Teenage Awareness of Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Barbados Essay Example for Free

Teenage Awareness of Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Barbados Essay During the course of this project many persons provided their assistance to me. Firstly I’d like to thank Ms. Baptiste my CAS teacher for her patience and guidance, as well as the members of my survey for their participation. Finally Id like to thank my family and friends for their support and encouragement. Introduction The topic I have chosen is the levels of awareness of the contraction of sexually transmitted diseases among Barbadian teenagers. I have chosen this topic because of the severity of impact it can have on Barbadian society without proper knowledge. Without knowledge our Barbadian teenagers can make careless decisions and cause an outbreak of sexually transmitted diseases. Sexually transmitted diseases, more commonly known as STD’s are among the world’s most commonly caught diseases. They are painful, irritating, contagious and sometimes fatal. Sexually transmitted diseases are very easy to catch, but they are also very easy to prevent. There are very many different types of STDs, some more harmful than others, such as Chlamydia, syphilis, herpes, and HIV/aids. In this study I will attempt to analyze fifteen teenagers from Queens College with different ages between 11 and 19 through a survey. From the results of these questionnaires, organisations such as can benefit from these by taking my results and placing in effect measures to educate Barbadian teens on sexually transmitted diseases to prevent widespread outbreaks. Literature Review Teens are often at increased risk for STDs compared to other age groups. This is likely due to the fact that teens are more likely to have unprotected sex as well as multiple partners. A lack of available information about prevention and treatment options, as well as a perceived stigma surrounding STD’s, may also deter teens from seeking help when they need it. This was stated by Susan Carney from Youth Development (USA), April 2nd 2008. This study on teens will be proven/ disproven in my study through my surveys among the 15 teens I will analyze. In my research I also found that, 10,000 Teens will contract an STD this year and of those 10,000, 5500 Teens will contract HIV or Chlamydia (more common among teens than older adults), Gonorrhoea also is found to have higher rates in teens than older adults. As many as 15% of sexually active teenage women are infected with HPV, many with the type of HPV linked to cervical cancer. Many STDs were found to have few or no symptoms and were NOT a part of Standard STD Testing. This information was taken from observations of statistics made by Glen Davis from the â€Å"StopThinkDecide† organisation in 2007 (USA). Awareness of the dangers of HIV/Aids is decreasing among young people at a time when fewer are practising safe sex, as revealed by Owen Bowcott in 2009. He conducted a survey on young people to discover how unaware they are of the risks of Hiv/Aids. His findings showed that nearly 60% of 16- to 24-year-olds questioned thought they were not at risk of contracting the infection after having unprotected sex and 8% believed taking a contraceptive pill offered protection against infection. Furthermore, almost 14% thought the fact that they were not gay ensured they could not contract HIV/Aids. This survey of 2,550 young people was carried out for the Staying Alive Foundation charity, which is supported by MTV UK and the Body Shop. Data Collection Sources  Each of the literary texts that I have reviewed has helped to gain a better understanding of this overall topic. This is because the statistics discovered, have been generalized from a percentage of the world’s population. If this method was to be repeated with another percentage of the population and both surveys’ results were reviewed and compared, this would prove them to be reliable as the results would be the same. This is because School education has an age requirement before a child is given more information about STDs and sexual intercourse worldwide. Therefore, children of the norm worldwide would have the same awareness level as the other at a specific age. My method of study (questionnaire and survey) has helped in bettering my knowledge of this topic since I was able to gain quantitative data that supported the statistics of other literary texts and surveys. Also, I was able to gain a minimal amount of qualitative information that allowed me to understand more about the specific areas of this topic Teens are unaware of. This was minimal as most effective questionnaires and surveys have set questions which must be generalised to the public. Presentation of Findings The amount of people who chose the correct sexually transmitted diseases on my survey is shown below in the bar chart. All of the respondents chose HIV/Aids as an STD. Figure below shows a bar chart with results from STD choices. Approximately 11% of students aged 11-19 did know that sexually transmitted diseases can be transmitted through oral sex Over 22% of students thought that all STDs can be seen by ones physical appearance while 78% chose that it is not always shown by ones physical appearance. A total of 44% of individuals studied in the questionnaire thought that homosexuals had a lesser risk at contracting STDs while 33% said they did not know and 23% thought that homosexuals had a higher risk at contracting STDs. 22% of students tested did not know that sexually transmitted diseases can be transmitted through blood transfusions. The question was asked, What age groups are most affected by STDs? and 56% of people answered that the ages 16-20 are more affected by STDs. This is shown in the chart below. 00% of people who took the survey chose that all people were susceptible to STDs. Although 33% of people answered that they thought 11-20% of Barbadian were living with Aids, 33% of people also didn’t know. Shown in the chart below. 56% of students chose contraception as a method to help prevent STDs, while 78% of students chose abstinence. This is shown in the graph below. 89% of those surveyed chose the internet and health clinics as ways to obtain information on STDs. This is shown in the chart below. 7% of students chose HIV/Aids as the most contracted disease throughout the Caribbean. This is shown below. 67% of students chose a sore that hurts and doesn’t go away as the main symptom of STDs. Interpretation of Findings Findings have shown that the awareness of sexually transmitted diseases has often been questioned amongst the younger generation. After conducting a survey to investigate just how aware Barbadian teenagers are of these STDs, results conveyed that factual information was lacking significantly amongst the youngest of the young population, ranging from 11-13 years old. According to my evidence, I believe these youngsters lack this key information due to the vague education received about sexual intercourse, and STDs from School environments. However, even though these young people do not have a broad awareness of these diseases from their School. My findings have shown that School education is still the primary source for young adults to gain this sexual knowledge. This is evident since other school children that were surveyed that ranged from the ages of 14-19 showed a much more in-depth understanding of STDs and forms of contraception. Statements made by some, illustrated that this awareness was mostly received from their school education. Therefore, as we can see, older aged students have more awareness of STDs, whereas the younger ones do not due to School systems having an age requirement. This is in order for students to learn more about these sexually transmitted diseases when they are ready. Discussion of Findings It was shown in the survey that between the ages 11 and 13, students were disturbingly unaware of the various ways of contracting sexually transmitted diseases, furthermore the different types of sexually transmitted diseases. This was not shown in the past researches collected in my literature review. It is shown that all teens studied are moderately aware of the various diseases and are well aware of ways to contract them. The government has put a sufficient investment into making teens more aware of sexually transmitted diseases. It was studied in my lit review that many teens were unaware but the country the surveys were taken from were different and may have less education on the contraction of sexually transmitted diseases in teens. My study was also taken in a very small scale whilst studies such as Susan Carney’s were taken in much larger scale making her study much more likely to be accurate. Limitations Since the survey was small and was only done on 30 students, the survey may not be accurate for the entire percentage awareness of Barbados. Also because some of the questions may have been too personal to ask, some of the required information could not be gathered due to the delicacy of the subject. The survey was only handed out at school where people may have been more educated, therefore more aware so the results may not be accurate. Recommendations My recommendations are that the government should teach students from a younger age about sexually transmitted diseases due to the high rate at which 11-13 year olds answered the questions wrong. Since the age at which teens are having sex is getting younger and younger it is only necessary to educate our future generations to help prevent an epidemic outbreak of STDs in the near future. Parents should also play a vital role in this by talking to their children from early ages so that they can be aware of the seriousness of STDs. Conclusion The lack of awareness seems to be at younger ages yet they are still those of age without knowledge of contraction of STDs. With the high amount of infected people in the Caribbean these respondents should be more aware. My conclusion is that young people should be made more aware of the impact of STDs on society and how to prevent the outbreak of these STDs.

The Creation of Barbie as an American Icon Essay -- Exploratory Essays

The Creation of Barbie as an American Icon Barbie, at the age of 41, is one of the longest living toys in America. Analyzing her early history can give a person a look into the societal trends and culture of the late 1950's and early 1960's. There is evidence of fashion innovations in Barbie's wardrobe. Also, one can see the perception of females by society, such as what they should look like, how they should act and dress, as well as what their future goals could be. The following essay follows Barbie's history from 1959 to 1963, covering her development, her appeal to children, and her existence as a cultural artifact of the time period. History: Barbie's Debut in 1959 In February of 1959, Barbie was first introduced at the American International Toy Fair in New York (Barbie Dolls). Her creators, Ruth and Elliot Handler (co-founders of Mattel) modeled Barbie after the German doll known as Lilli. Lilli began as a cartoon character in a daily newspaper called the Bild-Zeitung (BillyBoy 19). This character, known for her large breasts and sexy clothing, was created for adult entertainment "a symbol of sex and pornography for the men of Germany" (Johnson "History"). Handler discovered Lilli while shopping in Switzerland and brought the doll home for her daughter to play with. Ruth was inspired to create an adult doll for little girls. Handler had Jack Ryan, executive of Mattel, purchase the rights for Lilli and negotiate with a company from Tokyo to create a doll like Lilli. The reason for going overseas was in order to create an inexpensive new doll. American male designers told Handler that it would be impossible to make such a doll (with stylish clothing and accessories) for an affordable price. The new doll had a s... ...Barbie's Effects on American Suburban Culture. (6 March 2000) http://www.otal.umd.edu/~vg/mssp96/ms07/cult.htm Johnson, Kristi. Evaluation. (7 March 2000) http://www.otal.umd.edu/~vg/mssp96/ms07/eval.htm Johnson, Kristi. History. (6 March 2000) http://www.otal.umd.edu/~vg/mssp96/ms07/hist.htm Kehoe, John. "Barbie." Biography 2.12 Dec. 1998. (28 Feb. 2000) http://www.ebsco.com Lord, M.G. Forever Barbie. William Morrow and Co.: New York, 1994. Origin of Barbie. (6 March 2000) http://www.nondairy.com/People/Raven/Barbie.html Riddick, Kristin. Introduction. (6 March 2000) http://www.people.virginia.edu/~tsawyer/barbie/barb1.html Weiss, Michael. Toys Were Us. (7 March 2000) http://www.discovery.com/stories/history/toys/BARBIE/shoulda.html 40 Years with Barbie. (29 Feb. 2000) http://www.barbie.com/40th_Anniv/40Years/1959.asp

The Fashion Channel HBS Case Notes

Introduction The protagonist of this case is Dana Wheeler who is the senior vice president of marketing for TFH She was looking into preparing a new Segmentation and Positioning Strategy If her boss liked what he heard then they would move forward with a 60 million dollar MIMIC campaign utilizing national advertising, promotion, and public relations.This was an increase of 15 million dollars from last year. Background TFH was a successful cable network that was the only one who broadcasted up-to- date news about fashion 24 hours a day, 7 days a week It was founded in 1996 It has had consistent and constant growth since the beginning, revenue was projected to grow to 310 million dollars in 2006 marking another steady year of growth.The channel was one of the most widely available niche networks reaching 80 million US households (this number represents the number of people who had TFH in their package not those watching it) Women between 34 and 54 years were its most avid viewer accord ing to its annual demographic survey Beyond basic demographics the network had no other information on its viewers Nor did it attempt to market to any viewer segments in particular Early on the network had chosen a something for everyone† type of strategy in its programming and advertising TFH has clearly grown quickly despite it lack of targeted marketing, however at the beginning of 2006 TFH had realized that other networks were taking note of its success Some of its biggest competitors became Lifetime and CNN who had added fashion programming to their lineup This is what prompted Tech's CEO to want to change up TFH marketing and be more strategic with their marketing, this is why they hired Dana who extensive experience with marketing packaged consumer goods as well as broad experience in advertising.Tech's CEO and other executives felt some urge to resist change and didn't want to â€Å"fix what wasn't broken† Wheeler's Plans Frazier (senior up of ad sales) had warn ed that TFH would need to drop the price of a unit of advertising by 10 % if changes weren't made in Tech's performance He mentioned that CNN and Lifetime's fashion shows were achieving notable ratings (EXHIBIT 1) Frazier was a great salesman and was Justifiably worried about sales Wheeler knew that in order to hold or increase the price it would be crucial to attract a critical mass of viewers who were interested in the network's content and were attractive to advertisers The key would be targeting the right viewers and offering advertiser an attractive mix of viewers when compared to their competitors BUT if she changed the network's offering in a way that disappointed too many consumers it could risk losing its distribution support Her plan was to build a strategy for segmentation and use it as a base to employ all marketing tools at her disposal, traditional/internet ads, PR and promotions to reach targeted consumers Everyone felt that advertising was TFH primary growth opportun ity. Tiff's Advertising Revenue Model TFH was on target to generate 230. Million dollars in 2006 from advertising The advertising business model was built on attracting a mix of male and female viewers on a regular basis – think â€Å"something for everyone† strategy Tuft average rating was 1. 0 with 110 million households or 1. 1 million people people watching at any given time.The ad sales team sold access to viewers through 30 to 60 second spots to a variety of advertisers which included automobile manufacturers, clothes companies, and cosmetic companies There were usually 6 minutes of advertising per 30 minutes of programming (20 percent); 24 hours per day; for a total of 2016 minutes per week In 2006 industry data showed that advertisers spent 20 billion dollars on advertising in cable industry, however there were over a hundred networks competing for these dollars which made competition fierce. TFH was the only dedicated fashion network If CNN and Lifetime are su ccessful more channels may copy them creating more competition for TFH The network based ad unit prices on several factors The number of viewers (ratings) The audience characteristics (demographics and lifestyle)Both of the are hurting ad sales and hurting Tech's CPM TFH was facing additional competitive challenges in its attractiveness to cable affiliates. On a scale of 1 to 5 TFH achieved a 3. 8 whereas fashion programming on CNN scored a 4. 3 while Lifetime scored a 4. 5 On awareness TFH scored 4. 1; CNN 4. 6; and Lifetime 4. 5 On perceived value TFH scored 3. 7; CNN 4. 1; and Lifetime 4. Memo's use the aforementioned data to determine Affiliate Fees and which package to offer TFH in. If TFH continues to underperformed it may be offered in less appealing packages making it seen in even fewer households, ruining its prospects of revenue growth or even survival.The Data strongly indicates that change in programming need to happen so that TFH can increase consumer interest, awarenes s, and perceived value This change could result in upsetting some of the existing loyal viewers The Management team had been with TFH for years and experienced large amount of their growth arguing safe marketing strategies where Wheeler is asking them to take a risk. Attitudinal Research Findings The Following Data can be found in Exhibit 2 and Exhibit 3 There are four unique groups of viewers Factionists Planners & Shoppers Sustainability Basics While the segments varied in size, Wheeler quickly noticed that the smallest -The Factionists- had a high degree of interest in fashion Most of the male interest occurred in the Basics cluster- the least likely to be engaged with TFH content. Factionists, Planners, and Sustainability all had cluster of women between the ages 18 to 34, the premium demographic.By investing in a major marketing/advertising campaign it would be reasonable to expect that awareness and viewing of the channel would go up This could deliver a ratings boost of 20% a nd would take the rating from 1. 0 to 1. 2 If the current audience mix stayed the same, ad sales were predicting a ten percent drop to $1. 80 Wheelers Preferred Strategy Targeting Factionist's, Shoppers/Planners, and Situational All segments mentioned have clusters of the desired age group but both Planners and Situational are made up of older women their existing audience and they would all be targeted It is likely to assume that ratings would increase from 1. 0 to 1. No clear data is given about CPM No clear data is given about the increase in cost of programming Alternative Strategies Focusing on Factionists This segment was strong in the highly valued 18-34 female demographic It was smaller that other segments representPrimarily targeting Men Pursue a desirable demographic as men of all ages are a premium demographic No data on ratings No data on CPM No data on Programming costs, however it would be likely to assume that costs would pike as all current programming is geared to s lightly older women (their current primary demographic) They would likely and very quickly lose all of their current audience due to shift in programming for a demographic that they are unsure they can even secure. High short-term risk as all current audience will be lost and could result in ratings loss and being taken off the basic cable package Long-term if this strategy is successful, men could be a larger audience than women as more age groups are desired by advertisers. This could result in greater affiliate fees and ad sales.

American Educational System - 1220 Words

Article Critique EDT 660 Fall, 2005 Your Name: Monroe, C.R., Obidah, J.E. (2004). The influence of cultural synchronization on a teacher’s perceptions of disruption. A case study of an African American middle- school classroom. Journal of Teacher Education, 55, 256-268. I. Statement of the Problem a. Ressearch Topic The topic is how to discipline students. The authors state, â€Å"student responses to teachers’ disciplinary techniques can be unpredictable and require quick reactions on the part of the teacher.† This sets the context for the more specific research problem. b. Research Problem As the title of the article suggests, cultural synchronization between the teacher and the students can be influential in†¦show more content†¦III. Methods The authors state they used a qualitative case study approach. The teacher participant was selected based on being an effective teacher (self-report and principal recommendation) and the class/students were selected by the teacher based on the likelihood of behavior problems being evident. The student participants are described in terms of ethnicity/race, gender, age and socioeconomic backgrounds. The teacher is also described as being 31 years old, African American, and having 10 years experience. Her degree and socioeconomic background are also given. The authors include examples of actions of Ms. Simpson that illustrate her culturally responsive nature (e.g., student council advisor, sensitivity to students’ home lives, providing advice and guidance to students and families). The Classr oom Code of Conduct and Expectations is described in sufficient detail with examples of how Ms. Simpson’s disciplinary style may differ from more traditional approaches. The School setting is described in terms of number of students, ethnic/racial makeup, and percentage eligible for reduced or free lunch, along with geographical data that inform the reader the school is a metropolitan, diverse, largely low income populated school. Data collection methods are described in considerable detail as one would expect with a qualitative study. The number of field visits were extensive (36) and both formal and informalShow MoreRelatedThe Education System And The American Educational System899 Words   |  4 Pagesstudents there for two weeks with my team and fell in love with it instantly. That trip spurred my desire to teach in less fortunate countries once I finish college. Once of the most significant differences between the Ugandan educational system and the American educational system that I saw was that access to education was so limited in Uganda. 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