Alternative Medicine and Conventional medicine

Shahrzad Nikkhah Professor Keafer English 200 29 november 2012 Alternative Medicine Growing up in a family that has been using herbal medicine for years became a motivation for me to further my knowledge of this ancient practice of alternative medicine . The world health organization has announced that about 65 and 80 percent of world’s population uses traditional medicine, since the growing belief is that to get cured of disease you need to get to the root of the problem, and reach beyond the physical body.According to all the research it seems that alternative medicine is more effective , more economical , less invasive and harmful than conventional medicine. While It has been proven that state of mind and body are linked directly , mind body medicine helps in healing the body by changing the person’s attitude which effects the immune endocrine and nervous system, while stressed mind interrupts the functioning of the immune system and causes disease. More and more peo ple are relying on the power of prayers , meditation , and herbal medicine to protect their body from negative effect of stress hormone and proper break down of food in body.It has been shown that alternative medicine has helped many with depression and chronic pain, hypertension, and diabetes. Conventional medicine is a quick fix which prevents the body from stimulating the immune system to fight an infection as in antibiotics which destroys the valuable bacteria that helps with digestion. Since the production of antibodies slows down, it prevents the future healing. CAM ( another name for alternative medicine ) helps promote natural healing process while it has by far less side effects and harm to the other organs resulting in a long term benefit.Due to low cost of CAM higher low income population can afford the health care, while the conventional medicine cost has been on the rise over inflation and wage growth. With the 13 percent of 38 million adults who use CAM in conjunction with conventional medicine in the last year the poorer population with no health insurance has been benefiting from this method of treatment, since herbs is easier to obtain , naturally available and do not to be researched.Although , alternative medicine is not completely reliable to be used on serious illnesses many Americans have turned to alternative practices since they have not seen any positive results from standard medical or surgical treatment or because the traditional treatments are too expensive or dangerous. Most alternative medicine principle is to eradicate the problem from its roots. With serious dedication , discipline , and change of life style alternative medicine is personalized to suit the needs of individual.Works Cited: Grodjesk,Joe. â€Å"Sociology Of Medicine Alternative Medicine. â€Å"customessaymeister, May 5,2001 web. Crisenri. â€Å"Pros and cons of alternative medicine. † page1,June 2008 Diggs, Charles â€Å"Alternative medicine research papp er. † Oct 20,2009 web. Epiro, E. and Nancy Walsh. â€Å"Alternative Medicine–Part Two: Mind Body Medicine–Expanding Health Model. † Patient Care 15 Sept. 1997: 127-145. Smith, Brad. â€Å"Alternative Treatments Gain Acceptance. † Denver Business Journal 18 July 1997: 2B-4B.

Awakening Study Guide

Section 1: Due Wednesday, March 8 Chapter I 1. What does the parrot say? What does it mean? How might these comments foreshadow what will occur in the novel? 2. Describe Leonce Pontellier. Specifically describe his reaction to the parrot, how he speaks to his wife, and his reaction to Mrs. Pontellier's question about dinner. 3. Describe the Pontellier children. 4. What is the role of the â€Å"quadroon†? 5. Who is Robert Lebrun? What is his part in this story? Chapter II 1. Describe Edna Pontellier. What does she look like? Where is she from? Where does she live now? 2. What is Robert Lebrun like?What are his plans for the future? Do you think he will ever follow through with his plans? Why, why not? 3. Describe Edna and Robert's relationship. Chapter III 1. How does Leonce feel when he returns home? 2. How does he feel about Edna's mothering skills? 3. Why does Edna cry? 4. How do others feel about Leonce? Chapter IV 1. What is a mother-woman? Why is Edna not one? Who is a mo ther-woman? 2. How is Edna different from Creole women? Chapter V 1. How does Robert relate to women on the island? 2. How does Edna feel about sketching? 3. Do you think Adele faked fainting? Why,or why not?Chapter VI 1. â€Å"A certain light was beginning to dawn dimly within her – the light which, showing the way, forbids it. † Analyze the above sentence. What does the light represent? How does the light forbid as it compels? 2. What does Edna come to realize about her â€Å"position in the universe†? 3. What is the ocean's effect on Edna? Chapter VII 1. How does Edna have an â€Å"outward life which conforms, and the inward life which questions†? 2. What does Edna blame her change upon? 3. How do Edna’s and Adele's outward appearances represent their inward lives? 4. How does Adele treat Edna's sadness?What does this say about her? 5. Describe Edna's sisters. Chapter VIII 1. Why does Adele tell Robert that Edna is not one of them? 2. Who is Alc ee Arobin? What stories does Robert tell about him? 3. Describe Robert's relationship with his mother. 4. How is Robert affected by the letter from Montel? Chapter IX 1. Early in this chapter the parrot speaks, and the Farival twins play songs from Zampa. Why do you think Chopin repeats these events? 2. Again, Edna sees the ocean and remarks on its restlessness. How does the ocean reflect Edna's own feelings? 3. Describe Mademoiselle Reisz.How does Edna feel about her? 4. Describe the story Mlle Reisz's playing conjures for Edna. 5. How does Mlle Reisz's playing affect the audience? Chapter X 1. Edna cannot swim. What are the implications, then, of her focus on the ocean? 2. â€Å"She wanted to swim far out, where no woman had swum before. † Analyze the above sentence. List the different meanings it has for Edna’s life. 3. Why does Edna have an encounter with death? Chapter XI 1. How does Leonce feel when Edna returns from swimming? 2. Now that Edna is awakening from a dream, how does her everyday life affect her? Chapter XII 1.Edna says, â€Å"He'd never be in bad humor if it weren't for me,† referring to Leonce. Why does Edna think this? 2. Where are Robert and Edna going, and why is it unusual? 3. Describe Mariequita's encounter with Robert. Chapter XIII 1. Where does Robert take Edna after they leave church? 2. Describe Madame Antoine and her life. Section 2: Due Friday, March 11 Chapter XIV 1. Who took charge of Edna's children while she was on the island? 2. What doesn't Edna realize about herself? 3. What does Robert's song, â€Å"si tu savais† (if you knew), represent? Chapter XV 1. Describe Edna's reaction to hearing Robert is going to Mexico. . Does her reaction surprise you? Why, why not? Chapter XVI 1. How does Mlle Reisz react to Edna? 2. Do you agree with Edna's idea that a woman should never sacrifice herself for her children? 3. What does Mlle Reisz think about Madame Lebrun's relationships with her sons? 4. What new information did you learn about Mlle Reisz? Chapter XVII 1. The setting has changed. Where does the story take place now? 2. Leonce is angered when Edna tells him she went out. Why is he angry? 3. What does Leonce think Edna should do about the cook? 4. Why does Edna try to destroy her wedding ring?What change is taking place in her? Chapter XVIII 1. How does Edna feel about the house and her domestic chores? 2. How does Adele feel about her domestic chores? 3. Reflect upon the difference between the two women. 4. Compare and contrast the Pontellier marriage with the Ratignolle marriage. Chapter XIX 1. After her visit with Adele, what does Edna do about her domestic obligations? Does this surprise you? Give evidence as to why you think Edna's reaction is expected or not. 2. How does Leonce react to Edna's actions? 3. Of what does Chopin say Leonce is not aware? 4. What does Edna spend her time doing?Chapter XX 1. What does the neighborhood grocer think of Mlle Reisz? Why do you thi nk he feels this way? 2. Describe the altercation between Victor Lebrun and the black woman. 3. The Lebruns comment that Edna looks better. Why do you think Edna looks healthier? Chapter XXI 1. Describe Mlle Reisz's apartment. 2. How does Mlle Reisz react to Edna's arrival? 3. Mlle Reisz says to Edna, â€Å"To be an artist includes much; one must possess many gifts – absolute gifts – which have not been acquired by one's own effort. And, moreover, to succeed, the artist must possess a courageous soul. The brave soul.The soul that dares and defies. † Do you think Edna has such a soul? Why or why not? 4. Do you think Mlle Reisz has such a soul? Why or why not? 5. What do you think is in Robert's letter to Mlle Reisz? Why has he not written to Edna? Chapter XXII 1. Describe the conversation between Leonce and Doctor Mandelet. 2. Why would Edna tell Leonce that â€Å"a wedding is one of the most lamentable spectacles on earth†? Chapter XXIII 1. Describe Edna' s father. 2. What is the doctor's assessment of Edna's health? 3. What story does Edna tell at dinner with the doctor and her father? Chapter XXIV 1.Edna's father gives Leonce the following advice concerning Edna, â€Å"Authority, coercion are what is needed. Put your foot down good and hard; the only way to manage a wife. † Do you think this would be an effective way for Leonce to relate to Edna? 2. Who is Emerson? What kind of literature did he write? Why would Edna be reading his works? Chapter XXV 1. Who is Arobin? What kind of man is he? 2. Describe Edna's encounter with him after the races. 3. Edna imagines her time with Arobin means she is being unfaithful to Robert. Does Edna ever think of her husband? Chapter XXVI 1. Mlle Reisz mothers Edna; why does Edna let her treat her that way? . Chopin says of Edna that she â€Å"resolved never again to belong to another than herself. † Do you think this is an accepted way for women to think in the late 1800s? 3. Edna ad mits to Mlle Reisz that she is in love with Robert. How does Mlle Reisz react? Section 3: Due Tuesday, March 15 Chapter XXVII 1. Edna says to Arobin that she would like to â€Å"determine what character of a woman† she is. He replies, â€Å"Why should you bother thinking about it when I can tell you what manner of woman you are. † Think about Edna's comments concerning wanting to be her own woman, to be possessed by no one.Why would Chopin not have Edna protest such a comment? 2. Mlle Reisz tells Edna, â€Å"The bird that would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings. It is a sad spectacle to see weaklings bruised, exhausted, fluttering back to earth. † Do you think Edna is strong enough to soar? Why, why not? 3. Arobin kisses Edna. What are the implications? Remember what the doctor said about Arobin. Chapter XXVIII 1. How does Edna feel after the kiss? Chapter XXIX 1. Who are the â€Å"thousand muffled voices† tellin g Edna to leave her home? 2. Describe Edna's demeanor concerning moving.Chapter XXX 1. We learn the second line in the song Robert sang to Edna. What is that line? Why is it important? Why does Edna not want Victor to sing that song? Chapter XXXI 1. Arobin walks Edna to her new house. How does he treat her when they arrive? Chapter XXXII 1. How does Leonce react to Edna's move? 2. What is Leonce most worried about? What actions does he take? 3. Edna is pleased to see her children. Does this surprise you? Why, why not? Chapter XXXIII 1. What is the advice Adele gives Edna? How does Adele feel about Arobin? 2. Describe the meeting of Robert and Edna. 3.Robert sees Arobin's photograph in Edna's â€Å"pigeon house. † How does he react? Chapter XXXIV 1. Describe the meeting of Arobin and Robert. 2. Arobin declares his love to Edna. Does she believe him? Should she? 3. Which man does Edna fantasize about? Chapter XXXV 1. Edna spends time with Arobin. He feels her â€Å"latent sens uality. † What does she feel? Chapter XXXVI 1. Edna meets Robert by chance at an outside cafe. Describe their meeting. 2. They return to Edna's house where she kisses him and declares she is possessed by no one. What else does she tell Robert? Chapter XXXVII 1. Edna goes to Adele's sick bed.How does this make her feel? 2. Why does Adele say to Edna, â€Å"Think of the children†? Chapter XXXVIII 1. Doctor Mandelet speaks to Edna as they leave Adele's house. What advice does he give her? What does he speak to her about? 2. What keeps Edna awake? Chapter XXXIX 1. Why does Chopin begin the last chapter with Victor Lebrun and Mariequita? 2. In this last chapter, the novel seems to be repeating itself. Which quotes are similar to or are repeats of previous lines? 3. How does the novel end? What is Edna's fate? Is the ending appropriate for the purpose of the book? Explain.

Handling Complaints: How Did the Employee Respond?

In our case, a guest is having meal in The Hong Kong Jockey Club. She has order an a la carte with steak. She would like her steak with well done. Unfortunately, the waiter gives her a wrong meat temperature dish, i. e. medium. The guest is not satisfy with the dish and begin lose temper asking for explanation. The waiter has do the following step to provide the right and quality service to the guest. Firstly, the waiter tries to calm the guest down. Secondly, he is listening to the guest’s grievances, so as to provide the right service to the guest again.And he is allowing the guest to vent, to let the guest express her unsatisfactory. Thirdly, the employee tries to apologize for the wrong service, to give the image that our restaurant is willing to correct our mistake and not to happen again. Fourthly, the employee has done the corrective action. He asks the chef to cook the dish again as soon as possible. And with the correct meat temperature i. e. well done. This can show to the guest that we have a positive â€Å"can do† attitude. Finally, servicing the guest with politeness again. The skills and theories that we have apply in the case:For the procedural side: We have attempt timeliness. When the guest has problem regarding the steak she ordered. The employee has taken immediate action to approach to the guest. Listening what is her concerns and grievances. Then make a corrective action. Therefore, we can practice the moment of truth to the guest. Communication skill also applies on our case. When the employee notice that the food production section have cook the wrong dish to the guest. He immediately asks the chef to cook it again with the right meat temperature. And this dish is the first priority to be cooked.So the guest needs not to wait for longer time. This can show that we apologize for our fault. For the personal side: Firstly, positive attitude can be found in the case. When the guest is complaining with the wrong dish, we immediat ely apologize for our fault. And we do try clam the guest down to let her vent her dissatisfy feeling. Also the employee listens to her concerns and grievances as to give the right service to her again. Secondly, guidance also can be found in the case. The employee use positive wordings like â€Å"Please wait; let me order a new one for you. This shows that we are willing to be of assistance. And we are concern of every customer’s needs. No one we will miss out. Lastly, we have solved the problem immediately when guest has a problem. The employee immediately calls the chef to cook the right dish as soon as possible. Therefore, the guest no needs to wait for long time to have her meal. So the guest tempers being recovered very soon. And do not affect her feeling while dinning out. Recommendations for improvement To avoid the problem happen again, I suggest when taking order from the guest, repeat what items the guest had ordered.It is because double check of order can prevent mistake, sometimes the environment is noise, and service provider may not listen well to what the guest has ordered. Also, the chef can ask clarification from the front line staff when come across some rare food order. It is because in tradition in cooking steak, cooking steak with well done are not commonly found in western eating culture. When the chef comes across with this kind of rare cooking method, he can ask the front line staff to make clarify. Then mistake can be minimize.

Ethics in Leadership Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Ethics in Leadership - Research Paper Example For instance, harassing other workers is ethically wrong, and the decision to harass a fellow worker is completely unethical. A second example is that of using the internet supplied by the employer inappropriately, to browse illicit content and for personally-benefiting uses (Kidwell & Kochanowski, 2005). The fact that the behavior of using the internet is inappropriate and the given employee will do that knowingly, gives the proof needed to show that the decision to use it inappropriately was unethical. This paper will explore the reasons as to why people (at the workplace) make unethical decisions, with reference to their situation and environment. The paper will, also, explore the different ways, through which leaders can manage the individuals that engage in negative decision-making. With reference to the variety of the situations that surround the lives of individuals at the workplace, people will make unethical decisions for a wide array of reasons. The reasons behind the making of unethical decision-making is dependent on the rightness or the wrongness of behavior, in terms of the legal, organizational and the societal guidelines used in defining the morality of behaviors (Kidwell & Kochanowski, 2005, p.140). In the current world, unethical behaviors at the workplace have become relatively prevalent, and in some cases, the costs of deviance are high; this has pushed managers to develop mechanisms to handle such behaviors. Some of the factors explored in the next section – as contributors to the making of unethical decisions are more applicable to some forms of decisions and deviance, than others (Peterson, 2002a). The reasons and the factors behind the making of unethical decisions can be traced to social, organizational, individual and interpersonal f actors. The decision-making process of individuals within the workplace

Reggae into the contemporary American society Essay

Reggae into the contemporary American society - Essay Example The culture of a particular community refers to the way of life of the community. It consists of the beliefs, traditions, and customs that are unique to a given community and the achievements that are associated with and valued by the community. It also entails the incorporation of ethical codes of conduct in coexisting with the others in the society. The culture of a community is actually, what portrays their human nature and distinguishes them from other animals in nature. It is thus of some value and the community has the responsibility of ensuring that it is preserved so that the due respect is accorded to it. Regardless of the culture from which and individual hails, the common point is that a desirable culture should provide an individual with a sense of identity and the individual should be able to understand the dynamic nature of the world and be able to adjust to the changes encountered. Folk culture refers to the natural way of life that is defined by an ideal culture in a given community. This culture emphasizes on the human values like honor and the principle of reasoning and a view that the natural setting should be valued and considered wholesome. The spirit of hard work, self-discipline, and excellence are some of the aims of a folk culture, and which have currently lost grounds in the majority of the modern culture. Others include individual responsibility and loyalty to the authority. There are various ways through which communities preserve their cultural heritage to uphold their identity. The traditional cultural preservations include some ritual practices, traditional folk dances, folk tales, and folk music (Jankee, 2). The themes of the folk songs pointed out the cultural values like brevity, loyalty, and hard work. They often contained information on peaceful coexistence among the individuals in a given society. These traditional folk cultural expressions developed into the modern expressions with some deviations. Much of the human values that were emphasized by the traditional folk songs are not stressed in the modern Western cultures. The modern culture happens not to view nature as it was viewed earlier and neither does it allow nature to take control of life as in the olden days. There has also emerged a relation between the cultural expressions and grass root developments especially in the developing nations. The development of folk cultural expression in the Modern American society The different cultural expressions that are witnessed in different parts of the world are all concerned with the issue of defining the identity of the community. The need to answer the questions â€Å"Who am I?†, â€Å"Where do I come from?† or â€Å"Where I am going to?† provides an insight to the earlier developments of the folk cultural expressions. The folk tales that were used were creative tales that had symbolic meaning that reflected on the values of a given cultural community. The developments of such fo lk tales often emerged when the community was faced with some difficult situations. As they pondered to develop a solution to problems, pictures and illusions of what would work best ran across the minds of the old legends. Continuous focus on these images helped develop a complete folk tale characterized by imagery (Kleymeyer, 25). The contents of nature were often used to describe certain characters that can be of help during difficulties. For instance, in must of the traditional folk tales, a hare was often portrayed as being weak but very intelligent (Kleymeyer, 25). It would always use its wits to influence the mightier animals in the jungle or to escape some danger. On the other hand, larger animals like elephants and hippopotamus were portrayed as having a lot of energy but not intelligent enough to realize the crafty nature of hare. The picture that was

Commercial law ( commercial contracts ) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Commercial law ( commercial contracts ) - Essay Example A contract is said to be formed only if such counter-offer is accepted. The common practice is that until acceptance is conveyed to the offeror, it is not valid. Some exceptions in this regard are a) if the offeror has waived the requisite for communication b) when acceptance is communicated by post, it will be effective on posting. Communication sent through fax, telephone, computer, telex or fax is not effective until received by the offeror. Moreover, it is arduous to find when exactly a telex, fax, a message left on a telephone answering machine or e-mail message is actually â€Å"received.† Decided case laws on the subject indicate that the time when such a message becomes effective relies on a number of issues including customary business practices, the anticipations of the contracting parties and the court’s evaluation of which of them should bear the onus as decided in Brinkbon Ltd v Stahag Stad Gmbh1. In case of acceptance through the e-mail, the time when it will be effective has not yet been considered by the courts. It has been recommended that in case of e-mail acceptance, the postal rule can be applied as an intermediate is involved. Conversely, it is argued that general rule will be applicable, since e-mail messages are delivered instantaneous and there is no facility to find out when the e-mail message is actually delivered. Any uncertainty provisions in the commercial contracts may make the contract non -binding. For instance, an agreement that a contract is to have a ‘regular force majeure stipulations ‘is not binding as the same is uncertain, since there are no ‘customary force majeure stipulations ‘as decided in the case â€Å"British Electrical and Associated Industries (Cardiff) Ltd v Patley Processing Ltd2. â€Å" In â€Å"G Scammell and Nephew Ltd v Ouston3, â€Å"it was viewed that an arrangement or

1) Women and the New Deal (2) Has New Labours child poverty strategy Essay

1) Women and the New Deal (2) Has New Labours child poverty strategy been a success - Essay Example When a society suffers from crisis, all the hell does not only loose break on men, but also on women. Initially this concept was quite common that men are the only earners of a family, but after the Second World War this idea is really changed. Humanitarian has tried hard to get full rights for women. The Equal Opportunities Commission once said â€Å"if we get it right for women, well get it right for everyone" (Houston, 2006). Since 1997, efforts have made important progress in undertaking poverty and unfairness and in breaking down the barriers that put off people from fulfilling their potential. Efforts have been made to tackle prejudice and exclusion in every segment of our society This issue of even-handedness to women on which the Fabians Society, the Parliamentary Labour Party, and so many of the people in this room have battled so effectively for years, new deal is the part of their efforts (Houston, 2006). New deal was introduced in Great Britain in 1998. The aim of the program is welfare of society. All of the policies mentioned are for welfare reform. Multiple programs have been introduced: new deal for young, 50+, unemployed musicians, 25+, lone parents and for disabled. The approximate probability changes were slightly higher for women being unemployed  ensuing in a joblessness reduction of around 10-11 thousand and six months after the pseudo New Deal entry date. Though, as for men this reduction fell with a longer follow up time, so that 12 months after the pseudo New Deal entry date, there were 8,000 fewer unwaged young women than if there had been no NDYP. At 18 months from the New Deal entry date there were 5,000 fewer unwaged young women than if NDYP had not been introduced (Wilkinson, 2003). It is much harder to measure succeeding redundancy for unemployment spells that occur normally at the end of the proceedings period. The results show that for men, there is a 0.06 increase in the probability of exiting

INTRODUCTION TO LAW OF FINANCIAL SERVICES Essay

INTRODUCTION TO LAW OF FINANCIAL SERVICES - Essay Example rittenden (1968), it was held that a person who advertised a bird for sale in a magazine was guilty of offering the bird for sale, an offence under the protection of birds Act 1954, because the advertisements was not an offer but an invitation to treat. Also displaying goods in a shop window or on a supermarket shelf is an invitation to treat as held in Fisher v Bell (1960) where a shopkeeper was found not guilty of the offence of offering an offensive weapon for sale by just displaying a flick knife in a shop window. (Emanuel, 2004) However, if there is a definite promise to be bound, an advertisement is an offer. In Carlil V. Carbolic Smoke Ball Co, the case contained a definite promise to be bound if certain conditions were performed. The dependants were the makers of patent medics called a smoke ball which they claimed could cure and prevent a number of illnesses including influenza. They promised a reward of 100 to anyone who used to smoke ball as directed and caught influenza and said that to show their good faith, they had put 1000 into bank to pay any claims. Mrs. Carl used to smoke ball as directed and caught influenza but they refused to pay to reward claiming. Among other arguments that there was no contract because it was impossible to have a contract with the whole world. It was held that though one cannot contract with everyone-: â€Å"the entire world†, such was an offer mad to the entire world and it could ripen into a contract with anybody who could cure forward and perform to condition. On that basis, most websites seem to be making advertisement e.g. in this case, the company had the rare French cuisine cookery books at a price significantly lower than the rest of the market. However, because it contained terms and conditions for delivery and other details, the advertisement ceases to be an invitation to treat and is an offer, i.e. there is a definite promise to be bound if certain conditions were performed. It is an offer made to the

Worship and Ritual in Christianity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Worship and Ritual in Christianity - Essay Example The Bible is the Holy Book Christians use to worship and has been used as the guide to everyday life. There are rituals and festivals that mark the manner in which Christians praise God (Pecklers 65). These rituals trade back to the festivities that are seen in the Bible, and to this day, many individuals still uphold the practices. However, not many people view these rituals as a way of worship. They see it is primitive and empty. Some go as far as suggesting that there is no Supreme Being to worship. This paper, however, will examine worship and rituals that mark the Christian faith, and why it is vital to live believing in something. Empty ritualism is the process of undergoing, or performing a ritual while there is the absence of sincerity or genuine meaning. A lot of this happens in many areas as individuals believe that they are doing this to fall in God’s favour. This, to a large number of people, is what is called ritualism (White 61). It is usually done to recover som e sense of religious feeling that was once lost. This is not condoned in modern Christian settings as it gives off a feeling of worship being violated. Whenever the pattern of worship is violated, people know that the design meant for ritual is not being followed. This gives the religion a terrible reputation among other religions that exist. Christians pride themselves with the thought of their religion being superior to other existent religions. They, therefore, follow most of the rituals in the Bible strictly so as to abide by the ways of truth. In the Holy Book, the New Testament ways are chosen over the Old Testament ways. This shows that some of the rituals that were once carried out; need no longer be carried out after the coming of Christ. He came to shed light on how Christians could live without some of the old traditions that ruled their lives (White 64). As such, modern day Christians follow the New Testament to guide them in everyday life. That is why; sacrifices and bu rnt offerings are not part of the rituals Christians carry out in modern time. They, however, still observe some of the rituals in the Bible. As with any religion, there are bound to be groups that choose to do things differently. This is according to how they view and comprehend the Bible. This is probably why there are diverse groups of the Christian religion, which choose to be different from others. This is through the way and manner of worship, and conducting of their rituals. All these groups view the other as a pervasion of the real Christian religion. What they do not seem to realise is that all these groups serve the same purpose, and the same God (White 76). Christians worship throughout the week, and the year. Even though, the styles of worship differ in all the denominations present, the services, worship ceremonies, and rituals, hold extraordinary meaning to Christians. Christians believe that the church is the dwelling place of God. This is where they conduct their ser vices. Many of the believers worship on Sunday as they believe it is the Sabbath, the day that Jesus rested. Others, for example, the Seventh Day Adventist, believe that Saturday is the blessed day. This does not make them any less Christian than the Catholics, who are considered the foundation on which Christianity is built. There is the use of art and decoration in these diverse denominations (White 76). The use of arts and decorations vary as they stand for different meaning and symbolism in these places of worship. They, however, serve the purpose of praising and worshiping God wherever they are used. Some of the ancient customs and traditions that are connected to Jesus are still practiced in

Methods of Auditing Construction Equipment Depreciation Essay

Methods of Auditing Construction Equipment Depreciation - Essay Example Methods of Calculating Depreciation The total amount of depreciation over the life of a fixed asset is computed by deducting the residual value from the total cost of the fixed asset. Some of the important techniques for calculating depreciation are given below. 1. Straight line depreciation Majority firms use straight line depreciation method as it assists the accounting department to avoid clerical complexity and make financial reporting easy. As Bragg (2002) points out, straight line depreciation method is based on the assumption that each accounting period of the asset’s life has an equal amount of depreciation (p.189). The procedures for calculating depreciation under straight line method include determination of useful life of the asset in years, determination of salvage value of the asset, deduction of the estimated salvage value from the purchase price of the asset, and finally substitution of identified valued into the equation. 2. Reducing balance method Under this m ethod, a high annual depreciation is charged in the early years of an asset’s life and the charged annual depreciation progressively diminishes as the asset ages. To record this pattern of depreciation, an annual depreciation is charged as a fixed percentage of the written down value of the asset. Substantive Audit Procedures An audit strategy generally deals with the assessment of internal controls and the performance of substantive tests. As Wilson and Colbert (1991) state, a substantive test generally involves analysis procedures and tests of details. Analytical procedures assist the auditor to draw conclusions on the basis of expected amounts calculated while the test of details involves the evaluation of details of the construction equipment account for the purpose of reconstructing and formulating conclusion about the reported account balance. The goals of the auditor can be attained at less cost and time through analytical procedures rather than test of details. Analyt ical procedures According to recent accounting standards, there are a number of analytical procedures ranging from simple comparisons to use of complex models. However, most commonly used procedures are trend analysis, reasonable tests, ratio analysis, and structural modeling. A. Trend analysis Under this method, the auditor can choose either a diagnostic or a casual approach. The diagnostic approach aids the auditor to evaluate whether the current balance of the construction equipment account is out of line with the trend identified with the asset’s previous account balances whereas the casual approach assists the auditor to calculate an expected balance for that account. B. Reasonable tests Under this analytical procedure, the auditor calculates an expected amount for the equipments account balance using nonfinancial data for the current period. In this method, only the operating data for the auditing period is taken into consideration. C. Ratio analysis In ratio analysis m ethod, the auditor compares relationships among construction equipment balances. Generally, ratio analysis is applied on a times series or a cross sectional basis. D. Structural modeling Using this type of analytical procedure, the auditor frames a statistical model from financial or nonfinancial data of previous accounting period to forecast current equipment account balances. Test of details As stated, â€Å"

The Psychological Dangers of Unemployment Essay Example for Free

The Psychological Dangers of Unemployment Essay Work is inexplicably bound to human existence. Since the dawn of time, human beings had to live by the sweat of their brows in order to ensure their survival. The advent of technology did not change this reality – the former only diversified work, as well as made it faster and more convenient. So closely linked is work to human existence that entire schools of thought were actually built around this association. The Prussian philosopher and political economist Karl Marx (1818-1883), for instance, argued that an individual’s identity was based on what he or she did for a living (Sayers 39). A person’s occupation supposedly reflected his or her faculties. The loss of work would therefore have an adverse effect on all aspects of a person’s life. In his article The Consequences – Undoing Sanity (2006) Louis Uchitelle argued that unemployment translates to more than just the loss of an occupation. When an individual becomes unemployed, he or she loses not just economic security but also his or her self-esteem (Uchitelle 299). This observation is very much true in the United States, a country whose culture strongly emphasized independence and individual achievement. Since its institution, the US has created an image of itself as an egalitarian society. Every American, regardless of race, creed or social status, had to work for their own survival. Consequently, when meeting someone for the first time, the question â€Å"What do you do? † is not far from the American’s lips. In American culture, a person’s job provides other people an idea about his or her personal background – educational attainment, upbringing, tastes, gender preference, etc. (Seguin 14) Furthermore, American culture associates work with personal accomplishment (Seguin 14). The egalitarian nature of American culture brought about the latter’s philosophy that diligence and industry are the tickets to better times. It is therefore not unusual for the average American to hold two or three jobs at the same time. Most Americans were first exposed to work through part-time jobs during their teenage years. Globalization, however, shattered the aforementioned ideals. Eager to cut down on operational expenses, many US enterprises resorted to downsizing. Minor operations, such as telemarketing and customer assistance, were transferred to Third World countries. For these companies, downsizing made good business sense – the Third World was a source of cheap but highly-skilled labor. But the American workers did not share the same belief. For them, downsizing meant the closure of firms and massive layoffs. Employees who faithfully served a company for many years suddenly found themselves out of work. Worse, they were unable to find a new job. Simply put, downsizing spelled poverty – decreased household expenditures, searching for a cheaper place to live, selling of properties that took many years to obtain just to make ends meet. Numerous studies have already been conducted on the damaging effects of joblessness, particularly on unemployment brought about by layoffs – decrease in family cohesion, a rise in the divorce rate, the unwinding of communities and guilty feelings among employees who dodged a layoff. But Uchitelle pointed out that the layoff in itself is already a very damaging blow (Uchitelle 301). Most employees who have been laid off often attribute their misfortune to their â€Å"mediocre† performance as workers (Uchitelle 301) – they were fired probably because they always reported late for work, they called in sick even if they really were not, their employers were not satisfied at their outputs, etc. Others, meanwhile, convince themselves that it is the company who has the problem and not them (Uchitelle 301). They may rationalize that the company is having financial trouble, hence the need to reduce the number of hands that it had to pay. Or maybe layoffs were simply commonplace, given the dismal state of the economy. Despite these elaborate justifications, the feelings of diminishment would still surface (Uchitelle 301). How come they were fired, while their co-workers were not? This sense of diminishment, in turn, has very destructive psychological effects. Despite encouragement from friends and family members, those who have been laid off may no longer feel any enthusiasm about pursuing a new job. This lack of interest has two sources – low self-esteem and the fear of failure (Uchitelle 302). A person who lost his or her job because of a layoff may feel that he or she is too incompetent for any kind of work. Such self-pity, consecutively, generates the fear that they will end up getting fired from the next job that they will avail themselves of. Layoffs can be more psychologically damaging for men, who are still traditionally expected to become the breadwinners of their respective families. One of Uchitelle’s respondents, Stacey Brown, was very much distressed over the negative personality changes in her husband, Erin, after he was laid off from his job as a mechanic in United Airlines. Prior to the layoff, Erin was a hardworking, ambitious man who was devoted to his job and had many future plans for his family (Uchitelle 299). But according to Stacey, he was unable to pick up his life after he became unemployed. She believed that â€Å"the layoff destroyed (her husband’s) self-esteem† (Uchitelle 299). Since Erin lost his job, he no longer had the self-confidence to look for a new job or pursue any other endeavor. His wife had to prod him into applying for a job as a technical specialist in a Rolls-Royce engine plant in Indianapolis. Erin, however, did not get hired. Stacey sensed that this incident made him averse to work of any kind (Uchitelle 303). For one, he described the plant’s human resources manager in a resentful and insulting manner. According to Erin, â€Å"I was well-qualified and I went through a lot of effort to get (the job)†¦and it turns out the guy who was doing the hiring had not bothered to understand the nature of the job he was in charge of filling† (Uchitelle 303). In addition, he was no longer interested in fulfilling his former plans of opening his own business. In order to lift his spirits after getting laid off, Stacey insisted on purchasing a rundown three-bedroom house located near their residence (Uchitelle 300). She hoped that in buying the house, she would be able to help him fulfill his dream of renovating and reselling rundown houses (Uchitelle 300). It proved to be a false hope. Although Erin started construction work on the house, he completed only the exterior part. Despite his excuses such as having to take care of their son, Kyle, Stacey knew the real reason behind his inability to finish reconstructing the house – he was afraid of another failure. According to Stacey, â€Å"(He) did not want to take the risk of actually finishing the (house) and then somehow (losing it like his former occupation)† (Uchitelle 304). No amount of support and understanding from Stacey helped Erin. Although he had just completed a two-evening-a-week course in air condition repair, he did so for the wrong reasons. â€Å"I know that I will be overqualified for the next position that I take,† Erin said (Uchitelle 305). Simply put, the layoff made him feel that he was too incompetent for any gainful employment. Thus, he contented himself with low-paying, dead-end jobs, such as air condition repair. Aversion towards work is another common response among those who experienced a layoff. Getting fired despite dedication to a particular job and or company may make them disillusioned with the point of working for a living (Barling, Kelloway and Frone 291). For them, working no longer makes any sense – they would probably get fired anyway. Losing a job is indeed very tragic, as the absence of livelihood would definitely spell poverty for a person or a family. But the tragedy associated with a layoff is even worse. An employee who gets laid off from work ends up losing not only his or her economic security, but also his or her self-esteem. He or she would most likely think that his or her incompetence led to the loss of his or her job. But wallowing in self-pity will not get anyone anywhere. After a period of mourning over loss, an individual will have no other choice but to move on with his or her life. Time, after all, never waited for anyone.Furthermore, a person who is down has no other way to go to but up. Works Cited Barling, Julian, E. Kevin Kelloway, and Michael Robert Frone. Handbook of Work Stress. London: SAGE, 2004. Sayers, Sean. Marxism and Human Nature. New York: Routledge, 1998. Seguin, Robert. Around Quitting Time: Work and Middle-Class Fantasy in American Fiction. Durham: Duke University Press, 2001. Uchitelle, Louis. The Disposable American: Layoffs and Their Consequences. New York: Knopf, 2006.

B&B Hotel Life Cycle Essay Example for Free

BB Hotel Life Cycle Essay Bed and Breakfasts Hotels were established in Europe many years back. The majority of travelers that frequented BB’s in the 1800’s were pioneers, miners, 49’ers seeking gold or professionals traveling from one area to another. Most BB’s offered an accommodation for the night along with a breakfast in the morning which many hungry travelers took advantage of before setting off on the next leg of their journey. As more inns, lodges and hotels were built in the 1900’s, BB’s were seen as an affordable accommodation for people traveling through small towns or in areas that weren’t heavily developed. In the later half of the 20th century, BB’s enjoyed a renaissance in popularity, as many college students and young adults spent time visiting Europe. Most of these travelers spent time in small BB type of pensions or private residences and came back to the states to either open their own BB’s or sought them out as affordable accommodation options. They introduced in the U. S. in the mid to late 1960s. It is estimated that there are in excess 30,000 BBs at this time that represents a jump from only 2,000 in the late 1970s. The concept is now very mature average number of rooms per property has increase dramatically, occupancy rates are up, and national, state, and regional associations are setting standards. There are even a myriad of newsletters, travel publications and guide books available. Today, BB’s offer a warm and cozy alternative to the corporate hotel or motel. Most BB’s pride themselves on being privately owned and operated, as well as offering accommodations in quaint and cozy homes in locations that offer historical, leisure or small town attractions. Current stage The Bed Breakfast and Hostel Accommodations industry is in the mature phase of its life cycle The industry, however, is relatively new, having grown significantly since the early- to mid-1980s. Overall, the industry is still evolving and matching the varying (and growing) needs of various segments of the domestic and international tourism market. The industry has developed its own niche in the accommodations industry based on specific market needs and demand. Over the 10 years to 2017, industry value added, which measures an industry’s contribution to GDP, will grow at an annual rate of 1. % per year, compared to GDP growth over the same period of 1. 9%. The industry is still in a long-term mature phase, despite recent slow growth or contraction due to increased geopolitical tension from terrorist attacks and the declines in travel demand in response to the Great Recession. Over the ten years to 2017, industry value added (IVA), which measures an industry’s contribution to GDP, is expected to grow 1. 4% per year, while GDP is expected to grow 1. 8% per year. The Bed and Breakfast and Hostel Accommodations industry has fought declining demand over the past few years. With the onset of the recession, all forms of travel accommodation experienced revenue drops as consumers became more concerned about finances and made cutbacks on luxuries, including travel. From 2007 to 2017, domestic trips will increase 1. 1% to 758. 4 million. However, over the same period, international visitor arrivals will rise from 56. 0 million to 86. 2 million, or 4. 4% per year, after a slump from late 2007 to 2009. Overall, however, each of the major industry components displayed an upward trend over this period that was roughly in line with GDP growth. Future industry growth will increasingly correspond with rising global income, particularly in countries in East Asia and South America and an increasing propensity to travel internationally. Increasing incomes and the aging of the population are also expected to lead to significant growth in the domestic market. On the other hand, within the key industry segments, the Tourism industry will continue to display slow growth due to strong competition from internet-based, direct booking products. Lead time require for products The bed and breakfast (BB) segment covers a variety of types of establishments and makes 69. % of industry revenue. Homestay, farm stay or host homes, where guests share rooms and facilities with owners, are included within this segment. There are also home BBs, which provide a secondary source of revenue to the owner’s primary income and can be homes with four of five rooms converted to provide BB services to guests. BB inns or hotels are usually established as businesses to provide primary financial support for owner/operators. Breakfast is the only meal served to guests and the establishment can provide accommodations for between four and 0 guests. Quite often these are used for small weddings or business meetings. On the other hand, country inns are established as businesses with owners actively involved in its daily operations, and have between six and 30 rooms. They operate as a lodging place and have a restaurant with a liquor license. The accommodations may include lodging, dinner and breakfast included in the room rate. However, compare to other regular hotel, BB hotel need less ac tivities. It is need a short time to prepare new product, it’s easier for owners to improve it.

Management Essays Ikea Operations Management

Management Essays Ikea Operations Management How Does Ikea Approach Operations Management? Abstract The main purpose of this paper is to focus on the how IKEA Company approached its operation management. Particularly, it covers the following: how the company establish and manage customer requirements, secondly how does these customers requirements used for the company’s product and services, then, third covers the operational systems and processes it used in its operation, fourth consists of capacity planning, process layout, and product services/scheduling, inventory and projects were managed in the organization. And, lastly is on why and how monitoring and evaluation of operation were carried out by the company. This paper also provides empirical findings and application of relevant theories that will help readers to really understand how the company operates and what relevant theories it applies. Introduction In most companies these days whether it is local or multinational companies, they are always faced with big challenges. Challenges those are sometimes insurmountable to overcome like continuing to be innovative or problems related to cost. These are two of the most common challenges that company continuously faced, but these problems may also be overcome only if the company operates in a way that it focus mainly in its main strength and at the same time focusing on the right market, where they would know that they have the advantage. In this paper with IKEA Company as the main focus, it will give us exactly how typical multinational companies manage to operates. It will include such processes like customer requirements, operations management, monitoring projects and other theories and processes applied in actual operation. This paper also provides some important empirical findings that will help to support the theories and actual strategies applied by the company. Historical Background of IKEA Company It was not so long after the company founder INGVAR KAMPRAD born in 1926 and just 17 years later after that year, where at a very young age when INGVAR registered the first IKEA Company and this was in July 28, 1943. Actually, the name of the company IKEA stands for (Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd). Couple of years later, the company had its first advertisement through a local newspaper, and then through aggressiveness in the business, Ingvar launched its first fine and modern line of furniture in 1948. Followed by launching of IKEA’s catalogue and first furniture showroom in Sweden in 1951 and 1953 respectively. Four years later, the true concept of the company’s creation of well designed furniture at a very low price started in 1955 and three years later it was the world’s first IKEA store opened. From those early years the company started to grow and number of co-workers and that started to be seen by the company in 1958 and a year after that was the introduction of the company’s self assembly furniture. But, since the company want to make sure that they offered not only low price items, they started to find ways on how quality will be implemented. That is why by 1961, the company started to implement quality testing in all its products. Then the company sees opportunity to expand and by 1963, the company launched their first IKEA store outside Sweden and this is in Norway. Then from their on the company started to grow and stores outside increases and it was first penetrated in the European region. And by the company reaching the 90’s, the company became design oriented which is needed in order to compete, but still the main concept and vision of the company to lower the price and at the same time quality is not out of the plan and it continuously been the advantage of the company. Like in 1997 specifically was the year for children, where the company has developed numerous products for kids and still innovative design continuous to work for the company. And by 2003, through its donations has helped a Swedish hospital to build â€Å"The Kaprad House† which primarily facilitates for cancer patients.1 How does the organization establish customer requirements? Establishing customer requirements maybe is one of the most important factors for success for any company in the world and whether it is local or multinational business. The main reason is that it mainly focuses on how a company develops the right product. It may very simple to say that it may only be about how the company interviews or provide questionnaires or even conducting surveys just to know the important and appropriate requirement of the customers. 1 The IKEA Concept, 2007. But, actually it is more than that and it takes a lot of effort in performing such activity. That is also the problem with come companies, they would think that establishing customer requirement is easy as like asking them when they visit the shops, stores or even sometimes paying some formal visits does not answers all these and in fact there are customers that would only accomplish survey forms out of persistence by some crews or managers of the shops. And the problem started as when the company started to rely on these requirements and apply some strategies on it, seeing it as the real problem and from there irrelevant solutions were applied and that only adds problem or worsen the problem of the company. In theory, it is said that establishing customer needs or requirements are mainly the job of the marketing department of the company and these group also knows that requirements of customers may come from different aspects in the business. Like one of the aspect is that requirements may come from the attitude of the customer towards the product which is shaped by the experienced by the product itself, like take for instance a product that is known for ore than 2 decades and the customers are well used to it, this means that the attitude of the customers towards that product and the years of experience of the product itself plays a big factor in understanding the requirement of its customers. Secondly it can also be brought about by the opinions or claims of other customers, which is sometimes can also help the company in understanding the need of their customers, but this can only be applicable to products or services that were introduced positively at first, because there are some new or old products that are not well recognized and these products on the other hand are obviously hard to analyzed its customer needs. But there are some more aggressive ways on how to deal with customer requirements and this is through direct selling, these type of business has the greater advantage against the others most of the time. The reason is that they directly work with the customers and the business units are the ones asking what they need and from there, the direct seller provides what best fit to their needs. Lastly is that company relies on advertising, this happens when the company introduce new product to the market or sometimes before they introduce to the market by just letting them aware of the product that will be soon launched. From the result of public acceptance based from the popularity ratings of the advertisement, the company would then based it and later used it as a basis for customer requirement. But the latter is sometimes dangerous and drastic because sometimes the company maybe mislead on the popularity of the advertisement which sometimes does not reflect on the actual sales of the product. Other theory that needs to be well followed in order to accomplish better requirement gathering is that company must understand that there are three important factors that need to be considered in establishing requirement of customers and these are in the form of questions: Who buys the product? What they actually buy? And most importantly, how they buy? And these three questions can also directly address the important concern of customer satisfaction. Like in terms of who buys it, this pertains to the type of customer that would possibly and those who will definitely buy the product. For customers that will definitely buy the product, there should be a separate strategy that will be applied to them like may be giving them some small perks like through discounts maybe enough since these customers are considered the loyal ones. While for those customers that are potential and have the probability of buying the product, strategy may be more aggressive like giving them discounts or even focusing on designs or even giving additional perks for buyers may also be used to strategize new and potential customers. Secondly, focusing on what the customers actually buy is one question that companies must look into in establishing requirements. In this question, the main focus is on closely understanding what the customers really like; these can be brought about by latest trends or specific needs for specific type of customers. For most company’s the latter seems to be easily been addressed by companies as they can easily study such requirements, but what is hard for companies to anticipate are the trends that may come and for companies they only compete by who among them can be the first one to introduce that trend to the market. But sometimes these does not give any assurance on them, what makes it more lasting impact is on how the company the company provide not only just the trend but also quality and in terms of price in order for customers to really appreciate the product itself. Lastly in terms of how they buy, this pertains to how accessible and availability of the product t the customers. This is also been a big factor in establishing requirements because there are times that products have the best quality and the price is within the budget, but due to availability of stocks and availability to the customers, it became a driving force for customer not to buy the product and instead they would settle to change their preference and that becomes the problem of some companies. This means that consistencies is always a challenge as well, companies should always remember that if they offer such quality and sure to be a hit product for their customers, it does not stop there and the company itself should be prepared and be able to be up for the challenge to produce as many products as it can in order to address the demand for the product or services that they offer. That is why it is also important to address customer requirements because it also helps in underst anding its target customer.2 For IKEA, a company that in everyday they operate, understanding and establishing customer requirement is essential. 2 Establishing Customer needs, n.d. The reason mainly is that they provide products that should always look into the needs of their different types of customers. But, even though the needs may come differently and uniquely, depending either on designs, price or even space or combination of both or all of the products. As the main vision of the company mainly focuses on how to provide better life for its customers and this is through their two main company objective and that is to provide as much as possible wide variety of products to choose from and at the same time prices that are low that surely they can afford. As based from its main vision, it obviously follows that the company’s main concept is to really provide low prices home furnishing products. This concept started when INGVAR KAMPRAD an entrepreneur from Smaland province in southern part of Sweden had an innovative idea in mind. As an entrepreneur he found out that in order to be successful in the business, he saw that most people live simple and they live their life frugally and they really work hard. This only shows that people would only buy things that are important on them and majority of the people would consider buying not so luxurious and high price things. That is why from that observation, he made an impression that in order to satisfy these highly hard working customers to buy the products and be able to compete well in the market. That is why from that observation, he made an impression that in order to satisfy these highly hard working customers to buy the products and be able to compete well in the market. Then, what he did was an approach to find ways on how to provide not only quality products but also providing them with a lot of choices and most specially the price is low, which customers will surely find way to fit on their budget and that is until now the trademark of the company that is why they became popular anywhere they operate in the world. That is why with this technique or strategy that was applied by the company since the time when the company actually started. These were also the effective strategy that the company applied and has been a very effective way. This is true in fact even up to now that companies must understand that the need of the customer should still be satisfied and in order to do this there should be well consideration not only on the basic functionality of the product but also taking into consideration on the price and quality of the product.3 This only shows that the company from the beginning knows what it takes to be in the business and how they can actually address the concerns and requirements of their customers. And from this concept by its founder and entire workforce that are working for the company, it was easy for the company to just innovate and be flexible on the different needs of their customers since the foundation were well established. And since the company were jointly managed by group of owners around the world, they also kept in mind that the way they operates like specifically how they establish requirements must be in line with the global concept and practice of the company which is still starts with products that are not only quality but also sold in a very low price. That is why for any additional requirements like in terms of additional functionality designs and even in terms of price are mainly comes from the actual conversation and interaction by the customers themselves through the store co-work ers. Even the actual store arrangement and presentation becomes a focal point in establishing customer requirements. How are customer requirements translated into products/services? It is true that establishing customer requirement does not stop there and what the company needs to do is to translate these requirements into actual product or services. For most companies these has also become a major problem, maybe not just because of the problem that some companies may established the wrong requirements or it is just company’s translate the required products or services wrongfully. 3 The IKEA Concept, 2007. Most specially customers these days are very intelligent and they easily shift their preference and what makes it difficult these days is that there are a lot of products to choose from and one wrong move can give a lot of impact for the business and that is something that company’s must look into closely. There are actually many theories that can be applied in carefully and effectively translating customer requirements into products or services, But among the many theories, there is one important theory that focuses on how products are being planned before it actually delivers to the customers and this is what is being called as product planning framework. In this model or framework it shows that for companies to be successful in converting requirements into products or services. In this approach it also tackles the over-all company strategy that should also be included in the actual development of the product and not just the requirement alone. Because there are instances th at the company over-prioritize on the certain aspect in the product planning where in fact it does not only need to separately prioritize but also have to manage how the different factors relate to one another. Needs, 2004) In it shows that it is not only the detailed requirement alone is important, instead it should be well collaborated with the other factors or aspects of product planning. And it all starts with understanding first the company strategy; these should be the starting point and then it follows by three collaborative processes which include competitive business environment, which involves a careful understanding on how the company understand the way it should perform in order to be competitive and not just develop a product or service that only performs the basic requirement of the customers instead it should be developed to address competitiveness, secondly in the group of process after understanding the main corporate strategy is the market dynamics, at this point company’s must also look into the different trends and market situations which may also become a major factor in the business. Companies must look into the way market is moving and sensitivity towards these aspect gives a lot of leverage for the company even by the time of planning in the development of the product. Then, the third and last part of the three collaborative processes is development capabilities; this includes the identification of the company’s capabilities of developing the actual product. This situation also a big impact for some companies because there are companies that even though they already identified and studied the market dynamics and the competitive business environment, eventually they found out that they have no capability or capacity to do it, so what they need to do is to just focus on planning to develop some products that are within their capacity to developed. These three processes are also considered as market opportunity filter. Architecture and long –term roadmap come next, which focuses mainly on how the product can be developed product policy and goals whic h is very important in terms of establishing long-term success of the product. There are also other factors that it really focuses like corporate or division value added, core technology applied and other aspect that mainly focuses on the long-term success of the product. Detailed user requirements or product definition comes next, where at this point, these only includes the detailed understanding of users needs and all the information that it supports which includes the things that were presented above, like information regarding what customers wants, who actually buy the product and how they buy it. This information will then be used for establishing a business case which will mainly use in providing a study that will be use to support the feasibility of the product development and lastly is the process of execution, which involves the actual generation of the product or services. But this may be applicable and useful to some products or services that are well established in the industry or companies that already has its name and just continuous to explore for new opportunities. The reason is that there are many failures that may be encountered by companies who are introducing new product in the market. One of the most common reason is that since they don’t have establish customer awareness and their data are sometimes not reliable and just follows current market trends. It shows that there are also some important factors that need to be carefully addressed by new companies or companies introducing new product lines in the market. These also show that there are many cases that can contribute the ineffectiveness of translating customer requirements into product or service development.4 For IKEA, in terms of translating customer requirements into products and services, it has always been the main focus of the company and this is perform by the company through what the company called as IKEA’s Main Range. As most companies would also envy how the company operates and how they still provide low price products even though there are a lot of economic problems that are happening. But, the main reason why the company continues to survived and still keep up with quality and price is though its what they called as IKEA Range. IKEA range refers to the formula on how the business operates and it all starts with its main concept of producing low price products plus their effective production method that continuously been the priority which gives big boost for the company since it is the major cost centered activities of the company and lastly but definitely not the least is with the innovative ideas and minds of their people that up to now becomes a major concern driving force in the success of the company as well. But basically there are four basic factors how the IKEA range actually performs and translates customer requirements and these includes: profile, design, functionality and the strategy they do for lowering the price of its product. In terms of profile, the company continues to target the fundamental activities in every home such as eating, sleeping, storing items and socializing but the company always makes sure that their products based on these basic activities they always have to consider the l imited budget and space of most of its customers. In other words, the company always strives to provide a product that first satisfies 4 Driving Product Development with Customer Needs, 2004 the basic needs of their customers based on the standard activities in everyone’s homes and then consider the tight budget and limited space of homes of the customers. In terms of design, just like in the profile, designers of the company are always task to provide innovative ideas that comprises of new and innovative designs and at the same time address low cost production cost, which may result to low price for their customers. Even though this is a big challenge for designers, still they manage to produce products that are not only stylish but also at low cost to produced and sell. These are two of the main secret of the company, they always find better ways on how they can lower the production cost through better designs, because for them is they will still produce better design with low production cost, they can leverage against the competition and that gives both benefit for the company and most specially for their customers. In terms of functionality, the companies always look into beyond the basic functionality of its products. It constantly seeks value to its products, and with that it also implements strict quality assurance, in order for their customers not to say that their products are not just low price and style but also durable. This only shows that the functionality of products through quality is an essential part of IKEA’s business and this should not compromise cost. In terms of low price products, the company has implemented this strategy by providing a wide range of choices. With the many choices that they offered, there will definitely be a choice of the customers that is fit for their budget and not just a fit in the space they have in their homes. The company does not compete on a per item basis, they compete in terms of prices through selections and wide range of designs and functionality of products that they offered and this is an added advantage of the company. And as how the company perform its actual way of translating customer requirements into actual product development or services and as based on the concept that were presented earlier, it clearly stated that there are clear evidence that IKEA stick with its corporate strategy to offer products that are not only affordable but also has quality. This known requirements where further enhanced by innovative design by their designers that still carefully addresses the needs of the customers. What operational systems and processes are in place to satisfy the Product/service requirements of customers? It is true that there are different processes or systems that need to be implemented by company in order to institutionalize the way on how the company satisfies product or services requirements. Because there are times where other company apply different ways on how they manage requirements and these results to inconsistencies in the information that the company generates. And in order for these very essential requirements not going to waste, company’s should create a well defined process on how not only keep it but more importantly satisfy these requirements through implementation of the right processes and systems. For IKEA, the main idea for the company is to really see on how the store nationwide performs the business and these are again based from the company’s IKEA range. In the presented process by the company IKEA above, it uniquely showed that the company again mainly focuses on satisfying customer requirements through finding any possible ways on how they can offer only the best and well designed products which is mainly the start and end of its processes. The first one as being the standard designs of the products that were studied by the company and the last one as the added inspirational designs, which mainly focuses however on the innovative ideas that comes only from their senior designers, but what is important here is that these designers stills looks into the main global strategy of the company. While the one that separates the first and last activities in the process is with regards to finding the best production method that has also become the secret key for success of the company. This is because through these well designed production method, it gives the company enough leverage in applying cost for its products. And all these three main processes is equivalent to IKEAS Unique process in satisfying customer needs. In fact there is even some strategy that the company implemented in the design of its stores globally that also added to the company’s success globally. To add on their very unique and very effective concept in operating the business, the company stores around the world operates in a way that inspire all its customer on the real life look of the rooms and homes, this is in order for them to really see the real look of the products once it’s installed. With big space stores that the company offers from its customers, and actually encourage taking their time and letting them feel comfortable within the store. Letting the customers actually sit, lie down, open and close drawers in their products, it adds more value for their customers since they can actually feel, see and hold on the products. Added to that is the assigned workers that is always ready to assist the guest if they need additional information, most specially some technical details. With the 9,500 different designs and products to choose from, it definitely provides an excellent travel experience and that gives customers a big possibility that there is always a product that’s right for them, either in terms of budget or in terms of space.5 In fact there are also proofs that a show that these process has become an effective way on how the company continuously grows not only in terms of sales or revenues but also in terms of stores and visitors that visited every store it operates in the world. First, in terms of sales there was a consistent increase in sales from the time the company started up to 2007, which means that no matter what and how big economic issues that comes in the global economy, IKEA still manage to perform well and with its unique process in satisfying the needs of the customer, sales are always increasing. In terms of number of visitors that visited the stores worldwide, it also shows that number also increases which means that customer awareness is improving and this also improves the company’s global sales. And with its 200 stores around the world and more than 450 million visitors annually. This only shows that the company’s stores and its products are well recognized. And the company where very aggressive in expanding its business globally, in order to serve its clients better. With these figures that were presented, it only proves that the company with its unique process of satisfying the needs of their customers, it shows that they continually become very effective and most of their customers are really satisfied about the process and how they are being given the right attention by the company as a whole. Particularly in terms of the increasing number of visitors and the continuous huge increase in sales of the company. How are capacity planning, process layout, product/service scheduling, Inventory, and projects, managed in the organization? In order for any company performs not only based from the company’s current needs but also the future and included to those are some unexpected requirements, capacity planning is definitely important. Actually in theory there are three main steps for capacity planning, and these are: (1) company needs to determine service level requirements, (2) the company must analyze current capacity, and lastly, (3) company must plan for the future. For most cases that problem usually is in the second and third. It is because of the reason that most companies usually understand what are the things that they need to do, but the problem is that either they know that they are not capable of performing their assignments but keeps on getting some just for the greediness of getting some just to increase revenues or sometimes there are companies that really doesn’t know what their capacity are, and what happen is that when they actually perform the actual projects then they found out that they are short in resources. Also, there are issues that comes in the third step, where most companies both understand their projects and effectively knows their capacity but still failed due to lack of anticipations or not being ready to instant demand in the market and this eventually resulted to failure as well.6 In terms of process layout, process scheduling, inventory and managing project in the organization, there are only two ways that can mainly classified a company and these are either centralized or decentralized process. Centralized process arises when processes from the different branch or stores of one global company follows the same global process and actually performs the process consistently. While the decentralize process involves an autonomy for each branch to perform their own process, but still follows the top main process. This can also be 6 How to do Capacity Planning, 2007. known today as matrix type of organization. For IKEA it actually performs centralize and decentralize way of operation or the company called it as for-profit and non-profit way of operation. Even though it was originated in Sweden, the company operated in a very unique approach, since it’s main operation is subdivided into two parts: (1)non-profit, and (2) for profit operations, where the latter or the main INGKA Foundation is located in Leiden in the Netherlands. Or in other way of representing it, the company structure may be look into as two different parts and these are: mainly operations and the other one is franchising. Just to segregate the two, majority of the operations which covers management of the majority of its stores worldwide, design and production factories of furniture as well as the purchasing of supplies are done and centrally managed by the INGKA Holdings, which is among the 36 countries it operates it manages the 235 stores worldwide while around 30 remai ning stores are managed by the different franchises outside the INGKA Holdings. Also, the INGKA Holdings is not also owned by a single owner or company instead it is owned by Stitching INGKA Foundation which was established by its owner, Kamprad in 1982 and that started the strategy of the company to have applied the company for non-profit or

Database Management Essay -- Technology, Computer Softwares, Data

What is a database management system? Discuss each of the five important software components of a database management system. Data Base Managements System (DBMS) is a computer software program installed on a system hard drive that catalog, retrieve, and run queries on data. It provides ways for data to be altered or removed by users or other programs. There are several different types of database management systems that exist that were created for the proper control of databases for specific purposes. The five software components of a database managements system are DBMS engine, data definition subsystem, data manipulation subsystem, applications generation subsystem, and data administration subsystem (Cummings, 2010). Database management systems engine is the central component of the DBMS it stores and retrieves data it accepts logical request from multiple other subsystems and transform them into its physical equivalent. The DBMS engine collects logical requests for data users and issues physical input/output requests to the computer operating system. The data requested is gathered from physical storage and while the data remains in memory, it is managed by the DBMS engine. Data definition subsystems create and maintain data dictionary. Define structure of the files within the Data Base. Its logical structure must be defined prior to entering information and any time information is entered or deleted the data definition subsystem must be used. Field name, type, form, default value, validation rule, is an entry required, and can there be duplicates are examples of logical properties (Cummings, 2010). Data Manipulation Subsystem is used to add, change and delete information in a database. There is software in the ... ... performance products. Some examples is nanotube which is have been added to the frames of tennis racquets and gulf clubs. Nanotubes are some of the toughest materials known to exist to man. Since these tubes are microscopic, millions can be added to the tennis racquet to make it strong in order to give tennis players more control and power. Medicine is another area in which nanotechnology transforming. With the medical field dealing with things on the smallest level, the small nano devices are being developed to enter the body. An example is Nano robot which is a computer-controlled robotic device used to treat and eradicate diseases. Nanotechnology differ from traditional manufacturing in which traditional manufacture take a large item and break it down to its smallest form, nanotechnology starts at the smallest form and build up (Cummings, 2010).

William Butler Yeats The Cap and Bells Essays -- Poetry William Butle

William Butler Yeats' The Cap and Bells William Butler Yeats’s ballad â€Å"The Cap and Bells† depicts the behavior of love through an allegorical account of actions between a jester and a queen. Through the use of many symbolic references, the dramatic characters accurately reflect a lover’s conduct. Referring to jester-like men throughout many of his works (â€Å"A Coat†, â€Å"The Fool by the Roadside†, â€Å"Two Songs of a Fool†, â€Å"The Hour Glass†, etc.), Yeats continually portrays the actions of humans as foolish many a times. Coming to him in a dream, â€Å"The Cap and Bells† likely acquired its origin from the obsessive infatuation Yeats had with Maud Gonne. Being an acclaimed actress, Yeats most likely perceived Gonne exceeding him in status; her the queen and him the fool. At this time (1894) Yeats was also developing Irish dramas, and therefore his mind ignited dramatic thought even within his dreams. Like many of his poems, â€Å"The Cap and Bell s† develops a lyrical tone full of emotion and images. Through this song-like piece, the reader strongly feels both the growing despondency of the jester and the eventual affection in the queen. Through his strong use of symbolism and imagery, Yeats suggests that love makes a fool of every man. From forfeiting the soul, the heart, and finally physical life, Yeats emphasizes mans’ willingness to sacrifice all the elements of his existence to feel the complete and irresistible passions of love. Throughout â€Å"The Cap and Bells† Yeats constantly draws on symbolism to express various elements of love. With the whole poem existing as a subtle allegory, the author encourages a reader to interpret and search for meaning. As Yeats opens with â€Å"The jester walked into the garden† he immediatel... ...elf) and the heart (provider of life). Instead she fell in love when given the physical cap and bells. Though such ballad does not need a large amount of explanation to understand the storyline, the close analysis develops the underlying ideas of human behavior while in love. Yeats all together implies that love has the ability to blind a man from ration. Although a wise old owl may view his actions irrational, the lover only sees the obsessive compulsions love has on him. Yeats thus teaches a reader that love is the strongest emotion of all, for man will do anything to feel reciprocated love. The soul, the heart, and life are the toys of love, and thus throughout â€Å"The Cap and Bells† Yeats depicts the compliance of man to sacrifice his complete being for the sake of the zeal of love. Born a fool, live a fool, and die a fool ... all because we loved another.

Preparing Teachers for Certification Essay -- essays papers

Preparing Teachers for Certification Each state has its own specific standards that are constantly under revision. The state of Maryland issues teacher certificates for early child hood, elementary education, special education, and then several areas of secondary education. Many of these areas are the traditional, core subjects but certificates can also be obtained in areas like outdoor education, agriculture, data processing, or as a work based learning coordinator. (Certification Educator Information System, n.d.) To gain certification in each area, a prospective teacher must complete an approved program that leads to that particular certification. The traditional method of certification is through college and university programs and each one has its requirements and guide lines that will lead to such certification. In addition, â€Å"all candidates applying for an initial teacher certificate are required to present qualifying scores on the Praxis I Academic Skills Assessments and the appropriate Praxis II Subject an d Pedagogy Assessment, where required. Out-of-state candidates must meet Maryland's qualifying scores.† (Certification Educator Information System, n.d.) Information for teachers on locations, dates, and fees can be found at the Maryland State Department of Education home page. There are several different certificates that a teacher can receive upon completion of an approved program. For example, a PEC or Professional Eligibility Certificate will be issued after all certification requirements are completed and will be valid for five years to someone not currently employed in the state of Maryland (Certification Educator Information System, n.d.) Other examples of possible certificates are the Standard Professional... ...but the information is a little old since it was published in 1997. Lucas, C. (1997). Teacher education in america: reform agenda for the twenty-first century. New York: St. Martin’s Press Includes historical perspectives, as well as origins and development of teacher education in America. There is also a portion about recommendations from working teachers. This source is also a little outdated. Mack-Kirschner, A.(2003). The teacher's guide to national board certification: unpacking the standards. New Hampshire: Heinemann. This is an overview of the National Board's certification standards. She's actually explaining to teachers the preparation they must go through to get their certification. I think this is a great source for me. I have two other books with a lot of good information but this one was published in 2003 so the information is up to date.

Ideal family Essay

CHAPTER ONE THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND Introduction The institution of family is a basic unit in the society, and the multi functions performed by it make it a much-needed institution in a society. Some of the important functions performed by the family include reproduction of new members and socializing them, and provision of emotional and physical care for older persons and young. Family in fact, is an institution which resolves or eases a large number of social problems. The term family had been defined by various sociologists and anthropologists. Peter Murdock, after studying over 250 multi-cultural societies defines family as a â€Å"social group characterized by common residence, economic co-operation and reproduction. Interconnectedness of individuals in family relationships through bonds of affection and/or obligation leads to joint decision making, budget – pooling, cooperative work roles and noble parenting within a framework of culturally accepted notions about the division of rights and responsibilities by sex and generational position. There are two main family types introduced by the sociologists. One is the nuclear family, which consists of two elders and their children. It is often referred to as the â€Å"immediate family†. Extended family is the other type. It consists of an old system of family performances with the close connections of two or three generations of relations, such as grandparents, husbands of sisters and wives of brothers, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews. According to Adoms, as families move from being extended to being more isolated, nuclear and privatized the relationship between wives and husbands tend to become more equal, with both partners working and sharing household tasks. Such a family is defined as â€Å"the symmetrical family†. From this, I have decided to research on IDEAL FAMILY to present what are the trends in having a family. Statement of the Problem The main purpose of this research is to present the plans of the students in having a family of their own along with its responsibilities. Specifically it aims to: Deciding the size of the family varies to its responsibilities. Creating a family corresponds to sacrifices in aspect of their careers. By looking forward – years from now – expect them to having a happy family they want to create. Scope and Delimitation This research covers most are undergraduates of the University of the East. Sixty students will be sharing their opinions and future decisions in starting a family. Significance of the Research The research tries to help the following: The students perceive more of their future about having a family and its responsibilities because it will aspire them to their current situation as a student and for their future. The University of the East – Caloocan achieves one of their main objectives to produce reliable and responsible individual in the future. The professors nourish and enrich their students with values and aspirations on moving forward and every step to take must be anticipated. CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Strengthening Fragile Families The rise of fragile families—families that begin when a child is born outside of marriage—is one of the nation’s most vexing social problems. In the first place, these families suffer high poverty rates and poor child outcomes. Even more problematic, the very groups of Americans who traditionally experience poverty, impaired child development, and poor school achievement have the highest rates of non-marital parenthood—thus intensifying the disadvantages faced by these families and extending them into the next generation. Economic Mobility of Families across Generations The study presents that â€Å"Doing better† than one’s parents has long been a key element of the American Dream. Not only can people earn more, but they can move up the ladder compared to others. The story, embedded in our history and our literature, suggests any person can start from humble beginnings and achieves great wealth, or at least reach the middle class. But how are Americans doing today? Are they better off than their own parents were and how much does their eventual success depend on their family background? These questions are answered in this study. Parents working out work For families with children, the employment of parents is vital to address the wellbeing of family members. Increasingly, when we consider parental employment, it is not only fathers’ employment that is of concern, but also mothers’. How parents work out work applies both to those families with two parents in the workforce and those with a single parent working. This facts sheet presents statistical information about trends in parents’ engagement in paid work, examining mothers’ and fathers’ employment patterns. We provide detailed information about jobless families. Further, the ways in which families manage their work and care responsibilities is analysed, through presentation of statistics on their use of child care, paid parental and other leave, and other working arrangements. Family working together: getting the Balance right The National Families Week theme for 2013 draws attention to the sometimes difficult task of achieving balance in our lives. Achieving balance can be helped by working together in our immediate and extended families, as well as with friends, neighbours and the wider community. One of the pressing challenges today is finding the balance between the hours spent in paid work and the time spent with family and friends, in community activities, and looking after our own health and wellbeing. This facts sheet highlights some of the ways in which such time commitments vary over the life course, and how families manage these and other competing demands on their time. Families make all the difference: helping kids to grow and learn This Facts Sheet has been prepared for the 2012 National Families Week, with this year’s theme being â€Å"Families make all the difference: Helping kids to grow and learn†. It provides a range of information on ways in which families nurture and support children’s physical, learning and social emotional development. Helping children to grow and learn occurs within families in very many ways, from providing a safe and nurturing home environment, through being involved in children’s learning activities at school, home and elsewhere, and giving children the input and direction they need to grow up with the social and emotional capabilities to tackle everyday life. We will explore this here by looking at children’s physical, learning and social-emotional development CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY Research setting and respondents The respondents of this study are undergraduates of the University of the East. There are sixty respondents included in the study. Research method The researchers used the descriptive method that is design for the researchers to gather information about presenting existing condition. Therefore, it defines as collection of data in order to test hypothesis or to answer questions concerning the status of the subject of the study. The researchers make a survey questionnaire as instrument to gather information needed among the respondents. Data gathering instrument There are one-page survey questionnaire composed with ten questions regarding to the information needed to the study. The questions that gather information about the opinions and expectations in having a family. Family life includes the size, authority, residence, and responsibility. It’s more on an expectations or reference in seeing their life in near future. Data gathering and procedure The researchers formulate questions for the survey questionnaires for the answers needed in the study. The survey questionnaires are hand out to the respondents. Then, the respondents answer the survey questionnaires related to their opinion, knowledge, and future references. The survey questionnaires will be collect for the preparation of the analysis and results. CHAPTER IV PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA Quantitative Result The researchers tabulate the data gathered and present the results in graphical form. The respondents’ answers shown in the following figures each have their own interpretation and analysis. Figure 1. Number of respondents planning on having a family From Figure 1, 60 of the respondents plan on having a family said yes and no one said no. Figure 2. Age on having a family From Figure 2, 33 of the respondents said they plan to have a family at age of 20-24 years old, 18 said at age of 25-29 years old, 7 said at age of 30-34 years old, 2 said at age of 35-39 years old, and no one said at age of 40 years old and above. Figure 3. Number of respondents planning on the number of child/children From Figure 3, 15 of the respondents said they plan to have one child, 27 said two children, 11 said three children, 5 said four children, and 2 said five or more children, and no one said they do not plan to have a child. Figure 4. Numbers of respondents are aware of the responsibilities in having children From Figure 4, 60 of the respondents said yes for their awareness of responsibility in having children and no one said no. Figure 5. Location of the residence of their family From Figure 5, 48 of the respondents said they will have their own house for their own family, and 12 said they will reside to their family residence. Figure 6. Head of the household From Figure 6, 32 of the respondents the father will be the head of the household, 7 said the mother, and 21 said both. Figure 7. Number of respondents giving up their career From Figure 7, 45 of the respondents said yes to give up their career in taking care of their family, and 15 said no. Figure 8. Comparing the current family to their ideal family From Figure 8, 43 of the respondents said yes to the similarity of their current family to their ideal family, and 17 said no. Figure 9. Factor that triggers the most in having a family From Figure 9, 18 of the respondents said their age triggers in having a family, 21 said marriage, 15 said stable careers or job, and 6 said other factors. Figure 10. Number of respondents in pursuing their ideal family From Figure 10, 60 of the respondents said yes in pursuing their ideal family, and no one said no. Qualitative Result The researchers analyze the answers of the respondents with accordance to their stated opinions and majority of their answers are related and resulted below. In terms of being the head of the household, it is still in practice that the dominant, which is the man, will be the head of the household. However, the as years go by people change along with their practices that woman gain their status as equal of man. Therefore, equality of authority inside the household is in practice although it only follows to the old tradition. In giving up their career, most of the respondents said yes, because they want to be hands-on in taking care of their children and to forge stronger  bonds of their family. However, those people who said no, they think about on financial terms to support their family needs and stability. In having their ideal family different from their inborn family, due to their family structure of having illegitimate kin, separated parents or no bonds formed at all. Their experiences influence their decisions in their ideal family. CHAPTER V SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATION Summary of findings The research study clearly observed that almost all of the students in the University of the East plan on having a family of their own. Most of the respondents are planning on having their own family at their 20’s. Also, all of them are aware of it’s almost a lifetime responsibility and they are preparing to attain such desirable future. Based on family size, most of the respondents plan to have a small family mainly composed of one or two offspring. In a matter of authority in the household, it’s divided into two opinions: the father being the head is the majority followed by being equal of authority both of the mother and the father. Based on the residence most of them plan to have their own home to reside their family to start anew. Conclusion Based on the findings, the researchers conclude the following: The students of the University of the East-Caloocan have plans in having a family life. The students are planning their career to gain stability after graduation. In gaining stability triggers to be married and then a family. Family meaning settling down and forging bonds and fulfillment as a person. In addition, all of them want to have their own children. Because having an offspring is the form of stronger connection and completes the family as a whole. BIBLIOGRAPHY http://undesadspd.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=LJsVbHQC7Ss%3D&tabid=282 http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2007/11/generations-isaacs http://www.brookings.edu/research/reports/2010/10/27-fragile-families-foc http://www.ehow.com/facts_5287046_objectives-family-planning.html http://www.aifs.gov.au/institute/pubs/factssheets/