€Å"Osmosis is a type of diffusion that occurs when solutions are separated by a membrane that is permeably to some molecules but not to others, that is, a selectively permeable membrane† (Scott 2011). To further explore the process of diffusion and osmosis, we conducted an experiment that would demonstrate these processes and also investigate the question of â€Å"do different concentrations of sucrose solutions have an effect on the final weight for the potato tubers?† In my group’s experiment our goal was to estimate the osmolarity of potato tubers from weight change. The hypothesis for this experiment was, â€Å"if the concentration of the sucrose solutions in which the potato cylinders are in is changed, then I hypothesize that the final weight o f the potato will also change.† And the prediction that my group and I formed was â€Å"if the weight if the potato tuber changes when submerged in different sucrose concentrations, then I predict the weight change will decrease as the sucrose concentration increases.† In my group’s experiment, several potato tubers were tested in different sucrose solutions ranging from 0.0-0.6 M. The potato tubers were then submerged into all the solutions to test osmolarity and to see what would happen to its mass if they were in different sucrose solutions. To fully understand the purpose and understand the results obtained there were three major concepts important to know, they are hypertonic, hypotonic, and isotonic. According to the journal The American Biology Teacher, â€Å"An isotonic solution is when the solute concentration inside a system is equivalent to the solute concentration outside of a system, thus resulting in no net change of diffusion. In a hypertonic solution, the solute concentration outside of a system is larger than the solute concentration within a system, so water diffuses out of the system to attempt to even out the ratio disparity; this results in the system shrinking in mass† (Marvel, Kepler 2009). In a hypotonic solution however, the solute concentration is greater within the system than outside of the system, so water diffuses into the system; this results in the system being â€Å"bloated†. Materials and Methods: The materials that my group and I used in our experiment was 1 large potato, a cork borer this is necessary to obtain seven potato tuber cylinders. Forceps were needed and a balance that weighs to the nearest 0.01g, a Petri dish, razor blade, paper towels, ruler, calculator, and also necessary for the experiment to work was sucrose solutions from 0.1-0.6 molar. Deionized water was used to represent 0.0 molar in our experiment and seven 250ml plastic cups. First, my group and I obtained 50ml of deionized water and 100ml of each of the sucrose solutions and put each solution in separate and labeled 250ml paper cups. Then by using a cork borer we obtained seven cylinders form the potato by pushing the borer through the length of the potato and removing the potato from the borer. Making sure none of the cylinders were damaged, we modified the length of each cylinder to 5ml and repeated this step seven times until we had a total of seven undamaged cylinders of equal length with the peels removed from each length using a razor blade. We then placed all seven cylinders into a Petri dish and kept them covered to prevent from drying out. Before weighing each of the cylinders we placed each one between folds of a napkin to blot out the sides and ends and then weighed them individually to the nearest hundredths of a gram on the balance. After doing this step we recorded the results in our table. After weighing the potato cylinders we immediately placed each in different molar solutions starting with 0.0M through 0.6M. After the cylinders were submersed in the cups we recorded the time witch was 3:20 pm. We then took the cylinders out of their solutions at 4:30pm and calculated the incubation time to be 1hour 10 minutes. The instructions said to leave for 1.5 hours to 2 hours but due to time constraints we took them out a little earlier. After removing the cylinders from each sample we blotted each with a paper towel to remove excess solution only. After doing this my group and I recorded the final weights of each of the cylinders in the chronological order in which they were initially placed, and recorded it in our table. After recording our data we finally calculated the percent weight change for each of the cylinders. Our group then decided what the variables were and agreed that the independent variable was the concentration of the sucrose solution and the dependent variable was the percent change in weight. This experiment was repeated only once in the given time we had. Results: The osmotic concentration was determined by measuring the percent change in mass of the potato cylinders. Change in mass was measured of seven solutions, each containing different levels of concentration 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, and 0.6M. The percent change in mass decreased as sucrose concentration increased, therefore, relative osmotic concentration also decreased as sucrose concentration increased. However, the osmotic concentration of 0.3 M sucrose solution was relatively greater than that of 0.2 M sucrose solution. In sucrose concentration 0.6 M, the osmotic concentration decreased almost double from that of 0.5, and significantly from those of all other sucrose concentrations. The osmotic concentrations were greater than zero in sucrose solutions of 0, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3 M; these cells were hypotonic, meaning the potato had more solute. The osmotic concentrations were less than zero in sucrose solutions of 0.4, 0.5, and 0.6 M; these cells were hypertonic, meaning the solutions had less solute. Osmotic concentration decreased as sucrose concentration increased and cells became more concentrated. Table 1: Data for Experiment Estimating Osmolarity by Change in Weight Sucrose Molarity (M)|0.0|0.1|0.2|0.3|0.4|0.5|0.6| Final weight (g)|2.57|2.43|2.48|2.24|2.21|2.05|1.82| Initial weight (g)|2.23|2.18|2.28|2.03|2.24|2.19|2.06| Weight change (g)|0.34|0.25|0.20|0.21|-0.3|-1.4|-0.24| % change in weight|15.2%|11.5%|8.8%|10.3%|-1.3%|-6.3%|-11.7%| Discussion: When starting this experiment my group and I formulated and agreed upon the hypothesis of â€Å"â€Å"if the concentration of the sucrose solutions in which the potato cylinders are in is changed, then I hypothesize that the final weight of the potato will also change.† My group and I also agreed upon the prediction of â€Å"if the weight of the potato tuber changes when submerged in different sucrose concentrations, then I predict the weight change will decrease as the sucrose concentration increases.† After conducting the experiment and obtained our results, we found that our results support our hypothesis and prediction. The experiment supported our prediction because the sucrose solution diffused from areas of high concentration to areas of low concentration, thus affecting the final weight of potato cylinders when submerged in varying amounts of sucrose concentrations. According to the article Diffusion, Osmosis and Cell Membranes,†There are two ways that th e molecules in a solution move: passive transport and active transport. Active transport requires that the cell use energy that it has obtained from food to move the molecules (or larger particles) through the cell membrane. Passive transport does not require such energy expenditure, and occurs spontaneously (Mccandless 1998). Because the molecules in the sucrose solutions in our experiment were moving with the gradient meaning they were moving form areas of high concentration to areas of low concentration we found that the movement of the molecules was passive transport. The principle means of passive transport is diffusion. Diffusion is the movement of molecules from a region in which they are highly concentrated to a region in which they are less concentrated. In the solutions ranging from 0.0-0.3M the potato acted as the ‘system’ and the solution concentration inside the system was greater than outside which was the sucrose solution, so water diffused into the system (potato) and caused it to become bloated. In the sucrose solutions 0.4-0.6 it was hypertonic because the solution concentration was larger than the system’s concentration so the cylinder decreased in size. This experiment allowed us to take a closer look at the biological process of life and how and why it works the way it does. This experiment allowed us to a take a deeper look into the mechanisms of diffusion and osmosis and apply it real life examples. According to the book, Cell and molecular biology: concepts and experiments,† When a diluted solution and a concentrated solution are separated by a membrane, there is a net transfer of the solvent from the diluted solution to the concentrated one. Entry of water into root hairs and movement of water within the plant body are good examples of osmosis† (Karp 1991). Osmosis plays a significant role in life first, â€Å"the entry of water in to the roots from the soil takes place by this process, cell to cell diffusion of water is controlled through this process, young cells require turgid condition for their growth which is fulfilled by osmosis, and last turgidity of cells is maintained by the process of osmosis† (Karp 1999). A few errors were made in the experiment but none were significant enough to heavily affect our results. For example, the lengths of the individual potato cylinders may have differed slightly; we may have made mistakes when measuring a specific amount of the sucrose concentrations. We also believe that the potato cylinders should have been incubated longer, ours incubated for 1 hour 10minutes and the instructions said to incubate for at least 1.5 hours. For the most part these mistakes seemed to be small and not significant because in the end our prediction and hypothesis was supported. I thought that this was an interesting lab to participate in especially because this experiment has been conducted several times by other biology labs, I don’t really believe there were any significant weaknesses to our experiment except maybe the time. It would have been better to have more time to further explore our results. This experiment was conducted smoothly and without complications, and even better supported our prediction. Some questions that would be interesting to be answered by further research is would temperature affect the rate of diffusion in sucrose concentrations? Works Cited Freeman, Scott. â€Å"Lipids, Membranes, and the First Cells.† Biological Sciences. 4th ed. Vol. 1. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2011. 90-91. Print. Karp, Gerald. Cell and Molecular Biology: Concepts and Experiments. New York: J. Wiley, 1999. Print Marvel, Stephen C., and Megan V. Kepler. â€Å"A Simple Membrane Osmometer System & Experiments That Quantitatively Measure Osmotic Pressure.† The American Biology Teacher 6.7 (2009): 355-62. Print. Mccandless, John. â€Å"BIOLOGY.ARIZONA.EDU.† BIOLOGY.ARIZONA.EDU. University of Arizona, 27 Feb. 1997. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. .