Jane Austens The text of Persuasions from a cultural stand point

Jane Austen’s novel titled Persuasion is a captivating must-read chef-d’oeuvre that presents an expression of the profound concerns she raised about the use of persuasion and the levels at which individuals use it in her society. Persuasion has proved a working tool based on how it influences an individual’s choices.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Jane Austen’s ‘The text of Persuasions’ from a cultural stand point specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Although the book was tilted by her brother after she died, persuasion as a title suits it as the working theme of the entire story. Therefore, from a cultural point of view, as the paper exposes, Jane Austen highlights in the book her deep-seated concerns on cultural flaws through the voice of the heroine that determined the choices and the moral suasion of young women in her days. Jane Austen recognized that the societ y she lived had flaws some of which deserved moral questioning but remained unquestioned. Although she was herself lucky to receive a quality education, which led her to start her writings early in her life, Jane Austen, in this novel, expresses her concerns about the various flaws in the society through the story of the heroine Anne Elliot and entire Elliot’s family. In this society, a person’s identity was majorly based on class and not other factors that matter in the contemporary society such as intellect, ambition and abilities. For instance, choosing a suitor for a woman who wanted to marry was principally based on class. Seven years prior to the opening events in the story, Anne Elliot who was in love with the young navy officer by the name Fredrick Wentworth was persuaded to leave him on the basis that he was poor and did not belong to the gentry. This aspect of viewing people based on their social standing is among the cultural issues at the time that Jane Aus ten was raising concerns against in her book. As the documentation of her life reveals, Jane Austen refuses to be part of the machinery with which people around her made their decisions. The character Anne Elliot was influenced trough persuasion by her confidante to break the engagement with Fredrick Wentworth who later came into her life with his context totally changed and this time rich and successful. Anne Elliot struggles with her emotions and attraction to Fredrick when they later meet while staying with the Crofts. Fredrick had never forgiven her for rejecting him as it is revealed by the uncomplimentary comment he issues about Anne’s changed appearance. It is this social branding that trouble people later in their lives that Jane Austen was highlighting in the novel. To Jane Austen, persuasion faces moral dangers, as the decisions made afterward may not be to the person’s interest in the future. In Jane Austen’s society as depicted in ‘persuasionsà ¢â‚¬â„¢, a person’s place in the society was different from the manner it is in today’s society. An individual was not considered as so but as a social being whose place was influenced by their conduct and interactions with other people in the society. Manners were considered extraordinarily vital in depicting a person’s worth in the society.Advertising Looking for research paper on british literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Fredrick Wentworth is an admirable character in the book majorly because of his manners and an appealing character. Social interaction, which was the upheld expression in Jane Austen’s time, has been replaced by individualism. Appearing as a civilized person and upholding a strong sense were key factors for one to be considered as acceptable in the society. In choosing marriage partners, women had to look for suitors who fully conformed to a culturally set criterion. Th e role of the family to an individual, when making personal decisions, is highlighted by Jane in her book. In her society, when a woman wanted to marry, she had to seek advice from family members and take the opinions of the family members into keen consideration. According to Weissman, the character Anne Elliot made the decision to reject the marriage offer from the then young and poor Fredrick Wentworth after she was persuaded by her late mother’s confidante and her close friend the widow woman Russell (289). A person’s personal decision affected the entire family structure. That called for the need to make consultations whenever such a decision was to be made. Inviting Fredrick Wentworth to become a member of the family would interfere with the family esteem and their reputation as the gentry. In today’s society, a person makes a choice based on his/her personal interests without putting into consideration what people would say about the family. In matters to do with love, putting the opinions of others into consideration does not hold for many people. Ownership of property in Austen’s society was mainly determined by the family in which a man was born. Women in the 18th century were considered to be only in charge of the private lives while, on the other hand, men were considered determinants of the public affairs. As a result, women were not entitled to equal opportunities as men in that society. Jane Austen had the rare opportunity of receiving education through her father who was a member of the clergy. Women in that society were, therefore, not able to own property or even inherit from their fathers. Therefore, marriage was left as the only way through which a woman could change her social standing in the society. Through the depiction of the character of Anne Elliot as an intelligent and a courageous woman, Jane Austen introduces the notion of women as capable of doing the things that men are capable of and consequently tri ggered the women rights advocacy that came later. Anne administers first aid to Louisa when everyone else including Fredrick Wentworth just stood aside and watched thinking that she is dead. The place of the woman in that society is depicted as mainly indoors is challenged in ‘persuasions’.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Jane Austen’s ‘The text of Persuasions’ from a cultural stand point specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Through Anne Eliot’s words, Austen makes a remark about the women’s condition as living under the mercy of males and only recording history. â€Å"Men have had every advantage of us in telling their own story†¦the pen has been in their hands, and I will not allow books to prove anything† (Spacks 277). Anne Elliot is the first character that Jane Austen used in her work that is well past the bloom of youth and yet hopeful for a l ove filled future life. Jane Austen writes, â€Å"Anne longed for the power of representing to them all what they were about and of pointing out some of the evils they were exposing themselves to and she did not attribute guile to any† (Spacks 279). The happy conclusion of the book places it among the best fairy tales, which uplifts the woman and portrays the woman’s eminent victory in the end. In cases where England was involved in warfare, this was considered as just a war of making a fortune. There was no discussion before this as to whether gaining through engaging in warfare was ethical. Young men whose situations would not allow them to inherit joined the army to make a living. Fredrick Wentworth was rejected on the basis that she did not possess the economic and social status qualifications and so he decided to join the navy to be able to change his situation. â€Å"The navy, I think, who have done so much for us, and have at least an equal claim with any other set of men, for all the comforts and all the privileges which any home can give. Sailors work hard enough for their comforts, we must all allow†(Johnson 280). The morality of gaining through conquering other people was not questioned before Jane Austen wrote ‘persuasions’. Jane Austen’s brothers significantly succeed in the Royal Army. Therefore, based on the expositions made in the paper, persuasion stands out as the means that Austen used to address the then society’s cultural weaknesses. She assertively urged women of her time to accord her the due support to fight the intolerable cultural issues that had taken hold of the then society. Considering the time when Jane Austen wrote ‘Persuasions’, there was the belief that the English society, as well as the English institutions, were superior to others from anywhere else in the world. Jane Austen, therefore, pioneered the struggle for the change of cultural norms that were elevated by these institutions. Otherwise, Jane Austen’s Persuasion is an informative piece of masterwork. Works Cited Johnson, Claudia. The Unfeudal Tone of the Present Day. The text of persuasion. The  Text of Persuasion. New York: Norton, 1995. Print.Advertising Looking for research paper on british literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Spacks, Patricia. Anne Elliot’s Education: The learning of romance in persuasion. The  Text of Persuasion. New York: Norton, 1995. Print. Weissman, Cheryl. Doubleness and Refrain in Jane Austen’s Persuasion. The text of  Persuasion. New York: Norton, 1995. Print. This research paper on Jane Austen’s ‘The text of Persuasions’ from a cultural stand point was written and submitted by user Giovanna C. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Norovirus and gastrointestinal disease The WritePass Journal

Norovirus and gastrointestinal disease Introduction Norovirus and gastrointestinal disease IntroductionVirologyClassificationStructureBiologyNorovirus Replication StrategyInfectivity of NorovirusEpidemiologyGeographic and Temporal DistributionTransmissionClinical featuresPathogenesisPrevention and controlRecent knowledge on contamination, sanitation and personal hygieneTreatmentHealth impact of Norovirus outbreaks in the coming eraReferencesRelated Introduction Norovirus is currently recognized as the most important non-bacterial pathogen causing gastroenteritis. It is believed that majority of gastroenteritis that occur throughout the globe is attributed to Norovirus. Norovirus was first recognised through immunoelectron microscopy (IEM) in 1972. However, it is only over the past decade that Norovirus has been of great interest to the basic scientists, virologists, epidemiologists and public health experts. There is no doubt that outbreaks or epidemics of Norovirus in the coming years will challenge the medical community to the limit. Globalisation has created a single, very mobile mega-population of people on earth in which more viruses can thrive, and, a highly infectious illness caused by Norovirus can spread rapidly, thus creating epidemics or even pandemics. The potential breakthrough in the development of Norovirus vaccine with the development of effective antigenic viral-like particles (VLP), and the recognition that Norovirus evolv es with antigenic drift will pose exciting challenges to all stakeholders. The other challenges or obstacles which we face include understanding the pathogenesis of the Norovirus in the gastrointestinal tract and identifying the site in the gastrointestinal tract which the virus replicates. This knowledge will hopefully allow the development of targeted antiviral therapy and thus prevent manifestation of severe clinical symptoms. This is a review of this very exciting, virus and I have chosen to amalgamate the current literatures into the following topics: Virology- Classification and structure Biology- Replication and infectivity Epidemiology- Geographic and temporal distribution Transmission Clinical features Pathogenesis Immunity Prevention and control Recent knowledge on contamination/sanitation and personal hygiene Vaccine development Treatments- Current and future Health impact of Norovirus outbreaks in the coming era Virology Classification Although Norovirus was first viewed in 1972, it was not until 1990 when it was classified. Classification of Norovirus could finally be performed due to the successful cloning of the viral genome (1). Molecular cloning and characterisation of Norovirus genome allowed this virus to be classified as a member of Caliciviridae family and it is known as a Group B Biodefense Pathogen. Caliciviruses are small (27-40nm), non-enveloped, icosahedral particles with single-stranded RNA of positive polarity. The name calicivirus comes from the Latin word calyx, meaning â€Å"cup† or â€Å"goblet†, which describes the cup-shaped depression, as observed under electron microscopy. Although they share similar features to that of the picornaviruses, caliciviruses are distinguished from their counterpart by having a larger genome and having distinctive spikes on the surface. Another example of calicivirus is the Hepatitis E virus (2). Currently, there are a few serotypes of Norovirus whic h were successfully identified through immunoelectron microscopy (IEM) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent essay (ELISA), which are represented by Norwalk virus (NV), Hawaii virus (HV), Snow Mountain agent (SMA), Desert Shield virus (DSV) and Southampton virus. (1). Currently, there are five main genogroups of Norovirus being identified (GI, GII, GIII, GIV and GV). Noroviruses, which can be found in humans, are from three genogroups (GI, GII and GIV). However, those that are commonly isolated in cases of acute gastroenteritis in humans belong only to two genogroups (GI and GII), which can then be further divided into genetic cluster or genotypes (i.e GI.1, GII.15, GIV.2 etc). There are now, at least 25 genotypes of Norovirus which were successfully identified, with the prototype Norwalk virus being labelled as GI.1 (Genogroup I, genotype 1) (3) and present within this genotype are numerous subtypes. The presence of this diversity of Norovirus strains are mainly due to both the accumulation of point mutations associated with error-prone RNA replication and to recombination between two related viruses (4, 5).   Genogroup I (GI) includes76 Norwalk virus, Desert Shield virus and Southampton virus and Genogroup II (GII), includes Bristol virus, Lor dsdale virus, Toronto virus, Mexico virus, Hawaii virus and Snow Mountain virus. Norwalk virus (NV), Snow Mountain virus (SMV), and Hawaii virus (HV) are the prototype strains of genotypes GI.1, GII.2, and GII.1 and are the causative agents of an estimated 5%, 8%, and 7% of Norovirus outbreaks, respectively (6). Genogroups III and V (GIII and GV) have only been identified in animals. Structure Through structural studies and visualisation of Norovirus by electron microscopy, it is now proven   that the Norovirus is composed of 90 dimers of the major capsid protein VP1 and one or two copies of the minor structural protein VP2 (7) which recognizes the histo-blood group antigens, which are regarded as receptors and host-susceptibility factors for infection (3). Figure 1. Structure of Norwalk Virus and Genome Non-enveloped, T=3 icosahedral symmetry, about 23-40 nm in diameter. Each virus particle is composed of 180 molecules of VP1 proteins which form 90-arch-like capsomers at all the local and strict twofold axes surrounding the hollows. The proteins in the capsid then folds into two main domains which are, the shell (S) domain and the protruding (P) domain, which contains two further subdomains, P1 and P2. The protruding, P domain functions to increase the stability of the capsid by increasing the intermolecular contacts between the dimeric subunits, thus, leading to speculation that it may control the size of the capsid. However, the S domain contains all the necessary protein requirements to initiate the assembly of the capsid (8). Norovirus has single stranded RNA genome and is predicted to contain three open reading frames (ORF) (9). The Norovirus genome is linear and contains approximately 7600 nucleotides (nt) (Southampton virus-7708nt, Lordsdale virus- 7555nt) (10).   The ORF1 (a polyprotein that contains sequence of amino acid which shows much similarity to that of Picornaviruses) is predicted to encode the capsid protein. ORF1 may be cleaved by 3CL proteases into 6 proteins (11). ORF2 and ORF3 are not shown in the diagram. However, until now, it is not known whether these ORF would be translated or what the function of its translated protein would be. In a recent study, Norovirus- like particles was viewed under atomic force microscopy. Scientist exposed the Norovirus-like particles in environments with PH ranging from 2 to 10. This range of pH values represents the pH of the natural environment in which Norovirus thrives. The study revealed that the Norovirus-like particles were resistant to indentation of measure of 300 bar at acidic and neutral pH. However, when the Norovirus-like particles were subjected to same indentation at a pH of 10, the capsid failed to regenerate and was irreversibly destroyed (12). All these studies which are still at an early stage will pave the way for further understanding of Norovirus. Biology Norovirus Replication Strategy Progress on understanding the basic mechanisms of virus replication has been far slower due to the inability to cultivate virus in the laboratory. Therefore, the replication strategy of this virus remains speculative and is presumed that its replication cycle is of a similar manner to that of picornaviruses (2).   As in the picornaviruses, the viral particle will bind to the cell surface receptors. This will result in a conformational change in the viral capsid proteins, and thus, releasing myristic acid (a common saturated fatty acid). This acid then helps in forming a pore in the cell membrane of the host cell and through this tiny hole; the RNA of the virus is injected (101). Once inside the cell, the RNA unwinds and the positive strand RNA genome is replicated through a double-stranded RNA intermediate which is formed using viral RDRP (RNA-Dependent RNA polymerase). Translation by host cell ribosomes is not initiated by the usual 5 G cap; instead it is initiated by IRES (Intern al Ribosome Entry Site). The viral replication cycle is short and it takes approximately 8 hours to complete one cycle of replication. Within 30 minutes after initial infection, cell protein synthesis – essentially the macromolecular synthesis of cell is â€Å"shut off†. Over the next one to two hours there is a loss of margination of chromatin and homogeneity in the nucleus. This is followed by synthesis of the viral proteins. Subsequently, a vacuole appears in the cytoplasm close to the nucleus and this vacuole gradually starts to coalace covering the whole cell. After 3 hour time, the cell plasma membrane becomes permeable and at 4–6 hours the virus particles assemble, and occasionally could be seen in the cytoplasm. At about 8 hours, the dead cell lyses and releases the viral particles (101). Infectivity of Norovirus Studies of the stability and hardiness of Norovirus have been done by experimental infection on humans. As Norovirus is the most important cause of food and waterborne disease, it is not unexpected that it is resistant to inactivation by treatment with chlorine concentrations which is usually used in drinking water (1). Norovirus can retain its infectivity   even after:- i) exposure to pH2.7 for 3 hours at room temperature, ii) treatment with 20% ether at 4 °C for 24 hours, or iii) incubation at 60 °C for 30 min (13). Norovirus can also retain infectivity after freezing (14). Recent reports have shown that through current sensitive antigen detection methods, Norovirus excretion was detected in 90% of ill volunteers. Viral shedding peaks 1-3 days after onset of symptoms, and studies have shown that the viral antigen may be shed for up to 56 days. Shedding of virus can occur in asymptomatic individuals and it can be prolonged in immunocompromised people. Also, antigen shedding can precede illness (15hr after infection and before symptomatic illness) (15). Epidemiology The successful cloning and expression of the Norovirus genome has led to the development of new assays which has allowed various epidemiological studies to be performed. Recent epidemiological studies have indicated that the infection with Norovirus is much more widespread than previously recognised (16). Geographic and Temporal Distribution Norovirus is highly infectious and can be spread easily from one person to another and is the leading cause of epidemic gastroenteritis in both the developed and developing countries. However, this epidemic gastroenteritis is usually mild, thus, differentiating it from infantile gastroenteritis (which is mainly caused by Rotavirus), which is a much more severe, and often life threatening diarrheal illness in infants and young children. Incidence of infection by Norovirus has been detected in all continents, and therefore, it has a global distribution. It has been quoted that in the United States, more than 90% of the outbreaks of gastroenteritis in the community, for which the cause was previously unknown, can now be attributed to Norovirus (2). Infection by Norovirus do occur all year round, however, its incidence is markedly increased during cold weather months (17).   Outbreaks typically occur in group settings such as cruise ships, schools, camps hospitals and nursing home wher e people gather in confined areas (2) and target a number of high risk populations, particularly young children and the elderly, travellers, soldiers and immunocompromised patients or those who are recipient of organ transplant. Every year, up to 1 million people in the UK are thought to be infected by Norovirus (18). If the Norovirus is brought into the hospital environment by someone incubating the infection, then it can easily spread to vulnerable hospital patients and also to staff. It is known to cause large outbreaks of infection in hospital which results in a lot of patients and staff being affected leading to closure of wards in order to prevent further spread. This has posed a huge problem on care provision. Hospitals, therefore, have very strict policies in place to control the spread of Norovirus which will be discussed later. Transmission Humans are believed to be the only host of the human Norovirus. Norovirus is transmitted mainly by the fecal-oral route. However, it can also be transmitted through infected vomitus (3) and there is currently increasing evidence that it can be transmitted through airbourne or fomite transmission (19 20). The infection of Norovirus is enhanced by several features which facilitate their spread. First, it has a low infection dose (approximately 18 to 1000 viral particles) (21) which allow the virus to spread through droplets, person-to-person contact and through environmental contamination. Secondly, excretion of virus in stools continued for several weeks even after recovery, thus, increases the risk of secondary spread which is a particular concern among food handlers and family members (22). Thirdly, the virus is resistant to a wide range of temperatures, chemicals and pH. The virus is able to persist on environmental surfaces and contaminated objects eg   in swimming pools, conta minated drinking water, ice, bakery products and also in raw oysters, fruits and vegetables which are eaten uncooked and cold foods (celery, melon, vermicelli, sandwiches and cold cooked ham) (3). Fourthly, due to the fact that there is a great diversity of Norovirus strains and the lack of long term immunity, it can result in occurrence of repeated infection throughout life. Finally, the Norovirus genome can also undergo mutations, which causes antigenic shift and recombination, which result in evolution of new strains of Norovirus which are capable of infecting hosts. Asymptomatic infections do occur, and such person may be the carriers of some outbreaks. In recent time, there is an increased in outbreaks in military camps and with the elderly who are staying in nursing or shelter homes, and also in hospital settings (19 20). These infections can be catastrophic because of high secondary attack rates, and such outbreaks can last for several months (18). Clinical features An unresolved problem related to transmission of Norovirus is how long an affected individual can stay infectious. Firstly, the incubation period of the virus is 10-51 hours. The main symptoms are sudden onset of vomiting (more common in children) and abdominal cramps (in 37-45% of the cases) followed by watery diarrhoea (more common in adults). The stools usually do not contain any blood or mucus and asymptomatic infection do occur in approximately 1/3 of the population. The duration of symptomatic illness lasts between 1-3 days (28-60 hr) but can last longer (4-6 days) in nosocomial outbreaks (3) and among children younger than 11 years of age (22). In 15% of patients, it lasts longer than 3 days. The illness also lasts longer in immunocompromised patients and in people with chronic illnesses (3). In immunocompetent adults, the course of Norovirus infection is rapid, with an incubation period of 24–48 hours and resolution of symptoms within 12–72 hours (23). The infec tion is usually less severe compared to other diarrheal infection. However, it can lead to dehydration and requires hospitalization, especially among children with an age of 5 yrs and adults, 65 yrs. Fatalities have been reported in relation to outbreaks of gastroenteritis among the elderly in nursing homes (24) and in the United Kingdom, there is an estimate of about 80 deaths from Norovirus every year among people who are older than 64 years of age (25). However, there are usually no long term effects of Norovirus infection and majority of patients recovers fully. Pathogenesis Because of the failure to cultivate the Norovirus in laboratory properly, our knowledge regarding the pathogenesis of Norovirus come mainly from physical, histological and biochemical studies on infected volunteers who took part in surveys. Proximal intestinal biopsy specimens were taken from ill volunteers and histological changes were compared to healthy individuals. Ill volunteers showed broadening and blunting of intestinal villi, crypt cell hyperplasia, cytoplasmic vacuolization and infiltration of polymorphonuclear and mononuclear cells into the lamina propria but the mucosa itself remaining intact. No histological changes were seen in the gastric fundus or in antrum or colonic mucosa (26). The extent of small intestine involvement remains unknown because studies have only examined the proximal small intestine, and the site of replication of the virus has yet to be identified. Studies have shown that small intestinal brush border enzymatic activity (alkaline phosphatase, sucras e and trehalase) were reduced, resulting to steatorrhea (lipids in stools) and transient carbohydrate malabsorption (27). Jejunal adenylate cyclase activity was not elevated (28) and changes in gastric secretion of hydrochloric acid (HCL), pepsin and intrinsic factor have been linked to these histological changes. In addition, gastric emptying was delayed and the reduced gastric motility may result in nausea and vomiting associated with this gastroenteritis. The binding specificity of Norovirus is based on the histo-blood group antigens. These histo-blood group antigens are complex carbohydrates (oligosaccharides) linked to proteins or lipids and are located on the mucosal epithelial of the digestive tracts and are present as free oligosaccharides in saliva and milk (29). The three major families of histo-blood group antigens- ABO, Lewis and secretor families- are involved in the binding of Norovirus (29). Different Norovirus genotypes have different affinity for ABO antigens. For example, GI Norovirus has a higher affinity for blood group antigens A and O whereas GII Norovirus has a higher affinity for blood group antigens A and B (30). The P2 domain on the viral capsid plays a key role in the binding of these Norovirus to the histo-blood group antigens (31). Prevention and control Outbreaks of Norovirus can result in loss of income and significant morbidity because of frequent secondary transmission of the disease. Places which are more prone to Norovirus outbreaks and are of particular concern are normally places with a closed environment such as hospitals, nursing homes, ships and planes. Because Norovirus is highly infectious and spreads easily, and can be spread via asymptomatic individuals, the prevention of Norovirus outbreaks has become a major obstacle and poses a challenge for us. Norovirus can begin with a single common source of contaminated food (i.e. raw oysters, fruits and vegetables) and can rapidly spread like wildfire through person-to-person contact. Stopping an outbreak of Norovirus requires herculean efforts to sterilise   and clean the environment (eg. on cruise ships, camp sites, nursing home, hospital wards or disaster sites), and even then, the epidemics will only subside once the viral pool have been totally eradicated (32,33). No specific methods are available for complete prevention of Norovirus infection or illness due the agent being extremely contagious. Therefore, control efforts are targeted and focused on identifying the source and the subsequent removal of that source (eg, an infected food handler, contaminated water supply or even contaminated food supply, which is often the case with fruits and shellfish- in particular, oysters) which will then reduce the chance of the virus spreading (34). It is advised that ill food handlers should not be able to retain to their job and that strict personal hygiene be enforced among food handlers as they are one of the main causes of outbreaks. However, even under these strict regulations, both measures have shown limited success. The key to stopping the continuous spread of outbreaks is by preventing the secondary spread of the virus which spread through person-to person contact and from contaminated environmental surfaces which normally occur in cruise ships and other institutions. The fact that asymptomatic infection can occur and that the antigen can still be shed 2-3 weeks after exposure need to be kept in mind to facilitate the managing of outbreaks. Methods to manage the outbreak of Norovirus infection will probably improve in the near future as new tests are being carried out in epidemiological research of virus transmission. Recent knowledge on contamination, sanitation and personal hygiene In an outbreak, whether in a hospital or other environment, various methods can be enforced to reduce the spread of Norovirus infection. It is also important to note that Norovirus gastroenteritis, which is highly contagious tend to spread in crowded areas and may be difficult to control, therefore, below, are just a few techniques which can help in controlling this spread. Proper hand washing techniques and washing hands with soap and water is the key to preventing Norovirus from spreading. Note that, alcohol hand gel does not kill the virus entirely, but it may still be useful in areas where water is inaccessible. Also, the efficacy of the alcohol based sanitizers depends on the alcohol type and concentrations as well as the amount of viral particles present (35). * Medical staff and aid workers should clean their hands prior to and after touching any patient but it is particularly important that staffs wash their hands with soap and water after attending to a Norovirus patient to prevent the infection from spreading from one patient to another patient via their hands. Staffs should also be educated about the importance of personal hygiene and about the importance of washing hands. * Visiting relatives of patients in hospitals should also wash their hands with soap and water after visiting a ward which has Norovirus and they should not interact with other patients other than the person they have come to visit. * Staff and visitors should wash their hands before handling food and after visiting the toilet. Hand washing facilities should also be provided especially in high risk areas which are prone to Norovirus infection, such as bathrooms, eating areas, diaper-changing areas and even day care centres. * Proper hand washing techniques (eg. Rub palm to palm with fingers interlaced and rub back of each hand with palm of the other hand with fingers interlaced) should also be advised and encouraged. * Strict personal hygiene among food handlers and aid workers should be enforced to prevent outbreaks of Norovirus. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Isolating patients with the virus. *Patients with Norovirus must immediately be isolated from non-infected patient until their symptoms subside. The infected patient should be placed in a single room, but if there are a few cases of infection on the ward, infected patients should then be nursed in a dedicated bay. If there are a large number of cases, the ward should be close to new admissions. Visiting should also be restricted to prevent visitors getting the infection and thus, preventing the subsequent secondary infection of the disease. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cleaning. *Enhanced cleaning using bleach-containing products are needed to eradicate Norovirus from the environment. Vomit and diarrhoea must be cleaned up immediately and general ward cleaning must be increased. Alcohol based surface disinfectants are usually insufficient. Waste should also be dumped properly in the allocated bins. *Aggressive environmental sanitization by cleaning with proper surface disinfectants and sterilisation of bathroom surfaces, bedding and lines are also essential to decrease secondary spread (32). * Studies have shown that when bleaching agent is used on feline caliciviruses, it can inactivate the activity of the virus. Also, the effect of the bleaching agent is superior compared to that of ammonium compounds or phenols (36). 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Symptomatic people must stay away from hospital. *Staff and visitors who develop symptoms must not come into the hospital and they must remain away from the hospital until they have been free of symptoms for 48-72 hours. Staff must be cleared by occupational health before returning to work. Immunity and Vaccine Developed To develop future vaccines for the prevention of Norovirus infection, the nature of the immunity to Norovirus is of particular importance. In an early study of immunity of the human response system to Norovirus illness, some volunteers who became ill after being exposed to the virus had partial immunity to the disease upon exposure 6 to 14 weeks later, but lost the immunity 27 to 42 months later (37). However, recent studies have shown that these early finding may be inaccurate, since the dose required to infect 50% of volunteers is as low as 18 infectious particles, whereas the dose used in the early study was more than 105 time higher (21). Immunity developed from exposure to a lower dose of Norovirus might be greater and more cross-reactive than immunity against a much higher dose. Therefore, studies on this possibility are still on going. The high incidence of illness caused by Norovirus infections especially among both the young and the elderly have led to some investigations to consider the potential role of vaccines in helping to regulate this infection. The vaccine should be designated towards specific target groups, such as infants (as part of their routine schedule for childhood immunization), the elderly, food handlers, military personnel, travellers, health care workers and nurses in day-care centres (3). The development of vaccines could also play a role in helping to reduce the number of childhood mortality and controlling diarrheal disease in infants. In a recent study, it is noted that 15% of hospitalization of children for diarrhoea in India and 31% in Peru were associated with Norovirus infection (38) and these percentages may be contributing greatly towards the estimated 1.6 million children who die each year from diarrhoea. Nevertheless, recent breakthrough in research has successfully produced Norovir us-like particles (NVLP). These particles have almost identical characteristics to the original Norovirus as it has resistant properties towards acidic pH and is also heat-stable. When these particles are given orally or intranasally to human, it can produce an antigenic effect, stimulating the production of anti-Norovirus antibodies (B and T cell responses) within the human body (39). Therefore, these particles are now being studied, hoping that it could be used as a platform and lead us to discovering a cure one day. However, there are many obstacles towards the development of a vaccine for Norovirus. Firstly, there is certainly a lack of understanding of the physiology of the virus due to the failure to cultivate them in laboratories. Thirdly, there is limited understanding on why individuals cannot develop long term immunity towards the virus. Furthermore, the virus can also withstand a wide range of temperatures and pH thus increasing their survivability. Also, the virus has multiple routes of transmission, and finally, the Norovirus strain is rapidly evolving and mutating, thus, posing a major challenge for us in developing a vaccine, which is much similar to the situation to that of the influenza viruses. Similar to that of the influenza virus, the Norovirus can accumulate point mutation in the outer capsid wall which may result in unique immunoglobulin binding sites (18). Therefore, this antigenic drift will result in the formation of new strains of Norovirus and will require the reformatio n of the vaccines annually (39). Epidemic surveillance using recent updated epidemiological data will allow the identification of predominant strains and identifying a reference vaccine strain each year, similar to the situation of that of the influenza virus (38). Studies on the testing of vaccines are still at an early stage and much work still has to be done. Treatment As discussed above, the symptoms caused by Norovirus are generally mild and self-limited and resolves itself. Currently, there is still no specific treatment for a Norovirus infection apart from letting the infection run its course. Individuals who come down with Norovirus illness do not necessarily need to visit a doctor. Instead, the individual should stay home, to prevent the illness from passing to other people in a community, take paracetamol when necessary to relieve any symptoms or fever and most importantly, oral rehydration, by drinking plenty of water to replace the fluid lost through diarrhoea and vomiting. If an individual is having problems to retain fluids, he/she should try to take in small sips more frequently to ensure one is rehydrated. Rehydration solution can also be consumed to restore all the salts and minerals which were lost during diarrhoea and vomiting. This rehydration solution normally comes in powder form which can then be added with water for drinking. F or individuals who are suffering from severe dehydration, immediate hospitalization is necessary. Fluids should then be given directly into the body by a naso-gastric tube or intravenously. Antimotility agents such as Loperamide may be useful in helping to regulate diarrhoea in individuals with severe symptoms. Opioids are also useful in regulation of diarrhoea by reducing peristalsis. Anti-emetics such as Chlorpromazine, Acepromazine and Metoclopramide may be useful in helping to control vomiting by inhibiting the D2, Dopamine receptors which are found on the chemical trigger zone of the brain. Individuals suffering from Norovirus illness are advised to consume a light diet of foods that are easily digested, such as soup, rice, pasta and bread, but babies should be given their normal feed throughout (102). It has been shown that interferon and ribavirin can effectively inhibit the replication of Norovirus in replicon-bearing cells (40), but their potential therapeutic value needs t o be further investigated. Currently, there are still no anti-viral medications to treat Norovirus. Future research to locate the site of the gastrointestinal tract where the virus replicates may result in development of more specific antiviral therapies targeting the viral replication process. The drugs stated above are only used to control symptoms of Norovirus infection. However, due to the continuous advancement of the field of medicine, all these may change, and once the virus can successfully be propagated in laboratories, studies on them can be conducted which may finally lead us to a cure for Norovirus. Health impact of Norovirus outbreaks in the coming era Norovirus would be with mankind for years to come and even though a vaccine is in the process of being developed, it will require a few more years for it to be perfected. In this era of globalisation, travelling has become a norm in our lives. Every year, it is estimated that approximately 1 billion people travel around the globe for various purposes. Travellers may include tourists, business people, soldiers, refugees, migrants etc. Therefore, from a virus perspective, there will be a linkage of people all around the world with plenty of susceptible individuals which can be infected. For example, through air travel, the virus can be passed on from one continent to another, within a couple of days, and this can result in a pandemic. Currently, travel industry has increased by leaps and bounds. Planned vacations are almost the norm for everyone. Travellers especially vacationers inflicted with Norovirus will almost certainly ruined their travelling plans. On cruise ships or other confined environments, outbreaks of Norovirus can literally bring all leisure activities to a standstill. As global warming continues to be abated, natural disasters like hurricanes, typhoon, and floods appear to be common events. Congregation of people in crowded relief centres, like what happened during the Katrina Hurricane disaster, will form fertile ground for Norovirus to spread. Failure to control the outbreaks will compound the calamites (disasters) and disrupt relief effort. Lastly, as the world is rapidly greying especially in the developed countries, many old aged people will be housed in nursing homes. These confined homes are again sitting duck for Norovirus to strike. As the morbidity and mortality of old people are much worse in Norovirus infection, outbreaks could prove disastrous to these cohorts of greying population. References Richman D D, Whitley RJ Hayden FG Clinical Virology. 2nd ed. Washington: ASM Press; 2002. Levinson W Medical Microbiology Immunology. 8th ed. United States: Lange; 2004. Roger, I. Glass, Umesh, D. Parashar and Mary, K. Estes. Norovirus Gastroenteritis. N Engl J Med 2009;361:1776-85. Nayak MK, Balasubramanian G, Sahoo GC, et al. Detection of a novel intergenogroup recombinant Norovirus from Kolkata, India. Virology 2008;377:117-23. Bull RA, Tanaka MM, White PA. Norovirus recombination. J Gen Virol. 2007;88:3347-59. Fankhauser RL, J. S. Noel, S. S. Monroe, T. Ando, and R. I. Glass. Molecular epidemiology of Norwalk-like viruses in outbreaks of gastroenteritis in the United States. J. Infect. Dis. 1998;178:1571-1578. Michele E. Hardy Norovirus protein structure and function. DOI 2006;10.1016. Bertolotti-Ciarlet A, White LJ, Chen R, Venkataram P and Estes MK. Structural Requirements for the assembly of Norwalk virus-like particles. J. Virol 2002;76:4044-55. Zheng D, Ando T, Frankhauser RL, Beard RS, Glass RI, Monroe SS. Norovirus classification and proposed strain nomenclature. J. Virol 2006;346:312-23. Dingle KE, Lambden PR, Caul EO, Clarke IN. Human enteric Calicivirdae: the complete genome sequence and expression of virus-like particles from a genetic group II small round structured virus. J. Gen. Virol. 1995;76:2349-55. Belliot G, Sosnovtsev SV, Mitra T, Hammer C, Garfield M, Green KY. In vitro proteolytic processing of the MD145 Norovirus ORF1 nonstructural polyprotein yields stable precursors and products similar to those detected in Calcivirus-infected cells. J. Virol. 2003; 77:10957-74. Cuellar JL, Meinhoevel F, Hoehne M, Donath E. Size and mechanical stability of norovirus capsids depend on pH: a nanoindentation study. J Gen Virol. 2010; 91:2499-56. Dolin, R., N. R. Blacklow, H. DuPont, R. F. Buscho, R. G. Wyatt, J. A. Kasel, R. Hornick, and R. M. Chanock. Biological properties of Norwalk agent of acute infectious nonbacterial Cannon RO, Poliner JR, Hirschhorn RB, Rodeheaver DC, Silverman PR, Brown EA, Talbot GH, Stine SE, Monroe SS, Dennis DT and Glass RI. A multistate outbreak of Norwalk virus gastroenteritis associated with consumption of commercial ice.   J. Infect Dis. 1991; 164:860-863. Graham DY, Jiang X, Tanaka T, Opekun AR, Madore HP, Estes MK. Norwalk virus infection of volunteers: new insights based on improves assays. J. Infect. Dis 1994; 170:34-43. Inouye SK, Yamashita SY, Yoshikawa M, Kato N, Okabe N. Surveillance of viral gastroenteritis in Japan: paediatric cases and outbreak incidents. J. Infect. Dis 2000;181:S270-74. Adler JL, and Zickl R. Winter vomiting disease. J. Infect. Dis. 1969;119:668-73. Nilsson M, Hedlund KO, Thorhagen M, et al. Evolution of human caliciviruses RNA in vivo: accumulation of mutations in the protruding P2 domain of the capsid leads to structural changes and possibly a new phenotype. J. VIrol 2003;77(24):13117-24. [PubMed:14645568] Caul EO. Small round structured viruses: airbourne transmission and hospital control. Lancet 1994; 343:1240-41. Chadwick PR, McCann R. Transmission of a small round structured virus by vomiting during a hospital outbreak of gastroenteritis. J. Hosp. Infect. 1994; 26:251-59. Teunis PF, Moe CL, Liu P, et al. Norwalk virus: how infectious is it? J Med Virol 2008;80:1468-76. Rockx B, De Wit M, Vennema H, et al. Natural History of human calicivirus infection: a prospective cohort study. Clinical Infect Dis 2002;35:246-53 Estes MK, Prasad BV, Atmar RL. Noroviruses everywhere: has something changed? Curr. Opin. Infect. Dis. 2006;19:467-474. Mattner F, Sohr D, Heim A, Gastmeier P, Vennema H, Koopmamns M. Risk groups for clinical complications of Norovirus infections: an outbreak investigation. Clin Microbiol Infect 2006;12:69-74. Harris JP, Edmunds WJ, Pebody R, Brown DW, Lopman BA. Deaths from Norovirus among the elderly, England and Wales. Emerg Infect Dis 2008; 14:1546-52. Levy AG, Widerlite L, Schwartz CJ, et al. Jejunal adenylate cyclase activity in human subjects during viral gastroenteritis. Gastroenterology 1976;70:321-5 Agus SG, Dolin R, Wyatt RG, Tousimis AJ, Northrup RS. Acute infectious nonbacterial gastroenteritis: intestinal histopathology: histologic and enzymatic alterations during illness produced by Norwalk agent in man. Ann Intern Med 1973;79:18-25.   Meeroff JC, Schreiber DS, Trier JS, Blacklow NR. Abnormal gastric motor function in viral gastroenteritis. Ann Intern Med 1980;92:370-3. Marionneau S, Ruvoen N, Le MoullacVaidye B, et al. Norwalk virus binds to histo-blood group antigens present on the gastroduodenal epithelial cells of secretor individuals. Gastroenterology 2002;122:1967-77. Tan M, Huang P, Meller J. Mutations within the P2 domain of Norovirus capsid affect binding to human histo-blood group antigens evendence for a binding pocket. J. Virol. 2003;23:12562-71. Harrington PR, Lindesmith L, Yount B, Moe CL and Baric RS. Binding of Norwalk virus-like particles to ABH histo-blood group antigens is blocked by antisera from infected human volunteers or experimentally vaccinated mice. J. Virol 2002;76(23):12335-43. Yee EL, Palacio H, Atmar RL, Shah U, Kilborn C, Faul M, Gavagan TE, Feigin RD, Versalovic J, Neil, FH, Panlilio AL, Miller M, Spahr J and Glass RI. Widespread outbreak of Norovirus Gastroenteritis among evacuees of Hurricane Katrina residing in a Large â€Å"Megalshelter† in Houston, Texas: lessons learned for prevention. C Dis Cont. 2007;44:1032-39.   Widdowson MA, Cramer EH, Hadley L, et al. Outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis on cruise ships and on land: identification of a predominating circulating strain of Norovirus- United States, 2002. J Infect Dis 2004;190:27-36. [Erratum, J Infect Dis 2004;190:2198.] Baert L, Uyttendaele M, Stals A, et al. Reported foodbourne outbreaks due to Noroviruses in Belgium: the link between food and patient investigations in an international context. Epidemiol Infect 2009;137:316-25. Boyce JM, Pittet D. Guideline for hand hygiene in health-care settings: recommendations of the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee and the HICPAC/SHEA/APIC/IDSA Hand Hygiene Task Force. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2002;23:S3-40. Duizer E, Bijkerk P, Rockx B, De Groot A, Twisk F, Koopmans M. Inactivation of caliciviruses. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2004;70:4538-43. Parrino TA, Schreiber DS, Trier JS, Kapikian AZ, Blacklow NR. Clinical immunity in acute gastroenteritis caused by Norwalk agent. N Eng J Med 1977;297:86-9. Patel MM, Widdowson M-A, Glass RI, Akazawa K, Vinje J, Parashar UD. Systematic literature review of role of Noroviruses in sporadic gastroenteritis. Emerg Infect Dis 2008;14:1224-31 Kralovetz MH, Mason HS, Chen Q. Norwalk virus-like particles as vaccines. Expert Rev Vaccines. 2010;9(3):299-307. Chang KO, Geroge DW. Interferons and ribavirin effectively inhibit Norwalk virus replication in replicon-bearing cells. J Virol 2007;81:12111-8. Websites Richard H.Replication of Polio, Rhino and other Picornaviruses [Internet]. Available from: pathmicro.med.sc.edu/virol/polio.htm Treating norovirus infection [Internet]. Available from: nhs.uk/Conditions/Norovirus/Pages/Treatment.aspx

Arts In The Education Of Young Children Education Essay

These experiences allow them to be originative, inventive and expressive ( Swanwick, 1988 ) . Loris Malaguzzi as cited in McArdle ( 2003 ) states that humanistic disciplines open a window of chances for kids to utilize a 100 linguistic communications, a 100 custodies, a 100 ideas, a 100 ways of thought, of playing and speech production. My statement on the importance of humanistic disciplines in immature kids instruction will be with specific illustrations from ocular and music. Fraser ( 2005 ) states that in many parts of the universe the preschools have rich resources of art stuffs like clay, pigments, montage stuffs and play dough available but rarely integrated into the plan. The instructors rarely promote the kids make usage of the stuffs other than for centripetal geographic expedition. In our preschool and many other preschools in Singapore it is merely displayed as a show piece to demo new walk in parents coming in for questions that such resources are available but they are non liberally used in the plan. Duffy ( 1998 ) states that to elicit kids ‘s originative and inventive experiences sufficient infinite to work and easy accessible resources must be offered to them. The esteemed Reggio Emilia early childhood plan that Singaporeans believe has a civilization of holding pedagogues who consider art non in isolation but integrated as one of the 100 linguistic communications kids use to look into and stand for the universe ( Fraser, 2005 ) . An i llustration will be exposing clay, wood, stones, shells and dried grass that are beautifully laid on the tabular array for kids to believe how birds use clay to construct their nests and the instructor scaffold the kids to propose how the kids can research with the stuffs themselves. These art signifiers provide immature kids with chances for self-awareness, societal interaction, geographic expedition, use that stimulate their senses and enhances their acquisition and originative thought. Spencer ( as cited in Swanwick, 1988 ) states that art should non be dissociable from instruction as leisure but occupy the leisure portion of instruction. Pulling is cardinal to all ocular communicating and yet in a recent study by Clement in1994, 60 per centum of the instructors do non cognize how it might best be taught and they requested further in service preparation if they are to learn the art course of study ( Cooke, Griffin and Cox, 1998 ) . Cooke, et Al. ( 1998 ) states that pulling arouses imaginativeness and it helps in entering their observations in other countries of course of study. The beauty of the kids ‘s work in Reggio ‘s 100 linguistic communications of kids, exhibit the undertakings that utilize kids ‘s symbolic linguistic communications, which include pulling, painting and building clay modeling. Cooke, et Al. ( 1998 ) states that representational drawing are ocular communicating which is comparatively easy to read and is used in different civilizations at different times throughout history. Children in Reggio Emilia usage drawing as the fastest and most direct manner of seting their thoughts across and doing them seeable. This processes show the kids ‘s manner of doing sense of the universe through representation. They spontaneously use pulling as a linguistic communication to stand for their thoughts to show their emotions and pass on the thought of immature kids. Kolbe ( 2001 ) states that ocular humanistic disciplines is an unbelievable powerful tool that enables kids to explicate things to themselves and to others. Children understand their potencies for personal looks by experimenting with art stuffs and procedures. They develop good motor control, linguistic communication and job resolution schemes, societal accomplishments and aesthetic consciousness and grasp. Children early exposure to ocular humanistic disciplines in Reggio Emilia enable them to hold deep apprehension of making high quality art. They are introduced to line, coloring material, forms and signifier, form and texture. Lines are everyplace and kids are introduced to forms such as long, short, thick, fat, heavy, thin horizontal, perpendicular, diagonal, jagged, smooth, uninterrupted and broken. Children are besides introduced to the names of colors as primary and blending two primary colorss to do secondary colorss and observe sunglassess of colorss such as warm, cool, dull, light, pale and dark. Shape and signifier refers to the country of an object or image, lines or colorss that create boundaries within a image that create forms. Children can pass hours gleefully making three-dimensional representations of things they see utilizing clay, dough or blocks and introduced to vocabulary such as unit of ammunition, ellipse, trigon, wide, narrow and broad. In images and three-dimensional graphicss, kids can look out for represented or contrasting colorss, lines, forms or combinations of these elements. Texture refers to the haptic quality of objects, either in existent life or simulated by combination of art elements in a image. Children may look for and screen out objects of different texture to make a image. They could besides look at a image and conjecture if an object is unsmooth, smooth, furred, prickly, slippery, difficult or soft. The rules of the ocular humanistic disciplines are unity, beat, proportion, design, balance, harmoniousness, contrast and repeat. Pulling picture and working with clay hence should be the nucleus countries of ocular art plans and should be offered daily, so that kids come to understand and utilize these media for cognitive and expressive intents. There are cumulative phases in a kid ‘s development and as psychologist, Eleanor Maccoby ( as cited in Swanwick, 1988 ) mentioned that development occur in a consecutive order and Maccoby ( as cited in Swanwick, 1988 ) mentioned that the series of kids ‘s imperfect development is at a reasonably standard timetable. Swanwick ( 1988 ) states that the influencing factors are the familial heritage and the environment illustration the place, school and society where the kid is exposed. Piaget ( as cited in Swanick,1988 ) states that feeling of power is the pleasance of a kid researching and get the hanging the environment and an illustration is the babe larning to reiterate a vocal sound or agitate a rattling continuously. Music is representational and Swanwick ( 1988 ) states that the kid is able to copy and the kid is able to make new relationship through imaginativeness. Swanwick ( 1988 ) besides states that the critical human features play is per se bound with playing musi c. A kid ‘s self-generated music behavior through Piaget ‘s theory of meaningful drama triggers imaginativeness than the structured music instruction. Winston ( 2010 ) states that playing is a verb applicable to the originative procedure illustration instrumentalists with melodious and harmonic possibilities to the development of accomplishments practised through playing. The right hemisphere of the encephalon maps and probes have shown that the right encephalon has particular maps of the sensuous, the spatial and the intuitive that all helps in the imaginativeness procedure ( Swanwick, 1988 ) . If instructors work with a standardized theoretical account, the kids ‘s inventive qualities are lost as they are tuned merely to the creative activity of music of what the instructor ‘s learn them to compose ( Young and Glover, 1998 ) . Learning music is bound by the theoretical trigon of command, imitation and imaginativeness and the rhythm is continues with the kid ‘s different phases of growing and besides when larning a different musical instrument. A kids ‘s first response to the music before they turn one twelvemonth old is the tone by larning to reiterate what they hear and master the tone. The following phase will be copying the physical motion in relation to the beat of the music and it occurs between 18 months and 2 old ages old. Around the age of four kids are able to build inventive vocals and to scaffold their cognition a good acquisition environment is essential.Their natural intrinsic musical endowment the kid manifest can be farther developed through extrinsic schoolroom larning environment. Andress states that music play country should pull kids to trip wonder so that they will be motivated to affect in doing and reacting to music. Opportunities should be given to kids to make their ain music with broad picks of musical instruments available and besides to listen to others music and learn to copy the music that they prefer. Music should be integrated as portion of the plan in the schoolroom and pick of single and group musical activities should be provided. The activities should be combination of child-directed or grownup facilitated as a group. The type of musical activities can be composing and improvizing with instruments and voice, notating, listening to music, playing instruments, singing invented or canonic vocals. The activities can be interconnected to complement one type of activity to do it more lively and disputing for the kids. The adults function will be placing the kids ‘s potency and help the kids in developing their musical competency and enjoyment. The importance of humanistic disciplines can merely be felt and appreciated if the lead comes from the Education Ministry. Singapore instruction system is structured with accent on the degree Celsius onfucius philosophy on meritocracy. They give strong support in the acquisition of Science and Mathematics related topics but really small support on humanistic disciplines. Gifted kids on Science and Mathematics ( Ministry of Education, 2012 ) are identified at an early age of nine and specially groomed to heighten their familial capablenesss. Parents by and large feel that Science and Mathematics are more of import than humanistic disciplines and many kids who have natural endowment and involvement in humanistic disciplines are non given the chance to supply an environment. Our authorities besides do non supply avenues for kids with natural endowments in humanistic disciplines to be identified and specially groomed. I am besides one of the luckless individual whereby I loved ocular hum anistic disciplines but I was non given an chance because during my clip technology topics were favoured so that we can procure successful and high salary calling when we grow up. If importance in humanistic disciplines is given at the primary and higher degree instruction I believe parents perceptual experience on the importance and the demand for presenting humanistic disciplines at an early age will alter. This will promote preschool pedagogues to give more accent on incorporating humanistic disciplines in the pre-school course of study as day-to-day activities. Arts In The Education Of Young Children Education Essay These experiences allow them to be originative, inventive and expressive ( Swanwick, 1988 ) . Loris Malaguzzi as cited in McArdle ( 2003 ) states that humanistic disciplines open a window of chances for kids to utilize a 100 linguistic communications, a 100 custodies, a 100 ideas, a 100 ways of thought, of playing and speech production. My statement on the importance of humanistic disciplines in immature kids instruction will be with specific illustrations from ocular and music. Fraser ( 2005 ) states that in many parts of the universe the preschools have rich resources of art stuffs like clay, pigments, montage stuffs and play dough available but rarely integrated into the plan. The instructors rarely promote the kids make usage of the stuffs other than for centripetal geographic expedition. In our preschool and many other preschools in Singapore it is merely displayed as a show piece to demo new walk in parents coming in for questions that such resources are available but they are non liberally used in the plan. Duffy ( 1998 ) states that to elicit kids ‘s originative and inventive experiences sufficient infinite to work and easy accessible resources must be offered to them. The esteemed Reggio Emilia early childhood plan that Singaporeans believe has a civilization of holding pedagogues who consider art non in isolation but integrated as one of the 100 linguistic communications kids use to look into and stand for the universe ( Fraser, 2005 ) . An i llustration will be exposing clay, wood, stones, shells and dried grass that are beautifully laid on the tabular array for kids to believe how birds use clay to construct their nests and the instructor scaffold the kids to propose how the kids can research with the stuffs themselves. These art signifiers provide immature kids with chances for self-awareness, societal interaction, geographic expedition, use that stimulate their senses and enhances their acquisition and originative thought. Spencer ( as cited in Swanwick, 1988 ) states that art should non be dissociable from instruction as leisure but occupy the leisure portion of instruction. Pulling is cardinal to all ocular communicating and yet in a recent study by Clement in1994, 60 per centum of the instructors do non cognize how it might best be taught and they requested further in service preparation if they are to learn the art course of study ( Cooke, Griffin and Cox, 1998 ) . Cooke, et Al. ( 1998 ) states that pulling arouses imaginativeness and it helps in entering their observations in other countries of course of study. The beauty of the kids ‘s work in Reggio ‘s 100 linguistic communications of kids, exhibit the undertakings that utilize kids ‘s symbolic linguistic communications, which include pulling, painting and building clay modeling. Cooke, et Al. ( 1998 ) states that representational drawing are ocular communicating which is comparatively easy to read and is used in different civilizations at different times throughout history. Children in Reggio Emilia usage drawing as the fastest and most direct manner of seting their thoughts across and doing them seeable. This processes show the kids ‘s manner of doing sense of the universe through representation. They spontaneously use pulling as a linguistic communication to stand for their thoughts to show their emotions and pass on the thought of immature kids. Kolbe ( 2001 ) states that ocular humanistic disciplines is an unbelievable powerful tool that enables kids to explicate things to themselves and to others. Children understand their potencies for personal looks by experimenting with art stuffs and procedures. They develop good motor control, linguistic communication and job resolution schemes, societal accomplishments and aesthetic consciousness and grasp. Children early exposure to ocular humanistic disciplines in Reggio Emilia enable them to hold deep apprehension of making high quality art. They are introduced to line, coloring material, forms and signifier, form and texture. Lines are everyplace and kids are introduced to forms such as long, short, thick, fat, heavy, thin horizontal, perpendicular, diagonal, jagged, smooth, uninterrupted and broken. Children are besides introduced to the names of colors as primary and blending two primary colorss to do secondary colorss and observe sunglassess of colorss such as warm, cool, dull, light, pale and dark. Shape and signifier refers to the country of an object or image, lines or colorss that create boundaries within a image that create forms. Children can pass hours gleefully making three-dimensional representations of things they see utilizing clay, dough or blocks and introduced to vocabulary such as unit of ammunition, ellipse, trigon, wide, narrow and broad. In images and three-dimensional graphicss, kids can look out for represented or contrasting colorss, lines, forms or combinations of these elements. Texture refers to the haptic quality of objects, either in existent life or simulated by combination of art elements in a image. Children may look for and screen out objects of different texture to make a image. They could besides look at a image and conjecture if an object is unsmooth, smooth, furred, prickly, slippery, difficult or soft. The rules of the ocular humanistic disciplines are unity, beat, proportion, design, balance, harmoniousness, contrast and repeat. Pulling picture and working with clay hence should be the nucleus countries of ocular art plans and should be offered daily, so that kids come to understand and utilize these media for cognitive and expressive intents. There are cumulative phases in a kid ‘s development and as psychologist, Eleanor Maccoby ( as cited in Swanwick, 1988 ) mentioned that development occur in a consecutive order and Maccoby ( as cited in Swanwick, 1988 ) mentioned that the series of kids ‘s imperfect development is at a reasonably standard timetable. Swanwick ( 1988 ) states that the influencing factors are the familial heritage and the environment illustration the place, school and society where the kid is exposed. Piaget ( as cited in Swanick,1988 ) states that feeling of power is the pleasance of a kid researching and get the hanging the environment and an illustration is the babe larning to reiterate a vocal sound or agitate a rattling continuously. Music is representational and Swanwick ( 1988 ) states that the kid is able to copy and the kid is able to make new relationship through imaginativeness. Swanwick ( 1988 ) besides states that the critical human features play is per se bound with playing musi c. A kid ‘s self-generated music behavior through Piaget ‘s theory of meaningful drama triggers imaginativeness than the structured music instruction. Winston ( 2010 ) states that playing is a verb applicable to the originative procedure illustration instrumentalists with melodious and harmonic possibilities to the development of accomplishments practised through playing. The right hemisphere of the encephalon maps and probes have shown that the right encephalon has particular maps of the sensuous, the spatial and the intuitive that all helps in the imaginativeness procedure ( Swanwick, 1988 ) . If instructors work with a standardized theoretical account, the kids ‘s inventive qualities are lost as they are tuned merely to the creative activity of music of what the instructor ‘s learn them to compose ( Young and Glover, 1998 ) . Learning music is bound by the theoretical trigon of command, imitation and imaginativeness and the rhythm is continues with the kid ‘s different phases of growing and besides when larning a different musical instrument. A kids ‘s first response to the music before they turn one twelvemonth old is the tone by larning to reiterate what they hear and master the tone. The following phase will be copying the physical motion in relation to the beat of the music and it occurs between 18 months and 2 old ages old. Around the age of four kids are able to build inventive vocals and to scaffold their cognition a good acquisition environment is essential.Their natural intrinsic musical endowment the kid manifest can be farther developed through extrinsic schoolroom larning environment. Andress states that music play country should pull kids to trip wonder so that they will be motivated to affect in doing and reacting to music. Opportunities should be given to kids to make their ain music with broad picks of musical instruments available and besides to listen to others music and learn to copy the music that they prefer. Music should be integrated as portion of the plan in the schoolroom and pick of single and group musical activities should be provided. The activities should be combination of child-directed or grownup facilitated as a group. The type of musical activities can be composing and improvizing with instruments and voice, notating, listening to music, playing instruments, singing invented or canonic vocals. The activities can be interconnected to complement one type of activity to do it more lively and disputing for the kids. The adults function will be placing the kids ‘s potency and help the kids in developing their musical competency and enjoyment. The importance of humanistic disciplines can merely be felt and appreciated if the lead comes from the Education Ministry. Singapore instruction system is structured with accent on the degree Celsius onfucius philosophy on meritocracy. They give strong support in the acquisition of Science and Mathematics related topics but really small support on humanistic disciplines. Gifted kids on Science and Mathematics ( Ministry of Education, 2012 ) are identified at an early age of nine and specially groomed to heighten their familial capablenesss. Parents by and large feel that Science and Mathematics are more of import than humanistic disciplines and many kids who have natural endowment and involvement in humanistic disciplines are non given the chance to supply an environment. Our authorities besides do non supply avenues for kids with natural endowments in humanistic disciplines to be identified and specially groomed. I am besides one of the luckless individual whereby I loved ocular hum anistic disciplines but I was non given an chance because during my clip technology topics were favoured so that we can procure successful and high salary calling when we grow up. If importance in humanistic disciplines is given at the primary and higher degree instruction I believe parents perceptual experience on the importance and the demand for presenting humanistic disciplines at an early age will alter. This will promote preschool pedagogues to give more accent on incorporating humanistic disciplines in the pre-school course of study as day-to-day activities.

Changing Role of Women Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Changing Role of Women - Essay Example While this new role of women is determined, it is also essential that such an investigative study incorporates the changed role of women in various sectors, sections, and nations. Therefore, the efforts to define the new role of women in the modern world should essentially include a research on the changing role of women in every sector and category of social life. This has been the central consideration for the selection of research articles for this anthology. As the title of this anthology suggests, this needs to be perceived as an attempt to define the changing role of women in the background of sex inequalities and gender role differences which has been a major research point of the feminist theorists in the modern world. It is indisputable that one of the most relevant topics in the modern feminist theory relating to the general theme of gender role and sex inequality has been the changing role of women. Therefore, this anthology endeavors to provide with the most accurate mate rials to conclude on the changing role of women in various sections and categories of modern life. Here, this Anthology by the title "Changing Role of Women" covers a broad span of articles which are related to the topic-changing role of women through several categories of modern women of various backgrounds. ... He in the article "From Emancipation to Liberation: The Changing role of Women in Turkey's Public Realm" which has been the first essay of the anthology, deals with the changed role of women in the public sector of Turkey. According to the article, the change of women in Turkey can be related to a change from emancipation to liberation, i.e. the change has been one of the attitudes mainly. This article introduces the history of the liberation of women in The Republic of Turkey. The article "introduces the historical context of women's emancipation in the Republic of Turkey and then discusses how different women's groups expanded, transformed or perpetuated the parameters of the public realm with their different, at times seemingly contradictory, discourses for liberation. The focus of this article is on issues and concerns around which women voiced their differences from the founding fathers who 'emancipated women,' and not on politics in formal political institutions, such as politi cal parties or parliament." ("From Emancipation to Liberation: The Changing Role of Women in Turkey's Public Realm" 107). The republican concept of secularism and nationalism strengthened the feminists of Turkey. In the society, women were provided with a new public space and their gender role was redefined. By taking effort to enforce the women's status, the state actually meant to cultivate nationalistic feeling in the minds of its citizens. Gender equality and gender rights were equal and the professionalism of women was supported by the government but they demanded for more rights especially the control upon their sexuality. The feminists were not satisfied those limited rights and tried to enter the male dominated politics and they started to express their

Nuclear Arms Race - Part 2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nuclear Arms Race - Part 2 - Assignment Example As the time passed by, the world observes technological advancements and the scientific technology also experienced a boom in their inventions, innovations, and advancements, which evolved the phenomenon of nuclear weapons. Thus, they became likely to be potential and sustained their growth through the nuclear guns, missiles and other weaponries until the beginning of the twenty first century (Lambers, 2006). The cold war between U.S. and USSR contributed to substantial, immense, and drastic crash and collision to the political, cultural, and technological aspects of these countries as both of them made efforts and techniques consecutively that prohibited each other from getting hold on to the nuclear power domination. Although, the nuclear arms and weapons are environment friendly when involved in the development process, yet it accompanies colossal damage to the environment when used in wars or other terrorist activities. The nuclear war not only results in the overwhelming and det eriorating impacts to the environment but at the same time thousands of people also come under the calamitous effects of the nuclear war (Siracusa, 2008). The wealth and funds that come under spending on the production and manufacturing of nuclear arms and weapons has been under many arguable and disputable discussions and dialogues in the recent times. According to the pieces of information, there are adequate amount of nuclear weapons available with the super powers, even though, the countries are continuously in the process of trading the nuclear weapons. The capital spent and the financing provided to the nuclear armaments and artillery must come under close observations by the governments of the countries, as they are the foremost and key source of mammoth obliteration and leaves an indelible imprint on the societies and its inhabitants (Schwartz, 1998). The immediate impacts of the nuclear wars and weapons evidence the loss of innumerable lives of the people at once, as when t he explosion hits a portion of land, it kills the nearby people on a large scale on abrupt basis. However, the nuclear arms and ammunitions make shocking, disturbing, and distressing long-term impacts on the environment, as the explosions are the one chief source of origin that is evident to the global warming. The increasing global warming is eventually making the lives of the human race miserable (Goldstein, 2009). One of the consequences of the nuclear weapons was that it involved a huge amount of money and capital for the research and development process as the innovation and advancement in technology made the research more expensive with the use of sophisticated and complicated equipments and machineries. The technological advancement and expansion, the actions and events involved in the process of nuclear arm building and manufacturing should not be adequate to avoid in the long term. One of the major consequences and risks that the human populace suffers from is the eye burns and impairments due to the reason that the discharge and emission of the heat energy in the form of dangerous ultraviolet light from the nuclear weapons causes intense harm to eyes. The eye damage can be in the form of flash blindness that is on provisional and short-term basis as it causes sightlessness and remains for a span of time. The retina is vulnerable to certain type and

Prejudice,Stereotypes and Discrimination Essay Example for Free

Prejudice,Stereotypes and Discrimination Essay Prejudice is an attitude that releases closely to intercultural sensitively. It is more commonly held and expressed by people in ethnocentric stages of the sensitivity model compared to people in the ethnorelatives stages. (Oetzel, 2009). Prejudice is the belief and feeling aspect of an attitude. It can be a pro or con but leads us to judging something based on our preconception. Prejudice is where you think against someone or something for no particular reason, thought or knowledge. It be because race , sex , age , or whatever . An would be like , â€Å" Oh I don’t like her , she’s a lesbian,† or she’s black or white or of any other race. Stereotype are overgeneralized cognitions about a group of people with no attempt to identify within –group variation . Stereotypes often based on learned and widely shared beliefs and another group that reinforce or justify prejudice (Oetzel, 2009) . A stereotype is a set of preconceived beliefs about those who share a trait in common . It is the narrow prejudice view of a particular social group . Such as â€Å"black people know how to dance† and â€Å"women are better at cooking and worst at driving†. They’re sometimes offensive and often unfair. Stereotypes is a view of social group that sticks , even though the social group is full of individuals who may not share any of the traits of the stereotype at all. It’s like â€Å"cheerleaders are bitches† or â€Å"geeks are smart†. Discrimination is action that maintain the dominance of one group of people over another. The power to enact the behavior is a key component to racism and discrimination. That power can be from a held position (being a boss) or social power (being part of a group that has political power). (Oetzel, 2009). Discrimination is where you actively are against someone for no reason , either on the basis of age , race , class or whatever . It’s different from a prejudice because you actually do an action , such as not giving that person a job because of your prejudice , or refusing to give them a room at a hotel. I remember when I was young , I use to live with my Father in a small town in Ohio. It was mainly white community , I had a friend that was white. She had invited me over her house and her Grandma was racist. When I walked in to her home , her grandma said to me â€Å"she can’t have company at all and you need to leave†. The next day I seen my friend , she had apologized to me, and said I don’t know why my grandma acts like that to black people. â€Å" She told her granddaughter not to play with blacks only with white children†, and she only would allow white children to come to her house . She never listened to her she still played with me anyway. I told her it wasn’t her fault that some people are just racist. Later on that week I was in the store with my grandma which is white also , we had seen my friend and her grandma . Her grandma tried to act as if nothing happen and spoke to my grandma and said to me you can come back over and play. I gave an example of prejudice stereotype and discrimination . People also stereotype for many of different reasons such as tattoos, race , religion, age gender and etc. Now days young folks now have a new way to rebel against society and ultimately and more honestly their parents . We began to see masses of young , dim witted teens getting idiotic tattoos just so they can feel like a badass (greengysywolf1 (How Prejudice and Fear). Children not knowing that when they get older that tattoos will affect them getting a job or the way society will look at them because of the tattoos they have on them. Even though it’s not right that’s the way society stereotypes and discriminates people because of their appearance. People get tattoos because they enjoy them , not to mark them as different , not to get jollies of the pain , or not to be the evil spawn of satan himself (greengysywolf1 (How Prejudice and Fear). People also stereotype people that have been in prison. It’s people that have went to prison and have changed their lives around completely . I have a friend that is about â€Å"6 4† and 200 pounds , but seems blessed with a baby face , so no one believes he ever been to prison . He usually waits until he meets someone in person to tell them , even though he knows there is a chance they will refuse to accept it . I’ve seen the look , the change behind the eyes that goes from listening to what the stereotypes say an ex-con is and should be . I found it interesting because he tends to be more truthful and respectful than people who have not done time. Prejudice exist everywhere; with prejudice comes a stereotype or discrimination. Most stereotypes are dealt with minorities , especially in the United States . Basically, It all depends on how a person was raised . Most of Americans assumes that every white person grew up either in the suburbs , or well-to-do apartments in the city. While sometimes that is true ,but some lives in bad areas like farming towns and many other diverse places. Where you raise your family depends on your income and your family situation most of the time. If they have a higher income than yours average American, than they probably live in the most high-class place they can buy. If they are middle class than suburbia is most likely option. If they exist in the lower class , your income is not so great. Then they would probably live in poorly developed neighborhoods , like a trailer park or apartment complex. African Americans continue to face the highest level of discrimination in renting , selling and insuring property, according to the National Fair Housing Alliance . People with disabilities field the second highest number of claims followed by families with children and Hispanics. (surge). The British did an research article in 2009. , with 60 people ranging from 18 to 65 years of age . The tests of implicit attitude used in this study are based on links to real world behaviour, so its likely that those participants with a very strong homophobic attitude would routinely behave in a discriminatory way. The four or five per cent with strong prejudices would find their attitudes often affect their behaviour and the 15 to 20 per cent with mid-range prejudices are probably unaware of their attitude, but their thoughts and feelings towards gay or lesbian people will probably surface when they are emotional, stressed, frustrated or threatened (Society, 2009). I think people should look at themselves before they try and judge others , without getting to know them or speak to them first. Before you judge a book by its cover at lease open a couple of pages and read about it first. Works Cited Oetzel, J. G. (2009). Intercultural Communication (A Layered Approach). New Jersy: Pearson Education Inc. Page, H. (n. d. ). How To Stereotypes Affect My Life. Retrieved 2012, from http://greengypsywolf1. hubpages. com/getwidget. Society, T. B. (2009, Jan 16). Prejudice Study Finds Gay Is The New Black. Medical News Today. Surge, H. D. (n. d. ). CNN Cable News. Retrieved 2012, from http://www. cnn. com/US/9705/21/briefs. pm/housing/index. html.

The Appalling Leadership of King Henry V :: European Literature

In Henry V, the actions of King Henry portray him as an appalling leader. Among Henry's many negative traits, he allows himself to be influenced by people who have anterior motives. This is problematic because the decisions might not be the best decisions for the country, or neighboring countries. The bishops convinced Henry to take over France because they would be able to save land for the Church. Henry doesn't have the ability to accept responsibility for his actions, placing the blame on others. Before Henry begins to take over a French village, he tells the governor to surrender or risk having English troops terrorize civilians. This way, if the governor declines, it would be the governor's fault for the atrocities that would occur. Henry has gotten his troops to go along with the take over by manipulating them. He tells the soldiers that what they're doing is noble, and that they should be proud. In fact, they're attacking another country in order to conquer it. Henry's charac ter comes off as coldhearted and careless. Henry shows ruthlessness towards civilians, threatening them with atrocities. He's careless with his soldiers, thoughtlessly allowing their executions, or playing hurtful games with them. France' takeover is mostly due to Henry's accepting advice from the bishops who had a motive for their judgment. In Act 1, Scene 1, Henry is promised a large sum of money by the Church to help fund his takeover of France. In order for Henry to receive the money he would have to vote against a certain bill that the bishops, Ely and Canterbury find obstructive to the Church. Soon, Henry goes to Ely and Canterbury to help him decide whether it's alright for him to take over France under Salic law. Clearly, Ely, and Canterbury would have a good reason to suggest Henry take France since he would have to accept the Church's money, and thus vote against the bill. Canterbury tells Henry he should pursue the take over arguing that it is illegal for France to use the Salic law since it originated in Germany. As well, he argues that the manner in which previous French kings have claimed the throne would have been in violation of the law. So with this argument Henry decides to go ahead with taki ng over France. The problem is that Henry's decision was motivated by a goal of the Church. A decision that holds thousands of lives at stake is decided on so one group of people could benefit.

Inference vs Assumption assignment

Inference vs. assumption Contrast between fact or perception â€Å"Inference is a conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning, assumption is a thing that is accepted as true or as certain to happen, without proof, the action of taking or beginning to take power or responsibility' (dictionary. Com) had many inferences in my life about myself and others. Both with equal list and sometimes without knowing it. I am always the worry wart in my family. Always thinking what if I did this or this could go wrong.Taking as simple as quiz can often overwhelm me for days till whatever the event is over. As one of my inference was not passing my Aptitude Physical Fitness Test (APT). I always have doubt that would not pass. As in the end result I have passed. Always have that doubt. As some may know in the military perception is everything. Many will make any reasoning either truth or not perception is always there. Overhearing a group talking about another pregnant Soldier as they have conclude that she has conceived from another Soldier but is married.Not giving in to their very conclusion I had some curious to know about what is fact. Have indeed it was untrue the married Soldier was her boyfriend's friend (who was not in the military') to have keep an eye on her for his friends sake. There was times when would be watching or doing my studies in my room while my husband would be in the living room watching a game. Hearing them cheer and talking loudly inferred them to happy that their team scored or won. As it was said â€Å"we simply cannot legitimately assume what we seek to establish† (Kate Mosses).Many inference we all go through whether we intentionally doing it or not. For myself even without intention I did (well almost) about the pregnant Soldier. As it was wrong to conclude what was not true without the facts. Improper inference may as well be an assumption. To conclude my entry, is we seem to proceed our assumption without hard facts or evi dence more on perspective in what we see on the outside. As the saying goes â€Å"don't judge Reference Dictionary. Com Kate Moss, Logic an Introduction, 2011 a book by it's cove'.

Internal Customers Essay

The people in this department need to know what deliveries are to be made and what products are to be delivered.  Staff Office  The Human Resources department need to know hours worked by employees and if there are any positions to be filled.  Staff Training  They need to know which members of the department will need training and which areas need to be covered in the training exercises.  Cash Office  The cash office needs to know what transactions were made at all the tills in the department and how much money there is in the tills at the end of the working day. This is so they can tally up the stores figures and see how well the shop has performed on that particular day. CCP (Customer Collection Point)  Many goods are collected from the shops CCP such as microwaves. The people at the CCP need to know what is being collected and the transaction number so they can tie up the paperwork, customer and the goods.  Service Desk  When customers have a problem with an appliance they have to go through the service desk so the large electrical department has to get information from the service desk regarding the outcome for instance an appliance may have to be replaced. The large electrical department already employs a number of different customer service techniques to help improve the running and efficiency of the department, which also importantly improves the relationship with the customers. There are however occasions when these strategies don’t work the way that they should and customers can become dissatisfied with the level of service that they feel they are receiving.  Here are some examples of techniques that have recently been introduced in the department to help improve customer services. When staff join the Large Electrical Department the must complete questionnaires to ensure they understand procedures that are carried out in the department. A copy of which can be found in appendix 1. The Introduction of Ticketing system for waiting customers  The department recently introduced a fairly simple but effective ticketing system so that customers are served at the correct time instead of customers just grabbing a selling Partner when they see one that is free. When a customer enters the department they are now greeted by the customer service manager who stands at the Customer Service Podium. The Customer Service Manager gives the customer a ticket with a number on it and records down on the copy of the ticket that the manager keeps some details.  These are:  The customers name.  This creates a personalised service when the sell partner approaches the customer  What they want help on. This is so the Customer Service Manager can send over the right Selling Partner with the right knowledge.  A brief description of the customer.  The description helps the Selling Partner identify the customers easily.  When a selling Partner becomes free they must report back to the podium where the manager will hand the Partner the ticket of the next customer to be served.  This system is much improved from the previous queuing system, which involved the Customer Service Manager patrolling the floor and recording customers name down on a list. This meant that the Manager was never in one place and people may not have been put on in the correct order that they arrived in the department. When speaking to the Customer Service Manager of the Large Electrical department to enquire how successful the new system had been I was also informed of the one major problem there had been with it.  The problem was that when a customer took a ticket they would ask how many people there were before them. If the number was fairly high, for instance five people then it would put people off waiting. It was then up to the Customer Service Manager to reassure the customer that it wouldn’t be too long. I also learned that on leaving the department previous customers who were used to the old system commented on how much better they thought the new system was.  The Introduction of Electrical Telesales at Watford  About two years ago the Branch opened the Electrical Telesales Department, which is part of the Large Electrical Department. The team is based at the branches warehouse, which is down the road from the store at Greatham Road. It is all linked telephonically and by computer to the main store. Customers can phone telesales and place orders for large electrical appliances over the phone by calling the store on 01923 244 266 and connecting to extension 4880. This service is very handy for many customers as they will often come into the store and get information on various appliances and then go home to check that it will fit in the desired space. They can then phone up and order it over the phone by credit or account card to save them making another trip into the store. Some people that have done research on the internet or another media will also use telesales to save them having to come into the store at all, especially people that have very busy lives. It is also designed to take some of the pressure off the actual department so that more time can be spent with each customer in the store. On average there are six partners manning the phones down at telesales. Which isn’t really enough as they are also share with the Television and Audio department. So customers are put on hold, which can be for quite a long time, which frustrates the customers. Pre recorded messages are randomly played to the customers to reassure them that their call is important and will be answered by the next available partner. The telephonists can tell how long a customer has been waiting, and they will answer in a way that will reflect the length of time the customer has waited. Other problems with the telesales team are that there is a weak communication flow between the actual department and telesales. This means that mistakes can be made by telesales as they haven’t received information on changes made in the Large Electrical Department which in turn can have an affect on the customers.  An example of this was when EU legislation can into place saying that the collection of old refrigeration can not be continued because of the gasses inside. Telesales weren’t informed of this and continued to arrange for refrigeration to be taken away. When the deliverymen told customers that they couldn’t take away the old refrigeration this angered customers who had prepaid the 9 collection charge. These mistakes are usually dealt with by offering a goodwill gesture for inconvenience and where appropriate a refund.  On the whole this venture has proved to be a major success as figures shown in the Annual General Meeting showed an increase in Large Electrical Goods with a major percentage going through the telesales team.  This is the information flier that is handed out to customers when visiting the Department if the wish to order over the phone. It give the phone number and extension number as well as a little information on the different services that they offer such as the 2 year warranty and Never Knowingly Undersold motto. Ways of paying at John Lewis  The use of credit cards at John Lewis  Until recently John Lewis didn’t accept payment for goods by any credit card. This was to avoid paying the transaction fees to the banks that is added on when a customer pays using EFT (Electronic Financial Transaction). Apart from this customers were quite prepared to pay for any goods purchased using a John Lewis or Waitrose Account card that offers a low rate of interest. However to give the customer more flexibility John Lewis introduced the use of Credit cards in the Partnership. One of the main reasons for allowing this take place was because of where the transaction fee would go.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"From 5 November 2001, all card payments with the exception of the John Lewis and Waitrose Account Card, are processed for you by John Lewis Card Services Ltd for a 2.5% fee included in the cost of your purchase. The balance is paid to John Lewis plc. The total amount you pay is the same regardless of the payment method.† Source taken from http://www.johnlewis.com  The transactions fee that would normally have to be paid to the bank on any transaction that take place in either the department stores or Waitrose using EFT is retained by John Lewis. This means that John Lewis don’t loose 2.5% of the sale that they have made but keep it as profit.  This move has meant that more customers are attracted to coming into the stores and paying by plastic, which many people prefer to do.  However there is one card that John Lewis still doesn’t accept and that is American Express. This is because of the extremely high level of interest that is associated with this form of payment. John Lewis would still have to pay part of transaction fee if this card was used. These methods of payment can also be used to purchase over the phone using the stores telesales teams and via the Internet. This has all been designed to help create an easier way of shopping for it customers and improve customer services.  Computerised Ordering System  The introduction of the computerised ordering system a year ago has changed the face of the department and the way things are done, within the department. It was also a major turn around for the standard of customer services offered by department. The new system meant that orders could be processed a lot quicker as paper work didn’t have to be sent via the post and orders we received at the warehouse instantly. A lot more options have been opened with this new system, all to the customers advantage, as well as making the whole ordering process a lot easier for the Selling Partner.  Customers can now reserve goods for longer periods of time, place an order for delivery in another part of the country and a lot more. Queries and problems can also dealt with by keeping record of points raised on the on the notepad of the actual order on the system so issues are dealt with much more effectively. Each customer gets a reference number when they place an order so information can be recalled instantly from the system should the need arise.  The quicker service makes buying Large Electrical goods less stressful meaning customers go away from the department happy with the level of service they have just received.  There have, however been a number of occasions when the system has gone down causing absolute chaos in the department as all orders have to be placed manually which is much more time consuming than using the computers. This angers customers who expect a reliable system then works quickly and effectively. With these events the need for the Customer Service manager pays off, as they are someone who can defuse difficult situations. All selling Partners are also trained in dealing with problems but the CSM is there as someone with higher authority.