English Isu Comparison Essay Essay

When writing literary works most, authors will agree that it is difficult to write a story without any inspiration. The writers will often have some motive, either from past experiences or something that can inspire an idea for a novel. Although the novel can be fictitious it can still change how society feels about a certain issue. The two novels All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque and Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut romanticizes what war is like, emphasizing ideas such as glory, horror, honor, patriotic duty, and adventure. The similarities include both authors have their impression that the absurdity of war is morally wrong, how soldiers act as toys in the sandbox being played with higher authorities. Both novels feature the society of young men to be controlled and sent to their demise with little hope. The differences between the two novels is that both novels feature a different approach on how the novel flows. Vonnegut moves the story in humorous manner whereas Remarque tells it in a serious manner. The obvious comparison when exploring the two novels is the aspect that they are antiwar novels. In Slaughterhouse 5, Vonnegut is trying to express his point of view, or sway the readers to understand the negative properties of war since the firebombing of the German town Dresden during World War II. The protagonist Billy Pilgrim is the antiwar hero because he does not fit the description of the usual war hero. â€Å"He didn’t look like a soldier at all. He looked like a filthy flamingo† (Vonnegut, 33) Billy’s character is a customary figure of fun in the American Army. Billy is no exception. He is powerless to harm the enemy or to help his friends. He wears no medals, his physical appearance and build is a mockery and his faith in loving Jesus troubles most soldiers. (Lichtenstein) Vonnegut realizes that war is inevitable, it’s like death. Even if Billy were to train hard, wear the proper uniform, and be a good soldier he might still die like the rest of the others in Dresden. Billy lives in a life with indignity and is not afraid of death, and in accordance to the Traflamadorian philosophy of accepting death. By uttering the phrase â€Å"so it goes† the narrator points out the meaningless slaughter after every death, no matter how ironic, sarcastic or random. â€Å"On the eighth day, the hobo died. So it goes. His last words were, â€Å"You think this is bad? This ain’t bad. †Ã¢â‚¬  (Vonnegut 79) â€Å"But the candles and soap were made from the fat of rendered Jews and Gypsies and fairies and communist and other enemies of the state. So it goes† (Vonnegut, 96) Billy always sees death coming, but nothing he can do about it. In chapter 10, at the end of novel Vonnegut shows the reader how there is nothing intelligent to say after the massacre of Dresden, â€Å"Billy and the rest wandered out onto the shady street. The trees were leafing out. There was nothing going on out there, no traffic of any kind. There was only one vehicle, an abandoned wagon drawn by two horses. The wagon was green and coffin-shaped. Birds were talking. One bird said to Billy Pilgrim, â€Å"Poo-tee-weet? † (Vonnegut, 215) It is obvious when everyone is dead it is suppose to be quiet, but the bird who says â€Å"Poot-tee-weet? † symbolizes the lack of anything intelligent to say about war. It is the only appropriate thing to say, since no words can describe the horror on the firebombing of Dresden. Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front presents its reader with the harsh reality of war. The novel sets out to portray war and the actual experiences, replacing the romantic picture of glory and heroism with a decidedly unromantic vision of terror, vanity, and slaughter. The novel takes place during World War I and in the perspective of a German soldier, Paul Baumer the protagonist. Stylistically the novel consists of short chapters that symbolize the quick pace of death in the novel. For example in chapter one Remarque already introduces the pain and agony of loss in friendship. (Ward) For example in chapter one, Kimmerich being one of the four friends of Paul dies while being brought back from the trenches. (Remarque) Remarque smashes any positive thoughts the reader may have about warfare in his descriptions, â€Å"It is impossible to grasp the fact that there are human faces above these torn bodies, faces in which life goes on from day to day and on top of it all, this is just one single military hospital, just one – there are hundreds of thousands of them in Germany, France, and Russia. How pointless all human thoughts, words and deeds must be, if things like this are possible! Everything must have been fraudulent and pointless if thousands of years of civilization weren’t even able to prevent the river of blood. Only a military hospital can show you what war really is† (Remarque, 186) It seems that the impression of war is not honor or glory yet it is suffering of those who are participating. Because All Quiet on the Western Front is set among soldiers fighting on the front, one of its main focuses is the damaging effect that war has on the soldiers who fight it. How one’s thoughts on the war can ruin the past experiences with a harsh focus on the physical and mental damage done. The men in the novel are constantly subjective to physical danger. Literally the soldiers can be blown to pieces at any time. This threat causes damage done to the brain and triggering a mental picture, forcing soldiers to experience fear during every moment of their time on the front. â€Å"We became tough, suspicious, hard-hearted, vengeful and rough, if they had sent us out into the trenches without this kind of training he probably most of us would have gone mad† (Remarque, 19) Likewise in Slaughterhouse 5 Billy Pilgrim didn’t receive the proper training that driven him into the peak of insanity. And the only way to survive for both Billy and Paul is to disconnect themselves from their feelings, and accept the conditions of their life. â€Å"We want to live at any price; so we cannot burden ourselves with feelings which, though they may be ornamental enough in peacetime, would be out of place here. † (Remarque, 123) In Billy’s case he uses the illusion of time travel to escape his thoughts in the Slaughterhouse 5. Additionally to the similarities of both novels being antiwar novels, there is an idea that the authors highlight the generation of young men being drafted to the war. Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front gives emphasis on the particular affect war has on the young men who have not been given the chance to experience life. Paul’s character represents the young generation of men who went straight from childhood into World War I. Paul describes his fellow soldiers: he, Leer, Muller, and Kropp are all 19 years old. They are from the same school, same classes, and each enlisted into the army voluntary. (Remarque) â€Å"They are from one of the newly raise regiments, almost exclusively young men from the latest age group to be drafted. They’ve had hardly any training, nothing more than a bit of theory. † (Remarque, 93) The war changes Paul’s attitude about the world and about humanity. He believes the war becomes not merely a traumatic experience or a hardship to be endured but something that actually transforms the essence of human existence into endless suffering. (Ward) The longer that Paul survives the war, the more that he hates it, the less certain that life will be better for him after it ends. (Ward) The war teaches the generation of young men the effects of nationalism and political power. Tools used to control the nations population. Forcing them to believe in what is â€Å"right†. Throughout Paul’s experience he realizes that the soldiers that fight on the front are not fighting for the nation but fighting for their own survival, to kill or be killed. Additionally, Paul and his friends do not consider the opposing fraction to be their real enemies, â€Å"I didn’t want to kill you, mate. If you were to jump in here again, I wouldn’t do it†¦ But earlier on you were just an idea to me, a concept in my mind that called up an automatic response – it was that concept that I stabbed. It is only now that I can see that you are a human being like me. I just thought about your hand-grenades, your bayonet and your weapons – now I can see you wife, and your face, and what we have in common. Forgive me comrade, how can you be my enemy? If we threw these uniforms and weapons away you could be just as much my brother as Kat and Albert. † (Remarque, 158) In his view, the real enemies are the men in power in their own nation, who they believe have sacrifice them to the war simply to increase their own power and glory. At the end of the novel, almost every major character is dead, epitomizing the war’s devastating effect on the generation of young men who is force to fight in it. Slaughterhouse 5 also portrays an excellent example of young men going to war leaving back a life behind to glorify the nation’s well being. Billy Pilgrim is only 20 years old when he enters the war. During his post war life he attended night sessions at the Ilium School of Optometry. (Vonnegut) As he progresses throughout the events he encounters other soldiers who are similar in age. â€Å"Roland Weary was only eighteen, was at the end of an unhappy childhood† (Vonnegut, 35) â€Å"Two of the Germans were boys in their early teens† (Vonnegut, 52) The differences seen in the two novels is that Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front moves in a very serious and descriptive way. Unlike Vonneguts Slaughterhouse 5 Remarque illustrates every death with use of carnage and gore. Every battle scene features brutal violence and bloody descriptions of death, â€Å"We see men go on living with the top of their skulls missing; we see soldiers go on running when both their feet have been shot away—they stumble on their splintering a full half-mile on his hands, dragging his legs behind him, with both knees shattered. We see soldiers with their mouths missing, their lower jaws missing, with their faces missing; we find someone who has gripped the main artery in his arm between his teeth for two hours so that he doesn’t bleed to death. The sun goes down, night falls, the shells whistle, life comes to an end† (Remarque, 97) Hospital scenes portray men with serious wounds that go untreated because of insufficient medical supplies. Paul carries the wounded Kat on his back to safety, only to discover that Kat’s head was hit by a piece of shrapnel while Paul was carrying him. The descriptions of rat-infestation, starvation, weather conditions, and trench warfare, and how it forces the soldiers to live in these upset conditions. (Remarque) Remarque’s novel dramatizes aspects of World War I and how the evolution of technology (trenches, artillery, chlorine gas) was a major influence that made killing easier. â€Å"Continuous fire, defensive fire, curtain fire, trench mortars, gas, tanks, machine guns, hand-grenades – words, words, but they embrace all the horrors of the world. † (Remarque, 68) Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse 5 moves the story in a science fiction process filled with humour and irony. First of all the idea of Billy being â€Å"unstuck in time†, Billy travels randomly through the moments of his life without control over his chronological destination. (Lichtenstein) Time travel leads to instability in the novel, as Billy is trying to make sense in his life giving an experience that no one can understand how Billy really feels. He time travels in order to cope with his life and all he has been through. In chapter two, Vonnegut immediately tells the beginning, middle, and ending of the story right away. Vonnegut enchants the theme of novel by adding Tralfamadorians (Vonnegut’s humor of toilet-plunger shaped Aliens) and how they abducted Billy into their spaceship and teaching Billy the philosophy of time and death and discussing whether free will exist. (Vonnegut) Witty humour and irony is a factor in the course of the novel, for instance, â€Å"Weary socked Billy a good one on the side of his jaw, knocked Billy away from the bank and onto the snow covered ice of the creek. â€Å"You shouldn’t even be in the Army,† said Weary. Billy was making involuntarily making convulsive sounds that were a lot like laughter. â€Å"You think it’s funny, huh? † But then Weary saw that he had an audience. Five German soldiers and a police dog on a lash were looking down into the bed of the creek. The soldiers’ blue eyes filled with a bleary civilian curiosity as to why one American would try to murder another American, and why the victim should laugh† (Vonnegut, 51) Ironically, of the four original soldiers, Billy is the only one who remains alive, yet he is the most unlikely one to do so. In conclusion, in spite of the differences between Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front and Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse 5 both novels convey the same message Whether the readers view Slaughterhouse-Five as a science-fiction novel or a autobiographical statement, and All Quiet on the Western Front the reader cannot ignore the destructive properties of war, since the catastrophic firebombing of the German town of Dresden during World War II or the horrendous acts of World War I including trench warfare. Both novels suggest the same conclusion about war and how it ends â€Å"quiet†. By emphasizing the bird that whispered â€Å"Poot-tee-weet† towards Billy. Or the death of Paul Baumer’s â€Å"Nothing new to report on the western front† (Remarque, 207)

Oversea Study Agent in China Essay

1.0 Introduction As China’s refrom and opening up, foreign exchange increasing day by day. Studying abroad craze after another. More and more people chose to accept foreign advanced education. This report is small scale survey on experiences with the services of oversea study agencies, which in order to inform readers some informations about oversea study agencies, let them have a more comprehensive understanding of these agents. First, some basic overviews of oversea study agent such as what is the oversea study agent, the history and development of these agencies, the role and characteristics of oversea study agencies, will be described in this report. Then it also show some main problems of oversea study agencies, which include some illegal phoenomenons, professionalism of employee is low and regulatory mechanism is not perfect. Legal system is not perfect and the lack of high-quality personnel as the causes of problems followed by. At last the recommendation and conclusion will be illustrated. 2.0 Procedures This paper is after a group discussion and arrangements. Five education agents are investigated through telephone consultation, internet search, etc. They are Golden Oriental, Jin Gillette, Mei Grabrel, CIEC World Famous Studio to study vertical and horizontal, Zhong Rui in Shanghai. There are also some views reference by authority report. 3.0 Findings 3.1 Some basic overview of oversea study agent 3.1.1 What is oversea studying agencies Oversea study agent is a intermediary for students to studying abroad to other countries that provide school students application and visa application assistance and services. Everywhere in the world exist this industry. In China the first countries to ratify the legal service agencies to study abroad is very high, the first practitioners of the business background needed to be engaged in education institutions, so the first batch of approved institutions most comprehensive university with some formal or large state government departments, only two company are private institutions, Jin Gillette in Beijing and Zhong Rui in Shanghai . And the choice of this two institutions are engaged in their education both at the same time quite strong behind the enterprise groups as the background. Second and subsequent access to qualified institutional conditions in the application than the first batch of great relaxation, an increase of more institutions, but are required to be registered within the legal institutions. 3.1.2 The role of oversea study agent First, providing professional guidance to reduce the personal trouble. This is the most important role of education agents. The current situation is that most people and institutions of education abroad do not quite understand the situation, the role of intermediaries is to use the relationship with foreign educational institutions, combined with national policies to individuals and schools to study the national situation, to apply for admission, handle Visa and other relevant information and advice. Procedures for many students, if they apply the words of ordinary people, not only spend more time, and error-prone, with the help of an intermediary, you can greatly reduce such problems. Second, providing legally qualified schools. It is understood that there are two types of foreign registered schools, one is teaching institutions, although another category called the school, but in fact is the company, and such registration requirements of the company’s relatively loose, the more difficult for teachers and teaching quality assurance. Chinese government prohibited foreign institutions and educational service agencies engaged in recruiting activities on their own in, requiring direct intermediary service organizations and educational institutions with foreign universities signed a cooperation agreement and submit the location of the relevant provincial education administrative departments for the record, but also requires foreign school to provide the Embassy of China in the internationally renowned certification other than the institutions. The goal is to prevent a number of international universities and the poor quality of some multinational companies fraud in China. Therefore, the study intermediary agreements with foreign institutions of higher learning in schools is actually a constraint, so as to ensure the quality of teaching in schools and individual rights. Then, to help design individual study plans. Study abroad is a new way of learning in China, so most Chinese people find it difficult to design their own study plan. There arise a phenomenon that many people have chosen wrong counties, wrong school or wrong professional. The losses are difficult to be measured by money. Study intermediary with resources, according to consumer expertise, interests and financial ability to provide consumers with a most appropriate and most effective way to study. In addition, there is a balance the function of oversea study agencies for market supply and demand. As with other products in the market, study abroad market also has a supply and demand balance. The difference is that, as the case involves foreign students, consumers are poorly understood, the role of intermediaries is that the students grasp the situation told the consumer market, and guide consumers in different countries and schools to filter, so that the education market and a balanced supply and demand. 3.2 Problems of oversea study agencies It is report that â€Å"Golden Oriental† has the trap of going abroad, 15 students trapped in Germany. A parents said the â€Å"Golden Oriental† is a German training center in Qingdao, the main business is to recruit students to learn German. Enrollment in the center, forward to introduce registration of students and parents â€Å"to learn the language here, must we go through the exit of the relevant procedures.† This fully demonstrates the agency of studying abroad at this stage still exit some problems. 1. Some illegal phenomenon First, unauthorized business in the studying intermediary. Without the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Public Security issued a â€Å"permit to study intermediary services,† without the approval of the administrative department for industry and commerce registration, engaging in business activities of education agents. In Beijing there are still some people who employ by the â€Å"three no company† (no license, no office, no charge certificate) to the embassy in front of students engaged in activities of intermediary services around by some foreign embassies. These illegal intermediary agencies in profits, driven by the illicit in intermediary services. Second, there is a linked management phenomenon. Linked management is some of the illegal gain qualification in legal education agents affiliated companies access to the following qualification to the legitimate operations of those features. There are some study intermediaries authorized by the parent company of illegally engaging in a branch or branches of intermediary business, the umbrella agency to act as illegal. Finally, some foreign companies do illegally business in China. State expressly that foreign investment institutions in the country engaged in the study can not be mediated. But there are still some companies as the representative of the foreign school or under the banner of the Office of foreign schools in China to enroll students. 3.2.2 Professionalism of employee is low It is understood that practitioners who have the correlated educational background in the study abroad agency are less than 50ï ¼â€¦. Management has not issued specific standards for employees in certificates, but no appraisal system. Most of the intermediary’s employees are recruited from the community, by the agency after a simple training to induction, a considerable number of other employees in the state organs or institutions of workers retire, there officers aging. Therefore, the variation in levels of professional and reduce the agency’s service quality and effectiveness of the service extensively restricted. 3.2.3 Regulatory mechanism is not perfect At current situation, it has not specifical laws and regulations on the study abroad agency to regulate behaviours they have. At the same time, the management of policies from different departments, regulatory agencies is not clear. It is a more complex work to supervision and management the intermediary services for studying abroad. Too few managers, industry and commerce, are also responsible for public security, there is busy. Three units of the joint action, they often stay in the rectification movement style, and they can not do more frequent, thorough and meticulous work, so that the management is difficult to place. 3.3Causes of the problems 3.3.1Legal system is not perfect Currently, the state has not the development of social intermediary organizations and the general considerations of unified planning, there is no national authority in charge of social intermediary organizations and coordination of departments, to study abroad agency management and macro-control weaknesses still exist. Government lack of studying abroad Pan strictly regulate intermediary management, law degree is not high. Market economy is the legal economy, study abroad agency to rely on laws and regulations to locate and act. However the legal management of oversea study agencies has a far way from the establishment of socialist market economy. 3.3.2The lack of high-quality personnel Oversea study agency is a strong professional service, foreign language level requirements high. Thus, requiring that their employees must have a high quality of cultural knowledge, good professional service and knowledge of international practice. However, there are talents in this area obviously can not keep up the situation and development needs: the quality of personnel is not high, the shortage of professionals. 4.0 Recommendation At present, more and more people choose to go abroad, the oversea study agent play an important role in China. However, there are still exit the problems which mentioned above. So some measures must be taken such as effectively strengthen the supervision and management of education agents’waste, further improve the advertising review and investigation, to increase the intensity modulation of employees’ education and training, improve relevant laws and regulations to standardize and restrain intermediary acts. 5.0 Conclusion Whit the boom of study abroad set off, oversea study agency has become an indispensable institution to student. It provide professional guidance, provide legally qualified schools, help design individual study plans and so on. However, there are still some problems that can damages the interests of consumers. When people choosing the oversea study agencies, both advantages and disadvantages should be considered. Whit the sound of legal system and the development of market economy in China, problems in the intermediary agencies of study abroad will be solved. Their business will be more and more standardized. 6. Reference Gousheng Li, 2006-10-29, Study abroad at one’s own expenses intermediaraes’problems and countermeasures. Junrong Yan, 2001-12-4, Education agents, you play what role http://baike.baidu.com/view/864680.htm http://www.runsky.com/homepage/study/abroad/news/userobject1ai413028.html

Lap Dance Feature News Story Prompt Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Lap Dance Feature News Story Prompt - Assignment Example All 11 members of council were in agreement with the ordinance while only 8 votes were required for the approval of the ordinance. One of the main conditions of the ordinance is that there has to be no touching between the entertainers and patrons in any kind of business in Redondo Beach. It also requires a 6-foot separation between the patrons and entertainers, along the performance stage to be at least 18 inches high and a rail of at least 30 inches high. Adult entertainment industry will be greatly affected by this ordinance. It includes establishments such as strip clubs, gentlemen’s clubs, adult clubs, bikini bars, nudie bars, topless bars, adult cabaret bars and others. An entertainer in the ordinance mainly refers to dancers, both men and women. Activities such as lap dancing, tucking bills in G-strings, etc will become illegal as a result of the ordinance. Mary Macy (40) said, â€Å"Adult entertainment businesses are blight to any neighbourhood. They attract a variety of criminal activity, including prostitution and drug use. The proliferation of these businesses is destroying neighbourhoods across the city.† Tonis Zaslow (35) supported Mary Macy by arguing that the quality of life needs to be safeguarded. He said â€Å"Redondo’s reputation as a wide-open city needs to end. We can and will restore the quality of life that needs to be restored. It’s time to make a stand. This is just good government.† On the adult entertainment industry which contributes $150 million annually to the economy came out very strongly against the ordinance. Ken Majors (51), owner of Peppermint Giraffe Gentlemen’s Club said that â€Å"We’ll beat this. They tried to do this in two other California cities and the voters threw it out just like that. We’ll get the 30,000 signatures in two weeks. I know it. Want to sign the petition? We’re having a party to gather signatures. Come and bring your friends.† The

The Epistemology of Conspiracy Theories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Epistemology of Conspiracy Theories - Essay Example As was demonstrated for example with the Iran-Contra Affair. Nonetheless, he points out that unwarranted conspiracy theories (UCT's) are the ones that pose philosophical difficulties, and it is these that he sets out to analyze by offering an explanation as to why they are popular, and why people should not believe in them. He also expresses an interest in discussing the wider philosophical issues surrounding conspiracy theories as well as examining the wider implications of many people nowadays accepting them as true explanations of events. This situation deserves being studied because it indicates a growing conflict between opposing views with some people accepting the mainstream received views and others that are more acceptive of the views of conspiracy theorists. The author terms the main tool of conspiracy theorists as 'errant data'. This type of data is considered to exist as either contradictory data, or data that is unaccounted for. Whereas the former is concerned with data that conflicts with official explanations, the latter is concerned with data which the official explanations are unable to account for satisfactorily. He makes the point that â€Å"Conspiracy theories are attractive, a fact demonstrated by their current popularity. But their alleged virtues are subtly flawed.†, and then tries to prove this. The attractiveness, or rather strength, of conspiracy theories, lies in their ability to seemingly unify the explanations of different events.  ... studied because it indicates a growing conflict between opposing views with some people accepting the mainstream received views and others that are more acceptive of the views of conspiracy theorists. The author terms the main tool of conspiracy theorists as 'errant data'. This type of data is considered to exist as either contradictory data, or data that is unaccounted for. Whereas the former is concerned with data that conflicts with official explanations, the latter is concerned with data which the official explanations are unable to account for satisfactorily. He makes the point that â€Å"Conspiracy theories are attractive, a fact demonstrated by their current popularity. But their alleged virtues are subtly flawed.†, and then tries to prove this. The attractiveness, or rather strength, of conspiracy theories lies in their ability to seemingly unify the explanations of different events. By their very nature, they are always able to explain more than other competing theori es. Conspiracy theories explain not only the 'received account' of events, but also the errant data that these official explanations generate. It is precisely this 'virtue' of conspiracy theories that the author describes as their 'beauty', i.e. their â€Å"wonderfully unified accounts of all the data at hand, both those the official story explains, plus those niggling, overlooked errant data.† Also, conspiracy theories are sustained by making people believe they are indeed only conspiracy theories, i.e. not widely believed, which might otherwise make the truth be revealed. Errant data is believed by the author to play a critical role in UCTs. He believes that when an official received account fails to explain certain errant facts, the existence of a conspiracy becomes the best explanation of the

Supply chain management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 7

Supply chain management - Essay Example However, such a move could not cope with increasingly seasonal demand patterns, along with short-term variations resulting from weather, political instabilities in cocoa producing nations, and aggressive marketing campaigns (Slack, Stuart, & Johnston, 2010, p.57). The intricacies in terms of processing, production and transportation, is mirrored by the multilayered makeup of the chocolate industry, whereby there are discrete product markets within the various stages in the supply chain. This then generates massive implications in terms of transportation, legal disputes based on competition laws, and unbalanced exportat requirements, especially when defining pertinent product market within the chain (Waters, 2003, p.60). For instance, the chocolate market is widely perceived to be distinct from the consumer chocolate products, which is then categorized into numerous product segments. The goal is not just to control the constancy of the chocolate products, but also to influence it, and they have made dependability as an important external aspect, when it comes to consumer service. The changes that are occurring along the chocolate supply chain are mostly driven by the developments towards branded consumerism. In this industry, public perception is focused on the responsibilities of key chocolate brands. Therefore, the companies have to contend with their level of direct publicity to social plus developmental matters in cocoa-producing nations. This shift should be based on the premise that operations management within a strategic level entails performance objectives being linked to the interests of the chocolate operation’s stakeholders (Slack, Stuart, & Johnston, 2010, p. 56). In this case, they connect to the company’s responsibility to their consumers, suppliers/famers, their shareholders, employees, as well as the wider society (Slack, Stuart, & Johnston,

4 assignments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

4 assignments - Essay Example Inclusion needs to be early on, there could hardly be any argument against it. Being special doesn’t mean they need to be out into nursing care like facility and they need pampering. Special children also have fighting spirit and they can adapt themselves up to amazing levels. Administrators and authorities need to capitalize on this. Bernie got included early on and it helped him and the children around him to adapt, who didn’t think it was a big deal, they didn’t consider Bernie and alien. They just took it like a normal thing and naturally got used to him. Some habits developed in earlier stages of life are always better. Bernie also points out how important ‘early inclusion’ is not just for the adaptation maneuver but for honing and developing academic skills of the person. Bernie deems it a great thing that happened to him because he felt more comfortable with the academics. He got hold of the complex things early on. Special children also develop their brain and they need to exercise it with various challenges. Otherwise just like any other person, their brain would turn into mush. And when they will be ‘included’ later on in their life, they will probably not be able to cope with the new challenges with the dexterity and confidence that an ‘early include’ will. Many times during the interview, Bernie refers to ‘other kids’. For instance he says that what it felt like to be the ‘other kid’ what challenges they were facing and where Bernie stood in his achievements. This gave him a sense of heightened urgency that he needs to catch up with them, but under his own terms. This shouldn’t be confusing. To prove my point, here is the idea in plain words; special children cannot compete with ‘other’ children on the same level. Expecting them to be as good as others would be just a dream (I do wish it would come true). However, when Bernie was with other kids, Bernie became more realistic of his abilities and

Definitions of Evaluation Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Definitions of Evaluation - Coursework Example nt and development of the best workforce that will, in turn, enable both the employees and the organizations to efficiently accomplish their set goals. The opportunities that an organization’s HRD provides to its employees can be in or beyond their workplaces. The HRD could be formal as in the training programs that are offered within learning institutions (Heathfield, 2012). Alternatively, it could also be informal where managers within an organization are responsible for coaching their employees on various aspects concerning their organizations. HRD has also been defined as the departments that are found within organizations that have been charged with the duty of organizing their employees and reporting on their working relationships. This is done while ensuring the behavior best conforms to their organizational goals. A department of human resource that is forward thinking has been described as one that is concerned with the provision of effective policies, guidelines and procedures that are friendly. This department is responsible for ensuring that an organization’s mission and values along with visions that enable the company to focus on success are usually optimized. The department is generally responsible for compensating, ensuring safety, anddeveloping the human resources within an organization (Heathfield, 2012). Evaluation, on the other hand, has been defined as involving the activities assessing or judging the worth of some work that has been done within an organization or a service provision institution. The major purpose of carrying out the evaluation process is that it helps an organization in reflecting on what it intends to achieve in the course of its operations and assessing its success rate in the achievement of their set goals. It additionally helps in the identification of the required changes within the organization to ensure the set goals are achieved within the budget and cost constraints that have been set (Tufo, 2002). Evaluating a

How Ecotricity has obtained considerable business achievements within Essay

How Ecotricity has obtained considerable business achievements within a short period of time - Essay Example The paper tells that globalisation and the associated changes in the business environment greatly encouraged both cross border trade and small business enterprises. A small business represents a privately owned and operated business venture having small number of employees and comparatively low sales volume. Small business is fondly termed as ‘mom and pop store’ in the United States. In the view of Fay, generation definition of an SME can be stated as â€Å"a small firm is one that has only a small share of its market, is managed in a personalised way by its owner or part-owner and not through the medium of an elaborate management structure†. Hence, a small firm does not have access to capital market for the issuance of public securities because of its insufficiency in size. As Macgregor and Vrazalic point out that the UK Companies Act 1989 does not allow a small business enterprise to be the subsidiary of any other company. The legal definition of a small busines s enterprise varies from country to country mainly in terms of annual turnover and number of people employed. The emergence of the concept ‘small business’ greatly stimulated entrepreneurs to commence their venture with minimum investment and labour. Low and MacMillan have defined entrepreneurship simply as the formation of new enterprises. Ecotricity was founded by Dale Vince in 1995 using a single wind turbine. Within 15 years, the venture grew into notable heights. As Loveless (2011) reports, Ecotricity was selected as one of the twenty five British small business firms in the first phase of the European Business Awards in 2011. Dale Vince is an innovative entrepreneur who is very different from other contemporary entrepreneurs including James Caan and Steve Jobs. The Telegraph reports that Dale Vince â€Å"is a professional hippy of the kind the establishment used to deride† (Telegraph). He was a former new age traveller and had protested against cruise missi les before he arrived at Gloucester. He always had his own interests and views but never paid attention to external suggestions. Although this trait irritated the credit lending institutions and other concerned parties, his strong decisions were evidently the keys to his success. Vince was never willing to accept failure and this attitude assisted him to overcome threatening troubles with equanimity. Start-ups The push and pull theory clearly describes the concept of entrepreneurship. This theory claims that people are motivated to create innovative ventures by external factors. However, the external factors can be either positive or negative. As Dana (2004, p.134) opines, newly arising opportunities and potential elements of the industry are some of the positive factors that would inspire individuals to create new ventures. In contrast, an individual may also be motivated by negative factors to start a new business (ibid). For instance, unemployment is a negative motivational facto r. The push-pull theory also contends that an individual’s family background can be a strong motive for starting a new business. Experiences show that poor and troubled family relations persuade people to be independent and this need leads them to innovations. The first wind farm established in Cornwall was the major inspiration for Dale Vince, the founder of the Ecotricity to create his own venture. Referring to the push-pull theory, Vince was attracted to

Organizational and management styles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Organizational and management styles - Essay Example It would be important to consider the various factors that determine the levels of efficiency in the management of educational institutions with particular reference to the mentioned universities. The theoretical framework of this study will anchor on various theories of organizational management. The theories shall be considered in terms of how they affect matters of policy and practice of management in the identified institutions. Case reviews on matters of educational management have revealed changing trends in leadership and management across the globe (Bush, 2010, p. 45). There is evidence of a determined shift from the traditional systems of leadership and management, which were more rigid to the current ones that seem to be more flexible. The traditional systems mainly involved a vertical structure where the leadership was at the top and made important policy and administrative decisions that affected the operations at all levels of the universities administration (Bush, 2010) . Educational institutions that adopted exclusivist policies of leadership favored this system. The current systems have evolved to embrace horizontal structures of leadership, in which policy matters and decision-making are handled at multiple points of the organization’s structure (McCaffery, 2010). Such developed kinds of leadership and management entail some aspect of devolution in which power is distributed evenly across various academic institutions. Both systems have important strengths and weaknesses. The increasing clamor for liberties and the advocacy for rights of the minorities have had significant impact on the levels and nature of leadership in American universities (Bush & Coleman, 2000). Gender and ethnicity are some of the factors that have been brought within the umbrella of the management and leadership structures of American universities (McCaffery, 2010). Such leadership styles have impacted positively on the nature of leadership by embracing certain qual ities that are essentially aimed towards responding to the call for harmony in the processes of leadership. Proper management techniques require constant attention to the interests of stakeholders in ways that multiply the importance of normal discourse (McCaffery, 2010). One of the advantages of the top-down leadership structures and management style includes quick decision-making processes (Morrison, Briggs & Coleman, 2012). The leaders make decisions without much consultation, which saves time and affects positively on the speed and efficiency of processes. In some cases, such styles of management feature less bureaucratic challenges since fewer people and fewer processes are involved in the decision-making processes. On the other hand, the same systems are notable for lack of motivation in the lower cadres of management because other people in the organization are not involved in making important decisions within the organization (Walker & Dimmock, 2005). According to theorists of educational leadership and ma

Define and explain Orientalism Essay Example for Free

Define and explain Orientalism Essay Europeans used the term Orient to describe the peoples and places of Asia and the Middle East. While widely accepted prior to the late twentieth century, this term has aroused criticism among historians. The purpose of this essay is too define and explain Orientalism, and how the term Orientalist applies to Christian missionaries in the Far East. Two main examples of these missionaries are Matteo Ricci and Francis Xavier who served in China and Japan respectively. Both of these missionaries fall under the definition of Orientalists as defined by Edward Said. Edward Said defines Orientalism in multiple parts; the first of which is the academic1. Academic Orientalism is the study of the Orient for the purpose of understanding and learning. Modern historians view the term Orient to be too vague for an area as large as Asia, but it is still widely used throughout the world. Academic Orientalism attempts to study and understand the Orient from afar. Professors of Chinese language who have never spoken with a Chinese person are a common example of this detached intellectualism. Often in 18th Century Europe the Orientalist would study and judge the Orient based on second hand knowledge and conjecture. This view of understanding the Orient better than the Oriental without living it leads into the second part of Orientalism2. The second part of Orientalism as defined by Said is the justification of subjugation. Europeans believed that due to their better understanding of the history of a culture, and their superior culture they needed to dominate other cultures in order to improve them. Arthur James Balfour, a member of the British parliament once said in reference to Egypt; We are in Egypt not merely for the sake of the Egyptians, though we are there for their sake; we are there also for the sake of Europe at large3. Balfour meant by this that British occupation of Egypt was necessary for the protection of the Egyptians and for the benefit of all Europe. Balfour and other Orientalist believed that they understood Egypt better than the Egyptians themselves, and for this reason governed Egypt for the benefit of Egypt. This form of justification was used throughout the Orient. China, India, Philippines and others were all subjugated on the justification of the white mans burden. The idea of the burden of th e white race to civilize inferior races was a key part of Orientalism.4 One of the main points of Orientalism is the division of humanity into us and them. The Occidental and the Oriental, East and West, these are divisions created by Europeans in order to dominate the other. By separating the peoples an Orientalist can justify the subjugation and forced change of other races. Saids overall point is that Orientalism was created by Europeans in order to justify the subjugation of the Orientals. Cultural and intellectual superiority and the separation of us and them led to three hundred years of European imperialism in the so called Orient.5 In order to understand how Orientalism affected Missionaries in China and Japan, one must first understand the Orientalists views of foreign religions. Most Orientalists were Christians and therefore believed all none Christians were destined for hell. This, oddly enough, even applied to pre-Christians such as Aristotle and Abraham. In Dantes Inferno both these men are in the first layer of Hell, even though Christianity did not exist during their lifetimes. So from this intolerant view one can see the basic attitude towards non-Christians. Muslims, Hindu and Buddhists were all considered heathen that needed the word of Jesus to save them from eternal damnation. The Churchs commission to preach the gospel of Christ to every creature also lays upon her the task of inviting all to accept Christ as Lord and Saviour and to join his Church through baptism.6 With this belief in mind Christian Missionaries went to the Orient to save the heathens and convert them to the one true faith, wheth er they wanted too or not.7 One of the earliest Christian Missionaries Father Matteo Ricci of the Society of Jesus, better known as the Jesuits, arrived in China in 1582 after a four month journey from Goa. He was a Roman Catholic priest who was trained the Rome in numerous subjects. The Jesuits were the most well educated order within the Catholic Church; for this reason they were particularly well suited for missionary work in Asia. The Jesuit tactic was too convert the social elites and then have their support in the conversion of the masses. This worked particularly well in Asia due to the strict social structures and relatively good education of the elites. Also the widespread belief in Confucianism fit well with Christianity. Ricci said in his work The True Idea of God, the Confucian Classics contained allusions, albeit in an inchoate manner, to such Christian notions as God and a future life.8 Well educated bureaucrats in China respected Riccis education and intelligence, and were interested in the Western ideas he possessed9. Techniques such as Riccis Memory Palace interested the Chinese and often spawned further interest into the religion Ricci brought with him.10 Riccis view of the Chinese is full of contradictions. Many aspects of Chinese culture and government Ricci respected, such as their dress and level of education; the hygiene of the people and the relative order imposed by the Chinese bureaucracy11. At the same time that Ricci praised aspects of Chinese civilization, he abhorred a great deal of Chinese practices. Among these are the corruption rampant throughout China, the worship of heathen religions and their disrespect for human life. Ricci once remarked This country is full of slaves. 12 Most importantly Ricci despised the widespread homosexuality within China13. There are two main reasons for describing Ricci as an Orientalist. The first is his reason for being in China. Ricci sought to convert all of China to Catholicism. He cared little for the established religions in China and sought to impose his Christian faith upon the peoples of China. Ricci once remarked Buddhism violated the very first of the Ten Commandments, and it had not raised moral standards in China despite its two thousand years during which it had been preached.14 Viewing his own faith as superior to any other and being so disdainful of all others, Ricci can be labeled an Orientalist. The second reason for labeling Ricci an Orientalist is his general disdain for all things Chinese. While he may admire certain attributes he generally views everything Western superior; for example his disgust with open prostitution in the streets of major Chinese cities. Ricci completely glosses over the fact that prostitution was legal within Rome itself. In fact prostitution within Rome was widespread. Montaigne on visiting Rome remarked, Taking coach rides or strolling to view the prostitutes was a major Roman pastime.15 In his criticism of homosexuality, Ricci also ignores the previous acceptance of homosexuality in Europe. Montaigne remarked during his visit too Rome, several marriages between Portuguese males had been celebrated in the church of St. John a few years before, and that the couples had went to bed and lived together for some time before being arrested and burned at the stake.16 This method of criticizing China while ignoring the fact that the same problems existed within Europe labels Ricci as an Orientalist. Ricci had additional goals beyond simply the conversion of the Chinese. Along with the conversion to Christianity Ricci hope to rebuild China along European lines. Ricci spent a great deal of time extolling the virtues of European civilization, and purity of the Catholic faith17. Ricci hoped to rid China of corruption, create a perfect Christian society, and cleanse China of heathen practices such as abstaining from meat year round and homosexuality18. These goals of changing Chinese society certainly label Ricci to be an Orientalist. Father Francis Xavier of the Society of Jesus arrived in Japan in 1549 aboard a Chinese junk. Xavier had many initial difficulties in Japan; the first of which being his inability to speak Japanese, and later to understand it. His interpreter caused Xavier many troubles later on due to his using Buddhist names for Christian figures, and forever linking Buddhism to Christianity in the minds of the Japanese19. The other difficulty for Xavier was his misunderstanding of Japanese society. When Xavier first arrived he hoped to convert the king of Japan, by this he meant the Shogun20. But when Xavier met the Shogun he found him to be a man of little importance who could barely maintain his own territory, let alone the whole country. Japan was in the period of sengoku, or country at war, and was divided among many feudal lords all vying for power. This state of civil war later benefited the Christian missionaries greatly, but initially confused Xavier21. Xavier spent the majority of his time in Japan attempting to convert Japanese daimyo and kokujin to Christianity. He succeeded in a few cases largely due to his link with Portuguese trade ships. Daimyo within Japan were looking for a way to gain advantage over their enemies, and trade with the Portuguese greatly enriched many lords. The Japanese believed that converting to Christianity would give them more favorable trade with the Portuguese, and for this reason many converted22. Xavier can be labeled an Orientalist for two main reasons. The first is his overall goal of converting the heathen Japanese to Christianity. His total disdain for Buddhism is apparent when he refers to the religion of Dianichi, an invention of the devil, as also were all the other sects of Japan.23 The second reason for labeling Xavier an Orientalist is for his views on homosexuality. Riccis beliefs on homosexuality among Asians stem from Xavier. When Xavier was the head of the Far East mission he declared that homosexuality was an evil to be combated in Asia24. For these reasons Xavier is clearly an Orientalist the same as Ricci. For all of their efforts to convert the peoples of China and Japan, neither Ricci nor Xavier succeeded in any significant way. The problems in China were numerous; deep seated beliefs in Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism kept many from converting, also the lack of interest by the elite made any type of wide scale conversion impossible. In addition the basic fear of outsiders made the Chinese distrustful and angry towards the Christian missionaries25. In Japan the eventual consolidation of Japan under the Tokugawa shogunate forced all Christians too abandon their faith. The Tokugawa did not want any opposition to their regime and barred any foreigners from entering Japan. Also deep seated religious beliefs and xenophobia as in China caused few too embrace Christianity. Neither Ricci nor Xavier succeeded in their goal of converting the Far East; the task they committed their lives too. One must wonder; if they had taken a more open, non Orientalist approach, would they have been more successful? 1 Said, Edward W. Orientalism. (New York: First Vintage Books Edition, October 1979.), 2. 2 Ibid, 3. 3 Ibid, 33. 4 Ibid, 33-36. 5 Ibid, 83. 6 Manikam, Rajah B. Christianity and the Asian Revolution. (New York: Friendship Press, 1954) 185. 7 Spence, 73-75. 8 Ching, Julia. Confucianism and Christianity. (Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1977) 10. 9 Hellyer, Robert. Lecture. The Jesuits in Asia. Allegheny College. Meadville, Pa. 11 February 2002. 10 Spence, Jonathan D. The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci. (New York: Penguin Books, 1985.) 2-5 11 Ibid, 210. 12 Ibid, 219. 13 Ibid, 224. 14 Ibid, 252. 15 Ibid, 208. 16 Ibid, 226. 17 Ibid, 2-5. 18 Ibid, 217. 19 Elisonas, Christianity and the Daimyo, (Cambridge History of Japan, volume 4, 301-372.) 307-310. 20 Ibid, 311. 21 Ibid, 312. 22 Ibid, 323. 23 Ibid, 309. 24 Spence, 224.

Health Care Of Underprivileged Children Health And Social Care Essay

Health Care Of Underprivileged Children Health And Social Care Essay In September 2000, representatives from 189 member states of the United Nations met at United Nations headquarters in New York and adopted the Millennium Declaration, a series of collective priorities on peace and security, the eradication of poverty, the environment and human rights. Following this declaration, a set of eight goals, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were drawn up as the blueprint to achieve noticeable results and improve the lives of people in developing countries by the target date of 2015. The eight MDGs include specific, measurable targets and timelines, for developing countries as well as for donor countries, civil society organizations and funding institutions such as the World Bank. All nations agreed to undertake specific follow-up measures to ensure that these goals were achieved in their own countries and commitments have been made to fund these initiatives. The MDGs Priorities for Children Each child is born with the right to survival, food and nutrition, health and shelter, an education, and to participation, equality and protection. The MDGs are especially important for the well-being of children: they promote health; quality education; protection against abuse, exploitation and violence. Our report pertains to the following millennium development goals: Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger Extreme poverty hinders childrens access to nutrition, health care and education. Providing children with basic education, health care, nutrition and protection fulfills their rights, increasing their chances of survival and of a productive future. Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education Educating children is a tool to achieve all the MDGs. Primary education also includes the education of health in which it is taught how to take care of health as prevention is better than cure. Especially because many children in Pakistan have the propensity to fall sick frequently and thus cannot continue their education. So for getting education the childs health should be safeguarded at all costs. Goal 6: Combat HIV / AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases Diseases undermine the development in the third world countries malaria, measles, polio and tuberculosis cause the deaths of millions of children who do not have good nutrition, sanitation or healthcare. We can prevent this substantially by promoting long-term primary health education and providing them with health insurance to safeguard their futures. What is Primary Health Care? Primary health care is a vital and an indispensable care of your health and it is also a foundation of the health care system which involves providing several initial primary level services to individual families and communities, through a team of health professionals, consultants and various doctors. Primary Health Care is based on 4 Key Pillars: Teams PHC is about working in teams to provide beneficial health care facilities to communities and individual, and to improve the continuity of care. It also diminishes duplication by ensuring your access to proper health professionals. Information PHC provides enhanced adroitness of information between doctors and expanded access to information and using modern tools like electronic health records and diagnostic devices to advance the eminence, access and coordination of health information. Access PHC gives you greater access to the right services when and where you need them. Healthy Living PHC believes in your better care and focuses on prevention, chronic conditions, and encouraging support for self-care. What Is Health Insurance? Insurance is loss by illness or physical injury. It facilitates you with all kinds of expenses from Medicare to all kind of hospital expenses. Health insurance can be directly purchased or can be given to any respective employee. Importance of Health Insurance Health insurance provides health in an affordable way for you and your loved ones that include your Medicare and family protection from the lofty fee of healthcare. (Rarely medical bills can be monetarily devastating and families pull through from such debts in a certain long period). Protects Your Future When someone gets insurance of his car or home, they mean to protect their family and themselves from financial sufferers. Insuring your health is same as that. Health care is way much costly than an insurance of other things. Read the facts below: The average cost of a trip to the emergency room for an adult is about $700, not including any hospital facilities, which may increase the bill to well over $1,000 A broken leg can cost up to $7,500 Average expenses for childbirth are up to $8,800, and well over $10,000 for C-section delivery The total cost of a hip replacement can run a whopping $32,000 Above instances sound scary, but with the right plan, one can protect Himself from most of these and other types of medical bills. Gets You the Care You Need Many people who do not have health insurance fails to get the medical care they need. That is because they are worried about the best treatment expenses. The key of beneficial health insurance is access to a large network of doctors and hospitals. Read the H.I benefits below: Quick and easy access to desirable medical needs. Peace of mind during a hard time because one knows they are covered. Affordable access to care and health information to keep you glee and healthy Is There A Need For Health Insurance In Pakistan? In Pakistan and India, at least one third of the 1.3 billion lives in urban hubs and of this population estimated 400 million earn less than $3 a day. The Pakistani government use just 0.9% of its GDP on health and even India uses only 1.9% of its GDP on a woefully under-resourced, inundated public health sector. Thus 97% of all healthcare outlays occur from out-of-pocket and catastrophic medical costs and treating major diseases in low cost are a main precipitant of cohort poverty. Major Health Insurance Providers (Underwriters) In Pakistan Allianz EFU Health Insurance Adamjee Health Insurance IGI Health Insurance United Insurance Company of Pakistan Asia Care Pak Qatar Takkaful Health care for the underprivileged Developing nations are overwhelmed by effort of under nutrition and a host of viruses. Outbreaks of diarrhoeal diseases give a rough steer to the poor hygiene of the community (clean and safe drinking water is a dream for millions even now). In many nations health care is provided jointly by the government and the private sector, but the handful of public health institutions are the only hope for the needy people. The services of private hospitals are not up to the mark of the massive bulk of population belonging to the low-income zone. The private zone is apparently concerned only in remedial medicine and these hospitals and clinics are essentially run with a yield aim except for a handful of society that runs on charitable basis. We cannot blame the former group as it is not their duty to offer free health care to poor people. Many agendas aimed at the bar of transmissible diseases are run in under developed countries with the help of WHO, but even these agendas failed to give needed effect. The reasons for the failure of these national health agendas are multi factorial; the vital being is the lazy loom by the government officials implicated in implementing the agendas. (Rarely beneficiaries get less than 1% worth of what is imagined in the agenda). Consequently, the deprived of Pakistan are losing faith in the healthcare industry on the whole. The reasons can be summed up as follows: Lack of funds in the public health sector Lack of resources and equipment in government hospitals Lack of spur in government hospitals Lack of primary health education Poor utilization of services Improper staff recruitment in government hospitals Rampant illiteracy Inappropriate allocation of funds What is Naya Jeevan? NAYA JEEVANÂ ® is a not-for-profit social enterprise dedicated to enhancing the lives of low-income families. Naya Jeevan works in collaboration with corporate, academic, and non-profit institutions so that a new wave of social responsibility can be catalyzed that can then be leveraged to realize a positive sustainable outcome for all stakeholders. Naya Jeevan believes that philanthropy should not be a transient, ad-hoc event but be institutionalized as a fully integrated part of society. Vision To provide underprivileged children and their families throughout the emerging world with quality and affordable access to catastrophic healthcare. Objectives Reduction in poverty and mortality rates attributable to acute infectious diseases and lack of timely treatment. Reduction in disease outbreaks due to lack of preventive care. Reduction in the incidence of recreational/addictive substance abuse. Reduction in maternal mortality attributable to emergent pregnancy complications. Mitigation of urban child labor and child exploitation. Collective Social Responsibility through joint partnerships with the corporate, non-profit, academic and service sectors. Integrated social empowerment of the low income population. Business objectives to catalyze an ecosystem effect Poverty alleviation By reducing the financial impact of catastrophic medical expenses Reduction in maternal/child morality Through timely intervention and 24/7 access to ambulances, medical doctors, ERs, trauma centers, etc. Improvement in primary health outcomes Through preventive health education and behavioral change workshops Reduction in substance/drug abuse Through rehabilitation workshops and access to treatment centers Mitigation of child/labor/sexual/physical abuse Healthy breadwinners will enable children to remain in school and away from premature labor Naya Jeevan Value Added services: 24-hour medical hotline: 24/7 access to a qualified medical doctor Help with navigating the complex world of hospitals Help with claims management, settlement and trouble-shooting Beneficiary orientation (Training) Animated interactive presentation at client premise by a qualified medical doctor (same set of doctors who manage the helpline). Managing expectations what is covered, what is not, where to go, access to hospitals Case based claims scenarios Building of rapport and trust with beneficiaries Access to subsidized OPD and pharmacy network Quality checks on standard of treatment at the treating hospital Health awareness sessions (Workshops) Primary health care workshops on topics such as Healthy Heart Hand Hygiene Dental hygiene Nutrition and Weight Management Anti-smoking/ tobacco dental issues Annual health check-ups (Screening) Head to toe examination at clients premise No compromise on working hours Early diagnosis of diseases and management Aggregate Annual Health Report of employees (a health-o-meter of the organization) Targeted Preventive Health Workshops based on the findings Health insurance of underprivileged NGO schoolchildren project overview In February 2011, Naya Jeevan started on the innovative idea of insuring the health of children that fell under the umbrella of other NGOs. The idea was to provide quality healthcare to these children as they were willing to study but a disease or an injury incurred by them or a family member could potentially put an end to their dreams forever. Furthermore, most of these children did not have any awareness about primary health care, or about ways of preventing/ mitigating common ailments prevalent in their locality. Thus they would end up going to untrained professionals with inadequate or no qualifications for treatment of such ailments/ injuries, further exacerbating not only the medical problem at hand but also the unstable financial conditions of their families. Project Impact This project is designed to provide quality health care to underprivileged schoolchildren who cannot afford quality health which includes primary health care. Importance of Access Most children are healthy. Some may ask, therefore access to health care is important for children. In some important ways they are distinct in age groups. For health services they are entirely dependent on their adult caregivers, and are unaware from the advantages of health care and its benefits. Childrens health needs are also significantly different from those of adults. With the time children grown with a rapid change and it may cause them to get ill or get injured during their activities and if those diseases or injuries are not treated well so they can leave a huge affect on a childs physical and emotional development. The type, cruelty, and rate of health conditions that children practice also differ from adults. Childrens can experience a wider range of health issues if not have been taken care well and even though certain childhood conditions are quite mild in single instances, they have the tendency to lead to life-long disabilities. For example, chronic ear infections, if unchecked, can lead to hearing impairment, and possibly learning disabilities. The Limitations of Insurance Children have a beneficial impact on access when extending health insurance to low- income. This does not mean that children will inevitably have full access to health care, especially the deprived ones. Insured low-income children use fewer services than the richer, insured children. Moreover, poor children with insurance are less likely to go to a private physicians office and utilize community health centers, compared to their better-off counterparts. There are a number of reasons for these differences. The families of poor children with insurance face nonfinancial fences to health care that insurance cannot address, including transportation, child care, inconvenient location of services, and service hours that conflict with work. Children of immigrant families may face additional barriers, including an inability to speak in their primary language, fear of exile, and cultural conflicts with Western medicine. Therefore, providing insurance without developing a delivery system to serve the needs of low-income children does not have to produce the desired outcome of improved access to quality health care. NGO Schools under the Naya Jeevan health plan The project is a pilot to test out health insurance in NGO schools across Pakistan. In 2011 Naya Jeevan enrolled 8,334 NGO school children in the plan across the country. Participating Schools are Manzil School, Karachi Zindigi Trust, Karachi IISAR Foundation, Karachi DIL Schools, Khairpur Mashal School, Islamabad Manzil School (Karachi): Manzil is a Non-Profit Organization providing free education to children in the slum areas of Karachi. Starting with only 20 students in 2002, today Manzil has around 200 students who are being equipped with the highest quality of education, practical knowledge, skills and work ethics. It is situated in Quarter No1.Railway line near Bath Island Clifton. Manzil was started by a PhD student at CBM Ms. Shazia Mirza, after she observed the socio-economic divide in the region. She lived near the slum in a well off neighborhood and her house maid came from Raitee Line Bastee. Sensitized by the proximity of this other world, she started the school in a one room rent out from her pocket money. The majority of the community/bastee is ethnically conservative Pathans. The winning of the trust of this community has been one of the major successes of the initiative. Zindagi Trust Schools (Karachi): Zindagi Trusts program educates children who work in the urban slums of Pakistan. With nearly 2800 students, a 2.2-year accelerated primary education course is taught to the children who spend most of their days toiling in car-repair shops other general stores in Karachi, Lahore Rawalpindi. Permission is sought from the students parents and employers before enrolling them in the free schools to ensure success. The use of Government Buildings allows for a proper school experience with classrooms and blackboards. Right now Naya Jeevan is giving health plan to seven such schools in Karachi. IISAR Foundation (Karachi): IISAR was founded in 1990 by Prof. Dr. Ahmed Saleem Siddiqui, with an aim to impart promote quality education irrespective of differences. IISAR is a world class center having concentrations in teaching and research, revelation-based knowledge and technology-based learning across the full range of the social, political and economic sciences. Its a non-profit organization and has an outstanding reputation for academic excellence. Mashal school (Islamabad): Mashal is a self-funded school (i.e. registered trust), comprising of 406 children in classes ranging from nursery to class 8. These children face hardships at home, as well as at work, when selling items such as flowers, shopping bags and sweets, and washing cars on the streets. They have little choice, but to survive on their own in the company of gangs on the street. They are vulnerable to abuse and exploitations of all forms. Despite most of the childrens traumatic past experiences, through the assistance of Mashal School, they are able to overcome their inhibitions and eventually develop a sense of trust and dignity which allows them to finally live their lives as children and possess a deserved sense of belonging. DIL schools (Khairpur): Developments in Literacy (DIL) has been working in Khairpur District, Sindh, since 1998. DILs mission is to combat illiteracy in the remote, underdeveloped regions of Pakistan by opening non-formal primary and middle schools for girls. DIL hopes to break the entrenched social taboos against female literacy by working with the communities and gradually empowering young girls to improve their future prospects through education. However it is only possible for a child to concentrate on their studies when they are in good health. Education does not only include learning how to read and write but also the knowledge of how to look after ones self and make ones life better. Thus DIL has embarked on a journey to improve both the health and nutritional status as well as alleviate the levels of literacy in the children of Khairpur. PLI policy: In 2011 with co-operation and research we introduced Profit and Loss Insurance (PLI Policy). The difference between the PLI Policy and the regular insurance policy can be explained by analogy of credit and debit. In conventional health insurance for the price of the premium you get a binding promise from the insurance company to cover claims under the plan. A group may have paid 50,000 PKR in premiums but used services of up to 100,000 PKR. On the flip side they client may have not used any services and have lost all the money in the premium. A managed care/PLI model is similar to a debit card. You spend what you have and the insurance company charges a fee for that. However, if you have any money left over, it is carried over to the next year unlike the premiums. Also, because it is your money you can choose which claims you want to settle in spite of them being policy exclusions. During this pilot year of micro-health care for children Naya Jeevan has tried to assess the efficacy of both models. The total coverage limit for both was set at 50,000 PKR for the inpatient and the rest of the money used as a pool for outpatient expenses on a reimbursement basis. Pictorial Representation: Number of school children: Number of claims: Health Awareness Services provided by Naya Jeevan: Aga khan anti-tobacco workshop:- Naya Jeevan partnered with Aga Khan University and there team of doctors delivered an anti-tobacco workshop at the schools. Many of the children re addicted to some form of tobacco over there. Thus many have sub-mucosal fibrosis, which is an irreversible narrowing of the mouth cavity due to oral tobacco use. Two children were found to have pre-malignant oral lesions. AKU delivered this workshop free of cost. In-house preventive health workshops:- Naya Jeevan believes in primary healthcare prevention. Children cant be in the best health if they dont have information about the disease process. Healthcare workshops belong to a mini interactive lecture series in collaboration with other corporate partners and the topics chosen are based upon the feedback received. Examples of healthcare workshops held to date are hand washing, dental and smoking/drug addiction, etc. Several workshops were delivered by our Medical Services team, including Healthy Heart, Sad Teeth Happy Teeth, Dental Hygiene and Hand Hygiene at schools. Re-fresher trainings:- Trainings are also being given by Naya Jeevan to parents who come to attend regular parent-teacher meetings at the schools, and to the teachers/ administrative staff. We have been conducting refresher trainings in many of the NGO schools, and have come to realize, among many things, that it would be of great help if instead of visiting these schools and delivering the trainings in person, we could have these schools periodically play a video recording of our training whenever they had a substantial number of parents visiting the school. Challenges of the program Data files are especially cumbersome. They are on hard copy and had to be re-entered into electronic form. This takes a lot of time and effort. Even the cards distribution is a difficult area as they had to be delivered class wise. Problems of unaffordability (both time and monetary) of parents to reach the panel network hospitals according to existing protocols has been a major barrier. Many children only suffer minor medical problems and need outpatient treatment. Therefore, collaboration with reliable hospitals in their vicinity is in progress. Language barrier has resulted in poor retention of information so far. Therefore, repeated refresher trainings were given to parents and teachers so that they may know the proper use of card. The small number of rejected claims shows that re-fresher trainings were effective. Lack of trust from parents was also a challenge in the reimbursement process. Parents werent sure that we will reimburse the money and that too within a month. Other than this they were not comfortable in submitting original medical bills and receipts to us. Lack of availability of audio-visual equipment/ electricity/ adequate space in every school to accommodate large groups of parents and teachers. The lack of interest shown by the teachers has been a major barrier. This has been solved by making them a stakeholder in the health plan also, with the understanding that they will take responsibility of taking the lead on making the health plan more comprehensive for the children. The slow process of setting up funds in vicinity hospitals: So far, Islamic International Medical Complex has been set up for Mashal School in Islamabad with plans for this model to be replicated to all schools systems. Keeping a proper school wise backup of claims that can be shown to anyone who wants to access the information anytime. Why We Chose Naya Jeevan Naya Jeevan targets that need of the underprivileged population that is not fulfilled by any other NGO i.e. affordable healthcare. Therefore, by increasing awareness about the importance of health insurance, and prevention of basic medical and dental issues (that can cause devastating health-related and financial problems later), one can greatly impact the quality of life for many low-income people. Need assessment: Through Naya Jeevan we intended to visit schools and putting up a workshop regarding health to kid. From this guidance the schools were expecting that the children will adjust their routine that wuill help them to take care of their health. Less resource was obtainable to present them that did not help to make children go fully aware with their health knowledge. We as health students have a lot of health awareness and of facts related to it which can be effortlessly distribute to those kids who are ignorant of diseases and health issues that need to be taken care of. Materials and equipment: Since these schools have no capital for organizing workshop we had to assemble every resource our self. All multimedia (speakers, projectors and screen) were organized by Naya Jeevan. We arranged pictorial illustration and miniature stories regarding health and distributed among kids. Our volunteer work As Naya Jeevan gives workshop to school children to improve the health education in and to increase awareness of how to take care of live. We volunteered with Naya Jeevan and visited one of the schools and gave workshops. This was quite an interactive session and we gave workshops in small groups so that they may understand well. This is quite a good learning for them and also for us. The following are the workshops we prepared and delivered for these schoolchildren: Hand Hygiene:Description: http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQvwd7yWW5ALmEZzijVQp0qSPcJA3RH57G9IRZevZXWqafhPy7B The Naya Jeevan Hand Hygiene workshop was developed to enlighten our valued beneficiaries about the importance of keeping your hands clean as our hands are the primary tools that enable us to accomplish various tasks. At the same time it also serves as a main mode of transmission of various infectious agents. The key learning objectives of the workshop include: When is it necessary to wash hands? What are the proper steps of hand washing? What is feco-oral route of transmission of germs? What are the important infections that can spread through feco-oral route and how can they be prevented? Duration: 60 minutes Infectious Diseases: In Pakistan, its the communicable diseases constitute the bulk of most illnesses. Just in recent years we have seen epidemics such as dengue fever. Description: C:UsersZaraDesktopimagesCAGJG6QU.jpg This workshop discusses at length, the prevention and combat strategies for infections such as typhoid, malaria, dengue, gastroenteritis, various forms of hepatitis and other most prevalent ones in Pakistan Duration: 50 minutes Dental Hygiene: Delivered by a dentist, this workshop deals with all the common teeth issues that result from poor oral hygiene. The dentist talks about the proper way of brushing teeth and the products like Paan, Gutka, betel nuts, cigarette etc that must be avoided in order to maintain oral hygiene. It also highlights some of the oral cancers that can result from use of addictive substances such as tobacco. Duration: 30 minutes Balanced Diet:Description: C:UsersZaraDesktopdiet imagesimagesCAQNOBSE.jpg A balanced diet is one that includes the Recommended Dietary Allowances, also called RDAs, for all the essential nutrients. These include proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. The physician discusses the nutritional requirements (in calories) for individuals based on gender, age, profession, physical activity and co-morbidities. Duration: 50 minutes Sustainability of results The project strongly inculcates the spirit of giving back and community engagement. Diffusion of a new idea goes through the following stages Knowledge Persuasion Decision Implementation Confirmation Problems faced: The Schools had problems like Non active involvement of teachers as of no personal benefit. Language fence. We have to speak in easy language Lack of partial resources Building faith in children Regulate in their ambiance. Schools were very keen on having their children screened, especially eye and dental screenings. Children cannot afford the taking care of their and were sad that they cant even buy a toothpaste and will continue with tooth powder The outcomes of these workshops: Children specifically big children started taking care of their health More calls started coming on helpline regarding basis health information These workshops created so much impact on the children that they also educated their family about health. There was a major issue in the panel hospital that hospital staff did not treated the poor children well considering it was a private hospital. We went to these hospitals and talked to those hospitals to treat these children well. After a week we got calls from schools that these workshop created a big impact and wanted us to design more workshop for the kids The school also reported us that these workshops created a big living difference and major difference were seen. The school children used to eat a lot of bubble gum and beetles. After the workshop the school noticed that 30% stopped eating it. It was also identified by the schools that there should be refresher workshop as the children memory forget the things soon. This is a new product that has required constant tweaking throughout the year and training and re-training of the schools. NGO schools currently require very close and regular contact throughout the year to encourage the uptake of services. The product has to be as simple as possible with cashless card based services for everything including out-patient services. Re-imbursement scenarios have to be kept at a minimum. Teachers have to be active stake-holders. Conclusion and recommendations All children need health care, whether for regular check-ups, for episodic health problems such as ear infections, or for chronic conditions. Because health services are relatively expensive, childrens access to care is largely dependent on whether or not they have health insurance. Unfortunately, far too many children are not covered and therefore, do not receive needed care. The health plan in the original format has not been successful. Naya Jeevan has quickly moved in to alter the original plan and make sure that the children benefit from their coverage. These include Insuring the teachers to make them a stakeholder in the childrens health. Most teachers are from the same community as the school and thus are the most important factor in increasing uptake of services. Depositing funds at a nearby identified network hospital is of essence. After the funds have been deposited, Naya

Lewis Carroll :: essays research papers

Of all of Lewis Carroll’s works, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has a unique standing in the category of whimsical, nonsense literature. Much has been written about how this novel contrasts with the vast amount of strict, extremely moralistic children’s literature of the Victorian time Lewis Carroll lived in. Yet, as odd as this novel appears in relation to the other Victorian children’s stories, this short novel is odder because it was written by an extremely upright, ultra conservative man; a Victorian gentleman. Even though the novel seems to contrast with the time of Lewis Carroll, many experiences of Lewis Carroll and his unique character have a great influence in the creation of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Lewis Carroll, the pseudonym of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson was born on January 27, 1832, in Daresbury England. He was the oldest boy in a family of eleven children of Reverend Charles Dodgson and his wife, Francis Jane Lutwidge. The childhood of Lewis Carroll was relatively pleasant, full of ideas and hobbies that contributed to his future creative works. Carroll’s life at Daresbury was rather secluded, and his playmates were mostly his brothers and sisters (Green 18). Interacting with mostly his sisters, he was the "master of their ceremonies, inventor of games, magician, marionette theater manager, and editor of family journals" (DLB v. 163 45). A great deal of Carroll’s childhood was spent taking care of his little sisters, and his imagination was constantly being exercised in order to entertain them (Green 18). A childhood trouble that Carroll possessed and persisted throughout his life was stammering severely. It is suggested that his stammer may have a risen from his parent’s attempts to correct his left-handedness. This attempt early in his life may have caused Carroll to think he was not normal, therefore hurting his self-confidence (Kelly 13-14). When Carroll spoke to adults, his speech became extremely difficult to understand. Apparently, he panicked; his shyness and stammering always seemed worse when he was in a world of adults (Leach 2). Partly as a result of his stammering, he felt very comfortable around children and he was able to easily form close relationships among them. While speaking with younger children, Carroll’s stammering had magically disappeared. He "simply became one of them-whether or not they accepted him-and most did" (Pudney 20). As a child, Carroll had a fondness of inventing games and language puzzles (14). Lewis Carroll "divided himself into two names, Lewis Carroll and Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson" (DLB v.

Kasimir Malevich :: Russian Painter Designer Artists Essays

Kasimir Malevich Kasimir Malevich, a Russian painter and designer, was born near Kiev on February 26, 1878 (Guggeheimcollection.org) and was â€Å"one of six children from Russified Poles† (Articons.co.uk). While living in Ukraine, he became absorbed into art during his teens, â€Å"largely teaching himself† the basics (Articons.co.uk). After saving his money â€Å"from his job as a railroad clerk† (Articons.co.uk), Malevich enrolled in the Moscow Institute of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture in 1903 and began to study art more seriously. Later he trained at Kiev School of Art and Moscow Academy of Fine Arts and â€Å"produced portraits, landscapes, and genre scenes† in his early stages of his career (Artstudio.com). By 1907 Malevich â€Å"took part in the Moscow Artists' Society's twice yearly exhibition along with such artists as David Burliuk, Aleksander Shevchenko and Natalia Goncharova† (Articons.co.uk). â€Å"He began working in an unexceptional Post-Impressionist manner, but by 1912 he was painting peasant subjects in a massive `tubular' style similar to that of Leger as well as pictures combining the fragmentation of form of Cubism with the multiplication of the image of Futurism† (ibiblio.org). In these initial years of study, art was not the only interest in Malevich’s repertoire. â€Å"In 1913, with composer Mikhail Matiushin and writer Alexei Kruchenykh, Malevich drafted a manifesto for the First Futurist Congress† (Guggenheimcollection.org) and began taking a â€Å"more philosophical and theoretical approach to art† (Articons.com). Also in that year, the artist â€Å"designed the sets and costumes for the opera Victory over the Sun† for these friends which was showed at the Salon des Independants in Paris in 1914. Kruchenykh and others introduced Malevich to the â€Å" the notion of ‘zaum’† in 1913, which was a â€Å"state where experience occurs beyond the naturally perceived world† (Articons.com). â€Å"This concept and his work for the Cubo-Futurist opera Victory Over The Sun (1913) propelled Malevich into the style of Suprematism† (Articons.com). It was at this time he began â€Å"creating geometric patterns in style he called Suprematism† (ibiblio.org). Although Malevich claimed to have created a picture â€Å"consisting of nothing more than a black square on a white field,† (ibiblio.

Computer Maintenance Agency’s Organizational chart Essay

I have worked in a private organization called as Computer Maintenance Agency (CMA) as a junior customer engineer for a period of one year. CMA is linked with a government organization called as National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC). NRSC is popularly known as wing of Indian space research organization. CMA mainly works with network maintenance and system administration by signing an annual contract with NRSC. The CMA organization consists of director, customer support manager, team leaders and engineers. For every two years, NRSC invites the tenders for annual contract maintenance services for their system administrations and network maintenances. My organization, CMA actively participates in the tenders and prepares a low quotation for getting the tender contract. The director is mainly responsible for taking the decisions on the tenders and organizes the company policies in a systematic manner. The customer support manager is the one who helps the director in estimating a suitable quotation for the tenders and informs the director about the tender handling process. The customer support manager responsibilities include customer satisfaction, recruiting and training the employees, implementing the organization strategic policies, resolving problems and monitoring the objectives of tenders. The team leaders under the customer support manager work with the clients of different zones, typically three zones (zone1, zone 2 and zone 3). The zone 1 is known as NRSC Data Center, the zone 2 is known as NRSC Data Processing and the zone 3 is known as NRSC Software Division. The team leader of a particular zone consists of a set of engineers who were divided as senior customer engineers and junior customer engineers. The team leader job duties include reporting the technical issues to the customer support manager, leading and motivating the engineers, tracking the daily work performance and providing the feedback to the customer support manager. The engineers under a team leader works on issues like system administration, network issues, troubleshooting  problems, and hardware and software issues. The engineers will have a direct contact with the clients through web application. The whole organization performance and progress depends upon the efficiency of the engineers. Failure in the performance of the engineers may lead to the organization loss. The main internal problems in CMA include the organization budget issues, system performance, lack of communication between the senior customer engineers and the junior customer engineers, and mostly time management issues.

Financial Statement Analysis of Amazon.Com

Financial Statement Analysis of Amazon. com, Inc. Introduction The purpose of this essay is to perform financial statement analysis on Amazon. com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN ). We start with an introduction of Amazon and its industry. We then evaluate the company’s financial position, liquidity, operating capability and financial flexibility using different ratios. To evaluate the financial performance of Amazon. com, Inc we disclose recurring NICO and do full ROE disaggregation. Amazon. com’s stock price increased from $44. 29 per share at the end of fiscal year 2004 to $134. 2 per share at the end of fiscal year 2009. Earnings per share increased from $0. 63 to $2. 06. The stock closed at $118. 87 on 02/01/2010. Recommendation Amazon. com is a fast growing E-Commerce company. Although facing the recent U. S. and global economic down turn and intense competitions from various industries, its sales increased 28% in 2009, diluted earnings per share increased 31%. Based on our a nalysis, we project the company to continue maintain the high growth rate. We project the two year target price range of Amazon’s stock to be $193 to $209. The stock is currently undervalued. Consequently, our recommendation of Amazon. com is BUY. Industry Analysis Amazon. com, Inc. is an American-based multinational electronic commerce company. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Amazon was founded in 1994. As one of the largest online retailers in the world, Amazon claims to offer â€Å"Earth’s Biggest Selection†. In addition to online retailing, Amazon also offers programs that enables seller to sell their products on Amazon. com and to fulfill orders through Amazon. It earns fixed fees and revenue share fees etc. hough those transactions. Amazon turned its first profit in the fourth quarter of 2001 and maintained high growth rate since then. We believe that the below are the key factors important to the future success of Amazon. com: * Successful in efforts to expand into international market segments – Amazon needs to further expand internationally to maintain its sustainable growth. * Successful in optimizin g fulfillment process and operating its fulfillment centers – Amazon needs to continue to expand and optimize the operation of its fulfillment centers. Successful in finding new revenue streams – Amazon needs to seek new ways to diversify revenue generation and drive its overall growth. * Manage growth effectively – Amazon’s global expansion increases the complexity of the business. Financial position, liquidity, operating capability and financial flexibility Financing structure of Amazon. com Table 1 summarizes how Amazon. com was financed as of each of the last 6 fiscal year ends. As of December 31:(in millions) | | | | | | | 2009| 2008| 2007| 2006| 2005| 2004| Operating liabilities| $ 8,447 | $ 5,233 | $4,006 | $ 2,685 | $1,929 | $ 1,620 | Financing liabilities| 109 | 409 | 1,282 | 1,247 | 1,521 | 1,855 | Equity| 5,257 | 2,672 | 1,197 | 431 | 246 | (227)| Total Assets| $13,813 | $ 8,314 | $6,485 | $ 4,363 | $3,696 | $ 3,248 | | | | Table 1| | | | Amazon’s fixed assets additions steadily increased between fiscal year 2004 and 2009. Its possession of marketable securities increased each year other than 2007, which was due to the anticipation of an acquisition in 2008. At the same time, Amazon. om has been aggressively paying off its long term debt. Its debt continues to decrease between 2004 and 2009. The debt to total assets ratio dropped from 57% in 2004 to only 1% in 2009. Between 2006 and 2008, Amazon repurchased total 17 million shares of common stocks. Overall, Amazon. com shows good financing structure and operating capability over the past five years. Buy decreasing its debt level, Amazon’s management team shows well ou t looking of the company. Liquidity Three liquidity ratios of Amazon in the past 5 years are presented in table 2. The liquidity ratios of Amazon’s competitor, Ebay, are also presented for 2008 and 2009. The three liquidity ratios show Amazon has very good liquidity, which means it could easily satisfy current liabilities with current assets. Comparing to Amazon, Ebay is even more liquid as it could satisfy its short term liabilities purely by cash and cash equivalents. | | Amazon. com| |   | eBay| | | 2009| 2008| 2007| 2006| 2005| 2004| 2009| 2008| Current Ratio (to one)| 1. 33| 1. 30| 1. 39| 1. 33| 1. 52| 1. 57| 2. 32| 1. 70| Quick Ratio (to one)| 1. 04| 1. 00| 1. 07| 0. 99| 1. 22| 1. 27| 2. 32| 1. 70| Cash Ratio (Acid Ratio) (to one)| 0. 86| 0. 79| 0. 84| 0. 80| 1. 04| 1. 10| 1. 10| 0. 86| | | Table 2| | | | | | Financial Flexibility Financial flexibility (Solvency and leverage) is a company’s ability to adapt to unforeseen events and opportunities. Leverage means using debt (or other third party funds) to increase earnings for the owners. Table 3 presents some financial flexibility and leverage ratios of Amazon. com from 2005 to 2009 and for Ebay from 2008 to 2009. Amazon. com is a fast growing company and in the fiscal year ended 2004, they had a negative total equity, which could skew the ratios. Therefore, we did not present the ratios in 2004. From table 3 we can see that at the end of fiscal year 2009, both Amazon. om and eBay have high financial flexibility due to low or even zero long-term debt. Their usages of leverages are both low. Although a company should try to use leverage to increase earnings for the owner, in the current economical environment, have low or zero long-term debt is actually an advantage, which means they don’t need to rely on creditors to maintain their high growth rate. Overall, Amazon. com has good operating capability, high liquidity and high financial flexibility. One thing to note is that in the current economy environment, while a lot of companies are seeking for credit yet they could not find it, Amazon. om is using cash to paying off its debt. This shows that the company’s operation is healthy and the management team is confident about the future growth of the company. | | Amazon. com|   | | eBay| | 2009| 2008| 2007| 2006| 2005| 2009| 2008| Financial Leverage| 2. 8| 3. 8| 6. 7| 11. 9| 365. 5| 1. 4| | Debt to Assets| 1%| 5%| 20%| 29%| 41%| 0%| 0%| Debt to Equity| 2%| 15%| 107%| 289%| 618%| 0%| 0%| Debt to Capital| 2%| 13%| 52%| 74%| 86%| 0%| 0%| Liabilities to Equity| 1. 63| 2. 11| 4. 42| 9. 12| 14. 02| 0. 34| 0. 41| Liabilities to Assets| 62%| 68%| 82%| 90%| 93%| 25%| 29%| | | | Table 3| | | | Operations and Profitability As shown in Table 4, we reconciled Amazon’s NICO as reported to â€Å"recurring NICO† for 2004 – 2009. The diluted net earnings per common share – as reported and â€Å"recurring NICO† per common share are included too. We also included similar reconciliation for Ebay’s fiscal year 2009. Table 5 shows the complete disaggregation of profit margin and return on equity. From the ROE disaggregation we can see that between 2004 and 2009, Amazon. com maintained a gross profit margin between 22% and 24% and operating margin between 3. 6% and 6. 4%. Especially, since 2007, its operating margin stabilized at around 4. % with a slight increase in 2009. Its profit margin steadily increased 0. 2% each year from 3. 3% to 3. 7%. Amazon. com’s ROE decreased over the years due to their pay back of most of their debt. Overall, Amazon. com maintained stable operating efficiency in recent years. At the same time, its overall profit efficiency is in a sli ght uptrend. Amazon. com has negative operating cycle, which means Amazon doesn’t pay its suppliers until after it receives the payment of the sales. Therefore, Amazon doesn’t need to hold much inventory while it can hold the money for a longer period of time. This is the advantage of the online retailing. Its operating cycle decreased from -27. 58 days in 2006 days to -37. 16 days in 2009, which shows improved operating efficiency over the years. Amazon. com’s operating margin and profit margin both were pretty stable with a slight increase in 2009. We expect its profitability continue to maintain at the same level or slightly increase. Amazon. com’s operating cycle and Asset Turn Over Rate both continue to drop in the past three years (annual rate around 20% and 5% separately), which shows its improvement in operating efficiency. We expect Amazon. com continue to improve its operating efficiency. Table 4 Table 5 Business and Investment Risks As a result of our analysis, we discovered the following business and investment risks that could result in downgrading of Amazon’s stock. Intense competition – Amazon’s business is intensely competitive. It has many competitors in different industries, including retail, e-commerce services, digital content and digital media devices, and web services. The intense competition has corresponding negative impact on prices, which in turn would hurt profit margins. For example, to compete with Apple, Amazon has to lower the price of its Ebook reader – Kindle. Weakening of the U. S. or global economies — A softening of demand caused by a weakening of the U. S. or global economies may result in decreased revenue or growth. Taxation Risks – Currently, Amazon doesn’t collect sales or other taxes on shipments of most of its goods into most states in the U. S. This situation could change in the future due to regulation changes. This could decrease its ability to compete with traditional retailers. Growth Potential and Recommendation As a fast growing company, Amazon. com has a diluted recurring NICO per common share CAGR of 27% over the past five years. The diluted recurring NICO per common share increased 35% in 2009. The sustainable growth rate in 2009 was 23%. We expect Amazon to continue to maintain its growth rate. Therefore, we project the future growth rates of Amazon to be between 25% and 30%. The two year target diluted recurring NICO per common share would be between $3. 22 and $3. 48. We project Amazon’s P/E ration will be around 60. Therefore, the two year target price range for Amazon would be $193 to $209. The closing price of Amazon. com on 02/01/2010 was $118. 87. As the result of the above analysis, our recommendation of Amazon. com is BUY.