Golden Rice Report (Environmental Biotechnology Course) Essay

Golden Rice Report (Environmental Biotechnology Course) - Essay Example The reasons for the creation of the specific type of rice are explored; also the methodology employed by researchers working on this project will be presented. It is proved that despite its prospects, ‘Golden Rice’ has not managed to meet the expectations of its creators; in fact, the benefits of ‘Golden Rice’ were not actually the ones promised by the researchers who developed it. The above fact leads to the assumption that the development of the specific product was not carefully planned; in this way, its appearance in the market was not finally justified – despite the approval and the support of the international community, for instance, the European Commission. Golden Rice was developed in Europe – under the pressure for improving genes in rice in order to respond to the health needs of people in developing countries – where rice is the food most consumed. In any case, Golden Rice is a genetically modified food; more accurately, Golden Rice is ‘a genetically engineered strain of rice’ (BioEthics Project Education, 2010); it was presented to the public for first time in 2000; since then, the researchers have tried to further develop Golden Rice but it seems that this target is far from being achieved; in fact, through the years, it was proved that Golden Rice could not guarantee the benefits of health that its creators claimed. The pitfalls reported – in regard to the benefits of Golden Rice – have led to the development of a new strain – referring to the 2nd generation of Golden Rice known also as Golden Rice 2 (BioEthics Project Education, 2010). Golden Rice has been created mainly in order to help controlling the deficiency in Vitamin A which has been found to be related with severe health problems of million of people worldwide – leading even to death when the level of deficiency of Vitamin A is high; in accordance with a series of data published by

Importance of “patriotism” during war Essay Example for Free

Importance of â€Å"patriotism† during war Essay Wilfred Owen in his poem â€Å"Asleep† and Andrew Hudgins in his poem â€Å"Listen? The Flies† have analyzed the concepts of death, war and violence. Even though both poets experienced the military actions themselves, they did not describe the life of soldiers and the philosophy of war from the patriotic point of view. On the contrary, in their poems Owen and Hudgins illustrated the most horrible scenes of war that emphasize that war can never be justified because it destroys human life and brings physical and moral sufferings. Both poets portray death as the only way out for soldiers, express compassion towards soldiers as the greatest victims of war and describe low importance of human life as the result of military actions in order to disprove the idea of patriotism that plays upon the mind of soldiers and exploits them for the mercenary interests of their governors. First, Andrew Hudgins and Wilfred Owen justify death to some extent because it rescues soldiers from anger of war and occurs as the natural process unlike war that goes against all moral laws.   When Hudgins talks about war in his poem he describes human life as purity that was shaded by war and turned into putrefaction: â€Å"everything that lives is pitched from purity to putrefaction, back and forth†.   At the same time Wilfred Owen, uses comparison in order to show that death becomes more pleasant than life during war. He compares death to the deep sleep: â€Å"his deeper sleep lies shaded by the shaking of great wings, and the thoughts that hung the stars.† The soldier in the poem has finally got a chance to have some rest after long days of battle. The main characters of both poems are not afraid of death and to some extent they accept it because even death cannot be more frightful than war. Thus, in the poem â€Å"Asleep† Wilfred Owen describes the soldier who does not suffer in his dead sleep because he is â€Å"above these clouds, these rains, these sleets of lead†, above all severe weather conditions, constant attacks and stress from killing and being killed. Moreover, those soldiers who are still alive envy the dead soldier that does not have to wake up in the morning and see the horrors of war again. Similar to Wilfred Owen, Andrew Hudgins refers to Bible to justify death. He uses allusion and gives quotes from the Bible to show that death is more natural for a soldier than war: â€Å"from ash to ash, it says, from dust to dust, with fire and dirty water in between†. Hudgins depicts how soldiers were waiting for death in prison camps praising the flies. The flies are symbols of death that is always near. In the last part of the poem the author killed a fly that got in his room but he knows that there will be more flies in the future. The main character of the poem does not see any point in struggling for life because it’s easier to accept death that is unavoidable during war.   Thus, according to both authors, the horrors of war lead to the condition when death becomes a happy end for a soldier because it sets him free from all the hardships that he has to go through during war and it can be explained by laws of nature. Second, the authors stress the cruelty of military actions by describing the dead soldiers as the greatest victims of war and showing their compassion for them. The length and the concentration of events in both poems are the brightest indication of the authors’ ability to awaken in the mind of readers the same kind of sympathy that both poets have for their characters. The length of the both poems does not let the reader to remain indifferent to the events which take place and arouses the feelings of grief, horror and deep sorrow in the reader’s mind. Thus, the poem of Wilfred Owen is short that enables us to read it at one sitting at the highest degree of excitement. The phrases in the poem â€Å"Asleep† are abrupt that turns the reading into the process when there is a minute to think and move to the next line. The poem by Andrew Hudgins is longer; however, most of the sentences are short and it provokes the reader to pay attention to every detail and not to leave anything without attention. All events which occur in the poem â€Å"Asleep† are concentrated in one place during certain time interval; at the same time in the poem â€Å"Listen? The Flies† the author tells about events which happened in different places during different periods of time. The concentration of time and place in the poem by Wilfred Owen is used because the author wants stay-at-home citizens to be carried to the battle field for a moment, experience what the soldiers experience every day and see the â€Å"backstage† and the reality of war. Lack of focus on time and place in the poem by Andrew Hudgins makes the reader see the war from the different standpoints and contemplate more about the meaning of life. Thus, at the beginning Hudgins describes how he noticed the body of the dead soldier, and then he points out that death took away many people in prison camps, after that he explains death using quotes from Bible and at the end he goes back to the symbolic scene with the flies. Third, both authors illustrate that military victory and destruction of enemies during war have higher importance than life of a person. The soldiers in both poems are described as some human bodies without soul rather than as human beings. In the poem â€Å"Asleep† no one notices the dead soldier; his head â€Å"confuses more and more with the low mould† and his hair becomes of the same color â€Å"with the grey grass of finished fields†.   It seems like the soldier is the machine that is out of order. Andrew Hudgins describes with certain irony the scene when the soldiers â€Å"walked the marsh† and sang the patriotic song; however, their friend was dead. The author portrays how someone’s death can be neglected because patriotic idea supported by political and economic interests plays more important role.   The dead soldiers are heroes because they were killed for their country. However, the question remains whether the interests that they defend are the interests of people or the interests of politicians. Both poems lead us to the conclusion that the consequences of patriotism are death and emotional breakdown. The poets used different techniques to emphasize that the glorious idea of military patriotism is based on political ambitions and soldiers are only instruments. The romantic beliefs about nobility of military actions made both characters of the poems the victims of war whose life lost its value and death became the answer to sufferings and hardships.

Essay --

How to Increase the Value of Malaysian Ringgit Based on our findings, we reached into the conclusion that there a two significant ways to improve, stabilize and probably increase the value of Malaysian Ringgit internationally. First, the government should maintain the policy of open economy and also considering the usage of gold dinar in the currency system instead of fiat monetary system. Maintain the Policy of Open Economic Malaysia is a small and open economy which involved heavily in international trade. The economic theory suggested by Dornbush (1974) highlighted that the elimination of tariff (greater trade openness) will cause currency depreciation by reducing the price of exportable goods and increase the price of importable goods. Since the results showed that open economic policy can cause the depreciation of RM/USD, Malaysia should maintain the policy of open economic. Open economic policy has successfully raised Malaysia position in the international trade. Currency depreciation increases the competitiveness of Malaysia exporters and encourages domestic producer and importer to venture into cost effective production mode to save costs. Although increase in Malaysia trade balance tends to depreciate RM, but the control of Malaysia on the trade balance is limited as the increase in trade balance depend on the purchasing power of the foreign importers and the competitiveness level too. Results also indicate that increment in domestic interest rate will dampen our exchange rate and increase in money supply, on the other hand, strength the RM. This finding shows that monetary policy is a useful tool in controlling the movement of Malaysian Ringgit. While increase in the interest rate could cause further capital inflows tha... ...ry. The three main factors are the use of gold and silver as a currency, to avoid currency devaluation, and to limit printing of loose money (fulus). In addition, manipulation of currencies and the impact toward one economy could be reduced because of the fact that gold does not inflate in value as it is a commodity and, thus, has an intrinsic value. Dr. Mahathir Mohamad said that gold was also open to some risk of speculation but it was safer than conventional currency which had no intrinsic value and could be manipulated indefinitely (The Star, 2002). All these problems arise because the world went off the Gold Standard. In the International Conference on Gold Dinar Economy 2007, Tun Dr Mahathir noted that in the case of paper people will have risk in losing their value and also purchasing power. He stressed back that only Gold Dinar really has a value in it.

Graduation Speech :: Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

On behalf of the class of 2006, the second graduating class of Digital Arts at George Cogswell College, we would like to welcome you. It is an honor for us to have you here to celebrate this special day with us. This is the last day of our school year and the beginning of our professional life. It is also a day that we have worked very hard for and we know we could not have done it without your help. We have studied diligently in these past three years and experienced many changes in the digital technologies. Some of us had no idea what we were getting into. We had to deal with both the creative side and the technical side of the digital arts. The creative side was always fun! We had fun designing characters, and then animating them. We had fun analyzing filming and audio techniques, we had fun listening to each other's scripts. Acting class was most amusing! I will never forget our storytelling class. We came up with various weird and fascinating movements for our classmates to act out. But when we applied all of this creative fun stuff digitally, the technical side tormented us. There was always new software to learn, especially in animation programs. Our 3D animation classes were excruciating; we had to memorize more than a generous amount of technical terminology and a myriad of short-cut keys. We had to learn to think in 3D, to understand the relationship of our model from top view to side view and front view and pay attention to every detail; practically everything from modeling to material, texture, and animation. If we were not careful, our character's hands and feet would disappear into cyberspace! Besides that, there were computer problems to worry about. Some of us had experienced system crashes through power outages during the storm season. Others experienced file corruption a few weeks before the finals. There were many sleepless nights. In fact, one of us broke the school rules and stayed overnight just to get some work done, disregarding the alarm in the hall. After this incident, every night at closing time, the on-duty instructor walked around the computer rooms many times to make sure that no one was hiding under a table. I'll never forget those moments. (Now the school has installed alarms in all computer rooms at the new building; there just is no excuse to try to stay over night.

Gender Wage Discrimination in Pakistan

| Gender Wage Discrimination in Pakistan| Evidence from Pakistan 2008/09 and 2010/11| | | | Table of Contents Introduction2 Literature Review2 Methodology3 Variables Used – Characteristics of Workers5 Results7 Discussion7 Bibliography8 Appendix A9 Selectivity Bias Logit Regression Results:9 Introduction This paper explores the dynamics of gender wage discrimination in Pakistan for two data sets; Labour Force Survey for the year 2008/09 and 2010/11. We will explore whether or not women are discriminated against, as it has been suggested for a predominantly Islamic country like Pakistan.Labour theory addresses many reasons for wage discrimination. For the purposes of this research we will concentrate on ‘employer wage discrimination’. Following this our research will be aimed at discovering if women are paid less than their male counter-parts especially with the same set of characteristics. For this purpose we will use the Oaxaca-Blinder method to calculate the coef ficient for discrimination across genders. Literature Review The basis of this paper is the work done by Oaxaca and Blinder in 1973 about wage discrimination models.In the paper ‘Interpreting the Decomposition of the Gender Earnings Gap’ (Giaimo R. 2007) this method has been applied to find out how different characteristics change the discriminatory behaviour of employers in Italy. Oaxaca’s method for calculating discrimination was further adapted in the paper ‘Gender Wage Discrimination at Quantiles’ (Javier Gardeazabal 2005), and was used to calculate discrimination coefficients for quintiles. In a study conducted in India (Tilak 1980), it was found that the incidence of unemployment was higher for women than for men with the same characteristics.In this study the only characteristic that was taken was education. This is a different angle to look at discrimination from what this paper will do. Rather than looking at the unemployed, this paper will see the women in the labour force and if they face discrimination with respect to their wages. However, the underlying aim and also the hypothesis formed are the same. The paper ‘Wage Differentials and Gender Discrimination: Changes in Sweden 1981-98’ (Mats Johansson 2005) explored the wage gaps between men and women in Sweden.They found that the wage gap was 14%-18% during the 1990’s. Their study also indicated that this difference could not be explained by applying the job requirements and qualifications to women’s wage function. The conclusion was that there is undoubtedly some other factors other than the characteristics of the workers that determined the wages in the Labour Market. Methodology This paper calculated a coefficient for Gender Wage Discrimination from the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition. D= Xf? m-Bf+ ? m(Xm-Xf) Here ‘? ’ is a vector of characteristics of workers.Therefore, the first part of the equation shows the wage differenti al between males and females on the basis of characteristics. Second part of the equation normalizes characteristics, for females in this instance, and then subtracts the wage differential based on characteristics, to give us the overall differential based on discrimination. As a control, we also work out the converse of this Oaxaca Blinder Decomposition as follows; D= Xm? m-Bf+ ? f(Xm-Xf) To control for selectivity bias, we have also used the ‘Heckman Procedure’.A multi-variable Logit model was run and three variables (Lambda1, Lambda 2 and Lambda3) were calculated to act as control for variables missed in our model. This discrimination coefficient has been calculated for two data sets using characteristics such as age, marital status, education level, province, region, professional trainings and status in the family. These characteristics have been selected after being shown significant as the determinant of wage. Natural log of wages was the dependant variable in the following regression; Table [ 1 ]: Wage Determinants – LFS 2008/09Table [ 2 ]: Wage Determinants – LFS 2010/11 Our results are much better for the data set of 2010/11. The signs of education are expected. For the data set of 2008/09, signs for education are positive which does not support theory. Even after efforts to remove multi-colinearity, they still show positive signs. Most of the variables in the regression are also insignificant. However, when we take the data for LFS 2010/11, and correct it for selectivity bias, we get much better results. Most of the variables are significant as well as show the correct signs. The same algorithm was applied to both the data sets, and the same variables have been taken). Results of Logit models for correcting selectivity bias are attached in Appendix A. Variables Used – Characteristics of Workers Summary tables from LFS 2010/11 1. Age * Theory suggests that this is one of the most important determinants of peopleâ€⠄¢s decision to work. 2. Marital Status * This variable was taken as a dummy variable in the regression. * It is a significant variable in the decision to work, especially in developing economies like Pakistan. 3. Province This is also taken as a dummy. The Baluchistan province was omitted from this analysis. However, the calculations of the Oaxaca Blinder method take this omitted variable into account. This is because the method takes the vectors of the estimated regression equation. 4. Region * Whether a person is from a Rural or urban background has impact on the opportunities and the job growth pattern. 5. Education Level * This is linked directly with the variable wage. * This is again taken as a dummy variable, and higher education was omitted from the regression. 6. Migration (Rural-Urban) Although not a very significant variable in our regression, there are other empirical studies that have shown how the migrated families have better opportunities for work than those who do not. 7. Literacy * This is a dummy variable, and is significant in our analysis. 8. Selectivity Bias Variables * These are Lambda’s in the model. And have been calculated using the Heckman Procedure for controlling selectivity bias. Results To find the discrimination coefficient a matrix exercise was done in Stata using the data from LFS 2007/08. This presented the following equation; D= Xf? m-Bf+ ? Xm-Xf D=10. 030812+-7. 4166332 D= 2. 614212 The discrimination coefficient for LFS 2010/11 was calculated as follows: D= Xm? m-Bf+ ? fXm-Xf D=0. 11964462+0. 31341527 D= 0. 43305989 Just looking at the numbers we can say that discrimination have gone down significantly over the last two years. Whether this is actually the case, or this is just due to the problems in the data, we cannot be sure. However, we think that the result for 2010/11 is a better estimate overall. The results show that women are at a significant disadvantage in Pakistan’s Labour Force. These results are quite expected.However, we also need to take the problems in data collection and measurement into account. Many of the cottage and small scale industries are not counted in the LFS and they are a prime source of employment for women in Pakistan. Discussion There are many limitations of this study. First of all this can be made more powerful if panel data is used, however, there are no sources of such data. Secondly, an easy method of expanding this study would be to do an inter year comparative study. There are more limitations that are related directly to the data that we have used.Many questions have been raised about the methodology and the authenticity of the data in Labour Force Survey of Pakistan. However, this limitation is beyond our control. There have also been questions raised about the Oaxaca-Blinder method of calculating wage discrimination. While we have attempted to review paper that have used this technique and have achieved good results, there are still many questi ons about the technique, still. There are few policy implications that we can derive from these results, especially if we look at the significance levels in the data for 2008/09.However, this paper does prove to some extent that there is a problem of gender wage discrimination is Pakistan. We can attribute a lot of this to social factors as well; women do not want to work in most professions, so we can also argue that there may be a case for discrimination by the employees rather than the employers. Bibliography Giaimo R. , Bono F. , Lo Magno G. L. â€Å"Interpreting the Decomposition of the Gender Earning Gap. † University of Palermo Journal, 2007. International Standard Industrial Classification of all Economic Activities (ISIC-Rev. 2, 1968). ILO. 2012. http://laborsta. lo. org/applv8/data/isic2e. html (accessed 2012). Javier Gardeazabal, Arantza Ugidos. â€Å"Gender Wage Discrimination at Quantiles. † Journal of Population Economics, 2005. Mats Johansson, Katarina K atz, Hakan Nyman. â€Å"Wage Differentials and Gender Discrimination: Changes in Sweden 1981-98. † Acta Sociologica, 2005. Stat. Stata. 2012. http://www. stata. com/meeting/5german/SINNING_stata_presentation. pdf. Tilak, Jandhyala B. G. â€Å"Education and Labour Market Discrimination. † Indian Journal of Industrial Relations , 1980. Appendix A Selectivity Bias Logit Regression Results: LFS 2008/09 LFS 2010/11

National Logistics Management essays

National Logistics Management essays National Logistics Management Case Study ITSM 670 Section 9041: Information Technology Management Capstone University of Maryland University College Graduate School Use of the Internet and the companys web portal for vendor auction of premium freight transportation space, ordering, tracking, and proactive business partnering have enabled National Logistics Management to fully exploit a niche in the Third Party Logistics Services market. The owner and sole capital holder of the company is now faced with the decision of either selling to a larger competitor or growing the company using outside capital to remain competitive and expand into the global market. This paper will focus on National Logistics Management use of its infrastructure service provider business model, how it could extend that business model into a more interactive one among more than just one primary business vendor, and how it can prioritize its Information Technology investments, either internally or externally, to achieve growth. Scott Taylor has built three successful businesses that are centered on the automotive industry in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan; TopFlite Trucking, Artisan, and National Logistics Management (NLM) (Applegate, Austin, s, involve distribution services from asset providers or shipper to the customer or receiver. 3PLSs like NLM evolved as a result of outsourcing of traditional supplier logistics functions. They serve as a primary example of Infrastructure Service Providers that offer online/offline services that support a variety of logistics, marketing, and other shared services usually at a demonstrated lower cost to both the shipper and receiver, in the case of 3PLS (Applegate et al., p. 65). Since its beginning in 1991, NLM has ex...

Jars Of Clay Essays - Biblical People In Islam, Acts 9, Free Essays

Jars Of Clay Essays - Biblical People In Islam, Acts 9, Free Essays Jars Of Clay 1. Introduction: I will be teaching this lesson to a group of second graders at my church. Are classroom is on the upstairs level and, I will also be utilizing the outside area that is directly behind of my church. There are about thirty second graders in my classroom. So, it is a really busy class. But, they are a whole lot of fun to work with. And, they seem to respond to me well. We will be talking about II Cor. 4:7-18. I think that this lesson will be very interesting to first and second graders. It will help them to better understand the gift of salvation. 2. Outline: I. Opening Focus A. Make small clay pinch pots B. Ask the children questions C. Show large pot II. Saul (Acts : 9) A. Sauls threats B. Jesus speaking to Saul 1. why do you persecute me? 2. go to the city C. Sauls blindness 1. blind for three days 2. Saul meets Ananias 3. Saul is healed spiritually and physically D. Sauls Discipleship 1. the other disciples did not believe Paul 2. Barnabas tells of Sauls healing 3. Paul is accepted III. Paul (Acts 13:9) A. Asked of God B. Prison 1. wrote letters 2. rejoiced C. Pauls letter to Corinth (2 Cor. 4:1-18) 1. Corinths problems 2. Corinths disbelief 3. Jars of Clay (2 Cor. 4:7) a. kept treasures in them b. fragil 4. Christians as Jars of Clay a. hard pressed b. struck down by others c. treasures of heaven inside (2 Cor. 4:18) 3-5 External Content, Internal Content, and Application: Opening focus: As my opening focus I am going to take the children outside to make clay pots. I will teach them to make a simple pinch pot. While the children are pinching their pots I will ask them questions (Where in the Bible do we learn about clay pots? What are some of the things that you can do with a clay pot? Do you all have any clay pots at your house? Do clay pots break easy? and etc.). Then when they are finished I will show them a large clay pot that I have made. Then, I will have all of the children leave their pots at their seats and come sit in the grass so I can tell them a story. Lesson Body: I want to tell you a story about a man named Saul (Acts:9). Saul was a very bad man. He threatened to murder Jesuss disciples in Acts 9:1. One day while Saul was walking to Damascus he fell to the ground. He heard a great voice saying, Saul, Saul why do you persecute me?. Who are you, Lord Saul asked. And, what do you all think that the voice replied? The voice said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now, get up and go into the city. But, when Saul got up he had a big problem. He could not see anything. So, he had to be lead by hand into Damascus. And, for three whole days he could not see a thing. Can you all imagine what it would be like not to be able to see anything? Do you think it would be scary? Saul was very scared. But, he met up with a man named Ananias. And, Ananias was sent by the Lord to help Paul see again. And, he was also here to fill Saul with the Holy Spirit. And, when Ananias told Saul these things Saul felt something heavy lift from his eyes. And, it was a miracle. Saul could see again. What is a miracle? A miracle is an act that only God can do. When Saul finally made it to Damascus he met with the disciples. Do you all know what a disciple is? A disciple is someone who spreads the word of God. But, when Saul met up with the disciples. They did not believe that he was a disciple. But, Barnabas told them about Sauls vision of God. And, the disciples believed him and accepted him as their own. So, Saul changed his name to Paul (Acts 13:9). Do you all know what the name Paul means? The name Paul means asked of God. And, Paul surely was asked of God. After Paul was saved he had a bit of misfortune. He was arrested. And, where do you go when you are arrested? You go to jail. But, while Paul was in jail he still continued to work for the Lord. He learned to rejoice in times of sorrow. Do you

Winston Churchill and Hitler Compare and Contrast essays

Winston Churchill and Hitler Compare and Contrast essays When the human mind sees the world falling apart and the greatest of threats looming on the horizon, they begin searching for someone to place their trust in. They want someone who can give them answers, someone who can direct their fear and anger in to sometimes but not always irrational zeal. Throughout human histories tribulations and hardships the rise of many intellectuals, heros and sometimes-infamous figures have been witnessed. They are most recognized for their taming and persuasion of the masses. One of histories greatest hardships is the chaos of war. World War II is well known as one of the greatest wars in human history. World War II was the birthplace of many heros as well as infamous men and women. When you look at the opposite poles of this spectrum you can see that they are different in many ways, but upon closer- scrutiny remarkable similarities can be found upon which you may find complicates your views and thoughts on perspective as well as human rationality. Many believe the two greatest demonstrations of leadership during World War II were Winston Churchill and Adolph Hitler, both great men in their own right, rising from the ashes of broken peoples to gain influence and control in an otherwise chaotic and turbulent time. Winston Churchill, although an unpopular right wing politician in the English parliament, soon found himself rising in power during the turbulent years of the mid 30s. He often delivered speechs protesting the evils of fascism and totalitarian societies. As World War II erupted, Churchill gave powerful speechs, filled with nationalistic pride and the defense of freedom. Churchill was a strong advocate of going to war with the Germans throughout the late 30s. Once war broke out, the people of Britain harbored sometimes irrational but well placed hate towards the Germans. The people of Britain saw amongst chaos death and constant rocket and bomb a ...

BSBOHS503B Assist in the design and devlopment of OHS participative Essay

BSBOHS503B Assist in the design and devlopment of OHS participative arrangements - Essay Example In this paper the conduct of a health committee is evaluated in terms of building a committee that is functional and effective. A constitution to govern the working of the committee is proposed, and dispute resolution in the committee in terms of the work, health and safety (WHS) management model is discussed. In the case study given, a health and safety committee has been operational for six months but has been ineffective due to a clash of personalities. As the workplace safety officer, there are various steps I can take to improve the efficiency of the committee. The first step will be reviewing the committee’s constitution to ensure that it is aligned with the organization’s vision. The committee members will be educated on the purpose of the committee. The junior workers in the committee will be taught that the health and safety committee is not another avenue for them to voice their wishes to the management. Rather, it is a forum to generate solutions for the health and safety problems at the workplace. The second step will be improving the cohesiveness of the committee through team building exercises. Team building and workplace cohesiveness reduces workplace bullying incidences which are impact negatively on workplace health and safety (Chan-Mok, Janet, Carlo and Chr is 3; Keashly and Branda 423). The agenda of the committee meetings will be clearly communicated to the members. This will avoid deviation from the relevant issues during the meetings and preempt the witnessed personality crash. Finally, the committee will be setting practical goals and steps to achieve these goals. An evaluation procedure will be available in order to determine if the goals are being met in a timely manner. The health and safety committee is tasked with coordination of health and safety related activities in an organization. The committee should be representative of all stake holders who are affected by the health and safety systems implemented by

Developing Strategic Management and Leadership Skills Essay

Developing Strategic Management and Leadership Skills - Essay Example This project stresses that a leader will verify that the salaries are being paid in time; will pursue a system of rewards and bonuses; and, will listen to the employees’ troubles and will try to remove them. This will keep them working at high competence. The leader will make agreements with business partners while respecting their decisions. This confidence between the partners makes the organization grow and maintains its integrity. A leader will know how to schedule his projects keeping in mind the time frame and instructs the team to manage their work schedules accordingly.  From the report it is clear that the goal of leadership is to make the new comers follow the way the leaders work and behave in the organization. The leaders should show such an attitude at the workplace that would inspire others to follow their directions. The ultimate goal of the leadership is to create such teams that work effectively to produce greater results. The most important thing is conside ration about internal and external communication. If leaders want that employees participate in a vigorous collaborative environment where they interrelate with each other in a better way to share their ideas and information, they would have to take steps to improve their communication with their workers, listen to their problems, talk to them and work out their issues. Workers will automatically start following them and the overall organizational culture will improve. This is the transformational leadership. (Brown & Travino, 2006) actually in which the leaders produce such an effect on their subordinates that they inflict a â€Å"transforming effect† on them thus producing â€Å"sweeping changes in organizations and societies† (Priyabhasini & Krishnan, 2005, p.1). Strategic Management Strategic management is the process of determining goals and objectives while recognizing roles and responsibilities and meeting deadlines. It involves the

Design and Implementation a Web-based System for Manipulating Internal Dissertation

Design and Implementation a Web-based System for Manipulating Internal Administration Tasks - Dissertation Example With the upsurge in the application of IT in virtually all sectors today, it is essential that such management and administration practices are put in control to enhance efficiency. This is a report on a web application that enables workers to collaborate efficiently on various projects within the company. In this web application, all the personnel in the company handling various projects are entered as users. All the users have access to the entire team through advanced search techniques. The web application also caters for the payments database administered by the finance officer. There is an additional package that caters for plans related to the employees’ holidays.. There is an additional Voice over Internet server, created in Asterisk that will be used to manage calls within the company, and also manage conferences. The report includes a discussion of the research undertaken in developing this application, the design and design parameters of the system. A literature revi ew of the various existing and related systems has also been done. From a study of the various systems used to manage companies internally, the web application seeks to correct various flaws, and establish efficiency, as will be explained in this report. Contents Acknowledgements 1 I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Mohammed Saraee for his continued support, time and motivation throughout this project. I would also to thank my parents, family and friends for their constant support and inspiration throughout this project. 1 I would like to thank all the people who gave up their time and provided suggestions and constant feedbacks throughout the process. 1 Abstract 2 Contents 3 1.1 Project Motivation 6 1.1.1 Supervisor motivation 6 1.1.2 Personal motivation 7 1.2 Requirements Analysis 8 1.3 Aims & Objectives 8 1.3.1 Project Description 8 1.4 Approach Adopted in Undertaking Project 8 1.4.1 Research 8 1.4.2 Testing 9 1.5 Project Plan 10 1.6 Outline of Report 10 2.0 BACKGROUND AND L ITERATURE SURVEY 12 2.1 Benefits of the proposed system 12 2.2 Disadvantages of the current system 14 2.3 Requirements of the proposed system 15 2.3.1 Accuracy 16 2.3.1 Transparency and fairness 17 2.3.3 Integration with other systems 18 2.4 Phases in the system implementation 18 2.4.1 Assessment 18 2.4.2 Planning 19 2.4.3 System design 20 2.4.4 Implementation 21 2.4.5 Maintenance and updating 23 3.0 Specification and Design 25 3.1The requirements phase 25 3.1.1 Software requirements 25 3.1.2 Hardware requirements 25 3.1.3 Project requirements 25 3.2 Design of the internal administration website 27 3.2.1 Platform 27 3.2.2 Model View Controller 28 3.2.3 CodeIgniter 29 3.2.3Tools and Languages used in the system 29 3.2.4Systems architecture 30 3.3 Use case diagram 32 3.5 database Schema 33 3.6 codes used in the program (Those that stand out) 33 3.6.1 Model 33 3.6.2 Controller 34 3.6.3 View 35 3.6.4 Database insertion (Model) 36 3.6.5 Deleting from the database 38 3.6.6 Authentication 39 Chapter 4: Development and Implementation 39 4.1 Technologies applied 40 4.2 functional implementation 41 4.2.1 Application building in CodeIgniter 41 Chapter 5: Testing 45 5.1Beta testing 45 5.2 Security testing 46 5.2.1Password Cracking 46 5.2.2 SQL Injection 46 5.2.3 Cross site scripting 47 5.2.4 URL Manipulation; 47 Chapter 6: walk through the system 48 6.1Profile

Copyrights in fashion business Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Copyrights in fashion business - Research Paper Example This will demonstrate the need for any designer with a fashion accessory to prove to the authorities and the industrial courts that design qualifies for copyright protection. Such proof can only be through a demonstrable non-utilitarian purpose that the accessory serves. The fashion design industry it is common imitations of designs with different trademarks. The owners of the original designs can only file litigation if their trade marks if they find an imitation of their designs. Considering that copyright laws do not protect them, litigation on any of the imitated designs would fail unless the owner proves that indeed theirs had a unique non-utilitarian function to warrant copyright protection. It is hence paramount to explain through this research paper the reason for such unprotection and why there are few attempts to introduce law that can give copyright protection in the fashion industry. Introduction The fashion business is the most challenging for starters who come up with n ew designs. It operates in unfriendly legal environments with scant protection form intellectual property rights. A jaunt in the busy streets of London or New York reveals a culture of business ‘knocking off’ where people rush to imitate any new design as soon as it enters the fashion market. The most humiliating part is that vendors sell their imitations at a price almost half of the price of the original design. It is appalling that there are companies have built huge and legitimate enterprise selling the replicas of other original designs in malls and on the web. All such unfathomable outcomes of intellectual property abuses are not a justification for the introduction of copyright protection for fashion business. The fashion business is a great success in the world and especially the United States and the United Kingdom. Its uniqueness in the scope of offering products with utilitarian value to consumers needs little protection in form of trademarks in the extreme. Though the discussion it would be interesting to note that the fashion and design industry defies all the assumptions of the monopoly theory that establishes the doctrines of intellectual property rights. Thesis statement The fashion industry lacks the legal justification for copyright protection of new designs in the market. Discussion In mid 2011, the southern District of New York the held that color as a trade mark should only b limited to industrial products. It has been general rue that color can be registered as a trademark as long it is non-functional and has a secondary meaning. Color can only be a trade mark if the industrial goods with the color is used as the identifying feature of the specific product. In the case, Christian Louboutin versus Yves St. Laurent had similar allegation of trademark infringement. Christian Louboutin who sold shoes with a red sole alleged that Yves St Laurent had copied the color of its products. The southern district refused to grant a prelimi nary injunction that would have stopped Yves form continuing to sell shoes with a red sole. The court held that color could not be a trademark. After the denial of a preliminary injunction order, the court also granted St, Laurent’s motion for summary judgment on the invalidity of Louboutin’s trademark. The court held that, even if the public associated red soles of the shoes with Louboutin, color is a basic and essential element of fashion design

CourseHND health and social care (topicworking in partnership) Essay

CourseHND health and social care (topicworking in partnership) - Essay Example Client interactions form the basis of Client involvement. Client interactions sometimes are nerve wracking. To involve clients it is essential to build a strong client relationship. A good starting point is to work on the little things like Having informal meetings outside of your formal meetings with the client that can really help your status as their trusted advisor. Hence you can get some information that was not shared in the formal meeting that can even further help you serve their business needs. It also might help you to learn more details about their business, which also helps you to provide service to them better. Client involvement is based on the premise that people with learning disabilities and mentally ill is people first. It focuses throughout on what people can do, with support where necessary, rather than on what they cannot do. The various changes in client involvement have resulted in innovative approaches to partnership working. Effective partnerships are very essential to achieving social inclusion for people with learning disabilities. The changes have made the client groups with mentally ill and learning disabled more independent and respectable. The changes also provide the clients core services which are seamless fast and responsive. By working in partnerships with other local agencies, the clients are provided physical, social and emotional support with life limiting disorders in their own homes as an alternative to hospital-based care. b) Objective To illustrate the development of working in partnership prior to NEW LABOUR GOVERNMENT and to analyze various legislation issues. Development prior to New Labour Government Prior to New Labour Government partnership working was not widespread because of A lack of agreement about values and service objectives. An inability or unwillingness to agree on financial arrangements. Low priority being given to joint working within organizations. Children Act 1989 Under the Children Act 1989, Local Authorities, have a general duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children within their area who are in need. Local Authorities should work in partnership with parents; the first option must be to work with the parents by voluntary arrangement. The authority by working in partnership with the local agency must assess a child's needs and promote the upbringing of children. The following have been provided by working in partnership with the local authorities: Day care for pre-school and other children. Provision of accommodation for children Advice and assistance for mentally challenged children. NHS Community Care Act 1990 The NHS and Community

Copyrights in fashion business Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Copyrights in fashion business - Research Paper Example This will demonstrate the need for any designer with a fashion accessory to prove to the authorities and the industrial courts that design qualifies for copyright protection. Such proof can only be through a demonstrable non-utilitarian purpose that the accessory serves. The fashion design industry it is common imitations of designs with different trademarks. The owners of the original designs can only file litigation if their trade marks if they find an imitation of their designs. Considering that copyright laws do not protect them, litigation on any of the imitated designs would fail unless the owner proves that indeed theirs had a unique non-utilitarian function to warrant copyright protection. It is hence paramount to explain through this research paper the reason for such unprotection and why there are few attempts to introduce law that can give copyright protection in the fashion industry. Introduction The fashion business is the most challenging for starters who come up with n ew designs. It operates in unfriendly legal environments with scant protection form intellectual property rights. A jaunt in the busy streets of London or New York reveals a culture of business ‘knocking off’ where people rush to imitate any new design as soon as it enters the fashion market. The most humiliating part is that vendors sell their imitations at a price almost half of the price of the original design. It is appalling that there are companies have built huge and legitimate enterprise selling the replicas of other original designs in malls and on the web. All such unfathomable outcomes of intellectual property abuses are not a justification for the introduction of copyright protection for fashion business. The fashion business is a great success in the world and especially the United States and the United Kingdom. Its uniqueness in the scope of offering products with utilitarian value to consumers needs little protection in form of trademarks in the extreme. Though the discussion it would be interesting to note that the fashion and design industry defies all the assumptions of the monopoly theory that establishes the doctrines of intellectual property rights. Thesis statement The fashion industry lacks the legal justification for copyright protection of new designs in the market. Discussion In mid 2011, the southern District of New York the held that color as a trade mark should only b limited to industrial products. It has been general rue that color can be registered as a trademark as long it is non-functional and has a secondary meaning. Color can only be a trade mark if the industrial goods with the color is used as the identifying feature of the specific product. In the case, Christian Louboutin versus Yves St. Laurent had similar allegation of trademark infringement. Christian Louboutin who sold shoes with a red sole alleged that Yves St Laurent had copied the color of its products. The southern district refused to grant a prelimi nary injunction that would have stopped Yves form continuing to sell shoes with a red sole. The court held that color could not be a trademark. After the denial of a preliminary injunction order, the court also granted St, Laurent’s motion for summary judgment on the invalidity of Louboutin’s trademark. The court held that, even if the public associated red soles of the shoes with Louboutin, color is a basic and essential element of fashion design

Operations and Logistics Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Operations and Logistics Management - Essay Example Supply chain gap analysis is explained in the essay to analyse the problems faced by Tesco regarding SCM. The operational issues and the business functions of Tesco are evaluated throughout the essay with regard to supply chain. It has been consequently observed from the essay that the effectiveness of the business largely depends on a strong SCM along with the productive relationship amid the partners. The businesses around the world are inclined towards strengthening their supply chain management (SCM) in order to attain greater competitive traction. Supply chain is the cohesive activity that brings not only the product in the market place but also generates satisfied customers. SCM domain covers a wide range of activities in the functional area. In other words, SCM includes all the activities that are associated from the procurement of the raw materials to the production and transportation of the finished good to the end customer. The business in order to be effective and successful in the marketplace uses the SCM model to eliminate the wastage of time and effort with the aim to deliver he finished goods in timely manner to the end customers. The major assumption behind incorporation of SCM model is based on the belief that the sooner the products reach the customer the sales of the business will increase. The supply chain includes various channels such as the manufacturing, ope rational, transportation, warehousing and then physical distribution of the products. Supply chain is established by the company to create value for the stakeholders by providing required value to customer in the right time at the right place. In this regard, it can be stated that Tesco is effective in the market with wide customer base due to its low price products which has materialised primarily owing to its strong SCM (Beamon, 1998). Tesco Plc is one of the leading global retailers with various retail stores serving millions of

Napoleon Exiled to Elba Essay Example for Free

Napoleon Exiled to Elba Essay * 1812 Napoleon launches an invasion against the Russians * 1814, Napoleon forces surrendered and he offered to step down in favor of his son * His offer was rejected and he signed the Treaty of Fontainebleau, he agreed to abdicate in exchange for which he was given the tiny Kingdom of Ebla, a small island in the Mediterranean Sea * May 3, 1814 Napoleon arrives on the island of Elba   He brought ambitious plans to reform government and a personal escorts of 1000 men, and a household of staff * An island of 12,000 inhabitants in the Mediterranean, 20 km off the Tuscan coast * Napoleon attempted suicide with a pill he had carried since a near-capture by Russians on the retreat from Moscow however, its potency had weakened with age, and he survived to be exiled while his wife and son took refuge in Austria * Evening of February 26 , 1815 Napoleon takes advantage of temporary absence of the English custodian, Colonel Campbell * Under the cover of night, he silently slipped away with a from the island and returned to the mainland * He traveled through areas where he knew he had support and about 500,000 volunteers joined him * Escapes with a small army and headed to Paris, proclaimed the renewal of his empire * The French may have found Louis XVIII reasonable, however, they feared the royalists and clergy who were attacking the reforms that had come into effect since 1789 * Also the magic of Napoleon’s name and the glory of his rule been forgotten Battle of Waterloo   Return of Napoleon united the powers at Vienna, and agreed to raise and army under the Duke of Wellington * June 8, 1815 near the town of Waterloo, Belgium the 100 days campaign starts * June 8, 1815 near the town of Waterloo, Belgium 100 days campaign starts * June 18, 1815 Duke of Wellington occupied the ridge of Mont St. Jean (south of Waterloo) and Napoleon was at La Belle Alliance across the valley * Duke of Wellington had inexperienced infantry, cavalry and had 156 cannon and standard gun for infantry * Napoleon built his army on short notice with veterans, peasants and conscripts * The French army under fire from the garrisons at LA Haye Sainte and despite heavy casualties at 11:30am the French launched diversionary attack on Hougoumont * An allied line that hid behind the ridge

Impact of IMF Policies on China Financial Security

Impact of IMF Policies on China Financial Security Financial crisis swept over the world rapidly last three years. The globalisation and the developed of the derivatives have dramatically changed the whole financial market. The rate of global economic growth was continuing decrease. The economy, particularly financial services sectors suffered a critical strike, which a few investment bank, such as Lehman Brothers Holdings went bankrupt. As one of the largest financial institutions, International Monetary Fund must play more significant role in every areas of finance, especially for financial stability. The members of IMF should following three obligations regarding the abolition of exchange restrictions: Avoidance of restrictions upon current payment. Avoidance of discriminatory currency practices. Convertibility of foreign-held balances. It means IMF has the obligation that protects or makes the whole financial stability. China got a high mark in the process of coping with the financial crisis. The banking in China had a favourable performance, which was a viewpoint by CBRC President Liu Kangming. He pointed that China government had taken a package of measures to stimulate the economy. In the crisis, Chinas banking sectors overall performance, large commercial banks continued to improve profitability, and risk control ability was improved. The role of monetary policy should more significant, meanwhile, the capital market cannot relayed on which being the main source of fund. Between IMF and financial stability of China, it should exists inevitable connection which could impact on banking, credit and insurance. Through the relative research and data analysis, a quantity of experiences and lessons can be summarized and demonstrated, which will advantage other areas of the whole economy to exploit new ways or thinking. Besides, it may become reference to the future. The background of the dissertation Every nation like China is faced with financial management problems to which their business industry should be able to attend to in order to take the economy to move especially during the times of crisis that the global communities are facing. Thus, key financial decisions normally confront the nation leaders in issues and problems that concerns financial investments they usually provide answer to the problems in economy. But despite of this, China remains to be a fortunate, strong economy with a per capita GDP almost similar with the four dominant West European economies (Conway, 2005). Given the importance on low inflation, reforms, a housing market boom, and excellent bonds with other countries like Australia have been essential variables over the course of the economies years of expansion (Conway, 2005). With regards to the current standing of global market and global finance, the current global recession is one of the problems experienced not only in the United States and the United Kingdom but also by the global economy and of course China since their business operation was affected. Today, businesses around the globe work in a more obscured, and more synchronized situation. The monetary policies and practices of China was also affected including their relationship to IMF. The premeditated undertaking, then, is to construct a distinguishing way ahead, using whatsoever core competencies and assets at its discarding, against the environment and control of the situation. Through these distinguishing potentials the organisation look for sustainable competitive plus. With regards to economy of China, financial evaluation and implementation of new strategies can be a demanding exercise. With this, it is difficult to foresee what the future holds (e.g. the actual future outcome may be entirely unexpected), i.e. to foresee what the scenarios are, and to assign probabilities to them; and this is true of the general forecasts never mind the implied financial market returns. However, this is an important procedure because it enables China to make decisions that will be advantageous and beneficial (Lecavalier Santor, 2007). In addition, organisations that are open to change and willing to counter the current financial crisis are generally more successful compare to those who resist it. On the other hand, leadership in accordance to power focuses on the techniques and expertise of efficient organisation, planning, direction, financial planning, credit assessment and control of the operations of a business is really vital. 1.2 Aim and objectives The aim is to analyse the policies and measures of IMF which impact on China financial stability. With respect to the aim of the study, this paper also seeks to attain the following objectives: To research the policies of IMF to China, besides that, those to developing countries should be necessary; To research how China financial services sectors do, especially banking; To analyse how much influence IMF has to these financial services sectors; To analyse the data which IMF and China banking published 1.3 Data and methods The research method depicted in this research is based on both quantitative and qualitative method. The qualitative method permits an iterative and flexible ways, while the quantitative research method lets dependent and independent variables requirement and also allows for longitudinal gauges of ensuing feat of the research subject. Throughout information assembling the preference and plan of methods are continuously tailored, based on current analysis. This allows examination of significant latest issues and questions as they arise, and let the researchers to slump fruitless parts of study from the original research map. Actually, the methods used in this study offer many advantages due to the nature of this study. First of all, for many research questions and objectives, the benefits lie in the enormous saving in resources especially time and money (Saunders et al. 2003, p.200). Actually, this research considers secondary researches due to budget constraint and time limitation. Actually, secondary data provides incomparable benefit that primary data cannot offer. These have generated useful references and have provided a good starting point for formulate and generate ideas. For instance, data includes textbooks related China monetary practices, IMF, financial industry, and government white paper and financial websites. Those data has already been collected and provides an unobtrusive measure. All the sources are quite reliable. Secondly, secondary data may be the only viable choice for many aspects of this research due to the nature in itself. Many psychology data and aggregate data are not likely t o be collected by the author; rather, secondary data from previous researches make this research with easy access. For example, many high quality national newspapers and journal articles being published are permanent and available in a form that may be checked relatively easily. 1.4 Dissertation structure As for the dissertation structure, this paper was broken down into 3 key stages; research problem identification, collection and analysis of information, and Synthesis of information and generation of recommendations. Stage 1: Research Problem Identification In this stage, the researcher considers the exact focus of the problem to be researched. Actually, this engages examination of existing research, practices and theory from genuine literature. This procedure helps the researcher put together empirical findings and theoretical perspectives with the researcherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s understanding about problem in the study. This will also help the researcher distinguish the problem feature and learn more about. Stage 2: Collection and Analysis of Data In the second stage, the researcher collected and analyse the data gathered for the purposes of recognizing significant contextual/cultural variables detailed to their setting predominantly in monetary setting. In addition, the evaluation of monetary practices in China and analysis of the policies imposed by IMF are done in this stage. These information enable this research and the researcher to achieve a specific understanding of the problem. Stage 3: Synthesis of Data and Generation of Recommendations In this third stage, the researcher synthesised findings from the previous stages and pertinent previous study. The main centre of this stage is to review these data to amend current hypotheses and account for different factors, in addition to generating recommendations based on new understandings and results. During this stage, culture-specific and research-based recommendations for action are produced. For this study, the researcher focused on the monetary practices of China and IMF policies imposed to borrowing countries. Chapter 2. Literature Review 2.1 Introduction As a response for the global financial crises, the national and international institutions are pushed to create a sound strategy wherein all their knowledge be incorporated thus monitoring and predicting the flow of the financial elements. With the use of wide array of instruments, the assessment on the financial system is found to be based on the analytical practice. The financial stability is difficult to pulse whenever there is an existing financial crisis, and ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s getting worse when the crises created a direct impact in the country. 2.2 Related Study of International Monetary Fund According to the history of the international monetary system, 1990s is the most considered time where there is an existence of the hyperinflations and been passed through the different picture of crises in Mexico and Asia. Even the Russia experienced the international financial infection. In each effected episodes of the countriesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ financial aspect, the impact participated in the savings and investment, employment, and the purchasing power. Many economists pulled their profession in building the specific solution against the crises and their effects as well. This is the birth of the International Monetary Policy or IMF as the first approach in the crises that plagued the international economy (Conway, 2005). Still, some analysts argued that the approach in the IMF is archaic decision most especially in an era of an international mobility. The present crises shows the different faces of doubts, and it would make the private financial markets suffer from the imperfect information and problems of collective action (Henning, 2009). The assessment of the various financial analysts, business interpreters, and economists, they believe that the effectiveness of the IMF in the new century is on the reform f the IMFà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s functions, role and governance structure. The idea is around the consideration of six elements namely, (1) quota, voice, and representation, (2) internal governance, (3) surveillance, (4) lending instruments, (5) finances, and (6) the role of the IMF in the low-income countries (Lecavalier Santor, 2007). 2.3 The Function of IMF and the Role IMF Plays The IMF was identified as the provider of the valuable forecasts, served as the advisor of appropriate policy, and acted as the coordinated management through the financing packages whenever there is an implication of crises and assists the countryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s adjustment and economic strategies. Through these various characteristics, it is common for the approach to be under the criticisms and be a candidate to tests its ability for a rapid response to the financial crises (Conway, 2005). The appropriate response and the rapid action is the most inevitable requirement in every country to pass through the financial tempest. Obviously, emerging markets face sudden freeze in their capital inflows even if their governments have been pursuing appropriate policies. Based on the basic purpose of the IMF in todayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s world economy, the IMF enables the members to maintain and extend the international economic openness and other strategic adjustments. The role of the IMF extends well beyond providing official finance such as monitoring the international monetary system, fostering the negotiations among the members over the macroeconomic policy in coordination and payments adjustment and pursuing the economic policies. The roles that IMF plays are important, most especially in reducing the impact of the financial crises. But the ability to mobilize the financial resources is the central of the IMFà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s functions (Henning, 2009). 2.4 IMF Financial Soundness Indicators: Core and Encouraged The need for better data and tools to monitor the various financial risks and vulnerabilities in the national systems is pursued and gave to the new area of work called Financial Soundness Indicators or FSI. The IMF has been collecting the various monetary statistics from the participating countries. All of the information gathered admittedly not being focused on the compilation of the soundness and risk information. Translating the needed data based on the information needs careful investigation and be under the assessment to provide the aggregate soundness and risk. In the beginning, the experts and officials of countries collaborated in organizing the call for a process. All the participants agreed that there is indeed, a need for sound information and a number of important indicators and that should be compiled. From the conducted survey of the IMF during the middle of 2000, there was a strong response from over 100 participating countries that allows the IMF to set a core standa rd regarding the financial soundness indicators. In addition, there is an alignment for the countries on what kind or type of information that the country should compile which can be also depends on the national circumstances. After the several rounds of extensive consultations along with the experts, finally, the IMF completed the guide for the indicators they needed. The Compilation Guide: Financial Soundness Indicators or à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“the Guideà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? was published by the IMF that details the concepts and definition, and sources and techniques to serve as the guidance of the participating countries. The Guide was produced to help the countries in compiling and disseminating the information wherein it allows the country to establish the method of comparing the indictors that could provide the valuable information. In the end of the process, the country can have the current soundness of the aggregate financial system (San Jose, Krueger, Khay, 2008). The use of Guide is considered as highly innovative method through the combination of the elements of macroeconomic frameworks, including the monetary statistics, bank supervisory framework, and international financing accounting standards. The use of the provided definitions measures the soundness or risk such as the capital adequacy, exposure to market risk, market fair value in accounting, balance sheet positions of the banks, and many others. The financial reliability gauges/indicators offered two sets known as the core and encouraged sets: The core of the financial soundness indicators is related to the five basic areas relevant to the point of view of banking business shortened in the method called CAMELS as part of the institutionsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ assessment of capital adequacy, asset quality, management soundness, earnings, liquidity, and the sensitivity to market risk. The main goal of the FSI is again, for the international comparability that guarantees the all countries that they will use the same applied method. However, the international comparability is limited to some differences at national level, most especially in accounting standards and the data needed in calculating the FSI (GerÃ…Â ¡l HeÃ…â„ ¢mÃÆ' ¡ne, 2006). 2.5 The Conclusion The most important part of assessing the stability of the financial system is the use of the appropriate number of quantitative indicators and the combination of the approaches. The involvement of the financial soundness indicators is one of the best developments in the International Monetary Fund. The compilation of the financial stability indicators and its related information facilitates the assessment through the single method wherein the countries can possibly compare their data among the others.

Essays --

Trade-studies are used to figure out the best possible approach. Trade studies functions includes improving a particular aspect of the system design to figure out the best approach to be used given a well-defined set of technical choices and parameters [1]. The inputs of the trade study are the DDP of competing technical solutions or just one widely variable solution. These inputs can consist of models of those technical solutions, the stakeholder’s priority ranked operational requirements, system life-cycle considerations, and other data. The output of a trade-study is a decision on which technical route to follow based on the desired characteristics of the system within the alternatives being studied. The trade-study will also document the justification of the decision. The goal of this section is to explain the process that provides the trade study its justifying power, a little more detail on those inputs and outputs, when and how many trade studies are conducted, what t he sensitivity analyses are, and how alternatives are analyzed are related to trade-studies. AoA and trade-st...

Cosmology: Science Vs Religion Essay -- essays research papers

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Christian belief encountered significant opposition. Until then, most of the world shared the belief of the â€Å"Medieval world view† that not only was the earth positioned at the center of the universe, but that God was all knowing, all powerful and all good. God was thought to have created and sustained the wondrous workings of the universe. This belief told the people all they needed to know about the meaning and purpose of life. Then, scientific discovery and methods began to undermine religious beliefs. Scientists began to reveal that natural laws and natural forces governed the world. Opposing beliefs, e.g. the Marxism belief, criticized Christian views. People like, Bacon, Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo and Newton all played significant roles in challenging the recognized views at that time. In contrast to the â€Å"medieval world view†, the â€Å"scientific universe† is impersonal, governed by natural laws and understandable in physical and mathematical terms. Many people trust the information science offers rather than religion because science seems to be more reliable. Science has replaced religion as the dominant intellectual authority because science offers the chance to understand the universe, whereas religion just assumes things. Many believe, as was said by Richard Dawkins, â€Å"the truth means scientific truth†. Along with the logical Positivists, they claimed the only meaningful statements were scientific. It is unfortunate that such...

Impact of Affordable Care Act on Medicare

What is the Impact of ACA on Medicare? Tyeisha Molina Managed Care and Insurance Professor Conway October 21, 2012 Abstract There are many changes being made by the Affordable Care Act which will have an impact on Medicare. Affordable Care Act makes Medicare stronger as well as assists the elderly with taking responsibility of their health outcomes.The act will provide essential free assistances which include preventive services, yearly wellness appointments and a fifty percent price reduction towards prescription drugs for the individuals that are in the coverage gap called the donut hole. Medicare recipients can also work with their physicians to develop a personal prevention plan. Affordable Care Act impacts Medicare for the reasons that the elderly for no cost or little cost will receive more benefits than they have before.The intention of the act is to encourage improvement, trial analysis for forms of payment models and enhancements to the ways payments are made for basic healt h services, the promotion of patient centered support given by health institutions, reducing unnecessary inpatient stays and developing an incentive plan for practitioners, hospitals and additional health facilities so that the delivery of care is provided in an efficient manner. Affordable Care Act does not necessarily eliminate every issue associated with Medicare, but it is definitely a start.There are still changes that will have to be made in order to correct the continuing gaps amongst the amount of workforces that pay taxes into the Medicare and the amount of individuals that receive the assistance. There is also the issue of the increasing health care costs which will continue to jeopardize its purpose of being long term solution. Due to the ACA a lot more individuals will be able to afford health care benefits including safeguards which will assist them with keeping insurance at times when a critical health condition arises as well as managing ongoing health problems.The Af fordable Care Act demonstrates actual enhancements for Medicare recipients presently as well as in the upcoming years. What is the Impact of ACA on Medicare? Preventive Services Crucial preventive services can currently be obtained by individual’s that are Medicare participates without a co-pay or deductible such as colonoscopies and breast exams. Enhancing availability to preventive services has the capability of improving detection of illnesses in the early stages and treatments which can possibly reduce the amount being spent and to improve the well-being of Medicare recipients for the long-term.Medicare was beginning to pay for additional preventive care services that were in accordance with the typical United States health care insurances as a measure to decrease the necessity of costly health care treatments in the future. â€Å"The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 provided that in the first six months which was amended to the first year of a person’s enrollment in Medicare Part B, that person is entitled to an initial preventive physical examination† (Bergthold 2012). The intention of the examination was to encourage healthy lifestyles and identify illnesses in advance to avoid them becoming worse.The exam consists of information, therapy, support services amongst other types of screens for cancer and testing. (Adamopoulos 2012) The Affordable Care Act has now added yearly wellness visits along with the existing exam. The wellness visits consist of an all-inclusive risk evaluation as well as a personal prevention plan. The evaluations will take into account the individual’s health history as well as their family’s history, different observations which include weight, blood pressure, mental deficiencies and extensive list of screening exams that extend to five or ten years.The benefits are covered by Medicare free of charge for participates of the plan and there also is no fee attach ed to the wellness visits. These services will also be available to participants of the traditional Medicare plan due to the Affordable Care Act. Due to the yearly wellness exams being available to every Medicare participate there should be an increased improvement in their medical status and it could possible decrease the Medicare’s program costs in the future. (Adamopoulos 2012) What is the Impact of ACA on Medicare?Prescription Drug Coverage Prescription drugs are a major category of health care costs for the majority of elderly people. In 2006, Medicare Part D began which covered prescription medication attached to it was a coverage gap called donut hole, but before this there was no coverage available for medications. Once the yearly deductible is paid the primary coverage part of the Medicare Part D program begins which obligated participates to contribute to twenty-five percent of the costs of their prescription medications.When required amount prescription drug amount has been reached which includes the amount Medicare pays and the participate pays which is $2,830 the participant enters the donut hole and then they are required to pay the full amount of the medication costs. A participate continues in the donut hole until they have reached medication costs of $6,440. Once that occurs the catastrophic level of prescription drug coverage begins and participate does not spend any more than five percent of the medication costs without any limitations. (Kaplan 2011)The abnormal structure was not equivalent to any type of health care funding agreement whether unrestricted or private in America or any other country. The program was created due to a collaboration of multiple unconnected governmental obligations. The first obligation was that the Medicare prescription program was in need of a reasonably lower yearly deductible to make sure the majority of participants saw individual benefits for being enrolled in the plan. The reason for this was due to a failure of a 1988 regulation made to the Medicare drug program.As a result an enrollee would have to volunteer for any new legislated Medicare prescription program which meant that if the enrollee had to volunteer for the program it was important for the majority of the recipients to be given some form of substantial assistance for participating in the program. (Kaplan 2011) The second obligation pertained to the circulation of the yearly prescription costs that followed the simple design for health costs which was normally the main part of the program’s expenses which were caused by a small number of the programs enrollees.The costs from the small amount of enrollees have the ability to be an enormous amount. Therefore, in order for the Medicare prescription program to offer most support for the participants that required it more than the catastrophic coverage had to have a lower co-pay amount attached to it. The model’s ending fee level has a five percent co-insura nce obligation without a limit of on coverage. (Kaplan 2011) The last obligation was due to the administration directed by President Bush which concluded they were going to assign a specified amount that would go towards the new plan and nothing else.With the combining lower yearly out-of pocket costs with the addition of added benefit once the deductibles are reached, the limitless catastrophic coverage level along with a lower co-insurance fee requirement and the secure worldwide financial plan it was inevitable that changes had to be made. The change that occurred was the diminishing of the donut hole which was located between the start of the coverage and the catastrophic level. (Kaplan 2011) The last part of the Affordable Care Act relates to the prescription drugs which increases the cost for the higher earning individuals that are enrolled in the Medicare program.The Affordable Care Act has also increased the Part D payment the higher earning individuals have to pay in additi on to the method of the raised payments that are required to pay for the Medicare Part B portion of the program. The modification has usually been labeled as a decrease in the payment funding given to the high earning enrollees, but its result on those elderly individuals that are part of this requirement is the identical increased once-a-month charges that are required for registration in the section of the plan. (Kaplan 2011) What is the Impact of ACA on Medicare?Skilled Nursing Home Initiatives Another impact made by the Affordable Care Act is to increase the information that is provided to enrollees pertaining to the long-term services provided in skilled nursing homes. There are additional proposals which support ethics courses for nursing homes staff members, but the primary objective of Affordable Care Act for the skilled nursing home initiative is to add main focus of the ACA’s nursing home initiatives is to require that additional skilled nursing home data be added i nto the current Nursing Home Compare link located on the Medicare site.The information is critical for individuals that are trying to consider placement in a nursing facility. Some of the information is currently available on Medicare’s website, but at times there is insufficient standardization which allows a potential tenant without difficulty assess prospective nursing homes. There are times when an elderly person has limited reasonable options for long-term care as well as need a facility in a short timeframe. (Urban 2012)The type of intentional shopping around for agencies which the new statute requirement seems to visualize is usually common for an assisted living facility rather than a nursing home. The obligation to have illegal violations as well as public fines to be openly revealed has the chance to put additional burden on restrictions which will enhance its defending ability. There are times when the information that is provided can cause incorrect understandings . Also, a suitable level of employee development that the facility requires will depend highly on how severe the occupants’ conditions are.The individuals that are highly informed will have the ability to comprehend the excellence of services being provided by a skilled nursing home based upon the added information the skilled nursing homes have to release. (Urban 2012) In conclusion, the Affordable Care Act health care reform has the ability to improve results as well as save additional revenue. Developing an enhanced Medicare plan and a health care Building an improved Medicare program and an improved health care distribution structure needs to be a collective effort.By allowing individuals to gain additional power with controlling their medical care as well as reinforcing the Medicare plan. The act gives extended coverage for services and an enhanced combination of services for individuals that are in need of care. References Adamopoulos, Helen. (2012). The Supreme Court A ffordable Care Act Decision: Could it Mean Catastrophe for Medicare Advantage? Retrieved from http://medicarenewsgroup. com/context/understanding-medicare-blog/understanding-medicare-blog/2012/06/21/the-supreme-court-affordable-care-act-decision-could-it-mean-catastrophe-for-medicare-advantage-.Accessed on 13 October 2012. Bergthold, Linda. (2012). Seniors Are Asking†¦ What's Next for Medicare? Retrieved from http://www. huffingtonpost. com/linda-bergthold/seniors-are-asking—what_b_1666779. html. Accessed on 13 October 2012. Kaplan, Richard L. (2011). Older Americans, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act: What’s Really In It for Elders? Retrieved from http://www. asaging. org/blog/kaplan-older-americans-medicare. Accessed on 13 October 2012. Urban, Mike. (2012) Many already feel impact of Affordable Care Act. Retrieved from http://readingeagle. com/article. aspx? id=396360. Accessed on 13, October 2012.

A Poison Apple Essay

In the poem ‘ A Poison Apple ‘, poet William Blake illustrates that how a person, angry with another. Through a variety of tropological element, Blake paints a picture of the angst of one individual directed toward his friend. First he uses hyperbole to emphasis the effect he has created. This is evident when he writes that his tears are causing the anger to grow between him and his friend. As written on line five and line six of stanza two, ‘And I watered it in fears Night and morning with my tears, ’. In reality, tears do not make things grow. In the poem though, Blake’s despair is growing more and more with each and very tear he sheds. The hyperbole continue with ‘ I told my wrath, my wrath did end. ’ and ‘ I told it not, my wrath did grow. ’ Wrath is something inside a person that cannot be grow like a tree. It is an emotion that people cannot always control. In the poem, Blake is showing that he can control it but in reality he cannot. That was the start of the anger to his friend. Last but not least, the way he grows the tree is a strong hyperbole to the way people do normally. ‘ And I sunned it with smiles ‘ and ‘ And with soft deceitful wiles. in line seven and line eight of stanza two, it described the way the author grow his anger and wrath. Trees should be grown in mud but Blake’s ‘ tree ’ was bombastically grown in soft deceitful wiles which is impossible to happen in real life. The anger of him was becoming more and more. William Blake does a masterful job of comparing the growth of a tree in garden to the growth in life. Unfortunately the tree that Blake is growing is a â€Å" poison tree †. If thrives on the anger and wrath of a friend, rather than on the love that should be considered. Most things grow better with love.

Health Disparities- Summary and Critique of article Essay

Health Disparities- Summary and Critique of article - Essay Example As early as 1922 the great philosopher Whitehead made an attempt to define the subject in a much-cited paper. But experience accumulated over the years has made it necessary to redefine the term â€Å"in a conceptually rigorous fashion that can guide measurement and hence accountability for actions at the policy and programmatic levels.† Equity means social justice and so it is an ethical concept which is innately of a normative nature. Although the concept is not measurable, a definition of equity is proposed here. And since there is every chance for it to be interpreted in diverse ways, a definition is essential that can be based on criteria that are both meaningful and measurable. â€Å"So for this purpose, equity in health can be defined as the absence of systematic disparities in health between more and less advantaged social groups.† Although equity and equality are different in meanings, the notion of equality is essential to the operationalizing and measuring of equity of health. To bring about equality between disadvantaged social groups and that of their more fortunate counterparts, resources must be distributed and procedures planned in ways likely to progress toward equalizing the health conditions of both sections. The authors maintain that â€Å"Not all health inequalities necessarily reflect inequity in health, which implies unfair processes in the distribution of resources and other conditions that affect health.† (Duckett, Stephen. 2003). Only by comparing health and its social determinants among the different social groups that health equity can be properly assessed. Without this we will not be in a position to discern the effectiveness of those policies and programs that goes to create greater social equity in health. Although this treatise technical to a large extent, it is a commendable effort by two eminent persons who can be

Reflection Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Reflection Paper - Essay Example Hence, a student can be able to achieve success in some aspects of their life while at school. For example, there are students who will excel in sports, socialization, and other different aspects of development while failing to pose excellent grades in class. In effect, qualifying such students as failures and branding them as such is not appropriate. To me, I think I have been an overall good student this far. However, the adjective ‘good’ is relative since there have been incidences whereby I think I have not done my best to be a good student. In effect, this reflection paper analyses my student life and the adjustments that I can make to turn my failures into successes while make the successes only better to help me achieve a lot in future. Assignments and school projects form the foundation of a student’s life in school. In this case, the assignments and projects ensure that a student is graded and their progress determined depending on the grades they obtaine d. In effect, a student who fails many of their assignments is branded a failure once they fail to post good grades in their examinations while those who posted impressive grades become successful. For me, I value the challenge posed by assignments and projects since they have been important in ensuring that I posted good grades. In this case, I have been able to hand in my assignments and projects on time. However, I am not happy with the approach that I was taking towards completing these assignments. In this case, I used to work on my assignments a few days, or even hours, before the submission deadline. In effect, I do not think that the level of hard work and research I was putting on these assignments helped me produce and realize my full potential. I feel that the grades were not a reflection of the best that I could have done, which effectively means that the grades are far from what I should have achieved. On the other hand, group projects have been influential since I have been able to interact with diverse people and gain self-confidence. However, we did not conduct our group’s projects in an approach that brought the best out of every member. In this case, I feel that I was not a good a student since I did not speak to my colleagues about this issue. Rather, I chose to remain silent instead of asking my group members to change the way we engaged each other since we were not achieving our full potential. Maintaining silence was not reflective of the behavior that a good student should have observed and I regret this approach. In effect, I want to ensure that I adjusted the approach that we used to conduct our group activities so that I can achieve success as a student in the United States. I realized that I relied more on fellow students than I relied on my instructors. In line with this, relying on my fellow students was beneficial since I gained insights that helped me during my studies. However, I think that I should have engaged my instru ctors more than my fellow students in order to obtain informative insights due to the experience that instructors have in comparison to students. I want to adjust this aspect in order to become a successful student in the United States. Overall, I am a good student although there are some aspects of a good student that I have to accomplish. In this regard, I realize that I have not engaged in extra-curricular activities throughout the course of my

Employment Law - Independent Contract Case Study Essay

Employment Law - Independent Contract Case Study - Essay Example The IRS defines an employee using existing common-law rules (IRS P-15a 4). The IRS maintains that it makes no difference how you label the relationship because the relationship between the employer and the person performing the service defines the relationship (IRS P-15a 4). The relationship that existed between Ark Bark and Joshua was bound by an oral agreement which was not put to writing. The employer, according to the case study, maintained an employer/employee relationship with Joshua by staying in frequent contact with him via telephone. It demonstrates that the employer, not Joshua, was in charge of maintaining the relationship that existed between them. The IRS tells us to examine the element of behavioral control between the parties (IRS P-15a 6). Behavioral control, whether it rests with the employer or the person performing the service, is significant in identifying the nature of the relationship. Behavioral control establishes â€Å"[†¦] whether a business has the right to direct and control how the worker does the task for which the worker is hired [†¦] (IRS P15a 6).† An employee, the IRS states, must generally follow the employer’s instructions on when, how, and where to perform the work (IRS P-15a 6). The employer gives the employee these instructions, that normally include the tools to use in performing the work, identifies who will assist the employee in accomplishing the work, where the employee must purchase or receive the relevant supplies and equipment necessary to perform the work, who performs each component of the task and in what order of priority it is performed (IRS P-15a 6). In the case study presented, we cannot say the employer issued directions to Joshua on when, how, and where to perform the work because we do not know the substance of the sixty-eight telephone calls made to Joshua by Ark Bark’s vice president. The employer did not provide Joshua the tools to perform the sales work, although

Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words - 2

Strategic Management - Essay Example However, a different extension is noticed when the water is placed to heat gradually when the frog may fail to realize the changes in temperature and be boiled to death. The inference developed in the aspect explains that there is the need to identify leading threats to the sustenance of progress at an earlier stage, when the adjustments can be offered as compared to finding solutions to the problem when its impacts have been felt. Moreover, the advice is offered that the reaction level and sensitivity should be based on identifying minimal changes that may accumulate to lead to threats (David 34). In business, the relation is accorded to organizations that fail to recognize threats to their missions at earlier stages and only articulate solutions to already recurrent problems. Most businesses focus on delivering satisfaction to the consumers failing to focus on the competitors who are the chief threats to their sustenance in the market. The relation of consumers and competitors is i ndicated in the failure for buyers to maintain loyalty in the case that the competitor holds better service than the organization. Early planning eradicates the problem and creates better businesses based on the desire to meet expectations in goal achievement (Polynice). The boiled frog scenario is included to depict the situation where the affected organization failed to identify the problem in due time, and make the adjustments needed in saving the business. The example is included in the failure of the dotcom businesses in failing to acknowledge the shrinking markets (Majumdar). This move would witness these companies fail to achieve their motive and yield failure with improper measures to curb threats to the goal achievement. The retail company had established the dominance within the market as the preference among the consumers. This led to the employment of added employee number in the workforce and developed the ideology of marketing using the top selling brands. The majority of the focus had been based on marketing the top lines, neglecting the other products. The operations of retail failed to be affected until the slowdown when the management realized the mistakes ad challenges offered. The solution that had been offered by management to satisfy the employees had been through asking them to pick groceries from stores instead of their salary. The solution failed since the stock had been empty since the suppliers failed to deliver products with their problems in payment. The employees eventually lost their positions in the company and the eminent closure followed. The business could have solved the problem trough providing the focus needed in developing all product lines in the store, and maximizing on the available stock rather than focus on the leading products. This is the case where the frog could have identified the dangers of the slowly boiling water and jumped out to avoid the eminent murder. Comment to Post The post confirms the boiled frog the ory and offers the example in September 11 attacks, that saw the U.S. government challenged for the failure of offering solution to the terrorism threat. This saw the repercussions in a massive attack that saw the demise of hundreds of citizens who depended on their government for security. The post assures that without the proper preparations to predict dangers, the result would

Classical composer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Classical composer - Essay Example in the fourth year of his age, father, for a game as it were, began to teach him a few minuets and pieces at the clavier.†(Deutsch pp.  454–462) He was about five years old when he begun making his own music which he played to his father who annotated them. Recognizing the special abilities of his children, Leopold devoted more time to teaching his children. He was a loving father as he was an exacting teacher. Wolfgang, though, found pleasure in learning. He â€Å"was motivated to make progress even beyond what his father was teaching him. His first independent (and ink-spattered) composition, and his initial ability to play the violin, were both his own doing and were a great surprise to Leopold.† (Deutsch pp.  452–453) At that point, Leopold started to consider ambitious plans in his mind. Partly perhaps out of parental pride, partly perhaps out of duty as he did not doubt his children’s talent were God-given, he set forth to bring his young prodigies on tour to the courts of Europe. Wolfgang was six when in January, 1762, his father brought them to the nearby Munich court of Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria. It was Wolfgang’s first exposition. The following three years were hectic for the young Mozarts. Leopold Mozart took his family to a long concert tour to the courts of Munich, Mannheim, Paris, London and The Hague. This foreshadowed the eight more years ahead of traveling Europe.. It was during these travels and performances when the young Wolfgang also met other musicians and got acquainted with their works. A prolific writer, Mozart wrote many of his music during that period of travel. â€Å"Most composers created music at the point of a pencil, writing and erasing over and over until they got down what they wanted.   Mozart, however, created exclusively in his head; then he wrote it all out once, once only, never erasing a note.†Ã‚  (Shepherd, pg. 5) Following their final return to Salzburg in 1773, Mozart, who was seventeen then, was

The Bernard Madoff’s Fraud Essay Example for Free

The Bernard Madoff’s Fraud Essay Madoff’s scheme to defraud his clients at Bernard Lawrence Madoff Investment Securities began as early as 1980 and lasted until its exposure in 2008. Bernard carried out this scheme by soliciting billions of dollars under false pretenses, failing to invest investors’ funds as promised, and misappropriating and converting investors’ funds to benefit Madoff, himself, and others without the knowledge or authority of the investors. To execute the scheme, Madoff solicited and caused others to solicit potential clients to open trading accounts with Bernard Lawrence Madoff Investment Securities (BLMIS) on the basis of a promise from him. He promised to use investor funds to purchase shares of common stock, options and other securities of large, well-known corporations, and representations that he would accomplish high rates of return for client, with limited risk. â€Å"United states of,† 2009) Among other things, Mandoff marketed to clients and prospective clients an investment strategy referred to as a split strike conversion strategy. Clients were promised that Bernard Lawrence Madoff Investment Securities (BLMIS) would invest their funds in a basket of approximately 35-50 common stocks within the Standard Poors 100 Index (the SP l00), a collection of the 100 largest publicly traded companies in terms of their market capitalization. Mandoff claimed that he would select a basket of stocks that would closely mimic the price movements of the SP 100. Mandoff further claimed that he would opportunistically time those purchases, and would be out of the market intermittently, investing clients funds in these periods in United States Government issued securities such as United States Treasury bills. Madoff also claimed that he would hedge the investments that he made in the basket of common stocks by using investor funds to buy and sell option contracts related to those stocks, thereby limiting potential losses caused by unpredictable changes in stock prices. â€Å"United states of,† 2009) Madoff’s Illegal Business Behaviors Exposure Federal prosecutors filed a total of eleven charges against Bernard Madoff. The first of those charges was for securities fraud. The crime of securities fraud involves false claims of investment security holdings, and misinformation regarding stocks and brokerage advice. Sensational insider information is also considered a component of this criminal activity. Another major charge involved t hree counts of money laundering, both domestically and through international accounts. Money laundering is the funneling of revenue acquired illegally into new monetary arrangements, with the intent of concealing this revenue’s original origins. Plus, in connection with both his securities and investment adviser businesses, prosecutors also charged Madoff with mail and wire fraud. These offenses involve initiating schemes using either the United States Postal Service or telephone systems toward obtaining money and/or property in a false or unlawful manner. (Tomaszewshi, 2010). Perpetrators Involved in Bernard Madoff’s Fraud It’s certainly not uncommon for one’s son or daughter to enter into an identical business relationship as a successful family member such as a parent. However, in Bernie Madoff’s case this approach was taken to extreme levels of nepotism. Peter Madoff entered his brother’s firm in 1967, and as business prospered he began to accumulate several executive titles: Senior Managing Director, Head of Trading, and even Chief Compliance Officer for both the broker-dealer and more secretive investment advisor business models. Bernie’s sons Mark and Andrew joined the firm in the mid-to-late 1980s, and eventually were made co-directors of Madoff Securities International in London, England. Bernie’s nephew Charles joined up in 1978, and became the Director of Administration for the investment firm. And Peter’s daughter Shana was hired on in 1995, and served as in-house Legal Counsel and Rules Compliance attorney for the broker-dealer business. Other parties greatly impacted by Bernie Madoff’s activities were his business associates and their many clients over the decades. For example, Frank Avellino and Michael Bienes themselves funneled over three thousand clients to Madoff’s investment advisory business. Madoff had consistently advised the pair to remain unregistered in their dealings. But when the SEC accused the duo of illegally selling securities, Madoff pretended ignorance of their activities, even though he had secretly instructed them all along. For their trouble, Avellino and Bienes were forced to pay a fine of three hundred and fifty thousand dollars and shut their business down. Other notable business partners eventually left in the lurch by Madoff’s growing fraud would go on to include Jeffrey Tucker and Walter Noel of Fairfield Greenwich Group. Non-related people who had worked under Bernie Madoff also became tainted from the association following his arrest. This employee group includes those who may have had indirect dealings through Madoff subsidiaries like Cohmad Securities Corporation. However, the idea also applies to those employed directly, such as former executive assistants Elaine Solomon and Eleanor Squillari. Jeffry Picower was in industrialist and philanthropist who seemed to be a favored Madoff beneficiary, and made outlandish profits from his investments with Madoff. From 1996-2007 there were 14 instances of greater than 100% yearly returns and 25 of greater than 50%. From 1996-1999 his regular trading account made from 120-550% a year. Some evidence of backdating trades, instituted by Picower, has been presented by trustee Irving Picard. In December, 2010, his estate returned $7. 2 billion in profits to the government. Picower died before the settlement. Tomaszewshi, 2010) Motives of the Perpetrators The various perpetrators who were involved in Bernard Madoff’s ponzi scheme had different kinds of motives that were completely against the provisions evident in federal laws. Jeffry Picower had over twenty four different accounts with Investment Securities L of Jeffry Picower and his wife in Investment Securities LLC was to benefit from the cash windfall generated from devious deals according to reports; his investment into Madoff’s company was once worth over one billion dollars. Kirchner, 2010) Annette Bongiorno was a senior employee at Bernard Madoff’s illegal company and among her roles at the firm she was to brief investors concerning their returns which were all fictitious. Ezra Merkin was an investment expert who assisted Bernard Madoff to drain off extraordinary amounts of money from clients’ accounts and it later emerged that he had a conflict of interest in the Madoff company. With its headquarters in Connecticut, Fairfield Greenwich Company misled investors into buying stakes at Madoff‘s illegal firm and in return, the company received huge amounts of cash from Bernard Madoff. NBC, 2009) Frank DiPascali was also another essential figure in Bernard Madoff’s illegal investment scheme. One of the frauds committed by Frank is that he engaged in countless number of international money laundering activities to benefit Madoff’s scheme. In addition to this, DiPascali also gave Mr. Madoff expert advice on how to go about his illegal businesses without being caught or detected by the federal authorities. (Arvedlund, 2010) (â€Å"Bernard Madoff fraud,† 2012) Controls That Could Have Deterred the Fraud from Occurring Despite the fact that Bernard Madoff’s investment fraud was one of the largest to ever rock the United States of America, there are various strategies thatLC and he operated them closely with Barbara who was also his wife. The motive might have prevented or deterred the fraud from occurring. To begin with, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) should have without delay acted on the numerous signals that it received from different quarters. As the main regulatory authority of American investment activities, it would have been easy to identify weaknesses in Bernard Madoff’s shady deals. A major loophole in the federal laws of the United States of America also had a significant input towards enabling Bernard Madoff’s illegal activities to spread at a very rapid rate; for instance, there is a provision that stipulates private companies in the United States should only pay 5% of their annual revenues. (NBC, 2009) (â€Å"Bernard Madoff fraud,† 2012) Implementations That Investors Should Have Used to Protect Themselves While some investors may yet believe they were tricked into believing Bernie Madoff’s elaborate confidence game, it is also arguable that there were means to protect themselves at their disposal. One method would be to practice due diligence whenever one is presented with new financial opportunities. Many investors were led astray on the poor advice of their won friends and family, which isn’t a fiscally sound means of verification. Independent research needs to be done on the workings of any financial organization, even those that are supposedly reputable on the surface. One should investigate third-party custodial relationships at investment firms, and review their auditing practices. (Tomaszewski, 2010) Another way to avoid fraud is to actively request documentation. Hand written notes from intermediaries are highly suspicious evidence that revenue is being transacted in a professional manner. Getting activity in writing must be joined to verifiable account numbers for auditing. Finally, a forceful amount of skepticism will often prevent one from falling into schemes which seem on the surface to be easy money generators. For instance, one should never believe the speculators on television. An unlicensed financial consultant is about as reliable an agent as allowing unreformed gambling addict free access to one’s personal treasury. Investors should not assume that overseers are actually doing their jobs, as even they might be in on the take. (Tomaszewski, 2010). The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Involvement Critics and popular journalists from prominent media houses in the United States of America have called into question the manner in which the Securities and Exchange Commission handled the fraud case involving Bernard Madoff. This is due to the fact that even the commission itself has acknowledged that it should have detected Madoff’s illegal activities as soon as they began. The first major mandate or responsibility of the Securities and Exchange Commission is to interpret the laws pertaining to federal securities; such as, the commission should have detected the fundamental flaws in Bernard Madoff’s investment activities at an earlier stage. The second major responsibility of the Securities How Madoff’s Fraud was Discovered and Identifiable Red Flags His business came to be under the doubts of various financial analysts as early as 1999. They believed that the returns claimed by the company were only theoretically impossible. But organizations such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) completely ignored the doubts and Madoff continued with his overtures for almost another 10 years. He finally got caught in December 2008. He was trapped after he confessed about his dishonesty to his very own sons. He confessed to his sons of his investment business being nothing but a big Ponzi scheme. His sons now reported his father’s fraud to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Though Bernie confessed to have had started his Ponzi scheme in the 1990’s, investigators think otherwise. They believe the Ponzi scheme and defrauding of investors had begun in the 1980’s itself. Now what actually happened was that in the very first week of December 2008, Bernie Madoff discussed his dilemma over having to pay his clients an amount of almost $7 billion as he didn’t have that much funds. Now within the very next two days Bernie told his sons that he made a huge profit and had decided to give away an early bonus, amounting up to $173 million. This confused the sons and they called for an explanation from their father. This is when their father confessed that his whole company worked through a â€Å"giant Ponzi scheme†. On December 11th 2008, Bernie Madoff was taken into house arrest. Had the stock market not had been in a sharp decline in 2008, who knows how much longer the fraud could have continued. (Degrace, 2011) After writing that Madoff offers the biggest due diligence lesson for investors, some argued that the red flags are only obvious in hindsight and wouldn’t have been so clear if one had to make the decision before Bernard’s admission of running a Ponzi scheme.