Existing relationship between attitudes and motivations of high achieving students to their academic success in science at captain albert aguilar national high school Essay Example for Free

Existing relationship between attitudes and motivations of high achieving students to their academic success in science at captain albert aguilar national high school Essay This study primarily identified the different attitudes and motivations of high achieving students of Captain Albert Aguilar National High School. Specifically, this research identified (1) the significance of attitudes and motivations to students specially those have high level of achievement to their academic success in science and the importance f the study to the school, teachers and students, (2) the percentage of the students that have high interest towards science and those have low interest to learn science, (3) the relationship between the attitudes and motivations of high achieving students to their academic success in science while engage in a public high school. To execute this, the researchers applied Descriptive Research which falls under the category of a Non-experimental design. A total of 44 respondents were chosen with the use of Purposive Sampling as guided by the qualifications set. Self-Recording/Reporting Approach was used to collect the data with the utilization of a questionnaire. To describe and summarized the data, Inferential Statistics was used. The weighed mean was computed to utilize for the Pearson Product-Moment correlation to examine the relationship between the attitudes and motivations of high achieving students and their academic success in science. FINDINGS: 1) Is there an existing relationship between student’s attitudes and academic success? By using the Pearson product moment correlation, the researchers found out that theres an existing significant relationship between the 2 variables. It has a high correlation shows that students attitudes greatly affect the academically status of the student. (Respondents dont find science as an interesting subject, thats why their academic success can have an average grade of 85-88) 2) Is there an existing relationship between students motivation and their academic success in science? An average or marked relationship had identified the 2 variables in this research. It has a moderate correlation that shows students are motivated enough and v have a good academic success. 3) What are the significances of the researchers study?The significant of the researchers study is to widen student’s intelligence quotient with the cooperation of the community, school, and teaching profession and to measure the thinking ability of a high school students that stands as a basic building blocks of success without successfully passing individual exams. CONCLUSION: The researcher, conclude that there is an existing relationship between students attitudes motivations to their academic success in science. There are also factors that can affect academic performance. These factors might be an advantage or disadvantage and might be classified as learning environment, school facilities, teachers teaching method the attitude and motivation of the student toward the subject as well. Based on the study, the students dont find science as an interesting subject but they can be motivated. Thus, the hypothesis is rejected since it was ascertained in the study that there is a significant relationship between student’s attitude and their academic success. RECOMMENDATION: It is therefore recommended that even if the school facilities are perceived as adequately available and accessible for use, they should improve further for maximumutilization and more effective science instruction. Furthermore, the students should be given hands-on experiencesin the subject and may enhance their understanding on the subject.The school should be design a teacher development program that would maximize the teachers capabilities and enhance their effectiveness in teaching subject which may focus on the content of the subject. The teachers should be sent to seminars in the divisional, regional levels so that they could become better more effective in teaching science, thereby raising the student’s performance in the subject. It is also manner of satisfying their professional needs and for personal enrichment. Moreover, teachers should integrate values in every lesson as part of value formation. The teachers should give emphasis on creative approach in learning since this is where the students could expressed themselves in terms of creativity critical mindedness relative to the subject matter. The school heads should intensify the monitoring on the implementation of the DepEds programs, designed to improve the students performance. The students should be encouraged to develop a good study habits so that they could also perform better in the subject. Researchers also recommend the overviews of the Tools for Teaching by Barbara Gross Davis. Give frequent, early, positive feedback that supports students beliefs that they can do well. Ensure opportunities for students success by assigning tasks that are neither too easy nor too difficult. Help students find personal meaning and value in the material. Create an atmosphere that is open and positive. Help students feel that they are valued members of learning community. (Jossey-Bass Publishers:San Francisco, 1993)

Poverty Java Poor

Poverty Java Poor This thesis examines the incidence of poverty in Central Java in the period from 1996 to 2002. Susenas expenditure data in 1996, 1999 and 2002 were used to measure the incidence of poverty based on the Foster, Greer, and Thorbeckce (FGT) index. Using the decomposition formula developed by Huppi and Ravallion (1991a, 1991b), this thesis also investigates the effects of urban and rural poverty on the change in overall poverty. The incidence of poverty was higher in rural than that urban areas before the economic crisis. However, the urban poverty has worsened more significantly than the rural poverty after the crisis, as indicated by the higher headcount and poverty gap index in 1999. Spatially, poor people were distributed unevenly across districts. There were two major clusters of poor districts: one in the eastern part and the other in the middle of Central Java. One of the policy implications from our analysis is that poverty reduction programs seem to be more effective if they are targeting the poor in specific location. Poverty reduction programs should be targeted both on rural and urban poor people with specific policy measures and instruments between the rural and urban sectors. Since economic growth is found to be very effective in reducing poverty in both rural and urban areas, growth promoting policies in general should be conducive to alleviating poverty across the country. CHAPTER 1 Introduction 1.1. Background Central Java is one of six provinces in Java Island, which is the heart of Indonesia. It is located between West Java and East Java. Administratively, it consists of 29 kabupatens (regencies) and 6 kota (municipalities). According to data from Indonesia Population Census, the population of Central Java was 31,223,258 in 2000 and 31,997,968 in 2005. Compared to other provinces, it is the third most populous province in Indonesia, with the percentage of 15.2 % in 1995, 15.2 % in 2000 and 14.6% in 2005 out of the total national population of the country. According to Indonesia poverty information data base, 19.04 % of the poor people of Indonesia lived in this area. Among other provinces in Java, Central Java has the lowest GRDP. Until 1996, the growth rate of the GRDP was approximately 7% per year. In 1997, its GRDP shrank and grew negatively due to the economic crisis. The economic crisis following the currency depreciation triggered the increase of price of basic needs, especially foods. The inflation rate in Central Java increased sharply from 5.4 % in 1996 to 10.9 % in 1997 and reached 75.5 % in 1998. This undoubtedly affected the living standard of the people. The people not only suffered from the price increase, but also lost their jobs. Many industries collapsed, increasing the unemployment rate in Indonesia, including Central Java that brought many households into poverty. 1 1.2. Objectives of Study Firstly, the objective of this study is to examine the poverty incidence in Central Java in 1996, 1999, and 2002. By calculating the incidence of poverty using the FGT measure for each kabupaten and kota, this study tries to describe the spatial distribution of poor people at the district level. It aims at finding out the most severe districts in the period from 1996 to 2002. Using the same poverty measurement, the incidence of poverty is also measured for urban and rural areas, to investigate where the poor are concentrated. Secondly, using the decomposition formula developed by Huppi and Ravallion (1991a), this study also aims at investigating the influence of poverty incidence in urban and rural areas on aggregate poverty changes in Central Java. 1.3. Organization This study has six chapters, including this introductory chapter. Chapter 2 provides a literature review of studies on the impact of economic crisis on poverty and living standard in Indonesia, and the spatial analysis on poverty. Chapter 3 presents an overview of Central Java economic performance in 1996-2002 and poverty reduction policies that have been implemented in Central Java. Chapter 4 describes the method and the data used in this study. Chapter 5 presents the pattern of poverty in urban and rural areas and pattern of poverty by kabupaten/kota. Finally, chapter six presents the conclusions. CHAPTER 2 Literature Review 2.1. The Impacts of Macroeconomics Condition on Poverty Studies on the impact of the changes in macroeconomic condition and government policy on poverty have been conducted by many researchers. Their objectives were to find desirable development policies to facilitate poverty alleviation. One of the interesting issues is the impact of the financial crisis that caused high inflation in the mid 1997. Since poverty is often defined in terms of income, price changes must have a significant effect on individuals living standard. The external shock that affected macroeconomic condition in Indonesia in the mid 1980s was the declining of oil prices which caused GDP per capita growth rates to fall sharply (Huppi and Ravallion, 1991b). To examine how this shock affected the aggregate poverty in Indonesia, Huppy and Ravalion (1991a) employed the Foster, Greer, and Thorbecke (FGT) index to measure the incidence of poverty. Using Susenas data in 1984 and 1987, they developed a decomposition formula to assess relative gains to the poor within the specific sectors and the contribution of each sector to the change in aggregate poverty. They found that aggregate poverty, both in urban and rural areas in Indonesia declined during this adjustment period. 3 Using the same data and method, Huppi and Ravallion (1991b) continued their research to examine the change in the sectoral structure of poverty in the adjustment period. They employed their decomposition formula to examine the sectoral gains due to the reduction in aggregate poverty. According to the findings, a high concentration of poverty was found in rural farming areas, therefore gains within rural farming sector had the highest contribution to the aggregate poverty reduction. An increase in rural farming sectors mean income and consumption had strong contribution due to aggregate poverty reduction. This study also found that more than a half of the gains were contributed by rural farming sector in Central Java and East Java. After the adjustment period, Indonesia was hit by the financial crisis in the mid 1997, which caused a significant decline in GDP per capita. Friedman and Levinsohn (2002) analyzed the distributional impact of Indonesias financial crisis on household welfare. They used the consumption module of the 1996 National Socio-Economic Survey (SUSENAS) as the pre crisis data and monthly price data for 44 cities throughout Indonesia from January 1997 to October 1998. They matched both data to obtain compensating variation which is the amount of money sufficient to compensate households following price changes and enable a return to pre crisis level utility (Friedman and Levinsohn, 2002). According to their finding, the impact of the crisis on household welfare depends on the consumption choice, sources of income, and location, i.e., urban and rural areas. In general, households were severely affected, and the urban poor was the most adversely affected by the crisis. Rural poor were not affecte d as much as the urban poor because of their ability to produce food to mitigate high inflation. Skoufias et al.(2000) also conducted a research about the changes in household welfare, poverty and inequality during the crisis. They used the 100 village survey data conducted by CBS (Indonesian Central bureau of Statistics) in May 1997 and August 1998. Using the social welfare function developed by Atkinson in 1970, where welfare at time t is the function of the mean level of per capita consumption expenditure (PCE) in period t multiplied by one minus the level of inequality in the distribution of PCE in period t, they investigated the changes in households welfare. They used the Foster, Greer, and Thorbecke (FGT) index to calculate the incidence of poverty, while to calculate inequality, they used the generalized entropy class of indices, the Gini index and Atkinson index. The findings of this study were that the welfare of Indonesias household decreased in the first year of the economic crisis and the incidence of poverty doubled. One of the other studies about the dynamics of poverty during the crisis was Suharyadi et al. in 2003. To obtain a complete picture on the changes in poverty during the crisis, they used a consistent series of data which were obtained from various sources. The method used for estimating the change in the headcount ratio with the poverty line equal to the food poverty line plus non food poverty line after considering the change in prices (inflation rate) during the crisis. The result was that the headcount ratio fluctuated over the period, and reached the peak in 1998 then declined until 2001. After 2001, it started to increase, but until the early 2002. This study found that there were approximately 36 million additional people who experienced absolute poverty. Suharyadi and Sumarto (2003) investigated poverty and vulnerability in Indonesia before and after the crisis. The study used the three-step feasible generalized least square (FGLS) method to investigate the vulnerability, by combining 1996 SUSENAS as pre crisis data and 1999 SUSENAS as the post crisis data with the village potential (PODES) datasets. The result showed that the poverty incidence increased significantly, and the chronic poor (the poor who have consumption expenditures below the poverty line and will most likely stay poor in the near future) increased from 20% before crisis to 35% after the crisis. ( Suharyadi and Sumarto, 2003). Using SUSENAS data of 1984 and 1990, Cameron (2000) examined the impacts of the changes in age, educational structure, and industrial structure on poverty and inequality in Java by employing the method used by DiNardo et al., (1996). This study modified the method used by DiNardo by decomposing the changes in cumulative distribution functions, Lorenz curves and generalized Lorenz curves. Following DiNardo, the decomposition was presented visually rather than in statistical form. The results show that poverty in Java decreased during the period from 1984 to 1990, but income inequality increased in the same period. Increase in educational attainment, income of less educated workers and income of outside agriculture workers contributed to the poverty reduction in Java. On the other hand, an increase in non-agricultural income and education attainment also contributed to the inequality increase. 2.2. Spatial Analysis on Poverty Poverty can also be analyzed spatially. It is a spatially heterogeneous phenomenon where poor people tend to be clustered in specific places. Geographic variation in the incidence and magnitude of poverty is due to such spatial factors as natural resource endowments and access to services including health care, education, labor and products markets (Henninger and Snel, 2002). Islam and Khan in 1986 conducted a study on spatial pattern of poverty and inequality by using Susenas data in 1976. Inequality measures used in this study were Gini ratio, Atkinson index, Theil T index, and Theil L index, while to measure poverty, they used head count index, poverty gap index and Sen index, with different poverty lines for each province. This study investigated the correlation between poverty (using Sen index) and income inequality (using Atkinson index) by categorizing the incidence of poverty and income inequality into three categories, low, medium and high. Seven provinces, i.e., Jambi, South Kalimantan, Aceh, East Kalimantan, North Sumatra, Bali, and Central Kalimantan, had low poverty and low inequality. Six provinces, i.e., Yogyakarta, West Java, West Nusa Tenggara, South Sumatra, Riau and Bengkulu had medium level of poverty and medium level of inequality. Provinces which had high levels of poverty and inequality were Lampung, North Sulawesi, East Nusa Tengga ra, Central Sulawesi, Maluku, South Sulawesi and South East Sulawesi. Jakarta had low poverty but high inequality, West Kalimantan had a medium level of poverty but high inequality, West Sumatra had a medium level of poverty and low inequality, while Central and East Java had high poverty and a medium level of inequality. To examine the effect of a regional poverty target program in Indonesia, Daimon (2001) conducted a research on the spatial dimension of welfare and poverty. He found that there were significantly different social effects of the economic crisis across geographical locations. This study used spatial econometric method to estimate the spatial poverty trap in Indonesia. The data used was the Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS) in 1993, which included 6,000 households throughout 13 provinces in Indonesia. Poverty target program, called Inpres Desa Tertinggal (IDT), was designed to empower the local communities. Empowerment of local communities was the key factor to remedy the targeting policy. CHAPTER 3 Overview of Central Java Economic Performance in 1996-2002 and Poverty Reduction Policies in Central Java 3.1. Overview of Central Java Economic Performance in 1996, 1999 and 2002 Located in the middle of Java Island, Central Java has a strategic position due to its regional economic development. Its northern part, which mainly has a low terrain and passed by main transportation route, has various kinds of economic activities, particularly a lucrative fishery on Java Sea. For that reason, infrastructure developed more rapidly in this area. While the southern parts main economic activity is a less productive fishery, the central part is mainly dominated by farming due to the mountainous terrain. This province consists of 35 districts, consisting of 29 kabupatens (regencies) and 6 kotas (municipalities). 8 Central Java is the third most populous province in Indonesia. The population of Central Java was 29,698,845 in 1996, 30,761,221 in 1999 and 31,691,866 in 2002. Kabupatens Brebes, Cilacap and Banyumas were the largest districts in terms of population; while Kotas Surakarta, Tegal and Pekalongan had the highest population density. The population density of those three districts was 11,734/km2, 8,609/km2, and 7,213/km2, respectively. . Generally, per capita income decreased in the period from 1997 to 1998. It should be noted that during this period, economic crisis occurred. Only three districts (Kab. Cilacap, Kota Semarang and Kab. Brebes) experienced an increasing per capita income during this period. Based on data presented in table 3.3, 1998s growth rate was negative, due to the economic crisis in 1997, which shrank the GRDP from Rp. 43,129,839 million in 1997 to Rp. 38,065,274 million in 1998. Looking at the economic structure, the largest contributor of Central Java economy was the manufacturing industry, followed by trade and agriculture The structure of Central Java in terms of employment was slightly different from the structure in terms of GRDP. As shown in table 3.5, the highest share of employment was registered by the agriculture sector, followed by trade and manufacturing. It indicated that agriculture sector had lower productivity compared to trade and manufacture. The 1997s economic crisis also had a negative impact on employment because many industries had to reduce their production cost, mainly their labor cost. The number of unemployed people increased from 552.914 people in 1996 to 599.237 people in 1997, and 831.435 people in 1998. 3.2. Poverty Reduction Policies in Central Java In 2002 central government initiated a poverty reduction program by establishing an independent board called Komite Penanggulangan Kemiskinan (KPK) or The Poverty Reduction Committee and Komite Penanggulangan Kemiskinan Daerah (KPKD) or The Regional Poverty Reduction Committee in each province. Poverty reduction policies in Indonesia are classified into two groups. The first is aiming at community development and the second includes the safety net programs. The aims of community development based programs are to create job opportunity, to develope local/regional capacity, infrastructure building, and to improve community based activities. These programs include the following programs. Inpres Desa Tertinggal ( IDT) / Presidential Instruction to Underdeveloped Villages According to Daly and Fane (2002), this is the first anti-poverty program in Indonesia. The aim is to raise the employment opportunities and household expenditures through community development. This program was targeted to underdeveloped villages in the form of a revolving block grant, where each village accepted Rp.20,000,000.00 per year for 3 years. The fund was distributed among groups of people based on each groups proposal, and should be used for productive activities. Program Pengembangan Kecamatan (PPK) / Kecamatan Development Program. Kecamatan is a sub district which consists of several villages. The Kecamatan Development Program (PPK) was a program that also included a revolving block grant, but the fund was distributed on kecamatan level. Each kecamatan is given a fund from Rp. 750,000,000.00 up to Rp. 1,000,000,000.00, which could be used to support the private sector economic activities as revolving loans or as a capital for providing public infrastructure. This program was supported by NGOs. Program Penanggulangan Kemiskinan Perkotaan (P2KP ) / Urban Poverty Alleviation Program The idea of this program was almost the same as PPK, except that this program was targeted specifically to kecamatan in urban areas. The aim is to mitigate poverty in urban areas by supporting economic activities with loans and creating jobs for unskilled workers. Each group given the fund has to return the loan within two years with low interest. 4. Program Percepatan Pembangunan Daerah Tertinggal (P3DT )/ Supporting Infrastructure Development of Underdeveloped Villages (Desa). This is the newest program which replaced IDT program. The program has been implemented by local governments and NGOs. Hence, the NGOs help to facilitate recipient groups in each of the planning, implementation, evaluation, and report making stages. Program Pemberdayaan Masyarakat akibat Dampak Krisis Ekonomi (PDMDKE)/ Regional Empowerment to Overcome Economic Crisis Impact. This is a special program to overcome the impact of economic crisis through labor intensive activities. The aim of this program was to create jobs and to build public infrastructure. Gerakan Terpadu Pengentasan Kemiskinan (Gerdu Taskin) / Integrated Movement for Poverty Eradication. This program was administered and coordinated under The Ministry of Demography / Indonesian Family Planning Board ( BKKBN). There are three targeted groups: Family This group includes poor household, the elderly, the disabled, the unskilled unemployed workers. The program provides, for example, foods, and subsidized contraception. Regional/areas Underdeveloped villages, slum areas, coastal areas are included in this category. The programs provides basic infrastructure, such as clean water piping and public toilets. It is also used to improve housing quality in these areas. Institutions This includes governments and non governmental organizations. The program is aimed at empowering these institutions in order to overcome poverty. Social safety net programs are in the second group of poverty reduction policies. These programs were made mainly in response to the 1997 economic crisis. They are aimed at meeting basic needs, by providing subsidized rice for the poor, supplementary foods for primary school pupils, and supplementary foods for children under five years old. Under social safety net programs, governments provided free health services and subsidies for primary school fees to the poor people. They also gave a specific block grant for schools and hospitals. In 2005, a new social safety net program started, after the central government reduced oil subsidy, especially a subsidy for kerosene which is widely used by poor households. Under this new program, each poor household received the sum of Rp. 100.000 per month. CHAPTER 4 Data and Methodology 4.1. Data This study used national socioeconomic survey (Susenas) carried out in 1996, 1999 and 2002. Susenas is a consumption based survey, conducted annually by the Central Bureau of Statistics of Indonesia (CBS) since 1963 (Core Susenas). In addition, there are three modules of Susenas that has been carried out every three years since 1981. One of the modules is the consumption expenditure module that captures more than 300 items of consumption expenditure for representative of 30 provinces. This study used the consumption expenditure module for Central Java that was conducted in 1996,1999 and 2002. The sample size for Central Java Province was 6,803 in 1996, 7,303 in 1999, and 7,374 in 2002, covering 35 districts. The consumption expenditure module is classified into food and non food categories. The food category consists of 216, 214 and 216 items, whereas the non food category consists of 103, 105 in 1996, 1999 and 2002, respectively. This module also presents the way those items are obtained, whether they are purchased in the market, self produced, or received as a gift. 17 All the data are in 1996 constant price because in the mid 1997, Indonesia was hit by the economic crisis that caused the growth rate of GDP to decline, from a positive 4.7 percent in 1997 to a negative 13.1 per cent in 1998. The crisis affected the living standards of the people because the inflation rate increased substantially due to large depreciation in rupiah against US dolar. In 1998 and 1999 the inflation rate was 57% and 20% respectively, but declined to 4 % in 2000. It increased again to more than 10% in 2001 and 2002. Therefore, nominal household expenditures need to be deflated using the consumer price index in 1996 as the base year. Household consumption expenditure data are very useful when we estimate individuals living standard. Many researchers have used household consumption expenditure as an indicator of an individuals living standard. The reason is that consumption expenditure is a better welfare indicator than income. The data can be used to measure poverty by setting a poverty line based on consumption expenditure. According to Central Bureau of Statistics of Indonesia (CBS), the poverty line is defined as the total expenditure in rupiah that are able to purchase foods needed to satisfy 2,100 calories energy requirement per capita per day. It is based on the recommendation of the National Workshop on Food and Nutrition in 1978, which states that in order to stay healthy, a person must consume as much as 2100 calories per day (Maksum, 2004). The method for computing the value of the daily minimum standard of living has improved over year. The poverty line was determined separately for urban and rural areas and also for each province since the basket of food items differs among urban and rural areas and provinces. The calculation is based on the average consumption of basic items, including 52 foods items and 46 non-food items. The poverty line set by BPS for Central Java in 1996 is Rp. 30,499 for rural, Rp. 40,075 for urban and Rp. 33,444 for overall (urban and rural) in terms of monthly per capita expenditure. 4.2. Methodology 4.2.1. The Measurement of Poverty In order to measure poverty, the class of poverty measures developed by Foster, Greer and Thorbecke (FGT) will be employed (Foster et al., 1984). By using the FGT index, a quantitative estimate of the effect of a change in subgroup poverty on total poverty can be obtained. The index is defined as follows: (1) where is total number of people, is the poverty line, is the total number of poor people, is the expenditure of individual and ÃŽ ± is a parameter. The formula can be redefined according to the value of ÃŽ ± . When ÃŽ ± = 0 (2) It is simply , that is the proportion of people living below the poverty line, known as the head count index . When ÃŽ ± = 1 (3) It presents the extent to which each individuals expenditure falls below the poverty line as a percentage of the poverty line. It is called the poverty gap index. When ÃŽ ± = 2 (4) It measures the severity of poverty. P2 is distribution-sensitive for any transfer of expenditure, since the square term gives a higher weight to poorer people. 4.2.2. Decomposing Change in Overall Poverty To analyze the change in overall poverty over the study period, this study uses the decomposition formula developed by Huppi and Ravallion (1991a, 1991b), where the change in overall poverty is decomposed into intrasectoral, population shift, and interaction effects. The decomposition formula is given as follows. In this decomposition analysis, we consider two sectors: urban ( = 1) and rural sectors ( = 2). (5) In this formula, is the incidence of poverty in sector i in year t, as measured by the FGT index with the parameter , while is the population share of sector i in year t. It should be noted that in this formula, refers to the population share, rather than the total number of people. presents the change in overall poverty due to the changes in the intrasectoral poverty ( = 1, 2). presents the change in overall poverty due to population shifts, i.e., due to the change in the distribution of population between urban and rural sectors. presents the interaction effect, which captures the correlation between the sectoral and population shift effects. Since this study uses Susenas data for 1996, 1999, and 2002, we analyze the change in overall poverty in two periods: from 1996 to 1999 and from 1999 to 2002. 4.2.3. Mapping the Incidence of Poverty Using Arcview GIS 3.3 (a software package), this study presents the incidence of poverty by Kabupatens (regencies) and Kotas (municipalities) on a map using the FGT index. The aim is to show the spatial distribution of poverty in Central Java, i.e., to see whether poor people are concentrated or dispersed. In order to present the distribution of poverty on a map, we classify all districts (i.e., all Kabupatens and Kotas) in Central Java into three groups: low, medium, and high poverty groups. The low poverty group includes those districts that have the FGT value smaller than , while the high poverty group includes those having the value higher than , where is the average value of the FGT index, is the standard deviation. The medium poverty group consists of those between and . CHAPTER 5 Poverty Incidence in Central Java From 1996 to 2002 5.1. Incidence of Poverty by Location (Urban and Rural Sectors) The incidence of poverty was higher in rural areas than that in urban areas in 1996 by any FGT measures (. The headcount index ()was 0.189 in rural areas, while it was 0.172 in urban areas in 1996, its means that rural areas had a larger proportion of poor people than urban areas. The poverty gap index () was also higher in rural than urban areas, as it was 0.032 and 0.029 in rural and urban areas, respectively, meaning that rural poverty was deeper than urban areas in 1996, though this was due mostly to the fact that rural areas had a larger proportion of poor people than urban areas. 22 The incidence of poverty increased significantly both in rural and urban areas in 1999. But the increase was more substantial in urban than rural areas, as the headcount index () was 0.215 and 0.227 in rural and urban areas in 1999, respectively. In 1999, both the headcount index () and poverty gap index () were larger in urban than rural areas. The economic crisis that occurred in 1997 seems to have a much larger impact on urban than rural areas in Central Java. Food prices skyrocketed because of the large depreciation of Rupiah against the U.S. dollar after the economic crisis, and many people lost their jobs due to the collapse of some industries. But the effects were much less severe in rural areas than urban areas, since many rural people were able to produce their foods by themselves, so that they could mitigate the impact of the inflation. In 2002, Central Java seems to have recovered from the crisis, as both the headcount index () and poverty gap index () decreased prominently in both rural and urban areas. The headcount index () was 0.100 and 0.099 in urban and rural areas, respectively, meaning that mere 10 percent of the people in Central Java were under the poverty line in 2002. In 1999 and 2002, rural areas had a much larger value than urban areas (0.020 vs. 0.012 in 1999 and 0.009 vs. 0.004 in 2002), even though both the headcount index () and poverty gap index () were smaller in rural than urban areas. This indicates that while rural areas had a smaller proportion of poor people than urban areas, their poverty was much more severe than urban poverty, meaning that there were a large number of extremely poor people in rural areas whose consumption expenditures were far smaller than the poverty line. 5.2. Incidence of Poverty by District (Kabupaten and Kota) and Its Spatial Pattern In 1996, Kabupaten Blora had the highest head count index (), which was followed by Kabupatens Grobogan, Wonosobo, Sragen, and Temanggung. On the other hand, Kota Magelang had the smallest head count index (), which was followed by Kotas Salatiga, Tegal, Pekalongan, and Kabupaten Pekalongan. Except Kabupatens Pekalongan, Demak, Sukoharjo, and Kudus, kabupatens had much larger values of the head count index () than kotas, showing that poor people were concentrated in kabupatens. The poverty gap index () had almost the same pattern as the head count index () in 1996. Kabupaten Blora had the highest poverty gap index (), which was followed by Kabupatens Wonosobo, Sragen, Grobogan, Magelang, and Temanggung. On the other hand, Kota Magelang had the smallest poverty gap index (), which was followed by Kotas Salatiga, Tegal, Pekalongan, and Kabupaten Pekalongan. Again, except a few kabupatens, kabupatens had much larger index values than kotas. The number on the map shows the rank of districts with respect to poverty measures within Central Java. There were two major geographical clusters of poor districts

Romeo And Juliet Essay :: essays research papers

Romeo and Juliet Essay There was action and there was tragedy, but put it all together to make the perfect comedy and a perfect tragic story. William Shakespeare wrote the play Romeo and Juliet, said to be the finest written play in history, for its originality and it's many plots. This story will take you through a lot of mixed emotion and will show you what a true feud is. This story is laid out perfectly because of its true holding and both family's passion for their children. William Shakespeare wrote the story to show how Romeo and Juliet's love for each other will show their youth and immaturity. Their over reacting cost them their life. At such a young age they thought they could never love another being again, and so, " A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life."(Act one scene one) The Capulet's and the Montague were the " Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Varona".(Act one scene one) They were what separated Romeo and Juliet for their love for each other. Due to the fact that the two households were in this feud, Romeo's family would not allow him to be with Juliet because she was a Capulet, and he was a Montague. Juliet's family also would not let her be with Romeo because he was a Montague. Romeo and Juliet get married without the consent of their parent, and without them knowing. The only way Juliet could be with Romeo is to either die or run away. Unfortunately things backfire when Juliet is forced to be married to man of her fathers choice, when Romeo was banished for killing Tybalt. After that point things get tough for Juliet and she makes a plan to be with Rome and she takes a sleeping drug. When Romeo doesn't get the message that it is just a sleeping drug he goes to Varona and gets a deadly drug and drinks it next to Juliet 's death bed, knowing that it will soon be his to. As he is drinking it he said "O you the two doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss a dateless bargain to engrossing death"(Act five scene three), he drinks the drug as Juliet is waking up, she finds him dead next to her and kills herself to be with Romeo once again, forever this time. Age was not a real big deal back then so when they were to get married or made to reproduce they did it under their parents authority.

The Lottery Essay -- essays research papers

Shirley Jackson’s insights and observations about man and society are reflected in her famous short story "The Lottery". Many of her readers have found this story shocking and disturbing. Jackson reveals two general attitudes in this story: first, the shocking reality of human’s tendency to select a scapegoat and second, society as a victim of tradition and ritual. Throughout history we have witnessed and participated in many events, where, in time of turmoil and hardship, society has a tendency to seize upon a scapegoat as means of resolution. The people of the village had been taught to believe that in order for their crop to be abundant for the year, some individual had to be sacrificed. "Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon", said Old Man Warner. The irony here is that villagers are aware that this act is inhumane but none want to stand and voice their opinion, for fear of going against society’s standards and being outcast or being stoned. "It’s not the way it used to be," Old Man Warner said clearly. "People ain’t the way they used to be." Fear that if they go against society they might be chosen as the lottery winner or there might be a truth, after all, that it would disrupt their corn season. "Some places have already quit lotteries," Mrs. Adams said. "Nothing but trouble in that," Old Man Warner said stoutly. "Pack of young fools." In stoning Tessie, the villagers treat her as a scapegoat onto wh...

The Rocking-Horse Winner by D.H. Lawerence :: The Rocking-Horse Winner, D.H. Lawerence

"The Rocking-Horse Winner" by D.H. Lawerence talks about a family who lived in style, but always had anxiety in their house. There was never enough money. The parents knew the children were growing up and they would need money to send their children to school. The house came to be haunted with the phrase: There must be more money! There must be more money! The children could here it aloud but never dared to say it. The mother believed they were poor due to the fact her husband had no luck. One day the boy asked his mother what luck really was. She replied,"It's what causes you to have money. If you are lucky you have money. That's why it it's better to be rich. If you're rich you may lose your money. But if your lucky, you will always get more money." The boy told his mother he had luck. The boy knew she did not beleive him and this started the boy on his journey with the rocking horse.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The rocking horse gave luck, which is exactly what the boy, Paul, needed. Only Paul at first could hear the real truth from his rocking horse. The rocking horse would tell Paul who the winner of the race would be. Paul and his uncle Oscar used this information to gamble on horss and were able to win piles of money. This money he gave anomously to his mother to use for anything that was needed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It was one night that Paul was riding his horse at full speed when suddenly a blaze of light hit him up. He screamed, "Malabar!" Then he fell off with a crash that would put him into unconsciousness; he never did recover from that fall. He died later that night. Paul needed his rocking horse, without it he would never have felt that luck.

Creative Writing Aptitude Essay

Being a writer is someone who uses writing on a regular basis. You have to be a writer before you can be a good writer. It’s about being good or at least good enough. But students don’t see themselves as writers at all because they have been structurally defined as deficient. This means that a student is someone who does not write up to a certain standard of performance with academic discourse. A writer does not simply write at someone else’s command but on their own initiative. So as a writer and a student you need an independent plan into which you fit into a certain given curriculum and writing assignments. That doesn’t mean you should be single-minded, but rhetoric and composition needs be a place where students should realize they need to take control for their educational experience. Rhetoric and composition have become a part of how we do things since we have been young. We are eventually taught in school the types of writing we will need to use in our everyday situations to help us communicate to others for a specific purpose and effectively. This writing informs, persuades, or explains what it is we want the audience to know or come away with. R & C studies use academic essays, papers, memos, or class handouts while creative writing studies primarily create literary works. Students are not there to compare one another as writers, artists, or human beings in general. It is a way for each of us to develop our own writing style and self-expression. It builds up the individual’s ability to express his or her own thoughts and technique more clearly by engaging into writing to get our mind working. Creative writing and compositions studies†¦ seem to operate with a distinct sense of a constituency for its teaching, an audience for its writing, and a function it performs† (Lardner, 770). Creative writing is a way to express what you feel inside your heart or the ideas that are in your head. It gives the writers a means for expressing their views of their surroundings and their world. Individuality exists in creative writing because the work is never the same as someone else’s. It is a personal expression that comes from each individual writer at each individual moment. However, the true test of creativity occurs when the writing can be said to give readers an experience. For that the reason the writing is called Creative because it creates an experience in the minds of its readers. Examples of some these writing forms are: poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Each form has its own concepts involved with R & C because creative writing uses your self-expression as a big part of development than formality. Let’s start off with poetry. Poetry is possibly the most comprehensive way we have of expressing ourselves. Poetry works at a deep level of emotion. â€Å"To feel emotion is at least to feel. The crime against life, the worst of all crimes, is not to feel† (MacLeish, 66). Poetry opens up your emotions and helps you express anything through the use of metaphors, images, and feelings. â€Å"Often the poet operates by suggestion and implication† as well (Adams, 11). Poetry starts in odd phrases, an image, a tune in the head, a deeply incoherent pain. The originating emotion still congests the lines or, in striving for uniqueness, the work becomes untidy, exaggerated or confused. So each property (meaning, association, weight, color, duration, shape, texture, etc. ) changes as words are combined into phrases, rhythms, lines, stanzas and eventually completed poems. Out of those properties the poetry is built, even if the end cannot be entirely foreseen. In responding to what has been written; feeling it, understanding it, and extending its potential with imagination, honesty and sensitivity that very fine lines, vocal use, ample sympathies, kindness of heart and a consideration for the human condition become essential. But poetry is nothing without extended labor. In contrast to the development of a delicate tension between speaker and subject, between various parts of a poem and between the feelings warring within the speaker,† there also can be a â€Å"considerable looseness and vagueness† (Adams, 15). You can either have a clear understanding of what you think the poetry is portraying or you can be at a complete loss. Poetry trains the personality needed to be an artist, an unlimited capacity to be honest and take pains. It calls for self-criticism, which becomes essential as a writer’s talents develop. Criticism also â€Å"hones† skills that involve the poet’s needs by close reading, clarification and evaluation. It also requires the analysis and growth out of the very development between audience response and the poet. â€Å"The poet writes to [an audience] representing artistic perfection rather than to a reader chosen at random† (Adams, 143). Poetry may be complex, requiring a good deal of sorting out, but there has to be an immediate impact of some sort that allows the reviewer to be in awe. Poets need to know what’s been done before, and how comparisons may be objectively undertaken. The next form I will discuss is fiction. Fiction is most definitely my favorite. The first thing you need to know is the age group you are writing for. You can write for children, teenagers, young adults, adults, etc. This is perhaps a really important step before writing because you need to know what your audience wants and expects. After you have selected your age group then take the time to see what is out there in the age range that you want to write for. If the current rage is spaceships and outer space themes then writing about cowboys just won’t cut it unless the cowboy is somehow swept into outer space. You also need to research what you will be writing about because some of the time you won’t know much about the topic you’ve chosen. â€Å"Research gives you a chance to investigate all those subjects you’ve always wanted to know about and it gives the breath of life and authenticity to your work† (Kubis, 150). Once you’ve done some research, now it is time to get started. Remember all fiction has a beginning, middle and an end. You need to start your story at the point that something happens to change it all by giving your characters a problem. It must be a worthwhile dilemma. For example, a girl who wants to move out of her parents house and is trying to find an apartment that she really wants when her parents refuse to help her because she can do it on her own is not an interesting problem. On the other hand, a lady who has three days to move out of her parent’s house is a more intriguing problem. Give your audience a reason to support your main character. â€Å"You want to achieve a character that is so real, so human, it seems inevitable that [she] does the thing you’ve determined [she] must do† (Kubis, 49). Your story should progress toward the middle, the climax of your story. â€Å"The hero had to solve the dilemma [herself], without having outside forces do it for [her]† (Kubis, 3). It should climax into a problem that is worth caring about, and â€Å"it should influence the outcome of the story†¦ [but it] does not necessarily resolve the story [only] provides information that leads to the resolution† (kubis, 113). From there you need to let the readers know how it was adequately resolved with a positive result or a defeat. Then there is view point is which the story being told. Who is telling the story or through whose eyes is the story being related? Is it a narrator, the main character, a secondary character? Once you start with a viewpoint stick with it. Do not switch from character to character. Also stay away from over used phrases. Over done phrases are a definite no. Describing something ‘as black as night’ is too boring. Look for a different way of saying the same thing. You could say ‘black ink dark’ or ‘all encompassing black’. Make a list of all the overdone phrases you can think of and then practice saying them a different way. Nothing is ever said in your story that doesn’t lead you somewhere. Know how to correspond properly. It will make all the difference to a readers understanding of what you are trying to say. Never throw in information that does not lead your story forward. Try to find a fresh way of telling a story by saying it again but differently. If everyone is writing about pirates it can get pretty boring after awhile if you use a similar plot line like everyone else. Find a fresh way of telling the same story, maybe from a captive’s point of view or how someone became an unwilling pirate. Use the phrase what if. Ask what if such and such happens what would be the result and if this happened what would be the outcome. This is the time to use your imagination. Get creative and see where it leads you. The last form I will talk about is creative nonfiction. Not a lot of people know what it is and it can take on different styles: a narrative, personal essays, memoir, travel writing, food writing, biography, literary journalism, short stories, etc. It’s where you research a topic just as a journalist does but the writer must write in scenes. They don’t think of facts as the basic building blocks of their stories; they think scenes instead. A scene in creative nonfiction occurs in a specific place (where); usually the narrator and one or more others are there (who); at a particular time (when); something happens (what); people converse (dialog or captured conversation); and sometimes someone thinks about something. We like to see scenes in front of us since life does seem to occur as a series of scenes. To get a story from a particular subject you may have to be pokey by uncovering innermost thoughts and feelings of those interviewed. There’s highly involved research effort required that the writer should be willing and financially able to stick with a story for weeks, months, or even years. The creative nonfiction writer can’t work out of his or her memory and imagination alone, he or she must conduct research out in the real world, the raucous world, the dirty world. You should go around collecting facts from dusty records at City Hall, interviewing experts, and talking with the people involved. Also talk with the people immediately involved in the tory to flush out, and add fresh ideas, ideas you might never have come up with on your own, provide different angles, views, perspectives, and insights on the person or the topic under study. This requirement to work away from the studio or the study turns some writers away from this form of writing. Others love that side of the profession, it’s what draws them in. An important consideration before you begin to write in scenes is choosing the structure of your writing in the first place. â€Å"Structure is the arrangement of parts and all the techniques you use to hold the parts together and make it do what it is intended to do† (Gerard, 156). Most creative nonfiction writers may have a structure well in mind before writing at all because the material is promoted in the subconscious. Having the security of structure, or even just some structure, enables the writer to relax and play with any number of creative possibilities to perk up each scene. Since creative nonfiction is typically written scene by scene and is usually joined or separated by passages from a running account of what is happening at the moment, you need to study and perfect the structure. Some of these potential scenes will be embedded in the narrative synopsis, but it’s important to first identify the scenes that make up a story. The writer needs to select only those events that seem to have the greatest potential and then organize them into what seems will be the best sequence, which is not always chronological. â€Å"The hardest part of writing creative nonfiction is that you’re stuck with what really happened – you can’t make it up† (Gerard, 5). The goal is to communicate information, just as a reporter does, but in the way you construct a story. The relationship between the one who tells the story and the story itself may help determine if the story should be told in the first or third person point of view. Some say the third person point of view is the most difficult but the most rewarding since the author has to stay more out the way. In writing in first person narrative you need to learn how to get out of the way by being subjective but maintain objectivity. Just remember that you are the first person or narrator. It’s a balancing act but it has to do with finding a voice. Once the voice is found, the writer can posture, say things not meant, imply things not said, and have fun. Once you find the right voice for a piece of writing, it allows warmth, concern, compassion, flattery, and shared imperfections. You can also show something about a person by letting the reader hear him or her speak when people appear, particularly when they begin to converse, to help the story come to life. We have to learn to watch people unusually close, especially for anything unusual or distinct. Include in your report poses, posturing, habitual gestures, mannerisms, appearances, and glances. Writers frequently describe a group’s entertainment as a way to understand the group frequently looks at the way people dress. Writing about the typical daily life of a person helps illuminate a book and brings in the focus. The creative nonfiction writer can and should occasionally vividly describe the day-to-day life of one person. You should capture conversations and also show the reader how things look to your character in the world, leaving the reader to interpret what it all means. Although usually done sparingly, you might introduce your thoughts on the situation or the people. This emotional content enables you to create dramatic, vivid, accurate scenes. Creative nonfiction is the ability to capture the personal and the private by making it mean something significant to a larger audience. It also provides intellectual substance that will affect readers perhaps even provoke them to action or to change. The relationships of Creative Writing and R & C to one another deserve attention in a number of ways. When we put words onto a paper, it’s our own individual way of expressing what we want to say. As I stated earlier, poetry is possibly the most comprehensive way we have of expressing ourselves. Poetry works at a deep level of emotion. The fact that poetry and prose have coincided in a long line in rhetorical study is, of course, a rewarding area of study. In fact, there’s much to be learned about audience and rhetorical situation by positioning oneself as the writer of poems. Even though rhetoricians might cringe at the idea of having students write styles of poetry, this area of study would be of great benefit to those examining the practice of rhetoric. It might also help rhetoric’s become better communicators to examine their own language to become more fluid, more colorful, and more imaginative. Also it would benefit all audiences to think of writing as a beautiful relationship of language and author. That’s if only because the process has such potential to benefit from the voices and views of others on their own journeys and might allow a fuller recognition of ways composition studies and creative writing coincide.

Handwashing Related Literature

There are grave consequences when people do not wash their hands or wash them improperly. It is known that hands are the main media for contaminants getting to people, whether the infections are airborne, oral or tactile. Infectious diseases that are commonly spread through hand to hand contact include the common cold, and several gastrointestinal disorders such as diarrhoea (WaterAid, 2006). Human hands usually harbour microorganisms both as part of a person’snormal microbial flora as well as transient microbes acquired from the environment (Lindberg et al, 2004).According to Kartha (200! ), many people consider handwashing a waste of time. However, they are unaware that hands are hosts to many bacteria and viruses that can cause infectious diseases. Every human being comes in contact with germs and bacteria in their daily life. These harmful microorganisms are present all around – on door knobs, faucets, light switches, tables, and railings. People touch these things during the day while doing their routine work without much thought, and then touch their face, eyes, nose, and sometimes eat food too.Through these acts, the microorganisms get into the body, causing several diseases. People, who are careless at washing hands, risk catching flu, or cold, or any gastrointestinal illness (Kartha, 2001). Mayo Clinic (2009) also asserted that as people touch one another, surfaces and objects throughout the day, they accumulate germs on their hands. In turn, they can infect themselves with these germs by touching their eyes, nose or mouth. Hands serve as vectors transmitting pathogens to foodstuffs and drinks and to the mouths of susceptible hosts (Huttly, 1997).Many food borne diseases and pathogenic microorganisms are spread by contaminated hands. If pathogens from human faeces enter a person’s mouth, they will cause diarrhoea. School going children are exposed to greater risks of diarrhoeal disease by consuming contaminated water and food (Dasg upta, 2005). Students in schools or colleges are more likely to take meal and water without washing hands and may be exposed to risk of infection (Tambekar et al, 2007). If proper treatment is not given, this can prove fatal, particularly to children (WHO, 2006).In Ghana, funeral celebrations are very important social functions at which hundreds of people gather. From experience, one important activity during such gatherings is handshaking. Indeed, it is considered offensive and disrespectful for cultural values when one does not proffer his hand for shaking. It is however unfortunate that when people are served snacks and food during such occasions, handwashing facilities are not made available. People therefore eat with unwashed hands.The advent of some serious gastrointestinal illnesses (for example, cholera) had been traced to such gatherings. Handwashing defined Handwashing is defined as the act of cleansing the hands with water or other liquid, with or without the inclusion of soap or other detergent, for the purpose of removing soil or microorganisms (Biology-online, 2011; Medconditions, 2011). 2. 6. 1 Attitudes of handwashing Handwashing has been an age old practice globally. It is carried out for varied reasons, including religious, cultural, health and moral reasons.Attitudes towards handwashing are very important. They go a long way to determine the practice of handwashing and its effect on health. In a study by Hoque et al (1995), 90 women from randomly selected households in rural Bangladesh were observed washing their hands after defaecation. Thirty-eight percent of the women used mud, 2% used ash, 19% used soap, and 41% used water only without a rubbing agent. A total of 44% of women washed both hands, while 56% washed only their left hands.About 78% of the women dried or wiped their hand on their clothes and the rest let them air dry. According to SHEWA-B (2007), in Bangladesh (and in some regions of the sub-continent), observations on handwash ing practices identified that handwashing with water alone before food preparation and eating was quite common (47 – 76%), but washing hands with soap or ash was observed =2% of the time. Washing of both hands with soap or ash was more common after defaecation (17 – 18 %), after cleaning a child’s anus (22 – 24%) or after handling cow dung (12 – 20%).Findings also showed that availability of handwashing materials such as soap, ash or mud at the site of handwashing was low, with approximately 30%, and =1% of households having the specified material. Water availability was high. Hand drying was observed to take place before preparing food, after defaecation, after eating and before serving food. A high proportion of females did not dry their hands after handwashing. A staggering one out of three Americans skips handwashing after going to the bathroom.Only 30% of people who have coughed or sneezed into their hands wash their hands afterwards. Kids are even worse. In a survey of junior high and high school boys and girls, only 58% of girls and 48% of boys washed up after using the rest room (Wisegeek. com, 2011). Worldwide rates of handwashing with soap are very low. While many wash their hands with water, only a small percent use soap at critical times. In Ghana, for example, the rates for handwashing with soap after defaecation is 3% and after cleaning up a child is also 3% each (PPPHW, 2010). 2. 6. Economic considerations Efforts to modify human behaviour are complex. People can only expect to be successful if there is an understanding of what motivates, facilitates, and hinders adequate handwashing behaviour (Curtis et al, 1997; O’Boyle et al, 2001). Curtis et al (2001) noted that modern methods of promoting handwashing can be effective and cost-effective on a large scale. Studies suggest that soap is widely available, even in poor households in developing countries, although it is mostly used for bathing and washing c lothes (Borghi et al, 2002).In rural India and Bangladesh, soap is often considered a beautifying agent or for the physical feeling of cleanliness which it gives, rather than being associated with the removal of microorganisms or health benefits (Hoque and Briend, 1991; Hoque et al, 1995). In low income communities, soil, mud or ash may be used as a zero cost alternative to soap for handwashing (Zeitlyn and Islam, 1991). Hoque et al (1995) again reported that altogether, 81% of non-soap users stated that they might use soap, but were unable to afford it. Critical times for handwashingA defensive strategy is important when trying to avoid infecting oneself with an illness lying in wait (Wisegeek. com, 2011). According to Mayo Clinic (2009), frequent handwashing is one of the best ways to avoid getting sick and spreading illness. Although it is impossible to keep hands germ-free, washing hands frequently can help limit the transfer of bacteria, viruses and other microbes. It is possib le that people do not wash their hands as often as they should. Handwashing prevents both diarrhoea and respiratory infections effectively whendone properly and at critical times.The critical times must be observed and conscious efforts made to clean hands at such times. A number of sources (Mayo Clinic, 2009; ASH, 2011, All Family Resources, 1999 and CDC, 2010) agree on a number of critical times when hands must be washed. The critical times include: ? Before preparing food; ? Before eating; ? Before treating wounds or giving medicine; ? Before touching a sick or injured person; ? Before inserting or removing contact lenses; ? After preparing food, especially raw meat or poultry; ? After using the toilet/bathroom; ? After changing a diaper; After touching an animal, or animal toys, leashes or waste; ? After blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing into your hands; ? After touching a sick or injured person; ?After handling garbage or something that could be contaminated, such as a cl eaning cloth or soiled shoes; ? Whenever hands look dirty. Some include also washing hands after handling money (ASH, 2011), before going home, immediately one gets home, on arrival at the workplace (All Family Resources, 1999), after combing hair (USDA, 2011) and after smoking (Earth’s kids, 2011). . 6. 4 Process of handwashing Though people know the importance of handwashing, not many know how to do it properly. Handwashing does not mean just running water over your palms. It has to be done very carefully and in detail (Kartha, 2001). Mayo Clinic (2009) suggests the following steps: ? Wet hands with (running) water; ?Apply cleansing agent; ? Lather well; ? Rub hands vigorously for at least 10 to 20 seconds, remembering to scrub all surfaces, including the backs of hands, wrists, between fingers and under fingernails; ? Rinse well; Dry hands with a clean or disposable towel or dryer. The above steps have been advocated by several sources as well. These include ASH (2011); Al l Family Resources (1999); CDC (2010); Kartha (2001); Wisegeek. com (2011) and Gavin (2011). 2. 6. 5 Correct length of time Equally important is the length of time that hands are to be washed. The key is to lather up hands and rub vigorously for at least 15 to 20 seconds. Some suggest singing ‘Happy Birthday’ or the ABCs to keep a child washing hands for the correct amount of time (Wisegeek. com, 2011).Earth’s Kids (2011) suggested that children sing a fun song while washing hands to mark the time of 15 – 20 seconds, so that they know how long they wash. Gavin ((2011) said to use soap and lather up for 20 seconds. Mayo Clinic (2009) noted that wet, soapy hands should be rubbed together outside the stream of running water for at least 20 seconds. CDC (2010) suggested scrubbing hands for 20 seconds, and while singing ‘Happy Birthday’ twice to get to 20 seconds. PPPHW (2008) also suggested singing any local fun song that would make up to 20 secon ds while hands are being rubbed together after applying cleansing agent.According to ASH (2011), hands must be rubbed together for at least 10 seconds while singing ‘Happy Birthday’ once for a perfect length of time. Rub hands vigorously until a soapy lather appears and continue for at least 15 seconds (All Family Resources, 1999). Mohave County Information Technology (2001) also recommends rubbing hands briskly for at least 20 seconds. From the foregone discussions it can be seen that rubbing hands together vigorously for anytime between 10 to 20 seconds or more should be adequate for pathogen reduction on the hands. Quantity of water needed for rinsing handsAccessible and plentiful water has been shown to encourage better hygiene, particularly handwashing (Curtis and Cairncross, 2000). Also, interventions to improve water quality at the source along with treatment of household water and safe storage systems have been shown to reduce diarrhoea incidence by as much as 4 7% (WHO, 2008). Hoque et al (1995), in a study, observed that as many as 74% of the 90 women rinsed their hands with 0. 7 litre of water or less. They however recommend that rinsing with 2 litres of clean water was protective, although such volumes may be difficult tosustain in the absence of on-plot access to water.Since pathogens removed during handrubbing have to be rinsed away, there must be a reasonable flow of water (Standard Operating Procedures, 1997). Mayo Clinic (2009) suggested the use of running water for rinsing hands. Water scarcity has an impact on hygiene practices such as handwashing. It could lead to person-to-person transmission due to inadequate personal and domestic hygiene. Water scarcity can therefore result in faecal-oral, skin and eye infections (Cairncross, 2011). Temperature of waterContrary to popular belief, scientific studies by Michaels et al (2002), and Laestadius and Dimberg (2005), have shown that using warm water has no effect on reducing the micro bial load on hands. Hot water that is comfortable for washing hands is not hot enough to kill bacteria. Microorganisms proliferate much faster at body temperature (37 degrees C). However, warm, soapy water is more effective than cold, soapy water at removing the natural oils which hold soils and bacteria (US Food and Drugs Administration, 2006). All Family Resources (1999) indicated that warm water should always be used for handwashing.ASH (2011), Kartha (2001), Wisegeek. com (2011) and Gavin (2011) also suggested the use of warm water for handwashing. CDC (2010) said that clean running water that was warm or cold could be used. The temperature of water has not been shown to be important in handwashing (Standard Operating Procedures, 1997). Efficacy of cleansing agents in microbial reduction Esrey et al (1991) have suggested that reducing the rate of pathogen ingestion causes the incidence of severe infections to begin to fall before that of mild ones. The reduction in the severity of infection is the ultimate purpose of handwashing.Therefore microbial reduction on hands would reduce the ingestion of pathogens since the hands have been proved to be the main transport route for gastrointestinal diseases, respiratory tract infections, skin infections (eg. impetigo) as well as eye infections (eg. conjunctivitis). This makes the agent employed in handwashing a necessary factor. Water only Pure water has a pH of seven, which makes it neutral. It is also known as a universal solvent. A number of studies (Cairncross, 1993; Ghosh et al, 1995; Khan, 1982; Oo et al, 2000) suggested that handwashing with water only provides little or no benefit.The application of water alone is inefficient for cleaning skin because water is often unable to remove fats, oils and proteins, which are components of organic soil (Standard Operating Procedure, 1997). Kalanke (Mali) (2011) noted that handwashing with water alone does not remove many germs. Hoque and Briend (1991), on the contra ry, showed that whilst less effective than when using a rubbing agent such as soap, mud or ash, some reductions in contamination were found when washing with water alone.Data on the effectiveness of handwashing with soap-based formulations, compared with water alone, in the removal of bacteria and viruses (Ansari et al, 1989; Mbithi et al, 1993) suggest that, in most (but not all) cases, liquid soap-based formulations were more effective than water only. However, the authors concluded that the differences were not statistically significant. Ash Hoque and Briend (1991) indicated that the use of alternative rubbing agents (mud or ash) provided the same benefits as soap.Again, Hoque et al (1995) also found that the use of ash and soap all achieved the same level of cleanliness. Ash, however, is considered less pleasant on the hands compared with soap or soil (Hoque and Briend, 1991). Despite the positive lifesaving potential of handwashing with soap (ash), proper handwashing is not bei ng practiced regularly by children in schools and homes (WASH United, 2010). Citrus lime fruit Scientifically known as Citrus aurantifolia, there are two natural groups of the citrus lime fruit – acid (sour) limes, and acidless (sweet) limes.The ‘West Indian’ lime, also called Mexican and Key lime is round, small-fruited, moderately seedy and highly polyembryonic; it has a thin, smooth rind, greenish flesh and a citric acid content ranging from 7% to 8%. It is usually grown as a seedling, as no satisfactory rootstock is known, but in Ghana it is grown on Rough lemon stock (Samson, 1986). Soap A number of studies indicate that washing hands with soap is the critical component of the handwashing behaviour (Cairncross, 1993; Ghosh et al, 1997; Khan, 1982; Oo et al, 2000). Kartha (2001) noted that the most essential thing required to wash hands is soap.Again, studies have shown that hands can carry faeces to surfaces, to foods, and to future hosts, and handwashing wi th soap is effective in removing pathogens (Han et a. , 1986; Kaltenthaler et al, 1991; Ansari et al, 1991). Improvements in access to safe water and adequate sanitation, along with the promotion of good hygiene practices (particularly handwashing with soap), can help prevent diarrhoea (Black et al, 2003). PPPHW (2011) affirmed that promoted on a wide enough scale, handwashing with soap can be thought of as a ‘do- it-yourself’ vaccine. Choice of soapDebate has been ongoing about the best type of soap to be used in handwashing. A study by Aiello (2007) indicated that plain soaps are as effective as consumer-grade antibacterial soaps in preventing illness and removing bacteria from the hands. Mayo Clinic (2009) admonished people to keep in mind that antibacterial soap is no more effective at killing germs than is regular soap. Using antibacterial soap may even lead to the development of bacteria that are resistant to the products’ antimicrobial agents – maki ng it harder to kill these germs in the future.Commenting on favoured features for soap, women in Ghana cited a range of attributes – smell, cost, texture and durability, and its capacity to be used for multiple purposes. For the women, the most important attribute was the smell of the soap, andthe most popular scents were mild lime and lemon. Concerning cost, cheaper soaps were preferred, although women were sometimes willing to pay more if the soap was larger or they thought it would last longer. Commenting on texture / durability, associated with cost, women preferred harder bar soaps or liquid varieties as they thought they lasted longer.So strong was the preference for hard soaps that many stored soap in cool or sunny or airy places to harden them before use. Some women thought liquid soap more economical since only a peanut size was adequate for each hand wash. Many women preferred laundry bar soap because it could be used as a multipurpose soap such as for laundering, bathing and washing dishes at the same time (PPPHW, 2010). The act of handrubbing It has been suggested by Hoque et al, (1995) that the key component of the handwashing process is the mechanical rubbing of the hands.They noted that the trend towards better results from handwashing with both hands, increased frequency of rubbing and an increased volume of rinsing water all support the prime importance of scrubbing / frictional motion and consequent washing out of loose bacteria with water. Although results of studies carried out suggest that the use of a rubbing agent is important, the authors suggested that the nature of the rubbing agent is a less important factor. Soap, they indicated, was more effective than soil and ash because soap users tend to rub their hands more and use more water to rinse away the soapy feeling on them.CDC (2011) advised people to rub hands together vigorously to make a lather and to continue scrubbing for 20 seconds because it takes that long for the soap and scrubbing action to dislodge and remove stubborn germs. Beneficial effects of handwashing Handwashing has been regarded as a key infection-control practice since Semmelweis suggested its introduction in health care settings (Semmelweis, 1847 in Koo, 2008). The handwashing behaviour has been shown to cut the number of child deaths from diarrhoea (the second leading cause of child deaths) by almost half and from pneumonia (the leading cause of child deaths) by one-quarter (WHO, 2008).The strong causal relationship between hand hygiene and gastro-intestinal disease risk has also been demonstrated by meta-analysis of community based interventions. Curtis and Cairncross (2003) estimated a reduction of 42 – 47% in diarrhoeal diseases associated with handwashing. Fewtrell et al (2005) showed a 44% reduction in diarrhoeal illness associated with handwashing. In a study, Aiello et al (2008) estimated that handwashing with soap combined with education could produce a 39% reduction in gastrointestinal illness. All the three meta-analyses were carried out using data from studies conducted in both developed and developing countries.In a review of hand hygiene studies involving respiratory tract infections, Rabie and Curtis (2006) reported that hand hygiene (handwashing, education and waterless hand sanitizers) can reduce the risk of respiratory infections by 16%. Aiello et al. (2008) also estimated that the reduction in respiratory illness associated with the pooled effects of hand hygiene (handwashing with soap, use of alcohol handrubs) was 21%. A study conducted by Luby et al (2005) reported the impact of handwashing with soap on pneumonia in children under five, in squatter settlements in Karachi, Pakistan.The results indicated a 50% reduction in pneumonia in the intervention compared with the control group. Luby et al noted that a link between handwashingand the prevention of pneumonia in developing countries is plausible on the basis that, in developing co untries it is known that viruses cause pneumonia. Another study found that children under 15 years living in households that received handwashing promotion and soap had half the diarrhoeal rates of children living in control neighbourhoods (Luby et al, 2004).Because handwashing can prevent the transmission of a variety of pathogens, it may be more effective than any single vaccine. Handwashing can also prevent skin infections (eg. impetigo), eye infections (eg. conjunctivitis), intestinal worms, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and Avian Flu. It benefits the health of people living with HIV/AIDS. Handwashing is effective in preventing the spread of disease even in overcrowded, highly contaminated slum environments (PPPHW, 2008).