Civil liberties during war-time Essay

Civil Liberties are for example freedom of speech and freedom of the press as defined by the first amendment. These freedoms have been challenged by the threat of war, but should they be taken away because of it? The first amendment states that â€Å"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.† These are our civil liberties that we are promised as citizens of the U.S. In the past these liberties have been interfered with. The main cause for this interference was war. The government wanted to abolish any chances of treason or leaking of information to the enemies and to do this they passed act such as the Alien and Sedition Acts. The Alien and Sedition Acts made it illegal to write, print, speak, or publish anything false or untrue about to United States. We can understand how certain precautions must be made to insure safety in times of war but to go so far as to take away our freedoms are out of bounds. There are numerous other ways to make us safe without interfering with our liberties. For example: tighter security. After 9/11 security became very tight at airports and other areas where terrorists might be able to enter the country. Although this extra security was tedious and time consuming to get through, it was well within the lines of the 1st amendment because it did not take away any of our freedoms. I do not believe that our civil liberties should be taken away during wartime. This is a democracy and should remain one whether engaged in war or not. The government can think of more ways to protect us other than limiting our freedoms of speech or of the press, and certainly without interfering with our privacy unless there is just cause to do so.

Metamorphosis and the Yellow Wallpaper Essay

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† and Franz Kafka’s â€Å"Metamorphosis† contain many similarities. They both have the common theme of the deterioration of the main character’s life and mind, as well as the theme of the ostracism of outcasts in society. They also both deal with the main characters gaining a freedom through the demise of their previous lives. The woman in â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† is slowly deteriorating in mental state. When she first moves into the room in the old house, the wallpaper intrigues her. Its pattern entrances her and makes her wonder about its makeup. But slowly her obsession with the wallpaper grows, taking over all of her time. She starts to see the pattern moving, and imagines it to be a woman trapped behind the wallpaper. The total deterioration of her sanity is reached when she becomes the woman she imagined in the wallpaper and begins creeping around the room. Similar to the woman in Gilman’s story, Gregor, in â€Å"The Metamorphosis,† watches as his life slowly deteriorates. He woke up one morning to find himself to have taken the shape of a bug. But early on he tried to continue in his normal activities; he focused on how he was going to make it to the train station so he did not miss his train, and how his employer would be upset with his absence from work. Then he begins to realize that he is a bug, and he cannot live his life the same way he used to. His sister begins to take care of him, and he loses touch with everything human that he used to know. His mother and father take away all of his furniture and other possessions. Gregor’s family come to the agreement that the bug must be eliminated, it was not†¦

Communication misunderstandings Essay

Communication misunderstandings happen all the time in business communications, and the consequences can range from annoying to terrible. Here are some simple rules to follow that can save you a world of trouble when communicating with colleagues and partners. Active listening Active listening is one of the best ways to effectively communicate with others. In fact, when we actually listen, misunderstanding is less likely to occur. Active listening is all about building rapport, understanding, and trust. Face the speaker, maintain eye contact, keep an open mind, engage yourself. Ask question Avoid making assumptions based on prejudiced opinions. Ask questions to confirm, whether you are the one sending or receiving the message. Never assume that you know what has been conveyed. If someone conveys a message that is unclear, ask for more clarification Be Aware of Your Verbal and Non-Verbal Language Be certain to clearly convey the same verbal and non-verbal cues. Do not give mixed communication signals. Remember, body language, facial expressions, and tone of speech play a significant part in how messages will be interpreted. For example, if you say something one way, and your facial expression says something else, it is very possible that a miscommunication may occur. Build, rapport the relationship Build rapport when you develop mutual trust, friendship, and empathy with someone. Building rapport can be incredibly beneficial to your career – it opens doors and helps establish good relationships with clients, colleagues, and team members. Manage the conflict situation Learn to resolve problems and conflicts as they arise. Learn how to be an  effective mediator and negotiator. Use your listening skills to hear and understand both sides of any argument – encourage and facilitate people to talk to each other. Try not to be judgemental but instead ease the way for conflict resolution Provide constructive feedback †¢Constructive feedback refers to providing a person with useful information about their approach, skills and/or actions in order to encourage professional and personal development. It includes both what a person is doing well and what they need to improve. you can avoid misunderstandings and check to make sure that your communication is clear. Constructive feedback motivates many who use it to change their behavior, study new things, or adopt new attitudes. The summary is also an opportunity to show your support for the other person and an effective way to conclude even a negative feedback situation on a positive note. If communicating with a person from another culture, become familiar with the needs, cultural expectations and language level of the person. have self-awareness of their own cultural practice, including prejudice, stereotyping and bias understand various cultural factors contributing to cultural differences be sensitive and appreciate a migrant’s migration experience have a good knowledge of, and skills in, communication be able to work with interpreters be willing to accept and appreciate other cultures. Communication channel Channels vary in their information richness. Information-rich channels convey more nonverbal information. As you may be able to guess from our earlier discussion of verbal and written communications, verbal communications are richer than written ones. Research shows that effective managers tend to use more information-rich communication channels than less effective managers. [1]The figure below illustrates the information richness of different information channels. Like face-to-face and telephone  conversation, videoconferencing has high information richness because Receivers and Senders can see or hear beyond just the words—they can see the Sender’s body language or hear the tone of their voice. Handheld devices, blogs, and written letters and memos offer medium-rich channels because they convey words and pictures/photos. Formal written documents, such as legal documents, and spreadsheets, such as the division’s budget, convey the least richness because the format is often rigid and standardized. As a result, nuance is lost. In business, the decision to communicate verbally or in written form can be powerful. In addition, a smart manager is aware of the nonverbal messages conveyed by either type of communication—as noted earlier, only 7% of a verbal communication comes from the words themselves. When determining whether to communicate verbally or in writing, ask yourself:Do I want to convey facts or feelings? Verbal communications are a better way to convey feelings. Written communications do a better job of conveying facts. A breakdown in the communication channel leads to an inefficient flow of information. Employees are unaware of what the company expects of them. They are uninformed of what is going on in the company. This will cause them to become doubtful of motives and any changes in the company. Also without effective communication, employees become department minded rather than company minded, and this affects their decision-making and productivity in the workplace. Eventually, this harms the overall organizational objectives as well. Hence, in order for an organization to be run effectively, a good manager should be able to communicate to his/her employees what is expected of them, make sure they are fully aware of company policies and any upcoming changes. Therefore, an effective communication channel should be implemented by managers to optimize worker productivity to ensure the smooth running of the organization. The key to effective communication is to match the communication channel with  the goal of the communication. [3] For example, written media may be a better choice when the Sender wants a record of the content, has less urgency for a response, is physically separated from the Receiver, doesn’t require a lot of feedback from the Receiver, or the Message is complicated and may take some time to understand. Oral communication, however, makes more sense when the Sender is conveying a sensitive or emotional Message, needs feedback immediately, and does not need a permanent record of the conversation. Use the guide provided for deciding when to use written versus verbal communication.

Economics of Gender Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Economics of Gender - Research Paper Example Recognition of gender equality therefore enriches economic growth in a nation. Gender equality is conveyed in approaches, opinions, actions and policies that mirror an equal valuing and endowment of opportunities for both genders. Absence of discrimination between both genders can also evidence equal eminence between the females and the males in a society. In gender equality, all individuals hold an equivalent level of power and indulge other people with respect and consideration irrespective of their sex (Dollar, David & Gatti, 1999). Equal opportunities and equal worth for both sexes is therefore a demonstration of gender equality. Gender equality can be seen where there is no inferior valuation of females to males at birth. In a society that there is gender equality, women are accorded both their legal and marital rights. The fertility rates and child mortality rates are also lowered. There is no one solitary measure for quantifying the status of women comparative to men at the universal level. Research indicates that two measures can generally be used and these are the gender-related development index and the gender empowerment measure (Mikkola, 2007). The gender-related development index cascades if the accomplishment levels of both women and men reduce or if the discrepancy between their achievements intensifies. On the other hand, the gender empowerment measure scrutinizes whether women and men are competent to energetically partake in the economic and political life of a society. It also studies whether women do take part in decision-making in a society. This measure is fashioned using information on women’s purchasing influence and decision-making supremacy in the economy and political power in Parliament. Despite the use of these two types of measures, the measurement of gender equality can sometimes be difficult. This is because some of the roles t hat

Vinke Air Freight Service Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Vinke Air Freight Service Company - Essay Example A brief market analysis will inform the company of the value of its services to current clients and how these factors might differ from the customer base within the overnight small package delivery market. Vinke currently serves large- and mid-sized companies who occasionally need to ship parts to meet emergency needs. The present client base certainly must value the fact that their large packages can be delivered to an airport and Vinke will transport the parts as well as arrange final delivery. In an emergency, industrial delivery scenario, Vinke’s personal attention to clients is a major benefit. In the overnight letter and small package market, however, customers are not seeking the specialized attention that has built the company’s current market. They are more interested in having their letters picked up at their location and timely delivered to the intended destination. Neither are they faced with the issues of industrial shipping. These customers are consumers f or whom overnight delivery has become ubiquitous. They don’t need specialized personal care nor are they constrained by the logistics involved in moving large manufacturing parts to meet emergency timeframes; they simply want their letters to be picked up and delivered on time.   In considering the organizational changes required by the proposed entry into the new market, and the competition already in place there, the task could prove daunting. Vinke’s current client base is industrial or manufacturing companies. These organizations can be serviced from the airport to destination. For overnight letters and small packages, the company will not be able to expect its customers to drive to their airport; Vinke will need to implement a pick-up service. They won’t be competing for a relatively small pool of clients; they will be forced to serve the general public. This will require extraordinary organizational changes. Further, rather than the occasional and urgent nature of  delivering large industrial parts that easily fill up planes with just a few orders, the new market demands will centre upon frequent handling of routine letters and small packages.  

Pros and Cons of Tariffs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Pros and Cons of Tariffs - Essay Example It is evident from the study that tariffs help governments reduce competition from foreign companies to allow more opportunities for the growth of domestic industries and increased employment opportunities. As the government imposes a tax on imported goods, the foreign suppliers find it hard to supply to the locals. Thus, domestic producers receive a favorable price for their products and services since the market is unsaturated with goods. The local producers also produce and sell large quantities since the demand is high among the local market. Consequently, they become motivated to provide more products and services, thereby leading to economic growth and loyalty to domestic products. Tariffs may thus enable job retention and creation since local businesses will grow to an extent of employing more people to handle their goods and services. Governments also impose tariffs on imported and exported products as one of the sources of revenue. The taxes help the government to support it s many activities and functions. In fact, approximately 2% of the total government revenue comes from customs duties and taxes. Hence, imposing duties on exports and imports allow the government to fund economic developmental projects. Such projects include building of infrastructures like roads, maintaining social amenities, establishing and maintaining institutions, and paying public workers. Consequently, local businesses and foreign companies will find it easy to set up and conduct business operations in the country. They enable the country to spearhead the economic development and attract investments both from within and outside.

Legal skills learning portfolio Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Legal skills learning portfolio - Essay Example during the module sessions have encompassed a wide range of methodologies, many of which have focused actively on student learning, role plays, team work and interaction to develop the essential skills needed to become a successful lawyer. In a similar fashion, I have been constantly assessed during this module through a number of evaluations, examinations, reports, and moot court sessions apart from a certain degree of oral presentations. In fact, our entire class has undergone through a strict and rigorous curriculum that has required my study group to constantly re-invent itself through peer and self assessments. I am further of the opinion that the ALS module has comprised a level of distinctiveness with focus on a number of areas like criminal law, contracts, company law, civil procedure, constitutional law, evidence and professional conduct. I have undertaken complex and elaborate case studies in each of these disciplines together with my study group and have evolved as a prospective lawyer through rigorous and dedicated analysis and application to practice moot court sessions. Based on the guidelines of McCarthy (2003, pg. 28), developing ideas and strategies to tackle cases, presenting them in mock sessions an d arguing them in a highly competitive environment have streamlined my vision to approach and analyze cases in a manner that is highly practical and thought provoking in nature. During this course, I have sensed that elaborate resources have been devoted to determining ways of teaching skills within the overall academic program. I also feel that this has been the case even with embedding these skills in students which has enabled them to improve upon incrementally by applying them to cases of increasing complexity, building the sense of independence and confidence that is highly required of a lawyer. Thus, the ALS Module can be termed as a comprehensive skill-based curriculum. The creation of groups among students to learn skills like advocacy and

Claim to Cancel the Legitimacy of Gambling Essay

Claim to Cancel the Legitimacy of Gambling - Essay Example The organization and development of my presentation were divided into three points. The first category was to clarify some misconceptions about gambling. For instance, people perceive gambling as a hobby. I persuaded them to understand that gambling is a serious business. In addition, I informed the audience that, as individuals, we cannot control chance or luck. The second point elaborated on the health risks associated with gambling. Here, I mentioned the serious disease associated with people addicted to gambling. The diseases were such as liver disease, high blood pressure, increased rates of heart diseases and angina. My final point was ideally to support my presentation goal. I was able to convince them to claim to cancel gambling indirectly via clearly showing the existing relationship between gambling and increased rate of crimes and drug business. As a matter of fact, I made an outline to my professor to make sure that my structure was easy to follow. I provided enough testi mony when I used the statistic. Throughout my presentation, I used transitions to navigate from one point to another. Unfortunately, my conclusion ended abruptly as my time was already out. Therefore, I was unable to conclude what I had prepared for my audience. My use of verbal communication was fine as everyone could get me clearly. This was evident from the various questions asked by the audience. However, I had some weakness in pronouncing some words but that did not stop me from continuing with my presentation. With nonverbal delivery, I tried my level best to maintain eye contact with my audience. This is because eye contact helps in establishing a relationship with the subjects in question. In addition, I tried to smile when appropriate to create a friendly environment.  

ADOLESCENCE ADDICTION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

ADOLESCENCE ADDICTION - Essay Example She smokes marijuana twice a week, drinks alcohol one to two weekends a month, and she is starting to get addicted to cocaine. Maria’s diagnostic criteria would involve clear communication, intervention and treatment by various parties concerned. The type of substance use diagnosis that may apply to her involves the use of structured devices to accurately identify the type, of disorder or addiction she is suffering. Secondly, withdrawal effects might also have an effect in her alcohol and cocaine habits. Signs/symptoms showing that Terry is an addict are easily identified from his inability to perform his task at the workplace. He is a heavy drinker who often suffers from blackouts, he experiences mood swings that make him violent and angry, thus suffers from relationship problems with his girl friend. Lastly, Terry suffers from withdrawal problems as he unsuccessfully tried to limit his heavy drinking behavior with no success. Terry’s diagnostic criteria for alcohol abuse are that he has been a heavy user for more than three years resulting to failure in accomplishing outstanding obligations at work (Rosner, 2012). The use diagnosis that might apply to Terry involves the development of tolerance to help him reduce the effects of the taken alcohol and cocaine. Withdrawal might also apply in Terry’s alcoholic and cocaine case. In my opinion, DSM-IV is not effective in the above cases since it raises a lot of confusion in its remission effects. DSM-IV will have negative impacts when applied on Maria and Terry because of the stigma associated to patients who are subject to its labeling. Secondly, the method might also lead to misdiagnosis since it has not been certified as being the best method for treating patients who experience similar conditions to Maria and Terry (Fauman, 2002). Conclusively, adolescence addiction is an emerging issue in the society affecting both the society and the individual who indulge into the addiction. Most

Trade and environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Trade and environment - Essay Example Rules formed by one party can frustrate the other in fact there is an existing fear that trade rules may be frustrating the environmental ones. This essay focuses on the question whether trade rules override the environmental ones. The non-discrimination principle by WTO may not favorable to restrictions that may be imposed by environmental rules. The principle requires countries to offer equal treatment to products that are alike imported from any WTO member country. If in a certain region the trade of such a product poses a threat to the environment, then terms of trade are likely to change once such a region is faced with environmental rules. To some extent the WTO is considered superior based on its scope of coverage, this has left the negotiations on the trade and environmental rules to be narrowed down to only the WTO members that have signed the Multilateral Environmental Agreement under consideration. Further the majority MEA secretariats have been granted ‘observership’ in the trade and environment committee and some attend the committee’s negotiation sessions by invitation. (Frankel, Jeffrey 2008). This may be attributed to the fact that there is no such a thing as an empowered global environmental body spearheading their concerns to their trade partners on issues that affect them. The benefits of trade which majorly includes steering economic growth, together with technology transfer and promoting competition outweigh the danger of adverse effects to the environment. It is also notable that trade may lead to environmental improvements, but it may also make states or firms to seek gaining advantage over their competitors by observing lower environmental standards. To many environmentalists this poses a potential source of conflict between trade and environmental rules and presents a hindrance to the goals that they want to achieve noting the climatic changes we

Penquins Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Penquins - Research Paper Example Penguins are of the Spheniscinae and have about 20 different types. These types all share the same features but vary by small changes in traits. When you see a bird fly in the air the look is similar to the way a penguin is able to swim in the water. The penguins are great swimmers and are graceful in the water. Their specific traits such as the look of their wings make it easy for them to swim. The wings of the penguins have a shape that looks similar to the fin of a dolphin or seal. Penguins have very distinctive mating habits. Unlike other species, the penguins have a switched role when it comes to carrying for offspring. The female and male penguins are very selective when choosing a mate and typically mate for life. Once a female penguin lays an egg, the male cares for the egg and keeps it warm. While the male is carrying for the egg the female goes out in search of food for when the egg hatches. Penguins are very unique birds and are amazing to study. Their habits and ways of life are interesting and explain a lot about their characteristic. Studying penguins shows how determined and caring there species can

Searching for ideology in spite of Media Essay Example for Free

Searching for ideology in spite of Media Essay As individuals, we constantly struggle to find a balance between personal opinion and societal compliance; between our personal value systems and what society in general regards as acceptable, or at least what it wants us to believe. However, some would agree that the influence that media exerts on our psyche can upset such a balance. Every individual aims to be unique and original with their reasoning, but the odds are stacked against them as streams of media flow with such a prominent impact on societal ideology. The effect of the media is significant and far-reaching. Everywhere, the media encroaches upon our ideologies and everything that we hold sacred and changes it in ways that we are often unaware of. Holding on to our personal ideologies in the face of media is swimming upstream against resistance and the irresistible currents of change. Indeed the media has been a powerful force in influencing people’s perceptions, and by extension, their actions as well. Business, politicians, and showbiz personalities pay huge sums of money to media firms in order to create an image or change an existing one. Politics in particular, has been making use of the media to generate public support for certain policies. As an economic force the media has been used by Western nations to trespass into Third World Cultures and impose their own Western views and in effect promote Western goods. The westernization of these countries has led to the destruction of the many elements of native cultures. Similarly, the media infringes upon our system of values and we are never the same. With the greater outpouring of media coming from the United States, advertisers, writers and even politicians of other countries are forced to swim upstream against certain influences from a society that preaches to a larger audience than it can actually support. A trend is emerging in the presentation of media products which Sony has described as ‘global localization’: the structuring of media products designed for certain cultural consumption or presentation, which are assembled without particular concerns for national cultural heritage or tradition (Thussu 21). Of course it must be said that media per se is not the culprit. It is a neutral instrument that can be used both for good and bad ends. The capacity of media to effect positive or negative effects on an individual or a given society depends on the people using the media as a very powerful tool to advance their own, often selfish causes. As such, this paper intends to look at how the media is being used as a tool primarily to promote political and economic agendas. Ideas on Ideology Ideologies refer to a set of beliefs of ways of living that structures the way we see things and act upon accordingly. These ideologies often act below the surface and are the driving force that determines our actions of a daily basis. Ideologies are products of the culture that people were exposed to. In the realm of the social sciences, ideology is perhaps one of the most difficult to define because of its highly complex nature (Bailey 4). Regardless of the difficulties of the concept, we all have some functional grasp of our own ideologies, and it serves as the framework with which we perceive the world at large and by which we base our decisions and value judgments. In terms of society, the word ideology basically makes the connection between ideas and the kind of society that we have (Bailey 23). This implies that a society is the realization of the collective thoughts or ideas of a people, and as such, can also be changed by the same token. For sociologist, ideology refers to ideas that are actually forwarded and manifested for the very purpose of effecting change. These ideologies are ideas or beliefs applied in the public realm; abstract made real. As such, every political entity has a set of ideologies that form the basis of its platform and policies. This paper uses the term ideology in a more general sense; ideology as the set of beliefs and values that buttress an individual and how such ideologies change in the face of media manipulation. As such, these ideologies are the main targets of media as they endeavor to convince people to change their beliefs and value systems.

Development of Autism Research

Development of Autism Research Fighting the Monster By writing a book called Infantile Autism, a Navy psychologist named Bernard Rimland established autism as an inborn condition rather than bad parenting. The books popularity inspired him to launch the National Society for Autistic Children (NSAC). By forming an alliance and reaching out to parents, he gave the parents in his network a sense of hope and progress at a time when there was virtually no research in the field, setting the stage for the surge of interest in autism research. Bernard Rimland was born in Cleveland in 1928, the son of Russian Jewish parents who emigrated after World War I. When he was twelve, his family relocated to San Diego, California. He got a bachelors degree in experimental psychology from San Diego State University in 1950 and earned his masters degree a year later. He met Gloria Alf, a Jewish girl from the neighborhood, and got married before heading east to Penn State to earn his doctorate. After completing his degree at Penn State, Rimland was hired as the director of research at the new naval base in San Diego. Their son, Mark, was born in the spring of 1956. But something was drastically wrong with Mark and it was only much later that his condition was determined to be early infantile autism. Besides reading everything he could on the subject, Rimland wrote a letter to Kanner in 1959 describing his sons behavior and announcing his intention to write a paper on the subject. After five years of research, Rimland published his book Infantile Autism: The Syndrome and Its Implications for a Neural Theory of Behavior in 1964, featuring an introduction by Kanner. The crux of the book was that autism is primarily a product of genetic inheritance rather than family dynamics. At one point, he even referred to Asperger syndrome without explaining it. He suggested that in some cases the syndrome was caused by unknown environmental factors acting upon a genetic predisposition. He speculated that parents who tend to be gifted in certain fields pass this vulnerability down to their children along with the genetic factors for high intelligence. This hypothesis would fall into disrepute in the 1970s as studies by Michael Rutter and others proved that autism does not discriminate by IQ or educational level and is equally prevalent across all socioeconomic strata. Rimland wanted the diagnosis to be strictly defined so that autism would turn out to be a metabolic dysfunction akin to phenylketonuria (PKU) that could be averted with a dietary intervention. PKU is a rare genetic disorder due to a gene mutation that impairs the metabolism of the amino acid phenylalanine. Untreated PKU can lead to behavioral problems, seizures, intellectual disability, and mental disorder. To facilitate autism research, Rimland included in the book a questionnaire called the Diagnostic Check List for Behavior-Disturbed Children (Form E-1), designed as a template for clinicians to copy and give to parents. After the book came out, Rimland unexpectedly received piles of completed E-1 forms. He followed up with the parents by telephone after scoring the checklist with a proprietary algorithm. He was so gregarious and empathetic to the parents that he became Uncle Bernie to a generation of families. In the second edition of his book, he included a revised version of the checklist called the E-2 designed for the parents to send to Rimland directly. His questionnaires had planted the seeds of a revolution. *** In the 1960s, most psychologists in America were still convinced that autistic kids were constitutionally incapable of learning. But a professor in the Psychology department of the UCLA named Ole Ivar Lovaas thought otherwise. Ole Ivar Lovaas was born in Norway in 1927. He and his family were forced to work as migrant laborers when the Nazis occupied Norway in June 1940. After the war ended, Lovaas was allowed to immigrate to the United States on the strength of his violin playing. He got a music scholarship at Luther College in Iowa and earned his bachelors degree in a year. Then he talked his way into the graduate program in psychology at the University of Washington in Seattle. He didnt want to become a psychoanalyst because he had lost patience with the speculations of theory-based psychiatry, so he focused on lab research. After earning his doctorate at the University of Washington, Lovaas stayed in Seattle, teaching and conducting research at the Child Development Institute near the university. At the institute, he experienced that improving the language skills of children with developmental delays might help them control their problematic behavior. He was also influenced by a psychologist at Indiana University named Charles Ferster who proposed that parents had inadvertently conditioned their children to be more and more autistic by rewarding their misbehavior with doting attention. In 1961, he accepted a position as an assistant professor in the psychology department at UCLA. In his first year on the job, the Clinic referred only one child to his lab: a nine-year-old girl named Beth who spoke mostly in echolalia and bore scars all over from banging herself against walls and furniture. Luvaas outfitted a suite of rooms with one-way mirrors, hidden microphones, and a push-button device that enabled his assistants to record the frequency and duration of her behaviors. He called this style of intensive intervention applied behavioral analysis, or ABA. Rimland was skeptical of the Lovaas method when he first heard about it. But he set his doubts aside and began to use the technique in training his eight-year-old autistic son. Lovaas had been thinking about inviting parents into the process because the lessons learned in ABA often didnt generalize beyond the artificial situation in the lab. The best hope for stimulating lasting behavior change was to train the children in their natural environment at home. Rimland arranged a dinner with Lovaas and a few of the couples from his network of autistic parents. Before the meal was over, they were begging Lovaas to train them in his method. By forming an alliance and reaching out directly to parents, Rimland and Lovaas had just built a shadow infrastructure for autism research in which parents, rather than medical professionals, were the ultimate authorities on their childrens well-being. *** In the fall of 1965, Rimland received a letter from Ruth Christ Sullivan, a young nurse and mother of an autistic son. Sullivan proposed forming a national group to advocate for the needs of autistic children. On November 14, 1965, Sullivan, Rimland and 60 other parents formed the National Society of Autistic Children. In the coming years, parents would launch hundreds of local NSAC chapters all over the country. By the mid-1970s, the NSAC launched a number of legislations aimed at protecting the rights of individuals with autism and mandating services for them, especially education. Autism was also included in the Developmental Disabilities Act of 1976. In 1974, by conducting thorough examinations of 78 children brought to the Childrens Brain Research Clinic in Washington by NSAC members, the clinics researchers theorized that autism is not a single clinical entity but is composed of multiple distinct subtypes. Rimland also did a groundbreaking study on savant skills based on data from his questionnaires, rediscovering the same clusters of enhanced ability in music, memory, art, science, mathematics, and technology that Asperger called autistic intelligence. Over time, the two paths represented by NSACs founders Sullivans focus on services and Rimlands search for a cure would diverge, resulting in Rimland being voted off the board of his own organization. *** Meanwhile, Lovaas was experimenting with alternating rounds of acquisition (reinforce proper behavior) and extinction (extinguish self-injurious behavior) trials on Berh. He found that she was responsive on acquisition trials, but not on extinction trials. So Lovaas sought a more expeditious solution, which was the use of punishment. Concerned that some of his techniques might seem unorthodox, Lovaas invited members of the press down to the lab to watch him in action. When the articles came out, members of the NSAC were concerned about how brutally kids were being treated at UCLA. Despite Rimlands tireless cheerleading for aversives, many NSAC parents refused to use them. Meanwhile, state hospitals across the country embraced the harsh techniques promoted by Lovaas at UCLA as a way of keeping problem patients in line. In 1988, the NSAC (now changed the name to the Autism Society of America) has passed a resolution calling for a ban on aversive techniques. But painful electric shocks are still employed to punish autistic children at an institution called the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center in Massachusetts, even in the face of a public outcry against their use. In the 1970s, Lovaas lent his expertise to a series of experiments called the Feminine Boy Project. The projects most celebrated success story was Kirk Andrew Murphy. Kirks was enrolled into the program at UCLA when he was five because his parents were concerned that he was exhibiting behavior that was too feminine. Lovaas worked with a graduate student named George Rekers who was Kirks behavioral therapist. Rekers and Lovaas devised a program of total immersion based on Lovaass work on autism. After sixty sessions in the lab, Rekers and Lovaas declared victory over Kirks sissy-boy behavior. Rekers went on to build a career based on the premise that homosexuality can be prevented. He became a founding member of the Family Research Council, a faith-based organization that lobbies against gay-rights issues. In the meantime, Kirk committed suicide in 2003 at age thirty-eight, following decades of depression. His parents claimed that Kirks earlier therapy had contributed to his suicide. In 2010, Rekers days as an anti-gay champion came to an end when two journalists ambushed him at the Miami airport returning from a holiday in Madrid with a hired male escort. In 1987, Lovaas claimed that nearly half of the children in an experimental group at UCLA had achieved normal intellectual functioning by undertaking intensive ABA starting at age three. Lovaass study was the breakthrough that many parents had been waiting for: empirical proof that their children could become normal given enough devotion, effort, and expense. *** In 1964, Rimland received an invitation from the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Standford University for a years fellowship in Palo Alto. There he fell under the spell of Linus Pauling, who had won two Nobel Prizes, a Nobel prize in Chemistry, and a Nobel Peace Prize. Pauling was the most prominent advocate of the notion that megadoses of Vitamin C could avert the common cold, slow the aging process, and improve mood. Paulings concept of orthomolecular psychiatry meshed perfectly with Rimlands thoughts on PKU and autism. Meanwhile, Rimland had started getting letters from parents claiming that their sons and daughters had become more calm and engaged after taking megadoses of certain nutrients, particularly vitamins B and C. After talking with doctors convinced of the therapeutic value of the megavitamin regimen, Rimland established the Institute for Child Behavior Research, later renamed the Autism Research Institute in San Diego to launch a study. But he di d not use the so-called double-blind placebo-controlled trial model in his study. Instead, he developed a home-brewed form of data analysis that he called computer clustering, an algorithmic search for clinically significant ripples in a sea of big data. With 45 percent of parents reporting that the vitamins definitely helped their children, Rimland was thrilled with the results of his experiment. But three independent analyses of his dataset revealed more problems with his design. The design of the experiment with parents as evaluators of changes in their childrens behavior was anything but blind in the statistical sense. A Navy statistician with access to the raw data concluded that no reliable information about the reaction in the vitamins by various subtypes in the sample population could be obtained by using Rimlands computer clustering scheme. Rimland was bugged by the disappointing response of his peers to his megavitamin experiment. Noting the serious side effects caused by prescription drugs, Rimland concluded that the future of his work was not to be found in conventional medicine. He would eventually encourage his parent-experimenters to try several treatments at once, making it nearly impossible to tease out the benefits and side effects of any single one. This try-everything-at-once approach gave the parents in his network a tremendous sense of hope and momentum at a time when the mainstream science of autism was at a standstill. From his office in Kensington, a suburb of San Diego, Rimland forged a productive alliance with the nineteen-year-old Steve Edelson, a psychology/sociology major in Lovaass lab. Together they wrote a book called Recovering Autistic Children that became one of the bibles of the biomedical movement. In the 1990s, they launched Defeat Autism Now! (DAN!), the network of clinicians and alt-med practitioners that Shannon Rosa turned to for advice on the GFGC diet and other treatments after Leo was diagnosed in 2002.

Purpose of the Electrocardiogram (ECG) in Paramedic Practice

Purpose of the Electrocardiogram (ECG) in Paramedic Practice Lachlan Donnet-Jones Intro Electrocardiogram, commonly abbreviated to ECG or EKG, is defined as â€Å"a graphic tracing of the variations in electrical potential caused by the excitationof the heart muscle and detected at the body surface† (Dorlands). An ECG monitor is the device that has the ability to read and graphically present an ECG reading (Mosby’s Dictionary of Med) via a digital monitor or printed on a strip of special graph paper designed to show the rhythm of the heart over time (Mistovich). There are many different manufacturers of ECG monitors such as Philips and Physio-Control (ASNSW Protocols). An ECG monitor allows two methods of recording electrical activity, a 4-lead reading and a 12-lead reading. The ECG readings consist of three segments; a P wave, QRS complex and a T wave. The PQRST waves are the components that create the ‘waves’ or ‘spikes’ presented on an ECG reading. Electrocardiography has an extensive history dating back many centuries as pione ers of medical science were eager to understand the electrical functionality of the heart. History of ECG, what was before ECG? In the year 1600 William Gilbert discovered static electricity, a discovery that would eventuate in the development of one of the most important medical inventions of all time, the electrocardiogram. In the early nineteenth century the first instruments were invented that were sensitive enough to detect small electrical currents in the heart. The first functioning electrocardiogram was created by Willem Einthoven, a Dutch doctor and physiologist, in 1903. Einthoven won the Nobel Prize in medicine in 1924 for his electrocardiogram invention. Prior to the invention of the electrocardiogram an instrument called the string galvanometer was used to detect electrical activity, it was an earlier invention of Einthoven’s. The string galvanometer could be used to measure cardiac electrical activity in a procedure where patients would submerge three of their limbs into a saline solution creating ‘Einthoven’s Triangle†, a principle still used in contemporary electrocardiogram recording. Before both the electrocardiogram and string galvanometer were invented a device called the capillary electrometer was invented by Gabriel Lippmann in 1872. The capillary electrometer consisted of â€Å"sulphuric acid and mercury in a capillary tube with wires at each end† (WEST INDIAN MED JOURNAL). Similar to the string galvanometer Lippmann’s device requires the patient to place limbs into tubs of saline solution and was the first device to read cardiac activity using this method (WEST INDIAN MED JOURNAL). Little did these early inventers know that their inventions would go on to be used thousands of times per day at all corners of the globe with its purpose and functionality continually polished and refined over the years as is evident in modern day ECG monitors. http://www.jchimp.net/index.php/jchimp/article/view/14383/html http://caribbean.scielo.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttextpid=S0043-31442005000300012lng=en http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/Willem_Einthoven http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lippmann_electrometer [Naming the waves of ECG their genesis.pdf] [The origins of the electrocardiogram as a clinical instrument.pdf] http://search.credoreference.com.ezproxy.utas.edu.au/content/entry/dicscientist/einthoven_willem_1860_1927/0?searchId=1a112bd3-b32d-11e3-9ce6-12c1d36507eeresult=0 http://search.credoreference.com.ezproxy.utas.edu.au/content/entry/ehsmed/einthoven_s_triangle/0 http://search.credoreference.com.ezproxy.utas.edu.au/content/entry/columency/galvanometer/0 http://www.ecglibrary.com/ecghist.html Purpose functionality The ECG machines purpose and functionality is to provide information and understanding of the heart’s electrical functionality. (MISTOVICH) This includes information on the current rate at which the heart is beating, whether the heartbeat rhythm is regular or irregular, how strong the electrical signals are and the timing between the electrical signals. There are two methods to procure an ECG reading, a 4-lead and a 12-lead. The main difference is the number of leads used to obtain a reading which in effect allows for a better or worse reading. They are both effective in attaining information on the hearts electrical activity, however they are different and have their advantages and disadvantages. The 4-lead method, sometimes called 3-lead, typically uses three limb-leads: RA (right arm), LA (left arm) and RL (right leg). Each lead is attached to the torso despite the lead labels indicating otherwise. The RA lead (white) is placed ‘to the right side of the anterior chest just under the clavicle at the midclavicular line’ and is the negative lead, meaning it augments the signal of the LA lead. The LA lead (black, brown or green) is placed OPPOSITE the RA lead and is the grounding lead. RL lead is the final lead and is placed ‘to the left lower chest at about the seventh intercostal space on the anterior axillary li ne’ and is the positive lead. 4-lead monitoring is useful as it is quick to apply and †¦ 4-lead monitoring has its benefits however it cannot deliver the same level of comprehensive and detailed information that a 12-lead reading is capable of. The application of a 12-lead ECG monitor requires applying 10 leads, 4 ‘limb leads’ and 6 ‘precordial leads’. 4 lead 12 lead PQRST Graph paper Defibrillation Phillips, lifepak Other functions [Guidelines for electrocardiography.pdf] http://www.southsudanmedicaljournal.com/archive/may-2010/how-to-read-an-electrocardiogram-ecg.-part-one-basic-principles-of-the-ecg.-the-normal-ecg.html ECG contribution to patient assessment ECG Monitoring is typically used following a primary assessment especially in cases where there is a suspected issue with the heart or cardiovascular system. An ECG provides paramedics with information about the electrical functionality of the cardiovascular system. This is done by analysing the electrical activity displayed on the ECG reading and observing any changes in the waveform in relation to the rate and rhythm. As well as the rate and rhythm the paramedic would note any changes in the P wave, PR intervals, QRS complex, S-T segments and the P to R ratios (REFERENCE). Through this method of analysis the sign and symptoms of a patient assumed to be having cardiac issues can be confirmed for the initial diagnosis (REFERENCE). For example during the primary assessment the patient is suspected of having a myocardial infarction and is showing symptoms of chest pain, hypotension, diaphoresis and a weak and rapid pulse the paramedic’s primary goal would be to obtain an ECG rea ding which can then confirm the initial assessment by virtue of the PQRST waveform. Ambulance Service New South Wales protocols provides a list of common conditions that may require ECG monitoring, the list includes: â€Å"Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS), Dyspnoea (SOB), trauma, lowered level of consciousness (LOC), post syncope episode, cardiac dysrhythmias† and many other conditions which interfere with the hearts normal capacity to function (ASNSW Protocols). Provides paramedic information in a situation (subsequent to primary assessment/surgery) that may involves cardiac issues, events or abnormalities via reading the ECG reading and linking any abnormalities in the PQRST waveform to the patient’s symptoms condition. (LOOK IN MISTOVICH, PP. 1463ish) Situations or indications that may require ECG monitoring include: post syncopal episode, a decreased level of consciousness, chest pain, acute coronary syndrome, shortness of breath, dysrhythmias or if any cardiac occurrence is suspected (ASNSW Skills 2011, 103.5.2). FOR EXAMPLES: Myocardial Infarction etc. Use a med journal/article/study? Strengths, weaknesses challenges faced by paramedics (critique) An ECG monitor such as the Phillips carried by Ambulance Tasmania or the Lifepak15 carried by Ambulance Service New South Wales are incredibly versatile diagnostic tools. They are portable and can be taken into the field to patients even in challenging situations such as the small interior of a crumpled car or a in a remote bush area (ASNSW Protocols; AT Protocols). The ECG monitor allows for immediate and continuous monitoring of the electrical functionality of the heart permitting a critical assessment of the patient’s condition to be made. The paramedic can then inform the receiving hospital of the patient’s condition and allow for the necessary measures for treatment to be organised prior to the patient’s arrival. (REFERENCE) One of the significant faults of an ECG is it can only illustrate the electrical activity of the heart, it does not tell us how well the heart is functioning mechanically (Jones, 2008). Though there are clear benefits of using an ECG monitor in the paramedic field there are also certain weaknesses in its use such as the unreliability of consistent and accurate ECG readings. It is essential for paramedics to accurately interpret ECG readings to avoid mistaken initial diagnosis which can prove costly for patient well-being in time-critical situations. Contributing factors to inaccurate ECG interpretation include cognitive bias and heuristics (mental shortcuts) (ECG READINGS BY DOCTORS). Properly cleaning skin with swabs, removing any hair in the way and certifying that the area is dry before application of electrodes will help to increase ECG accuracy and reduce inaccuracies (MISTOVICH; ASNSW Protocols). Other environmental factors such as vehicle movement can contribute to inaccurate ECG readings by virtue of unstable leads creating artefacts. Similarly if the patient is in a combative or wrestles state it can interfere with clear ECG readings, so keeping the patient calm, reducing anxiety and eliminating stressful factors can be beneficial to both acquiring vital information and the patient’s well-being. (REFERENCE) References 2011 Electrocardiogram inDorlands illustrated medical dictionary, Elsevier Health Sciences, Philadelphia, USA. 2012 Electrocardiogram (ECG, EKG) inMosbys dictionary of medicine, nursing, health professions, Elsevier Health Sciences, Philadelphia, USA. Accessed: 30 March 2014, from Credo Reference Goy, Jean-Jacques; Staufer, Jean-Christophe; Schlaepfer, Jà ¼rg; Christeler, Pierre 2013, Electrocardiography (ECG), e-book, accessed 19 March 2014, http://UTAS.eblib.com.au/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=1310813>. Jones, SA 2008,ECG Success [Electronic Resource] : Exercises In ECG Interpretation / Shirley A. Jones, n.p.: Philadelphia : F.A. Davis Company, c2008., Items in the Library Catalogue, EBSCOhost, viewed 19 March 2014. Resources http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/ekg/ http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003868.htm http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Electrocardiogram http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.utas.edu.au/eds/detail?sid=59a6c19e-901d-440a-b791-a71625c1f886%40sessionmgr114vid=1hid=104bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#db=cat02831aAN=UTas.b1560119 http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.utas.edu.au/eds/results?sid=127dd355-fcfc-42af-a93e-9ccff2e157c5%40sessionmgr115vid=1hid=104bquery=ecg+(PT+book+OR+PT+ebook)bdata=JmNsaTA9RlQxJmNsdjA9WSZ0eXBlPTAmc2l0ZT1lZHMtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d Page 1 of 8

Germ Line Therapy :: Genetics Science Genes Papers

Germ Line Therapy When I was a student in elementary school I was first told about genetics. I was told that traits are passed from parents to offspring and that each parent contributes equally. Someday, I was told, parents will be able to go down to the corner drug store and pick out what kind of baby they want. They could pick things like blue eyes, high intelligence and could even pick out the sex of their child. At the time I was being told this I believed that I would see it in my lifetime. I expected that by the time I was having children I would be able to pick their traits. I was especially excited to think that my children would not inherit my genetic disease. I wasn’t quite sure how all of this would work, but I was curious to find out. As I progressed in my scholastic career I went on to learn more about genetics. I finally decided that genetics was the field of study that I wished to pursue in college. Once in college I learned that determining your child’s traits was not as easy as going down to the corner drug store and taking a pill, as I had imagined when I was a child. In fact determining most traits, such as eye and hair color was probably not even in the foreseeable future. What was involved I couldn’t even begin to understand as a freshman in college. The more I understood about molecular biology, the less feasible trait determination seemed. Then along came Dolly, the cloned sheep. For some time scientists have been pursuing the idea of germ line therapy. Germ line therapy is essentially alterations made to the germ cells. Germ cells are eggs, sperm and early embryos (Henzig 1998). Any manipulation to the germ line would be transferred to future generations. Any corrections made at this stage would not need to be made again in that person’s descendants. Traditional gene therapy on adult subjects is called somatic cell therapy. This type of gene therapy must be repeated for each affected person in succeeding generations (Svitil 1998). Dolly was an important discovery because she was the first animal to be created from an adult differentiated cell. This cloning technique made germ line research much easier. Adult cells are more abundant than embryonic cells, and there should be no objection to doing research on differentiated cells from an adult donor.

slaverybel Treatment of Slaves in Toni Morrisons Beloved Essay

Contrasting Treatment of Slaves in Beloved  Ã‚     Slavery has always been a known as a relationship of one person entirely under the domination of another person.   One of the horrific instances of slavery took place in the Americas between the 15th and 19th centuries.   During this time Europeans living in the New World enslaved Blacks from Africa.   The White European enslaved many Blacks from Africa, but the degree that each master treated his slaves was different.   This contrasting treatment of Slaves is portrayed in Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved.   The two masters in the book; Mr. Garner and Schoolteacher treat the same slaves very differently.   Mr. Garner gives his slaves as much freedom as he sees fit.   Conversely, Schoolteacher controls his slaves with an iron fist.   The way that Schoolteacher manages his slaves is a superior way to control slaves because it is more up front.   He gave his slaves a sense of identity, while Mr. Gardner deceived his slaves and provided them with a lack of ident ity.   The first master, Mr. Garner was in charge of the farm called â€Å"Sweet Home† before the other master named Schoolteacher took over. Mr. Garner ruled his slaves without raising a fist.   He was a seemingly polite master.   He considered his Slaves â€Å"men† and allowed them to do things that most owners wouldn’t.   His slaves were allowed and encouraged to correct him, and â€Å"even defy him† (p.125).   He allowed his slaves â€Å"to buy a mother, choose a horse or a wife, handle guns, even learn to read if they wanted to† (p.125).   These are actions that a typical slave owner didn’t allow.   But Mr. Garner was not a typical slave owner.   He was a proud man, and very pleased with the way he ran his farm and his slaves.  Ã‚   Some writers even feel tha... ...eet Home.   He realized that he and the other slaves had all â€Å"been isolated in a wonderful lie† (p.221).   He finally comes to the conclusion that life was really was not better under Mr. Garner.   He was a slave both under Mr. Garner and under Schoolteacher.   The only difference is that under Schoolteacher he had an identity.   There are many different ways a human being can control another.   During the 1800’s slavery was a common practice in the southern states of the United States and throughout Latin America. During this time many Africans were enslaved.   Most Africans lived their lives knowing that their purpose in life was to be slaves.   Others lived their lives with a lack of identity, never actually realizing their purpose in life and in doing so living a life of deception. Works Cited: Morrison, Toni. Beloved. New York, Penguin Books USA Inc, 1988. slaverybel Treatment of Slaves in Toni Morrison's Beloved Essay Contrasting Treatment of Slaves in Beloved  Ã‚     Slavery has always been a known as a relationship of one person entirely under the domination of another person.   One of the horrific instances of slavery took place in the Americas between the 15th and 19th centuries.   During this time Europeans living in the New World enslaved Blacks from Africa.   The White European enslaved many Blacks from Africa, but the degree that each master treated his slaves was different.   This contrasting treatment of Slaves is portrayed in Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved.   The two masters in the book; Mr. Garner and Schoolteacher treat the same slaves very differently.   Mr. Garner gives his slaves as much freedom as he sees fit.   Conversely, Schoolteacher controls his slaves with an iron fist.   The way that Schoolteacher manages his slaves is a superior way to control slaves because it is more up front.   He gave his slaves a sense of identity, while Mr. Gardner deceived his slaves and provided them with a lack of ident ity.   The first master, Mr. Garner was in charge of the farm called â€Å"Sweet Home† before the other master named Schoolteacher took over. Mr. Garner ruled his slaves without raising a fist.   He was a seemingly polite master.   He considered his Slaves â€Å"men† and allowed them to do things that most owners wouldn’t.   His slaves were allowed and encouraged to correct him, and â€Å"even defy him† (p.125).   He allowed his slaves â€Å"to buy a mother, choose a horse or a wife, handle guns, even learn to read if they wanted to† (p.125).   These are actions that a typical slave owner didn’t allow.   But Mr. Garner was not a typical slave owner.   He was a proud man, and very pleased with the way he ran his farm and his slaves.  Ã‚   Some writers even feel tha... ...eet Home.   He realized that he and the other slaves had all â€Å"been isolated in a wonderful lie† (p.221).   He finally comes to the conclusion that life was really was not better under Mr. Garner.   He was a slave both under Mr. Garner and under Schoolteacher.   The only difference is that under Schoolteacher he had an identity.   There are many different ways a human being can control another.   During the 1800’s slavery was a common practice in the southern states of the United States and throughout Latin America. During this time many Africans were enslaved.   Most Africans lived their lives knowing that their purpose in life was to be slaves.   Others lived their lives with a lack of identity, never actually realizing their purpose in life and in doing so living a life of deception. Works Cited: Morrison, Toni. Beloved. New York, Penguin Books USA Inc, 1988.

Gaudi’s Remarkable Sagrada Familia

Barcelona is a beautiful microcosm of Spanish civic culture on the larger scale. Spain is a nation that has seen aggressive modernization in certain aspects of its metropolitan orientation, which are deeply accommodating to the influx of international businesses, the array of luxury living demands and the heavy flow of tourism that reaches many of its more popular destinations. As just such a destination, Barcelona is effectively illustrative of the type of growth that marks parts of Spain with massive high-rise buildings and state of the are technological provisions. Simultaneously though, Barcelona is a window into Europe’s remarkable and artful history, with castle walls, sprawling plazas and roughshod cobblestone offering a clear view of the city’s medieval grounding. The seamless integration of the preserved and the modern is a characteristic which identifies the city and its most celebrated architect, the mercurial and ambitious Antoni Gaudi. His works appealed to the grand and gothic ambitions of those architectural value systems which preceded him, but his vision also held fast to a dedicated experimentalism which ornamented his designs elaborate, complex and often shockingly liberal uses of image and color. This is an appearance which today can be seen virtually everywhere in the city of Barcelona, and most notably, in the wondrous and markedly incomplete masterpiece that is Sagrada Familia. A Roman Catholic Church of the most dramatically unique vision, the building which was begun in 1882 under Gaudi’s direct supervision is still under construction even today. Remarkably, a building that has been in a state of continuing development from its conception to present day, obstructed in the intervening years by the long bloody civil war which gripped Spain from the second World War through to the end of the Cold War, is one of the most magnetic tourist attractions in Spain. This is because there are few structures in the world which are as ambitions in their simultaneous detail and enormity. Sagrada Familia is essentially the ongoing manifestation of an architectural vision so complex and precise as to warrant a process of realization which far outlives its originator. Indeed, when Gaudi passed away in 1926, with the building understandably still quite far from finished, Domenech Suganyes would take over the post. (Wikipedia, 1) To date, Sagrada Familia has been the obsession of no less than six head architects. (Burry, 1) A view of the structure explains rather quickly why this is so. A piece which incorporates some aspects of baroque architectural intent, particularly in the heavy focus on religious symbolism through catholic eyes, the cathedral must be seen as something of a post-modern work. Its uniquely elaborate use of color and its bold towers are unlike anything in the Catholic tradition prior, seeming not just to indulge in the type of gilded excess seen in the Vatican of the preceding centuries, but also to aggressively pursue counter-traditional and disarming appearance and effect. The primary argument for this observation may be in the technology which helped to steer Gaudi. When commission for the cathedral, â€Å"he was aware that the works were complex and difficult and tried to take advantage of all the modern techniques available. And so, among other resources, he had railway tracks laid with small wagons to transport the materials, brought in cranes to lift the weights and had the workshops located on the site to make the work easier. † (Sagrada Familia, 1) This is the precedent, in fact, for the raging controversy presently engaged between a city which intends to run an underground metro route beneath the invaluable structure and a slew of neighbors, architects and historians who fear the impact of such as decision. In a manner, Sagrada Familia does look and feel precarious, and not because of its continuing construction but because of that which has already been accomplished. Namely, the dozen towers of varying heights which have already been completed taper sharply as they reach the heights of the city. Their collective facade is laden with precise sculptures depicting all manner of Catholic ephemera. According to our research, Gaudi originally used live models to capture the detailed visages, divinities and animals represented in dense array on the outside of the building. Perhaps most famously, â€Å"the northeast, or Nativity Facade, is the Sagrade Familia’s artisitic pinnacle, and was mostly done under Guadi’s personal supervision. You can climb high up inside some of the four towers by a combination of lifts and narrow spiral staircases—a vertiginous experience. † (Simonis, 294) This draws tourists from all over the world, with the photographed image of the coil shooting down the center of each tower a common vantage in travel guides on the country. Though construction crews, machinery and scaffolding are constant, the front portal of the building is an incredible sight to be hold. By day, the 20 foot entranceway, gauzed by Gaudi’s odd, spiderwebbing incongruity, gives view to a brilliantly colored stained glasss. By night, the building is lit from tower to foundation, giving off a stunning golden display. A single tower reaches up the center of the structure, providing it with its height. Flanked symmetrically by the other towers, it is said to symbolize Jesus, the evangelicals and the apostles. (Robinson, 24) Any speculation to the contrary might quickly be answered by the incredible variety of ways in which the architecture depicts the Christ, through birth, life, death and rebirth. Indeed, the story of Catholicism may well be told thoroughly by the collection of images literally blanketing the whole structure. We can see that ultimately, the design has emphasized detail. The structure’s hugeness and ambitiousness not to be dismissed, the longevity of the project is more directly related to the incredible, almost insane attention to detail which distinguishes the structure. To understand the extent to which Sagrada Familia defies the likelihood of classical or modern architecture in its ornately unfinished state, one must see it.

Ebay Problems in Asian Markets Essay

This paper will identify some of the reasons why E-Bay has problems in the Asian Markets as an internet auction provider. After examining articles from Philip Kotler and David Gertner as well as Moon Ihlwan among others, this paper will provide my answers about why did EBay want to expand globally as well as why any of these Asian nations wanted their business? It will explain some research explored about what types of Entry decisions the company used in the Asian Markets. Utilizing the knowledge gained about the history of global business. Answering the question about the problems that EBay has in the Asian market will allow me to discuss and apply concepts of the global market learned in module one in support of my answers. Lastly this correspondence will assess how EBay’s Marketing Mix assessment of the Four P’s assisted them in the global marketing strategy the company adopted for the Asian Markets? Why did EBay want to expand globally and why did nations wanted their business? The reasons EBay decided to expand globally were various and resulted in an overall loss for the San Diego, CA based company headed by the former CEO at the time and California Gubernatorial candidate, Meg Whitman. Some of the decisions made and acted upon by the company’s leadership were akin to the way Meg Whitman ran her political campaign. Instead of researching the culture and traditions of the places they chose to do business and working on an image of being local or at least embracing local cultures and traditions; they chose to feed issues with money. In Whitman’s case borrow millions of dollars from herself to try to resolve the issue of losing as a candidate. Getting back on subject, the countries that eBay chose to expand globally in, were like all nations; ones that needed jobs. EBay sought the cheaper labor wages as a win-win situation for themselves or some instances the prediction of a high level of success due to their business reputation. Getting into the market was not difficult as the new market fell in line with what these countries wanted in ordered to develop their economies; while in turn enhancing domestic quality of life for their citizens. EBay felt compelled to expand globally to remain competitive as the US domestic market share was becoming mature resulting in stagnant profits and overall growth. As all companies looking to globally expand eBay was investing in Asia to increase profits by gaining a positive entry into this new market share however there was no need to create a new market. The majority of the countries they chose had local internet auction industry established already. EBay’s ultimate goals were to introduce their open auction business model at an international scale starting in places like Japan, China and South Korea to take advantage of these nation’s emerging economies in order to increase wealth. Entry Decisions Through the struggles in gaining entry into these emerging market areas, EBay learned that they must adapt as well as embrace some of the new technologies and products offered by their competitors in the Asian domesticmarkets in order to be successful or at least competitive in the market. The beating they took in Asia was not justfrom Chinese and South Korean competition, but from two US based competitors in Yahoo and Google. A currentdomestic alliance with Yahoo against the giant Google has not resulted in any increase in positive business in theglobal market share as Yahoo is continuing to gain more shares of the market through its ventures with localcompetitors. EBay market entry decisions were integral to their failure in Asia. As ascertained from a case studypublished May 2008 about EBay’s Strategy in Japan 1, â€Å"†¦they entered the Japanese market late after Yahoo Japan had already established and failed to retain customers. It took them two years to concede the failure of the EBay Japan and instead of making a deal with local investors they finally folded in 2002. Ironically, in 2007 EBay made a deal with Yahoo Japan to share internet sites and products in Japan in a joint web site called â€Å"Sekaimon† 1. Their failures in Asia has eventually led to layoff of workers in countries like Taiwan and shutting down of several sites in Asia while rerouting customers to US based sites to maintain a virtual presence. In 2006 EBay’s South Korean venture Internet Auction was bested by a South Korean competitor named Gmarket whereas they equaled or eclipsed EBay’s profit share in South Korea that year. Gmarket also produced innovating products to the internet auction industry such as making shopping via internet fun and using tie-in promotions. Excerpts taken from a Moon Ilhwan internet article in Business Week2, further explain the stiff competition EBay had in South Korea from Yahoo and the local upstart, â€Å"Gmarket’s business model places less emphasis on an open auction format than eBay’s. The company offers goods that one can order at fixed prices, with an option to negotiate prices with a seller on an exclusive basis. This allows buyers to conclude deals instantly instead of requiring them to wait until all bids are completed in open auctions†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and â€Å"†¦another tie in marketing program is a lottery called â€Å"lucky auction.It gives buyers chances to buy everything from LCD televisions to T-shirts at a fraction of the market value. A seller promoting an MP3 player, for example, invites consumers to bid for two of them within a given price range—usually less than 10% of the retail price. Then Gmarket’s computer picks two bids at random to decide the winners. Others visitors can buy the MP3 player at a special offer price. The seller attracts consumers, while Gmarket happily hauls in commissions. Another incentive at Gmarket is that retailers can offer online links to their own mini homepages within the site, issue discount coupons, run joint mileage points programs, and use an internal messenger service called G-messenger for instant chatting with sellers. Some shops listed on the site have also drawn traffic by promising to donate 10 cents to a favored charity every time a product is sold†¦Ã¢â‚¬  2Thus far EBay has attempted joint ventures and mergers to enter the Asian market share and has met negative results. This has had a negative effect on their overall performance to expense ratio in their stock valuation from 2000 thru the present time but has not deterred management from continuing to compete for a market share in Asia. An ongoing joint venture with Yahoo keeps EBay with a foot in the door of the foreign market and continues the strategic alliance against Google. EBay has expanded to Southeast Asia to see what they can obtain in Singapore, Malaysia and through operations in the Philippines. Currently they are doing promotional sites in Thailand and Vietnam to gauge future profits in those nations as well. EBay’s use of the Four P’s in their marketing mix assessmentEBay’s use of the Four P’s in their assessment of their global market strategy was regretful in Asia when in comparison to Yahoo’s success. Lost on the EBay leadership was the desire to be a part of the local market and understanding cultural diversity of each Asian nation they wanted to establish a market. From my personal experiences going to countries such as Japan, South Korea, Guam, or the Philippines for business this is vital to earning shares of the Asian market and as a personal prospective as well. Yahoo’s co-founder, Yang is a male businessman of Chinese-Taiwanese descent which had to give Yahoo an edge in Japan, China and South Korea over EBay’s CEO at the time Meg Whitman; who was female, Caucasian descent and unaware culturally of how to gain the confidence of local leaders and business persons. 3The product that EBay had to offer was nothing innovative to the Asian market as there was already a local variant of online auctions/internet industry thriving in Japan, China and South Korea. Timing and placement of EBay’s business model was late and over reaching as Yahoo already was established in each of the locations chosen and early profits resulted in a false analysis of future outcomes for EBay in Asia. Promotions used on the global EBay sites had advertising geared globally instead of locally which went ignored by local customer’s. More emphasis toward local advertising of domestic interests could have attracted and retained their customer base. Lastly, pricing of their product which was part of the business model was somewhat excessive and confusing. So when an upstart company like Gmarket introduces something simple like, fixed prices and special deals the customer’s internet shopping experience just became more simplified to use and less time to use resulting in a more desirable overall product than EBay was offering at the time. The EBay pricing system had customer’s waiting out the end of a bidding process which still did not guarantee the customer the outcome desired if they were outbid. EBay’s management’s inflexibility hindered the local management’s ability to make decisions that would help them get more of the local market share and build from there in their own country and marketplace. 3 Discussion EBay’s ventures in expanding to a global market were incurred several surmountable challenges. As stated in the lesson the Asian market share is vital and profitable for many companies. As the research depicted one of EBay’s primary challenges was completion at several levels; global and local/domestic competitors all vying for a market share of the internet auction industry. EBay attempted to manage market entry problems long after their original business model was viable in the region, by adapting lowering or waiving fees for its services to keep up with the competition from Yahoo, Google, Chinese stall worth Internet Auction and South Korean upstart GMarket. EBay failed to incorporate some of the local technical innovations that likes of GMarket produced for its customer base such as, local advertising on the sites, fixed price so that internet shoppers could get what they were shopping for and not have to outbid others and wait for the outcome of who actually won/bought the products advertised. History was another problem for EBay, they did not study the culture and traditions of the places they chose to enter the market at. Cultural traditions and business practices are conversely different in China which operates under quasi-governmental entities, and Japan and South Korea where they operate under version of the â€Å"Free Market† concept. Along with not understanding Asian cultures the company did not attempt to adapt its global business model to the local market when incorporating its management and leadership philosophies to the region. This resulted in a management and leadership staff overseas that would not be capable of maturing as a team to meet the local demands of the market. Just being in the region did not give EBay the advantage they seemed it would, thus their own inflexibility and lack of foresight contributed greatly to the problems they are facing in the Asian market. To EBay’s credit they have not thrown in the towel and have remained in Asia through joint ventures and are actually conducting promotion in Southeast Asia (Thailand and Vietnam) as well operations in Singapore, the Philippines and other places.

Nec Electronics Corporation (Nece) Case Study Essay

INTRODUCTION In early July 2007, the New York based hedge fund Perry Capital proposed to raise its stake in NEC Electronics Corporation (NECE), the then publicly listed subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate, NEC Corporation, from 4.8 percent to 25 percent. The offering was  ¥5,000 a share, at about 60 percent premium. Perry’s investment in NECE traced back to late 2005, the year its first exposure to Asian markets, with the initial investment cost at around  ¥3,200 a share. Perry believed the intrinsic value of NECE was to release after restructuring its business strategy, albeit NECE was expected a loss in FY2005. This paper studies the investment of Perry Capital in NECE, and particularly looks at Perry’s consideration to increase its stake in NECE to 25% at that time. INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN JAPAN As shown in Exhibit 1, the long-lasting deflationary Japanese economy since 1997 probably comes to an end with its CPI rebounded from negative in 2006. At the same time, Bank of Japan has loosed its monetary policy by raising the interest rate above zero since 2006. These two data suggest that Japanese economy is pending an exit from the lost decade. Looking at the Nikkei 225 index shown in Exhibit 2, the bullish trend since 2003 shows the investors are optimistic towards companies’ future earnings. The improving market sentiment stems from the amelioration of Japanese economy, with its GDP growth rate has become positive since 2000, as shown in Exhibit 3. Moreover, Japan’s export industries have been performing well due to its weak currency. Perry’s investment in NECE can be a sensible move as Japan is one of the leading countries in producing innovative technological products. In 2007, Japanese high-tech products secure a significant market share in the world. These industries include automobile, IT, communications, mechanism and robot, new materials, etc. In addition, Japanese firms allocate significant amount of resources in their product R&D area, the efforts paid in improving product quality and promoting innovation enhance Japanese firms’ competitive strength overtime. Essentially, Perry’s investment philosophy is looking at the fundamental of the company, building good relationship with the management, investing in good company, and possibly keeping its portfolio beta at a considerably low level. As Perry’s portfolio has been performing well since its inception, the venture into Japanese market is compliant with its investment strategy, where stocks in Japanese market produce reliable streams of cash flow, and more importantly, there are valuable cheap stocks to pick in Japanese market, these characteristics are aligned to Perry’s taste. CHALLENGES TO INVEST IN JAPAN The first time venture suggests Perry is novel to the Japanese market. As the probability of success of Perry’s investment in NECE highly depends on the assumption made to restructure NECE’s business division, Perry must convince the parent company NEC to share its vision. Agency problem would be a potential challenge for Perry to maintain a good relationship with NEC. As the subsidiary will become a separate entity from its parent company upon listing, it is questionable whether the parent company will longer treat the two different entities equivalently. For instance, will the parent company shift the loss-making divisions to its subsidiary, which then can help the parent company to get rid of loss at the expense of its subsidiary’s financial report? Furthermore, Japan’s system of corporate governance is said lacks of effective protection to minority shareholders. Controlling shareholders in Japan are not required to prove that their dealings with the company are fair, and self-dealing is not formally defined by law. Furthermore, in Japanese model of stakeholder capitalism, management could be entrusted to safeguard the interest of a range of key shareholders, rather than focusing more narrowly on maximizing returns to shareholders, which might weaken minority shareholders’ power in deciding an important issue. FUNDAMENTAL VALUE OF NEC ELETRONICS CORPORATION Perry team made a few assumptions to evaluate NECE in early 2006. Since the exact date of evaluation is not clearly stated in the case, we will first evaluate NECE at 2007 based on the assumptions made and then apply the same methodology to other years. Team Perry used an approach that employed EBITDA multiples for each segment: MCU, CCD and Communications. We use the information from exhibit 7 and exhibit 8 to infer the fundamental value from 2004 to 2007 and future. We then make inference on value of NECE based on 03/2006 and 03/2007 values. Note that information from exhibit 6 and 8 are from 2007. Fundamental Value of NECE at 03/2007 Assumptions used in valuing MCU division: I. MCU is able to match the average EBIT margins of comparable firms, which is 17.70%. II. 15% of the  ¥83 billion depreciation cost is attributed to MCU for the next few years. III. A conservative approach of 9 times EBITDA multiples is used. Assumptions used in valuing CCD division: I. EBIT margins of the remaining business are 5%. II. 45% of the  ¥83 billion depreciation cost is attributed to MCU for the next few years. III. 7 times of the EBITDA multiples is used. Assumptions used in valuing communications division: I. EBIT margins could be negative. II. To avoid loss, exiting this line is an attractive option. III. Estimated cost of exit at most  ¥100 billion. The fundamental value of NECE on 03/2007 is the summation of each division’s fundamental value: Note that the Fundamental value is higher from year 2005 to 2007 except year 2004. EVALUATION ON ASSUMPTIONS USED The first assumption expects MCU would be able to match the EBIT margins of comparable firms. However, there is a large dispersion in the EBIT margins among the comparable firms. The large difference of EBIT margins between the comparable firms could suggests that the cost differentials are significant among these firms. Indeed, the uneven distribution of EBIT margins among comparable firms could also because of the small number of sample size used, which in turn soften the estimation power of this assumption. The second assumption is to give the CCD EBIT margins of 5%. However, as the average EBIT margins of the comparable firms is around 16%, with the range between 7.3% to 42.3%, Ercil’s might probably be too conservative than he should in valuing the CCD segment in NECE. Moreover, Ercil also assumes that he will be able to exit the communication segment at a cost less than 100b which is again a conservative estimation as mentioned in the case. Given the above these assumptions made by Ercil, it seems that he is a conservative investor who prefers to take conservative valuation in his investment discretion. Though his conservatism might make the estimated NECE fair value become less attractive, his prudent investment strategy could probably in turn safeguard his clients’ money in any unfavorable event. Below shows some assumptions made by Ercil that are reasonable. First, instead of using 11x EBITDA multiples to value NECE’s MCU segment, Ercil used a lower of 9x EBITDA multiples. This assumption is definitely acceptable as it is in line with Perry team’s prudent investment strategy. In addition, the depreciation cost allocation made by Ercil seems reasonable. Ercil allocated 45% of depreciation cost into the communications segment, as there was a significant amount of capex used to build the plant in Yamagata in the recent past. Based on Ercil’s assumptions we manage to breakdown NECE balance sheets based on its divisions. This activity illustrates that the EBIT margin estimates are consistent with exhibit 8 and has no mathematical or financial discrepancies in terms of amount allocated to each sectors. EBIT margin for communications segment is indeed negative for year 2007 based on Ercil’s assumption. We observe high expense in communications area possibly due to expropriation of NECE by its parent company, NECE that will be discussed below. POTENTIAL AGENCY PROBLEM ON NECE’s MARKET VALUE Our case analysis assumes that market is efficient, implicating that outsider anticipate potential agency problem within NECE. Besides demanding fair return on their capital, controlling shareholders should ultimately bear all agency costs they create. This is consistent with the journal â€Å"Agency Costs, Mispricing and Ownership Structure† by Sergey, Fritz and Greenwood (Sergey Chernenko, 2010), whereby the case of NECE is used to illustrate the impact of agency cost on market value. Agency problems in subsidiary-parent relationships could stem from 3 scenarios: I. Related party transactions: Based on the journal, following NECE listing in 2003, the development of microchips for NEC’s phone brought in excessively high capital expenditures and research and development expenses to NECE. Following it was the low transfer prices to the parent company, NEC. This is due to the weak fiduciaries duties law on company in the interest of minority shareholders. II. Usurped business opportunities: Indirect influence of parent company on their subsidiaries such as continuing a business venture that profits the parent despite the subsidiaries making losses make it hard to be detected. In particular, NECE incurred excessive R&D cost and capital expenditures to enhance NEC competitive position in the market. III. Minority squeeze outs- Cash-out merger is an example of minority investors being squeezed out. NEC bought back NEC System Technologies 20 months after listing it, evidently showing NEC’s involvement in this form of related party transaction. Based on the journal’s samples, Investors who bought the subsidiaries share upon listing sold their shares back to the parent during repurchase at a loss of 39% to 71%. Therefore, in perfectly efficient market, minority shareholders fully anticipate agency problems. If controlling shareholder is expected to divert resources, the market will price the equity accordingly (lower) than in the scenario where agency problem is absent. One caveat is that, investors might not be fully informed (market is not totally efficient) that in turn creating incentive for agency problems. PROSPECTS OF NECE The fundamental value of NECE is severely undervalued compared to its market value in 2007; this might be due to the agency problem that persisted between NEC-NECE. We conclude that NECE is a potential lucrative investment if Ercil is able to remove the communications segment and thereby removing the potential agency problem in NECE. Nevertheless, the reluctance of NEC to remove the communications segment and the weak protection of minority interest in Japan cast shadow on the prospects on NECE. Worsening the situation, NECE was nearly delisted in 2007, implying that liquidity could have drastically decreased. Note that also the MCU and Other Divisions remains relative stable (slight increase) over the projection years. Historical Performance of Publicly Listed Subsidiaries of Parents in Japan Our findings are consistent with the data given in Exhibit 4. If market is efficient, the incentives for parent company to list its subsidiaries arise either when the market value of subsidiaries is overpriced upon listing or if the parent company’s internal capital is inadequate to fund attractive investment opportunities. In the case NECE, the former scenarios seem to be more plausible as according to the graph above. This could lead to drop in future market performance as market absorbs more information. Source: http://www.nber.org/papers/w15910 According to Fritz (2010), the negative performance of listed subsidiaries over the first 36 months following IPO can be seen via industry adjusted returns of -6.2%,-13.43% and -13.98% over the one-,two- and three year horizons after IPO. This is again consistent with the case of NECE. Both subsidiaries with ex ante scope for agency problem (such as sales relationship) and those where parent has retained little equity despite substantial control over its subsidiaries illustrated poorer performance. On top of that, a great portion of listed subsidiaries were subsequently repurchased by their parent at a discount to the IPO price. The historical performance of publicly listed subsidiaries of parents is consistent with the case of NECE. In this case, NEC hold 20% of NECE total equity but have significant control over NECE operations and sales. This leads to expropriation of minority shareholders and lower market price following IPO. A FEASIBLE STRATEGY FOR PERRY TEAM There are three options for Perry team: to increase its stake in NECE with the expectation that NEC management will eventually share Perry’s vision to dispose the communications segment; to arrange for possible merger and acquisition for NECE; to exit the investment in NECE. To consider the action on the $150 million position in NECE, Ercil is likely to expect the maximum likelihood among these three scenarios. The first option is essentially the proposed increasing stake in NECE by Perry in the case. However, this move requires substantial amount of capital to fund the investment; the investment does not necessarily realize Perry’s objective to dispose NECE’s communications division as NEC will still be the largest shareholder in NECE. Since the investment in NECE in 2006, Perry team has been approaching NEC and asking for NECE business restructuring, the two parties have yet reached a consensus about the issue. It seems that NEC executives are unlikely to change their position in the future as well. The second option is to create a proxy fight for possible takeover or merger of NECE. The biggest impediment in this strategy is the same as the first strategy – the parent company NEC is holding a controlling amount of 70 percent stake its subsidiary, proxy fight might be too costly to execute. Furthermore, it is generally believed this strategy is far from reality because a hostile acquisition for NECE would significantly destroy the business relationship between the acquirer firm and the giant conglomerate, NEC. In addition, it is the time where Tokyo Stock Exchange is placing NECE on a watchlist for possible delisting due to its concentrated ownership structure. For Perry team, unwinding the 5 percent stake (or more if either option 1 or option 2 is adopted) in NECE would mean more difficult after delisting. Perry needs to find a potential buyer for the whole or portion its holdings in NECE. Exit strategy implies to realize the loss in this investment. Suppose Perry bought NECE stocks at an average price of  ¥3,200 per share, NECE share price is around  ¥2,900 per share in July 2007, which means Perry will record a loss of about 10 percent in its investment in NECE. As NECE has been recorded loss during Perry’s investment period, this small 10 percent loss may in turn support the immediate exit strategy, so as to minimize the loss because NECE’s business prospects are full of uncertainties. SCREENING GLOBAL ECONOMIC CONDITION Before making the final decision among the above three options, Ercil will definitely examine the current global economic condition. Generally speaking, if the global market sentiment is positive, it may worth for a riskier investment strategy to seek for higher return. On the contrary, higher return investment securities such as equities markets are usually too risky to attract capital inflow. As government bonds are deemed safe haven for investors, bonds yield curve can give some signal about the likelihood of future economic condition. Ercil examine the U.S. government bonds yield curves and TED spread at that time. It is observed that the T-bills have begun to deviate downward from T-bonds since Q1/2007 (Exhibit 5). Soon after July 2007, TED spread begins to rise (Exhibit 6). The declining short term T-bills yield suggests the investors become cautious and allocate their money in the bonds market. The increasing TED spread may infer the condition of liquidity shortage in the market, where lenders require higher returns for lending out their money. According to bonds yield equation: Forward Rate=Expected Discount Rate Tomorrow+Liquidity Premium As TED spread implies liquidity premium becomes dearer, the declining T-bills yield is attributed to the expected fall in future interest rate in the U.S. market. Simply saying, market anticipates a loosening monetary policy adopted by the Federal Reserve. RECOVER LOSS: JPY/USD EXCHANGE RATE INCREASE While the exit strategy might be a better move after looking at global market sentiment, Ercil will consider whether he should immediately convert the JPY to USD. As exchange rate movement is closely related to interest rate movement between two countries, it is observed that Japan’s interest rate is at 0.50% (Figure 1) while U.S. interest rate is around 5% (Exhibit 7). The huge differential between the two countries interest rate infers the potential gain from going against USD. In addition, given the interest rate parity condition in Forex market, the expected decrease in U.S. interest rate (as the declining yields curves suggest) will probably result in the appreciation of JPY against USD, as shown in Figure 8. In conclusion, if there could be a potential gain from holding JPY against USD, which can in turn recover some of the loss from Perry’s investment in NECE. By holding JPY, Ercil probably can go for his conservative investment strategy by buying fixed income securities, gold and other safer investment assets, or just holding cash. If JPY/USD does not perform as what Ercil predicted, he will only face one side risk (the continual increase in U.S. interest rate that further pumps up USD/JPY) but is protected from the continual decline of JPY (as Japan’s interest rate is near zero that means Bank of Japan is effectively powerless in pushing down its interest rate).

Performance Measurement Paper Essay

In the world of business there are many cliche’s about how performance measurements are implemented and what they actually do such as â€Å"if your company doesn’t measure results then you can’t tell success from failure. † http://www. balancedscorecard. org/Home/tabid/36/Default. aspx The key focus on strategic objectives should always articulate precisely what the organization wants to accomplish which is the key to finding accurate, true, strategic measurements. The strategic performance measures will allow the organization to monitor the implementation and effectiveness of the operational efficiency. The best performance measures will provide a way to monitor and see if that strategy is actually working. Focusing on the importance of the employee’s contribution to the success of the organization is another important measure that can be added along with providing a common language for the communication of everyone. Performance measurement is so vital in the structure of an organization because it is an ongoing and constant reporting and monitoring of accomplishments. Typically the program is implemented by agency management. The different program activities are measured by this system as well. A program may be considered any project, activity, or function that has a set of objectives. The three types in which will be compared and contrasted begins with the output type of performance measures which indicates a specific workload that is processed throughout a period of time. The next type of performance type of selection is the efficiency type, which indicates the different ratio’s of the resources to work the product. The resources of this particular type are primarily considered budget dollars. The final performance measurement type that will be under contrast is the outcome type which tells the results over a period of time from work which was performed by the organization in order to benefit the people receiving the service. (EOM) or enterprise output management is a practice used in information technology dealing with the organization of data that is created for banking systems, insurance database systems, customer relationship management, as well as many others. Output distributed management is defined as middle ware that threatens to drive out the process originally supported in order to implement an auto mated one. EOM output managment could potentially reduce the cost of traditional printing because it uses digital output channel such as fax and email. The potential of this is depends on how the concept is adopted by the targeted customer group. Management information systems allow organizations to get right people the correct information at a timely and efficient manner. The efficiency type of performance management works by pulling together information. Therefore improving the products and expanding the customer base at the same time. A manger with a good management information system can eliminate redundant miscues that waste time and may instead focus on what actually works for the betterment of the organization. If an MIS is added into the equation then the amount of time saving that will benefit the organization will be tremendous because there is more time being focused on the specific task at hand. The computer program can collect data from employees much faster than the alternative time consuming method of not taking advantage of the technology. The over-all term performance management is defined as the output of employees and groups individually. The employees may be divided into groups and departments within the organization as a whole. Therefore the performances can be evaluated much more effectively by knowing what everyone’s production levels are and by gathering this information will definitely help to improve the quality of production in the organization which will lead to good things for everyone. In order for the performance management procedures to be put in place and do the job that they are needed to do there should be a performance definition done as soon as humanly possible because this knowledge will help drive the rest of the tasking in sequence for what needs to be done for the organization.