Partnership Distributions Essay

The capital used to carry out the operations of the partnership usually comes from the individual partner’s contributions. There contributions represent capital (their interest in the partnership). Under the general tax provisions, contributions by partners to a business can be at a gain or loss, which is not recognized. The same treatment is accorded to distributions received by the partners from the partnership. The distributions received by partners from the partnership can result into their interest reducing (liquidating distribution) or remain the same as it was before the distribution (current distribution). The liquidating distributions can reduce completely a partner’s interest after one or several such distributions. It is important to note that the distributions that substantially decrease a partner’s interest are not treated as liquidating distributions but rather current. Partners should show distributions of partnership profits even if they do not actually receive any distributions. (Internal Revenue Service (2008). Unrealized receivable and inventory (section 751 assets) modifies the general provision above. Distributions can also be proportionate of disproportionate. In a proportionate distribution that is current partners will not recognize losses and gains. A gain is only recognized if distributions are more than the partners outside basis in the partnership interest (Sec 731(a), 732(b)). The partnership will also not recognized gains or losses (731 (b)). In a distribution the partner’s basis is taken to be the same as the partnership basis on the asset 731(a) (1) The basis of the distributed asset is the adjusted basis of the assets to the partnership just before the distribution and hence any distribution carries over from the partnership. This rule, however, has an exception in that if the partner outside basis is lower than the partnership’s then the partner’s basis in assets is capped at his outside basis less any money received. Therefore, total basis of the distributed assets are pegged to the basis before the distribution added to any gain recognized. (Internal Revenue Service (2008). The partner’s outside basis is allocated to the distributed assets as follows. Cash and deemed cash distributions, unrealized receivables and inventory and non –IRC section 751 property in that order. The distributions in each type of asset could be done severally. In such a scenario, the basis allocated to the various types of assets is done proportionately to their relative basis to the partnership and fair market value (Godfrey, H. (2008). A partner may immediately dispose off the distributed property or hold it for some period. There are several rules governing holding periods of distributions received by partners. In case a distribution is that of unrealized receivables, then, the gain loss on sale of such assets will be treated as ordinary irrespective of the holding period, which is inclusive of the partnership-holding period. Inventory distributions sold within 5 years leads to the recognition of the gain or loss as ordinary. The treatment of loss/gain however changes if the inventory was sold after 5 years. The treatment will largely depend on the nature of the asset that the partner possess i. e. inventory, capital or trade asset. The holding period provisions guide any appreciation after the distribution. In this case, is obvious that the partnership has 751 assets (inventory) and therefore the tax provisions discussed above will apply. The partners also received proportionate distributions i. e. Hiram received $40,000 in cash. The distributions made by the partnership are current distributions done in a proportionate manner and therefore the provisions on proportionate current distributions apply. The partners will not account for any loss (Sec 731(a) and 732(b). The partnership also will not account for any gain or loss (731(b). Partners will only recognize losses if distributions are more than the outside basis (731(a)). The distributions received by the partners are within the outside basis in their partnership interest. Their interest in the partnership is $60,000 for each of the partners while the distributions received is equal to $40,000. The partners should also consider the provision on the duration hey held the asset after distribution. Any sale of sec 751 assets e. g. inventory within a period of 5 years from the distribution date is treated as ordinary income or loss in the hands of the partner.

Is Gay Parenting Bad for the Kids?

â€Å"Is Gay Parenting Bad for the Kids? † In the society we live in today, many people believe that being raised by a homosexual or lesbian couple isn’t a good thing for the children. Based on the article â€Å"Is Gay Parenting Bad for the Kids? † it seems to me that Charles C. W. Cooke (the author) and Dr. Mark Regenerus also believe that gay parenting is a bad thing. In the article, Cooke says that gay parenting is a bad thing because, â€Å"the child(ren) will end up different† or â€Å"the children are going to be missing at least one of their biological parents and they might experience some instability.Even though this article is defending the fact that gay parenting is bad for children, there are a few key points that challenge this statement because I believe that homosexual and lesbian couples are just as good as heterosexual couples when it comes to raising children. The first key point is that the article states that, â€Å"two women parents better on average than a woman and man, or at least than a woman and man with a traditional division of family labor. † This statement is basically saying that two women (on average) are better when it comes to staying in a relationship when it comes to raising children.Most heterosexual couples divorce even though they have family together, but lesbian couples continue to work things out in spite of their kids. That is a point that makes a comparison between lesbian and heterosexual couples. The next point is that, â€Å"children raised by homosexual or lesbian parents are as likely as children raised by heterosexual parents to be healthy, successful, and well-adjusted. † This means that no matter what sexual orientation the parents are, the child is not going to become a failure in life. They are still going to go to school, graduate, and become something in life.Just because the parents didn’t graduate doesn’t mean the child won’t graduate. Just because the parent didn’t become something in life doesn’t mean the child won’t. The last reason is that â€Å"marriage between gay partners will enhance the family’s stability and therefore be good for the children. † This also proves that there is nothing wrong with homosexual or lesbian couples being parents. I feel as long as the family is stable, then it shouldn’t matter if the parents are homosexual, lesbian, or heterosexual. In my opinion, I think that it has nothing to do with the children. I think that it is just a stereotypical issue.Many people feel that because in most states gay marriage is not legal (yet) that homosexuals and lesbians shouldn’t be parents. This article challenges and defends whether or not gay parenting is bad for the children. Even though majority of the article is against gay parenting, the challenging points stand out more than any of the other evidence. In conclusion, I do not think that gay parentin g is bad for children. When the children start to understand what is going on, they have their own choices to make on whether to be stable and become something in life or worry about missing a biological parent and becoming unstable.

Dupont Analysis Essay

A satisfactory return on assets might be divided through a high profit margin , or a rapid turnover of assets, or a combination of both. The Du Pont system causes the analyst to examine the sources of a company’s profitability. Since the profit margin is an income statement ratio, a high profit margin indicates good cost control, whereas a high asset turnover ratio demonstrates efficient use of the assets on the balance sheet. Different industries have different operating and financial structures. For example, in the heavy capital goods industry the emphasis is on a high profit margin with a low asset turnover—whereas in food processing, the profit margin is low and the key to satisfactory returns on total assets is a rapid turnover of assets. Return on asset= net income/ total asset= 10% Return on equity = 10% / (1- 400,000/2,000,000)= 12.5% There are many advantages of Dupont analysis; the Dupont method allows an investor to see which particular components of the business are profitable or efficient, as well as those that are not. The Dupont ratio equation also allows the analyst to see the overall strategy for a company. For example, a company with a high asset turnover and a low profit margin is a company whose strategy depends upon the bulk selling of cheaper products.

Structures of politics and government in Lebanon Essay

Structures of politics and government in Lebanon - Essay Example Structures of politics and government in Lebanon Lebanon shares geographic boundaries with Syria and Israel, and has been locked in contrasting relationships with both, with Syria being a dominant influence in the politics and governance structures of Lebanon since the 1970’s at least, and with Israel being the focal point of strife for the country having been involved in sporadic conflicts with certain Israeli groups, culminating in a short war in 2006. Syria, on the other hand, had a long stay as a military occupier of Lebanon that stretched from 1976 all the way to 2005, with its grip on many of the forces that control Lebanese politics and government continuing even way after the cessation of the occupation. A long civil war stretching from 1975 to 1990 left deep political scars, with sectarian groups coming to dominate the lines of division among the different political groups and ensuring that political struggles are protracted, bitter and fraught with disunity and the lack of political goodwill among the competing pol itical sects. The end of the civil war in 1991, in particular, marked the beginning of another period of relative peace that would end with the war with Israel in 2005, confirming the observation of Lebanon’s pattern of 15 years of transition from peace to war to peace and war again, in timed intervals. By way of an overview, the Republic of Lebanon has its capital in Beirut and officially marks its day of independence as a state on November 22, 1943. The Lebanese Constitution was ratified on May 22, 1926, and has undergone three changes, with the last of the amendments coming in in 1990, relating to required changes from the 1989 Talif Accord. Three religious threads, Jewish, Christian and Muslim sway laws relating to social and personal relations, even as influences from the Old Ottoman legal system and French law also dominate the system of laws in the country. 21 years is the age when Lebanese men acquire the right to vote, and for women the same age applies, but with restrictions to vo ting being only allowed women who have primary education. The current head of state, Michel Sulayman, has been president since 2008. The entire cabinet of Najib Miqati, together with Prime Minister Miqati himself, relinquished their posts on March 22, 2013, leaving the government in the hands of a caretaker group headed by the President, until the country is able to replace the resigned Prime Minister. The country is divided into six administrative regions, with Beirut or Beyrouth being the most prominent as a political and economic center of the country. Under the Lebanese political system, the president holds office for six years, and chooses the prime minister in partnership with Lebanese Congress called the National Assembly, which acts in a consultative manner in matter relating to

IN the poem Theodore Roethe's My Papa's Waltz Choose a significant Essay

IN the poem Theodore Roethe's My Papa's Waltz Choose a significant word and find 3 different definitions and relate their uses back to the poem - Essay Example However, the word ‘beat’ used in the fourth stanza stands out to me as particularly meaningful. This word has several listed meanings within the American Heritage Dictionary. The three that seem particularly relevant associate this word with the concept of violence, the concept of music and the concept of exhaustion. The American Heritage Dictionary offers as its first definition of the word ‘beat’ as â€Å"to strike repeatedly; to subject to repeated beatings or physical abuse, batter; to punish by hitting or whipping, flog† (2003). This definition seems to infuse the poem with an undertone of violence that is reinforced by other words that have this same meaning. These include the ideas of ‘battered’ that is used both in the above definition as well as in Roethke’s third stanza as he indicates the battered condition of his father’s hand. This condition indicates that the man is accustomed to fighting and violence and has little or no reluctance to use this same force within the home as the small boy is scraped against the father’s belt buckle, another image for many children of violence as it is the belt that was often used as a direct means of punishment for young boys who broke the rules. The idea of violence suggested by the definition o f the word ‘beat’ is also found in the first stanza when the speaker confesses that he found it necessary to hang on â€Å"like death† (3) in order to avoid injury during these wild dances he shared with his father. The second meaning of the word ‘beat’ offered by the American Heritage Dictionary is focused on the concept of sound. Specifically, this meaning is defined as â€Å"to strike so as to produce music or a signal; to mark or count (time or rhythm), especially with the hands or with a baton† (2003). This seems to be the intended meaning of the word as it is used in the obvious context of the poem as the speaker

Women in UK Labour Market Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Women in UK Labour Market - Essay Example This led to the idea of a cornflake packet family where the male was the breadwinner, the wife was the housewife, and the family consisted of two children - a boy and a girl. The mother had an expressive role, while the father had an instrumental role of going out to work. The inequality, and the extent to which the different aspects of this are interconnected, mean that is some use the concept of patriarchy to describe this set of social relations. Patriarchy is a social system through which men dominate, exploit and oppress women. However, in recent decades, changes in the economy and society have altered the situation - several of these changes will be outlined below. One of the most important areas to look at for the changes in women's lives is in terms of pay and employment relative to men. Women are less likely than men to be in paid employment, but the gap has closed steadily over recent decades. The proportion of those in employment who are women rose from 38.1% in 1971 to 49.6% in 1995. However, most of the increase in women's employment has been in part time work. The proportion of women working part time has increased steadily, from 34% in 1971 to 47% in 1995. Women workers are concentrated within a very narrow range of occupational groups, although there have been some significant changes in this recently. Over 40% of full time women workers are to be found in clerical employment. In contrast, men are spread through a much wider range of occupations. Women are confined both to lower grade jobs (vertical segregations) and to different jobs (horizontal segregation). The pattern of segregation however has changed significantly over recent years. At the top end of the hierarchy the number and proportion of women in the managerial and professional grades have substantially increased. However, in the most powerful positions in public life, women continue to be seriously under-represented. Discussion and Analysis In the contemporary society, there occurred many changes in the labour market. Businesses have moved away from mass production towards the flexible production of small batches of specialized products. In doing so, they employ a core of highly skilled workers who are capable of using their skills to produce a wide variety of products. Other work is carried out by part-time workers, or workers on short-term contracts, or is contracted out to other firms. These changes are reflected in the increased use of part-time female labour and the reduction in the employment of males in full-time permanent jobs. But while it is clearly important to take account of changes in the labour market and the economy as a whole in order to understand the changing patterns of gender inequality, it is necessary to be cautious about basing an analysis. Rosemary observes in her book "Women and Work in Modern Britain" that "Clearly, there has been a substantial restructuring of the gender division of labour over the last forty years. Its broad outlines may be

Women and Work in Preindustrial Europe Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Women and Work in Preindustrial Europe - Essay Example Yet, with the importance of their work and the need that it filled, it was most often relegated to a lower status and was maintained servile to the power structure that it served. Most women during this period worked in occupations that were done at or near the home. The need to maintain a family life often kept them oscillating between short periods of employment and the duties of motherhood. Out of convenience and necessity, a woman's choice of occupations was limited from birth. As Hanawalt observes, "The division of labor by sex was set early in a child's life" (8). A woman's dowry would be the initial contribution that women would make to the economy. It was most often used to set up the household, and then used to keep it running (Hanawalt 17). The tilling of soil was a solely male domain, while women became the bakers, cooks, tailors, and thread makers. This was done to support the home life and generate supplemental income. The brewing of ale, to be used in the home, was a typical example of a steady outside income, as was spinning thread (Hanawalt 11). While the woman's dowry and marriage became a pooled resource to support a family, slavery was an institution that supported the manors and generated a source of unskilled labor. Though oppressive, slavery was, as Sturad remarks, "... an acceptable alternative to for the organization of unskilled labor through the medieval period" (39). The slave system provided the labor for processing goods for export, as governesses, and wet nurses. Women were given special respect based on a complex system that was defined by skill and rank. Caring for children was a valued skill and the ability to provide breastmilk to newborns was economically rewarded. The system of slavery, while filling a societal need with efficiency, was overwhelmingly populated by women. In Ragusa during the years 1280-1284, the ranks of the slaves were as high as 90% female (Stuard 44). A woman's contribution to the economy was often hidden behind the most visible signs of commerce and the layers of male dominance. However, there were professions that enabled women to climb in status through occupational work. Nursing was especially valued. The 4 year apprenticeship required for nurses and the bonuses given to accept apprentices relate the importance that the beginning 16th century placed on the skill. The occupation was wide in scope demanding nurses to perform as back up medical assistants during plague epidemics (Weisner 105). While the occupations that were very gender specific were often rewarding for women, often women were excluded from the normal channels of commerce. The crafts were generally maintained as a male dominion as was membership in most guilds. Though not legally barred from entering crafts, a woman would most likely enter the field through her family's or husband's business. The same was true of the status gained by entering a trade, as it would be lower than the male membership. Where wealthier men had even greater dominance, such as Exeter, organizations were formed that effectively barred women's participation by excluding them from select groups. Markets and commerce were not banned by law, but the prejudice of tradition as Kowaleski observed, "...effectively blocked any real chance of commercial success" (155). Single women and wives could rarely escape the lower status granted to them unless they married into a status.

BUSINESS STRATEGY (EXECUTIVE SUMMARY & TOWS MATRIX Essay

BUSINESS STRATEGY (EXECUTIVE SUMMARY & TOWS MATRIX - Essay Example This study looks at the external factors in addition, seeks  to determine their impact on the  operations  of the organization  through  external  factor  evaluation  matrix. A similar exercise will be undertaken for internal factors through internal factor evaluation matrix. The paper evaluates CIGNA Corporation first by using Porters five forces. These include barriers to entry that were found to be high and increasing, the bargaining power of suppliers that was found to vary because of conglomeration in the industry, and a moderately low customer bargaining power. Additionally, the threat of substitute products was low and rivalry between competing firms was found to be high. In the external evaluation of CIGNA Corporation, the paper seeks to evaluate the Corporation’s opportunities and threats. CIGNA Corporation has several opportunities in its external environment, including market exchange rates, which, by being an International Corporation, it can take advantage of by getting higher earnings from regions with high exchange rates. There is also increased demand for health care, increased disposable income that would benefit CIGNA, ethnical growth from an expanding population, and a growth in retirees who require increased levels of health care. The various threats that face CIGNA include the reduction of premiums due to decreased disposable income after the financial crisis, health care reform regulation that directs them to insure patients through using pre-existing conditions, and the global recession that has seen unemployment levels go up thus plummeting the amount of premiums to be paid. The paper also evaluates internal factors that affect the operations of CIGNA Corporation, i.e. strengths and weaknesses. The strengths that are inherent in CIGNA Corporation include a strong national network that helps build credibility, a comprehensive offering that attracts a large customer base, growing global

Air Export Procedure Benchmarking for Thai Customs Process Dissertation

Air Export Procedure Benchmarking for Thai Customs Process - Dissertation Example To gather data from the customers and other significant players in the Thai customs, this research shall entail the use of questionnaires, interviews and in-depth review of literature on the same and related topic. The data collected shall be analysed appropriately to come up with solutions to the research problem and recommendations to the Thai customs department (Greene & Caracelli, 1997). 3.1 Purpose of Research In general, the research shows how Thai customs bureau behaves in exportation process. The primary study of this research aims to illustrate current practice of air export procedure on behalf of Thai customs bureau. Thus, objectives of the dissertation are derived and demonstrate as following: To investigate exportation process on behalf of Suvarnabhumi Airport Cargo Clearance Customs Bureau. To illustrate Thai export procedures by air in the process flow structure. To address existing problems/difficulties of the process To address existing difficulties occurred in the pr ocess. To draw up a conclusion and give recommendation to improve the service delivery at the customs based on the results and literature review process. Each stage of export procedures handling by Thai customs is investigated comprehensively and is illustrated as a flow chart. Low-level process is demonstrated as a framework to further extend of the study. The research intends to enhance performance of existing customs processes. By evaluating and comparing present practices of Thai Customs Bureau with the selected benchmark aim to observe and criticise an existing practice. In order that the proposed solution to be discovered and, especially, the objectives mentioned to be attained, the research purposes have been defined which brought up a research question as following: What is the most viable method that Thai Customs administration can employ to improve its overall performance in terms of air exportation procedures, can alteration of the procedure be altered with reference to a selected benchmark? 3.2 Research Strategy To successfully conduct this research, mix method qualitative research shall be employed the use of the mix methods will lead to more reliable and valid results. Quantitative method relies on the positivism principle which facts are focused on and likely to be objective. To get results in a quantitative research, aims are subdivided into clearly defined variables. On the other hand, qualitative rejects the idea of positivism and associates with phenomenology principle which pays more attention on meanings of human interests (Easterby-Smith et al., 1991; Bryman and Bell, 2007). Qualitative research entails setting stress on describing, understanding a complex phenomenon, it investigates the relationship and patterns that contribute to a given phenomenon, and this kind of research is mostly helpful creating theories and provision of hypothesis to clarify the phenomenon. As stated by Bryman and Bell (2007), the idea of quantitative approach is on about quantification of collected data as well as the data analysis component which the research is built on. Conversely, qualitative research is based on neither amount of data nor the data analysis approach but the quality of data and records. Instead of theories testing of quantitative rese

Types of Channels in Marketing Essay Example for Free

Types of Channels in Marketing Essay Most businesses use third parties or intermediaries to bring their products to market. They try to forge a distribution channel which can be defined as all the organisations through which a product must pass between its point of production and consumption Why does a business give the job of selling its products to intermediaries? After all, using intermediaries means giving up some control over how products are sold and who they are sold to. The answer lies in efficiency of distribution costs. Intermediaries are specialists in selling. They have the contacts, experience and scale of operation which means that greater sales can be achieved than if the producing business tried run a sales operation itself. Channel levels consist of consumer marketing channels or the industrial marketing channels. A factor common among both channel levels is that both include the producer as well as the end customer. 1) Zero Level channel / Direct Marketing Channel – Consists of a manufacturer directly selling to the end consumer. This might mean door to door sales, direct mails or telemarketing.  Dell online sales is a perfect example of a zero level channel marketing. 2) One Level channel – As the name suggests, the one level channel has an intermediary in between the producer and the consumer. An example of this can be insurance in which there is an insurance agent between the insurance company and the customer. 3) Two level Channel – A widely used marketing channel especially in the FMCG( fast moving consumer goods are products which are sold at a relatively low cost and are sold quickly) and the consumer durables industry which consists of a wholesaler and a retailer. ) Three level channel – Again observed in both the FMCG and the consumer durables industry, the three level channel can combine the roles of a distributor on top of a dealer and a retailer. The distributor stocks the most and spreads it to dealers who in turn give it to retailers. Number of intermediaries There are three broad options intensive, selective and exclusive distribution: Intensive distribution aims to provide saturation coverage of the market by using all available outlets. For many products, total sales are directly linked to the number of outlets used (e. g. igarettes, beer). Intensive distribution is usually required where customers have a range of acceptable brands to chose from. In other words, if one brand is not available, a customer will simply choose another. Intensive distribution is appropriate for products such as chewing gum, candy bars, soft drinks, bread, film, and cigarettes where the primary factor influencing the purchase decision is convenience. Industrial products that may require intensive distribution include pencils, paperclips, transparent tape, file folders, typing paper, transparency masters, screws, and nails. Selective distribution involves a producer using a limited number of outlets in a geographical area to sell products. An advantage of this approach is that the producer can choose the most appropriate or best-performing outlets and focus effort (e. g. training) on them. Selective distribution works best when consumers are prepared to shop around in other words they have a preference for a particular brand or price and will search out the outlets that supply. Selective distribution may be used for product categories such as clothing, appliances, televisions, stereo equipment, home furnishings, and sports equipment. Exclusive distribution is an extreme form of selective distribution in which only one wholesaler, retailer or distributor is used in a specific geographical area. Products such as specially automobiles, some major appliances, certain brands of furniture, and lines of clothing that enjoy a high degree of brand loyally are likely to be distributed on an exclusive basis. This is particularly true if the consumer is willing to overcome the inconvenience of traveling some distance to obtain the product. Usually, exclusive distribution is undertaken when the manufacturer desires more aggressive selling on the part of the wholesaler or retailer, or when channel control is important, exclusive distribution may enhance the products image and enable the firm to charge higher retail prices. Terms and Responsibilities of Channel Members * Price policies: This out the price at which middlemen will get the product from the manufactures and the discount schedule. It also mentions the price at which middlemen may sell the product. Condition of sales: The manufacturing firm stipulates mode or payment terms. For example, some firms ask middlemen to put a deposit with them. Some other firms insist payment to reach them on the day the intermediary takes physical possession of the goods. Others may accept a letter of credit as a payment mode . Credit policy of the manufacturer stipulates the period in which it must get paid. * Territorial Rights: The manufacturer should spell out the territorial jurisdiction of each of the distributor to avoid any territory jumping. This will also help in the distributor’s evaluation.

Good practice: adults

Good practice: adults Good Practice: Adults This assignment will focus on a case from practice, demonstrating the challenges in promoting independence specifically in vulnerable elderly adults while balancing risk and autonomy. Furthermore, this work will demonstrate problem solving skills, drawing on legislation, research and principles of good practice in the context of Adult Services from an inter-professional perspective. The Department Of Health defines a vulnerable person as: Someone who is or may be in need of community care services by reason of mental or other disability, age or illness and who is or may be unable to take care of him or herself against significant harm or exploitation. (DOH 1999). Background of case: Mrs A is eighty two years old, has mild learning difficulties and lives alone in her own home since the death of her husband one year ago. She has a daughter who visits occasionally due to their difficult relationship.   Mrs A was referred by her GP as she had been feeling unwell for some time; she has diabetes and sometimes forgets to take her medication. Mrs A has refused help in the past by various care services due to lack of trust and sees their involvement as an intrusion in her private life. Working within the field of the elderly in adult social services is described as Gerontological Social Work (Nathanson and Tirrito 1998). There are specifics needs that older people experience, the more informed a social worker is about the elderly and their requirements the better chances are that the social worker will provide the right services.It is essential to gain a clear understanding of economic, social and cultural factors and life perspective followed by an understanding of the need for service. The Valuing People policy is the first White Paper in almost forty years since Better Services for the Mentally Handicapped (1971).The aim then was to close large institutions and to integrate people into the community (www.mind.org.uk). Valuing People aimed to transform the lives of adults and children with learning disabilities through a person-centred approach and to enable people to become empowered in order for them to be included in society. This policy is one in a series of policies that are an example of the political driver of change such as the White Paper, Our Health, Our Care, Our Say: A New Direction for Community Services (2006) that are aiming to transform social care and to give service users more choice and to make the system more personalised (Johnson Williams, 2007). The 1989 White Paper, Caring for People states the duties of local health authorities to assess people needing social care and/or support. It is based on the assumption that community care is the best form of care available. The White Paper states that the proposed changes are intended to, first of all, enable people to live as normal a life as possible in their own homes or in a homely environment within the community. This is especially important in the long-term needs of the elderly, whom have long expressed their wish to be able to stay in their homes. Furthermore, local authorities must provide the right amount of care and support to enable people to achieve maximum independence and provide people with a greater say in their lives and the services they need. This is particularly significant with elderly people. Many older people are not in need of 24-hour care that a nursing home would provide they may just need a small amount of help, maybe for a couple of hours a day. Although the majority of people over the age of 65 live independently and have no major care needs, a significant minority do have some problems with physical and mental health. 1 in 10 elderly people suffer from forms of senile dementia. It can be seen that it is simple day-to-day things that most elderly people require assistance with. Their main wish is clear; they simply want to stay in their own homes or in the homes of their family. (HMSO 1989). The Social Worker requires Mrs As consent to an assessment and if eligible, a care plan, while making it clear that she has the right to refuse. When working in partnership with a service user and their family, the worker needs to take account of Trevthicks (2002) fifteen points to effective partnership working. These include explaining to the family their role and power to intervene. A clear mandate is the basis of a partnership-based intervention and sensitivity given to power imbalances involving family consultation and participation in decision-making and problem solving (Bray 2001). The whole team working with Mrs A have a duty to be aware of her individual rights to confidentiality, choice, dignity, respect, autonomy, cultural, and equity. Elderly people need to be active participants rather than active recipients. The task is not to look after, but to motivate, empower and promote self-esteem. (Hughes et al 1995). A number of vulnerable adults are oblivious to the fact that they need any help; therefore it is essential that when a concern is highlighted, it is acted upon instantly to prevent the situation deteriorating. Many adults are also too proud to ask for help and as a result recognition of their vulnerability is only identified as shown in Mrs As case by a GP. Detection of vulnerability may also be triggered by an admission to hospital or a concernedfriend or family member contacting the social services department. During a visit by the social worker, it is clear that Mrs A had been seriously neglecting her needs; she is underweight and neglecting her hygiene. The misuse of medication is in itself a risk of covert self abuse, and could have resulted in her death. Abuse can take place in many different contexts and it is important not to exploit a vulnerable persons civil rights. Mrs A has mistrust with other people becoming involved in her life. Therefore when and how to intervene builds on the concept of significant harm introduced in the Childrens Act. When making an assessment of an individual, many factors need to be considered, for example, the extent of vulnerability and risk of repeated acts that meet the criteria of the Community Care Act 1990. To ignore the assessment of older people can be an example of ageism in its own right, contributing to an elderly person feeling disempowered. Assumptions about older people include older people are poor, lonely, are ill, no longer contributing to the economy and seen as a burden.   When working with older people it is important not to make these stereotypical assumptions and generalise. Not all the elderly have the same characteristics; a sixty five and a ninety year old are classed as one group. Although aging is inevitable, and people experience similar patterns and problems of aging, there are also wide-spread differences in aging patterns (Applewhite 1998:5). Acknowledging that each individual will be at a different stage in his or her life, needs and circumstances will vary, including different ethnic minority groups to avoid making ageist assumptions and avoiding all stereotypes and stigmas. To work effectively with older people, one must develop anti ageist practice. Midwinter (1993) says that old age is like having returned to a second childhood where others will make decisions for you. Working in partnership, the Social Worker and the GP/nurse may encourage Mrs A to engage respite care (enablement) for up to six weeks to avoid being admitted to hospital. During respite care an assessment of her needs will evaluate the level of support that will be required (if any) when Mrs A returns to her home. Mrs As daughter may request that her mother be put into a care home, while Mrs A is adamant that she can care for herself at home with some support. Within the risk assessment process family members may worry about the social workers ability to recognize potential risk for their relatives, therefore a balance between extending barriers in some areas of risk and minimizing risk in others areas needs to be made. Using a utilitarian approach, it is the social workers job to assess the whole situation and work for a solution in the best interests of all concerned. (Banks 2001:28). The Social Workers ultimate aim is to support Mrs As rights to control her life and make informed choices about the services that she receives (GSCC 1.1). Good practice dictates working in partnership with service users to encourage greater trust and empowerment of clients. In turn, they are likely to feel more confident in talking about their fears, and worries and possible abuse. Health and Social care agencies working together is only a part of an overall strategy to protect vulnerable adults from abuse. Enabling service users to recognise abuse and knowing how to alert others to this is another strategy. It also ensures an agreed approach that all involved are aware of and can monitor. Protection is provided by the clarity of the situation. It is important that health and care social workers act as good role models in terms of worker-user relationships as this helps the service user to recognise when the relationship is abusive. In addition, it is important for professionals to enable service users to know how to protect themselves, such as building positive self-esteem through knowing their rights and knowing how to complain. (Pub lic Interest Disclosure Act 1998). An Adult Protection policy will identify and help support Mrs As decisions for her care and help her to understand risks and the services available to her. The social worker has to constantly question their own judgement and ensure they listen to the service users view while assessing if Mrs A is capable of making an informed choice taking into account her rights and the needs of her family. It is a requirement to assess if Mrs A has the capacity to make her own decisions and if she is incapable by reason, for instance, of mental illness under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, the decision will be made for her. If it is deemed that Mrs A has capacity she has the right to live in whatever way she chooses;   should her choice includes staying at home without help from services her health could be at risk and she may enter a revolving door policy in and out of health care provision.   Providing support to Mrs A does not eliminate her susceptibility. If an individual is living alone and receiving services to support their needs, they still have a level of vulnerability. Elderly people at home are more at risk from abuse by strangers than if they were living in supported accommodation. They are at risk from people calling and gaining access through force or intimidation, who either steal from them or charge very expensive rates for minor repairs. They are also at risk from physical and sexual abuse as there is no one there to stop the perpetrator. Mrs A has health and social care needs and is seen to be at risk from self-neglect and possibly neglect by others, including services if insufficient or inappropriate support is provided to adequately support her well being.   (Pritchard, J 2008). Home may be Mrs As choice, however the assessment will consider balancing risk and autonomy. The social worker can identify Mrs As strengths and skills and identify ways in which these can be improved upon. There are services available that can supply security systems to protect from theft, and physical abuse, and other environmental variables, these are implemented with clear guidelines and the coordination of multi agency workers, working together to deliver a programme of care in the best interest of Mrs As needs and individual choices. Parsloe (1999) stresses that there is a strong presumption that older people should exercise choice and be given opportunities to take risks towards maintaining their independence and self-determination unless or until their capacity to do so is seriously impaired. This notion is acceptable, but as seen with Mrs A there is also a high risk of illness due to poor self medication; this is sometimes overlooked as the risk-taking model is more promoted than risk minimisation. People are allowed to take a well-informed risk so long as they do not endanger themselves or others GSCC (2002). A presumption in this case is that Mrs A has capacity: the challenge here is to recognise that service users have the right to take risks and helping them to identify and manage potential and actual risks to themselves and others; (GSCC 4.1). The provision of the practice setting is governed by law which consists of primary and secondary legislation together with government guidance which must be followed by all local authorities. Section 46 of the National Health Service and Community Care Act (1990) sets out community care plans and lists the available services which include laundry services, meals on wheels, social work support and residential care. This act places a duty under section 47 on social workers to conduct a needs-led assessment if it is apparent that a person might need community care service. Once a community care assessment is carried out, the care manager will make a decision about whether to provide support or not to the service user. Fair Access to Care Services (FACS) provides an eligibility framework for adult social care to identify whether or not the duty to provide services is triggered. Should the criteria be met, a multi disciplinary team approach working together to ensure Mrs As choice to stay at home is paramount with regard to her rehabilitation and care plan. The team have a duty to provide a network of support that promotes independence and to monitor Mrs As ability to care for herself in the community. Multi-agency working of care planning and the single assessment process has encouraged greater inter-agency working together, with the clients needs being central to the process. Rather than working separately, and each agency providing their own service without reference to the others, joint working encourages a sharing of approach and less replication of services. A pilot of Individual Budgets was introduced for two years in 2005 to 13 local authorities. Individual Budgets is a system that brings resources together from different funding streams into a single sum that can be spent flexibly in accordance with a service users needs and preferences. Service users are free to choose the money as a direct payment or request the local authority to provide services, or even use a mixture of both A care worker can be sought from the LA or a personal assistant (PA) appointed by Mrs A , paid for with direct payments ensure that her autonomy and choice is maintained. In practice,   an agreement can be   made to review Mrs As care and remove the care if it not required or increase the care package should additional need be identified at a future review. Direct payment stems from the four principles of Valuing People that are rights, inclusion, choice and independence. The Governments vision was that the uptake of direct payments would give people more choice in how they choose to live their lives. However, the uptake of direct payments since the introduction of the Community Care (Direct Payments) Act (1997) had been slow, mainly due to a lack of awareness and people, including professionals, can be very wary of change and taking on the unknown.The government therefore introduced new legislation in 2003 to make it a duty for local authorities to offer direct payments (www.dh.gov.uk), but figures (2006) reveal that out of a possible million people only around 46,000 had taken up direct payments (www.eastern.csip.org.uk). It raised issues that service users experienced and set out eleven objectives which included people facing lack of choice and control, social isolation, housing, health, and poor partnership between professional agen cies, voluntary groups and families. The main stakeholders from the implementation of Valuing People are people with learning disabilities themselves and their families/carers, as they were instrumental in pushing the government to push through the policy.The government is clearly one of the main stakeholders and it could be argued that this was an economic driver of change. Latest figures from the Individual Budgets Pilot study reveal that the costs of people using budgets compared to commissioned services is not much different, but long-term, costs will be reduced as people become more independent and their support hours are reduced (www.dh.gov.uk). The introduction of Putting People First, published by the DH in December 2007is a shared vision and commitment to the transformation of adult social care over a period of three years. Key elements are: prevention, early intervention and re-enablement, personalisation, information, advice and advocacy. This presents change for people who receive services and importantly for social care workers that will need to implement these changes in their work. The changes in social care that have been taking place since the policy have meant that the role of the social worker is changing and the publication of the Local Authority Circular Transforming Social Care (2008:4) described the role of the social worker as being focused on advocacy and brokerage, rather than assessment and gate keeping. This involves improved skills in listening, working in partnership with service users, families and other professionals and empowering people to take control of their lives. The changes are proving chall enging because it means a shift in the balance of power and allowing people to take more risks. A person-centred approach to supporting Mrs A is the method used within this case study, before direct payments this had been more about supporting people in the community. The principles ofrights, inclusion, choice and independence set out as the vision in Valuing People have clearly been achieved in some peoples lives, and is effective for service users such as Mrs A who prefer to maintain their privacy at home and choice of care through direct payment. It can be seen to transform service users lives in that they are living independently and feel included in society.There are many people living in residential care; they spend most of their hours in centres and lead very oppressive lives.McCabe,M. (2006:12) describes the failings of institutional care as having inflexible routine, lack of choice, dependence on others and lack of privacy and community care creating maximum dependency.However, care needs to be taken so that people are still supported when they do live independently, specifically service users who have spent years in residential care and not prepared them to live in their own homes; adequate risk assessments are needed to address any area s that could leave them vulnerable. References Applewhite, S. (1998) Elders and the Twenty-First Century. Issues andChallenges for Culturally Competent Research and Practice.New York: Haworth. Banks, S. (2001). Ethics and Values in Social Work 2nd ed. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Publishers. Department of Health (2001) Valuing People. London: Department of Health. Department of Health (2001) National service framework for older people. London: Department of Health General Social Care Council (2002) Codes of Practice General Social Care Council HMSO (1989) Caring for People: Community Care in the Next Decade and Beyond. London, HMSO Johnson, K. Williams, I. (2007). Managing Change and Uncertainty in Social Work and social care. Lyme Regis: Russell House Publishing Ltd. Jones. R. (2005) Mental Capacity Act. Manual, Sweet Maxwell cited in Pritchard, J (2008) Good Practice in the Law and Safeguarding Adults: London, Jessica Kingsley. McCabe,M.(2006) Depression among older people: prevalence and detection. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 21(7) Thomas, A. (2008) Leadership and Management in Health and Social Care Heinemann Midwinter, E (1993) Encore: Guide to Planning a Celebration of Your Life: Southampton, Third Age Press Nathanson, I. Tirrito, T. (1998) Theory into Practice. Gerontological Social Work. New York: Springer. National Assistance Act 1948 London, HMSO. National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 London, HMSO. Parsloe P. (1999) Risk Assessment in Social Care and Social Work.   London, Jessica Kingsley. Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 London, HMSO Shakespeare, T. (2000).   Help. Birmingham: Venture Press Trevithick, P (2002) Social Work Skills a practice handbook, Buckingham, Open University Press

Subtle Criticism in Aphra Behns Oroonoko Essay -- Behn Oroonoko Essay

Subtle Criticism in Oroonoko  Ã‚   In reading Oroonoko it might be easy to miss the criticism offered against the European culture. Upon studying the novel however, this criticism which had been presented subtly becomes quite clear. An important note is that the author and the narrator are not in fact the same. Although the author is out to provide a criticism of European culture and values, she is reluctant to let it come through the narrator. This critique comes through mainly in less direct forms, through her non-European characters, most often Oroonoko, and through comparisons between cultures and the characters encountered in each. As a female writer trying to earn a living, and as the narrator of the story represented herself, Behn couldn't have the narrator offer too strong a criticism for fear of losing her audience. The narrator is presented as very European. She is very ethnocentric and seems to have no problem with the slave trade, only with the treatment of one specific individual (namely, Oroonoko). Occasionally, however, there will be a slip, a slight inconsistency in the narrators character, which offers a glimpse of Behn's true sentiments. For example, throughout the novel, the narrator is a strong believer in religion. She tells Imoinda ". . . Stories of Nuns and endeavour[s] to bring her to the knowledge of the true God."(41). She also tries to defend Christianity to an unbelieving Caesar. When discussing the natives of Surinam, however, she mentions that ". . . all the Inventions of Man . . . wou'd here but destroy that Tranquillity . . . and . . . wou'd teach ‘em [the natives] to know Offen ce . . . "(10). The first thing she includes as an "Invention of Man" is religion, implying that it is not essentiall... ... Banister truly does kill him like a dog as he said, "he wou'd declare, in the other World, that he was the only Man, of all the Whites, that ever he heard speak Truth."(64) Through each of these forms Behn is highly critical of European values, or maybe more precisely the lack there of. She criticizes religion, namely Christianity, for not enforcing morals in people; the most noble character in the novel, Oroonoko, does not believe in any God at all. She also criticizes those in the culture who do not hold themselves to their promises; the blacks and natives who are seen as so inferior are more true. She offers all this, yet, in a way that gives no offence and so keeps her audience for the next criticism she may offer. Works Cited: Behn, Aphra. â€Å"Oroonoko.† The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. AH Abrams. New York. WW Norton and Company, Inc 2000.

Ah, Woe Is Me :: essays research papers

Ah, Woe Is Me A) Summary of The Story: In the beginning of this short story we are introduced to Sarah, an aging black servant living in South Africa. She works hard for an upper-class white family and spends all of her money on education for her three children who are sent to a boarding school. They come home once a year at Christmas, and the first time the narrator meets the children, she is surprised at their well-mannered behaviour. She finds, however, that Sarah is a bit harsh towards them, and she comments on this. Sarah tells her that it is better to learn the lesson now and grow to accept one's fate later. In the course of the following year, Sarah must give up her job because of her legs, and one day her daughter comes to the house. Slowly she tells her story to the narrator. How the younger brother is working now, and how she is taking care of Sarah. The narrator offers her some clothes and some money and invites her inside for a cup of tea. When she is about to leave, she starts crying and can only mutter that her mother is very ill. Unsure of what to do, the narrator hands her a handkerchief. B) An Essay About the Text: The setting in this story is South Africa in the 1950's. Apartheid and segregation are words that describe the conditions under which the blacks (the native Africans) live perfectly. The blacks nearly have no rights and must accept being oppressed by the whites. Sarah is only one of many poor blacks who only just manages to earn a living by working as a servant for a rich white family (the narrator). Slavery does not exist anymore, but it can be difficult to distuingish the life of a slave from that of a native African in the 50's except from the fact that they do after all get paid for their work. Sarah is very concerned about her children getting a good education. She probably wants them to have a better life than she has had so far, and while that is a very noble thought, the facts speak against it. Her children do not at this time have a very good (if any) chance of getting a good solid education because it is very expensive, and their mother does not make that much money. Even if she did make enough money, her legs are bad, and at the end of the story, she has to give up her job (and thus take her children out of the boarding

The Columbian Exchange: Between the Old World and New World Essay

The Columbian Exchange is a global exchange of goods and ideas between the Old World (Europe, Asia and Africa) and the New World (America). When Columbus first discovered America, Spain wanted to set up colonies. Columbus found some people that he named â€Å"Indians.† They colonies started to trade with each other, and by doing do, they started the Columbian Exchange. Many countries were involved in this trade, including China, Africa and Italy. This exchange of new ideas, traditions, food, religion and diet changed cultures everywhere. The Native Americans gave and received many items. One of the most important items that the Indians received was horses. Before horses, Indians had no way of carrying heavy loads from place to place. When the Europeans arrived in America, they gave them th...

Advancements in Medical Technology Essay

Introductions: Have you or have you had someone, that was near and dear to your family and hearts, pass away and think to yourself â€Å"If medical technology was just a little more advance, they might have been able to still be here with me today? † Or was their life, cut from your life to soon, because of the need for more advancements in the medical pharmaceutical side of things such as medications and treatments. Maybe, even be able to give them the therapeutic device that would have been able to give them a longer life expectancy? One thing to think about is that over the past thirty years advancements in the Biological, Pharmaceutical and Therapeutic device fields of Medical Technology has greatly improved the life quality and expectancy of many human beings. (What kind of introduction did you write for your expository essay? Asked a question What other types of introductions might be appropriate for this kind of essay? Providing a startling statistic. Include interesting facts about the subject. What makes your introduction type more effective than another introduction type for your particular essay? By asking a question to the reader, the way that I have asked a question makes it personal to the reader and makes them think and want to read more about what I have written. ) Conclusions: My husband and I believe that if Stem Cell research was around years ago when he was first diagnosed by Type I Diabetes, that he would not have to worry so much about his blood sugars going high or low all the time. Now with the advancements in therapeutic devices, we are able to go to a specialized diabetic doctor (known as a Endocrinologist) and be able to help him get on a Medtronic Insulin Pump, that will help him with getting his sugars stable and give him the right amount of insulin that his body needs to function properly like you and I do. On the bright side due to the fact that there are advancements in medical technology with the therapeutic side of things, there is a small variety of insulin pumps on the market today that he is able to choose from that will fit to his personal needs and wants. With medical personnel continuing to improve upon advancements in the Biological, Pharmaceutical and Therapeutic device fields of Medical Technology, there will be more people out there, such as I that will not have to lose their loved ones before their time. (What kind of conclusion did you write for your expository essay? I think that by finishing up with another question it will hopefully convince the reader that everything I have provided will have them agreeing with my essay. Also something that would be more effective would be to provide an ironic twist, a surprising observation. What other types of conclusions might be appropriate for this kind of essay? Restating the thesis or summarizing the main points of my essay What makes your conclusion type more effective than another conclusion type for your particular essay? By providing an ironic twist, with a surprising observation from my own personal life might help the reader understand more of why I was so passionate about writing about those things in my essay. ) Advancements in Medical Technology Essay Introductions and Conclusions Introductions: Have you or have you had someone, that was near and dear to your family and hearts, pass away and think to yourself â€Å"If medical technology was Just a little more advance, they might have been able to still be here with me today? † Or was their life, cut from your life to soon, because of the need for more advancements in the medical pharmaceutical side of things such as medications and treatments. Maybe, even be able to give them the therapeutic device that would have been able to give hem a longer life expectancy? One thing to think about is that over the past thirty years advancements in the Biological, Pharmaceutical and Therapeutic device fields of Medical Technology has greatly improved the life quality and expectancy of many human beings. (What kind of introduction did you write for your expository essay? Asked a question What other types of introductions might be appropriate for this kind of essay? Providing a startling statistic. Include interesting facts about the subject. What makes our introduction type more effective than another introduction type for your particular essay? By asking a question to the reader, the way that I have asked a question makes it personal to the reader and makes them think and want to read more about what I have written. ) Conclusions: My husband and I believe that if Stem Cell research was around years ago when he was first diagnosed by Type I Diabetes, that he would not have to worry so much about his blood sugars going high or low all the time. Now with the advancements in herapeutic devices, we are able to go to a specialized diabetic doctor (known as a Endocrinologist) and be able to help him get on a Medtronic Insulin Pump, that will help him with getting his sugars stable and give him the right amount of insulin that his body needs to function properly like you and I do. On the bright side due to the tact that there are advancements in medical technology witn the therapeutic side ot things, there is a small variety of insulin pumps on the market today that he is able to hoose from that will fit to his personal needs and wants. With medical personnel continuing to improve upon advancements in the Biological, Pharmaceutical and Therapeutic device fields of Medical Technology, there will be more people out there, such as I that will not have to lose their loved ones before their time. (What kind of conclusion did you write for your expository essay? I think that by finishing up with another question it will hopefully convince the reader that everything I have provided will have them agreeing with my essay. Also something that would be more effective would be to provide an ironic twist, a surprising observation. What other types of conclusions might be appropriate for this kind of essay? Restating the thesis or summarizing the main points of my essay What makes your conclusion type more effective than another conclusion type for your particular essay? By providing an ironic twist, with a surprising observation from my own personal life might help the reader understand more of why I was so passionate about writing about those things in my essay. )

Managing Employee Retention Essay

Data Quality: It is important to make sure the data you use is valid. An outlier data point can dramatically reduce the fit of a model, so it is critical that bad data points be moved. In the case of the Store24 data, we will assume that all managers have some experience, so remove any data points where the manager experience is zero. Regression Analysis First, you should run a full model for profit that includes both tenure and site location related variables. Tenure related variables are MTenure and CTenure. Site location related variables are population, number of competitors, street level visibility, pedestrian access, type of neighborhood, and whether a store stays open 24 hours. These variables are also defined on page 4 of the case Store24 (A). First you should determine if all variables contribute to our understanding of the model. Use the p-value for each coefficient to decide (a value of 0.05 is typically used to decide whether a variable should be included). If any variables are not significant, copy the worksheet, remove the variable and run the regression again. In your report you should explain how well the model fits (e.g. describes the factors that impact profit). It is not commonly understood how to evaluate the â€Å"impact† of the independent variables. The variables have to have a p-value that is significant (otherwise we can’t say there is a relationship), but how small the p-value is does not tell us how important the variable is. A good way to understand the impact of the variable is to find the range of values it can take, and then multiply that range by the value of the coefficient. That tells you the maximum impact that the variable can have on the problem. Next, you must address Tom Hart’s hypothesis that manager tenure does not have a linear impact on profitability—that is, that there are diminishing returns to manager tenure. To test this, copy the worksheet, then add the variable MTenure2. To do this, insert a column next to the Tenure column, and then enter the formula =D2^2 in cell E2 and copy this formula to the rest of the cells. Now run a regression on this new set of variables and see if the MTenure2 variable is statistically significant. What to Submit: You are to write a memo from Sarah Jenkins to Paul Doucette summarizing your results. You should explain your regression results: * How well the model predicts store performance (r2, p-value of variables and their â€Å"impact†) * How your MTenure2 assesses Tom Hart’s hypothesis. Does it support his hypothesis? You should include a graph that shows contribution to profit of employee tenure over the range of values in the data set. The x-axis should be manager tenure, and the y-axis should be the predicted contribution to store profit. Finally, your memo should give Paul Doucette a concrete recommendation as to how much Store24 should invest in any new manager retention programs.

Twitter Swot Analysis

Twitter, a website provides online social network and microblog services, is gradually seeping through into every area of life. It was listed as the most important invention in 2009. The same with Facebook who also provide online social network service, more and more people are feeling rely on Twitter, and could not get rid of it. On twitter, we send a real-time mail which is also known as tweets to millions of people around the world within 140 characters.As users, we could share our latest news and ideas to the followers through website interface, SMS from cell phones and mobile device apps; meanwhile, we also can get the instant information about what is happening among the followings, the country and the world. On the technology aspect, Twitter has always based on open source software from the back-end to the front-end. Nowadays, Twitter has became the top ten most visited websites. Before it was known as â€Å"Twitter†, its founders named it â€Å"Twttr†.Twttr†™s idea came from Dorsey, one of the cofounders, who expressed to â€Å"enable users carrying standard cellular phones to update small groups of people on their current situation by pressing a few buttons and tapping out message. † At the spring of 2006, Dorsey sent the first  tweet, and then, launched â€Å"Twttr† through the turmoil of headcount trimming in the same year together with the cofounders, Williams and Stone. Twttr became Twitter in 2007. We could feel the name as the buzzing of the SMS message alters and chips from birds.In this year, Twitter began to hit the market and its users kept growing in the next several years contributed from its word-of-mouth promotion. During its growth, the company continued to get venture capital invents. A lot of large companies were interested in Twitter as they thought Twitter has audiences in hands which would be lucrative. However, by 2011, the company still had problems which may bring risks in the future. According to the paper, the company had four issues: 1. The company was still on the way to seek prots.It was clearly that the company would be eventually pressured by the inventors as they largely relay on venture invention to support the company. Meanwhile, their application was totally free for use, in this case, advertising was almost the only tool to gain revenues. 2. The business model and strategy remain opaque. As mentioned by Ray Valde, Twitter was in a dilemma that they need a â€Å"robust revenue model†, while had to diminish perceived value which has a lot of potential value. 3. Did not commercially exploit its large and rapidly growing user base.As a kind of social media company, who has the audience, who will make money. User was the key factor that will determine Twitter’s fate. 4. The ongoing change in the top management team. The turmoil began at the start-up phase and even had not terminated by 2011. This may become mines for the company. This case write-up wi ll state Twitter’s business problems in detail, and use SWOT analysis to make the company’s situation more clarified. Then, raise solutions and suggestions for the company.2. Strategic analysis of problem SWOT analysisWeaknessesVery popular and acceptable by a large  number of users Creatively changed the way of messaging Greater access to capitalInternal organizational turbulence Did not exploit the user base Unclear business strategy and no solid revenue modelOpportunitiesThreatsDominant position in social media industry Competitors started to emerge A ton of public Suffer from abandonment of users A more technologically savvy plantformStrengthsVery popular and acceptable by a large number of users Why people would like to use twitter? I will give some factors according to this case: †¢ easy use †¢ free use †¢ allow users to send and receive messages to a mailing list of recipients in real-time †¢ better than online chat †¢ strong brand loy alty †¢ could run on different devices, especially mobile devices Thanks to these advantages, Twitter got 200 million users by March 2011.Although it was far from Facebook’s users, the number was still amazing and at the leading position among social network websites. The more visitors, the more the site is worth. Just account for the amount of users, we could estimate that the website of Twitter will be extremely valuable.Creatively changed the policy of messagingIt is hard to say Twitter has a big invention on technology aspect, and to a large extent, it brought about by recon?guring existing technology. However, we cannot deny it is a big revolution and has changed the policy of messaging. Twitter was built on existing technologies like SMS (short message service), IM (instant messaging), and RSS (really simple syndication), then, combined them in a unique way. It is one-to-one association when we are using SMS and IM.Now, it is one-to-many association which facing to the public, when we are using Twitter. On Twitter, we send 140 characters instant micro-blog, use â€Å"@† to mention or replay other users, use â€Å"#† to post together the same topics. All these creations changed the way people communicate. Greater access to capital Twitter had attracted plenty of capital since its establishment. For a young company, suf?cient fund and patient inventors could allow them a more space to develop and complete their big idea.Weaknesses Internal organizational turbulenceTwitter’s internal contradiction emerged at the initial phase. When Odeo’s team launched Twttr Beta, six employees terminated contracts. Moreover, among the four cofounders (Dorsey, Glass, Williams, Stone), Dorsey and Williams had even acted as CEO; but both of them quitted. And the name of Glass was seldom raised in Twitter’s history. The establishment of Twitter extremely require collaboration, however, people in the founding team have different ex pectations. Inventors may lose con?dence in them.Did not exploit the user base In spite of the fact that Twitter’s success rides on the user base. However, according to the paper, Twitter did not commercially exploit it. Or we can say Twitter had no extra energy to do it. The top managers concentrated on how to make their product more advanced and how to attract inventions. They did not notice the user base was the valuable source for them. Actually, they owned the large amount of users and easier than other companies to conduct a survey on them.Unclear business strategy and no solid revenue modelTwitter has been trying to be different from other closest companies and exploiting which path was likely to take from the beginning. However, the path depended on how the ?rm perceived and de?ned itself. They just claim their blueprint for making the company â€Å"as large an impact as possible† instead of setting speci?c business strategy.What’s more, Twitter still ha d not built a solid revenue model even through their revenue kept increasing from 2009. As it stands, the company’s revenue was largely relay on advertising and the last was from data licensing. By comparison, Twitter had the similar ad model as Facebook, but facebook was trying to get rid of reliant on ad while Twitter was not able to do it at present.Opportunities Dominant position in social media industryAlthough the amount of users was lower than Facebook, Twitter still own the large amount of audiences. It was not the ?rst mover in this industry, but the ?rm acted quickly and was already far beyond other similar social media companies. Contributed by its dominant position, more and more people would like to choose Twitter based on the number of other users of this platform, and inventors would focus on the ?rm, then invent on it as they believe the one who owned the audiences would be valuable. A tongue of publicBecause of Twitter has the advantage of timeliness, it beca me a tool to publish news. In 2008, it played as a key tool in the U. S presidential campaign and the attacks in Mumbai, India. From then on, Twitter became an important role in politics. People became more and more believe the platform as they can use it to publish their opinion to the public. It was helpful to strong its social position and brand impact. A more technologically savvy platform As Stone said, Twitter was most likely a â€Å"information company.† In recent years, this platform value which was derived from information-sharing has reached the peak. Twitter has owned two advantages: a large user base and information-sharing platform. These resources could be used to improve revenue. There was no better savvy platform than Twitter to help companies promote services and products with limited budgets. This project was known as â€Å"promoted tweets†, launched in 2010. When followers log in Twitter, promoted tweets will appear at the top of the timeline, then a dvertisers will pay when a user engages.Threats Competitors started to emergeAs the industry was lucrative, some companies had started to emerge and attempted to share the cake. Now, it was not just Twitter provided free services, some large and competitive companies like Friendfeed, Identi. ca, Present. ly, and Google were looking at the market. These competitors were not just copy Twitter but offering some new functions that Twitter did not have. If Twitter stop improving their applications, it may be eliminated in the competition.Suffer from abandonment of usersOnce your friends left the social network platform, more and more connected users may leave it. Then, this website will face catastrophe. Now, Twitter was facing the trouble—although they had attracted a lot of users, the abandonment rate up to 40 per cent yet. On contrast, only 7 per cent Facebook users said they may never use Facebook. And Twitter’s active users were far below than Facebook. One data analys is showed that in Jun-10, only 12 millions U. S Twitter active users while the number was 137 millions for Facebook.3. Solutions and recommendationsConclusion about TwitterTwitter entered the market at a right time, and grabbed the larger resource in the industry. It was a big Internet Innovation and changed the way people communicate. However, it was true that Twitter did not do as good as other similar companies like Google, yahoo, and facebook. For example, in 2009, Google earned more than $18 from unique visitor, Facebook earned about $3, but Twitter only got lower than $1. They were still facing challenges and on the way to exploit the best path.The challenges which were brought by competitors’ expanding The denying and ongoing innovation of Internet will never stop in this age, and its sustainable innovation has brought about a new round of reform of the marketing mode. Twitter cannot just stay stuck in its old mode. In this industry, stagnate means decline. The first  challenge was from the companies who imitated Twitter while developed more functions. However, these competitors had precisely pushed forward Twitter and proved microblog had the bright prospects for development. To deal with them,Twitter had better to enhance its brand loyalty, and form its own core competitiveness. Users would like to choose the one who dominated the industry because they were easy to be impacted by conformity. Moreover, Twitter should be sure to avoid following others, developing the functions what others have. They should keep creating new ideas and act quicker than competitors. Even through competitors’ function was more advanced than Twitter, it did not mean it was an appropriate product for Twitter. Another challenge was from large companies like Facebook and Google.These companies also wanted to do everything and dominate the industry. They were similar as Twitter, owned a large amount of users, but did not do microblog. Twitter was not safe even th ough it did the best in microblog. These services were another form of social media that also may grab Twitter’s market. Twitter needs not only to improve its model to attract more users, but also continue digging potential value in other area to expand the ?rm. Exploit more sources of revenue Twitter cannot largely rely on venture capital invention and advertising any more.It needs to ?nd out another way to obtain fund. The ?rst option was to imitate Google and Apple, provide more services and develop more products to increase revenue. Another option was to imitate Facebook, launch IPO. Or it can do both. I think launch IPO will be better because Twitter did not have the technology support as strong as Google and Apple. And Twitter’s revenue model was already unclear now, if it provides more products, the model may become more confused. What’s more, IPO is a better choice for long term development.Increase the R&D activities It is not only the revenue model nee ds R&D, but also the new application innovation needs R&D. When going to Twitter. com, we will basically see the same thing that the company did years ago. They did not keep working on anything that cool. Meanwhile, they did not reveal any details about the R&D plan and result. Conducting R&D could help Twitter to improve their products and services, which was necessary for a technology company. Twitter website was built on open source software. It was helpful  to develop new applications. Furthermore, in order to keep an eagle eye on the competitors and customers, R&D should not be ignored by Twitter.Promote overseas marketIt was clear that Twitter owned a large number of overseas users, but had not ï ¬ gure out an effect proï ¬ t in other countries. â€Å"Promote the tweets† won a big market in the U.S, similarly, the foreign market had a large proï ¬ t that could be exploited. But it will be a big project that need marketing research and detailed plan before they d ecide to move in a foreign market.

Educational Needs Assessment Essay

Continuing education plays an important role in the development of nursing professionals in any healthcare institution (Waddell, 1991). However, different institutions have different needs to address with respect to their nurses professional competencies (Gould et. al. , 2004). According to Billings & Rowles (2001), the primary question that institutions have to answer is what particular educational needs their nurses have that are most relevant to the working environment. This paper seeks to determine and prioritize the needs of the Medical-Surgical/Bone Marrow Transplant Oncology Nursing Unit of Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento through the administration of a survey questionnaire to a sample of seven (7) registered nurses and a qualitative analysis of the results. Background Sutter Medical Center is a non-profit hospital that specializes in providing acute and advanced care to patients living in Sacramento and the surrounding area. Its mission is to provide quality primary and tertiary care along with a continuum of services to meet the healthcare needs of the people throughout Northern California. During the previous year, the hospital has been able to generate 58,274 patient days spread across seven (7) hospital units with 20% of which coming from the nursing unit of interest to the study. The unit has 14 registered nurses with varying levels of proficiency and experience. Results There were seven key questions inquired from the seven registered nurses that comprise 50% of the total unit population. Based on the analysis of the results, the particular areas where that the nurses feel should be the focus of any educational program of the institution include chemotherapy patient care, professional stress management, cardiac emergency protocols, infection control, and telemetry. These were the post frequently mentioned topics throughout the questionnaire and thus appear to be the most important concerns according to the nurses surveyed. From the nurses’ responses, it is apparent that many of the nurses consider these subjects as underdeveloped in their professional experience and as such, they are very open to undergoing further education in order to be better equipped in the said areas. Some of the nurses prioritized special topics on patient care due to the large number of patients undergoing chemotherapy. Others consider learning proper stress management as a priority and claim that while they are equipped with the knowledge to care effectively for patients, they often find themselves stressed out in the process and some commented to eventually being in need of care themselves because of the demands of the work environment which they believe that can handle more effectively with appropriate training. With regard to how this new educational program should best be carried out, the nurses surveyed had varying suggestions but what was common among them is the preference of nontraditional educational programs over conventional programs such as actually going back to an institution and enrolling in a course that one has to be physically present to attend. The nurses generally preferred one of two options which are either to learn under the expertise of experienced mentors at work or to get enrolled to online learning classes at home. These preferences underscore the stress that the nurses are already experiencing at work which leaves them with no energy left to actually pursue further studies by traveling to an institution and being physically present to attend class. Hence, some of the surveyed nurses preferred to combine work and study by undergoing active learning under mentors who are experts at particular fields. The other half of the nurses surveyed preferred to learn through online courses that they can take at the comforts of their home and accomplish at their own pace. Common strengths cited by the nurses surveyed include the experience gained as nurses in the institution along with their strong proficiency with the use of current technology. The nurses justifiably claim that their exposure to various situations have honed their abilities in dealing with the same situations. However, they also cite that this is not the best way to learn as it places patients at some risk when they are handling a situation with the patient for the first time. Nurses believe that their expertise in utilizing web resources would allow them to have better access to continuing education since there are many specialized nursing courses available online. Furthermore even without enrolling in online courses, the internet provides knowledge sources that the nurses can access for free. Still, some commented on the level of reliability that these sources have. On the other hand, while the surveyed nurses claim that their experience has improved their competence, they also cite the demanding responsibilities given to them at work for their inability to pursue other educational courses in their profession. Some responded that the time that they spend between work and their families practically make up all the time that they have, and cite this fact as one of the major weaknesses in undergoing an educational program. In analyzing the sample’s assessment of hospital management’s sensitivity to their need for more specialized education, there is a general dissatisfaction perceived based primarily in the inability of management to respond to the staffing needs of the unit. The nurses stressed that while there are some educational programs being offered by the institution, these programs simply cannot be availed of by many of the nurses because of the physical and mental pressures brought about by their workload. One barrier to education that was highly prevalent with the sample is the lack of time due to the 5:1 nurse-to-patient ratios that the hospital has not been able to improve over the past years. Nurses need to prioritize their patients over other professional responsibilities and so continuing education takes a backseat. Some of the nurses also suggest that the hospital should give incentives to nurses who are willing to undergo additional training and education in order to motivate nurses to find the time for the task. Conclusion There is clearly a need to effect effective educational programs for the Medical-Surgical/Bone Marrow Transplant Oncology Nursing Unit of Sutter Medical Center. The nurses surveyed all agree that an effective program will be able to provide them with much needed professional development that they can use to improve the overall quality of service that they provide for their patients. However, the barrier of a highly toxic workplace caused by understaffing need to be addressed first before any program can be implemented that can capture the interest of the unit nurses. Thus, the top priority need of the unit involves the installation of a stress management program that would be able to help the nurses cope with their demanding responsibilities might be effective in taking out some of the pressure and allowing room for the nurses to accommodate professional training programs and academic work. A secondary need would be to address content that the nurses feel are lacking in their professional competence such as specialized subjects in chemotherapy patient care among others mentioned in the survey. It is anticipated that based on the administration’s thrust, they will be receptive to the results of this study and conduct efforts to help their nurses find the time to develop professionally. References Billings DM, Rowles CJ. (2001). â€Å"Development of continuing nursing education offerings for the World Wide Web. † J Contin Educ Nurs. 32(3):107-13. Gould D, Kelly D, White I, Chidgey J. (2004). â€Å"Training needs analysis. A literature review and reappraisal. † Int J Nurs Stud. 41(5):471-86. Click here to read Waddell DL. (1991). â€Å"The effects of continuing education on nursing practice: a meta-analysis. † J Contin Educ Nurs. (3):113-8.

New Driving Laws in Queensland, Australia Essay

New Driving Laws in Queensland, Australia - Essay Example The essay "New Driving Laws in Queensland, Australia" talks about the relevant legislations impacting the new driving laws in Queensland, Australia, and the major provisions of the various Acts and their relevance to the issue. Drivers in Australia require a valid driver's license. Licenses from other countries may be accepted for limited stays in Australia; details vary by State. Typically, foreign licenses in English are considered valid for driving in Australia for visitors with visitor's visas. In other cases, an International Driving Permit is required, issued in your home country before arrival in Australia. Also, you are permitted to drive an American (left-hand drive) car in Australia, providing that you have the license to do so. Use of seat belts is compulsory in Australia for drivers and all vehicle passengers, and infants must be secured with approved safety capsules and harnesses. Seatbelt laws are strictly enforced, and the onus is on the driver to ensure all passengers are buckled in. Penalties apply to the driver of the vehicle and include demerit points, license suspension, and heavy fines. The road rules are strictly enforced in Australia, especially speed limits. Speed limits vary depending on road conditions, area and State. Speed limits change at regular intervals so keep an eye out for them. The road rules are strictly enforced in Australia, especially speed limits. Speed limits vary depending on road conditions, area and State. Speed limits change at regular intervals.

Valuing diversity in our patient population Essay

Valuing diversity in our patient population - Essay Example As an Hispanic male, I take an interest in health care issues that face Hispanic people. This population of people in the United States is growing, but many of them do not receive good health care. According to a North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research news release, the reasons have been identified as language barriers, lack of insurance or the means to pay for health care, and lack of transportation (para. 8). The same news release also identified that some Hispanics do not know all the services that are available to them. These things need to be changed in order for the health care of Hispanics to improve. First, an increase in Hispanic, or Spanish-speaking medical professionals is necessary. I can personally understand how hard it is, and how frustrating it is, to try to discuss something as important as health care with a person who doesn't speak the same language you do. Of course, there are translators in some cases, but this creates the problem of increased waiting times at appointments while a translator is located and becomes available. It can also be very embarrassing for a patient to be constantly asked if he or she speaks English, and then have a fuss made to find someone who speaks Spanish. This alone could make a patient not want to see a doctor. The news release also mentioned that many Hispanics are in "low-wage occupations" (para. 4). This could directly account for lack of transportation, and the inability to pay for health care. Most low-paying jobs do not offer health insurance. If they do, it might not be affordable. Without a sufficient income, buying a car or paying for insurance becomes nearly impossible. Until these things are changed, the lack of health care for Hispanics will continue. Hispanics, though, aren't the only race of people who don't receive routine medical care. African Americans also fall into this category. Speaking solely of prenatal care, the NCCPPR news release claims that 87.7 percent of whites, 72.6 percent of African Americans, and 68 percent of Hispanic women (para. 6) see a doctor in the first trimester of pregnancy. There is a big gap in the number of white women who get care early, and the number of Blacks and Hispanics who do. The problem with this is that routine prenatal care is necessary for the child, as well as the mom, and not receiving it can cause problems for two people, not just one. Although African-American people and Hispanic people face some of the same problems related to health care, their experiences differ, as well. For starters, most African Americans do not have the problem of language barriers. Some Hispanics arrive in this country speaking no English, and still know little of the native language, and have the challenge of trying to decipher medical language as well. Of course, not all African Americans can understand a physician who uses big words, but they can understand other staff members, and probably are more comfortable asking another qualified person to help them figure out what the doctor meant. Black people do face some challenges, though, that Hispanics might not. In "Race Affects Health Care," Rob Stein discussed the fact that Black patients who are diabetic are more likely to suffer from uncontrolled blood sugar and high cholesterol (para. 15). This wasn't noted in Hispanic patients. This essay reads that "black women receive the

Chain of Command Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Chain of Command - Essay Example In this case Lyndon Johnson, who was President of the United States when the most powerful country on the face of the earth went into what is called as the limited war ideology in Indo-China, his Secretary of National Defense Robert McNamara, General William Westmoreland, the man in charge of the US military operations in Vietnam in the 1960’s, the division and battalion commanders and the individual soldiers in full battle gears. Soldiery, from top to bottom, is guided by the laws of modern warfare specially those task to institute peace and freedom as the Military Review by Sargent (2005) noted, we simply cannot afford to collaterally alienate the people we are trying to influence, liberate, protect, or aid. Not everyone in the field can have the honor and pride of taking orders from the Commander-in-Chief in the form of a morale-boosting pep talk and encouragement. Under constant threat of dragging into the mayhem two of the biggest armies in the world, China and the USSR a nd the wounds of World War II and the Korean War still fresh from the minds of the American people, the United States went into employing the doctrine of limited war.

Geography - Economic Growth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Geography - Economic Growth - Essay Example According to them, there are two types of the developing world -- one who has globalized their trade and the one who has not. The globalized group of countries has increased their foreign investment and trade well above the rates of rich countries and opposite is the case with non-globalized group of countries (121) Authors believe that globalization has not caused any higher inequality within economies though they also agree that inequality has gone up in China but it has nothing to do with any free trade and investment flows. They attribute it to education, social policies and taxation. What they want to emphasize is that higher economic growth rates translate higher incomes for the poor. For example, in China inequality has increased but at the same time poverty reduction has taken place and that is entirely because of foreign trade and investment. Authors suggest that growing protectionist movement in rich countries does not augur well if full potential of economic integration an d its benefits are to be realized; however, at the same time, developing countries need to change their policies and build up institutions so that they can prosper under globalization (121). Authors argue that further integration is being opposed in the rich countries and their protectionist measures are directed toward agriculture and labor-intensive products (131). Authors argue that human productivity has increased manifold. The world economy, which was crawling at the rate of 1 percent during mid-nineteenth century accelerated to 3.5 percent during1960-2000 because of economic integration among several countries. Authors put forward the argument that worldwide income inequality was on rise until 1970 but thereafter it started reducing. The income inequality in 1970 was at its highest level at 88.1% that subsequently reduced to 77.7 percent in year 1995. According to authors, after 1980 the number of poor has reduced by 200 million. This has been possible due to accelerated growt h rate of China and India (125). Authors advocate migration from poor countries to reduce the poverty and currently that is highly restricted by rich countries because of the fear of high unemployment rate in those countries. Authors strongly argue that the fate of poor also hangs on the rich countries' migration policy decisions (133). Growth with Equity is Good for the Poor Oxfam (2000) argues that 'growth with equity' is a solution to poverty eradication and not growth proposed by Dollar and Kraay. According to Oxfam, growth alone cannot help in reducing poverty. Oxfam advocates poverty-focused growth that reaches to the lowest 20% of the population to bring them up in line with others. They consider Dollar and Kraay's growth model as anti-poor and anti-growth (2). The important thing, according to Oxfam, is how income is distributed among poor. The larger share of income growth should go to poor if poverty is to be reduced. Comparing different regions on economic growth, Oxfam a sserts that East Asia is the only region, which can achieve its goal of poverty eradication by 2015. Due to poverty-focused growth in East Asia, it has raised 22 million people out of poverty, which other region such as Latin America has not been able to do so. At least 3 million people in Latin America would have been out of poverty had it initiated a focused growth (4). Oxfam argues that growth alone is not sufficient to reduce poverty. Oxfam emphasizes that the income distribution is

How does diversity of employment affect the welfare(income per person) Dissertation - 2

How does diversity of employment affect the welfare(income per person) in cities of America - Dissertation Example More emphasize should be placed on authenticity of variable like population, age and income of people to attain a reliable result from the research. The sample quantity also should be enhanced to enable a full fledged assessment of the coastal and non- coastal cities as to their contribution to per capital income. Additional independent variable also should be included to get accuracy and efficiency in the statistical models. Also, efforts should be made to cover more population among the cities so as to deliver a believable outcome .It is observed that people in both cities with higher educational level influenced in increasing the average income of the cities.. Finally it can be estimated that more than economic diversity, the educational level and age of individuals have more effect in increasing the per capital income and wealth of a city. Work Cited Khan, M.Y. (2008).Financial services. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill.