Issues in Second Language Learning Essay

People today live in a â€Å"global village† – people correspond with each other from around the globe regularly through the Internet, modern transportation enables a person to travel from Africa to Europe in a matter of hours, products are bought and sold with increasing ease from all over the word, services are provided anytime, anywhere in the world, and real time coverage of major international news events is taken for granted. Thus, it seems that learning second language is a requirement in today’s highly globalised environment. However, second language learning (SLL) is a long and difficult process, and is a big task for anyone. After all, learning a first language is a process that involves much of a young child’s day, and ESL students in universities must work even harder in order to learn and acquire a second language. The learning process can be emotionally difficult for university students to take the step into a new language and culture. Adult learners, perhaps even more than children and adolescents, can be shy and embarrassed around others when trying out beginning language skills. Learners acquire a second language in many different ways. There are many similarities in how a second language is learned, but there are also differences based on individual student characteristics and language background. For example, outgoing students may begin to imitate phrases and expressions very early and try them without worrying about making mistakes. Conversely, other learners may not use their new language for some time. Usually, at the outset, learners may experience cultural shock as they are exposed to a new language, therefore, a whole new culture. This common experience, described as uprooting, is the abrupt transition from a familiar cultural milieu to an alien one. In the beginning of every SLL program, many learners experience a so-called honeymoon period, during which students are enchanted with the alien language without a true understanding of them. As time progresses, it is common for students to become almost hostile toward learning new language. Second language learners often suffer greater rates of anxiety, depression, and psychosomatic complaints. Furthermore, given the stresses SLL students face, a student struggling with language issues may lack the physical, emotional, or financial resources to tend to basic needs. After this stage, the learners are transitioned to so-called improved adjustment. In the last stage, the stage of bilingualism, the learners incorporate the norms of the language and culture that they have acquired and learned into their own lifestyle and their own value set. Cultural Issues Many students of SLL are struggling with learning a new language. These struggles stem above all from linguistic and cultural differences. Often, they experience the â€Å"language shock† phenomenon wherein learners confront anxiety when first entering a community in which they do not speak, or are not proficient in, the dominant language. It is a common occurrence in schools, where, despite their desire to speak the dominant language fluently, students must struggle for months or several years before they understand everything that is being said. This feeling of anxiety is aggravated by the ignorance of others. Consider the following example reported by Li (1999): When a Chinese mother went to pick up her daughter from school, she began to ask her some questions about her day, but in Chinese. The girl became upset with her mother and later explained that her classmates would laugh at her in those situations. Moreover, whenever the teacher in her school inquired as to who had made a particular mistake, one of her classmates would point to her and say, â€Å"The Chinese girl,† when it was usually not so. In addition to the language shock that occurs on entering a new environment, many students experience another kind of struggle. Because of the types of ordeal described above, second language learners have negative associations with speaking their native language. Yet when they go home, that is the language in which their parents communicate. Moreover, their parents insist that they too maintain the use of the native language as a connection to their homeland and heritage. But many second language learners, especially those who immigrated to English-speaking countries, associate proficiency and fluency in English with becoming American and so they want to give up their native language. These learners are caught in a battle: while at home, they are expected by their parents to speak their first language; at school they are pressured to speak the second language. Another important challenge that many second language learners face is understanding the curriculum and pedagogy used in the classroom. Western classrooms are largely Euro-centric and America-centric. Carger (1996) recounts the story of a Mexican American boy, who was a student in a predominantly Latino Catholic middle school in Chicago. While the teachers and administrators never openly stated that they believed their students were inferior, they treated them as if they were. The boy’s homeroom teacher often used a demeaning tone when she spoke to her students. She did not allow them to ask questions, nor did she encourage them to think on their own. Most of her assignments included content to which her students could not relate. For example, one task that the students were asked to complete was to describe the experience of going to the dentist. However, many of the students had never been to a dentist. Pedagogical Issues A major problem confronting learners is the failure of the teachers to appreciate different learning strategies and styles among SLL students. Increased interest in student-centred learning approaches amongst language educators has led to numerous studies investigating individual language learning strategies and their relationship to achievement in learning second/foreign languages. Studies have indicated support for appropriately applied language learning strategies on second/foreign language achievement (e. g. , Griffiths and Parr, 2001). The consensus of the research is that although all learners, regardless of success with language learning, consciously or unconsciously employ a variety of learning strategies; successful language learners engage in more purposeful language learning and use more language-learning strategies than do less successful ones. Overall, findings indicate that both the frequency with which learners apply language learning strategies and the strategies they choose are distinguishing characteristics between more successful and less successful learners. Learning strategies are strategies that contribute to the development of the language system which the learner constructs and which affect learning directly. They are steps taken to facilitate the acquisition, storage, retrieval, and use of information. In addition learning strategies are the special behaviours or thoughts that individuals use to help them learn, comprehend, or retain new information. Furthermore, it can be argued that learning strategies can foster learners’ autonomy in language learning. Strategies can also assist second language learners in promoting their own achievement in language proficiency. Learning strategies, therefore, not only help learners become efficient in learning and using a language, but also contribute to increasing learners’ self-directed learning. Whether as a result of heredity, educational background, situational requirements, age, or other factors, Sudanese learners of the English language understand and process information differently. While one individual prefers a particular learning style over another, such a preference reflects a personal inclination for how to learn in a particular situation. As personalities change, so too may their learning style preferences after exposure to different learning/teaching situations. Early research into language learning strategies was mostly concerned with investigating what language learning strategies learners used, without attempting to address the links between strategy use and success. Recent research has focused on determining the connections between strategy use and language proficiency. Such studies have shown that proficient language learners employed more strategies in language learning than less proficient language learners. Other findings have exposed a relationship between students’ perceptions of their language proficiency and strategy use. Oxford and Nyikos (1989) affirmed that greater strategy use accompanied perceptions of higher proficiency, while Wharton (2000) demonstrated a significant correlation between the two factors, indicating the higher a student’s language proficiency self-rating, the more frequent strategy use was. Long lists of learning strategies have been identified by a number of studies over the past thirty years Oxford (1993) reported that there were at least two dozen different classifications. Generally, these learning strategies fall under four broad categories, i. e. strategies that enable learners to: (1) comprehend, store, retrieve and use information; (2) manage and direct their learning through reflection and planning; (3) control their emotions; and (4) create opportunities to practice the target language with other people. Learning strategy system can be direct or indirect. Basically, direct learning strategies require mental processing of the target language. There are three major groups of direct strategies, each processes the language differently and for different purposes: memory, cognitive, and compensation. Memory learning strategies, also called mnemonics, involve mental processes used in arranging information in order, making associations, and reviewing. Cognitive learning strategies involve the processing of the target language so that meaning becomes clear through processes like reasoning and analyzing. Lastly, compensation learning strategies enable second language learners to make up for gaps in their knowledge and skills, by, for example, guessing meanings and using gestures. On the other hand, indirect strategies support and manage language learning often without involving the target language directly. The metacognitive, affective, and social learning strategies belong to the groups of indirect learning strategies. In essence, metacognitive learning strategies enable second language learners to plan, coordinate, evaluate, and direct their own learning as well as to monitor errors. Affective learning strategies, on the other hand, help learners gain control over their emotions, attitudes, and motivation through self-encouragement, self-reward, and reduction of anxieties. Finally, social learning strategies are ways of involving other people in enhancing learning through questions, cooperation and increased cultural awareness. Another pedagogical issue is that many SLL teachers do not generate environment that will foster learners’ understanding of making the essential mental construction. The current research proposes that students need to construct their own understanding of their learning. Constructivism provides a way of understanding teaching and learning and offers information for developing various ways of teaching, because the challenge in teaching is not to lecture, explain, or otherwise to attempt to transfer knowledge, but to create circumstances and experiences that engage the students and support their own explanation and application of language models needed to make sense of these experiences. The focus of constructivism is not unique to psychology; it also has roots in several areas, such as linguistics. Constructivism is primarily a theory of human development that in recent years has been applied to learning. The learning or meaning-making theory proposes that people create their own meaning and understanding, combining what they already know and believe to be true with new experiences with which they are confronted. The theory views knowledge as temporary, developmental, social and cultural. Lambert et al. (1995) described constructivism as the primary basis of learning where â€Å"individuals bring past experiences and beliefs, as well as their cultural histories and world views, into the process of learning; all of these influence how we interact with and interpret our encounters with new ideas and events† (p.xii). Guided by theories of constructivism, teachers must recognize that: learning is a search for meaning; meaning requires an understanding of the whole as well as its parts; in seeking meaning, they must understand the mental representations that students use to interpret the world and the assumptions they make to strengthen those representations; and the goal of learning is for the SLL student to develop his or her own understanding. Hence the students’ cultural-social and historical contexts are of importance in their learning. Social constructivist concepts have important implications in teaching strategies. Social constructivists believe that reality is constructed through human interactivity. Members of a society together construct the properties of the world. For them, reality does not exist prior to its social invention, thus it cannot be discovered. Also, social constructivism holds that knowledge is also a human product and is socially and culturally constructed, which suggests that individuals establish meaning by interacting with each other and with their environment. Additionally, social constructivism proposes that learning does not occur only within an individual, but is a social process; meaningful learning among SLL students happens when they are involved in social activities. Teachers can design instructional models based on the social constructivist perspective. These models promote collaboration among learners and with practitioners in the society. According to Lave and Wenger (1991) a society’s practical knowledge is positioned in relations among practitioners, their practice and the social organization and political economy of communities of practice. This suggests that learning should involve such knowledge and practice.

Marketing Professional Practice Essay

Executive Summary This report aims to develop some feasible strategies for a non-profit making organization – Care For Your Heart to achieve objectives in certain areas: 1. Enhancing the public awareness of the organization’s profile and service; 2. Reaching the youngsters and working group segments; 3. Gaining more donations for future development; and 4. Strengthening the network with medical doctors or nurses as part of voluntary work. These objectives can be carried out by the three main recommended strategies, include rebranding, sponsorship campaigns, and volunteer programs. Before launching other programs, rebranding is recommended to refine the image of Care For Your Heart by designing a new logo and name, which is more professional and appealing to the target market. The rebranding is also related to the strategies for achieving the organization’s new direction. The sponsorship campaigns aim at attracting companies for sponsorship, enhancing public awareness, and attract donations. The prospective sponsors include Nestle, Hung Fuk Tong, Watson, and HKHC. The respective strategies are Nestle milk powder lid design, Turn in Your Can; Hung Fuk Tong Care For Your Heart soup series; Watson Heart Caring Bottle Label Competition and launch of water bottle, carboy bottle design and poster distribution at offices; Cardiac Health Care Bus, Health Care Charity Fund, professional health talks, and Charity Health Check Day. Furthermore, volunteers for current and future events and campaigns are sourced from IVE, medical colleges, doctors, and HKHC. These strategies provide substantial benefits to Care For Your Heart. By successfully striving sponsorship and donations, Care For Your Heart can enhance its visibility, awareness and credibility via appearance of logo on sponsor’s products and websites. Donation is easier to attract when the organization is more credible, and more funds can be used to offer more activities for its members and the public. The campaigns and volunteer programs allow the organization to reach its young and business target markets when products and events are exposed at heavy traffic spots and offices. The sponsorship programs will last for two years, and the volunteer program is on a continuous basis, which the details are shown in the timeline in the later part of this report. And the estimated budget is set. Background of Organization Care For Your Heart is a registered non-profit charitable organization formed by a group of cardiac patients together with their families since 1995. Its services mainly target cardiac patients and their families. In 1998, Care For Your Heart set up the first cardiac mutual help and resource center, and is committed to patients and the public health (Organization Introduction 2010). Up until 2011, Care For Your Heart has more than 2600 members, and over 180 volunteers (Number of Members 2010). Members mostly age around 51 to 80 (Age of Members 2010), and geographically concentrated in Hong Kong Island (Residence of Members 2010). The sources of funds is attracted from multiple channels; include donations, Community Chest, Social Welfare Department and other activities (Sources of Funds 2010). Logo of the Organization The flower-liked logo represents that the organization is concerned about heart related issues. Vision and mission of Organization Care For Your Heart aims to encourage mutual support spirit among cardiac patients and family support, so that the patients can positively face their illness (Organization Introduction 2010). It strives to enhance cardiac patients knowledge towards cardiac diseases, boost recovery, and prevent the opportunity of relapse; to act as a bridge between patients and medical institutions in order to provide all-round services; gather patients, protect and strive for rights and welfares; promoting social knowledge about cardiac disease, prevention, caring and accepting cardiac patients and enhance public awareness towards heart healthiness (Organization Introduction 2010). Care For Your Heart aims to increase the number of members; encourage members nd others to volunteer in charitable events and supporting activities; to attract more stable funding, such as monthly donation; to enhance awareness and educate public about the increasing trend of youngsters suffering from coronary heart disease; to motivate general public changing their lifestyle to improve health; to attract business groups’ awareness about cardiac disease; to establish a stronger network with doctors for f acilitating volunteer work, and other events and activities. (Future Prospect 2010). . Introduction The chairman of Care For Your Heart has illustrated the current issues faced by the organization and proposed several questions. This report is to develop feasible strategies for the organization to overcome its situation and further development in certain area. 1. Develop relevant strategies in order to enhance the public awareness of the organisation’s profile and service; 2. Attract more younger and working groups to join the organization; 3. Gain more donations for further development and 4. Strengthen a network of medical doctors or nurses as part of voluntary work. 2. Target Market 3. 1. Target Group The target market is defined by Care For Your Heart, basing on its current situation and problem. Based on research, heart disease has a rejuvenating trend and threatening working group aged 20 years old or above. These groups are targeted as they are constantly under high pressure and heavy workload. Business class with quick life rhythm typically lack of resting time. In addition, they always overlook the importance of keeping their heart healthy. 3. 2. Medical Doctor Another target group is the medical doctors. Medical doctors play an important role for these kinds of organization because of their professional medical knowledge. Other than that, Care For Your Heart inviting medical doctors for volunteering can expand their network in medical field and increase its credibility to the public . 3. 3. Partnership The following are some suggested partners for Care For Your Heart to cooperate with: * Nestle Hung Fook Tong * Watson * Hong Kong Health Check & Medical Diagnostic Group Limited Details will be illustrated in the following part of the report. 3. 4. Other Stakeholder Stakeholders| Details| Donors| * Existing donors (Social Welfare Department, The Community Chest, Food and Health Bureau) * Potential donors at all ages in global * It is important for a non-profit organization to have positive and enough reputation, which will influence donation . Policy from donation also affect the operation of the organization| University| * Helps to disseminate cardiac information * Helps to enhance the awareness of the organisation * Eg: Hong Kong College of Technology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong etc| Hospital| * Reach more cardiac patients * Helps to enhance the reputation of the organisation| General Public| * Opinions leaders who can influence the peers * cardiac patients and families| Media| * Global newspapers and magazines * TV stations, radio stations, newspapers and magazines publishers, leaflets, seminar| Potential Investors| * Corporations or individuals that are interested to invest in â€Å"Care For Your Heart† (Children’s Heart Foundation and The Hong Kong Tuberculosis, Chest and Heart Diseases Association: can enhance the awareness of â€Å"Care For Your Heart† and donation| 3. Campaign Strategy 3. 1. Rebranding As brand is a valuable asset, it allows organization to communicate a clear set of v alues toward its stakeholders. Non-profit organization is a kind of concept-brand which is associated with an abstract concept, such as cancer awareness, environmentalism or cardiac disease (Daly and Moloney 2004, 30). The current logo of Care For Your Heart is too old-fashion and poorly deliver the meaning about cardiac care issues. To best meet the target group, suggestion is given for the organization to redesign its logo and name. Rebranding  is the creation of a new name, term, symbol, design, or a combination of them for an established brand with the intention of developing a new position in the mind of stakeholders (Daly and Moloney 2004, 30). The change in the name and logo of the organization may enhance public awareness and reputation. Furthermore, the newly established brand elements can also better related to the current situation that the organization is facing (Muzellec and Lambkin 2008, 284). The new logo and name designed for the organization aims to better suit the target group, and will be illustrate in the following: 3. 1. 1 New logo: The new logo echoes with the name â€Å"Care For Your Heart†, containing a hand showing a gesture of holding a heart. Hand represents human; gesture represents caring; heart represent cardiac and compassion. The new logo is simple, more eye-catching, and the meaning is more obvious at a glance than the old version, thus the target market can easily understand the role of Care For Your Heart. Furthermore, the logo shows the commitment of Care For Your Heart to embark on a new direction and coordinate with our proposed strategies. 3. 1. 2 New name: Care For Your Heart can rename its Chinese name from to. The new name provides formality, thus projecting a more professional image. Moreover, it can better represent the mission of Care For Your Heart, which is to gather cardiac patients for mutual help and enhance public’s concern of cardiac disease. 3. 2. Seek For Partnership To achieve the goals proposed by the client, it is necessary for the organization to engage some partnership in order to support its daily operation and further activities. There are four potential companies for partnering with Care For Your Heart to enhance awareness, funding supply and voluntary work, including: Nestle, Hung Fong Tong, Watson and Hong Kong Health Check & Medical Diagnostic Group Limited. These potential partners have similar vision and mission within Care For Your Heart in terms of concerning the health of people. The cooperation between â€Å"for profit† business and non-profit organization is called cause-related marketing (CRM), which both parties are involved to create mutual benefits. â€Å"For profit† business implemented CRM to build brands, revitalize corporate, carrying out corporate social responsibilities, and make community involvement visible (Papasolomou, and Kitchen 2011, 63). Non-profit organization can be benefited due to the contributions from the â€Å"for profit† business in order to meet its needs and objectives. CRM is proved to be an important marketing tool which demonstrates a firm’s commitment in addressing a social issue (Papasolomou, and Kitchen 2011, 63). The following are the strategies proposed to cooperate with the partners. 3. 3. 1. Nestle – Carnation Omega High Calcium Milk Powder Reason for partnership with Nestle Nestle is a well-known nutrition, health and wellness company which founded in Switzerland in 1866. The company’s mission is â€Å"Good Food, Good Life†, which is to provide great tasting, nutritionally superior food and beverage, and great services to consumers around the world (Nestle 2011). Creating shared value is a fundamental part of Nestle’s way of doing business to create long-term value for shareholders and society, which is beyond compliance and sustainability (Creating Shared Value 2011). One of its products, the Carnation Omega High Calcium Milk Powder is chosen as a health product for the World Heart Day in 2010 and 2011. This low-fat milk power can strengthen the heart and reduces cardiac related diseases. The ingredients and functions of this mike powder are the followings (Milk Powder 2008). i. Omega 3 and 6 fatty acid: Regulate body’s cholesterol level and benefit to the cardiovascular system. ii. Low-fat: Reduce fat absorption which benefit to the heart. iii. High in calcium: Benefit to the bones and prevent osteoporosis. iv. Vitamin A, B and E: Assist in metabolism and health function. This milk powder was sold in different channels as well as supermarket and drugstore in Hong Kong, such as PARKnSHOP, Welcome and Watson. Each of them operates more than 200 stores and has different customer segments. It is believed that Care For Your Heart can gain benefits through enhanced awareness, and obtaining stable and long-term based donation. Proposed Strategy I. Cardiac information inside the lid, and logo on the package. Cardiac information as well as â€Å"7 ways to protect your heart†, â€Å"Make your heart healthier†, etc. is suggested to print on the internal side of the lid. Every time when consumer opens the lid, they can read the information provided by Care For Your Heart. A colorful background can be used in order to attract their attention and increase the visibility of such information. Moreover, the logo of the organization is also printed on the package of the milk powder to gain awareness (Refer to Appendix 1 and 2). The followings are the suggested cardiac information. 7 ways to protect your heart: * Maintain appropriate cholesterol level by having low-fat diet * Maintain appropriate weight and balanced diets. * Eat 2 fruits every day * At least 30 minutes aerobic exercise per day * No smoking and alcohol * Remain a cheerful mood * Regular Body check II. â€Å"Turn in Your cans† Yoplait Yogurt, a France originated brand founded in 1964, had launched a campaign called â€Å"Save Lids to Save Lives† for 10 years. The main concept of this campaign was to raise money for charity organization and activities, such as Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation,  Race for the Cure, etc. Every lid that the customer reserved, Yoplait will donate US$0. 1 after they registered the code number on the lid online (Save Lids to Save Lives 2011). A loyalty program called â€Å"Turn in Your Cans† is proposed to achieve long-term relationship among three parties: the customer, Care For Your Heart, and Nestle. When customer finished one can of milk powder, they could turn in the can to a supermarket or drugstore, then Nestle could collect those cans for recycling. A stamp would be awarded per one returned can. When customer collected 3, 5 and 10 stamps, they can enjoy discount of 10%, 30% and 50% respectively for the next purchase. This campaign could increase customers’ loyalty towards this milk powder, and attract purchases from new customers. As a result, Nestle can gain an increase in sales, and Care For Your Heart can receive donations. III. 5% donation from the total sales of the milk powder To obtain long-term donation, Care For Your Heart could receive 5% of total sales from this milk powder. The milk powder is selling at the price around HKD$104. 6, which means Care For Your Heart can receive approximately HKD$5 from each can of milk powder sold. 3. 3. 2. Hung Fook Tong Reason for partnership with Hung Fook Tong Hung Fook Tong is the biggest herbal tea group in Hong Kong founded in 1980s. With more than 700 staff members, and over 100 stores among Hong Kong (Milestone 2011), it is persistent in using genuine ingredients with no added preservatives in the product. Producing and developing quality products are the philosophy of â€Å"making naturally† (Mission 2011). In 2011, Hung Fook Tong acquired the prime awards for corporate social responsibility 2011 from Prime magazine (Company news 2011), which shows that Hung Fook Tong continuously strive to fulfill corporate social responsibility. Hung Fook Tong has introduced a series of Chinese soup and individually packed soup into the market under its brand name. Those series of soup is nourishing, which helps to maintain good body condition and is good for health. As individually packed soup could reduce the time of making soup at home, it is typically popular among working class. Thus Hung Fook Tong is another suggested source to cooperate with for gaining long-term donation and enhancing public awareness. Proposed Strategy I. â€Å"Care For Your Heart† soup series There are several soup recipes shared by some Chinese medical doctors on Care For Your Heart website. Those soups are beneficial to the heart and can prevent heart attack. Care For Your Heart could cooperate with Hung Fook Tong to introduce these series of soup or invest in new soups for the target market. Such as: * Mushroom  soup with bamboo fungus and  lotus root. * Black hen soup with lily and cloud ear fungus. * Black hen soup with chestnut. These series of soup can sold at a cheaper price HKD$40 for increasing sales volume, which others series are sold at HKD$48 and HKD$63. II. Logo on the package front and cardiac information at the package back The logo of Care For Your Heart is suggested to put on the front side of the individually packaged soup, and some cardiac information at the back. This increases the visibility of the organization, as well as disseminating cardiac information when customer turns the package to look at the ingredient list of the soup. During the selection process, consumers make decisions base on the soup’s functions, thus the â€Å"Care For Your Heart series† can impress those that concern about heart health, and attract those customers that are previously not aware of the heart health series. The logo of Care For your Heart can also be placed on the menu to increase visibility (Refer to Appendix 3 and 4). III. 5 % donation from the total sales of â€Å"Care For Your Heart† series Care For Your Heart could receive 5% total sales of individually packed soup in order to obtain long-term donation. Each individually packed soup is sold at the price around HKD$40, which means Care For Your Heart can received approximate HKD$2 from each sold of the soup. IV. Coupon Hung Fook Tong can also sponsor 500 packs of coupons, which contains 10 pieces within one pack with a total value of HKD$398, to Care For Your Heart for voluntary reward purpose. 3. 3. 3. Watson Reason for partnership with Watson Firstly, Watsons Water under A. S. Watson Group is currently a wholly owned subsidiary of the Hutchison Whampoa Limited, and is a world-renowned brand for supplying purest quality water. Moreover, the A. S. Watson Group has obtained a number of awards, such as â€Å"Asia’s Best Brand Award – for excellence in Branding and Marketing† in 2010 and 2011, â€Å"Caring Company† by the Hong Kong Council of Social Services from 2002 to 2011, and â€Å"Top Ten Brand names Award† by Chinese Manufacturer’ Association of Hong Kong in 2003 (Our Achievements 2011). Furthermore, A. S. Watson Group is positive related to healthiness, as it owns the Watsons Athletic Club which is committed in sponsoring and supporting local athletic events. This healthy association links with Care For Your Heart’s mission to improve public’s health issues. Secondly, the A. S. Watson Group is committed in performing corporate social responsibilities, and view CSR as opportunities. From A. S. Watson official website: â€Å"We encourage our business unites to develop programmes with organizations that are relevant to local community needs, and we support our employees’ effort in getting involved and contributing to society (Lai 2011). † This provides a favorable circumstance for Care For Your Heart to persuade Watson’s participation. Thirdly, Watsons Water has wide distribution channels, from street stores to big chained supermarkets. With the various availability of channels, it allows Care For Your Heart to increase exposure to the public and enhance the recognition of the company name. Proposed Strategy There are 3 main activities in this campaign: including Watsons bottled water label design competition, donation from the designed bottle, and cardiac slogan labels on Watsons Water carboy series and posters distributed to offices I. Watsons bottled water label design competition The first stage of this campaign starts with organizing a Watsons bottled water (both distilled and mineral water) label competition hosts by Watson and cooperates by Care For Your Heart. The theme of this competition is called â€Å" † – â€Å"Watsons Heart Caring Bottle Design Competition†, which encourage a submission of bottle label design aiming at enhancing public’s awareness towards cardiac disease. The competition will open for one to two months and targets youngsters age 15 to 25, whom are interested in drawing or design, and would seek for self-esteem through competition. The opening of this competition will be announced via newspapers (both paid and free), Watsons Water’s official website, and Facebook page. For motivation, awards will be given to the top three winners. The tentative prizes include: Champion: HK$5000 with certificate First runner up: HK$3000 with certificate Second runner up: HK$1500 with certificate All participants will also obtain a certificate as encouragement. After collecting all designs, both Watson and Care For Your Heart will have representatives appraising the designs and select the winners. A press conference will be held for the announcement and award ceremony of the top three winners. And their work will be launched on the bottle, which will be further discussed below. II. Launch of the specially designed bottle for donation to Care For Your Heart After the end of competition, the second stage of the campaign is the launch of this specially designed Watsons Water. The top three winners’ designs will be launched for 280ML to 800ML bottled water, both distilled and mineral. The distribution channels include all major types of supermarkets (Welcome, Parkn’ Shop, City’super etc. ), convenient stores (7-11, Circle K etc. ). The preparation for the label design will be around one month, and the tentative distribution period is set to be 2 to 4 months. Care For Your Heart can negotiate the percentage of total sales for donation with Watson. The recommended percentage is 5 to 15%. Furthermore, the label will contain information about the donation. For example: â€Å"Every bottle of water you purchase, Watson will donate $1 for Care For Your Heart on cardiac disease funding. † III. Cardiac info/ slogan on the Watson’s water carboy series in offices and posters distribution The third stage of the campaign is the launch of promotional label on Watsons Water carboy together with the distribution of posters to offices. The objectives of this event are to create opportunity for Care For Your Heart to reach the business sectors and to increase their awareness towards cardiac disease and provide some tips on prevention. This campaign will last for one to one and a half year. i. Poster Posters will be distributed together with the water bottles, and encourages offices to post it in the pantry or places near the water dispenser. The poster will contain some brief tips on preventing the formation of cardiac disease due to stress and imbalanced lifestyle. The information on the poster is the same as the information on the lids of the Nestle milk powder (Refer to Appendix 5). ii. Label A label is designed for 4. 5L, 12L and 18L bottles which fit most types of water dispenser, containing Care For Your Heart’s logo, slogans about heart protection. Appendix 6 shows an example of the label design. IV. 5% donation from the sales of designed Watsons Water bottle Watsons bottle water sold at the price HKD$6. 5, which Care For Your Heart can receive an approximate donation of HKD$0. 3 per bottle of the water sold. 3. 3. 4. Hong Kong Health Check ; Medical Diagnostic Group Limited (HKHC) Reason for partnership with HKHC Hong Kong Health Check ; Medical Diagnostic Group Limited (HKHC) is a company providing a variety of body check service to the community and has developed 15 health checking center in Hong Kong. The mission of the company is to provide  excellent  and  high standards of  imaging and  diagnostic services in order to improve  community  health under the concept of  preventive medicine. (About Us, 2011) It is chosen to work with Care For Your Heart as the two organizations are sharing similar missions of improving community health and health care awareness. Proposed Strategy I. Cardiac Health Care Bus The main functions of the Cardiac Health Care Bus are to provide free basic heart disease related health checks, for example, blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol; and educate public about heart disease preventions. If patients are diagnosed to have a possibility of getting cardiac disease, they will be refered to HKHC for a comprehensive health check. A medical professional and two volunteers from Care For Your Heart will be on duty in the bus. There will be 6 buses available, 3 for New Territories, 2 for Kowloon and 1 for Hong Kong Island. The buses will serve everyday in two spots with two time periods, from 11a. m. to 3p. m, and 4p. m. to 8p. m. , which can serve around 50 to 70 people every day. This idea is feasible as it has been successfully adopted by other organizations, such as the Pok Oi Hospital. II. Health Care Charity Fund (HCCF) HCCF is a working partner of HKHC, who aims to implant the concept of â€Å"Health†¦ we care you care† to the community through educational and medical healthcare service (Vision and Mission. 2011). Its missions are to help the needy of the community by offering free health check services and organizing professional health talks; to increase the healthcare awareness of the community by promoting the concept of preventive healthcare through comprehensive periodic health check at the highest standard; and to serve the community through supporting volunteering services which organized by non-profit making organizations or collaborated with local communities (Vision and Mission. 2011). The nature of this organization fits with Care For Your Heart’s vision as both organizations achieve their missions by organizing talks, fund raising and voluntary work. Two programs are designed for corporation of CFYH and HCCF. i. Professional Health Talks Health talks will operate once each year at each community center in 18 districts by Care For Your Heart. The talks emphasize on heart care related topics, such as prevention, types of heart disease etc. Professional speakers are the volunteers from HKHC and talks are sponsored by HCCF. Each talk is opened for 100 to 200 audiences (depends on the population of the district) and is free of charge. The target of this campaign is to reach citizens in 18 districts within one year and four months for 6 districts. For the first four months, talks will operate in North, Tai Po, Sha Tin, Tsuen Wan, Tuen Mun and Yeun Long; the next four months will operate in Kwai Tsing, Kowloon City Kwun Tong, Sham Shui Po, Wong Tai Sin and Yau Tsim Mong; and the last four months will operate in Island, Sai Kung, Central and Western, Eastern, Southern and Wan Chai. ii. Charity Health Check Day The date of Charity Health Check Day is set on the World Heart Day in every year. 5 to 10% of body checks income from HKHC will donate to Care For Your Heart through HCCF. HCCF used this format previously with HKHC and the Senior Citizen Home Safety Association (SCHSA) on mother’s and father’s day in 2011. Part of the body check income on that day was donated to HCCF, and the donations are used to provide personal emergency link for the elderly people (Tuesday Charity Health Check Day, 2011. ). 3. 3. Potential benefits receive by Care For Your Heart By the partnership with the above sponsors, Care For Your Heart can be benefited in various ways. I. Enhance awareness Firstly, as concerned by Care For Your Heart, it is currently facing low recognition by the public. To reverse this situation, its visibility, awareness and credibility can be increased by having Care For Your Heart’s name and logo appearing on sponsor’s events, and product packaging, which the product is well-recognized, easily found and consumed. Care For Your Heart can also leverage Nestle, Hung Fook Tong, Watson and HKHC’s goodwill on being healthy. Moreover, those sponsors enhance Care For Your Heart’s publicity by placing the organization name as the beneficiary organization at the end of the TV commercial. II. Reach the target segments Those proposed strategies allow Care For Your Hear to reach its desired target segments – the youngsters and businesses. Different channels were used for the distribution of the product by Nestle and Hung Fook Tong, such as supermarket, drugstore and MTR shop as well, which helps in increase exposure and visibility of its name and logo to different segment. Moreover, the Watson bottle water competition provides an opportunity for youngsters to demonstrate their stills in art, and act as a channel to educate them about cardiac diseases through participation. On the other hand, labels on carboy bottles and posters in office pantry can be an attention getting tool. By placing these at prominent spot, it can firstly get their attention. When they are continuously exposed to the information, they will be able to remember and recall the message. Furthermore, if the Cardiac Health Care Bus is successfully introduced, the mobility of those buses can further help Care For Your Heart in reaching more people in Hong Kong. III. Donation Donations can be gained through the sales of each product and the money can be used for funding daily operations or future activities. Furthermore, if the sponsors are willing to renew the contracts with Care For Your Heart, it will be able to obtain donations in a long-term basis. 3. 4. Potential benefits receive by sponsors I. Perform Corporate Social Responsibility The main benefit that Nestle, Hung Fook Tong, Watson and HKHC could gain is to accomplish its role in performing corporate social responsibility. Each company is committed to invest on creating shared value for society, as well as social welfare, environmental protection and other aspects regarding to the global compact. Companies could achieve its goals when cooperating with Care For Your Heart. II. Improved brand image Furthermore, the ultimate objective of performing CSR is to improve consumers’ perception towards the brand, which is being a contributor to the society thus enhancing goodwill. III. Boost Sales Each sponsor can boost its sales or expands market share due to its contribution to the society. Customers are more likely to choose a product when they realize that they can engaging in the contribution process (Stanalan, Lwin, and Murphy 2011, 51). IV. Benefits distributed by Care For Your Heart Care For Your Heart will provide the following benefits to all sponsors: * Have a one page free advertisement in the organisation magazine and annual report. Brief profile of the sponsors and the detail of ongoing campaigns on Care For You Heart website * Acknowledge the name and logo at the bottom of Care For Your Heart official website with hyperlinks to sponsors’ homepages * Acknowledge the name and logo on all promotion materials including newsletters, organisation magazines, broch ure covers or free gift bags etc. * Acknowledge the name and logo of sponsors on volunteers’ shirts * Provide at least one banner during any events * Announcement of sponsorships in all events or public speech * Guaranteed to be the only sponsor in the same category of industry * Allow to display company’s materials or products on the table for any events 3. 5. Volunteers’ recruitment The recruitment of volunteers for Care For Your Heart targets three groups: students from IVE, trainees of medical colleges, retired doctors, and the Hong Kong Health Check ; Medical Diagnostic Group. The details of the recruitment program are the followings. IVE On recruiting volunteers for Care For Your Heart, firstly, a non-academic volunteer program can be opened for the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education students majoring in Applied Nutritional Science, Pharmaceutical, Medical and Health Care, or Social services. Students are encouraged to apply the campaign throughout their study. This volunteer campaign requires students to participate in volunteer work for Care For Your Heart once in two weeks for four to six hours. The working time will be recorded and accumulated until they graduate or withdraw from the program. A quota on working time is set for students as a goal, for example, participating volunteer work for 72 hours in half a year. Students who have achieved the goal of this program will be rewarded with a non-academic award by Care For Your Heart, which is beneficial to their future career. Medical colleges’ trainees Secondly, trainees in medical colleges of the University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong are a considerable group for voluntary works. They obtain the required health care knowledge and elementary first aid skills. Moreover, this voluntary program can be included as part of the intern training. Similar with the program for IVE, a certificate will be given to participants as a reward, which helps their future career. Moreover, participants can enrich their practical experience before they enter the society. Medical professional Thirdly, doctors are another great source to attract as volunteers. They obtain the expertise in the cardiac field thus able to provide professional consultation for patients. Care For Your Heart can target this group by inviting those doctors that are seeking self-actualization, and appeal to them through mental motivation. For example, suggesting them to offer one or two days of voluntary consultation. By acquiring a sufficient number of voluntary doctors, members of Care For Your Heart can be benefited as it has more human resources to organize thorough functions and events for its members and the public, thus achieving the goals of increasing public awareness towards cardiac disease. Moreover, doctors can enhance their reputation and image by showing their sincerity in contributing to the society. Hong Kong Health Check ; Medical Diagnostic Group Lastly, referring to the event of the Cardiac Health Care Bus campaign, doctors from the Hong Kong Health Check ; Medical Diagnostic Group will volunteer for conducting simple tests and explain the health report to patients. Moreover, regarding this event, additional helpers are needed for showing information and assisting the doctor. These helpers can be chosen from IVE and medical college volunteers mentioned above. 3. 6. 5. Motivations to volunteers Besides, by analyzing their profile, Care For Your Heart can obtain data on the number of medical professionals and young volunteers the organization has attracted . ii. Amount of Donation Two sources of donations are needed to be evaluated: the public and partnership programs. By measuring the amount of donation from public and sponsoring partners, it can reflect Care For Your Heart’s reputation and credibility in public’s mindset. It can also show the benefits gain by both parties when the campaigns are launched (increased sales, product awareness and reputation). iii. Awareness Public opinion research will be conducted 3 times after 4, 12 and 24 months. The survey aims to collect data including: awareness and image of the organization; frequency and amount of donation; and awareness of activities and partnership program. The result will demonstrate whether the new strategies and rebranding are successful in enhancing the public awareness, especially within the working class. Regulate evaluation acts as a monitory function and can state the weaknesses of each program. Therefore, the organization can reinforce certain areas in order to achieve the ultimate goals. 6. Conclusion To conclude, Care For Your Heart could reach its target groups and deliver cardiac related information to the public by adopting the strategies mentioned above. Rebranding and those cooperative strategies can meet its goals effectively and efficiently. By performing cause-related marketing, all participating parties will receive benefits from the campaigns, as well as enhancing public awareness and improving brand image. The sales volume of the newly introduced products and the current product will also be increased, due to the change of customers’ perception towards the brand. The corporate partners will provide funding supply from the donations gained from product sales, and hence increase the cash flow of Care For Your Heart. Moreover, the reputation of Care For Your Heart will also be enhanced by the well-known partners. http://www. pokoi. org. hk/tc/services_cmedical. aspx http://www. hungfooktong. com/news/n017/index. html http://www.nestle.com/ http://www.aswatson.com/our-customers/ http://www.hungfooktong.com/tc/ http://www.yoplait.com http://www.hkhealthcheck.com/corp/tc/ http://www.hungfooktong.com/overseas_about.php http://www.aswatson.com/innovation/ http://www.hccf.org.hk/en/about_us.htm ;

Horror Exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Horror Exam - Essay Example This ever-ubiquitous element of the Gothic style, is represented here by Vincent Price’s characters and the women in the movie. Price played the dual character of the warlock Joseph Curwen who was burn at stake by the villagers of Arkham and the warlock’s descendant Charles Dexter Ward who came to Arkham some 110 years later to take possession of Curwen’s castle which he inherited. As a warlock, Curwen can put a spell on any woman he desires to offer them as sacrifice to a creature he kept in his basement. His beautiful mistress Hester loyally assisted him in the sacrificial rites. Hester’s submissive, unquestioning and devoted loyalty to Curwen provides a stark contrast to Curwen’s dark, overpowering and totally evil aura. Similarly, the pretty young women Curwen inveigles to his castle to be made sacrificial lambs were made docile and almost lifeless by the hypnotic spell he cast upon them. In the second part of the film, the same character dynamic of the dominant male and submissive female is re-presented to the audience. Charles Dexter Ward, Curwen’s descendant comes to Arkham to take possession of his inheritance – Curwen’s castle. Without Ward’s knowledge, this event had been intentionally designed by Curwen’s two henchmen who wanted Curwen to possess the body of Ward, so that they could pursue their demonic plans of opening the door to the beyond and commune with the dark gods. Ward is accompanied by his young wife, the pretty Ann Ward. Ward’s character, although not dominating and commanding initially, changes once the warlock starts to take over his body, changing him into an evil, powerful and domineering character who pushed around the fragile, too-feminine and helpless Ann. Once again, the exaggerated masculinity of Price’s character provides a stark contrast to the likewise exaggerated femininity of Debra Page t’s Ann, who

Plastic Surgery Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Plastic Surgery - Dissertation Example The concept of the script is to illustrate cruel beauty. The collection entails the clothes suitable for the autumn/winter of 2017. The clothes are menswear. Savage beauty under the context relates to the Japanese tattoo, the corset as well as plastic surgery. The use of the three beautification approaches is ancient in their form. From ancient civilizations, people are particular regarding enhancement of beauty. The use of the corset explains a garment that tends to befit the wearer into a shape that fits the garment and not the human. The Japanese’s tattoo reveals extreme measures. The clothing tends to train the torso into an aesthetic form. A view of the history includes the use of the corset by both genders with the most ancient picture of the attire being 2000BC to appear (Lemire and Riello, 2008: p.912). On the other hand, the Japanese tattoo explains the instance of body decoration. The implication is that the skin is a garment and one that cannot fade away after the a pplication of the ink. The tattoos have particular reasons such as for decorative or spiritual ends. The tattoos first image to come into contact with the modern man tends to date back to about 10,000BC (Westlake, 2012). On the other hand, plastic surgery is the alteration of the body form or the subsequent restoration. The practice dates back to the Old Kingdom that was in rule between 3000-2500BC (Westlake, 2012).The practices were also in practise in the ancient civilization of Egypt as per the Papyrus by Edwin Smith. However, the instance was in the repair of noses.

Research Design Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Research Design - Assignment Example The rapid rate of change in United States causes a growing concern among government officials, the public and health professionals. I believe these changes are issues of concern and should be well addressed. A research dilemma refers to the â€Å"situation that causes a researcher to feel apprehensive, confused and ill at ease† (Wood and Kerr, 2011). In essence, a research problem is something that bothers a researcher and can only be resolved through research. In a research procedure, the recognition of a research problem is the most fundamental step. It is for this cause that the entire process should be dedicated to this stride. A research problem should be clearly stated. Aldrich and Wedgewood (1970) identify their problem as the identification of changes that affect the health of the youth and children. There is need to understand the forces that affect the health of the youth and children. In reference to Aldrich and Wedgewood (1970), this is essential as it permits the people to â€Å"anticipate the future and lead to a systematic health care program with adequate feedback and adaptability to accommodate the health needs of children and youth†. Such a research problem will help in changing the country’s social structure, economy, and technology. ... g demand for a â€Å"more efficient and extensive system for delivery of medical care†, education and multiple of conflicting voices in resolution of these complex issues are the five forces that have affected the health of children and the youth. In this rapidly changing society, Aldrich and Wedgewood (1970) recons that medical science needs to be advanced to be at par with the changing society and â€Å"advance in systems to enhance and support the practice of medicine†. On the other hand, American society has high expectations that improved health care should be availed to them. Over decades, people had been sensitized on taking responsibility for their health and to say, this public education had great impact on the people. The society anticipates benefiting from the new up-and-coming drugs, complex new equipments and technology and skills and dexterities of surgeons. There has been a growing demand for a more competent and widespread system for delivery of medicina l care to people. Aldrich and Wedgewood (1970) note that this high demand is â€Å"giving rise to the evolution of a system that brings together the complementing skills of various medical and nonmedical professionals and a system that knits together numerous health facilities in each society to make quality medical care more available†. In recognizing the shifting scenery and size of demand for health personnel, different educational institutions have risen to the challenge. However, the institutions have not yet â€Å"provided an effective interrelated program that ensures the supply of the required skills† (Aldrich and Wedgewood, 1970). Bremner (1974) asserts that though there have been suggested measures to improve the health care for the youth and children, â€Å"there is multitude of conflicting voices

Film Review Critique Movie Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Film Critique - Movie Review Example The reviews highlight some of the outstanding aspects of the film. This paper will present a critical analysis of three of the reviews of the movie. The director of this movie sought to tell the story of the 1937 massacre from the perspective of a non-Chinese individual. This is the reason why the film presents the story from the perspective of John Miller, an American who found himself in the middle of the events defining the massacre. He was unable to escape the main city in time a factor that forced him to find refuge in a Catholic cathedral. In the cathedral, he found a group of schoolgirls and an altar boy. Although he was drunk at that moment, he faced the compulsion of protecting the schoolgirls from attacks by the Japanese. In addition to the schoolgirls, some prostitutes also found shelter in the cathedral. John Miller was forced by the situation to take responsibility in protecting the schoolgirls as well as the prostitutes. He was helped by the altar boy named George towards their status of heroism (Errigo 2012, n.p). The review of the movie The Flowers of War written by Angie Errigo highlights several aspects of the movie. The review begins by presenting a summary of the plot in which Errigo highlights the role played by John Miller in saving the schoolgirls. She is keen to mention that he was poised to pose as a priest in order to successfully protect the schoolgirls. However, her summary of the plot leaves some of the critical details that define the plot. The review then focuses on describing the efforts made by the director Zhang Yimou. The review mentions that the director has had previous experience releasing films that earned global attention. In this review, the theme of the film, which seeks to retell the events of the 1937 siege of China by Japan is highlighted. The review acknowledges that this theme has been the focus of different directors with each bringing out a unique product. Errigo

Formal Writing Assignment 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Formal Writing Assignment 3 - Essay Example it also leads to the acquisition of new ideas and languages. For one to claim that they are living in a globalised society, they must be able to see some notable changes in their society because globalisation is the umbrella term for various advancement changes that occur in a society. for example, the person must be able to identify changes in their culture, experience improvements in their technologies, increased material wealth, increased capital flow, increased immigration and increased link with other societies through transport, trade and communication. A society therefore that has remained stagnant, even in the middle of other fast changing societies, cannot be said to be globalised. The linking is important because it facilitates exchange which results to change. One may be tempted to imagine that the term globalisation is a phenomena that occurs exclusively at the societal level. The truth is that it starts at an individual level. The society is composed of people and not un less its people are willing to embrace any changes, then globalisation will never take place in it. At the same time, people in a globalised society should be able to experience changes within themselves. This brings up the important topic â€Å"Globalization Within My Life.† Globalization within one’s life is not defined by the act of travelling round the world but the ability to consume products, in form of goods, culture and language, from distant lands (Sheila 10). It is a change of behaviour, attitude and reactions towards these goods. In this case, the term goods refers to foreign ideas, products and cultures. One specific aspect of globalization that influences my life is transfer of human capital. Currently, there is massive immigration and emigration of people in and out of societies and my society happens to be experiencing the same trend. My society is America but it is not only composed of Americans or people who are already accustomed to the American cultu re. There is a significant increase of people from countries whose cultures differ significantly from that which is found in the US. Chinese, Japanese, Italians are just but a few examples. From my interactions and observations, I have noted that many of them come to America to work for international companies that have invested in the US, some are businesspeople, tourists, international students and others have come to work in various private and public sector offices. These people have different cultures from those that exist in our American culture. For example, one thing which I noted among the Chinese is that they are more conservative unlike the Americans. Americans are more liberal in their behaviour. Seeing these people flock into my society has increased cultural consciousness in me and the need to work, live, interact and conduct business with them has motivated me to learn their cultures. Colonisation is a form of suppression but globalisation requires decolonisation of o ne’s mind. It requires that the form of liberation that will allow a person’s mind to wander off and integrate with the ideas, cultures and technologies brought in or developed by others. Without bragging, I must say that I have a liberal mind or rather, an uncolonised mind and this has enabled me to transform quickly into a better-rounded person. Heizo and

International law Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

International law - Research Paper Example However, the term genocide was not formed until 1944. Literature has evidenced that genocide is any act committed with the intention to destroy completely or in partiality, a racial, an ethnic, a religious, or a national group. The recorded genocides include 1904 in Namibia, 1915 in Armenia, 1932 in Ukraine, the 1944 Holocaust, 1975 in Cambodia, 1982 in Guatemala, 1994 Rwandese genocide, and the 1995 Bosnian genocide. This resulted in the signing of an international treaty to form the International Criminal Court that has the mandate to prosecute crimes of genocide. Under the international law, genocide is considered as a crime. In this perspective, the paper will discuss the genocide with reference to international law. The effort to define genocide dates back to 18th century. According to Scott, various conventions tried to give formal statement of war crimes as well as laws of war. The Geneva Conventions were a series of international treaties concluded in Geneva between 1864 and 1949 with an aim of restructuring the impact of war on civilians, prisoners, and soldiers. In 1864, the international negotiations resulted in the Convention for the Amelioration of the Wounded in time of War. It stipulated that: immunity from capture as well as destruction of all establishments from the treatment of wounded soldiers, unbiased treatment and reception of all combatants, and protection of civilians giving aid to the wounded, in addition to recognizing the Red Cross symbol as a means establishing people and equipment covered by the agreement. In 1864 the convention was ratified by all major European powers. It was amended and extended by the second Geneva Convention in 1906. The provisions were applied to t he maritime conflict via the Hague conventions of 1899 to 1907. They are the first multilateral treaties to address warfare conducts based on the Lieber Code. The codified law stipulated regulations, for example, in protection of civilians and

Software to support assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

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Oscilloscope and Digital Voltmeter Essay Example for Free

Oscilloscope and Digital Voltmeter Essay A voltmeter is an instrument used for measuring the electrical potential difference between two points in an electric circuit. Analog voltmeters move a pointer across a scale in proportion to the voltage of the circuit; digital voltmeters give a numerical display of voltage by use of an analog to digital converter. Voltmeters are made in a wide range of styles. Instruments permanently mounted in a panel are used to monitor generators or other fixed apparatus. Portable instruments, usually equipped to also measure current and resistance in the form of a multimeter, are standard test instruments used in electrical and electronics work. Any measurement that can be converted to a voltage can be displayed on a meter that is suitably calibrated; for example, pressure, temperature, flow or level in a chemical process plant. General purpose analog voltmeters may have an accuracy of a few per cent of full scale, and are used with voltages from a fraction of a volt to several thousand volts. Digital meters can be made with high accuracy, typically better than 1%. Specially calibrated test instruments have higher accuracies, with laboratory instruments capable of measuring to accuracies of a few parts per million. Meters using amplifiers can measure tiny voltages of micro volts or less. Part of the problem of making an accurate voltmeter is that of calibration to check its accuracy. In laboratories, the Weston Cell is used as a standard voltage for precision work. Precision voltage references are available based on electronic circuits. and supply voltage variations. To ensure that a digital voltmeters reading is within the manufacturers specified tolerances, they should be periodically calibrated against a voltage standard such as the Weston cell. Digital voltmeters necessarily have input amplifiers, and, like vacuum tube voltmeters, generally have a constant input resistance of 10 megohms regardless of set measurement range. A digital voltmeter, or DVM, is used to take highly accurate voltage measurements. These instruments measure the electrical potential difference between two conductors in a circuit. DVMs are electric voltmeters, and the preferred standard, as they offer several benefits over their analog counterparts. Voltmeters are used to measure the gain or loss of voltage between two points in a circuit. The leads are connected in parallel on each side of the circuit being tested. The positive terminal of the meter should be connected closest to the power supply. In turn, the negative terminal would be connected after the circuit being tested. The analog dial or digital display will exhibit the voltage measurement. In this circuit, Atmel AT89C51 microcontroller is used for controlling the ADC and LCD display devices. ADC 0804 is used for analog to digital conversion. Port2 of AT89C51 microcontroller is used to interface with LCD display. The control lines of LCD are interfaced with Port3 Register Select – P3.0 Read/Write – P3.1 Enable – P3.2 The 11.0592Mhz crystal is used. Theory behind calculation of Voltage divider circuit The input voltage to ADC should not increase 5V and the maximum I/p Voltage to voltmeter is 15V only. So, the design of voltage divider circuit as follows where Vmax = Maximum i/p voltage to voltmeter, Vip = i/p voltage to ADC R1 and R2 are resistance of voltage divider circuit. Digital voltmeters (DVM) The first digital voltmeter was invented and produced by Andrew Kay of Non-Linear Systems (and later founder of Kaypro) in 1954. Digital voltmeters are usually designed around a special type of analog-to-digital converter called an integrating converter. Voltmeter accuracy is affected by many factors, including temperature

History and background of medical tourism

History and background of medical tourism CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION The practice of travelling abroad to obtain medical and health care services is called as medical tourism. The benefits of medical tourism are getting widely popular among people because people are getting aware about the benefits of medical tourism like the lower cost of the medical procedures and can enjoy their holiday in a exotic location during the recovery period. This outsourcing for health care is grown as a new trend and many American and European tourists prefer medical tourism for cosmetic and medical procedures. The countries which are lack of advanced medical procedures leads the people living there to fly abroad to get appropriate medical services. The practice of travelling abroad is a trend which developed from the ancient period and there is a long history of people travelling to other countries for health purposes. In Italy and throughout the Roman provinces, the Ancient Romans constructed resorts with thermal health spas, and the Ancient Greeks would travel to [on the Saronic Gulf] to visit the sanctuary of the healing god, Asklepios, who revealed remedies to them in their dreams (Bookman and Bookman 2007: 4-5). From the 15th to 17th centuries, the poor sanitary conditions in Europe prompted an interest by the rich in medicinal spas, mineral springs and the seaside for health purposes. These wealthy individuals would also travel to renowned medical schools for medical assistance (Swarbrooke and Horner 2007: 16, 33). This continued into the 18th and 19th centuries where spa towns, particularly in the south of France, became popular for health cures, the sun, and escaping the cold climatic conditions in the north of Europe (Holden 2006: 21-23). The rapid urbanisation and social change experienced during Industrialisation aggravated the unsanitary and poor living environments in Britain and some sections of Europe, with anti-urban values and a growing concern for health developing as a result (Holden 2006: 30). The formation of the railways allowed increasing and diverse flows of people to more distant seaside and coastal resorts, which provided a distinctive and escapist environment from urban isation, and the opportunity to practice what was viewed as a healthy pastime of sun-seeking (Holden 2006: 30; Swarbrooke and Horner 2007: 16,33) Spa tourism and sun-seeking persisted into the 20th century. Medicinal springs, spas, Beaches and resorts, particularly in warm and dry climates, continued to be considered therapeutic through long exposures to the sun, fresh air and water (Swarbrooke and Horner 2007: 33).Thus it is easy to understand that the health tourism has developed from the ancient age with myths and beliefs and as cure from natural resources to the current stage of various medical and surgical procedures and cosmetic therapies and for alternative therapies like yoga, naturopathy and ayurvedic medicine. Michael Moody (2007) indicates that the medical tourism trend began when residents of one country would go to another country to have cosmetic or dental procedures completed while on vacation or to recover from such procedures in a vacation like destination. Today, countries like India, the East Indies, South America and South East Asia offer treatment facilities at par with international standards at just a fraction of cost. The factors such as high cost of healthcare in developed countries, long waiting list in government medical facilities and the reduction of air fare are the majority of reasons which contributed for the growth of the medical tourism. The hospitals in India, the East Indies, South American countries and South East Asia offer a high quality medical care which is par with international standards in very cheap money compared to developed nations. India is one of worlds favorite tourist destinations and has many hospitals of international standard and English speaking staffs and therefore there are less chances of language barrier for the western patients. India has alternative therapies like Yoga naturopathy siddha and ayurvedic medical practices. One of the recent survey conducted in India on the healthcare indicates that the medical tourism in India will grow to US $ 125 to 250 million in the year 2012.(CII McKinsey study).The low cost and high standard treatment and care are the reasons which accelerates the medical tourism in India. The following example will illustrate about the economical as well as tourist benefits of medical tourism in India. Howard Staab, a self-employed carpenter from North Carolina, flew to India for his medically necessary heart surgery, scheduled a side trip to the TajMahal, and returned home to work in North Carolina. He spent a total of less than $10,000, instead of the $200,000 required from t he local hospital ( Milstein and Smith 2006).This indicates that India has patients for procedures like heart surgery which requires state of art facilities and highly skilled medical team. Other than that it also shows the money difference when compared with developed nations. Kerala like any other states in India also has lot of potential to be a market leader in medical tourism. Kerala often described as Gods own countryis one of the favorite tourist destinations in India. The geography of Kerala is embellished with lush green coconut groves, scenic beaches, tranquil backwaters and enriched culture. There is a pride of place in the field of medicine for this Indian state and medical tourism is the new facet of Kerala. Medical tourism is very popular in some states of India and this study focuses on a city of Kerala state. Kerala is considered one of the most favorite tourist destinations in India because of its beaches, hills, lagoons, backwaters and enriched culture. This state has tremendous potential to boom its medical tourism and the tourism industry is promoting itself with several ayurvedic and health packages. This study focuses on the trends of medical tourism in the city of Trivandrum which is located on the southernmost state of India called Kerala. This city is the current capital of the state of Kerala and it is known for its scenic beauties and beaches.This city also has several international standard hospitals and traditional ayurvedic resorts and clinics. Objective of the Research Study The principle aim of this study was to investigate and critically analyse the recent trends in the medical tourism in the Trivandrum, the southernmost city of India. This study also analyses the behavior of the medical tourist and their expectations in the services provided by the hospital or the clinic and the tourist operators or agencies. This study also focuses to address the a gap that exists in similar study conducted before. The aim was to address the gap between available literature and demand for further research on the subject by adopting a clearly defined and structured research design, utilizing both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Find the factors that drive Medical Tourism in Trivandrum Analyse the issues which determine success of medical tourism in Trivandrum Identify the problems faced by Medical Tourism in Trivandrum Make suitable suggestions for improvement of Medical Tourism in Trivandrum Rationales The first and foremost reason for choosing the topic of the study is to lay out before the readers the state of the Indian medical tourism sector at a moment in time when it is in great flux. Moreover the author was working in one such hospital which was market leader in medical tourism in the city of Trivandrum. The medical tourism sector is believed to be a great boon of economical growth in Kerala and therefore by doing a study at this particular time may give readers awareness about the situation challenges and scopes. Other than that medical tourism it is an area of interest of the author as he wants to analyse the trends and issues involved in the medical tourism industry in Trivandrum city. The purpose of this research note is to outline some of the challenges and opportunities ahead, as health tourism finds its prominence in the practical and conceptual domains of tourism. Further there are predictions for Trivandrum city to flourish with medical tourism in next five to ten y ears and it is right time to analyse the challenges and scopes ahead. Structure of the study This study explores the trends of medical tourism in Trivandrum city and the issues around it. The need for further research on the topic has been established with carrying out a secondary research followed by primary research and by comparing evaluating the primary and secondary research. According to McDaniels carrying out exploratory research will gave the researcher clarification to understand the magnitude of topic area and thereby permitted a clearer and stronger perception of the environment and the situation which arise within it. (McDaniels, 2001). CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW The medical tourism has an advantage of providing cost effective medical care collaborating with the health care industry and with the travelling industry to the patients who need medical treatment in a location different to their home town. Thus medical tourism occurs with the combination of healthcare services and tourism and travel domain. The facts that led the growth of the medical tourism are the availability cheap and high quality medical care in one geographical location and existence of long queue of patients for medical procedure and high prices of medical care in one geographical region. The outcome of these factors is the growth of medical tourism resulting in people moving to another geographical location for health care. DEFINITION The term medical tourism is a term coined in recent period but the practise seems to exist from ancient period and the trends in medical tourism have changed with the time. The health tourist travel to their favourite destination for different medical and surgical procedures, cosmetic surgeries, alternative medicine, and spas and health resorts. The considerations and risk for different procedures vary accordingly. The medical tourism has gained social, economical and political interest but it has gained scant attention in tourism literature generally. Bookman and Bookman (2007) define medical tourism as travel with the aim of improving ones health, and also an economic activity that entails trade in services and represents the splicing of at least two sectors: medicine and tourism. The health tourism is seen as means of leisure oriented and stress relief as many people opt for sun and spas. Although there is no single definition for health tourism, it could be broadly defined as people traveling from their place of residence for health reasons (Ross 2001). Several demographic, economic, and lifestyle factors are driving such tourism (Handszuh and Waters 1997; Ross, 2001). Bennett et al. (2004: 123) acknowledge a liberal definition of health tourism would be any pleasure-orientated tourism which involves an element of stress relief, meaning it is an enjoyable and relaxing activity Pollock and Williams (2000: 165), Laws (1996 in Henderson 2004: 112) and tries to see the health tourism with the view that it is a separation between the ordinary and the extraordinary; the everyday world of work and home versus the combination of health and tourism in leisure, recreational and educational activities. Then Schofield has a view that health tourism is a means to achieve improvement in physical, mental and social well being. (Schofield 2004: 137). The above all definitions try to define health tourism as a means to escape from every day routine and improve stress free healthful life. Henderson (2004: 113) insists that health tourism as travel where the primary purpose is treatment in pursuit of better health that may involve hedonistic indulgences of spas and alternative therapies, while medical tourism incorporates health screening, hospitalization, and surgical operations. Ross (2001) after analysing various factors and literature tries to define health tourism as any kind of tourism that involves a person or his family member for the purpose of wellbeing and he considers that health tourism mainly focuses on two main domains as pampering and wellness. Pampering are services like massage, herbal wraps and exfoliating scrubs whereas wellness involves with improving physical and mental state and sometime it may involve with the treatment. MEDICAL TOURISM AND ITS TRENDS The concept of medical tourism have undergone many changes in recent times and there is a change in the trends like people from developed countries moving to developing countries for medical procedures for the difference in the cost. The global medical standards and regulations have been implemented in different countries and this in turn raises the number of people seeking cost advantage and best treatment in their preferred destination. The market of medical tourism depends on awareness and application of significant issues such as social diversities, consumer benefits, branding of products, legal frame work infrastructure, target markets, the actual product and communication channels (Dannell Mugumba).Therefore it is understood that the people from developed countries choose their destination after analysing various features and therefore there exist high competition between the countries to promote medical tourism. The one more key component in this medical tourism is the medical concierge services. These are medical travel companies that provide service to the traveller and they act as a link between tourist and the destination (Lagiewski, 2007).They have a vital role in the tourist experience from planning, stay, and post stages of the trip. The medical travel guide meets the tourist at the airport and he is the local agent who works as interpreter, guide and assists the tourist to stay in communication with his loved ones in his home. (Smith and Forgione, 2007). According to Connell (2006) the ability to the countries to ensure the medical tourist that healthcare is of safe quality is a vital factor and this will be the main barrier for a destination to promote itself as most favourite destination In order to combat this concern, international accrediting agencies are in the process of certifying the quality and safety of global healthcare delivery. The tourist decides to engage in medical tourism on the basis of five a factor identified by Lagieweskii.Her study identifies the first and foremost as the alternative healthcare facility to their countrys facility which should be of high standard and at affordable cost. This factor is the main factor and when the tourist is satisfied with first factor the next will be cost of treatment and travel of great importance. The tourist may seek other country because of the e big waiting list in their home country. There may be some reasons like remote destination for tourist for certain cosmetic proced ures. The nature of the country is also an important factor because tourist seeks a country free from risk factors associated with safety, security and actability. ( Lagiewski,2007). The country trying to make itself as most preferred destination for medical tourism it should emphasize on the fact that its overall appeal and the experiences offered to the other competing destinations. (Dwyer and Kim 2003).Dwyer and Kim insists that the destination should have the competitive advantage to become successful in the medical tourism industry. According to Dwyer and Kim the existence of two type of resource group may lead to achieve competitive advantage. They are the endowed resources and created resources. Endowed resources are natural heritage and cultural attributes to a specific destination and created resources are services associated with the tourist such as accommodation, food and beverage establishments, and manmade attraction. There can be created resources such as special events entertainment and shopping which adds extra value to he destination. There can be supporting factors such as general infrastructure; quality of service; accessibility of the destinat ion; hospitality of the host population; and market ties. Growth has been facilitated by the rise of the Internet, and the emergence of new companies, that are not health specialists, but brokers between international patients and hospital networks. It has also grown because of rapidly improving health care systems in some key countries, where new technologies have been adopted. Above all it has followed the deliberate marketing of health care (in association with tourism) as medical care has gradually moved away from the public sector to the private sector, ensuring that a growing majority of people, especially in the richest countries, and particularly in the United States, must pay-often considerably-for health care Finally, the factors like growth in medical tourism is done by the changing life style where people are ready to undergo cosmetic surgery, involving such elective procedures as rhinoplasty, liposuction, breast enhancement or reduction, LASIK eye surgery and so on, or more simply the removal of tattoos, have created new demands. Various forms of dental surgery, especially cosmetic dental surgery, are not covered by insurance in countries like the UK and Australia; hence dental tourism has become particularly common. In Asia these trends are the unlikely child of new global realities: the fallout of terrorism, the Asian economic downturn, internet access to price information, and the globalisation of health services (Levett, 2005) India and medical tourism India is a country of rich culture and heritage and one of the most favorite destinations for tourism. It is one of the existing oldest civilizations in the world for a period of more than 4000 years and it has fusion of traditions, customs and diversity. (myindia).The survey conducted by lonely planet about the worlds favourite tourist destination among 134 countries ranks India as one among the worlds top 5 tourist destination.(lonelyplanet) There are similar surveys and rankings for India as National Geographic describes India as Land of mystery and majesty. The company i explore also ranks India as one of the tp 5 destinations in world. The Forbes traveller states India as one the fast growing travel markets. (ICRImedical tourism) A number of destinations within India developed as havens for rest and recuperation such as hill stations at Darjeeling and the lakes in Kashmir where during the colonial era members of British era would retreat for cool breeze and a change of scenery. Late during the 19th century people began travelling India in search of alternative life style often focusing on yoga or meditation and following the footsteps of celebrities. India is building on these traditions as a wellness destination by a developing expertise in medical tourism (Garcia Altes 2005: conell 2006a). The main marketing segments for medical tourism in India are patients from USA and European and middle east nations, while growing niche is formed by Indian expatriates ,particularly those live in USA and the UK.(Conell 2006), who combine medical treatment with visits to family and friends. Medical tourism as a niche has emerged from the rapid growth of what has become an industry, where people travel often long distances to overseas countries to obtain medical, dental and surgical care while simultaneously being holidaymakers, in a more conventional sense. It has grown dramatically in recent years primarily because of the high costs of treatment in rich world countries, long waiting lists (for what is not always seen institutionally as priority surgery), the relative affordability of international air travel and favorable economic exchange rates, and the ageing of the often affluent post-war baby-boom generation. Growth has been facilitated by the rise of the Internet, and the emergence of new companies, that are not health specialists, but brokers between international patients and hospital networks. It has also grown because of rapidly improving health care systems in some key countries, where new technologies have been adopted. Above all it has followed the delibera te marketing of health care (in association with tourism) as medical care has gradually moved away from the public sector to the private sector, ensuring that a growing majority of people, especially in the richest countries, and particularly in the United States, must pay-often considerably-for health care Medical tourism is an important part of the Indian tourism industry and holds immense growth potential. The medical tourism sector had experienced a phenomenal growth in the flow of medical tourists from10,000 patients in 2000 to stupendous 180,000 by 2005. (Source: RNCOS report on Indian Tourism Industry Forecast (2007-2011) The Indian government takes meticulous steps in promoting medical tourism and it tries to increase the growth of foreign medical tourist by providing medical visas called M visas. These M visas are valid for one year and it is issued for the accompanies and Indian ministry of tourism has stocked its 13 overseas offices with information regarding these visas.( Meleigy) In 2002,2.2 million foreigners visited India :those numbers increased by 20 percent the following year(Mathew 2004).The tourist literature produced by the Indian government portrays India as a country rooted in tradition and also sufficiently modern to offer western style amenities (Bandyoupdhay and Morais 2005) A study by McKinsey and Confederation of Indian Industry says that at its current pace of growth, healthcare tourism alone can rake over 8,000 crore additional revenue by 2012.(cii mckinsey study) There are several states in India and the private hospitals in India target for the medical tourist other than the home patients. The southern state of Kerala which is very rich in culture and heritage and ancient medical practice like Ayurvediac ,Siddha and Yoga leads in attracting the foreign tourist for medical health and leisure tourism. Kerala Kerala is a bizarre anomaly among developing nations, a place that offers real hope for the future of the Third World. Consider: This small state in India, though not much larger than Maryland, has a population as big as Californias and a per capita annual income of less than $300. But its infant mortality rate is low, its literacy rate among the highest on Earth, and its birthrate below Americas and falling faster. Keralas citizens live nearly as long as Americans or Europeans. Though mostly a land of paddy-covered plains, statistically Kerala stands out as the Mount Everest of social development; theres truly no place like it. The National Geographic Traveler, which once made Kerala the cynosure of all eyes in the world travel circuit by describing it as one of the 50 paradises in the world. (National Geographic) Kerala is one of the most visited tourists destination of India. It is globally famous for its enchanting tourists attractions that are off beat than any other tourists places in the world. Every year hundred and thousands of tourists from all over the world come to Kerala to enjoy holidays in splendor. The state is endowed with palm fringed beaches, verdant hill stations, captivating beaches, emerald paddy fields, historical churches and more of all picturesque backwaters. This makes the marketing medical tourism easier in Kerala. Accreditation of health centers The quality of the medical care is the first and foremost factor considered by the medical tourist. According to the medical tourism association the accreditation is the means of way to attain safety and overall positive results to the patients who travel from one country to another for treatment purposes. The medical tourist can look into the accreditation to ensure the safety of the treatment in the hospital. The accreditation program is very essential to help patients, employers and insurance companies who can look into the accreditation status and thereby can find the hospitals with highest quality of care during their entire patient experience. The medical tourism industry grows day by day and therefore there is a necessity to ensure that hospitals, clinic and rehabilitation centers entering medical tourism posses proper infrastructure to meet the medical tourist. There is a need to certify that the center has proper communication facilities, transparency in quality and pricing, informed consent, proper medical care and further follow up facilities. The accreditation is focused on the fact that international patients have special needs and requirements than domestic patients. The accreditation is usually given by bodies which may by government or non government with the panel of expert members to examine and find whether the organization meets the requirements.(medical tourism association) The accreditation to the allopathic medical practice in Trivandrum is provided by the international accreditation bodies such as Joint Commission International (JCI), ISO 9001 2000 etc. Other than the international bodies Trivandrum city has hospitals certified by NABH, a board set up by government of India. (See appendix).These are the major accreditations of medical service in India. The ayurvedic practice is the unique specialty and most popular medical practice in India and they have accreditation done by Body set up by Government of Kerala as Green leaf and Olive leaf and green leaf is the highest degree of accreditation and its followed by olive leaf and these accreditation ensures the quality of ayurvedic treatment in Kerala. (expresshealthcare) Ayurvedic tourism in Kerala Kerala is usually marketed as a health destination for its ayurveda packages. Medical tourism is marketed along with ayurveda and other health packages. Kerala ayurveda tourism has becoming a huge selling point for Kerala tourism industry. State promotes Kerala ayurveda tourism as a part of medical tourism to the world. Today popularity of Kerala ayurvedic treatment has gained such a momentum that tourist from across the world come to Kerala to rejuvenate and for therapeutic treatment. Ayurvedic medical practice is the most ancient medical system originated in India before 10,000 years ago and in India the ayurvedic practice is more popular in kerala where it is practiced in traditional way. As per ayurveda specialists, the rainy season (June August) is the best time for ayurvedic treatments as the atmosphere remains dust free and cool, which helps open the pores of the body to the maximum.(Messerli and Oyama 2004) Ayurveda believes in the treatment of not just the affected part, but the individual as a whole. Kerala ayurvedic treatments and rejuvenation therapies are natural way to refresh and eliminate all toxic imbalances from the body and to regain resistance and good health. Most of the ayurvedictherapies help to strengthening the immune system, preventing and curing diseases without any side effects. There are number of resorts and hospitals throughout state which are integral parts of Kerala ayurveda tourism and offering customized ayurveda holiday packages which help you to rejuvenate the body and soul and to start a fresh life. Kerala ayurveda provides number of treatments ranging from de-stressing, anti-ageing, weight loss, joint pains and general rejuvenation. Elements of medical tourism in Trivandrm Review of similar studies.