Illiteracy Rate Of Mozambique At A Glance Education Essay

Illiteracy Rate Of Mozambique At A Glance Education Essay The purpose of our research is to have a better understanding about the condition of illiteracy in Mozambique such as the reasons of high illiteracy rate in Mozambique, gender issues and solutions to reduce illiteracy. Illiteracy is defined as the condition of being unable to read and write. Our area of study is focused on Mozambique which is one of the country of Bottom Billion. We also hope to raise the awareness among all nations about the importance of education through this research. The sampling method we used throughout this research is purposive sampling and snowball sampling. We have sent out our questionnaire which consists of 9 questions to 30 respondents who came from Mozambique. They are all full time students resident in Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP). Each of them is given 15 minutes to answer the questions. Our research is a small scale study which concentrates only on Mozambican students in UTP. From our research, we found out that most of the respondents grade illiteracy rate as average. Besides, the main reason behind the high illiteracy rate in Mozambique is due to insufficient budgets. Female has higher illiteracy rate than male is because of the cultural background of Mozambique. Introducing more high quality teachers and provide enough facilities are among the effective solutions to reduce illiteracy rate, as stated by our respondents. In conclusion, the Mozambique government should revise their current plan in reducing the illiteracy rate in Mozambique. Besides, the government should also compromise and develop strategies with international communities to contain enough funds for education facilities and adult literacy programs, so that every Mozambicans can gain access to basic education. The limitations of our research are that our scope of study is narrow and it does not represent the overall opinions of every Mozambicans. Thus, the research is encouraged to be carried out outside UTP with a larger group of respondents involved, so that the data obtained is more reliable. The time allocated to complete this research should be increased too, in order to intensify our understandings and researches on the illiteracy in Mozambique. CONTENTS Abstract à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ pg.2 Chapter 1: Introduction à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. pg.4 5 Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1 Mozambique (Country Context) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. pg.6 2.2 History of Literacy in Mozambique à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ pg.6 7 2.3 Statistics of Illiteracy in Mozambique .à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. pg.7 8 2.4 Structure of the current educational systemà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. pg.8 2.5 Reasons, solutions and consequences regarding illiteracy pg.9 10 Chapter 3: Methodology 3.1 Overview à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ pg.11 3.2 Population/Sample à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ pg.11 3.3 Location à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. pg.11 3.4 Limitation à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ pg.11-12 3.5 Sampling technique à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. pg.12 3.6 Procedure à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ pg.12 3.7 Materials à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. pg.13 3.8 Statistical Treatment à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. pg.13 Chapter 4: Results à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. pg.14 18 Chapter 5: Discussion 5.1 Reason behind the high illiteracy rate in Mozambique à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ pg.19 5.2 Effects of illiteracy à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. pg.20 5.3 Illiteracy rate among women and men in Mozambique à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ pg.20 5.4 Solutions to overcome illiteracy in Mozambique à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ pg.20 21 5.5 The role of the international communityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. pg.21 5.6 Limitations and Recommendation à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ pg.22 Chapter 6: Conclusion à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ pg.23 References à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. pg.24 25 Appendix Sample Questionnaire à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. pg.26 27 Chapter 1: Introduction Our group has decided to study the issue of illiteracy which still exists, in fact, getting more serious for the Bottom Billion. Based on Oxford dictionary, illiteracy is defined as the condition of being unable to read and write. It can be further explained as the ignorance resulting from not reading. The Bottom Billion refers to those people living in impoverished countries which fail to progress, despite international aid and support. Collier (2007) points out that the majorities of the 5-billion people in the developing world are getting richer at an unprecedented rate, however, a group of countries, where mostly in Africa and Central Asia, are stuck and that development assistance should be focused heavily on them. In this context, the conflict of illiteracy is rather important and need to be resolved immediately. Our area of study is focused on Mozambique. Mozambique situated in south eastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, with almost 17.5 million inhabitants living in an area of 801,590 km2. The countrys main economy is based on agriculture where more than 70% of the population live in rural areas and work mainly in agriculture, forestry and fisheries. In All Africa (2011), Deputy Education Minister Augusto Jone pointed out that the illiteracy rate was 60.5% when the First Literacy and Adult Education Strategy were approved in 2005, however in between 2005 and 2010; the rate was cut to 48.1%. Besides, South African Press Association (2007) stated, Ernesto Muianga, the national director of adult education in the ministry of education and culture said illiteracy level in the country is still low where only seven out of 100 Mozambicans could read and write. Melo (n.d.) mentioned that Mozambique is still lack of schools and teachers to guarantee education for the nations youth after independence in 1975 where an estimated 60% of adults still cannot read and write, with the illiteracy rate higher among women. These studies focused on the illiteracy rate in Mozambique which has fluctuated. Our research paper is to get a better understanding and to investigate the condition of illiteracy in Mozambique. The increasing interest in the issue of illiteracy has heightened the need for education as a necessary element of development and fundamental human right. An educated population is essential to national development. Education is considered a key factor in promoting social well-being and in poverty reduction because it can have a positive impact on national productivity. This investigation hopes to create awareness among all nations so that the development of a country and human civilization is not neglected due to insufficient education. Our research paper hopes to answer the following questions: What are the reasons behind the high illiteracy rate in Mozambique? What are the effects of illiteracy? Why is the illiteracy rate among women higher than men in Mozambique? What are the solutions to overcome illiteracy in Mozambique? How effective is the role of the international community in helping to improve the situation? We hope our research paper is able to answer these questions. To complete this task, interview has been used as methodology. Our respondents are the Mozambiques students studying in Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) so that we can obtain the information directly. Our numbers of respondents are expected to be around 30. Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1 Mozambique (Country Context) Mozambique, with almost 17.5 million inhabitants living in an area of approximately 801590 km2, has the highest population among the former Portuguese African colonized country. (Mario Nandja, 2005) The main economy of Mozambique is depends on agriculture. Thus, most of the Mozambicans live in rural areas which make up of 70% of total population. They work mainly in agriculture, forestry and fisheries. According to the World Bank (2011), Mozambique also have large share of youth population with about 44 per-cent of population is younger than 15 years old. After independence from colonization of Portugal for about 470 years in 1975, Mozambique was left with a very high illiteracy rate among adults with the illiteracy rate of about 93%. According to USAID (2009), an estimated of 60% of adult is still unable to read and write in 2009 where the rate decrease for about 33% with higher illiteracy rate among female. 2.2 History of Literacy in Mozambique During the colonial period, formal education in Mozambique was provided by Koranic schools in Muslim towns. In 1907, education is conducted in Portuguese and some other native languages, where schools and textbooks were subjected to government approval. The class of Assimilados was firstly introduced in 1927 which separates Africans who possess a fluent command of Portuguese. In 1930, the education system has reached an amount of 47 elementary schools with 11217 students, 186 rudimentary schools where basic Portuguese were taught to just fewer than 30000 Africans and one secondary school in the capital of Mozambique. (Wikipedia, 2012) Unfortunately, in the Mozambique Civil War (1977-1992) after the national independence from Portugal in 1975, schools were a particular target of Renamo attacks which causes the literacy rate decreases from 20% in 1983 to 14% in 1990. According to Mario and Nandja (2005), this first phase of education, from 1975 until the mid-1980, has recognized the importance of education as one of the main element of the national education. Mario and Nandja states that: This phase was marked by a dynamic and multifaceted process in which the people were mobilized in national reconstruction tasks, forging national unity and affirming their Mozambican identity. Accordingly: a number of nationwide adult literacy and education campaigns were conducted; a series of planned and agreed adult education and training schemes involving particular enterprises, communities and social sectors considered strategic for the social and economic development of the country were launched. From mid-1980s until 1995, the second phase of education in Mozambique went on and was marked by a substantial reduction in adult literacy and education activities owning to the escalation in the destabilization war. When National Adult Education Department was disbanded, this phase ended where their activities were taken over by National Basic Education Department. The third and as well as the last phase began in 1995 and is still going on that it can be as a process of rediscovery and rescue of adult literacy and education. In 1998, United Nations has estimated a literacy rate of 40% in Mozambique, where the literacy rate among women was almost half of the men. 2.3 Statistics of Illiteracy in Mozambique According to United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (2012), the adult literacy rate of Mozambique in 2009 is 55.06% out of the total population of people aged greater than 15 years old. For Malaysia, the adult literacy rate in 2009 is 92.46%. The difference between the two countries is about 37.4%. The youth literacy rate of Mozambique in 2009 is 70.87% whereas for Malaysia is about 98.55% (Index Mundi, n.d.). The difference is approximately 27.7 % which is 10% less than the difference for adult literacy rate. The rate of youth literacy is higher than the adult literacy for both countries. Similarly, CIA World Factbook (2009) stated that the literacy rate of Mozambique is 47.8%. If compared with worlds highest literacy rate countries such as Andorra, Finland, Georgia, Greenland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway and Vatican City which have 100% rate of literacy, Mozambique is about 52.2% lesser. Mozambique is ranked as 199 out of 213 countries for the world literacy rate. (CIA World Factbook, 2009) Women have high illiteracy rate if compared with men in Mozambique. According to the data published by the National Institute of Statistics in 2004, the illiteracy rate for female is 69% whereas male with 38% of illiteracy rate only. However, Millennium Development Goals (2010) as cited in United Nations Development Programme (n.d.), reported that the illiteracy rate of female has decreased as time goes, with about 66.2% in 2004 and dropped to 56% in 2009 after the launching of the literacy programmes. It also stated that the female literacy rate in rural areas is 31.3% while in urban is 70.1% 4. Structure of the current educational system Currently, there are several policies in Mozambique that govern the education system. Among them, the most noticeable are the Republic of Mozambique, which states that every citizen has the rights to receive education and education consists of a means of achieving national unity, eradicating illiteracy, mastering science and technology and providing citizens with moral and civil values. The 1990 Constitution enshrines modernized the National Education System (SNE), bringing it into line with the new economic and political model. Besides, the eagerness of government and society in reducing the illiteracy rate due to the awareness towards the importance of education in the development of the country is further highlighted through the implementation of Action Plan for the Reduction of Absolute Poverty (PARPA) which defined literacy and adult education as primary goals in education programme from 2001 to 2005 as well as the National Strategy for Adult Literacy and Education and for Non-F ormal Education (AEA/ENF) to eradicate illiteracy. The purposes and objectives of Education For All (EFA). (Mario and Nandja, 2005) 2.5 Reasons, solutions and consequences regarding illiteracy According to Mario and Nandja (2005), the high illiteracy rate in Mozambique is because most of the population does not have an adequate and full command of Portuguese, the countrys official language after the colonization of Portugal. Despite the governments intention to increase funding budget for education, the amount instead remained the same without much significant difference. It is undeniable that the country has developed since its civil war but ineffective policies, government mismanagement and prolonged drought have haunted its economy. Mozambiques annual budget depends much on foreign assistance and a large of the population lives under extreme condition. As mentioned by Linden and Rungo (2004), due to insufficient budget, the condition during learning is considered bad. The students face an amount of problems, such as lack of information, lack of classrooms and learning materials and inconvenient timetables. Lessons under a tree or in buildings of weak construction are co mmon. These results in some of them have negative attitude towards the path of learning. Well, according to de Melo (n.d.), the reason behind the high illiteracy rate is mainly due to the legacy of colonialism and 16-year civil war. Also, in this context, gender inequality plays vital role in contributing to the high rate of illiteracy. Mario, Nandja (2006), and Linden, Rungo (2004) highlighted the effect of unequal gender opportunities towards this issue. Linden mentioned that women seemed to be more interested in programmes specialized to enhance their lives and well-being of their families. Cultural background also affects significantly, where many women dropped out as they were kept at home when family members need care or the family ran out of money. There are also cases where men do not allow their wives to attend classes. They feel that womens responsibilities are to stay at home, handling chores and it is pointless or rather ridiculous for them to learn new knowledge. To most of them, they assumed that wives must not be smarter than their husbands because if they do, they will start to disobey and become disobedient, opposing the usual cultural background. After all, due to the high illiteracy rate, there a lot of measures that has been done in order to control and rectify this problem. de Melo (n.d.) told us that  actually, IBIS has been working on 2 programmes, Education for Change in Rural Communities (ECRC) and a Governance programme. In ECRC, it is known that this intervention aimed to upgrade teachers training in the poorest parts of the countryside besides ensure better educational methods in the classroom with improved teaching materials. The main objective of ECRC is to introduce new concepts that underpin and inspire the reformations of Mozambican education. On the other hand, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has employed a food security strategy which provides rural Mozambicans knowledge to be used to increase their incomes. To reduce the consequences brought by illiteracy, USAID recognized this problem by providing funds to literacy instructors in 10 specified rural districts to supplement the governments struggling literacy program. In addition, the Ministry of Education of Mozambique is expanding its adult literacy program and now are able to incorporate the USAID-funded instructors into its payroll. (USAID, 2009) Community, school and technology are the three fundamental components in order to improve literacy. As globalisation occurs, Karchmer, Mallette, Soteriou and Donald (2005) strongly agree the importance of ICTs as the central technology for eradicating illiteracy. Hargreaves (1994), as cited by Glover and Law (2002), stated that the teaching force should be trained and retrained in order to cope with the demands of a national agenda for school improvement. Self-evaluation is also important in improving literacy rate. Education system in a country should aware about the initiative to develop a more effective planning processes, monitoring and evaluating techniques. Chapter 3: Methodology 3.1 Overview This chapter would focus on the methodology that was employed to enable the collection of data from the respondents points of view regarding the illiteracy rate in Mozambique. Our task is to give out questionnaires to find out whether the causes, effects and solutions that we had listed out in the past chapters were agreed by our Mozambican respondents. These questionnaires were then compiled and the information obtained were analysed and interpreted. 3.2 Population/Sample To conduct our research to find out more about the illiteracy rate in Mozambique, 30 individuals which were full-time students at Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) were randomly selected to answer the questionnaires, we had prepared beforehand. Our respondents were fellow students of Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP), who came from Mozambique to further their studies in our country. They were from different courses, programmes and social background. 3.3 Location Our location for the research was in Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP). The campus is built on a 400-hectare (1,000 acre) site strategically located at Bandar Seri Iskandar, Perak Darul Ridzuan, Malaysia. All of our respondents lived inside the campus. Majority of our respondents lived in Village 2, while some lived in Village 1, Village 5 and Village 6. 3.4 Limitation There were some of the limiting conditions that affected the accuracy of our research paper. For example, there were limited Mozambican students in our university to be respondents which mean we could not get sufficient information in details from that country. In addition, we had to search for them in order to have the questionnaire session because of the limited Mozambican students in our university. Besides, there were some conditions where the Mozambican students were reluctant to collaborate to carry out the research where most probably were due to their heavy language accent and some miscommunication. 3.5 Sampling Technique The sampling techniques that we used were snowball sampling and purposive sampling. Using the snowballing technique, we found a group of Mozambican students to reach our target of 30 respondents by contacting some of our Mozambican friends. This technique helped us to obtain the information easily and precisely by approaching the Mozambican community in our University. The Mozambican community in our University are definitely literate and is able to aid in our research. 3.6 Procedure The questionnaires were based on the respondents opinions on aspects related to the research, multiple choice questions were provided. Firstly, we contacted our Mozambican friends and went to their room to conduct the research. The Mozambican friends were helpful to bring us to meet the others Mozambican students in UTP and some even gave us their friends contacts for us to approach them. Mostly, we met them at their place of living and some in front of the market in UTP. We had also borrowed a car to reach Village 6 to approach the respondents there. All respondents were given fifteen minutes to complete the questionnaires on the spot. We had explained the questions in the questionnaire to those who didnt understand and assisted them while answering to complete the research. After the time limit, we collected the questionnaires back and thanked them for their co-operation. The collected quantitative data was analysed and illustrated in tables, bar graphs and pie charts as in the res ults section. 3.7 Materials We decided to use a quantitative method, instead of qualitative to obtain our results in regarding to the topic of research. We prepared a set of questions with 9 questions for them to fill up with multiple choice questions provided. Besides, we also provided a grading scale from very poor to excellent, from low to high or from strongly disagree to strongly agree, to ease the respondents answers and feedback. (Refer sample of questionnaire in Appendix 1) 3.8 Statistical Treatment After we obtained the results or questionnaires from the respondents, we compiled the questionnaires according to the answers they had done. After that, we compared each questions and the answers in one questionnaire with the others. With different responses from the respondents, the data were able to compile effectively and efficiently. The answers from the 30 respondents are calculated and converted into percentages. Then, we substituted the information obtained into pie chart and bar chart form for easier analysis. Lastly, the statistics obtained from our results are interpreted and further discussed in the discussion section. Chapter 4: Results Figure 4.1: Illiteracy rate in Mozambique According to the column chart above, most of the respondents consider that the illiteracy rate in Mozambique is neither high nor low. Figure 4.2: Reasons for higher illiteracy rate in female than in male According to the pie chart above, cultural background is the main reason behind the high illiteracy rate among female. Figure 4.3: What illiterate affect the most According to the pie chart above, illiterate affects employment prospects the most. Figure 4.4: Reasons for the high illiteracy rate in Mozambique According to the pie chart above, insufficient budget is the main reason behind the high illiteracy rate in Mozambique. Figure 4.5: International community in helping to reduce illiteracy rate in Mozambique From the column chart above, most of the respondents disagree that international community is helping in reducing illiteracy rate in Mozambique. Besides, the statistics above also shows that the percentage of respondents grade it as Average and Agree are the same. Figure 4.6: Education system in Mozambique According to the column chart, most of the respondents feel that the education system in Mozambique is considered average. Figure 4.7: Public awareness towards education in Mozambique As shown in the column chart above, most of our respondents grade the public awareness in Mozambique towards education as average whereas none of them grade it as very poor. Figure 4.8: Effort of government in reducing illiteracy rate in Mozambique From the column chart above, most of the Mozambicans grade the effort of government in reducing illiteracy as average whereas only 10% of respondents grade it as very poor. Figure 4.9: Ways to reduce illiteracy rate in Mozambique According to the pie chart above, high quality teachers and sufficient facilities show the highest percentage proportion in the ways to reduce the illiteracy rate in Mozambique. Chapter 5: Discussion In this chapter, the quantitative results are discussed with the support of past research. Similarities and differences between the results and our literature review are explained logically and concluded for a more comprehensive discussion. The aim of this discussion is to investigate the reasons, consequences, solutions and the role of international community in regarding the illiteracy in Mozambique. 5.1 Reason behind the high illiteracy rate in Mozambique In Figure 4.1, 33.67% of the respondents think that the illiteracy rate in Mozambique is considered average, where in fact; the adult literacy rate of Mozambique in 2009 is 55.06% which is at a place of 199 out of 233 countries. The illiteracy rate is still most likely to be high, as approximately half of the Mozambican community is illiterate. In our study, there are only about 13.33% of our respondents considered the illiteracy rate in Mozambique as very high. None of them chose very low while grading the illiteracy rate in Mozambique. This is contradicting to our literature review which is possibly due to the low public awareness, specifically from the respondents. Furthermore, it was found out that the major reasons that contribute the most to the high illiteracy rate in Mozambique is due to insufficient budget where 40% of the respondents supported as shown in Figure 4.4. After the independence of Mozambique from Portugal in 1975, surviving from the colonization era and the Mozambique Civil War which happened from 1977 to 1992, these probably result to insufficient budget and then the abandonment of education. Linden and Rungo (2004) mentioned too that, due to insufficient budget, the condition during learning is considered bad. The students face an amount of problems in the learning process which further results to the unresolved illiteracy problem in Mozambique. The education system in Mozambique is a catalyst to improve literacy rate. In Figure 4.6, 40% of our respondents rate the current education system in Mozambique as average. Several policies in Mozambique that govern the education system are not noticeable, which indirectly causes the low level of respond from the Mozambican community. To achieve Education for All (EFA), a good education system provides a strong basis to attract the awareness of all Mozambicans, and to eradicate illiteracy. 5.2 Effects of illiteracy Figure 4.2 shows 46.67% of our respondents feel that illiteracy affects employment prospects the most. The respondents realize that being literate and armed with knowledge are able to guarantee a job with promising aspects. In addition, the current condition in Mozambique depends mostly on agriculture, forestry and fishery as their main source of income. Mozambicans have to go by leaps and bounds to develop an advanced country, by exploring industries that require high qualifications and education, where literacy plays a pivotal role in increasing chances of employment prospects. Only 10% of them think that illiteracy will affect family life. This low value is likely to show that the awareness of education is still low. They may feel that they have adapted themselves perfectly in the traditional way, ignoring the importance of literacy and progressing. 5.3 Illiteracy rate among women and men in Mozambique Based on Figure 4.2, 56.67% of the respondents stated that illiteracy rate among women is higher than men because of cultural background. It has been a tradition that males are the leader and also the sole bread winner of the family, whereas females should stay at home to do the house chores and nurture their children at home. Females are always prohibited from learning due to cultural purposes that causes the significant lower illiteracy rate among females. There are also possibilities that the programmes offered by the schools are mainly favouring the male students. Women seem to be more interested in programmes designed to improve their lives and the well-being of their families as stated by Mario and Nandja (2005). 5.4 Solutions to overcome illiteracy in Mozambique We found out that both introducing more high quality teachers and providing enough facilities for education show the highest percentage (30%) in reducing the illiteracy rate in Mozambique as in Figure 4.9. This is due to the reason that there are still lacks of sufficient teachers in school especially in rural areas. Besides, there are also insufficient classroom where the children have to learn under extreme conditions in Mozambique. Thus, most of the respondents may think that both of the ways above are the solution to reduce the illiteracy rate in Mozambique. As shown in Figure 4.7, most of the respondents grade the public awareness towards education among the Mozambicans as average with 40%. This is more likely to happen because of the less effectiveness of the campaign carried out which only stress on the importance of education to parts of the Mozambique nation and also yet being practiced thoroughly. It is clearly to be seen that the public awareness towards education should be increased and measures have to be taken drastically to resolve this issue. Furthermore, as stated in Figure 4.8, 33.33% of our respondents grade the effort of the government in improving the literacy rate as average. It is possible that parts of the Mozambican do not recognize the policies introduced by government in reducing the illiteracy rate. Moreover, it is more likely that some of the respondents may think that the government did not increase the funds for adult literacy and education programmes. Besides , the plans in improving the education are not translated into action. 5.5 The role of the international community From Figure 4.5, it shows that most of our respondents (30%) do not think that the international community is helping in reducing the illiteracy rate in Mozambique. Only 6.67% of them agree that help has been provided. There are contradictions as United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has employed a food security with the purpose of increasing the Mozambicans incomes. Besides, financial assistance is also provided with literacy instructors in 10 specified rural districts are given funds. The existence of contradictions most probably results from the lack of awareness towards this issue in improving literacy. 5.6 Limitations and Recommendations The result of the research is considered reliable. However, there are som

Coffee: Bad for Sleep

Sleep is very important to human beings especially because it allows both our minds and body to rest. It sorts out and arranges our memory and it is necessary for our body to function well. In fact about 40% of a person’s day is allocated to sleep throughout adolescence. However, adolescents who are people aged 12 to 18 years need 9 hours of sleep but on average most teens get 7 hours only (Mindell and Owens 30). A variety of factors contributes to the tendency of staying up late among adolescents this includes academic life, social life, and electronic media such as computers, televisions and cellphones.Adolescents particularly college students nowadays are most likely to stay up late because of homework or next day’s long exam. In the case of the Computer Science Sophomore Students of the University of the Philippines, generating codes for machine problems and laboratories keeps them stay up all night thus getting less sleep. To keep them going, some drink a cup of co ffee to avoid drowsiness. Coffee contains caffeine which serves as a stimulant. It keeps one stay awake but it disrupts sleep.That is why to avoid sleeping difficulties; it is recommended that coffee should not be taken within four to six hours before bedtime. Gasapo 2 Coffee is a beverage which contains caffeine-a widely used stimulant. Caffeine can indeed bring mental alertness but disturbs sleep. In a recent interview of selected UP Computer Science students, some complain that after coffee consumption they had a hard time falling asleep. Furthermore, they said that they usually wake up in the middle of the night and have trouble falling back to sleep.Lynne Lamberg, author of the Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Drugs: Drugs and Sleep said that†the need to sleep is an organizing force for living creatures† (21). The importance of sleep to one’s health is often overlooked by many people; furthermore not getting enough sleep could greatly affect every aspect of our h ealth, thinking and behavior. Generally, every aspect of one’s physical, emotional, cognitive and social development is affected by sleep (Mindell and Owens 6).However, life’s demands on teens as well as their competing priorities such as their social and academic lives often lead them to sleep deprivation. Most adolescents take a cup of coffee to avoid drowsiness and to stay alert during the night. In fact during adolescence, the initial exposure to caffeine takes place (Wagman 213). This is usually in the form of coffee and other caffeinated drinks such as soda and tea. Sheryl Laudito, in her article Staying Healthy with a Cup of Coffee said that â€Å"Coffee is a social binder, a warmer of tongues, a soberer of minds and a stimulant of wit† (3).This is a possible reason why people Gasapo 3 are more inclined to drinking coffee than any other beverage. As author of The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Drugs: Caffeine- the Most Popular Stimulant, Dr. Gilbert Richard notes that findings of a recent study showed that coffee drinkers prefer coffee because of the following reasons: It gives one a feeling of well-being; It calms; It orients and helps one think; It makes one less irritable; It gets one going and wakes one up. These are also the same reasons for those coffee drinkers from the interview conducted.The following could also be possible reasons why more people are inclined to drinking coffee these are as follows: inherited coffee drinking habits, and influence of fast-paced lifestyle and work (Placido B3). Coffee, as defined by Stunning in Encyclopedia Americana, is the â€Å"seeds or beans of any of a group of tropical evergreen shrubs of the genus caffea, in the Madder family (Rubiaceae)†. Even though large quantities of coffee are used in flavors and extracts, coffee in the form of beverage is mostly consumed (187). The major component found in coffee is caffeine.It is found naturally in coffee and tea as well as in carbonated b everages and medications (Wagman 213). Caffeine has a lot of effects to human health, it is widely used as a stimulant and many people especially those who stay up late and work at night depend on coffee. In order to stay alert, people rely mostly on coffee (Reyes E1). Gasapo 4 According to a psychologist and caffeine investigator Harris Lieberman, â€Å"Coffee improves alertness and reaction time in people, whether they’re habitual consumers of coffee or not† (qtd. in Reyes E1).People like to drink coffee because they know that the chemical caffeine which is found in coffee prevents them from getting drowsy and helps them gain alertness and improve their reaction time. In addition, studies show that caffeine consumption could further improve reading speed, performance in mathematical as well as verbal tests and generally increase intellectual capacity (Reyes B3). Indeed, drinking coffee could provide mental alertness and could help one’s mental functions to wor k well. However as a consequence of staying awake and alert all night, sleep is compromised.People will have a hard time falling asleep, would wake up during the night and would get less sleep than what their body requires. In the conducted interview, many complained that they had difficulties waking up in the morning; have headaches; feel sleepy during the day and would usually doze off in class. â€Å"Coffee nerves† are developed from too much caffeine consumption. It is usually characterized by trembling, nervousness, muscle tension, irritability, headaches, disorientation and most probably insomnia (Reyes B3). â€Å"No sleep† is the literal meaning the term insomnia.It is now used to define a condition where people tend to have trouble falling or staying asleep, and not being able to function as Gasapo 5 usual the next day as a consequence (Lamberg 25). Based on the indications mentioned above, the coffee drinkers from the group of sophomore Computer Science studen ts of UPV from the interview conducted experience insomnia. This is mainly due to their intake of coffee few hours before going to bed. According to caffeine expert Roland Griffiths, people tend to report increased alertness and energy after consuming anywhere from 20 to 200 mg of caffeine (qtd. n Reyes E1).A cup of coffee contains about 50 mg of caffeine. Caffeine being a mild stimulant is used as a psychoactive drug worldwide. Prolonged times of falling asleep and awakening during the night are some effects of caffeine when taken near bedtime. This is because caffeine could remain for several hours and continue to have stimulating effect in the bloodstream (Lamberg 30). The peak of caffeine level in our body is one hour after consumption. In three to seven hours later, only more than one half of the ingested caffeine is broken down and considered inactive (Reyes M7).This is the reason why it is difficult to fall asleep because by the time you are about to sleep after gaining menta l alertness and wakefulness during the night, caffeine would still be present in the bloodstream and would still continue its stimulating effect for as long as seven hours after the time it was consumed. Moreover, Tim Roehrs, a director of research at the Sleep Disorder Center of the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit explained that caffeine interferes with Gasapo 6 adenosine, the brain’s sleep regulator (qtd. n Reyes E1). Caffeine’s major effect, insomnia or having difficulty falling asleep has a very serious impact to one’s health. If sleep is lesser than what the body requires, it will not be able to function well and accordingly. As adolescents we must be aware of the real price that we pay for not getting enough sleep. Consider the costs such as depression, poor grades, poor school performance, mood issues and many more. Sleep deprivation affects the way we think and the way we make decisions when we are stressed emotionally.Being unable to perform well in clas s and having low attention span and less interest to the lesson are manifested by the sleep deprived sophomore Computer Science students. According to Owens and Mindel, research shows that the skills most compromised by loss of sleep are the skills for organization and time management, the skill to multitask, prioritize, sort through a lot of information accurately, and the skill to think creatively (229). If someone is sleep deprived or experiences insomnia, he or she may have a difficult time waking up in the morning.Sleep deprivation would eventually cause higher incidences of tardiness, increased rates of absenteeism to catch up on sleep, and if these incidences continue, there will obviously be a higher tendency of dropout rates. Attitude and motivation may Gasapo 7 also suffer if a student is sleep deprived. Studies show that well rested students are more responsive to teachers and would participate well in class compared to sleepier ones (Owens, Mindel 230). Behavior may also be affected if a person is sleep deprived. Frustration tolerance becomes lower as well as emotional control.Moreover, sleep deprived teens may be poor rested and overtired and would not be able to cope with problems around them, moodiness and irritability may also be an effect of not getting the enough sleep that your body actually requires. Table 1 shows the effects of lack of sleep according to Dr. Owens and Mindell (28). Lack of Sleep| Lack of sleep affects mood. A sleepy child is more: * irritable * cranky * moody * whiny| Lack of sleep affects learning.A sleepy child has * a shorter attention span * difficulty focusing * a harder time remembering things * difficulty solving problems. Lack of sleep affects behavior: A sleepy person is more likely to: * misbehave * be aggressive * be hyperactive * be uncooperative. | lack of sleep affects health in that it: * lowers immune function( a child is more likely to get colds) * increase accidental injuries * affect growth hormone secre tion| Gasapo 8 An adolescents’ life especially as a student is very demanding. They have competing priorities which includes school and social demands. In case of the sophomore Computer Science students of UPV, examples of these demands are finishing machine problems, after-school jobs and social activities as well.These are the reasons why they stay up late. Coffee, the most available stimulant is a big help for these students to achieve mental alertness and wakefulness. Coffee may come in different forms wherein students would enjoy drinking them depending on their preference. But whatever form it is, aside from decaffeinated ones, coffee still contains caffeine. Although caffeine may be effective for mental functions, it can greatly disturb sleep. So if one desires to drink coffee in order to achieve wakefulness and mental alertness at night without compromising sleep, coffee should be consumed four to six hours before bedtime.Restricting oneself to two cups of coffee a da y can already give the maximum benefits of alertness by having one cup first in the morning and the other in the midafternoon (Lamberg 33). If one considers drinking coffee to be very essential and could boost up performance, there is no reason to deprive oneself of its benefits. Just take into consideration that to avoid putting one’s health at risk, coffee should be taken at a considerable amount and at the right time.

“Eating green” by Margaret Lundberg Essay

In Margaret Lundberg’s short story â€Å"Eating green† she has a theory about the planet becoming a healthier place to live if everyone became a vegetarian, which I believe is true. Lundberg talks about her childhood and how right off the bat her mother had her eating healthy food and that pretty much stuck with her through out her whole life. â€Å"We had two vegetables with every meal, ate plain yogurt for breakfast, and excercised with jack LaLanne.† If most families started off like that it would be easier for kids to enjoy eating healthier food now instead of them liking junk food. Most people do not realize that what they eat does effect the planet and how we live on a daily basis and how badly it effects our health. If everyone became a vegetarian the rates of obsesity, diabetes, heart disease and other illness might become lower. The process of getting meat is causing some severe problems on earth such as pollution, global warming, and the dependence on f ossil fuels. â€Å"The energy it takes to raise, package, transport, store and prepare food is not the single largest contributor to global warming.† (Kate Geagan) If all those problems could be solved by switching some of the things we eat, why not do it? It would definitely be hard and a cultural shock to Americans but if it can help our future loved ones I would be with it. The meat that is produced is not how it once use to be. Cows do not live their lives on Pastured lands eating grass anymore they are now fed a diet that is not intended for them; fed corn in a short time as possible to speed up the process of being slaughtered and sold. That doesn’t sound so healthy or appetizing after reading those facts. â€Å"Livestock raised for meat production are responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions-more than the cars we drive.† Not only is it Some what unhealthy for us to eat but for the world we live in also. Meat all together is not competely horrible for you it’s the portions we eat. Meat has nutritional value and even the fat in meat are sometimes healthy. The stearic acid found in fat in meat can actually lower blood cholesterol levels. With the pros there’s the cons as well, â€Å"Americans are now eating nearly 200 pounds of meat, poultry and fish every year; an increase of 50 pounds per person in the last 50 years† ( Lumdberg) some very high numbers for what the appropriate amount should actually be. Farmers do not want to be looked at as the bad guys in all of this, which they aren’t, everyone has to make a living. A group of New York farmers thought of an idea to work with General Electric to produce  renewable energy from cow manure. That is a pretty good idea to try and atleast get something good out of the slaughtering of the cows to try and help the planet Earth out. If successful the dairy industry would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent in 2020, basically the equivalent of getting 1.25 million passenger cars of the road every year. That is a good idea but it still does not solve all the other major problems that switching your diet could help. In conclusion, I personally feel that it will not hurt to try something new. Like I mentioned earlier it would be extremely difficult to get used to but if it is benefiting you, others and the planet might as well take a chance. Why wait till it is to late to change your habits of wanting a 16 oz steak over a green salad knowing how many pros it would be to choose that salad. If things continue to go as they do, there will be no more places to raise these cows to produce meat because global temperatures are raising, causing serious climate changes In places that are specifically used for farming. Eventually there will not be enough meat to feed everyone leaving everyone to forcefully change their diets, why not do is a choice and not because you have no other options.

Mcdonalds The Largest Fast Food Service Company

McDonald’s Corporation- S.W.O.T. Analysis Introduction/Overview McDonald’s has become the largest fast food service company in the world, with more than 35,000 restaurants in over 100 countries. Based out of the United States, McDonalds primarily operates from franchise restaurants offering not only hamburgers and fries as what they are known for, but many other menu items as well. A lot has changed from their days of 15 cent hamburgers in 1955, and they are an iconic fixture in our culture over the past 70 years or so they have been around. McDonald’s has a very powerful brand, and has proven to be a successful company. However with the decline in their stock prices, an evaluation of the internal and external factors might be in order, so they can find the root cause. To create a plan of action, it is important to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the company and the opportunities and threats of market. A few to be considered are: Strengths †¢ Largest food service company in the world. They have the highest sales, and are located in more than 113 countries worldwide. (McDonald’s Corporation, 2014) †¢ Branding. McDonald’s brand is the most recognized brand in fast food industry. The famous golden arches are a recognizable symbol worldwide. †¢ Large advertising budget. McDonald’s has an extremely high advertising budget, of $2 billion dollars annually. We see new marketing campaigns for them on a very regular basis (O’Brien, 2012). †¢ Locally specific menu.Show MoreRelatedEffective Advertising Planning and Implementation Paper1432 Words   |  6 PagesAdvertising Planning and Implementation Paper McDonalds Fast Food McDonalds is the largest chain of fast food restaurants that was founded in 1940 in San Bernardino, California by Ray Kroc. The company is currently headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois. There are 47 million customers served each day in the franchise. 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