Debt Financing and Bankruptcy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Debt Financing and Bankruptcy - Essay Example This chapter is distinguished from other filed chapter as it is the only chapter that allows companies to refinance and reorganize to prevent final liquidation. A company may refinance itself by getting loans thorough debt financing mode. This help to get the required money to finance the daily operations of the company and also pay other costs like salaries, pension and medical cost. Restructuring involves changing the mechanisms through which company operations are conducted. This involves reducing the number of employees and performance contracting to ensure efficiency in production and also reduce operation cost (Usatoday, 2012) The debt trouble that the company is experiencing is caused by the following factors. First, the annual sales of the company is about $2.5 billion ant this is not enough to cater for the rising medical benefit and pension costs of its 19000 unionized employees who operates in over thirty states are .In addition the company has had trouble attracting customers who have migrated to more healthier whole grain foods that do not put them at risk of suffering from obesity and other cardiovascular diseases. Furthermore the cost of ingredients-sugar and flour has increased significantly decreasing the total revenue accrued by the company. Hostess main competitors include Bimbo Bakeries, Kraft Inc and Sara Lee. The company has a debt of over $860 million with Industry International Pension and Fund Bakery & Confectionary Union as the main unsecured creditors (Guardian, 2012). The debt financing option that were available included getting loans from bank, taking goods (ingredients) on credit and then and then repaying the debt later after sale, creating more shares that are later sold to cater for the financial needs selling bonds and partnering with other well established companies that can inject in new ideas

Marketing 4580 International Transportation Essay

Marketing 4580 International Transportation - Essay Example The current office automation systems improve on the limited capabilities of the early year’s soft ware packages. As technology improves further, managers and other members of staff analyze issues that have traditionally been solved by specially designed computer programs. Hence, the classic issue of transportation cost minimization at a minimum transportation cost is addressed (Murphy & Wood, 2010). Communication systems are another example of information systems that could be utilised. It is obvious that communication is an important component of any organisation (Murphy & Wood, 2010). Hence, communication systems help various organisational stakeholders work together by interacting and sharing information in many different forms. With regard to logistics, the importance of well-defined and well-executed communication systems was most appreciated by companies that use or provide airfreight services after the events of 9/11 terrorist attack (Murphy & Wood, 2010). As such, communication systems played a crucial role for airfreight providers. With current advancement in telecommunication technology, new technology is replacing old methods of communication. Case in point, wireless communication is the new yardstick that is replacing the honoured Electronic data interchange (EDI) (Murphy & Wood, 2010). On the other hand, the most commonly used type of wireless system, the global po sitioning systems (GPS), has become quite valuable to the transportation component of logistics due to high fuel costs and the relentless pressure to improve efficiency and productivity. These issues have since been resolved by the GPS system (Murphy & Wood, 2010). Other important systems are the Management Information System (MIS) and Executive Information System (EIS). These systems convert data into information. This information monitors the performance and the management structure in an organization. In this

Improving Operational Effectiveness and Customer Service

Improving Operational Effectiveness and Customer Service Case Study: Improving operational effectiveness and customer service at Gant Logistics 1.0 Introduction Nowadays, the term of â€Å"logistics† has become a necessary word relate to the normal life. Many logistics business has developed rapidly. In this report, the Gant Logistic is the company which is buyout a business logistics business to make up of the current new business. There is no doubt as a new business establish as the difficulties will come out. The purpose of the report is to analyse what kind of problem that Gant Logistics faced up, what kind difficulties need to be overcome. The aim of this report is help the initial business become developed faster and improved the disadvantages. Furthermore, the report will analyse the scope of the business. Overview of logistics information systems and technologies. 2.1 Essential features Logistics management is very important for achieve an efficient and customer-oriented logistics service of a logistics company. It is a part of supply chain, it plans, implement and controls the efficient, effective forward and reverse flow and storage of goods, services, materials and any information between the point of origin and the point of consumption in order to meet customer requirements. It contains materials management, cannel management, and distribution and supply-chain management. Logistics automation is another feature of an efficient and customer-oriented logistics service. It is the application of computer software, to improve the efficiency of logistics operations. The industrial machinery can easily identify products by transmitted through radio frequency and is usually used in RFID tags, sometimes by bar code. The supply chain management system enables the business to meet the demands of their customer more effectively and efficiently. It can helps companies to process orders much more quickly and effectively to ensure customer needs are addressed quickly. It is also provide company lowers cost, improved collaboration, give cycle times, response to conflict. The Customer Relationship Management is very important to maintain customer-oriented logistics service because is support the effective management of customer relationships and lifecycle, from initial lead right through to after sales activity. Microsoft Dynamics CRM is good to use in Gant Logistics Ltd. Because it turning Microsoft Outlook into a single center that can organize customers data, offering familiarity, functionality and flexibility in management of communications. It helps company increase efficient of customer service. Using Enterprise Resource Planning systems is another essential feature of an efficient and customer-oriented logistics service. It integration across all business process, make business more efficient, faster and less error, enhanced productivity, increase overall performance and quality reports and performance analysis, it also integrate with supplier and customer systems enhance full visibility and efficiency across the business supply chain. Allow customers to track their parcels, delivery fast, customer service and delivery couriers attitude are also the essential features of an efficient and customer-oriented logistic service. Modeling and management of decision making, tracking and tracing are include in the information system, which is very important as well. It gives essential data and consolation in each step of the interaction among logistics services and the target station. A well-developed transportation system is also the essential features of an efficient logistics ser vices. Without a good transportation system, logistics could not bring its advantages and will decrease the efficient and customers. It also will cost a lot to the company. 2.2 Main types of information systems As Gant Logistics Ltd is a new business, it is important and necessary to set up two key elements that help the business developed which are operational efficiency and customer orientation. Although the two elements has been organised, the business still need an efficient information system and technologies to organise. The term of information system is connect the relative information to support the business decision making and control in organisation (Management information systems 2015, Pxxi). The Gant Logistics business is focus on logistics and transport, so supply chain management systems will be one of the information systems that improve the business more effectiveness. Another system to support market function is decision support system and enterprise resource planning system. Supply chain management system is the active management which maximise customer value and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage activities (Robert 2011). The main function for supply chain management is transformation, movement and storage of goods and materials. For Gant Logistics the operational efficiency is the key element to grow business, during the process movement of the product has to be organised well, appropriate timing, check goods quality and quantity, and organise quick delivery process is the components for operational efficiency. Unsuccessfully and inappropriate communication would drag the business to failure. Therefore, timely communication and technology-enabled visibility lead business to organise production correctly and modify the potential problem. Logistics business 3.0 Recommendations 3.1 Information systems and technologies 3.1.1 Inventory management system Inventory management system is to scan inventory items, for example, feature licenses and hardware components. Hardware components are installed in the routing platform, both of part and serial number. Feature licenses enable software features to run on a routing platform. It is advisable for Gant to introduce inventory management software into its inventory management system. It will maintain a timely track of orders, inventory levels, shipments and other items. As for certain products, which might be sold together at most time, or are more popular in the market, it can be grouped by inventory management software and be placed together (Barbosa Musetti, 2010). Considering potential market and delivery destination, inventory management software placed all the products near the delivery area, in order to speed up daily operation of warehouse, which is beneficial for manufactures, distributors, wholesalers and retailers. Inventory management system will contribute to the optimization of warehouse and distribution centers. Since Gant has a number of distribution centers in 11 locations and deliver various products such as fast-moving consumer goods and domestic appliance. It is difficult to find out the exact goods listed on the inventory order. Introduction of inventory management software will increase the efficiency of keeping and picking up of products. Inventory management software enables Gant to manage and automate track the receipts, adjustments, transfers and stock counts in the warehouse. 3.1.2 Third-party logistics Third-party logistics refers to the supply chain including both its own suppliers and outsourced suppliers, to fulfill its overall objectives. It requires for an integrated operation both in warehousing and transportation services, which can be scaled and customized in accordance with the changeable market conditions, such as additional demands for goods and materials. Once there is an integration of procurement or production of goods, the company shall call the third-party logistic providers for help (Helo Szekely, 2005). It is a particular operation in the overall supply management, including raw material provision, warehousing and transportation. Fuel cost is a major cost element for Gant’s business, with an annual fuel bill in excess of $60 million. It operates distribution centers in 11 locations across Australia and utilizes a fleet of 182 trucks. It is essential for Gant to reduce its fuel cost and increase its operational efficiency. Third-party logistics allows Gant to transfer its pressure to third party and enjoy a cost saving. There are 3 main types of third-party logistics providers, which are asset based, management based and integrated providers (Cheng Phillips, 2011). It is advisable for Gant to choose the third one, in order to maintain flexible operation, reduce capital commitment, save both cost and time. 3.1.3 Customer-oriented model Unlike former strategic goals in logistic system, which emphasizes greatly on profitability and market share, customer-oriented model highly value customer service in the entire supply chain. The Quick Response is the key to success of the customer-oriented model. Gant shall recognize customers’ changeable demand and react to it as soon as possible. Quick Response requires for a closer cooperation among all the participants in the supply chain, including manufacturers, deliverers, wholesalers, retail sellers, etc, so that the cost of customer service are able to be reduced to the minimum. Gant shall gain the key information on customer’s demand in time and make the most of it in the supply chain. Modern logistic technologies shall be introduced to the logistic system, such as EDI (Hazen Byrd, 2012). Customer-oriented model are carried out through out the overall logistic processes. It requires for redesigning in manufacturing operations, good partner relations in negot iation, shorter periods in delivery, timely information sharing in communication, fast transport and TQM obligations. It is of great significance for Gant to set up customer-oriented model, for the reason that it helps the company to boost sales volume and cut costs, which is good for all the participants in the supply chain. 3.1.4 Drivers monitoring system All the trucks in Gant shall be equipped with console-mounted cameras. Cameras are able to track the drivers’ eyes behavior, when they are driving. When drivers are found to nod-off, they will be alarmed through Bluetooth earpiece. With a customized sound or gentle vibration, drivers will be waked by this driver fatigue alarm. In addition to that, sensors shall be embedded in the truck seat, which are able to measure electrocardiography of drivers, known as ECG (Gruenwald, 2013). Sensors are able to measure drivers’ heart rate variability, so that assess the stability of drivers heart rate, from beat to beat. When drivers are tired or sleepy, their heart rate will slow down greatly, which will be detected by the sensor. This information will also start up driver fatigue alarms in the truck. It is necessary for Gant to introduce cameras and sensors in their logistic system, for the reason that it is to resolve serious issue of driver fatigue. These technologies will enab le Gant to carry out real-time monitoring on driver’s healthy and efficiency, as well as to eliminate the negative impact brought by driver fatigue as much as possible. 3.2 Schedule for implementation Time Strategy Operations 1st year Inventory management system Inventory management software Drivers monitoring system Sensors, cameras, alarms 2nd year Customer-oriented model Quick response in all the processes 3rd year Third party logistics Integrated providers 4.0 Conclusion Gant is a new company formed from the management buyout of a transport and logistics business. There are a couple of issues in its current operation, such as high fuel cost and low operation efficiency. Strategies shall be set up to deal with these issues, such as set up inventory management system and drivers monitoring system, introduce customer-oriented model and select third-party logistics providers. There is no doubt that a series of difficulties will be met during Gant’s development in logistics system. It is necessary for Gant to keep a timely record and share information with its partners, in order to quick response to the changeable market condition. 5.0 References Barbosa, D. Musetti, M. (2010), â€Å"Logistics information systems adoption: An empirical investigation in Brazil†, Industrial Management Data Systems, vol. 110, no. 6, pp 787-804. Cheng, L. Phillips, J. (2011), â€Å"Geographic information system applications in supply chains†, International Journal of Business Research, vol. 11, no. 5, pp 131-136. Gruenwald, H. (2013), â€Å"Logistics software from a logistic management and management information systems (MIS) perspective†, Information Management and Business Review, vol. 5, no. 12, pp 591-597. Hazen, B. Byrd, T. (2012), â€Å"Toward creating competitive advantage with logistics information technology†, International Journal of Physical Distribution Logistics Management, vol. 42, no. 1, pp 8-35. Helo, P. Szekely, B. (2005), â€Å"Logistics information systems: An analysis of software solutions for supply chain coordination†, Industrial Management Data Systems, vol. 105, no. 1, pp 5-18. Management Information Systems, 2015, introduction to information systems, 1st end, Heather Gray,Issa, Grame, Indrit, Kelly,Brad and Hugh, viewed 28 May 2015, Vitalsouce bookshelf ebook database. Robert , H 2011, â€Å"What is supply chain management?† The Supply Chain Resource Cooperative, viewed 28 May 2015, http://scm.ncsu.edu/scm-articles/article/what-is-supply-chain-management>. http://www.scs.org/pubs/jdms/vol2num2/Kustra-Ganapathy-pp71-86.pdf

Dance with the Music :: essays research papers

When we think of gifts, we picture little boxes covered with shiny wrapping paper and a cute little ribbon on top. For my fifth birthday, my present didn’t exactly fit these â€Å"requirements†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sitting down in front of the piano every night, I can remember the time when one little girl’s dream came true. Immediately after I woke up on the day of my fifth birthday, my parents blind-folded me and led me to the dining room. Taking off the handkerchief, I stood in front of the most beautiful piano I had ever seen. In front of me was a brown, upright Wurlitzer, my very own piano. I immediately pulled out the chair from under the piano and opened the lid. I took a deep breath and played Jingle Bells, the only song I could memorize at the time. Gliding my fingers over the smooth piano keys, I couldn’t believe that this was actually happening.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Turning five, I was only interested in music. While other children would sit in front of their televisions and bug their eyes out watching Barney and Sesame Street, I became engrossed in watching tapes of ballets, concerts, and musicals. It was evident that I was a child who would grow to love music and its art; however no one could ever imagine that this interest would evolve into a significance that would change my childhood forever.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At around the same time, I realized that my cousin Caroline was my role model. She was a tall girl that would blow people away as soon as she stepped into a room; you could sense her magnificence from a mile away. Caroline was attracted to just about everything that I was, and excelled at all the things that she attempted, which included the art of piano. Once I learned that she was such a brilliant musician, I started to beg to learn how to play the piano. Most of my family members thought that this was just some childhood stage that I would quickly get over and drop.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My mother brought me to my first keyboard teacher, Scott. He taught me about all the essentials including the notes, their values, and some simple songs. Although I learned nothing more then the basics, I was overjoyed, treating the uncomplicated steps as gold. Every week after lessons, I would rush to my parents, skipping with delight, eager to show them what I had learned.

Running Head: Organization Staffing

Steps to be undertaken by an organization that is committed to shattering the glass ceiling; An organization that is committed to shattering the glass ceiling should carry out the following steps:There should be Communication targeting women and science; women should participate in silence low women employees is a wastage on human resources.   It also limits the diversity of   research and development.   Women should participate in research / science at all levels.   Women should be appointed at different committee, as advised and man agreement team.   The proportion of 40:60 needs to be achieved.Women participants should be at the center of research policy. Gender equality should be emphasized.   Scientific research should be made accessible to ladies.   Conferences should be called for to focus on women and science.   Change should be visible.   The scientific mindset is also being changed.   Policies should be good for women in sciences men should not only cons ider fellow men.2.The most common discretionary and contingent assessment methods include:(1)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Simulation exercise:   To stimulate is to do or make something, which looks read but is not real.   The members of staff are put in a situation this assumes the real workplace and the staff are supposed to do vital dimension for the real job.(2)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sample of past work:   The staff members are supposed to sample an attitude that they carried out to some successful completion some times backs.   In assessing the capability to write, the candidate is supposed to bring a letter, report or even an article that he did in a current for period of job.(3)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The interview:   Questions analyze   hypothetical work related call and focus is on relevant qualification.   Answers are based on expected perform once.   Questions can be sometime questions or probing or prompting.   Situational questions referees t o questions form the staff history and will enable prediction of his exported performance in the current job.   Probing or prompting questions are normally assessing the candidate’s ability to make quick decision to avoid memorizing expression for the interview.   Herbert (2005)(4)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Written tests:   Various qualifications can be tested.   This is a screening criterion for a large number of applicants.   They can be knowledge tests, skill tests, thinking or conscious metal tests, knowledge tests relate to job performance knowledge before appointment.   Skill test relate to clinical skills, which include typing, coding, reading and filing.   Cognitive ability test measure verbal reasoning, solving a problem and the memory including quantitative reasoning.  Both written tests and interviews:   reduce the interview time where in the time is taken but test results can be used in evaluating the expected performance.Differences between wr itten tests and interviews:Written tests are good when the number of candidates is large which interviews may be time consuming given that candidates need to express themselves better.Written tests guarantees privacy where by answers   given are not spread to everybody while interview whereby the panel is large, diffusion may occur whereby other word parties may know the result.3.Initial Assessment methods:The initial assessment methods for starting my own business would include;Interviews: for a starter in business, interviews will focus on hypothetical cases whereby the applicants will be expected to replay what they could do given a real job situation.   Interviews also nationalize because questions are based expected performance compared to the actual performance probing questions will be very helpful because applicants may have had a leakage of the questions sudden tests the applicants ability to make sudden decision.Written tests:   This will enable the new recruits to b e tested on their qualification and can be used for screening to shortlist applicants.   Written taxes will enable me to test the applicant’s knowledge based on special skills required for job performance.   The clerical staff will also be tested on their ability to perform.   Verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning and solving problem capability will also be determined.4. Investigation of validity for the verbal and computational skills test rating and assessment:To investigate the criterion related validity of verbal and computational skills would include;  Ã‚  Due to the severe hiring pressure all the applicants were hired regardless of their test scores.   Expected response is determined in advance for every qualification.   Asking similar questions ensures fairness and equality for all candidates.   All factors of verbal and computational skills are determined by the questions for the rating and accessing.   Expected answers all given some markers, which may be good, fair and poor as 8 – 10, 5 – 7, and 1 – 4 respectively.   Every one of the employed expected to meet one of the ranks.   Every individual is assessed to determine his or her verbal and computational ability.5.The use of a new predictor:This is what I would advise my boss regarding the new predictor;The validity coefficient is high for the current predictor.   It will be very necessary for the base rate to be low so that at least some of the candidates can qualify due to the low selection ratio.   This low base rate based on the sample chosen will capture some of he applicants.6.GUIDELINES FOR ORAL AND WRITTEN COMMUNICATION SKILLS:If I were the HR staffing for an organization, I would recommend the following regarding oral and written communication with the job applicants by members of the organization;  There should be some uniform calculation:   questions asked should be similar to allow uniform evaluation and this will also help in ma ny sing responses.  Oral and written communication skills should have limited lane allocations to ensure some for all questions is enable the interviewees and respondents express and excrescent questions in the right manner.  The content of oral and written communications skills evaluation that is functional or scientific to ensure relevance and problem solving with definite answers.Incase many question are to be asked written tests must be used so that applicants can have time to respond.  Incase confidentiality and privacy is required, written tests are more applicable to ensure that the written answers remains to those relevant ones.  Substance is very necessary to ensure that answers target the job performance7.ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES TO THE SALES APPROACH IN THE PRESENTATION OF THE JOB OFFERS:ADVANTAGESSales approach ensures relevance in relation to the response given by the respondents.   The applicants normally answers as if they have the job (in hypothesis) an d this is good for determining the expected performance.  Sales approach also reduces the amount of time and the responses can be evaluated for selection of successful applicants.   An analysis of responses can be made easy because expected answers are used as guidance.DISADVANTAGESSales approach in the presentation of a job offer does not allow adequate and sufficient screening of applicants because questions asked are normally guiding and does not allow the respondents to think and this may be helpful in determining the applicants capability is make urgent decision and choices.8.LEGAL STAFFING REQUIREMETNS:The legal requirements of staffing system management and steps I would take to ensure that managers in my company engage in legal staffing actions would include;  Formality the quality of being good and deserving praise aspect of the staffing system should have these values:  Competency:   positive factors which ensure that all applicants are quite qualified to the exp ected functions.   The management should only require those who are qualified with skills ability and knowledge to perform.Non – partnership:   New members of staff should be recruited and promoted with an objectives   view.   There should not be political or unnecessary bacchantic patronagesFree and fairness:   objectivity should be part of decision pertaining recruiting there should be no nepotism, tribalism, realism, politics or unnecessary pride cures.   Practices should reject a fair and true treatment of all complies candidate applicationsEquity:   there should be no unnecessary barriers limiting people to access employment.   Advertisements for job vacancies should be open Herbet (2004).9.COST AND BENEFITS FO VOLUNTARY TURNOVER MOST LIKELY TO VARY ACCORDING TO THE TYPE OF JOB:The following costs and benefits of voluntary turnover are most likely to vary according to the type of job;  Due to light numbers more interviews will be needed and this may req uire outsourcing which may be expensive for a small business entity.  Selection criteria may be fume consuming with huge volumes of both oral and written interviews, the education of answers as compared to the ranks given will need a lot of accuracy, devotion and specialist.  Voluntary number will enable all those who fail like they can contribute to the company’s human capital to them up and may be secure a place to prove their capability.   In staffing consideration have to be made regarding to ability, experienced and knowledge that is job related.  Ã‚  Vulnerary over is recommended by legal staffing requirements as may be dieted by the labor laws (Act.)10.POTENTIAL PROBLEMS WITH DOWN SIZING:The potential problems with downsizing as an organization’s first response to a need to cut labor costs include;  Comparison between related cost and employees ability to perform some of the people to be sacked may be old but still capable of productivity more than you ng qualified staff. Old staff may have accumulated high monitory salaries but their monthly contribution towards the company’s productivity may be incomparable due to accumulated expenses.  Retrenchment benefit will cost the company a lot in the short run.   These are payments to standard staffing as per law.   Those retrenched may sue the company if not paid fast enough.   Court cases will also be expensive to the company at there are no related benefits.  Downsizing may lead to a restriction of job descriptions whereby those few employees left may be expected to work more than before and this may result is go slow which might need more salary increments which it not affected may reflect in resignationsReferences:Herbert G.   And Timothy A (2005) Staffing Organizations 5 ED. PG 60 – 111.University of Wisconsin. MadisonHerbert G. (2004) Staffing Organizations 5ED. Pg 30 – 61 University of Wisconsin.Madison

Descartes’ Epistemology Essay

Carefully explain Descartes’ cogito and his attempt to build his knowledge structure from the ground up. (Be as succinct as possible.) Does Descartes succeed or fail in that attempt? Justify your answer in full. Descartes’ Epistemology. This essay attempts to explain Descartes’ epistemology of his knowledge, his â€Å"Cogito, Ergo Sum† concept (found in the Meditations), and why he used it [the cogito concept] as a foundation when building his structure of knowledge. After explaining the concept I give a brief evaluation of his success in introducing and using this cogito as a foundation. Finally, I provide reasons why I think Descartes succeeded in his epistemology. The First Meditation began with Descartes deciding to employ radical scepticism in his quest of acquiring true knowledge and this lead him to conclude that he could not be sure of anything except that he knew nothing (Descartes, 1984:12-15). Meaning that Descartes discarded all his knowledge whether it was knowing that he had fingers, knowing that the physical world existed, knowledge of his studies etc. he began by acknowledging how everything that constituted his preconceived knowledge could be doubt worthy. This climax of doubt was rooted in one fact: Descartes felt that there was good reason to believe that a higher power could have deceived him into believing that his empirical and a priori knowledge was plausible. Since God is a higher power that Descartes believed to be all good and never deceptive, he named his deceiver the â€Å"Evil Demon† a complete opposite to his wholesome observation of God (Blackburn, 2001:19). Descartes established that the â€Å"Evil Demon† argument could wipe away any assurance of his prior knowledge except for one: his existence (Descartes, 1984:17). This was a good argument because it presented a well thought out reason to question his knowledge. Descartes argued that if an â€Å"Evil Demon† truly existed and is only focused on deceiving him then this proves that he [Descartes] exists†¦ â€Å"If he is deceiving me; and let him deceive me as much as he can, he will never bring about that I am nothing so long as I think that I am something†¦ I am, I exist, is necessarily true whenever it is†¦conceived in my mind† (Blackburn, 2001:20). It is possible to refute this definition of existence in the form  of: Do we suppose that a thinking thing exists because it has experienced thoughts? According to the Second Meditation Descartes’ response would be that ‘I am, I exist’ stands only for a thing that is doing the thinking now and if it were to cease thinking it would cease to exist altogether (Descartes, 1984:18). In addition it is not the thinking that lead to existence, but the existence lead to the thinking. Descartes was willing to be questioned about his knowledge of the world and to prove that he truly sought the correct answer to any objection that may be raised; he overlooked everything he knew and started to build an argument from scratch to assert the knowledge he would later accept as accurate. Thus, Descartes chose the cogito concept as a foundation that he could begin to enlarge his territory of understanding on. From observation it is clear that Descartes only began his Meditations to build a foundation of understanding and since he had discarded all his prior knowledge he needed a solid base to begin reconstructing on, hence the cogito concept emanates. â€Å"Cogito, Ergo Sum† is Latin for â€Å"I think, therefore I am†. The cogito argument is as follows: 1. An evil demon might be deceiving me into believing that I don’t exist. 2. If I believe that I don’t exist, then I exist. 3. I exist. This argument states that, â€Å"if I convinced myself of something then I certainly existed† (Descartes, 1984:17). This simply means that anyone doubting his or her own existence or presence indeed exists because in order for doubt to take place there has to be someone to do it. A proper understanding of the cogito concept means recognizing specifically the classification in which this ‘someone’ that is existing fits into and whether it is accurate to say that he or she exists. The argument, as Descartes presented, does not give a valid reason for the existence of the body or anything else in the physical world, so we cannot accept that bodies exist. Neither does the cogito account for the existence of other minds as that would entail knowledge of the physical world where other things exist. The cogito concept does however; give a valid argument for the existence of the mind or a thinking thing that exists independently of the body. In his  novel Think, Blackburn explains the cogito concept as a means of justifying the core of one’s existence as thinking, we accept that thought exists not a ‘self’ (Blackburn, 2001:20). I agree with Blackburn because his [Descartes’] concept serves well to prove that we exist as thinking things and even if we were to discard any a priori or a posteriori knowledge, we can still endorse the cogito. The cogito concept stands regardless of empirical knowledge because it suggests the existence of thought without actually linking it to the body (which constitutes a sort of empirical way of acquiring knowledge through the senses). In addition, it can be accepted without any a priori knowledge since Descartes only introduced it after concluding that he knew nothing, and could only accept knowledge of his own existence as vindicated. To assess Descartes choice of foundation I will raise some questions that implore an explanation regarding the cogito concept. Firstly, if we only exist when thinking and the â€Å"Evil Demon† is able to manipulate our knowledge of everything else, why are our thoughts not susceptible to his deception? In my perspective, the â€Å"Evil Demon† has the ability to deceive us to a certain point, that point is our existence, and we have established that our existence leads to thinking. Descartes supposed that the ‘Evil Demon† may have influenced our thoughts but the thought he [Evil Demon] could not alter is the thought of us thinking. For example, if I were to throw a plastic ball into a recycle bin and it were melted and reshaped into a mug, although the state of the ball may have changed it is still plastic and even if we discard its previous state its present state shows that it is indeed existing and I cannot convince the plastic that it never existed just because it is in a different state. This example explains how our definition of existence may have changed but the fact remains that we exist hence we think. My example is another way of stating Descartes’ wax example(Descartes,1984:20-21), which according to Blackburn, he [Descartes] uses to confirm that with the cogito we can solidify that our thoughts exist regardless of them being immaterial, various and not constrained to a physical body (Blackburn, 2001:21). A second question could be, if we know(or supposedly accept) that we are being deceived by the â€Å"Evil Demon†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ wouldn’t that mean that we were aware of when we were not being deceived by him and so before we established our foundation(using the cogito concept), we had already accepted some knowledge which lead to the foundation? I think  Descartes would respond by saying that the fact that we can think of the â€Å"Evil Demon† and accept that he is deceiving us means that we already established the cogito before moving on to think of the actual idea of a deceiver, again we see that any thinking means something existed to do it(the thinking). This response seems to present some equivocation but unfortunately I think that any of Descartes’ responses may shift the burden of proof to the person who raised the question. His argument, as I would render it, may be that the question is going in circles and only raises doubt of his [Descartes] means of acquiring knowledge and not actually any objection to the cogito. This last response seems to credit Descartes success in establishing that the cogito is a concept that gives us the best potential start to gaining any knowledge. Even the knowledge of an â€Å"Evil Demon† would mean we have to start by accepting that we exist (cogito) in order to prove any of our knowledge as untrustworthy.  A third and final question is, what form of knowledge is the cogito and what other knowledge can we build on this foundation? The cogito is a form of a priori knowledge because we do not need to prove its validity by explaining anything or drawing on a previous experience to prove it. Descartes further used the cogito when acquiring the knowledge of Cartesian Dualism, which is his next step of building knowledge that is rooted in the cogito. Descartes said that Cartesian Dualism is justified by the cogito because we only have knowledge of an existing ‘thinking’ entity that has no body, hence the body and the mind should be viewed as separate and neither one has the ability to influence the other (Descartes, 1984:21). I think the cogito concept provokes a sense of identity that each of our thinking may contain and this identity entails that as much as the â€Å"Evil Demon† may try to take away our knowledge we still have that little something, as thinking beings, that can only be explained as an existence. This entity of our existence is immaterial, yes, but it leads us into thinking and thinking is our starting point of gaining new knowledge. Therefore Descartes succeeded in his epistemology by choosing â€Å"Cogito, Ergo Sum† as a base for his future knowledge. Once the cogito is accepted Descartes can acquire new knowledge. In conclusion Descartes’ processes of building a knowledge structure foundation was fruitful and ultimately leads to a successful epistemology. Bibliography Blackburn, S. 1999. Think: A Compelling Introduction to Philosophy. New York: Oxford University Press. Descartes, R. 1984. The Philosophical Writings of Descartes, Vol. II, Cottingham, Stoothoff and Murdoch (Translators).UK: Cambridge University Press. Lerm, J. 2013. [Descartes’ ‘Second Meditation’: The Cogito Argument] Lecture Slides. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. J. Lerm [Rebulding Begins] lecture slide 2 [ 2 ]. Lerm [The Cogito Argument] lecture slide 7

Essay on Nervous System and

Essay on Nervous System and Essay on Nervous System and -chemotherapy -radiation Therapy Diseases and Disorders of the Nervous System The nervous system is responsible for the control of the body and communication among its parts. It consists of the brain, the spinal chord, sensory organs, and all of the nerves that connect these organs to the rest of the body. Brain + spinal chord = central nervous system (CNS) Where the information is evaluated and the decisions are made. Sensory nerves + sense organs = peripheral nervous system (PNS) Monitors conditions inside and out of the body and sends the information to the CNS. Often, the nervous system suffers diseases or disorders. These problems may occur slowly and cause a gradual loss of function, or suddenly and cause life-threatening troubles. Below are a few of the many conditions that can hit the nervous system. Disease Problem Cause Treatment Alzheimer’s Disease Progressive, neurodegenerative disease that causes problems with memory, thinking, and behaviour. Not entirely known. Suspects include: age and family history, genes, abnormal protein deposits in the brain, and immune system problems. There is no cure and no way of slowing down this deteriorating disease but many researches are currently undergoing to try to find a cure. Ataxia Failure of muscle control in the arms and legs resulting in a lack of balance and coordination. -Degeneration of the cells in the part of the brain called cerebellum. -Stroke -Low vitamin levels -Exposure to a toxic drug or chemical. The use of adaptive devices; cane, wheelchair, crutches, walker. Also things such as physical/speech therapy and medications. Bell’s Palsy Unexplained facial muscle weakness or paralysis that begins suddenly and worsens over three to five days. Unknown. Thought to be inherited. Associated with; diabetes, high blood pressure, trauma, infection, toxins†¦ -Careful eye care -Doctor will establish cure based on severity of condition; steroid/ antiviral medications, analgesics/moist heat, physical therapy. Brain Tumours An abnormal growth of tissue in the brain. Can be benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous) depending on their behaviour. Mostly due to abnormalities in genes, causing uncontrolled cell growth. These abnormalities are caused by alterations in genes or chromosome rearrangements. -Surgery -Chemotherapy -Radiation therapy -Steroids -Anti-seizure medication -Supportive care -Rehabilitation -Antibiotics -Continuous follow-up care. Cerebral Palsy A non-progressive disorder of movement coming from damage to the brain before, during or straight after birth. Caused by brain injury during a baby’s development in the womb. -Infections during pregnancy. -Physical and metabolic trauma of being born. -Oxygen deprivation/ trauma to the head during delivery. -RH incompatibility between mother and child. -Physiotherapy -Speech therapy -Occupational therapy -Medications for muscle stiffness -Surgery; correct problems with bones and joints. Multiple Sclerosis A chronic disease of the nervous system which can lead to loss of ability to write, speak, or walk. MS can be caused by viruses, autoimmune disorders, environmental factors, or genetic factors. -Medication -Clinical trials -Assistive technology -Rehabilitation activities Disease Problem Cause Treatment Parkinson’s Disease A disorder of the brain that leads to shaking (tremors) and difficulty with walking, movement, and coordination. Specific cause is unknown but medics believe it is related to a chemical-imbalance

Essay Sample on Alternative Dispute Resolution Methods How to Solve Disputes

Essay Sample on Alternative Dispute Resolution Methods How to Solve Disputes Introduction Alternative dispute resolution refers to any method for solving disputes other than by litigation. It is a constrictive dispute resolution method to the extent that a decision by such a method cannot be overruled by a public court of law. A public court of law cannot also give awards different from the ones issues by the method. The two most common used methods of alternative dispute resolution are arbitration and mediation. These methods mainly include evaluation of a case that is done on neutral basis, negotiations, conciliation, mediation and finally arbitration. Alternative dispute resolution methods are becoming preferable due to the need to move away from crowded courtrooms, increasing litigation costs, and the delays experienced in courts before judgment is delivered. These reasons have compelled many people across the states to favor alternative arbitration programs. Some of these programs are voluntary while others are mandatory. One of the most informal processes used is mediation. In this form of informal litigation, mediators pair the opposing sides and try to control the process. Mediators are trained personnel who are trained to work out settlements and tries to influence accept or reject decisions. This process is also favored since the parties agree amongst themselves and come up with a resolution unlike a court where a judge is influenced by many factors. Arbitration on the other hand is a basic model of trial that has limited detection and the rules of evidence are simplified. An arbitral panel regulates the process and makes the final decision. Both sides under dispute appoint the arbitrary panel members. The two sides may decide to appoint one person to serve as an arbitrator or they may appoint two people to represent each side and then the two people select a third person to the arbitrator. Arbitration hearings are quite longer than mediation hearings. A typical hearing can take from two days to a week. During that period, the panel convenes a few hours a day to deliberate on matters discussed earlier. After all facts have been delivered based on the arbitration standards, the panel delivers its verdict in a written decision or through an arbitral award. Opinions in this case are not treated as public records. Arbitration is mostly used in place of industrial courts to solve matters in industries such as construction and securities regulation.3 The process is gaining popularity and more people are adopting it to solve their disputes. Arbitration agreements are enforceable under federal and state laws. The agreements and awards derive their powers from Title 9 of the U.S. Code. The code bases on Congress plenary power that oversees interstate commerce. Title 9 on itself is more superior to state law. A substantial number of states, approximately forty-one in the United States have adopted the Uniform Arbitration Act. The original version was formed in 1956, while the revised version was done in year 2000. Amendments to Alternative Dispute Resolution Process Every year, many transactions take place in the construction scene. Intermittently, some disagreements arise in the course of this transactions hence the need for arbitration since litigation may cost both parties significantly. This is in addition to the privacy, fairness and promptness of the process.4 When a dispute occurs, the opposing sides may submit their grievances for arbitration. The arbitrators are supposed to be impartial and any conflicts of interest are unethical. According to the American Arbitration Association, the arbitration process has four major rules: the regular track procedures, the procedures for the resolution of disputes through document submission, and the procedures for large complex construction disputes. These rules provide guidelines whenever there is a dispute particularly in the construction sector. The best way to avoid intervention by the courts as much as possible is to employ institutional arbitration, which provides a framework that can establish an arbitral tribunal and activate the process despite any disagreements or problems that arise. Thus, the institution can appoint arbitrators, make decisions on disqualification, see to the smooth operation of the procedure and the meeting of deadlines, set arbitrator compensation (which is a very tricky undertaking when the parties deal directly with the arbitrator without going through an institution) and set parameters for the award, as required and in accordance with pre-established conditions. Initially, the United States Code governed alternative dispute resolution processes. It was amended in 1998 to provide for some features due to the advent of time. The amendments allowed all districts to adopt the provisions of the Act under Section 2071 (a). The amendment also gave powers to neutral evaluation, ministerial, mediation, and arbitration as means of solving civil cases. This was provided under Section 654 to 658 (Clare, 2003). The Act provides for a new statutory payment regime, which introduces a right to interim or periodic payments and a final payment and requires an adequate mechanism in a contract for determining what will become due and when. Default provisions are provided for, which automatically apply in the event that no adequate mechanism is provided in the contract and requires the payee to give a ‘payment claim notice’ to the payer of what is to be paid and how it is calculated not later than five days after the payment date. The payer may not reserve funds unless it has given a rejoinder (akin to a pay-less notification) to the payment request notice, stating the amount it intends to delay from the sum due and the reasons for doing so not later than 21 days after the repayment claim date as stipulated in the contract or the Schedule. Receivers may suspend enforcement when the sum due is not paid by the closing date for payment. Consequently, there is a prohibition on contractual terms that make payment subject upon the payer being reimbursed from a separate source (‘pay when paid clauses’). Persons to whom the Act touches will need to be cognizant of the truth that if the agreement does not provide for a sufficient mechanism for payment when the statutory default payment provisions will apply. One goal of a ‘pay when paid’ clause usually used in the construction business was to exempt the contractor from liability to compensate the subcontractor until the employer had settled it. The outcome of this kind a contractual condition was to enable the contractor to pass the danger of default by the employer to its subcontractors further down the construction chain. The application of these clauses is now forbidden by section 3(5) of the Act. The only exception to this ban is in case that there is a related bankruptcy event in a construction contract. In cases where the employer is solvent, a ‘pay when paid’ clause in a contract between contractor and subcontractor will not permit the contractor to withhold payment from the subcontractor. While the legal validity of such terms may be questionable in practice, engineers and architects acting for employers have been required to observe them. Suspension for Non-Payment Persons not receiving payment in full now have a new statutory right to suspend work under the Act, provided proper notice and particulars are given. The provisions appear to entitle a payee to suspend performance of any or all of its contractual obligations related to the work. There are hopes that the right to suspend will be limited to the actual construction obligations or also, for example, extend to suspension of the right to insure the works or suspension of works in related areas connected with the payment in dispute. Partial payment will not suffice to render suspension unjustified. It will be important to make sure that any seven-day advance notice is clear and served in accordance with the Act’s requirements. Works can be suspended, but only up until such time as where the payment dispute is referred to adjudication or where full payment has been made of the amount due. Much weight will have to be given to the fact that contracts may also need redrafting to allow payees to suspend in accordance with their entitlement under the Act. The Act expressly states that the period of suspension is to be disregarded for the purposes of contractual time limits. To ensure that the contract provisions and time for completion are not thwarted by the operation of the Act, a review of current contractual conditions is strongly advised. For the first time, the Act has introduced a statutory settlement procedure for the settling of payment disputes. Both parties will be permitted to discuss a payment dispute under the agreement to a mediator, whose judgment is required within 28 days (which period may be extended by a further 14 days by agreement between the parties).14 This is not the case in the UK, alternative dispute resolution under this Act will only apply to a payment dispute. The Act does not exactly describe what institutes a payment dispute and it is well known that it is stated in the Act to be â€Å"any dispute relating to payment†. It will be motivating to see how this will function in practice and if guidance is given in the Code of Practice concerning payment disputes once the Code is published. The Act specifies that the arbitrator’s award is obligatory until reversed by another formal process. The opposing parties are required to conform with the decision of the arbitrator, even if they plan to go to court or arbitration proceedings. This will aid in avoiding any deferral to payment. Certainly, the Act provides for a further right to suspend in situations where one party fails to honor (within seven days) any sum due pursuant to the decision of the adjudicator. The opposing parties in such legal proceedings by this means may remove any implied confidentiality or ‘without prejudice’ can depend upon the judgment of the intermediary protection as would say relate to the intermediation process. Definitely, this will have an impact on a verdict by a party on whether to refer the issue on to arbitration or to the courts, if it is likely that a court or arbitrator would be unwilling to obstruct the arbitrator’s judgment unless justified in the circumsta nces. In fact, the Act specifically agrees the arbitrator to use his or her â€Å"ingenuity in determining the facts and the law†, if he or she so wishes. An arbitrator’s judgment will be requisite even if it is wrong and the Act explicitly provides that an arbitrator may not reconsider or re-open any characteristic of the decision. It is therefore significant to defend parties that settle on all important terms and conditions in your contracts clearly and in advance in order to reduce the potential for any payment dispute arising at the outset.

Censorship vs Freedom of Speech

Every form of expression should be allowed, even if it is freedom of speech, art, symbol, or any other form recognized by the first amendment. Freedom of speech is freedom given by the Constitutional Bill of Rights. Thanks to these rights, our country and government are as strong and resilient as today. Thanks to these rights, as our country we have been able to develop and expand our vision today. These rights are the foundation and foundation of our country and why our country is separated from all other countries in the world. Freedom of speech review: Children's Internet on the Internet is a very controversial communication device in today's society. If you want, you can find information on almost all the topics they choose. Censorship and freedom of expression are topics that are widely discussed when dealing with current Internet freedom, especially when dealing with young people. On the Internet, do I need to review illegal topics that children can post and view freely? Is the Internet free? Speaking of government, let's see how to freedom of speech. State censorship on the Internet is a common phenomenon that can not be imagined. According to Freedom House 2/3, the Internet users of the world live under government censorship regulation, suppression of speech and thought is increasing. Freelance publishers can only use 13% of the world's population. I will take it for a while. 13% More reports come from the social media platform, the Internet's living room, which is creating a phenomenon called silent spiral. Family, friends, colleagues, and the wider society are different. Atlantic articles reveal the prevalence of self-censorship Freedom of expression and freedom of censorship - What is the pros and cons of having to review the media and the public? What are the terms of the review discussion? Is the censorship system rational or can freely control the voice of the media and the freedom of speech? What is the priority of religious, business and governm ent censorship? Does someone benefit from reviewing information? Is it beneficial for society as a whole? The pros and cons of censorship is worth studying the role of deciphering freedom of speech in society and the role of different types of censorship.

Quantitative Portfolio Management - Homework 1 Case Study

Quantitative Portfolio Management - Homework 1 - Case Study Example From the graph, Roy (1952) argued that investors should pick portfolios in order to maximize the likelihood of getting above some threshold minimum return.. Drawing a straight line from this minimum return tangent to the efficient frontier. Lower thresholds result in optimal portfolios with less return / risk, once you have identified the efficient frontier Using the idea that risks come from different sources, a â€Å"single index model† assumes that actual returns can be separated into systematic (i.e. market-related) and firm-specific parts †¦ here, the â€Å"market† (e.g. S&P500 index) is the source of market-related movements in security i: Since there is no perfect match for this assets, that various portfolio combinations of most two-asset portfolios will lie on a curve to the left as you reduce correlation between pairs of assets, you will have to risk for a given level of portfolio return. Result: One portfolio (P) dominates all of the other efficient portfolio on the efficient set Investors who choose combinations of P and the risk-free asset get the highest return for a given level of risk, compared to all other risky

Near-consultant quality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Near-consultant quality - Essay Example The cascading effects of a changing weather has also affected and modified the geographical distribution of life forms in the upland area going to the lowland where they can now be found within residential spaces. Some marine animals have also died of starvation because of the disappearance of their usual preys that probably migrated to keep up with the decreasing quality of water salinity. Indeed, climate change produces adverse effects on the habitat of these living things and also, in the environment we humans live in. Our rivers and lakes in Canada have been recorded to have dropped in water levels due to the intense heat caused by these long trends of shifting weather. It is my goal in this paper to discuss the impacts of climate change on the Great Lakes with emphasis on its geographical implications and, to propose the urgency of the actions we can contribute to mitigate the hazardous effects of climate change being an inevitable consequence of the industrialized systems that we have approved of. The Great Lakes form the â€Å"largest fresh surface water system on earth† (Manninen) that being 21% of the whole planet (â€Å"Great Lakes†). It is a vast lake found in the northeastern North America, within the Canada-United States border which is connected to the Atlantic Ocean through Saint Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes Waterway (â€Å"Great Lakes†). Manninen further defines that it covers more than 94,000 square miles and drains more than twice as much land. It is 9.5 feet deep and holds about 6 quadrillion gallons of water which is like one-fifth of the world’s fresh surface water supply and nine-tenths of United States supply (Manninen). That is a vital role of the Great Lakes basin being â€Å"home to 8.5 million Canadians and 30.7 million Americans† (Environment Canada). The Great Lakes consists of the smaller lakes known as Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario. The Great Lakes highly contributed to the development of

Singer- and Kants categorical imperative Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Singer- and Kants categorical imperative - Essay Example One of the major contributors in bioethics is Peter Singer who has put across various theories in this field. One theory he stipulates is that sacrifices of significant interests must not be done for the sake of minor interest. By this, he means that when considering an ethical issue one must evaluate what is more valuable than the other and then make a decision favoring what is more significant of the two factors. This theory has been used to decide on various ethical issues when it comes to medicine. A practical example is by considering the example given earlier. In the hospitals doctors and family members always find themselves in tough situations I deciding whether to turn off machines that are keeping a patient who is brain dead alive. Often family members always rely on the doctor’s advice when deciding on whether to pull the plug or not. By using singer’s theory doctors often ask their self one crucial question. Is the patient who is brain dead worth keeping alive without the hopes of any recovery even though it means putting the patient’s family members in serious financial problems because of the high costs they incur as a result of medical bill? After doctors evaluate this question, they end up advice their patient’s family member to agree to turn of the machines keeping the patient alive since they will only suffer financially despite the fact that the patient will never wake up or recover. Singer’s theory has also been vastly used when it comes to the ethical issue of using animals when it comes to the advancement of medicine and biology. He argues that rights for animals, which are of an inferior species than humans should not be put before that of human beings. By this, the scholar stipulated that, people should not discredit the use of animals in medical research because this testing f animals will help along were in improving the lives of human beings, which is much more valuable than the life of

Company Story Analysis Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Company Story Analysis - Case Study Example If one day I decided to work in farming business, Westafrmers would appear as a perfect opportunity for me because they have managed to create an exceptional narrative besides the product of high quality. In every story it is necessary to know the beginning because it usually defines further development. One of the most noticeable points of Westfarmers is their incredible growth from a local enterprise with $2, 050 paid up capital to $ 50 billion capital. Thus, the company seems to be almost self-made starting from the basic if not say the lowest level of farmer`s business. I feel great respect to such businesses that manage to choose right product, find right people, and make them work for the benefit of mutual enterprise. The story of Westafarmers is therefore a story of a wise business which was accumulating knowledge and experience step by step to transform into an international business. The age of the company is also impressive- 100 hundred years which means that the business has survived numerous world crises and only increased its profit eventually. It means that ordeals and problems are not threatening to Westafarmers or that it managed to overcome them effectively. But what is actually the philosophy of the company? It is made by people who cherished unique culture adding new traditions and management techniques. It seems that Westafarmers appreciate the contribution of each and every worker because the Chairman uses the metaphor to describe his feeling from working there â€Å"standing on the shoulders of giants†1 which means that the foundation of Westfarmers is extremely solid, strong, and unbreakable that for him, a hundred years after the company establishment working there is pure pleasure. Westfarmers is also a great and capturing story as it gives the citizens of the country more than 200.000 working places. It means that the company sees itself as the

E-views Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

E-views - Essay Example dependent var 1946.249 S.E. of regression 455.4699   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Akaike info criterion 15.33487 Sum squared resid 3526698.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Schwarz criterion 15.72491 Log likelihood -183.6859   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hannan-Quinn criter. 15.44305 F-statistic 60.17375   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Durbin-Watson stat 1.916498 Prob(F-statistic) 0.000000 (a) The estimated equation is: Y = 148.220572044 - 1.28739451915*X1 + 1.80962162969*X2 + 0.59039598443*X3 - 21.4816857405*X4 + 5.61940285601*X5 - 14.51467253*X6 + 29.3602583452*X7 The interpretation of the estimated coefficients is provided below: Table 3: Coefficient values and their interpretation Coefficient Value Interpretation Coefficient 1 148.2206 This is the intercept. ... ase in the manhour requirement by approximately 0.60 hours per week Coefficient 5 -21.4817 for an increase of the common use area by an additional square feet will imply a reduction of the manhour requirement by 21 hours per month Coefficient 6 5.619403 If the number of building wings increases by one, the additional monthly manhour requirement rises by 5.61 Coefficient 7 -14.5147 for an increase of operational berthing capacity by an additional unit, the monthly manhour requirement falls by 14.51 Coefficient 8 29.36026 For every additional number of rooms, approximately 29.4 additional manhours per month become necessary (b) Testing for significances Here, n=25 and we test at the 95% level (0.05). The test is two sided. For these specifications, the critical value: . From the 4th column of table 2 we see that only the coefficients of X2, X4, X6 and X7 exceed the critical value (in absolute terms). Thus, these are the only variables that are found to be significant, i.e., the coeffic ients are statistically different from zero. It can be checked from the column of probabilities it is only these coefficients that have p-values less than 0.05. Therefore, the conclusion is that only the monthly number of check ins, common use area, operational berthing capacity and number of rooms have statistically significant effects on the predicted variable, the required manhours to run the establishment. Problem 2 The test of joint significance is an F test of the null hypothesis that all coefficients are equal to zero, i.e., the parameters are jointly insignificant. In Eviews this is equivalent to using the Wald test for testing the restriction: The 5% critical F-statistic value for one restriction and 17 degrees of freedom (n=25, k=8) is 4.451. Observe from table 2 that the computed

Singer- and Kants categorical imperative Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Singer- and Kants categorical imperative - Essay Example One of the major contributors in bioethics is Peter Singer who has put across various theories in this field. One theory he stipulates is that sacrifices of significant interests must not be done for the sake of minor interest. By this, he means that when considering an ethical issue one must evaluate what is more valuable than the other and then make a decision favoring what is more significant of the two factors. This theory has been used to decide on various ethical issues when it comes to medicine. A practical example is by considering the example given earlier. In the hospitals doctors and family members always find themselves in tough situations I deciding whether to turn off machines that are keeping a patient who is brain dead alive. Often family members always rely on the doctor’s advice when deciding on whether to pull the plug or not. By using singer’s theory doctors often ask their self one crucial question. Is the patient who is brain dead worth keeping alive without the hopes of any recovery even though it means putting the patient’s family members in serious financial problems because of the high costs they incur as a result of medical bill? After doctors evaluate this question, they end up advice their patient’s family member to agree to turn of the machines keeping the patient alive since they will only suffer financially despite the fact that the patient will never wake up or recover. Singer’s theory has also been vastly used when it comes to the ethical issue of using animals when it comes to the advancement of medicine and biology. He argues that rights for animals, which are of an inferior species than humans should not be put before that of human beings. By this, the scholar stipulated that, people should not discredit the use of animals in medical research because this testing f animals will help along were in improving the lives of human beings, which is much more valuable than the life of

E-views Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

E-views - Essay Example dependent var 1946.249 S.E. of regression 455.4699   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Akaike info criterion 15.33487 Sum squared resid 3526698.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Schwarz criterion 15.72491 Log likelihood -183.6859   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hannan-Quinn criter. 15.44305 F-statistic 60.17375   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Durbin-Watson stat 1.916498 Prob(F-statistic) 0.000000 (a) The estimated equation is: Y = 148.220572044 - 1.28739451915*X1 + 1.80962162969*X2 + 0.59039598443*X3 - 21.4816857405*X4 + 5.61940285601*X5 - 14.51467253*X6 + 29.3602583452*X7 The interpretation of the estimated coefficients is provided below: Table 3: Coefficient values and their interpretation Coefficient Value Interpretation Coefficient 1 148.2206 This is the intercept. ... ase in the manhour requirement by approximately 0.60 hours per week Coefficient 5 -21.4817 for an increase of the common use area by an additional square feet will imply a reduction of the manhour requirement by 21 hours per month Coefficient 6 5.619403 If the number of building wings increases by one, the additional monthly manhour requirement rises by 5.61 Coefficient 7 -14.5147 for an increase of operational berthing capacity by an additional unit, the monthly manhour requirement falls by 14.51 Coefficient 8 29.36026 For every additional number of rooms, approximately 29.4 additional manhours per month become necessary (b) Testing for significances Here, n=25 and we test at the 95% level (0.05). The test is two sided. For these specifications, the critical value: . From the 4th column of table 2 we see that only the coefficients of X2, X4, X6 and X7 exceed the critical value (in absolute terms). Thus, these are the only variables that are found to be significant, i.e., the coeffic ients are statistically different from zero. It can be checked from the column of probabilities it is only these coefficients that have p-values less than 0.05. Therefore, the conclusion is that only the monthly number of check ins, common use area, operational berthing capacity and number of rooms have statistically significant effects on the predicted variable, the required manhours to run the establishment. Problem 2 The test of joint significance is an F test of the null hypothesis that all coefficients are equal to zero, i.e., the parameters are jointly insignificant. In Eviews this is equivalent to using the Wald test for testing the restriction: The 5% critical F-statistic value for one restriction and 17 degrees of freedom (n=25, k=8) is 4.451. Observe from table 2 that the computed

Commanding Heights Essay Example for Free

Commanding Heights Essay †¢ Episode 1: The Battle of Ideas begs a comparison between socialism and capitalism. †¢ It traces the world’s economic history from the early 1900’s to the events following 9/11. †¢ Asks the question which is a better and more foolproof economic system government control or free markets? †¢ It delves into how the First World War impacted two brilliant economists, Keynes and Hayek. And then follows both Keynes and Hayek through their respective career paths (Keynes role as an advisor to the British Government on wartime economy and Hayek as an Austrian soldier). †¢ Keynes predicted that the result of the treaty of Versailles and demanding reparations from an already bankrupt Germany and Austria would cause another war, The Second World War. †¢ Meanwhile Hayek and his disciple Zlabinger fought against hyper inflation and encouraged free markets. †¢ Simultaneously the American Economy was booming, till October 24th, 1930 when the great depression hit and unemployment soared and industry stopped and half of the US banks were closed down. †¢ During this time Keynes’s theory of government intervention helped lead the way out of the problem (Keynes wrote about Macroeconomics). †¢ Meanwhile Lenin had introduced the New Economic Policy which consisted of grass root level capitalism but the commanding heights would still be under the government. The reform was met with scrutiny from the left, soon after Stalin took power and employed centralised planning of every economic aspect. †¢ Owing to the recovery from the Great Depression and Keynes’ key role in the Breton Woods Conference, in America Keynesianism took control and Hayek faded into the background. †¢ In Britain a welfare state and socialism built the country back from the bottom up. †¢ Newly independent countries like India also employed Keynesian methods, allowing for State led industry. †¢ One third of the world followed aspects of socialism until Churchill and Margaret Thatcher and Keith Joseph were influenced by Hayek’s book, ‘Road to Serfdom.’ †¢ In Germany, Ludwig Erhard stopped price control and re-started the free market economy to combat hyperinflation. The success of his risky decision led to the German Economic Miracle. †¢ While Keynes’ still had a strong hold over Washington, a Chicago School of Economics was created and it emphasised Hayek’s theory as a measure to battle stagflation. †¢ Finally Thatcher’s election and confidence in Hayek’s theory allowed for free markets to be established again. Thus, after a period of a century came back to where it was at the beginning of the century, back to free markets.

Virtual Supermarket Technology: Advantages and Disadvantages

Virtual Supermarket Technology: Advantages and Disadvantages Advantages of Hybermarket Technology Virtual subway Store Virtual subway stores makes shopping easier and saves time. For the point of make shopping easier and simple is customers can scan the barcode from any product they have at hand to place an order for one. It is easier for the customer to reorder food and office supplies that ran out of them, instead of having to remember to put it on a list, for a future trip to the store. The customer can get the product by setting the delivery time and location when they make the payment. Retailer set retail kiosks with life-size images of real product displays, placed in high-traffic areas like subway stations, which will be attacking the customer while they are waiting around. Its serving as an advertisement for the retailer. However, it can also save lots of money for the retailer, which they would have been spending open a real store. Card Scanning Technology Card scanning technology is more secure. This simple technology has increased the level of card security. It uses encryption and authentication technology which has increased the level of card security associated with payment cards. The microprocessor chip embedded at the heart of the smart card requires contact to the card reader and certain areas of the chip can be programmed for specific industries. Next, save to transport. Having the cards gives the holder the ability to carry larger amounts of money. It can reduce the problem of stolen money. Once cards had been stolen, it is nearly impossible to recover it because it needs the pin number of the cards. It can avoid the long queue. Card scanning technology just needs a few seconds to complete the payment, it gives the customer a fast and simple shopping experience. Intelligent retail and purchases Advantage of intelligent retail and purchase is it help customer found the stuff faster and easier. This type of technology include the location of each stuff, after customer key in the stuff system will come out the location that the stuff placed, can give the route to the stuff. Next, customer can list the stuff that they want before they go to the hypermarket. It is a good habit of plan before shopping. It can avoid buying the stuff that not really wants. Besides that, the technology of intelligent retail and purchase will show that the promotion of the hypermarket. It can attract the customer to visit the hypermarket and able to help the customer to find out the latest promotion product. Last but not least, intelligent retail and purchase can also give the suggestion or notification of promotion of customer favorable. The system of the technology had record the purchase of the customer, so system can depend of the previous purchases then come out the suggestion. Touch Screen Purchasing Advantage of touch screen purchasing is fast and simple purchasing. This technology only need the customer to stay in front of the touch screen kiosk of the hypermarket, key in the name of the product, select the brand of item that they want, after that customer can get the product after they pay. It can save the time of searching for item placed and the difference price of the similar product. Customer can get the information though the touch screen kiosk. Technology of touch screen purchasing is very easy to use. Customer only need to key in the stuff that they want, after that kiosk will come out the information of the product. No any personal device needed, so it’s also easily for everyone to use the technology. Disadvantages of Hypermarket Technology Disadvantage of virtual subway store is may late delivery. In the concept of virtual subway store, delivery places an important role. Customer will get the product by using delivery. If the delivery company suddenly comes out issue, for example weather, personal factor and so on, it will affect the time of deliver. Next, virtual shopping mode might elevate the case of returning product. Since customer does not seem the actual product that they will get, it is unable to make sure that the product is in good conditions before they purchase. Additional fees like shipping will be hidden until the late of the checkout process was a disadvantage of virtual subway mode. Sometimes retailer was hidden the cost of shipping fees, in order to get more attractive of customer. When the customer almost finishes the order they only get that they need to pay the shipping fees as well. The disadvantage of card scanning technology is easily lost. Because of the card are small, it is easily lost the card if the person are irresponsible. If lost the card, it will be very inconvenience, because a card may have double or more uses. The process of register another card it take many procedure, it is very trouble to the user. Next, Possible Risk of Identify Theft. While if use the card collect, it make the job of bearing person more easier. However, for criminals seeking a new identity, they are like gold, based on the amount of information it can contain on an individual. Unnecessary Surveys will be provided after shopping is the disadvantage of the intelligent retail and purchases. Due to the system of this technology, the survey will be provided before customer go out. Retailer always seeks for improvement for their business in order to maintain the customer, and find out the way that increase loyalty customer. Next, intelligent retail and purchase are too dependent on mobile device. Hypermarket can only use the mobile device to connect the hypermarket system connection. It required the customer have the mobile devices and also application to connect with the hypermarket system. While for those who are not match to the system connection they are unable to use the technology. Disadvantage of touch screen purchasing is low privacy. Customer personal information may be seems by large screen kiosk. When customer stands in front of the kiosk making purchase, someone maybe stand behind them, so that they will saw the personal information of the customer. Lost the delight of shopping. Some of customers’ is more likely to enjoy searching the product, touch and feel the product. So when the hypermarket become advance, customer do not have the delight of shopping. For touch screen purchasing, its also need customer go out to the hypermarket to buy the stuff themselves. It just provides the kiosk to select the product to save the customer time for find the stuff placed. Implementation challenges The main challenge of many retailer is retailer have to implement technology into existing stores to become multichannel. Such as smart screens, in-store tablets and the use of near-field communications (NCF) for contactless payments. Besides that, implementation challenge by using virtual subway store is good mobile connective is required. The order takes by virtual subway mode by using mobile to scan the barcode of the product. But in real life, there is no all people are practiced with the mobile function. Implementation challenge of card scanning technology is slow adoption. If used as a payment card, not every store or restaurant will have the hardware necessary to use these cards. One of the reasons for this is since the technology is more secure, it is also more expensive to produce and use. Therefore, some stores may charge a basic minimum fee for using smart cards for payment, rather than cash. The challenge of intelligent retailer and purchase is not everyone have mobile device. It is very hard for the hypermarket to implement this system while some of the customer does not have the mobile devices or application. In order to set up the system, it needs the accurate data. The data have to been set at the factory, and it was costly. Touch Screen purchasing implementation challenge is set up cost. Hypermarket need to set up lot of touch screen kiosk at the hypermarket. The cost of set up kiosk is expensive. This type of technology is only save the place of display of the product. Its also need to keep the inventory of all the product that they sell. The inventory costs are high for this technology. Security Issues For the secure issue, customer should always look for the address-bar padlock symbol. Look for the address-bar padlock symbol. A webpage should always be  Secure Sockets Layer  (SSL)-encrypted when plan to use credit card information to shop. SSL encryption ensures privacy by restricting the computers that can access the data being transferred, limiting access to user and the online retailer exclusively. Next, never give out credit card number over email. Legitimate retailers will never ask for credit card information or other sensitive personal details over email. The only time that needs to give the information of credit card is when you are on an SSL-encrypted webpage operated by a trusted retailer. If shopping on a mobile device, stick to apps you know. Mobile shopping presents its own set of security issues, it is better for us to use apps that came directly from retailers, and to make purchases inside those apps. Lastly, never make purchases over public, for example unsecured WIFI. It could leave your personal information at risk. Integrating security practices across agencies, a task requiring collaboration among separate and dissimilar internal organizations; achieving smart card interoperability across the government; and maintaining the security of smart card systems and the privacy of personal information. According to Worku (2010), e-payment and e-banking applications represent a security challenge as they highly depend on  critical ICT systems that create vulnerabilities in financial institutions, businesses and potentially  harm customers Customer information is set in the mobile, so when they lost the mobile, personal information will be disclosed. Next, the system of the technology is having the data of customer purchases record. They can simply send the annoying promotion message to the customer and also sell the customer purchase record to the other industry. Customer personal information display in the touch screen kiosk. Interest parties will easily to get the information for immoral purpose. It is very danger for the customer. Beside that customer should know their right. Consumers are required to write a physical letter within 60 days detailing any complaint to the retailer, with a return receipt acting as proof that the creditor received the letter. The Federal Trade Commission provides an example letter, so all you need to do is fill in the blanks with your information.

Coopers deerslayer: View Of The Native Americans :: essays research papers fc

Cooper's "Deerslayer": View of the Native Americans James Fenimore Cooper was born on September 15, 1789 in Burlington, New Jersey. He was the son of William and Elizabeth (Fenimore) Cooper, the twelfth of thirteen children (Long, p. 9). Cooper is known as one of the first great American novelists, in many ways because he was the first American writer to gain international followers of his writing. In addition, he was perhaps the first novelist to "demonstrate...that native materials could inspire significant imaginative writing" (p. 13). In addition his writing, specifically The Deerslayer, present a unique view of the Native American's experiences and situation. Many critics, for example, argue that The Deerslayer presents a moral opinion about what occurred in the lives of the American Indians. Marius Bewley has said that the book shows moral values throughout the context of it. He says that from the very beginning, this is symbolically made clear. The plot is a platform for the development of moral themes. The first contact the reader has with people in the book is in the passage in which the two hunters find each other. "The calls were in different tones, evidently proceeding from two men who had lost their way, and were searching in different directions for their path" (Cooper, p. 5). Bewley states that this meeting is symbolic of losing one's way morally, and then attempting to find it again through different paths. Says Bewley, "when the two men emerge from the forest into the little clearing we are face to face with... two opposing moral visions of life which are embodied in these two woodsmen" (cited in Long, p. 121). Critic Donald Davie, however, disagrees. His contention is that the plot is poorly developed. "It does not hang together; has no internal logic; one incident does not rise out of another" (cited in Long, p. 121). But according to Robert Long, Bewley has a better grasp of the meaning and presentation of ideas throughout the book. According to Long, although the plot development may not be "strictly linear," it is still certainly coherent and makes sense. In addition, Long feels that, as Bewley states, the novel is a way in and through which Cooper presents moral ideas about the plight of the Native Americans (p. 121). The story of The Deerslayer is simple. It is novel which tells the events which occur in the travels of a frontiersman. His name is Natty, and he is a young man at only twenty years old. Coming from New York of the eighteenth century, he is unprepared in many ways for what he encounters in the frontier.

Starbucks Essay -- Business, Supply Chain, Coffee Company

In a supply chain, distribution means the steps required to move and store a product from supplier stage to customer stage. It is an important driver for overall profitability of a company because it affects both the supply chain cost and the customer experience directly. (Chopra and Meindl, 2010, p68) A typical distribution network of coffee distribution system is like this (Starbucks Coffee Company, p22): In order to enforce its exacting coffee standards, Starbucks tries its best to control the whole supply chain. The company works with growers in various countries to purchase green coffee beans, oversees the custom-roasting process for the company's various blends and single-origin coffees, and controls the distribution to retail stores in the U.S. and around the world. Starbucks engages in a wide range of distribution including partnership, its company-owned stores and licensed products. Since Starbucks is a well-known brand, they use the third party relationships to attract other companies and expand their business. While licensed product part is not a large portion of the company’s revenues (4% in 2008), these items are an integral part of familiarizing customers with the Starbucks name and developing brand loyalty. (Crowe Remle, 2010) Starbucks not only sells coffee and some simple food to consumers, it also sells beans and ground coffee to businesses such as airlines, supermarkets, department stores, and ice-cream makers. In a complex distribution network, information technology helps a lot. Starbucks successfully integrates all sources of demand and matches it with the supply by using Oracle’s automated information system for manufacturing (GEMMS). The GEMMS system handles distribution planning, manufacturing scheduli... ...rbucks locations in 14 markets including Thailand, Korea, Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. (Starbucks entry into China, p12). Starbucks also has a partnership with the Chinese government and local universities to grow coffee in Yunnan province. (Starbucks entry into China, p13) Starbucks also has its first entry into European coffee market. Starbucks has a partnership with Arla Foods as its licensed partner to manufacture, distribute and market the premium ice coffee products for supermarkets, convenience stores as well as Starbucks’ own coffee shops in Europe. Arla Food is one of the largest dairy companies in Europe and provides a highly developed distribution network for ready-to-drink products on key markets for Starbucks in Europe. As we see, Starbucks expands their distribution network by building up partner relationship with other organizations overseas.

Analysis of the Sam Shepard’s Play Buried Child Essay

In my paper I am going to analyze one of the Sam Shepards play. Its name sounds depressive but it completely fulfils the main idea of the play – Buried Child. From the information I read about the author I deduced that he wrote it on the basis of his own personal experience in his childhood. Sam Shepard grew up on the farm in California and was a member of a broken family because his father was an alcoholic. The play was firstly produced in the year 1978. From this and from the story itself implies my presumption that the whole story is set in the 1970’s when the USA was in a hard economic situation caused by the war in Vietnam. To be more concrete it is set in Illinois on the farm where nothing grow anymore. I think that only through the description of the characters you would be able to see the main points of why I titled my work American Nightmare. Dodge is supposed to be the head of the family but he is broken by things that happened in the past. He is an old dying man and he is paranoiac but he has a reason to be. He is considered poor man whom doesn’t like even his family. He failed in building his American Dream because his family is no more working and the farm he built up many years ago is left without any interest. He left everything after the biggest secret of the family happened. He killed his wife’s son but not without reason, as his son Tilden in the play says, â€Å"He said he had his reasons . . . He’s the only one who knows where it’s buried.† (Shepard 104) The reasons I found out in the text were that she, Halie, had the baby with another man. There are some hints which led me to think that the man might have been Tilden, her own son. Then it would have been much worse because the act of incest is totally against the modern society. We don’t know the background, how everything happened, if Halie was raped by her son or he was seduced by his mother. Nevertheless killing the baby was no solution because the family fell apart anyway. Halie, the only women in the family, is the one who tries to have a normal life but it is full of hypocrisy and fear of that other will find out the family secret. Interesting is that even though Dodge killed her son she lives and communicates with him like nothing happened. Even though it is obvious that she is having an affair with a Protestant minister Father Dewis. This is also an irony because he should be a symbol of temperate life. Instead of that he drinks alcohol and seduces women. In the play I feel that the fear  of not being relieved have everyone in the family. They made a deal that they won’t talk about the past and they are hoping that they will simply forget. Halie’s only light in the life was her son Ansel who was murdered in a motel room after m arrying a Catolic Italian girl. Halie hated that girl from the beginning and she argued that she was a â€Å"Devil incarnate† (Shepard 74). Ansel had no time to go bad so he looks like an ideal son in Halies eyes. She is so obsessed with him that she wants to unveil his statue. She remembers him as a son who played basketball and was a soldier, a hero, an All-American. In her monologues then we can find the importance of doing some sport in youth and being a Protestant. The character of Tilden is very interesting and mysterious for me. He is the oldest son and he was supposed to take care of the family, the parents, which is matter of fact in the American Dream (children should take care of their parents). Nevertheless he got into trouble somewhere in New Mexico, maybe he was kept in prison, because he returned back to his parents’ house after 20 years completely broken, especially mentally. His liberty had to be taken away from him because in one of his monologues about driving he described how it was like to have a car, which is also one of the symbols of American independence: I drove all day long sometimes. Across the desert . . . I drove past towns. Anywhere. Past palm trees. Lightning. Anything I would drive through it. I would drive through it and I would stop and I would look around and I would drive on . . . There was nothing I loved more. Nothing I dreamed of was better than driving. (Shepard 102) Freedom is defined in American Ways as â€Å"the desire and the right of all individuals to control their own destiny without outside interference from the government† (Datesman, Crandall, Kearny 33) and exactly this was in Tilden’s life broken. He was in prison and he is under the control of his parents now. Also his brother Bradley is not independent due to the accident where he lost his leg. With the character of Bradley I connected one question: Why he could live and the other baby not? Because from the story it is obvious that Bradley also isn’t Dodges son. The only solution I have is that the murdered baby really had to be a birth from incest. The only light in the story, at least at the beginning, is Shelly. She came to visit his boyfriends grandparents house and she had the typical American,  that means ideal, image of how it would be like: â€Å"I thought it was going to be turkey dinners and apple pie and all that kinda stuff.† (Shepard 91) Obviously she was confused from all these people in the house and she was the one who forced them to talk about things. Nevertheless it was to much for her and she left the house and her boyfriend Vince. To be honest there were some symbols in the play I didn’t understand. For example the act of symbolic Dodges burying on the end of the two acts. The only thing that came up my mind was that his sons blame him from everything and they think that killing the baby was the main reason why the family fall apart. In my opinion that’s not true because each member of that family has his own guilt. Another mystery for me is the character of Vince, Tilden’s son. I didn’t get the message of his character especially at the end of the play where, after Dodge is dead, he puts on Dodges cap and lay down on the couch, totally out of his mind. Maybe he was so shocked and ashamed of the family secret that he just adopted to the fact and started to live the same life as his grandfather lived. The play perfectly describes the opposite of the American Dream which is the life goal of most Americans and it also shows what a big difference is â€Å"between idealism and reality.† (Datesman, Crandall, Kearny 34)

Equality in childcare Essay

Unit 0.3 Outcome 1 Understand the importance of equality and inclusion 1a. What is meant by diversity The term ‘diversity’ means difference. Diversity recognises that though people have things in common with each other, they are also different and unique in many ways. Diversity is about recognising and valuing those differences. Diversity consists of visible and non-visible factors, which include personal characteristics such as background, culture, personality and work-style in addition to the characteristics that are protected under discrimination legislation in terms of race, disability, gender, religion and belief, sexual orientation and age. By recognising and understanding our individual differences and embracing them, we can create a productive environment in which everybody feels valued. 1b. What is meant by equality Equality means treating people in a way that is appropriate for their needs. This could mean if someone had say a disability you need to treat them in the same way as you would another person, without showing them up but adapt the help you provide. 1c. What is meant by inclusion Inclusion is about equal opportunities for all families, whatever their age, gender, ethnicity, attainment and background. It pays particular attention to the provision made for, and the achievement of, different groups of pupils within a school. 1d. What is meant by discrimination Read more: Importance of inclusive practice essay Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. For example, religion, skin  colour. 1.2 Describe ways in which discrimination may deliberately or inadvertently occur in the work setting Indirect Discrimination: Indirect discrimination occurs when policies and practices, which appear fair because they are applied to everyone, but turn out to disadvantage people and particular groups within society. For example, if a job advertisement states that applicants must be able to drive then this could put a certain people at a disadvantage, such as those with a disability. Or, for example you may have a school display every year to celebrate Christmas because the majority of the children would be classed as ‘white’ ‘’Christian’, however if other faiths and celebrations are not represented then smaller groups could be discriminated against. Positive Discrimination: Positive discrimination is regarded as the preferential treatment of members of a minority group over a majority group, either by sex, race, age, marital status or sex orientation. So for example if you were to allow a particular less represented group of children over another to perform a task this is classed a positive discrimination. Racial Discrimination: If a practitioner has particular views concerning race or even religion, these views could be used in the setting unintentionally to have a negative or positive influence in a situation or particular child. Stereotypes: A practitioner may intentionally or intentionally categorise children in a particular way. This could be for example, boys play with cars and girls dolls. 0.3 1.3 Explain how practices that support equality and inclusion reduce the likelihood of discrimination Treating the individual fairly, on the same level and providing them with equal opportunities to housing, education, employment, transport, health and social care can help as the individual will feel valued and treated fairly  and not made vulnerable or set apart. This will reduce, if not eliminate any discrimination against that individual or by that individual against others. Inclusion also is important as the individual will be aware of their rights, will feel in control and will feel supported to be able to make their own decisions and have their needs met. In turn this will reduce the risk of the individual being discriminated against or discriminating against others. In our setting with religion for example, we try to cover a few with our circle time sessions. Last year we did a topic on Hanukkah, a Jewish festival. 0.3 2.1 Legislation and codes of practice that applies to own role There are various pieces of legislation in place to promote equality and reduce discrimination. These include: Race Relations Act 1976 with the Public Order Act 1986 and Racial and Religious Hatred Ac 2006. Children Act 1989 and 2004 and Care Standards Act 2000 Educational Act 1981 together with E.A 1993 and 1996, Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 and Disability Discrimination Acts 1995 and 2005 Equality Act 2006  Laws alone cannot change people’s attitudes, but they can help to risk the practical aspects of discrimination. The Code Of Practice for Children with SEN gives guidance on meeting the learning needs of children with special educational needs. The EYFS guidance explains how to put the EYFS in to action. Good inclusive practice that promotes equality goes beyond what the law commands. 0.3 2.3 Describe how to challenge discrimination in a way that encourages change You should never ignore or excuse such discriminatory behaviour any more than you would ignore or excuse someone if they inflicted physical pain on someone else. It must be addressed because if you do not respond and just  let the incident pass you are contributing to the person feeling that it is acceptable to speak or behave that way. To promote change you need to change people’s attitude toward other races, sexuality, religion.. In our setting we try to educate our children about different culture and disabilities by doing things like having time so that children can share their experiences with each other, and encourage them to think of other people’s feelings. They can share different opinions with each other and also get the opportunity to think about what it is like for other people. They are asked to think how they would feel in those persons shoes. 0.3 3.1 Identify a range of sources of information, advice, support about diversity, equality and inclusion It is our duty to protect a child’s rights and to offer them fair chances in life. We need to be able to be open to new ideas in order to develop and improve the way we work. Sources we could use to assist with this are: My manager Children’s families and parents Specialist organisations The internet (BBC website) Books, magazines (‘Nursery World’) Colleagues (SENCO person if you need help with a special educational needs child) EYFS and other frameworks 0.3 3.2 Describe how and when to access information, advice and support about diversity, equality and inclusion It is a sign of professionalism to recognise when you need additional information, advice and support. It is good to seek support, as struggling alone is not good practice. Equality and inclusion are aspects of practice that are complex and can raise sensitivities. Situations can be challenging and distressing. It is important to seek support and use the experience as a professional learning point. For example, in my setting when I was struggling with a child who I felt needed some speech help and I didn’t know where to turn, I contacted my  Manager who is also SENCO trained and she organised a Speech and Language Therapy referral.