The real ‘cost’ of tourism is its impact on tourist recipient sites and regions

The real ‘cost' of tourism is its impact on tourist recipient sites and regions. Using quantitative data, measure the costs and benefits of tourism on a site or destination of your choice, evaluating that cost in economic, social and environmental terms. Give examples and describe from your own knowledge tourist sites that have paid a price in social and cultural disruption, or in environmental pollution. In the light of your findings, address the question of whether tourism is an appropriate tool for national development. Tourism has become one of the key industries in affecting the state of the world economy, and is being adopted by many struggling countries as a tool for national development. By studying the costs and benefits of tourism on concerned countries, it is feasible to analyse its success as a strategy of development. As tourism is a relatively new industry and is growing so fast, the literature on the subject is continually expanding as more studies are carried out. The aim for this piece of work therefore, is to investigate the real ‘cost' of tourism on Jamaica. Studies into the subject and the country will be examined, extracting the costs and the benefits in economic, social and environmental terms. The data will then be analysed in a suitable way and compared to alternative methods so as to determine if tourism is an appropriate agent for national development in Jamaica. It is very important to establish a few definitions before continuing with the essay, so that the eventual aim can be measured. Firstly, what we understand by the word tourism. Basically, it means a temporary and voluntary movement of people to a destination of their choice for the fundamental purpose of pleasure. The duration can range from a few days to a whole year. Facts in 2000 showed that there were 700 million travellers per year, 62% of which was solely for leisure. Its importance for national economies is illustrated by the fact that for 83% of countries tourism is one of the five top export categories and the main one for 38% of them. 11 Finally, a more in depth consideration is necessary to determine the, â€Å"most slippery concept of all,† (Lea, 1988) that is the notion of development. The focus of this work is, ‘whether tourism is an appropriate tool for national development', thus it is essential to define development in order to establish whether the country is successful in achieving this developed state that it is striving for. Since the term ‘development' contains within it factors to a social, political and economic extent, it is impossible for one word to define absolutely the developmental condition of a country. The conceptual meaning of development has been re-defined for over a century and there is still no clear definition to it. It has progressed from being more environmental determined in the nineteenth century, to the theories of modernisation which were considered more important in the mid-twentieth century. The idea behind this was that the basis of development was to catch up with and copy the Western world. Karl Marx was a German philosopher and some of his theories have shaped the idea of development. He felt there was a strain in all societies because the social organization never kept pace with the development of the means of production. The thought was that as result of the capitalist system, there was a concentration and centralisation of capital and therefore an uneven development in the world. These ideas shaped the views on development during the 1960's. However, Andre Gunder Frank expanded this in his ‘Theory of Third World Dependency'. He felt that under-developed countries would only progress if they â€Å"disconnected from the global economy and pursued their own national strategies of import-substitution†. Advancement continued in the 1970's, with the previous theories being, â€Å"refined, revised and in many cases rejected,† (Corbridge, 1991). The World Development Report (1991) defines development as, â€Å"†¦a sustainable increase in living standards that encompass material consumption, education, health and environmental protection.† (p. 31). As you can see, it is currently being considered in a much broader sense. Other aspects also tend to be included, such as, â€Å"†¦more equality of opportunity, political freedom and civil liberties. The overall goal of development is therefore to increase the economic, political and civil rights of all people across gender, ethnic groups, religions, races, regions and countries.† (World Development Report, 1991, p.31) In short, the more recent definitions have less of a focus and encompass a wider range of social and environmental criteria, as well as economic. As a result, in order to determine whether Jamaica is progressing we will assume they strive to develop economically, socially and environmentally. So an ideal next step is to look at the impacts of tourism in those three terms. However, before that is done it is essential to create a better understanding of Jamaica itself as a country and as a tourist destination. Jamaica is an island, located in the northern Caribbean, approximately 145km south of Cuba and 160km west of Haiti, with a population of about 2.7 million people with Kingston as the capital and largest city. Most visitors head for the north coast, where the best beaches and hotels can be found. This is where the busy, lively resorts are, and the cruise ports of Montego Bay and Ocho Rios. There is also the tranquil, and much less touristy, Port Antonio, set amid some of the island's loveliest scenery and beaches. However, to find the most stunning beach you must head west to Negrill for one of the most relaxed resorts. The south on the other hand has a very different atmosphere and is scarcely touched by tourism as yet. The east is where the capital Kingston is found, a sprawling, noisy and dusty city with an impressive harbour set against a backdrop of mountains. The Jamaicans themselves, on the whole, are very proud of their island and so often help to make tourists enjoy it too. Are they right to be proud? We now look at how the Jamaican environment is affected by tourism both positively and negatively. â€Å"Balancing Jamaica's ecology and tourism is a precarious dance to an insistent reggae beat. Tourism generates even more foreign exchange for the country than the bauxite industry, creating jobs and a chance for a brighter future. But with tourism comes development, bringing pressures to local people and their environment.† (Wilson 1999)2 A great quote for illustrating the two sides that comes with tourism. The pressure on the environment and people can become a very large problem. Reports have indicated that the natural resource bases that support the island's tourism trade is heavily stressed around the three main tourist centers. The reports identify the following principal sources of environmental degradation: (a) inadequate sewage treatment and disposal facilities is causing deteriorating water quality and reef damage; (b) storm water discharge is transporting silt and pollutant into coastal waters; (c) shore line construction, dredging and reef damage have caused beach erosion; (d) deforestation due to inland agriculture and timber cutting is aggravating flood damage and siltation; and (e) coastal development is contributing to the destruction of the wetlands, important as fish nurseries and wildlife habitat and as buffers against water pollution and coastal erosion. This clearly demonstrates the widespread impacts of tourism. â€Å"The increasing number of tourists, with extremely high consumption habits, places a disproportionate strain on the local infrastructure.† This explains why country's struggle with the increased demand which can often be seasonal and so suddenly hit them during the holiday periods. Studies indicate that the average tourist ingests ten times as much water and produces three times as much solid waste as the average resident.3 Yet another large factor in the gradual deterioration of the environment. Although tourism does create jobs and opportunities for locals, which we will look at in more detail later, there is not enough housing for them all. This leads to squatter settlements lacking in basic infrastructure and frequently situated in environmentally vulnerable locations, which again strongly reflects a negative side of the ecology. Continuing with the same theme, the steady increase in hotel construction has led to the destruction of the Dune barrier along the sea shore. Several years ago Jamaica's beaches were lined by dunes of sand covered with vegetation. With this barrier no longer there, due to the increased stress of tourism, erosion of beaches has been vastly accelerated. Environmental statistics provided by the â€Å"Statistical Institute of Jamaica† can provide us with a clearer understanding of the environmental impacts of tourism. Figures on land use in 1989 and 1998 can be misleading and also suggest that less land is being used more recently. This depends on how you look at the results and there can be a number of reasons to explain this. Data on the use of built up land indicates that 8kmà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ more land was used in 1989. If tourism is having a large impact on the environment you would expect more to being used in 1998. However, this difference may be due to a lot of previously useful land being turned into wasteland as a result of tourists, and so it can't even be built on. In support of this, the figures for land use for buildings are larger in 1998 but by just 4km. The stats on petroleum consumption do indicate that there is an increase in tourism and therefore consumption of materials. It shows that from 1991 to 1999 the average annual growth is 3.3%. With more and more petrol being used it is safe to assume that it is having a negative impact on the environment. The imports of ozone depleting substances from 1995-1999, are also very interesting and show a very significant increase: (Source: Statin, External Trade; NRCA) Although the facts are not necessarily contributed to tourism, it is fair to say that it has a large say in this dramatic increase. Especially with CFC's as these are found in aerosol cans etc. and the increase in tourists could be a large factor due to their consumption of such products. Also, Methyl Bromide is used to control crops so the lack of increase here could be because more plants are being destroyed. Another side to the ecology not yet looked at is the potential decline in biodiversity. This involves the plants and animals that inhabit Jamaica. A 20-year study by scientists showed that habitat destruction and introduction on non-native species have caused approximately 12.5 percent of the world's plants to now be so rare, they could easily disappear.4 Jamaica is faced with threats to its flora as well as fauna, where the percentage of threatened plants reaches 20 to 40. In order to be considered as â€Å"threatened†, a species must have reached the point at which there were fewer than 10,000 individuals worldwide, or fewer than 100 locations where it could be found. Jamaica is also attributed with highest local deforestation speed, a fact that would contradict the statistics seen earlier.5 However, as previously mentioned those stats are ambiguous as they say â€Å"forest use† but not what it's used for. It could be used as a forest or, in a completely opposite way, to build on. So is the environmental impact of tourism on Jamaica all bad? Not really. The extra finance brought in by tourists, which will be seen in more detail in the economical part later, can be used to help preserve and restore local attractions. Tourism also has the potential to increase public appreciation of the environment and to spread awareness of environmental problems when it brings people in to closer contact with nature and the environment. Also if a country, like Jamaica finds that a certain site is found particularly attractive by tourists then it will be in there interest to ensure it's beauty is preserved in order to maximise profit from it. Although the above named advantages are possible for Jamaica, unfortunately it is not always looked on by the government in this way. There were very few examples found where Jamaica was looking to significantly improve their environment as a result of tourism. Despite the fact that the surroundings are clearly being destroyed the emphasis, as I think will come out even more lately, is that Jamaica are willing to sacrifice the environment in an attempt to maximise their income. But is this an appropriate strategy? Do the advantages significantly outweigh the disadvantages? In an attempt to answer those questions it is essential to look at what tourism brings to the economy. The Jamaican GDP was measured at about J$5,034 million during 2002, and stats on visitor stays indicate a total expenditure of J$1,000 million through tourism. This suggests that the tourism industry accounted for about 20% of Jamaica's GDP in 2002. This is a substantial increase from 10 years previous when tourism accounted for just 13.3%,6 but it is still recovering after the impact of the September 11th, 2001 happenings in USA. Before the events in USA, tourism was highly influential in the success of the Jamaican economy but it suffered a decrease as people became more concerned about travelling. It is only now that the industry is starting to re-develop, and it is again becoming one of the most influential industries amongst insurance services and the manufacturing business. Tourism is clearly a huge industry with immense potential for any country to use as a tool for national development, particularly economic development. Unfortunately, the richer countries seem more able to benefit than the poorer ones, which can lead to a larger gap building between them. Although the following figures are slightly dated they help indicate the state of the Jamaican economy and we can infer its current state from these after knowing it has since grown after the large blip due to September 11th. Jamaica ranks twelfth in the Americas region in tourist arrivals and ninth in terms of tourism receipts. With 18,500 rooms at the end of 1992, it ranked second after the Dominican Republic, among the 32 small island nations that comprise the Caribbean, in terms of the size of the accommodation industry.7 The Jamaican Tourist Board (JTB) statistics show that in 1992 there were a total of 909,010 stopover visitors, 649,517 cruise passengers and 148,173 non-resident Jamaicans who visited the island. Of more recent figures on which to compare these too, in 2002 there were 865,419 cruise passengers and 87,283 non-resident Jamaican visits. So in 10 years a quite substantial increase in cruise passengers but a drop in amount of non-resident Jamaicans. Cruises are directly linked to tourism and are a good indicator of whether or not it is increasing in terms of more money coming in. Also, in 1992 the total average spent by a cruise passenger was US$52.8 So assuming that has not changed Jamaica is apparently bringing in an extra US$11,226,904 then it was 10 years ago. Obviously, that is a very simplistic way of looking at it and there are many other costs involved, however it helps provide an indication. A further indication of the sort of revenue generated through tourism is demonstrated in the following table: Direct Government Revenues From Tourism Sector 1992 (in J$ Millions) Source Value GCT 690.5 Airport Tax 211.6 Cruise Passenger Tax 119.4 Commodity Taxes 245.5 Indirect Taxes 90.0 PAYE 432.1 Total Direct Revenues 1789.1 (Source: Jamaican Tourist Board) Total direct revenue of 1,789,100 is a fairly significant figure especially for 1992 when we take into account this market has grown since. This is only considering the direct government revenues and suggests that tourism provides a very healthy profit for the country. Therefore, could potentially be a good tool for national development. In terms of tourism providing employment the figures in 1992 show that a total of 71,710 persons were employed by the Jamaican Tourism Industry, which amounted to about 8% of the total employed labour force. Tourists are always interested in souvenirs; this again provides jobs for locals and money for the community. However, the souvenirs have to be made out of something and can possibly cause a strain on materials within the environment. The findings so far on economic impacts of tourism indicate that it could be a very profitable industry for a country like Jamaica. However, we have already seen the vast amounts of negative impacts tourism can have on the environment. Can it too have negative impacts economically? Unfortunately for Jamaica and other third world countries the answer is yes. Leakages can have a very significant impact on the amount of money the recipient sites actually receive and can often be the reason why the third world countries are not as well off as they should be. The direct income for an area is the amount of tourist expenditure that remains locally after taxes, profits, and wages are paid outside the area and after imports are purchased; these subtracted amounts are called leakages. In most all-inclusive package tours, about 80% of travellers' expenditure goes to the airlines, hotels and other international companies and not to local businesses or workers.9 Leakages can occur in two main ways; import leakage and export leakage. An import leakage occurs when tourists demand a standard of products and services beyond which the host country can supply. Therefore, the country must import the product and so money leaves the host country to pay for such items. An export leakage occurs when large companies from more developed countries control hotels and tourist sites in Jamaica, for example, and bring the profits back to them. These larger companies have the finance, unlike local businesses, and can therefore dictate foreign sites. â€Å"In Fiji, for example, the leakage is more like a haemorrhage-with only 45 per cent of the tourist revenue actually staying in the country.† (Stalker 1998) This quote goes along way to summing up the extent to which these leakages contribute to the downfall of third world countries. Enclave tourism is another reason why countries like Jamaica do not receive the revenue they appear they should. When tourists go on all-inclusive holidays they may often stay in one place, e.g. a hotel or cruise ship, which can provide them with all they need. If so, the local shops and restaurants do not benefit from them as they do not come in contact with them. It could be said the tourists are getting and not giving in terms of they are admiring the beautiful weather and scenery without putting money back in to the local economy. Surveys show that such all-inclusive deals can have a very negative effect on the economy for a number of reasons. As they are often owned by companies in more developed countries, less money goes into local businesses. It has been found such deals generate the largest amount of revenue but their impact on the economy is smaller per dollar of revenue than other accommodation subsectors'. It is also concluded that all-inclusives imported more, and employed fewer people per dollar of revenue than other hotels. 10So again, further indication of a lose-lose situation for Jamaica, as there materials are being used with minimal in the way of revenue coming back in. It was mentioned earlier that tourism can help to provide job opportunities for locals. However, Gray (1974) sees tourism's use of a large proportion of unskilled labour as only a temporary phase in the development of the industry-as tourism grows, it may become more reliant on higher skilled labour, which will inherently mean training those available, or more commonly importing them from elsewhere. If the latter is the case then unemployment within the country will increase, so more people will be claiming benefits, which has a detrimental effect on the economy. In addition, the seasonal nature of tourist employment demands adequate earning and budgeting to ensure survival through low season. Myrdal's Model of Circular and Cumulative Causation (1957)11 explains economic development within a country as a natural process. He states that as an industry develops it experiences multiplier effects of improved linkages, communications, infrastructure and services, causing the developing zone to prosper. He also mentions the â€Å"backwash† disadvantage of the negative impact on the environment. In terms of Jamaica, it may be that as a result of tourism links such as infrastructure have advanced but maybe not necessarily improved. The increase in hotels and restaurants could appear as development but as we have seen the effect on the ecology is massive. The third way to analyse the impact of tourism is in terms of social impacts. â€Å"The social and cultural impacts are they way in which tourism alters behaviour, value systems, family, relationships, lifestyles and community organizations† (Mathieson & Wall, 1982).12 Tourism can be potentially beneficial to the tourist socially as it broadens their interests, triggering an improved understanding of the unknown and the cultures and lifestyles of others. â€Å"When a country opens doors to international tourism, its traditions (however marketable) are going to be changed, if not threatened.† (Harrison, 1992) This quote shows how when a country chooses tourism as a tool for national development they are confining the lives of their residents to be strongly influenced. This can be in a number of ways and traits from the Third World can be brought across. These may include crime, prostitution and gambling. A potential advantage often mentioned is the introduction of technology and more advanced thinking from the Third World. A thought one may question, as it is debatable whether the new technology is beneficial or does it just make the tourist site more similar to our own surroundings but set in a different place. As you can see most of the findings from research into the social impacts of tourism again suggest a detrimental effect. Although, there was limited data related to just Jamaica. It is clear tourism is a massive factor in the lifestyle of residents, as it can change their work patterns and deteriorate their living surroundings. This essay has focused just on the impacts of tourism on Jamaica, but this clearly goes on throughout the world, with different destinations being affected in different ways. These can be seen by looking at a few brief examples of how other tourist sites are impacted. In winter 2000, 76,271 people entered Yellowstone National Park on snowmobiles, outnumbering the 40,727 visitors who came in cars, 10,779 in snowcoaches and 512 on skis. A survey of snowmobile impacts on natural sounds at Yellowstone found that snowmobile noise could be heard 70% of the time at 11 of 13 sample sites, and 90% of the time at 8 sites. At the Old Faithful geyser, snowmobiles could be heard 100% of the time during the daytime period studied. Snowmobile noise drowned out even the sound of the geyser erupting. (Source: Idahonews) The Wider Caribbean Region, stretching from Florida to French Guiana, receives 63,000 port calls from ships each year, and they generate 82,000 tons of garbage. About 77% of all ship waste comes from cruise vessels. The average cruise ship carries 600 crew members and 1,400 passengers. On average, passengers on a cruise ship each account for 3.5 kilograms of garbage daily – compared with the 0.8 kilograms each generated by the less well-endowed folk on shore. (Source: Our Planet, UNEP magazine for environmentally sustainable development, volume 10, no. 3, 1999) Both the above findings demonstrate further the dramatic impact of tourism. So all this leaves is to address the question of whether tourism is an appropriate tool for national development? A key to answering this question is the definition of national development, as investigated earlier. If you consider the earliest definitions, which basically suggest that Third World Countries strive towards being similar to the Western World, then I believe that tourism is an appropriate tool for development. It is a guaranteed way of becoming more like the Western World in terms of technology and infrastructure. However, I also believe that this is not the best definition and that the latter ones are more valid. The World Development Report suggested the overall goal was to increase the economic, political and civil rights of all people across gender, ethnic groups, religions, races, regions and countries. So if this is taken as the basis when answering the question, then my answer would be different. Tourism clearly does not go along way to increasing the political and civil rights of the Jamaica residents for example. Tourism brings in â€Å"intruders† from other countries who intrude on their lives and remove a significant amount of identification the citizens may have. The government have to make the choice of whether they are willing to sacrifice the well being of their residents and state of their environment in order to maximise the profits from the industry. Unfortunately, this is often the case as the country need their economy to be strong, and there is no doubt that tourism has massive potential of bringing in revenue. The only other consideration the government should have would be to use the money to improve industries within their own country and work on trade as an alternative. The potential revenue may not be as high but I believe it is safe to say that the disadvantages would be hugely less. In conclusion, of the theorists mentioned earlier I would agree with Andre Gunder Frank, as I believe if countries like Jamaica want to succeed they should disconnect from the global economy and pursue their own national strategies of import-substitution.

Assessing the English Language Learner

Assessing the English Language Learner (ELL) The Growth of ELL (ESL) The number of human beings who speak a language other than English continues to increase in the United States, Canada, and Australia, for example, as the number of immigrants grows. In 2006, 34. 70% of the population of Los Angeles, California, was foreign born; 25. 50% of Miami, Florida; 39. 60% of Vancouver, British Columbia; 45. 70% of Toronto, Ontario; 28. 90% of Melbourne, Australia; and 31. 70% of Sydney, Australia (Statistics Canada, 2008).In the United States, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, 2004) reported that â€Å"The number and percentage of language minority youth and young adults— that is, individuals who speak a language other than English at home—increased steadily in the United States between 1979 and 1999† (p. 1). NCES added, Of those individuals ages 5–24 in 1979, 6 million spoke a language other than English at home. By 1999, that number had more th an doubled, to 14 million. Accordingly, of all 5- to 24-year-olds in the United States, the percentage who were language minorities increased from 9 percent in 1979 to 17 percent in 1999. p. 1) The number of ESL students in U. S. public schools has almost tripled over the last decade (Goldenberg, 2006). In 2004 Crawford observed that one-fourth of the school-age students in the United States were from homes where a language other than English was spoken. The school-age population (K–12) will reach about 40% ESL in about 20 years (Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence, 2002). Between 1990 and 2000, the number of Spanish speakers increased from about 20 to 31 million (U. S.Census Bureau, 2001). The Census Bureau report also showed a significant increase in the number of speakers from other linguistic groups, particularly Chinese and Russian. Individuals at all ages enter school to learn the English skills they need to learn, gain employment and participate in society. Planning for their instruction is a significant issue for teachers at all levels and assessment becomes central. In this chapter we first define and differentiate terms such as ESL and ELL and describe the populations they represent.The use of assessment measures to place students into appropriate instructional groups is described and the distinction between interpersonal and academic language is reviewed. The use of assessment in the classroom and as a gate-keeping tool is addressed in addition to the appropriateness of the use of published measures to assess ESL students. The first issue addressed is terminology. Defining ELL Over the years students who speak a language other than English have been titled English as a Second Language (ESL) learners.However, English in some cases is not the second language (L2), but may be the third (L3), the 4th (L4), etc. , language, and, as a result, members of this population have different linguistic resources to draw on. The term â€Å"English Language Learner† (ELL) has been adopted by educators, primarily in the United States, to describe better the notion that English may not be the L2. However, it is not a particularly good term because students who speak English as a First Language (L1) are also English language learners (Gunderson, 2008).The term â€Å"Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages† (TESOL) is used outside of the United States. Students who learn English in environments where it is not the language of the community are referred to as English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students. The pedagogy related to EFL is different from ESL (ELL) because students are not immersed in English in the community and the major task of the teacher is to try to provide them English models (Gunderson, 2008, 2009). An added difficulty with the term â€Å"ESL† or â€Å"ELL† is that it does not adequately characterize the diversity of human beings it represents.Those who use the t erm â€Å"ELL† do so to describe those K–12 students who come from homes in which the language used for daily communications is not English and who must learn English to succeed in schools where the medium of instruction is English. The ELL (ESL) Population A serious problem with the ELL (ESL) conceptualization is that it does not adequately describe the underlying complexities of differences in age, motivation, literacy background, and first and second language achievement (Gunderson, 2008, 2009).Those classified as ELL or ESL vary in age from pre-school to senior adults. Many speak no English at all, while others vary in oral English proficiency. Many have never attended school, while others have earned high academic credentials in the language of instruction in their home countries. They are from diverse cultural backgrounds that vary in the way they perceive the importance of teaching and learning. Many are immigrants to an English-speaking country, while many ELL learners are born in an English-speaking country, but speak a different language at home (Gunderson, 2008, 2009).Indeed, in the Vancouver, Canada, school district 60% of the kindergarten students are ESL and 60% of this number are born in Canada (Gunderson, 2007, 2009). Many immigrant ESL students come from impoverished refugee backgrounds, others have high levels of education and socioeconomic status. Thus, ESLs or ELLs do not adequately represent the underlying complexity of the human beings in the category. Assessment Issues in ELLInstruction in mainstream classes, those typically enrolling students of different abilities but of the same relative age in the same classrooms, is based broadly on the notion that the acquisition of English is developmental and occurs over time as human beings grow into maturity. It is also thought that there is a relationship between language development and â€Å"grade level. † Grade 1 students differ from Grade 7 students in systematic ways. Their teachers design instruction that is appropriate for their grade levels.ESL (ELL) students represent a more complex problem because their English and their cultural and learning backgrounds vary in many different ways, even in individuals who are the same chronological age (Gunderson, 2009). In addition, Cummins (1979a, 1979b, 1981, 1983, 2000) and Cummins and Swain (1986) argued there are two basic kinds of English a learner has to learn; â€Å"basic interpersonal communicative skill† [BICS] and â€Å"cognitive academic language proficiency† [CALP], the language of instruction and academic texts. BICS appears to take about 2 to 3 years to develop and CALP about 5 to 7. â€Å"Hello, how are you? and â€Å"What is your name† represent BICS, while â€Å"Identify a current controversial world political issue and develop and defend your position† is an example of CALP. Teachers are faced with the task of determining what learning activities and materia ls are appropriate for instruction and measurement of learning, while institutions such as universities and some governments are interested in determining whether or not an individual’s English ability is advanced enough for them to either enter a post-secondary program or to have the skills necessary to be integrated into a society and, therefore, be eligible to immigrate.Thus, in some instances, assessment serves to guide learning by informing teachers of students’ needs while in others it serves as a gatekeeper by excluding those who do not meet its standards. Instructional Levels—Determining Appropriate Instructional Strategies Language teachers have for some time opted to assess their students to ascertain their â€Å"level† of English language proficiency. The difficulty with the levels approach is that they do not really exist (Gunderson, 2009). A popular levels approach was developed in 1983 by the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Lang uages (ACTFL).The assessment is a one-on-one assessment focusing primarily on oral language. Three levels of beginner, intermediate, and advanced are distinguished (see, ACTFL, 1983). A learner can be identified as a low beginner or a high intermediate, etc. The behaviors that determine inclusion in a particular group are usually described in an assessment matrix. The assessor asks a series of questions to elicit knowledge of vocabulary, syntax, and pragmatics. The following is an example of a matrix developed by Gunderson (2009) showing oral language â€Å"levels† and their attendant features. * 0-Level English 1.Cannot answer even yes/no questions 2. Is unable to identify and name any object 3. Understands no English 4. Often appears withdrawn and afraid * Beginner 1. Responds to simple questions with mostly yes/no or one-word responses 2. Speaks in 1–2 word phrases 3. Attempts no extended conversations 4. Seldom, if ever, initiates conversations * Intermediate 1. Re sponds easily to simple questions 2. Produces simple sentences 3. Has difficulty elaborating when asked 4. Uses syntax/vocabulary adequate for personal, simple situations 5. Occasionally initiates conversations * Advanced 1. Speaks with ease 2. Initiates conversations 3.May make phonological or grammatical errors, which can then become fossilized 4. Makes errors in more syntactically complex utterances 5. Freely and easily switches codes More elaborate approaches involve the assessment of English listening, speaking, reading and writing skills, e. g. , the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CCLB, 2007). The notion of levels is an important one for teachers because they are thought to predict a student’s probability of succeeding within a particular teaching and learning environment. A beginner is different from an intermediate in various ways, and the instruction they are involved in is also different.Teachers often refer to ESL students as Level 1 or Level 5, depending upon their performance on an assessment measure. The notion of levels varies widely from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. In some cases there are 3, 4, 5, 8, or 10 levels, which are determined most often by locally developed informal assessment measures (Gunderson & Murphy Odo, 2010). Good assessment is essential to the design of appropriate instructional programs. The difficulty for classroom teachers is that there are few, if any, appropriate measures for them to use. Classroom AssessmentBlack and William (1998) reviewed more than 250 studies and found that there was a relationship between good classroom assessment and student performance. Most classroom-based assessment has been developed by teachers (Frisby, 2001; Wiggins, 1998). Unfortunately, most teachers report they are unprepared to assess and teach ESL students (Fradd & Lee, 2001). According to Pierce (2002), the majority of teachers employ assessments they remember they were involved in when they were in school: multiple-choice, cloze -like measures, matching, and true/false tests.This seems to have been the pattern for 50 years (Bertrand, 1994). Unfortunately, it seems, â€Å"†¦ many teachers are unprepared for the special needs and complexities of fairly and appropriately assessing ELLs† (Ehlers-Zavala, Daniel, & Sun-Irminger, 2006, p. 24). Gunderson and Murphy Odo (2010) have recently reviewed the measures used by teachers in 12 local school districts to assess ESL students. The number of different measures and approaches in use was surprising. The Idea Proficiency Test (IPT) (see Ballard, Dalton, & Tighe, 2001a, 2001b) was the measure most often used for primary level ESL students.Other assessments mentioned were the Brigance, (1983) the Bilingual Syntax Measure (Burt, Dulay, & Hernandez, 1976), the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test (Woodcock, various dates), the Woodcock-Munoz (Woodcock-Munoz-Sandoval, 1993), the Pre-IPT, the Comprehensive English Language Test (CELT; Harris & Palmer, 1986), informal reading inventories, the Waddington Diagnostic Reading Inventory (Waddington, 2000), the Alberta Diagnostic Reading Inventory, the SLEP, the Gap (McLeod & McLeod, 1990), PM Benchmarks (a system for placing students in leveled books), the RAD (Reading Achievement District—a local assessment measure), the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT; Dunn & Dunn, 1997), and a variety of locally developed listening, speaking, reading, and writing assessments. A serious difficulty is that most of these measures were not designed to provide ESL instructional levels so different heuristics in different districts were developed to translate them into levels.The designation â€Å"beginner,† for instance, varies significantly across districts as a result of the measures involved and the number of levels districts chose to identify. Two school districts reported the development and norming of tests for elementary and secondary students comprised of leveled passages taken from academic textbooks that were transformed into maze passages (see Guthrie, Seifert, Burnham, & Caplan, 1974). Scores from these measures were used to compute ESL levels; four in one case and five in the other. Interestingly, different metrics were used to compute instructional levels. So, for instance, a CELT score was used to determine ESL levels based on local intuition and experience.Most often the locally developed assessments involved one-on-one interviews in which students respond to tasks that require recognition of colors, body parts, school items, and the ability to answer simple questions (see, for example, Gunderson, 2009). There are also standardized assessments used by personnel at post-secondary institutions to make decisions concerning admissions to their programs. Predicting Academic Success The best known standardized English assessment measure is the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) published by Educational Testing Service (ETS). The publisher notes: In fact, m ore institutions accept TOEFL test cores than any other test scores in the world — more than 7,000 colleges, universities and licensing agencies in more than 130 countries, to be exact. (ETS, 2009a) There are different forms of the TOEFL. The classic paper-and-pencil form had standardized scores with 500 being the mean and 50 being the standard deviation. There are newer versions including a computer- and an Internet-based version that have different scoring criteria (see score comparison tables (ETS, 2009b)). The online version is based on a â€Å"communicative competence† model that requires learners to view clips of science lessons, for example, take notes, and respond to questions.TOEFL scores are used by post-secondary institutions to screen students for admission to their programs. The criteria for admission to programs varies from institution to institution and among departments in institutions (see, for instance, University of British Columbia, 2009). There is evidence that TOEFL scores are not highly predictive of success in university (Al-Musawi & Al-Ansari, 1999), however, although they continue to be used to do so. ETS also produces the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) and the Secondary Level English Proficiency (SLEP), both standardized assessment measures. The primary users of the SLEP are secondary teachers.The SLEP â€Å"measures the ability to understand spoken English,† and â€Å"the ability to understand written English† focusing on grammar, vocabulary, and reading comprehension (ETS, 2009c). The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is a test of English language proficiency developed by the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (2009). There are two versions: individuals who want to gain admission to a university in an English-speaking country take the academic version, while the other version is appropriate for trade schools and other purposes. Scores range f rom 1 to 9 with 1 being zero-level English, while 9 indicates native-like ability. Different universities require different IELTS scores to be eligible for admission.Both ETS and Cambridge have international centers around the world where students can take these tests. ELL assessment issues and standardized testing are procedures relevant to large-scale achievement testing in the United States. Large Scale or High-Stakes Testing According to Abedi, Hofstetter, and Lord (2004), â€Å"Historically, English language learners in the United States were excluded from participation in large-scale student assessment programs; there were concerns about the confounding influences of language proficiency and academic achievement† (p. 1). However, the United States has seen a focus on large-scale assessments due to the accountability requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (PL 107-110).No Child Left Behind permits assessing ELLs in their first language for up to 3 years, but few states do. In 2005 a group of school districts sued the state of California to force it to allow Spanish-speaking students to take state-mandated tests in Spanish. Plaintiffs in Coachella Valley Unified School District v. California argued that the state â€Å"violated its duty to provide valid and reliable academic testing† (King, 2007). On July 30, 2009, â€Å"The First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco rejected arguments by bilingual-education groups and nine school districts that English-only exams violate a federal law’s requirement that limited-English-speaking students ‘shall be assessed in a valid and reliable manner’† (Egelko, 2009).A lawyer for the school districts and advocacy groups stated, The court dodges the essential issue in the lawsuit, which is: What is the testing supposed to measure? If you don’t have to evaluate the testing, California gets a free pass on testing kids (who) don’t speak English, using tests that they have literally no evidence of their validity. (Egelko, 2009) The ruling was that â€Å"The law does not authorize a court to act as â€Å"the official second-guesser† of the reliability of a state’s testing methods. † The difficulty is that English measures are neither reliable nor valid when ESL students are involved. In some cases, accommodations are made for them.The procedures of providing ELL students accommodations during assessment sessions varies across jurisdictions, but includes such activities as lengthening the time allowed to take a test, allowing ELLs to be tested in separate rooms, allowing students to use bilingual dictionaries, the use of two versions of the test at the same time written in English and students’ first languages, providing oral translations for students, and composing responses in first languages. In 1998–1999, 39 states reported using test accommodations (Rivera, Stansfield, Scialdone, & Sharkey, 20 00). There is considerable controversy about providing accommodations, however.At the time of the writing of this chapter, accommodating students through the provision of L1 assessments has been judged not to be required. ELLs, Assessment, and Technology Advances in technology have made it possible for assessments to be administered as computer- or Internet-based measures. These developments have already taken place with measures such as the TOEFL (see above). An increasing use of technology to administer standardized and non-standardized assessments has raised interest in issues relating to mode-effects (e. g. , computer displays versus print form) and familiarity with computers, which have significant implications for ELLs.There is evidence that performance in paper-based and computer-based modes of assessment may vary due to ethnicity or gender (Gallagher, Bridgeman, & Cahalan, 2002). In addition, familiarity with computers is known to influence performance in writing (Horkay, Be nnett, Allen, Kaplan, & Yan, 2006) and mathematics (Bennett et al. , 2008) high-stakes tests. These issues need to be taken into consideration with ELLs particularly immigrant and refugee students. A related problem has to do with access. Indeed, access to computer and/or to the Internet is widely varied and, therefore, creates systematic differences in access. These are all areas that need further research. The State of the Art of ELL Assessment ResearchAs noted above, the category ESL or ELL is deceptive in that it represents millions of human beings who vary in age, first-language development, English achievement (both interpersonal and academic), educational backgrounds, immigration status, motivation, socioeconomic background, cultural views of teaching and learning, professional backgrounds, and social and academic aspirations. It is not, therefore, possible to review the breadth and depth of available research in this chapter. There are, however, some overall generalizations that can be made. Generally, the assessment practices and approaches designed for and used with native English speakers have been adopted and used with ELL students. This phenomenon is especially apparent in jurisdictions such as the United States where high-stakes assessments have become so important.There are serious validity and reliability concerns associated with this practice. It is not clear that the notion of accommodation, one borrowed from special education, helps in either case. Leung and Lewkowicz (2008) argue that this â€Å"common educational treatment irrespective of differences in language backgrounds† (p. 305) is emblematic of the view that both treatment and assessment should be inclusive. It does not account, among other features, for cultural differences that can cause difficulties for ESL students (Fox, 2003; Fox & Cheng, 2007; Norton & Stein, 1998). Overall, English proficiency is a significant variable in ELL assessment.In addition to the BICS/CALP dist inction mentioned above, Bailey (2005) proposes that there is a language of tests that is a different â€Å"register† or â€Å"discourse domain. † The use of such language creates a problem of â€Å"face validity. † Is the test actually testing what it is designed to test or is it a test of the language of tests? English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students around the world are assessed using many of the same measurements that are used to assess ELL students. EFL students are enrolled in programs in non-English contexts such as Japan where the language of the community is not English. They do not have ready access to native models of English that ELL students usually do. This is very much like the way students learn Latin in secondary school.It appears that EFL assessments are generally used to measure oral language ability such as the ACTFL mentioned previously. Our review of the assessment procedures and methods in use in K–12 schools in 12 school distr icts raised several issues that related to ESL learners’ assessment that were not found in studies such as Bertrand (1994), so we present them here. First, we found that there was a need for a measure that would discriminate students with language pathologies and/or learning disabilities from those who only needed English instruction. District members also expressed the need for a reliable measure to sort out secondary students’ content knowledge and their linguistic knowledge.Lastly, they contended that assessment should be developed to isolate ESL students’ specific areas of weakness so that teachers could more effectively use them to guide instruction. Summary and Conclusions The use ELL or ESL is unfortunate because it masks the underlying complexity of the human beings included in the category. ELL is inaccurate as a term because native English-speaking adults continue to be English language learners well into old age. Perceptions and pedagogical prescripti ons are the most troubling aspects of the use of these terms. In article after article the ESL or ELL is used as though they represent a homogenous group of human beings.Pedagogical recommendations are made on the notion that they are a single group with the same skills and abilities. Of course, this is far from the truth. Our experience is that teachers use the term to represent all students who speak English as an additional language. In addition, they appear to perceive ESL students as human beings who have trouble learning to read (English). And this too, is far from the truth for some students, but not for others. ESL (ELL) is a term that should either be qualified when used or discarded as a general term. The assessment of ELL/ESL/EFL learners is a significant foundational process for teachers to determine the appropriate teaching and learning programs for their students from kindergarten to the mature adult level.ELL assessment traditionally includes measures of listening, sp eaking, reading, and writing. There are three basic kinds of assessment instruments. The first is purely instructional in that it is designed to indicate the level at which students should be placed for instruction. The second type of measure is designed to provide an estimate of proficiency related to norm groups and involves scores such as percentiles and NCEs. The third is designed to provide predictive information concerning how well a student will succeed academically. Unfortunately, it appears that most measures are based on native English models. Another difficulty is that students’ English proficiency has a profound effect on their ability to succeed on a test.It is often difficult for a student to succeed on a test when the language of the test is difficult or unknown to them. Some have noted that the language of tests is also unique. Recently, assessment measures have been computerized and some have been put on the Internet. This raises serious questions of access, especially for students from countries where access is difficult or non-existent. For example, we have been told that the cost of taking an online test in a country like Zimbabwe is prohibitive. Educators from many jurisdictions have borrowed the concept of accommodation from special education to make the assessment procedures fair to ELLs who differ in various ways from native English speakers.There is disagreement concerning the validity of test results as a result of accommodations since they are not often included in the norming procedures of the instruments. We have heard some opine that accommodation is not itself fair, and that the results of standardized assessment provide information about how well students will do in an English-speaking instructional setting. It has been recommended that assessment measures be constructed that are written in different first languages. Some have argued that the number of first languages in schools would make this an expensive and impractica l approach. In July 2009 the use of English-only assessment measures was upheld in a federal appeals court in California.It is clear from a review of existing assessment practices that school-based personnel use a wide variety of instruments and procedures. It is also clear that there is the belief that it is important to identify a student’s â€Å"English level† for instructional purposes, but there is little agreement on how many levels should be identified. The precise process for determining a level is somewhat fuzzy, but it involves the interpretation of a variety of scores from a variety of tests. The research base concerning ELL assessment is not substantial. It focuses on measures originally designed for native English speakers. They do not do well generally on such measures. Indeed, they do not do well in school and a great number drops out, particularly from lower socioeconomic groups.The state of the art of assessment and instruction involving ELLs is extrem ely dire. The issues of ELL assessment needs urgent attention since ELLs are the most rapidly growing group in our schools. References ? Abedi, J. , Hofstetter, C. G. , & Lord, C. (2004). Assessment accommodations for English language learners: Implications for policy-based empirical research. Review of Educational Research, 74, 1-28. ? Al-Musawi, N. M. &. Al-Ansari, S. H. (1999). Test of English as a foreign language and first certificate of English tests as predictors of academic success for undergraduate students at the University of Bahrain. System, 27(3), 389-399. American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). (1983). ACTFL proficiency guidelines. Hastings-on-Hudson, NY: ACTFL Materials Center. ? Bailey, A. L. (2005). Language analysis of standardized tests: Considerations in the assessment of English language learners. In Abedi, J. , Bailey, A. , Castellon-Wellington, M. , Leon, S. , & Mirocha, J. (Eds. ), The validity of administering large-scale content asse ssments to English language learners: An investigation from three perspectives (pp. 79-100). Los Angeles: Center for Research on Evaluation/National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESSR). Ballard, W. , Dalton, E. , & Tighe, P. (2001a). IPT I oral grades K-6 examiner’s manual. Brea, CA: Ballard & Tighe. ? Ballard, W. , Dalton, E. , & Tighe, P. (2001b). IPT I oral grades K-6 technical manual. Brea, CA: Ballard & Tighe. ? Bennett, R. E. , Braswell, J. , Oranje, A. , Sandene, B. , Kaplan, B. , & Yan, F. (2008). Does it matter if I take my mathematics test on computer? A second empirical study of mode effects in NAEP. The Journal of Technology, Learning and Assessment, 6(9), 1-40. ? Bertrand, J. E. (1994). Student assessment and evaluation. In Harp, B. (Ed. ), Assessment and evaluation for student centered learning (pp. 7-45). Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon. ? Black, O. , & William, D. (1998). Inside the black box: Raising standards through cl assroom assessment. Phi Delta Kappan, 80(2), 141-148. ? Burt, M. K. , Dulay, H. C. , & Hernandez, E. (1976). Bilingual syntax measure. New York: Harcourt Brace Javonovich. ? Brigance, A. H. (1983). Brigance Comprehensive Inventory of Basic Skills II (CIBS II). North Billerica, MA: Curriculum Associates. ? Cambridge University Press. (2009). IELTS catalogue. Retrieved July 14, 2010, from http://www. cambridgeesol. org/. ? Centre for Canadian language benchmarks (CCLB). (2007). Canadian language benchmarks.Retrieved August 10, 2009, from http://www. language. ca/display_page. asp? page_id=206. ? Center for Research on Education Diversity and Excellence. (2002). A national study of school effectiveness for language minority students’ long-term academic achievement final report. Retrieved August 10, 2009, from http://www. crede. ucsc. edu/research/llaa/1. 1_final. html. ? Cummins, J. (1979a). Cognitive/academic language proficiency, linguistic interdependence, the optimum age que stion and some other matters. Working Papers on Bilingualism, 19, 175-205. ? Cummins, J. (1979b). Linguistic interdependence and the educational development of bilingual children.Review of Educational Research, 49(2), 222-251. ? Cummins, J. (1981). Age on arrival and immigrant second language learning in Canada: A reassessment. Applied Linguistics, 2(2), 132-149. ? Cummins, J. (1983). Language proficiency and academic achievement. In Oller, J. W. (Ed. ), Issues in language testing research (pp. 108-129). Rowley, MA: Newbury House. ? Cummins, J. (2000). Language, power and pedagogy. Toronto, ON: Multilingual Matters. ? Cummins, J. , & Swain, M. (1986). Linguistic interdependence: A Central principle of bilingual education. In Cummins, J. & Swain, M. (Eds. ), Bilingualism in education (pp. 80-95). New York: Longman. ? Crawford, J. (2004).Educating English learners: Language diversity in the classroom (5th ed. ). Los Angeles: Bilingual Educational Services. ? Dunn, L. M. , & Dunn, D. M . (1997). Peabody picture vocabulary test. San Antonio, TX: Pearson. ? Educational Testing Service (ETS). (2009a). TOEFL ® Internet-based Test (iBT). Retrieved August 10, 2009, from http://www. ets. org/portal/site/ets/menuitem. 1488512ecfd5b8849a77b13bc3921509/? vgnextoid=f138af5e44df4010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD&vgnextchannel=b5f5197a484f4010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD. ? Educational Testing Service (ETS). (2009b). TOEFL ® Internet-based Test (iBT). Retrieved August 10, 2009, from http://www. ets. org/Media/Tests/TOEFL/pdf/TOEFL_iBT_Score_Comparison_Tabl

Reflection in Nursing Essay

This assignment is a reflective account of events that arose for a nursing student during their first clinical placement in a community hospital. A brief definition of reflection will be given, with emphasis placed on communication. This reflection has been chosen to highlight the need for nurses to have therapeutic communication skills, to provide holistic care for those diagnosed with dysphasia or speech loss and the scope of learning opportunities it has provided to improve practice in this area. All names in this text have been changed, to respect the confidentiality of the patient and other healthcare professionals (NMC 2002). Reflection, in this instance, is a way of analysing past incidents to promote learning and improve safety, in the delivery of health care in practice. The Gibbs reflective cycle has been chosen as a framework for reflection (see appendix 1). Mr. Comer was admitted to his local community hospital for respite care. He has suffered multiple, acute strokes in the past, which has left him with severe disabilities. These include paralysis rendering him immobile, aphasia (speech loss) and dysphagia (swallowing difficulties). He relies on carers for all normal activities required for daily living (Roper et al 1996) and is advised to have a pureed diet and thickened fluids. My mentor asked me to observe her feeding Mr Comer. She had prepared my learning the week previously by providing literature on the subject of feeding elderly patients and discussion on safe practice for feeding patients with dysphagia. I was alarmed and unprepared for the physical sight of this patient, who was coughing noisily and laboriously and a thick, green stream of mucus was exuding from his mouth. I observed Mr. Comer being fed and noticed he was coughing more than normal during his meal, but was informed that this was quite normal for him. I was asked to feed him the next day. When I uncovered Mr Comer’s meal he started to cough in the same manner that I had witnessed before, but this time he evaded all eye contact. I was feeling extremely anxious, but proceeded to load a spoon with his meal. His coughing increased in intensity accompanied by rapid eye blinking, turning his head away from me and throaty groans that I can only describe as distressed vocal growling. I was terrified at this point and called for assistance, thinking Mr. Comer was having some kind of seizure. I discovered very quickly from another health carer who knew Mr. Comer well, that he was protesting profusely about the pureed dinner I was going to give him which he dislikes immensely. On the previous day, he had received an ordinary meal, mashed to a smooth consistency, which is what his carers provided for him at home. This experience left me feeling very uncomfortable and inadequate in my role. I tried to understand why he reacted so alarmingly by putting myself in his position. I felt anger and frustration, but more importantly the feeling of helplessness. Not being able to voice my dislike to the meal offered exacerbated the urgency of hunger or thirst. Although this experience was very frightening for me and frustrating for the patient, it has highlighted the need for me to improve my communication skills. NMC (2002) outlines that we must not add extra stress or discomfort to a patient by our actions and we must use our professional skills to identify patient’s â€Å"preferences regarding care†¦and the goals of the therapeutic relationshipâ€Å". Severtseen (1990) cited by Duxbury (2000) applies the term ‘therapeutic communication’ as the dialogue between nurse and patient to achieve goals tailored exclusively to the patients needs. In this case dialogue is used by Mr. Comer in the form of body language and noise to communicate his needs because of speech loss. Nelson-Jones (1990) states that facial expressions are an intrinsic way to express emotions and eye contact is one way to show interest. The avoidance in eye contact displayed by Mr. Comer showed his distinct lack of interest. Compounding these factors was his facial paralysis, which made it especially difficult for me to ascertain the exact nature of his feelings. The nurse must be the sender and more importantly the receiver of clear information. Patients with speech impairment or loss have a more difficult task sending the messages they want and are sometimes unsuccessful in making themselves understood. (Arnold & Boggs 1995). It appeared to me that Mr. Comer’s cough was not only a physiological disorder caused by his condition, but a way for him to communicate, in this case, his displeasure. Critical analysis of this experience has pointed to the fact that I have inadequacies in my skills, to identify covert and overt clues provided by Mr. Comer to his needs. I had focussed too much on the presenting task to feed him, with my mind occupied on his safety due to the nature of his swallowing problems. I had not considered his other needs like his wishes or desires and I had not gathered enough personal information about him beforehand to know this (Davis & Fallowfield 1991). I had been unsure about what to say or do to alleviate Mr. Comer’s apparent anxieties and had adopted what Watson & Wilkinson (2001) describe as the blocking technique. By continuing my actions to carry on with the meal, I was cutting short the patients need to communicate a problem. I was influenced in this decision because I felt obliged to be seen to reduce his anxieties, knowing my actions would be judged by an audience of other care workers and patients on the ward. I did not respond efficiently to reduce his distress and this pressure led me to deal with the situation inadequately and for that I felt guilty (Nichols 1993). I should have allowed more time to understand what Mr. Comer was thinking and feeling by putting words to his vocal sounds and actions. I could have shown more empathy in the form of my own body language to promote active listening (Egan 2002) and not worried about other peoples views on my decisions and beliefs to act in a way I felt comfortable with and thought was best for my patient. Gould (1990) cited by Chauhan & Long (2000) have suggested that â€Å"many of the non verbal behaviours we use to reassure patients, such as close proximity, prolonged eye contact, clarification, validation, touch, a calm and soothing voice, the effective use of questions, paraphrasing and reflecting thoughts and feelings and summarising are all sub skills with the totality of empathy†. There is an abundance of information about communication, especially for nurses because it is considered by many as the core component to all nursing actions and interventions. Lack of effective communication is a problem that still exists because the learning process that leads to a skilled level of ability may take years of experience to develop (Watson and Wilkinson 2001). It has been quite difficult for me to admit my inadequacies in communication, but Rowe (1999) explains that a person must identify their weaknesses as an initiative for becoming self-aware. Only with acceptance of ones self, can a person begin to acknowledge another persons uniqueness and build upon this to provide holistic care.

Kraft Tang Consumer Sales Promotions and Sales Promotions Research Paper

Kraft Tang Consumer Sales Promotions and Sales Promotions - Research Paper Example Kraft Foods manufactures and markets packaged foods, biscuits, confectionery items, hot and cold beverages, cheeses, ready-to-eat meals and other grocery items. Kraft food provides these products to approximately 170 countries world-wide (Kraft Foods Inc. Annual Report). Furthermore, the Annual Report states that Kraft Foods generated as high a 57% of their net revenues outside of their home country (8). Kraft Food Inc. is a company that produces Tang. Tang is a non-carbonated soft drink that comes in liquid and powdered form. Tang has recently been added at the twelfth position to the list of billion dollars brands owned by Kraft Foods, which includes brands like Oreo, Oscar Mayer, Cadbury and Maxwell House (Schultz & Zmuda). However, according to Schultz, international sales promotions and other marketing efforts in countries like Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Philippines have accounted for a major chunk of revenues of Tang. Sales promotion is a type of marketing activity. According to Lamb et al, the main purpose of sales promotion is to facilitate purchase by providing short-term incentive to consumers or retailers in the form of discounts or added value. The sales promotion directed at consumers is called consumer sales promotion and the one directed at members of the supply-chain is referred to as trade sales promotion (537). Sales promotion have become more common than ever before, this is because of higher degree of completion as well as a larger array of media choices which provide information to the consumers. Tang has had to face a lot of challenges both locally and internationally in terms of sales promotion. According to the Kraft Foods Inc Annual Report (8), they concentrate their marketing efforts in three key areas: the first is targeted at the consumer in the form of mass-media, out-door, print and digital media, the second is offering consumer incentives like coupons and contests and lastly they engage in trade promotions to

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

Marketing plan - Essay Example The Insider Fashions has got a good reception to in the market, thanks to its broad range of customers. Its target market has found the place a one stop shop for all the family fashion. This has brought the need for the store to stretch its branches in various parts of the state. Therefore, it is only from a good marketing plan that the operations of this company can be well executed. Mission Statement, Goals and Objectives The mission of The Insider Fashion Store is to ‘’use the displayed opportunity in the current trends in fashion to provide the best outfit solution to all categories of customers, under one roof, through vigorous market research and rapid product design’’. Its vision is to ‘’become a world class store of the best outfits to all consumer categories’’. As a progressive store, The Insider has a goal to cover all the states in the USA by 2014. SWOT Analysis i. Strengths The Insider Fashions Store is a one stop shop for all the family cloths; therefore it attracts a broad range of customers. There is a welcoming mood created by the store’s employees, where customers are ushered in, well attended to and even provided with snacks to keep them shopping even for longer hours. The store stocks a range of products from all over the world, most of which, come from the most reputable brands in the world. It has partnered with children's entertainment companies to provide various entertainment facilities like video games for the children. This makes the parents to prefer the store since they can move in with their children and stay for longer hours without the children complaining Provision of trial rooms where the outfits are tried by customers to confirm the sizes. ii. Weaknesses The store is forced to charge relatively higher prices than its competitors since it deals with exclusive high quality products which come from far and at high prices. There is need to train employees thoroughly befor e they are employed, this makes the store to lose a lot of money in training iii. Opportunities All the store’s branches have been strategically placed at busy malls and near big colleges where there is a thrilling lot of customers There is a need for a one stop shopping store for all the family outfits which the store has exploited. There is still need for such stores in various parts of the state, an opportunity that the store has taken up positively and planning for further expansion. The store specializes in training its employee and is now planning to start up a commercial training college for such services. iv. Threats There is stiff competition that the store receives from several other stores set up in the state. By opening up a commercial training facility, there are high chances that the store will disperse its idea of success which other people will use to start up other stores like The Insider. There is also a threat of the new companies that are entering the mark et with new strategies The store has a threat of losing its international customers in case similar stores are starting up in the customers’ respective countries. Market Segmentation The market will be segmented in the strength of the customers’ demographic characteristics. The stores around colleges will be stocked up with various youth outfits, more than the other outfits of other age categories. The prices at these stores near colleges will also be lowered to consider that the targeted clients at these places are students who have tendencies of spending less money. For example, one

Oil Prices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Oil Prices - Essay Example The oil market has highly inelastic demand and supply especially in the short run mainly because there are a few if any substitutes for it. Scientists have attempted tirelessly to create solar and CNG run cars and there has been an attempt to harness nuclear power at all levels of the industrial use. Oil supply is also inelastic because of the cost of the refining and infrastructure costs incurred by the crude oil suppliers to make the oil marketable. Also associated are the costs of maintaining such infrastructure because the cost of infrastructure remains constant regardless of any output. For example when in 1973 the OPEC cartel announced a US-Israel Boycott there was a reduced supply in the overall oil output therefore for any given price level, there would be lesser oil supplied. Natural causes like earth quakes or war situations also have a significant effect on oil supply. An example is the recent disaster of the Hurricane Katrina which affected production in the Gulf of Mexico. More so the increasing industrial demand for oil in the third world countries is also a factor in the rising oil prices. In the following diagram at any given level of price, more oil is demanded and the price increases. However with regard to oil prices in the long term there are other factors at play. The long term demand and supply of oil are very much elastic. Long term demand is likely to change if the oil shortage is constant. A short term disaster may change consumer behaviour temporarily but in the long term if the supply remains short constantly the following might happen; People might start adopting to the shortage by using more fuel efficient cars, using CNG,solar power or even nuclear power. At the industrial level nuclear power or coal power can replace oil powered generators.These are slow changes but have permanent long term effects on the demand of oil. There might be increased oil exploration in areas where previously it was too difficult to start wells. This may be because a supplier is restricting the oil supply. The effect of finding new oil fields will be to break already established cartels or oligopolies. There is not just one answer to the reasons behind the rising real oil prices.This has become an issue much influenced by war and politics.The demand and supply factors are very much influential in the short term but in the long term the consumption trends and investment are greater reasons for the shifts in the demand and supp

Globalisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 3

Globalisation - Essay Example 04th%20International%20Survey%20of%20Corporate%20Sustainability%20Reporting&r_issn=&r_year=2002&r_volume=&r_issue=&r_startpage=&r_endpage=&r_publisher=KPMG/WIMM&r_authors=KPMG] TWN 2006: 14 is the publication you have already located, namely Third World Network (TWN) 2006, Globalization, Liberalization and Protectionism: Impacts on poor rural producers in developing countries, International Fund for Agricultural Development. Globalisation is often addressed as the distinct feature of modernity, but this phenomenon is not new though the speed, reflexivity, complexity and consequences of modern global processes are genuinely outstanding. Modern globalisation processes can be traced back to the period after World War II while the earlier versions remain subject to intensive scholarly debate. Thus some authors study events since 1492 in considering the history of globalisation, and some focus on the more remote past (Frank and Gills 1994). However, these views are not commonly accepted with the majority of scholars concentrating on the recent past in their studies of modern globalisation processes. One popular perspective on globalisation (particularly economic globalisation) seeks for its origins in the period between approximately 1850 and 1914. These earlier forms of globalisation manifested in British imperialism and increased trade and capital flows between politically independent European states, their colonial territories, and the United States (Raskin et al. 2002). The first era of globalization was characterized by growth of export and profits, capital flow, massive migration of workforce from Europe to Northern America and other states (almost 60 million people). At the same time, the world saw increasing disparity between the countries actively involved in globalization processes and the rest of the world with industrialization being the key reason for this tendency (Crafts 2000). Evidently, this perspective also implies that World War I was the outcome

Write an essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Write an - Essay Example Black represents boldness while whi represents light. Indeed, this piece of art is a reflection of a traditional era but there is life in it. First impression: My first impression of this piece of art was hilarious and I was so fascinated about the way it looked liked. The piece of art was so gigantic and resembling a true image of a living human being. However, what impressed more about this piece of art was the size. Extended viewing: Even the biggest person I have ever imagined could not match the size of the person portrayed by this sculpture. My initial impression about this piece of art was positive since it shows a high degree of artistry skill where a true image of a living human being can be designed using different types of material such as metal and bronze. Line: line is emphasized in the form of height in this piece of art. Height entails that the sky is the limit and this implies that human beings can achieve anything they want in their lives if they commit themselves to that particular action. The human beings are endowed with the brains and they can achieve whatever they want in order to improve their lives. Space: The other element of art portrayed in this piece is related to space. It can be observed that the piece of art is proportionally presented meaning that it occupies adequate space to be in control of the surrounding environment. The space shows that the person represented has free movement and can control the environment around him. Balance: The principle of design that is emphasized in this piece of art is related to the aspect of balance. Apart from the enormous height of the piece of art, it can be seen that it is balanced and firmly upright. This reflects great skill of the artist to show that they can defy other natural elements that can otherwise make it impossible for such a huge feature to stand upright. The colors are also balanced in order to make the art attractive to the viewer. These

Brand Positioning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Brand Positioning - Essay Example Brand proposition in the Xerox products Brand proposition is a statement which clearly identifies the benefits of the products to consumers. It is a promise to the consumers and the buyers of the benefits they would achieve if they are to buy these products. The brand proposition should include a unique tag in the marketing strategy that would draw consumers to the product. The Xerox Corporation has used various brand proposition techniques in order to market its products. For example, the Fuji Xerox printers carry a statement â€Å"true colors†. This brand propositional method ensures that a customer associates this printing machine with production of high quality print out hence boosting its sales. The Xerox Company also adopted the statement â€Å"simplicity by the numbers†. By this catchy phrase, a potential buyer would therefore associate the Xerox products with product efficiency. Since consumers tend to buy high quality and efficient products, the statement assis ts to improve on the sales of the Xerox products. In addition, the brand proposition may also mean that the service delivery of Xerox Company is fast due to the large numbers of personnel. Hence, there fast delivery would attract customers to their stores. The brand propositioning of the Xerox Corporation has helped to convince new buyers that indeed Xerox offers cheap products. In the process of sales promotion, Xerox has frequently used the phrase â€Å"we offer a better pie† to mean cheaper prices. The customers would therefore prefer high quality products but of cheaper price hence they would consider visiting the Xerox stores. Just recently, Xerox Corporation has used the brand statement â€Å"environmental friendly† on some of their newly developed solid ink. Since the whole world is careful about the effects of environmental pollution, the customers are compelled to buy this newly developed ink for their printers hence the brand proposition has helped in improvi ng of sales. Relationship between brand proposition, brand awareness and brand value in Xerox Corporation Brand awareness is the degree with which the consumers can relate precisely with a certain brand. It is a situation where the consumer is given necessary knowledge about the availability of the product, the advantages and benefits of using this product. The Xerox Corporation has achieved this by using effective methods of sales promotion so that the target groups are made aware of the product. Through brand awareness, the Xerox Company has been able to affect consumers’ decision-making, ensure customer loyalty hence saving the customer additional costs that could be used when looking for a similar product. Brand value is similar to brand equity and it is the present value of the estimated cash flow estimated to the brand (Lindstrom 2004). It is measured through customer loyalty, staff retention and recruitment. For example, the Xerox products have a higher value because t he brand has been created for a longer time hence has customer loyalty. The success of the brand awareness technique and the brand value can be attributed to the effect of brand proposition. Through the brand proposition, the customer is able to associate the brand statement with the quality of the product hence able to consider it. This plays a big role in the brand awareness because the customer is advised of the product usage and its features. In addition, the brand proposi

Four Views of Hell Essay Example for Free

Four Views of Hell Essay These four professors argue the following views of hell: literal, metaphorical, purgatorial and conditional interpretations. This book peers inside the different theories of hell, each of their relation to the Bible and the evolution throughout time. Each chapter begins with that particular scholar’s view, followed by the rebuttal by his colleagues. Brief Summary The first chapter is written by, John Walvoord, and he begins by providing the foundation for the literal view of hell. The author expends the greater part of this section of the book describing these fundamental principles. He argues that hell is a position of perpetual punishment for those who are sinners in the Earth. He derives this view from native translations of the Bible using both the Old and New Testaments. Walvoord exactly takes the words from the Bible’s predictions and the absolute inerrancy of the Bible to suggest that this is the only way to view hell and eternal punishment. The chapter concludes with the author using the literal view to encourage the reader to help people avoid hell and the painfulness, by preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The second chapter is written by William V. Crockett and he has taken the metaphorical view of hell, as read in the Bible and studied by scholars. His view of hell is comparable to the preceding author’s view; it only differs in how the punishment will be administered to the lost. The author has strong Calvinsitic ties, in that he believes that the fortellings of the punishment of hell is not to be taken literally, but as a metaphor. Crockett further states that the reality of hell is indescribable with words and the words that are contained in the Bible are only a breakdown that the human mind can absorb. The chapter concludes with the author stating his disdain for the conditional view. In the third chapter, Zachary J. Hayes takes on the subject of purgatory in the hell discussion. Purgatory in this book is a place where the dead will go, when they don’t quite make it to heaven, but are not bad enough for hell. Notably the author cannot find any Biblical references for purgatory, however he does state that the idea of purgatory evolved from a personal tradition that the Catholic Church adopted. Hayes does also note that he agrees with the metaphorical view of hell. In fourth chapter of the book is written by Dr. Clark Pinnock on the conditional view of hell. The conditional view is also referred to as annihilation, which means that hell will be a punishment of fire and lead to utter destruction of sinners. The actual destruction is the punishment, not the fire itself. Pinnock, uses diverse scriptures that support his claim of everlasting death and God’s moral values. Critical interaction with the author’s work The authors’ goal of this book is to give an educated as well as Biblical look at the different versions of hell. Although the word is talked about many times, but the authors’ aim is to give people all the information available on the subject. After which the reader can make personal decision about their own personal truth. The authors do achieve his goal of factually representing the literal, metaphorical, purgatorial and conditional interpretations of hell. Each author has not imposed his personal opinion or view of hell, but however stated the facts from Biblical and theological sources. Also, having each author evaluate the other authors’ arguments shows potential fallacies in each and gives the reader information to further reflect, evaluate and draw personal conclusions. The strengths of this book would be first, the book was written by students of the word who supported the majority of their arguments with scripture first and with theology second. In the literal view of hell the author comes directly from scriptures and uses those scriptures to plainly paint a picture that we have already been taught since childhood. In the metaphorical argument of hell the author uses scriptures that show support the claim that the descriptions of hell are only be used as metaphors and not to be interpreted literally. The chapter on the conditional view of hell is well written and covers the punishment and destruction parts of hell thoroughly. The first weakness that we encounter in this book is the fact that in the literal view of hell the author does not address the issue of why the scriptures must be taken literally, instead of figuratively. In the metaphorical view of hell the author never addresses the issue of what will actually be, nor does he attempt to answer questions that seem to violate the traits of God. The author in the conditional view of hell uses much of his writing to appeal to the human senses and not to justify those emotions or feelings with scriptures. In the view on purgatory the author spends very little to no time talking about hell, but the time that is between heaven and hell. Although purgatory is the median between heaven and hell the author seems to focus on how the soul can make it to heaven and not the latter. In my opinion I feel that this book would not be suitable for all lay persons to read. I feel that this book would be of best use in the hands of all persons who teach in the church. This book would not only give them basis for what they believe in, but it would also give them the opportunity to understand the contradictions in various beliefs. I feel that this book could be a useful tool to teach about sin. Although the authors have different views on what hell will actually be like, but it does hold one idea in agreement. Hell is a real place it, and sinners will be there. After some research there seem to be many other books that are written about hell. Those other books, after reading summaries, take a similar approach and try to inform the reader what hell is going to be like and what it is not going to be. Many of those books not only deal with hell, but they also address heaven as well with the same level of concern. Conclusion In conclusion the book â€Å"The four views of hell,† the author does achieve his goal. However I feel that the chapter on purgatory did not fit in the book, because the argument was not supported by scriptures and does not necessary classify itself as hell. The book does make thing a little bit about heaven, but more about sin. This book points the finger back to the place where we need not only teach about heaven, but teach also about hell. Many people get lost in the mind frame that there is only heaven or life on earth.

MEMS Accelerometer Based Hand Gesture Recognition

MEMS Accelerometer Based Hand Gesture Recognition MEMS ACCELEROMETER BASED HAND GESTURE RECOGNITION Meenaakumari.M1, M.Muthulakshmi2 1Dept.of ECE, Sri Lakshmi Aammal Engineering College, Chennai, 2Asst.Prof, Dept.of ECE, Sri Lakshmi Aammal Engineering College, Chennai, Abstract This paper presents an MEMS accelerometer mostly based on gesture recognition algorithm and its applications. The hardware module consists of a triaxial mems accelerometer, microcontroller, and zigbee wireless transmission module for sensing and collecting accelerations of handwriting and hand gesture trajectories. Users will use this hardware module to write down digits, alphabets in digital kind by making four hand gestures. The accelerations of hand motions measured by the accelerometer are transmitted wirelessly to a personal computer for trajectory recognition. The trajectory algorithm composed of information assortment collection, signal preprocessing for reconstructing the trajectories to attenuate the cumulative errors caused by drift of sensors. So, by changing the position of MEMS (micro electro mechanical systems) we can able to show the alphabetical characters and numerical within the PC. Keywords MEMS accelerometer, gesture, handwritten recognition, trajectory algorithm. INTRODUCTION NOW A DAYS, the expansion of human machine interaction technologies in electronic circuits has been greatly reduced the dimension and weight of consumer electronics products such as smart phones and handheld computers, and therefore will increases our day to day convenience. Recently, an attractive alternative, a conveyable embedded device with inertial sensors, has been projected to sense the activities of human and to capture their motion trajectory information from accelerations for handwriting and recognizing gestures. The foremost necessary advantage of inertial sensors for general motion sensing is that they can be operated without any external reference and limitation in operating conditions. However, motion trajectory recognition is comparatively tough for different users since they have different speeds and styles to generate various motion trajectories. Thus, several researchers have tried to avoid the problem domain for increasing the  accuracy of handwriting recognition systems. During this work a miniature MEMS accelerometer based recognition systems which acknowledge four hand gestures in 3-D is constructed by using this four gestures, numerical and alphabets will be recognized in the digital format. MEMS are termed as micro electro mechanical system where mechanical parts like cantilevers or membranes have been manufactured at microelectronics circuits. It uses the technology known as micro-fabrication technology. It has holes, cavity, channels, cantilevers, membranes and additionally imitates mechanical parts. The emphasis on MEMS is based on silicon. The explanation that prompt that prompt the utilization of MEMS technology are for example miniaturization of existing devices, development of new devices based on principal that do not work at large scale and to interact with micro world. Miniaturization reduces cost by decreasing material consumption. It also increases applicability by reducing mass and size allowing placing the, MEMS in places where a traditional system. Instead of having a series of external components connected by wire or soldered to printed circuit board the MEMS on silicon can be integrated directly with the electronics. These are called smart integrated ME MS already include data acquisition, filtering, data storage, communication interfacing and networking. MEMS technology not only makes the things smaller but often makes them better. A typical example is brought by the accelerometer development. An accelerometer is a device that measures the physical acceleration. The physical parameters are temperature, pressure, force, light etc. it measures the weight per unit mass. By contrast, accelerometers in free fall or at rest in outer space will measure zero. Another term for the type of acceleration that accelerometers can measure is g-force. It works on the principle of displacement of a small proof mass etched into the silicon surface of the integrated circuit and suspended by small beams. RELATED WORK There are mainly two existing types of gesture recognition methods, i.e., vision-based and accelerometer and/or gyroscope based. Due to some limitations like ambient optical noise, slower dynamic response, and relatively large data collections/processing of vision-based method [1], our recognition system is implemented based on an inertial measurement unit based on MEMS acceleration sensors. If gyroscopes are used for inertial measurement [2] it causes heavy computational burden, thus our system is based on MEMS accelerometers only and gyroscopes are not implemented. Many researchers have focused on developing effective algorithms for error compensation of inertial sensors to improve the recognition accuracy. For few examples, Yang et al. [3] proposed a pen-type input device to track trajectories in 3-D space by using accelerometers and gyroscopes. An efficient acceleration error compensation algorithm based on zero velocity compensation was developed to decrease the acceleration err ors for acquiring accurate reconstructed trajectory. An extended Kalman filter with magnetometers (micro inertial measurement unit (ÃŽÂ ¼IMU) with magnetometers), proposed by Luo et al. [10], was employed to compensate the orientation of the proposed digital writing instrument. If the orientation of the instrument was estimated precisely, the motion trajectories of the instrument were reconstructed accurately. Dong et al. [4] proposed an optical tracking calibration method based on optical tracking system (OTS) to calibrate 3-D accelerations, angular velocities, and space attitude of handwriting motions. The OTS was developed for the following two goals: 1) to obtain accelerations of the proposed ubiquitous digital writing instrument (UDWI) by calibrating 2-D trajectories and 2) to obtain the accurate attitude angles by using the multiple camera calibration. However, in order to recognize or reconstruct motion trajectories accurately, the aforementioned approaches introduce other sensors such as gyroscopes or magnetometers to obtain precise orientation. This increases additional cost for motion trajectory recognition systems as well as computational burden of their algorithms. In this paper, a portable device has been developed with a trajectory recognition algorithm. The portable device consists of a triaxial accelerometer, a microprocessor, and an zigbee wireless transmission module. The acceleration signals measured from the triaxial accelerometer are transmitted to a computer via the zigbee wireless module. Users can utilize this portal device to write digits and make hand gestures at normal speed. The measured acceleration signals of these motions can be recognized by the trajectory recognition algorithm. The recognition procedure is composed of acceleration acquisition, signal preprocessing, feature generation, feature selection, and feature extraction. The acceleration signals of hand motions are measured by the portable device. The signal preprocessing procedure consists of calibration, a moving average filter, a high-pass filter, and normalization. First, the accelerations are calibrated to remove drift errors and offsets from the raw signals. The se two filters are applied to remove high frequency noise and gravitational acceleration from the raw data, respectively. The features of the preprocessed acceleration signals of each axis include mean, correlation among axes, interquartile range (IQR), mean absolute deviation (MAD), root mean square (rms), VAR, standard deviation (STD), and energy. Before classifying the hand motion trajectories, we perform the procedures of feature selection and extraction methods. In general, feature selection aims at selecting a subset of size m from an original set of d features (d > m). Therefore, the criterion of kernel-based class separability (KBCS) with best individual N (BIN) is to select significant features from the original features (i.e., to pick up some important features from d) and that of linear discriminate analysis (LDA) is to reduce the dimension of the feature space with a better recognition performance (i.e., to reduce the size of m). The objective of the feature selection an d featureextraction methods is not only to eradicate the burden of computational load but also to increase the accuracy of classification. The reduced features are used as the inputs of classifiers. The contributions of this paper include the following: 1) the development of a portable device with a trajectory recognition algorithm, i.e., with the hardware module , can give desired commands by hand motions to control electronics devices anywhere without space limitations, and 2) an effective trajectory recognition algorithm, i.e., the proposed algorithm can efficiently select significant features from the time and frequency domains of acceleration signals and project the feature space into a smaller feature dimension for motion recognition with high recognition accuracy. III.HARDWARE DESIGN OF  PORTABLE DEVICE The portable device consists of a triaxial accelerometer (MMA2240), a microcontroller (C8051F206 with a 12-b A/D converter), and a wireless transceiver (nRF2401, Nordic). The triaxial accelerometer measures the acceleration signals generated by a users hand motions. The microcontroller collects the analog acceleration signals and converts the signals to digital ones via the A/D converter. The wireless transceiver transmits the acceleration signals wirelessly to a personal computer (PC).The MMA2240 is a low-cost capacitive micro machined accelerometer with a temperature compensation function and a g-select function for a full-scale selection of +_}2 g to +_}6 gand is able to measure accelerations over the bandwidth of 0.5 kHz for all axes. The accelerometers sensitivity is set from à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢2 g to +2 g. The C8051F206 integrates a high-performance 12-b A/D converter and an optimized signal cycle 25-MHz 8-b microcontroller unit (MCU) (8051 instruction set compatible) on a signal chip. The output signals of the accelerometer are sampled at 100 Hz by the 12-b A/D converter. Then, all the data sensed by the accelerometer are transmitted wirelessly to a PC by an zigbee transceiver at 2.4-GHz transmission band with 1-Mb/s transmission rate. The overall power consumption of the digital pen circuit is 30 mA at 3.7 V. The block diagram of the portable device is shown in Fig. 1. MEMS PIC ACCELEROMTER MICROCON ZIGBEE TX TROLLER PC RS 232 ZIGBEE RX Fig.1. Block diagram of the portable device. IV. TRAJECTORY RECOGNITION ALGORITHM The proposed trajectory recognition algorithm consisting of acceleration acquisition, signal preprocessing, feature generation, feature selection, and feature extraction. In this paper, the motions for recognition include Arabic numerals alphabets. The acceleration signals of the hand motions are measured by a triaxial accelerometer and then preprocessed by filtering and normalization. Consequently, the features are extracted from the preprocessed data to represent the characteristics of different motion signals, and the feature selection process based on KBCS picks p features out of the original extracted features. To reduce the computational load and increase the recognition accuracy of the classifier, LDA is utilized to decrease the dimension of the selected features. The reduced feature vectors are then fed into a PNN classifier to recognize the motion to which the feature vector it belongs. A. Signal Preprocessing The microcontroller collects the acceleration signals of hand motions which are generated by the accelerometer. Due to slight tremble movement of hand certain amount of noise is generated. The signal preprocessing consists of calibration, a moving average filter, a high-pass filter, and normalization. First, the accelerations are calibrated to remove drift errors and offsets from the raw signals. The second step of the signal preprocessing is to use a moving average filter to reduce the high-frequency noise of the calibrated accelerations, and the filter is expressed as where x[t] is the input signal, y[t] is the output signal, and N is the number of points in the average filter. In this paper, we set N = 8. The decision of using an eight-point moving average filter is based on our empirical tests. Then, a high-pass filter is used to remove the gravitational acceleration from the filtered acceleration to obtain accelerations caused by hand movement. In general, the size of samples of each movement between fast and slow writers is different. Therefore, after filtering the data, we first segment each movement signal properly to extract the exact motion interval. Then, we normalize each segmented motion interval into equal sizes via interpolation. B. Feature Generation The characteristics of different hand movement signals can be obtained by extracting features from the preprocessed x-, Fig 2 Block diagram of the trajectory recognition algorithm. 5) Correlation among axes: The correlation among axes is computed as the ratio of the covariance to the product of the STD for each pair of axes. For example, the correlation (corrxy) between two variables x on x-axis and y on y-axis is defined as where E represents the expected value, à Ã†â€™x and à Ã†â€™x are STDs, and mx and my are the expected values of x and y, respectively. 6)MAD 7)rms Y-, and z-axis signals, and we extract eight features where xi is the acceleration instance and m is from the triaxial acceleration signals, including mean, the mean value of xi in (6) to (7). STD, VAR, IQR [6], correlation between axes [7], MAD, rms, and energy [8] . They are explicated as follows. 8) Energy: Energy is calculated as the sum of 1) Mean: The mean value of the acceleration the magnitudes of squared discrete fast signals of each hand motion is the dc Fourier transform (FFT) components of the component of the signal signal in a window. The equation is defined as where W is the length of each hand motion. 2) STD: STD is the square root of VAR where Fi is the ith FFT component of the window and |Fi| is the magnitude of Fi. C. Feature Selection Feature selection comprises a selection criterion. The KBCS can be computed as follows: Let (x, y) (Rd ÃÆ'- 3) VAR Y) represents a sample, where Rd denotes a d dimensional feature space, Y symbolizes the set of class labels, and the size of Y is the number of class c. This method projects the samples onto a kernel space, where xi is the acceleration instance and m is and m i is defined as the mean vector for the I th class in the kernel space, ni denotes the number of the mean value of xi in (3) and (4). samples in the ith class, m denotes the mean vector 4) IQR: When different classes have similar for all classes in the kernel space, S B denotes the between-class scatter matrix in the kernel space, and mean values, the interquartile range S/ Wdenotes the within-class scatter matrix in the represents the dispersion of the data and kernel space. Let (à £Ã†â€™Ã‚ ») be a possible nonlinear eliminates the influence of outliers in the mapping from the feature space Rd to a kernel space data. ÃŽÂ º and tr(A) represents the trace of a square matrixA. 1889 www.ijarcet.org ISSN: 2278 1323 International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer Engineering Technology (IJARCET) Volume 2, No 5, May 2013 The following two equations are used in the class separability measure: 1 2 3 4 The class separability in the kernel space can be measured as To maintain the numerical stability in the maximization of J à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ , the denominator tr(Sà ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ W ) has to be prevented from approaching zero. IV. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS In this section, the effectiveness of trajectory recognition algorithm is validated. A.Handwritten Digit Recognition The acceleration signals after the signal preprocessing procedure of the proposed trajectory recognition algorithm for the digit 0. The calibrated acceleration signals acquired from the accelerometer module are shown. With the preprocessed accelerations, alphabets and numerical features are generated by the feature generation procedure. Subsequently, the KBCS is adopted to choose characteristic features from the generated features. We choose digits 0 and 6 to illustrate the effectiveness of the KBCS, since their accelerations and handwritten trajectories are pretty similar and difficult to classify. The IQR features of these two digits are closely overlapped. Thus, the features are not effective for 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Fig. 4. Trajectories of four hand gestures. corrxy, meanz, energyx, energyy, and energyz selected by the KBCS. Finally, the dimension of the selected features was further reduced by the LDA not only to ease the burden of computational load but also to increase the accuracy of classification. Fig. 5.a Trajectories of alphabets Fig. 5.b. Trajectories of alphabets. Fig. 6. IQR features of (red star) digit 0 and (blue diamond) digit 6. Fig. 3. Generation of numerical 1890 www.ijarcet.org ISSN: 2278 1323 International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer Engineering Technology (IJARCET) Volume 2, No 5, May 2013 Fig. 6.a. Mean feature of (red star) digit 0 and digit (blue diamond) 6. Therefore, the total testing samples were 100 (10 ÃÆ'- 10 ÃÆ'- 1) for the testing procedure, and the total training samples were 900 (10 ÃÆ'- 10 ÃÆ'- 9) for the raining procedure. Because there are ten digits needed to be classified, the maximum of the dimension of the feature extraction by the LDA was nine. To see the performance variation caused by feature dimensions, we varied the dimensions of the LDA from one to nine. In Fig. 10, the best average recognition rate of Fig. 7. Average recognition rates versus the feature dimensions of the PNN classifier by using the LDA. Fig. 8. Average recognition rates versus the feature dimensions of the PNN classifier by using the KBCS. V. CONCLUSION The development of a portable device, is used to generate desired commands by hand motions to control electronic devices without space limitations. The time and frequency domains of acceleration signals of motion recognition, which has high recognition accuracy. The acceleration made by the hand gesture is measured by accelerometer are wirelessly transmitted to computer. In the experiments, we used 2-D handwriting digits, alphabets by using four hand gestures to validate the effectiveness of the proposed device and algorithm. The overall handwritten digit recognition rate was 98%, and the gesture recognition rate was also 98.75%. This result encourages us to further investigate the possibility of using our digital pen as an effective tool for HCI applications. In this project, an additional button can be used to allow users to indicate the starting point and ending point of motion. That is, the limitation of the proposed trajectory recognition algorithm is that it can only recognize a letter or a number finished with a single stroke. VI. FUTURE ENHANCEMENT The algorithms can be developed for letters or words with multistrokes which involve more challenging problems. REFERENCES S. Zhou, Q. Shan, F. Fei, W. J. Li, C. P. Kwong, and C. K. Wu et al.,Gesture recognition for interactive controllers using MEMS motion sensors, in Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. Nano/Micro Engineered and MolecularSystems, Jan. 2009,pp. 935-940. S. Zhang, C. Yuan, and V. Zhang, Handwritten character recognition using orientation quantization based on 3-D accelerometer, presented at the 5th Annu. Int. Conf. Ubiquitous Systems, Jul. 25th, 2008. J. Yang, W. Chang, W. C. Bang, E. S. Choi, K. H.Kang, S. J. Cho, and D. Y. Kim, Analysis and compensation of errors in the input device based on inertial sensors, in Proc. IEEE Int. L. Wang, Feature selection with kernel class separability, IEEE Trans.Pattern Anal. Mach. Intell., vol. 30, no. 9, pp. 1534-1546, Sep. 2008. Z. Dong, U. C. Wejinya, and W. J. Li, An optical-tracking calibration method for MEMS-based digital writing instrument, IEEE Sens. J.,vol. 10, no. 10, pp. 1543-1551, Oct. 2010. J. S.Wang, Y. L. Hsu, and J. N. Liu, An inertial-measurement-unit-based pen with a trajectory reconstruction algorithm and its applications, IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., vol. 57, no. 10, pp. 3508-3521, Oct. 2010. S. Zhou, Z. Dong, W. J. Li, and C. P. Kwong, Hand-written character recognition using   MEMSmotionsensingtechnology,in Proc.IEEE/ASME Int. Conf. Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics, 2008, pp.1418-1423. J. K. Oh, S. J. Cho, and W. C. Bang et al., Inertial sensor based recognition of 3-D character gestures with an ensemble of classifiers, presented at the 9th Int. Workshop on Frontiers in Handwriting Recognition, 2004. Conf. 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Lee, and J. S. Wang, Online classifier construction algorithm for human activity detection using a triaxial accelerometer, Appl. Math. Comput., pp. 849-860, Nov. 2008. L. Wang, Feature selection with kernel class separability, IEEE Trans.Pattern Anal. Mach. Intell., vol. 30, no. 9, pp. 1534-1546, Sep. 2008. Z. Dong, U. C. Wejinya, and W. J. Li, An optical-tracking calibration method for MEMS-based digital writing instrument, IEEE Sens. ,vol. 10, no. 10, pp. 1543-1551, Oct. 2010. J. S.Wang, Y. L. Hsu, and J. N. Liu, An inertial-measurement-unit-based pen with a trajectory reconstruction algorithm and its applications, IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., vol. 57, no. 10, pp. 3508-3521, Oct. 2010. S. Zhou, Z. Dong, W. J. Li, and C. P. Kwong, Hand-written character recognition using MEMS motion sensing technology, in Proc.IEEE/ASME Int. Conf. Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics, 2008, pp.1418-1423. J. K. Oh, S. J. Cho, and W. C. Bang et al., Inertial sensor based recognition of 3-D character gestures with an ensemble of classifiers, presented at the 9th Int. Workshop on Frontiers in Handwriting Recognition, 2004. A. H. F. Lam, W. J. Li, Y. Liu, and N. Xi, MIDS: Micro input devices system using MEMS sensors, presented at the IEEE/RSJ Int. Conf.Intelligent Robots an