Saturday, November 30, 2019

Rates Of Return Essays - Investment, Income, Financial Markets

Rates Of Return The issue of rates of return on foreign owned companies through foreign direct investment. On Wednesday Oct. 25th.2000,at a meeting in Montreal, the finance Minister of Canada Mr. Paul Martin in his opening address to the G20 group on promoting Globalization, stated that ?globalization will have a more human face with measures to ease financial crises and social safety nets to protect the poorest?. The meeting concluded with all the participants agreeing on a package of measures, which they say, will lead to more financial stability in the world. From a political perspective this endorsement may seem realistic. However this futuristic goal will require more foreign direct investment from corporations and other sources of private enterprise at a time when most expatriate firms are complaining about the decline of the (R.O.A) rate of return of foreign owned companies, specifically in the U.S.A. Firms based in one country increasingly make investments to establish and run business operations in other countries.U.S firms invested US$133 billion abroad in 1998,while foreign firms invested US$193 billion in the US.Overall world FDI flows more than tripled between 1988 and 1998,from US $192 billion to US$600.The share of FDI to GDP is generally rising in both developed and developing countries. In addition to this information the World Bank further stated that developing countries received about one quarter of the world FDI inflows in 1998-1998 on an average, though the share fluctuated quite a bit from year to year. It would seem that this is the largest form of private capital inflow to developing countries. This data will seem to encourage more foreign investment. Hence, one will ask if there are truly low rates of returns on investment by foreign owned companies. If this is the case then why are there so many foreign direct investment by small as well as multi-national corpo rations? In order to answer this question there must be an examination of the actual low rates of return from foreign-owned companies. This examination will be based on the performance of U.S.owned companies. A research done by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) provided new estimates of the rate of return for foreign ?owned US nonfinancial companies that are disaggregated by industry and valued in current-period prices for the years 1988 to 1997.The new estimates. Along with company-level estimates for US owned nonfinancial US companies, were used to examine factors that help explain the low rates of return. The rate of return measure was the ( ROA) i.e. the return on assets.. This is also looked at as the ratio of profits from current production, plus interest paid to the average of beginning and end of year total assets. Also profits from current production are profits that result from the production of goods and services in the current period. Both profits and assets are valued in prices of the current period. Profits reflect the value of inventory withdrawals and depreciation on a current-cost basis. These have been adjusted to remove the income from equity investments in unconsolidated business and the expense associated with amortizing intangible assets. Total assets reflect the current cost of tangible assets. These have been adjusted to remove assets for which the return is not included in the numerator of the ROA ratio e.g. equity investments in unconsolidated businesses and ammortizable intangible assets. The new ROA estimates for foreign-owned companies indicate that: - The new current-cost estimates show that the average ROA of foreign owned companies in 1988-1997 was 5.1 percent. In contrast, the historical-cost estimates show an average ROA of 5.7 percent. - The ROA of all foreign non financial companies was consistently below that of US owned non-financial companies in 1988-1997,but the gap narrowed over time from nearly two percentage points in 1988 to one percentage point in 1997.The narrowing of the gap appeared to be related to age effects. Acquiring or establishing a new business add costs such as startup costs that disappear over time. - ; Additionally, experience can yield benefits, such as learning by doing that accumulates over time. - High startup and restructuring costs related to acquisitions also lower the profitability of foreign-owned companies. Newly acquired foreign-owned companies showed very low or negative rates of return. - Many foreign ?owned companies had a tax-related incentive to shift

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

The causes of the American Revolution essays

The causes of the American Revolution essays During the late seventeen hundreds, many tumultuous events resulted in Colonial opposition to Great Britain. The conditions ofrights of the colonists will slowly be changed as the constriction of the parliament becomes more and more intolerable. During the Seven Years' War England was not only alarmed by the colonists' insistence on trading with the enemy, but also with Boston merchants hiring James Otis inorder to protest the legality of the writs of assistance (general search warrants) used to hunt out smuggled goods. "let the parliament lay what burthens they please on us, we must, it is our duty to submit and patiently bear them, till they will be pleased to relieve us....". This is a very strong dictum, that in 1764, the colonists were of a submissive nature, and were weakly pleading for self-autonomy. This small fire of anger will become a huge conflagration as the rights are slowly rescinded. On October 19, 1765 the Stamp Act Congress and Parliamentary Taxation committe e's passed some laws that attempted to strengthen the grip of the English crown. "I.That his Majesty's subjects in these colonies, owe the same allegiance to the Crown of Great Britain that is owing from his subjects born within the realm, and all due subordination to that august body, the Parliament of Great Britain." This statement can be used as a summation of the entire document that the Stamp Act Congress had initiated. The statement depicts the colonists has having to be submissive and servile in the view of Great Britain, this policy angered the colonists very much, and was another component of the transition of the colonists' rights and liberties. When the Declatory Act was passed in March of 1766, many colonies were attempting to claim that they were "seceding" fromEngland. "Whereas several of the houses of representatives in his Majesty's colonies and plantations in America, have of late, against law, ...

Friday, November 22, 2019

Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Australians

The purpose of this report is to evaluate the accessibility, acceptability and availability of public health care services among Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander of Australia. Despite improvements in health technology and the high quality of health services in Australia, this group continues to suffer health inequities. This is evident from high rate of chronic disease among Indigenous Australians. The disparities in health among non-indigenous and indigenous Australians arise from many factors including the difference in socioeconomic status, cultural beliefs, and geographical locations. This is evident from high rate of chronic disease among indigenous Australians. This report explores the barrier to the accessibility of adequate health care services and recommends solutions to improve acceptability of public health care services. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were the first inhabitants of Australia. They have distinct culture and social tradition separate from general population of Australia. The estimated population of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was 669,900 or 3% of the total population, the majority of whom resided in New South Wales and Queensland (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2011). They experience health inequity and poor health outcome due to their low socioeconomic status, psychosocial risk factors, poor standard of living and poor geographical location (Markwick, et al., 2014). Structural determinants of health relate to geographical accessibility, income status and affordability and acceptability factors that act as major barriers in access to health services for indigenous people (Germov, 2014, p. 76). Availability of health service means presence of appropriate health care resource relevant to the needs of the population. Equity of access is dependent on income and cultural setting of diverse population groups (Gulliford et al., 2016). Although the standard of health services in Australia is excellent, however the distribution of service is not uniform throughout Australia. As indigenous Australians resides in remote locations, the number of specialist physician decreases due to remoteness (Larkins et al., 2015). In urban areas too, the public health service are concentrated in those areas where people of high socio-economic status resides (Violà ¡n et al., 2014). Economic disadvantage among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is another cause of inaccessibility to health care services (Aspin et al., 2012, pp. 73-75). The unaffordability of health care services has led to high prevalence of health complex disease conditions such as kidney failure, circulatory disease and its associated comorbidity. For example study by (McDonald, 2013, pp. 170-173) revealed that current health disadvantage like kidney problem is linked to social disadvantage among indigenous Australians. The cultural sensitivity of a population is a crucial indicator for determining the level of availability and accessibility of health (Purnell, 2014). It also has impact on health promotion and screening activities (Chalmers et al., 2014, p. 111). Many factors inhibit the acceptability of health services. Firstly, due to their cultural beliefs, indigenous Australians have different concepts and understanding of illness (Thompson et al., 2013, p. 473). Due to lack of awareness and poor knowledge about disease and their morbidity, they avoid primary level of treatment and many chronic disease are diagnosed at later stage of disease (Frey et al., 2013, pp. 519-529). Secondly, reluctance to engage in care because of cultural beliefs has impact on the relation between indigenous people and health professionals. For example culture act as a barrier in effective communication between indigenous patients and health care providers. Such patients are more inclined to traditional method of curi ng disease than depending on scientific health service. Even if they access the service, they have little knowledge about diagnostic process and disease. This leads to conflict between as the expectation of health care providers and patient differs significantly (Dell’Arciprete et al., 2014). Hence instead of approaching health care service, they seek spiritual interventions. This attitude significantly affects the availability and accessibility of preventive health care service (Hunt et al., 2015, pp. 461-467). Lack of cross cultural communication influences the accessibility and acceptability of health service (Germov, 2014). The accessibility and acceptability of care is related to social acceptance of health service according to consumer’s cultural preferences. Many people have different tradition beliefs which act as a barrier in accepting health care service (Dillip et al., 2012). This is evident from the fact many aboriginals reported lack of trust in mainstream health care service because they felt their cultural preferences were not taken into account. Many times language act as a barrier between proper health discussion among indigenous Australians and non-indigenous health professionals (Shahid et al., 2013). Cross cultural miscommunication occurs when health professionals do not understand concerns or gestures of patients and the thought patterns of indigenous people. Due to this gap, therapeutic relationship is compromised and Aboriginal groups do not accept the available health service (Dell’Arciprete et al., 2014). Unavailability of care also occurs due to discrimination of indigenous groups on the basis of their race and poor social position. Racial discrimination significantly lead to deleterious health outcome in indigenous Australians (Cunningham & Paradies, 2013).   Health professional behaviour such as racist attitude, unwelcome comment and evil treatment also influences the indigenous people ability to access and accept mainstream health services (Price & Dalgleish, 2013). Many indigenous patients wanted health professionals to respect their personal choice, cultural preference and autonomy in receiving. But conflict arose due to lack of cultural awareness among health professionals leading to poor patient-physician relationship (Artuso et al., 2013, pp. 193). The health status of a population depends on physical availability of health service structure, their organization and functioning. In case of Aboriginal and Torres Islander people, health service is not uniformly distributed in their area (Willis et al., 2016).  Even if a health service is available, there is shortage of adequate medical staffs to treat disease and illness. Lack of transport is also a factor that hinders their access to care (Nilson et al., 2014, pp. 3394-3405). Due to remoteness of location, many professionals do wish to come to this area and with low-skilled physicians, the overall health outcome among this group is very poor (Durey & Thompson, 2012). Social justice principle is the key to address inequities in health due to social position. This principle enables giving high priority to socially disadvantaged group irrespective of their financial instability.   The uptake can be improved by following the principle of access, equity, rights and participation in social justice (Germov, 2014). After analysing the factors associated with lack of accessibility of mainstream health services in Aboriginal and Torres Islander people, the recommended ways to improve public health services includes the following: The first step is making affordable and high quality service available locally in the area of Aboriginal and Torres Islander people. Arrangement should be made for proper transport facilities to increase the pace of receiving care. Exhibiting flexibility in health care delivery is also important so that the process do not seem burdensome to indigenous groups (Paniagua, 2013). This also follows the right of equality according to social justice principle and by this step health service is distributed to needy person even if they do not the capability to pay for the costly service (Germov, 2014). Health care system also needs to address the cultural incompetence in medical staff through enhancing cultural awareness and developing holistic model of care (Kirmayer, 2012, p. 149). It is necessary to engage more number of indigenous health professionals to promote delivery of culturally safe care. This strategy promotes greater participation amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peo ple and therefore reflects social justice principles (). Health care staff should adopt cultural competence strategy such as understanding of cross-cultural communication style and providing treatment in such a way that their cultural obligation is not denied (Douglas et al., 2014). The disparities in health outcome between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians occur due to lack of accessibility and acceptability of health care services and poor socioeconomic status, cultural beliefs, structural barriers and lack of cross-communication skills. The report brought into focus different issues that act as barrier in seeking care and provided recommendation to improve health care delivery. The main focus should be on adopting culturally appropriate health care service to enhance indigenous people’s trust on medical services.   Artuso, S., Cargo, M., Brown, A., & Daniel, M. (2013). Factors influencing health care utilisation among Aboriginal cardiac patients in central Australia: a qualitative study.  BMC Health services research,  13(1), 1, p. 193. Aspin, C., Brown, N., Jowsey, T., Yen, L., & Leeder, S. (2012). Strategic approaches to enhanced health service delivery for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with chronic illness: a qualitative study.  BMC Health services research,  12(1), 1, pp. 73-75. Australian Bureau of Statistics. (June 2011). Estimates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, June 2011. Abs.gov.au. Retrieved 9 October 2016, from https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/3238.0.55.001 Chalmers, K. J., Bond, K. S., Jorm, A. F., Kelly, C. M., Kitchener, B. A., & Williams-Tchen, A. J. (2014). Providing culturally appropriate mental health first aid to an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander adolescent: development of expert consensus guidelines.  International journal of mental health systems,8(1), p. 111 Doi: 10.1186/1752-4458-8-6. Cunningham, J., & Paradies, Y. C. (2013). Patterns and correlates of self-reported racial discrimination among Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults, 2008–09: analysis of national survey data.  International journal for equity in health,  12(1), 1. Dell’Arciprete, A., Braunstein, J., Touris, C., Dinardi, G., Llovet, I., & Sosa-Estani, S. (2014). Cultural barriers to effective communication between Indigenous communities and health care providers in Northern Argentina: an anthropological contribution to Chagas disease prevention and control.International journal for equity in health,  13(1), 1. Dell’Arciprete, A., Braunstein, J., Touris, C., Dinardi, G., Llovet, I., & Sosa-Estani, S. (2014). Cultural barriers to effective communication between Indigenous communities and health care providers in Northern Argentina: an anthropological contribution to Chagas disease prevention and control.International Journal For Equity In Health,  13(1), 6. https://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1475-9276-13-6 Dillip, Angel, Sandra Alba, Christopher Mshana, Manuel W Hetzel, Christian Lengeler, Iddy Mayumana, Alexander Schulze, Hassan Mshinda, Mitchell G Weiss, and Brigit Obrist. 2012. "Acceptability – A Neglected Dimension Of Access To Health Care: Findings From A Study On Childhood Convulsions In Rural Tanzania".  BMC Health Services Research  12 (1). doi:10.1186/1472-6963-12-113. Douglas, M. K., Rosenkoetter, M., Pacquiao, D. F., Callister, L. C., Hattar-Pollara, M., Lauderdale, J., ... & Purnell, L. (2014). Guidelines for implementing culturally competent nursing care.  Journal of Transcultural Nursing, Doi: 10.1177/1043659614520998. Durey, A., & Thompson, S. C. (2012). Reducing the health disparities of Indigenous Australians: time to change focus.  BMC health services research,  12(1), 1. Frey, R., Gott, M., Raphael, D., Black, S., Teleo?Hope, L., Lee, H., & Wang, Z. (2013). ‘Where do I go from here’? A cultural perspective on challenges to the use of hospice services.  Health & social care in the community,  21(5), 519-529. Germov, J. (2014). Second opinion: an introduction to health sociology| NOVA. The University of Newcastle's Digital Repository, 76. Gulliford M, et al. 2016. "What Does 'Access To Health Care' Mean? - Pubmed - NCBI".Ncbi.Nlm.Nih.Gov. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12171751. Hunt, L., Ramjan, L., McDonald, G., Koch, J., Baird, D., & Salamonson, Y. (2015). Nursing students' perspectives of the health and healthcare issues of Australian Indigenous people.  Nurse education today,  35(3), 461-467. Kirmayer, L. (2012). Rethinking cultural competence.  Transcultural Psychiatry,  49(2), 149. Larkins, S., Woods, C. E., Matthews, V., Thompson, S. C., Schierhout, G., Mitropoulos, M., ... & Bailie, R. S. (2015). responses of aboriginal and Torres strait islander Primary health-care services to continuous Quality improvement initiatives.  Frontiers in public health,  3. Markwick, A., Ansari, Z., Sullivan, M., Parsons, L., & McNeil, J. (2014). Inequalities in the social determinants of health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People: a cross-sectional population-based study in the Australian state of Victoria.  International journal for equity in health,  13(1), 1. McDonald, S. P. (2013). End-stage kidney disease among Indigenous peoples of Australia and New Zealand.  Kidney international supplements,3(2), 170-173. Nilson, C., Kearing-Salmon, K. A., Morrison, P., & Fetherston, C. (2015). An ethnographic action research study to investigate the experiences of Bindjareb women participating in the cooking and nutrition component of an Aboriginal health promotion programme in regional Western Australia.  Public health nutrition,  18(18), 3394-3405. Paniagua, F. A. (2013).  Assessing and treating culturally diverse clients: A practical guide. Sage Publications. Price, M., & Dalgleish, J. (2013). Help-seeking among indigenous Australian adolescents: exploring attitudes, behaviours and barriers.  Youth Studies Australia,  32(1), 10. Purnell, L. D. (2014).  Guide to culturally competent health care. FA Davis. Shahid, S., Durey, A., Bessarab, D., Aoun, S. M., & Thompson, S. C. (2013). Identifying barriers and improving communication between cancer service providers and Aboriginal patients and their families: the perspective of service providers.  BMC health services research,  13(1), 460. Thompson, S. L., Chenhall, R. D., & Brimblecombe, J. K. (2013). Indigenous perspectives on active living in remote Australia: a qualitative exploration of the socio-cultural link between health, the environment and economics.  BMC Public Health,  13(1), 473. Violà ¡n, C., Foguet-Boreu, Q., Roso-Llorach, A., Rodriguez-Blanco, T., Pons-Viguà ©s, M., Pujol-Ribera, E., ... & Valderas, J. M. (2014). Burden of multimorbidity, socioeconomic status and use of health services across stages of life in urban areas: a cross-sectional study.  BMC Public Health,14(1), 1. Willis, E., Reynolds, L., & Keleher, H. (Eds.). (2016).  Understanding the Australian health care system. Elsevier Health Sciences.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Can teachers support creativity and imagination in children Essay

Can teachers support creativity and imagination in children - Essay Example Therefore, teachers play a huge role in moulding the personality and character of the child and hence make substantial contributions in encouraging imagination and creativity in a child. Though, the substance of this prose will examine as to how teachers can spur creativity and imagination young children. Creativity is a highly important aspect of a child’s educational endeavours because through creativity the child helps to identify himself as a unique person and is conducive to a healthy personality development of the child. Creativity is the process of innovating and focuses on how people use new methods and ideas in order to find alternative and fresh solutions to a particular problem. The United Kingdom National Advisory Committee’s report in 1999 focuses a great deal on the importance of creativity. (Morris, 2006) The report describes and defines creativity as, â€Å"First, they (the characteristics of creativity) always involve thinking or behaving imaginatively . Second, overall this imaginative activity is purposeful: that is, it is directed to achieving an objective. Third, these processes must generate something original. Fourth, the outcome must be of value in relation to the objective.† Their definition of creativity clearly demonstrates the strong association with the imaginative and creative process within a child. (Morris, 2006) In simplistic terms, creativity embodies imagination, purposefulness, originality and the outcome must be of immense value and opens up the world to new opportunities and experiences. It is important to know the role of creativity in the society that focuses so much on creativity therefore, the process of learning greatly involves the child thinking in a lateral manner. Creativity is good for the child’s self-image and his identity so that he knows how to set himself apart from the crowd and make his own mark in this dynamic world. Creativity and imagination has become a highly important aspect in the educational sector and there are number of programs that are designed to help teachers out in order to encourage their students to become more creative and imaginative. The United States creative classroom is another example of how people from all around the world understand the need for the child to be creative and imaginative. The project was developed by Project Zero in collaboration with Disney Worldwide Outreach and together they worked to develop materials and a variety of methods to help the child become more creative. Their main objective was not only to help the teachers understand the importance of spurring creativity and imagination in the child. (Mayer, 2005) The American project further added to the definition of creativity given by UK National Advisory Committee report, they stated, â€Å"Although most people might look for signs of creativity in the appearance of the bulletin boards, student made projects, centres and displays in the classroom, I feel the tru ly creative classroom goes way beyond what can be seen with the eyes. It is a place where bodies and minds actively pursue new knowledge. Having a creative classroom means that the teacher takes risks on a daily basis and encourages his/her students to do the same.†

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 59

Summary - Essay Example in a competitive edge by developing a treatment drug for Alzheimer’s disease, of which 18 million people suffer around the world, Pfizer decided in 2008 to give Medivation a large amount of $225 million and $500 million more if it was able to successfully produce Dimebon. The feasibility of the drug as well as the extravagance of the deal were widely criticized, though past evidence from Russia suggested that the development of such a drug was possible. However, when the drug was tested by introducing it to moderate Alzheimer’s patients in phase 3 trials, it failed to achieve the expected goals. Consequently, with the termination of the partnership contract, the dreams of the two companies to gain a substantial edge in the Pharmaceutical industry collapsed too. Since Medivation used to rely heavily on its partnership with Pfizer to generate returns, the extinction of the agreement has resulted in more serious financial losses for Medivation in contrast to Pfizer. This is certainly not a good signal for Medivation as well as Pfizer. The stoppage of the development of Dimebon has caused financial setbacks to both the companies. During the first three quarters of 2011, Medivation’s shares have dropped drastically by 3.3%. At the same time, Pfizer’s stock rose only slightly by 0.4%. The plans of the two companies to become future leaders in the market have crashed along with their product. Consequently, the financial outcomes are bound to remain low for at least sometime in the future. As far as the competitors of the two companies are concerned, they have been presented with a very good opportunity to gain an edge in the market. The competitors are already aware of the significance which Alzheimer’s drug holds and the amount of sales it could trigger. Moreover, information about the failure of Medivation and Pfizer in phase 3 trial will result in competitors being further careful in developing the product and avoiding the mistakes which were committed by

Saturday, November 16, 2019

English-language films Essay Example for Free

English-language films Essay Your Name Reference Number Email id The objective of this form to capture feedback from our valuable students related to their experience with ISBM. We intend to capture your views on the complete Objective cycle of your experience with ISBM. This will help us to serve you and other students better and achieve a better satisfaction index. Thank you in advance for your precious time. Mobile Number Instructions to fill this form 1 2 3 While answering the questionnaire, select only one option. For some questions, there are additional spaces provided at the end of question. Use this space to provide any other feedback relevant to that question. Please post the filled form to: ISBM, A/222 , Shanti Shopping Centre , Opp. Railway Station, Mira road (E), Thane-401107, Maharashtra, INDIA 1. How was your admission handled by ISBM? Excellent Good Above Average 2. Did you receive the books well in time? Yes No Average Poor 3. How would you rate the quality of course material for the compulsory subjects? Excellent Good Above Average Average Poor Additional Comments (If Any) 4. How would you rate the quality of course material for specialization subject(s)? Excellent Good Above Average Average Poor Additional Comments (If Any) Student Satisfaction Form-Q4-2008 Page 1 of 4 Q4-2008. 5. Any suggestions for improving the content of subjects offered? 6. How was the support from our examination department? Excellent Good Above Average Average Additional Comments (If Any) 7. How do rate the pattern/structure of our examinations? Excellent Good Above Average 8. Did you face any problems with payment of fees? Yes No If Yes then please specify Poor Average Poor 9. Any specific concern/problem which remains unsolved? Yes No If Yes then please specify 10. How do you assess your overall experience with ISBM Excellent Good Above Average Average Poor 11. How many of your friends are/were students of ISBM? ____________ 12. Mention your achievements in Personal and Professional life due to ISBM. ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Student Satisfaction Form-Q4-2008 Page 2 of 4 Q4-2008 13. List out any five positive sides of ISBM. 1 2 3 4 5 14. List out any five suggestions/improvements for ISBM. 1 2 3 4 5 15. Would you like to refer your friends/family members for ISBM courses? If yes, please provide us with the following details. Phone Number Name Email id (With STD Code) 1 2 3 4 Thank you for your precious time. ISBM will analyze your satisfaction rating and try its level best to serve its precious students better. Student Satisfaction Form-Q4-2008 Page 3 of 4 Q4-2008 Hi, Greetings from www. bigvacancy. com BigVacancy is a partner of Indian School of Business Management and Administration (ISBM). As a part of its placement assistance, ISBM has tied up with BigVacancy to provide its student exposure to the various job markets. We request you to register with us on www. bigvacancy. com and post your resume on the same site. Registration is free on our website. Our registered employers will thus have an exclusive database of ISBM students for recruitment. If you need any support, please feel free to contact us from our website. www. bigvacancy. com Wish you all the best. See you as a registered member of BigVacancy soon. Best Wishes, ISBM BigVacancy Student Satisfaction Form-Q4-2008.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

\Napster Case :: Napster Music Download

. Introduction: Amidst the hot debate about whether or not music should be free, there are ethical and moral considerations as well. MP3 music downloading has become the latest fad for computer owners. One computer site where users can download MP3 songs is Napster. The emergence of digital entertainment, whether an MP3, Liquid Audio book, or streaming video, has caused an inevitable shift in the entertainment market from a commodity base to a service base. One reason is that the digital medium eliminates acquisition cost for the consumer. A perfect copy of the original good is automatically created upon request. Using open platforms and formats, new companies in the entertainment sector have literally bypassed traditional production and distribution channels to reach the consumer. Napster is the perfect example of this new paradigm, turning every member’s computer into an audio server and distributing an individualized playlist. However, this trend seriously limits a content owne r’s ability to restrict the supply of his/her intellectual property on a large scale and thus control it. In response, the music industry has resorted to litigation and restrictive usage rules on licensed or retailed digital products. 2. Analysis the Economics of the music recording business The music industry continues to be characterized by commodity pricing. This is largely due to the fact that major label revenues are predominately derived from CD sales. As such, the focus of the industry’s online strategy has been to prevent CD sale cannibalization through control of online product supply and distribution. In the absence of this control, copyright owners would be unable to maintain pricing control. As a result, the industry has taken the lead in defining new rules for online digital distribution that would replicate conditions existing for off-line digital distribution. ï  ¶ Copyright infringements (excluding the effect of Internet) - bootlegging, piracy and counterfeits - are costing the music industry approximately $5 billion per year ï  ¶ sales in the music industry's five biggest markets (USA, Japan, Germany, UK and France) are growing slowly, if not stagnating 3. Analyze the company’s history, development, and growth. James Breyer (venture capitalist): â€Å"Napster is truly revolutionary- and it will be a precursor of some of the most important web applications over the next several years.)† 3.1. History Napster Case :: Napster Music Download . Introduction: Amidst the hot debate about whether or not music should be free, there are ethical and moral considerations as well. MP3 music downloading has become the latest fad for computer owners. One computer site where users can download MP3 songs is Napster. The emergence of digital entertainment, whether an MP3, Liquid Audio book, or streaming video, has caused an inevitable shift in the entertainment market from a commodity base to a service base. One reason is that the digital medium eliminates acquisition cost for the consumer. A perfect copy of the original good is automatically created upon request. Using open platforms and formats, new companies in the entertainment sector have literally bypassed traditional production and distribution channels to reach the consumer. Napster is the perfect example of this new paradigm, turning every member’s computer into an audio server and distributing an individualized playlist. However, this trend seriously limits a content owne r’s ability to restrict the supply of his/her intellectual property on a large scale and thus control it. In response, the music industry has resorted to litigation and restrictive usage rules on licensed or retailed digital products. 2. Analysis the Economics of the music recording business The music industry continues to be characterized by commodity pricing. This is largely due to the fact that major label revenues are predominately derived from CD sales. As such, the focus of the industry’s online strategy has been to prevent CD sale cannibalization through control of online product supply and distribution. In the absence of this control, copyright owners would be unable to maintain pricing control. As a result, the industry has taken the lead in defining new rules for online digital distribution that would replicate conditions existing for off-line digital distribution. ï  ¶ Copyright infringements (excluding the effect of Internet) - bootlegging, piracy and counterfeits - are costing the music industry approximately $5 billion per year ï  ¶ sales in the music industry's five biggest markets (USA, Japan, Germany, UK and France) are growing slowly, if not stagnating 3. Analyze the company’s history, development, and growth. James Breyer (venture capitalist): â€Å"Napster is truly revolutionary- and it will be a precursor of some of the most important web applications over the next several years.)† 3.1. History

Monday, November 11, 2019

Poverty and Illiteracy Essay

The world of illiterate and poverty-ridden people is like a vast endless desert where literacy is like an oasis, a fertile land with fresh water flowing and majestic palm trees growing. Illiteracy keeps people chained to ignorance and superstition and is an obstacle in the path of civilization. With literacy comes awareness and awareness brings progress, culture and civilization. Illiteracy brings ignorance, and ignorance leads to wars and controversies. God made man in his own image but today humans stand divided in the name of religion, colours and borders. Earth is the blue planet of our solar system, but today, humans are painting it red with each other’s blood. The main cause of all this, undoubtedly is illiteracy. The written word is the most powerful of weapons and once illiteracy and poverty are given an extinct status, a revolution greater than ever witnessed in history might occur, leading to the creation of a progressive and peaceful world. Poverty and illiteracy are indeed like the curse on human race. Instead of believing in family planning, illiterates believe that more the children they have, more the bread earners they will have. These poverty-ridden people cannot afford to educate their children and as a result, the children end up working for low wages at a small age, being deprived of their precious childhood. Instead of taking medicines to cure diseases, illiterates go to quacks, who give them charms, promising miracles that never actually happen. Poverty and illiteracy lead to social evils and malpractices like child marriages and untouchablity. Increased literacy in agrarian areas can lead to improved productivity with adequate use of seeds, fertilizers and pesticides. Educated politicians can make informed decisions, leading to better policies. Poverty and illiteracy are indeed the greatest of the problems affecting mankind as they stand as obstacles in the development of an advanced, progressive and peacefu l world.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Much Ado About Nothing Report

To start this report I am going to explain a little about the Elizabethan theatre and the plays that were performed, like this one, and also a little on what it would have been like. For example the lighting, sound and costumes as these played a very large role in these times. Firstly a little about the theatre itself, the Elizabethan was named after Queen Elizabeth I and was built for Shakespeare and many other play writers. The theatre itself was very different back then from theatres today. Nowadays you can go and pay an affordable price and sit in a good seat in a comfortable theatre and have perfect lighting and great sound to illuminate the actors and have complicated background and scenery to give impressions of indoor and outdoor scenes, but back then they were very different. The centre of the theatre  had no roof. And since there was no powerful lighting they  had to depend on sunlight. The centre, open part, contained a stage and a courtyard. Unlike today, many people had to stand in the yard in front of the stage and the stage was raised so everyone could see. Only wealthy people could sit in the high storeys which were covered by a roof. There was no scenery back then so Shakespeare's actors could move freely across the stage. Costumes were often rich and impressive but were not always historically correct. Back then without scenery or costumes the play had to rely on words to show the audience when, where and what was happening. Back then the audience had to use their imagination far more than we do today in theatres or in movies, almost like a Childs show on ABC, especially in one way: there were no actresses! The theatre was not considered a good place for a woman to be; instead the women were played by young men whose voices had not broken. So as you can see everything was much more different than it is today, from the setting of the theatre to the actors and what they wear on their body. Next is the report  about the play and everything, after that is the play that we  as a group re-wrote in modern English language. Pg.1 Much Ado about Nothing Plot: Don Pedro, Prince of Aragon, has just returned from a victorious military campaign and they have come to visit Leonato – Governor of Messina. Meanwhile Claudio, a young Lord accompanying Don Pedro falls in love with Hero, the daughter of Leonato. At the same time, Don John, Don Pedro's evil brother is planning to destroy the proposed marriage between Claudio and Hero. Whilst all of this is happening Beatrice and Benedick have a supposed love for each other, after a while the friends find out and rather than breaking them apart, they want to bring them together. Which leads into the main storyline. Towards the end Claudio sees Hero cheating on him (but it was one of Don John's servants, Borachio – planned) and insults Hero at the wedding for what he saw and killed her verbally. The story ends with the news of the capture of Don John who had run away after his evil planning, and the marriages of Claudio and Hero, Beatrice and Benedick who secretly loved each other. Characters: there are a lot of characters in this play but I have chosen the main 10, so here they are. Leonato: is the Governor of Messina and is the father of hero. He is an old wise man and cares for many people, is brave and was once a soldier. He has a lot of caution for things and other people and their ways. Don Pedro: is the brave, young, strong and smart prince of Aragon he is a great soldier, he is a very mature bachelor and also can sometimes be very cunning and witty, he likes everyone except for his evil brother don john, or as we call him, the bastard. Claudio: he is a young, brave and handsome soldier accompanying Don Pedro he can also be immature and sometimes jealous. He is also the one whom is in love with hero. Hero: is the daughter of Leonato, and what's not to like, She is young, pretty, smart and is also madly in love with Claudio, she is the one to marry him. Benedick: he is also a young, brave and handsome soldier accompanying don Pedro. He is smart, witty and also has a little thing for Beatrice which comes after all the name calling as he thinks as her as the devil himself. He also thinks he can have any girl he wants and all the girls like him except for Beatrice. Beatrice: she's bright, pretty, witty and sometimes annoying; she is a bit fussy with men, she doesn't want one with a beard or without, they are either too young or too old. She does her best to make benedicks life a living hell; she also secretly has a soft heart for him, as you can tell (later on). She is leonatos niece and Heros cousin. Don John: is bitter, antisocial, and jealous of the love and friendship everyone has for each other. He lacks of manners and social graces, he also can not get a woman because of his mannerisms. Don John is the mastermind behind the evil plan of wrecking Claudio and Heros wedding. Pg.2 Dogberry & Verges: he is one of the most memorable comic creations from this play. He is keenly aware of his position and enjoys explaining to every one, in his own English, full of long misused words, what his and their duties are. Even with his very amusing malapropisms, he is valued by high importance, by Leonato especially, for his services. Verges on the other hand, is wiser and is their to accompany Dogberry and give him able support whilst examining prisoners. Conrade & Borachio: they are the followers of don john and are also the master minds behind the wedding. Borachio is the smarter, more cunning one out of the two, and is also the more dominant one. Conrade, however, not as cunning as Borachio, and does not show it, but helps his master in any way he might profit from it. Setting: the setting of the play is set-in Italy and in little towns such as Messina. Scenes and Acts are mainly set in Leonatos house and are set in gardens and courtyards, during the day. At night it is mainly set inside the hose in room and in apartments. In one scene it is set in a hall and in a courtyard where they are all dancing and celebrating. Lighting outside was probably natural and at night it was artificial so it would capture the light and effect of lamps and candles. Theme: the plays title is a very important clue to its theme, and Shakespeare has done a very good job at this, for the word nothing means noting, and the plot is based on noting-on eavesdropping, observing, taking notes on people's behaviour and coming to conclusions about other people, conclusions that are sometimes wrong. The title ‘much ado about nothing' basically means ‘making a big fuss of nothing'. As you will see this in the movie, as it is basically what the whole story is about, making a fuss of nothing. So that brings us to the end of my report. Overall I thought the play was interesting, and fun. The main plot with benedick and Beatrice grabbed my full attention, and the wedding I really wanted to know what would happen. There was so many great characters, my favourite character who knew what he was going to say next. To sum it up in 4 words would be†¦Shakespeare is a genius. Pg.3 Next is the play we as a group wrote up ourself in modern English. Which was very hard to do. Much Ado About Nothing Our own version. ACT THREE, Scene 5 Leonato: Jack Dogberry: Russell Verges: Eddie Leonato: Yes Dogberry. What would you like? Dogberry: I would like a quick word with you that may concern you. Leonato: please make it quick, I'm a little busy. Dogberry: marriage, it is, sir. Verges: yes, really, truly it is. Leonato: What is it guys. Dogberry: thankyou verges, sir, a little bit off the topic: some one of your age, sir, is not as cunning and smart as, well, I thought he would be, but is very honest and wise in his ways. Verges: I agree, thankyou god that there is some man as old as him as smart as me in his ways. Dogberry: comparisons are terrible, Verges. Leonato: guys, you are boring. Dogberry: if it pleases you to say so, we are unfortunately under the control of the duke, but truly on my own behalf, if I were as boring as you, would simply out of my heart give my worship to you. Leonato: all of your boredom on me, huh? Dogberry: yes and a thousand pound more, for I hear good praise to you, if I was not a poor man, but I am glad to hear it. Verges: I am too. Leonato: I would really like to know what is so important you want to tell me. Verges: sir on our watch tonight, before meeting you, had taken a couple of wicked villains in Messina. Dogberry: a good man, sir, verges, two men ride on a horse and one must ride behind him in front, neighbour verges. Leonato: indeed, verges comes short of you dogberry. Dogberry: thankyou sir, it is a gift from god. Leonato: I must be going now. Dogberry: one more thing, sir, we have caught two men and will have them examined by yourself in the morning. Exit Leonato

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Censorship in music essays

Censorship in music essays In Eduard Hanslicks book On the Beautiful in Music, the chapter titled Music and Nature argues that music is not a part of nature, but rather a man made art form. Hanslick believes that all aspects of music are created in the human mind and are not a part of nature. Hanslick suggests that music has fundamental 'building blocks', which cannot be found in nature. He (Hanslick) believes that the sounds in nature are not musical they are just natural sounds. He goes on to say that mankind heard these sounds and attempted to duplicate them, which is how mankind got the first musical notes. To be music it must poses melody and harmony, which is tones, not just sounds. The two main 'building blocks', melody and harmony, cannot be found in nature; " Melody is not to be met with in nature, even in its most rudimentary form"(p105). Hanslick suggests that these 'building blocks' of music are created in the human mind rather than in some aspect of nature. Hanslick believed that the third 'building block', rhythm, even though it can be found in nature, is not the same type of rhythm that music possess. He feels that musical rhythm is dependant on harmony and melody, whereas natural rhythm just occurs and is dependant on nothing, " But the point in whi ch natural rhythm differs from human music is obvious: in music there is no independent rhythm; it occurs only in connection with melody and harmony expressed in rhythmical order" (p106). Hanslick felt that music was different from all other forms of art in the respect that music could not be associated with nature. He states that unlike art, music was unable to take anything from nature. An artist could perhaps look at something beautiful and paint it, whereas a musician must create something in his mind. Hanslick states (p112) " There is nothing beautiful in nature as far as music is concerned", meaning that there is no aspect of nature in which one could arrive at beautiful music. " ...

Monday, November 4, 2019

Language Choice in Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Language Choice in Communication - Essay Example This essay will assess the assertion by speakers such as Ioan who claimed "I text and Facebook in English. It feels that English is more international, more universal. It seems to make more sense to use it on the internet". To understand language acquisition and use it is necessary to make a comparison in learning of Welsh and English among school going children. This is because there are a number of inconsistencies within the languages which may in most cases impact on the competency reported by children who have had similar levels of exposure to the two languages. Comparison of English with other European languages based on the analysis of their orthography indicates there are levels of dissimilarities between them. The European languages such as Welsh, Spanish and Finish have their phonemes and the letters closely related. This means one letter in these languages will in almost all cases represent a distinct sound. It therefore becomes simple for fluent reader familiar with alphab etic systems of these languages to read them even when they might not comprehend the meaning of the words. However, this might not be the case for someone who wants to apply the same in English which is because there are a number of differences between a number of English letters and the sound system of the language. The complexity in English is as a result of the existence of more sounds in spoken English than the twenty-six symbols representing the letters of the English alphabet. Additionally, the English orthography is not a precise representation of any particular accent that should be adopted when speaking Standard English.  

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Quality of life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Quality of life - Essay Example Most medical decisions, however, fall somewhere in between these boundaries. Reflections on these decisions were articulated in the language of ordinary and extraordinary means. The expression "quality of life" has been used by the proponents of practices such as abortion, assisted suicide, and euthanasia; indeed "quality of life" has become a rallying slogan for those who favor such practices. There is an understandable tendency in some of these Episcopal statements to avoid any public formulation that might suggest endorsement of that kind of quality - of - life ethic. In the public context, these bishops tend to speak in language that portrays life as an absolute good and to eschew language about the quality of life. Such statements sometimes convey the impression that the distinction between ordinary and extraordinary means can be worked out in fairly objective terms (e.g. benefits of treatment, the proximity of a patient to death). In fact the language of benefit vs. burden ratio or proportionate vs. disproportionate treatment lends itself to images of a mathematical measurement. But this does not retain all the nuances of traditional teaching. While t here are objective elements, such as whether or not a treatment is available or will be physiologically useful, the history of the distinction between ordinary and extraordinary means makes it clear that its deployment turns on the prudent judgment of the patient with the help of family and physician. The patient is the one who weighs risks, burdens, and benefits in light of a treatment's probable impact. The distinction depends upon the patient's quality - of - life judgments. The Pennsylvania bishops' statement on nutrition and hydration illustrates the tendency both to objectify the judgment about ordinary and extraordinary means and to misrepresent traditional teaching. For example, the bishops write that "the patient in the persistent vegetative state is not imminently terminal (provided that there is no other pathology present). The feeding--regardless of whether it be considered as treatment or as care--is serving a life -sustaining purpose. Therefore, it remains an ordinary means of sustaining life and should be continued." The bishops of the Maryland Catholic Conference also wrote that "[a] medical treatment should not be deemed useless, however, because it fails to achieve some goal beyond what should be expected." For them, medically assisted feeding and hydration is useful as long as the patient is capable of absorbing the nutrients delivered by the treatment. These kinds of statements reflect an erosion of the distinction between ordinary and extraordinary means. There are a number of ways in which the traditional teaching is being lost. First, it should be noted that the distinction between ordinary and extraordinary means traditionally has not been limited only to those patients who were considered to be terminal. In creating such a restriction the bishops are being quite innovative in their interpretation of the distinction. Pope John Paul II seems to limit the distinction's application to those who are close to death; in Evangelium vitae he distinguishes euthanasia from withdrawing aggressive treatment and, in so doing, appears to limit the dis