Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Bobs Meltdown Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Sways Meltdown - Case Study Example As the conversation plots the main elective that Singer could take is to fire Dunn, who is the senior Vice President and General Manager, Services. Nonetheless, the contextual analysis recognizes that Dunn is the best chief and the productivity of the organization most likely rides on his shoulders. This elective will cause the organization to lose income, and presumably end up wiped out. The other elective that Singer could take is to seriously condemn Dunn and cause him to apologize to Ms. Annette over his conduct. Hierarchical conduct ethos direct that the best working of an association as a group requires the attachment that must be accomplished by a solidarity between the administrators. The third option is accept that Dunn was under a great deal of weight from the duty endowed to him. Along these lines, this option would necessitate that Mr. Artist converses with Dunn and advises him to quiet down, and that Annette would be made to comprehend the significance of the administrat ions division. From this examination obviously all the choices proposed over their own constraints and qualities, primarily in light of the profound moral and expert ramifications of Dunn’s activities. The main option is the primary thought, due to the amateurish idea of Dunn’s response. In any case, this option would bring about a misfortune in benefit for the organization before another director in the same class as Dunn is found. The second alterative, a censure and no other move being made, isn't truly fitting for the firm. This is a direct result of the translations that the activity would evoke from different workers. This option would infer that the organization couldn't care less about certain workers, particularly the female representatives, and that the presentation record by Dunn gives him more elbowroom than different workers.

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Amazing Sand Dollar Facts

Astonishing Sand Dollar Facts A sand dollar (Echinarachnius parma) is an echinoid, a sort of invertebrate creature whose skeletons-called tests-are regularly found on sea shores the world over. The test is generally white or grayish-white, with a star-molded checking in its middle. The regular name for these creatures originates from their resemblance to silver dollars. At the point when they are alive, sand dollars look very different. They are secured with short, smooth spines thatâ are hued purple to rosy earthy colored. Quick Facts: Sand Dollar Logical Name: Echinarachnius parmaCommon Name(s): Common sand dollar or northern sand dollar; otherwise called ocean treats, snapper rolls, sand cakes, cake urchins, or pansy shellsBasic Animal Group: InvertebrateSize: Live grown-up creatures measure between 2â€4 creeps in breadth, and around 1/3 inch thick Lifespan: 8â€10 yearsDiet: CarnivoreHabitat: Northern pieces of the Atlantic and Pacific oceansPopulation: UnknownConservation Status: Not assessed Portrayal Living creatures of the regular sand dollar (Echinarachnius parma) species are for the most part sub-roundabout, estimating around 2â€4 creeps over, and are covered with spines that are purple, ruddy purple or earthy colored in shading. The trial of the sand dollar is its endoskeleton-it is called an endoskeleton since it lies underneath the sand dollarsâ spines and skin, and it is made of intertwined calcareous plates. This is not the same as the skeletons of different echinoderms-ocean stars, bin stars, and fragile stars have littler plates that are adaptable, and the skeleton of ocean cucumbers is comprised of minuscule ossicles covered in the body. The top (aboral) surface of the sand dollar testâ has an example that resembles five petals. There are five arrangements of cylinder feet that stretch out from these petals, which the sand dollar utilizes for breath. The sand dollars butt is situated at the back of the creature found in the edge of the test beneath the single vertical line stretching out from the focal point of the star. Sand dollars move by utilizing the spines situated on their underside.â <img information srcset=https://www.thoughtco.com/thmb/_TLhz-dX1KTccVgr_Rtk8mrLqeI=/300x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/sanddollar-assortment 951967552-5c4e3bcfc9e77c0001d7badb.jpg 300w, https://www.thoughtco.com/thmb/1ToIz1ToRn2ENxcd7g_EjERZbCg=/1537x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/sanddollar-assortment 951967552-5c4e3bcfc9e77c0001d7badb.jpg 1537w, https://www.thoughtco.com/thmb/H_YEBS1DMTkITDQoZns5Jo1g__c=/2774x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/sanddollar-assortment 951967552-5c4e3bcfc9e77c0001d7badb.jpg 2774w, https://www.thoughtco.com/thmb/PsiJ5NlDKU3GUew7tQcJe1MLHIM=/5250x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/sanddollar-assortment 951967552-5c4e3bcfc9e77c0001d7badb.jpg 5250w information src=https://www.thoughtco.com/thmb/An AVCJCkjgBHWg3Hmh6eHTuOtik=/5250x3500/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/sanddollar-assortment 951967552-5c4e3bcfc9e77c0001d7badb.jpg src=//:0 alt=Close up of heap of sanddollars class=lazyload information click-tracked=true information img-lightbox=true information expand=300 id=mntl-sc-square image_1-0-10 information following container=true /> Daniela Duncan/Getty Images Species Sand dollars are echinoderms, which means like ocean stars, ocean cucumbers, and ocean urchins, they have an emanating plan of parts and a body divider hardened by hard pieces, for example, spines. Actually, they are fundamentally level ocean urchins and are in a similar class, Echinoidea, as ocean urchins. This class is partitioned into two gatherings: the normal echinoids (ocean urchins and pencil urchins) and sporadic echinoids (heart urchins, ocean rolls, and sand dollars). The sporadic echinoids have a front, a back and fundamental two-sided evenness on the typical pentameral balance (five sections around a middle) that normal echinoids possess.â There are numerous speciesâ of sand dollars. Other than E. parma, those discovered regularly in the United States include: Dendraster excentricus (Eccentric, western, or Pacific sand dollar) are found in the Pacific Ocean from Alaska to Baja, California. These sand dollars develop to around 4 crawls across and have dim, purple or blackish spines.Clypeaster subdepressus (Sand dollar, ocean roll) live in the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, from the Carolinas to Brazil. Mellita sp. (Keyhole sand dollars or keyhole urchins) are found in tropical waters in the Atlantic, Pacific, and the Caribbean Sea. There are around 11 types of keyhole sand dollars. Sand dollars are named follows: Realm: AnimaliaPhylum: EchinodermataClass: Clypeasteroida (incorporates sand dollars and ocean scones) Living space and Distribution Normal sand dollars have been found all through the North Pacific and eastern North Atlantic seas, at areas from just beneath the intertidal zone to more than 7,000 feet. As their name recommends, sand dollars want to live in the sand, in densities going somewhere in the range of .5 and 215 for each 10.7 square foot. They utilize their spines to tunnel into the sand, where they look for assurance and food. Adult sand dollars-those more than 2 crawls in distance across live in the intertidal zone. Most sand dollars live in seawater (saline conditions), albeit a few species do happen in estuarine territories which consolidate of waterway and lake water, and are artificially unmistakable from saline or freshwater situations. Studies show that sand dollars require a specific degree of saltiness to treat their eggs. <img information srcset=https://www.thoughtco.com/thmb/PKa7E1igCHQwHLtqHtgT9NTrzRU=/300x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/before-the-sea shore 155581188-5c4e3d2e46e0fb00014c36fb.jpg 300w, https://www.thoughtco.com/thmb/ZnSS7PYE9uUASwa8s-MFm5qU3aM=/855x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/before-the-sea shore 155581188-5c4e3d2e46e0fb00014c36fb.jpg 855w, https://www.thoughtco.com/thmb/IFx9FEk7al8foEW2PhzPk0zSG2o=/1410x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/before-the-sea shore 155581188-5c4e3d2e46e0fb00014c36fb.jpg 1410w, https://www.thoughtco.com/thmb/bTZuAmXZehCPwdF82RKGsSUcfXw=/2520x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/before-the-sea shore 155581188-5c4e3d2e46e0fb00014c36fb.jpg 2520w information src=https://www.thoughtco.com/thmb/nnfdAuhc07POLK57cfNVglJ2kHk=/2520x1680/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/before-the-sea shore 155581188-5c4e3d2e46e0fb00014c36fb.jpg src=//:0 alt=Close up of sand dollar tunneling into the sand. class=lazyload information click-tracked=true information img-lightbox=true information expand=300 id=mntl-sc-square image_1-0-27 information following container=true /> The sand dollar utilizes its spines to tunnel into sand. Douglas Klug/Getty Images Diet and Behavior Sand dollars feed on little food particles in the sand, regularly infinitesimally measured green growth, however they do likewise eat sections of different creatures and have been classed as carnivores as per the World Register of Marine Species. The particles land on the spines, and afterward are shipped to the sand dollars mouth by its cylinder feet, pedicellaria (pliers), and mucous-covered cilia. Some ocean urchins lay on their edges in the sand to expand their capacity to get prey that is skimming by.â Like other ocean urchins, the mouth of a sand dollar is called Aristotles lamp and is comprised of five jaws. In the event that you get a sand dollar test and shake it tenderly, you may hear the bits of the mouth shaking inside. Generation and Offspring There are male and female sand dollars, in spite of the fact that, all things considered, it is hard to tell which will be which. Proliferation is sexual and achieved by the sand dollars discharging eggs and sperm into the water. The prepared eggs are yellow in shading and covered in a defensive jam, with a normal width of around 135 micros, or 1/500th of an inch. They form into minuscule hatchlings, which feed and move utilizing cilia. Following a little while, the hatchling settles to the base, where it transforms. Adolescents (under 2 crawls in width) are found in the subtidal zones and gradually relocate into uncovered sea shore zones as they develop; the littlest are found in the most noteworthy sea shore heights. They can cover themselves in the sand up to two inches down, and thick populaces can pile themselves up to three creatures profound. Dangers Sand dollars might be influenced by angling, particularly from base trawling, sea fermentation, which may influence the capacity to shape the test;â climate change, which may influence accessible natural surroundings; and assortment. Diminished saltiness brings down treatment rates. In spite of the fact that you can discover a lot of data on the most proficient method to protect sand dollars, you should gather just dead sand dollars, never live ones. Sand dollars are not eaten by people, however they can be prey for ocean stars, fish, and crabs. Preservation Status The sand dollar isn't presently recorded as a jeopardized species. Sand Dollars and Humans Sand dollar tests are sold in shell shops and on the web, for enlivening purposes or gifts and regularly with a card or engraving referencing the Legend of the Sand Dollar. Such references are related with Christian folklore, proposing that the five-pointed star in the focal point of the highest point of the sand dollars test is a portrayal of the Star of Bethlehem that guided the savvy men to the child Jesus. The five openings in the test are said to speak to Jesuss wounds during his execution: the four injuries in his grasp and feet and the fifth in his side. On the underside of the sand dollar test, it is said that there is a diagram of a Christmas poinsettia; and on the off chance that you tear it open, you will discover five little bones that speak to birds of harmony. These birds are really the

Sunday, August 9, 2020

APA Format in Essays

APA Format in Essays APA Essay Format: General Overview APA Format in Essay Writing In case you received the task that involves dealing with APA essay format, it can be a very confusing challenge if the formatting styles you used before were different. Thus, before starting to write, you will need to look through the ground rules and learn how to write an APA essay format in the first place. It would be helpful to find an example of APA essay format to have a visual understanding of how your work should be organized. In addition, the overview of formatting rules in this article will be a useful aid for your writing. APA writing format was developed by the American Psychological Association, and it remains one of the most common and popular formats used in custom essay writing. Like with any other formatting style, an APA formatted essay means that formatting and referencing follows the requirements of the American Psychological Association. Before you create and submit an APA format paper, you should definitely get familiar with the principles of APA formatting and style. You need to know how to develop your headings and references correctly and what types of grammatical and punctuation structures are allowed in APA writing format.

Saturday, May 23, 2020

Edgar Allan Poe s The Raven - 1464 Words

â€Å"Sometimes I’m terrified of my heart; of it’s constant hunger for whatever it is it wants. The way it stops and starts† Edgar Allan Poe one of America s best known poet, and author who became mad in the sense of insanity after his wife Virginia died of Tuberculous. This made Poe spiral into a deep depression which he wouldn’t be able to get himself out of because of the loss of his beloved Virginia. Poe had a very difficult, strange life, and a writing style like no one had ever seen before and that is what led him to be one of America’s most famous poets, and author. â€Å"The Raven† is what made Poe the well known poet that he is today, and is considered the best poem he wrote. â€Å"With his short stories and poems, Edgar Allan Poe captured the imagination and interest around the world† (biography.com) Poe had a lot of talents and it led to the beginning of different literary genres, that gave him the nickname â€Å"Father of the Detective Story†. (Biography.com) Poe’s father left family early in his life and his mother passed away when poe was three. Poe was adopted by John and Frances Allan, who were successful tobacco merchants. Poe and Frances had a bond but he never really had the same bond Poe had with John. There was also a issue with money between John and Poe. Poe’s parents sent him to the University of Virginia in 1826, but he did not receive enough money from John for Poe to continue going to the University because of poe’s excessive gambling. When this happened PoeShow MoreRelatedEdgar Allan Poe s The Raven944 Words   |  4 Pagesto display the evils of humanity. Edgar Allan Poe, American Gothic poet, often wrote unsettling and dark poetry marrying the natural and supernatural in order to demonstrate difficult to grasp human emotions such as grief or depression. Poe’s The Raven is a powerful, yet dark piece of poetry that utilizes rhyme, meter, and symbolism to entertain fans of Gothic literature and completely pull them into the drama of the piece. In the opening stanzas of The Raven, Poe establishes the tone of the poemRead MoreEdgar Allan Poe s The Raven2149 Words   |  9 PagesEdgar Allan Poe is considered one of the greatest literary writers, but he was highly under-appreciated during his time, Poe was constantly looked down upon and suffered a bad reputation due to rumors created by authors who disliked him. Poe was seen as arrogant, mad, and a melancholy man who had no friends and spent his time drinking and using drugs. Poe s success came when The Raven was published in 1845, â€Å"†¦though it made Poe popular in his day, it did not bring him significant financial successRead MoreEdgar Allan Poe s The Raven Essay1642 Words   |  7 PagesAn Analysis of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven Death. A strong topic, frequently but solemnly discussed. However, when I read Edgar Allan Poe’s â€Å"The Raven†, I was immediately captivated by the new angle brought to my attention regarding death. While the topic of death is usually associated with either sympathy or horror, Poe succeeded in portraying a feeling caught between the two; and at the same time bringing forth new feelings I would never thought to consider regarding death. These feelings reflectRead MoreEdgar Allan Poe s The Raven2600 Words   |  11 Pagesone of the world s most difficult forms of art. Many poets live throughout their lives and are never recognized for their achievements in their community. Edgar Allan Poe is one of the world s most renowned poets and wrote mainly in the form of poets and short stories. Some of Poe s most renown poems include The Raven, Annabel Lee. The poem The Raven deals with problems such as insanity and grief and the poem Annabel Lee deals with problems of grief a nd young love. Edgar Allan Poe wrote a lot aboutRead MoreAnalysis Of Edgar Allan Poe s The Raven 1602 Words   |  7 PagesJadon Vanderslice. Ms. Glass English 1213 5 February 2017 Poe Edgar Allan Poe, arguably one of the best poets ever, has wrote many great and deep-meaning poems, such as â€Å"Annabel Lee,† and â€Å"Dream Within a Dream.† Both putting off a rather dark image and goth-like elements, a way of writing Poe loved best. Mostly known for â€Å"The Raven†, Poe’s Poems all have real deep and mysterious meanings that make people think a bit more to figure it out. The way he expressed terror, the suspense, the heighteningRead MoreAnalysis Of Edgar Allan Poe s The Raven1232 Words   |  5 Pages Edgar Allan Poe: The Raven Literature is a very powerful tool that is used to make a huge impact on society or in someone’s perspective. As complex as the world, literature can appear in many forms using unique vernacular that expresses human endeavors. In some cases, social reform is Transcendentalism is an American literary, philosophical movement, promoting the idea of independent progress. The central idea is the optimistic viewpoint of humanity. People, men and women equally, have knowledgeRead MoreAn Analysis Of Edgar Allan Poe s The Raven1954 Words   |  8 Pagesauthors, Edgar Allan Poe, Anne Bradstreet, and Emily Dickinson, had poems in which they explored the common theme of death. Their unique views on death, as reflected in their poems, tells us of the different ways people looked at death during their respective times. In this essay, I will explore and explain three poems of Edgar Allan Poe, and one from Anne Bradstreet and Emily Dickinson respectively, and then compare the differences between the three authors. In Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven, he usesRead MoreEdgar Allan Poe s The Raven788 Words   |  4 Pages Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most successful writers of all time. Twelve of Poe’s works are known for their literary construction. The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most famous poems in history and was first published in 1845. This is a poem that many readers may describe as dark, twisted, and even scary can be oddly moving and eye catching. What were the meanings in his masterpiece, and what did Poe want his readers to understand? Poe’s literary work The Raven shows literary elementsRead MoreEdgar Allan Poe s The Raven1366 Words   |  6 PagesThe series of unfortunate events that Edgar Allan Poe experienced in his lifetime are what influenced his writing. His poetry heavily reflects the built-up emotions that he carried within himself. He repeatedly dealt with loss, rejection, and poverty throughout his entire life. When his wife, Virginia, was deat hly ill, Poe wrote his poem, â€Å"The Raven†, in which the reader can observe the speaker slowly fall into madness while grieving the death of his love, similar to Poe’s own experiences. Poe’sRead MoreEdgar Allan Poe s The Raven And The Black Cat1225 Words   |  5 Pagesthe father of the modern horror story, Edgar Allan Poe was previously viewed as a drunken failure. Within Poe’s writings much of his own life riddled with guilt, anxiety, alcohol, depression and death shines through resulting in works that appear unrelated yet once dissected prove similar. This is true for Poe’s works â€Å"The Raven† and â€Å"The Black Cat†. Poe’s examples of gothic fiction share the use of the color black and a rapid digression of the narrator s sanity while seemingly unveiling Poe’s internal

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

My Experience At The Homeless Shelter - 1762 Words

My experience tells me that I am suitable for the work in my applied experience. I have acquired skills, such as critical thinking, group communication, understanding of personal behavior, organization skills, and accepting criticism. Moreover, I take orders well and can work in a stressful environment. I was efficient in what I put in at the homeless shelter and left with an experience of providing a public service within the community. In addition, I learned that I have quality traits, such as compassion, patience, and interpersonal skills to work around others. I was confident enough to approach the families at the shelter and made friends. I was there to listen without judgment, and they appreciated that I took the time to hear what they had to say. For example, I heard the different reasons why these individuals ended up at the homeless shelter and how they feel stuck in their situation. I heard testimonies from families who have undergone many tragedies and were fortunate to h ave the support that the BHC provides. Lastly, the area that I could improve on is conflict prevention among adults. I experienced watching some fights at the shelter, and I do not have the skills to stop it without getting physically involved. Furthermore, my site supervisor believed that I showed exemplary abilities with the families. I would have to say that the five main role of ethics that were involved at the center included fidelity and responsibility, integrity, respect for people’sShow MoreRelatedA Reflection On The Shelter At The Uu Fellowship Of San Luis Obispo, An Eye Opening Experience Essay1586 Words   |  7 PagesParticipating in the overnight shelter at the UU Fellowship of San Luis Obispo, was an eye opening experience. When people think of homeless people, right away they think of the stereotypical description of a homeless person, such as dirty, on drugs, or mentally ill. I was one of those people who had a stereotypical picture in my mind, but participating in this shelter changed my perceptive on the description of homeless. As my shift began, I realized for the most part the shelter was composed of singleRead MoreVisiting a Homeless Shelter Essay938 Words   |  4 Pages When I’m out with my friends, weather we are picking up fast food, or stopping at a red light, and I see a what I assume to be a homeless person asking for change, I’m usually the person that will give them any lose change or singles that I have. Many of my friends hate that I do this, but someone some how I empathize with those people. So naturally when I was asked to do something that I’ve never done before, I chose to visit a homeless shelter. I chose this because although IRead MoreThe Community Of Mount Vernon1182 Words   |  5 Pagesnumber of services and shelters available to people in crisis situations. One of the services offered is the Winter Sanctuary, an emergency homeless shelter in Mount Vernon that provides the homeless with a place to stay during the frigid winter months. I spent two hours visiting this shelter along with one of my classmates, Faith Aleshire. We were able to speak with three homeless women at the shelter, and we learned a bit about their life stories. This experience has broadened my understanding of homelessnessRead MoreThe Homeless Are Homeless : A Middle Class Lifestyle After Marriage1654 Words   |  7 PagesLiving on the streets moving from shelter to shelter they were barely getting the nutrition that is needed to survive. So many people can end up homeless from children, to adults, and even veterans. According to Doran, fifteen percent of America’s homeless are chronically homeless, which means the person has been homeless continuously for a year or more or has had at least four episodes of homelessness in the past three years (Doran). The reason there are so many homeless people now in the country isRead MoreFunding For The Homeless Shelter861 Words   |  4 Pages2015, 564,708 people were homeless on a given night in the United States† (National Alliance to End Homelessness). People become homeless due to a numerous amount of reasons, but the problem comes down to the low number of affordable housing and â€Å"the limited scale of housing assistance programs† (National Alliance to End Homelessness). Coming from a small town in Northwest Iowa and never encountering a homeless person, the homelessness issue in Iowa City was brought to my attention upon arriving hereRead MoreA Study Of Mental Disorders Among The Homeless996 Words   |  4 Pagesamong the Homeless, there are around 740,000 individual’s homeless in the United State s alone at any given night. Homelessness is everywhere, yet it is unseen. And yet at the same time American’s everywhere often take what they have for granted, especially the roof over their heads. Anna Quindlen discusses these issues in her article â€Å"Homeless†. She writes about a woman she met at a bus terminal one day. The woman‘s bag and raincoat were covered in grime, her name was Ann, and she was homeless. SuddenlyRead MoreThe Effects Of Homelessness On The United States1218 Words   |  5 PagesIn Stanislaus county the homeless population has grown from 1,156 in 2005 to 1,800 today and still growing. Modesto had the highest count of homelessness with 983 documented homeless individuals according to a 2015 Modesto Bee study and sadly, the amount increases as surrounding areas begin to enforce strict laws. These laws criminalize and relocate homeless folk to our county. There are no exceptions to the cold reality of homelessness: men, women, children, military veterans, individuals, andRead MoreFive Myths About America1082 Words   |  5 Pagesout America Five myths about America s homeless By Dennis Culhane Sunday, July 11, 2010 Last month, the Obama administration released a plan designed to end homelessness in 10 years. The goal reflects new optimism among academics and advocates that homelessness is not an intractable feature of urban life, as it has sometimes seemed, but a problem that can be solved. This belief is fueled by recent research debunking a number of long-standing myths about homelessness in America -- and showingRead MoreDomestic Violence: A Cause of Homelessness in Women Essay970 Words   |  4 Pages As soon as we moved into this house, you think you can have your way. You are my wife and I tell you what you can do and what you cant do. This kind of statement is typical of what a battered woman knows to be the only truth in her household. Domestic violence is greatly on the rise and is one of the leading causes of homelessness among women in todays society. Rather than approach domestic violence as a direct cause of homelessness, one might hope to understand how such violence could helpRead MoreRacism Against Non Housed Individuals Essay1202 Words   |  5 Pagesthat are seldom heard are that of homeless men. Through the testimony of one homeless man in particular, John Doe, it is hoped that a better understanding and awareness can be brought to the masses. I myself have been prejudice against non-housed individuals. I have given money to a homeless man and presumed he would buy drugs or alcohol with it. When I see them at fast food restaurants, at times, I have felt like the restaurant itself was less clean with a homeless man sitting at a table. I often

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Eng 115 Free Essays

Assignment 2. 2: The Public Needs to Know – 49 Million People are Experiencing Hunger in America Lisa Jenkins Strayer University ENG 115 Amy Sloan The economic conditions surrounding our food pantries today are that the demand from patrons experiencing food insecurity has risen dramatically, while donations from outside sources are lessening. Other factors include the increasingly higher cost of fuel and food, a change in desire for fresh foods versus canned, the ability to store these types of foods and the willingness for enough volunteers to lend a hand. We will write a custom essay sample on Eng 115 or any similar topic only for you Order Now Food pantries depend on a large amount of donations from large food chains and manufacturers. These types of donations are decreasing due to new technologies in the industry that help optimize productions, therefore lessening the amount of product that is overproduced. According to Feeding America, â€Å"Hunger in America exists for nearly 49 million people. That is one in six of the U. S. population – including more than one in five children. † (http://feedingamerica. org 2012) The USDA reports that 1 in 4 Americans access programs that provide food assistance through the federal government. (www. USDA. ov 2012 p. 1)The unemployment rate for 2011 was 8. 9%, a small decrease from previous years. (www. USDA. gov 2012 p. 5) It appears that the economy of America is not improving. Food assistance is no longer only for the homeless and unemployed. A majority of patrons receiving food assistance from food pantries report that at least one adult is employed in the household. Food insecurity does not only exist in the suburbs anymore. Growing populations of those in need of food assistance live in rural areas and do not always have access to food pantries. Food insecurity is growing expeditiously in the U. S. nd currently exists in every county in America. More women, children and elderly are experiencing food insecurity than ever before. The patrons of food pantries are no longer visiting only in emergency situations. The trend now is for those patrons to use food pantries to supplement their food sources on a regular basis. The special needs of those served at food pantries include the need and desire for fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy and proteins to ensure proper nutritional needs are being met. Reports show that children and adults that are not eating properly will suffer physically and mentally in regards to their health. This is especially important with children who are still developing. Children that are food insecure will most likely not do well academically; have lower test scores, experience depression and behavioral problems in school. Women that are not receiving proper nutrition during pregnancy may experience complications during child birth and could give birth to low birth weight babies. Adults need access to nutritional foods so that they can maintain a healthy lifestyle and try to keep their self-esteem during this difficult time. The elderly may have food restrictions due to current medications that are taken for health reasons or might be handicapped and need assistance getting food delivered or prepared. The importance of helping those in need of receiving access to nutritional foods is of the utmost importance to the future of our nation. Some of the programs provided by Feeding America for Children are: The Kids Cafe, Back Pack Program, Summer Food Program, and The School Pantry Program. Essentially the purpose of each of these programs is to provide nutritious meals for children in need. The Kids Cafe provides meals and snacks at after school programs and churches. The Back Pack Program sends nutritious foods and snacks home with school children to provide food they might not have otherwise received over the week end. The Summer Food Program provides meals during the summer at safe and easy to access locations. Several programs are also available for pregnant women and the elderly. The National Produce Program has partnerships with growers to provide bulk sources of fresh foods available for distribution to Feeding America food banks. This includes special packing to insure freshness. More nutritious foods are being made available to the food insecure through the national Produce Program than ever before. Contact your local food bank to find out which services are offered or how to help. The benefits of all the programs provided by Feeding America are insurmountable. Providing fresh, wholesome nutritional foods to men, women and children that might otherwise do without helps those individuals live healthier more productive lives. Helping others with food insecurity will hopefully help those individuals eventually be able to help themselves and to turn things around so that one day they will be able to provide for themselves. The sense of urgency of the situation needs to be spread to individuals, corporations, local governments and politicians, as well as federal government in hopes that everyone’s awareness will encourage people to take action to help end hunger in the richest country in the world. (See figure 2. ) The importance of helping those in need of receiving access to nutritional foods is of the utmost importance to our nation. The number of those in need of assistance has more than tripled since the beginning of the most recent economic downturn. Costs of foods and gasoline are not stabilizing. More and more people are losing their jobs due to economic downturn and/or American jobs are being eliminated by U. S. corporations and then those same jobs are moved to other countries where corporations can pay lower wages and benefits to the people of those countries. These actions by large corporations and the government are not helping to turn the economy around. These actions are not helping to put food in the hands of Americans that are in need. No longer should those individuals that can help sit back and do nothing. There is no reason why the richest country in the world should have over 15% of its population experiencing hunger and food insecurity. There is no reason why almost 17 million American children should not have nutritional meals available to them every day. Our government, corporations and individuals are needed to help make a difference. After all it is our responsibility to help others in need. References Feeding America (2012) Hunger in America Retrieved from Feeding America website: http://feedingamerica. rg/hunger-in-america. aspx Feeding America (2012) Hunger in America: Hunger and Poverty Statistics. Retrieved from Feeding America website: http://feedingamerica. org/hunger-in-america/hunger-facts/hunger-and-poverty-statistics. aspx (Figure 1) http://feedingamerica. org/get-involved. aspx (Figure 2) USDA Economic Research Service U. S. Department of Agriculture Economic Information Bulletin No. 93 March 2 012 retrieved from USDA website: http://www. ers. usda. gov/media/376910/eib93_1_. pdf (p. 1) USDA Economic Research Service U. S. Department of Agriculture Economic Information Bulletin No. 3 March 2012 retrieved from USDA website: http://www. ers. usda. gov/media/376910/eib93_1_. pdf (p. 5) Hunger Poverty Statistics Although related, food insecurity and poverty are not the same. Unemployment rather than poverty is a stronger predictor of food insecurity. Povertyi * In 2010, 46. 2 million people (15. 1 percent) were in poverty. * In 2010, 9. 2 million (11. 7 percent) families were in poverty. * In 2010, 26. 3 million (13. 7 percent) of people ages 18-64 were in poverty. * In 2010, 16. 4 million (22. 0 percent) children under the age of 18 were in poverty. In 2010, 3. 5 million (9. 0 percent) seniors 65 and older were in poverty. * The overall Poverty Rate according to the Supplemental Poverty Measure is 16. 0%, as compared with the official poverty rate of 15. 1%. ii * Under the S upplemental Poverty Measure, there are 49. 1 million people living in poverty, 2. 5 million more than are represented by the official poverty measure (46. 2 million). iii Food Insecurity and Very Low Food Securityiv * In 2010, 48. 8 million Americans lived in food insecure households, 32. 6 million adults and 16. 2 million children. In 2010, 14. 5 percent of households (17. 2 million households) were food insecure. * In 2010, 5. 4 percent of households (6. 4 million households) experienced very low food security. * In 2010, households with children reported food insecurity at a significantly higher rate than those without children, 20. 2 percent compared to 11. 7 percent. * In 2010, households that had higher rates of food insecurity than the national average included households with children (20. 2 percent), especially households with children headed by single women (35. 1 percent) or single men (25. percent), Black non-Hispanic households (25. 1 percent) and Hispanic households (2 6. 2 percent). * In 2009, 8. 0 percent of seniors living alone (925,000 households) were food insecure. * Food insecurity exists in every county in America, ranging from a low of 5 percent in Steele County, ND to a high of 38 percent in Wilcox County, AL. v Nine states exhibited statistically significant higher household food insecurity rates than the U. S. national average 2008-2010:iv United States 14. 6% Mississippi 19. 4% Texas 18. 8% Arkansas 18. 6% Alabama 17. 3% Georgia 16. 9% Ohio 16. 4% Florida 16. 1% California 15. 9% North Carolina 15. 7% Use of Emergency Food Assistance and Federal Food Assistance Programsvi * In 2010, 4. 8 percent of all U. S. households (5. 6 million households) accessed emergency food from a food pantry one or more times. 2 * In 2010, 59. 2 percent of food-insecure households participated in at least one of the three major Federal food assistance programs –Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly Food Stamp Program), The National School Lunch Program, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. Feeding America provides emergency food assistance to an estimated 37 million low-income people annually, a 46 percent increase from 25 million since Hunger in America 2010. * Among members of Feeding America, 74 percent of pantries, 65 percent of kitchens, and 54 percent of shelters reported that there had been an increase since 2006 in the number of clients who come to their emergency food program sites. i U. S. Census Bureau. Carmen DeNavas-Walt, B. Proctor, C. Lee. Income, Poverty, and Heath Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2010. September 2011. ii The Research Supplemental Poverty Measure: 2010. (2011). U. S. Census Bureau. iii Ibid. iv USDA. Coleman-Jensen, A. , Nord, M. , Andrews, M. , Carlson, S. Household Food Security in the United States in 2010. v Feeding America. Gundersen, G. , Waxman, E. , Engelhard, E. , Del Vecchio, T. , Satoh, A. , Lopez-Betanzos, A. Map the Meal Gap 2012. vi Rhoda Cohen, J. , Mabli, F. , Potter, Z. , Zhao. Mathematica Policy Research, Feeding America. Hunger in America 2010. [i] U. S. Department of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 010 Annual Average Unemployment Rates. Figure 1. Feeding America 2012 Hunger in America Hunger Facts: Hunger and Poverty Statistics Retrieved from Feeding America website: http://feedingamerica. org/hunger-in-america/hunger-facts/hunger-and-poverty-statistics. aspx Get Involved With nearly 49 million Americans struggling with hunger, it is going to take efforts from many people to help alleviate this issue. There are many ways to help in the cause . Figure 2. Feeding America 2012 Retrieved from Feeding America website: http://feedingamerica. org/get-involved. aspx How to cite Eng 115, Essay examples

Saturday, May 2, 2020

Projected Progression of Prevalence of Obesity †MyAssignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about the Projected Progression of Prevalence of Obesity. Answer: Introduction: There are numerous amount of study has been done to find out the relation between the obesity and socio-economic status in different parts of the world and few of them are mentioned below. The World Bank is funding numerous amount of researches that has found facts that can help to find out the relation between economic status and obesity. However, those researches has several research gaps, related to the methodology, selection of participants and method of evaluation, data collection and analysis that decreases the effectiveness of the project. According to Dinsa et al. (2012), they studies the obesity pattern in low income and middle-income nations and tried to find out the SES and its effect on obesity. The study uses different SES indicators to relate the SES to obesity; first SES indicator was wealth and income and second was educational status. Hence, the outcome depicted different patterns for both these things and resulted in a confusing outcome, where wealth SES is related to obesity but the educational level is not. This was the first research gap of this literature, as the SES level is directly related to obesity. In another study done by Gibbs and Forste (2014), researchers were to find out the reason of obesity in the children belonging to low SES society. They carried out surveys in those areas, where the children were growing up and were getting affected to obesity. The team of the researchers find out that the both indications of SES that is wealth and income and educational level is responsible for the obesity in children. From infancy, the children are not breast fed, as the economic status of the mother was not very good to be able to consume nutritional product. Hence, the children lack the advantages of breast-feeding and developed obesity in them. However, the research lacks a proper method to assess the perfect result for the study, such as a proper data collection method or data interpretation method (Hillier-Brown et al., 2014). Further, in a study the researchers looked for BMI differences across the state irrespective of race, gender, creed, ethnicity, age and socio-economic status in the United States of America (Grabner, 2012). The researchers analyzes micro-level of data and collected them from the three reputed data centers of the states. They analyzes the data of socio-economic status, both based on wealth and based on educational level. They estimated the BMI time trends, increase and decrease trends, distributional shifts and incremental associations with SES. The results they acquired indicated that women has higher rate of SES-BMI effect on their obesity than men do. Hence, they identified the relation of obesity and higher or lower SES level. however, the research gap was still persisting in such researches as the researchers were not focusing on the fact that affected population is aware of obesity and the reason of it or not. Therefore, this research also lacked the information about the reason of obesity. All these research articles were focused to find out the relation between socio-economic status and obesity and were destined to find out what are the SES indicators that determine this trend. This leads to research gap in their project. The prime aim of this research proposal is to find out the proposed research question within the proposed budget and timeframe. This research will focus on the assessed research gaps present in the abovementioned research articles and will try to comply with the proposed research questions. Further, the methodology will be population-based study where the common Australians will participate in the assessment process. Data collection and analysis will be simple and effective and from the finding, it will be easier to interpret the research questions. Research plan and methodology (Including ethical consideration) The research aim in this case has been decided from the commencement of the project. The prime aim is to determine the relation between SES and obesity, reason of obesity if the younger generation is aware of the adverse effects of inactivity and unhealthy lifestyle. These research aims need specific objectives to find out the reason behind the level of SES affecting the Australian youth (Kasahara et al., 2014). The research strategy is to target the younger generation as obesity is affecting their capabilities to perform and make changes in the benefit of Australia. A specific location will be chosen or an online survey will be conducted to implement the research strategy and then intervention, coming out of the survey will be applied to connect to the youth as obesity make people shy, stressed and alone. Therefore, such youth will be pushed to come out and speak about their problem and the reason of their condition (Steyerberg et al., 2013). This will let those common people understand that obesity is curable and can be cured completely. After that, those young participants will be made to fill a questionnaire consisting of questions that can clear their level of inactivity and unhealthy lifestyle. These questionnaires will be distributed to a large section of young people of every community to understand the SES level of that community. This research will continue for 6 months and will co ver the entire community. Resources are also important factor to take the research to a number of people so that they understand the severity of the problem and take part in the process to overcome it. In this case, the resources chosen are social medial and mass media to explain the population about the severity of the disorder. Further, those campaigns in social and mass media will appeal the population in that research area to take part in the research intervention. Other resources will be research camps around the research city or in municipal corporation offices to carry out surveys and interviews (Punch, 2013). A quantitative method has been chosen to find out the proposed research questions, for the proposed research proposal. Quantitative methodology find out the results using interventions in which quantity determines the success or failure of it (Cohen, Manion Morrison, 2013). The quantitative method that has been chosen for the research is a population based approach including surveys and questionnaire to talk to as much as survivor to find out a concise data. The surveys of this process will consist 10 to 15 closed ended questions that the participants will be answering. Their answer will be with minimum bias and truthful, as they will not be informed about the process. Data Collection This intervention will continue for 5 months. The first month of the research will be completely dedicated to advertisements, recruitment and publicity of the research as the research needed as many people to come out from different SES level and take part in the process. After wards, the five month after the planning phase will be dedicated to implementation and intervention for the research project. A health expert to understand their knowledge about obesity and its effect on health will interview the participants coming out of their house and speaking about the health problem. the data collection will be done by recruiting people for collecting data. The expert will also try to figure out the reason for the participants inactiveness in daily life. After the patient fills the survey form, the data will be collected and will be stored according to the locality. the question will be based on participants lifestyle, their food and diet habit, activities and their knowledge about health and wellbeing. The collected data will be assessed depending on the location from which they have been collected. Further, the data will be arranged according to their location at first. Then the response to each closed ended question will be collected simultaneously to understand the average response to that question. This same procedure will be followed for the entire survey set so that the average trend for that research question can be obtained. Ethical consideration Researchers differ widely on ethical issue during research procedure. The difference is about the dos and donts of research study and hence, ethical consideration become important in case of research proposals. Ethics apply at each step of the research study such as taking consent, applying methods that does not harm any individual. The prime reason to uphold the research ethics while continuing with some research is just because of Goodwill and Trust (Ritchie et al., 2013). Goodwill of the individual participants, who contribute in the research procedure and volunteer to find out the research question with their own behavior, attitude, awareness and support. Trust is also a factor that let researchers explain the entire research to the participants so that they can participate freely in the research. Hence, these ethical values need to be present in both the stakeholders of a successful research (Harriss Atkinson, 2013). In this research proposal as well, ethical consideration has been prioritized as the participants deserves every right to know what they will go through and what process the researchers will be following to get their answers. The researchers will take of different ethical considerations such as- consent, privacy and confidentiality, deception, protection from harm, data protection, affiliation and conflicts of interest. These ethical sections will help to complete an independent and concise research; consequences of violating research will lead to punishments from the government and the research license will be ceased (Lehnert, Park Singh, 2015). The first priority of this research will be asking about the consent from the participants, as it is the most important step before any population based research project. After that, the researchers will undertake a training session of the participants so that they understand about the research procedure and methodology. To carry out an unbiased and effective survey, experienced healthcare professionals will be hired. Therefore, this will be the ethical consideration for the proposed research article. References Au, N., Hauck, K., Hollingsworth, B. (2013). The relationship between smoking, quitting smoking and obesity in Australia: a seemingly unrelated probit approach.Applied Economics,45(16), 2191-2199. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2017).Overview.Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Retrieved from https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports-statistics/behaviours-risk-factors/overweight-obesity/overview Cohen, L., Manion, L., Morrison, K. (2013).Research methods in education. Routledge. https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=enlr=id=mLh0Oza3V1ICoi=fndpg=PR3dq=research+methodology+and+its+significanceots=SOBTFmxbsqsig=vfuf0uvCRwtBepFAW__3FQWN5es#v=onepageq=research%20methodology%20and%20its%20significancef=false Dinsa, G. D., Goryakin, Y., Fumagalli, E., Suhrcke, M. (2012). Obesity and socioeconomic status in developing countries: a systematic review.Obesity reviews,13(11), 1067-1079. Gibbs, B. G., Forste, R. (2014). Socioeconomic status, infant feeding practices and early childhood obesity.Pediatric obesity,9(2), 135-146. Grabner, M. (2012). BMI trends, socioeconomic status, and the choice of dataset.Obesity facts,5(1), 112-126. Harriss, D. J., Atkinson, G. (2013). Ethical standards in sport and exercise science research: 2014 update.International Journal of Sports Medicine,34(12), 1025-1028. Hillier-Brown, F. C., Bambra, C. L., Cairns, J. M., Kasim, A., Moore, H. J., Summerbell, C. D. (2014). A systematic review of the effectiveness of individual, community and societal level interventions at reducing socioeconomic inequalities in obesity amongst children.BMC public health,14(1), 834. Karnik, S., Kanekar, A. (2012). Childhood obesity: a global public health crisis.International journal of preventive medicine,3(1), 1. Kasahara, N., Nakamura, I., Machida, H., Nakamura, H. (2014). Research plan on failure modes by extreme loadings under design extension conditions.ASME, PVP PVP2014-28349. Lehnert, K., Park, Y. H., Singh, N. (2015). Research note and review of the empirical ethical decision-making literature: Boundary conditions and extensions.Journal of Business Ethics,129(1), 195-219. Punch, K. F. (2013).Introduction to social research: Quantitative and qualitative approaches. Sage. Ritchie, J., Lewis, J., Nicholls, C. M., Ormston, R. (Eds.). (2013).Qualitative research practice: A guide for social science students and researchers. Sage. Steyerberg, E. W., Moons, K. G., van der Windt, D. A., Hayden, J. A., Perel, P., Schroter, S., ... PROGRESS Group. (2013). Prognosis Research Strategy (PROGRESS) 3: prognostic model research.PLoS medicine,10(2), e1001381. Walls, H. L., Magliano, D. J., Stevenson, C. E., Backholer, K., Mannan, H. R., Shaw, J. E., Peeters, A. (2012). Projected progression of the prevalence of obesity in Australia.Obesity,20(4), 872-878.

Sunday, March 22, 2020

Overview of qualities and standards of global employment

The challenges and opportunities associated with overseas positions are as follows: the cultural differences create the assimilation process somewhat lengthy; the expectations of the management personnel, as well as employees, are in high regard, according to the increase of the company’s production or output.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Overview of qualities and standards of global employment specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The opportunities are based on the contribution of knowledge and acquisition of unique set of skills that the new setting will provide but also, on the changes that can be implemented on social and individual levels. The problem of the cultural difference is one of the major ones, as the person has to learn the traditions of intricate beliefs of the society. Usually, people are involved within the norms from very young age and are able to learn and absorb the rules and regula rities of society over a long amount of time. The fact that an employee from another part of the world has little time to study the unique culture creates a stress and constraints on the abilities to get familiarized with the society. The expectations are on the highest level, as the person invited is considered knowledgeable and of high professionalism, as to conduct own mastery and management in the new setting. The process of increasing the company’s productivity and the development of the personal skills of employees is the goal of every superior and so, a close understanding on the organizational level is needed for success. The opportunity to increase personal knowledge of the culture and understanding of the company politics creates an advantage for an international employee. The set up of new and more advanced techniques and process will ensure the prosperity and positive direction of the business. The qualifications of a person coming abroad are very important for th e way they will adopt to the new culture and vice versa. The employee must be very flexible in the transition, as to make it unnoticeable for the employees and other managers of the company. The local representatives, as well as customs and governments must be consulted, so that no ethically disrespectful behaviors are exhibited. The employee and the company, including the social setting, must function as a unit, so that there are no disturbances in the normal activities of the worker’s and company’s work. An intellectual and responsible approach must be used by the employee, so that the trust and understanding of the new company is gained.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The social customs, traditions, religious values, business standards and other experiences must be analyzed in precision, in order to avoid any missing links and details. Also, the politi cal and economical qualities of the nation or country must be studied, so that business technique and general morale of the country are well known and are used to an advantage. If a business functions on an international level, the policies and procedures according to other countries must be studied as well. This creates an environment filled with learning and pressure, and the employee must be able to withstand the stress. Not only must the culture of one country and people be learned but also a number of different world views and norms. So, the employee must have great attention to details and an ability to correctly interpret and use the information received. The overall qualities are related to hard work, determination and respect towards the people and the country (Plessis, 2010). Reference Plessis, A. (2010). International human resource management: An overview of its effect on managers in global organisations. Interdisciplinary Journal Of Contemporary Research In Business, 2( 4), 178-182. This case study on Overview of qualities and standards of global employment was written and submitted by user Lillianna Suarez to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Thursday, March 5, 2020

buy custom Aggression in the 1930s essay

buy custom Aggression in the 1930s essay The era of economic depression and anxiety was also the time for flourishing intensity of political dictatorship. Civil liberties and democratically elected governments declined rapidly in Europe and some parts of Asia. On the eve of the Second World War, democratically elected governments were only surviving in France, Great Britain, Switzerland, the Scandinavian countries and the Low Countries. Elsewhere in Europe and Asia, various kinds of dictators ruled. Brutality and dictatorship seemed to be the wave of the time. Thus the intellectual crisis and the fall of liberal political institutions characterized the general civilization in Europe. This composition examines the various conquests and battles that dominated the various parts of Europe and East Asia and effects these developments. The events of the 1930s provide a disturbing section in the account western civilization. The main development was not only the rise in distinct dynamic and ruthless tyranny but also the revitalization of authoritarian reign. This new form of authoritarian rule reached its full realization in the Nazi Germany, Japan and the Soviet Union. Hitler and Stalin ruled with unprecedented severity and mobilized their troops for enormous atrocities. Hitlers undertakings were directed towards territorial expansion and racial aggression, and his attack on Poland started the world war two in 1939. Although outstanding opportunity for social progression and steady economic recovery won the Nazi support, they were merely the byproducts of the brutal Nazi regime. The unique and basic concepts of the Nazi regime remained race and space- the superiority of the German race and territorial expansion. FRENCH AND BRITISH APPEASEMENT The British government under Neville Chamberlain anticipated the Nazi regimes intention of invading its neighbors. For this, the British and the French governments signed an appeasement agreement with Hitler to avoid future wars. The concept of Appeasement came about from the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.The British appeasement, which lasted into 1939, was practically a dictation of the French policy. This appeasement was motivated by the pacifism of the British population still tormented by the memories of the First World War and the feeling of guilt among the Britons towards Germany. British conservatives looked down upon Hitler and underestimated his capabilities. To them the real threat was the Soviet Union and not the Nazi. The British favored appeasement for various reasons. For one, Britain was still recovering from the diverse effects of the first war. Due to the economic problems brought about by the great depression, Britain was focusing on improving the economy rather than engaging war. Secondly, because of the weak economy, Britain had a weak military with an insufficient navy and almost no air force. In light of these problems, Neville Chamberlain, the then British Prime minister, believed that by convincing Hitler to sign an appeasement document will prevent Hitler from engaging in war with Britain. Although he had no intention of disengaging from war, his main aim was to get enough time to step up his army. Throughout this time, while France and Britain opted for appeasement; the Soviet Union remained silent watching all the developments. Quite obviously, Hitler did not keep the promise of appeasement. In 1939, although Britain and France issued ultimatums, the Nazi invaded Poland. This act forced Britain and France to declare war on Germany. These developments led to the Second World War. It is ironical that while Britain and France declared war on Germany to protect the Polish sovereignty, they did nothing inform of practical assistance to Poland. Instead of helping Poland, they attacked Germany with the aim of topplin the Nazi government. Viewed critically, the declaration of war by Britain and France on Germany was an empty gesture. NAZI-SOVIET UNION PACT By 1938, Germany was preparing for was. Adolf Hitler was hopping to capture Poland without resistance, having taken over Austria in 1938. However, he did not want a split army as was the case in the First World War when the German army split into two. Hitler was ascertained not to repeat the faults. In an effort not to fail in future wars, Germany signed an economic agreement with the Soviet Union. In the pact, the Soviet Union was to provide Germany with raw materials and food products in exchange for machineries from Germany. This pact proved essential for Germany during the Second World War. For example, the economic agreement helped Germany to bypass British blockades. Four days after the signing of the economic agreement, the two countries signed another agreement (the German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact). The agreement stated that the two countries would not attack each other during the war. The Nazi-Soviet Union pact was greatly beneficial for Germany in the Second World War (Richard et al., 221). While the Nazi attacked Poland, the Soviet Union did not intervene. Also, because of the pact, the Soviet Union did not enter into any fight with Germany; consequently Germany was able to avoid two-front wars as was the case in the First World War. The terms and the protocols of this pack were kept by the Soviet Union and the Nazi until Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. As independent organizations get under control and Germany regain its economic strength, Hitler collaborated with other like-minded dictators and began expanding the territory of Germany. These expansions were facilitated partly by the military strength of the Nazi army and partly by divided, uncertain, pacific regimes, which tried to buy off the Nazi and avoid war. However, despite many regimes buying off Hitler, war inevitably broke out; both in the east and in the west, for the ambitions of Hitler were unlimited. On both the east and west war fronts, Nazi solders fought successfully, creating a vast empire of destruction and death (Richard et al., 291). The expansion of the Nazi empire together with the deaths and destructions continued until October 1942. The reckless aggression by the Nazi regime lead to the creation of powerful coalitions determined to bring to an end the Nazi order. Led by the United States, the Soviet Union and Britain, the grand forces functioned efficiently in bringing down the Nazi regime. By 1943, the tide had completely turned against the Nazi and two years later, Germany was utterly defeated. Thus Hitler and the Nazi empire were short-lived. Italy was not left behind. In 1922, Mussolini seized power in Italy. Like other European dictators, Mussolini hated and wanted to destroy liberalism in Italy. Like the Soviet Unions Stalin, Mussolini begun as socialist but successfully sough the support of revolutionists and turned against the working class. Mussolinis rule was theatrical and brutal, but was not as successful as other European dictators of his time (Richard et al., 307). The dictatorship characteristic of Mussolini came into light when he rejected parliamentary government. When the opposition pressured him for reforms, Mussolini declared his desire to make Italy a fascist nation; he abolished the freedom of press, and his government ruled by decree. However, unlike the communists in the Soviet Union or the Nazi Germany, Mussolini did not succeed to establish a totalitarian state. His fascist party was not able to destroy the previous power structures like the Nazi did. Besides the Mussolini regime was not racial and did not prosecute Jews until when Italy became under Nazi control late in the Second World War. JAPANESE AGGRESSION AND CHINESE RESPONSE Meanwhile in East Asia, war was boiling between Japan and China. Between 1931 and 1937, the politics of Japan was overtaken by the military. Many incidences involving the military occurred, each undermining the development of democratic government. Many coups and assassinations were conducted. The Japanese invasion of China was one of the major events that marked Japans involvement in the wars. It was also a great step by Japan in becoming an economic giant competing with countries such as Germany, Britain and the United States. Prior to the invasion, Japan had a long history of involvement in Chinese affairs. Towards the end of the 1800s Japan and China were constantly at war for land (Iwanami, 22). Japan remained successful in the world as the only country from Asia to be economically equivalent to European countries. Japan was particularly more successful after the First World War but the great depression following the War caused Japan to suffer big economic problems. To maintain it economic stability, Japan felt that the only way was to conquer new lands to provide them with natural resources. On top of their priority were the Chinese province of Manchuria and the surrounding areas extending along the Pacific Ocean. Although not considered to be a major contributing factor, the destruction of the Japanese railway by Chinese solders in 1913 is also contributed to the invasion. When China-Japan war became eminent, political parties in Japan were emasculated and then disbanded, Japanese politics became a mi litary affair and the whole country was mobilized to accomplish the war. Upon invasion of China, the Japanese set up a false government in Manchuria. In so doing, the Japanese were able to exploit the natural resources of Manchuria and increase trade during the harsh economic times. The invasion of Manchuria was followed by the Rape of Ranking in 1938, which further weakened the Chinese government and the divided Chinese people. During these invasions, the Japanese army murdered and tortured many innocent Chinese. Popularly known as the Forgotten Holocaust, this is the main cause of animosity between china and Japan. During the war, all domestic raw materials were mobilized to develop ships and war planes. Towards the end of the war, the only priority of the Japanese government was the production of airplanes. Other light industries such as the textile factories were almost eliminated. With time, Japan realized that the natural resources coming from the yen Bloc (Manchuria, Taiwan, Korea and other parts of captured china) was not sufficient (Iwanami, 66). In order to secure more resources, Japan invaded south East Asia, beginning with French Indochina (Vietnam). This act angered the United States, which imposed asset freeze and oil embargo on Japan. Consequently, Japan began to prepare for war with the United States. Encouraged by the Nazi in Europe, the Japanese initiate the war against the US by bombing the Pearl Harbor. To the Japanese, the totalitarianism in the USSR and Germany was more superior to individualism and capitalism in America Upon the outbreak of the Pacific war, Japan attacked a wide area of South East Asia but soon began to face difficulties from the allied counter-attacks. Japanese planes and ships quickly diminished while the US developed more and more of them (Iwanami, 37). In 1945, the USSR entered there was against Japan. During the same time, the US troops had conquered most cities in Japan. Two atomic bombs in Nagasaki and Hiroshima forced Japan to surrender. The main reason why Japan was defeated was the collapse of its economy for the lack of energy and inputs. Buy custom Aggression in the 1930s essay

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Who Killed Palomino Molero by Mario Vargas Llosa Essay

Who Killed Palomino Molero by Mario Vargas Llosa - Essay Example But the relatively sophisticated Silva is not so quick to jump to conclusions. "Nothing's easy, Lituma," he says. "The truths that seem most truthful, if you look at them from all sides, if you look at them close up, turn out either to be half truths or lies" (86)1. Vargas Llosa, playing on the normal expectations of readers of detective fiction, produces a plot that is surprising for the very reason that it contains no surprises. Yet he simultaneously undermines the expectations of postmodernist readers by keeping his detective story plot on track right through to the end. Who Killed Palomino Molero derives a great deal of its energy from metareading effects similar to those so important in Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter. The text can be read by typical "unsophisticated" fans of detective fiction as an ordinary detective story. The ending of Vargas Llosa's subplot is thus very much like the ending of the detective plots. Silva himself makes the parallel between the plots quite clear: "I've made a vow," he declares early in the book. "I won't die until I screw that fat bitch and until I find out who killed Palomino Molero" (58). 2 The Foucauldian link between sex and epistemology suggested in Who Killed Palomino Molero indicates that these two roles are not all that different.

Monday, February 3, 2020

The Connection of The Metabolist Movement With Traditional Japanese Essay

The Connection of The Metabolist Movement With Traditional Japanese Architecture and Urban Design - Essay Example This was accomplished through defying the traditions of space, creating new forms and functional features within the structures. In the pamphlet Metabolism 1960: The Proposals for a New Urbanism, the proponants of the movement presented through the philosophies that defined the thoughts of the architects who were discussing the concepts. The philosophy of Metabolism are founded in the ideas of Buddhist worship, combined with thoughts about impermanence and change as they related to the losses in space that the population explosion was revealing for the future (Kurokawa 6). The ideas behind the development of the design are sometimes considered to be technocratic as much as they are still entrenched in the movement of the avant-garde. The technocrat is someone who lends expertise without the influences of politics in order to solve problems for a society. Crowther and Vunsche write that â€Å"the heterogeneous Japanese Metabolism Movement is significant for its incorporation of moder n science and mathematics into a philosophical exegesis of nature† (173). They go on to explain that the structures with their mass and density for their function were intended to reflect the technological advancements through a technology dominated habitat (Crowther and Vunsche 173). Metabolism is also concerned with nature. ... One of the things that Kurokawa wanted to avoid was repeating the aesthetics and structures found in the West. In the aftermath of the war Japan had been torn apart with much of its original architecture lost to the bombs and destruction of war. Kurokawa wanted to see a Japanese reinvention of building, placing the works in harmony with both the modern and the surroundings in which it would exist. The Description Internal The Nakagin Capsule Tower was built by Kisho Kurokawa in 1972 in order to solve a problem of too many traveling business men without enough economical space to house them when they visited Tokyo (Figure 1). The work looks like a pegged game, something like Jenga that has been slotted together in the best possible configuration. For the Metabolism Movement, the work is small having only 144 modules that can be stacked and rotated around a 14 story core. The building can be changed by removing or adding modules that are connected by four tension bolts to the core buil ding. The pieces were built and pre-made in a manufacturing plant in Shiga, making the units replaceable. The space is small, but efficient allowing for the perfected small space for an individual to live (Svievan). Figure 2 Nakagin Capsule Tower (Svievan) Description External The period of time when the Metabolism Movement was active was one in which social issues and the increases in the population were of high interest. The aftermath of World War II on the Japanese was to shift their ideas from military conquest to technological conquest. The Nakagin Capsule Tower reflects this idea through economy and efficiency. The inside of the building in relationship with its economy is reflected on the exterior through its modular and changeable

Sunday, January 26, 2020

Mergers and Acquisitions: Indian Banking Consolidation

Mergers and Acquisitions: Indian Banking Consolidation Globally it has been found that the mergers and acquisition have become one of the major ways to corporate restructuring which has also struck the financial services industry which has experienced merger waves leading to the emergence of huge banks and financial institutions. The main reason for mergers is intense competition among the companies in the same industry which put focus on economies of scale, efficiency in cost and profitability. Some other factors leading to the mergers is the too big to fail principle followed by the authorities. In few countries like Germany, weak banks were forcefully merged to avoid the problem financial distress arising out of bad loans and erosion of capital funds. Several academic studies have analyzed merger related gains in banking and these studies have adopted two approaches. The first approach deals with evaluating the long term performance of the merger by analyzing the accounting information such as return on assets, operating costs and eff iciency ratios. A mergers is considered to have led to improved performance if the the change in the accounting based performance is superior to the changes in the performance of the comparable banks that were not involved in the merger activity during that period. Another approach is to analyze the gains in stock price of the bidder and the target company around the announcement of the merger. In this approach the merger is assumed to create value if the combined value of the bidder and target banks increase on the announcement of the merger and the consequent and the stock prices reflect the potential value of the acquiring banks. The objective of this paper is to present a panoramic view of merger trends in India and to ascertain two important perceptions of stake-holders, shareholders and managers and to discuss dilemmas and other issues of this topic of Indian banking. Review of Literature for impact of mergers The two important issues which are examined by various academic studies relating to bank mergers are: impact of mergers on the operating performance and efficiency of the banks Impact of mergers on the market value of the equity of both bidder and the target banks. Cornett and Tehranian (1992) and Spindit and Tarhan (1992) provided evidence for increase in post-merger operating performance. However the studies of Berger and Humphrey (1992), Piloff (1996) and Berger (1997) did not find any evidence in increase in post-merger operating performance. Berger and Humphrey (1994) also reported that most of the studies that examined pre-merger and post-merger financial ratios found no impact on operating cost and profit ratios. The reasons for mixed evidence are: lag between completion of merger process and the realization of benefits of mergers, sample selection and the methods adopted in the financing of mergers. Further, the financial ratios may be misleading indicators of performance because they do not take into account for product mix or input prices. On the other hand researches may also could have confused scale and scope efficiency gains with what is known as X-efficiency gains. Recent studies have explicitly employed frontier X-efficiency met hods to identify the X-efficiency benefits of bank mergers. Few studies have also analyzed the potential benefits and scale economies of mergers. Landerman (2000) explored diversification benefits to be had from banks merging with non banking financial service firms. Simulated mergers of US banks and non-bank financial service firms demonstrated that diversification of banks into insurance business and securities brokerage is optimal for reducing the probability of bankruptcy for bank holding companies. Wheelock and Wilson (2004) found that expected merger activity in US banking industry is positively related to management rating, size of the bank, competitive position and geographical location of banks and is negatively related to market concentration. The second issue determined was the analysis of merger gains in terms of the gains in stock price performance of the bidder and the target banks on announcement of merger. In this case a merger is expected to create value only if the combined value of the bidder and target companies increases after the declaration of the merger. However a lot of studies have failed to find any direct relationship between the merger and the gains in performance or in shareholder wealth. But there are reasons for mixed evidence as a merger announcement also takes in to account the way the deal is financed .If equity offerings are used it may be interpreted as overvaluation by the issuer. Therefore the negative announcements returns to the firms that are bidding can be attributed to the negative signalling which is completely unrelated to the value which is created by the merger. Returns to the bidders companies shareholders is greater when the merger is totally financed with cash than in mergers in whi ch financing is done through equity offering. There is one more problem with this event study analysis as if there is a consolidation wave going on; mergers are anticipated by stockholders and analyst. Potential candidates for the mergers are highlighted and made popular by the financial press and the stock market analysts. In these cases the event study analysis may fail. Therefore an analysis of mergers across the world and a literature review does not provide strong evidence on the benefits gained by banks in the mergers in the banking industry. Also the findings of the literature also contrast with the findings of the consultants who find a considerable cost savings and operational efficiency achieved through mergers. The reasons why academic study do not find cost benefits and the consultants highlight this fact are Consulates may study a potential cost savings which may not materialize They tend to highlight potential cost saving activities and the economist study all the activities. They tend to be biased towards successful cases and ignore the unsuccessful ones. They tend blow up the benefits achieved while the benefits may be miniscule if accounted on a relative terms. The academic studies provide motivation for the examination and evaluation of two important issues pertaining to the mergers and acquisition to the Indian banking. Do mergers help in improving the operational performance and result in cost savings However in India most of the mergers are forced by the central bank in order to protect the interest of the depositors and avoid financial distress therefore the above mentioned reason is rarely found in the mergers activities. Do merger provide abnormal gains and returns to the acquirer and the target banks upon the declaration Consolidation Trends Observed in India Improving the operational performance and cost efficiency has always been a priority in Indian banking sector and has been a major issue of discussions in the policy formulation by the government of India in the consultation and with the central bank (Reserve Bank of India). Several committees have also been formed in order to suggest structural changes to achieve this objective. Some of the major committees formed are Banking Commission, 1972 Chairman R.G Saraiya, 1976 chairman : Manubhai Shah Committee for the functioning of public sector banks, 1978 chairman : James S Raj These committees have suggested the restructuring of the Indian banking system with an objective to improve the process of credit delivery and also suggested the idea of having around 3 to 4 large banks which have a pan India presence and the rest of the bank should be present at the regional level. The major thrust on consolidation started with the Narasimham committee in 1991. It emphasised and embarked upon consolidation and merger in order to make the Indian banks huge in size and also comparable to the global banks. A second Narasimham committe was also formed in 1998 which suggested mergers and consolidation among the strong banks in public as well as private sector and also with other financial institutions, NBFC (Non Banking Financial Companies). Now we will have a look at some of the recent trends in consolidation in Indian banking. Restructuring of weak Indian Banks Amongst other routes government of India has adopted mergers as a means to achieve restructuring of the Indian banking system. Many banks which are small in size and are weak are merged with other banks which are stronger and are larger to protect the interest of the depositors and also to avoid financial distress. These types of mergers can be termed as forced mergers. Hence when a banks shows symptoms of sickness like increasing size of NPAs, reduction in the net worth and substantial decline in capital adequacy ratio, RBI forces moratorium under the section 45(1) of the Banking Regulation act 1949 for a specified period on the activities and the operations of the working of the sick bank. In this period a strong bank is identified and asked to prepare and present a scheme of merger with the weak bank. In this case the acquirer banks takes hold of all the assets of the weak bank and ensures the depositors of their money in case they want to withdraw. The mergers which took place in the pre-reform period fall into this category. In the post reform period 21 mergers have taken place out of which 13 are forced mergers where RBI has intervened. The main reason for these mergers was the protection of the depositors interest and avoids the financial distress. Mergers which took place voluntarily Apart from forced mergers there have been few mergers in which expansion, diversification and growth were the major motives and in which RBI did not intervene or force. The first merger of this kind took place in 1993 when the Times Bank was acquired by HDFC bank which was followed by acquisition of Bank of Madura by the ICICI Bank. The latest of these is merger of Lord Krishnan Bank with Centurion Bank of Punjab. Although in all these deals the target bank suffered with low profitability, Increase in NPA and lack of alternate revenues in order to provide cushion for capital adequacy but these mergers were not forced. There was no regulatory intervention in these mergers however the motives behind these mergers may not necessarily be scale of economies and achieving market power. For instance ICICI bank acquired bank of Russia with a motive of entry in to Russia although it just had one branch. SBI acquired 51% stake in Mauritian Bank through Indian Ocean International Bank which wil l be integrated with the State Bank of Indias International business as a subsidiary. Integration of Financial Services and Achieving Universal Banking Model Several developmental financial institutions have been formed over a period of time in India in order to improve the efficiency of allocation of resources to different segments of the economy. However because of the flexibility given by the RBI to the banks in the credit delivery process the banks have increased and diversified their loan portfolio to various areas such as project finance, long-term loans, and other specialised sector lending. This is the reason why DFIs have become redundant. A working capital group (1998) was appointed by RBI which has recommended the universal model of banking by exploring the possibility of mergers between various sets of financial entities based on economical considerations. Similarly in the private sector ICICI merger with its subsidiary bank and IDBI (industrial Development Bank of India) was incorporates as a public sector bank which acquired private sector bank IDBI bank in 2004. In order to provide integrated financial services and achieve operation efficiencies many public sector banks have acquired their subsidiaries, for instance Andhra Bank acquired its housing finance subsidiary Andhra Bank Housing Finance LTD, Bank of India acquired BOI finance Ltd and BOI Asset Management Company Ltd. Acquisition of similar types took place in the private sector as well. Alignment of Operations of Foreign Banks with Global Trends As the Parent banks went under reconstruction process their parts operating in India also started restructuring. For example, Standard Charted Grindlay bank was formed due to acquisition of ANZ Grindlay by the Standard Charted Bank. Similarly due to acquisition of two Japanese banks like Sakura Bank and Sumitomo Bank Ltd the Indian operations of Sakura Bank were merged with Sumitomo Bank in 2001.Forign banks were permitted to enter into merger and acquisition transaction with any of the private sector bank in India with a condition that the overall investment limit limit will be 74 per cent after the second phase of WTO commitments which commenced in April 2009. This may lead to further consolidation in the Indian banking sector. Merger and Consolidation of Cooperatives, RRBs and UCBs Small banks present in India apart from other banks are co-operative banks, Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) and Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs). These are formed for fulfilling the credit requirements of agriculture, small traders and SSI and other rural economic activities. All of these institutions are suffering from bad loans, operational inefficiencies, and Poor recovery of loans. This proved to be a barrier for further lending and financial intermediation. A committee formed under Jugdish Capoor suggested voluntary amalgamations or merger of these co-operatives based on various criterias like economies of scale, especially in areas where the operations of these banks have become unviable and there are no more in a position to supply credit to agriculture sector. 28 RRBs were consolidated into 9 new RRBs in September 2005.A high powered committee on Urban Co-operative Banks (1999) recommended that UCBs which are sick should be liquidated in a time bound manner as the operation of lar ge number of financially sick banks is devastating for UCBs and also for the interest of depositors. Due to this more mergers are expected in the future and RBI also has taken a lot of new initiatives for restructuring of banks including the issuance of guidelines in May 2005. Shareholders Perception of Merger As stated above the Indian banking sector has experienced two types of mergers – focussed and voluntary mergers. Forced mergers were initiated by RBI and their main objective was to protect the interest of the depositors and prevent financial distress of the banks. Whenever a bank showed symptoms of sickness like huge NPA levels, erosion of net worth etc, RBI intervened and merged the weak bank with a stronger one by force. Thus we can form a hypothesis that in case of forced mergers the target banks shareholders will gain abnormally with the declaration. The second type of merger is voluntary type where the motivation behind the merger is to achieve cost reduction, increase in size, diversification, strategic entry into a market. In these cases the acquired banks reaped the benefit of branch network and customer clientele of the banks acquired. In these cases both the acquirer bank and the target bank must have had benefit out of the merger. In this paper the mergers between 1993 to 2006 are considered. There were 21 mergers out of which only five were voluntary. These are mainly mergers of private sector banks with other private sector banks. Two cases are conversion of financial institution to commercial bank where the objective was to form a universal bank model which offers a wide range of financial services. Ina study conducted which is presented in this paper six cases of forced mergers were selected for the purpose of analysis as in other cases the target banks were not listed and the size of the banks were much lower than the acquirer banks therefore these cases are of less merit for further analysis. In this study the wealth effects of almost all the banking mergers during the period 1999-2006 is analyzed. The event study analysis used in this analysis is very straight forward and conventional. The merger period consist of four days prior and four days after the event. The reason for taking such window is to analyze the change in wealth of the shareholder around the day of the declaration on the merger. Daily adjusted closing prices of stocks and the market index is taken for the analysis. The abnormal returns are calculated as follows. ARit= Rit – [a + BRm] Here Rit: daily return on firm ‘i on day ‘t Rmt is the return on the bench mark index a and B are the regression parameters. The abnormal return is calculated for both the acquirer and the target firm and the significance of these values are tested by finding standard error and the t-value : Analysis of Research Results In forced mergers case the stockholders of target banks have not achieved any significant returns on the declaration of the merger. However in the case of Nedungadi Bank, the stockholder did gain significant on the 2nd day of the announcement but after that no abnormal returns were found. In the case of GTB the stockholders had deeply discounted the merger. As it was a case of serious case of bank failure the merger did give a confidence to the depositors but the merger declaration did not provide any abnormal returns. United bank did gain marginally on the announcement but it was not significant statistically. Thus the hypothesis that target banks shareholders welcome merger announcement as a safety net can be rejected. The shareholders of the acquirer bank lost their market value of equity. In case of ICICI bank, it was signalled as an emergence of a large private sector bank and hence due to which the banks shareholders expectations go up with significant increase in the returns. In other cases of acquisition the acquirer bank lost on merging with the weak banks. Hence in all the forced mergers neither the acquirer bank nor the target bank gained on declaration of the merger and the stockholders of the acquirer bank lost wealth as the announcement of the merger was taken as a negative signal. It is argued that merger of weak banks with strong ones is essential for restructuring of banking system and also a step in the consolidation of the banking sector. But in almost all the mergers it was found that the target banks for the merger were determined at the time when they were at the verge of getting collapse. The acquirer bank which was forced by RBI was left with no option but to accept the proposed merger. It is recommended that RBI should pursue Prompt corrective action system and should determine the weak banks on the basis of some defined criterias so that the acquirer bank can choose the target banks on the strategic issues which benefit all the parties . Abnormal Returns of Target Banks Abnormal returns of Bidder banks In case of voluntary mergers it can be seen that the target banks have obtained higher returns that the acquirer banks. Both the acquirer and the target banks stockholders benefitted on declaration of the merger. Therefore the stock market welcomed the merger which will lead to growth and efficiency aspects of the merged entity and benefitted the shareholders of both the banks. For instance in the case of acquisition of times banks by HDFC bank it was viewed as a positive signal by the shareholders of both the bank. At the time of the merger the Times Bank was crippled with increasing NPAs and low profitability, the acquisition by the HDFC bank gave relief to the depositors of the Times Bank. On the other hand HDFC bank emerged as the largest private sector bank by gaining from the retail portfolio of the Times Bank. In case of BOM acquisition by the ICIC bank the BOM gained the advantage of being able to provide services like Treasury management, cash management services to its cust omers and ICICI bank increased its size by acquiring BOM and reached the position of large private sector banks in 1999. At the announcement of the merger there was a steep rise in the gains which was reaped by the BOM shareholders however the stockholders of ICIC bank did not get any significant returns. In all the even study analysis revealed that neither the acquirer bank nor the target bank stock holders have perceived any potential gain on the declaration of the mergers. Hence the share holders who are important stakeholders of the banking companies did not consider the mergers as a signal of improving health, economies of scale and the market power of banks. Managers take on the Mergers Managers provide highest priority to the merger of the two public sector banks which provides a signals the banking sectors view on the need for consolidation of public sector banks. Managers do not prefer the merger of bank and NBFCs or financial services entities There are some issues which are needed to be taken care of while proposing a merger of banks according to the managers Valuation of the Loan portfolio of the target bank This is one of the main factor which is needed to be considered at the time of the merger. As in the management of the credit portfolio the accounting and the exposure norms suggested by the RBI are the same which helps in figuring out the book value of loans easily. However Indian banks have adopted divergent practices in rating the borrowers, loan pricing and maintenance of collateral securities therefore a detailed audit of the loan portfolio, cash flow generation and collaterals is very essential in order to get an opinion on the value of the loan portfolio of the target bank. Valuation of Intangible assets The valuation of the assets of the banks is a very critical factor for the success of any merger or consolidation. The tangible assets of the bank are loans, investment part apart from other fixed assets like buildings, ATMs and the IT infrastructure the bank owns. A commercial bank also holds a lot of intangible assets like clientele based on core deposits, safety value contracts, computer softwares, human resources, brands and goodwill. Determining the inherent strength of the bank based on the valuation of the intangible assets is also very important. Determination of the value of equity Determining the value of the target banks assets, liabilities and valuation of its equity value is the major aspect of a merger process. Various approaches can be used like dividend discount model, cash flow to equity model and excess return model. However banks have totally different operations than a normal manufacturing firm as they are highly leveraged because they have more than 90% of the resources as borrowed or as debt and banks are highly regulated institutions and regulatory instruction have vast implication in asset and income recognition. Interest rates volatility, regulatory capital adequacy ratios and restriction on dividend pay put ratios also have influence on the earnings of the banks. Human Resource Issues It is the most complicated issue in the merger process.HR issues like the service condition, strategy for rewarding people, employee relation, benefit plans and compensation, provision of pension, law suits and the trade union actions are very critical for the viability of the merger and the deal to go through. Cultural Issues This is also a critical issue in the pre-merger and post merger period. It is central to an organizational environment and recognizing cultural friction is very difficult as it results in various problems such as poor productivity, riff in the top management, increase in the turnover rates, delays in the integration process and failures in realizing the projected synergies. Information Technology platform integration In todays banking banks are highly dependent on the information technology. It has become a key strategic issue due to the impact it has on the operation of the bank. A significant portion of the synergy depends on the information technology integration. Divergent IT platforms and software systems have proven to be major constraints in the consolidation. Customer Retention Customers also major stakeholders of banks and are needed to be communicated properly about the merger and the customers of the target bank should be attended with utmost care. Various studies have shown that firms borrowing from target banks are very likely to lose their relationship with the bank on its merger.

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Maria Full of Grace

Marà ­a à lvarez, a 17-year-old Colombian girl (played by Catalina Sandino Moreno), works in sweat shop-like conditions at a flower plantation to help support her family. However, after finding herself pregnant by her boyfriend, whom she does not love, and being unjustly treated by her boss, she quits and decides to find another job, despite her family's disapproval. On her way to Bogotà ¡ to find a new job, she gets offered a position as a mule — one who smuggles drugs by swallowing drug-filled pellets.Desperate, she accepts the risky offer and swallows 62 wrapped pellets of cocaine and flies to New York City. After a close call at the US Customs (she was about to be X-rayed, until customs found out she was pregnant), she is set free and sent to a hotel where she is to remove the pellets from her body. The traffickers arrive to take the drugs. To retrieve the pellets from Lucy, a fellow mule who had died when one of the pellets ruptured inside her, the traffickers had cut open her stomach, then disposed of her body.After seeing this ruthless world firsthand, Maria decides to escape the drug-trafficking cartel. Her story becomes one of determination and survival like that of many other immigrants in the United States, although she knows nothing about the country and had originally planned to go back to Colombia. The economic hardships of Colombia and the working environment for illegals in the US are both accurately represented. Eventually realizing that her choices affect other people, she emerges with the grace that will carry her forward into a new life. In the end Maria lives her life in the United States.