Argumentative Essay On Toddlers And Tiaras - 740 Words

Have you ever seen a toddler beauty pageant? These events began in the 1960’s and have been corrupting toddlers ever since. If you have ever seen TLC’s show Toddlers Tiaras you know exactly what I am talking about. To become â€Å"beauty pageant material† these children have to go through intense makeovers and training including spray tans, flippers (fake teeth), teased hair, a face full of makeup, etc, all while they are screaming their heads off. When the toddlers are finally made up they look more like a high school student going to prom more than a four year old. It is hard to believe that these parents are too naive to see that these pageants are damaging their children both physically and mentally. After watching Toddlers Tiaras†¦show more content†¦Most of the time these kids have an attitude because of the things they are told and the way they are told to act.Instead of playing with dolls and watching disney movies the toddlers are trying on gl itzed up dresses, getting spray tans, and practicing their smiles. This teaches them that outward appearance is the most important thing and even sexualizes young girls which can lead to mental health problems like eating disorders and self consciousness as they grow older. A contestant from Toddlers Tiaras even said â€Å"Facial beauty is the most important thing in life.†(how do I add the citation). Pageantry and young girls are a bad mix because it will shape their attitude and values for the rest of their lives.o It is easy to say that pageants are something that girls want to do pageants because they get to wear pretty dresses and get all dolled up. But these toddlers are screaming and crying and telling their parents that they want to sleep, do not want to do the pageant, and do not want to be made up, so why make them do it? People can also say that children having a hobby is good wanting to be competitive is a good but the level of competition in pageants are not he althy for the kids. They are told not to be friends with the other contestants, that they have to win, etc. Children should not be forced to do something that they obviously do

1984 by George Orwell Essay example - 2090 Words

1984 by George Orwell Some readers have felt that, even allowing for the bleakness of the times in which he lived, Orwell’s vision in Nineteen Eighty Four is excessively grim and pessimistic. Explore various aspects of the novel from this perspective, explaining how far you would agree with such a view. Orwell’s views throughout ‘1984’ are grim and pessimistic in relation to his personal experiences and how he interprets the world, as we know, and what it may become. The possibility of a totalitarian society, which he so fears, is the reason that his views in the novel are as bleak as they†¦show more content†¦O’Brien describes the overall outlook of the future as one image; â€Å"A boot stamping on a human face-for ever†. This image sets hard in the mind, as readers of the time would easily recognise this with recent events in the past and real characters such as the Hitler and his Nazi Party. By the end of chapter one Orwell has described Winston Smith and his ascetic life. Even though Orwell wanted to create a political warning it is obvious he was trying at the same time to formulate an extremely pessimistic view of the people of Oceania. They are unhealthy, ugly and uninspired, using Winston as the stereotype given by the writer. This is also true of the other characters that have little power in the story, be it sexual or within the police state itself: Parsons; a fat, sweaty man, Syme; a weedy intellectual and Ampleforth; a frail old poet, all have physical inhibitions and all end up in ‘Room 101’ eventually and all meet the same callous fate. This is deliberate of Orwell as he clearly argues that the survival of the fittest is inevitable and that it is a reality that we all must face in the future. Julia’s capture by the Thought Police reflects George Orwell’s own personal views on sexuality within society, as does Winston’s enco unter with the prostitute. 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Overseas Education Opportunities, Experience and Quality Free Essays

string(32) " teachers and absorb wisdom†\." Vol. 6, No. 2. We will write a custom essay sample on Overseas Education: Opportunities, Experience and Quality or any similar topic only for you Order Now ISSN: 1473-8376 www. heacademy. ac. uk/hlst/resources/johlste ACADEMIC PAPER Service Quality in Higher Education: The Experience of Overseas Students Maria Pereda (deceased) David Airey (d. airey@surrey. ac. uk) and Marion Bennett (m. bennett@surrey. ac. uk) Faculty of Management and Law, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH  ©Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education Abstract The higher education of students has become increasingly internationalised, with an evergrowing proportion of students originating from overseas. However, research to date suggests that overseas students are often less satisfied with their courses than other students. Consequently, there is a burgeoning need for universities to understand what students value in their university experience. This paper reports on a study that establishes and tests dimensions for measuring service quality in higher education, focusing on full-feepaying postgraduate students from non-EU countries at one institution in the UK. The institution concerned has a particular reputation in tourism and hospitality and a significant proportion of the respondents were studying these subjects. Adopting Lehtinen and Lehtinen’s 1991 framework, a Q-sort was undertaken followed by factor analysis. The results of the research highlighted four factors of service quality: recognition; quality of instruction and interaction with faculty; sufficiency of resources; and aspects of physical quality. Arguably, the most significant finding here is the importance that these students attach to their institution’s reputation. Keywords: Service quality; Higher education; International students Maria Pereda died in May 2006 shortly after completing her PhD thesis. The degree was awarded posthumously. A native of Venezuela, Maria graduated from Venezuela Central University and held an appointment at Simon Bolivar University in Caracas. She completed her MSc at the University of Surrey in 2000, focusing on tourism and hospitality education. This paper is based on her PhD research. David Airey is Professor of Tourism Management and Pro-Vice-Chancellor at the University of Surrey. He has spent 30 years involved in tourism education in various capacities: with government, with the European Commission and with universities. He is co-editor, with John Tribe, of the recently published International Handbook of Tourism Education. Marion Bennett is Associate Lecturer in Tourism and Marketing at the University of Surrey. She has held lecturer positions since 1991 with the Universities of Strathclyde and Surrey, where her interests have focused on information technology and marketing in relation to tourism distribution, heritage and air transport. Pereda, Airey and Bennett (2007) Service Quality in Overseas Education: The Experience of Overseas Students Introduction The education of full-fee-paying international students has become of major importance for universities in Western nations, particularly in major English speaking destination countries. Barron (2005: 353) has suggested that â€Å"international education is one of Australia’s largest industries† and that the fees generated by international students are important to the budgetary health of institutions. In the UK, according to HESA (2006) and UKCOSA (2004), about 320,000 or 13 per cent of students in 2004-2005 came from overseas, with about 10 per cent from outside the European Union (EU). This figure more than doubled from about 160,000 in 1994-1995. For some institutions, international students currently represent more than 25 per cent of their student population (UKCOSA, 2006). The main countries of domicile of international students in the UK are China (32,000 or 12 per cent) and Greece (9 per cent), with at least a further 20 countries each providing more than 2,500 students. As far as tourism is concerned, equivalent total figures (UCAS, 2006) suggest that overseas students represent about 16 per cent of acceptances onto programmes, rising from 11 per cent in 1996. Clearly this level of enrolment has represented a major opportunity for institutions, particularly at a time when public funding for higher education has been constrained; but it has also presented challenges. Barron (2005: 355) has pointed to the extent to which most universities have designated international departments responsible for marketing and recruitment, but goes on to highlight the need to ensure that such students are properly supported after arrival, providing evidence to suggest that this does not always happen, leading to frustration and disappointment. A recent report by the Higher Education Policy Institute (Bekhradnia et al. , 2006) confirms this, suggesting that non-EU overseas respondents were considerably less satisfied than others with the value for money received on their course. Against this background, it is clearly important for universities to understand what students value in their university experience, including those from overseas. It has been common practice for many years for higher education institutions to provide opportunities for students to evaluate their learning and teaching experience, typically in the form of end-of-semester or end-of-course evaluations. Many institutions also gain feedback from students about services such as the library or computing. A recent addition to these information sources in the UK has been the National Student Survey (NSS), which focuses on learning and teaching experiences. However, surveys of the overall experience or overall quality have been more rare (Aldridge and Rowley, 1998). This paper reports on a study (Pereda, 2006) that was designed to establish and test dimensions for measuring service quality in higher education, with specific reference to students following postgraduate taught programmes for master degrees, over one year, from countries outside the EU. Many of these were following programmes in tourism and hospitality. Specifically, the study aimed to identify from the literature three dimensions of service quality (physical, interactive and corporative), which were then validated with a Qsort. This provided the basis for a survey of 330 students at one institution in the UK, designed to measure their views of the quality of service received. This provides insights into the items that students value in their educational experience at this institution. It also provides a basis for redefining the dimensions of service quality. Service quality for international students The migration of international students is by no means a new phenomenon. Schachner (1962: 25), for example, refers to the students in medieval times who â€Å"poured in an increasing flood to the centres where they could literally sit at the feet of the great teachers and absorb wisdom†. You read "Overseas Education: Opportunities, Experience and Quality" in category "Essay examples" To some extent, the search for knowledge remains an important driver for international ovement in education today, but, in other ways, motives, influences and indeed origin and destination countries have changed radically. During the most recent and biggest expansion of international education, the USA, UK and Australia have become the main destination countries and the countries of South East Asia have joined those of Europe as large providers of students. The search for knowledge has been joined by a range of other Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education 6(2), 55 – 67 56 Pereda, Airey and Bennett (2007) Service Quality in Overseas Education: The Experience of Overseas Students factors in driving this growth. These include: the marketing campaigns of receiver universities; the perceived value of a foreign degree in terms of employment enhancement or ‘snob value’; the absence of sufficient university places at home; government policy in relation to student fees; and more extraneous factors such as opportunities for emigration (Pereda, 2006). As far as individual institutions are concerned, Allen and Higgins (1994), from a study of 82 institutions in the UK, report that the most important factors for international students when selecting a university were academic reputation, course content and entry requirements. But perhaps the biggest change, driven in part by the need for Western universities to maintain numbers of international students, particularly where these pay full tuition fees, has been the recognition of such students as an important ‘market’ that needs to be satisfied in an increasingly competitive world. Wright and O’Neill (2002), for example, point to the extent to which an assessment of students’ perspectives has become a crucial requirement if universities are to remain competitive. More than 20 years ago, Glisan (1984) highlighted the special interest in overseas students, while Mortimer (1997) emphasised the need to examine and understand the decision-making process undertaken by these students and for institutions to respond to their needs. To this extent, universities have become increasingly involved in defining service quality and measuring customer satisfaction in ways that are familiar to service marketing specialists (Gronroos, 1984; Kotler, 1985), who themselves were developing measures of service quality from the 1980s. As noted by Patterson et al. (1998) and Conant et al. (1985), the most important customers, namely students and their parents, and the university providers have progressively changed towards a customer service orientation. Against this background, there has been a rapid expansion in the literature about this aspect of service quality. However, the way in which it has typically developed – by identifying the attributes from consultation with the students and then evaluating these (Bourke, 1997; Gatfield et al. , 1999; Joseph, 1998; Thompson and Thompson, 1996) – has meant that there has been a great diversity and lack of consistency in methodological strategies and in the variables employed to assess the service quality (Leonard et al. , 2003). Some researchers in education have used SERVQUAL, which is the most popular model to measure service quality, sometimes specifically adapted for the education sector (Wright and O’Neill, 2002; Gatfield, 2000). Orr (2000) identified five groups of organisational determinants of success in the provision of fee-paying graduate courses. Pate (1993) split the literature on student satisfaction into three perspectives: psychological-wellness-type satisfaction (related to personal characteristics); job-type satisfaction (related to future aspirations); and consumertype satisfaction (related to daily experience). However, the general picture is of a profusion and indeed a confusion of measured variables, some replicated across different studies, others unique to a particular study. In an initial attempt to understand the underlying patterns of service quality variables from these previous studies in higher education, a framework proposed by Lehtinen and Lehtinen (1991) was used. The framework was considered to offer a useful preliminary way to structure information relating to education as a service. Lehtinen and Lehtinen separately identified three dimensions of service quality: the physical quality (both products and support); the interactive quality (interaction between consumer and service provider); and the corporative quality (the image). Using these three dimensions, some 24 studies specifically related to quality in higher education were reviewed to establish whether these dimensions could be identified from the variables considered in earlier studies of higher education. For a dimension to exist it had to be included in more than three studies (Ekinci and Riley, 2001). The results and the studies are given in Table 1. From this it is clear that the physical quality dimension (general services, teaching and learning facilities, accommodation) and the interactive quality dimension (academic instruction, guidance, interaction with staff and students) are well included in the existing studies. The corporative quality dimension (recognition, reputation, value for money) is also present, but is less fully covered and mainly appears in papers concerned with marketing orientation (Bourke, 1995; Wilkinson, 1993). Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education 6(2), 55 – 67 7 Pereda, Airey and Bennett (2007) Service Quality in Overseas Education: The Experience of Overseas Students Study (author year) Mavondo et al. , 2004 Wiers-Jenssen, 2003 Wright and O’Neill, 2002 Elliot and Shin, 2002 Wiers-Jenssen et al. , 2002 Clemes et al. , 2001 Gatfield, 2000 Oldfield and Baron, 2000 Gatfield et al. , 1999 Ford et al. , 1999 Patterson et al. , 1998 Joseph, 1998 Aldridge and Rowley, 1998 Athiyaman, 1997 Bourke, 1997 Tomkovick et al. , 1996 Soutar and McNeil, 1996 Rogers and Smith, 1993 Hampton, 1993 Lapidus and Brown, 1993 Stewart, 1991 Ortinau et al. 1989 Polcyn, 1986 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Physical quality X Interactive quality X X X X X X X X X X X X X Corporative quality 22 22 8 Table 1: Higher Education Evaluation Matrix Physical quality – general services, teaching and learning facilities, accommodation Interactive quality – academic instruction, guidance, interaction with staff and students Corporative quality – recognition, reputation, value for money This study focused specifically on students from non-EU countries following postgraduate taught programmes. The fact that they are both international and postgraduate identifies them as a particular segment of the student market, and, as noted, it is one that has been showing significant growth and fee-earning potential. In many ways, their needs and responses are similar to those of other students but in significant ways they are also different. For example, as international students, the 2004 study by UKCOSA (2004) indicated that both postgraduates and undergraduates showed high levels of satisfaction with their academic experience (87 per cent), lthough, at 91 per cent, the undergraduates were rather more positive than their postgraduate counterparts at 85 per cent. This broad similarity is reflected in the other items included in the UKCOSA survey, with a notable exception that, at 85 per cent, undergraduates were more likely than postgraduates (65 per cent) to be offered university housing at the beginning of their stay. Other differences identified in the literature (Pereda, 2006) ar e that postgraduates are likely already to have been exposed to academic life, are older, with more work experience and experience of living independently. International students have similar issues to their domestic counterparts but additionally they face some specific issues, the most commonly cited being knowledge of English, inadequate financial resources, social adjustment, problems of daily living, loneliness and homesickness (Kennedy, 1995; Wilkinson, 1993; Burns, 1991; Samuelowicz, 1987). These, combined with the fact that they, or their families, are normally paying full fees, may partly explain the extent to which they are more critical of their experience and more demanding (Pereda, 2006). The study by the Higher Education Policy Institute (Bekhradnia et al. 2006) relating to English Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education 6(2), 55 – 67 58 Pereda, Airey and Bennett (2007) Service Quality in Overseas Education: The Experience of Overseas Students universities showed that nearly 30 per cent of such students found their courses represented poor value for money compared with 15 per cent of home and EU students. The fact that this study relates to this particular segment provides information about an important group, but the extent to which the results can be related to all international students or to students in general needs to be tempered by these differences. Methodology Having reached a point of identifying from the literature the ingredients of and preliminary structure for service quality in higher education, the research strategy was developed to identify statements and dimensions that would capture the students’ experiences of service quality and to measure these at a particular institution with a large cohort of international students. The students included in the survey were all from non-EU countries taking taught master degree courses, typically over one year, in different aspects of management. Admittedly, this approach contains limitations, being confined to particular students studying a particular group of courses at one institution. The advantage of this approach was partly one of convenience and logistics, but also that it permitted the identification of a sufficiently large and coherent group of students with roughly similar experiences, hence avoiding differences between institutions, subjects, ages and experience. The institution concerned is based in the South of England and achieved university status in the 1960s. It has a strong research reputation as well as strong links with the world of work. Specifically for this study it has a long-standing and strong international reputation for hospitality and tourism education. It regularly ranks as one of the leading centres both for teaching and research in these areas, and is one of only two institutions in the UK accredited by the UN World Tourism Organisation. It has a developing reputation for other management programmes, with recent accreditations by the American body, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and the Association of MBAs (AMBA), placing it among leading business schools. For more than 20 years it has attracted a large number of international students, and currently more than 90 per cent of its postgraduate students in management are from outside the UK. A dedicated international office provides specific support for these international students. The fieldwork was organised into two main parts. First, a Q-sort was used to establish the validity of the three dimensions and to establish statements related to the dimensions. A selection of these statements was then used both to explore the response of international students to their experience and to conduct an exploratory factor analysis, which ultimately identified four factors of service quality. Q-technique has its origins in the work of Stephenson (1935; 1953) and provides researchers with a systematic and orderly means for identifying the dimensions of subjective phenomena from the viewpoints and experiences of individuals. In brief, it attempts to convert subjective responses into measurable dimensions, which can then be formally evaluated by statistical applications. To this extent it is a preliminary method. It makes the study of human subjectivity amenable to ‘objective analysis’, hence combining the strengths of both quantitative and qualitative research (Sexton et al. , 1998). This versatile procedure is well suited to cases where the existence of concepts has not been established (Ekinci and Riley, 2001). The evaluation of students’ experiences comes into this category and was used here as a first step. Stergiou (2004) had earlier, and for similar reasons, followed this approach in relation to students’ views about teaching. The Q-sort was carried out in two phases. In the first phase, a bank of statements was created to represent the dimensions suggested by Lehtinen and Lehtinen (1991). The initial set of statements was generated from previous questionnaires in the area of higher education, including unpublished dissertations (Leonard et al. , 2003), as well as from discussions with researchers in related areas. An initial pilot test was conducted with five subjects in order to check the instructions and any wording problems with the statements that Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education 6(2), 55 – 67 9 Pereda, Airey and Bennett (2007) Service Quality in Overseas Education: The Experience of Overseas Students were generated. For the first Q-sort, a total of 104 statements were used, related to physical quality (34 statements), interactive quality (38 statements) and corporative quality (32 statements). Respondents for the study were confined to students enrolled in a postgra duate programme at the researchers’ university for at least one semester. The experience in the university is a basic requirement to evaluate the service. The Q-sort was completed by a total of 30 students from 28 different countries, including two from the UK, six from other EU countries and 22 from other parts of the world. These students were asked to sort the statements, which had been printed onto separate cards, into the three dimensions and then, for each group of statements, to classify them into: ‘most important’ (the kind of service you would expect to have); ‘least important’; and ‘not relevant’. In order to qualify, a statement needed to be allocated to the same heading by at least 60 per cent of the sample (Ekinci and Riley, 2001; Hinkin and Schriesheim, 1989) and a minimum f four qualified statements was required to validate the existence of a dimension. The result of this Q-sort was a set of 85 validated statements distributed as follows: physical quality 38; interactive quality 29; corporative quality 18. For the second Q-sort, in order to have a better balanced representation amon g the three dimensions, the best 20 statements that obtained a degree of consensus of 70 per cent or more were used for the first two dimensions, physical quality and interactive quality. However, further adjustments were also made both to avoid omitting likely determinants of student satisfaction – for example, library services – and to remove statements that essentially had the same meaning. For corporative quality, which only achieved 18 validated statements, three of which did not reach the cut-off of 70 per cent, five new statements were added. Hence, the second Q-sort took place with 60 statements, 20 related to each dimension. The respondents for this second round were 30 non-British full-fee-paying students enrolled on PhD (12) and master (18) degree programmes in different departments of the university. They were asked to sort the cards in the same way as in the first Q-sort. The output from this round was a set of 59 validated statements. One item was rejected from corporative quality. The second stage of the study involved further exploration of the statements to establish how they impacted on student views of the quality of service provided and how well they confirmed the existence of the three dimensions. For this, a research instrument was implemented with students taking taught postgraduate master level programmes at the institution. The final response was from 330 students taking a range of programmes in management and related areas. Eighty-four of these were on programmes related to hospitality and tourism, although it should be noted that this underestimates such students because a number of them identified themselves as studying ‘management’, omitting to mention their particular specialism. All were overseas students paying full fees. The research instrument was distributed personally in spring 2005, in most cases at the end of classes, and self-completed in the researcher’s presence. Forty statements in total were used from the second Q-sort to measure student views of the quality of service. Fifteen of these related to physical quality, 11 to interactive quality and 14 to corporative quality. The statements are given in Table 2. Physical quality The gardens and open areas on the campus are kept clean Students’ rooms are provided ith adequate internet connections The classrooms have up-to-date teaching support equipment The university has modern computers with the latest programmes Student accommodation is safe The university has sufficient residential accommodation The library has a wide range of book and periodicals in my area of studies The rooms in the student residential accommodation are comfortable Mean 5. 22 5. 14 5. 10 5. 06 4. 66 4. 66 4. 57 4. 55 SD 1. 17 1. 90 1. 05 1. 30 1. 31 1. 41 1. 51 1. 28 Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education 6(2), 55 – 67 60 Pereda, Airey and Bennett (2007) Service Quality in Overseas Education: The Experience of Overseas Students Adequate printer facilities are available The campus computers are sufficient for the student population The communal areas in each student residence are adequate for the number of students The university has plenty of sports facilities The sport centre offers modern equipment The university offers modern accommodation at affordable prices The university provides adequate parking areas for students Interactive quality My course is intellectually challenging Staff react politely to students’ queries It is easy to make friends on campus The administrative staff are helpful Lecturers stimulate critical analysis There are clear and reasonable requirements for each module Lecturers can be easily contacted individually It is easy to get involved in campus social organisations Lecturers have adequate time for consultation Feedback from coursework is adequate It is easy to inter act with local students Corporative quality The university takes the lead in research A degree from this university improves my employment prospects The university maintains links with international education networks A degree from this university is well recognised internationally The university is well recognised for the academic programmes The university offers a high quality of teaching performance The ranking of my school is high Graduates from this university achieve considerable success in finding excellent employment A degree from this university has an excellent reputation in my home country The university maintains excellent links with local industry The university has contacts ith international employers The university has been extensively recommended by my friends in my home country Lecturers in my home country recommended this university to me There are excellent links between my home country and this university Table 2: Students’ views of the quality of service provided 7= strongly agree; 1= strongly disagree 4. 85 4. 85 4. 70 4. 69 4. 66 4. 57 4. 57 4. 45 4. 32 4. 23 4. 18 3. 92 3. 84 3. 45 1. 04 1. 02 1. 16 1. 14 1. 20 1. 17 1. 32 1. 20 1. 38 1. 33 1. 29 1. 37 1. 48 1. 30 5. 02 4. 71 4. 70 4. 60 4. 56 4. 55 4. 48 4. 35 4. 28 4. 23 3. 62 1. 04 1. 19 1. 23 1. 32 1. 19 1. 10 1. 19 1. 28 1. 22 1. 12 1. 50 4. 43 4. 31 4. 29 4. 20 4. 17 3. 94 3. 70 1. 38 1. 41 1. 45 1. 36 1. 32 1. 33 1. 48 A seven-point Likert scale was used for this purpose, and respondents were asked to indicate the extent to which they agreed or disagreed with the statements relating to their experience. The instrument also collected data on satisfaction, value for money and demographics. These are not reported here. The analysis included the preparation of descriptive statistics, cross-tabulations against various independent variables, and exploratory factor analysis with Varimax rotation. An Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education 6(2), 55 – 67 61 Pereda, Airey and Bennett (2007) Service Quality in Overseas Education: The Experience of Overseas Students overall Cronbach alpha coefficient of . 875, results from more than 300 respondents, a Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy of more than . 0 and the Bartlett’s test results all gave support that the set of data was adequate for factor analysis, with a factor loading of . 35. Results and discussion The s tudents’ views on the quality of service provided under the three dimensions are given in Table 2. These, together with the reasons for enrolling in the particular programme presented in Table 3, provide an indication of the elements of service quality that are of importance to these international students. The reputation and content, including the English language provision, of the programme are clearly important to the students in making their decisions about where to study. Reason Degree accepted internationally English language spoken Content of the course Reputation of this university back home Facilities Entry requirement Getting an offer of a place Influence of friends/family Know someone studying there Degree not available at home Scholarship award Sponsor’s decision Level of fees Difficulty of getting into university at home Table 3: Reasons for enrolling No (n=308) 184 152 142 103 91 63 62 54 52 52 42 19 13 11 The most important finding of the research to be reported here was that the factor analysis did not entirely support the structure proposed by Lehtinen and Lehtinen. Indeed, as set out in Table 4, four dimensions are identified, and of these, Factor 1 is by far the most important, accounting for the largest proportion of the variance (34 per cent), with eigenvalues greater than 3. 00 (6. 156). This factor includes a group of statements related to research, rigour and reputation, and is labelled here ‘recognition’. Factors 1 Factor 1: recognition The ranking of my school is high (corporative quality) A degree from this university is well recognised internationally (corporative quality) The university takes the lead in research (corporative quality) A degree from this university has an excellent reputation in my home country (corporative quality) My course is intellectually challenging (interactive quality) Factor 2: quality of instruction and interaction with faculty Lecturers have adequate time for consultation (interactive quality) . 765 . 772 . 702 . 659 . 652 . 609 2 3 4 Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education 6(2), 55 – 67 62 Pereda, Airey and Bennett (2007) Service Quality in Overseas Education: The Experience of Overseas Students Lecturers can be easily contacted individually (interactive quality) There are clear and reasonable requirements for each module (interactive quality) Lecturers stimulate critical analysis (interactive quality) Feedback from coursework is adequate (interactive quality) Factor 3: sufficiency of resources The campus computers are sufficient for the student population (physical quality) Adequate printer facilities are available (physical quality) The communal areas in each student residence are adequate for the number of students (physical quality) The university has sufficient residential accommodation (physical quality) Factor 4: quality of facilities The university has plenty of sport facilities (physical quality) The sports centre has modern equipment (physical quality) The classrooms have up-to-date teaching support equipment (physical quality) The gardens and open areas on c ampus are kept clean (physical quality) . 863 . 802 . 526 . 483 . 724 . 689 . 657 . 642 . 758 . 663 . 611 . 454 Eigenvalue 6. 156 1. 527 1. 375 1. 72 Explained variance by factor (%) 34. 199 8. 481 7. 640 7. 069 Table 4: Service quality scale: factor loading structure Extraction method: principle component analysis. Rotation method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalisation. Rotation converged in five iterations To some extent this reflects how the university positions itself as a demanding and competitive body. The other three factors did not reach eigenvalues of 3. 00, and the percentage variance together only accounts for 23 per cent of the total. The second factor roughly relates to Lehtinen and Lehtinen’s ‘interactive quality’ and here is labelled ‘quality of instruction and interaction with faculty’. The items here emphasise the importance of the lecturer in his or her intrinsic role as a teacher, willing to guide, teach and motivate students. The variables included in this factor also provide evidence of the responsibilities of the lecturer towards the students in terms of providing clear instructions, accurate and punctual feedback and private consultation. Factor 3 includes four items from ‘physical quality’, and although they only explain 7. 64 per cent of the common variance, all the items have high loadings, ranging from . 642 to . 724. Interestingly, they all relate to the adequate provision of services by the university and hence are labelled here ‘sufficiency of resources’. The last factor, although composed of four items from ‘physical quality’, does not show a clear pattern – two of the items refer to sport facilities (both of which have high loadings), the modernity of classroom facilities and cleanliness of the campus. This recasting of the dimensions provides an interesting step in translating service quality thinking into the arena of higher education. In particular, it emphasises the point that the provision of services is not only about the actual facilities (classrooms, computers, etc) and the ways in which they are delivered (by the teachers), both of which find correspondence in any service; it also highlights the fact that there is another, in this case overriding, dimension for students in the ways in which they judge their institution. This is the standing or recognition of the university, which in itself is a combination of achievements often over many years in the wide range of activities covered by universities – teaching, research, invention and knowledge creation. In the case of this particular study, this may be partly explained by the fact that the institution concerned has an outstanding and long-established reputation for Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education 6(2), 55 – 67 63 Pereda, Airey and Bennett (2007) Service Quality in Overseas Education: The Experience of Overseas Students tourism and hospitality studies, and a significant proportion of the respondents were taking these programmes. In the same way, ancient universities, some with histories over many centuries, offer ‘reputation’ as a key element in attracting students. This ‘recognition’ dimension, of course, also finds expression in other services and goods, but arguably its explanatory strength for universities in distinguishing between institutions, particularly for overseas students, is more powerful than in other areas. It is difficult to generalise from this to all universities. Given the rapid expansion of the sector in recent years, there has been little time for many institutions to have developed their reputations. This may explain why in earlier studies (Gatfield et al. , 1999; Tomkovick et al. , 1996) which have included ‘reputation’ it has not consistently appeared as the most important factor. Indeed, ‘academic instruction’ has more typically explained most of the variance (Gatfield, 2000; Elliot and Shin, 2002; Patterson et al. , 1998). However, what it does point to potentially is the sheer importance of reputation once it has been achieved and, as a corollary, the imperative to maintain reputation. Against this background, league tables and world rankings take on a crucial role and hence become a vital part of the development and survival strategy for institutions in an increasingly competitive world. As international recruitment and international competition in higher education increases, this is likely to figure increasingly prominently in the strategies of universities. Conclusion Three important issues come out of this work in relation to the things that students value in their university experience. First, in line with previous studies, the evaluation of higher education includes a complex and diverse range of variables, from classroom experience to library and computing provision, from social and sporting activities to international recognition. Second, the work in measuring service quality provides a good starting point for understanding the basic structure of the variables that students take into account in evaluating their experience. And third, there is, at least for some universities, including the one where the study took place, a fourth dimension related to reputation; in this case, a reputation in hospitality and tourism may have influenced the results. This then points to a key feature of higher education provision, which is that universities are not a uniform range of institutions. They vary enormously by, for example, age, size, structure, specialism and orientation, and any form of evaluation will be likely to reflect these differences. In this case, it is reputation and recognition that has come through. In other universities and with other student groups there may well be other dimensions in the variables. This study was based on one institution and sought the views of the international, postgraduate, full-fee-paying students who had already taken a decision about where to study, and the configuration of the variables reflects this. Primarily, it has brought the reputation of the institution into prominence; but it has also provided a further basis for understanding the issues that international students value. Given the likely continued growth in international student movements, there are key lessons here for institutions, not least in the importance of developing and maintaining reputation. As already noted, in an environment of globalisation, international competition and league tables, reputation is likely to increase in importance. Of course, given the sample of a particular group of students studying particular subjects at one institution, there are some important limitations in the extent to which it is possible to generalise the results. However, notwithstanding this weakness, both the approach and the findings in terms of the key variables and dimensions provide pointers o approaches to understanding the views of students and the ways in which this important group of students view their experience. There are clearly many further avenues for research in this area. A wider range of institutions with different priorities, a wider range of subject areas and coverage of undergraduate an d domestic students would all provide further insights to the views of students about their Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education 6(2), 55 – 67 64 Pereda, Airey and Bennett (2007) Service Quality in Overseas Education: The Experience of Overseas Students experiences and about the dimensions that they value. But perhaps most important for tourism and hospitality specialists would be a specific focus on students studying these subjects. While they are a significant cohort among the students included in the survey, and this study can provide pointers, their number was not sufficient to draw final conclusions about their particular characteristics, if any. This work remains to be done. References Aldridge, S. and Rowley, J. (1998) Measuring Customers’ Satisfaction in Higher Education. Quality Assurance in Education, 6, 197-204. Allen, A. and Higgins, T. (1994) Higher Education: The International Student Experience. Leeds: HEIST. Athiyaman, A. (1997) Linking Student Satisfaction and Service Quality Perceptions: the case of university education. European Journal of Marketing, 31, 528-540. Barron, P. (2005) Cultural Issues in Learning. In: D. Airey and J. Tribe (eds. ) An International Handbook of Tourism Education. Oxford: Elsevier, 353-366. Bekhradnia, B. , Whitnall, C. and Sastry, T. 2006) The Academic Experience of Students in English Universities. London: Higher Education Policy Institute. Bourke, A. (1995) A Model of the Determinants of International Trade in Higher Education. Service Industries Journal, 20. Bourke, A. (1997) The Internationalisation of Higher Education. Higher Education Quarterly, 51, 325-346. Burns, R. (1991) Study and Stress among First Year Overseas Students in an Australian University. Higher Education Research and Development, 10, 61-77. Clemes, M. , Ozanne, L. and Tram, L. (2001) An Examination of Students’ Perceptions of Service Quality in Higher Education. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 10, 1-19. Conant, J. , Brown, J. and Mokwa, M. 1985) Students are Important Consumers: assessing satisfaction in a higher education context. Journal of Marketing Education, 7(2) 13-20. Ekinci, Y. and Riley, M. (2001) Validating Quality Dimensions. Annals of Tourism Research, 28, 201-223. Elliot, K. and Shin, D. (2002) Student Satisfaction: an alternative approach to assessing this important concept. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 24, 197-2 09. Ford, J. , Joseph, M. and Joseph, B. (1999) Importance-Performance Analysis as a Strategic Tool for Service Marketers: the case of service quality perceptions of business students in New Zealand. The Journal of Services Marketing, 13, 171-186. Gatfield, T. 2000) A Scale for Measuring Student Perception of Quality: an Australian Asian perspective. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 10, 27-41. Gatfield, T. , Bakker, M. and Graham, P. (1999) Measuring Student Quality Variables and the Implications for Management Practices in Higher Education Institutions: an Australian and international perspective. Journal of Higher Education and Management, 21, 239-252. Glisan, G. (1984) A Marketing Approach to Student Evaluation of a Department of Marketing. Journal of Higher Education, 54, 159-163. Gronroos, C. (1984) A Service Quality Model and its Marketing Implications. European Journal of Marketing, 18, 139-150. Hampton, G. 1993) College Students’ Satisfaction: marketing†™s approach for evaluating higher education. Journal of Professional Services Marketing, 9, 115-128. HESA (2006) Higher Education Statistics for the United Kingdom 2004-05. Cheltenham: Higher Education Statistics Agency. Hinkin, T. and Schriesheim, C. (1989) Development and Application of New Scales to Measure the French and Raven Bases of Social Power. Journal of Applied Psychology, 74, 561-567. Joseph, M. (1998) Determinants of Service Quality in Education: a New Zealand perspective. Journal of Professional Services Marketing, 16, 43-71. Kennedy, K. (1995) Developing a Curriculum Guarantee for Overseas Students. Higher Education Research and Development, 14, 35-46. Kotler, P. (1985) Strategic Marketing for Educational Institutions. London: Prentice-Hall. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education 6(2), 55 – 67 65 Pereda, Airey and Bennett (2007) Service Quality in Overseas Education: The Experience of Overseas Students Lapidus, R. and Brown, J. (1993) Assessing Satisfaction with the University Experience: an international perspective. Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behaviour, 6, 187-192. Lehtinen, U. and Lehtinen, J. (1991) Two Approaches to Service Quality Dimensions. The Service Industries Journal, 11, 287-303. Leonard, D. , Pelletier, C. nd Morley, L. (2003) The Experiences of International Students in UK Higher Education: A Review of Unpublished Research. London: UKCOSA. Mavondo, F. , Tsarenki, Y. and Gale, T. (2004) International and Local Student Satisfaction: resources and capabilities perspective. Journal of Marketing for Hi gher Education, 14, 4160. Mortimer, K. (1997) Recruiting Overseas Undergraduate Students: are their information requirements being satisfied? Higher Education Quarterly, 51, 225-238. Oldfield, B. and Baron, S. (2000) Student Perceptions of Service Quality in a UK University Business and Management Faculty. Quality Assurance in Education, 8, 85-95. Orr, S. 2000) The Organisational Determinants of Success for Delivering Fee-Paying Graduate Courses. The International Journal of Educational Management, 14, 54-61. Ortinau, D. , Bush, A. J. , Bush, R. P. and Twible, J. (1989) The Use of Importance Performance Analysis for Improving the Quality of Marketing Education: interpreting faculty-course evaluation. Journal of Marketing Education, 11(2), 78-86. Pate, W. (1993) Consumer Satisfaction, Determinants and Post-Purchase Actions in Higher Education. College and University Journal, 68, 100-107. Patterson, P. , Romm, T. and Hill, C. (1998) Consumer Satisfaction as a Process: a qualitative, r etrospective longitudinal study of overseas students in Australia. Journal of Professional Services Marketing, 16, 135-157. Pereda, M. (2006) An Examination of the Impact of Service Quality Dimensions on Students’ Satisfaction in Higher Education in the UK. Thesis, (PhD). University of Surrey. Polcyn, L. (1986) A Two-Instrument Approach to Student Satisfaction. College and University Journal, 62, 18-24. Rogers, A. and Smith, P. (1993) Identifying the Needs of Overseas Students: a monitoring exercise at the University of Southampton. Journal of International Education, 3, 7-24. Samuelowicz, K. (1987) Learning Problems of Overseas Students: the two sides of a story. 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Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education 6(2), 55 – 67 67 How to cite Overseas Education: Opportunities, Experience and Quality, Essay examples

Essay on A Good Man is Hard to Find Essay Example For Students

Essay on A Good Man is Hard to Find Essay Virtue and the grandmother If you were to ask someone what their definition of a happy life would be, they would probably give you an answer like, having fun. This is completely untrue in Aristotles terms. According to Aristotle, for a man to lead a happy life he must learn each of the intellectual virtues, and practice each of the moral virtues throughout his life. These moral virtues are justice, courage, temperance, magnificence, magnanimity, liberality, gentleness, prudence, and wisdom. With so many virtues to constantly abide by, a man cannot know if he has led a happy life until his life is nearly finished. In the story A Good Man is Hard to Find, by Flannery O Connor, the question is raised whether the grandmother has achieved a state of happiness according to Aristotles terms at the time of her death. The answer is no, because she is a person who is dishonest, cowardly, and unwise. Of all the virtues, honesty is practiced the least by the grandmother. Honesty is defined as The capacity or condition of being honest; integrity; trustworthiness (Honesty). There are several examples of the grandmothers dishonest and untrustworthy actions. In the beginning of the story, The grandmother didnt want to go to Florida (O Connor 1106), so she made up false excuses to try to persuade her family to take her to Tennessee. This fellow that calls himself The Misfit is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed toward Florida . I wouldnt take my children in any direction with a criminal like that aloose in it (O Connor 1106). On the way to Florida, the grandmother notices an old house she visited as a child. When she wants to stop and re-visit the house, the grandmother tells the children, There was a secret panel in this house not telling the truth but wishing that she were (O Connor 1110), lying again so she could have her way. The grandmother also secretly brought the family cat, She had her big black valise and underneath it she was hiding a basket with Pitty Sing, the cat, in it (O Connor 1106), even though Her son, Bailey, didnt like to arrive at a motel with a cat (O Connor 1107). When The Misfit arrives, The grandmother had the peculiar feeling that the bespectacled man was someone she knew (O Connor 1112), but when she later realizes who the man is, she claims, I recognized you at once! (O Conn or 1113). She tells The Misfit, we turned over twice! (O Connor 1112), even though they both knew that it was only once. Lastly, the grandmother lies again to herself and to The Misfit when she says, you shouldnt call yourself The Misfit because I know youre a good man at heart (O Connor 1113). The only reason she says this is in an attempt to save her life. Another virtue the grandmother lacks is courage. Courage is The state or quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger with self-possession, confidence and resolution (Courage). When The Misfit arrives, the grandmother is nothing but a coward. She exhibits no self-possession, Alone with The Misfit, the grandmother found that she had lost her voice (O Connor 1116), displayed here when she cant even speak. She also has no resolution to the situation but to give The Misfit her money, Ill give you all the money Ive got! (O Connor 1116), or to lie to The Misfit and tell him hes a good man. Of course none of this would have come about if it werent for the grandmothers lack of wisdom. Wisdom is common sense; sagacity; good judgment (Wisdom). The grandmother does not use good judgment when she decides to bring the cat along, and the cat ends up causing their accident. The instant the valise moved, the newspaper top she had over the basket under it rose with a snarl and Pitty Sing, the cat, sprang onto Baileys shoulder (O Connor 1111). .u542e1feb493de9b77637b5061f378fa9 , .u542e1feb493de9b77637b5061f378fa9 .postImageUrl , .u542e1feb493de9b77637b5061f378fa9 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u542e1feb493de9b77637b5061f378fa9 , .u542e1feb493de9b77637b5061f378fa9:hover , .u542e1feb493de9b77637b5061f378fa9:visited , .u542e1feb493de9b77637b5061f378fa9:active { border:0!important; } .u542e1feb493de9b77637b5061f378fa9 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u542e1feb493de9b77637b5061f378fa9 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u542e1feb493de9b77637b5061f378fa9:active , .u542e1feb493de9b77637b5061f378fa9:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u542e1feb493de9b77637b5061f378fa9 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u542e1feb493de9b77637b5061f378fa9 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u542e1feb493de9b77637b5061f378fa9 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u542e1feb493de9b77637b5061f378fa9 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u542e1feb493de9b77637b5061f378fa9:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u542e1feb493de9b77637b5061f378fa9 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u542e1feb493de9b77637b5061f378fa9 .u542e1feb493de9b77637b5061f378fa9-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u542e1feb493de9b77637b5061f378fa9:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Bchs football Essay But the most unwise of decisions the grandmother makes is when she recognizes The Misfit and decides to call him out on it. The grandmother .

6 Best WordPress Theme Detectors Tested and Compared

Have you ever found a WordPress site with a design that you love so much you want it for your own site? There are tons of great themes out there to use as inspiration. And, thankfully, if you ever find yourself wanting to know which theme a WordPress site is running, one of these WordPress theme detectors can help you out.Theyre great if you are a WordPress enthusiast and want to learn new things about your favorite CMS. Or you simply want to prove yourself or somebody else that youve guessed the theme right.No matter what your reasons are, the truth is that you can easily find out the secret behind a certain sites design through awesome WordPress theme detectors, even if you dont know any code.So, today, were presenting you five tools that allow you to look under the hood of a WordPress site and see the themes and plugins that sit underneath. Most of these theme detectors are online tools that you can use right from your browser of choice. Results of WordPress theme detectorsWhat Th emeWhat WordPress Theme Is ThatWPSnifferWordPress Theme DetectorScanWPThemeIsle BlogDetectedNoDetectedDetectedDetectedNIODetectedDetectedDetectedDetectedDetectedAlanis MorissetteDetectedDetectedNoDetectedDetectedBobWPDetectedNoDetectedDetectedDetectedMatt ReportDetectedNoDetectedDetectedDetectedThe Best 6 WordPress Theme Detectors in DetailNow, lets get to know the candidates from the table better. Well talk about each of them in detail and see what they come with. Whats cool is that a lot of these theme detectors go beyond just WordPress themes and provide some other neat information.What ThemeWhat Theme is a great online tool that not only detects a WordPress sites theme, but also shows nice details about the theme such as its main URL, the author, what version and license it has tags related to its purpose, and a description. Apart from WordPress, you can also use it for Joomla, Drupal, Blogger, Shopify, Ghost, Tumblr, Magento, and Big Cartel.Whats interesting about this tool is that it recognizes a custom theme immediately and delivers you the author or agency that built it. You can also use What Theme if you want to find out whether a site uses WordPress or not.What WordPress Theme Is ThatThis is a similar online tool made to detect what WordPress theme a certain site is using. Just go to the tools page and enter the URL of the site that you want to check in the search bar.What WordPress Theme Is That will not only detect the main theme, but also the parent (if any). It also goes beyond themes and presents you with a list of plugins that are being used by that given site. Unlike WhatTheme, this is just for WordPress, so it wont detect themes built for other platforms.WPSnifferWPSniffer is a Chrome extension that tells you what theme a WordPress site is using. It doesnt come with details about the theme or author, it just links to a Google results page where you can find all the pages that lead to the theme. The pages are generated by this exact keyword fo rmat x WordPress theme (where x is the themes name).The tool is easy to use, you just need to click the install button and a gray icon will appear in your browsers top bar. The icon turns orange automatically every time it detects a WordPress theme.WordPress Theme DetectorThis one is a very cool theme detector not only because it has a friendly interface but also because of the way it presents the detected theme. The tool is online, so you need to just enter the URL of the site youre interested in. To display the theme it found, WordPress Theme Detector provides nice slide-out sections that deliver helpful details about the author.What is this tool delivering exactly? The themes description, tag, license, a great box of statistics about the provider, additional information about the site you searched for, and a list of plugins that the tool was able to detect on the site. As an added bonus, the tool also detects child themes.ScanWPScanWP is another web-based tool built to detect the theme and plugins that a WordPress site is using. It doesnt provide additional information about the theme, it just tells you its name, URL, author, and sometimes the price.WP Theme Detector by SatoriThis one is probably the most minimalist of the tools discussed here. It provides only the essential results: a theme’s name, its author, description, version, as well as the direct link to the theme’s official page. It also tells whether a child theme is being used and returns specific error messages if the scanned website uses a completely custom theme or doesn’t use WordPress at all.The tool works even on websites which are using CSS minification plugins such as BWP Minify that distort the theme’s stylesheets.The Winner?Putting all the things together, the most effective tool that we found was WordPress Theme Detector. Apart from detecting all the themes, it offers a bunch of useful information about the searched item, including author details and a few p lugins that are active on the site. It can also tell the difference between a child theme and the parent.What Theme is a great alternative, returning correct answers for every website, but it cant figure out if a theme is a child theme or not.Last but not least, ScanWP knows its stuff very well and does offer you a nice list containing the theme and a limited number of plugins a website is using.Bonus methodsThe developer methodI called this one the developer method because this is how developers investigate websites. For them, doing this is like copy and paste. But its not too complicated, so you can probably figure it out even if youre not a developer.This time you wont need any tools, you just have to go to a website, right click on the page, and select View Page Source. Or you can simply press CTRL+U. The pages code will appear in a new tab and all you have to do is search for wp-content/themes using CTRL+F. You will find the name of the theme written in every single line that c ontains this exact phrase.Theme name in the footerThis option is the simplest but it doesnt work all the time. Every site usually comes with footer credits, mentioning the platform and (sometimes) the theme its using. So before you use the methods from above, you should first look at the sites footer because the answer you need might be there.

The eNotes Blog 10 Ways To Get More Sleep DuringFinals

10 Ways To Get More Sleep DuringFinals Since when do â€Å"sleep† and â€Å"finals† belong in the same sentence? By the end of the semester, it seems almost natural to swap sleep for study. While this may have earned you an A in the past, it’s not sustainable and can negatively alter your overall performance come test time. Sleep deprivation leads to less efficient learning, higher emotionality, increased anxiety, and a less efficient brain.  Ultimately, getting enough sleep is the best thing you can do for yourself during finals week. Therefore, cut back on the caffeine, establish a sleep schedule, and feel well-rested by the time you’re sitting down for your first exam. Lets look at 10 simple ways to get more sleep this finals week. 1. Reset your body clock It’s no surprise that our bodies desire consistent sleep patterns. While the amount of sleep varies based on the individual, it’s a great habit to establish a sleep schedule. Try setting your alarm for the same time each morning and going to bed around the same time each night. This helps your body get into the groove of a routine to have you feeling well rested by the time your alarm goes off. 2. Avoid all-nighters In reality, no one wants to pull all-nighters. Theyre simply the result of procrastination and actually do more harm than good. After staying up all night, youre less likely to remember everything you were trying to study and your ability to reason may be impaired from lack of sleep.  You should aim to  get at least four hours of sleep the night before any test. Besides, doesnt your bed sound way more appealing than another energy drink? 3. Nourish your body Hours of studying may have you consuming ungodly amounts of caffeine while maintaining a strict vending-machine diet. It’s vital to stay hydrated and consume full meals regardless of how long you’re sitting in the library. When your brain is functioning on a full reserve of water, you think faster, are more focused, and experience greater clarity and creativity.   Neglecting to properly nourish your body will cause it to crash, ultimately disrupting your mood and sleep patterns. Use your study breaks as an opportunity to eat something substantial so you’ll have enough energy throughout the day. 4. Study on Sundays I know what youre thinking: why would you ever give up a day of your weekend to study? Though Sunday may be a day of rest, its not a bad idea to carve out some time to prepare for the week ahead. Reviewing material before Monday also helps open up some free time during the week as well as provide time-management insight. Above all, youll be able to cross one more thing off your to-do list to ensure youre getting enough rest during the week. 5. Exercise! Did you know that just 30 minutes of cardio can actually improve your memory?  Whether youre jogging, dancing, or walking, the point is to take a short study break to get moving. Releasing endorphins helps maintain productivity and keeps you in a good mood. Taking some time to exercise also helps  improve sleep quality, reduce stress, and relieve anxiety. If you feel like you dont have enough time to spare, you can always bring your study material to the gym or create some study audio you can listen to on the go. 6. Unplug before bed Weve all been there: mindlessly scrolling through our news feed before bed only to realize weve stayed up way longer than anticipated. Electronics emit a blue hue that is similar to daylight. Looking at your electronics before bed not only makes it harder to fall asleep but also impacts how alert you are the next day. Make a conscious effort to avoid the use of light-emitting screens before bedtime. Treat your bed as a sanctuary for sleep and engage in other restful activities like reading or meditating. 7. De-stress Finals week is undoubtedly one of the most stressful times of the school year and, in turn, can interrupt how well youre sleeping. It can be difficult to keep calm and carry on when youre feeling overwhelmed. Finding time to partake in some de-stressing activities will benefit your overall well-being. Try taking a yoga class, exploring aromatherapy, or treating yourself to a warm bath. During finals week, schools will often offer free massages, puppy play dates, and other on-campus activities to help minimize your stress. Find something youll enjoy, and relax- you deserve it. 8. Keep your room cool Perhaps youve never thought twice about the temperature in your room or how its affecting your sleep patterns.  For optimal sleep, specialists recommend a room temperature of between 60 and 67 degrees to stimulate the production of melatonin.  Once we lay down to rest, our body temperature naturally drops, igniting our instinct to sleep. So the next time you get ready for bed, turn down your thermostat and see how long it takes you to drift off to dreamland. 9. Use your bed solely for sleep While your bed may seem like the most appealing place to start studying, think again. Studying in bed can limit focus, decrease your productivity, and inhibit your sleep. Its important to distinguish where you sleep from where you study or else you may end up falling asleep while youre studying. If your goal is to study somewhere comfortable, look into setting up a hammock outside or laying a blanket out at the park. If you inevitably fall asleep, allow yourself to take a nap before you start a study session. Theres no shame in a little snooze. 10. Plan ahead Time management is the most obvious key to success. Take the time to plan out a schedule that is realistic. Allow yourself time to do the things you want while still dedicating some time to study. Don’t feel obligated to attend every end of the year event that will sabotage your schedule and sacrifice sleep. Focus on what you need to do to finish and plan accordingly. The finish line is in sight!   Studying takes time and commitment; however, theres no need to neglect your regular self-care regiments come finals week. Dont think of sleep as the enemy, for it is necessary for success. It is the time for the brain to consolidate memories of what we studied and learned that day. Therefore, listen to your body and allow yourself to rest. Best of luck on all of your end-of-the-year endeavors and may the odds be ever in your favor! (All Images Via Unsplash.com)

Portfolio Reflection Paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Portfolio Reflection Paper - Assignment Example Etiology is a process that goes hand in hand with pathophysiology because it involves the evaluation and study of causative agents or factors behind an ailment. Pathogenesis entails the mechanism(s) through which a causative agent leads to the development of a disease in an individual or organism. It also refers to the development and origin of an ailment along with its mode of transmittance and propagation. All the above-mentioned processes are used in the medical professional to map out the development and manifestation of diseases in organisms. Through these processes, medical professionals are able to develop interventionist, preventive and curative manoeuvres to combat disease causing agents and factors. Individuals have various manifestations and reactions to diseases, these reactions provide valuable indicators as to the nature and seriousness of an ailment. Physiological responses to illnesses are the first indicators that are sought by medical professionals to act as sign po sts of the nature of an ailment. They can be typically observed and measured quantitatively like fever or qualitatively like the amount of virus or pathogen present in an individual’s system. ... Pathophysiology enables medical personnel ascertain the level of severity of a disease condition and determine appropriate measures to eradicate or curb its spread. Through proper and competent analysis of various predisposing factors, medical personnel are placed in position that enables them to identify the most effective and efficient intervention to treat an illness. NUR515: Advanced Pharmacology Pharmacology is a branch of medicine concerned with the study of the body’s reaction with compounds introduced in the body for the purposes of combating disease causing agents. According to Hamric, Spross & Hanson (2008), pharmacokinetics is concerned investigating and evaluating the path taken by compounds introduced into the body in an effort to combat disease-causing agents. The biochemical and physiological reaction and interaction of compounds introduced into the body to act as a drug against pathogens are called pharmacodynamics. Proficiency in pharmacology enables an indivi dual to administer drug regimens to individuals with regard to their diverse predisposition culturally, traditionally and spiritually. This is because there are multiple treatment or curative measures for a single disease, but with different requirements and side effects that should be put into consideration when prescribing drugs. Pharmacological competence enables a medical practitioner to prescribe treatment regimens that are in line with the medical requirements for the disease. It also enables prescriptions to be based on economic, cultural and spiritual consideration of the patient. Pharmacological competence ensures that the health of patients is assured in terms of guaranteed prescription of drugs that maximize their ability to combat pathogens

Databases Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Databases - Essay Example Relational Databases A relational database model refers to a database, which has been set up in such a way that the data in the tables is easily accessed and retrieved by the user when the need arises. This is the data model, which is mostly preferred when it comes to setting up and storing data as opposed to other models such as relational database models and the networked model. In the recent past. This model has been widely implemented in thing such as storage of financial records among others. The main reason why databases that take up this model are more on demand is due to their relative ease of understanding. This is despite the fact that they are not very much efficient. The inefficiency, which is associated with this database model, is however, covered up by the fact that computers that are in use in the present day are more powerful as compared to back then when the power in computing had not been realized. Normalization There is another aspect, which comes up when dealing with databases. This is to do with the normalization of data in the database. Normalization refers to that process through which the fields and the tables that are existent in a relational database are organized in an orderly manner for the purpose of minimizing the redundancies and inefficiencies that may arise. What happens in this case is that a large table may be decomposed into several smaller and less redundant tables. At the same time, the relationships that are present in these tables are further defined. The main reason why the database can be broken down into several tables with relationships between them is for easy updating. In this case, the data is isolated so that a change in one area, in this case the change being a deletion, modification or updating of data is done on only one table as opposed to all the tables in the database. The change, which is orchestrated on one table, is performed on all the tables that are in the relationship. The aspect of efficiency and re duced redundancy comes up in this case. The user is in a position to handle the data in the database is a more organized and easier manner. When it comes to normalization, there is the first normal form, the second normal form and the third normal form. The third normal form tables are usually the ones, which are majorly free from any anomalies, which may come up when handling data. The main reason why normalization is required to make the database free from undesirable dependencies such as deletion and updating. It is also needed for the purpose of making the relational database model more informative to the average user. Logical Database Design This refers to the development of the database while defining the dependencies and relationships that may come up in the database. The data and information, which is gained in the process, is then arranged in a logical manner and transferred into those objects of storage, which are supported by the database. These storage objects in the cas e of a relational database refers to the tables into which there are rows and columns/ Physical Database Design The physical design of the database is more concerned with the structuring of the data onto the storage space together with its configuration. There is a lot of detailed information, which is developed in the process. An example in this case is the definition of data elements and the indexing option among various others. More detailed specifications of the system are developed in this case.

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

Astronamy - Essay Example The scientific history of the West commenced around 600 BC, which coincided with the beginning of the Greek civilization (Lankford 425). Some of the eminent Greek astronomers are described in the sequel. Pythagoras of Samos, Ionia taught that any object, principle or idea in the universe was subject to quantification. This fundamental principle provided a concrete mathematical foundation for the fledgling science of astronomy. The Pythagoreans subscribed to the view that each of the planets was attached to a crystalline sphere that had the Earth as its centre. Pythagoras was the first to discover that the morning star and the evening star were the planet Venus (Lankford 425). Thereafter, Aristotle made a number of astronomical discoveries. For instance, he established that phases of the Moon were on account of different sunlit portions being visible in a month. It was his well founded contention that the Sun was a much greater distance than the Moon, from the Earth; because during a solar eclipse the Sun’s light was prevented from reaching the Earth by the intervening Moon (universe). The shadow of the Earth, which is seen on the Moon, during a lunar eclipse, led Aristotle to conclude that the Earth was spherical in shape. At such times, the Earth is interposed between the Sun and the Moon. On the other hand if the Earth had been a flat disk, then its shadow at the edge would have resembled a straight line. Another piece of evidence that he quoted in support of this theory was that after travelling a great distance south, sojourners were unable to see some of the stars that had been visible from Greece. On a flat earth, any person, irrespective of location would have seen the same stars. However, on a spherical Earth, the view from different latitudes, entails different angles; therefore, the stellar constellations viewed are different (universe). The astronomers had established that the Earth was a sphere – an oblate spheroid if one desires

Plant and Animal Interactions in the Tropical Rainforest

Plant and Animal Interactions in the Tropical Rainforest Why are animal-plant interactions considered important in the establishment and maintenance of high biodiversity in tropical rain forests? Include specific examples in your answer. The study of plant-animal interactions has been a key role in development of ecology hence it has been carried out for a long time. They are also key constituents of biodiversity, which is termed as a variation of life form in a particular ecosystem. Hence, with no diversity of antagonistic, mutualistic, comensalistic, and amensalistic interactions, ecosystems would simply stop functioning. Energy would not run between trophic levels, primary productivity would not be able to become secondary productivity, and inorganic nutrients would not rotate. Because species interactions are thought to be at the heart of many speciation events, they generate taxonomic and genetic diversity with tight and diffuse co-evolution (Waser and Ollerton 2006). Biodiversity is described as a response to dynamic processes such as ecological, evolutionary and physical, influenced by constant changes in time and space. Those changes consider species richness and their composition where the scale of them can take a variety of forms. They can be large such as changes in geological time of tectonic plates (Crame 2001), variable such as global climate change or small such as localized disturbance or heterogeneity (Jansen 1997). At each of these scales, biodiversity may be considered as a process that responses to biotic and abiotic factors rather than to static characteristics of a particular location. Biotic factors can singly or in combination, directly or indirectly change biological diversity in tropical ecosystems. Using different examples across plant and animal taxa I will highlight plant- animal interactions that cause changes, as well as establish and maintain biodiversity within a rainforest. While studies concentrating on ecology and evolution are thought of dynamic processes, their impact into effects of biodiversity conservation has been subject to debate. In general, many conservation attempts have concentrated on protecting particular areas, habitats and hotspots. For instance, biodiversity in Yellowstone National Park varies greatly because of re-introduction of wolves. On the other hand, the conservation of the park from location and/or habitat point of view has not altered. This suggests that (1) biotic interactions are the main reason for biological diversity; (2) biotic interactions may be direct or indirect (Letourneau and Dyer 2005); and (3) biodiversity and biotic interactions may result in a variety of causes and effects. For centuries, scientists have studied the functions of top-down (predator-dependent) and bottom-up (resource-dependent) regulations in structuring biological communities. The concept of trophic cascades engages indirect outcomes of top-down and bottom-up regulations, i.e. an alteration across one trophic level which indicates an alteration on a remote trophic level. Indirect outcomes involve modifications in biomass, abundance, efficiency or biotic diversity. Trophic cascade hypothesis was first described by Hairston et al. (1960) who stated that the world is green due to predation which regulates herbivores, hence, making productivity of higher plants found in the community more efficient. Even though first research concentrated on community structures across terrestrial habitation, other studies are driven toward establishing freshwater and marine ecosystems constituents and cascade outcomes found in there (Brett and Goldman 1996). A study performed by van Bael et al. (2003), whic h concentrated on a terrestrial habitat, illustrated that bird predation protected rainforest trees from arthropod foraging in the canopy where floral productivity was high. The above findings may be a great indicator of high diversity occurring in the tropics; nonetheless, the meaning of how important top-down and bottom-up trophic cascades are is still a subject of a debate. Nowadays research have concentrated on the way top-down and bottom-up trophic cascades can function in concern to structure community, change over space, time and taxa, influence mechanisms and constituents of complex food webs and maintain heterogeneity and biodiversity in complex ecosystems (Letourneau and Dyer 2005). Any fluctuations in tropics biodiversity can be maintained by a variety of direct trophic interactions. For instance, the species diversity of birds as predators can be dependent on food accessibility for their prey e.g. plants (German and Chacon de Ulloa 1997), or diversity of predatory arthropods can be shaped by herbivore diversity, which in turn is caused by plant abundance and diversity in a given habitat (Saiz et al. 2000). All ecosystems are retained by the interactions of various factors such as climatic changes, vegetation growth and the animals activities. Seed dispersal is one of the most significant processes, influencing the structure and dynamics of the entire plant and animal communities. Biotic interactions in relation to seed dispersal and associated with it species are next to be discussed. Many organisms contribute and provide a unique seed dispersal service in rain forests among which primates, birds, fruit bats, mammalian carnivores and ground-dwelling large herbivores play a crucial role. Primates may contribute in multiple ways to the ecology of tropical rain forests. One of it, as mentioned above, is being a seed dispersal agent, hence being a frugivore. According to Chapman and Onderdonk (1998), the eventual loss of a particular plant species (large, with large seeds and thick, inedible hunks which can be only removed using hands or teeth) may be associated with the decline or local extinction of primates. A typical seed dispersal done by primates involves dropping, spitting out or defecating seeds. Because seeds are generally hard to break and usually toxic, there is a tiny minority of primates that is able to destroy them completely. From a seed point of view it is not a good idea to end up directly under the fruiting tree where it has to compete with its sibli ngs and parent. Also the accumulation of pests and diseases in there is higher. This is when primates, yet again, serve as helpers by dropping or spitting out seeds in different locations. There are numerous factors contributing and subtracting to seed dispersal when consider primates defecation. In overall, the main ones include attractiveness of primate faeces to seed-predating rodents and the abundance of faeces-burying dung beetles (Andresen 2002; Feer and Forget 2002). Whereas primates are very important seed dispersal agents for large plants, birds play a significant role in dispersal of plants with small fruits. Birds seem to be especially important in New Guinea and Australia (Jones and Crome 1990) where a lack of frugivorous mammals is the main threat. In general birds are not for long in the fruiting tree. Before they void the seed they usually move to another tree hence they disperse the seed effectively (Green 1993). For this reason they are considered to be one of the most important seed dispersal agents across tropics. Furthermore, fruit-eating birds may be divided depending on their diet. The more generalist feeders visit more trees. They have, therefore, the potential to be capable of wider dispersal (Green 1993). The cassowary is perhaps one of the crucial seed disperser of local rainforests. Until recently, over 200 rainforest plants have been observed to be eaten by this bird (Kroon and Westcott 2001). One study discovered 78 species in cassowary faeces, with at least 70 of them being viable (Stocker and Irvine 1983). Many of the seeds appear undamaged and many of these are too large for other animals to disperse (Stocker and Irvine 1983). Although the bird itself is hard to see, its faeces can be common and prominent, and can have up to 1 kg of seeds (Stocker and Irvine 1983). Also, as a large animal, it has the potential to be efficient seed dispersal agents over larger distances. Thanks to radio-telemetry it was possible to show that cassowaries cover vast territories, sometimes of several kilometres, which may be done in one day (Kroon and Westcott 2001). Additionally, seeds can take more than 10 hours to pass the digestive system (Stocker and Irvine 1983), hence seeds are likely to be dispersed quite widely. Primates and large birds are great seed dispersal agents. As a result of that spatial distribution trees may increase greatly. A research suggests that tree distribution in the tropics depends on species methods of seed dispersal. The study by Seidler and Plotkin (2006) was done on 561 tree species in a lowland tropical forest in Malaysia. It was observed that trees with smaller fruit were less dispersed than trees with larger fruit. This may suggest that larger-bodied mammals and birds transmit the seeds of these tree species over larger distances. Bats are thought of less important but still meaningful seed dispersers. It could be said, they are wasteful as seed dispersal agents, because of depositing most seeds from the fruits they eat right near the angiosperms. Hence, the most successful seeds, in this case, would be the smallest ones as they can be swallowed and defecated or dropped during the flight. On the other hand, bats are crucial for the pioneer shrubs and trees that are abundant in natural or human-made clearings, mainly localised in Neotropics. Recent studies by Melo and colleagues (2009) suggests that small-bodied bats (Artibeus watsoni) inhabiting Neotropics are assumed to play a negligible role in the dispersal of large-seeded plants. They recorded at least 43 seed species around bat roosts and also suggested the pattern of species-specific abundance of seeds which influences seedling recruitment. These small frugivorous bats are especially important in regions where populations of large-bodied seed dispersers have been reduced or exterminated by hunting (Melo et al. 2009). Another example is a fruit bat (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) localised in a lowland Malayan rain forest. The study performed by Hodgkison and colleagues (2003) suggests that fruit bats did not have negative influence on seed viability. Further, they found that in 1 ha of old-growth forest 13.7 percent of trees at least in part depended on fruit bats for seed dispersal and/or pollination (Hodgkison 2003). Rat-kangaroos (Hypsiprymnodon moschatus) studied by Dennis (2003) are believed to be good seed dispersal agents in Australians tropical forests. They were found to perform similar behaviour to agoutis, acouchies and squirrels found elsewhere. Even they are the smallest known marsupials they are still able to disperse large numbers if fruits and seeds which can be done in two unique ways: 1) by scatter-hoarding or 2) by dropping elsewhere. Another important factor influencing great biodiversity in tropics is pollination. It has been known for a very long time and firstly was described by Sprengel in 1793. Rain forest pollination, on the other hand, was first studied in the Neotropics (Roubik 1978; Bawa et al. 1985) where the most important pollinators were found to be bees, diverse insects and hummingbirds. They are excellent pollinators and a vast part of angiosperm diversity can be a result of their co-evolution. However, species such as bats, wasps, lemurs and even lizards are also vital pollinators. Studies performed by Corlett (2003) in the Oriental (Indomalayan) region suggests that, although these lowland forests are much less studied and known, they still express similar pattern as Neotropics. He found out that large solitary bees, moths, butterflies and vertebrates are less meaningful as pollinators than extremely social bees (especially Trigona and Apis species) and beetles (most likely to be the next crucial group). A study performed by Goulson and Derwent (2004), however, indicates that to be a pollinator it does not necessary mean to be beneficial to the ecosystem. They illustrated an example of an exotic weed, Lantana camara, and associated with it an exotic honeybee, Apis mellifera, inhabiting Queensland, Australia. This interaction, even though causing higher biodiversity across tropics, may equally bring losses and environmental degradation. Goulson and Derwent (2004) also pointed out that A. mellifera are possibly pollinators of many other weeds, both in Australia and elsewhere. Muchhala and colleagues (2009) studied impact of bats and birds on a flowering plant, Aphelandra acanthus, and its pollination. They observed that hummingbirds and bats could be compared in a case of pollination quantity whilst bats were the most effective in a case of quality. It was suggested that approximately 70 percent of A. acanthus was pollinated by bats themselves and since there is known 170 species of this genus the result is pretty impressive. This indicates that these angiosperms depend on bats pollination to a high degree. Another study carried out by Roubik (2000) shows that African honeybees, Apis mellifera, were the first exotic bees to invade Neotropics, where they interacted directly with approximately one-fourth of the floral population. These findings indicate that honeybees are a great indicator of a biodiversity formation and maintenance. By interacting with so many plants it can be predicted that the diversity of plant species may be easily preserved and upheld. Since plants and their pollinators are often in co-evolutionary mutualism, many research suggest that some insect species are associated and restricted to a particular plant species. Hence, there is yet another argument demonstrating that the biodiversity in tropics must be high in order to preserve all the co-evolving organisms. For this reason, some organisms relay on their mutualistic partners in order to survive. On the other hand, research proposed by Novotny and Basset (2005) suggests that a majority of species in herbivore populations found within tropics do not feed on a single species of plants when alternative hosts are accessible. Consequently, limits of host plants are likely to match with those of plant genera, rather than species or taxa. This illustrates an example that either way rain forests express high biodiversity and the way it is established. Another aspect shaping biodiversity across tropics arises when pitcher plants (Nepenthes gracilis) and their interactions with infauna are taken into consideration. The aquatic environment created by pitchers is very beneficial for organisms inhabiting it such as aquatic insects including mosquito or fly larvae. The inhabitants of the pitchers were split by Thienemann (1932) into three separate groups depending on their appearance inside pitchers i.e. 1) occasional visitors which originally belong to a different place; 2) occasional visitors which may change environments continuously; and 3) native inhabitants. Therefore, since the pitchers are, in general, only partly filled with liquid i.e. up to the waxy zone, there is a terrestrial fauna as well as an aquatic fauna (Lloyd 1942). Spiders, for instance, may take an advantage of pitchers by building nets above or nearby the plants therefore foraging at the expense of the pitchers. For aquatic infauna including protozoa, desmids and diatoms, rotatoria, crustaceae and various larvae of Diptera inhabiting the pitchers means food supply because they feed on animal detritus found in there (Lloyd 1942). Further, the pitchers interior environment is beneficial for many forms of Diptera larvae since they lay their eggs inside. In the fluid (always diluted by rain) the larvae grow to maturity (Bradshaw and Lounibos 1977). Alas, the environment may not be totally beneficial for these organisms since it is also inhabited by ants which in a case of absence of crucial nutrients tend to feed upon mosquito larvae (Clarke and Kitching 1995). Occurrence of ants as inhabitants of tropical pitchers may be, in turn, beneficial for both organisms. This thesis is supported by a study proposed by Clarke and Kitching (1995). They revised ant-pitcher interactions in Borneo and concluded that pitchers habitat was great for ants to live in. The ants nested in the tendrils of the plant, and fed on the large prey items caught by the pitch ers. Further, this relationship was also advantageous to pitchers because ants were removing an excess of prey which was accumulating inside the plant. This accumulation, if not removed, could lead to putrefaction of the contents and disruption of the pitchers digestive system (Clarke and Kitching 1995). Another study performed by Mogi and Yong (1991) proposed that aquatic arthropods, Diptera in particular, are able of coexistence in a single pitcher. Further, they stated that species belonging to the same trophic group commonly shared the same pitcher, because of the high occurrence probabilities of dominant species and positive associations between some taxa (mainly due to similar occupancies by pitcher age) (Mogi and Yong 1991). All these arguments may be a reasonable explanation why the abundance of species in pitchers followed by tropics is high. Yet another mechanism that drives biodiversity in tropics is maintained by herbivores and the impact they have on plant diversity. So far, at least five hypotheses have been proposed. First thesis was suggested by Janzen (1970) and Connell (1971) who have stated that richness of plant species might be established by herbivores feeding on postdispersal seeds and seedlings near adult plants and lower level far away. With such a pattern, any plant species becoming abundant would be predated avoiding competitive elimination. Second theory was proposed by McNaughton in 1985. He hypothesized that ungulates that grazed on the canopy grass species in the Serengeti could reduce plant species competition. Follow this idea, they would supply poorer competitors from the subcanopy with more sources, and, at the same time, they would diminish the loss of species through competitive elimination. Connell and Lowman (1989), who were authors of the third hypothesis, stated that deficient of herbivore predation on the abundant species might lead to monospecific tropical forests. Langenheim and Stubblebine (1983) introduced the forth thesis. They believed that in a case when herbivores would predate on certain conspecific chemical phenotypes seedling within this plant species might maintain nearby parent plants if they adequately vary in chemical profiles from their parent. In this way, predation could speed up competitive elimination in spite of Janzen-Connell idea about seed predation. On the other hand, it could also direct development of high genetic diversity within the aimed plant species. Fifth theory was announced by Connell in 1971. He stated that natural-enemy force (herbivores in this case) would be most successful. Also competitive elimination between plant species would be least expected in habitats with extremes of temperature and rainfall during the year i.e. lowland wet forests. In all above examples, herbivores control local plant diversity by decreasing the possibility of species loss through competitive elimination. It is vital, however, to think about the herbivores influence in a broader context. Mechanisms by which they can manipulate plant diversity in rainforests are worth to consider. Herbivores and their influence on competitive interaction is just one such mechanism. As an alternative, herbivores can have a direct impact on the existence of a plant species in a particular site by diminishing its local richness or completely removing it, independent of its competitive capability. More-indirect outcomes contain three pathways. First, herbivores might establish if a species appears at a given location by having an impact on its dispersal ability, and hence the possibility that it might emerge there. Second, once a seed has emerged at a given location, herbivores can have an influence on the physiological ability of the plant to determine, nurture and breed regarding the abiotic effects occurring in there. Third, herbivores might have an impact on emergence of species in a given site by decreasing its competitive capability. All in all, I believe I managed to introduce, explain and answer the topic question broadly. By introducing a selection of different examples I tried to cover many plant-animal interactions. That is why I can conclude that the tropical forests are a great habitat and environment for a variety of different species to coexist and co-evolve. Further, its favourable, warm, moisturised climate creates perfect developmental conditions for organisms to be able to persist and survive. However, one argument must not be omitted stating that tropical ecosystems may not be as biodiverse as previously thought (Novotny and Basset 2005). Hence, many comparisons between temporal and tropical zones should be taken into consideration to fully prove the idea. Nonetheless, from the number of organisms occurring within the tropics and their interactions it is easy to conclude that plant-animal interactions are tremendously important in order to preserve live in there. Moreover, because of different troph ic cascades and food webs biodiversity has to be maintained at an extremely high level so all organisms appearing in tropics will be able to stay alive. Word count: 3,289 words