Human and Technology free essay sample

A social constructed human beeing: a (bio)technological approach The importance of this article talks about how technology has helped us and how it has also changed us as humans. It compares the past of the humans with the future of the humans. This source of the paper deals with my topic by helping me answer some questions of how technology is helping out humans and making them smarter. But then there is a down side to it also helping me explain the technology and if it is evolving faster than what we can get a grip on it and actually enjoy it before something more advanced comes about. The reason feeling like I can actually relay on this source is because it has a lot of other sources behind it that are cited and that are included into one big source that is which makes up this paper. Pros and Cons of modern technologies In the importance of this article it talks about the pros and cons of technology. We will write a custom essay sample on Human and Technology or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This source is very helpful to my topic by it explaining how technology has helped us humans and destroyed us at the same time. This source explains the positives on how this new technology has put us humans at an advanced rate and helped us out tremendously. It also explains the cons of this new advanced technology and how it has put a major hurting on the new generation and has made us too reliable on this new technology to do all the dirty work rather than how it was done in the past of long ago before all these new electronics and gadgets came along, when most things were done by human hands, instead just with the flick of a switch or push of a button. Yes and no of relying on this source because it has background information and a few cited sources which I can relay on, but some things there just isn’t enough information on whether to believe it all or not. The comparing of both of these sources that I’m using is that they both talk about how much technology has helped us. The difference between these two sources are that one article also talks about how all this new advanced technology has hurt the human nature with its side effects. September/26/2011 The Pros and Cons of Technology Today In this source it talks about the great things of technology and how it has come a long way and helped out the world lots and that we use it in our everyday lives, but also that with every good there comes a bad. This source helps me with my topic and relates with my topic because I’m looking for the good and bad in technology and how it has changed our lives, either for the good or bad. But this source tells me all the good and how it has saved lives, and then there is the downfall of how it has effected lives and caused harm. I know that I can rely on this source because it has hot links that are included into this which lead to more information if more is needed for back up. With the differences of the other resources some doesn’t talk about all of the different effects that technology has on life. The pros and cons of advancing technology With the importance of this source article it talks not only about how technology helps humans, but is it evolving faster than we can learn. This source is relevant to my topic because of the good things it talks about with technology helping people and the bad of technology with people. It answers the fact that of are we really prepared for all of these new changes in technology or is technology advancing way too fast for us? This source also has hotlinks that linked too it that gives me more information from different websites for me to have something to backup all my information on. The comparing of all of these sources is that they all talk about the greatness of technology and how it has helped out the human population so much, but then how technology has also effected the human population and given people different perspectives on things than the way it was of the past. The difference from this source than all the other sources is that this source talks about how technology is advancing and that it might be advancing more than what the human mind can comprehend all so fast. October/3/2011The Pros and Cons of Technology in the classroom The main story behind this article is about the good and bad of technologies. The source of this article is relevant to my topic by technology having its good and effective ways on helping people learn faster, and easier. This source also talks about how hard it is for every person to be as advanced with the technology and have it in every school  because of its expenses. In one way technology can be good for its uses in classrooms, but on the other hand it can also be bad, because every school isn’t going to be able to have the advanced studies of the new type of technology that comes out so often, because of it expenses. For example when one school who is on a budget with buying new technology, and when they final are able to get that technology, a school that is able to afford the technology as soon as it comes out already has a newer version of the schools old technology. So that’s a down side to this. Yes I can rely on this authors work because of its well cited facts and information to back up things. This article is different with its talks about technology in classrooms. Same by having its ups and downs of technology. Technology of Security Engineering (Program for Cyber security Neighborhood watch Developed) This article’s source is about mainly the technology security and how it can help and also cause security problems. This source of this article is relevant to my topic by showing ways of how technology has helped keep the people safe and how it has also hurt some people verbally and physically. This article answers the question of to how can the security help and help people in their everyday lives. The way technology security can help people are with their being passwords for to help save people from letting them get out their personal information. Also it can harm people by their being hackers out here in the world and breaking through those security fields and getting information of other people. Then they can pretend to be others through technology without showing ones true identity and ruining someone else career. The comparison of all these articles is there being a way technology can help people and harm them. The difference is that this source talks about security technology, than any of the other sources. October/5/2011 Technology in restaurants The source to the technology in restaurants is that there can be errors and there can be good things that come about. The good can come about for when the restaurant has a quality of food and the technology is just there to help them keep track of the stock of things. The bad is that there can be  errors when technology is doing all the work and there can be a wrong type of number put in and can cause a miscount of the quality of the food. This topic relates to mine by there being way that technology can help and affect our everyday human life. The comparison of all these sources is that there is always a plus to having technology and a negative to how it can affect our everyday lives. The difference of this article is that this one talks about how technology helps and affects our lives with restaurants. Investing in Technology in restaurants This source talks mainly about how if it is good or not to invest into technology and if it can ditechnology can go two ways. This can be good because the technology might make things faster and easier for the restaurant. But this could also go bad because this could change the taste of food from which peoples are use too, and it could slow things down. So it’s a risk that the purchasers for the restaurants have to take. This source relate to my topic by saying whether it is good or bad for this technology and if it can help out humans or not. The comparisons of all of these are that the good and bad comes with all technology. The difference of this article is saying is there a risk with helping or hurting the restaurant with buying technology that they are not familiar with. October/12/2011 Pros and Cons of Modern versus Old Technology The source of this article talks about the greatness of how much technology has helped out with the human body so much in ways of finding things that couldn’t be done without technology. The source of this article also talks about how technology has its downside with helping humans figure out problems with the human body. This source is relevant to my topic with all the good of saying how far technology has come with making humans lives so much easier. But it also relates to my topic by telling all of the cons about how technology has hurt the human body and that it sometimes reads off false information. This source helps me answer that no matter how great technology is, that it can still be wrong at times. I can rely on this source because of all the good information that is stated along with its information backing up all the details. The comparison of all these articles  is that they all have the good and bad side to having technology around. The difference of this article is that it talks about how technology has helped out discover new things in the human body. The pros and cons of finding out through technology about Medicated chewing gum. This source of the article talks about how chewing gum has its great ways of helping people out. This source also talks about the bad side of how chewing medicated chewing gum can affect you. This source is relevant to my topic by having the good side of chewing gum and how it can help humans by keeping them with fresh breath, helping humans out by whiting their teeth; fight cavities and making your jaw bone structure stronger. The other way it helps me is by showing the way technology finds out the bad things that this medicated chewing gum can harm you by giving you cavities causing problems with your gums because of the sugars and colors affected changes to the mouth. I can rely on this source because of all the other case studies that are within this article that all have information to back it up with. The comparison of all these articles are that technology has its ups and downs of helping humans. The difference of this article is that it’s about chewing gum and how it can affect the human body mouth and cause more problems.

Communism and Small Elite Group Essay

Communism and Small Elite Group Essay Communism and Small Elite Group Essay Revolution goals and outcomes of Russia and Mexico (Similarities) * Both revolutions were started by the lower, working class because they wanted a government who would support them and not just the wealthy and powerful - Mexico - large sectors of the economy were controlled by foreigners. Most of the land was owned by a small elite group of people (pg 711) * Both governments had a lot of corruption and did not support the working class who protested the conditions of early industrialization (Russia pg 713). - Industrial nationalism disrupted manufacturing in Russia creating more economic hardship by increasing unemployment and famine. (pg 715) - Mexico – the corrupt government would punish the working class when they would oppose the loss of their lands and horrible working conditions (pg711) * Although the Mexican Revolution was caused primarily by internal forces, it was eventually influenced by the outbreak of WWI . The war caused a disruption of traditional markets for Latin American exports and the elimination of European sources of goods forced them to rely on themselves. (pg 711) Revolutionary outbursts in Russia were even more so spurred by wartime misery, including painful food shortages and great loss of life. (pg 677 and 713) * One common goal of the revolutions was to reassert greater national autonomy and move away from Western influence, economic control and cultural influence. (pg 718) * Outcome: both countries put land redistribution policies in place to try to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor. (pg 712 – Mexican Constitution of 1917) Russia – Lenin decreed a redistribution of land to the peasantry and launched a state takeover of basic industry. (pg 715) Revolution goals and outcomes of Russia and Mexico (Differences) * The new Russian government tried to establish a classless society (Marxism) where everyone had complete equality. Liberal leaders (the czar) had held

In what circumstances have NGOs come to perform governmental functions Essay

In what circumstances have NGOs come to perform governmental functions - Essay Example NGO’s are the voice of the civil society and fuel social development. But why do we need NGO’s. Do they represent failure of government in bringing the social justice and providing necessary human and social development? Is the role and impact of NGO’s has changed in any way in the wake of globalization? This paper aims at studying the circumstances which makes the NGO’s perform nongovernmental functions. It will also discuss history and changes in the type of work done by NGO’s. The paper aims at investigating the reasons of the recent growth of NGO’s. An example of how the policy and working of NGO’s have changed in the wake of globalization and changed circumstances will also be discussed to develop a sound understanding of the situation. History and Growth of NGO’s The concept of NGO is not new and can be traced back to the late eighteenth century but the terminology of NGO is relatively recent. The first NGO in its raw form was formed by Thomas Clarkson along with some other men in 1787; when they formed a society to dissuade British companies and ship owners to involve in salve trade. The struggle continued in different forms against different form of oppression and eventually Red Cross was formed in 1855. The NGO activity has grown considerably from those early days of Clarkson. According to the statistics of the Union of International Associations, the no of active NGO’s in 2001 was around 25,000 that is 10,000 more than the figure of 1980. Besides these active NGO’s a huge number of inactive NGO’s also exist, which are capable of becoming active upon arrival of need. The number of inactive NGO’s in 2001 was astounding 18,000. The same is true for the national and local activist groups. Recently what has been observed is the mushroom growth of such organizations all over the world. Indonesia had only one organization for environment protection but now the number has cros sed over 2000. In the Philippines the number of NGO’s has increased from 18,000 to astounding 58,000 only between the period of 1989 and 1996. According to a study of Worldwatch institute the number of grass root or low level NGO’s in United States is approximately two million. The study also revealed that approximately two third of them were established in the last thirty years. NGO’s are not only growing in number but they are also improving in quality in terms of skills, specialization and sophistication. Most highly educated people holding masters and doctoral level degrees are associated with NGO’s. Typically NGO’s very successfully align their strategies with the political, economic, social and environmental trends. Their ability to communicate with media is considered the best in the private sector. NGO does also have this ability to move quickly and form global networks (Blackburn, 2007). Influence of NGO’s NGO’s are changing the way business is being done all over the globe. They are powerful, innovative and organized. They provide social and humanitarian services in cross national contexts that are somewhat politicized as well. NGO’s these days have a strong influence over business.

Compare and contrast Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Compare and contrast - Essay Example Most of these artists engaged in paintings of beautiful women a character that we see with works from Sharaku and Katagawa. However, landscapes had been given limited attention by most of thee artists hence the reason for Hokusai’s diversion. Most of the critics of Hokusai’s works defined his landscape paintings as the Western paintings since they differed from Japanese paintings in terms of imagination, composition, atmosphere and the natural observation. A good piece of art showing an assumption of Tsunami off the coast of Japan is an ancient art done by Katsushika Hokusai (Nagata and Bester 28). This piece of art was done between 1760-1849. However, many people argue that this piece of art is not a Tsunami but depicts other things. This geometrical piece of art employs the use of circles, lines, and triangles in an artistic manner, which creates a sense of space collapsing. From the picture, there is an indication that the boatmen are not fighting against the huge wa ve but rather using the flow of the wave for their movement. Most of the artist believes that this picture was created as a symbol of his death since this is just one of the pieces of arts Hokusai produced just before his death. The painting is a traditional Japanese piece of art especially by the Japanese writings that are embedded in it. We also find this feature in the other two paintings indicating that these are traditional ukiyo-e paintings. The piece of art also symbolizes Japanese tradition. Hokusai shows symbols of tradition in this piece of art. Mount Fiji is shown from a background and this time is not shown as a huge mountain but just a small one shifting the focus of everyone’s perception. The picture also indicates Japanese anglers in boats struggling with the sea wave. In addition to this, a sense of energy has been created in this picture. Three quarters of the film is the huge sea wave, which consumes the great mount Fiji. This shows that Hokusai wanted to ex press energy in his composition. The technique used in painting of this picture is from the printing of woodblocks a technique that was mostly used by Buddhists in the 17th century. Otanaji Oniji II is a 1794-95 piece of art, which was developed by Toshusai Sharaku. In this piece of art, Sharaku’s great composition depicts a sense of energy, which is displaying realism and beauty. We can compare the theme of energy in relation to Hokusai’s picture in which the sea consumes three quarters of the space. From Sharaku’s picture, we can see that the artist has employed the use of lines triangles, and circles the same way in which Hokusai developed in The Great wave off Kanagawa. However, Sharaku in this piece of art is more real and articulate (Narazaki 79). The face of the picture takes three quarters of the space emphasizing the key area he wanted to expose. When comparing the themes of these two pictures we notice that Sharaku’s picture illustrates a huge s ense of modernity. The person in the picture is beautiful and with lots of energy shown in the face while Hokusai’s picture indicates a deep sense of tradition from the boats and the physical background. In comparison, all these piece of arts were done in the 17th century a time when most of the artists used woodblocks as their main tool for production of their pieces of art. Sharaku also shows a sense of tradition in this portrait. The clothing of the person in the p

Morality in Ethan Frome Essay Example for Free

Morality in Ethan Frome Essay In The Morality of Inertia, Lionel Trilling argues that Ethan Frome’s inability to make his own ethical decisions ultimately makes his ‘smash-up’ a tragic event caused by the inactivity of morality. The nonexistence of this moral inertia is the explanation, for Trilling, for the outcome of Frome; the lack of moral responsibility in any of the main characters from the beginning of their lives paralyzes their decision making process they simply exist and do what is their duty. Trilling’s aspect that Frome was a morally inadequate man is a valid fact affirmed by Edith Wharton’s provided background of him; the idea that he was unable to make choices and is only capable of enduring can be proven inaccurate with his Frome’s actions throughout the story. The notion that Ethan Frome is incapable of making ethical decisions based on his background can also be countered with his background and actions. Trilling uses Frome’s â€Å"duties as a husband† and son as support for his claim that â€Å"[c]hoice is incompatible with [Ethan’s existence]† (from Morality of Inertia). However, the reader is exposed to Ethan’s ability to recognize choices, and decisions not to act on them, throughout the story. Frome acknowledges his dilemma of running away with Mattie or staying with Zeena, but is inefficient in seeing past the initial consequences of each choice and exploring other possibilities of escape besides the basic. Ethan’s central decision in the book, to commit suicide with Mattie, is made with free will; although it is Mattie’s idea, Ethan agrees and takes the reins in the front of the sled. Although Ethan Frome is a broken man perpetually frozen in a bleak Starkfield, one cannot disregard his inaction when he is presented and acknowledges choices. He constantly contemplates expressing his love for Mattie, looking for â€Å"the all-expressive word,† but fails to, even when alone with her, making â€Å"free choice† a moot point (Ethan Frome; from Morality of Inertia). Morality is not caused by inertia in Ethan’s case but personal authorization Ethan’s decision to commit suicide proves this point; the act proves that he was capable of confessing his love to Mattie, but failed to up to that moment. Although Frome can be held responsible for his moral inactivity, he can be considered a morally inadequate man in his present state. His inadequacy, however, was not a constant in life or a sudden occurrence it snowballed from his youth and finally solidified through the ‘smash-up’. His earlier experiences in a university and the joy it brought him was quickly interrupted after a year by his sickly parents. The unfortunate circumstance forces Ethan Frome to move back to the depressing Starkfield he had just escaped. His parents’ illnesses bring along Zenobia, who would be another future, unseen oppression along with Starkfield. For years, Ethan lives in depressing conditions that decline as time goes on. The chance to finally leave them behind, however, comes in Mattie, Zenobia’s cousin and maid. Ethan’s inability to act on this chance of escape finally seals his fate when Mattie is paralyzed and he is critically injured. Although jinxed with unfortunate circumstances, Ethan Frome’s life could have been bettered if one small step or action was taken by him for himself with the intention to create personal joy or pleasure. The importance of taking steps in life betterment can be seen in Ethan Frome. Although one may lack a history of â€Å"making moral decisions,† the human instinct to do so is always there (from Morality of Inertia). Ethan Frome was able to rationalize and recognize choices inside of his head; it was his inability to act on any one until his attempted suicide that created his depressing circumstances. The irony of his only decision with Mattie being one of the most deciding ones in his life underscores the fact that if he had taken this initiative before this instance, his life might have taken a different track. This was not a forced or accidental occurrence; Ethan Frome was in fact an unfortunate individual in undesirable circumstances, but with a free will and mind developed enough to make

Evaluation of Tourism Brochure for Portugal

Evaluation of Tourism Brochure for Portugal The National Tourism Office for Portugal describes the country as one of the world’s oldest nations whose boundaries have remained unchanged since the thirteenth century. It encompasses the Azores and Madeira within its region and offers rapid access to other countries in Europe as well as the American continent and Africa. It has mild winters and ‘agreeable’ summers. It has a population of over 10 million, with the highest demographic in Lisbon. It boasts strong and historical and cultural ties with the rest of the world. (Sourced from: http://www.portugal.org/index.shtml, Date accessed, 12/01/09) Located in South West Europe Portugal has been an economic and politically powerful country and played a key role in early maritime exploration during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. It is clear that tourist brochures key objectives are to sell a positive and appealing destination to travelers; what is not quite so apparent are the disguised messages that are frequently conveyed by the way in which certain pictures are produced and by way of cleverly composed coded text throughout. Two official brochures issued by the Portuguese Tourism Office will be analysed for their content within this paper. This will mostly focus on visual images as well as some textual interpretation. One represents a traditional travel brochure depicting the country generically, while the other is their most up to date promotional campaign brochure which has only recently been launched. In Eric Laws’ Embracing and Managing Change in Tourism he talks about using content analysis to make ‘replicable and valued inferences from data to their context’. His model seeks to decode messages according to categories including location, activities, transport and travel parties etc whilst breaking down the analysis in sections; the front page, photographs and text. (Laws, 1998) It is this approach that will be applied to this paper. Assessing first the more traditional brochure for the country, immediately the front cover conveys a sense of isolation, with what appears to be a digitally enhanced image of a rock in the middle of the sea. Whether this is meant to represent Portugal is unclear and although a little uninspiring it will appeal to a certain type of audience that will want to discover more. This audience target becomes more apparent the further into the brochure you read. The first page into the literature provides a mixture of emotive, nationalistic and evocative images. A local Portuguese poet is quoted as a means of engaging the reader immediately with the prospect of a country which is inspired by the arts, as well as characterising it as a country not to be confused as a seaside resort, but rather for its lesser known rugged mountains and lakes which are illustrated romantically on the front cover. The accompanying text continues to relay all of the diverse things that Portugal has in terms of app ealing to a broad audience. These include nightclubs, hiking or deserted coves. However whilst it may seem to want to appeal to all people it is at the same time obviously trying to attract the type of middle class, sensitive and emotional visitor who will be inspired by beauty and poetry. The second page continues with this theme but elaborates on the architecture, museums and heritage to be discovered. Now the reader begins to imagine Portugal as more of an ‘old world’ country, which of course is what it is and it is clear that the brochure wants to emphasise this age old association with Portugal, not so much the seaside resort, but more of a cultural haven. Once again this romantic element continues across the following pages where the quaint old images are elaborated further with the introduction of the idea of romance. It’s as if the brochure has succeeded in coming across as a charming, welcoming country which is most suitable as a destination for lovers a nd couples to embrace. The reader is told that for the Portuguese ‘romance is as important as the air they breath’ It even goes so far as to say ‘one-night stands are out’ which automatically assumes that the young, single man or woman perhaps coming to the country in a group of similar young and single people would not feel comfortable or at ease. This is not the market that they want to encourage. It is a clever message and not so much cryptic, more overt in its presence. Already there have been four images all of which contain no people in them. This is particularly interesting as it suggests the sender of the message is trying to convey Portugal as a form of tourism which suits escapism. Pictures of food and restaurants feature across the next two pages with a list of the ten things you should not leave Portugal before tasting. Portugal thrives on its high-level services like drinking, eating and shopping and it seems uncharacteristic then that for a thirty six page brochure only around three or four pages have any images of food, bars or restaurants. Already this assumes in many ways that the country has defined its tourist and is utilising different methods of trying to attract them. In Finn et al’s Tourism and Leisure Research Methods: Data Collection, Analysis, and Interpretation the authors write about a research study which took place over three years on a remote Scottish Island with the intention of understanding better the relationship between islanders and tourists. Life on the island changed significantly over the summer months when visitors arrived and the study was able to determine that all visitors could be clearly categorized. The categories included day-trippers, summer residents, tourists, returning island-born visitors etc. (Finn et al, 2000) The tourists were defined, known and responded to accordingly. Each country has an understanding of who their visitors are and will attempt to appeal to them as categories, such as those listed above. In order to do that they apply a number of techniques that will be designed to capture the imagination of any given category. This particular brochure omits any indication of hedonism, instead it depicts couples walking or lone back-packers. There are no crowd scenes, no shots of happy groups of participatory people. The focus remains on large rural landscapes, with urban representations limited to the city architecture, rather than on nightlife or entertainment. The word romance appears seven times in the first four pages, which immediately indicates that the oweness is on this type of visitor; a couple or perhaps two friends looking for meaningful encounters rather than drink-fuelled, party antics. This isn’t isolated to one section of the brochure either, it is prevalent throughout even in the pages selling Lisbon, Portugal’s adven turous capital city. In fact the word Lisbon only features once in some contact details at the end of the literature. Portugal’s capital is referred throughout by its old traditional Portuguese name, Lisboa. This in itself suggests that the tourist office is appealing to more sophisticated and knowledgeable travelers who will know that Lisboa is Lisbon. Some readers may understandably pick up a brochure of Portugal looking for Lisbon, but it is clearly this type of prospective visitor that the country is not necessarily interested in appealing to here. Page 19 goes into tremendous detail about the historical background of the region. For many standard holiday makers looking for a cheap and cheerful get away this will automatically leave them cold and disinterested. The text reads like a detailed guide book in the style of Lonely Planet or Time Out. The Mosteiro dos Jerà ³nimos in the district of Belà ©m is a hymn in stone to Portugal’s maritime heritage, while the Torre de Belà ©m is a potent symbol of Portugal’s great age  of expansion. Even contemporary architecture takes on a maritime theme – the amazing new Vasco da Gama bridge is in the shape of a giant sail. After the devastating earthquake of 1755, Baixa Pombalina (the centre of Lisboa) was rebuilt in a classical style, but many of the winding mediaeval bairros remain, crammed with fascinating shops, restaurants and cafà ©s. At night they come into their own,  offering everything from African to Latin American music – and of course the  bluesy melancholy of fado. This is not the language traditionally associated with grabbing the attention of hard marketing, fast promoting tourist attractions and once again only seeks to reiterate the type of audience they are trying to capture. The second brochure for analysis is very different in its approach. It has been designed in a deliberately stylized way to grab the attention of the potential tourist. The reader is informed immediately that this has been created specifically for Portugal by the world renowned photographer Nick Knight. A photographer who is British, which immediately eradicates any thoughts of patriotism or national pride which comes across so clearly in the opening pages of the other brochure. And on the cover the reader is presented with a juxtaposing photograph of the Portuguese football manager Jose Mourinho resting above the caption ‘My country has 220 days of sunshine every year’. Jose Mourinho is the face of Portugal, literally. Not only that but the accompanying statement makes it personalized somehow, as if Mourinho was talking to the reader as a friend or confident. This is a very clever way of engaging readers. In addition it is almost as if the writers of the brochure have de cided that they need to associate the country more with a well known image. It signifies pride whilst boasting that it is a country blessed with sun and celebrities. National celebrities as well as the ability to attract other celebrities such as Nick Knight. It is a very bold, confident style. The most noticeable next technique to be analysed is the selected font that the brochure is written in. This looks like old computer style icons, which conjures up images of both the future in terms of technology and of nostalgia for old fashioned computer text. As a consequence the reader becomes drawn in by a familiar yet inspirational attitude towards the literature being presented. Is this the way in which Portugal is trying to be imagined? As an inspiring, forward-thinking country which is also reassuring some how. As if carrying on with this theme the brochure then informs us that Portugal is essentially trying to re-define and re-brand itself, telling us on page 4, that its many and varied assets deserve to be ‘promoted and exploited†¦.with a proper stage so that they can be seen, appreciated and valued as they are not enough at the moment’. This self-depreciating and yet overly confident message will appeal to readers on a number of levels. The information which the reader is communicated on page 6 is particularly interesting. It seeks to plead with prospective tourists on the basis of beginning to disassociate itself away from its old Mediterranean identity. Despite none of Portugal’s coast being on the Mediterranean Sea, it has often promoted itself as a ‘Mediterranean area’. For the first time in this brochure it is realigning itself with the ‘Atlantic†¦and our home’. This signifies a complete change of image and identity for the country and one that it wants to relay to other potential visitors from around the world. After approximately seven extremely short paragraphs along this same theme and a biography of Nick Knight; what emerges is a series of robust images, first of rugged seascapes and rough coastal scenes which invoke feelings of drama, excitement and energy which is clearly what this ‘new’ Portugal is attempting to portray. Probably the most powerful messa ges are however the next set of portraits which illustrate well known Portuguese people including the architect Miguel Cancio Martins, the artist Joana Vasconcelos, the footballer Cristiano Ronaldo and of course Jose Mourinho. It is a brochure which is very stylised and reads more like a power point presentation than a piece of promotional tourist information. It is particularly visual and leaves behind any romantic, idealised, historical textual information so associated with the hard sell of ‘old world country’s’. Instead it is making a very brave and bold move into re-branding itself as a country to be viewed as a modern contender even going to the extreme of repositioning itself geographically within the Atlantic Ocean, rather than the Mediterranean. Perhaps this has been done in a move towards getting people to start associating it with an entirely new type of holiday which does not necessarily reflect the beaches, clubs and excitement connected to the Medit erranean, but more in line with the sophistication of the brochure discussed earlier. To be considered more like Mexico and Guyana rather than Cyprus and Greece; the more popular and media driven destinations which are more and more prone to be associated with package tours, groups of young people and stag and hen parties. The other rationale for its provocative move might relate to the Middle East; so firmly entrenched as it is in the Mediterranean, in particular Israel and Libya. Recent political unrest and continued problems in this area might have prompted Portugal to consider disassociating itself from its previous identity. In Pritchard and Morgan’s study, Evaluating vacation destination brochure images: the case of local authorities in Wales, they identified the power and influence of images appearing in brochures into six groups all of which assist with establishing identity; scenery, activities, people, heritage, urban and rural and iconic destinations. (Pritchard and Morgan, 1995). This contemporary brochure proves no different in many ways. It still succeeds in Portugal establishing itself as a vacation destination in that it projects large bold images of Portugal’s natural scenery, not its heritage, castles or monuments, but the wildlife that exists around its coast, the people of course are also iconic representations and exemplify the country as a modern forward thinking and inspirational place to go. No activities are demonstrated but the photographs of well known people listed by occupation craftily suggests that it is possible to do anything in Portugal, whether that be a scient ist, artists, architect or even an Olympic champion. Portugal has it all. The juxtaposition of both brochures; traditional and contemporary have been interesting to analyse in relation to their differences as well as their very obvious similarities. From this angle it is determinable that messages may often be similar or indeed the same but that they can be delivered in very conflicting ways in the context of differing perspectives. Many of the messages relayed in both brochures advertising Portugal predominantly appeal to more broad minded, sophisticated audiences who appreciate and know a little more about life and the world around them. By doing so it sometimes actually serves to discourage anything other than that type of tourist, which may on some levels seem risky, whilst on others is understandable if the country has faced economic, public or political issues due to the nature of their tourism or media associated tourism. References Finn, M, Elliott-White, M, Walton, M (2000) Tourism and Leisure Research Methods: Data Collection, Analysis, and Interpretation: Pearson Education Laws, E, Faulkner, W, Moscardo, G, Faulkner, B (1998) Embracing and Managing Change in Tourism: International Case Studies: Routledge Pritchard, A and Morgan, N. (1995) Evaluating destination brochure images: the case of local authorities in Wales, Journal of Vacation Marketing, Vol 2, pp 23-38 Ringer, G.D (1998) Destinations: Cultural Landscapes of Tourism: Routledge Official Portugal Tourism Office (Sourced from: http://www.portugal.org/index.shtml, Date accessed, 12/01/09)

Mother Tongue-Based Multi-Lingual Education in Philippine Schools Essay

Scenario: A Waray-speaking couple from Samar decided to relocate in Cebu for job opportunities. Tagging along with them is their first-grader girl. Deficient of finances, they decided to enroll the kid in a public school. It so happened that the Philippine Department of Education (DepEd) has introduced the Mother Tongue-Based Multi-Lingual Education (MTB-MLE) program. This is a program that uses your mother tongue (language at home) as a medium of instruction inside the classroom. Will the girl be given special attention knowing that she speaks Waray and be separated from the rest of her Cebuano-speaking classmates? If the language at home will be the medium of instruction from Kinder to Grade 3, how will this affect a multi-language group? According to DepEd, 12 major Philippine languages will be introduced beginning this school year 2012-2013 to improve literacy and instruction: Tagalog, Kapampangan, Pangasinense, Iloko, Bikol, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Waray, Tausug, Maguindanaoan, Maranao, and Chabacano. The objectives of the program include: l. anguage development which establishes a strong education for success in school and for lifelong learning; 2. cognitive development which focuses on Higher Order Thinking Skills competencies in each of the learning areas; and 3. academic development which prepares the learner to acquire mastery of language and culture. 4. socio-cultural awareness which enhances the pride of the learner’s heritage. The program hopes that by using the mother tongue (first language or L1) as a medium of instruction inside the classroom in the early grades, it will hasten the basic communication skills of the students. When students develop fluency in speaking, reading and writing in the first language, the L1 can then be utilized as a bridge or transitional to learning the second (L2) and third (L3) languages (e. g. Filipino and English). The introduction of languages in this method will give students confidence in learning academic concepts. From DepEd Order No. 74, 3c: â€Å"In terms of cognitive development, and its effects in other academic areas, pupils taught to read and write in their first language acquire [educational] competencies more quickly. † Director Yolanda Quijano of DepEd’s Bureau of Elementary Education stressed in a press release, â€Å"[These] studies proved that learners who begin in their first language have more efficient cognitive development and are better prepared for more cognitively demanding subject matter. In other words, a learner tends to be smarter if he starts his education using the mother tongue. † How will DepEd implement the program? Below, I tabulated a progression plan for teaching and using the three languages (mother-tongue, English, Filipino) based on how I understood the program. Basically, the program starts with pupils learning their lessons through the use of their mother-tongue — first orally and then in written form. It finishes with kids being fluent in (or at least learning fast) English and Filipino when they finish grade 6. Will this kind of plan succeed? I believe so, if planned properly. Even UNESCO endorses the use of Mother Tongue Multilingual Education and highlights the important features of the process: 1.  Education begins with what the learners already know, building on the language and culture, knowledge and experience that they bring with them when they start school; 2. Learners gradually gain confidence in using the new (official) language, before it becomes the only language for teaching academic subjects; and 3. Learners achieve grade level competence in each subject because teachers use their home language, along with the official school language, to help them understand the academic concepts. Also, MTB-MLE has long been used by other developing countries. Here are benchmark studies from UNESCO: 1. Modiano’s (1973) study in the Chiapas highlands of Mexico found that indigenous children efficiently transferred literacy skills from the L1 to the L2 and out-performed monolingual Spanish speakers. 2. The Six-Year Yoruba Medium Primary Project (Fafunwa et al. 1975; Akinnaso 1993; see Adegbiya 2003 for other references) demonstrated unequivocally that a full six-year primary education in the mother tongue with the L2 taught as a subject was not only viable but gave better results than all-English schooling. It also suggested that teachers should be allowed to specialize in L2 instruction. 3. The Rivers Readers Project, also in Nigeria, showed how mother tongue materials of reasonable quality could be developed even where resources were scarce and even for previously undeveloped languages with small numbers of speakers (Williamson, 1976). Communities themselves provided competent native speakers and funds for language development, producing over forty publications in fifteen languages. 4.  Large-scale research on Filipino-English bilingual schooling in the Philippines (Gonzalez & Sibayan, 1988) found a positive relationship between achievement in the two languages, and found that low student performance overall was not an effect of bilingual education but of other factors, especially the low quality of teacher training (see also Dutcher 1995). If the program works in other developing countries, I believe, it should also work in the Philippines. But this isn’t easy. Getting to the goal takes a lot of groundwork. Look at the figure below. For the program to achieve long-term success, DepEd must go through each and every step. It looks like DepEd has already done the necessary research and already raised awareness about the program through its Region, Division, District, and School Heads, as well as through Local Government Units (LGUs). But what about the rest of the steps? Do we have enough teaching and learning materials ready that are built specifically for a particular language? Next, have we trained enough teachers and staff to efficiently implement the program? Most importantly, do we have the funding and full support from the government to sustain this effort? Now, let me go back to the challenge I mentioned in the first paragraph. – How will the program resolve classrooms with multiple home languages spoken by pupils? – What is the solution when teachers that are available to teach do not even speak the pupils’ mother-tongue? – Should we place books and reading materials written in different home languages in each classroom? While I support mother tongue-based education, I think DepEd must spend some more time to resolve some lingering questions and prepare the materials needed to facilitate effective classroom interaction with this new approach to basic education. Success stories in Papua New Guinea (Klaus 2003), and the Rivers Readers project in Nigeria (Williamson 1985) should become inspirations for the Philippines. More time is also needed for human resource development. To remedy this situation, the case of the bilingual intercultural education in Bolivia must be looked into (refer to ETARE 1993, Albo & Anaya 2003). Are you one with the DepEd in the implementation of the Mother Tongue-Based Multi-Lingual Education (MTB-MLE) program this coming school year? Leave some comments below.