Thursday, October 31, 2019

Global project management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Global project management - Essay Example The research has been conducted in order to identify and analyse the culture influenced problem in international project management. From the literature section, it was found that, there are large numbers of international projects that fails due to miscommunication and social fragmentation. The main argument is that, language used in social interaction create boundary for social fragmentation and obstacles of managing projects globally. According to Goffee and Jones (1996), cultural diversity brings verities of skills and expertise within project teams and can have a strong impact on the effectiveness of international project management. The diversity of culture and institutional difference between organizational members add extra cost in the large construction and engineering projects (Salomon and Schork, 2003). In the era of globalization, most of the companies are trying to manifests itself in international projects and offshore service delivery. Loosemore and Lee (2002) opined that globalization is the central theme of the today’s business society. However, it has been noticed that, project managers faces additional challenges to manage their project globally due to presence of cultural diversity. Religious beliefs and cultural factors impose external issues in the workplace. Cultural difference hampers the sense of belongingness and reduces cultural identity of the workers. Thus, one of the primary issu es to manage projects globally is the potential inability to communicate with the team members belonging from different cultural background. The literature section of the proposal deals with addressing the previous areas of research, theories, models and concepts in relation to the current topic. Through the study of existing literature, the researcher intended to identify the existing gaps in literature and based on that has tried to carry out a critical evaluation. Globalization has affected the approaches to project management and changed the needs

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy Essay Example for Free

Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy Essay Hundreds of philosophers existed thousands of years ago. It was a time when the only leisure you could probably do was think, theorize, analyze and discover things. Obviously, two thousand years can change the habit of people and these days, thinking would take a lot of effort. The discovery of new things never stop as people have that urge to continue improves lives. In history and philosophy classes, great thinkers and philosophers were often studied. It is pretty amazing to read their works and come up with such incredible thoughts at that time. Often, they talk about leadership and politics. It was a time when countries are still developed and lands are yet to be discovered so a great leadership was very important. Although we would still analyze and review the philosophers’ works, more often their teachings cannot be applied to the current times. Sometimes change does not only involve technology and advancement, it can also apply to leadership and certain philosophical views. A great factor would involve the changing times. The lifestyle and the culture of the people are much different thousands of years ago. It was a time that women were limited to do domestic chores. Philosophers like Plato and Aristotle, wrote about what they of women during that time. It was probably a time when the role of women in the society is not defined. Of course, women nowadays are powerful and strong. They have created their mark in the society and gender bias in a lot of major industries is non-existent. That is why a lot of rules and laws cannot be applied to the world today. However, there are still some teachings that can be used up to now. These are the teachings that involve a great perspective in life. Sometimes, an illustrious perspective on life makes a person great. Anyway, the brain is the most powerful organ that is why the mind should take control of one’s lives. Teachings about life are very important that is why some philosophers and great thinkers are idolized and people formed a religion to continue preaching their teachings. One of the members of the long list of philosophers is Boethius. Although not as familiar as Aristotle and Plato, Anicius Manlius Severinus is the real name of this Roman philosopher but he was more famously known as Boethius. Boethius was born from a wealthy and educated family and like any other kids during that time; he studied poetry, mathematics and philosophy. Theodoric, the Gothic King ruling from Italy to Rome, appointed him court minister. Soon, his two sons became court ministers as well. He was a bold and brave man, with thoughts envied by a lot of people. His boldness is what brought him down as he became the object of vengeance of those oppressed. Boethius was known to check in the oppressions of some leaders. He was then accused of treason and was stripped of his dignities. In 524, he was executed in Pavia. While in prison, Boethius immersed himself in writing and there he wrote his greatest work. His masterpiece, The Consolation of Philosophy, talks about random thoughts about nature, justice and evil doings. The Consolation of Philosophy is a work mixed of prose and verse. It is a copy of Boethius conversation with Philosophy during the lonely years of the prisoners’ life. The work was theistic overall but it did not indicate whether the writer was Christian or not. In the Consolation of Philosophy, Philosophy showed Boethius how uncertain earthly fortune is and there is nothing more secure than virtue. Boethius was the last great Roman writer who translated Aristotle’s work. His translations were the sole means of studying Greek philosophy for a long time. His manuals on geometry, music, philosophy, arithmetic and astronomy were used in medieval schools. It may seem that Boethius may be having apparitions in his prison, but these visions came with a great message and a deeper insight. Boethius saw the reason behind his imprisonment and his conversations with Philosophy ended his misery and opened his eyes to better things, better perception. There was more to a great fortune and earthly things. It was probably some of the great things that Philosophy advised him that can still be applied up to the modern times. The first part of the book opens with Boethius having some afternoon thinking and writing when all of a sudden a woman appears in front of her. He described the woman as very beautiful and having a very powerful presence. He distinctively described her dress having embroidered the Greek letter Pi at the bottom and on the top hem, Theta. There was a ladder in between the two letters. She was holding books to her right hand and a scepter in the left. She was the Muse of Poetry. Boethius was currently having one of his many melancholy moments. Tears were trickling down Boethius’ eyes when the Muse of Poetry became angry. She was questioning the existence of sluts in Boethius’ place. She says that they only provide him temporary happiness that will not help him in his condition but instead will worsen it. The Muse of Poetry then pushed away the girls and they left in dismay. Boethius was teary-eyed as they left but eventually the Muse will explain why she did such thing (O’Donnell 21). The first part of the book shows how deserted Boethius feelings was in the prison that he tries to enjoy his self from getting temporary happiness. Apparitions or not, the Muse of Poetry shooed away the cause of all these but Boethius couldn’t help but feel terrible of her act he even questioned her authority. This lesson can still be applied to modern times. Often, when people have problems they are pushed to do band-aid solutions that will give them a short term solution to their problem. It is such an emotional thing to do that people do not even think of the long term effect or even the long term solution to their problem. A concrete example would be poverty. It is a sad fact that poor people are often pushed to do the bad thing. When a person is desperate to get food, he often steals. This solution just makes things more complicated as that person ends up ruining his life by spending it in jail. It is one of the many things that emotions take over and the mind stays behind. People often think of short-term solutions to their problems without considering the long-term consequences of these short-term solutions. The next stanza talks about how the Muse of Poetry consoled Boethius grieving soul. It was very well written with descriptions of how miserable Boethius has been. She assured Boethius that everything was going to be okay and that it was a time of healing not grieving. The Muse narrated how he brought up Boethius—being the great man that he is now. And although his situation may seem to be not bright, these too shall pass for the Muse is there to protect him and assure him that his virtues will prevail in this hardship (O’Donnell 24). This stanza was definitely was of the most touching part of the book. Really, this was the consolation of philosophy and one can’t help but feel for Boethius suffering. He was deprived of the life he deserved yet his imprisonment didn’t stop him from writing wonderful works. The second stanza also hints on the probable religion of the Philosopher—Christianity. The Muse somehow reminds me of Mother Mary and how she would protect her son from danger. It also signifies that the philosopher believes in a supernatural being that is more powerful than the earthly soul. Like any other human being, Boethius was going through probably the toughest battle in his life. And every human goes through that. No matter how driven or optimistic we are in our lives, there will always come a point that we want to give up. What the Muse was trying to communicate was that Boethius was born and made greater than his problems. And that does not exempt us. This made be theistic, but God won’t give us a problem that we could not bear. It is just normal that we feel like giving up at times especially when all hope’s lost but all we have to do is to stick to that goal and the universe will conspire to make life better for us. The next stanza talks about how the night ended and the day started with Boethius describing his physician examining him. The physician turned out to be Philosophy and she narrated how she has been with Boethius all along. She narrated how she started with Plato and Socrates and how she has turned out to be what she is now. She explained to Boethius how she has been taking care of him all throughout his life. The next stanza narrates his conversation with Philosophy. She tested him of the things he knew and welcomed him of her questions. The first thing that Philosophy asked him was if believed that life is full of chances. And he bluntly answered that God governs his creations and everything happens for a reason and he will never abandon His creation. The Philosophy then asked him why he was in such grief when he believes that God knows the best for him. By then, the writer was dumbstruck for he did not know the answer. The Philosophy knew something was missing and she was right. Boethius soon confessed that he was overpowered by grief. He knew the answer but he was just miserable to realize that the answer was just right in front of him. Philosophy then declared that the reason of his sickness is his grief and it was he who created all of those (O’Donnell 28). The following lines were so powerful that one cannot help but relate to Boethius’ situation. Pretty sure every one has gone through that pain. It was a feeling of emptiness and pity. It was as if the world has gone against us and everything is so not going our way. At the back of our minds, we know that something great is lurking around. We just have to be patient as good things come to those who wait. It was also just a matter of believing and working for whatever it that we want. It was a matter of realizing that we are in control of our lives—through God’s guidance that is. In general, the teachings of Philosophy can definitely still be applied to modern times. We all go through trials no matter what time or age we may be. It is just a matter of perspective. And although Boethius didn’t have any material thing left for him, it was his virtue that was more important than anything else. And that applies to all of us as well. Work Cited O’Donell, J. Life of Boethius. Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania. Pages, 1996.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

The Cloud Computing Assignment

The Cloud Computing Assignment With the development of Internet and computer software technology, there is a long term existence of a new trend expected to continue, which is the so-called Cloud Computing. (Hu, L et al, 2009) Boss et al. (2007, p. 4) argue that a Cloud is a pool of virtualized computer resources. (Weinhardt, C et al, 2008) This paper will briefly look into the definitions of cloud computing and its service models, and introduces a cloud computing service by Google for education and universities with its benefits. Introduction Boss et al. (2007, p. 4), argue that a Cloud is a pool of virtualized computer resources. They consider clouds to complement grid environments by supporting the management of grid resources. In particular, according to this definition, clouds allow the dynamic scale-in and scale -out of applications by the provisioning and de-provisioning of resources. (Weinhardt, C et al, 2008) The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) defines cloud computing as a model for enabling convenient and on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources such as networks, servers, storage, applications and services that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction. Wikipedia website defines cloud computing as an Internet based computing, whereby shared resources, software and information are provided to computers and other devices on demand, like a public utility. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b5/Cloud_computing.svg/300px-Cloud_computing.svg.png In cloud computing environment, applications and the storage of data are significantly different. Applications and data are hosted to the Cloud and no longer running or saved on the personal computers. The cloud is formed by a collection of servers and computers and viewing the data and using the applications are done via the Internet. Cloud computing allows the users to access the applications and information from any computer connected to the Internet from anywhere around the world. This makes the remote collaboration easier for the users. Although cloud computing brings a great flexibility and ease of use for the users, but the security and safety of the applications and information is a major concern which must be considered and be prepared to solve any problems that may occur when switching to cloud computing as web-based data and applications have potential security risks. (Hu, L et al, 2009) What Comprises Cloud Computing? According to the definition of cloud computing by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) which mentioned earlier in this paper, cloud computing promotes availability and is comprised by five essential characteristics, three cloud service models, and four cloud deployment models. (See Figure 2) Essential Characteristics Service Models Deployment Models The service models comprise; cloud software as a service (SaaS), cloud platform as a service (PaaS) and cloud infrastructure as a service (IaaS). Cloud Software as a Service (SaaS) The users are able to use the providers applications running on a cloud infrastructure. Users can access the applications from different client devices via a client interface such as web browsers. (For example, yahoo email which is web-based). The application providers manage and control the underlying cloud infrastructure including storage, operating systems and networks. This service model usually put limitation on configuration of the applications by users. Cloud Platform as a Service (PaaS) The users are capable of deploying onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquired applications created by using programming languages and tools which are supported by the providers. Like (SaaS) the users don not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure including storage, operating systems and network but they have control on deployed applications and possibly are able to configure the applications. Cloud Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) The users are provided with the capability of provision processing, storage, and networks and able to deploy and run arbitrary software including operating systems and applications. Like the other two services that mentioned above, the users do not manage the underlying cloud infrastructure but has control over deployed applications, storage and operating systems. (National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2009) Discussion The Internet service providers such as Amazon, Google and IBM are extending computing infrastructures and platforms as a core for providing top level services for computation, storage, database and applications. Figure 3 gives an overview of the type of cloud computing services on demand and their providers. Universities needs for ICT and cloud computing In a very simplified way, the needs for ICT in a university are demonstrated in figure 4. There are different groups and departments in a university including students and staff who have demand for IT services. As shown in figure 4, an IT department should provide software such as email accounts, special applications for different courses and hardware such as computers and servers for the users. The IT department can shift these services to the cloud to enable students and staff using these services via the providers of SaaS, IaaS and PaaS. For example, an application which is launched by a student resides on the server of the SaaS cloud provider and is accessed via the Internet. Another example is, many of the Customer Relationships Management (CRM) software such as SugarCRM, Oracle and Microsoft CRM are on host SaaS as well as on premise. The same situation applies when extra hardware such as virtual servers or computers is needed for students and staff. In this scenario, the IaaS cloud provider will execute the service online. If a department or group in the university wants to use all the software and hardware that they need online (i.e. for hosting application developed by a group of students) then it is possible through a PaaS cloud provider. (Sultan, 2010) Cloud Computing Costs Cloud computing can help the universities to rationalize the way they manage their resources. One of the good reasons for shifting to cloud computing is to get economic benefit in current recession. Cloud computing prove to be a great benefit and empowering in some situations to the universities due to its flexibility and cost structure. (Sultan, 2010) Simplification, costs and convenience of the way of delivering computer related services via cloud computing are the keys which should be considered for shifting to the cloud. Cloud computing reduces IT costs such as installation and maintaining of applications. Also continues upgrade of software and hardware and the cost of these products is another reason for universities to consider shifting to cloud computing. To promote the university and attract students, universities should always be on the lookout for the new IT services and products. Cloud computing is a way to achieve these products (Software Hardware) at affordable prices. The electricity costs for running an IT infrastructure in a university for hardware such as servers, switches and back-up drives could be very expensive. Therefore shifting a university to cloud computing is likely to reduce these costs and other related expenses. (Joint et al, 2009) In addition, cloud computing means shifting the management and responsibility of these service and products to their provider. This may result in cost saving with relation to human resources as fewer IT employees will be needed for the IT department. Cloud Computing and the environment By reducing the number of hardware devices needed in the university to run the software and applications and replacing them with cloud computing systems, the amount of energy for running and cooling the hardware devices will be reduced. Also using cloud computing telecommunication techniques such as printing and file transfers reduces the need for office space, buying office furniture, disposing of old furniture, buying chemicals for cleaning the offices and more. Those cloud telecommunication techniques also may reduce the need for driving to work and resulting in decrease with relation to carbon dioxide emissions. (IBM, 2010) Google Apps for Higher Education; Less IT More IQ Google offers cloud computing services for higher education and is called Google Apps. Google Apps consists of advanced communication and collaboration tools for education and universities without the cost and complexity of maintaining on-site hardware and software free of charge and advertisements. Currently many of the universities, colleges and schools from all around the world including Kingston College, University of Leeds and University of Portsmouth in the UK are using Google Apps. (See figure 5) Google Apps enable the students getting connected to the campus with mobile access wand 7 GBs email storage which is protected against spam and viruses. It also enables them to stay connected with built-in instance messaging (IM), voice and video chat and file transfering. Students can share calendar and schedule groups, rooms and so on from even mobile phones. Creating and sharing documents such as word, spreadsheets and presentations online from any location by students and teachers is the collaboration feature of Google Apps. They can also share videos that anyone can comment on, tag and rate. Also they are able to build shared websites that include videos, images and documents, create forums and mailing lists. Using Google Apps helps the IT staff to focus on other activities such as adding value to the IT facilities rather than being worried and engaged with the IT problems which may occur. There is no software to install, and no need for hardware. Google Apps have created a multitude of APIs and have approved partners to help the universities for integrating with their existing IT system. (Google, 2010) Conclusion Cloud computing is an emerging and a good model of delivering computing services for education by relying on existing technologies such as Internet, web services and virtualization. It offers the universities substantial cost saving and more efficient way of providing IT services to the students and staff. The universities can reduce their IT services cost such as software, hardware, and maintenance of the applications and shift the responsibility of the IT services to the service providers. Google Apps is an example of cloud computing system for education which is discussed earlier in this paper. Students can get real benefits of Google Apps such as 7 GBs email storage, easy collaboration with each other and the lecturers and so on. Furthermore, cloud computing is environmentally friendly as the reduction in number of hardware devices decreases the amount of energy for running and cooling those devices. Also cloud computing telecommunication techniques reduces the need for driving to work and results in reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. It is important to consider that cloud computing might not be suitable for all organisations such as those which the loss of service as a result of cloud problems is a major concern and may have an impact on their customer services and loss of sales. Unreliable IT services in a university makes a bad reputation and have effect on the university rank. In conclusion, with the speed of technology innovation and the benefits of clouding it is likely that in the near future the education centres shift their IT services to the cloud. Therefore the safety and security of the critical data and information is an issue in cloud computing which should be considered by the providers to attract the education centres. For example the law would possibly allow the governments or other organisations to access certain data and information. Thus for the time being the universities should consider clouding only on certain data and resources not the critical information.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Who im i? :: essays research papers

Who are you? Who I am well†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.I’m a heterosexual female. I’m 19 years old and I was born in the 20th century. For a girl like me to have a boyfriend in this days is like- ok I have a boyfriend and? But in the 20th century, 50 years ago for my grandmother was really different. She is always telling me story about her life and in one of those story she told me she got married at the age of 13. (I didn’t find that a big deal) because now a days the girls get married in my country at the age of 11 o even 10. She told me – be quiet and listen to me. – When I got married I didn’t know my husband to be. I met him the same day I was going to marry him. I said –why? My parents choose him for me and in those days in town got married in the same way. - I was still playing with my dolls! – she told me, when she was telling me that, I felt bad because I understood what she was tying to tell me, she was force to married to somebody she d idn’t know. In those days that happened very often and there is nothing you could do about it.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   But I wanted to know what was all that about. My great-grand father was a very rich a powerful men and he had a lot of business everywhere and about his personality you can imaging how he was in those days. He never liked to loose but in some cases he did loose a lot of money. He got business with a man called Julian. Julian used to live very far away from my grand- father house actually in other town. I don’t know what happened between then but I know that my great-grandfather gave is own daughter in marriage to Julian. (Don’t ask me what the reason is) my great- grandfather is still mad at me because I tried to manipulate him. – I just wanted to know the whole story about his business and my grandmother. But he didn’t say a word after the manipulation thi ng. But it looks like he married his daughter with other powerful men like him and they both could handle good business together. That marriage didn’t last long because he was a cheater and even though my grand mother was young she knew somehow learn what was good and what was bad.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Penny in the Dust

Penny in the Dust In the short story â€Å"Penny in the Dust† by Ernest Bucker, we see a father-son relationship. Three points that I will be discussing are: Pete and his qualities, the conflict, and the relationship Pete and his father have. In this story we see a weak father and son relationship in the starting, which becomes better and stronger. First of all, Pete is a 7-year old boy who learns how much his father loves him. Pete is softhearted boy who loves his father more than a 7-year old boy would. Pete is also an inarticulate child who is unable to tell his father his feeling for him.Another quality Pete has is that he is very sensitive person. We see this when he cried after losing the penny. One quote that shows that Pete is inarticulate is when he states, â€Å"Oh thanks† I said. Nothing more. I couldn’t expose any of my eagerness either. † after he receives the penny. This shows Pete wanted to say something, but didn’t know how. Pete is s ofthearted, inarticulate, and sensitive boy who wants to show his love for his dad, but is unable to. In addition, Pete and his father are unable to tell one another how much they love each other.We can see the theme throughout the story; one example is when the father was unable to give the penny to his son. He had to wait till it caught Pete’s attention, and then give it. The conflict affects Pete, because he wants to tell his father everything he imagines, but doesn’t know how. An example of the conflict affecting Pete is when he is unable to tell the whole story about him losing the penny. Also another example is when Pete and his father were farming, he was unable to tell his father his opinions. He couldn’t tell his father if he wanted three rows or four rows, or if he could put him up on the oxen.I think the conflict is believable, because the Father is inarticulate while his son is very imaginative. So it can get awkward when they are talking to each oth er. Both the father and son were affected by the conflict, but in the end they were able to make an emotional connection. Lastly is the theme, which is the relationship between the father and son. The father-son relationship is important, because Pete and his father learn a lot more about each other than before. The relationship starts off weak, but ends up strong. At first Pete was unable to tell his dad how he lost the penny.He said, â€Å"If father hadn’t been there I might have told her the whole story. † In the end when the father finds the penny, Pete is able to tell the whole story to him. Also for the first time, his father had tears in his eyes, and also put his arm around Pete. In fact, the theme can be observed through Pete’s actions. He is always reluctant talking to his dad, and doesn’t really communicate with him. At the outset of the story, Pete doesn’t have much of a relationship with his dad, but upon losing the penny and then look ing for it with his dad, he develops one.Accordingly, he also becomes more open and able to talk to his dad. Finally, Pete discovers that his father does love him. The theme is important for both the father and Pete, because in the beginning they have a weak relationship, but in the end they develop a better one. Now they know each other better and can support one another. Father and son relationships are still important, because if you don’t have a relationship than you will be unable to understand and support one another. Also when you are older you will be able to make a better relationship with you children.In short, the theme and characters are important, because it will impact their life and possibly everyone around them. In conclusion, we should all have a good relationship with our family, so it can benefit us in the future. In this story we see Pete as a softhearted, inarticulate and sensitive boy, he also is timid to sharing his feeling of his dad to him. Also in th e end we see a strong father-son relationship forming. In brief, in the story we see a small relationship between the father and son, but it evolves to become a better and stronger bond. By: Manraj Sangha

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Maternal Health Care Utilization Health And Social Care Essay

This paper reports about a research work which was conducted in the Sichuan Province in China to analyze assorted determiners of maternal wellness among adult females of cultural minority in the state during March and April 2007. Despite the fact that China has demonstrated diminution in maternal mortality ( from 89 per 100,000 unrecorded births in 1990 to 47.7 deceases per 100,000 unrecorded births in 2005 ) , this diminution is non every bit observed in the state with a big difference between urban and rural populations. Rural countries have continued to see high maternal morbidity and mortality peculiarly among adult females of cultural minority and as a consequence, positions of maternal wellness among these disadvantaged ethnic groups are still hapless. Globally, inequalities and unfairnesss between bulk and minority cultural groups in resource-constrained countries have continuously documented. With 55 minority groups ( representing to 8.41 % of China ‘s entire population ) , China is non an exclusion. Knowing this, the Government of China was determined to put in betterment of wellness services and insurance strategies in rural China through its Eleventh Five Year Plan. Linked to this is the demand to achieve the Millennium Development Goal on maternal wellness which aims to cut down maternal mortality by 75 % by 2015. In add-on, the writers of this paper had been carry oning research in the Sichuan state since 2004. The research was conducted as a collaborative enterprise by Chinese and Australian opposite numbers. All of the above facts formed the footing and principle for the demand of the research reported in this article.The intent of this researchThe chief intent of this research was to garner grounds that would be used to rede the Government of China on how best to better proviso of maternal wellness services among cultural minority population groups. Specifically, the research intended to look into factors impacting use of maternal wellness attention among the Yi and Mong adult females and to suggest appropriate intercessions that could be used to better use degrees of the services. This was planned to be learned through analyzing societal economic factors and wellness seeking behavior of the Yi and Mong adult females on one manus and measuring wellness system factors impacting proviso of choice maternal wellness services on the other.Research methods, beginnings of informations and analysisChiefly, the survey was descriptive chiefly using qualitative methods. Both primary and secondary informations were used whereas primary informations were collected through interviews with different classs of survey participants and secondary informations were obtained through infirmary record reappraisal.Method of informations aggregationPrimary information was collected by carry oning single interviews. Research workers used interview ushers which allowed examining inquiries. The writers qualify the interviews to be â€Å" semiformal † because during the procedure of carry oning the interviews, some formal processs of single interviews were non followed. In some occasions hubbies of the interviewed adult females were welcomed at the terminal of the treatment and other relations and community members would garner around doing the interview attain characteristics of group treatment. Word count: 459Secondary informations were collected through record reappraisal at MCH infirmary in the state. Additional secondary information was gathered from beginnings such as offices of wellness directors, the County Bureau of Health and literature.Sampling scheme and sizeBasically, purposeful sampling was applied. The mark survey participants were chiefly adult females who had given birth in the period of 10 old ages prior to the survey. In placing single adult females to be interviewed, sweet sand verbena technique ( i.e. utilizing one participant to place and urge for another eligible participant ) was employed. The traditional birth attenders ( TBAs ) were every bit good obtained through snowballing technique. Other classs of survey participants were strategically identified based on their function in the community ( e.g. traditional therapists ) or by virtuousness of their place in the wellness services bringing system ( e.g. wellness suppliers, wellness directors and the functionaries from the County Bureau of Health ) . The Table below summarizes sample size by class of survey participants. Summary of sample sizeClass of survey participantsSample sizeWomans ( from the cultural minority ) 56 Traditional Birth Attendants ( TBA ) 7 Male traditional therapists 2 Health workers at the township infirmary 5 Directors and staff from the county and general infirmaries 6 Administrators from the County Bureau of Health 2 Reappraisal of records of adult females who gave birth at the township infirmary in 2006 22 Reappraisal of records of adult females who were referred to other wellness installations 6Questions and facets asked during interviewsApart from roll uping demographic information of each survey participant ( such as age, instruction, ethnicity, business, and para – which were general inquiries ) , other inquiries were specific for specific classs of survey participants. Womans were asked about their experiences in gestations and childbearings such as prenatal clinic attending, topographic point of birth, grounds for taking a peculiar topographic point of birth, support they got during bringing and who attended them and if they attended postpartum attention. They were besides asked inquiries to set up their degrees of cognition on issues related to gestation and childbearing ; how and where they acquired such cognition and information about maternal wellness in general. Household degree patterns such as who makes determinations when it comes to issues related to gestation and childbearing were every bit good asked. In add-on, they were asked about the class of act ion normally taken when one experiences maternal complications and if any of them experienced maternal complication or if they know any other adult females who had experienced maternal complications. Finally, they were asked from their point of position how they regarded the populace and private wellness attention and services in general and urge on betterments that they would wish the authorities to implement. Word count: 509TBAs were asked how they practiced their work, figure of adult females and kids they have assisted to present, their interactions with the adult females and their households every bit good as with the public wellness attention bringing system. The wellness workers, wellness directors and functionaries from the Health Bureau were besides interviewed to capture issues related to maternal attention demands from authorities positions every bit good as challenges that the authorities was confronting in presenting maternal wellness services.Methods of informations analysis usedThe qualitative information was analysed utilizing a grouping system of the informations sets. Data was categorized in wide subjects and cardinal words were used to put groups of texts into several subjects. Analysis was besides done by age, ethnicity, instruction, business, abode and para. Subjects such as attending to ANC clinics, postpartum attention, topographic point of bringing, entree of wellnes s attention, cost related to accessing wellness services, other barriers to accessing attention such as cultural beliefs and general wellness seeking behaviors were used. Similarly, analysis was done to develop frequences of demographic information such as age, instruction, residence vicinity and distance to the township infirmary. Consequences from this analysis were besides compared and contrasted with regard to the clip period of the being of the township infirmary. In-depth analysis was besides done by pulling sub-samples to find specific issues such as determination devising processes at family degree in relation to pick of a topographic point of birth. Secondary informations reappraisal for available infirmary records of adult females who utilized bringing services in the life-time of the infirmary was besides applied.Key research findingsAlthough the survey found that ANC and postpartum attending were low and that by and large there were more place bringings than installation based 1s, accounts on these findings are obtained by reading of the cardinal findings of the survey. These include the followers: Geographic handiness is non a cardinal barrier to accessing maternal wellness services in Xinjie The survey revealed that in the period of being of the township infirmary, 90.3 % of adult females delivered at place. However, this is non supported by distance from adult females ‘s abodes to the infirmary because, in-depth analysis on 22 adult females who delivered in the infirmary in 2006 showed that more adult females ( 64 % ) were coming from far off villages every bit compared to merely 23 % who lived near to the infirmary. Analysis of a sub-sample of adult females who were pregnant during the interview farther supported this determination as 4 of the 7 adult females were be aftering to present at place. Quality of wellness attention services at the township infirmary was low If compared to higher degree and or metropolis infirmaries, quality of wellness services at Xinjie infirmary was low. Inability to carry on cesarean subdivisions, staff with limited preparation, deficiency of blood bank, failure to pull off exigency obstetric issues and deficiency of exigency conveyance were noted. Women besides expressed concerns on deficiency of proviso of hurting slayers when they delivered to ease the hurting. The installation substructure lacked privateness during bringing. Furthermore, adult females were uncomfortable to be attended by male wellness attention workers who were the bulk. Cultural insensitiveness of bringing patterns in the infirmary such as sitting place during delivered was besides identified by interviewees. These factors were extremely valued and helped explicate fewer installation based bringings observed. They indicate that quality may keep a higher value than cost and distance as some adult females were willing to go long distances to other infirmaries where they perceived quality was better. Word count: 475Cost of maternal wellness services was unaffordable for many adult females and insurance strategy was non good understood and non good working The policy in China involves paying for maternal wellness. Women reported to pay for conveyance, adjustment, medical specialties, and service charge for bringing. It was made clear in the analysis that adult females who delivered in the infirmary paid every bit much as several thousand kwai. These costs were non to the full covered by the bing insurance policy and re-imbursement for prescribed medicines covered merely a narrow scope of medical specialties. Procedures for re-imbursement and benefiting from the insurance were ill-defined to many adult females and bureaucratic. A struggle of involvement among wellness workers over raising hospital gross led to pattern of over prescription, therefore increasing cost of attention to adult females. Traditional cognition, experiences and accomplishments in childbearing were readily available The survey sample included 7 TBAs who reported to hold abundant cognition and experience on gestation related issues, kid bearing and attention after birth. These were merely a few of many other adult females particularly the married 1s in the communities who had similar cognition and accomplishments. Since these adult females with expertness were readily available in propinquity of people ‘s abodes, their services were more utilized than infirmary services. The out of use nexus between hospital staff and TBAs due to authorities policy farther gave TBAs patterns more popularity. This could explicate the low ANC attending ( 20.6 % ) and low postnatal attention use ( 9.7 % ) observed among the adult females from different sub-samples in the survey. The policy to bettering maternal wellness services for marginalised groups was new and required farther reexamine Policy on user fees and insurance strategies was found to be a barrier. In add-on, context specific issues such as geographical handiness, cultural patterns, exposure and differences in economic capacities of different groups in societies had non received a closer expression by the authorities. Hospitals in marginalised communities such as the Xinjie infirmary has received limited resources to supply quality services.DecisionsThe writers drew three chief decisions from the findings. First, they recognise that use of maternal wellness services is low among the studied cultural minority adult females in the state. However, they associate this state of affairs to their 2nd decision that other factors than geographical handiness to wellness installations are the grounds for this low use. They observed in their 3rd decision that place bringings are common and this is attributed to issues related to chiefly quality of attention, cost and deficiency of acknowledgment of traditional values a nd civilization. Word count: 438 Word count: 520As portion of their decision they recommend for prolonging the nomadic clinic intercession late introduced, bettering links between wellness workers and TBAs and traditional therapists, and reappraisal of policies particularly on household planning and penalty policy for staff who do non run into prescribed marks for infirmary based bringings.Contemplations on findings with regard to ain stateBy and large, there are more similarities than differences in findings between those reported in this article with what prevails in my ain state ( Tanzania ) . Despite a good web of public wellness installations, low use of maternal wellness services is a large job in Tanzania where merely 50 % of bringings are installation based ( TZ DHS, 2010 ) . Similarly, while Xinjie has witnessed a little addition of installation based bringings in the recent 3 old ages prior to the survey, Tanzania has besides attained a little addition by 3 % traveling from 47 % in 2004 ( TZDHS, 2004-5 ) t o 50 % . More of these issues are more common in rural countries than in urban for both states. Such rural territories observe lower per centums than the national figures shown supra. Unlike Xinjie, geographical handiness is one of cardinal factors in rural communities in accessing maternal wellness services in Tanzania. Despite the fact that 90 % of the Tanzanian population live within 5 kilometers from a wellness installation ( MOHSW, 2007 ) , geographical barriers and hapless roads topped with seasonality remain cardinal and back easiness of timely entree of wellness services. Both states portion a similar job on quality of attention. Availability of skilled forces has been a job. Merely 51 % of institutional bringings are assisted by skilled forces ( TZ DHS, 2010 ) . Irregular drug handiness and stock out of indispensable equipment and supplies are among factors impairing quality of wellness services. Traditional practicians such as TBAs and therapists besides exist in Tanzania. However, unlike China, Tanzania has recognized and integrated TBAs and traditional therapists in the wellness system and introduced a enrollment system. The function of the TBAs, nevertheless, remains that of guidance and referral. In some territories, inducements have been introduced whereby TBAs who refer adult females to wellness installations are rewarded. Besides, Tanzania has a good developed wellness policy for primary wellness attention which has been evaluated and reviewed several times. There is monolithic political will and back up. Though outgo on wellness has remained deficient, there is a little addition in budget for wellness over the decennary and the authorities investing on wellness is promoting. Based on these worlds, the decisions and recommendations made for the Xinjie and China might non be appropriate for Tanzania due to difference in context ( politically, socially, and culturally ) and degree of development of the primary wellness attention system.