Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Nuclear power provides cheap and clean energy

Table of Contents Introduction Environmental advantage Economic advantage Political advantage Conclusion Works Cited Introduction Nuclear power refers to the sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity (Ojovan 34). About 6% of the world’s energy is sourced from nuclear power. There has been a much heated debate going on for decades in regard to the use of nuclear energy.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Nuclear power provides cheap and clean energy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Proponents stress that nuclear energy is more sustainable and environmentally friendly (Sovacool 376). Opponents believe that nuclear power possesses a significant threat to the environment and human beings. This paper seeks to reaffirm that nuclear power provides cheap and clean energy. Its advantages outweigh its disadvantages. Environmental advantage Several studies have been carried out to determine the effe ct of nuclear power on the environment, especially in comparison with other energy sources. Many of them have established that nuclear power generation causes minimal effects on the environment as it emits very low amount of carbon dioxide and other green house gases (Sovacool 376). Energy sources such as fossil fuels cause more deadly pollution when compared to nuclear energy. Much of the opposition with nuclear power generation is associated with the potential catastrophic risks that can result from overheated fuels (Pandit, pp. 3). About 10,000 metric tons of high level radioactive wastes are produced from reactors around the world. There are controversies in regard to how these wastes should be deposited. Deep burial in stable geological locations was suggested, but no country has implemented that to date. New technologies have been developed to reprocess the waste and reduce its volume. However, this waste is too minute when compared to that from fossil fuels. Studies conducted to identify fatalities per unit power produced by the several leading energy sources have shown that nuclear power is the safest one while fossil fuels, especially coal, are the most polluting (Sovacool 376). This can be explained by the number of deaths that is caused by air pollution from fossil fuels. The director of Center for Health and Global Environment at Harvard Medical School explains that the whole life cycle of energy production from fossil fuels leads to a trail of injuries, illness and death (Sovacool 376). It is estimated that fine particles that are emitted from coal electricity generating plants kill up to 13,000 every year in the United States. More deaths are also registered in the extraction and transportation of coal and other fossil fuels.Advertising Looking for essay on environmental studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In contrast, there have been no deaths associated with Nuclear power generation, apart from some notable accidents. The â€Å"International Atomic Energy Agency and the UN estimate that the death toll due to cancer following the 1986 meltdown at Chernobyl is yet to reach 9000† (Sovacool 376, pp.3). More research indicates that catastrophes associated with nuclear power plants are not major contributors of nuclear death or pollution. More than half of the deaths associated with nuclear power activities stem from Uranium mining. Even when this is included, overall number of deaths remains significantly low in comparison to all other energy sources. The â€Å"greatest environmental advantage of nuclear power is that it does not release greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, ozone and chlorofluorocarbon) during nuclear reaction† (Ojovan 37, pp. 4). Hydropower does not produce emissions such as fossil fuels, but it causes a significant effect on the environment through damming, change of water flow, lowering of water levels, building of power lines (Pandit, pp. 6). The environmental effects caused per unit power generation are enormous when compared to nuclear power generation. Economic advantage The production of nuclear power is relatively cheap when compared to coal and petroleum. The initial cost of setting up a nuclear power plant is usually very high. However, the subsequent fuel cost to run the plants is very low compared to other energy sources. The cost of power production from other sources may vary from place to place depending on deposits and other environmental factors. For instance, the use of coal for power production is economically attractive in countries such as the United States, China and Australia because they have abundant and accessible domestic sources (Sovacool 376). Gas is competitive for base load power in many locations around the world. However, the rising costs and environmental challenges have done away with most of these advantages. The cost of nuclear fuel for nuclear power generation is much lower compared to coal, oil and gas fired plants (Sovacool 376). However, the processing, enrichment and fabrication of the Uranium account for about 50% of the total cost.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Nuclear power provides cheap and clean energy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Additional costs are often associated with the management, radioactive used fuel and the ultimate disposal of the used fuel (Ojovan 12). However, even when these costs are factored in, the total price of energy production from nuclear power is much cheaper compared to the one got from gas and coal fired plants. A study carried out by the US Nuclear Energy Institute shows that a coal fired plant uses 78% of its financial resources on fuel, a gas fired plant needs up to 89% of its financial resources on fuel while a nuclear power plant requires only 14% of its financial resources on Uranium. Uranium has the advantage of being concentra ted and thus can be transported cheaply when compared to gas and coal. It is also used in very small quantities to create similar amount of energy. In fact, one kilogram of Uranium can be yielded up to 20,000 times producing more energy than similar amount of coal does (Ojovan 15). Apart from the low cost of acquiring and transportation of Uranium, another economic advantage lies in the ability of a single nuclear power plant to generate high amount of energy. Nuclear power is much more efficient compared to other energy sources. Hydro power production may be hampered by adverse whether conditions and thus cause unprecedented increase in the cost of energy with serious economic consequences. Fossil fuel production and distribution are often affected by political situations in oil producing countries, and this regularly impacts on the gas prices. Political advantage The greatest political advantage of using nuclear power is the fact that it leads to a significant reduction of depende nce on oil. Oil is produced in very few countries around the world and thus has created a lot of interest and competition. This is indeed true for the political crisis that seems never to end in the Middle East. Nuclear fuel is cheaper and can be sourced from more stable regions of the world. Therefore, nuclear power can indeed free many countries from oil dependence (Sovacool 376).Advertising Looking for essay on environmental studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Conclusion This paper sought to reaffirm that nuclear power provides cheap and clean energy. Its advantages far outweigh its disadvantages. Indeed, it has been identified that nuclear power is much cheaper, causes the least effect on environment and reduces dependence on other countries producing oil. Though it has some serious risks, the efforts that are currently in place have reduced them considerably. Works Cited Ojovan, Lee. An Introduction to Nuclear Waste Immobilsation. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science Publishers, 2005. Print. Pandit, Madhura. â€Å"Advantages and Disadvantages of Nuclear Energy.† Buzzle.com. Buzzle, 7 May 2011. Web. Sovacool, Benjamin. â€Å"A Critiatical Evaluation of Nuclear Power and Renewable Electricity.† Journal of Contemporary Asia (2010): 40(3): 376. Print. This essay on Nuclear power provides cheap and clean energy was written and submitted by user Emmanuel H. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

A Burlesque Biography By Mark Twain English Literature Essay Essays

A Burlesque Biography By Mark Twain English Literature Essay Essays A Burlesque Biography By Mark Twain English Literature Essay Paper A Burlesque Biography By Mark Twain English Literature Essay Paper alternatively of Higgins, is a enigma which none of us has of all time felt much desire to stir. It is a sort of vague, reasonably love affair, and we leave it entirely. All the old households do that manner. Arthour Twain was a adult male of considerable note a canvasser on the main road in William Rufus s clip. At about the age of 30 he went to one of those all right old English topographic points of resort called Newgate, to see about something, and neer returned once more. While there he died all of a sudden. Augustus Twain seems to hold made something of a splash about the twelvemonth 1160. He was as full of merriment as he could be, and used to take his old sabre and sharpen it up, and acquire in a convenient topographic point on a dark dark, and stick it through people as they went by, to see them leap. He was a born humourist. But he got to traveling excessively far with it ; and the first clip he was found depriving one of these parties, the governments removed one terminal of him, and put it up on a nice high topographic point on Temple Bar, where it could contemplate the people and have a good clip. He neer liked any state of affairs so much or stuck to it so long. Then for the following two hundred old ages the household tree shows a sequence of soldiers baronial, ebullient chaps, who ever went into conflict vocalizing, right behind the ground forces, and ever went out a-whooping, right in front of it. This is a scathing reproof to old dead Froissart s hapless humor that our household tree neer had but one limb to it, and that that one stuck out at right angles, and bore fruit winter and summer. Early on in the 15th century we have Beau Twain, called the Scholar. He wrote a beautiful, beautiful manus. And he could copy anybody s manus so closely that it was adequate to do a individual laugh his caput off to see it. He had infinite athletics with his endowment. But by and by he took a contract to interrupt rock for a route, and the raggedness of the work spoiled his manus. Still, he enjoyed life all the clip he was in the rock concern, which, with inconsiderable intervals, was some 42 old ages. In fact, he died in harness. During all those long old ages he gave such satisfaction that he neer was through with one contract a hebdomad till the authorities gave him another. He was a perfect pet. And he was ever a favourite with his fellow-artists, and was a conspicuous member of their benevolent secret society, called the Chain Gang. He ever wore his hair short, had a penchant for stripy apparels, and died lamented by the authorities. He was a sensitive loss to his state. For h e was so regular. Some old ages subsequently we have the celebrated John Morgan Twain. He came over to this state with Columbus in 1492 as a rider. He appears to hold been of a crusty, uncomfortable temperament. He complained of the nutrient all the manner over, and was ever endangering to travel ashore unless there was a alteration. He wanted fresh shad. Barely a twenty-four hours passed over his caput that he did non travel tick overing about the ship with his olfactory organ in the air, sneering about the commanding officer, and stating he did non believe Columbus cognize where he was traveling to or had of all time been there earlier. The memorable call of Land Ho! thrilled every bosom in the ship but his. He gazed for a while through a piece of smoke-cured glass at the pencilled line lying on the distant H2O, and so said: Land be hanged it s a raft! When this questionable rider came on board the ship, be brought nil with him but an old newspaper incorporating a hankie marked B. G. , one cotton sock marked L. W. C. , one woolen one marked D. F. , and a night-shirt pronounced O. M. R. And yet during the ocean trip he worried more about his bole, and gave himself more poses about it, than all the remainder of the riders put together. If the ship was down by the caput, and would non maneuver, he would travel and travel his bole farther aft, and so watch the consequence. If the ship was by the after part, he would propose to Columbus to detail some work forces to switch that luggage. In storms he had to be gagged, because his bawlings about his bole made it impossible for the work forces to hear the orders. The adult male does non look to hold been openly charged with any soberly indecent thing, but it is noted in the ship s log as a funny circumstance that albeit he brought his luggage on board the ship in a ne wspaper, he took it ashore in four short pantss, a queensware crate, and a twosome of bubbly baskets. But when he came back insinuating, in an insolent, tittuping manner, that some of this things were losing, and was traveling to seek the other riders luggage, it was excessively much, and they threw him overboard. They watched long and questioningly for him to come up, but non even a bubble rose on the softly ebbing tide. But while every one was most absorbed in staring over the side, and the involvement was momently increasing, it was observed with alarm that the vas was adrift and the anchor-cable hanging hitch from the bow. Then in the ship s dimmed and ancient log we find this quaint note: In clip it was discouvered yt ye troblesome rider hadde gone downe and got ye ground tackle, and toke ye same and solde it to ye dam sauvages from ye inside, stating yt he hadde founde it, ye sonne of a ghun! Yet this ascendant had good and baronial inherent aptitudes, and it is with pride that we call to mind the fact that he was the first white individual who of all time interested himself in the work of promoting and educating our Indians. He built a convenient gaol and set up a gallows, and to his deceasing twenty-four hours he claimed with satisfaction that he had had a more restraining and promoting influence on the Indians than any other reformist that of all time labored among them. At this point the history becomes less blunt and gabby, and stopping points suddenly by stating that the old voyager went to see his gallows execute on the first white adult male of all time hanged in America, and while at that place received hurts which terminated in his decease. The great-grandson of the Reformer flourished in 16 hundred and something, and was known in our annals as the old Admiral, though in history he had other rubrics. He was long in bid of fleets of Swift vass, good armed and manned, and did great service in travel rapidlying up bottoms. Vessels which he followed and kept his bird of Jove oculus on, ever made good just clip across the ocean. But if a ship still loitered in malice of all he could make, his outrage would turn till he could incorporate himself no longer and so he would take that ship place where he lived and maintain it at that place carefully, anticipating the proprietors to come for it, but they neer did. And he would seek to acquire the idling and sloth out of the crewmans of that ship by obliging them to take invigorating exercising and a bath. He called it walking a board. All the students liked it. At any rate, they neer found any mistake with it after seeking it. When the proprietors were late coming for their ships, the Admiral ever burned them, so that the insurance money should non be lost. At last this all right old pitch was cut down in the comprehensiveness of his old ages and awards. And to her deceasing twenty-four hours, his hapless heart-broken widow believed that if he had been cut down 15 proceedingss sooner he might hold been resuscitated. Charles Henry Twain lived during the latter portion of the 17th century, and was a avid and distinguished missionary. He converted 16 thousand South Sea island-dwellers, and taught them that a dog-tooth necklace and a brace of eyeglassess was non plenty vesture to come to divine service in. His hapless flock loved him really, really in a heartfelt way ; and when his funeral was over, they got up in a organic structure ( and came out of the eating house ) with cryings in their eyes, and stating, one to another, that he was a good stamp missionary, and they wished they had some more of him. Pah-go-to-wah-wah-pukketekeewis ( Mighty-Hunter-with-a-Hog-Eye-Twain ) adorned the center of the 18th century, and aided General Braddock with all his bosom to defy the oppressor Washington. It was this ascendant who fired 17 times at our Washington from behind a tree. So far the beautiful romantic narration in the moral story-books is right ; but when that narrative goes on to state that at the 17th unit of ammunition the awe-stricken barbarian said solemnly that that adult male was being reserved by the Great Spirit for some mighty mission, and he dared non raise his blasphemous rifle against him once more, the narrative earnestly impairs the unity of history. What he did state was: It ai nt no ( hic ) no usage. At adult male s so intoxicated he ca nt stan still long plenty for a adult male to hit him. I ( hic ) I ca nt ford to gull off any more amnition on him. That was why he stopped at the 17th unit of ammunition, and it was a good, field, prosaic ground, excessively, and one that easy commends itself to us by the eloquent, persuasive spirit of chance there is about it. I besides enjoyed the story-book narrative, but I felt a marring scruple that every Indian at Braddock s Defeat who fired at a soldier a twosome of times ( two easy grows to seventeen in a century ) , and missed him, jumped to the decision that the Great Spirit was reserving that soldier for some expansive mission ; and so I somehow feared that the lone ground why Washington s instance is remembered and the others forgotten is, that in his the prognostication came true, and in that of the others it did nt. There are non books plenty on Earth to incorporate the record of the prognostications Indians and other unauthorised parties have made ; but one may transport in his greatcoat pockets the record of all the prognostications that have been fulfilled. I will note here, in passing, that certain ascendants of mine are so exhaustively well-known in history by their assumed names, that I have non felt it to be deserving while to brood upon them, or even advert them in the order of their birth. Among these may be mentioned Richard Brinsley Twain, alias Guy Fawkes ; John Wentworth Twain, alias Sixteen-String Jack ; William Hogarth Twain, alias Jack Sheppard ; Ananias Twain, alias Baron Munchausen ; John George Twain, a.k.a. Captain Kydd ; and so there are George Francis Twain, Tom Pepper, Nebuchadnezzar, and Baalam s Ass they all belong to our household, but to a subdivision of it slightly clearly removed from the honest direct line in fact, a collateral subdivision, whose members chiefly differ from the ancient stock in that, in order to get the ill fame we have ever yearned and hungered for, they have got into a low manner of traveling to imprison alternatively of acquiring hanged. It is non good, when composing an autobiography, to follow your lineage down excessively close to your ain clip it is safest to talk merely mistily of your great-grandfather, and so skip from at that place to yourself, which I now do. I was born without dentitions and there Richard III. had the advantage of me ; but I was born without a kyphosis, likewise, and at that place I had the advantage of him. My parents were neither really hapless nor conspicuously honest. But now a idea occurs to me. My ain history would truly look so tame contrasted with that of my ascendants, that it is merely wisdom to go forth it unwritten until I am hanged. If some other lifes I have read had stopped with the lineage until a similar event occurred, it would hold been a felicitous thing for the reading populace. How does it strike you? A Child s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas ( 1914-1953 ) Word Count: 3016 One Christmas was so much like another, in those old ages around the sea-town corner now and out of all sound except the distant speech production of the voices I sometimes hear a minute before slumber, that I can neer retrieve whether it snowed for six yearss and six darks when I was 12 or whether it snowed for 12 yearss and twelve darks when I was six. All the Christmases roll down toward the two-tongued sea, like a cold and hasty Moon roll uping down the sky that was our street ; and they stop at the rim of the ice-edged fish-freezing moving ridges, and I plunge my custodies in the snow and convey out whatever I can happen. In goes my manus into that wool-white bell-tongued ball of vacations resting at the rim of the carol-singing sea, and out come Mrs. Prothero and the firemen. It was on the afternoon of the Christmas Eve, and I was in Mrs. Prothero s garden, waiting for cats, with her boy Jim. It was snowing. It was ever snowing at Christmas. December, in my memory, is white as Lapland, though there were no caribous. But there were cats. Patient, cold and indurate, our custodies wrapped in socks, we waited to snowball the cats. Sleek and long as panthers and horrible-whiskered, ptyalizing and snaping, they would slink and sidle over the white back-garden walls, and the argus-eyed huntsmans, Jim and I, fur-capped and moccasined trappers from Hudson Bay, off Mumbles Road, would hurtle our deathly sweet sand verbenas at the viridity of their eyes. The wise cats neer appeared. We were so still, Eskimo-footed north-polar sharpshooters in the muffling silence of the ageless snows eternal, of all time since Wednesday that we neer heard Mrs. Prothero s first call from her iglu at the underside of the garden. Or, if we heard it at all, it was, to us, like the faraway challenge of our enemy and quarry, the neighbour s polar cat. But shortly the voice grew louder. Fire! cried Mrs. Prothero, and she beat the dinner-gong. And we ran down the garden, with the sweet sand verbenas in our weaponries, toward the house ; and smoke, so, was pouring out of the dining room, and the tam-tam was buzzing, and Mrs. Prothero was denoting ruin like a town weeper in Pompeii. This was better than all the cats in Wales standing on the wall in a row. We bounded into the house, loaded with sweet sand verbenas, and stopped at the unfastened door of the smoke-filled room. Something was firing wholly right ; possibly it was Mr. Prothero, who ever slept at that place after noon dinner with a newspaper over his face. But he was standing in the center of the room, stating, A all right Yule! and thwacking at the fume with a slipper. Name the fire brigade, cried Mrs. Prothero as she beat the tam-tam. There wo nt be at that place, said Mr. Prothero, it s Christmas. There was no fire to be seen, merely clouds of fume and Mr. Prothero standing in the center of them, beckoning his slipper as though he were carry oning. Do something, he said. And we threw all our sweet sand verbenas into the fume I think we missed Mr. Prothero and ran out of the house to the telephone box. Let s name the constabulary every bit good, Jim said. And the ambulance. And Ernie Jenkins, he likes fires. But we merely called the fire brigade, and shortly the fire engine came and three tall work forces in helmets brought a hosiery into the house and Mr. Prothero got out merely in clip before they turned it on. Cipher could hold had a noisy Christmas Eve. And when the firemen turned off the hosiery and were standing in the moisture, smoky room, Jim s Aunt, Miss. Prothero, came downstairs and peered in at them. Jim and I waited, really softly, to hear what she would state to them. She said the right thing, ever. She looked at the three tall firemen in their shining helmets, standing among the fume and clinkers and fade outing sweet sand verbenas, and she said, Would you like anything to read? Old ages and old ages ago, when I was a male child, when there were wolves in Wales, and birds the colour of red-flannel half-slips whisked past the harp-shaped hills, when we sang and wallowed all dark and twenty-four hours in caves that smelt like Sunday afternoons in moist forepart farmhouse parlours, and we chased, with the lower jaws of deacons, the English and the bears, before the motor auto, before the wheel, before the duchess-faced Equus caballus, when we rode the daft and happy hills bareback, it snowed and it snowed. But here a little male child says: It snowed last twelvemonth, excessively. I made a snowman and my brother knocked it down and I knocked my brother down and so we had tea. But that was non the same snow, I say. Our snow was non merely shaken from white wash pails down the sky, it came shawling out of the land and swam and drifted out of the weaponries and custodies and organic structures of the trees ; snow grew nightlong on the roofs of the houses like a pure and gramps moss, circumstantially ivied the walls and settled on the mailman, opening the gate, like a dumb, asleep thunder-storm of white, lacerate Christmas cards. Were there mailmans so, excessively? With scattering eyes and wind-cherried olfactory organs, on spread, frozen pess they crunched up to the doors and mittened on them manly. But all that the kids could hear was a tintinnabulation of bells. You mean that the postman went rat-tat and the doors rang? I mean that the bells the kids could hear were inside them. I merely hear boom sometimes, neer bells. There were church bells, excessively. Inside them? No, no, no, in the bat-black, snowy campaniles, tugged by bishops and storks. And they rang their newss over the bound town, over the frozen froth of the pulverization and ice-cream hills, over the crepitating sea. It seemed that all the churches boomed for joy under my window ; and the weathercocks crew for Christmas, on our fencing. Get back to the mailmans. They were merely ordinary mailmans, found of walking and Canis familiariss and Christmas and the snow. They knocked on the doors with bluish brass knuckss. . . . Ours has got a black knocker. . . . And so they stood on the white Welcome mat in the small, drifted porches and huffed and puffed, doing shades with their breath, and jogged from pes to pick like little male childs desiring to travel out. And so the nowadayss? And so the Presents, after the Christmas box. And the cold mailman, with a rose on his button-nose, tingled down the tea-tray-slithered tally of the chilly glinting hill. He went in his ice-bound boots like a adult male on fishwife s slabs. He wagged his bag like a frozen camel s bulge, giddily turned the corner on one pes, and, by God, he was gone. Get back to the Presents. There were the Useful Presents: steeping silencers of the old manager yearss, and mittens made for elephantine sloths ; zebra scarfs of a substance like satiny gum that could be tug-o-warred down to the arctics ; blinding tammies like hodgepodge tea cosies and bunny-suited bearskins and balaclavas for victims of head-shrinking folks ; from aunts who ever wore wool following to the tegument there were mustached and rasping waistcoats that made you inquire why the aunts had any skin left at all ; and one time I had a small crocheted nose bag from an aunt now, alas, no longer neighing with us. And pictureless books in which little male childs, though warned with citations non to, would skate on Farmer Giles pool and did and drowned ; and books that told me everything about the WASP, except why. Travel on the Useless Presents. Bags of moist and many-colored gelatin babes and a folded flag and a false olfactory organ and a tram-conductor s cap and a machine that punched tickets and peal a bell ; neer a slingshot ; one time, by error that no 1 could explicate, a small tomahawk ; and a synthetic duck that made, when you pressed it, a most unducklike sound, a mewing moo that an ambitious cat might do who wished to be a cow ; and a picture book in which I could do the grass, the trees, the sea and the animate beings any coloring material I pleased, and still the eye-popping azure sheep are croping in the ruddy field under the rainbow-billed and pea-green birds. Hardboileds, brittle, fudge and allsorts, crunches, cracknels, baloneies, glaciers, marchpane, and butterwelsh for the Welsh. And military personnels of bright Sn soldiers who, if they could non contend, could ever run. And Snakes-and-Families and Happy Ladders. And Easy Hobbi-Games for Little Engineers, complete with instructions. Oh, easy for Leonardo ! And a whistling to do the Canis familiariss bark to wake up the old adult male following door to do him crush on the wall with his stick to agitate our image off the wall. And a package of coffin nails: you put one in your oral cavity and you stood at the corner of the street and you waited for hours, in vain, for an old lady to call on the carpet you for smoking a coffin nail, and so with a smirk you ate it. And so it was breakfast under the balloons. Were there Uncles like in our house? There are ever Uncles at Christmas. The same Uncles. And on Christmas forenoon, with dog-disturbing whistling and sugar fairies, I would scour the swatched town for the intelligence of the small universe, and happen ever a dead bird by the Post Office or by the white abandoned swings ; possibly a redbreast, all but one of his fires out. Work force and adult females wading or lift outing back from chapel, with barroom olfactory organs and wind-bussed cheeks, all albinos, powwows their stiff black clashing plumes against the irreligious snow. Mistletoe hung from the gas brackets in all the front parlours ; there was sherry and walnuts and bottled beer and crackers by the dessertspoons ; and cats in their fur-abouts watched the fires ; and the high-heaped fire bicker, all ready for the chestnuts and the mulling fire hooks. Some few big work forces sat in the forepart parlours, without their neckbands, Uncles about surely, seeking their new cigars, keeping them out judiciously at weapon ries length, returning them to their oral cavities, coughing, so keeping them out once more as though waiting for the detonation ; and some few little aunts, non wanted in the kitchen, nor anyplace else for that affair, sat on the really border of their chairs, poised and brickle, afraid to interrupt, like faded cups and disks. Not many those forenoons trod the stacking streets: an old adult male ever, fawn-bowlered, yellow-gloved and, at this clip of twelvemonth, with bickers of snow, would take his constitutional to the white bowling viridity and back, as he would take it wet or fire on Christmas Day or Doomsday ; sometimes two whole immature work forces, with large pipes blazing, no greatcoats and weave blown scarfs, would slog, unspeaking, down to the forlorn sea, to work up an appetency, to blow away the exhausts, who knows, to walk into the moving ridges until nil of them was left but the two roll uping smoke clouds of their inextinguishable sweetbriers. Then I would be slap-dashing place, the gravy odor of the dinners of others, the bird odor, the brandy, the pudding and mince, gyrating up to my anterior nariss, when out of a snow-clogged side lane would come a male child the tongue of myself, with a pink-tipped coffin nail and the violet yesteryear of a black oculus, cocky as a Bullfinch, leering al l to himself. I hated him on sight and sound, and would be about to set my Canis familiaris whistling to my lips and blow him off the face of Christmas when all of a sudden he, with a violet blink of an eye, put his whistling to his lips and blew so stridently, so high, so finely loud, that bolting faces, their cheeks bulged with goose, would press against their tinsled Windowss, the whole length of the white echoing street. For dinner we had Meleagris gallopavo and blazing pudding, and after dinner the Uncles sat in forepart of the fire, loosened all buttons, put their big moist custodies over their ticker ironss, groaned a small and slept. Mothers, aunts and sisters scuttled to and fro, bearing tureens. Auntie Bessie, who had already been frightened, twice, by a clock-work mouse, whimpered at the sideboard and had some elderberry vino. The Canis familiaris was ill. Auntie Dosie had to hold three acetylsalicylic acids, but Auntie Hannah, who liked port, stood in the center of the snowbound back y ard, singing like a big-bosomed thrush. I would blow up balloons to see how large they would blow up to ; and, when they burst, which they all did, the Uncles jumped and rumbled. In the rich and heavy afternoon, the Uncles external respiration like mahimahis and the snow descending, I would sit among festoons and Chinese lanterns and nibble day of the months and seek to do a theoretical account man-o-war, following the Instructions for Little Engineers, and bring forth what might be mistaken for a sea-going tramcar. Or I would travel out, my bright new boots whining, into the white universe, on to the seaward hill, to name on Jim and Dan and Jack and to embroider through the still streets, go forthing immense footmarks on the concealed pavings. I bet people will believe there s been hippos. What would you make if you saw a Hippo coming down our street? I d travel like this, knock! I d throw him over the railings and axial rotation him down the hill and so I d titillate him under the ear and he d wag his tail. What would you make if you saw two Hippo? Iron-flanked and bawling he-hippos clanked and battered through the scudding snow toward us as we passed Mr. Daniel s house. Let s post Mr. Daniel a snow-ball through his missive box. Let s write things in the snow. Let s write, Mr. Daniel looks like a spaniel all over his lawn. Or we walked on the white shore. Can the fishes see it s snowing? The soundless one-clouded celestial spheres drifted on to the sea. Now we were snow-blind travellers lost on the north hills, and huge dewlapped Canis familiariss, with flasks round their cervixs, ambled and shambled up to us, baying Excelsior. We returned home through the hapless streets where merely a few kids fumbled with bare ruddy fingers in the wheel-rutted snow and cat-called after us, their voices melting off, as we trudged acclivitous, into the calls of the dock birds and the hooting of ships out in the gyration bay. And so, at tea the cured Uncles would be reasonably ; and the ice bar loomed in the centre of the tabular array like a marble grave. Auntie Hannah laced her tea with rum, because it was merely one time a twelvemonth. Bringing out the tall narratives now that we told by the fire as the gaslight bubbled like a frogman. Ghosts whooed like bird of Minerva in the long darks when I dared non expression over my shoulder ; animate beings lurked in the pigeonhole under the stepss and the gas metre ticked. And I remember that we went singing carols one time, when there was nt the shave of a Moon to illume the winging streets. At the terminal of a long route was a thrust that led to a big house, and we stumbled up the darkness of the thrust that dark, each one of us afraid, each one keeping a rock in his manus in instance, and all of us excessively brave to state a word. The air current through the trees made noises as of old and unpleasant and possibly webfooted work forces wheezing in caves. We reached the black majority of the house. What shall we give them? Hark the Herald? No, Jack said, Good King Wencelas. I ll number three. One, two three, and we began to sing, our voices high and apparently distant in the snow-felted darkness round the house that was occupied by cipher we knew. We stood close together, near the dark door. Good King Wencelas looked out On the Feast of Stephen. . . And so a little, dry voice, like the voice of person who has non spoken for a long clip, joined our vocalizing: a little, dry, eggshell voice from the other side of the door: a little dry voice through the keyhole. And when we stopped running we were outdoors our house ; the forepart room was lovely ; balloons floated under the hot-water-bottle-gulping gas ; everything was good once more and shone over the town. Possibly it was a shade, Jim said. Possibly it was trolls, Dan said, who was ever reading. Let s travel in and see if there s any jelly left, Jack said. And we did that. Always on Christmas dark at that place was music. An uncle played the violin, a cousin American ginseng Cherry Ripe, and another uncle American ginseng Drake s Drum. It was really warm in the small house. Auntie Hannah, who had got on to the parsnip vino, sang a vocal about Bleeding Hearts and Death, and so another in which she said her bosom was like a Bird s Nest ; and so everybody laughed once more ; and so I went to bed. Looking through my sleeping room window, out into the moonshine and the ageless smoke-colored snow, I could see the visible radiations in the Windowss of all the other houses on our hill and hear the music lifting from them up the long, steady falling dark. I turned the gas down, I got into bed. I said some words to the stopping point and sanctum darkness, and so I slept.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Standardisation Of 0.02moldm-3 Potassium Permanganate Solution Using Lab Report

Standardisation Of 0.02moldm-3 Potassium Permanganate Solution Using Ferrous Ammonium Sulphate (Ammonium Iron (Ii) Sulphate) - Lab Report Example In this experiment, a base (Iron Ammonium Sulphate – FeSO4.(NH4)2SO4.6H2O Mr=392g/mole) will be added to 0.02moldm-3 Potassium Permanganate Solution. In this experiment Manganese reacts with Iron through a redox process by which electrons are transferred from one to the other. In this experiment, Mn goes from a +7 state (MN+7) to a +2 state (Mn+2) – i.e. each Mn+7 picks up 5 electrons – Mn is reduced. Fe goes from +2 (Fe+2) to +3 (Fe+3) i.e. each Fe+2 loses 1 electron – Fe is oxidized As a result the mole ratio in the reaction is Mn: Fe – 1:5 The point at which the reactants will have completely neutralized each other is the equivalence point. In this experiment, this will be determined by noting the color change of the reactants. Mn+7 are purple. When Fe2+ is added, redox reaction starts making the purple color to disappear due to formation of Mn2+ which is colorless. In the process, the Fe2+ is converted to Fe3+. This happens only when Fe2+ is present. When Fe2+ is used up (at endpoint) the solution will have a permanent pink tinge and this is the point where there is no further addition of permanganate.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

International Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 12

International Business - Essay Example - Labor Quality is simply defined by the education, skills, sincerity towards work and the attitudes of the available employees in a particular organization. Along with these key aspects, labor quality also measures the domain knowledge, creativity, soft skills such as leadership and managerial quality, and most importantly, the ability of the labor forces to learn as well as adapt themselves with the change in the work environment. Therefore, it is essential to analyze the labor force before finalizing business contracts and expanding the business internationally, so that the right skills are available in order to conduct the business profitably. The price of labor is affected by supplies of labor, lack of labor unions, lower demand for labor and the lack of rules and regulations of the government. (How Do Labor Forces Influence International Business?, n.d.) Labor Quantity - Labor Quantity, another significant aspect of labor force, which can influence the labor force both positively and negatively. It is actually the number of potential employees that are available in an organization, who possess the necessary skills to be efficient and productive employees, in order to meet the business needs of the employer. The quantity of labor force is very important for an international business as a country with large number of qualified and well educated employees is beneficial for the company, as it can hire educated and qualified employees for comparatively low wages. In comparison, if there is limited number of educated and qualified employees in a particular country, then a company is compelled to pay higher wages in order to employ quality labor. (How Do Labor Forces Influence International Business?, n.d.) Labor Mobility - Labor Mobility is defined as the movement of people from one country to the other, or from one area to other area, for the search of jobs; it also refers to occupational mobility. A company’s productivity increases with the increased

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Piper Aircraft Co v Reyno Essay Example for Free

Piper Aircraft Co v Reyno Essay Piper Aztec, co-manufactured by American petitioners, crashed in Scotland in July 1976, killing all on board. The plane was under Scottish air traffic control, registered in Great Britain, owned/maintained by Air Navigation and Trading Co. Ltd. , and operated by McDonald Aviation Ltd. , a Scottish air taxi service. California probate court appointed Gaynell Reyno in July 1977. Procedural Facts:Â  Reyno filed a case against the petitioners, claming negligence and strict liability in the Superior Court of California, while explaining that the rules and law in California were more positive than those in Scotland. The case was removed to the US District Court for the Central District of California, before it was transferred in December 1977 to the US District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, where petitioners filed a motion to dismiss on the ground of forum non conveniens. After finding an alternative forum in Scotland, the District Court granted the motion and dismissed the complaint in October 1979. However, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reversed the District Court’s decision on the grounds that dismissal is automatically barred when the law of an alternative forum is less favorable for the plaintiff than the law of the forum that has been chosen by the plaintiff.

Friday, November 15, 2019

Views on Sex Education in Schools

Views on Sex Education in Schools Introduction Sex education is possibly one of the most talked-about topics nowadays, especially among concerned citizens and the government. Sex is a natural thing for all of us and it is just right for the researchers as well as the readers to know and learn more about it. But the question is, is it right for sex education to be taught in primary schools? This research paper tackles the different issues about sex education. It contains the pros and cons of teaching sex education in primary schools. Opinions from different sides such as teachers in primary and secondary schools are considered. With such divisions, the reader can approximate their own comprehension of the topic and thus contribute ways to assist the primary students regarding this matter. In this research paper, the researchers would like to show the readers the importance of teachers perception on teaching sex education in primary schools. The researchers are convinced that this paper will be of great value to students and teachers. Conceptual Framework Sex Education Teachers Secondary Primary Perception Statement of the Problem The study aimed to find out the teachers view on teaching sex education in primary schools. What is the general profile of the respondents in terms of: Age Civil Status Gender Subject teaching What are the teachers views of teaching sex education in primary schools? What are the issues/concerns of teachers in the teaching of sex education primary schools? Is there a significant difference on how the teachers view the teaching of sex education when compared by primary and secondary schools? Hypothesis There is no significant difference between the perspectives of the teachers from primary and secondary schools. Assumptions of the Study The researchers assume that the questionnaires distributed to the respondents are answered honestly and truthfully, and that all data that will be gathered is reliable to the study. The researchers also assume that the personal values may affect the respondents reaction to the questions given and personal experiences may influence the response to the question. Research Locale The study will be conducted in Southville International School and Colleges located at 1281 Tropical Ave. cor. Luxembourg St., BF International, Las Pià ±as City, Philippines. The school will be the focus of the study because it is more convenient to the researchers, it has a big population and it is suited for the study. Significance of the study Parents: They will be guided on making the decision of letting their children study sex education in the school where their children are studying. Students: They will have an idea about what they can get from learning sex education. They will be aware that the very heart of this issue is for their future. Scope and Limitations: The research focused on the perceptions of the teachers towards teaching sex education in primary schools. The respondents are the teachers in primary and secondary level of school year 2010-2011, from Southville International School and Colleges. Definition of Terms Curricula- are the courses offered by an educational institution. It is also a set of courses constituting an area of specialization. Mandatory- can also be compulsory the teaching of sex education is obligatory. Optional- the teaching of sex education for young people is not compulsory. Perception- is a result of perceiving, observation, a mental image, or concept. Primary school- includes grades one to six. Secondary school- a school usually including years 7 to 10. Sexuality- is an expression of sexual receptivity or interest especially when excessive. Sex wise- it is a 12 part series which discussed sex education, family life education, contraception, family life education, contraception and parenting. Sex Education- is an education about human sexual anatomy, reproduction, and intercourse and other human sexual behaviour. Young people- are also referred to as teenagers or children ages between to 10 to 12. Review of Related Literature Sex Education It is sometimes called sexuality education or sex and relationships education, is the process of acquiring information and forming attitudes and beliefs about sex, sexual identity, relationships and intimacy. Sex education is also about developing young peoples skills so that they make informed choices about their behavior, and feel confident and competent about acting on these choices. It is widely accepted that young people have a right to sex education. This is because it is a means by which they are helped to protect themselves against abuse, exploitation, unintended pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV and AIDS. It is also argued that providing sex education helps to meet young peoples rights to information about matters that affect them, their right to have their needs met and to help them enjoy their sexuality and the relationships that they form. It aims to reduce the risks of potentially negative outcomes from sexual behavior, such as unwanted or unplanned pregnancies and infection with sexually transmitted diseases including HIV. It also aims to contribute to young peoples positive experience of their sexuality by enhancing the quality of their relationships and their ability to make informed decisions over their lifetime. Sex education that works, by which we mean that it is effective is sex education that contributes to both these aims thus helping young people to be safe and enjoy their sexuality. (http://www.avert.org/sex-education.htm, 2010) Beliefs Young people can be exposed to a wide range of attitudes and beliefs in relation to sex and sexuality. These sometimes appear contradictory and confusing. For example, some health messages emphasize the risks and dangers associated with sexual activity and some media coverage promotes the idea that being sexually active makes a person more attractive and mature. Because sex and sexuality are sensitive subjects, young people and sex educators can have strong views on what attitudes people should hold, and what moral framework should govern peoples behavior these too can sometimes seem to be at odds. Young people are very interested in the moral and cultural frameworks that bind sex and sexuality. They often welcome opportunities to talk about issues where people have strong views, like abortion, sex before marriage, lesbian and gay issues and contraception and birth control. It is important to remember that talking in a balanced way about differences in opinion does not promote one s et of views over another, or mean that one agrees with a particular view. Part of exploring and understanding cultural, religious and moral views is finding out that you can agree to disagree. Effective sex education also provides young people with an opportunity to explore the reasons why people have sex, and to think about how it involves emotions, respect for one self and other people and their feelings, decisions and bodies. Young people should have the chance to explore gender differences and how ethnicity and sexuality can influence peoples feelings and options. They should be able to decide for themselves what the positive qualities of relationships are. It is important that they understand how bullying, stereotyping, abuse and exploitation can negatively influence relationships. . (As also stated at the website: http://www.avert.org/sex-education.htm, 2010) Sex education worldwide Africa Sex education in Africa has focused on stemming the growing AIDS epidemic. Most governments in the region have established AIDS education programs in partnership with the World Health Organization and international NGOs. These programs were undercut significantly by the Global Gag Rule, an initiative put in place by President Reagan, suspended by President Clinton, and re-instated by President Bush. The Global Gag Rule required nongovernmental organizations to agree as a condition of their receipt of Federal funds that such organizations would neither perform nor actively promote abortion as a method of family planning in other nations. The Global Gag Rule was again suspended as one of the first official acts by United States President Barack Obama. The incidences of new HIV transmissions in Uganda decreased dramatically when Clinton supported a comprehensive sex education approach (including information about contraception and abortion). According to Ugandan AIDS activists, the Glob al Gag Rule undermined community efforts to reduce HIV prevalence and HIV transmission. Europe Finland In Filand, sexual education is usually incorporated into various obligatory courses, mainly as part of biology lessons (in lower grades) and later in a course related to general health issues. The Population and Family Welfare Federation provide all 15-year-olds an introductory sexual package that includes an information brochure, a condom and a cartoon love story. England and Wales In England and Wales, sex education is not compulsory in schools as parents can refuse to let their children take part in the lessons. The curriculum focuses on the reproductive system, fetal development, and the physical and emotional changes of adolescence, while information about contraception and safe sex is discretionary and discussion about relationships is often neglected. Britain has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in Europe and sex education is a heated issue in government and media reports. In a 2000 study by the University of Brighton, many 14 to 15 year olds reported disappointment with the content of sex education lessons and felt that lack of confidentiality prevents teenagers from asking teachers about contraception. France In France, sex education has been part of school curricula since 1973. Schools are expected to provide 30 to 40 hours of sex education, and pass out condoms, to students in grades eight and nine. In January 2000, the French government launched an information campaign on contraception with TV and radio spots and the distribution of five million leaflets on contraception to high school students. Germany In Germany, sex education has been part of school curricula since 1970. Since 1992 sex education is by law a governmental duty. It normally covers all subjects concerning the growing-up process, body changes during puberty, emotions, the biological process of reproduction, sexual activity, partnership, homosexuality, unwanted pregnancies and the complications of abortion, the dangers of sexual violence, child abuse, and sex-transmitted diseases, but sometimes also things like sex positions. Most schools offer courses on the correct usage of contraception. A sex survey by the World Health Organization concerning the habits of European teenagers in 2006 revealed that German teenagers care about contraception. The birth rate among 15- to 19-year-olds was very low only 11.7 per 1000 population, compared to the UKs 27.8 births per 1,000 population, and-in first place-Bulgarias 39.0 births per 1,000. Poland In the Western point of view, sex education in Poland has never actually developed. At the time of the Peoples Republic of Poland, since 1973, it was one of the school subjects; however, it was relatively poor and did not achieve any actual success. After 1989, it practically vanished from the school life it is currently an exclusive subject (called wychowanie do Ã…Â ¼ycia w rodzinie/family life education rather than edukacja seksualna/sex education) in several schools their parents must give consent to the headmasters so their children may attend. It has much due to the strong objection against sex education of the Catholic Church; the most influential institution in Poland. It has, however, been changed and since September 2009 sex education will become an obligatory subject in the number of 14 per school year unless parents do not want their children to be taught. Objecting parents will have to write special disagreements. North America United States Almost all U.S. students receive some form of sex education at least once between grades 7 and 12; many schools begin addressing some topics as early as grades 5 or 6. However, what students learn varies widely, because curriculum decisions are so decentralized. Many states have laws governing what is taught in sex education classes or allowing parents to opt out. Some state laws leave curriculum decisions to individual school districts. Two main forms of sex education are taught in American schools: comprehensive and abstinence-only. Comprehensive sex education covers abstinence as a positive choice, but also teaches about contraception and avoidance of STIs when sexually active. A 2002 study conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 58% of secondary school principals describe their sex education curriculum as comprehensive. Abstinence-only sex education tells teenagers that they should be sexually abstinent until marriage and does not provide information about contraception. In the Kaiser study, 34% of high-school principals said their schools main message was abstinence-only. The difference between these two approaches, and their impact on teen behavior, remains a controversial subject. In the U.S., teenage birth rates had been dropping since 1991, but a 2007 report showed a 3% increase from 2005 to 2006. From 1991 to 2005, the percentage of teens reporting that they had ever had sex or were currently sexually active showed small declines. However, the U.S. still has the highest teen birth rate and one of the highest rates of STIs among teens in the industrialized world. Public opinion polls conducted over the years have found that the vast majority of Americans favor broader sex education programs over those that teach only abstinence, although abstinence educators recently published poll data with the opposite conclusion. On the other hand, proponents of abstinence-only sex education object to curricula that fail to teach their standard of moral behavior; they maintain that a morality based on sex only within the bounds of marriage is healthy and constructive and that value-free knowledge of the body may lead to immoral, unhealthy, and harmful practices. Within the last decade, the federal government has encouraged abstinence-only education by steering over a billion dollars to such programs. Some 25 states now decline the funding so that they can continue to teach comprehensive sex education. Funding for one of the federal governments two main abstinency-only funding programs, Title V, was extended only until December 31, 2007; Congress is debating whether to continue it past that date. The impact of the rise in abstinence-only education remains a question. To date, no published studies of abstinence-only programs have found consistent and significant program effects on delaying the onset of intercourse. In 2007, a study ordered by the U.S. Congress found that middle school students who took part in abstinence-only sex education programs were just as likely to have sex (and use contraception) in their teenage years as those who did not. Abstinence-only advocates claimed that the study was flawed because it was too narrow and began when abstinence-only curricula were in their infancy, and that other studies have demonstrated positive effects. According to a 2007 report, Teen pregnancies in the United States showed 3% increase in the teen birth rate from 2005 to 2006, to nearly 42 births per 1,000. Virginia Virginia uses the sex education program called, The National Campaign to prevent teen and unplanned pregnancy. The National Campaign was created in 1996. The program focuses on preventing teen and unplanned pregnancies of young adults. The National campaign set a goal to reduce teen pregnancy rate by 1/3 in 10 years. The Virginia Department of Health ranked Virginia 19th in teen pregnancy birth rates in 1996. Virginia was also rated 35.2 teen births per 1000 girls aged 15-19 in 2006. The Healthy people 2010 goal is a teen pregnancy rate at or below 43 pregnancies per 1000 females age 15-17. Asia The state of sex education programs in Asia is at various stages of development. Indonesia, Mongolia, South Korea have a systematic policy framework for teaching about sex within schools. Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand have assessed adolescent reproductive health needs with a view to developing adolescent-specific training, messages and materials. India has programs aimed at children aged nine to sixteen years. In India, there is a huge debate on the curriculum of sex education and whether it should be increased. Attempts by state governments to introduce sex education as a compulsory part of the curriculum have often been met with harsh criticism by political parties, who claim that sex education is against Indian culture and would mislead children. (Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan have no coordinated sex education programs.) In Japan, sex education is mandatory from age 10 or 11, mainly covering biological topics such as menstruation and ejaculation. In China and Sri Lanka, sex education traditionally consists of reading the reproduction section of biology textbooks. In Sri Lanka they teach the children when they are 17-18 years. However, in 2000 a new five-year project was introduced by the China Family Planning Association to promote reproductive health education among Chinese teenagers and unmarried youth in twelve urban districts and three counties. This included discussion about sex within human relationships as well as pregnancy and HIV prevention. The International Planned Parenthood Federation and the BBC World Service ran a 12-part series known as Sexwise, which discussed sex education, family life education, contraception and parenting. It was first launched in South Asia and then extended worldwide. Acrimonious Debate over Sex Education in the Philippines The educational module Adolescent Sexual Health, though not yet released to all high schools in the Philippines, has already drawn heavy criticism from the Roman Catholic Church, pro-life activists, and some parents. The way it is being taught lacks the reverence, the refinement that the subject matter demands, said Jo Imbong, legal officer of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines. Deciding when to teach children about sex should be left to their parents, he said. But Professor Corazon Raymundo, director of the University of the Philippines Population Institute (UPPI), said sex education in schools is necessary because it is not in the nations culture for parents to discuss sex with their children. The education department, which presented the module as a response to the nations booming population growth, emphasized it is not a sex manual but rather a teaching guide dealing with family planning, reproductive health, and the dangers of early and pre-marital sex. According to a UPPI survey, 23 percent of Filipinos ages 15-24 engaged in pre-marital sex in 2002, up from 18 percent in 1994. The prevalence of high-risk sexual behaviors among adolescents rose from 20 percent in 1994 to 27 percent in 2002. Further, this age group now accounts for 17 percent of all induced abortions in the nation. Its high time that the ignorance of adolescents be addressed in a way that will allow them to make an informed choice, said Solita Monsod, former economic planning secretary. Now, however, education officials have responded to the criticism by withdrawing the module for further communications among stakeholders. Before it is returned to schools, some sections will be revised, said Lolita Andrada, the modules editor and the director of the Bureau of Secondary Education. In particular, the section on safe sex, which some viewed as a promotion of promiscuity, will be rewritten, Andrada said. (http://www.thebody.com/content/news/art23803.html, 2010) Dep.Ed. sued over sex education plan MANILA, Philippines (UPDATE) The former legal officer of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines on Monday sued the Department of Education for incorporating sex education in the curriculum of elementary and high school students. In an interview, lawyer Jo Aurea Imbong said she filed the case in behalf of 30 concerned parents who opposed the sex education plan. She described the sex education program as a form of contraceptive imperialism that assaults moral sensibilities and values of young people and actually encourages sexual promiscuity. We have examined the modules being used by DepEd and found that it promotes family planning, reproductive health and demographic development in subjects such as Mathematics, Science and English. It is specifically designed to transform the attitudes, behavior and social norms of young people based on a foreign model, she told abs-cbnNEWS.com. Imbong said the class suit aims to stop DepEd from implementing Memorandum No. 26, which integrates sex education in the curriculum for private and public schools. She said the program changes the attitudes and values of children especially in Christian families. Imbong said sex education was already being implemented in the basic education curriculum 12 years ago, and the new DepEd memo only updates the modules. She said adopting the sex education plan will fast-track moral decay among young people who are exposed to sex at an early age. While curiosity is normal for young people, it is still the primary responsibility of the parents and families to inform their children about sex, she said. She also noted that the sex education program is receiving funding from the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA). In response, Education Secretary Mona Valisno said the sex education program is still being pilot-tested and that the discussions will focus on the science of reproduction, physical care and hygiene, correct values and the norms of interpersonal relations to avoid premarital sex and teenage pregnancy. She said the Deped consulted different sectors about the program including the CBCP and the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas. She said parents who were consulted about the program were very happy with it especially since it provides relevant information to children. She also questioned why a court case was filed especially since the program does not contradict the mandate of DepEd to protect childrens rights to quality education. Our curriculum doesnt talk about condoms and such. Its only exposure to the children to the right information in order for them to make the right decisionKung hindi natin kailangan, then the new secretary of education can change it, she told ANC. She said the sex education plan seeks to battle the high percentage of unwarranted pregnancies in the country, which is one of the 10 highest in the world, and prevent dropouts as a result of teenage pregnancies. She said the topics integrated into the modules will be scientific and informative and are not designed to titillate prurient interest. In Science, sex education topics will cover the reproductive system, parts of the body, reproductive cycle, and puberty. Under Edukasyong Pantahanan at Pangkabuhayan (EPP), proper behavior among and between peers of different genders will be discussed. In Health classes under MAPEH (Music, Arts, PE and Health), personal hygiene and reproductive health will be part of the lessons. In Heograpiya, Kasaysayan, at Sibika (HEKASI) classes, discussion will include the position of religion on premarital sex and the norms when people of opposite sex interact. In Math classes, data on issues like premarital sex, teenage pregnancy, and sexually transmitted infections will be used in studying mathematical analysis and statistics. (Dizon, 2010)

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Research Paper on the Effects of Mass Media on the Perfect Body Image

How can you determine what body image should be? The desire for the perfect body has been prevalent throughout society for a vast majority of time. What makes teenage girls feel the need to strive for this â€Å"perfect body†? Some have asked, â€Å"†¦a rapidly growing body of research addresses the question of whether body perfect ideals in the mass media are a core risk factor for negative body image, particularly in women† (Dittmar, Helga) My hypothesis is â€Å"Does the media influence adolescent girl’s weight concerns and their perceptions of body weight and shape? The media in many aspects controls the way that people see themselves and the way they do things. So with teenagers striving to look like what they see in the media some of them go through drastic means to achieve these looks.â€Å"The role of mass media influences and parental marital status in the onset of eating disorders. In particular, teenagers tend to be the main target of trying to look like this image. † (Irala-Estevez, Martinez-Gonzalez, Lahortiga, Alonso, Cervera, Gual) Eating disorders is a major medical problem that most teens face. Among girls, eating disorders symptoms were directly affected by sociocultural influences, in particular media influences†(Rodgers, Paxton, Chabrol). If the media keeps influencing how teenagers see themselves it can not only damage their life but their families. The Health Information Network as done research on diets has shown â€Å"Anorexia is the Number one killer of teenage girls and in total more than 90% of those with eating disorders are adolescent young women.In many girls, the problems appear to set in from a very early age and is caused by peer pressure and exposure to media advertising† Does media have a major influence in the way teens look at themselves? â€Å"Media causes body dissatisfactions since they are the ones who define this perfect body. † ( Furnham, Greaves) I will test whethe r different outlets of media from T. V advertisements and shows, magazines, and street ads have a strong influence on how teenage girls look at themselves.Also to what measures will they go to, to achieve the perfect body that they see in the media. In this ever changing society the perfect body has had many different definitions. â€Å"This ideal standard of beauty is conveyed to individuals via a number of sources including family, peers and the mass media. † (Hargreaves) There has been other research down to measure the influence media has on the perception of the perfect body image. A study was done by psychologists with individuals from Fiji where there was little edia influence. Their results showed that, â€Å"Key indicators of disordered eating were significantly more prevalent following exposure. Narrative data revealed subjects' interest in weight loss as a means of modeling themselves after television characters. † (Becker) After being exposed to American TV shows there was a huge change in body image. Not only with T. V shows but as well as magazines have a great influence on body perception.One researcher as shown the relationship between magazines and body image, from the Department of Medicine from Harvard Medical School they concluded â€Å"There was a positive linear association between the frequency of reading women's magazines and the prevalence of having dieted to lose weight because of a magazine article, initiating an exercise program because of a magazine article, wanting to lose weight because of pictures in magazines, and feeling that pictures in magazines influence their idea of the perfect body shape. With my research, this type of study would hard to replicate because it’s impractical to find a somewhere in the United States that has no or little media influence. The ideal woman and man portrayed in the media practically do not exist.It sets up images that fool viewers and readers to think that there are actual ly people that look like models. â€Å"The average American woman weighs 140 pounds and is 5’4† tall, reports Eating Disorders and Prevention, Inc. In contrast, the typical model is 5’11† and weighs 117 pounds. That makes the model thinner than 98 percent of American women. (Strahan) This makes young people have enormous pressures and when they can’t measure up to this image prevailed by the media, their self-esteem suffers. So in my research I will test girls from the ages of 13-19 from high school and college. I will give them surveys that will ask how much media they are exposed to. With questions that see if they are watching TV shows like 90210, or Melrose Place and magazines such as Seventeen, and Cosmopolitan. Then the girls can then be split into two groups; Group 1 with the girls that are exposed to little forms of media, and Group 2 with girls that are exposed to many forms of media.They then will be given another survey that will ask how much they weigh, how they see themselves, and what type of body image they desire. Body-image is being measured by the â€Å"conceptualized as a multidimensional construct that represents how individuals think, feel, and behave with regard to their own physical attributes† (Morrison , Kalin) If Group1, the group with little exposure to media, has a normal body perception and doesn’t desire a skinnier body image in contrast to Group 2. Where Group 2, the group an immense exposure to media, has poor body perceptions and desires a skinner body.The conclusion then can be made that the amount of media exposure has an influence on body image and perception. There are many challenges that can come up during research on the â€Å"perfect body† image. Some teenage girls might show a change in how they view themselves during the course of the experiment. But it may not be because of media influence but maybe their peers influenced them or their culture demands for a certa in body image. â€Å"Both peers and popular culture, independent of each other, exert influence on girls' weight control beliefs and behaviors. (Field, Camargo, Taylor, Berkey, Colditz) If we come to the conclusion that media indeed has a great influence on body perception; how are we going to try to fix the damage media causes on many individuals? Why not media? â€Å"Social activism and social marketing approaches are suggested as methods for fighting negative media messages. The media itself is one potential vehicle for communicating productive, accurate, and deglamorized messages about eating and shape-related disorders. † (Thompson, Heinberg) If media has such a great influence on creating negative body image, we can use media to create a positive body image.With media showing normal body image it might help teenage girls feel less pressured to desire an unhealthy body image. Therefore, over time it will become clearer as to whether actions will be taken against the med ia in order to end teenagers from trying to achieve the perfect body. Teenagers need to see that being different is good and the media is only brainwashing them to be like everyone else. Hopefully with more research done to show the great effects media has on teen’s body perception and the measures they go to, to obtain that perfect body image.Media will stop putting out such a negative body image, and more of a natural, average body image.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Bankruptcy Among Young People Because of Credit Card Essay

Consumer credit can be defined as a debt that someone incurs for the purpose of purchasing a good or service. Common forms of consumer credit include credit cards, store cards, motor (auto) finance, personal loans (installment loans), consumer lines of credit, retail loans (retail installment loans) and mortgages. The spread of credit card ownership and usage across developing Asia Pacific countries has been overwhelming. A review of literature on credit card reveals that most studies have been undertaken in developed country settings. Credit cards were first issued in the USA in the early twentieth century. Since then, they have become a major system for exchange of transactions (or payments) that stimulates household and personal spending even in many developing countries of the world (Watkins, 2000). In Malaysia, cards were first introduced in the mid-1970s. At the early stage, credit cards were only issued to professionals or those considered successful businesspersons by card issuing companies. By the end of 1970s, an estimated 20,000 cards were issued. During that time, owning a credit card was considered a symbol of prestige. However, with the passage of time, eligibility criteria for obtaining credit cards have been increasingly relaxed. As a result, the number of cardholders reached to about three million by the turn of the last century. One of the fastest ways to bankruptcy is the misuse of credit cards. One of the more common reasons that people end up filing for bankruptcy is due to too much credit card debt. Credit cards are so often too seductive because they offer the ability to buy what we want now. We can then pay it off later, using very small and affordable monthly payments. Credit cards offer a way for us to make attractive purchases that we might not be able to make otherwise. Suddenly, it seems as though we can afford anything we want. The low monthly payments seem reasonable and easy to fulfill. That is one of the biggest problems associated with credit cards. It is easy to forget about the high rate of interest that we are paying instead we consider the low minimum payments we make each month and count that our self is lucky. We can continue for years, making minimum payments each month and building up credit card debt. However, one day something may happen. We could have our hours cut at work, or maybe our minimum payment will be increased. We might have a costly hospital stay, or our home may be struck by a natural disaster not covered by our home insurance. Suddenly, our credit card payments do not seem as affordable as we once did. After looking at our situation, it dawns on us how much credit card debt that we have. The only way out of our financial mess may seem like bankruptcy. An article from New Straits Times Online dated 14 November 2011 has highlighted the issue of easy cash turns many into bankrupts. Easy cash here means credit card. Credit card is a familiar type of open-end credit. The term credit card is used to cover a variety of types of cards, some of which actually do not involve credit. In general, a credit card is a plastic card printed with an account number and identifying the holder as a person who has entered into revolving credit agreement with a lender. From the article it states that Malaysian youth are becoming increasingly reckless with spending, thanks in no small measure to the convenience offered by credit cards. An average of 41 Malaysians are declared bankrupt daily, with the majority failing to repay their car purchase loans. BANKRUPTCY STATISTICS BASED ON CREDIT CARD DEBTS IN MALAYSIA The Department of Insolvency Malaysia (MDL) had restructured 80,348 bankruptcy cases from 2005 to May 2010 categorized as following: 31,950 cases – Malay 26,805 cases – Chinese 7,661 cases – Indians 13,932 cases – Others Some of the cases involved in different type of loans that caused the bankruptcy: 19,380 cases for failing to settle hire purchase loans 9,464 cases for failing to settle personal loans 8,786 cases for failing to settle business loans 6,022 cases for failing to settle housing loans 4,417 cases for failing to settle credit card debts 4,291 cases for failing to settle corporate loans 3,726 stood as guarantors CAUSES OF BANKRUPTCY The proliferation of credit cardholders has brought an indiscriminate spending by users with many side effects. Many Malaysian consumers seem to display excessive buying behavior, commonly known as ‘‘compulsive buying.’’ Easy availability of credit and compulsive buying has led to many adverse consequences such as addiction to shopping and excessive debt. Another noteworthy feature of card users in Malaysia is that they use the card to grant loans for themselves. It is easier to obtain credit cards in Malaysia rather than applying for personal loans, which requires the applicant to comply with more formalities like providing guarantors or collaterals. It was reported that outstanding debts from credit card holders amounted to RM15.719 billion by the year March 2009 (RM or Ringgit Malaysia is the local currency, 3.40 RM was approximately equal to 1 USD at the time of study). By the year 2009 outstanding credit card debts accounted for 1.35 percent of the total loans outstanding or 11.41 percent of the total consumer credit (Bank Negara Malaysia, 2009). On a more serious note, 6.43 percent of the outstanding debts had to be converted to non-performing loans. An alarming increase in the number of credit card holders seeking bankruptcy proceedings over the years was also reported. Shopaholic is one of the causes of bankruptcy among young people because of credit card. On average, 41 are declared bankrupt every day, mostly due to credit card debts, while every weekend, about five million peoples throng the 300-odd shopping complexes in the country. These habits are among the shocking revelations on why Malaysian consumers cannot cope with the rising cost of living. Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (FOMCA) discovered that many of those declared bankrupt due to credit card debts were below 40 years old. Another cause of bankruptcy is poor financi al management skills. Article from New Straits Times states that 10 million of credit cards had been issued but only 30 per cent of card holders is able to meet the monthly repayments. From the article, Chief executive officer of FOMCA Datuk Paul Selvaraj said it is because of the convenience of credit cards that people seem to prefer using them rather than cash. He also said that credit card holders do not  feel the immediate pinch of emptying their wallets when they make a purchase. It was reported that those who used credit cards were more inclined to spend 17 per cent more compared with those who used cash. Besides that failing to repay credit card debts is also the cause of bankruptcy. This is because credit card interest rate for outstanding balance is very high. Banks require consumers to pay only the minimum which is 5% or RM50 (whichever higher) of total outstanding balance (debt). If they only make minimum payment, it takes about 2 years to clear all the outstanding balance providing that there is no new spending. On top of high interest rate, consumers are also subjected to finance charges if they do not make full payments every month. This means, if they make partial payment, minimum payment or do not make payment on or before the payment due date, finance charges will be imposed from the day the transaction is posted to the card account. The relationship between psychographic variables, attitude development and credit card usage by cardholders in Malaysia. HOW TO OVERCOME A total of 87,583 individuals were declared bankrupt up to October this year, with 4,651 or 5.1% of them due to unpaid credit card debts. In light of this, the government will be discussing with Bank Negara on finding a solution to the problem of high interest rates imposed on credit card users, resulting in many being unable to settle their outstanding balance. Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong said a solution was necessary as the number of credit card users declared bankrupt was worrying with the majority of them being young people (The Sun Daily, 15 December 2010). One way to overcome credit card debt is consumers have to have full payments prior to due date. They will enjoy interest-free period for retail transactions for 20 days on retail transactions. Cash advance, balance transfer and installment payment plan programs are excluded from interest-free period. Consumers also subjected to late payment charges minimum of RM5 or 1% of total outstanding balance, whichever is higher, up to RM50 if they fail to make payments before due date. If you have problem  to settle your credit card debt, the best solutions is to cut the card and stop using it. Second way to overcome credit card debt is pay more than the minimum payment. Always pay more than the minimum amount that you owe. If you can afford to do it, double or triple the minimum payment. This will help you get rid of credit card debt more quickly. If you have multiple credit cards, you might want to concentrate the bulk of the money you have available to paying one off at a time. The credit card you should focus on first is the one with the highest annual percentage rate. Pay this card off and then move on to the next highest one and so forth. This not only gets rid of the worst credit card debt (i.e. the one with the highest interest rate), but it gives you a sense of accomplishment and peace of mind, knowing that you have one less payment to worry about. Third way to overcome credit card debt is treat a credit card like a debit card. The biggest fallacy of credit cards is that they are ‘additional money’ to be spent each month. The typical household sees the monthly credit card bill as just another bill to spend money paying off. Worse, many people see ‘responsible’ credit card use as paying the minimum or slightly more each month. Using a checkbook to balance your finances or free financial software such as Mint.com or paid software such as Quicken can help you balance finances and ensure there will be enough money each month to pay off the credit card bills. Every time you make a purchase with a credit card, treat it like a debit card and deduct that money spent out of checking or savings accounts. Software can do that automatically when linked to the accounts, but a checkbook or simple pen and paper works the same way. Next, set alerts to avoid missed or late payments. A missed or late credit card payment can put even the most responsible credit card user over the edge and into debt. Interest rates get raised and high fees will tack on finance charges to the bill. Set up free e-mail or text message alerts from your credit card issuer’s online account management site. If your credit card issuer does not offer online account access, consider finding a new credit card company. Many late fees and missed payments are due to using regular postal mail to keep up with bills and make payments. Online payments are time stamped and come with an e-mail record of statements and payments. Another way to overcome credit card debt is do not spend money that we do not have. This tried and true financial tip holds true for credit cards as well. Credit cards can be an excellent financial  tool to establish and build credit. They can also allow responsible users to earn rewards such as cash back or points. Credit cards also act as interest free loans in a pinch with grace periods ranging from 20-30 days for users who can pay the balance off when the bill comes due. Spending on a credit card should adjust according to one’s financial situation. Responsible credit card use starts with spending less than one has in their bank account month to month. Besides that you must try not to rack up your credit card bill. If you can avoid it, do not use your credit card at all, as this will just put you deeper into debt. Try to pay cash for what you need and eliminate the things that you want (even if only temporarily). The horrible thing about credit card debt is that it is so easy for your debt to increase. Write down a list of expenses is also a way to overcome credit debt. It is very beneficial to know exactly where your money is going each month. Money seems to disappear before you even get your hands on it. Writing down a list of where your money goes will get you thinking about certain areas where you can save money. You can change your money habits by taking the time to understand where it is going. When you look at your list (and you should include what you are paying in credit card debt), you will probably be motivated to do what you can to try to hold on to more of your money. Lastly, pay down your credit card debt before you put money in a savings account. Your credit card interest rate is exponentially higher than what you gain from a savings account at a bank. Get rid of the credit card debt first, otherwise it will keep growing. CONCLUSION In conclusion, those who want to avoid bankruptcy do their best to avoid credit card debt to begin with. Bankruptcy can damage your credit score and cause other financial problems. On top of that, the financial strain can begin to take its toll on your relationships. Avoiding bankruptcy requires careful financial planning. We should create a budget and track our spending. Live within our means so that we are not acquiring debt. Each month, pay off our credit cards bill. We can use credit cards as part of our financial spending plan but we need to be careful to avoid carrying a balance. Besides that, we must set aside money for emergencies. That way, if  unexpected expenses come up, we won’t be as devastating. Being debt free and having some savings built up and can go a long way toward helping us to stay away from bankruptcy and providing us with some of the cash flow we need. With careful financial planning, credit cards can be a helpful tool, rather than a path to bankrupt cy. Do not let something so useful become our downfall. The problem with credit card debt is that it is very easy to get into but hard to get out. (Some people associate it with a bad marriage, and it is really similar to it). To get into a credit card debt is even easier than any other debt, because the plastic is just there in out wallet all the time, as an easy solution, and we tend to use it as a â€Å"quick fix. Credit card debt reduction is although a different story, to get out of credit card debt you needs discipline and planning to reduce your outgoings and change your attitude towards your spending. Getting to a stage when you realize that you must eliminate your credit card debt before it gets out of control is kind of scary experience. When you realize that you need to find a solution because there is no other way out, and you cannot carry on piling up interest on your debt. You can start reduce credit card debt with preventing it from increasing and paying off the capital or getting a lower interest credit scheme, therefore reducing your total credit card debt (credit plus monthly interest). Other than following the step by step instructions of your credit card debt consolidation plan, there are more methods to eliminate credit card debt. You can always seek assistance either at your own credit card company or an independent credit card debt specialist. Your credit card company wants their money back, so most of the times they are ready to compromise, give you a lower APR or freeze the interest if you agree a credit card debt consolidation plan. You must remember if you are not confident enough to negotiate a deal with your credit card company, there are many companies who are willing to support you and also offer free credit card debt consolidation consultation. REFERENCES Books: 1. Vickie L. Bajtelsmit with Linda Rastelli, (2008), Personal Finance, Wiley Pathways. 2. Sarah Young Fisher and Susan Shelly, (2009), Personal Finance in Your 20s &30s, Alpha Books. 3. Curtis E. Arnold, (2008), How You Can Profit From Credit Cards, FT Press. Journals: 1. A study of financial awareness among youths, Joyce K.H. Nga, Lisa H.L. Yong and Rathakrishnan D. Sellappan. 2. Malaysian consumers’ credit card usage behavior, Zafar U. Ahmed, Ishak Ismail, M. Sadiq Sohail, Ibrahim Tabsh and Hasbalaila Alias. 3. The influence of image consciousness, materialism and compulsive spending on credit card usage intentions among youthJoyce, K.H. Nga, Lisa H.L. Yong and Rathakrishnan Sellappan. Web: 1. http://www.nst.com.my/top-news/easy-cash-turns-many-into-bankrupts-1.5518 2. http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/11/23/nation/12361423&sec=nation 3. http://voices.yahoo.com/credit-card-debt-one-cause-bankruptcy-7101354.html?cat=3 ARTICLE

Friday, November 8, 2019

Business Management Plan

Business Management Plan General description of the business The business will be structured as a limited liability company. The international hotel business has a lot of potential as more people are moving across borders for leisure, business or tourism purposes. United Arab Emirates (U.A.E) has been categorized as 18th among tourism competitive businesses by the World Economic Forum (WEF).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Business Management Plan specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The UAE is well known for its great shopping facilities, hotels and other tourist destinations. All the year round, tourists and business people flock the UAE to catch a glimpse of the splendid world out there and spend some money too. The hospitality industry in the UAE is experiencing a boom in business as new and returning customers are flocking the local hotels causing an influx of patrons. Travelers, such as tourists are in pursuit of comfort, which th ey are willing and able to part with a fortune, while businessmen are in search of convenience and the business opportunities the region offers. Considering the hospitality industry in the UAE, there is still a lot of potential although the market is quit dominated by established brand names. However, for new entrants into the market there is still a lot of potential. We intend to establish a startup company in Dubai, by the name C-Zones Bar Breakfast. The BB is a charming facility that would be located in a remarkable region recognized as a trendy tourist and traveler target, it is well appropriate for this use. In addition, the locality is recognized for its magnificence and focus of such facilities. Tenancy, income and room rate analysis are confirmed by broad research carried out over a four year period. The analysis consists of certified data and information obtained through countrywide commerce associations and the personal market analysis. Expenditure management procedures h ave also been acknowledged through industry connections. From these connections, the facility will be able to gain from reserves which were not available to a smalltime purchaser. An growth map is also in position that will let the Bed Breakfast to expand its client blend and enhance revenues. The premise has an amazing common lounge where the patrons may hang out, a private garden courtyard, and the adventurer Culinary Centre.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The market Within the hospitality industry, C-Zones will be competing directly with other Bed Breakfast facilities and indirectly with hotels. C-Zones will be targeting three main categories of clientele: the holiday travelers. This category of visitors to the UAE is increasing at 12 percent a year with 14,000 prospective clients. The second category is the business travelers, which is growing at 10 percent with a lot of potential. The last category is the locals. Competitive edge C-Zones has two main cutthroat edges that distinguishes it from the opponents. The first is to provide a first class facility with attention to detail and client service. The employees realize that their mission is to make sure that the clients have the best stay with them and are happy. Their second competitive edge is the uniqueness of the premises whereby, the premises has a wonderful structure that is located in a unique place. Mission The task of C-Zones Bed and Breakfast is to offer an amazing bed and breakfast experience within UAE. We intend to attract and retain customers and get a market niche. Our facility is expected to go beyond the expectations of our clients by providing a contemporary, world class experience, through never-ending commitment to the advancement of our affiliates and products to attain optimum growth and profitability. Company Summary C-Zones is an amazing inn located at Dubai. We are a startup company that will provide several furnished rooms to our clients who are looking for the finest service. All the rooms are individually furnished with antiques and overlooking the town’s splendid scenery. We will offer a full breakfast every morning to our customers at our competitive prices. Ownership The C-Zones Bed Breakfast is owned and managed solely by Jamaal and Aziz. They have renovated an old house that can accommodate 105 visitors at a time. This is a new start-up company for the partners who are equal owners in the business in terms of capital contribution and share of liability. Jamaal and Aziz bought the premises a little over a year ago and have renovated the place to become a wonderful facility. Strategies and objectives The goals of  C-Zones B B for the first  three years of existence are: To create a Bed Breakfast whose main objective is to go beyond the client’s expectations together with the guideline of unprecedented hospitality and service standards. The  C-Zones B B  will attract more visitors on a weekly basis at any time of the year. To raise the number of customers by 10 percent every year through deluxe service to 90 percent occupancy in the third year. To create an ongoing concern, which carry’s on off its individual cash flow Create a customer satisfaction rate of over 90 percent. Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Business Management Plan specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Strategies According to (Wheelen and Hunger 30-66) strategy for business falls under a hierarchy of three levels, a company’s most important strategy that determines the overall direction of the organization which are called corporate strategy and can be fulfilled by formulating and implementing business/divisional strategies which occur at the product level and go ahead to give businesses an advantage over others as far as t heir product offering is concerned. Furthermore (Wheelen and Hunger 82) suggest that for business strategies to be successful functional/operational strategies which aim to maximize productivity within various functional areas must be formulated and implemented. Therefore strategies are divided into 3 classes. The top most level of strategy includes corporate strategies which are the overall set of strategies that define the overall direction which a business is to follow. Corporate strategies may consist of growth, stability, or retrenchment strategies. Startup businesses in this case, the hotel, employ a strategy which is known as a stability strategy in its first years of operations, this is because in most cases entrepreneurs who operate start up businesses understand that during the initial year of their businesses they expect to make no profits because of the huge costs that are involved in setting up the businesses. This is therefore why startup businesses employ a stability strategy that intends to take a pause and rest because of the usually large investments that investors might have put in the business. If managers of these businesses do not do so, they may exhaust all resources and end up with no further resources to operate their businesses forcing closure. As time goes on, the hotel can then adopt a pause and precede strategy that is dependent upon the actual situation on the ground. After a period of say 2 years, the hotel may then decide to adapt a growth strategy or settle upon serving a smaller market depending on the situation on the market then. Hotel’s business strategy is a cost leadership model that intends to sell its products at a low price. In order to achieve these corporate strategies, the hotel will be required to put strong policies, programs, budgets and procedures that will go to ensuring production schedules and sales targets are met in time without and delays. Functional strategies intend to foster quality, cost saving, and differentiation.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Tactics that will be used to achieve strategic goals Keeping the Customers is quite important once the hotel acquires a customer, it will be best if it attempts to maintain a relationship between itself and its consumers in order to retain its customers. The company will need a loyal customer base, and the loyal customers are the most important factor of their company. The company has to device some important promotional strategies so that the customers always come back to their concern. These strategies include providing a superior customized service for its products at the cheapest possible prices that is consistent with the specific consumer needs (Case 220-238). Trying to acquire new customer will mean that the hotel will device means to allure new customers and try to retain them as far as possible. These will increase the boundaries of the company in a new level. Furthermore, the hotel will encourage existing consumers by using various techniques to bring in new customers and therefore the importance of maximizing the consumer experience is critical so that consumers will always have something good to say. When consumers use Word of mouth and lure other consumers it is cheaper than using other means of acquiring consumers. Safety is a key concern for consumers and therefore in recent times security has been a very important concern for the individuals who use hotels (Kotler ‘Principles of Marketing’ 20-50). The company therefore, will take strong security policies that will ensure the safety of consumers and their property Trying to acquire new properties by expansion and is a long-term corporate strategy that involves either acquiring and opening up new branches with the aim of serving a larger market in order to increase revenue. It is therefore necessary if the hotel wants to expand to acquire new properties. Keeping an eye on the competitors is a very important tactic that leads to technical excellence especially since every day new orga nizations are entering into the hospitality market with a very huge financial backing. It is therefore necessary to use competitive intelligence to gather useful data that will be used by the hotel to achieve a competitive advantage (Case 210). Promotion is a critical part to a brands success and therefore entrepreneurs and companies should appropriately apply various parts of the promotion mix in order to increase the chances of the product selling in the market. Promotional activities aim to educate, inform, remind, persuade and encourage repeated purchase about products and brands at the end of the day. A good promotional mix should always target the consumers and sellers. Consumer promotional activities encourage consumers to buy more of the product. And therefore consequently the hotel will use advertisements, brochures and direct selling to achieve its objectives and stimulate sales and revenue growth. Liabilities and risks The hospitality industry is faced by many risks. For C-Zones just like any other player, the market is still an open place. Management Team The C-Zones Bed Breakfast can only attain its missions and objectives through the management. Jamaal is an experienced entrepreneur with work on invaluable business experience.  While Aziz has earned his MBA giving him amazing insight and experience directly related to what he is doing now. The  C-Zones Bed Breakfast  will be able to leverage  its wonderful facility and turn it into a beautiful, deluxe Bed Breakfast catering the entire city.   This will be done  through the commitment and business skills of the two partners.   It is expected that the Bed Breakfast will be doing so by the third month in operation and will make reasonable returns by the end of year one. Organization Structure Organizational structures trys to explain the relationships between authorities and communication lines in the organizations hotels (Kotler ‘Principles of Marketing’ 20-50). Organ izational structures within companies cause or allow views to be brought forward, or presented as a model to be studied on how those businesses are managed and run. If an organization has a clear framework/structure put in place, it is made very clear within the departments in the organization on who does what and so forth thus leaving no room for sloppy work and blame games erupting due to unfulfilled objectives. Different organizations employ different organizational structures depending on their objectives and what they intend to achieve after a set period of time. These structures may either be flat or tall for example the Hotel’s organizational structure takes a flat format. The organization structure of the hotel is a flat structure that will assign the duties of management between all the partners. It is vital that entrepreneurs closely monitor start-up businesses during their initial years of operation by dedicating a lot of time to oversee their smooth running. There fore all the employees and supervisors will be directly answerable to the partner who is sitting as the managing director. It will therefore be the responsibility of the partners to perform all relevant managerial duties and consult with other partners to make well guided decisions. Personnel plan The final personnel mix will consist of both permanent and part-time employees thus enabling the company save costs. If work and demand for lodging facilities increase according to demand and supply patterns depending on the situation, the company may the make a decision to lay off or employ more part-time workers. The existence of permanent employment contracts goes ahead to instill loyalty amongst employees which can be used to the benefit of for the hotel. Services The C-Zones facility offers three-star lodging on the amazing Dubai coast. We are an all inclusive B B facility with a full complimentary breakfast served every morning. â€Å"Impeccable rooms, each with its own theme are r eady to embrace the individual who is looking for solitude, or the more adventurist person who likes to be active.† We organise trips around the city for those who are interested. Market Analysis Summary The C-Zones B B  has  various target groups that it is intending to draw.   The first are the local residents who just want to have a weekend getaway.   Kotler, (141) notes â€Å"they may have activities planned for the weekend on the coast  or just chose to relax in a homely environment. The second category is the travellers and vacationers who choose to stay in Bed Breakfasts instead of a hotel, or onboard their boats.†Ã‚   While others just want to experience  a themed weekend.  However, our target customer could include others outside these categories though these are our target groups. Market Segmentation Our clients can be generally grouped into three categories: Weekend getaway customers.   These local residents looking to get away from their l ife so they come to  the C-Zones B B  to escape. Travelers/vacationers. Experience Executive B B Service.   These people are mostly delighted returning customers who will be looking to experience our deluxe services. Market Analysis Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Potential Customers Growth Travelers/Vacationers 9% 964,982 1,051,830 1,146,495 Weekend-Getaway Customers 9% 241,245 262,957 286,623 Come to see museum and tour 8% 1,200 1,296 1,400 Want Executive Chef Experience 5% 24,124 25,330 26,597 Total 8.92% 1,231,551 1,341,413 1,461,115 Market analysis Segmentation and market analysis Segmentation is a process by which an organization partitions a market in order to make products that are specifically meant to cater for the needs that are specifically meant for that portion of the market hotels (Kotler ‘Principles of Marketing 82). Companies may either choose to serve the whole market and therefore have a mass market orientation or else decide to serve a given portion of the entire market. It is therefore appropriate to state that the hotel will serve the lower end of the market which consists of individuals who desire to spend less in accommodation and therefore save funds. The hotel will consequently design bed and feeding packages that will match the needs and resource capabilities of clientele who fall within this specific segment. Competition It is highly important that every business operates with a certain degree of competitive advantage. It is also vital that the hotel comes up with an overall competitive strategy that the hotel will pursue in order to compete with other industry participants. According to Michael porters, there are generic competitive strategies that participants within an industry are allowed to pursue. These strategies either concentrate on a narrow or a wider perspective of the total market and at the same time either adopts a low cost strategy or a high differentiation approach (porter 64). The choice of competitive strategies has an impact on the price strategy followed by an organization. Companies who don’t adopt a differentiation approach may at the end of the day adopt a mass market strategy end up pursuing a market penetration strategy which is basically a pricing strategy that aims to sell affordable low priced products to the market. When Companies follow a differentiation strategy they are most likely to adopt a skimming/milking price strategy which involves charging high rates for a product in order to recover extensive funds that may have been involved in the process of product research and development stage of product design. Marketing Research will be gathered continuously and the subsequently obtained Information that will be used in the process decision making and policy selection will be attained from industry research publications and other sources of data. Marketing research firms can be contracted from time to time depending on the actual situatio n to achieve more specific information nevertheless the company can also use its resources to serve the same purpose (Kotler ‘Principles of Marketing’ 222). Diagram 2: A diagram of generic competitive strategies that can be pursued by businesses. Adopted from Wheelen and Hunger strategic management (2002) and business policy printed with permission of Free Press from the Competitive Advantages of Nations by Michael E Porter 1990. The ability to operate on cost leadership is advantageous because it means the hotel will use less capital that is usually high in the case of differentiation, the company will in turn go ahead and offer its products and services at a low price and therefore attract a lot of customers ( Porter 12-23) To further understand forces driving competition within the industry Porter’s model can be used to look at the five forces which shape any industry. These five forces that will determine how well a company can operate in a given environment and be able to satisfy its customers and realize a profit by affecting either the floor or ceiling price for goods and services. The forces in porter’s model include Threat of new entrants Barriers are placed by existing companies and regulatory authorities to prevent new entrants from causing abnormal profit flows for existing companies, some of the threats include government policies, exploiting cost advantages, access to distribution, capital requirements. In this case the hotel industry is known to be very capital-intensive since acquisition property to build hotels is quite expensive. Making this venture of the hotel industry an excellent one is vital since the higher the capital structure of an industry is, the more harder is it for new entrants therefore, companies venturing into this industry can experience some sense of security Intensity of competitive rivalry among existing firms firms within the same industry always compete for the available market this can be th rough powerful competitive strategies, innovation, structure of industry costs, switching costs, degree of product differentiation and so on and therefore the hotel intends to place itself strategically to compete with rivals (Case 11). Threat of substitute products or services-consumers can opt to go for substitute products if quality is better, price is relatively better, or the cost of switching is favorable. The hotel also expects to set strategies that will also compete with any substitute services and products at the same time using its low cost strategy to achieve competitive advantage. The bargaining power of customers-the bargaining power of buyers depends on the number of buyers within the industry who purchase from the available suppliers. The hotel will develop suitable strategies and products that will enable it satisfy consumers while at the same time spend less therefore leaving them feeling as if they have a high bargaining power. The bargaining power of suppliers-Su ppliers who provide raw material can determine the profitability and viability of an industry by setting prices of implements which in turn affect the profit margins (Case 190). Therefore the hotel will devise strategies which will involve multiple sourcing strategies to reduce the barging power of suppliers that may be disadvantageous to the hotel by imposing extravagant expenses. Swot analysis External environment Strategic planning be it short or long term, is done in the light of company’s strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. A company’s strengths and weaknesses take a critical look into internal factors such as company resources, culture and structure while on the other hand opportunities and threats take a look at a company’s external environment (Wheelen and Hunger 2002). In business management, external analysis is one of the most important factors of the existence of the company this is because only in the light of what the external environm ent is all about that a company can successfully formulate and pursue strategy. The basic external analysis is an attempt to match an organization with the outside impacts in which the business is situated and how this influences overall strategy. To understand the external analysis on the Hotel International, we have to concentrate on one property of the hotel. Opportunities-The availability of massive tourists and individuals flying into the U.A.E to conduct business is a perfect opportunity that the hotel is expected to pursue and make a profit out of it. Furthermore the economic integration of U.A.E and other countries within Asia is good advantages that can be exploited in the long run to increase and expand the level of business enabling the hotel even go multinational depending on the business environment (Porter 88-120). Threats The increasing level of competition within the Dubai hotel market presents a threat for the hotel. Much bigger and better hotels that have more reso urces may have the ability to imitate and even steal potential clientele. Furthermore, increasing government regulations on the hotel industry is more likely to limit the level of business operations simply because the law has made it clear that there are many compliance rules that the hotel must put in place before operations begin and these compliance regulations may have a quite costly impact on business of the hotel. Internal Environment The internal analysis of a company basically focuses on the strength and weaknesses of the organization itself, and how they impact the total business scenario of the concern and company strategies (Wheelen and Hunger 2002). In this aspect one thing is very important, what can be determined as strength can change into the weakness in another aspect. There are factors like finance, marketing, and the service providing capabilities, the macroeconomic factors, the technological changes and most importantly the different legal matters that come with the maintenance of the properties. Strengths A key strength of the hotel is expected to come from the highly experienced partners who all have had a background in doing business or either the corporate world. The partners are expected to import their wide variety of knowledge and apply it into the hotel to make the hotel business become successful. Furthermore the use of a flat organizational structure means that the managing partner together with other partners will be able to keep a close and keen eye on the business and therefore be part of day to day decision making. This will enable more valid and practical decisions to be made to the advantage of the business (Wheelen Hunger 44). Lastly since the hotel is new it will be much easier and simple for the leadership to mold the most suitable corporate culture into the mindset of their employees. Companies with a good culture are more likely to be effective and highly efficient in the process of service delivery and therefore cons umers of the service may end up being very pleased and highly satisfied (Case 180-188). Weaknesses Constraint financial resource may limit the level of growth that the hotel may intend to achieve during its operations. This is simply because every partner has made it clear that they are willing to operate on a given budget and they are no longer willing to increase the overall capital structure. They instead intend to wait for returns and plough them back into the business. It is this situation that may hinder the hotel from competitively competing with other hotels who are key players within the same segment of the industry. Additionally, lack of previous direct experience by the business partners in the hotel industry may prove as a challenge to the hotel and may at some point present itself as a weakness. Financial analysis Assumptions The business will operate smoothly for the first 3 years. Only 40% of all costs are fixed costs while the rest are variable costs. The business will realize growth in revenues is subsequent years. Table 1: List of total expenses (2010-2013) 2011 $ 2012 $ 2013 $ Rent and lease of property $60,000 $50,000 $50,000 Plant and machinery $60,000 $30,000 $50,000 Advertisements 5,000 4,500 5,000 Promotions and discounts 20,000 8,500 17,500, Training costs 10,000 7,500 7,500 Salaries 20,000 5,500 6,500 Tax 5,000 2,500 3,000 Literature, catalogs and websites 5,000 4,000 5,000 Sponsorship agreements 5,000 5,000 2,000 Administrative costs 10,000 9,500 4,000 Total Sales and Marketing Expenses 200,000 130,000 150,500 Sales Forecast Table 2: Sales Forecast for years (2010-2013) Year 2011 2012 2013 Sales $300,000 $400,200 $500,880 Expense Forecast Expenses will be incurred on labor costs, equipment and departmental costs, as well as advertising and promotional activities. Labor costs for the company are not expected to rise drastically since employees may be re-assigned to operate in the new department. New personnel may be sourced for if need arises. Labor, advertizing and promotional expenditures are estimated to be around 20 percent of the proceeds from the department. Breakeven Table 3: Contribution Margin Forecast (2010-2013) Year 2011 2012 2013 Total Revenue $300,000 $400,200 $500,880 Total Expenses $200,000 $130,050 $150,500 By assuming that 40% of all costs are fixed costs and the rest are variable costs then the breakeven point in dollars using the formula break even=fixed costs/total variable cost/total sales revenue will be Year 1 =$ 133,333 Year2 =$64,621 Year3=$73,415 Pro forma Profit and Loss Statement XYZ Hotel YEAR 1 Year 2 Year 3 TOTAL SALES $300,000 Total sales $ 400,200 Total sales $500,880 Total expenses $80,000 Total expenses $50,050 Total expenses $50,050 Net profit Net profit Net profit $100,000 $270,150 $350,750 NB: When adding up the total expenses it is advisable to subtract any capital expenditures that may have been used to acqui re assets which will be used to realize future benefits for XYZ hotel. Therefore prepaid rent is an asset and so are plant equipment and machinery therefore they will not be included as expenses. Until the end of the financial period falling under year one pre-paid rent will be then entered into financial records as an expense once it has been fully consumed. Pro forma Balance sheet for XYZ Hotel Assets Cash 130,000 Prepaid Rent 60,000 Plant and equipment 60,000 TOTAL Assets 250,000 Liabilities Equity Capital (500 shares @ $50) 250,000 Total Liabilities 250,000 Implementation Milestones The brand management department will constantly evaluate its performance levels, which will be measured in comparison to the anticipated contribution margins in the three years of operations. Implementation will start by setting simple short term goals which by using special tactics which will be incrementally applied in order to achieve, long term objectives of department and the company as a whole. Follow up will be done on a periodical basis so as to make sure that initiatives are complete and targets realized. The plans made should be specific, so that performance can be measurable and realistic enough so that they can be achievable. Once a concrete plan is set upon, milestones will be agreed upon to aid in the implementation process. Therefore key performance indicators such as month to month customer traffic, sales levels and inventory levels, consumer satisfaction reports can be used in the process of changing and altering strategy. Conclusion Businessmen and entrepreneurs can no longer ignore the importance of business planning and strategic planning because they are a key pillar of success for both startup and mature business organizations. 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