Stefan’s Diaries: Origins Chapter 1

The day my life changed started out like any other. It was a hot August afternoon in 1864, the weather so oppressive that even the flies stopped swarming around the barn. The servants' children, who usually played wild games and shrieked as they ran from one chore to another, were silent. The air was still, as if holding off on a long-awaited thunderstorm. I'd planned to spend a few hours riding my horse, Mezzanotte, into the cool forest on the edge of Veritas Estate–my family home. I'd packed my satchel with a book and was intent on simply escaping. That was what I'd been doing most days that summer. I was seventeen and restless, ready neither to join the war alongside my brother nor to have Father teach me to run the estate. Every afternoon, I had the same hope: that several hours of solitude would help me figure out who I was and what I wanted to become. My time at the Boys Academy had ended last spring, and Father had made me hold off on enrolling at the University of Virginia until the war had ended. Since then, I'd been curiously stuck in the in-between. I was no longer a boy, not quite a man, and utterly unsure of what to do with myself. The worst part was that I had no one to talk to. Damon, my brother, was with General Groom's army down in Atlanta, most of my boyhood friends were either about to be betrothed or on faraway battlefields themselves, and Father was constantly in his study. â€Å"Gonna be a hot one!† our overseer, Robert, yelled from the edge of the barn, where he was watching two stable boys attempt to bridle one of the horses Father had purchased at auction last week. â€Å"Yep,† I grunted. That was another problem: While I yearned for someone to talk with, when presented with a conversation partner, I was never content. What I desperately wanted was to meet someone who could understand me, who could discuss real things like books and life, not just the weather. Robert was nice enough and one of Father's most trusted advisers, but he was so loud and brash that even a ten-minute conversation could leave me exhausted. â€Å"Heard the latest?† Robert asked, abandoning the horse to walk toward me. I groaned inwardly. I shook my head. â€Å"Haven't been reading the papers. What's General Groom doing now?† I asked, even though conversation about the war always left me uneasy. Robert shielded his eyes from the sun as he shook his head. â€Å"No, not the war. The animal attacks. The folks over at Griffin's lost five chickens. All with gashes in their necks.† I paused mid-step, the hairs on the back of my neck rising on end. All summer, reports of strange animal attacks had emerged from neighboring plantations. Usually, the animals were small, mostly chickens or geese, but in the past few weeks someone–probably Robert, after four or five tumblers of whiskey–had begun a rumor that the attacks were the work of demons. I didn't believe that, but it was one more reminder that the world wasn't the same one I'd grown up in. Everything was changing, whether I wanted it to or not. â€Å"Could have been a stray dog that killed them,† I told Robert with an impatient wave of my hand, parroting the words I'd overheard Father say to Robert last week. A breeze picked up, causing the horses to stomp their feet nervously. â€Å"Well, then, I hope one of those stray dogs doesn't find you when you're out riding alone like you do every day.† With that, Robert strode off toward the pasture. I walked into the cool, dark stable. The steady rhythm of the breathing and snorting of the horses relaxed me instantly. I plucked Mezzanotte's brush from the wall and began combing through her smooth, coal-black coat. She whinnied in appreciation. Just then, the stable door creaked open, and Father stepped in. A tall man, Father carried himself with so much force and presence that he easily intimidated those who crossed his path. His face was lined with wrinkles that only added to his authority, and he wore a formal morning coat, despite the heat. â€Å"Stefan?† Father called, glancing around the stalls. Even though he'd lived at Veritas for years, he'd probably only been in the stable a few times, preferring to have his horses prepared and brought straight to the door. I ducked out of Mezzanotte's stall. Father picked his way toward the back of the stable. His eyes flicked over me, and I felt suddenly embarrassed for him to see me caked in sweat and dirt. â€Å"We have stable boys for a reason, son.† â€Å"I know,† I said, feeling as though I'd disappointed him. â€Å"There's a time and a place for having fun with horses. But then there's the point when it's time for a boy to stop playing and become a man.† Father hit Mezzanotte on the flanks, hard. She snorted and took a step back. I clenched my jaw, waiting for him to tell me about how, when he was my age, he'd moved to Virginia from Italy with only the clothes on his back. How he'd fought and bargained to build a tiny, one-acre plot of land into what was now the two hundred acres of Veritas Estate. How he'd named it that because veritas was Latin for truth, because he'd learned that as long as a man because he'd learned that as long as a man searched for truth and fought deception, he didn't need anything else in life. Father leaned against the door of the stall. â€Å"Rosalyn Cartwright just celebrated her sixteenth birthday. She's looking for a husband.† â€Å"Rosalyn Cartwright?† I repeated. When we were twelve, Rosalyn had gone to a finishing school outside of Richmond, and I hadn't seen her in ages. She was a nondescript girl with mousy blond hair and brown eyes; in every memory I held of her, she wore a brown dress. She'd never been sunny and laughing, like Clementine Haverford, or flirty and feisty, like Amelia Hawke, or whip-smart and mischievous, like Sarah Brennan. She was simply a shadow in the background, content to trail along on all our childhood adventures but never to lead them. â€Å"Y Rosalyn Cartwright.† Father gave me one es. of his rare smiles, with the corners of his lips turned so slightly upward, one would think he was sneering if one did not know him well. â€Å"Her father and I have been talking, and it seems the ideal union. She's always been quite fond of you, Stefan.† â€Å"I don't know if Rosalyn Cartwright and I are a match,† I mumbled, feeling as though the cool walls of the stable were closing in on me. Of course Father and Mr. Cartwright had been talking. Mr. Cartwright owned the bank in town; if Father had an alliance with him, it would be easy to expand Veritas even further. And if they'd been talking, it was as good as done that Rosalyn and I were to be man and wife. â€Å"Of course you don't know, boy!† Father guffawed, slapping me on the back. He was in remarkably good spirits. My spirits, however, were sinking lower and lower with each word. I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping this was all a bad dream. â€Å"No boy your age knows what's good for him. That's why you need to trust me. I'm arranging a dinner for next week to celebrate the two of you. In the meantime, pay her a call. Get to know her. Compliment her. Let her fall in love with you.† Father finished, taking my hand and pressing a box inside my palm. What about me? What if I don't want her to fall in love with me? I wanted to say. But I didn't. Instead, I shoved the box in my back pocket without glancing at its contents, then went back to attending to Mezzanotte, brushing her so hard, she snorted and stepped back in indignation. â€Å"I'm glad we had this talk, son,† Father said. I waited for him to notice that I'd barely said a word, to realize that it was absurd to ask me to marry a girl I hadn't spoken to in years. â€Å"Father?† I said, hoping he would say something to set me free from the fate he'd laid out for me. â€Å"I think October would be lovely for a wedding,† my father said instead, letting the door bang shut behind him. I clenched my jaw in frustration. I thought back to our childhood, when Rosalyn and I would find ourselves pushed to sit together at Saturday barbecues and church socials. But the forced socialization simply hadn't worked, and as soon as we were old enough to choose our own playmates, Rosalyn and I went our separate ways. Our relationship was going to be just as it was when we were ten years younger–ignoring each other while dutifully making our parents happy. Except now, I realized grimly, we'd be bound together forever.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Work with Children Essay

Equality, diversity and inclusion in work with children and young people. In this essay i will be discussing equality amongst children, inclusion, inclusiveness and diversity and how to put these things mentioned into practise when working with children and young people. 1, Understand the importance of promoting equality and diversity in work with children and young people. 1.1 Identify the current legislation and codes of practise relevant to the promotion of equality and valuing of diversity. Current Legislations Children Act 1989 – Protecting children’s welfare and to provide services according to the specific needs of children. Human rights act 1998 – specifies and enforces the rights of individuals and if these rights are affected actions can be taken to rectify the situation. Race Relations (amendment) Act 2000 – put in place as an organisation to promote healthy relationships between people from different races. Special educational needs and disability act 2001 – This act was created to stop discrimination by educators towards people with a disability or special educational needs. Disability discrimination act 2005 – get schools to make individual disability equality scheme and access plan. These are made to ensure all parts of a student’s education are accessible and to encourage participation and discourage harassment and discrimination. Read more:  Explain what is meant by inclusion essay Disability Discrimination Act 1995 – To protect the rights of people with disabilities and to make sure they have fair and equal access and opportunities to services. Children’s Act 2004 – Sets a clear duty to provide and maintain effective and accessible services for children & young people and works on and around the basis of Every Child Matters. Education Act 1996 – invokes clear guidelines of a schools responsibility to children with special educational needs, stating that schools must supply additional resources to meet the individual needs of the child or young person. Equality Act 2012 – Clearly states the legal requirements and responsibilities of public bodies such as schools, to provide equality of opportunity for all citizens. This bonds all nine legal laws. Codes of Practise The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice 2001 – This code of practice gives the framework for policy, procedures and responsibilities towards children with special educational needs. It also indicates the level of support vs. what should be provided to the individual to give a clear indication of the steps to take towards accommodating an individual with support needs. Code of Practice on the duty to promote race equality (2002) – This is a statutory code to make sure all public authorities (including schools) enforce and meet their duty set out in the Race Relations (amendment) Act. This requires all schools to produce a written equality policy with practical ways to promote, enforce and demonstrate that they are working towards to following outcomes; * Reduce the margin of educational achievement between different ethnic groups. * Build and improve relationships between different racial groups. * Improve behaviour of pupils. * Promote and encourage greater involvement of parents and the community. * To make sure staff within school reflects cultural diversity of society. * An admission policy that does not discriminate any racial group. * A strategic monitoring method to keep track of how and what affect the policy is having within the school. Removing barriers to achievement: the government’s strategy for SEN (2004) Putting this into place provides a framework to build upon helping to remove barriers and boost the achievement of children with special educational needs (SEN) or disabilities. Guidelines within the document explain the vision of the government for the education of children with SEN or disabilities outlining the principle of: * Early intervention. * The removal of barriers. * Raising achievements. * The delivery of improvements through partnerships across services. Disability Equality Scheme and Access Plan. All schools are required to produce a Disability Equality Scheme (DES) that sets out ways to promote equality opportunity, positive attitudes towards pupils, staff and others with disabilities. Along with the above there must be an action plan in place to outline methods of removing discriminatory barriers for example: * Improvement to physical environments such as lifts, ramps, room layout, higher desks, and wider doors and so on. * Providing information and work in different formats such as larger fonts, auditory work, pictorial. School policies All schools must have policies that are designed to reflect the rights and responsibilities of those within the school. These policies should provide guidance to staff and visitors who attend the school on ways to ensure inclusive practise is used. These policies are as follows: * Race/cultural diversity * Equality of opportunity/inclusive practice * Safeguarding/bullying * Gifted and talented pupils * Special educational needs * Disability access These policies have been made in response to legislations that have been passed. Schools are obligated to monitor the affect of these policies to see what changes they bring forth and to make sure they are for the better, by doing this they can sort out the week points of the policies and adapt them to work for the better. 1.2 Describe the importance of supporting the rights of all children and young people to participation and equality of access. It is important to support participation & equality of access. In my placement this does ensure that every child and young person receives the same opportunities no matter what their culture, background or beliefs are. In order to achieve this my placement came up with the idea and thought it would be good practice to involve the children in the process of finding out what kind of activities and policies work well in my placement and what ones don’t, this would give a sense of the children being valued and boost their confidence. With participation and equality in mind I believe that the Equality act 2010 has a big role to play in improving the surroundings of children that are  stereotyped and categorised by others. The Equality Act 2010 states that there are seven different types of discrimination, they are: * Direct discrimination: discrimination because of a protected characteristic. * Associative discrimination: direct discrimination against someone because they are associated with another person with a protected characteristic. (This includes carers of disabled people and elderly relatives, who can claim they were treated unfairly because of duties that had to carry out at home relating to their care work. It also covers discrimination against someone because, for example, his or her partner is from another country. * Indirect discrimination: when you have a rule or policy that applies to everyone but disadvantages a person with a protected characteristic. * Harassment: behaviour deemed offensive by the recipient. Employees can claim they find something offensive even when it’s not directed at them. * Harassment by a third party: employers are potentially liable for the harassment of staff or customers by people they don’t directly employ, such as a contractor. * Victimisation: discrimination against someone because they made or supported a complaint under Equality Act legislation. * Discrimination by perception: direct discrimination against someone because others think they have a protected characteristic (even if they don’t) If these seven types of discrimination are not monitored and other policies, procedures and practices are not kept in check and reviewed regularly it may have a drastic affect on the way a school is run and children are treated in regards to equality and participation. 1.3 Describe the importance and benefits of valuing and promoting cultural diversity in work with children and young people. I believe in this day and age their still exists a great majority of racism, misunderstandings and misconceptions about people from different countries, backgrounds and beliefs as was there in Little Rock, Arkansas 1957. I will admit not as bad as the little rock protests due to their being laws against racism and so on that were not in place in the 50’s. The point of what I have written above is schools now are teaching their students of all ages about different cultures, ways of living, beliefs, family diversities and so on leading to a better understanding of the cultural diversity and how a Childs fellow pupil ,Only because they are different that they are not all that different and to  embrace them as a human being. If this kind of understanding was taught years ago such a divers section of communities might not be living in segregation as they are today. The ways schools teach children and young people about different cultures are: * Celebrate the customs of pupils from different religions and cultures such as Chinese New Year and Harvest festival. * Learn how to say key words in a different language. * Research different historic events in different countries. * Research different fruits and where they come from.  Experiencing the ways that the above has been explained and taught in my placement promotes diversity and uniqueness within individuals and enables children and young people to understand and embrace each other. If some of these measures are taken to understand different people from different backgrounds it will stamp out tokenism and stereotyping and lead to a better understanding of each other and in the future eradicate racism and bring together coheaded communities. 2.Understand the impact of prejudice and discrimination on children and young people. 2.1 Describe ways in which children & young people can experience prejudice and discrimination. Children and young people can experience prejudice and discrimination in the following ways; * If a child or young person is seen to have a disability they can be instantly labelled as the â€Å"thick† or â€Å"slow† person. * If a child or young person is of a different race may have racial slurs used against them. * Boys are typically stereotyped to be loud and aggressive unlike girls who are stereotyped to be quiet and more intelligent. * If a young person is unsure about their sexual orientation. * A person that has Gender Dysphoria. There are two types of discrimination; Direct discrimination An example is a school might not accept this pupil due to being disabled or because of their race. Indirect discrimination Schools need to be aware of this as schools could to this totally intentional for example, a school trip could be made where they are going to an old corn  mill where there are no elevators just steps and a pupil is in a wheel chair. Discrimination can be: * Institutional: this occurs when a establishments policies and procedures allow them to discriminate both directly and indirectly. * This could occur from individuals or groups within the establishment. Individuals could be staff, visitors or other children & young people. In my placement whilst I was being observed by my assessor I noticed a child had a case of head lice. I reported it to my line manager but because the child was stereotyped as â€Å"scruffy and low class† the case was never dealt with and a week later the parents were issued with a letter home about head lice. I feel this child was discriminated against by the members of staff because he looked different from the other children. 2.2 Describe the impact of prejudice and discrimination on children & young people. When children & young people are discriminated against it can only lead to negative effects. As well as effecting their academic education it can and will affect their health and well-being. The effects of discrimination or prejudice can manifest their self’s in the following ways: * Low self –esteem * Disempowerment * Confusion * Anger * Lack of motivation * Depression. 2.3 Assess how own attitudes, values and behaviour could impact on work with children and young people. As a teaching assistant or a teacher working with children & young people you must make sure to promote equal opportunities, inclusion and to be anti discriminatory. Doing things like: * Not speaking or teaching things about multi cultural events. * Different languages. * Being dismissive to a pupil that is different in the way of culture or  ability. * Being ignorant to a child or young person’s individual needs. All the above could lead to children & young people picking up, taking in and projecting your views onto other children, young people, adults or visitors. Overcoming stigmas attached to disabilities, races and religions is a must before working in schools, to gain understanding of these things will empower you with the knowledge to teach more efficiently and understand in a more diverse manner. I observed in my placement a child that had moved from Pakistan who could barely speak any English was segregated by the children and surprisingly the teacher. When he would try and speak she would raise her hand as a sign to be quiet and he would struggle to contribute to the class till she would verbally say â€Å"Child A be quiet†. This led to the child becoming very aggravated and unsettled for a number of weeks until he started to learn English to the point where he could interact without much thought as to what he was going to say before he said it. 2.4 Describe the importance of promoting anti-discriminatory practise in work with children and young people. The promotion of anti-discrimination should be a focal point for the majority of things that happen in and around schools. It is no good to have policies and procedures and just tokenise them, they need to be enforced so children and young people will follow the lead of the school. The best ways to do this are: * Be a good role model. * Appreciate & promote diversity and the uniqueness of children and young people’s abilities. * Listen to and involve the children and young people. * Treat each child and young person as an individual. * Have a realistic but high expectation of all children and young people. * Support the schools ethos. * Give the children and young people the tool set and skills to be able to challenge prejudice and discrimination by others in a controlled and non-abusive manner. 2.5 Describe how to challenge discrimination. Challenging discrimination is a must in any sort of situation. To do this you need to make sure you know your anti-discrimination policy within your school. The role as a teacher or teaching assistant is to protect children  and young people from discrimination. If you was to overhear or receive a complaint from a parent or pupil about a discriminatory act that has taken place and you ignore it ,you are giving the person victimising the victim the impression it is ok to do, this can then quickly turn into a discrimination epidemic of sorts if left unchecked. To be able to deal with discrimination efficiently you will have to first feel comfortable with your policies, procedures and codes of conduct on the matter. Then approach your line manager or alternately if it is them that is conducting the discrimination then go to your head teacher, explain what has been said to the person or group, state the impact it has had on him/her or them and then suggest a way to enforce your anti-discrimination policy. 3 Understand inclusion and inclusive practises in work with children and young people. 3.1 Describe what is meant by inclusion and inclusive practise. Inclusive: To identify, understand and quash any barriers to participation, education and the feeling of belonging. Inclusive steps taken within schools will ensure that all pupils feel valued, equal and safe in their environment. To do this making sure that you recognise, accept and celebrate a child or young person’s differences and similarities. Inclusion: to ensure all children and young people of and background, situation or ability level are able to participate fully in all aspects of their academic life. Inclusion is not about categorising of viewing everyone as a collective but more like assessing people as individuals and supplying them with the same opportunities as any other pupil. 3.2 Describe features of an inclusive setting for children and young people. * There are some barriers in schools that staff are aware may affect pupils development academically so they make it as accessible as possible. * Pupils are never segregated from their peers as this may make them appear to be inferior to others instead the pupil will receive support whiles working alongside their peers. * Children and young people are encouraged to use their voice to make heard their opinions and views weather this be in an informal manner or through the school council. * Regular training is provided to keep staff up to date on inclusion, diversity and equal opportunity policies and procedures. * The schools work in partnership  with the governors, parents, staff and the pupils. * Schools pro-actively work with other professions like speech and language therapists and educational psychologists to ensure children and young people receive the correct support for their individual needs. 3.3 Describe how inclusion works in own sector of the children’s workforce. All sectors that work with or come into contact with children all share the common concept of inclusion and what it is. The way it is implemented may vary depending on the company/ organisation and it what way they work with children, but whatever the company / organisation they must always keep the child, children or young people at the centre of all practises. Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and the National Curriculum all give clear outlines on how the curriculum should be delivered, how to make it inclusive and to the learning and assessment of the material being taught. The National Curriculum Inclusion statement states that schools must: * Provide a curriculum that is accessible and achievable to all pupils. * Recognise that â€Å"All pupils are entitle to a high standard or education†. * Meet the interests of both individual and all pupils as a whole. * To Assess, recognise and remove any barriers that may be stopping learning and assessment. In my placement there is a child with severe hearing difficulties , we assessed her hearing level with an outside agency that works with the local hospital to find she could hear nothing when being spoke to in school. We spoke to the specialist who supplied us with a tower speaker and a microphone that clips on your top so, when you speak the sound of your voice is amplified on the wave length of the Childs hearing aid allowing her to hear clearly in turn providing a solid education. Personalised learning To raise standards in schools and to help people with special educational needs to achieve personal learning was developed. Personal learning is catered to a child or young person’s specific needs to ensure they receive a healthy and fulfilling education regardless of their background, culture, special educational needs or disability they will receive the support to make progress. The key elements to making personalised learning so successful are: * Receiving a challenging curriculum at their level. * Staff who have high but reasonable expectations. * Setting personal targets. * Highly focused assessments. * Early identification and interception when targets are not being achieved.

RFID Technology Essay

RFID is a general term that is used to describe a system that transmits the identity data of an object wirelessly, using radio waves. This is sometimes referred to as contact-less technology and a typical RFID system is made up of three components: tags, readers and the host computer system. Tags – An RFID tag is a tiny radio device, it’s also referred as a transponder. The tag comprises of a simple silicon microchip attached to a small flat aerial and mounted on a substrate. The whole device can then be encapsulated in different materials (such as plastic) dependent upon its intended usage. The finished tag can be attached to an object, typically an item, box or pallet and read remotely to ascertain its identity, position or state. Different types of RDIF Tags available are passive and active, used as per the RDIF data read / write requirement. Readers – The reader, sometimes called an interrogator or scanner, sends and receives RF data to and from the tag via antennas. A reader may have multiple antennas that are responsible for sending and receiving radio waves. Host Computer – The data acquired by the readers is then passed to a host computer, which may run specialist RFID software or middleware application to filter the data and route it to the correct IS application as processed useful information. RFID can help hospitals to locate equipment more quickly, logistics providers to improve the management of moveable assets, brings efficiencies in the supply chain by tracking goods from the point of manufacture through to the retail stores, used as EZ card for toll-collections, remote car door access. Use of RFID technology can increase business productivity and reduce associated costs. Because of such potential benefits of RFID, many of the world’s major retailers have adopted RFID tagging for pallets and cases shipped into their distribution centers. To ensure that companies benefit from the advantages RFID provides it is important to understand how to adopt this technology. RDIF technology is been accepted by many retail chains like Wal-Mart, Tesco, Metro etc. For the supply chain and operations it provides increased levels of product and asset visibility. Retailers are looking at using the RFID technology to automatically receive shipments, and have greater visibility into the merchandize in the warehouse and on the store shelves. Few of the current Issues Facing RFID Adoption * Globally interoperable standardization problem: RFID has been implemented in different ways by different manufacturers; global standards are still being worked on. Because no global standards defined for RFID adoption, interoperability between applications or devices are not possible, which can significantly accelerate the adoption of RFID technology. * Environment: Working environment is another issue of RFID Usage. The first one is water and liquids which can absorb the radio energy signals and thereby limit range or prevent tag read/write operations altogether. Metals are another material that generally reflect radio frequency signals and deflect the radio waves, thus altering their path. The temperature of the tagged products also affected the readings. Another issue in cased by dense reader or dense tag environment are collision which cause poor read rates. Dense reader environment consist of several readers places in one closed area resulting same tag been read by multiple readers resulting reader collision. A dense tag environment involves tags placed too closely to each other resulting in tag collision because of overlap in electromagnetic waves generated by the tags interferes when being interrogated by the reader. Right type of tag/reader has to be used depending on the product, tagging level, and operational environment. The right fit is in many cases obtained through tests, which will increase read rates and accuracy. * Data management: Many conversations about RFID inevitably end up by high volume of data and data management issues that are expected to arise from tagging individual products especially in retail store environment. Data management is a key issue for any organization deploying RFID technology, and the robust middleware is required to handle that much amount of data and route it to the right database is most concerned. The right architecture is required to filter and translate RFID into useful information. Also it’s important to identify what useful RFID data should be collected and stored, which will enable easier data management and processing.

Changing Roles of Unions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Changing Roles of Unions - Assignment Example The unions currently engage in collective bargaining of benefits, wages and working conditions. Additionally, the unions represent employees during disputes with the management especially in cases of contract violations. Yates (2009), explain that both AFL-CIOÂ  and Change to Win Federation seek to achieve similar objectives for their members a feature that shows the split as a way of addressing contemporary labor issues. Key among such issues is globalization of labor and the development of the private sector. As such, the government, which is also a major employer, must uphold the values fronted by unions thereby safeguarding the interests of the employees. Additionally, the government should formulate appropriate legislations that protect the interests of workers thereby enhancing the development of unions in the country. Unions should observe the trends in the labor market thereby increasing their roles to protect workers from various factors in both the public and private sectors (Wunnava, 2008). Creation of appropriate organizational cultures that encompass the various diversities in the society is appropriate. Human resource managers must create a friendly working environment for their employees by permitting them to form unions since such is a constitutional right. The managers must meet the demands of such unions since they always enhance the productivity of the

What can we learn about the structure of the traditional indian Essay

What can we learn about the structure of the traditional indian society from the Ramayana story - Essay Example For instance, respect for teachers and elders are an important traditional value amongst the Indian families. A sage is about to arrive at the palace of King Dasharatha, and this incident reflects something profound about the Indian society. R. K. Narayan writes, â€Å"On a certain afternoon, messengers at the gate came running to announce â€Å"Sage Vishwamitra.† When the message was relayed to the King, he got up and hurried forward to receive the visitor.† (7) A King going all the way to receive a sage. Seems incredible, but that was the value system and even today sages command immense reverence. What it is to be an ideal human being and what is an ideal society? One will not be able to find a better work than Ramayana to find the treasure-house of values. Those are not mere ideals for practicing sitting on the ivory tower! Every value described and defended in the Ramayana stands the test of practicability. That which is not practical, can not be noble or spiritual either. An individual has to play different roles in different stages of one’s life. Donning the human body, Lord Ram has shown to the humanity how to live the divine life. His reign on this Planet Earth has been hailed as Ram Rajya, which means the ideal policy that the human beings can aspire for. The impressionable minds of the youngsters need to be given the correct values. The Sages are embodiments of truth and love. No extraneous considerations are taken into account, and the question of defending Dharma assumes supreme priority, and all other overriding factors are side-tracked. The slaying of demon Thataka illustrates the correct style of imparting the right values to Ram when SageViswamitra was on his way to his hermitage in the thick forest. The demon used to harass the sages performing sacred rituals and plunder the forest wealth. When Vishwamitra orders Rama to slay her, Rama hesitates for a while, whether it is proper to slay a woman! Women

Eating Disorders and the Media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Eating Disorders and the Media - Essay Example not comprehend the fact that eating more and that too at odd times can literally break down the metabolism rate in their bodies and force them to lie on the bed every now and then. Being sick also comes under the heading of one of the aftereffects of eating and eating more. Fortunately enough, there are now some particular ways and means which look to tell children and grown ups about their proper intake of food during different periods of the day with specification of calorie levels, which in more ways than one is a step in the right direction. In the world of present times, human beings are experiencing a change within their lives. They have become busy and time for them passes in a whisker. The modern society has changed and so has the way in which people eat. The fast food culture has taken up their lives. There are a number of good restaurants to choose from - so people can go out and have good meals as and when they wish to. (Peterson, 2005) However all of this requires a clear thinking approach as to whether fast food is indeed good for the human body or not? There are a lot of franchise restaurants for getting fast foods when one does not have the time to eat enough and more than that cook for his own self. Everybody knows that foods are very important for getting energy to activate the human body, but one should know that how food culture influences the family linkages, friendships, emotions as well as the pertinent personalities. The media in the form of television, newspapers and magazines provides role models that teach women to value beauty and thinness over strength of character. While men are influenced by their role models to succeed academically and excel in all areas, we are expected to maintain a beautiful appearance, i.e. a thin, sexy body. Many of these role models are not only weak and thin, essentially, they lose their personalities and become objects and images for the pleasure of others. Used to be, you could turn on the television and

Service Request SR-ta-001 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Service Request SR-ta-001 - Essay Example Moreover, the model needs are designed in a manner that remarkably few assumptions concerning the data therein is needed. As such, the database system is immensely powerful. The most notable feature about a relational database management system is that it enables the user to spread a single database across multiple tables. This feature simplifies the management of the database. With a relational database, the company is able to make a sound decision since all the data is centralized. The database system is linked to a customer relationship management system that has various modules. The computerized system will be developed using a modular approach. With the use of the modular approach, the developers will ensure that the system change over is executed without interfering with the company’s business process. The system change over will also take place in one department at a time. This gives users the opportunity to test the system real time. In case of any error, the programming team can correct before when the implementation process is still early. This will fatal errors that can accrue in the late stages of system implementation. In addition, the maintenance and troubleshooting process will be easy since the module that has developed a problem can be attended to while the other subsystem are operational. A very crucial task in a database system is the migration of the data from the existing database to the new database system. Considering that the company has been using a paper based database system, a lot work work has to be done (Adiba & Delobel, 2011). This entails conversion of the data contained in the paper files to the soft copies so that they can be fed to the computerized database system. The diagram below illustrates how the data is migrated from the paper system to relational database systems. Applying the above process ensures that effective data validation and verification before

Malcolm X Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Malcolm X - Assignment Example The essay deals indepthly the acting, the film directing, and the historical accuracy of the film. The film Malcolm X is a film produced in the year 1992. It is essentially a biographical film that dwells around the African American activist Malcolm X. The film is co written and directed by Spike Lee, the actors and actresses who feature in the film are Denzel Washington who plays the role of Malcolm X, Angela Basset who plays the role of Dr. Betty Shabazz, Albert Hall who plays the role of a tough and strict muslim leader, Al Freeman Jr. who plays the role of Elijah Muhammad and Delroy Lindo who plays the role of West Indian Archie among others who play supporting roles. The Warner bros was the company involved with the production of the film. The essay deals indepthly the acting, the film directing, and the historical accuracy of the film. Denzel Washington who plays the main role of Malcolm X which is quite a huge role to play, but he brings out the effects quite effortlessly and still remains convincing enough to bring out the real character of Malcolm X. In all the scenes in the movie he seems natural and easy where he manages to fit perfectly in the nightlife of Harlem and later still effortlessly fits into the crowd of pilgrims in Mecca. Washington is an attractive and congenial actor and thus he is quite good in showing the unbending dogmatic side of Malcolm and his anger side. Al Freeman Jr. plays the role of Elijah Muhammad in an amazing way, in that, he behaved, looked and sounded like the real Muhammad fulfilling the screenplays delicate balance between the characters essence and the flaws of the character. Albert Hall is also an amazing and effective actor, taking the role of the tough and strict Muslim leader who takes time and lectures Malcolm on the aspect of self image and guides him into self awareness, but later on gets jealousy of Malcolm’s influence in the movement. This he brings out quite impressively in the film. Delroy Lindo brin gs out a two part powerful performance, as West Indian Archie, moving Malcolm by his weaknesses and impressing him with his power. Thus, it can be summarized that the actors did quite a good job in playing the roles of the characters they were assigned. The director of the film spike Lee has done a combination of several forms of narration. With skill he has conjoined them together to enhance the ideology of equality. As the movie unfolds, a structure that lacks linearity is utilized, thus, Malcolm Xs double life as an upcoming civil rights activist and a demoralized African American is shown through flashbacks to his rough childhood, and moving forward to Malcolm’s adult life and the other instances in between. In addition, voice over’s, using Malcolm X’s own audio voice, implies that he is narrating a story about some other person but in the real sense he is the subject. Also, Lee utilize the documentary footage about Malcolm x into his film skillfully so as t o make the art imitate life and the opposite too. With one crucial twist lee drives the plot by combining historical records and political ideologies. These different methods used in directing by Lee are quite effective in the narration of the story, as every viewer of the film can sympathize with Malcolm x and the African Americans with him and still comprehend the historical importance of the acts that he

Business managment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Business managment - Essay Example objectives tend to differ in a way that the VAA is a business organization trying to raise profits from the services offered while the British Red Cross is an organization trying to help people to survive hard situation. The target groups are different and the overall aims are also different. The airline has a responsibility of providing education and training to the young unemployed people. They can start aviation colleges, aeronautic engineering collages and such colleges to help the community and the government at large to grow. They can also benefit by employing qualified and skilled personnel who have been trained there. VAA has a responsibility of providing quality services to its customers. They can improve the services by increasing the comfort, the capacity of the air buses and the hospitality. They also have a responsibility of creating a good reputation to the shareholders and investors. This can be done through ensuring that the economic state of the company is maintained. This can also be done through making good use of the capital so as to obtain solid profitability to meet shareholder and investor expectations with stable dividends. (â€Å"Responsibility to stakeholders†. 2004) The airline has a responsibility of taking good care of the employees and staff. They should be provided with a good working environment, treated with fairness and rewarded for their performance since their hard work leads to the prosperity of the firm. It also have a responsibility of ensuring that they help to protect the environment by reducing pollution e.g. by the air buses. It has a responsibility of taking care of the business partners like the suppliers e.g through striving for mutual growth and prosperity. They should also pay taxes to the government and operate under the governing laws. VAA improved the services to the customers by expanding the airlines and enabling travel to many countries. Initially, the airline was intended to fly between London and Falkland

14.Public Diplomacy has become increasingly important in recent years Assignment

14.Public Diplomacy has become increasingly important in recent years. Why Discuss and illustrate with empirical examples - Assignment Example Murrow’s Centre for Public Diplomacy, Edmund Gullion takes public diplomacy as â€Å"Through public diplomacy people understand the means by which private groups, governments, and individuals influence the opinions and attitudes of other people and governments in a manner to exercise impact on their foreign policy conclusions.† What stands out in these two definitions for Public diplomacy is that it has to involve mechanisms that will affect the attitudes as well as opinions of other people, countries and governments. This paper will examine the reasons that have led to the clamour for public diplomacy especially in recent times during the 21st century by looking at specific examples. Public diplomacy becomes the next frontier in the study and practice of diplomacy. The â€Å"ancient† diplomacy style has been supplanted with â€Å"fresh†, free American-style diplomacy (United States. (1987)Several states have advanced beyond upholding open diplomacy on the face of the world to using public to secure and promote their national interest overseas. Public diplomacy was a principally salient government quest during the Cold War era when ideologies contest, communism versus democracy, was at the peak. Bipolar quality of public diplomacy throughout the period of the cold war has been replaced by several nations involved in public diplomacy as central securities in soft power have risen. Wang (2011) outlines the theory of soft power as an international image, specifically highlighting the values underlying the interest of a particular government. For instance, United States soft power is the capacity to convince others through the acceptability of its actions. The connection with public diplomacy rests between the concept of theoretical international relations of several â€Å"forms† of power and the concrete elements of the manner in which states improve or expand the capacity of their soft power. In as much as public diplomacy has materialized to be

Modern IT Infrastructure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Modern IT Infrastructure - Essay Example There are additional expenses that are to be bore because of training costs for the employees, establishment of an Information Technology Department in the organization for regular functioning of the system. Henceforth there are costs involved but definitely the benefits far outweigh the costs. Our company is now competing for market in a highly dynamic and challenging environment and therefore it is imperative that we establish quick, reliable and efficient information processing and business processing system within the organization, which unfortunately is not possible within the domains of out existing IT infrastructure which is based on batch type computers working without Virtual memory. It is therefore recommended that the current system be upgraded with a newer system with capabilities for multi programming and virtual memory. The report attempts to justify the proposed requirements in the light of current and future business processes. Multi-programming or Multi Tasking is the ability of a computer to perform simultaneous processing on various projects or as a part of one project or task. It is a much better computing system over the old batch type systems with possibility of calculating two requirements at a time and therefore considerably reducing the processing time and therefore saving the time by doing calculations which is wasted during user input process. It ensures that the idle time between calculations of one requirement can be used for another requirement and therefore can process lots of requirements simultaneously. This reduces overall processing time and increases the efficiency of the system and the cuts off time from the whole process. Most of the time used on a computer is used in inputting the data and afterwards the calculations is generally the smaller part. The batch type system processes the requirements one at a time whereas a

Igniting Young Minds Essay Example for Free

Igniting Young Minds Essay Swami Vivekananda’s success Mantras for youth! â€Å"My Faith is in the Younger Generation, the Modern Generation, out of them will come my workers. They will work out the whole problem, like Lions.† Swami Vivekananda expressed this confidence in the youth of this country exactly 50 years before the end of Colonial Rule while speaking to a mammoth gathering of youngsters in Madras. Swami ji himself was the embodiment of youth, dynamism and vibrancy. The life and ideals of Swami ji are the greatest inspiration for the youth of our nation. In a short life of 39 years, 5 months and 22 days, this great man conquered the entire world with his message. Many great personalities both in India and across the world became deeply inspired by Swami ji. The writings of Swami ji can ignite the minds of the reader.. Anybody who has come into either direct or indirect contact has witnessed an ocean of change in his or her life. Today, the youth of this country faces various challenges and I am certain that the message of Swami Vivekananda has the power to wonderfully guide them into the future. PURPOSE OF LIFE Swami ji always held that the real birth of the individual takes place when the purpose of his life germinates. He believed that he who does not have a purpose is nothing but a walking-talking corpse.It is extremely important not to decide the purpose of life with the narrow objective to be something or the other. Think of doing not becoming and in this process you will certainly become something. Once the purpose of life is clear, all actions of life become driven by that purpose. SELF-CONFIDENCE A precursor to do anything in life is to have confidence in the self. Swami Vivekananda attached more importance to self-confidence than even faith in God! â€Å"He is an atheist who does not believe in himself. The old religions said that he was an atheist who did not believe in God. The new religion says that he is an atheist who does not believe in himself,† he famously stated. Unfortunately, we have limited ourselves without knowing our capabilities. Many times we feel that we can do ‘only this much’ despite being blessed with tremendous capabilities. If our youth is determined, there can be nothing impossible for them to achieve in the world! But, for this we must regain our self-confidence. Swami ji always believed that everything that is happening around us be it small, big, positive or negative gives us the opportunity to manifest the potential within. DEDICATION For any endeavor to attain the pinnacle of success, dedication to the cause is absolutely essential. Swami Vivekananda once said, â€Å"To succeed, you must have tremendous perseverance, tremendous will. ‘I will drink the ocean’, says the persevering soul; ‘at my will mountains will crumble up’. Have that sort of energy, that sort of will; work hard, and you will reach the goal.† Another quality that Swami Vivekananda spoke of was patience. He said, â€Å"Be like the pearl oyster. There is a pretty Indian fable to the effect that if it rains when the star Svà ¢ti is in the ascendant, and a drop of rain falls into an oyster, that drop becomes a pearl. The oysters know this, so they come to the surface when that star shines, and wait to catch the precious raindrop. When a drop falls into them, quickly the oysters close their shells and dive down to the bottom of the sea, there to patiently develop the drop into the pearl. We should be like that.† Very often, it so happens that we take on a task with immense enthusiasm but as time passes by, the same enthusiasm fizzles out. Pursuing a challenge with utmost dedication is indeed a road to success for our youth. TEAMWORK This era belongs to organization and teamwork. Be it any sector from science, technology to business, teamwork constitutes a major cornerstone to attaining the desired results. When he was in USA, Swami Vivekananda was greatly impressed by the spirit of teamwork there and he thought of the need to re-vitalize this spirit of teamwork in India. Leading by example, he founded the Ramakrishna Mission and organized Sanyasis to work towards nation building. Friends, if the present youth walks on the hallow path of Swami ji’s ideals and beliefs it will merely be a matter of time before India adorns the mantle as the leader of the World. In any case, we are the most youthful nation in the world but simply that is not enough. It is necessary to arm our youth with the relevant knowledge and skill that will convert this mammoth potential to desired results. India is celebrating Swami Vivekananda’s 150th Birth Anniversary and Gujarat is commemorating the entire year as ‘Yuva Shakti Varsh’. It is indeed high time that we resolve to follow these ideals of Swami Vivekananda and take this youthful nation to greater heights as the leader of the world.

Oral Health Status of Pregnant and Non Pregnant Women

Oral Health Status of Pregnant and Non Pregnant Women â€Å"ORAL HEALTH STATUS AMONG PREGNANT AND NONPREGNANT WOMEN OF AGRA CITY A HOSPITAL BASED STUDY† ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION Pregnancy is often thought to be a time of happiness for the expectant mothers but it does not only influence her own oral health status but also may increase her risk of other diseases. OBJECTIVE To compare the oral health status among pregnant and nonpregnant women of Agra city. MATRIALS AND METHOD A cross sectional study was carried out among 425 pregnant and 425 nonpregnant women of 18-45 years attending the hospital. A pretested proforma designed in local language for collecting all the relevant information was used which included questions regarding personal information, oral hygiene practices, frequency of dental visits, education, occupation, gravid status along with a self-reported oral health status questions. The investigator was calibrated before the start of the study in order to limit the intra-examiner variability. RESULTS A total of 850 subjects with a mean age of 29.30 ±3.30 years were examined. The mean DMFT was found to be 3.02 ±1.79 and 1.79 ±1.90 in pregnant and nonpregnant respectively. CONCLUSION The results of this study showed that pregnancy had effect on the gingiva and on periodontal attachment levels. Overall oral health was poorer among pregnant women than nonpregnant women. KEY WORDS Gravid status, Oral Health Status, Oral hygiene. INTRODUCTION Pregnancy brings about physical, physiological and psychological changes in women. It affects almost all systems and parts of the body including the oral cavity. Due to changes in the hormones, many opportunistic organisms gain access to various parts of the body in the absence of proper care1. Pregnancy constitutes a special physiological state characterized by a series of temporary adaptive changes in body structure, as a result of an increased production of estrogen, progestron, gonadotropins and relaxin among other hormones. The oral cavity is also affected by such endocrine actions and may present both transient and irreversible changes as well as modifications that are considered pathological2. Pregnancy related oral changes are most marked and frequent in gingival tissue. Gingival inflammation and pregnancy have now been linked for many years; as early as 1978, Vermeeran discussed â€Å"toothpains† in Pregnancy. In 1818, Pitcarin described gingival hyperplasia in pregnancy3. Pinard first described this situation in 1877 characterized with erythema, hyperplasia and increased bleeding4. Women’s pregnancy experience not only influences her own oral health status but also may increase her risk of other diseases. High levels of oral diseases may also have an impact on the Oral Health Related Quality of Life. Although some studies on pregnant women have been reported, they have been limited to exploring the impact of certain factors, such as pain, on the Oral Health Related Quality of Life4. Pregnancy gingivitis marked by the gingival inflammation is the most common condition seen during the pregnancy due to hormonal changes particularly during the second trimester of gestation. The signs and symptoms of pregnancy gingivitis, however do not differ from the gingivitis seen in non pregnant women5. It has been noted that the gingivitis in pregnancy is related to the accumulation of dental plaque and maintenance of proper oral hygiene in pregnant women can play an important role in preventing this condition and maintaining a healthy gingival state6. There is a growing acceptance of the fact that oral disorders too can have a significant impact on physical, social and mental well-being during pregnancy. No study has been conducted on Oral Health Related Status of pregnant and non pregnant women in Agra city. Keeping the above facts in mind, an attempt was made to carry out a comparative hospital based study on Oral Health Status of pregnant and nonpregnant women attending selected hospitals in Agra city. MATERIALS AND METHOD A cross sectional study was carried out among 425 pregnant and 425 nonpregnant women of 18-45 years attending the hospital. A pilot study was conducted on 100 (n=50) pregnant and nonpregnant women each with OHRQoL as a main parameter. The prevalence of Oral Impact on Daily Performance was 76%. The estimated sample size for the study based on prevalence of Oral Impact on Daily Performance was calculated to be 827. Keeping in mind the non-response rate in each hospital, sample size of 850 subjects was taken. To obtain the total sample size of 850, 85 pregnant and 85 nonpregnant women from each of the five zone were randomly selected. INCLUSION CRITERA Subjects reporting in the hospitals Subjects willing to participate in the study. Subjects of 18-45 years age group. EXCLUSION CRITERIA Subjects suffering from any systemic disease Subjects in critical condition. Ethical clearance for the study was obtained by the Ethical Committee of K.D. Dental College and Hospital, Mathura. Also informed consent was taken from the women prior to the examination. A pretested Questionnaire and proforma designed in local language for collecting all the required and relevant information was used. The questionnaire included questions regarding name, age, socioeconomic status, oral hygiene practices, frequency of dental visits, education, occupation, gravid status along with a self-reported oral health status questions. Clinical examination included Oral Hygiene Index-Simplified (OHI-S), Gingival Index, Community Periodontal Index and DMFT/DMFS. Oral examination was done using mouth mirror, probe and natural light. Self-reported oral health status was assessed by asking eight questions that collected information about periodontal health and dental health. The eight questions were: Do you have bleeding gums?; burning gums?; swollen gums?; loose teeth?; decayed teeth?; tooth pain?; food lodgment between teeth?; sensitive teeth?. These questions were dichotomized into present and absent. The data obtained was compiled systematically from a pre-coded proforma in computer and a master table was prepared. The statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 16.0 Statistical Analysis Software. Results on continuous measurement were presented in Mean ±SD (Min-Max) and results on categorical measurements were presented in Number (%). Significance was assessed at 5% level of significance. RESULTS A total of 850 study subjects were selected out of which 61(7.17%) were of the age group 20-25 years with mean age observed 29.30 ±3.30. Among pregnant women, 204(48%) had poor OHI-S scores(Table.1), 198(46.58%) had moderate gingivitis(Table.2), 61(14.35%) had CPI score 4 (Table.3) and 37(8.71%) had LOA score 2 (Table.4). The mean number of decayed, missing and filled teeth were 3.42 ±2.66, 2.91 ±2.01 and 3.01 ±1.98 respectively among pregnant group. The mean scores for self reported oral health status, among pregnant group was 64.38 ±5.59 for decayed teeth and among nonpregnant group was 65.81 ±5.36 for burning gums (Table.5). TABLE.1 DISTRIBUTION OF STUDY SUBJECTS ACCORDING TO OHI-S SCORES AMONG PREGNANT AND NONPREGNANT GROUP TABLE.2 DISTRIBUTION OF STUDY SUBJECTS ACCORDING TO GINGIVAL INDEX SCORES AMONG PREGNANT AND NONPREGNANT GROUP TABLE. 3 DISTRIBUTION OF STUDY SUBJECTS ACCORDING TO CPI SCORES AMONG PREGNANT AND NONPREGNANT GROUP TABLE. 4 DISTRIBUTION OF STUDY SUBJECTS ACCORDING TO LOA SCORES AMONG PREGNANT AND NONPREGNANT GROUP TABLE 5: DISTRIBUTION OF STUDY SUBJECTS ACCORDING TO SELF- REPORTED ORAL HEALTH STATUS AMONG PREGNANT AND NONPREGNANT GROUP DISCUSSION In our study, out of the total study population of 850 pregnant and nonpregnant women, 359(42.23%) women were below the age of 30 years, which was in accordance to the studies conducted by Ingrida Vasiliauskiene et al7 and Gaffeid M et al8. On the contrary, in the study conducted by Nuamah and Annan9 20% of pregnant women and 21.4% of nonpregnant group belonged to the age group of 30-35 years. In the present study, among the total study population, 29.30 ±3.30 was the mean age. The results of our study were similar to the study conducted by Machuca et al10, in which the mean age was 30.1 ±1.90. On the contrary, studies conducted by Yalcin et al11 and Tilakarante et al12 showed the mean age pattern of 18.62 ±3.01 and 19 ±2.90 respectively. Among pregnant population 204(48%) had poor oral hygiene. On the contrary, in the study conducted by Santosh Kumar et al13 among total study population only 25% had poor oral hygiene. In our study, among the total study subjects, mean OHI-S score was 2.65 ±0.85. On the contrary, in the study conducted by Ingrida Vasiliauskiene et al7 mean OHI-S score among total study subjects was 1.79 ±1.13. The reason behind this is that during pregnancy, gums are more susceptible to the damaging effects of plaque, gingiva become more edematous and fragile due to which during brushing it bleeds quickly. The problem is compounded if women hav e morning sickness nausea and vomiting which make it hard to brush teeth regularly resulting in more plaque accumulation. Among pregnant group, about half of the total study subjects i.e 46.58% had moderate gingivitis. Results of our study were similar to the studies conducted by Yalcin et al11 and Tilakarante et al12. In our study, among the total study subjects, it was found that 98(11.52%) had healthy periodontium On the contrary, studies conducted by Santosh Kumar et al13 and Ingrida Vasiliauskiene et al7 found that approximately half of the total study population i.e 49.8% had healthy periodontium whereas, among pregnant group 36.6% and among nonpregnant group 61% had healthy periodontium. While the study conducted by Miyazaki et al14 stated that 82% of the pregnant study population had 4 or 5mm pocket which is much higher in comparison to our study. In our study, the mean scores among pregnant group and non pregnant group was 64.38 ±5.59 for decayed teeth and 65.81 ±5.36 for burning gums respectively. No earlier studies have been carried out that show distribution of study subjects according to self- reported oral health status among pregnant and non pregnant groups. In conclusion, results of the study showed that oral health status among pregnant and nonpregnant group of Agra city was not good. The study also drew attention towards the need for highlighting the importance of maintaining oral health during pregnancy. Regular dental care is a key component to good oral and general health. It can be stated that there is a need for the health care professionals to acknowledge the importance of good oral health in ensuring a safe and successful pregnancy and overcome misconceptions regarding rendering of essential dental care during this vital period in a woman’s life. REFERENCES Shashidhar Acharya and Parvati V. Bhat. Oral health related quality of life during pregnancy. American Association of Public Health Dentistry 2009;69:7477. Tracy M. Dellinger and H. Mark Livingston. Pregnancy:physiologic changes and considerations for dental patients. British Journal of Obstetric and Gynaecology 2006;5:677-697. Ojanotko-Harri AO, Harri M.P, Hurltia H.M and Sewon L.A. Altered tissue metabolism of progesterone in pregnancy gingivitis and granuloma. Journal of Clinical Periodontalogy 1991;18:262-266. Steinberg B.J. Woman’s oral health issues. Journal of Dental Education 1999;63:271-275. Miyagi M., Aoyama H., Moroshita M and Iwamoto Y. Effects of sex hormones on chemotaxis of human peripheral polymorphonuclear leukocytes and monocytes. Journal of Clinical Periodontology 1992;63:2832. Laine M.A. Effect of pregnancy on periodontal and dental health. Acta Odontologica Scandinavica Journal 2002;60:257-264. Ingrida Vasiliauskiene. Oral health status of pregnant women. Stomatologia, Baltic Dental and Maxillofacial Journal 2003;5:57-61. Gaffield M., Brenda J.,Gilbert C., Malvitz D.M. and Romaguera R. Oral Health during Pregnancy. Journal of American Dental Association 200;132:189-194. Nuamah I and Annan B.D. Periodontal status and oral hygiene practices of pregnant and non-pregnant women. East African Medical Journal 1998;75:712–714. Machuca G., Khoshfeiz O., Lacalle R.J., Machuca C. and Bullon P. The influence of general health and socio – cultural variables on the periodontal condition of pregnant women. Journal of Clinical Periodontology 1999;70:779–785. Yalcin F., Eskinazi E., Soydinc M., Basegmez C., Issever H. and Isik G. The effect of socio cultural effects on periodontal condition in pregnancy. Journal of Clinical Periodontology 2002;74:178-182. Tilakaratne A., Soory M., Ranasinghe AW., Corea SMX., Ekanayake S L. and Desilva M. Periodontal disease status during pregnancy and 3 months post partum, in a rural population of Sri-Lankan women. Journal of Clinical Periodontalogy 2000;27:787-792. Santosh Kumar Tadakamadla, Prachi Agarwal and Preksha Jain. Dental status and its socio-demographic influences among pregnant women attending a maternity hospital in India. Journal of Clinical Express in Dentistry 2007;3:183-192. Miyazaki H, Yamashita Y and Shirahama R. Periodontal conditions of pregnant women assessed by CPITN. Journal of Clinical Periodontology 1991:18:751-4. Manau C, Echeverria A, Agueda A, Guerrero A and Echeverria JJ. Periodontal disease definition may determine the association between periodontitis and pregnancy outcomes. Journal of Clinical Periodontology 2008; 35: 385-397. Navin Anand Ingle, Akila Ganesh, Preetha Elizabeth Chaley and V. Chandrasekhara Reddy. A survey on dental knowledge and gingival health of pregnant women attending government maternity hospital, Chennai. Journal of Oral Health and Community Dentistry 2011;5:24-30.

Bilingualism is a controversial issue

Bilingualism is a controversial issue However, defining bilingualism and bilinguals is more difficult than what the people think. This is due to bilingualisms multidimensional aspects as been stated by many linguists, educationalists, and psycholinguists. For example, Hofmann (1991), mentions that the multi-faceted phenomenon of bilingualism is the most remarkable and significant feature which is expected to centre the point of difficulty when defining bilingualism from one dimension. Moreover, Hamers Blanc (2000, pp. 3 23) provide a similar point of view and they highlight multidimensionality as being one weakness of bilingualism because when defining it, only one dimension would be taken into account, ignoring other sides of bilingualism. They add a number of various definitions of bilingualism which are one sided as they believe. For example, a definition of bilingualism may concern competence, without the other significant dimensions. Baker Jones (1998) become more specific in explaining the multidimensionality of bilingualism and they assert that there are five main issues that show the difficulty of defining bilingualism very concisely. Also, they show that there might be degrees of bilingualism which vary in the same person over time. The five issues are as the following: There is distinction between ability in language and use of language. They are two separate things. For example, a bilingual person has the ability to speak two languages very fluently, but he or she uses and practices only one of the two languages regardless whether it is the native language or the second language. Another bilingual person has the ability to speak two languages but he or she has some problems in speaking one of the two languages regardless whether it is the native language or the second language, but this person uses and practices both languages regularly. This distinction can be referred to the degree of difference between proficiency or competence of language (ability) and function of that language (use). Proficiency may vary in a language. For example, the abilities of a bilingual person will vary in using a language among the four skills of that language (listening, reading, speaking, and writing), where that person might be very good in speaking A language but when it comes to writing, the person will use B language to write or read, because his or her ability of writing in A language is weak or low. Another bilingual person might have good abilities (proficiency) in speaking and writing of a language, but he or she cannot use and practice (speak or write) that language, so he or she tends to use another language. This is called receptive competence. Few bilingual people are equally proficient in both languages, but one language tends to be stronger and better developed than the other language. It is called the dominant language and it is not necessarily to be the first or native language. Few bilinguals possess the same competence as monolinguals in either of their languages. This is because bilingual individuals utilize the languages they acquired for different functions and purposes. A bilinguals competence in a language may vary over time and according to changing circumstances. For example, a child starts to learn a minor language at home or in the childhood. As time goes, he or she learns another language in the school or community and he or she will gradually lose the minor language, because it is out of use and that person became away from the childhood; the situation where the minor language is used (Baker Jones 1998). Mackey (1967) supports Bakers Jones issues in a different way that there are four aspects should be taken into account when defining and describing bilingualism. They are overlapped to each other and cannot be treated separately. These aspects are degree, function, alteration, and interference. The degree of bilingualism indicates the proficiency and competence of language, which is the extent to which the bilingual knows each of the languages. The part of function focuses on the use and practice a bilingual has for the languages. How much each language is used and practiced by the bilingual? Alteration concentrates on the extent to which the bilingual switches between the languages (code switching). And interference is the degree to which a bilingual manages to keep the two languages separate or fused. Mackey adds that the four questions are overlapped to each other and they cannot be treated separately. For example, a bilinguals knowledge of a language will to some extent specify the functions to which it is put; and the vice versa. The contexts in which bilinguals have the opportunity to use language will affect their competence in it Adding to the previous points, Romaine (1995), states that proficiency and function are the factors which are related to the definition and description of bilingualism. Bilingualism should be carefully viewed with great consideration to certain variables appearing in the coming definitions. Auer (1995) shows that bilingualism can be referred to the linguistic competences in more than one language. This bilingual competence can be accessible via the analysis of well-formed sentences involving two languages which may be treated as a window on the bilingual mind (Auer, 1995, p.115). Clearly, psycholinguists deem bilingualism as hidden competence in bilinguals minds, and it can be revealed as bilinguals produce utterances. Conversely, Saunders (1988) declares that bilingualism has different associations in peoples minds. In the issue of the definition of bilingualism, two distinctive sides have appeared which have been opposing each other in the way of defining bilinguals and bilingualism. The debate is centred about two definitions. In one side, there are some people who assume that bilingualism is being proficient in speaking two languages just like the native speakers. This is related to Leonard Bloomfield the most famous linguist on the first side of the issue. According to Hofmann (1991), Bloomfield pays special attention to users who become so proficient in the new language that they cannot be distinguished from the native speakers and he considers these users are bilinguals. He relates bilingualism to those individuals who speak a second language with high native level of proficiency. In 1933, Bloomfield published a book called Language which was an early book of modern linguistics and it defines bilingualism as In the extreme case of foreign language learning, the speaker becomes so proficien t as to be indistinguishable from the native speakers round him. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦In this case where this perfect foreign language learning is not accompanied by loss of the native language, it results in bilingualism, (the) native-like control of two languages (Bloomfield, 1933, p.55-56). As a consequence of Bloomfields definition, Hoffmann (1991) raises some questions, where he believes that Bloomfield has a clear idea of bilingualism, but there is some inconsistency on his definition of bilingualism. For example, if there is no definition for a degree of perfection in bilingualism, so how could Bloomfield talk of perfect foreign language learning? Continuing with Romaine (1995), who says that the previous definition identifies native like control of two languages as being the norm for bilingualism. Moreover, Hamers Blanc (2000) add that Bloomfield concentrates on the one dimension which is proficiency in language and this is not satisfying, because it is one of the weaknesses in defining bilingualism. As a consequence of Bloomfields definition, Also, Saunders (1988) stresses that this definition is restrictively limited to bilingual individuals who master their two languages completely. The previous views towards Bloomfields definition show the reasons of having another side of defining the term bilingualism. Moving to the other most different side of defining and describing bilingualism, bilinguals who have no native speakers competence in both languages reject that definition utterly and a number of definitions opposing Bloomfields notion have been placed by many linguists. For example, Saunders (1988) argues that many bilinguals comprehend a foreign language without having the ability to speak it fluently. Therefore, linguists define bilingualism as the bilinguals capability of using and speaking two distinctive languages at any level of competency. After all these various arguments regarding bilingualisms nature, it is clear that bilingual individuals have different degrees of competence in the second language. Also, comes in the other side, Haugen (1953, p.7) who shows that if an individual of any language could produce complete meaningful sentences in any othe r language, he or she would be a bilingual. One more definition contradicting Bloomfields is Macnamaras definition. Macnamara (1967a) cited in Hamers Blanc (2000, p.6) who defines a bilingual as anyone who possesses a minimal competence in only one of the four skills, listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing in a language other than his mother tongue. There is a collection of other definitions of bilingualism between the above most two distinctive sides of definitions. That collection appeared to align for either side. For example, Hamers Blanc (2000, p.6-7) note that Titone (1972) defines bilingualism as the individuals capacity to speak a second language while following the concepts and structures of that language rather than paraphrasing his or her mother tongue. All the previous distinguishing definitions show the degree of difficulty in providing a concise definition of a bilingual and bilingualism, because most of the definitions are seen to be lacking specifity and clarity in the main points on them like native-like competence, minimal proficiency in a second language, and following the concept of structures of the second language (Hamers Blanc, 2000, p.6-7). In the case of bilingualism at HCT, Macnamaras definition of bilingualism seems to be the most appropriate one to the foundation year students capability of English and this is due to their level of English which is not as much as Bloomfields notion of native like control of two languages. 2.2 Types of bilinguals: Bilinguals in the world have been categorised into groups depending on certain points. The Finnish linguist Skutnabb-Kangas (1981) discusses this part of the issue of bilingualism and she proposes that bilinguals in the world can be classified into four different groups and there are some factors should be taken into account to distinguish between these groups. The factors are: the pressure to become bilingual, the prerequisites for bilingualism, the method used to achieve bilingualism, and the consequences in the case of failure. Skutnabb-Kangas focuses mainly on children bilinguals in her classification, but this classification to some extent might apply on bilinguals other than children. She classifies the groups as the following: Elite bilinguals: this group consists of people who have chosen to learn another language and become bilingual and in most cases they are not forced to bilingualism. Most of the bilinguals in this group are upper and middle class people. For example, some of them become bilinguals for the sake of studying or working abroad such as wining scholarships or having business, while others move and change their country of residence, so they want to learn the language of the target country. Regarding the factor of pressure, elite bilinguals volunteer to learn a second language and there is mostly no pressure, unless the children from the families who move to other countries might feel the pressure since they have to learn the language of the new country. In this group, the bilinguals prerequisites are seen to be most often suitable for them, because this is their choice of being bilinguals. In the case of children, the parents make their children acquire the mother tongue very well, so they will not lose it when learning another language. When they live abroad, the children then will be encouraged to learn a second language which is expected to be used most often, however they will still use the mother tongue at least within the home environment. The method of achieving bilingualism for elite bilinguals is a combination of the natural method and teaching as Skutnabb-Kangas states, where children or other bilinguals will face situations in which they must speak and communicate in the foreign language. Besides, they will be taught the foreign language in their home country as well as in the target country. In the case of failure for elite bilinguals, there are no serious consequences when not making a positive progress in learning a second language. For example, children or bilinguals might have less contact with native speakers and in some cases they will accompany speakers of their own mother tongue. Children from linguistic majorities: this group consists mainly of children who learn a language at school other than their mother tongue and this language is more likely to be a minority language, where children or bilinguals from such groups will learn it for certain reasons. This minority language is used either for the enhancement of its prestige, Hoffmann (1991) provides an example of learning French in Canada. Skutnabb-Kangas (1981) continues that a language might be regarded as being highly beneficial in the field of education and also in getting good occupations in a country, so this language will be used in immersion programmes or in foreign language classes, Hoffmann (1991) mentions the case of using English as a foreign language in Netherlands as an example for the second reason (Hoffmann, 1991). Another example for the later reason could be the situation of teaching English in almost all the educational institutions in Oman and using it widely in most of the occupations i n the various fields of work. There is little or no pressure on the children or other people of this group to learn a second language. The family and the society might be a source of pressure for the children; the parents will motivate their children to become bilinguals for either of the reasons been mentioned previously at least. The members of this group are taught to learn a second language and the methods used in teaching are believed to be better than the methods used for the rest of the groups, because these methods involve well-prepared materials that aid the learning of the second language. The consequences of failure in learning the language and being bilingual are small and this might result that people of this group will use the mother tongue in the society and they will have less opportunities of getting better jobs. According to Hoffmann (1991) the members of the preceding two groups come from monolingual backgrounds. In the contrary, the members of the following two groups are from bilingual backgrounds Children from bilingual families: this group consists of children who come from bilingual families which are the families that the parents have two different mother languages. For example, a family in Finland where the fathers mother language is Finnish and the mothers is Swedish. In this case there is some pressure on the children to be able to speak with their parents in their mother tongues. Besides, the society will push and encourage the children to learn the language used officially in the country which is more likely to be the mother language of either parent, and this helps the children to integrate in the society and to be successful at school. However, in this case the children become monolingual and there are some possible problems in the relationship between them and one or both of their parents, because these children lack complete bilingualism of both parents mother tongues. In the case of failure, the children of this group will face some problems and there might be ne gative consequences within the family environment. For example, a child has negative relationship with one of the parents because he or she fails in being bilingual and learning the mother language of the father or mother. Children from linguistic minorities: this group consists of children whose parents use a language of the minority. For example, a family in Canada, where both parents speak French (minority). In this case, there will be strong pressure from the society and the family on this group of children to become bilingual and learn the language of the majority (English) in order to successfully contact in that society and cope up with the others from majority groups. The methods and materials used to achieve bilingualism need to be more developed, because they still have not reached the level of the high expectations. In the case of failure, the children of this group will face consequences that are thought to be greater than for any of the other previous groups as Skutnabb-Kangas shows that the failure of being bilingual may be catastrophic. For example, the children might lose most of the educational and future opportunities and their contact with the society will be very limited. 2.3 Reasons of being bilingual: Saunders (1988, p.1) states that Fishman, a well-known writer in bilingualism, declares that more than half of the worlds population today uses more than one language while engaging in activities basic to human needs. Also, Baker Jones (1998) add that nowadays, most people in the world live in bilingual environments where two or more languages are used. Numerous causes contribute to the emergence and dominance of bilingualism. There are various optional or compulsory factors. According to Baker Jones (1998), emigration, economic trade and colonisation are main factors that facilitated the dominance of bilingualism over monolingualism. Emigration is a major factor of being bilingual, whereas emigrants move from their own countries to other countries, because of various reasons. For example, some of them escape from wars or poverty in their countries to search for better life in foreign linguistic communities. As a result, they will be forced to learn the language of the host countri es and in order to have wider contact opportunities and more employment availability. According to Saunders (1988), most emigrants speak the language of the new culture and environment. In Australia, for instance, 86.3% of emigrants speak their second language more than their home languages. Saunders also states that commerce and trade are critical factors motivating people to acquire a second language. Most economic business and commercial markets involve bilingual individuals to deal with customers from multicultural areas. Furthermore, Baker Jones (1998) highlight that the existence of bilingualism has also increased because of the mass communication systems such as television, telephone, radio and computers which increased the contacts between members of a variety of languages. (Baker Jones 1998). Another factor is the Geographical proximity of two countries which is a possible factor leading to bilingualism, where people of the two communities need the communication among each other for different purposes like trade and other social relations like marriage resulting in bilingual families. 2.3.1 Education as a great reason of being bilingual: Education is one of the most fundamental factors pushing or motivating individuals to learn a second language. Being bilingual through education can be optional or obligatory. I notice that, in all Arab Gulf countries, most school students become bilingual due to their learning of English as a compulsory subject. However, there are some students, including colleges and universities students, who learn their second language English as an optional subject. The learning of English in these countries seems to be the result of the international relations between them and the United Kingdom. It is worth mentioning that the main focus of my research paper is being bilingual due to education. Adding to the above motives of bilingualism, there are different bilingual education programmes that have been suggested as aiding the increase of bilingualism. (Baker Jones 1998). According to Baker Jones (1998), bilingual education has been widely considered as the capability of using two languages at school. However, it is a more complex phenomenon. Baker (1988) notes that bilingual education could be referred to any program aiming to teach students a second language besides their mother tongue at school Moreover, Hamers Blanc (2000, p.321) mentions that the term bilingual education is used to describe a variety of educational programs involving two or more languages to varying degrees. While, Bialystok (2001) asserts that Brisk describes that the term bilingual education is used in a different way in a number of different countries. For example, in the USA, bilingual education means teaching English to children whose native language is not English. In Europe, it refers to the education used in schools where two languages are involved in teaching different school subjects. These various definitions of bilingual education assure the complexity of this pheno menon. Ferguson et al., (1977) cited in Baker Jones (1998, p.465) provides a number of aims of bilingual education. Some of them are as the following: Bilingual education used to assimilate individuals or groups into the mainstream of society to socialize with people for full participation in the community. To enable people to communicate with the outside world. To provide language skills which are remarkable, aiding employment and status. To deepen understanding of language and culture. To give equal status in law of language of unequal status in daily life. The above aims show that bilingual education does not always concern the use of two languages in the classroom and it takes various classifications, where there are weak and strong forms of bilingual education programmes. The weak forms of bilingual education programmes aim to make children of minority language learn and transfer to the language and culture of majority resulting in monolingualism or limited bilingualism. In contrast, the strong forms of bilingual education aim to make students proficient in their own language as well as the language of majority resulting in full bilingualism. According to Baker (1988), bilingual education is classified to elitist bilingualism and folk bilingualism in accordance to the incentives of being bilingual. Elitist bilingualism is regarded as a reward offered to certain special individuals by government. Some students, for instance, are rewarded by being allowed to study abroad or study in prestigious universities in their countries. On the other hand, folk bilingual education is deemed a crucial need people have to meet in order to remain alive. As mentioned in the previous section that when immigrants move to a new place, they acquire the language of that place so that they can interact with people there. Bilingual education is also categorised into immersion and submersion bilingual education based on the use of both languages in learning. The immersion education is belongs to the strong forms of bilingual education. In immersion education, students are allowed to speak their mother tongue while experiencing their subjects and communicating with teachers. They learn the second language gradually as time goes by. Baker (1993) states that the immersion bilingual education started in Canada in 1965 where an experiment was done on a class of pupils and the aims were to make those pupils competent in using French and to reach good achievement levels in the curriculum involving the English language as well as appreciating the culture and traditions of French speaking Canadians and English speaking Canadians. On the other hand, students are not allowed to speak their home language in the submersion bilingual education, which is one of the weak forms of bilingual education. They are taught a ll their subjects in their second language. According to the major used language, bilingual education can be also categorised into transitional and maintenance or enrichment bilingual educations. The weak form transitional bilingual education essentially aims to develop and make students fluent in one language only, which is the majority language. Therefore, this bilingual education focuses on the bilinguals first language in the learning procedures with few extra classes to learn the second language leading to a limited bilingualism. For example, in the USA and Europe, the minority of languages are taken into account and cured in order to make the minority groups to be able to continue the education in English or other majority languages. While, the strong form maintenance or enrichment bilingual education aims to teach children their subjects with both languages to guarantee that children get good levels of proficiency in both languages. Baker indicates that some students are taught some subjects such as grammar in their nat ive language, while mathematics is learned in the second language. Consequently, students master both languages, and the two languages are developed simultaneously with complete bilingualism. This type of education is used for example in Canada and Wales as Baker (1988, p.47) shows that English speakers are taught French or Welsh to enable them to be fully bilingual (Baker 1988). I assume that maintenance or enrichment bilingual education refers to the same kind of education used in Oman but, here, the government uses the term dual education to refer to it. 2.4 Social attitudes towards bilingualism: Attitudes are the internal thoughts, feelings and tendencies in behaviours that an individual embodies in various contexts. They are difficult to be measured and significant in the thinking and they influence behaviours of individuals and groups. Language attitudes have a pivotal role in the learning of a second language or the loss of the native language. For example, research indicates that an individual will learn a language faster and better than others if his or her attitudes towards that language are positive. Moreover, bilingual education is also influenced by the attitudes of bilinguals being taught where their attitudes will be the reason behind the success and development or the failure of a bilingual education programme. (Baker Jones 1998). According to Baker Jones (1998), there are different types of attitudes to languages. The one related to this research study is the attitude to learning a new language since this paper considers the effects of learning English as a new language on HCT foundation year students social life in Oman. International research focused on the motivations and reasons that make students learn new languages has found that some individuals have the ability to learn a second language quicker and better ways and this due to their positive attitudes towards that certain language and this has been indicated by a research as I mentioned in the first paragraph of this section that positive attitudes to a language will aid the learning of that language. Also, research has found that people in England and the USA have less positive attitudes towards learning a second language than people in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and mainland Europe, where in the latter places; bilingualism is more typical, desirable, and valuable. The reasons might be the consideration of English as a dominant language across the world, so people need to learn it for better employments purposes, wider range of contacts and relationships, as well as travel (Baker Jones 1998). Attitudes to a language are categorised into integrative and instrumental attitudes. Integrative attitudes are the ones that people have when they seek for example, jobs require a second language, read the literature of a second language, socialise with natives of a second language and all this in order to learn that second language and identify different language communities. In the contrary, Instrumental attitudes are the ones that people have when learning a second language for different purposes. For example, they learn a language to pass exams, to find better and more job opportunities, or to help their children in their bilingual education programmes (Baker Jones 1998). Baker Jones (1998) also note that research explains that integrative attitudes and motivations are more helpful in making individuals proficient in the second language, because they provide them with positive attitudes resulting in long term motivation to learn a language, while instrumental attitudes provide short term motivation that will fade for example, an individual has passed in the exam and reached the goals of learning a second language. However, the opposite is a possibility where instrumental attitudes and motivation would be more powerful than integrative attitudes and motivation in learning a language. For example, in India, some Indian students gave instrumental reasons for learning English rather than integrative reasons. They show that English is important in education and future employment and without the need for them; the students would not have learned English. In accordance to the data collected for this research study, the case is that most of the foundation year students at HCT in Oman provided a mixture of both instrumental and integrative reasons for learning English and it can be noticed that instrumental reasons have greater effect than the integrative reasons and this will be discussed in the following chapter. Skutnabb-Kangas (1981) states that bilingualism has been seen in a very negative way in the past and as time was passing by the attitudes towards bilingualism have changed and the negativity has diminished. For example, at the beginning of the twentieth century, there were many statements and investigations that have negative attitudes to bilingualism. They stated that bilingual individuals are for example, lazy, stupid, unreliable, morally inferior, and so on. Romaine (1995, p.303) has conducted a study to investigate attitudes relating to a second language in the Punjabi/English bilingual community in Britain. Romaine has found out that most of her subjects believe that culture is deeply affected by language, for culture cannot be protected without conserving language. In this particular studied community, learners are only taught their second language, which is English, in schools regarding to the assumption that they have already mastered their home language. Therefore, Romaine has reported that the majority of her samples, including parents, prefer their children to be taught using their home language rather than the second language regardless of the latters language qualities. Romaines study shows that monolingual parents feel embarrassed when their bilingual children speak the second language, widely in the society and even in front of the traditional and older generation relatives and guests. Romaines study somehow conforms to the r esults that Huddy and Sears (1984) have found in their survey implemented for 1,570 non Hispanic subjects. They have discovered that people often consider bilingual education as a great factor affecting their culture and language. However, it is obvious that most countries all over the world implementing bilingual education, regardless of its classifications, teach their students English. Those countries believe in the great benefits of having a second language like English. White et al., (2002) declare that New Zealand offers non-English native speakers great opportunities to learn English, for it believes that English is currently very crucial in all life aspects. English skills should be improved as it is critical in facilitating social contacts, in enhancing employment and educational opportunities, and in providing the basis for p