Summaries of Outsourcing Works

Summary # 1 : 2 In their article Outscouring Types, Relative Wages, and the Demand for Skilled Workers: New Evidence from the U. S. Manufacturing Aekapol Chongvilaivan, Jung Hur and Yohanes E. Ryianto analyse the impacts of outsourcing on relative wages of firm workers. The concept of outsourcing implies that firms contract out some level of production in the vertical chain of production. The authors claims that there is a relationship between outsourcing types and relative wages of skilled and unskilled workers.In fact, the researchers thesis claim that downstream materials and service outsourcing are influenced by worker skill, while upstream materials outsourcing is not. First, the authors divide the concept of outsourcing in three categories. The first type consist of upstream material outsourcing. A firm doing so will outsource the production of inputs for a good. The second type consists of downstream production in which firms outsource the production of the final product. The third type consists of service outsourcing sectors such as communications, accounting, auditing , bookkeeping and computer services.The authors explain that each type require different levels of skills for labour. Therefore, they do not have the same impact on demand for skilled labour. Before conducting their study, the authors reviewed previous literature on the topic. An influential study to the authors research is one written by Blum in 2007. This reviewed literature showed that shifts of structures in the economy industries could explain the rising wages for skilled workers. Another influential literature studied by the researchers is one study conducted by Amiti and Weu (2006).This study evaluated the impacts of contracting out on the productivity in the United-States. Amiti and Weu (2006) explain that if firms are able to internationally fragment the inefficient parts of their production process by outsourcing, they can then specialise in the part of the production process in which they have comparative advantage locally. The study conducted by Manufacturing Aekapol Chongvilaivan, Jung Hur and Yohanes E. Ryianto differs from previous ones because of their distinction between skilled and unskilled worker.Another distinguishing aspect of the research is the division of upstream and downstream outsourcing as different categories . Instead of using a panel data analysis researchers used a cross industry analysis. In order to conduct their research on impact of outsourcing on relative wages, the authors have retrieved their information from various data sources. The first one is the 2002 Annual survey of Manufactures(ASM). This source offered authors information on â€Å"wages and employment of the skilled and unskilled workers across the manufacturing sector†.Researchers also used the 2002 economic census as a data source where they got the â€Å"cost and production structure of manufacturing firms and also their use of capital and services†. To measure the employment share of skilled workers the authors used a short run cost function based on the Brown and Christensen(1981 model). To measure downstream and upstream outsourcing impacts on relative wages, researchers scattered skill wage share with different logarithm of elements of production.As for results, authors found that if import share is not significant on wage gap between skilled and unskilled workers. Researchers found a negative relationship between capitals and the relative demand for skilled workers. The authors also present that larger industries have higher wage share of skilled workers. This can be due to their cost advantage as a firm. Researchers also found that material outsourcing show the way to a decline in the overall productivity of labour in the short-run. Consequently, the efficiency of has a positive impact on relative wages.The authors show that downstream materials and service outsourcing have a positive impact on the wages of skilled workers relative to those of unskilled workers. Researchers also showed that upstream material outsourcing has a negative impact on relative wages of workers. The authors conclude by claiming that technology is influenced by skill in the manufacturing sector. Summary # 2 : Hartmut Egger and Peter Egger are authors of International outsourcing and the productivity of low-skilled labor in the EU.Their article shows the relationships between outsourcing and the productivity of low skilled labor. For their work, the authors claim that in the short run outsourcing has a minor negative effect on contributions of workers. They estimate that in the long run however, that outsourcing has a positive impact on real value added per worker. The researchers relied on previous studies conducted by Feenstra and Hanson to structure their study. Feenstra and Hanson’s article studied the effects of offshoring and outsourcing on the labor market in the U.S. Other influential studies used by authors stu died the trade relationship of the E. U with developing countries. For their study, the researchers used various source of data to analyze the relationship of outsourcing and worker productivity. First, authors referred to the sources New Cronos (Eurostats) and Stan (OECD) to obtain numbers on productivity per worker, real gross production, employment and education in the European Union. Also, to measure the concept of outsourcing researchers used EU-output input tables.Finally, the authors used data from the UN data on intermediate goods trade. The data sets chosen by researchers were computed using translog functions and CES functions. CES refers to constant elasticity of substitution; a function that include complex production or utility functions. Such functions offer simulation of the outsourcing effect on the average productivity of labor. The calculations where based on three main characteristic assumptions. The first being that outsourcing moves part of the production to oth er countries economies and markets.Secondly, by maximizing their surplus firms want to adjust their factor employment. Thirdly, the difference between the short-run and the long run effects of contracting out may be increased due to flaws in markets. More firms may have the incentive to respond to competing companies outsourcing. After analyzing data with functions researchers made the following findings: The first relates to outsourcing seems to make use of a significant negative effect on low skill worker productivity. Their research showed that.Also, researchers demonstrated that in the long run outsourcing had a positive effect on the productivity of low skilled labor. The difference between the short-run and the long-run effects of international outsourcing may be magnified by product market imperfections. The authors conclude their work by claiming that low-skilled labor productivity growth in the European industries in the short run was mainly stimulated by the change in phys ical capital stocks and skill upgrading rather than fragmentation of production across borders.

I Really Enjoy Family Time.

Griselda Soto English 99 Dennis Pearson 04/16/13 I really enjoy family time. Family is not an important thing, it’s everything. There are people who put work first, or anything else before their family. I personally think there is nothing more important than family. Because, what is the purpose to live just to work? In the end of our lives, we are not going to be able to take anything with us. There is nothing else I enjoy more than spending quality time with my daughters.I believe that by spending quality time with them, I can take advantage of the situation and teach them good values. Even I learn a lot from them because they always teach me the importance of appreciating little things in life. One of the things I love the most from them is that they always remind me that I have to live life to the moment. Unlike most adults, children find joy in almost everything as riding a bike, reading a book, or even by drawing a picture. That is one of the main reason I enjoy so much s pending time with my daughters. They always give me joy.When I see My daughters smile it's when I know they are having fun, for me that worth more than all the money in the world. My daughters always amuse me and fill me with joy. They taught me that no matter what you do, as long as you use your imagination everything could be fun. So I always do my best to put in first place what really matters in my life because life goes in the blink of an eye. That's why I put first what is truly meaningful in my life. I have learned a lot from my daughters, for example: To always take advantage of any situation.

Crime in Detroit

Crime in Detroit For many years Detroit, Michigan has been known as the murder capital of the world. stats show that In 2012 Detroit had the highest rate of violent crimes over any other city In the united States. Crime around the city Is not only committed by the residents but also by local police officials and government officials. These are the people that took a vow to serve and protect us. But we have to protect ourselves from them. There has been crimes of racism, take for instance in 1992, two white police fficers named Walter Budzyn and Larry Nevers beat to death an African American man. amed Malice Green, with a flashlight. It was said that it was a routine traffc stop in which Green was driving, but everyone in Detroit knew that Malice Green was homeless and did not have a car. Green refused to open his hand and give the police the vile of crack that he was holding. For that he paid the ultimate price with his life. He was struck 14 times in the head with the police flashlg ht. Both officers were charged with involuntary manslaughter. Nevers received 4 years and Budzyn eceived 41/2 years.On the other hand in that same year my brother an Atrican American male accidentally killed a white woman while playing with a gun. He got the same Involuntary manslaughter charge and did 17 years. Maxing out his sentence. Each time he was up for parole he was denied. Eventually they Just has to let him go. Another incident of crime In Detroit was committed by a Government official. Kwame Kilpatrick was the mayor of Detroit from 2002 until he was forced to resign due to a plea deal in 2008. He was Involved in the citys largest corruption scandal ver.He, his best friend, and his father stole over 83 million dollars from the city. Hence the reason that the city is bankrupt today. He did everything from mail fraud which is a scheme to get money from people through the mail. wire fraud, something like mail fraud, racketeering, he was using the mayors palace as a place for prostitutes and was throwing wild parties there. He was also charged with obstruction and a list of other charges. Each of the 29 charges that he got can receive up toa 15 year sentence. He will be sentenced on October 13, 2013.So as you can see from those two examples crime is a big problem for the city of Detroit. It doesn't matter it its law enforcement or government officials. Crime is crime and It Is still going to be committed. By icheat4u world. Stats show that in 2012 Detroit had the highest rate of violent crimes over any other city in the United States. Crime around the city is not only committed by the man, named Malice Green, with a flashlight. It was said that it was a routine traffic He was struck 14 times in the head with the police flashlight.Both officers were received 41/2 years. On the other hand in that same year my brother an African same involuntary manslaughter charge and did 17 years. Maxing out his sentence. Another incident of crime in Detroit was committed by a Government official. due to a plea deal in 2008. He was involved in the citys largest corruption scandal which is a scheme to get money from people through the mail, wire fraud, something Detroit. It doesn't matter if its law enforcement or government officials. Crime is crime and it is still going to be committed.

Effect of Patient Care Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Effect of Patient Care - Essay Example Based on this research all people involved in conducting patient care should be efficient in their assigned tasks to ensure proper patient care is conducted. Different patients require different type of care due to the different types of ailments. This necessitates exemplary care in all patients so as to assist them cope with their ailments and other complications arising from the diseases. This task of providing patient care is solely the responsibility of health professionals who oversee that all procedures are followed. These health professionals have to follow the ethics code to ensure they do not compromise on the quality of care they award the patients. Examples of patient care include; cast care, bowel care, bladder care, amputation care, ambulatory care, circulatory care, among others. In all these, utmost and efficient care must be accorded to a patient at the right time and as expected. This is in order to reduce or altogether avoid further complications, which may arise in the process. It would be negligence on the part of a health professional if patient care is not provided at the stipulated time. Complications may arise as a result of negligence or incompetence in the line of duty. Having a case of nurses responsible for providing patient care arriving late each day to attend to patients is disheartening. Patients should be attended to within the stipulated time without delays as their health is paramount. Such nurses may cause additional pain to patients. This paper is going to assess the effects on patient care of nurses arriving late to the duty. Discussion Effect of nurses arriving late for duty on patient care The act of nurses arriving late for their duty to accord proper patient care to the patients may lead to non achievement of goals in the medical sector. The primary goal and objective of patient care is to assist patients recover or those with terminal illnesses, supportive care that minimizes the challenges they face. When nurses decid e to report late to assess the conditions of patients, there are chances of making the whole process of patient care a failure. In such instances, patient recovery goals may not be achieved as expected or as planned (Mitchell 2001). This is because; the nurses may find out that the condition of a certain patient deteriorated before they arrived for check up. As changes can be abrupt in ailments, a little delay may lead to complications which could otherwise not have happened had the responsible personnel arrived on time. An example is a diabetic patient who may be having challenges injecting insulin in the body. As glucose tests are to be carried out regularly, and necessary measures taken depending with the results, any delay in administering the right treatment can easily cause complications (Wagner 2000). Such patients may suffer from diabetic related complications if nurses continued to arrive late for work. Nurses administering patient care must be within points of call so as t o take care of any eventuality arising from the ailments. This trend of nurses arriving late for duty may also strain the relationship between the nurses and the patients. Under patient care, the relationship between a health professional and a patient is extremely vital. This is what is emphasized as it assists in ensuring quality care is maintained. When a patient and a health professional are in good terms, the health profession would be at ease knowing that any changes felt by the patient would be easily communicated. This would assist health professionals to administer relevant medication to the patient (Health-EU 2012). In such a scenario, a patient would always feel free to speak of any development to a health practitioner

Effect of Visual Communication on Businesses Essay

Effect of Visual Communication on Businesses - Essay Example "We exist in a visual culture. The importance of reading and interpreting signs has become a rapidly increasing concern in recent years. This book offers an intricate theoretical perspective regarding the study of visual communication and expands the academic arena for debate concerning the visual. 'The significance of Jamieson's book is that it addresses the subject of the visual arts from this wider vantage point. For Jamieson, the visual arts reveal visual communication as the means by which the body and its organs communicate with its surrounding forms.' (Professor Robert Cooper, Keele University) Worth S in Studying Visual Media expresses it as "The central thread that runs through Sol Worth's research and writings is the question of how meaning is communicated through visual images. Coming to academic life after careers in painting, photography, and filmmaking, Worth was imbued with the conviction that visual media were forms of communication that, while fundamentally different from speech, could and must be seriously examined as ways by which human beings create and share meanings." The powerful effects of this visual media of communication grew faster in the 21 century due to the ubiquitous ness of the computers and the internet. Fast paced life and neck by neck business competition made businessmen and Commercial intelligentsia aware of its powerful impact on consumers and citizens of the global world. Communication was always important means of reaching out to people but the digital technology and the revolutionised electronics have not only made life swifter but also made it essential for everyone to stay connected in order to survive in the pace of globalisation and dissolving geographical boundaries in this century.Anything that is easier, faster and effective to understand and tell is the fundamental aim of every means and mode of communication today. Visual communication thus paved its way into nooks and corners of daily lives of all who walk on the earth in the modern world. From domestic to diversified sectors of business, media, commerce, health, religion, or any faculty of society, visual communication has now become a supreme form of effective communication. Corporate offices and Multinational companies have realised the importance of reaching out to their consumers. Visual communication through graphics, designs and signage has surpassed all barricades of language as a means of communication today. A visual graphic needs neither reading nor learning as it is easy to comprehend by sheer vision. Hence it has gained immeasurable popularity in the daily world including the world of business communication. Research in visual communication has proved the magnified influence of this form of communication and there is very little doubt of its becoming a panacea of top business strategies. In Visual Communication: Images with Messages Lester (California State University) "explores how the brain

Homelessness Issue in the U.S Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Homelessness Issue in the U.S - Assignment Example What motivates me to support this cause of improving the lives of the individuals that are homeless is giving a smile to the people that were once hopeless in life. It is evident that homelessness has negative impacts on the society. One is that it may lead to increase in insecurity in an area. This is because the people who are homeless may indulge themselves in crime as they view themselves as unwanted in a society. The homeless also may involve themselves in the abuse of drugs and sell them to other locals. Statistics have shown that where people abuse drugs there is less production of the individuals which is not good for the economy. This means there will be fewer developments as few businesses will come up each year. What also motivates me to be involved in helping the homeless is because the shelter is a basic need to a human being. It is evident that the homeless people often are affected psychologically as they have no place they can call home. It limits their potential to standout and the courage to have families which form the bases to a society. Also, homeless people portray a bad image in a city when the tourists visit. This may make them feel insecure when they visit a city with too many homeless people. I also feel sorry for many homeless innocent individuals who are at times killed as they may be suspected to be thugs. This is inhuman as it has created fear among the homeless people. One of the goals I would want to achieve is to reduce the number of homeless people in America to at least 10 percent of the current statistics. Statistics have shown that about 600,000 Americans are homeless on a given night. A quarter of this people are children and a third of them live in unsheltered places like parks and abandoned buildings. The chronically homeless people are over 100,000 and three-quarters of them go unsheltered.

Explosions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Explosions - Essay Example The Imperial Sugar dust explosion occurred four years after the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB)  had conducted a study into the risks presented by dust explosions after three prior severe accidents in 2004. Unfortunately, all the recommendations the CSB made to the  Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) had only been partially acted on e.g. the outdated methods and construction materials that added to the severity of the Port Wentworth fire could have been detected. On the other hand the BP Texas City Refinery disaster was the result of gross negligence on the part of its management and workers. Rigot (2007) clearly outlines the Baker Panel’s findings on the incident. BP’s US refineries did not comply with its own internal process safety standards, process safety leadership was lacking and the work environment encouraged procedural noncompliance (7-15). Southwest Industrial Gases and CAI Inc. may have not directly been culpable for their explosions b ecause of the difficulty to judge whether the causes were accidental or intentional. However, the Bastian Plating Company’s poisonous gas incident was unacceptable. The night-shift leader avoided all precautions. Secondly, it is unacceptable for a team leader in a chemical plant to unknowingly create hydrogen cyanide. With the level of expertise, technology and knowledge in the US, most industrial explosions are preventable. Rigot (2007) cites the major causes of explosion to be latent organizational weaknesses, lack of effective reporting and learning culture within organizations and focus on injury and illness statistics rather than on process safety by both organizations and OHSA. In conclusion, Davis and Hansen (2009) propose that companies need to perform consequence analyses for their facilities to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future

Philosophy of Nursing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Philosophy of Nursing - Assignment Example Person: As a nurse, I view my patients as people first. Subsequently, I try to engage them in a two way relationship which is based on mutual awareness and dialogue. From my perspective, patients are my partners in the health care process. Although I view patients as being multifaceted and complex beings, I acknowledge that they try to do their best to get better. Also, as a nurse, I tend to engage my patients in the decision making process. As such, authentic connections are established. Further, I prefer the term patient to client while referring to my patients so as to improve the nurse patient relationship. Health: Health as a dynamic process focuses on the patient’s entire physical, aesthetic, moral and social realms. As a nurse, I try to understand the patient’s health status (their social, physical, aesthetic and moral conditions). Thus, I judge or see a patient from his or her own perspective. This perception aids me to comprehend their needs and wants more easily. In addition, viewing patients from their perspective makes them feel that they are being cared for. Most importantly, this perception enables me as a nurse to know how different patients approach stress and how they cope with it. Environment: The environment is often the geography and landscape of a person’s social experience and includes space, quality and time variations. Moreover, the environment is made up of the patient’s societal beliefs, morals, expectations, values and customs. Nightingale (1860) stated that the primary role of a nurse is to place a patient in the right and best conditions for the environment to act upon him. This statement forms a critical and crucial part of my personal philosophy of nursing. Thus, it tends to resonate well with me. In light of Nightingale’s definition of the environment, I comprehend that both the external and internal components make up the environment. The environment element broadens to encompass both the built and

Sociology and culture of Chicago Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sociology and culture of Chicago - Essay Example That's why Chicago has the biggest population and median home values throughout the state. In 2000 there were 2,896,016 people living in Chicago. The U.S Census Bureau provides us with the data that says that 42.0% of Chicago dwellers are white, 36.8 % percent of them are Black or African American, the percentage of American Indian and Alaska Native persons is only 0.4%, while there are 4.3% of Asian persons living in Chicago. 26% of Chicago dwellers are persons of Hispanic or Latino origin, and the percentage of the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders is 0.1%. 2.9% of people reported two or more races, and 13.6% of the citizens reported some other race. The research conducted by the U.S Census Bureau displayed that the population of Chicago has grown by about 4%, but the Local Information Data Server Website reports that in recent years Chicago's population has been declining at an annual rate of less than one percent. The quantity of children under five years old was about 7.5% in Chicago in 2000, while the quantity of young people under eighteen, equaled 26.2%. 10.3% of the Chicago dwellers were sixty five years old and over at the time when the research was conducted. There were 51.5% of females dwelling in Chicago in 2000, and 48.5% percent of male dwellers. 21.7% of those, who lived in Chicago in 2000 we... In 1999 Median household income equaled $38,625, and the per capita money income was $20,175. 19.6% of Chicago dwellers lived below the poverty threshold in 1999. Like most big cities, Chicago has to deal with the problem of poverty within it. Of course, there are some people in the city that can't or don't want to work, but most of Chicago dwellers work hard to earn their living. The thing is that working very hard is often not enough to ensure the proper level of life for yourself or your family. Like all of the American huge cities, Chicago has to face the problem of the working poor. A new class of poor people appeared in the USA, those who can not provide themselves with the things needed for the decent living in spite of the amount of time and effort they spend. Those are home health care aides, call-center operators, child care workers, security guards, receptionists, food processors, gardeners, data-entry clerks, waiters and cleaners. If all of those low-waged workers stopped working at once, the countries social, economical and industrial life would be paralyzed. Low wages aren't the only problem of the working poor. Most of them are not socially secure. Of course this state of things influences their physical and psychological condition badly. The poor often cannot afford to buy a proper food and clothing for themselves and their children, or they have to choose between having a supper and paying the water and electricity bills. Most of them don't have any medical insurance, and those who have it wish they didn't, because it takes the considerable share of their earnings. Low-wage workers often experience problems finding the accommodation and paying for it, as the rent is too high for them. They are often

Home Depot and Lowe's Financial analysis Assignment

Home Depot and Lowe's Financial analysis - Assignment Example The times earned ratio increased from 9.95 to 11.01 to 12.43 over the three years. That shows that the company is earning interest over its investments and that is a positive thing for the company. The cash coverage ratio for the company increased to 15.1 from 13.8 and 13 over the three years. Lowe- The long-term debt ratio for the company is increasing over the three years. The ratio increased from 27% to 29% from the year 2011 to 2012 then increased to 39% in the year 2013. That shows that the ratio for the company for the long-term debt is stable and the company depends on long term funding for its operations. For the long term to equity ratio, the ratio increased from 36% to 42% then increased to 65% over the three years. The total debt ratio for the company reduced from 46% to 23% then increased to 24%. That shows that the total debt for the company is not stable. That shows that that the company is dependent on debt as the means of raising funds for the company. The times earned ratio reduced from 9.72 to 7.7 to 6.95 over the three years. That shows that the company is cutting on the interest earned on its investments and that is not a positive thing for the company. The cash coverage ratio for the company reduced to 11 from 11.89 and 14.80 over the three years. Home depot: The net working capital to total assets ratio increased from 0.08 to 0.13 in the year 2012 then reduced to 0.1. That shows that the liquidity of the company is not stable and that shows that the working capital of the company should be increased (Damodaran 1999). The current ratio for the company increased from 1.33 to 1.55 then reduced to 1.34. The current ratio shows the ratio of current liabilities to current assets. That shows the ability of the company to payback its liabilities using current assets. The best ratio is 2:1. The quick ratio for the company reduced from 0.4 from 0.44. That shows the ability of a

Biohybrid Devices Essay Example for Free

Biohybrid Devices Essay Biohybrid devices. Biohybrid devices are implantable medical contraptions that undergo vascularization inside the body before the normal human cells (such as islet cells of Langerhans) can be placed inside them. They provide local immunosuppression that ensures that the normal human cells are not rejected by the host’s immune system or the graft versus host disease (Dorian). Biohybrid devices can be used to prevent diseases such as liver failure and diabetes. For persons at risk of developing type I diabetes mellitus (such as genetically predisposed individuals) or pre-diabetic individuals, their islets cells of Langerhans can be protected by biohybrid devices (Ricchie). These biohybrid devices are designed using nanoencapsulation technology into conformal polymer biomaterials that form a scaffold over the population of islet cells of Langerhans in the endocrine pancreas; thereby preventing the auto-antibodies from accessing the islets cells, and, causing irreversible injury to the cells by auto-immune reactions that ultimately lead to cell death, and, absolute lack of insulin production (Lucy et al). For the pre-diabetic individuals on immunomodulatory medications, the biohybrid scaffold locally concentrates the drug thus increasing its pharmacologic efficiency and reducing its systemic toxicity. The biohybrid scaffold also improves nutrient distribution across the islet cells and reduces stress encountered by the islet cells of Langerhans (Nazek). Liver failure caused by autoimmune hepatitis can be prevented by biohybrid devices, which form an, intricate conformal scaffold on the hepatocytes surface thereby blocking the auto-antibodies from interacting with the hepatocytes, and, causing immune-mediated liver necrosis (Nazek). Oxygen diffusion is critical for hybrid artificial organs because the normal human cells within them require oxygen for aerobic oxidative respiration and reduced oxygen diffusion may cause hypoxia (a form of cell injury) that leads to impaired physiological processes within the cells and ultimately to cell death(Lemburt et al). This necessitates that the biohybrid device be made of optimal design that allows adequate oxygen diffusion and consumption by the normal human cells (Dorian). These designs are based on experimental mathematical models (Provust). The characteristics that influence the rate of oxygen diffusion across the biohybrid device are geometry (for instance, the spherical organoid biohybrid artificial liver [BAL] was observed to consume oxygen at rates that approximate normal hepatocytes oxygen consumption, while, the hollow tube model of BAL consumed oxygen at rates several magnitudes lower than normal hepatocytes), thickness of the biohybrid device(for instance, models of biohybrid blood vessels made up of hollow fiber scaffold exhibited correlation between increasing scaffold wall thickness and reduced oxygen perfusion) and permeability of the biohybrid device surface to oxygen. This oxygen permeability is a function of the intrinsic property of the polymer that is used to construct the scaffolds of the biohybrid device; also, the nanoencapsulation design influences oxygen permeability albeit to a smaller extent (Silvius). There are several differences between intravascular and extra vascular biohybrid devices as explained below. Intravascular biohybrid devices are placed within the large blood vessels where they act as stents, or, they connect several blood vessels thereby acting as a biocompatible immunoprotective shunts; thus, the normal human cells within such devices obtain nourishment directly from the circulating blood. Extravascular biohybrid devices are placed outside the vascular compartment, for example, planar macro-capsules (extravascular devices) are placed in the peritoneal cavity; the normal human cells in these devices depend on diffusion to obtain the necessary nutrients and oxygen. The extravascular devices are easily implantable and retrievable, but, the intravascular devices would need surgery in order to implant or retrieve them (Triavek). The geometry of biohybrid devices affects their efficiency because the normal human cells within them require an appropriate three-dimensional structure that maximizes the effective surface area in order to obtain adequate nutrition, oxygen and eliminate metabolic wastes. Geometry also influences the population of human cells that can be placed inside a biohybrid device. Geometry of biohybrid device also affects the interaction between the device and the human immune system (Nazek).

Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Law Essay Example for Free

Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Law Essay Introduction Our assigned topic deals with a phenomenon that has taken the corporate world by storm rather recently, particularly in Pakistan. It entails the dilemma that every corporation faces when they have to make decisions regarding the firm’s profitability and their corporation’s social responsibility. The term corporate social responsibility came into common use in the late 1960s and early 1970s after many multinational corporations formed the term stakeholder, meaning those on whom an organizations activities have an impact. It was used to describe corporate owners beyond shareholders. The field of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has developed exponentially in the last decade. Nevertheless, there remains a lingering debate about the legitimacy and value of corporate reaction to CSR concerns. There are different views of the function of the firm in society and disagreement as to whether wealth maximization should be the sole goal of a corporation. An escalating number of shareholders, analysts, regulators, activists, labor unions, employees, community organizations, and news media are asking companies to be accountable for an ever-changing set of CSR issues. There is rising demand for transparency and growing expectations that corporations measure, report, and continuously improve their social, environmental, and economic performance. According to Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), corporate social responsibility is defined as â€Å"achieving commercial success in ways that honor ethical values and respect people, communities, and the natural environment.† Each company is at variance in how it implements corporate social responsibility, if it does so at all. The differences depend on such factors as any particular company’s size, the particular industry involved, the firm’s business culture, stakeholder demands, and how historically progressive the company is in engaging CSR. Some companies focus on a single area, which is regarded as the most important for them or where they have the highest impact or vulnerability—human rights or the environment, for example—while there are others who endeavor to incorporate CSR in each and every one facet of their operations. For successful execution, it is fundamental that the CSR principles are part of the corporations’ values and strategic planning, and that the management and employees, both are committed to them. Furthermore, it is important that the CSR strategy is aligned with the company’s specific corporate objectives and core competencies. As CSR comes into contact with many of the problems conventionally addressed by government, like human rights and community investing, there is strong censure that societal problems are best solved by freely elected government bodies as the resources of a corporation are poorly matched for addressing those social problems, and therefore, it is argued, they should not be misallocated. According to Friedman (1970), in a free society, â€Å"there is one and only one social responsibility of business—to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud.† The idea is that the state should address social problems, supported by the argument that an executive, by taking money and resources that would otherwise go to owners, employees, and costumers, and allocating them according to the will of the minority, and will fail to serve the interests of her or his principal. In this way, the executive imposes a tax and spends the proceeds for â€Å"social† purposes, which is insupportable, since she or he has neither the skills nor the jurisdiction to do so. On the other hand, there are many demands by others for corporate adoption of the CSR principles. Although the government is chiefly responsible for addressing those issues, the contribution of private firms can be substantial. There is also the argument of the shifting balance of power. According to the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), of the 100 largest global economies, as indicated by their respective GDP, 51 of them are US corporations, and only 49 are nation states. So economic supremacy has shifted to the corporations; they, therefore, should have an increasing role in and accountability for addressing social problems. For example, the government sets the regulations and the minimum standards for the workplace, but a company can further improve the work environment and the quality of living of its employees. A firm cannot stay oblivious to the problems of the environment in which it functions. The poverty of a nation state’s citizens, political unrest, and the exhaustion of natural resources can have destructive effects for a corporation. For example, resources that are inputs in the production process and which, at the foundation of the industrial revolution, were plentiful are now scarce, polluted, or diminishing in many regions of the entire planet. As one would expect, this imposes an extra cost to the corporations and may force them to reposition or to cease operations. From one perspective, companies may be poorly equipped to address some of the social or environmental problems, but from another perspective, no matter how poorly equipped, companies may still be best positioned to improve the problems. Undoubtedly, adopting the CSR principles involves costs. These costs might be short term in nature or continuous outflows. They may involve the purchase of new environmentally friendly equipment, the change of management structures, or the implementation of stricter quality controls. Since being socially responsible involves incurring costs, it should generate benefits as well in order to be a sustainable business practice. A corporation could not continue a policy that constantly generates negative cash flows. The shareholders invest their money in a corporation, expecting the highest possible risk adjusted return. Therefore, being socially responsible should have bottom-line benefits in order to be sustainable. Socially responsible corporate performance can be associated with a series of benefits with the final outcome. But in a lot of cases, it seems that the time frame of the costs and benefits can be out of alignment—the costs are in the near future, whereas the benefits are not often realized until long periods of time have lapsed. Nevertheless, many benefits can be identified. Firstly, socially responsible companies have enhanced brand image and reputation. Consumers are often attracted towards brands and companies with good reputations in CSR related issues. Therefore, a corporation’s brand equity is automatically enhanced. A company regarded as socially responsible can also benefit from its reputation within the business community by having increased ability to attract capital and trading partners. However, reputation is hard to quantify and measure; it is even harder to measure how much it increases a company’s value. But since companies have developed methods to measure the benefits of their advertisement campaigns, similar methods can and should be able to be applied in the case of corporate reputation. Socially responsible companies also have less risk of negative rare events. Furthermore, companies that adopt the CSR principles are more transparent and have less risk of bribery and corruption. In addition, they may execute stricter and, thus, more costly quality and environmental controls, but they run less risk of having to bear in mind defective product lines and pay heavy fines for excessive polluting. They also have less risk of negative social events which damage their reputation and cost millions of dollars in information and advertising campaigns. The scandals about child–labor and sweatshops that affect the clothing industry are two fine examples. Thus, socially responsible businesses should have more stable earnings growth and less downside volatility. Since companies that adopt the CSR principles carry less risk, when valuing those companies, a lower discount rate should be used. In the company valuation this lower tail risk should be taken into account. There are also other cases in which doing what is good and responsible converges with doing the best for the particular business. Some CSR initiatives can dramatically reduce operating costs. For example, reducing packaging material or planning the optimum route for delivery trucks not only reduces the environmental impact of a company’s operation, but it also reduces the cost. The process of adopting the CSR principles induces executives to reconsider their business practices and to seek more efficient ways of operating. Companies perceived to have a strong CSR commitment often have an improved ability to attract and to retain employees (Turban Greening 1997), which leads to reduced turnover, recruitment, and training costs. Employees, too, often evaluate their companies CSR performance to determine if their personal values conflict with those of the businesses at which they work. There are many known cases in which employees were asked, under pressure of their supervisors, to overlook written or moral laws in order to achieve higher profits. These practices create a culture of fear in the workplace and harm the employees’ trust, loyalty, and commitment to the company. Companies that improve working conditions and labor practices also experience increased productivity and reduced error rates. Regular controls in the production facilities throughout the world ensure that all the employees work under good conditions and earn living wages. These practices are costly, but the increased productivity of the workers and improved quality of the products generate positive cash flows that cover the associated costs. Thus, firms may actually benefit from socially responsible actions in terms of employee morale and productivity (Moskowitz, 1972). Literature review CSP is a global concept that encompasses those of Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Social Responsiveness. It provides a coherent framework to explore business-society relationships by looking at the social impact of corporations with business criteria of performance measurement, such as quality, efficacy, effectiveness, innovation (Carroll, 1991; Wood, 1991). The challenge for corporate social responsibility (CSR) in developing countries is framed by a vision that was distilled in 2000 into the Millennium Development Goals—‘a world with less poverty, hunger and disease, greater survival prospects for mothers and their infants, better educated children, equal opportunities for women, and a healthier environment’ (UN, 2006: 3). The penetration of the social realm into corporate strategy has gathered momentum in the last years. The movement for CSR has â€Å"won the battle of ideas† (Crook 2005). By now, most well managed companies have adopted th e practices and certifications mandatory in their industries, having gone through what Zadek (2004) calls the â€Å"defensive† and the â€Å"compliance† stages of CSR. Managing the social and environmental footprint of economic activity is generally accepted as part of the cost of doing business. But much remains to be done. If companies are to move their CSR activities from satisfying behavior and take their commitment to society and the environment to the next level, they will need to rethink their current approaches to CSR, tapping into the creativity of every individual. CSE, like all entrepreneurship, is not about managing existing operations or CSR programs; it is about creating disruptive change in the pursuit of new opportunities. It combines the willingness and desire to create joint economic and social value with the entrepreneurial redesign, systems development, and action necessary to carry it out. Accelerated organizational transformation faces a host of obstacles well-documented in the change management literature. Some people argue that media pressures the corporate managers and directors to behave in ways that are â€Å"socially ac ceptable†. Sometimes this coincides with shareholders’ value maximization, others not (Zinagales, 2002). Although there are several contested notions of what CSR should be and how it should work, there is some agreement upon what it broadly entails. A number of concepts and issues are subsumed under the heading of CSR, including human rights, environmental responsibility, diversity management, sustainability, and philanthropy (Amaeshi Adi, 2006), meaning that it is a complex area with an interdisciplinary focus. It is generally agreed that CSR involves corporations voluntarily exceeding their legal duties to take account of social, economic and environmental impacts of their operations. Consideration of the social, economic and political context demonstrates how CSR forms part of a wider strategic direction being taken internationally with regard to market relations and the pursuit of a range of objectives and goals. The context is in part provided by concerns about the numerous examples of irresponsible behavior on the part of corporations, ranging from colluding with oppressive regimes and in the overthrowing of governments (Alston, 2005) to issues relating to working conditions and the impact of unethical marketing practices (Richter, 2001). Such examples have demonstrated the need for the worst excesses of business to be curbed. The globalised economy is understood to raise important issues for businesses and governments due to changes in patterns of production and consumption. In particular it is noted that the manufacturing of goods is highly mobile (Cassell, 2001:263) and that supply chains are often dispersed in various countries, creating difficulties in terms of legislation and regulation. Moreover, economic globalization presents challenges to the ability of states to protect peoples rights (Cassell, 2001). The notion of corporate social responsibility is part of the third way (Gond Matten, 2007), where the role of the state is now to provide steering for the promotion of social development and social justice (Giddens, 2001: 6). There is increased involvement of the private sector in traditionally statutory provision through privatization and public/private partnerships (Meehan, 2003). Economic policies have created a need for markets and business to self-regulate in order to continue to pursue an international free market economy, but also to ensure sustainability of economic, human and other resources, and of the environment. CSR is seen as a solution to these problems of regulation. The private sector is increasingly seen as a key player in the achievement of many national and international strategic objectives for governments, which is also enabled by CSR. Methodology To gather information, we used secondary research as our main source of information. Various academic journals and internet sources were pursued to cater to the important aspects of the given topic. Moreover, since we thoroughly researched this topic, personal opinions were formed and using those and logic, we justified our opinions accordingly. How can business persons act in an ethically and socially responsible manner and at the same time make profits? Suppose clear-cutting is profitable and legal, but is nonetheless regarded as environmentally irresponsible under prevailing social norms. Can management of a timber corporation decline to clear-cut its timberland even though that sacrifices profits? One might be tempted to evade the question by claiming that being environmentally responsible is profitable in the long run, either because it preserves the forest for future harvesting or because it maintains a public goodwill that aids future sales. But suppose, in an incautious moment, management admits that the present value of those future profits from not clear cutting cannot hope to match the large current profits that clear-cutting would produce. Or, more realistically, suppose a takeover bid by a firm known to clear-cut establishes precisely that proposition by offering far more than the stock price that reflects the current stream of profits. Can management reject the profitable takeover bid on the grounds that it will lead to socially undesirable clear-cutting? The answers to these questions will challenge the canonical law and economics account on corporate social responsibility, which goes something like this. Unless modified by statute, traditional fiduciary duties require corporate managers to further the interests of shareholders, and thus require them to maximize corporate profits subject to the obligation to comply with independent legal constraints. Ethics and social responsibility are very important values in business ventures. This is particularly essential in decision making process. Ethical conscience reminds business persons to make trustworthy and profitable business decisions. Likewise, the social responsibility component requires business persons to make entrepreneurial decisions that can enhance benefits and repelling harms to the stakeholders. The canonical law and economics view holds that corporate managers do and should have a duty to profit-maximize because such conduct is socially efficient given that general legal sanctions do or can redress any harm that corporate or non-corporate businesses inflict on others. If certain conduct imposes excessive harm on others or merits taxation, then an independent law should regulate and impose liability or taxes whether or not the actor is a corporation, and if the conduct does not impose any impermissible harm or merit taxation, then the most socially desirable thing for corporations to do is maximize profits. Other stakeholders could either legally protect themselves by contract with the corporation or have their legal protection provided by judicial gap-filling of such contracts. Part of what makes this account canonical is that it helps define the boundaries of the corporate law field. It leaves corporate law scholars free to ignore issues about any effects the corporation may have on the external world as topics best addressed by other legal fields, and to focus on more tractable models about which corporate rules would maximize shareholder value.

Counselling Psychotherapy Theories Applied | Case Study

Counselling Psychotherapy Theories Applied | Case Study Case Study: Vignette II Bella. H. T. Lam Theories Systems in Counselling Psychotherapy My client Scott, who is a 19 years old male, have lost his father for nine months because of the lung cancer. The major problem revealed by his mum was he had become quite and stayed aloof when he is at home. During the previous sessions, he was just looking downward and fidgeting with his figures. Brief answers are always appeared when I am asking some open questions. However, he thought he need help and agreed to have change when I told to close the session. To begin with, I may like to analyze some of his behaviors so as to develop an effective section for him. From his mother, I knew that he has become quite and aloof after his father died this maybe one of the action, which he was trying to avoid his real feeling. Also, it might have a chance that Scoff does not know how to cope with his own feeling about his father’s death. Moreover, in between our conversation he usually gives me brief answers or sometimes remains silent in account to the mistrust of people or some energy blockage suggested by Gestalt, this turned out he does not want to answer question, sharing his feeling or he does not know how to answer. Without eye contact and fidgeting finger were also the gestures related to his mistrust or lose of love and belongingness needs. Therefore, in the coming session I hope to build a trust-worthy relationship with Scott so as to allow him to share the real feeling with me. Furthermore, helping Scott to face, express, aware a nd cope with his feeling are also my targets. Progressive Muscle Relaxation I would choose the progressive muscle relaxation to start with the counselling session. As Scott mentioned that he got headache sometimes since his father was died on the previous session. I think temporary headache was one of the psychosomatic symptom. The process of relaxing muscle and mental tension in the progressive muscle relaxation may help client to cope with chronic pain and the frequency of migraine attacks which is related to the stress or anxiety.(Ferguson Sgambati , 2008) Despite, Scott does not feel stress or anxiety, he behaves silent and aloof when he is at home might in account to his stress or anxiety. In the section, I may give instructions to Scott to teach him relax. Then, ask Scott to breathe deeply and regularly so as to relax his muscle. Try to feel the muscle when they are tensioned. Then he would asked to relax his muscle from the head then neck and shoulder to the back until the lower limbs. During the time of relaxation he is asked to try getting rid of the mental problem and feel the contrast between relax mode and tension mode. He could learn to become relax if he keep practicing this action daily. And this would become the habitual behavior in his daily life. Progressive muscle relaxation could be use with any other approach easily and can practice daily by the client. This might help Scott to learn how to relax and improve his daily living when he is feeling stress or anxiety. This practice not only relaxing his muscle but also his mental. ( Davis,1980) Expressive Art Therapy The next stage I would like to use expressive art therapy so as to help Scott to express his feeling. Since Scott can only answer brief answer when I asked open question I suggest that he did not know how to express his owns thing verbally or it might because he did not aware his owns’ problems so he cannot express himself when I am asking him questions. While expressive art therapy is found by Natalie Rogers, it uses various artistic forms, for example, creating movement, writing a journal, playing music as a media to help people to express his emotion. N, Roger explained that â€Å"This is a multimodal approach integrating mind, body, emotion and inner spiritual resources.†(N, Rogers, 1993,) Thereby, expressive art therapy let people to look at its unconscious mind and express some unknown or new information. â€Å"This is also a self-discovery and healing process.† (N, Rogers, 1993)This may allowed Scott to express his emotion in order to have more understandi ng about his unconscious mind. In this section, I would prepare some percussion instruments to Scott, allowing him to express his feeling by music improvisation. I would ask him to think of some scenarios and try to use different instruments to represent or reflect that scenario. This may help him to aware and express his emotion himself and give me further information about his emotion. I think this is a suitable way for Scott as he did not answer a open question easily, using a different way like playing music maybe give him another way to express himself. Nevertheless, Person-Centered therapy is the key features of Expressive Art therapy while they are also emphasis the relationships between the client and therapist. (N, Rogers, 1993) Therefore, I would like to build a trust -worthy relationship with my client using the knowledge of Person-centered therapy before I started the Expressive Art Therapy. Person-Centred Therapy Other than not knowing how to express his own emotion, Scott answering question in a very brief way might also because he does not want to share his real feeling. According to the Carl Roger’s Person-centered Therapy, relationship between client and therapist was very significant for the treatment. As if the clients feel that his feelings are understood by the counselor might support the clients’ desire to change. (Roger, 1961) The Person-centered Therapy suggested the three main ways to develop a good relationships with the client. Including Congruence, Unconditional Positive Regard and Empathic Understanding. (Cain, 2010 ) Being congruence means that the therapist should express truly with his emotion, attitudes, thoughts when they are interacting with the client. Providing unconditional positive regard means is caring the client as a true person, while the caring without any criteria or judgments. (Koldon, Klein, Wang, Austin,2011) According to Rogers’s (1961) research, the more caring the clients got, the more success of the therapy would be. While empathic understanding is to share the subjective view by the experience’s that the client’s mentioned. After this Scott can identify his own goal by himself. So as to provide these three conditions, I would like to chat with Scott with more caring, sometimes give some restatements of what he just said to show my empathic understanding, express my true feeling and attitude when we are chatting. Also, giving a sense to him that I would support him no matter what he decide or think. After this kind of interaction I might build a better or trust-worthy relationship with Scott and give the love and belongingness needs that enable him to share his real feeling to me and he will tell me more rather than just answer me a short answer or refuses to answer me. Moreover, the rarely eye contact with counselor may deal to his unsafety feeling. During this Personal centered therapy, I would provide him a safe environment which can let him feel safe and willing to have eye contact with other and less fidgeting. The final aim of this treatment is to allow him to express himself, trust himself by providing him concern and care, I could act as a facilitato r to allow him to be independent and integration which leads him able to cope with his life’s issue like the dilemma of his father’s death. In addition, this therapy is suitable for people who is open and ready for change since Scott agree to see the counselor and admitted he need helps reflect that he is ready and open to have some changes.(Corey, 2013) However, Person-centered therapy was an unstructured therapy which is difficult to estimate the duration needs for this treatment. The only way is to recognize how the client’s know about himself and helping him to come up with his own plan. Therefore I would like to spend more time in this treatment before moving to the next part. Gestalt Therapy The next treatment I would like to use is the Gestalt therapy. Although we have used the Expressive Art therapy so as to bring up Scott awareness to himself, it might not enough because the art therapy more focuses on expressing the emotion and feeling. To further bring up his awareness of his own feeling I would like to assist him to attain greater awareness which includes knowing the environment, oneself also make contact with their awareness by using the Gestalt therapy.(Ploster Ploster, 1973) Apart from expressing his emotion, aware and face his own emotion is also my concern. In Gestalt therapy, it mainly focuses on where the energy used or blocked, the here and now which allow client to fully experience the â€Å"now† also the unfinished business which the figure is lined inside the ground and not completely solved and come with some unexpressed feeling.(Ploster, 1973) While blocking energy is another form of defense behavior suggested by Gestalt. In Scott cases, looking away from counselor when they are chatting, mention only a few is also the behavior of blocking energy. (Corey, 2013)When Scott staying at home quietly and aloof are examples of that he cannot express his own feeling and cause unfinished business. His father has died for nine months but he changed his behavior started from his father death to now that represent Scott is still struggling with the past experiences as Gestalt therapist recognized that the past would come to the present’s moment is usually the lack of completion of the past experience.(Corey, 2013 ) While in this treatment I would encourage Scott to experiences his own blocking energy gesture and allow him to know what is he struggling and accept it. Also trying to bring his feeling from the past to present and know that he can make a change of situation. I would choose the Reversal exercise and Exaggeration exercise for Scott. For reversal exercise, I would ask him try to look at me and stop fidgeting with his figure for a minute when we are chatting, to let him to accept what he is doing. After that, I would ask him to stay silent for longer time which to exaggerate his behavior. (Feder Frew, 2008) From this behavior he can try to interpret his inner feeling when he is keeping silent. The gestalt therapy have much explanation about the importance human’s gesture and language which would be suitable for Scott which have more gesture and less words to aware his feeling via body languages. Conclusion In this session there might be used four treatment, The progressive muscle relaxation, Person-centred therapy, Expressive art therapy and the Gestalt therapy. The progressive muscle relaxation might want to help the client improve his psychosomatic illness like headache. While the person-centred therapy is aim at building a trust-worthy relationship with the client in order to let him to share me more with his own’s emotion and my caring may let him to identify his own goal and the willing of changes. Expressive art therapy may like to cope with his difficulties of expressing his own feeling when I am asking some open question. Furthermore, the gestalt therapy would like to help client to aware with his gesture like refuse having eye contact with other so as to relate his gesture to his feeling and let him to pay attention to. References Cain, D. (2010). Person-centered psychotherapies. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Corey, G. (2013). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy (9th ed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage. Davis, J. (1980). Progressive Muscle Relaxation. In The effects of progressive muscle relaxation upon breathing and anxiety in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Madison: University of Wisconsin. Feder, B., Frew, J. (Eds.).(2008).Beyond the hot seat revisited: Gestalt approaches to group. New Orleans: Gestalt institute Press. Ferguson, K.E., Sgambati, R. E. (2008) Relaxation. In W.O’Donohue J.E.Fisher (Eds.), Cognitive behavior therapy: Applying empirically supported techniques in your practice(2nd ed.,pp.434-444). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Koldon,G.G., Klein, M. H.,Wang, C., Austin, S.B.(2011). Congruence/genuineness. In J.C. Norcross (Ed.), Psychotherapy relationships that work: Evidence-based responsiveness (2nd ed., pp. 187-202). New York: Oxford University Press. Polster,E., Polster, M. (1973). Gestalt therapy integrated: Contours of theory and practice. New York : Brunner/Mazel. Rogers, C. (1961). A therapists view of psychotherapy. In On becoming a person. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Rogers, N. (1993). The creative connection. In The creative connection: Expressive arts as healing. Palo Alto, Calif.: Science Behavior Books.

Hinduism Essay -- Religion India Expository Essays Hindu

Hinduism Introduction Hinduism - stands for the faith and the way of life most of the people who live in India.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hinduism is such an ancient religion that it had many types of beliefs and religious practices. Around 1750 BC Aryan invaders from central Asia settled in North - West India and introduced their own religious ideas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Slowly the Hindu came to accept the idea of the existence of an eternal supreme being. They called this being, Brahman. Hindus also worship different gods which individually represent one particular aspect of Brahman. The most popular one of the lesser gods are Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the preserver), and Shiva (the destroyer) Hinduism has no founder. It is a religion that has slowly developed over a period of time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hindu Beliefs   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hindu Gods   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Hindus have four gods Brahman, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. There main god is Brahman. He is the origin and the sustainer of all life, and the goal of all things. He is eternal and omnipotent and only he is real. They believe that Brahman is so great that he cannot be explained in human words because all humans are imperfect and Brahman is perfect. Shiva   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Shiva is usually depicted with six arms each one representing a different function to preform. He is known as the destroyer and restorer of life, symbol of the reproductive force of nature, philosopher and sage. He has a third eye which signifies wisdom or higher consciousness. He has a blue throat which is a result of him swallowing a full cup of mans sins. Worship of Shiva includes fertility rites and veneration of the symbols of male and female sex organs. Most Hindus imagine Shiva as being in deep meditation high in the Himalayas. Shiva is the ultimate god who holds in divine tension the preservation and destruction of the cosmos, both its birth and death. At times he is portrayed as the great ascetic. He is often depicted as the reconciler of dualities such as good and evil, eroticism and asceticism, his creative energy is depicted in the Lingam and Yoni. Shiva is frequently shown in loving union with his consort Parvati (another form of the great goddess)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Shiva devotees are called Shaivites, and devotion usually takes the form of Yogic practice. Shiva is often pictured, in one of the best known religious images from India, as the lord of the cos... ...in January-February and lasts thirty-six hours. The name of this festival means "night sacred to Shiva", because worship goes on throughout the night. Compared to other festivals it is a solemn occasion marked by fasting. Some devotees of Shiva do not sleep, eat or drink for the thirty-six hours. During the night Shiva is worshiped with singing and dancing in shrines dedicated to the god. In the shrine is a small stone pillar representing the god Shiva around which people assemble and perform puja. Offerings are made by pouring milk, honey and melted butter over the linga. When the fast ends at about four o'clock much feasting follows with sweet potatoes and cucumbers among the many foods eaten. The people remember a story which helps to explain why they fast and keep watch throughout the night. The story tells of a hunter who was once chased by a tiger, he climbed a tree to escape, and he had to perch the whole night as the tiger crouched below. To make sure he did not fall asleep he plucked the leaves one by one and dropped them on the ground. There was an image of Shiva under the tree, as the leaves fell Shiva felt he was being worshiped and blessed the hunter.

The Neural Score for Language and Related Action :: Biology Essays Research Papers

The Neural Score for Language and Related Action In the web page, GESTURAL EQUIVALENCE (EQUIVALENTS) OF LANGUAGE (http://www.percep.demon.co.uk/gesture.htm) , the development of language with respect to movements of the arms and hands are discussed. It is proposed that there are certain neural patterns, a score, to these movements that correspond to certain sounds. One can get so general as to say that there is one pattern of movement for each phoneme in language. Phonemes are the basic sounds of which a spoken language is constructed. The fact that there are hand movements gestures if you will, that follow the same patterns as vocal utterances have many effects. Neural scores become more evident, the same initial brain patterns control speaking and gesturing. This is known as The Motor Theory of Language Origin and Function. It also has an interesting influence on the expression of scores themselves. It also explains much infant behavior, such as mimicking. The Motor Theory of Language Origin and Function holds that patterns for specific motor activity are the same patterns as those for speech. As for the neurobiological interpretation for the evolution of language and speech, this says a lot. As the neural patterns for certain arm movements became more and more specific; the effects of these patterns, when applied to the vocal apparatus became more and more specific. This specificity lead to the development of the phonemes of all human language. There are also similarities between the motion produced and the meaning of the word (see attached picture). What is amazing about this is the fact that many different languages have words with the same meaning that have similar movements, even if the words are not similar. Also, the fact that common gestures, the composite of a few of the simple gesture movements, change between languages enforces the idea that the movements vary with the phoneme, not the word. An interesting effect that this theory has when parts are applied to all neural activity is that certain neural patterns, scores can be applied to many different parts and the same results can be seen. For instance, in this web page, it is proposed that the human body can produce the same signature using hands, the feet, nose, or even forehead. Although it is difficult for a human to master this all at one time, if it is needed, the same neural pattern for the movement of the right hand with a writing implement can be applied to one of many other places on the body.

Managing Exam Stress Essays -- Coping With Exam Stress

Define stress: Stress is the body’s natural response to a threatening situation, and stress causes the release of hormones such as adrenaline, that prepare the body for its instinctual response to a threat: flight, fight or freeze. The adrenaline causes processes in your body to change, for example, your breathing and heart rate quicken, your senses sharpen, muscles tighten and your blood pressure is raised. These changes allow your reaction time to increase, which could mean the difference between life and death. However, many people, including students, live in stressful situations every day, and this has a negative effect of their health. Factors causing exam-related stress: One of the main causes of exam-related stress is the pressure on students to excel in the exams academically. Pressure can be placed on the student by family or friends, as well as by the student themselves. Pressure placed on the student by family members is often the result of parents wanting their children to achieve better results than they did, causing unnecessary stress on the student. Fear of disappointing family members also causes high levels of stress for the student. Certain expectations are held of students by their parents, such as being accepted into a certain high-school or tertiary institution. These expectations can be unrealistic and not be based on the student’s strengths and weaknesses. These expectations can also create pressure on the student to meet his parents’ expectations, which creates feelings of inadequacy when they can’t be met. Pressure is also placed on a student by himself. The student believes that in order to be a good student, they have to do well at school all the time. If the student wants to achieve a certa... ...and-depression-in-children/493_4525/causes-of-exam-stress-in-children.html ï  ¾ http://brainconnection.positscience.com/tests-stress-problems-for-students/ ï  ¾ http://www.kidshelp.com.au/grownups/news-research/hot-topics/exam-stress.php ï  ¾ http://developingchild.harvard.edu/topics/science_of_early_childhood/toxic_stress_response/ ï  ¾ http://www.themaneater.com/stories/2009/5/8/final-exams-causes-students-have-stress-bad-habits/ ï  ¾ http://education.jhu.edu/PD/newhorizons/strategies/topics/Keeping%20Fit%20for%20Learning/stress.html ï  ¾ http://www.15minutes4me.com/article/stress-how-does-stress-tension-affects-teenagers/ ï  ¾ http://www.guidetostressmanagement.com/effects-of-stress/effects-of-stress-on-teens.html ï  ¾ http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/Pages/Coping-with-exam-stress.aspx ï  ¾ http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/advice/factfile_az/exams_stress

Stepmom: About Death and Dying

Movie Review: Stepmom By: For: November 16th, 2010 REL201 The film step mom beautifully portrays the effects death and dying can have on a family. Even one like the Harrison's, where the parents are split up, and and a new women has come into Luke's live. Their will always be different ways of coping with death and that is shown through all the characters, be it strong willed like Luke and Jackie, negatively and dramatically like the daughter Anna, or positively and unaware like the son Ben. All these different ways of coping make this film an ideal one to view the different ways one can cope.Throughout the film Stepmom death is shown as both a negative and positive affecting occurrence. When the main character Jackie Harrison is first told that her diagnosed cancer has became much worse, she is spiteful and hate-filled. She resents the fact that her recently divorced husband is now getting married to a younger woman, she is also angry that her marriage to Luke didn't work out, and i s also saddened at the fact that she will never live to see her children grow up. The positive aspects of death in this film is that Jackie soon realizes that she has to come to grips with her inevitable death.This allows her to live her remaining months in peace with her children and even become happy with Luke and Jena Malone getting married. In the circumstance on Jackie Harrison, death is not presented as a natural part of the life cycle. Cancer, is a modern problem with no modern cure as of yet. It endangers and ends many young lives throughout the world. Jackie was already diagnosed with cancer a year before, however, when she went for a re-evaluation it was found that the cancer had re-appeared and had intensified in her body. This shows that cancerous cells can begin to form at anytime in one's body and is not a atural part of the life cycle. In the case of Jackie there are two sides. At first when re-diagnosed she is very fearful. Not for herself, but rather for her childre n. Jackie is afraid that she will not be able to see her children again, and be able to watch them grow up and lead fulfilling lives. She is delivered more bad news at a dinner by her ex-husband. Luke tells Jackie that he is to marry Jena Malone. Jackie is angered again and can not bare to tell Luke that she is in fact dying of cancer and will not be around to raise their children. Another scene depicting anger is after Ben falls off the play structure and eeds stitches.At the hospital she tries to see her son, but Jena is already there comforting him. He asks Jena to sing her a song because â€Å"Mommy always does† (Stepmom). As Jackie looks on from outside the room Jena sings for Ben and she is angered by this and goes home and has a fit in her home. Jena uncovers Jackie's secret through a conversation they have at her home. She tells Jena that she is infect going to L. A. to see an oncologist for treatment. Jena is saddened to hear that the ex-wife is dying of cancer and a sks â€Å"are you dying? â€Å", to which Jackie replies â€Å"Not today†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Stepmom). This in turn affects Luke who is the next o find out and thus feels guilty. He feels as though it should have been him and not Jackie. They decide to tell the children about the cancer together and this scene provides the most dramatic effect of the movie. Ben takes the news very lightly and is intrigued as to what his mom is enduring, there is a doubt as to how much Ben knows about the situation. He thinks it's less serious then it actually is. The daughter Anna, is immediately angered by the news and storms off. As she heads upstairs Luke yells â€Å"You do not run out on your mother†, and she replies â€Å"No that's your job† (Stepmom).This scene is important because it shows how the family as an entirety deals with death. The message of the film Stepmom is too fully appreciate one's life to the fullest while you can, and to truly live like you we're dying. It also h as many family values attached to the death process. Jackie who has always enjoyed her children now see's the reasons to why she is truly enjoying them. After hearing that her cancer has got worse she decides to stay home and take time with to be with her family. Luke even becomes more involved with her as her condition worsens, something he never did when they we're together and she was healthy.A kind of ironic tragedy. It also portrays that Jackie will never be able to be replaced as the children's mother but Jena can do more by being there for them while they live on without Jackie. In one of the lasts scenes Jena and Jackie make amends and realize that the kids won't have to choose and that they could love them both. â€Å"I have their past, and you can have their future† (Stepmom) is what Jackie says in comfort to Jena. The white dove that Ben always asks about has dual meaning throughout the film. Ben believes every magician needs a white dove, but the dove in fact symb olizes freedom and life.The symbolism of the dove also has heavy meaning towards Jackie. It would represent her long after she is gone and would be the confidant of the young Ben. In the final scene at Christmas time, Jackie is at this point very ill. When Ben comes upstairs to Jackie's room to get his present from her she is alone in a chair. She smiles and gives Ben a magician's cape to continue living his childhood dream of becoming one someday. She then goes downstairs after Anna comes to get her, and helps Luke, Jena and Ben perform a magic trick to uncover the white dove in the cage underneath the magician's cape.It is symbolic because this white dove will represent Jackie and her continued support of her son long after she is gone. Stepmom was a great film to watch in terms of understanding how a family can cope with death and dying. It shows the contrasts of family values, ways of coping with death and also the support system a family can have throughout times of crisis. Eve n though Jackie and Luke were no longer together they found a way to make things work when the children and Jackie needed it the most. It is inspiring to see such love and compassion in a difficult situation, even when at the eginning of the film there was nothing but resentment towards each other, a common bond, brought them together and closer then ever, even if it was a negative one. Cancer continues to be a serious threat for today's modern society and we must continue the fight against to someday have a cancer free earth.Bibliography: I) Stepmom, DVD, Directed by Chris Columbus, (1998) Columbia Pictures, Hollywood. California II) http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pmc/articles/PMC2569562/pdf/jnma00195-0137. pdf Heather M. Butts,JD,MPH III) http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Stepmom_(film) IV) http://www. mediacircus. net/stepmom. html

Childhood Influences in Great Expectations and the Kite Runner

Michael Dennedy – Word Count : 1944 How do Dickens and Hosseini present the influence of childhood experiences in their novels ‘Great Expectations’ and ‘The Kite Runner’? The influence of childhood experience is at the core of these novels as both of the main protagonists go through a rite of passage and change of character which is influenced by their contrasting childhood experiences. In Dickens’ ‘Great Expectations’, the main character Pip grew up in southeast England with his harsh and blunt sister Mrs.Joe who raised him forcefully and often violently ‘by hand’ and her kind and loving husband Joe Gargery who is what many critics such as E. M Forster call â€Å"a flat character† as his personality and motives do not change throughout the novel. Despite later feeling that blacksmithing is below him, in the Victorian era, Pip would have been very lucky to have had an automatic apprenticeship due to Joe’s profession. In my opinion, two major events in Pip’s childhood affect him for the rest of his life: his fateful and terrifying meeting with the convict Magwitch, and his embarrassing and revelatory meeting with Miss.Havisham and Estella. The first life-changing event for Pip is when ‘a fearful man†¦ with a great iron on his leg’ named Magwitch approaches him in the graveyard where our protagonist’s parents lay. The Wordsworth Classics edition of the novel offers an illustration in chapter one by F. W Pailthorpe is provided which connotes that Magwitch is dark and frightful, although the illustrator used irony here as the criminal stands behind a gravestone which reads ’Sacred’; in my opinion this gravestone represents Magwitch’s true kind hearted nature.In these first chapters, we are introduced to the character of Pip who is the most important in the novel due to him being both narrator and protagonist. Despite his horror at mee ting such a fearsome man, he is kind and compassionate towards him, instantly showing that Pip is overtly, a ‘good’ character. This and similar traits – such as compassion and conscience – in Pip's personality define his character throughout the novel as they are the core foundations in his personality.By showing this, Dickens creates a bond between Pip and the reader that keeps us interested and concerned about the rite of passage Pip endures and the eventual outcome of the events he experiences throughout the novel. This kindness can be seen in chapter forty one when Pip remains careful and conscious of the good ‘Provis‘ and despite the utter shame and discomfort he feels throughout, Pip respects that proper treatment is due to his generous yet seedy benefactor and that he ‘must save him, if possible’.Pip constantly thinks back about his shortcomings and bad deeds, which drives him to be morally conscious of his actions. This tra it in Pip's personality creates the initial storyline of the novel and constitutes the theme of ‘gentlemen’, as it is Magwitch's secretive philanthropy towards Pip for his kindness which creates mystery, ‘Great Expectations' and false loyalty for Pip who is later sent to London to be schooled and turned into a gentleman. Throughout the novel Dickens uses the question of what makes a gentleman to create a social commentary.The materialistic Victorian mind-set saw gentlemen as being wealthy and aristocratic like the hateful Bentley Drummle however, a real gentleman is more like the altruistic and good Joe Gargery who is a ‘gentle Christian man’. The second event in Pip’s childhood which I think, is the key catalyst to his change in character as his meeting with a woman who was made of ‘waxwork and skeleton’, Miss Havisham and her beautiful ward Estella whose name means star; something for Pip to aspire to shown by his concupiscence.T his meeting introduces Pip to the theme of social betterment and class; it also introduces false hope and Miss Havisham's stratagem of creating hopeless aspirations and sham suspicions about the identity of his benefactor. In the Victorian era, a working class boy would never be permitted to marry the ward of a wealthy, upper-class woman. Miss Havisham’s manipulation of Pip’s emotions further exposes her bitterness and cruelty.I feel that Dickens uses Estella as Pip’s original motivation for wanting to become a gentleman and due to Estella’s contempt, Pip loses grasp of his humble and kind roots and steers away from being a ’gentle man’ in the process. In Hosseini’s ‘The Kite Runner’, the main character Amir has an almost totally contrasting childhood although he is haunted by one key personal event: the rape of his best friend and (unknowingly to Amir at the time) his brother Hassan, and another major event that affects the whole country of Afghanistan: the Soviet Invasion.Both of these events mark the upheaval of Amir’s life both emotionally and physically as he is forced to leave his lavish upper-class life in his homeland and find a new place as poor working class man within the alien ‘idea of America’. An almost immediate change can be seen in Pip once he has travelled from ‘town to the metropolis’. Pip’s new GREAT EXPECTATIONS, are quickly defeated as he arrives in Cheapside ‘just out of Smithfield’.This area of London was filthy in the era due to the largest meat market in Britain, Smithfield, being in close proximity and due to the ‘ugly, crooked, narrow and dirty’ streets which were commonplace in London at the time due to the inadequate sewer systems. This disappointment at arriving in a new lace are also expressed in ‘The Kite Runner’ as ‘it was living in America that gave Baba an ulcer’. The retur n of Magwitch is an example of how childhood has affected Pip’s attitude and opinions on social class.Dickens uses pathetic fallacy at the start of chapter thirty nine ‘It was wretched weather; stormy and wet†¦ mud, deep in all the streets’ this is used to foreshadow the upcoming events and to emphasise the horror and disgust Pip feels when realising that Magwitch is his benefactor. Hosseini also uses pathetic fallacy to great effect throughout ‘The Kite Runner’, one example of how the weather is used to create a tense and murky atmosphere is in chapter 7 shortly before the rape scene.Hosseini describes the area as ‘a secluded muddy road†¦ My boot squished in the mud’. Both authors have used this technique to foreshadow and prepare the reader for what is to come. ‘He took both my hands and put them to his lips, while my blood ran cold’ shows Pip’s horror as this kind act should not cause such a fearful react ion. Pip truly begins to appreciate the danger Magwitch has put himself into by returning to London as returning from transportation from Australia almost certainly meant death at the gallows in the eighteen hundreds.Childhood influences is shown in chapter forty-two as Magwitch was forced to become a thief after ‘a-thieving turnips’ to survive as a child and due to this harsh difficult upbringing, sympathy is evoked form the reader as the convict has ‘honoured his debt’ to the small boy. Throughout the novel Pip’s attitudes towards Joe and his home at the forge change constantly. Before Pip meets Estella the camaraderie and friendship can be seen as they were both ‘fellow-sufferers’ of Tickler and by the phrases and speech they use such as ‘ you and me is always friends’ and how Pip simply calls him ‘Joe’ unlike almost all other adults in the novel.This respect for adults and even parents was commonplace in Vic torian times however this example of not using ‘Mr’ shows how close a friendship they share in the novel’s opening. Respect for adults is a theme show dominantly in ‘The Kite Runner’. The term ‘agha sahib’ meaning lord, commander or friend is used throughout the novel. This term is often used by both Amir and Hassan when they speak to Baba or Rahim Kahn as they are both their elders who deserve the respect of children.Despite the closeness of the relation between Pip and Joe in the beginning. Joe’s visit is strained and awkward as he attempts to tell Pip the local happenings. For example Wopsle, for instance, has become an actor with questionable talent; this shows the Dickensian technique of hinting towards a characters future or traits by using an appropriate name. Pip is rude and ashamed of Joe however until he redeems himself with the mention of Estella to returning to Satis House and that she has asked to see Pip.Upon this re velation Pip becomes nicer to Joe, but he leaves before Pip can make amends. Joe’s visit to London illuminates the theme of social contrasts and guilt. This section serves by showing the awkward position between classes Pip has become and by showing the worry he that Joe will disapprove of his new life and that the aristocracy in his life will frown upon him, again showing Pip’s character trait of guilt. The life of Estella and the effect she has upon Pip is a very good example of how Dickens uses past experiences to shape and mould his characters.In my reasoning, I think that Miss Havisham brought Estella up for two main reasons: for her to punish Men and ’break their hearts’ and for her to give Miss Havisham a final chance of receiving love despite it not being romantic. As a child Estella is ‘very pretty, very insulting’ to Pip and to other men including Mr Pumblechook and she continues this behaviour throughout the majority of the novel u ntil the very end when she returns ‘bent and broken’ and humbled from the abuse given to her by her deceased husband Bentley Drummle.Dickens uses Estella as a tool to create a social commentary on birth rite and nature versus nurture. Unbeknownst to Pip for the earlier half of the novel, Estella is the daughter of a thief and a murderess adopted by Miss Havisham at the age of three. With her character, Dickens shows that money does not buy happiness even in the superficial Victorian era as Estella has ‘no heart’ due to the coldness displayed to her by Miss Havisham despite having all the material possessions she could ever want or need and due to this, many critics have stated that â€Å"Estella is the only realistic female creation of Dickens‘†.Estella contrasts heavily with the character of Soraya in ‘The Kite Runner’. Where Estella is cold and haughty, Soraya is kind, steady and dependable and despite her infertility she is the perfect wife for Amir although she often gives her negative opinions on patriarchal Afghan culture. Both Pip and Amir go through rites of passage in the novels as Humphrey House has stated that â€Å"it is a remarkable achievement to have kept the reader‘s sympathy throughout a snob‘s progressâ€Å".Amir starts ‘The Kite Runner’ as an arrogant, selfish, cowardly although loving boy and grows up with the guilt of the cowardice he displayed when Hassan was raped although he finds solace by returning to Afghanistan seeking redemption by rescuing Sohrab during two-thousand and one whilst the Taliban were engaged in Afghan – United Nations controversy.Pip’s character changes from the innocent, kind and timid child into a character similar to that of Amir as a child as he is arrogant and snobbish although he too begins to feel guilt for his actions during his period of snobbery and seeks redemption by returning to the forge and Satis House and the end of the novel to find forgiveness from Joe. The author’s of both novels use rites of passage as a means for character change and redemption however, Dickens puts Pip through a mental journey as he slowly unravels the traits and histories of those around him whereas Hosseini sends Amir on a physical journey to find ‘a way to be good again’.

Religion, Spirituality, and Health Status in Geriatric Outpatients Essay

Daaleman, Perrera and Studenski wished to re-examine the effect of religiosity and spirituality on perceptions of older persons, operationalized as geriatric outpatients. The authors proceeded from two conceptual constructs.   The first is that self-reported health status is central to aging research.   The old know whereof they speak.   Self-ratings are valid because they correlate well with health status over time and, consequently, health service utilization.   The second construct is that, no matter how morally they lived as young adults, those in late middle age come to embrace religion and spirituality with more fervor. Prior research had scrutinized the relationship between religion and health perceptions.   Some results were inconclusive, an outcome that the authors attributed to failure to control for such covariates as spirituality. Definitions vary, the authors acknowledged, but they proposed defining â€Å"religiosity† as principally revolving on organized faith while â€Å"spirituality† has more to do with giving humans â€Å"meaning, purpose, or power either from within or from a transcendent source.†Ã‚   In turn, the dependent variable was measured by a single-item global health from the Years of Healthy Life (YOHL) scale, a self-assessment of general health (would you say your health in general is †¦) and a 5-item Likert response from excellent to poor. Fieldwork consisted of including a 5-item measure of religiosity15 and a 12-item spirituality instrument in a 36-month health service utilization, health status, and functional status study among 492 outpatients of a VA and HMO network, all residents of the Kansas City metropolitan area. The authors were remiss in not formally articulating their hypotheses for the study though one gleans that the alternative hypothesis could have stated, â€Å"Structured religion, a deep sense of spirituality, mental status and mobility, and personal and demographic variables materially influence measures of health status and physical functioning.† In the end, the data was subjected to univariate and multivariate best-fit statistics.   The key findings: Table 2. Predictors of Self-Reported Good Health          Status (N = 277)                Factor* Unadjusted OR (95% CL    Adjusted OR (95% CI)       Age 0.94 (0.89–0.99)†        Male 0.72 (0.41–1.25)†¡       White race 2.79 (1.51–5.17) § 3.32 (1.33–8.30) ¶ Grade school 0.1 (0.02–0.49) ¶       Some high school 0.28 (0.06–1.44)†¡       High school graduate 0.24 (0.05–1.14)†¡       Technical/business school 0.29 (0.06–1.43)†¡       Some college 0.31 (0.06–1.49)†¡       Not depressed (GDS) 32.4 (4.03–261) §       Physical functioning(SF36-PFI) 1.04 (1.03–1.05) § 1.03 (1.01–1.04) § Quality of life (EuroQol) 1.69 (1.41–2.01)†  1.36 (1.09–1.70)†  Religiosity (NORC) 0.93 (0.85–1.02)†¡       Spirituality (SIWB) 1.15 (1.10–1.21) § 1.09 (1.02–1.16)†  OR = odds ratio; CI = confi dence interval; GDS = Geriatric Depression Scale; SF36-PFI = Physical Functioning Index from SF-36; NORC = National Opinion Research Center; SIWB = Spirituality Index of Well-Being.          *Referent factors: age-1 year younger; female, nonwhite; college graduate; GDS score of 0-9; PFI-index of 1 less; EuroQol-score of 0.1 less; SIWB-score of 1 less. †  P = .01.                †¡ P = NS.                 § P

Globalisation for a country’s economy Essay

â€Å"The transformation of national segmented financial markets into integrated parts of the global financial market – the globalisation process – involves complex cross-border and cross-sectoral integration in which capital movements and financial services are key determinants.† (Oxelheim, 1996, p. 21) The large multi national corporations (MNC’s) play a major role in this transformation process, as it is these organisations that have a very wide variety of funding options. A number of the large corporations engage in arbitrage between various international markets that are less efficient and in those that are more efficient. Financial markets in a country compete with one another and with the other markets around the globe, they are all connected. The government usually plays an important role in the national financial markets, as it has the power to increase or decrease money supply within the economy. The government usually uses the central bank of the country to perform these operations. The major financial markets are the equity markets, credit market and the foreign exchange market. The government and monetary authorities like the central bank, prudential regulation authorities and other similar organisations of the country are responsible for market regulations and supervision. The global financial system consists of the interaction between various national financial systems. Buyer and sellers of certain financial instruments trade across their national borders. There have been a number of different factors that have influenced the globalisation process, these factors have led to economies forming some new regulations and the deregulation of the current capital controls and factors like market efficiency, flexibility and credibility. Imperfections in the domestic financial markets are what gave way to the development of Euro markets. Global finance encloses an odd combination of the most perfect (where there is free trade and less deregulation) and  imperfect (where there is high regulation to protect the local market from losing out to the outside markets due to competition) money and capital markets of the world. Most countries interfere in the foreign exchange market to make their currencies more stable by changing various policies and buying and selling foreign currencies. It should be understood that fluctuations in foreign exchange markets are due to the economic conditions and policies of the country. Giddy says â€Å"Currency markets are efficient, but many national capital markets are not; these national markets are partially, but not wholly, linked to the global market.† (Giddy, 1994, p. 6) From the past it can be seen that the increase in economic integration and the redistribution of financial resources within the region were important factors. Borrowing from another country was a significant force. â€Å"Economic integration and regional redistribution generated competitive pressure, which made a de jure deregulation more or less unavoidable in most countries.† (Oxelheim, 1996, p. 27) Financial innovations like developing a number of new financial products and instruments have been made possible by the developments in information technology. According to Jensen (1989), financial innovations have in general had a positive impact on the economy, as they have improved corporate access to capital and communication between management and corporate stakeholders. However, they have also reduced the usefulness of current international statistics in the monitoring of international capital flows. The core of the global market is the Eurocurrency and Eurobond markets. The increasing number of financial products like futures, options, interest rate swaps, and various other financial instruments used by participants in the international financial market, have helped in overcoming market imperfections in the global market. The Foreign-Exchange market This market establishes the price of each (domestic) currency in terms of other (foreign) currencies. Currencies are bought and sold in exchange for one another throughout the day over the telephone market by individuals, companies, securities firms, and central banks, all of which deal with the foreign-exchange traders at commercial banks. The actions of the governments buying and selling foreign currencies affect the prices of the currency and should be anticipated by the foreign exchange traders. Residents of certain countries may prefer to hold assets denominated in foreign currencies if their home currency is not stable due to high and variable inflation (value of domestic currency compared to the others may be poor). Hence, the residents of these countries might prefer to hold their assets in foreign currency denominated assets in order to protect their real wealth. The foreign exchange balances may offset some financial risks. â€Å"Foreign currency denominated assets may serve as a direct hedge for the exchange risk associated with anticipated foreign currency liabilities.† (Levich, 1998, p.67) This would be good for the economy, this would offset some of the financial risk. Another view is that domestic residents may feel that certain foreign currency assets are undervalued and hence may purchase these assets converting the currency to earn a higher return. Residents would use the domestic currency for all transactions with in the country, they may desire to hold foreign currency as an asset or store of value. The value of all currencies is not determined by the transactions in the foreign exchange market. Some currencies are pegged to other currencies, for example the Malaysian Ringgit is pegged to the US Dollar. A number of the governments influence the value of their currencies by open market buying or selling, hence push the price up or down.