Evaluate one organisation's approach to sustainability measurement Essay

Evaluate one organisation's approach to sustainability measurement - Essay Example The company is the leader in the grocery markets in UK and has also established itself as the leading grocery and retail merchandiser across several parts of the world. Tesco is the fifteenth largest company among all the companies in the world and is listed in the London stock Exchange. The company is also included in the list of FTSE 100 companies in the UK market. Tesco runs its operations through the supermarket chains, departmental stores, cash and carry outlets and warehouses. Apart from the grocery items, Tesco also offers its customers with the electronic products, computer software, books, furniture, music CDs and DVDs, other items of merchandise, etc. The increase in the supermarket chain and departmental stores with the increase in retail merchandizing activities of Tesco have seen the number of stores of the company grow from 500 stores in 1990 to more than 2500 stores in the next two decades. The company employs around 5.5 lakhs employees in the areas of operation and cu stomer service. The company pays due attention to the sustainability of the leadership position that it has attained over the years. The actions of sustainability measurement have helped the company to retain its position and brand image in the market (Tesco, 2013, p.1). This has paved the path of sustainable growth of Tesco as a multinational company in the world. Environmental and social risks The direct and indirect environmental and social risks for Tesco have been explained as follows. In order to identify and analyse the environmental and social risk exposures of the company, the industry risk as well as the company specific risk should be taken into account. The retail market and industry has undergone a shift to the low demand of the consumers due to the macro-economic fluctuations and events of recession. Tesco faces the risk exposure related to the compliance and regulations for the retail market chains on activities that would lead to environmental pollution, disposal of wastes, etc. The social risks are also involved in the operations of Tesco due to probable negative impacts on the environment and society due to the disposal of wastes in the operations of the company. The social risk forms a major part of the risk exposures in the operations of Tesco as the perception of the society to the operation of the company indirectly affects the sale and revenue earnings of Tesco. The operations of Tesco lead to the perception of brand image of the company. Any impression of loss of faith among the members of the society and the consumers has significant impact in the international operations of the company (Epstein, 2008, p.46). The discrepancies in the operations of the company not only expose the company to environmental and social risk but also increase the risk of value chain system in the company. The financial risk exposures of the company originate from the volatility of the stocks in the retail industry. The volatility of the index leads to the fl uctuation of stock prices of Tesco. This would expose the company to risk of degradation of the valuation of the company. Financial risks related to the company may arise due to the discrepancy in financial reporting of the company. The deviation from the guideline in the financial reporti

English Poem Analysis Essay Example for Free

English Poem Analysis Essay In this poem, Pablo Neruda is talking about life, and how he feels that it is an insignificant business. He talks about life after death, saying that nobody keeps what they have and says that life is nothing but a borrowing of bones. The best thing he claims to have learnt from life is that one should not have too much of either joy or sadness, but experience both in equal quantities. He feels that his being happy was a punishment, a condemnation that caused him to plunge into the sorrows of others, and to share with them their sorrow. He says that he did not do this for fame or for money, but because he could not live in the shadows, the shadows of other people. He says that we can heal our own wounds by weeping and singing, but in front of us lie thousands of others who are in constant suffering. He feels that his business on earth was to fulfil his spirit, the happiness he felt with the sum of all his actions. It gave him great joy to bathe in the sea under the sun, and in the very foam of the sea, his heart which lay dying was seeped into the sand. The poet makes use of immense imagery in all his works. There is no poem written by Pablo Neruda, which is lacking imagery. It is one of the most common literary devices used by the poet. And this is one such poem where he has used various kinds of imagery to illustrate his thoughts.

Depression Essay example -- Health, Depressed Individuals

Certain practical issues need to be considered by the clinician during the assessment of MDD, (Dozois & Dobson, 2009). Depressed individuals tend to express their problems in a detailed manner when they are aware of what is expected from them during initial phase of assessment. Warning depressed clients about the possible interruptions at the initial phase along with providing them rationale helps to improve the effectiveness of the assessment (Dozois & Dobson, 2009). As depressed individuals tend to commit cognitive bias (Dozois & Beck, 2008), it is necessary to determine the actual impairment by evaluating patient’s daily routine in terms of different areas of functioning. Each diagnostic criteria needs to be addressed in number of ways (Shea, 1988). Sometimes, the patient describe their symptoms in more idiosyncratic way. So, the clinician needs to translate those concerns in to the nosological system (Dozois & Dobson, 2009). Bolland & Keller (2009) emphasize the need to assess the number of previous episodes and their duration because this information is one the predictor for risk of subsequent relapse (Solomon et al, 2000). Dozois & Dobson (2009) have reported to rely upon information related to previous episode carefully as the client may commit the reporting bias. The reporting bias can be reduced by ensuring that the patient understands the time frame to which he or she refers (Dozois & Dobson, 2009) and providing contextual cues to the patient’s memory (Shea, 1988). The information related to previous treatments, medical history, patient’s motivation for change, etc. may help in identifying resources for change (Dozois & Dobson, 2009). It is also helpful to assess client’s strengths which will help in formulating... ...owever, if Medical conditions worsens the symptoms of depression, then mood disorder is diagnosed as MDD and medical condition is listed on Axis III of the DSM-IV-TR( APA, 2000a). It is difficult to differentiate between depression and dementia (Gualtieri and Johnson, 2008), but certain differences can be noted among two (Dozois and Dobson, 2009). For example, recent memory is more effected in depression than remote memory; such symptoms are not prominent in dementia (Dozois and Dobson, 2009). Conclusion: For the accurate assessment of MDD, the clinician should not rely upon results obtained from one psychometric instrument. Rather, he or she should try to integrate information obtained from multiple sources to get the holistic picture of patient. The clinicians also needs to consider above mentioned practical issues while making assessment related to MDD.

Kanthapura, a Cultural Study

Kanthapura as a novel of village or rural sensibility: Raja rao’s Kanthapura is a tale of atypical south Indian village in the kara area of Mysore. The novel is a saga of village life with a political bias. There is no conventional hero or heroine in it. The village of Kanthapura itself; with its presiding deity Kanchamma, with its live giving river Himavath, with its rustic topography, crops, weeds and diseases, with its characteristics, superstitions and customs is one of the main character.The people of the village with Moorthy as the Gandhi man of the village, under whose leadership the villagers of her non-violent resistance, take up the work of village uplift. In depicting Kanthapura, the novelist has presented to us a real India in microcosm. What happens in Kanthapura is what happens everywhere in India, particularly in rural India. That Kanthapura is novel of village life is evident from its topographical details. The novel opens with a graphic description of the phys ical features of Kanthapura.In the beautiful valley of the river Himavathy, the village lies curled up like a child on its mother’s lap. As the novel opens we here the grinding and rumbling of carts, indicating the busy agrarian life. The hills, valleys and rivers which form the setting of the village, are most vividly depicted. Raja Rao has an eye for the details of nature’s phenomena which he presents with vividness. It’s said of Thomas Hardy by David Cecil that he could realise the different noises made by the wind when its blows through a hollow a heather and bare stones.Raja Rao, too, is unique in his precise yet poetic depiction of the outdoor rural life. In the month of Vaisakh men of Kanthapura plough the fields. The rains come and skip over the bronze mountain, tiptoe the crags, and leaping into the valley go splashing. The coconuts and the betel nuts and cardamom plants choke with it and hiss back. And there, there it comes over the Bebbur hill and Kan thur hill and begins to paw upon the tiles, and the cattle come running home. The people pray to Kenchamma, â€Å"There, there the rains have come, Kenchamma; may our house be as white as silver†.In the Kartik festival of lights, lights glow from banana trunks and mango tweaks behind yellow leaves, greens leaves: ‘Kartik is a month of the Gods’. In scenes like this, rural life in all its concreteness gives the novel its essential rurality. The novelist describes the caste wise quarters for Brahmins, Pariahs, Porters, Weavers and Sudras. The economic distinctions between one villager and another are precisely described. Post master SuryaNarayana has a two storied house, Patwari Nanjundaa has put glass panes to the windows. Pock-marked Sidda has a real thoti house.Thus the persons who stand out among the men and women of the village are the moneyed people like Kamayya, a coffee planter and Range Gowda. Even a casual glancing through the names and nick names of the Kanthapurians is a thing of great interest. The villagers wear tell-tale nicknames. The names contribute greatly to the individualisation of the village character and places to the evocation of proper rural sensibility. The untouchable quarters, full of the stench of the hide and pickled pigs where Moorthy dare to step in for the uplift of the village people are also described.The dramatist persona in the novel includes a good number of villagers. They work as coolies on the coffee estates and are poor. The harrowing (suffering) tale of the half-naked, starving, spitting, weeping coolies is touchingly told in the coffee estate episode. The villagers are not depicted as epitomes of virtue nor are they condemned as useless creatures. They are as they usually are. Their character evokes the rural atmosphere in the novel. Their life is not complete without the perennial presence of God or Goddess. Goddess Kanchamma is installed in a temple right in its centre.A river a hill and a temple with the presiding deity complete the picture of the village. The villagers offer the Goddess their first rice and first fruit of a tree; they appease her by singing song. The Goddess is the protector, the life and the breath of the village. She gives meaning to every activity of the villager and is a witness to all affairs in the village – birth, death, marriage, funeral, sickness, ploughing and harvesting – and what not. Vows are made to her. Oaths are taken in her presence. She protects the villagers through though famine and diseases.Except Goddess Kanchamma, there are also often local Goddesses like Talassanamma and Kanthapureshwari mentioned in the novel. Even their jurisdictions are fixed. Religion has a firm hold on the villagers’ mind. The villagers observe Shankar Jayanti and listen to the recital of Harikathas and celebrate the festival of Lord Krishna and Lord Ganesha. The evocation of village life is accomplished apart from the inter relation of th eme and characters, through means like description of festivals, ceremonies, social customs, superstitions and the apt use of rustic idioms.Various ceremonies and rituals such as hair- cutting, rice-eating, wedding, consecration and the seventh month ceremony finds a place in the novel. The novel shows how the villagers cling (hold tightly) to their age-old faiths for succour and relief. Beliefs and superstitions govern the sensitive minds of the Kanthapurians. There is a scene in which the treasures of core are counted as â€Å"Three-Hm-Four-Hm –Five† and because of the superstition which forbids the mention of six, it becomes, â€Å"God’s extra†.Moorthy’s horoscope doesn’t agree with that of the daughter of Ramayya and hence the bride’s family get disheartened. The clucking of the wall-lizards indicate propitiousness, auspiciousness. On seeing a shooting star seeping across the sky, the villagers say: †Some good soul has left the earth†. When someone has been attacked by Malaria, they used to do some rituals instead of taking quinine pills believing that those rituals will eradicate the disease.Before filling the earth the â€Å"peasants throw handfuls of puffed rice in the eight directions for warding off evil and for a good harvest†. Again it’s through the use of the rustic idiom a flavour of rurality is captured. The idiom and rhythm of the regional language are sometimes reflected in their novel. There are similes, comparisons and vituperative (harsh/abusive) terms which smell of the agrarian soil and culturet. Fine and detailed agrarian imagery is seen in many descriptions throughout the novel.

Efficiency vs. Effectiveness: Defining the Difference

Almost every organization, be it a corporation, non-profit or government strives to be more effective and more efficient. Organizations often make important strategic and operational decisions based on how different alternatives will increase or decrease efficiency or effectiveness. But many organizations and managers struggle to understand the difference between efficiency and effectiveness and often get â€Å"wrapped around the axle† debating semantics rather than actually evaluating the alternatives at hand.These concepts are often used interchangeably and with little consistency, and in some cases improvements to efficiency or effectiveness can appear to be interdependent. For example, an organization that is seeking to invest in its call center would likely face alternatives that would deliver both increased efficiency and effectiveness improvements.Implementing an automated call distribution system can reduce resolution time and allow lower staffing levels in the call ce nter, delivering against the efficiency criteria. Alternatively, providing call center operators better insight into customer profiles can promote cross selling and allow agents to identify and satisfy unmet customer needs. This alternative addresses the effectiveness criteria. Projects typically favor one criteria or the other, but they are not always mutually exclusive.Investments can occasionally deliver on both the efficiency and effectiveness criteria, these (rare) projects allow an organization to do more with less. An example of this type of project is a transaction system that provides better customer analytics and increases productivity. However, in those cases where a project is touted as impacting both criteria it is important to ask critical questions to ensure outcomes are not being confused.For example, if an organization invests in automated sales reporting solution expecting an increase in efficiency and effectiveness, the solution may simply replace a manual process with an automated one, improving only efficiency. If the solution does not provide additional data or insight it is not likely to drive revenue growth, or effectiveness. More consistent application of these definitions should help align expectations around outcomes of your most important decisions. For more information contact:Ted Schneider Principal, SwitchPoint LLC [email  protected] Brian Leslie Principal, SwitchPoint LLC [email  protected] Increases Efficiency Improves Effectiveness Definition Allows organizations to do the same amount of work with fewer resourcesAllows organizations to generate higher revenues, independent of resources requiredExamplesï‚ § Automation of manual processes ï‚ § Organizational restructuring / outsourcing ï‚ § Expansion of online presence ï‚ § Increased insight into customer behavior / preferences

College Essay Writing Tips

College Essay Writing Tips College Essay Writing Tips This guide is devoted to college essay writing tips presented by professional essay writers for those who have many essays to write and yet lack time to read through lengthy guidelines. We believe that the whole process of college essay writing can be condensed into eight specific steps. Of course, each step requires varying length of time and scope of your attention. With our help, college essay writing is no longer a nightmare! If you find the following college essay writing tips useful and yet do not feel like writing a good essay tonight, you may confidently rely on our college essay writers and get your assignment done by professionals! Eight College Essay Writing Tips Tip 1: Brainstorming This is the first step of college essay writing. You need to think about the topic, decide on the specific aspects you want to cover, write down all thoughts running through your head in the process of topic analysis, and be ready for the next step. Tip 2: Outlining The second step of college essay writing is outlined creation. Why do you need a college essay outline? College essay outline helps you organize your ideas more effectively as it allows presenting your thoughts in a logical manner. Tip 3: Freewrite During this third step of college essay writing, your task is to turn ideas into sentences and paragraphs. While your essay may not be perfect from the very beginning, the purpose of this step is not to write a final draft but rather to expand your outline. Tip 4: Edit Now is time to edit your first draft. You may add additional ideas, expand paragraphs, add transitions between the paragraphs, check referencing, and do all other vital elements which affect the quality of your college essay writing: Tip 5: Second Draft So, we have reached the step when first draft is turned into second draft. It should be well-written, logically organized, and answer the essay question in full. You need to check your college essay for all vital aspects and requirements of the instructor. Tip 6: Edit Draft 2 Basically, you need to look at the whole essay with the special attention paid to the grammar, mechanism, spelling, and other mistakes which might have been left without your attention in the process of writing. Tip 7: Print Essay Sounds easy enough and yet you need to print your second draft of college essay. Sometimes, when you have a printed copy at hand, editing process becomes much easier as you start noticing many mistakes including organization, length of paragraphs, and flow of ideas. Tip 8: Proofread Finally, proofread your final draft one more time prior to submission. If you are fully satisfied with your work, do not hesitate to submit your assignment. If not, you may go through steps 5-7 over again. Read also: Example of Argumentative Essay Essay Term Paper on Doing Business in China Term Paper Editing APA Paper Format Literary Essay Hamlet

Agents in Tourism Industry Research Paper

Agents in Tourism Industry Research Paper Agents in Tourism Industry Research Paper Research Paper on Agents in Tourism Industry: Tourism presents one of the fastest growing industries in the world because information and communication technology has enabled people to identify tourism destinations worthy a visit. Although the trend appears similar to both developing and developed nations, the former have witnessed unprecedented rise in the number of tourists from around the world coming to enjoy scenic land features and ecosystems. In effect, governments have responded correspondingly by enhancing the role they play in tourism development. In emerging nations (such as Thailand and South Africa) and developing countries (such as Kenya), tourism contributes a significant part to the national economies. Common in other countries, governments have begun to play the role of planners, managers, facilitators, stimulators, and regulators of tourism activities in an effort to promote development in their tourism sectors (Sharpley Telfer 2002). In addition, some players have come up to complement the efforts of the gove rnments and others, to protect the environment and local communities against the capitalist desires of the government. Private enterprises provide support in form of investment and advice to state institutions involved in tourism. Local communities identify and report to government about potential tourist sites and regions as well as protecting the natural and cultural resources against destruction. Other major agents in tourism industry in the countries include multinational agencies, non-governmental organizations, and media, among others. The governments have formed various partnerships with the other agents from the private sector to work cooperatively in promoting sustainable growth of respective tourism sectors (Huybers 2007). Although the partnerships have worked well in some cases, they have encountered various hurdles in other cases that have limited their success. The current research explores the various agents involved in tourism industry in developing and emerging nations. It examines the role of government institutions and roles of other players, including media, international organizations, local communities, and others. The research also explores the nature of partnership between private and public organizations in the countries. Government’ s Role The legislative, executive, and judiciary arms of government have great influence on tourism development in many countries, including both developed and developing countries. In third world countries, the level of influence depends on the perceived economic importance that tourism holds in the overall economy and the extent of the relationships between different government institutions as well as political, social, and cultural characteristics of the nations. Although government institutions vary from one country to another depending on the type of government (for example, democratic or communist), the major institutions that have significant influence on the tourism industry include central and local (or provincial) governments, law enforcement agencies, administrative units, courts, and other units of governance. According to Sharpley and Telfer (2002), the major roles played by governments of emerging and developing nations include planning, management, policymaking and regulation , investment, protection of interests of different stakeholders, social tourism, and promotion. Planning Government plans for all major development activities and operations in the tourism industry. Majority of tourist attractions include natural endowments, such as natural ecosystems, attractive natural sceneries, and other natural features in different countries (Huybers 2007). Since tourism value of such endowments form a significant part of national economies in developing countries, government has a major obligation to plan on how tourism operations and other related activities should be carried out to protect and preserve the endowments. The plans may involve a wide range of operations, including maps of land usage in areas neighboring the endowments, marketing plans, layouts of infrastructure (roads, accommodation facilities, and other support services), and plans of the recommended modes of transport in different tourist attraction sites. The planning may be short-term or long-term, demonstrating how government expects development of tourism sector to be in future. For instance, Thailand government has been involved in various planning activities owing to the significant role played by tourism in the national economy. In 2008, the government released a marketing plan explaining how it intends to promote the various tourist destinations in the country (Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) n.d.). In the same year, Kenyan government also released its tourism strategic plan for the period from 2008 to 2012, showing how the government expects to promote its tourist attractions, fund development of its tourism sector, and monitor tourist operations (Ministry of Tourism (MOT), Kenya n.d.). Management Tourism development involves collaborative efforts of many stakeholders, including government, international players, local societies, private sector groups, and many others. Thus, it is essential for the government to manage or coordinate these stakeholders in an effort to ensure smooth operations in the sector. Government manages the activities of the various stakeholders to minimize replication of efforts among themselves and to align their practices with the objectives and goals laid down in planning (Sharpley Telfer 2002). Without government coordination, it is not be possible for the various public institutions and other stakeholders to know areas conducive to tourism development, government plans in place to promote tourism development in various regions, and the efforts being made by other stakeholders in achieving development objectives. As a result, stakeholders would reproduce efforts of other players in the sector, a situation likely to lead to increased development acti vities in some areas of the sector at the expense of others. Therefore, government’s role as a manager of the tourism industry serves to harmonize the efforts of all players with objectives of tourism plans for even development in all tourism areas within the country. In many developing countries, governments establish specialized public institutions to coordinate activities of domestic and international tourism operators. For instance, Department of Tourism in Kenya is the government unit responsible for managing all activities related to tourism development in the country. In Thailand, TAT coordinates activities of domestic tourism agents and international partners to ensure balanced development in all sectors of the tourism industry according to government plans. The Department of Tourism, South Africa has a legal mandate to manage development activities at provincial, national, and international levels to ensure that they are in line with government goals regarding touris m industry in the country (Lubbe 2003). Regulation and Legislation Government develops and implements legislations intended to regulate development in the tourism industry. It formulates various legislations to control tourism operations in an effort to promote development in the sector, type and nature of stakeholders to participate in the industry, to establish and conserve natural endowments perceived as tourist attractions. In addition, it also implements laws to regulate contributions of other sectors of the economy to tourism. For instance, legislative efforts to regulate entry of foreigners into the country, taxes paid by citizens and foreigners, protection of the environment, and labor inevitably affect development activities in tourism industry. Tourism legislative framework in Kenya demonstrates the nature of the regulative role of government in the industry. The country has a comprehensive Wildlife Conservation and Management Act (WCMA) that controls tourist activities in specific sites (lakes, ocean, forests, and land features) as well a s other related ecological sources that influence survival of the tourist sites. It has also enacted other laws to control operations that support tourism, including the Hotels and Restaurants Act (HRA) and the Tourist Industry Licensing Act (TILA) (MOT, Kenya n.d.). Investment In any developing, emerging, or developed nation, government invests heavily in tourism industry to complement investment efforts by the private individuals and organizations. It not only invests in those areas perceived as capital-intensive projects, but also in regions considered unworthy for investment by private entrepreneurs. In many developing nations, governments have invested heavily in establishing museums, national parks, game reserves, beaches, roads, airports, airline, other transportation means, hospitals, and other tourism related infrastructure. They have also undertaken investment in other low-risk projects, such as accommodation and travel services. For instance, Thailand government has established more than 100 national parks, comprising of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems that serve as tourist attractions (TAT n.d.). It has also build an effective road network, making the parks easily accessible to both domestic and international tourists. Facilitation Government role as a facilitator of tourism development has a great influence on growth of the tourism industry in emerging and developing nations. It facilitates development in a wide range of ways. Through law enforcement agencies, it ensures security and safety of tourists and tourism operators and their investments (Sharpley Telfer 2002). For instance, Kenyan government created a dedicated tourist police unit to ensure security and safety of tourist while visiting the various parks and attractions in the country. It can also stimulate development through provision of subsidies, grants, and tax breaks to encourage private individuals and firms to invest in the sector as well as to attract tourists. A good example is Thailand where it refunds value-added tax (VAT) tariffs to tourists when they purchase goods and other items at designed retail centers. Other Influences Government plays other roles, such as promotion of their countries as tourist destinations, development of social tourism, and safeguarding of interests of the public (Sharpley Telfer 2002). It establishes various products to market the various tourist attractions available in the nation in an effort to attract tourists and investors into the sector. In other countries, such as Kenya and Thailand, government promotes social tourism, encouraging tourists to visit the countries to witness and learn about various cultures espoused by different communities. Government also participates in tourism development by protecting the interests of the public against exploitation by private investors. It gives some part of revenues collected in tourist attractions back to the neighboring communities and requires private investors to establish corporate social responsibility programs to improve living standards of people living in regions adjacent to their facilities. Role of Others Agents Besides government, other parties in Third World countries play significant roles in tourism industry. Among others, they include local communities, private enterprises, media, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and multinational agencies. Local Communities Like government, local communities have greatest influence on development of tourism industry. Environmental conservation remains the major role of local societies, as they coexist with various tourist attractions available in their country. They have a responsibility to coexist with biodiversity within ecosystems and report any environmental malpractice by some of their members, public officers, and private investors to the relevant authorities. In majority of developing countries, the communities have become essential components of cultural tourism. They form cultural groups to attract local and foreign tourists to come and see their cultural heritage as well as to entertain the tourists when they visit neighboring sites. For example, Kenya is well known internationally for its wide variety of cultural tourist activities organized by various local communities. Tourists to Masai Mara National Reserve have the opportunity to enjoy not only the vast diversity of animals, but also the cultural heritage (dances, houses, and dressing) of Masai community, one of few Kenyan communities that have preserved its culture amidst widespread influence of Western cultures on way of life of many Kenyans (MOT, Kenya n.d.). According to Lubbe (2003), local people may invest into the tourism industry as private investors or partner with government, NGOs, and international agencies to establish projects that foster tourism development. In various countries, communities have partnered with the government and NGOs to advocate for sustainable tourism development. They have championed for doing tourism operations and activities in a way that protects and conserves the environment, which influences greatly survival of the various ecosystems serving as tourist destinations. Moreover, the communities can also play a role of domestic tourists by visiting national parks, game reserves, and other attractions within their countries. Private Enterprises In developing or emerging nations, Sharpley and Telfer (2002) argue that private investors complement entrepreneurial role of government in the tourism sector. The major contributions of the private enterprises include investments in the travel and hotel and accommodation industries. In the travel industry, they establish travel agencies to offer various services to tourists. They serve as travel agents who approach potential tourists and organize all travel requirements, including visas for the tourists. They also organize means of transport for the tourists during visits to the various tourist destinations within their nations. In majority of developing countries, private investors remain the major travel agents of tourists. In hotel and accommodation industry, they invest heavily in hotels and restaurants in regions surrounding tourism sites. Through the investments, they offer employment opportunities to many local people, thereby improving living standards of local communities. In addition, they support government in development of infrastructure in regions where they operate. For instance, they build roads and invest in conservation projects in tourism sites where their facilities are located as a way to attract tourists to their businesses. Media Media’s role in the sector involves marketing and bringing awareness among all stakeholders about the tourism in emerging or Third World nations (Lubbe 2003). Domestic and international media run different programs intended to promote various tourism sites and adventures offered by such sites in a bid to encourage people to visit those sites. Emergence of internet and computer technology has provided a means to the government to promote tourist destinations to people around the world. In the case of Kenya, Thailand, and South Africa, every government has integrated information technology to support tourism promotional activities. Anybody in the world can access these websites to learn most the details about tourism in the nations, including various destinations, interactive maps showing how to get to the destinations, various attractive features to expect in the sites, nearby hotels, relevant travel agents, and rates of the services. Thus, potential tourists can choose on thei r own potential destinations to visit and plan effectively. As an education tool, it provides a platform through which different stakeholders can understand, learn, and enjoy opportunities offered by various regions within a country. It brings awareness among public about various tourist destinations within their country and importance of conserving the sites. It also makes private enterprises aware of opportunities and benefits in various regions in the nations, enabling them to invest in underdeveloped areas of tourism industry. NGOs NGOs play an essential complementary role of facilitating and advocating for sustainable and equitable tourism development in Third World and emerging nations. Like any other sector of economy, tourism requires some level of activism to compel governments and private enterprises to run their operations in ways that respect the rights of local communities and in a manner that conserves the environment. If left alone, private investors can collude with governments to exploit opportunities provided by the tourism industry to increase their profits at the expense of the environment and local people. As a result, NGOs intervene in developing countries to champion for the rights of the poor and natural ecosystems. They include non-profit, voluntary organizations, bringing together individuals at local, national, and international levels to fight for environmental justice (Sharpley Telfer 2002). Among others, some examples include Oxfam Community Aid Abroad (OCAA), EcoVitality, Internation al Ecotourism Society and Conservation International, and African Propoor Tourism Development Centre (APTDC). These organizations play different roles to realize their objectives in developing countries. Some play advocacy role of compelling governments and private investors to engage in sustainable tourism development while improving the lives of the poor in the community. For example, APTDC falls within this category as it works closely with the Kenyan tourism stakeholders. It comes in during government planning of tourism activities where it brings together relevant public institutions, local communities, and private enterprises to discuss and share information on the best ways to carry out tourism operations to preserve the environment and benefit poor people within the community. APTDC also monitors effects of tourism on host communities and environment and then attempts to advise government, international agencies, and other major stakeholders to reevaluate their development activities and operations. Others play a facilitative role, offering ecotourism services to tourists and helping local communities to establish ecotourism investments. For instance, EcoVitality provides tou rists to developing countries in Africa with environment-friendly travel services. The NGO uses the earnings obtained from the services to finance conservation efforts in Namibia aimed at protecting lions in national parks. Another NGO, OCAA, provides non-profit tour services (travel and accommodation) aimed at reducing the effects of tourists on the environment and local communities and benefiting host communities in emerging and developing nations. International Agencies Various multinational organizations comprised of governments and tourism organizations from different countries influence growth of tourism industries in developing nations. Their major objective entails scrutinizing tourism developments in those nations to ensure that they conform to standards acceptable globally. According to Lubbe (2003), major global tourism agencies include World Trade Organization (WTO), International Air Transport Association (IATA), International Hotel Restaurant Association (IHRA), and World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). WTO represents the only international agency responsible for coordinating all facets of tourism development in the globe. It coordinates national and international stakeholders in planning, development, and implementation of tourism projects in almost every country across the globe. It also facilitates conferences among different local and global tourism agents to address and share information about the issues facing tourism and possible alternative approaches to address them. It plays an educative role of doing research on different problems facing developing nations and offering information to them on how to solve the issues. Other roles include educating and training future professionals as well as promoting ecotourism initiatives in both developed and developing countries (Huybers 2007). WTTC comprises of private enterprises from the various sectors of national tourism industry, including accommodation, catering, travel, transportation, and other tourism-related enterprises. Its major role entails promoting and campaigning for entrepreneurship in the international tourism sector. It promotes tourism development as a means to reduce unemployment levels in developing nations. It promotes for liberalization of world market in all sectors that influence or relate to tourism industry (Lubbe 2003). In addition, it negotiates with governments (on behalf of its members) to eliminate protectionist policies that would cause uneven competition among the different players in the industry. It encourages its members to embrace sustainable development and interact with local communities effectively to alleviate their standards of living. IHRA and IATA can be regarded as subsets of WTTC, with IHRA playing specialized roles in tourism and hospitality industry, and IATA playing simila r roles to those of WTTC in the air travel industry. To some extent, World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), United Nations Environmental Agency (UNEP), World Health Organizations (WHO) also play significant role in tourism sectors of developing countries. For instance, IMF provides funds to governments for financing infrastructure, while WHO monitors and informs tourists and local communities about disease outbreaks in different regions of the globe. Public-Private Relationship The nature of tourism industry calls for a positive relationship between government institutions and non-governmental agents for sustained development. It requires substantial resources (capital, infrastructure, human resources, and others) and comprises many activities, making it impossible for either government or private enterprises to handle on its own. Thus, it becomes essential for the government to seek collaboration with other agents to foster tourism growth. Advantages One of the advantages presented by the partnership includes enhanced effectiveness of tourism policies in the country. Development of tourism policies (for example, economic, planning, or environmental management) involves a complex process that requires a comprehensive understanding of all factors surrounding issue under consideration (Huybers 2007). Although public policy-making in many developing nations remains the sole responsibility of government, participation by private entities is needed to make the policy more responsive to issue at hand. Private agents, particularly local communities and enterprises directly affected by the problem, stand in a better position to understand the issue effectively. Thus, government can invite them to discuss and exchange information about the problem and methods to solve it effectively. This minimizes resistance from the private agents that occurs when governments develop and implement tourism policies without consultation. The partnership mi nimizes financial burdens that the government or private agents would have shouldered if they implemented projects independently. It not only enables the partners to share expertise, information, financial resources, and others, but it also eliminates duplication of efforts. They meet frequently to discuss and agree on how to collaborate in form of resources to develop the various sectors of tourism industry. For instance, Lubee (2003) lauds the effective partnership between South African government and private enterprises for enhanced development in the nation’s tourism industry. The government works well with different private entities, including the Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa (FEDHASA), the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA), and the Regional Tourism Organization of Southern Africa (RETOSA), among others. Each of these organizations represents specific private investors, implying that collaborative efforts consider contributions of from every market player. In effect, they are in a position to come up with tourism development policies that take into account the different interests of each group. Disadvantages Public-private partnership involves extensive consultation among agents from different regions and sectors of the tourism industry, which tends to slow down decision-making process. As Huybers (2007) argues, agents or representatives come with interests of their members, implying that they need to represent the issues for the other partners to discuss and express their opinions. In many instances, achieving consensus in such situations (even for smaller issues) becomes a challenge. In many developing nations, private organizations do not trust state institutions due to issues of misuse of power by public officers, corruption, and excessive bureaucracy. This mistrust may permeate into the partnership, implying that the private agents may not be willing to agree with the government on matters concerning tourism project funding. This greatly limits the ability of the partnership to make positive impacts in the tourism industry. For instance, Kenya does not have strong public-private par tnership due to mistrust between the two agents. The country ranks among the most corrupt nations in the world, making it hard for private institutions to trust the willingness and commitment to spend funds rightfully for the expected development activities. In some cases, some private enterprises have shied away from engaging in any form of partnership, fearing that corrupt government officials may affect public image of the businesses. One of the most effective ways for the Kenyan government to get out of this problem is to fight corruption at every level of the state tourism institutions to improve its image among the other stakeholders. It needs to develop and implement effective internal controls to enhance corporate governance structures in the sector. This may encourage private agents to begin trusting the government, which may see the country exploit sustainably its wide-ranging sites of tourist attractions. Conclusion In third world countries, the level of government influence depends on the perceived economic importance that tourism holds in the overall economy and the extent of the relationships between different government institutions as well as political, social, and cultural characteristics of the nations. Government plans for all major development activities and operations in the tourism industry. For example, Kenyan government released its tourism strategic plan for the period from 2008 to 2012, showing how the government expects to promote its tourist attractions, fund development of its tourism sector, and monitor tourist operations. Government also manages or coordinates different stakeholders involved in the industry to ensure smooth operations in the sector. It formulates various legislations to control tourism operations in an effort to promote development in the sector, type and nature of stakeholders to participate in the industry, to establish and conserve natural endowments perce ived as tourist attractions. Moreover, government invests heavily in tourism industry to complement investment efforts by the private individuals and organizations. Government role as a facilitator of tourism development ensures security and safety of tourists and tourism operators and their investments. Besides government, other parties in Third World countries play significant roles in tourism industry. Environmental conservation remains the major role of local societies, as they coexist with various tourist attractions available in their country. Local people may invest into the tourism industry as private investors or partner with government, NGOs, and international agencies to establish projects that foster tourism development. The major contributions of the private enterprises include investments in the travel and hotel and accommodation industries. Media’s role in the sector involves marketing and bringing awareness among all stakeholders about the tourism in emerging or Third World nations. NGOs play an essential complementary role of facilitating and advocating for sustainable and equitable tourism development. The major duty of global agencies entails scrutinizing tourism developments in those nations to ensure that they conform to standards acceptable globally. WTO represents the only international agency responsible for coordinating all facets of tourism development in the globe. The nature of tourism industry calls for a positive relationship between government institutions and non-governmental agents for sustained development. Private agents, particularly local communities and enterprises directly affected by the problem, stand in a better position to understand the issue effectively. However, it involves extensive consultation among agents from different regions and sectors of the tourism industry, which tends to slow down decision-making process. At writing company you can order your custom research papers on various topics you need. All you need is to place an order at our website!

Beans and More Beans

Beans and More Beans Beans and More Beans Beans and More Beans By Maeve Maddox Considering the flurry of comments triggered by my inclusion of a bean idiom in a recent post, I decided to give the humble bean a post of its own. The noun bean is Germanic in origin. August Fick (1833-1916) German comparative linguist, suggested that bean was cognate with faba, the Latin word for bean, but according to the OED, â€Å"phonetic considerations render this doubtful.† Originally, the word bean referred only to the broad bean (Faba vulgaris), but now it refers to any seed that resembles it. Human beings and beans have had a long relationship; Egyptians buried them with their dead, and Homer mentioned them in the Iliad. On the ancient Roman feast called the Lemuria (or Lumuralia), the pater familias (father of the family) got out of bed at midnight to walk around the house barefoot, throwing black beans over his shoulder. The rite was intended to exorcise any malevolent spirits that had accumulated in the household during the previous year. Pythagoras instructed his followers â€Å"not to love beans,† but he may have been warning them against meddling in politics, not forbidding them to eat beans; beans were used as markers in political elections. Artistotle equated the bean with venery (pursuit of sexual pleasure); to him, â€Å"abstaining from beans† meant â€Å"keeping the body chaste.† As common objects of daily life, beans found their way into literary and proverbial use. â€Å"Not worth a bean† came to mean worthless. Chaucer (1343-1400) uses the expression in â€Å"The Merchant’s Tale.† The hero of the tale is a knight who, after 60 years of bachelorhood, finally decides to marry: â€Å"For no other way of life,† he said, â€Å"is worth a bean.† A person who â€Å"does not have a bean† is poor indeed, although the bean in this expression may originate elsewhere than with the legume. A slang term for a sovereign or a guinea was bean. â€Å"Not to have a bean† meant â€Å"not to have a cent.† â€Å"Not to know beans about something† is to know nothing about it: Charles Faddis Does not Know Beans About Nuclear Energy â€Å"To spill the beans† is â€Å"to reveal a secret†: Drunk Whistleblower Spilled The Beans On Chemtrail Front Company For CIA The business world has a couple of bean expressions all its own. A â€Å"bean counter† is a contemptuous term applied to an accountant or other financial expert by people who feel that creativity is more valuable than mere record-keeping. A beanfeast or beanfest is an annual dinner given by an employer to his employees. The word bean is slang for head: â€Å"Im a bit short on brain myself; the old bean would appear to have been constructed more for ornament than for use, dont you know†Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬â€œP. G. Wodehouse, My Man Jeeves Wodehouse and other British writers used â€Å"Old Bean† as a friendly term of address: â€Å"You don’t mind my asking, do you old bean?† â€Å"Use your bean† means â€Å"think!† The little cap called a beanie gets its name from this meaning of bean, as does the baseball term bean ball, â€Å"a ball thrown at a batter’s head.† This application of bean has also given us a verb bean, â€Å"to hit someone on the head.† A beanery is a cheap restaurant, presumably because the meals are heavy on beans. The American city of Bostonfamous for its baked beansis often referred to as â€Å"Bean Town.† The expression that inspired this post is â€Å"full of beans,† meaning â€Å"full of energy and high spirits†: [In winter I try] to rise and shine, full of beans, every day.   [Reba] seems fresh, fit and full of beans, projecting herself the way I’m told she always does When I defined â€Å"full of beans† as â€Å"full of energy and high spirits,† several readers informed me of another meaning: â€Å"full of baloney† (or what bologna becomes once it is digested.) â€Å"Full of beans† in the sense of â€Å"energetic† probably originated as stable slang. Bean-fed horses were observed to be in good condition and lively, as in these examples from the OED: 1870  Ã‚   Daily News 27 July 5  Ã‚   The horses [] looked fresh and beany. 1843  R. S. Surtees Handley Cross II. vii. 199  Ã‚   [Hounds, horses], and men, are in a glorious state of excitement! Full o beans and benevolence! Another 19th century use of â€Å"full of beans† noted as stable slang was applied to a person â€Å"whom sudden prosperity had made offensive and conceited.† I suppose that such a stuck-up person could be seen as â€Å"full of beans† in the sense of being â€Å"full of it.† Apparently both meanings are current, so don’t be surprised if you get a puzzled look if your meaning doesn’t match that of your listener. I’ll end with what is probably the best-known bean quotation in popular culture, Rick’s farewell to Ilsa in the movie Casablanca: Ilsa, I’m no good at being noble, but it doesn’t take much to see that the problems of three little people don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Creative Writing 1017 Patterns of Sentence StructureHyphenation in Compound Nouns

The Mission for TNT Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 37

The Mission for TNT - Case Study Example According to the paper, the major objective of TNT is to deliver a superior customer experience with sophisticated technology in their operations. The mission, vision and objectives of a company always vary, and it depends with the services or goods being provided and also the size of the organization. The mission of PEKU contractors based in Qatar is development of a better, safer and conservative built environment. Their major aim is to come up with eco-friendly buildings and minimize the cost of construction. Their objective is to come up with sustainable construction methods and build eco-friendly structures. A business strategy refers to the ways and means through which an organization sets  out  to achieve its objectives. An organization categorizes its goals in order of priority in order to develop ways of achieving the all the goals. After identifying the crucial goals, a strategy map is developed. A strategy map is a diagram containing the strategic goals of an organizat ion. A strategy map helps an organization identify the territories with the best returns and hence the organization is able to develop a strategy to exploit the territories. It creates the basis of developing a competitive advantage which is beneficial in achievement of goals. It guides the organization in deciding which goods and services to produce in order to achieve the set aims and objectives.  The overall strategy of TNT has great emphasis on satisfying the needs of the customers. Their strategy defines the relationship of all the parties involved and how they will cooperate in achieving the goals of the organization. TNT strategy focuses on achieving its goals, satisfying the customers and coming up with ways that will make the customers stick to their services.

Journal 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Journal 4 - Essay Example I think the images behind the man represent the many paths people today choose in order to be in one religion or state. The man painted in the middle of these paths is representing all the races in the world and possibly religions. Rivera’s work of art seemed to be representing the cultural wars that exist today. In the early 100’s Rivera was at the time an icon for transactions of cultures between the people in Central and North America. This painting was one of his controversial arts which he intended to be an eye opener for Americans; to be culturally diverse and accept the different aspects and opinions which existed in the world (Neimark 6). His painting incorporates lively and contrasting colors and his concern for texture seem overwhelming. His style of painting can best be termed as New Realism since it is far from representing the academic world and naturalism in the old world (Neimark 68). The man who is at the centre of this painting is Lenin who was the founder of Soviet Union; he is symbolically clasping the hands of future allies; a worker, a black American and a white Russian

European Union Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

European Union - Essay Example inning of the year 1990 which commenced with the seeking increased reduction on the market price support, and a support for direct payments (1992, and 1999 reforms), and certain reforms which were as recent as 2003, of promoting decoupled direct payments as opposed to the coupled direct subsidies. The underlying objective of CAP reforms was: aiming to increase agricultural productivity through technological innovation, stabilizing the internal markets, ensuring availability of food supplies at reasonable prices to customers etc. The said reforms were proposed to have significant implications especially on the Alberta/Canada agriculture. However, the reforms failed to deliver the promised returns and turned out to be much less impressive since the time they were conceived, owing to such factors as: budgetary pressures, expanded membership and external pressures that led to political pressures being imposed on the Union which ultimately succumbed to such external threats and hence fail ed to deliver. Although certain liberties in terms of negotiating flexibility and export subsidies were granted to them for the Doha round of domestic support, but was too, plagued with failure owing to limited direction and restricted market access (David Coleman, Pp. 77 – 100). The Competition Policy of the EU was aimed at encouraging competition in the European countries since it would lead to lowered prices and increased choice for the European consumers. The current policy is governed by article 81of the treaty ended to be addressed by ensuring taking prompt and strict action against those business practices that discouraged or restricted competition, examine mergers to gauge their effect on reducing competition, open up competition in those areas which were previously controlled by State run monopolies, and by co-operating with other competition authorities world wide. The competition policy has been instrumental in shaping the economic and social integration of the member

Managing Human Capital at Barclays Bank Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Managing Human Capital at Barclays Bank - Essay Example Like any other corporation, Barclays also treat its human resource as the most valuable assets and the only active element to activate other elements such as machinery and equipments, which are otherwise, remain dead. However, unless the costs associated with the people management and maintenance is critically evaluated in the light of its probable benefits, the entire efforts will be a waste. Considering the employee initial cost and annual expenditure for hiring and training, it can be presumed that a huge amount has been incurred every year at Barclays. From all stakeholders’ point of view, it can be said that this is not a good sign of success. Rather, it is an indication that the company unnecessarily invest in hiring and maintaining people in the organization and is likely to incur huge loss unless all the employees are retained in the organization. Today’s employees have the tendency to switch over from job to another within no time. This causes further increase in the employee maintenance cost as the organization is required to fill the gap on account of such movement. The most possible solution for this kind of unnecessary increase in the employee cost is that hire only those people whose services are unavoidable to the organization. Also make sure that newly joined are likely to be maintained in the firm at least for three years. It has been mentioned in the report that the pension cost has been on the increase and this can be reduced, if proper care is taken while fixing the compensation plan.

Career Goal Statement for Nursing Program Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Career Goal Statement for Nursing Program - Essay Example This also fulfils my childhood dream reinforced over time. I believe in integrity, honesty and diligence in handling people’s information. I am courteous and hospitable with a higher regard for the elderly. I like interacting and socializing with friends with a view to knowing emotional, physical and psychological well-being of people. My multiple skills and experience puts me in the best position for generic nursing program. I have educational courses gained from my pre-professional nursing classes. I have helped treat complicated complications affecting a larger segment of our population like performing, teaching, and supervision of blood collection procedures. I have also conducted uncomplicated and painless tests for patients with heart diseases by recording their hearts electrical activity. I would like to hone my nursing skills and attain a top nurse status in the state. My skills will allow me overcome significant complications I have seen and experience many patients undergo. I also intend to become an Associate Degree Nurse (ADN) through internship and referrals. I would like to help reduce the rising cases of heart diseases by writing and partnering with other nurses in journals, articles and magazines. Having the EKG and Phlebotomy certifications, I am destined to become a professional nurse. I have excellent report from the lead nurse in the institution I earlier worked. I have helped treat more than 15 cases of heart complications. My previous health facility, with my assistance, collected more than 1500 blood samples kept in the blood bank. I would like to become an experienced nurse with the ability to treat and handle referral cases and emergencies. I also intend to produce my own book on Phlebotomy complications and provide an objective view of this profession. I would like to become a source of consultation in health issues by helping open an EKG section of the library in the university. I would

Managing Human Capital at Barclays Bank Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Managing Human Capital at Barclays Bank - Essay Example Like any other corporation, Barclays also treat its human resource as the most valuable assets and the only active element to activate other elements such as machinery and equipments, which are otherwise, remain dead. However, unless the costs associated with the people management and maintenance is critically evaluated in the light of its probable benefits, the entire efforts will be a waste. Considering the employee initial cost and annual expenditure for hiring and training, it can be presumed that a huge amount has been incurred every year at Barclays. From all stakeholders’ point of view, it can be said that this is not a good sign of success. Rather, it is an indication that the company unnecessarily invest in hiring and maintaining people in the organization and is likely to incur huge loss unless all the employees are retained in the organization. Today’s employees have the tendency to switch over from job to another within no time. This causes further increase in the employee maintenance cost as the organization is required to fill the gap on account of such movement. The most possible solution for this kind of unnecessary increase in the employee cost is that hire only those people whose services are unavoidable to the organization. Also make sure that newly joined are likely to be maintained in the firm at least for three years. It has been mentioned in the report that the pension cost has been on the increase and this can be reduced, if proper care is taken while fixing the compensation plan.

The effect of usury on our lives Research Paper

The effect of usury on our lives - Research Paper Example The old way was an endeavor to shield the poor and less fortunate from exploitation, but the current American economic system charges higher interests to the poor (Long, 1996). Despite the fact that usury-based economic systems are a common practice by all banks in the world today, people should resist it because of its enormous disadvantages to the society. Different schools of thought have been advanced towards the concept of usury. The traditional view perceives usury has a practice of seeking a payment for a loan advanced to another individual. This definition was development at the scholarly works of Aristotle and was embraced by other people of the times. The concept advancement by Aristotle was that money was barren; the medieval schoolmen accepted this view. Later on, changes stared emerging on the definition (Persky, 2007). The modern view of usury relates to charging of unethical interest that is exploitative to the borrower. However, some faiths have continued to uphold th e concept of charging any form of interest as an act of usury. The banks have developed due to the demand to satisfy the market needs, laws that regulate their activities have been developed. It is an act of usury for a bank or any other financial lending institution or a person to charge more than the set percentages. In my view usury is a relative concept that relates to interest charged on loans, if the interest is unreasonable to the poor in the society and does not reflect the needs in the society that is tantamount to usury (Lewison, 1999). Usury based economy relates to the charging of favorable interests. The modern view started taking its shape around 1571 when Elizabeth I allowed an interest of 10% to be charged, this aspect led to enactment of some ethics to safeguard the interests of the loanees. At the initial stages, a lot of resistance was encountered since the interest was seen as a way of exploiting people (Steel, 1993). To further upgrade usury, came reforms that f acilitated the enactment of ethics. Coincidentally, the activity led to an increase in the prices and consequently economies started growing. A lot of productivity and prosperity was evident in the process. In 1854, the usury laws were reformed further allowing the justice system to prosecute those that were charging exorbitant interests. The laws have continued to change in order to take care of the borrowers, as it stands the Consumer Credit act protects the borrowers against any form of modern usury (Steel, 1993). Human needs are many and unsatiable, in an effort to control the economy of the world by the giant economies they use their financial muscle to benefit themselves more. People in all societies need to invest their money in one way or another in order to live a secure and decent life. Money is the backbone of anyone’s life; however, people have very limited options to choose where to invest their money. Banks are the only winning side from this unequal equation (M ews & Ibrahim, 2007). They take people’s money to make as much profit as they can for the sake of themselves and the rich people. On the other hand, poor and middle class people will find themselves drowning in debt day after day. To simplify this lets take an average college graduate student as an example. If he wanted to satisfy the basic need of his life on his won, from getting married to finding a place to live, he will surely be in debt for at least 30 coming

Building Positive Relationships in Children Essay Example for Free

Building Positive Relationships in Children Essay To help your child understand feelings you could do a feeling chart or make a feeling tree in your home. To make a feelings chart just draw out faces with how there expression might be when they are feeling that way an do the expressions yourself when showing them. This will give your child a better understanding of their feelings and how they can express them through facial expressions. For a feeling tree its much the same idea as a feeling card but you just take in a branch from a tree and stick the faces with the expressions on it. this will help a child express themselves when they can’t do it through facial expressions. The Significance of friendship Buy them some books with plenty of colourful pictures with the theme of friendship and them to them.this will help show them how nice it is to have friends and how to make them and keep them. It is only after the age of three that children can incorperate other children into their playtime activities so at around this age ask other parents if they would like to make a playdate for their child and yours n a regular basis.this will get your child used to other childrens company.you can also talk about what they did together at dinner or quiet time alone and encourage them to do it again. Communication and Respect To help your child with communication you need to be a good example to them.talk to them as much as you can about your day and ask how theirs was.even talking about their favourite tv programme would be good as they will be more likely to talk about something that they’re interested in. To teach them about respect you need to set a good example for this as well. Giving them boundaries will also help and treating them with respect will encourage them to do the same to you. Factors that impact/Motivate children Tou tourself have a major impact on your child.they learn from how you react to situations and other peaople and will use this as a guide for themselves. Also the tv programmes that they watch will make an impact on them and can also motivate them to try new things that they wouldn’t of thought of themselves. .

Muscle Training Intervention in Heart Failure Article Review

Muscle Training Intervention in Heart Failure Article Review Principles of Research in Nursing Practice A Critical Appraisal of Padula, C. A., Yeaw, E. and Mistry, S. (2009) A home-based nurse-coached inspiratory muscle training intervention in heart failure. Applied Nursing Research, 22: 18-25. Guidelines by Burns and Grove (2011) form the basis of this appraisal. Statement of the problem purpose of the study Padula et al. (2009) begin by discussing the clinical problem that led to the research being conducted. Disabling dyspnoea in heart failure (HF) is affecting patients’ quality of life. Impaired inspiratory muscle function has been recognised as a potential source of dyspnoea in HF. The purpose of the research emerges logically from the clinical problem which is to determine the effectiveness of an inspiratory muscle training intervention (IMT) on dyspnoea and health-related quality of life (HRQOL). The purpose of the study is directly linked to the clinical problem because the experimental hypothesis; if upheld may facilitate improved therapies for HF patients. Literature Review This section is clearly defined and well organised. A review of the abstracts for the eight sources cited in the ‘IMT in HF’ section denotes that all are relevant primary data-based studies. There are only two sources cited within 5 years of the acceptance date for publication. Sources should be current (Burns Grove, 2011). The researchers fail to acknowledge whether a systematic search strategy was exercised (Moule Goodman, 2009). Furthermore, the investigators may have found additional sources if they had included theoretical literature. Padula et al. (2009) paraphrase the knowledge gleaned from each source and form a critique of the overall methodology used in these studies. Three of the studies did not employ a control group; this decision may have threatened their capacity to infer causal relationships. In the RCTs, sample sizes were small and effect sizes were not published. Consequently, the ability to detect differences in outcomes between groups was compromised (Seers Critelton, 2001). The literature review identifies gaps in the knowledge base which builds a case for the present study. Padula et al. (2009) report that further research is necessary to determine the precise intensity of IMT. Study Design Sample There is ambiguity regarding the study design as the researchers refer to the study as an RCT on two occasions. On closer inspection, the study does not meet the criteria for this classification as complete experimental control is not possible (CASP, 2014). The study is a two-group quasi-experiment with pre- and post-test design (Hek Moule, 2006). This design is appropriate to address the research question. Although participants are assigned to groups with equal probability, the method selected (i.e. coin toss) is not entirely appropriate for small sample sizes (i.e. n=31) because it may lead to imbalance between the size of the experimental group and control group. Schulz Grimes (2002) explain that when a succession of tails or heads is thrown, it is tempting for the researchers to modify the results. This may result in subtle differences between groups. A more sophisticated method would be to use computer generated random numbers (Crombie, 2005). RCTs are conducted in research units to ensure greater control over extraneous variability. The present study was conducted in patients’ homes. The research population was stable HF patients without coexisting pulmonary disease or cognitive impairment. The sampling method is nonprobability convenience because the researchers recruited participants by means of newspaper advertisements and physicians’ offices (Clark-Carter, 2001). This method may have excluded patients who did not visit their physician on a regular basis. The article fails to include a power analysis; a test to assess the study’s ability to detect significant differences. The researchers acknowledge that the sample was small (n=31). An effect size for IM strength was reported (d=0.48). Data Collection The data collection methods are appropriate for measuring the dependent variables (Padula et al. 2009). Test-retest reliability values are documented for the following measures: PI max, the Borg scale (1982), and self-efficacy. These values should be documented for all data collection methods (Burns Grove, 2011). This useful statistical test is a measure of the stability of the scores elicited over time (Sim Wright, 2000). A Chronbach’s alpha score was only documented for one of the measures. This statistical test measures internal consistency; i.e. how confident are we that the individual items in a scale are accurately measuring the same construct (Clark-Carter, 2001). The article reports that the research assistants followed a specified protocol, however this is not provided in the report. The article should document all the steps taken to reduce errors during the data collection process (Burns Grove, 2011). For example, it is unknown whether steps were taken to reduce user error in taking physiological measurements such as respiratory pattern. Measurements were taken at spaced intervals (i.e. weeks 1, 3, 6, 9 12); this design feature strengthens our confidence in the findings. Mention should be made here of the possibility of demand effects; the notion that participants may have modified their responses on the Borg scale to match the expectations of the study (McCambridge et al. 2012). Analysis The inferential analyses (ANOVA) conducted are appropriate for the type of data collected (Ratio/interval and ordinal; Dancey Reidy, 2011). Post hoc analyses were used to detect the location of the differences in two of the dependent variables; a best practice approach. A table showing all mean scores including significance levels for each dependent variable would be beneficial to the reader. A significant difference was detected for IMT strength in the experimental group (p Discussion The key findings are clearly stated and are consistent with previous literature. The researchers offer an alternative explanation to account for why a significant improvement in IM strength and dyspnoea in the IMT group was found. Participants may have become accustomed to the technique of generating high maximal inspiratory pressures; this is referred to as the training effect. This is a confounding variable that could compromise the internal validity of the study. The researchers account for why the secondary aim of the study was not met. The measurement for self-efficacy (the CSES) was inadequate for the purpose it was intended for. The researchers acknowledge the study’s limitations – the relatively small sample size (n=31). The strict inclusion criteria effects external validity as the findings cannot be generalised to patients with HF and coexisting COPD which is prominent in the population. This is acknowledged as a potential source of error. The study contributes to an evidence base for the use of IMT as an additional treatment for stable HF and provides recommendations for future research. Word count: 1100 References Borg, G. (1982). Psychophysical bases of perceived exertion. Science in Sports and Exercise, 14 (5): 377-381. Burns, N. and Grove, S. K. (2011) Understanding nursing research: building an evidence-based practice. 5th ed. Maryland Heights, MO: Elsevier Saunders. Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) (2014) CASP checklists [online]. Available from: http://www.casp-uk.net/#!casp-tools-chcklists/c18f8. [Accessed 1 June 2014]. Clark-Carter, D. (2001) Doing quantitative psychological research. East Sussex, UK: Psychology Press Ltd. Crombie, I. K. (2005) The pocket guide to critical appraisal. London: BMJ Publishing Group. Dancey, C. and Reidy, J. (2011) Statistics without maths for psychology. 5th ed. London: Prentice Hall. Hek, G. and Moule, P. (2006) Making sense of research: an introduction for health and social care practitioners. 3rd ed. London: Sage Publications Ltd. McCambridge, J., de Bruin, M. and Witton, J. (2012) The effects of demand characteristics on research participant behaviours in non-laboratory settings: a systematic review. PLoS One, 7 (6): e39116. Moule, P. and Goodman, M. (2009) Nursing research: an introduction. London: Sage Publications Ltd. Padula, C. A., Yeaw, E. and Mistry, S. (2009) A home-based nurse-coached inspiratory muscle training intervention in heart failure. Applied Nursing Research, 22: 18-25. Schulz, K. F. and Grimes, A. (2002) Blinding in randomised trials: hiding who got what. The Lancet, 359 (9307): 696-700. Seers, K. and Critelton, N. (2001) Quantitative research: designs relevant to nursing and healthcare. Nursing Times Research, 6 (1): 487-500. Sim, J. and Wright, C. (2000) Research in health care: concepts, designs and methods. Cheltenham, UK: Stanley Thornes. 1

McDonaldization Essay -- essays research papers

George Ritzer describes McDonaldization as â€Å"the process by which the principles of the fast-food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as the rest of the world†. McDonaldization is the idea that our society is becoming more efficient and more fast paced. Rational systems can be defined as â€Å"unreasonable, dehumanizing systems that deny the humanity, the human reason, of the people who work within them or are served by them†.1 Today there are many types of businesses that are increasingly adapting the same values and principles of the fast-food industry to their needs. Rational systems are dehumanizing our society and seem to be even more irrational than convenient. â€Å"Almost every aspect of today’s society has been affected by McDonaldization including the restaurant business, education, work, healthcare, travel, leisure, dieting, politics and the family†. McDonaldization is turning our society into one which is built upon convenience and gaining the most for our money in the fastest way possible. The significant success of McDonalds, and of McDonaldization as a whole, is due to four basic elements- efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control.(Ritzer, p.12) The first dimension of McDonaldization is efficiency. Efficiency means choosing the optimum means to a given end. Efficiency does have its advantages for both consumers, who get what they want quickly and with little effort, and for workers, who can perform their tasks...

Inflation and Government Economic Policies Essay

Inflation is described as the process by which prices are continuously rising or the value of money continuously decreases (Consumer Price Index Frequently Asked Questions, 2013). As the definition explains, this is not something that would be desirable for the government or its citizens. For example, Germany during the 1920’s experienced a period of hyperinflation. Germans literally had to carry wheel barrels of money to buy groceries. The price of a loaf of bread rose from around 200 Marks to over 200,000,000,000 Marks. Inflation is measured in several ways including Consumer Price Index, Producer Price Index, Employment Cost Index, Gross Domestic Product Deflator, and several other methods (Consumer Price Index Frequently Asked Questions, 2013). Inflation can be caused when the demand of goods and services cannot be met. Since demand cannot be fulfilled, manufacturers can increase the price of goods, thus causing inflation. Inflation can also be caused when there is too much money in circulation. Money can lose its value if everyone has too much of it. In order to try to control inflation, the government can regulate fiscal policies. Employees’ wages can play a big role in inflation. If everyone is making a lot of money, then prices can increase. Lower incomes actually help governments avoid inflation. Another method of regulating/manipulating inflation is by controlling aggregate demand, the number of goods and services requested at the given price point. Aggregate demand can be altered by either imposing taxes or decreasing and restricting government spending. According to BLS.gov, CPI, or Consumer Price Index, is the means by which we measure change in prices urban consumers pay for goods and services in the market basket. This measures what consumers pay on a daily basis for goods and services. Since 2000, CPI has been increasing. CPI can change due to shifts in population or buying habits of consumers. If the economy is up, people will most likely spend more money, and inversely if the economy is  down, consumers will spend less. New trends in technology or even fads can also change CPI. If consumers are influenced by media on alternatives to goods and services that buy and use, this too causes changes in CPI. CPI directly impacts the economy because it is used to determine the amount of government assisted people can be given such as Medicaid benefits and Social Security Benefits. The graph below shows the changes over time since January 2000 to January 2014 (Consumer Price Index – Chained Consumer Price Index, 2014). CPI from January 2000-January 2014 PPI, or Producer Price Index, measures the changed by which producers sell their products (Producer Price Indexes, n.d.). This measures inflation at the beginning stages, ground level, from the manufacturers’ standpoint. Since 2000, PPI like CPI has also increased. Both of these measurements go hand in hand, as the price the manufacturers’/producers charge for their goods and services increases, the amount consumers are paying for these said items also increases. The difference between the two however can include taxes imposed on both producers and/or consumers alike. PPI can be used to determine at what point prices need to escalate. The following graph shows changes in PPI since 2000 (Producer Price Index-Commodities, 2014). PPI from the Year 2000 to the Year 2014 Consumer Expenditure Survey, CE, is defined by BLS.gov as the â€Å"program consists of two surveys, the Quarterly Interview Survey and the Diary Survey, that provide information on the buying habits of American consumers, including data on their expenditures, income, and consumer unit (families and single consumers) characteristics. The survey data are collected for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau†. CE has also been increasing since 2000 to present day. CE is pivotal to government fiscal policies because it is the only measurements that shows us not only the amount of money consumers earn and spend, but also consumers spending habits  and trends that we observe. CE is used by policymakers to study the effects of their policies on economic groups and by the Census Bureau to determine Supplemental Poverty Measurements, Like CPI, new technology greatly impacts CE. In the 1980’s, spending on computers and hardware were not as prominent as they are now. According to BLS.gov, changes in internet services and cellphones were also not as prominent in the 1980’s (The Consumer Expenditure Survey—30 Years as a Continuous Survey, 2010). Increases in income and the amount of money consumers spend change CE. The graph below shows these changes (Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2014). Consumer Expenditure Survey 2000-2012 Throughout the last fourteen years, the different units of measurement use to determine inflation have all increased. As the standard and cost of living increases, and as minimum wage continues to increase, all of these units will also increase. This has helped to prevent inflation and hyperinflation. If the prices of goods increase while the income people are bringing in stays the same, this would lead to inflation. As income decreased in 2008-2009, the CPI, PPI, and CE also decreased. The more money we are circulating, the more producers’ will be able to increase the price of goods and services, and the more consumers are going to pay for them. This cycle will continue to grow exponentially. As I stated earlier, there are different methods and fiscal policies governments can implement to avoid inflation. Like Keynesian economics, some of which are based around limiting and controlling government spending. References Consumer Expenditure Survey. Retrieved August 20, 2014 from http://www.bls.gov/cex/ Consumer Expenditure Survey. Retrieved August 20, 2014 from http://data.bls.gov/pdq/SurveyOutputServlet The Consumer Expenditure Survey—30 Years as a Continuous Survey. Retrieved August 20, 2014 from http://www.bls.gov/cex/ceturnsthirty.htm Consumer Price Index – Chained Consumer Price Index. (August 19, 2014). Retrieved August 19, 2014 from http://data.bls.gov/pdq/SurveyOutputServlet Consumer Price Index Frequently Asked Questions. (August 15, 2013). Retrieved August 19, 2014, from http://www.bls.gov/cpi/cpifaq.htm#Question_1 Producer Price Index-Commodities. (August 19, 2014). Retrieved August 19, 2014 from http://data.bls.gov/pdq/SurveyOutputServlet Producer Price Indexes. Retrieved August 19, 2014 from http://www.bls.gov/ppi/

Relationship Between The Price Of A Bond And Interest Rates

An inverse relationship exists between the prices of bond, and interest rates. As interest rates go up, the bond prices come down. To understand the reason behind this relationship lets consider an example. For instance, if a bond has a par value of $1000 and is currently trading at $950, then the rate of return on the bond is around 5. 26%. Now suppose that the interest rate in the market is 10%. No investors will buy the bond as they are getting a higher return on interest rates. Hence, to make the bond more attractive the bond price is pushed down to match the same return offered by interest rates.On the other hand, if we suppose that the interest rates are at 3%, then everyone will buy the bond, and it will sell at a premium. The price of the bond will increase till it matches the rates provided by interest rates. (Shim & Siegel, 2008) What is the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) and its primary conclusion? Evaluate the concept of beta. The capital asset pricing model (CAPM) is model developed by William Sharpe that helps in analyzing the relationship between the rate of return and risk.The basic assumption of the model is that the expected rate of return on a stock is equal to the risk-free rate plus a risk premium. The risk premium of the stock depends upon the beta of the stock, which is a measure of the stock’s relative volatility in relation to the market. The model says that if the required rate of return doesn’t equal the expected return then the investment should not be taken. The primary conclusion of this model is that the relevant riskiness of a stock is its contribution to the riskiness of a well-diversified portfolio. (Shim & Siegel, 2008)What is behavioral finance? How does this alternative theory of risk and return add to our understanding of how markets work? Behavioral finance is a relatively new field in which theories from psychology are applied to classical financial principles to understand the performance of markets. It is based on the premise that the market participants don’t make their decisions rationally. Behavioral finance was developed to explain the irrationality in the market that contradicted the efficient market hypothesis. It is closely related to the field of behavioral economics.Two of the major concepts used in behavioral finance to understand market inefficiencies are heuristics and framing. Heuristics refer to the fact that investors may take investment decision based on their personal ideas or values, which may or may not make economic sense to an outsider. Framing refers to the fact that the way the presentation is made to the investor will influence his decision. It is how the idea is ‘framed’ to the investor that will decide what decision the investor will make. (Shim & Siegel, 2008) Research and define technical analysis and fundamental analysis.Provide examples of each type of analysis. Which style of analysis makes the most sense for the long-term invest or? There are two ways of analyzing a stock price, technical analysis and fundamental analysis. In technical analysis, the investor estimates the future price of the stock based on its past prices and market activity. On the other hand, in fundamental analysis, the investor tries to determine the intrinsic value of the stock by analyzing the qualitative and quantitative factors affecting it like industry conditions, company’s cash flow, etc.In the long run, fundamental analysis will make most sense as it places importance on quantitative factors, rather than relying on charts and past trends to predict future performance. To better understand the difference between the two analyses consider both types of analysts in a shopping mall. A fundamental analyst will go to each store, and study the product before deciding whether to buy or not. On the other hand, a technical analyst will base his decision on the activity of people going into each store. (Shim & Siegel, 2008) Relationship Between The Price Of A Bond And Interest Rates An inverse relationship exists between the prices of bond, and interest rates. As interest rates go up, the bond prices come down. To understand the reason behind this relationship lets consider an example. For instance, if a bond has a par value of $1000 and is currently trading at $950, then the rate of return on the bond is around 5. 26%. Now suppose that the interest rate in the market is 10%. No investors will buy the bond as they are getting a higher return on interest rates. Hence, to make the bond more attractive the bond price is pushed down to match the same return offered by interest rates.On the other hand, if we suppose that the interest rates are at 3%, then everyone will buy the bond, and it will sell at a premium. The price of the bond will increase till it matches the rates provided by interest rates. (Shim & Siegel, 2008) What is the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) and its primary conclusion? Evaluate the concept of beta. The capital asset pricing model (CAPM) is model developed by William Sharpe that helps in analyzing the relationship between the rate of return and risk.The basic assumption of the model is that the expected rate of return on a stock is equal to the risk-free rate plus a risk premium. The risk premium of the stock depends upon the beta of the stock, which is a measure of the stock’s relative volatility in relation to the market. The model says that if the required rate of return doesn’t equal the expected return then the investment should not be taken. The primary conclusion of this model is that the relevant riskiness of a stock is its contribution to the riskiness of a well-diversified portfolio. (Shim & Siegel, 2008)What is behavioral finance? How does this alternative theory of risk and return add to our understanding of how markets work? Behavioral finance is a relatively new field in which theories from psychology are applied to classical financial principles to understand the performance of markets. It is based on the premise that the market participants don’t make their decisions rationally. Behavioral finance was developed to explain the irrationality in the market that contradicted the efficient market hypothesis. It is closely related to the field of behavioral economics.Two of the major concepts used in behavioral finance to understand market inefficiencies are heuristics and framing. Heuristics refer to the fact that investors may take investment decision based on their personal ideas or values, which may or may not make economic sense to an outsider. Framing refers to the fact that the way the presentation is made to the investor will influence his decision. It is how the idea is ‘framed’ to the investor that will decide what decision the investor will make. (Shim & Siegel, 2008) Research and define technical analysis and fundamental analysis.Provide examples of each type of analysis. Which style of analysis makes the most sense for the long-term invest or? There are two ways of analyzing a stock price, technical analysis and fundamental analysis. In technical analysis, the investor estimates the future price of the stock based on its past prices and market activity. On the other hand, in fundamental analysis, the investor tries to determine the intrinsic value of the stock by analyzing the qualitative and quantitative factors affecting it like industry conditions, company’s cash flow, etc.In the long run, fundamental analysis will make most sense as it places importance on quantitative factors, rather than relying on charts and past trends to predict future performance. To better understand the difference between the two analyses consider both types of analysts in a shopping mall. A fundamental analyst will go to each store, and study the product before deciding whether to buy or not. On the other hand, a technical analyst will base his decision on the activity of people going into each store. (Shim & Siegel, 2008)

Mini Motor Homes Manufactured Essay

This case is about Mini Motor Homes Manufactured by Jim Ballenger in Kalamazoo, Michigan. According to the case, Jim Ballenger has a problem to make a decision to change his current inventory system to JIT system. From the current inventory system, Jim has spent a lot of cost on his inventory system. This is because mostly of the component used in manufactured are bought from other vendor and his company actually only manufactured very few of it component. Because of this, the transportation and inventory cost contribute to a relatively large portion of its component part of expenses. Jim Ballenger was very aware on the cost that may arise once the JIT system adopted. The cost that he may be aware to arise is the cost of management standpoint, the shipment of the component and the rate of the component purchased. Besides that, he also has inquiry about the component purchased will be arrived on time or not or the duration taken of delivering the component. This is because, if the component are not suitable to use, his team has to replace it and it will entail expensive rush order for the replacement component or the downtime for the entire plant. Jim Ballenger also concern about his relationship with his suppliers. He thought that his supplier may difficult become one part of his team. Since the supplier will expect to have special effort on their quality control or delivery flexibility on behalf of one of its almost miniscule discount. Jim Ballenger has been rent a public warehouse near his plant to keep his inventory that cost $500,000 to $1,000,000, which he paid more than 1. 5% per month from the borrowed funds to buy it. Since he starts to producing the different model, and using so many different appliances, the cost of the safety stock increased day by day. The JIT presume table has drawn with two considerations. Since the major component, chassis can be purchased at one time basis from the local supplier and out of stock situation is hardly happen, thus this component has excluded from using JIT system. The two considerations will be (1) Ballenger’s inventory carrying costs of are assumed to be 20% per year on the average investment in inventory on hand comprising acquisition and transportation costs, (2) those components that can obtain from closer sources, one week of the safety stock is sustain, if the component is further form the stock, two weeks to one month of safety stock should be available.

Cash flow statement and report Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cash flow statement and report - Case Study Example No figure of tax is mentioned in the profit and loss statement of the company so it is assumed that the net income is profit before tax and the tax paid is incorporated in the tax payable figure. From the net income non cash adjustments have been made such depreciation and loss recorded on sale of fixed asset. Since these items were charged to the profit and loss account, these are added back to the net income. In addition the net increase decrease is calculated in the current assets and liabilities. If the asset has decreased from the previous year it would be taken as cash inflow. This can be understood by considering accounts receivable for example. If the account receivable has decreased this means that the debtor has paid cash (the company would have made the entry Cash: Debit and Accounts receivable: credit) and thus it is taken as cash inflow. ... pany purchased property, plant and equipment amounting to $ 125,000 whereas it received cash from the disposal of some of its property, plant and equipment amounting to $110,000. All in all, the cash flow is showing a net decrease of $25,000 as compared to the previous year. (b) The board of directors of the company needs to decide whether the funding should be equity based or debt based. Both modes of financing i.e. equity and debt have their own advantages and disadvantages. There are several factors which need to be considered before taking such decisions. For example statutory rules and requirements, terms and conditions imposed by the counter party and general economic conditions are analyzed before selecting one of the options. One of the major drawbacks of raising finance equity through issuance of equity is the fact that a lot of secretarial procedure is involved in raising such finance in contrast to acquiring financing directly from any bank. Most of the time, financing fro m any bank or financial institution is acquired by just filing an application with the bank or financial institution. The banks usually have their own procedure of screening where they evaluate the credit history, financial outlook, liquidity and other aspects of the company. Most importantly, the bank’s analyze the fact and ability of the company pertaining to the ability of the company to repay the amount of loan in the future. When it comes to raising finances through issuance of equity shares, the company is liable to fulfill several requirements such as making sure that a certain number of shares are issued in accordance with the listing regulations of the stock exchange, submitting a due diligence report to the share holder and issuing share to the current shareholder in accordance