Qualitative Research and Respondents Essay

1.1. Introduction Leptospirosis is one of the deadliest bacterial infection that I commonly acquired in tropical countries. you can get the disease when you were exposed to soils and waters that is contaminated by leptospira bacteria. Rodents such as rats are the primary carriers of the leptospirosis bacteria. It is important to identify the signs of rodent infestation at home. If you regularly see rodent droppings around food packages, in drawers, cupboards, under the sink, then your house is infested. Whenever you see such droppings or boxes of food, or wirings that has rodent bites, you must take an action. Symptoms can take 2 – 26 days (average 10 days) to develop this may include: dry cough, fever, headache, muscle pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, shaking chills, less common symptoms include: abdominal pain, abnormal lung sounds, bone pain, conjunctivitis, enlarged lymph glands, enlarged spleen or liver, joint aches, muscle rigidity, muscle tenderness, skin rash and sore throat. (Dugdale III, 2010) Test to be done to find if you contract leptospirosis are the following: CBC (Complete blood count), creatine kinase, urinalysis. Medications are given to the patient but complicated cases however are life-threatening if not treated promptly. The fatality rate of the disease is 5-40. (Dugdale III, 2010) Here in the Philippines one of the most common cause of leptospirosis is flood water. Leptospirosis cases goes up in the rainy period. In Metro Manila, improper disposal of our wastes such as plastics, domestic wastes, and others blocks the water pass on the sink or to the drainage system. This causes floods even in just a small amount of rain. And garbage attracts rodents that carry a letpospira bacteria and it contaminates the flood water that leads to acquiring the leptospirosis. 1.2. Background of the study Flash floods are common throughout the Philippine archipelago during the monsoon seasons, which runs from the June to December. They are particularly common in Manila, the country’s sprawling capital and home of 14 million Filipino’s. The awareness of the people is very much important especially when flash floods or typhoons occur. Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease which could be contracted by humans when exposed to flood waters containing urine infected animals like rats, dog, and pigs. The leptospirosis cases was caused by the widespread flooding caused by the typhoons that affected the Luzon areas. In Quezon City one barangay, barangay Gulod, has encountered many cases of leptospirosis. Barangay Gulod is located near the Tullahan River and Kaybuktot Creek. The barangay itself is along the Quirino Highway. The barangay is big but because of poor urban development program the drainage system is still a problem during the rainy seasons they have the most number of incidents of leptospirosis cases in the past 3 years. In 2009 the disease, according to the record of Department of Health (DOH) has afflicted more people in Metro Manila, attributing the â€Å"Outbreak† to large numbers of people wading in flood waters carrying the bacteria. The DOH had recorded 1,027 leptospirosis patients, wherein 89 died. There were 122 cases in Quezon City alone with 14 cases in Barangay Gulod. (Quezon City Health Department [QCHD], 2011) In 2010, leptospirosis was noted as the fourth on the list of the top disease outbreaks in the Philippines. The DOH has recorded over 400 leptospirosis cases in the first half of the year (Department of Health [DOH], 2010), which includes 26 deaths with 1 case in Barangay Gulod. (QCHD, 2010) Recently, the Department of Health released an announcement that casualties from leptospirosis has increased 247% in 10 months (January-October) in Metro Manila with number of 131 cases of Leptospirosis in Quezon City with 5 cases in barangay Gulod. It usually takes two weeks after the infection to manifest flu-like symptoms. If not diagnosed early enough, it can lead to more severe symptom and may cause death. Mild infections can be treated by antibiotics like doxycyline, but for severe infections generally, they require Intravenous Penicillin which is still dangerous because the patient might encounter the Jarisch-Hexheimer reaction. This disease needs prompt medication upon its contraction. (Uy, 2011) 1.3. Theoretical Framework Systems design approach is interconnected, interdependent and interacting problems that seeks to create an action to take the entity as a whole. It implies that we take the responsibility of the whole thing to be able to create future better by understanding the nature and saving the environment by fulfilling its requirement on saving it. (Laszlo & Krippner, 1998). Living in this planet, there are things we need to maintain. The Systems Design is said that it is interconnected and interacting problems. Meaning every problem we do, creates another one and relates to another, everything is a chain from small to the biggest. Just like what is happening here in the Philippines right now the people who throws their trash everywhere creates a bigger problem. Systems Design is participatory by nature (Bethany, 1996), meaning everyone from the society can make a change on how the problem will be solved by making small steps on providing a remedy on their problems. They can engage themselves by becoming an active participant on change and they can be more resourceful. Bela Bethany (1996), a Systems Theorist characterized the systems design focusing the humanities to be, experience oriented, rational, neutral, and it has concerns on future generations . (Banathy, 1996, pp. 34-35.) Here in the Philippines we believe that systems design by being participatory makes people move on their own on the time of calamities. Disasters are made by simple forms of action. Nowadays when it rained a little it floods the city and that would make people alarmed and take actions. And by that they will learn from their mistakes and try to solve their problem as a â€Å"system† and functioning as one. Because being in a societal systems human beings actively apply their skills to the analysis of the design of socially and ecologically sustainable systems by becoming active participants of their community on shaping their future. (Laszlo & Krippner, 1998) 1.4. Conceptual Framework This part of the paper will serve as a guide to study systems approach of the input-process-output devised by Stoner, Freeman and Gilbert Jr. (1995). The system has flows of information, materials and energy, including human energy that enter as an inputs then transform the processes on the system and exit as an output. A feedback is considered as a key to systems controls . Leptospirosis prevention on barangays are being followed in the subject matter. The following protocols followed by the local government is preventing leptospirosis: â€Å"Policy-Making† it refers to the concept of operation and the tasks for execution of the organization’s programs by the respective staffs and officers, ths directs the functions and responsibilities of the personnel to strict guidance and compliance. (Leveriza, 1983) â€Å"Access† it is the portal of each citizen to the city government on the services of the city government. On every projects and information about the services they need. This would let them have the power to know and accumulate certain information. (Dr. Cruz, Personal Communication, 2011) â€Å"Social Participation† is the extent of the participation of the people in both formal or informal group activities. (Leveriza, 1983) These inputs undergo the process of assessment to determine whether the existing policy and procedures being implemented by each of the subject government institutions are sufficient to protect the network resources from any unlawful acts, as well as identify problems in relation the said review of the prevention of leptospirosis cases on the barangays. (Stoner et al., 1995) The dynamic process in the framework shall contribute, as output, to a significant improvement of the review of leptospirosis cases, including the measures that should be adopted by each respondent government agency. Given the foregoing system’s model, the research paradigm of the study id presented in Figure below for a clearer understanding and appreciation.   Selected Government Institutions.City Health Government-Policy procedures-Access-Society Awareness| | Analysis of-Leptospirosis cases in Barangay Gulod, Quezon City. | | A significant review of Leptospirosis prevention on the barangays.| FEEDBACK Research paradigm As shown in paradigm, the input variables include the profile of the network of subject government institution. It is the city health department of the Quezon city is the department of the city from which the programs and developments are made while encountering this leptospirosis cases. 1.5. Scope and Limitations This study would focus more of Leptospirosis cases in Barangay Gulod, Quezon City from the year 2009 – 2011 who had recorded the most of the cases of the said disease for the past 3 years. This would include the citizens of the barangay in all age groups. We would also investigate the programs (if any) implemented to prevent the Leptospirosis cases in the Barangay before, during and after the floods, and the projects aimed at eliminating the floods and rats that caused the disease. 1.6. Statement of the Problem This study would like to the answer the following problems about the strategies of the City Government towards the leptospirosis cases encountered in Barangay Gulod Q.C.: 1. What are the efforts made by the City Government before, during and after the typhoon? 2. Are the efforts effective enough? 3. What are the programs and projects implemented on the said Barangay? Does the programs and projects help the citizens of the Barangay? 4. What are the steps of the City Government to empower its people on the time of floods and rains? This study would like to help the barangays and the Quezon City on preventing the leptospirosis cases during the time of typhoons and floods. 1.7. Importance of the Study This study is important to the following: Quezon City Government – to help them on implementing: rules, programs and projects to prevent Leptospirosis on the barangays that is said to have a large scale of Leptospirosis cases. This hopefully would help them on the ideas of the other barangays and cities to prevent and hopefully stop the spread of the disease. Barangay officials – to give them knowledge on the status of the leptospirosis on their barangay. Barangay Citizens – to help them and their families on contracting the disease. 1.8. Definition of Terms 1. Afflicted – being troubled with pains. 2. Ceftriaxone Injection- injection used to treat certain infections caused by gonorrhea (a sexually transmitted disease) and infections of lungs, ears, skin, urinary tract, blood, bones joints and abdomen. It is also given to some types of surgery to prevent the development of another disease after the operation. 3. Chemoprohylaxis – use of a chemical agent to prevent a development of disease. 4. Creatine Kinase – The mitochondrial creatine kinase (CKm) is present in the mitochondrial intermembrane space, where it produces phosphocreatine (PCr) from mitochondrially-generated ATP and creatine (Cr) imported from the cytosol. 5. Disease – disturbed or abnormal structure or physiological action in the living organism as awhole or in any of its parts. 6. Dopamine – an important neurotransmitter in the brain. 7. Doxycyline – this is used to treat a wide variety of bacterial infections or to treat the trave ler’s diarrhea. It acts by inhibiting the growth of bacteria 8. Fatality – a state of how bad the disease is 9. Flashflood – an event caused by heavy rain   10. Furosemide- this is used to treat high blood pressure. Furosemide reduces fluid accumulation by increasing the elimination of sodium and water through the kidneys. 11. IgM ELISA – is a fast test for a qualitative detection of IgM anti Bodies. 12. IgM leptospira Dipstickâ„ ¢ – is a fast test for a qualitative detection of IgM anti Bodies against Leptospirosis. It is used to determine the leptospirosis cases in Yucatan, Mexico. 13. Input – something put into a system or device as energy into a machine, food into the body, data into a computer, etc. 14. Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction – reaction caused by organisms (bacteria) dying off and releasing toxins into the body faster than the body may comfortably handle it. 15. Meningitis – an inflammation of the meninge, the membranes that covers the brain and spinal cord. 16. Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT) – a test to determine if you are infected by leptospirosis. 17. Outbreak – a sudden and violent breaking forth; said of passion or of disease affecting large numbers of people. 18. Output – the quantity put out or produced in a specified time 19. Sanitation – making something sterile or clean. 20. Seropositivity – showing positive reaction to a serological or test on blood serum for a disease. 21. Serovars Manilae – sample Vaccines used for Leptospirosis 22. Spirochetes – any of a genus of typically saprophytic bacteria commonly found in water and sewage and characterized by spiral flexible filaments with apparently rotary movements. 23. Thrombocytopenic – relative decrease of platelets in blood. 24. Urinalysis – also known as Routine and Microscopy (R&M), is an array of tests performed on urine, and one of the most common methods of medical diagnosis. 25. Vasodilatation – dilation of blood vessel, as by the action of a nerve drug. 26. Vax-SPIRAL ® – Trivalent AntiLeptospirosis Vaccine for Human use. 27. Zoonotic – a developed individual of a compound animal or of a simple egg CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURES AND STUDIES This portion of the research gives some additional information that have been made both local and foreign researchers which are in one way of the other related in the research under taken in this study. 2.1. FOREIGN LITERATURES According to www.Leptospirosis.org (2010) a reference archive on the internet for Leptospirosis information, the Leptospirosis bacteria can’t live on saltwater. We cannot get Leptospirosis by taking a bath on a beach. Contaminated fresh waters and flood waters are usually the bacteria carrier. They also said that you can get Leptospirosis by swallowing, swimming with open wounds on contaminated water. It is never air borne. It also said that the bacteria can’t survived by acid, heat, disinfectants, and alkali’s. Thus cooked foods are safe. Everything in your house should be clean most especially if your house is infested by rodents. Doxycycline offers some protection against severe illness and is the best and normal medication to be given in these situations, but it cannot guarantee protection and a mild illness may still occur. Therefore, protection is all we need. We should be aware that the disease is existing and might cause death. According to an Indian heath portal www.aarogya.com gave some guidelines on how to prevent the Leptospirosis infection. The first step is sanitation, of course cleanliness is the first step. Then protect your self with gloves, masks, boots, when going to a water area that might be contaminated by the Leptospirosis. (S. Pallavi, 2008) You should also keep your open wounds from the contaminated water, and also wash your hands after touching an animal. Do not touch rats. Prevention is better than cure. Therefore, we should educate people from the disease, do not let them swim on a possible contaminated fresh water. Get rid of rats and throw your waste properly. Waste management repels rats. The Medicenet.com states some implications or symptoms of the Leptospirosis, he said that at the first phase the patient would experience some flu like symptoms like fever, headaches, muscle pains, cough and colds. Then the redness of the eye would develop on the ninth day. Then it will develop some aching with stiffness of the nerves then some inflammations. This disease is somewhat connected to liver and kidney disease. That would take the disease to another implications. (Cunha, 2009) That is why whenever you experience the first types of symptoms then you should do something about it right away before it’s too late. Vaccines are developed already which are given to some explorers but it is not that advisable for some research are not yet done about the vaccine. According to www.nlm.nih.gov there the procedures to cure Leptospirosis, this would include the intakes of medicine, such as Ampicillin, Ceftriaxone, Doxycyclne, and Penicillin. He said that complicated cases need to be taken care in ICU (intensive care unit). Leptospirosis is curable, but serious and complicated cases maybe life-threatening. There are also other complications that the patient can get in Leptospirosis. There is the Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction is a reaction of the body when the is an intake of Penicillin, there is also Meningitis, and severe bleeding. Therefore, although the Leptospirosis is life threatening there are still hopes that is coming out, there is a vaccine developed in Europe and in Asia that might not stop but at least freeze the Leptospirosis spread. Still prevention is better than the cure. We must manage our surroundings to stop the infestation of the rodents on on our households. And we should learn to clean our environment to stop the flooding. (Dugd ale III, 2010) 2.2. LOCAL LITERATURES Sison, (2009) said that â€Å"the Philippines is facing a serious problem of Leptospirosis. Poor sanitation and the increase of the urban slums along with frequent typhoons and expansion of flooding areas in the country have exacerbated the risk of infection. Leptospires are said the cause of the Weil’s disease in Japan, where it was common in coal miners. Leptospirosis can affect many species of of wild and domestic animals, including marine mammals. Prompt scientific treatment is essential, and aggressive support care with strict attention to fluid and electrolyte is a must. Some severely ill patients may require dialysis.† So with a clean surroundings, and a better prevention of the disease is a Leptospirosis free community even those people in the slum area, if know how to clean and sanitize their belongings they can’t get leptospirosis. So whenever there are contaminations in the place they should be alert. Cause prevention is better than cure. (Sison, 2009) (Medenilla et al., 2009) Leptospirosis is a disease caused by a bacterial infection when humans get contact in flood waters contaminated by animal urines from dogs, cats, pigs and specially rats. It takes 5 days t o 2 weeks before you can see the symptoms. During that time the leptospirosis cases hits a large amount of cases in Luzon with 1,027 cases with 89 fatalities. Sec. Duque said that the widespread cases were caused by the two tropical storms that hit the country. The Government warned the public to avoid flood water to prevent getting infected by the bacteria. The government that time prepared P 4-million pesos for the leptospirosis victims. Phrophylaxis, a drug which cures leptospirosis. This medicine is given immediately to those admitted cases of Leptospirosis. However, Prophylaxis is not suitable for children and pregnant women. The PCP (Philippine College of Physicians) and PMA (Philippine Medical Center) released a guidelines on an antibiotic â€Å"Prophylaxis† to people in leptospirosis-affected communities. They said that Prophylaxis is not recommended to those individuals unless they confirmed that they have visited a leptospirosis contaminated area. Ii is said that to prevent this disease, sanitation and protection is the best. Flood water is one of the risk factors that would infect you a leptospirosis. By just wearing boots, goggles, overalls, gloves and others. 2 capsules of Doxycycline is given once weekly for those who were exposed and should be continued through out the end of the exposure period. Then, the use of Prophylaxis is not 100% effective. It is said that it would depend on the quality of the drug and the timing of the intake. (Manongdo, 2009) If the rat’s urine was mixed in the flood waters, what comes next is the Leptospirosis. There lots of rats in metro manila, Rats are the largest group of mammal in the world. Their population is even greater than humans. The dirtier the place the more they would get in to your households. (Editorial: Pilipino Star Ngayon; 2009) For the past epidemiological research the Leptospirosis cases in the Metro manila especially in the Quezon City, were reported to have a high case of Leptospirosis. One of the reasons of this disease is the improper waste management. Many of Filipinos are not disciplined enough to throw their waste properly, some were just throwing their garbage on the river. And some doesn’t separate the biodegradable and the non biodegradable. So by keeping the discipline everywhere and not just throwing waste every where we can at least refrain the floods that brings the Leptospirosis.

Junk Food and Fast Food in the UAE Essay

In the last 3 or 4 years, many schools in the UAE started selling junk food and fast food to the students. Junk food and fast food is known for causing obesity among people all around the world. As Dubai Health Authority (DHA) public relation agency we will try to raise awareness about the harmful effects of junk food and fast food on people especially the students who still in schools, and why junk food and fast food should should be banned in schools across the UAE. Dubai Health Authority (DHA), was created in June 2007. The DHA aims to provide a valuable, accessible, and integrated health care system to protect the public health. Its mission is to guarantee access to health services, advance and continue the quality of these services, improve the health status of nationals, visitors and residents, professional health sector. According to an article entitled â€Å"A weighty concern: obesity and fast food in Dubai.† The city fast changing lifestyle have accompanied it with the opening of many new restaurants, and especially the fast food restaurants, because the people are choosing to have a nice and delicious meal in a minute and with cheap price, this habit had transformed to their children. And then this also had made some schools in UAE start selling them ignoring the harmful effects of them on the students. (Faust 2012) Furthermore, the first step that will be taken is that we will start planning our organization goals and objectives. Second, we will identify our target audiences and their demographics and know more about their backgrounds. Third, we will start researching about the problem and try to find solutions for it. Fourth, we will start planning the tools and the tactics that we will be using; for example: how many news releases we will be using through the year, the media outreach tactic: trying to promote our organization in many types of media. Fifth, we will start making a case study about the problem; we will use the web, newspapers, books, magazines etc.., and try to know more about the problem. In addition, we will be doing blogs and join social networks to promote our PR organization more. Furthermore, we will start our communication plan with : 1- Explaining the organization to the public by: handling press releases all around the UAE to get the people know about our organization. Additionally we will distribute brochures in the schools and to make our organization more known. Additionally, we will join the social networking sites to communicate with the public widely. Also, we will create a website that contains all the information that we want the people to know about our organization and how does it work. 2- We will identify our target audience: who do we want to send the message to. Our target audiences the Ministry of Education, and the schools around the UAE that sell junk food and fast food. 3- The methods for sending the messages: we will try to have media contacts all around the UAE for example: we will spread our message through the television programs, and also through advertising our message in newspapers, magazines, etc.†¦ . Moreover, we will measure the success of our communication plan by: 1- Count down how many press releases, news releases, articles in magazines, online articles are produced in a given time. 2- Measurements of how much did our message succeeded, did the public respond positively to the organization’s message. 3- Conducting regular surveys to measure the effectiveness of our organization. 4- Monitoring how many people are cooperating with the organization. We will see how many people are communicating with the organization through the social media for example: twitter, Facebook. Post information online about our organization and monitor how many people are visiting our website or blog. And allow the public to make comments about our organization. According to an article entitled â€Å"Crisis Communication Plan: A PR Blue Print.†, There are some steps can be taken if the communication plan fails: 1- Establish a communication crisis team: this team is important to identify what actions should be taken. The job of the team primary is to identify the plan actions and find a spokesperson. 2- Try to know more about what caused the communication plan to fail. List some examples that may contribute to the failing of the communication plan, and try to fix them. Ignoring the situation will only make things worse. 3- One spokesperson will represent the organization, we will try to make official statements and allowing the ask media to ask questions about the situation if possible. (Freeo, 2012) Moreover, this assignment made me learn more about how to make an effective public relation message. Additionally, after writing this report, I feel that makes me an expert in handling public relation plan and how to handle the plan if it fails. Also, it gave me more information about handling any public relation organization messages in general.

Finance 3301 questions Essay

Tom has a DSO of 20 days. The company’s average daily sales are $20,000. What is the level of its accounts receivable? (365 days in a year) DSO=Receivables/(Annual sales/365)=20 days So, Receivables/($20,000/365days)=20 days Receivables/54. 79=20, Receivables=$1095. 89 A company has a profit margin of 10% and an equity multi-plier of 2. 0. Its sales are $100 million and it has total assets of $50 million. What is its ROE? () Answer: B A, 10% B, 40% C, 20% D, 25% The Total assets turnover = Sales/TA=$100/$50=2 ROE= (profit margin)(equity multi-plier)(Total assets turnover)=10%*2*2=40% Chapter 9 When the firm’s sales growth rate going higher, and its payout ratio will () Answer: C A, Same B, Lower C, Higher Broussard Skateboard’s sales are expected to increase by 15% from $8 million in 2012 to $9. 2 million in 2013. Its assets totaled $5 million at the end of 2012. Broussard is already at full capacity, so its assets must grow at the same rate as projected sales. At the end of 2012, current liabilities were $1. 4 million, consisting of $450,000 of accounts payable, $500,000 of notes payable, and $450,000 of accruals. The after-tax profit margin is forecasted to be 6%, and the forecasted payout ratio is 40%. Use the AFN equation to forecast Brous- sard’s additional funds needed for the coming year. Required increase in assets – Increase in spontaneous liabilities – Increase in retained earnings = AFN AFN=($5/$8)*$1. 2 – ($1. 4/$8)*$1. 2-$9. 2*6%*(1-40%)=0. 75 – 0. 21 – 0. 33=21% Chapter 10 Tony Company’s balance sheet shows $300 million in debt, $50 million in preferred stock, and $250 million in total common equity. Tony Company`s tax rate is 40%, rd =6%,rPS =5%,andrs =10%. If Tony Company get capital structure of 30% debt, 5% preferred stock, and 65% common stock, what is its WACC? Wd=30% ; Wps=5%; Ws=65% WACC=Wd*rd*(1-T)+Wps*rps+ws*rs=30%*6%(1-40%)+5%*5%+65%*10%=0. 0108+0. 000125+0. 065=7. 59% What kinds of the T-bonds is the best proxy for the risk-free rate is the yield on? Answer: A A, long-term B, short-term C, No one Chapter 11 A company creates value when the spread between EROIC and WACC is positive—that is, when Answer: B A, EROIC ? WACC = 0 B, EROIC ? WACC > 0; C, EROIC ? WACC

Accounting Basics for Managers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Accounting Basics for Managers - Essay Example In the financial year 2012, Home Depot shows impressive growth both financially and operationally. In the financial year 2011, Home Depot revenue increased by 3.53% to a striking $ 70,395 million which has resulted in the operating profit increased by 14.08%. Following its operational growth strategy, Home Depot has introduced diversity in its business. The company is showing interest in covering all the horizons of the globe by opening more and more stores in various areas of the globe as it planning to serve a diverse range of customers. Gross profit margin is one of the key profitability ratio indicators which indicate how well a company is in the process of utilizing its working capital in earning the desired level of profit. In order to calculate the gross profit margin ratio, the gross profit (i.e., sales less the cost of sales) is divided by the revenue of the company. As apparent, the gross profit of the company has increased slightly from the previous financial year which co uld be due to the fact that the cost of sales of the company increased with a bigger percentage as compared to the percentage of the revenue of the company. This could be due to increased raw materials prices from the supplier which the company could not recover from the customers through increased selling price. The next profitability indicator is the net profit margin. The net profit margin is calculated by dividing the net profit (i.e., gross profit less administrative and selling expenditure) with the total revenue.

Case study A Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Case study A - Essay Example He works an average of ten hours per day Monday through Friday and an half day on Saturday. This gives him very little time for other activities, which means if he falls sick, then the business will just go down with him. 2.The major reason Judd wants to call it a day in his business is that he thinks he is knocking himself out for very little money ,whereas he is putting in a lot more hours, has a great deal of responsibility and even faces the risk of financial loss and perhaps even bankruptcy. He compares himself with his cousin who works as a packer at a local manufacturing company; he realizes that he is making far less money than his cousin. 3. The advice I would offer Juddi is that he should seriously consider getting a partner for his business. This is because with the partner’s help, he will be able to inject in the much needed capital to boost the business and also it will enable Judd to concentrate more on the repair work which will help them make more money. With a partner it means Judd will also benefit from some free hours and this will enable him to rest and be able to think on ways for improving this

Contemporary corporate governance issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Contemporary corporate governance issues - Essay Example This paper evaluates whether businesses exist solely for the benefit of its owners (shareholders or not). It goes further to look at the agency theory and other related matters as well as the challenges related to it and the need for alternative views and systems in businesses in the present era. Some decades ago, businesses were basically set up to generate wealth for the owners. This was a capitalist model that ensured that investors got the highest possible returns from their investments. Other concerns were kept to the barest minimum. Parkinson (1994) rightly judged by the events around him, that the â€Å"process of supervision and control [management] intended to ensure that the company’s management acts in accordance with the interest of its shareholders [owners]† Twenty years ago, this was a very acceptable standpoint that most people in society would seldom argue against. Wood & Welker (2011) identify a group of shareholders who arose in the 1970s with the view of ‘disciplining’ directors and restoring control of the true ownership of the organization to its owners. This group of people is described by Johnson, Scholes & Whittingon (2008) as pristine capitalists. With this background, there were two major questions: What should a firm do for its connected parties like its workers and suppliers. Are they just a means (in the absence of machinery) for the creation of wealth for these pristine capitalists? Secondly, if all directors were controlled solely by shareholders, what happens to their freewill and what can they do about the needs of other legitimate people connected to the organization in question. So with this, there were a lot of debates and scandals that forced the business community to take the agency theory a step further and incorporate other important and legitimate needs that organizations needed to honor to the larger society and to its connected parties. Need for The Agency Theory The popular Salomon V Salomon case laid the precedence for the separation of ownership and businesses. This has given right to the formation of limited liability companies around the globe that are distinct from their owners. However, to ensure that an entity acts and operates effectively and efficiently, there is the need for organization to employ directors and managers who will manage the supervisory and routine activities of a business respectively. This has led to the need for shareholders and owners to stand aside and transfer the running of their organizations to competent people who can run the organization. These people, often known as directors or managers act as agents of the owners and they need to seek the best for the organization. In doing this, the owners of organizations have to follow the agency theory which ensures: 1. Identification of legal provisions of the contract between the owning companies and joint ventures in line with the rules of the agency theory (which will be discussed later). 2. Accountability to owners (Hutzschenreuther, 2009). Thus national laws as well as articles of associations for the incorporation of the business guards the conduct of managers and directors. This is because these directors, known in Latin as fiduca (which means ‘trust’) and carries connotations of trust, good faith and honesty (Rahaim, 2005). This means that directors and managers need to avoid â€Å"self dealing† or â€Å"conflict of interest†. The idea of self-dealing refers to a situation where directors use their influence or knowledge in an organization to further their needs.

Communication and Language - Mother Tongue Essay

Communication and Language - Mother Tongue - Essay Example Here in the United States when someone does not speak English well or speaks a broken version of the language many tend to think less, enforce stereotypes, and not take them as seriously. The two essays â€Å"Mother Tongue, by Amy Tan, and â€Å"Talk about Editing,† by David Shipley do not have very much in common. They are both relevant and important but approach communication from two completely different sides. Tan’s work is a serious discussion about the way people perceived her as a young Asian American and how her mother is treated for her broken English. She gives multiple examples at how differently her mother’s business would be handled when she pretended to be her mother on the telephone as opposed to how they, generally, treated her mother. She mentions being discouraged by teachers not to pursue writing; it was suggested she enter the math or sciences. She understood that this was a stereotype in action; people of Asian descent are naturally good at math and science, but seldom good at English or writing. (Tan 270-?) However, of course she became a writer despite their views. However, one can appreciate the hardship that her mother went through. Also, she touches on the important subject of how people speak differently within different environments. There is some truth to this. There are actually a number of English dialects, slang, and regional terms being used that mean little outside of that region. That said, the language used and words chosen differ when we talk to friends, teachers, parents, and employers. These language issues should not be allowed to ever overshadow the value of a person or of the information they hope to share. The Amy Tan essay speaks to the perception a woman watching her mother struggle with this issue and the ways that the outside world reacts to it. Her desire to defy the stereotypes that were presented and continue to pursue her goal is inspiring. In her situation she is asking for the poor words her mother uses, as with all immigrants working to learn a new and difficult language, do not mean more the intention, wisdom, or meaning behind each of them, perfectly spoken or not The second essay, â€Å"Talking about Editing† is a much more structured essay explaining the point, purpose, and function of an editor. Apparently people have an impression that editors make harsh and often uncomplimentary choices in a writer’s work and have overall say in the perception or vision of the actual work (Shipley 303-?). In fact, the author of any work has the final say in the final work that they will put their name one. According to experts good editors, should always be able to pick up on the grammatical errors, typos, and spelling mistakes, but never to make an overall judgment of the artistic or scholarly work. Their responses to the writer’s work should always be suggestions and never demands (Rafter). However as we move into the ever-changing and technological f utures the value of writing and reading may be slipping away. In discussing these two essays there is an interesting irony present. If Amy Tan did not speak or write in fine and proper English, would a publisher consider her work, would an editor even bother? If it is the errors in the writing that makes the writing unique then correcting it would eliminate that quality. Editors are trained and bound to make certain that all of the rules of the English language are followed, punctuation, and grammar, as well.     Ã‚  

Interactive Group Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Interactive Group Discussion - Essay Example In line with this, each member was expected to study the PRINCE 2 structure closely. The work was to be chosen by each individual in the group this paved way for the development of, R&D.Members were expected to carry out documentation.The incorporation of individual aspect was to come out at this stage. The individual perspective was to be read out at the next meeting. In the following meetings project approach was identified. Technological Road Map (TRM) was identified. This however presented a new challenge to us. To begin with, two project members had to be explained to what TRM entail as they found it very complex.The identification of objectives brought forward an issue especially on the last. The objective mentioned that The TRM method and other optional methods. This was an issue as the objective was overloaded and vague. Members deliberated and we modified it to only one method. The decision on communication on completion of the work was decided. The group zeroed on email as the best method. Communication was an important aspect of any group interaction. The members were to keep in touch through the use of emails and also physical meetings. To begin with, the method was good as it was fast and time-saving. Considers that internet-based surveys may save time for researchers as access can be gained to a large number of individuals within a short time. In so doing it meant that communication could take place any time of the day as all one needed was a computer and internet connection.... to be chosen by each individual in the group this paved way for the development of ,R&D.Members were expected to carry out documentation .The incorporation of individual aspect was to come out at this stage. The individual perspective was to be read out at the next meeting. In the following meetings project approach was identified. Technological Road Map (TRM) was identified. This however presented a new challenge to us. To begin with two project members had to be explained to what TRM entail as they found it very complex .The identification of objectives brought forward an issue especially on the last. The objective mentioned that The TRM method and other optional methods. This was an issue as the objective was overloaded and vague. Members deliberated and we modified it to only one method. Decision on communication on completion of the work was decided. The group zeroed on email as the best method. Communication was an important aspect in any group interaction. The members were to keep in touch through the use of emails and also physical meetings. The prior, use of emails had pros and cons. To begin with the method was good as it was fast and time saving. Consinders that internet based surveys may save time for researchers as access can be gained to large number of individuals within a short time. ( Wright, 2005 p 8) . In so doing it meant that communication could take place any time of the day as all one needed was a computer and internet connection. Another advantage was that the communication could take place simultaneously between several individuals. (Mann, 2002 p 2) notices , ‘The internet enables to an interchange of messages between two or more users logged at different computer terminals’. However, the methods had certain disadvantages. One could not

Global Issues. Land Reclamation. What are the alternatives to Research Paper

Global Issues. Land Reclamation. What are the alternatives to expanding a nation's economy rather than land reclamation - Research Paper Example But the moves to gain help from the government to reclaim the schemes began after the enactment of the 1894 Carey Land Act (Land Reclamation, 858). The act focused on conserving the natural resources. Additionally, it was advocated for lands that were ruined by grazing injudicious farming, deforestation, and lands with insufficient rainfall. Land reclamation is a global issue this is because thousands of species have been rendered instinct due to land reclamation and it takes the world to stop the issue as soon as possible (Spedding, 465). The menace has affected more countries in the world United States of America, Russia, Bahrain, Germany, and also Lebanon. We need to act now because the issue of land reclamation has become a global concern. This is because land is adversely affected by human activities   (Misiolek and Noser, 67). Therefore, the practice of converting this land that is deemed unproductive need to be implemented. Such mechanisms and methods include flood control, irrigation, changing the mineral and organic content of the soil. All the above methods have so far been used but the main effort behind the practice is through land irrigation (Taylor,31). The federal government need to plan and develop irrigation projects using the revenues from selling the public lands and the users of waters need to liquidate the purchase and cost that comes along with irrigation work over time frame of 10 year (Wallace,107). Consequently, under the 2012 reclamation Act, the Bureau of Reclamation need to supply water, subsidized by citizens to farmers on arid areas in all the stated (Wheeler,37). Bahrain continues to expand as a result of land reclamation. However, the issue brought critics from all corners of social, political, and economic perspective (Misiolek and Noser, 67). It is claimed that the reclamation crushed the channels of sweet water found below the sea bed, closing the supplies of fresh water feeding the palm gloves and the fertile land

The Black Death and its aftermath Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Black Death and its aftermath - Essay Example The religious view argued that the "Black Death" was created by the Jews so that they could eliminate all the Christians from this world. They believed that the Jews had poisoned all the wells and springs. Therefore, they persecuted the Jews demanding them to confess their evil schemes. Many of the Jews confessed that they obtained this lethal poison from a foreign land but it was done without the knowledge of the Jewish community. Many communities had to pray hard for rain so that their people could have pure water to drink and cook. Some of the regions that were severely affected by this disease believed that God would want the Jews to be punished for this act. So they began to burn the Jews for poisoning all the wells and springs. As a result of the torture, many Jews were adopted to the Christian faith through baptism in order to avoid undeserved punishment 2 (Horrox, 1994). The religious view also argued that the plague was a punishment from God. They believed that the human race deserved to be punished because of their disobedience to God. People lived lifestyles that were sinful, unrighteous and not pleasing to him. Because of this, God had to demonstrate his sovereign power by allowing humanity to suffer. People could be cured from this disease but in order to be healed they had to humble themselves and totally submit to His authority. In comparison, the practitioners from Egyptian and Mesopotamian nations had 'medicine' to make peace with the gods. They believed that performing certain rituals and incantations before the sick person would cause him to be delivered from the demon spirit, for they all believed that diseases were caused by demons 3 (Horrox, 1994; & Longrigg, 1998). The medical theory presented two main explanations on the plague. Firstly, they believed that the cause of 'Black Death' was associated with "miasma" which means "bad air". They said that when a person inhales 'bad air' it goes directly into their lungs before it gets transmitted into their blood stream. Therefore, it starts to affect the patient's body by generating various symptoms such as headaches, coughing up blood, and a rain increase in the pulse rate. 2 The disease also would spread quickly into the air when the afflicted patient exhaled. This medical theory supported the fact that the air was not the main cause of the plague; instead, the plague was a direct result of the pollution or bacteria in the air that which was the cause for the disease. So when a normal individual contracted the disease through an afflicted person, they were both required to immediately leave the town before they passed it on to more people4 (Horrox, 1994). The medical theory also claimed that the plague was caused by an imbalance in the individuals' diet. For instance, individuals with inadequate nourishment were more vulnerable to the plague than people with malnutrition. People who consume an adequate amount of water were less susceptible to the disease. This indicated that the socioeconomic status was a significant factor in determining the rate at which the disease spread. Therefore, people from low class families were mainly blamed for the elevation of 'Black Death'. The medical view

Accounting Essay Example for Free

Accounting Essay Accounting is often referred to as the language of business, and rightly so, since it is the means by which information about an entity is communicated (Meigs, 2000). Contrary to popular belief, accounting is more than just doing taxes, or keeping books. Doing taxes is just one of the many tasks an accountant performs. Bookkeeping, the recording of transactions and day to day activities, is just the clerical aspect of accounting. Accounting is more concerned with the interpretation and use of the accounting information. As the new accountant of Claire’s Antiques, the fields of exposure would be in financial and managerial accounting. Financial accounting is a field of accounting which provides information about the financial resources, obligations, and activities of an enterprise that is intended for use primarily by external decision makers (Meigs, 2000). Such external users are those who have a financial interest in the entity, but are not involved in its day-to-day operations. These external users include the following: investors, creditors, labor unions, governmental agencies, suppliers, customers, trade associations and the general public (Meigs, 2000). See more:Â  Perseverance essay Financial accounting provides information about the company’s liquidity and solvency, which is of particular importance to creditors and suppliers as they need to know the entity’s capability to pay off its obligations. Investors would find financial information regarding the company’s viability useful, since they need to know whether it would be a wise investment. Since providing information to fit the different needs of the various stakeholders is difficult, financial reporting of such information is usually geared towards the needs of creditors and investors, the two primary groups. Another field of accounting is managerial accounting, which involves the development and interpretation of accounting information intended specifically to aid management in running the business (Meigs, 2000). Information produced helps managers in carrying out their responsibilities, which include planning, directing and motivating, and controlling (Garrison, 2000); it helps provide data necessary for developing strategies and managing the company’s operations. Managerial accounting makes use of means such as cost-volume-profit analysis, financial statement analysis and capital budgeting, to name a few, to produce such information. Managerial accounting will provide the information needed by the management of Claire’s Antiques to decide what is the optimum antique production mix and whether to implement the Just In Time inventory management system; it will also help the company to reach its goal to grow the business to other regions, increase its profit margin and expand its product distribution centers. Included within managerial accounting is performance measurement. Performance measurement is the quantification of a companys or segments efficiency or effectiveness in conducting business operations for the accounting period (Answers. com, 2008). This involves establishing budgets and/or goals of a company, and comparing the actual turnout with that established by the management. The budget established must always be realigned with the company’s goals, in order for the information to be truly useful. Performance measurement would prove useful to Claire’s Antiques in deciding their strategy on how the company can achieve its above mentioned goals. Performance measurement draws the management’s attention to areas in which the company has performed poorly, giving them a chance to find a solution to such inefficiency; it also indicates which areas the company has been doing well in. These pieces of information, taken collectively, will help the company in deciding which actions it will take to bring itself closer to its goals. As the new accountant of Claire’s Antiques, one would be engaged in both managerial and financial accounting, which means that one would be providing and interpreting financial information for both internal and external users, respectively. As an accountant in private practice, one can be a financial forecaster, a cost accountant or an internal auditor. These roles fall under the above mentioned fields. However, accountants in general are not limited to these fields. They may have career opportunities in public accounting, government accounting and accounting education as well.

How to Write a Good Dental School Essay Example for Free

How to Write a Good Dental School Essay This article was created by a professional writer and edited by experienced copy editors, both qualified members of the Demand Media Studios community. All articles go through an editorial process that includes subject matter guidelines, plagiarism review, fact-checking, and other steps in an effort to provide reliable information. By WayneS, eHow Contributor Writing a good dental school essay may may be the difference between being accepted and rejected. An important part of applying to dental schools is writing a personal essay. The essay provides applicants with a chance to relate the attributes they would bring to the school and show their commitment to the field. It also offers applicants a chance to demonstrate how dental school will fulfill their professional and personal goals. Essays can be a deciding factor when schools make admission decisions, so applicants should put a lot of careful time and effort into writing them. Instructions Devote a lot of time to brainstorming. A clear understanding of exactly what you want to say is a necessary step when writing a compelling and effective dental school essay. While brainstorming, keep the three major goals of the essay in mind. First, establish exactly why you want to be a dentist. Second, think of any personal experiences that will prove helpful in dental school. Finally, search for qualities that would make you a good dentist. These can include schoolwork, clinical experience and community activities. Think of personal stories that will show you can be successful in dental school and dentistry. These stories should demonstrate the compassion needed to be a good dentist and identify experiences and skills youwill bring to dental school. Start the essay by using one of these stories. This will draw the reader into the essay more effectively than a list of accomplishments. Organize the essay. Determine the major points that you need to make in the essay and organize stories and information around those points. Instead of just relating all the stories at one time, organize the essay by topics. One topic can be how you have enthusiasm for the field. Then, use stories and information to demonstrate that enthusiasm. Â  Write the essay so it reflects the way you speak. It should flow naturally and be easy to read, not pedantic and full of jargon. The purpose is to sell yourself to show how you would be a great asset to the school and the field of dentistry. Â  Avoid cliches and worn-out themes. Use stories and practical examples to show the why the school should admit you. Do not just say that the you are committed or enjoy helping people. Provide practical examples of this commitment and desire to help. Have someone with a solid journalism or English background proofread the essay. Typos and misspellings can make you appear unprofessional and increase the chances of rejection.

Philosophy of artificial intelligence

Philosophy of artificial intelligence State and explain Lucass argument against the possibility of AI. what do you think is the best reply to Lucas argument? GÃ ¶del suggested that the mind was a computerised mechanism. He suggested that the mind was merely a formulation of logic that was associated with a system and structure of language as representative of the world. This implied that intelligence was a learning process that was based upon accepting and rejecting hypothesis about the world through a set of formula that was deemed either provable or un-provable within the system of logic (GÃ ¶del, 1934). This idea was backed up by cognitive research based upon the human capacity and nature of learning. Bruner et al, devised a test to see how it was the human mind constructed categories of logic, believing it to be by way of GÃ ¶del’s hypothesis acceptance and rejection (Bruner et al, 1956). He used a variety of shapes in a variety of conditions some sharing the same number of shapes, some sharing the same colour of shapes and some sharing the same number of borders surrounding the shapes. From the results of his experiment, B runer claimed that ther were two forms of learning that were apparent. These were regarded as successive scanning, which entertained one hypothesis at a time and conservative scanning, which sought to eliminate classes of hypotheses such as border, number of shapes and colour similarity and dissimilarity (Bruner et al, 1956). This growing belief in the mind as a mathematic translator of the meaning of experience provided the foundation for Turing who surmised that artificial intelligence was a form of intelligence that could learn according to the coded principles of mathematic equations and could be understood as mimicry of human behaviour. He subsequently suggested that responses through a rejection and acceptance of truths that accords to the conceptual framework were all that the human mind consisted of. This idea of the mind as a programmed agent, rejecting the truths of logical and mathematic equations was fundamental to GÃ ¶del. To GÃ ¶del, the structural reality that an in telligent being saw before i implied that Artificial intelligence could be created in accordance to that structure and that human life, or perhaps experiential living, was merely a reaction to certain stimuli based upon a structural code of predetermined logic just as it is with a computer simulation. Unhappy at this model of the cognitive mind or with the notion of intelligence as being founded upon formula and theorem, J.R. Lucas, argued that GÃ ¶dels theorem posed many problems in his view that the mind was like a computer. Speaking of the limitations that the quantitative artificial brain may encounter in terms of acceptance and un-acceptance of certain truths according to its programming, Lucas suggested that ‘All that GÃ ¶del has proved is that a mind cannot produce a formal proof of the consistency of a formal system inside the system itself: but there is no objection to going outside the system and no objection to producing informal arguments for the consistency either of a formal system or of something less formal and less systematized. Such informal arguments will not be able to be completely formalized: but then the whole tenor of GÃ ¶dels results is that we ought not to ask, and cannot obtain, complete formalization.’ (Lucas, 1961) Rationale was provided for Lucas’s approach with the development of the Chinese room experiment by Searle. Searle indicated that even though an artificial intelligence could recognise, incorporate and subsequently mimic the external behaviours required to appear human (or emotionally intelligent) that this did not necessarily indicate any evidence of an awareness of what this behaviour meant or symbolised to other humans in essence, it did not understand the true human meaning. He used the example of an English speaking human going inside the mechanical mind of a robot and using certain symbols as a coded ’representative’ for the instruction of an unknown language i.e. Chinese (Searle, 1980). He then indicated that although the human had a form of code to illicit a response to the language of Chinese he did not actually know what the meaning or significance of what he was doing related to. Essentially, it was simply a response according toa pre programmed code. Following this criticisms of artificial intelligence as a mechanical process involving a pre programmed innate knowledge of the environment and of human behaviour which had led to Searle‘s Chinese room experiment, Lucas reasoned that, ‘Complexity often does introduce qualitative differences. Although it sounds implausible, it might turn out that above a certain level of complexity, a machine ceased to be predictable, even in principle, and started doing things on its own account, or, to use a very revealing phrase, it might begin to have a mind of its own. It might begin to have a mind of its own. It would begin to have a mind of its own when it was no longer entirely predictable and entirely docile, but was capable of doing things which we recognized as intelligent, and not just mistakes or random shots, but which we had not programmed into it.’ (Lucas, 1961) This seems to define what is human and what is machine. For Lucas, he does not dispute the theoretical idea that artificial intelligence can become as like humans. However, he does make the distinction between a mechanical automaton and an autonomous mind that thinks free of systematic code that perceives experience through an acceptance of logical truths and rejection of unfounded abstraction. Bringing into context the notion of the human mind as being a determinant for the structure of knowledge rather than a logical interpreter of that knowledge, Lucas reasoned that if, unlike Turing had suggested, a mechanical mind could begin to think free of it‘s programmed code then, ‘It would cease to be a machine, within the meaning of the act. What is at stake in the mechanist debate is not how minds are, or might be, brought into being, but how they operate. It is essential for the mechanist thesis that the mechanical model of the mind shall operate according to mechanical principles, that is, that we can understand the operation of the whole in terms of the operations of its parts, and the operation of each part either shall be determined by its initial state and the construction of the machine, or shall be a random choice between a determinate number of determinate operations’ (Lucas, 1961) However, although his argument backed up by Searle’s Chinese room experiment gave reasonable rationale for a rejection of a mechanical intelligence based upon the ability of the subject to see outside of a logical structure, which was not necessarily pre determined or pre programmed, it did accord to the sentimental notion of liberal humanity. In reaction to this notion French philosopher Jean Baudrillard noted some crucial factors in the reality of humanities cultural condition that could be seen as contradicting this liberal freedom that Lucas prescribed. Suggesting that the current moral reality that figured as so crucial to Lucas’ rationale, was being replaced by ‘a hedonistic morality of pure satisfaction, like a new state of nature at the heart of hyper civilisation’ Baudrillard prescribed the notion of the hyper real as being a simulation that was beyond that of a logical code that applied to a structure of knowledge and instead deterred from idelogi cal frameworks that informed a notion of liberal humanity (Baudrillard, 1968, p.3). He suggested that, ‘A whole imagery based on contact, a sensory mimicry and a tactile mysticism, basically ecology in its entirety, comes to be grafted on to this universe of operational simulation, multi-stimulation and multi response. This incessant test of successful adaptation is naturalised by assimilating it to animal mimicry. , and even to the Indians with their innate sense of ecology tropisms, mimicry, and empathy: the ecological evangelism of open systems, with positive or negative feedback, will be engulfed in this breach, with an ideology of regulation with information that is only an avatar, in accordance of a more flexible patter.’ (Baudrillard, 1976, p.9) However, what Baudrillard does is implement the idea of a simulated code that works by replacing the notion of humanistic ideology that once informed the gap sophisticated and complex gap between the subject and the environment, such as social exchange and communal ideas. By doing this Baudrillard then shows gave example of how this simulated code informed a new humanity and shaped intelligence to be un-conformist to a life according to the meaning supported by the notion of humanity, but instead created an imaginary life that was understood and identified with by its relationship to the values apparent within an external code being communed essentially, placing life itself as a simulated relationship of the subject and his / her own choice of object. This meant that essentially the human emphasis on the mysteries of the human mind emphasised by Lucas were just as questionable and as determinist as the artificial intelligence that GÃ ¶del prescribed. This can be seen as the fundame ntaly crucial contemporary reply to Lucas’ argument for artificial intelligence. Bibliography Baudrillard, J., (1976) Symbolic Exchange and Death Taken from: The Order of Simulacra (1993) London: Sage. Bruner, J, S., Goodnow, J, J., and Austin, G, A., (1956) A Study of Thinking New York: John Wiley and Sons. GÃ ¶del (1934) Original Proof Applies Taken from his Lectures at the Institute of Advanced Study, New Jersey: Princeton. Lucas, J, R., (1961) Minds, Machines, and Godel Philosophy, 36, 112-127. Searle, J, R,. (1980) Minds, brains, and programs. Behavioural and Brain Sciences, 3, (3), 417-457. Turing, A, M., (1950) Computing Machinery and Intelligence, Mind, pp. 433-60, reprinted in The World of Mathematics, edited by James R. Newmann, pp. 2099-2123.

Animals :: Environment, Natural Disasters, Extinction

We all studied the extinction of dinosaurs in middle school. We know that, two hundred fifty million years ago, more than 90% of the planet species became extinct. There have been five major mass extinctions during the life history of planet earth. Scientists now agree that we are experiencing a sixth major extinction. The big difference between the older events and now is, â€Å"unlike earlier extinctions, this one results from the work of a single species, Homo sapiens. We are relentlessly taking over the planet, laying it to waste and eliminating most of our fellow species† (Coyne 1). We should care about this man-made extinction for a lot of reasons, including the interconnectedness of life, our moral obligation to take care of our planet, and even economic factors. In the past, extinctions were caused by natural disasters, such as volcanic eruptions during the Permian period, and asteroid impact during the Cretaceous extinction. These major events caused global warming by increasing CO2 in the atmosphere, and shut down photosynthesis by blocking sunlight with a huge cloud of debris. Both of these catastrophes altered the Earth’s climate radically, which caused the extinctions (Campbell 521-522). The current extinction is not being caused by natural factors, but by us. â€Å"Rates of species extinction have increased rapidly since the early Holocene epoch, chiefly due to activities of humans; further acceleration of extinction rates began approximately 1600 AD, with the onset of accelerated human population growth and expanded scope of agriculture† (Hogan 1). We have caused this destruction by overfishing/hunting, destroying habitats, increasing global warming with fossil fuels and pollution, and a general disregard for the res t of the life on Earth (Coyne 1). For many years it was thought that humans had hunted the Wooly Mammoth to extinction. It has been found that â€Å"the wooly mammoth went extinct primarily because of habitat loss due to changes in temperature, while human hunting acted as the final straw† (â€Å"Climate Change and Human Hunting Combine To Drive The Woolly Mammoth Extinct† 1). Animals have been hunted for food, trophies, medicines, and souvenirs. Many of the endangered species are targets, such as the Chinese tiger, which has been hunted for medical use over the last 1000 years (Hogan 3). Overfishing has caused the populations of large fish to be only 10% of the levels found in 1950.

Essay on Things Fall Apart and Heart of Darkness -- comparison compare

The Tragic Fall in Things Fall Apart and Heart of Darkness      Ã‚   In Achebe's Things Fall Apart and Conrad Heart of Darkness, the role of Africa is intertwined. It is seen as extremely primitive and the African's belief system is belittled. The two heroes in the novels also are very similar, and most especially in one aspect. They both experience a downfall. This is a vital theme throughout both books. Aristotle would say it is the fall of two "tragic heroes". However, even though these two characters share these similar incidences, the readers are given several different perceptions of one event. The colonization of the Europeans paid a heavy toll on the Africans and their way of life. The Europeans are consistently portrayed at the outsiders. Okonkwo is also quite familiar with Africa, yet Marlow was not. In his eyes, the Africans are seen as the outsiders. Okonkwo's father, Unoka, was seen as a person who was very lazy and who made no contribution to their society. This made Okonkwo hate him and any trait of any kind that correlated wit h that of his father. One way that this is displayed is that "Okonkwo never showed emotion openly, unless it be the emotion of anger. To show emotion was a sign of weakness, the only thing worth demonstrating was strength" (Achebe 28). Okonkwo's greatest weakness was fear, yet this a contradiction in it's own terms. His fear of fear played such a big part of his adult life that it came back to haunt him. He never wanted to be considered a victim. Yet, ironically, he was only setting himself up to self-destruction and tragedy. Because of fear, it drives him pull his machete and strike a blow, first killing Ikemefuna and later the Court Messenger. Finally, this drives him to be physically abus... ...d, but instead because he could have been so great. Instead, he becomes cruel, unfeeling, and greedy. The true tragedy is that Kurtz did not become the great man that he could have been. Okonkwo and Kurtz were two men from the opposite ends of the spectrum. Their beliefs did not coincide, but they did have one aspect in common. They both brought themselves to the point of a tragic fall. For some reason or another, they both had to leave their homes. This is the marking of their fall. As soon as they do leave, the downfall begins, and it does not stop until there is nothing else to lose.    Works Cited Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, 1959. Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1988. Daniel, Patsy J. ConradÕs Heart of Darkness. Explicator. 54(3):164-165.      

Irony in Guests of the Nation Essay -- Guests of the Nation Essays

Irony in Guests of the Nation      Ã‚   In the short story, "Guests of the Nation," Frank O'Connor uses irony to illustrate the conflict which men face when their roles as combatants force them to disregard the humanity of their enemies. In both life and literature, irony exists when there is a contrast between expectation and reality. Verbal irony is defined as "a figure of speech in which the actual intent is expressed in words which carry the opposite meaning" (Thrall 248). In dramatic irony there is a contrast between a character's perception of a situation and the actual facts. Often "some of the actors on the stage or some of the characters in a story are 'blind' to facts known to the spectator or reader" (155) . The short story "Guests of the Nation" by Frank O'Connor illustrates both types of irony.    The title of the story, "Guests of the Nation," is an example of verbal irony. In the story, the two Englishmen, Belcher and Hawkens, are not "guests," but rather prisoners of the Irish soldiers, Jeremiah Donovan, Noble, and the narrator, Bonaparte. The contrast between their "real" status as prisoners and their "apparent" role as guests is developed throughout the story. The narrator says that "I couldn't at the time see the point of me and Noble guarding Belcher and Hawkins at all, for it was my belief that you could have planted that pair down anywhere from this to Claregalway and they'd have taken root there like a native weed" (591). Thus it was obvious that the men had no intention of trying to escape; they were behaving like guests. Because of the contented, nonthreatening demeanor of the two men, Bonaparte says that "after the first day or two we gave up all pretense of keeping a close e... ... Belcher and Hawkins remain at ease, thinking themselves safe. In the end both Hawkins' futile appeal to the friendship of his "chums" and Belcher's resignation serve to emphasize the horror of the executions.    Thus, in "Guests of the Nation," Frank O'Connor uses irony to illustrate the conflict that soldiers feel when they recognize the humanity of their enemies and yet they are compelled to kill them. O'Connor suggests the soul destroying impact of the conflict in his final words: "And anything that happened to me afterwards, I never felt the same about again" (598).    Sources Cited: Thrall, William flint, Addison Hibbard, and Hugh Holman. A Handbook to Literature. New York: Odyssey, 1960. O'Connor, Frank. "Guests of the Nation." Literature for Composition. 4th ed. Sylvan Barnet, et. al. New York: Harper Collins, 1996. 590-598.

Dental Caries

Dental Caries is a chronic disease of childhood that has reached epidemic proportions (Garcia-Cortes et al., 2014). The oral health of children is critical for their overall well-being with prompt diagnosis and early management being a key to the success of this approach. Despite significant progress in reducing oral diseases in developed countries over the past three decades, dental caries remains a significant public health problem, particularly amongst disadvantaged people and people living in remote areas (Estai et al., 2017c). Saudi Arabia is a large country with over 700 towns and villages. Despite the growth of dentistry in the Kingdom, there are still very few areas with specialized pediatric dental care. Specialists tend to be concentrated in the major towns and cities (AlShammery, 2016a). This increases the challenge of providing high quality pediatric dental care to every part of the Kingdom. This is a problem, as it is documented that a lack of dental care to the primary teeth will increase the risk of dental problems in the permanent teeth (Li and Wang, 2002). Pediatric dentistry is a complex field with the interaction of many different specialties. Children require not only restorative and endodontic care to the primary teeth but also require consultations from endodontists, prosthodontists and orthodontists on the condition of the tooth and future treatment planning. It is very difficult to locate such multi-disciplinary care even in smaller towns and almost impossible to obtain in remote villages of the Kingdom (AlShammery, 2016a). As a result of this maldistribution in the dental workforce, many rural and remote communities in are left underserved, leading to untreated oral disease (Estai et al., 2017b). Workforce shortages, sparsely populated regions, funding challenges and the decreasing cost of and advances in technology, have resulted in an increased interest in the adoption of telemedicine services (Bradley et al., 2010). The use of role substitution in dentistry is not a new concept. One of the potentially viable solutions to address geographical hurdles and the unavailability of dentists is mobile teledentistry (Estai et al., 2016b). Teledentistry allows local service providers to see advice from specialists without the patient having to leave the local practice (Marino et al., 2016).Teledentistry is a domain of telemedicine that emerges from the combination of information communication technology (ICT) and dentistry. For several decades, telemedicine has played a role in bridging gaps and overcoming barriers related to distance through expanding care access to unreachable populations (Estai et al., 2016a). Teledentistry is defined as the use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to support long-distance clinical oral health care, patient and professional health related education, public health, and health administration (Marino and Ghanim, 2013). It is one of a number of growing solutions to address limited access to dental care is the utilization of telemedicine technologies in the screening for oral diseases, providing care, evaluation of care and referral (Estai et al., 2016c). There are two telemedicine modalities: real-time consultation and store-and-forward. For most dental applications, the store-and-forward method provides excellent results without excessive costs for equipment or connectivity (Daniel and Kumar, 2014). Mobile teledentistry is a subset of telemedicine that incorporates cellular phone technology and store-and-forward telemedicine into oral care services. Almost all smartphones have a built-in camera and mobile connectivity and are readily accessible at a low cost. (Estai et al., 2016d). Despite dental photography becoming an integral part of daily dental practice, it has rarely been used as means of diagnosis, consultation, or referral in routine practice. However, evidence on the use of smartphone cameras in epidemiological dental research is rare (Estai et al., 2017b).Given the need for specialist consultation in the remote parts of Saudi Arabia, there is a need for a study to examine the reliability of mobile phone teledentistry in the Kingdom. Since the mixed dentition is the period of maximum dental change for a child, this study focused on the use of mobile phone teledentistry in the mixed dentition.1.2 Aim of the StudyThe aim of the study is to test the reliability of mobile phone teledentistry in diagnosis of dental caries of children in the mixed dentition.1.3 Specific Objective of the StudyThe study had the following specific objective, which is to compare the diagnosis of oral caries in the mixed dentition obtained via teledentistry to the diagnosis of these conditions obtained by physical clinical examination.The use of mobile phones and the sharing of photographic data on platforms such as WhatsAppâ„ ¢ or Instagramâ„ ¢ is a relatively new phenomenon. However, the field of teledentistry itself is not new. This literature review tracks the development of telemedicine and teledentistry. It also looks into the validity and reliability of diagnosis made using photographs. Lastly, it seeks to demonstrate the demographic and human resource challenges that highlight the need for teledentistry in Saudi Arabia.2.1 Development of TeledentistryThe development of telemedicine began in the 1960s, when the United States department of defense decided to establish a data base of interconnected networks to provide healthcare to troops stationed in remote locations (Rocca et al., 1999). The US Army conducted the first study of teledentistry at Fort Gordon, Georgia in July 1994. In this study a dental image management system was used in conjunction with an Intra-oral camera to capture color images of a patient's mouth. These images were then transmitted over a 9600 baud modem from the dental clinic in Fort McPherson, Georgia to Fort Gordon, a distance of 120 miles (Rocca et al., 1999).The initial set up for teledentistry, relied on communication via modems and wire based telephonic communication (Eraso et al., 1996). In the 1990s, the internet gained rapid popularity with the public revealing of the World Wide Web, an entity that had hitherto been a secret US army project. This led to the exploration of newer modes of transmitting data. Reviewing the existing systems of the time, Eraso et al (1996) looked at the effect of digitalizing and transmitting tomographic radiographs. Tomograms of the temporomandibular joint were digitized in three different formats using a PC-based system. The image resolution for various projections was determined at different camera-film distances. Three series of images were transmitted by telephone, and transmission times were measured. They found that while no difference in image quality was found between the initial digitized and the transmitted images; transmitted and transmitted-and-printed images were of significantly lower quality than the original radiographs or the digitized images viewed on a computer monitor (Eraso et al., 1996). In the late 1990s, the national electrical manufacturers association had developed a standard guideline for the storage and transmission of images. Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) is a standard for storing and transmitting medical images enabling the integration of medical imaging devices such as scanners, servers, workstations, printers, network hardware, and picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) from multiple manufacturers. It has been widely adopted by hospitals, and is making inroads into smaller applications like dentists' and doctors' offices (Bauer and Brown, 2001, Folke, 2001, Chen and Chen, 2002). Chen and Chen (2002) compared DICOM images to existing videoconferencing techniques for the transmission of dental information. They found that DICOM images greatly reduced the cost of transmitting information without significantly compromising quality. The early part of the new millennium was characterized by the rapid spread of e-mail and electronic communications. The launch and spread of several free email providers such as Hotmailâ„ ¢, Gmailâ„ ¢, Yahooâ„ ¢ etc. meant that scanned images could be transmitted between persons without Dental Caries Dental Caries is a chronic disease of childhood that has reached epidemic proportions (Garcia-Cortes et al., 2014). The oral health of children is critical for their overall well-being with prompt diagnosis and early management being a key to the success of this approach. Despite significant progress in reducing oral diseases in developed countries over the past three decades, dental caries remains a significant public health problem, particularly amongst disadvantaged people and people living in remote areas (Estai et al., 2017c). Saudi Arabia is a large country with over 700 towns and villages. Despite the growth of dentistry in the Kingdom, there are still very few areas with specialized pediatric dental care. Specialists tend to be concentrated in the major towns and cities (AlShammery, 2016a). This increases the challenge of providing high quality pediatric dental care to every part of the Kingdom. This is a problem, as it is documented that a lack of dental care to the primary teeth will increase the risk of dental problems in the permanent teeth (Li and Wang, 2002). Pediatric dentistry is a complex field with the interaction of many different specialties. Children require not only restorative and endodontic care to the primary teeth but also require consultations from endodontists, prosthodontists and orthodontists on the condition of the tooth and future treatment planning. It is very difficult to locate such multi-disciplinary care even in smaller towns and almost impossible to obtain in remote villages of the Kingdom (AlShammery, 2016a). As a result of this maldistribution in the dental workforce, many rural and remote communities in are left underserved, leading to untreated oral disease (Estai et al., 2017b). Workforce shortages, sparsely populated regions, funding challenges and the decreasing cost of and advances in technology, have resulted in an increased interest in the adoption of telemedicine services (Bradley et al., 2010). The use of role substitution in dentistry is not a new concept. One of the potentially viable solutions to address geographical hurdles and the unavailability of dentists is mobile teledentistry (Estai et al., 2016b). Teledentistry allows local service providers to see advice from specialists without the patient having to leave the local practice (Marino et al., 2016).Teledentistry is a domain of telemedicine that emerges from the combination of information communication technology (ICT) and dentistry. For several decades, telemedicine has played a role in bridging gaps and overcoming barriers related to distance through expanding care access to unreachable populations (Estai et al., 2016a). Teledentistry is defined as the use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to support long-distance clinical oral health care, patient and professional health related education, public health, and health administration (Marino and Ghanim, 2013). It is one of a number of growing solutions to address limited access to dental care is the utilization of telemedicine technologies in the screening for oral diseases, providing care, evaluation of care and referral (Estai et al., 2016c). There are two telemedicine modalities: real-time consultation and store-and-forward. For most dental applications, the store-and-forward method provides excellent results without excessive costs for equipment or connectivity (Daniel and Kumar, 2014). Mobile teledentistry is a subset of telemedicine that incorporates cellular phone technology and store-and-forward telemedicine into oral care services. Almost all smartphones have a built-in camera and mobile connectivity and are readily accessible at a low cost. (Estai et al., 2016d). Despite dental photography becoming an integral part of daily dental practice, it has rarely been used as means of diagnosis, consultation, or referral in routine practice. However, evidence on the use of smartphone cameras in epidemiological dental research is rare (Estai et al., 2017b).Given the need for specialist consultation in the remote parts of Saudi Arabia, there is a need for a study to examine the reliability of mobile phone teledentistry in the Kingdom. Since the mixed dentition is the period of maximum dental change for a child, this study focused on the use of mobile phone teledentistry in the mixed dentition.1.2 Aim of the StudyThe aim of the study is to test the reliability of mobile phone teledentistry in diagnosis of dental caries of children in the mixed dentition.1.3 Specific Objective of the StudyThe study had the following specific objective, which is to compare the diagnosis of oral caries in the mixed dentition obtained via teledentistry to the diagnosis of these conditions obtained by physical clinical examination.The use of mobile phones and the sharing of photographic data on platforms such as WhatsAppâ„ ¢ or Instagramâ„ ¢ is a relatively new phenomenon. However, the field of teledentistry itself is not new. This literature review tracks the development of telemedicine and teledentistry. It also looks into the validity and reliability of diagnosis made using photographs. Lastly, it seeks to demonstrate the demographic and human resource challenges that highlight the need for teledentistry in Saudi Arabia.2.1 Development of TeledentistryThe development of telemedicine began in the 1960s, when the United States department of defense decided to establish a data base of interconnected networks to provide healthcare to troops stationed in remote locations (Rocca et al., 1999). The US Army conducted the first study of teledentistry at Fort Gordon, Georgia in July 1994. In this study a dental image management system was used in conjunction with an Intra-oral camera to capture color images of a patient's mouth. These images were then transmitted over a 9600 baud modem from the dental clinic in Fort McPherson, Georgia to Fort Gordon, a distance of 120 miles (Rocca et al., 1999).The initial set up for teledentistry, relied on communication via modems and wire based telephonic communication (Eraso et al., 1996). In the 1990s, the internet gained rapid popularity with the public revealing of the World Wide Web, an entity that had hitherto been a secret US army project. This led to the exploration of newer modes of transmitting data. Reviewing the existing systems of the time, Eraso et al (1996) looked at the effect of digitalizing and transmitting tomographic radiographs. Tomograms of the temporomandibular joint were digitized in three different formats using a PC-based system. The image resolution for various projections was determined at different camera-film distances. Three series of images were transmitted by telephone, and transmission times were measured. They found that while no difference in image quality was found between the initial digitized and the transmitted images; transmitted and transmitted-and-printed images were of significantly lower quality than the original radiographs or the digitized images viewed on a computer monitor (Eraso et al., 1996). In the late 1990s, the national electrical manufacturers association had developed a standard guideline for the storage and transmission of images. Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) is a standard for storing and transmitting medical images enabling the integration of medical imaging devices such as scanners, servers, workstations, printers, network hardware, and picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) from multiple manufacturers. It has been widely adopted by hospitals, and is making inroads into smaller applications like dentists' and doctors' offices (Bauer and Brown, 2001, Folke, 2001, Chen and Chen, 2002). Chen and Chen (2002) compared DICOM images to existing videoconferencing techniques for the transmission of dental information. They found that DICOM images greatly reduced the cost of transmitting information without significantly compromising quality. The early part of the new millennium was characterized by the rapid spread of e-mail and electronic communications. The launch and spread of several free email providers such as Hotmailâ„ ¢, Gmailâ„ ¢, Yahooâ„ ¢ etc. meant that scanned images could be transmitted between persons without

Intellect vs. Instinct in “To Build a Fire” by Jack London Essay

The ignorance of the main character in To Build a Fire by Jack London is what ultimately causes his failure. He has never experienced cold like that of the Yukon Trail but is confidant, regardless, that he will reach his goal of meeting his friends at the campsite. It is the man’s determination to follow his intellect rather than his instinct that reveals his ignorance. The man begins his journey relying on flawed intellect. He illogically treks through snow, wetting his boots and feet, and must dry them before they succumb to frostbite. When the dog’s feet get wet, it instinctively licks and bites at the ice that forms between its toes. The man helps the dog, briefly removing his mitten in the numbing cold. The man does not take the same precautions, he continuously ignores his instinct. The man’s second accident occurs when he proceeds to build a fire under a snow covered tree, which begins to melt and blots the fire out. Logic is eluding him and his confidence begins to dwindle, as his journey quickly turns to failure. The old man never learns from his mistakes, and his failures compound. London writes that this second mistake was his â€Å"own fault or, rather, his mistake.† Here London is showing his beliefs as a naturalist. Had this second problem been his â€Å"fault† the author would be condemning his protagonist much more strongly; however, he calls this a mistake, a much softer term, suggesting that the man should not be held liable for his actions. Had he anticipated that lighting a fire under a frost-covered tree would cause the heavy ice to melt and fall, yet still done it, only then would he be held liable. The man’s mind begins to run wild with thoughts of insecurity and death when the second fire fails. He recollects the story of a man who kills a steer to stay warm and envisions himself killing his dog and crawling into the carcass to warm up so he can build a fire to save himself. London writes, â€Å"a certain fear of death, dull and oppressive, came to him.† Had the man been following his instinct instead of attempting to survive on his (obviously flawed) intellect throughout the story, he may have survived. The dog â€Å"experienced a vague but menacing apprehension†(921) that the man coldly did not allow himself to also experience. The man’s dog uses his instincts to survive the cold. â€Å"The dog did not know anything about thermometers. Possibly in it’s brain there was no sharp consciousness of a condition of very cold such as was in the man’s brain. But the brute had it’s instincts† writes London. The dog, who has an innate understanding of the cold, tries to burrow under the snow for warmth. He even senses the danger of remaining with the man who would kill the dog in order to bury his hands in it’s warm carcass, and escapes him by snarling and growling. When the animal leaves for the campsite he is showing that animals are not afraid of injuring their pride. The dog knows he needs fire and food. The story is a struggle of nature versus man, and throughout the story nature succeeds. The frigid arctic environment will yield nothing to the man. The tone of the story is as frigid and frightening as the setting the man has found himself in, the reader is just as unaccustomed to the cold as the old man and London’s vivid and descriptive language serve as a tool to shock the reader into realizing just how dire the man’s situation is. The cold becomes a character, fighting the man and foiling him at every turn. London emphasizes the importance of having a respect and a knowledge of the world that was surrounding the man, writing that â€Å"the man did not know the cold. Possibly all the generations of his ancestry did not know the cold, of cold one hundred and seven degrees below freezing point. But the Dog knew; all it’s ancestry knew, and it had inherited that knowledge.† (London, 924) Here we see London’s position as a naturalist taking shape in his writing. Ideally, in a successful naturalist story, the dire cold situation would have brought out the man’s most basic natural instincts. The story repeats that the man is not thinking of material things in the arctic â€Å"once in awhile the thought reiterated itself that it was very cold and he had never experienced such cold.† This is probably to emphasize that when one is experiencing such extremes of nature, the extreme is what takes over, and the mind almost shuts down to anything except the nature around them. â€Å"Empty as the man’s mind was of thoughts, he was keenly observant, and he noticed changes in the creeks, the curves and bends and timbre jams, and always he sharply noted where he placed his feet. Here, the man is learning from his  prior mistakes and letting himself be led by the cold, earlier when he was thinking of his goal and not of his feet, he found himself with freezing toes. Now, after time in the Yukon, he has found a respect for the cold. Although, this respect is not enough to drive him to the next campsite, London is unforgiving of the man’s original eubrice in taking on the cold, and does not seem to want to allow him to succeed. Eventually the man’s focus had to turn from his own goal, reaching the riches of the Yukon Trail, to survival, and fighting the frostbite that is slowly overtaking his body. However, the man refuses to consider the consequences of his actions, even when his life is threatened by the accidents: â€Å"And all the time, in his consciousness, was the knowledge that each instant his feet were freezing. This thought tended to put him in a panic, but he fought against it and kept calm† (923). Had the man allowed his instinct to take over here, he may have succeeded, but his rationality is his greatest enemy. The man also lacks foresight, â€Å"He drove the thought of his freezing feet, and nose, and cheeks, out of his mind, devoting his whole soul to the matches† (922). He should not be focusing on the matches when frostbite is obviously overtaking his body because once he does light a fire, he still has these other obstacles to tackle. He never acknowledges, and perhap s never sees, that he should have been valuing survival over wealth from the very beginning. It is unclear whether the end of the story is a message fromt he author that the old man should not have given up, and allowed himself to die, or continued to fight the cold. It is only when he is certain of his death that he acknowledges the wise words of the man at the campsite who told him not to attempt the trek. â€Å"You were right, old hoss, you were right† he says to himself, drifting into a comfortable sleep that one can only interpret as death. The message seems to be that giving up was the correct thing to do, because in allowing himself to die he is finally escaping from his pride and ignorance, and praising the words of the wise traveler. His self realization allows himself to be seen as a simile, a chicken with it’s head cut off running around in vain trying to save himself. It is when he decides that all is lost, and realizes he was wrong to set out that he is finally  comfortable, the tragedy is that his comfort is in death. The traveler’s struggle with the tremendous cold is apparent, but he never admits that his plight is his own fault. â€Å"He cursed his luck aloud† (London, 923) notice he speaks of luck, and not of a lack-of-common sense. Repeatedly warned of the dangers, he still singularly set out to locate timber and travel to the next campsite. His stubbornness is foolish. His confidence, merely arrogance, draws attention to an even more concerning internal conflict: The story is a fatal example of the human inclination to sometimes allow determination to drown out our intuitive voice.

Old Town Embark in Australia Essay

1.0 Introduction of business in Malaysia Old Town White Coffee business is chosen for implementing its subsidiaries in other country through globalization. The store itself as a restaurant selling food and beverages are focused, but not their products of instant coffee (although the product will be sold in Australia in the store too, but the store is what we should focus on). Old Town White Coffee is established and incorporated in 1999 but opened its first chain of outlets in 2005. The business is always in leading position after its success and in 2012 it is still proudly the biggest â€Å"kopitiam† restaurant in Malaysia (Old Town, 2013). â€Å"Kopitiam† can be defiend as a coffee shop which the word kopi is a Malay word that has the meaning of coffee while the word tiam is the Hokkien dialect word for a shop. The outlets of Old Town White Coffee are based on the traditional Ipoh coffee shop setting. The business expanded rapidly in the years and its outlets are available in nationwide Malaysia including all the states. Each state has lots of outlet and mainly the most of them is Penang, followed by Selangor and Kuala Lumpur. Later it expands to the stores in both Singapore and Indonesia. In 2009, there are around 1348 over retail outlets available in Malaysia, 550 in Singapore and 2100 in Hong Kong (Old Town, 2013). Old Town White Coffee operates mainly in selling coffee such as Nayang Kopi O and Nayang Kopi C and most importantly its signature drinks Ipoh White Coffee, but the business is also available in other beverages that are common in Malaysia such as Old Town White Milk Tea, Old Town Cham and Old Town Enriched Chocolate. Other than the beverages, there are some classic dishes like Old Town Nasi Lemak Special, Mee Java, Old Town Mee Hoon, Dry Curry Mee, Old Town Assam Laksa, Old Town Lum Mee, Old Town Ipoh Chicken Hor Fun and etc (Old Town, 2013). There are some local favorites and sweet delight such as Kaya and Butter toast and Old Town Signature Ice Cream. These food and beverages are all local food and beverages that are popular among the Malaysians. Old Town White Coffee can be said as successful as it grow from a small business to a large corporation nowadays, and it is well known in Malaysia. Since the market in Malaysia is matured it should have try to expand its business in the other countries and it is proved in both Singapore and Indonesia by its revenue and time they survived. Old Town White Coffee is well prepared to access to the world through globalization and try to dominate the market available to them. 2.0 PESTLE factors of country selected Pestle factors is a framework of macro-environmental factors which to be used in strategic management environmental scanning component. Political factor, economic factor, social factor, technological factor, environmental factor is included in Pestle (Byars, 1991). 2.1 Political factor The factor includes understanding about the political system, and some key figures that are relevant to government indicators and the business in the country (Jan, 2002). Trading policies in Australia with its neighbor countries is good and in favorable condition. Pressure groups in Australia will let new business to consider and practice Corporate Social Responsibility and Ethics. Australia political environment can be consider as sound as it does not involve in any form of war inside or outside the country. Besides, the government of Australia is work in the policy that encourage international businesses to invest in. Political environment in Australia is sound, as there are voting elections held in every 3 years (Australia profile, 2007). However when new government is formed there might be revising the regulations of business. 2.2 Economic factor The factor provides understanding about the economic story of the country that gives significant macro-economic issues a balanced assessment (Jan, 2002). In Australia the economy is facing a recession, with 2-3% inflation rate and approximately 6% unemployment rate. Sales tax, progressive income tax, corporate tax rate and etc are implied on Australia. It is very competitive for the corporate tax rate in Australia comparing to some major economies. The climate in Australia is pleasant and favorable for businesses. Other than that, Australia trade focused more in Asia and some pacific countries. The interest rate in Australia is approximately 3% and is favorable for investors as the business can be finance in a lower cost. 2.3 Social factor The factor deals with customer demographics involves income distribution, healthcare, educational scenario, rural-urban segmentation and centers of affluence (Jan, 2002). The media in Australia has a great impact on the people’s life.99% of the population in Australia is educated. Quality goods are more favorable among them as they are all highly educated. Religious are pretty diversified in Australia and there is a small percentage of them do not take beef, and small percentage of them is vegetarians. Other than that there is also Muslim that does not take pork. Furthermore, the Australian has high buying power which is good for trading over there (Australia profile, 2007). 2.4 Technological factor The factor enables understanding of strategic information on technological laws and policies, patents, technology and telecom, technological gaps and opportunity sectors in the country (Jan, 2002). There is a number exceeding $30 million of current value of intellectual property in Australia (Australia profile, 2007). The transportation infrastructure of Australia is well formed in the country and the business can serve their customer in a best way through transportation. 2.5 Legal factor The factor enables study of legal structure, laws to start a business, corporate laws and the tax regime (Jan, 2002). Australia Law system is not binding but influential to each other. Law is passed by the Parliaments and both common law and equity, and constitutional and statute law are used. There are Australia copyright law and Australian contract law which governed the businesses trading in Australia. 2.6 Environmental factor The factor is considering the country’s performance on environmental policies and indicators (Jan, 2002). Australia is a country that supports environmental protection. When the business is operated in Australia, there should be assumption of no negative impact on the environmental issues and Australia campaign regarding environmental issues should be supported. 3.0 Benefits, Cost and Risks in the business endeavor To invest a business, there are always benefits the business can earn and there are also costs whether high or low the business has to pay off. When there is an investment of business there are always risks associated with. The benefits of implementing Old Town stores in Australia involves providing food and beverages that are local, Malaysian style to those students who are studying in Australia, or some Malaysian that has immigrated to Australia. Instead of Malaysian, Singaporean, Indonesian and Bruneian are also widely available in Australia. They always seek Chinese foods that are unavailable in Australia but in the only street, Chinatown. Opening stores in Australia will definitely have a pleased welcome of them. Other than that, through this the culture in Malaysia, the local delights of Malaysia can be spread to Australia through this method. As there are the needs from those students and immigrated Malaysian, Singaporean, Indonesian and Bruneian, opening Old Town stores in Australia will make profit. However, the costs of opening stores of Old Town White Coffee in Australia is not cheap as there are a need of large capacity for the resources including raw materials, labor forces, and etc. Moreover, the raw materials and labor forces in Australia is not cheap therefore the costs is highly expensive. Other than that, Old Town White Coffee has exported its 3 in one instant Old Town White Coffee worldwide therefore in this time they have to implement their store which is the restaurant selling food. This made them cannot have it to be done exporting but the other form of method of entry. This made the costs higher. When there are higher costs there are always associated with higher risks. However, a higher risk always gives a higher return. Investments are like gambling all the time. There should have appropriate strategic management assessing all the risks and see whether it is worth it to invest. It is definitely worth it to invest when there are already customer sources. However, the people are distributed in various places, to cut cost there have to be less opening of stores and this will make the people cannot access to the stores and therefore less customers. Other than that, the Australian might not like Old Town food and beverages due to different tastes. 4.0 Proposed Method of Entry The proposed mode of entry is the types of entry modes that to enter into foreign market which is spilt up to two major types of entry modes which are equity and non-equity mode. Equity modes involve joint venture and wholly owned subsidiaries while non-equity modes involve export and contractual agreements. The entry methods are not similar and differ in degree of risk they present, the resource commitment and control they required and the investment return they promise (Agarwal & Ramaswami, 1992). The decision on what method chosen to enter a foreign will have a significant impact on the results therefore it should be careful when doing the selections. As it is a restaurant and cafà © based store it is impossible for Old Town White Coffee to enter the Australia market through exporting. There should be a try of contractual agreements like licensing and franchising, joint venture or direct investment which wholly owned the subsidiaries. In our view, as the costs are very high to invest in Australia and high risks associated in it, contractual agreement should be chosen as this method has provided the least of risks and costs other than exporting among all the choices of methods of entry. The advantages of licensing and franchising include minimizes risk and investment, having the ability of circumventing trade barriers, speed of entry, and high return on investment. Furthermore, there are low political risks, low costs and simultaneous expansion is allowed across the world. In an opposite way, the disadvantages of licensing and franchising involve lack of control of assets use, and the licenses or franchises might become a competitor later, the knowledge of the business is spillovers and the time period of license and franchise is limited. There might be wrong candidate of franchiser or licensor that ruin the business name or reputation (Agarwal & Ramaswami, 1992). Overall, there should have a use in licensing and franchising when there are import and investment barriers that are high but it is not appropriate in Australia as it is low in Australia. Other than that, there is no possible protection of legal in Australia environment which made licensing and franchising further not appropriate. However, there are large cultural distance and low potential of sales in Australia that estimated therefore using licensing and franchising is appropriated. Other than that is has to be assured that the licensee and franchisee has less ability to turn up to be a competitor. Old Town White Coffee should try joint ventures and direct investment but for cost and risk minimizing, they will have to choose licensing and franchising.