Why Do We Shop for What We Do Not Need?

Consumer – One who delights advertisers by acquiring unnecessary products in accordance with the motto â€Å"I spend, therefore I am. † – The Cynics Dictionary All people shop for things that they do not need. When asking a person why he needlessly goes shopping, a typical answer is â€Å"because it makes me feel good. † In fact, there are many reasons why people, particularly in America, feel compelled to shop, spend, and buy things in an almost mindless automation where the consumer rationalizes the question of need. However, why do we shop for a twentieth pair of shoes? Why shop for another gadget that we might need? Why do people spend hours shopping for unaffordable stuff that is merely garnish? Shopping, apart from a practical need, is an emotional experience. This very real phenomenon is as serious as it is intriguing to those interested in this type of behavior. According to Pamela Danziger, a consumer industry consultant, â€Å"There is a desire to satisfy a need [. . . ] that is the simple answer to a profoundly challenging question† (27). In clarifying the meaning of the word â€Å"need† in Danziger's assertion, it is important to understand that this fundamental aspect pertains to an emotional need rather than a practical one. Further, to help answer this question of why people shop needlessly, marketing scientists who study shopper behavior define emotional need as motivators. With this understanding, the question can be addressed: What motivates us to shop for what we do not need? * Shopping is fun and exciting: Perusing, trying-on, and trying-out dazzling new wares at a pulsing metropolistic-wonderland of fashion departments is an ecstatic experience with its mixture of excitement and adrenaline. Comparable to going to an amusement park, it is an occasion where there are people, places, and things to see, do, and . . buy. * Shopping is an escape: Dr. Drew Pinsky, a coping strategies specialist at Las Encinas Hospital in Pasadena, California, professes, â€Å"Shopping is a way of managing unpleasant feelings. † Similar to attending a museum or a movie theater, shopping allows us to take our minds off our problems. â€Å"Time heals† and we can give ourselves ample time at the mall interacting with salespeople as if they are museum guides, or spending a few hours window-shopping as if we are watching it all on the silver screen. Shopping allows us to feel like a celebrity: Generally, whether we are shopping at a warehouse home improvement store, an uptown fashion mall, or the local car dealership, starry-eyed salespeople roll out the red carpet for prospective buyers. This is truly an available fantasy world for an indulging shopper. As shoppers, we can walk into a showroom (as this is our celebrity privilege) greeted by our fans and receive all of the attention we deserve; pampered and fussed over, our stardom is at hand. The above emotional motivators are well-founded characteristics of shopper's behavior per the findings of extensive research by marketing academics. Gary Witt, Professor of Marketing at Western International University, attests, â€Å"[Shoppers] do not want your product or service; they want [. . . ] a secret door to their heart's desires. † This is now common knowledge among marketing strategists who work with advertisers to appeal to shoppers. In this way, we are incessantly subjected to marketing and advertising designed to entice us to shop and buy. All people, even those with the most resistant of base psychological mechanisms regarding this behavior, are in some way influenced by the persistent, ubiquitous bombardment of various media and its message of commanding people to shop. In addition, shopping mediums such as catalogs, the internet, and The Home Shopping Network on cable television, intended to offer convenience allowing a devoid of the annoyances of conventional shopping such as parking and disgruntled salespeople, are only defeating to the communal shopper and the emotional experience a shopping trip provides. Shopping at home does not compare to the escalatored big-city, big-room department store with its buzzing energy and exciting glamour where a shopper is there seeing and being seen. This is the essence of modern shopping. As a an activity in and of itself, shopping is a relatively recent development in which masses of people venture out and seek to moddycoddle their desire to satisfy an emotional need. Shopping provides not just a means to the necessities of life, but a meaning for life. As cleverly promoted by marketing and advertising, shopping is a cultural condition legitimized as â€Å"the good life† and â€Å"the American way. â€Å"

Gun Ownership Essay

KENNESAW, Ga – Several Kennesaw officials attribute a drop in crime in the city over the past two decades to a law that requires residents to have a gun in the house. In 1982, the Kennesaw City Council unanimously passed a law requiring heads of households to own at least one firearm with ammunition. The ordinance states the gun law is needed to â€Å"protect the safety, security and general welfare of the city and its inhabitants.† Then-councilman J.O. Stephenson said after the ordinance was passed, everyone â€Å"went crazy.† â€Å"People all over the country said there would be shootings in the street and violence in homes,† he said. â€Å"Of course, that wasn’t the case.† In fact, according to Stephenson, it caused the crime rate in the city to plunge. Kennesaw Historical Society president Robert Jones said following the law’s passage, the crime rate dropped 89 percent in the city, compared to the modest 10 percent drop statewide. â€Å"It did drop after it was passed,† he said. â€Å"After it initially dropped, it has stayed at the same low level for the past 16 years.† Mayor Leonard Church was not in office when the law was passed, but he said he is a staunch supporter of it. â€Å"You can’t argue with the fact that Kennesaw has the lowest crime rate of any city our size in the country,† said Church, who owns a denture-making company in Kennesaw. The author of the ordinance, local attorney Fred Bentley Sr., attributes at least some of the decrease in crime to the bill. â€Å"I am definitely in favor of what we did,† he said. â€Å"It may not be totally responsible for the decrease, [but] it is a part.† Although he is pleased with the outcome, Bentley said he was originally opposed to drafting the law. â€Å"I didn’t think it could be written in a constitutional fashion,† he said. â€Å"Obviously, it was constitutional, because the American Civil Liberties Union challenged it in court and we won.† Jones said the ACLU challenged the law in a federal court just after it was passed. In response, the city added a clause adding conscientious objectors to the list of those exempt. Although the law is now being credited with a drop in crime, Jones said that was not the law’s original purpose. He also pointed out that Kennesaw did not have a big problem with crime before. â€Å"The crime rate wasn’t that high to start with. It was 11 burglaries per 1,000 residents in  1981,† he said. According to the Kennesaw Police Department, the city’s most recent crime statistics show 243 property crimes per 100,000 residents in 1998, or .243 per 1,000. The city’s crime rate continues to be far below other metro Atlanta city’s with similar populations, like Decatur. In 1998, Decatur recorded 4,049 property crimes per 100,000 residents. Jones said one motivation for the council passing the ordinance had to do with publicity. â€Å"It was done in response to a law passed by Morton Grove, Ill., outlawing gun ownership within the city limits,† he said. â€Å"Several council members were upset Morton Grove had gotten a lot of attention with their ordinance so they decided to top them. â€Å"They figured the gun ownership ordinance would knock that city right off the front pages. They were right.† Jones said the ensuing publicity surrounding the law has given Kennesaw worldwide name recognition. â€Å"I have been to Australia and Europe and when I tell people I am from Kennesaw they recognize the name as the place that requires everyone to own a gun,† he said. But Stephenson said the issue was not pub licity-driven but issue-driven. â€Å"We believed in the right of people to own guns,† he said. Jones said he has sold 550 copies of a 1994 book about the first-of-its-kind law, â€Å"The Law Heard ‘Round the World.† He said the law in its final form has many loopholes, so not everyone is required to own a gun. â€Å"There are many outs,† he said. â€Å"When you look at it, almost anyone could fit into one of the exempted groups.† Kennesaw Police Chief Dwaine Wilson said no one has ever been prosecuted under the ordinance. Among those exempt are residents â€Å"who conscientiously oppose maintaining firearms as a result of beliefs or religious doctrine.† Others exempt include the physically and mentally disabled, paupers and those convicted of a felony. The law contains no clause addressing punishment for violating the law. If convicted, City Clerk Diane Coker said punishment would be determined by the general penalty clause of the Kennesaw Code Ordinance – probably a fine of about $100. Jones said the unusual law has not deterred anyone from moving to Kennesaw. â€Å"Our population has increased just like everyone’s in Georgia in the past 20 years,† he said. â€Å"The law really hasn’t done any harm to the city’s growth.† The city’s population in 1998 was recorded at 14,493 – a sharp increase over the 8,936 residents recorded in the 1990 census. C obb Chamber of Commerce president Bill Cooper said odd laws are typically not counted as strike against a city when a business is looking to relocate.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"These laws don’t have laws don’t have an impact on a company’s decision to move to Cobb County,† Cooper said. â€Å"Many communities have strange laws that are out of date. Businesses look at many factors when relocating, such as quality of life, education, infrastructure and available workforce.† Bentley said the law actually may have helped business development. â€Å"Kennesaw is home to more manufacturing businesses than any other Cobb city,† he said. â€Å"Companies have said they want to be located in conservative areas.† And Kennesaw isn’t the only city in Cobb with an unusual law on the books. According to Jeff Koon, who runs a Web site specializing in funny laws, Dumblaws.com, Acworth has an ordinance requiring residents to own a rake. In Marietta, it is illegal to spit from a car or a bus, but perfectly legal to spit from a truck.

How can Playstation3 sustain the dominance in the video game console Essay

How can Playstation3 sustain the dominance in the video game console war - Essay Example Successful brands achieve higher customer loyalty- success being in the context of differential advantage. Brand names that have managed to monopolise their differential advantage will create strong brand name images in the minds of their consumers in terms of physical characteristics, name, symbols, and reputation. And loyal customers prove their commitments to a specific brand by spending more money and time and effort in order to obtain the brand of their choice. Successful brand names have differential advantages that result in profit and good market performance. The international games consoles market manifested a growth of 14.1% in 2007 and has attained $14.2 billion. In the next 3 years, this international market is projected to reach $24.6 billion, which represents nearly 75% growth from its value in 2007. In 2007, the market has grown by nearly 20%, registering a volume of 74 million pieces. This number is anticipated to reach 96.6 million pieces, which is about 30% of its value in 2007 (Reuters 2009). Moreover, the US Console Games Forecast 2005: Analysis of Alternate Launch Scenarios projects that the US console market shall have a growth of $11.7 billion next year. Moreover, the report says that the game console industry has become quite competent at product diversification to be able to address the varying wants of their target market. There are products that appeal to the majority and those that are particular to certain audiences. The biggest driver of ambiguity in this industry is when players shall introduce novel products and systems (Softpedia 2005). Sonys Playstation 3 and Microsofts Xbox are selling premium performance, while Nintendos Wii is leveraging on fun games which are more dependent on peculiar, nice controllers and effectual graphics. PS 3 remains to be the most expensive, and is projected as a PC option. Microsoft Xbox 360 packages the

Comparing a North American Native civilization with a European's Essay

Comparing a North American Native civilization with a European's - Essay Example Furthermore, both groups supplemented foraging and hunting/fishing with the planting and harvesting of crops. Additionally, Europe like America at the time was split into thousands of small (tribe-like) warring factions with a host of political, religious, linguistic and ethnic divisions. Interestingly, though the text and the lecture notes make the emphasis of the level of equality that Native American women enjoyed as compared to their European counterparts, this is not necessarily the same story with the northern European Vikings. Due to the fact that the Vikings were semi-nomadic and often engaged in expeditions of conquest and wealth acquisition, the women who remained at home were responsible for ensuring that the civilization continued to operate in the absence of a great many of the men. As such, a type of matriarchal authority structure was not uncommon in Viking settlements during times of conquest. Likewise the Arakaris engaged in a semi-nomadic lifestyle that was anchored by their dependence on the crops of maize, squash, and beans. Interestingly, both of these groups are examples of societies in transition between nomadic hunter/gatherers and a more advanced stationary civilization.

Analyze and discuss the article The Case for Contamination by Kwame Essay

Analyze and discuss the article The Case for Contamination by Kwame Anthony Appiah (from a religious perspective) - Essay Example In this regard, I believe it is important to understand the differences between religious and cultural beliefs, rather than to quickly gloss them over in favor of a unitarian belief that ignores the actual teachings of the religions themselves. For example, by learning the specific characteristics of Islam - submission, prayer, fasting, pilgrimage, etc. – and understanding them historically as they relate to the development of unique schools of thought, ritual, and practice, we can understand the religion in a way that truly appreciates it as a cultural value system. What may appear as uniting in post-modern society can result in a further weakening of religion. This can be viewed as a modernization of religious belief, but it also illustrates the way that secular values can dilute and destroy religious diversity by posing all ideas in a supermarket of choices where all philosophies are packaged and sold equally, to anybody, but nobody really cares what is on the inside of the box. Thus, this essay will review the position of Kwame Anthony Appiah in the NYT article â€Å"The Case for Contamination,† analyzing the author’s call for multicultural unity, while searching for ways that this process can lead to greater understanding of religious diversity and uniqueness, rather than a dilution of religious belief into a secular paradigm dominated by the values of the marketplace. â€Å"In the past couple of years, Unesco's members have spent a great deal of time trying to hammer out a convention on the ‘protection and promotion’ of cultural diversity. (It was finally approved at the Unesco General Conference in October 2005.) The drafters worried that ‘the processes of globalization. . .represent a challenge for cultural diversity, namely in view of risks of imbalances between rich and poor countries.’ The fear is that the values and images of Western mass culture, like some invasive weed, are threatening to choke out t he world's native flora.† (Appiah, 2006) Appiah defines the position that he is reacting to as related to the UNESCO goal of the protection and promotion of cultural diversity. Appiah chides UNESCO, as if there really is no threat to indigenous culture, as if we were really not losing our cultural diversity globally in a manner similar to and driven by the same modern economic forces that has caused us to lose our natural biodiversity. The protection of endangered species and biodiversity is an extension and continuation of the protection of cultural diversity through multiculturalism. These two are joined in activism and in sharing a philosophical foundation. What Appiah posits as his ideal in contrast to traditional values is Cosmopolitanism, and in doing so I am afraid that he elevates the superficial aspects of the modern economic and social system to an undeserved place as an ideal. Traditional religious belief systems contain feudal, primitive, and even pre-historic aspe cts of our cultural heritage, with Buddhist teachings, the Vedas, and the Bible going back to the earliest days of recorded

Motivation and psychological contact on Media Company in China Essay

Motivation and psychological contact on Media Company in China - Essay Example Extrinsic motivation is external and involves employee’s rewards such as money and grades. Psychological contract refers to the existing mutual beliefs, perceptions and informal obligations between the employee and an employer. It is different from the formal written employment contract which generally identifies mutual duties and responsibilities. This paper seeks an understanding on the motivation and psychological contract among employees in China Digital Media Corporation. China is in the process of transforming its broadcasting policy that includes; conversion of television services from analogue to digital broadcasting system nationwide, improvement of the broadcasting policy and administration, reorganizing different companies which belong to the state into corporations which are market driven, and allowing foreign investors to participate in some specific areas in the media industry. Considering the above changes, China Digital Media Corporation main focus is to capita lize on the opportunities resulting from the expansion of broadcasting media and cable TV industry in china. To successfully attain this, the media company will need to motivate its employees and have an appropriate psychological contract in place. The workforce plays a key role in the achievement of established goals of the company. According to Costigan, et. al. (1998), motivation is a cognitive decision making process which initiates, energizes, directs and maintains a behaviour which is goal oriented. Motivational process begins with physiological or psychological need through which behaviour or drive aimed at a goal is activated. Managers, expect increased qualitative productivity from their employees. Employee’s behaviour is greatly influenced by their working environment. Individuals are motivated to work by different motivational factors. These include monetary factors such as; salaries and wages, bonus and incentives. There are also other non-monetary factors which i nclude; an employee status or job title, appreciation and recognition, delegation of authority, proper working conditions, job security, workers participation, cordial relations, good superiors, provision of training, proper job placements and promotions, good performance feedback, provision of welfare facilities and flexibility in the working hours. Motivation is of great importance to an organization in that; it increases efficiency, reduces absenteeism and employee turnover, improves the corporate image, improves employee’s morale, reduces accidents and facilitates initiative and innovation. China Digital Media Corporation will have to consolidate different motivational theories and models that influence employee’s motivation. Employees have varied needs depending on their demographics, circumstances, aspirations, affairs and personalities. Hygiene factors are important in that they eliminate job dissatisfaction. Employees in the media company expect to work in an e nvironment that is conducive, pleasant, respectful, productive, and promotes teamwork. For the media company to boost employee’s motivation, there has to be motivators such as interesting work, recognition, sense of achievement and advancements. In addition, employees should be treated fairly and be rewarded accordingly for their efforts. Perception of inequity among employees in the company results in poor inputs, and even others leaving the organization. Supervisors should also be keen to provide performance feedb

The Cuba-Soviet Unions Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

The Cuba-Soviet Unions Relations - Essay Example Various conflicts have been witnessed in history between nations in the world. During such conflicts, the other nations that are not directly involved in the war often take sides and support their allies against the enemy nations. The situations often lead to further enmity among the rival groups and develop into social and political unrest in the whole world. Such wars led to research and subsequent developments of deadly weapons by nations that could destroy the whole world. Various crises in the world have been seen that follow a period of conflicts between rival nations especially if the rivalry has erupted between two or more industrial powers that are key drivers of the world economy. There are different types of war that can be experienced between two or more nations. These are Hot War, Warm War, and Cold War. A Hot War occurs when there is a complete disagreement between nations and all the attempts to have a peaceful dialogue have failed. It is characterized by physical confrontations between the armies of the rival nations. Warm war is a situation where there is room for dialogue and it is actually being carried out. Meanwhile, the defense of each side is undergoing preparation for the possibility of war that might break. Cold War occurs between two nations that are actually rivals but do not want to face each other one on one as was witnessed between USSR and US catalyzed by the Cuban revolution, more so when U.S refineries refused to process Soviet Union’s oil . Instead, the nations support their allied conflicting nations through weapons and manpower during the wars. The Cold War As has been pointed out earlier, this type of war occurs silently betwe en two nations through other nations that they support. The Cold War refers to the relationship that America and the Soviet Unions had after the World War II until late 1980s. During the Second World War, both the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) and America appeared to be on one side probably due to their common enemy, Nazi Germany2. It would be thought that there would be a good relationship between the two industrial powers after the end of this war. However, it turned out that the two nations were not friends anyway. Their postwar relations and the ideological differences would result into the Cold War. The difference between the foreign policies of the United States and the policies of Soviet Union led to war3. Despite the two nations have such differences, they have never engaged each other in combat war4. The distrust that grew stronger and stronger between the two nations was due to the difference in leadership and governance that was practiced by the two nations, a nd which led to their ideological differences, as either nation flexed muscle to dominate the world5. America was a capitalist state while Soviet Unions was a communist state and this determined their allies and the differences6. The American government was democratic and characterized by free and fair election whereas that of Soviet Unions was autocratic with restricted or no elections. There was a lot of freedom of speech and expression in America compared to the censored moves in the Soviet Unions. The anti-communist states would then be allied to America while pro-communist states would side with the Soviet Unions. During the Cold War period (1945-1991), America would supply weapons to the nations that were invaded by Soviet Unions or other countries supported by the Soviet Unions. Countries like South Vietnam were against the communist culture and received support from America during the war whereas North Vietnam supported communist states and received support from the communis t states like Russia. The government of the United States authorized the support of various anti-communist movements in the countries that were likely to be influenced by the communist movement of

Application of M-commerce in Human Resource Management Essay

Application of M-commerce in Human Resource Management - Essay Example Mobile commerce is one such evolving areas of technology that is gaining lot of attention these days. It is a concept that is fast growing and is adopted in all types of business environment in order to get efficient as well as thorough results. Mobile commerce which is most commonly known as M-Commerce is the capability to carry on with any particular business transaction or commerce by making use of the mobile devices which includes that of mobile phones, smart phone, Personal Digital Assistant of PDA as it is commonly known as, and other such evolving technological equipments like that of the latest dash top mobile phone device. If one wants to get deeper into mobile commerce then it would be any sort of transactions which includes that of rights of ownership on a specific goods or services and the entire process of initiation or completion of the commercial activity should be carried out by making use of the mobile phone (Mennecke B 2003). Everything right from purchase to that o f selling of the products and services are now carried out using a mobile device. Some of the most common areas of services includes mobile banking, mobile brokerage, participating in auctions, mobile purchase facility and that of mobile marketing and advertising activity. The impact that mobile commerce is having over human resource management is very wide. In order to make a business model successful, adequate care and attention needs to be paid to that of the human resource management which is the crux of any organizations’ growth. Proper human resource management serves to be the winning formula. In this ever growing world, things get more advanced and complicated. Human resource area needs extra effort and there should be proper line of communication and well thought out approach. The best would be to act quickly on any human resource related issues which act as the pillar of confidence for the business (Stair R 2012). Using mobile commerce technology for managing human resource is the only best way to gain what one wants to. Everything right from regular checkups, accounting, resource allocation, tracking the performance of the individual can be carried out using a mobile commerce service. There are several types of platforms and functions that are released which makes the application of mobile commerce in human resource management a valuable asset for better managements and success of the business. An organization is a combination of many things and the responsibility levels are higher. There are many essential aspects to look for in an organization and it should be properly managed in order to derive high performance (Xu J 2009). In the recent times, there are many sort of mobile commerce devices that are evolving big time. The mobile device is connected to the computer network directly and all of the information regarding the resources can be accessed directly. The mobile commerce facility in mobile phone not only provide with the ability to ac cess the available materials in common network but also offers with the capacity to make any changes or take actions directly. Human resource field is a wide area and if not properly managed or arranged it will bring in more problem to the company and business. The latest mobile device that is launched recently comes with a better facility to track each and every activity of the resources (Branki C 2008). A human resource mobile application can

Term Paper for Philosophy of Man Essay Example for Free

Term Paper for Philosophy of Man Essay There is no such thing as Christianity here on earth until an emperor named Constantine, a pagan, had a vision of a cross before his battle. Who knows if what he saw is true or what he saw is just a sword? (Sword has a resemblance with cross remember he’s up for a battle right? ) After his victory he was converted to Christian and planned to unite the Roman Empire by developing a religion under his control. He met all the religion leaders for a purpose: to unify everything. They have chosen only 4 out of 50 gospels that would only fit for the state religion. They should have given it authors- Constantine and friends, since they are the one who put it together. 300 yrs. after death of Jesus the Bible was put together by less faith more to politics. Many of these Gospels that are not included in the Bible apparently disappeared later because they have unknown origins. This uncertainty about their origins was one reason many of them were excluded from the Bible. But some of them were also excluded because they expressed unorthodox views. Somehow the copies of some of them still survive at unknown locations. Luckily several have been found again. The Gospel of Peter, Mary, Judas and St.  Thomas were discovered in modern times named after peter, Mary Magdalene, Judas Escariot, and St. Thomas but those weren’t their real authors, the real authors are unknown and will probably never be identified. The gospel of Peter, the first lost gospel found (1886), contains the description of Jesus leaving the tomb after his resurrection seen by the two guards while in the New Testament the effect of the resurrection was only written. The Gospel of Mary emphasizes her prominence by presenting her as a strong leader, and by suggesting that she was the most favored disciple of Jesus and received a special revelation from him. The gospel contains Gnostic ideas, particularly in the section which describes the revelations she received from Jesus. This connection with Gnosticism, together with the prominent role that the book gives to a female, may have led to its suppression by orthodox Christians. The Gospel of St. Thomas may preserve some authentic teachings of Jesus that are not found in the Bible. The Gospel of Judas said that Judas was the most loyal disciple of Jesus where in our bible contradicts, which says that Judas is the one who gave up Jesus in exchange of gold. Did the church intentionally destroyed some books in order to cover up embarrasses facts about the origins of Christianity? The knowledge about the bible they are holding until know is not probably the truth, it is more on their beliefs. No one has ever proven that all written in the bible is true from Old Testament to New Testament even the genesis is questionable. It is that, we are on it for over a thousand years and will have a difficulty to adjust or understand if any will be changed because of the found lost gospels.

Incomplete Abortion Secondary to Anemia Essay Example for Free

Incomplete Abortion Secondary to Anemia Essay Abortion is any pregnancy that terminates before the 20th week of gestation. Spontaneous abortion occurs as a natural termination of pregnancy prior to 20 weeks. Spontaneous abortion occurs more commonly in first trimester. In incomplete abortion, some of the products of conception are expelled, but some remained attached. Fetus usually expelled and placenta and membranes retained. Heavy bleeding and severe cramping continue until the placenta or other matter is removed. (Nettina, Sandra M. , (9th Edition). Lippincott Manual of Nursing Practice Wolter’s Kluwer Health) Management includes dilation and curettage (D and C). Dilation and curettage is an operation performed on women to scrape away the womb lining. The cervix of the uterus is dilated using an instrument called a dilator. The endometrium is then lightly scraped off using a spoon-shaped instrument called a curette. The first step in a DC is to dilate the cervix, usually done a few hours before the surgery. The woman is usually put under general anesthesia before the procedure begins. A curette, a metal rod with a handle on one end and a sharp loop on the other, is inserted into the uterus through the dilated cervix. The curette is used to gently scrape the lining of the uterus and remove the tissue in the uterus. This tissue is examined for completeness (in the case of abortion). (Galacio, G. T. ,(May 16, 2008). Nursing Care Plan; Dilatation and Curettage. Retrieved from http://nursingcrib. com/nursing-care-plan/nursing-care-plan-dilatation-and-curettage-d-c/ ) In 2005, there were some 400,000 to 500,000 abortions in the Philippines. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimate puts the figure at nearly 800,000, one of the highest rates of abortions in Asia. Seventy percent of unwanted pregnancies in the Philippines end in abortion, according to the WHO. Pro-Life Philippines, an anti-abortion group, says that one of four pregnancies in the Philippines end in abortion. As many as 17 percent of all abortions are done on teenage or young mothers, according to the DOH. 36 percent of Filipino women become pregnant before abortion and 45 percent of all pregnancies are either unwanted or ill-timed, according to the World Health Organization.

Understanding Diversity in Beliefs about Health

Understanding Diversity in Beliefs about Health Understanding diversity in beliefs about health Getting your child vaccinated is a choice every parent has to make. There are many attitudes, beliefs and perspectives on the topic. This essay will be comparing and contrasting these views between the two groups of parents, those being the ones that decide to fully vaccinate their children and those that put off certain vaccines or dont vaccinate their children at all. The majority group of 90.1% of parents in Australia decided to have their children fully immunised, with the remainder being the parents that choose to refuse certain or all vaccines (A. G. o. h. (2014)). Reasons for different attitudes leading to these decisions can range from the medical to the religious reasons (Douglas S. Diekema, M. D., M.P.H. (2012)). Recommendations and education about immunisation usually happens through the parents doctor or physician, since it is seen in the medical community as a big problem that parents don’t vaccinate their children (Douglas S. Diekema, M. D., M.P.H. (2012)). In so me countries such as Canada it is mandatory to vaccinate your child, but in countries like Australia and the US the choice is up to the parents (Walkinshaw, E. (2011))(Douglas S. Diekema, M. D., M.P.H. (2012)). This decision a parent can make for the child can have lasting effects into adulthood and with recent recurring outbreaks of diseases like whooping cough, there is a lot of stigma surrounding the topic (Walkinshaw, E. (2011)) . A vaccination is a medical procedure where a person is injected with a substance which can prevent illnesses and diseases being caught or spreading (Shetty, P. (2010)). Parents give their children shots for each disease and a few single diseases need multiple shots just for themselves (Pediatrics. (2011)). Such diseases that children might get vaccinated for would be polio, influenza virus and the measles (Douglas S. Diekema, M. D., M.P.H. (2012)). Most parents vaccinate their children (A. G. o. h. (2014)). But there is also a high number of the population which refuses to receive their vaccinations, mainly because of skepticism (Walkinshaw, E. (2011)). This is apparent even though many doctors such as Dr Ian Gemmill try to put across messages like â€Å"Immunizations are the safest, longest-lasting and most effective ways to prevent communicable diseases† (Walkinshaw, E. (2011)). Although this is the majority of the attitudes between health care occupations, surveys show that health workers still remain divided on this issue, with a à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬Å" of emergency nurses in one survey expressing that they had concerns and didn’t fully trust the idea of immunizations and what the risk of side effects would be for themselves (Mary Ann Bell, P., Joseph A. Dake, James H. Price, Timothy R. Jordan, Paul Rega. (2012)). Doctors like Dr Gemmill emphasise their point by referring to statistics of immunizations, comparing disease related death from before vaccinations to after (Walkinshaw, E. (2011)). While Edda West, the coordinator of the Vaccination Risk Awareness Network has the counter argument that, a medical procedures that’s as invasive as vaccinations will always carry a risk of injury or death and this should be taken into consideration by the patients parents (Walkinshaw, E. (2011)). Also saying that many health professionals are persuading parents and not educating them about the fact that they themselves have a choice (Walkinshaw, E. (20 11)). Vaccinations have health groups divided but in the end it is up to the parents and their choice in end. Vaccines overall have strong effects on the health industry (Douglas S. Diekema, M. D., M.P.H. (2012)). Parents that have their children vaccinated Parents can have a positive attitude about vaccines for a number of reasons. Most parents know about the certain diseases that could be fatal for their babies (Dannetun, E. T., Anders ; Giesecke, Johan. (2007)). Vaccines have demonstrated to have positive effects in solving this problem and this is the main motivation for most parents to have their children immunized (Dannetun, E. T., Anders ; Giesecke, Johan. (2007)). Most parents dont give it a second thought since vaccines are widely accepted and promoted in today’s society (Douglas S. Diekema, M. D., M.P.H. (2012)). It is given out through schools and some schools even require children to be vaccinated before they can be accepted into a school (Douglas S. Diekema, M. D., M.P.H. (2012)). So one of the big influences on the beliefs of parents that are pro-vaccination come from the General health community and the government (Dannetun, E. T., Anders ; Giesecke, Johan. (2007)). The World Health Organisation (WHO) says that it wants most countries to vaccinate all their children (Dannetun, E. T., Anders ; Giesecke, Johan. (2007)). These groups push vaccinations by the parent receiving the advice from a health professional, or having the parents children face restrictions in the future like not being able to attend a certain school (Douglas S. Diekema, M. D., M.P.H. (2012)). Parents might get the feeling that they are obligated to vaccinate their child, they want the best for their child and the education they receive when looking for professional advice it leads parents to a pro-vaccination standpoint (Walkinshaw, E. (2011)). Another thing pro-vaccination attitudes are pushed with would be the parents own fear for their child (Mary Ann Bell, P., Joseph A. Dake, James H. Price, Timothy R. Jordan, Paul Rega. (2012)). Children are always at risk of getting sick, spikes in diseases like whooping cough occur in populations unvaccinated and babies die from this ((RCN), R. C. o. N. P. C. (2012)). Naturally, occurrences like these influence parents that might have not have been pro vaccine to maybe change their view. Pertussis vaccination is one of the most common and outbreaks among the unvaccinated community are not uncommon ((RCN), R. C. o. N. P. C. (2012)). Parents who are worried and don’t want to put their children at risk will mostly seek the simpler solution to ensure the safety of their child and that’s to vaccinate (Douglas S. Diekema, M. D., M.P.H. (2012)). The fear factor also leads to some pro-active attitudes to pro-vaccination. This is especially apparent in developing nations, where vaccines are on high demand and support from the government is lacking (Blecher, M. S. M., Filip ; Kollipara, Aparna ; Hecht, Robert ; Cameron, Neil A. ; Pillay, Yogan ; Hanna, Luisa. (2012)). There is a high burden of disease in places such as South Africa with high death rates due to preventable diseases such as pneumococcal and rotavirus (Blecher, M. S. M., Filip ; Kollipara, Aparna ; Hecht, Robert ; Cameron, Neil A. ; Pillay, Yogan ; Hanna, Luisa. (2012)). People of the pro-vaccine attitude might go as far to fund charities to distribute to poorer countries, with the intention that it will allow children in developing nations to receive vaccines. The most notable donator being Bill Gates, a parent himself donating $2Billion of his fortune in 1999 to vaccine distribution, his contribution has allowed many parents in poor countries to have better acce ss to vaccines for their own children. More has been donated since (Economist, T. (1999, 5 Nov)). These actions all stem from their attitudes to vaccinations, believing that more vaccines, means less death or injury. Parents that don’t want their children to be vaccinated Children that don’t get vaccinated are said to be put at risk of coming down with a deadly illness (Douglas S. Diekema, M. D., M.P.H. (2012)). Parents are of the anti-vaccine attitude, believe that they are doing better for their child because of their own reasons or lifestyle choices (Shetty, P. (2010)). Something that could have parents take an anti-vaccine opinion, could be for non-medical reasons like the family religion or philosophical reasons (Shetty, P. (2010)) (Douglas S. Diekema, M. D., M.P.H. (2012)). But the majority of parents that don’t vaccinate their children have reasoning mainly due to their own skepticism about the vaccine shots and their possible side effects (Shetty, P. (2010)). Parents say that they don’t want their children to be exposed to â€Å"unnecessary toxins† (Shetty, P. (2010)). The risks and benefits of vaccines are weighed up by parents, it is alleged by some anti-vaccine groups that immunisations can be linked to other dis eases such as autism or multiple sclerosis (Shetty, P. (2010)). The number of people with this attitude is rising globally, it is said that anti-vaccination groups would only be localised to specific areas in developed nations (Shetty, P. (2010)). But with the rise of the internet and social networking, the idea of greater safety from no vaccines in becoming to be known in more developing nations like India (Shetty, P. (2010)). Paul Offit, the chief of infectious diseases, says that many parents aren’t fully educated about vaccinations and that they shouldn’t buy into the anti-vaccination lobbies which said to basically that â€Å"vaccines are the devil† (Shetty, P. (2010)). It is also said that a possible reason for people to have this point of view is because people can see an association between, the drop in illness levels, while the rate of people that encounter either real or perceived side effects goes up (Shetty, P. (2010)). Doctors are expected to fully educate parents about such subjects, because of common misconceptions about statistics which might influence their standpoint, so parents can make a fully informed decision. Comparisons One of the similarities these two groups share is that their actions are driven by fear (Shetty, P. (2010)). Whether it be the fear of losing your child via a sickness, or the fear of the idea that they will be exposing their children to â€Å"biologicals of unknown toxicity† (Douglas S. Diekema, M. D., M.P.H. (2012))(Shetty, P. (2010)). Both parties want the best for their children. Governments are constantly pushing vaccinations (Economist, T. (1998, 5 Nov)), and Health professional anti-vaccine groups are more vocal about parents not being educated about their choice and not being able to exercise their freedoms (Shetty, P. (2010)). Parents that are anti-vaccine seem to be more scared of the side effects of the vaccine than the actual disease (Shetty, P. (2010)). Doctors of the pro-vaccination standpoint do express that there are vaccines that children might not need, but vaccines like Hep B are a must (Shetty, P. (2010)). This appeals to many parents that might be on the f ence about vaccinations, there is an appreciation for a middle ground between that two population groups (A. G. o. h. (2014)). There are a lot of diseases to vaccinate against (A. G. o. h. (2014)). Parents that are of the pro-vaccination standpoint may hold off on a certain vaccine if it doesn’t seem needed, until they decide they might want to go traveling with their children, to a place where it is needed, causes for this behaviour can be linked to someone’s financial standpoint (C, H. A. E. W. R. E. I. S. N. K. M. (2012)). The same idea applies for parents of the anti-vaccination standpoint, if there is an outbreak of a disease such a pertussis in the area where they live, some parents would be happy to makes sure that their children got a shot in that circumstance ((RCN), R. C. o. N. P. C. (2012)). Impacts on Health The main population group that affects the health community are the parents which dont decide to vaccinate, hence why doctors push it to their patients so strongly, because it is said to cause preventable traffic in the health system (Douglas S. Diekema, M. D., M.P.H. (2012))(A. G. o. h. (2014)). With more and more parents not vaccinating their children, they are pushing beyond the safe number of whats called the herd immunity (Douglas S. Diekema, M. D., M.P.H. (2012))(Shetty, P. (2010)). Herd immunity is based off the notion that it is safe to have a small amount of children in one area that are not vaccinated, but if there is a number of children not vaccinated in the same neighbourhood then outbreaks are more likely to occur (Shetty, P. (2010)). Vaccines are also expensive though (Blecher, M. S. M., Filip ; Kollipara, Aparna ; Hecht, Robert ; Cameron, Neil A. ; Pillay, Yogan ; Hanna, Luisa. (2012)). If everyone was anti-vaccine then it would free up expenses which could be used fo r arguable more important aspects of health (Blecher, M. S. M., Filip ; Kollipara, Aparna ; Hecht, Robert ; Cameron, Neil A. ; Pillay, Yogan ; Hanna, Luisa. (2012)). Poorer countries need to accommodate as the demand for vaccines rises, putting more strain on their current health systems (Blecher, M. S. M., Filip ; Kollipara, Aparna ; Hecht, Robert ; Cameron, Neil A. ; Pillay, Yogan ; Hanna, Luisa. (2012)). Conclusion Vaccinations are one of the many choices parents get to make for their children and any subject relating to life or death is going to be touchy. Although there are some countries such as slovenia that don’t allow for the freedom for parents to choose, with other countries like canada looking to do the same (Walkinshaw, E. (2011)). Mainly due to strong advocacy from the health systems as a whole (Douglas S. Diekema, M. D., M.P.H. (2012)). In the nations where you are allowed choice, doctors try their best to make sure parents are fully educated on the matter so there is less of a chance that parents make their decisions for the wrong reasons (Douglas S. Diekema, M. D., M.P.H. (2012)). References A. G. o. h. (2014). Australian Childhood Immunisation Register (ACIR) statistics. Retrieved 06/03, from https://www.medicareaustralia.gov.au/provider/patients/acir/statistics.jsp Blecher, M. S. M., Filip ; Kollipara, Aparna ; Hecht, Robert ; Cameron, Neil A. ; Pillay, Yogan ; Hanna, Luisa. (2012). Financing vaccinations – The South African experience. Vaccine, 30, 7. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2012.04.042 Douglas S. Diekema, M. D., M.P.H. (2012). Improving Childhood Vaccination Rates. The New England Journal of Medicine, 366(5), 3. doi: 10.1056/NEJMp1113008 C, H. A. E. W. R. E. I. S. N. K. M. (2012). A cross-sectional study of pre-travel health-seeking practices among travelers departing Sydney and Bangkok airports. BMC public health, 12(1), 1. Dannetun, E. T., Anders ; Giesecke, Johan. (2007). Parents attitudes towards hepatitis B vaccination for their children. A survey comparing paper and web questionnaires, Sweden 2005. BMC public health, 7, 1. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-7-86 Economist, T. (1998, 5 Nov). Philanthropy: Gates the Good. The Economist, 1. Mary Ann Bell, P., Joseph A. Dake, James H. Price, Timothy R. Jordan, Paul Rega. (2012). A National Survey of Emergency Nurses and Avian Influenza Threat. Journal of Emergency Nursing. doi: 10.1016/j.jen.2012.05.005 Pediatrics. (2011). Meningococcal conjugate vaccines policy update: booster dose recommendations. Pediatrics, 128(6), 5. doi: 10.1542/peds.2011-2380 (RCN), R. C. o. N. P. C. (2012). The Health Protection Agency is warning parents to keep their children up to date with vaccinations for whooping cough, after an increase in the number of cases in 2011. Nursing Children and Young People, 24(3), 1. Shetty, P. (2010). Experts concerned about vaccination backlash. The Lancet, Vol.375(9719), 2. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(10)60421-7 Walkinshaw, E. (2011). Mandatory vaccinations: no middle ground. CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal, Vol.183(16), 2.

The Good Earth: Family Structure in Rural China :: Pearl Buck Good Earth Essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚   Most critiques of The Good Earth are preoccupied with the authentic quality of the novel, and while the Western critiques praise it as a novel based on facts, the Chinese hold a different view. Kang Younghill, a Chinese man, in reference to the image Pearl Buck created of China, stated that "it is discouraging to find that the novel works toward confusion, not clarification" (Kang 368). This statement illuminates Kang's feelings that the details, which Buck had presented as factual in the novel, were contrary to the actual life of the Chinese. Yet researches have shown that Buck was rightly informed and presented her information correctly. One detail that she paid special attention to was the family structure within the rural Chinese family, which she presented in the form of the Wang Lung household. The family structure demonstrated by Buck is not restricted to the Wang Lung family, but was a part of every rural Chinese home in the early 1900s. Every member 's experiences within the family structure are determined by the role and expectations placed on them by the society, and Buck was careful to include these experiences in Wang Lung's family.      Ã‚  Ã‚   According to the World Book Encyclopedia, in rural China, persons live in large family units, and it was ideal that five generations live under the same roof. Even so, most peasants live in nuclear families, and the extended family can only be afforded by the wealthy. ("China: family life" 483) This was perhaps one of the reasons why Buck transported Wang Lung from a peasant to a great landlord, so she could establish an extended family structure that was ideal to all Chinese families. When Wang Lung was just married he lived in a somewhat simple nuclear family, except for the presence of his father that would make it like an extended family. Moreover, the Chinese perception of a nuclear family included the father, but when members other than the children are introduced, the family would then be an extended one. Thus, Wang Lung's nuclear family is comprised of himself, O-lan, his wife, and his father. After he had his children, there were three generations un der his roof. Wang Lung soon began to prosper, and had an extended family when his uncle and his family moved into Wang Lung's house.

Privatization of Electricity in Tanzania :: essays research papers fc

Privatization of Electricity in Tanzania The story of Tanzania, from pre-colonialist period to present Tanzania, located in East Africa, is one of the least developed countries in the world. According to the UNDP Human Development Index, Tanzania ranked 162 out of 177 countries in the 2004 survey (UNDP:2004, HDI), with one being the most developed. According to the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) prepared by Tanzanian officials for the World Bank, half of Tanzanians 36.6 million people are characterized as â€Å"poor† and one-third live in â€Å"abject poverty†(WB: PRSP p.1). Tanzanians have a life expectancy of 43.5 years, a fertility rate of 5.1 births per woman, an HIV prevalence of 8.8%, and a population growth rate of 1.95% (UNDP: 2004). Agriculture makes up half of the country’s GDP, 85% of the exports, and 80% of the labor force (CIA: 2004). Culturally, Tanzanians are made up of 130 different tribes, each speaking their own mother tongue. The official languages of Tanzania are Kiswahili and English, with English being the main language in commerce, administration, and higher education (CIA: 2004). Kiswahili is a mix of Bantu languages, English, and Arabic, and is indicative of the millennia old history of trade with the outside world. Records of trade routes with the Middle East date back to the 1st century AD (govt web: early history). Zanzibar and the coastal town of Bagamoya were the hubs of the East African slave trade, active for well over a thousand years (pilot). While the early slave trade with the Middle East existed only on a small scale, transporting around 100 slaves at a time, the appearance of Europeans in the 17th century ratcheted up the trade to a much larger scale and level of organization, at its height moving 15,000 slaves a year out of East Africa (pilot). Serious efforts to end the slave trade began in the 19th century, though the trade continued through the German occupation of then German East Africa in the latter part of the century. In 1919 after World War I, Britain took over German East Africa, renaming it Tanganyika, and permanently put an end to the slave trade (govt web: colonial period ). Tanganyika attained independence from British rule in 1961 and Zanzibar followed soon after in 1963, ending the existence of the British mandated territory. Tanzania was formed in 1964 by uniting the mainland, Tanganyika, and the islands of Zanzibar. An excerpt from the Tanzanian National Website displays an interesting official interpretation of the lingering effects of centuries of occupation by foreigners (my emphasis):

Problems with Solutions for Practice in Factoring – by Rahul Krishna

FACTORING – PROBLEMS & SOLUTIONS 1. [pic] [pic] 2. A company is considering engaging a factor, the following information is available: i) The current average collection period for the Company’s debtors is 80 days and ? % of debtors default. The factor has agreed o pay money due after 60 days and will take the responsibility of any loss on account of bad debts. ii) The annual charge for the factoring is 2% of turnover payable annually in arrears. Administration cost saving is likely to be Rs. 1,00,000 per annum. iii) Annual sales, all on credit, are Rs. ,00,00,000. Variable cost is 80% of sales price. The Company’s cost of borrowing is 15% per annum. Assume the year is consisting of 365 days. Should the Company enter into a factoring agreement? [pic] 3. MSN Ltd. has total sales of Rs. 4. 50 crores and its average collection period is 120 days. The past experience indicates that bad debt losses are 2 percent on sales. The expenditure incurred by the company in admi nistering its receivable collection efforts are Rs. 6,00,000. A Factor is prepared to buy the company’s receivables by charging 2 percent commission. The factor will pay advance on receivables to the company at an interest rate of 18 percent per annum after withholding 10 percent as reserve. You are required to calculate effective cost of factoring to the company. [pic] [pic] 4. The turnover of PQR Ltd. is Rs. 120 lakhs of which 75 per cent is on credit. The variable cost ratio is 80 per cent. The credit terms are 2/10, net 30. On the current level of sales, the bad debts are 1 per cent. The company spends Rs. 1,20,000 per annum on administering its credit sales. The cost includes salaries of staff who handle credit checking, collection etc. These are avoidable costs. The past experience indicates that 60 per cent of the customers avail of the cash discount, the remaining customers pay on an average 60 days after the date of sale. The Book debts (receivable) of the company are presently being financed in the ratio of 1 : 1 by a mix of bank borrowings and owned funds which cost per annum 15 per cent and 14 per cent respectively. A factoring firm has offered to buy the firm’s receivables. The main elements of such deal structured by the factor are: (i) Factor reserve, 12 per cent (ii) Guaranteed payment, 25 days (iii) Interest charges, 15 per cent, and (iv) Commission 4 per cent of the value of receivables. Assume 360 days in a year. What advise would you give to PQR Ltd. – whether to continue with the in house management of receivables or accept the factoring firm’s offer? [pic][pic] 5. A firm has a total sales of Rs. 12,00,000 and its average collection period is 90 days. The past experience indicates that bad debt losses are 1. 5% on sales. The expenditure incurred by the firm in administering receivable collection efforts are Rs. 50,000. A factor is prepared to buy the firm’s receivables by charging 2% commission. The factor will pay advance on receivables to the firm at an interest rate of 16% p. a. after withholding 10% as reserve. Calculate effective cost of factoring to the firm. Assume 360 days in a year. [pic][pic] 6. The credit sales and receivables of M/s M Ltd. at the end of the year are estimated at Rs. 3,74,00,000 and Rs. 46,00,000 respectively. The average variable overdraft interest rate is 5%. M Ltd. is considering a proposal for factoring its debts on a non-recourse basis at an annual fee of 3% on credit sales. As a result, M Ltd. will save Rs. 1,00,000 per year in administrative cost and Rs. 3,50,000 as bad debts. The factor will maintain a receivables collection period of 30 days and advance 80% of the face value thereof at an annual interest rate of 7%. Evaluate the viability of the proposal. Note: 365 days are to be taken in a year for the purpose of calculation of receivables[pic][pic] 7. Junio Limited is a small manufacturing company which is suffering cash flow problems. The company already utilizes its maximum overdraft facility. Junio Limited sells an average of Rs. 4,00,000 of goods per month at invoice value, and customers are allowed 40 days to pay from the date of invoice. Two possible solutions to the company’s cash flow problems have been suggested. They are as follows: †¢ Option 1: Junio Limited would factor its trade debts. A factor has been found who would advance Junio Limited’s 75 percent of the value of the invoices immediately on receipt of the invoices, at an interest rate of 10 percent per annum. The factor would also charge a service fee amounting to 2 percent of the total invoices. As a result of using the factor, Junio Limited would save administration costs estimated at Rs. 5,000 per month. †¢ Option 2: The company could offer a cash discount to customers for prompt payment. It has been suggested that customers could be offered a 2% discount for payments made within ten days of invoicing. You are required to: (a) Discuss the issues that should be considered by management when a policy for credit control is formulated. (b) Identify the services that may be provided by factoring organizations. (c) Calculate the annual net cost (in Rs. ) of the proposed factoring agreement. (d) Compute the annualized cost (in percentage terms) of offering a cash discount to customers. (e) Discuss the merits and demerits of the two proposals. (a) Policy for Credit Control for Junio Limited (a) When a policy is being formulated, management should consider the following issues: i) The average period of credit to be given. Whether this should be longer than average to encourage sales or less than average, to speed up sales. (ii) Policy for making decisions on granting credit to individual customers: †¢ How customers are to be investigated for creditworthiness? (e. g. by direct assessment by the company, or indirect assessment using credit references from banks, or other assessment agenc ies) †¢ How the amount and timing of credit is to be decided? (e. g. whether credit is to be increased progressively). (iii) Debt collection policies: Whether to employ specific people for this work. Issue of debtors’ statements, reminder letters, whether and when to make use of professional debt collectors and when to consider legal action. (iv) Accounting reports required: Aged debtors lists etc. (v) Polices on persuading debtors to pay promptly: Discount schemes. (vi) Whether to make use of factoring services. For all the above, it will be necessary to consider the costs and benefits of the alternative course of action. This will include considerations on how credit is to be financed. (b) A factor normally manages the debts owed to a client on the client’s behalf. Services Provided by Factoring Organisations i) Administration of the client’s invoicing, sales accounting and debt collection service. (ii) Credit protection for the client’s debts, whereby the factor takes over the risk of loss from bad debts and so ‘insures’ the client against such losses. The factor may purchase these debts ‘without recourse’ to the client, wh ich means that if the client’s debtors do not pay what they owe, the factor will not ask for the money back from the client. (iii) ‘Factor finance’ may be provided, the factor advancing cash to the client against outstanding debts. The factor may advance up to 85 percent of approved debts from the date of invoice. iv) A confidentiality agreement may be offered to conceal the existence of the arrangement from customers. (c) Calculation of Annual Cost of Factoring It is assumed that the factor finance will not replace any existing credit lines, and therefore, the full interest cost of the agreement will be relevant when determining the cost of factoring. Annual Sales = Rs. 4,00,000 ? 12 = Rs. 48,00,000 Daily Sales = Rs. 48,00,000/365 = Rs. 13,151 The annual cost of factoring can now be found: [pic] [pic] (e) Key Issues in the Discounting Option (i) The proposal is expensive. The company should be able to get cheaper overdraft finance than this, and longer-term debt should cost even less. (ii) The company may need to offer a discount in order to make its terms competitive with other firms in the industry. (i) The level of take-up among customers is uncertain, and will affect the cash flow position. (ii) Problems may arise when customers take both the discount and the full forty day credit period. This will increase administrative costs in seeking repayment. Key Issues in the Factoring Option (i) The factor may be able to exercise better credit control than is possible in a small company. ii) The amount of finance that will be received is much more certain than for the discounting option as 75 percent of the value of the invoices will be provided immediately. (iii) The relationship with the customers may deteriorate partly due to the reduction in the level of contract with the company, and partly due to the historical view of the factor as the lender of la st resort. Thus, the final decision must take into consideration all the above issues. However, the most important points to consider are the ability of each proposal to meet the financing requirements, and the relative costs of the different sources of finance.

Pluribus Unum: How Then/How Now

E Pluribus Unum is a Latin term that has been used in the US coin since 1776. The term which directly translates to ‘out of may one' became a de facto motto for the US till it was replaced by ‘In God We Trust' in 1956. Understanding the relevance of the phrase and the role that it has played in the ideas that have been and are being adopted by the US is important in developing an understanding of its implication. In its original employment the term E Pluribus Unum was used to portray the nature of US as a nation originating from an amalgamation of thirteen kingdoms.The use of E Pluribus Unum as a leading ideology in strategies that the US employed in its involvement in the world wars and those that it employed thereafter led to its being labeled a melting pot. It is worth noting that the US did not engage in the initial phases of both the second and first word war but only played parts in the last critical stages and rebuilding nations that engaged in the wars. E Pluribus Unum implies that the US as a nation embraced a culture where different communities and cultural backgrounds came together in peaceful coexistence.The involvement of the US in the Second World War was thus aimed at ensuring the end to a threat to development of homogeneous nations. Under this consideration, the US was against war not the Germans and the ideals driven by the Nazi who sought superiority over other races. The engagement of the US in rebuilding nations that were appreciative of capitalism goes in hand with developing a homogeneous society; an objective that is central to E Pluribus Unum. Development of a common ideology through different approaches in a society that is appreciative of this ideology is important to propagation of E Pluribus Unum.Employment of different approaches is allowed; however, the ideologies that underpin the different approaches should be uniform throughout the different groups. Capitalism as a system that brought together Western Europe nations that were worst affected by the Second World War and the US is basically developed under the same principles that define E Pluribus Unum. It is worth noting that capitalism employed in an economic environment is defined by an environment where there are a number of players who seek common goals but have different resource ability due to the free market ideology.Capitalism as an ideology ensures the development of markets where different players are presented with the same opportunities and success is thereby defined by resource ability and levels of organization that the different business entities afford in harnessing their opportunities. Such environments as it current is are defined by a large number of players and high levels of competition though the rules that players have to pay by are equally defined for all players. No one nation allows more immigrants into its society than the US.Open immigration policies that defined the period just after the second world war and have be en a hallmark of US foreign policy before increase in awareness on the effects of immigration and terrorism are all in line with the development of a society where different nationalities can come into the US and get absorbed into its culture to aid the development of its economy. The US allows more immigrant than any other nation and plays an important part in global policies especially in addressing issues that it feels are of global importance.One of the key reasons given by successive US Presidents before invasion of nations or pronouncement of war against terrorism or even drugs is based on such nations' purported support for ideologies that are detrimental to the development of a homogeneous society. The war against Vietnam, invasion of communist nations, war against terrorism and the Iraq invasion to seek weapons of mass destruction have all been done under the premise of ensuring global peace and unity by dealing with threats that are of global stature.Globalization and tech nological development are variables in the present environment that define the levels of success that nations attain harnessing opportunities present in their environments. In fact globalism and technological development especially information technology plays a large part in shaping up a global economy that is predominantly capitalistic. The US has played large part in globalization for it is the home of many multinationals that shape the global economy.The European Union which is a global economic force resulted from a pronounced need for common bargaining and so are a number of regional trading blocks that have come into existence. A technological development like the GPRS global positioning system that is under the control of the US government places it in a position where it is able to monitor other nations while providing them with a critical technology the same can be said of satellite technology.A recent manifestation of the E Pluribus Unum is the 2008 economic crisis which shows that the ideology has spread all over the globe. Each nation is defined by its own approaches to economic development despite the advent of globalization. The SubPrime crisis that started in the US had negative effects on other nations hence the global stature of the crisis. This is a manifestation of the E Pluribus Unum in a wrong light where all feel the negative effect of an act or a crisis even if they were not involved in its perpetuation.‘In God We Trust' may have replace E Pluribus Unum as the official motto for the US government and its people however its manifestation is clear in both policies developed by the US government and variables that affect the economic environment defined by the US. Both negative and positive effects of its manifestation have been experienced thus though E Pluribus Unum came into being as depiction of the thirteen kingdoms that originally merged to from the US it has developed to be representative of the US and the globe.

Ashton DeShazier Essay

My name is Ashton DeShazier. I was born in Selmer, Tennessee. I am now from the small town of Lexington, Tennessee, but my dreams have never been small. I cannot remember ever wanting any other career than that of a doctor. Soon after my birth, Mother became a single mom. She had to work full-time to support us. I learned early the value of hard work, but this is just a small part of what she has given me. Throughout my life, my mother has been there for me at all times, through all circumstances, and especially when no one else was. She is my Rock of Gibraltar whenever a problem occurs. She has taught me the importance of motherhood, dedication to work, and loyalty to those you love. I learn quickly, and academics come easily to me. I also began setting other goals for myself in elementary school. In the sixth grade at Caywood Elementary, my goal was to be a cheerleader. I not only met, but also exceeded my goal by becoming the Junior Varsity Cheerleading squad captain. I continued in the sport of cheer leading, once again becoming captain in the eighth grade. I was chosen for the Junior Beta Club in seventh and eighth grade as well. During this same time period, I became a member of â€Å"Show Choir,† a musical group at Caywood that performed Christmas and spring shows for the community-at- large, and the elderly in nursing homes in particular. My junior high years ended with me joining Drama, receiving one of the leading parts in an important play, and receiving the honor of Homecoming Princess. I began my high school career at Lexington High School. I continued to set goals for myself, but now with college in my sites. I reaffirmed my dedication to becoming a doctor, knowing I would never let this dream slip away. Vanderbilt is looking for prospective students who are leaders. I demonstrated throughout high school that leadership is one of my greatest assets. I attended Lexington High School the entire four years. From my freshman through my senior years, I was on the Competition Dance Team and an active member in D. A. R. E. For three years I was in both Drama and Beta, an organization requiring a cumulative GPA of at least 95. My ability to accept more responsibility resulted in me committing to additional groups and committees throughout the four years. These groups included World Travelers, Spanish Club(as President), Beta Upsilon Mu Sorority, Senior Committee, and Annual Staff. Additionally, I joined Renaissance. Admittance is based on academic excellence, superior behavior, and attendance records. I am a member of both the Honor Society and the Future Community and Career Leaders of America(FCCLA). At the end of my junior year, it was time to choose my classes for the next year. While many of my friends chose to end their high school years with easy classes, I chose many of the hardest classes offered. I knew that to achieve my goals of attending Vanderbilt and medical school, I could not take the easy road. I know the work will be hard and the challenges great, and I am anxious to prove myself worth. Acceptance at Vanderbilt is very important to me, and I will not accept anything less. I have considered many different schools, but I always return to Vanderbilt University as my only choice. What attracts me most is Vanderbilt’s high standards and reputation for excellence, traits I have honed and maintained throughout my schooling. Preparing to become a doctor means many more years of education, and I must learn from the best. My name is Ashton DeShazier. I was born in Selmer, Tennessee. I am now from the small town of Lexington, Tennessee, but my dreams have never been small. I cannot remember ever wanting any other career than that of a doctor. Soon after my birth, Mother became a single mom. She had to work full-time to support us. I learned early the value of hard work, but this is just a small part of what she has given me. Throughout my life, my mother has been there for me at all times, through all circumstances, and especially when no one else was. She is my Rock of Gibraltar whenever a problem occurs. She has taught me the importance of motherhood, dedication to work, and loyalty to those you love. I learn quickly, and academics come easily to me. I also began setting other goals for myself in elementary school. In the sixth grade at Caywood Elementary, my goal was to be a cheerleader. I not only met, but also exceeded my goal by becoming the Junior Varsity Cheerleading squad captain. I continued in the sport of cheer leading, once again becoming captain in the eighth grade. I was chosen for the Junior Beta Club in seventh and eighth grade as well. During this same time period, I became a member of â€Å"Show Choir,† a musical group at Caywood that performed Christmas and spring shows for the community-at- large, and the elderly in nursing homes in particular. My junior high years ended with me joining Drama, receiving one of the leading parts in an important play, and receiving the honor of Homecoming Princess. I began my high school career at Lexington High School. I continued to set goals for myself, but now with college in my sites. I reaffirmed my dedication to becoming a doctor, knowing I would never let this dream slip away. Vanderbilt is looking for prospective students who are leaders. I demonstrated throughout high school that leadership is one of my greatest assets. I attended Lexington High School the entire four years. From my freshman through my senior years, I was on the Competition Dance Team and an active member in D. A. R. E. For three years I was in both Drama and Beta, an organization requiring a cumulative GPA of at least 95. My ability to accept more responsibility resulted in me committing to additional groups and committees throughout the four years. These groups included World Travelers, Spanish Club(as President), Beta Upsilon Mu Sorority, Senior Committee, and Annual Staff. Additionally, I joined Renaissance. Admittance is based on academic excellence, superior behavior, and attendance records. I am a member of both the Honor Society and the Future Community and Career Leaders of America(FCCLA). At the end of my junior year, it was time to choose my classes for the next year. While many of my friends chose to end their high school years with easy classes, I chose many of the hardest classes offered. I knew that to achieve my goals of attending Vanderbilt and medical school, I could not take the easy road. I know the work will be hard and the challenges great, and I am anxious to prove myself worth. Acceptance at Vanderbilt is very important to me, and I will not accept anything less. I have considered many different schools, but I always return to Vanderbilt University as my only choice. What attracts me most is Vanderbilt’s high standards and reputation for excellence, traits I have honed and maintained throughout my schooling. Preparing to become a doctor means many more years of education, and I must learn from the best.

George Stubbs

George Stubbs was born in Liverpool on August 25, 1724. He worked for his dad until 16 when his dad passed away. Then he was briefly apprenticed to a painter and a engraver, which is where he began learning about art. Since then, as an artist he was self-taught. In the 1740s he worked as a portrait painter in the North of England. Ever since he was a child he also had an interest in anatomy. He studied human anatomy for six years at York County Hospital. All of these things mentioned helped George Stubbs build up to his highest potential. Later in the 1750s he rented a farmhouse and stayed there for 18 months. There he spent time dissecting horses to learn all about their bodies. In 1766 he published, The anatomy of the Horse. The original drawings are now in the collection of the Royal Academy. Even before the printing of his book, patrons recognized that his work was better than earlier horse painters. In 1759 the 3rd Duke of Richmond commissioned three large pictures from him, and his career was now secure. He had soon produced art for many more dukes and lords and was able to buy a house in Marylebone, a fancy part of London. His most famous work is the Whistlejacket, a painting of a prancing horse. In the 760s he made a large range of single and group portraits of horses, sometimes with hounds. He often painted horses with their grooms. He also continued to accept commissions for portraits and group portraits of people. George Stubbs also painted more exotic animals, including lions, tigers, giraffes, monkeys, and rhinoceroses. The last painting George Stubbs was working on was a comp arative piece of art. It had the structure of the human body with a tiger, and a common bird. George Stubbs never finished this project. He died on July 10th 1806 in London. Overall, George Stubbs was a great artist and he set the basis for painting animals.

The French Revolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

The French Revolution - Essay Example The reign of terror was another characteristic event of the war (Vardalos and Letts 2009, 382). Overall the course was a bloody one that resulted in the destruction of the entire institutions and segments of the society that had once been the most influential ones in the corridors of decision making. The arrival of the likes of Maximilien Robespierre (McNeese 2000, 11), Siayes (Sieyà ¨s and Sonenscher 2003, 31), and Napoleon Bonaparte made it more significant in the context of the events that took place. Some of them were outright authoritative and reactionary in nature; others were based on the principles of recon illation of the church and concordat with the pope(Gregory 2001, 81). Overall, the revolution had taken the entire continent into its grip in direct and indirect manner. The revolution came the concepts like Equality, Liberty and Fraternity (Spicker 2006, 10) to the people and gave them a new hope to

Intercultural Communications Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Intercultural Communications - Assignment Example However, I am of Asian origin, which is also my race. I am a student which is based on my vocation. Social Identity has a great impact on how I view other people and how they view me. These identities have impacted how I view the world in terms of associating myself with a group. For example, at school I can relate myself with other people as a group of students. This has given me a sense of belonging in this social group. These social identities have also had a positive impact on how other people view me. Even though I am of a different race, this has never been an issue in this country. Other people regard me and have accepted me as their fellow student. Knowledge on social identities has helped people appreciate the similarities and differences among people. Social identity has influenced the people’s view and how they interact with each other where they are able to identify with a particular group and feel closer to the group. The more uniform that individual are, the more likely that they are going to be regarded as members of that group. They will have the positive and negative attributes of the particular group. Social identity is crucial in making social interaction more understandable by categorizing people in various ways based on their similarities and differences (Deaux, 2001). It can be able of point similarities among people in a social

Marine ecosystems Florida Keys Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Marine ecosystems Florida Keys - Assignment Example The environment specialist gave an insight on the importance of the environment as a habitat for other animals and for human health. The insight acted as guidance to how we treated the environment at the place for the next three weeks. The park had two laboratories. One dealt with research on marine plants while the other dealt with research on marine animals. In the plant laboratory, I learnt how to operate the modern microscopes. The lab technicians were very helpful in helping us identify the adaptation characteristics of the plants. I was able to see some of the biology facts that I had learnt theoretically. The technicians introduce us to marine crop improvement which was done through numerous tests. At that particular time, the technicians were doing research on improving the green algae plant. Their major aim was to reduce its growth period and increase its adaptation in being a habitat for certain small sea animals (Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary retrieved from http://www.q2lschool.org/ecosystem/popeco/ecoscenario/drytort/index.html). I worked as an assistant lab technician which led me discovering the adaptation of the algae plant. The animal laboratory was very busy and with many technicians. They had many sea animal specimens which we dissected so as to understand their body features. We dissected different types of fish, and we were able to identify and compare various organs. To test on our understanding capabilities, we were given simple test to dissect crabs and remove certain organs. We were required to describe the adaptability of different features such as how the feet were adapted to movement in water. The project about the crab also required us to identify the different kinds of foods that crab feed on. From my research, I learnt that crabs are omnivorous and they feed on algae and small seas animals such as molluscs and worms. In the laboratory, what amazed me most was the diverse features of

Inflation in the United States Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Inflation in the United States - Research Paper Example The case with the nation of the United States is not in any case different. Recent report from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in less than a month ago that the price index for all items has increased by 1.4 percent over the first twelve months (USDL, 2012). This could be an indication that inflation rates have increased in the United States. However, as the following chat indicates the increase in inflation has not increased in a rate that would affect the economy. The CFI-U chat above shows only a very slight upward shift on the consumer price index during the period suggested by the report. This period is subsequently followed by a period of lower CFI-U as indicated by the chat. The lowering of CFI-U indicated by the chat show that inflation rate in the United States has been decreasing since July this year. Moreover, the raise in CFI-U is very slight thus indicating that the increase in inflation during that period was insignificant. The current consumer price index is lower than the one that was reported five years ago. This indicates a significant decline in the inflation rates in this country. Inflation in a country is mainly caused by economic activities and the volatility of the economy. One reason why United States has been able to reduce inflation is that it has been able to reduce the volatility of its economy. Another reason is that it has been able to increase the economic activities undertaken on its economy. All this has been done through adapting an effective monetary and fiscal policy. Fiscal and monetary policies have been identified as the most essential tools of solving economic problems. In solving economic problems, the two policies help to reduce the inflation rates in an economy. Moreover, they help to sustain low inflation rates in an economy despite the external factors that might try to increase the inflation rates. According to Yang & Traum (2010), the fiscal policy adapted by the United States focuses on adjusting government spending and tax rate. Increase in government spending has several effects to this country’s citizens. Among these effec ts is the increase in the commitment of the government in the provision of essential services. This raises the standards of living of individuals in this country thus resulting to economic growth. Lowering tax on the other had stimulates economic activities in a nation. United States has been maintaining a low tax rates in its economy thus raising the aggregate demand and expenditure in its economy. The raised aggregate demand and expenditure stimulates the economic activities thus resulting to economic growth. The economic growth has been enabling this nation to lower its inflation rates and sustaining the low levels of inflation. United States has been maintaining low interest rates on its economy. This is mainly aimed at reducing the supply of money. As a result, it could be categorized as a contradictory monetary policy (Dwivedi, 2010). The policy plays a very significant role in raising the price of this country’s currency. This assists in reducing the inflations rates i n the economy of the United States. However, in an attempt to overcome unexpected increases in inflation, the monetary authority in this country is forced to introduce expansionary monetary policy in the economy. Expansionary monetary policy is one that focuses on increasing the supply of

Chinese literature response 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Chinese literature response 2 - Essay Example And still it turns out to be a psychological novel that can marvel any European novels of that time .The advantage of the novel in traditional Chinese literature was that, it only held a peripheral position in the literary system. Thus novelists could explore new themes with more freedom, from which the orthodox modes of writing shied away. â€Å"The story of the Stone† is a typical example of a novel exploring poetically the unorthodox themes, of romantic, passionate love and emotions in the Chinese classical literature. In its opening itself the novel introduces the main theme of passionate love. It begins by telling the reader about a magical stone that can move by its own, change size and can even talk. It was cast off from the heavens by the Goddess Nu-Wa who was repairing the sky with stones. This particular stone was the only excess one left when she finished her work. The stone had magical qualities because it had been touched by a Goddess. The magical stone was distained to be incarnated into a human being. As the stone waits for its future destiny, near a pond it falls in love with a flower. The theme of love is thus introduced at the very beginning of the novel. The stone gets incarnated as the minor noble man Jia Bao-yu of the influential Jia family, a cultured wealthy family in early Qing dynasty China. The flower gets incarnated as Lin Dai –yu who is related to the Jia family but is a commoner. The novel centers around these two teenagers, who though unaware of their heavenly ori gins, try to come to grips with the human destiny on earth through very ordinary daily events in their lives. The caricature of Jin-Bao-yu is interesting and unique. He is the heir to the family. He is handsome, but very impertinent. The heir of the family should get very high education and pass the civil service examinations. But he is a spoilt boy, spoiled by his grand mother. While all boys of his age study, he spends time in the women’s quarters enjoying the

BABSMD Medicine Program Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

BABSMD Medicine Program - Personal Statement Example And I will be cheating myself, if I prefer to choose some simpler programs, thus depriving myself from taking up the challenge. Finally, another good reason for me to opt for this program is my belief in my capabilities. It won't be an exaggeration if I say that I am talented enough to succeed in this profession. For example, my SAT's will help in proving my assertions. I received a 2210 on my SAT. On my SAT-II I received a 750 in Chemistry, 750 in Biology, 760 in Physics, 800 in Math II and 800 in foreign language. I have taken 5 AP exams and 3 other APs this school year. My GPA was 4.0, with a top 10% ranking in the most competitive school in New York City. I have been named a semifinalist for the National Merit Scholarship as well. I had a dream to be a doctor since I was very young. When I was about four years old, I often insisted on accompanying my mother to her ward-round during the weekends or holidays, who was an attending oncologist in one of the best cancer centers in China. I was curious about why there were so many cancer patients over there. I was told that many types of cancers could be prevented if we quit smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol and stop eating unhealthy food, etc.

MKTM003(1) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

MKTM003(1) - Essay Example What is Marketing Before going to discuss the futuristic approach towards strategic marketing, let us get a better understanding of what marketing actually is. Marketing means to promote a product or to make the people aware of the products of the company. Companies launch marketing campaigns for creating awareness among the public about the newly manufactured products. A marketing campaign not only includes defining marketing goals of a company but also includes development of marketing strategies to achieve those goals. Role of marketing in the promotion of new brands can never be denied. Marketing not only helps the companies achieve higher levels of profits but also helps them establish their brands in any international market. Marketing plays a vital role in making any new product or brand popular and successful. According to Perez (2010), creation of an effective marketing plan is extremely important for a company because it helps the company create the entire business plan for carrying out the business activities. It is due to effective marketing plans that most of the new products get recognized all over the world in a very short span of time. 2. The Strategic Imperative - A Future Focus Masters (2011) states, â€Å"Strategic marketing is a consumer-based approach to product promotion that identifies market segments and attempts to make them more profitable by providing superior value†. ... According to Cooper (2000), strategic marketing improves productivity of a company. Productivity of a company depends on some critical factors, such as, customer satisfaction and employee retention. Let us take example of hospitality industry. If the customers will be satisfied from the food and beverages provided to them by any specific restaurant, they will work as a source to attract more people towards the restaurant, which will ultimately help the company achieve competitive advantage in the industry. Tatum (2011) states, â€Å"A strategic marketing plan is an approach to structuring marketing efforts in a manner that identifies and meets consumer demand†. In future, the objective of developing an appropriate strategic marketing plan will only be achieved when all departments of the companies will work in proper collaboration with each other. They will not only need to work together to create a marketing plan by researching customer attitudes and designing metrics to meas ure performance but also they will have to help the authorities in the implementation of those plans effectively. Some of the main factors which marketers consider while developing strategic marketing plans include needs and demands of the customers, ways in which a customer’s needs can be met, potential market segments, and changing trends in the customers’ taste. Marketing professionals develop the strategic marketing plans in three stages. In the first stage, they segment the market according to the geographic, demographic, psychographic, and behavioral aspects. In the next step, managers develop profiles of the market segments by considering the revenue potential, profitability potential, and market share potential of the company. In the last

Climate Change Paper Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Climate Change - Term Paper Example For example, if major actors in the world’s politics, such as President Bush for instance, are asked about the biggest threat in the world, he may have a list of threats that do not include the dilemma of climate change. The long list of possible threats may include terrorism, security in Iraq, and the extremism of Iran. While all these concerns may be important issues to deal with, the problem of climate change should be given equal, or perhaps more, attention from all countries of the world due to its possible global effects. In that sense, Blair’s argument about the seriousness of the climate change issue is not far-fetched. Rather, his claim that global warming and climate changes should be two of our major concerns in the whole world is reasonable and valid. Actually, Blair’s concerns, which were echoed by the United Nations, about the security threat of climate change are justifiable due to the dangerous effects of global warming on health, economy, and the environment. In recent years, the world’s average temperatures are rising, constituting a serious problem, referred to as ‘global warming.’ This phenomenon occurs as a result of the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) on high levels of air. To put it in simple words, the more amounts of Carbon dioxide concentrated in the atmosphere, the higher the world temperatures will grow. Carbon dioxide is one of the main elements in the greenhouse gases that should be reduced in order to keep world temperatures from rising (Houghton). The main source of Carbon dioxide is man’s industrial activities, especially in rich industrialized countries. As made clear by many scientists, â€Å"carbon dioxide (CO2) gas generated by man's burning of fossil fuels and the forests is responsible for about half the greenhouse gas warming† (â€Å"The Effects of Global Warming.†). Thus, the indirect effect of the increasing industrialization trends in the world is the global rise in the temperature levels. This puts much of the responsibility on industrialized nations in trying to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, the change in the climate is not too slight to realize; rather, it can be felt by ordinary people, not only by specialized scientists and environmentalists. In Egypt, for instance, most people are aware that summer weather has become much hotter than the case tens of years ago. Also, there are the recurrent waves of hot weather that hit Europe, which has never used to such high temperatures before. Consequently, the change in global climate should be the concern of all kinds of people in all countries, not only scientists and those who are specialized in the geography of the world. Climate change can cause major economic problems for countries, which would have to spend huge amounts of money curing its citizens from the detrimental effect of this environmental phenomenon on health. Human bodies are unable to cope with the severe changes in weather temperatures, when they go too high or too low. Hence, human bodies are accustomed to bear temperatures that revolve around the average. So, the rise in the world temperatures has its serious negative impacts on health, causing a series of diseases and side effects. Generally, world statistics prove that â€Å"extremely hot temperatures increase the number of people who die on a given day†

Geddes Garden City Essay Example for Free

Geddes Garden City Essay Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The American Political Economist who authored   the best read book titled Progress and Poverty (Lause) defined urbanization as â€Å"This life of great cities is not the natural life of man.   He must, under such conditions, deteriorate, physically, mentally, and morally â€Å".   To consider his point, the author view that life must be maintained in a serene atmosphere and not in a busy city just like those old good days that red beans or the cocoa is enough to send every household child to a good school.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Henry George began musing on this concept when the new railroad transport was developed in California that made an influence on high land values and influx of ordinary people to city life.   That development in one place brought about overcrowding and had wayward implications on the sustainability of the natural environment.   However, his idea provided economic reforms that made improvements of the life of the working classes possible.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cities are indications of developments and of the visible civilizations of the history of man.   It takes a process of transformation that is unique and at the same time diverse.   This work is aimed at explaining the town concepts during the period of industrialization from the beginning of mass transportation and birth of new cities in particular on how Geddes observed and analyze these processes. Sustainability of the Man-built Environment   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It was concluded by Henry George that the man-built environment is something that will not last. However, Patrick Geddes the Leonardo da Vinci of the 20th century teaches and reaffirms that our world environment could be sustained provided that man cooperates in the process.   It has to be sustained in order that the life cycle of the young generation’s continues.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   His statement is not a contradiction to George’s philosophy but a possible solution to man’s current problems.   His reaffirmation brought to the world a new hope that even though life cycle is limited, this world is still something worthy to be cared for and it can endure. The positive attitude of George influences not only his neighbors but the human settlement at large during his time to the present.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are issues on industrialization which brings wealth but at the same time destroys the natural environment caused by pollutants. For this reason, Geddes made it clear that man do not live by the jingling of his coins.   There is always a chain effect if one resource is used in accordingly.   He provided a solution written in the Evergreen book that a sustainable world is as simple as making it comfortably green.   His conviction reminded even planners that if developments are unchecked it would create more disaster than improvements.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Globally, everyone breathe the same air that a poor or a developed nation breathes.   The current concern do not deals alone with affordability but also sustainability. With the pressing trend of modernization, comfortable living is expensive and value for money is usually a rare find. The problem of overcrowding in the cities and the lack of economic growth in the rural areas still remains to be a problem on poorly planned cities.   The increase of deteriorating cities will lead to the decline of the global sustainability.   The idea here is to provide developmental options that are definitely relevant to every cities of the world. His mottos â€Å"by creating we think and by living we learn was made to good use by educating people about their environment (Grewar).† The new housing design for workers, organizing his neighbors to renovate houses and build gardens made an indelible mark in his works which can still be seen in every postcard of the city’s Royal Mile that even Albert Einstein admired and has honored him (Grewar). The Garden City Movement Patrick Geddes three dimensional thinking (geography, economics and anthropology) places social sciences above math and logic, biology, chemistry and physics.   His belief that† the earth as a cooperative planet must teach people on how to treat properly their environment and is aimed specifically on educating children, improving the physical quality of life through biological knowledge by producing better medicines, and understanding human influence on ecology (Killiecrankie).† Geddes bridging social sciences with biology even influenced his biographer Lewis Mumford on the simple idea that man just like plants and animals thrived in healthy conditions which are expressed in one of the extracts of Geddes writings; â€Å"The world is mainly vast leaf-colony, growing on and forming a leafy soil, not a mere mineral mass, and we live not by the jingling of our coins, but by the fullness of our harvest. This is green world, with animals comparatively small, and all independent upon leaves.   By leaves we live (Grewar).†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Mumford an architectural critic and is particularly noted for his study on urbanization of the environment regarded technology as the destroyer of environment even if he qualifies that electricity could lead to the improvements of the social spheres (University).   His works are indications that technology must be regulated. During the late 18th century Garden Cities began to evolve through the works of city and town planners particularly the works of Ebenezer Howard in UK influenced by the philosophy of Geddes new approach in urban planning called the garden city movement.   Howard began to build self-sustaining towns that combines convenience and industries located on agricultural sites (Sir Ebenezer Howard).† Howard realizes that no matter from what nation a man belongs, there is but one social issue which is difficult to solve and that is problems on housing and labor. This propelled many to advocate the new movement and increases the awareness on the concept of â€Å"decency of surroundings† and that includes, ample spaces, clean housing with gardens, and preservation of landscapes (Letchworth). The First Garden City   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Letchworth City is founded by Howard and is the first garden city of the world; in 1905 the garden city movement became involved in the exhibits of new housing called the workers cottage or housing for the working class in which some of it still stood today. Those cheap but strong and functional residences can be affordable to workers.   Some of these cottages made of wood or concrete can still be found in Letchworth streets and is now being conserved.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Some of the prototype housing called the workers cottages influences the human settlement design of this century.   This new housing designed sprawled even to the west for instance the workers cottages of Architect Maybeck of California and to the whole world at least giving man an accommodation that he humanly deserves. Mass Transportation   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Fast developments are due to improved transportation and communications.   The streets affect the life of all its inhabitants and this vision is very much encouraged in order to serve a huge population.   This is indeed very necessary but at the same time may lead to a city decline.   This entails thorough planning on how to maintain a good life in a cellular metropolis.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Victor Gruen a planning practitioner, mentioned in his last publicized works that â€Å"auto sprawl would cripple the global ecosystem and brings about physical and psychological starvation of the urbanized man (Hill).†Ã‚   Today, some cities plants a good number of trees for every parking slots or spaces created.   Planning theories must be integrated to transit that is useful to automobile cities and providing more mass transit and more freeways.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Automobile cities, needs more spaces unlike the old horse tracks during the colonial times.   Human settlement today cannot tolerate a waste of space in places where living condition is dense.   Somehow, these dense spaces are capable of providing the maximum comfort for man by means of mechanical equipments in buildings. In this cities life is fast and expensive.   Technology is a provision for man’s comfort and not a means to enslave but more often than not it is the other way around.   However, there are many fast developing cities that is capable of coping with the new technology because work is valued in congruent with the dignity of man.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Gruen proposes a plan that could justify economic productivity of big cities and at the same time create sub cities that would adapt to what he calls â€Å"megalopolitan sprawl†.   However, globalization could also mean going beyond ones land area.   There is still vast area of lands wanting to be developed. There are many nations that are in need to cope with the present dynamics of the new world technology.   And while there are other places where overpopulation is a problem there are affluent cities in the second millennium that the inverted population growth also presupposes danger. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the abstract written by Dr. Mervyn Miller, he mentioned the book written by the founder of Letchworth, â€Å"Tomorrow a Peaceful Path to Real Reform† written in 1898 is very much true to our society of today. He recalls that the garden city is a potent concept in the emergence of the 20th century cities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Contemporary planners addressed the issue by following the course of people like Geddes.   However, due to the increase in the demand on the lease to life, those familiar workers cottages are considered mini-mansions of many career oriented people of today.   Ample spaces are defined as functional spaces due to the ever increasing cost per area of construction in square foot or in meters.   Coping with life that is becoming unsustainable is becoming a depressing problem even more than how George views it in his time. The internationalist who believes that nothing is gained by overcrowding still support the issue on the green environment that is very relevant today.   However, there are trends that are still needed to be discovered and be rediscovered especially within the new technology along on how this new ideas can be within the reach of everyone.   The key here is what kind of technology should be provided to sustain the ordinary man of the streets. The approach that Geddes concept has provided in his time is for the working class of the industrialized period.   That became the reason why today’s environmentalist regarded Geddes a steward in land use and its sustainability. Today, a number of men with the same aspirations of those Internationalist described is very much needed.   This fast growing old planet needs people who are a hundred percent human beings in the middle of the electro- mechanical world. Works Cited Grewar, Mindy. Vivendo Discimus: Everything in the Garden Is Magnifique for the Anniversary Celebrations of a Great Scot.   (2004). 11 April 2008 http://www.scotland.org/about/history-tradition-and-roots/features/education/geddes.html. Hill, David R. Sustainability, Victor Gruen, and the Cellular Metropolis.   (2008). 11 April 2008 http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=H1TcfmZ4RRyJKG06dF94gjTT9hyHh99GrVvwdzytZzVnn6Lq771Y!-798756091?docId=5001677813. Killiecrankie. Patrick Geddes 1854-1932.   (2008). 11 April 2008 http://www.visitkilliecrankie.com/patrick-geddes.htm. Lause, Mark. Henry George. 11 April 2008 http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Quad/6460/bio/G/eorge.html. Letchworth. Letchworth the First Garden City   (2007). 11 April 2008 http://lgc.amolad.net/heritage/index-3.htm. Sir Ebenezer Howard.   (2007). 11 April 2008 http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-HowardEb.html. University, Regent. Lewis Mumford (1895-1988).   (2007). 11 April 2008 http://www.regent.edu/acad/schcom/rojc/mdic/mumford.html.