Gap, Inc. Financial Analysis

The GAP, Inc. The Fiscal year Ended January 28, 2012 A. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW 1. Financial Statements Included in the Annual Report 2. 1. Consolidated Statements of Cash Flow 2. Major Competitors of the GAP, Inc. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. , J. Crew Group, Inc. , and the TJX Companies, Inc. can be shown as the major competitors for the GAP, Inc. Based on the data given in annual reports of the companies, gross margin % for GAP, Inc. is 36%, while American Eagle Outfitters has 36%, J. Grew Group, Inc. as 40%, and TJX has 32% gross margin. Stock price on November 2, 2012 is $35. 11 for the GAP, Inc. , while it is $21. 05 for American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. , $43. 55 for J. Crew Group, Inc. , and $41. 52 for the TJX Companies, Inc. Debt-to-equity ratio is the total debt divided by total shareholder’s equity and this ratio is a measure of company solvency and its ability to meet its short- and long term obligations. For the major competitors of the GAP, Inc. this ratio ca lculated as below: 3. Auditing Firm of the GAP, Inc.Deloitte & Touche LLP have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of the GAP, Inc. and the other financial statements which are the consolidated statements of income, stockholder’s equity, and cash flows for three years in the period ended in January 28, 2012. They have also consulted the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of January 28, 2012. Deloitte & Touche LLP indicated that consolidated financial statements, which are given in the annual report, present fairly the financial position of The GAP, Inc. nd subsidiaries as of January 28, 2012 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Also, in their opinion, the company maintained effective internal control over financial reporting as of 28 January, 2012 based on the criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organization s of the Treadway Commission. B. FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING ANALYSIS 1. The Inventory Method The company used the weighted-average method while reviewing inventory to compile the financial statements.When using the weighted average method, the cost of goods available for sale is divided by the number of units available for sale, which yields the weighted-average cost per unit and to estimate ending inventory cost number of units in the ending inventory is multiplied by the weighted average cost per unit. 2. The Depreciation Method and Estimated Useful Lives of the Depreciable Assets Over the estimated useful lives of the related assets, the straight line method is used while computing depreciation to compile financial statements. The estimated useful life of depreciable assets is shown as below: 3.Goodwill and Intangible Assets The company reviews not only intangible assets for impairment, but also the carrying amount of goodwill annually. The goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangibl e assets, including trade name, are recorded in other long-term assets in the consolidated balance sheet of company as shown in Note 3: 4. The class of Stocks and Number of Shares As you can see in the consolidated balance sheet, the company has common stock with authorized 2. 3 billion shares; issued 1. 106 billion shares for all periods presented; outstanding 485 million and 588 million shares for periods presented.The company is authorized to issue 60 million shares of Class B common stock, which is convertible into shares of common stock on a share-for-share basis and no Class B shares have been issued as of January 28, 2012. The Company is also authorized to issue 30 million shares of one or more series of preferred stock, which has a par value of $0. 05 per share and no preferred share has been issued as of January 28, 2012. 5. Treasury Stock and Number of Shares Treasury Stock held by the company has 621 and 518 shares for the periods presented in the consolidated balance she et as January 28, 2012 and January 29, 2011. . Dividends paid by the Company The company declared and paid dividends during the period reviewed as shown in the consolidated statements of income and it is $0. 45 in fiscal year 2011, $0. 40 in fiscal year 2010, and $0. 34 in fiscal year 2009 per share. 7. The price per share of the common stock The price per share of the common stock as of the most recent fiscal year-end date, which is January 28, 2012, is $18. 69. On the other hand, the price per share on November 3, 2012, which is the day we can see the close price before the report date, is $35. 11. 8. Generated CashThe company generated $1. 363 billion net cash by operating activities during fiscal year 2011. The amount of generated cash generated during fiscal year 2011 decreased $381 million comparing the amount generated during fiscal year 2010. Also, net cash provided by operating activities during fiscal year 2010 decreased $184 million compared with fiscal year 2009. The cas h outflows for investing activities of the company are primarily for capital expenditures and purchases of investments, whereas cash inflows are primarily provided from maturities of short-term investments.The amount of net cash used for investing activities is $454 million during the fiscal year 2011, $429 million during the fiscal year 2010 and $537 million during the fiscal year 2009, while maturities of short-term investments are $150 million, $600 million, and $125 million in fiscal year 2011, 2010 and 2009. The cash outflows from financial activities are primarily repurchases of the company’s common stock and dividend payments, while cash inflows are primarily proceeds from the issuance of long-term debt.Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt are $1. 646 billion for fiscal year 2011 and net cash used for financing activities is $602 million. 9. Ratio Analysis for the Company The current ratio is the one of the measures of company equity and it indicates the relationsh ip between current assets and current liabilities. For the company, current ratio is calculated as below: The return on sales ratio measures the company’s profitability and it indicates the relationship between net income and sales. For the company, return on sales ratio is shown below:The debt-to-equity ratio is a measure of the company’s solvency and it measures the relative proportions of financing from debt and financing from shareholders. It is calculated for the company as seen below: The return on investment ratio shows the return generated per dollar of total investment and it is calculated for the company as seen below: The return on owner’s equity ratio measures the return generated per dollar of owner’s equity and for the company the return on owner’s equity ratio is: The gross margin ratio measures the gross profit of the company’s products and for the company it is calculated as shown below:The inventory turnover measures the sp eed at which company sells its inventory. This measure is important to ensure that inventory delivered customers in a timely manner so that cash can be received by the company. Net profit margin measures also company’s profitability and it is mostly used for internal comparison. It is also an indicator of a company's pricing strategies and how well it controls costs. Profit margin for the company is: The asset turnover ratio calculates the total  revenue  for every dollar of assets a company owns and it is calculated for the company as seen below:The quick ratio is measure of a company’s ability to meet its current obligations like the current ratio and it is more reliable measurement of liquidity because it considers only assets that are quickly converted to cash as quick assets. The quick ratio for the company is: The  price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of a  share  is the market price of the share divided by the annual  earnings per share. a high P/E  ratio suggests that investors are expecting  higher earnings  growth  in the future compared to companies with a  lower P/E. Based on the price per share on January 28, 2012, the price-to-earnings ratio for the GAP, Inc. s: 10. 11. Horizontal and Vertical Analysis for the Comparative Income Statement and Balance Sheet THE GAP, INC. CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENTS (millions) Vertical and Horizontal Analysis| | |   | Financial Data|   | Vertical Analysis| Horizontal Analysis|   |   | 2011| 2010|   | 2011 (%)| 2010 (%)| $ Change| % Change| Net sales| $| 14,549| $| 14,664|   | 100. 00 | 100. 00 | (115)| (0. 78)| Cost of goods sold and occupancy expenses|   | 9,275|   | 8,775|   | 63. 75 | 59. 84 | 500 | 5. 70 | Gross profit|   | 5,274|   | 5,889|   | 36. 5 | 40. 16 | (615)| (10. 44)| Operating expenses|   | 3,836|   | 3,921|   | 26. 37 | 26. 74 | (85)| (2. 17)| Operating income|   | 1,438|   | 1,968|   | 9. 88 | 13. 42 | (530)| (26. 93)| Interest ex pense (reversal)|   | 74|   | (8)|   | 0. 51 | (0. 05)| 82 | (1025)| Interest income|   | (5)|   | (6)|   | (0. 03)| (0. 04)| 1 | (16. 67)| Income before income taxes|   | 1,369|   | 1,982|   | 9. 41 | 13. 52 | (613)| (30. 93)| Income taxes|   | 536|   | 778|   | 3. 68 | 5. 31 | (242)| (31. 11)| Net income| $| 833| $| 1,204|   | 5. 73 | 8. 21 | (371)| (30. 81)| 12. Segments reported by the company The GAP, Inc. dentified its operating segments based on the way to manage and evaluate the business activities and based on this way the company has two reportable segments: Stores and direct. The stores reportable segment has results of the retail stores for Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic which are brands of the GAP, Inc. while the direct reportable segment includes the results for the brands of the company, both domestic and international. C. MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTING ANALYSIS 1. Return on Investment for Stores and Direct Segments As it is mentioned before, retu rn on investment is calculated as net income divided by average total assets company has.While calculating return on investment each segment for the company, which are stores and direct, we need net income for these different segments and also average total assets as given financial information by reportable segments in the annual report. The operating income, depreciation and amortization expenses, purchases of property and equipment for each segment, and the effective tax rate, which is given as 39. 2% for fiscal year 2011, are used to calculate the net income for each segment. The return on investment, which is net income divided by segment assets, for the stores reportable segment is 0. 37, while it is 0. 22 for direct reportable segment. It means that the company earned $3. 7 for every $100 investment for the reportable stores segment and $22 for every $100 investment for the direct reportable segment. Calculations for the return on investment ratio are shown in the table below : 2. Residual Income Residual income (RI) is a managerial accounting measurement used to assess and compare the relative success of business units. The basic formula for calculating residual income is to multiply operating assets by the minimum required rate of return, and then subtract this value from operating income.For the stores and direct reportable segments, the residual income is: 3. Assuming that 70% of the expenses are fixed: a. Contribution Margin Contribution margin is the total sales less total variable costs at a given level of activity. For the GAP, Inc. total sales amount is $14. 549 billion during the fiscal year 2011 as seen in the consolidated statements of income, while total variable cost is $2. 782 billion, which is 30% of cost of goods sold and occupancy expenses. Based on this data, contribution margin in fiscal year 2011 is: b. Contribution Margin RatioThe contribution margin ratio is the contribution margin per unit divided by selling price per unit or cont ribution margin divided by total sales. The contribution margin ratio of the company is 0. 8088 or 80. 88% in fiscal year 2011, as you can see the calculation below: c. Break-even in Sales Dollars The break-even point in dollars can be calculated by using contribution margin ratio approach. The basic formula with this approach is fixed cost divided by contribution margin ratio for the break-even in sales dollars. The fixed cost for the company is $6. 92 billion ($9,275 * 70%) and the break-even point in dollars: : D. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL E. INVESTMENT DECISION FOR THE COMPANY There are different criteria to assess the overall performance of companies. We have discussed various perspectives to make a comprehensive evaluation for the GAP, Inc. in the previous parts of the report. While discussing nature of the investment decision, the data given before is used to explain the performance of the company for investors. Investors invest money in company’s stock expecting a return in their investment in the form of dividends or appreciation in the price of stock.From this perspective, we should evaluate the price of stock for the company and the dividends paid. As it is mentioned before, the price per share of the common stock was $18. 69 on January 28, 2012, while it is $35. 11 on November 2, 2012. The price to equity ratio is 22, assuming that the earnings per share will be the same for November 2, 2012 within fiscal year 2011, while it was only 12 on January 28, 2012. Comparing the previous data, it is possible to say that investors can expect higher earnings growth in the future, but it would not be useful for investors to use only this ratio as a basis of investment.Major competitors should also be assessed from the industry analysis perspective to decide to invest company. To compare the company performance with the major competitors, we calculated gross margin ratio and debt-to-equity ratio before. These measurements are very important to assess the si tuation of the company in industry. Although J. Crew Group, Inc. is basically higher gross margin relatively to its competitors, the GAP, Inc. has also high gross margin which is the same with another American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. and higher than TJX Companies, Inc. The GAP, Inc. ’s debt-to-equity ratio is 1. 69, while it is 0. 38 for AEO, 2. 4 for JCG and 1. 83 for TJX. It means that the GAP, Inc. had $1. 69 of debt for every $1. 00 of shareholder’s equity. From this perspective, American Eagle Outfitters has lower debt for every $1. 00 of shareholders’ equity, while other competitors have more debt relatively to the GAP, Inc. We can say that debt-to-equity ratio for our company is acceptable among the companies in industry. For the evaluation of the companies based on financial statements, the analysts usually use a combination of three methods of analysis which are horizontal analysis, vertical analysis and ratio analysis as we made in the previous parts of the report.Horizontal analysis examines the changes in one financial statement item over time, while vertical analysis shows each item on a financial statement as a percentage of one particular item on the statement. Investors use the vertical analysis to evaluate the composition of the company’s financial position and earnings. As we can see in the vertical analysis, the company’s percentage of net income for fiscal year 2011 is 5. 73 while it is 8. 21 for fiscal year 2010. Investors should take this into account and compare these values with the competitors’ values to see that the situation of industry between these years.On the other hand, we can see that cash as a percentage of total assets for fiscal year 2011 is 25. 40 while it is 22. 09 for fiscal year 2010. This gives us some insight into the cash management system of the company. From the horizontal analysis perspective, the GAP, Inc. had a 30. 81 change negatively in net income, while it had 20. 76 pe rcent increase in cash and a 5. 05 increase in total assets. We can see that decreasing amount of income is the result of mostly increasing cost of goods sold and occupancy expenses. So, investors should take this into account and compare it with the company’s another competitors in the industry.Finally, ratio analysis is used to judge the company’s efficiency in using its current assets and liabilities. It is really important to see whether company is profitable or liquid for investors to decide invest on the company. Based on the current and quick ratio, we can say that company’s liquidity is enough to pay its liabilities. We measured company’s profitability by using gross margin, return on sales, return on assets, asset turnover and returns on owner’s equity and profit margin and see that company is profitable to invest and since it has almost 12% return on investment which shows us it makes sense to invest on the GAP, Inc.Investment decision is quite difficult for investors since they should asses the company from many different perspectives, we can say that the GAP, Inc. is one of the leading companies in the industry and it has a good return on investment. The changes between fiscal year 2011 and fiscal year 2010 should be taken into account by comparing with competitors and previous fiscal years. In general investors could see that the price per share of the common stock has increasing value for the company and it is profitable to invest. So, I would invest in this company, since I believe that it has a good return for investors.

Character Education and Me Essay

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Patient Satisfaction Compared in 5 Rural and 5 Urban Hospitals in Illinois - Research Paper Example Majority concentrates on delivery of primary health care services. As portrayed by recent research, most rural patients’ by-pass rural hospitals to seek medical attention from urban- based hospitals. Due to under utilization of rural hospitals, these hospitals continue facing financial challenges due to reduced occupancy rates and declining government assistance (Dent & Haslam, 2006). The issue of lower occupancy rates has substantially increased costs, hindering efforts to introduce new services and technology. As such, the rural population continue to raise alarm of limited access to quality health care while at the same time they under- utilize rural hospitals leading to their closure The survey conducted in regard to satisfaction derived by patients generally rated the quality of rural care lower than that of urban care. In the figure below, the study was centered on two samples each consisting five hospitals selected from both rural and urban settings. The study found tha t, most patients were satisfied with services rendered by urban hospitals than those offered by their rural counter parts. Many patients from the rural setting either expressed dissatisfaction or were not sure of the quality of local services. Graphs Fig 1.0 Patients response on level of service satisfaction at rural hospitals Source: UnitedHealth Group/Harris Interactive Survey of patient response to quality of services in rural hospitals, May 2011 Results From the research carried out, it was learnt that 15% were strongly satisfied, 33% satisfied, 9% were not sure, 28% dissatisfied while 15% were strongly dissatisfied. Patient’s response on level of service satisfaction at urban hospitals Source: UnitedHealth Group/Harris Interactive Survey of patient response to quality of services in urban hospitals, May 2011 Results From the research undertaken, it was learnt that 37% of all the patients examined were strongly satisfied, 47% satisfied, 5% was not sure, 9% was dissatisfie d while 2% expressed strong dissatisfaction. Discussion Patients perceive rural hospital care to be more personal as they can identify themselves with the caregivers. There may be a chance of caregivers to interact with their patients after discharge. Therefore, they tend to be more attentive and courteous in their job (Chern & Wan, 2000). On the other hand, the anonymity of urban areas endangers the staff attitude of â€Å"who cares,† â€Å"I’ll never see the patient again.† Patients may have lower expectations of rural hospitals when they know that they lack necessary technology or experience high patient to staff ratio. As such, they may evaluate their preferred care against a lower set of expectations. In rural setting, there could be lesser chances of error due to the simpler care processes and simple technology being in use. From the previous studies, it was established that patients discharged from teaching hospitals derived more satisfaction. More so, pa tients want to receive care from hospitals with cutting -edge care, physicians who are the best in their field or those using state of art technology. Perhaps, patients viewed Medicare derived from such modern urban hospitals to be worth the cost associated rather than being prodded and poked by trainees in institutions that train practitioners and conducts research. Patient’s hospital choice between the rural and urban was found to depend on the ability of the patient to evaluate available options and their

How individual and team activities contribute to meeting organisation Essay

How individual and team activities contribute to meeting organisation objectives and customers needs - Essay Example How individual and team activities contribute to meeting organisation objectives and customers’ needs? Objectives are mainly the achievements or goals that are targeted by an organisation. An organisation lay out objectives that looks at the interest of various stakeholders such as the customer, shareholders etc. The objectives can be either primary/strategic or secondary/tactical. Primary objectives are target put in place in the long term while secondary objectives are mainly short term. Long-term objectives only work well when an organisation is in a stable financial performance. The objectives should be specific, quantifiable, challenging, attainable, realistic, time-bound and understandable. The Morrison supermarket enjoys various benefits that come along with economies of scale. Due to its large size, the company manages to attract the best managers available in the job market. This is due to their ability to offer good salaries and work related allowances. This translates to their exponential growth due to the injection of top quality managerial skills. Secondly, the companies have a large capital base. This makes it easy for them to establish new retail outlets to bolster their rate of stock turn over. In turn this translates to increase in revenue base which ensures that they remain big and competitive. Thirdly, the big companies have well established market networks. This provides a ready market for their products and consequently generating high revenues. The high revenue realized plays a major role in the maintenance of their size and further growth. Lastly, they are able to initiate vertical integration through the process of take over. This is due to the fact being big companies; it becomes easier for the negotiations since each company has a large bargaining power. This helps to create a competitive advantage over other big players in the market (Carter, Kornberger & Schweizer 2011). A good example is the take over of Safeway back in the year 2004 a move that ensured it moved to other regions away from its traditional location (North of England). Thus for Wm Morison chain of supermarkets to achieve organisational objectives as well as satisfy the needs of customers, strategic planning is essential since it will prepare the organisation for unexpected changes commonly referred to as crisis management. Strategic planning usually covers a period of three to five years while laying emphasis on the market dynamics. The organisational benefits that can be derived from strategic planning are; Preparation for future opportunities Better business environment awareness Definition of organisation mission Imparts a sense of continuity and direction Facilitate employee accountability Background information According to Morrisons-corporate.com, Wm Morrison Supermarkets is the fourth largest among the chains of

Photosynthesis (Chemical change) Essay Example for Free

Photosynthesis (Chemical change) Essay Description: Photosynthesis is the process by which plants, some bacteria, and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar, which cellular respiration converts into ATP, the fuel used by all living things. Plants are able to make their own food. Plants produce chlorophyll, a pigment usually found on leaves. It gives the plant its green color while being a key component in making food for itself. How can the change affect the health, environment or industry? Plants use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar. The energy and oxygen created by plants from photosynthesis keeps life sustainable on Earth. It is one of the many ways our world uses the sun as a source for energy. Scientists for years have been studying the blueprint of photosynthesis in hopes of duplicating its process. They are continually making strides toward unlocking the keys to reproducing this cycle. How can I maximize the benefits / minimize the harmful effect of the change? Photosynthesis is one of the most important biological processes on Earth. Life is sustainable on Earth because of this process. Agencies may form laws to protect the environment, and recycling reuses materials made from natural resources. http://www.ehow.com/about_5171907_effects-photosynthesis.html#ixzz2HNgzrqG3 Burning Plastic Bags (Physical Change) Description: Burning plastic bags has been advocated by some environmental campaigners as a greener alternative to burying them in landfill sites, as it is thought that they are not biodegradable because they have existed for less than a generation, there is not yet a definitive answer to the question of biodegradability. How can the change affect the health, environment or industry? It can  increase the risk of heart disease and cause rashes, nausea, or headaches. It can damage the nervous system, kidney or liver, in the reproductive and development system. It can also affect the central nervous system, causing headaches, fatigue, weakness, and depression. Burning plastic bags releases toxins into the atmosphere, creating pollution. Not only these people who are burning the trash are exposed to these pollutants, but also their neighbors, children and families. How can I maximize the benefits / minimize the harmful effect of the change? Separate plastic waste from other waste. Do not burn any plastics in your yard or house. Reduce wastes by buying products that can be reused or refilled. We can also recycle papers, glass and metals. http://www.wecf.eu/cms/download/2004-2005/homeburning_plastics.pdf Deforestation (Physical Change) Description: Deforestation refers to the cutting, clearing, and removal of rainforest or related ecosystems into less bio-diverse ecosystems such as pasture, cropland, or plantations. How can the change affect the health, environment or industry? Trees are necessary for rain. Tree cutting can lead to flood and deforestation, a transformation of an area from forest to terrain with little vegetation. Plants create oxygen and absorb greenhouse gases. The destruction of trees may, therefore, encourage global warming. Cutting trees can result in the loss of habitat for animal species, which can harm ecosystems. How can I maximize the benefits / minimize the harmful effect of the change? We should tell the citizens about the actual side effects of cutting down trees. To find the alternative means other than the use of tree for usual  activities like cooking, building and for furniture; Instead we are to use plastic and iron material for furniture and building purposes and also the use of gases for cooking. We can also create strict laws against cutting of trees and improper use of tree products. http://kids.mongabay.com/lesson_plans/lisa_algee/deforestation.html

Digital Music Case Study Media Essay

Digital Music Case Study Media Essay The industry condition that led to the revolution in audio distribution was the transformation of music from conventional songs and albums to new digitally recorded formats. The MP3 format not only provided the means to store more songs in a given media by reducing the size of each song but it also enabled digital music players to play these songs with relatively high levels of clarity. The new format also enabled the songs to be downloaded and played on personal computers. Another aspect of the revolution in digital music was the ability of the software to convert existing CDs to the new MP3 format. On a broader scale, the industry condition witnessed the advent of media sharing applications which enabled the users to freely share as well as distribute songs in MP3 format with users who possessed the same file sharing application. Napster was the most popular among such media file sharing applications (Protecting Innovation: The Digitial Music Distribution Revolution ). The stakeholder who would be benefitted the most from this digital revolution would be the consumers of the music, especially those who have a personal computer as well as an access to the internet. With the increased feasibility of sharing media files in the new MP3 format had increased the possibility of users with respect to the acquisition of freely available media files (Protecting Innovation: The Digitial Music Distribution Revolution ). Question 2: Why did the music stores created by the record labels fail to attract many subscribers? What, if anything, should the record labels have done differently? Answer: The music stores created by the record labels fail to attract many subscribers due to their utilization of proprietary file formats. These file formats meant that the songs would have limited playability in terms of the music playing devices. It also drastically limited the digital rights management schemes and this was further subjected to limited offering of media selection. However the unrestricted peer to peer services such as Napster, Gnutella and Kaazaa provided a large selection of free media in the new format which did not incur costs that were commonly incident on media obtained from authorized stores. It is this feature of the unrestricted media sharing applications which led to the music stores created by record labels being rendered as ineffective (Protecting Innovation: The Digitial Music Distribution Revolution ). The record labels should have at least considered the option of changing the format of their offered media to MP3 format in keeping with the current environmental trends and consumer preferences. This would have enabled the record labels to manage the competition by free sharing apps to some extent by providing the popular media format to the consumers (Protecting Innovation: The Digitial Music Distribution Revolution ). Question 3: What will determine how long the success of the iPod and iTunes endures? Should Apple allow its iPods to play non-iTunes songs? Should Apple allow iTunes songs to play on non-iPod MP3 players? Answer: The factors which would determine the longevity of the success of the iPod and iTunes pertain fundamentally to the appeal of the product / service offerings of Apple. One of the main factors is the coolness of the products which has been successful in appealing to the younger faction of the target segment. Adequate emphasis also needs to be maintained on the smart strategies adopted by Apple which has been instrumental in developing strong relationships with the record labels. These record labels had accurately identified the cool factor of Apples products and were able to foresee viable prospects if an association were to be established with it. Other factors which would contribute to the determination of the longevity of the success of the iPod and iTunes would relate to the use of widely adopted and popular media formats, competitive pricing of the media products (purchase as well as downloads) and the possibility of licensing agreements with the record labels by means of which a comprehensive solution could be provided wherein a one-stop music shopping portal would be offered to the consumers (Protecting Innovation: The Digitial Music Distribution Revolution ). Apple currently permits the playing of non-iTunes songs on its iPod. The restriction in this regard is experienced when the users burn music to blank CDs. In this case the non iTunes songs would not be written on the storage media due to restrictions imposed by Apple with respect to non-iTunes songs. Apple should permit iTunes songs to be played on non iTunes compatible MP3 devices. Currently the imposition of this decision would not hold much relevance as Apple has already achieved 73% of the MP3 players market share due to the relaxation in the restrictions which were imposed on the playability of the media formats (Protecting Innovation: The Digitial Music Distribution Revolution ). Question 4: Why would musicians sign away their copyright privileges to their songs through Creative Commons? Answer: Musicians sign away their copyright privileges to their songs through Creative Commons due to the varying degrees of openness which would have an impact on the extent of sharing of media undertaken by the consumers. This degree of openness has been deemed as highly successful for the file sharing applications and the same could be utilized by the musicians for promoting that their music was ready and available for downloading. A significant aspect of this approach is that musicians have been enabled to promote their music for downloading without bearing any risk of infringement lawsuits that would otherwise have been imposed by record labels in such situations (Protecting Innovation: The Digitial Music Distribution Revolution ). Question 5: How is podcasting likely to impact the appropriability of recorded music, radio broadcasting, or other types of audio transmissions? Answer: Podcasts are likely to impact the appropriability of recorded music, broadcasting and other types of audio transmission in terms of the creation rights of such media. Users can freely create and develop the podcasts and share the same with users on the internet. The boundaries of recording have been removed with the possibility of sharing free MP3 media on the net without the presence of restrictions and barriers. The musicians who utilize this method do not approach music labels for obtaining the legal rights to their compositions. Users of such applications have no labels but they are able to generate the require popularity levels in the public. This would directly result in the incurrence of heavy loss to the record labels and would in fact pose a threat to the already existing music productions which have been developed by them. The trend in this regard has already commenced though in its infancy stages, and has gained popularity especially with music bands. An apt example of thi s the initiatives of the famous rock band, Motorhead which had released its new album with download permission being provided to the users. Some of the features of their offering were: The songs were provided in the currently popular MP3 format and this was beneficial for appealing to the consumers preferences. Moreover the standard pricing for albums ($.99 a song) was not imposed on the songs. The band had provisioned that the consumers would be permitted to pay whatever amount that they felt to be nominal in their opinion. The band had not used any record label for distributing this release, but still they managed to get the required reach as desired for their songs. The above features exhibit the manner in which podcasting has affected and will continue to influence the appropriability of recorded music, broadcasting and other types of audio transmission (Protecting Innovation: The Digitial Music Distribution Revolution ).

Binge Drinking In Teenagers Health And Social Care Essay

Binge Drinking In Teenagers Health And Social Care Essay Anti social behaviours such as binge drinking in teenagers and young adults have been a serious issue and also contributed significantly to the mortality rates in United Kingdom. Binge drinking is associated with non modifiable risk factors such as age, sex and modifiable genetic predisposition as well as modifiable risk factors such as smoking, violence, rape and drug abuse. The control of binge drinking among these young adults is very important in preventing any form of risk factors that could damage their lifestyle or become a threat to the environment and family. Proposals have been made by the UK Department of Health (DoH) regarding the current concerns of risk and increasing prevalence of binge drinking among teenagers and young adults. Possible options for action have been proposed and available pieces of evidence are used to discuss issues such as education, communication, working with the Government and also working with the local industry. It is recommended that there should be an electronic assessment application that will help to generate electronic feedback similar to that of the e-Nudge trial is been developed and adopted. It is also proposed that if the Government could work with the law abiding forces in UK to reduce binge drinking among these subgroups It is proposed that further research should be carried out to investigate the cost effectiveness of these recommendations and the feasibility. Background Surveys with teenagers in the United States, United Kingdom and other European countries have documented that young and adolescent is prevalent in binge drinking. Cahalan and Crossley (1969) defined binge drinking as taking at least five alcoholic drinks consumed during a session. Comprehensive College Alcohol Study (CAS) in Harvard School of Public Health conducted a research and also re-defined binge drinking as five drinks for men and four drinks for women on a single occasion within the past two weeks (Davenport, Wechsler, Dowdall, Castillo and Moeykens, 2004). Binge drinking is a major public health and safety problem and its associated with health risks such as coronary heart disease (CHD) and cardiovascular heart disease (CVD), and the short term effects includes violence, accidents, rape cases and anti-social behaviours (ASB). Anti-social behaviours (ASB) have significantly contributed to global mortality and have been projected to cause more damage if not controlled. For so many youths and teenagers in UK and which are also influenced by peer pressure, they have chosen binge drinking as part of their lifestyle and these lifestyle could be relaxing with friends in an open environment, pub, party or at home. Home office has done two studies which was the relationship between binge drinking and the risk factors among 18-25 years. The first study (Richardson and Budd, 2003) examined the relationship between an offensive behaviour and binge drinking while the second study (Engineer et al., 2003) was to quantify between the social context of binge drinking and the key findings were: Most of the binge drinkers were men (48%) than women (31%); There was a strong relationship between been offensive and drinking, and also causing strong violent crimes after been drunk; Most of the binge drinkers (60%) admitted been involved in a bad behaviour after or during drinking which was compared to the 25% of regular drinkers. The present large, population based study attempts to address the issues on the strong relationship between subjective health and binge drinkers. Options for action There are a number of approaches that could be adopted in implementing the new programme. These options can only be effective and also reduce the current concern in binge drinking. It is also set out that these options will have to work with the industry, law enforcement agencies, communities, and the Government. They are: An improvement on the enforcement on young people drinking in public places and environments; Working with the industries To support the teenagers in making a wise decision on alcohol These options will need the Government to seriously intervene only if the Governments intervention is coherent, strategic, sustained and measured. Review of Evidence It is an illegal act in UK when an underage (under 18) buys or goes to the pub to have alcohol either if the alcohol is bought by them or somebody else that is older than 18 years old. The current Government guidelines by National Health Service (NHS) states that the normal intake of alcohol for that of men is 3-4 units in a day while that of women is 2-3 units in a day. College of physicians (2002) had a report on binge drinking and defined binge drinking as the intake of alcohol either a man or a woman of 10 or more than 10 units in a single session. The new national alcohol harm-reduction strategy defined binge drinking as having alcohol of 6 units or more for women and 8 or more units for men. More than half according to Strategy Unit (2003) of the young adults take alcohol below 14/21 units per week, 6.4 million people binge drink up to 35/50 units per week, 1.8 million people binge drink more than 35/50 units per week. It was also recorded that the young adults within the age of 16-24 are classified as binge drinkers having the percentage of men (50%) and women (42%). The public is concerned about this shameful act and the Government has to do something about it because this kind of drinking put young and teenagers at risk as well as creating problems for others which could possibly lead to crime. Fuller E (2006) had a proportion where the age range of 11-15 years old that drink on the street and in public places has increased from 21% to 31% in the year 1999 to 2006. In addition for the Government to intervene to take responsibility of young people drinking in public, the Home office will have to issue an immediate order to the police and the parents whose children that constantly drink in public will also have to be questioned so that conditions like strict monitoring of the childs behaviour will need to be met. The central role of the alcohol industry is very substantial and variable identity in the UK society and economy. Binge drinking does not only make an individual vulnerable to danger and harm but also damage the health of the person which could lead to both short and long term illness. For over the last century record, the alcohol consumption in UK has raised which makes UK to fall in the middle compared to other European countries. The approach of working with the breweries or industries requires a strong relationship between families, communities, the public services such as the National Health Service (NHS) and the police, the individuals and the Government. There is also a clear view when Government gets to work with the industry at a national level to introduce a scheme or a law that would operate to a set of standards that will help to promote best practice in England. This plan can only be put up as a law in different ways and also implemented. They are; To make sure that the retailers do not sell to an underage and anybody found or caught doing such will have to face an immediate prosecution. Implement the use of Proof of Age Standard Scheme (PASS) amongst the young adults, retailers and the parents. To support the police to close down any pub/shop when it has been identified for creating problems in the public. Young people are also highly influenced by alcohol adverts either on TV or in the radio which is also the key points to address binge drinking amongst teenagers and young adults. The work of Drink aware Trust in an example that has been done in the UK to help fight binge drinking. The young teenagers themselves needs to be encouraged, advised and supported when making a decision on taking alcohol. They need to be told on the effect, harm, the potential risk and also receive all the appropriate information about binge drinking. The need for a campaign or a seminar on moderate drinking and not drink to get drunk. The aim should be about bringing change in culture, a delay in age when young people should start drinking and to those who has chosen to engage in drinking, to be advised on the lower risk way which should be the target. The Government should also reach out to children and young people in schools about alcohol education and also drugs. Recommendation Based on all that has been discussed, the following recommendations should be considered: Improving the identification process in the health system because it presents variety of access points for those with binge drinking; The use of screening and brief intervention for identifying the level of alcohol consumption using a questionnaire as a tool for the survey; and The approach of enforcement which will be a clear legal framework preventing the sale of alcohol to under 21s. The Government can introduce a national identity cards scheme, useful and secure way of providing and determining age when young adults or teenagers wish to purchase age restricted products such as alcohol. The increase in awareness regarding the importance of age, environment, and gender should also be promoted especially amongst ethnic minority groups and the socially deprived through culture and language sensitive health education programs and adverts. Implementation of policy to encourage the risk behind binge drinking for all young adults in the UK should also be considered. These would ultimately assist the Minister of State for Public health and Department of Health to reduce binge drinking. Recommendation Based on all that has been discussed, the following recommendations should be considered; Stopping young and teenagers in drinking anywhere that is public by giving the police to arrest under 18s who drink and act anti-socially, issue guidance to the health and young adults services, the police to also fasten their approach in dealing with public drinking by the underages in UK; Teaming with the industry to encourage a tough prosecution on those caught breaking the licensing conditions, the Government also should support the local authorities, police and communities to spot hotspots that create problems; Establish a guideline on alcohol and teenagers; Support and establish a strong relationship with parents; The Government should also have an alcohol and drug education in schools and also encourage those that have already started drinking the harm, potential long and short term risk involved in drinking.

Designing Sound Characteristics :: Motorcyles Papers

Designing Sound Characteristics Early on a cloudless July morning in America's Great Plains, a farmer, clutching his warm cup of coffee, walks toward one of his tractors as he begins his work day. Before he reaches his goal, he hears the crisp exhaust note of a motorcycle, and out of the corner of his eye he notices a single headlight cresting the hill of the U.S. Highway that runs adjacent to his field. Long before the motorcycle gets close enough for him to read the name on the gas tank, the farmer knows that he is sharing this early morning moment with a rider aboard a Harley-Davidson, simply because of what he is hearing. The Harley-Davidson Motor Company has re-emerged as the leader in the heavyweight motorcycle industry because of countless stories of concise product recognition similar to this one. While improving the quality of their product line, the Motor Company has remained faithful to the styling cues that it was built upon, and in doing so has created an identity by which the rest of the cruiser genre is judged. Just what are some of these styling cues? Many of them are visual, like "Springer" front suspensions, peanut-shaped fuel tanks, and finned V-twin engines. And some are audible, for as Jon Thompson explains, "An essential element of the H-D equation is the charismatic feel and sound of the Harley engine--a sound one Honda spokesman characterized as, no kidding, 'potato- potato-potato!' " (Thompson 44) While this may not sound like the most flattering of descriptions, it is one that Harley has embraced completely, and takes very seriously. It is a cornerstone of their marketing strategy, for even their product guide exclaims: Potato, Potato, Potato. . . A Harley-Davidson at Idle. Has the wind ever carried a more satisfying sound?...The sound is unmistakable. The signature of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle... you instinctively know: this is the way a motorcycle ought to sound... This did not happen by accident... when we find something more pleasing than anything else, we stick with it. Like the exhaust note of a Harley-Davidson 45Â ° V-twin, the sweetest sound ever carried on the wind. Clearly, Harley believes that their V-twin exhaust rumble is instantly recognizable and discernible to the trained ear, and believes that it is a vitally important component of their strong product identity. Because of this, their design engineers are asked to create products that are technologically competitive and yet wonderfully nostalgic -- essentially, they are asked to design with an eye toward the future and an eye toward the looks and sounds of motorcycles long past.

Critique of The Day After Tomorrow Essay -- Movie Film Review Global W

Critique of The Day After Tomorrow   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The movie, The Day After Tomorrow, addresses the issue of global warming. The movie?s portrayal of the events caused by global warming was extreme and not very believable. Some of the information is backed up by science but most is completely off the wall and nonrealistic.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The movie cited the cause of the global climate change to be the rise in temperature due to greenhouse gasses. The warmer temperatures caused the polar ice caps to melt, and the increased amount of freshwater in the ocean disrupted the North Atlantic Current. The North Atlantic Current is what is responsible for the warm temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere. With the current disrupted the Northern Hemisphere went into an ice age. In real life, the polar ice caps are melting, but at a rate not even close to that of the one represented in the movie. Even if the ice was melting at a quicker rate, the chance that it would throw off the North Atlantic Current is slim to none. Also, there is no way that the ice would melt so quickly that a change that drastic would be made.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another major issue I had with the movie was its temperature inconsistencies. In the movie, scientists warned people about going outside. They say that if one was to go outside that they would freeze to death. The movie also showed a wooly mammoth which froze to death immediately at the time of the first ice age. These examples were placed in the movie to highlight the ext...

J. R. R. Tolkien Essay -- essays research papers

Three Rings for the Elven-Kings under the sky, Seven for the dwarf lords in their halls of stone, Nine for mortal men doomed to die, One for the Dark Lord in his dark throne. In the Land or Mordor where the shadow lies. One Ring to rule them all, One ring to find them, One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. In the land of Mordor where the shadows lie†¦ (J.R.R. Tolkien, Rings)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  These are the most famous recognized lines in The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkiens’ masterpiece. Strong, tall men, fun party loving hobbits, pointy eared elves, short, plump dwarves and slimy, icky, putrid orcs are just a few of the races in Lord of the Rings. (J.R.R. Tolkien, Rings)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This is only a small sample of the information that J.R.R. Tolkien put into his books. Not to mention songs, maps, and plenty more background information. Tolkien created a whole new world for readers with his books. Why did J.R.R. Tolkien have such an interesting life and where did all of his information come from?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It all began when Arthur Reuel Tolkien and Mabel Suffield had their first-born son on January 3, 1982 in Bloemfontein, South Africa. (Darryl Friesen, Early) Tolkien’s early years and barely even memorable ones were spent divided between the city and a country farm. During this time, at school, Tolkien was bitten by a huge tarantula, which would later influence one of his stories in Lord of the Rings. (W.J. Rayment, A Bio)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On February 15th, 1896, Tolkien left South Africa with his mother and younger brother, Hilary to return to England. His father however was also suppose to return to England with them within the next few months, but while he waited in South Africa he caught rheumatic fever and soon died. This left the grieving family with a very limited income. (W. J. Rayment, A Bio)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  By now Tolkien was showing great interest in languages and had developed remarkable skills with them. He had already mastered Latin and Greek, and was already making up languages on his own. So, naturally, when Tolkien and his family reached Birmingham, England his mother paid for Tolkien to attend King Edward VI School. (David McDonald, Bio Sketch)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1900, Tolkiens’ mother, along with her sister May were received in... ... that Tolkien had to change his address, telephone number, and eventually had to move to Bournmouth at a South Coast Resort. In 1955, The Return of the King, the final book of The Lord of the Rings was published.( Darryl Friesen, Timeline)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  With his major book out of the way, Tolkien decided to retire from Oxford and looked back toward his wife. For the next few years Tolkien would work on his liturature and live with his wife peacefully. On November 29th, 1971 Tolkien lost his wife and soon returned to Oxford shortly after. On September 2, 1973, Tolkien died at the age of 81 from an pneumonia at a private hospitol in Bournemouth. (Darryl Friesen, Post)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tolkiens’ books still live on even after his death. In 1977, The Simarillion was published with the help of Tolkien’s son, Christopher. The Hobbit is recommended of most lists of childrens’ books. On December 19th, 2001, New Line Cinema released a live action movie of The Fellowship of the Ring earning a whopping 95.3 million in its first week. The Two Towers was released in December 2002 and The Return of the King will be released in December 2003. (Darryl Friesen, After)

In What Ways May Different Groups Of English Speakers Differ In Their Conversation Style? Essay

Question 2 In what ways may different groups of English speakers differ in their conversation style? For word restriction purposes the focus for this essay will be primarily on material from chapter one of the Open University course book 2 (CB 2) and The Open University audio cassette 3 band 3(AU3B3). It would be most interesting to look at all the different examples of different groups; unfortunately doing this would mean exceeding the word limit. Therefore the focus will be restricted to only three or four different groups. First of all it is a good idea to examine the semantics behind the phrase of â€Å"conversation style† before looking at the different groups of English speakers. â€Å"Conversation is without doubt the foundation stone of the social world – human beings learn to talk in it, find a mate with it, are socialized through it, rise in social hierarchy as a result of it, and, it is suggested, may even develop mental illness because of it.† (Beattie, 1983, p.2) 1 This is a very captivating statement and helps to sum up the incredible power that the actual word â€Å"conversation† has in the social world Due to lack of more precise materialistic evidence, it is possibly more interesting to look at â€Å"conversation style† and then briefly discuss the different styles that exist amongst social groups giving specific examples rather than focusing on one specific area only (such as gender). That would make it easier to find out if there are any resemblances amongst the different social groups and their conversation styles. The term â€Å"conversation† can be interpreted in a multiplicity of different ways. The varieties range from a formal speech (that has been pre-scripted and is just simply read out) to a casual conversation between friends. As a result of this wide range of speech types, there are great many different conversation styles present. Conversation is not necessarily simply informal talk between speakers; it can also be used in more loser terms for example to give sense of the diversity of ways in which English is used in modern society in everyday talk. Everyday talk refers to anything from political speech making to language at work. The idea of conversation is also about how people are using language to express and pursue relationships. What does â€Å"conversation style† actually mean? A â€Å"conversation† is a means of â€Å"communicating† with others. The â€Å"style† here refers to the combination of features that relate to meaning and management of conversation such as rhythm, pronunciation or intonation. The style of an individual is said to be related to his/her social background, his/her class, his/her age and/or his/her gender. There are a great variety of styles within even one particular social group. It can be said that generally each individual has his/her specific â€Å"style† of talking.2 In modern society there are a great many different groups of English speakers and they vary widely in the way that they communicate with each other or with different groups. There are many interesting investigations taking place. It would now be appealing to have a look at what sorts of investigations have been made and how these groups of English speakers differ in their conversation style There is an interesting example of how people with different socio-cultural backgrounds can differ in conversation style in CB 2. (The example being referred to is on page 17.) It is based on a study by Deborah Tannen (year unknown). A group of what primarily appear to be all Americans, however one selection comes from California, and the second from New York and there is one woman from England meet for dinner. Deborah Tannen’s first discovery was how dominant the New Yorkers were in conversation throughout their meal. They were so dominant that even the Californians picked up on how dominant they were. One of these Californian men remarked upon how the New Yorkers conversations tended to overlap a great deal more than in California that in California at least people pause between conversations. The Californians also thought that the New Yorkers tended to ask a great deal of personal questions, their response to this was just that it was â€Å"their† way of being polite. As for the English woman, the Americans found her hard to understand as her intonations were very monotonous. Deborah Tannen’s findings are parallel to other studies that have been carried out amongst other cultural groups or gender groups, as shown in the following paragraphs. Another interesting issue brought up in chapter one of CB 2 is that of gender differences. Most men appear to be under the impression that it is women who dominate in conversations. They always have the tendency of saying that women talk too much. However, recent research has found that in fact when women are amongst a mixed group of male and female members will talk less than the men. The women are also found to be less competitive and more cooperative in conversations. Women are also said to use more tag questions, intensifiers and hedges. According to research, women are the dominant compliment givers. They also tend to use rhetoric more often than men such as â€Å"What a nice dress!† It is could also be due to the way that woman are brought up, having a less dominant position in society or perhaps due to the way that men and women are in different subcultures even as children. In the latter, this could lead to misunderstandings between the sexes because of the way men and women interpret different speech behaviours. There is one particular ethnic group that fluctuates in conversation style which is the Aboriginal English group found in minority groups across Australia. Aboriginal English has been found to differ from Standard Australian English. Diane Keats researched on Aboriginal English groups in Australia and discovered that particularly in the more rural areas of Australia there were several distinctive features that were different from Standard Australian English. She found that they differed from the Standard in pronunciation, vocabulary and even actual interaction between people was different. There were even difficulties that arose when the Aboriginal groups mixed with the Standard groups. It is particularly when they communicate cross-culturally that problems and misunderstandings may occur. For example, in Aboriginal society it is natural to have frequent silences in a conversation. It is a particular sign of politeness allowing for the other person to opt their opinion. Sometimes the answer or the conversation itself even, will last over a time period of several days. There are several reasons why they are unlike the Standard Australian groups, amongst others it is due to their different ways of living. â€Å"The Aboriginal people experience much personal privacy, unlike the mainstream Australian society, through their indirect style of verbal interaction.† (CB 2, chapter one, p.28) An example of their indirect style is the use of direct questions to elicit orientation such as asking â€Å"You been to shop?† The speaker appears to demonstrate known or presumed information for conformation or rejection. They tend not to make direct requests; they rather use indirect forms if they have a specific request such as â€Å"Can you give me a lift to town?† They will ask â€Å"You going to town?† They are also very discrete about their own opinions. If they discover that they have conflicting opinions they will minimize their own opinions. There are some more typical features in the transcription of the conversation between two Aboriginal English women on AU03B2. (See Appendix A) The first thing noticeable in the transcript is the frequency in which the deletion of the letter â€Å"h† occurs. Already in the Lorina’s first line the letter has been deleted. And the way both women say â€Å"yea† instead of â€Å"yeah†. There is also a tendency for utterances to latch on to another with pausing takes place repeatedly such as when they are talking about a big frog. Their sentences are regularly incomplete und unstructured such as in the very first sentence â€Å"‘Igh school was all right, I reckon, in Bourke† this is not a grammatically correct sentence structure and an incomplete sentence at the time when Lorina says â€Å"In Weel. Yea†. This is the sort of expression a person uses when thinking and speaking simultaneously. A final aspect, other then the ones listed in the Study Guide is their use of verb tenses. For instance, when Karen says â€Å"Sit down there, never used to move.† she started a sentence in the present tense â€Å"sit† and finished in the past tense â€Å"used to†. This is interesting as this can also occur amongst Standard English speakers when talking fast. After reading the transcript, the comprehension of what the two women said, becomes easier. If the tape is listened to on its own it can be quite hard at times to understand as the pronunciations do not sound like the Standard English, whereas the transcript, with the exception of a few slightly more Aboriginal features, mirrors the Standard English much more strongly. Diane Eades research showed that there are still problems in communication style between Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal social groups in Australia that are worked on to this day. It is also interesting to briefly look at the extract on p.15 of CB 2 about the conversation between a policeman and a black man in the 1960s. This today is often considered to be a form of racism. It is intriguing to see how â€Å"bad† language was used back in the 1960s even by law enforcers. The policeman has used the typical racist term of â€Å"boy† as term of address for the black man, if the man had been white he would not have referred to him as â€Å"boy†. People, white people, â€Å"labelled† black people as trouble makers. So you were immediately categorized a criminal just if you had darker skin. It is extremely shocking that a police man would have even used name-calling to address the black man, before even knowing anything about him. If you are black then you must be evil, that has been an ideal for many people until fairly recently. However this exists to a certain extent even today, in that due to the fact that in Europe there are many black drug dealers from Northern Africa so that as soon as someone who is black shows up in a well-known drug dealing area, they are frequently then instantly questioned by the police. The way different groups of English speakers vary in their â€Å"conversation styles† is a fascinating and fairly broad topic to examine. It appears that there is no actual â€Å"Universal Standard English†. There is a world-wide (not just refined to the United States of America) multicultural mosaic/ melting pot3 of cultural groups even within a single language society which is to a certain degree trying hard to mould into a salad bowl4. An ideal solution would be a mixture of a melting pot and a salad bowl where people are still able to maintain their own cultural habits and can still communicate with other social group easily. A final point to make is that it is also important to realise how essential language is when engaging in social activities and relationships. Hence, to notice how language and society are interlinked. Language and indeed communication is used to share knowledge and experience between speakers. Communication is also about binding people together in order to allow them to negotiate joint understandings of the world. Communication has different functions in different contexts. This could be due to age difference and respect from the pupil’s part. Without language society could not exist to the same extent by which it does today. Remark: * CB 2 refers to Maybin, J. and Mercer, N.(2002) , Using English from conversation to canon, The Open University and Routledge Appendix A: * Transcription of conversation between two Aboriginal English women in Australia taken from Study Guide 2, Open University Bibliography: > Maybin, J. and Mercer, N.(2002) , Using English from conversation to canon, The Open University and Routledge > U210 Audio Cassette 3, Band 3, The Open University > Study Guide 2,U210, The Open University 1 Introduction section 1.1. p 5 in CB 2 2 Section 1.4 p 16 in Chapter 1 of CB 2 3 lots of different cultural groups living together (perhaps an ideal way of living) 4 loss of individual identity to become a uniform cultural group (cultural assimilation)

Proposal for a Halfway House from the Program Director

For a Director of a Program, it is essential to come up with an effective plan or service. Hence, a clear presentation of the program and justification for its creation and retention is significant for the proposal to be considered. This paper is written from the perspective of a Program Director who suggests the establishment and retention of a Halfway House Program for California County Probation Department. In doing so, the Program Director will discuss several factors for the carrying out of the program such as the need to reduce the County’s operating budget which eventually results into the loss of a number of personnel.Proposal for a Halfway House from the Program Director The programs and services of any County Probation Department are subjected to many factors and considerations which may lead into beneficial of harmful implications. Hence, efforts to support the retention and championing of the objectives of a particular program such as the operation of halfway house services are not spared from several hindrances. Operating budget and personnel are two major components which spell the success or failure of a halfway house program.Working as a residential center type, which temporarily accommodates people who have been released after treatment or rehabilitation from drug dependency, mental illness and incarceration, halfway house serves as the middle house before such people are eventually reintegrated into the society. Such nature, therefore, exemplified the undeniable significance of a halfway house program for a County Probation Department. Taking this into consideration, operating and maintaining such service will be difficult especially when problems such as budget and workforce set in.It is in this light that a clear presentation and discussion about halfway house service, such as its features, the public it serves, its history, its value and the reason for its retention, are entrusted in me as Program Director of the California County Pr obation Department. In particular, the Special Projects Group, which I am in charge, will initially address and perform the task of reducing the operating budget of the California County Probation Department by 20 percent.In doing so, however, we have come to realize that 85 percent of the department budget is allotted to its personnel or manpower. Thus, cutting the department budget will mean the loss of approximately 200 officers and support staff. While it is inevitable to undertake budget and personnel reduction, it is ultimately imperative for me as the Program Director to justify with the Chief of California County Probation Department the need to support the creation of halfway house service or program.This is because the prison system has now acknowledged the importance, benefits and value of such program. Its purpose of serving as the halfway accommodation for people who tend avoid relapse and to eventually reintegrate into the mainstream society is, in fact, equally import ant as far as the goal of operating and maintaining a county probation department. One way to achieve the halfway house service is not only by reducing the overall budget of the county but also through trimming down an obviously bloated workforce.In fact, it is through reduction of operating budget and eventually retrenchment of oversized personnel will the County realize that the establishment of halfway house program is feasible, better and more productive than sustaining an over budgeted and over-staffed County. Since obstacles such as the ones facing the California County Probation Department should, in no way, pose a threat into the creation of halfway house program, the reduction by 20 percent of the Department’s operating budget and most importantly the creation and eventual retention of the proposed halfway house plan is highly recommended by the Program Director.Halfway House Program, a Plan Overview By its features, a halfway house is a society-based housing provisi on for criminals and even those who suffered physical and mental disorders who, after their respective imprisonment and treatment period, are technically still carrying out a part of their prison terms and rehabilitation cycles guidelines (â€Å"Halfway House, 2001). However, the difference between a County Probation Department or related institutions is the fact that the subjects are this time being managed in a community with less restriction but nonetheless are still required to adhere to the service’s guidelines (â€Å"Halfway House, 2001).Aside from the provision of round-the-clock management as well as a wide-ranging guidance and support to lawbreakers or others who underwent psychological and physical treatments, the activities within a halfway house are designed to pave the way for its tenants to continue studying, hunting for job working while completing their required stay in the service (â€Å"Halfway House, 2001). Similar to residential community program, halfw ay house is an ongoing corrective program or service wherein the offenders complete their prison terms, experience their steady recuperation until being fully released to the society.Hence, it serves its dual purpose of providing the required treatment and housing services while at the same time offering a chance for its â€Å"residents† to be conscious and engage in various activities within the program and the community they will service once they left the halfway house. This is because a halfway house forms an essential link between the care provided by the rehabilitation or care provided by the prison system and related institutions and the opportunities offered by the mainstream society (â€Å"Halfway House, 2001).Reduction of 20% County Budget, the Task Presented with the mission to cut the budget of California County Probation Department by 20 percent, I, being the Program Director recommends the planned reduction of the department's operating cost based on the fact t hat 85 percent of the annual budget pertains to personnel allocation. This, therefore, necessitates that the streamlining should be focused on the retrenchment of personnel which is based on certain conditions and factual basis.Since the department has a personnel plantilla of more than 1,000 officers and staff  including 700 sworn officers of various ranks, the retrenchment would necessarily mean the phasing out of 200 plantilla items or so much thereof that shall exactly mean the equivalent of 20 percent of its total operating cost estimated at about $600 million annually. In specific figures, the plan should correspond to the trimming down of the present budget to only $480 million starting next year.With the full knowledge of prevailing conditions and other factual basis such as statistics on basic concerns as daily average population of probation facilities and the  average stay of those confined thereat, it is important that the reduction program shall proceed using quanti fiable ratios in order to have it be implemented in the most judicious manner. Considering existing conditions in the department, procedures must be observed in the process of identifying who will be the 200 officials and support staff who will be covered by the retrenchment. In doing so, there should be provision of benefit packages and incentives for those to be affected by the retrenchment, including special incentives for those who will  voluntarily retire or resign under this retrenchment policy or program.An option to voluntarily resign should also be offered to those affected personnel and when all procedures and system are laid out, retrenchment will proceed Hence, the reduction of the County’s 20 percent budget which is synonymous to a significant impact to the personnel is planned to be carried out in a manner that benefit packages and incentive schemes for voluntary retirement and resignations must be attractive enough to encourage a good number of personnel to a vail of it and thereby make the  retrenchment process less painful.The reduction in the budget and its effect, through retrenchment, in the manpower of the California County Probation Department are the primary grounds considered by the Program Director in suggesting the establishment and eventual retention of the Halfway House Program. This is because of the position that in order to create a beneficial plan, the reduction of budget and loss of some personnel in particular are definitely inevitable yet valuable decision which will pave the way for a new and more effective program.Halfway House Program, the Rationale Halfway houses are already established since the half part of the twentieth century. According to Smith and Berlin (1988), halfway houses were built by the Federal Bureau of Prisons in the cities of Detroit, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York (Smith & Berlin, 1988). In the said halfway house services, the offenders, while completing their prison terms, were counseled, employed and provided with worthy activities which helped them to effectively reintegrate into their respective societies afterwards guidelines (Smith & Berlin, 1988).The said system and the creation of such program such as halfway house service have proven beneficial to both the prison facilities which previously house the offenders as well as the communities where the rehabilitated offenders were eventually assimilated. These worthwhile and beneficial effects to the prison system and the community are, in essence, the very objectives which halfway house program have attained in their efforts to effectively rehabilitate the criminal offender (Smith & Berlin, 1988).Beyond such historical account is the rationale of proposing, supporting and eventually retaining a halfway house program or service. In fact, the underlying principle, which was fundamentally deliberated by the Program Director in this paper for the consideration of the Chief of the California County Probation Department , is the basic foundation that such program or service encompasses the goal of societal correction and improvement. The principle is that the halfway house program ultimately aims for rectification and eventual development of offenders.This is because the lawbreakers and related nuisance in the society are being corrected while being accommodated in a venue which will enhance more their qualification into being members again of the societies. As what Beha (1977) learned from a research finding which examined the role and implication of the halfway house program, such service of program is definitely covered by the category â€Å"community corrections† (Beha, 1977). Additionally, halfway house program is an acknowledged effective plan or service even by the industry of probation service themselves.In BBC interview with the chief officer of probation services, Kenyon (2006) learned that while risk and problems are not totally eliminated in carrying out such program, halfway hou se generally create the â€Å"very best picture† as far rehabilitating criminals and preparing them for their return into the society (Kenyon, 2006). Applying the said principles and proofs to the set-up of the California County Probation Department, it is then best considered and suggested to the Chief of the need to undertake, champion and sustain the existence of halfway house program or service.In fact, this may not mean the loss of other programs of the County as the 20 percent reduction in the budget, which basically caters to a bloated personnel structure, will be the main source which will support the program. Conclusion Being the Director of a Program, my foremost objective is for the Chief of the California County Probation Department’s consideration and hopefully, approval of my proposed halfway house program or service. This is prayed for with the presentation of the needed 20 percent reduction in the County’s operating budget, which in general only satisfies an apparent over-sized workforce.Such retrenchment is feasible and acceptable based from the benefit packages and incentives which the Program Director likewise proposed. It is through said grounds that the creation and retention of the California County Probation Department Halfway House are justified. This is because by cutting the budget of the County, the problem on bloated personnel is addressed and ultimately the collective goal to create an effective and beneficial program such as the Halfway House is achieved.

Prevalence of smoking and drinking Essay

Adolescence, from Latin word adolescere which means â€Å"to grow up† is a transitional stage of physical and psychological human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood. It is most closely associated with teenage years. Adolescence is further divided into three more stages, the early (12-14 years old), middle (15-17 years old) and late adolescence (18-20/21 years old). In each stage of human development, there are physical, emotional and physiological changes that happen. This is based from the concept that humans have developmental tasks that should be accomplish per stage. In the adolescence stage, adolescents are in critical stage because teenagers are exposed to a larger environment (Macmillan Dictionary for Students, 1981). Background of the study Nowadays, teenagers that are exposed to different environment are now engaged to smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages for some reasons. The strong association between binge drinking and smoking among adolescents may be attributable, in part, to the fact that both adolescent alcohol use and tobacco use share a number of sociocultural risk factors. Researchers have found that these factors—including family and peer influences, demographics, advertising, economics, and alcohol and tobacco availability—are associated with adolescents’ initial and continued tobacco and alcohol use (Bobo, J. and Corinne Husten, 2000). According to the U. S. Surgeon General Report (1994), approximately 80% of adult smokers started smoking before the age of 18. Every day, nearly 3,000 young people under the age of 18 become regular smokers and an estimated 2. 1 million people began smoking on a daily basis in 1997. More than half of these new daily smokers were younger than age 18. This translates to more than 3,000 new youth smokers per day. The rate of youth initiation of daily smoking increased somewhat from 55. 5 to 74. 9 per 1,000 potential new users between 1991 and 1996, but remained level in 1997 (the 1998 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse). It is said that young people who come from a lowincome family and have fewer than two adults living in their household are especially at risk for becoming smokers and those with poorer grades and lower self-images are most likely to begin. using tobacco. Over the past decade, there has been virtually no decline in smoking rates among all teens. Among black adolescents, however, the prevalence of smoking has declined dramatically. Most young people who smoke are addicted to nicotine and were reported that they want to quit but are unable to do so (Statistics on Teens, 1994). In 2002, Komro and Toomey said that alcohol use by underage drinkers is a persistent public health problem in the United States, and alcohol is the most commonly used drug among adolescents. Accordingly, numerous approaches have been developed and studied that aim to prevent underage drinking. Alcohol use initiation rates for children rise quickly from age 10 up to about age 13, when they reach more than 50 percent. Subsequently, initiation rates begin to slow again (Kosterman, R. et al. , 2000). Moreover, alcohol is the most commonly used drug among adolescents. According to Epstein, J. et al. , alcohol use continues to be an important public health problem. Recent national survey data indicate that 41% of current 8th graders, 62% of 10th graders, 73% of 12th graders and 85% of college students have used alcohol. Even more troubling is that 11% of 8th graders, 22% of 10th graders, 25% of 12th graders and 40% of college students reported heavy episodic drinking. Domingo and Marquez found large gender differences in the risk-taking behaviors among Filipino adolescents and youths. Men are much more likely than women to drink, smoke, and use drugs. The large gender difference in risk-taking behavior among adolescents and youths is rather common in Asian countries but not in the U. S. In our case, The Philippines has no national law regulating smoking and sale of tobacco products. There is no minimum age requirement for the purchase of cigarettes and no law regulating the advertising and promotion of cigarettes. There is no law that requires the printing of warning labels on cigarette packages. Instead, the National Tobacco Administration (NTA) is supposed to protect and promote the â€Å"balanced and integrated growth† of the tobacco industry. Despite the results of a survey which say that 72 per cent of the polled adult population was supportive of having a legislation banning smoking advertisements. There are more restrictions on drinking than smoking especially of the minors. Those who are less than 18 years old are 2|Page prohibited from purchasing or drinking alcoholic drinks. However, the enforcement of this regulation is weak (Choe, M. and Corazon Raymundo, 2001). Objectives This study aimed to determine the prevalence of smoking and drinking of alcoholic beverages among senior high school students specifically: 1. to compare the prevalence of smoking and drinking of alcoholic beverages between senior students of public and private high school; 2. to contrast the occurrence of smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages among senior high school males and females; 3. to identify and rank the reasons why senior high school students smoke and drink alcoholic beverages; 4. to determine the awareness status of senior high school students in terms of the effects of smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages on their physiological health; and 5.to identify the effect of smoking and drinking of alcoholic beverages on the socialization of senior high school students. Review of Related Literature There are different factors affecting different behaviors of adolescents. One social theory studied by Travis Hirschi (1969) is a more general explanation of deviance than deterrence theory, but which is, in turn, primarily restricted to informal social control which comes from individuals being bonded to groups and institutions. 1236 grade 9-13 students from 62 randomly selected classrooms in 3 Canadian schools in the Borough of East York, 1 of Metropolitan Toronto’s 6 municipalities, were surveyed in December 1994 about their alcohol drinking beliefs and behaviors, and related lifestyle behaviors. Findings are based upon the analysis of data from 628 boys and 608 girls, of whom 799 were born in Canada. 24% of the students reported never having tasted alcohol, 22% had tasted alcohol but were not current drinkers, 39% were current moderate drinkers, 11% drank at 3|Page least 5 drinks per occasion at least once per month, and 5% did not answer. The most often stated reasons for not drinking were family upbringing and they believed adverse effects of alcohol consumption upon health, while the most often stated reasons for drinking were because it is an enjoyable experience and to get into a party mood. Respondents’ drinking patterns were significantly related to gender, ethnicity, grade, and the reported drinking habits of parents and friends. Older male adolescents who describe themselves as Canadian are more likely to drink heavily than are students who are younger or female, or self-identify as Asian or European. Current heavy drinkers are at greater risk than other students of engaging in other high-risk behaviors such as drinking and driving, riding with an intoxicated automobile driver, and smoking every day (Feldman et al. , 1999). In one of the surveys in US, half of respondents knew of a place near their school where kids could go to drink and get high during the school day, according to the yearly back-to-school survey, which polled 1,003 12-to-17-years old. And more than one-third said that students had ample opportunity during the school day to drug, drink and smoke without getting caught. Drug use in both public and private schools is on the rise, with 54 percent of private high school students reporting that drugs are available in their schools versus 24 percent in 2002 and 61 percent of students at public schools saying their schools are â€Å"drug infected,† compared with 46 percent in 2002. The researchers looked closely at the role of social media in teen substance use and found 75 percent of surveyed 12 to 17-year-olds said seeing pictures of teens partying with alcohol or marijuana on social networking sites such as Facebook or MySpace encourages them to party similarly (Gardner, 2012). Forty-five percent of teens – almost 11 million – said they have seen such pictures online and 47 percent of those teens said that it seems like pictured teens are having a good time. Teens who have seen these pictures were found to be four times more likely to have used marijuana, more than three times likelier to have used alcohol, and almost three times more likely to have used tobacco (CBSnews, 2012). 4|Page In the awareness of teenagers on the health risks of smoking and drinking, it was found in one of the studies that teenagers think that smoking is more dangerous than smoking. Teen smoking has declined in all three grades included in the study—grades 8, 10, and 12. Still, almost 19 percent of 12th graders reported current (past-month) cigarette use. This decline shows that more teens realize the harm smoking does to your body and are making the decision not to start. Also, teens’ attitudes about smoking have changed. They increasingly prefer to date nonsmokers and believe smoking to be a dirty habit. Likewise, among nearly all grades, trends over the past 5 years showed significant decreases in alcohol use, including first-time use, occasional use, daily use, and binge drinking. As with smoking, this decline may be the result of more teens understanding the risk of drinking alcohol and disapproving of this behavior (The Sara Bellum Blog, 2012). How teenagers feel about themselves plays a significant role in whether they choose to drink or use other drugs, according to a new report released today by SADD and Liberty Mutual Group. The Teens Today 2003 study also reveals that a teen’s â€Å"Sense of Self,† can influence sexual behavior, reaction to peer pressure, and, importantly, be affected by a teen’s relationships with parents (Henderson and Greenberg, 2004). Research has shown that the media over estimates smoking rates and often associates smoking with favorable attributes or situations. Given that the media plays a large role in influencing youth culture, portrayal of smoking in the media is of concern. In order to explore young people’s perceptions of smoking imagery in the media, 16 focus groups were conducted with 117 school students. Participants were asked to rate smoking images selected from audiovisual and print media, and to discuss their perceptions of these images. The results showed that young people perceived smoking in these media selections to be normal and acceptable. They identified with the stress relieving and social aspects of smoking, despite being well aware of the harmful health effects. Its acceptability as part of a ‘cool’ image was also noted. Positive images of smoking in the media have the potential to down play the serious health consequences of smoking by portraying it in a way that young people interpret as a 5|Page normal part of everyday life. They may also encourage a more neutral or tolerant attitude towards smoking among young people and therefore act to counteract other health promotion efforts to reduce teenage smoking (Watson et al., 2003). 6|Page METHODOLOGY The Participants In the study of determining the prevalence of smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages among senior students from private and public high schools, a total of forty senior high school students, twenty students comprising of ten male and ten female students from public high school and twenty students comprising of ten male and ten female students from private high school were randomly asked to answer the questionnaires provided by the group. The public school was a public national high school located in Los Banos, Laguna. On the other hand, the private school is a registered private non-sectarian high school in Los Banos, Laguna as well. The respondents have a mean age of 16 years old, ranging from 15-18, having a mode of 16. Measures The most commonly used and most frequently self devised measuring instrument, the questionnaire was used simply to obtain information directly from subject as to make a standardized list of factual information or elicited application that was generalized to a larger population. A one-shot survey questionnaire was used as the research instrument in the study of determining the prevalence of smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages among senior students from private and public high schools. It is a usual study design where a single group of individuals is selected for observation over a single, limited time period, usually because they have experienced some factor taken as important in shaping some outcome (Kelly, 2012). And according to Jupp (2012), it is akin to one-off crosssectional design. As shown in Appendix A, a letter to the respondent identifying our topic and informing our objectives were told. Moreover, see Appendix B for the complete copy of the questionnaire used in the study. 7|Page The questionnaire was divided into three parts: Personal information, Physiological status and Lifestyle, and Social Aspect. The Personal information section was used for determining the age, sex, type of school, religion, and parents’ civil status. While in the physiological status and lifestyle section, this would tell us how often the students from private and public schools smoke and drink alcoholic beverages. Also, to find out if the students were aware of the effects that these specific vices can contribute to their health condition. Lastly, the way of smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages of the students in terms of having a companion or not while smoking and/or drinking and the perceptions of parents and themselves were determined in the Social Aspect section. The Setting The researchers had entrusted the set of questionnaires to one of the respondents from public and one from private high schools. They were the ones who distributed the set questionnaires to their fellow senior high school classmates. The respondents were a given a whole day time to answer the survey questionnaire. The two entrusted students collected all the completely answered survey questionnaires at the end of the day. Data Analysis In the process of obtaining, the questionnaires were made, distributed and collected again. For a more simple analysis of the data collated, tallying was made in a tabulated manner. The data obtained were computed to get the percentage by dividing the number of score with the sum total of scores and then multiplying it by 100% using the formula: P = f / N x 100% Where: P – Percentage N – Total number of respondents F – Frequency 8|Page And lastly, for an easier glance to the data collected, it will have a graphical presentation in a form of bar graph, pie chart and other usual graphical ways to present the data. In order to identify the reasons why they smoke and what they think their parents perceive them a list of possible choices were mentioned in the questionnaire. These reasons were ranked 1 to 3 by the respondents who are smoking and/or drinking alcoholic beverages. In order to evaluate the rankings, an improvised rubric is formulated. Every number (rank) has an equivalent vote just to differentiate and identify the leading reasons. Rank 1 – 3 points Rank 2 – 2 points Rank 3 – 1 point The highest vote will be assigned as the top reason while the others will be ranked according to the accumulated votes. The tabulated rank can be found on the results and discussion. Other data, including the occurrence, prevalence, frequency, reasons, and perceptions of male and female senior students smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages among private and public high schools were tabulated and graphed in order to see the comparison. While in determining the awareness of the students if smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages had an effect on their health condition, and if they were able to gain friends were in a form of poll. 9|Page RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The prevalence of smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages among senior students of public and private high school were determined and observed. As seen in Table 1, the total number of students smoking is 3, with 2 females and 1 male in public school. While 4 students, with 3 males and 1 female in private school. Among the 40 students, 7 of them were smoking. Table 1. Number of male and female students smoking in private and public high schools Public Private Subtotal Male 1 3 4 Female 2 1 3 3 4 7 TOTAL As seen in Table 2, the total number of students drinking alcoholic beverages in public school is 6, with 4 males and 2 females. While there are 9 students drinking alcoholic beverages in private school. Among the 40 students, 15 of them were drinking alcoholic beverages. Table 2. Number of male and female students drinking alcoholic beverages in private and public high schools Public Private Subtotal Male 4 6 10 Female 2 3. 5 6 9 15 TOTAL 10 | P a g e The occurrence of male and female students smoking in public and private high school students is shown in Fig. 1. It was observed that there’s a higher number of smoking students in male category in private school. While, there is a higher number of smoking students in female category in public school. Moreover, students from private schools are more exposed to smoking. This might be because of the accessibility and affordability. Most private school students are in middle to high class statuses. Smoking 3. 5 3 2. 5 2 Male 1. 5 Female 1 0. 5. 0 Private Public Fig. 1. Occurrence of male and female students smoking in private and public high schools Conversely, The occurrence of male and female students drinking alcoholic beverages in public and private high school students are shown in Fig. 2.. It was observed that there’s a higher number of students drinking alcoholic beverages in male category in private school. While, there is a higher number of students drinking alcoholic beverages in male category in public school. Moreover, students from private schools are more exposed to drinking alcoholic beverages. This might be because of the accessibility and affordability. Most private school students are in middle to high class statuses. 11 | P a g e Drinking 7 6 5 4 Male 3 Female 2 1 0 Private Public Fig. 2. Occurrence of male and female students drinking alcoholic beverages in private and public high schools Table 3. Frequency of male and female students smoking in private and public high schools Daily 1-2 times a week 3-5 times a week Occasionally Public Male | Female | | 2 1 Male || | Female | Subtotal 0 0 Private Subtotal 0 3 1 0 TOTAL 0 5 2 0 12 | P a g e 0%. Smoking 0% 29% Daily 1-2x a week 3-5x a week Occasionally 71% Fig. 3. Frequency of male and female students smoking in private and public high schools Table 4. Frequency of male and female students drinking alcoholic beverages in private and public high schools Daily 1-2 times a week 3-5 times a week Occasionally Public Male ||| Female | | 4 1 1 Male |||| | | Female | | | Subtotal 0 | Private Subtotal 0 5 2 2 TOTAL 0 9 3 3 13 | P a g e Figure 4. Frequency of male and female students drinking alcoholic beverages in private and public high schools 0% Drinking 20%. Daily 1-2x a week 3-5x a week 20% 60% Occasionally Students involved in smoking in private and public high schools had their own reasons why they did the vice. As seen in Table 5, the most voted reason in public high school was to experiment, and the least was because they imitated it from their parents. On the other hand, the most voted reason in private high school was to experiment also and the least was because of losing weight and media influence. 14 | P a g e Table 5. Rank of reasons of male and female students smoking in private and public high schools. Smoking Public Private Rank Votes Reason Rank Votes 6 0 Imitated from parents 2 6 2 5 Peer pressure 3 4 3 3 Media influence (advertisements) 5 0 5 1 Fashionable 4 3 5 1 Form of rebellion 4 3 4 2 Wanting to lose weight 5 0 1 6 To experiment 1 8 18 24 Table 6. Combined ranking of reasons of male and female students smoking in private and public high schools Smoking Rank Reason Votes 1 To experiment 14 2 Peer pressure 9 3 Imitated from parents 6 4 Fashionable 4 4 Form of rebellion 4 5 Media influence (advertisements) 3 6 Wanting to lose weight 2 42. 15 | P a g e Reasons for smoking 7% To experiment 5% 33% 10% Peer Pressure Imitated from parents Fashionable 10% Form of rebellion Media influence 14% 21% Figure 5. Combined ranking of reasons of male and female students smoking in private and public high schools Students involved in drinking alcoholic beverages in private and public high schools had their own reasons why they did the vice. As seen in Table 7, the most voted reason in public high school was to have good time with friends, and the least was because of boredom and form of rebellion. On the other hand, the most voted reason in private high school was to have good time with friends also and the least was because of boredom and form of rebellion also. 16 | P a g e Table 7. Rank of reasons of male and female students drinking alcoholic beverages in private and public high schools Drinking Alcoholic beverages Public Rank Vote Private Reason Rank Vote 1 13 To have good time with friends 1 17 3 5 To experiment, to see what it’s like 2 10 5 2 To feel good, get high 4 7 4 4 Because it tastes good 6 4 2 9 To relax or relieve tension 3 9 7 0 Boredom. 7 0 5 2 To get away from my problems 5 6 7 0 Form of rebellion 7 0 7 0 Influenced by alcoholic parents 8 0 6 1 To get to sleep 7 1 7 0 To fit with a group I like 8 0 7 0 Anger or frustration 8 0 36 54 17 | P a g e Table 8. Combined ranking of reasons of male and female students drinking alcoholic beverages in private and public high schools Drinking Rank Reason Votes 1 To have good time with friends 30 2 To relax or relieve tension 18 3 To experiment, to see what it’s like 15 4 To feel good, get high 9 5 Because it tastes good 8 5 To get away from my problems. 8 6 To get to sleep 2 7 Boredom 0 7 Form of rebellion 0 7 Influenced by alcoholic parents 0 7 To fit with a group I like 0 7 Anger or frustration 0 90 18 | P a g e Reasons for drinking alcoholic beverages 2% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% To have good time with friends To relax or relieve tension 9% To experiment, to see what it’s like 9% 33% To feel good, get high Because it tastes good To get away from my problems 10% To get to sleep Boredom Form of rebellion 17% Influenced by alcoholic parents 20% To fit with a group I like Anger or frustration Fig. 6. Combined ranking of reasons of male and female students drinking alcoholic beverages in private and public high schools High school students are indeed part of the society. However, that does not mean that all of them are aware on certain issues present in the status quo today. Figure7 shows us that in terms of awareness of male and female students in the effects of smoking to the health condition, 95% said that they are aware, and 5% said they are not aware. This just means that even though majority knows that this can affect health condition, there are still young students who are blindly exposed to this habit. Aware Not Aware 95% 5% Fig. 7. Awareness status of male and female students in the effects of smoking to the health condition 19 | P a g e Figure 8 shows us that in terms of awareness of male and female students in the effects of drinking alcoholic beverages to the health condition, 100% said that they are aware. Students were able to identify the negative effects of drinking to health condition. 100% Aware Not Aware Fig. 8. Awareness status of male and female students in the effects of drinking alcoholic beverages to the health condition. While it is important to know the reason why some adolescents smoke and/or drink alcoholic beverages, and after knowing if they were aware that these things affect their health conditions. We also have to look at the perceptions of people around them, and also what they think of themselves. In contrast to awareness of the respondents in the negative effects of smoking and drinking on health condition is their way of performing these vices, either alone, with friends, or both. Fig. 9 and Fig. 10 shows the way of drinking and smoking of public and private high school students respectively. It is observed that 53% or the majority of the students engage in drinking with friends, and 80% of them smoke either alone or with friends. This shows the social aspect of the students with their same age group in doing the said activities. 20 | P a g e Do you drink by yourself or with your friends? 0% Alone 47% With friends 53% Both Fig. 9. Way of drinking alcoholic beverages of male and female students among public and private high schools Do you smoke by yourself or with your friends? 0% 20% Alone With friends Both 80% Fig. 10. Way of smoking of male and female students among public and private high schools. 21 | P a g e Table 9. Perception of smokers and/or drinker of people on them Parents Cool || Friends Self 2 ||| 3 |||| 4 0 || 2 | 1 |||||-|||| 9 |||||-||| 8 |||||-| 6 |||| 4 || 2 |||| 4 Addict Good Bad As seen in Fig. 11, the majority of the students answered COOL as what they think their parents thought of them. The least vote was they thought that their parents think their children were bad. This means that even if they’re doing those kinds of vices, their parents still accept them. What your parents think of you? 9% 10% Cool Addict Good 23% 58% Bad Fig. 11. Perception of the respondents on what their parents think of them as they smoke and drink alcoholic beverages 22 | P a g e On the other hand, the Fig. 12 shows the perception of the respondents on what their friends think of them in engagement of the said vices. 54% think that their friends consider their activity in a good way because it helps them gain friends, to be able to interact, and to socialize well with other people. It is observed that what they think their friends perceive also had the same result as to how they comprehend themselves when they smoke or drink. What your friends think of you? 13% 20% Cool Addict 13% Good Bad 54% Fig. 12. Perception of the respondents on what their friends think of them as they smoke and drink alcoholic beverages It is also important that students can assess themselves even if they are doing some vices. As seen in Figure 13, majority of them still thought that they are good. However, 6% of the students thought they are addicts. Conversely, there is a consensus that 27% thought that they are cool and bad. 23 | P a g e How do you perceive youself? Cool 27% 27% Addict Good 6% Bad 40% Fig. 13. Perception of the respondents on what they perceive on themselves as they smoke and drink alcoholic beverages Perceptions are indeed important. But, it is still significant when it comes to application or reality. Are these students still gain friends after all their vices? In a poll seen in Fig. 14, 9 out of 15 said that they gained friends, and 6 out of 15 said that they did not gain friends. Meaning, there people who discriminate or dislike the vices. Or even if it’s okay for them, it is not proper to be exposed earlier. Did you gain friends? Yes No 60%. 40% 9 out of 15 6 out of 15 Fig. 14. A poll showing the effect of drinking and/or smoking on their socialization Seemingly, many committed smokers and/or drinkers showed that they gained friends after having learning how to smoke and/or drink. However, there are still some who don’t. 24 | P a g e LIMITATION AND SIGNIFICANCE Limitation There are certain problems that were encountered in the study. One of which is that the idea that honesty in answering these questionnaires have suffered. The respondents may or may not answer these questionnaires in full honesty. From here, we may have little discrepancies or percentage errors. Significance The significance of this study is for the teenagers to be aware in terms of the effects of smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages on their physiological health. This study can also help the parents of those teenagers to understand more the point of view of teenagers who are engaged to these activities. They can know the cause why teenagers are into smoking and drinking alcoholic beverage. 25 | P a g e SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS. Summary and Conclusion The study was able to conduct the research on the prevalence of smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages among senior students of public and private high school. 18% of the students in both public and private schools are engaged in smoking; however, there are students in private schools who smoke more than students in public schools. It is concluded that the social status of the students is a common factor since private school students have more access to cigarettes and could afford it than those in public schools. It is also determined that the male students in private schools and the female students in public schools are more prone to the said vice and their main reasons were: (1) to experiment; (2) peer pressure; and (3) imitated from their parents. With regards to their way of smoking, the students’ general frequency is 1-2 times a week, and they usually smoke either alone or with peers. Most likely they tend to smoke with their peers because it is their way of socialization. The students also perceive that they are also likely to gain friends when they smoke. It is concluded that the perception of the students to what their parent think of them is â€Å"in-the-trend† when they are engaged in smoking. The majority thinks that their parents consider them as â€Å"cool† or â€Å"sophisticated†. Aside from that, the respondents think that their friends refer to smoking in a good way, causing them to also perceive the same judgment. To summarize the above statements, it is evident that the students in their adolescent stage have more desire to please their peers rather than their parents because they want to have a sense of belonging and they want to socialize more with people of the same age group. Peers are the most important relationship in the teenage years. They engage in different kinds of activities, and one of those are vices. In this stage, the curiosity level of the person is prominent because he/she is able to perceive different kinds of activities from various types of people. Parents are also a factor because they are the ones who nourish their child’s well-being. What they do causes 26 | P a g e various impacts on the child, causing him/her to either imitate it or not. The social status of the students also has an effect on their engagement in vices; it depends on how well they can afford it and on what terms they could get access. On the other hand, not every student in both public and private high schools is aware that smoking can affect their health condition. 5% of the students are still blindly exposed to the effects of smoking; therefore, it is recommended that both kinds of schools should also give the students more knowledge and expose them.