The V Chip Essays (2687 words) - Television Technology, V-chip

The V Chip ?The V-Chip' America's Answer to Desensitizing On February 8, 1996, President Clinton1 signed into law the Telecommunications Act of 19962, which will dramatically alter the telecommunications industry over the next several years. One of the most controversial sections of the bill was Section 551, titled Parental Choice in Television Programming, which calls for manufacturers to include a V-chip in every new TV set 13 inches or larger. The V-chip is a device that will enable viewers to program their televisions to block out content with a common rating. Proponents of the system say that it will enable parents to protect their children from viewing violent and explicit material. Opponents say it violates the First Amendment rights of the broadcasters, and enforces government censorship on the television industry. The provision gives broadcasters, cable operators, and other video distributors one year to develop a voluntary rating system for programming that contains sexual, violent, o r other indecent material. If the industry fails to agree on a rating system within that time, the FCC is to develop a rating system based on an advisory board's recommendations.16 The Television Decoder Circuitry Act of 19903 required all new televisions sold in the United States to contain a chip to decode closed-captioning4 signals. The basic technology needed to implement the V-chip is the same as that currently used for closed-captioning. Program rating information would be transmitted along with the television signal, and be decoded by a chip in each television. The chip would then compare the rating codes to values preset by the viewer. If the rating codes are higher than the preset values, the television signal would be blocked, and a blank screen would be displayed. Closed-captioning data is transmitted on line 21 of the vertical blanking interval, or VBI5. The VBI consists of 24 lines of a regular picture scan in which the beam is turned off to return to the top of the scr een before painting the next frame. These 24 lines represent dead air time, in which no image information is sent.5 Each line of the VBI is capable of transmitting 256 bits (32 bytes) of data. Since the VBI appears once per frame, or 30 times per second, this means that each line of the VBI is capable of sustaining a bit rate of 7680 bits per second.5 The tentative plan for implementing the V-chip is to add the program rating information to line 21 of the VBI, along with the closed-captioning information. The difficulty is that line 21 is also being used for newer extended data services (XDS) that will be capable of providing such things as scheduling information and station call letters to the viewers. Fitting all three of these data signals into the 7.68 kbps of line 21 is one of the primary difficulties in designing the V-chip implementation.12 The magnitude of the problem will be determined by the complexity of the rating system chosen by the broadcasters. If a relatively simple rating scheme is used, small modifications could be made to the existing closed-captioning decoders to receive the rating data and block the programs. This would require no change in the architecture of the televisions, and would be almost free of cost to install. Electronic Industries Association6 (EIA) engineer, Tom Mock, says that the existing closed-captioning chips have enough memory to support a system of up to three content categories, such as sex, violence, and mature content, with four levels of blocking each.12 If the broadcasting industry selects a system of more complexity, it would be far more difficult to implement. Each television would require additional circuitry to handle the decoding of the ratings. This would mean that television designers would have to alter the internal layouts of the television components, adding up to $40 to the cost of the television, depending on the manufacturer and model of television.12 Similarly, line 21 of the VBI may not have enough available bandwidth to transmit the desired programming codes if they are too complex. This would cause a more drastic departure from the closed-captioning technology. Another line of the VBI would have to be used which could complicate things tremendously. The demand for use of the VBI is growing

Thinking Outside The Box essays

Thinking Outside The Box essays The invention of the wheel was a miraculous invention, along with the airplane, and the telephone. All the inventions that have ever been created werent just something that was already drawn out on a piece of paper for the inventors. They had to think. They had to imagine the masterpiece before it was even a physical object. These people werent just thinkers or inventors. These people Thought Outside the Box. The writer Sarah Susanka, the author of The Not So Big House, once said that The ability to think creatively, responding to needs and wishes, not to preconceived ideas of what something should look like, then the problem will be solved. [SIC] What I think she means by this is if you are going to make something or do something for the people of the world, dont assume or pretend you know what they want. Go out, ask them, figure it out and then when you have completed the finished product it will be successful. Many people who try to invent something are not successful because they are afraid to break the confines of the outline. What I mean by this is that the people are so accustomed to thinking like everybody else, they are afraid to explore the possibilities of their mind. They cant picture something that already isnt there. Often a person will see something that was invented and wonder why they never thought of something so simple. The answer is very uncomplicated... they didnt break the confines of the out line. Normally, when people do a puzzle, they will have to think about the answers, sort of like a maze. If what they first try doesnt work then they have to try another direction to see if something else will work. Those people, even though they dont know it have just thought outside the box. They have decided that rather than quitting, they are going to keep trying, and see if they can find another way to do it. Even though the a...

Customer Issues in Financial Services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Customer Issues in Financial Services - Essay Example The next aspect, pricing, depends on who has the upper hand, whether the buyers or the sellers. If the goods are freely available and competitively priced, definitely, it is the buyers who have the upper hand, but if there are shortage of goods and its suppliers, with high demand, definitely it would be the sellers who would call the shots. The aspect of penalties arises due to non-fulfilment of contract, or breach of trust on the part of the concerned parties. This could be due to external or internal factors, but which nevertheless influence the performance, or non-performance of the contract, to such an extent that Courts award penalties to be paid to the aggrieved parties. Under UK Contract Act, there is a commitment on either side to deliver, and breach of this delivery could give rise to penalties. However, it is to be borne in mind that Courts assess the penalties based upon actual losses sustained by the aggrieved parties, and not on contingent, or assumed profits. Thus, it would be well within the powers of the Court to allow for actual losses sustained by aggrieved parties, but not future loss of profits. Coming next to the aspect of exclusions, it is often seen that... Thus, the fine print in contracts is sought to absolve parties of their commitments and responsibilities under covenant bindings. Again, the main areas that need to be covered would be in terms of customer satisfaction, complaint handling and how to handle disputes. The main aspect with regard to customer servicing would be in the event when things go wrong between the sellers and buyers. In the present context of retail trade in UK, it is seen that the standard of client servicing has deteriorated over the years, leading to greater proportion of complaints, litigation, etc. It is quite possible that sellers may try to absolve themselves of blame by citing negligence or lack of product knowledge or care in usage by buyers. It is seldom that vendors would accept responsibility for defective goods or lowered quality, or timeliness of services. Therefore, it becomes necessary "To protect consumers from being misled or pressured by a supplier's promotional activities (for example, most countries place restrictions on investment advertisements)." (McKiernan and Cha 2008). This writer believes that this statement could have limited application in the real commercial world of financial services. This is because financial services organizations need to comply with statutory norms, not only in terms of their performance but also in terms of financial reporting. It is now necessary to consider certain decided case laws in UK to understand the impact of contract laws. The first would be the case of Hedley Byrne & Company Ltd v. Heller & Partners Ltd (1964). In this case, the applicant, Hedley Byrne brought action against a bank that vouched for the financial soundness of a client company, albeit with a disclaimer that the

White collar crime #6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

White collar crime #6 - Essay Example fically speaking, it includes â€Å"fraud, bankruptcy fraud, bribery, insider trading, embezzlement, computer crime, medical crime, public corruption, identity theft, environmental crime, pension fund crime, RICO crimes, consumer fraud, occupational crime, securities fraud, financial fraud, and forgery† (Karri & Associates). The concept nowadays is often related to the socio-economic status of an individual involved in the crime. A white collar crime, performed either through computer or through paper, is often committed by people belonging to the middle class or the upper class because people get influenced by their origins. Also, since they belong to high social status, the crime may go undetected. The only thing that distinguishes the white collar crime from a low class crime is that it is implemented in a different way and at a different level. Thus, white collar criminals are only administratively different from lower class criminals. However, , Sutherland’s theory best described the white collar crime because it brought upper class and lower class criminals on same

The Basic Definition of Defamation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Basic Definition of Defamation - Essay Example Also under this law, legally the individual or organization that has been targeted does not have to prove in court that the journalist is wrong, only the fact that the targeted individuals are offended and feels the act will defame him is enough to bring the newspaper and journalist to court an in serious trouble. The Newspaper will have to prove and also the journalist will have to prove their stance on it. Whether after three days they apologize, the targeted individual which is the Rock star punk in this case still has the right to sue them for a certain amount of damages. And he can win in court. The best defense the journalist and the newspaper have is if they prove their story true with actual, factual evidence. But if they fail, the targeted individual can increase the amount of damage, pleading further damage to his goodwill and fame.   (BBC Action Network team, 1) Ans 2) Background:             It was in 1789 that ATCA initiated on the process of software Piracy detection so that piracy claims could be taken care of, in the American courts. Piracy was the terror campaign of its era. (Without a doubt, the lone unambiguous orientation to international law in the U.S. Constitution comes in an article yielding Congress influence to describe and chastise piracies and felonies dedicated on the lofty seas, and offenses alongside the law of nations.) More or less for 200 years, the ATCA had been scarcely used. It was in 1980, in the case of Filartiga v. Pena-Irala, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the subsequent track permitted two Paraguayan citizens to go ahead with a suit within which it was charging a Paraguayan general with torture - plainly a violation of the law of nations. (KREILKAMP, 1) Under this law, the software piracy done by foreigners is punishable and includes capital punishment in some cases under the law.

Developing an Inclusive Education in South Africa

Developing an Inclusive Education in South Africa Introduction. What is inclusion? The foundation for a comprehensive understanding of inclusion have been laid by considering insights derived from United Nations initiatives, international experiences, research and debate in the field of inclusion. Different authors emphasise different aspects when defining inclusion and that makes it clear that inclusion is viewed differently (Dyson Millward 1999:152). Other authors stress access, belonging and participation in the general classroom for all learners with an underlying culture that values diversity. The following are at the sea inclusion is: Increasing participation by the reducing exclusions from curricula, culture and communities. Ainscow (1995:9) Premised out the understanding that learners can contribute one anothers learning. Ainscow (1995:149) Determined by school culture and ethos. Hall (2002:3). Learners who experience barriers to learning attending the neighbourhood schools and being taught in general education classroom. CSIE (2000:12) Initiated an entrenched by legislation and policy. Burden (2000:36) On the other hand, the authors stress support and define inclusion in terms of the ways in which support is facilitated at various levels, and say inclusion is: Dependent on training in requisite knowledge, skills and attitudes. Hall Engelbrecht (1999:231) Dependent on teachers who can would be five-year plans and activities. Ainscow (1995:151) Characterised by collegial stuffed in relationships. Ainscow (1995:151) About diverse learners requiring diverse in even individualised learning strategies. Ferguson Ferguson (1998:307) The examples given above indicate that the two emphases need to be maintained when seeking in comprehensive understanding of inclusion. First is that of school restructuring and improvement towards effectiveness and the second is that of a ensuring access through individually relevant support. Both are supported by the belief and attitudes that would characterise inclusive culture and art and trying to buy policy and legislation. Inclusive education in South Africa Education that was based on race in South Africa was dismantled and substituted by unitary that needed to contribute to building the rainbow nation, as such the separate education system for those learners who were deemed to have special needs was revisited with a view of creating an inclusive approach to education. The legislative framework in which inclusion functions in South Africa is mentioned with specific reference given to education. White Paper Six: Special Needs Education (DoE 2001). It is acknowledged that the field of education encompasses many aspects, including higher education and training, edit childhood education and adult basic education and training the focus in this study is on schooling in areas known as general and further education. In South Africa these are called GET (General Education and Training) Band and the FET (Further Education and Training) Band. An appreciation of the historical, social, political and economic context in which education functions is important to an understanding of the education in a country. Booth and Ainscow affirm this. They conducted a comparative international study on inclusion, they asked questions on what is needed to know about local and national context in order to understand the process of inclusion in any particular country. The apartheid era and post-apartheid Before 1994 in South Africa, education and schools in particular had been the locus of important struggle against apartheid. In 1976 there were uprisings especially in Johannesburg now Gauteng against the use of Afrikaans (modified form of Dutch spoken in South Africa) is a medium of instruction and then followed the 1980 boycotts. Different race groups had different education departments, and white education was administered by provincial education departments. Past racial imbalances meant that education was not equally funded across all racial groups. The inequitable division of resources also meant that some schools were highly resourced than others (model C schools as they were known then) served a very small percentage of learners and separate special schools served mainly white children waiting to have special needs. Since 1994 education is centralised, that is, it is controlled by a single national education department. Special education system was inherited from the apartheid era, which was not that equally developed for all races. The result was that special schools and classes have been well established and resourced to serve white to some extend Coloureds and Indians learners living with disabilities. Many white learners were taught in specially designed classrooms. The majority of black learners were served by education departments that did not provide quality special education services. Schools that were established for black learners who experienced areas to learning were not established by the state, but by churches. The small house below next the red bricks house which was the home was built by my grandfather and the Department of Education requested to use it in 1967 for sub A learners: Consequently, these learners were included in the general system by default, but did not benefit from the support that is necessary in an inclusive system. In the 1990s it was only then that the remedial teaching was offered to blacks to a limited extent in black schools (Nkabinde 1993:110 to 111). As a result barrier to learning went unrecognised and were not addressed and learners experienced repeated failure and eventually dropped out of school (Donald Lazarus 2002:297). There were and still are learners who, because of barriers to learning they experience, do not attend school (Pendlebury Enslin 2004:45) Inclusion supported by legislative and policy framework. The Constitution of South Africa affirms the fundamental principles that are foundational to inclusive education. These principles are of human dignity, equality and advancement of human rights (Republic of South Africa (RSA), 1996 a, Section 1, a), freedom from discrimination (RSA 1996 a, Section 9 (4) and a fundamental right to basic education RSA 1996 a, section 29 (1). The right to education is given legislative expression in the South African Schools Act (SASA). South African Schools Act (SASA) was enacted in 1996, and sets uniform norms and standards for the education of learners at schools. (Preamble SASA, RSA 1996 b). It makes allowance for an inclusive education system in South Africa through the following provisions: Public schools must admit learners and serve the educational requirements† without discrimination (Section 5 (1) ). Not admission test may be used to determine the admission of the learner to a public school (Section 5 (2) ). Where learners have â€Å"special education needs†, the rise in the wishes of the parents must be taken into account when determining the placement. Where it is â€Å"reasonably practicable learners with special education needs should be served in the mainstream and relevant support should be provided for these learners (Section 12 (4) ). Physical, and many these at public schools should be made accessible to disabled learners (Section 12 (5) ) The year that SASA was promulgated, The National Committee for Education Support Services and National Commission of Special Needs Education and Training (NCESS/NCENET) were appointed by the Minister of Education (Prof Bengu then) and the Department of Education to investigate and make recommendations about special needs and support in education in South Africa. The NCESS/NCSNET report recommended that separate special and ordinary education systems be integrated (DoE 1997:155). Some of the ways that the committee saw these being realised, like building modification curriculum development would be included in the education. White Paper Six: Special Needs Education, thereafter referred to as White Paper, published in 2001. The White Paper emanated from the need to respond to the fact that learners with different learning needs were not satisfactorily included in the South African education system. It was found that a small number of schools only served learners rule had been medically diagnosed as disabled and those who experienced difficulties due to other factors like abject poverty found themselves without the necessary support. The White Paper estimates that at the time of publication only 20% of learners with disabilities were included in the special schools and there was also, disparity among the provinces. The white paper was published after a consultative process and outlines and national strategy to include and accommodate those barriers to learning. The following where the principles of the White Paper: All children and young people can learn and need support Difference, including different learning needs, is valued as part of human experience. Education can be enabled to meet the needs of all learners. The home and community form an important source of learning. Attitudes, behaviour and teaching methodologies will have to change to meet the needs of learners. Participation of learners in the educational process should be maximised. The individual strengths of learners should be encouraged. An inclusive education system acknowledges the different levels of support required by different learners and should be organised to provide this. The following strategies were to be followed: improve special schools and convert them into resource centres; Convert about 500 primary schools to be full-service schools that are capable of responding to the full range of learning needs; Introduce management and teachers in the mainstream schools to the inclusion model, with a focus on any intervention in the Foundation Phase (grades R-3); The establishment of district-based support teams (DSTs) to provide support services; The implementation of an interaction programme to support inclusion; A funding strategy to be developed. The White Paper addresses extrinsic and intrinsic barriers to learning, with a particular focus on ways in which the education system may be itself a barrier to learning. There are also factors which become apparent and have an influence on the learning of learners. These factors may include in adequate shelter and nutrition. Hall (2002:34). Intrinsic barrier include various impairments like intellectual ability. The White Paper details the framework for establishing an inclusive education and training system through capacity building and the expulsion of provision and access in all education sectors. In considering financial challenges that are involved the White Paper outlines funding strategy that includes national and provincial spending and mobilisation of donor funding. Building an inclusive education and training is a 20 year developmental goal and short, medium and long-term strategies are described that will address barriers to learning and accommodate diverse learning needs in South Africa. The White Paper outlines South Africa with developments in inclusive education internationally and draws on the foundation laid by the United Nations initiatives and in particular, the Salamanca Statement. The Salamanca Statement and the White Paper The White Paper has included many of the key recommendations of the Salamanca Statement of 1994 and in this way. South Africa can be seen to be pursuing policies, congruent with international trends. The following are Salamanca Statement for governments to give attention to: early identification and intervention when barriers to learning are experienced, the importance of the participation of parents and the need for teacher education to meet the needs of inclusive classrooms UNESCO (1994: I X). All these are included in the strategic plan outlined in the White Paper. Consistent with the Salamanca Statements advice that developing countries should build inclusive schools, rather than try to expand a separate special as a cost-effective way of expanding access, the White Paper describes the conversion of some existing schools into full-service schools that can with the support of DSTs and neighbouring special schools, several learners with diverse learning needs. It is envisaged that these full service schools will be able to accommodate children living with mild and moderate disabilities were currently out of school. The Salamanca Statement sees a special schools having a role to play, not only in educating a small number of learners who cannot be satisfactorily served in ordinary schools but also as a resource centre that can provide inclusive schools with a valuable human and material resources. The White Paper embraced this and foresees that, after an audit of special schools, they will be upgraded to improve the quality of the education they provide for learners with high support needs and will be converted into resource centres. The White Paper reflects the thinking of researchers and theorists in the field of special needs education. The White Paper echoes positions taken from the writing of Ainscow (1995) Booth and Ainscow (1998) and Ballard (1999). The term barriers to learning in the White Paper it also appears in The Index for Inclusion, published by the Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education (CSIE) in 2000. The CSIE uses the term barriers to learning and participation. Inclusion is more than ensuring that learners with various barriers to learning are taught in regular classrooms. It is also about these learners being accepted and having a sense of belonging within the school and the community. Mordal Stromstad (1998:16) ask in this regard, †¦ Is this child surely included as if full member of the community, or have we only made a superficial adaptations which leave the child just as isolated as in a special class or special school? There is prove that the White Paper does not take participation as part of an inclusive system (DoE 2001 a: 16) and yet has chosen to stress the learning needs and barriers to learning. The White Paper could be criticised by those who advocate for a full inclusion approach to inclusion. They abstain from any notion of separate special schools, and their position is that all children irrespective of the severity of their disabilities could be educated in regular classrooms together with their non- disabled peers. The contend of that as long as special schools exist, there will be the assumption that there are some children who cannot be taught in regular classrooms and exclusion will be justified. Van Rooyen La Grange (2003 154) for his critique of the White Paper as the irony of the conditional acceptance of inclusion, noting the conditions that learners have to meet in order to be included in either ordinarily, full-service or special schools. The White Paper only claims an outline (DoE 2001:5). For an inclusive education system and many questions that the White Paper arises are perhaps details that are outside its scope. Practical concerns and many for example it has been noted that some provinces (and we have nine provinces in South Africa) have very few special schools (DoE 2001:30) and yet special schools are conceived as an integral part to the support that full-service school will need. I think in South Africa time will tell whether timeframes envisaged by the White Paper are realistic and whether enough funds can be generated from sources described to implement an inclusive education system. Other publication for schools that are not directly concerned with inclusion and in close of principles integrated into the content. For example, Teachers Guide for the Development of Learning Programs (DoE 2003) describes inclusivity as an underlying principle of the curriculum and explain how barriers to learning should be identified and addressed in the design of learning programs in the various learning areas. These documents are evidence that inclusion is conceived as part of ordinary education in South Africa and teachers are expected to plan teaching and learning in such a way that fosters access and participation. However, even these years of South Africa, move towards inclusion has been noted and teachers. Conclusion In as far as inclusion is concerned of the South African experience must inform the understanding of inclusion that is practical and applicable locally. Inclusion has been shown to rest on values, attitudes and beliefs about society, schools and learners. It is given direction by policies and legislation. In practice inclusion is restructuring schools and providing support to learners through different strategies that facilitate access and participation. A significant challenge faced by South Africa in the implementation of inclusion seems to be the training of teachers in the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes required for successful inclusion.

Concept :: essays research papers

Concept Manic depressive disorder is a chemical imbalance within the brain. This disorder disrupts you mood and causes your emotions to fluctuate. Mood swings. The disorder causes one to experience extreme depression and mania. The intensity of the mood swings vary going from mild, moderate, and severe. Without treatment the severity and frequency of the illness builds up over the years. Non-professionals normally call this disease â€Å"manic-depressive illness†. Those in the psychiatric field refer to it as â€Å"bipolar disorder†. Bipolar is a name given to this disorder because it refers to the two poles that range from depression on one end and mania on the other. One who has bipolar will experience severe depression. They lose interest in activities and hobbies. The loss of interest in things and people cause them to see things as meaningless. Hopelessness, worthlessness, sadness, and guilt are only a few of the feelings one is overwhelmed with. Most find it extremely difficult to concentrate, make decisions, and think. They are preoccupied with failures, loss of self-esteem, and can’t stop certain thoughts from intruding. Hallucinating, hearing voices, and delusions plague the person. 15% of untreated patients commit suicide. They experience changes in their weight. Most will lose weight but about 40% gain. Many experience insomnia. They will feel really tired, irritable, and restless. Change of behaviors includes the following: withdrawal from people and social events. The symptoms of mania start with feelings of happiness and joy and progress to the person feeling â€Å"on top of the world†. They feel like Lyles 2 they can do anything. They are creative, work more, and barely sleep.

Acquisition is a High Risky Strategy Essay

In the literature, several motives for takeovers have been identified. One is the desire for synergy. That is, similarities or complementarities between the acquiring and target firms are expected to result in the combined value of the enterprises exceeding their worth as separate firms (Collis and Montgomery, 1998). A second motive involves the expectation that acquirers can extract value because target companies have been managed inefficiently (Varaiya, 1987). A third motive is attributed to managerial hubris – the notion that senior executives, in overestimating their own abilities, acquire companies they believe could be managed more profitably under their control. Agency theory motive is the anticipation that firm expansion will positively impact the compensation of top managers since there tends to be a direct relation between firm size and executive pay. Contemporary specialists contend that managerial ownership incentives may be expected to have divergent impacts on corporate strategy and firm value. This premise has been recognized in previous studies. For instance, Stulz (1988) has examined the ownership of managers of target companies and has proposed that the relationship between that ownership and the value of target firms may initially be positive and then subsequently become negative with rising insider ownership. Moreover, Shivdasani (1993) empirically shows that the relationship of the ownership structure of target companies with the value of hostile bids is not uniformly positive. McConnell and Servaes (1990) have likewise analyzed the relationship of equity ownership among corporate insiders and Tobin’s q. Their results demonstrate a non-monotonic relation between Tobin’s q and insider equity stakes. Wright et al. (1996: 451) have shown a non-linear relationship between insider ownership and corporate strategy related to firm risk taking. Ownership Incentives and Changes in Company Risk Motivating Acquisitions An agency-theoretic motive for acquisitions has been used to explain managerial preferences for risk-reducing corporate strategies (Wright et al., 1996). The implication is that both principals and agents prefer acquiring target companies with higher rather than lower returns. In that, shareholders and managers have congruent interests. The interests, however, diverge in terms of risk considerations associated with acquisitions. Because shareholders possess diversified portfolios, they may only be concerned with systematic risk and be indifferent to the total variance of returns associated with a takeover. Senior managers may alternatively prefer risk-reducing corporate strategies, unless they are granted ownership incentives. That is because they can not diversify their human capital invested in the firm. In the literature, it has been argued that agency costs may be reduced as managerial ownership incentives rise. The reason is that, as ownership incentives rise, the financial interests of insiders and shareholders will begin to converge. Analysts conjecture, however, that such incentives may not consistently provide senior executives the motivation to lessen the agency costs associated with an acquisition strategy. Inherent is the presumption that the nature of executive wealth portfolios will differently influence their attitudes toward corporate strategy. The personal wealth portfolios of top managers are comprised of their ownership of shares/options in the firm, the income produced from their employment, and assets unrelated to the firm. Presumably, as senior executives increase their equity stakes in the enterprise, their personal wealth portfolios become correspondingly less diversified. Although stockholders can diversify their wealth portfolios, top executives have less flexibility if they own substantial shares in the firms they manage. Hence, if a significant portion of managers’ wealth is concentrated in one investment, then they may find it prudent to diversify their firms via risk-reducing acquisitions. In the related literature, however, takeovers and risk taking have been approached differently from the described approach. Amihud and Lev (1999) have contended that insiders’ employment income is significantly related to the firm’s performance. Thus, managers are confronted with risks associated with their income if the maintenance of that income is dependent on achieving predetermined performance targets. Reasonably, in the event of either corporate underperformance or firm failure, CEOs not only may lose their current employment income but also may seriously suffer in the managerial labor market, since their future earnings potential with other enterprises may be lowered. Hence, the risk of executives’ employment income is impacted by the firm’s risk. The ramification of Amihud and Lev’s (1999) contentions is that top managers will tend to lower firm risk, and therefore their own employment risk, by acquiring companies that contribute to stabiliz ing of the firm’s income, even if shareholder wealth is adversely affected. Consistent with the implications of Amihud and Lev’s arguments, Agrawal and Mandelker (1987) have similarly suggested that managers with negligible ownership stakes may adopt risk-reducing corporate strategies because such strategies may well serve their own personal interests. With ownership incentives, however, managers may be more likely to acquire risk-enhancing target companies, in line with the requirement of wealth maximization for shareholders. The notion that at negligible managerial ownership levels, detrimental risk-reducing acquisition strategies may be emphasized, but with increasing ownership incentive levels, beneficial risk-enhancing acquisitions may be more prevalent is also suggested in other works (Grossman and Hoskisson, 1998). The conclusion of these investigations is that the relationship between insider ownership and risk enhancing, worthy corporate acquisitions is linear and positive. Some experts assert that CEOs’ personal wealth concentration will induce senior managers to undertake risk-reducing firm strategies. Portfolio theory’s expectation suggests that investors or owner-managers may desire to diversify their personal wealth portfolios. For instance, Markowitz (1952: 89) has asserted that investors may wish to â€Å"diversify across industries because firms in different industries. . . have lower covariances than firms within an industry.† Moreover, as argued by Sharpe (1964: 441), â€Å"diversification enables the investor to escape all but the risk resulting from swings in economic activity.† Consequently, managers with substantial equity investments in the firm may diversify the firm via risk-reducing acquisitions in order to diversify their own personal wealth portfolios. Because they may be especially concerned with risk-reducing acquisitions, however, their corporate strategies may not enhance firm value through takeovers, although managerial intention may be to boost corporate value. The above discussion is compatible with complementary arguments that suggest that insiders may acquire non-value-maximizing target companies although their intentions may be to enhance returns to shareholders. For instance, according to the synergy view, while takeovers may be motivated by an ex-ante concern for increasing corporate value, many such acquisitions are not associated with an increase in firm value. Alternatively, according to the hubris hypothesis, even though insiders may intend to acquire targets that they believe could be managed more profitably under their control, such acquisitions are not ordinarily related to higher profitability. If acquisitions which are undertaken primarily with insider expectations that they will financially benefit owners do not realize higher performance, then those acquisitions which are primarily motivated by a risk-reducing desire may likewise not be associated with beneficial outcomes for owners. Additionally, it can be argued that shareholders can more efficiently diversify their own portfolios, making it unnecessary for managers to diversify the firm in order to achieve portfolio diversification for shareholders. Risk Associated with HRM practices in International Acquisitions There are a number of reasons why the HRM policies and practices of multinational corporations (MNCs) and cross-border acquisitions are likely to be different from those found in domestic firms (Dowling, Schuler and Welch, 1993). For one, the difference in geographical spread means that acquisitions must normally engage in a number of HR activities that are not needed in domestic firms – such as providing relocation and orientation assistance to expatriates, administering international job rotation programmes, and dealing with international union activity. Second, as Dowling (1988) points out, the personnel policies and practices of MNCs are likely to be more complex and diverse. For instance, complex salary and income taxation issues are likely to arise in acquisitions because their pay policies and practices have to be administered to many different groups of subsidiaries and employees, located in different countries. Managing this diversity may generate a number of co-ordination and communication problems that do not arise in domestic firms. In recognition of these difficulties, most large international companies retain the services of a major accounting firm to ensure there is no tax incentive or disincentive associated with a particular international assignment. Finally, there are more stakeholders that influence the HRM policies and practices of international firms than those of domestic firms. The major stakeholders in private organizations are the shareholders and the employees. But one could also think of unions, consumer organizations and other pressure groups. These pressure groups also exist in domestic firms, but they often put more pressure on foreign than on local companies. This probably means that international companies need to be more risk averse and concerned with the social and political environment than domestic firms. Acquisitions and HRM Practices: Evidence from Japan, the US, and Europe In contemporary context, international human resource management faces important challenges, and this trend characterizes many Japanese, US and European acquisitions.   From the critical point of view, Japanese companies experience more problems associated with international human resource management than companies from the US and Europe (Shibuya, 2000). Lack of home-country personnel sufficient international manage ­ment skills has been widely recognized in literature as the most difficult problem facing Japanese compa ­nies and simultaneously one of the most significant of US and European acquisitions as well. The statement implies that cultivating such skills is difficult and that they are relatively rare among businessmen in any country. Japanese companies may be particularly prone to this problem due to their heavy use of home-country nationals in overseas management positions. European and Japanese acquisitions also experience the lack of home country personnel who want to work abroad, while it is less of an impediment for the US companies. In the US acquisitions expatriates often experience reentry difficulties (e.g., career disruption) when re ­turning to the home country: This problem was the one most often cited by US firms.   Today Japanese corporations report the relatively lower incidence of expatriate reentry diffi ­culties, and it is surprising given the vivid accounts of such problems at Japanese firms by White (1988) and Umezawa (1990). However, the more active role of the Japanese person ­nel department in coordinating career paths, the tradition of semi ­annual musical-chair-like personnel shuffles (jinji idoh), and the continu ­ing efforts of Japanese stationed overseas to maintain close contact with headquarters might underlie the lower level of difficulties in this area for Japanese firms (Inohara, 2001). In contrast, the decentralized structures of many US and European firms may serve to isolate expatriates from their home-country headquarters, making reentry more problematic. Also, recent downsiz ­ing at US and European firms may reduce the number of appropriate management positions for expatriates to return to, or may sever expatri ­ates’ relationships with colleagues and mentors at headquarters. Furthermore, within the context of the lifetime employment system, individ ­ual Japanese employees have little to gain by voicing reentry concerns to personnel managers. In turn, personnel managers need not pay a great deal of attention to reentry problems because they will usually not result in a resignation. In western firms, reentry problems need to be taken more seriously by personnel managers because they frequently result in the loss of a valued employee. A further possible explanation for the higher incidence of expatriate reentry problems in western multinationals is the greater tendency of those companies to implement a policy of transferring local nationals to headquarters or other international operations. Under such a policy, the definition of expatriate expands beyond home-country nationals to en ­compass local nationals who transfer outside their home countries. It may even be that local nationals who return to a local operation after working at headquarters or other international operations may have their own special varieties of reentry problems. Literature on international human resource practices in Japan, the US and Europe suggest that the major strategic difficulty for the MNCs is to attract high-caliber local nationals to work for the company. In general, acquisitions may face greater challenges in hiring high-caliber local employees than do domestic firms due to lack of name recognition and fewer relationships with educators or others who might recommend candidates. However, researchers suggest that this issue is significantly more difficult for Japanese than for US and European multinationals. When asked to describe problems encoun ­tered in establishing their US affiliates, 39.5% of the respondents to a Japan Society survey cited â€Å"finding qualified American managers to work in the affiliate† and 30.8% cited â€Å"hiring a qualified workforce† (Bob ; SRI, 2001). Similarly, a survey of Japanese companies operating in the US conducted by a human resource consulting firm found that 35% felt recruiting personnel to be very difficult or extremely difficult, and 56% felt it to be difficult (The Wyatt Company, 1999). In addition to mentioned problem, Japanese acquisition encounter high local employee turnover, which is significantly more prob ­lematic for them due to the near-total absence of turnover to which they are accustomed in Japan. The US, European and Japanese companies admit very rarely that they encounter local legal challenges to their personnel policies. However, in regard to Japanese acquisitions large   amount of press coverage has been given to lawsuits against Japanese companies in the United States and a Japanese Ministry of Labor Survey in which 57% of the 331 respondents indicated that they were facing potential equal employ ­ment opportunity-related lawsuits in the United States (Shibuya, 2000). Conclusion This research investigates whether corporate acquisitions with shared technological resources or participation in similar product markets realize superior economic returns in comparison with unrelated acquisitions. The rationale for superior economic performance in related acquisitions derives from the synergies that are expected through a combination of supplementary or complementary resources. It is clear from the results of this research that acquired firms in related acquisitions have higher returns than acquired firms in unrelated acqui ­sitions. This implies that the related acquired firm benefits more from the acquirer than the unrelated acquired firm. The higher returns for the related acquired firms suggest that the combination with the acquirer’s resources has higher value implications than the combination of two unrelated firms. This is supported by the higher total wealth gains which were observed in related acquisitions. I did however, in the case of acquiring firms, find that the abnormal returns directly attributable to the acquisition transaction are not significant. There are reasons to believe that the announcement effects of the transaction on the returns to acquirers are less easily detected than for target firms. First, an acquisition by a firm affects only part of its businesses, while affecting all the assets (in control-oriented acqui ­sitions) of the target firm. Thus the measurability of effects on acquirers is attenuated. Second, if an acquisition is one event in a series of implicit moves constituting a diversification program, its individual effect as a market signal would be mitigated. It is also likely that the theoretical argument which postulates that related acquisitions create wealth for acquirers may be underspecified. Relatedness is often multifaceted, suggesting that the resources of the target firm may be of value to many firms, thus increasing the relative bargaining power of the target vis-a-vis the potential buyers. Even in the absence of explicit competition for the target (multiple bidding), the premiums paid for control are a substantial fraction of the total gains available from the transaction. For managers, some implications from the research can be offered. First, it seems quite clear from the data that a firm seeking to be acquired will realize higher returns if it is sold to a related than an unrelated firm. This counsel is consistent with the view that the market recognizes synergistic combinations and values them accordingly. Second, managers in acquiring firms may be advised to scrutinize carefully the expected gains in related and unrelated acquisitions. For managers the issue of concern is not whether or not a given kind of acquisition creates a significant total amount of wealth, but what percentage of that wealth they can expect to accrue to their firms. Thus, although acquisitions involving related technologies or product market yield higher total gains, pricing mechanisms in the market for corporate acquisitions reflect the gains primarily on the target company. Interpreting these results conservatively, one may offer the argument that expected gains for acquiring firms are competed away in the bidding process, with stockholders of target firms obtaining high proportions of the gains. On a pragmatic level this research underscores the need to combine what may be called the theoretical with the practical. In the case of acquisitions, pragmatic issues like implicit and explicit competition for a target firm alter the theoretical expectations of gains from an acquisition transaction. Further efforts to clarify these issues theoretically and empirically will increase our understanding of these important phenomena. Bibliography Sharpe WF. 1964. Capital asset prices: a theory of market equilibrium under conditions of risk. Journal of Finance 19: 425-442 Markowitz H. 1952. Portfolio selections. Journal of Finance 7: 77-91 Grossman W, Hoskisson R. 1998. CEO pay at the crossroads of Wall Street and Main: toward the strategic design of executive compensation. Academy of Management Executive 12: 43-57 Amihud Y, Lev B. 1999. Does corporate ownership structure affect its strategy towards diversification? Strategic Management Journal 20(11): 1063-1069 Agrawal A, Mandelker G. 1987. Managerial incentives and corporate investment and financing decisions. Journal of Finance 42: 823-837 Wright P, Ferris S, Sarin A, Awasthi V. 1996. The impact of corporate insider, blockholder, and institutional equity ownership on firm risk-taking. Academy of Management Journal 39: 441-463 McConnell JJ, Servaes H. 1990. Additional evidence on equity ownership and corporate value. Journal of Financial Economics 27: 595-612. Shivdasani A. 1993. Board composition, ownership structure, and hostile takeovers. Journal of Accounting and Economics 16: 167-198 Stulz RM. 1988. Managerial control of voting rights: financing policies and the market for corporate control. Journal of Financial Economics 20: 25-54 Varaiya N. 1987. Determinants of premiums in acquisition transactions. Managerial and Decision Economics 14: 175-184 Collis D, Montgomery C. 1998. Creating corporate advantage. Harvard Business Review 76(3): 71-83 White, M. 1988. The Japanese overseas: Can they go home again? New York: The Free Press. Bob, D., ; SRI International. 2001. Japanese companies in American communities. New York: The Japan Society.

Seat Belt and Booster Seats Essay

Seat Belt and Booster Seats Essay Seat Belt and Booster Seats Essay Primary Care Approaches Patricia L. Jackson Allen, MS, RN, PNP, FAAN Booster Seat Usage for Children 4 to 8 Years of Age Debbie Gearner Thompson, Brian Robertson C hild restraint devices have significantly decreased child injury and death rates as the result of motor vehicle crashes. Despite these devices, motor vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of death in children 4 years of age and older (Committee on Injury, Violence, and Poison Prevention, American Academy of Pediatrics [AAP], 2011). All 50 states and the District of Columbia have child safety seat laws, but they vary from state to state regarding children’s ages and types of restraint (Governor’s Highway Safety Association [GHSA], 2012). Only Arizona, Florida, and South Dakota do not require booster seats or other devices for children who have outgrown their child safety seats but are still too small to safely use an adult seat belt. Ages vary by state regarding when booster seats must be used. Although laws exist, the use of booster seats for young school-aged children has been consistently lower than national goals (Macy et al., 2012). Many parents are unaware of state laws regarding booster seat use (Macy et al., 2012) and believe that children over 4 years of age can be transitioned from traditional child car seats to using only a seat belt. Lack of awareness that booster seats are designed to reduce the risk of injury and death in the event of a collision by repositioning the child’s body so that the seat belt properly secures the child is also an issue for many parents (see Figure 1) (Arbogast, Jermakian, Kallan, & Durbin, 2009; Bruce et al., 2009; Durbin, Elliott, & Winston, 2003; Elliott, Kallan, Durbin, & Winston, 2006). Elliott and colleagues (2006) evaluated the effectiveness of child safety seats vs. seat belts and found that children 2 to 6 years of age had a reduction in nonfatal injuries and a 28% reduction in risk of death using booster seats when compared to wearing only seat belts. The authors stress that the child restraint system is designed to reduce the risk of ejection and distribute the force of the crash through structurally stronger bones rather than soft tissues. By limiting crash forces and potentially limiting the contact of the occupant with the vehicle, a child restraint system provides a mechanical protection advantage over seat belts. When children are transitioned to adult seat belts too early, the lap portion of the belt rides up over their abdomen, with the shoulder portion crossing the neck or face. The child may also sit too far forward in order for their knees to bend at the edge of the seat. Because of the inappropriate positioning of the seat belt, the 4- to 8-year-old child using the shoulder-lap belt only is three times more likely to sustain abdominal injuries than the child restrained in a booster seat (Partners for Child Passenger Safety, 2004). During the rapid deceleration of a motor vehicle accident, a jack-knifed body position compresses the abdominal organs and the spinal column against the seat belt (Committee on Injury, Violence, and Poison Prevention, AAP, 2011). This phenomenon, called â€Å"Seat Belt Syndrome,† has been identified in cases involving serious cervical and lumbar spinal cord injury and intraabdominal injuries related to poorly fitting seat belts. These Figure 1. Proper Seat Belt Placement When Utilizing Booster Seat Lap belt rests on tops of thighs Shoulder belt crosses center of chest bone and rests between shoulder and neck Debbie Gearner Thompson, MS, RN, CNS, PNP-BC, is a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Children’s Medical Center Legacy, and Certified Car Seat Technician, National Child Passenger Safety Program, Plano, TX. Brian Robertson, PhD, MPH, is a Research Scientist, Injury Prevention Department, Children’s Medical Center Dallas, and Certified Car Seat Technician, National Child Passenger Safety Program, Dallax, TX. Child’s knees bend comfortably without touching Note: Used with

Countable and Uncountable Nouns for Beginners

Countable and Uncountable Nouns for Beginners There are many different types of nouns in English. Objects, ideas, and places can all be nouns. Every noun is either countable or uncountable. Countable nouns are nouns you can count, and uncountable nouns are nouns you cant count. Countable nouns can take the singular or the plural form of a verb. Uncountable nouns always take the singular form of the verb. Study the rules and examples below. What Are Countable Nouns? Countable nouns are individual objects, people, places, etc. which can be counted. Nouns are considered content words meaning they provide the people, things, ideas, etc. about which we speak. Nouns are one of the eight parts of speech. For example, apple, book, government, student, island. A countable noun can be both singular- a friend, a house, etc.- or plural- a few apples, lots of trees, etc. Use the singular form of the verb with a singular countable noun: There is a book on the table.That student is excellent! Use the plural form of the verb with a countable noun in the plural: There are some students in the classroom.Those houses are very big, arent they? What Are Uncountable Nouns? Uncountable nouns are materials, concepts, information, etc. which are not individual objects and can not be counted. For example, information, water, understanding, wood, cheese, etc. Uncountable nouns are always singular. Use the singular form of the verb with uncountable nouns: There is some water in that pitcher.That is the equipment we use for the project. Adjectives With Countable and Uncountable Nouns. Use a/an with countable nouns preceded by an adjective(s): Tom is a very intelligent young man.I have a beautiful grey cat. Do not use a/an (indefinite articles) with uncountable nouns preceded by an adjective(s): That is very useful information.There is some cold beer in the fridge. Some uncountable nouns in English are countable in other languages. This can be confusing! Here is a list of some of the most common, easy to confuse uncountable nouns. accommodationadvicebaggagebreadequipmentfurnituregarbageinformationknowledgeluggagemoneynewspastaprogressresearchtravelwork Obviously, uncountable nouns (especially different types of food) have forms that express plural concepts. These measurements or containers are countable: water - a glass of waterequipment - a piece of equipmentcheese - a slice of cheese Here are some of the most common containers / quantity expressions for these uncountable nouns: accommodation - a place to stayadvice - a piece of advicebaggage - a piece of baggagebread - a slice of bread, a loaf of breadequipment - a piece of equipmentfurniture - a piece of furnituregarbage - a piece of garbageinformation - a piece of informationknowledge - a factluggage - a piece of luggage, a bag, a suitcasemoney - a note, a coinnews - a piece of newspasta - a plate of pasta, a serving of pastaresearch - a piece of research, a research projecttravel - a journey, a tripwork - a job, a position Here are some more common uncountable food types with their container / quantity expressions: liquids (water, beer, wine, etc.) - a glass, a bottle, a jug of water, etc.cheese - a slice, a chunk, a piece of cheesemeat - a piece, a slice, a pound of meatbutter - a bar of butterketchup, mayonnaise, mustard - a bottle of, a tube of ketchup, etc.

Tuberculosis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Tuberculosis - Research Paper Example According to the recent statistics by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), tuberculosis is one of the world’s deadliest diseases. It is recoded that one third of the world’s population is infected with tuberculosis. In the year 2013, it is recorded that 9 million people around the world became sick with tuberculosis disease. In the same year, there were around 1.5 million TB-related deaths worldwide. For people living with HIV, T.B is the leading killer. A total of 9,582 TB cases (a rate of 3.0 cases per 100,000 persons) were reported in the United States in 2013. Both the number of TB cases reported and the case rate decreased; this represents a 3.6% and 4.3% decline, respectively, compared to 2012. The rate of infection for Tuberculosis is very high and it is reported that one infected person can infect 10 to 15 people each year. Tuberculosis exists in three forms namely latent and active forms. People with latent TB infection do not feel sick and do not have any symptoms. They are thus said to be infected with M. tuberculosis, but do not have TB disease itself. The only indication of tuberculosis infection is a positive reaction to the tuberculin skin test or TB blood test. Persons with latent TB infection are not infectious and cannot spread TB infection to others. The chest X-ray for a person with latent tuberculosis looks very normal and is treating by taking a medication that lasts 9 months. On the other hand, active tuberculosis is manifested by the reproduction and spread of tuberculosis germs in the body leading to tissue damage. A person usually feels sick and symptoms include cough that lasts 3 weeks, weight loss, night sweats, and fever. In this case, a chest x-ray and other tests are needed to diagnose TB disease. According to the World Health Organization it is a proven fact that one-third of the world is infected with the Tuberculosis bacterium. Treatment of

Egomania Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Egomania - Essay Example Another factor that is also worth noting about egomania patients is that they are not in love with themselves per se, but with the image that they create and believe that people will accept and respect (Kernberg, 257-287). This disorder has been found to possess a higher prevalence among men and male and female narcissists tend to use different techniques which include seduction, sexuality and physique. The above mentioned traits make it very difficult for these individuals to interact with other people and this aspect of the disorder has been widely debated. The paper will be dedicated towards analyzing the impact egomania symptoms have on other individuals. As mentioned above, egomania is associated with self-obsession. These patients rarely credit or acknowledge other individuals around them. This attribute is likely push people away (Kernberg, 257-287). For example, if a group of students carries out a project together. Egomania will not accept the input of others and instead illustrate their own viewpoints. This is likely to push other students away as they will be willing to participate in the project and gain a deeper understanding of the principle involved. In addition, every individual needs accreditation for his or work and this factor is likely to push other people away (Kernberg, 257-287).... The same example may also be used for workers in company as they are likely to be closer to their bosses. They are likely to be considered as â€Å"workaholics† and are also determined to go the extra the extra mile in this setting (Miller, 640). The bosses will have confidence when they delegate work and assignments to these individuals as they are less likely to neglect their responsibility. They are also likely to volunteer themselves for certain roles to show themselves and the community their superiority (Miller, 640). Egomaniacs also feel superior to everyone around them as they feel they have capabilities that other people do not possess. This factor is likely to have a negative impact on the attitudes of work mates towards these individuals. It is human nature for one to want to feel valued and making someone feel inferior is likely to decrease a person’s self esteem and hence reduce his or her positive feelings towards the oppressor. These individuals are also different to others around them as people are normally courteous, and humility has become an admirable trait in societal norms. Therefore, the way they act is likely to place them in a separate category from the standard behavioral traits and people are often unwilling to accept these negative changes. Egomaniacs have also been found to have a higher likelihood for success. This is because the attributes associated with this condition makes the people less attentive to societal distractions. Their goals and motivations are only centered on success and they have no conceptions of failure (Ronningstam, 222-227). This is an appealing quality to individuals in different spheres of life as these people