Sustainability of Singapore as a Sports Tourism Hub Essay Example for Free

Sustainability of Singapore as a Sports Tourism Hub Essay 1.Introduction 1.1.Purpose To present an overview of the latest sporting developments in Singapore and evaluate Singapore’s sustainability in enhancing Singapore’s position as a sports tourism hub in Asia. 1.2.Objectives -Discuss the recent infrastructures constructed for Singapore’s sporting industry -Identify recent initiatives by the Singapore Sports Council -Highlight key inaugural sporting events held recently -Discuss the advantages of having Singapore as a sports tourism hub -Discuss limitations faced in the long run and some measures being taken -Determine Singapore’s sustainability in the long run 1.3.Definition 1.3.1.Sports Tourism (Higham, 2004) All forms of active and passive involvement in sporting activity, participated in casually or in an organized way for non-commercial or business/ commercial reasons, that necessitate travel away from the home and work locality. 1.3.2.Sustainable Tourism (Higham, 2004) Tourism which is in a form which can be maintained its viability in an area for an indefinite period of time. 1.4.Overview of Sports in Singapore Singapore’s position in the regional sporting arena has been an area of consistent improvements over the years. The outstanding performance from our aspiring young athletes during the Asian Youth Games in 2009, clinching a 4th on the medal tally further proved Singapore’s prowess in sports in this region. With several state-of-the-art sports facilities and structures being constructed in the region, Singapore has been keeping itself up to date with the sports in the region and providing venues for such activities. The upcoming major summer games, Youth Olympic Games 2010 (YOG 2010) will be  held in Singapore as well, with examples of infrastructural and government support examined in the report. 1.5.Method of Investigation This report is an assessment of research gathered through magazines, official and government websites, annual reports, news articles and books on sports tourism till 9th February 2010. An email correspondence had also been established with Ms Rachel Chan, a staff of HiVelocity who are the organisers for local events like Sundown Marathon, Aviva Ironman 70.3 and Men’s Health Urbanathlon. 2.Local Sports Tourism 2.1.Latest Infrastructure Developments 2.1.1.Tampines Bike Trail Constructed in 2007, the 60-hectare trail will be used for BMX and Mountain Bike (MTB) during the Youth Olympic Games. It has been recently upgraded to make it more technically challenging. Since then, it has hosted several regional MTB events like the Phat Tyre Sunday Mountain Bike Race, Bike Asia 100 and the Eneloop Mountain Bike Carnival. 2.1.2.Singapore Turf Club (STC) At its new location next to Kranji MRT Station, the STC is an exemplary architectural centrepiece of a racecourse, with a roof structure inspired by a horse in motion. It houses several grandstands with exclusive and unobstructed viewing for public, privileged cardholders and invited guests. With a range of FB, viewing galleries and event rooms, the STC is capable of holding large scale equestrian events. 2.1.3.Marina Reservoir The Marina Reservoir, opened in Nov 1 2008, was part of Singapore’s plan in diversifying its water supply by recycling waste water and desalinating sea-water. Being the largest reservoir, it is able to host a variety of water sports including rowing and canoe-kayaking with the Gardens by the Bay; a new park next to the reservoir providing an excellent vantage point. 2.2.Recent Initiatives SSC has recently launched a nationwide movement called â€Å"Let’s Play†. It encourages all Singaporeans to be involved in sports in all ways, emphasizing on increasing the ease of involving oneself in sports through playing, cheering or volunteering. The SSC had also launched collaborated with the URA to construct more public parks, park connectors, open communal areas and exercise corners to encourage exercise locally. The implementation of the Dual-Use Scheme, which opens school fields to the public and the opening of Singapore’s largest integrated complex in Jurong West with sports facilities and instructional courses complete with retail and food outlets are also part of SSC’s efforts to go all out in making citizens live healthily. The establishment of an online lifestyle interactive portal; singaporesports.sg on 6th May 2008 aims to entertain, inform and educates. With a calendar of sporting events, forums, blogs, news on the local and international sports scene, volunteering opportunities as well as a membership system to enjoy discounts and offers at partner establishments. 2.3.Sporting Events 2.3.1.Asian Youth Games The inaugural Asian Youth Games was held in Singapore between 29 June 2009 and 7 July 2009. It has attracted about 1,300 top juniors, aged 14-17 from 45 National Olympic Councils competing in 9 sports with the aims to build good relations within the Asian community. 1,100 participants were housed in the Games Village at Swissotel The Stamford which is centrally located. Organised by Singapore Sports Council and Ministry of Education, there is indeed strong funding and support from the government for this event. The event venues for the 9 sports have also been selectively chosen for their standards. However, the Games were impended by the cloud of the H1N1 influenza which had infected members of the Hong Kong and Philippines football team. Stringent measures were taken by the Olympic Council Asia to  ensure early identification and isolation. 2.3.2.Aviva Ironman Triathlon 70.3 The Ironman triathlon was founded in 1978, with the half-ironman distance of 70.3 miles introduced in 2006. The Singapore version was formed in 2007 which was also a qualifying event for the Foster Grant Ironman World Championships in Clearwater Florida USA. This was an incentive for elite and aspiring elites to come to compete in this race. Since then, several veteran and uprising world champions have been featured in Singapore’s version. In the recent 2009 series, 45% of the 1,500 participants were foreigners with high spending power as proven by the race fees of about $375 per registration. 2.3.3.Men’s Health Urbanathlon (MHU) On the 31st January 2010, 1,500 participants gathered at Marina Square for the inaugural Singapore edition of MHU which saw participants completing 8 obstacles over a distance of 12.5km. First held in Chicago and in Britain, the novelty of this race emphasises on the one of a kind obstacles in an urban setting. 19% of the participants were foreigners. 3.Singapore as a Sports hub 3.1.Advantages 3.1.1.Increased arrivals The direct beneficiaries of this effect include airlines, hotels, food and beverage establishments, tour agencies and the organisers of the race itself. In addition to this, the accompanying families of participants generate revenue through shopping and spending leisure time at tourist attractions. Overseas sponsors and media representatives are also invited to grace the event with their presence and more money would be spent attending to their comfort and enjoyment. Maintenance and repairs of equipment are in demand, with foreigners more willing to spend on purchasing of spare parts and quick fixes. 3.1.2.Increase direct media presence and popularity During major events like the Youth Olympic Games 2010 and Formula 1 Grand Prix, there would be increased media coverage and international focus. Live or replayed telecasts would show emphasis on the race in progress, with the skyline and background infrastructure gaining attention apart from the race. During the 2008 F1 Grand Prix, the line up in the circuit park included entertainment from Zouk DJs, Bob Marley’s Wailers, Dim Sum Dollies and the Coyote Ugly girls, accompanied by established FB food stalls. Trees around the circuit park were used as part of a visual art project called Humanature. All these were done to maximise spectator experience, in turn projecting Singapore in a positive light on the world stage, with the skyscrapers of the city in the background, and eye catching structures like the Esplanade standing out. All these would invigorate the viewers’ senses whether watching overseas or on site and might increase interest to visit Singapore to see these attractions. 3.2.Limitations 3.2.1.Land Scarcity Scarcity of land and other resources has been a constant challenge faced by Singapore. Therefore Singapore has always placed emphasis on sustainable development and land-use. Ways of optimising the use of natural resources include sourcing for alternative usages for materials or facilities. An example of the land with multiple uses would be the International Convention Centre at Suntec City Singapore. This multi-purpose indoor convention and exhibition centre has hosted the many huge events and meetings. It would also be used for several sports like boxing, fencing, handball, judo, taekwondo and wrestling during the Youth Olympic Games. However, the challenge would be maximising the potential of land space for multiple land-use in the future, to enhance the potential for larger events to take place in Singapore. 3.2.2.Lack of manpower Volunteers, performers, cheerleaders, referees are some of the essential roles needed to be filled for a sporting event on a big scale to be successful. In Singapore, the Ministry of Education is supporting schools to change curriculum times or test schedules during the Youth Olympic Games. A twinning programme has also been created to pair schools up with the different countries participating in the Games, to learn more about the country and hosting them when they arrive. These activities and initiatives would definitely ease the organisers’ job in integrating the overseas participants into the community and give students a chance of making new friends and learning about different cultures. Students would also be encouraged to volunteer themselves in the event and be excited of being part of it. 3.2.3.Global Financial Crisis The recent economy crisis had caught the world by surprise and resulted in the weakening of economies, Singapore was affected as well. However, good corporate governance and foresightedness had led to the quick rebound of the economy. However as construction costs had surged during the crisis, SSC’s plan of building a sports hub by 2010 to 2015. As such, Singapore is unable to host the 2013 Southeast Asian Games as initially planned. 3.3.Sustainability Sports tourism has been identified as a fast growing industry, with new sports and games being created and flourishing over the recent years. With its current collection of world class sporting venues, Singapore is indeed suitable for hosting large sporting events, logistically and socially providing support. The government has been supportive throughout the organisation of sporting events, with the Mr Teo Ser Luck, Minister of Community Development, Youth and Sports being particularly involved in events like Asian Youth Games and Youth YOG 2010. He has been a part of several initiatives, like the collaboration with ITE to provide customised volunteer training for YOG  2010, the MindChamps Youth Athlete 3- Days Programme sponsored by Singapore Sports Council for the 100 local athletes at $2,800 per student. Sponsorship has been very successful for the Youth Olympic Games 2010, with Samsung recently announcing its sponsorship of 5,000 smart phones for athletes and officials. With 21 domestic sponsors and 9 international sponsors as of 6th Feb 2010, Singapore has proven its reliability and capability and gained the sponsors trust. More importantly, Singapore has been able to foresee challenges faced ahead and plan for its future. The Urban Redevelopment Authority has successfully planned for the use of the city as a circuit for the Formula 1 Grand Prix race track. This feat would not be possible without dedicated research and continuous improvement after each year. Since then, the track has been used for events like Run Singapore 2009 and the upcoming Chingay Parade Singapore 2010. The Marina Reservoir has further proven URA†s capability and commitment to sustainable development. With the construction of the barrage, the Marina Reservoir is now the 15th water catchment area and the largest thus far. Not only will Singapore be less reliant on other countries for water, more activities like dragon boating and power boating previously unsuitable could now be conducted there. However, the Singapore Sports Council has not fulfilled some of its promises made, like the construction of the Sports Hub and Changi Race Track , initially scheduled to be completed, had been delayed due to rising construction costs and lack of finance. This inconsistency on the government’s part had led to losing the chance of hosting the 2013 SEA Games. As the sporting scene evolves with speciality and novelty events like the Aviva Ironman 70.3 and Men’s Health Urbanathlon, space and support has to be given to encourage organisers to increase its capacity. The past 3 editions of Aviva Ironman 70.3 had their registrations capped at 1,500 and a full participation for all years, with 45% of participants being foreigners in the 2009 edition. More locations has been added to the list, with the approval of more road closures like the East Coast Parkway Expressway and the Ayer Rajah Expressway during the cycling leg of Aviva Ironman 70.3 in 2008 and the usage of the urban setting in the city for the Urbanathlon. 4.Conclusion Singapore, strategically located within South-East Asia and surrounded by sea, has established a good reputation as being easily accessible and suitable for business dealings and trade. With a high standard of living and a socially responsible government, Singapore has managed to remain competitive through changing times and braved though health threats and economic crisis. The government has been keeping the nation increasingly involved in sporting events and keeping the infrastructure in Singapore suited to the needs of specific sports and with multiple uses. The recent events hosted in Singapore include the F1 Grand Prix, Asian Youth Games 2009, Singapore Marathon and Aviva Ironman 70.3. Each successful event held in Singapore, the publicity and exposure to the global stage would propel Singapore as the destination to be for sports, business and leisure. Singapore’s position would be enhanced as a tourism hub, with world class athletes gathering for major events as well, attracting supporters from different countries. This would definitely enhance Singapore as a tourism destination with multiple offerings, with sports tourism adding on to the long list of available options. The sustainability of Singapore’s sports tourism has thus far been successful with the efforts from the government and public sector, with various ministries working hand in hand through health threats and compromising with school’s schedules to make the students available during the YOG period. With the continuous effort and improved consistency of relevant agencies, sports tourism would be a potential market which would flourish in the near future.

School life Essay Example for Free

School life Essay Nicholas Nickelby written in 1838 by Charles Dickens explores the life of a young school assistant at Dotheboys Hall and gradually explains how disgusted he felt. Laurie Lee later wrote an imaginary autobiography Cider with Rosie which is not just a factual account of the authors life but also accounts of events and incidents. This reflected school life in a different, vivid approach because you got his personal opinion. Obviously, both authors would show differences mainly due to the difference in time. Both Dickens and Lee were born in different eras therefore studied at school at different times. Not only was time a major difference, but the types of texts written; Dickens wrote a novel and Lee an autobiography and taking into consideration-originality. Cider with Rosie and Nicholas Nickleby both are diverse because they are written by different authors but Lees diversity is shown mainly by it being first person, yet everyone has their own style of writing. Nicholas cared about the other children but Laurie just cared only about himself. He did not hate school because of schoolwork but because he did not have to do any, which was contradictory compared Laurie. School life portrayed differently considering the eras of their birth therefore having an age gap and attending school at a contrasting period. Charles Dickenss educational system from early nineteenth (1812 -1870) ran differently relating to Laurie Lee during later twentieth century (1914-1997), is a significant difference. Buildings in Nicholas Nickleby were described as bare and dirty and the ceiling supported like that of a barn. The inside would be cold consisting of rickety furniture; whish suggests that the school was poorly built possibly due to lack of money. Nicholas being accustomed to poverty (by the unfortunate speculations of his father) had taught him to make his own way into the world; he may have found the school conditions familiar. Long ago, schools and the educational systems were not considered as a priority; consequently, no effort was made to improve them. There is hardly any mention of the exterior of the building or the surrounding environment. In Cider with Rosie, it is complete reverse; the issue is different. At the beginning, there are a few pages with a description of the natural environment like the valley, which consists of twenty to thirty houses made from Cotswold stone. Most of the surroundings are clarified at the beginning. There is more mention of the background and seasons compared to the buildings themselves. The houses ooze over the hills like thick layers of lava. There is mention of a Big Room which Laurie moves into; from becoming an indolent child to adult and tough that justifies his growth during school; from primary to secondary school. There is one distinctive difference and that is that in both tales; there is no real reference to buildings. Remembering that though, the earlier in time the worse the buildings were, the authors chose not to elaborate on this. Another difference is that there was increasing description of the countryside in Cider with Rosie that now may think he is boasting about the beauty of his hometown. The similarity is that there is not enough description about the interior of the classrooms. Charles Dickens vividly describes the teachers as rude people who liked mistreating the children please sir, hes weeding the garden. Mr. Squeers who is the head and most monstrous of the school alongside his wife is violent and negligent claiming he will take the skins off their backs he would even cane them if they did not behave. At one moment in time, he shows cruelty towards the children because when they receive some post from their families he reads it himself and judging form the messages received, were happy to get rid of their charges, and the news was simply a further addition to their misery. The teachers did not encourage the pupils to study and preferred then to weed the garden and clean the parlour windows. In Cider with Rosie, a dame teacher taught with a sixteen-year-old female assistant, similar to Nicholass case except Nicholas was the assistant. During the story the teacher Crabby. B has a nervous breakdown saying, I wont have it! when the children would not sit down! They soon found a replacement teacher Miss. Wardly from Birmingham. Lee describes her as having loose but stronger reins sharp-tongued, but patient enough. She wanted then to learn, so she encouraged them to and even wistfully wished her students good luck when they grew up and left. A further comparison in Cider with Rosie the children were not as well disciplined because they drove their teacher insane. The children in Nicholas Nickleby would not even dare treat their teacher with disrespect because they knew they could loose everything they had. However, in the twentieth century (Lees era) punishment and using the cane was illegal. There are people/characters in Nicholas Nickelby such a boy called Smike who is a half-witted inmate of Squeerss establishment who is treated like a slave. He is the oldest and does not have to do any schoolwork but is treated worse to the rest because at one time, he received a box on the ear from Mr. Squeers presuming to contradict his mistress. Mrs. Squeers is as bad as Mr. Squeers because she does not care about the children apart from their own spoilt son-Master. Squeers. She is also involved with the scandal of running the school as a business. Lee introduces his friends Poppy, Jo, Vera and Spadge who are all in his class and seems like they are his only friends. He only ever mentions them therefore, we have an impression they are the closest ones he has. He does not like Vera and decides it would be funny to hit her over the head with a stick. He describes Poppy and Jo as the two blonde girls and Spadge the rebellious class bully. Spadge was the boy who decided to mock the teacher Crabby. B. another character was the sixteen year old assistant who Laurie liked very much the pretty, gracious lady. Laurie has friends but people who he can confide and communicate with a positive, friendly atmosphere. In Nicholas Nickleby, Nicholas has no one to talk to and tell his problems to, except Smike who he eventually speaks to because Nicholas feel sympathetic towards him asking you are shivering? N-o-o. the children do not have permission to talk to each other because the teacher is too strict with them.

Health Care Of Underprivileged Children Health And Social Care Essay

Health Care Of Underprivileged Children Health And Social Care Essay In September 2000, representatives from 189 member states of the United Nations met at United Nations headquarters in New York and adopted the Millennium Declaration, a series of collective priorities on peace and security, the eradication of poverty, the environment and human rights. Following this declaration, a set of eight goals, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were drawn up as the blueprint to achieve noticeable results and improve the lives of people in developing countries by the target date of 2015. The eight MDGs include specific, measurable targets and timelines, for developing countries as well as for donor countries, civil society organizations and funding institutions such as the World Bank. All nations agreed to undertake specific follow-up measures to ensure that these goals were achieved in their own countries and commitments have been made to fund these initiatives. The MDGs Priorities for Children Each child is born with the right to survival, food and nutrition, health and shelter, an education, and to participation, equality and protection. The MDGs are especially important for the well-being of children: they promote health; quality education; protection against abuse, exploitation and violence. Our report pertains to the following millennium development goals: Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger Extreme poverty hinders childrens access to nutrition, health care and education. Providing children with basic education, health care, nutrition and protection fulfills their rights, increasing their chances of survival and of a productive future. Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education Educating children is a tool to achieve all the MDGs. Primary education also includes the education of health in which it is taught how to take care of health as prevention is better than cure. Especially because many children in Pakistan have the propensity to fall sick frequently and thus cannot continue their education. So for getting education the childs health should be safeguarded at all costs. Goal 6: Combat HIV / AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases Diseases undermine the development in the third world countries malaria, measles, polio and tuberculosis cause the deaths of millions of children who do not have good nutrition, sanitation or healthcare. We can prevent this substantially by promoting long-term primary health education and providing them with health insurance to safeguard their futures. What is Primary Health Care? Primary health care is a vital and an indispensable care of your health and it is also a foundation of the health care system which involves providing several initial primary level services to individual families and communities, through a team of health professionals, consultants and various doctors. Primary Health Care is based on 4 Key Pillars: Teams PHC is about working in teams to provide beneficial health care facilities to communities and individual, and to improve the continuity of care. It also diminishes duplication by ensuring your access to proper health professionals. Information PHC provides enhanced adroitness of information between doctors and expanded access to information and using modern tools like electronic health records and diagnostic devices to advance the eminence, access and coordination of health information. Access PHC gives you greater access to the right services when and where you need them. Healthy Living PHC believes in your better care and focuses on prevention, chronic conditions, and encouraging support for self-care. What Is Health Insurance? Insurance is loss by illness or physical injury. It facilitates you with all kinds of expenses from Medicare to all kind of hospital expenses. Health insurance can be directly purchased or can be given to any respective employee. Importance of Health Insurance Health insurance provides health in an affordable way for you and your loved ones that include your Medicare and family protection from the lofty fee of healthcare. (Rarely medical bills can be monetarily devastating and families pull through from such debts in a certain long period). Protects Your Future When someone gets insurance of his car or home, they mean to protect their family and themselves from financial sufferers. Insuring your health is same as that. Health care is way much costly than an insurance of other things. Read the facts below: The average cost of a trip to the emergency room for an adult is about $700, not including any hospital facilities, which may increase the bill to well over $1,000 A broken leg can cost up to $7,500 Average expenses for childbirth are up to $8,800, and well over $10,000 for C-section delivery The total cost of a hip replacement can run a whopping $32,000 Above instances sound scary, but with the right plan, one can protect Himself from most of these and other types of medical bills. Gets You the Care You Need Many people who do not have health insurance fails to get the medical care they need. That is because they are worried about the best treatment expenses. The key of beneficial health insurance is access to a large network of doctors and hospitals. Read the H.I benefits below: Quick and easy access to desirable medical needs. Peace of mind during a hard time because one knows they are covered. Affordable access to care and health information to keep you glee and healthy Is There A Need For Health Insurance In Pakistan? In Pakistan and India, at least one third of the 1.3 billion lives in urban hubs and of this population estimated 400 million earn less than $3 a day. The Pakistani government use just 0.9% of its GDP on health and even India uses only 1.9% of its GDP on a woefully under-resourced, inundated public health sector. Thus 97% of all healthcare outlays occur from out-of-pocket and catastrophic medical costs and treating major diseases in low cost are a main precipitant of cohort poverty. Major Health Insurance Providers (Underwriters) In Pakistan Allianz EFU Health Insurance Adamjee Health Insurance IGI Health Insurance United Insurance Company of Pakistan Asia Care Pak Qatar Takkaful Health care for the underprivileged Developing nations are overwhelmed by effort of under nutrition and a host of viruses. Outbreaks of diarrhoeal diseases give a rough steer to the poor hygiene of the community (clean and safe drinking water is a dream for millions even now). In many nations health care is provided jointly by the government and the private sector, but the handful of public health institutions are the only hope for the needy people. The services of private hospitals are not up to the mark of the massive bulk of population belonging to the low-income zone. The private zone is apparently concerned only in remedial medicine and these hospitals and clinics are essentially run with a yield aim except for a handful of society that runs on charitable basis. We cannot blame the former group as it is not their duty to offer free health care to poor people. Many agendas aimed at the bar of transmissible diseases are run in under developed countries with the help of WHO, but even these agendas failed to give needed effect. The reasons for the failure of these national health agendas are multi factorial; the vital being is the lazy loom by the government officials implicated in implementing the agendas. (Rarely beneficiaries get less than 1% worth of what is imagined in the agenda). Consequently, the deprived of Pakistan are losing faith in the healthcare industry on the whole. The reasons can be summed up as follows: Lack of funds in the public health sector Lack of resources and equipment in government hospitals Lack of spur in government hospitals Lack of primary health education Poor utilization of services Improper staff recruitment in government hospitals Rampant illiteracy Inappropriate allocation of funds What is Naya Jeevan? NAYA JEEVANÂ ® is a not-for-profit social enterprise dedicated to enhancing the lives of low-income families. Naya Jeevan works in collaboration with corporate, academic, and non-profit institutions so that a new wave of social responsibility can be catalyzed that can then be leveraged to realize a positive sustainable outcome for all stakeholders. Naya Jeevan believes that philanthropy should not be a transient, ad-hoc event but be institutionalized as a fully integrated part of society. Vision To provide underprivileged children and their families throughout the emerging world with quality and affordable access to catastrophic healthcare. Objectives Reduction in poverty and mortality rates attributable to acute infectious diseases and lack of timely treatment. Reduction in disease outbreaks due to lack of preventive care. Reduction in the incidence of recreational/addictive substance abuse. Reduction in maternal mortality attributable to emergent pregnancy complications. Mitigation of urban child labor and child exploitation. Collective Social Responsibility through joint partnerships with the corporate, non-profit, academic and service sectors. Integrated social empowerment of the low income population. Business objectives to catalyze an ecosystem effect Poverty alleviation By reducing the financial impact of catastrophic medical expenses Reduction in maternal/child morality Through timely intervention and 24/7 access to ambulances, medical doctors, ERs, trauma centers, etc. Improvement in primary health outcomes Through preventive health education and behavioral change workshops Reduction in substance/drug abuse Through rehabilitation workshops and access to treatment centers Mitigation of child/labor/sexual/physical abuse Healthy breadwinners will enable children to remain in school and away from premature labor Naya Jeevan Value Added services: 24-hour medical hotline: 24/7 access to a qualified medical doctor Help with navigating the complex world of hospitals Help with claims management, settlement and trouble-shooting Beneficiary orientation (Training) Animated interactive presentation at client premise by a qualified medical doctor (same set of doctors who manage the helpline). Managing expectations what is covered, what is not, where to go, access to hospitals Case based claims scenarios Building of rapport and trust with beneficiaries Access to subsidized OPD and pharmacy network Quality checks on standard of treatment at the treating hospital Health awareness sessions (Workshops) Primary health care workshops on topics such as Healthy Heart Hand Hygiene Dental hygiene Nutrition and Weight Management Anti-smoking/ tobacco dental issues Annual health check-ups (Screening) Head to toe examination at clients premise No compromise on working hours Early diagnosis of diseases and management Aggregate Annual Health Report of employees (a health-o-meter of the organization) Targeted Preventive Health Workshops based on the findings Health insurance of underprivileged NGO schoolchildren project overview In February 2011, Naya Jeevan started on the innovative idea of insuring the health of children that fell under the umbrella of other NGOs. The idea was to provide quality healthcare to these children as they were willing to study but a disease or an injury incurred by them or a family member could potentially put an end to their dreams forever. Furthermore, most of these children did not have any awareness about primary health care, or about ways of preventing/ mitigating common ailments prevalent in their locality. Thus they would end up going to untrained professionals with inadequate or no qualifications for treatment of such ailments/ injuries, further exacerbating not only the medical problem at hand but also the unstable financial conditions of their families. Project Impact This project is designed to provide quality health care to underprivileged schoolchildren who cannot afford quality health which includes primary health care. Importance of Access Most children are healthy. Some may ask, therefore access to health care is important for children. In some important ways they are distinct in age groups. For health services they are entirely dependent on their adult caregivers, and are unaware from the advantages of health care and its benefits. Childrens health needs are also significantly different from those of adults. With the time children grown with a rapid change and it may cause them to get ill or get injured during their activities and if those diseases or injuries are not treated well so they can leave a huge affect on a childs physical and emotional development. The type, cruelty, and rate of health conditions that children practice also differ from adults. Childrens can experience a wider range of health issues if not have been taken care well and even though certain childhood conditions are quite mild in single instances, they have the tendency to lead to life-long disabilities. For example, chronic ear infections, if unchecked, can lead to hearing impairment, and possibly learning disabilities. The Limitations of Insurance Children have a beneficial impact on access when extending health insurance to low- income. This does not mean that children will inevitably have full access to health care, especially the deprived ones. Insured low-income children use fewer services than the richer, insured children. Moreover, poor children with insurance are less likely to go to a private physicians office and utilize community health centers, compared to their better-off counterparts. There are a number of reasons for these differences. The families of poor children with insurance face nonfinancial fences to health care that insurance cannot address, including transportation, child care, inconvenient location of services, and service hours that conflict with work. Children of immigrant families may face additional barriers, including an inability to speak in their primary language, fear of exile, and cultural conflicts with Western medicine. Therefore, providing insurance without developing a delivery system to serve the needs of low-income children does not have to produce the desired outcome of improved access to quality health care. NGO Schools under the Naya Jeevan health plan The project is a pilot to test out health insurance in NGO schools across Pakistan. In 2011 Naya Jeevan enrolled 8,334 NGO school children in the plan across the country. Participating Schools are Manzil School, Karachi Zindigi Trust, Karachi IISAR Foundation, Karachi DIL Schools, Khairpur Mashal School, Islamabad Manzil School (Karachi): Manzil is a Non-Profit Organization providing free education to children in the slum areas of Karachi. Starting with only 20 students in 2002, today Manzil has around 200 students who are being equipped with the highest quality of education, practical knowledge, skills and work ethics. It is situated in Quarter No1.Railway line near Bath Island Clifton. Manzil was started by a PhD student at CBM Ms. Shazia Mirza, after she observed the socio-economic divide in the region. She lived near the slum in a well off neighborhood and her house maid came from Raitee Line Bastee. Sensitized by the proximity of this other world, she started the school in a one room rent out from her pocket money. The majority of the community/bastee is ethnically conservative Pathans. The winning of the trust of this community has been one of the major successes of the initiative. Zindagi Trust Schools (Karachi): Zindagi Trusts program educates children who work in the urban slums of Pakistan. With nearly 2800 students, a 2.2-year accelerated primary education course is taught to the children who spend most of their days toiling in car-repair shops other general stores in Karachi, Lahore Rawalpindi. Permission is sought from the students parents and employers before enrolling them in the free schools to ensure success. The use of Government Buildings allows for a proper school experience with classrooms and blackboards. Right now Naya Jeevan is giving health plan to seven such schools in Karachi. IISAR Foundation (Karachi): IISAR was founded in 1990 by Prof. Dr. Ahmed Saleem Siddiqui, with an aim to impart promote quality education irrespective of differences. IISAR is a world class center having concentrations in teaching and research, revelation-based knowledge and technology-based learning across the full range of the social, political and economic sciences. Its a non-profit organization and has an outstanding reputation for academic excellence. Mashal school (Islamabad): Mashal is a self-funded school (i.e. registered trust), comprising of 406 children in classes ranging from nursery to class 8. These children face hardships at home, as well as at work, when selling items such as flowers, shopping bags and sweets, and washing cars on the streets. They have little choice, but to survive on their own in the company of gangs on the street. They are vulnerable to abuse and exploitations of all forms. Despite most of the childrens traumatic past experiences, through the assistance of Mashal School, they are able to overcome their inhibitions and eventually develop a sense of trust and dignity which allows them to finally live their lives as children and possess a deserved sense of belonging. DIL schools (Khairpur): Developments in Literacy (DIL) has been working in Khairpur District, Sindh, since 1998. DILs mission is to combat illiteracy in the remote, underdeveloped regions of Pakistan by opening non-formal primary and middle schools for girls. DIL hopes to break the entrenched social taboos against female literacy by working with the communities and gradually empowering young girls to improve their future prospects through education. However it is only possible for a child to concentrate on their studies when they are in good health. Education does not only include learning how to read and write but also the knowledge of how to look after ones self and make ones life better. Thus DIL has embarked on a journey to improve both the health and nutritional status as well as alleviate the levels of literacy in the children of Khairpur. PLI policy: In 2011 with co-operation and research we introduced Profit and Loss Insurance (PLI Policy). The difference between the PLI Policy and the regular insurance policy can be explained by analogy of credit and debit. In conventional health insurance for the price of the premium you get a binding promise from the insurance company to cover claims under the plan. A group may have paid 50,000 PKR in premiums but used services of up to 100,000 PKR. On the flip side they client may have not used any services and have lost all the money in the premium. A managed care/PLI model is similar to a debit card. You spend what you have and the insurance company charges a fee for that. However, if you have any money left over, it is carried over to the next year unlike the premiums. Also, because it is your money you can choose which claims you want to settle in spite of them being policy exclusions. During this pilot year of micro-health care for children Naya Jeevan has tried to assess the efficacy of both models. The total coverage limit for both was set at 50,000 PKR for the inpatient and the rest of the money used as a pool for outpatient expenses on a reimbursement basis. Pictorial Representation: Number of school children: Number of claims: Health Awareness Services provided by Naya Jeevan: Aga khan anti-tobacco workshop:- Naya Jeevan partnered with Aga Khan University and there team of doctors delivered an anti-tobacco workshop at the schools. Many of the children re addicted to some form of tobacco over there. Thus many have sub-mucosal fibrosis, which is an irreversible narrowing of the mouth cavity due to oral tobacco use. Two children were found to have pre-malignant oral lesions. AKU delivered this workshop free of cost. In-house preventive health workshops:- Naya Jeevan believes in primary healthcare prevention. Children cant be in the best health if they dont have information about the disease process. Healthcare workshops belong to a mini interactive lecture series in collaboration with other corporate partners and the topics chosen are based upon the feedback received. Examples of healthcare workshops held to date are hand washing, dental and smoking/drug addiction, etc. Several workshops were delivered by our Medical Services team, including Healthy Heart, Sad Teeth Happy Teeth, Dental Hygiene and Hand Hygiene at schools. Re-fresher trainings:- Trainings are also being given by Naya Jeevan to parents who come to attend regular parent-teacher meetings at the schools, and to the teachers/ administrative staff. We have been conducting refresher trainings in many of the NGO schools, and have come to realize, among many things, that it would be of great help if instead of visiting these schools and delivering the trainings in person, we could have these schools periodically play a video recording of our training whenever they had a substantial number of parents visiting the school. Challenges of the program Data files are especially cumbersome. They are on hard copy and had to be re-entered into electronic form. This takes a lot of time and effort. Even the cards distribution is a difficult area as they had to be delivered class wise. Problems of unaffordability (both time and monetary) of parents to reach the panel network hospitals according to existing protocols has been a major barrier. Many children only suffer minor medical problems and need outpatient treatment. Therefore, collaboration with reliable hospitals in their vicinity is in progress. Language barrier has resulted in poor retention of information so far. Therefore, repeated refresher trainings were given to parents and teachers so that they may know the proper use of card. The small number of rejected claims shows that re-fresher trainings were effective. Lack of trust from parents was also a challenge in the reimbursement process. Parents werent sure that we will reimburse the money and that too within a month. Other than this they were not comfortable in submitting original medical bills and receipts to us. Lack of availability of audio-visual equipment/ electricity/ adequate space in every school to accommodate large groups of parents and teachers. The lack of interest shown by the teachers has been a major barrier. This has been solved by making them a stakeholder in the health plan also, with the understanding that they will take responsibility of taking the lead on making the health plan more comprehensive for the children. The slow process of setting up funds in vicinity hospitals: So far, Islamic International Medical Complex has been set up for Mashal School in Islamabad with plans for this model to be replicated to all schools systems. Keeping a proper school wise backup of claims that can be shown to anyone who wants to access the information anytime. Why We Chose Naya Jeevan Naya Jeevan targets that need of the underprivileged population that is not fulfilled by any other NGO i.e. affordable healthcare. Therefore, by increasing awareness about the importance of health insurance, and prevention of basic medical and dental issues (that can cause devastating health-related and financial problems later), one can greatly impact the quality of life for many low-income people. Need assessment: Through Naya Jeevan we intended to visit schools and putting up a workshop regarding health to kid. From this guidance the schools were expecting that the children will adjust their routine that wuill help them to take care of their health. Less resource was obtainable to present them that did not help to make children go fully aware with their health knowledge. We as health students have a lot of health awareness and of facts related to it which can be effortlessly distribute to those kids who are ignorant of diseases and health issues that need to be taken care of. Materials and equipment: Since these schools have no capital for organizing workshop we had to assemble every resource our self. All multimedia (speakers, projectors and screen) were organized by Naya Jeevan. We arranged pictorial illustration and miniature stories regarding health and distributed among kids. Our volunteer work As Naya Jeevan gives workshop to school children to improve the health education in and to increase awareness of how to take care of live. We volunteered with Naya Jeevan and visited one of the schools and gave workshops. This was quite an interactive session and we gave workshops in small groups so that they may understand well. This is quite a good learning for them and also for us. The following are the workshops we prepared and delivered for these schoolchildren: Hand Hygiene:Description: http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQvwd7yWW5ALmEZzijVQp0qSPcJA3RH57G9IRZevZXWqafhPy7B The Naya Jeevan Hand Hygiene workshop was developed to enlighten our valued beneficiaries about the importance of keeping your hands clean as our hands are the primary tools that enable us to accomplish various tasks. At the same time it also serves as a main mode of transmission of various infectious agents. The key learning objectives of the workshop include: When is it necessary to wash hands? What are the proper steps of hand washing? What is feco-oral route of transmission of germs? What are the important infections that can spread through feco-oral route and how can they be prevented? Duration: 60 minutes Infectious Diseases: In Pakistan, its the communicable diseases constitute the bulk of most illnesses. Just in recent years we have seen epidemics such as dengue fever. Description: C:UsersZaraDesktopimagesCAGJG6QU.jpg This workshop discusses at length, the prevention and combat strategies for infections such as typhoid, malaria, dengue, gastroenteritis, various forms of hepatitis and other most prevalent ones in Pakistan Duration: 50 minutes Dental Hygiene: Delivered by a dentist, this workshop deals with all the common teeth issues that result from poor oral hygiene. The dentist talks about the proper way of brushing teeth and the products like Paan, Gutka, betel nuts, cigarette etc that must be avoided in order to maintain oral hygiene. It also highlights some of the oral cancers that can result from use of addictive substances such as tobacco. Duration: 30 minutes Balanced Diet:Description: C:UsersZaraDesktopdiet imagesimagesCAQNOBSE.jpg A balanced diet is one that includes the Recommended Dietary Allowances, also called RDAs, for all the essential nutrients. These include proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. The physician discusses the nutritional requirements (in calories) for individuals based on gender, age, profession, physical activity and co-morbidities. Duration: 50 minutes Sustainability of results The project strongly inculcates the spirit of giving back and community engagement. Diffusion of a new idea goes through the following stages Knowledge Persuasion Decision Implementation Confirmation Problems faced: The Schools had problems like Non active involvement of teachers as of no personal benefit. Language fence. We have to speak in easy language Lack of partial resources Building faith in children Regulate in their ambiance. Schools were very keen on having their children screened, especially eye and dental screenings. Children cannot afford the taking care of their and were sad that they cant even buy a toothpaste and will continue with tooth powder The outcomes of these workshops: Children specifically big children started taking care of their health More calls started coming on helpline regarding basis health information These workshops created so much impact on the children that they also educated their family about health. There was a major issue in the panel hospital that hospital staff did not treated the poor children well considering it was a private hospital. We went to these hospitals and talked to those hospitals to treat these children well. After a week we got calls from schools that these workshop created a big impact and wanted us to design more workshop for the kids The school also reported us that these workshops created a big living difference and major difference were seen. The school children used to eat a lot of bubble gum and beetles. After the workshop the school noticed that 30% stopped eating it. It was also identified by the schools that there should be refresher workshop as the children memory forget the things soon. This is a new product that has required constant tweaking throughout the year and training and re-training of the schools. NGO schools currently require very close and regular contact throughout the year to encourage the uptake of services. The product has to be as simple as possible with cashless card based services for everything including out-patient services. Re-imbursement scenarios have to be kept at a minimum. Teachers have to be active stake-holders. Conclusion and recommendations All children need health care, whether for regular check-ups, for episodic health problems such as ear infections, or for chronic conditions. Because health services are relatively expensive, childrens access to care is largely dependent on whether or not they have health insurance. Unfortunately, far too many children are not covered and therefore, do not receive needed care. The health plan in the original format has not been successful. Naya Jeevan has quickly moved in to alter the original plan and make sure that the children benefit from their coverage. These include Insuring the teachers to make them a stakeholder in the childrens health. Most teachers are from the same community as the school and thus are the most important factor in increasing uptake of services. Depositing funds at a nearby identified network hospital is of essence. After the funds have been deposited, Naya

Henrik Isbens A Dolls House :: A Dolls House Essays

Women Have Come A Long Way   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"A Doll House† is no more about women’s rights than Shakespeare’s Richard II is about the divine right of kings, or Ghosts about syphilis. . . . Its theme is the need of every individual to find out the kind of person he or she is and to strive to become that person.† (Bloom 28) Ibsen portays this behavior in A Doll House through one of the main characters, Nora Helmer, by setting the scene in Norway in 1872. In the late 1800s, women did not play an important role in society at all. Their job was mainly to cook, clean, sew, take care of the children, and keep the house in order. They were treated as a material possession rather than a human being that could think and act for themselves and looked upon as a decorative member of the household. Women were robbed of their true identity and at the end of the play, Nora leaves everything behind to go out into the world to seek her identity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This behavior can be traced back to the beginning of time when women were to stay home and gather nuts and berries, while the men would go out and do the hunting and fishing. The male always dominated over the women and it was not viewed as â€Å"unfair.† Male children would go to school to get an education in history, mathematics, science, english/writing, while the female would go to school to learn how to cook, sew, clean, and do household chores. The male could then further advance his education by attending a college or university, whereas no college would accept a women student. â€Å"The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of men toward woman, having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over her.† (Declaration of Sentiments) It was believed that women were the inferior gender and had to have special attention given to them. This idea dates back to the Medieval Period in history and is where the whole idea of chivalry came about and men having to provide special care. One can see that the idea of male superiority can be referenced back to very early on in civilization to the day A Doll House was written. â€Å"Torvald: You stay right here and five me a reckoning. You understand what you’ve done?

Filling the Gap in My Heart :: miscellaneous

Filling the Gap in My Heart Flavia Weedn once said that â€Å"some people come into our lives and leave footprints on our hearts and we are never the same.† Recently I had a life-changing experience that narrates to that notable quote. This experience opened my eyes to a whole other part of me that I never knew about. I learned that giving second chances doesn’t always have an unconstructive outcome and that building relationships aren’t effortless. When I opened my heart I faced a lot of poignant anxiety that guided me to a blissful and rewarding ending that I am grateful for. Growing up there was always a fraction of my heart absent that I had always wanted to have fulfilled. Not having a father throughout my childhood has put a mild affect on me expressively. In my eyes, having no father for eighteen years meant that it would be too late to ever have one in my life. That emotion came to an end on the day of my high graduation when my biological father showed up on my front porch. I was absolutely stunned and soundless of words. I didn’t recognize him in any way but the reaction that dispersed through my body when I opened that door led me to know that he was my father. Why was this stranger finally deciding to see his daughter? I kept asking myself that question repeatedly in my mind until we finally got the chance to sit down and converse. He informed me that I had three half siblings which consisted of one brother and two sisters. At that moment I felt left out like as if I didn’t do my role as a big sister all their lives. The hole in my heart seemed to get deeper as he spoke until he finally confessed the real truth to why he had abandoned me for all these years. He began explaining how he had been in prison for the last fifteen years for transporting illegal drugs over the U.S border. There was no method of contacting me and if there was he didn’t want me growing up knowing that my father was incarcerated. At that moment everything seemed to make sense and I actually wanted to give this gentleman a hug and perhaps even a chance to be in my life. Once he departed all I could feel was excitement within my heart.

The Dust Bowl :: American History

The Dust Bowl The early 1900's were a time of turmoil for farmers in the United States, especially in the Great Plains region. After the end of World War I, overproduction by farmers resulted in low prices for crops. When farmers first came to the Midwest, they farmed as much wheat as they could because of the high prices and demand. Of the ninety-seven acres, almost thirty-two million acres were being cultivated. The farmers were careless in their planting of the crop, caring only about profit, and they started plowing grasslands that were not made for planting. Because of their constant plowing year after year and the lack of rainfall, the soil was quickly losing its fertility. With unfertile, dry land, the wheat crop started dying, and then blowing away with wind. Due to the improper farming, along with a long drought, dust storms made life in the Dust Bowl very burdensome. During the 1930's, the Great Plains was plagued with a drought, a long period of dryness, which brought demise to many of the farmers in the region. This horrible drought started in 1930, a year that saw heavy rains in a very short time, which cause flooding in many areas of the Oklahoma Panhandle. The year continued to with horrible blizzards in the winter and a drought into the late summer. Many of the farms in the Great Plains, losing most of the crop, were greatly affected by the first droughts of the 1930's. The months of July and August saw about a forty-percent decrease of precipitation compared to previous years. From 1934 to 1936, A record drought hit the southwestern region. In 1934 the temperature was excruciatingly hot, causing many to die as a result of the heat. 1935 was a year where rainfall was very, very scarce. The heat began to rise at fast rates in the summer of 1936, with many days reaching above 120 degrees. The drought, along with the dust storms, were major reasons for poor farming in the Great Plains during the early to mid-1930's. Because of the drought, the ground became very dry in the Great Plains. This area, known as the Dust Bowl, was a region of horrible dust storms during most of the 1930's. The storms accompanied the drought and intensified the problems of the farmers. With the drought, many fields were not in a situation to grow crops.

Leadership Styles Essay

Nursing Armon Copeland Chamberlain College of Nursing 351: Transitions to Professional Nursing Spring Term 2011 Introduction Leadership in the 21st century has been redefined. As leaders we provide the voucher and guidance to begin the journey, while the managers are the ones who drive the team to the destination. Leadership is something you know when you see it, but is very challenging to describe. Leadership development in the nursing profession is important because it directly impacts the care that is delivered to patients. It is critical that the entire senior leadership have the self-same vision or mental image of what the organization intends to aim for as structure, management and organization in terms of changes for a solid foundation. Leadership Leadership is a blend of personal characteristics, abilities, strategies, and circumstances that enable a leader to influence individuals and organizations to accomplish a goal. Although there is no single formula for becoming a successful leader, some common elements include self- confidence, courage, a clear vision of the goal and how to reach it, the ability to clearly communicate the goal as well as strong personal commitment, and the ability to inspire trust and respect among followers. Leadership differs from management in that leadership is a combination of personal qualities and abilities whereas management is a process. Leaders are more likely to be effective when they use the management process to achieve goals. Managers are more effective when their actions demonstrate leadership qualities; thereby earning the respect and trust of those they manage (Hamilton, 1996). Styles of Leadership Transformational and Transactional leadership styles are two very different methods of leadership in the nursing profession. This paper will compare and contrast these two leadership styles and support that transformational leadership style encourages quality care, job fulfillment and improved patient outcomes. The traditional authoritarian style of leadership the top-down directive approach has largely been replaced with a more democratic and/or participative style, which involves such collaborative behaviors as consulting, discussing, cooperating, or negotiating. No one style is effective for all situations, however, so flexibility is important. For example, an authoritarian approach may be the most effective in dealing with acute situations when decisions must be made and implemented quickly. Rapid technological growth, increased diversity in the workforce, and growing complexity within organizations has led to changes in the way effective leadership is defined. Leadership researchers and theorists define good leadership as â€Å"future-oriented rather than present-oriented and as fostering followers’ commitment and ability to contribute creatively to organizations† (Eagly, 2007). Political scientist James McGregor Burns (1978) described this type of leadership as transformational leadership. Transformational leaders establish themselves as role models by gaining followers’ trust and confidence. They establish the organization’s goals, plan how to achieve the goals, and innovate. As Eagly (2007) explains, â€Å"Transformational leaders mentor and empower their subordinates and encourage them to develop their potential and thus to contribute more effectively to their organization. † Researchers also describe a more conservative type of leadership as transactional leadership, in which leaders establish exchange relationships with their frontline employees. After clarifying objectives and subordinates’ responsibilities, transactional leaders reward those who meet objectives and correct them when they fail to meet objectives. The word politics is a loaded term, heavy with images of shady characters in smoke-filled rooms, wheeling, dealing, and often stealing. But politics is really a neutral term. According to Policy and Politics for Nurses, â€Å"Politics means influencing, specifically, influences the allocation of scarce resources. Politics is a process by which one influences the decisions of others and exerts control over situations and events. It is a means to an end† (Mason et al. , 2002). Becoming influential is something that can be learned, and it has as much to do with attitude as with behavior. Both aspects are necessary (Sullivan, 2004). Becoming influential includes such skills as understanding power and how to use it, communicating effectively, understanding the political process, and dealing with difficult people and situations. Conclusion â€Å"Work hard, play by the rules, be nice, be polite, hold yourself accountable and you will get ahead. Our mothers were right, up to a point. Taking that advice, you do get ahead and your hard work is rewarded until you hit the glass ceiling. Or, as one physician called it, the â€Å"gauze ceiling. † Being the best at what you do is not enough to break through the gauze ceiling into positions of leadership. It’s not enough to have clinical skills; you need political skills as well. Leaders make a difference in their world by influencing others to support the leader’s vision or cause. To make a difference, you need political skills. Everything is political in the work environment, professional organization, community, and government. References Hamilton PM. (1996). Realities of Contemporary Nursing, 2nd ed. Menlo Park, CA: Addison-Wesley. Eagley AH. (2007). Female leadership advantage and disadvantage: Resolving the contradictions. Psychology of Women Quarterly 31:1–12. Mason DJ, Leavitt JK, Chaffee MW. (2002). Policy and Politics in Nursing and Healthcare, 4th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders/Elsevier. Sullivan EJ. (2004). Becoming Influential: A Guide for Nurses. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.