No Sex Education in Elementary Schools! Essay - 1952 Words

Have parents lost all control in the decision of when to teach their children about sex and sexual matters? In some states across America, it sure seems that way. Over the past decade, seventeen states have adopted mandates to teach comprehensive sex education, and thirty more have supported it (internet). West Virginia schools have implemented sex education in most high schools, but it may seep even further down, possibly to your communitys elementary schools. While people are divided and confused in their concerns of this class being taught in grade schools, I disagree with the course being studied from kindergarten through third grades. Sex education should only be taught when a child inquires or one feels it is time†¦show more content†¦In one story, in which children learn about the genitals, the clitoris is defined as a small, sensitive part that only girls have, and sometimes makes you feel good. In another story, which the teachers guide recommends for use in the third grade, there is a description of sexual intercourse and conception: To have sex, the man and woman lie very close to each other so that their bodies are touching. Usually it happens in bed, and they dont have any clothes on. Together the man and woman place the mans penis inside the womans vagina, and while they are loving each other, many sperm come from the testicles into the mans penis. After a while, the sperm come through the little hole at the end of the mans penis, and they swim up the vagina and meet the egg in the fallopian tube...The joined egg and sperm move from the fallopian tube into the womans uterus, and the woman become pregnant (4). Comparatively, in a story about masturbation, a student is confused because he sometimes touches his own genitals, even though he has been cautioned not to let others do so, and confides in Mr. Martin, who says: Grown-ups sometimes forget to tell children that touching can also give people pleasure, especially when someone you love touches you. And you can give yourself pleasure, too, and thats O.K. When you touchShow MoreRelatedThe Elementary School Sex Education Debate Essay823 Words   |  4 PagesGrade School Sex Ed. 1 The Elementary School Sexual Education Debate Sara Vanbuskirk English Comp. 1 Professor Evans November 29, 2011 Grade School Sex Ed. 2 Abstract Controversy is rampant regarding the sexual education of grade school children. Some insist that it is prudent to educate children on this subject beginning as early as kindergarten. Others strongly disagree that earlier education has any effect at all on teen sex and pregnancy and, therefore, abstinence shouldRead MoreImplementing Sex Education in Middle and Elementary School Essay668 Words   |  3 PagesSex Education over the years has provided the necessary information about precautions, along with consequences that means to be sexually active. Moreover, it allows high schools to educate themselves about an aspect of their life that will always be important factor of their love relationship. Every action and decision towards any element in life will inevitably produce a result, and a response. The ignorance of many teens leads them to make stupid decisions that can change their future. I supportRead MoreSingle Sex And Co Educated Schools887 Words   |  4 Pagesutilizing singl e sex or co-educated schools has been around for far too long. However, this controversy will come to an end today. No one should look and depend on the bright side only, because single sex schools are not exactly what everyone expects. Do people really expect for a child’s grades to improve at an instant? Psychological problems will begin to increase if students do not interact with the opposite sex. Students will lack the advantages of the co-educational elementary, middle, and highRead MoreSingle Sex Schools Are Worth Study1092 Words   |  5 PagesEducation has always been a popular topic.How can education make students better is the core of the topic.My thesis focuses on single-sex school which aims to develop a more equal environment for students. In addition to the instruction ,this research paper is divided into four parts:The first part explores why some areas carry out single-sex education.The second part illustrates the general implementation of the single –sex schools .The third part elaborates the advantages and dis advantages aboutRead MoreWhere Is Andy? This Is His Second Day Absent?1106 Words   |  5 Pages All of the boys around the school are talking about it and I am terrified to catch the cooties,† Christopher responds. â€Å"Billy wake up†, Mr. James directed during 5th grade language. â€Å"I’m so bored Mr. James. This all boy class is not the reason I will do well in school or pay attention. Where are the girls?† Billy replied. Based on the situation in Mr. James 5th grade class, should more American elementary school students be taught in single-sex classrooms? Single-sex classrooms are not the reasonRead MoreEssay about Mona Lisa’s Smile: Single-sex Education for Girls1721 Words   |  7 PagesMona Lisa’s Smile: Single-sex Education for Girls â€Å"Men Are from Mars - Women Are from Venus,† it is the title of a bestseller book, which tells us how different boys and girls are. Single-sex education was introduced because of the huge differences, and it once flourished in the United States. Since the 1970s, however, it began to be regarded with a degree of suspicion. Many girls’ schools closed or amalgamated and the trend towards co-education continued to spread. Until nowadays, the debateRead MoreTeenage Pregnancy And Teenage Pregnancies1364 Words   |  6 Pagesand concise grasp of sex. Sexual education is typically incorporated into an academic setting either in middle school or high school when an adolescent is hitting puberty. But, teaching sexual education to teenagers when their hormones are off the roof is like telling a child not to eat a cake after they had just consumed it—not very helpful. If a child is taught at an early age about sexual education, staring in elementary school, rather than in high school or middle school, it will reduce the riskRead MoreSingle-Gender Classrooms Essay1350 Words   |  6 PagesIt is no secret that, in general, boys and girls differ in their learning styles. Capitalizing on these differences could advance classroom performance. With on-going concerns about student success in school, any changes in the classroom that could increase student achievement should be considered. Recognizing the learning differences between boys and girls, one of the changes that could be instituted is single-gender classrooms. Single-gender classrooms would allow boys and girls to be instructedRead MoreThe Pros And Cons Of Single Sex Education876 Words   |  4 Pagesin a classroom. The traditional setting offers pros, like the preparement for real society in which these genders will continue to mix. A non-traditional setting will produce non-traditional results in which children may better their education. Single sex education with specialized styles for each gender, an example of a non-traditional setting, are beginning to show evidence of a better fit for students. Instead of a single male dominated classroom, separate rooms with different teachers may showRead MoreSchool Based Sex Education Is Important For Youth1178 Words   |  5 Pages School-Based Sex Education in Youth Sam Thienel English 11 Mrs. Adelman 17 May 2017 School-Based Sex Education in Youth Thesis: School based comprehensive sex education is important for youth because it will help prevent teen pregnancy, the government fully supports sex education in schools, and youth’s parents feel youth should be properly taught sex education. Outline: Prevent teen pregnancy Comprehensive sex program vs. abstinence-only Birth controls role in sex education

The Hero s Journey Is Theory By Joseph Campbell - 925 Words

The hero’s journey is theory by Joseph Campbell. It states that all great stories include the same characters that have to undergo seven stages that are the hero, herald, mentor, threshold guardian, trickster, shapeshifter and shadow. In the story Young Goodman Brown was once a great man. Now he sees everyone as a sinful and bitter person, how did this come to be? It all began one night when Young Goodman Brown had a dream that changed his life forever. In his dream he saw his wife and the good people of his town attend a Witches’ Sabbath. This changes Young Goodman Brown`s perception of reality and how he perceives everyone around him to be devil worshippers. The changes Young Goodman Brown goes through mentally, affect his character and how people of the town look at him. He is despised by all around him for the actions he took against the people of his town. He spends his adult life as a sad and desperate man and his dying hour was gloomy. (qtd Predmore, Hawthorne 25 6) Young Goodman Brown was a newlywed, religious and pious man, who was setting off on a journey at sunset into a forest, where apparently he had an errand. He leaves behind his wife, Faith; parting with a kiss, he set off on his journey. As he entered the gloomy wilderness of the darkening forest, he had a strange feeling of vulnerability towards being easily attacked by the devil. On this journey Young Goodman Brown met an old man who suspiciously looks like his grandfather, he was holding a stick thatShow MoreRelatedWilliam Shakespeare s Hamlet s Revenge1725 Words   |  7 PagesShakespeare s portrayal of Hamlet s revenge is not a worthy journey because he never finds his self worth, distracted between what will exemplify his purpose, and what will make him a failure in the memory of Denmark. Three quotes with analysis explaining thesis: Act 1 Scene 5 Ghost: â€Å" But know, thou noble youth, Hamlet: â€Å"Oh My Prophetic Soul! My uncle?† The serpent that did sting thy father’s life Now wears his crown.† The beginning of the â€Å"call to adventure -J Campbell†, HamletRead MoreDjango Unchained Heros Journey1223 Words   |  5 PagesFreedom The Hero with a Thousand Faces, by Joseph Campbell, explains the characteristics of the hero’s journey. This journey consists of a hero leaving his or her ordinary world on an adventure to later return as a changed person. The movie Django Unchained tells the story of a newly freed slave, Django, in the world of racism at its most treacherous time. Django learns how to survive in this world and sets out to rescue and free his wife. By analyzing this movie, Campbell’s theory about the hero’sRead MoreLiterary Criticism Of The Odyssey1604 Words   |  7 Pagesthe second-oldest extant work of Western literature. The Odyssey is an epic poem and can be understood through the lens of archetypal criticism which explores themes that are based on heroism and the protagonist Odysseus is an epic hero who undergoes a ten-year journey to return to Ithaca. Northrop Frye explains the value of archetypal literary criticism in helping modern readers appreciate the universal and timeless themes of the epic: † [ Archetypal literacy criticism’s role is in] refashioningRead MoreBeowulf Versus Shrek1257 Words   |  4 Pages(Hero’s Journey) Joseph Campbell dedicated his whole life researching patterns that appear in almost every hero story or movie. He discovered that there are a few basics stages that just about every hero character goes through. This cycle is called â€Å"the monomyth† or more commonly known as â€Å"the hero’s journey.† This paper will compare and contrast Beowulf and Shrek and how each fits into the monomyth. Every story that involves a hero will subsequently follow the concept of the Heroes Journey. In bothRead MoreThe Hero s Journey By Joseph Campbell1786 Words   |  8 PagesTHESIS The main points of the hero’s journey by Joseph Campbell is the basis of most stories throughout history, Divergent and The Epic of Gilgamesh being prime examples. PURPOSE These stories follow the format of the hero’s journey because it shadows the steps that Campbell explained. â€Å"In his study of world hero myths Campbell discovered that they are all basically the same story – retold endlessly in infinite variations† (Vogler). Campbell’s idea of this journey that all heroes complete is presentRead MoreWhat Makes A Hero?934 Words   |  4 Pages Most people have theories on what makes a hero a hero. Many authors over time have created books, comics and so forth on heroes and what they feel makes them the hero. There are also the ancient legends and myths from all over the world. So what is it that makes them a hero? Well Joseph Campbell has a pretty good outline of what he thinks should define a hero. A hero is a person who in some way breaks the molds of a normal human being. Their wisdom, courage, and durability ect. exceedsRead MoreRussian Formalism And The Hero1098 Words   |  5 PagesThe title hero has b een around for a long time. There are many things that can pop into a person’s head when the word hero is said. Within Russian formalism, there is the idea of structures and perceptions within literature. The time, place, historical movement, and author, can change the perceptions of a novel or even how it is written. Stories have been around since people started to communicate. Stories or myths were used to teach lessons, for entertainment, or to keep history alive. There haveRead MoreMy Ultimate Hero Essay My Hero1469 Words   |  6 PagesIrma Zamora 08/09/2017 Ramshaw My Ultimate Hero As a whole, anyone can relate to a story that inspires us to acquire a role a hero with our own capabilities. An immigrant’s hero’s journey highlights the human experiences of fear, courage, vulnerability, daring and inspiration. Despite of the nationality, we look up to hero because they fear the unknown and answer there call to adventure and leave their familiarized culture. Then go through trails that seem impossible, obstacles, and even feel likeRead MoreThe Curse Of A Vivid Dream915 Words   |  4 Pages The curse of a vivid dream The hero’s journey is theory by Joseph Campbell. It states that all great stories include the same characters that have to undergo seven stages that are the hero, herald, mentor, threshold guardian, trickster, shapeshifter and shadow. In the story Young Goodman Brown was once a great man. Now he sees everyone as a sinful and bitter person, how did this come to be? It all began one night when Young Goodman Brown had a dream that changed his life forever. In his dream heRead MoreThe Movie Hocus Pocus Was Directed By Kenny Ortega And The Salem Witch Trail997 Words   |  4 Pages In the late 1940’s a man named Joseph Campbell shared his Mythic principal with the world. He explains that there is a three-stage formula that he calls a Hero Journey which is the structure of every story. Though most stories are completely different on the outside, the stories are almost structured around these three stages. Stage 1 is the hero leaves the everyday world and enters another world . While Stage 2 the hero is challenged by opposing forces and must pass a series a test throughout the

Challenges Facing avout Implications of Management

Question: Describe about the Challenges Facing about Implications of Management. Answer: Executive Summary New Zealand is a country which saw immense growth in the 1950s but lost its momentum in the last half of the decade and where the neighboring Australia has emerged as a leading developed country, New Zealand has been facing a lack of proper large scale industries, a lack in revenues generated from high profit companies and also a lack of proper human resources. The need as registered by the aforementioned article is the complete renewal of the Human resource management and basically increasing the potentially of Managers. Another points discusses are the option for the country to retain its knowledgeable and educated fleet of workers, both laborers and the managerial level workers, who are finding better opportunities abroad. In this essay we have inspected the claims made by the article and have proposed our solutions and our opinions on the same. Identification of a relevant Thesis Statement or Question from the article One of the main problems faced by New Zealand human resource managers are the problems with the scarcity of people with adequate productivity and skills. The main issues faced by the management, especially company leaders are facing tremendous problem in procuring and retaining good quality managers and harbor managerial skills that are required to empower the nations fleet of service and manufacturing unit. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the article based on the Thesis Statement(Hutchison, 2014) Provide your own viewpoint what do you believe? In my opinion the articles viewpoint is somewhat true which indicated that the main set of management skills required for the present generation of company heads to create a successful and international level businesses are three individual skills which are the main areas of function of a company. In the report the author clearly states that the management skill of handling tough, challenging and uncertainty is one of the most major skills. The same is absolutely true. After the global financial crisis, the New Zealands financial state was at a slow pace, growth rates were low, but many companies held themselves strong, even when there was a lack of enough support from the economy. This has been strongly associated with the management skills which include being able to foresee the problems of the economy, create just solutions to the problems of slow economy, negotiate and keep great relationship with stakeholders, and finally to manage the people of the organization as well as the r esources of the company. Through the various innovative ideas perceived by managers every day, the companies are handled carefully towards a bright future or failure. The sampling of the managers of leading companies suggested that among the successful clan of business men, the ones who has seen the most success had taken steps which would be considered out of the ordinary, steps that can be considered unorthodox, and having the ability to take calculated or a slight bit extra risk to increase the companys potentiality to grow and keep itself stable in an unstable time(Boxall, 2014). Do you agree with the thesis statement of the article or dont agree? After careful review of the article, the points described, and carefully judging all the data presented in the article we agree with the article. The article states that the need of the hour is to create a new business process or model for the young generation of management. The right managerial skills can take a simple company to become a world class company. The study suggests that despite New Zealands high number of companies and industries, only a few have had success outside or seen success that was above average. The lack of proper resources, especially the human resources have been lacking in quality. The New Zealand shows that there are a huge amount of immigrations each year to foreign countries among which Australia is the main place for immigration. The reason is that New Zealanders believe they have better prospects for job at a foreign company. Many leading managerial people switch to the multinational company branches in New Zealand, leaving the countrys own service and productivity sector lacking in quality staff. It is to be agreed that the main problem associated with the trend of shifting to other countries in need of a better job has created a gap between the productivity and wage, making New Zealanders wages dramatically lower than Australias. The leading companies, very little in number are finding it hard to retain management and top level executives due to the declining challenging prospects for the top level management. We agree that a lack in proper challenging positions for top level management creates an option for these people to seek challenging roles elsewhere, like in a developed country like USA or UK. State your key points and Why? Why not? Provide evidence and research from other academic sources In order to further state why we found the statements made in the result section of the article true is that it is important matter for any country to have a proper and eligible education and skill base; people who can develop the existing situation into something far better. But in case of New Zealand, there has been a serious lack of skills and development in the otherwise booming category of business like tourism, banking, aviation etc. Other than the dairy industry, where New Zealand has ruled since a long time, there is hardly a field where any company has made significant impact. The instilling fact is that the management skills are pivotal for the improvement of the countrys economy. The increasing lack of managerial skills within the leading companies is a serious concern. The skill set like working with uncertain situations, taking risks, keeping good relationship with the stakeholders, working with the employees and keeping the different sectors of the company working toget her for a unified goal are only few of the reasons why there has been a serious lack of proper companies and industries in New Zealand. There is however a differentiation of roles of the managers in the case of profitable and non- profit organizations. Seeking enough financial support is essential for profitable organizations. For non-profit organizations, it is important that the management is able to create a very integrated network of arrangement, supporting itself to create a cost effective solution. There is also a lack of emphasis on the political skills required by the management to keep the organization goals in place. The problem facing is the ability of companies in New Zealand to retain its staff, bath managerial levels and low levels. The increase in opportunities worldwide and easy ways to immigrate makes people think about shifting to other countries to pursue their professional goals. The human resource management and the leaders need it develop many challenging caree r opportunities with the organization to make the team members involved in creating ways to create new solutions, improve their skills, and have better working and learning opportunities. The HR specialists have emphasized on the need of creating better bound between managers and the workers, which are absolutely essential toy, keep the working environment fund and simple and give the workers a friendly atmosphere to work in. Also the other skills are creating better managers for tomorrow. The existing managers need to have the right testing and tools to challenge the fore coming leaders to learn new skills and create better professional skill set for them. This might require them to employ training and coaching them personally but it should be done through management development terms. The need is also for training existing management to give proper and better solutions to scenarios which might challenge their skills(Wright, 2005). Conclusion Finally, it can be said that New Zealand has the potential to become again a leading country and increase its potential as a developed country and this can be achieved with the increase in the possibilities in the Service and manufacturing sector. It is important that New Zealand works to create better maengagement skills. It is therefore important for the Human resource officials to redesign the business models so that the ideal people with the correct set of skills can enhance their skill set and secure the future of that country. It is also important that New Zealand creates new opportunities for the top ranked managers to challenge themselves and gives opportunities to explore international level of work at their home country, which shall slowly reduce the amount of immigration and loess of talent to other counts like Australia. The article however provides valuable insights into how Australia has been able to increase its potential by enhancing and implementing necessary steps t o retain top class management and assign great human resource management plans to increase its potential. Likewise steps should be taken by New Zealands government to increase its capabilities as a nation that is rich in resources and has enough human resources but requires specific targeting ND improvement in the business models. References Boxall, P., 2014. The critical challenges facing New Zealands chief executives: implications for management skills. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resource, Volume 52, p. 2341. Hutchison, A., 2014. The critical challenges facing New Zealands chief executives: implications for management skills. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, Volume 52, p. 2341. Wright, P. L., 2005. The Implications of a Skills Approach to Leadership. Journal of Management Development, 4(3), pp. 55-69.

Nurse Staffing free essay sample

Abstract Nurse staffing has always been an issue in the hospital setting. Different units with different patient acuities are staffed accordingly usually based on the patient census. While nurses who are in direct contact care with patients feel that a decreased patient load will lead to greater benefit for the patient, others who are usually in managerial positions are not persuaded that such a correlation exists. As of this time, no such research has been done with an intentional change in staffing ratios that has shown actual proof of such connection with nurse staffing and patient outcome. In the hospital setting, no matter what unit a Registered Nurse (RN) works on, there always exists a nurse to patient ratio. The actual number of patients per nurse depends on the type of unit. Usually, the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) always has the least number of patients per nurse, while the general medical floor is one of the units which has the most number of patients assigned per nurse. We will write a custom essay sample on Nurse Staffing or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The staffing ratio of RNs to patients has always been a great debate between nursing staff with direct patient care and management. While nurses who have direct patient contact argue that a lower patient load will help lead to increased patient satisfaction and increased positive outcome, some members of management do not see this to be true. In order to tackle this debate properly, there must be a study of whether an actual change in staffing ratios will lead to greater good for the patient. Currently, there has been no research of an intentional change in RN staffing to see the effects on patient outcomes (Shekelle, 2013). The reasoning behind this is mainly due to financial restraints. Nursing staff costs money, and hospitals are not willing to spend resources to for a study that does not guarantee a positive outcome. However, there is still some research on whether nursing staffing ratios actually have an impact on patient outcome. According to Shekelle (2013), it was found that there existed a consistent relationship between higher RN staffing and lower hospital related morbidity. It was found that an increase of RN per shift was related to a 9% reduction in the odds of death in the ICU, a 16% reduction in the surgical setting, and a 6% reduction in the medical setting. Other findings including lower rates of hospital acquired pneumonia, pulmonary failure, unplanned extubation, failure to rescue, and nosocomial bloodstream infections were related to higher RN staffing which were found by other studies. However, there was no clear relationship to staffing with incidents of falls, pressure ulcers, and urinary tract infections, when these were thought to also be highly sensitive to nursing staffing. This finding was the meta-analysis of 28 other research studies aimed to find a correlation between nurse staffing and patient outcome. Legislation recently passed in California called for an increase in nurse staffing. However, this law does not require the strict use of RNs. As a result, Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) as well as Licensed Vocational Nurses (LVNs) were used to fill the staffing requirements, more than the increase of the RN staff (Harless et al. , 2013). This increase in staff allowed the RNs additional time in enhanced surveillance to assess and help prevent the deteriorating conditions of the patients. This ultimately led to reduced missed care and decreasing failure to response rates. This early detection resulted in increased prompt treatment and decreased patient length of stay. However, not all of the findings were positive. There was no obvious decrease in the number of falls, pressure ulcers, or restraint use following the increased staffing. There was also a finding that there was an increase in postoperative infections and sepsis significantly more in California that other states due to medical care with the increased use of LPN and LVN staff, as compared to RN staff used by other hospitals (Harless et al. , 2013). A study performed in Thailand tried to show a connection between nurse staffing and burnout. It was found that nurse burnout was directly related to the nurse staffing ratios. For each patient added to the nurse’s load, there was an increase of 1. 02 times in the odds of the nurses to report higher emotional exhaustion (Aiken et al. , 2011). This was directly related to the nurses reporting a lower perception of patient quality of care. Nurses with favorable work environments were 30% less likely to report a lower patient quality of care score than those with less than ideal environments. More favorable nurse staffing and work environments led to more favorable nursing outcomes such as reduced burnout and lower turnover rates, which then lead to a better quality of care (Aiken et al. , 2011). On the other end of the spectrum, a study performed by surveying management members found that there was no direct correlation between an increased staffing ratios and increased quality of care (Chapman et al. , 2009). Nurse satisfaction did increase after implementation of the ratios, but was not found to be clearly linked to job retention or quality of patient care. Budget cuts were made to ancillary staff, which ultimately lead to decreased patient satisfaction. Based on these findings, there are some elements of nurse staffing that could be changed. The use of LPNs or LVNs to increase staffing might look great on paper, but they cannot replace the role of the RN. Limiting the use of LPNs and LVNs can help decrease incidences in patient care. Increasing the number of RNs on staff to decrease patient load can lead to decreased burnout, which can prevent the decline of the nurse’s perception of patient care. For those who believe that the number of RNs used on a shift might not make a great difference in patient care, then the use of higher quality RNs can. Registered Nurses who are certified in their special units are usually more competent than their non-certified counterparts. This can lead to earlier detection of declining patient status and decreased failure to save rates. Hiring of more nurses might not be practical due to financial reasons, but the hiring of certified nurses without increasing the staff count is another alternative that is not necessarily more expensive in the long term. Based on these mixed results, it is not very clear whether nursing staffing has a direct connection with improved patient outcome. A study of intentionally increasing the staff would be necessary to properly test this research study, but that is the major problem. While staff nurses might feel that it is necessary to deliver higher quality of care, management might not be willing to accept it without researched proof of its benefits.?

Ingres, Jean- Auguste-Dominique essays

Ingres, Jean- Auguste-Dominique essays Art has been through many changes through as early as the middle ages to the renaissance to the French Neoclassism. Artist began to practice and show their skills to the world. The successfulness of an artist is greatly determined on how much people (wealthy individuals) hired and loved their work. Ingres, Jean-Auguste-Dominique is one of them. French Neoclassism painters were largely influenced by trends in late 18th-century Europe. However, the French Revolution inspired a unique brand of Neoclassism realism that was a strong force in French paintings. Painting nude women portraits of the history of art were popular during this period. Portraits were very expensive to commission so the only people who could afford it were the wealthy and rich people. Ingres, Jean-Auguste-Dominique, was a French painter, who was a leading figure in the neoclassical movement. Ingres was born in Montauban in the South of France on August 29, 1780. He demonstrated great talent at an early age for music and drawing and received his first instruction from his father. His father was also an artist but an unsuccessful sculptor and painter. Ingres prepared himself and entered the studio of neoclassical painter in Paris. Ingres learned to draw from his sculptor father before attending the Academy of Art in Toulouse, from 1791. In 1797 he entered Jacques Louis David's studio in Paris. He won the Prix de Rome in 1801 for his painting The Envoys from Agamemnon. The Grande Odalisque the painting that Ingres painted was a picture a women nude lying in bed. In my opinion the picture was very detailed and the skin tone of the women had different shades of skin color, the lines are blended into the picture and every line that he did was a shadow. The lightness comes from the left side while the other side is dark. In this painting he uses dark colors for the background the curtains and the bed. The womens body has shadows on her. The amazing thing about...

4 Inspirational Stories from the Hood to Make You Stop Feeling Sorry for Yourself!

4 Inspirational Stories from the Hood to Make You Stop Feeling Sorry for Yourself! Last summer, I made a promise at the end of a blog about participating in College Summit, a program that prepares inner city high school students to attend college: I announced I would return to the program in 2015. And I kept my promise! From July 23-26, 2015, I worked with four student leaders to find their unique stories and put them down on paper. I was inspired by all of them in different ways, and I’d like to share their stories with you. As you read about these young leaders, consider the things that stop you in your life. My four students each encountered situations that could have brought them down, but they did not give up on themselves or their dreams. Here are their stories (complete with typos and grammatical anomalies). Their names have been changed for purposes of this article. Benita Benita, in an initial writing exercise, referred to a â€Å"family situation† but did not say what it was. We told her we wanted to know more, and she said she didn’t write more about it because she would cry. I told her it was okay and welcome if she cried. In the next exercise, she revealed, tears streaming down her face, that her dad was arrested in front of her eyes when she was 12 years old, and then was quickly deported. He had been trying to do what he could to put food on the table. After her dad’s departure, Benita quit playing soccer; she and her two siblings quit school; and her mother quit eating for seven months. But the family ultimately was able to turn their lives around. Benita rejoined the soccer team; all the kids went back to school; and her mother opened a dance studio. Benita’s dream: to become a history teacher in the neighborhood where she grew up. How remarkable that this young woman wants to give back in the setting that holds so many painful memories. She is creating new and more positive ones. My dad would take us to Disneyland once a month or even once every week. Our family was very cheerful and probably the happiest people anyone knew. When we would be home or somewhere else we didn’t really have enough food for us to eat. But that didn’t matter to us, all we cared about was being so happy and energetic family. Jorge Jorge’s brother Paul was the first in their family to graduate high school and to go to college. He was Jorge’s idol. When Paul dropped out of college, Jorge began to doubt whether he himself had what it took to make it through college. He spoke about how he started to give up on himself, but he said it looks likely that he will graduate this year. What he didn’t mention (and what I found out from one of the college coaches at the program) was that he has a 3.8 GPA and super high SAT math scores for someone from his background. Jorge is passionate about computer science and he has started to regain confidence in himself. I see every reason why he is going to be the first in his family to graduate from college. First period I had a computer science class in which we created our own website, our own game, our own graphics and pictures, and a program for a small robot made out of Legos. Most people thought that this class was boring and pointless, but I honestly thought that this was one of the most fun classes. I wish that I had a computer with all the programs at home to finish it or continue onto something else on my own. Jennifer A fireball from the moment we started working together, Jennifer never shied away from the task at hand. This girl from the ghetto is tired of walking by drug addicts every day. She wants more for herself and for her friends and family. Daring to be different from her neighbors, she has excelled in music and theater wants to be an obstetrician. She’s the one who bandages up the bleeding when her family gets scraped up. And I’ve never heard someone so excited while talking about mitosis! Jennifer is unafraid of the 13 years of schooling she will undergo to reach her dream. Being happy with what I do is an awesome feeling but knowing that it could take me places I could never imagine is even better. I am Jennifer Johnson. I’m from the ghetto. And despite all the negative things that are happening around me I did the things that made me the happiest, and became somebody. Sandra I wouldn’t have guessed that this tiny quiet girl, who at first was reluctant to talk and told us all she had nothing to write about, was captain of her school’s 4-time winning cheer team. Her story of how she got there was inspiring, and even more inspiring was watching her unfold into a true writer. I compete to fight to the top, although there is no path there. I like taking a step forward knowing I can trip. My shoes aren’t always tied, and there will always be cracks and bumps on the floor, but I will tie my shoes, and nothing will stop me from taking another step forward and wanting to run. If you let your untied shoes, your role model’s downfall, your background, or a family crisis stop you from playing full out for your goals, I hope the spirit of Benita, Jorge, Jennifer and Sandra inspires you to keep reaching, fighting, and celebrating.

The American people in the US-Led Afghanistan and Iraq War Essay

The American people in the US-Led Afghanistan and Iraq War - Essay Example in Smith 125). More than its military might, the real power of the US lies in its high moral ground in defending civil liberties and the rule of law at home and abroad. With this consistent posturing, the US government gets high support from the American public and the international community, cementing its appearance of invincibility and making its citizens feel secure against any external threat. However, this long-held belief was eroded when Osama Bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda unprecedentedly attacked the symbols of US power in New York City, Washington D.C. and Shanksville, Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001. This shocked the world and inflicted harm against the US far beyond its number of casualties and destroyed properties, as it had created deep fear of insecurity among Americans, exposing the vulnerability of the world’s super power. In reprisal, the Bush administration immediately launched its international war against terror not simply to expunge terrorism but most imp ortantly to pacify and bring back the myth of US invincibility to the American public that for many decades had made them feel secure and superior. Unfortunately, the result had been the opposite. In its war against terror, the US has unwittingly stripped off itself of its real hegemonic motives and exposed its total disregard to civil liberties, inevitably reversing the American public and international support into condemnation. Bush’s full military offensive against terrorism had been a backlash, not only against his administration but against America. II War Justification and Motives The 9/11terrorist attack on the US soil served the Bush administration in two important ways that would later unmask the US government to its own people and to the world. First, it served as warning that the American public is no longer safe in their own land, which created in them deep fear of insecurity to the point of paranoia. This called for a review on US foreign policy sharpening the v iew that US hegemony might have been creating and fuelling anti-US sentiments giving terrorists reason to attack America – a view that although not new was not given much thought before, much more by the American public. Second, this had become an opportunity to send America to war, as the fragile state of the American public was carefully manipulated to conveniently justify a war that Bush and his cowboys found decisive in insuring the strategic positioning and in imposing the US hegemonic interest in the Middle East. Never before had there been an attack attempted against the US on its own soil that was as bold and sophisticated as the bombing of the World Trade Center and Pentagon. This did not simply shock the world but had created in the American public the deep fear of insecurity, seeing that international terrorism had grown into a potent enemy capable of harming even the most formidable nation in the world. Meaning, nothing is seemingly safe against international terr orism and that America was no longer a safe place to live in. This thought sent a chilling effect on Americans, especially those living conveniently in their homes. Opportunely, too, the Al-Qaeda had been so easily transformed into a new enemy of the world replacing the collapsed communist Soviet Union. Thus the neo-conservatives in the Bush administration had created a convincing myth to push for their long desired war in the Middle East without much opposition. (Shah 6) The magnitude of the casualty and the sophistication of the tactic employed by Al-Qaeda in 9/11 attack had really shaken not only

Contemporary Approaches to Christian Education by Jack L Seymour and Essay

Contemporary Approaches to Christian Education by Jack L Seymour and Donal E Miller - Essay Example Literature available on this book suggest that there has been very little innovation or even slightly interesting breakthrough in the field of religious-teaching publishing for the last couple of years. It may be quite in order to point out that theological work has remained unchallenged for sometime now. Ordinary themes as well as common ground in the field of contemporary religion have been studied over and over again, but regrettably all have earthed up very little generative insight or research innovation. Through out the years, it has become evident that spiritual educationists have been unable to fully understand the broad disciplines of educational research as well as the various branches of psychology. In fact the truth of the matter is that fewer of these religious educators possess an adequate understanding of the contemporary philosophy or theology (Westerhoff and Neville). In view of this, various authors have tried to grapple with this unending lack of insight into the contemporary divinity. The Mighty Stories and Dangerous Rituals which is a text done by Anderson and Foley is found to be such an extremely important as well as opportune, and most insightful piece. In addition to being engaging theologians, these two authors also have a considerate and convincing vision of education in theology that is capable of breaking free of the general melancholy of the contemporary field. Taking their work seriously could truly mark a significant breakthrough for injecting new life and direction to an otherwise gray field. Looking at the text, one finds out that it is not only affluent in its application of a wide variety of scholarly research, but also in its depth and maturity of thought (Westerhoff and Neville). To further still give an understanding into the contemporary religion, (Westerhoff and Neville) argues that Jack L. Seymour and Donald E. Miller in their book seek to explore the relation of narrative story and ritual. According to these

e-Learning systems Essay Example for Free

e-Learning systems Essay Online learning or e-Learning refers to the application of electronic technology for the delivery of instructional content or knowledge domains. Beamish et al. defines e-Learning as: â€Å". . . a wide set of applications and processes allied to training and learning that includes computer-based learning, online learning, virtual classrooms and digital collaboration. These services can be delivered by a variety of electronic media, including the intranet, internet, interactive TV and satellite † Despite the great flexibility and wide range of tools that e-Learning provides to imparting education, the implementation of such can be a complicated and complex undertaking. Likewise, online learning it can be a frustrating task for both the students and the teachers alike. A number of personal barriers affect students and teachers alike in any online learning system. Personal Barriers of Students The nature of the course content is greatly affected by the technology that is within the access of the students. Students may simply not have the required bandwidth to access high-end multimedia content. The course designer has to tailor the contents to suit the technology availability of the students. This is especially true of e-Learning courses catering to international students scattered all over the world. Due to the limits that technology brings, it is but inevitable that the universities and schools have several restrictions for the students that is conveyed to them during the admission process. In fact, many universities take special care to ensure prior to registration that their respective e-Learning course content is accessible to the students. â€Å"Technical infrastructure deficiencies on the student side can impede course activities, especially in an online distance-learning environment† (Arabasz 42). The proficiency level of the student in using ICT tools would enhance or undermine his e-Learning experience to a great extent. In the international context it would be unwise to expect uniform familiarity with ICT usage. A student, previously not exposed to ICT, will therefore not only have to handle the course requirements, but will also have to acquire the necessary skills in ICT to pursue the course effectively. From the learner perspective, literacy and IT skills, aptitude for self-direction, confidence, and motivation in participating in the online courses have also been identified as potential barriers to effective online learning (Australian Institute for Social Research 15). The factor that students have to study alone in an e-Learning system has caused certain issues to arise. Many perceive this isolation as disadvantageous to the development of e-Learning systems for higher education. Brouner and Flowers even suggested that the lack of human interactions due to the technology introduced into higher education would have to be compensated by increased human contact . The e-Learning environment lacks the discipline and time regulations imposed on students in conventional education. This requires students to be more motivated, better time managers and more attentive during e-Learning sessions.

Confucius on Humanity :: Philosophy

Confucius on Humanity ABSTRACT: The basic conception of Confucius' philosophy is ren, i.e., humanity, while humanity is at the same time the leitmotiv of our epoch. This accounts for why the Confucian idea is close to contemporary readers and why his teaching principles and methods has maintained vitality throughout history. Confucius explained humanity as 'to love the people,' or 'to love the masses extensively.' This led him to provide equal opportunities in education and to carry out teaching activities in dialogue with his disciples. The overall development of everyone's potential ability constitutes the most important part of Confucius' notion of humanity. He practiced moral education, intellectual education, physical education and aesthetic education through his 'six artcrafts': 'The wise have no perplexities, the humanists have no worries, the courageous have no fears.' His philosophy originated from his political practice and teaching activity. Based on experience, its principles and methods are pragmatic r ather than speculative. Confucius has been honored as a paragon of virtue and learning by Chinese people for thousands of years. The main documents of Confucian philosophy consists in recorded dialogues and discourses with his disciples: The Analects. Thus it may seen that his lectures sent forth an amiable intimacy, and his philosophic discourses were characterized distinctively by an element of feeling. Having acted as shepherd, trumpeter and storekeeper in his early days, Confucius eventually turned out to be the most famous and learned scholar in his time by staunch studying independently. From his thirtieth down to his death, there were thousands of students following around him. Even after his death, his tomb had been guarded by lots of disciples and admirers ,and the place turned to be a village at last. With his achievements and prestige, Confucius had been honored for a paragon of virtue and learning by Chinese people for thousands of years. The main documents of Confucian philosophy consist in the recorded dialogues and discourses between him and his disciples. Thus it may be seen that his lectures sent forth an amiable intimacy, and his philosophy in that time could only be a naive empiricism brought forth by the special situation rather than a great set of speculative metaphysics. I. Humanity Principle The central idea of Confucian philosophy is REN, i.e. humanity, he explained that REN is to love the people," one could not love only his parents, brothers, sisters and sons," but ought to love the masses extensively.

Pakistan Day Celebration

Pakistan day is observed on 23rd march every year. It is an important day in the history of Pakistan. The Muslims of India demanded a separate homeland for themselves through a resolution called Pakistan resolution or Lahore resolution, This year also we celebrated Pakistan day with traditional zeal and fervor and renewed a pledge to make the country strong, progressive and prosperous Islamic welfare state. The day dawned with 31 gun salute in federal capital Islamabad and 21 gun salutes in provincial capitals. Special prayers were offered in all mosques. It was a public holiday.National flags were hoisted on all public and private buildings. Newspapers published special supplements featuring articles highlighting the importance of the day. They also printed rare photographs of the historical events. Radios and television channels aired special programmes including talk shows. The highlight of the day was the armed forces parade which was held at Jinnah sports stadium. The president and prime minister took the salute of the parade. Similarly in Karachi, the day was celebrated with great honor and dignity. The Governor and Chief Minister of Sindh visited the Mausoleum of Quaid-e-Azam.They laid floral wreath at Quaid-e-Azam’s mausoleum. The National museum Karachi arranged a special exhibition in connection with the Pakistan Day. This day is indeed one of the most important days in the history of our country. Energy crisis or Load Shedding of Electricity in the town. The people of Karachi know it very well that Karachi has become a city of problems. All these problems go together to make the life of Karachi ties very difficult. Perhaps the most serious of these is what we may call energy crisis there have been an acute shortage of electricity in our city during the last ten years.As a result the load shedding has become unavoidable. In fact the whole country has fallen a victim into this menace. But the situation is worst at Karachi and with the passage of time the duration of load shedding has greatly increased . Generally we have to pass six to twelve hours without electricity every day. Load shedding is the basic problem which gives rise to many other problems. People cannot sleep at night when the temperature is at its peak. The business of shopkeepers is also hampered particularly the people working on computers and owners of photo state shops are the worst sufferers.During the darkness the criminals get a free hand and there is an alarming increase in crimes during load shedding. The patients in the hospitals also have to suffer as all the hospitals do not have generators or ups, so it is clear that everybody living in Karachi has to undergo great difficulties. Promises in the reduction in the duration of load shedding are never fulfilled so the problem remains as it was years ago. The Book I like Most. The Holy Quran is my favorite book. It is the name of Allah’s book which has been revealed upon the last Prophet for ma nkind through the angel Gabriel.It is most often read and memorized and the most influential book in the world from literary point of view. Holy Quran is considered as the specimen of purest Arabic. It is a master piece of Arabic language and literature. The Quran is guidance for the whole humanity. It is essentially a code of human conduct. It covers all the aspects of human life. It offers guidance to those who seek it. It also defines the causes of decline of the nation. It prompts man to be practical in his daily life. Its importance is recognizes even by the non-Muslims. Its teachings are practically rational.The knowledge in the Holy Quran is not merely knowledge of religious affairs but also the knowledge of physical and other phenomenon of life. There are thirty chapters’ one hundred and fourteen surahs and six thousand six hundred and sixty six verses (Aayats) in it. By the grace of Al-mighty Allah, I have memorized many surahs with their Urdu translation. Holy Quran is the book which gives me guidance about both the worlds. It tells us what reward we can get if we do good deeds. We can get physical as well as spiritual guidance from it. In short Holy Quran is not only for an individual or a nation but also for the whole universe. Pakistan Day Celebration Pakistan day celebrations.Pakistan day is observed on 23rd march every year. It is an important day in the history of Pakistan. The Muslims of India demanded a separate homeland for themselves through a resolution called Pakistan resolution or Lahore resolution, This year also we celebrated Pakistan day with traditional zeal and fervor and renewed a pledge to make the country strong, progressive and prosperous Islamic welfare state. The day dawned with 31 gun salute in federal capital Islamabad and 21 gun salutes in provincial capitals. Special prayers were offered in all mosques. It was a public holiday. National flags were hoisted on all public and private buildings. Newspapers published special supplements featuring articles highlighting the importance of the day.They also printed rare photographs of the historical events. Radios and television channels aired special programmes including talk shows. The highlight of the day was the armed forces parade which was held at Jinnah spor ts stadium. The president and prime minister took the salute of the parade. Similarly in Karachi, the day was celebrated with great honor and dignity. The Governor and Chief Minister of Sindh visited the Mausoleum of Quaid-e-Azam. They laid floral wreath at Quaid-e-Azam’s mausoleum. The National museum Karachi arranged a special exhibition in connection with the Pakistan Day. This day is indeed one of the most important days in the history of our country. Energy crisis or Load Shedding of Electricity in the town.The people of Karachi know it very well that Karachi has become a city of problems. All these problems go together to make the life of Karachi ties very difficult. Perhaps the most serious of these is what we may call energy crisis there have been an acute shortage of electricity in our city during the last ten years. As a result the load shedding has become unavoidable. In fact the whole country has fallen a victim into this menace. But the situation is worst at Kara chi and with the passage of time the duration of load shedding has greatly increased .Generally we have to pass six to twelve hours without electricity every day. Load shedding is the basic problem which gives rise to many other problems.People cannot sleep at night when the temperature is at its peak. The business of shopkeepers is also hampered particularly the people working on computers and owners of photo state shops  are the worst sufferers. During the darkness the criminals get a free hand and there is an alarming increase in crimes during load shedding. The patients in the hospitals also have to suffer as all the hospitals do not have generators or ups, so it is clear that everybody living in Karachi has to undergo great difficulties. Promises in the reduction in the duration of load shedding are never fulfilled so the problem remains as it was years ago.The Book I like Most.The Holy Quran is my favorite book. It is the name of Allah’s book which has been revealed u pon the last Prophet for mankind through the angel Gabriel. It is most often read and memorized and the most influential book in the world from literary point of view. Holy Quran is considered as the specimen of purest Arabic. It is a master piece of Arabic language and literature. The Quran is guidance for the whole humanity. It is essentially a code of human conduct. It covers all the aspects of human life. It offers guidance to those who seek it. It also defines the causes of decline of the nation. It prompts man to be practical in his daily life. Its importance is recognizes even by the non-Muslims.Its teachings are practically rational. The knowledge in the Holy Quran is not merely knowledge of religious affairs but also the knowledge of physical and other phenomenon of life. There are thirty chapters’ one hundred and fourteen surahs and six thousand six hundred and sixty six verses (Aayats) in it. By the grace of Al-mighty Allah, I have memorized many surahs with their Urdu translation. Holy Quran is the book which gives me guidance about both the worlds. It tells us what reward we can get if we do good deeds. We can get physical as well as spiritual guidance from it. In short Holy Quran is not only for an individual or a nation but also for the whole universe.

A Comparison of newspaper articles- four editorials Essay

Newspapers have long been a mean of communication between the general public and the world. They usually state facts and opinions about an important event that has taken place in the world, which would be of interest. This news can range from political views to showbiz to world affairs. One thing that we do not do when we read a newspaper is to think for one second that what we are reading is that exactly how it happened. Newspapers are used as a medium for propaganda. Propaganda is used frequently in everyday life to manipulate out thoughts and despite what the majority of us think it does affect our opinions. It’s a proven fact that newspapers are more propaganda than facts as the news are twisted around to support the journalist’s own political views. So in a way all news that we read is not as we interpret it to be because journalists would only write what they feel is right and all of us have different opinions. There are two main types of newspapers, Broadsheets like â€Å"The Guardian† and Tabloids like â€Å"The Mirror. † Tabloids are the most popular type of paper; they are often smaller in size, more colourful and use stimulating images to target a certain age range such as teenagers. They use simple words so they are the most widely read newspapers in the world. On the other hand Broadsheets are generally larger in size, more serious and less colourful. They are mostly concerned with current affairs, political issues and people opinions about the government. They are targeted for a specific audience, which might be people who are involved in the fields of employment that are mentioned in the newspaper, or it could just be ordinary people. This essay will explore different types of newspapers and their effects on the general public. I will be doing this by comparing four newspaper editorials from â€Å"The Sun† â€Å"Daily Star† â€Å"The Guardian† and â€Å"The socialist worker. † All four editorials report on the same thing, which is a fight between Nigel Benn and Gerald McClellan where at the end McClellan was left on a life support machine. I will be looking if the editorials are bias and are they for or against Boxing being banned in the UK and how effective their techniques are. In the first editorial by â€Å"The Sun† â€Å"No one is forced to fight† is a tabloid, the headline is very big and bold as is for the second editorial by † The Daily Star†, which is also a tabloid, called â€Å"They knew the risks. † It catches the readers attention straight away even at a glance. The first editorial by the Sun has two verbs in its headline. The word ‘No one’ is a pronoun that indicates/refers to people in general so by saying this the reader will be curious to find out as to what it stands for thus they will be enticed to read the article. The second article is similar to the first in the sense that the pro-noun ‘They’ is quite general, in order to cause the to look at the article in more detail or stimulate interest. The third editorial by â€Å"The Guardian† â€Å"One pummelling too many† is a broadsheet and already you can spot the difference with the headline. It is not bold or italic it is just normal writing. The word â€Å"Pummelling† is not frequently used by the masses, which would most probably capture a target audience. The fourth headline by â€Å"The Socialist worker† â€Å"Boxing bosses count the cash† is also a tabloid. Unlike the other articles it gives us a clearer picture of what the article is about because it is the only one that mentions the adverb ‘Boxing’ The Sun, Daily Star, and the socialist worker, context are less detail, they have short simple facts about the fight and so therefore is aimed at a very broad audience. The first article starts of with a fact but the writer then goes on to express his own views and therefore it is mainly opinions. For example â€Å"why should boxing be banned when all those sports continue? † and words such as brutal† and â€Å"cruel† are used to describe the event, which affects the reader’s emotions, making an incident where blood was involved come to their minds. On the other hand The Guardian newspaper provides a lot more detail with static’s. For example † Britain’s boxing rules have been tightened for over 300 years since the first bare knuckle fight was recorded†. The Guardian has used longer sentence structure in comparison to the other newspapers, the words are generally long and more than three syllables long for example words such as â€Å"neurological† are used, which is quite typical of a broadsheet newspaper as it has so much facts and uses complex vocabulary that it is only served for the needs of intellectual people. All the other newspapers are tabloids so they have used short sentence structure and short words for example is article two the longest word is â€Å"endeavour† where as that would probably be the longest in a broadsheet. The linguistic structure of the sun/daily star and the choice of words are more dramatic and sensation than the Guardian, for example: â€Å"The Sun† Ban boxing It’s too dangerous †¦ Can cause serious damage to the brain †¦. The fear of injury or even death Of course it is brutal and cruel Few of us would dare try it â€Å"The Daily Star† The fight was ferocious, brutal, bloody The end was tragic †¦. Plunge him to purgatory Everyone who watched this fight will never forget it â€Å"The socialist worker† is more concerned with human values than with Boxing itself. It is actually telling us how people have power over others and how they use and exploit them to such an extent that it leaves them paralysed. For example â€Å"to them [managers] boxers are little more than dogs† but than it goes on to give the writers own thoughts â€Å"but those in the ring are prepared to risk their lives because they see it as their only chance of achieving a better life. † The first article does not follow a balanced argument and is biased, what it does is it makes the reader think by using retheriotical questions. For example â€Å"how many jockeys are seriously injured falling of horses? † â€Å"How many rugby players are paralysed with broken necks? † â€Å"Why should boxing be banned when all those sports continue? † it lets you come to your own conclusion but then straight after that it says, â€Å"You cannot nanny people, however tragic the consequences of their actions might be. † Which then makes the reader completely lose track of what he was thinking and accept that what is written is true. This article is against Boxing being banned. The second article is clearly biased and in favour of boxing. If you take one glance at it you will notice that straight away in bold it says, â€Å"they are grown men free to make their own decision. † This article does not let the reader have any thought it is constantly trying to stimulate the readers mind into believing that to box is not a crime. In its last sentence it seems like the author wants people to be involved in committing acts of violence â€Å"don’t let the do-goodders diminish an heroic battle. † The third article is by the Guardian and is also biased and as you would of expected it to be it has used a lot of static’s and facts to persuade their audience that boxing should be banned. The fourth article appears biased that it inclines towards the winner because it is only the winner that counts the cash. On the other hand one could say that the bosses are yearning for their boxers to win so that they can get the money. This article is more about how the society is run than boxing itself because it says â€Å"boxing is a multi-million pound business† but its not the only sport where you can make a million pound. This author wants the class-dive system changed as he clearly outlines it in his last sentences â€Å"The real question is not whether boxing should be banned but whether we can rid of the system which creates it. † Coming to a conclusion I would say that the best newspaper which is more likely to make people think is â€Å"The Socialist Worker† as it would than be a need for one to understand the importance of society and how our we exploit it. After that has been done, than, you could start thinking about different other issues. My own opinion is that boxing should not be banned even after knowing the tragic consequences. I think that if you were to ban boxing there would a lot of unrest and protests so therefore the best way of preventing that is to allow boxing. If people are sane they will know the consequences of boxing and yet if they still want to continue we cannot stop them they have free will but they were warned. So if you allow boxing this way the decision is theirs (boxers) not anyone else’s and only they can be blamed for their actions.

Eth125 R8 Disability Diversity Essays

Eth125 R8 Disability Diversity Essays Eth125 R8 Disability Diversity Essay Eth125 R8 Disability Diversity Essay Associate Program Material Aging and Disability Worksheet Part I Identify 2 or 3 issues faced by the aging population. 1. Lack of security for the future (social security dwindling) 2. Unable to afford being able to retire 3. Being alone Answer the following questions in 100 to 200 words each. Provide citations for all the sources you use. What is ageism? How does ageism influence the presence of diversity in society? Ageism is prejudice or discrimination against a particular age-group, especially the elderly. Ageism influences the presence of diversity because those who are affected by ageism within their career may lose their job due to newer, younger, cheaper people coming into the workplace to take over their current position. Which may leave those who are older without proper insurance to take care of their aging bodies which could result in earlier deaths and a lack of diversity in the world. Also when the younger generation takes over positions in the workplace that workplace will have a lack of diversity as well. merriam-webster. com/dictionary/ageism What is the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)? How does the ADEA address issues for the aging population? The Age Discrimination in Employment Act was put into place in 1967 to prohibit discrimination of people over the age of 40 in the work place. The ADEA addresses issues for the aging population by making it illegal to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual or otherwise discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s age. Also it makes it illegal to limit, segregate, or classify his employees in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee, because of such individual’s age. eeoc. gov/laws/statutes/adea. cfm What is being done to address the issues you identified? The ADEA had put many laws in affect to make it illegal to discriminate someone for their age. It also has been recommended to Congress to have education and research programs. These programs shall research, and promote research, with a view to reducing barriers to the employment of older persons, and the promotion of measures for utilizing their skills. They will also publish and otherwise make available to employers, professional societies, the various media of communication, and other interested persons the findings of studies and other materials for the promotion of employment and foster through the public employment service system and through cooperative effort the development of facilities of public and private agencies for expanding the opportunities and potentials of older persons. ttp://www. eeoc. gov/laws/statutes/adea. cfm Is the number of aging population expected to rise in numbers or decrease? The number of aging population is expected to rise in numbers. â€Å"With baby boomers approaching retirement, the 65-and-over population in the United States could increase nearly 80 percent by 2025. During the same period, there will be just 15 perce nt more working-age adults and 15 percent more children younger than 15. † With the number of baby boomers approaching retirement there will be a strain put on social ecurity and other benefits made available to those who are senior citizens. This will cause problems to those retire after them. There is no certainty that things like social security will last through the baby boomers and be around when the next generation retires. globalaging. org/elderrights/us/populationrise. htm What types of legislation may or may not be affected by the aging population? Two major pieces of legislature that will be affected by the aging population is pension provision and health care. With both pension and health care the key issues that will cause issues is that the number of people working and paying taxes to fun pension and health care programs is going to dramatically decrease as the baby boomers retire and as they retire the amount of people uses these services in going to see an increase. Legislation regarding items such as criminals is unlikely to have any effect on the aging population. While there are some laws in certain states requiring older people to retake their drivers test each year or every two years a country wide law could also affect the aging population as well. How does poverty affect the aging population? Poverty affects the aging population in many different ways. Since people are living longer and with that resources are decreasing as time goes on and the elderly have fewer and fewer choices for finding help with finances and health related issues, which results in substandard medical care. Having substandard medical care can result in sub par health and either suffering due to a medical condition or death from a medical condition that could have been treating if better medical care was available to them. Another affect poverty has is subpar housing and the ability to provide food for themselves due to a lack of income and the fact that many programs meant to help have strict guidelines or are disappearing all together. Part II Answer the following questions in 100 to 200 words each. Provide citations for all the sources you use. What does the ADA provide for people with disabilities? The ADA’s goal is to provide equality to people with disabilities and protect them from any discrimination that they may be faced with. The ADA provides protection to those with disabilities in the workplace where there is a possibility they could be discriminated against and be fired, or passed over for a job. The ADA also insures that public structures are accessible to those with disabilities. By doing this it allows people with disabilities to feel more like equals by having protection from discrimination and the ability to enjoy the same things their friends do such as going to restaurants and the mall. ada. gov/qaeng02. tm How have people with disabilities been treated in the past? In the past people with disabilities have been treated unfairly and have faced discrimination. In recent years things have been improving but there is still work to be done. There are still a few buildings that are not handicap accessible. Some may be included in the exclusion under the ADA such as historical buildings but there are some who are â€Å"flying under the radar† and until a problem arises they will continue on w ith their business. Another problem people with disabilities faced was discrimination in the work place. They were often not chosen for jobs because they were not able to perform them with accommodations. While this may still occur with the ADA it makes it illegal. How has the attitude toward people with disabilities changed over time? In earlier years people with disabilities were often placed into institutions and were then forgotten about which resulted in them living in unsafe and unsanitary conditions. Many of them were abused, neglected or murdered by their own families or by the people who worked at the institutions. They were called â€Å"retarded†. Today discrimination towards those with disabilities still does exist the condition of the homes in which some disabled live is acceptable and some with disabilities are able to have happy healthy lives with little or no accommodations made. Some neglect and abuse still does occur but the days of forced sterilization are over. What are some unique circumstances or issues encountered by people with disabilities? There are many unique circumstances or issues encountered by people with disabilities. Little people definetelty face many of these unique circumstances. Just going to a restaurant or even a friend’s house provides issues for little people to be able to get around safely by car or being able to see on top of counters and reach things like sinks. People in wheelchairs also face some unusual circumstances off their own. Just like little people they also may encounter problems reaching counters and sinks, and traveling. Just imagine trying to navigate your wheelchair across a snowy parking lot or sidewalk to get to your favorite restaurant. What is being done to address those issues? Many public places have smaller toilets and sinks that help children and little people be able to reach the sinks and toilets with ease. Adding these little things help not only the little people community but also help children becomes more independent. Many public places also have wheelchair assessable sinks that allow them to pull their chairs right up and under the sink to allow them to reach it with ease. Handicap accessible parking spot allow for all people with disabilities to park closer to reduce the amount they have to walk thus reducing the amount of accidents that could occur. What types of legislation have been introduced to address issues faced by people with disabilities? On January 23, 1990 Congress passed the â€Å"Americans with Disabilities Act† (ADA) it provided protection for people with disabilities in many aspects of their lives. In 1988 the Fair Housing Act was amended to include people with disabilities and families with children with disabilities. In 1973 the Rehabilitation act prohibited discrimination against someone with a disability by anyone receiving federal assistance, but it did not cover discrimination by employers, public accommodations in the private sector, publicly funded programs or those providing federal financial assistance. Protection for all disabilities did not take place until the Americans with Disabilities Act passed. CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I  certify that  the attached  paper is my original work. I am familiar with and acknowledge my responsibilities, which are part of the University of Phoenix Student Code of Academic Integrity. I affirm that any section of the paper which has been submitted previously is attributed and cited as such, and that this paper has not been submitted by anyone else. I have identified the sources of all information whether quoted verbatim or paraphrased, all images, and all quotations with citations and reference listings. Along with citations and reference listings, I have used quotation marks to identify quotations of fewer than 40 words and have used block indentation for quotations of 40 or more words. Nothing in this assignment violates copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property laws. I further agree that my name typed  on the line below is intended to have, and shall have, the same validity as my handwritten signature. Students  signature (name typed here is equivalent to a signature): Skyye Smith

Black Friday Stats on Shoppers, Spending, and Purchases

Black Friday Stats on Shoppers, Spending, and Purchases In 2016, more than 154 million people in the U.S. shopped in stores and online over  the Thanksgiving weekend, according to a survey commissioned by the National Retail Federation (NRF). Thats more than 60 percent of the nations total population of adults. The NRF data indicates that nearly 100 million people shopped in stores over the holiday weekend while 108 million shopped online, and some, of course, did both. The NRF survey results show that Black Friday shopping appeals more to Millennials- adults aged 18 to 34 years- than it does to others. They were more likely to shop over the holiday weekend, and they were more likely to shop for themselves (doing more of their shopping online than in person). And they say that baseball is the ultimate American pastime?  In a consumerist culture, its shopping. How Much We  Spent The average shopper spent about $290  dollars over the three-day period, according to NRF, down ten dollars from 2015. ShopperTrak estimates that this resulted in $12.1 billion dollars spent over Thursday and Friday, with the majority of it, $10 million, spent on Black Friday. According to Adobe Insights, $5.2 billion was spent online during this two-day period. According to Mindshare, online sales for the four-day period of November 24-27 broke records, with total spending of $9.36 billion, which represents more than a 16 percent increase over 2015. Shoppers spent more online than ever on  Black Friday, at more than $3 billion. Not to be outdone, Cyber Monday broke previous records as well, with consumers spending $3.4 billion in one day, according to Adobe Insights. This was not only a 12 percent increase over Cyber Monday 2015, it is also a figure that makes Cyber Monday 2016 the most lucrative online retail day in history. Who Spent the Most Contrary to the stereotypical image of women as shopaholics, it was actually men who spent the most on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Mindshare reported prior to the shopping events that men surveyed anticipated spending nearly 69% more than the average woman, or $417 compared to $247. Mindshares survey also showed that it was older adults, those aged 35-54 who intended to spend the most of any age group, at an average of $356 per person. Millennials, however, were right behind them at a projected $338. This level of spending among Millennials, considerably higher than the average for all shoppers, might strike some as curious, or even selfish, given that they were more likely to shop for themselves than other age groups.  Its worth noting that Millennials have struggled financially during early adulthood in ways that previous generations have not, thanks in part to the Great Recession and to the ever-soaring mountain of student debt. Due in large part to these and other economic factors, Millennial adults are more likely to live at home with their parents than any other previous generation of young adults since 1880.  For these reasons, its quite likely that many among this age group use the opportunity of Black Friday discounts to purchase necessities or minor luxuries that they cant otherwise afford. How  and When They Shopped Though many  likely think of Black Friday and the entire Thanksgiving weekend as a frenzy of shoppers battling for deals at big box stores across the country, NRF data show that more people actually shopped online than in-store this year. Over the holiday weekend, online shopping was at its peak on Black Friday, until, of course, Cyber Monday rolled around. The vast majority of in-store shopping took place on Black Friday too, but again, bucking the stereotypical image, most people did not line up early or camp out for Thanksgiving or Black Friday deals. Only a small fraction of shoppers did this, and it turns out that they are more likely to men and to be Millennials. Mindshare notes that both groups were looking for specific deals on these days, and that they expected the in-store deals to be better than those found online. Where They Shopped and What They Bought The NRF found that more than half who went out to shop over the holiday weekend visited a department store like Macys and Nordstrom, and more than a third shopped at discount stores like Walmart or Target. Slightly less than a third visited an electronics store, and about 28 percent shopped at a store for clothing or accessories. One in four holiday shoppers visited a grocery store or supermarket. The NRF reported  that clothing and accessories led as the most popular gift items among those surveyed, with toys in second place. Electronics, books, CDs, DVDs, videos and video games, and gift cards rounded out the most common items that shoppers intended to buy as gifts. Online shoppers flocked to electronics items, including Samsung 4K televisions, Apples iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini, Microsofts Xbox One, and Sonys Playstation 4, according to Adobe Insights. Likely an indication of why men planned to spend more than women during the holiday shopping extravaganza, Mindshare reported that men were more likely than women to buy big-ticket items, including cars and auto parts, electronics, and video games. Women, on the other hand, reported plans to buy clothing and other fashion items, electronics, and toys. Among the toys sold online during Cyber Monday, Adobe Insights reported that Lego sets were the most popular item,  followed by Shopkins, Nerf, Barbie, and Little Live Pets. Why They Went Unsurprisingly, the NRF-commissioned survey found that half of all in-store shoppers said they had gone out on Thanksgiving and the subsequent days because the deals were too good to pass up. And it was women, more so than men, who were motivated to shop by a desire to find the best deals and discounts, according to Mindshare. Men, on the other hand, were more likely to be out shopping for specific items. The vast majority of those polled by NRF- about 3-in-4- shopped in order to buy gifts for others. Interestingly, from a sociological standpoint, NRF found that a third of in-store shoppers reported that they shopped because it was tradition, and  a quarter said they did it because it gave them something to do over the holiday weekend. And that, folks, is the very definition of consumerism.

Project Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 2

Project Management - Essay Example The PFI is termed as a more formal approach for PPP adoption. PFI in simplest form is termed as Design Build Finance and Operate (DBFO) system. Procurements of material can be made using different modes in general, but the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and Public Private Partnership (PPP) stands distinctly apart in that it allows the contribution of private parties as well in public sector projects. This not only helps in having better options for the project manager, but it also provides momentum to the project towards its completion on time. The PFI generally involves long term contracts ranging from 15-30 years with private sector contractors for providing quality services as per the agreement terms. The PPP forum states that1 such an arrangement ‘typically involves the joint ownership of a special purpose vehicle established under company law’. These are in fact the basic minimum conditions that need to be taken into account. Things like financial background, track record, mutual chemistry of the private partner with the public sector organization are the one’s which need to be taken into while finalizing the partnership program Inviting PFI/PPP is not free from potential disadvantages, if there are some problems in the execution process. The contractual obligation in PFI/PPP is meant to safeguard all the parties involved, but at times the cumbersome process and the terms of the contractual agreement works to the disadvantage of potential bidders. In addition the amount of flexibility that is available in purely public sector project is missing in PPP projects. Quite often the pressure of delivering on time takes its toll on the workforce, who finds themselves stretched beyond their limits, but such voices often remain mum because private companies do not encourage the unions within their companies. A prerequisite for such partnerships is to

Leadership & Ethics for Managers Unit 5 DB Final Week Essay

Leadership & Ethics for Managers Unit 5 DB Final Week - Essay Example iness environment in which the culture is dynamic and is rapidly changing because of a host of internal and external factors, followers may feel more comfortable under the relational leadership style of the leader than spiritual leadership style. Both relational and transactional leadership styles are directed at the empowerment of the employees to optimize their tendency to achieve the organizational goals. The fundamental difference between these two leadership styles is the focus of the leader. In the relational leadership style, the leader tends to empower all followers equally with a view to developing collaboration among them whereas in the transformational leadership style, the leader may give different levels of attention to different followers depending upon how much attention a certain follower requires in order to be able to play his/her role as desired by the leader. In this sense, transformational leadership can be difficult to adopt as compared to the relational leadership style because identifying the strengths and weaknesses of individual employees is

HOSPITALITY OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

HOSPITALITY OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT - Case Study Example According to Phillip Kotler the key stages in product and service development are; idea generation, screening of processes, evaluation of concept, product or service development, and commercialization process. With respect to hospitality management the key stages in product and service development are market research, segmentation, idea generation and evaluation, product and service development, and advertising Heineke, & Davis (2007). It is an organized effort to collect relevant information about target customers Akkerman, Farahani, & Grunow, (2010). Market research provides useful information about customer likes, needs, and wants. It is an essential component of business strategy. For hospitality management it is necessary to identify what customers want before the development of any new product or service. It helps the company to develop products and services that meet customers’ expectations and to increase market share. Market segmentation means divide the market into small segments. It is a marketing strategy that segments the large market into small subsets of customers. It facilitates the company to select one or two specific segments and design the products or services according to the needs and wants of those particular segments. It is impossible to satisfy the needs of all customers so companies divide the market into small segments and then designs their products and services according to those segments which they want to serve. Idea generation is the result of market research and segmentation. This process develops the ideas based on customer needs and expectations. Initially companies generate many ideas and then screen them one by one on the basis of the feasibility and opportunity cost. In the idea generation process especially for hospitality management the ideas can be collected from existing loyal customers, employees, media, and also from strong competitors Yu, (2012). After ideas generation

Analysis of the Dutch Healthcare System Real Estate

Analysis of the Dutch Healthcare System Real Estate Chapter 2: Hospitals, corporate real estate management and alternative real estate financing structures Healthcare systems across the globe are under continuous reform. Thus, it is important to note that healthcare systems are still evolving. Moreover, in Europe a distinction is made between so-called Bismarck mixed and Beveridge healthcare models. Bismarck systems are based on social insurance, and characterized by a multitude of insurance organizations, who are organizationally independent of public and private healthcare providers. Examples are such as in France, the Netherlands and Germany (Krankenkassen). In Beveridge systems, however, financing and provision are handled within one organizational system and based on taxation. This implies healthcare financing bodies and providers are completely or partially within one organization, such as the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK and Spain (Lameire, et al. 1999; Finfacts, 2007). Throughout history, healthcare systems across the world have evolved from Bismarck into Beveridge systems and vice versa. Usually, such reforms are a bone of contention. A recent example is the highly controversial debate in US politics on reform of the American healthcare system, which is unique in its application of the Private Insurance model (Lameire, et al. 1999). Democrats have long called for a universal health insurance program, which involves the expansion of coverage and restricting the power of insurance companies. Proponents argue that health insurance should be affordable and accessible to all, while opponents (mainly Republicans) fear too large a role of the government and the use of tax money to finance the arguably enormous costs involved. Both parties seem to agree that the power of insurance companies should be restricted by banning underwriting practices that prevent many Americans from obtaining affordable health insurance. However, though U.S. president Obama has praised various aspects of the Dutch social security-based (Bismarck) healthcare system, a similar evolution of the American healthcare system yet has to commence (NY Times, 2009). This section begins with a brief historic overview of the Dutch hospital (or cure) sector, with a focus on its evolution. Second, the interdependencies between healthcare real estate, (strategic) corporate real estate management, and alternative real estate financing structures will be elaborated upon by using corporate real estate management (CREM) theory and comparing various sources from academic literature. These are intertwined since healthcare heavily depends on real estate as a resource in fulfilling its core business activity. By opting for alternative ways to finance real estate, hospitals are able to free up additional capital to support their clinical activities. As the Dutch healthcare system currently is under reform and hospitals become responsible for real estate investments themselves, they are under increasing pressure to consider more cost-efficient options and enhance their competitive position. Alternative real estate financing structures such as public-private partnerships, where hospitals profit from the knowledge and experience of private sector parties through various partnership agreements, could provide a alternative feasible alternative here to more traditional real estate financing structures. For example, hospitals could opt for a sale-lease-back agreement, where hospital real estate is sold to a private party and leased-back to the hospital for an annual fee. By analyzing the above, this theory and literature review will provide the reader with an answer to the following sub-questions: How are Dutch hospitals regulated and financed? How can corporate real estate management add value to hospital real estate? How do alternative real estate financing structures relate to hospital real estate? The Dutch hospital sector The origins of healthcare in the Netherlands can be traced mainly to the activities of voluntary organizations, which often provided healthcare on a charitable base. These organizations used to be run mainly on religious or ideological foundations, resulting in the creation of healthcare facilities with a Protestant, Roman Catholic, Jewish or humanistic foundation (Folter, 2002). The Dutch healthcare tradition reflects the changing relationship between the government and voluntary organizations. Dutch hospitals largely originated from private and often charitable initiatives; virtually all are non-profit and most are still private organizations. However, today they are no longer organized along denominational lines. Though private ownership predominates, the Dutch government heavily regulates the healthcare system. In the postwar era of the 1950s, there was a focus on hospital construction, part of the broader effort to rebuild the country. In 1971, an extensive planning system was undertaken under the Hospital Provision Act (WZV) to regulate hospital capacity, the main motive being that many people felt hospitals were too concentrated in the urban areas and too few were located in other parts of the country (Den Exter, et al. 2004). Planning, regulation and management In the 1960s and 1970s, the expansion of health technology and healthcare resulted in a steep increase in health care costs. The main cause of the cost increase was attributed to the building of new hospitals and healthcare institutions. The Hospital Provision Act (WZV) of 1971 became the Dutch governments most important hospital planning tool, enabling the government to regulate construction of all healthcare institutions. The responsibility for its implementation was allocated to the provincial health authorities. The overarching goal of the WZV was to regulate the supply and promote the efficiency of hospital care. Hospitals were not to be constructed or renovated without successfully passing a declaration and licensing process. Approval of the building project rested on a detailed plan for each hospital service affected in a specific geographic region, which included a description of the existing service capacity, the suggested change of capacity, and a schedule to complete the project. The planning process began with the issuance of an instruction from the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport to the provincial government. The instruction described the categories of hospital facilities for which plans were to be developed, the geographical region covered, and the deadline to complete this. Provincial governments considered a number of regulations and guidelines in the process. Regulations related to the planning process and guidelines to the content of the plan. Many stakeholders were involved in the formation of regulations, including hospitals, patients and consumer organizations, local authorities, and insurance companies. In the initial stage, the provincial government prepared a draft plan. This plan included: an inventory of existing capacities; an evaluation of the existing situation in terms of shortages and weaknesses; a description of construction, renovation and expansion proposals; and an implementation plan and time schedule. Subsequently, the draft was forwarded to the health minister for approval. The health minister, after counseling the Hospital Provision Board (CBZ), determined whether or not the draft was acceptable. The draft plan formed the foundation for the issuance of so-called acknowledgements, which allowed hospitals to receive reimbursement for services from health insurers. The drawbacks of the initial hospital planning process under the Hospital Provision Act (WZV) were its complexity and lack of flexibility. Therefore, in January 2000, in order to improve the planning process, a new Act, the Special Medical Procedures Act (WBMV), came into existence. The focus of this Act was on quality of care rather than cost containment and aimed at promoting healthcare with maximum quality and minimum risk to patients at affordable cost (Den Exter et al., 2004). Decentralization According to Den Exter et al., in the Netherlands policy traditionally has been prepared and implemented by a massive neocorporate bureaucracy, uniting government agencies, quasi-governmental organizations (the advisory and executive bodies), suppliers and providers in the private sector, and insurance companies. This national body has a significant degree of control over decisions regarding the number and distribution of hospital beds and specialist places, and on investment decisions and management costs in health care. In the 1970s, centralized government coordination and planning became the leading principle in the Dutch healthcare system. However, the 1974 policy paper Structuring health care (Structuurnota Gezondheidszorg), contained proposals for decentralized administration by regional and local authorities (Second Chamber of Parliament, 1974). In 1986, the coalition government departed from the centralized model by undertaking major reforms, especially in the field of social health insurance. The integration of different insurance schemes into one social insurance for all Dutch citizens (with largely income-related contributions) was a bone of contention. The aim was to increase solidarity in healthcare financing. Under these reforms, all insurance companies would function as independent and risk-bearing insurers and compete for insured patients under the same regulations. A central fund (centrale kas) was to provide budgets for all the insurers. A key issue in the reforms was the shift of the insurance risk from the public funding system to the individual insurance plan, justified by the less government, more market trend. The shift of insurance risk involved a policy of transferring regulating competencies from the collective to the private sector, such as providers and insurance companies. In the Netherlands, this policy is called functional decentralization. This has mainly occurred in the cure-sector, which entails acute care and both specialist and general medicine. By means of negotiations and contracts, an increasing number of health insurers and providers have become important determinants in shaping and interpreting healthcare today, while the government and administrative agencies used to assume these roles in the past. This is emphasized by the new role assumed by medical specialists in hospital care. For example, they have acquired an independent coordinating position versus both hospital management and sickness funds (Scholten and van der Grinten, 1998). Hospital budget reforms In the Netherlands, today all hospitals and other healthcare institutions are required to have an overall annual budget. This is in line with the governments cost-containment policy. If the hospital exceeds its budget, there is no possibility of recalculation or compensation. Specialist fees are an exception to this overall hospital budget. Below follows an overview of the budget reforms that have taken place up until 2009. Function-directed budgeting (1988 2000) The old budget system, which was in use since 1988, was a function-directed budget system. The budget was divided in four cost components: location costs, fixed costs, semi-fixed costs, and variable costs. Location costs concern infrastructure, for example buildings and equipment including depreciation and interest. In the old budget system, these investments required approval by the health minister under the Hospital Provision Act (WZV). Second, fixed costs are costs that do not generally vary with the activity volume. For example, the number of people served by a hospital in the region. Thirdly, semi-fixed costs are not affected by the scale of production of a hospital in the short run. These are capacity-based costs, and include the number of beds and specialist units. Finally, variable costs are directly related to the activity volume or the production (production units) of the hospital. Parameters for variable costs include admissions, outpatient visits, nursing days, day care and day treatments (Den Exter et al., 2004). In the old system, the hospital budget was determined as follows: Number of persons in service area (x tariff) + number of licensed hospital beds (x tariff) + number of licensed specialist units (x tariff) + negotiated volumes of production units, for example hospital admissions (x tariff), inpatient days (x tariff), first outpatient contacts (x tariff), day surgery (x tariff) and special treatments (x tariff) Tariffs varied with hospital size, implying larger hospitals were allocated higher tariffs than smaller hospitals. In addition, hospitals were allocated capital expense budgets. For example, rebuilding projects and new hospital construction projects were covered by a 100% mark-up applied for 50 years. This implies payment was guaranteed for 50 years through a mark-up in the day rate. As a result, hospitals were not exposed to financial risk regarding major capital expenses. Further, hospitals received a standardized budget for small investments, such as maintenance. These investments did not require the approval of the health minister. Performance-driven budgeting (2000 2005) Until 2000, hospitals still received the full budget when it produced less inpatient days than estimated under the principle budget=budget. However, this was changed into a performance-driven payment system implying hospitals would get paid less if they would produce less inpatient days than agreed upon with health insurers. The underlying notion of this change was to increase hospital production, in order to put a halt to waiting lists. However, this transition brought a number of new problems along: Hospital budgets were unable to keep up with the increase in demand for hospital care. While patients paid insurance, they were unable to benefit from hospital service directly because of waiting lists. The admissions, inpatient days and day surgery tariffs used to set the budget proved completely artificial, not reflecting true costs. Incentives for efficiency were weak. The budgeting system did not stimulate hospitals to inform insurers and patients about their performance. This is a politically sensitive issue, as hospitals received extra money to combat waiting lists but were reluctant to explain for what goals they used this money. DBC-budgeting and dot (2005 present) Therefore, a new gradual transition is currently taking place to a Diagnosebehandelings-combinatie (Diagnosis Treatment Combination, DBC) financing system. The DBC system has the following implications: a transition to output pricing with defined and priced patient-treatment categories; location costs remain fixed and all other maintenance costs will be integrated into the location cost center of hospital budgets (set by the College Tarieven Gezondheidszorg, CTG, Healthcare Tariffs Council); and hospitals are contracted by sickness funds based on patient-treatment categories. The main notion is that hospitals are reimbursed for the costs they incur resulting from medical treatments. The DBC-A segment tariffs (acute care) remains government regulated (through the NZa, Dutch Healthcare Authority) and concerns acute care, whereas hospitals are largely free to negotiate tariffs with healthcare insurers in the DBC-B-segment (non-acute care) in an effort to promote market forces. Currently , about 34% of the DBCs is allocated to the B-segment; the Dutch Health Ministry aims to increase this proportion to 50-60% by 2011 (Van Poucke, 2009). The DBC system is comparable to the DRG (Diagnosis Related Group) system used abroad. However, there are a number of differences: DRGs are coded at the beginning of the treatment, while DBCs are coded afterwards. A patient can be coded in more than one DBC. In the DBC system the coding is not done by special personnel but by a medical specialist. The physician salary is included in the DBC, giving physicians an incentive for upcoding. In the DBC system, more flexibility is granted to parties that negotiate at the local level on production, number of treatments, and number of specialists. Furthermore, efforts are being made to integrate the fee-for-service system for specialists and the hospital budget system into a single integrated budget (Den Exter 2004). However, since the system is still in early development, the effects of DBC financing on hospitals are still ambiguous. As a result, improvements have been proposed which will be implemented as of January 1 2011 under the DOT (DBCs Op weg naar Transparantie, DBCs on the road to Transparency). This implies that the 100,000 DBC products will be sized down to only 3,000 in order to increase transparency for the patient, healthcare practitioners and healthcare insurers (DBC Onderhoud, 2009). Real estate investment reforms Until 2008, the Dutch healthcare system applied a publicly supported healthcare real estate budget system. However, since 2008, Dutch healthcare institutions have become financially responsible for the return and risks of their real estate investments (see Chapter 5: Real estate investments). Moreover, the Dutch healthcare system is changing toward a regulated market system with increased competition between healthcare providers. According to Van der Zwart et al. (2009), these developments are likely to change the way healthcare institutions will manage and finance their real estate, the location choices they make and the building typology they choose. Furthermore, real estate is becoming an increasingly strategic fifth source of profitability and overall performance, similar to capital, human resources, information and technology (see figure 2.1). For hospitals, considering and using real estate as a strategic production asset can reap added value, as will be explained in section 2.2.2. Financing hospital real estate: from supply-driven to regulated market forces As health insurers now negotiate quality and quantity agreements with hospitals and patients are broadening their horizons, the importance of an integrated approach to the product hospital care. Hospitals should be able to use their real estate as a distinguishing element in attracting customers (the patient). As a result, real estate is being transformed into a strategic resource for hospitals as well and hospital executives are paying growing attention to real estate management, including location management (what to do where), business plans (do investments yield positive returns) and real estate asset valuation. Building plans are based on functional clustering: hospitals divide new buildings into hotels (patient rooms), hot floors (operating rooms), offices (simple treatments, patient consults), and industrial plants (medical support/facilitating functions). As hospitals are no longer required to own their real estate assets, some are seeking partners willing to take over some o f their real estate management (Windhorst 2006). The Dutch government used to be in charge of allocating the budget of healthcare real estate investment, but is moving toward a regulated market system to keep healthcare affordable in the future. This deregulation gives healthcare institutions the opportunity to make their own decisions, translating into more individual responsibility and a higher risk exposure of investments. The government no longer guarantees financial support for real estate investments, and thus real estate investments have to be financed by the production and delivery of healthcare services. As a result, the need for competitive advantage will also increase (Van der Zwart, et al., 2009). The Dutch government used to apply a strict approval system in the former real estate budget system in order to regulate the capacity and costs of hospital health care. All initiatives to build, renovate or demolish a hospital building were evaluated in terms of their fit with a regulated overall capacity per service area, square meter guidelines per hospital bed and per function, and a maximum standard of costs per square meter (Van der Zwart, et al., 2009: 2). The initiatives were approved by the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sports, who was advised by the Netherlands Board for Healthcare Institutions. The real estate capital costs (depreciation, rent, maintenance costs and so on) were guaranteed by the government. The healthcare providers real estate budget was independent of the production of healthcare services. According to Van der Zwart et al., hospitals did not bear any responsibility for the risks of their real estate investments in the old system. Furthermore, they were not responsible for the running costs and a possible deficit if production decreased. As a result, hospitals attempted to obtain the maximum amount of square meters and were not encouraged to be either cost efficient or cost effective. In March 2005, the Dutch Minister of Health, Welfare and Sports announced the modification of this real estate budget system and the introduction of a healthcare system with regulated market forces (Hoogervorst, 2005). The main goal is to keep healthcare affordable by stimulating competition and, as a result, reduce healthcare costs. This deregulation provides healthcare institutions with more flexibility in the briefing, design and management of hospital buildings and real estate investments. Similar to the old system, private not-for-profit initiatives are still the main force behind the capacity of hospitals, but in the new system hospitals are themselves responsible for the return on real estate investment and the effects of real estate decisions on utility value, investment costs and running costs. Since January 2008, hospitals have to finance real estate investments and capital costs from their product and service revenues. This implies a switch from a centrally steered real estate budget system with governmental ex ante testing of building plans and investment proposals into a performance driven and regulated finance system on the output (Van der Zwart, 2009: 3). To ensure a smooth transition, there is a transition phase until 2012 with a standardized and maximized budget for capital costs per m ². This trend will have a strong effect on the briefing, design and management of hospital real estate (Van der Voordt, 2009). Hospitals will get new opportunities while experiencing higher risks at the same time and hospitals will have to aim more at competitive advantage. Furthermore, partnerships with private partners will be more common. According to Fritzsche et al. (2005) and van Hasselt (2005), this transition has a number of implications, as illustrated in table 2.1 and figure 2.1. Moreover, organizational changes (e.g. mergers and network organizations), demographic changes (ageing of the population, multicultural diversity), technological developments (e.g. new medical equipment, new installation techniques), fluctuations in the economy and changing views on healthcare and the responsibility of government, healthcare organizations, market players and healthcare consumers play their role, too (Van der Voort, 2009: 2). As a result of mergers and the growth in hospital functions, hospitals are likely to grow even larger than before. Van der Voordt argues that all these changes affect the healthcare real estate stock and cause a need for new health care real estate management strategies. Christensen et al. (2000) warn for the entrenched and change-averse nature of healthcare systems. They argue governments and institutions should be more open to business models that may seem to threaten the status quo at first, but will eventually enhance the quality of healthcare for the end-user: the patient. New institutions with disruptive business models adapted to new technologies and markets should replace entrenched and old-fashioned institutions. Thus, they conclude that government and healthcare sector leaders should help insurers, regulators, hospitals and health professionals to facilitate disruption instead of preventing it. Current challenges The practical implications for hospitals of the current transition to a new healthcare system in terms of capital financing and real estate investments will be further explained in chapter 4 and 5. First, the following section will elaborate on the theoretical foundations of corporate real estate management. Corporate real estate management In order to make well considered decisions with regard to new building projects, rebuilding projects and the sale of real estate property, a deep knowledge of the real estate property and the many related internal and external developments is required. For example, what actions need to be taken in order to eliminate or reduce discrepancies between demand and supply? And how effectively does real estate support the main business processes? Corporate Real Estate Management is one of the disciplines that addresses such questions. The key issue at stake here is to align the supply (e.g. locations, properties) with the requirements related to the primary process (demand) and the strategic goals of the organization. The overall aim is to create maximum added value for the organization while ensuring a maximum contribution to total organizational performance (Van der Voort, 2009). Increasingly, (corporate) real estate is becoming a substantial resource for firms and other institutions. For example, firms are looking at real estate to provide both stability and capital growth to their portfolios. It thus presents an attractive return compared to the volatility in equity prices (DTZ, 2006). Already in the early 1990s, researchers began to call attention to the largely unrecognized importance of corporate real estate to many businesses. They pointed at the substantial balance sheet value of real estate and the large proportion of operating expenses resulting from real estate services (Roulac, 2001). For example, Veale (1989) concluded corporate space costs account for 10% to 20% of operating expenses or nearly 50% of net operating income. In their paper, Rediscover your Companys Real Estate, Zeckhauser and Silverman (1983) estimate corporate real estate accounts for 25 to 40 % of the total assets of the average firm. Many firms underestimate the intrinsic value of their real estate portfolio, even though the magnitude of costs related to owning properties are second only to payroll costs (Veale, 1989). Zeckhauser and Silvermans survey results mention 7 important steps a firm can take to make more efficient use of its real estate assets. For example, firms should manage real estate responsibly and set achievable goals in order to generate profits from its real estate assets or limit costs. Furthermore, a firms choice of real estate activities other than managing property depends on the nature of the business it operates in and the historical record of its real estate portfolio. This implies that firms that more heavily depend on real estate for their business activities might be more actively involved with their proper ty management. Zeckhauser and Silverman conclude that every firm should review and adjust its real estate policies to reconcile operating objectives with real estate values and opportunities, and evaluate the intrinsic value of its property. Though the return on real estate is generally lower than the return on the core business activity, real estate may provide other forms of added value, such as efficiency and effectiveness of the activities in the firm. Kaplan and Nortons (1992) balanced score card approach describes the performance of a corporation as being defined by a combination of financial, internal business, customer, and innovation and learning perspectives. In addition to the financial value of real estate, unique characteristics such as the design of a building transform real estate into an asset that can be difficult to imitate, substitute, or trade. Furthermore, the physical image of a building may function as a marketing tool, attracting attention to a firms services. Thus, when buildings reflect the business purpose and promote important work relationships they can contribute significantly to corporate strategy and serve to distinguish a firm from its competitors (Krumm de Vries, 2003). Strategic corporate real estate management Roulac (2001), with his Aligning corporation real property with corporate strategy-model, links real estate strategies with sources of competitive advantage. A corporate business strategy addresses key elements such as customers, employees and processes. A corporate property strategy affects employee satisfaction, production factor economics, (realized and foregone) business opportunities, risk management decisions and other effects on business value. Thus, it is crucial in enhancing or inhibiting the companys expression of its core competency and the extent to which it can realize its core capabilities to their full potential (Roulac, 2001). The existing scientific research in this field has resulted in the conclusion that it is generally more advantageous for firms to rent, rather than own the real estate they use, enabling them to free up capital to invest in the things they are good at (Brounen and Eichholtz, 2003). The shares of firms who sell their real estate typically outperform the average and firms with large corporate real estate holdings are typically associated with relatively low performance. However, within the field of real estate finance, little research has been conducted on the effects of alternative real estate financing structures on the performance of non-profit organizations, such as hospitals. Though Eichholtz and Kok (2007) examined the performance effects of alternative real estate financing on the American senior healthcare sector, little is known about the performance of hospitals owned and/or operated through alternative real estate financing structures such as, for example, public private partnerships (PPPs). In 1993, real estate expert Michael Joroff (1993) expressed the need for a move in real estate management from a purely operational approach to a more strategic one, including a strong emphasis on the role of real estate in achieving corporate goals. According to Joroff, this requires a switch from a day-to-day focus on building management (manager) and controlling accommodation costs (controller) towards standardized real estate utilization (trader), adapting real estate assets to the market (entrepreneur), and eventually ensuring strategic real estate decisions contribute to corporate goals (strategist). See figure 2.2 below. An organization often finds itself in a combination of different stages. According to Fritzsche (2005) hospitals still need to make the move to the upper stages. Thus, when hospitals make a transformation to more business-like entities, they will find themselves in the entrepreneur or strategist stage. However, it is debatable whether hospitals should be located in the final stage, as hospitals in essence are non-profit foundations and do not have the same goals and core-business activities as business organizations. This is where the classical debate regarding public versus private provision of a public good (healthcare) enters the arena; this will be discussed further in section 2.3. The added values of real estate According to De Jonge (2002), several ways