Health Econimics and Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Health Econimics and Policy - Essay Example ining both the advantages and disadvantages of the NHS will lead to a better understanding of the NHS and it may lead to possible ideas for improvement of the NHS. I will begin my discussion of the NHS with its advantages, including its purpose and some of the things that are free. Then consequences of the NHS will be explained, including long waiting times, unfair payments, some parts of health care not being included for free, problems getting enough funding, and perceived similarity to communism. Finally, based on these consequences, some potential solutions will be described. To begin with positive aspects of the NHS, one of the biggest advantages has to do with the reason this organisation was created. The point of the NHS is to give health care to everyone in England, whether they are rich or poor. (Wikipedia, 2008 from NHS website). Instead of health care being a luxury for people with money, the NHS considers it a necessity and a human right. One of the good things about the NHS is that general practitioner visits are free even though some people think they should not be. People need to get referrals from general practitioners to see specialists. â€Å"It has been argued that a nominal charge for an appointment with a GP could be introduced to prevent patients consulting their GP with minor real or imaginary complaints.† (Wikipedia, 2008). If general practitioner visits were not free, though, many people who did not know how much they really needed to go might put their health at risk by skipping the visit to save money. This is a case where it is better to be safe than sorry. Another advantage of the NHS is that it does not require more money from people choosing to do things that make them have more health problems. Some people think that they should not have to help pay for the costs of a smoker who gets lung cancer because that person chose to smoke. (Rodgers, 2003). I am glad that smokers and other people do not have to pay more because

Management of Carotid Artery Stenosis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Management of Carotid Artery Stenosis - Essay Example The result can be ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack. These occur because of hemodynamic compromise, embolization, or thrombosis (Greelish, Mohler, Fairman, 2009). The review by Greelish, (2009), includes major trails which evaluate the efficiency as well as clinical variables and risk. There are two major trials discussed in this paper, those are the North American Symptomatic Carotid Endarterectomy Trial and the European Carotid Surgery Trial. Each of these demonstrate the efficacy of the carotid endarterectomy in patients who have symptoms such as transcient ischemic attack (Greenlish, et.al, 2009). The NASCET cohort is another study done that suggests the benefits of CEA in symptomatic patients may be overestimated, since a number of strokes that occur in the territory of stenotic arteries are not preventable by CEA. 1800 patients were included in this study which was done to assure that we knew what the true risk factors of this group of patients with stroke might be. This study showed that that stroke occurred most often in people that had 60% stenosis. This is well supported in all of the studies that were reviewed. Patients with 60% occlusion whether symptomatic or asymptomatic are at great risk. Risk factors lead to damage in the carotid arteries and th... Secondary prevention of stroke: risk factor reduction by Furie, Wilterdink and Kistler, (2009) review risk factor management of patients with atherosclerotic cerebrovascular disease, with a focus on secondary prevention in patients who have had ischemic attack or ischemic stroke. Those risk factors that are discussed in great depth in this paper are hypertension, smoking, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and dyslipidemia. They show statistical data on those patients that control these risk factors and those that don't as well as how the CEA fits into this care (Furie, et. al., 2009). CEA alone will not forever cure a patient with large number of risk factors. The patient has to be willing to participate in this care, also. Cardiovascular disease, MI or ischemic stroke is still the leading cause of death in patients with metabolic syndrome and diabetes. Haffey, (2009), suggests success in saving lives here is based on effectively treating the whole patient. The author describes throughout his paper, different clinical approaches to achieving this goal. He reminds that treating those things that are risk factors for the disease should be dealt with aggressively. Those include hypertension, smoking, activity levels, dietary habits, obesity, carotid artery stenosis, and atrial fibrillation (Haggey, 2009). Again, as in the previous literature, Dr. Haggey suggests that there be a great deal of follow up assuring that these patients are doing what has to be done to decrease their risk factors. There have been three very high quality clinical trials on patients who need carotid endarterectomy but are asymptomatic. Those trials are the Veterans Affairs Cooperative Study Group, the Asymptomatic Carotid Atherosclerosis Study, and the Asymptomatic Carotid

Goals of Financial Management Essay Example for Free

Goals of Financial Management Essay Money required for carrying out business activities is called business finance. Almost all business activities require some finance. Finance is needed : †¢To establish a business , †¢To run it †¢To modernize it †¢To expand it or diversify †¢It is required to buy whole variety of assets, they may be tangible like machinery ,factories,building,offices or intangible like patents, technical expertise etc. Success of business depends considerably on how well the funds are deployed in assets Financial management is concerned with optimum procurement as well as usage of finance. The financial management has to take three important decision viz. (i) Investment decision i. e. , where to invest fund and in what amount, (ii) Financing decision i. e. , from where to raise funds and in what amount, and (iii) Dividend i. e. , how much to pay dividend and how much to retain for future expansion. In order to make these decisions the management must have a clear understanding of the objective sought to be achieved. It is generally agreed that the financial objective of the firm should be maximization of owners economic welfare. There are two widely discussed approaches or criterion of maximizing owners welfare – (i) Profit maximization, and (ii) Wealth maximization. Profit maximization would probably be the most commonly cited business goal, but this is not a very precise objective. Do we mean profits this year? If so, then actions such as deferring maintenance, letting inventories run down, and other short-run, cost-cutting measures will tend to increase profits now, but these activities arent necessarily desirable. The goal of maximizing profits may refer to some sort of â€Å"long-run† or â€Å"average† profits, but its unclear exactly what this means. First, do we mean something like accounting net income or earnings per share? As we will see, these numbers may have little to do with what is good or bad for the firm. Second, what do we mean by the long run? As a famous economist once remarked, in the long run, were all dead! More to the point, this goal doesnt tell us the appropriate trade-off between current and future profits. Profit Maximization: Maximization of profits is very often considered as the main objective of a business enterprise. The shareholders, the owners of the business, invest their funds in the business with the hope of getting higher dividend on their investment. Moreover, the profitability of the business is an indicator of the sound health of the organization, because, it safeguards the economic interests of various social groups which are directly or indirectly connected with the company e. g. shareholders, creditors and employees. All these parties must get reasonable return for their contributions and it is possible only when company earns higher profits or sufficient profits to discharge the obligations to them. As long as we are dealing with for-profit businesses, only a slight modification is needed. The total value of the stock in a corporation is simply equal to the value of the owners equity. Therefore, a more general way of stating our goal . Finally, our goal does not imply that the financial manager should take illegal or unethical actions in the hope of increasing the value of the equity in the firm. What we mean is that the financial manager best serves the owners of the business by identifying goods and services that add value to the firm because they are desired and valued in the free marketplace If we assume that stockholders buy stock because they seek to gain financially, then the answer is obvious: Good decisions increase the value of the stock, and poor decisions decrease the value of the stock. The goal of maximizing the value of the stock avoids the problems associated with the different goals we listed earlier. There is no ambiguity in the criterion, and there is no short-run versus long-run issue. We explicitly mean that our goal is to maximize the current stock value. Because the goal of financial management is to maximize the value of the stock, we need to learn how to identify those investments and financing arrangements that favorably impact the value of the stock. This is precisely what we will be studying. In fact, we could have defined corporate finance as the study of the relationship between business decisions and the value of the stock in the business. Wealth Maximization: The term wealth means shareholder’s wealth or the wealth of persons who are involved in business concern. this is also known as value maximization or net worth maximization The wealth maximization (also known as value maximization or Net Present Worth Maximization) is also universally accepted criterion for financial decision making. The value of an asset should be viewed in terms of benefits it can produce over the cost of capital investment. †¢Wealth maximization is based on the concept of cash flow . cash flow are a reality and not based on subjective. †¢It considers time value of money.

Childrens Problems Begin At Home And End At Home Education Essay

Childrens Problems Begin At Home And End At Home Education Essay Parenting is fundamental to the survival and success of the human race. Everyone who has ever lived has had parents, and most adults in the world become parents. Opinions about parenting abound, but surprisingly little solid scientific information or considered reflection exists about parenting. Parenting is a job whose primary object of attention and action is the child. Children do not and cannot grow up as solitary individuals but parenting is also a status in the life course with consequences for parents themselves (Femmie Juffer, 2007)5. Children begin by loving their parents; as they grow older they judge them; sometimes they forgive them. Oscar Wilde (English humorist) Since Mary Ainsworth and John Bowlby discovered that children use their parents as a secure base to fulfill their attachment and exploration needs, an impressive body of empirical research has been devoted to the search for the origins and consequences of (in)secure child-parent attachment relationships. Secure attachment relationships have been associated with better social competence and with more optimal parent and peer relationships than insecure attachments. The concept of secure attachment relationships and the related concept of parental sensitivity appear to be highly significant for the clinical field, including the development and evaluation of attachment-based interventions for at-risk and clinical families. The most important part of parenting is love and putting in time and energy to support children. Although love is the most important requirement, it is not enough. Unless parents understand their childrens unique needs, they are unable to give their children what children today need. Parents may be giving love, but not in ways that are most helpful to their childs development. Without an understanding of their childrens needs, parents cannot effectively support their children. On the other hand, some parents are willing to spend more time with their children, but dont because they dont know what to do or their children reject their efforts. So many parents try to talk with their kids, but their kids just close up and say nothing. These parents are willing, but dont know how to get their kids to talk. Some parents dont want to yell at, hit, or punish their children, but they just dont know another way. Since talking with their children has not worked, punishment or the threat of punishment is the only way they know. To give up old ways of parenting, new ways must be employed. The world is experiencing a crisis in parenting. Every day, there are increasing reports of child and teen violence, low self-esteem, Attention Deficit Disorder, drug use, teen pregnancy, and suicide. Almost all parents today are questioning both the new and old ways of parenting. Nothing seems to be working, and our childrens problems continue to increase. Some parents believe that these problems come from being too permissive and giving children too much, while others contend that outdated practices of parenting, like spanking and yelling, are responsible. Others believe that these new problems are caused by negative changes in society. Too much TV, advertising, or too much violence and sex on TV and in movies are pegged by many as the culprits. Certainly society and how it influences our children are part of the problem, and some helpful solutions can be legislated by the government, but the biggest part of the problem starts at home. Our childrens problems begin in the home and can be solved at home. Besides looking to change society, parents must also realize that they hold the power to raise strong, confident, cooperative, and compassionate children. To cope with the changes in society, parents need to change their parenting approach. During the past two hundred years, society has made an historic and dramatic change towards greater individual freedom and rights. Even though our modern Western society is now organized by the principles of freedom and human rights, parents still use parenting skills from the Dark Ages. Parents need to update their parenting skills to raise healthy and cooperative children and teens. Businesses know that if they are to stay competitive in the free market, they need to keep changing and updating. Likewise, if parents want their children to be able to compete in the free world, they must prepare their children with the most effective and modern approaches to parenting (John Gray, 2007)11. Several social trends are now challenging parent-child relationships. Single parent families may be the most at risk. Although, there always have been single parents in the United States, the causes of solitary parenting have changed. Single parents of previous generations were primarily widows and widowers. Parents are now more likely to be single because of divorce or never being married. Single parents in todays society may be more isolated and perhaps more disillusioned than the single parents of the past. The final report of the National Commission on Children, about 25 percent (more than sixteen million) children lived with only one parent in 1989, twice as many as in 1970. Parental employment places a great strain on parent-child relationships. Parents may have to depend on other caregivers, for example, to set limits and provide guidance during their childrens formative years. Between 1970 and 1990, the proportion of mothers with children under age six who were working or looking for work outside their homes rose from 32 percent to 58 percent. Today, approximately 10.9 million children under six have mothers in the paid labor force (National Commission on Children, 1991) 74. Three aspects of parenting have been highlighted as central to childrens early language and learning: (1) the frequency of childrens participation in routine learning activities (e.g., shared book reading, storytelling); (2) the quality of caregiver-child engagements (e.g., parents cognitive stimulation and sensitivity/responsiveness); and (3) the provision of age-appropriate learning materials (e.g., books and toys). Early and consistent participation in routine learning activities, such as shared book reading, storytelling, and teaching about the letters of the alphabet, provide children with a critical foundation for early learning, language growth and emergent literacy. A plethora of studies also indicate that the quality of parent-caregiver interactions play a formative role in childrens early language and learning (Tamis-LeMonda, 2009)52. In the past, psychologists studying the development of children focused almost exclusively on childrens relationships with their mothers. Today, they have come to agree that fathers play a unique and crucial role in nurturing and guiding childrens development. Many experts now believe that fathers can be just as nurturing and sensitive with their babies as mothers. As their children grow, fathers take on added roles of guiding their childrens intellectual and social development. Even when a father is just playing with his children, he is nurturing their development (Ross Parke, 2006)25. NEED FOR THE STUDY The National Commission on Childrens national survey titled Speaking of Kids (1991) reports that a majority of American adults, regardless of age, race, marital, or parental status believe that it is harder to be a parent today than it used to be (88 percent) and that parents today often are uncertain about what is the right thing to do in raising their children (86 percent). Compared to ten years ago, respondents believed children today are worse off with respect to their moral and religious training (53 percent) and the supervision and discipline they receive from their parents (56 percent). Children themselves wished that their parents were more diligent in setting and enforcing rules. Thirty-nine percent of children 10-17 said they sometimes wished their parents were stricter or kept a closer watch over them and their lives. Another 8 percent said they wish this a lot. Only about 1 percent said they never wanted their parents to be stricter or more attentive. Because of the rapid pace of change in our society and an increasing awareness of and respect for cultural and values diversity, parents will continue to be challenged to expand on traditional styles of childrearing. The well-being of our nations children is clearly at risk. According to the National Commission on Children (1991), one in four adolescents engage in social behaviors that can lead to serious longterm difficulty; many more are vulnerable for future problems (National Commission on Children, 1991)72. Most parents do their best to provide a loving and nurturing atmosphere for their children. Poor parenting includes the following behaviors: Abuse An environment where there is a lot of arguing and conflict Ignoring the child Some parents are overwhelmed by their own personal situations and are unable to look after their childrens needs appropriately. The children who were ignored or who lived in high-stress households had trouble expressing themselves verbally. They also had trouble with social skills. Sharing toys was difficult for them, and they had trouble playing. The British study concluded that the disadvantaged children actually started preschool with underdeveloped brains. The children who were having trouble with their social skills could be helped if they received intensive help from their teachers. Unfortunately, teachers are busy caring for the entire class and have trouble finding the time to give the children who are behind the level of attention they need (JC Redmond, 2009)66. A study by UNICEF of 21 industrialized countries, An Overview of Child Wellbeing in Rich Countries (2007), came to the remarkable conclusion that there is no strong relationship between per capita GDP and child wellbeing. A government-funded review in Britain of research spanning 25 years found that the incidence of many mental health problems in children had doubled since the 1970s. Today, one in ten British children thats more than a million suffers from a clinically recognizable disorder, such as depression, anxiety, anorexia or severe anti-social behaviour (Tom McGurk, 2009)71. Studies have shown that children who go through their parents divorce have more conduct problems, symptoms of psychological maladjustment, lower academic achievement, Social difficulties and problematic relationships with both parents. In United States of America, reported statistics tells that Children from fatherless homes are: 5 times more likely to commit suicide 32 times more likely to run away from home. 20 times more likely to have behavioral disorders 14 times more likely to commit rape. 9 times more likely to drop out of high school. 10 times more likely to abuse chemical substances (become drug addicts) 9 times more likely to end up in a state-operated institution 20 times more likely to end up in prison. 3 million teenage girls have sexually transmitted diseases At least 1 out of 4 teenagers (between 14years to 19years) suffer from sexually transmitted diseases (CRISP, 2009)73. Some of the harsh realities faced by children in India are presented below: Less than half of Indias children between the age 6 and 14 only go to school. 95 in every 1000 children born in India do not see their fifth birthday. Amongst married women in India today, 75% were under age at the time of their marriages. 58% of Indias children below the age of 2 years are not fully vaccinated. And 24% of these children do not receive any form of vaccination. More that 50% of Indias children are malnourished. More than 50 per cent of girls fail to enroll in school; those who do are likely to drop out by the age of 12. CHILD LABOR 19% of children are employed for domestic help. 25% of the victims of commercial sexual exploitation in India are below 18 years of age. Large numbers of children work simply because there is no alternative since, they do not have access to good quality schools. Poor and bonded families often sell their children to contractors who promise lucrative jobs in the cities and the children end up being employed in brothels, hotels and domestic work. Many run away and find a life on the streets (Sharanam Centre, 2007)75. Everyone knows good parenting is good for the health of children, but studies show that good parenting also results in children who grow up to be healthier adults. Research indicates that adults who had stressful relationships with their parents in childhood are more likely to suffer from disease in midlife. Since parents are usually the most meaningful source of social support for much of early life, the perception of parental caring, and parental loving itself, may have important regulatory and predictive effects on biological and psychological health and illness (Claudia M. Lenart, 2009)55. Joint custody and shared parenting (i.e., joint physical and legal custody) have been studied for more than a quarter-century, with the majority of studies indicating significant benefits for children. When parents cooperate and minimize conflict, children do better with shared parenting/joint physical custody. Parenting Can Override Effect of Genes in How Babies Respond to Stress, the study found both genes and parenting were important to the development of how infants brain which helps to regulate cardiac responses to stress. The findings suggest that although genes play a role in the development of physiological responses to stress, environmental experiences such as mothers sensitive care-giving behavior can have a strong influence, enough to change the effect that genes have on physiology very early in life (W. Roger Mills-Koonce, 2008)68. It has been known for a long time that living in poverty damages childrens intellectual abilities. Good Parenting Raises Kids Mental Skills. Study Shows Better Parenting Skills Sharpen Minds of Kids in Poverty (Martin Downs, 2008)62. Babies need predictability and security, which they get when their mother and father respond consistently, promptly, and appropriately to their cries, smiles and other signals. As a baby develops a relationship with his or her mother and father, he comes to prefer them to other adults, in a process known as attachment. Psychologists agree that babies with secure attachments to their parents have better chances to develop into happy, successful, and well-adjusted children and adults. The investigator had personal experience about the effects of parenting both its ill effects and good effects. Investigator being specializing in the field community health nursing felt the need and was motivated to conduct the study on knowledge regarding the parenting roles among the couples of urban and rural community and teach them about parenting roles with the help of multimedia package. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM A comparative study to assess the effectiveness of multimedia package on knowledge regarding parenting roles among the couples of selected urban and rural community. OBJECTIVES To assess the existing level of knowledge regarding parenting roles among couples of the urban and rural community. To assess the effectiveness of multimedia package on knowledge regarding parenting roles among couples of the urban and rural community. To compare the pretest and posttest level of knowledge regarding parenting roles between the couples of urban and rural community. To compare the pretest and posttest level of knowledge regarding parenting roles between the male and female parent of urban and rural community. To compare the pretest and posttest level of knowledge regarding parenting roles between the male parent of the urban and rural community. To compare the pretest and posttest level of knowledge regarding parenting roles between the female parent of the urban and rural community. To associate the mean improvement of knowledge score on parenting roles with the selected demographic variables. OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS Effectiveness Refers to the outcome of the multimedia package regarding parenting roles among couples of urban and rural community, which will be evaluated by the structured knowledge questionnaire prepared by the investigator. Multimedia Package Refers to logically designed informations with the use of modern media to discuss and teach regarding parenting roles. This package consists of teaching material in the form of visual literacy and videos in a sequence which explains the parents role in general parenting, developmental milestones, cognitive development, moral development and learning disabilities. Parenting It refers to the performance of various roles and activities of raising a child rather than the biological relationship by the parents. Parenting Roles It refers to the role of the parents in raising the child. Roles included in this study are about General Parenting which includes meaning and concepts of Responding, Preventing, Monitoring, Mentoring and Modeling; Developmental Milestones which includes meaning, identification of age specific tasks of the children, ways to help the child to attain milestones; Cognitive Development which includes meaning, stages of cognitive development and ways to improve the cognitive development; Moral Development which includes meaning, stages of moral development and ways to improve the moral development of the child and Learning Disabilities which includes meaning, causes, early warning signs and ways to take care of child with such problem. Knowledge Refers to the ability of couples to understand and answer the question on parenting roles as elicited by structured knowledge questionnaire. Couples Husband and wife of selected urban and rural community with 1-6 yrs of married life having children. ASSUMPTIONS Couples may have some knowledge regarding parenting roles. Adequate knowledge on parenting roles may help the couples to provide effective parenting. Adequate knowledge regarding parenting roles may prevent many childhood problems. NULL HYPOTHESES NH1: There is no significant difference between pre and post test level of knowledge regarding parenting roles among the urban and rural couples at the level of p NH2: There is no significant difference between pre and post test level of knowledge regarding parenting roles between the urban and rural couples at the level of p NH3: There is no significant difference between pre and post test level of knowledge regarding parenting roles between the male and female parent of urban and rural community at the level of p NH4: There is no significant difference between pre and post test level of knowledge regarding parenting roles between the urban male parent and rural male parent at the level of p NH5: There is no significant difference between pre and post test level of knowledge regarding parenting roles between the urban female parent and rural female parent at the level of p NH6: There is no significant association between the mean improvement knowledge score on parenting roles and selected demographic variables of the urban and rural couples at the level of p DELIMITATIONS The study is delimited to a period of four week. The study is delimited to the couples living under the same roof. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK A conceptual framework or model is made up of concepts that are mental image of a phenomenon. These concepts are linked together to express their relationship between them. The conceptual framework is based on TRANSTHEORETICAL MODEL/ SOCIAL CHANGE MODEL (JAMES.O.PROCHASKA). This framework consists of the following elements. PRECONTEMPLATION: The theory says that the Individual has the problem (whether he/she recognizes it or not) and has no intention of changing and goes through the process of Consciousness raising (information and knowledge), Dramatic relief (role playing) and Environmental reevaluation (how problem affects physical environment). In this study the researcher perceives the importance of the problem and prepares the multimedia package with extensive review of literature and experts opinion to improve the knowledge of couples in selected urban and rural community regarding the parenting roles on general parenting, childs cognitive development, developmental milestones, moral development and learning disabilities. CONTEMPLATION: This stage involves the Individuals recognition of the problem and he/she is seriously thinking about changing and goes through the process of Self-reevaluation (assessing ones feelings regarding behavior). In this study the researcher approaches the couples of selected urban and rural community and obtains their consent to participate in the study after providing adequate information regarding the need for the study and benefits thereby makes the couples to become aware of the problem. PREPARATION: In this stage the individual recognizes the problem and intends to change the behavior through the process of Self-liberation (commitment or belief in ability to change). In this study the researcher conducts the pre test assessment of knowledge regarding parenting roles among the couples of selected urban and rural community with the help of the structured questionnaire. The structured interview schedule consists of demographic variables like age, gender, educational status, occupation, family income per month, religion, type of family, no of years of married life, no of living children, age of the child, place of living, mode of getting information about parenting and structured questionnaire containing questions regarding parenting roles on general parenting, childs cognitive development, moral development, developmental milestones and learning disabilities. The researcher prepares the couples for gaining the knowledge regarding parenting roles. ACTION: In this stage the Individual has enacted consistent behavior change through the process of Reinforcement management, Helping relationships, Counterconditioning and Stimulus control. In this study the researcher by providing the multimedia package which consists of lecture in the form of pictorial and video shows regarding parenting roles on general parenting, childs cognitive development, moral development, developmental milestones and learning disabilities provides a helping relationship to gain adequate knowledge to provide good parenting to their children. MAINTENANCE: In this stage individual maintains new behavior. In this study the researcher conducts the post test assessment of knowledge after one week from the day of intervention using the same structured questionnaire which was used for pre test to know the improvement in the knowledge. If couples had adequate knowledge reinforcement was given by providing booklet as maintenance of knowledge and couples with inadequate knowledge reassessment was done. OUTLINE OF THE REPORT Chapter I : Dealt with the background of the study, need for the study, statement of the problem, objectives, operational definitions, null hypotheses, assumptions, delimitations and conceptual framework. Chapter II : Deals with the review of related literature. Chapter III : Presents the methodology of study and plan for data analysis. Chapter IV : Focuses on data analysis and interpretation. Chapter V : Enumerates the discussion of study. Chapter VI : Gives the summary, conclusion, implications, recommendations and limitations. The report ends with selected Bibliography and Appendices.

American Policies that Provoke Terrorism :: Threats to World Peace

The events that occurred on September 11, 2001 were horrific, unjust, and inhumane. As awful as these events are, they are not unexplainable. Without a doubt those who committed the acts were acting irrationally, but one must question what brought these people to this point of desperation, such that they would partake in a mass murder suicide mission. The U.S.’s involvement in the Middle East may shed some light on the sources of this desperation. U.S. policies in the Middle East are controversial and in most instances unjust. However, the U.S. refuses to change its politics. By not changing its policies, conflict between the U.S. and Middle Eastern states has increased. Furthermore by not changing its policies the U.S. has indirectly pushed some people to desperation such that they become involved with radical or terrorist groups that encourage violence. Among these controversial policies are the U.S. support of the Israeli government and the U.S.’s refusal to lift sanctions on Iraq. Instead of taking a neutral role in the Arab-Israeli conflict, the U.S. has been a true ally to Israel. The U.S. has provided financial aid and weaponry to Israel. In this way the U.S. has contributed to increasing tensions and conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians. â€Å"Turning a blind eye to the ongoing, extremely provocative, and illegal Israeli settlement activities, the U.S. also ‘sponsored’ a peace process that gave Israel a free hand in acquiring more Palestinian land and in carrying out other ‘unilateral sanctions’ (particularly in the illegal annexation of occupied East Jerusalem) with full impunity. With every agreement renegotiated, modified, or even negated in action, the American sponsors exonerated all Israeli violations and abuses while putting intolerable pressure on the weaker Palestinian side to show ‘flexibility’ and seriousness of intent.† (Ashrawi, 1.) The U.S.’s open support for the Israelis has upset many Arabs and with good reason. The U.S. should take on a neutral role so that there is a true possibility of creating a permanent peace. By furnishing weapons to the Israelis, we too are responsible for the mass murdering of Palestinians. Although, the U.S. government favors creating a Palestine state, greater open U.

Service Learning Essay -- Personal Reflection

I signed up to volunteer at a local nursing home. Because my father works there, I have been there many times before. However, volunteering there was very new to me. I had to understand the circumstances in which people were in and how interact with residents respectfully and compassionately which provided opportunities for personal growth by practicing integrity, justice and good stewardship. Though I was a bit hesitant, my experience has been very positive. Just being a volunteer without any related experience or skills, I was unqualified to help and many ways. The few menial tasks that I was able to do seemed to be met with much enthusiasm and appreciation. Simply helping someone to their seat bringing them a cup of tea or making conversation was enough make a smile. My goal was to help change everyone’s day for the better in what little ways I can and I think my experience reflects my success. The residents seem to be treated fairly and justly; there is no particular thing I would change if I were in charge of that home. However, it does lead me to think about those vulnerable individuals that aren’t getting the assistance they deserve. From this experience, I can clearly see the need the elderly have, and I can fathom the very real possibility of individuals whose families are unknowing, unwilling or unable to provide the necessary assistance the need. I learned quite a bit at my orientation. St. Mary’s Home opened in 1936 because of an apparent lack of Catholic homes for the aged. At the beginning, the Sisters did almost all the work as well as provide care. Throughout the years, additions were made to the building and the Sisters began hiring employees to relieve some of their duties such as laundry, ... ...force those teaching in class. Class lessons are very good in giving you a lot of information and putting it into context. Experiencing and trying to apply those teachings in real life is what really makes it stick. The combination of class and service learning provided a solid foundation on which to be a morally responsible leader. During class, all sorts of ideas are brought up and discussed as a group and critically analyzing from different perspectives and relating it to other ideas. This enables the students rectify their own beliefs and morals in constructive ways. From these developments, we begin to see how it fits in the world and try to apply ourselves and gain wisdom. Gaining knowledge, experience and wisdom, it becomes our understanding to find good in any aspect of our lives and work towards advancing that good in a way that benefits all.

Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and Profit Margin Percentage

Place your name and the date at the top of the page, and answer the following questions making sure you SHOW YOUR WORK. 1. A hardware store bought a gross (12 dozen) of hammers, paying $602. 40 for the total order. The retailer estimated operating expenses for this product to be 35% of sales, and wanted a net profit of 5% of sales. The retailer expected no markdowns. What retail selling price should be set for each hammer? [Hint: The way to handle this problem is to say that the Gross Profit Margin has to cover the 35% of expenses applicable to the product plus the 5% of net profit wanted. And once you know the GPM%, you know the Cost percentage of the Selling Price. ] 2. Competition in a line of sporting goods limits the selling price on a certain item to $25. If the store owner feels a margin of 35% is needed to cover expenses and return a reasonable profit, what is the most the owner can pay for this item? [Hint: Remember, if you know the margin percentage, then you know the cost percentage. ] 3. A retailer with annual net sales of $2 million maintains a markup of 66. 67% based on cost. Operating expenses average 35%. What are the retailer's gross margin and net profit in dollars? [Hint: A Markup on Cost is equivalent to what Gross Profit Margin percentage? ] 4. The cost to a manufacturer of flat panel displays for producing its newly designed TV Display 1000 is $250. 00. The cost for Research and Development of their new product being sold to OEMs as a component product has been one million dollars. The sales and promotional budget is $600,000, and all other fixed costs amount to $200,000. The Marketing Director and his staff have estimated demand for the new display to be between 50,000 and 75,000 units over the next year. They also have decided to price the new Display 1000 at $450 to their OEM customers. (a) How many Display 1000s does the manufacturer have to sell in order to breakeven? (b) What is the manufacturer’s unit contribution to profit in percentage? (c) What is the manufacturer’s markup on cost in percentage?