When the airway passages reacts

Asthma is a chronic disease of the lung. Asthma is an occasional constriction of the airways caused by inflammation   lined with excessive mucus (â€Å"Asthma Facts†, 1996-2007).It is a controllable chronic lung disease but it is not a curable one. The swelling causes the airways to be very susceptible to different environmental irritants.When the airway passages reacts to the environmental irritants, the muscles surrounding it contracts and causes the airways to get narrow and more swollen and produce more mucus making the air difficult to move in and out of the lung tissues that causes difficulty in breathing and coughing. (â€Å"Asthma Facts†, 1996-2007).Asthma can affect people of all ages and races but they are often seen and diagnose in children. Children with family history of asthma have high risk of having this lung disease than those who haven’t had history in their family (â€Å"Asthma†, 2006).The prevalence is more often on young boys than yo ung girls but this changes in adult life because woman are more affected than man (â€Å"Asthma†, 2006). There are also some risk factors that may contribute in the progress of this lung disease. The risk factors are the following (â€Å"Asthma†, 1998): (1) Exposure to second hand smoke such as cigarette smoking.Pregnant woman should avoid smoking because of the content of the cigarette or tobacco can be passed on to the fetus. Infants or children of different ages should be protected by their mother from second hand smoke because study shows that children that are lessen are not merely expose to second hand smoke are more protected or has a lower possibility of developing an asthma (Huggins, 2007). Study also shows that nowadays, children ages 18 below have asthma (Huggins, 2007).Protection from the second hand smoke is needed because those substances or cigarette content can have harmful effects on the fetus or children especially in the development of their lungs; ( 2) Having parents with asthma is also a big factor. This lung disease can also be hereditary.Parents must be taking care of themselves or should take the necessary medications to lessen or alleviate the possibility of the development of asthma of their children; (3) Low birth weight can also contribute to the development of this disease.

Arthur Millar Essay

In this essay I am going to analyse the dramatic techniques that Arthur Millar uses in his 20th century drama called, ‘A View From The Bridge. ‘ The play is set in Brooklyn in the 1940’s when the Italians were immigrating to America to find work as they were poor and they needed to get away from Italy to find work to feed their families in Italy. Many of these immigrants entered America Illegally. The play is about a skilled docks worker in Brooklyn named Eddie Carbone. Eddie lives with his wife Beatrice and their niece, Catherine. Beatrice’s cousins named Marco and Rodolfo come to America from Italy to find work to feed Marco’s family in Italy, as they are very poor. They plan to enter illegally. Eddie has feelings for his niece Catherine that he should not have. Meanwhile Catherine falls in love with Rodolfo and Eddie hates him because he is jealous as he loves her and he cannot stand any other man looking at her and touching her. As a result Eddie decides to let the Immigration Bureau know that there are illegal immigrants in his building. In the play, Arthur Miller uses a number of dramatic devices many of which are seen in the first act but their significance only becomes apparent to the audience in the second act. These dramatic devices are: use of language, dialogue and its sub textual meanings, stage directions, characters’ actions, props and lighting. The first dramatic technique I am going to analyse is the use of language in Alfieri’s speech at the start of the play. Miller has put this at the start of the play to prepare the audience for what will happen later on in the play. The speech starts to develop tension because there are a lot of negative and violent words used. For example, Alfieri uses terms such as ‘Machine Gun. ‘ The effect of using a term like this is to create tension for the audience, as they now know that something bad is going to happen later on in the play. As the play progresses the audience realise that this is the only time when Alfieri uses negative and violent language. So his words take on a deeper meaning when the audience realises this. I am now going to look at Eddie’s language in the first act. His speech is simple but at the start of the play his words are more vibrant towards Catherine as he tells he that she is â€Å"walking wavy. † At the same time he also refers to her as a â€Å"Madonna. † This gives the audience the idea that she is pure and she is a virgin and Eddie wants her to stay as she is. † Listen, B. , she’ll be with a lot of plumbers? And sailors up and down the street? † This illustrates Eddie’s feelings for Catherine and it can also mean that he does not want any other men looking at Catherine or marrying her. Eddie’s dialogue changes when the cousins arrive. He uses working class American colloquial words, such as â€Å"Yiz have a nice trip? † when he asks the cousins Marco and Rodolfo about their journey. Eddie wants to make it clear that he is the man of the house and that he is in charge. These expressions are only used in the first act when he is speaking to Marco and Rodolfo. This builds tension because the audience know that Eddie is going to start trouble with Marco and Rodolfo later on.

Stroop Effect

Stroop Effect CogLab Report Stroop Effect CogLab Report The Stroop effect is a test that demonstrates a decrease in reaction time that occurs when the brain receives conflicting information. When sensory information conflicts, a processing delay occurs in the brain; this is interference. If a specific color is paired with its corresponding word then those two pieces of information are compatible. If the information conflicts then the individual is forced to make a decision.It is hypothesized that reaction times will be lower when the word and font color are the same and reaction times will increase when the word and font color are different. Method Participants A total of 20 undergraduate students participated in this experiment; 18 were women and 2 were men. Materials Students used CogLab, an online laboratory used as part of a cognitive psychology class, to complete the Stroop Effect task. Procedure Participants were asked to identify the color of each word as quickly as possible.T he reaction times were measured and analyzed to compare the difference between words and colors that match and words and colors that mismatch. Results A paired-samples t-test was used to analyze the data. When font color mismatched, participants had significantly longer reaction times (M = 881. 74, SD = 200. 90) than when font color matched (M = 774. 37, SD = 230. 23), t(19) = 4. 62, p < . 001. Discussion The results supported the initial hypothesis; in mismatched conditions reaction time increased.The Stroop effect is a selective attention task; it shows us about how our brains process information. When presented with conflicting stimuli, participants had to react to both sets and make a decision. Reading is an automatic process. The presence of the mismatched colors interfered with participants’ ability to react and properly identify the correct word. The Stroop effect shows us that automatic processes like reading, more strongly impact attention.

Individual written assignmnet 4 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Individual written assignmnet 4 - Assignment Example This prompted me to attend the game early to cofirm whether an arrangement could be done to enable me attend the match. Exactly what did you and the employee(s) say and do? I visited the Old Trafford ticket office near the stadium. They requested me to provide them with the serial number of my ticket or wait for someone for the real tickets to pass-by. They obtained a copy of my license and cross-checked my payment status over the internet. After confirming that all the information I provided was accurate, they let me enter the stadium and provided me with the fan-shirts and bands with a guarantee that non one is going to bother me over tickets issue. Describe and analyse the physical location, surroundings, decor, and general atmosphere of the outlet where the encounter took place: The employees were generally friendly, with constant assurance that the service that I was requesting will be granted so long as the information that I provided is accurate and genuine. The office is loca ted inside the stadium, with the interior appearance designed to represent football mood. What could you and/or the employee(s) have done to increase the level of satisfaction? What improvements need to be made to this Service Encounter? The process should have been made more quickly and directly checking my details online, instead of first checking my licence. How likely is it that you will return to this Service Provider? Extremely Unlikely... ...Extremely Likely 1? 2? 3? 4? Identify and closely apply three (3) marketing models, theories, or concepts (or ‘parts of’ models, theories or concepts) that we have studied which are appropriate to this Service Encounter: Application of marketing theory; the staff at the booking office engages weighty and collaborative decision-making process in finding the solution for the absence of the entry tickets for a pre-paid customer. The Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs is also applicable because the staff ensured that I got the se rvices I required instead of making me go back and pick my ticket. How would you rate your level of satisfaction with this encounter? Select a number corresponding to your feelings for each section Terrible... ...Delighted 1 2 3 4 5 Surroundings X Decor X Interaction with Staff X Staff Knowledge X Overall X Service Encounter 2 Name of Service Provider (company, organisation institution): Crunchy British Grill Type of Service (Profit, not-for-profit, public service, routine, rare): Restaurant Date, time, length, and precise location of Service Encounter: October 10, 2005 at 7.00 PM Exactly what did you and the employee(s) say and do? Some friends and I decided to visit the restaurant for dinner since we were celebrating my cousin’s birthday. Crunchy British Grill was our favourite restaurant due to the famous dishes offered at a fair price. Its location is also favourable since our neighbourhood is close to Manchester where the restaurant is located. Situating the party in the restaurant enabled us to gauge the environment around the hotel with that of the Shaw green neighbourhood that lived since our childhood. Describe and analyse the physical location, surroundings, decor, and general atmosphere of the outlet where the encounter took place: We arrived at the restaurant at 6.00PM on October 10, 2005 and had to wait for two hours before being

Examine the stock returns for both Pfizer and AstraZeneca during the Essay - 1

Examine the stock returns for both Pfizer and AstraZeneca during the bid process and provide possible reasons for changes in price on key dates - Essay Example t a company then price of the company’s stock is likely to rise while price is likely to fall is an expected acquisition is likely to be detrimental. Factors such as â€Å"investment strategies,† â€Å"ownership forms,† â€Å"capital structures,† and â€Å"dividend policies† that are likely to change with an acquisition are also likely to influence stock prices (Moyer, McGuigan, & Kretlow 2008, p. 12). In addition, expressed opinions by investors can either improve or reduce share price at a time (Khan & Zuberi 1999, p. 45) and all these could have influenced prices and return of the two companies’ stock. One of the key dates in the takeover period is November 25, 2013 when Pfizer informed AstraZeneca of intended takeover. Even though it was a private correspondence, it could have spread to stakeholders and a perceived lost value among Pfizer’s stakeholders could have triggered the observed negative change in stock price. Price for AstraZeneca however increased afterwards to indicate perceived benefits by the company’s stockholders. These suggest that Pfizer offered better economic prospects than AstraZeneca did at the time, and its internal environment could be more promising than that of AstraZeneca. On May 1, 2014, Pfizer made public its takeover interest and suffered a subsequent decline in price, which begun two days earlier, and perceived loss of advantage by existing stockholders as well as possible negative investor opinions could have caused the decline. At the same time, stock price for AstraZeneca declines and this could be a response to Pfizer’s price trends that made it less attractive. The fall in stock price for Pfizer continued until 7 May, a time at which the British Prime Minister expressed concerns over the takeover, and then stabilized until mid May. Price for AstraZeneca stock however remained constant over this period. Pfizer’s persistence on the takeover, against its shareholder’s confidence could explain the fall and the

Article response Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Response - Article Example These include the European Language Portfolio or ELP, American Lingua Folio, and Global Language Portfolio (GLP). The researchers on the portfolio assessment have been building on the work of Dewey (1933), which is titled, â€Å"We Thing: A restatement of relation of reflective thinking to education process.† He built basic premises, which are still evident in both ELP and GLP, and involves reflecting on and summarizing what has already done. The article provides an overview on how the EPs can be used to learn, teach and assess in the United States and Europe based on ELP, CEFR, GLP and American I.F. The EPs function is based on the national standards and ACTFL proficiency scale. There are several advantages that EPs has over paper based portfolio. The functionality of EPs allows the learner, teacher and program coordinator to track the progress of the program throughout the course duration. It allows the learner to share data with both the teacher and the institution. It improves motivation and evaluation of learners’ outcomes. Through the cooperation of scholars from Europe, North America and other parts the world, the effectiveness of EPs for language acquisition will be realized. As the transatlantic partnership grows and higher learning institutions do joint programs, the three-part EPs will be a common technology in Europe and North America. Advancement in technology will facilitate information sharing among international institutions and their joint programs. The Electronic Portfolio (EP) is a digitized collection of artifacts, which include demonstrations, resources and accomplishments representing an individual, group, organization, institution or community. According to Lorenzo & Ittelson (2005, p. 2), these collections can comprise of text-based documents, graphics, and multimedia features archived on websites or other electronic media such as CD-ROM or DVD. The above features make Electronic Portfolio to be the best in

Sula essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sula - Essay Example ived of its traditions, wisdoms, and experiences; instead, for Sula, connection with traditional ideals of maternal love pushes her to turn down the maternal family, specifically the ideals of antique belongings. Marie Nigro’s In Search of Self: Frustration and Denial in Toni Morrison’s Sula talks about the conflict created by the psychological and emotional detachment between mothers and daughters of African American descent. Nigro explains that detachment arises when daughters believe that their mothers are unable to endow them with love and sympathy because of economic aspects associated with gender, class, and racial prejudice. Such real hindrances to manifestations of love compel daughters to disobey or go against mothers who believe their efforts are adequate or compatible to affection. Phillip Novak, in his article â€Å"Circles and Circles of Sorrow†: In the Wake of Morrison’s Sula, argues that when such sympathy or love is deprived of, daughters are unable to express sympathy or love to their own daughters. Conflicts burst forth when mothers aspire for the individuality and self-reliance of their daughters but expect recognition of or gratitude for their sacrifices. The influence of the mothers on the life and identity formation of their daughters is one of the leading subjects of Sula. Morrison portrays the impact of class by examining the relationship between mother and daughter belonging to the lower class—the Peaces—and those belonging to the middle class—the Wrights. The relationships between mother and daughter in both families struggle with the difficulties that class and race create. Eva Peace was not able to give the maternal affection that Hannah wants. Due to the impact of class and race, Eva was unable to totally concentrate on her maternal responsibilities, which adversely affected the personal growth and identity formation of Hannah. Consequently, Hannah failed to provide motherly love to her own daughter, perpetuating the

Leading Change Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Leading Change - Case Study Example Other than the Chairman, the company is managed by a CEO and has four divisions: R&D, Production, Sales and Finance. A Vice President, followed by a Senior Manager who in turn oversees Team Managers, heads each division. (pg.7) The culture in the company seems to an open one. Peers and seniors interact with each other and take joint decisions. However, the marketing team is not very open to new ideas as it feels the same might require a lot of concept selling , which makes their task difficult.(pg 5).Similarly, the Production team had to be shown a prototype and working of the new product before they could be convinced that it was worth the efforts. They also had to be convinced that the product would not require any additional investment and could be manufactured with the existing machinery. The structure and culture of the company are related in many ways The decisions seem to follow a top-down approach. If the V.P is convinced about an idea, it is quite easy to pass it on to the Senior Managers and Team Managers who would actually execute the decisions. While each tam works independent of the other, unless the top brass is convinced, the teams are not ready to implement any new idea. The structure and culture of the company ... o Briefly describe the power structures and politics that you see in Good Sport. To what extent are these the result of the organizational structure and culture To what extent do they determine the culture As you navigated through the various power structures at Good Sport, what decisions do you feel could have been made that stemmed beyond the options provided to you within the simulation Power structures and politics are a part and parcel of any workplace. In Good Sport too, they are existent to some extent. As a Senior Manager, I had to make great efforts to convince the production and sales teams to go in for the new product XtendSport designed by Frazier O Donell. Not only did I have to facilitate the presentation by Frazier, I had to speak to Tamara Watkins, V.P R&D to put in a word to the CEO; invite Samuel Olsen, V.P. Sales, along with a few colleagues to discuss the new fitness equipment, XtendSport; and get an approval from the sales team. Also, I had to barter with support to one of the sales team's ideas if they supported the sales of the new product. Thus although the sales team initially felt that the product would require concept selling, which they felt was a tough task, after all the cajoling and ingratiation tactics, they were ready to take up the job and provide all support for the product. Thus, from a low position on the power graph, I had moved to a very high position. Similarly, the production team had to be convinced that production of XtendSport would not lead to higher costs. Initially, the production team opposed the design, thinking that it would lead to higher manufacturing costs. They had to be shown a prototype of the product and

Long-Term Investment Decisions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Long-Term Investment Decisions - Assignment Example The level of government intervention is high in an oligopolistic market environment and this situation would prevent potential mergers in the entertainment industry from absorbing smaller corporations. This paper will discuss whether government regulation is needed in this industry and analyze certain potential threats to the expansion of industry through capital projects. Significance of Government Regulation Based on a comprehensive analysis, it can be said that government regulation is essential in a market economy, particularly an oligopolistic market structure like entertainment industry. Achievement of social efficiency and equity are the major reasons for government involvement in a market economy. Social efficiency can be attained at a point where the marginal benefits of either production or consumption to society are equal to marginal costs of production or consumption. In addition, social equality is less likely to be promoted in a market environment where government inter vention is insignificant. As Hyman (2007, p. 67) points out, government involvement in a market economy is particularly vital to prevent the creation of monopoly power, which in turn will result in an output level below the socially efficient level. This practice is also necessary to provide the public with proper information and to enhance market certainty. Probably, lack of certainty would persuade people to produce or consume at a level less than they would choose otherwise. Free market environments seem to respond sluggishly to demand and supply fluctuations and this time lag in response can result in permanent disequilibrium state and cause instability problems. Timely government regulation in a market economy is also crucial to promote adequate provision of dependents and adequate output of merit goods. Evidently, tools like taxes and subsidies are specifically important to address market distortions effectively. To illustrate, imposing tax rates equal to marginal external cos ts and granting subsidy rates equal to marginal external benefits are some potential strategies to resolve externalities. In short, effective government regulation is inevitable to prevent the imposition of external costs and to enhance customer protection. Rationale for Government Intervention in US Currently, the entertainment industry’s long-term expansion plans through mergers are challenged by Federal government regulations. There are various reasons for the intervention of government in the market process in the US. As discussed already, today entertainment industry is an oligopolistic market, which is dominated by four main players. Evidently, the planned mergers would turn the entertainment industry into monopoly and this situation in turn would negatively affect the interests of the society. Under a monopolistic market structure, there is no market competition and therefore the ‘market ruler’ is free to charge any price regardless of consumer interests. In other words, customers do not have any option other than buying the products at the rates fixed by the company. In this situation, the organization may find it profitable to produce inferior or substandard goods because customers are compelled to purchase those items without a second thought. Hence, it can be claimed that creation of a monopolistic market structure would lead to consumer exploitation and this practice may cause customer dissatisfaction. Price discrimination is another negative impact of

Political Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Political Economy - Essay Example If a country is relatively more efficient in the production of a good than another country then it has comparative advantage in production of that good (Kili 2002, p.3). However, the theory itself is also one of the most commonly misunderstood principles (Suranovic 2003). Suranovic lists that one of its sources of "misunderstandings" derives from its property of being counter-intuitive, that is, many results from its formal model are contrary to simple logic. Secondly, the theory is easy to be confused with another concept regarding advantageous trade, known in trade theory as the theory of absolute advantage. This confusion between these two concepts leads many people to believe that they have understood comparative advantage in full when in reality, it is absolute advantage that they understand. Finally, the theory of comparative advantage is all too often presented only in its mathematical form. The use of numerical examples or diagrammatic representations is extremely useful in illustrating the basic results and the deeper implications of the theory. However, it is also easy to see the results mathematically, without ever understanding the basic intuition of the theory (Suranovic 2003). The theory on comparative advantage was first described by Robert Torrens in 1815 in an essay on the corn trade where he concluded that it was to England's benefit to exchange various goods with Poland in return for corn, even though it might be possible to produce that corn more cheaply in England than Poland. However, the theory is attributed to David Ricardo, who explained it in greater detail in his 1817 book The Principles of Political Economy and Taxation and explained the concept on foreign trade in an example involving the same two countries. The theory has been developed in the context of Ricardo's labour theory of value. The following table shows Ricardo's 1817 example of foreign trade production functions on cloth and wine for England and Portugal in one year's time: Output/Country Wine Cloth England 120 100 Portugal 80 90 According to Ricardo, if England is circumstanced that in order to produce the cloth may require the labour of 100 men in a year and if this country attempted to make wine, the labour of 120 men will be needed at the same time. Ricardo quotes that it would be in England's best in interest to import wine and to purchase it through the exportation of cloth.1 On the other hand, to produce the wine in Portugal, the labour of 80 men will be required for one year while producing cloth in the same country will need the labour of 90 men for the same time. According to Ricardo, it would be therefore best for Portugal to export wine in exchange for cloth. In Ricardo's words: "This exchange might even take place, notwithstanding that the commodity imported by Portugal could be produced there with less labour than in England. Though she (Portugal) could make the cloth with the labour of 100 men to produce it, because it would be advantageous to her rather to employ her capital (the labour employed) in the production of winethan she could produce by diverting her portion of capital from the cultivation of vines to the manufacture of cloth." According to Feucht (2002, p.3), the reason for comparative advantage is that even if the costs for all products may be lower in one country than in its trading partner, there is still the one product where the relative cost saving compared to all

Culture Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Culture Case Study - Essay Example The criteria surveyed on are: diversity recruiting policies, leadership development initiatives, training programs, opportunity for mentorship and activeness of employee affinity groups. All these points to a successful cross cultural management that we can learn from and worth to case studied into. Touching on race and ethnic diversity in the case study, there also are some theories that focus on positive predictions or possible positive outcomes of racial/ethnic diversity. This comes from a "value in diversity" perspective ([Cox, 1993] and [Cox et al., 1991]) which argues that diversity creates value and benefit for team outcomes. Group performance is thought to be enhanced by having broader resources and multiple perspectives (Hoffman, 1959). Particular to race, some studies (McLeod et al., 1996 P.L. McLeod, S. Lobel and T.H. Cox, Ethnic diversity and creativity in small groups, Small Group Research 27 (1996), pp. 248-264. Full Text via CrossRef[McLeod et al., 1996] and [Watson et al., 1993]) have found that ethnically diverse work teams make better decisions than homogeneous teams. The general assumption that underlies these theories is that an increase in racial or ethnic diversity means that a work group will experience possible positive outcomes such as: increased information, enhanced problem s... oblem solving ability, constructive conflict and debate, increased creativity, higher quality decisions, and increased understanding of different ethnicities/cultures. This is true for our case study as Mark Welch, Director of Global Diversity & Inclusion at Northern Trust says in the article (l.5). Because of the diverse background of each individual and culture, when faced with the same problem in the work group, different solutions emerged from the respective culture. Since each culture is unique and so there will be differences, which results in a bigger pool of ideas generated to achieving a problem. This increases the number of comparisons of ideas between one to another. As a result, combinations and hybrids of solutions will surface giving rise to more information. What will be beneficial is that the ability to solve problems will be enhanced since there is an acquirement of new perspectives to solve the same problem, meaning if certain conditions impedes the implementation o f one solution, another solution acquired to the same problem may be more viable. This syndrome is a proof of increased creativity of the individual or of the group. Being in a diverse group, common sense will tell that being sensitive to another's race or ethnicity or hostility will arise. In view of this, to cater to the care of a co-colleague emotions and perspectives very much individualized in a person, and at the same time to disagree maturely based on facts, the way is to bring across constructively conflicts and debates. To achieve so, one will need to seek out the understanding of another's race and ethnicity if an authentic relationship is to be established in the work place. With the increased solutions, there will come about the choice of the best solutions and the motivation

The beginning of civilization Essay Example for Free

The beginning of civilization Essay From the very early years of the beginning of civilization, man has been responsible for completing a set of tasks. In the initial stages of evolution the work of a man was supposed to be hunting and protecting the family, while females were supposed to be their family nurturers and caretakers. As time passed by, there was formation of society, and new occupations started emerging, giving the people jobs without the bias of their gender. But with every developing phase there are its cons, that are inevitable, and unemployment is of the biggest problems of not only poor nations, but also developing and developed nations. Unemployment is such a phase in a person’s life, which makes him think that he is vulnerable, and gives him a feeling of being subdued by the pressure of the society. In today’s world were money is supposed to be the only prime objective in a person’s life, and when someone is unemployed, he has to face the brunt of being incapable of financially stabilizing himself, which leads to social and psychological problems, which ultimately gives a clear message of the help that is required by these individuals. In the world of booming population and migrant supposition, individuals are left with huge amount of pressure to acquire a job, and when that individual fails to do so, he is left with very disturbing thoughts which ultimately lead to crime, suicide, depression, humiliation and feeling of internal failure. Unemployment itself is a very large word and is diversified into sub categories, the very first category is known as the cyclical unemployment, which exists due to the lack of demand of labor, second category is of technological unemployment, where newer technologies reduce the hands of labor that work in an organization. The third category is of Classical wage conflict, when unemployment occurs due to the divergence arising in the minimum wage criteria. The fourth kind is known as structural unemployment, which is caused to due geographical disparity. Then there is common fresher unemployment, where individuals have to face unemployment looking for their first jobs after finishing their courses. The sixth kind of category is related with the seasonal occupation, where individuals are only employed during the season. One of the worst categories is the uneducated and unskilled unemployment category, where the individual has to go through a lot, as he/she does not know even where to start from. Unemployment if it has to be put on papers then it is an social issue, an unemployed and frustrated youth is more dangerous than organized criminal, as the mentality of a depressed unemployed person is to grab any opportunity he can and would very easily forget the thin line between right and wrong, and the same is best expressed by Macarov below: â€Å" In the United States, unemployment and pockets of unemployment are often seen as problems not only in themselves but as indicators of a high incidence of related problems† Any problem that has got to do with social issues, social workers step in to help resolve and pacify the problem. Unemployment is one of America’s greatest crux problem, and unemployment apart from being a social problem, automatically also becomes a social workers problem too, as it has a massive negative impact on the society. An unemployed person be it a labor or a graduate, has to go through an ordeal, as most of them are likely to have financial responsibilities behind them and it is because of this burden, they are likely to commit felonies or suicides, or anything that would ultimately lead to destruction of either of their own lives or public’s lives and properties. This becomes harder for a social worker, as he does not know up to what level or what decree an unemployed youth with huge amount of depression and frustration is capable of. Unemployment initially is a personal problem, but with due time, i. e. the patience level of an unemployed person when it ceases to exist, it can lead to a psychological problem. When the unemployed person starts losing hope in having hoped to get a job, he can get into depression and that ultimately can lead to psychological problems. This is best explained by the following: â€Å"At a more individual level, the stress model suggests interventions soon after the stressor has occurred for the secondary prevention of psychological symptoms and losing a job seems a likely trigger of mental disorder generally and depression in particular† (Courtesy: David Dooley, Ralph Catalano, Georjeanna Wilson, â€Å"American Journal of Community Psychology†, Vol. 22). The initial problems of an unemployed youth are falling behind peers, and watching the burden of responsibility increase on them, but after a while it take its toll on them leading to complex psychological problems. The consequences of unemployment are best expressed below: â€Å"Consequences for the specific individuals facing sustained periods of unemployment are decidedly not. They may suffer permanent damage to their employment and income prospects as a result of a period of unemployment early in their â€Å"working† lives† (Courtesy: Niall O’Higgins, Labor Market Economist,† the challenge of youth Unemployment, Retrieved on February 10th 2008, from site http://www. ilo. org/public/english/employment/strat/download/etp7. pdf) Social work is one of the key factors that would help people facing troubles related with unemployment, as social service is the only way that would understand the different facets of unemployment and would treat each unemployed person as a different case. According to the latest OCED report, America had an average of 4. 6% as unemployment rate in the year 2007, which though was better than the average 6, it can be understood, that country of such a huge size with comparably lesser population in terms of India and China, has an unemployment rate lesser than that of Taiwan and Norway. This just shows the amount of social work that would be required to help people and give them a lending hand in their problems. What actually social work can do is firstly sort the category of unemployed people and give them support and can raise unemployment issues with the local authorities to help secure those jobs along with silently pacifying them with sessions of control and hope and education them on lines on unemployment insurances and other government policies and bringing in welfare programs like the way it was bought during the ‘Great Depression’ . However social work cannot give them a job, they can only raise the issue, also counseling done by them will be only for the people who are willing to take support and are ready to accept help, but social work would not be able to target those individuals who have crossed the limits of depression and have already thought of harming themselves or the society. â€Å"An empty mind is a devil’s workshop†, this quote goes well with the millions of unemployed people, and if not given proper guidance by social groups or if then don’t get jobs in time, then it is more like a time bomb that is ticking much fast, and will someday, swallow the whole nation because of frustration and depression by them. Reference: 1) David Macarov, â€Å"Social welfare: structure and practice†, published in 1995, by SAGE publishers 2) Jeff Singleton,† The American Dole: Unemployment Relief and the welfare state in the great depression†, published in 2000, by Greenwood publishers. 3) Niall O’Higgins, Labor Market Economist,† the challenge of youth Unemployment†, http://www. ilo. org/public/english/employment/strat/download/etp7. pdf 4) Henry George, â€Å"How to Help the Unemployed†, published in The North American Review, February, 1894, http://homepage. ntlworld. com/janusg/hgh/helpun. htm 5) Robert Moroney, Judy Krysik, â€Å"Social policy and Social work†, published by Aldine Transaction 6) Ministry of social development New Zealand, â€Å"International Comparison†, http://www. socialreport. msd. govt. nz/paid-work/unemployment. html

The Inventory Management System

The Inventory Management System When a business stocks materials and goods they sell, they are procedures that are put in place to handle how goods are received, stored and delivered, with this process been known as inventory management. Inventory is a physical resource that a business holds in their stock with the intention of selling it or transforming it into a more valuable state. The inventory could range from raw materials, finished goods, works in process or maintenance, repair and operation (MRO). The main concept of inventory control is focusing on the process of movements and accountability of inventory. This concept strictly bases on the principle of physical and cycle counting, physical and systematic movement of materials and, good accounting practices. In business management, inventory consists of a list of goods and materials held available in stock. Inventory management is the process of specifying the placement and size of the stocked goods within a business whereby the inventory is to be managed at different locations or levels within a facility or within multiple different locations of a supply network to safe guard production against overstocking or running out of goods. Inventory management could as be defined as managing inventory with the primary objective been determining and controlling stock levels within the facility to balance the need for product availability against the need for minimizing stock holding and handling costs. 2.3 Management System A management system is an information system that is used by a business to ensure they can manage and fulfill their tasks through a framework of procedures and processes. Typical management systems are used to maintain data within an organization as well as ensuring data is shared accurately, or for the management of services or products offered. A management system could also be defined as the integration of traditional management methods with a computer system to create a tool for strategic and automated information management. 2.4 Inventory Management System An inventory management system is usually used to automate a sales order fulfilment process. These types of system are designed containing a structure whereby it contains lists of orders to be fulfilled then prompts the sales employees to select the desired items and mark them packaging and shipping information. Modern inventory management system serve the purpose of keeping tracks of inventory objects whereby the system relies on barcodes or RFID tags to uniquely identify the object. When recording a transaction, the system automatically identifies the inventory object by scanning the barcode or RFID tag, and then additional transaction information is collected from the operator via work terminal which could be a workstation or mobile computer. The features of an inventory management system such as physical inventory counting and cycle counting can enhance an organization. With the availability of various kinds of inventory systems, in the current environment the size of a business is not a concern because there are various kinds of systems to suit any business. Figure 1: Basic Structure of an Inventory Management System 2.5 Management System Classification 2.5.1 Network Inventory Management System Real time inventory management system: use wireless, mobile terminals to record inventory transactions, the moment the transaction is processed. Transaction information is transmitted via wireless LAN to a central database. 2.5.2 Stand Alone Inventory Management System Stand alone inventory systems are usually employed by small size or medium sized businesses. These kind of systems work offline and are not connected to other systems. Stand alone systems are usually used to store Customer data and inventory, usually all stored on one local database. For example for small businesses like convenience stores and shoe stores, it could be an expensive business option to purchase and use an expensive electronic inventory management system hence a standalone application could be the nearest option to the manual system since it automates the basic functions of inventory management. It would not make sense a small business located in one location implementing a web based or network based inventory system when they only sale inventory locally. These kinds of systems are not suitable for large sized business in manufacturing or production with a study in 1996 by the International Mass Retail Association (IMRA), for example, concluding that stand alone manageme nt system packages acquired to perform individual functions will soon become obsolete because they do not integrate well with other systems. 2.5.3 Web Based Inventory Management System Web based systems are web applications that can be accessed from any computer with a web browser but without any physical application installed on the local computer. In inventory management systems, a web based application can be a smart move for businesses because it offers the benefits of secure storage, sharing files and accessibility which make managing your data with other hosted applications a smart strategy. A web application is an application delivered to users from a web server over a network such as the internet or an intranet. A reason for the popularity of web based applications is due to the functionality of the web browser as a client, sometimes called a thin client. When choosing inventory management applications, the ability of a web based application to update and maintain web applications without distributing and installing software on potentially a numerous number of clients is another reason why these kinds of system are becoming much favored by users. A key strategy that is been capitalized on by software companies is to provide web access to applications that are been distributed as local applications whereby these programs allow the user to pay a monthly or yearly fee for use of the application without having to install it on a local hard drive. Software companies that are following this strategy are known as an application service provider (ASP), and ASPs are currently receiving much attention in the software industry. The main concepts behind web based application is to centralize information hence by using databases to store data like consumer information, salespeople can update a clients address and the update will instantaneously be available to all users throughout the organization. Too many small and medium-sized businesses suffer from de-centralized information because they implement stand alone applications which are not a logical way of centralizing information. 2.6 Current Based Inventory Management System 2.6.1 Silver Inventory System Silver Inventory System is very popular software throughout the world, particularly with small to medium sized businesses requiring a mid-range, inexpensive standalone inventory software with a good range of features. Silver Inventory System is a complete inexpensive system for management of sales, purchases and payments. This system will help you in creation invoices, sale orders, purchase orders, receiving lists, payment receipts, product labels with bar codes and any kinds of the reports for monitoring your business. Inventory System allows the control of customer balances and vendor balances. Figure 2: Screenshot of Silver Inventory Management System 2.6.2 Golden Inventory System Golden Inventory system is integrated with QuickBooks and is able to track Purchases, Sales, Work Orders and payments. This is a complete inventory management system that performs the functions of Purchases, Sales and payments. The system guides you through the creation of vendors list, purchase orders, products list, receiving lists, sales orders, invoices, sales and payment receipts. In addition to product labels with barcodes, work orders for creation inventory assemblies, transfer orders between locations, customers and vendors balances and various types of reports for monitoring your business, it also supports XML synchronization with remote locations. Golden Inventory system works with MS SQL Server 2000, MSDE and desktop database files. Golden Inventory system works as a single application or as a client server system and as a distribution database system. You will be able to work with remote outlets and warehouses even without a reliable connection between them. The system us es unique data exchange technology in XML format that allows quickly processing orders and synchronizing information with all your branches. Figure 3: Screenshot of Golden Inventory System Features Golden Inventory Silver Inventory User interface Easy to understand interface that can be used without need for training. Application offers a simple to use interface, that could be used to perform tasks without the need of training Warehouse support Application can be integrated to support multiple warehouses for one company Support for warehouse is only limited to one warehouse for one company Point of Sale System has a point of sale panel where a sales transaction can be performed in real time Does not provide functionality for Point of Sales Security Users access functions can be limited depending on access level or role Secure security prevents unauthorized access from outsiders. Integration Supports a multi user environment Supports a multi user environment Inbound logistics Systems allow ordering for manufacturing operations. It also supports payments for ordered products and purchase orders at the same time reserving inventory for sales orders This system allows conducting payments for obtained products and for ordered products in the purchase orders. It supports the partial payments and payment under several orders or receiving lists. The payments arriving from sold products are similarly ensured. Other features Inventory reservations for Sale orders Work orders for manufacture operations Screen customization support Export reports in Excel files Compare and Comparison of Golden Inventory system and Silver Inventory System When comparing the inventory systems there certain features that feature in both systems and there some features that are absent in the other system. One of the key differences between the two systems is that Golden Inventory system supports multiple warehouses for a company meaning the system could be integrated between all warehouses as one system whereas the downside to Silver inventory is that it can only be integrated to one warehouse. A similarity between the two is that both can support multiple companies. In terms of size and functionality, Golden Inventory system is much superior to Silver Inventory system. Both systems offer the basic concepts of inventory management systems that is, invoicing, sales orders which is fulfilled by business, purchasing which would be the inbound inventory, barcode scanning whereby the inventory object is automatically identified before it is processed. Depending on the size of the business, Golden Inventory system is most suited for a large size business that could be in the field of manufacturing, stock supply or production and Silver Inventory is best suited for small to medium sized business because of the limited functionalities. Some of the key features that make Golden Inventory superior to Silver Inventory system are that Golden Inventory system can offer a Point of Sale Option whereby a transaction could be processed at a terminal and the inventory status is updated in real time. Golden inventory system can support reports from Microsoft Excel which means it can be integrated with other systems that could be run by a business. The Golden Inventory System has a feature to manage work orders for manufactures and the screen and work permissions by user meaning the added security whereby the access granted to each user can be defined exactly depending on their level of authority minimizing unauthorized access to functions and data not related to that user. REFERRENCES http://www.executivpro.com/#silver Silver Inventory System Software Informer: Screenshots http://www.softsea.com/review/Golden-Inventory-System.html http://www.softsea.com/review/Hunter-Perrin%27s-Inventory-Manager-and-Storefront.html http://www.sharewareconnection.com/golden-inventory-system.htm http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6647380/claims.html http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread50946.html# http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m4153/is_6_57/ai_69759746/ http://www.ehow.com/how_4421818_set-up-inventory-control-system.html http://www.barcodesinc.com/articles/inventory-control-system.htm http://www.retailsystems.com/retail-inventory-management-system.cfm http://www.womensenterprise.ca/resources/downloads/inventory-wholesale-retail.pdf http://www.seminarinformation.com/qqbpml/conference-for-warehousing-and-inventory-control http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warehouse_management_system http://www.thefreedictionary.com/inventory+control http://www.management-hub.com/benefits-of-using-an-inventory-management-system.html http://www.management-hub.com/is-it-wise-to-go-for-web-based-inventory-management-solution.html http://www.management-hub.com/use-of-network-inventory-management-software.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_management_software http://www.ricelake.com/docs/prodinfo/white-papers/wp_IMS.pdf http://www.emco.is/products/network-inventory/advantages.php http://www.askdeb.com/inventory-management/hosted/

The Importance of the First Two Scenes in King Lear Essays -- King Lea

The Importance of the First Two Scenes in King Lear      Ã‚  Ã‚   "King Lear, as I see it, confronts the perplexity and mystery of human action." (Shakespeare's Middle Tragedies, 169)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As the previous quotation from the scriptures of Maynard Mack implies, King Lear is a very complex and intricate play which happens to be surrounded by a lot of debate.   "The folio of 1623, which was, as is well known, edited by two of Shakespeare's fellow actors" (Notes and Essays on Shakespeare, 242),   contains not only historical errors, but errors which pertain to certain characters speaking other characters lines.   Amidst all the controversy one fact can be settled upon by all;   King Lear is one of Shakespeare's best tragedies.   While being a great play, the bulk of the plot in King Lear comes mainly from the first two scenes where most of the key events happen.   Along with the plot there is also extensive amounts of setup that occur within the dialogue which key the audience in on the morals and values of the characters.   Marilyn French is completely accurate when she states that "Everything about the play hangs on the first two scenes not just the plot but the values as well" (Shakespeare's Division of Experience, 226).      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The opening scenes of King Lear do an immaculate job of setting up the plot and forming the basis for all the events which occur in the later scenes of the play.   "The elements of that opening scene are worth pausing over, because they seem to have been selected to bring before us precisely such an impression of unpredictable effects lying coiled and waiting in an apparently innocuous posture of affairs." (Shakespeare's Middle Tragedies, 170)   Not onl... ...ill unfold.   The first two scenes of King Lear are pivotal in influencing every aspect of the play including the plot, and the values of the characters contained within the plot.    Works Cited    Clemen, Wolfgang. The Development of Shakespeare's Imagery. New York, NY, USA: Methuen & Co. 1977.    French, Marilyn. Shakespeare's Division of Experience. New York: Summit Books. 1981.    Hales, John. Notes and Essays on Shakespeare. New York, NY, USA: AMS Press. 1973.    Lerner, Laurence. Shakespeare's Tragedies. Middlesex, England: Penguin Books Ltd. 1964.    Shakespeare, William. King Lear.   As reprinted in Elements of Literature. Toronto:   Oxford University Press.   1990.    Young, David. Shakespeare's Middle Tragedies - A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, USA: Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1993.

Comparison of The Rich Boy, The Bridal Party, and The Great Gatsby by F

Comparison of The Rich Boy, The Bridal Party, and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald The 1920’s market a booming America economy, making evident transition between social classes. People become very optimistic, and sometimes began living their lives as if they had already obtained the American dream. Dreamers usually create illusions to avoid the cruel realities of life. F. Scott Fitzgerald exemplifies three overly enthusiastic believers in â€Å"The Rich Boy† with Anson Hunter, â€Å"The Bridal Party† with Michael Curly, and The Great Gatsby with Jay Gatsby. Fitzgerald easily builds these characters into ‘the man of imagination’ and the ‘the man of action.’ They live an illusion by dwelling on the past, feeling that money can buy what they want, yet reality shatters their fantasy world; thus Fitzgerald depicts how each character evolves in romanticism and realism. All three characters experience a sense of living illusions in which Fitzgerald includes romanticism in them. In â€Å"Rich boy,† Paula Legendre is Anson Hunter’s unattainable love due to his behaviour. As...

evolution of the horse Essay -- essays papers

evolution of the horse ï » ¿For many people, the horse family remains the classic example of evolution. As more and more horse fossils have been found, some ideas about horse evolution have changed, but the horse family remains a good example of evolution. In fact, we now have enough fossils of enough species in enough genera to examine details of evolutionary change. Evolution does not occur in a straight line toward a goal, like a ladder; rather, evolution is like a branching bush, with no predetermined goal. Horse species were constantly branching off the evolutionary tree and evolving along various unrelated routes. There’s no discernable straight line of horse evolution. Many horse species were usually present at the same time, with various numbers of toes, and adapted to various diets. In other words, horse evolution had no inherent direction. We only have the impression of straight line evolution because only one genus happens to still be alive, which deceives some people into thinking that the one genus was somehow the target of all the evolution. Instead, that one genus is merely the last surviving branch of a once mighty and sprawling bush. Tracing a line of descent from Hyracotherium to Equus reveals several apparent trends: reduction of toe number, increase in size of cheek teeth, lengthening of the face, and increase in body size. But these trends are not seen in all of the horse lines. On the whole, horses got larger, bu...

Fat Burner Supplements

Author's Letter Writing this essay I learned a lot about fat burner supplements. I use to think they were not harmful to my body, but I realize that they are. Before I would walk In to supplement stores and when I would see a fat burner ad on display I would buy it. The ad would get my attention because it would show a muscular and defined body, and that's something I desired as an athlete. Furthermore, the employees would not mention to me the side affects the pills contain, so I was unaware of what I was in aging and putting inside my body.As time progressed I started to realize that my workouts were not the same without these pills. I also notice my performance In the ring was not the same. Therefore, I felt like I could not perform without these pills because the lack of energy my body did not produce anymore. I would go back to supplement store and purchase more fat burners. After a few months my physic changed, I notice an increased in muscle size and my body was defining, but little did I know the side effects would kick in right after.Consequently, I started to feel anxiety and my heart rate would Increase for no reason when I was In my comfort mode. My doctor at the time told me I was suffering from anxiety. He prescribed medication, In which I took for a few months before my anxiety started fading. Now, my anxiety is under control, but it's not permanently out of my system; it comes and goes. If I would have known what side effects these pills contained, I would've thought twice before consuming them.I took the supplement as directed and read warning label, but I was unaware that the symptoms would last a lifetime. I wrote this essay to educate those who read It about the dangers fat burner supplements produce. In conclusion. At the end of the day It Is someone's decision to consume these pills Into their system, but if they learn more about these pills history individuals will think twice about purchasing; and maybe they will not consume nor abuse th e supplement.

Maggie: a Girl of the Streets

Stephen Crane wrote many short stories, one of which was Maggie: A Girl of the Streets. His stories contained various aspects of Naturalism, a literary movement that sought to replicate a believable everyday reality, as opposed to Romanticism or Surrealism, in which subjects may receive highly symbolic, idealistic, or even supernatural treatment. Poverty, abuse and a survival of the fittest way of life created an environment which Maggie was negatively influenced by. Her environment is made up of many circumstances that affect her, one of which is poverty. Maggie grew up in poverty, living out her childhood in a shabby apartment in Rum Alley.This poverty influenced her beliefs. The story says â€Å"when Pete arrived Maggie, in a worn black dress, was waiting†¦,† (18). In comparison, Pete was said to wear nice clothes such as â€Å"his blue double-breasted coat, edged with black braid, buttoned close to a res puff tie, and his patent-leather shoes,† (14). Maggie has her â€Å"worn dress† and as such she sees herself as lowly. The effect of the poverty is emphasized when Maggie, while observing Pete, ponders â€Å"She vaguely tried to calculate the altitude of the pinnacle from which he must have looked down upon her,† (16).This statement shows how, at this point in her life she sees other people above her. The poverty caused her to think this way- it influenced her in ways so subtle and yet so big. It was this thinking caused by the poverty which led to her seeking out Pete’s strength. The poverty stricken environment in which Maggie lived is one in which only the strong survive or one who adapts. The women are described as â€Å"formidable women, with uncombed hair and disordered dress,† (4). They are survivors. They have no time for looking nice, they are working to be strong and survive.Maggie, on the other hand, â€Å"grew to be a most rare and wonderful production of a tenement district, a pretty girl,† (13). She is not strong in that aspect and as such she sought out a strong person, Pete. When seeing him she thinks â€Å"Here was a formidable man who disdained the strength of a world full of fists. Here was one who had contempt for brass-clothed power; one whose knuckles could defiantly ring against the granite of law. He was a knight,† (16). She became enamored with his strength and defiance. He proclaims how great of a fighter he is and as a result she gravitates towards him so he can be her knight.He could protect her. This thinking that she needed a strong man was a result of her environment. It was survival of the fittest and her attempt at survival was attaching herself to a strong man. Another time in which she had to adapt in order to survive was when she was walking down the streets â€Å"Soon the girl discovered that if she walked with such apparent aimlessness, some men looked at her with calculating eyes. She quickened her step, frightened. As a protection, sh e adopted a demeanor of intentness as if going somewhere,† (47). This quote emphasizes the fact that in order to survive she needed to adapt to the streets.Throughout all of Maggie’s life there was, on top of the poverty and the primal instinct for survival, violence and abuse in her home. Violence and abuse was a constant in Maggie’s life. The violence and abuse affected her psychology. Both the physical beatings and the lack of parental figures as a result of the abuse cause her to act differently than she would if she had a mother who loved her and a stable household life. Maggie repeatedly refers to her mother as ‘the woman’ or ‘the mother’ such as in the quotes â€Å"the eyes of both were drawn, by some force, to stare at the woman’s face,† (10).She does not talk of Mary as her mother; instead Maggie refers to her as another woman. This happened as a result of the violence shown to her from Mary; she does not trust her mother. Her mother then proceeds to, later on in Maggie’s life, kick Maggie out of the apartment because she does not like Maggie’s boyfriend, Pete. Mary tells Maggie â€Å"Yeh’ve gone the deh devil, Mag Johnson, yehs knows yehs have gone the deh devil. Yer a disgrace the yer people, damn yeh. An’ now, git out an’ go ahn wid dat doe-faced jude of yours.Go the hell wid him, damn yeh, an’ good riddance. Go the hell an’ see how yeh likes it,† (27). This verbal abuse is something which Maggie has lived with all her life. This quote is the climax in Maggie’s life. The abuse from her mother pushes her out of the apartment and to her subsequent death. All of the abuse and violence influenced Maggie and caused her to have a messed up life. Ultimately throughout Maggie’s life, she was influenced by her environment. Her life would have evolved in a completely different way than in Maggie: A girl of the Streets.The environm ent in which one grows up in is crucial in life. The environment is one where children learn from and it influences who they will be. For some people their environment influences them for the better, and in other cases, like with Maggie, it is for the worse. All abuse, the poverty and survival of the fittest environment lead to her early death. Had those factors not been there she most likely would have lived a long and great life. But, those factors where there in her environment and that is the reality of life, not everything is perfect.

The Negative Effects of Divorce on Children

â€Å"So many persons think divorce a panacea for every ill, find out, when they try it, that the remedy is worse than the disease† (Qtd in Harper 192). Divorce in any situation tears a child apart, tossing them from one house to another, limiting the time spent with their parents, and confusing them. There arent very many reasons that would show to be more beneficial for the parent to leave than to stay and keep their marriage. Usually its better for the children if their parents work through their differences rather than get a divorce. To anyone, divorce is a horrible word.There is no way to make the word sound better or make it less painful. According to the Webster’s Dictionary, divorce is â€Å"the legal dissolution of marriage or the termination of an existing relationship or union† (Webster’s 370). This definition makes it seem formal and doesnt show the feeling that people have when the word is mentioned. To most children, divorce is much more than a legal dissolution; it is their whole world being torn apart and thrown on the ground in pieces. One of the biggest problems that divorce imposes on children is the decision of who they should live with.Usually parents divorce when children are small and the children have no say in where they go. Since the child cant choose, this usually leads to custody battles that end in split custody or joint custody. Whatever the choice turns out to be, either one of them will be detrimental to the child. When split custody is decided, it forces either the child or the court to choose which parent to live with and which one is in the childs best interest. It limits the time the child spends with both parenta. When the child only lives with one parent, the relationship with the other parent can be severely damaged.According to the National Survey of Children, close to half of all children with divorced parents have not seen their nonresidential parent in the past year, and only one in six had weekly contact (Whitehead 2). Since the children don’t see both their parents often, the parent that the child lives is usually thought of as strict and â€Å"no fun† because that parent is always there and is always responsible for disciplining the child. This can damage and cause social problems with the child. The nonresidential parent is usually viewed as the fun, exciting one that the child wants to be with.This parent usually tries to give the child presents, and money almost like they are using it in an attempt to â€Å"buy† the child’s love. The child doesnt usually feel the love and security of having a close family, since they are constantly moving from house to house. Because of the constant movement, the child doesnt usually receive quality time from either parent, and it makes it more difficult to feel loved. Joint custody, on the other hand, proves to be even less successful (Zinmeister 29). This type of custody is now allowed in half of the states in the US, although, joint custody is very unusual because of the extreme complications.In California, where divorce is more common than anywhere else, only eighteen percent of divorced couples have joint custody. Even when the divorced parents maintain regular contact with their children, truly cooperative child rearing is rare (Zinmeister 29). Research shows, that the parents have no communication or mutual reinforcement; this usually leads to very unhealthy relationships with their children. Joint custody is even worse on a child because there is even more movement involved. With split custody, the child goes to the nonresidential parent’s house on a certain schedule.In joint custody, however, the child is constantly moves back and forth between houses, causing an even larger lack of time between parent and their child. The custody battle can be damaging, but the divorce of a child’s parents can also confuse the child, suggesting that it is better for parent s to stay together. The child does not really know what commitment really means. Since these children see their parents breaking vows without a second thought, they start to think that whats right for the parents must be the right thing for them to do too.Children are basically shown that they dont have to work out their problems as long as they can run away. This is one reason that today, when someone makes a promise, there is really no promise of whether it will happen or not. According to The Effects of Divorce on Children, an article written by J. Lynn Rhodes, young adults whose parents have divorced previously are likely to have social problems and trouble forming and maintaining intimate relationships (Effects 1). The value of a person’s â€Å"word† has lessened.Partly because of bad examples parents are setting for their children when they get a divorce. Generally, its better for children to suffer a bad marriage than to cope with divorce. According to Universit y of Michigan psychologist and divorce expert Neil Kalter, the misery of an unhappy marriage is less significant than the changes after a divorce. The children would rather their parents keep fighting and not get divorced (Marriage 64). Although it doesnt seem logical, it shows that children want their parents to be together no matter what the cost.The alternative to most divorces is not life in a war zone (Zinmeister 30). In the most of the number of divorces there is no problem or issue that could ruin a person’s childhood. These divorces almost always make the child worse off and create many unnecessary problems for the child. If parents would concentrate harder on working their problems out rather than their own personal happiness, the children would be better off. Divorce, however, isnt always a terrible thing. In a few situations it is for the best.The two situations that can prove beneficial for a person to get a divorce are abusive relationships and adultery. When one parent is abusive, whether verbal, physical, or sexual, to the children, it is more beneficial to the child if the parent leaves (Huffman 4). Also, if one parent is physically abusing the other, the marriage should be ended. If a child watches their parent get beaten their entire life, they could think that its okay to act that way to other people or they can begin to hate the parent for staying.Also, when a spouse is committing adultery, divorce is definitly an option. When one spouse is faced with the affairs and still wont stop having them, the Bible gives the option of divorce. In Matthew 19:8-9 it says, â€Å"Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery† (Huffman 9). Even under these ircumstances, Jesus permitted divorce, but he didnt encourage it. It generally shows to be more beneficial for a child if their parents stay in an imperfect marriage rather than getting a divorce. The things that are involved with a divorce severely damage a child. The child lacks a â€Å"sense of belonging† and becomes very confused. Therefore, when a person gets married, they need to think long and hard to make sure that it is the right choice for them and for possible children that they may have one day.The person needs to make sure that they dont settle for the person they can live with; they need to wait for the person that they cannot live without. As Jesus says in Mark 10:5-9: It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law. But at the beginning of creation God made them male and female. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one. Therefore what God hath joined together, let no man put asunder (Huffman 1). Works Cited Harper Book of American Quotations, New York, Harper and Row, 1988, p.192. Huffman, John. â€Å"The Raw Reality of Divorce.† Http://www.christiandigest.com/divorce.html. (19 November 1998). Marriage and Divorce, California, Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1997, p.64. Rhodes, J. Lynn. â€Å"The Effects of Divorce on Children.† http://www.lrhodes.com/divorce.html. 1997. â€Å"Through the eyes of a child.† Http://www.divorceonline.com (20 November 1998). Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, Massachusetts, Merriam-Webster, Inc., 1984, p.370. Whitehead, Barbara. â€Å"Coming Apart.† http://www.divorceonline.com (20 November 1998). Zinmeister, Karl. â€Å"Divorce’s Toll on Children.† Current Magazine, April 1997: 29-30.

Bantay-Dagat Program (Unfinished)

Introduction Our environment is our primary concern today, for the environment that have nurtured us and provided us with everything that we need for sustenance is now in peril. Pollution, destruction of forests, extinction of floral and faunal species, coral bleaching, loss of arable due to erosion – all of these, and more, are the products of man’s destructive activities that continually threaten our fragile environment. Furthermore, the constant ruining of the environment often creates catastrophes that can, and will, endanger our very own lives.Therefore, we must conserve, protect, and save our environment for environment’s sake, for our children’s sake, and for our sake. In connection, we, the students of the University of the Philippines in the Visayas of the NSTP-CWTS program AY 2012-2013 heed to the call of the world for a new wave of young people who can bring change towards their fellowmen in the context of environmentalism, envisioned to do our part in the fruitful conservation of Mother Nature.This plan of action of ours is our own way as students to meet local and national conservation efforts towards a more sustainable development of our beloved country. Description The Bantay Dagat Project as proposed by the National Service Training Program (NSTP) officers is a program in which the beautification of native beaches and awakening of the community’s awareness regarding proper waste disposal are accentuated as the principal goals.Background The beaches of Brgy. Santo Nino Sur are said to be one of the best beaches in the province of Iloilo, visited annually by many local and foreign tourists alike. However, decades of human occupation have tarnished the beauty of the site, and is now littered with a lot of garbage. There are lot of floating debris in the sea, and the coast is strewn with many unwanted materials, suggesting years of uncareful management of the area.

Overseas M&A of Chinese Enterprises Essay

The purpose of this article is to summarize the problems related to the overseas M&A of Chinese firms and to propose suggestions on its corresponding improvements. It firstly describes the brief history of China’s overseas M&A in three phases and its current status including the growth trend, the location preference and the sector distribution ; iand illustrates one succesussfulrvived case of Lenovo and two failed cases of Chinalco and SAIC. Then Seondly it analyzes the factors contributing to the success: economy growth, exchange rate, foreign currency reserve and proper management; points out the reasons of failure: political resistance, strategy error, integration difficulty and cultural difference. After that it refers to the practice of Japanese enterprises on image making, strategy selection, management localization and relation maintaining. Finally it provideoffers recommendations to improvebetter the execution of China’s overseas M&A including regarding public relationship, strategic thinking, management enhancement and cultural communication and ; draws a conclusion that whether the overseas M&A is ‘cake’ or ‘trap’ depends on what we choose to do. Overseas M&A of Chinese Companies: Cake or Trap? Introduction On 26th February 2013, China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) announced in Beijing that it successfully completed the 15. 1 billion US$ acquisition of a Canadian oil and gas company Nexen Inc NXY. TO, which was China’s largest-ever foreign takeover. This was exactly the epitome of the ‘Great Leap Forward’ of overseas M&A of Chinese companies. Along with the economic boom in more thanof 30 years, encouraged by the ‘go-out’ strategy of the government, Chinese companies have madeseen robust strides in international investment markets. However, wereas most M&A cases closed as successfully as the case of CNOOC’s acquisition of Nexon? The answer must be negative should you pay attention to many failures such as Chinalco1’s acquisition of Rio Tinto2. Did every successful starting reach a happy ending? Neveror the answer would be affirmative since the bloody costs Chinese companies have paid in overseasabroad m markets. The aim of this article is to raise a critical question to the overheated enthusiasm on international acquisitions of Chinese enterprises: would it bring a worthy return or rather a bottomless pit? Serving this purpose, the article will firstly draw a brief portrait of the history and the present situation of China’s overseas M&A and summarize its characters, experiences and lessons. Then it will analyze the reasons for the successes and failures and compare China’s performance with the practice of its international peers. FinallyIn the end, t, he authorit would like to propose some recommendation on the improvement of the M&A operation of Chinese enterprises. Status quo The overseas M&A of Chinese enterprises started in the 1990s and could be roughly divided into three phases. The first phase was from the 1990s to the year 2001, when Chinese enterprises just entered the international market and tried to ‘cross the river by feeling the stones’ and to discover acquisition opportunities. The annual amount figure of transactions at that time was below 0. 1 billion US$. The second stage was after China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001 when the volume of overseas purchase takeovers reached 1 billion for the first time and till 2005 when the amount climbed to about 5 billions. The third period was fromafter 2006 till now especially after 2009 afterwardswhen global financial crisis seriously grilled struck the world’s major economies. During this period, the scale of China’s abroad overseas acquisitions exploded and each year it saw a total deal of tens of billions of dollars. In 2010, it was up to the height of 38 billion dollars, occupying 11% of the world’s transactions amount of that year3. There were some trends underlying the wavesis of overseas acquisitions waves. In terms of the quantity of deals, it was climbing climbed constantly with a number of 27 in 2003, 45 in 2005, 61 in 2007, 97 in 2009 and arrived at the record-breaking 147 in 20104. Meanwhile, the size of one transaction increased remarkably and the significant example was the abovementioned takeover of NEXON by CNOOC in 2013, a single deal of 15. 1 billion US$, overpassing exceeding the annual total of many previous years. With regard to the areas where China’s enterprises invested, American,USA Europe and Asia were their top 3 priorities, making up 27%, 21% and 15%5 respectively of the abroad acquisition volumes in 2010. About the sectors where they were interested in, the energy and mining fields were undoubtedly their first choice since 65%6 of the transactions occurred in this industry in 2010. Nonetheless, compared with the general traits, the individual cases are worth researching more carefully. A perfect example is the caseTake the story of China’s giant PC producer Lenovo7 as example, i. In December 2004 Lenovo acquired the PC department sector of IBM at the price of 1. 75 billion US dollars. After almost 10 years’ development, it was impressive that IBM became a super brand of business laptops and PCs and Lenovo had successfully enhanced its brand value and market share during the integration of two firms. It was this deal that made Lenovo a world PC giant. Conversely, the majority of Chinese buyers tasted the bitter flavor of defeats. According to the statistics of Mckinsey8 published in 2010, in the past 20 years, the success rate of international M&A was less than 50% while the failure rate of China’s overseas acquisitions was more that 67%9. In 2008, the total loss of China’s multi-national deals was nearly 35 billion US$10. For instance, in June 2009, Rio Tinto Group unexpectedly announced to breach the acquisition agreement with Chinalco and although Rio Tinto paid 0. 195 billion US$ break-up fee to Chinalco, the latter had to must pay multifold btimes of breaching compensation to China’s state-owned commercial banks and assume tremendous losses resulted from the dropping share price of Rio Tinto. Another perfect example is the case SAIC Motor11 took over SsangYong Motor12 which illustrated a failing integration after a triumphant acquisition. SAIC invested 0. 5 billion US$ to buy 48. 92% shares of SsangYong Motor in 2004 and increased its to 51. 33% in 2005. However, a smooth deal did not forecast a disaster of cultural integration. Neither SAIC achieved the aim of technology importation nor the new management team solved the annoying strikes and salary disputes so that the new enterprise staggered till 2009 when the local court approved the bankruptcy protection of SSangYong Motor, indicating the death of this acquisition. Analysis Based on the facts and cases revealed in previous chapter, we could can not help wondering that what was inside the box? In other words, what experiencepoints we can summarizecould summarize from the successful cases and what lessons we should learn from the failed ones? On one hand, the significant development of China’s overseas M&A might be generated by the following contributing factors. Firstly, the rapid economy growth drove solid requests forof the raw materials such as oil, gas or mining but subject to the limited domestic resources, Chinese enterprises turned their attention to global markets by active merging and acquiring. Secondly, since the exchange rate reform starting from 2005, the Chinese Currency RMB was appreciating gradually, for example the rate of US$ to RMB was 1: 8. 2 in 2005 but is 1: 6. 1 in 2014. In addition, the global financial crisis resulted from the subordinated debts storm in the USA remarkably dropped the share prices of listed companies in global capital markets. Both factorsThis change considerably lowered the costs of international acquisitions in recent years and created realistic opportunities for Chinese companies. Thirdly, holding the massive foreign currency reserve, for instance, 3820 billion US$ in the end of 201313, the central government of China broadened the control of foreign exchange and launched a ‘go-out’ policy to stimulate the internationalization of domestic enterprises, creating a relatively loose macro surroundings for Chinese companies. Fourthly, some Chinese companies were playing games in global markets more and more expertly. They adopted correct strategy to obtain global assets and products, executed it in accordance with international conventions, gained the advanced technology and sales networks, expanded the market share, established competitive edge and moved forward to the aim of multi-nationalization. On the other hand, it is indeed necessary to figure find out what caused the noticeable failure of Chinese acquirers. From my point of view, the reasons could be explained in four aspects. Political resistance:Political factors bear the brunt of the failure of China’s overseas acquisitions. Most Chinese enterprises engaging in international M&A were state-owned enterprises, which in the westerners eyes were regarded as the representatives of Chinese government. Although they emphasized the independence status and commercial orientation when doing business in other countries, the host governments were as prone to link them to the Communist Party of ChinaChinese government. Even if they were not state-owned, the public media often mislabeled them as Chinese SOEs because it was hard for the foreigners to distinguish the nature of one Chinese firm from the other. This was truly an extra risk of Chinese firms and constituted one fundamental obstacle toof China’s overseas acquisitions. Unfortunately, in most cases, Chinese firms had no say and did not know how to communicate with the local government or the public, only to accept the destiny of defeat. For example, the government of USA denied the 18. 5-billion-dollars acquisition of UNOCAL14 by CNOOC for the reason of state security. The failure of Chinalco’ acquisition of Rio Tinto was also attributed to the concern of economic safety of Australia. Strategic error:The core value of enterprise M&A probably is increasing the critical competitive advantage and sustainable development capacity thorough obtaining the essential resources of acquired firms, which requires thorough and appropriate strategies. Nevertheless, most Chinese enterprises, when operating international M&A, did not have a complete and clear strategiesy or did have a strategiesy but lost control of the operation and could not survive the ever-changing global markets. Some of them failed to properly evaluate their overall strengths and to completely understand the rules of international acquisitions therefore executed rush transactions blindly just catering for the individual preference of the boss or following the ‘going-out’ fashion of ‘going-out’. TheA lack of strategiesy must not realize an anticipated results. After a series of losses in international acquisitions, TCL15 admitted that the insufficient strategic preparation was the major reason contributed to its failure16. Another relevant case is the bidding for Hummer17 by Tengzhong18. Although had published an official industrial planning aiming at developing new energy vehicles in 2009, Tengzhong announced a bid for Hummer, the producer of large displacement vehicles, which completely contradicted its strategy of energy saving and emission reduction. Integration difficulty:After applause, flowers, champagnes and wines in the signature ceremony, the real challenge just starts because of the integration or management difficulties of Chinese firms. Though more and more Chinese enterprises enlarged tremendously in recent years, for example, 100 Chinese firms were listed on the Fortune Global 500 Rankings 201419, taking up one fifth of the world’s biggest companies. But compared with international giants such as Exxon Mobile, BP or Shell, Chinese firms are weak on management issues such as corporate governance, business operations, management communication skills, international reputation and marketing channels and internal integration etc. Multi-national acquisition and integration is so complicated that Chinese companies are short of not only managers who could communicate professionally with their counter-parts and standardize the operation with global horizon but also experts who are familiar with international market operations from legal, financial or managerial background20. Take TCL’s acquisition of Thomson21 for instance, after the deal was done, in less than three years, all the former executives of Thomson left the ‘new’ company22 and it fell into a crisis of management resulting in huge profit losses in the following fiscal years. It was truly a failure of team integration due to managerial incompetence. Even worse, Chinese firms were used to manage the integration after acquisitions with domestic management styles and most of them were caught in serious internal frictions, causing which caused productivity declining and profit dropping. Moreover, Chinese firms were merely accustomed to employ Chinese workers no matter where they were doing business, which exerted extensive concerns in the host country. For example, when Chinese firms acquired a local mining, a railway or harbor construction project in Africa, thousands of Chinese workers were hired to work there. It maybe impressive for many when we watched TV that more than 30,000 Chinese workers retreated from Libya after the civil war following the collapse of the Gaddafi regime in 2010. In the countries with tight policies on foreign labors, the employment patterns of Chinese acquisitions were controversial. Culture difference:Cultural is an indispensible influential factor in international M&A yet ignoring its significance is a common failing of Chinese acquirers. Many host countries complained that Chinese firms were mining robots or money machines, developing business simply on their own without incorporating themselves into the local communities and respecting the unique cultural backgrounds. The failure of SAIC’s acquisition of SsangYong, discussed mentioned in previous episode, could cast light on how the culture conflict ruined a takeover. It seems that the primary reason was SAIC’s insufficient acknowledgement of culture difference. Korea is an island country and its people have tremendous national pride therefore when SsangYong was acquired by SCIA which is from an undeveloped country of China, its employees were reluctant to accept the reality of control change and to co-operate well with the new boss. That was why they behaved negatively in the integration and apparently SAIC failed to figure out a proper strategy to deal with this issue. Moreover, SAIC underestimated the power of Labor Union and the complexity of labor disputes while paid more attention to enhance the relationship with the governmental authorities, which is anan exact reflection of Chinese culture, not suitable in Korea. The result of ignoring it was remarkable. Comparison After the analysis of what caused Chinese firms’ poor performance, before giving advice on how to improve it, it seems necessary to catch a glance at how the international peers did their M&A deals. Japan, one neighbor of China, is a perfect model we could refer to. Similar as today’s China, Japan is a country short of natural resources, from the 1960s when Japanese economy began to soar, Japanese enterprises invested massively in overseas markets to pursue a steady resource supplies. In the 1970s and 1980s, they also encountered various barriers and obstacles but Japanese firms gradually diminished the hostility and cautiousness and successfully took initiatives in global investment sectors23. Image-making:Japanese firms laid emphasis on image-polishing via the ‘think tank’ and the news media. In the 1980s, in response to the increasing hostility, Japanese firms implemented diverse strategies to turn them acceptable to the American society. Since most official critics were from the Congress, major Japanese companies established or enlarged the representative offices in Washington, DC. They tried to create the mainstream opinion via the cooperation with the think tanks, journalists orand former governmental officials and in return the think tanks held periodically forums on Japanese investments and published reports arguing that Japanese investments were beneficial to the USA economy. In most cases, Japanese firms sponsored or funded the researches or cooperated with the scholars in this field. Sustainable strategy: Japanese firms focused on a long-term effect of investments, pursued a resource-preferred acquisition strategy and did not deviate from the aim easily even if confronting temporary losses or missing profitable opportunities. As a result, the investment terms of Japanese firms were longer than those of Chinese firms. In addition, Japanese companies coordinated well with each other and avoided internal malicious competitions (which often happened among their Chinese peers) to maximize their coalition strength. Differing from Chinese acquirers in Australian market, Japanese companies were used to form an acquisition group of 3-4 firms to optimize the bargaining potential and profit margin. Local management: Unlike Chinese companies which preferred to appoint Chinese executives in overseas subordinates, Japanese investors trusted localAmerican managers and appointed them as executives. Besides, they tried to localize material supplies as much as possible. According to the report published in 2002 by the Bureau of Economics Analysis24, USA, from 1982 to 2002, the number of American suppliers of Honda25had climbed from 40 to 55026. Likewise, when negotiating with partners for acquisition deals, Japanese companies seldom requested to participated in the business operation so that they could avoid the employment, salary or land disputes, which considerably reduced the management risk and integration failure. Community relation: When investing in overseas countries, Japanese firms endeavored to integrate themselves to local culture and contribute to the construction of local communities. For example, sponsoring a baseball team or funding a cancer research center, Japanese firm had donated millions of dollars for local charity. All of these merits of goodness conveyed the information that Japanese firms respected local culture and put high value on local development. This is a sharp contrast to Chinese firms’ behavior in that they were only keen on making money but were indifferent to the lives of local residents. Recommendation Corresponding to the problems figured out discussed and the comparisons analyzed above, I would like to share my view on how to improve the overseas M&A operations of Chinese enterprises. Firstly, we should reduce the role the state plays in international acquisitions and create effective communications with stakeholders. To be honest, many overseas M&A cases illustrated the economic targets of Chinese government, which is the most controversial issue and the biggest concern in foreign markets. As the government, it must be aware of its duty and the boundary of public power, decrease the interference to micro economic operation and liberate the creativities of Chinese enterprises in overseas markets. On the other hand, Chinese government should provide necessary supervision and guidance of overseas acquisitions, reform improper and complicated formalities of abroad transaction and facilitate the currency flow by loosing strict exchange control. However, to eliminate political obstacles, the majority of the tasks are at the shoulder of Chinese enterprises themselves. It shouldmay be necessary for them to put public relationship management top of their agenda. For example, learn to communicate with the public media and the local communities in the language and style they could understand, find spokesmen in think tanks and sponsor local research academies or educational institutions are all constructive measures to enhance the soft powerimage of Chinese enterprises. In principle, we must try to let the host country, the local public, the local staff and other stakeholders believe that Chinese acquisitions are not only a business but also a kindness, not a threatens but an opportunitiesy, to all of them. Secondly, it is essential to break the spell of speculation and to adopt strategic thinking. Acquisition is not gambling but rather implementation of strategy, hence before initiating offers Chinese buyers must set up definite targets and strategies. In short, what do we exactly want? Every overseas acquisition case must have a clear strategic demand: to enhance the buyer’s weight in the value chain; to extend the brand reputation; to expand the production line or to extend the market share? We should not launch an acquisition merely because the target company is cheap or the acquisition is an eye-catching advertisement. Nothing would be more surprising than the news that a Chinese Millionaire Chen Guangbiao, whose business is recycle resourcing, announced a plan to buy New York Times. After the aim is set up, Chinese enterprise should establish and hold a firm strategy, draw an feasible plan in details to implement the strategy step by step and unless the market surroundings changes fundamentally, do not give up the fixed strategy easily. Thirdly, it could be urgent for Chinese firms to substantially enhance their management strength to survive the integration difficulties after takeovers. It is desirable for the acquirer to keep the previous management team of the acquired firm as much as possible and to pursue a ‘win-win’ target by satisfying both the requirements of the buyer and the demands of the seller as well asand its employees. Plus, they also should build a thorough management systems in accordance with international convention, enhance overall managerial strengthability, perfect internal corporate governance and establish rational incentive mechanism, to achieve a smooth integration and a sustainable development. Fourthly, it is not exaggerating to say that the failure of an overseas acquisition is actually the failure of cultural communication, which reminds Chinese buyers to take care of the cultural difference. Currently, most of the targeted firms are matured western enterprises which have built their own tradition and culture and hope to maintain rather than change it. In the contrary, Chinese firms have not developed a systematic and matured cultures. That is, China buyers have to absorb the advanced elements of the existing cultures and mix them in the formation of a new culture. Under some unique circumstances it is necessary to give up or reform the unreasonable parts in our own cultures that iare s unacceptable to the host country. Conclusion To summarize, overseas M&A is an effective way for Chinese enterprises to realize the hyper-normal development in global markets. But every opportunity could also be seen as a crisis and vice versa. It is a cake or a trap merely depends on what areis our choices. Friendly market, clear strategy, efficient management and proper communication may bring you a bright perspectives while hostile surrounding, blind expansion, poor administration and cultural conflict could catch usyou in a deep traps. For the better preparation to survive international M&A competitions, it is high time for Chinese enterprises to sum up the successful experiences and to learn from the costly lessons. If this article could provide some advisable suggestions on this topic, it would be my greatest pleasure.