Development of Aging Tourists Market in China Dissertation

Development of Aging Tourists Market in China - Dissertation Example Studies conducted by The World Health Organization revealed that ageing population includes the people who are 60 years of more of age. Although this population is more prone to opt for tourism opportunities, however, tourism management authorities have not been encouraging this because of the various costs that are involved with this from which the major ones include cost of security, medical and time. Tourism management refers to the management of all the activities that are related to tourism and this also includes those activities that are related to tourism. Furthermore, they also have to implement strategies that promote tourism and provide easy access to people for the purpose of tourism. Tourism Consumption System The authors, Dubelaar and Woodsie (2002) have defined the tourism consumption system (TCS) as the set of related travel thoughts, decisions, and behaviors by a discretionary traveler prior to, during, and following a trip. The central proposition that the authors have given by this theory is that the thoughts, decisions, and behaviors with regards to an activity have a major impact on the thoughts, decisions, and behaviors for the other activities. Further in the article, the authors have used exit interview travel data and quick clustering analysis for the purpose of examining the seven main propositions of tourism consumption system on the basis of which the tourists take decisions. It has also been said by the authors that this approach is very beneficial for the marketers and practitioners with regards to tourism and this would greatly help them in increasing the effectiveness of the tourism marketing strategies. Tourism Behavior The set of responses that the people develop with regards to tourism develop tourism behavior and this determines their likeliness and their interest. There are some elders who opt for places which are more lively and colorful while there are some people in the ageing population who prefer going to places which are calm and serene. Sustainable Tourism According to Dubelaar and Woodsie (2002), tourism involves a certain cost which can be monetary as well as time and energy of the tourists. Since the ageing popula

One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest Essay Example for Free

One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest Essay In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey tells the story of Randle McMurphy, a rebellious, boisterous and overtly sexual man who utilizes his extroverted qualities to win over his fellow patients in the mental institution. McMurphy’s confident nature and non-conforming attitude brings hope to everyone living in the ward. Ultimately, he sparks dissent and inspires them to go against the oppressive head nurse, Nurse Ratchet. McMurphy’s confidence does not waver until he realizes that Nurse Ratchet will always have the upper hand over the patients. Nevertheless, this does not stop him from concocting plans to provoke and get rid of her. McMurphy receives many harsh punishments for his actions and eventually loses the battle against the head nurse. Not only does he lose against Nurse Ratchet, but he eventually loses himself through the process. Additionally, in the film The Experiment, the protagonist Travis, undergoes an adversity which is comparable to what McMurphy faces in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. The development of both characters can parallel each other through the similarities of their actions. Kesey first introduces McMurphy to readers when he is brought to the mental institution. At first glance, McMurphy can be viewed as a con man. He committed the crime of statutory rape but instead of accepting a jail sentence he convinces the judge that he is not straight in the head and is thus sent to a mental institution. Most patients at the ward are unresponsive, yet when he first arrives at the institution, he introduces himself to everyone. The patients and nurses are taken aback by McMurphy’s feisty attitude. Unlike the other patients, McMurphy is loud, arrogant, and capable and it is evident to everyone that he does not belong in a place like that. After the wards group meeting, McMurphy sees firsthand how Nurse Ratchet abuses her power as head nurse. He makes a bet with all the patients in the ward that he can make lose her temper. The patients warn him and insist that Nurse Ratchet not one to be messed with but he still acts otherwise. In this instance, McMurphy’s rebellious nature shines through. It is made clear to readers that he will not allow Nurse Ratchet to win over the patients for long. He wants to give her a hard time and hopefully get rid of her. Nurse Ratchet sees McMurphy’s deviance and knows that she must break him, just like she broke all the other patients so she can continue her oppressive leadership over the ward. After numerous confrontations between McMurphy and Nurse Ratchet, the patients in the ward find the incidents quite amusing. Eventually, McMurphy is able to rile up all the patients and encourage them to watch the World Series on the television. Although it was not their allotted time to watch the television, they all participate in the rebellion. Through McMurphy actions, the patients see that they should not view Nurse Ratchet as an oppressive and domineering force. They begin to feel hope inside themselves and begin to envision that living in the ward will not be as miserable as it once was. Nurse Ratchet’s patience begins to wear thin and once McMurphy physically attacks her, she quickly makes the decision to have him lobotomized and leaves him neurologically disabled. After this event, the patients can no longer live in the ward. McMurphy was a friend to all and they could not stand living under Nurse Ratchet’s rule. She loses all control and the patients transfer to other wards or check out of the institution completely. McMurphy’s eventual destruction and death was not out of vain as he was able to transform the patients into believing that each person was an individual and should be able to freely express themselves. He left them with a belief that would aid them for the rest of their lives. Randle McMurphy’s feisty and strong-willed character can easily parallel many dominant male characters in films. For example, in the 2010 film The Experiment, Paul T. Scheuring directs the story of 26 men who are selected to take part in a 14 day experiment where some participants act as guards and others as inmates. The guards have only one rule to follow they must make sure the inmates obey the basic rules of living in a prison. Eventually the power wielded by the guards gets to their heads. They abuse their roles and exploit and humiliate the inmates. They become great oppressors and being to forget that the inmates are only human. Violence begins to ensue. The protagonist, Travis, is selected to be an inmate in the prison. From the beginning, it is made apparent that Travis is not buying into the whole prisoner concept. Just like McMurphy, Travis acts out as an individual. He is not one to follow others and ceases any opportunity to give the guards a difficult time. He then begins to act out in defiant ways. He mobilizes the inmates and leads rebellions against the guards. He and many other inmates firmly decide that they will not be silenced into submission. Eventually, the experiment goes wildly out of control and is stopped by researchers. Like Randle McMurphy, Travis fights back against the oppressors. He did not like seeing his fellow inmates get taken advantage of. Travis begins rebelling and disobeying the rules in small ways, such as refusing to eat his meals. Eventually, he uses physical force to end the tyranny in the prison. Randle McMurphy and Travis are similar characters in many ways. They both were able to unite the group of men that were facing the same adversity. They did not like seeing any of their own getting harmed. Furthermore, just like McMurphy, Travis acts in defiant ways to get into the guards heads. And finally, both use physical force to hurt their oppressors at the very end. To sum it up, they are the spark that brings hope to the oppressed and lead the rebellions against the oppressors.

Pros And Cons Of Organizational Change Management Essay

Pros And Cons Of Organizational Change Management Essay The crux of this report is a discussion on organization change and whether the changes are good or it does damages that are not reparable. Firstly, organisational change is an essential part of todays globalised work life. In moderns economy, teams and organisations face rapid change like never before. Globalisation has not only boost the markets and opportunities for more development and profit, it also provides opportunities for organisational members to process, however, in general, change processes make demands on both employees and management, regardless of the content of the change process. Facing of the tide of globalisation, one of the dominant disputes that human resource professionals face is what method to improve organisational competitive advantage in the hastily changing environment. Organisational change come about multiple reasons, it is undertaken to ameliorate the accomplishment of that particular organization or a portion of the organization, for instance, a proces s or team. For organisations to be able to prosper, it is essential for them to go through a important alteration at different sections during their growth. Significant organisational change occurs when the overall strategy of an organization changes, for instance, in order to achieve appropriate consequences, accumulation or take away a big portion or usual procedure, and/or desire to alter the nature on how it works. Changes always lead to employees Pros of Organizational Change Change can assist a business to keep up with industry trends, making it more appealing to promising consumers as well as maintaining present consumers. For instance, one way to make sure that a business does not fall behind when an opponent established and markets a successful new product is by establishing and advertising a related product of its own. In the process of organization change, employees will be able to acquire new skills, seek new opportunities and exercise their creativity in ways that eventually favors the organization through extra ideas and increased commitment. Knowledge transfer takes place during the process when people have idiosyncratic information that is valuable to other people, and thus learning takes place during the change. In addition, the capability to clasp change can assist employees in a business by developing new opportunities. For instance, a worker who actively applies herself to learning the new office technology can also train others who are more uncertain. This leadership role has caused the employee to position herself as a person who has the ability to guide others and is capable of assuming extra responsibilities, making her a credible candidate for approaching promotion. Furthermore, businesses that are capable at handling or even embracing change can promote an environment that stimulates innovation. Employees will be more willing to think in a more creative manner if their ideas are acknowledge by a manager or business owner. By stimulating employees to think in a more creative manner enable a business grow. Either a good product or a marketing idea will enables a small business to achieve it success. Finally, an erudite or personnel change in an organization can result in employee attitudes and morale being positive. When there is a change in human resources philosophy, it enables a much relaxed work ambience, for instance, dress down day on Friday; this kind of idea will definitely make the employees overjoyed. When an inflexible manager is substitute with one who always listens to employees ideas and feedbacks, employees will feel that their efforts are acknowledged and that they will give in their best regarding their job functions. Cons of Organizational Change When major change takes place, the impact of transformation of an organization can be effective and may frequently create complicated challenges. Change can present a risk and certain level of danger. The end results can be very costly and sometimes beyond recovery in terms of time, money, human resources, or equipments. It is known that human nature oppose change, especially if it is perceived to influence ones lives adversely. When an organization is undergoing organizational change, such as: re-structuring, or merging, it will result in employees going through the feelings of tension, stress, and uncertainty, which results in the impact on employees productivity output, achievement, and engagements toward the organization (Ashford, et. al., 1989). In other words, the aftermath can be out of discipline. The norm prefers foreseeable future but change disrupts it, which cause confusion and potentially an erosion of assurance. When one lose confident and ideas are not supported and acknowledge by the higher management may increase the stress of the employees and this might lead to staff not performing well in their daily work routine. Secondly, during organisational change, staff members might experience loss of attachment. Most of the time, change requires working with new members, such as a new leader, or a new team. Gradually, employees will feel attached and develop a sense of faithfulness to their colleagues. Having to break up this faithfulness, can often be pressurize and make people anxious. Employees feel that the environment is doubtful, low tolerance of ambiguity, less freedom and ideal time for work, thus they will are unwilling to take risk, and thus becoming less motivated and committed to making contributions. Thirdly, organisational changes might lead to staffs having low morale. When staffs disagree a change that is taking place in the workplace, they become less confident and felt hopeless about their professional future with the organisation. This is specifically when there is a deficiency of communication within the organisation regarding the change. Lowered morale can disperse throughout the whole company, which will result in issues with both recruiting and retention. Lastly, organisation change may result in less efficiency in employees. This is due to the employees spending much time focusing on withstanding the changes taking place in the organsation, which results them becoming less attentive in their daily work routine which is affiliate with their jobs. Being less attentive in their work will reduce the level of adeptness and achievement among staff; this can influence the organisations fundamental. In reality, a decreased level of adeptness is the main reason why there is an organisation change, as changes are frequently build to reform a more cogent and productive company. Conclusion Change within an organisation will enable some type of improvement within an organisation. Even though the main intention is to bring out positive effects, but these changes frequently brought about some affection and sensation to those who are affected indirectly and directly. Although change may be a certain portion of handling profession, it is often not welcomed by employees, leaders or owners of the business. Employees are afraid to leave their comfort zone or they are afraid that they are not able to adapt to a different situation. Changes can affect a business success in long run and have a positive impact on it, while on the other hand a change that is short term can be agonizing. In addition, change cannot be avoided. Some types of changes that will tend to affect employees are reducing bonus, reducing monthly salary or even take away their benefits. All this changes might result in employees being devastated, especially those who are the sole breadwinner. It is a challenge for organisations to make adeptness and betterment within its anatomy, while at the same time managing employees self-esteem and support for the organization and its responsibility. If changes are made, especially large-scale reorganisations, it is essential to communicate and associate all of the employees to the extent in which it can ensure a successful development.

Cleopatras Beauty Essay -- Egypt History Papers

Cleopatra's Beauty Was Cleopatra beautiful? This is a seemingly straightforward question but there are many characteristics of beauty and all must be considered when applied to Cleopatra. Firstly, what is beauty? Beauty is different for every person and every time period. The old saying that beauty is in the eye of the beholder remains truthful today. It is not only the person that dictates what is beautiful; the time period during which beauty is portrayed must be taken into account as well. The aesthetic ideal of the Renaissance is quite different from that of today's typical "beauty." When applying these questions to Cleopatra, the only way to judge her beauty is by the works in which she is depicted. One obvious obstacle with this judgment is that everyone creates his or her works during different time periods. Another problem with the depiction of Cleopatra's beauty is the artist's hidden agenda. Every artist that depicts Cleopatra has a reason for portraying her in the way that they do, weather i t be to show what a woman should not be or to promote anti-orientalism. The only concrete proof of Cleopatra's appearance is the marble statues and the coins that bear her face. Are these even the real Cleopatra? The real Cleopatra's beauty is a mix between physical beauty and actual beauty. Actual beauty can be defined as the interaction of personality and sensuality with the external. Cleopatra is lauded for her beauty but this beauty is, in fact, actual beauty. Would we consider Cleopatra beautiful in this day and age? I say no. Perhaps if we knew her and were ensnared by her legendary charms, she would be beautiful to us but one must decipher her personality before discovering her actual beauty. PHYSICAL BEAUTY Physica... ...100 C.E.]. Trans. Sir Thomas North (1579). Ed. Geoffrey Bullough, Narrative and Dramatic Sources of Shakespeare. Vol. V. Columbia UP, 1964. Pomeroy, Sarah B. Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity. New York: Schocken Books, 1995. Pomeroy, Sarah B. Women in Hellenistic Egypt: From Alexander to Cleopatra. New York: Schocken Books, 1984. Roddam, Frank. Cleopatra [Leonor Varela]. ABC, 1999. Shakespeare, William. Anthony and Cleopatra [1608]. Ed. Michael Neill. Oxford UP, 1994. Sidney, Mary. "The Tragedy of Antonie." In Renaissance Drama By Women: Texts and documents, Ed. S.P. Cerasano and Marion Wynne-Davies, 19-42. New York: Routledge, 1992. The Real Cleopatra: Cleopatra's Palace. Discovery, 1999. Wolf, Naomi. The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1991.

Gullivers Travels :: essays research papers

Gulliver’s Travels   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the novel, Gulliver’s Travels, Jonathan Swift addresses many things wrong with the society around him. His portrayal of English society shows how much he saw evil in it. He mainly addressed five issues throughout his book: war, government and politics,economy, society, and mankind as a whole.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Lilliputians uncover the idiocracy of war in our society. The Little-Ender and Big-Ender war all started on the debate of which way to break an egg. It didn’t matter that the entire reason of the war was ridiculous--no one knew that reason. They just fought because they knew that they fought long ago, and guessed that it should have been for a good reason.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gulliver himself even showed the absurdity of war when he explained the reasons England would fight to Mistress or the Queen of Brobdingnag. His justifications to fight were simply because the enemy was weaker and they wanted more land. This shows Swift’s sympathy for Ireland at that time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Swift believed that politics and government were games. The “election'; of “leaping and creeping'; of the Lilliputians was the basis of choosing their government officials. The government was ran with people that could go under or jump over a stick. The entire notion of classes and ranks seemed to be stupid to Swift.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The island of Brobdingnag portrayed Swift’s idea of a perfect society. Everyone was equal, and everyone got an equal share. There were no taxes and everyone got a say in how to deal with problems that arose.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Gulliver explained English society to the queen of Brobdingnag, she no longer regarded the little man with wonder. She proclaimed that the crimes of his society were lying and swindling, and the English were horrible vermin. When Gulliver decided to show the queen a wonder of his society, he seemed to further alienate himself because he showed her the destructiveness of his world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Swift probably knew that having knowledge was power. But the impractical seeking of knowledge was of no use to him. At the Academy, professors would stay inside for years at a time, letting nature outside go to waste. They would ponder different ways to perform simple tasks and looked for answers to questions that hadn’t any. They did not take a thing of nature as God intended it, rather they took it apart and analyzed it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Swift saw humankind as evil, as portrayed in the life of the Houyhnhms and Yahoos.

The Chi Omega Spirit - Overcoming Obstacles and Achieving Success :: Personal Narratives

The Chi Omega Spirit - Overcoming Obstacles and Achieving Success For as long as I can remember I have set high goals for myself regarding my future, my friendships, and my education. Entering college with these standards I knew that I wouldn’t settle for less than my best, and I would strive to amaze myself at my success. One thing I never fit into my planned path of achievement was any type of struggle, or obstacle that could alter the way I have thought for so long. The first month of college I fell upon an obstacle I never could have imagined. I suffered a knee injury and missed continuous classes following the accident as well as surgery that was necessary to my recovery. These things tested my strength as a person, but also as a student. It made everything a little more complicated, even the little things like getting out of bed in the morning. I pushed myself to see the end of the tunnel I felt seemed impossible to crawl out of. Many things helped me along the way, and just as I hadn’t imagined my accident, I couldn’t ha ve imagined the support I found everywhere around me. I know that I can overcome obstacles in the future now because of my determination for success and the use of helpful resources all around me. Adjustment to college life seemed like it wasn’t going to be all that it was made out to be for someone like me. I am a planner, and an independent person who has never had a problem figuring things out on my own. Joining my sorority offered other things to adjust to than most college freshman understand. It meant the I was representing Chi Omega in everything I do and there are certain standards to live by than just my own. I knew that if I wanted to be initiated after winter break I had to make certain grades, have the study hours, and the initiative to be at mandatory events and meetings when I was supposed to be. It was a perfect October day in Flagstaff for our first intramural flag football game. This was the first time I was representing Chi Omega, and the proud feeling I had of wearing our letters and being a part of the team I will never forget. I went in about half way through the first half of the game.

Ministers of Irish Education Essay

1. Since the foundation of the Irish Free State (1922) to the present day there have been 37 different ministers for education. Identify at least 4 of those ministers for education which you consider most significant. Critically evaluate the contribution they played in reforming the Irish Education Landscape. (50Marks) Today I will looked at 4 Irish Ministers of Education; John O’Sulllivan, Thomas Derrig, Donagh O’Malley and Ruairi Quinn and portray how I believe they contributed (and are contributing) hugely to the reform the Irish Education Landscape: 1. John M. O’Sullivan (Jan. 1926 – Mar. 1932) O’Sullivan was appointed to the Cabinet in 1926, serving under W. T. Cosgrave as Minister for Education. In 1926 a report from the Second National Programme Conference was presented to him as the Minister for Education. He accepted all proposals stated in the report to be recommended as a national curriculum. In 1926, he made Irish obligatory for registration as a Secondary School teacher & for ‘recognised’ (funded) schools. In 1926 under O’Sullivan, the School Attendance Act came into existence. It made it obligatory for all children between the age of 6 and 14 would attend school. O’Sullivan is also responsible for: Establishing the Commission on Technical Education in 1927 Setting up the Preparatory Colleges to train primary teachers in 1927 Introducing the Primary Certificate in 1929 As it became clear that many could not access suitable second level education discussions began on creating a continuation course to provide general education in a vocational style. The Vocational Education Act, 1930 was implemented by O’Sullivan. It reformed the technical education branch of the Department of Education and local Technical Education Boards. It introduced vocational schools, a new type of school with a greater emphasis on trade and commerce in courses. These courses were broken into continuation courses and traditional technical education courses. There were those who considered the system revolutionary and there were warnings of danger to faith and morals which could arise in the new multi denominational and co-educational schools to be provided. This was the state’s first attempt to take an active hand in establishing schools outside the power of the Roman Catholic Church. The Vocational Education Act was thee major ministerial achievement of the Minister. The act provided an avenue for a new approach to post primary education and to the introduction of the concept of education as a lifelong process. Here then was a new system which set out to educate through the medium of subjects themselves directly related to the world of work. It was not easily accepted. Education was regarded as the pursuit of abstract learning and the status of the educated person was almost in direct ratio to his/her inability to work with his/her hands. Even in today’s society, there is a still some stigmatism attached to attending a VEC school. However in reality such schools contribute so much to today’s society and as such Today we have 213 VEC second level schools and many further education, youthreach, traveller and prison education centres – a testament to O’Sullivan’s rein. 2. Thomas Derrig (Mar. 1932 – Sep. 1939) At the June 1927 general election he was elected to Dail Eireann as a Fianna Fail TD for Carlow–Kilkenny. In Eamon de Valera’s first government in 1932 Derrig was appointed Minister for Education. Derrig has been influential in cultivating of our education system – but not in a positive way: Derrig initiated a review of industrial and reformatory schools and the rules under the Children Act 1908, resulting in the critical 1936 Cussen Report, which he shelved. His lack of action was noted in 2009 when the Ryan Report examined the subsequent management of these â€Å"residential institutions†; Derrig was the first minister to seek a report that could have resulted in much-needed reforms. A call for public inquiry into industrial schools was rejected by Minister of Education. Thomas Derrig because â€Å"it would serve no useful purpose†. It has been suggested that he did not want to follow British law reforms in the 1920s and 1930s because of his strong anti-British views, and that Irish children had suffered needlessly as a result. Under Derrig’s rein, he not only effect teacher salaries, but also banned married female teachers from working. According to Diarmaid Ferriter (2004) in his book The Transformation of Ireland 1900 – 2000, the marriage ban imposed on female primary teachers from 1934 to 1958 seemed to attract little public comment, despite the fact that many untrained single teachers were replacing trained married female teachers. The INTO was not vocal in objecting on the basis of gender equality, and whatever opposition existed in the union was overshadowed by its campaigns on wage levels. This was a sign of the times in my opinion, where women had very little power or voice. It is probably only in the past few decades that this move to ban female teachers has really been viewed as scandalous and backwards. While the rest of Europe moved forward with education reform after World War Two, Derrig resisted such reviews. Derrig’s narrow mindedness cost us – academically and for so many young innocent children –physically and emotionally. 3. Donogh O’Malley (July 1966 – Mar. 1968) Following Fianna Fail’s return to government following the 1965 general election O’Malley joined the cabinet as Minister for Health. He spent just over one year in this position before he was appointed Minister for Education, a position where he will be forever remembered for his dynamism as a minister. Having succeeded another dynamic young minister, Patrick Hillary, O’Malley acted swiftly to introduce the recommendations that were made in an official report regarding education. Shortly after he was appointed he announced that from 1969 all schools up to Intermediate Certificate level would be free and that free buses would bring students from rural area to the nearest school. O’Malley seems to have made this decision himself without consulting other ministers, however, he did discuss it with Lemass. Jack Lynch, who as Minister for Finance had to find the money to pay for it, was certainly not consulted and was dismayed at the announcement. In spite of this O’Malley’s proposals were hugely popular with the public and it was impossible for the government to go back on its word. As minister O’Malley also extended the school transport scheme and commissioned the building of new non-denominational comprehensive and community schools in areas where they were lacking. He also introduced Regional Technical Colleges (RTCs), now called Institutes of Technology, in areas where there was no third level college in proximity. The best example of this successful policy is Limerick, now a university, where O’Malley is credited with taking the steps to ensure the university came into existence. His plan to merge Trinity College, Dublin and University College Dublin aroused huge controversy and was not successful, despite being supported by his cabinet colleague Brian Lenihan. Access to third level education was also extended as the old scholarship system was replaced by a system of means-tested grants which gave easier access to less well-off students. Because of O’Malley, the working class and middle class of Ireland are far better. Four decades on from the 1960s and we have a 4 fold increase in retention rates, with 82% retention of students to Leaving Cert. However I argue the validity of the grants system that he hoped put in place. As Niamh Bhreathnach commented in the Irish Independent in September 2002, O’Malley would be turning in his grave if he knew how the grants system was been exploited at that time. As the students of Ireland fight to hold onto the grants system as we know it, I personally feel it’s a pity that O’Malley didn’t introduce a student loan system like England’s system. It certainly would cost the Irish Taxpayer less. 4. Ruairi Quinn (2011 – Present) Whilst still in office, I believe that R. Quinn has and will continue to significantly contribute in the reforming the Irish Education Landscape. Within one year, Ruairi Quinn has shown how an energetic Minister can drive the education agenda and push for change. In April 2012 the report on The Forum on Patronage and Pluralism was published. In the Primary Sector, The fact that 96% of primary schools in Ireland are under denominational patronage is unique among developed countries. The group has advised that the first phase in divesting schools should involve 258 schools in 18 dioceses across 47 areas. How the Minister will carry out this task remains to be seen. However he is determined to carry this out and I believe as such it will be one of the most significant changes in our educational landscape since O’Malley’s introduction of free schooling. The 8 subject Junior Certificate currently being introduced by Quinn will change the landscape of learning for our students. I hope that with this introduction, I can as a teacher continue to use active learning activities in the classroom and concentrate on lifelong learning rather than the system of rote learning that exists at the minute. The minister also announced in May 2012 that Chinese will become a subject in the Leaving Certificate and he also announced an optional short course on Chinese language and culture which will be made available as part of the new Junior Cert cycle programme from 2014. As Quinn’s ministry continues to push on with the ideology of a 2 year teaching course, I am glad I am completing this course in 2012 and not in 2014. While I understand the ideology of this move, I do not believe it will improve teaching standards in Ireland. I believe that scholar students (regardless of their vocation) will look at the time it takes to become a teacher and the monetary rewards of it (which unfortunately is on the decrease) and the fact they could have for instance a medical degree in the same amount of time with brighter economic aspirations. It is my sincere hope that such visions do not come through. Today I have looked at 4 Irish Ministers of Education; John O’Sulllivan, Thomas Derrig, Donagh O’Malley and Ruairi Quinn and I truly believe they contributed (and are contributing) hugely to the reform the Irish Education Landscape.