Levels of Health Care Essential to Any Health Care System...

The ultimate goal of any health system is to optimize health, both in the present through curative and rehabilitative care and in future measures such as preventative care and the research of new medicines. Measures of the benefits and challenges that impede this goal continue to be important. Furthermore, efforts to assess and assure the quality of the contexts of health care delivery are necessary when improving the accountability of health services. Primary Care: Benefits and Challenges Primary Healthcare (PHC) is the foundation of a strong and functional health system that ensures positive health and wellbeing outcomes and health equality. The World Health Organisation defines primary health care as curative treatment provided by†¦show more content†¦Starfield et, al. note that there are several mechanisms that explain the beneficial outcomes: (1) wider access to health services; (2) improved quality of care; (3) emphasizing prevention; (4) the identification and early management of conditions; (5) the combined effect of the various characteristics of primary care systems; (6) reduction in unnecessary care by secondary and tertiary specialists (Starfield et, al., 2005). However, despite the near global agreement that PHC is a critical component of any health care system, there lies an imbalance between primary and specialty health care services. A difficulty in recruiting health professionals is a major challenge to the sustainability of PHC, the problem particularly acute outside of Australia’s major cites. The numbers of General Practitioner’s (GP) per 100,000 people varies from under 60 in remote regions to almost 200 GP’s per 100,000 people in more urban locations. This uneven distribution and shortage of PHC workers contribute to higher hospitalization rates and put extra pressure on existing PHC workers who are already working in the field. (Shi, 2012) Additionally, a major challenge facing PHC is the lack of appreciation for it’s true value. Relative to disease-specific research, primary care-oriented studies have been relatively few. Their dissemination and recognition within the medical field is also problematic, furthermore, policymakers and the general public also have little knowledgeShow MoreRelatedHealth Literacy And Effective Communication1229 Words   |  5 PagesIndigenous groups than non-indigenous population, low level of health literacy has been considered as negative factor that impacting on the delivery of effective care and health professionals’ performances on medical treatment. With integrated health literacy program, culturally competent and appropriate communication at individual, systemic and organisational level would enhance health outcomes for consumer’s welfare. Most importantly, improved health literacy and effective communication skills wouldRead MoreLocal Health System Integration Act1660 Words   |  7 Pagesunder the Local Health System Integration Act (LHSIA), 2006, with a mandate to â€Å"plan an effective heath care service system, engage their communities and facilitate integration and funding of the health system within their devolved authority†. The fragmented healthcare system in Ontario with uncoordinated patient care, poor management of resources and complexity in access to healthcare information were few of the reasons for the introduction of LHINs. The Key players 1. Ministry of Health and Long-TermRead MoreHealth Systems Development : Motive And Thesis753 Words   |  4 PagesHealth Systems Development Motive and Thesis Universal access to specific health services was reflected in the MDGs and several targets have been achieved over the past 15 years. 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According to the research, the quality of care delivered in the United States is lower than what it should be. Patients do not received preventative care or follow up care and their health conditions are not adequately monitored and controlled. As a result, patients are becoming sicker and sicker and the health care expenditure in the US health care system is rapidly increasing. In addition, the rate of medical errors in the USRead MoreObamacare And Affordable Care Act930 Words   |  4 PagesPublic administration is just like any other administration that is for the public’s interest and its main purpose serves as a government policy. It is a course of action that is taken through government party into a policy. Public administration is the management of public programs. It is considered a public affair that works mainly with the executive branch and is part of governmental functions. Obama’s Health Care Reform, better known as ObamaCare was signed into law on March 23, 2010. It is officiallyRead MoreThe Pros and Cons of a Managed Health Care System1472 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction A Health care system of any country is an important consideration for the purposes of the overall development. One of the most important and essential feature of the human body is the health and the systems. In the same manner, proper management is also necessary. Furthermore, all the countries of the world have few targets and achievements to be made. On the other hand, it should also be noted down that, economic development and social welfare the two most are the two important factors

Character Analysis of Arnold Friend in Oates´ Where Are...

Most of us have heard of the famous story by Oates called ‘Where Are You Going, Where Have You been’, featuring the infamous Arnold Friend and plenty of adult themes. So many possible theories stem from just one character from a short story whether he could perhaps be death, or the devil in disguise coming to take Connie away; or perhaps just a mental creepy man coming to kidnap and rape Connie. So many things that Arnold Friend tells little vain Connie can be interpreted in either direction, it is all in how you look at it. To compare Arnold to the devil is like comparing two kinds of apples. They are basically one in the same thing. There are plenty of hidden messages that are possibly referring Friend to be the Devil in disguise. From the moment Arnold Friend is mentioned we notice his newly painted gold jalopy. Most people know that gold is a sign of divinity and higher power which is our first sign that perhaps he is of some higher being. Even his first words to Connie, â€Å"Gonna get you baby† () could possibly be interpreted and the devil telling her that it is her time. He is disguised as someone who she would possibly find appealing but has noticeable features that ends up shocking Connie as to how hold this man possibly be is. It describes him looking as if he is wearing a mask and wig of sorts, which could possibly be hiding some deformity of devilish nature of his. Even his boots do not fit him quite right as mentioned, â€Å"One of his boots was at a strange angle as ifShow MoreRela tedSummary Of Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?854 Words   |  4 PagesAccording to Barstow, Connie represents American innocence and powerlessness. Connie has a hard time defending herself against Arnold Friend because of her lack of knowledge and the impact of American culture. The mother-daughter relationship plays a significant role in the story because had Connie and her mother communicated better, Connie, who is still a child, would have be protected from the evil of the world. Barstow also points out that the modern American is unable to distinguish evil from goodRead MoreWhere Are You Going, Where Have You Been By Joyce Carol Oates990 Words   |  4 PagesSocial Reality: An Analysis of â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been† by Joyce Carol Oates Joyce Carol Oates has kept her true inspiration behind â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been† in order to create a willing suspension of disbelief between realism and fantasy. The short story by Oates was released soon after the newspaper published the murders committed by Charles Schmid Jr. in 1966. The story displays numerous resembling details that match the real-life murder case involving â€Å"TheRead MoreWhere Are You Going, Where Have You Been?723 Words   |  3 PagesPsycho, Demon, Dreams, Oh My! â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?† by Joyce Carol Oates is a short story about a 15-year old girl named Connie that falls in the trap of Arnold Friend. There are many interpretations to this short story, and many arguments have fought back and forth to find out the true inside meaning to find out what the reason was for Joyce Carol Oates to write this story. There are hundreds of analyses for this story out there, but I am going to just be talking about three;Read More Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been by Oates1222 Words   |  5 Pagesof teenagers newly formed adolescent minds that any effective argument for responsible attitudes or analysis of sexual behavior in teens should be expressed with a certain minimal degree of clarity. Unfortunately, this essential lucidity of advice is missing in the short story â€Å"Where are You Going, Where Have You Been,† in which the misguided Joyce Carol Oates creates the character of Arthur Friend as a clichà © personification of the inner demon of uncontrollably budding sexuality. Instead, the murkyRead More ‘’Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?’’ Essay examples1232 Words   |  5 PagesAnalysis of Connie’s Character and Her Demise There are some stories that capture the reader’s attention and which keep us riveted from the beginning to the ultimate line of the tale. ‘’Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?’’, a short story written by Joyce Carol Oates in 1966, is one of those. Inspired by the mythic song of the phenomenal singer Bob Dylan entitled ‘’It’s all over Now, Baby Blue,’’ the author describes the main character as a 15-year-old girl named ‘’ Connie’’, who is obsessedRead MoreJoyce Carol Oates Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?651 Words   |  3 PagesJoyce Carol Oates Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? Every person comes face to face at some point in life with vital decisions. Some of the decisions are minor ones, while others can bring turning points in life. In Joyce Carol Oates Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? she displays a particular instant in the main characters life. This character, Connie was caught in the difficult transition from her youth and innocence to a doubtful future. Throughout the story Connie alternatesRead MoreComing Of Age : A Comparative Analysis Of `` Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?870 Words   |  4 PagesComing of Age in Fiction: A comparative Analysis of â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You been?† and â€Å"An Ounce of Cure†. â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You been?† by Joyce Carol Oates and â€Å"An Ounce of Cure† by Alice Munro share the common theme of â€Å"Coming of Age†, which depicts a maturation of the character/s going from a child to an adult. In both short stories, the female protagonist has a defining experience that changes the way they view the world or themselves. While both of these storiesRead MorePsychological Analysis Of Charles Schmid And Arnold Friend2127 Words   |  9 PagesResearch Paper 29 November 2016 The Psychological Analysis of Charles Schmid and Arnold Friend While doing some research on psychological criticism, I found that Arnold Friend in Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been by Joyce Carol Oates and notorious murderer Charles Schmid of The Pied Piper of Tucson by Don Moser have characteristics of being a psychopath, motive for killing, similar comparisons of innocence taken by an evil mind, and how Oates wrote her story based upon Schmid’s personalityRead MoreThe Light On Daisys Dock1263 Words   |  6 Pagesconveying in the novel. Therefore, Foster’s concept of character’s desires along with symbols is applied in â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been† and â€Å"Sonny’s Blues.† In The Light on Daisy’s Dock, Foster elucidate his concept of character’s desires and symbols by explaining the story of The Great Gatsby. Foster describes about the character Gatsby, who befriends with the main character Nick Carraway, and Gatsby’s obsession. â€Å"Jay Gatsby’s rapt attention† towards Daisy Buchanan’s dock (FosterRead MoreEssay about Oates Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been1290 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,† written by Joyce Carol Oates is an unsettling and incredibly formidable story of a young woman’s loss of innocence during a time of social change and turbulent times. The story’s protagonist is Connie, a self-absorbed, yet beautiful fifteen year old girl, who not only is at odds with her family but also the conservative values handed down by her family. She, unknowing to her parents, spends her evenings exploring her independence and individuality as well

Vietnamese Culture Evaluation Free Essays

Assement 1 (1000 words): Discusss the key dimensions of national culture in your domicile (home) country using the frameworks of Hofstede (2001) including: Power Distance; Uncertainty avoidance; Individualism/ Collectivism; Masculinity/ femininity; long term orientation. Introduction In the â€Å"flat† world today, opening a business on abroad will be easier than before (Friedman, 2005). The manager from other countries will need to face with other culture aspect that they never met before. We will write a custom essay sample on Vietnamese Culture Evaluation or any similar topic only for you Order Now In order to solve this problem, Hofstede’s dimensions (1970) suggested that his model with 5 dimensions: Power Distance, Uncertain Avoidance Individualism/ collectivism, Masculinity/ femininity, Long-term orientation, which refer to any culture on the globe, and Vietnam in this case. For this essay requirement, the Power Distance and Long-term Orientation will be discussed in this essay, how it is effective on this constructed in international business management as well as the disadvantage of Hofstede’s module. Hofstede’s module suggests that national culture can be influence behaviour and management in workplace. His research suggested that differences of behaviour are accounted for nationality and national culture determinants. In addition, understanding the cultural differences could be done by drawing on these dimensions. Hofstede stated that there are many national differences in work-related values, beliefs, norms and self-descriptions and societal variables, could be explained in five key dimensions of national culture. Power Distance Power distance score of Vietnam was given a high value of 70 by Hofstede’s study(2013) as mesuased by the scores in his 1970s IBM internal cultural test system, in which describe power distance as dealing with the need of a society for independence versus interdependence. In other research which is carried out by McCleland suggests that the need for power is to have influences over others and tend to be gained more privilege than other. Additionally, Individuals with high power distance will tend to achieve target or choose a job which responsibility, feedback and a medium percentage of risk. Hofstede (1984) also suggested that in a high power distance score, Vietnam in this case, he/she is more likely to accept unequal distributions of power. It could be take away power, control mechanism or decision making, but they will easy accept this situation in higher power distance rather than lower one. However, economic system and environment are needed to take in to account as others factors which might have strongly influence power distance. In a research is carried out by Hoang (2008),a researcher from Capabella, USA, within 20 managers who are Vietnamese gave us a differences result. The research was pointed out that the managers get lower score in Power Distance, who tend be cooperate with the lower staff rather than made their decision on their own. Long-term Orientation. In Vietnamese culture, modest is highly evaluated (Te, H. D. , 1987; Cao, X. H. , 1999). In another hand, Hofstede also claimed that Vietnam got a high score on Long-term Orientation, which was influenced by Confucius, who emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice and sincerity. Thus, society shows a pragmatic future-oriented perspective rather than a conventional historical short-term point of view ( Hofstede, 2001). It means that the Longterm Orientation is a result to develop this high score of Power Distance in Vietnam. In Hofstede website, he also claimed that Vietnam score is 80, that making it is long-term orientation. In different words, Vietnam, is a country, who believed in pragmatism, where achieving goal a task and getting virtue is prioritized. As a result, the manager can aware that the employees push their adaption up to limit if it is the requirement of the job and sometimes, working for money mind not top goal for the bread-maker. Respect from employers, peers or colleagues (Tatum, 1997 quoted by Harvery and Allard, 2009) is all so an reward for them. Despite the fact that Hofstede model is most famous theory in human resource in manager, there are some critics on it. According to Mc Sweenry (2002), Hofstede’s module was assumed that national culture is equal with company culture as well as put the Confucian Dynamism on the top of the table in his research. In Vietnamese context, beside the Confucian, Buddhism is needed to be taking in to account as well. Back in 1000 years ago, when Ly Dynasty chooses Hanoi the capital of Van Xuan, old name of Vietnam, Buddhism was become the national religious (Tran, 1997;Phan, 1992 ) until Nguyen Dynasty in 18th century. In additional, Ly Dynasty also introduced the teaching of 3 regilous: Buddhism, Confucian, Taoism at the same times in the past. This philosophy is still now alive and can be known in other name is Cao Dai religious with 3 million fellows. So Vietnam culture and behaviour will depended on religious rather than Confucian only. Conclusion. Vietnam is a developing country where is people are open-minded and easy to cooperate with other people and Money –oriented people mind be the minority, due to the reason that, the long-term goal for respect and job security is their goal of life. Two dimensions linking could be seen in the Hofstede’s module where the score of Power Distance and Long-term Orientation are 70 and 80 receptively. However, the Hofstede’s module may be still lack of evaluation in particular situation like Vietnamese behaviour in foreign countries or the over-evaluation of Hofstede on Confucian must be reviewed. From manager point of view, Hofstede’s module is still an initial step to start with. References: 1. Cao, Xuan Hao, 1999. Contributions of linguistic researches to the understanding of Vietnamese thought and Vietnamese culture 2. Confucius, a bibiography http://www. confucius. org/lunyu/edbio. htm 3. Hofstede,G. , cited in Minkov,M. , The evolution of Hofstede’s doctrine, P. 11 4. Phan, H. C. , 1992. L? ch Tri? u Hi? n Chuong Lo? i Chi (Records on Administrative Systems of Successive Dynasties). Vols. 1-2-3. Trans. by Vi? n S? H? c Vi? t Nam. Ha N? i: Khoa H? c Xa H? i Press. 5. Te, Huynh Dinh, 1987 Introduction to Vietnamese Culture. 6. Tran, Q. V. , 1997 Tim hieu van hoa dan gian Hanoi (Understanding folk culture of Hanoi). 7. Hoang. H. , 2008, Culure and Management: A study of Vietnamese cultural influences on management style. Capella University, USA Department of Business Management HRM subject group Avoiding academic irregularity: plagiarism/ghost-writing checklist * coursework submission cover sheet Before you submit coursework, in accordance with University regulations, you should be able to confirm that the coursework that you are submitting is your own original work and that you have: read and understood the guidance on academic irregularity and plagiarism in the module handbook; * clearly referenced, both within the text and on the end reference page/s, all sources used in the work; * based your work on academic sources from academic search engines such as the American Business Index (ABI). Student sources should not be used. * used inverted comma s and the full reference details (including page numbers) for all text quoted from books, journals, web-based other sources; * provided the sources for all data in tables and figures that are not your own work; not made use of the work of any other student(s) past or present without acknowledgement. This includes any of your own work that has been previously, or concurrently, submitted for assessment, either at this or any other educational institution, including school; * not sought or used the services of any professional agencies such as ghost writers or other individuals, to produce this work; * retained all the material collected in the process of developing your coursework; and * in addition, you understand that any false claim in respect of this work may result in disciplinary action in accordance with University regulations. Remember, the Learning Development Centre offers advice on academic writing. Please tick to confirm that you have observed the points above in your coursework and submit a signed copy of this complete form (2 pages) with your coursework submission. Name| | Matriculation Number| | Degree Programme| | Module Title| | Module/Seminar Tutor| | Date| | This is my own original work; it has not been submitted elsewhere in fulfilment of the requirements of this or any other award. Signed †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦| How to cite Vietnamese Culture Evaluation, Papers

King of Fire, Bharat Ratna. Dr.A.P.J.Abdul Kalam Essay Example For Students

King of Fire, Bharat Ratna. Dr.A.P.J.Abdul Kalam Essay Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (born October 15, 1931) is an Indian scientist and engineer. He became President of India in 2002. He is well known as Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam or Abdul Kalam. DR. A. P. J. ABDUL KALAM . Profile of Indiaa First Citizen Born on 15th October 1931 at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, specialized in Aeronautical Engineering from Madras Institute of Technology. Dr. Kalam made significant contribution as Project Director to develop Indias first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV-III) which successfully injected the Rohini satellite in the near earth orbit in July 1980 and made India an exclusive member of Space Club. He was responsible for the evolution of ISROs launch vehicle programme, particularly the PSLV configuration. After working for two decades in ISRO and mastering launch vehicle technologies, Dr. Kalam took up the responsibility of developing Indigenous Guided Missiles at Defence Research and Development Organisation as the Chief Executive of Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP). He was responsible for the development and operationalisation of AGNI and PRITHVI Missiles and for building indigenous capability in critical technologies through networking of multiple institutions. He was the Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister and Secretary, Department of Defence Research Development from July 1992 to December 1999. During this period he led to the weaponisation of strategic missile systems and the Pokhran-II nuclear tests in collaboration with Department of Atomic Energy, which made India a nuclear weapon State. He also gave thrust to self-reliance in defence systems by progressing multiple development tasks and mission projects such as Light Combat Aircraft. As Chairman of Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (FIFA. C) and as an eminent scientist, he led the country with the help of 500 experts to arrive at Technology Vision 2020 giving a road map for transforming India from the present developing status to a developed nation. Dr. Kalam has served as the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India, in the rank of Cabinet Minister, from November 1967 to November 2001 and was responsible for evolving policies, strategies and missions for many development applications. Dr. Kalam was also the Tableman, Ex-office, of the Scientific Advisory Committee to the Cabinet (SKC-C) and piloted India Millennium Mission 2020. Dr. Kalam took up academic pursuit as Professor, Technology Societal Transformation at Anna University, Chennai from November 2001 and was involved in teaching and research tasks. Above all he took up a mission to ignite the young minds for national development by meeting high school students across the country. In his literary pursuit four of Dr. Kalams books Kings of Fire, India 2010 A Vision for the New Millenniare, Your journey and Ignited Minds Unleashing the power within India have become household names in India and among the Indian nationals abroad. These books have been translated in many Indian languages. Dr. Kalam is one of the most distinguished scientists of India with the unique honour of receiving honorary doctorates from 30 universities and institutions. He has been awarded the coveted civilian awards Padma Bhushan (1981) and Padma Vibhushan (1990) and the highest civilian award Bharat Ratna (1997). He is a recipient of several other awards and Fellow of many professional institutions. Dr. Kalam became the 11th President of India on 25th July 2002. His focus is on transforming India into a developed nation by 2010. He is also a very famous scientist.

Winterbourne free essay sample

The local authorities such as South Gloucestershire council can only acknowledge the findings. The patients were put at risk by breaching their safety for not having properly trained staff. Not all of the alerts were passed onto the NHS which shows a lack of communication and vital information not being cascaded via the right route. This is clearly a total lack of respect for the patients and their relatives or friends. The place was unsafe and professionals failed to demonstrate their duty of care by promoting an unworkable management structure with poorly paid and untrained staff. Despite receiving public concerns and complaints from visitors or patients themselves, nothing was brought forward so that a disaster could be avoided. The report resulted after a parent secretly filmed images which proved how distressing the place was with all sorts of abuse being common practice. The effective and human delivery of assessment, treatment and rehabilitation had been completely undermined. We will write a custom essay sample on Winterbourne or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This was clearly a total breakdown of communication including for the Police and C. Q. C. http://www. bc. co. uk/news/uk-18581253 In the wake of the Winterbourne View Hospital near Bristol, the Care Quality Commission found that 48% of inspected premises (hospitals amp; homes) did not meet the required general care and welfare standards. The report highlighted the fact that there is a failure to treat the residents as individuals and that people were staying for years in centres intended for short-term care. The use of restraint was also pointed at and an â€Å"urgent need† to reduce its use was requested. There is a case of a man called James who had severe learning disabilities and autism who had spent years in different homes. He suffered sexual and physical abuse which made him a â€Å"different human being† said his Mum. Therefore, as a result of those findings, the new commissioning bodies, the clinical commissioning groups, are asked to pay special attention to people with a learning disability. Also and to conclude, the private sector seems to be more at risks than the NHS.

Republican Women in the US Senate 2017â€2019

Republican Women in the US Senate 2017–2019 Five women represent Republicans as senators in the 115th Congress, running from 2017 through 2019. The number is one fewer than for the previous Congress as New Hampshires Kelly Ayotte lost re-election by only about 1,000 votes. Alaska: Lisa Murkowski First Elected: 2004 (Appointed in 2002 to fill a vacancy)Next Election: 2022 Lisa Murkowski is a moderate Republican from Alaska with a roller-coaster history. In 2002, she was appointed to the seat by her father, Frank Murkowski, who vacated it after being elected Governor. This move was viewed unfavorably by the public and she barely won her first full term in 2004. She won the seat by just 3 points on the same day George W. Bush won the state by more than 25 points. After Sarah Palin routed her father in the 2006 Gubernatorial primary, Palin and conservatives backed Joe Miller in 2010. Though Miller beat Murkowski in the primary, she launched a surprisingly successful write-in campaign and ended up winning a close three-way race. Iowa: Joni Ernst First Elected: 2014Next Election: 2020 Joni Ernst. Getty Images   Joni Ernst was the surprise candidate of the 2014 election cycle as she handily won the US Senate seat vacated by long-serving Democrat Tom Harkin. Democrat Bruce Braley was supposed to be the easy winner, but Ernst played to her Iowa roots and got off to a fast start after running a television spot comparing the castration of pigs to cutting pork in Washington. Ernst is a lieutenant colonel in the Iowa National Guard and had served in the Iowa State Senate since 2011. She won her US Senate seat in 2014 by 8.5 points. Maine: Susan Collins First Elected: 1996Next Election: 2020 Susan Collins is a moderate Republican from the Northeast, one of the few remaining as liberal Democrats have steadily increased their hold in the region. She is socially liberal and center-right on economic issues and she was a strong advocate for small businesses prior to her career in the US Senate. Collins is easily the most popular figure in the state and has seen her vote share increase in every election since 1996 when she won with just 49 percent of the vote. In 2002, she won with 58 percent of the vote, followed by 62 percent in 2012, then 68 percent in 2014. In 2020, she will be 67 years old and Republicans hope she stays around a bit longer. Nebraska: Deb Fischer First Elected: 2012Next Election: 2018 Deb Fischer represented one of the few highlights in the 2012 election for both conservatives and the Republican Party. She was not expected to be a contender in the GOP primary and was heavily outspent by two higher-profile Republicans in the state. Near the end of the primary campaign, Fischer received the endorsement of Sarah Palin and subsequently surged in the polls, landing a surprise win in the primary. Democrats saw this as an opening for former US Senator Bob Kerrey, who held the seat as recently until 2001. But it wasnt meant to be for the Democrats, and she defeated him in the general election by a landslide. Fischer is a rancher by trade and served in the state legislature since 2004. Senators Deb Fischer (lower center) and Shelley Moore Capito (above) celebrate passing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Getty Images West Virginia: Shelley Moore Capito First Elected: 2014Next Election: 2020 Shelley Moore Capito served seven terms in the US House of Representatives before deciding on a run for the US Senate. At the time, five-term Democratic incumbent Jay Rockefeller had not yet announced his plans. He opted for retirement rather than face the first real challenge of his career in more than two decades. Capito easily won both the Republican primary and the general election, becoming the first woman elected to the US Senate in West Virginia history. She also won a Senate seat for the GOP for the first time since the 1950s. Capito is a moderate Republican, but a solid upgrade from the 50-plus year drought for conservatives in the state.

Answers for final exam Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Answers for final exam - Assignment Example ...........................Discrete Participation in online auction............Discrete Amount spent online .........................Continuous Time ............................................... Continuous (McBurney and White, 2009) b) In addition to the variables above, data were also collected on total sales each month. Using the SPSS output provided below, describe the distribution of ‘Monthly Sales’. Remember to comment on Centre, Shape and Spread. (1 ? marks) Distribution of sales has a mean value of $ 4178.29 per month with a standard deviation of 7011.633. The data is further skewed to the right, and is widely scattered apart. The skewedness value, the plots and the standard deviation explains this (Gravetter and Forzano, 2010). c) Is the distribution of ‘Monthly Sales’ normal? Explain. (1 mark) The distribution is not normal. This is because of the observed deviation of the plats from the straight line as observed in the Normal Q-Q plot. (Hahn and Meeker, 2011) Question 2 (3 marks) An investor wants to compare the performance of three managed funds, so she performs an ANOVA test to compare their returns. The results of this ANOVA test and the post-hoc Tukey test are provided below: ANOVA Return Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. Between Groups 4191.977 2 2095.988 9.627 .000 Within Groups 669510.465 3075 217.727 Total 673702.442 3077 Multiple Comparisons Return Tukey HSD (I) Fund (J) Fund Mean Difference (I-J) Std. Error Sig. 95% Confidence Interval Lower Bound Upper Bound 1.00 2.00 -1.07173 .65147 .227 -2.5993 .4559 3.00 -2.83090* .65147 .000 -4.3585 -1.3033 2.00 1.00 1.07173 .65147 .227 -.4559 2.5993 3.00 -1.75916* .65147 .019 -3.2868 -.2316 3.00 1.00 2.83090* .65147 .000 1.3033 4.3585 2.00 1.75916* .65147 .019 .2316 3.2868 *. The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level. a) Explain why the investor used an ANOVA test. (1 mark) The investor used an ANOVA test because the test is suitable for comparing more than two means and compares means of each pair of variables to determine the one with the highest mean (Rumsey, 2007). b) Interpret the results of the one-way ANOVA test. (1 mark) The low p-value, 0.00 that is less that 0.05, from the ANOVA test shows that a significant relationship exists among the different funds at 0.05 level of significance (Comrey and Lee, 2006). c) Based on the post-hoc Tukey test, which of the funds had the highest returns? Explain. (1 mark) The mutual fund 3 had the highest returns. This is because its mean is significantly different from, and larger than the means for fund 2 and fund 3 (Hanna and Dempster, 2012). Question 3 (10 marks) A large company wants to compare the performance of two of its franchises. To complete this study, they collected monthly sale revenue data from the Sydney and Newcastle franchises. They believe that the Sydney store is performing better, but want to conduct a statistical test to prove this fact. If Newcastle is seen to be underperfor ming, management intends to increase advertising for this store. A two-sample t-test is conducted and the following output is reported from SPSS: a. Explain why an independent two-sample t-test was used rather than a paired samples t-test. (2 mark) An independent two-sample-t test was used because the two sets of observations were made from different samples, franchises, instead of paired sample test’s two sets of observations, each pair from same participants in a sample (Walkenbach, 2013). b. Write the null and alternate hypotheses (2 marks). HO:

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA's) statements for employment Essay

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA's) statements for employment - Essay Example nd shortfalls and finding alternate support method to enhance the transit of logistical requirements of the operation to ensure that its logistical requirements are met and present when they need it. The Joint Chief of Staff serves as military adviser to the President, SecDef, and the National Security Council (NSC). Its operational planning process involves the preparation of Joint Strategic Capabilities Plan (JSCP) which requires the approval of the Chairman of the JCS. The JSCP contains guidance to combatant commanders and the Service Chiefs for the accomplishment of military tasks. The Combatant Commander’s OPLANs, including the TPFDDs, are also forwarded to the office of JCS for review and approval. The Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff (CJCS) forwards communication and direction from the President and SecDef to the combatant commanders regarding current operations and plans by issuing warning, planning, alert, prepare to deploy, deployment, and execute orders. Training begins with the identification of the gap between the desired performance and the actual performance and the training itself is the process of filling that performance gap. Training is also essential to accomplishing Air Force’s wartime mission and being such, courses and training should be made available to provide individuals basic operational and wartime planning instruction. Such training module should also be perpetually evaluated for relevance, efficacy, timeliness and result. Perpetual evaluation is necessary to keep training abreast with the need of the time that would keep the Air Force achieve its operational and wartime objectives. Streams of data must be filtered according to relevance and timeliness to make it useful to practical operation. Information received should be analyzed and sorted retaining only the essentials while considering the propriety of such data. Practicability of data also includes consideration of sensitive data. In planning for a training

Childhood Obesity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Childhood Obesity - Essay Example I am mentoring my kid to follow a healthy lifestyle as her parents do to avoid weight gain (Overweight and Obesity 2010). Some of the other causes for obesity among children are attributed to complex interactions between several environmental, social and policy context that impact eating habits and physical activity. In the past decades, these factors have collectively contributed to create an adverse environment that is against the environment to maintain health and weight. The unhealthy environment has evolved as a result of suburban and urban designs that do not encourage physical activities and walking. Pressure on families to reduce the cost of food and preparation time has resulted in frequent consumption of readymade food rich in fat and calories. Obesity has become a menace to the society due to less affordability and access to vegetables, fruits and nutritious food for some communities. There is less opportunity for physical activity after school and at school since students opt to reduce walking by using bikes from and to school. Children prefer to follow a sedentary lifestyle by spending time before the screen without spending leisure time outdoors. Psychosocial problems: Young people are likely to develop issues like self-blame, foster shame and have low self esteem that impairs social and academic functioning. These problems will be carried by the child to adolescence and adulthood. Approximately, sixty percent of overweight children are in the age five to ten with a minimum of one cardiovascular risk like insulin, hyper cholesterol, blood pressure or triglycerides. Around 25 percent children have two or more of these risks factors. For a child born in the US, the lifetime risk of having type 2 diabetes is 40 percent for girls and 30 percent for boys and the risk is higher for children in specific ethnic minority

Importance of ERP in the Banking Sector

Importance of ERP in the Banking Sector Banking industry has progressed greatly and still growing exponentially covering entire range of transactions and products under widespread umbrella. When all such activities are carried out by a bank, it is known as Core banking. Other main reasons apart from financial drivers, for opting for core banking system are Globalization, booming IT industry and consolidation of industries. Today banking sector is feeling limited of their present systems due to consolidation of industries and continuous increasing demand from customers as well as data management pressure. Therefore most of the banks are focussing on growth rather than cost reduction. Benefits and Prospects of ERP for Banking Industry Banking Sector has huge potential for applications of ERP due to its vast data oriented nature. ERP offers extensive integration among various modules. It integrates information, users and various processes for better productivity. It helps in decision making which includes decision for strategic, tactical and operational planning and uses various technologies which help in saving time, reducing cost, and effective communication. It provides solution for various things which include cash accounting, payment processing, security of cash and cash management. ERP systems also help in analysing financial condition of an enterprise, account management and preparation of financial reports and statements. All the back office systems and financial system can be integrated using ERP systems. Helps in effective cash flow by simplifying processing of outgoing and incoming payments. It also offers facility for sharing various processes of banks with customers, vendors and partners. Reporting, planning and analysis of bank assets are combined in one process, and everything is available on single platform. Provides tools which monitor every transaction in real time and other important range of services. An ERP system is also responsible for strengthening the logistical capability which includes handling of non-banking goods and services and handling of bank notes. MEETING TODAYS CHALLENGES Banking sector is facing tougher competition and demands rapid change. Moreover regulatory and legal requirements want information to be accurate and most important of all, it should be timely. Transparency is also a common requirement. Successful banks are more flexible and effective in this aspect. They have boosted the profitability of their banks and controlled their costs even in such environment. In order to achieve the goals banks should evaluate an IT investment so that they can provide fast return and also reduce the heavy operating costs. At present banks have following needs: IT structures should be flexible and allow speedy adjustments in the business procedures. Efficient business procedures and IT structures that are comparatively less complex Employees should be in a position to access tools, solutions and personalized data at any time and from anywhere Core technology should not be harmed while integrating new processes and functions. Integration should be easy and simple. In order to meet all the demands and increase the transparency level, ERP should increase the efficiency and moreover it should improve the Integrations between the existing technology and various business processes. ERP solutions should also provide a secure access and definitely it should be readily available to all the people from organizations and also to the partner, customer and the vendor. Cash Management Teller Operations Position Management Technical architecture Open source software CASE STUDY-IDBI BANK IDBI Bank was established in 1964 by the Government of India. IDBI became commercial bank in 2004 with a network of more than 700 branches and approximately 1200 ATMs IDBI AND CORE BANKING After the drastic change in top management in January 2001, the bank felt a need to improve the technology platform so that bank can transform itself in order to fulfil the challenges in the future. Inadequate network forced IDBI to adopt a technology platform which enabled IDBI to communicate with its customers with the help of many delivery channels. Scalability Complete integrated solution was the need of the hour. IDBI initially used centrally system from Kindle but it was proving to be inefficient to meet new objectives, so it was changed. Pre-requisite of IDBI- Agility of the Business and Time to market IDBI required a system that would provide bank the flexibility apart from quick and easy solution to launch various products easily. They required the solution that gave them a time to market and which can provide faster core banking solution. Key driver for the bank was to achieve business agility which was technology driven. Choosing a Vendor-Solution Overview (Deployment Architecture- Appendix fig 2) Finacle by Infosys was finally deployed after a detailed evolution of different solutions. It was deployed for corporate and retail banking, e-business and consumer operations. Another important point in IDBIs successful implementation was the time taken for implementation. It was done across entire bank in a record time of five and half months. This gave IDBI critical time to market advantage which they badly needed and moreover they were in a position to roll out products at a much faster rate than before. Like for e.g. Welcome Kit was introduced-concept consisting of the deliverables that customers generally expect on day 1 which includes cheque book and phone banking and e-banking details. This reduced the time taken to open an account which initially took at least 6-7 days. Advantages of Finacle (Functional Architecture- Appendix fig. 3) Main differentiator was latest technology. Various types including straight through processing, 24*7 banking, E-Xtensibility tool kit were deployed by Finacle. With the help of Finacle which proved to be a right choice IDBI brought down their End of Day processing time by more than 79%. After Implementation of Finacle Capabilty of handling 3 lakhs transactions in a day from 8 lakhs customer accounts IDBI became 3rd largest pvt.bank in terms of distribution of branch networks. Retail banking sector of IDBI has grown to many folds after deployment of Finacle. It also helped in rolling out of new products and services quickly. New products include the debit cards, gift cards and family accounts. Finacle offers customers a unified view of their relationship with bank which helps in achieving customer satisfaction. Helped in process centralisation. Challenges faced by the Vendor To cope up with the dynamic and ever-changing business processes and consumer needs To be in-line with the regulatory guidelines To assist the banking service with regular up gradation. Integration with Legacy Systems Integration of ERP Modules of different vendors or versions and E-Business Applications. IDBI decided for restructuring in 2008 for various business units which were customer focussed. Restructuring was done to streamline the business processes and improve the quality of customer service. Robust system was required so that all the managers can easily monitor earnings from each branch and also from each of its products which will help in increasing the profitability of the firm and also to maintain the growth. Problems before ERP IDBI was not in a condition to evaluate profitability of each segment of business at different level like customer and branch level. It was important for IDBIs future growth to assess the performance of their business units products which was not possible. IDBI Bank goes with Oracle Apps Implementation Process was basically carried out in 2 phases:- Performance Management System was deployed in 2008 which included modules of Oracle like Transfer Pricing Profitability Manager Financial Services Profitability Analytics All these systems helped the bank to better analyse the performance of individual business unit and take necessary action if in case it was not achieving the desired profits. Oracle Consulting was engaged in 2009 to deploy Oracle Risk Manager Oracle Hyperion Planning Integrated Approach Delivers Greater Control Oracle Transfer Pricing NII contribution can be measured from assets liabilities with the help of oracle transfer pricing. It also allowed the staff to dissect NII contributions assets and liabilities. Oracle Profitability Manager For allocation of costs which is related to banks line of business and other branches, Oracle profitability manager was used. Effect:- Since the data is coming from the single source, Earning reports which used to take two to three days, can now be produced within one or two hours. Oracle Financial Services and Oracle Profitability Analytics (Appendix figure 4) Information regarding profitability was delivered over internet using Oracle Financial Services Profitability Analytics. Now staff was in a position to analyse different trends, variances and the rankings across lines of business and products. With the help of the system there was a better access to important information which allowed Senior managers and other decision makers to accurately measure the performance of their portfolios and also their responsibility areas on a continuous basis It helped in improving decision making quality which eventually increased the overall profits of the bank Capability to Evaluate Performance of Employees Performance assessments can also be done on individual members of staff by the Oracle solution. Moreover it can be done at the group level also which enables IDBI to develop an appropriate reward system. It also helps in evaluating the contributions which are made at different levels. Automated Liquidity and Rate Risk Measurements Oracle Risk Manager To assess the liquidity and interest rate risks which are calculated on day to day basis, IDBI Bank used Oracle Risk Manager. It helped IDBI to select the best place to allocate their funds. It also helped various analysts and other bank managers to measure the effect of interest and also the impact on NII or economic value. Effect:- Advance analysis of assets and liabilities Helped in generating key info such as the avg.cost and financial return across various products, which ultimately helped in making better decisions. With the help of Oracle Risk Manager, IDBI became the 1st PSU bank which generated reports on asset liability management on daily basis. Streamlined Budgeting and Planning Oracle Hyperion Planning (Appendix- Figure 6,7,8) To create budgets and for rolling forecasts Oracle Hyperion Planning was used, which were basically linked to the profit and loss models and with the balance sheet as well. Sales targets can be fixed for individual branch and for individual product. Managers can then measure branch performances after analysing variances across every area. Effect:- To assess all areas, there was a common language Business targets were set with the help of same metrics which was used to measure performance and budget can be planned accordingly. Resources were better allocated in line with their objectives since managers were in a position to easily determine what exactly is happening at particular branch. Why Oracle? Functionality provided by Oracles solution and Oracles previous experience in applying ERP in other top banks. Solutions offered by Oracles different modules were appropriate from their business point of view Expertise of the implementation team of Oracle, previous experience, Flexibility of the Oracle system, Cost allocation principles of the bank convinced IDBI that based on their knowledge and skills they should engage Oracle again. Major Achievements of Oracle Due to dedicated resources and efficient coordination among the implementation team of Oracle, the aggressive project deadlines were met and implementation was successfully completed. Past Experience also helped Oracle team in implementation due to which testing, integration and data extraction went well. CONCLUSION Over the years, implementation of ERP has helped banking sector in a huge way. Integration of data has helped banks to analyze financial condition, account management and also helped in preparation of financial reports and statements. It has also provided solution for many things including cash management, cash security, cash accounting and payment processing. The need of the hour is to perform core banking activities and increase the quality of customer service by integrating its various components and avoid data redundancy. Industries look for ERP solution that can provide a common technology platform with capabilities of analyzing business data. They expect to meet the global business requirements, with simultaneously adhering to the country specific necessities. Thus there is a significant improvement in IDBI after new solutions and restructuring. The bank can now handle almost 3lakhs transactions. It also helped IDBI to launch various new products and services. Rate of customer satisfaction also increased. There was a remarkable change in the revenue and the overall profit of the organization.

Love Story :: essays research papers

I was born into a non-Christian family. We thought we were Christians, because we used to go to church on Sundays. But we didn't know about the Bible verse that says we must be â€Å"born again† if we ever want to see the kingdom of God (John 3:3). Even if we'd heard it, we never stopped to think about how we could get â€Å"born again†. I got a job in a music store. Christine was a sales clerk there. She was one of the sweetest, most honest people I had come across up to that time. And she was open about being a Christian. I could see there was something different about her, and I was sure it had something to do with her Christianity. Her self-assurance, peace, and love for Jesus Christ made a strong impact on me. When I left the music store I got an office job. A young woman there, named Ruth, reminded me of Christine from my former job. It wasn't long before I found out that Ruth was a Christian too. I think these two young women were the only â€Å"born-again† Christians I had ever met up to that time, and they both stood out in a wonderful way. Ruth used to ask me about my beliefs, and I would ask her about hers. Whenever I asked her a question she didn't know the answer to, she said she would ask her pastor and get back to me with the answer. She always did. On the other hand, whenever she asked me a question I couldn't answer I would try to bluff my way through. I made some stupid comments to her at times, and looking back I don't know how she stopped herself from laughing at me. I guess it was her respectful Christian upbringing. I once told her that everyone in the world had been Roman Catholic until the time of Martin Luther. Ruth had no trouble demolishing that argument. In fact, she had no trouble demolishing all my arguments. Ruth was a happy person. She was always doing something exciting with her church youth group while I was doing little with my friends at all. Even after we both left that job, she kept in touch with me a few times, and made it clear that my spiritual life concerned her. Then events started happening in my life that kept me wondering whether I was missing something by not being a Christian.

Disproportionate Representation of African American Students in Special Education Essay

Abstract In 2011 there is still disproportionate representation of African American Students in special education classes. This can be defined as conflict in the education environment because, government legislation mandates that No child be left behind, yet African American students, males in particular, are disproportionately being just that, left behind. The purpose of this study is to discuss disproportionate representation. What it means and who it affects most will be identified. Contributing factors such as socioeconomic status and race and ethnicity will also be discussed. Possible solutions in the form of equity and early intervention will be discussed as well. Lastly with these factors identified, it is the hope that feasible and probable solutions can be reached or at least recommended. Review of Literature For more than 40 years the topic of Disproportionate representation has been addressed by scholars. The data collected has been qualitative and quantitative. According to Bollmer, Bethel, Garrison-Morgen, and Brauen â€Å"The issue of disproportionate identification and placement of racial/ethnic minorities in special education has been investigated extensively (Bollmer, Bethel, Garrison-Mogren, & Brauen, 2007). † They go on to share that the risk ratio, which is used to compare one racial/ethnic groups likelihood of receiving special education and related services to all other students is one of the most useful tools in this research (Bollmer, Bethel, Garrison-Mogren, & Brauen, 2007). Sometimes referred to as disproportionality, disproportionate representation covers both over and underrepresentation. Overrepresentation happens when the percentage of students from one group is larger than expected based on their numbers in the general population. Underrepresentation is occurring when a specific group of students are involved at a lower rate than their numbers in the general population. According to Beratan â€Å"The disproportionate representation of minority students in special education is as clear of a racist outcome as one can find. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA) formally recognizes such disproportionate representation as a problem in special education (Beratan, 2008). † He goes on to share the following thoughts and statistics: A) Greater efforts are needed to prevent the intensification of problems connected with mislabeling and high dropout rates among minority children with disabilities. B) More minority children continue to be served in special education than would be expected from the percentage of minority students in the general school population. C) African-American children are identified as having mental retardation and emotional disturbance at rates greater than their White counterparts. D) In the 1998-1999 school year, African-American children represented just 14. 8 percent of the population aged 6 through 21, but comprised 20. 2 percent of all children with disabilities. E) Studies have found that schools with predominately White students and teachers have placed disproportionately high numbers of their minority students into special education (Beratan, 2008). Disproportionate representation not only speaks to the overrepresentation of African-American students labeled as learning disabled, but also to the gross lack of African-American students being labeled gifted. Bonner and Jennings share â€Å"According to the literature, African American males have been disproportionately place in special education classrooms and underrepresented in gifted and talented programs (Fred A. Bonner I. M. , 2007). † Bonner and Jennings go on to say that â€Å"The story of the African American male in gifted and talented programs is one of widespread underrepresentation (Fred A. Bonner I. M. , 2007). † Bonner and Jennings further share that lack of instructor referrals, substandard performance on standardized norm-referenced test scores and student and family choice contributed to the underrepresentation of African American males in gifted programs (Fred A. Bonner I. M. , 2007). The  authors continue to expound on this phenomenon by stating â€Å"Due to the potential for underachievement among African American students in first, second, and third grade, a time in which most identification processes for these programs are implemented, these students often go unidentified (Fred A. Bonner I. M. , 2007). † Artiles and Bal maintain that African American males and Native American students appear to be the most affected groups at the national level (Artiles & Bal, 2008). While disproportionate representation has touched all minority groups, African American males in particular have continually been identified as the most over represented population in Special education. Several factors are said to contribute to the disproportionate representation of minority students in Special Education. Yolanda Anyon shares: Barton and Tomlinson (1981) argue that the identification of students with learning disabilities and subsequent placement in special education is a form of social control to minimize problem behaviors in mainstream classrooms. Other researchers have documented that teachers and principals refer children for special needs assessment who are causing the biggest problems in the classroom be it passivity, failure to learn material or aggressiveness (Anyon, 2009). She further goes on to share â€Å"in this way, special education primarily serves social control functions in schools as it legitimizes the removal of â€Å"deviant† students from regular classrooms (Anyon, 2009). † Socioeconomic status is said to increase the likelihood that student will be placed in special education. It is also said that race and ethnicity of students can be a large variable that causes excessive amounts of students of color to be referred and placed in special education. Skiba and fellow scholars share: Among the most longstanding and intransigent issues in the field, the disproportionate representation of minority students in special education programs has its roots in a long history of educational segregation and discrimination. Although national estimates of disproportionality have been consistent over time, state and local estimates may show varying patterns of disproportionality. A number of factors may contribute to disproportionality, including test bias, poverty, special education processes, inequity in general education, issues of behavior management, and cultural mismatch/cultural reproduction (Skiba, et al. , 2008). They further go on to say that â€Å"special education was born out of, and owes a debt to the civil rights movement†, alluding to the fact that both the inspiration for and the strategies used by those whose work resulted in the initial national special education legislation came from the civil rights movement (Skiba, et al., 2008). They also maintain that â€Å"concerns about racial inequity were central to litigation that led to the promulgation of the first special education legislation (Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, IDEA) (Skiba, et al. , 2008). The scholars aptly point out the irony of racial disparity rates of special education service remaining one of the key indicators of inequity in our national educational system (Skiba, et al. , 2008). An additional contributing factor that they share is â€Å"A second factor that might contribute to a disproportionate rate of representation in special education among students of color are sociodemographic factors associated with economic disadvantage (Skiba, et al. , 2008). Skiba, et al, give this insight into the role of poverty in disproportionate representation: In order to directly assess the contribution of poverty to the disproportionate representation of African American students in special education, Skiba et al.(2005) studied the relationship of special education enrollment, race, socioeconomic and demographic factors, and test score outcomes in a sample of 295 school districts in a Midwestern state. Across ordinary least squares and logistic regression equations, poverty made a weak, inconsistent, and often counter-intuitive contribution to the prediction of disproportionality across a number of disability categories (Skiba, et al. , 2008). While there are no definitive causes of the issue of disproportionate representation the above named ones come up in study after study which lends ample credence to them as real and possibly surmountable issues. â€Å"It might well be expected that the students whose educational opportunities are limited will be more likely to be referred for special education services (Skiba, et al. , 2008). Another point expressed by Skiba and fellow scholars is: Of the possible links between general education practices and special education disproportionality, however, only the proportion of culturally consonant teachers in the teaching force has been directly investigaed. Serwatka, Derring and Grant (1995) found that as the percentage of African American teachers increased, overrepresentation of African American student in the emotionally distrubed category decreased. Similarly, in a cross-state comparison, Ladner and Hammons (2001) found that the discrepancy of African American and white rates of eligibility for special education rose in direct proportion to the percentage of the teaching force that was White, especially in districts with a White percentage of more than 60% (Skiba, et al., 2008). Just as there are no definitive causes identified, there are not any fool proof solutions laid out for correcting the issue of disproportionate representation. There are varying thoughts about strategies such as the following: If disproportionality in special education is multiply determined, no single intervention strategy can be universally relied on to reduce racial disparity. Rather, complex causality clearly suggests the need for comprehensive and multifaceted assessment and intervention plans. In particular, the possibility that the determinants of disproportionality are locale-specific suggests that remediation plans must be driven by local needs assessment capable of identifying unique local patterns (Skiba, et al. , 2008). Early intervention approaches are said to possibly reduce disparities to the level that economic disadvantage is at work (Skiba, et al. , 2008). â€Å"Early intervention would not be expected to address systemic failures or bias and would hence fail to address disproportionality that is due to institutional inequity (Skiba, et al. , 2008). † Researchers are beginning to look at the problem of disproportionate representation within the arena of equity studies (Artiles & Bal, 2008). According to the authors â€Å"researchers, practitioners, and policy makers continue to debate this problem and critical questions remain unanswered (Artiles & Bal, 2008). They go on to question the ability to, or lack thereof, explain how the phenomenon of disproportionate representation consistently remains in existence. Artiles and Bal have raised the following questions â€Å"How have researchers approached the study of this problem, and what are some key gaps in this knowledge base? Does the problem exist in the United States only (Artiles & Bal, 2008)? † These scholars have chosen to conduct research on â€Å"the problem of disproportionate representation as related to equity concerns in educational systems’ responses to difference (Artiles & Bal, 2008). Artiles and Bal share the following about equity in the United States educational system: Educational equity in the United States has aimed historically to enhance access and participation for students considered different. For instance, programs were created to address the educational needs of students who have different ability levels or whose proficiency in English is limited (i. e. , special education and bilingual education, respectively) (Artiles & Bal, 2008). They further go on to share that special education in the United States was created as an answer to some of the issues of difference: The creation of special education was a landmark achievement in the attention of students considered different on the basis of ability. Special education legislation entitled these students to free and appropriate public education, individualized educational programs, due process, and education in the least restrictive environment. Interestingly, an increasingly louder debate has emerged in the past 40 years in the United States about the disproportionate representation of ethnic minority and poor students in special education (Artiles & Bal, 2008). Laws that require states report placement data as it pertains to socioeconomic and racial lines to stay abreast of the problem of disproportionality have been imposed. States and school districts that find themselves faced with the issue of disproportionate representation are required to take remedial actions to address it (Artiles & Bal, 2008). If equity is the solution and special education was designed to level the playing field, why then the issue of disproportionality? This same question is posed by Artiles and Bal, â€Å"But why then is placement in programs that purportedly address equity issues for students with different ability levels considered a problem when it involves other groups of different students, namely, ethnic minorities and poor students (Artiles & Bal, 2008). † While that is a very rational and valid line of questioning, it is far too complicated to answer without factoring in the historical issues that plagued African American students long before special education legislation was implemented. Conclusions Disproportionate representation of African Americans in special education is not a new phenomenon. It has been studied and researched for well over 40 years. Whether it is referred to as disproportionality or disproportionate representation, the terminology covers both over and under representation within a group. While most of the research addresses overrepresentation, there is some out there that speaks to the underrepresentation of African Americans in gifted programs, more specifically African American males. There are no concrete reasons for this phenomenon, but several different factors have been considered contributing factors. Socioeconomic status and race and ethnicity are often the most discussed contributing factors. Special education having roots that stem back to civil rights legislation lends a great amount of credence to the belief that those two factors are probably the leading cause of disproportionate representation. The research shared a very specific accusation of how racism plays a very real part in disproportionate representation. Examples to that end were that studies have found that schools with predominately White students and teachers have placed disproportionately high numbers of their minority students into special education and African-American children are identified as having mental retardation and emotional disturbance at rates greater than their White counterparts. In regards to equity Skiba and fellow scholars give this advice to educators in regards to making effective interventions: Thus, educators and policy makers seeking effective interventions to close special education equity gaps must be willing to openly discuss and address issues of race, ethnicity, gender, class, culture, and language. Moreover, processes chosen to address inequity must have at their core a mechanism to ensure that the perspectives of all stakeholders, especially those of historically marginalized groups who have been the recipients of unequal treatment, are represented when interpreting data on racial and ethnic disparities (Skiba, et al. , 2008). As educators we must take heed to the information shared about disproportionality. Though this information is not new, it must continue to be shared as if it was. While this resarch was specifically about African Americans, other minorities are affected by disproportionate representation. I will be more cognizant of how I determine whether or not to suggest a student be tested for special education services. It is so easy to refer them, before taking the time to investigate the reasons behind the undesireable behavior. Works Cited Anyon, Y. (2009). Social Theories of Learning Disabilities: Understanding Racial Disproportionality in Special Education. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 44-57. Artiles, A. J. , & Bal, A. (2008). The Next Generation of Disproportionality Research Toward a Comparative Model in the Study of Equity in Ability Differences. The Journal of Special Education, 4-14. Beratan, G. D. (2008). The song remains the same: Transposition and the disproportionate representation of minority students in special education. Race, Ethnicity and Education, 337-354. Bollmer, J. , Bethel, J. , Garrison-Mogren, R. , & Brauen, M.(2007). Using the Risk Ratio to Asess Racial/Ethnic Disproportionality in Special Education at the School-District Level. The Journal of Special Education, 186-198. Fred A. Bonner, I. M. (2007). Never Too Young to Lead: Gifted African American Males in Elementary School. Gifted Child Today, 31-35. Skiba, R. J. , Simmons, A. B. , Ritter, S. , Gibb, A. C. , Rausch, M. K. , Cuadrado, J. , et al. (2008). Achieving Equity in Special Education: History, Status, and Current Challenges. Exceptional Children, 264-288.

Honestly is the Best Policy

â€Å"Honestly is the best policy† is the best way to live life. This aphorism is something that my parents were constantly telling me when I was younger. All throughout life you are told to tell the truth and not lie. Lying about something will only make the problem worse. In my experience prolonging the truth from your parents just creates a bigger problem then you were trying to keep covered in the beginning. Once you start lying you then need to keep up with all the lies you told and make sure you remember them so you don't get caught. Sometimes depending on the gravity of what type of situation you lied in you can cause yourself a lot of stress trying to cover up the truth. When the truth comes which it almost always does you will disappoint the people around you. Most parents mine especially don't get mad at me rather they just tell me how disappointed they are. Sometimes hearing your parents say they are disappointed in you hurts more then them screaming at you. When you lie to your parents and they find out, they may feel like you are breaking their trust. Once you have broken that trust it will take a long time for you to rebuild it. You can also feel very guilty after you have lied to someone that holds an important place in your life. No matter how many times you tell them how sorry you are it won't change what you did. If you choose to live by â€Å"honesty is the best policy† and not lie you will feel no guilt or disappointment. Without all of the guilt and disappointment that lying brings you can live a happier and less stressful life. You also will not sever the sometimes very little trust that your parents have put in you. This will allow you have strong relationships with your parents and even give you the opportunity to strengthen them. Family is super important to me, so having a healthy and genuine relationship with my parents is what I would like. You won't have to deal with all of the stress that keeping up with your lies requires. Instead of causing yourself so much heartbreak just remember honesty is the best policy.

buy custom The Use of Sex Appeal in Advertising essay

buy custom The Use of Sex Appeal in Advertising essay As a 90s baby I have grown up in a world full of diverse, creative advertisements. However, recently, I have found myself having to ask what each commercial, magazine spread, or billboard is really trying to sell. Advertisements targeting males with disposable income have slowly shifted from selling products to selling the idea of sex. This, in turn, has raised some controversies over the real objectives behind these ads. Discussion Sexual positions are of central focus in how the majority of these ads are portrayed, consequently setting a new standard for marketers. Dolce Gabbanas recently published ad selling their line of fragrances features three men and three women, all of who are naked. Whereas these sexual positions prompt many men to view the ad with an increased level of interest, deviates from the norms surrounding sexuality. The men, while showing off their bodies, stand independent of one another while the women are touching either themselves or each other. From what is observable, the manner in which the nude men and women pose does not only instantly catches the eye, but it proceeds to suggest that by using the firms fragrance, one is bound to attract attention from women. Secondly, Levis redefines the art of promoting its men jeans by giving the ideas that promote oral sex, stating that women get front row action and that their designer jeans are for her eyes. This blatant use of sexual connota tion is geared toward younger, white males and left little room for misinterpretation. For instance, individuals familiar with oral sex will most likely go for such an outfit simply because of the ideology in the message. However, it appears some large companies still advertise their products only through means of creative connotations; the mainstream ad will contain some level of sexual implication. In the majority of these ads, the models face is rarely shown. Abercrombie and Fitch show two young women gently touching a fit, shirtless man and enjoying every moment of it. Being an experience that most young men would love to have, the mans face is concealed by the arms of the women. Overall, the sole purpose of this tactic is to allow the male audience to more easily place themselves in the shoes of the model and thus by identifying themselves with the products they are likey to purchase it. . Another such example is shown in one of the many Axe advertisements, which attempt to demonstrate what they call The Axe Effect. By writing show me on the doll where the sorority girls touched you, the company indicates that the viewer of the ad is the doll whom represents a man that had been touched by several young women. This easy fabrication of reality inclines many young men to buy a product based on the presumption that it would attract young, sexy women. In addition, most of these ads, apart from going beyond the moral barriers, they fail to provide a direct link between what they show on their images and what they are promoting. This, for instance is justifiable when one looks at a young man posing as a woman squats as she gazes at the mans waist. On the image it is written Front row action and For her eyes Another ideal example to show how sex sells products is the advert by Dolce and Gabbanas depicting men and women touching and making suggestive contacts fails to create a clear relation between the lotion and what the images. Furthermore, women are known to make the most appearance in most of the ads than men do. Taking a close look and thinking outside the box, the image of a dish set in a particular manner is suggestive. One clearly understands that by placing such an image, men would want to associate with such food and in the process; his free will of decision is tilted by lust. In my opinion, these ads create the impression that nudity is the best way to get the attention of most men and women. This gives us the idea that most individuals are immoral in nature. The idea that men have relatively minimal criteria for what they desire sexually is of significant importance when it comes to most marketers deciding how their adverts meant to catch mens attention will look like. Men are said to be interested in a womans outward appearance, thus if a woman is portrayed as being young, attractive and healthy, they are considered desirable. This idea suggests that, to some extent, the male gender has a narrow view as far as beauty and sexuality is concerned. Therefore by designing an ad with a woman holding out a doll and with inscription like, show me on the doll where the sorority girrls touched you, we get the idea that there can never be any other part in a mans body to bring sexual desires as is suggested by the writings. On the other hand, it is widely believed that most women want more than appearance and looks, thus the use of sexually appealing ads on women may not yield a similar result as it does in their male counterparts. This is primarily what drives most men to spend a vast sum of their disposable income on such products. This may explain why most of the images subject to our analysis can be said to be aimed at men. Even though a mere look at a well built man on an ad, either in a billboard or on a magazine is bound to elicit some kind of sexual reaction instinctively but they are less likely to get the urge to engage in sexual activities. The society views women as objects of desire and they form a vital part of advertising world. In a social context, it suffices to say that women on the other hand are aware of mens weaknesses as far as how they affect them with their physical appearance. Furthermore, it may sound funny to conclude that the producers main objective of using an image shown by image showing a meal on a plate was to suggest to its potential consumers that just like a woman would be, the meal is equally satisfying. Such images may be considered gross but different people have different interpretations. Conclusion In the US, for example, most of the sex appealing ads have women as the captivating objects and intrinsically portray them as objects of desires. On the contrary, although a mans healthy body may be used; it is often portraying romance and not really depicts the idea of sex. This shows that for ads aimed at catching mens attention, sex is of primary focus, as it has no many obligations as commitment and difficulties. Therefore, the idea of using women as a catch for men gives a clear idea of exactly how women are regarded in the society. Advertisements although by using women more often than not, have an influence on society that ultimately objectifies women. Considering the fact that whereas for a man all it takes is a beautiful picture of a woman on a magazine, women desire more than appearance, it means that women serve the purpose of satisfying mens undying sexual desires. Buy custom The Use of Sex Appeal in Advertising essay

The Change in Male and Female Roles Before & Today Essay

The Change in Male and Female Roles Before & Today - Essay Example Speaking of social expectations for both, males are expected to provide for the family or pay for dates at all times while females are to manage the children, the household, and provide emotional support (Jaffari, TTS Holistic Counselor Mehdi, n.d.) Looking at the male and females roles in relationships today in contrast to what I have mentioned above, there has been a lot of reversal of roles. Females today are not secluded to giving signals when showing interest in a guy. Being direct and honest about the feeling, verbally or inaction is already welcome. When it comes to courtship, males are not the only ones who does the pursuing. There are a lot of aggressive girls today who will do everything to get what she wants, and taking a guy out for dates have started to be a common thing. When it comes to male and female responsibilities, males are not the only ones expected to bring in food in the table. Instead, women today are more empowered to take on a job and a journey towards self-actualization that does not stop when she finally gets married.

Marketing Planning At Just Us Cafes Case Study Essay

Marketing Planning At Just Us Cafes Case Study - Essay Example Enhancing Customer Experience and Expanding Loyal Customer Base 13 Integrating New Media to Promote the Brand 17 Conclusion 20 References 22 Introduction The case study relates to ‘Just Us’ which began its operations in the year 1996 under the Co-operative Association Act. It initiated as one of the earliest fair trade coffee roasters in Canada. ‘Just Us’ evolved as a worker-owned and operated for-profit coffee co-operative that essentially imported, roasted and sold both wholesale as well as retail fair trade, organic coffee brought from fair trade authorised coffee manufacturers from different parts of the world. The main vision of the company is to be one of the leaders in the Fair Trade business focusing upon quality along with professionalism as well as innovation so that all its stakeholders would be benefited to a great extent (Just Us, 2012). Marketing planning at Just Us is significant because it will try to identify the various challenges that the company face and thus in light of the strengths and opportunities faced by the company, it will be aimed to focus upon how the company’s performanc e can be enhanced (Just Us, 2012). The main objective of the study is to discuss the internal as well as external marketing environment of Just Us. The study will also entail the ethical issues that have been raised in the context of the case study. The significance of product life-cycle concept to Juliet and the problem that can be faced by the company due to deleting a product from the company’s product range will also be discussed in adequate detail. The study will endeavour to offer suggestions to improve the cafe’s performance and provide recommendations on how the company can update its current marketing programme. Internal and External Environment of ‘Just Us’ All the factors within the organisation that affects the strengths and causes weaknesses in an organisation are referred to as internal environment. All the factors outside the organisation that offer opportunities and thus pose threats to an organisation are referred to as external environment (Kazmi, 2008). External Analysis a t ‘Just Us’ For the purpose of creating effectual strategies Just Us Cafe needs to examine the external environment in which it tends to operate. The analyses of factors such as competitor analysis, PEST analysis, Porters 5 Forces Model are crucial in this scenario. Competitor Analysis ‘Just Us’ has numerous competitors across the product line in the local market such as Nova Scotia and also in the wider market such as Canada and the US. It is quite important for the company to comprehend the competitors’ resources in order to predict the degree of future threats. Java Factory is found to be one of the significant threats to Just Us. One of the specific competitors of Just Us has been Kicking Horse in the Canadian market. Therefore, it can be stated that competition poses a major threat to the company (Loudyi & et. al., 2009). PEST Analysis It has been evident from the case study that one of the political factors, which has been hindering the success ful operations of ‘Just Us’ was certified identification of actual fair trade. There is constant alteration in the economic environment. The case study demonstrates the fact that a few of the competitors are offering partly organic ranges along with mainstream organic coffees. It has been identified that Just Us practices premium pricing strategy. However, in the recent times the companies need to consider the disposable income of the consumers in choosing the products. Therefore, it is quite important for Just Us to be aware of the fact that consumers feeling for one particular product can be impacted by their income, despite how

Recycled toothbrushes makes sense Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Recycled toothbrushes makes sense - Assignment Example 2) In addition to advertising recycled-plastic toothbrushes through the character of Harold Crick, Recycline could make use of a variety of sports stars to help promote its products. Sports stars are instantly recognizable to many in the general public and will help consumers to identify the product with their favorite role models. Sports are a big part of most people’s lives and thus are an attractive advertising medium. 3) As the company grows larger, it will have to come up with additional ways to supply its recycled toothbrushes. Currently, the company’s operations are quite small and can cope with the influx of recycled products. If and when the company expands its influence nationwide, it will have to come up with a strategy to continue to receive recycled products. One such way could be to open up recycling centers in main cities and collect recycled products locally. From there, all the recycled materials could be sent to one large distribution warehouse and then made into the final

Floods in India and Its Control Essay Example for Free

Floods in India and Its Control Essay Countries irrigated by an adequate river system are in many ways blessed. These rivers not only help agriculture, but they provide a cheap and efficient transport system for the development of internal trade. The saying goes—land divides, seas unite. But waterways bring also a good deal of misery to the people by causing devastating seasonal floods In India, for example, the sub-Himalayan regions of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Bengal and Assam are heavily flooded by the rivers of the Gengetic basin and the Brahmaputra, almost every rainy season. It brings untold sufferings to the people of these low-lying plains. Millions are rendered homeless; men and cattle die in large numbers; the damage to property including standing crops is incalculable. Besides, floods affect the health of the locality and increase the incidence of cholera, typhoid and other water-borne diseases. In 1922 and 1998 flood in North Bengal left a trail of devastation, essentially in Malda, Murshidabad areas. Floods are caused by an excessive flow of water in rivers during the rainy seasons, due mainly to torrential rain in catchment areas. This may be due to two natural causes. First, the melting of ice in glacier on the mountains may thus supply a river with volumes of water much in excess of its containing and carrying capacity. Secondly, heavy rains on the mountains cause an excess of water supply. In either case, the excess water overflows the embankments and submerges the low-lying plains. Bursting of dams and also Bridges in protective embankments lead to inundation. This causes large-scale deforestation. As for example, in the Terai regions during the war, floods destroyed the natural embankments of a river. Occasionally earthquakes, by changing the course of a river, or by raising its basin or choking and silting the riverbed cause flood Another contributory cause is the construction of railway bridges without leaving provision for the natural outflow of flood-water. Of course, floods in an agricultural country have often been looked upon as a blessing in disguise. Floods leave behind on the submerged areas a rich alluvial or silt-deposit, which greatly increases the fertility of the soil. This soil on either side of the Nile owes its fertility to the annual flooding of the area, which submerges large regions, even after the construction of Aswan Dam in Egypt. Nehru used to say—give unto the river what naturally belongs to her, i. e. homesteads should not be built on riversides or on temporary char lands. That is a sure preventive measure, better than steps to resist after-effects. Men have tried from the earliest times to build protective embankments against the incidence of floods. Ordinarily these can be made sufficiently strong to resist the usual type of floods. A system of canals to irrigate the low-lying plains affords considerable escape route for the excess water caused by a normal rainfall. But these embankments should have to be maintained properly. Modern river engineering and hydro-dynamics, however, have led to a fundamental change in the principle. It is now realised that effective control of flood should begin at the source. Flood control, therefore, in these days has moved upstream. This includes the building of adequate reservoirs in the head stream area and the application of the principle of multipurpose river control. The building of a sufficient number of reservoirs is a long-drawn and costly process. Public sentiment may not take kindly to it; for it necessarily causes large-scale displacement of population as has been noticed in the Narmada Banchao movement of Sm. Patakar. For taming the turbulent Damodar, the age-long river of sorrow, by constructing the Tilaya, Mython and other dams across her, many Bihar villagers had to be shifted, and this was not liked by the local population. The future, no doubt, belongs to successful working of multi-purpose schemes. So petty objections, raised by individual or local interest, must give way before the larger needs of the people. In recent years, the rainy season has brought heavy floods all along the sub-Himalayan plains. The overflow of the tributaries of the Ganges and the Bramhaputra has caused untold sufferings to the people of these localities. Embankments have been broken, bridges have been washed away; villages have been waterlogged, cutting off all communications for days together. The utmost damage has been caused to the towns and villages of Assam by the Brahmaputra floods. The government must put up protective embankments; help the easy drainage of water by removing artificial obstructions, and by adopting local remedies for particular regions. It has been rightly said, Rivers that overtop their banks and flood the adjacent lowlands offer a challenge to the people who must be ready to protect their fields from inundation.

Importance of Metrics in Marketing Strategies Case Study

Importance of Metrics in Marketing Strategies Case Study Teresa A. Cochran Marketing is a fundamental responsibility for all activities related to advertising and sales strategies that are vital to the success of any organization. The ability of an organization to efficiently market its products and services is directly related to the success or failure of the company. As noted by Arikan (2011), metrics form the base of any effective marketing strategy. However, many firms fail to utilize metrics to calculate success or failure of their strategies. Most companies focus on the new leads generated overlooking other important formulas that analyze the actual success of any type of marketing strategy. As the business environment evolves, new marketing strategies and options are invented which requires marketers to stay a step ahead by understanding key metrics and what they mean for a companys marketing strategies. Ideally, these metrics are measurable values used to demonstrate the level of effectiveness of marketing campaigns on all marketing channels. Since marketers operate across many channels, their marketing strategy will involve a variety of activities, which makes it important to track progress and performance of their actions with the right performance indicators. This can help a business to reach its marketing targets and make improvements when facing challenges. Before choosing the right metrics, it is important to consider channels being used and who in the business will use the resultant information to make decisions (Arikan, 2011). For Athletics Supreme, following are five important metrics that the company should use to evaluate performance of their marketing strategies. For this assignment, 5 marketing metrics will be reviewed to display the anticipated success of the Pleasantly Plus, plus size retail boutique and consignment shop. Each factor is a subcategory of the marketing metrics main categories; sales metrics, customer readiness to buy metrics, customer metrics, distribution metrics and communication metrics. The assignment will review in detail equations used to forecast the following: sales growth, awareness, retention rate, number of outlets and response rate. Sales Metrics Strategic marketing plans are created to facilitate an elevated consumer awareness to promote and attract customers to purchase your product. Data related to sales volumes measure the rate at which sales of your product and is imperative for decision making for the overall fiscal sustainability and financial success This metric is also valuable for strategic planning and will determine future growth projects for the company. Athletics Supreme must also monitor sales data including total sales and types of products sold. Sales data must then be evaluated by the company to determine the effectiveness of the marketing strategy or to determine barriers to sales. The sales metric being utilized to determine the efficacy of the advertising methods used must be monitored with respect to creating sales through increased product awareness. In addition, this evaluation would also determine the tactics that have a negative impact on sales goals (Farris, 2010). These key indicators will be monit ored by the marketing department over multiple sales periods. Athletics Supreme can utilize sales data to monitor growth and of the new product line Sales figures for the sports apparel product line will be monitored quarterly beginning with the date of the initial release of the products. This metric will be monitored for one year with the goal of establishing sales trend lines relative to seasonal sales. Sales growth represents the variance in comparing sales from differing time periods. This data can be reflected mathematically as: (Current time period net sales- Previous time period net sales) _________________________________________ x100 (Previous period net sales) Or As applied to Athletic Supreme ($50,000 net sales qtr 2- $35,000 net sales qtr 1 _________________________________________________________________ x100 $50,000 Athletics Supreme shows a growth rate from Qtr 1 to Qtr 2 of 30% Customer readiness to buy metrics Customer awareness is a method utilized to determine the number of consumers who have been made aware of the products offered, in this case by Athletics Supreme. From a marketing viewpoint, a strong awareness of your product increases potential consumer purchase. Marketers use customer readiness such as awareness, preference, purchase intention, trial rate, and repurchase rate as performance indicators of product branding therefore these indicators have a great deal of influence over strategic planning of a company (Hanssens, Pauwels, Srinivasan, Vanhuele, Yildirim, 2014). Consumer purchases are influenced by multiple stages of product awareness before purchasing. Consideration to the consumers thought process related to decision to purchase before determining an appropriate marketing plan. Athletics Supreme enters the sports apparel market with an edge over the competition due to having a presence in the industry. The company has a reputation for quality therefore, consumers have an established recognition of the name brand. Athletic Supreme should collect behavioral purchasing data based on preferences gathered from sales databases. By evaluating consumer purchases, Athletics Supreme can gain valuable data on consumers product preferences (Kotler Keller, 2012). Periodic surveys of customers that purchase the apparel would further assist in evaluation the most effective marketing tactics. Akrin (2011), notes that the quality advertising message will make customers more inclined to purchase sportswear. Athletics Supreme objective would be to obtain favorable response rates beyond 90 percent, and adjust marketing strategies accordingly. Videos are another medium that would be used in the raising of awareness regarding the new line of sportswear products. The number of viewers of a video is an effective way of determining whether the products receive the attention of the target customers. The target customers are expected to be impacted by the viewership of the videos to engage in the purchase of the products being marketed (Arikan, 2008). Based on the viewership metrics, Athletics Supreme should determine the most efficient marketing channel that facilitates the creation of awareness regarding the product to consumers. The Greater attention of the marketing medium that is most effective should be done to ensure that there is maximum exploitation of the medium to create awareness and influence consumers to make purchase decisions in favor of the sportswear products (Farris, 2010). As applied to Athletics Supreme, an approach to quantifying product awareness is based on cost per 1,000 contacts and then calculate the spend per contact for each advertisement. Marketing Originated Customer % is a ratio that reveals the percentage of the new business that is a result of Marketing efforts. It is computed by getting the number of customers that started with a lead generated by Marketing and then dividing it with the total number of new customers that signed up in a period; the value is then multiplied by 100 (Zikmund Babin, 2013). This metric will show the portion of customers acquisition that originated from Athletics Supreme Marketing efforts in a certain period. This metric is best analyzed using a closed-loop marketing analytics system as manual computation is tiring and takes time (Kotler Keller, 2012). Customer metrics Customer metrics is collection of data that can be used to determine what matters most to the customers: past, present and future. For Athletics Supreme a key subcategory in customer metrics to analyze would be the cost of customer acquisition. Per Arikan (2011), customer acquisition cost, is the cost incurred convincing a potential customer to buy a product or service. This metric is important to a company as well as its investors. Investors use it to determine a companys profitability by analyzing the amount of money that can be extracted from potential customers and cost incurred extracting it. Marketing specialists on the other hand use the metric to optimize returns on their advertising investment. It highlights whether costs of extracting money from customers can be reduced which would help improve the companys profit margin. Mathematically, it includes all cost incurred in acquiring customers over a given period divided by the total number of customers acquired in that period. Ideally, this includes all sales and marketing costs including advertising cost, salaries, commissions, bonuses and relevant overheads in each period (month, quarter or a year) (Zikmund Babin, 2013). For example, for Athletics Supreme, the Customer Acquisition cost in the first year will be: Total Marketing costs for the whole year/number of customers acquired within the year Therefore, if the company spent $50,000 on sales and marketing in a certain month and added 50 customers CAC = $50,000/50 =$1,000 CAC will be important to Athletics Supreme, as it will indicate the effectiveness of the money invested in acquisition of new customers. A high metric will indicate the company is spending too much on sales and marketing while a low metric would indicate that the company is using low costs to gain customers (Arikan, 2011). Customer Retention Rate Customer Retention Rate is used to calculate the loyalty of customers. Acquisition of new customers usually costs more than it costs retaining current ones (Shank Lyberger, 2014). Arikan (2011) argues that evaluating the dedication of a customer towards a company enables marketers to improve their strategies. Encouraging customers to stick with ones business for long helps maximize revenues. It is calculated by subtracting the number of new customers from the total number of customers in a certain period divided by the number of customers at the start of the period and then multiplied by 100 to make it a percentage, i.e. CRR= Customers End Period (CE)-New Customers for the Period (CN)/Customers at Start of the Period (CS) x 100. For example, if Athletics Supreme starts a month with 50 customers and gains 20 new ones but lose 15 customers in that month, the CRR would be; (55-20)/50*100 = 70% This metric will help Athletics Supreme to assess the loyalty of customers for each of its brands. It will also reveal the companys ability to nurture existing customers. Customer lifetime value (CLV) This metric is used to assess the economic value brought by a customer to a business for the entire duration the person remains a customer. It evaluates everything starting with the customers first interaction with the company to the final purchase. It is a comparison of revenues generated by a customer and the costs of acquiring and maintaining the customer. Calculating this metric helps to reveal whether there is value in maintaining long-term marketing channels. If the CLV value is high, a company needs to invest more in retaining customers for the long-term (Arikan, 2011). For example, if Athletics Supreme fills 300 orders with revenue of $20,000, the companys Average Order Value (AOV) would be $66.67. To determine Purchase Frequency (PF), the number of orders is divided by the number of unique customers. Assuming Athletics Supreme had 200 unique customers, PF would then be 1.5. Customer Value (CV) would then be AOVxPF, which is 66.671.5 =$100 Once CV is determined, Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is determined by multiplying the CV by the duration the customers have been in the company. Assuming the orders have a 4-year contract, CVL would be: CVL = Customer Value (CV) x Customer Duration with the Business =1004 =$400 This means, Athletics Supreme Customer Lifetime Value over 4-year duration is $400. Athletics Supreme will use this metric to analyze the potential value customers will bring into the company. According to Shank Lyberger (2014), a high value of the metric means customers are bringing high value which the company should aim at. A very high value would however mean the company is under spending and thus restraining growth. Distribution metrics Simon (2012) considers percentage of shelf space, or the space necessary to sell an item as an essential marketing data point. Athletics Supreme would ideally like to occupy as much of the display space as possible. By occupying a large amount of shelf space, Athletics Supreme has effectively monopolized the stores All Commodity Volume (ACV), or the rate of everything sold in the store. Despite its retail prominence, Athletics Supreme must remain effective by maintaining a successful supply chain logistics. As Simon, (2012) argues that even if Athletics Supreme obtains maximum display areas for the new product line, including overstock for internet sales, it will lose customers if the supply is not adequate. Overall, most retailers with make decisions on inventory based on the potential of selling the item quickly. Communication metrics is the gathering of data that can be utilized to determine the effectiveness of the varying forms of communication channels used. In this case, Athletics Supremes a key subcategory is effective reach. Effective reach is the subset of the target segment of the population that can be effected by an advertisement during a specified time frame. Additionally, the response rate data measures the rate of response that customers respond to information sent to the target market. Communication Metric) Per Arikan (2011), marketing influenced customer percentage is similar to Market Originated Customer %. However, it factors in all new customers where marketing efforts touched and/or nurtured the lead at any point in the sales process as opposed to only originating the lead. For example, if the sales person of Athletics Supreme found a lead who later attended a marketing event and closed, the new customer is assumed to having been influenced by Marketing. This percentage is usually higher than that of the Marketing Originated Customer % as it is more inclusive. It usually ranges from 50-99%. The retail industry is very competitive, therefore, Athletics Supreme must monitor the effectiveness of all forms of customer communication. For example, emails, coupons, and discounts offered on the next customer purchase. Increased sales figures after an email campaign would be a key indicator of the effectiveness of communication. The company can also measure its response rate via satisfaction surveys, Facebook and Twitter followers, and click through rates online. Per Kotler and Keller (2012), Athletics Supreme should focus communications based on frequency of purchase, which can manipulate response rates to double-digits. Conclusion Using metrics effectively will help Athletics Supreme understand the success of its marketing strategies. It will reveal areas where the companys marketing team excels at and where the team needs to improve. Therefore, metrics play an important role in marketing efforts and the company should use the above metrics as well as add others that are relevant to its business. References Arikan, A. (2011). Multichannel marketing: metrics and methods for on and offline success. John Wiley Sons. Farris, P. W. (2010). Marketing Metrics: The Definitive Guide to Measuring Marketing Performance. Upper Saddle River, NJ: FT Press. Hanssens, D. M., Pauwels, K. 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