Occupational Safety and Health and International General Certificate

Revised specification of the International General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety. The three unit structure remains unchanged (Unit IGC1: Management of international health and safety, Unit IGC2: Control of international workplace risks and Unit IGC3: International health and safety practical application).The format of Unit IGC1 and IGC2 assessments are unchanged and students sitting examinations between 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2012 will be assessed on content common to both the International General Certificate (2007 specification) and the International General Certificate (2011 specification) syllabuses. Examinations will not include revised syllabus content until 1 January 2013.The main change to the assessment is to Unit IGC3: International health and safety practical application which will be carried out in the student’s workplace from 1 January 2012. The assessment criteria and mark scheme for Unit IGC3 has been revised to the International General Certificate 2011 specification. Revised guidance for Unit IGC3 is available on the NEBOSH website www.nebosh.org.uk.This guidance must be read by the student and applied thoroughly as it will be the student’s responsibility to ensure the practical application is carried out in accordance with NEBOSH requirements.The NEBOSH International General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety is a globally recognised qualification offered by an established independent UK examination board with over 30 years' experience in providing health and safety awards in the UK and across the world including the Middle East, the West Indies and South East Asia.The NEBOSH International General Certificate (IGC) covers the principles relating to health and safety, identification and control of workplace hazards and the practical application of this knowledge. The IGC syllabus takes a risk management approach based on best practice and international standards, such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO) codes of practice. Local laws and cultural factors may form part of the study programme where relevant and appropriate.No previous health and safety knowledge is required. However it should be noted that the examination is offered, and must be answered, in English, and that the course includes a requirement to write a short report, which must also be in English.NEBOSH recommends that candidates undertaking the NEBOSH International General Certificate should reach the equivalent of a scoring of 6.0 or higher under the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).The qualification is divided into three units, each of which is assessed separately:Management of international health and safety (IGC1) Control of international workplace hazards (IGC2) International health and safety practical application (IGC3

Lamb as an Essayist Essay

Here he was fortunate enough to have for a schoolfellow the afterwards famous Samuel Taylor Coleridge, his senior by rather more than two years, and a close and tender life-long friendship began which had a singularly great influence on the whole of his after career. When the time came for leaving school, where he had learned some Greek and acquired considerable facility in Latin composition, Lamb, after a brief stay at home (spent, as his school holidays had often been, over old English authors in the library of Mr Salt), was condemned to the labours of the desk,—an â€Å"unconquerable impediment† in his speech disqualifying him for a school exhibition, and thus depriving him of the only means by which he could have obtained a university education. For a short time he held a clerkship in the South Sea House under his elder brother John, and in 1792 he entered the accountant’s office in the East India House, where during the next three and thirty years the hundre d folios of what he used to call his true â€Å"works† were produced. A dreadful calamity soon came upon him, which seemed to blight all his prospects in the very morning of life. There was insanity in the family, which in his twenty-first year had led to his own confinement for some weeks in a lunatic asylum; and, a few months afterwards, on the 22d of September 1796, his sister Mary, â€Å"worn down to a state of extreme nervous misery by attention to needlework by day and to her mother by night,† was suddenly seized with acute mania, in which she stabbed her mother to the heart. The calm self-mastery and loving self-renunciation which Charles Lamb, by constitution excitable, nervous, and timid, displayed at this crisis in his own history and in that of those nearest him, will ever give him an imperishable claim to the reverence and affection of all who are capable of appreciating the heroisms of common life. His sister was of course immediately placed in confinement, and with the speedy return of comparative health came the knowledge of her fatal deed; himself calm and collected, he knew how to speak the words of soothing and comfort. With the help of friends he succeeded in obtaining her release from the life-long restraint to which she would otherwise have been doomed, on the express condition that he himself should undertake the responsibility for her safe keeping. It proved no light charge; for, though no one was capable of affording a more intelligent or affectionate companionship than Mary Lamb during her long periods of health, there was ever present the apprehension of the recurrence of her malady; and, when from time to time the premonitory symptoms had become unmistakable, there was no alternative but her removal, which took place in quietness and tears. How deeply the whole course of Lamb’s domestic life must have been affected by his singular loyalty as a brother need not be pointed out; for one thing, it rendered impossible his union with Alice Winterton, whom he appears to have truly loved, and to whom such touching reference was made long afterwards in Dream Children, a Reverie. Lamb’s first appearance as an author was made in the year of the great tragedy of his life (1796), when there were published in the volume of Poems on Various Subjects by Coleridge four sonnets by â€Å"Mr Charles Lamb of the India House.† In the following year he also contributed along with Charles Lloyd some pieces in blank verse to Coleridge’s new volume of Poems. In 1798 he published a short and pathetic prose tale entitled Rosamund Gray, and in 1799 he was associated with Coleridge and Southey in the publication of the Annual Anthology, to which he had contributed a short religious poem in blank verse entitled â€Å"Living without God in the World†; the company in which he was thus found brought upon him the irrelevant and pointless ridicule of Canning and Gillray. His next public appearance was not more fortunate. His John Woodvil (1801), a slight dramatic piece written in the style of the earlier Elizabethan period, and containing some genuine poetry and happy delineation of the gentler emotions, but as a whole deficient in plot, vigour, and character, was held up to ridicule by the Edinburgh Revieiv as a specimen of the rudest condition of the drama, a work by â€Å"a man of the age of Thespis.† The dramatic spirit, however, was not thus easily quenched in Lamb. His next effort (1806) was a farce, named Mr II, the point of which lay in the hero’s anxiety to conceal his name, â€Å"Hogsflesh†; it has recently been put upon the boards with success in America, but in London it did not survive the first night of its appearance. Its author bore the failure with rare equanimity and good humour, and soon struck into new and more successful fields of literary exertion. In 1807 appeared Tales founded on the Plays of Shakespeare, written by Charles and Mary Lamb; and in 1808 Specimens of English Dramatic Poets who lived about the time of Shakespeare, with short but felicitous critical notes. In the same year Mary Lamb, assisted by her brother, also published Poetry for Children and a collection of short school-girl tales under the title Mrs Leicester’s School; and to the same date belongs the Adventures of Ulysses, designed by Lamb as a companion to the Adventures of Telemachus. In 1810 began to appear Leigh Hunt’s quarterly periodical, The Reflector, in which Lamb published much (including the essays on the tragedies of Shakespeare and on Hogarth) that subsequently appeared in the first collective edition of his Works (2 vols. 12mo), which appeared in 1818. The establishment of the London Magazine in 1820 stimulated him to the production of a series of new essays which rose into instant popularity, and may be said to form the chief cornerstone in the small but classic temple of his fame. The first of these, as it fell out, was a description of the old South Sea House, with which Lamb happened to have associated the name of a â€Å"gay light-hearted foreigner† called Elia, who had frequented it in the days of his service there. The pseudonym adopted on this occasion was retained for the subsequent contributions which appeared collectively in a post 8vo volume of Essays in 1823. After a brief career of five years the London Magazine came to an end ; and about the same period Lamb’s long connexion with the India House terminated, a pension of about  £450 having been assigned to him. The increased leisure, however, for which he had long sighed, did not prove favourable to literary production, which henceforth was limited to a few trifling contributions to the New Monthly and other serials. The malady of his sister, which continued to increase with ever shortening intervals of relief, broke in painfully on his lettered ease and comfort; and it is unfortunately impossible to ignore the deteriorating effects of an over-free indulgence in the use of tobacco and alcohol on a temperament such as his. His removal on account of his sister to the quiet of the country, by tending to withdraw him from the stimulating society of the large circle of literary friends who had helped to make his Wednesday evening â€Å"at homes† so remarkable, doubtless also tended to intensify his listlessness and helplessness. One of the brightest elements in the closing years of his life was the friendship and companionship of Emma Isola, whom he and his sister had adopted, and whose marriage in 1833 to Mr Moxon, though a source of unselfish joy to Lamb, left him more than ever alone. While living at Edmonton, he was overtaken by an attack of erysipelas brought on by an accidental fall as he was walking on the London road ; after a few days’ illness he painlessly passed away on December 27, 1834. The sudden death of one so widely known, admired, and beloved as Charles Lamb fell on the public, as well as on his own attached circle, with all the poignancy of a personal calamity and a private grief. His memory wanted no tribute that affection could bestow, and Wordsworth has commemorated in simple and solemn verse the genius, virtues, and fraternal devotion of his early friend. In depth of thought and splendour of genius Charles Lamb was surpassed by not a few of his contemporaries, but as an essayist he is entitled to a place beside Montaigne, Sir Thomas Browne, Steele, and Addison. He unites many of the characteristics of each of these writers,—refined wit, exquisite humour, a genuine and cordial vein of pleasantry, and heart-touching pathos. His fancy as an essayist is distinguished by great delicacy and tenderness; and even his conceits are imbued with human feeling and passion. He had an extreme and almost exclusive partiality for our earlier prose writers, particularly for Fuller, Browne, and Burton, as well as for the dramatists of Shakespeare’s time ; and the care with which he studied them is apparent in all he ever wrote. It shines out conspicuously in his style, which has an antique air, and is redolent of the peculiarities of the 17th century. Its quaintness has subjected the author to the charge of affectation, but there is nothing really affected in his writings. His style is not so much an imitation as a reflexion of the older writers; for in spirit he made himself their contemporary. A confirmed habit of studying them in preference to modern literature had made something of their style natural to him; and long experience had rendered it not only easy and familiar but habitual. It was not a masquerade dress he wore, but the costume which showed the man to most advantage. With thought and meaning, often profound, though clothed in simple language, every sentence of his essays is pregnant, and in this respect he bears a strong resemblance to the writers already named. If he had their manner, he possessed their spirit likewise. To some of his essays and specimens we are considerably indebted for the revival of the dramatic writers of the Shakespearian age; for he preceded Gifford and others in wiping the dust of ages from the works of these authors. In his brief comments on each specimen he displays exquisite powers of discrimination ; his discernment of the true meaning of his author is almost infallible. As a poet Lamb is not entitled to so high a place as that which can be claimed for the essayist and critic. His dependence on Elizabethan models is here also manifest, but in such a way as to bring into all the greater prominence his native deficiency in â€Å"the accomplishment of verse.† Yet it is impossible, once having read, ever to forget the tenderness and grace of such verses as those to Hester Savory and on â€Å"The Old Familiar Faces,† or the quaint humour of â€Å"A Farewell to Tobacco.† As a letter writer also Lamb is entitled to rank very high. The Letters of Charles Lamb, with a sketch of his life by one of his executors, Sir Thomas Noon Talfourd, appeared in 2 vols, in 1837, and Final Memorials of Charles Lamb, by the same hand, were published in 1848. Supplementary to these is the Memoir by another personal friend B. W. Procter (Barry Cornwall) published in 1866. See also Fitzgerald’s Charles Lamb, his Friends, his Barents, and his Books, 1866; Cradock’s Charles Lamb, 1867 ; and Carew Hazlitt’s Mary and Charles Lamb : Poems, Letters, and Remains, 1874. There have been several complete editions of the Works of Lamb; of these the fullest as well as most recent is that of Fitzgerald, Life, Letters, and Writings of Charles Lamb, 6 vols., 1870-76).

Suffolk County Council Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Suffolk County Council - Case Study Example The situation at SCC looks like a case of ‘Top Down’ decision, initiated by the CEO Andrea Hill. She along with some senior executives has taken the hard decision to cut back on the number of staff at SCC. A Top-Down approach in an organization is one where one person (or more) at the top of the organizational hierarchy takes a decision and the juniors are expected to follow it. (Princeton, 2014) In comparison, a Bottom-Up approach in an organization refers to the involvement of people at the grass root level to form a consensus regarding a decision. (Princeton, 2014). On preliminary reading, it looks like the executives at SCC have made a mistake regarding the decision to cut back on staff by using a high handed approach in the matter and perhaps not fully investigated other alternatives which may be available to them. For example, if they had consulted with their staff, and presented the problem to them, and asked the staff to take a pay cut for a short period of time, maybe the issue of cutting back would not have arisen. SCC had over the years gone on a hiring spree, perhaps expecting a sharp increase in the demand for their services. However, this doesn’t seem to have happe ned, and now SCC is facing the dual problem of low demands and high personal cost. A revolutionary change is being tried by the new CEO Andrea Hill, in an effort to make SCC â€Å"leaner, smaller, cheaper, more creative, and more innovative.† The relieving of staff will almost certainly ensure that SCC operates in a cheaper more cost-effective way, but there is no guarantee that it will be more creative or innovative. Moreover, it is my personal opinion that creativity flourishes from stability.  

Development and usage of a water lifting device in agriculture Assignment

Development and usage of a water lifting device in agriculture - Assignment Example Several designs were tested before arriving at the present design. Most of the third world countries depend on agriculture to sustain their population and earn revenue through export of their production to other countries. Agriculture requires usage of water either from a river or through ground sources. Ground water being dominantly available requires specialized tools to lift the water to the fields for the purpose of irrigation. The present report focuses on development of a water lifting device that could a eco friendly without compromising on the economic parameters of design. The objective is to achieve a fairly good amount of acceptable proportion in the design of water lifting device with regards to sustainability. Two methodologies have been tested for the same. Use of naturally available sources of energy that can be renewed was made in the design of water lifting device. In areas, where sun light or solar power was in abundance, solar powered devices where used to power up the pumps that lift water. In cases, where animal and organic waste was in abundance, design of power sources that work using organic waste as fuel was utilized. Care was taken in arriving at the best combination of photovoltaic cells. ... Yield output of 50W per module at full strength of sunlight equal to 1000W/m2 Type Biomass energy powered pump Pump type Submerged pump with surface motor Pump specifications Suitable for testing conditions. 1kW capacity considered Biomass Electricity obtained from mini stations operating on organic waste as fuel Capacity of Biomass Depending on the amount of organic waste, capacity is determined. SECTION 3 Description of the Final Design: Two design strategies are tried out with regards to conditions prevailing in the testing areas. Two testing conditions were used. 1. Areas with surplus solar energy: 2. Areas with surplus organic wastes Help was solicited from FAO Corporate repository for arriving at design of the system. Section 3.1: In condition 1, use of photovoltaic cells was adopted, refer Figure 1 below. In both the cases, similar type of motor or pumps was used. Figure 1 An array of photovoltaic cells was used to provide sufficient power to run a motor of a specified capacity (look for specifications in section 2). Care was taken in arriving at the best combination of photovoltaic cells. Since photovoltaics are costly and the amount of investment that goes into purchasing the units defeats the very objective of cost minimization in the short run, photovoltaics developed from locally available sources with good output were utilized. Please refer to section 2 for output specifications. The design resulted in an environmentally friendly output as the source input used now is a natural one compared to earlier ways wherein fossil fuels were used and resulted in pollution. The design is economical as locally available sources of photovoltaics were used with higher output and lower maintenance. The

An integrative review on, The Early Signs and Symptoms of Necrotizing Research Paper

An integrative review on, The Early Signs and Symptoms of Necrotizing Enterocolitis in the neonate - Research Paper Example Integrative review is considered as the most appropriate for the research undertaken because it can present a holistic and encompassing view of the disease. Discussion. Through the integrative review conducted, different issues related to the signs and symptoms of necrotizing enterocolitis came into focus. Parameters in the different articles such as the gestational age of the neonate, the feeding start, the onset of signs and symptoms of NEC, the interventions and the management method for the condition, and the outcome of the neonate were given attention. In addition, the strengths and limitations of each research process had also been identified. Early Signs and Symptoms of Necrotizing Enterocolitis in Neonate Introduction Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is defined as a disease that can be acquired by preterm or sick neonates described to have mucosal or even deeper intestinal necrosis (Merck, 2007). The condition is considered as the most common cause of gastro intestinal medical or surgical emergency in neonates affecting approximately 10 percent of the infants with the weight of less than 1500 g. The vague etiology of the disease is related to the rate of mortality which is 50 percent mortality depending on the severity of the case (Springer and Rosenkrantz, 2011). Background of the Study Based on empirical evidences, NEC affects 2 to 5 percent of the total preterm infants. Majority of the cases occurs in less than 36 weeks of the gestational age. In addition, there are different risk factors that are related to the disease based on records such as history of hypoxia, asphyxia and the introduction of enteral feeding. Another condition which can increase the risk of NEC based on different studies is cyanotic heart disease (Puri and Hollwarth, 2009, p.435). In addition to the said risk factors, the presence of the 3 intestinal factors such as preceding ischemic insult, bacterial colonization, and intraluminal substrate can also contribute to the prevalence of NEC (Merck, 2007). For the purpose of the study, such risk factors and related parameters were considered as the focal points of the study undertaken. The said factors were considered as early indications of the possible onset of the disease. Other factors such as geographical origin, ethnicity or gender have no proven effects on the prevalence and occurrence of NEC (Puri and Hollwarth, 2009, p.435). Determining, presenting, and discussing the early onset of NEC is important for possible prevention of the fatal effects of the disease. The study was able to achieve its objectives based on chosen empirical and primary researches focused on the early signs and symptoms of necrotizing enterocolitis. The determination of the onset of the disease can be considered as the most important method to lessen mortality and to resolve the problem on the lack of effective treatment to NEC. Study Design and Data Sources The primary phase in the integrative review of the early signs and symptoms of NEC is the search for data sources which will be included in the study. Different databases such as CINAHL, EBSCOHost and PubMed were used to find five journal articles that explored NEC in different perspectives and with a focus on the diagnosis and clinical signs and symptoms of the disease. In the search for the data sources, there are factors considered for inclusion and exclusion of journal

Explore Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Explore - Essay Example Each chapter contains seven to eight selections that present themes in different angles and different life experiences. This work is mainly focused on illustrating one of the chapters, Prejudice and discrimination. The main purpose of this article is to illustrate how different authors, in their essays, wrote about prejudice and discrimination. These essays originate from various sources such as books, newspapers, the internet and magazines. Due to this variation, these essays vary in style, purpose and tone. Therefore, the aim of this article is to relate different ideas of the authors concerning their opinion on the subject matter by comparing their varying styles, tone and purpose. In the analysis of the essay, â€Å"The Word Police† written by Michiko Kakutani, the author uses definitions, examples and illustrations to support argument that language is on the edge of absurdity because people hide their true personalities and inequalities with euphemisms. He also states tha t due to euphemism, people are likely to distract their concentration from the main problems of prejudice and discrimination or injustice in the community. ... Furthermore, she used sarcasm in renovating words like, Superman and Miss in order to show her aversion to politically correct movement. Kakutani defined Political Correctness as a revelation of a more just and inclusive community whereby sexism, racism and prejudice of all kinds have been erased (Katherine 367-368). She further claimed that Political Correctness had a good intent though the methods employed by its activists to accomplish their goals were too extreme. This essay of Kakutani, â€Å"The Word Police† is a refreshing observation of a literally world policed by the P.C. (Politically Correct). She mainly poked the efforts of the P.C. police such as Maggio Rosalie the author of s Dictionary of nondiscriminatory language and The Bias-Free World Finder. During her mock, she mainly emphasized that the P.C. police efforts were over exaggerated. According to her, the excessive exaggeration of the P.C. contributed in complicating words thus diluting the message. From this essay, we can learn that accountability can be considered a worthwhile tool for the individuals who make every effort to better themselves. For that reason, the P.C. police efforts should be criticized and applauded due to punishing of many citizens abiding by language and for their keenness and determination to improved language mainly for inclusiveness respectively. Lakota Woman is another essay written by Mary Crow Dog that talks about prejudice and discrimination. Lakota woman is an autobiographic book of Mary Crow who was an Indian American woman. In this book, she tells the story of her life as an Indian American in the community of the white Americans. Mary

Disifectant lab Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Disifectant lab - Assignment Example It was highly effective in Gram positive S. aureus (inhibition diameter of 20mm) compared to the Gram negative bacteria (P. aureginosa and E. coli at inhibition diameters of 0 and 6 mm). Chlorox, which contains sodium hypochlorite works by unfolding and permanently aggregating vital bacterial proteins hence killing bacteria. Fabuloso is a cleaning agent without antimicrobial properties. However, it inhibited the growth of S. aureus and P. aureginosa (at inhibition diameter s of 25 mm and 36 mm respectively) by acting as a detergent and interfering with the cell membrane. 3. The disinfectants worked differently on different organisms because certain microbes such as E. coli and P. aureginosa were Gram negative while S. aureus was Gram positive. All disinfectants were effective against S. aureus because they were able to traverse the thick peptidoglycan layer of its cell wall. In addition, the disinfectants contained different active ingredients, which had different chemical properties. 4. The disinfectant of choice for use in the kitchen, laboratory or on myself would be Clorox. I would choose Clorox because it showed the largest inhibition distance in the growth of the three microbes at inhibition diameters of 55 mm 54 mm and 46 mm for E. coli, P. aureginosa and S. aureus respectively. Therefore, it would be an effective disinfectant because it would destroy an array of bacteria. In addition, it is relatively safe for human use since it contains chemicals that are used in the treatment of drinking

Niger Delta insurgency and its aftermath Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Niger Delta insurgency and its aftermath - Essay Example 167-168). Indeed, the conflict entails the Boko Haram against Nigeria militancy used to address the Niger Delta situation (Akpan, Ekanem, & Olofu-Adeoye, 2014, p. 151). Notably, the insurgency has led to increased suffering, sexual assaults, harassment, and oppression in the region. The adverse effects of the Niger Delta insurgency call for policy recommendations and adoption of DDR program in the region. The history of Niger Delta conflicts from 1990 to 2004 involves an investigation of the causes and dynamics of the crisis that evolved from ethnic-based protests against in the 90s to the current Niger Delta insurgency that defines a global problem (Nwajiaku-Dahou, Obi, 2012, p. 167-168). Ken Saro-Wiwa initiated the process of condemning and exposing the suffering experienced by Niger Deltans in the 1990s (Sampson 2009, p. 31-32). Notably, Ken used peaceful and non-violent strategies to address the problem through the Movement for the Emancipation of the Ogoni People founded in 1992 (Afinotan & Ojakorotu 2009, p. 192-193). Moreover, through the Ogoni Bills of Rights established in 1990, Niger Deltans demonstrated their quest to regain their human dignity and fundamental human rights (Sampson 2009, p. 32). However, the Nigeria Mobile Police Force was brutal in managing peaceful youth protests that opposed the activities of Shell (Ojakorotu & Gilbert 2010, p. 5). The militancy used by the federal government led to the rise of Islamic radical youth, Boko Haram that sought to create a strict Islamic state in the north that would address the sufferings and ills propagated by the militancy in Niger Delta (Afinotan & Ojakorotu 2009, p. 192-193). Moreover, between 1993 and 1996, the Nigerian government formed the Rivers State Internal Security Task Force to repress, harass, suppress, humiliate, and detain members of MOSOP

Statement of Smith Ltd Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Statement of Smith Ltd - Essay Example According to the annual financial reports of Smith Company the year 2012, the current ratio recorded was 1.6 (Warren, Reeve, & Duchac, 2012).. This clearly indicates that the firm’s ability to meet its short-term obligations with time has improved thus, the firm remains liquid and has the ability to meet its short-term financial obligations within a short duration of time. As a result, it is wise to invest in the company has an high current ratio points out a progress in asset management that allows movement of cash flow thus enhances growth and prosperity. In addition, quick ratio is used as an analytical tool that indicates the firm’s ability to pay debts it shows the difference in liquidity between account receivables and inventory. This is because most of the companies provide services and goods to its customers on credit basis as they mostly allow favourable credit terms. Smith Company reports a quick ratio of 0.66, this shows that the company has enough current as sets apart from inventories to enable it pay for its short-term obligations as and when they fall due. Leverage ratios are used by companies to calculate the firm’s ability to finance its obligation and its ability to generate income that can service the debts and interest rates accrued as the company meet its financial obligations over time.

Childhood obesity Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Childhood obesity - Research Paper Example The obesity trends is rising day by day, and all that does emanate from the imbalance in the caloric content consumption. The trend has had detrimental effect to the children, exposing them to cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diabetes. The essay will expound childhood obesity with relation to classification, causes, effects and preventive measures. Obesity is determined by use of BMI in children who are two years or older. The center for disease control and prevention has come up with the acceptable body mass index from that that needs medical attention. A BMI of 18 to 24 is classified as a standard body mass index with 25 to 29 being overweight. Obesity sets in when ones weight and height ratio goes beyond 30. On the other hand, a BMI of less than 18 is classified as underweight as well (Anderson and Butcher). However, the United States preventive task force confirmed that high BMI can identify a health problem but does not mean that all children need to lose weight. The prevalence  of obesity in  childhood  is increasing in the world with the current estimates being in 42 million cases of overweight children (International Obesity Taskforce). According to (Force), the number of obese children has doubled from the ones in 1980 in all countries of North America that include Mexico, the United States, and Canada. Even though there is a decreased rate of childhood obesity development in the United States, the prevalence still remains high at 32.8 percent among children of age 6 to 11 years old, and 18 percent of the children with the age brackets of 6 to 9 years old (UniMelb Obesity Consortium). A myriad of factors often act in combination hence leading to the development of obesity among children. The mixture of elements that can result in the development of obese are termed as obesogenic in medical terms. One of the greatest risks of the child developing obesity is a situation whereby the parents to are suffering from the same condition. This can

Small hospitality businesses Essay Example for Free

Small hospitality businesses Essay Hotel firms provide products which include tangible and intangible elements that combine into an exclusive combination of production and service. While room provision is a pure service activity, food and beverage functions involve processing and retailing processes. This might signify that the actual delivery of hospitality services may diverge widely and that the benefits derived are associated with feelings or emotions. The repercussions are that consumers use biased and contradictory frames of reference to judge the quality of services, presenting difficulties for the hotel operative in satisfying the customer. Customer prejudice is emphasized in Day and Peters comments that â€Å"Quality is rather like pornography in this respect. We may not be able to describe it easily, but we know it when we see it†. Its ambiguity is amplified because high quality service is often delivered by impulsive and since reacts by hotel staff which cannot simply be practiced or scripted, but are even so an important means of client satisfaction. In order to endure and be successful, a business has to make sure that it is producing the goods or services that the customer wants, that it gets its quality right, and that it brings on time. There is a growing body of evidence which suggests that are straight links with the satisfaction of the server and customer, repeat sales and profits. Heskettet al. implies that quality, repeat usage, profits and investment form a self-reinforcing rotation. As a result, despite the apparently indefinable nature of the hotel product, service improvement can represent an important source of competitive advantage because quality in service delivery can lead to more repeat custom and greater sales revenue. Augmented presentation may also benefit managers and staff whose tangible and intangible benefits include job satisfaction, profit sharing and esteem. Small businesses are imperative to the financial health of both developed and developing countries. Gavron et al. (1998) makes a note of the vitality of the hospitality and tourism sector in this regard, in which low barrier to access generally ensure a steady supply of new businesses; at the same time as unproductive or inefficient ones are going through difficulty. Quinn et al. (1992) remarks on the somewhat low capital investment required to start new small tourist businesses. Entry costs can be abridged even for relatively asset-intensive businesses such as hotels, through leasing or through mortgage/loan agreements. Welshand White (1981) describe as resource poverty the inclination of small hospitality businesses to be short of financial backing and management skill and Gavron et al. (1998) refer to this as the reason why 64 per cent of UK small businesses fall short within four years. In Germany, where an inspection is required before an industrialist can start up in business, the rate is 32 per cent. Specific tourism-related statistics are limited, but, for example, Chelland Pittaway (1997) report that almost 50 percent of restaurants did not endure the first two years in their study. The British Venture Capital Association (1996) makes a note that many small business managers are provoked by life style rather than economic and success issues. While this does not automatically mean that they function to insufficient professional standards, it does simply that they may not be motivated to endeavor further improvement in a business which already produces adequate profits. Eggers et al. (1994) note that businesses either look for stabilization or have an expansion orientation. They categorize a series of central business stages and comment that a business which is thriving at one stage may not have the knowledge crucial to uphold success in others. Thus, although small businesses have a vital part in creating tourist satisfaction, they are neither a homogeneous group, nor able to give constantly high service delivery. Benchmarking Camp (1989) and Zairi (1996) observe benchmarking as a way to contrast organizational practice and produce improvement. Smithet al. (1993) classifies the benefits of benchmarking as: †¢ presenting an organization how to better meet client requirements; †¢ recognizing an organization’s strengths and weaknesses; †¢ Inspiring incessant operational enhancement; and †¢ A cost-effective means of gathering inventive ideas. The key classifications of benchmarking are among internal/external and generic/functional (Zairi, 1992). Internal benchmarking contains the sharing of performance pointers between sections of an organization or between divisions in a group (Cross and Leonard, 1994). External benchmarking involves assessment with challengers or peers working in the same industry (Karlof and Ostblom, 1994). Generic/functional benchmarking looks for comparison against organizations or sectors performing parallel activities or facing comparable problems, not essentially in the same industry (Breiter and Kline, 1995; Cook, 1995). Thus the benchmarking of small hospitality/tourism businesses may possibly involve comparison with other such businesses, or with a certain service characteristic such as customer care, in another business segment, such as airlines. Benchmarking in the hospitality industry Organizations have to attain an overall level of performance in order to be competitive. Categorization and grading schemes and awards such as IiP and Excellence through People can act as external enablers that circuitously sway the performance level of an organization as a yield. All these grading and award systems can be acknowledged as benchmarks signifying how businesses execute against a variety of standards. In theory they make it achievable to perk up both systems and service outputs on a continuing basis. To profit from external benchmarking, small tourism businesses must be inspired to reflect and scan. It is essential that external bodies such as TECS, tourist boards and associations, professional bodies and organizations such as British Hospitality Association participate in presenting the benchmarking procedure as a positive and important support to business efficiency. Local bodies involved in destination identification plans which are harmonious with the future plans for the destination. Management needs to build up award and given the instability in the small hospitality sector, it may be that those small businesses which can most profit from benchmarking are the very ones that are deficient of the assets and partiality to carry it out (Micklewright, 1993). Either way, the benchmarking of small organizations against one another is improbable to make a genuine impact on destination preference and tourist satisfaction. It is also noteworthy that the inadequate examples of benchmarking carried out among small tourism businesses have almost all been carried out by external third parties (Coker, 1996; Department of National Heritage, 1996; Johns et al. , 1996;Johns et al. , 1997). Such studies involve small businesses only to give data to external researchers and then gain from the data; there is no need for them to carry out any lively research themselves. Externally instigated approaches to benchmarking comprise classification/grading schemes and awards, which can likewise be used to gauge the performance of small hospitality businesses and to lift standards. In theory, grading schemes create universal benchmark standards against which the individual small businesses are evaluated. They also supply consumers with important information about hotels and other businesses.

Dramatic Techniques in Hamlet

Dramatic Techniques in Hamlet A text is exposed as remarkable and memorable as a result of the innovative ideas and the dramatic execution that carry them from writer to audience. Shakespeares theatrical play, Hamlet, exemplifies this fundamental interaction as it underscores the innate human state of indecisiveness, driven by a confrontation between the desires of an individual and the actions of others. Bear[ing] our hearts in grief a state of madness is seen to manifest, and Hamlet ultimately unfurls as a work underpinned by a preoccupation with death, in a great tragedy that will eventually cry on havoc. Shakespeare explores the universal notion of indecisiveness, as his protagonist grapples with actions that contravene historical and contemporary notions of morality. Such indecision in action is explored extensively through Hamlets procrastination concerning vengeance for a dear father murderd. Struggling with the divisiveness of slaughtering Claudius, Hamlets brooding soliloquies best reveal his indecision and apathetic intellectualism. The rhetorical musing To be or not to bewhether tis nobler in the mind to suffer or to take arms against a sea of troubles exhibits, in its mere length, Hamlets universal struggle with morality and hesitancy. Positioned to slaughter Claudius in Act 3 Scene 3, Hamlet rationalises his inaction and indecision, To take him in the purging of his soul, when he is fit and seasoned for his passage? No. Hamlet, tormented by his indecisiveness, is thrust into a reality of otherworldly composites as he identifies with Queen Hecuba and acts out his murderous in tentions through the theatrical slaying of the player king. Stating I, impregnant of my causeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦can say nothing, Shakespeare metaphorically alludes to his inability to exercise courage and determination. Emasculated as he stands barred from his rightful position as King, Hamlets ingrained allegiance to his mother appears to be the root of his indecisiveness. Instructed to Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive against thy mother, it is only following Gertrudes death that Hamlet can proclaim The kings to blame venom to thy work! and poison Claudius, as highlighted in O.B. Hardisons analysis of Hamlet. Comparably confronted with the death of a father, Laertes overcomes his ambivalence regarding revenge or forbearance, resonating through his contracted and emphatic resolve to cut [Hamlets] throat ithchurch. As a foil to Hamlets indecisiveness Laertes vigour immediately juxtaposes Hamlets procrastination and leads to the rhetorical inquiry Am I a coward? which undoubt edly reveals Hamlets hamartia indecisiveness as a most human, and universal flaw. The universal relevance of Hamlet is evidently best seen in the universality of its protagonist, and the humanity of his flaws, including his consumption by grief. Emphasised with a sense of antithesis, the musing To be or not to be arouses a sense of Hamlets existential nature, as a Machiavellian Renaissance man, willing the freedom to leave his grief ridden mortal coil. Polarising the notions of freedom and damnation in the face of grief, Shakespeare manipulates Ophelia as a foil to Hamlet as she continues the path of suicide to its fruition. A dishonorable act devoid of justification, Ophelias shuffle off her mortal coil and grief is foreshadowed as universally present by naturalistic motifs, asserting I would give you/some violets, but they withered all when my father/died. The dramatic juxtaposition of Hamlet and Ophelia exposes Shakespeares perception that the veiled madness of grief is more pernicious and universally relevant than the antic disposition barbaric Denmark defines as true madness. This is linguistically highlighted through Hamlets poetic declarations Which passes show, the trappings and the suits of woe as paralleled by Ophelia They bore him bare-faced on the bierà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦and in his grave rained many a tear. Institution of gender segregation in grief emerges hereafter as only Ophelias crazed state in Act 4 Scene 5 is identified as true madness causing those around her to give her good watch, disparate to Hamlets alienating madness which is disregarded as unmanly grief. The aphoristic notion that wise men knowwhat monsters you make of them serves to highlight Hamlets ingrained distrust for women catalysed by his grief, and is reflexively recognised as he states It hath made me mad. The notion that grief is manifestly inimitable emerges as the consequences of Hamlets grief extend to both misogyny and the deaths of many courtiers, whereas Ophelias madness is brief and auto-retributive. This universal element appears as an integral cros s-contextual statement serving to highlight the deference that must be shown in the face of grief. Shakespeare further explores the manifestation of grief as a universal predecessor to preoccupation with death. The universal relevance of death itself is underscored as Hamlet reflects Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Alexander returneth to dust, paralleling the death of Yorrick and Alexander the Great through the timeless power of death. Raised in Act 1 Scene 2, Hamlet instigates his exploration of death, had the Everlastingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦not fixd/His canon gainst self-slaughter! Ruled unconscionable by the allusion to the Christian doctrine, as a display of weakness and melancholy, discussed in J. Nosworthys dissertation of Hamlet, preoccupation with death is relegated to the domain of vengeancefor a dear father murderd. It is this dramatic manipulation of Hamlets obsession with death which unifies the protagonist and humankind as a whole. Hamlets obsession is seen to manifest in the ghostly appearance of Old Hamlet, as Shakespeare employs fast-paced, interrogation-style dial ogue to engage the audience His beard was grizzled, no? and, Looked he frowningly? The ghosts apparition acts as a vessel to communicate the inherent concern for the afterlife and explores the potential associated with purgatory and supernatural trapping to the earth. A looming figure, the ghost is arguably a metaphor for Hamlets preoccupation with death despite his uncertainty regarding the validity of such a presence O all you host of heaven! O earth! What else / And shall I couple hell O fie! It is this ambiguity regarding death that perhaps allows for Hamlets impulsive rejection or acceptance of responsibility for the deaths of those around him. The dramatic lack of discourse surrounding Hamlets murder of Polonius and his unsettling indifference towards Rosencrantz and Guildenstern They are not near my conscience exposes the sociopathic manifestation of deathly obsession which allegorically claims Hamlets life. Realised in a Feudal context, this dangerously universal fixatio n is a theme that remains edifying for a contemporary audience and enlightens individuals to the peril of fixation. Though Shakespeares thematic explorations are manifest in a context bearing little resemblance to that of the 21st Century, it is through critical thematic and linguistic analysis that much is revealed about human nature today. Having devised such a dramatic triad of tragedy, Shakespeare presents the audience with notions regarding human nature and the universal notion that an individual will be subject to thine own treachery.

The conceptual framework of feminism

The conceptual framework of feminism The conceptual framework of feminism, as a reactionary ideology, basically consists of power, woman, rights, and equality. The same can be said of African feminism, which has on its priority list such goals as self-determination, which have economic overtones sewn on a materialistic metaphysic. African womanism, despite its pretensions to seeking co-operation or its advocacy for interdependency between men and women, uses a model of conscientisation of women that is foreign to Africa, and runs the risks of obscurantism, vulgarism, inauthenticity, and irrelevance. To put it cryptically, African womanism cant want and cant not want men at the same time. Although gender has made tremendous strides in conscientising women about their plight vis-Ã  -vis male-dominance, its future in Africa demands that it re-position itself appropriately. At least it must re-think three theories, that is, the labour theory, economic theory, and social theory. Africas contemporary socio-political scene depicts theoretical and practical confusion of gender with feminism or, for that matter, gender with broad emancipatory movements, such as African womanism, which nonetheless use gender theory as an intellectual tool for critical analysis for the supposedly discriminatory social, religious and political organisational structures. Feminist thinkers loathe these structures because they see in them deliberate mechanisms for oppressing or marginalising women. This oppression of women characterises the present economic inegalitarianism in a male-dominated status quo. Consequently, it is argued that these male-founded and male-dominated structures can only be changed so as to render them balanced or equitable if and only if revolutionary measures are employed. The usual elements of such arguers form a class of people called feminist ideologues. Feminist ideologues are those people, male and female, minority or majority in one country, who share th e ideas or beliefs or attitudes of male-dominance over women. They tend to look at society in one way; they are certainly unhappy, dissatisfied and critical of what they see around them as compared to what they would like to see. The rational justification of their discontent and critical attitude is quite another thing. Insofar as feminism comprises people, who share one set of ideas or Where is the Foundation of African Gender? beliefs or attitudes as a group or community and who are (radically) organised, feminism is an ideology,1 which is posited to displace the prevailing male-dominated ideology. It is the core of an ideology or the ideological core, which is the most difficult part to change because it is the worldview of the people. The ideological core consists of the core ideas, core beliefs, or core attitudes of a people. By implication, if the core ideas, beliefs, or attitudes are purged out then the peoples practical reality is annihilated. The revolutionary spirit is germane to any feminist ideologue because he or she believes that lasting and effective change must be moral and intellectual. These detested moral and intellectual values are in-built in society so that their removal or reduction calls for a drastic revolutionary overhaul of the whole social fabric. This drastic revolutionary overhaul of society must be no less than a critique of the prevailing ideology because it purports to subjec t to intellectual scrutiny, and eventually refute or reject prevailing ideas, beliefs, or attitudes, which are rationally unjustified or prejudicial to the position of women in society. And then feminist ideology purports to create its own better ideas, beliefs, or attitudes. In other words, feminist ideology creates its own counter-consciousness, and eventually its own counterculture. This counterculture comprises a new set of beliefs and a new style of life that is intended or hoped to challenge and eventually expose the inadequacy of the prevailing culture. Only when the ideological core of the prevailing culture is removed and replaced by a new ideological core can lasting and effective change occur. Any change less than that involving the ideological core is superficial or transitory. In a nutshell, feminism challenges the prevailing status quo and develops a counter-ideology that questions the prevailing status quo and then attempts to modify it. Feminism advocates change rather than order. It criticises the regime in power and existing social and economic arrangements. It advances schemes for restructuring and reordering society. It generates political movements in the form of womens movements in order to gain enough power and influence to effect the changes it advocates. Feminism is an ideology of action for it motivates people to demand changes in their lifestyles and to modify the existing social, religious, political, and economic relations. It also mobilises its followers and adherents to preserve what they value.2 Ultimately, feminism is political and revolutionary. The revolutionary tinge of feminism has historically at times sanctioned the use of violence,3 which has not precluded bloodshed. Gender thinking adopts this feminist stance, with little or no modification or retouching and with few or no disclaimers, so that it is conventional gender thinking to posit men as the perpetrators of female-oppression and discrimination in a society which is viewed as male-dominated, a society in which this sad scenario is ingrained in the fabric of the prevailing political regimes, and where the social, religious, political and economic relations and structures are arranged so as to embrace and promote inequality between men and women. The result is that the gender paradigm centrally addresses the problems of equality and liberty rights, more or less zeroing on a variant of welfare-state ideology. Gender thinkers see no need to take caution in distinguishing gender-ism from feminism. Feminism is taken for granted as the appropriate seed and vehicle of gender. In contemporary literary circles, the philosophical presuppositions of gender thinking and practice are not put to a litmus test because testing gender implies testing feminism, which, in any case, has withstood many a crucial test as evidenced by its record of persistence and triumph especially in Europe, Great Britain, America, Canada, and Australia. This being the case, the cogency of popular gender-isms can only be tested, or critiqued, against cross-cultural objectivity. This paper argues that the lack of demarcation between gender and feminism leads to confusion of western feminism with gender. By grounding itself in feminist ideology, gender inherits most of the weaknesses and shortfalls of western feminism. Gender finds its impetus and modes of expression in western feminism. Therefore, Africa needs to rethink a specific gender, which is appropriate to the African situation in this new millennium. Conceptual analysis of gender and feminism becomes a problem for a start because there is a plethora of such offers on the contemporary intellectual and political scenes. Below, only extant literature is reviewed on the question of gender and feminism in Malawi and elsewhere in Africa. In the case of Malawi, only a few representative papers are considered. Any other contributions outside these papers are nonetheless worthwhile but very likely to be implicitly implicated and/or critiqued in one or more of the representative papers. The choice of the papers is free and deliberate: social philosophy, education, religion, and environment, i.e., unarguably, some of the hottest beds of gender debates and activism. At this juncture, it should be appreciated that African intellectuals have for some time tried to conceptualise gender and feminism in their own situation. As far as philosophical writing is concerned in Malawi, Hermes Chidammodzi was 116 Where is the Foundation of African Gender? the first to notice and then critique this confusion between gender and feminism in the mid-nineties. Feminism is a consecration of the moral and intellectual and hence universal values of equality purportedly denied of women by the dominance of males over women and the sacrosanct ideologies developed in society to legitimatise and perpetuate male-dominance. Thus conceived, feminism as a western reactionary and sacrosanct ideology is not African in origin and development so that the contemporary gender idiom is not a full theoretical framework and expression of the paradigm of African gender. This construing of gender invokes three important thoughts: (1) Gender does not mean and is not women. (2) Gender emerges in a specific situation depicting inegalitarianism embedded in social structures where one sex (male or female) is on the losing side. (3) Gender is a social construct of sets of behaviours, dispositions, ideas, beliefs, values, and attitudes of man and woman. (4) Gender has a strong materialistic tendency, for it grounds womens qualities or modes of action in womens daily li ves in a spatio-temporal-specific resource base presumably conditioned by a sexual division of labour. Insofar as it is situationally embedded in the societys power relations, gender is a reaction to constructed, i.e. real or imagined, male- dominance and female subordination. Gender thus conceived becomes an outgrowth from feminism. 28 The history of feminism is marked by two goals: equality and rights. Pioneer American feminists like Susan Anthony and Elizabeth Stanton had to battle it out with men for their right to vote as equals with men by dint of creation. In the days of old, liberalism provided the initial momentum toward the release of women from social bondage. To womens disappointment, many a revolution (like the American Revolution in 1776 and the French Revolution in 1789) and nationalism did not specifically rescue them from subjugation by men. Social inequalities continued to prevail in the new and independent states. Britain, America and the Continent of Europe clearly illustrate the sluggish pace of women liberation progress; Switzerland is the last European democracy to grant women suffrage in 1971. Despite the universality of female subordination and male domination, the African womans situation is bound to make her suspicious of western feminist discourse, which is mostly the experience of the twentieth century middle-class woman in an industrial sexual division of labour. For the western woman of that era it was only natural for her to cry for balance of power. The feminist fight was a fight for power. She made lots of gains; her emancipatory efforts bore her more equality with men, more rights, and easier access to resources, increase in opportunities or incentives, especially in the public sphere. The yardstick was always her more privileged male counterpart in the already privileged middle-class. In labour, this historicity of western feminism has led to the misconception that women were solely fighting for the soft or top jobs such as company executive, manager, prime minister, parliamentarian, physician, news editor, professor, pilot; surprisingly, the women never zealously fought for rough jobs such as undertaker, trench-digger, dockyard worker, heavy industrial worker, soldier,30 or night-guards. In its counter-critique, western feminism penetrated the rough jobs; eventually, the west saw more women engineers, women soldiers, and policewomen, thus virtually transforming western society into a unisex club. In the inter-war period, and much more vehemently after W.W.II, feminist thinkers zeroed on marriage as the champion of female subordination, and so they strongly argued that the demolition of the marriage institution would automatically lead to total women liberation. It was then a normal spectacle for a woman feminist to be decidedly non-married, although she could be attached and have children. Domesticity, child rearing, or whatever family life stands for, was looked upon as an impediment to women involvement and participation in public life, especially to public employment. The feminist propaganda so narrowly construed was reduced to a feminist fight for space and time in the public spheres of life especially the workplace, which was supposed as a predominantly male ter ritory. Two concepts dominated and still dominate the western conceptual framework. Western gender categories dismally fail to provide a gender conceptual framework for the African woman. For instance, the category of power cannot be used to conceptualise gender in Africa. To argue that a certain normative concept like power has a gender meaning is to claim that its social usage, at least in part, is not what it ought to be for reasons that have to do with gender To claim further that the usage does not command universality and objectivity, due to considerations of differing hermeneutics, i.e. interpretation as grounded in historicity and context is not to advocate gender scepticism. Although the empirical realities of women world-wide are different, this paper argues for the abandonment of gender exclusivity in the face of equally competing, urgent and appealing discourses of, say, ethnicity, racism, and class. In western traditional masculinist literature, power is viewed as repressive, poured from a leviathan above to his subjects below. The subjects are said to need the powerful leviathan because without him, they lack security, peace and well-being. In that western literary world, power is evidently and firmly associated with the male and masculinity, like virility, thus evoking the physicality of power. The correlate of man, woman, is therefore powerless. So when feminists wrote about power over our bodies and power of our lives they were using the very same concept of power, which pervaded traditional masculinist discourses on power. They affirmed the male conceptualisation of power rather than providing an alternative. It comes to us as no surprise that contemporary gender thinkers mimic the same masculinist notion of power in theorising gender. They are not wary of historical, social and political situation of knowledge-claims.32 Trapped in their own ideological cocoon, the western feminist women still think that western rationality is the only rationality; that western science is superior to other forms of rationality (if any), so that in regard to, say, family planning strategy, African women have to be helped by their more scientific counterparts from the west. African women, so claim the western women, need to be conscientised because it is feared that the African women have internalised the oppression or suffering and therefore are in desperate need of awareness campaigns by women animators from the west. The western feminists already fall prey to the yet another ideology of dominance they vehemently fight in their own backyard. Western feminists are totally oblivious to the reality of subject-object relations in research; the reality the helper and the helped are equals as they each experience the other from the viewpoint of their own situations and background knowledge and cultures. Each one (the helper and the helped) is the object of experience of the other so that objectivity is somehow tainted with subjectivity. 31 Oshadi Mangena argues likewise that if one is attentive to differences of ethnic origin, sexual orientation and class, the notion of gender disintegrates into fragments and cannot anymore be employed as a useful category. See K. Lennon and M. Witford, Knowing the difference: feminist perspectives in epistemology, London: Routeldge and Kegan Paul, 1994, pp. 275-282. 32 Annette Fitzsimons and Susan Strickland, Ibid. pp. 124; 265. 129 Nordic Journal of African Studies That the helper enjoys the exclusive right to the objectification of knowledge of the Other is an ingrained feature of western cross-cultural research, after all the helper has scientific skills or rational advantage over the helped, and this ontological arrangement make the helped redundant in the objectification of knowledge of the Other. The only danger though is that the consequent helpers knowledge is partial or fragmentary. The implication is that western feminists cannot emancipate the supposedly un-conscientised African women. 2.2.2 Woman Just as the concept of human, as narrowly presented in western literature, fails to command objectivity, the same literature fails to define woman. Woman is amenable to many different things; it is shrouded by ambiguities about its ontological status. It can evoke intrinsic characteristics, like caring and love, but this smacks of essentialism, which does not have many adherents in gender mainstreams. It can also evoke familial relationships as the non-male member. Both of these evocations partially conceive woman for they are normative since they are descriptive of a set of social facts or relations. As such, woman has no characterizable content and hence the challenge from postmodernist thought that woman is not descriptively adequate since, it is observed, woman is cross-culturally different. According to postmodernists, woman imposes unity over empirical reality.33 Postmodernism rejects the Enlightenment and the humanist presumptions of wonders of reason. The Enlightenment is rejected because of its veneration of masculine reason at the expense of sensuality; humanism is rejected because of its appeals to universal subjectivity or the human condition. Instead of seeking sameness postmodernism celebrates difference, partiality and multiplicity. It detests the search for coherence and hankering after the right (or Platonic or Kantian) solution. Postmodernist feminism equally opposes a hermeneutic parochialism of the present over the past or vice versaof searching for a single given goal, a single representation of reality. This new brand of feminism transcends the historicist recognition of the inevitable peculiarity and contextuality of human thought and practice and hence it advocates the continuity of dialogue between interlocutors, between text and interpreter, and between subject and object, with no advantage, marked goal or reality. This postmodernist re-orientation of feminism is a deliberate step away from essentialism and universalism: marginalisation and exclusion of the Other.34 It puts emphasis on particularity and multiplicity with due attention to difference, diversity and locale. But postmodernists also impose a tough demand on gender thinkers: why should the absence of facts for 33 See Alessandra Tanesini, Ibid. pp. 211-212. 34 See Susan Strickland, Ibid. pp. 266-7. 130 Where is the Foundation of African Gender? description of woman precludes the claim for the notion of woman, even where the possession of the notion may not warrant the description or analysis of the same? Even the points of convergence of feminism and postmodernism are not adequate grounds for their formulation of their purported common aims because their concept-lingualities are different. For example, their meanings of a concept like difference are different. In postmodernism, difference is acknowledged as typical of human experience worldwide; it is at the same time evaded as a threat to dominant perspectives of understanding or interpreting reality. It is consistent within postmodernism to demonstrate that woman was all along acknowledged as different but was included in universal humanity in name only by the dominating men. Feminists believe that the dominant ideology in world history is the root cause of the subjection of women by men. In Rousseaus language of right, the emancipation of western woman, albeit noticeably incomplete as we enter the third millennium, began as late as mid nineteenth century. However, feminism does not argue for the mere acknowledgement of difference; womens experience and perspectives should be noticed and heard along with dominant male experience and perspectives. Feminists complain bitterly that that the dominant perspectives are exclusive of women because they are ideological and hence false, since they are interested and distorted. Feminists are not content with their inclusion in or numerical addition to universal humanity as read in liberal or Marxist theories. Whereas postmodernism stops at the recognition of difference, feminism posits difference as a challenge, a paradigm of its critical dialogue with its situation, past, present and future. The concept woman is thrown into serious doubt because the notion of gender itself is slowly moulding due to its exclusiveness. What is being advocated instead of gender is a multiplicity of identities; for instance, if one widens ones horizon, one cannot fail to realise that differences of ethnic origin and class, sexual orientation (gays and lesbians), should be priority items on the liberation agenda. In spite of its usefulness in certain emancipatory projects, woman as a gender category stands to question now because it has dawned on contemporary gender thinkers that woman is essentially embedded in misogynist literature and that it is conducive to, and promotes, exclusionary practices. In short, a feminist survey of western languages shows that the meaning of some words, such as power, woman, human, reason, depicts gender bias against women; the words are not universal. The concept-lingual sources of western rightist discourses, like feminism, are liberalism or Marxism in their vicious attack of their respective archrivals, authoritarianism, and capitalism. Ironically, Karl Marx did not directly address the specific situation of women. He presumed that his communism would provide liberation for women just as it would for all the exploited masses and underprivileged minorities, male and female. 131 Nordic Journal of African Studies Friedrich Engels (Marxs lifetime friend, economic guardian, co-author, and Marxs editor) also narrowly attributed women subjugation to property relationships of the conjugal family only in capitalist societies; he remained mute on the reality of their enslavement in non-capitalist societies including communism and matriarchal societies. Marxism and capitalism cannot be plausible concept-lingual sources for the gender movement in the new millennium since both of them are ideologies of conflict: they pit man against man; the state exploits the proletariat-worker in the former, whereas the capitalist boss exploits the labourer in the latter. The importance of authentic concepts of gender needs to be stressed. More importantly, the crucial concept of power needs to be unambiguously stipulated in contemporary gender thought and practice. The feminism of the 1970s and 1980s correctly revealed that the concepts that are presented to us as universal and trans-historically valid actually embody male biases. For example, normative concepts such as reason, science and knowledge fail to pass the gender universalisation test, so to say. Even if these normative concepts embody ideals and express values, they nonetheless prescribe and evaluate behaviour in male-perspectives and so the values they express and ideals they embody are far from universal. Normative concepts function as descriptions of the endorsements of a specific society, and are faithful to past usage. Hence the complaint that feminism has taken the experience, i.e. marginalisation, of white middle class women to be representative of all women. The glaring weakness of these normative concepts is that they leave little or no room for disagreement or difference within a situation like a community. Conformity is the order of the day since they are treated as truth-conditions, instead of being emendations of current thought and action. These contemporary feminists fear that these values and ideals are codifications of norms regulating masculinity, where the womans normal is locus of the domesticity of the family, i.e. the private sphere of life. What current gender thought needs is the evolution of ongoing social practice. It should engage in evaluation of these concepts and influence the evolution of social practice in regard to concept-usage. 3. GENDER AND FEMINISM: THE AFRICAN SCENARIO The argument that African women cannot identify with doctrinaire western feminism comes with cogent force because the knowledge and experience of African women have been ignored or marginalised by a feminism that reflects only the perspectives of white western middle-class women; that it indulges in false universalism and lacks critical awareness of its situation are simple inferences drawn from the argument. Its conception of woman remains problematic and therefore vacuous because its woman is intended to deny self-evident differences between woman and woman in situation and experience, 132 Where is the Foundation of African Gender? privilege and power. It is apologetic of the peculiarities of woman since it misconceives them as functional and not as formal differences (from man). As a result, its content and purpose are not based on actual commonalties between women but on the experience and interests of some women who have the position and ability to impose upon other women their own idiosyncrasies, terms and definitions, i.e. what they mean for themselves and others. For instance, when western feminism seeks to balance or reverse the social scales, it employs conceptual polarities such as nature-culture, strong-weak, reason-intuition, public-private, male-female-neuter sexual division of labour. To explain the position of women, it says women are closer to nature; they are more intuitive; they are more private or secretive, etc, not knowing that it simply endorses masculinist (and hence exploitable) viewpoints about woman. Indeed feminism lacks a critical awareness of its situation. Feminism is not in dialogue with its context, past and present, and therefore cannot be used to forge emendations to any society, which cries for transformation of social relations. Feminism is engaged in a monologue, which mistakes its own ventriloquism for effectiveness since it is falsely generalising and insufficiently attentive to historical and cultural diversity. Another unwelcome feature of western feminism is that, although it borrows critical tools from other emancipatory theories like Reformation, liberalism and Marxism, it does not put itself forward to challenging other forms of subordination like slavery, colonialism, racism, and their accompanying prejudices and complexes, which affect women as well. Its exclusiveness to the western middle-class womans experience undermines its universality and objectivity, and therefore puts to serious doubt its relevance to the African woman of the same era.35 Worse still, its silence could easily be interpreted as its assent to slavery, colonialism and racism, experiences that western middle-class men caused on both African women and men. Though not unique, the situation of the African feminist and that of the Western feminist would not replicate. An African woman generally finds herself in a social setting where power might not be the paradigm of interpersonal life. Jobs are just as hard to get for a female as they are for her male counterpart. In a marital situation, for example, she may dispense with the battle of balancing it out with her allegedly dominant male partner in terms of sexual division of labour, involving child-care and domestic chores due to the scenario of dependency, a creation of the extended family. Dependants fill in as auxiliary or surrogate mothers or fathers and as unofficial maids or cooks, etc. Even if dependants were not around, hiring domestic staff would be more affordable in her society than it would be in the west. As is well known, in the west, it is almost impossible to hire domestic staff. 3.1 TRADITION VERSUS MODERNITY: SOCIO-POLITICS IN CONTEMPORARY AFRICA Transformation is a rare occurrence in Africa. Perhaps devolution, rather than evolution or revolution, is the modus operandi for social transformation in Africa. The interface of the past and the present may not be conducive to the development of radical gender even among urban or elite women. Past attitudes and values tend to phase out far too slowly under the weight of new attitudes and values. The usual conceptualisation of woman both among the rural and urban folk might have more conservative undertones than radical gender theorists wish. In Malawi, for instance, even after the legal repeal of the indecent dress code, the woman in trousers or mini-skirt risks categorisation as a champion or promoter of moral turpitude. The continuing scenario of stripping off mini-skirted city women by vendors is testimonial enough of these slow-dying conservative undertones even in the urban or modernised areas of Malawi. Radical gender might be undaunted by this current negative public recepti on of trousers and mini-skirts in Malawi, dismissing it as a primary reaction of a bunch of male savages. Time alone will heal this negative attitude; gender activists console themselves. At this stage though, these attitudes should be of great concern because it is not unusual for radical gender women lobbyists to experience opposition and disapproval from fellow women. Another reality that might prevent replication of western gender in Africa is the social history of Africa. It is difficult to identify the dominant ideology for African societies outside Africas recent experience of slave trade, colonialism, and nationalism. However, anthropology and archaeology, which pretend to dig deeper into Africas past, and re-construct the Antique Africa antedating the three recent experiences of Africa, reveal to us that there are matrilineal and patrilineal societies in Africa. In the patrilineal societies, for example, Ngoni, Tumbuka, Sena, Ngonde in Malawi, males are dominant. However, broadly speaking, in matrilineal societies women are more powerful than men, an issue that is accentuated by the husbands settling in their wives villages upon marriage. One would expect that in a setting where land is the most valuable property, due to reliance on agriculture, a landowner would command a lot of power and influence. Husbands, as co-opted landowners, will in principle and practice have less power and influence than their wives. Therefore, if the western genders power paradigm is anything to go by, the matrilineal society depicts a reversal of the western gender model. In Malawi, Chewa, Yao, Manganja and Lomwe societies are largely matrilineal in principle. The Tonga of the northern shore of Lake Malawi can be included in gender-wise peculiar ethnic groups although the Tonga are bi-lineal. In these ethnic groups, one must distinguish the formal from informal power structures and modes of social organisation; in the formal power setting, that is the traditional chieftaincy, chiefs hold only symbolic power since what they execute in public is largely the consensus, or the communis sensus, of the ruling 134 Where is the Foundation of African Gender? Unlike feminist scholarship in the West, feminist theory and scholarship in Africa have formed neither a neatly delineated field, nor one firmly rooted in theoretically-inflected politics. With the consolidation of Western feminisms between 1960 and the early 1980s and the growth of the so-called second wave, clear political and intellectual traditions were formed around radical, liberal and Marxist/socialist feminisms. Subsequent feminisms drew on or deviated from these positions to engage increasingly with theories and politics emerging in the nineties. African theories and womens movements have taken very different paths. In certain ways, African theories and womens movements have been closely linked to politics, although this politic

Essay --

Should we always act rationally? Rationality is the practice of acting by reason, yet reason is variable and individual specific. Reason means in accordance with the facts of reality while the alternative would be acting by impulse. This result is an undesired consequence and in result is irrational due to the action being based upon belief. Reason is man’s mean of survival, having the mindset of not making the right decisions challenges the ability to live. Additionally, a consequence of acting irrationally is that it weakens the ability to act rational in the future. Upon choosing to act irrationally, one is acknowledging a lack of trust within the mind; repeated actions or irrationality will result in a belief of one’s practice. Man’s basic vice is suspension of his consciousness or having an unfocused mind resulting in refusal to know. Also, commonly used terms include stating something is rather rational or quite rational implying that rationality is a matter of degree. Now, we sometimes assess the rationality of a given decision. Indeed, we very often do in the sense that if ...

Survival Tips For Small Businesses :: essays research papers

You may be in Mail Order, Direct Mail, or you may be a local merchant with 150 employees; whichever, however or whatever... you've got to know how to keep your business alive during economic recessions. Anytime the cash flow in a business, large or small, starts to tighten up, the money management of that business has to be run as a "tight ship." Some of the things you can and should do include protecting yourself from expenditures made on sudden impulse. We've all bought merchandise or services we really didn't need simply because we were in the mood, or perhaps in response to the flamboyancy of the advertising or the persuasiveness of the salesperson. Then we sort of "wake up" a couple of days later and find that we've committed hundreds of dollars of business funds for an item or service that's not essential to the success of our own business, when really pressing items had been waiting for those dollars. If you are incorporated, you can eliminate these "impulse purchases" by including in your by-laws a clause that states: "All purchasing decisions over (a certain amount) are contingent upon approval by the board of directors." This will force you to consider any "impulse purchases" of considerable cost, and may even be a reminder in the case of smaller purchases. If your business is a partnership, you can state, when faced with a buying decision, that all purchases are contingent upon the approval of a third party. In reality, the third party can be your partner, one of your department heads, or even one of your suppliers. If your business is a sole proprietorship, you don't have much to worry about really, because as an individual you have three days to think about your purchase, and then to nullify that purchase if you think you don't really need it or can't afford it. While you may think you cannot afford it, be sure that you don't "short-change" yourself on professional services. This would apply especially during a time of emergency. Anytime you commit yourself and move ahead without completely investigating all the angles, and preparing yourself for all the contingencies that may arise, you're skating on thin ice. Regardless of the costs involved, it always pays off in the long run to seek out the advice of experienced professionals before embarking on a plan that could ruin you. As an example, an experienced business consultant can fill you in on the 1244 stock advantages. Getting eligibility for the 1244 stock category is a very simple process, but one with tremendous benefits to your business. The 1244 status encourages investors to put equity capital into your business because in the event of a Survival Tips For Small Businesses :: essays research papers You may be in Mail Order, Direct Mail, or you may be a local merchant with 150 employees; whichever, however or whatever... you've got to know how to keep your business alive during economic recessions. Anytime the cash flow in a business, large or small, starts to tighten up, the money management of that business has to be run as a "tight ship." Some of the things you can and should do include protecting yourself from expenditures made on sudden impulse. We've all bought merchandise or services we really didn't need simply because we were in the mood, or perhaps in response to the flamboyancy of the advertising or the persuasiveness of the salesperson. Then we sort of "wake up" a couple of days later and find that we've committed hundreds of dollars of business funds for an item or service that's not essential to the success of our own business, when really pressing items had been waiting for those dollars. If you are incorporated, you can eliminate these "impulse purchases" by including in your by-laws a clause that states: "All purchasing decisions over (a certain amount) are contingent upon approval by the board of directors." This will force you to consider any "impulse purchases" of considerable cost, and may even be a reminder in the case of smaller purchases. If your business is a partnership, you can state, when faced with a buying decision, that all purchases are contingent upon the approval of a third party. In reality, the third party can be your partner, one of your department heads, or even one of your suppliers. If your business is a sole proprietorship, you don't have much to worry about really, because as an individual you have three days to think about your purchase, and then to nullify that purchase if you think you don't really need it or can't afford it. While you may think you cannot afford it, be sure that you don't "short-change" yourself on professional services. This would apply especially during a time of emergency. Anytime you commit yourself and move ahead without completely investigating all the angles, and preparing yourself for all the contingencies that may arise, you're skating on thin ice. Regardless of the costs involved, it always pays off in the long run to seek out the advice of experienced professionals before embarking on a plan that could ruin you. As an example, an experienced business consultant can fill you in on the 1244 stock advantages. Getting eligibility for the 1244 stock category is a very simple process, but one with tremendous benefits to your business. The 1244 status encourages investors to put equity capital into your business because in the event of a

Emerson Essay -- Philosophy, Unapologetic Individualism

In understanding this quotation, it is absolutely essential to be cognizant of the context in which â€Å"Self-Reliance† was written. The philosophical and social movement that Emerson and his contemporaries founded, Transcendentalism, espoused the idea that although America had formally gained political independence, Europeans possessed virtually hegemonic control over the culture of America. Emerson and his contemporaries sought not only to pioneer a uniquely American style of literature, but also to forge a distinct culture and ethos independent from those of Europe. Emerson’s opinion that â€Å"imitation is suicide† (533) extends beyond the realm of the individual in that it is relevant to the Transcendentalists’ mission of establishing an autonomous American identity. He believes that by continuing to emulate European values and culture, Americans are essentially destroying their own chance of possessing a national identity. Emerson viewed self-relian ce, which can be understood as finding inspiration, judgment and validation of thoughts and ideas within oneself, as one of the central tenets of the fledgling American national identity. It may seem counterintuitive to think that Emerson, a proponent of radical and unapologetic individualism, desired to create a shared American identity and national unity; however, it is necessary to discern that nonconformity is not tantamount to the repudiation of society. By exalting nonconformity, he does not promote the hedonistic active pursuit of personal desires in spite of social norms, like an anarchist, but rather urges the reader to wholly fulfill their human potential. Consequently, the embracing of the self is not a consequence of free agency, but rather the fulfillment of their innate des... ...ay at home, to put itself in communication with the internal ocean, but it goes abroad to beg a cup of water of the urns of men† (543). This passage serves to inform the reader that the rewards gleaned from imitation pale in comparison to those that originate from oneself, in the same way that a cup of water seems infinitesimal relative to an ocean. This point is furthered by his numerous allusions to famed historical and literary figures who exemplify the fulfillment that can transpire only through illustrating Emerson’s command to â€Å"Insist on yourself; never imitate† (547). It is essential to ascertain that these references serve as examples of self-reliant individuals garnering great success rather than exalted heroes that one should strive to emulate, as Benjamin Franklin explicitly prescribes in his Autobiography: â€Å"Imitate Jesus and Socrates† (Franklin 285).

Duckweed

Feed Industry Overview: Duckweed feed has been found to be a very nutritious feed source for many types of livestock. The fact that duckweed can be fed to animals in its wet form or dried for a more concentrated food source make an efficient, cost effective, harvester a possible attractive product for this market. Traditional Harvesters are economically unfeasible and manual harvesting is very labor intensive for medium to large scale operations. Feed prices can vary drastically due to crop yields, gas prices, and product demand. After the initial investment of the Proskimmer the costs for producing this feed additive would be minimal. There is opportunity for duckweed to be used more as a feed source in coming years to alleviate increasing demand on corn and soy yields. Analysis According to North Carolina Reasearchers: â€Å"Duckweed holds great promise as an alternative feed supplement. One of the smallest plants known to man could help us produce cleaner water while at the same time providing a high quality feed for domestic stock animals (poultry, swine, and cattle). The nutrient uptake ability possessed by duckweed along with its fast reproductive rate and environmental requirements make it easy to manage. The problem with duckweed is in the harvesting of the small plants and removing the excess water. Assuming that can be done efficiently, we will be well on our way to making new strides in the supplemental feeding of duckweed. † These statements are made by some of the leading duckweed researchers in the feed/fuel/watstewater. A duckweed harvester is a natural fit to solve the harvesting needs of the market. Recent studies have confirmed duckweed’s potential as a valuable high-protein, vitamin-rich feed supplement. A two acre pond surface with duckweed yields as much as 30 tons of dry matter or approximately 12 tons of protein per year. This protein is of very high quality for feeding to animals (or human beings). Experiments show that the quality of this protein for ducks and hens is similar to that in soybean meal. As protein is currently priced at approx $500 per ton as a stock-feed ingredient, the protein yield of a hectare of duckweed is worth in the order of $6,000 per year. Although inexpensive to produce, duckweed contains a range of vitamins, pigments and minerals. These include those normally added to dietary formulations for livestock such as poultry and pigs in the form of commercial mineral-vitamin premixes. Duckweed has particular value as a poultry feed. It typically contains high concentrations of calcium (which is required in the diet of laying hens) equal to 10-25 g/kg dry matter. Duckweed contains relatively large amounts of xanthophylls and carotene, which result in a rich yellow/orange color to the egg yolks. In comparison, the synthetic yolk pigments usually included in mineral-vitamin premixes for layers are a costly component of commercial poultry diets. Dried excess duckweed can be pelletised and sold as animal feed. At approx $6000 dollars the Proskimmer would be economically viable in this arena. Feeding trials reported in the literature and carried out recently in Peru have demonstrated that duckweed can be substituted for soy and fish meals in prepared rations for several types of poultry: broilers, layers, and chicks. Cultured duckweed can be used as the protein component in poultry diets. Acceptable levels of duckweed meal in the diets of layers range up to 40 percent of total feed. Duckweed-fed layers produce more eggs of the same or higher quality as control birds fed the recommended formulated diets. Levels of up to 15 percent duckweed meal produce growth rates in broilers which are equal to those produced by control feeds. Diets for chicks, consisting of up to 15 percent duckweed meal, are suitable for birds under three weeks of age. Duckweed meal will almost certainly find as large a range of animal feed applications as soybean meal. Duckweed meal may also have great potential to blend with non- conventional diets based on inexpensive carbohydrate sources that can be used by poultry and hogs. Today pork production offers perhaps an unprecedented opportunity. Due to economic expansion and population growth in Asia, demand for pork is increasing like never before. In fact, experts predict that in the next 35 to 40 years, we’ll have to quadruple, or more, the approximately 875 million hogs now on Earth. That’s why new and expanded hog production facilities are being built in Australia, Canada, Mexico, South America, and, when opposition is overcome, in the U. S. And as they’re built, new jobs and economic growth are being created. A major limitation to fish farming is that meals high in protein with high biological value are expensive and often locally unavailable. Supplementary feeds can take up to 60% of fish production costs. Duckweeds have a high protein content (around 40%) of high biological value. Fresh duckweed is highly suited to intensive fish farming systems and duckweed is converted efficiently to liveweight by certain fish including carp and tilapia. Drying duckweed presents the largest current challenge to the plant being traded as a commodity. No conventional drying technology has been able to produce dried material without incurring signifigant loss. Several solar methods are showing promise however we feel they would be for large scale operations and not relevant to our market. The leading researchers in North Carolina have paired with a company called Aeroglide who makes industrial drying technologies for the feed industry. We feel Proskim should focus on the wet applications for land livestock and fish farming opporunities. http://www. lib. ncsu. edu/theses/available/etd-05242004-103543/unrestricted/etd. df Institute of Animal Nutrition, University of Hohenheim, Emil-Wolff-Str. 10, 70593 Stuttgart, Germany 24 February 2010; http://www. aeroglide. com/aquafeed-dryers-coolers. php SWOT Analysis Feed: Strengths: Low cost in relation to other mechanical harvesters/low labor intensity when compared to manual techniques. Currently manufactured product with little to no customization for many harvesting needs. Duckweed has be en proven to be a breakthrough feed alternative to corn and soy based feeds. Weaknesses: Little to no current marketing strategy in the Bio arena. Lack of marketing material directed to Bio arena. Less developed nations will use manual techniques. Company physical location is not in areas which promote rapid duckweed growth. Opportunities: Feed supplement for fish, swine, poultry needing effective harvesting techniques. Market directly to these farmers. Academic researchers using grants to study duckweed in the Bio arena. Government grants and foundations in the Bio arena. Threats: Other harvester inventions and trial inventions to harvest duckweed. Less demand for corn ethanol due to regulations or opportunity costs could lower prices and in turn corn feed prices.

Development of Education in Kenya

1. 0 INTRODUCTION2 1. 1 Definition of terms3 1. 2 Background information4 1. 2. 1 Pre-colonial education4 1. 2. 2 Post colonial education in Kenya (Neocolonialism)4 1. 3 National Aims/Goals of Education in Kenya6 1. 4 Structure of education6 1. 4. 1 Early Childhood Development and Education7 1. 4. 2 Primary education8 1. 4. 3 Secondary education9 1. 4. 4 Teacher Education9 1. 4. 5 Tertiary Education10 1. 4. 6 University education11 1. 5 Administration system11 1. 5. 1 Permanent secretary11 1. 5. 2 Finance and administration Division12 1. 5. 3 Directorate of Education12 . 5. 4 Field Service Education Officers13 2. 0 CHALLENGES FACING THE FORMAL EDUCATION IN KENYA14 2. 1 Recommendations to the Challenge of Education in Kenya17 3. 0 Conclusion18 3. 1 References. 19 1. 0 INTRODUCTION The provision of education and training to all Kenyans is fundamental to the success of the Government’s overall development strategy. First, the long term objective of the Government is to provide ev ery Kenyan with basic quality education and training, including 2 years of pre-primary, 8 years of primary and 4 years of secondary/technical education. Education also aims at enhancing the ability of Kenyans to preserve and utilize the environment for productive gain and sustainable livelihoods. Second, development of quality human resource is central to the attainment of national goals for industrial development. Third, the realization of universal access to basic education and training ensures equitable access to education and training for all children, including disadvantaged and vulnerable groups. Fourth, education is necessary for the development and protection of democratic institutions and human rights. Hence, this paper aims at describing the development of formal education in Kenya. It will first of all explore formal education in pre-colonial era. It will then show how different commissions have contributed to the development of formal education in post-colonial era. The paper will also shed light on the national goals of education, the structure of education and finance system in each level of education through government initiatives. Moreover, it will look into the administration of the education system and finally discuss the various challenges facing the education sector and their recommendations. 1. 1 Definition of terms Education According to Sifuna and Otiende (1992) education is the process of acquiring worthwhile accumulated knowledge, skills attitudes and values from one generation to the next. From this point of view therefore, education is meant to teach a student how to live his life by developing his mind and equipping him to deal with reality. Formal as defined by Webster Dictionary is â€Å"relating to or involving the outward form, structure, relationships, or arrangement of elements rather than content†. It may also mean following or according with established form, custom or rule. Formal education A formal education program is the process of training and developing people in knowledge, skills, mind and character in a structured and certified program. The features of formal education include Classrooms, teachers, students, content and others (Sifuna and Otiende, 1992). 1. 2 Background information 1. . 1 Pre-colonial education Sifuna, Chege and Oanda (2006) observe that historical records reveal that Kenyans had access to education as far back as Johann Ludwing Krapf and Johannes Rebman. Formal education was introduced basically to promote evangelism but later on it become an instrument for production of skilled labour for the Europeans farms and clerical staff for colonial administration. The missionaries determi ned the type of education African had to have – they built schools, managed them determined the curriculum and influenced education policies. It all started in 1846 with the church missionary society (CMS) establishing a school at Rabai the Coast province and others across Kenya such as Friend school Kaimosi (1903), Maseno school (1906), Jamhuri high school (1906), Europeans girls, Kenya high school (1908), Mangu high school (1925) and others. During that time education in Africa, Kenyan included was stratified on racial lines in matters of system structure, curricula and resources. For example, the Europeans system had an pper hand resource, its curriculum was based on British traditions, Arabs and Asians system came second. Africans prepared youths to work on Europeans farms. 1. 2. 2 Post colonial education in Kenya (Neocolonialism) Sifuna and Otiende (1992) noted that racial segregation was abolished in 1960 as the country moved closer to independence. With the attainment of independence on 12th December, 1963;- a ministry of education was created. The school system in Kenya was brought under a localized standard curric ulum and public examinations. Since independence, the Government has addressed challenges facing the education sector through Commissions, Committees and Taskforces. The first Commission, after independence, came up with the Report of the Kenya Education Commission (The Ominde Report, 1964) that sought to reform the education system inherited from the colonial government to make it more responsive to the needs of independent Kenya. The Commission proposed an education system that would foster national unity and the creation of sufficient human capital for national development. Sessional Paper No: 10 of 1965 on African Socialism and its Application to Planning in Kenya formally adopted the Ominde Report as a basis for post-independence educational development. The Report of the National Committee on Educational Objectives and Policies (The Gachathi Report, 1976), focused on redefining Kenya’s educational policies and objectives, giving consideration to national unity, and economic, social and cultural aspirations of the people of Kenya. It resulted in Government support for ‘Harambee’ schools and also led to establishment of the National Centre for Early Childhood Education (NACECE) at the Kenya Institute of Education (KIE). The Report of the Presidential Working Party on the Second University in Kenya (The Mackay Report, 1981) led to the removal of the advanced (A) level of secondary education, and the expansion of other post-secondary training institutions. In addition to the establishment of Moi University, it also recommended the establishment of the 8:4:4 system of education and the Commission for Higher Education (CHE). It diversified the school curriculum with emphases on pre-vocational and technical skills (Republic of Kenya, 1981). The Report of the Presidential Working Party on Education and Manpower training (1988) focused on improving education financing, quality and relevance. This Manpower Training for the Next Decade and Beyond (The Kamunge Report) was at a time when the Government scheme for the provision of instructional materials through the National Textbook Scheme was inefficient and therefore adversely affected the quality of teaching and learning. From the recommendations of the Working Party in 1988, the Government produced Sessional Paper No 6 on Education and Training for the Next Decade and Beyond. This led to the policy of cost sharing between government, parents and communities. The Commission of Inquiry into the Education System of Kenya (The Koech Report, 2000) was mandated to recommend ways and means of enabling the education system to facilitate national unity, mutual social responsibility, accelerated industrial and technological development, life-long learning, and adaptation in response to changing circumstances. The Koech Report recommended Totally Integrated Quality Education and Training (TIQET). While the Government did not adopt the Report due to the cost implications some recommendations, such as curriculum rationalization have been adopted and implemented. Recent policy initiatives have focused on the attainment of education for all (EFA) and, in particular, Universal Primary Education (UPE). The key concerns are access, retention, equity, quality and relevance, and internal and external efficiencies within the education system. The effectiveness of the current 8-4-4 structure and system of education has also come under increasing scrutiny in light of the decline in enrolment and retention particularly at the primary and secondary school levels in the last decade. The Government is committed to the provision of quality education and training as a human right for all Kenyans in accordance with the Kenyan law and the international conventions, such as the EFA goal, and is developing strategies for moving the country towards the attainment of this goal. The implementation of Free Primary Education (FPE) is critical to the attainment of UPE as a key milestone towards the realization of the EFA goal (htt://www. virtualcampuses. eu/index. php/Kenya). 1. National Aims/Goals of Education in Kenya Aseey and Ayot (2009:6) state that: â€Å"in Kenya the fundamental goal of education is to prepare and equip the youth to be happy and useful citizens of the society. From this fundamental needs arise more aims of education†. In Kenya, there are seven specific goals of education, namely national unity, national development, individual development and social fulfillment, social equality, respect and development of cultural heritage and international con sciousness. 1. Structure of education Kenya's education system is a three to four tier system. In 1985 Kenya introduced the current 8-4-4 system: ? Primary education: 8 years: age 6-13 (free and compulsory) ? Secondary education: 4 years: age 14-18(subsidized for students in Day Schools and the Government provides fees guidelines to all public schools) ? Higher education: 4 years: age 19-21 (subsidized for those selected through the Universities Joint Admission Board) 1. 4. 1 Early Childhood Development and Education The provision of ECDE as observed by republic of Kenya (1999) involves households, community and Government efforts in the integrated development of children from the time of conception. The structure of ECDE provision is divided into that for 0-3 year-old children and for 4-5 year-old children. For this sub-sector, the MOES policy is to focus on 4-5 year-old children with a view to providing a holistic and integrated programme that meets the child’s cognitive, social, moral, spiritual, emotional and physical needs. The Government is already implementing measures that seek to improve the performance of this sub-sector. These include: establishing guidelines and standards for the management, supervision and curriculum development for ECDE; establishment of NACECE and District Centres for Early Childhood Education (DICECE) for purposes of in-servicing teachers and training of trainers; mobilizing communities and parents through awareness creation, and providing community support grants to support marginalized/vulnerable communities in collaboration with other partners. Other measures, which are being implemented to enhance quality education at this level, include: implementing a 2-year in-service training programme for ECDE teachers; mounting a 9-month training of trainers’ course; developing guidelines and syllabuses for ECDE programmes; enhancing the capacity of supervisors and inspectors to ensure quality of ECDE programmes; and equipping NACECE and DICECEs to meet the needs of the programmes. Despite the above measures, access, equity and quality in this sub-sector remain constrained by various factors that include: limited teaching and learning materials, inadequate ECDE centres; inadequate community participation; lack of a clear policy on transition from pre-primary to primary school; inadequate nutrition and health services; lack of enough trained teachers; low and irregular salaries for ECDE teachers and lack of clear entry age guidelines (htt://www. virtualcampuses. eu/index. php/Kenya). 0 1. 4. 1. 1 Financing of pre- primary education The pre-primary education is basically controlled by private institution, religion and organization. It`s finance purely depend on the parents previously but currently the government has allocated some money to finance this level of education. 1. 4. 2 Primary education According to Ministry of Education (1987), this is the first phase of the national 8. 4. 4 system of education. The course last for eight years. Its aim is to ensure that functional and practical education that will meet the needs of the majority of children who terminate their formal education at standard eight. Financing of primary education in Kenya is universal, free and compulsory to all Kenyan citizens. The government through constituency development fund has constructed physical facilities, purchased teaching and learning materials and employing teachers. The primary school curriculum is uniform throughout the country. It is nationally developed at the Kenya institute of education by the subject experts. The government of Kenya recognizes that provision of universal primary education as an important milestone to economic and social development. In particular it has been established that by providing primary education to women, a society is able to hasten its development. The government, since January 2003 has managed to implement free primary school education programme that has seen a tremendous increase in the number of children attending school. The Government has also increased its budgetary allocation to education as well as introducing a Constituency Bursary Fund for efficient facilitation of education at the grassroots level. The implementation of the Universal Free Primary Education, as part of the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs), has earned Kenya the prestigious Education Award 1. 4. 2. 1 Certification Two certificates are awarded to students in primary school level these are; The Kenya Certificate of Primary Education awarded by the Kenya National examination council and the Kenya Primary Living Certificate issued with the authority of the Director of Education. 1. 4. 3 Secondary education The secondary education in Kenya comprises of 4 years of education in which an exam referred to as Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCES) is done to finish this level of education. It has three compulsory subjects English, Kiswahili and Mathematics, a science section where a student chooses all or two sciences among Chemistry, Physics and Biology. The last section of the structure comprises humanities in which a student must pick one subject and two at maximum, these subjects are Geography, History, C. R. E and Social Ethics. Lastly there is a category of subjects known as applied sciences and they are offered by limited school and a student is allowed to pick one subject in this category, they include Technical Drawing and Design, Woodwork, Metalwork, Art and Design, Electricity, Aviation and Power Mechanics. Students who obtain a grade of C+ and above are eligible for admission at Kenyan public Universities but due to limited positions the grade is shifted annually and can go as high as B+. There are two categories of secondary schools in Kenya, namely public and private schools (Bogonko,1992). 1. . 3. 1 Financing of secondary school education The public secondary schools are funded by the Government or communities and are managed through a Board of Governors and Parent Teacher Associations. Subsidized for students in Day Schools and the Government provide fees guidelines to all public schools. The private schools, on the other hand, are established and managed by private individuals or organizations an d the parents pay full fees for their children. 1. 4. 4 Teacher Education There are  five teacher education programmes in Kenya as observed by Republic of Kenya (1999). These are: The Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) teacher education programme in which teachers are trained through in-service courses in District Centres for Early Childhood Education (DICECEs). The National Centre for Early Childhood Education (NACECE) develops the curriculum, trains trainers and supervisors, and conducts monitoring and evaluation. The Secondary teacher education which is provided at the diploma and degree levels in diploma teacher training colleges and universities respectively. The Technical teacher education is offered at the Kenya Technical Teachers College in Nairobi which trains diploma level teachers for secondary schools, technical training institutes, primary teachers’ colleges, institutes of technology and vocational polytechnics. The Special needs education teacher education is provided to professionally qualified practicing teachers through a  two-year diploma programme at the Kenya Institute of Special Education (KISE) and finally the Primary teacher education (PTE) which is provided in 18 certificate level colleges through a two-year, residential programme. The entry criteria for primary teacher education require a candidate to have acquired a minimum grade of C (plain) in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE). In addition, one must have obtained a minimum grade of D in Mathematics and C- in English. For the entry of a diploma programme for secondary teacher education requires a candidate to have acquired a minimum grade of C (plain) in KCSE and minimum grade of C in the two teaching subjects of his/her choice and a minimum grade of C+ for a degree course. To qualify for the award of the Primary Teacher Education Certificate, a student must pass all the practical teaching and obtain a pass in all eight subjects. The final grade – distinction, credit, pass, fail – is determined by passes in the six best performed subjects. 1. 4. 5 Tertiary Education These are middle colleges that offer certificates, diplomas and some undergraduate degrees. Their curriculum is supervised by the ministry of higher education. The source of finance is self sponsored and in some cases by the government through higher education loan board or subsidence free to the public institution (Ministry of Education, 1987). 1. 4. 6 University education In Kenya, they are both Public universities Private universities. The Public universities offer certificates, diplomas, degrees, masters and Ph. D. They are sponsored by the government by paying salaries to the staffs including lecturers, provision physical facilities. In addition, students who are selected by the government were given some financial support through Joint Admission board (J. A. B). The Private universities on the other hand, are self-sponsored and only support students to get some financial support from the government through Higher Education Loan Board (HELB). 1. 5 Administration system Getao (1996:57) explains that: â€Å"The Kenya education system is centralized in the sense that administration, curriculum development and the formulation of policies are centralized. In Kenya, parliament makes the laws pertaining to education. Occasionally, the President makes decrees related to education. He appoints the ministers who preside over the interpretation and implementation of the educational policies. † The system of education in Kenya is administered from two separate ministries namely the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education each headed by the Minister and an assistant Minister . The Ministry of education is responsible for formal education from pre-primary education, special education, primary education, secondary education and Teachers education. The Ministry of higher education is responsible for higher education which include Technical and vocational training colleges, Tertiary colleges and universities. The administration departed of ministry of education is broadly based on functional units. These are: 1. 5. 1 Permanent secretary – Heshe is the head of departments in the ministry. – Heshe is the overall head of the ministry. – Heshe is the accounting officers. – He she is the formulator and implementer of government policies on education. 1. 5. 2 Finance and administration Division This is the wing of the administrative department of the ministry responsible for day to day administrative and financial management affairs of the ministry. It is headed by the Deputy Secretary (Finance and Administration) who is responsible to the permanent Secretary and takes action on all policy matters and cabinet decisions that involve the Ministry and prepares all Cabinet Memoranda for the Ministry. 1. 5. 3 Directorate of Education According to Ministry of Education (1987) the Directorate of Education is the chief professional officer of the ministry. Heshe is responsible for both the ministry and the permanent secretary on all professional matters to do with Education. The Functions of the Directorate of Education are to Formulate policies give directions and management of professional functions relating to education. He/she is to deal with welfare of the students, develop curricula for the ministry, initiate training programme, Inspect schools and teachers, promote teachers, give scholarship and award to students, give grants and grant-in-aids to school as well as to produce and supply educational materials and equipments. The Directorate has three divisions namely The Administration and Management of Programmes (AMP), The Education Policies and Programmes (EPP) and The Quality Assurance Officers (QAO). The Administration and Management of Programmes are in charge of registering the schools and institutions, following up audited reports, giving grants and grant-in- aid to schools, inspecting reports, Discipline of students, giving annual report and admission and transfer of students. The Education Policies and Programmes is in charge of the formulation of policies for the Pre-primary Education, Secondary Education, Technical Education, Special Education, Teacher Education, The Kenya Institute of Education (KIE), University Education and other forms of Tertiary Education, 8-4-4 System of Education and Scholarship Awards to Overseas Universities. The Quality Assurance Officers department is a section in the Ministry of Education that deals largely with the maintenance and improvement of standards of education in Kenyans school and colleges. It inspects the methods of teaching and the teaching and learning materials or resources. 1. 5. 4 Field Service Education Officers This is another part of administration in education in provincial level, District level, Division and village or vocational levels. They represent the government in their level of operations. They are; i) Provincial Director Education Officers (P. D. E O. ) ii) District Education Officers (D. E. O. ) iii) Education Officers (E. O) Other administration departments in the ministry of education include: i) Board of Governors (B. O. G) who represent the government in the school level. ii) Parent Teachers Association (P. T. A) that links the school and the community. iii) Kenya National Examination council. This is body of administration is used to supervise examinations and offer certificate in different levels of education in Kenya such as primary level, secondary level and teacher education. iv) Kenya Institute of Education (KIE). This body of administration is used in publishing the syllabus and drawing of curriculum in education system of Kenya. v) Teacher Service Commission (T. S. C. ) This is the body that recruits and employs teachers. It also sucks teachers who are not behaving well. Other education bodies that are used in administration include Jomo Kenyatta foundation, Kenya Education Staff Institute (K. E. S. I), Commission for Higher Education (CHE), Kenya Literature Bureau (KLB), Public Universities Inspection Board which lists all sessional papers, parliament acts such as the Education Act, draft legislation, information on Kenya universities and tertiary institutions, reports, news †¦ Kenya National Examination Council(KNEC) which is the national body responsible for overseeing national examination in Kenya for primary and secondary education amongst others. 2. 0 CHALLENGES FACING THE FORMAL EDUCATION IN KENYA Although the Kenyan Government is putting effort in improving education in Kenya, there still many challenges that are facing the sector which need to be addressed. These Most of these challenges have been observed by Sifuna, Chege and Oanda (2006) in most of the African countries. They are as follows: There is inadequate funding to the education sector. The education sector requires sufficient funding for it to undertake its duties such as curriculum development education research and the implementation of educational policies, teacher payment of salaries and so on. The Kenya education sector receives its funding mainly from the Kenyan government through the Ministry of Finance and also from international donors. However, there is still minimal funding which may be attributed to the misappropriation of funds as well as poor funding of the education sector by its primary source; the Kenyan government. Consequently, the poor funding will result in the unsatisfactory enforcement of the education sectors mandate. There may be poor curriculum development and education research as well as the improper implementation of educational policies. The Shortage of trained teachers is another challenge in education sector. The education sector struggles to meet the demand of teacher to the sector due to the shortage of teachers. This may be attributed to trained teachers attrition in preference to other fields which offer better salaries and remuneration packages as opposed to what is offered by the teaching profession. There is also the ‘Brain drain ‘ where trained teachers go to teach in other countries where they believe there are better working conditions in terms of benefits salaries and remuneration packages as opposed to those offered here in Kenya. An acute shortage of trained teachers to the education sector results in the employment of untrained teachers to meet the supply deficit. The introduction of the free primary education and free secondary education initiatives in 2003 by the Narc Government in pursuit of education for all saw a sharp increase of student enrollments. At the time the government had not put in place adequate facilities and educational resources subsequently, there arose a strain on the already limited available resources for instance the overcrowding in schools where classroom were packed beyond capacity. Several recommendation were made afterwards which saw the subsidization of education in the place of free education which requires the government to pay for part of resources required while the guardians and parents in the programme meet the remaining expenses. Some parents were still unable to meet subsidized cost of educating their children which in turn saw the dropping out of school for children who lack school fees (http://www. /par. or. ke/documents/policy). In marginalized areas such as the nomadic communities in Northern Kenya student enrollment and classroom attendance is poor as a result of the influence by the nomadic culture which requires nomadic families to move with their livestock from place to place in search of food water. Seeing that the children cannot be left behind, they are left with no choice but discontinue the learning. Gender disparity as observed by Kibera and Kimokoti (1997) poses a challenge to formal education in Kenya in terms of the ratio of boys to girls enrolled to educational institution. In some communities, especially in rural areas where traditions are still followed, boys are mostly enrolled for an education while girls are left at home to take of the home and family. There is the belief in such communities, that educated girl would be of more benefit to her matrimonial home hence her paternal home would not be able to reap the benefits of having her educated. There are also limited alternative education programmes such as teenage mother programmes to cater for the education of those girls who drop out of school due to early pregnancies. Most of these girls have to drop out of school for some time until the time they have their babies and even then they would have to stay at home take care of their babies, limiting their chances to go back to school and finish their education. Enrollment into adult education programmes is discouraging and a challenge to the education system. Many illiterate and semi-illiterate adult fears the stigma they may receive from their family, friends and society and this may beep from enrolling into such programs. Moreover, there are a few adult education programmes and institutions which is a great challenge to those adults seeking to receive such an education. Special education to cater for those students with intellectual and or physical disabilities is minimal with most guardiansparents choosing let their children with such disabilities to stay at home rather than enroll them in special schools thereby denying them an education all together. Moreover, such institutions receive minimal funding especially from the government which makes them unable to successfully deliver. Nevertheless, there are Social emergent issues which are effecting the education directly or indirectly. HIVAIDS Pandemic which both affects and affects both the teachers and students is one of the current issues in education sector. Teachers who are infected with the pandemic may be unable to or find it difficult to attend lessons due to acute symptoms of the disease as well as the side effects of its treatment. Moreover, they may be unable to face the classroom due to the stigma associated with being HIV positive. Death of teacher from HIVAIDS is also a challenge to formal education since it contributes to teacher shortage due to the loss of trained manpower to the education sector. As for the students who are infected they may have to drop out of school due to the stigma of being HIV positive as well as being of poor health to attend school. Moreover, students who are affected have to drop out of school to take care of their infected relatives. Drugs and alcohol abuse by teachers and students is another challenge. Teachers who abuse alcohol and or drugs perform poorly as teachers since they are unable to teach appropriately or disrupt the whole learning process. Moreover, students who abuse drugs and alcohol tend to be undisciplined there by contributing to arise of conflicts in the school. Such students eventually drop out of school or are kicked out all together. Students’ indiscipline such as strikes and riots which disrupt the learning process while causing damage to school educational resources like classrooms and dormitories are frequent cases in Kenya. Violence trauma that was caused by post election violence in 2007 is a reality to the Kenyan students today. In most schools, no counseling was provided for students when the institutions opened, after the violence that followed the disputed 2007 presidential election. Some students were victims of the violence, which was witnessed in many parts of the country between January and March 2008. Without adequate counseling at the right time, such students might have rioted and burnt down school property and projecting the effects of what is commonly referred to as delayed trauma (http://www. par. or. ke/documents/policy). 2. 1 Recommendations to the Challenge of Education in Kenya The Kenya government should increase funding to the education sector to facilitate the undertaking of its mandate such as curriculum development, education research and implementation of educational policies. The 20112012 Kenya budget saw the education sector receive a boost in funding; KSH 53. 2 billion was se t aside for tertiary education,KSH 8. 2 Billion for free primary education and KSH18. 5 billion for free day secondary education, and KSH 1. 67 billion for free school feeding programme. However, with the funding made available to education sector the government still needs to place some emphasis on the management of funds to avoid the mismanagementmisappropriation of the funds. The challenges of the shortage of should also be addressed. The government of Kenya should revise the salaries and remuneration packages in teaching profession. Better benefits, salaries and remuneration packages would also trained teachers staying with the teaching profession rather than applying their knowledge and skills in other profession. Also, there could a reduction of â€Å"brain drain† as teachers would stay in Kenya to teach. Subsequently, there would be a declined in the employment of untrained teachers thereby maintaining the quality standard of education. On the part of student enrollment, the government should strive to make education accessible as possible to all. For instance the government of Kenya should provide sponsorship programmes and bursaries for those students unable to pay school fees. Moreover, for students’ marginalized areas, the government could provide mobile schools or set up intensive programme for those students from nomadic communities. The government should also establish programme to for the needs of adult education as well as special education, while conducting sensitization efforts on the importance of adult literacy and special literacy respectively. 3. 0 Conclusion This paper has described the formal education in Kenya in pre-colonial and post- colonial era. It has also looked into the current education policies that have revealed the government efforts in improving education in order to achieve its objectives. Nevertheless, it has shed light on the challenges facing the education sector in its continued development and implementations of the government policies geared towards vision 2030. It is therefore necessary for the government to address these issues and to be practical in looking for their possible solutions, so that education can fully contribute to the development in all aspects. 3. 1 References Bogonko, S. N. (1992). A history of modern education in Kenya (1895-1991). 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Totally Integrated Quality Education and Training (TIQET): Koech Report. Nairobi: Government Printer. Sifuna, D. N. , Chege, F. N. and Oanda, I. O. (2006). Themes in the Study of the Foundations of Education. Nairobi: Jomo Kenyatta Foundation. [pic][pic]