Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Mini-Lesson Plans Template for Writers Workshop

A mini-lesson plan is designed to focus in on one specific concept. Most mini-lessons last approximately 5 to 20 minutes and include a direct statement and model of the concept from the teacher followed by a class discussion and execution of the concept. Mini-lessons can be taught individually, in a small-group setting, or to a whole classroom. A mini-lesson plan template is divided into seven sections: the main topic, materials, connections, direct instruction, guided practice (where you write how you actively engage your students), link (where you connect the lesson or concept to something else), independent work, and sharing. Topic Describe specifically what the lesson is about as well as what major point or points you will focus on in presenting the lesson. Another term for this is the objective—ensure that you know exactly why you are teaching this lesson. What do you need the students to know after the lesson is completed? After youre perfectly clear on the goal of the lesson, explain it in terms your students will understand. Materials Gather the materials you will need to teach the concept to the students. Nothing is more disruptive to the flow of a lesson than realizing you dont have all of the materials you will need. Student attention is sure to decline sharply if you have to excuse yourself to gather materials in the middle of a lesson. Connections Activate prior knowledge. This is where you talk about what you taught in a previous lesson. For example, you might say, Yesterday we learned about... and Today we will learn about... Direct Instruction Demonstrate your teaching points to the students. For example, you might say: Let me show you how I... and One way I can do that is by... During the lesson, ensure that you: Explain teaching points and give examplesModel by demonstrating how students will achieve the task you are teachingAllow for guided practice, where you walk around the room and help students as they practice the concepts you are teaching Active Engagement During this phase of the mini-lesson, coach and assess the students. For example, you might start the active engagement portion by saying, Now you are going to turn to your partner and... Be sure that you have a short activity planned for this part of the lesson.   Link This is where you will review key points and clarify if needed. For example, you might say, Today I taught you... and Every time you read you are going to... Independent Work Have students practice working independently using the information they just learned from your teaching points. Sharing Come together again as a group and have students share what they learned. Students can do this independently, with a partner, or as part of the entire classroom group.  Ask students: Did you use what you learned? Did it work? How will you use it next time? What types of things would you do differently?Tie up any loose ends and use this time to further instruct. You can also tie your mini-lesson into  a  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹thematic unit  or if the topic warrants further discussion, you can beef up the mini-lesson by creating a full  lesson plan.

Monday, December 23, 2019

Essay on Only the Mind Perceives - 669 Words

Only the Mind Perceives Descartes overall objective in Meditations on First Philosophy is to question knowledge. To explore such issues as the existence of God and the separation of mind and body, it was important for him to distinguish what we can know as truth. He believed that reason as opposed to experience was the source for discovering what is of absolute certainty. In Meditation Two, Descartes embarks on his journey of truth. I find, in Meditation Two that Descartes has accomplished part of his journey, in that only the intellect perceives the material world. Attempting to affirm the idea that God exists, Descartes comes upon the notion that he exists. He discovers that if he can both persuade himself of something,†¦show more content†¦It is the intellect that perceives the physical ever-changing world. A scepitc might pose the argument that we could not be certain that the intellect alone perceives the material world. Let us look at the Wax Argument. If one were to place wax in its form, straight from the comb, and wax in its melted form side by side, a person not knowing this would not be able to perceive the melted form to be wax. It would take closer examination, with our senses, to determine the melted form to be wax. Such as touching the wax and feeling the sensation of it hardening on our fingertips and examining it more closely with our sight. One may also say that we might use our memories to remember the sensation of melted wax. On can remember the sensation of hot wax from a candle, when dropped on the skin and how the wax feels once it has hardened. Again, one might conclude that it is not the intellect alone that perceives the wax, but possibly a combination of the senses, memory, and the intellect. Someone being a scepitc might also say it is possible that the wax itself is sending us the idea. There is no way to be certain. Descartes demonstrates how the ideas of the mind are more attune to finding knowledge, than the senses. What is this piece of wax which is perceived only by the mind (22)? Descartes comes to the understanding that even though the wax has changed its form, that it is flexible and mutable, it is the same wax. Although he previously thoughtShow MoreRelatedCalifornia s Immaterialism And His Usage Of God1288 Words   |  6 Pagesexist only in the mind, but at the same time require us to perceive to them in order to exist. God, as an omnipresent, being holds the power to perceive all things all of the time, and as such is used by Berkeley as solution to this potential problem in his immaterialism. This essay looks to explain Berkeley’s account of why this is the case. First the essay explains why Berkeley rejects materialism, as he does not believe matter exists. Next we see that God’s omnipresence allows him to perceive allRead MoreBerkeleys Subjective Idealism1412 Words   |  6 PagesDifferent philosophers have different ontologies, for instance some philosophers, such as Locke, believe that objects have primary and secondary qualities and that those objects exist independent of our mind and are composed of a substance that they call â€Å"matter†. Berkeley’s â€Å"subjective idealist† ontology, which may seem unreasonable to most at first, is strong enough to counter most objections. The main thesis of this essay will be presenting Berkeley’s ontology and what he argues for, explainingRead MoreA Treatise Concerning The Principles Of Human Knowledge1368 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"Esse est percipi†. To be is to perceive, and to exist and to be perceived are one and the same. In the philosophical work of â€Å"A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge†, this one of the most famous principles which made Bishop George Berkeley one of the early modern period’s most acclaimed polymaths. Be rkeley was a Bishop closely affiliated to the Anglican Church and a staunch critic of other philosophers of the past such as Rene Descartes and John Locke. Though initially impressedRead MoreInterpreting A Treatise Concerning The Principles Of Human Knowledge Essay1401 Words   |  6 Pagestouch and hearing), or by the operations of the mind, or as a combination of these two types with the intervention of memory and imagination. We can say that a collection of our senses creates ideas, and a collection of ideas constitutes an object. For instance, if we are thinking about a red-yellowish, round, sweet-sour and succulent object we might constitute the idea of an apple as one might perceive it. Therefore, we can say that our minds perceive these ideas as objects through complex sensationsRead MoreAn Essay About Natural Attitude and Preconceptions 1388 Words   |  6 Pagesattitude exists not only in case of physical objects, but also in how we perceive other people and ideas. Natur al attitude is also relevant in scientific studies, where certain fundamental axioms, ideas or assumptions are often taken for granted. To understand what natural attitude and preconceptions are, consider yourself as somebody who has never been influenced by any external conception – no knowledge and no experience. You have never been shown the correct way to perceive something or do anythingRead MoreJohn Locke s Theory Of Perception And Knowledge1436 Words   |  6 Pagescrucial to them and their work. However, their theories are very different. Locke devised a causal theory of perception, that sense data that we receive from the outside world then causes us to have ideas of objects and it is these ideas that we perceive. Berkeley, on the other hand, has a theory called subjective idealism which will be discussed here. In any piece of epistemological work it is vital that we know what is meant by ‘knowledge’. At the start of his work, Berkeley explains knowledgeRead MoreAngelabrafford-Phil Essay830 Words   |  4 Pagesreleased in 1999, retelling Plato’s theory, questioned the existence of reality and /or what we perceive as reality. The Matrix, Plato’s ‘Allegory of the Cave’ and Descartes ‘Meditation I’, all have similar views on reality, illusion and truth. Allegory of the Cave is a metaphor that describes what Plato believed reality to be. Plato believed that the things we perceive are imperfect reflections caused by the fire casting shadows on the cave walls that the puppeteersRead MoreEpistemology : Empiricism And Rationalism Essay1505 Words   |  7 PagesThe question of whether or not there is a world outside of one’s own mind is a question that has been widely debated over time. This is such a controversial topic because there is no definite answer or explanation that can be proven to be completely accurate. An entire branch of philosophy has become committed to focusing on this topic alone. Epistemology is the study of questions regarding knowledge, how we can prove knowledge, and whether or not as humans we have any limit to the amount of knowledgeRead MoreMidterm Essay: Experiences Alter The Perception Of Time.1618 Words   |  7 Pagesat work anxiously waiting to clock out due to thi s terrible day. Thinking that it’s been hours since the last time you looked at the clock, but in reality only ten minutes have passed. As this common situation used personal perception that, altered the reality of physical time. This is a prime example why I believe that time is perceived only through the construction of events rather than the physical time used. Although physical time is commonly used; each individual has their own ability to alter

Saturday, December 14, 2019

El Nino Phenomenon Free Essays

El Nino has been a reoccurring phenomenon for centuries. What exactly is El Nino? â€Å"The term El Nino refers to a massive warming off the coastal waters of Peru and Equador that frequently extends more than 90 degrees of longitude. It is related to the Southern Oscillation, the atmospheric component of this phenomenon†¦ † (Gottschalk, 1998). We will write a custom essay sample on El Nino Phenomenon or any similar topic only for you Order Now Because El Nino and Southern Oscillation are often coupled, the term ENSO is used. (Garrison, 1999) This event usually last up to a year but can last up to three years. El Nino occurs every several years. The areas that are most affected by this event are all ocean areas at tradewind latitudes in both hemispheres. (Garrison, 1999) El Nino has been linked to flood and droughts all over the world. El Nino causes significant changes in biology and weather when it occurs. During an El Nino cycle there are many biological changes. During an El Nino thermocline is low and therefore there is less photosynthetic activity following in a decrease in the primary life forms. The warmer waters that are brought by El Nino hold less oxygen demanding the fish to go somewhere else. Cook 1998) â€Å"Although upwelling may occur during an ENSO event, the source of upwelled water is nutrient-depleted water in the thickened surface layer approaching from the west†(Garrison, 1999). This does not help the fisherman to make money or eat during an ENSO event. This biological decrease also hurts the economy because the fishermen in the areas affected are not catching the right amount of fish to make money. Biological change is due to the climate and weather change during El Nino. The surface winds that move the ocean currents are a major controller in weather. During El Nino when the easterlies weaken and retract eastward during the early stages, the upwelling slows and the ocean warms along with the moist air above the ocean. The change in the ocean temperatures causes a major rain section over the western Pacific to move eastward. In this way small changes in the ocean and wind currents continue to magnify each other until a full-blown El Nino occurs. † The increased evaporation intensifies coastal storms, and rainfall inland may be much higher than normal†(Garrison, 1999). The impacts of El Nino upon climate in temperature show up most during wintertime. Most El Nino winters are not that cold over western Canada and parts over the United States, and wet over the Southern United States and from Texas to Florida. (Whipple, 1998) According to Helvarg (1998), El Nino occurs at irregular intervals ranging from two years to a decade, and no two events are ever exactly alike. The 1982-83 El Nino was a surprise because it was not proceeded by a period of stronger easterlies on the Equator. It also occurred late in the calendar year. The economic impact was large. The Equador and Peru fishing industries suffered heavily. Up to a hundred inches of rain fell in Equador and Peru. The new vegetation swarmed grasshoppers, which increased the toad and bird population. Further west they found abnormal wind patterns and this shifted typhoons and sent them to Hawaii and Tahiti, which was unaccustomed to severe weather. The total amount of damage was $8 billion. â€Å"This years El Nino [1997-1998] has been the strongest ever recorded† (Helvarg, 1998). This El Nino drought had more of an impact than its rains. El Nino also infuriated tornado and storm activity in the Southeast. † In Alabama 34 people were killed and some 5,000 acres of trees knocked down in April when deadly tornadoes struck† (Helvarg, 1998). This record braking tornado event was spawned by the collision of warm, moist air that lingered over the warm Pacific and a polar front that had dropped from the north. (Garrison, 1999) In parts of Northwest U. S. there where massive clear-cut logging operations have to take place on mountain slopes, El Nino†s rains and big surfs contributed to what has become a pattern of landslide and flooding. In the Hawaiian Islands El Nino weakened the tradewinds that normally bring rain, resulting in a three month long winter drought. This damaged crops and sparked wildfires that depleted hundreds of acres of endangered native species. (Helvarg, 1998) Conditions from this year El Nino did not return to normal until late spring of 1998. (Garrison, 1998) â€Å"Estimates of worldwide 1997-1998 damage exceeded $25 billion†(Garrison, 1999) According to Garrison(1999), the contrasting colder events that occur are known as La Nina. As conditions to the east cool off, the ocean to the west warm rapidly. The renewed thrust of the trade winds piles this water upon itself, depressing the upper curve of the thermocline too more than 100 meters deep. According to Whipple (1998), weather from El Nino and La Nina are not symmetrical. Scientists have only recently recognized La Nina events. Since World War II there have been only one La Nina for every three El Ninos. Delivered along with El Nino†s wrath has been increased emphasis on the need to understand this often destructive weather phenomenon† (Gottschalk, 1998). If we understand El Nino we can better prepare and find better equipment to predict it. Buoys were arranged in the ocean to understand and predict ocean currents better. These buoys were placed between New Guinea and the Galapagos Islands. Each buoy measures surface wind, air temperature, humidity, sea surface temperature and subsurface temperature down to 500 meters. The data is then transferred to weather centers all over the world. The data is then analyzed and used for climate forecasting. Scientists are also trying to predict El Nino by National and Oceanic Administration weather satellites. From these satellites they have been able to track shifting patterns of sea surface temperatures. NASA satellite images also help us to see the shifting patterns of storms over the equator. NASA†s EOS provides ocean sea-surface vector winds. This will be launched in the year 2000. This is called SeaWinds microwave radar. â€Å"Adding to the El Nino data pile will be MODIS with its sea-surface temperature and ocean color sensors, Jason 1 for sea-surface height, and TRmm for tropical rainfall. On the ground, the EOS Data and information System (EOSDIS) ground will focus on processing, analyzing, and disseminating information gathered by this orbiting army of satellites† (Gottschallk, 1998). Over the years, several NASA missions have studied the effects associated with El Nino. Earliest efforts at mapping sea surface temperatures and cloud cover were done using two different satellites in 1978. Since then there have been many improvements made. The number of channels was increased from 4 to 5. These channels allow the instruments to view in parts of the electromagnetic visible and infrared spectrum. This increases the amount of readily available information on El Nino. All these things above help to better predict El Nino and to allow the countries the will be affected to prepare for it. This is important for the developing countries because the economy is very sensitive to climate change. Rice and cotton are two primary crops of Peru and are highly sensitive to rainfall (Encyclopedia). Therefore, if the farmers were told that El Nino were coming they would know whether to plant more rice or cotton in a year. Tropical countries have the most to gain from predictions but non-tropical countries require a more accurate prediction of El Nino. Countries such as Japan and United States will benefit in the strategic planning in areas such as agriculture, the management of water resources and the reserves of grain and fuel oil. Scientists and governments are working together to design and build a global system for predicting El Nino and other irregular climates. Governments should make climate predictions available daily like they make weather forecasts available to the public today. The ability to prepare how climate will change leads to better management of agriculture, water supplies, fisheries and other resources. By doing all these things people are going to become better adept to all irregular rhythms of climate. How to cite El Nino Phenomenon, Essay examples

Friday, December 6, 2019

Fundamentals of Accounting The Investment Process

Question: Describe about the Fundamentals of Accounting for The Investment Process. Answer: Introduction The following report covers the financial performance of the organization given in the present case study considering the three financial years. The organization Tatua is an autonomous and independent company engaged in the business of dairy established in 1914 in New Zealand. The organizations factory situated at Tatuanui, Morrinsville near the region of North Island. The Shareholders of the company took a decision to sell the organization to Mathew since he is interested in dairy farming and keen on acquiring the company. Accordingly, the report presents the analysis of the financial statements of the company to evaluate the performance and its financial position considering the accounting years 2013, 2014 and 2015. The analysis has been presented to determine the financial results of Tatua for the purpose of investment reasons of selling the organization despite of having increased earnings. In order to analyze the financial performance, the financial ratios on profitability tool have been considered along with the liquidity, efficiency, market prospect and solvency ratios. Further, investment decision can be evaluated by considering net present value (NPV) or payback period. However, such analysis using financial ratios provides certain limitations along with its purpose to determine the efficiency of the capital employed, resources and other assets. The primary limitation involves in the financial ratio analysis is that operation of companies in different industries incorporate different ecological conditions in terms of legal regulations, market economy. Hence, accurate result in comparison of two companies may not be possible including the affects of different assumptions and estimates. Discussion Analysis of the financial statements Financial ratios 2015 2014 2013 1. Profitability Net profit % Net Profit/ Total Revenue 289/4750 119/4676 86/4600 0.06 0.03 0.02 Gross profit % (Total Sales- Cost of Goods Sold)/ Total Sales Overall 2029/4750 1787/4676 1700/4600 0.43 0.38 0.37 Whipped cream (3763-1882)/3763 (3360-1915)/3360 (3200-1920)/3200 0.50 0.43 0.40 Cheese sauce (987-839)/987 (1316-974)/1316 (1400-980)/1400 0.15 0.26 0.30 Return on assets Net Income/ Average Total Assets 289/1902 119/1893 86/1724 0.15 0.06 0.05 Return on owner's equity Net Income/ Shareholder's Equity 289/1055 119/945 86/721 0.27 0.13 0.12 Increase in net operating profit 170 33 - Change in total sales 74 76 - Change in whipped cream sales 403 160 - Change in cheese sauce sales -329 -84 - Selling and distribution expenses % Selling and distribution expenses/Net Sales 1119/4750 1066/4676 1051/4600 0.24 0.23 0.23 Administration and general expenses % Administration and general expenses/Net Sales 400/4750 395/4676 365/4600 0.08 0.08 0.08 Financial expenses % Financial expenses/Net Sales 78/4750 148/4676 156/4600 0.02 0.03 0.03 2. Financial stability Working capital ratio Current Assets/ Current Liabilities 1348/692 1334/693 1119/748 1.95 1.92 1.50 Liquidity ratio (Current Assets- Inventory- Prepaid expenses)/ Current Liabilities (1348-404)/692 (1334-327)/693 (1119-276)/748 Age of trade creditors 1.36 1.45 1.13 Equity ratio Total Equity/ Total Assets 0.37 0.37 0.29 Interest cover Earnings before interest and taxes/ Interest expenses 77.05 45.69 39.34 3. Asset Utilization Stock turnover Net sales/Inventory 11.76 14.30 16.67 Age of debtors Sales/ Accounts Receivable 9.22 7.06 6.67 Total asset turnover ratio Net sales/Total Assets 2.50 2.47 2.67 Current asset turnover ratio Net sales/Current Assets 3.52 3.51 4.11 Table 1: Financial Ratio (Source: Created by Author) Interpretation Profitability ratio: Profitability ratio of an organization indicates the financial performance during the accounting year by measuring the various elements of incomes and expenses. It includes net profit ratio, gross profit ratio, return on assets, return on equity, increase in net profit and other expenditure ratios calculated on the basis of sales of the organization (Kumari Prasad, 2015). Net profit percentage or ratio indicates the efficiency of the company to earn overall profit including manufacturing costs and other indirect business operation expenses. In case of Tatua Company the profitability ratio has been analyzed for the years 2013, 2014 and 2015 which evaluates the financial performance. The net profit ratio of the organization reflects the increasing trend during the three years however, the percentage increase was lower in the year 2014 at 0.03 from 0.02 ratios in 2013 but it increased at 0.06 ratios, which was around 3% in 2015. It indicates the company was efficie nt in covering all the business expenses by generating given sales revenue with the increasing growth rate. Gross profit ratio of the organization states the performance efficiency to cover the total cost of goods sold through the generation of sales revenue considering the overall sales including sales on individual products (Spronk, Steuer Zopounidis, 2016). Gross profit ratio on whipped cream reflected increase during the three financial years 2013, 2014 and 2015 at 0.40, 0.43 and 0.50. On the contrary, sales from cheese sauce reflected decreasing trend during the year 2014 and 2015 compared to the sales in the year 2013. The gross profit ratio from the sale of cheese sauce measured at 0.30, 0.26 and 0.15 during the year 2013, 2014 and 2015 respectively. However, increase in sales from whipped cream at higher percentage reflected increase in overall sales revenue at lower percentage. The increase in overall sales amounted only by merely 1% in the year 2014 and by 5% in the year 2015. Fig 1: Net profit and gross profit (Source: Created by Author) Profitability ratio on return on assets reflects the efficiency of the organization to generate income from the employment of current asset and long- term assets (Cucchiella, DAdamo Gastaldi, 2015). The organization earned return on assets at 0.15 ratio during the year 2015, which was lower in the year 2014 at the ratio of 0.06 and 0.05 in the year 2013. It can be analyzed that Tatua Company is efficient in managing the sources of assets to generate business income that increased during each of the year. Similarly, return on owners equity indicates the companys performance through the employment of shareholders capital during the financial year (Li, 2015). The company seemed to have increased income from the employment of shareholders capital, which increased at higher percentage during the year 2015. The return on owners equity was measured at a ratio of 0.12, which increased by 1% in the year 2014 and by 14% during the year 2015 indicating the optimum utilization of capital fund d uring the year 2015 to operate the dairy business. The result on financial ratios of the company for increase in net operating profit reflects increase at higher percentage during the year 2015 at $170,000 whereas the increase in 2014 was only $33,000. The result reflects the operation of dairy business from the sale of whipped cream in an efficient manner since the cheese sauce sales was not sold at increasing rate. On the contrary, change in sales from whipped cream reflected increase by an amount $403,000 during the year 2015 whereas the sales in 2014 increased by only $160,000. However, sales from cheese sauce reflected decreased trend indicating the lower demand for the products in the recent years. However, ratio on expenses for selling and distribution, administration expenses and financial expenses were almost stable during the three years indicating the efficient cost structure management. Financial Stability: Financial stability indicates the efficiency of the organizations with respect to the available funds and current assets to meet the obligations and liabilities during the financial years (Bodnaruk Simonov, 2015). The financial stability is measured by the working capital ratio, liquidity ratio, trade creditors period, equity ratio and interest coverage ratio. Investment decision highly depends on the financial stability of the organization, which indicates how efficiently the organization can pay its obligations (Aoki Nikolov, 2015). The working capital ratio of Tatua organization during the three years reflected more than 1 but less than 2 which is a standard ratio. During the year 2015, the organizations working capital ratio was 1.95, which indicates the current assets are 1.95 times higher than the current liabilities. On the other hand, working capital ratio during the year 2014 was less with 1.92 times and that in the year 2013 was 1.50 times that was le ss as compared to the other two years. However, the liquidity ratio during the year 2015 was less than that of the year 2014 with 1.36 v 1.45 times while the liquidity ratio in the year 2013 was only 1.13. Equity ratio of the organization reflected almost stable results during the three years indicating the employment of assets and capital funds to maintain the business stability. Credit period indicates the rolling time of the payments to the company for realizing the trade payments, which was less in 2015 stating the immediate collection of payments. During the year 2013, the credit period was 1.13 indicates the immediate payment period, which was higher in other two years. Further, interest coverage ratio determines the capacity of the organization to meet the payment of interest cost on due time (Luo et al., 2015). Tatua Company reflected higher ratio during the year 2015 indicating the 77.05 times earnings to meet the financial expenses while it was 45.69 times and 39.34 times during 2014 and 2013 respectively. The finance cost of the organization during the three financial years was low while the earnings before interest and tax was higher shows the stable financial leverage stru cture. Fig 2: Total Equity (Source: Created by Author) Asset Utilization: The efficiency of the organization to measure the performance and financial position, it is significant to determine how efficiently an organization can utilize its assets in order to generate income (Song, Li Drake, 2015). The stock turnover ratio measures the efficiency to control the production and inventory level. Hence, higher the inventory ratio, efficient is the organization since it indicates the moderate and optimum utilization of funds to acquire the production resources. During the year 2013, the company had highest inventory ratio 16.67 while it was lowest in the year 2015 11.76 times. The ratio indicates that the company used higher amount of funds to acquire more quantity in the years 2015 and 2014, as a result of which the liquidity ratio declined. Further, the debtors period indicates the ability to use the assets to recover the payments of credit sales (Shaverdi et al., 2016). During the year, 2015 the organizations payback period was highest 9.22 v 7.06 v 6.67 indicating the efficiency in conversion of cash from the credit sales in the year 2013 since the payback period was lowest. It represents that the gap between the credit sales and collection of payment increased to 9.22 times in the year 2015 from 7.06 times in the year 2014, hence it affected the liquidity of the organization. Asset utilization ratio is also measured by total asset turnover ratio by considering net amount of sales generated during the year and total assets employed in the business. This ratio represents the ability of generating income from the employment of total asset resources including current and non- current assets (Umadevi Babu, 2015). Tatua organizations total asset turnover ratio was measured at 2.67 for the year 2013 which reflected declined result in subsequent years 2014 and 2015. However, the ratio increased in the year 2015 compared to that of 2014 i.e. 2.50 v 2.47 which represents improvement in the utilization of the organizational a ssets. Similarly, current asset turnover ratio indicates the optimum utilization of current asset resources to generate income in an efficient manner. This ratio is measured by using total current assets employed by the organization and the value of net sales earned which is considered efficient if it is higher (Cull et al., 2015). Current asset turnover ratio of Tatua Company was determined at 3.52 times in the year 2015, which was higher in the year 2013 by around 1%. It indicates the organization was less efficient in utilizing the current asset resources to earn sufficient income and maximize revenue during the years 2014 and 2015. Fig 3: Current assets, non- current assets and total assets (Source: Created by Author) Considering the industrial benchmark for the profitability ratio of the industry the net profit percentage reflected increased earnings during the year 2015 at 6.5%. As the organizations profit ratio for 2015 was around 6% in the year 2015, it can be said that the profit earning standard was in line. However, during the year 2013 and 2014 the organizational benchmark was lower than that of industry (4%, 5%). Similarly, other ratios on trade credit period, stock turnover and debtors period reflected almost equivalent benchmark with the industry results. However, equity ratio of industry during the years 2015, 2014 and 2013 was higher (50%, 45% and 40%) while that of organization was lower hence, Tatua company is required to utilize its assets to generate value for equity. Moreover, the business operation of Tatua Company also depends on the non- financial aspects like economic structure, human resources, infrastructure which seemed to be favorable during 2015. Conclusion In view of the above discussion, it can be concluded that the report followed the relevant information on Tatua organization with respect to the business structure and financial information. The report has been presented to form opinion for acquisition of the company by Mathew by analyzing the performance and efficiency for three accounting years 2015, 2014 and 2013. For measuring and analyzing, the performance of the industry in terms of certain profitability ratios has also been considered. In order to determine the investment decision, the financial ratio model has been considered by measuring profitability, financial stability and efficiency of utilization of assets. The profitability ratio determines the increase in net income, gross profit and overall sales of the company during the financial year 2015. However, in case of sales revenue for individual product reflected growth for whipped cream while the sales of cream sauce declined in the recent years. It represented that the organization was required to focus on the sales of cream sauce more since the overall sales percentage increased at a lower rate. However, change in net operating income and change in net sales represented increased results but for cheese sauce, change in net sales during the years 2015 and 2014 was negative. Considering the financial stability ratio working capital ratio represented increased results while the liquidity ratio was declined in the recent year 2015. Interest coverage ratio reflected increased in the year 2015 at high percentage which represents the efficiency of the company to pay back financial charges on time. Moreover, the asset utilization represented o rganizational efficiency in managing the asset resources in order to generate sales which was positive at lower percentage. Recommendation The financial analysis in overall perspective represents attractive condition of the organization since, its profitability ratio and financial stability disclosed increased results. Considering the profitability ratio of the industry, the results of Tatua Company were equivalent for the year 2015 which was quite lower during the year 2013. In view of the sales revenue from cheese sauce, the management of the company should manage its resources and marketing strategy to increase the sales revenue. Further, in view of the asset utilization ratio, the company seemed to earn lower income from asset resources in 2015 and 2014 compared to that in 2013. Similarly, the rolling period to maintain the inventory system also increased during the year 2015 along with the increase in debtors collection period that indicates the conversion of cash takes time affecting the liquidity of the company. On the contrary, the overall performance of the organization was profitable that represents the busine ss growth in future ignoring the asset management. Hence, if Mathew acquires the company, the major concerns would be business on cheese sauce and overall management of asset and equity of the company. Therefore, the investment can be said to be viable for Mathew in view of its sustainable growth in future years. Reference List Aoki, K., Nikolov, K. (2015). Bubbles, banks and financial stability.Journal of Monetary Economics,74, 33-51. Bodnaruk, A., Simonov, A. (2015). Do financial experts make better investment decisions?.Journal of financial Intermediation,24(4), 514-536. Cucchiella, F., DAdamo, I., Gastaldi, M. (2015). Financial analysis for investment and policy decisions in the renewable energy sector.Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy,17(4), 887-904. Cull, R., Li, W., Sun, B., Xu, L. C. (2015). Government connections and financial constraints: Evidence from a large representative sample of Chinese firms.Journal of Corporate Finance,32, 271-294. Kumari, G. S., Prasad, M. S. V. (2015). A Comparative Study of the Financial Performances of Selected Public and Private Sector Banks.IUP Journal of Bank Management,14(4), 7. Li, X. (2015). Accounting conservatism and the cost of capital: An international analysis.Journal of Business Finance Accounting,42(5-6), 555-582. Luo, X., Wang, H., Raithel, S., Zheng, Q. (2015). Corporate social performance, analyst stock recommendations, and firm future returns.Strategic Management Journal,36(1), 123-136. Shaverdi, M., Ramezani, I., Tahmasebi, R., Rostamy, A. A. A. (2016). Combining Fuzzy AHP and Fuzzy TOPSIS with Financial Ratios to Design a Novel Performance Evaluation Model.International Journal of Fuzzy Systems,18(2), 248-262. Song, D. P., Li, D., Drake, P. (2015). Multi-objective optimization for planning liner shipping service with uncertain port times.Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review,84, 1-22. Spronk, J., Steuer, R. E., Zopounidis, C. (2016). Multicriteria decision aid/analysis in finance. InMultiple Criteria Decision Analysis(pp. 1011-1065). Springer New York. Umadevi, C., Babu, P. C. (2015). The Effect of Asset Management Practices on Profitability in Select Textile Companies in India.The International Journal of Business Management,3(8), 142.

Friday, November 29, 2019

Spirits And The Supernatural I Essay Research free essay sample

Liquors And The Supernatural I Essay, Research Paper The Idea of Spirits and the Supernatural You will no uncertainty notice that shades and liquors play a instead big function in Hamlet. Not simply as an oft used character, but besides as a chief footing for the plotline, and one of the cardinal indicants of Hamlet s lunacy. His dead male parent s spirit stays on our mortal plane to explicate how he did to Hamlet. The thought in the drama is that the shade is really at that place, as opposed to being a mere figment of Hamlet s imaginativeness. What was the footing for Shakespeare to utilize the shade in the first topographic point? The thought of supernatural existences was non new in Shakespeare s clip. It has been around since the morning of clip, due to adult male s changeless arrested development on that which he can non see or explicate. We will write a custom essay sample on Spirits And The Supernatural I Essay Research or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page However, thoughts environing shades seemed to acquire more serious in the Middle Ages, due to the rise of many new and different faiths. Simply the belief in each individual holding his or her ain spirit may hold been plenty for many people to see these shades. However, even with the broad happenings of these visions, and the easiness of carrying person that you had seen one, there was ( back so, every bit much as there is today ) your famed privileged elite. The alleged enlightened people, who knew better than to believe in such absurd affairs. They considered those who did believe to be huffy. The general idea Pr ocess was that many work forces do unhappily carry themselves that they see or hear shades. If you had seen a shade, you had in all likelihood gone through something that had caused important melancholiac or angry emotions. The logical thinking was that your encephalon, to counterbalance, formed a vision of something to make with those emotions. Another account was that the decease of person beloved to you could do you to see that individual in spirit. If this happened, you were thought to hold unfinished concern with that shade ( which is dry, as the individual seeing that shade would likely believe that the shade had some unfinished concern with them ) . These were the official elitist positions on shades. What one might take into context, nevertheless, is that most people in the Elizabethan epoch were instead uneducated, and the enlightened people were few and far between. This does indicate to the general thickly settled believing in the occult. Today, with engineering, and therefore what is existent ( world ) , surging, and with faith s easy diminishing Numberss, there is nowhere nigh as much belief in the supernatural ( in the Western universe, at least ) . We are more educated as a whole, and know far more about the universe than our predecessors did. As a consequence of their deficiency of instruction, their deficiency of ability to explicate many things about the universe, and their faiths, most people believed in liquors and the supernatural during Elizabethan times.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Thanksgivings History and FDRs Involvement

Thanksgiving's History and FDR's Involvement U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt had a lot to think about in 1939. The world had been suffering from the Great Depression for a decade and the Second World War had just erupted in Europe. On top of that, the U.S. economy continued to look bleak. So when U.S. retailers begged him to move Thanksgiving up a week to increase the shopping days before Christmas, FDR agreed. He probably considered it a small change; however, when FDR issued his Thanksgiving Proclamation with the new date, there was an uproar throughout the country. The First Thanksgiving As most schoolchildren know, the history of Thanksgiving began when Pilgrims and Native Americans gathered together to celebrate a successful harvest. The first Thanksgiving was held in the fall of 1621, sometime between September 21 and November 11, and was a three-day feast. The Pilgrims were joined by approximately ninety of the local Wampanoag tribe, including Chief Massasoit, in celebration. They ate fowl and deer for certain and most likely also ate berries, fish, clams, plums, and boiled pumpkin. Sporadic Thanksgivings Though the current holiday of Thanksgiving was based on the 1621 feast, it did not immediately become an annual celebration or holiday. Sporadic days of Thanksgiving followed, usually declared locally to give thanks for a specific event such as the end of a drought, victory in a specific battle, or after a harvest. It wasnt until October 1777 that all thirteen colonies celebrated a day of Thanksgiving. The very first national day of Thanksgiving was held in 1789, when President George Washington proclaimed Thursday, November 26 to be a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to especially give thanks for the opportunity to form a new nation and the establishment of a new constitution. Yet even after a national day of Thanksgiving was declared in 1789, Thanksgiving was not an annual celebration. Mother of Thanksgiving We owe the modern concept of Thanksgiving to a woman named Sarah Josepha Hale. Hale, editor of Godeys Ladys Book and author of the famous Mary Had a Little Lamb nursery rhyme, spent forty years advocating for a national, annual Thanksgiving holiday. In the years leading up to the Civil War, she saw the holiday as a way to infuse hope and belief in the nation and the Constitution. So, when the United States was torn in half during the Civil War and President Abraham Lincoln was searching for a way to bring the nation together, he discussed the matter with Hale. Lincoln Sets Date On October 3, 1863, Lincoln issued a Thanksgiving Proclamation that declared the last Thursday in November (based on Washingtons date) to be a day of thanksgiving and praise. For the first time, Thanksgiving became a national, annual holiday with a specific date. FDR Changes It For seventy-five years after Lincoln issued his Thanksgiving Proclamation, succeeding presidents honored the tradition and annually issued their own Thanksgiving Proclamation, declaring the last Thursday in November as the day of Thanksgiving. However, in 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt did not. In 1939, the last Thursday of November was going to be November 30. Retailers complained to FDR that this only left twenty-four shopping days to Christmas and begged him to push Thanksgiving just one week earlier. It was determined that most people do their Christmas shopping after Thanksgiving and retailers hoped that with an extra week of shopping, people would buy more. So when FDR announced his Thanksgiving Proclamation in 1939, he declared the date of Thanksgiving to be Thursday, November 23, the second-to-last Thursday of the month. Controversy The new date for Thanksgiving caused a lot of confusion. Calendars were now incorrect. Schools who had planned vacations and tests now had to reschedule. Thanksgiving had been a big day for football games, as it is today, so the game schedule had to be examined. Political opponents of FDR and many others questioned the Presidents right to change the holiday and stressed the breaking of precedent and disregard for tradition. Many believed that changing a cherished holiday just to appease businesses was not a sufficient reason for a change. Atlantic Citys mayor derogatorily called November 23 as Franksgiving. Two Thanksgivings in 1939? Before 1939, the President annually announced his Thanksgiving Proclamation and then governors followed the President in officially proclaiming the same day as Thanksgiving for their state. In 1939, however, many governors did not agree with FDRs decision to change the date and thus refused to follow him. The country became split on which Thanksgiving day they should observe. Twenty-three states followed FDRs change and declared Thanksgiving to be November 23. Twenty-three other states disagreed with FDR and kept the traditional date for Thanksgiving, November 30. Two states, Colorado and Texas, decided to honor both dates. This idea of two Thanksgiving days split some families  because not everyone had the same day off work. Did It Work? Though the confusion caused many frustrations across the country, the question remained as to whether the extended holiday shopping season caused people to spend more, thus helping the economy. The answer was no. Businesses reported that the spending was approximately the same, but the distribution of the shopping was changed. For those states who celebrated the earlier Thanksgiving date, the shopping was evenly distributed throughout the season. For those states that kept the traditional date, businesses experienced a bulk of shopping in the last week before Christmas. What Happened to Thanksgiving the Following Year? In 1940, FDR again announced Thanksgiving to be the second-to-last Thursday of the month. This time, thirty-one states followed him with the earlier date and seventeen kept the traditional date. Confusion over two Thanksgivings continued. Congress Fixes It Lincoln had established the Thanksgiving holiday to bring the country together, but the confusion over the date change was tearing it apart. On December 26, 1941, Congress passed a law declaring that Thanksgiving would occur every year on the fourth Thursday of November.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

America War Efforts and Just War Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

America War Efforts and Just War Theory - Essay Example Admittedly, the 9/11 terror strikes were heinous acts that cannot be justified under humanitarian principles. Alan Dowd asserts that the 9/11 attacks were not an attack on the United States alone but on all of human civilization. The author explains in detail the meaning of civilization and cites examples from recent history when it was saved by American military intervention, the chief examples of which are the two World Wars waged in the last century. Continuing in this vein, Down equates the threat posed by networks such as Al Qaeda to that of totalitarian rulers of the past, including Hitler and Stalin. He tries to draw an analogy between the ongoing military engagements of the United States to its major confrontations against Nazism and Stalinism. Dowd ends the article on a hopeful note, that America and its coalition partners will prevail in the War on Terror, just as they had done on crucial junctures of recent history. It is important to note that Alan Dowd does not make a serious effort to justify the War on Terror with the conditions laid down by the Just War theory. The author had not undertaken this task probably because he had a weak case to argue. The invasion and occupation of Iraq is a breach of several of the Just War conditions, the most blatant of which is the numerous civilian fatalities that the war has caused. The article written by Charles Kegley Jr and Gregory Raymond takes a critical look at the doctrine of Pre-emptive war, which was the cornerstone of the eight-year term of George W. Bush. The authors explain the weak premises upon which this doctrine is based and how it fails the standards set by the Just War theory.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Equity theory PowerPoint Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Equity theory - PowerPoint Presentation Example The most straightforward approach to see the equity at work, and presumably the most well-known way it does sway representatives, is when partners contrast the work they do with another person that gets paid more than them. Equity is at play at whatever time representatives say things like, John gets paid a great deal more than me, yet doesnt do as much work, or I get paid a considerable measure not exactly Jane, yet this spot couldnt work without me! In each of those circumstances, somebody is contrasting their particular push to-pay degree to another persons and is losing inspiration simultaneously Chuck 2000). The privilege to remunerate or expenses attributed to every data differ relying upon the social setting. In mechanical settings, resources, for example, capital and physical work are seen as "pertinent inputs" – inputs that genuinely qualifies the patron for prizes. In social settings, resources, for example, physical magnificence and consideration are for the most part seen as resources qualifying the holder for social prizes. Singular characteristics, for example, ill-manners and mercilessness are seen as liabilities qualifying the owner for expenses. Inputs commonly incorporate any of the

Monday, November 18, 2019

Legality of downloading mp3 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8750 words

Legality of downloading mp3 - Research Paper Example The first chapter of the paper, called â€Å"Status-quo of the illegal mp3 downloads† will analyze in the two sub-chapters the statistics and the damages of the illegal file sharing both in the national and international context and it will critically analyze the legal issues that arise from the mp3 downloads and the attempts of reforming the Canadian copyright law. The context in which illegal mp3 download can be justified in the Canadian legislative context will be studied, too. Nowadays, when there are so many talented singers, it has become a lot easier to listen to their music by using the Internet, rather than buying a licensed CD. This way, the consumer is happy, because he listens to whatever kind of music he likes, the singer is popular, because his music is downloaded from the Net thousands times per day, sometimes even more, so, at first sight, it is a win-win situation. Nevertheless, singing for the artist is a job; it is his way of earning money, so by downloading his â€Å"job† from illegal sites, the consumer is actually stealing his intellectual property, â€Å"forgetting† to pay for it. There are many contradictory opinions on this subject, and the fact that day by day the number of illegal mp3 downloads grows just makes the matter more and more actual and painful for the people whose work is being stolen. Transmitting mp3 files over the Internet has become by far the most popular method of distribution, generating in this way controversial and intense debates. The Canadians are among the lucky ones, however. The legislation permits downloading mp3 files from the internet, as long as they are not shared by the user. While the neighbors – the Americans are afraid to even enter a pirate website under the threat of a lawsuit, Canadians encounter no restriction whatsoever in downloading whatever kind of music they

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Social Inequalities Of Indigenous People

Social Inequalities Of Indigenous People It would be hard to deny that for one of the smaller representing populations in Australia Indigenous Australians are the most disadvantaged in many areas ranging from employment, housing, justice and education among many more. There have been various attempts at overcoming the disadvantages Aboriginal people face. For the purposes of this literature review different literature will be discussed around addressing the social inequality and disadvantage of indigenous people in relation to improving on the gap in life expectancy and what fundamental elements need to be considered for the process to work effectively. Views of what has brought about the low life expectancy will be discussed to highlight the importance of were actions should be targeted. This will then be followed by a review of what actions are in place at the moment. There are competing ideas in the literature as to what is the cause for the life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-indigenous Australians, which also give different arguments as to how to address the problem, with one side taking a view of longevity and the other a holistic approach. It is argued that Indigenous Australians health disparities could be narrowed with the improvement of the disparities in health service access, provision and use. As The inabilities to gain sufficient health care due to, distance, cultural and availability barriers has lead to indigenous health problems being constant and prolonged (Healey 2002). However Eades of the of the Indigenous health research unit (2000,p.468) argues that a comprehensive approach to improving the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders involves understanding the close relationships between their social and economic status and their health. This holistic view of the social and economical status of Aboriginal people being improved upon to overcome health problems can be further reinforced through explanations of how psychological and social influences affect physical health and longevity (Wilkinson and Marmount 2003) in which it is stated life expectancy is shorter and most diseases are more common further down the social ladder in each society. Health policy must tackle the social and economical determinants of health (p.10). McMurray and Param (2008) readdress the primary health care aspect and bring in the notion that cultural specific guidelines with-in health structures is the key in improving Aboriginal health. This however ignores the h istorical issues between Indigenous and non indigenous relations that affect the life expectancy gap as the situation for indigenous Australians is further exacerbated by racism and prejudice, which have marginalised them from various aspects of social and community life, with additional detrimental effects on health (Eades 2000, p.469) and in effect the fear among Aboriginal people of institutional racism (Sweet 2003). Experiences of loss of traditional roles, a history of conflict and dispossession, failed assimilation and passive welfare are not isolated to indigenous Australians but have been experienced by indigenous peoples of other countries who have been colonised (Banks 2007). The statistics show however that indigenous Australians life expectancy compared to that of non- indigenous Australians to be considerably lower with men 11.5yrs difference women 9.7 yrs (Australian Bureau of statistics, 2010) were as the longevity gap between MÄ ori and non-MÄ ori has closed slightly. The difference in life expectancy at birth of 8.2 years in 2005-07 compares with 8.5 years in 2000-02 and 9.1 years in 1995-97 (statistics New Zealand 2008). Centres for Disease Control and Preventions (2010) also show the life expectancy gap in the U.S for Black or African American People to be somewhat lower than Australias and has been also closing slightly as at 1995 the gap was 7 years for both sexes and at 2005 has been reduced to 5.1 years. As it has been established that health can be a reflection social determinants, it would be fare to say that the social status and relations of international indigenous people are further along than Australia. Canada, New Zealand and The United States all have specifically designed treaties of political, legal and cultural significance which were designed in consultation with the Indigenous peoples that have established indigenous and non-indigenous relations with governments using treaties and treaty-making as part of a wider approach to developing a better relationship with and addressing the socio-economic problems of indigenous peoples (Brennan et al. 2005, p.99). In Australia there are no such treaties and often the commonwealth and state governments have a different belief in how the gap in life expectancy can be overcome to that of many indigenous Australians. This can be seen through the use of policies relating to indigenous affairs. A health impact assessment of the current governments Northern territory Emergency Response (NTER) points out that the Aboriginal understanding of health as having five dimensions cultural, spiritual, social, emotional and physical-within which are a number of layers that reflect historical, traditional and contemporary influences on health (OMara 2010,p.547). It is needed that Indigenous people have greater control over these dimension of their daily lives in order for the indigenous disadvantage to be improved (Maddison 2009). However the summary of findings from the assessment conclude that because of the lack of consultation with the Aboriginal communities and ignoring of cultural elements, the NTER is un likely to be effective in its aim of improving physical health and improving the social and environmental determinants of health as The HIA predicts that improvements in physical health may be outweighed by negative impacts on the psychological health, spirituality, and cultural integrity of a high proportion of the Aboriginal population in prescribed communities (Australian Indigenous Doctors Association and Centre for Health Equity Training 2010, p.65). There is an evidence base around the relationship between social detriments and psychological and physical health, with implications on health, through the addressing of those social detriments. Within indigenous communities outside Australia, social factors of cultural significance have and continue to be address through consultations with Governments. It is in these countries that statistics show improvements in life expectancy of the Indigenous population. Were as in Australia were this type of consultation and cultural consideration is absent in Governments initiatives and policies the gap in life expectancy in Australia continues to be a constant burden of Australian indigenous peoples. With the NTER which like past policies also excludes indigenous peoples involvment, being the Governments latest attempt at overcoming the status of appalling health among Australian Aborigines, the gap can be expected to continue. Asked about the governments priorities, indigenous affairs minister Jenny Macklin said that there will be little progress made by spending money on indigenous health without first addressing the chronic social problems that have been eating away at Aboriginal society (Dart 2008, p.247). References Australian Bureau of statistics 2010, The Health and Welfare of Australias Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, Canberra, Viewed 19 October 2010, http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/[emailprotected]/lookup/437BB6CD9D0BCDB8CA2577300017FB8F?opendocument Australian Indigenous Doctors Association and Centre for Health Equity Training, Research and Evaluation 2010, Health Impact Assessment of the Northern Territory Emergency Response , Canberra, viewed 19 October 2010 http://www.aida.org.au/viewpublications.aspx?id=3. Banks, G 2007, Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage in Australia, Australian Government Productivity commission, Canberra, viewed 19 October 2010, http://www.pc.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/64584/cs20070629.pdf Brennan, S, Behrendt, L, Strelein, L Williams, G 2005, Treaty, The Federation Press, Sydney, NSW. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention 2010, Table 26. Life expectancy at birth, at 65 years of age, and at 75 years of age, by race and sex: United States, selected years 1900-2005, U.S, Viewed 19 October, http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus08.pdf#026 Dart, J 2008, Australias disturbing health disparities set Aboriginals apart, Bulletin of the World Health Organization,vol.86, no.4, pp.245-247, viewed 5 October 2010, retrieved from Academic Search Premier database. Eades, S 2000, Reconciliation, Social Equity and Indigenous Health, The Medical Journal of Australia, vol.172, viewed 8 October 2010, pp.468-469. Healey, J (ed.) 2002, Aboriginal Disadvantage, The Spinney Press, NSW. Maddison, S 2009, Australia: Indigenous Autonomy Matters, Development, vol.52, no. 4, pp.483-489, viewed 19 October 2010, retrieved from Academic Search Premier database. McMurray, A Param, R 2008, Culture Specific Care for Indigenous People: A Primary Health Care Perspective, Contemporary Nurse: A Journal for the Australian Nursing Profession, vol. 28, pp.165-172, viewed 22 October 2010, retrieved from Academic Search Premier database. OMara, P 2010, Health Impacts of the Northern Territory Intervention: After the Intervention Editorial, The Medical Journal of Australia, vol .192, no.10, viewed 8 October 2010, pp.546-548, http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/192_10_170510/oma10307_fm.pdf. Statistics New Zealand Tatauranga Aotearoa 2008, New Zealand Life Tables: 2005-2007, New Zealand, Viewed 19 October 2010, http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/health/life_expectancy/NZLifeTables_HOTP05-07.aspx Sweet, M 2003, Carrying a Heavy Burden, BMJ: British Medical Journal, Vol.327, no.7412, pp.414-414, viewed 5 October 2010, retrieved from Academic Search Premier database. Wilkinson, R Marmot, M (eds.) 2003, Social Determinants of Health The solid Facts, 2nd edn, WHO, Copenhagen, Viewed 23 October 2010, retrieved from http://www.euro.who.int/en/what-we-publish/abstracts/social-determinants-of-health.-the-solid-facts.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Essays --

OPlaisime After World War II there was a strong anti-communist movement in America for decades prior to the 1950s. Nuclear weapons also sent a shot of distrust and fear between America and Russia. Information about nuclear weapons was very limited to the public. There are some facts, details, and reasons on why did this war happen, effects of the Cold War, and how society reacted to the War. It began in the 1945-1948 timeframe and ended in 1989, having been a dispute over the division of Europe. By another account, the Cold War began in 1917 with the Bolshevik Revolution, and ended in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union, having been a conflict between Bolshevism and Democracy. The Cold war got its name because both sides were afraid of fighting each other in such a â€Å"hot war†, nuclear weapons might destroy everything. So, instead they fought each other indirectly. They played havoc with conflicts in different parts of the world. They used words as weapons. They threatened and denounced each other, or the two countries tried to make each other look foolish. There facts and reasons on why the Cold War happened. The Cold War had two sides. Those two sides were capitalism and communism. Capitalism is that business is owned by private people or firms. It was a free economy that allowed any profit he or she makes is reward for hard work. It also allows that any person should be free to start a business and employ people. Communism is another form of economy. Everything is run by the state and should be run by the government on behalf of the people. No private person is allowed to profit from the work from other citizens. Communism is a controlled economy. All profits don’t go into the pocket of one owner; the pr... ...pons. They both had a large supply of ballistic missiles. The NATO and Warsaw Pact were formed. This war inevitably led to destructive conflicts like the Vietnam War and Korean War. The Soviet Union had collapsed due to its economic weakness. The Berlin was destroyed and the two German nations were unified. The Baltic States and some former Soviet Republics had gained independence. America became the sole superpower of the world. Communism was no more. Communism collapsed worldwide. The Cold War sketched the foreign policies for both the countries through the second half of the twentieth century as both countries fought for accomplices to uphold and widen their own realms of power around the world, but it did not escalate to an apocalyptic World War II. The decade- long standoff between American capitalists and Soviet communists ceased without causing any violence.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Essay on Multinational Companies Essay

Multinational companies are giant firms with their origin in one country, but their operations extending beyond the boundaries of that nation. For reasons of marketing, financial and technological superiority, these multinationals are generally considered as a sine qua non of the modernisation of an economy. They have been responsible for the rapid economic liberalisation in India in 1991, the question of the entry of multinational corporations (MNCs) has assumed significance. Multinationals corporations, mostly from the United States, Japan and other industrialised nations of the world, have en ­tered our life in a big way. Foreign investment proposals and commercial alliance have been signed on an unprecedented scale, thus giving rise to the controversy whether these multinational corporations are our saviours or saboteurs. This is so because of the vital difference between the economies of developed and developing nations. This requires that the entry of multinational corporations in India be examined from this angle. According to A.K. Cairn cross, â€Å"It is not possible to buy development so cheaply. The provision of foreign capital may yield a more adequate infrastructure, but rarely by itself generates rapid development unless there are already large investment opportunities going a begging That is why the intervention of multinational corporations is imperative in the context of the economic growth and modernisation of developing economies where ample investment avenues lie open and yet due to lack of capital and technical know-how, these potentials remain unexploited. Multinational corporations help in reorganising the economic infrastructure in collaboration with the domestic sector through financial and technical help. If we consider the case of our country immediately after Independence, ours was an agrarian economy with a weak industrial base and low level of savings. â€Å"Though the public sector was supposed to cure these ills, with problems like paucity of funds, lack of technical know-how and other amenities, it seemed an impossible proposition. Hence, the help of multinational corporation was sought in terms of fi ­nance and technology. As a consequence of the public sector multinational corporation nexus, from a miniature one, the Indian industrial economy assumed colossal dimensions and India is considered one of the most industrialised nations of the world today. However, there is another school of thought, which de ­nounces multinationals as an extension of imperialist power and potency source of exploitation of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) by the developed economies of the world. According to them, MNCs are an expensive bargain for a developing economy from the foreign exchange point of view. These days when developing countries are struggling with massive foreign debts and their development plans are held up due â€Å"to paucity of funds† .this may be considered a serious drawback. Second, multinationals evade paying taxes in most countries by concealing profits. Government agencies entrusted with the task of collecting the taxes and scrutinising their accounts are often bluffed by them as they do not know enough about the industries they are asked to deal with. Third, multinationals often provide inappropriate technol ­ogy to the developing nations. The technology provided by them is very often too sophisticated to adopt or too absolute by international standards. Further, transfer to technology in accordance with resource endowment of LDCs involves high cost and this may prevent MNCs from transferring appropriate technology to these countries. Fourth, some of the evils of the multinationals emanate out of their  oligopolistic character. Collision is the main determinant of its price policy, which ensures profit at the cost of high level of consumption at a lower price. Even the impact of high productivity brought about by them through the technology-cal advancement is not conducive to the working class because of pre-determined level of profit under oligopolistic criterion. Fifth, concentration of economic power is the main charge against MNCs.This economic power is often used to distort national politics and international relations by multinationals. These enterprises build up a power entity of their own. They never hesitate in exploiting the social and political weakness and economic backwardness of the LDCs to their own benefit. A multinational corporation is neither a saviour as its pro ­tagonists claim, nor a saboteur as its detractors make it out to be. It is a mix of virtues and vices, boons and banes. Charges levelled against multinationals are serious, yet it also remains a fact that, despite all these disastrous consequences of their working, multinationals have emerged as the most dominant institutions of the late twentieth century. As such, third world countries in general, and India, in particular, will have to deal with multinationals despite their ugly designs. The Government must, therefore, have an optimally bal ­anced policy towards MNCs after weighting the various pros and cons of the issue. It would not go for foreign collaboration in areas where adequate Indian skills and capital are available. Whenever the need for foreign collaboration is felt in areas of high priority, emphasis should be on purchasing outright technical know-how, technological skills and machinery. But only if this is not possible, should MNCs be allowed to operate in India? Once these safeguards are taken, multinational corpora ­tions will give an uplift to national economy by bringing in quality goods and services to the country. They will reward enterprise and talent; the inefficient would, of course, have no place in the new scheme of things. Hence, the hue and cry by interested party, who, dub MNCs as saboteurs. Multinational corporations will demand efficiency, punctuality and dedication things which are deadly lacking in national life today. They will demand a certain work culture from the employees as well as the employers besides offering the best of goods and services to their clientele. They should, therefore, be viewed as saviours of national economy rather than saboteurs because we have seen where our previous policies, have landed us right at the bottom of the list of industrialised nations. The economy has steadily picked up since the liberalisation measures were introduced. This must ‘continue if we are to emerge as a global economic power in the next century. And multinational corporations are the only answer.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Charles Darwin Essays - Charles Darwin, Fellows Of The Royal Society

Charles Darwin Essays - Charles Darwin, Fellows Of The Royal Society Charles Darwin In 1859 when Charles Darwin published his book "The Origin of Species", it caused much controversy between the scientific and religious worlds. It caused many people to question their belief in the teaching of the Bible. The strongly held belief that the Bible was the literal truth clashed with the Darwin theory. Some people rejected and scorned Darwin while others tried to reevaluate their beliefs. Darwin theorized that species evolved from other species. The belief that God directly created man seemed unlikely to mix with Darwin's theory. Charles Darwin was born in Shrewsbury, England February 12, 1809. He had his preliminary schooling at Shrewsbury. He was then sent in 1825 to the University of Edinburgh where he entered a distinguished program for medicine. He did not like the program. From 1828 to 1831 he transferred to Cambridge to prepare for the ministry. Sciences were not included in University studies so he had no training in that area. Personal contacts with scientists gave him an informal science education. After Cambridge he became a naturalist on a government sponsored map making trip. Darwin collected data and specimens during this 5 year trip. It was during the trip that he also developed the first ideas about species evolving. After the trip he married and moved to Down, England where he lived the rest of his life. Darwin did research and corresponded his home. He had gained respect in the field of Natural Science from his research made during his 5 year trip. During that trip he gathered evidence that the species was mutable. As a student he had accepted fundamentalist beliefs. As time passed he was deeply impressed by Charles Lyell's theory that natural change occurred gradually in species. From his studies Darwin developed his Natural Selection Theory, which he announced in 1858. In 1859 his book "The Origin of the Species by Natural Selection", was published. The book advanced the theory and caused controversy. He wrote several other books during his lifetime but none was as significant as "Origin of the Species". Darwin died after many years of chronic illness in his home in Down, England on April 19, 1882. The theory of evolution is not contradicted by the Catholic Church today. The Church does not look at the Bible as literal truth. The Church encourages the study of science. In response to the controversy caused by Darwinism and questions about the Bible Pope Leo the XII started a commission to apply new methods of archaeology and linguistics to biblical study. This study which went on for many years now helps the Church to understand and accept how evolution can be a scientific fact and God can still have created man. The theory of evolution is scientific, although there is still debate about the theory, a religious belief does not have to be the deciding factor for a Catholic. The Church encourages Catholics to study and examine scientific possibilities without fear of contradicting their faith. As a Catholic and a student I can see the importance of Darwin's studies in my life. Darwin's theory encouraged a great deal of biological research. This research was meant to prove or disprove his theory. In the end much of the research furthered our knowledge of biology. This theory explained that species well adapted to their particular living space developed from an accumulation of adaptations. The science of Genetics which is so important today was able to explain these adaptations. I also understand that change had to occur in the way the church looked at creation for this growth in knowledge to be accepted. God did not have to be rejected because of a change in our thought about creation. I understand that God can lead us to intellectual growth that will help us. We must remember where the knowledge comes from and look for His guidance. Charles Darwin's curiosity and research about the world around him helped him to develop his theory

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Aristotle vs Plato Comparative Essay Essay Example

Aristotle vs Plato Comparative Essay Essay Example Aristotle vs Plato Comparative Essay Essay Aristotle vs Plato Comparative Essay Essay Aristotle vs. Plato I believe Aristotle and Plato are both great thinkers. Aristotle and Plato both give good evidence to what they believe. There are some things that Plato says that I may or may not agree on, and same goes with Aristotle. In this essay I am going to prove why Aristotle and Plato both have an influence upon my thinking. In order for me to prove that I must understand Plato’s thinking, and Aristotle’s thinking. I am going to analyze their different philosophical perspectives such as their theory of forms, and human nature. Aristotle has a greater influence upon my thinking in the long run, but I want to be sure that I understand them both. Plato believes the body is like a cage for the soul. The real person is not the body; it’s the soul that is held within in the body. I agree with Plato, because after death our bodies decay and we no longer have a body, but are soul still exists. Aristotle on the other hand believes a man is like an animal. Not just any animal it must be a certain kind. He believes the soul is a form. When I read what Aristotle believed about human nature it really had me thinking. I want to say I agree with Aristotle but then again it’s a little confusing. I want to say I agree, because people say that we were animals before we became humans, but I myself still don’t know the truth. If I knew for sure that we were animals before we became humans then I would most definitely agree with Aristotle. Plato’s reasoning behind human nature is much better understood to me. Metaphysics is the study of being as being (reality). Epistemology is the study of knowing (justice). Plato believes there is another world and the world is the world of forms. He breaks down metaphysics and epistemology to bring this world to an understanding. The world of forms is permanent and unchanging. The world of forms is what we know (our knowledge) which came to conclusion by reasoning. Even though we may not be able to see or touch these forms does not make them unreal. We do not live in the world of forms; we live in the world of experience. The world of experience is impermanent and changeable. The world of experience is our opinions, what we sense, believe, but in our world it’s all real, but in reality it is actually real. I believe the world of forms is a world we all wish to live n, but it’s unreal. The world of forms is like a dream. Aristotle breaks down the world into categories which is better understood than Plato view of the world. Aristotle breaks it down into ten categories (substance, quantity, quality, relationship, place, time, posture, state, action, and undergoing something). A substance exists within itself. The other nine categories are known as Accidents. You have to have a substance for anything else to exist. Without a substance there are no accidents. Without matter there is no form. When it comes to form you must have matter Aristotle believes. I agree with him on that. Plato never mentioned matter; he always believed you just had a form. An easy way to show why I disagree with Plato is, the body is the form and the soul is the matter. He never identifies the body and soul as matter and form. He puts them together as one whole form, but he kind of digs a hole for himself by saying that, because he believes himself, the soul and body are not connected. Although the soul is inside the body, the body is just protection for the soul. Form is defined as a substance, but with a substance you must have matter that is why I believe/understand Aristotle views of the world. According to Aristotle only concrete things are matter such as a soul, a person, an animal, etc. Aristotle’s view on form is much more detailed and makes more sense to me. Something’s Plato mentions just does not seem like actual reality to me. Aristotle and Plato brought together equals a well defined/understood philosophical world. In conclusion I now have a better understanding of Aristotle and Plato’s thinking. I personally believe that Aristotle came to his conclusion with the start of Plato’s idea. Plato makes a lot of good points, but something’s he believes is not complete or may not be true. I believe Aristotle is more philosophically inclined than Plato. He gets rid of the ideas that are irrelevant. I see him as someone who believes the world is satisfying just the way it is. They both had visions of ways to improve the society through forms, matter, reality, human nature or whatever it may be. Both these men were extremely great thinkers. All their thoughts, and opinions were different, but they had the same concerns. We still to this day, in this future use both Aristotle and Plato’s philosophical way of thinking and I believe that was their whole purpose.

Monday, November 4, 2019

This is not actually Macro & Micro The class is called Economics of Essay

This is not actually Macro & Micro The class is called Economics of Developing Countries - Essay Example To achieve the desire to maintain standard of living, the country should focus on a) level of goods and services b) individuals purchase. The growth in population along with increase in economic growth, increase in GDP is not necessarily an indicator of improving standard of living based on per capita. The other factor, which may be taken into consideration, is the population growth, which has no match with the economic growth. The growth of population should match with the economic growth otherwise, it definitely defeats the very purpose of improvement of standard of living of the masses. A controversy prevails on the green revolution for sustainable improvement in the standard of living on the face of accelerated population growth. The Revolutionary period of industrialization in England, plays a vital role in increasing the per capita income by virtue of replacement of work force with the machines. If we look at the increased population of England during the era of 1700 to 1860 AD , we may find a lot about the major factors in increasing the production. The major factor of multiple production attributed to more production per worker combined with many more workers. 2. In developing countries, there may be both market failure and the government failure. True. The market failure depends on the failure of government in respect of manning the affairs of market. Unnecessary intervention by the concerned department of the government, will complex the issues. However, the government should take note of inefficient management in respect of allocation of goods and resources. Let the market forces manage the goods and resource in an efficient manner. Hence, the incumbent(s) of government should keep him/themselves away from intervening unnecessarily to ensure smooth function. 3. Transactions and information costs can prevent effective markets in developing countries especially in agriculture. True. The transaction cost provides a base in the design and impact of ICT, w hich has a far-reaching effect in the field of agriculture. The information system relied upon transaction costs approach. ICT can be used to cater the requirement of sustainable information thus empowers the information management. In taking the economic exchanges, ICT is an efficient tool for the transactional efficiency. There cannot be two opinions about the impact of ICT in managing the economic exchanges on a positive note. 4. Famine is more a problem of distribution than supply. False. At the time of famine, Government of Bengal’s strategy in line with Sen.’s philosophy was laudable. Well known Indian economist Sen., a noble laureate in Economic Science was keen in resolving the problems of down trodden. He was famous for his work on the causes of famine that provides practical solutions to prevent and limit the worst impact of shortages of food. Inability is to purchase food by the poor caused starvation. The starvation has nothing to do merely with distributio n and supply system only. Price control committee can control price to make it accessible to the general consumers and to prevent other market players to skim off more than their fare share. Further, public welfare scheme and supply of food through public distribution channel can play an effective role to lessen the gravity of famine. In addition, some degree of rationing under the mentioned scenario was desirable. Speculation and hoarding were two main factors of the famine. To provide population, the

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Principles of Architectural Structures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Principles of Architectural Structures - Essay Example The design also encompasses forces and movements as a result of temperature, cracking, creep, as well as imposed loads (Dabby & Bedi 2012, p.5). The structural design should also make sure that the design is buildable practically within the allowable material’s manufacturing tolerances. The design of the structure should also give room for fitting and functionality of systems such as smoke extraction, air conditioning, lighting among others. Structural design, in general, has a role of making the structure suitable for living in all dimensions. Various components of a structure are used in enhancing the suitability of the structure. This is brought about by the choice of materials to build these components, design as well as other basic processes (Bach 2009, p.9). They are done technically to impact a certain aspect that will help the structure to achieve the required standards as discussed in the document below. The document also addresses the use of reinforced concrete in solving various structural essentials. Reinforced concrete  is basically  a composite material whereby concrete that has relatively low ductility, and tensile strength are counteracted by the reinforcement inclusion with higher ductility and tensile strength. This as an aspect in return makes the reinforced concrete very strong and hence a suitable building material. Reinforced concrete  can be classified among  the types of building materials. The architecture needs to be keen in choosing the construction materials. The choice of building materials should be on the basis of the required properties of the structure. In this scenario, reinforced concrete will be used to solve the problem of the aspects such as thermal and acoustic performance, durability, fire resistance, and load resistivity among others (Emmitt et al. 2004, p.37). In terms of load resistivity reinforced concrete outdo all the other building materials such as wood and steel. This

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Discussion Topics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 6

Discussion Topics - Essay Example The act was meant to raise taxes as a strategy to cut down on people’s spending and hence increase the recovery process. However, the measure had insignificant effects on the economy since it targeted businesses, which were already closing down. The worst impacts of the depression were felt on October 29, 1929 when the stock market closed its doors for the first time in what came to be known as the black Tuesday. Most economists attribute the great depression with the fall of stock prices that occurred in the US before it spread to the rest of the world. Having witnessed the impacts of the great depressions, Americans were fearful about similar occurrences. Fear from the great depression hindered people from achieving their financial targets and investing. People were scared about banking and saving in general. On December 7, 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on the United States at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. This thrust America into World War II, and for the next four years. The war occurred during the era of the great depression when America was experiencing massive unemployment. Following the outbreak of the war, the position of women in the society is likely to have been reviewed. As men were recruited into the military, millions of women were left to take care of their families. Some of them took male dominated jobs in the manufacturing and construction industries. In addition, most women took leadership positions in their families as their husbands died in the war. The war changed the role of women in the society and compelled them to take male dominated positions such as politics. Entry of women into politics is also likely to have started during this

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Academic performance of disabled students and their general education peers Essay Example for Free

Academic performance of disabled students and their general education peers Essay Calls for the evolution of the educational system to maintain an inclusive program for mentally, financially and physically disabled students have been supported by the arguments that inclusion will greatly benefit the academic and social performance of children with disabilities. This is true since academic learning is enhanced when a program expecting higher output and reinforcing higher standards exists for students. These opportunities allow them to work and study harder as it exposes them to what many believe are normal real-life standards. Friendly and Lero (1993) stress that a motivation to keep up and progress without outside assistance is a driving force of enhancing performance. They also note that the labels in homogeneous or ability groupings negatively affect student potential. Contrastingly, although the effects of the inclusive system of education are favorable for non-general students, Brackett (1994) stresses that the opposite might take effect for general education students. These children might experience boredom due to the considerations given to disabled students in terms of pace and activities. Special or disabled children may also experience frustration as they try to keep up with the normal learning pace in a heterogeneous mix of students. Despite these contentions, several studies also note the positive effects of inclusion to the academic performance of both general education children and special needs education students. Hines and Johnston (1997) reported that disabled students in an inclusive set up showed academic progress and performance and improved their behavior as well. Schattman and Benay (1992) attribute this to the wide exposure of the disabled children, in an inclusive set up, to creative teachers and the nature of the inclusion strategies to expose the children to social interactions with other students. The marks and learning abilities of disabled students on specific subjects were also positively affected by being in inclusive classroom situations (Barbetta et al, 1991). The effect of inclusion to regular classroom students has been extensively studied and Staub and Peck (1995) list the general outcomes of the exposure of this group to this new learning environment. It has been noted that regular class students, after being exposed to an inclusive situation, become more aware of existence of human diversity and have reduced fear of human differences. They have more social interactions which results in a keener awareness of self knowledge. In addition, they also learned to develop their personal principles at an early age and the increased frequency of social relationships allowed them to create more friends. Hollowood et al. (1994) also answers a thriving concern about the imbalance of time allotment for students by teachers when exposed to an inclusive environment. It has been observed that the presence of special needs students in a class does not interfere with the allocated time of teachers to regular class students. And although, interruptions have been observed in some cases, the downtime did not significantly alter the average instruction hours when compared to general education classes. Similarly, in a study of primary and secondary schools that adopted inclusion, Idol (2006) reports that in a four-year study of four elementary and secondary schools, most students are generally not affected by the presence of students with disabilities in their classes. Statistics on these schools show that the elementary students surveyed registered a 68% approval rating on student performance and the respective elementary and secondary students show a 36% and 24% rating that student performance in inclusive situations was higher. 32% and 34% of elementary and secondary students also agree that academic abilities remained constant. In the four elementary schools considered, only 6% of the educators responded that there were negative reactions brought out by the presence of disabled students in class, while the statistics in the secondary schools surveyed did not vary much at 8%. The teachers also reported that a larger chunk ( 50% ) of the students increased or retained their statewide test scores. Requirements for an effective strategy Dugan et al. (1995) reviewed several studies which have been published regarding the methods and strategies used in inclusive education. According to this paper, improved academic performance is assured (Kamps et al. , 1992; Madden and Slavin, 1983; Noonan Hemphill, 1984; Shores et al. , 1993; Stainback et al. , 1981) if the program consists of a 1. method to encourage and guide interaction among students with disabilities and their peers; 2. scheme where teachers employ adaptive measures of instruction for students with disabilities; 3. program of study that enjoins both disabled and normal children to equally participate in activities; and 4. training to improve the social interactions and abilities of a child that prepares him for the real world environment. One aspect of inclusive education that employed cooperative learning groups is also effective in enhancing the performance of students. Johnson et al (1990) notes that cooperative learning results in improved academic performance of children from different cognitive levels to be in a heterogeneous educational environment that promotes the mediation of groups for maximal learning. Inclusive education programs and strategies like the cross-age tutoring also resulted in improved performance of both students with and without disabilities (Barbetta et al. , 1991) and increased the reading and comprehension abilities of both normal children and children with autism (Kamps et al., 1994). Kamps et al (1994) also note that because of the drastic improvement in the confidence of the children in a cooperative learning set up, the time for interactions and social activities between children with autism and their peers also increased and adds to their improved learning abilities. According to Dugan et al (1995) cooperative learning groups improved student interaction through increased frequency of social activities. The effectivity of student learning also increased due to tutoring events and research activities. Hawkins et al (2001) explained that early social interactions between children create a deeper bond that acts as a defense for behavioral problems and, thus, strengthens the relationships of students. Strategies for improved academic performance Academic performance in an inclusive set up uses contemporary schemes in order to teach the lessons to students. Learning is boosted through techniques such as teams games tournaments or TGT, which allows the teacher to teach the lessons to students through games. The teams cooperate and learn from other group members by peer tutoring in order to increase their chances of winning in the tournaments. Another scheme called student teams and academic divisions or STAD allows individual members of a team to score points by adding their individual written scores, like in a quiz for example, to the total accumulated team points (Slavin, 1990). Another inclusion strategy that shows very promising results in increasing the academic fervor of children involves the use of class wide peer tutoring (CWPT). In a study of the performance of heterogeneously grouped children under the subject of reading and reading comprehension, CWPT was observed to increase the ability of students to read and pronounce words accurately and answer reading comprehension questions correctly. The technique was also found to improve the cognitive skills of elementary students with autism. It was also a tool for social interaction and learning with their classmates and showed better reading proficiencies for most students because of the relative ease in adapting this program to a normal classroom set up (Kamps et al.,1994). CWPT can also be incorporated in a team games tournament (TGT) scheme and are collectively referred to as class wide student tutoring teams (CSTT). This method employs tutoring and tests individual learning progress by competitions where individual scores comprise team scores. Reading can also be taught to elementary students through a cooperative integrated reading and composition technique or CIRC. In this strategy, students are paired and are allowed to read stories to each other while practicing and honing their reading abilities (Jenkins et al., 1991). Johnson et al (1984) reports that role playing is also a learning strategy to be employed, this technique, called circles of learning, employs group dynamics and allows students to complete assigned tasks and evaluate their performance through worksheets. In addition, the competitive atmosphere is reduced because of the nature of the activity. These techniques have been shown to improve the academic performance of a heterogeneous mix of students with different baseline aptitudes. The case of employing inclusion to disabled children and high-level students with autism can also be employed to children who are sickly, obese or those with high risks of cardiovascular diseases. Van Sluijs et al. (2007) have observed that the method of inclusion to obese adolescents shows strong evidence of improvement and increased physical activity. The effective strategies employed actively involve the school, the community and the student’s family in order to improve the physical disposition of the individuals in the study. Studies show that a key factor in the improvement of students in inclusive setups is the competency of educators handling the classes. However, every teacher has his own techniques, experiences and teaching strategies that he has developed over time. This difference in experience is especially large between teachers who handle exclusively special classes for disabled students and those who handle general education. Thus, in an inclusive setting, in order to expand the exposure of students to different teachers, collaborative teaching has been developed as a strategy for effective learning. This method is a big deviation from the previous pull-out system for partial inclusive settings. In co-teaching, both teachers complement and co-teach both disabled students and their peers (Gerber and Popp, 2000). Rea et al (2002), in a study on the teaching practices of Enterprise Middle School which handles grade school students at levels 6 to 8, show that co-teaching is an effective strategy for educating students. This mechanism involves daily class rotations with different teachers. Co-teaching also requires careful and synchronized planning on the part of the educators. Teachers actively and regularly discuss their activities and lessons and share methods of evaluating the progress of students. This way, different instructional objectives are met although by different individuals. This is necessary to coordinate and pace teachers in their work and lessons with their students as well as to share information on student development. Different schemes characterize the co-teaching method. Rea et al (2002) note that interactive teaching or taking turns observing and lecturing may be employed. The class may also be divided for parallel sessions or one teacher may be assigned for catch-up classes for some students. Nonetheless, any form taken by the co-teaching scheme aims to provide for the needs of the children, supplied variation in teaching techniques, and was seen as a healthy environment for student growth and learning. Many researchers have expressed support to the principle of including disabled students in general education practice. Among them, Villa et al. (1996) have observed that educators preferred teaching disabled students along with their non-disabled peers. This factor may have contributed to the increased academic progress of students within the inclusive education set up. On the other hand, Thousand and Villa (2000) stressed that teachers are not the only major contributing factor to student progress. In fact, they highlight the observation that inter-student relationships while in the confines of the classroom play a big role during learning, emotional and social development. As the needs of the children in an inclusive set up are congruent to the skill that must be possessed by the educators handling the classes, teacher training (Porter, 2001) is an essential part of the process that makes an inclusive set up work. Daniel and King (1997) refer to this skill as training for inclusionary practices and is a characteristic of teachers that must be developed in order to function effectively in an educational system following heterogeneous groupings. It should, therefore, be apparent that these special skills allow educators to adapt to the wide needs of different types of students and allow them to be creative in forming strategies for an efficient and effective learning experience for both disabled students and their peers. However, the great demands of the inclusive educational practice oftentimes result in work pressure among teaching personnel. For example, studies on all elementary physical education instructors from Israel show that the episodes of burnout in faculty members are related to the number of special or disabled students in their classes and the amount of assistance they get conducting these classes (Fejgin et al. , 2005). This relates the demanding work that is put in by the educators in order to make an inclusive program work. This study also stresses the chief role played by government support in the educational system, where episodes of teacher burnout are also dictated by poor quality of the workplace and inadequacy of the institution to provide sports facilities for the needs of the students, especially the disabled or special cases. Despite episodes of burnout, most teachers have expressed their support for inclusion as an appropriate program to teach disabled children (Idol, 2006) the statistics is expected to improve if more educational personnel were available to answer to the needs of all students. The necessity for improved and evolving programs that would answer the needs of students in inclusion also requires the involvement of many organizations, individuals and different types of educators, resulting in interdisciplinary interactions to improve current conditions (Robertson and Valentine, 1998). This brings about an atmosphere of community and exposes the teaching skills of effective teachers and allows room for growth and improvement. Equally important to the instructors are the provision of adequate health care safety facilities for different types of students which should be provided by the government and their policy makers. It is consequently very crucial that an educational program should be backed-up by community and policy driven education reform for a successful advocacy. Porter (2001) expresses that there is a need for legislators who understand that an inclusive community school is a method of reform that should be supported. For cases of students with severe autism and retardation, however, further studies both on the effective procedures that should be employed and on the qualitative measures of investigating the effects of peer-mediated activities and cooperative learning also require continuous evaluation (Kamps et al. , 1994). Nonetheless, Kamps and Carta (1989) note that strategies are successful if these improve or maintain the skills of non disabled students without compromising the learning of their disabled peers.