Saturday, August 31, 2019

Cvs Annual Report Essay

Executive Summary/Company History/Products and Services CVS/Pharmacy has shown a consistent growth for the last three years. Three years ago CVS/Pharmacy has merged with Longs Pharmacy and Caremark to form the largest retail pharmacy chain in the United States. CVS/Pharmacy- CVS/Pharmacy began operations in 1963, and added the pharmacy department in 1967. In 2007, CVS merged with Caremark Rx, Inc. Finally, in 2008, CVS bought the Longs Drug Store chain. CVS has over 7000 stores(Cvs.com, 2010). At the end of 9 months of 2010, the company has lost 9.25% against 2009 net income. However, the company has increased their assets and liabilities by .1% against 2009 figures(Cvs.com, 2010). As the company stands now in trends, Net revenues for this 7,100-store drugstore retailer were $23.9 billion for Q3 2010, down 3.1% from $24.6 billion in the prior year’s period. Poor performance by the company’s Pharmacy Services segment—its revenues dropped 8.5%, to $11.9 billion—was a major contributor to the company’s woes. CVS’ Retail Pharmacy segment revenues actually increased 4.1%, with total same-store sales climbing 2.5%(Trendwatch, 2010). CVS/Pharmacy is in the process of transitioning their leadership at CEO. Tom Ryan will be stepping down at the end of the year as CEO, and Larry Merlo will be promoted to CEO. Tom Ryan has been the CEO of CVS/Pharmacy Inc. since 1994, and it has been the consistency at the top that has lead to the expansion of CVS/Pharmacy as being largest retail pharmacy chain in the United States. Now that Tom’s tenure is coming to a close, a new dawn is  occurring for the corporation with Larry Merlo taking the helm. Competitor Analysis In the retail pharmacy industry, there are only three pure pharmacy firms: CVS/Pharmacy, Walgreens, and Rite-Aid. Pure pharmacy firms are pharmacy retailers whose business is built around the pharmacy. Wal-Mart, Kroger, and local grocery stores have pharmacies as an extension of their business plan, but it is not the focus of their company. CVS/Pharmacy and Walgreens have been battling over the top position for years, and Rite-Aid has been ranked at a steady third in the market place. Walgreens- Walgreens is CVS/Pharmacy’s chief competitor. Founded in 1901, Walgreens is considerably older. Unlike CVS/Pharmacy, Walgreens began with the pharmacy department. With 6000 stores, Walgreens is smaller than CVS. In 2010, Walgreens has increased sales against last year by 6.4%, and net earnings by 4.2%(Walgreens.com, 2010). Moreover, they have posted 36 straight years of sales gains, and 35 straight years of dividend payments(Walgreens.com, 2010). Finally, Walgreens has posted net earnings for 5 consecutive years. Despite Walgreens smaller size, it has a bigger market share at 31.2% compared to CVS/Pharmacy’s 25%(Wikinvest.com, 2010). The last 10 years has been the first decade that a Walgreens family member was not at the helm of the Walgreens Pharmacy chain. Charles Walgreens retired from the CEO position in 1998, but stayed on a member of the board of directors. Mr. Walgreens will officially retire for the company this year. Gregory D. Wasson is the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Wasson has worked with Walgreens for 31 years. In conclusion, Walgreens & CVS/Pharmacy are the giants in retail pharmacy. Their strengths, weaknesses, successes, and failures have brought them to a virtual dead heat. The purpose of this research is analyze the financial strength of both to determine which is in the best financial health. Common Size Statements We will first compare CVS/Pharmacy and Walgreens through common size financial statements. Commons size financial statements allow for comparisons to be made between companies of different sizes and volumes in order to see the true performance. CVS/Pharmacy has over 7000 stores, and Walgreens Pharmacy only has 6000 stores. The difference in size will have an  impact on expense, revenue, and income. Every company plans to get the most out of every dollar spent. Consequently, we will be comparing the their financial performance from 2007-2009. From the beginning, Walgreens has yielded a better gross profit by an average of 8% over CVS/Pharmacy. Gross profit is the amount left over after cost of goods sold is taken from revenue. Although, both have been steady with their percentage gross profit, CVS/Pharmacy 21% & Walgreens 28%, Walgreens has gained more. However, Walgreens’ celebration is short lived because the balance statement is more than gross profit. In fact the 8% edge in gross profit they gave back in operating expenses. Walgreens’ operating expenses took, on average, 22.5% away from their total revenue. CVS/Pharmacy operating expenses took only 14.5% away from their total revenue. Moreover, other indicators of return on investment to the company are higher for CVS/Pharmacy than Walgreens. CVS/Pharmacy has had a higher operating income than Walgreens since 2007. For the last two years CVS/Pharmacy has posted higher income before taxes than Walgreens. Finally, the biggest trend difference between the two firms is that CVS/Pharmacy’s net income has increased three years in a row, while Walgreens’ net income has steadily decreased three years in a row. As a company, CVS/Pharmacy received a 20% gross profit margin. The next biggest payment went to operating expenses at 14.12%. After the expenses, income before taxes and operating profit account for 13% and net income accounts for nearly 4%. In 2009 alone, Walgreens’ gross profit and operating expenses nearly cancel each other out. There is only a 4% variance between gross profit and operating expenses for Walgreens. Operating profit and income before taxes accounts for only 10% of the revenue, while Walgreens’ net income accounts for barely over 3%. On the key financial statements, Walgreens’ performance has been diminishing over the last three years, and CVS/Pharmacy’s performance has risen. The reason behind the growing strength of CVS/Pharmacy has been the general, consistent financial growth. This will be illustrated by the financial ratios. Liquidity is the firm’s ability to meet its current obligations(Marshall, McManus, Vielle, 2010). Working capital is the excess of a firm’s current assets over its current liabilities(2010). In this case, Walgreens’ has higher working capital than CVS/Pharmacy. On other tests of liquidity,  Walgreens’ out performs CVS/Pharmacy. Walgreens has a higher current ratio, acid test ratio, and they turn over their assets 8 more times a year than CVS/Pharmacy. Although Walgreens has yielded their lowest net income in three years, they have a high comparable liquidity. Moreover, the higher net income for CVS/Pharmacy has not translated into higher liquidity. However, the increased in income has translated into a higher inventory turnover for CVS/Pharmacy. Conclusion The findings of this paper are illustrating the transition in the marketplace between CVS/Pharmacy and Walgreens. For the last 20 years, these retail pharmacy firms have battled for supremacy in the industry. Over the last decade, CVS/Pharmacy has had one Chief Executive Officer, Tom Ryan. However, since Tom Ryan took over in 1999, Walgreens has had 3 CEO changes. The result of inconsistency in their leadership has translated to a lower return on investment. Walgreens has higher liquidity, but they have shown three years of decreasing net income. As a result, they are getting weaker as an organization. However, CVS/Pharmacy has shown consistent growth over the last three years. Their increasing strength has been represented by their purchases of Long’s Pharmacy and Caremark. It is my conclusion that this trend will continue

Friday, August 30, 2019

Crime and Punishment Essay

The themes of sacrifices and egoism are usual in his works. He believes that egoism became that reason that destroyed earlier civilizations and made a threat to contemporary societies. Despite the fact that he saw nothing wrong in the wish to self-perfection, he blamed those, who tried to oppose their â€Å"I† to the rest of the world and considered only their own needs and desires. Raskolnikov, the protagonist of Crime and Punishment is severely punished for his extreme egoism and daring to take the decision about human lives. For example in The Brothers Karamazov Zosima worries about moral responsibility for all actions, committed by the person. Ivan doubts his views and states that responsibility is nothing but abstract notion and without God it becomes impossible to talk about any limits to the behavior of an individual. In the poem Ivan declaims to his brother in the cafe he expresses his view on the free will. The Inquisitor blames Jesus for giving people free will, which has become a hard burden and the reason of misery. The feeling of guilt becomes Ivan’s price for an attempt to express his free will. Dostoevsky does not agree or disagree with any opinion discussed but he constructs the plot of the story in such a way that the readers get an opportunity to get the proofs of ideas, expressed by Zosima. (Dostoevsky) The characters of Dostoesky are haunted by their past. In many his stories people cross the limit and take excessive responsibility to make the decision for other people and get severe punishment for it. In contrast to Borges, whose characters exist in present, and to Tolstoy, who regarded human history as a reason for all the events, which happen to us, Dostoevsky made the past the reason of suffering and misery. His characters are haunted by the ghosts from the past and can not find their place in present. For Dostoevsky the conflicts between free will and determination, and between egoism and responsibility become driving force and a source for creativity. All three authors use literature not only as means to bring their messages for the readers, but also as a way to resolve their inner conflicts. Art is always a personal experience for both – creator and those, who perceive it, and Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and Borges make their art serve one ultimate purpose – a quest for the meaning of life. Sources Dostoevsky, Feodor (1992). Crime and Punishment. Pevear, R. and Volokhonsky, L. transl. New York: Alfred Knopf. Dostoevsky, Feodor (1992). The Brothers Karamazov. , Pevear, R. and Volokhonsky, L. transl. New York: Alfred Knopf. Dostoevsky, Fyodor translation by Pevear, Richard and Volokhonsky, Larissa (1990). The Brothers Karamazov. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. Tolstoy, Leo (1969). War and Peace , transl. Rosemary Edmonds, Penguin. Borges, Jorge Luis (1998). Collected Fictions(translated by Andrew Hurley), Viking Penguin

Psychology Experiments/Biological Influences Essay

In this experiment, we aim to provide an understanding about the concepts of adaptation through a series of tests. This involves using our different senses to perceive changes in an environment, and how we’ll be able to adapt to these changes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the first experiment, the sense that we are going to use is the sense of taste. Through this test, we’ll determine how we adapt to changes in what we taste or basically what we eat. By mixing sugar into water, we create a sweet substance which we’re going to use for the taste test. We also need fresh water in order to tell any differences afterwards. What I did was to take a sip of sugar water and let it stay in my mouth for some time, until it tastes less sweet. It took several seconds until it tasted less sweet, and afterwards I took a sip from the cup containing fresh water. The surprising part was that the fresh water tasted doesn’t have any taste in it at all. I know water supposedly has no taste, but with the experiment, it tasted stale.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the next test, the sense that will be used is our tactile sense, mainly the skin’s perception of temperature. Through this test, we’ll determine how we adopt to the changes of temperature in our environment. We prepare three bowls with tap water of varying temperature. One is hot (but not painfully so), another is very cold, and the other is a mixture of the hot and cold tap water. What I did was to submerge my left hand in the hot tap water and my right hand on the cold tap water. I let it stay there for three minutes, and afterwards I placed both my hands in the bowl containing the mixture of hot and cold tap water. I took not of what I felt in the experiment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Upon placing my both my hands in the mixture of water, I noticed that my left (which was previously submerged on the hot one) felt cold until it slowly changes back to the temperature of the water mixture. Same goes for my right hand, which felt warm when I submerged it in the mixture until it slowly changed back to the temperature of the water mixture. The skin’s receptor was not able to perceive any changes in the temperature in the water.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The final test was again on the tactile sense, wherein we have to rub our index finger into a sand paper and rate its coarseness from 1 to 7, where 1 is very soft, and 7 is very coarse. When I rubbed my index finger to the sandpaper, my initial rating was that it’s 7, since I felt that it was very coarse to touch. When I rubbed my index finger on the sand paper for a second time, it felt a little different. It’s as if it lost its coarseness a bit. I gave it a rating of 5.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Basing on the experiment, adaptation can be defined as the loss of sensitivity of a receptor due to prolonged stimulation of it. Because of this, it would require a stronger stimulus in order to further activate it. Adaptation is defined as a positive characteristic of an organism that has been favoured by natural selection, since they are able to live successfully in an environment. This enables living organisms to cope with environmental stresses and pressures, something which could result from the body structure, the organism’s behaviour, or its physiology (EPA.gov, 2007).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Adaptation is evident in each of the results of the experiments. On the first experiment on water sugar, there was a sour aftertaste when I sipped fresh water. This could be because sour taste neutralizes the sweet taste so when we sipped sugar water and swished it all over our mouth, we psychologically perceive that there is a sour taste in order to neutralize the sweet taste in our mouths.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On the second experiment on waters with different temperatures, we experience adaptation by being able to keep a constant body temperature. When we have our hands submerged in both hot and cold water and then submerge it to a mixture of cold and hot water. Our body tends to maintain a constant body temperature, so when it was from the hot water and then submerging it to the mixture, it would surely feel cold at first until we get used to the temperature. Same goes with the cold water, wherein when we submerge it to the mixture it would feel warm until it gets used to the temperature of the mixture.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On the third experiment, we experience adaptation at the tactile sensory level, wherein we tend to get used to the feel of the coarse sand paper, that when we rub at it again, it feels a little less coarse. This is adaptation in a sense that our body or our perception of the coarse texture of the sand paper is gradually being changed to a state wherein we won’t feel uncomfortable in rubbing against it. As we feel that it is a little less coarse, then we are able to cope with its coarse texture.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   We can associate this with the theory of adaptation by Lamarck, where organisms inherit the traits which are necessary for them to survive. Those who inherit this trait are able to continue to live, while those who don’t tend to perish. Because of this, the organisms who continue to exist are the ones who were able to get traits which would enable them to adapt to the world they live in.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In an evolutionary perspective, adaptation is really important because those who are able to adapt will be the ones to survive and continue to exist. This will result to organism who posses traits which are important for them to live in their environment. As the time continues to change the surroundings, only those who are able to cope with these changes will be the ones left to live. Those who are not fit enough to adapt to these changes will surely perish. Those who successfully adapts would lead to the creation of a better species. Reference: EPA.gov. (2007). Adaptation.  Ã‚   Retrieved February 24, 2008, from http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/effects/adaptation.html

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Private Unions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Private Unions - Assignment Example Different labor markets address this issue differently depending on the extent to which such unions are needed. On the same note, both employees and employers remain divided over these unions, especially in an economy where the government addresses worker concerns with or without worker unions. Due to the fact that the government monitors the welfare of both employees and employers in the various labor markets in the economy, legislations that seek to strengthen unions in terms of their position in the economy and number or registered members are not necessary. Whether or not an employee should join a union should be a personal decision. â€Å"Right to Work† States have granted employees the right to decide whether or not to join unions or even support them financially, although there are exceptions to the railway and airline industries (Freeman, 2008). This move is beneficial to employees since they cannot be forced into unions or make mandatory contributions to unions that they do not wish to be in. Employees can push for their own welfare, air their concerns, and also balance employer-employee power without necessary depending on a

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Differing Learning Styles Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Differing Learning Styles - Assignment Example This learning style is mostly exhibited by potential teachers and professors as teachers and professors are observed to find ease in teaching these kinds of students. Adeel being a vocal learner finds it easier to learn through vocal lectures given by teachers, he listen to them very carefully and absorb information that is provided to them through aural teaching. He even takes participation in discussions with other classmates and he can comfortably adjust in any student groups and teams. As proposed earlier, culture, race, ethnicity, gender are certain factors due to which the learning styles of these students vary from each other. For example: James is a male students and is more tech savvy and he can easily learn through presentations and computer aided learning material, while on the other hand Sarah is a girl and lacks in the area of learning through technology and she needs somebody to instruct her properly and help her understand different material thus she face difficulty in learning through technological resources. Teachers even face difficulty in teaching students that have different learning styles as certain student learn through certain methods (Robins, 2006, p.110). Thus teachers should construct teaching methods that can be help students from different backgrounds learn the same thing

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Project Planning Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Project Planning - Coursework Example The students are required to carry on the project management with time constraints. This activity can provide fruitful experience that can help them in their future career when time comes that they are assigned to do project planning. ELA is very important for students of project management in the sense that they will have a real feel of what they will encounter come their time to practice their profession in engineering or other disciplines that require a lot of teamwork. ELA is an educational tool which helps the instructor and also the students in carrying out a project. The instructor can ask questions that motivate the students to provide insights and ideas about a given subject matter. The activity includes a pretest and posttest method where data can be collected. The instructor can study the findings and provide output for the course. (Carden and Egan, 2008, p. 315) The project manager and his team should be able to have coordination and teamwork and a good communication process. The team should have a well-studied plan that is borne out of a careful evaluation and analysis of the situation. Senior members of the team, or the experienced managers and experts should be consulted because they have the knowledge to carry out projects. Knowledge, teamworking and good management are important characteristics of a team (Koch, 2004). This simple sentence by Koch (2004) carries a lot of meanings. Knowledge itself has many connotations. Knowledge has got to be present in a team that must perform teamwork to carry out a project. And these are the requirements of an effective management in carrying out a project. A project is defined as a job or task that is carefully planned, with a deadline to follow, implemented by a team and to be evaluated by a manager or client who is the owner/buyer of the project. (Carden and Egan, 2008) This definition of project can be applied to almost every

Monday, August 26, 2019

Investing in Human Capital Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Investing in Human Capital - Coursework Example Employees are seen as assets current and future value which can be improved through investing resources on them, especially knowledge. Organizations which upholds these practices always communicate to their employee on a regular basis.   The practice of employee’s security is the one that is surprising. The business world is rapidly changing and companies are embracing policies that not only affect the operations of the organization but also the employees. It is for this reason that employees need a guarantee that despite the internal changes that occur within a given organization will not affect them. If however they are affected negatively, then, the organization would be able to compensate them accordingly. Employee security takes place in many forms for instance, in manufacturing industries where employee are exposed to machines every day, there are risks involved. Some of them include the risk if being cut by machines, exposure to chemical compounds among other. The employer of such an organization must ensure that his employees have medical assurances and cover. This will motivate employees to keep working in spite of the unconducive working environment. This is because, in case of an accident, the company will be liable and they will not have to dig their pockets to cater for any medical expenditure. Employment status of an employee is also a security to them. During the time of economic booms, many companies employ a lot of people. On the other hand, during the recession, these organizations dismiss a lot of employees. This is discouraging and such organization ends up building bad image and this may lead to its collapse.

Sunday, August 25, 2019

History of the hologram Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

History of the hologram - Essay Example Bassov and A. Prokhorov and American scientist Charles Towns, in 1960 (Johnston). Later on, the laser, producing a high level of coherent light source, was used in 1962 in Gabor’s experiment, and the scientists, Emmett Leith and Juris Upatnieks, produced a transmission hologram with a bird and toy train. It was a three dimensional hologram, which could only be seen with a laser. A reflection hologram was produced in the same year by Uri N. Denisyuk, to view which ordinary light was used instead of the laser beam. However, in 1968, Stephen A. Benton produced a transmission hologram which could be viewed in ordinary light like that of a bulb. Hence, the production of embossed holograms started on a massive scale. In 1972, a moving hologram was produced by Lloyd Cross, in which he marked sequential streams of moving objects onto a holographic film instead of the conventional picture film. Hence, the history of hologram starts back from

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Wal-Mart Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Wal-Mart - Research Paper Example For small businesses operating locally the entrance of Wal-Mart would have a series of disadvantages: at a first level, Wal-Mart could provide to consumers products that would not be available through local stores (Hill & Jones 2007). In fact, in Wal-Mart consumers would have the chance to choose among a high range of products; as a result, consumers would prefer to visit Wal-Mart, instead of local stores, for their shopping. Moreover, Wal-Mart, as a megastore, is able to keep the price of its products low (Hill & Jones 2007). The owners of local stores are often unable to decrease the price of their products/ services due to the fact that their sales are at a relatively low level, at least compared to the sales of megastores (Hill & Jones 2007). Wal-Mart has been already accused as leading many owners of small businesses to stop business activities, a fact that is related to the non-potential of these individuals to lower the price of their products (Kotler & Armstrong 2009, p.410). In other words, local businesses would be forced to close in the case of the entrance of Wal-Mart in their market; such decision would be unavoidable mostly due to the following two reasons: local stores would not be able to provide to consumers the high range of products available at Wal-Mart. Also, local stores could not offer their products at the price that Wal-Mart does. The advanced technology available at Wal-Mart could also lead to customer service of high quality, at least compared to local stores (Armstrong et al. 2009, p.380). A problem of unfair competition would possible appear in the above case. At this point, reference should made to the study of Guy (2007) where the following issue is highlighted: before allowing the establishment of a megastore in their town, the authorities of a small town would primarily check whether the structure/ design of their town allows such plan

Friday, August 23, 2019

Comparison of Marx and Weber on theory of Inequality Essay

Comparison of Marx and Weber on theory of Inequality - Essay Example The contemporary debate on the theories of social inequality considers Marx’s and Weber’s view, with the aim of conceptualizing class analysis. Wright (2001) emphasized the centrality of class within the Marxist tradition. Marx stated that class struggle is the motor of history, and supported an exploitation-centered concept of class. Three Marxist theses are essential in order to understand his perspective on social inequality: (1) the radical egalitarianism thesis, according to which a radically egalitarian distribution of the material conditions of life would enhance human flourishing; (2) historical possibility thesis, suggesting the feasibility of organizing society for a radically egalitarian distribution of the material conditions of life, and (3) the anti-capitalism thesis. Marx considered capitalism as the enemy of social equality, since capitalism blocks the possibility of the radical egalitarianism. Breen (2001) outlined Weber’s view on social class, presented in Economy and Society. According to Weber, members of a class share common life chances, i.e. the chances that individuals have of procuring goods. Weber stated that the market distributes life chances in accordance with the various resources that individuals bring to it. â€Å"There is no assumption in Weber that class will be the major source of conflict within capitalist society or that classes will necessarily serve as a source of collective action. Rather, the focus is on the market as the source of inequalities in life chances† (Breen 2001: 42). For Weber, classes are of interest insofar as they shape life chances. Weber identified four classes under capitalism: the â€Å"dominant entrepreneurial and propertied groups; the petty bourgeoisie; workers with formal credentials (the middle class) and those who lack them and whose only asset is their labor power (the working class)† (Breen 2001: 42). I believe that

Thursday, August 22, 2019

To what extent can ideas from gender theories enrich the understanding Essay

To what extent can ideas from gender theories enrich the understanding of inequality between women and men already developed by feminist economists - Essay Example Feminist economists do not approve methods used by neo-liberal economists in handling macroeconomic issues as they end up widening gender inequalities. Although humans are entitled to equal rights under universal declaration of human rights and states obligated to fulfil those rights, neo-liberal economic policies create a disabling environment for women’s enjoyment of human rights (Elson. 2002). On the other hand, ideas from gender theories can give a better understanding of gender inequalities as they try to give explanations or assumptions regarding the differences that exist between the two sexes. Women are given unequal treatment from men in work places. They are paid low wages even if they perform similar tasks to their male counterparts as they are considered secondary wage earners and men as the bread winners as a result of normative assumption about their roles (Razavi & Hassim, 2006). Employed women still perform their house hold chores after work and hence are overburdened and have no time to relax while men have freedom to manage their time as they don’t engage in caring roles (Epstein, 2006). This contributes to inequalities between men and women. This can be explained by Bem’s approach whereby children learn through socialization or androgyny (Adrameg, 2010). Men are considered superior than women and male experience is the normative standard. According to Bem, boys and girls are treated differently and different opportunities hence learn about gender through repetitive actions. Judith Butler’s performativity theory also present gender as kind o f doing which is repetitive ( 2004). Men hence don’t perform women’s household work as they are not used to doing. Women are rarely involved in decision making especially in state matters. They have the knowledge and skills but are perceived to be irrational and not authoritative or powerful. Feud’s psychoanalytic theory tries to explain why men are superior

How to Teach Something Essay Example for Free

How to Teach Something Essay During the week I taught my father how to play rock band he learn how to play the drums on easy and medium level. It was fun teaching him he caught on easily and he got a really high scores and it was a great experience. I taught this skill to my dad because it’s something that my little sister and I like to do and it would be fun to do together. I also taught this skill because my dad and I don’t do a lot of things together and this would just be another great thing to do together! I chose my dad because he likes learning new things. He also likes have fun! So I thought this skill would make him really happy. He also wanted to learn how to play this game but we never had it and then I got it for Christmas. So I asked him if he still wanted to learn how to play it and he said yes. After I asked him he was so excited. It was really nice to see him happy. At the beginning of the lesson, things started off nice we both got a little frustrated at another but after the first game he started getting the hang of it and kind of started to get the concept. He really enjoyed the first game. And we had a lot of laughs. But then we got on the real levels and it started to confuse him a little. But after ten minutes I explained it a little more and he got it. In the middle of the lesson, my father was on a roll and I kept on switching the song because each song could be a little more difficult. And it was hard for at some points and then we took it a little slower and he started to get the hang of it more and more each time it! It was awesome to see how good he was getting. After the lesson was over, my dad learned how to play like an expert! On medium and easy level! I had such a great time teaching my dad and in the end it’s going towards great use because now I can do a lot more things with him at hope. In the end of everything seeing my dad really happy with his accomplishment and seeing that he wanted to learn to be with me more was the icing on the cake!

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Causes And Consequences Of Youth Homelessness Social Work Essay

Causes And Consequences Of Youth Homelessness Social Work Essay Homelessness has had a history in the UK far back from the 7th century, when the kings would pass laws to punish vagrants. Ever since then the number of homeless still rises and falls, and has taken a much vast shape, enrolling the youth into it, and not just the adult homeless. Even though, in principle, the UK has adhered to the code of housing legislation ever since the first legislation of 1977, followed by the current legislation of 2002, it is worth noting that housing and homeless legislation does not apply to all parts of UK. The decentralised local governments of the four countries of UK have been vested with the responsibility of providing for the homeless, although Northern Ireland is no longer a decentralised government. This dissertation will set out to examine the causes and consequences of youth homelessness in UK, simultaneously researching into the corresponding government initiatives to house and rehabilitate these young homeless people. The age group covered in this paper is 16-25 years old. Homelessness has been an important issue in the UK, as is evident from the housing of homeless legislations to date. It is an issue which still demands strong consideration and interventions by the government and the voluntary organisations at the macro level, and family and friend at the micro level, to help prevent youth homelessness. The paper will explore the legislative context in the UK vis-Ã  -vis the work of non-profit organisations and government agencies. The paper will also delve into the details of interventions by the civil society organisations/charities in addressing the issue of youth homelessness and examine the role of social workers in the given scenario. The dearth of social housing facilities and lack of support from family and friends has led to youth living in homelessness. There are very many factors causing homelessness, which will be explored in this dissertation as we move to the succeeding sections in detail. To name a few would be those of the collapse of relationships, women fleeing abusive homes, being evicted from homes, alcoholism, and they want of complete autonomy from parents for example. However, it is important to understand that though the causes of homelessness can be categorised into social, economical, political and policy level factors, the reasons for youth homeless could also be viewed and should be viewed as individual factors. Hence, it is important to find out in detail what leads to these situations and makes them robust factors of homelessness. This paper will inspect in detail all such factors causing homelessness and consequences thereupon the youth, referring back and forth to the legislative actions and their effectiveness, and the kind of role social work can play in stabilising their lives and ensuring their welfare. Acknowledgement Dissertation structure Chapter one will be the introduction to the issue of youth homelessness in the UK. The key concepts of this subject will be defined as well as terms relevant and important in providing clarity for better comprehension of the issue. The introductory chapter will also detail the significance of this topic and the legislative context of the issue, along with the kind of work being done by the voluntary organisations and the government in dealing with youth homelessness. Chapter two will review the literature of past ten years, comprising of journals, articles, legislations and books dealing with the issue of youth homelessness, and their contribution to the understanding of causes and consequences of this issue. Reviewing literature would also help us compare and contrast the profile and nature of youth homelessness, whether it has changed over time. This chapter will also discuss the scale of youth homelessness in the past decade, by investigating into the most recent statistics of a unique nationwide study conducted in the UK, in 2008, by Joseph Rowntree Foundation and delve into an in-depth research of the issue through several journals, namely of Joan Smith, Isobel Anderson and Julie Christian (2003), Thomson, (2004), Pleace et al (2008) and Quilgars et al, (2004 2008), Mary Ellen OConnell (2003), Graham Tipple and Suzanne Speak (2003) and Sean A. Kidd (2006). I will also use these journals since the authors have written on the issue of housing the homeless extensively, which helps us in grasping the issue in totally. Moreover, in this section, I will also assess the importance of having a theoretical knowledge base in dealing with such issues as issues of youth/adolescent behaviour. Chapter three will look at the present role and interventions of social workers into this whole issue of youth homelessness and the limitations of social work practice in holistically dealing with the issue. Chapter four will present case studies which will help analyse the problems, causes and consequences for the homelessness of these individuals in relation to the already reviewed literature; vis-Ã  -vis their experiences of the same. Chapter five will be provide a closure to the paper by summarising the overall discussion undertaken in this dissertation and the role social work can play in the context of youth homelessness. However, role of social work will keep featuring throughout the paper, but certain specific discussions will be take place in this chapter to conclude the dissertation. Rationale The aim of this paper is to investigate the subject of youth homelessness; its causes and consequences on the youth aged 16-25 years of age, with a focus on difficulties they face in living their lives without any family support, more so when they are not equipped with life skills and emotional support, along with financial instability. There are multidimensional factors that create such situations where the youth find themselves homeless, marginalised, victimised, exploited and excluded. My interaction with such youth during my twenty five days field work placement at the Framework has motivated me to further explore the subject of youth homelessness, with focus on the causes and consequences that make them vulnerable and hence homeless. This interaction and exposure to the youth problems turning them into homeless youths made me curious to study the issue in detail, investigate and articulate experiences of such youths, who have either undergone or are currently facing social exclusion and being all by themselves at a young age. The unavailability of family support adversely impacts their entire existence, driving them towards precarious forces, such as unemployment, substance abuse, lack of development skills and so on. Strictly sticking to the topic of my research, I will be addressing important subsidiary question, such as the efficacy of the current legislations and government initiatives to curb youth homelessness, and the corresponding social work practices and interventions of the voluntary organisations in this whole issue. This paper will investigate the occurrence of the issue on social, personal, legal and policy levels. Reference shall be made to a range of literature, comprising recent articles, journals, studies, legislations and information gathered from the organisation I did my field work at, to support my own field work experiences with the available evidences in literary form and statistics. One such piece of reference would be the study conducted across the country, Youth Homelessness in the UK, (Quilgars. D et al, 2008), which reveals that despite significant policy developments across the UK to address youth homelessness in recent years, most particularly the extension of priority need groups and a new emphasis on the prevention of homelessness, 75,000 young people experienced homelessness in 2006-07. This scenario and inadequacy of policies and legislation in ending youth homelessness instigated me to choose the subject, to examine the magnitude of the problem and its ramifications. Under the Childrens Act 1989, children of this age group of 16-18 years are children in need of care and protection and are all entitled to welfare and development services from the local authorities in cases where they either dont have parents or have them but there are threats to childs existence in their presence. Yet, many youngsters in the UK are living in threatening circumstances, which certainly has a direct implication on the countrys overall economy and human resource as well. Lastly, I will use and analyse the given problem in the light of some case studies that I documented during my field work, which gave me an opportunity to listen to the real life experiences of a few homeless young people and how they have been assisted, to what extent by social work practices and organisations they came in contact with. This will also help establish a link between theory and practicality when social workers counter people with real issues unfold before them. Chapter 1 Introduction Food, clothing and shelter are the basic needs of any individual born to live. Anything less than these basic pre-requisites can expose human beings to threats to well-being, psycho-social imbalances and economic instability, each have its implications on the individual. While food is required for one to live and adequate and decent clothing to cover oneself, shelter is most important for ones safety and personal space. Absence or insufficient provision of any of these basic needs can result into insecurities and decreased morale. According to Maslows hierarchy of needs, fulfilment of the basic physical requirements including the need for food, water, sleep and warmth is essential for people to move on to the next level of needs, which are for safety and security. All other needs become secondary until these physiological needs are met (Cherry, 2010) Therefore, it is important to acknowledge what impact homelessness can have on young people in fulfilling the other basic needs and developing their potential. Homelessness in the UK has exceeded the mere meaning of being without a roof by several folds. A person could be homeless even if he may possess a family house if that home is not conducive for the stay of the person. Since this paper will focus on youth homelessness, it is important to understand the legal definitions of homelessness in the context of young people and build the ideas around it, which this paper seeks to do. Although it is difficult to estimate the exact number of homeless young people in the UK due to their high mobility, yet the recent estimate as per the 2006-07 study in the UK, (Quilgars, et. al, 2008) tells us that at least 75,000 young people experience homelessness. This is an estimation based on the number of youth connected to organisations providing housing services and hence, many go un-estimated (Robinson and Farrington, 1999). There have been two predominant approaches used to explain youth homelessness. These are called the individually based perspectives and structurally based perspectives (Hutson and Liddiard, 1994). The former viewing youth homelessness as a result of an individuals own mistakes, which render him/her homeless, such as not paying rent or not obeying their parents. This gets them into the situation where they lose their homes and become shelterless. In contrast, the Structural perspective understands youth homelessness as an outcome of social factors and inequalities that impact individuals, such as the effect of poverty (Giddens, 1998). These approaches are important to underpin the contemporary scenario of youth homelessness and will be referred to in the course of the dissertation. Legislations, on the other hand, provide a framework for all social actions to operate in line with the set standards and procedures, defining the problem in a legally accepted way. Prior to the passage of the Homeless Persons Act 1977, the liability of providing for the homeless people was entrusted with the social services department in its entirety. This Act later shifted the responsibility onto the district (local) housing department focusing on the shelter needs and not the families unmet needs that rendered them homeless (Smith, 2003). Definition of Homelessness and some vital statistics Even though in principle the UK adheres to the code of housing legislation ever since the first legislation of 1977, yet it is worth noting that housing and homeless legislation does not apply to all parts of UK. The decentralised local governments of the four countries of UK have been vested with the responsibility of providing for the homeless, although Northern Ireland is no longer a decentralised government. (Quilgars, et al 2008) In the UK, the definition of homelessness is not just that of an individual being without a roof and/or living on streets. It is much broader than this and anyone seeking accommodation in a friends house, staying in a hostel, or living in overcrowded or unsuitable accommodation is classed as homeless. This may be because the person does not have any rights to stay where he/she live or even of his/her own family home is unsuitable for stay. (Need Reference) A person is homeless if he or she has no accommodation which they are entitled to occupy and which it would be reasonable for them to continue to occupy. (Brayne and Carr, 2005, p.700). The Homelessness Act of 1996 laid down parameters for qualifying as being priority needs group for those seeking assistance from local authorities. Under this legislation, the priority needs group did not include the youth aged 16-24 years. There was no provision for this category of young generation that was increasingly being lost to homelessness and problems that emerged from being homeless. A pregnant woman, person residing with dependent children, vulnerability induced by old age, mental illness, physical disability or other special reasons were culminated into the priority group; having priority need for accommodation. By the virtue of this Act, the local authority was duty bound to provide temporary accommodation (usually Bread Breakfast), while they investigated their application. The 1996 homelessness legislation on the whole did not have provisions for the youth homeless, where it could have included under the category of age induced vulnerability. The 16/17 year old homeless were brought under the purview of 2002 applicable in England and Wales, while the Homeless Act 2002 was followed by separate legislation in Scotland in 2003, and in North Ireland (Smith, 2004). The 2002 definition also included those lately released from prisons or youth custody and previous members of armed forces and those with a history of care. UK homelessness education has emphasised on two types of housing situations for defining its homelessness. These are, the occupancy status and security and insecurity of the tenure. The 2002 legislation has included all forms of violence leading to homelessness through loss of the right to a home into the definition, which was earlier limited to only domestic violence in 1996 Act. (Smith, 2003). Homeless legislation right from the first one in 1977 till 2002, have created a national framework for defining homeless over the last 25 years. Homelessness legislations and the government initiative for rough sleepers across the UK have also fundamentally shaped the definition of homelessness. There are three categories for defining homelessness in the UK, which are; Statutory Homeless, Non-statutory homeless and Rough Sleepers (who sleep in the open or uninhabitable places like sheds etc.). Statutory homelessness refers to the applicants to whom the local service authorities owe the duty of housing because they fulfil the criteria of being in need and vulnerable, hence fitting into the priority needs group. The existing data, though inadequate, estimates that at least 75,000 16-24 year olds experienced homelessness in the UK in the year 2006-07 alone. The largest group of statutory homeless were the young people at 43,075 of 75,000. Many young homeless children of this age bracket are found to be with dependent children themselves, particularly those from18-24 years of age. Scotland and many urban areas of the UK tend to report rate of statutorily homeless young people. Young girls qualify to be more in this category of statutorily homeless than young men (Quilgars., et al 2008). Of the 8,300 pregnancies among girls conceiving before the age of 16 in 2008, two-fifths resulted in births and the other three-fifths in abortions. Teenage motherhood is eight times as common amongst those from manual social background as for those from managerial and professional backgrounds (Conception statistics, ONS England and Wales) and ISD Scotland, Great Britain; updated Feb 2010). The non-statutory homeless are those who lose their accommodation due to their own mistakes, such as those who fail to pay their rent and therefore lose their hold over the accommodation. Such category does not fit into the eligibility criteria of seeking housing support from the local authorities. Of the estimated homeless youth in 2006-07, 31,000 were numbered to be non-statutorily homeless young people using Supporting People services during the given year. Qualitative evidence tells us that on a whole considerable number of young people have experienced rough sleeping (sleeping in open spaces) over the course of a year than on any given night in the UK. The combined total of estimates and counts of rough sleepers in England in 2010 was 1,247; this comprised 440 from the 70 authorities that conducted a count and 807 from the 256 authorities that provided estimates (Rough Sleeping England Total Street Count and Estimates 2010, 23 July 2010). Local Authorities were especially challenged by the voluntary organisations and welfare advocates on the issue of young single homeless because such a high proportion of the young single homeless living in hostels, having a history of local authority child care. The voluntary agencies and welfare advocates observed that many young homeless also fell qualified as priority need under the Homeless Persons Legislation because they were vulnerable (Smith, 2003). In 1996, a Youth Homelessness Action Partnership of NGOs came up with their own wider definition of youth homelessness, which was also based on the housing situations of youth. Their definitions included those immediately homeless and/or rough sleeping (on streets, dilapidated buildings, and includes those who spend periods rough sleeping, and other periods on friends floors or hostels); those living short term with friends or in direct access hostels (short-term accommodation); those doubled up living with relatives or friends (hidden homeless); and those who may be asked to leave their accommodation or whose accommodation is temporary including those living under licence agreements (insecure accommodation and lodgings) (Youth Homeless Action Partnership, 1996). Thus, the housing situation has been considered to a great extent to shape up the changing definitions of homelessness and youth homelessness. There have been several studies focusing on different types of homeless situations. The Homelessness Act 2002 is certainly an extensive Act that has taken into account the youth who are so much at risk of losing their family home more so after attaining the age of 16 years and even when the children turn 13 years old. The UK, being a child rights country, has set up structures and systems to assist and support the youth in resuming a steady life. Much stress is thus laid on inter agency and coordinated efforts of the government and NGOs/charities in evolving strategies to combat and tackle the issue. There are many agencies, both voluntary and government that have instituted or funded the institution of hostels for these homeless youth, consequences of which will be dealt with in the coming sections on the causes and consequences of youth home lessness. (Need reference) Significance of the study This dissertation is has its own significance, whereby it will look at the whole issue of youth homelessness at four levels, the social, personal, legal and state policy level. Thereafter, it will discuss the far reaching adverse impacts this has had and continues to have on young people that also bring all the legal actions and their efficacy, role of authorities concerned and family structure in the UK under a scanner. Legislative Context The Childrens Act 1989 made strong recommendations of housing the young people who move out of the local authorities care, This Act gave a new dimension to the social work practice in the context of youth homelessness. Children aged between 16-17 years were designated as children in need. This bound the local authorities to provide accommodation to these homeless irrespective of the fact under whose jurisdiction they fell, or was it the Social Service Departments or district authorities duty to do so. This age group was accepted as the priority need group. The new legislation of 2002 also expanded its circumference accepting this age group as highly vulnerable and hence to be served on priority basis. (www.legislation.gov.uk ). Prior to the 2002 Act, the authority had a duty to house those applicants of which they were convinced were households/individuals in the priority need group, as set out in section 189 of the 1996 Act. However, by section 197 of the 1996 Act, the authority would simply limit its role to that of an advisor by enabling the people in need of accommodation find other alternative suitable accommodation by themselves. The 2002 Act repealed this section and made it obligatory for the authorities under section 193, to secure suitable accommodation for applicants who are eligible, homeless through no fault of their own, and have a priority need. This duty was limited to two years by the 1996 Act; the 2002 Act removed this 2 year limitation. (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2002/7/notes/division/3 ). The 1996 Act provided that allocations could only be made to those accepted as a qualifying person and placed on the housing register maintained by the housing authority. This requisite was removed by the 2002 Act. The Act requires all applications to be considered by authorities, including applications for a transfer of accommodation from existing tenants. (www.legislation.gov.uk). The 2002 legislation amended the definition of violence by encompassing all kinds of violence that leads to homelessness. It mandated the local authorities to conduct homelessness reviews in their areas and come up with strategies to combat it, and work in collaboration with the voluntary and statutory organisations to deal with this social menace taking toll on youth well-being in the UK. The local housing authorities were permitted to offer accommodation to the non priority need homeless households as well. From the onset, the policies and legislation emphasised on the preventive aspect to curb homelessness, particularly youth homelessness. Pilot preventive schemes have included Safe in the City and Safe Moves (Nistala and Dane, 2000; Safe in the City, 2000; Quilgars et al., 2004). A new National Youth Homeless Scheme (NYHS) was launched in England in 2007, a central scheme to tackle the issue, led by the YMCA and Centrepoint. This comprised innovative prevention strategies to reduce youth homelessness, and work with those who already homeless. Supported Lodging exemplar schemes in 2007/08 for knowledge sharing on experiences gained by working with authorities for developing such schemes where need arises (CLG, 2007a). Joint projects with Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF) to explore how youth homeless could be reduced were undertaken by the central government. This focused on age wise intervention strategy for children ranging from 16-17 years old homeless youth and those at risk, care leavers (18-21 years old) who are homeless or potentially homeless, children in households living in transient shelters and the children in intentionally homeless households. All these circumstance possessed the power to make these children vulnerable to homelessness. Through Safe Moves, an early intervention model was devised to deal with the problem by using peer monitoring, family mediation and life skill training with young people aged 13-18 years to prevent homelessness. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, young people at risk due to financial insecurity and sexual exploitation are also described as priority need group by guidance to legislation. Wales has set the age limit for this group at 18-20, whereas North Ireland and Scotland have not set any specific age limit. Additionally, Scotland also includes this age group youth involved in substance misuse as priority need group. The Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 extended rights of temporary accommodation to all single (non-priority) homeless people for the first time and the 2003 Housing Act enables the Scottish ministers to abolish the priority need test to provide accommodation services to all those assessed homeless. Scotland is also setting out to achieve the target of abolishing priority need by 2012, thereby giving all homeless people including the youth, the right to permanent re-housing (Code of Guidance on Homelessness, Chapter 6, 2005). England also has a target to abolish Bread and Breakfast accommodation use to emergency situations only for 16-17 years old. Support programmes were also introduced across the UK in 2003, to help local authorities and service providers ensure independent living of the homeless and hence socially excluded in general and youth people at risk and vulnerable to other related problems (which will be discussed in the following chapter 2) by imparting life skills training, vocational trades as employment skills, housing support, tenancy etc. Local authorities have enhanced the number of supported housing schemes that provide bed-spaces for those with mental health problems, physical health problems, learning disabilities, alcohol or drug use problems etc. (The Supporting Peoples Programme, available at http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmselect/cmcomloc/649/649i.pdf ). The Every Child Matters framework and introduction of Child Trusts arrangements have improved the range of indicators across the country. Childrens Commissioners have been established in each country, known as Children and Young People Commissioners in Scotland and North Ireland. Also, lately in England, emphasis has been laid on the role of parenting (Social Exclusion Task Force, 2008). Leaving care acts have also extended the obligation of the social services to provide care leavers with accommodation till the age of 18 years across the UK. However, there are pros and cons of every development that takes place. In fact, it will be most opportune to discuss as I move along in my work whether its the disasters that lead to development or the vice versa. Though youth homelessness is not a disaster, i.e. it would technically not fall under any defined parameter compounding to a disaster, natural calamity or a man-made one. Nonetheless, seeing the level of risk a youth is posed with at a fragile age, where all the other problems follow her or him being without a family home, is not less than a disaster for that young child, perhaps a situational and human made disaster. To a certain extent, these developments and expansion in facilities by the government and voluntary associations to the young homeless children, who actually leave their families to live a precarious independent life has in some way aggravated youth homelessness and the misuse of the term homeless. My 25 days field placement made me learn how the youngsters, particularly the teenage girls under 16, got pregnant to just acquire accommodation, away from home. Hence, it is very important to maintain equilibrium to counter the issue and not aggravate it, by default though. It is here that the role of social work takes precedence in mediating the situation at the very initial stage. The law making bodies of the nation seems to have grasped this urgency to work at the preventive aspects and not just intercede at the curative level, as a result of which preventive measures for Homelessness are being talked of in the legislation of 1996 and 2002. It is extremely important for the authorities to work on the prevention part along with rendering services and relief to the needy. The next chapter shall now focus on reviewing the relevant literature on this topic to give a better understanding of the issues that face young homeless people. Structure of the study-what will be covered in the subsequent chapters Chapter Two: Literature Review Introduction Coverage of the study/ Criteria of literature (like what source I am going to use eg-journal article, books ,research and year) Causes of youth homelessness Consequences of youth homelessness 5-Similarities and Dissimilarities between proposed problem and existing studies Scope of relevance of theoretical knowledge Chapter summary Chapter Three: Social worker vs. homeless youth Organisations working on homeless issues Role of social worker in dealing with homeless youth in UK In the 1980s, the voluntary organisations challenged the legislation for not considering the young single homeless, whose number was increasing rapidly in the hostels. Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 2002 extended its reach by amending the previous 1996 legislation and covering the young single homeless and those aged 16-17 years by designating them as priority need group. Homelessness has always been defined in different ways by the voluntary organisations, which entails different aspects. Voluntary organisations have stressed on including the single homeless people into the category of homeless and many such categories from time to time. Therefore the problem of youth homeless is a manifestation of wider social and economic reasons primarily. There are a range of personal and social circumstances that land youth into such situations (Scottish Executive, 2002; OPDM, 2005; Cabinet Office, 2006; DSD, 2007). Anybody can face homelessness, however, it the socially and economically marginalised and those hailing from poor families are deemed to be much vulnerable in coping with such situations. Such situations for homeless youth have often led to them losing their jobs and education, after moving away from their mooring. However, these progressive changes in the homelessness laws in the country have partly resulted from the NGOs and charity sector lobbying with the government, based on research into the needs of homeless people that has been undertaken in the UK.(need to understand the use of this paragraph in legislative heading) Limitations in social work practice Chapter Four: Analysis of the problem Case studies Analysis of the problem Chapter summary Chapter Five: Discussion Introduction Implication of the social work practice Chapter summary Future research

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Nasal Surgeries and Procedures Types

Nasal Surgeries and Procedures Types Neurocranial restructuring Neurocranial restructuring is the relaxation of neuro tissues to relieve tension and return the skulls structure to its naturally designed appearance. Neurocranial restructuring has been successfully used for many years to relieve a variety of serious conditions as well as being used as a non invasive alternative to cosmetic therapy. The methods of actually engaging in Neurocranial restructuring vary depending on the nature of the condition to be treated as well as the nature of the individual. Typically the procedure will be enacted by a trained natural doctor (ND) who learns the technique used from one of several pioneering doctors who first began to practice the technique in the mid to late nineties. The default technique is to use endonasal balloon therapy to expand nasal cavities and realign the skulls muscular structure. The benefits of this realignment are said to be improved sensory and neurological function; there is anecdotal evidence to suggest that Neurocranial restructuring can improve or cure conditions as varied as chronic migraines, ADD, depression, bi polar personality disorder, back problems, hearing problems, sinus problems, eye sight issues, arthritis, Anxiety and even conditions such as strokes, seizures and sleep apnoea. Neurocranial restructuring has been a life line given to many individuals suffering from these conditions, granting a relief from symptoms and producing lasting affects in prolonged use with chronic condition sufferers. In addition neurocranial restructuring can realign smaller muscles and tissues to realign the ears, straighten the nose, release wrinkles and tension in the face, heighten cheekbones and produce a better symmetrical appearance. In this way a series of cosmetic surgeries can be avoided and serious surgery and surgical alteration to the nasal and sinus structures of the skull can be avoided. The patient can receive benefits after a series of procedures (the number and time taken being different depending on the procedure employed). Nasal specific A nasal specific is a procedure designed to apply pressure to the nasal cavities within the nose. There are six nasal passages within the nose which are arranged in two vertical lines of three. The purpose of this procedure is to apply pressure to the inside of the nasal passage. By doing this it will expand the nasal passage, expand and open up blood vessels and push out any excess mucus. There are many names used for this procedure though all of them refer to the same basic procedure which can be referred to as a bilateral nasal specific (named due to the practice of utilising the laterally adjacent nasal passages in sequence to maintain symmetry) or nasal specific which refers to just the practice in relation to a specific nasal passage or the opening of nasal passages one after another without special precautions to maintain symmetrical balance of the nasal passages. The results of nasal specific procedures vary as with any procedure of this nature with the issue to be affixed and the patient themselves. Typically the procedure will be enacted once and then repeated as required to maintain or improve benefits. The time period between procedures can vary as a result of this but can range from one to six months. The actual nasal specific procedure uses a finger cot affixed to a blood pressure bulb (sphygmomanometer) which is lubricated before being inserted into the nasal cavities and inflated. The aim of Nasal specific procedures being to free up the nasal cavity by expansion, push out any structures blocking the nasal passage such as excess mucus and also realign some of the soft tissues immediately behind the nasal passage to offer some additional aid (anecdotal evidence of balance, sensory perception and hearing improvement has been noted). Bilateral nasal specific A bilateral nasal specific is a procedure which has been utilised and studied since 1995 and proven to have significant benefits to the health of patients. The procedure is a simple one which begins with the examination of the patient and an inspection of their nasal cavities as well as their medical history. In some cases a blood test and screening may be conducted to ensure perfect health and nothing is present which may complicate the matter. Once preliminary work is done the patient is sat back and asked to breath in and out in a relaxing manner whilst the instruments are prepared. Typically the procedure will involve a finger cot of endonasal balloon affixed to a blood pressure bulb. The finger cot is lubricated prior to insertion. Once the patient he is asked to breathe out and hold while the finger cot is inserted. The Patient then breathes in gently and holds his breath while the practitioner slowly inflates the cot and gently pushes it towards the back of the nasal cavity. At this point in the bilateral nasal specific procedure any mucus or blockages are pushed out and into the back of the throat (mucus discharge through coughing etc. is to be expected). The aim here is to enlarge the blood vessels around the cavity as well as the nasal cavity itself to open up the sinuses. As another health benefit of the bilateral nasal specific procedure the finger cot or balloon is pushed out of the back of the nasal cavity and into the back of the throat very gently by the practitioner. This applies gentle pressure to the Sphenoid bone immediately at the back of the nasal cavities and realigns plates in that area by gentle manipulation. Endonasal Balloon therapy Endonasal balloon therapy refers to an alternative practice to bilateral nasal specific therapy. In this case rather than a finger cot a balloon is used and rather than just one two are used at the same time. The basic procedure is similar but the aim is different in that the nasal cavity is not the sole source of attention but the alteration of the Sphenoid bone is the main aim of the therapy to realign the plates surrounding that bone and alter the structure of the skull. Endonasal balloon therapy is the method utilised when engaging in Neurocranial reconstruction procedures to realign the muscular structure and skeletal plates of the skull. As a procedure it can have many benefits but these are dependent on the degree of repair required and the frequency of procedures; which may need to be repeated between one to six months after the previous procedure to maintain or improve benefits to health. The Endonasal balloon therapy first begins with a preliminary inspection and a proper patient history to ensure the patients eligibility much like other procedures of the nature. Once the patient is ensured to be able to undertake the procedure the practitioner will examine the patient’s plate structure and utilise a deep tissue massage to relax the tissue that will require manipulation. Afterwards the practitioner will ask him to lay back and try to breathe in a relaxing and calm manner while he prepares to enact the procedure. Once ready the practitioner will have the patient breathe out prior to inserting the balloon through the nasal cavity and into the back of the throat. This is repeated with a second balloon on the opposite side of the nasal cavity to the first. The practitioner will then conduct the endonasal balloon procedure by manipulating the sphenoid bone and plate structures using the balloons, inflating them to apply pressure and deflating to decrease pressure while asking the patient to breathe in or out and hold accordingly. Nasal cranial release A nasal cranial release is a method similar and derivative of the bilateral nasal specific, in this procedure the objective is to realign the skulls skeletal plates to a more natural position, relieving many of the tensions and cranial dysfunctions which can cause or be an additional influence on many mental and physical conditions. The method is similar and yet different to both Nasal specific and Endonasal balloon therapy in that it utilises the nasal cavity and uses balloon structures. Its effect is similar yet aims for a different region of the skeletal structure. The procedure lasts three to four seconds, where small balloons are inserted through the nasal cavity and inflated to realign structures at the back of the cavities. The Sphenoid bone is the target yet the method is to utilise multiple balloons at once through the nasal cavities allowing the procedure to be conducted in a short amount of time, requiring repetitions of at least four times over seven to ten days much like Neurocranial restructuring. Nasal Cranial release is mainly involved with the release of tension from the skeletal structure of the skull. To understand this you must first understand that the skull is in fact 22 different moving bones (much like tectonic plates), these bones can move and flex in order to absorb shock and tension in the skull but unfortunately this can mean that tension is stored in areas where it can cause issues. The aim of Neurocranial release therapy is to relieve the tension in these bones and by extension to the bones supporting them, the knock on effect can have surprising results for the rest of the bodys structure, especially in the spine, shoulders and chest. The benefits of this procedure involve the improvement of sinus and sensory capability as well as combating chronic migraines, blurred vision and mental conditions such as depression, hyperactivity and ADD.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Life of Pakistani Villagers :: Essays Papers

Life of Pakistani Villagers The Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a Muslim state, won its freedom from India in 1947. Sixty percent of its population lives in villages. Farmers or herders have jobs in nearby cities or towns. Traditional customs have a strong influence on the life in rural areas of Pakistan, e.g. men have more social freedom than women do. Women avoid contact with men outside their family, and they cover their faces with a veil in the presence of strangers. In the villages, family houses cluster tightly together along narrow alleys, sharing a tank or shallow pond for washing clothes and for watering vegetables and livestock. House walls are mostly built of mud, and they rise to meet thatched roofs. A typical home may have a few pieces of simple furniture with straw mats covering the bare earth floor. A few stone or brick houses shelter the wealthy landlords and merchants. Most of the villagers live in same-styled, mud houses and cooperate with each other in daily life. Pakistani villagers dress themselves very simply as compared to city people. The most common dress for both men and women is a 'Shalwar Kamiz,' which consists of loose trousers worn under a long overblouse. Women wear a 'Doppta' and strictly observe 'purdah' by hiding their faces and private parts of their bodies. Families within the houses are seldom composed of mother, father, and young children. The extended family is more customary in Pakistan. Sons bring their wives to their family home and rear their children there. The eldest father uses the joint earnings of the family members for their support. Farm families work in the fields, raise crops, and tend them. When the crops are ready, they harvest and sell them. During this entire period, women also help in the fields by seeding, watering, and tending the crops alongside the male members of the family. In the extended family, the eldest father supervises the outdoor work while the mother looks after the indoor work. The children help their parents run the house. Villagers normally eat very simple meals consisting of a vegetable curry, a gruel of parched grams or lentils eaten with a bread called 'Chapati' or 'Roti.' The women cook the food which they serve on trays set on the floor. Women eat separately after the male members of the family have taken their meal.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Samuel Sewall :: essays research papers

Samuel Sewall born in 1652 in England. He was taken as a child to Newbury, Massachusetts, and graduated from Harvard in 1671. He became a minister but gave up the role to take management of a printing press in Boston and entered upon a public career. He was elected in 1683 to the general court and was a member of the council. As one of the judges who tried the Salem witchcraft cases in 1692, he shared the responsibility for the conviction of nineteen persons. However, he became convinced of the error of these convictions and in 1697 in Old South Church, Boston, publicly accepted the â€Å"blame and shame† for them. Sewall served for thirty-seven years as judge of the superior court of the colony, being chief justice during the last ten years of his service. Sewall was also a well-known author and his most famous work was his three-volume diary, which is very revealing of Samuel Sewall and the period he lived in. Sewall was a respected figure of his time and shared relations w ith other prominent icons of the colonial era. When Sewall entered Harvard he shared a home for two years with Edward Taylor, a famous American poet who became a lifelong friend of Sewall’s. Also in the year of the Salem witch Trials Samuel Sewall was appointed as one of nine judges by Govenor Phips, another fellow judge on this board was Cotton Mather. A famous individual of colonial times he was a minister of Boston’s Old North Church and was a true believer in witchcraft. Sewall and Mather were both puritans, authors, and shared similar views. Samuel Sewall died in Boston, Massachusetts in 1730, January 1st. Samuel Sewall’s writing was of a traditional Puritan style. His work often concentrated on religion, politics, business life, and good living. But unlike Puritans of his time Sewall’s many writings addressed specific concerns about the rights of Native Americans and of African-Americans brought as slaves to the colonies. Sewall wrote the first Puritan anti-slaveholding tract The Selling of Joseph. The literary work that Sewall is most famous for is his Diary; it consists of a minute record of his daily life, reflecting his interest in living piously and well. He notes little purchases of sweets for a woman he was courting, and their disagreements over whether he should affect upper class and expensive ways such as wearing a wig and using a coach.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Guantanamo Bay Essay

The United States of America prides itself as being one of the most powerful democracies around the world and The U. S. ’s continued use of Guantanamo Bay, a corrupt institution, as an interrogation facility provides a great example of their ignorance toward basic human rights, their unwillingness to release possibly innocent immigrants back to their countries and lastly disregarding the option of altering interrogation methods or the closing of such an institution. The U. S. being one of the world’s superpowers also infringes upon human rights by funding and supporting Guantanamo Bay. Guantanamo Bay demonstrates the U. S. ’s willingness to gain military intelligence at the cost of possible innocent people’s sanity and at times their lives. Residents at Guantanamo Bay are often held without being told about what they are being held for, their right to habeas corpus is withdrawn from them. Also, on average only one in every one hundred and seventy two detainees at Guantanamo Bay has been given a trial. In addition, the Pentagon has been reluctant to allow aid agencies like the Red Cross to visit the detainees and inspect their living conditions. The torture at Guantanamo Bay is so severe that it caused three residents (Mani al-Utaybi, age 30; Yasser al-Zahrani, age 20; and Ali Abdullah Ahmed, age 37) to commit suicide . However, there is controversy as to whether these three men killed themselves or were strangled by Guantanamo Bay guards or interrogators and strung up to make their death appear like a suicide. During year 2002 Canada became directly involved with Guantanamo Bay. A fifteen year old kid who was alleged to have thrown a grenade killing an American soldier was brought to Guantanamo Bay and was detained there until last year. Omar Khadr was held at Guantanamo Bay and during 2008 he applied to the federal court for judicial review of the governments decision to not seek his repatriation. He claimed that his s. 7 and rights were infringed. â€Å"Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice. † The court found Khadr’s s. 7 rights breached as a result of the â€Å"frequent flyer program†. Khadr was not given any immediate counsel at the time of his arrest, breaching s. 0(b) of The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. â€Å"Everyone has the right on arrest or detention to retain and instruct counsel without delay and to be informed of that right. † Like many other detainees at Guantanamo Bay Khadr’s right to habeas corpus was infringed, which is s. 10(c) of the charter. â€Å"Everyone has the right on arrest or detention to have the validity of the detention determined by way of habeas corpus and to be released if the detention is not lawful. † Lastly, Khadr was brought to Guantanamo Bay during year 2002 and was not tried for murder until year 2007, which breaches his s. 1(b) rights. â€Å"Any persons charged with an offence has the right to be tried within a reasonable time. † The most terrible thing about both Guantanamo Bay’s disregard for human rights and treatment of foreigners is the strong aversion The United States has towards the reconstruction and the development of new methods of operation for Guantanamo Bay. Gathering military intelligence is a high priority but that priority should never be at the cost of a possible innocent person’s well being. Therefore, the idea of closing an institution like Guantanamo Bay should not seem extrinsic. However, interrogation facilities are needed in order for the U. S. to stay vigilant with anti-terrorism, but there should be a need to modify Guantanamo Bay’s practices so that detainees can keep their rights. Torin Nelson, a former Guantanamo Bay employee interviewed in the documentary â€Å"Gitmo – a documentary on Guantanamo Bay† spoke regarding Guantanamo Bay’s current interrogation tactics. â€Å"In my humble opinion they’re completely ineffective and detrimental to the overall mission†¦ I guarantee you I could get one person to give more information (compared to trying to get information from ten detainees using current methods) if I was to convince that one person that we’re the good guys and we’re their friends. † In summation, Guantanamo Bay is a corrupt institution because it ignores fundamental human rights by cruelly treating residents, it withholds possible innocent detainees like Omar Khadr and The U. S. is not showing any sign of changing Guantanamo Bay’s methods even though it might prove a more efficient way of gathering military intelligence.

Pride, Prejudice, and Vanity Essay

For two hundred years Jane Austen’s novels have been read, reread, dog-eared and bookmarked. They have been opened with smiles and closed with reluctant sighs, picked up and not put down again until every word has been read, cherished, and safely secreted away within the reader. Austen’s novels are each a rich bouquet of themes, motifs, and imagery. Perhaps most prominent of these themes is Austen’s depiction of love in the face of potential lovers’ pride, prejudice, and vanity. In Pride and Prejudice, one of the most significant illustrations of these themes can be found in the romances between the Bennet girls and their suitors, as courtships are wrought with snap judgments, uncompromising ideals, and extreme concern with frivolity such as appearance and social standing; no relationship in the novel exemplifies this more than that of Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy. In Pride and Prejudice, love and propriety harmonized with humor and irony, as Austen displayed her special talent for creating interesting people, places, and things; through ironic humor, cynicism, and rapier-like puns, the techniques employed by Austen to name items in her novels provide significant insight into the characters, serve as a subtle means for social criticism, and prove a successful comedic device, creating humor out of the mundane and displaying love in the most unlikely places. Her title for Pride and Prejudice initially appears that she abandoned much of the similar wit for a straightforward description of her text, though upon reading, one is forced to question the appropriateness of the novel’s â€Å"prejudice. † While it can said to be in Darcy’s general contempt for the lower social classes, it is really more his own vanity that makes him crave status so. Similarly, the Bennets are also rife with pride and predetermined â€Å"facts† of life, as Elizabeth has tends to judge upon first impressions and is often highly critical of others. However, the title speaks to something greater than the words themselves, and really speaks of the flaws of most humans: â€Å"The meanings that ‘pride’ and ‘prejudice’ acquire are related to the central theme of all of Jane Austen’s novels—the limitations of human vision† (Zimmerman 65). This limitation of human vision, the inability to see moral and actual existence clearly, not only leads to pride, prejudice, but also vanity. Through the less-than-clever Mary Bennet, Austen gives her delineation of vanity and pride: â€Å"Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us† (Austen). The romance between Lizzy and Darcy is not unlike Jane Bennet and Mr. Bingley’s in that the lovers share similar personalities and ultimately find great joy in being together, although it does differ in the course it takes, hindered by the pride and vanity of each. While Jane and Bingley were immediately enamored with each other, Lizzy and Darcy begin the novel as ultimately, Lizzy and Darcy’s love epitomizes ardor and devotion in spite of pride and vanity of each, however prejudice may be a misnomer. Lizzy actually has ample reasons to dislike Darcy after she meets him: â€Å"1) his snobbish and insulting remarks about her at the ball; 2) his attempt to break up the romance between Jane and Bingley; and 3) his alleged injustice to Wickham† (Fox 186). However, her disposition exemplifies her vanity, not prejudice, and her vanity is apparent throughout the novel. When Lizzy writes to Mrs. Gardiner to inform her of the engagement she writes, â€Å"I am happier even than Jane; she only smiles, I laugh† (250). Though Lizzy is happy, her vanity lies at the root of what she says, and: â€Å"It is clear that vanity here applies, not to the impression Elizabeth wants to make on others, but to her own opinion of herself† (Dooley 188). She is happy, after abandoning her initial judgments of Darcy, however she still compares her happiness to that of her sister. Through the two romances of Jane and Lizzy, Austen has painted a portrait of the good and of the great and how vanity often leads to greater significance in relationships. While the love between Jane and Bingley is sweet and honest, the love between Lizzy and Darcy is real, visceral, and passionate; one produces a smile, the other a rapturous laughter that only fills the void where words prove lacking. This is due greatly to the pride and the vanity of both Lizzy and Darcy, who each create higher ideals for them to live by, and the only real prejudice that exists in the novel is that which exists in every human.

Friday, August 16, 2019

Chapter emerging market

Among the most significant risks are political volatility, economic policy volatility and also legal risks. Firms entering emerging markets must understand the risks and take necessary action to mitigate the effect of those particular risks. 3. 2 political volatility Despite the demonstration and free market orientation process among emerging market countries, some of them particularly the one that just achieved independence, is having an election, or governs by corrupt individual or political party are susceptible to political risks.Multinational companies that invest In this little country are exposed to risks such as military coups, civil war, mass labor strikes, violence street protest, or erratic changes In government policy and Industry regulations that pose a threat to foreign Investment. Among the political risks associated with emerging markets are: Although the barrier to trade in most emerging markets have fall, and most of these countries are now enjoying greater stabilit y and experiencing steady growth, these emerging markets remain vulnerable to political risks that usually started inside the country itself and was largely beyond the control of investors.Extreme nationalism and religious fundamentalism as evidence in countries like Indonesia, Pakistan and India further contribute to the problem. Different in ideology and oppression from the current government also contributes to political volatility. Russia for example is still having an uncertain future direction as politics is unpredictable due to ongoing power struggles between reformers and the old-line communists. If the political clout could not be solved peacefully, then there is a potential for a civil war. Sir Lang is an example of a country that has been experiencing a civil war.There is a power tussle between the two ethnic groups, the Ginghams that currently forms the government of the country and the Tamil. Tamil guerrillas are fighting for and independent Tamil state. There has been an intense fighting since 1994 with more than 70,000 people have been killed in the war. 3. 2. 1 Corruption and cronyism Another serious issue associated with emerging markets is corruption and cronyism. Corruption refers to dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power, typically involving bribery or the abuse of a position of trust for dishonest gain. Most emerging markets in fact are always associated with corruption.Brazil for example suffers lost of unbelievable USED 60 billion to corruption and fraud in connection with government and social programs between the periods of 1990 to 1994 [1]. Even Malaysia is having the same problem as reported by the Auditor General on the issue of very serious leakages in government agencies expenditure. Second Finance Minister has made a media statement dated October 26, 2009 that the government billions of dollars lost due to leakages that involved in purchasing and procurement t the extreme pricing and do not meet the specifications and standards.Local newspaper, The STAR on October 26, 2009 also reported that this leakage resulted in losses between ARM 14-28 billion over a period of one year. Cronyism refers to the appointment of relatives and friends to positions of authority, without proper regard to their qualifications or an individual who was able to exploit connections with the government or private officers to gain wealth and economic position.In Philippine, cronies controlled key sectors, including the sugar and coconut industries and media, ND got state loans, lucrative contracts and concessions under the 31 -year-rule of Ferdinand Marco's who was ousted in 1986. In Thailand, Thai politicians depend heavily on business support during election. Patronage politics, particularly in the countryside, boosts both political spending and the cronyism mentality of asking favors from the powerful. The prostitution and drugs trade has also corrupted many officials and police force of the country [2]. 3. 2. Fight aga inst drug cartel Another problem that has an impact on political aspect of emerging countries fight against drug cartel. In recent years, the Mexico drug cartels have waged increasingly violent battles with one another as well as with the Mexican government. Upon taking office in December 2006, Mexican President Feline Cauldron deployed thousands of federal troops in an aggressive crackdown on drug-related violence. Yet death tolls continue to rise. There were more than 2,500 drug-related deaths in 2007, and the yearly toll rose to more than 4,000 by the end of 2008.Murders and street gun battles are only part of a more entrenched problem that includes corrupt police forces and a lackluster Judiciary [3]. 3. 2. Territorial claim and possible war In some region, there is a tense relationship between emerging countries with its neighboring country due to multiple territorial claims among countries. If a peaceful solution could not be reached through peaceful negotiations, there will b e potential for war between these nations. This is evidence at the Sprat's Islands at South China Sea.The area consists of more than 100 small islands or reefs, surrounded by rich fishing area and potentially by gas and oil deposits. They are claimed in their entirety by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, while portions are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines. About 45 islands are occupied by relatively small numbers of military forces from China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Brunet has established a fishing zone that overlaps a southern reef but has not made any formal claim.In June 2011, the tense situation in Sprat's Islands amplify as the Philippines complains that Chinese ships offloaded building materials and erected marker posts on reefs to the west of its island of Palatal, within Manila's exclusive economic zone. Political volatility is hard to quantify due to broad characteristics of each emerging markets. What the managers could do is to anticipate upcomin g changes in the political aspect of the nation and formulate timely, successful strategies in the face of sudden changes and uncertainty.This is critical because political situation will have a direct impact on investment, decision-making, and corporate performance. Every market has it risks so businesses need to ensure that the risk worth the return they will get from the investment. 3. 2. 5 Social Unrest The current people uprising in emerging market countries of the Middle East such as Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain cause a growing concerns among investors who has already invest or thinking of investing into emerging markets.One of the factors that increase the possibility of social unrest is an increase in food and fuel price due to depleted resources and inflation. The high price of food is thought to have been one of the catalysts of the unrest in Tunisia, which led to the ousting of Zing al-Abiding Ben Ala as president in January 2011. Other reason that makes people revolt includ es corrupt leader and government, change in tax, economic and fiscal policy that affect daily life, UN-fair election, high unemployment etc.Figure 2 shows the level of lattice and social risk of every country, based on a report produced by the Royal bank of Canada in 2011. Among the emerging market countries, China, Egypt, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia is listed as high risk countries, together with Colombia. India, Russia, South Africa, Jordan and Turkey are among the medium risk countries while Mexico, Bahrain and Thailand are considered as moderate. Other emerging countries with low political and social risks according to this report. 3. 3 Economic volatility The second major risks associated with emerging markets are the level of economic volatility.Economic growth may be high, but crises are frequent, as the Asian crisis of 1997 demonstrated. Emerging countries' economies are highly volatile due to frequent changes in institutions, industry structure and the macro-economy. Both th e political and economy actually have a huge impact on one another, and firms can anticipate risks in the future if any of them become volatile. Among the element that brought economic volatility includes currency risks, expropriation risks, and foreign debt crisis. 3. 3. Currency risks Although there is an increasing trend towards liberation's of international payment ND transfers, there is still a concern among businesses that there could be a change in policy. Even emerging market countries have the tendency to influence the exchange rates. In some cases, the government will try to peg it's currency to a single currency such as a US dollar to stop aggressive drop in the country's currency value especially during financial crisis. Figure 2 shows how the exchange rate of Asian countries dropped significantly during the Asian financial crisis.The Koala Lump Stock Exchange (KEELS) had lost more than 50% from above 1,200 to fewer than 600, and the ringing had lost 50% of TTS value, fa lling from above 2. 50 to under 4. 57 on Can 23, 1998) to the dollar. The then premier, Tune Dry. Mathis Mohammad imposed strict capital controls and introduced a 3. 80 peg of Malaysian ringing against the US dollar. 3. 3. 2 Expropriation risk One of the economic policy related concern among the investors was â€Å"expropriation risk†, which refers to the possibility that host governments would seize all foreign- owned assets.This risk however has largely disappeared. Stronger international law and the symbiotic nature of growth in emerging and developed economies reduced set seizures to nearly zero during the sass. A 2009 survey by the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency and the Economist Intelligence Unit found that multinational enterprises considered breach of contract, restrictions on the transfer and convertibility of profits, civil disturbance, government failure to honor guarantees, and regulatory restrictions all to be more significant risks than the potential s eizure of assets [4].Emerging market countries policy of attracting foreign investment into their country foreign investors should be wary of any change in political and economic situation, gather with regulatory uncertainty can make the expropriation action possible. Even in the communist country like China, the government has never confiscate any foreign assets since 1978 when the country officially launched its so-called ‘open door' policy, unless the asset in question specifically compromises China's national security. 3. 3. Foreign debt crisis Foreign debt crisis is external debt incurred by governments of emerging markets generally in quantities beyond the governments' political ability to repay. â€Å"Unplayable debt† is a term used to describe external debt when the interest on the debt exceeds hat the country's politicians think they can collect from taxpayers, based on the nation's gross domestic product, thus preventing the debt from ever being repaid [5]. Em erging market countries have traditionally borrowed from the developed nations to support their economies.In the sass such borrowing became quite heavy among certain developing countries, and their external debt expanded at a very rapid, unsustainable rate. The result was an international financial crisis. Most of the time, government with high level of debt will have to re-vamp its financial policy to accommodate debt payment. Countries such as Mexico and Brazil declared that they could not keep up with the schedule of interest and principal payments, causing severe reactions in the financial world.Cooperating with creditor nations and the MIFF, these countries were able to reschedule their debts and delay payments to remove financial pressure. But the underlying problem is not really solved as developing countries were saddled with staggering debts that totaled more than $800 billion in the mid-sass. The large debts created huge problems for the developing countries and for the ba nks that faced the risk of substantial losses on heir loan portfolios. Such debts increased the difficulty of finding funds to finance development.In addition, the need to acquire foreign currencies to service the debt contributed to a rapid depreciation of the currencies and to rapid inflation in Mexico, Brazil, and a number of other developing nations. Even emerging market in Asia such as Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Pakistan, India etc. As shown in Figure 4, also facing a serious problem with foreign debt. The wide fluctuations in the price of oil were one of the factors contributing to the debt problem. When the price of oil SSE rapidly in the sass, most countries felt unable to reduce their oil consumption quickly.In order to pay for expensive oil imports, many went deeply into debt. They borrowed to finance current consumption?something that could not go on indefinitely. As a major oil importer, Brazil was one of the nations adversely affected by rising oil prices [6]. Fi gure 3. : Foreign debt among Asian countries 3. 4 Legal risks The possibility of investing in emerging markets by Macs will increase if the legal system in the country is reliable and always give fair decisions. Contract will only be void.In sass, many South East Asian governments in their effort to attract foreign investors offered contracts that protect investors from risks related to lower than expected demand, currency conversions, exchange rate and political force measure. The Asian financial crisis in 1997 brought those investors' favorable treatment into sharp relief as currency values, share prices, and electricity demand all plummeted. Political officials had to choose between honoring the contracts, at the risk of compromising their own popular support, and renegotiating them in order to maintain that support.In the end, many career minded public officials in Southeast Asia chose to renegotiate or cancel scores of contracts. Even when contracts can be legally enforced, exp erience shows that inventive politicians can circumvent them, through a wide variety of means other than changing laws [4]. Another example is when foreign investors involved in oil and gas industries in countries such as Transmitted, Gyrations and Astrakhan, which is a newly independent countries of a former USSR regime.Even though the contract seems to put them on favorable terms, the possibility that firms will face a breach of contract ND other regulatory problems is high. Another legal issue that always arises is when some emerging market countries have laws that limit the amount of profit firms can take out of the country, which means that company might make a huge amount of profit by doing business in the country but may be prohibited from taking the whole profit back to the home country. 3. Minimizing the risks There are many options available for companies in Minimizing the risks when investing in emerging markets. They are: 3. 3. 1 Thorough political and economic risk anal ysis Multinational firms should carefully evaluate the emerging market country's political ND economic risks before deciding whether to do business there or not. Nowadays, there are vast indicators, statistics and political analysis paper published and publicly available for review. This is the best source for country's information that can help decision making.However, there are some emerging market countries that are less transparent and access to accurate economic or industry statistics may not exist at all. In this case, firms might not have the information and expertise to do the analysis by themselves. Then the best option is to, employ a consultant service firm who have the expertise in inducting the analysis. 3. 3. 2 Protect the investment with political risks insurance Political risk insurance is a type of insurance that can be taken out by businesses, of any size, against political risk.Political risk insurance is available for several different revolution, insurrection, c ivil unrest, terrorism or war; Governmental expropriation or confiscation of assets; Governmental frustration or repudiation of contracts; Wrongful calling of letters of credit or similar on-demand guarantees; Business Interruption; and Inconvertibility of foreign currency or the inability to repatriate funds. 3. 3. Involve host country's government in the business Government equity participation either through the relevant government agencies or through Government Related Companies (Gels) can bring a lot of advantage to firm and to the government itself.This can be done in various ways such as by creating a new Joint venture company with both parties have a percentage of shares in it, or through strategic alliances and consortium. By having the government itself as partner, firms may find it easier to obtain the license, get full support from the government, reduce the risk of expropriation and even improve company's goodwill mongo the people. 3. 3. 4 Have a Joint venture or allian ce with local company. The objective of having cooperation with local company is almost similar to having the relationship with the government as discussed previously.Some other benefit for Macs when they cooperate with local company includes firms can share the knowledge of local company about the trend, taste, preferences and culture of the local people. Both parties will also share the costs and risks of doing business. At the same time, Macs can benefit the local company by having a knowledge and technology transfer, besides sharing the experience of Macs. 3. 3. Conduct a proper scenario planning when making the entry decision.Scenario planning refers to the process of visualizing what future conditions or events are probable, what would be the consequences or effect of it and how to respond to, or benefit from it. For example, when a pharmaceutical company starts to develop a new compound it does not know if these typically very large investments will generate any benefit in th e future. So, success is dependent on many factors; internal factors such as the skills and knowledge of researchers and developers, and external influences such as technology trends, demand and price developments.In order to do that, they have to tap into tacit information that is already available within or outside the company and to convert it into knowledge about possible future scenarios and options the Risks associated with investments into intangibles, especially of investments into the strategy and in the product innovation chain of a company, are much higher than in traditional industrial physical asset type of investments. But on the other hand the upside is often unlimited.Businesses which are engaged in R and continuous product and market innovations must find ways to limit the downside, the risks, and o boost the upside in order to fully leverage their investments and to generate value for investors and other stakeholders. Scenario planning is a very good method to do t hat and to limit especially large strategic risks. Figure 5 shows finding of a study on what is the best tools to mitigate the effect of risks in four major emerging markets; Russia, India, China and Brazil (Also called BRICE countries).