Chapter Three Doc

CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY 3. 0 INTRODUTION This chapter deals with research method. The research methodology applied for the purposes of this study covered areas like research design, population of study, sampling technique, data collection method, data analysis method and limitations. 3. 1 RESEARCH DESIGN Research design is therefore a plan for a research work, which aims at providing guidelines, which the research work is being conducted. The study employed a descriptive survey research design.A survey research design seeks to obtain information that describes existing phenomenon by asking individuals about their perceptions, attitudes and values (Mugenda and Mugenda, 2003). Descriptive survey research design is the systematic collection of data in standardized form from an identifiable population or representative (Oso and Onen, 2009). This design was adopted for this study because it intensively described and analyzed the role of employee welfare services on productivity of the e mployees of the case company. The method of questionnaire and interview are used in data collection.Data are presented in tables and a descriptive method is adopted in analysis. 3. 2 POPULATION OF THE STUDY According to Mugenda and Mugenda (2003), target population is the members of a real or hypothetical set of people, events or objects the researcher wishes to generalize the results of the research. The study targeted a population of about 400 comprising of clerical staff, officers, senior officers, middle-level managers, and top level managers that constitute the workforce of Leadway Assurance Limited. 3. 3 SAMPLING TECHNIQUE AND SAMPLING SIZEThe method of sampling used is proportional stratified random sampling. Firstly the whole population of employees is divided into departments, and a specific number of employees from each department were selected for the survey. The sample size of 100 employees was draw from the population. Mugenda and Mugenda (2003) observe that 30% of the target population is a good representation of the study. 4. 4 DATA COLLECTION METHOD The data for this study will be collected through the administration of structured questionnaires to a sample of employees selected from the head office.One hundred copies of the questionnaires were administered randomly to on the sampled employees. Eighty five (85) copies of the questionnaires were duly completed and returned which formed the basis of the analysis, while 15 of the questionnaires were considered as non-returns. The questions were tailored along a four point likert scale. The responses were coded and mapped into numeric values; the following mapping exists; strongly agree = 4 point, Agree = 3 points, Disagreed = 2 points, Strongly disagree =1 point (Azika,1991). 3. 5 DATA ANALYSIS METHOD The study adopted descriptive statistics in its analysis.Descriptive statistics according to Mugenda and Mugenda (2003) includes the statistical procedures that produce indices that summarize data an d describes the sample. Presentation of data was done by the use of charts and tables. The data collected was analysed using pie charts, tables and percentages. Due to the volume of the data involved Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used employed to perform the statistical analysis. REFERENCES Madumere S. C (2012) A Guide to Research Methodology Vitaman publishers Lagos Mugenda, O. M. & Mugenda, A. G. (2003), Research Methods; Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches.Nairobi: Acts Press. Oyaide, W. G. , 1977. The Role of Direct Foreign Investment: A case study of Nigeria, 1963-1973. United Press of America, Washington D. C. Root, F. R. , 1984. International Trade and Investment. 5th Edn. South Western Publication Company, Cincinnati, Ohio. Serven, L. and A. Salimano, 1992. Private investment and macroeconomic adjustment: A Survey. World Bankobserver, 7(1). Tadaro, M. P. , 1999. Economic Development. 7th Edn. , Addison Webley Longman Inc. Reading Massachusetts. Voiv odas, C. S. , 1973. Exports, foreign capital and economic growth. J. Int. Econ. , 3(1).

Nike Marketing Objectives

Nike’s marketing objective is to employ a range of marketing communication tactics that can cater to the organization’s target market, who have different nationalities, genders, cultures, and ages. To enable this, Nike introduces its latest products through a marketing communication group that can strengthen the â€Å"positioning of, and key messages about, the Nike brand,† through different forms of visual aids and point-of-purchase advertising. In connection to this, Nike continuously aims to apply marketing tactics that are appropriate with the people who reside in these continents or nations. For example, aside from traditional advertising in the form of television, billboards, and the like, Nike also makes use of contemporary marketing instruments such as the internet, wherein people in almost any part of the world could access various sites to customize Nike shoes and products. Moreover, Nike applies an effective marketing communication and at the same time still relatively manages to be cost-effective in terms of its marketing programs. Although Nike’s marketing expenses may seem excessive, they employ internationally recognized celebrity athletes; they overflow retail networks with promotions of products and other giveaways. According to Knight and Greenberg (2002, pg 548), the integration of endorsements and sponsorships enables Nike to represent itself as a socially concerned actor promoting sport as a solution to social problems. The company’s campaign theme is JUST DO IT. The Campaign will target men and woman and especially those in the basketball scene that are of 14 to 30 years of age. Nike sprint shoes are not only good shoes to wear but are strong, durable and comfortable, this way, the company will convince them to take action. The campaign will also exist as billboards; through celebrity endorsements like Michael Jordan and James Lebron. The Company will also use electronic media (commercials, official website of Nike and newspapers) to promote the brand), (Marketing Plan of Nike,2011)

Cue for Treason by Geoffrey Trease Essay

A hero is someone idolized by others for their outstanding achievements and qualities. Everyone has their own meanings of the word hero; some people might think a hero is someone who wears costumes and fights crime where as someone else might think of a hero as someone who fights for a country for example, a soldier. Peter Brownrigg, of the novel Cue for Treason by Geoffrey Trease is the most heroic characters in my opinion. His persistent, selfless, and courageous personality exemplified their heroism. These personality traits make Peter the most heroic characters of Cue for Treason. It takes persistence for a hero to overcome any unexpected difficulties presented to them. Near the end of Cue for Treason, Peter tried his best to sabotage Sir Philip Morton’s plan to assassinate the Queen. This is one piece of evidence where Peter’s heroic qualities is shown because he fought against multiple conspirators, but he has not given up once.. Another example of where Peter’s persistence was shown is when he was hiding from Sir Philip Morton inside the chest at the theatre. â€Å"It was hot in the chest, but I was afraid to come out. I could never be sure, even when there was silence around me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Trease, 48-49). In this scenario, Peter also portrayed his persistent characteristics by hiding in the hot chest in fear of being found by Sir Philip Morton. This once again portrayed that Peter was heroic because he knew he had to stay hidden in order to protect the identities of the people involved in the tearing down of Sir Philip Morton’s wall. Peter’s persistence was shown once again when he was swimming through the waters of Ullswater. This quote from Cue for Treason also supports the fact that he is persistent, heroic and not selfish. I mustn’t give up. I mustn’t give up†¦ Everything depended on my reaching that thin line of gray shingle, that fringe of oaks and pines. If I gave up now, and let myself slip down into the sweet peace of green water, the Queen would be murdered and the kingdom thrown into anarchy. Thousands of Englishmen would die in the quarrel†¦ That was what kept me swimming. It wasn’t just the life of an old lady with a crown. It was for all of us (Trease 201-202). Selflessness is the trait that portrays heroes and allow heroes to put others before themselves. This quote portrayed that Peter is not selfish because he knew many lives were at stake and that he could not give up for the sake of those lives. Peter left his house willingly to protect his family, friends, and neighbours from Sir Philip Morton. This made him heroic and not selfish because he was risking his own life, but at the same moment he was protecting the lives of others whom which he cares for. Later on, Peter grew to care for his companion Kit. â€Å"I was in command for the moment. I’d have given a lot for Kit’s company, but I knew I wasn’t justified in taking her.† (Trease, 179). Peter decided not to let Kit go with him to search for Tom in the Peel tower. This was an example of his heroic and non selfish traits because he did not want to put Kit’s life in danger. Furthermore, Peter showed he was selfless when the Queen asked him what he wanted in return for having saved her life. I looked at her. What did I want? †¦ We have never sought wealth or honors-your true statesman will not take even a knighthood†¦ ‘Your Majesty,’ I said, ‘there are some common which have been ours and our neighbors’ from time immemorial. Sir Philip stole them and enclosed them for himself. Will you hand them back to us and confirm us in possession of them forever?’ (Trease, 281) Even when Peter was given the possibility of having anything he desired, Peter requested for the return of the land that Sir Philip Morton took away from his friends and family. This portrayed heroism and selflessness because Peter was thinking of his community and requested for the one thing that would benefit his whole community. Heroes need courage to face the challenges that awaits them. Peter displays his courageous trait when he decides to leave Cumberland by himself. â€Å"I knew I couldn’t stand torture. If the law let them do that, even a little of it, I know I should blurt out the names of every man and boy who’d been there that night.† (Trease, 30). This demonstrates Peter’s courage because he knew that he had to leave to protect those he cared for. Another example of him being courageous was when he decided to enter the Peel tower without Kit’s company. Tom had once told us that, if anything ever happened to him, we were to go to the nearest sheriff or magistrate and get him to send word†¦ But the present business might be so urgent that this wouldn’t be sufficient†¦ Could we afford to stand still and do nothing for so long? (Trease, 180) Peter thought about whether or not to follow Tom’s order. This showed Peter’s heroic qualities to shine because he had respect for higher authority, but he knew he had to not follow the instructions since lives were at stake. In my opinion Peter Brownrigg is the most heroic character in Cue for Treason. His persistent personality helped him to endure the challenges of his journeys. Furthermore, he was not selfless for the happiness and safety of his family and friends. Lastly, he was courageous enough to perform risky actions. A hero is an individual distinguished for their exceptional abilities and accomplishments.

Islamic Banking Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Islamic Banking - Research Proposal Example There has been increasing number of people with growing interest in the Islamic banking as a phenomenon and a lot of questions have been raised on its differences from conventional banking. This study will investigate the question that is often raised by most people whether it is an economic or a religious bank. The success of the research depends on the use of both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. The qualitative methods include interviews conducted face-to-face, online and over the telephone. The interviews cover standard closed question requiring a limited range of answers. This offers precision in categorization of the responses offered. Open-ended questions are also included to give a respondent a wide range of answers to express their opinions, interests, concerns, recommendations and disapprovals. This encourages honesty in the respondents’ answers hence facilitates the collection of valid data (Arun & Rachana 2000). The questionnaire was designed as the preferred survey instrument because it included all constructs of the proposed model to help in achieving the objectives of this study. Quantitative and qualitative research methods will begin with the issue of questionnaires to respondents. The questionnaires offer a standard measure of results obtained and enables the performance of secondary research that includes simple regression and correlation. These will further analyze the responses of the customers of Islamic banking. In this study, only the primary data will be used. The primary data will be collected based on interviews conducted face-to-face, online and over the telephone to reach the target group. Primary data is appropriate for this study because it adds value that a researcher to the table. The sampling technique will enable the selection of respondents used in the research. Sampling will cover 200 customers of Islamic

Is globalisation presently being governed To the extent it is, how is Essay

Is globalisation presently being governed To the extent it is, how is this being done - Essay Example To some extent this is the case, but as we will see, the range of actors and processes comprehended by such terms as ‘globalisation’ and ‘global governance’ are perhaps too complex and too numerous to be encompassed in any account. In short, the aim of this essay is to explore the nature and efficacy of contemporary attempts to govern globalising forces, and to assess the methods used and the degree of success they have been met with. The term ‘global governance’ is bandied about in the literature a great deal, but different scholars seem to have attached a range of different, sometimes overlapping, and sometimes conflicting, meanings to it. As Dingwerth and Pattberg (2006) observed, ‘the concept of global governance has become ever more popular – and confusion about its meaning ever greater’ (p. 185). Writing on the same theme, Payne (2005) went so far as to claim that governance is one of the most used and abused terms in c ontemporary academic discourse, perhaps beaten to first place only by globalisation (p. 55). It is necessary to gain some clarity on this issue if we are to build a useful analytical framework for discussing the consequences and demands of globalisation. Dingwerth and Pattberg (2006) declared, exasperated, that ‘’Global Governance’ appears to be virtually anything’ (p. 185). However, using their review article as a helpful foundation, we can see global governance as an analytical framework which has succeeded ‘international relations’ – the traditional way of seeing interaction between sovereign states. While global governance refers partly to the institutional response to globalisation, and attempts by states to order globalising processes, it is surely something larger than this, and encompasses a series of phenomena which can be observed working above and below the level of intergovernmental cooperation. There are, for example, socia l and political movements which transcend state boundaries, often facilitated by the unique opportunities for communication afforded by the internet. There are also private networks and private corporations whose interests and activities span continents. Pressure groups such as Greenpeace and judicial actors like the International Criminal Court are only the most visible of millions of actors in the global arena. Weiss (1999), likewise, saw global governance as a response to the widespread dissatisfaction with existing theories of international relations, and especially the failure of such theories to adequately make allowance for the colossal increase, in numbers and importance, of actors independent of the state, and especially of the transformations brought about by new technologies, especially the internet. Rosenau (1995) understood all of this, and acknowledged that an understanding of global governance rests on a great deal more than an exploration of the formal institutions a nd mechanisms – bodies such as the United Nations - that have been established by governments to deal with globalisation. As he himself writes, it is ‘more than the formal institutions through which the management of international affairs is or is not sustained’ (p. 13). He extends the competence of global governance right down to every level of human activity, including interactions between families across borders. Dingwerth and Patt

The Law of Comparative Advantage as a Basis for Understanding Essay

The Law of Comparative Advantage as a Basis for Understanding International Trade - Essay Example In addition, comparative advantage as a basis for understanding international trade is limited by the distance between the trading partners thereby increasing the transaction cost. Introduction Since the law of comparative advantage was introduced by David Ricardo in 1817, it has been used as a basis for understanding international trade. The law explained that countries should concentrate in producing what they best and let others do what they do best. The law is based on the premises that different countries have varying endowment and therefore those countries less endowed on production of a certain good should buy from more endowed countries thereby leading to more gains in trade. Ricardo demonstrated this law by giving the example of cloth and wine production between Portugal and England. Portugal is highly endowed in the production of the two and therefore Portugal would have to export the two. On the other hand, England would have to import the two goods thereby failing to gain from trade. Given that comparative advantage is based on relative operation costs, doing some things is comparatively more beneficial than others ("Comparative advantage: Doing what you do best", 2011, p. 32). ... 82). Although comparative remains a critical determinant of trade, OECD countries are more similar economically and therefore trade based on comparative advantage may not find application in current international trade ("Comparative advantage: Doing what you do best", 2011, p. 32). Despite the economic similarities among OECD countries, there are some differences which can drive trade based on comparative advantage. Moreover, there are remarkable differences between OECD countries and non-OECD countries and between non-OECD. Consequently, applicability of the comparative advantage could be more pronounced in North to South trade and South-South trade rather than it is for the North to North trade ("Comparative advantage: Doing what you do best", 2011, p. 32). In addition to the only one factor of production proposed by Ricardo, productive of the country is influenced by physical capital, level of education and availability of credit. Heckscher-Ohlin contradicts the argument of Ricard o and argues that varied comparative advantage among countries emerges due to differences in the abundance of factors and the intensity with which the goods rely on those factors (Morrow, 2010, p. 139). This paper seeks to analyze seeks to analyze the application of Ricardo’s and Heckscher-Ohlin law of comparative advantage to influence international trade and assess the extent to which international trade is affected by comparative advantage. International trade and comparative advantage based on Ricardo’s and Heckscher-Ohlin trade theories Production levels world over demonstrate heterogeneity and specialization (Kamery, 2004, p. 115). For instance, US produces over 35 percent of total

Management of ankle fracture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Management of ankle fracture - Essay Example According to most epidemiologists, ankle fractures have quite an extensive occurrence and the groups at high risk include adults, especially the elderly. For instance, Egol et al (2013) imply that that broken ankles have an incidence of approximately 174 cases per 100 000 adults yearly. While Parekh, Patel and Parekh (2012) assert that, the new occurrences could amount to approximately 187 fractures per 100,000 individuals every year. Nevertheless, the approximations seem to be much closer. Generally, according to Egol et al (2013) the correct treatment and categorization normally provides a decisive significance for clinical outcome. Since the mid-1900s, the rate of ankle fractures occurrences has significantly augmented in most of the industrialized states, most probably due to the growth in the number of individuals who get involved in athletics as well as the size of the aging population. Further, Parekh, Patel and Parekh (2012) indicate that the malleolar fractures (a type ankle fracture) has a vast prevalence, whereby the percentage for unimalleolar ranges from 60% to 70%. On the other hand, other fractures like bimalleolar fractures occur at a rate of 15% to 20% while the occurrence of trimalleolar fractures range at 7% to 12%. The overall rate of occurrence of the fractures especially between the genders, according to Maxey and Magnusson (2012), has a similarity. Despite this, the rate of occurrences is much higher in men especially when they are at a younger age. While higher rates of the fractures occurrence in women happens between the age group of the 50 to 70 years. Additionally, a heightened BMI and smoking have been associated with an augmented likelihood of the occurrence of broken ankle. In contrast to the radius’ fractures and other ankle fractures widespread among postmenopausal and premenopausal females, the density of the bone has not complete ly shown evidently as a key risk

Porter's Five forces model goes some way towards guiding managers how Essay

Porter's Five forces model goes some way towards guiding managers how to make capacity decisions under uncertain demand. Howev - Essay Example Porter’s Five Forces model, a strategic analysis tool, allows organisational leadership to examine consumer and supplier characteristics, market trends, and competitive activity to determine what market-related factors maintain the most probable characteristics to disrupt or otherwise impede strategic advancement. The PESTEL/SWOT template of evaluation allows a firm to examine its internal strengths and weaknesses, based on the tangible characteristics of the external market, including political, economic, and social forces relevant to the strategic plan and new business direction. An organisation cannot determine capacity without first understanding what dynamics of the internal and external market environment will demand either flexibility in operations or create some degree of resistance toward meeting a specific strategic goal. This report utilises data uncovered using Porter’s Five Forces model and PESTEL/SWOT to determine how a solar panel manufacturing company ca n assess new strategic commitments and ensure the organisation is aligned with market conditions to achieve profit success with key target markets. 2. Porter’s Five Forces Analysis There are five forces that influence or shape competition that include competitive rivalry, threat of new market entrants, the degree of substitute products on the market, as well as both supplier and consumer buying power on the market (Porter 2011). A solar panel manufacturing plant, in order to achieve a new strategic goal or market positioning strategy, must be concerned with establishment of a partnered and adaptive supply chain network (as one example) in order to achieve maximum business outputs. In this scenario, the plant management must examine whether the existing supply network is sufficient for adaptability to meet just-in-time demands (in a lean environment) or whether the supply partners are able to reduce their switching costs to defect to other high-profit-building buyers in the sa me industry. The framework of the Five Forces Analysis is to give the business a strategic snapshot of current, external market conditions so as to translate such findings into internal operational restructuring or human capital development (as two examples) necessary to achieve strategic results. Bennet and Rundle-Thiele (2004) remind the business world that the nature of today’s markets make it easy for competition to replicate existing products and services. The only feature of a business that cannot be replicated is the firm’s brand image (Nandan 2005; Bennet and Rundle-Thiele 2004). In the solar panel industry, products are largely homogenized, meaning that they have similar features, benefits, pricing and function that are easily replicated by competitors maintaining strong capital resources and manufacturing know-how. This is why, to this industry, the degree of competitive rivalry as well as consumer characteristics are so vital to establishing a strong competi tive edge. Porter (2011) iterates the importance of understanding the potential risks of buyer brand defection. In the solar panel industry, consumers have a great deal of buying power. This market is characterised by concentrated markets, where there are actually few buyers that maintain the majority of market share (Porter 2011). Further, solar

Video review Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Video review - Assignment Example The bureaucratic class was also intelligible and competent for helping spreading literacy skills throughout the kingdom through education and social reforms. However, this glass was not destined for Catholicism, which the video barely discusses. Much like economic inequality today, literacy during their religion revival was trickling down. Second, the Catholic Church had integrated the Roman organizational structure for centuries before Charlemagne’s rule. Yet the narrators make it seem as if Charlemagne was beginning from scratch when forming and enacting education reforms to spread literacy. Third, Charlemagne did promote liberal arts but did not operate without support. Liberal arts were already existent but not homogenous, centralized, and integrated into the system, which became Charlemagne’s role. The narrators did not clarify several annotations. First, I did not understand at Charlemagne’s inability to master writing truly meant. I get that Charlemagne was dealing with immense diversity and was possibly the reason he could not interact with others fluently (Smarthistory 2013). Was Charlemagne unable to put his own thoughts to paper or was he able to write

A Journal opinion article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 11

A Journal opinion article - Essay Example As compared to the same period last year, JP Morgan registered a reduction in bond trading revenue by 21%. Additionally, the bank revenue obtained from the mortgage reduced to 84%. Major aspect that caused the poor performance by the bank was due to uncertainties that surrounded the US economy as far as lending to consumers and trading volumes are concerned. Being one of the Wall Street banks to post the reduced earnings, JP Morgan indicates how the financial sector has been faced with difficulties in the first quarter of 2014. Additionally, majority of the businesses owned by the bank including the commercial lending and the credit cards indicated low profits. This resulted to reduced total revenue for the bank in the first quarter an aspect that may result in reduction of annual revenue if the trend of the low performance in the financial sector continues in the remaining quarters. According to the bank, the net income fell to $5.27 billion which is equivalent to $1.28 per share fo rm the $6.53bn, or $1.59 per share which was experienced in the same period in 2013. According to the analysts, the bank earning per share was expected to stand at $1.40 per share. However, this was not achieved due to the reduction in net revenue which experienced 8.5% fall to stand at $22.99bn while the bank expected total revenue to stand at $24.53billion. Similarly, in the premarket trading, JP shares reduced by 3.3% to sell at $55.50 deviating from $61 highest prices that the bank has maintained for the last 13 years. This is a major indicator of poor performance of the bank an aspect that may result to low level of trust from the customers as well as investors. Despite the low performance by the JP Morgan, Jamie Dimon, the chief executive officer indicates that the largest bank in US is creating confidence in the country’s economy. As the result of

Sofa Superstore Fire in Charleston SC Case Study - 14

Sofa Superstore Fire in Charleston SC - Case Study Example Within approximately three minutes of the alarm, the Charleston firefighters had already arrived at the scene, followed closely by the St. Andrews Public Service District firefighters. The primary attack mainly focused on putting out the fire at the loading dock region, with a second effort to evacuate and search for people trapped inside and prevent the fire from spreading to the warehouse and showroom. It was reported by the teams entering the showroom that they initially encountered clear visibility with only very light Smokey puffs observable near the back of the showroom ceiling. Shortly after that, an outside door was opened in proximity to the raging fire. Attempts to close the door failed, permitting the fire to breach into the showroom. There was an order for the firefighters to extend two hose lines into the showroom to mitigate the spreading fire; unfortunately, the initially connected line was not enough. It needed some firefighters to leave the building again in order to increase the sections of the hose and to hold off the growing fire they had to leave only one small hand line. Fire dispatchers about this time notified the crews on the ground that they had got a distress call from an employee still trapped in the warehouse, which forced some of the firefighters to re-direct their attention towards the rescue. To eventually save the trapped employee, the firefighters had to breach an exterior wall to reach the victim (Routely, et al., 2007). Despite efforts to extinguish and confine the fire, it persisted and spread into the building structure and kindled the showroom furniture, developing much faster than the original operational hose lines could handle. Meanwhile attempts to begin operating additional hose lines and stretch their range extended. The showroom area of the store at 7:41 p.m. with at least sixteen firefighters still working  inside experienced a flashover.  

The Sun Case Essay Example for Free

The Sun Case Essay The sun is the center of solar system. All the eight planets in the solar system revolve around the sun. It is responsible for the day and the night we experience. It gives light and heat to the planets that revolve around it. Our Earth is the third closest planet to the Sun which is about 92 million miles from here to the sun (Myron, 2007). It may be far, but the Sun still provides enough light for plants to grow and enough heat for the people to be warm. This is made possible by the Sun’s very large size. The sun’s diameter is about 864, 938 miles. It is 10 times bigger than Jupiter, the biggest planet in the Solar System. Compared to the Earth, the Sun is 109 times bigger than our home planet (How Big is the Sun?, 2007). The Sun, even if it is very big, is mostly composed of gaseous elements like hydrogen and helium. It has a very hot temperature on its outer layer, and an even hotter inner layer. On the surface, it is about 5,515 degrees Celsius or 9,940 degrees Fahrenheit. Because of this very high temperature, the planets revolving around the sun receive heat and light even though they are very far apart. Why is the sun yellowish-white in color? We see the sun as yellowish-white because of its very hot temperature. The color is also scattered when the light passes through the atmosphere. What is left of the scattered is just the yellowish-white color which we see as the color of the sun. This is why we see a different color of the sun during the afternoon, when the sun is positioned very low in the sky (Dorn, 1999). The sun is a very magnificent body in space. It plays a very important part in our lives. We should be happy and proud that we have the Sun here in our Solar System. Reference: Dorn, E. (1999). What color is the sun in space? Retrieved September 25, 2007, from http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/1999-12/945169710.As.r.html How Big is the Sun? (2007). Retrieved September 25, 2007, from http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/bobalien99/sunsize.htm Myron, H. (2007). Distance from the Earth to the Sun. Retrieved September 25, 2007, from http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/newton/askasci/1995/astron/AST045.HTM

Mentoring and Enabling Learning in the Practice Setting

Mentoring and Enabling Learning in the Practice Setting Introduction The focus of this assignment is on the delivery of mentoring and assessment within nursing practice. The author is a mental health nurse working within a home treatment team in East London. The identified learning need is that of administration of a depot injection, a common element of the nursing role with patients with mental illness. The target audience is a student mental health nurse. The team is a multidisciplinary one with students from different professions all placed within the team for specified learning experiences and time periods. Mentors are usually assigned a student for the duration of their clinical placement. They meet with the student at the beginning of the placement to agree learning outcomes and plan learning needs, and then work with the student for a minimum of 40% of their clinical placement (NMC), and then complete their assessment documentation towards the end of the placement. This usually involves passing the student for competence in identified clinical skills. Part Two – The Role of the Mentor The role of the mentor within the nursing context is complex, because it involves teaching, facilitation, support, guidance, assessment and feedback[1]. Assessment of a student nurse during their training is in relation to key clinical competencies, as defined by the NMC Standards of Proficiency for Pre-Registration Nursing Education[2]. These competencies are then translated into clinical assessment areas as defined by the students University, and assessed against their definitions. The NMC are clear about the expectations of the nursing role in clinical practice, in relation to competence and responsibility â€Å"the nursing role involves a capacity not only to participate actively in care provision but also to accept responsibility for the effective and efficient management of that care† [3]. Therefore, mentoring involves not only teaching discrete clinical skills but the more complex issues of demonstrating the management of care for individual clients according to their n eeds. Mentoring involves the consolidation of theoretical and practical learning acquired during the students academic experience within the University teaching and learning setting, and applying that knowledge to practice[4]. Therefore, it is important that mentors not only act in a way that is appropriate to their professional role and the expectations of their employer, but are also aware that theirs is the standard against which students will measure their own conduct and competence. The role of the mentor is to teach within the clinical setting, therefore, all formal teaching which takes place is clinically oriented and clearly relates to the performance of the professional role[5]. Research by Lloyd-Jones et al[6] seems to indicate that not only do students get the best out of their clinical placements through the student-mentor relationship, but that the quality of their learning and development is linked to the amount of time that they spend with their mentors. Therefore, mentors need to understand that their role involves a commitment to working with their named student and supporting their learning through this close working relationship[7][8]. The role of the mentor also involves assessing the student, against competency standards defined by the NMC and by the students educational institution. The NMC now requires that some mentors are sign-off mentors, which means that they sign-off the student as competent at the end of their training, and share equal responsibility with the awarding institution for that students competence to perform their professional role. In midwifery, all mentors must be sign off mentors. Regardless of this, it is a significant responsibility for any mentor to assess a student and confirm they are competent in key areas of clinical practice, and therefore mentors are educated and supported to understand the teaching and learning processes involved, especially in identifying how to assess competence. Some research shows that assessment can be carried out in a tripartite agreement between student, mentor and a member of the academic staff of the university (usually the students personal tutor)[9]. Thi s kind of close working relationship has many benefits, for the mentor, the student and the academic institution, and in relation to the assessment role of the mentor, provides valuable support[10]. This also shows that another role of the mentor is that of close liaison with academic staff in relation to student progress and assessment, student conduct and behaviour. While not all institutions have this three way set up per se, many use this kind of arrangement to address student problems in achieving the required levels of assessment. Despite there being examples of good practice such as this, however, the demands of the mentorship role mean that there is still a deficit between the theory and practice of mentoring, which needs more attention[11]. The challenges of mentorship from my perspective reflect these issues in the literature. The demands of meeting identified student needs are partly met by the training and support for mentors, but the realities of providing client-centred care whilst supporting student learning mean that the teaching and learning opportunities are not always maxmised. Developing a good relationship with students is also usually easily addressed, but there are times when it is not possible to develop a good relationship with some students and I have been aware in the past that this impacts on the quality of the learning experience. Another issue is managing students who are not achieving their designated competencies, and this process, while supported by the academic staff, is very stressful for all involved. It seems to me that the mentor role is not valued by the employer either, and in a busy workload, the required time for mentors to spend with students to provide the right kind of feedback is not factored in. However, I am also aware that this is an evolving area, and that practice is changing in line with the published standards for the preparation of mentors. Ultimately, as a mentor I have a strong commitment to ensuring the standards of the profession are maintained, and being a mentor allows me to make a valuable contribution to practice and to the profession in this way. Part Three – The Assessment Plan The author set out to assess the students ability to carry out a depot injection, and so set up a teaching plan and assessment plan accordingly (see Appendix). Carrying out this assessment plan involved reviewing the theories of education and learning which are most relevant to the type of assessment, some of which will be discussed here. This author is aware of the theories which underpin nurse education and learning, and will address some of these here, believing that these theories still help explain how student nurses come to develop the abilities, knowledge, skills and capabilities which allow them to fulfil the requirements of the nurses role. Therefore, the teaching plan and the assessment plan build on this theoretical knowledge in order to maximise the students opportunities to learn and become competent in the chosen skills[12]. Behaviourist theories suggest that learning takes place through stimulus response learning, and through operant conditioning, through which student s behaviours are changed through observing, and through reactions to their own behaviours[13]. In order to build on this, the nurse demonstrates the procedure and the kinds of behaviours that are associated with the procedure, including communications behaviours. This would need to be reinforced by discussion of these behaviours, and it is argued that basing learning only on behavioural principles is not adequate to meet the challenges of nursing learning. Cognitive theories are those which also underpin the authors approach to teaching and assessment. Within cognitivism, which is orientated towards scientific and positivist principles, the mind of the learner is equated with theories about computing and how computers work, and knowledge is viewed in terms of symbolic mental constructs, or schema; learning can be said to have taken place when there is a change in the learners internal cognitive schema. Therefore, learning is said to have taken place when the individuals behaviour ha s changed following acquisition of cognitive learning[14]. Within cognitive theories, learning is based around the acquisition of factual information, and while there is no requirement for learning to have been processed on a deeper level, it does mean that the relevant knowledge has been assimilated by the learner [15]. Both of these theories, however, underpin much of the assessment process, because the mentor is looking for behaviour change, based on the students demonstration of behaviours, both physical and more interactive, and also looking for the student to be able to demonstrate the acquired knowledge and facts associated with the skill[16][17]. However, having carried out the assessment plan, the author also learned that it is hard to assess students on their attitude and behaviour with clients. The mechanics of a procedure can be easily observed and evaluated, but the effect of being observed and assessed may affect the way the student nurse interacts with the client. The client is another factor which may affect this process as well, because the client/student relationship, particularly within a mental health setting, may not be well developed, and may be more difficult to establish. However, it is this authors experience that the mentors approach, manner and preparation of the client and student can ameliorate this kind of difficulty considerably. Part Four – The Teaching Plan The teaching plan (see Appendix B) is based on two different theories. The first are the constructivist theories of learning, which suggest that people learn in an active way, and through this process, construct for themselves subjective forms of reality, within which the pre-existing knowledge and reality assimilates any new learning[18]. The second theoretical basis for the learning plan is that of humanism, a theory which supports a more nursing-oriented approach to learning, focusing on self-development and on the individual becoming what they are capable of becoming through the learning process[19][20]. There is, however, some argument that all of the theories discussed so far are eminently applicable to nursing education, because the process is cognitive and behavioural, and combines the acquisition of facts with the competent performance of key nursing skills. Knowledge underpins practice, and helps to develop clinical reasoning, but experience helps students to reconfigure th eir internal schema and their deeper understanding of the world, albeit subjectively. The most important learning theory here which relates to nursing education and, in particular, to the learning which takes place in clinical practice, under the guidance of the clinica mentor, is Bandura fs Social Learning Theory[21], because it seems to be the theory which best describes how adults learn within this context[22]. Banduras social learning theory, suggests that people essentially learn from observing and imitating each other in social situations, and that through this learning process, people model themselves on others, and learn from them not only how to behave, but also acquire attitudes, and an awareness of the probable consequences of the observed behaviours[23]. What this theory offers in particular to understanding how learning takes place in the clinical nursing context is a model which incorporates other influences on learning, including cognitive processes, the ways in which behaviours are modelled on role models, the effect of the learners personality, and the effect of the learning environment [24]. This theory is helps mentors to understand the complexities of nursing competence and its development, which requires the combination of cognitive elements, some of which may be learned in a formal classroom setting, with the modelling of behaviours of student nurses on the mentors who ac t as their role models[25]. While it is clear that the clinical learning experiences of student nurses are key to development of a good knowledge base[26] and proper professional competence[27][28],[29], the quality of mentorship must be considered, because through social learning theory, students come to model themselves on what they are seeing practice[30],[31]. This can present its own challenges, particularly when the students are not being supervised or taught by their primary mentor but by a buddy mentor[32] [33]. There are those who argue that this is necessary, to expose students to different role models and behaviours, so that students can then develop their own critical thinking and judgement[34][35], through observing different forms of clinical reasoning[36]. The assessment processes built in to the mentoring relationship are a very important feature of learning and development, because student nurses must learn from any errors and omissions, and this continues on into their professional practice once qualified[37]. Learning to manage ones own learning and development, identify ways to learn from errors or difficult situations, within the practice setting, reflects the principles of social learning theory[38]. However, the author is also aware of the need for students to develop a realistic understanding of practice, and how the errors and challenges which can arise during their clinical work may be related to them not having the knowledge and skills needed to meet the needs of the clients[39], and thus learning is about identified how to develop to meet those needs nursing l[40]. Ulitmately, becoming a nurse means the ability to meet the standards of the profession, through knowledge,[41] skills, clinical reasoning, critical thinking and application of experiential and theoretical evidence to practice[42], which is quite demanding for all those involved in the training of students. Ultimately, student nurses are socialised into their profession as well as being trained how to perform their role, [43], and while this in itself may not always be an ideal, because the organisational culture may not always be positive[44], it is important for students to learn all aspects of the profession[45][46]. Although there is always the possibility that nurses may learn good as well as bad behaviours, [47], a good mentor would support such students to develop the critical awareness and reflective skill to be able to identify the positive models and reject the negative models as part of their learning journey[48]. Part Five Personal Development and Learning as a Mentor The process of learning to become a mentor has opened new vistas of experience and knowledge for me, as a nurse, as a mentor, and as a person. While it is challenging to hold up a mirror to oneself and appraise what kind of role model you are presenting to the students you are working with, this is a positive experience because it allows you to identify your own strengths, and celebrate them, whilst also identifying your weaknesses, and take steps to address these. In particular, for me it has demonstrated that while my practice is good, my understanding of some issues is not based on the latest evidence available, and working with students who ask about the evidence base for practice really motivates me to seek out that evidence. I have also become aware of my own tendency to make value judgements, labelling students good or bad, and I have examined the qualities which lead to these as well as overcoming this unconscious stereotyping. ~I learned that I wanted to empower students to take charge of their own learning[49], but learning how to do this was a longer process for my own development. Learning about learning is also a process of self-discovery which is then applied to mentorship practice. Understanding assessment principles and learning theories has changed the way that I teach students and really given me insight into how assessment can best be carried out. It has also helped me to understand the terminology used within the clinical assessment documents. The need to develop better working relationships with the academic staff has also emerged as a feature to be applied to my future practice. Overall, this experience has shown me that mentorship, which can be onerous and demanding in the current clinical situation, is also an investment, in the future of the profession and in the future wellbeing of clients. It can enhance my own capabilities, and provide me with more opportunities to reflect and to reconsider my professional personal and competence. Ultimately, I aim to be a good mentor, but in order to do this, I must be a competent nurse. Therefore, the process has been a form of reciprocal learning. References 212337 Andrews, G.J., Brodie, D.A., Andrews, J.P. et al (2006) Professional roles and communications in clinical placements: a qualitative study of nursing students’ perceptions and some models for practice. International Journal of Nursing Studies 43 (7) 861-874. Andrews, M. and Wallis, M. (1999) Mentorship in nursing: a literature review. Journal of Advanced Nursing 29 (1) 201-207. Bandura, A. (1977) Social Learning Theory New York: General Learning Press. Bankert, E.G. and Kozel, V.V. (2005) Transforming pedagogy in nursing education: a caring learning environment for adult students. Nursing Education Perspectives 26 (4) 227-229. Bauer, J. and Mulder, R.H. (2007) Modelling learning from errors in daily work. Learning in Health and Social Care 6 (2) 121-133. Brammer, J. (2006) A phenomenographic study of registered nurses f understanding of their role in student learning – An Australian perspective. International Journal of Nursing Studies 43 (8) 963-973. Chambers, D. (2007) Is the modern NHS fit for nursing students? British Journal of Nursing 16 (2) 74 75 Chenoweth, L. (1998) Facilitating the process of critical thinking for nursing. Nurse Education Today. 18(4):281-9 Collins, M. (1991). Adult education as vocation. London: Routledge. Cope, P., Cuthbertson, P. and Stoddard, B. (2000) Situated learning in the practice placement Journal of Advanced Nursing 31 (4) 850-856. DeCarvalho, R. (1991) The humanistic paradigm in education. The Humanistic Psychologist.19 (1) 88-104. Doughty, R., Harris, T., and McClean, M. (2007) Tripartite assessment of learners during practice placements in midwifery pre-registration programmes. Education + Training Evans, R.J. and Donnelly, G.W. (2006) A Model to Describe the Relationship Between Knowledge, Skill, and Judgment in Nursing Practice Nursing Forum 41 (4) , 150–157 Freeth, D. and Fry, H. (2005) Nursing students’ and tutors’ perceptions of learning and teaching in a clinical skills centre. Nurse Education today 25 272-282. Gonczi, A. (1993). Competence and competencies: A global perspective. Paper presented at the First National Conference on Competencies in Nursing Adelaide: Australian Nursing Federation (SA Branc Gray, M.A.,and Smith, L.N. (2000) The qualities of an effective mentor from the student nurses perspective: findings from a longitudinal qualitative study Journal of Advanced Nursing 32 (6) ,1542–1549. Hawks, J.H. (1992) Empowerment in nursing education: concept analysis and application to philosophy, learning and instruction. Journal of Advanced Nursing 17 (5) 609-618. Hutchings, A., Williamson, G.R., and Humphreys, A. (2005) Supporting learners in clinical practice: capacity issues. Journal of Clinical Nursing 14 (8) 945–955. Jones, M.L., Walters, S. and Akehurst, R. (2001) The implications of contact with the mentor for preregistration nursing and midwifery students Journal of Advanced Nursing 35 (2) , 151–160 Knight, P. (1995) Assessment for Learning in Higher Education London: Kogan Page Learning Theories Knowledge Base (2008) www.learning-theories.com Accessed 23-8-08. Letcher, D.C. and Yancey, N.R. (2004) Witnessing Change with Aspiring Nurses: A Human Becoming Teaching-Learning Process in Nursing Education Nursing Science Quarterly 17 (1) 36-41 . Lloyd-Jones, M., Walters, S. and Akehurst, R. (2001) The implications of contact with the mentor for preregistration nursing and midwifery students. Journal of Advanced Nursing 35 (2) 1510160. Mattila, L-R. and Eriksson, e. (2007) Nursing students learning to utilize nursing research in clinical practice. Nurse Education Today 27 568-576. McMillan, D.E., Bell, S., Benson, E.E. et al (2007) From anxiety to enthusiasm: facilitating graduate nursing students’ knowledge development in science and theory. Journal of Nurse Education 46 (2) 88-91. Mooney, M. (2007) Professional socialization: the key to survival as a newly qualified nurse. International Journal of Nursing Practice 13 75-80. Myall, M., Levett-Jones, T., Lathlean, J. (2008) Mentorship in contemporary practice: the experiences of nursing students and practice mentors. Journal of Clinical Nursing 17 (14) 1834-1842. Neary, M. (2000) Responsive assessment of clinical competence. Nursing Standard 15 (10) 35-40. Nehring, V. (1990) Nursing clinical teacher effectiveness inventory: a replication study of the characteristics of  ebest f and  eworst f clinical teachers as perceived by nursing faculty and students. Journal of Advanced Nursing 15 (8) 934-40. Nixon, M., Morgan, L., Forsyth, J. and Ellis, D. (1996). A comparative study of teacher directed and self directed methods of teaching clinical skills to undergraduate nursing students. International Journal of Nursing Practice. 2(2) 88-93 NMC (2004) Standards of Proficiency for Pre-Registration Nursing Education Available from:www.nmc.org.uk Accessed 23-8-08. Nolan, C.A. (1998) Learning on clinical placement: the experience of six Australian student nurses. Nurse Education Today 18(8) 622-9 NMC (2004) Standards of Proficiency for Pre-Registration Nursing Education Available from:www.nmc.org.uk Accessed 23-8-08. Phillips, R.M., Davies, W.B., and Neary, M. (2008) The practitioner-teacher: a study in the introduction of mentors in the preregistration nurse education programme in Wales: part 2. Journal of Advanced Nursing 23 (6) 1080-1088. Shin, K.R. (1998) Critical thinking ability and clinical decision-making skills among senior nursing students in associate and baccalaureate programmes in Korea. Journal of Advanced Nursing 27 (2) 414-418. Stuart, C.C. (2003) Assessment, Supervision and Support in Clinical Practice London: Churchill Livingstone. Tucker, K., Wakefield, A., Boggis, C. et al (2003) Learning together: clinical skills teaching for medical and nursing students. Medical Education 37 (7) 630-637 Welsh, I. and Lyons, C.M. (2001) Evidence-based care and the case for intuition and tacit knowledge in clinical assessment and decision making in mental health nursing practice: an empirical contribution to the debate. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing 8 (4) , 299–305. Appendix A Assessment Plan Competence to be assessed: administration of depot injection Plan Check student knowledge and simulated technique prior to administration Prepare student and client for procedure. Observe student and assess stated assessment points. Provide feedback to student. Assessment Points Student has checked prescription is correct Student has checked prescription against client identity and care plan. Student has discussed procedure correctly and appropriately with client. Student has ensured client confidentiality and privacy during procedure. Student has discussed effects/side effects with client Student draws up correct dose, checks drug properly with qualified staff, and prepares to administer injection in correct site. Student performs injection with correct technique Student communicates with the client appropriately Student records procedure in appropriate records, correctly. Student ensures client is comfortable post-procedure. Student can discuss properties of medication, side effects, route, dose and any contra-indications Student can discuss holistic care of the client. Appendix B 11 Footnotes [1]Andrews, M. and Wallis, M. (1999) [2] Nursing and Midwifery Council (2004) p 8. [3] Nursing and Midwifery Council (ibid) p 8. [4] Mattila, L-R. and Eriksson, E. (2007) p 569. [5] Phillips, R.M., Davies, W.B., and Neary, M. (2008) p 1080 [6] Lloyd-Jones, M., Walters, S. and Akehurst, R. (2001) p151. [7]Bankert, E.G. and Kozel, V.V. (2005) [8] Lloyd-Jones (Ibid) p 160. [9] Doughty, R., Harris, T., and McClean, M. (2007) [10]Doughty et al (ibid) [11] Myall, M., Levett-Jones, T., Lathlean, J. (2008) [12]Knight, P. (1995) [13] Learning Theories Knowledgebase (2008) [14] Learning Theories Knowledge base (ibid). [15] Learning Theories Knowledgebase (ibid)

Causes and Types of Cerebrovascular Accidents (CVA)

Causes and Types of Cerebrovascular Accidents (CVA) Cerebro-vascular accident Introduction Cerebrovascular accident or CVA as it is commonly called is defined as the unforeseen death of some of the cells of the brain because of lack of the supply of oxygen to the brain. This occurs when the flood flow to the brain is hindered by blockage or some rupture of an artery going to the brain another common term used to denote a cerebro vascular accident (CVA) is stroke. The most common symtoms of a cerebro vascular accident vary depending upon the area of the brain affected. The commonly presenting symptoms of a stroke are weakness and/or paralysis of any one side of the body with either partial or complete loss of wilful movement or sensation in the arm or leg or both. Other associated problems can be speech difficulties and weakness of facial muscles which causes drooling. Tingling sensations and numbness of the limbs is a common occurrence. Cerebrovascular accidents which involve the base of brain can cause imbalance, visual imparity, trouble in swallowing, breathing difficulties and loss of consciousness. Patho-physiology A cerebrovascular accident or stroke can be classified into two broad categories- Ischemic stoke Haemorrhagic stroke Ischaemic stroke When a blood vessel like an artery supplying to the brain is hindered by a blood clot resulting in obstruction of the blood flow to the brain, ischemic stroke is said to have occurred. This occurs in two ways. One, called as a thrombotic stroke, occurs in an artery that has already narrowed. A clot may form in this artery causing stroke.this accounts for 80% of all cases of cerebro vascular accidents. Second, called as an embolic stroke or central embolism occurs when a clot breaks off from another part of the body and travels thrugh the circulation to reach the brain. 10-15% of people diagnosed with CVA fall under this category. Haemorrhagic shock Sometimes a blood vessel in the part of brain becomes weak and bursts causing blood to leak in the brain cavity. This can occur in patients with certain defects in the blood vessels of brain and is called as haemorrhagic shock. Such defects include- arterio-venous malformation (AVM) or aneurysms. The cause of vessel bursts can be high blood pressure. Haemorrhagic strokes might even occur in patients on blood thinners. A patient who has ischemic stroke can develop bleeding and change to haemorrhagic shock. Signs and symptoms The side effects of stroke rely on upon which some piece of the cerebrum is harmed. Sometimes, an individual may not realize that a stroke has happened. More often than not, side effects grow abruptly and all of a sudden. Be that as it may, manifestations may happen on and off for the first day or two. Manifestations are normally most extreme when the stroke first happens, yet they might gradually deteriorate. A cerebral pain may happen if the stroke is brought about by draining in the cerebrum. The cerebral pain: Starts abruptly and may be extreme May be more regrettable when you are lying level Wakes you up from slumber Gets more terrible when you change positions or when you twist, strain, or hack Different manifestations rely on upon how serious the stroke is and what a piece of the cerebrum is influenced. Manifestations may include: Change in readiness (counting lethargy, obviousness, and trance state) Changes in hearing Changes in taste Changes that influence touch and the capacity to feel torment, weight, or diverse temperatures Clumsiness Confusion or loss of memory Difficulty gulping Difficulty composing or perusing Dizziness or strange feeling of development (vertigo) Eyesight issues, for example, diminished vision, twofold vision, or aggregate loss of vision Lack of control over the bladder or insides Loss of offset Loss of coordination Muscle shortcoming in the face, arm, or leg (normally just on one side) Numbness or shivering on one side of the body Personality, temperament, or passionate changes Trouble talking or comprehension other problems Stroke and nervous system When you have an ischemic stroke, the oxygen-rich blood supply to some piece of your cerebrum is diminished. With a hemorrhagic stroke, there is draining in the mind. After around 4 minutes without blood and oxygen, mind cells get to be harmed and may bite the dust. The body tries to restore blood and oxygen to the cells by augmenting other veins (corridors) close to the territory. Recuperating after a stroke may feel like an overwhelming errand. In addition to other things, your mind must relearn aptitudes it lost when it was harmed by the stroke. Late research, however, demonstrates that the mind is amazingly strong and equipped for adjusting after a stroke. This implies that recuperation is more conceivable than beforehand suspected. On the off chance that blood supply isnt restored, lasting harm ordinarily happens. The body parts controlled by those harmed cells cant work. This loss of capacity may be mellow or serious. It might be transitory or perpetual. It relies on upon where and how a significant part of the cerebrum is harmed and how quick the blood supply can be come back to the influenced cells. Life-debilitating complexities might likewise happen. This is the reason it’s critical to get treatment at the earliest opportunity. Recovery relies on upon the area and measure of mind harm created by the stroke, the capacity of other sound ranges of the cerebrum to assume control for the harmed regions, and restoration. As a rule, the less harm there is to the mind tissue, the less inability results and the more prominent the possibilities of an effective recuperation. Stroke is the most well-known apprehensive system–related reason for physical inability. Of individuals who survive a stroke, half will even now have some handicap 6 months after the stroke. You have the best risk of recovering your capacities amid the initial couple of months after a stroke. Recovering a few capacities, for example, discourse, comes gradually, if by any means. About a large portion out of every other person on earth who have a stroke will have some long haul issues with talking, comprehension, and choice making. They additionally may have changes in conduct that influence their associations with family and companion. Right sided hemiplagia and resolving dysphagia Hemiplagia Hemiplegia is loss of motion of one side of the body. Hemiparesis is shortcoming of one side of the body and is less extreme than hemiplegia. Both are a typical symptom of stroke or cerebrovascular mishap. One may consider how stand outside of the body can get to be incapacitated or powerless after a stroke. Uneven loss of motion or shortcoming happens when a stroke influences the corticospinal tract of one side of the mind. The right half of the mind controls the engine capacity of the left half of the body. The left half of the cerebrum controls the engine capacity of the right half of the body. Therefore when one side of the mind is harmed, it causes stand outside of the body to be influenced. Dysphagia Dysphagia is a regularly reported grimness after stroke, yet its accounted for frequencies are broadly discrepant; going somewhere around 19% and 81%.The vicinity of dysphagia has been connected with an expanded danger for aspiratory complications and even mortality. There is rising confirmation that early discovery of dysphagia in patients with intense stroke decreases these muddlings as well as diminishes length of clinic stay and general medicinal services expenditures. A precise appraisal of the occurrence of dysphagia and its expanded danger for pneumonic outcomes in the stroke populace will be basic to guide the outline of future exploration meaning to survey advantages of dysphagia mediations. Cerebral, cerebellar, or mind stem strokes can debilitate gulping physiology. Cerebral sores can intrude on intentional control of rumination and bolus transport amid the oral phase.Cortical injuries including the precentral gyrus may create contralateral hindrance in facial, lip, and tongue engine control, and contralateral bargain in pharyngeal peristalsis. Cerebral injuries creating debilitations in subjective capacity, for example, focus or specific consideration might likewise impede control of swallowing.Brain stem strokes are less normal than cortical injuries yet bring about the biggest gulping trade off. Cerebrum stem sores can influence vibe of the mouth, tongue, and cheek, timing in the trigger of the pharyngeal swallow, laryngeal height, glottic conclusion, and cricopharyngeal relaxation. Regardless of injury area, in light of the fact that stroke is more basic in the elderly, typical age-related gulping could further compound stroke-related dysphagia. The elderly poststr oke patient may never again have the capacity to make up for ordinary changes in skeletal muscle quality that diminish mastication or lessen lingual pressure. Therefore, single or numerous parts of the swallow may be debilitated relying upon stroke sort and patient age.

Compare and contrast Lamb to the Slaughter and The Speckled Band. :: English Literature

Compare and contrast Lamb to the Slaughter and The Speckled Band. To what extent are they typical of murder mystery stories? In my opinion a typical murder mystery is one where it keeps you reading in anticipation wanting to know who has committed the well planed out murder, the whole way through. Until the end where the clever detective (who is usually quite an old man, dressed in a smart tweed suit) goes through one by one all of the suspects telling them exactly why they could have committed the murder, but then why they didn't. He then confronts the real murderer who is normally the one everyone least suspects. This all takes place in a large country manor where lots of people would have been busying round but for the murderer, conveniently there are never any witnesses to the crime. The murder is most often well planed out, with a devious reason behind it. The two stories are both very different and mainly the only similarities are that they are both about murders that are done by people that are close family to the victims they murder in there own homes.7 The settings in both of them are very different; in lamb to the slaughter the setting is in a normal home in a small village, where normal family life goes on. To begin with everything is going fine and things are going on the same, as they would do every other day. The husband has just got home from work and his wife asks him how his day has been 'Hullo darling' she says and then gets him a drink. The fact it is just like every other day shows in the relaxed atmosphere, which is described as 'a blissful time of day' The atmosphere also seams to be warm and cosy as she was 'luxuriating in his company' Where as in the Speckled Band the setting is really as you would expected a murder mystery setting to be. This shows as at the start there is an air of panic as Watson and Holmes have been 'knocked up' as 'a young lady had arrived in a considerable state of excitement' The murder setting is also typical as it is in a large country manor, owned by the well-known Surry Family of the Roylotts of Stoke Moran. But unlike an average murder mystery there wouldn't be an awful lot of people around to be suspects, as only the two stepdaughters and their father were in the house. Although there wasn't a lot of atmosphere after the opening part of the story, as there is just a woman telling Compare and contrast Lamb to the Slaughter and The Speckled Band. :: English Literature Compare and contrast Lamb to the Slaughter and The Speckled Band. To what extent are they typical of murder mystery stories? In my opinion a typical murder mystery is one where it keeps you reading in anticipation wanting to know who has committed the well planed out murder, the whole way through. Until the end where the clever detective (who is usually quite an old man, dressed in a smart tweed suit) goes through one by one all of the suspects telling them exactly why they could have committed the murder, but then why they didn't. He then confronts the real murderer who is normally the one everyone least suspects. This all takes place in a large country manor where lots of people would have been busying round but for the murderer, conveniently there are never any witnesses to the crime. The murder is most often well planed out, with a devious reason behind it. The two stories are both very different and mainly the only similarities are that they are both about murders that are done by people that are close family to the victims they murder in there own homes.7 The settings in both of them are very different; in lamb to the slaughter the setting is in a normal home in a small village, where normal family life goes on. To begin with everything is going fine and things are going on the same, as they would do every other day. The husband has just got home from work and his wife asks him how his day has been 'Hullo darling' she says and then gets him a drink. The fact it is just like every other day shows in the relaxed atmosphere, which is described as 'a blissful time of day' The atmosphere also seams to be warm and cosy as she was 'luxuriating in his company' Where as in the Speckled Band the setting is really as you would expected a murder mystery setting to be. This shows as at the start there is an air of panic as Watson and Holmes have been 'knocked up' as 'a young lady had arrived in a considerable state of excitement' The murder setting is also typical as it is in a large country manor, owned by the well-known Surry Family of the Roylotts of Stoke Moran. But unlike an average murder mystery there wouldn't be an awful lot of people around to be suspects, as only the two stepdaughters and their father were in the house. Although there wasn't a lot of atmosphere after the opening part of the story, as there is just a woman telling

Joseph Stalin :: essays research papers

JOSEPH STALIN: TYRANT OF STEEL Iosef Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili (a.k.a. Joseph Stalin), was the undisputed leader of the Soviet Union from 1929 to 1953. Although Stalin’s reign in power did not begin immediately his contribution to government began in 1912, and from then on he slowly rose to the high chain of command. Stalin’s long and troublesome road to absolute power had many steps that marked important events in the Soviet Union’s condition but they did not always improve the life of his people. Stalin’s first position in government began in 1898 when he joined a secret Marxist revolutionary group and became involved in many demonstrations. In 1901 Stalin began writing for the Brdzola which published many of his revolutionary articles and ideas. At the end of 1901, he was formally accepted into the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party. Between the years of 1902 and 1913 Stalin was arrested and exiled many times for countless crimes and as a result in 1907 he was expelled from the Social Democratic Labor Party. However, his luck changed in 1912 when Lenin appointed Stalin to the Bolshevik Central Committee. In addition, he was given various commands and was appointed to the position of people’s commissar for nationalities. After proving himself at this position, he was assigned the position of commissar of workers’ and peasants’ inspection. He finally gained the power he desired most in 1922, when he became general secretary of the Central Committee. With this position Stalin was able to control appointments, set agendas, and transfer officials and increase his own power. When Lenin died in 1924, Stalin used the current power he attained and crushed his opponents to become the dictator in 1929. Stalin used his new authority to try and make the Soviet Union a world power so that no enemies could destroy his nation. When he first took over, he began a series of five-year plans. The first plan was to industrialize the country, however, the production of machinery and farm equipment became more important than the production of household items and necessities such as clothing and food. Secondly, Stalin wanted to use collectivization to increase the production of agricultural products and to end private farming. Stalin also decided to transfer the control of the farms to the government, and as a result, caused a severe resistance in the peasant class especially the kulaks. The measures taken by Stalin to discipline those who opposed his authority were either exiled, or executed as well as a great famine killed 10 million peasants (1932-33).

Feminism in Pokemon

A Pokà ©mon or â€Å"pocket monster† is a popular anime that is based on the story of a young â€Å"Pokà ©mon Trainer† â€Å"Ash† in his journey to become a â€Å"Pokà ©mon master†. This means capturing and training Pokà ©mon to create an elite team of the strongest so that you can say you are master of all Pokà ©mon hence a Pokà ©mon master, this also consists of capturing every type of Pokà ©mon and completing your poke-dex (a electronic encyclopaedia on Pokà ©mon that automatically records the amount of different Pokà ©mon seen and caught).Whilst it may seem very friendly and childish the story is open to interpretation and could be viewed from a feminist standpoint to be actually misogynistic. The first female character introduced in the series is Ash’s mom, she is introduced as the stereotypical mother however if we look closer at her we can see how see is trapped in a life of servitude and loneliness. That is why she is so attached to her son. There is a clear absence of Ash’s father that is often left unanswered; this could be interpreted to mean that the mother figure in a boy’s life is far more important than that of the father.The reason that Ash father is not present throughout the series is left deliberately vague however there is a reference to him becoming a Pokà ©mon trainer and starting his own journey. With this information I would say that it isn’t that much of a leap to say that perhaps he abandoned Mrs Ketchum (Delia Ketchum). The fact that it is â€Å"Mrs† shows that she married Mr Ketchum who had abandoned her; she also took his name. She runs the only Pokà ©mon restaurant in Palet town and has to take care of her child Ash and in return she again is deserted by him as he leaves on his adventure.This however doesn’t seem to be an abnormality and shows that it is common for women in Pokà ©mon to be imprisoned by their â€Å"duties† and not free to follo w their dreams of becoming a Pokà ©mon trainer like the males, instead they become housewives however there is a sense of equality as women are given the liberty to start the adventure, if they are not burdened by their duties. However despite all her misery she is still expected for her only desires to be to help Ash and to serve him as it is her â€Å"duty†.The next female character we are introduced to is Misty, she is portrayed as a â€Å"tom-boy†, with romantic affections towards Ash, she desires to help Ash and serve him, although her ego would never admit it. Once she develops a character with greater dimensions she is forcibly removed from the story line by fading her into the background completely dissolving and any love interests between her and Ash showing that their relationship was meaningless and that she could simply be tossed aside. She is then replaced by another female companion for Ash, another â€Å"play-mate†.She is forced to stay with her sisters and stay in the gym. Again like Delia Ketchum she is forced to abandon her dreams due to her duties and is deserted by the man she loves. Another important female character is Jessy she is described as manipulative and is working in the evil cooperation of team rocket attempting to steal rare Pokà ©mon. James is her weaker male partner and Jessy is far more dominant. He is constantly forced to dress up in a disguise along with Jessy however Jessy disguises herself as the dominant male whilst James the female showing the symbolic difference in power between the two characters.This may be interpreted to be a positive sign as a woman may rise to the power of a man and a man sink to a woman but the very fact that this idea is conveyed shows a sexist ideology and is anti-feminist as it shows inequality within the sexes. In other words the idea that because Jessy is stronger she should be male and James is weaker and should be female is conveyed by their cross dressing. Woman in Pokà ©mon dress in skimpy clothing, including Misty who is supposed to be pre-teen. This could be interpreted to the liberation of women, as they are allowed to wear what they want when they want.However another interpretation is that they are viewed as mere sexual objects that are open to sexual flirtation, this is why Brock, who is a notorious womaniser, is constantly shown flirting with female characters throughout the show and is entitled to make passes on them. However this is quickly ended by Misty who would grab Brock by the ear and throws him to the ground. This may seem like a humorous practice however this could be interpreted into Brock showing sexual aggression and him seeing women as a mere outlet for his sexual desires.That is why Misty must quickly throw him to the ground to prevent him from enacting his dark desires. When Misty fades away another female companion comes along to prevent Brock, in other words they are a â€Å"Brock block†, but none are as aggre ssive as Misty. He often flirts with Nurse Joy, the fact that she is identical to all the other Nurse Joys shows that women in the poke-world that pursue a medical carer can be simply casted as the stereotypical â€Å"Nurse Joy†. A one dimensional character that is ruled by her emotions to help heal Pokà ©mon.Notice how it is â€Å"Nurse Joy† not â€Å"Doctor Joy† implying that she can only ever rise to a rank of a â€Å"Nurse† an assistant to a â€Å"Doctor†. He also flirts with Officer Jenny; she also is identical to all the other officer Jennys this shows that women in the poke-world that pursue a career in policing can be simply casted as the stereotypical â€Å"Officer Jenny† or â€Å"Nurse Joy. A one dimensional character that is ruled by her emotions to help prevent crimes. Although it is a relief that women can pursue a career in policing and medicine they are still thrown into the stereotype of the typical â€Å"Officer Jennyâ₠¬ .Also they are presented as loud and presumptive, believing that the Ash is often the culprit but within minutes apologising for her presumptive nature showing her ignorance and naà ¯ve nature. An interesting new aspect of Pokà ©mon is Competitions, Pokà ©mon Contests were first introduced early on and Contests originated in the Hoenn region. In them, Coordinators show how beautiful and skilful they and their Pokà ©mon can be. Showing that the very focus is on the trainers and Pokà ©mon’s appearance, this shows how judgemental and cruel the Pokà ©mon world really is.I would argue that it is similar to shows like â€Å"America’s Next Top Model†; these shows are fixated on broadcasting a false image of women and create an expectation that is impossible for women to measure up to. This was made explicitly clear in a banned episode of Pokà ©mon where Misty is forced to compete in a swimwear contest and is threatened by James who cross-dresses and wears inf latable breasts; this shows the emphasis on big breasts as a sign of beauty and worth in both our society and the Pokà ©mon society.Overall I believe Pokà ©mon is remarkably similar to our own society and the issues faced by women, although women are also allowed to start of their own journey and even join the elite four (The Elite Four are four Pokà ©mon Trainers who are regarded as the toughest in their regional Pokà ©mon League, short of the Pokà ©mon League Champion. Those who challenge the Elite Four must have won all eight Badges from that region and face all four and the current Champion consecutively without losing to any of them. there is inequalities that is not only caused by the double standards and expectations of women but by their lack of liberty and burdens of responsibility. If we look back at Delia Ketchum she is abandoned by Mr Ketchum and forced to look after Ash whilst maintaining a restaurant passed down to her from her mother and is never allowed to pursu e her dreams of becoming a Pokà ©mon trainer and model. She is not shown any sympathy or pity she is merely marginalised along with many other characters and this practice is ongoing, Misty was just another victim of this cruel system.

Oral vs Residential Education for the Deaf

Despite what is commonly believed by hearing people who do not understand deaf culture, most deaf children are born to hearing parents. It can be challenging to raise a deaf child, as a hearing parent. One major decision on a parent’s plate for their deaf child is the choice of a residential or oral school to enroll their child in. Even though the students will be less exposed to deaf culture, parents of deaf children should send their kids to an oral school because they graduate with a higher reading level than kids who graduate from a residential school and learning how to assimilate with the majority of the population could help further their experience in life. One major reason for the parents of a deaf child to send their kid to an oral school over a residential school is the reading level the child will graduate with. On average, deaf adults have a reading level of only third to fifth grade. People who are deaf or hard of hearing are in no way less intelligent than anyone else, but their reading ability depends on the age which their hearing diminished. Being that English is a very oral language, people who lost their hearing before the age of three would have a hareder time learning the language than otherwise. Hearing Americans learn it by hearing it and reading is taught by sounding out the word, or phonetics (ie. Hooked on Phonics). For this reason, most Americans are dependent on their hearing to pick up the English language. A higher reading level achieved by a deaf student attending an oral school accomanies the fact than an oral education gives a child increased opportunity as he or she grows older and becomes more involved in the outside, hearing world. Considering the average hearing person’s early life, first a child is born. From here, a child picks up every sound and sight continuing when he or she is entered into kindergarten. After this, comes public education through the twelth grade and from there, a kid will usually apply for high school and graduate with some sort of degree. A degree has been proved to be a key to landing a profitable job. A deaf child may have most of these same experiences, but when out looking for a job, especially in this economy, may be hindered by the communication barrier that would exist. if they attended a residential school for the deaf. On the other side of the subject, one may argue that a residential school benefits a deaf child more than an oral school because the child still has a strong connection with their deaf culture. This is not necessarily true, being that a deaf child may also learn sign language if wanted, but simply not through their oral school. Also, the concept of any deaf relatives can assist in keeping the deaf culture in the family. A residential school has some disadvantages of its own. If a hearing parent has a deaf child and sends him or her to a residential school, the parents would also need to learn sign language which, because of the age of the parents may be difficult being that it is harder to learn a language the older one is. As a second drawback, a child who is fluent in ASL and is not familiar with English will not be able to successfully be entered into mainstream public school. Entering one’s deaf child into an oral school may have its various disadvantages such as limited avaliability or a distancing from deaf culture, but considering the advantages of enrolling a child into an oral school outweighs enrolling a child into a residential school. It is plain to see that although the students will be less exposed to deaf culture, parents of deaf children should send their kids to an oral school for two main reasons. First, learning how to assimilate with the majority of the population could help further their experience in life and, importantly, they graduate with a higher reading level than kids who graduate from a residential school.

Earning Management Essay

â€Å"Earning Management† refers to those accounting practices that may follow the letter of the rules of fundamental rules of accounting practices but unethically misrepresented to the users of accounting information. For the personal interest managers often try to show outstanding performance of the business and use the strategic way to falsify Income, Assets or Liabilities. Earning Management as generally understood refers to systematic misrepresentation of the true income and assets of corporations or other organizations. â€Å"Creative accounting† is at the root of a number of accounting scandals, and many proposals for accounting reform – usually centering on an updated analysis of capital and factors of production that would correctly reflect how value is added. Quality of accounting information is one of the Fundamental Concepts of Accounting Framework. Where it’s mentioned that, accounting information must be Relevant, Reliable, Comparable, and Consistent & Comparable (Intermediate Accounting by Keiso, Weygandt, Warfield, 12th edition). Unless having these qualities a report cannot be treated as qualified. â€Å"Managers that always promise to â€Å"make the numbers† will at some point be tempted to make up the numbers†. – Warren Buffet Definition of Earning Management * Managing earnings is â€Å"the process of taking deliberate steps within the constraints of generally accepted accounting principles to bring about a desired level of reported earnings.† (Davidson, Stickney and Weil (1987), cited in Schipper (1989) p. 92) * Managing earnings is â€Å"a purposeful intervention in the external financial reporting process, with the intent of obtaining some private gain (as opposed to say, merely facilitating the neutral operation of the process).†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ â€Å"A minor extension of this definition would encompass â€Å"real† earnings management, accomplished by timing investment or financing decisions to alter reported earnings or some subset of it.† (Schipper (1989) p. 92). * â€Å"Earnings management occurs when managers use judgment in financial reporting and in structuring transactions to alter financial reports to either mislead some stakeholders about the underlying economic performanc e of the company or to influence contractual outcomes that depend on reported accounting numbers.† (Healy and Wahlen, 1999, p. 368) Motivators Earning Management * Meet financial analysts’ estimates of earnings that leads to performance-based compensation * Raise the stock price thereby enhancing the value of stock options * Smooth net income making it appear that the earnings are increasing at a steady rate * Make it look as though future earnings are higher than they really are by establishing â€Å"cookie jar reserves† (inflated expenses) in the current year that can be drawn on in future years. (Dr. Steven Mintz, Professor and Area Chair, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo) Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting From this figure we’ve indicated that in the level – 2, where bridge between 1&3 creates should be the concerning point of maintaining the qualities of Accounting Information. Qualities are not only help to detect falsification, but also helps users to take decisions. Primary Qualities: * Relevance – It helps users to predict the ultimate outcome of past, present, and future events. It also helps users to predict that, how much loss/profit company can made. * Timeline – Specific timeline of accounting period helps users to trace out the business performance over the years. * Reliability – To assure that the information is verifiable, faithful and reasonably free of error and bias. Secondary Qualities: * Comparability – The reported information should be measured such a way that it can be compared with other company’s reports. * Consistency – Treatment of similar events from period to period must be used by same accounting standards. Standards cannot be changed suddenly, unless it’s proved that new method is better than previous. Perspective of Earning Management There are two perspectives on earnings management. (1) the Opportunistic perspective, states that managers seek to mislead investors by showing attractive & predetermined accounting information, (2) the Information perspective, first enunciated by Holthausen and Leftwich (1983), under which managerial carefulness is a means for managers to reveal to investors their private expectations about the firm’s future cash flows. (Earnings Management: A Perspective by Messod D. Beneish) Accrual vs. Earning Management Plenty of research report shows managers try to use Accrual in financial engineering. Accruals are the difference between net income and cash flows. For example, when companies sell items to others on credit during a growth period, the sale creates an accrual of revenue. When companies engage in earnings management, they can increase or decrease income by creating accruals; these are often referred to as non – discretionary (flexible) accruals. Reasons behind using accrual as the engineering tool are – * Accruals are the principle product of GAAP, so it’s easy to do falsification with camouflage. * Accruals resolve some problems related with the effects choosing various accounting methods. * It will be hard for investors to see effect of unobservable components of accrual. Types of earnings management Theoretically there are two types of earnings management. They are income increasing and income decreasing earnings management (Messod, 2001). a) Income Increasing earnings management: As the name suggests, income increasing earnings management is the process to boost up net income of the company intentionally (to hide the poor performance) so that investors get some wrong signal about the firm’s financial position and performance and make the decision of investing in to company (Messod, 2001). Management are motivated towards increasing earnings management because of getting more debt and equity Financing. b) Income decreasing earnings Management: This process of earnings management is done by decreasing the amount of net earnings. Management is more involved in income decreasing earnings management is to get future compensation like: reducing this month’s earnings by increasing expenses, they ensure the profit from the next month. Also tax avoidance, import tariff rel ief, union negotiations etc. are other reasons for manager’s motivation towards income decreasing earnings management (Messod, 2001). In corporate world these are the types of earning management mostly done by the management: a) Revenue and Expense Recognition Under standard accounting rules, a company must record revenue in its books when it earns that revenue — not when it actually receives payment. Similarly, it must record expenses when it incurs them — not when it actually pays money. These rules leave room for companies to manipulate their numbers for earnings management (www.budgeting.thenest.com). For example, say a company signs a deal on December 1 to buy $1 million worth advertising time on TV over the next two months. The company could recognize the entire expense in December, recognize the whole thing in January or split the difference. If it records it all in December, then that year’s profit will be lower by $1 million — but the company will get a â€Å"head start† on the next year’s profit by not having any advertising expenses in January. Profits have been shifted from one year to the next with an accounting trick. b) Cookie Jar Reserves Companies shift earnings around by creating overly large reserve accounts in good years, then drawing them down in bad years. For example, when a company sells a product with a warranty, it must recognize the estimated expense of honoring that warranty at the same time it books the revenue (www.budgeting.thenest.com). A company might conclude that it incurs warranty costs of $10,000 for every $1 million in sales. If it’s having a particularly profitable year, it might decide to take a $30,000 warranty expense per $1 million in sales. That builds up a big warranty reserve now so that the company doesn’t have to record warranty expenses in the future, thus shifting profits from one period to the other. This tactic goes by the name â€Å"cookie jar accounting,† because it essentially stashes excess profits away to be used when needed. c) The Big Bath There will be times when a company simply can’t avoid a bad year. No matter what it does, it’s going to post a loss because of a sour economy, unfavorable market conditions, and legal trouble, whatever. Some companies, though, deliberately make a bad year even worse by shifting all kinds of expenses, one-time charges and write-offs into that year and shifting revenue out of it. This allows it to inflate profits in future years (www.budgeting.thenest.com). The reasoning behind this strategy is that if the company is going to â€Å"take a bath,† it might as well take a big bath. The company’s stock price was going to suffer anyway, the thinking goes, and the damage probably won’t be that much worse if the company inflates the loss. Indicators of Earnings Management We have find out five factors which can be important indicators of earnings management: a) Political connection and earnings management: Firms with political connection (large number of stockholder, or CEO or board of directors of the company is a parliament member) are more involved in earnings management (Paul, Mara and David, 2010). Mainly the reasons are- political leaders help the particular firm involved in earnings management to avoid penalization by SEC and also political leaders use these companies’ financial performance and position to increase their public image. b) Internal Audit and earnings management: This one is another major indicator of earnings management. If the quality of internal quality is low there are some possibilities of earnings management. According to the research, if a company is having high quality internal audit, they might be less motivated towards earnings management (Douglas, Jason and David, 2008). Main reasons are: these internal auditors are more professional, responsible towards their job and they barely miss the expert’s expectations. c) Financial transparency and earnings management: Many studies have shown that financial transparency and earnings management are related. If a particular financial report is more transparent then the manager are less interested toward earnings management (James, Robert and Cheri, 2004) The main reason behind this situation is detail information about the accounts including: change in depreciation methods, details about each and every account will help investors to find out any manipulation done by the manager.

Minimum Wage Essay

American workers will have a 1.75$ increase in their hourly wage by the end of 2015, as President Barack Obama recently called to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour $9.00 an hour. This increase in the minimum wage of American citizen aims to help people with a low annual wage: cooks, employees of the janitorial industry and many others working these necessary menial occupations are set to benefit. The white house estimates that this measure will boost the wage of approximately 15 millions low-income workers. Raising the minimum wage, according to the White House press, will have some positive effect for low-income families; however, many companies are opposed to raising the minimum wage. A higher wage will have a direct impact on the cost of business. Some economists argue that higher minimum wage will result in an increased unemployment percentage. Although minimum wage laws can fix hourly pay, they cannot guarantee jobs. Employers are not willing to pay a worker more than the value of the additional product that he produces. For example, if a worker produces 4$ worth of goods per hour and because of the minimum wage he has to be paid 5.15$. Since he cost more than what he produces it makes it hard for him to find a job. At one point in the article, the President said that one of the best ways to get the economy going again is to put money in the pockets of people who work. (Lowrey)It is true that families with low income will earn more money: it is projected that a family that is earning $20,000 to $30,000 a year will see an additional $3,500 in their income. (Lowrey) This general positive outcome of increasing the minimum wage has led many law makers to wrongly assume that increasing the minimum wage is an effective way to fight  poverty. From the point of view of an economist, raising the minimum wage may increases the probability that a poor family will escape poverty through higher wages, but it does increase the probability of another family with average income will become poor as a result of minimum wage giving rise to inflation. It also decreases the proportion of families with income near the poverty line, suggesting that it more will be more difficult to escape poverty. We all know that if the minimum wage increases then the cost of living will inevitably increase as well as a result of inflation. Economists are against minimum wage laws because they create a price floor. In this case, a price floor is not the price that products can be sold for, but what price employers can spend on their employees. For non-economists, legislating a minimum wage is commonly seen as an effective way of giving raises to low-wage workers. Unfortunately it, like any other price floor, creates a surplus. In this case, the surplus is a larger than expected number of workers more of are willing to work in minimum-wage jobs than there are employers willing to hire at that wage. Economists think that there should not be any policies concerning wages: an employee should be paid what the employer thinks he/she deserves. Minimum wage increases make unskilled workers more expensive and therefore undesirable relative to all other factors of production. (Mankiw) For example, if skilled workers make 15$/hour and unskilled workers make three dollars an hour, skilled workers are five times as expensive as the unskilled. Imposing a minimum wage of five dollars an hour makes skilled workers relatively more attractive by making them only three times as expensive as unskilled workers. Another important characteristic of the policy to increase minimum wage that was not discussing in the article is that it may also negatively impact workers by changing how they are compensated. Benefits such as paid vacation, free room and board; inexpensive insurance and subsidized childcare are an important part of the total compensation for many low wageworkers. (Mankiw) When minimum wages rise, employers can control total compensation costs by cutting benefits; such is the case for the United States today. The employer always had to follow the minimum wage in order to pay their employee. The minimum wage should not be existent nowadays; the employer should have the choice to pay their employee based on their knowledge. An employee that knows more and produces more should have an higher hourly range. Sources: Textbook Mankiw, N. Gregory. Principles of Economics. 6th. Mason, OH, USA: 2012. Print. Website: Lowrey, Annie. â€Å"Raising Minimum Wage Would Ease Income Gap but Carries Political Risks.† New York Times. N.p., 13-02-2013. Web. 5 Oct 2013. .