.

Saturday, August 31, 2019

Despite Rise in Revenues, State Budget Deficit

Despite a 14.5 per cent rise in domestic revenues and external grants extended to the Kingdom in 2007, the state budget recorded a deficit of 5.4 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), according to official figures released Monday. Although the country recorded a JD502.5 million increase in domestic revenues and grants, the 2007 budget deficit stood at JD614.5 million, an increase of 1 per cent from 2006. According to the Ministry of Finance monthly bulletin, external grants totaled JD343.4 million in 2007 compared to JD304.6 million in 2006 while domestic revenues were 14.5 per cent higher in 2007, amounting to JD3,628.1 million compared to JD3,164.4 million in 2006. The bulletin attributed the increase in the domestic revenues to a JD338.6 million rise in tax revenues, and similar raises in non-tax revenues and repayments by JD117.6 million and JD7.5 million respectively. The increase in tax revenues resulted mainly from a 20.1 per cent rise in sales tax equaling JD245.4 million, accounting for 72.5 per cent of the overall computed increase. Income tax revenue also grew by 20.3 per cent, or JD83.5 million, accounting for around 24 .7 per cent of the increase generated in overall tax revenues. Last year, repayments totaled around JD51.4 million compared to JD43.9 million in 2006, the ministry’s figures revealed. Total expenditures rose by 17.2 per cent, JD673.8 million, during this time, raising the expenditures volume to JD4,586 million. The rise was the result of a JD626.1 million increase in current expenses coupled with a 6 per cent increase in capital expenses equaling JD47.7 million. The increase in current expenses was due mainly to higher defense and security spending and the rising costs of basic staples, fuel subsidies, pensions and salaries. Interest rates on domestic and foreign loans also rose by 15.6 per cent, or JD49.5 million, the bulletin indicated. At the end of 2007, the outstanding external public debt (government and government-guaranteed) dropped by 5.6 basis points of the GDP to around JD5,253 million, representing 46.3 per cent of the Kingdom’s GDP. In 2006, the debt totaled JD5,187 million, 51 per cent of GDP. Higher exchange rates of international currencies against the US dollar and subsequently against the Jordanian dinar were the main reason behind the increase in the external debt volume, according to the Ministry of Finance data. Foreign debt service on commitment basis totaled around JD618.8 million, JD405.6 million of which were principal payments and JD213.2 million were interest payments. PM HIGHLIGHTS NEED TO CREATE JOB OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUTH Monday 7 April 2008 Jordan News Agency Prime Minister Nader Dahabi on Sunday said the government has placed its hopes in the Jordanian Company for Training and Recruitment (JCTR) to create job opportunities for young persons. The company has the full support of the Ministry of Labour, the Jordan Armed Forces (JAF) and the private sector, the premier said. Chairing a meeting of the JCTR's higher committee yesterday, Dahabi stressed the importance of producing highly-skilled graduates who are competitive in the labour market. Dahabi also instructed the Labour Ministry to analyse the situation of guest workers in the Kingdom by sector so as to determine future training programmes, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. The committee also stressed the need to provide all workers in the construction sector with social security, calling on the Ministry of Public Works and Housing and investors to hire trainees from the company for construction megaprojects in the Kingdom. JCTR Director General Brigadier General Salah Qudah said a total of 4,000 trainees have completed military training as of early February and are already training at nine vocational centres affiliated to the Vocational Training Corporation, Petra reported. The vocational training period is scheduled to end in May, when trainees will start receiving field experience. JCTR, with a capital of JD100,000, is working to provide young people with training and recruitment opportunities in the field of construction in conjunction with the Labour Ministry, the JAF and the private sector. In May 2007, His Majesty King Abdullah instructed the JAF to start recruiting unskilled civilians and train them in professions needed by the sector, which has been flourishing in the recent years with large-scale projects carried out in Amman, Aqaba and the Dead Sea. Meanwhile, the premier on Sunday also met with President of the Burundi Senate Rufyikiri Gervais, who is heading a parliamentary delegation to the Kingdom to discuss means to enhance bilateral ties. At the meeting, Dahabi stressed the importance of economic cooperation to increase trade volume between the two countries. Gervais expressed his country's appreciation for Jordan's efforts to preserve security and stability in Burundi through peacekeeping forces, highlighting the role Jordan plays in enhancing international security and stability. Gervais said Burundi was looking for Jordan's support to help rebuild the country and facilitate development, noting the country is currently focusing on education, health and agriculture infrastructure. Also yesterday, Senate President Zeid Rifai met with Gervais. At the meeting, Rifai stressed the Kingdom's eagerness to enhance cooperation with Burundi and African nations in various fields, particularly parliamentary cooperation. Meanwhile, Lower House Speaker Abdul Hadi Majali received Gervais and the accompanying delegation, stressing the importance of enhancing commercial exchange and investments, especially in the field of agriculture. The officials also reviewed the developments pertaining the Palestinian issue and the situation in Iraq.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Pricing Strategy and Distribution Essay

Nature Beauty Price strategy will be the penetration theory for my product. Penetration is pricing low to stimulate the sales, encourage trail, and trigger by word of mouth. Nature Beauty’s mineral powder foundation will not be a new product that no company has similar to. We will need to start by gaining the trust of the consumers by word of mouth and different marketing strategies to the targeted customers. This way once the product has some buzz and customers appreciate the products value, we can price the mineral powder foundation at higher price do to the demand of the product. The competing cosmetic company has a similar product that claims help the skin improve. This company will be established in the cosmetic industry and customers will have trust in them. We at Nature Beauty are striving to become a powerhouse cosmetic line so we can price according the value we believe we hold. Penetration strategy is the best the company because there are a lot of other producst that compliments the mineral powder foundation and other general everyday hygiene use type of products that want to bring out. With this strategy we can price the other products low as well and hopefully with the trust of Nature Beauty mineral powder foundation gains it will help us introduce them. Even though Nature Beauty can be considered a luxury cosmetic, we also want it to become a necessity to the consumers as well. We want the demand for it increases by making the consumers feel like this product is a need and want them to live by this Brand. Penetration strategy will also work with medium pricing range. Medium is a competitive approach. Pricing the mineral powder foundation could be slightly price above or slightly price below. Nature Beauty picks slightly below. This goes into the theory for starting off low in and gaining value to price higher. We want the customers to perceive this product as safe and efficient and more valuable compared to the leading cosmetic competitor. I believe we will have to start out as an alternative cosmetic and show that we are just as good or a better brand. Also with the feedback from the customer’s feedback and response to our product, can determine the value of its offering. The leading competitor pricing strategy are mostly medium or high leaning towards the Skimming theory. You have companies like Revlon, Cover Girl who are well known, easy, and are very accessible to the consumer at your local drug store or even supermarkets. They put off a new product and it is the priced high and after a while you will see the product come down then maintain at lower price. Nature Beauty is pricing tactics is Value pricing. According to EZine articles. com, Value pricing is a strategy that businesses with a high value product or service use. The strategy is to sell the high value product or service at a low, value price. Note: this price is not to be below cost but at what the customer would perceive to be a low price. Nature Beauty believes this a good fit for its product because all of the products are really good, safe, and highly effective. Also Ezine articles mentioned that â€Å"Customers’ perceptions are influenced by the value they perceive in the relationship between the attributes of the product or service and the price they will have to pay for that product or service. Customers also are influenced by price comparison amongst similar products or services†. Nature Beauty provides a product that conceals the unwanted blemishes, scars, tattoos, and gives you a even flawless skin tone while with the alone extracts, and organic ingredients helps improve your skin for a softer and clearer skin. We believe if the consumers see the attributes that this product have and also trust the other product that compliments the mineral powder foundation, we will price higher to the true value of the product. Even though we are using the Value pricing tactic, Nature Beauty believes we are a good brand and want the consumers to believe that we are high quality with a good price. In the psychology of pricing the â€Å"price is a clear, tangible cue, higher the price set the highest expectation. However, even though it’s easier to start high and lower prices later down the line, depending on sales of the products, we don’t want to jump the broom on the price set. We believe that we meet the expectation for a higher price and will strive to become a brand that can set a premium price like it leading competitors. Nature Beauty does want to use the theory framing on the products that compliments the mineral powder foundation. Framing is pricing higher prices and then discount to make the consumers feel better. There will be promotions that will give consumers the chance to try these products such lotion, facial cleanser, beauty bar soap, make-up remover wipes, and future idea products for free or at a discounted price. But they will not always be on sale. Nature beauty will push these products out individually starting out high then discounting them after we introduced the new and latest product.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Lagaan

The movie entitled â€Å"Lagaan† is a depiction of ancient Indian society. Indian is full of dignity in this story. The director and the writer wanted to convey in their film the meaning and essence of Indian culture. Despite of all the odds, circumstances, and failures that they experienced within their environment and in the hands of the colonizers, they strive hard to be the best at anything. Playing cricket is one of the most significant occurrences that they wanted to share as a way of showing their culture and tradition. Bhuvan as the main character in the story became the leader of everyone in their community. They accepted the challenge of the British captain and convicted to gain their dignity and pride. The story showed the narrative of Indian life during the colonial period. It represents the social, psychological, political, and economic life of Indians where culture surrounds all of it. The director wanted to share his thoughts on the issues that Indians always experience all throughout their lives. However, Indian culture and society has no fear of everything whether things go wrong or right within them. This is what the director and the writer wanted to impose in their story. They wanted their audience to understand the meaning of India not as a country in defeat and weaknesses but also with pride and strength to face anything. At the end of the story, the director leaves its audience the imagination of overcoming the circumstances in the community. There is a question in the end of the movie – will Bhuvan and his team win from the captain? There is one big conflict at the end of it – one of Bhuvan’s team was paid to lose the game. It shows that the resolution of the story lies within the audience. It depends on what they wanted at the end whether to win the Indians or losing their dignity and pride towards the colonizers. Reference Ashutosh Gowariker. Lagaan. 2002.

Planning and assessing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Planning and assessing - Essay Example tion criteria of the best learners, provide a mechanism of evaluation of learners through a given program and motivate and encourage the learners in their undertaking (Armitage et al, 2012). There has been a rise in debate about the relevance of assessment in education, why can’t students be allowed to handle education matters on their own? It is the question frequently asked by those who propagate against assessment in education. However, assessment can be connected to a wide range of stakeholders. Parents, the government, education institutions and the learners themselves need to know the level and magnitude of their performance. No one will want to incur huge costs on learning and does not feel contented with the resultant service being offered. Thus, teachers and other stakeholders have to come up with techniques which will depict the rate of performance of the learners. According to Tummons, assessment is not only an attribute which is undertaken by the learners, but it is also an approach which boosts the morale of the learners in their studies. For instance, when a learner is able to take, a continuous evaluation test, they will tend to work harder each time another paper comes up. This is more positive as compared to situations where the learners are not subjected to any assessment. The effectiveness of the evaluation process underlies under those who engage in the whole cycle. Individuals who introduce the mechanism have to be properly equipped to handle any challenges that may arise in the process; in addition the process has to be friendly (Tummons, 2007). The assessment encompasses three approaches, it commences with the formative assessment to interim assessment to summative assessment in the whole period of the learners in a particular grade. The main purpose of superimposing all the three in the curriculum is to offer a wide platform of learning. For instance, it will aid the students to have a wide scope of learning; formative and intermediate

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

The Effects of Global Economic Integration on Countries Essay

The Effects of Global Economic Integration on Countries - Essay Example There are several crucial historical pieces of evidence which point to the fact that there existed significant trade and economic relationships among civilizations of the ancient period. Every nation of the world today is engaged in commercial, political, and economic relationships with other nations and it has become the basic strategy for the progress of these nations. In the course of time, such agreements and relationships among world-nations became essential to the economic growth and prosperity of every nation, paving the way for the current international organizations and associations for regional and global agreements. This paper examines, based on empirical research findings, the effects of global economic integration on countries and the world, focusing on both the positive and negative impact of global integration. Global economic integration is an important economic process affecting various nations of the world in the age of globalization and it is essential to comprehend the basic aspects of this process. Thus, economic integration can be defined as the economic process â€Å"whereby markets and production in different countries become increasingly interdependent due to dynamics of trade in goods and services and flows of capital and technology† (Sparrow, Brewster & Harris 17). As Saskia Sassen (2006) maintains, â€Å"a good part of globalization consists of an enormous variety of micro-processes that begin to denationalize what had been constructed as national — whether policies, capital, political subjectivities, urban spaces, temporal frames, or any other of a variety of dynamics and domains’’ (Sassen, 1). Dominick Salvatore explains the theory of economic integration as â€Å"preferential trade arrangements to free trade areas, customs unions, common markets and economic unions’’ (Salvatore 321).  

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Brain Based learnnig Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Brain Based learnnig - Essay Example Jerome Bruner, Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky, the brightes representatives of this approach, strongly believed that students must actively construct their own knowledge. Thus, Vygotsky claims that the process of learning is socially determined and the teacher is supposed to control and supervise learning instead of providing strict directions (Vigotsky, 1997). Piaget argues that children independently form their understanding of the world perceiving different information and creating their own cognitive schemes. Therefore, the role of teacher is not very important when supervision is concerned: excessively rigorous supervision and control reduce the child's ability and desire to discover the world independently (Ginsberg, & Opper, 1979). Brunner holds the same opinion, but he also recognizes the role of teachers in organization of learning process claiming that effective organization greatly facilitates children's discovery of the world (Bruner, 1966). Regular education teachers often fail to consider these valuable findings in their teaching strategies.

Monday, August 26, 2019

Diversity Day Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Diversity Day Analysis - Essay Example invest in diversity training in order to educate their employees about the different cultures so as to inculcate an appreciation of diversity and to reduce incoherence within the workforce. In the Diversity Day episode of The Office, a diversity training consultant, Mr. Brown arrives at the Dunder-Mifflin Paper Co., Inc in order to educate its staff about diversity and cultural tolerance. The diversity training is necessitated by the imitation of Chris Rock’s comedy routine called ‘Niggas v. Black People’ by Michael, which offends the staff due to its racist joke. This act prompts the corporate management to call for a diversity day seminar in order to teach the staff about racial tolerance. Ironically, after the diversity trainer and consultant, Mr. Brown arrives, Michael seems to steal the center stage when in fact the training was actually meant for him. In the diversity training session, Mr. Brown continuously tries to make an effort to create cultural sensitivity among the staff workers so as to generate a feeling of cultural Enlightment by putting each staff in the shoes of a co-worker with a different race. Here, the purpose is to spark tolerance and appreciation of the diversity present at most workplaces. Mr. Brown means to spur realization of other racial sentiments and hence greater tolerance for other races. A constantly interrupted diversity session that Mr. Brown holds, aims to present an insightful experience for the staff members. His speech talks about the cultural variations and tries to generate a more coherent feeling among the workers going beyond racial stereotypes. Mr. Brown shows much tolerance after Michael says that Mr. Brown really is his name, implying the coherence between Mr. Brown’s name and his African American origins. By displaying tolerance to many of Michael’s racist remarks, he tries to demonstrate how diversity training involves appreciation and recognition of the varied staff workers. In a varied workforce, it is

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Examine the extent to which the benefits of UK membership in the Essay

Examine the extent to which the benefits of UK membership in the European Union outweigh the costs - Essay Example The UK’s contributions to the EU budget has got also fiscal consequences as the consumer prices get affected through the common Agricultural Policy and common external tariffs that are levied on imports.EU membership also can influence the foreigners’ decisions on whether to invest in the UK or not. Being able to understand the these economic impacts gives us a good framework to do an evaluation on the benefits and costs of EU membership, but provides no information on whether UK would be at a better position by staying outside EU.I n order to establish this we require a counterfactual scenario for cost-benefit purposes (Anderson, & Reichert, 2012, P.244). The United Kingdom becomes part of the world’s largest single market by being a member of the European Union. The single market is an economic zone that is larger than that of Japan and USA together with a GDP of around 11 trillion pounds. This single market that has over 500 million people gives a level ground for British business to trade in.This helps not only in enabling free trade with absence of customs duties or tariffs but also provides a common set of rules so that business need not to be in compliance with 27 different types of regulations. A research done by the European Commission indicates that the EU GDP was increased by 2.2%(233 million pounds) and there were 2.75 million job opportunities that created since the adoption of the single market between 1992 and 2006.The increase in GDP for UK was around 25 billion pounds. The Department of business of the government, skills & innovation gives an estimation that trade has increased between member states because of the single market (Baldwin, Francois, & Portes, 2013,P.125-147). The UK becomes part of the process for making rules and regulation in the single market for being a member of the EU.Britain through its council of ministers are given the opportunity

Saturday, August 24, 2019

International Financial Markets and Institutions 2 Essay

International Financial Markets and Institutions 2 - Essay Example The price at which the asset or a bond may be traded at expiration is called an exercise price or strike price. A call option is an option granting the right to buy an underlying asset. A call option on a bond would mean that the bond issuer has the option to buy back the bond at a certain price after the expiration of a certain time period. A put option is an option granting the right to sell an underlying asset. In this case, a bond investor has the right to sell back the bond at a certain price after the expiration of a certain time period. (Chance, 2009) An option is generally considered to be in-the-money when exercising the option would result in a positive cash inflow. Therefore, call options are considered to be in-the-money for the bond investor when the value of the underlying asset exceeds the exercise price. This way, if the underlying bond is bought at the exercise price, it can be sold at the market value to make positive cash inflow if delivery is term of contract and be simply a positive settlement in case cash settlement is the term of contract. A put option is considered to be in-the-money for the bond issuer when the value of the bond is lower than the exercise price. (Chance, 2009) There are three measures to calculate the yield of any bond with an attached option: yield to maturity, yield to call and yield to put. Yield to maturity measure assumes that the bond will be held to maturity and that any option on the bond will not be exercised. This means that the yield to maturity measure on a callable or putable bond is the same as the yield to maturity on a simple bond with no options. The yield to maturity is, therefore, the ‘interest rate that will make the present value of a bond’s cash flows equal to its market price plus accrued interest’. Hence, the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) is calculated for all the expected positive cash flows (including interest and the face value of the bond receivable at maturity) and the ne gative cash flow (purchase price of the bond). This gives us the yield to maturity. ‘A callable bond may have a call schedule. The yield to call assumes that the issuer will call a bond on some assumed call date and that the call price is the price specified in the call schedule’ (Fabozzi, 2009). You can use the yield to call concept to calculate the yield to first call or yield to next call or yield to first par call or a yield to refunding. The yield to call is calculated in the same way as any other yield. In this case we assume the call date to be the maturity date and then use the cash inflows and outflows to get the IRR and define the yield to call. The yield to put is the ‘interest rate that will make the present value of the cash flows to the first put date equal to the price plus accrued interest’ (Fabozzi, 2009). Once again, this measure assumes that the bond will be put at the first put date. Therefore, the schedule is used to identify the value of bond at the put date and calculate cash inflows and outflows. These are then used to obtain the IRR or the yield measure. Question2 You have been appointed as the Business analyst at an international fund management firm. As part of your role, you are required to prepare a report covering the following areas: a. How the Internet, and technological advances in computing power and communications affects: I. The provision of domestic and global banking products and services II. The degree of competition in the world’

Friday, August 23, 2019

Point Helper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Point Helper - Assignment Example This has been the case for several popular brands such as: Hewlett Packard, Pepsi, AT&T, etc. Aside from the usual research and campaign, companies have also utilized state-of-the-art recruitment materials (like quick response bar codes for AT&T), web videos, and informational web sites. From the use of one-size fits all strategy, companies have delved into specific growth opportunities and benefits of prospective employees. While oil prices in various Asian countries continue to decline significantly, it also reflects vulnerability in the macroeconomics aspect. Export commodities will be adversely affected, what with their heavy dependence on the buying power of overseas consumers. Inflation rates may also continue to climb. While the purchasing power of consumers particularly in China increases due to recent wage hike, prices of commodities will also increase. Currency appreciation will adversely increase prices of real estate and other

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Sapporo beer Essay Example for Free

Sapporo beer Essay Japan’s Sapporo Holdings said on Thursday it would enter the Vietnamese market by taking a 65 percent stake in a beer joint venture with Vietnam National Tobacco Corp to tap its fast-growing market. It marks the first major overseas expansion in three years by Sapporo, the smallest of Japan’s four major brewers, as bigger rivals Kirin and Suntory have been aggressively snapping up overseas businesses to grow beyond a shrinking domestic market. â€Å"Vietnam is Asia’s third-largest beer market after China and Japan and this is a fast-growing market,† said Tatsuya Komatsu, a Sapporo spokesman. The company will acquire a 50 percent stake in the venture from Danish brewer Carlsberg and 15 percent from Vietnam National Tobacco for a total of $25. 4 million. The joint venture will build a beer factory in Vietnam and is scheduled to startselling Sapporo brand beer in early 2012, it said in a statement. The venture aims for sales in 2019 of 150,000 kilolitres or $128 million. Sapporo said it will actively seek further acquisition opportunities to enlarge itsoverseas business, which now accounts for less than 10 percent of its revenues. Sapporo, the maker of Yebisu brand beer, acquired Canadian brewer Sleeman in 2006 for 30 billion yen ($340 million), but has been overshadowed by Kirin and Suntory in overseas expansion. Kirin has spent $1. 5 billion in the past two years to buy Australia’s National Foods and Dairy Farmers and $2. 8 billion to take full ownership of Australia’s No. 2 beer maker Lion Nathan. It also acquired a 49 percent stake in the Philippines’ San Miguel Brewery for $1. 4 billion. Asahi Breweries, locked in a fierce battle with Kirin for No. 1 slot in Japan’s beer market, said recently it could spend up to 400 billion yen ($4. 6 billion) on acquisitions over the next few years, with an eye on Asian markets. The Japanese brewers have been scrambling to diversify their products and geographic reach to reduce their reliance on the domestic beer market, which has lost 15 percent in volume in the past decade as the economy sputters and the population shrinks. HA NOI — The Japanese beer maker Sapporo Holdings plans to enter the domestic market from early 2012 through the purchase of a majority stake in Kronenbourg Viet Nam Ltd. Sapporo Holdings said it would buy a 65 per cent stake for about US$23 million in Kronenbourg Viet Nam, which is equally owned by Carlsberg Brewery A/S and the Viet Nam National Tobacco Corp (Vinataba). After the deal closes, which is due in January next year, a joint venture betweenSapporo Holdings and Vinataba will be set up with the latter holding 35 per cent of the joint venture’s stake. At that time, Kronenbourg Viet Nam will change its name into Sapporo Viet Nam Ltd. Sapporo said the joint venture would begin construction on a new plant on the outskirts of HCM City. The plant is scheduled to begin operations from 2012. Sapporo expects to earn a turnover of roughly $115 million within a decade from the Vietnamese market, with a predicted annual growth rate of more than 10 per cent for years to come. The joint venture has targeted a market share of roughly 3 per cent in Viet Nam by 2019. Sapporo also has plans to export beer produced in Japan to Viet Nam. The Japanese beer maker decided to expand its business in other Asian countries in a move to offset declining beer sales in Japan due to a shrinking population and a gloomy economic outlook. — VNS In 2010 , Sapporo has arrived in Vietnam and established Sapporo Vietnam Co. ( a joint venture between Tobacco Corporation Vietnam ( VINATABA ) and JSC Sapporo Holdings Ltd. for a total contribution from Japan 71 % ) . 11/ 2011, the Sapporo Factory in Long An Vietnam was officially put into operation . The plant has production capacity of 40 million liters / year , but to meet the goal of becoming a major production base for Southeast Asian beer market capacity will be increased gradually over the period 2015 to reach 100 million liters / year and in 2019 will reach 150 million liters / year . 4/2012 , Sapporo official launch sales activities . Sapporo time in more than 4,000 retail stores , restaurants , hotels, mainly in Vietnam . Sapporo has now launched 4 product lines premium beer : Sapporo Premium Beer Bottle 330 ml , 330 ml cans of beer Sapporo Premium , Sapporo Premium Beer 650 ml silver cans and beer Sapporo Premium 20L . In particular , products Can Silver ( silver cans ) is a typical representative of elegance and luxury of Sapporo Premium Beer . This product has a higher alcohol content than other types a bit , with a large capacity and a unique design that Sapporo beer can only be Sapporo is the only beer company in the world combined study of barley and hops to produce a formula to create the most perfect beer . Based on these studies , the Sapporo today have developed a new barley varieties better and Vietnam Sapporo Factory is also used . When the Vietnam market , to be able to produce beers with similar quality beers produced in Japan and in accordance with consumer tastes here , Sapporo choose the most appropriate type of yeast in 1000 different yeast species from the research Center of Sapporo in Japan . After Japan and Canada , Vietnam is the place where Sapporo beer factory and expect this will become the manufacturing center of the Southeast Asian market . Because Vietnam is the third largest beer market in Asia , the turnover of 3 billion liters of beer in 2020 and expected to double . Sapporo Vietnam not only passionate creative challenges overcome and the framework of the usual practice , but also to share the moments of happiness and joy winning hand. Thats why Sapporo Premium market presence in Vietnam as a premium beer brand .

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Decision making Essay Example for Free

Decision making Essay My personal ethics development has been a process and it has changed over the years from people influencing me and myself maturing. As a child, I was raised well by my mother who always taught me to do the right thing when no one was looking. She always made sure I respected my elders and had good manners. I went to a Catholic school when I was in grade school and high school. My family and I would go to church every Sunday and have dinner together every night. My family always taught me to have good values and morals, to be a part of the community in a productive way. The people that raised me in my earlier life played a huge importance on the man I have become. At this point of my life ,I thought my compass was true north as we heard Mr. O’Rourke talk about in the video lecture. I had strong values at all times or at least I thought I did. As my life went on I realized that my compass was north ,but it wasnt true north. I still had room to grow and become more mature in my decision-making. Sometimes it can be very hard to judge how ethic you are like a person because you are judging yourself. I graduated high school and soon after that I decided that I was going to join the Army instead of going to college. I was 19 years old when I joined the United States Army and enlisted for four years. The minute I arrived to boot camp I was introduced to the seven Army values which are loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage. We had to memorize these army values ,as well as The Soldiers Creed and Warrior ethos. The warrior ethos is, I will always place the mission first, I will never quit, I will never accept defeat, and I will never leave a fallen comrade. Every morning we would stand information and have to repeat these creeds and Army values as a group. At the time ,I did not understand why it was suppose important memorize all these things. They would make us do team building exercises, where you would have to trust your fellow Soldiers. Then the next six years of my life will change how I looked at my moral decision making for the rest of my life. I went to Iraq when I was 20 for a 15-month tour and came back 22 years old. Within those six years ,I deployed to Iraq three deferent times for a total of 33 months. While you are deployed in a war situation you will be faced with unethical decisions on a daily basis this is where you got to separate your religious and personal ethics with your jobs ethics. Sometimes you need to make a decision based on a duty-based principal, were right and wrong is determined by an outside source. You do things you don’t necessarily believe in ,but its for the better of the workplace, work or in this case for the Army. I look back to the days of basic training and throughout the nine years I have been in the Army and I realize why the Army puts so must stress on values. We have classes all the time on ethics, decision-making and critical thinking. The Army prepares you for the hard decisions you are going to have to make with using sound judgment and values. All the training I received from the Army and them instilling values and standards in my brain helped me to always make ethical decisions in the most distraught instances. It helped me that I was raised with good ethics, morals, and values. It made the transition in the Army easier for myself than some of the other Soldiers. The Army is a perfect example of just because you were raised with bad ethics or values do not mean that you will always live that way. People are brought in from all over the world and have to work with each other on a daily basis and trust each other. The Army will teach you how to have good ethics and values. I see people change all the time over the course of time. They will make you have a role model character once they make you believe in the values and ethics. I am not saying everyone will change or will be able to change but if a person truly wants to change they can change with strong leaders in place with good characters. Ethics is crucial in the business world because there is so much room for corruption and misbehavior in the workplace. There is many chances to make unethical decisions in business that is why it is so important to have mandatory training and have people who believe in you work for you. Every company or business needs to come up with some policy such as code to ethics in the workplace environment. Just cause someone grew up a bad apple does not mean that the person is going to be a bad apple there whole life. People who impact them throughout their lives can change them or a certain job with high ethic standards could change their point of view. It could be as simple as one person who influences that person for them to change to the perspective on their ethics. Without ethics in organizations, there would be no sense of trust among employees and as well with customers. You want to know your employees are making ethical decisions because you cannot watch everyone that works for you all the time. You want them to act the same way whether you are in a room with them or a thousand miles away. It is your responsibility as a leader to influence these people and instill these values and ethics in them. You need to make your employees believe in you and your ideas. Throughout my life ,I feel I have had strong morals but many people have influenced me in a positive way. Most people just need positive influences in their life to shape them to have good strong ethics. I was just lucky enough to have these people in my life from an early age and throughout my life. I have never been the person who does things for entitlement-based, I do not find myself making decisions solely on the basis of what is best for myself.

The main concepts of the behaviorist perspective theory

The main concepts of the behaviorist perspective theory As a reaction to the introspective analysis method in psychology and the focus on the study of mental processes, conscious or unconscious that dominated the beginning of the last century and was considered the object of psychology at that time  [1]  , a new approach was developed under the name of behaviorism. This new psychotherapeutic approach was to dominate psychology for about 50 years. Precursors of this approach are the American psychologist Edward Lee Thorndike  [2]  and the Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov  [3]  , but the one who is considered the father of behaviorism and established its theoretical and practical fundaments is John Watson  [4]  . Behavior becomes the focus of psychological investigation because it is the only one that can be scientifically studied and quantified, predicted and controlled. The behaviorist assumptions are that: psychology should be seen as a science and therefore it should deal with observable behaviors that generate empirical data; the environment plays a decisive role in determining behavior as opposed to the psychic inner processes; all behavior is learnt from environment and this learning process is similar to animals. In contrast with the vague concepts used by introspectionism, behaviorism places a high emphasis on the use of operational definitions that is defining various concepts in terms of observable events that may be used to describe human experience in terms of stimuli and responses. A specific characteristic of behaviorism is parsimony seeking the simplest possible explanation for any event  [5]  . Key concepts of behaviorism comprise the stimulus response (S-R) equation, the classical and operant conditioning, and the reinforcement and punishment notions. The method used to analyze behavior is the lab experiment which gave the possibility to manipulate the independent variable in order to study the dependent variable. Stimulus is a measurable change in the environment any object, fact, event or situation that may have an impact on behavior, while response is a measurable change in behavior any reaction to a stimulus either environmental or mental. The behaviorist theory excludes thoughts, feelings and other mental occurrences, and genetic factors as well, that is everything that cannot be study objectively, in observable terms. Watson took further Pavlovs idea of conditioning  [6]  and applied it to humans. According to him humans are born tabula rasa and the behavior is simply learnt from the environment through a process of conditioning. In a famous and controversial experiment because of its ethical implications, Watson and Rayner (1920) conditioned Little Albert an 18-months old toddler to develop a fear response to rats, by associating the rat NS with a strong noise UCS. They conducted their research following the classical conditioning scheme: Noise (UCS) Anxiety (UCR); Noise (UCS) + Rat (NS) Anxiety (UCR); Rat (CS) Anxiety (CR)  [7]  . Close related to the process of classical conditioning is the generalization that occurs. Thus, stimuli similar to the original CS would tend to elicit the same CR. In the case of Little Albert it was reported that the boy was showing strong signs of anxiety to all fluffy objects, which were similar to the white rat used in experiment. Stimulus generalization results in responding to a whole class of related stimuli, after initial learning with a single stimulus and can enable organisms to adapt better to their environment though it may not always be adaptive  [8]  . Behaviorists draw the conclusion that generalization is the first response of an organism when encountering new situations. Sometimes this generalization may take the form of stereotyping that occurs when generalizing based on group membership. To fight this phenomenon, behaviorists undertook and exemplified through research the concept of stimulus discrimination  [9]  , according to which an organism may be tr ained to discriminate between two or more stimuli that progressively increase in alikeness. As Glassman and Haddad point out stimulus discrimination always requires training in the absence of such training, organisms tend to generalize (emphasis theirs)  [10]  . Opposed to the concept of conditioning is the concept of extinction which suggests that what can be learned can also be unlearned, and that a conditional response is not necessarily permanent  [11]  . However, as some research indicate  [12]  , extinction is likely to appear in humans in some basic behaviors involving muscle responses like withdrawing from a hot surface, but not in complex behaviors which involve fear responses or other responses of the automatic nervous system and which are very hard to extinguish. Using Pavlovs extinction procedure, Watson and Rayner tried to eliminate the conditioned fear response associated with rats in Little Alberts case by presenting the rat for a period of three weeks w ithout associating it with the gongs noise. Contrary to their expectation the fear did not extinguish. Stimulus generalization and discrimination concepts as well as the extinction principle have a great importance for our discussion because they will be used in the process of developing behavioral psychotherapeutic techniques. Skinner developed the concept of operant conditioning. He argues that all behavior is modeled by complex reinforcement patterns from the environment. In his view, humans and animals actively engage with their environment, as opposed to the Watsonian emphasis on classical conditioning where they are more passive waiting for the environment to produce stimuli to which they may respond to. Skinners main idea is that human behavior is determined by the consequences of its past behavior. If from a Watsonian perspective the behavior is triggered by external stimuli, starting with Skinner the behavior may be elicited by internal stimuli as well, as a result of past internalized experiences. Thus operant conditioning is a type of learning where future behavior is determined by the consequences of past behavior. According to Skinner the past behavior may influence feature behavior depending on three types of consequences: if it had no consequence, the probability of that behavior to occur in the future is neuter; if the consequence is found pleasant, then the behavior is likely to be repeated in the future this was called positive reinforcement; if the consequence is negative, then it acts as a punishment and makes that specific behavior unlikely to appear in the future. By extrapolation, learning occurs through manipulation of positive reinforcements and punishments. Newer behaviorist approaches acknowledge that although the two types of conditioning reflex and operant were developed independent of each other by different researchers, they are interconnected and in real life situations both processes can occur simultaneously  [13]  . Practice therapeutic process and methods The behavior therapeutic approach emerged from these behavioral principles of classical and operant conditioning. All behavior is learnt and therefore abnormal behavior is seen as the result of faulty learning. In order to cure the individual needs to learn the correct behavior. The behavioral therapy applying the principle of here and now focuses on the present behavior which the patient finds problematic as opposed to the psychodynamic therapy that focuses on identifying and uncovering unconscious conflicts from childhood. The therapist sees the patient as standing at the intersection between genetic inheritance and learning that occurred through interaction between individual and environmental stimuli. These result in maladaptive thoughts, feelings, attitudes and verbal behavior. Conventionally, the psychotherapeutic process starts by behavior analysis  [14]  . The focus is on indentifying the current stimulus response relationship. Based on the disruptive behaviors identified the therapist designs a program (the psychotherapeutic process) meant to help the patient unlearn the faulty responses and if appropriate learn more adaptive behaviors. The patient is explained how the psychotherapy works, how the conditioned responses were learnt somewhere in the past and how the very same behavioral responses can be modified using the techniques of behavioral therapy. According to Bennet, behavior therapy differs from psychoanalytic therapies in the following regards: it is directive, the therapist actively involves in the therapeutic process, using methods based on learning principles; the goal of therapy is different in that it intends to change behavior not to reconstruct personality; the therapy is shorter than other forms; the interventions are symptom specific, closer to the medical model of intervention rather than the psychoanalytic catharsis or insight  [15]  . Behavioral techniques emerged from the classical conditioning principle involve systematic desensitisation, aversion therapy, implosion therapy and flooding. Operant conditioning techniques are related to what is commonly known in therapy as behavior modification, behavior shaping and token economy. Systematic desensitization is the treatment of choice for phobias and various anxiety inducing behaviors. It aims at replacing the patients anxiety response with a relaxation one, by increasingly exposing the patient to a hierarchy of stimuli from the less anxiety evoking to the anxiety evoking stimulus itself. During the process, the patient goes to the next stage of the stimulus hierarchy only after succeeding to be fully relaxed in the present of the previous stimulus. This method requires the training of the patient in relaxation techniques  [16]  and involves the use of imagination, since when is impossible to be confronted with the actual situation (like is the case in social p hobias) the patient has to imagine being in those situations, following that life itself will offer opportunities to see if the therapy is successful or not. So, the exposure can be done in vitro or in vivo, depending on the phobic stimulus. However, studies have emphasized that the important factor in curing is the exposure to the feared object or situation by breaking the avoidance cycle created and reinforced in any phobia. Aversion therapy is used to induce an aversive response to stimuli which are associated with existing undesirable behaviors. It has been used in trying to treat alcoholic addiction, by associating a nausea producing drug or a small electric shock with the undesired behavior of drinking. As a result of this stimuli association, the patient is provoked to vomit. This supposedly might determine the patient avoid drinking in the future. However, this method raises serious ethical and effectiveness problems, the rates of relapse being reportedly very high. Implosion therapy and flooding involve that the patient has to face the worst possible fear producing situation, in imagination only in the former and in the physical context in the latter. In contrast with systematic desensitization which presupposes a gradual exposure to the stimuli, these techniques are more radical and less time consuming. If successful, the patient might be cured of a phobia in one hour. The advantage of this method is that the patient learns that there are no objective bases for his/her fear by accepting to openly confront it. Ethical problems are associated as well in regard to suffering from therapy. Derived from operant conditioning, the behavior modification method is largely used in educational and clinical psychology contexts. It reinforces desired behaviors and ignores or punishes undesired ones. This techniques raises problems in choosing reinforcers since people can potentially respond to a wide range of such stimuli. Similar to behavior modification is the behavior shaping technique successfully used in working with autistic children in order to maintain a desired behavior. Another operant application has been used in institutions (for examples schools and hospitals) within the programs called token economies, where conditioned reinforcers are offered to strengthen specific behaviors. Tokens are offered in exchange of a desired behavior and can later be transformed in something that the individual wants. Token behave as a secondary reinforcement for the primary reinforcements which are in fact desired. It may be also used to extinguish undesired behaviors by taking away t he earned tokens to punish undesired behavior. Taken economies are uncommon and inefficient in treating mental disorders, although they might contribute to alleviating some disruptive behaviors associated with mental disorders, such as aggressiveness, inadequate social interaction and use of bad language  [17]  . Evaluation of the approach strengths and limits One of the major strengths of this approach is questionably considered its scientific background. Developed from lab experiments on animals (Pavlov-dogs, Thorndike cats, Watson rats, Skinner pigeons and rats) it focuses exclusively on behavior which can be observed and objectively measured. The behaviorist human being is concrete, realistic, determined in its actions by the environment and the society that he/she lives in. This theoretical approach proved to be productive in creating psychotherapeutic methods, mainly successful in the area of phobias and addictions. Compared to other approaches behaviorism is supported by many experiments. However, there are discrepancies between the empirical and the theoretical developments in behaviorism, which is considered a limitation of the approach. Initial empirical studies were made on animals (as mentioned above) while the theoretical studies are done by generalizing observations made on animals upon humans. This fact cumulated with the declared behaviorists rejection of the importance of mental processes offers a very fragmented and simplistic view of human being. Watson believed that observing and describing behavior is enough to predict and control it. Thus, he eliminated explanation from psychology. Psychic life was acknowledged but its understanding was not considered necessary because it will finally manifest itself at behavioral level. At this point we need to reconsider what meaning we give to the term scientific, in regard to our double perspective taken by the present work. If scientific means that positive methods in studying human being (similar to the study of rocks, animals, meteorological phenomena etc.) are favored, then we might as well consider this psychological approach a step forward on the terrain of positive science. But if scientific means to conceptualize the human being in all its wholeness in order to understand its starting point, its inner resorts and teleological direction, then behaviorism might be seen as an unacceptable lessening of the complexity and mystery of human being. The intense use of lab experiments present the disadvantage of a low ecological validity  [18]  . In time it became obvious that understanding of behavior cannot come from the laboratory. On the other hand behaviorism was criticized as being reductionist by eliminating the meditational processes and too deterministic by the fact that human being is presented as not possessing free will. Another weakness identified by ethnological studies show that the principles of conditioning are not as universal as was once asserted  [19]  . However, maybe the most informed criticism is provided from within, by a behavior therapist like Lazarus connected with Joseph Wolpe, who states in regard to behavior therapy that: the methods of behavior therapy are extremely effective when applied to carefully selected cases by informed practitioners. But when procedures overstep the boundaries of their legitimate terrain, ridicule and disparagement are most likely to ensue. Far from being a panacea, the methods are then held to have no merit whatsoever, and the proverbial baby gets thrown out with the bath waterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The danger lies in a premature elevation of learning principles into unwarranted scientific truths  [20]  . Comparison with psychodynamic perspective Within the behaviorist approach various theorists hold positions that may vary in some degrees but fundamentally assert the same thing: behavior is the new found object of psychology; this allows psychology to behave and to be considered a natural science; a belief that its legitimate to study the animal behavior and compare it with human behavior; the emphasis on environment as causation of behavior and consequently dismiss mental processes. The psychodynamic and behaviorist perspectives on human being are opposed. They started from very different points in defining what human being is. Furthermore, the behaviorism appeared as a reaction to psychoanalysis and other currents in psychology that used the method of introspection to define and explain the inner, immaterial and unseen mental processes. Their approach was considered by behaviorists as mysticism. The focus in psychodynamic theories and practice is on inner processes that are seen as motivating and influencing behavior, while the focus in behaviorist theories and practice is on the outer world, i.e. environment that is seen as determining behavior. The change in psychoanalysis comes by uncovering unconscious conflicts that are the underlying causes of behavior, while the change in behaviorism comes by manipulating the environment in order to remove undesirable behavior. These opposing perspectives do not completely eliminate dialogue since the unification point i s the human being itself. For example, if a Freudian theorist suggests that adult behavior can best be understood by looking at childhood experiences, Skinner agrees but suggests that the connections are based on the reinforcement history of the person, not some vague concept of conflicts between id and ego  [21]  . In the Freudian understanding of human nature, the person is born with instincts, hence the development of the drive and unconscious psychology, as opposed to the Watsonian perspective where humans are born tabula rasa. The behaviorist theorist Skinner describes the inner life as a black box. He acknowledges its existence but he sees it in behaviorist terms. For him the private inner life is also behavior  [22]  . However, in the view of the major differences presented above we are enabled to draw the conclusion that psychoanalysis and behaviorism have as a starting point different assumptions concerning human nature and therefore, develop at the conceptual- the oretical and practical-therapeutic level towards two distinct finalities. This point is very well made clear by Watson in one of his famous quotes: Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and Ill guarantee to take anyone at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant -chief and yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors. I am going beyond my facts and I admit it, but so have the advocates of the contrary and they have been doing it for thousands of years  [23]  . Contributions to new developments Despite all its limitations, the behaviorist approach has some positive points as well: provided psychology with new and quantifiable concepts, opened the gate to new theories and explanations in psychology, crated more realistic methods. Somehow ironically, one of the major contributions made by behaviorism concerns the possibilities of research opened towards the investigation of cognitive processes that they initially rejected, which will fundament the new cognitive approach in psychology. For example, Edward Tolman, regarded as one of the founders of the cognitive approach, considered himself a behaviorist though not a radical behaviorist like Skinner. In addition, the study of many cognitive issues, such as observational learning imitation) and the use of hypotheses in problem solving, began with similar behaviorist studies of animals. Where the introspectionists failed in their attempts to make sense out of mental processes the behaviorists have pointed the way to new possibil ities for a scientific psychology of the mind  [24]  . Neobehaviorism introduces the meditational processes (motive, emotion) between stimuli and response.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Cultural Differences in Nonverbal Communication Essay -- Communication

When communicating, only a small percent of the exchange is verbal. The larger part of the message is made up of body language or movements, known as nonverbal communication. The reason for people using nonverbal communication is to enhance the message they are sending to the receiver. One way nonverbal communication differs is through cultural differences. Cultural differences have a significant impact on nonverbal communication as cultures differ greatly in their nonverbal interpretations and responses. Firstly, this essay will prove how kinesics can create barriers between people as types of nonverbal cues differ amongst cultures. It will then show that paralinguistics can be based on cultural expectations and this can create stereotyping in cross-cultural communication. Turning to haptics, it will then show that different perspectives on haptics can cause problems in a cross-cultural context. Finally, it will prove that because of different cultural norms, the use of proxemics can be misinterpreted, therefore proving that cultural differences have a significant impact on nonverbal communication. Kinesics refers to the study of body movements; an understanding of kinesics across culture requires a close look at posture, movement, facial expression, eye contact, and gestures (Tyler, Kossen & Ryan 2005). Particular kinesics do not signify the same meaning for all cultures, the meaning of any kinesics depends on the culture of the expresser and the observer. Kinesics varies from culture to culture; these differences can cause barriers between people from different cultures, it can also create barriers between two countries. For example, Bill Richardson tells of a time when he went to Iraq to negotiate the release of two U.S... ...Cited Delgado, R & Kobayashi, T 2011. Proceedings of the Paralinguistic Information and its Integration in Spoken Dialogue Systems Workshop. 1st ed. Springer. Richmond, V & McCroskey, J 2011. Nonverbal Behavior in Interpersonal Relations. 7th ed. Allyn & Bacon. Knapp, M & Hall, J 2009. Communication in Human Interaction. 7th ed. Wadsworth Publishing. Laver, J, 1994. Principles of Phonetics . Cambridge University Press. Remland, M, 2008. Nonverbal Communication in Everyday Life . 3rd ed. Allyn & Bacon. Hall, E, 1990. The Hidden Dimension. Anchor. Tyler, S, Kossen, C & Ryan, C 2002, Communication: A foundation Course, Prentice Hall, Sydney. Hall, E, 1990. Understanding cultural Differences: Germans, French and Americans. Nicholas Brealey Publishing . Harper, R, 1978. Nonverbal communication: The State of the Art. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Monday, August 19, 2019

The Colector Crimes vs. Drug Crimes :: essays research papers

Various crimes have select penalties in which they are accompanied with. As a part of the American way, fairness and justice is the prime concern in the court of law. However, some specific crimes do not seem to fit the punishment. Although these serious offenses are in fact crimes, their penalties coincide with unlawful acts that effect more people, and therefore should not be of the same punishment. Examples of these unequal ratios are the comparisons between murder and kidnaping laws to those of drug crimes. These offenses are indeed actions that effect more than one person in a negative way. The victims, along with their families and friends, are impacted dramatically when a person is lost, missing, or even dead. These effects last long after justice is served. But how well is this justice served? Are murderers on the same levels of drug offenders? First degree murder is the most heinous crime with the harshest penalties in the American judicial system. No other offense will allow the same punishments to convicts, which honestly makes perfect sense. However, second degree murder calls for up to a $25,000 fine and/or four to twenty years in prison, (Rockton site). This crime, voluntary manslaughter, is the deliberate and intentional murder of a person. Along with this crimeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s penalty, there is an equal punishment if the act was drug related. For possessing fifteen grams of cocaine without intent to sell, an offender will be exposed to the same consequences as if they would have shot and killed a young woman in the middle of a crowded building, (Hoffman Estates site). Possession of that amount of cocaine is indeed an offense, but does it equal the loss of a life? If this criminal was selling this amount, the charge should be higher since more people are affected. For example, it would be suicide if one were to ov erdose on the amount of cocaine, but if an overdose was a result of oneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s sales, than this action would be dubbed involuntary manslaughter, or the unintentional act leading to a death. However, this consequence is only of possession, not supplying to another person who could harm themselves. Another example of these extreme penalties is the common link between kidnaping and possession of methamphetamine. Possession of five grams of methamphetamine with intent to sell is obviously a disgusting way of life, but so is the abduction of a person.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Mary Shelley :: essays research papers

The year is 1797 and Mary Wollstonecraft gives birth to a baby girl on August 30. A baby girl soon to be known as Mary Shelley. Mary Shelley was a prominent literary figure during the Romantic Era of English Literature. She was the only child of Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin. From infancy Mary was treated as a unique individual. William Godwin believed that babies were born with potential waiting to be developed (Poetry for Students, 337). Therefore, surrounded Mary with famous philosophers, writers, and poets, from an early age. At the age of sixteen Mary ran away to live with the twenty-one year old Percy Shelley (337). There was only one problem though, Percy was married.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein in the summer of 1816, staying at Lake Geneva in Switzerland. Mary was only nineteen at the4 time. She wrote the novel while being overwhelmed by a series of difficulties in her life. The worst of these were the suicides of her half-sister, Fanny Imlay, and Percy Shelley’s wife, Harriet (Student Handbook, 190). After these deaths Mary and Percy married. Fierce public hostility toward the couple drove them to Italy. Eventually they were happy in Italy, but their two children William and Clara Shelley died there. Mary never really recovered from their deaths. However, Percy empowered Mary to live as she most desired. In 1822 Percy drowned in a boating accident, leaving Mary penniless. For her remaining years she worked as a professional writer to support her father and son. She died in 1851 of a brain tumor.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mary Shelley combined the ethical concerns of her parents with the Romantic sensibilities of Percy Shelley’s poetic inclinations. Her father’s concern for the underprivileged influenced her description of the poverty-stricken De Lacey family. Mary’s choice of a Gothic novel made her unique in her family and secured her authorial place in the Romantic period.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Romantics believed that the creative imagination reveals nobler truths, unique feelings and attitudes than those that could be discovered by logic or by scientific examination. Mary Shelley showed this in her book Frankenstein. She expressed how she felt and all she was going through in different parts of Frankenstein.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Frankenstein reflected Mary Shelley’s deepest fears and insecurities, like her inability to prevent her children’s deaths, her distressed marriage to a man who showed no pity for his daughters’ deaths, and her feelings of inadequacy as a writer.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Balance Sheet and Net Sales

3 shows the December 31, 2009 pro- forma balance sheet and income statements for R& E Supplies, Inc. The pro- forma balance sheet shows that R& E Supplies will need external funding from the bank of $ 1. 4 million. However, they show $ 1. 27 million in cash and short- term securities. Why are they going to the bank when they have most of the required amount in their cash account? 2. Pro forma financial statements, by definition, are predictions of a company’s financial statements at a future point in time.So why is it important to analyze the historical performance of the company before constructing pro forma financial statements? 3. Suppose you constructed a pro forma balance sheet for a company and the estimate for external financing required was negative. How would you interpret this result? 4. Harlin Fencing Company’s sales, half of which are for cash, over the past three months were: August September October $70,000 $120,000 $80,000 a. Estimate Harlin’s cash receipts in October if the company’s collection period is 30 days. b.Estimate Harlin’s cash receipts in October if the company’s collection period is 45 days. c. What would be the October balance of Accounts Receivable for Harlin Fencing if the company’s collection period is 30 days? 45 days? 5. Suppose you constructed a pro forma balance sheet and a cash budget for a company for the same time period and the external financing required from the pro forma forecast exceeded the cash deficit estimated on the cash budget. How would you interpret this result? 6. Table 3. 5 presents a computer spreadsheet for estimating R& E Sup-plies’ external financing required for 2009.The text mentions that with modifications to the equations for equity and net sales, the fore-cast can easily be extended through 2010. Write the modified equations for equity and net sales. 7. Using a computer spreadsheet, the information presented below, and the modified equations de termined in question 6 above, extend the fore-cast for R& E Supplies contained in Table 3. 5 through 2010. Is R& E’s external financing required in 2009 higher or lower than in 2010? R& E Supplies Assumptions for 2009 ($ thousands) Growth rate in net sales 30. 0% Tax rate 45. 0% Cost of goods sold/ net sales 86. % Dividend/ earnings after tax 50. 0% Gen. , sell. & admin. Current assets/ net sales 29. 0% expenses/net sales 11. 0% Net fixed assets $270 Long- term debt $560 Current liabilities/ net sales 14. 4% Current portion long- term debt $100 Interest rate 10. 0% 8.This and the following two problems demonstrate that pro forma forecasts, cash budgets and cash flow forecasts all yield the same estimated need for external financing— provided you don’t make any mistakes. For problems 8, 9, and 10, you may ignore the effect of added borrowing on interest expense. The treasurer of Pepperton, Inc. a wholesale distributor of household appliances, wants to estimate hi s company’s cash balances for the first three months of 2009. Using the information below, construct a monthly cash budget for Pepperton for January through March 2009. Does it appear from your results that the treasurer should be concerned about investing excess cash or looking for a bank loan? Pepperton Selected Information Sales (20 percent for cash, the rest on 30- day credit terms): 2008 Actual October $360,000 November 420,000 December 1,200,000 2009 Projected January $600,000 February 240,000 March 240,000Purchases (all on 60- day terms): 2008 Actual October $510,000 November 540,000 December 1,200,000 2009 Projected January $300,000 February 120,000 March 120,000 Wages payable monthly $180,000 Principal payment on debt due in March 210,000 Interest due in March 90,000 Dividend payable in March 300,000 Taxes payable in February 180,000 Addition to accumulated depreciation in March 30,000 Cash balance on January 1, 2009 $300,000 Minimum desired cash balance 150,000 9. C ontinuing problem 8, Pepperton’s annual income statement and balance sheet for December 31, 2008 appear below.Additional in-formation about the company’s accounting methods and the treasurer’s expectations for the first quarter of 2009 appear in the footnotes. Pepperton Annual Income Statement December 31, 2008 ($ thousands) Net sales $6,000 Cost of goods sold1 3,900 Gross profits 2,100 Selling and administrative expenses2 1,620 Interest expense 90 Depreciation3 90 Net profit before tax 300 Tax (33%) 99 Net profit after tax $ 201Balance Sheet December 31, 2008 ($ thousands) Assets Cash $300 Accounts receivable 960 Inventory 1,800 Total current assets $3,060 Gross fixed assets 900 Accumulated depreciation 150 Net fixed assets 750 Total assets $3,810 Liabilities Bank loan $0 Accounts payable 1,740 Miscellaneous accruals4 60 Current portion long- term debt5 210 Taxes payable 300 Total current liabilities $2,310 Long- term debt 990 Shareholders’ equity 510 To tal liabilities and equity $3,810 1.Cost of goods sold consists entirely of items purchased in first quarter. 2 Selling and administrative expenses consist entirely of wages. 3 Depreciation is at the rate of $30,000 per quarter. 4 Miscellaneous accruals are not expected to change in the first quarter. 5 $210 due March 2009. No payments for remainder of year. a. Use this information and the information in problem 8 to construct a pro forma income statement for the first quarter of 2009 and a pro forma balance sheet for March 31, 2009. What is your estimated external financing need for March 31? b.Does the March 31, 2009, estimated external financing equal your cash surplus (deficit) for this date from your cash budget in problem 8? Should it? c. Do your pro forma forecasts tell you more than your cash budget does about Pepperton’s financial prospects? d. What do your pro forma income statement and balance sheet tell you about Pepperton’s need for external financing on F ebruary 28, 2009? 10. Based on your answer to question 9, construct a first- quarter 2009 cash flow forecast for Pepperton. 11. Toys- 4- Kids manufactures plastic toys. Sales and production are highly seasonal.Below is a quarterly pro forma forecast indicating external financing needs for 2009. Assumptions are in parentheses. Toys- 4- Kids 2009 Quarterly Pro Forma Forecast ($ thousands) Qtr 1 Qtr 2 Qtr 3 Qtr 4 Net sales $300 $375 $3,200 $5,000 Cost of sales (70% of sales) 210 263 2,240 3,500 Gross profit 90 113 960 1,500 Operating expenses 560 560560 560 Profit before tax (470) (448) 400 940Income taxes (188) (179) 160 376 Profit after tax ($282) ($269) $240 $564 Cash (minimum balance $200,000) $1,235 $927 $200 $200 Accounts receivable (75% of quarterly sales) 225 281 2,400 3,750 Inventory (12/ 31/ 08 balance $ 500,000) 500 500 500 500 Current assets 1,960 1,990 3,120 4,450 Net plant & equipment 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 Total assets $2,960 $2,708 $4,100$5,450 Accounts payable ( 10% o f quarterly sales) 30 38 320 00 Accrued taxes ( payments quarterly in arrears) (188) (179) 160 376 Current liabilities ( 158) ( 142) 480 876 Long- term debt 400 400 400 400 Equity (12/ 31/ 08 balance $3,000,000) 2,718 2,450 2,690 3,254 Total liabilities and equity $2,960 $2,708 $3,570 $4,530 External financing required $ 0 $ 0 $ 530 $ 920 a. How do you interpret the negative numbers for income taxes in the first two quarters? b. Why are cash balances in the first two quarters greater than the minimum required $ 200,000?How were these numbers deter-mined? c. How was â€Å" external financing required† appearing at the bottom of the forecast determined? d. Do you think Toys- 4- Kids will be able to borrow the external financing required as indicated by the forecast? 12. Continuing with Toys- 4- Kids introduced in the preceding problem, the company’s production manager has argued for years that it is inefficient to produce on a seasonal basis. She believes the company sho uld switch to level production throughout the year, building up finished goods inventory in the first two quarters to meet the peak selling needs in the last two.She believes the company can reduce its cost of goods sold from 70 to 65 percent with level production. a. Prepare a revised pro forma forecast assuming level production. In your forecast assume that quarterly accounts payable under level production equal 10 percent of average quarterly sales for the year. To estimate quarterly inventory, use the following two formulas: Inventoryeoq = Inventoryboq + Quarterly production – Quarterly cost of sales Quarterly production Annual cost of sales/ 4 where eoq and boq refer to end of quarter and beginning of quarter, respectively.Please ignore the effect of increased external financing required on interest expense. b. What is the effect of the switch from seasonal to level production on annual profits? c. What effect does the switch have on the company’s quarterly ending inventory? On the company’s quarterly need for external financing? d. Do you think the company will be able to borrow the amount of money required by level production? What obsolescence risks does the company incur by building up inventory in anticipation of future sales? Might this be a concern to lenders? 13. You will need to use the Standard & Poor’s Market Insight Web site ( www. hhe. com/ edumarketinsight) for this problem. Market Insight presents a spreadsheet entitled â€Å" Forecasted Values. † ( Excel Analytics, Valuation Data, Forecasted Values. )a. How are these forecasts generated? Are they more than simple extrapolation of past trends? b. How useful might these forecasts be for projecting a company’s future financing needs? 14. This problem asks you to construct a simple simulation model. If you do not own simulation software, you can download to your computer a free, full- strength version of Crystal Ball for a one- week trial. Point your b rowser to www. crystalball. om and select download. a. Problem 7 above asked you to extend the forecast for R& E Sup-plies contained in Table 3. 5 through 2010. Using the same spread-sheet, simulate R& E Supplies’ external funding requirements in 2009 under the following assumptions. i. Represent the growth rate in net sales as a triangular distribution with a mean of 30 percent and a range 25 percent to 35 percent. ii. Represent the interest rate as a uniform distribution varying from 9 percent to 11 percent.iii. Represent the tax rate as a lognormal distribution with a mean of 45 percent and a standard deviation of 2 percent. . If the treasurer wants to be 95 percent certain of raising enough money in 2009, how much should he raise? ( Grab the triangle below the frequency chart on the right and move it to the left until 95. 00 appears in the â€Å" Certainty† window. ) 15. This problem asks you to prepare one- and five- year financial fore-casts for Aquatic Supplies Company. An Excel spreadsheet containing the company’s 2008 financial statements and management’s projections is available for download at www. mhhe. com/ higgins9e. (Select Student Edition Choose> a Chapter >Excel Spreadsheets. Use this information to answer the questions posed in the spreadsheet. 16. The financial statements and additional information for Noble Equipment Corp. appear at www. mhhe. com/ higgins9e. (Select Student Edition Choose >a Chapter> Excel Spreadsheets. ) The company’s fiscal year end is September 30. Noble’s management wants to estimate the company’s cash balances for the last three months of calendar year 2008, which are the first three months of fiscal year 2009. The questions accompanying the spreadsheet ask you to prepare a monthly cash budget, pro forma financial statements, and a cash flow forecast for the period.

Friday, August 16, 2019

Cybercrime †computer crime Essay

1.1Background Cybercrime is also called computer crime. The use of computers as an instrument to further illegal ends, such as committing fraud, trafficking in child pornography and intellectual property, stealing identities, or violating privacy is cybercrime. Cybercrime, especially through the Internet, has grown in importance as the computer has become central to commerce, entertainment, and government.1 New technologies creates new criminal opportunities because of the early and widespread adoption of computers and the Internet, these days computer crime has been a growing issue even here in Nepal. 1.2 Statement of Problem The development on information technology and cyberspace made the world as a small global village. People can get access right through the world from their home with internet. The trends of global terrorism are also changed by using such IT. Cyber crime as a â€Å"new weapon† becomes a potential threat in international peace. In particular, this paper is focused on cyber crime, its effects, challenges and impact of cyber crime on global security. 1.3Objectives of the Study: a. To know how far cybercrimes are occurring in Nepal b. Cyber crime in Nepal and the law into force c. To learn about cyber security 1.4Importance of the Study The research work is basically useful for all researchers and learners who are willing to study about cyber crime. It is equally beneficial to armed and police forces, the students of strategic studies, political science, history and international relationship. Cyber crime, at present is being a great challenge in each and every development sector. So, it will be useful for the planners and policy makers too. 1.5Limitation of the Study It is because of time constrains; the research is limited in studying on cyber crime, its effects and cyber security only. However, broaden concept of cyber crime has been drawn in the study. Field visit was very costly in terms of time and resources, so only secondary sources (data) have been used to complete the study. It is specifically focused on identifying the causes, objectives, and impacts of cyber crime, the development in cyber space and information warfare, and potential threat in international peace. At last various measures for combating it and recommendations. 1.6Methodology In this study, descriptive and analytical method has been chosen. Because of the time constrains, the data has been used in the research work are based on secondary sources. They were obtained through books, and World Wide Web sites. CHAPTER II HISTORY OF CYBER CRIME The first recorded cyber crime took place in the year 1820. In 1820, Joseph-Marie Jacquard, a textile manufacturer in France, produced the loom. This device allowed the repetition of a series of steps in the weaving of special fabrics. This resulted in a fear amongst Jacquard’s employees that their traditional employment and livelihood were being threatened. They committed acts of sabotage to discourage Jacquard from further use of the new technology. This is the first recorded cyber crime. In Nepal, business houses, organizations started using electronic materials and computers where government was lacking in electronic rules and regulations. There is no exact date recorded for the first cyber crime in Nepal till date. But we can see many people being the victim of cybercrime. Especially in Nepal, many renowned companies are receiving emails from proxy mailing address demanding for money. Beside this, hacking websites of banks, newspaper and face book accounts, humiliating gi rls and uploading images in porn sites, sales of pirated CDS and DVDS are the most commonly practiced cybercrime in Nepal. CHAPTER III CATEGORIES OF CYBERCRIME Basically we can categories cybercrime into two types: (a) The computer as Target: using of computer to attack another computer like hacking, virus/ worms attacks. (b) The computer as a weapon: using a computer to commit real world crime like cyber terrorism, credit card fraud and pornography, DoS attack and many more.2 CHAPTER IV EFFECTS OF CYBERCRIME As the world goes mobile, cybercrime follows. Criminal takes advantage of technologies and internet in many ways to commit crime which is very hard to control by solo effort. Some of the effects of cybercrime that is frequently occurring in Nepal are as follows; (a) Hacking:This is a type of crime wherein a person’s computer is broken into so that his personal or sensitive information can be accessed. This is different from ethical hacking, which many organizations use to check their Internet security protection. In hacking, the criminal uses a variety of software to enter a person’s computer and the person may not be aware that his computer is being accessed from a remote location. (b) Theft: This crime occurs when a person violates copyrights and downloads music, movies, games and software. There are even peer sharing websites which encourage software piracy and many of these websites are now being targeted by the FBI. Today, the justice system is addressing this cyber crime and there are laws that prevent people from illegal downloading. (c) Cyber Stalking: This is a kind of online harassment wherein the victim is subjected to a barrage of online messages and emails. Typically, these stalkers know their victims and instead of resorting to offline stalking, they use the Internet to stalk. However, if they notice that cyber stalking is not having the desired effect, they begin offline stalking along with cyber stalking to make the victims’ lives more miserable. (d) Identity Theft: This has become a major problem with people using the Internet for cash transactions and banking services. In this cyber crime, a criminal accesses data about a person’s bank account, credit cards, Social Security, debit card and other sensitive information to siphon money or to buy things online in the victim’s name. It can result in major financial losses for the victim and even spoil the victim’s credit history. (e) Malicious Software: These are Internet-based software or programs that are used to disrupt a network. The software is used to gain access to a system to steal sensitive information or data or causing damage to software present in the system. (f) Child soliciting and Abuse: This is also a type of cyber crime wherein criminals solicit minors via chat rooms for the purpose of child pornography. The FBI has been spending a lot of time monitoring chat rooms frequented by children with the hopes of reducing and preventing child abuse and soliciting. CHAPTER V CYBER SECURITY AND ITS ADVANTAGES 5.1Cyber security:Cyber Security involves protection of sensitive personal and business information through prevention, detention and response to different online attacks. The measures of applying cyber security are as follows: (a) Privacy Policy: Before submitting your name, e-mail address, on a website look for the sites privacy policy. (b) Keep Software Up to Date: If the seller reduces patches for the software operating system your devices install them as soon as possible. Installing them will prevent attackers from being able to take advantages. Don’t choose options that will allow your computer to remember your passwords. (c) Disable remote connectivity: Some devices are equipped with wireless technologies like Bluetooth that can be used to connect to other devices. You should disable these features when they are not in use. 5.2Advantages of Cyber Security:The advantages of cyber security are mentioned below: (a) The cyber security will defend us from critical attacks. (b) It will defend us from hacks and virus. (c) Internet Security processes all the incoming and outgoing data on your computer. (d) Application of cyber security used in our PC needs update every week. (e) It helps us to browse the site, website. CHAPTER VI CYBER LAW IN NEPAL Nepal has moved a step further in the information and communication technology (ICT) as the government has promulgated Electronic Transaction Act-2063 and Regulations, legalizing all electronic transactions and digital signatures. 4 Cyber law or Electronic Transaction Act clearly defines the rights, duties and authorities of the subscribers, network service provider, etc. The act had provision of separate bodies, IT Tribunal and Appellate Tribunal. The both look into all cases related to computer crime and the cyber crime. The IT tribunal is headed by the District Court Judge and has 3 members. The main purpose of this act (law) is to legalize the electronic transactions and digital signatures for both private and public transactions, protecting the electronic documents from the unauthorized access and to control the illegal activities or the cyber crimes. This act has 12 sections and 79 clauses. Electronic Transaction Act 2006 is here to fore addressed in the capacity of cyber law. The Cyber law 2006 dictates the limitation for complaint within 35 days of first knowhow of crime and breaching of the cyber law. The punishment varies from Rs. 50000 to Rs. 300000 penalty and 6 months to 5 years imprisonment as the attempts to discourage the cyber crime. CHAPTER VII CHALLENGES IN CYBER CRIME Though there is cyber law in Nepal, but yet there are many challenges in investigating Cybercrime due to: a. Internet and the computers as the Scene of Crime there are many types of computer crime that exist, as well as the legal and technical challenges that face law enforcement and prosecutors in their efforts to combat this crime. b. Investigator’s skills (not trained) to combat cyber terrorism. c. knowhow of cyber security d. high-tech crimes and confusions e. Low participation of tech groups and less co-operation of resource groups f. Imitation of traditional perspective for defining cyber crime. A challenging aspect of cybercrime is its nonlocal character: actions can occur in jurisdictions separated by vast distances. g. Creating a Safer Information Society by Improving the Security of Information Infrastructures. CHAPTER VIII RECOMMENDATION Many people has become the victim of cybercrime especially girls, celebrities, politicians and many other renowned personalities. It’s a well known saying that â€Å"Prevention is always better than cure†, Therefore, it is always better to take certain precaution beforehand rather than regretting afterwards. Whosoever is accessing the net should take Safety and privacy activation on social networking site. Some of the safety measures are mentioned below: a. Stay informed, pay attention to news sources to learn about recent threats and websites that have been attacked. b. Be careful, to never enter private or financial data into websites that don’t show proof of security. c. Clean and clear your internet cache, lost fragments, orphaned registry keys, temporary files, deleted email messages, and other temporary files on your computer often. d. Google yourself and make sure there is nothing out there that gives out too many details about you. e. Never provide your c redit card number as a proof f. Report abuse, if you are stalked or harassed online, don’t respond to the attacker. Instead keep a record of the communications and report the abuse to the websites administrator. CHAPTER IX CONCLUSION There are appropriate investigative law enforcement agencies, District Police Offices of Police Headquarters or Local Police office, Metropolitan Crime Division who are working against cybercrime and the criminals. Cybercrime is indeed getting the recognition it deserves. However, it is not going to be restricted that easily. In fact, it is highly likely that cybercrime and its hackers will continue developing and upgrading to stay ahead of the law. So, to make us a safer we must need cyber security. Moreover, every individual most apply the possible way to stay alert. ACRONYMS FBI- Federal Bureau of Investigation DoS- Denial-of-Service PC- Personal Computer IT- Information Technology CD-Compact Disc DVD-Digital Versatile Disc / Digital Video Disc ICT-Information and Communication Technology BIBLIOGRAPHY a. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/130595/cybercrime b. http://www.bezaspeaks.com/cybercrime/history.htm c. http://www.slideshare.net/aemankhan/cybercrimeppt-27376284 d. http://www.slideshare.net/aemankhan/cybercrimeppt-27376284 e. http://egovernancenepal.blogspot.com/2007/03/cyber-law-electronic- transaction-act.html f. http://www.crossdomainsolutions.com/cyber-crime/ g. http://www.spotlightnepal.com/News/Article/-Cyber-Law-And-Its-Challenge- h. http://www.ekantipur.com/2014/05/25/oped/cybercrime-without-cyber-rules/390001.html i. http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Journo+charged+with+cyber+crime&NewsID=38http://setopati.net/politics/1775/0963 j. http://mybhaktapur.com/2011/12/20/nepal-police-arrests-facebook-mis-user-for- cyber-crime/ k. http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Cyber+criminals+to+target+mobile%26sbquo%3B+social+in+2014&NewsID=401622 l. http://surendraphuyalnepal.wordpress.com/ m. Kantipur Daily n. Nagarik Dainik o. A Guide to Computer Crime from legal.practitioner.com p. International Journal of Cyber Criminology q. Cybercrime Nepalese Prospective by Nepal Police r. Moore, R. (2005) â€Å"Cyber crime: Investigating High-Technology Computer Crime,† Cleveland, Mississippi: Anderson Publishing.

The work of Langer & Rodin

To explore the effects of decision-making and responsibility on residents in a nursing home, Langer and Rodin gave residents a houseplant. Residents were to make all the decisions about when and how much to water and how much sun to give their plant. Resident in the experimental group were also given other choices such as where they would prefer to receive visitors, whether they wanted see the weekly movie and which evening they wanted to attend (a movie was played on Thursdays and replayed on Fridays), etc. A comparison (control) group were also given plants but told that the nurses would take care of them. Those in this group were not encouraged to make decisions for themselves but were told that staff was there to help them. Issues were as similar as possible with the experimental and comparison groups except for the distinctions about who was in control and responsible for decisions. The researchers used various behavioural and emotional measures to judge the effect of the encouragement, for example, participation in activities at the nursing home, how happy the residents felt and how alert and active the residents were. Clear and dramatic improvement was made in the group given more responsibility. Eighteen months after the study the researchers returned and again performed the outcome measures. The residents who had been given more responsibility were still significantly more active, vigorous and sociable than those in the comparison group. The experimental group also asked more questions during a lecture that Judith Rodin gave. During this return trip physical health was measured. Prior to the study the two groups had been in similar health based on their medical records. However, eighteen months later the health of the experimental group had improved while that of the comparison group had worsened. The most striking discovery was mortality rate. Only seven of the 47 residents in the experimental group had died whereas 13 of the 44 residents in the comparison group had died (15% versus 30%). These results have been confirmed by much research since the time of the original experiment. To improve this experiment they could have looked for other areas where choice can be given back to residents such as dining, bathing, and placement of personal items in their room. Record the outcomes. Watch to see if over time there are changes in activity participation, alertness and affect of residents. As this experiment proceeds it would be good for staff to discuss amongst themselves how to change their own perspective to maximize residents' sense of independence, freedom and involvement. The relation between health and a sense of control may grow stronger in old age. This could occur through three types of processes: experiences particularly relevant to control may increase markedly in old age; the association between control and some aspect of health may be altered by age; and age may influence the association between control and health-related behaviours or the seeking of medical care. Studies show that there are detrimental effects on the health of older people when their control of their activities is restricted; in contrast, interventions that enhance options for control by nursing home patients promote health. With increasing age, however, variability in preferred amounts of control also increases, and sometimes greater control over activities, circumstances, or health has negative consequences including stress, worry, and self-blame. Mechanisms mediating the control-health relation include feelings of stress, symptom labelling, changes in the neuroendocrine an d immune systems, and behaviour relevant to health maintenance. * Work which very clearly supports Langer & Rodin is that of Marmot et al (1997) and the study of civil service office workers: – Marmot et al (1997) Marmot and his co-workers devised an experiment to determine the association between adverse psychosocial characteristics at work and risk of coronary heart disease among male and female civil servants. There were self-report questionnaires provided for information on psychosocial factors of the work environment and coronary heart disease. Independent assessments of the work environment were obtained from personnel managers. Setting: London based office staff in 20 civil service departments. Subjects: 10308 civil servants aged 35-55 were examined-6895 men (67%) and 3413 women (33%). Results: Men and women with low job control, either self reported or independently assessed, have a higher risk of newly reported coronary heart disease during the follow up. Job control was assessed on two occasions three years apart, although intercorrelated, had cumulative effects in newly reported disease. Subjects with low job control on both occasions have an odds ratio for any coronary event of 95% compared with subjects with high job control at both occasions. This association could not be explained by employment grade, negative affectivity, or classic coronary risk factors. Job demands and social support at work were not related to the risk of coronary heart disease. Conclusion: Low control in the work environment is associated with an increased risk of future coronary heart disease among men and women employed in government offices. The cumulative effect of low job control assessed on two occasions indicates that giving employees more variety in tasks and a stronger say in decisions about work may decrease the risk of coronary heart disease. * Whereas the work done by Brady (1958) in the ‘Executive Monkey' experiment completely goes against Langer, Rodin and Marmot: – Brady tested groups of monkeys to determine which were the quickest learners; they would then be chosen to take the place of the ‘Executive Monkey'. The executive monkey is then sat in a harness with its feet touching the floor allowing almost complete mobility, the non-executive monkey is sat in the other harness so that it cannot touch the floor, both harnesses are connected to a bar that in turn is attached to a pivot. A bell would sound and the exec. Monkey would have 20 seconds to get to a switch, if he did not manage to get to the switch in time, both monkeys would be given an electric shock. Brady discovered that the best way to conduct this experiment was to put the monkeys 6 hours in then 6 hours off, this was found to be the best way to stress them. Around 23 days into the experiment the executive monkey would die from stomach ulcers, due to the stress. > We could argue that the monkey had the control over whether they got shocked or not and yet it still got stressed and died, which would then completely dis-prove Langer & Rodin. > But you could also argue that the exec. monkey got stressed from having to get to the switch and its also possible to say that the executive monkey didn't have complete control, i.e. they couldn't turn the electric shocks off completely, and so got stressed from having to continuously press the switch. * Weiss (1972) repeated Brady et al's experiment but with rats this time: – He found that giving feedback on successful shock avoidance (by sounding a tone) reduced ulceration in executives to below that of the non-executive rats. The feedback tells the animal it has avoided shocks and increases its ‘sense of control' over the situation. The non-executive animal cannot respond and lacks any control at all over what's going on, this leads to more ulceration. ==> By comparing Brady and Weiss' experiments it's very clear to see that the idea of a ‘sense of control' separates the two. Not as many animals will die in Weiss' as in Brady's, the rats don't feel as stressed as the monkeys because they feel more ‘in control'. These studies also show the importance of control and feedback on successful coping in reducing levels of stress.