Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Top Human Resources Essay Topics Reviews!

Top Human Resources Essay Topics Reviews! Studying should incorporate task of essay that argues a specific idea. Choosing great essay topics for middle school must be a careful procedure, where a balance needs to be struck between topics that might be too simplistic, more appropriate for the main school, and choosing argumentative essay topics that might be too elaborate or controversial. If you are pleased with the degree of your knowledge on a specific subject, hen you may safely consider it as the topic for your essay. In the procedure for selecting a topic, you also need to test your argument. After you choose a topic, you must answer the query and after that substantiate your response with three or more motivations as to why you think like that. Also, an entire revision is essential at the close of the undertaking. When it has to do with writing an argumentative essay, the most significant point to do is to select a topic and an argument that you could really get behind. An excellent writer will have the ability to earn any topic interesting, and one which knows and understands how to construct the essay as effectively as possible will have the ability to acquire excellent grades, regardless of what the topic is. Write an essay to convince your principal your idea is one which should be adopted. Another good idea is to receive some totally free essay examples of different sorts and on various subjects to find a general idea of the way in which a prosperous debatable paper looks. What You Should Do to Find Out About Human Resources Essay Topics Before You're Left Behind When it has to do with human resources you not only have various topics that you could pick from, you've got whole sorts of topics you may choose from. For a student in the center school the typical topics are linked to scien ce and history. Recent argumentative essay topics that are related to society is going to do. There are a few great topics to take into consideration when deciding on a topic for your argumentative essay. There are lots of aspects about a sport which can be argued in an essay. Gun ownership ought to be tightly controlled. As a student you should have the interest to work on a specific topic and excel in the exact same. The subject can be associated with science or literature. The Upside to Human Resources Essay Topics Direct applicants are those who put in an application for a job without prompting from the business. Yearly driving tests ought to be mandatory for the initial five years after obtaining a license. They should be mandatory over a certain age. Human Resources Essay Topics and Human Resources Essay Topics - The Perfect Combination Choose something you're in a position to discuss or describe and something which will present your good qualities to your teacher. Remember that you have to reveal the best about yourself. Pick 1 person whom you admire for their leadership abilities and write about the traits which make them special and how they've influenced you someh ow. It's recommended that you just opt for the topic that it is possible to deal with, for instance, if you're not t sketching the personality characteristics then you ought to better not elect for it. School should happen in the evenings. Task B ought to be given in a format so the Operations Managers can use it immediately. Some schools in america are requiring that students volunteer for a number of hours each semester to aid on a community issue. A trusted writing services company may assist you with all that. Advertisements in newspapers have a tendency to generate less desirable recruits and it's a larger expense. Human Resources Essay Topics: the Ultimate Convenience! Bear in mind which you can make funny argumentative essays if you do a few things. Every one of the ideas above will provide you with a chance to reveal your creative side and capacity to talk about your opinion. Afterwards, you have to explain the explanations for which you support that side. Only once you know every detail, you will be able to bring a determined position and produce ideas to support it. Books ought never to be banned. Life is far better than it was 50 decades ago. Kids ought to be able to vote. Cell phones should not be used while driving.

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Essay about Anthropology - 1177 Words

Paulina Para November 2, 2015 Anthropology 101 â€Å"Cold Water† Cold Water, directed by Noriko Ogami is a documentary from 1986 about cross-cultural adaptation and culture shock. It is about diving into a new culture and having it feel, as one foreign student puts it, like a â€Å"plunge into cold water.† Twelve Boston University foreign students express their perceptions of their experiences in the U.S. as each of them (plus one American student and three specialists) is interviewed about living and studying in a new culture. Initial focus is on the arrival and immediate post-arrival period and the culture shock which, for most of the interviewees, follows on its heels. It becomes clear that central to the problems encountered†¦show more content†¦Next, things gets easier. The third stage said from this documentary happens to be the adjustment stage. Here things start to clear up and you start to feel more at ease and at home. Frustrations are often subdued as travelers begin to feel more familiar and comfortable with the cultures, people, food, and languages of new environments. Soon the navigation becomes easier along with the friends and communities of support are being established. Finally the last stage is referred as the â€Å"acceptance stage,† according to one foreign student. After some weeks or months we are noticing improvement within ourselves after have wrestling with the emotional stages. The final stage of cultural shock doesn’t mean that the new cultures and environments are completely understood, it signifies realization that complete understanding isn’t necessary to function and thrive in new surroundings. During this stage, travelers have the familiarity and are able to draw together the resources they need to feel at ease. The same students which laid out for us the stages of cultural shock also shared their experiences expressing how they felt about Americans. Tina Lang, one of the foreign students at Boston University referred Americans as â€Å"superficial.† As direct and straight forward as that description was I like to agree with her. As Americans we are so focused on looking our best on the outside that we never put aside any time to work on ourShow MoreRelatedAnthropology : Anthropology And Cultural Anthropology1472 Words   |  6 PagesWhat is anthropology? This is a question that can be answered in numerous ways, but we are going to define it as simple as possible. If we break the word down into its two components it means the study of human beings. â€Å"Anthropo† means human beings or human kind and â€Å"logy† or â€Å"logia† is Greek for the study or knowledge of something. When we put it all together, it is the study of human beings which can be very broad. A nthropology can be broken down into four subfields: physical anthropology, archaeologyRead MoreAnthropology : Anthropology And Anthropology1550 Words   |  7 Pagesimagined the endless careers that are available to anthropology majors, before taking Professor Sharratt’s Intro to Anthropology course. The things that I have learned in anthropology have opened my mind to a variety of different career paths that is possible with a degree in anthropology. Anthropology majors go off to a plethora of careers with their degrees in anthropology. Anthropology is â€Å"the study of humankind in all times and place†. Anthropology has four different subfields which include: Physical/BiologicalRead MoreAnthropology : The Anthropology Of Sports1496 Words   |  6 PagesAnthropology is a generic term which originates from the Greek word anthropo logos which means the â€Å"study of man.† Anthropology is the most comprehensive among the social sciences, covering every aspect of human behaviour, past, present and the future (Blanchard 1995:2). The anthropology of sports serves as a unique social scientific approach to understand and analyse sports alongside the practical application of results to real problems (Blanchard 1995:23) and like all other social sciences, operatesRead MoreCultural Anthropology : Physical Anthropology3800 Words   |  16 Pagesglossary Anthropology: It is a general comprehensive science of man in the past and present of any culture. This is divided into two main areas: physical anthropology, dealing with biological evolution and physiological adaptation of humans, and social or cultural anthropology that deals with people living in society, ie forms of evolution of language, culture and customs. Anthropology uses tools and knowledge produced by the natural sciences and the social sciences. Aspiration of anthropologicalRead MoreThe Anthropology Of Cultural Anthropology1370 Words   |  6 Pagescultural anthropology, which seeks to understand the purpose and place of the humans in this world. It will include anthropology as a social science, the concept of culture, and it would also introduction the human evolution and to archaeology, ethnographic field methods. The importance of human language, human development, patterns, global economy, marriage and the family, gender issues, global politics and local political organization, social stratification, medical anthropology, ethnicityRead MoreVisual Anthropology And Cultural Anthropology1554 Words   |  7 PagesAnthropologists have been able to study the differences in human cultures and how they have evolve. â€Å"There are now four major fields of anthropology: biological anthropology, cultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology, and archaeology† (Dennis O Neil). Within these fields are subfields, visual anthropology is a very important subfield of cultural anthropology. Visual anthropology is the study of the history of human customs and culture through what one sees or perceives in various types of media. ThereforeRead MoreAnthropology and Its Branches1728 Words   |  7 PagesAnthropology is the study of human beings, in particular the study of their physical character, evolutionary history, racial classification, historical and present-day geographic distribution, group relationships, and cultural history. Anthropology can be c haracterized as the naturalistic description and interpretation of the diverse peoples of the world. Modern-day anthropology consists of two major divisions: cultural anthropology, which deals with the study of human culture in all its aspects;Read More Anthropology1316 Words   |  6 PagesAnthropology Anthropology what a vulnerable observer you are! You may well have to jump into the arms of the scientists if you are going to try to keep your grass hut at the academy! -- Ruth Behar Debates on the role the reflexive plague the field of cultural anthropology as postmodern critics join the bandwagon attempting to claim authority in this dubiously recognized discipline. In the borderline realm between the sciences and humanities, cultural anthropology has tried to find a nicheRead MoreCultural Anthropology Of Humans Living And Dead Anthropology938 Words   |  4 Pagesnot share the same ideals as them. This lack of communication is a major barrier in advancement of our world. Anthropology, in short, is the study of humans living and dead Anthropology is divided into five main categories: applied, linguistic, medical, biological, archaeological, and cultural. Each of these five divisions teaches a different aspect of human life. Cultural anthropology teaches acceptance. There are social norms that can be found in every culture, the difference from culture to cultureRead MorePhilosophical Anthropology2982 Words   |  12 PagesPhilosophical Anthropology ABSTRACT: Philosophers cannot avoid addressing the question of whether philosophical anthropology (that is, specifically philosophical inquiry about human nature and human phenomenon) is possible. Any answer must be articulated in the context of the nature and function of philosophy. In other words, philosophical anthropology must be defined as an account of the nature of the subject of philosophical thinking. I argue that if philosophical thinkers admit that they

Monday, December 9, 2019

Analysis Of Wesfarmers and Woolworths †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Analysis Of Wesfarmers and Woolworths. Answer: Introduction: The performance of any commercial enterprise or an industry can be evaluated with the help of the top down analysis or the bottom up analysis, taking into account the broader perspective and from the point of view of company. The top down mechanism includes the breaking down of a system into its sub-components such that an insight about the sub-systems can be attained using backward calculations. The approach includes specifying and designing of an overview of the concerned organization (Petty et al. 2015). The component systems of a construct, under this approach are broken down to smaller sub-systems till the basic elements of the system are reached. Therefore, this approach starts with the system as a whole and breaks it down to parts and sub-parts in order to get a detailed insight about the activities of the enterprise. The report conducts these two analysis on two of the retail giants operating in the Australian supermarket and retail grocery industry, the names being Wesfarmer s and Woolworths (Heinrich 2012). Top down Approach: It is necessary to take into account the overall economic scenario of Australia in order to analyze the performances of the above-mentioned retail giants. Australia, being one of the leading economies in the global scenario, has been performing consistently well in more or less all the economic indicators and has shown a persisting economic growth for the last 26 years. The country being one of the primary mixed economies in the world, is known for the stability in its policy frameworks and in its inflation rate, unemployment and flexibility in the currency exchange rate (Brigham and Houston 2012). The overall consistent performance of the countrys economy can be seen from the above figure, according to which the GDP of the country in 2016 is seen to be USD 1.205 trillion. The inflation prevailing in the economy is also found to be moderate (1.9%). The rate of unemployment though shows an above moderate growth (5.6%), however, the employment is also seen to be growing at a 2% rate. In a generalized scenario, the overall economic growth of the country is seen to be 1.8%. Along with the stability in the economic growth, the country is also experiencing a high population growth, much of which can be attributed to the migration of job seekers and other from all parts of the world (Source: RBA 2017). This, taken together with the economic growth, creates a huge aggregate demand, which in turn, creates scope of increasing supply and overall productivity, thereby asserting the presence of opportunities of expansion and growth of the retail industries which includes the grocery retail and the supermarkets also. With the advent of globalization, international trade has also expanded a lot in the last few decades, which clubbed with the liberal trading strategies of the country has played a crucial role in the growth of the economy. Along with this the stable and low inflation statistics and the increasing employment generation also helps in raising the standard of living of the people by improving their purchasing power, which in turn increases the demand in the economy (Plumb, Kent and Bishop 2013). The flexible exchange rates in the country also facilitates trade and has helped in keeping the economy floating at the times of severe crisis like that of the Global Financial Crisis which occurred in 2007-2008. The Reserve Bank of Australia manipulated the exchange rate according to the export import demands of the country in order to make the economy more competent in the global commerce scenario. The economy enjoys high demand in domestic as well as in international markets, which in turn facilitates the industrial prosperity of the country (Huang, Zhou and Zhu 2012). One of the predominant players in the industrial scenario of Australia is the industry of retail grocery and supermarket, contributing almost 29% of the Australian GDP, with the two key supermarkets being Woolworths and Westfarmers. Together, these two giants enjoy the maximum share of the market. This can be seen as follows: As can be seen from the above figure, the highest share in the market is of the Woolworths (36.3%), which is immediately followed by the Coles (33.2%), Coles being the Wesfarmers supermarket wing. Together, these two giants occupy nearly 70% of the supermarket and grocery retail industry of the country (Dwivedi et al. 2012). Woolworths Supermarket: This chain, owed by the enterprise, Woolworths limited, was established on December 5, 1924. Listed as WOW in the Stock Exchange of the country, it has emerged as the leasing player in the market in the last few decades. With 1000 stores all over the country (968 supermarkets and 19 convenience stores), the company was seen to enjoy a revenue of 42.132 billion Australian Dollar in 2015. The enterprise employs around 111,000 people all over the country and thus is one of the primary employment creator in this market of the Australian economy (Woolworths.com.au 2017). . Much of the growth of this enterprise has been facilitated by the growth in the economy of Australia. As all the sections of the population, irrespective of economic status, age and gender are potential clients for the company, therefore, with the growth in the employment and the wage rate in the country and with more disposable income in the hands of the residents of the country, the company has experienced a growth in their productivity and employing capacity. The Wesfarmers: The enterprise mainly started as a farmers cooperative in Western Australia in 1914, is now one of the predominant companies in the country, and has its base of operations in many industries operating under this umbrella brand. The enterprise ventures in convenience stores, supermarkets, hotels and others. The industrial unit deals with chemicals, fertilizers and safety products and others. The business environment (both internal as well as external) of the country has helped a lot in catalyzing the growth of this cooperative with time in such a way that it could emerge as one of the super powers in the Australian market in the recent times (Wesfarmers.com.au, 2017). The supermarket chain under the umbrella of the Wesfarmers, the Coles, is currently one of the largest in its domain and it competes with the multi-national counterparts like those of Aldi and the Woolworths. The organizational structure of this enterprise is highly dynamic and adaptive and strives to achieve sustainability in growth and productivity with time. The company has significant implications on the employment generation scenario of the country as it employs nearly 220,000 people across the nation and plays a crucial role in increasing the purchasing power of the residents as a whole. The company is also one of the biggest tax-payers in Australia, thereby having implications on the overall social welfare of the country also (Biddle 2016). The business environment of these two commercial giants seems to be flourishing as the economy sees a continuous increase in the aggregate demand by the citizens, which in its turn is facilitated by the low rates of inflation prevailing in the country. Both the companies try to expand their business operations with an objective of catering to the ever-changing demands of the customers (Keith 2012). The Coles mainly lease smaller stores and arrangements in order to keep their loyal customers, but they can hardly move out from their old sites. The enterprise has taken the strategy of refurbishing their old retail sites in order to adapt to the changing economic pattern. The possibility of rebranding is present with the enterprise and they are also currently adding floor space to the business (Berg 2014). The enterprise keeps on monitoring, refurbishing, and restocking their inventories in order to keep up with the continuously changing taste and preference of their customers. This in t urn is a matter of huge investments on part of the company (Campbell 2017). Conclusion: As can be seen from the above discussion the growth in the concerned industry has largely been facilitated by the favorable economic conditions prevailing in the country. However, the welfare of this industry is highly dependent on the stability of the economic indicators and any fluctuation in the latter can have implications (both negative and positive) on the dynamics of the supermarket industry. If there is an increase in the currency exchange rate in the Australian economy, then imports will be affordable whereas the export market is expected to see a downfall. This in turn will also affect the concerned industry, as the export potential of the same will decrease whereas the imports by the enterprises will see a rise. The overall sales is expected to reduce. On the other hand, increase in unemployment can also adversely affect the revenue generation of these supermarkets as increase in unemployment signifies loss in the overall purchasing power of the residents which will result in a decrease in the aggregate demand in the economy as a whole and also specifically for the supermarkets. Bottom-Up Analysis of the two companies: In this section of the report, the bottom up analysis of the performance of the two concerned enterprises is conducted to see how well they are prospering. This can be seen as follows: Woolworth Limited- The enterprise poses as one of the predominant companies in the retail sector of not only Australia but also of New Zealand. The company on an average earns revenue worth 59 billion USD (2016), thereby emerging as the second largest player in the countrys retail industry from the aspect of revenue generation. The company operates in Bella Vista. Wesfarmers Limited- Since 1914, this conglomeration in the retail industry of Australia, has been operating successfully in Perth. The company also ventures in arenas of mining, safety products, chemicals and fertilizers and has a revenue generation of about 65.98 billion AUD, which is even more than that of the former enterprise, thereby making itself the largest revenue generator and one of the significant employment generators in the economy of Australia (Akbar and Ahsan 2014). In general, the performances of any commercial enterprise, in terms of the financial perspective depend on several key factors, which influence the performance not only in the short run but also in the long run. These factors can be broadly classified into Financial and Non-financial key factors (Damodaran 2016). The performance of an enterprise, in terms of the financial key indicators, comprises of factors like the profit, revenue, returns on equity and invested capital, cash flow (operating), net sales of the company, per share earnings, debt-to-net ratios of profit and others. In this report, in the following sections, the performances of the two concerned companies are analyzed based on the financial indicators mentioned above, with the help of the financial reports of the two companies. This is done in order to portray their trajectory of performance and their respective positions in the industry (Parmenter 2015). Current Financial performance of the two companies: Woolsworth: Revenue- The enterprise has recorded a total revenue of 58.27 million AUD in the recent year which has declined negligibly from 59 million AUD in the previous financial year. Sales- However, the sales of the enterprise has significantly declined from 58.81 million dollars in the last year to around 53.47 million dollars in the recent period. Net profit- Post tax deduction, the net profit of the enterprise, which was 2137.4 million dollars in the previous year, has come up to 2347.9 million AUD in 2016 implying that the commercial enterprise has experienced positive profits from its financial activities in the last year. Cash flow- There has been a significant fall in the operating cash flow of the company, from 3345.1 million AUD in 2015 to a mere 2357.5 million AUD in 2016 (Arli et al. 2013). Dividend payment- In 2016, the per share dividend payment is seen to be at 77.0 cents, which was 139.0 cents in the previous year. This indicates towards a drastic fall in this indicator, much of which may be due to the increase in the cost of production and fall in the revenue margins of the enterprise. Basic earnings- The per share basic earnings has also reduced remarkably from 170.8 cents to as less as 97.7 cents from the previous financial year to this year. Capital expenditure- This has grown from 45.24% (2015) to 57.96% (2016) for the enterprise. Current ratio- The current ratio has decreased from 0.41% in the previous year to 0.39% in the current year (Rajabian Tabesh, Batt and Butler 2016). Book Value per share- This was -271.03 cents in the previous year. However, it has decreased furthermore to -287.89 cents in the current financial year. Wesfarmers: Revenue- The revenue of this enterprise, which was 62.44 billion AUD in the last year, has experienced an increase to 65.98 billion AUD in 2016, thereby showing a growth of 5.6% in the revenue statistics of the company from the last financial year. Net profit- The post tax profit of the company has changed from that of $2440 million in 2015 to $2353 million in the current year, thereby showing a noticeable fall in the net profit statistics. Capital expenses- The capital expenses in the recent period was recorded to be 1899 million dollars in the recent period for the company, which 15.2% less than that incurred by the enterprise in the previous period, much of which may be attributed to the fall in the expenses of the new stores opened by the same (Kilroy and Schneider 2017). Returns on equity- This had been 9.8% in 2015 and is now 9.6%. This indicator shows the capability of the enterprise of profit generation from the shareholders equity. Also termed as the net asset, this indicator shows the usage of the investment funds by the enterprise and thus may be used to compare the profitability of the different enterprises in an industry. Higher value of this indictor implies higher returns on equity. Per share earnings- The per share earnings of the firm has decreased a little from 216.1 cents in 2015 to 209.5 cents in the current period. Cash flow- The operating cash flow has experienced a significant fall from 1893 million AUD in the previous financial year to 1233 million AUD in the current times. The per share cash flow has also decreased as a result from 335.1 cents to 299.2 cents for the enterprise. Dividend- The per share dividend of the company has also seen a decline from 200 cents in 2015 to 186 cents in the recent times thereby showing a decline in the returns of the shareholders of the enterprise (Carter 2015). Net Debt- This statistics show a remarkable increase from $6209 million to as high as $7103 million in one year. This huge increase has forced the firm into deficit financing. The net debt for equity has also increased by 2.31% from the last year. The deficit financing sources of the company are mainly the banks, domestic, Euro and the US bonds (Daley and Wood 2015). Non-Financial Performance Indicators: In order to get a clear view about the overall performance of any commercial enterprise, it is of utmost importance to take into account the non-financial indicator along with the financial ones. These indicators are generally not included in the financial statements issued by the commercial enterprises but their role cannot be neglected in the overall assessment of the companys performance in short run as well as in the long run (Collier 2015). Much of the success of an organization depend on non financial factors like the position of the company in the market, the goodwill it enjoys in the market, the image and recognition it has among the customers and the quality of the goods and services of the company. One key factor influencing the long term prospects and success of an enterprise is the relationship the same maintains with its clientele, which highly influences the sales figures of the enterprise. Indicators like employee turnover, number of loyal customers, number of new cust omers added and foot traffic are some of the significant non-financial yardsticks to measure the overall performance of any company. The parameter for measuring the performance of any organization in terms of its profitability and efficiency is the accounting ratio, which is based on the financial reports issued by the companies. This indicator can be used to compare between tow data points by establishing relationships between the two data points. The overall performance of any enterprise can be robustly gauged with the help of the analysis of this ratio (Horngren et al. 2012). In this context, taking reference to the financial statements issued by both the companies taken into account, it can be asserted that the accounting ratio for both of the concerned enterprises is high. The two firms, Wesfarmers and the Woolworths, are the only two Australian retail operators in the Retail report of Deloitte, published in 2017. As per top 250 operators (Down Under), the two enterprises has a 16% share of operations cumulatively, of the top 250 of the retailers in the global scenario and together they enjoy almost half of the retail market of the USA (Zhang et al. 2014). Conclusion: The report, as discussed above, deals with the overall assessment of the performances of the two retail giants, the Wesfarmers and the Woolworths, in the economy of Australia, with special emphasis on the performance of both of these commercial enterprise in the financial aspects. The detailed analysis conducted above shows that there has been a general trend of decline in the performance of both the enterprises in almost all the financial indicators from the previous year to the recent financial year. However, if compared it can be seen that the performance of the Wesfarmers has been relatively better than that of the Woolworths, thereby the former taking over the latter and becoming the largest revenue generator for the country and the 21st in the global economic scenario. References Akbar, S. and Ahsan, K., 2014. Analysis of corporate social disclosure practices of Australian retail firms.International Journal of Managerial and Financial Accounting,6(4), pp.375-396. Arli, V., Dylke, S., Burgess, R., Campus, R. and Soldo, E., 2013. Woolworths Australia and Walmart US: Best practices in supply chain collaboration.Journal of Economics, Business Accountancy Ventura,16(1). Berg, B., 2014. Introduction. InRetail Branding and Store Loyalty(pp. 1-26). Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. Biddle, I., 2016. The Wesfarmers/Woolworths duopoly war: The Bunnings vs. Masters battle.Busidate,24(3), p.3. Brigham, E.F. and Houston, J.F., 2012.Fundamentals of financial management. Cengage Learning. Campbell, J., 2017. Insights from the company monitor: Wesfarmers.Equity,31(8), p.16. Carter, R., 2015. The changing face of leadership: Connecting financial performance with effective leadership.Training Development,42(6), p.10. Collier, P.M., 2015.Accounting for managers: Interpreting accounting information for decision making. John Wiley Sons. Daley, J. and Wood, D., 2015.Fiscal challenges for Australia. Grattan Institute. Damodaran, A., 2016.Damodaran on valuation: security analysis for investment and corporate finance(Vol. 324). John Wiley Sons. Dwivedi, A., Merrilees, B., Miller, D. and Herington, C., 2012. Brand, value and relationship equities and loyalty-intentions in the Australian supermarket industry.Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services,19(5), pp.526-536. Heinrich, C.J., 2012. Measuring public sector performance and effectiveness.The SAGE handbook of public administration, p.32. Horngren, C., Harrison, W., Oliver, S., Best, P., Fraser, D. and Tan, R., 2012.Financial accounting. Pearson Higher Education AU. Huang, X., Zhou, H. and Zhu, H., 2012. Assessing the systemic risk of a heterogeneous portfolio of banks during the recent financial crisis.Journal of Financial Stability,8(3), pp.193-205. Keith, S., 2012. Coles, Woolworths and the local.Locale: The Australasian-Pacific Journal of Regional Food Studies,2, pp.47-81. Kilroy, D. and Schneider, M., 2017. Valuing the Current Strategy. InCustomer Value, Shareholder Wealth, Community Wellbeing(pp. 109-141). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. Parmenter, D., 2015.Key performance indicators: developing, implementing, and using winning KPIs. John Wiley Sons. Petty, J.W., Titman, S., Keown, A.J., Martin, P., Martin, J.D. and Burrow, M., 2015.Financial management: Principles and applications. Pearson Higher Education AU. Plumb, M., Kent, C. and Bishop, J., 2013.Implications for the Australian economy of strong growth in Asia. Reserve Bank of Australia. Rajabian Tabesh, A., Batt, P.J. and Butler, B., 2016. Modelling the Impact of Environmental and Organizational Determinants on Green Supply Chain Innovation and Performance.Journal of Food Products Marketing,22(4), pp.436-454. RBA, 2017.Key Economic Indicators Snapshot. [online] Reserve Bank of Australia. Available at: https://www.rba.gov.au/snapshots/economy-indicators-snapshot/ [Accessed 29 Sep. 2017]. Roy Morgan Research, 2016.Supermarket weep: Woolies share continues to fall and Coles and Aldi split the proceeds. [online] Roy Morgan Research. Available at: https://www.roymorgan.com/findings/7021-woolworths-coles-aldi-iga-supermarket-market-shares-australia-september-2016--201610241542 [Accessed 29 Sep. 2017]. Wesfarmers.com.au (2017).Home. [online] Wesfarmers.com.au. Available at: https://www.wesfarmers.com.au/ [Accessed 29 Sep. 2017]. Woolworths.com.au, 2017.Welcome to Woolworths. [online] Woolworths.com.au. Available at: https://www.woolworths.com.au/ [Accessed 29 Sep. 2017]. Zhang, X., Mangal, R., Naik, M. and Yang, H., 2014, June. Hybrid top-down and bottom-up interprocedural analysis. InACM SIGPLAN Notices(Vol. 49, No. 6, pp. 249-258). ACM.

Sunday, December 1, 2019

Microscope observation of animal and plant cells Essay Example

Microscope observation of animal and plant cells Essay Cells represent the make up of our being as well as many other organisms whether they are unicellular or multicultural. Cells can also be complex or quite simplistic in design and contents, depending on the purpose of its function in an organism. Typically when studying cells some form of magnifications must be used to see the finest details of the cell, microscopes are used due to constraints in human eyes that only allow us to see to so much. In essence their use is to see what the eye cannot. This may include processes such as mitosis, phagotycosis and other forms of transport within the cell. Even though microscopes aid in viewing cellular content what can be seen my be limited due to the sizes of the actual organelles, or the types of stains used to highlight organelles within the cell. For example mitochondria cannot be seen with a standard lab light microscope. When scientist want to view the contents of a cell there are 2 main types of microscopes they use Light and Electron. All depending on the budget they have and the detail needed will determine which they would use. In this experiment we will make use of the light microscope.  Method  As per schedule until the cell is stained with Eosin, which instead of 2 minutes it was left for 20 seconds. Apart from this alteration the method is as per schedule Results  In this experiment we were not looking for actually results of tests, but here are the findings from viewing the microscope.  Cheek cell  Onion  Stomata.  All of the specimens where viewed under x100 magnification, this is achieved by the lenses on the eye piece producing x10 and then the objective lenses producing an additional x10 with in turn give x100 magnification.  Discussion  The focus of this practical involved making use of epithial tissue in animals and surface tissue in plants. There are different types of epithial cells the ones from the cheek cell are squamous epithelial cells. They form the epithial tissues that are continuous sheets, which cover most structures or cavities within the body.i We will write a custom essay sample on Microscope observation of animal and plant cells specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Microscope observation of animal and plant cells specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Microscope observation of animal and plant cells specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Due to the limitations of the light microscopes, we are only able to observe some of the organelles within the 3 structures we viewed. To do this it involved making use of dyes to make parts of the cells visible. The two stains used were Haematoxylin and Eosin these are commonly referred to as HE stain. They are blue and red respectively. They both have separate functions and are used in conjunction to indentify different parts of the cell.  Haematoxylin is known as the basic stain as it identifies acidic material within in cells by turning them blue. Such structures include nucleic acid and nuclear material. These are then referred to as basophilic although some scientist debate on the use of the word.ii The counter part of haematoxylin is eosin, in opposition it is acidic and turns basic material within the cell red or a pink colour, depending on the concentration of eosin used. Parts of the cell thats are affected by eosin include the cytoplasm, because of its basic nature.  Haematoxylin is not really regarded as an actually a dye although this is debatable by some, where as eosin is an acid dye. Haematoxylin is able to develop colour-like properties when oxidized. Because of their different properties they both sow their importance in staining because of their characteristics.  As stated within the practical organelles were limited to what could be seen with the light microscope. An electron microscope would have highlighted organelles such as Golgi body, mitochondria etc. in three dimensions. Reference: Barbour, M. et al. (1997) Biology. London: Collins Educational http://protocolsonline.com/histology/haematoxylin-eosin-he-staining/ accessed on 17/11/2010 http://www.lab.anhb.uwa.edu.au/mb140/MoreAbout/stains.html accessed on 17/11/2010

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

The Maya Calendar

The Maya Calendar What is the Maya Calendar? The Maya, whose culture in Central America and southern Mexico peaked around 800 A.D. before going into steep decline, had an advanced calendar system that incorporated the movement of the sun, moon and planets. For the Maya, time was cyclical and repeated itself, making certain days or months lucky or unlucky for certain things, like agriculture or fertility. The Maya calendar reset in December of 2012, inspiring many to see the date as an end-of-days prophecy. The Maya Concept of Time: To the Maya, time was cyclical: it would repeat itself and certain days had characteristics. This notion of cyclical as opposed to lineal time is not unknown to us: for example, many people consider Mondays to be â€Å"bad† days and Fridays to be â€Å"good† days (unless they fall on the thirteenth of the month, in which case they are unlucky). The Maya took the concept further: although we consider months and weeks to be cyclical, but years to be lineal, they considered all time as cyclical and certain days could â€Å"return† centuries later. The Maya were aware that a solar year was roughly 365 days long and they referred to it as a â€Å"haab.† They divided a haab into 20 â€Å"months† (to the Maya, â€Å"uinal†) of 18 days each: to this was added 5 days annually for a total of 365. These five days, called â€Å"wayeb,† were added at the end of the year and were considered very unlucky. The Calendar Round: The earliest Maya Calendars (dating from the preclassic Maya era, or about 100 A.D.) are referred to as the Calendar Round. The Calendar Round was actually two calendars that overlapped one another. The first calendar was the Tzolkin cycle, which consisted of 260 days, which roughly corresponds to the time of human gestation as well as the Maya agricultural cycle. Early Mayan astronomers used the 260 day calendar to record the movements of the planets, sun and moon: it was a very sacred calendar. When used consecutively with the standard 365 day haab calendar, the two would align every 52 years. The Maya Long Count Calendar: The Maya developed another calendar, better suited for measuring longer periods of time. The Maya Long Count used only the haab or 365 day calendar. A date was given in terms of Baktuns (periods of 400 years) followed by Katuns (periods of 20 years) followed by Tuns (years) followed by Uinals (periods of 20 days) and ending with the Kins (number of days 1-19). If you added all of those numbers up, you would get the number of days that had passed since the starting point of Maya time, which was sometime between August 11 and September 8, 3114 B.C. (the exact date is subject to some debate). These dates are usually expressed as a series of numbers like so: 12.17.15.4.13 November 15, 1968, for example. Thats 12x400 years, 17x20 years, 15 years, 4x20 days plus eleven days since the beginning of Maya time. 2012 and The End of Maya Time: Baktuns - periods of 400 years - are counted on a base-13 cycle. On December 20, 2012, the Maya Long Count Date was 12.19.19.19.19. When one day was then added, the entire calendar reset to 0. The thirteenth Baktun since the beginning of Maya time therefore came to an end on December 21, 2012. This of course led to much speculation about dramatic changes: some predictions for the end of the Maya Long Count Calendar included the end of the world, a new age of consciousness, a reversal of the Earths magnetic poles, the arrival of the Messiah, etc. Needless to say, none of those things happened. In any event, historical Maya records do not indicate that they gave much thought to what would happen at the end of the calendar. Sources: Burland, Cottie with Irene Nicholson and Harold Osborne. Mythology of the Americas. London: Hamlyn, 1970. McKillop, Heather. The Ancient Maya: New Perspectives. New York: Norton, 2004.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

The Invention of Paper Money

The Invention of Paper Money Paper money is an invention of the Song Dynasty in China in the 11th century CE, nearly 20 centuries after the earliest known use of metal coins. While paper money was certainly easier to carry in large amounts, using paper money had its risks: counterfeiting and inflation. Earliest Money The earliest known form of money is also from China, a cast copper coin from the 11th century BCE, which was found in a Shang Dynasty tomb in China.  Metal coins, whether made from copper, silver, gold or other metals, have been used across the globe as units of trade and value.  They have advantages- they are durable, difficult to counterfeit, and they hold intrinsic value.  The big disadvantage?  If you have very many of them, they get heavy. For a couple thousand years after the coins were buried in that Shang tomb, however, merchants, traders, and customers in China had to put up with carrying coins, or with bartering goods for other goods directly.  Copper coins were designed with square holes in the middle so that they could be carried on a string.  For large transactions, traders calculated the price as the number of coin strings.  It was workable, but an unwieldy system at best. Paper Money Takes the Load Off During the Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE), however, merchants began to leave those heavy strings of coins with a trustworthy agent, who would record how much money the merchant had on deposit on a piece of paper.  The paper, a sort of promissory note, could then be traded for goods, and the seller could go to the agent and redeem the note for the strings of coins.  With trade renewed along the Silk Road, this simplified cartage considerably.  These privately-produced promissory notes were still not true paper currency, however. At the beginning of the Song Dynasty (960–1279 CE), the government licensed specific deposit shops where people could leave their coins and receive notes.  In the 1100s, Song authorities decided to take direct control of this system, issuing the worlds first proper, government-produced paper money.  This money was called jiaozi.   Jiaozi to Chao to Djaou The Song established factories to print paper money with woodblocks, using six colors of ink.  The factories were located in Chengdu, Hangzhou, Huizhou, and Anqi, and each used different fiber mixes in their paper to discourage counterfeiting.  Early notes expired after three years, and could only be used in particular regions of the Song Empire. In 1265, the Song government introduced a truly national currency, printed to a single standard, usable across the empire, and backed by silver or gold.  It was available in denominations between one and one hundred strings of coins.  This currency lasted only nine years, however, as of the Song Dynasty tottered, falling to the Mongols in 1279. Mongol Influence The Mongol Yuan Dynasty, founded by Kublai Khan, issued its own form of paper currency called chao; the Mongols brought it to Persia where it was called djaou  or djaw.  The Mongols also showed it to Marco Polo during his stay in Kublai Khans court, where he was amazed by the idea of government-backed currency.  However, the paper money was not backed by gold or silver.  The short-lived Yuan Dynasty printed increasing amounts of the currency, leading to runaway inflation.  This problem was unresolved when the dynasty collapsed in 1368. Although the succeeding Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) also began by printing unbacked paper money, it suspended the program in 1450.  For much of the Ming era, silver was the currency of choice, including tons of Mexican and Peruvian ingots brought to China by Spanish traders.  Only in the last two, desperate years of Ming rule did the government print paper money, as it attempted to fend off the rebel Li Zicheng and his army.  China did not print paper money again until the 1890s when the Qing Dynasty began producing yuan. Sources Lande, Lawrence, and T. I. M. Congdon. John Law and the Invention of Paper Money. RSA Journal 139.5414 (1991): 916–28. Print.Lui, Francis T. Cagans Hypothesis and the First Nationwide Inflation of Paper Money in World History. Journal of Political Economy 91.6 (1983): 1067–74. Print.Pickering, John. The History of Paper Money in China. Journal of the American Oriental Society 1.2 (1844): 136–42. Print.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Organisational Change Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Organisational Change Management - Essay Example As it is evident in any organization, the vision and mission always enable a company achieve its objectives when adhered to. For instance, the success that was attained by Enron Company before its collapse was attributed to the investments and the commitment they made on the objectives and vision of the company (Dimma, 2002). It is evident that D2, like any other company such as Enron was able to achieve the same success. The fact that one of the plants of D2 was in a strategic place in the UK shows that the company was well placed in the European market. The company has been able to manage the competitive market in the manufacturing industry despite the stiff competition from manufactures from other countries with lower cost of services. However, in the recent past, D2 has gone through economic difficulties and is struggling to survive in the market due to economic downfall and the world’s financial crisis in the recent past. This therefore called for the management of the co mpany to make some changes to enable the company continue with its activities and fulfill its vision. As it is argued by Dimma, a good board of management in an organization is one which can be able to foresee a problem coming and be able to lay down a solution to the problem. The management board of D2 has had to take an urgent decision aimed at cutting down costs. The decision was to stop production of some components and focus on others in fewer sites than the one they operate with. This strategy was basically aimed at minimizing the costs and ensuring that the number, and not the variety, of goods produced will increase and hence get more benefits. This decision was taken by the management board as a quick remedy for the current problems faced by the company. The decision has already been made and is yet to be announced to the rest of the employees (Seel, 2006). In ensuring the benefits from economies of scale, the company decided that the production at Blois which is the main f actory in France is expanded. The main reason is because Blois has the most advanced technology than the other plants and there is still room for expansion in the company. This move is believed by the management that it’s the best in cutting down the costs of the company. The management has also suggested a closure of the manufacturing plant in the UK as another second step since it is the most outdated manufacturing technology (Seel, 2006). The workers at the UK plant which is to be closed are so much hopeful of the company investing more in their region as they expect. However, it is obvious that the company will not be able to offer employment opportunities to her workers in the other plants in France and Spain and there will be so much loss of manpower due to this closure (Seel, 2006). D2 wants product development engineers (B2) team to be relocated to Blois from Didcot since there will be no more work at Didcot. This is the group that has been behind the success of the c ompany before the current recession. Didcot is an international centre and has been a place where production of auto products is done by many other companies apart from D2. This has therefore led to the place being a world class production area with plenty of

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Asian philosphy Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Asian philosphy - Article Example This is quite iterating as yoga is becoming more accepted globally, and it will beneficial to know where the tradition comes from and how it has benefited individuals from a variety of backgrounds. In addition, I am particularly interested in Buddhism as I understand it one of the five main religions of the world, and most predominate through much of Asia, yet little is known about it outside of the East. Buddhist philosophy contains many great principles and ideals for living. While it might be different than the beliefs I am used to, it is nonetheless important to understand where the philosophy comes from and why so many people in Asia have chosen to follow its teachings. In short, it appears that this course is going to teach me a great deal about how to respect other philosophies and cultures. By opening my eyes and truly deciding to grasp that which I am taught, I will hopefully be a much better person in the end for having taken this

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Recycling Waste Essay Example for Free

Recycling Waste Essay With the increasing human population the needs for the people also increases. But the point of concern is that are there enough natural resources to service all your needs. What if these resources finish, this is one thing we need to ponder upon. We need to start recycling waste to converse our natural resources. Recycling is simply the process of reusing the items from which utility can still be derived. It is important to recycle waste so that you can at least converse some of our natural resources for our generations to come. Many products such as paper, cardboards, and cups come from trees. In fact trees are our natural assets, you can converse trees by recycling the paper products we can minimize the number of trees cut down a year. This is one form of waste recycling. One should understand and know the importance of recycling waste materials. One simple benefit of recycling is it saves our resources. It will be wise to reuse metal item as metal reserves may be depleting. You can sold your wore out metal items for recycling. As mentioned earlier, recycling of waste papers can save our forests. Recycling waste not only save our natural resources but also help save energy. By simply recycling an item or making a basic fix to it, we can we save all the energy that would have been consumed in the process of making it. The same example can be taken with plastic items. A large amount of energy can be saved by simply reusing the plastic items. To recycle waste is to simply reduce pollution. By recycling plastic material we can reduce air pollution as well as water pollution. Plastic factories produced large amount of smoke when producing plastic material at the same time if we don’t have proper waste disposal system those waste emissions will cause water pollution. Recycling waste in a way helps reduce pollution. In simple words, recycling or recycling waste is essential to both natural environment and humans. To sum up, recycling minimizes the need for raw materials so that the rainforests can be preserved. Great amounts of energy are used when making products from raw materials. Recycling requires much less energy and therefore helps to preserve natural resources. One needs to know the importance of recycling at the same time being earth friendly can help our planet a better place to live in.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Influences of a Teacher Essay -- Learning Education Essays

" A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child."-Unknown What does a teacher do? Well, besides giving out tons of papers, numerous tests, and stories that the students aren't interested in reading (or just too lazy to read), teachers are responsible for creating the future leaders of tomorrow. In today's society one may find advancement difficult without a formal education. Education is one of society's institutions that helps to infuse in our younger generation the norms, values and morals of the world we live in. Teachers lead their students on the trip to success. Have you ever wondered how you would have gotten where you are today, or how you will get where you will be tomorrow without a great instructor? According to a private pedagogical survey of sources (teachers and students), some of the main qualities of teachers should be discipline, motivation, and above all, respect. I have interviewed three teachers and three students from the High School, Middle School, and Elementary School levels. How do we define discipline? When most people hear the word "discipline" they imagine an eighty year old, six foot five matron holding a long stick, preparing to give some outspoken child his just punishment. In modern terms, having a disciplined classroom is simply the act of maintaining structure and consistency in the working environment. Discipline is hard to achieve in a class where the teacher and students are viewed as equals. In this form of study, students will tend not to listen to the teacher when the time comes to work or be productive. In his article, " I'll ... ... able to apply what they learned. Just think, the positive influence of a teacher today creates the successful individual of tomorrow. Works Cited Cheney, Lynne V. " P.C. Alive and Entrenched" The Presence of Others:Voices that Call for Response. 2nd ed. Ed. Andrea A. Lunsford and John J.Ruszkiewicz. New York: St Martin's Press, 1977. 112 Haffamier, Suzanne & Lauren. Personal Interview. 6 Mar. 1999 Harr, Kerry. Personal Interview. 8 Mar. 1999 Schwartz, Arnie. Personal Interview.7 Mar. 1999 Shaw, Megan. Personal Interview.6 Mar. 1999 Thom, Chris. Personal Interview. 8 Mar.1999 Zawodniak, Christian. "'I'll Have to Help Some of You More Than I Want To'":Teacher Power, Student Pedagogy." The Presence of Others:Voices that Call for Response. 2nd ed. Ed. Andrea A. Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewicz. New York: St Martin's Press, 1977. 127- 130.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Best Ways to Analyze Data in Order to Improve Decision-Making Essay

Descriptive Analysis: Defined as quantitatively describing the main features of a collection of information. Descriptive analysis are distinguished from inferential analysis (or inductive analysis), in that descriptive analysis aim to summarize a sample, rather than use the data to learn about the population that the sample of data is thought to represent. Two types of descriptive measures are: 1. Measures of central tendency: used to report a single piece of information that describes the most typical response to a question. 2. Measures of variability: used to reveal the typical difference between the values in a set of values. Two types of descriptive analysis are: 1. Univariate analysis: Univariate analysis involves describing the distribution of a single variable, including its central tendency (including the mean, median, and mode) and dispersion (including the range and quantiles of the data-set, and measures of spread such as the variance and standard deviation). 2. Bivariate analysis: Used when a sample consists of more than one variable. Bivariate analysis is not only simple descriptive analysis, but also it describes the relationship between two different variables. Descriptive statistics provides simple summaries about the sample and about the observations that have been made. In the business world, descriptive statistics provides a useful summary of many types of data. For example, investors and brokers may use a historical account of return behavior by performing empirical and analytical analyses on their investments in order to make better investing decisions in the future. Inferential Analysis: Used to generate conclusions about the population’s characteristics based on the sample data. For example to estimate the population mean weight using the sample mean weight. They can use inferential statistics to make judgments of the probability that an observed difference between groups is a dependable one or one that might have happened by chance. They can help in  fact-based management to drive favorable decision making. Differential Analysis: Defined as a technique in which evaluation is confined to only those factors which are different or unique among possible alternatives. Also called incremental analysis or relevant cost analysis. It usually involves four steps: 1. Compute all costs associated with each alternative. 2. Ignore the sunk costs. 3. Ignore costs that remain largely constant among the alternatives. 4. Select the alternative offering the best cost-to-benefit ratio. It’s important to note that differential analysis is a process that may be stretched beyond mere numbers. There could be intangible benefits to a certain decision that might eventually affect the business’ profits or even go beyond monetary gain. Predictive Analysis: Encompasses a variety of techniques that analyze current and historical facts to make predictions about future, or otherwise unknown, events. The approaches and techniques used to conduct predictive analytics can broadly be grouped into regression techniques and machine learning techniques. 1. Regression techniques: Regression models are the mainstay of predictive analytics. The focus lies on establishing a mathematical equation as a model to represent the interactions between the different variables in consideration. Depending on the situation, there is a wide variety of models that can be applied while performing predictive analytics. 2. Machine learning techniques: Machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence, was originally employed to develop techniques to enable computers to learn. Today, since it includes a number of advanced statistical methods for regression and classification, it finds application in a wide variety of fields including medical diagnostics, credit card fraud detection, face and speech recognition and analysis of the stock market. In certain applications it is sufficient to directly predict the dependent variable without focusing on the underlying relationships between variables.  In other cases, the underlying relationships can be very complex and the mathematical form of the dependencies unknown. For such cases, machine learning techniques emulate human cognition and learn from training examples to predict future events. In business, predictive models exploit patterns found in historical and transactional data to identify risks and opportunities. Models capture relationships among many factors to allow assessment of risk or potential associated with a particular set of conditions, guiding decision making for candidate transactions. They also help uncover hidden patterns and associations thus improving business outcomes.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Hitting the Wall: Nike and International Labor Practices Essay

Based in Beaverton, Oregon, Nike had been a corporate success story for more than three decades. It was a sneaker company, but one armed with an inimitable attitude, phenomenal growth, and the apparent ability to dictate fashion trends to some of the world’s most influential consumer. Selling a combination of basic footwear and street-smart athleticism, Nike pushed its revenues from a 1972 level of $62,000 to a starting $49 million in just 10 years. In the 1980s and 1990s, Nike had been plagued by a series of labor incidents and public relations nightmares; underage workers in Indonesian plants, allegations of coerced overtime in China, dangerous working conditions in Vietnam. For a while, the stories had been largely confined to labor circles and activist publications, until a young female worker had died in a Nike contracting factory in 1997, the labor conditions at Nike had hit the mainstream. While the marketing of Nike’s products was based on selling a high profile fashion item to affluent Americans, the manufacture of these sneakers was based as an arms-length and often-uneasy relationship with low paid, non-American workers. Key Issues Nike’s strategy of shaving costs caused ethical dilemmas that ultimately damaged its reputation. Nike outsources all of its manufacturing. This approach has provided Nike with huge profits, from a 1972 level of $60,000 to a startling $49 million in just 10 years. Production is now globalised, with different countries concentrating on different parts of the process depending on what they are good at, or what they can do most efficiently or cheaply. Poorer countries get the less lucrative activities such as lowly paid semi-skilled or unskilled production or assembly. This approach also allows Nike to keep an arms-length arrangement with its subcontractors, stating that, it is not they who employ cheap labor, but their contracted suppliers, hence the responsibility lies with the latter. Define the Problem  Nike has a difficult situation to resolve. Its strategy to use celebrity endorsements to develop a strong brand identity had the result that Nike became by the 1990s one of the world’s best known brands, as well as a global symbol of athleticism and urban cool. This situation began to change by 1998, when currency woes in Asia along with the damage to its image resulted in Nike experiencing a loss for the first time in 13 years. This strategy resulted in Nike requiring steep wage concessions from its subcontractors to continue its intense growth patterns. Nike has always paid the lowest possible wages in Indonesia, claiming year after year that it could not afford even to pay the country’s minimum wage. Each year, Nike contractors in Indonesia refused to pay minimum wage raises of a few cents a day. Thanks to a corrupt and inefficient government, they usually got away with it. Adding to this problem was the issue of child labor. Nike went into Pakistan, knowing full well that child labor is an ages-old practice there and taking no precautions whatsoever to prevent the use of child labor in the production of its soccer balls. We have to conclude that Nike expected to profit from its Pakistani contractors’ known usage of bonded child labor. Nike further tarnished its reputation by attempting to dilute information that had come to the attention of the general public regarding its practices, resulting in a lawsuit. Mike Kasky is suing Nike, Inc. Under California laws regulating unfair competition and false advertising. Kasky claims that when an internal audit was leaked to the press that revealed illegal employment practices in Nike’s factories in China, Vietnam, and Indonesia, Nike responded by issuing to the press numerous statements it knew to be false. The California courts ruled last year that Nike’s PR effort was meant to bolster its image and improve its sales – so indeed, it did amount to advertising, and, as such, it needed to be truthful. Alternative Solutions Nike must to enforce its own Code of Conduct with its subcontractors. This Code has been amended several times, but had been very general in its listing of business practices. Its current version stipulates many requirements that we take for granted, one of which is that a subcontractor certifies that it pays at least the minimum total compensation required by local law, including all mandated wages, allowances and benefits. Another option for Nike would be to contract with a U. S. shoe manufacturer. Although the benefit of having its suppliers overseas has been the low prices for the finished goods, Nike would gain an advantage by providing work for the people at home. Made in USA labels are very important to many Americans. Also, the combination of job creation and openness to providing equitable wages and benefits for its workers as required in this country could reduce the uproar about its labor practices, especially among the youth. In addition, Nike could incorporate at least one factory into a tourist attraction, providing visitors with the opportunity to tour the plant, learn the history of the company, and become more familiar with the products Nike produces, thus developing more customer loyalty. A third option for Nike would be to both enforce its Code of Conduct and invest at a high level in the countries where it has factories, and highly advertise those efforts. Regarding to Nike’s web site, since 1997, Nike, with help from several of its key partners, has supported micro-enterprise ventures in Asia, playing a small but significant and direct role in building and expanding the number of locally-owned businesses in mostly rural areas throughout the region. Nike has funded micro loans and provided technical assistance in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia, working with the Population and Community Development Association (PDA), Vietnamese Women’s Union and Opportunity International, respectively. The press has given faces to the people who have been affected by Nike’s contractors’ exploitation. Nike must rectify the damages by giving faces to the people who have been affected in a positive way by the loans and other assistance given to the local populations. This, coupled with Nike’s firm stance on the treatment of those making its goods, would help regain its lost positive image. In addition, this option would forge a stronger relationship with the countries where the factories producing Nike’s products are located. It would also help Nike’s subcontractors to entice and retain the best local employees, thus ensuring higher quality products. Selected Solutions to The Problem This change in how Nike will handle its operations has significant drawbacks. Closely adhering to its Code of Conduct will be very expensive for Nike. Nike’s success has been heavily driven by the aggressive stance it has taken on labor costs. In addition, Nike’s subcontractors have used the freedom given to them to provide Nike the labor expense level they expect while also allowing themselves to profit as well. Nike will now be monitoring their subcontractors’ workplaces and wage practices, which will place a strain on their relationship. This new focus for Nike will require the company to divert some of its attention from its main marketing focus to supervise the overseas operations. Expected Results An immediate benefit of this decision would be the good press it would generate that Nike would be willing to put pressure on its suppliers so that the people who produce its goods are treated fairly. Another benefit would be to align Nike’s suppliers’ actions with Nike’s vision as listed on its web site www. nike. com to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world†. This would include those employed by Nike because the company considers all people to be athletes. A third benefit would be to prevent work stoppage strikes that had previously affected the company in Indonesia. Positive and Negative Results This option would require Nike to make a major shift in its focus from having a limited, long-distance relationship with subcontractors to playing a more active role in the manufacture of its products due to the proximity of its suppliers. This significant change in how Nike does business would be very expensive, both in terms of the financial outlay and use of personnel. It would require a more direct involvement of the company in a portion of the business in which it has no first-hand experience, which would entail a considerable learning curve. This would result in major upheaval for the company, and a loss of confidence by investors. Nike would also lose the competitive edge of its competitors who have lower foreign wages. To reinstate the Nike image back to its earlier prominence, Nike would be wise to pursue the option to enforce its Code of Conduct, and invest in the countries in which its factories are located. The Code of Conduct should require unannounced audits of Nike’s factories at random, frequent time intervals to ensure compliance to rules and regulations. Equipment should be inspected to meet higher safety standards than would be required in the host country. For example, if the factory is located in Indonesia, the equipment should be inspected to be compliant to United States’ Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA) safety standards. Doing so is above-and-beyond what may be considered reasonable† and should shed positive light on Nike’s effort. In addition, hiring documentation should be verified in the audits to assure that workers are of the appropriate age, and that children are not placed into the workforce. Subcontractors would be trained in cultural awareness and required to maintain consistent and reasonable management practices. This approach would be expensive for Nike. The company will also have to expend more energy to both monitor the manufacturing facilities and determine which small businesses to support, diverting its attention from the company’s primary focus of marketing its products and making a profit. In addition, making investments in other countries will help Nike relate in more personal ways to their local environments. This will make it more difficult for Nike to direct its subcontractors to move to another country when local labor wages have become too expensive. However, there would probably be no lack of interest if movement to new countries became necessary with Nike’s products so well known. It would ultimately hinder the company’s ability to be competitive with the other shoe manufacturers who use Indonesian labor.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

What to Do Before Leaving for College

What to Do Before Leaving for College Overwhelmed with everything you need to do before heading to college? Familiarizing yourself with everything on this list can help make the process easier. 1. Contact Your Roommate That first conversation is pivotal for getting to know each other, for building your relationship as roommates, and for figuring out whos going to be bringing what. A great roommate can make all the difference in school. 2. Organize All Your Purchases Knowing what to bring is just as important as knowing what not to bring. Deciding on what kind of computer youll have is also a big decision that will influence several aspects of your college life. (Can you bring it home? Is it powerful enough to run graphics programs or economic models youll need for your major?) 3. Understand Your Financial Aid The last thing you want to have happen is for finances to get in the way of your academic progress (yes, it really does matter if you miss that deadline for submitting your FAFSA). Make sure your finances are in order- and that you understand all you need to do while youre in school. 4. Make a Budget Youll need to know, from your first day on campus, how much money you can spend on certain things, whether or not youll need an on-campus job, and how much money you should have at the end of every month so you dont have to beg your roommate for food come December. 5. Take Care of Your Physical Health Picking the right meal plan and knowing how to make healthy choices in your new environment will greatly aid your time in school. Who wants to miss a midterm because of a stress-induced cold? 6. Familiarize Yourself With College Terminology If your RA tells you that the problem youre having with your TA can best be handled by the dean, will you know what all of that means? What if your cute lab partner is complaining because adjunct professors werent invited to convocation? College life is full of acronyms and new lingo: do what you can to familiarize yourself with it before you arrive. 7. Get the Most out of Orientation Everything from meeting people to making it through your first week takes a lot of courage- but pushing yourself through will make a huge difference during your entire time at school. 8. Plan to Keep in Touch With Friends and Family Its a good idea to know how to manage relationships with your boyfriend or girlfriend, parents, and even siblings. If you talk about how to keep in touch before you leave, everyone will know what to expect. 9. Develop a Time Management System Figuring out how to manage their time is often one of the biggest challenges for college students. Set yourself up early with a system that you know will work for you. 10. Keep Yourself and Your Stuff Safe The last thing you need to be worried about while in school is dealing with something that may have been preventable. Losing your computer, for example, can wreak havoc on your academics- and, if someone breaks into your room while you left the door open, can wreak havoc on your roommate relationship. Its easier to stay safe than to deal with theft. Lastly- an unofficial #11- congratulate yourself on a job well done for getting here in the first place, and have fun!

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

How to Conduct a Hypothesis Test in Statistics

How to Conduct a Hypothesis Test in Statistics The idea of hypothesis testing is relatively straightforward. In various studies, we observe certain events. We must ask, is the event due to chance alone, or is there some cause that we should be looking for? We need to have a way to differentiate between events that easily occur by chance and those that are highly unlikely to occur randomly. Such a method should be streamlined and well defined so that others can replicate our statistical experiments. There are a few different methods used to conduct hypothesis tests. One of these methods is known as the traditional method, and another involves what is known as a p-value. The steps of these two most common methods are identical up to a point, then diverge slightly. Both the traditional method for hypothesis testing and the p-value method are outlined below. The Traditional Method The traditional method is as follows: Begin by stating the claim or hypothesis that is being tested. Also, form a statement for the case that the hypothesis is false.Express both of the statements from the first step in mathematical symbols. These statements will use symbols such as inequalities and equals signs.Identify which of the two symbolic statements does not have equality in it. This could simply be a not equals sign, but could also be an is less than sign ( ). The statement containing inequality is called the alternative hypothesis and is denoted H1 or Ha.The statement from the first step that makes the statement that a parameter equals a particular value is called the null hypothesis, denoted H0.Choose which significance level that we want. A significance level is typically denoted by the Greek letter alpha. Here we should consider Type I errors. A Type I error occurs when we reject a null hypothesis that is actually true. If we are very concerned about this possibility occurring, then our value for alpha shoul d be small. There is a bit of a trade-off here. The smaller the alpha, the most costly the experiment. The values 0.05 and 0.01 are common values used for alpha, but any positive number between 0 and 0.50 could be used for a significance level. Determine which statistic and distribution we should use. The type of distribution is dictated by features of the data. Common distributions include z score, t score, and chi-squared.Find the test statistic and critical value for this statistic. Here we will have to consider if we are conducting a two-tailed test (typically when the alternative hypothesis contains a â€Å"is not equal to† symbol, or a one-tailed test (typically used when an inequality is involved in the statement of the alternative hypothesis).From the type of distribution, confidence level, critical value, and test statistic we sketch a graph.If the test statistic is in our critical region, then we must reject the null hypothesis. The alternative hypothesis stands. If the test statistic is not in our critical region, then we fail to reject the null hypothesis. This does not prove that the null hypothesis is true, but gives a way to quantify how likely it is to be true.We now state the results of the hypothesi s test in such a way that the original claim is addressed. The p-Value Method The p-value method is nearly identical to the traditional method. The first six steps are the same. For step seven we find the test statistic and p-value. We then reject the null hypothesis if the p-value is less than or equal to alpha. We fail to reject the null hypothesis if the p-value is greater than alpha. We then wrap up the test as before, by clearly stating the results.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Compare Vygotsky's and Feuersteins contributions to Educational Essay

Compare Vygotsky's and Feuersteins contributions to Educational Learning - Essay Example Building therefore on this base, Vygotsky developed a theory in which society and culture contribute to the learning process of children and is in large part responsible for their learning. Feuerstein's great contribution has usually been to operationalize the concepts propounded by Vygotsky. Such components as sociocultural mediation and the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), identified by Vygotsky, have been further developed and probed by the capable instruments created by Feuerstein for enhancement of mediated learning. The theories of social and cultural mediation as propounded by Vygotsky and Feuerstein will be explored in this essay. It will also consider the ZPD and the instruments that have been developed to enhance learning using these theories. Vygotsky argues that children develop higher levels of cognition through the mediation that occurs in a social context. Lower mental processes are genetic and instinctive; they come naturally to an individual. The higher mental processes, on the other hand, are definitive of a cognitive stage unique in man as a species through which he is able to distance himself from the world and, through the use of various symbols and in conjunction with other men, abstractly manipulate its contents to extract and develop his knowledge and understanding of them (Panofsky, 2003). Because of the meaning these higher mental functions have for society, and because they exist before (and independent of) the individual, they must be learned through mediation. This means that higher levels of cognition are necessarily mediated by society, and it is only once a lesson is learned on the societal level that it becomes internalised and manifests itself on a psychological level. Social agents of mediation ta ke a variety of forms and provide the learner with access to what has been given a variety of names ranging from psychological, to cultural or cognitive tools (Smagorinski). How a human person acts within a given society is dependent on the forms and qualities of interactions available to him as a model. If adequate mediation is provided, learning occurs; if not, learning suffers. This theory then goes on to describe the child and/or learner as limited in his or her ability to acquire knowledge when left on his own. What a child is able to perform when placed in a social setting is almost invariably more than that which he or she is able to do alone, and this additional capability gives the educator an idea of the child's potential (Salomon and Perkins, 1998). This potential (denoted by Vygotsky as the Zone of Proximal Development) cannot be realised, however, unless learning is mediated by another in a social setting. Feuerstein also advocated the theory of mediation in learning. He developed the cognitive map which denotes the dimensions of cognition, and contributed to the mediation theory by formulating an operation that delineates the different stages and participants in the mediation process. The Mediated Learning Experience (MLE) he defined as "The quality of interaction directed towards ensuring meaningful learning by parents, teachers, caregivers and peers, interposed between the child and the stimuli they receive" (Feuerstein). It was his idea that these social mediators

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Homosexuality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Homosexuality - Essay Example In order to understand homosexuality in a better way, we must understand the cause of homosexuality. Love between the members of any specific gender is the cause of homosexuality. Feelings of love and care are not gender specific. It is not necessary that these feelings always arise between the individuals belonging to opposite genders. Sometimes the feelings of love and care also arise between the individuals belonging to the same gender. Those feelings become the reason for any two individuals from the same gender to get involved in a relationship between each other, which is often referred as homosexuality. â€Å"Homosexuality involves our underlying bisexuality at play when we naturally feel more attracted to the same rather than the opposite sex† (Roy). Homosexuality also gives rise to another critical issue, which is same sex marriage. The government of the United States of America does not allow same sex marriages. The government of America believes that marriage is a sacred relationship, which should always involve individuals from opposite sexes whereas gay or lesbian marriages result in destroying the basic sprit of the relationship of marriage. However, in some states of America, courts have allowed people for same sex marriages. Some of those states include Massachusetts, Vermont, and Connecticut. The courts of these states declared that marriage is a civil right, so gays and lesbians also possess this right (Cahill 4). In these states, although people belonging to same sexes are allowed to get tied in marital relationships with each other, yet their marriages or living status as a couple is not regarded by the majority of the US population. Homosexual couples face many problems in any specific society. One of the major problems, which homosexual couples face, is the discouraging behavior of the people who know them. If we talk about homosexual marriages, we can say that majority of people usually do not encourage homosexual marriages because they think that such marriages are just for the fulfillment of sexual desires instead of making a sacred relationship. People believe that gay and lesbian couples adversely affect the norms and values of a society. People also look suspiciously towards gay and lesbian couples and do not respect them as traditional couples. Therefore, such couples undergo a hard struggle in order to be accepted by the society in which they live. Another issue, which homosexual couples face, is opposition from the supporters of traditional family systems. Traditional family supporters believe that family system is essential for the existence of a society. They firmly believe that men are made for wome n and women are made for men. They think that gay and lesbian couples weaken the foundations of a family system because neither they can give birth to babies nor they can completely fulfill the sexual desires of each other. Traditional family supporters also think that such marriages or relationships result in decreasing the work force of the country because of their inability to give birth to babies. The viewpoint of homosexual couples is different from the traditionalists. They believe that same sex marriages do not violate the family values as they also have the feelings of love

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Research paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 26

Research Paper Example However, marked differences can be observed between the film adaptation and the original short story despite both of them being based on similar subjects. This paper will attempt to highlight the differences between the two - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Sleepy Hollow – and will try to compare the two based on elements including plot, characterization, and theme. It is quite common that books being adapted into films lack consistency. While the author may have chosen to present the story line in a different manner, there are many aspects of the story that are not retained during film making. Similar is the case with the film, Sleepy Hollow, which although follows largely the same story line, but differs on the basis of several aspects. The plot for a large part follows the similar super natural scheme as the original short story. The para-normality is one aspect of the original plot that is particularly retained including the use of the same time period. This adds a tinge of horror in the film. For the most part, the plot is changed where Ichabod works in forensics as part of the police while the original story depicted Ichabod as a teacher. This change significantly affects the story line where Ichabod instead of being stupefied becomes determined to find the truth behind the horse rider. The story is extended to include the depiction that the headless horse rider is actually a ghost of a mercenary who died during the revolutionary war. Then follows a story where Ichabod attempts to uncover the truth behind the apparition of the headless horse rider. The change in the story line produced several changes into the characterization of Ichabod, Brom, Katrina, and the inclusion of other characters. In the short story, Ichabod’s character is displayed as having many flaws despite being a strong character. Ichabod while

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Comparison of Education Reports of Behavioural Symptoms

Comparison of Education Reports of Behavioural Symptoms Running Head: Teacher, children, and parents reports of behavioral symptoms Comparison between teacher, children, and parents reports of behavioral symptoms associated with disruptive behaviors. Karelyn M. Gonzà ¡lez-Cruz, M.S., Josà © J. Cabiya., Ph.D., Lymaries Padilla, Ph.D. Jovette Sà ¡nchez, M.S. (The project/study described was supported by Grant Number 1 R24 MD00152-01, from the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities, National Institutes of Health. It’s contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.) Key Words: School age children, aggressive behavior, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, impulsiveness depression. Abstract The goal of the present pilot study was to compare the teacher, children, and parents reports of behavioral symptoms associated with disruptive behaviors using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule of Children-Parent version (DISC-P), the Diagnostic Interview Schedule of Children-Youth (DISC-Y) and the Bauermeister School Behavior Inventory (BSBI). The parents of 52 children consented to participate in the DISC-P and DISC-Y interviews. The results showed that parents and children had a moderate degree of agreement in answering symptoms of major depressive episode, symptoms of traumatic stress disorder, and symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder. The results also showed that teachers had a high degree of agreement with children in their report of disruptive symptoms while no agreement was found between teachers and parents reports. Teachers’ reports of disruptive behaviors such as irritability, hostility, distraction, and low motivation had a moderate correlation with children re ports of symptoms related to conduct disorders and ODD. These results might suggest that parents identify more efficiently affective disorders than teachers. On the contrary, teachers appear to identify more efficiently disruptive behaviors than parents do. Comparison between teacher, children, and parents reports of behavioral symptoms associated with disruptive behaviors Assessment of child psychiatric disorders traditionally relies on information obtained from multiple informants, usually the parent, the child, and sometimes others such as teachers and additional family members. These informants may provide different information about the presence, severity, and duration of a childs symptomatology or behavior (Achenbach, McConaughy, Howell, 1987). Several studies have compared parent and child reports of the children psychiatric symptoms in structured diagnostic interviews like the Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents (DICA; Herjanic Reich, 1982; Reich, Herjanic, Welner, Gandy, 1982; Welner, Reich, Herjanic, Jung, Amado, 1987), the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC; Edelbrock, Costello, Dulcan, Calabro Conover, Kalas, 1986; Loeber, Green, Lahey, Stouthamer-Loeber, 1989; Weissman et al., 1987), and the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-age Children (K-SADS; Chambers et al., 1985; Orvaschel , Puig-Antich, Chambers, Tabrizi, Johnson, 1982). These studies have documented low to moderate agreement between parents and children report of psychiatric symptoms. In general, these reports have found that parents report more behavior symptoms about their children than the children report about themselves, whereas children report having more affective and neurotic symptoms than their parents report about them (Edelbrock et al., 1986; Herjanic Reich, 1982). In addition, a meta-analysis of more than 200 studies examined agreement among informants, and reported moderate to poor agreement for most studies, including those in which agreement was assessed along symptom dimensions rather than by categorical diagnoses (Achenbach, McConaughy, Howell, 1987). Somewhat better agreement between parents and children has been observed in clinical samples when semistructured interviews were used by clinicians (Orvaschel, Thompson, Belanger, Prusoff, Kidd, 1982) and for externalizing as compared to internalizing symptoms (Reich, Herjanic, Welner, Gandhy, 1982). Asymmetrical reporting of certain types of symptoms has been found to be the most frequent source of disagreement. Parents tend to report externalizing behaviors or problems more often while children tend to report internalizing depressive or anxiety symptoms with greater frequency Edelbrock et al., 1986; Reich et al., 1982). In addition, a study completed by Bravo, et al. (2001) with a Puerto Rican sample found that parents were generally fair or moderately reliable informants when reporting about their children. Children (11-17 years) were excellent or moderately reliable informants on disruptive and substance-related disorders, but were unreliable when reporting about anxiety and depressive disorders. For lifetime diagnoses, they found that parents were fair reporters of their childrens conduct disorder, as well as substance-related disorders, whereas their children were excellent or moderately reliable reporting about most of these disorders. However, no study was found that have assessed the relationship between the teachers, parents and children report of clinical symptoms related to disruptive disorders. The goal of the present pilot study was to compare the teachers, children, and parents reports of behavioral symptoms associated with disruptive behaviors using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule of Children-Parent version (DISC-P), the Diagnostic Interview Schedule of Children-Youth (DISC-Y) and the Bauermeister School Behavior Inventory (BSBI). Method Participants Fifty two (26 boys and 26 girls) from ages 9 to 12 (mean age was 10) from the San Juan metropolitan area, who were referred by their teacher for disruptive behavior in the classroom, were administered a symptoms checklist based on the DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria for disruptive disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Informed consent to participate in the study was then requested from the parents of these children. The socioeconomic status of all of these children was low. The mean age was 10.06 (SD = 1.07). Of the 52 referred children, 17 children (9 boys and 8 girls) were evaluated with the DISC-Y. The mean age of this group was 10.12 (SD = 1.16). Instruments Bauermeister School Behavior Inventory (BSBI). This inventory consists of six scales for male children and five for female children completed by the teachers that evaluate anxiety symptoms, social alienation, depression, irritability-hostility, distraction-motivation and activity impulsiveness. Internal consistency fluctuates between .74 and .96; test-re-test reliability (four week period fluctuated between .52 to .89. This instrument was developed, validated and standardized for Puerto Rican population (Bauermeister, 1994). Computerized Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (C-DISC) (Shafer, D. et al. 2000). The DISC is the most widely used and studied mental health interview that has been tested in both clinical and community populations. It is a comprehensive, structured interview that covers 36 mental health disorders for children adolescents, using DSM-IV criteria. The version used in this study was the most recent Spanish translation of the DISC-IV (Bravo et al., 2001), with parallel youth (DISC-Y) and parent (DISC-P) versions. The test-retest reliability of the DISC-IV has been reported in both Spanish and English-speaking clinic samples yielding comparable results (Bravo et al., 2001; Shaffer, Fisher, Lucas, Dulcan, Schwab-Stone, 2000). The disorders assessed by the DISC were: Generalized anxiety, Panic, Post-traumatic stress, Major Depression, Dysthymia, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity, Oppositional Defiant, Conduct Disorder, Alcohol Abuse / Dependence, Marijuana Abuse / Dependence, Nicot ine Dependence and other Substance Abuse / Dependence. Socio-demographic interview. The questionnaire used in the Research Scientific Institute at the Carlos Albizu University was administered. The questionnaire provides socio-demographic information about the child and his/her family. Procedures Teachers completed the BSBI after the parents consented to participate in the study. The project’s director selected advanced doctoral students in clinical psychology to be trained as interviewers. These students received two day intensive DISC workshops from trainers certified by the Columbia University original developers of the DISC. They were blind to experimental hypotheses. Interviewers contacted by phone the principal caretaker of each child to arrange for the DISC-P interview in the school. They administered first the DISC-P to the parent and afterwards they administered the DISC-Y to the child. The principal caretaker received an compensation of twenty dollars for their participation. The interviews took place in a classroom with comfortable chairs, illumination, tables, and non distractions. Quality control procedures were established to guarantee the integrity of the data gathering process. The project’s director conducted weekly meetings for the supervision of recorded practice DISC interviews according to the DISC instructions manual. The interviewers received recommendations from other trained DISC interviewers, specifically on how to deal with ambiguities, which did arise, and clearly define â€Å"do’s† and â€Å"don’ts† in various situations. Specific situations that lead to deviations from the interview were discussed in the weekly supervisions. Results The correlations between the quantity of symptoms of the different disorders on DISC-P and DISC-Y were as follows: symptoms of inattention on DISC-P and symptoms of inattention on DISC-Y was r = .57 (pr = .70 (pr = .64 (pr = .67 (pr = .75 (p The correlations between the BSBI distraction-motivation scale and ODD symptoms on DISC-Y was r = .87 (pr = .92 (pr = .64 (p Discussion The goal of the present pilot study was to compare the teacher, children, and parents reports of behavioral symptoms associated with disruptive behaviors using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule of Children-Parent version (DISC-P), the Diagnostic Interview Schedule of Children-Youth (DISC-Y) and the Bauermeister School Behavior Inventory (BSBI). Results indicated that parents reported more behavioral symptoms (such as ODD symptoms and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder symptoms) than the children reported. Also, parents reported more affective and anxiety symptoms than their children reported. Even more, the results on DISC-P and DISC-Y showed that parents and children had a moderate degree of agreement in answering symptoms of major depressive episode, symptoms of traumatic stress disorder, and symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder. The results also showed that teachers had a high degree of agreement with children in their report of disruptive symptoms while no agreement was found between teachers and parents reports. Teachers’ reports of disruptive behaviors such as irritability, hostility, distraction, and low motivation had a moderate correlation with children reports of symptoms related to conduct disorders and ODD. These results might suggest that parents identify more efficiently affective disorders than teachers. On the contrary, teachers appear to identify more efficiently disruptive behaviors than parents do. These results are consistent with previous research that documented low to moderate agreement between parents and children in their report of disruptive symptoms (DICA; Herjanic Reich, 1982; Reich, Herjanic, Welner, Gandy, 1982; Welner, Reich, Herjanic, Jung, Amado, 1987; Orvaschel, Thompson, Belanger, Prusoff, Kidd, 1982). In addition, a study with a Puerto Rican sample found similar results, in that parents were generally fair or moderately reliable informants about their children’s affective symptoms (Bravo et. al, 2001). One limitation of the present study was the small size of the study sample. The main reason for this was the fact that many parents that were contacted refused to participate in the study. One possible recommendation for future research is to develop specific strategies to engage more Puerto Ricans in order for them to participate in the phases of research with little immediate benefits that requires extended interviews or evaluations. These strategies could include increasing significantly the monetary compensation. Another strategy is to train the research assistants on specific ways of engaging the parents in a culturally sensitive manner like appealing to â€Å"familism† which Muir, et al. (2004) have found to be essential in engaging Latinos in general including Puerto Ricans in research. Nevertheless, engagement of Latinos including Puerto Ricans in research appears to be a significant challenge and future research needs to address this area by itself in a systematic and comprehensive manner. References Achenbach, T. M., McConaughy, S. H. Howell, C. T. (1987). Child/adolescent behavioral and emotional problems: implications of cross-informant correlations for situational specificity. Psychological Bulletin, 101, 213-232. Bauermeister, J. (1994). Desarrollo y utilizacià ³n del Inventario de Comportamiento Escuela (IDC-E) en la evaluacià ³n de nià ±os puertorriqueà ±os [Development and use of the Bauermeister School Behavior Inventory (BSBI) in assessing Latino children]. San Juan, Puerto Rico: Author. Biederman, J., Faraone, S. Mick, E. Moore, P. (1996). Child Behavior Checklist findings support comorbidity between ADHD and Major Depression in a referred sample. Journal of the American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, 35 (6), 734-742. Bravo, M., Woodbury-Farina, M. A., Canino, G., Rubio-Stipec, M. (in press). The Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children DISC): Its translation and adaptation in Puerto Rico. Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry. Bravo, M., Ribera, J., Rubio-Stipec, M., Canino, G., Shrout, P., Ramà ­rez, R. (2001). Test-retests reliability of Spanish version of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children DISC-IV. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 29(5), 433-444. Chambers, W. J., Puig-antich, J., Hirsch, M., Paez, P., Ambrosini, P. J., Tabrizi, M. A., Davies, M. (1985). The assessment of affective disorders in children and adolescents by semistructured interview. Archives of General Psychiatry, 42, 696-702 Cohen (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. (2nd.ed) Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Edelbrock, C., Costello, A. J., Dulcan, M. K., Calabro Conover, N., Kalas, R. (1986). Parent-child agreement on child psychiatric symptoms assessed via structured interviews. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 27, 181-190. Herjanic, B., Herjanic, M., Brown, F., Wheatt, T. (1975). Are children reliable reporters? Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 3, 41-48. Herjanic, B. Reich W. (1982). Development of a structured psychiatric interview for adolescent: Agreement between child and parent on individual symptoms. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 10, 307-324. Kashani, J. H., Orvaschel, H., Burke, J. P., Reid, J. C. (1985). Informant variance: The issue of parent-child disagreement. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 24, 437-441. Loeber, R., Green, S. M., Lahey, B. B. Stouthamer-Loeber, M. (1989). Optimal informants on childhood disruptive behavior. Development and Psychopathology, 1, 317-337. Orvaschel H., Puig-antich, J., Chambers, W. J., Tabrizi, M.A., Johnson, R. (1982). Retrospective assessment of prepubertal major depression with the Kiddie-SADS-E. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 21, 392-397. Orvaschel, H., Thompson, W. D., Belanger, A., Prusoff, B. A., Kidd, K. K. (1982). Comparison of the family history method to direct interview: Factors affecting the diagnosis of depression. Journal of Affective Disorders, 4, 49-59. Pliszka, S., Carlson, C. Swanson, J. (1999). ADHD with comorbid disorders: Clinical assessment and management. New York: Guilford Press. Reich, W., Earls, F. (1987). Rules for making psychiatric diagnosis in children on the basis of multiple sources of information: Preliminary strategies. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 15, 601-606. Reich, W., Herjanic, B., Welner, Z., Gandhy, P. R. (1982). Development of a structured psychiatric interview for children: Agreement on diagnosis comparing child and parent interviews. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 10, 325-336. Shaffer, D., Fisher, P., Lucas, C. P., Dulcan, M. K., Schwab-Stone, M. E. (2000). NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children Version IV (NIMH DISC-IV): Description, differences from previous versions, and reliability of some common diagnoses. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 39, 28-38. Weissman, M. M., Wickramaratne, P., Warner, V., John, K, Prusoff, B. A., Merikangas, K. R., Gammon G. D. (1987). Assessing psychiatric disorders in children. Archives of General Psychiatry, 44, 747-753.