Multisensor Strategies to Assist Blind People Using Gsm

MULTISENSOR STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT BLIND PEOPLE USING GSM Abstract: The development of electronic sensing devices for the visually impaired requires knowledge of the needs and abilities of this class of people. In this project we present a rough analysis that can be used to properly define the criteria to be adopted for the design of such devices. In particular, attention will be focused on clear-path indicators, highlighting their role in orientation and mobility tasks. A new device belonging to this class is presented. The detector is based on a multisensor strategy and adopts smart signal processing to provide the user with suitable information about the position of objects hindering his or her path. Experimental trials demonstrate the efficiency of the device developed. Introduction: About 1% of the human population is visually impaired, and amongst them about 10% is fully blind. One of the consequences of being visually impaired is the limitations in mobility. For global navigation, many tools already exist. For instance, in outdoor situations, handheld GPS systems for the blind are now available. These tools are not helpful for local navigation: local path planning and collision avoidance. The traditional tools, i. e. the guide dog and the cane, are appreciated tools, but nevertheless these tools do not adequately solve the local navigation problems. Guide dogs are not employable at a large scale (the training capacity in the Netherlands is about 100 guide dogs yearly; just enough to help about 1000 users). The cane is too restrictive. The goal of this research is to develop a wearable tool that assists the blind to accomplish his local navigation tasks. Fig shows the architecture of the proposed tool. It consists of a sensory system controlled by the user. The primary data needed for local navigation is range data (which is not necessarily obtained from visual data alone; at this point, the type of sensors is still an open question). The mapper converts the range data into map data. The local map is the input to a warning system that transforms the map data into a form that is suitable for communication. In order to give the blind person freedom of movement, he must be able to control the focus of attention of the sensory system. For hat purpose, the tool must be provided with a man-machine interface Block diagram: Ultrasonic sensor Object detect sensor circuit Alarm MAX 232 Microcontroller At89C2051 GSM module RF Tx RF Encoder RF Rx Decoder DSP Speech IC Head phone Amplifier The ultimate goal of this project is to provide an electronic tool for the local navigation task of the blind. The tool must provide information about the dire ct surroundings of the blind to enable him to move around without collisions. We assume that, although mostly unknown, the environment does have some structure such as in an urban outdoor situation (e. . a street), or in an indoor situation: smooth floors, now and then a doorstep, stairs, walls, door openings and all kind of objects that possibly obstruct the passage. We start with three sensor types: stereovision, optical flow, and sonar. Preliminary research has shown that other types of sensors are also of interest, e. g. ladar, radar and infrared (detection of people and traffic). The system should be expandable such that the information from these types of sensors can be integrated easily in a later stage of the project. Functioning overview of this Projects: 1) Whenever the blind want go to particular place, before that he will set the path through mobile. 2) Wherever he wants to go he has to carry this system. 3) When he is going out his system will communicate to house through GSM. 4) After receiving the data from blind system, it will communicate through voice using head phone. 5) This same data will send to house by GSM. 6) The house members can monitor the blind through mobile and which street, which area he is going. ) This system will support the blind and the children also. 8) The ultrasonic will support the blind distance of each object. 9) RF will support the path name, signal identification. Advantages: 1) Automation of all Customers to communicate through remote GSM using mobile. 2) Save data using automatic control systems. 3) Less cost to communicate. 4) Less power to automate. 5) Increase Safety. 6) To increase n number of person to communicate and automate. 7) Easy and fast identific ation system. Future scope: The application of this project to help navigate people around unknown places has a large scope of development in the field of technologies it uses. With the advancement in the technology, readers are getting smaller and faster with greater ability to self program. Conclusion: We made an attempt to create a prototype for assisting blind people to sense the objects around them so that we can reduce the probability of collisions. More over by using more efficient and reliable components we can make a reliable one which effectively visualizes the blind people. 1.

Black People Essay

Tar Baby Toni Morrison’s novel might for some be a novel of cultural awakening. One also might at their first reading and perhaps also by reading the different studies made on Tar Baby, restricted to an interpretation that sees Jadine, Morrison’s protagonist, as woman who has, consciously or unconsciously, lost her â€Å"ancient properties† (305) and internalized the values of a white culture. Jadine has totally disconnected herself from her racial identity and cultural heritage. This reading is supported by the fact that Jadine has got her education in Europe with the financial assistance of Valerian Street (her aunt’s and uncle’s employer). Paraphrasing Marylyn sanders Mobley – the characterization of the protagonist, Jadine, draws attention to a fundamental problem as one that Morrison wants to affirm the self-reliance and freedom of a black woman who makes choices for her own life on her own terms. She also seeks to point out the dangers that can happen to the totally self-reliant if there is no historical connection. While the conflict in Tar Baby is undoubtedly â€Å"between assimilation and cultural nationalism represented by the sealskin coat Ryk has given her and the pie table† (Rayson, 94), the limiting categories which Jadine is continually forced into do not come from the white characters but primarily from the black community in which she finds herself because she (Jadine) has embraced white stereotypes along with white culture. While Valerian is portrayed as the traditional master-figure in the novel, it is actually Son, Sydney and Ondine, and the folk past represented by the different women in different places that try to conquer and dominate Jadine, who retain and represent their culture in the very colour of their skin. On the other hand, one could argue that it is as a result of Jadine’s university education in Europe and her career that further draws her away from her culture and identity and therefore (paraphrasing Mobley in Toni Morrison critical perspectives past and present) contributes significantly to the emotional and spiritual uncertainty that plague her as well as the many different roles that are imposed upon her by her aunt and uncle as well as the ‘society’ that caused her to seek upward social mobility. Sydney and Ondine, Jadine’s uncle and aunt in the novel can be seen as representative of one of the tar pits for Jadine. They do not accept all black people equal in the community in which they live because they employ racial hierarchies. Ondine sees herself as the only woman in the house (209), while Sydney notes more than twice that he is a Philadelphia Negro, â€Å"the proudest people in the race† (61). They seem to have a clear vision of what they want for Jadine their niece. As the story progresses, though, it becomes clearer that it is not actually a question of what they want for Jadine but what they want of her or expect her to do. In addition to them wanting Jadine to provide them safety and credit for their race, Ondine admits by the end of the novel, â€Å"maybe I just wanted her to feel sorry for us [†¦ ] and that’s a lowdown wish if I ever had one† (282). Jadine understands that Sydney and Ondine â€Å"had gotten Valerian to pay her tuition while they sent her the rest† (49) and Ondine keeps reminding that she â€Å"would have stood on her feet all day all night to put Jadine through that school† (193). Ondine sees Jadine as her â€Å"crown† (282), and she and Sydney are continually â€Å"boasting† (49) about Jadine’s success to the point that Margaret calls Ondine â€Å"Mother Superior† (84). In return, they seem to want Jadine to offer them safety for the rest of their lives as Ondine claims that â€Å"Nothing can happen to us as long as she’s here† (102). They are not comfortable with the idea of Jadine marrying Ryk, who is â€Å"white but European which was not as bad as white and American† (48), but they are terrified of her running off with a â€Å"no-count Negro† (193) like Son. Although their views on racial hierarchies seem to alter from time to time, on the outside they seem to want what is best for Jadine. Jadine refute Ondine’s views of black womanhood when she tells her some of the things that are expected of her from society Jadine tells Ondine that: â€Å"I don’t want to learn how to be the kind of woman you’re talking about because I don’t want to be that kind of woman† (282). This, according to Rayson (1998), might be interpreted as Jadine’s â€Å"rejecting the roles of mother, daughter, and woman to stay the tar baby† (Rayson, 95), however it marks her becoming aware of what kind of woman she is by the end of the novel. Jadine‘s inclination toward upward social mobility leads to her separation from the Afro-American roots and the tar quality that Morrison advocates. This kind of flaw in Jadine effectively disqualifies her as a black woman capable of nurturing a family and by large the community. Jadine‘s perception of an ancestral relationship from which she is estranged occurs when she sees an African woman in a Parisian bakery. When she is celebrating her success as model evidenced in her appearance on the cover of Elle, Jadine becomes nervous or perhaps uncomfortable by the African woman in yellow attire. She triggers an identity crisis in Jadine at the moment when she should have felt more secure with her professional achievement assured by beauty and education. In his African woman, Jadine catches a glimpse of beauty, a womanliness, an innate elegance, a nurturer, an authenticity that she had never known before: ? That woman‘s woman – that mother/sister/she/; that unphotographable beauty? (p. 43). By calling the African woman ? that mother/sister/she,? J. Deswal (online source â€Å"Tar Baby- Shodhganga) claims that â€Å"Morrison presents a threefold definition of womanhood which can thrive within the confines of family and community only. The three eggs she balances effortlessly in her ? tar-black fingers? (p. 44) appear to Jadine as if the woman were boasting of her own easy acceptance of womanhood†. Wendy Harding and Jacky Martin in A World of Difference: An Inter-cultural Study of Toni Morrison explain the importance of the African woman‘s presence as such: â€Å"Whereas Jadine has just been rewarded for her conformity to Western ideals of feminity, the African woman suggests a more powerful version of black womanhood. Like some fertility goddess, she holds in her hand the secret of life. She is the mother of the world in whose black hands whiteness appears as something as easily crushed as cared for (71). When Jadine measures herself by the idea of black womanhood that she sees in the African woman the insecurities of her rootless condition surface in her mind. The women in yellow makes Jadine confront her female role and her sexuality†. Jadine sees ? something in her eyes so powerful? (p. 42) that she follows the woman out of the store. The writers also claim that â€Å"As a symbol of repudiation of Jadine‘s westernized lifestyle, the African woman ? looks right at Jadine? (p. 43) and spits on the pavement†. Jadine hates the woman for her spitting, but what she cannot do is escape feeling ? lonely in a way; lonely and inauthentic? as she tells the readers on page 45. When the sense of self is based on the denial of one‘s ethnic roots, one is certain to experience mental chaos and alienation. So, the woman‘s insult to Jadine had the powerful effect of challenging Jadine‘s choices: her white boyfriend, her girlfriends in New York, her parties, her picture on the cover of Elle and the way she lived her life. One can say that it is as a result of the African woman that Jadine desided to visit her aunt and uncle on the island. Jadine is confused and even questions her plans to marry Ryk, her white boyfriend: I wonder if the person he wants to marry is me or a black girl? And if it isn‘t me he wants, but any black girl who looks like me, talks and acts like me, what will happen when he finds out that I hate ear hoops, that I don‘t have to straighten my hair, that Mingus puts me to sleep, that sometimes I want to get out of my skin and be only the person inside – not American – not black – just me? (p. 45) It is through Son, however, that Morrison offers Jadine the ultimate opportunity to ‘redeem’ herself to her heritage, adapt it and revive her womanhood. Son picks up from where the African woman left off in a sense by making Jadine confront her inauthenticity. Jadine and Son enjoys their stay in New York because it is the place where Jadine feels at ease. She feels loved and safe: ? He ‘unorphaned’ her completely and gave her a brand-new childhood? (p. 231). In turn, Son is encouraged by her need and by his apparent ability to redefine Jadine culturally and emotionally. Son insists that he and Jadine goes to Eloe his hometown where Jadine will see how Son is rooted in family and cultural heritage. He attempts to rescue Jadine from her ignorance and disdain for her cultural heritage, trying in a sense to mould Jadine into the image of his black female ancestors. Son assumes that a relationship with Jadine will mean that they will have children together. He presses claims for family and community: ? He smiled at the vigour of his own heartbeat at the thought of her having his baby? (p. 220). Thus, he wants Jadine to love the nurturing aspects of home and fraternity. He is fed on dreams of his community women. The dreams of ? yellow houses with white doors? and ? fat black ladies in white dresses minding the pie table? (p. 119) are nourishment to Son. Sandra Pouchet Paquet (The ancestors as foundation in their eyes were watching god and tar baby) observes: ? In Son‘s dreams of Eloe, the African-American male ego is restored in a community of black man at the center of a black community. But however appreciative Son is of the beauty, the strength, and the toughness of black women; his vision is of male dominance; of the black women as handmaiden? (511). The image feminity that Son cherishes – of the black woman taking passive role as a nurturer of the hearth – is flagrantly opposite to Jadine‘s perception of the modern black woman. This terrifies Jadine and narrows the possibility of their forming a family. The modern, educated black woman seems to snivel at the aspects of traditional female- specific role as the nurturer of hearth and home. Decadent white values and life style thwart the black woman’s vital roles of building families and raising children. The modern black woman cannot be a complete human being, for she allows her education to keep her career separate from her nurturing role. The black woman is increasingly becoming able to define her own status and to be economically independent. She tries to seek equality in her relationship with men. Robert Staples gives an insight into the faltering dynamics of modern couples: ? What was once a viable institution because women were a subservient group has lost its value for some people in these days of women‘s liberation. The stability of marriage was contingent on the woman accepting her place in the home and not creating dissension by challenging the male‘s prerogatives? (125). The black woman‘s intrinsic quality of ? accepting her place in the home? is Morrison‘s tar quality. However, in advocating the tar quality Morrison does not admonish the educational and professional accomplishments of the black woman. In fact, the black woman is expected to achieve a balance between her roles in the domestic and professional fields. â€Å"It is the historical ability of black women to keep their families and careers together. In an era where both the black male and female seek to fulfill individual desires, relationships falter and, consequently, the prospects of the propagation of a family are not too bright. Jadine‘s tar quality is submerged by the white-like urge for freedom and self-actualization. As a result, she finds the conventions of black womanhood antithetical to her own value system†. At Eloe, Jadine is determined to resist rigid male-female role categorization. Jadine cannot ? understand (or accept) her being shunted off with Ellen and the children while the men grouped on the porch and after a greeting, ignored her? (p. 248). While at Eloe, Jadine is provided with yet another chance to attain certain qualities that is for black women. She is accustomed to living an upper-class white lifestyle so she finds the people of Eloe limited and backward. Their stifling little shacks are more foreign to her than the hotel-like splendor of Valerian‘s mansion. She stays in Aunt Rosa‘s house where she feels claustrophobically enclosed in a dark, windowless room. She feels ? she might as well have been in a cave, a grave, the dark womb of the earth, suffocating with the sound of plant life moving, but deprived of its sight? (p. 254). It is in this very room where Jadine and Son were having sex that she had a second awakening vision, which is more frightening than the one she had in Paris about the African Woman. Here, Older, black, fruitful and nurturing women – her own dead mother, her Aunt Ondine, Son‘s dead wife, the African woman in yellow and other black women of her past – become a threatening part of Jadine‘s dreams: I have breasts too,‘ she said or thought or willed, I have breasts too. ‘ But they didn‘t believe her. They just held their own higher and pushed their own farther out and looked at her,? (p. 261) and ? the night women were not merely against her†¦ not merely looking superior over their sagging breasts and folded stomachs, they seemed somehow in agreement with each other about her, and were all determined to punish her for having neglected her cultural heritage. They wanted to bind the person she had become and choke it with their breasts. The night women? accuse Jadine for trading the ? ancient properties? (p. 308) of being a daughter, mother, and a woman for her upward mobility and self-enhancement. All these women are punishing Jadine for her refusal to define herself in relation to family, historical tradition and culture. As they ‘brandish’ their breasts before her eyes, they mock and insult her with their feminity. Jadine finds these women backward and sees no self-fulfilling value in the roles that they serve. However, she is constantly haunted by dreams of the black female image that she seems to have lost throughout life. Ondine express shame and disappointment over her lack of concern for her family, the African woman, at the Parisian bakery, spits at her in disgust and the night women, in the vision at Eloe taunt her with their nurturing breasts. Having refuted her own black culture and heritage, Jadine face the consequence of a divided consciousness and a mental death. Her decision to end the love affair with Son— ? I can‘t let you hurt me again? (p. 274) is an evidence of her shunning womanhood and losing her Afro- American roots as she chooses Ryk her white boyfriend over Son who refused to become the person or image that Jadine wants him to be . Jadine is compelled to make her choice and she decides that it is in Paris, away from Son, where there are prospects of financial success and personal independence. She doesn‘t want what Son and Eloe have to offer: To settle for wifely competence when she could be a beauty queen or to settle for fertility rather than originality and nurturing instead of building? (p. 271). Jadine makes it clear to the reader that she is self-sufficient and independent of men, family and community.

History of Coca-Cola Essay

Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines internationally. The Coca-Cola Company claims that the beverage is sold in more than 200 countries. [l] It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke (a registered trademark of The Coca- Cola Company in the United States since March 27, 1944). Originally intended as a patent medicine when it was invented in the late 19th century by John Pemberton, Coca-Cola was bought out by businessman Asa Griggs Candler, whose marketing tactics led Coke to its dominance of the world soft-drink market throughout the 20th century. The company produces concentrate, which is then sold to licensed Coca-Cola bottlers throughout the world. The bottlers, who hold territorially exclusive contracts with the company, produce finished product in cans and bottles from the concentrate in combination with filtered water and sweeteners. The bottlers then sell, distribute and erchandise Coca-Cola to retail stores and vending machines. Such bottlers include Coca-Cola Enterprises, which is the largest single Coca-Cola bottler in North America and western Europe. The Coca-Cola Company also sells concentrate for soda fountains to major restaurants and food service distributors. The Coca-Cola Company has, on occasion, introduced other cola drinks under the Coke brand name. The most common of these is Diet Coke, with others including Caffeine-Free Coca-Cola, Diet Coke Caffeine-Free, Coca-Cola Cherry, Coca-Cola Zero, Coca-Cola Vanilla, and special editions with lemon, lime or coffee. In response to consumer insistence on a more natural product, the company is in the process of phasing out E211, or sodium benzoate, the controversial additive used in Diet Coke and linked to DNA damage in yeast cells and hyperactivity in children. The company has stated that it plans to remove E211 from its other products, including Sprite and Oasis, as soon as a satisfactory alternative is found

Consultancy project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Consultancy project - Essay Example The company still experiences problems in Saudi Arabia, most of which affect the productivity of employees. The company currently experiences problems with the HR department. Therefore, the BAE Company plans to work with the Delta HR consultancy to enable them identify the issues related with the HR department. The consultant presented in this paper is Delta HR consultancy group, consultee in BAE company systems and the consultee’s client group are Strikemaster aircraft in Saudi Arabia ( BAE Systems 2000, p. 111). In any consultancy project, consultants must know the operational and conceptual picture of their definition in consultation, as well as a comprehensive understanding of the appropriate operation models to enhance their effectiveness in consulting. This also facilitates the expansion of experience and enhances understanding the necessary process in their consultancy projects. Studies indicate that only few consultants succeed in the absence of high quality skills. Su ch skills include evaluation of the problem definition, knowing of when to listen or confront, being a good relation builder, and recognition of excessive dependency or understanding dynamics of resistance. Such skills enhance the competency of a consultant (Biech 2005, p. 20). Objectives of the project entail the investigation of the problems facing BAE, the proposal of the process involved to undertake a consultancy project, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the consultancy project with regard to BAE. Process of Undertaking a Consultancy Project The process of undertaking a consultation project involves six steps. The steps apply to both long-term and short-term consultation. These include pre-entry, entry, information gathering, solution searching, evaluation and termination (The Consultancy Process, 1990). The steps are in correspondence to the research methods undertaken and data acquired through qualitative and quantitative methods. All information in this paper originates from questionnaires and interviews where the consultant seeks to get first hand information that forms the basis to the consultancy project. Step 1: Pre-entry Pre-entry step underscores significance of the consultants in their regular engagement in self-assessment. This ensures that consultants remain in their rightful positions situations arising. The consultant may be misperceived as possessing unusual knowledge, insights and skills in defining and solving problems for another person. The pre-entry step therefore focuses on the consultant, and in this case, Delta HR consultancy. This step forms the preliminary stage where the consultant establishes a conceptual framework. This also enables the consultant assesses himself to articulate to others and to self of his/her true capabilities in providing them with the services they require. Failure of going through this step leads to possible underestimation or overestimation of the potential of the consultant to be useful. The assessmen t prevents the consultant from considering most problems and needs of the consultee as fitting to the favourite interventions and paradigms of the consultant for helping. The reflective and self-assessment involved in this stage enable the consultant understand the beliefs and values to be able to understand how organizations solve their problems. The Delta Consultancy must

Structured Essays Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Structured Essays - Essay Example The fear of a German uprising was no longer in the minds of the French as all the land that Germany was required to hand over was returned; the most important regions being Alsace and Lorraine. Germany's army was down sized to a maximum of 100,000 men; they were denied the use of tanks. The air force was disbanded and the navy was only allowed to staff and operate six ships; however, no submarines were allowed to remain operational. The land fifty kilometres east of the Rhine was pronounced a demilitarised zone, where no soldier with a weapon could enter. Overseas land previously owned by Germany was given to different European countries. The Saar, Danzig and Memel were put under the control of the League of Nations. One of the more important outcomes was the "War Guilt Clause" that required Germany to take on full responsibility for starting the war. This was important as it would show the world France's reason for participation in the war was only to defend against the German attacks. This also meant that Germany would have to pay reparations to France for the physical damage caused during the war. Wilson was very pleased because as a result of the Paris Peace Conference his vision of the League of Nations had become a reality. ... He said as much: "To promote international co-operation and to achieve international peace and security." (Wilson) The cost of creating the League was losing his other 13 original ideology points to gain the global support that was necessary to start the League and make it a success. As the post-war world was in struggle of finding peace, there were a lot of countries intrigued by the international organisation that promised to bring the world peace. Wilson was of a peace loving nature and was clearly angered by the great number of restrictions Germany had to agree to in the Treaty as well as all the reparations they had to make. The harsh conditions that were imposed on Germany embarrassed and shamed Wilson. Nevertheless, he was very satisfied with the start of the League of Nations. One fact to be noted is that reparations to the United States were not mandated in the Treaty. It is true that the losses of the United States were not on the same scale as Britain and France because of their late entrance into the war. Lloyd-George was perhaps the least satisfied with the final terms of the treaty because of Clemenceau's persistence to bankrupt the German economy. As Lloyd-George's key point was to keep Germany's economy as stable as possible so as to increase European market strength, he was not happy with the end result. Most people in Great Britain had wished for revenge on Germany, and indeed received satisfaction as many of Germany's colonies went to Lloyd-George such as Egypt and parts of China, including important, major trading ports. These acquisitions greatly enriched great Britain's economy, a large amount of wealth coming from the

How is the analysis of a drama's plot, character, and theme different Assignment

How is the analysis of a drama's plot, character, and theme different from that of a novel, or a short story - Assignment Example Differentiating the analysis of the aforementioned literary works probably would lie on the approach of an individual to how one understands the story. In a novel or short story, the events are told in a conversational way so that the incidents are almost completely interpreted as to how he would have wanted it to be. In addition, descriptions of events and characters as well as their feelings make the analysis of a novel or short story easier. In drama however, since the unfolding of the story is seen in the conversations of the characters and lacks the author’s explanation of their feelings, the interpretation relies more on the analysis of the conversations and the very words used. Also, as drama is made to be seen and heard like movies or plays, its analysis also involves the facial expressions, volume and tone of voices of the characters.

Company Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Company Analysis - Essay Example Weaknesses need to be overcome as they have the potential for being a major reason in the failure of the business (Hauser, 2012). When evaluated by my group members, it was found that my contribution, attendance at meetings, and leadership were the major drawbacks. This was perhaps because of an inappropriate leadership style or not being much competitive and strong leader in directing the way. I should rather be more vigilant, risk taking, and influential as the production head. Too much relaxed attitude with utmost responsibility given to the subordinates may increase their motivation and productivity since they would feel no â€Å"pressure from the top†, but a little control from the leader is needed. Workers needed to be guided, always been given directions, and should be lead from the front by the leader. I lacked in this area, but certainly overcoming the loops is the best solution ever. I will tend to become more competitive, leading the team, always engaging in all kin ds of meetings, giving clear directions to all, showing my leadership skills. Training and adopting an enthusiastic strategy would help. 3. Discuss your role on the team. I was in charge of the production department. My role was to engage in careful planning and analysis or evaluation of different strategies and product decisions of different products with the team. As the production in charge, I experimented with different strategies and production decisions and looked for their impact on the business in the long-run.

(CHILDREN'S RIGHT ) My Course is Iin EDUCATION Essay

(CHILDREN'S RIGHT ) My Course is Iin EDUCATION - Essay Example However, different International Conventions and Ugandan government have taken severe steps to prevent the unlawful induction of children in any kind of work either hazardous or un-hazardous that may have its adverse affects on their physical, mental and academic progress. These Conventions have tried their level best to create awareness among the different communities present in Uganda that child labor is a crime and people should refrain sending their children for any sort of economical activity. However, it is expected that with the passage of time and by creating awareness in the minds of Ugandan people, the government and the international agencies will overcome the problem of Child labor in Uganda for their own prosperity and development of the society which is highly important for them. ‘Child labor and poverty are inevitably bound together and if you continue to use the labor of children as the treatment for the social disease of poverty, you will have both poverty and child labor to the end of time.’- Grace Abbott Uganda is faced with severe poverty along with a low literacy rate. Poverty is the main cause of defragmenting the socioeconomic structure of any country. As a result, people in Uganda compel their children to earn and contribute with their families in order to sustain their living standards. Due to this reason, we can clearly observe a high percentage of children working under hazardous conditions to meet their basic needs (http://childvoice.jinja.eu/en/child-labor-in-uganda.). Child labor is an unlawful and immoral induction of young children which deprives them of better living conditions, right of education and the right of being known as the ‘most fragile humans’ in the world. Child can be defined as a human who falls between the ages of birth and youth. In legal terms a child is defined as a minor who is dependent on his caretakers for living and

Review essay on Henry Jenkins concepts Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Review on Henry Jenkins concepts - Essay Example In the contemporary world, every aspect of human life is influenced by the rapid changes in communications, storytelling and information technologies which affect the ways in which people interact with each other. As Jenkins maintains, media convergence cannot be comprehended as mere technological shift, because it alters the relationship between existing technologies, industries, markets, genres and audiences. Jenkins makes a significant contribution to the understanding of the contradictory nature of media change through the theory of media convergence which indicates sites of tension and transition in the media environment. â€Å"The American media environment is now being shaped by two seemingly contradictory trends: on the one hand, new media technologies have lowered production and distribution costs, expanded the range of available delivery channels and enabled consumers to archive, annotate, appropriate and re-circulate media content in powerful new ways; on the other hand, there has been an alarming concentration of the ownership of mainstream commercial media, with a small handful of multinational media conglomerates dominating all sectors of the entertainment industry.† (Jenkins 2004, P 33). Therefore, it is essential to comprehend that Henry Jenkins has made incredible contribution to the understanding of new media and this paper makes a reflective exploration of Jenkins as a key theorist of new media and media convergence from the perspective of its users and participatory culture. Henry Jenkins has been recognized as one of America’s most respected media analysts and he has made essential contribution to the understanding of new media and media convergence. Significantly, Jenkins makes an important attempt to expose the various cultural transformations taking place as media converge in his work Convergence

Change and the Management of Change Essay Example for Free

Change and the Management of Change Essay Change Management Planning, Implementing, controlling, and reviewing the movement of an organization from its current state to a new one Causes of Change External Incremental (Evolutionary) †¢Occurs slowly over time (fuel-efficient cars) Dramatic (Revolutionary) †¢Can cause many problems especially if unexpected †¢Might lead to total rethink of operation of organization oBusiness Process Re-Engineering Business Process Re-EngineeringFundamentally rethinking and redesigning the processes of a business to achieve a dramatic improvement in performance Globalization-Increasing interdependence for countries’ economies through free trade and multinational company investment †¢New opportunities to sell products in other countries †¢Increased competition from products made more cheaply in other countries-often by multinationals †¢Use either pan-global marketing for localization strategies †¢Achieve and try to maintain a competitive advantage Technological Advances-Leading to new products and new processes †¢Products: new computer games, iPods and iPhones, hybrid-powered cars. †¢Processes: robots in production; computer assisted design (CAD) in design offices and computer systems for stock control. †¢Staff retraining †¢Purchase of new equipment †¢Additions to product portfolio-Other products may be dropped †¢Need for quicker product development which may require new organizational structures and teams Macro-Economic Change- Fiscal Policy, Interest Rates, Business Cycle†¢Changes in consumers’ disposable incomes-and demand patterns that result from this †¢Boom or recession conditions-need for extra capacity or rationalism †¢Need for flexible production systems (staff flexibility) to cope with demand changes †¢Explain need for extra capacity or need to rationalize †¢Deal with staff cutbacks in way that encourages staff who remain to accept change Legal Changes †¢Changes to what can be sold †¢Working hours and conditions †¢Staff training on company policy †¢Flexible working hours and practices Competitors’ Actions †¢New products †¢Lower prices †¢Higher promotional budgets†¢Encourage new ideas from staff †¢Increase efficiency by staff accepting need to change production methods †¢Ensure resources available to meet challenge Environmental Factors †¢Increase green consumerism †¢Increasing concern about industry’s contribution to climate change †¢Social and environmental audits supported by strategic changes (recycle packaging) Internal Organizational Changes †¢Delayering* †¢Matrix structure** replaces hierarchical º †¢Retraining of less senior staff to accept more responsibility †¢Job security †¢Retraining staff in teamwork and project management Relocation †¢Moving operations to another region/country †¢Redundancy schemes for workers who lose their jobs †¢Grants for those willing to move Cutting Costs To Improve Competitiveness †¢Capital-intensive rather that labour-intensive methods †¢Rationalisation of operations †¢Retraining staff to operate advanced tech. †¢Redundancy schemes for workers who lose their jobs †¢Flexible employment contracts and working practices *DelayeringRemoval of one or more of the levels of hierarchy from an organizational structure **Matrix StructureAn organizational structure that creates project teams that cut across traditional functional departments  ° Level of Hierarchy A stage of the organisational structure at  which the personnel on it have equal status and authority Factors Causing Resistance to Change †¢Fear of Unknown (Uncertainty) †¢Fear of Failure (Skills/Abilities beyond worker’s capabilities) †¢Losing Something of Value (Income, Status, Job Security) †¢False Beliefs (Some convince themselves current system will work to avoid risks) †¢Lack of Trust (Past experiences between workers and managers) †¢Inertia (Might have to work harder) Strategies to Reduce Impact of/Resistance to Change Change Management Force-Field AnalysisAn analytical process used to map the opposing forces within an environment (such as a business) where change is taking place 1.Outline proposal for change 2.List forces for and against change 3.Assign estimated score for each force †¢Weighs importance of forces †¢Helps identify who is most likely impacted by change †¢How to strengthen forces supporting decision and reduce forces against it †¢Can implement leadership style that reduces opposition and resistance to change Project ChampionA person assigned to support and drive a project forward. Their role is to explain the benefits of change and assist and support the team putting change into practice Project GroupsCreated by an organisation to address a problem that requires input from different specialists Promote Change 1.Establish a sense of urgency. 2.Create an effective project team to lead the change. 3.Develop a vision and a strategy for change. 4.Communicate this change vision. 5.Empower people to take action. 6.Generate short-term gains from change that benefit as many people as possible. 7.Consolidate these gains and produce even more change. 8.Build change into the culture of the organisation so that it becomes a natural process.

Effectiveness of Exogenous Melatonin in Insomnia

Effectiveness of Exogenous Melatonin in Insomnia WOO YUN KIN CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Research Background Sleep is not always a luxury. Insomnia is defined as a sleep disorder in which there is an inability to fall asleep or stay asleep as long as desired (Roth T. 2007). It is estimated that up to 34% of adults in the United States and 37% in Europe have some forms of insomnia (Leger D. 2005). Insomnia can be classified to mild, moderate and severe according to the International Classification of Sleep Disorder (ICSD). Melatonin (5-methoxy-N-acetyltryptamine) is a lipid soluble hormone secreted by the pineal gland during hours of darkness. Melatonin has several physiological functions including regulation of the circadian rhythms, modulation of seasonal change and a powerful antioxidant (Gitto et al. 2013). With age, it has been shown that the 24hour melatonin secretion is significantly reduced thus affecting the normal circadian cycle (Iguchi et al. 1982). At present, insomnia is typically treated symptomatically, often with benzodiazepine or antidepressants. However chronic insomnia requires long term treatment which may cause significant side effects and unwanted drug-drug interaction. Approximately 29-61% of older adults with insomnia complaints have preexisting sleep apnea (Krakow et al. 2001). With the combination of insomnia and sleep apnea, sedative-hypnotic treatments may worsen the sleep apnea (Mendelson et al. 1981). Exogenous melatonin is a chronobiotic drug with some hypnotic properties (Zhdanova et al. 1997), it has become of the most frequently non-prescribed sleep aid due to its role in regulating and promoting sleep (Wagner et al. 1998). some studies have shown that supplemental melatonin can increase sleep propensity, although it may not be as effective as prescribed sleep medication (Zhdanova I. 2005). Problem Statement Sleep adequacy includes, quality, timing and also duration. It has been estimated that the direct health cost of sleep disorder amounts to $1144 million Australian dollars in 2001 (NHS Aus. 2001), and 7.6% of the total motor vehicle accidents(MVA) in 2004 are indirectly caused by sleep disorders amounting to $808million net health costs. Studies have been done to show the benefits of exogenous melatonin for sleep disorders on individuals with intellectual disabilities and adolescence however very little has been done to show its effectiveness on the general population. Malaysia, has one of the highest rate of MVA in the world where according to Malaysian Institute of Road Safety (MIROS), from 1997 to 2007, there has been an increase of 59% of MVA and the main reason identified was driving fatigue due to awkward working hours/shift works (Kee et al. 2010). Availability of exogenous in Malaysia is scarce and it is not fully understood. Research Question How effective is exogenous melatonin in treating insomnia in general population? How safe is exogenous melatonin? Research Objective To review efficacy of exogenous melatonin in treating insomnia To access the safety of exogenous melatonin Significance of Research Data from available clinical trials and studies done on the efficacy of exogenous melatonin in insomnia will be compiled and compared to enable a more comprehensive and easily accessible result database. With the comprehensive database, clinicians will have a better understanding on the efficacy of MSCs and the best treatment option for the patient, thus improving patients quality of life. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 INSOMNIA Insomnia is often defined by the presence of an individual’s report of difficulty with sleep (Roth T 2007). The criteria often used in diagnosing insomnia includes i)difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep or nonrestorative sleep, ii) this opportunity is present despite adequate opportunity and circumstance to sleep, iii) this impairment in sleep is associated with daytime impairment or distress and iv) this sleep difficulty occurs at least 3 times per week and has been a problem for the past 1 month (Roth T 2007). The pathophysiology of insomnia can be due to the disorder of the hyper-arousal state throughout the whole day which causes alertness during the day and difficulty in falling or maintaining sleep (Stepanski E, 1988). A cross sectional study done on 156 US air force personal found that 40% suffered from sleep disorder and 75% reported diminished sleep quality while deployed overseas (Peterson AL, 2008). A study done in 2013 (Lentino et al, 2013) showed that 25% of the 14148 army and national guard personal reported to be poor sleepers thus affecting the quality of sleep and the quality of service. 2.2 CURRENT TREATMENT FOR INSOMNIA Currently the medications used for treating insomnias and other sleep disorders includes benzodiazepine receptor agonist (eg. Zolpidem, zipoclone) which are only limited to short term use (4 weeks) (Sanofi Aventis, 2007). The medication large affects the brain through the GABA receptors and long term use has been associated with memory and balance impairment, rebound imsomnia, withdrawal symptoms and abuse potential (Rush CR, 1999). Recent short termed studies have shown that discontinuation of the benzodiazepines lead to disruption of the sleep architecture and also increases sleep latency which makes withdrawing from treatment difficult (Mann K, 1996). 2.3 MELATONIN Melatonin (5-methoxy-N-acetyltryptamine) is a lipid soluble hormone that is shown to be involved with the sleep physiology (Dijk D-J, 1997).it is also regulates the modulation of season change, in reproduction, antioxidant, oncostatic, anti inflammatory and anti-convulsant effect (Gitto E, 2013). Melatonin is mostly produced in the pineal gland in the brain during the hours of darkness and is involved in the regulation of the sleep-wake cycle (circadian cycle).the circadian process is maintained by the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) which contains high number of melatonin receptors. During daytime, the SCN produces an arousal signal that maintains the wakefulness and prevents sleep drive however in darkness, there is a feedback loop which causes the release of melatonin which feeds back and inhibits the SCN (Geert et al, 2009) It has been documented that melatonin decreases with age especially in post menopausal women (Okatani Y, 2000). Other than to promote sleep, melatonin also show s sedative and anti-excitory effects (Hardeland R, 2008). 2.4 EXOGENOUS MELATONIN Exogenous melatonin has become one of the most frequently prescribed over the counter drug for those looking for non-prescription sleep medication (Wagner J, 1998). The exogenous melatonin is marketed to help promote quality sleep, helps in jet lag, or to regulate the circadian cycle due to jet lag or shift work due to its regulator role in the internal timing of biological rhythm. Some studies have shown that exogenous melatonin can help increase the sleep propensity although it may not be as effective as prescribed sleep medications (Zhdanova I, 2005). Studies have also been done regarding the use of exogenous melatonin in the treatment of sleep problems in individuals with sleep disability (Turk 2003) however there are still doubts on the efficacy of exogenous melatonin usage for the general public. CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research Design This research was based on the PICOS guidelines : Population (P): All types of insomnia patients Intervention (I): Exogenous melatonin Comparitor (C): Insomnia patients on treatment with exogenous melatonin compared with other treatment by questionnaires Outcome (O): Efficacy and safety of treatment Study design (S): Randomized Controlled trials (RCT), Surveys 3.2 Database Literature search was done on electronic articles/ journals in Central, PubMed and Google Scholar. 3.3 Keywords Key words used to search articles with MESH terms were: Insomnia Exogenous melatonin 3.4 Quality Assessment Quality assessment of the paper was done using Jadad scoring for randomized controlled trials (RCT) and Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) for case-control and cohort studies. 1.Jaded score assesses the quality of published clinical trials based on methods relevant to random assignment, double blinding and the flow of patients. There are 7 criteria evaluated, whereby 1 point is given if the criteria is met and the last 2 crietria carries a negative mark. Range of score is from 0 (bad) to 5 (good) (Jadad et al. 1996). i. Was the study described as randomized (this include words such as randomly, random, and randomization)? [+1 point] ii. Was the method used to generate the sequence of randomization described and appropriate (table of random numbers, computer generated etc)? [+1 point] iii. Was the study described as double blind? [+1 point] iv. Was the method of double blinding described and appropriate (identical placebo, active placebo, dummy, etc)? [+1 point] v. Was there a description of withdrawals and dropouts? [+1point] vi. Deduct one point if the method used to generate the sequence of randomization was described and it was inappropriate (patients were allocated alternately, or according to date of birth, hospital number, etc)? vii. Deduct one point if the study was described as double blind but the method of blinding was inappropriate (eg. comparison of table vs. injection with no double dummy) 2. Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) is developed to assess the quality of the non-randomized studies with its design, content and ease of use directed to the purpose of incorporating the quality assessments in the interpretation of the results. A ‘star system’ is developed to judge on 3 broad perspectives (Wells et al. 2014): i. The selection of the study groups ii. The comparability of the groups The ascertainment of either the exposure or outcome of interest for case-control or cohort studies respectively 3.5 Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria Inclusion criteria Studies included in this review were chosen according to the flowing criteria : i. Papers published in English language (2010-2015) ii. All study designs were included to maximize the data collection Study subjects includes all types of insomnia patients Exclusion criteria Studies that were done in foreign language and animal studies were excluded in this review 3.6 Ethical Clearance The ethical committee of UCSI was notified regarding this thesis write-up 3.7 GAANT Chart 3.8 Milestone Proposal presentation: 27.02.2015 Submission: 31.03.2015 Data analysis complete: 30.05.2015 Thesis submission: 15.07.2015 REFERENCES 1. CATHERINE CORNU, L. R., FLORENCE NOEL-BARON, ALAIN NICOLAS, NATHALIE FEUGIER-FAVIER, PASCAL ROY, BRUNO CLAUSTRAT, M. S.-E. A. B. K. 2010. A dietary supplement to improve the quality of sleep: a randomized placebo controlled trial. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 10. 2. SZESEEN KEE, S. B. M. T., YONGMENG GOH 2010. Driving Fatigue and Performance among Occupational Drivers in Simulated Prolonged Driving. Global Journal of Health Science, 2. 3. REBECCA B COSTELLO, C. V. L., COURTNEY C BOYD, MEGHAN L O’CONNELL, CINDY C CRAWFORD, DEUSTER, M. L. S. A. P. A. 2014. The effectiveness of melatonin for promoting healthy sleep: a rapid evidence assessment of the literature. Nutrition Journal, 13. 4. DAVID R HILLMAN, M., FRCPE, FANZCA; ANITA SCOTT MURPHY, BEC; RAL ANTIC, MB, FRACP; LYNNE PEZZULLO, BEC 2006. The Economic Cost of Sleep Disorders. Sleep, 29. 5. GEERT MAYER, M. S. W.-W., MD, PHD; BARBARA ROTH-SCHECHTER, PHD; REINER LEHMANN, MD; CORINNE STANER, MD; MARKKU PARTINEN, MD, PHD 2009. Efficacy and Safety of 6-Month Nightly Ramelteon Administration in Adults with Chronic Primary Insomnia. Sleep, 32. 6. FRANK A.J.L. SCHEER, P. C. J. M., PHD; JOANNA I. GARCIA, BA; CAROLINA SMALES, BSC; ERIN E. KELLY, MSC; JENNY MARKS, MPH; ATUL MALHOTRA, M. S. A. S., PHD 2012. Repeated Melatonin Supplementation Improves Sleep in Hypertensive Patients Treated with Beta-Blockers: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Sleep, 35. 7. JONATHAN J. BASKETT, J. B. B., PHILIP C. WOOD, JOHN R. DUNCAN,MEGAN J. PLEDGER, JUDIE ENGLISH, JOSEPHINE ARENDT 2003. Does melatonin improve sleep in older people? A randomised crossover trial. Age and Aging, 32, 164-170. 8. P GRINGRAS, C. G., A P JONES , L WIGGS , P R WILLIAMSON , A SUTCLIFFE , P MONTGOMERY, W P WHITEHOUSE , I CHOONARA, A EDMOND, R APPLETON 2012. Melatonin for sleep problems in children with neurodevelopmental disorders: randomised doubl emasked placebo controlled trial. BMJ, 354. 9. LIIRA J, V. J., COSTA G, DRISCOLL TR, SALLINEN M, ISOTALO LK, RUOTSALAINEN JH 2014. Pharmacological interventions for sleepiness and sleep disturbances caused by shift work (Review). The Cochrane Collaboration. 10. VENKATARAMANUJAM SRINIVASAN, D. D. B., TIMO PARTONEN,RAHIMAH ZAKARIA,ZAHIRUDDIN OTHMAN 2014. The use of melatonin for treating sleep disorders in patients with Parkinson’s disease. ChronoPhysiology and Therapy, 51-57. 11. THOMAS ROTH 2007. Insomnia: Definition, Prevalence, Etiology, and Consequences. Supplement, 3 12. LUCIA MARSEGLIA, G. D. A., SARA MANTI, SALVATORE AVERSA , TERESA ARRIGO, RUSSEL J. REITER, ELOISA GITTO 2015. Analgesic, Anxiolytic and Anaesthetic Effects of Melatonin: New Potential Uses in Pediatrics. Int. J. Mol. Sci., 1209-1220. 13. SCHWAB, N. S. G. P. G. I. G. E. A.-S. E. M. R. 2010. Effectiveness of Ramelteon for Insomnia Symptoms in Older Adults with Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Randomized Placebo- Controlled Pilot Study. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 6 14. ROSEANNE DEFRONZO DOBKIN, M. M., KARINA L. BIENFAIT, LESLEY A. ALLEN, HUMBERTO MARIN, AND MICHAEL A. GARA 2009. Ramelteon for the treatment of insomnia in menopausal women. Menopause Int., 15, 13-18. 15. JAMIE M. ZEITZER, B. K., DOUG OTA, B. JENNY KIRATLI 2014. Randomized controlled trial of pharmacological replacement of melatonin for sleep disruption in individuals with tetraplegia. The Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, 37. 16. GIULIANA GALLI-CARMINATIA, N. D., GILLES BERTSCHY 2009. Melatonin in the treatment of chronic sleep disorders in adults with autism: a retrospective study. S W i S S M e d W k ly, 139, 293-296.

RFID Implementation Essay -- essays research papers fc

RFID Implementation Once a company decides to use RFID, the most important step in the process is being able to successfully gather the data and manipulate it into meaningful information. Doing this as effectively and efficiently as possible requires a proper RFID implementation, which for many reasons, can prove to be the most difficult stage of the entire process. A company new to RFID will find that many changes have to take place to make sure the implementation is as successful as possible. Ensuring a successful implementation involves changes in all fundamental areas of the company, including their systems and products (Zebra Technologies). While these changes will prove to be difficult, many companies find that they can conduct business much more effectively after the implementation of RFID. There are many things a company should consider before implementing an RFID system. It is important to determine the use of the system before it is put into place. For example, a company should set specific goals for what they expect the system to do for them once implemented. Determining this early in the process will help to pinpoint the most useful data once it is being gathered by the system. In addition, it’s important to map out requirements of the system over a set timeframe. It is helpful to have near-term goals just after the implementation, as well as long-term organization goals for the company about how the RFID system will help them over time (Implementing RFID). Since RFID implementation is very costly, it is also important to know the setup of the system before implementation. Knowing the setup involves understanding the key elements needed for the process. These include the tags, readers, sensors, and other software changes to make sure all existing systems are able to receive RFID generated data (Zebra Technologies). Another helpful thing to remember during implementation is to share implementation plans with the trading partners of the company. This way, any business partners will be ready to expect changes when dealing with the exchange of products and information (EPCglobal). Finally, one of the most important steps is to understand the importance of RFID middleware within the implementation process and its benefits for company. Middleware RFID middleware is responsible for filtering and managing the flow of data between tag readers and appl... ...telligent Agents 101). Intelligent agents are currently being used for a number of business processes today including electronic commerce, process and workflow automation, and in numerous Internet applications (Intelligent Agents 101). Known for their secure transfer of data, intelligent agents are becoming a valuable key to reliable RFID implementations. Not only will this technology allow for secure data transfers, but they can occur throughout all processes within the company and can interpret the large amounts of data being read by the system. In doing all this, the intelligent agents are also able to reduce the overall system load for quicker response time and produce results in a near real-time manner. Bibliography Automatic Identification Manufacturers. RFID: A Basic Primer. 28 Oct. 1999. . Bonsor, Kevin. How RFIDs Work. 1998-2005. . EPC Services. FYI: The EPCglobal Network - How It Works. . Smith, Peter. RFID Tags - How They Work. 17 Jul. 2003. . Thomson, John. The Queue at Pack and Save. Apr. 2004. . Transponder News. Motorola announces BiStatix 125KHz RFID tag. 2 March 1999. . UPM Refsec. Tutorial overview of inductively coupled RFID Systems May 2003. .

what to do about education Essay -- essays research papers

What to do about Funding in Public Schools The public school system in America has long has been an issue of discussion amongst people everywhere. The school system is something we deal with in every state and city in America. It is one system in our country that is in need of great evaluation when it comes to the issue of funding. There are funding gaps that are so large from school to school when it comes to the issue of funding that we have some schools that are barley in suitable living conditions, have the oldest materials and are very understaffed to schools that have the best of everything in every aspect to include the teachers. Is this the type of unbalanced system you want your kids in? People often complain that we need to do something about, give more funding here or there, but the problem surrounding school funding is that we often distribute funding in the wrong way. Well I say it is time we as a whole step up and do something about it; I say we move to a voucher system to develop some competition within public education. If we do not act on making our schools more equally funded we will put ourselves in a downward spiral until only a few schools are able to provide an adequate education to our youth, I mean come on our nations children already lag behind in many standardized test when compared to other countries. We need to seize our chance to improve on this now because if we let it slide I can guarantee you the problem will only worsen and the public education in our country will only fail. We need to setup a system based more on competition so we can get the schools to want to give our youth a good education. Now many people may oppose to the idea of making schools â€Å"compete† for students with the voucher system. They would say that this may be too expensive or it would take away the idea of public schooling and not make it free in the sense that we think of school as free. Many would say it would be turning the public school system into a â€Å"business.† While I do agree that it would turn the public school system into a business I do not agree that it would take away from our schools being public in the most literal sense of the word. But it would give people a good way to have a little power in the public system because it would allow parents to decide where they would send their children, not the state. It would also add some incentive for ... ... given a better education simply because his or her parents make more money. That does not make a child smarter, rather more privileged. And I thought schools did not cater to the students. Well that is what the system seems to be doing at this point.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I feel the subject of school funding is one that is in need of serious evaluation. And I feel that the voucher system is the best way we can tackle the subject. Now instead of just talking about making reforms we can go ahead with it and actually do something about it. Our schools need to better prepare out students for their lives. The only foreseeable way to do this would be to impose the voucher system. Without it there will be no competition among schools and there will be no more advancement than there currently is. If we have competition this will encourage improvement among our children, it will make them come up with new ideas and push to really make themselves the best students they can be. In closing I must say that all children are different, so we need to treat them all different and appeal to how each of them learns. If we do not do that then we are keeping ourselves in that downward spiral.

Call of the Wild :: essays research papers

Call of the Wild BUCK, A POWERFUL DOG, half St. Bernard and half sheepdog, lives on Judge Miller’s estate in California’s Santa Clara Valley. He leads a comfortable life there, but it comes to an end when men discover gold in the Klondike region of Canada and a great demand arises for strong dogs to pull sleds. Buck is kidnapped by a gardener on the Miller estate and sold to dog traders, who teach Buck to obey by beating him with a club and, subsequently, ship him north to the Klondike. Arriving in the chilly North, Buck is amazed by the cruelty he sees around him. As soon as another dog from his ship, Curly, gets off the boat, a pack of huskies violently attacks and kills her. Watching her death, Buck vows never to let the same fate befall him. Buck becomes the property of Francois and Perrault, two mail carriers working for the Canadian government, and begins to adjust to life as a sled dog. He recovers the instincts of his wild ancestors: he learns to fight, scavenge for food, and sleep beneath the snow on winter nights. At the same time, he develops a fierce rivalry with Spitz, the lead dog in the team. One of their fights is broken up when a pack of wild dogs invades the camp, but Buck begins to undercut Spitz’s authority, and eventually the two dogs become involved in a major fight. Buck kills Spitz and takes his place as the lead dog. With Buck at the head of the team, Francois and Perrault’s sled makes record time. However, the men soon turn the team over to a mail carrier who forces the dogs to carry much heavier loads. In the midst of a particularly arduous trip, one of the dogs becomes ill, and eventually the driver has to shoot him. At the end of this journey, the dogs are exhausted, and the mail carrier sells them to a group of American gold hunters—Hal, Charles, and Mercedes. Buck’s new masters are inexperienced and out of place in the wilderness. They overload the sled, beat the dogs, and plan poorly. Halfway through their journey, they begin to run out of food. While the humans bicker, the dogs begin to starve, and the weaker animals soon die. Of an original team of fourteen, only five are still alive when they limp into John Thornton’s camp, still some distance from their destination.

Elder Abuse Essay

Elder abuse or elder mistreatment occurs when a person intentionally or unintentionally brings harm to an elder person. It is also when the health and well-being of an elder is negatively affected. In a research done in the United States had shown 700,000 out of 1. 5 million elders are being mistreated. There are different forms of elder abuse varying from – physical abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, financial exploitation, abandonment and a combination of the forms stated earlier. Anyone can be an abuser, even if he/she is a family to the victim; a member of a formal care center (medical staff, caregiver etc. ; and people within the community where the elder belongs. There are no specific characteristics for these abusers; they cannot be solely distinguished from the crowd. However, we can distinguish elderly people who maybe a victim of elderly mistreatment by observing their behaviors, and by observing his/her environment. Literature Review According to the electronic copy of the â€Å"15 Questions & Answers About Elder Abuse† from the National Center on Elder Abuse, elderly mistreatment occurs when intended or carelessly actions brought harm to an elder. Abusers have different personalities and reasons for committing abusive actions to elderly people. Then how do we spot an abuser? Specially at times, when the elder being abused is physically or mentally incapable of reporting to the authorities. Some signs that may indicate occurrences of abuse is when there are visible bruises, slap markings, rashes on the victim’s body; change in behavior (fearful, more aggressive etc. ); isolating themselves; lack proper clothing & food; refuse medication; poor living quarters and so on. Other signs to look for in the abusers’ personality are whether he/she is an : alcoholic, had history of domestic abuse; mental illness; bad temper; tendency to blame other people; economic pressure and so on. The above mentioned are just a few informative facts to consider when suspecting of elderly abuse occurrences, either by the abuser or victim’s actions. We have to be aware that currently there are no federal laws protecting elders from elderly mistreatment. However, there are state laws which protect the elderly, like the institutional abuse concerning elderly people in nursing homes and the like. There is also the domestic abuse where elderly abuse falls too, abuse happens within the family. An increasing number of states are becoming responsive in enforcing laws protecting the elders. We are reminded too, to do our part as responsible citizens, that when we suspect of elderly abuse we must inform the police or an adult protective service for them to conduct investigations and provide help to the victims. NCEA also suggested ways to decrease the risk of experiencing elder abuse by – staying busy in life and acquiring a strong support from one’s family; living healthy to avoid dependence when getting old and lastly, trust your instincts when things don’t feel right. As a whole, there are actions being done by the government together with various organizations to fight and decrease the level of elder abuse thru awareness programs and elder abuse prevention activities. Methodology My topic is about elderly abuse which is currently happening around the world. It cannot be denied that more and more elders are experiencing it right now. Thus, awareness to the public must be brought regarding the definition of elder abuse, who are the victims and abusers, how to prevent it and how to report a case of elder abuse. It has come to my awareness that there are numerous organizations created to prevent elder abuse and help those who have been victims of it. Though no federal law has been made specifically for elder abuse, there are state laws present to give corresponding actions and solutions to such cases. As a citizen, I had been informed that I can make a difference, that I can help decrease the cases of elder abuse by being attentive to my surroundings and socially responsive when needed, like if I see an instance of elder abuse there are hotlines that I can call. My small gesture of notifying the authorities will start a proper investigation and will help the elder experiencing abuse. Data Analysis I had stated earlier that elder abuse can be done in many forms. I shall further elaborate how elder abuse takes place: . ) Physical Abuse – when force is used to elderly people causing them harm and injury. It may not necessarily mean that the abuser is beating or hurting the elderly victim, instead it may also be in the form of confining the elder in one place or restraining him/her to act freely. 2. ) Emotional Abuse – hurting and offending the elder verbally which may hurt one’s feeling and cause him/her stress. Forms of verbal abuse are yelling to the person, threatening and blaming the person. Examples of non-verbal abuse are when the elder is being ignored, treated carelessly & menacingly, and isolated from the society. 3. ) Neglect or Abandonment – when the elder is unable to take proper medication; lives in a poor living condition; actively or passively not being taken good care of; and when he/she does not receive proper care. 4. ) Financial Exploitation – the abuser (either a family member, caregiver or a third person) uses the victim’s possession and money without permission. This occurs when the victim’s credit card and cash are being used by an unauthorized person; forgery of the victim’s signature; identity theft; financially unable to support one’s self; pension checks being stolen and so on. 5. ) Health Care Fraud & Abuse – the abusers are from the medical staff either the doctors, nurses, caregivers and health care institutions. This case is present when there is overcharging, overmedication or opposite; kickbacks from referrals and so on. Anyone is capable of committing elder abuse for different reasons. Some of the most common reasons, however are due to financial interests; lack of patience to take care of the elder; short tempered; feeling superior over the elder since the elder can’t fight back or stand from himself; and the way of thinking of the abusers that their actions won’t be known by other people. Results In some instances though, elder abuse is really unintentional such in the cases of caregivers. When they are pushed beyond their limit and are over-whelmed with stress from work and their personal lives. Influence plays an important part as well, on why elder abuse occurs both from the abuser and victims actions. For the victim’s part, he/she may have been an abuser earlier to the people around him/her; has his/her own tendency to physically or verbally abuse people; and has a domestic history of violence in their home. On the abuser’s part, he/she has previous domestic violence involvement; may be due to drugs or alcoholism; short tempered and so on. In the end though, once it has been proven that there had been elder abuse, the abuser may either go to jail and/or pay for damages done to the victim. The victim on the other hand is given proper help to recover. If abusive actions are not recognized from the start, may cause minor to major damages to the victim. But if elder abuse is detected much earlier, it can be prevented and many will not suffer. In a 1992 article published, and re-posted on the internet, the term â€Å"Granny dumping† has been used pertaining to the abandonment of elderly people. This only shows that elder abuse had been present for a long time, and its population has increased over the years. The good thing is that in present years, proper actions and help is offered to the public, thus creating awareness. Discussion Elder Abuse, or earlier known as ‘Granny dumping’ has long been present. In America alone, according to the studies made, a day won’t pass that an elder is not brought to the emergency room because he/she has been abandoned or maltreated. It is a sad fact that not many are aware that elder abuse exists or that they are doing elder abuse by simply yelling at these elders or by disrespecting them. With the rise of nursing homes, these elderly people are becoming more vulnerable since they are exposed and involved with people whom they don’t know at all. When the family of the elder can no longer take care of him/her, they are sent to nursing institutions. Worse, if the family has no financial means they just leave their elder on the streets. There is nothing wrong in being a caregiver, but if you are becoming over-whelmed with your job you can do these things to avoid elder abuse – seek help from friends/family/institutions, take short leaves; find an adult day care program whenever you feel like your stress-out; adopt stress reduction activities; seek emotional help when needed; and maintain a healthy lifestyle for yourself too. There are numerous ways to prevent elder abuse, but it all has to start within the community we belong and by us, being observant of what’s happening in our surrounding. It may start with our uncomfortable feeling how an elder we know or see is being treated, we can speak up and report it to the authorities. It does not mean that these elderly people can no longer stand up for themselves would remain silent and just take the abuses given to them. We must speak up for them. Conclusion It is clear that elder abuse happens worldwide, the focus of my research paper has been in the U. S. alone. What’s even more disappointing is that most common abusers are the family members of the elder, have they forgotten about the times when their parents or their elderly relatives took care of them? However, the actions of these abusers are clearly wrong but they may have their reason for having committed abuse. Abusers or prospective abusers must seek help whether emotional support or medications for them to avoid improper behavior towards the elderly people. Today, awareness to the public about elder abuse is being given importance. Funds are being set aside and donations are being given to help inform the public and save abused elders. The condition in decreasing the number of elder abuse has strengthened and improved. As more volunteers and organizations are willing to help. Add too, the support obtained locally and internationally from political organizations and leaders. Let’s not forget that abusers are also faced with equivalent punishments and fines for their actions. The simplest help everyone can give, is to be socially aware and responsive to one’s surrounding. It’s like watching for each other’s back, and offering help even in the smallest means. Though the authorities are present, the policemen and various organizations, we have to act first before they can proceed and apply proper actions about the abusive cases. Second, we can apply these reminders in our lives: 1. ) listen to our seniors and their caregivers; 2. ) intervene upon suspicion of elder abuse; and 3. ) educate or inform other people about elder abuse. Lastly, how can we protect our elders and ourselves from elder abuse? By arranging our financial and legal affairs, if legal help is required, obtain one. Second, by staying in touch with our friends, family and relatives to decrease our vulnerability to abuse and the like. And we must keep in mind, that all human beings must be treated well; elders, women, men and children must be treated humanely and be given their needs in life such as proper housing, enough food, required medication, proper clothing and care.

History of Pakistan 1912 to Date Essay

1206-1526 The Delhi Sultanate Some of the earliest relics of Stone Age man were found in the Soan valley near Rawalpindi, dating back to at least 50,000 years. Predominantly an agricultural region, its inhabitants learned to tame and husband animals and cultivate crops some 9,000 years ago. Farming villages dating from 6000 BC have been excavated in Baluchistan, the North West Frontier Province and Punjab. The Indus Valley Civilization is considered to have evolved around 2600 BC. Built on the ruins of fortified towns near Kot Diji, it is now believed to have emerged from farming communities of the area. The Civilization boasted immense cities like Moenjodaro and Harappa. These towns were well planned, with paved main roads, multistoried houses, watchtowers, food warehouses, and assembly halls. Their people developed an advanced script that still remains un-deciphered. The Indus Civilization’s decline around 1700 BC is attributed to foreign invaders, who at some sites violently destroyed the cities. But wi th recent research, historians have become unsure as to the exact causes of decline of the Indus Civilization. Aryans, who were rough cattle breeders, came from Central Asia around 1700 BC, seeking grazing land for their herds. Their religion was well developed, with gods identified from elements of nature. They followed a strict caste system, which later became Hinduism. They wrote the first book of Hindu scripture, the Rig Veda, which was a collection of hymns remembered through several generations. Some anthropologists believe that there is no real historical evidence to prove the coming of Aryans, and consider their coming as a myth. In sixth century BC, the people of the region were getting increasingly dissatisfied with the Hindu caste system. When Buddha, son of a Kshatriya king preached equality in men, his teachings were quickly accepted throughout the northern part of the Sub-continent. Around the same time Gandhara, being the easternmost province of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia, became a major power in the region. Its two cities – Pushkalavati, or present day Charsadda ne ar Peshawar, and the capital Taxila, were the center of civilization and culture. Alexander the Great invaded the Subcontinent in 327 BC. Conquering the Kalash valley, he crossed the mighty Indus at Ohind, sixteen miles north of Attock. He then defeated the mighty elephant army of Porus at Jhelum, and began his march towards the long Ganges plain. However, he was forced to plan for homeward sailing when his warwary troops refused to advance further. On his way back, a serious wound, received while battling the Malloi people at Multan, finally took its toll, and Alexander died in 323 BC, leaving his conquests for grab among his own officers. Chandragupta Maurya was an exiled member of the royal family of Magadha, a kingdom flourishing since 700 BC on the bank of river Ganges. After Alexander’s death, Chandragupta captured Punjab with his allies, and later overthrew the king of Magadha in 321 BC to form the Mauryan Empire. After twenty-four years of kingship, his son, Bindusara, who added Deccan to the Mauryan rule, succeeded Chandragupta. Ashoka, son of Bindusara, was one of the greatest rulers the world has ever known. Not only did he rule a vast empire; he also tried to rule it compassionately. After initially causing thousands of lives during his conquest of Kalinga, he decided to rule by the law of piety. He was instrumental in spreading Buddhism within and outside the Sub-continent by building Buddhist monasteries and stupas, and sending out missionaries to foreign lands. The Greek king of Bactria, Demetrius, conquered the Kabul River Valley around 195 BC. The Greeks re-built Taxila and Pushkalavati as their twin capital cities in Gandhara. They were followed in 75 BC by the Scythians, Iranian nomads from Central Asia, and in about 50 BC by the powerful Parthians, from east of the Caspian Sea. After defeating the Greeks in 53 BC, the Parthians ruled the northern Pakistan area. During their era of trade and economic prosperity, the Parthians promoted art and religion. The Gandhara School of art developed, which reflected the glory of Greek, Syrian, Persian and Indian art traditions. The Kushana king, Kujula, ruler of nomad tribes from Central Asia, overthrew the Parthians in 64 AD and took over Gandhara. The Kushans further extended their rule into northwest India and Bay of Bengal, south into Bahawalpur and short of Gujrat, and north till Kashghar and Yarkand, into the Chinese frontier. They made their winter capital at Purushapura, the City of Flowers, now called Peshawar, and their summer capital north of Kabul. Kanishka, the greatest of Kushans, ruled from the year 128 to 151. Trade flourished during his rule, with the Romans trading in gold for jewelry, perfumes, dyes, spices and textiles. Progress was made in medicine and literature. Thousands of Buddhist monasteries and stupas were built and the best pieces of sculpture in the Gandhara School of art were produced. He was killed in his sleep when his own people resisted his unending expansionist pursuits. The Kushans Empire was usurped both from the North, where the Sassanian Empire of Persia eroded their rule. and the South where the Gupta Empire took hold. In the fourth century, due to decline in prosperity and trade, the Kushans Empire was reduced to a new dynasty of Kidar (Little) Kushans, with the capital now at Peshawar. Coming from Central Asia, the White Huns, originally the horse-riding nomads from China, invaded Gandhara during the fifth century. With declining prosperity, and the sun and fireworshipping Huns ruling the land, Buddhism gradually disappeared from northern Pakistan, taking the glory of the Gandhara School of art with it. After the defeat of Huns by Sassanians and Turks in 565, the area was mostly left to be ruled by small Hindu kingdoms, with the Turki Shahi rulers controlling the area till Gandhara from Afghanistan, and the raja of Kashmir ruling northern Punjab, and the areas east of the Indus. Buddhism’s decline continued as more people were converted to Brahman Hindus. Overthrowing the Turki Shahis, the Central Asian Hindu Shahis ruled from 870 till the year 1008. With their capital established at Hund on the Indus, their rule extended from Jalalabad in Afghanistan to Multan, and covered as far north as Kashmir. Fasting Buddha from Gandhara region, Central Museum, Lahore Buddha in Dhyana Mudra – preserved in Julian monastery Slave Dynasty [1206-1290] Khalji Dynasty [1290-1320] The founder of the Khalji Dynasty in South Asia, Malik Firuz, was originally the Ariz-iMumalik appointed by Kaiqubad during the days of decline of the Slave Dynasty. He took advantage of the political vacuum that was created due to the incompetence of the successors of Balban. To occupy the throne, he only had to remove the infant Sultan Kaimurs. On June 13 1290, Malik Firuz ascended the throne of Delhi as Jalal-ud-din Firuz Shah. Khaljis were basically Central Asians but had lived in Afghanistan for so long that they had become different from the Turks in terms of customs and manners. Thus the coming of Khaljis to power was more than a dynastic change. As majority of the Muslim population of Delhi was Turk, the arrival of a Khalji ruler was not much welcomed. Yet Jalal-ud-din managed to win the hearts of the people through his mildness and generosity. He retained most of the officers holding key positions in the Slave Dynasty. His own nephew and son-in-law Alauddin Khalji, killed Jalal-ud-din and took over as the new ruler. Alauddin’s reign is marked by innovative administrative and revenue reforms, market control regulations and a whirlwind period of conquests. It is considered the golden period of the Khalji rule. However, before the death of Alauddin, his house was divided into two camps. This resulted in the ultimate collapse of the Khalji dynasty. On one side were Khizar Khan (Alauddin’s son and the nominated hair to the throne), Alp Khan (Khizar’s father in law and the governor of Gujrat) and Malika-i-Jehan (wife of Alauddin and sister of Alp Khan). Malik Kafur led the other camp, who was one of Alauddin’s most trusted nobles. Malik Kafur managed to win the battle of politics and succeeded in making Shahab-ud-din Umar, a young prince of six years old, as the successor of Alauddin and himself became his regent. However, later his own agents killed Malik Kafur. After the death of Malik Kafur, Qutb-ud-din Mubarik Shah, another son of Alauddin removed his younger brother Umar from the throne and became Sultan in 1316. Mubarik was a worthless ruler and most of his time was spend in drinking and womanizing. During his rule the power was actually in the hands of a lowborn Hindu slave, who was given the title of Khusraw Khan by Mubarik himself. Khusraw, with the help of some of his friends killed Mubarik and declared himself the Sultan. With this the rule of the Khalji Dynasty came to an end. Tomb and College of Alauddin Khalji, although the grave is now missing The incomplete Alai Minar, built by Alauddin Khalji Tughluq Dynasty [1320-1412] During his rule, Khusraw replaced Muslim officers by Hindu officers in all key positions of the country. These Hindu officers openly insulted Islam, dishonored mosques and used copies of the Quran as pedestals for idols. This situation was very difficult for the Muslim of South Asia to digest. They gathered around a Tughluq noble popularly known as Ghazi Malik, who defeated and killed Khusraw. He wanted to give power back to the Khalji Dynasty, but could not find any survivor amongst the decedents of Alauddin. In this situation, the nobles asked him to become Sultan. He ascended the throne on September 8, 1320, and assumed the title of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq Shah, thus becoming the founder of the Tughluq dynasty. The Tughluqs belonged to the Qarauna Turk tribe. After becoming Sultan, Ghiyas-ud-din concentrated on crushing the Hindu rajas, who had gained power during the short rule of Khusraw. He conquered Bengal, which was no longer part of the central empire since the death of Balban. When he came back after the successful Bengal expedition, his son Jauna Khan gave him a very warm welcome. When Ghiyas-ud-din was taking the guard-of-honor, the special stage that had been constructed for the occasion fell down, killing Ghiyas-ud-din and six other people. His son Muhammad bin Tughluq succeeded him. Muhammad Tughluq was a man of ideas. He tried to implement a number of his own schemes. Unfortunately for him, almost all his schemes failed and he became unpopular amongst the masses. When he died, his cousin, Firuz Shah was raised to the status of Sultan. Firuz Shah’s long rule of 37 years is known for his marvelous administrative reforms. Due to old age, Firuz Shah handed over power to his son Muhammad Shah during his lifetime. The new Sultan proved incompetent and was not liked by the nobles. A civil war like situation was created. Firuz Shah helped in cooling down the tension and replaced Muhammad Shah with Ghiyas-ud-din, his grandson, as Sultan. However, after the death of Firuz Shah in 1388, a tussle once again began between the power-hungry princes of the house of Tughluqs. The nobles, who in order to gain more power, started supporting one prince or the other, further worsened the situation. This period of fighting amongst the Tughluq princes continued for about quarter of a century. Amir Timur’s invasion on Delhi in 1398 further destroyed the political and economic standing of the Tughluqs. The dynasty eventually came to an end in 1414 when Khizar Khan founded the Saiyid Dynasty in Delhi. Saiyid Dynasty [1414-1451] Saiyids Dynasty, claimed to be a descendent of the Prophet of Islam, Hadrat Muhammad (S. A. W.). Thus his established rule is known as the Saiyids Dynasty. Khizar collaborated with Timur during his invasion on India. As a reward, on his departure from the area, Timur made Khizar the governor of Lahore, Multan and Dipalpur. When Mahmud Shah, the last of the Tughlaq rulers, died in 1412, Daullat Khan Lodhi and Khizar both attempted to occupy the throne of Delhi. Tomb of Muhammad Shah Saiyid In 1414, Khizar won the battle and established the rule of his dynasty in Delhi. Although Khizar Khan was completely sovereign, he preferred to rule in the name of Timur, and then in the name of Timur’s successor, Shah Rukh. As a result of Timur’s invasion and the continuous wars for succession among the successors of Firuz Shah, a number of states and provinces of the Sultanate of Delhi declared their independence. Khizar tried to reintegrate these states through force, but failed in his mission. During his rule, the Sultanate was reduced to Sindh, Western Punjab, and Western Uttar Pradesh. Khizar died a natural death on May 20, 1421. His son Mubarik Shah succeeded Khizar. Unlike his father, Mubarik declared himself Sultan. His rule was full of internal and external revolts. On February 19 1434, two accomplices of his wazir, Sarwa-ul-Mulk, killed him. The reign of his successors, his nephew Muhammad Shah and Muhammad’s son Alauddin Alam Shah, were also marked by political instability. The territories of their empires were reduced to a distance of ten miles from Delhi to Palam. Finally, Buhlul Lodhi occupied Delhi and established his rule. Thus the era of Saiyids Dynasty came to an end in 1451.

Financial Analysis and Forecast of Sweet Dreams Inc Essay

Sweet Dream Incorporated (SDI) is a manufacturing company focused on mattress and box spring production for large retailers and hotel chains. With two facilities at their disposal, SDI manufactures over 20 different styles of bedding for their consumers. SDI’s founder and president, Douglas May, has contacted our consulting firm with regards to current financial problems between himself and SDI’s bank, First International Bank. Due to the spike in bank failures in the early 1990’s First National has become extremely sensitive to problem loans (loans which show ratio performances below the industry standard). Unfortunately, SDI has had poor liquidity and debt ratios for the past three years which has caught the banks attention. After a phone call from the bank Doug has realized that SDI is in even worse trouble than the bank thinks. He has just signed a 9.5 million dollar contract to expand the business which was allegedly being loaned from the bank. Seeing as how the bank is debating closing Doug down it doesn’t look likely that they would want to front him another 9.5 million. Following a brief meeting with his senior managers, Doug and his team decided that this 9.5 million dollar loan from the bank is the only way to keep their business alive. They have decided to reverse their current policy of aggressive price drops and easy credit, reduce their administrative, selling and miscellaneous expenses, not acquire any new fixed assets or sell common stock, decrease accounts payable, stop paying dividends, and freeze executive salaries. All this is an attempt to prove to the bank that Sweet Dreams Inc. is taking their financial situation very seriously and that the bank should strongly consider giving SDI the 9.5 million dollar loan. Doug has asked us to verify the bank’s evaluation of his company, predict the expected performance of Sweet Dreams Inc. for 1996 and 1997, and prepare a list of SDI’s strengths an d weaknesses. All of these requests will be used to influence the bank to grant a 9.5 million dollar short-term loan to SDI as well as not forcing the bank to demand immediate re-payment of their loans. Sweet Dreams Incorporated (SDI) is struggling currently. With a current ratio of 1.9, SDI looks good up front. However the company’s inventory occupies close to 60 percent of its current assets. The quick ratio better shows SDI’s performance. With a ratio of .77, SDI cannot pay their short-term liabilities as they come due. This shows the first problem of Sweet Dreams Inc; Inventory Management. Also in Doug’s efforts to spin his recent losses he has decided to change his traditional dividend payout from 25% to 0. This symptom cuts to the core problem that SDI’s bottom line has suffered in the past years, partly because of economic downturns and partly because of management’s response to the economic downturn. Finally SDI’s Z score poses a problem with the banks’ standards. An Altman’s Z score is calculated by combining five different ratios of a company. First National claims that a Z score below the industry standard shows weakness in a firm and increases the likelihood of default. SDI’s Altman score is 3.07 which is not enough to worry the bank, but enough to put increased pressure on Sweet Dreams Inc. Therefore the problem here lies at minimizing costs and increasing revenues. To solve these problems SDI would need to focus their efforts on inventory management, company decisions, and effectiveness and efficiency. Regarding inventory SDI can lower the current level of mattress production to let inventory deplete to an acceptable percentage of current assets. As for company decisions when the economy is hurting companies should focus on cutting wages or hours to minimize costs, not reducing prices to increase sales. Finally the company needs to work on improving their ratios. Strong ratios come from more selling and less spending which in turn will lead to a better Altman’s Z score. 2) After finding the results of Question one, it is evident that SDI has more weaknesses than strengths as of 1995. If you look at the common size statements, Table 3, it shows that inventory increased as a percentage of sales, which indicates that a smaller percentage is being sold. All current liabilities increased as a percentage of total liabilities, which indicates that SDI is facing more debt. Figure one also clearly shows many of the weaknesses of SDI. Both liquidity ratios are below the industry average. Although the debt ratio appears to be above the industry average, it is actually a weakness because it indicates that SDI has more debt than equity. The only asset management ratio that is above industry average is the fixed asset turnover ratio, the rest are either equal to, or beneath their industry average. However, it’s not all bad; Figure one also shows that SDI has managed to hold a payout ratio on dividends that is 5 percent above the industry average. 3) Based on our analysis of historical data, I do not believe that the bank should lend the requested money to SDI. We believe SDI is unfit for the loan because they are below the industry average in a majority of financial ratios used to measure overall success in the company. These include liquidity ratios, leverage ratios, asset management ratios and profitability ratios, all shown in Table six. The fact that SDI Is facing decreased demand resulting from the recent depression also adds to their adversity they are facing to be a successful retailer. The current financial situation they are in makes them very sensitive to any unexpected economic event, making the risk of lending to them even greater. We firmly believe that it would not be beneficial to the bank to grant SDI this loan. 5) SDI has determined that its optimal cash balance will be 5 percent of total sales. In addition, all excess funds of this amount will be invested in marketable securities, which in turn will earn a 5 percent interest rate. Based on the forecasted financial statements, we have determined that SDI will be able to invest in marketable securities in 1996 and 1997. As shown in Table two, net sales for 1996 and 1997 are $330,386,000 and $371,684,000 respectively. Table one shows that in 1996, SKI had $55,276,000 in cash and marketable securities. With the optimal cash balance at 5 percent, only $16,519,300 of this amount will be in cash. The remaining $38,756,700 will go towards marketable securities. Likewise the figures in 1997, which exceeds $18,584,200, the 5 percent optimal cash balance. Therefore, SDI was able to invest $56,183,800 in marketable securities. A potential problem that our financial forecasts reveal is that we are investing a considerably larger amount of money into the marketable securities than we are holding in cash. While this money is earning interest, it may cause a future problem seeing as how there are so many loans that require cash to be paid off. With cash being the most liquid of all assets, it may be essential to keep more on hand in order to successfully pay off short and long term loans that will accumulate as a result of the $9,500,000 increase in capital from the plant expansion. 6) On the basis of previously developed forecasts, it does not appear that SDI will be able to retire all of its outstanding short-term loans by December 31, 1996. At this date, SDI’s short term SDI has on hand at this time is only $16,519,300, as the rest of their cash will be invested in marketable securities as a result of the 5 percent optimal cash balance. 7) Should the bank decide to withdraw the entire line of credit and demand payment immediately, a few alternative options would be available to Sweet Dreams Inc. The first option is that Sweet Dreams Inc. would immediately file for bankruptcy. Along with this they will file for protection under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Act. This will allow Sweet Dreams Inc. to run as a firm and raise new money under restricted circumstances. Sweet Dreams Inc. will also be able to sell off any liquid assets in order to cover operation expenses and legal fees involved in this process. However, filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy is not a n easy way out because more often than not the bank is unable to recover its initial investment. Along with this, employee productivity and morale descends, and the company will begin to have difficulty obtaining credit in the future because of their soiled credit history today. Another option is that Sweet Dreams Inc. would sell current assets at market value to pay off the requested amount from the bank. Their short-term bank loan is equal to $26,610,000 and their long-term bank loan is equal to $16,248,000 in 1995. Combined, this will equal a total of $42,858,000. This amount will need to be paid off as soon as possible. Due to the fact that they cannot sell total assets, Sweet Dreams Inc. needs to sell their current assets first at market value. For this example, we will use 28% as a fair market value. At 28% of face value, the $127,028,000 worth of current assets would be worth $91,460,160 to the creditors. First, Sweet Dreams Inc. would pay back the bank because they are requesting those funds immediately. After the loans are fully paid off, Sweet Dreams Inc. would be left with $48,602,160. The next action would be to pay off the stockholders who are still entitled to money. This amount would total to $2,660,000, with 7million shares valued at $.38. This would leave Since Sweet Dreams Inc. with $45,942,160. Although they still have money, Sweet Dreams Inc. took a major financial hit and will most likely need to default regardless. 8. There are several circumstances that would affect the validity of the comparative ratio analysis. For example the text quotes, â€Å"SDI’s problems began with the recession of the early 1990’s, which caused a drastic decrease in demand from its retail and hotel customers,† When outside sources such as a recession or an inflation occurs one can expect that the forecast would be altered. Unforeseeable events such as natural disasters can also affect the normality of the forecast, as these can affect potential sales. Also, if one makes a mistake in a forecast, and adds incorrectly or uses the wrong formula then the comparative ratio will be thrown off. When forecasting, one can only trust the facts of the past. For example, in this case study, SDI managers saw a decrease in demand from this recession. This caused many retail and hotel customers to steer away from purchasing new bedding. Although the sales from new homeowners were still there, hotels were not being built in the Southeast. Even though SDI responded by lowering prices and increasing production, people were still not buying and sales never increased. Hence, the management forecast was not accurate, and sales hardly improved. In most cases, forecasting is a very effective tool in predicting what will occur in the future, but there must be some room for managers to be flexible in order to account for discrepancies in the data or unknown events. 10) Based on the Altman’s Z-Score table we are confident that if a company is within 25% of expected sales they will still be close to the minimum Altman score of 3.2. Therefore the company would have strong enough ratios to not be flagged by the bank for, â€Å"Problem Loans.† Also Cost of Goods Sold as a percent of sales and the Altman Z score are inversely related. This shows that the end results are sensitive to Cost of Goods Sold. 11) While looking at the pro-forma financial statements, we believe Ingrid should give Sweet Dreams Inc. the 9.5 million dollar loan. All of the ratios are above the industry averages which hold strong signs for the future of the company. That being said SDI’s pro forma statements are of course, speculative. Ingrid should implement certain prevention systems to monitor SDI’s statements. For instance the bank should state in part of their indenture that SDI must keep 20% of their revenue in a savings account that the bank has access too. This serves the bank by holding 20% of their assets, but more importantly it lets the bank see how much money the company is making proportionately. The bank also has the right to use said assets as collateral until SDI is able to pay the bank back. With this contingency plan installed we believe that Ingrid would be justified in giving the loan to Sweet Dreams Incorporated.