A Summary of Four Articles on Finance from the Internet

This article furnishes its readers with relevant tips for parents who want to successfully send their children to school as they reach for some higher level of scholastic learning. It begins with the basic problematic most countries the world over is beset: government subsidies to defray the expensive cost of education for students (and parents at that) do not seem to cover that much.The case in point, at least specifically for this write-up, addresses how the government has stopped its subsidies for â€Å"student fees† which in turn makes it quite difficult for both parents and students to cope with.The article submits certain proposals to help both parents and students address the mounting task of university education.Among the choices include availing of loan packages such as: Student Loans (managed by Student Finance Direct), which allows a student to borrow money at a modest 9% interest, to be subsequently paid after graduation; Student Grants† – the more â⠂¬Å"generous† type of grant given to financially challenged families, or to single parent students, as even to those whose financial income is below 17,000 per annum.The article ends with alternative proposals that touch on some more means to get this whole university education going. Whichever the readers choose though, the bottom line remains: sending one’s children to school may appear to be an insurmountable task, but it is not impossible nevertheless.1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Top tips for first time buyers[1]The central concern of this write-up is to guide first time homeowners on important issues, which can either make or break their whole experience of buying a house. True enough, the first premise of the article is telling enough to even dismiss or set aside – buying a house is a big commitment and entails having to shoulder a lot of responsibilities in the years to come.First up, it is by right of commonsense that buyers are given this Bible-piece of advice : do not buy what you cannot afford. The initial temptation to procure a property based on the impulse to acquire an ideal house can at times blur the fact that there are some financial considerations that cannot be left out – these include, among others, â€Å"duty, solicitor and/or estate agent fees, a valuation report†. To be sure, this does not even include transfer and renovation costs.The article also gives vital information on the remaining important things that should not be missed. Among others, buyers have to be fully aware of the stipulations of the contract, the mortgage deals that they are agreeing to put up with and payment methods. Still, some other concerns that include insurance policies, procurement of home appliances, the suitability of the house location vis-à  -vis one’s work or children’s school are to be considered.2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Savings and investments for your children[2]â€Å"Children don’t come cheap† is t he statement that commences this short yet very insightful article which deals with an effective and forward-looking ways to invest for one’s children. In this times when managing one’s finances rightly becomes more and more difficult to do, it is certainly with a great sense of love and concern that one is called for to save for his/her children’s future and not compromise their wellbeing in the process.There are a few things that can be noted to help achieve this task. First up, the article proposes that parents should open a â€Å"bank account† for their children. It may seem like it is too early children to actually save. But the whole point of the exercise is to start saving regularly when one finds some time and resources to do it. As in a case of a habit, saving little pennies for one’s children can â€Å"accumulate quickly† without actually being noticed.Another proposal that the article gives is for parents to set aside some tax rel ief that the government provides for parents who raise children. But this can only happen if one is willing to actually avail of the tax allowance in the very first place.As it stands, tax reliefs for parents raising their children is one hefty source of cash, and it defrays the cost of the children’s living expenses in many ways. It may be wise to check on the availability of this type of resources, as the article would implicitly suggest.The article ends by elaborating how a parent can opt to open a trust fund for his/her children. This is a real investment for the children, yet it comes in a variety of choices. One may opt to simply save straightforwardly to a company for the children. Another option is to invest as though one does in stocks or shares. The third can be a combination of both. It really is up to the parents to choose the most viable alternatives to ensure that their children’s needs in the future will be secured and protected.[1] Top tips for first ti me buyers, retrieved 14 May 2008, http://www.financialarticles.info/article_50.html [2] Saving and investments for your children, retrieved 14 May 2008,   http://www.financialarticles.info/article_45.html

Relationship and School Community Essay

Method While keeping in mind Mai’s method for determining subjects, I read the article â€Å"Care, Concern, and Communication† by Susan Pickford. I chose Mai’s conception because Wilson leaves out one major method of indexing that could be named user-oriented method (Mai, 2000). The basic idea of user-oriented method is that the indexer needs to have the user’s information needs and terminology in mind when determining the subject matter of the document as well as when selecting index terms for the document. It suggests that the indexer should have knowledge about the user’s needs to determine the subject matter. Mai argues 5 methods in indexing. First one is a simplistic conception similar to Wilson’s (1968) constantly referred to method. This method determines the subject by counting frequencies of occurrences of words in the document so it could be the most objective method. The problem is that there is not necessarily any correlation between occurrences of words in a document and its content. Second method is a document-oriented conception. The basic idea is that the indexer should establish the subject matter solely based on an analysis of the document itself; the goal is to represent the document as truthfully as possible and ensure the subject representation is valid for a long time. Third method is a content-oriented conception attempts to describe the content of the document as fully as possible. This conception shows historical and cultural circumstances that determine the subject matter of the documents. Fourth one is a user-oriented conception mentioned in above paragraph. Last one is a requirement-oriented conception. In this method, the indexers have knowledge about the users’ individual information needs and work tasks. It is only useful in smaller organizations and indexing done by this method, like a user-oriented conception, changes over time. Subject Description The article is about Jane Roland Martin’s argument for the SchoolHome, an idea of making the school home away from home. In this system, school children would be taught the three C’s: care, concern and communication and thus their education would be inclusive, merging intellectual with the heart. The result: the epidemic of violence would be reduced and the domestic vacuum in children’s lives filled for good. Derived Indexing Children of the ‘90s are a content-oriented concept that describes historical and cultural context in which the document is produced. Without using Children of the ‘90s in the subjects of the document one would lose context for the article, so it is important to include the article for understanding. It is possible to find documents like children’ education influenced by social conditions or changes of ‘90s. Domestic Vacuum in Children’s Lives is a user-oriented concept that is the foundation of the article and would be accessible from this common phrase or variations thereof (e. g. , â€Å"domestic vacuum†, â€Å"live* vacuum†, and â€Å"child* live*† using wildcards for the greatest number of matches for the concept). Schoolhome is essentially a simplistic and document-oriented concept that serves an identifier for the article in the most general way while it does not describe the content of the article. This term would be especially useful in finding such things as case studies or curriculum examples for Schoolhome. Rethinking Schools for Changing Families is an excellent term that touches slightly on all of Mai’s conceptions. While it is the book title of Jane Ronald Martin, in its various wildcard combinations is a simple general term, reflects the article’s content, and speaks to the more specialized non-expert and expert subject areas that are brought up with School, Changing, and Families. Transforming American Education is a document-oriented term that helps to focus the search to the overarching concepts that are touched on in Children of the ‘90s, Domestic Vacuum in Children’ Lives, Schoolhome, and Rethinking Schools for Changing Families. The document types that American Education points to vary from the basic to the expert, making it a very good lynch pin-term. Free Indexing Although the derived terms above do a good job in reflecting the ideas in the article, some additional terms may include: Social Context for Children Education, which brings in Education and children, but Social Context is a broader, less expert phrase than containing ‘90s and domestic vacuum terms. Philosophy of Children Education, which gives as sense of the article, but the word Philosophy may not be an obvious children education search term. School and Home in United States, which is akin to schoolhome. Schoolhome would also be a good derived term, but this is slightly more nominative than descriptive. Moreover, using United States as an example gives geographical criteria to indexing term. Family School Relationship expands on Children Education with relationship between Family and School. It also broadens the scope by detailing what the school reform would be about. School Reform is a good term that points the search in the direction of planning and results for Transforming American Education. These 5 free- indexed terms would all be in Mai’s user and requirement areas, since some of the terms might be meaningful to those experts enough to think of using jargon as search terms. Assigned Indexing (ERIC) Educational Change: I found that â€Å"education† was a better term over â€Å"school† for â€Å"reform†, but feel that my subject terms School Reform and Rethinking Schools for Changing Families are still appropriate in that they speak to individual schools (as in a study), although in the grand schema of the database it does not help to split hairs. In ERIC, education reform was educational change (as of 1996, although â€Å"reform† is still commonly used in society) and the contents regarded modification of things such as curriculum and teaching methods, which matches the article. Educational Philosophy: It is a good match, in that reflects the article’s context and themes. Social Environment: It means â€Å"social factors or conditions that influence individuals or groups†. It is a broader phrase than Social Context for Children Education. Family School Relationship: It has a placeholder for it but no information (i. e. , no related terms, but I take it to be a viable indexing entry). It is also used for school home relationship. School Community Relationship: It means â€Å"formal or informal interactions between an educational institution and the surrounding community†, which matches the article. I believe â€Å"brand names† like Domestic Vacuum in Children’s Live, Children of the ‘90s, Schoolhome, and Rethinking Schools for Changing Families do not have much use in the thesaurus, but the variations of Social Environment, Educational Philosophy, Family School Relationship, and School Community do an excellent job in representing the subject, derived and free terms above. Although I see where my subject analysis was too narrow in some places I am leaving the term â€Å"as-is† (except for â€Å"education reform† for â€Å"school reform†, which is not much of a trade seeing how it is actually â€Å"change†) to show the evolution of the indexing process in the assignment and in my mind. To revise my analysis would be like looking in the back of the textbook to do my homework. 6. 7. Compare, Contrast and Justification When I compared the derived and free indexing terms I selected with the descriptors in the ERIC thesaurus I was surprised by the number of them that were not in the ERIC thesaurus. In a few cases there was a close term, but for most there was nothing. This furthered my understanding of not only how challenging it is to select subjects for indexing, but how much harder it would be when faced with a controlled vocabulary. For the most part only the very narrow ‘generic’ subjects were listed in the thesaurus, the more descriptive terms were not. In two cases terms I selected actually has a better term in the thesaurus, such as my choice of School Reform compared to the ERIC thesaurus descriptor Educational Change. The thesaurus does a service to the search process by training the indexer to be as strategic as possible in boiling down the essential terms or concepts of an article. My derived and free terms were no less accurate than the assigned terms, because author Susan B. Pickford was writing with an audience in mind and used the â€Å"brand names† to illustrate her article. ERIC is invaluable in not only framing the terminology commonly used for subjects, but also gives the searcher context, such as what the current term used to be, along with a date of the change. This makes research interesting as an historical concept, and seeing how improvements have been made over the years, it helps to sharpen the indexer’s ear for the best possible match (e. g. , â€Å"education† in lieu of â€Å"school,† â€Å"change† instead of â€Å"reform†). As author Stephen Nachmanovich wrote, â€Å"Creativity exists more in the searching than in the finding. † However, in being creative as an indexer, you help the searcher in finding things where he wouldn’t normally have considered looking.

Daycare Observation Report

The Kids Learning Centre is a privately-owned day care facility and non-formal educational institution for children up to 12 years old. It is located at the heart of the City of Downtown, just behind The Business Building, a convenient place where parents and guardians can drop off their children safely. It operates from 6:30 AM to 6:00 PM daily, and closes only during major holidays. Like other day care facilities, The Kids Learning Centre strives to provide the best in child care.As part of their program to deliver quality service to the kids and their parents, the centre has established the following: I. Security, Safety, Health The centre has an open-door policy, allowing and welcoming parents to visit and observe their children at any time. This, however, is a regulated procedure in order to provide security for the children, and is implemented under the following measures: * Upon enrolment, the parent/ guardian is issued an individualized Parent Identification Number, which he/ she uses to go through the facility’s entry system.Visitors are required to present a valid ID with photo before being allowed to enter, and he or she is escorted and supervised by the Assistant Director during the entire visit. * The centre has an emergency lock-down procedure – forced entry will automatically send an alarm to the police department. Moreover, the centre has a closed circuit classroom monitoring system, wherein the classroom is fitted with a four-way camera. The system records daily activities for the protection of both children and caregivers. In addition, sprinklers and fire extinguishers are present in every area of the building.Fire alarms are installed, and the fire department is automatically alerted when the alarm goes off. The school conducts a monthly fire drill and fire alarm safety practice to ensure that the staffs is prepared in case of emergency, and would be able to protect the children should a crisis occur. Aside from security and fire safety, the centre is also very particular about the health and well-being of the kids. The centre, licensed by the Department of Health, provides healthy, nutritious, and delicious meals and snacks for the children.The daily menu is planned by the school’s chef and the Director a month in advance. Also, a sick child is not allowed to enter the facility to avoid contagion; and a doctor’s note stating that the child is not contagious must be presented before the Director would allow the child to rejoin his group. II. Environment The classroom is bright and colourful – a place designed to be attractive and interesting to kids. The walls are painted with animal pictures, and the floor is covered by carpets, safety mats, and cushions in vivid colours.There are six rooms and each room is fully-equipped with age appropriate safe toys that stimulate the different senses and develop gross motor and fine motor skills, including building blocks, rubber balls, stuffed ani mals, books, tinker toys, and many more. These are organized on kid-sized shelves, baskets, and containers that develop a child’s organization and sorting skills. The room is a place for kids to have fun and learn at the same time. They are able to express their energy in safety, and also explore, experiment, touch, and fill their senses using the wide variety of learning materials available in the area.III. Caregivers The Kids Learning Centre is comprised of a group of devoted individuals trained to protect, nurture, and educate children. As part of the school’s policy, all the members of the staff underwent a criminal background check through the Department of Public Welfare’s state and federal fingerprinting system before being hired. They are likewise First Aid/ CPR Certified. The centre is currently composed of seven individuals: the director; the assistant director; five lead teachers; and two assistant teachers. * Director. Ms.Mayan holds a Degree in Earl y Childcare Education, and has been a director for five years. She is very warm and friendly. * Assistant Director. Ms. Dina also has a degree in Early Childcare Education and has more than 30 years of experience in a childcare facility. She supervises and trains teachers. * Lead Teachers: * Baby Teacher. Ms. Mina is a high school graduate and has 5 years experience in the medical field and 20 years of experience with children. She loves to talk to babies with her calm and gentle voice. * Young Toddlers’ Teacher.Ms. Fine is currently taking up Child Development Associate Certification and has a three years experience as day care assistant teacher at the YMCA. She is consistent in setting up limits, making sure young toddlers return the toys they are playing with before they get another toy. * Older Toddler Teacher. Ms. Georgia has childcare certification from Better Kid Care and has six years experience as assistant teacher at Head Start. She can handle difficult children ver y well. She is firm and the children listen to her when she says something.Pre-School Teacher. Ms. Barbie finished her 2 years in Education and has three years experience as lead teacher. * Pre-K Teacher. Ms. Nita finished her associate degree and earned her directorship certificate at the Best Care Centre. She has been a lead teacher for ten years and have been a director for five years. * Assistant Teachers: * Older Toddlers’ Assistant Teacher. Ms. Darlene is in her senior high school and she just started a couple of months ago. The children are very comfortable and love to play with her. * Pre-K Assistant Teacher. Ms.Julia has been in the academe for twelve years, and has been working in daycare for two years. As a day care worker, she is very warm and friendly with the children. She is very patient and always encourages the kids to always be nice to each other. One particular teacher I observed to be the most effective is Nita – the Pre-K teacher. Her class is so s tructured – she follows her daily schedule, she is very warm and friendly when parents drop off her/his child. She supervises her class very well. Even when she is talking to an adult, she is still able to hear and see what’s going on in her class.She uses the reward system to encourage children to participate in group activities. She always tells jokes and the children love it. She teaches various skills to her class, such as dancing, singing and storytelling, as well as some Spanish words. Two Instances that I’ve observed about Ms. Nita’s quality child care were: * when a child was hurt while playing outside; Ms Nita immediately and calmly attended to the child and talked in gentle manner. The other one who apparently hurt him was next to Ariana, watching as the teacher performs first aid.After Ms Nita was sure the Ariana was fine, she talked to both Ariana and the other child and asked them what really happened, she asked both side very patiently and t hen asked them what they should do next time, both boy apologizes and came to a conclusion that it is not nice to keep hands to others. * Another instance I observed was that Ms, Nita individually ask the children to check how they are doing both at the day care and at home; I particularly remember when she asked Karina and how’s she doing at home, the child answer that she is sad because her dad went to jail.I saw how her compassion rise up as she talked to the child and gave her a big sympathetic hug. IV. Activities The Kids Learning Centre provides a program to develop positive social skills and ideals and learn about their world through age-appropriate play, projects and activities. It provides a stable and protected learning environment that fosters a solid foundation for lifelong success. The children are encouraged to foster a love for nature and the environment through the centre’s Agricultural Program. In that program, the children experience how to cultivate and develop the Earth.Through agricultural lessons that include outdoor planting of fruits and vegetables, each child is able to experience the joy of caring for the Earth. The children also experience daily interactions that promote positive self concepts. All programs are curriculum based – Infant through school-age children. The daily schedule for Pre-K is as follows: 6:30 – 8:30 AM| Free Play| 8:35 – 9:00| Art Project| 9:00 – 10:00| Breakfast| 10:00-10:30| Circle Time| 10:30-11:30| Gym Class or Outside Time| 11:30-12:00| Science/ Math| 12:00 NN| Lunch Time| 1:00 – 3:00| Nap Time| :00 – 3:30| Snack Time| 3:30 – 4:00| Story Time| 4:00 – 4:30| Review Time| 4:30 – 5:30| Outside Play| 5:30 – 6:00| Library Time| From six thirty in the morning up to eight thirty in the morning, the children are allowed to choose centres (like dramatic play, table toys, or blocks ) of their choice – giving them freedom to selec t a toy or game for themselves in a small group, at Eight thirty to Nine in the morning, the children make art or crafts; this activity enhances the children’s fine motor skills at the same time appreciate the beauty of art.At Nine o clock to Nine thirty in the morning, the children wash their hands and have their breakfast. Ten O’ clock up to Ten thirty in the morning is circle time; during circle time, children learn the different season, month of the year, days of the week, the alphabets and numbers and study a particular book and song of the day. At Ten thirty to Eleven in the morning, the children will go outside to get fresh air and to boost their gross motor skills.At eleven o’ clock to twelve noon the children observe a science experiment or play math games depending on the lesson plan for the day. At twelve noon up to one o clock, the children wash their hands and have their lunch. At one O’ clock to three o’ clock in the afternoon, the ch ildren will have their nap time. If the child can’t go to sleep, the child will be provided a book and read quietly or he/she can lay quietly on her cot, Three O’ clock noon is snack time, three thirty to four thirty is review time; where children will be asked what they have learned for the day.Four thirty to five thirty in the afternoon is outside play and finally five thirty to six thirty is library time; the children will read book quietly as they wait for their parents to pick them up. V. Guidance and Discipline The Kids Learning Centre sets rules with the children at the beginning of the school year. The child’s role in the Guidance Process allows the child to be involved in writing the class rules. The teachers set clear limits and are always consistent.They redirect the children whenever possible. They include the children in the problem solving processes. Positive reinforcement and acknowledgement of good behaviour is encouraged. If a child exhibits imp roper behaviour, he/she is removed from the area The teacher then discusses the improper behaviour with the child – what choice would be better next time – and allows the child to return to the activity as soon as he or she feels she can already manage his/her behaviour appropriately.Should a conflict arise between two kids, they will have a reasonable opportunity to resolve the problem on their own, under the watchful eye of the teacher, before a she steps in. They will be given the chance to make an effort to change any unacceptable behaviour. If a child hurts another child, the teacher will attend to the injured child immediately. The child that did the injuring will stay with the injured child and the staff member looking after the injured child, until the injured child is ready to return to the classroom activities.The former will be asked what s/he can do to make the latter feel better. If the teachers see a continuing pattern of misbehaviour, the following steps will be initiated: * Phone call from the teacher informing the parent of the concern or â€Å"red flags† that have been observed. * As parents have a major role in the guidance process, they are requested to share any relevant information with the teachers to help understand any underlying issues. They are encouraged to open up when the teacher gives notification of a concern or if a continuing pattern of misbehaviour is observed.They are expected to follow through on any recommendations made by the staff including evaluation by the school district. * Contact between parents and the centre is made within two weeks of the recommendation, * Staff members are expected to work as a team so everyone can be consistent in expectations and help the child understand what behaviour is acceptable and not acceptable. * After attempts have been made to meet the individual needs of the child, any child that has demonstrated inability to benefit from the type of care offered by our school, or whose presence is detrimental to the group, shall be discharged from the school.The centre prohibits any form of corporal punishment or yelling at a child, ridiculing a child or the child’s family, blaming, teasing, insulting, name calling, or threatening the child with punishment, withholding food, affection, or positive attention. Personally, I find that The Kids Learning Centre ranks high in the following areas: * Security. The security system and fire safety features are technologically advanced and are quite impressive. * Nutrition. The children’s diet is balanced, and they receive highly nutritious meals and snacks daily. * Kids.The children are simply magnificent. Although The Kids Learning Centre’s main goal is it to provide quality care for the children, the fact still remains that it is a business. It is, therefore, not surprising that despite its efforts to provide excellent service; much is left to be desired. Some areas that can be improved incl ude: * Teacher Benefits. The centre lacks benefits and incentives for teachers, and is not very generous with remuneration and salary increase. Management also falls short in terms of support and encouragement for their staff. * High Turn-Over.Due to the lack of benefits for teachers, the turn-over rate is high. This is disadvantageous as constant adjustment is necessary between co-workers as well as between teacher and child. * Discipline. Also, some teachers become too absorbed in terms of child discipline that compassion is overlooked. It is ironic because some of the teachers are themselves in need of discipline in order to avoid squabbling among themselves. The centre would benefit most if it could improve on the following areas:* The management needs to evaluate teachers fairly and give benefits, incentives, and salary increases accordingly. The management needs to provide a better support system for the teachers; give positive reinforcement, remind the teachers their duties a nd responsibilities. * The management also needs to set a better standard for teachers and their behaviour, not only towards the kids but also among themselves. * Teachers should have training at least every quarter to help them learn new strategies in caring for the little ones. * Teachers should join a caregiver/teachers association to help them get encouragement from other professionals.

Sitting course goals and learning objectives Assignment

Sitting course goals and learning objectives - Assignment Example It is one of the key characteristic in becoming successful. Setting goals and objectives for instructional processes are like shaping the destiny of the students. However, one major prerequisite is that the goals are rationale and achievable. Lousy and unattainable goals can be de-motivating as well as leading to lousy output from students. Teachers need to set objectives and review their instructional methodology to have a clear idea of where to lead the students. One of the factors which are not attended to most frequently while setting goals is student assessment. If instructional goals are too specific it might hinder their learning and compel students to ask again and again and hence spoon fed. When students have personalized learning objectives they might as well reciprocate and try their best to achieve them. As mentioned earlier, goals must be achievable. When students see such a goal they are likely to take it up as a challenge. This might include stretching old limits but since the reward or the sense of accomplishment is strong, students try their best to achieve it. When they know their effort or hard work would not go to waste, and rather it will be appreciated. If the teacher evaluates and measures each student’s progress quantitatively, students reciprocate it with greater improvement the next time as the evaluation is now â€Å"measurable†. A huge amount of autonomy can be bad for the students. Similarly, a lot of dependency can be even worse and students then simply follow instructions. And an â€Å"instruct-follow† cycle forms which can also be termed as spoon feeding yields less or absolutely no reciprocal as it is not mutual because the student is simply following the instructions. 2. Mc Keachie indicates that most of students learning occurs outside of the classroom through assignments that encourage students to practice and/or apply the course information. Given the vast amounts of information in our society, this seems

The Biggest Barrier to Students Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle by Research Paper

The Biggest Barrier to Students Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle by Remaining Physically Active - Research Paper Example Around 61% of obese five to 10 year olds have risk factors for diseases, such as heart disease, and even diabetes. The problems of being obese have magnificent negative consequences for the individual, in terms of social, psychological and physical problems (CDC, pp.2). This problem occurs highly in high-school and university students. Around sixty-four percent of high school students do not engage in any sort of physical activity (CDC, pp.2). Only one-half of high schools students undertake any stretching and strengthening exercises. In fact, according to this CDC survey, the physical activity declines, as students loom closer to graduation (Villaire, n.p).Grubbs (2002) has also acknowledged that the physical activities tend to decline during late adolescence and early adulthood. This problem needs elimination, because this decline in physical activity may continue for the rest of the life (Nizeyimana, pp. 1-2). One should understand the idea behind this problem. Why are students no t engaging in physical activities? Is it because of the system of schools? Or because of the recent technological innovations? As Villaire claims, it could be because of the decrease of recess time and gym classes in various high schools. However, researchers also point toward this idea that schools are not the only problem in the system. Parents have an important role in increasing the problem, because of non-existence of strict routines for watching television, using computer, and playing video games. Parents also do not require their children to play outdoors, walk more or even participate in any organized physical activities. According to the writer’s opinion, the biggest constraint to the physical activity remains the technological innovations that have increased in the recent world, which prevents students from maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Sedentary leisure activities have increased for a number of teenagers and adolescents. These activities include watching televis ion, using the computer for long intervals, playing video games on Play Station and X-box. A 1999 report from the Kaiser Family Foundation revealed that individuals, aged 2-18, spend more than four hours on average, watching television, using a computer, video games, and other activities mentioned above. Television has been mainly attributed towards decreasing the time, left for physical activity. An indirect consequence on an unhealthy lifestyle of watching television for longer periods of time includes the TV commercials, which may affect children’s eating habits, thus leading to higher consumption of food items, which may increase the chances of obesity (Villaire, n.p). Overall, the physical activity has decreased, because children are being driven to school, to friends’ houses and in the last year of high school, and eventually before college, students are given cars, so they can drive themselves around. This has led to a drastic decrease in physical activity. Henc e, new research has also pointed out towards this idea that technology is our problem. Previously, children used to go outside and play in the garden. However, now children like to play indoors, with their x-boxes, or simply watch television with friends. Numerous researches have also pointed out to this idea, especially one by Dietz and Gortmaker (1985), who found out that obesity for a particular sample increased by 2% for every additional hour of watching telev

The challanges of adopting a multi-channel retail approach Essay

The challanges of adopting a multi-channel retail approach - Essay Example It is evident that the digital era fuelled novel business opportunities and the continuous evolution of online business channels have made multi-channel retailing a reality, with the customer now placed at the forefront of retail strategy (Jain, 2008). In turn, this has reshaped business distribution and marketing models. To this end, it is submitted as a central proposition in this paper that consumers increasingly dictate retail strategy and therefore CRM is vital as part of an integrated retail strategy to ensure that an organization keeps pace with the multi-channel retail model. Moreover, the central consideration should be given to the movement away from the conventional economics based approach to consider the benefit of integrating effective CRM into retail strategy. For example, Weinberg at al’s 2007 report into changing consumer behaviour highlights that approximately 65-70% of consumers fall within the category of â€Å"multichannel shoppers† and they increas ingly have the highest purchasing power. (Weinberg et al, 2007). As a result, Weinberg et al posit that it is â€Å"critical that organisations effectively employ a multichannel marketing approach, as consumers in B2C contexts now expect it† (Weinberg et al, 2007, p.385). The impact of multi-channel retailing has continued to grow and Retail Solutions Online highlight that industry research indicates that approximately 40% of sales will be attributable to the multi-channel model by 2012 (2009). Additionally, the Retail Solutions’ Online research indicates that the proliferation of the multi-channel retail model will continue to grow and as a result, retail business have to embrace the model as part of integrated retail strategy to compete in the marketplace (2009). Moreover, Vollmer and Precourt argue that the underlying basis for marketing is rooted in economic principles of exchanging goods for value (2008). It is precisely this concept of â€Å"value† that ha s been at the heart of marketing strategy in persuading consumers to exchange value for goods in conventional business strategy. However, as the business models continue to evolve in line with changing consumer habits and retail channels, Vargo and Lusch point to the fact that economical basis for traditional marketing strategy has been forced to adapt to remain relevant (2004). Additionally, Vargo and Lusch further refer to the arguments of Achrol and Kotler that the: â€Å"very nature of network organisation†¦..and the potential impact on the organisation of consumption all suggest that a paradigm shift for marketing may not be far over the horizon†

Remembering my Childhood in the Continent of Africa Personal Statement

Remembering my Childhood in the Continent of Africa - Personal Statement Example Sendaris as the narrator patronizes his own childhood while praising almost all the events which Hugh went through in his childhood. Apart from the praises, I established that later on the article Sendaris is sympathetic of what Hugh went through after his family moved to Mogadishu (Sendaris 247). I have witnessed also the fact that, the narrator has managed to pin point positive and inspiring events, in the African continent which is full of third world countries. The narrator portrays the negativity experienced in the three African countries which Hugh lived in as normal and intriguing. The themes the narrator is trying to display are admiration, jealously and sympathy. Sendaris’ view on what Hugh went through during his childhood is sarcastic. Judging from the narration, in reality Hugh’s experience, in Africa, has been rough and exhilarating. To my amazement, Sendaris is praising and admiring Hugh’s childhood, but this is controversial. I do not consider Hugh to be privileged because his family moves from one African country to another. In my analysis, I discovered that Sendaris’ praises and admirations on Hugh’s childhood are transitional. The transition moves from praise and admiration to jealousy and later on to sympathy. The transition does not depend on what Sendaris thinks of Hugh, but on what Hugh is experienced in his childhood. I categorize Sendaris’ description of Hugh’s childhood experience as overrated. Truthfully speaking, I know that the two countries which Hugh lived in when he was a child, that is Congo and Somali have suffered their share of suffering. Sendaris is sarcastic in his narration; he is intrigued with the thrilling events which Hugh came across. Experiences like seeing a man who had hanged himself on a pole (Sendaris 246) and an animal shot to death while Hugh and his fellow classmates watched (Sendaris 245) are

Equity And the Law of Trust Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Equity And the Law of Trust - Essay Example An express trust is created by the settlor’s conveyance of property by will or deed to a party, for this property to be held in trust for others. Creation of a trust does not require consideration. Written and formal documents are needed only for Trusts of real estate as required by the Statute of Frauds. A resulting trust is created when the intention is inferred or presumed, by a court of equity, from the terms of disposition of the property. Finally, a constructive trust results when a court of equity compels the person having legal title, to hold it for the benefit of another. A person guilty of fraudulent acquisition of title to property will be deemed by the court to be the trustee and will be ordered to hand over the property to the defrauded party. (Trust – property law-, n.d). Trusts are set up for the joint ownership of the matrimonial home, reduce amount of tax payable, provide for infants, the elderly or mentally disordered and to protect people from their vices. Sometimes the public donates money in response to some disaster or crisis and the law has to formulate a mechanism to administer the resulting fund. (Equity and the law of Trusts, n.d). In the present day world, the role of Trusts has assumed great significance. Trusts minimize estate taxes or help people who cannot manage their own assets for example minor children, disabled children or aged parents. Sometimes a trust is created to provide support and property management for a surviving spouse and minor children or for the educational purpose of children and grandchildren. Conditions of Revocable Trusts can be changed only during the lifetime of the settlor. This is beneficial for adapting to the changes taking place in tax and estate laws. Irrevocable Trusts cannot be changed, revoked or terminated once they are set up and do not provide for changes in the tax and estate laws. Some of the modern day varieties of Trusts are: Living Trusts or Trusts which are created and

Freemasonry and the Eternal East Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Freemasonry and the Eternal East - Essay Example What then are these symbols These are the symbols of the Fraternity which reveal the inner most spiritualities of life. In the true tradition of how Masonic idealism, along with the profounder aspects of the notions of a Fraternity this essay will discuss the journey of the Freemason to find reality,to find God as Manly P. states "Infinity mocks our puny efforts to imprison it in definition and dogma. Our most splendid realizations are only adumbrations of the Light. In his endeavours, man is but a mollusc seeking to encompass the ocean. Yet man may not cease his struggle to find God. There is a yearning in his soul that will not let him rest, an urge that compels him to attempt the impossible, to attain the unattainable." Manly .P goes on to state the relationship of the freemason with his soul which is heaven bound and takes the freemason to a new realm of peace and happiness. For him a mason is a true mason due to his true, pure and well prepared heart which makes room for the fraternity of builders. Once he is ready he will begin his journey to the East to search for what is lost-what he is meant to find. The eternal paradox is that freemasonry is not a philosophy of life after death.It is a philosophy of spiritual growth and spiritual healing.It is the paradox of this philosophy is that you can walk for miles and miles and wind up finding happiness at your own door. Many writers refer to freemasonry " spiritual ethics" of mankind and thus it is more than a religion.(Manly P.)As the Mason graduates from an average to a Master Mason this coming of age and blossoming from a student to a teacher as assumes the position of a "the sun (as a ) a great reflector of light, who radiates through his organism, purified by ages of preparation, the glorious power which is the light of the Lodge"(Manly P)The Master Mason has the great snake Hydra, passing through it and this will illuminate him with the rising sun towards the "immortal" East which is his end and beginning . At this end the True Master seeks many beginnings and many ends to fraternity's as his students now make his own journeys and embark upon new destinations of the self. At this moment of loneliness the Master Mason is in the moments of the finding of himself as Manly P. notes "The temple is finished and in my faithful Master is found the missing stone." This is a moment of transformation. A kind of a spiritual death and rebirth when mind and the heart of the Master Mason who has come so far will be in perfect harmony as he looks towards the eternal East the wisdom and light of which he has sought through out this journey. Freemasonry points towards the soul of the man reaching its highest understanding, the coherence and wholesomeness that comes forth from an eternal centre, and comes full circle in his search for the beauty of completeness, inner peace and in essence God. But then we come to the final query.Is this a philosophy of a life after deathWhat and where does death stand here.If we speak of death as the transformation and the journey of the Freemason during his walk to the

The Group of 20 Essay Example for Free

The Group of 20 Essay The Group of 20 was created in 1999 to develop a solution to economic hardship and financial crisis. On November 10-11, 2010, leaders around the world gathered in Seoul, Korea. The implementations included ensuring the current economic recovery by creating jobs, this will balance our recovery and increase wealth. Other commitments include strengthening the international financial regulatory system and institutions, which will sustain global growth and prevent future crisis. With this a summit was formed and plans were made. Cameron, the prime minister of UK, told the Commons that the UK had four priorities at the talks: tackling deficits, fighting protectionism, encouraging development issues and dealing with trade imbalances. During the summit Cameron said The G20 has been a vital forum in fighting to keep markets open. Increasing trade is the biggest boost and the biggest stimulus we can give to the world economy. It doesnt cost any money, it is not a zero-sum game and it creates wealth and jobs. † After the proceedings, the prime minister revealed that the summit was very successful. Korea brought new perspective and issues to G20 as well. Korea introduced plans for a global financial safety net system and development issues as additional agenda items. In Korea’s view, a credible global financial safety net would reduce pressure on governments to continue adding to smaller reserves. Korea is also interested in furthering renewed discussions on development issues, proposing them to be essential to rebalancing the global economy and to ensuring that the Agenda can operate as intended. It also includes addressing gaps in income and development. Korea is concerned with future economic growth and therefore organized a Business summit collecting and gathering close to 100 key corporate Chairmen and CEOs from around the world just prior to the G20 Summit, on November 10-11, 2010. The Business Summit is intended to be a forum for business leaders to exchange views on how to boost the recovery and put the global economy back on the path to greater growth. World leaders agreed to develop new guidelines to prevent so-called currency wars. The EU helped to build a consensus on cooperative solutions to tensions on currency issues and trade. A joint letter that was created during the summit included that leaders would agree to move to more market based exchange rates and to enhance exchange rate flexibility to reflect essential economic fundamentals and abstain from competitive deflations. They are also happy with the commitment to fight protectionism. It was important for the EU to place development securely on the agenda of the G20. This was achieved with the Seoul Development Consensus for Shared Growth, interlinking development, trade and investment. This is the fifth G20 summit since the global financial crisis hit in 2008. This summit was chaired by Korea and seemed to have been successful. In this summit several actions and plans were developed: the Seoul Action plan, the joint letter, and the Seoul Development Consensus for shared growth. The solution for the global economic and financial crisis is underway.

A Comparison Of Multiple Theories Of International Relations Politics Essay

A Comparison Of Multiple Theories Of International Relations Politics Essay To have a deep understanding in international relations, everyone must grasp many theories which are Realism theory, Liberalism theory, International Political Economy theory, and others. Realism theory is one of the oldest theories that has been created for a long time that is why many people have a view that Realism theory is an outdated approach or that Realism theory can no longer be used to explain international relations. However, we strongly believe that Realism theory is still playing an imperative role in interpreting current international relations. In this paper, we are going to demonstrate that Realism theory is not an outdated theory in international relations since Realism theory is still being used to explain international relations at current circumstances. We begin with providing an overview of Realism theory, and we, then, gives several case studies in order to prove that Realism theory is not outdated. Overview of Realism Theory Since Realism theory has been emerged for a long time, many elements of Realism theory have been developed. Thus, we need to know those elements so that we can have a clear picture of Realism theory. In this part, five crucial elements of Realism theory, which are classical realism, neo-classical realism, strategic realism, structural realism or neo-realism, and stability realism or hegemony and balance of power, will be briefly explored. Classical Realism In classical realism, there are three prominent realism scholars whose names are Thucydides, Niccolo Machiavelli, and Thomas Hobbes. Thucydides, who is an ancient Greek historian, developed his main concept in classical realism, which is called naturalist character to show that there is anarchy in international relations. He believes that all states are naturally unequal in power that is why they usually have competitions and conflicts among them. Thucydides agrees with the idea that Man is a political animal said by Aristotle, and he further ascertains that political animals are highly unequal in their powers and capabilities to dominate others and to defend themselves. Thus, he recommended that all states, especially weak states, and statespeople must conduct properly in IR by knowing deeply the inequality of power environment so that they can survive and prosper. Decision makers should have thought deeply and carefully before making the final ones whether or not the outcome is goo d. More importantly, he introduces the view that there is no Justice in equality of power in IR. It means that the great power ones can do whatever they want whereas the minor power ones suffer what results from the actions of great power want. Indeed, Thucydides sees that there is anarchy in international relations since there is an inequality of power. Therefore, all states, especially weak states, have no real choices in operation, but they try to adapt into the environment of power politics or go to war in order to secure and survive. The other crucial classical realist in IR is the Renaissance Italian political theorist Niccolo Machiavelli who believes that state leaders always try to take advantages and prevent state interest for their countries. In doing so, state leaders need to use two important means in conducting foreign policy which are power and deception. Leaders need power because when they are strong, they are able to defend their countries and to pursue their national interest. Using deception in foreign policy also helps leaders not to miss the opportunity to gain advantages for their countries. State leaders need to grasp well about their rivals or competitors so that it is easy for them to win over their rivals or competitors. Beside this, he has an assumption that the world is a dangerous place, but there are opportunities in the world as well. Therefore, in order to survive, states must know the danger in order to survive, or states must be aware of opportunities so that they can take advantages of them. Furthermore, he commented leaders that they should not perform foreign policy accordance with the principle of Christian ethics such as love thy neighbor, be peaceful, and avoid war except in self-defense because that principle can lead their states to be destroyed. In conclusion, Machiavelli believes that state is self-interest and that the world is a dangerous place, but the there are opportunities in the world as well. He also provides statecrafts for state leaders to conduct so that they take advantages or bring security for their countries. Beside Thucydides and Niccolo Machiavelli, the seventeen-century English political and legal philosopher Thomas Hobbes who lived at a time of great social change and political instability is also an influential classical realist. Therefore, he developed his concept that is relevant to the nature of political power or sovereign power. He elaborated why people agreed to jointly create sovereign state. Before the creation of sovereign state, people lived in danger because they always have conflicts or wars with each others. Therefore, in order to live in secure and peace, they collaborated with each others to create sovereign state. However, the creation of sovereign state poses other serious political problem which is security of dilemma because no one can control sovereign states. Neoclassical Realism Neoclassical realism is the second evolution of realism theory. Morgenthau is a vital neoclassical realist, and he is pessimistic about natural politic of human being. People are born to pursue power and to enjoy the fruit of power so that they can survive or prosper. The desire of gaining power makes them have conflicts or wars with each others. As a result, there will be international anarchy and conflicts in system of states. Moreover, Morgenthau has similar idea about morality in conduction foreign policy with Thucydides and Machiavelli. As a responsible leader for a state, he or she needs to perform or engage in foreign policy or politics that he or she would be wrong according to private morality. For instance, he or she might lie, spy, and cheat. Strategic Realism Other element of realism theory is strategic realism, and the noticeable scholar of strategic realism is Thomas Schelling whose main focus is foreign policy decision-making. He believes that foreign policy of state is rational which means that state constructs foreign policy depend on what state want to achieve so that game theory can be used to deeply explain foreign policy of state. In game theory, individual that is rational always try to do something in order to satisfy his/her preference. Beside this, he has a view that when state faces diplomatic and military issues, state leader need to find strategic and instructional though in dealing with them. By doing do, state leader is able to make his state survive and be better off. More importantly, he also provides analytical tools for instrumentally strategic thought which are brute force and coercion. In brute force, he refers to the way that state deals with issues by using military force or going to war. On the other hand, coerc ion refers to the way that state solves issues by diplomacy or bargaining, so having a deep understanding of her opponents lets state use bargaining method to solve issues more easily and effectively. In short, according to Thomas Schelling, state needs to think strategically in confronting diplomatic and military issues. Structural Realism In 1979, Kenneth K. Waltz attempted to reformulate other international theories including classical realism in a new and distinctive way, by applying a more scientific approach, which was known as Neorealism or Structural Realism. Waltz took international structures as the center of analysis, and the international structures are internaional anarchy, states as like units, unequal state capability, and great power relations. Unlike classical realists, Waltz believed that human nature had little to do in the system since they were shaped by the social struture or architecture. The anarchic system urged states to pursue power and compete with each other in order to survive, otherwise they would be trapped in the system. Neorealists believed that power is a mean to an end, and the ultimatevend is survival. According to Waltz, there were five straight forward assumptions to explain why states want power. The first assumption is that great powers are the main actors in world politics and t hey operate in an anarchic system. The second assumption is that all states possess some offensive military capability. Each state, in other words, has the power to inflict some harm on its neighbor. The third assumption is that states can never be certain about the intentions of other states. The fourth assumption is that the main goal of states is survival. States seek to maintain their territorial integrity and the autonomy of their domestic political order. The fifth assumption is that states are rational actors, which is to say they are capable of coming up with sound strategies that maximize their prospects for survival. Neorealist Stability Theory John Mearsheimer is an offensive realist in structural realism theory and he describes about balance of power and hegemony and agrees that military power is still a main tool and critical element in world politic. John Mearsheimer, currently the professor at US University differs from other realists because he determined that the behaviors of states are affected by the anarchical structure of international relations. He agrees that the world nowadays is anarchic where there are the crashes between the states especially powerful ones with no world government to rule over sovereign states and challenge its sovereignty. They, states, are trying to compete for power and seek hegemony. However, states, in fact, can only become the hegemony in their own region of the world but they also want to make sure that no other regional hegemony in any part of the world emerges as a peer competitor. For example, this is what the goal of United States is to protect its sphere of influence in Europe a nd East Asia and it also ensures that there are no other competitors rising to challenge its position. Indeed, if China wants to become the competitor to United States in East Asia, United States will prevent China from intervening in other regions such as the case of South China Sea. This is why his theory was called as offensive realism which rest on assumption that great power are always searching for opportunities to gain power over their rivals, with hegemony as their final goal. Mearsheimer also stated that the anarchy has two principle consequences. First, there is little room for trust among states and state can ever be certain another state will not use its military capability. Second, each state must guarantee its own survival because no other actor will provide its security. As a result, states inherently have to possess offensive military capability as the necessary protection. We can summarize the discussion thus far by briefly stating what these realists basically have in common. First, human beings as well as states are self-interest. Second, they agree that the human condition is a condition of insecurity and conflict which must be addressed and dealt with. Third, they agree that there is a body of political knowledge, or wisdom, to deal with the problem of security, and each of them tries to identify the keys to it. Finally, they agree that there is no final escape from this human condition, which is a permanent feature of human life. In other words, although there is a body of political wisdom-which can be identified and stated in the form of political maxims-there are no permanent or final solutions to the problems of politics-including international politics. Case Studies U.S. invasion in Iraq U.S. invasion in Iraq is one of the evident which show that realism theory is not an outdated approach in interpreting international relations. That event can be analyzed by using state interest, hegemony, and international structure. U.S under President Bush invaded Iraq since the President wants to keep U.S. as a hegemonic state. In order to be a hegemonic state, state needs to have strong economy and military. In this case, U.S. wants to control oil resource in Iraq so that U.S. can use those resources to boost his economy. With strength economy, U.S. can also promote military strength. Beside this, the international structure also caused U.S. to invade Iraq as well. Terrorism is nothing new for human society, but it is probably exist since human began to regulate the use of violence or threat. The 11 September 2001 attacks in New York and Washington and it is regarding as an issue that concern by International Relation. This is the threat to human security of United States as wel l as the world. For this case United States, the super power invaded Iraq the small state in 2003, the reason is that United States wanted to protect itself from attacking by terrorist groups and care about the worlds security. If Al-Qaida can attack United States, it would be possible for those terrorists to attack other countries in the world. Terrorists are willing to create fear to people that why United States invaded Iraq to ensure security for its citizen and states. Obviously, classical realism theory does effectively apply to the case of US- Iraq war in 2003 due to the fact that United States just use strategic of self defend in order to protect its citizen from being attack by terrorist from Iraq. Public opinion thought that six months before the attack, President Bush met in the White House with eleven members of the US House of Representatives. While the war against terrorism is going okay, he told the lawmakers, the United States would soon have to deal with a greater d anger: The biggest threat, however, is Saddam Hussein and his weapons of mass destruction. He can blow up Israel and that would trigger an international conflict. In brief, I believe that The United States is willing to protect its people and states from being attack by terrorists from Iraq. US, of course preferred the defensive theory to make the states survival. US had made a final decision to invade Iraq before terrorist become the major threat to the international security. Unite States are trying to prevent threats, violence and fear that occur by Al-Qaida and other horror terrorists toward the world security. South China Sea Issue The tension generated by maritime disputes in the South China Sea is the example of hegemony and balance of power featured in Structural realism theory. The South China Sea Conflict was involved by six countries. China, Taiwan and Vietnam claims sovereignty over the entire area. The Philippines and Malaysia each maintain separate claims to specific features, while Brunei claims only a 200 nautical mile exclusive zone. All those states compete with one another because of its enormous economic benefits and the conflicts have started decades ago. It is significant to note that the South China Sea is the critical trade route between Europe and East Asia, and its rich commercial fishing field and enormous natural gas field are worth billions of dollars. Whoever can hold a territorial right over it could gain quite a strong substantial power in politics and economics. It is what China is seeking naval preponderance in the South China Sea to become a global naval power which is a projection to the India Ocean. Meanwhile, the rising power of China from resources in South China Sea comes the potential threat to United States. US try to deal itself back into South East Asian geopolitics and bolster its position in the region by the growing closer ties with Vietnam. In response to US intervention, China stressed that this conflict is an internal affair of China and the intervention of US will only make the matter worse and the resolution more difficult, posed in Chinese Foreign Ministrys Website. Similarly, Vietnam could project that the external involvement of US will strengthen the balance of power relatively to China since China is the main threat to Vietnam since decades ago uptill the present day. Other countries also state to act accordingly in the hope of same purpose. Otherwise, Asian-led multilateral security cooperation is still a work in progress toward this security dilemma but it is yet to address increased arm procurements, Chinas military transformation and US renewed engagement to shore up Southeast Asias regional autonomy and ASEAN centrality in the regions security architecture. What we can learn from this conflict are the struggle of states to become hegemony still remain and the possession of offensive military power was also taken place and incapability of institutionalism toward this long-term regional security dilemma of ASEAN. The successive control over the sea will give China the greater control over Taiwan, Vietnam, and East Asian Countries. Obviously, the ambitious claims of China also demonstrate the aggressive desire to be hegemony in the regions by claiming to sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the South China Sea. At the same time, US also strengthen its stretegic position in region, for instance, exercising military power with Vietnam and making Vietnam its closest alliance. Otherwise, the multilateral talks in ASEAN did not effectively bring all the involving countries into the negotiation since China prefers bilateral talks to deal with the individual countries by using its soft power, increased trade and investment. This signifies that the corporation through institution did not bring any complete resolution to the conflicts. Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama Realism theory can better be used to explain the resignation of Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama in 2010 since he could not remove U.S. military base on Okinawa Island. During the election campaign, Mr. Yukio Hatoyama pledged that when he becomes the Prime Minister, he will remove U.S. military base on Okinawa Island. The presence of U.S. military base on Okinawa Island causes some troubles to Japanese such as raping and accident that are caused by American solider. However, that Mr. Yukio Hatoyama could not remove the U.S. military base on Okinawa Island can be elaborated through realism theory in several ways. According Classical realist Machiavelli and Neoclassical realist Han Morgenthau, state leaders cannot use private morality in politics and foreign policy so that they can bring security as well as prosperity to their countries. In this case, being the Prime Minister, Mr. Yukio Hatoyama cannot use private morality in dealing with U.S. military base issue as he needs to t hink about state interest. Beside this, Because of International structures, Mr. Yukio Hatoyama cannot keep his promise. First, after WWII, Japan is not allowed to have war army by its constitution, but U.S. will maintain security for Japan. Second, North Korea is also a threat of Japan. Therefore, Japan needs U.S. military presence so that Japan can be secured. Indeed, the resignation of Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama which results from failing to remove U.S. military base on Okinawa Island is the evident that show current state leaders still cannot use private morality in politics and foreign policy as well as that international structures determine what state leaders are going to do. 2008-2010 George-Russia Crisis Georgia-Russia War happened in 2008 to fight for the South Ossetia, which is the automous province in Russia. Georgia called for help from United States to back its power for the balance with Russia and also wished to be the member of NATO. However, United States ignored the Georgias intention. According to the theory of Thucydides, there is the inequality of power among states; it means that there are weak states and powerful states. The powerful ones could do whatever they wish to whereas the suffers always go to the weak ones. In this case, Russia, powerful state, could invade Georgia as a weak state, and no one could help Georgai. Although both countries are members of United Nations, it cannot prevent the strong states like Russia to invade Georgia, the small and less powerful state. It states that the states remain the significant and sovereign actor in world politics. Consequently, the international system is mostly dominated and leaded by the strong states who act as the core of the world affair while the weak one followed and acts as periphery of international relations. Conclusion Though Realism started to emerge in the ancient time, from time to time Realism have developed into classical, strategic, structural realism to keep updated with the changing environment of international relation. No matter how realism have categorize into a few more types it still manages to keep its core concepts that state is the main actor who manages the world affairs. As we explained the four mian cases including many others phenomena in the world today, Realism proves that the states behavior are still shaped by Realism theory. Although, nowday the current issues are muliplied not only about security and politics but also environment, human rights, pedemic disease and terrorism, Realism still can analyse those issues very well. Moreover, the multipolar world exists but the state still stands as the sovereign actor in world politics. Then, Realism remaims the significant platform for explaining the internatioinal relation today and decades ahead.

History of RedMed and Developments for Sleep Apnea

History of RedMed and Developments for Sleep Apnea ResMed ResMed is a principal developer, manufacturer and distributor of pioneering medical equipment for the administration and treatment of respiratory disorders, with its major focus on obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). It was started with a moto to commercialize a treatment for OSA in 1989. It has corporate offices in 26 countries distributing their range of products in around 100 countries throughout the world. History In 1981 Colin Sullivan and his colleagues introduced their invention of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). CPAP was a practical, effective, and dependable treatment for the millions of OSA victims around the world. Dr Peter Farrell who was the Vice-President of RD of Baxter Healthcare and Director of Baxter Centre for Medical Research Pty Limited (BCMR) in early 1980s is an expert in bioengineering area. He sensed tremendous business opportunities of CPAP when he meet Sullivan in an academic conference in 1986, and then CPAP treatment was commercialised by Peter Farrell and Colin Sullivan through BCMR. Three years later, Farrell planned to acquire the rights of certain technology relating to CPAP treatment from BCMR and as a result, ResCare Holdings Limited, which had a $1.2 million registered capital, was registered in Sydney in August 1989. In order to experience a better development, company changed its registration place to Delaware, USA in 1994 and changed its name to ResMed as the original name ResCare was already registered in USA. Through the CPAP technology, the company started gaining success in American medical market and got listed on the NASDAQ (1995) national stock market, New York Stock Exchange and Australian Securities Exchange (1999). As a result of these listings, ResMed became the biggest company in the sleep disordered breathing (SDB) marketplace in late 1999. With the success in SDB marketplace, company paid more attention to do research in newly related areas and in 2000. Clinical research showed that untreated SDB was very likely a pivotal factor in both stroke and cardiovascular diseases. This finding helped ResMed in conducting further research in stroke and congestive heart failure (CHF). The novel outcome of this research has attracted Australian Technology Award for the company in biotechnology area in 2000. Eventually, the company was ranked number I in Medical Products Company according to Investors Business Daily in 2001. Continuing innovation, the company has released a series of updated products between 2003 and 2005. Bubble Mask –Series 3 and Constant CPAP were released in 2003 and the historically significant product S8, which received Australian Design Award in 2006, was introduced in 2005. The extensive product line made company become the largest corporation that focused exclusively on providing therapies for improving the quality of sleep in late 2010. In order to adapt rapidly changing world market, company made changes to its management structure by creating a new strategic business unit. It revised roles in the contemporary commercial, manufacturing, supply and corporate staff sections in 2011. These measures improved the working efficiency and promoted the company to continue as a leader in SDB market. With the victory over the injunctions in Germany against patent infringing behaviours by APEX and BMC in 2013, ResMed finally become a global leader in SDB market and other respiratory disorders. 1.1 Financial results In fiscal year 2013 ended June 30 2013 (FY13), ResMed reported record financial results with an increase in net revenue to US$ 1,514.5 million, an increase of 11% when compared to fiscal year 2012 (FY12). Gross profit increased for FY13 to US$ 940.7 million, from US$ 820.7 million for FY12, an increase of US$ 119.9 million or 15%. ResMed’s net income for FY13 was US$ 307.1 million or US$ 2.10 per diluted share compared to net income of US$ 254.9 million or US$ 1.71 per diluted share for FY12. (http://www.resmed.com/us/en/consumer/news-and-information/news-releases/2013/resmed-quarter-ended-june-2013-financial-results.html) In more recent quarterly financial result ended March 31 2014, net revenue for the quarter was US$ 397.8 million, a 4 percent increase over the quarter ended March 31, 2013. ResMed’s Gross profit increased for the quarter to US$ 251.8 million, from US$ 239.4 million for the same quarter of last year, an increase of US$ 12.4 million or 5%. Net income was US$ 90.0 million, an increase of 6 percent compared to the same quarter of last year. Diluted earnings per share for the quarter were US$ 0.63, an increase of 9 percent compared to the same quarter of last year. (http://www.resmed.com/us/en/consumer/news-and-information/news-releases/2014/resmed-financial-results-quarter-ended-march-31-2014.html) Graph 1.1 Income statement evolution of ResMed from 2008 (Source from: http://www.zonebourse.com) The graph shows ResMed’s healthy financial growth in recent years and actively estimates a steady and consistent development of ResMed in the following several years. 1.2 Share price on stock market (ASX) Graph 1.2 ResMed’s share price fluctuation on ASX (Data source from: http://www.asx.com.au) The share price of ResMed on ASX fluctuated frequently within most recent one year, while it continues increasing from ~2.50 to ~5.50 since 2012. According to analysts’ report, the increase was majorly due to: Huge potential in SDB market: both patients and physicians are coming to realize high prevalence of SDB, and ResMed are expected to broaden its foothold in the market of SDB treatment. Increased focus on international market: In last quarter of FY14, revenue outside the Americas was $181.6 million, an increase of 8 percent over the prior years quarter, which represents ResMed’s big success on international market. And in most recent years, Europe witnessed ResMed’s international outperformance. Strong emphasis on product development: earlier in this fiscal, AirFit P10, latest nasal pillows system from ResMed, was introduced in line with its product innovation plan. The company also expects to launch two additional masks in the course of the remaining FY14. Strong return to shareholders: ResMed continues rewarding its shareholders via share repurchase programs and dividends. During last quarter, the company repurchased 1.6 million shares at a cost of $72.5 million, as part of its ongoing capital management program. (FreeZacksReport.pdf) (http://www.resmed.com/us/en/consumer/news-and-information/news-releases/2014/resmed-financial-results-quarter-ended-march-31-2014.html) 1.3 Investment in RD ResMed is committed to ongoing investment in RD and product enhancements. During FY13, they invested approximately US$120.1 million on research and development activities, which represents approximately 8% of net revenues. (http://www.resmed.com/us/en/consumer/news-and-information/news-releases/2013/resmed-quarter-ended-june-2013-financial-results.html) Furthermore, in quarterly financial result ended March 31 2014, RD expenses of ResMed were US$31.4 million for the quarter, or 7.6% of revenue. RD expenses increased by 12% compared to the quarter ended June 30, 2012. Such RD investment was even favorably impacted by the depreciation of the Australian dollar against the U.S. Dollar. (http://www.resmed.com/us/en/consumer/news-and-information/news-releases/2014/resmed-financial-results-quarter-ended-march-31-2014.html) Graph 1.3 The change of ratio of ResMed’s RD expenses to total operating expenses (Data source from: http://www.resmed.com) Business model ResMed is regarded a leader company in developing, manufacturing, and distributing the medical device for treating sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and other respiratory disorders. In spite of this, ResMed is highly competed with various companies in its principal markets, the US and Europe. ResMed’s fierce competitors may include Respironics, DeVilbiss, and Nellcor Puritan Bennett. ResMed relies on its four strategies below to compete with them. Continue Product Development and Innovation ResMed believes that the important competitive factors in all of the markets are product features, reliability and price, hence, ResMed continues product development and innovation. Since 1999, ResMed has started to develop the design of products and create additional accessories in oder to satisfy customers with the use of products. ResMed has not stopped making efforts on product development and innovation until now. Accordingly, approximately 12% of ResMed’s employees are assigned to work on product development and innovation. In addition, ResMed recently spent about $AU 25 million to the University of Sydney with a strong corporate partnership. The University of Sydney will help in the research of SDB-related chronic disease and bioinformatics. 2) Expand Geographic presence One of the strategies aims to develop market is expand geographic presence. ResMed markets its products in over 70 countries. ResMed sells their products by several approaches such as distribution network, direct sales force and independent manufacturers’ representatives. ResMed fills out its distribution network by acquisitions. For example, ResMed recently acquired Mediserv and Unimedis, which both are distributors of equipment for the treatment of SDB and respiratory disorders. These acquisitions help ResMed increase market opportunities and enhance the distribution of products in Europe. Similarly, ResMed had acquired some companies in the US to develop market and strengthen its competitiveness in local. This may suggest that ResMed expands the scope of market to increase the revenues by acquisitions. Despite ResMed’s frequent actions of acquisitions, ResMed decides to acquire which company for marketing their products based on regional awareness of SDB, physician r eferral patterns, consumer preferences and local reimbursement policies. Currently, ResMed has wholly owned subsidiaries in Australia, the UK, the US, Germany, France, Spain, Finland and Sweden. 3) Increase Public and Clinic Awareness ResMed expects the SDB market will grow up by increasing the awareness of the SDB among the general population and physicals because sleep clinics, home health care dealer and the third party who sells the products to patients are the primary customers. In addition, ResMed tends to deliver the knowledge and information of SDB to the interest groups or organisations such as the National Stroke Association, the American Heart Association and the National Sleep Foundation, which may help to spread the awareness of SDB in relation to other diseases and the importance of SDB. 4) Expand into New Clinical Applications ResMed is also seeking the potential applications of their technology. For example, the recent studies show that SDB has been confirmed as a cause of high blood pressure or relevant disease and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with both stroke and congestive heart failure. Followed by the more studies in medical journals, ResMed has more market opportunities of developing the new applications. Basically, ResMed pursues things to be simple and adopt the low-risk strategy by staying at the areas of their expertise. ResMed is in a strong competitive market, in which the consolidation is a trend inducing ResMed implemented the strategy of acquisition to maintain their competitiveness and broaden the scope of market. In order to seek more market opportunities and enhance reputation, ResMed puts a great effort on product development and innovation as well as increasing public and clinic awareness of SDB.

Doctors Who Practice Euthanasia Should be Executed :: Euthanasia Physician Assisted Suicide

Doctors the Practice Euthanasia Should be Executed An eighty-seven year old grandmother on a respirator, a newborn child with AIDS, a teacher past her prime, and a father in a coma; all put to death by respectable doctors with the O.K. of their families. But is it really a ggod thing? Euthanasia, or doctor-assisted suicide, has become as common as jumping off of a fifteen story building or taking a gun to one1s own head. Certainly society frowns upon suicide, but yet putting an old lady or a man in a coma to death is being accepted every day. Society knows that suicide is bad, but euthanasia is even worse. The guilt and blame of a lost life is falling on the hands of doctor1s that we are supposed to trust, and even worse, the family members themselves. A doctor is to be known as a healer, not an agent of death. A family is supposed to love and support, not kill and inherit. Every person makes the light of the world brighter. The world needs everyone1s power and contribution. It1s the power and energy of the elderly, and the strength and will of the ill, that give the world life. The light has become very dim with the crime and corruption in today1s world, we can1t afford to throw lives away because some think they1re meaningless. If we continue to accept the merciless killings and suicides of the helpless but powerful, the light will soon burn out. There will be no energy in the world. Euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide should not be accepted or allowed by the government and people of the United States. Statistics show that seventy-three percent of the U.S. population approved of some form of euthanasia. This is used constantly in debates to pass laws for making euthanasia legal. But the people are deceived by this number. When the poll was taken, the people were asked if they approved of "some form" of euthanasia. There are two forms of euthanasia, active and passive. It is the passive euthanasia that many people are accepting, the less harsh of the two. That's why people generally say they approve of it. If a separate question was asked or the people were informed of the

Antigone :: essays research papers

"Antigone" the play written by Sophocles deals with moral law vs civil law. King Creon has condemned Princess Antgione. Antgione went against the king’s decree and buried her brother Ploynices. Antgione now will be punished by starvation under King Creon’s decree. Antigone is a passionate, strong willed, and determined women. Antigone is a passionate character in the play we see this as we learn of her as we see her put moral law above civil law. An important ideal in Ancient Greece was the belief that the government was to have no control in matters concerning religious beliefs. In Antigone's eyes, Creon betrayed that ideal by not allowing her to properly bury her brother, Polynices. She believed that the burial was a religious ceremony, and Creon did not have the power to deny Polynices that right. Antigone is ready to defy Creons decree and do what she feels in her heart is right we see this when she says "Will you life up his body with these bare hand s and lower it with me? ". Threw out the play Antigone is strong willed. She doesn’t want Ismene to explain the law to her. When she asks Ismene to help her with the burial of Ploynice, Ismene says no. When Ismene tries to convince Antigone to not defy Creons decree Antigone tells her "I won’t insist no, even if you should have a change in heart, I’d never welcome you in the labor, not with me. So, do as you like, whatever suits you best- I’ll bury him myself.". Antigone is not willing to give up with out a fight and she isnt going to let anyone get in her way. Antigone is one of the strong willed characters in this play. When she is done burring her brother, after all the torment she has endured she says "My reverence only brands me for irreverence!". Antigone isn’t sorry even though by doing the right thing she will be put to death by starvation in a tomb. She is obeying the law of the gods rather then the law of Creon. W hen Antigone takes matters in to her own hands and does what is right ,that shows strong soul . Having a strong sense of moral law in Greek mythology will lead to a good after life.