The Fed and Interest Rates essays

The Fed and Interest Rates essays Subject: THE FED AND INTEREST RATES Changing the interest rates is definitely a good monetary policy for the Fed to use when slowing down or speeding up the economy. The government would want to speed up the economy when the economy is in a recession because the goal of the Fed is to promote economic growth. On the other hand, the economy will want to slow down the economy when the economy is growing so rapidly that the inflation rates are rising rapidly as a result. Economic decisions, such as monetary policy, are all part of a game, but in this game there is no way to see what is going to happen. All one can do is guess what they should do to encourage economic growth. Background Information on Newspaper Article According to economic analysts, the Fed is expected to lower the interest rate from its current 4% down either a half-point or a quarter-point. This will be the first time since 1994 that the Feds key rate has been below 4%. According to the paper, Just how worried the Fed still is about U.S. companies shrinking earnings will be evident in the size of this weeks cut... From this expectation of lowering the interest rate, one can derive that the Fed believes the economy is in a recession an in order to get the economy out of the recessionary gap the Fed must lower interest rates. In opposition to the Feds future decision, is a distinct minority of economists. These economists argue that the Fed has already cut the interest rates enough and that they should let those cuts work their way into the economy. Those who are in favor of the interest rate cut argue With the market still down year to date, layoffs and bankruptcies rising and few signs of a turnaround in spending on technology equipment, yields on short-term Treasury securities continue to signal that the Fed isnt done cutting. ...

Oasis Theory and the Origins of Agriculture

Oasis Theory and the Origins of Agriculture The Oasis Theory (known variously as the Propinquity Theory or Desiccation Theory) is a core concept in archaeology, referring to one of the main hypotheses about the origins of agriculture: that people started to domesticate plants and animals because they were forced to, because of climate change. The fact that people changed from hunting and gathering to farming as a subsistence method has never seemed like a logical choice. To archaeologists and anthropologists, hunting and gathering in a universe of limited population and plentiful resources is less demanding work than plowing, and certainly more flexible. Agriculture requires cooperation, and living in settlements reaps social impacts, like diseases, ranking, social inequality, and division of labor. Most European and American social scientists in the first half of the 20th century simply didnt believe that human beings were naturally inventive or inclined to change their ways of life unless compelled to do so. Nevertheless, at the end of the last Ice Age, people did reinvent their method of living. What Do Oases Have to Do With the Origins of Agriculture? The Oasis Theory was defined by Australian-born archaeologist Vere Gordon Childe [1892-1957], in his 1928 book, The Most Ancient Near East. Childe was writing decades before the invention of radiocarbon dating and a half-century before the serious collection of the vast amount of climatic information that we have today had begun. He argued that at the end of the Pleistocene, North Africa and the Near East experienced a period of desiccation, a period of an increased occurrence of drought, with higher temperatures and decreased precipitation. That aridity, he argued, drove both people and animals to congregate at oases and river valleys; that propinquity created both population growth and a closer familiarity with plants and animals. Communities developed and were pushed out of the fertile zones, living on the edges of the oases where they were forced to learn how to raise crops and animals in places that were not ideal. Childe was not the first scholar to suggest that cultural change can be driven by environmental changethat was American geologist Raphael Pumpelly [1837-1923] who suggested in 1905 that central Asian cities collapsed because of desiccation. But during the first half of the 20th century, the available evidence suggested that farming appeared first on the dry plains of Mesopotamia with the Sumerians, and the most popular theory for that adoption was environmental change. Modifying the Oasis Theory Generations of scholars beginning in the 1950s with Robert Braidwood, in the 1960s with Lewis Binford, and in the 1980s with Ofer Bar-Yosef, built, dismantled, rebuilt, and refined the environmental hypothesis. And along the way, dating technologies and the ability to identify evidence and timing of past climate change blossomed. Since then, oxygen-isotope variations have allowed scholars to develop detailed reconstructions of the environmental past, and a vastly improved picture of past climate change has been developed. Maher, Banning, and Chazen recently compiled comparative data on radiocarbon dates on cultural developments in the Near East and radiocarbon dates on climatic events during that period. They noted there is substantial and growing evidence that the transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture was a very long and variable process, lasting thousands of years in some places and with some crops. Further, the physical effects of climate change also were and are variable across the region: some regions were severely impacted, others less so. Maher and colleagues concluded that climate change alone cannot have been the sole trigger for specific shifts in technological and cultural change. They add that that doesnt disqualify climatic instability as providing the context for the long transition from mobile hunter-gatherer to sedentary agricultural societies in the Near East, but rather that the process was simply far more complex than the Oasis theory can sustain. Childes Theories To be fair, though, throughout his career, Childe didnt simply attribute cultural change to environmental change: he said that you had to include significant elements of social change as drivers as well. Archaeologist Bruce Trigger put it this way, restating Ruth Tringhams comprehensive review of a handful of Childe biographies: Childe viewed every society as containing within itself both progressive and conservative tendencies which are linked by dynamic unity as well as by persistent antagonism. The latter provides the energy that in the long run brings about irreversible social change. Hence every society contains within itself the seeds for the destruction of its present state and the creation of a new social order. Sources Braidwood RJ. 1957. Jericho and its Setting in Near Eastern History. Antiquity 31(122):73-81.Braidwood RJ, Çambel H, Lawrence B, Redman CL, and Stewart RB. 1974. Beginnings of Village-Farming Communities in Southeastern Turkey1972. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 71(2):568-572.Childe VG. 1969. New Light on the Most Ancient East. London: Norton Company.Childe VG. 1928. The Most Ancient Near East. London: Norton Company.Maher LA, Banning EB, and Chazan M. 2011. Oasis or Mirage? Assessing the Role of Abrupt Climate Change in the Prehistory of the Southern Levant. Cambridge Archaeological Journal 21(01):1-30.Trigger BG. 1984. Childe and Soviet Archaeology. Australian Archaeology 18:1-16.Tringham R. 1983. V. Gordon Childe 25 Years After: His Relevance for the Archaeology of the Eighties. Journal of Field Archaeology 10(1):85-100.Verhoeven M. 2011. The Birth of a Concept and the Origins of the Neolithic: A History of Prehistoric Farmers in the Near East. Palà ©orient oasis37(1):75-87. Weisdorf JL. 2005. From Foraging To Farming: Explaining The Neolithic Revolution. Journal of Economic Surveys 19(4):561-586.Wright HE. 1970. Environmental Changes and the Origin of Agriculture in the near East. BioScience 20(4):210-217.

Are mobile phones fashionable Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Are mobile phones fashionable - Case Study Example A strategic plan entails all aspects of the business. Of paramount importance to any business is the market. This comes before the actual business is initiated. The plan will illustrate the kind of market to venture in. In the case of Nokia Telecommunication Company, the details of the market of target could include: office managers, the business world, students who really on research and could benefit from the internet. Nokia could also target the general public who needs very cheap and affordable phones due to their low economic status. Another market is the very rich citizens of the society. These are people who always go with class. A class in this respect is measured in terms of wealth. One is of a higher class if they have very expensive gargets. Nokia phone whose value range is 800 is the best for such a group (National statistics, 2007). The strategic plan should also give a summary of activities that take place in the market. This explicitly gives the account of the market size and scope. Nokia targets the global market as a whole. However the greatest of this is in the major markets like USA. The United Kingdom is one of the world's most globalised countries, ranking fourth in one recent survey. The capital, London is one of the three major financial centres of the world, along with New York City and Tokyo. Such a market is large and very dynamic. New inventions arrive and go at a very high frequency. Nokia is therefore put to task of introducing new inventions at the market rate. As the fashion industry expands in creativity, Nokia is also forced to maintain the pas of assimilation. This is so because the buyers taste is influenced greatly by what is current in the market. A strategic plan of a business also will contain information about the competitors that a company will meet in the market. It is a must to have competition in any sphere of life. The truth however is that no one gets pleased about this, especially when a rival has an advantage over them. A Strategic plan gives details on how to be on top of the other players. Normal competitive pressures are not able to drive down a firm's earnings to the point where they cover all costs and just provide minimum sufficient additional return to keep capital invested. Most forms of competitive advantage cannot be sustained for any length of time because the promise of economic rents drives competitors to duplicate the competitive advantage held by any one firm. Firms get to improve their products, and lower the cost of purchase of their products. Sustainable competitive advantage simply an advantage that one firm has relative to competing firms. The source of the advantage can be something the company does that is distinctive and difficult to replicate. This is known as core competency in business terms. Nokia has advanced in leading the market through Cost Leadership, Differentiation Focus and Cost Focus. A company must have the right resources like finance, assets, and technical competence to thrive well in the competitive environment (Scholes, 2008). The environment may also affect the competition levels in the industry. The ways in which the environment does this are obvious. These include the number of companies in the market, the prices used by the competitor and the strengths of the host company. Strategies exist widely at several levels in any organisation -

I. The CEO of the company believes that the company should incorporate Essay

I. The CEO of the company believes that the company should incorporate fair value accounting from next year while preparing and - Essay Example The other stakeholders such as employees, suppliers, and stockholders also find fair value accounting more realistic in predicting the trends in business. It is, therefore, easier to ascertain if the business is a going concern concept is on course or otherwise. According to the international accounting standards, fair value refers to the value of an asset or liability, which forms the basis of exchange between willing parties trough arm’s length production. In other words, in free market transactions the fair value is equal to the market prices, which is determined by the forces of demand and supply. The fair value accounting has several models, which include equity approach, mixed approach, income approach, and full fair value. The equity approach incorporates the realized and unrealized profit or losses in the revaluation reserve (Bazley & Hancock, 2013). When any transaction is realized, the changes in fair value will be reflected under equity. Under equity approach, not a ll the realized gains have any effect on the income statement. The mixed approach on its part, allows all changes in the unrealized fair value to be incorporated in the income statement while the changes in the realized profits or losses are reflected in the income statement as opposed to equity. On the other hand, income approach takes into consideration in the income statement, all the changes in the fair value because of holding losses or gains (Britton & Jorissen, 2007). Finally, under full fair value model, all the changes are incorporated in the income statement including the internally generated goodwill. Proponents of fair value asserts that historical approach has lost its meaning since it does not take into consideration the relationship between market capitalization and the firm’s reported financial performance. For instance, if the firm depreciation policy is based on historical cost accounting, then it becomes increasingly hard to determine the actual market valu e of equity net worth for the firm. Moreover, it is very hard to ascertain the true financial position of the firm if the firm values its assets based on historical cost accounting (Britton & Jorissen, 2007). On the other hand, the opponents of fair value accounting approach asserts that fair value accounting cannot bridge the gap between market value of all equity and market capitalization. The reason for this is that most accounting practices through the fair value approach do not report the internally generated good will. Due to this fact, it becomes increasingly hard to have a convergence between net assets of the business and the market value for the business. The debate on historical cost and fair value accounting takes into consideration the concept of reliability and relevance. The fact that fair value accounting approach incorporates existing market conditions; it has a better platform to predict the future patterns of the business as compared to the historical approach to accounting. It is therefore widely viewed that historical approach is the most relevant approach used to determine the net assets. However, when the assets are held to maturity, the historical cost approach becomes more relevant since fair value appro

Electroconvulsive Therapy Essay Example for Free

Electroconvulsive Therapy Essay Chapter 578 of the 14th Edition Texas Laws Relating to Mental Health and Mental Retardation discusses in length the circumstances in which application of the electroconvulsive therapy is allowed, or possible. In the United States, electroconvulsive therapy or ECT as it is commonly called is generally practiced only for the treatment of severe depression. And treatment may only be applied with expressed consent of the patient. Under no other circumstance can ECT be used other than what is prescribed. The Texas Law qualifies this expressed consent agreement by outlining the types of patients who may provide such consent. It also identifies which patients who are not eligible for such treatment at any given circumstance. The law further provides a thorough detailing of what this consent should include. The consent must clearly be communicated to the patient and the following agreed upon: the nature and purpose of the procedure; the degree, duration and probable side effects; opinions of efficacy of the procedure; probable improvement or remission expectations (www. heuniversityhospital. com). Only the presences of all these four (4) important points hold constitute the validity of the consent agreement to ECT. Federal Health Laws of the United States leave the legal obligation for accomplishment of this consent agreement to the doctors. It is the doctors who guarantee the awareness of patients to the requirements of the agreement. Historical Background of the Policy Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) or sometimes referred to as â€Å"electric shock treatment† (Hollander, 2000) has been in existence for over 60 years in the medical field. The use of this procedure however and the conditions surrounding the need for this treatment has improved in recent years. The procedure is used more for the treatment of severe depression (Hollander, 2000) but may also be considered as treatment for schizophrenia and other similar disorders. The first use of this procedure was in 1938 (The University Hospital, 2007) by the Italian Neurologist Ugo Cerletti, aptly aided by his assistant Lucio Bini. They used the electric shock to induce convulsion and subsequently treat mood disorders. However it was only in the 1970’s in which ECT became accepted and was finally recognized by the APA and NIMH as a viable therapeutic procedure. Even with the recognition by the APA and NIMH as having important medical value, there are a number of concerns surrounding the procedure. In fact, ECT is one of the most highly debatable medical procedures around. One of the biggest concerns is with regards to unrecoverable memory loss (Stevens, 2007) after treatment. This is the reason why the governing policy on ECT primarily focuses on the agreement of the patient to the procedure before undergoing such. Description of the Problem that Necessitated the Policy One of the biggest concerns with regards to the use of ECT as a medical treatment is its suitability for minors. For over 40 years the treatment was designed for adults who suffer mental disorders, particularly severe depression. The growing number of minors with similar disorders and because of unsubstantiated side-effects of the procedure prompted the design of the policy. Minors (Baldwin and Jones, 1998) need to be specifically identified as a no-treatment zone in this area. Description of the Policy Policies governing the use of electroconvulsive therapy as a legitimate medical procedure for mental disorders, specifically for the treatment of severe depression are designed to protect the patient. The Texas Law on this particular issue is the most popular reference to identify the implementing guidelines of ECT. The policy aims to concretize the circumstances surrounding the use of ECT. The requirements are absolute and explicit. It assures safety and protection of the patient and the doctor. As a whole the policy addresses the implementing questions that surround ECT. The pre-treatment requirements are clearly stated and easily understood. There is no way around the points of consideration, thus, proving to be well-established. However, the issue on ECT is not necessarily about the policy governing the treatment. Controversy (www. antipsychiatry. org) is focused on the viability of the treatment itself, which unfortunately, is not addressed by the policy. In fact many organization constantly fight against the use of the procedure even for severe depression, as it is commonly applied. The question on electroconvulsive therapy is more on its effectiveness as a medical procedure. Although there are a good number of documented successes of ECT, there also are a good number of disputes raised. Since the existing policy governing ECT focuses on its implementing guidelines, many disputes are not addressed. Comparative and International Analysis In March 2006, the United Kingdom made a bold move to revise (Ruthen, 2006) their existing policy on electroconvulsive therapy. The changes in the provisions include the strengthening of guideline to safeguard its practice (Ruthen, 2006). They also include the ethical considerations pertaining to safety and effectiveness. Through these provisions, the policy became more comprehensive. It increased the level of safety and security for those which the particular policy is designed. In contrast, the Texas Law as earlier discussed does not provide a clear stand on its effectiveness, efficiency, and safety. Without dealing with the ethical considerations of the procedure, the law merely provides a procedural guideline for implementation. The law neither provides basis for Government action apart from its role on instrumentation. Social Thought and Ideology There are two very contrasting social thoughts on ECT. The first is that electroconvulsive therapy is a highly effective medical procedure for mental disorders. It is safe and effective more particularly for the treatment of severe depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. This view highlights the credibility of the procedure and supports the existing policies for its implementation. In both the US Federal and Texas Laws, legal accountability is placed with the patient and the doctor. Because of substantiated success of the treatment over the course of more than 60 years, the policy is designed to provide implementing guidelines to safeguard its uses. In fact, the US Federal Law specifically states that it is the legal responsibility of the doctor to clarify all pre-treatment requirements with the patient. In no instance does Government interfere with the process. Medical decisions in this case are left between the two parties involved. The strongest evidence of Government involvement in the policy lies on the registration of equipment used in the procedure. On the other hand, the second school of thought questions the very validity of the procedure as a humane alternative to treat mental disorders. Many counterpoints are raised more precisely when it comes to its ethical considerations. This point of view questions the very role of Government in safeguarding the use of this procedure. The existing policy simply does not justify the existence of unsubstantiated side effects, most particularly that of memory loss after treatment. Those who support this view believe that in the more than 60 year history of ECT, there are still so many unanswered concerns surrounding the procedure. Considering this like any other medical solution simply reduces the opportunity to scrutinize the side effects more in-depth. However contradicting the two schools of thought in this matter, there are still points both agree upon. One of these points and probably the most important is that both sides acknowledge the unsuitability of the procedure for minors. The policy was designed to make sure that the protection of minors from this procedure is absolute, not withstanding the otherwise underlying differences in the two schools of thoughts. What Dynamics and Patterns of US Social Policy are Evident in the Policy? Historically (Amenta, Bonastia, and Caren, 2001) the US Social Policy has always been the subjected of much heated debates among policy makers. The major areas that cause quite a stir are in health care, welfare, social services, and employment. There have been many attempts to revise social policies but have failed. In other words, patterns and dynamics of social policies have remained constant for many years. The longstanding debates on social policies (Weir, Orloff, and Skocpol, 1988) affect the progression of other policies. One such policy is that which addresses the mental health care, more specifically the use of electroconvulsive therapy in treating mental disorders. In as much as the social policies go through quite a scrutiny, provisions that deal with ECT are equally scrutinized. The laws that govern the use of ECT do not even state the relevance of this procedure to social welfare or any other social policy. Even though ECT is recognized as a legitimate means to treat mental disorder, there remains indifference on how far Government would go to subsidize this procedure. Conclusion Electroconvulsive therapy is a recognized treatment procedure for mental disorders by both the American Psychological Association and the National Institute of Mental Health. Its more than 60 year track record documents numerous success. In fact, it has gained even greater momentum in recent times. While there is much acclaim for the procedure, there is also much concern. The questions on side effects have not been thoroughly addressed. Policies that govern the procedure do not provide enough assurance of its safety and efficiency. There is a constant fear of other unknown side effects materializing. And with the brain being a highly susceptible mass, there is no guarantee to its long standing recovery effects. The Texas Law does provide a sense of comfort by somehow solidifying pre-treatment requirements. However, after all these requirements have been accomplished, there are no subsequent provisions that address the other important considerations. Apart from the weaknesses in policy there is the constant nagging of unanswered ethical considerations. Even with the numerous reassurances that the procedure is with expressed consent, there is still the question of how humanely applicable is the entire procedure. The policy simply puts accountability to the patient itself. It does not actually define the surrounding qualifications of the entire process. It is therefore inferred that the Texas Laws, although having the beginnings of a solid reference to protect those who undergo ECT still need a great deal of work. It does not matter if it has been the reference of many similar policies. There are important issues about ECT that are not properly addressed, or even considered. True, that with the present policies governing ECT it is always the patient’s choice. Never the less, it is the responsibility of policy makers to provide for informed choices. The human brain is far too important for simple assumptions.

Essay example --

Emotions and the physiological stress reaction can affect the everyday life? It is a way of expressing oneself in life. Positive emotions can open the door to learning for you. Negative emotions-especially overwhelming stress-can literally make to impossible to do well. This is subject that I know too well. The emotional state of mind also has a big part in our success. (Why Learning Is Not All in Your Head), Neurophysiologist Carla Hannaford writes: â€Å"Our mind/body system learns through experiencing life in context, in relationship to everything else, and it is our emotions, our feelings that mediate that context. In order to learn, think or create, learners must have an emotional commitment.† Becoming more aware on the state of mind a person is in makes a difference on how a person can be more proactive on a better quality of life. I’ve always want to be a better person too! I am challenged with many problems that makes performing my best difficult. We have to work to develop the right mindset and attitude that it takes in order to create the lifestyle that we all truly want. Change...

Nurseâ€Patient Ratio in California

a) Nurse-Patient ratio is the relationship of the number of patients that should be served by one nurse at particular moment of time. It was a working formula that was proposal in 1992 by the California Nurses Association (CAN), which was to cater for quality service to patients by their nurses in the hospitals. After varied controversial arguments about the proposal regarding the overall implication to the economic costs of the ratio, different proposal from the concerned parties were arrived at where; the state government proposed ratio was 1:6 for all the medical or surgical units in the hospital.   However this ratio was to lower to 1:5 in a period of one and one-half year. The California Nurse Union (CNU) had a proposal of 1:3 for the medical units and 1:4 for the surgical units. The California Hospital Association (CHA) had proposed a ratio of 1:10 for both medical and surgical units. The nurse-patient ratio was enacted in October 1999.   However, the results of the actual proposed ratios were released on 2002.   The CNU and CHA ratio requirement were thought to be stable all through and each of them parties sought for its own ratio implementation.   However, the state proposal consisted a series of development where, they were to be implement at 1:6 and later reduced to 1:5 after 1 – 1  ½ year. (Slack, Slack,2001, p.107) b) History The nurse-patient ratio was firstly proposed by nurses in California in 1992 (Russell, 2004) However it was enacted as a law in 1999 but its enactment was to be followed by a period of its implement, which was to be until January 2002.   This implementation gave the California Hospital Association upto a deadline of January 2003 to hire the right number of nurses for their hospital as required by the government proposal of 1:5   ratio which the government had stated would lower from the ratio of 1:6 in a period of 1 – 1  ½ years. However, due to the complains, from the CHA, the proposal was only enacted into a law in January 2004, requiring the hospitals to implement on the 1:5 ratio by June 2004.  Ã‚   But following an emergency proposal by the director of department of Health Services – Sandra Sherry, the 1:5 ratio laws would only be instituted in January 2008.   (Russell 2004) c) Ideally, this proposal would highly support a positive nursing work environment.   Although the Californian Hospital Association argues that this would be too costly, but this would on be argumentable for the short run.   However, the cost would be reduced in the short run period of their business cycle.  Ã‚   Since higher ratios would ultimately help to improve the existing state of patient care.   Either, Lower ratios would consequently call for more nurse to join the career, whose turn over was very low. Through lowering the ratios, then the profession would be more interesting to the young learners who will be able to join it.   Also, it was made to call back those nurses who had left the profession due to unappealing ratio. To defend, their argument, they argued that, lower nurse-patient ratio was to lower the possible costs by hospitals to hire other nurses.   This is because of the possible economies that would be arrived at through the savings in greater patient care and faster service delivery.   Either, hospitals would reduce the hire of the nurses who were temporary registered, and whose cost was higher than that of permanently employed nurses.   (Coombs, 2004, p. 83) d) However, different controversies were between different parties aligned to this proposal.  Ã‚   Firstly, the California Nurse Association felt that, this was a good move, as it enhanced better patient care and ultimately economies to the owners of the medical centers in the long run.   They believed that, by using lower ratios, the result would be an attraction of more number of young and others who had left to the nursing profession.   Either, this worked to reduce cost by the hire of temporary registered persons. However, the California Hospital Association argued that this was impractical in terms of cost of implementation.   They argued that these would only work to favour the nurses at the expense of their business.   The state government thought that, the proposals of the nurses were viable but could only work under stages of implementation. It believed this proposal worked for the good of the people.   Also, the union for Service Employees International was also in the view that, this proposal worked to improve the amount of care given to patient hence it was important for its implementation. (Ponton, Carrion, 2001, p.48) e) The proposal would be highly recommendable for the general service delivery to the patients.   Either, it was important since it worked to improve the conditions of both the patients, nurses and hospital owners. f. (I) Yes, they work to ensure that, there were a lesser number of patients for service by one nurse.   This helped to reduce the amount of service by the nurses hence they could give a better attention to the patients.   However this did not keep the attention of any possible risk cases where the number of patients may increase indefinitely. ii) The government enacted that the ratio that would remain as 1:6 in January 2004, and reduce to 1:5 by June the same year.   However, in a petition that was passed to the court, by the direction of California Hospital Association this would only to be active in January 2008.   However, the ratio of 1:6 has not been followed in some health centers where nurse are made to serve a bigger number than this ratio.   Else where, there has been a positive adherence to this law in most of the hospitals. (David, Baustica, p. 66) References David, E. & Baustista, H. (2004) La Nueva California LATINOS IN THE GOLDEN STATE. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Ponton, M. & Carrion, J. (2001).   Neuropsychology and the Hispanic Patient: A clinical Handbook; Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Coombs, M. (2004) Power & Conflict between Doctors and Nurses.   Breaking Through the Inner Circle in Clinical Care. London : Routledge. Slack, N. & Slack, C. (2001) Cyber Medicine: How Computing Empowers Doctors and Patients For Better Cared Revised and Updated Edition. San. Francisco: Jossey – Bass. Russell, S. (2004).   State Moves to Freeze Nurse Patient Ratio.   Nov, 05, 2005

Madoff Case

20102004 Thi Ngoc Thuy Do 1. What are the ethical issues involved in the Madoff case? Bernard Madoff was accused of fraud and creation of a Ponzi scheme which lead to a $65 billion investment loss for hundreds of investors in over the world. Bernard Madoff started a legal business by buying and selling over the counter stocks that were not listed on NYSE. He deceived many people into thinking his operation as legitimate, and completely abused his respectable name and position of power for his own personal advances.He lied to his friends and clients from the beginning and as later documented in his allocution, he never invested any of the money he got. He became a thief. Madoff started a Ponzi scheme on levels never seen before. Madoff stole from friends, family and investors. Madoff did not invest the money as he promised; he simply used it to pay off the first set of investors at very high return rates (10-12%), so he could attract more money. There were also jobs given to family me mbers who could have helped the scheme. Madoff’s daughter was also married to a former Securities and Exchange Commission attorney.His company’s financial reports were never made public during the time of the scheme. I wonder how his company passed the tax audition imposed question on the SEC internal system. There is a big question for US government system. 2. Do you believe that Bernard Madoff worked alone, or do you think he had help in creating and sustaining his Ponzi scheme? Would this represent a conflict of interest? â€Å"Speaking as a Jew on Christmas, I would be less shocked if Santa Claus showed up to my house than if Bernie Madoff pulled off this fraud alone,† says Ron Geffner, a partner at law firm.So,I definitely believe Bernard Madoff did not work alone, he had help in creating and sustaining his Poniz scheme for 30 years. Without his accountants, family members, and other employees covering up his tracks, he wouldn't have gotten away with mislea ding so many officials who certified his operation as legitimate. Since these people were satisfied with the constant returns. They all shared in an expensive living condition, nobody questioned was made. Without these people, Madoff wouldn't have held up his operation for so long. Why internal accounting and auditing make no sense or Madoffs action. How Madoff elude investigation of SEC by transfer between his account and his familys account, those questions show that   Bernard Madoff need others help, he could not do these alone. The motivation of Madoff to set  Ponze scheme is very pure which only for money. The conflict of interest exists, the conflict  is between personal interest and public interest, Madoff and his family enjoys their luxury life style by cheating, public interest gets hurt. 3. What should be done to help ensure that Ponzi schemes like Madoff's do not happen in the future?In order to prevent Ponzi schemes from recurring, internal controls and compliance standards that detect misconduct must be implemented. Awareness on these types of crimes needs to be raised as well. Investors should pay closer attention and realize that just because someone may seem to have a perfect resume, doesn't mean they're completely well fit and will act ethically. The market is unpredictable, so no one can ensure 100% for your interest in future. Furthermore, Government should run SEC effectively, so people can trust them before incident occur.

South African Apartheid-Era Identity Numbers

South African Apartheid-Era Identity Numbers The South African Identity Number of the 1970s and 80s enshrined the Apartheid era ideal of racial registration. It was brought in to effect by the 1950  Population Registration Act  which identified four different racial groups: White, Coloured, Bantu (Black) and others. Over the next two decades, the racial classification of both the Coloured and other groups were extended until by the early 80s there was a total of nine different racial groups being identified. Black Land Act Over the same period, the Apartheid government introduced legislation creating independent homelands for Blacks, effectively making them aliens in their own country. The initial legislation for this actually dated back to before the introduction of Apartheid- the 1913  Black (or Natives) Land Act, which had created reserves in the Transvaal, Orange Free State, and Natal provinces. The Cape province was excluded because Blacks still had a limited franchise (entrenched in the South Africa Act which created the  Union) and which required a two-thirds majority in parliament to remove. Seven percent of the land area of South Africa was dedicated to roughly 67% of the population. With the 1951  Bantu Authorities Act  the Apartheid government lead the way for the establishment of territorial authorities in the reserves. The 1963  Transkei Constitution Act  gave the first of the reserves self-government, and with the 1970  Bantu Homelands Citizenship Act  and 1971  Bantu Homelands Constitution Act  the process was finally legalised. QwaQwa was proclaimed the second self-governing territory in 1974 and two years later, through the Republic of Transkei Constitution Act, the first of the homelands became independent. Racial Categories By the early 80s, through the creation of independent homelands (or  Bantustans), Blacks were no longer considered true citizens of the Republic. The remaining citizens of South Africa were classified according to eight categories: White, Cape Colored, Malay, Griqua, Chinese, Indian, Other Asian, and Other Colored. The South African Identity Number was 13 digits long. The first six digits gave the birth date of the holder (year, month, and date). The next four digits acted as a serial number to distinguish people born on the same day, and to differentiate between the sexes: digits 0000 to 4999 were for females, 5000 to 9999 for males. The eleventh digit indicated whether the holder was ​an SA citizen (0) or not (1)- the latter for foreigners who had rights of residency. The penultimate digit recorded race, according to the above list- from Whites (0) to Other Coloured (7). The final digit of the ID number was an arithmetical control (like the last digit on ISBN numbers). Post-Apartheid The racial criteria for identity numbers was removed by the 1986  Identification Act  (which also repealed the 1952  Blacks (Abolition of Passes and Co-ordination of Documents) Act, otherwise known as the Pass Law) whilst the 1986  Restoration of South African Citizenship Act  returned citizenship rights to its Black population.

19 Top Scholarships for High School Seniors

19 Top Scholarships for High School Seniors SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Aside from grants and loans, private scholarships are some of the best ways to help fund your college education. There are thousands of scholarships out there for high school seniors, all with different eligibility requirements, deadlines, and award amounts, so it's definitely worth your time to do some research. Senior year is prime crunch time when it comes to your college scholarship search. If you’re just starting the search process and need a little help getting off on the right foot, you’ve come to the right place. I’ve compiled a list of some of the best college scholarships for high school seniors based on availability and award amounts. These scholarships are generally flexible (so you’ll be able to use them at any accredited college you attend), and they also don’t have any geographical restrictions (so you’re eligible to apply no matter where you live in the US). The list is broken down into four sub-lists: scholarship competitions, merit-based scholarships, need-based scholarships, and specialty awards. Don't forget to check out the end of the article for strategies on getting the most scholarship money possible! All scholarships are competitions- to win the following scholarships, though, you'll have to go head-to-head with other students. Scholarship Competitions The following scholarships are awarded based on performance in some sort of contest. These types of scholarships can be pretty intensive, so give yourself extra time to effectively prepare if you plan on pursuing one of them. Voice of Democracy Scholarship Competition Students compete for this award by writing and recording an audio essay on a patriotic theme. The theme for the 2019-20 contest is "What Makes America Great." The first-place winner gets a grand prize of $30,000 as well as an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, DC. The program gives out a total of $2.1 million in awards and incentives each year. Eligibility: Students in grades 9-12 Deadline: October 31, 2019 The Fountainhead Essay Contest Students compete for this award by writing an essay on one of three topics related to Ayn Rand's book The Fountainhead. The first-place winner will receive a grand prize of $10,000. Runners-up also receive awards. Each year a total of $22,500 is given out in prize money. Eligibility: Students in grades -12 Deadline: Likely late April, 2020 Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest Students compete for this award by writing an essay on one of three topics related to Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged. The first-place winner will receive a $25,000 prize. Runners-up also win prizes, and a whopping $40,000 in scholarship money is awarded annually. Eligibility: High school seniors, college students, and graduate students Deadline: September 19, 2019 American Legion National High School Oratorical Contest Are you a good public speaker, or do you just want an excuse to hone your public-speaking skills? Then this competition would be a good fit for you. Students compete for this award by preparing and performing a three- to five-minute oration on some aspect of the US Constitution. You can view this year's topics here. The first-place winner receives $18,000, second place receives $16,000, and third place receives $14,000. There are also smaller awards for state winners. In total, annual award amounts can exceed $138,000. Eligibility: US high school students under 20 years of age Deadline: Varies by state, as contests are arranged by local American Legion departments. Get more information for your state here. Create-a-Greeting Card Scholarship Contest (Gallery Collection Scholarship) This scholarship is pretty unique- and it's great for students with some untapped artistic talents! Students compete for this award by submitting a photo, piece of artwork, or computer graphic to be used on the front of a greeting card. The winner will receive $10,000, and the winner's school will also get $1,000. Eligibility: High school and college students, aged 14 or older Deadline: March 2nd, 2020 To win these scholarships, you have to show that you're tough- or at least that your brain is tough. Scholarships Based on Academic Strength The following scholarships are generally awarded based on students' academic performance in conjunction with a few other factors, such as leadership skills and commitment to community service. As a result, the most competitive applicants will be dedicated, high-achieving students who are also invested in their communities. Coca-Cola Scholars Program Coca-Cola Scholars are judged primarily on their academic performance, extracurricular activities, leadership experience, and community service. This scholarship program is fairly big: 150 awards of $20,000 each are given out every year. You can learn more about the Coca-Cola Scholarship by reading our guide to winning the award. Eligibility: Current US high school seniors who are not children or grandchildren of Coca-Cola employees Deadline: 5pm EST Thursday, October 31, 2019 Burger King Scholars Program Applicants to this scholarship are judged on their GPA, work experience, extracurricular activities, and community service. Award amounts range from those as small as $1,000 to those as large as $50,000. Eligibility: employees and their spouses/partners/children, US high school seniors Deadline: October 15-December 15, 2019 Ronald McDonald House Charities Scholarships For these, award eligibility requirements will vary based on your local Ronald McDonald House Charity chapter. For example, some have ethnic eligibility requirements. Deadlines and award amounts will also vary by location, but some of the bigger national awards can be as large as $100,000! Check out our how-to guide to learn more about getting an RMHC scholarship. Eligibility: High school seniors, but other requirements may apply depending on scholarship Deadline: Varies depending on scholarship but likely January 2020 If your family income isn't enough to cover college expenses, need-based scholarships might be a great option for you. Scholarships Based on Financial Need The following scholarships take financial need into account when choosing award recipients. For many of these programs, though, financial need is just one of many criteria considered. In other words, strong applicants will also be successful students, leaders, or community activists. For most of these applications, you'll likely have to submit documentation about your family income. Horatio Alger Scholarship Award This generous need-based scholarship is geared toward students who have faced and overcome great obstacles. To be considered eligible, your gross adjusted family income must be at or below $55,000. At the national level, there are 106 $25,000 awards; at the state level, there are scholarships for all 50 states plus the District of Columbia of $10,000 each. This one scholarship application will get you considered for many other national, state, and specialized scholarships, which means less work for you and more opportunities for scholarship funding! Eligibility: US high school seniors who plan on getting a bachelor's degree Deadline: October 25, 2019 Jackie Robinson's Foundation Scholarship Program Applicants to this need-based scholarship are judged on theirleadership skills and commitment to community service. To be considered eligible, you must identify as a minority student. As many as 60 new scholarships are awarded annually. The scholarships are four-year awards, and recipients can receive as much as $30,000 over four years. Eligibility: US minority high school seniors who plan on getting a bachelor's degree in the US Deadline: Likely February 2020 Engebretson Foundation Scholarship This need-based scholarship is pretty straightforward: it's awarded to one student each year who demonstrates not only financial need but also impressive academic performance and leadership ability. The annual award winner receives $5,000 per semester of college. Eligibility: High school seniors with financial need who plan to attend a four-year college Deadline: March 1, 2020 (note that applications must be submitted via mail) Jack Kent Cooke Foundation College Scholarship Program In addition to providing funding for college, this scholarship program offers personal advising on selecting a college, navigating the financial aid process, and transitioning from high school to college. Applicants are judged on academic ability and achievement, financial need, persistence, desire to help others, and leadership skills. Awards are given to students each year, and can be as high as $40,000 per academic year. In 2019, 121 students were accepted into the program. Eligibility: High school seniors with financial need who plan to attend a four-year college Deadline: November 13, 2019 Elk's National Foundation Most Valuable Student Competition Applicants to this need-based scholarship are judged on their scholarship and leadership abilities. In total, 500 scholarships are awarded across the country totally $2.44 million, and award amounts (over four years) range from $4,000 to $50,000. Applications must be submitted to the Elk Lodge closest to your home address, so make sure to research the Elk Lodges in your area before you apply. Eligibility: US high school seniors who plan to attend a four-year US college Deadline: November 5, 2019 at :59 PM Gates Scholarship The Gates Scholarship aims to help scholastically-outstanding minority high school seniors reach their full potential. 300 students each year receive a scholarship covering the full cost of attendance (including tuition, fees, room, board, books, and transportation) that is not already covered by other financial aid and expected family contribution. Read more about the Gates Scholarship and how to win it here. Eligibility: US minority high school seniors who are Pell-eligible (Pelligible?) and have a minimum cumulative weighted GPA of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale (or equivalent) Deadline: September 15, 2019 These next scholarships are unique- just like every student applicant! Specialty Scholarships The following scholarship programs are national awards that target students who have specific or unique interests or achievements. Whether you're the next president of the SPCA or even the USA, you should be able to find a specialty scholarship that's perfect for you! CIA Undergraduate Scholars Program This program offers more than just a scholarship- if you're selected as a winner, you'll become a part of a pretty unique internship program. Interns work at the CIA during summer breaks and also get an annual salary (with benefits) and an annual scholarship award of up to $18,000. You must demonstrate financial need to qualify. Income eligibility ceilings are $70,000 for a family of four or fewer, and $80,000 for a family of five or more. Eligibility: High school seniors Deadline: Likely spring 2020, with applications opening in early 2020 Vegetarian Resource Group Scholarship Are you a proud vegetarian? This might seem like a niche award, but the scholarship is very real! Applicants are judged on their "compassion, courage, and a strong commitment to promoting a peaceful world through a vegetarian diet/lifestyle." If you've promoted vegetarianism at school or in your community, you'll likely be a strong candidate for this scholarship. The first-place winner receives $10,000, and two runners-up each receive $5,000. Eligibility: Graduating high schoolseniors Deadline: February 20, 2020 Davidson Fellowship Scholarships Do you have an extraordinary achievement you're particularly proud of? This scholarship is for students who have completed an impressive piece of work in the fields ofscience, technology, engineering, math, literature, music, or philosophy. Scholarship requirements differ based on the type of project, with awards ranging from $10,000 to $50,000. Eligibility: US citizens or permanent residents 18 years of age and under Deadline: Likely February, 2020 AXA Achievement Scholarship This scholarship targets students who have empowered society through achievements that mitigate risk. This idea can be interpreted pretty broadly, so spend some time figuring out what risk means to you and whether you've participated in making the world a safer place through any of your activities. In 2018, more than 300 students representing all 50 states; Washington, DC; and Puerto Rico received one-time scholarships in increments of $2,500, $10,000, or $25,000, and the winners' schools will also receive $1,000 for every student who wins a scholarship. Eligibility: High school seniors who will attend college in 2020-21 Deadline: Likely late 2019 William Randolph Hearst Foundations US Senate Youth Program If you're passionate about public service, this is the scholarship for you. The Senate Youth Program targets students who participate in their high school student government and plan to study history or political science in college. Applicants are judged on their leadership skills, academic performance, community involvement, and extracurricular activities. Each winner will receive a $10,000 award in addition to an all-expenses-paid educational week in Washington, DC, in March 2020. Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors Deadline: Varies depending on state but is typically in October Higher education costs in the United States have been skyrocketing for the last 20 years, but it's still possible to get a great education without breaking the bank. Learn how you can maximize the quality of your college education while minimizing costs with our six-hour online course. Tips here, get your tips here! Making the Most of Your Scholarship Applications: 3 Key Tips If you're going to go through all the work of submitting a scholarship application, then you want to make sure you have the best chances possible of winning awards. The following three tips will help you submit the greatest number of successful scholarship applications possible. #1: Do Your Own Research As you've probably noticed, many of the above scholarships are fairly generous national awards that'll likely be quite competitive. Unfortunately, you could be a strong applicant for many of these scholarships and still not win a big award. So what's a student to do? The reality is that there are countless scholarship programs out there that might be really good fits for your interests, location, background, identity, etc. The more niche a scholarship program is, the better chances you'll have of winning an award (if you're a qualified applicant, that is). So do some research on scholarships programs that operate in your area or are offered to students with your particular interests, experiences, skills, or passions. The Ronald McDonald House Charities scholarships are a good place to start. You can also pay a visit to your guidance counselor who should have more information on local scholarships. In addition, you could branch out on your own by searching online for scholarships in your area. If you have a particular talent, skill, or interest, look for scholarships that are offered to students based on those criteria. #2: Apply Broadly Applying for scholarships- like applying to colleges- is, in part, a numbers game. You wouldn't apply to just one school if you wanted to optimize your chances of getting into a great college, would you? Many scholarship applications ask similar questions and require similar information, so if you apply to one program, you might as well apply to a bunch. It's free to apply for most scholarships anyway- all it takes is a few hours of your time. Finally, take advantage of applications that submit you for consideration for many scholarship awards, such as the Horatio Alger Scholarship mentioned above. #3: Make Note of Deadlines Scholarship applications are all over the place- there's no defined "scholarship season" for submission deadlines, but many are due before college application deadlines. As such, it's better to start your scholarship search sooner rather than later so you don't miss out on any great opportunities. The summer before your senior year is a good time to start making note of programs that you're interested in. Keep track of application deadlines by maintaining a spreadsheet that you update regularly. This is especially helpful if applications require you to ask for letters of recommendation; you can make sure to give teachers and mentors plenty of advance notice to write you a letter. What's Next? Want to get a head start on scoping out scholarships? Then check out our comprehensive guides to winning some of the most competitive national scholarships available, including the Gates Scholarship, the Coca-Cola Scholarship, the Walmart Scholarships, and the McDonald's Scholarships. Looking for scholarships with low-hassle applications? Our article on the easiest scholarships to apply for will give you a great starting list. Wondering if you can get a scholarship for something like being left-handed? Learn more about the weirdest scholarships you can win here. Need more help with your scholarship search? Read our expert guide on how to find college scholarships and the best scholarship search websites. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Critical appraisal of the growing dominance of Dell in the marketplace Research Proposal

Critical appraisal of the growing dominance of Dell in the marketplace - Research Proposal Example The importance of engineering principles will be extensively covered as well as legal and ethical issues associated with conducting business online. In section two, we will critically appraise the business models used by Dell, identifying their sources of competitive advantage. The technology used to facilitate their success will also be addressed. Dell is the largest merchant in selling all types of computer sizes and understand the customer well. It has a great website and the critical appraisal of the website is done for fetching the business model and knowing the sue experience. Besides buying products, Dell allows users to search for products, technical support, articles and solutions, read reviews/ content of the investor relations and corporate governance, recommendations /personalized services. It also provides its customers with online tutorials and order tracking. Users can interact with the technicians via chat services with technicians. Dell also provides intensive support services. Dell was an early and enthusiastic convert to the Internet, creating its first web site in 1994 and moving many of its business activities to the Internet ahead of its competitors. (Kraemer & Dedrick, 2001) The company witnessed that its direct model gave it a lead in selling online. Unlike indirect vendors such as Apple, IBM, HP and Compaq, Dell did not have to worry about channel conflict with resellers and distributors when it began selling online. It operates in business to consumer model (B2C). Describe Revenue Model Dell represents a new breed of retailers; changing the way business is conducted online with their business to consumer model (B2C.) It is a virtual reseller, one of the main new intermediaries (Sarkar et al, 1996.) They are an electronic-commerce only intermediary; business and customer relationship management (CRM) is conducted purely via their website. Describe Marketing Mode Dell's marketing is done through their site itself. They also resort various other forms of marketing like e-banners and web advertisement in social bookmarking websites. Analysis of Co. Web Site Usability Dell's homepage provides the user with an overview of their whole site, most importantly it speaks about all the products it sells, which is vitally important as (Nielsen, 2002) explains "The homepage is your company's face to the world." User friendliness Dell use standard blue hyperlinks, mouse over navigation, browse box, graphics and a search input box to help users interactively navigate the site, which is very user