Economics Assignment

ECONOMICS ASSIGNMENT For a market of your choice, keep track of the spot or share price fluctuations during a period of at least two years. Prepare a report of approximately 3000 words, for each market, discussing in detail the multiple forces (interesting developments) responsible for the trends. Tuesday 24 May 2011 Table of Contents Executive Summary Executive Summary In analysing the consumer market, we have chosen the share prices of two JSE listed companies, namely SABMiller and Rainbow Chicken which belong to the beverages and food producer’s sub-sectors respectively. Our two-year analysis is for the period March 2009 to May 2011. We will explore how Rainbow Chicken fared relative to its nearest competitor – Astral Foods. SABMiller allowed us to expand our thinking and methodology as the company also has a dual-listing on the London Stock Exchange. Its three closest competitors Heineken, Anheuser-Busch InBev and Carlsberg Breweries have foreign listings. It stands to reason, therefore, that we begin our assignment with an overview of the global context in which both companies operated in the period under review. The aftermath of the recession and changes in global economic indicators like the ZAR:USD exchange rate and the price of Brent crude oil will be examined. What we found particularly interesting was the resilience of both company’s share prices in the challenging global economic climate. We mention the factors that insulated each share from the global downturn. We then turn our attention to South Africa’s economic environment and examine the extent to which the foregoing global factors impacted on South Africa’s macroeconomic policy landscape. The two variables that we pay particular attention to are the local repo and CPI rates. We address the extent to which changes to these local variables impacted on the share prices of SABMiller and Rainbow Chicken. As mentioned in the first paragraph, our analyses consider the industries in which both companies operate by comparing their share prices with those of their nearest competitors. Our company analyses focus on internal considerations and the strategic objectives detailed in SABMiller’s and Rainbow’s annual reports for the 2009 and 2010 financial year ends. In our analyses of each company’s share price, we remain mindful of the fact that, although not directly responsible for the share’s daily performance, the objectives and calibre of management nevertheless impact on the share price. We conclude each analysis with a justifiable prediction of the expected trajectory of each company’s share price. The concentric eclipses in the diagram below depict the logical progression of our assignment’s structure, beginning with the outer-most eclipse. The diagram also shows the inter-relatedness of each eclipse relative to the other and how it is impossible to isolate the effects of one from the other. This reinforces the aphorism that: â€Å"in Economics everything is related to everything else; and usually in more ways than one. † The Global Environment [pic] Source: www. eia. doe. gov The price of Brent crude oil has been steady at an average level of $70 to $80 a barrel until November 2010. Since December 2010, the oil price has been rising, reaching a peak of $120 / barrel in April 2011. This has been partly due to uprisings in the Arab world, which holds the majority of global oil reserves. The oil price affects domestic inflation as fuel and energy are a major component of South Africa’s CPI basket. The price of petrol, which is based on oil prices, also raises logistical costs. SABMiller and Rainbow paid more to transport their products in the December 2010 to May 2011 period as a result of the spike in oil prices. It stands to reason that these higher transportation costs would be passed on to consumers as higher product prices by both companies. pic] Source: www. xe. com The graph above shows that the Rand has been strengthening relative to the US Dollar from 1USD:10ZAR to 1USD:6,3ZAR between March 2009 and May 2011. The strong rand has had a favourable impact on our terms of trade as can be seen from the self-explanatory graph below which depicts the Balance of Payments. The company analyses below reveal that SABMiller exports and imports a number of its brands across the world. Rainbow Chicken imports the soy component of its chicken feed wholly from Argentina. The rand’s strength impacts on both companies’ performances (and hence) their share prices favourably. [pic] [pic] Source: www. resbank. co. za The South African Environment Domestic interest rates [pic] Source: www. resbank. co. za The graph above shows that the Reserve Bank’s stance to monetary policy has been expansionary. This is shown by the gradual decline in the repo rate from 9,5% in March 2009 to its current level of 5,5% in May 2011. The Reserve Bank’s mandate is to keep the inflation rate within its target band of 3% to 6% and it uses the repo rate as the instrument with which to impact inflation. The Reserve Bank’s lowering of the repo rate is due to the CPI breaching its upper target limit of 6%. This is shown in the graph below. There is a positive relationship between the repo rate and CPI. It stands to reason, therefore, that the gradual lowering of the repo rate would be accompanied by a decline in the CPI rate. This is indeed the case. However, because of lags, the effect of a fall in the repo rate on the inflation rate is not reflected immediately and the CPI remains significantly above the upper limit. A fall in the repo rate eases pressure on consumers by raising their disposal incomes since they, theoretically, spend less on their credit commitments. All things being equal, this would raise the sales volumes of SABMiller’s and Rainbow’s products. Domestic Inflation [pic] Source: www. statssa. gov. za The graph above depicts the trend in inflation. It is clear that although the inflation rate has been on a downward trajectory (following the lowering of the repo rate) it was in breach of the upper limit of 6% from March 2009 to Oct 2009. It was within the target band in November 2009 but breached the upper limit again between December 2009 and February 2010. The latter breach is attributable to the market’s inflation expectations because of the steep increase in electricity tariffs during this period (www. eskom. co. za). As mentioned previously, the biggest components of South Africa’s CPI basket are food and fuel and the graphs below will be used to explain the impact of inflation on SABMiller’s and Rainbow’s performance specifically. CPI indicator relevant to SAB Miller pic] Source: www. statssa. gov. za This graph shows that inflation for alcoholic beverages has not only been consistently higher than the upper limit of the inflation target band, it has also been significantly higher than the country’s inflation rate. This is due to the fact that a major component of the price of alcohol is a â€Å"sin tax†, which is imposed by the finance ministry, because of the relative ly inelastic nature of the price elasticity of demand for alcohol as well as irresponsible and excessive consumption patterns. For some consumers, even a sharp increase in the price of alcoholic beverages does not result in a fall in the quantity demanded. There would, in all likelihood, be a shift away from the consumption of relatively more expensive alcoholic beverages towards relatively cheaper alcohol – not a complete cessation in the consumption of alcohol. This is one of the reasons that SABMiller’s share price has shown steady gains relative to the market. CPI indicator relevant to Rainbow Chicken [pic] Source: www. statssa. gov. za Consumer food price inflation decelerated sharply from December 2010. It is also interesting to note, that between January 2009 and January 2010, the prices of wheat fell by 24,58%, maize by 22,57% and sunflower seeds by 18,49% (www. finweek. co. za) Decreases in the prices of these staple foods has a positive impact on the poor as they spend 33,4% of their incomes on food; versus the rich who spend a mere 2,6% of their incomes on food. Poor people consume relatively more chicken than red meat because the latter is relatively more expensive. Chicken is the cheapest form of protein in South Africa and demand for it is high (www. astralfoods. com). Furthermore, the above staple foods are used as chicken feed which is a significant input cost for Rainbow Chicken, therefore the company has had cost savings because of bumper crops and the consequent price decreases in these commodities. The table on the following page clearly accounts for the nearly vertical decline in the graph above which shows food price inflation. [pic] Source: www. resbank. co. za GDP – South Africa [pic] [pic] Source: www. statssa. gov. za The graphs above show that South Africa was in a recession in 2009, as defined, because of the two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth. Our recovery from the global recession was due to the fact that we had a low exposure to the sub-prime market crisis that was responsible for the global meltdown. Our banking and macroeconomic policies remain robust. The growth in the economy from the third quarter of 2009 is also due to infrastructural investments that were made for the 2010 Soccer World Cup as well as South Africa’s contributions to the BRIC emerging markets bloc – especially our trade with China. It is expected that our formal inclusion to the BRICS nations since April 2011 will maintain the upward trend in GDP (www. lobalsherpa. org). Positive GDP growth has a positive impact on the performance of SABMiller’s and Rainbow’s shares. In a boom everyone does well. SABMiller, in particular, has a presence in all five BRICS nations and is poised for growth as emerging market economies have overtaken developed economies in their contributions to global GDP. We now examine SABMiller’s s hare price in more detail and then turn our attention to Rainbow Chicken in light of the foregoing discussions on the global and local environments. Analysis of SABMiller pic] SABMiller is a global operation covering 75 countries on six continents and employing over 70 000 people. Its portfolio of businesses is divided into six regions and is well balanced between developed and emerging markets. Between them, the businesses produce over 200 different brands and sell 213 million hectoliters of lager a year. Since listing on the London Stock Exchange 10 years ago the company has grown substantially and has a market capitalisation of ZAR 419,837,700,000 on the JSE and GBP 36,099,310,000 on the LSE. The company’s markets range from developed economies such as the USA to the fast growing BRICS economies (SABMiller Annual Report, 2009). SABMiller is also the number one bottler of soft drinks for The Coca Cola Company. The breweries market can be seen as oligopolistic in nature since SABMiller and its three main competitors (Heineken, Anheuser-Busch InBev and Carlsberg) are the dominant players in the market and have significant market share amongst them. The oligopolistic market structure has a positive impact on the company’s operations and share price performance. In North America, SABMiller (through its strategic partners) is the second-largest brewer in the United States and owns nearly 30% of the US beer market. In Latin America, it is the number one brewer by market share. In the majority of the ten European countries in which it operates, the company is the number one or number two brewer by market share. The same holds for Africa and Asia. In the 2009 annual report Mayer Kahn, the Chairman of the Board, stated that the global brewing industry was expected to continue to consolidate and that participation in industry consolidation provides opportunities to enter growth markets and to create value from scale benefits. The graph below shows SABMiller’s share price relative to its three main competitors. It is clear that all four companies’ trajectories have moved in tandem but Carlsberg’s share price has significantly taken the lead with SABMiller in second place. At the turn of the century, the top 10 brewers accounted for just over one-third of global beer sales volumes. The past decade has seen a rapid consolidation, resulting in the top four brewers – Anheuser-Busch InBev, SABMiller, Heineken and Carlsberg – accounting for almost 50% of beer sales volumes and up to 75% of the global profit pool. (SABMiller Annual Report, 2010) [pic] Source: www. heineken. com Mr Kahn attributes the company’s good results (in both 2009 and 2010) to the operational strengths of the businesses and the power of their leading local brands. He concedes that even though SABMiller was not immune to the global crisis, beer is a fairly resilient product which placed the company in a better position than many to weather the storm. He goes on to say: â€Å"Thanks, partly, to our long experience of emerging markets, we are used to operating under difficult conditions. If we look back ten years to our London stock market listing, it is worth remembering that the Asian currency crisis at that time had shaken investor confidence in emerging markets and that the outlook was far from encouraging. Nevertheless, we prospered and grew and achieved the international expansion that our listing was intended to facilitate. Ten years on, our geographic spread is proving to be an advantage in that different countries are affected by the crisis at different rates and to differing degrees. So while demand in Europe has dropped sharply, countries in emerging markets such as Africa and Asia have fared relatively well despite falling back from the high – one might say unsustainable – rates of growth of recent years. † SABMiller Annual Report, 2009 In short, SABMiller’s diverse spread of businesses, strong market positions, and a portfolio of leading brands mitigated against the risks and negative consequences of the global downturn and contributed to the steady upward momentum in the share price. In response to the mismatch between the supply of, and demand for, certain brewing and packaging raw materials in Africa, the company is increasingly using locally grown crops such as sorghum and cassava to produce affordable brands. This is done to minimise supply shortages and the price volatility of key raw material inputs. Continued robust pricing and productivity enhancements offset increased commodity costs (SABMiller Annual Report, 2010). It comes as no surprise, therefore, that the combination of the above factors resulted in a steady upward trend in the company’s share prices on both the London and Johannesburg bourses in the period under review as seen in the graphs below. [pic][pic] Source: www. sabmiller. com In 2010, Mr Kahn had similar good news for investors, citing the same reasons as for 2009. However he mentions the company’s management team as being a key contributor to the positive results: This year, in addition, we have benefited from management’s ability to reduce costs and selectively increase prices in order to maximise revenues†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Source: SABMiller Annual Report, 2010 In the third paragraph of our Executive Summary, we mentioned that the management of any company is not responsible for the share price. However, in fulfilling its primary objective of maximising shareholder value, the credibility of and strategies employed by management invariably have an impact on the share price. It would appear that the management and directorship of SABMiller are market-friendly. The members of the executive team are representative of each of the continents in which the company operates; with Mr Cyril Ramaphosa and Dr Dambisa Moyo as the notable representatives for Africa. Other market-friendly strategies include the December 2009 announcement that 8. 45% of the shares in SABMiller’s South African subsidiary, The South African Breweries Ltd (SAB), would be placed under Black ownership as part of its commitment to Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment in South Africa. This transaction created 40,000 new shareholders among SAB employees and qualifying retailers. The deal also created a charitable foundation that holds 18% of the shares that were issued under the transaction. The dividend income will be used for the benefit of the wider South African community (SABMiller Annual Report, 2010). The company also capitalised on the strength of emerging markets (particularly in China and Africa) by channeling its growth strategies to these markets. â€Å"Globally, the beer market grew by 1. 5% in 2010, led by a continuing strong performance in Asia, Africa and Latin America. China grew by 6. 5%, Africa by 3. 1% and Latin America by almost 3%. Western Europe continued the trend of declining beer volumes, driven by a shift in consumption to other beverages and the decline of on-premise consumption. † Source: SABMiller Annual Report, 2010 In the 2010 financial year the company acquired four new breweries in China, invested in new breweries in Tanzania, Mozambique, Angola and Southern Sudan and carried out expansions and upgrades in Uganda and Zambia. The trends in the graphs depicting SABMiller’s share price on both the London and Johannesburg Securities’ Exchanges (given above) require no further explanation. With good management being both a contributory factor to and a consequence of the share’s strong performance, it is reasonable to conclude that the positive momentum will continue. [pic] Analysis of Rainbow Chicken [pic] Rainbow Chicken Limited is the largest processor and marketer of chicken in South Africa. It is a fully integrated broiler producer that breeds and rears its own livestock which it feeds from its own feed mills. Rainbow processes, distributes and markets fresh, frozen, value-added and further-processed chicken. The company has a market capitalisation of ZAR 6 124 893 000 009 was a very challenging year for the South African poultry industry, both locally and globally. The local chicken industry was negatively impacted by the fall in demand due to the recession. An oversupply by local producers and increased imports due to the strong rand also added to the industry’s woes. These difficult market conditions were a further test of Rainbow’s differen tiated brand strategy, which through its foodservice and consumer brands, seeks more consistent, profitable and sustainable business (Rainbow Chicken Annual Report, 2009). Despite these challenges, Rainbow managed to deliver an acceptable overall performance. Positive performance, like a rally in the share price, is a function of several variables and while we can make inferences about the correlation between the two, we make no such inferences about their causality. Like SABMiller, Rainbow’s Black Economic Empowerment transaction (which was concluded in July 2008) was market-friendly and boosted the company’s share price. Rainbow provided vendor financing for a 15% equity stake that was issued to a consortium that was constituted by its employees, Imbewu Consortium, Ikamva Labantu, and Mrs M Nhlanhla, a non-executive director. The BBBEE transaction resulted in the share price rallying from R12. 0 to R16. 80 in the latter period of the second quarter of the 2009 financial year as shown in the graph on the following page. 2010 was an equally challenging year for Rainbow but its effects were mitigated by South Africa’s steady recovery from the recession, a lower interest rate and inflationary environment. Maize prices d eclined since their peak in July 2008. The global financial crisis caused a dramatic decrease in the demand for maize, improving the previously dangerously low US and global maize stock situations to such an extent that international prices fell sharply from their record levels. Rainbow Chicken, Annual Report, 2010). The fall in maize prices, which is a major component in chicken feed, resulted in a reduction in the company’s input costs which boosted the bottom line. Local producers added significant production capacity for wheat, grain and soy over the past five years. Rainbow imports the soya component of its chicken feed from Argentina and it has a significant FOREX exposure. The strong rand, however, in the period under review, has been in the company’s favour. The company’s 2010 annual report reflected acceptable profit margins. In both 2009 and during 2010, the company’s share price maintained its upward momentum as reflected in the graph below. [pic] |Key Features – Rainbow Chicken Share Price | |Year |Low |High | |2009 |11500 |16800 | |2010 |15900 |16900 | The graph and table above confirm the findings in the preceding paragraphs. Although the difference between the year’s highest share prices is negligible, South Africa’s economic recovery may be gleaned from the fact that the lowest share price for 2010 was 4400c above the 2009 low. Consumer’s disposable incomes were higher in 2010 because of falling interest and inflation rates. Falling input costs and increased consumer demand increased the appetite for the company’s shares as investors’ expectations of earning better returns were supported. Other events that led to sharp movements in the company’s share price include the market’s speculative expectations immediately prior to the announcement of the group’s 2009 results. After the results were announced, the share price dropped to R13. 90 because of the 39. 6% decline in headline earnings. The reason for this decline in earnings can be attributed to the company’s policy of buying feed products forward. The share price stabilised for the remainder of 2010 due to an increase in the multitude of families that joined the ranks of South Africa’s middle class. As the middle class grows in size, so the taste of chicken diversifies allowing entrepreneurs to come up with new ways of marketing chicken to end consumers. We now turn our attention to Rainbow’s competitor, Astral Foods, to get a better idea of the South African poultry industry before making conclusions about how justifiable a continued rally in Rainbow’s share price is. Astral Foods is Rainbow Chicken’s nearest competitor. The company holds investments in subsidiary and joint venture companies. Its primary activities are animal feed pre-mixes, the manufacturing of animal feeds, broiler genetics, the production and sale of day-old broiler chicks and hatching eggs, integrated breeder and broiler production operations, abattoirs and the sale and distribution of various key poultry brands. Its current market capitalisation is R5,5 bn (www. moneyweb. co. za) Despite a 5% drop in sales volumes, revenue for Astral Foods’ poultry division increased by 13% for the 2009 financial year. (Astral Foods Annual Report, 2009). The market was neutral about the appointment of Chris Schutte as the Chief Executive Officer, effective 1 May 2009. The share price was also not responsive to the appointment of Daan Ferreira as the Financial Director. This may be because it was not perceived to be mindful of BBBEE. The improvement in Astral Foods’ revenue for the 2010 period was largely attributable to a sustained growth in volume. The volume growth was on the back of improved production results supported by better poultry health status. Depressed consumer spending, together with higher levels of imports and high local stock levels, contributed to vigorous promotional activity with prices at levels below historical levels. Reduced feeding costs during the period countered the effects of lower poultry selling prices. A lengthy period of industrial action at Earlybird Standerton negatively impacted the company’s share performance. (Astral Foods Annual Report 2010) |[pic] | |The graph above shows the steadily upward trend in Astral Foods share price. Not surprisingly, it follows a similar pattern to Rainbow | |Chicken’s share price – with pronounced sell-offs in the first and second quarters of 2009 and improvements thereafter. This pattern | |provides comfort because of the consistency of both company’s responsiveness to events in the poultry industry. It would be concerning if | |the companies had different trajectories. The consensus amongst analysts is that the South African poultry industry is poised for | |significant growth given that the price of chicken has risen by 30 per cent year-on-year while the cost of feed has come down. We | |anticipate that Rainbow’s share price will maintain its upward trend. | | | BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Astral Foods Limited Annual Report, 2009. www. astralfoods. com 2. EIA Independent Statistics and Analysis, US Energy Information Administration, www. eia. doe. gov 3. www. eskom. co. za 4. www. finweek. co. za/Economy/Food-inflation-still-a-concern-20100301 5. www. globalsherpa. org/china-africa-brics 6. www. heineken. com 7. www. moneyweb. o. za 8. Rainbow Chicken Limited Annual Report, 2009 and 2010, www. rainbowchicken. co. za 9. Reserve Bank Quarterly Bulletin March 2011,www. resbank. co. za 10. SABMiller PLC Annual Report, 2009, www. sabmiller. com 11. SABMiller PLC Annual Report, 2010, www. sabmiller. com 12. Statistics South Africa, Statistical release P0141, www. statssa. gov. za 13. www. xe. com [pic] ———————– Economics Assignment 2011 GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT LOCAL ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY / COMPETITORS COMPANY SHARE PRICE

The panama canal

Since the United States began to feel an upcoming conflict with Spain, we were prepared to go to war. They decided to send the US Oregon from California to Cuba only there was one issue.. The voyage would take over 60 days and 14000 miles to land on Cuba. Not only that but in this process the US Oregon had to stop in South America multiple times to fuel up on coal. At this point the U. S new it was time for a change. They found a way to cut their voyage nearly in half by making a canal that connected the Atlantic to the Pacific.This makes transporting goods, and essential supplies a much quicker process. Incidents leading up to the event†¦ The French were really the masterminds behind this constructions. They started the entire process towards making the canal but in the process, they ran into some issues and went bankrupt. Later on the U. S decided to pick up were the French left off. After getting everything approved in the U. S, Colombia denied us of any right to the property on which the construction was being done. This led up to the Panamanian people rebelling and winning their independence. This now allowed theU. S to finally get a start on completing the canal. What occurred during the construction? The construction finally began in 1904 with over 40,000 workers on the construction site. These workers had to deal with not only Jungle weather but as well as all the dangerous Jungle wildlife there was out there. There was very high temperature, unstable land, and very frequent rain. Sometimes if would rain so often that the river would flood; making construction very difficult. Therefore they built a dam to help with the over flow of water and this defiantly but them back on track with the construction.Despite the numerous accounts for trying to make work conditions safer, over 5,000 workers died due to diseases and accidents on the Job. Results of the Canal†¦ The construction of the canal cost America over $375 million dollars, only now their v oyage was only 40 miles to their destination. They cut the trip by 8,000 miles which is more than half of watt it would have been before. This canal helped the U. S move about much quicker and we had the full support of Latin America. Although in 1914 (official opening) the canal was guarded by the U. S military, it now belongs to the Panamanian but is still used as a trade route for the U. S.

Jazz Concert Reflection Essay

Jazz is a musical style that began in African American communities in the southern United States around the beginning of the twentieth century. It was a new style of music that brought together music traditions from West Africa and Europe. Some of its West African musical influences give jazz its unique sound. Jazz has many different elements, which are improvisations, swinging, using blue notes, and combining different rhythms. I attended The Bill and Helen Murray Jazz Residency Program featured Ellery Eskelin on the Saxophone with Susan Acorn on the pedal steel guitar and Michael Formanek on the acoustic bass and The Towson University Jazz Faculty Ensemble Featuring Dave Balloy on the trumpet, flugelhorn, and piccolo trumpet, Jim Mc falls on the trombone and baritone, Tim Murphy on the piano, Jeff Reed on the bass and last but not least, Frank Russo on the drums and cymbals. At each concert about four songs were performed. The musical elements in both performances that classify the music I heard as jazz were the swing rhythms and improvisations. The Jazz Residency Program was based on improvisations. Each player at this concert; had the ability to instantaneously compose, revise and perform their parts amazingly. As Ellery played the Sax, Susan and Michael played their instrument spontaneously creating fresh melodies. At the Jazz Faculty ensemble, the musicians played songs that were previously written. Their musical styles were mostly bebop and swing with lots of call and respond. Jim Mc falls would play his trombone and all group members would follow after him. The song â€Å"Moodly† sounded like bebop, because there were a lot of bass drum bombs and tonal clashes. â€Å"Marsch der freien Sound Fur Funf Instrumente† was also a bebop song that was played with extended harmonies and tonal clashes. Some of the non-traditional jazz elements that I heard were played at both of the Jazz Concerts. Susan Acorn played the pedal steel  guitar, which I found to be a non-traditional element. The sound was completely different from what I had ever heard before. At the Jazz Faculty Ensemble, Dave Ballou played the Piccolo Trumpet for the last piece â€Å"Conversion†. The high-pitched sound made the song slur and blend with soft melodies. Listening to each concert, gave me two totally different experiences. The Jazz Residency concert was all improvisations, so it didn’t remind me of any of the music I had heard before. The Jazz Faculty ensemble was a reminder of music styles like Art Tatum, John Coltrane, and Duke Ellington. When they played Hamster in a bucket it’s reminded me of â€Å"In a Mellotone† by Duke Ellinton. Then Dave Ballou played the trumpet in the song â€Å"Cry Baby† like Miles Davis played the trumpet in the song â€Å"So What†. In conclusion, the quality of both performances was outstanding. Each performance was completely different and that’s what I loved. The jazz residency program was completely improvised, leaving me opened and surprised at every note each player chose to play. The Jazz Faculty Ensemble’s songs had a distinctive vibe. They made the sounds of their music come together and I felt the rhythm. I would defiantly pay to see each performance again. I left the concerts smiling, because I felt as if I knew exactly what they were trying to accomplish with their music. The two ensembles I attended featured some of the most talented musicians I ever heard performing at Towson University.

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Conspiracy theory about aliens - Research Paper Example However, since there is no hard evidence for their existence, hence this paper argues that aliens are not real. It is very logical to be skeptic on the issue of the existence of aliens, because their existence is such a statement that is extraordinary, and any statement that is extra ordinary requires extraordinary evidence, which has never been put forward. Once in a blue moon, somebody sights strange lights in the sky, or an aircraft maneuvering in a bizarre fashion before disappearing, or a weird object lying in a desolate place, and calls it evidence that the earth is being visited by extraterrestrial beings called aliens. Is it logical enough to call these claims as hard evidences leading to the existence of aliens? Unbelievable. Vaeni (371) states: â€Å"Aliens aren’t real, they’re hallucinations and misinterpretations. They are a pop culture phenomenon. They are a conspiracy from the government†¦Ã¢â‚¬  There are a lot of activities that humans are conducting in space for the sake of research, scrutiny and security; and, sighting some of these moves and calling them extraterrestrial activities is purely unreasoned, irrational and humorous. Moreover, it is not rational to believe that life can exist in the form of beings like us or other forms in other planets, where there is no air, water or food. Research has been done which proves that there is no such thing found in other planets that may be able to support life in any form. Srivastava (79) writes in his book: â€Å"Our earth is a unique planet; we have all those conditions, which are not found on any other planet. Here we have air, water soil and minerals, moderate temperatures suitable for sustaining life on earth.† Then, how is it possible that life exists on other planets? It is matter of common sense that since earth can support life, human beings can sustain life and become individuals that use modern tools and technologies to bring comfort to their lives. The conditions of earth support

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Wireless Deployment Plan - Term Paper Example Both users and administrators have experienced increased value in learning institutions. The efficiency is achieved by proper deployment of the wireless network through a wireless deployment plan. A wireless network provides an ideal and effective connection given the mobility of students and the staff (Cisco, 2010). This requires a wireless deployment solution that will address the wireless network security, management, deployment, and control of deployment aspects. It is important to note that the deployment should combine the best elements of secure wireless networking and wired networking that is capable of delivering scalable secure and efficient wireless networks on low total cost. This report provides a wireless deployment plan for a higher institution of learning with one campus but with several buildings (Cisco, 2010). The wireless deployment plan provides a framework through which the network can be installed and implemented. Additionally it entails the management, maintenance and control procedures for the network. Most importantly, the plan entails the requirements to implement the wireless network. The wireless technologies that can be adopted for such a network include 802.11 Standard (Cisco, 2010). Best wireless networks are delivered through a well-planned deployment strategy. This wireless deployment plan provides the structure for the campus wide wireless network solution that will be used by both the students and the staff. The deployment plan purposely addresses the strategy of implementing the wireless network. It enhances security in the wireless network and provides management and maintenance frameworks (Brocade Communications Systems, Inc., 2010). Wireless networks are highly sensitive to overlapping frequencies therefore; the use of wireless technologies must be planned. The purpose of this deployment plan is to

Cellular Mobile Communications Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Cellular Mobile Communications - Essay Example However, the question â€Å"how cell phone works† emerges in the minds of people (Brain, Tyson and Layton). The main intention of this research is to discuss and provide a detailed analysis of the new cellular telephony technology, mobile communication principles, cellular system architectures, and cellular system components that participate in establishing cellular mobile communications. Brain, Tyson, & Layton (2009) stated that it is a really interesting fact that cellular mobile communication technology is an advanced form of radio. In other words, it can be said that new mobile phones are very complicated radio; however it is not a radio. In addition, Alexander Graham Bell invented the present telephone system in 1876, and Nikolai Tesla invented the wireless communication technology and radio in 1880s. However, it was simply natural that telephone and wireless communication technology have been combined to presently offer us a great technology and communication advantage (Brain, Tyson and Layton; Hagn and Markwitz; Turban, Leidner and McLean). The fundamentals of mobile and cellular technology employ the traditional radio spectrum using the mobile system operators for offering the mobile services.  However, the mobile technology spectrum is normally recognized as a scarce resource.   In addition, it has conventionally been shared by different industries, such as mobile communications, broadcasting and the military. In 1993, at the World Radio Conference (WRC), the radio spectrum sharing intended for 2G mobile were decided based upon on expected expansion at the time.   In addition, at the World Radio Conference 2000, the declarations was passed regarding the enhancement in the spectrum and capacity to be employed for 3G, by permitting the utilization of present 2G radio spectrum blocks intended for 3G mobile technologies as well as offering and allocating 3G spectrum to an higher limit of 3GHz (ITU; Gupta and

Marketing Campaign for a Successful Product Launch Essay - 3

Marketing Campaign for a Successful Product Launch - Essay Example outhern Africa market will seek to inform the senior management team of the multinational company on how each of the selected promotional tool is appropriate in accomplishing the marketing objectives as well as the overall business objectives. Secondly, the manager in-charge of the South African market will demonstrate in this report how the recommended promotional tools will be implemented in order to make the marketing campaign successful. In most occasions when a business enterprise seeks to venture into a new market or it is about to release a new brand of product or service into the market, it usually engages in aggressive marketing campaigns. The marketing campaigns are mainly intended to create greater hype in the market, which will make the target audience eager to try or experience the newly released product and/ or service. In addition, the marketing campaign should be able to sustain the long-term growth of the business in the market or increased sales of the new product and/ or service. This therefore means that the marketing campaign should be devised properly in the first place to guarantee success of the entire process; this is according to Hollensen (2010). In this present report, Nokia’s manager for the Southern Africa market seeks to convince the company senior management team that the promotional tools he has picked are the most appropriate and effective in ensuring that both Nokia Lumia 920 and 820 record success in the South African market. For the purpose of carrying out a successful marketing campaign in South Africa, the manager in charge of the Southern Africa market picked four promotional tools that comprise of advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing, and public relations. Hollensen (2010) in her studies described advertising, as any form of marketing communication that is used to reinforce what the target audience already knows about the product or service, and to convince, or encourage the target audience to purchase the

Network Routing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Network Routing - Assignment Example A working and configuration of a routing protocol shall also be elaborated. PROTOCOL: The protocol that is given for the completion of the task is Open Shortest Path First (OSPF). It falls in the category of link-state routing protocol. So we shall start with some information on what is link-state. LINK-STATE Link-state is a mechanism that follows the condition and connection type of every connected link and develops a metric calculation that is based on some factors that also included the factors that were set by the network engineers. The functionality of the link-state protocols is that it knows the status of the link, whether it is up or down and what is its bandwidth and calculates a cost to use that path. As we know that every router run routing protocols to find out the best path to the destination, one can consider the 'link-states' as representing the status of the interfaces on the router. (Davis, 2002) The functionality of a link-state protocol is this that it may take a p ath with more number of hops, but uses the medium that has higher bandwidth than all the other paths even with lowest number of hops. Due to the features of media type awareness and other factors, these protocols consume more processing power and memory. Link-state influences all the routers that structure up the complete topology of the whole internetwork (or of the position where router is presently located), this means that every router contains the same information of the topology. Due to this whenever a change is occurred it is broadcasted to the entire topology.  This method of routing is known as shortest path first. Protocols that work on link-state mechanism are OSPF, EGP and BGP mechanism. KEY-POIINTS: It uses Dijkstra algorithm for the calculation of shortest path. (Zhang, 2011) Every router in the network builds up the complete topology in its routing table, thus each router contains equal amount of information. It consumes space and memory more than distance vector. I t is suitable for implementing in large networks. DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION The design of this network implements the virtue connection International School of Networking has a Chelmsford HQ in England and two remote sites in Mexico and Malaysia. Communication within the routers is via Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) that has fast convergence and is able to meet the demands of a large organization. The routing protocol is configured on all of the routers specified in the topology diagram and advertises to every host connected in the topology except the loopback interface attached to Chelmsford HQ. NETWORK DESIGN BACKGROUND This report is for the demonstration of network design for an International School of Networking (ISN). ISN has branch campuses at Mexico City and Kuala Lumpur. These branches are connected with Chelmsford HQ and each other. Requirement for this implementation was of an open standard routing protocol with fast convergence and support routing update security. Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) is the best solution for given scenario and also for large scale businesses having offices at different locations. In this network design topology three routers are interconnected logically and each router is further directly connected with two more networks. OSPF routing protocol is configured within the logical network: network topology from the network design above both the physical and logical network topology can be obtained. Using the above topology an IP-addressing scheme was created to accommodate the all the

Friction and the Variables of Friction Using a Wooden Block Essay Example for Free

Friction and the Variables of Friction Using a Wooden Block Essay I am going to perform an experiment on friction and the variables of friction using a wooden block, a piece of string and a Newton meter. I will test 3 variables: weight, surface area and surface texture. Each test will be repeated 5 times to get a fair range of results. Friction is the force of two objects rubbing together and slowing and/or stopping each other. The amount of friction produced depends on the appearance of its surface for example: The surface of the sandpaper has deep slopes and the surface of the paper has to move up and down those slopes to proceed, causing friction. My first test will be done to measure the affect of weight on the amount of friction between the block and the table top. The block ill be placed on the table and the Newton meter tied to it. Then the Newton meter will be pulled until the block starts to move and as soon as it does the amount of Newtons required to cause that movement will be recorded. This will be done 5 times then averaged. To make sure it is a fair test I will: use the same Newton meter and the same wooden block to avoid introducing other variables; I will also use the same section of table using the same side of the block every time. I will be vigilant of how I pull the Newton meter, the moving force should be parallel to the supporting surface because pulling it up will lessen friction and pulling it down will increase friction. I predict that as the weight on the block increases so therefore does the down force, increasing the amount of friction because it becomes more difficult for the ridges to pass over each and so a block with less/smoother ridges would find its passage a lot easier. When the experiment was carried out, as I predicted, when the weight on the block increased so therefore did the Newtons required to move it from a fixed position. The test was done with 2 Newton meters over 2 days. Using the same Newton meter was impossible as it broke. My results were as follows: Weight of block = 2.0N Weight T1(N) T2(N) T3(N) T4(N) T5(N) Average(N) Block 1.2 0.8 1 1 1 1 Block + 1N 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.8 2 1.7 Block + 2N 1.8 1.8 2.5 2.4 2.5 2.2 Block + 3N 2.2 2 3 3.2 3.3 2.7 Block + 4N 2.6 2.6 3.8 3.5 3.5 3.2 Block + 5N 2.8 3.5 4 3.5 3.6 3.5 In the first experiment weight was tested and a set of results produced. In this second experiment the surface area in contact with the desk will be tested. To obtain my results I will use the following method, the block will be placed on two sheets of paper a measured distance apart with a Newton meter tied to it. The block will then be pulled and as it begins to move the amount of Newtons required to cause this will be recorded. Each test will be done 5 times then averaged. To make sure it is a fair test I will; as the same Newton meter ensuring non-introduction of new variables, use the same side of the block, use the same two pieces of paper and make sure the blocks movement is parallel to the supporting surface. I predict that as the surface area of the block exposed to the desk increases so will the amount of Newtons required to move it because there will be more sharper ridges to pass over therefore requiring more Newtons. My results were as follows: Exp mm2 T(n) T2(n) T3(n) T4(n) T5(n) Avg(N) 11.3 0.5 0.9 1.1 1.2 0.7 0.88 22.6 0.6 0.6 1.1 0.7 0.6 0.92.72 33.9 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 0.9 1.08 45.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 0.9 1.1 1.06 56.5 1.1 1 0.9 0.7 0.6 0.86 68.1 1.1 1.1 0.9 1.1 0.6 0.96 My prediction on 1 or 2 of the results was correct or partially correct but on the whole I fear my prediction was incorrect as it seems the surface area (exposed to the desk) does not greatly affect the amount of Newtons that is required to move it, any affect it does have is not continual and seemingly erratic. The friction experiment has now been done with 2 variables: weight and surface area. I have now come to the third and final, surface texture. To test the affect of surface texture on friction, I will, Place the block on the surface with a Newton meter tied to it, the meter will then be pulled and as soon as the block shows signs of movement I will record the amount of Newtons needed. Each test will be done 5 times then averaged. To make sure it is a fair test I will: unless it breaks use the same Newton meter, I will use the same block and the same side of the block every time, I will use the same substance/type of substance for instance making sure the sandpaper comes from the same sheet. I will also keep the movement of the block parallel to the supporting surface. Although smoothness is hard to measure I predict that the smoother a substance is to the touch, the less friction will be produced, because the smoother a substance is to the touch the less sharp or outstanding the ridges are, therefore the less resistance they cause. Key Substances: Silicon based carbon paper: Si Emery paper: Bs Sand paper: S Table top: TT Plastic Bag: Pb Substance T1(N) T2(N) T3(N) T4(N) T5(N) Average Si 3 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.6 Bs 2 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.6 1.64 S 2 2 1.75 2 2 1.95 TT 1 1 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.94 Pb 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 As I predicted the smoother a substance feels to be, the less it causes resistance, as shown in the results. I followed my method very strictly any variation caused by my hand is small to negligible, and would not greatly affect the results. I have come to the conclusion that for a substance to reach minimal resistance it can achieve this being light weight, smoothly textured and have minimal contacting surface area with the opposing surface. If a substance is required to have maximum resistance it would be the opposite. I feel the experiment was performed rather well but there is room for improvement, to have maybe got fairer more accurate results I could have maybe repeated the experiment once or twice on all of them, then I would have more data to analyse giving me a better chance at accuracy. In all the three experiments instead of using the human hand to pull the Newton meter use a machine which would be less prone to inconsistency and use a table top free of blemishes. In the second experiment the block could have been placed on previously constructed platforms each measured to have 4 sides the same and those sides to be the measurements used meaning the non need of paper and a lot more accurate readings.

Techniques Used By Advertisers To Influence Consumer Behaviours Media Essay

Techniques Used By Advertisers To Influence Consumer Behaviours Media Essay The development of modern advertising from the late 19th Century was driven and heavily influenced by psychological advertising and the technological changes of the time. Inspired by World War I propaganda and behavioural psychology, psychological advertising aimed to build upon consumer fears, needs and desires to promote and sell goods. It is fundamentally the grounds from which modern advertising was built upon. Technologically, The Depression had ended and with it saw the beginning of mechanised production. This led to the introduction of corporate manufacturers who turned to advertising to create a demand for their products and services. Other influences that advertisers used to promote consumerism were the use of the breakdown of social barriers, building on and creating needs for consumers (whether this be material or social), creating images and ideals related to products and market targeting. It was a time of social change influenced by these new technologies and forms of ad vertising which saw traditionalistic standards and morals be replaced by a materialistic and consumer driven culture particularly in womens role in society. Of all the forms of advertising the insurgences of nationally branded goods have had the most impact in shaping a consumer driven culture. After the depression, which spanned between 1870 the late 1890s production became mechanised which inturn allowed for the mass production of goods. The changing nature and significance of consumption grew not from the autonomous changes in the life of the citizen or the family but from the intersection of such changes with the emergence of large scale consumer goods industries.  [1]  However, the industry began to overproduce and therefore advertising was required to encourage consumers to buy the products the manufacturers began creating their own demand for their products. They were the first to have large scale national campaigns with a strong emphasis on branding and product identification and many of the enterprises still maintain strong market domination (in the United States) and continue large-scale advertising campaigns. These inc lude: Proctor and Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, Campbell Soups and H.J Heinz.  [2]  With this influx of branding came a new style of advertising, there was less emphasis put on informing the consumer it was now about grabbing their attention making them feel like they need your companies product over the competition. As Schudson states eye catching appeal became a more vital attribute of a product, examples of which are; Good morning! Have you used Pears Soap? And National Biscuits, Lest you forget, we say it yet, Uneeda Biscuit. Slogans lead to the differentiation of almost identical products, creating a synonymous relationship in consumers minds. The late nineteenth century saw the introduction of the department store, this was a turning point for consumer industry as people were now shopping in a setting driven by choice and competition -one simply did not enter a shop and askà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦for an item. In the department stores, things were displayed and the shopper had a range of things to observe.  [3]  Due to this increase in consumer choice it fuelled an influx of advertising in newspapers as the department stores competed for the consumers attention. The need for product differentiation and therefore the advertising industry was evident. From the late 1880s techniques in advertising began to change. Editorial space in newspapers was dropped from seventy percent to fifty percent to allow more space for adverts and of this, twenty three was department store advertising  [4]  . Department store advertising was also responsible for pressuring newspapers to adopt new techniques in printing processes drawn from the poster. From 1867 large lithograph could be printed, allowing for larger type, illustrations and colour to be used in advertisements. Eventually they gave in and at the turn of the nineteenth century newspapers began dropping their column limitations allowing for the introduction of pictorial advertisements. This caused traditionalistic standards of advertising to disappear and give way to the vigorous inventiveness of advertisers as they sought new ways to promote goods and services.  [5]   One of these new ways of promotion was that of radio advertising. Radio had a strong presence in Britain due to the popularity of the BBC. However advertising through this medium had a negative stigma attached to it due to radio being viewed as a fundamentally cultural and entertaining medium. Radio advertising in Britain had begun with subliminal or sponsorship advertising in its cultural and entertaining programs with products and services being introduced through its radio dramas and entertainment (much like product placement in modern day television and films.)  [6]  Advertisers feared that there would be a negative reaction by the radio listeners for intruding in a medium that provided cultural, entertaining and educational resources. However once radio gained national coverage in the United States advertisers could not resist in the new medium to grab consumers attention. One of the main persuasions was radios ability to override consumers choice in viewing an advertisement , in comparison to print media if the consumer were tuned in to the radio they would hear the advertisement regardless of their interest in the product or service. The other persuasion was its ability to reach women during daytime programs. During this time, in the early 20th Century women were the decision makers when it came to consumer choices, they carried out the household shopping, and so there was an influx of advertisements appealing to the typical housewife. Radio as an advertising medium began to flourish during the 1920s and many of the large companies assisted their print ads with radio advertisements. Once advertising in radio was established there was now no media that was free of advertisings influence driving the notion of the 1920s as a consumer driven culture. Advertising techniques also included the endorsements of products by industry professionals. These advertisements normally featured some kind of medical professional or ministers testimony and they played on the idea of influencing the consumers emotions, creating an idea in their mind of the need for the product. At the turn of the 19th century patent medicine, like department stores were a fundamental part of the advertising. Essentially patent medicine advertising sought out to establish a comprehensible and memorable name for their product one which the consumer could remember and feel comfortable with. Secondly was the promise that the medicine was intended for, for example they promised to cure womens illnesses, colds and flues and various sexual ailments.  [7]  However, almost all of these products were unreliable and did not follow through with their promise and so advertising was needed in order for the products to be successful. Transportation, particularly the introduction of intraurban rail lines changed the spatial possibilities of daily life  [8]  . It allowed for people to work and shop further away than walking distance. It was an inexpensive and reliable transportation method and it caused a breakdown of social barriers the rich and the poor began travelling together.  [9]  These social barriers were also broken down through the portrayal of America as an affluent, classless society  [10]  in the advertisements of the early 1900s. The ads strived to convey the message that equality could be achieved as the middle-class could purchase the same product or service as that of the very rich. This was emphasised through slogans such as any woman can and every home can afford.  [11]  Domestic products were portrayed in a luxurious fashion and they borrowed characters and images from that of royalty in Europe. After the establishment of the mechanisation of production and new technologies were being supported, an influx of new inventions was released onto the market. Manufacturers identified that extensive advertising was required in order to create a demand for the products. These advertisements not only had to inform the consumer of the new technologies but they played upon new social standards particularly that of the modern day woman as many of the new inventions were electronic domestic appliances, for example; sewing machines, vacuum cleaners, washing machines and electronic stoves and ovens. The manufacturers aimed to demonstrate that by using these appliances more time would be left for the most fulfilling reward leisure time.  [12]  And so, advertisers placed less emphasis on the actual product and portrayed the housewife carrying out leisurely activities, as reinstated by Marchand The desirability of the depicted substitute activity was the very essence of the ads appeal.à ‚  [13]  In most of these types of advertisements the actual product was absent or inferior to the activity that resulted due to the use of the product or service. Evidence of this can be seen in the advertising campaign during the 1920s of the American Laundry Machinery Company. This campaign, which was printed throughout numerous mass-circulation magazines, accentuated the pleasures that would arise from sending the family washing to a commercial laundry service. These ads showed women enjoying sociable and entertaining activities as opposed to slaving away with the washing. A quote from an advertisement published by the Association of the Laundry Owners National asks women the question Does the weekly washday take its heavy toll of hours that you could spend so joyously, so profitably in other ways?  [14]  Apart from the associations logo, the actual task of washing is not illustrated in the advertisement. The advertisements of this time, in comparison to those prior to th e turn of the nineteenth century, emphasised less on factual information and more on the actual consumer. This emphasis on the consumer led to, what academics refer to as a consumer culture. Traditionalistic values of the morals and ethics of hard work and self-denial were being replaced by an emphasis on materialism and individual pleasures as the way of leading a happy and fulfilling life and many conservative critics believe that advertising was responsible for this new consumer driven culture.  [15]  In 1890 Weber wrote material goods have gained an increasing and finally an inexorable power over the lives of men as at no previous period in history.  [16]  Evidence of this can be noted from the success of the Listerine advertisements of the early 1920s where consumers were persuaded to use Listerine mouthwash to combat the so-called disorder of halitosis. At the time of these ads going to press sales of Listerine dramatically increased. The advertisements drove the consumer to discover a new need  [17]   something that without the advertisements the consumer would not ha ve strived to fulfil. Therefore it can be concluded that the success of these types of advertisements, whether it be creating a new disorder, as in the Listerine ads, or telling women that wash day will steal their youth and beauty play upon influencing the emotions of the consumer and creating in their minds a false need.  [18]   There are many arguments regarding advertisings influence on the society and culture during the first half of the twentieth century. Changes in the market due to new technologies and the increase in production created a need for advertising that prior to the time was not required by manufacturers. Techniques used to sell this influx of merchandise were effective and somewhat immoral in cases. There is no argument however to ignore that on a whole, particularly in the United States that the society of the time had become more material dominated and traditional standards of living were becoming less dominant. However there is not enough evidence to suggest that advertising caused a consumer culture but rather both the technological advancements and the influence of advertising and other mediums of the time drove the social change.

Concepts In Clinical Outcomes Nursing Essay

Concepts In Clinical Outcomes Nursing Essay Avedis Donabedians model presents an all-inclusive model of the relationship between variables that contribute to quality of care, healthcare costs and health status. Donabedians (1988) classical approach to the assessment of the quality of patient care within a hospitalization setting is comprised of three components, which include: structure, process, and outcome. The first two variables, structure and process, are labeled indirect variables by Dr. Tim Postema, because of their overall significance and contribution to the third variable, outcome (2005). To better understand Donabedians model, a brief overview of each variable will follow. The structural component is defined by the setting, which includes the attributes of material resources (such as facilities, equipment, and money), of human resources (such as the number and qualifications of personnel), and of organizational structure (such as medical staff organization, methods of peer review, and methods of reimbursement) (Dona bedian, 1988, pg. 1745). Examples of structural component may include but is not limited to the physical working environment itself, staffing mix and ratios of patients to nurse, and the organizational culture itself (institutional policies). The structural component of the model emphasizes characteristics of nurses involved in each patients care, certain characteristics of the patient as well as the organizational structure of the hospital in which the patient care was received (Duffy Hoskins, 2002). The second variable of consideration in Donabedians model (1988) the process component, which he defines as giving and receiving care (pg. 1745) is the specific intervention or interventions that are applied, which includes patient and provider participation. Finally, the third component of Donabedians model (1988) for assessing the quality of care is the outcome component of the model which is defined as the effects of care on the health status of patients and populations ( pg. 1745) . Now that the significant variables have been defined, a discussion of their relationship and how they apply to the assessment of patient quality of care will follow. Donabedians model attempts to explain health care quality in terms of outcomes that are measurable by the interrelationship between the structure, process and other attributable variables such as the improvement in a patients health status and satisfaction (1988). Donabedians model plays a significant role in the assessment of quality of care from the patients perception and is a high priority in the pay for performance reform that has occurred within the past decade (Wachter, Foster, Dudley, 2008), specifically from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). There is a lot of evidence to support Donabedians theory relative to the interrelationship between the process components, such as the care provided, and the outcome of the patients health leading up to their discharge from the hospital (Duffy Hoskins, 2003). Research posits that the three-part approach to the assessment of a patients quality of care is legitimately rooted in the relationship among the variables set forth by Donabedian: structure, process, and outcome (Duffy Hoskins, 2002). Donabedian proposed that good structure increases the chances of good process, and good process increases the chances of good outcomes (Donabedian, 1988, pg. 1745). Additional researchers substantiate this further in their research (Duffy Hoskins, 2002 and Postema, 2005). The findings of these researchers substantiated Donabedians framework through a variety of methodological approaches, yet were able to find the overarching correlations between factors of structure to produce positive outcome measures among patients. Thus, it can be concluded that utilization of Donabedians approach to the assessment of quality of care among hospitalized patients can assist in producing higher quality outcome measures, such as the problem facing many institutions relative to the number of medication errors. Donabedians model of structure, process, and outcome will be used to facilitate my endeavors in decreasing medication errors on the Psych-Med Unit (PMU) at St. Marys Health Care System. A detailed discussion of the appropriate variables will follow to provide a more thorough understanding of how the application of this theory will assist in the decreasing the number of medication errors Structure component Nurse characteristics The combination of higher education and years of experience in nursing improves health care outcomes, which include decreased medication errors, lower fall rates, and reducing mortality rates (Tourangeau et. al., 2006; Blegen, Vaughn Goode, 2001). Literature has identified studies that confirm that these certain nurse characteristics (higher education and experience) are related to better patient outcomes (Aiken, Clarke, Sloane, Silber, 2003; Tourangeau, Cranley Jeffs, 2006). Tourangeau et. al.s research (2006) found that more years in nursing experience has a significant and beneficial effect on patient health specifically on 30-day mortality rates in hospitals. Aiken et. al. (2003) found a statistically significant effect which postulates that with an increase in baccalaureate nurses in staffing which is associated with an increased awareness of the culture of safety, there was a decrease in mortality of patients within 30 days of admission. Nursing units with experienced nurse s had lower medication error rates (Blegen, Vaughn Goode, 2001). Patient characteristics Patient characteristics include polypharmacy and multiple diagnoses, including both medical and psychiatric diagnoses. Comorbid diagnosis are associated with the need for the patient to take more medication to manage symptoms and in turn, increases the risk of drug interactions, potential side effects and thus, the need for more medications, errors in the administration of medication, as well as difficulties with compliance upon discharge from the hospital (World Health Organization, 2011). According to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JACHO), polypharmacy can cause an increased risk for falls, hospitalizations and confusion and/or disorientation (2008, pg. 8). Dr. Joseph Parks, a director for comprehensive psychiatric services for the Missouri Department of Mental Health, commented that, polypharmacy issues within psychiatry occur because one provider does not know what the other provider is prescribing and is a significant factor that diminishes th e overall patients quality of care based on potential side effects and adverse interactions (JACHO, 2008, pg. 9). Literature has identified that with multiple physicians prescribing medications for one patient, there is increase in chance for medication errors and thereby, diminishing the patients overall quality of care. (Tamblyn, McLeod, Abrahamowicz Laprise, 1996). This issue is reliant upon patient report, as well as doctor inquiry and thus, the burden falls upon both parties in order to ensure high quality of care. Organization characteristics The organizational structure characteristics including staffing ratios, staffing mixes, hospitals policy on medication administration and the organizational culture itself can influence the outcomes of care (Duffy Hoskins, 2003). Throughout the years numerous studies have been conducted that show that a higher registered nurse mix was related to lower mortality because that demonstrates the professionalism and integrity of registered nurses (Tourangeau et. al, 2006, pg.5). Studies have shown that an increase in nursing staff providing care resulted in decreased mortality (Tourangeau et. al., 2006), which supports the necessity of higher ratio of registered nurses mix in staffing patterns. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (2008), whose mission is to improve health and healthcare for Americans, found that hospitals and health systems across the country have been working to achieve the culture of their organizations to develop supportive work environments that encourage nursing reten tion and improved quality of patient care. With a keen awareness of culture of safety often attributed to nursing professionals with higher educational degrees, there is an enhanced awareness that the safety of patients is the utmost priority and is highly valued on an organizational level. Because of the value placed on the culture of safety by health organizations and hospitals each year, staff and other health professionals need to continue to focus on improving their precision and skills utilized while caring for patients. In doing this, they become not only aware of potential medication errors, but also avenues to implement interventions to eliminate the tendency of potential risk all together (ISMP, 2006). Process component Bar code scanning As stated previously, process components is the giving and receiving of care (Donabedian, 1988). Relative to the ascribed problem outlined in this paper, the solution that has proven to improve medication administration and thus decrease medication errors is with barcode scanning systems for dosing and medication administration (ISMP, 2002). The ISMP (2002) asserts their confidence in the barcode scanning system by encouraging the use of the technology in any setting which medications are administered. The Institute of Medicine released a report in 2001 that suggested ways to use information technology to come through with a safer, more efficient way to prevent medication errors and improve healthcare quality with the automation of patient-specific clinical information (pg. 5). Medication administration errors are responsible for one-third of the errors (ISMP, 2002). According to the ISMP a bar coding and scanning system is a promising attempt at the reduction of errors in the stage of medication administration based on the accountability and accuracy of this technology (2002). At a patients bedside, bar code scanning identifies the patient, lists the medications ordered, checks for allergies or alerts for medication interactions, and electronically signs the patient record for the nurse (ISMP, 2002). Donabedians Assessment of Patient Quality Care: St. Marys Health Care System St. Marys in Grand Rapids already has this bar code scanning system. The issue on the PMU is the work arounds nursing professionals have implemented to make their medication administration easier. These work arounds are ways nurses can still administer medications without scanning the medication and/or patients identification band; despite the benefits it provides to the staff, it raises a variety of risks for the patient and puts them at greater danger for adverse medication reactions, multiple dosing, incorrect dosing, and so forth. There are other issues reported by nurses that make the work arounds essential, such as the all-too-common issues faced with the use of technology, that being technological malfunctions, limited availability despite the demand for the equipment, and sometimes merely, the time it consumes to find the equipment making the use of such technology more time consuming. As a registered nurse for over nearly 30 years, I can see that the bar code system has proven advantageous and significant in the quality of patient care based on the mere assumption that under hospital care, the utmost elite care is to be provided including medication administration. The bar code scanning procedure implementation enables nurses to look at the (medication/dosage) order, when it was last administered , the dosing, as well as if there are any potential medication interactions to be on the alert for, medication allergies, and whether there are any safety or physical maladies due to missed doses or inaccurate administration (ISMP, 2002). Finally, the technological advances provided for nursing professionals are implemented in order to better account for patient care and safety. The bar code and scanning system is computer-oriented and therefore, supplies a database and record for future use in the event there is any debate about the procedure utilized while hospitalized or even during hospitalization at an alternate hospital. Outcome component Literature has identified that there is an alliance between professional nursing care and positive health outcomes (Duffy Hoskins, 2003). Identifying ways to improve the process of medication administration can improve medication errors. Bar code scanning technology offers a productive way to avoid medications errors and increase patient safety (Begliomini, 2012). Measuring medication errors can be accomplished using many different processes; but with computer analysis of the patients information, measurement becomes much easier and more capable and feasible than error reporting or reviewing charts for purposes of accountability, prevention, and ongoing improvement of both process and clinical practice (Classen Metzger, 2003, pg. 41). In summary, the literature reinforces the idea that a decrease in patient medication errors is best accomplished by use of the bar code scanning for medication administration and therefore a responsibility for the nurse.

Infinity in a Nutshell :: Mathematics Math

Infinity in a Nutshell Infinity has long been an idea surrounded with mystery and confusion. Aristotle ridiculed the idea, Galileo threw aside in disgust, and Newton tried to step-side the issue completely. However, Georg Cantor changed what mathematicians thought about infinity in a series of radical ideas. While you really should read my full report if you want to learn about infinity, this paper is simply gets your toes wet in Cantor’s concepts. Cantor used very simple proofs to demonstrate ideas such as that there are infinities whose values are greater than other infinities. He also proved there are an infinite number of infinities. While all these ideas take a while to explain, I will go over how Cantor proved that the infinity for real numbers is greater than the infinity for natural numbers. The first important concept to learn, however, is one-to-one correspondence. Since it is impossible to count all the values in an infinite set, Cantor matched numbers in one set to a value in another set. The one set with values still left over was the greater set. To make this explanation more comprehendible, I will use barrels of apples and oranges as an example. Rather then needing to count, simply take one apple from a barrel and one orange from the other barrel and pair them up. Then, put them aside in a separate pile. Repeat this process until one is unable to pair an apple with an orange since there are no more oranges or vice versa. One could then conclude whether he has more apples or oranges without having to count a thing. (Izumi, 2)(Yes, it’s a bit egotistical to quote myself†¦) Cantor used what is now known as the diagonalization argument. Making use of proof by contradiction, Cantor assumes all real numbers can correspond with natural numbers. 1 ↠-----→ .4 5 7 1 9 4 6 3†¦ 2 ↠-----→ .7 2 9 3 8 1 8 9†¦ 3 ↠-----→ .3 9 1 6 2 9 2 0†¦ 4 ↠-----→ .0 0 0 0 0 6 7 0†¦ (Continued on next page) 5 ↠-----→ .9 9 9 9 9 9 9 1†¦ 6 ↠-----→ .3 9 3 6 4 6 4 6†¦ †¦ †¦ Cantor created M, where M is a real number that does not correspond with any natural number. Taking the first digit in the first real number, write down any other number for the tenth’s place of M. Then, take the second digit for the second real number and write down any other number for the hundredth’s place of M.

Dan Rather :: essays research papers

Before I begin, I'd like to thank the person who made it possible for me to be here with you all today. President Bill Clinton. By scheduling his trip to Moscow just so, I had enough of a pause between my trips to Japan and Oklahoma city and Russia that it was possible to make it to Hartford today. I'd also like to thank John Boyer. Somehow he got it into his head that I like Twain -- which I do -- and that I might know something about him -- which I don't. At least I am honest about it. However, you may want to consider that Mark Twain and I share certain unshakable philosphical similarities. We both lived in Connecticut for a while. We both like to fish. We both like to play hooky. We both like cigars. But Mark Twain's wife allowed him to light his cigars. (You can only imagine the sort of career I might've had if my wife let me light my cigars.owever, like the President, I am only permitted to chew mine.) I'm not unaware that the giving of lectures on Mark Twain is more commonly the sphere of academics. To be enjoyed by other academics. Academics can ask questions such as, "Was Huck black?" To which the rest of us would merely reply, "No." Academics prefer debate over simple questions. Academics aren't like you and me. At least, they're not like me. Such things are way over my head. I am a proud graduate of Sam Houston State Teachers College Huntsville, Texas. While those of us who went there know it to be the Yale or UConn of our part of the world, we're perfectly well aware that most people this far north have never heard of the place. Sam Houston State has about as much ivy growing on it as your average Burger King or McDonald's. I say all these things to underscore one thing. There may be great experts on the work of Mark Twain -- perhaps there are several in this room. But very few if any such great experts are graduates of Sam Houston State Teachers College. And I am not such a one. It's with that understanding that I proceed today. I don't pretend any expertise in the works of Mark Twain. I tend not to interpret much. I enjoy. In preparing for my visit I did a lot of reading and re-reading, and I did a lot of laughing out loud.

Why Should We Legalize Gay Marriage?

Why should we legalize gay marriage? Or, in other words, why isn't gay marriage legalized already? Same-sex marriage is just about as humane as opposite-sex marriage. One in ten people are gay. Seems perfectly normal to me. Is it normal to you? And anyway, why don't people like two gays marrying? Let's start out with the facts. The evidence. The nitty-gritty of all this debate. One out of ten people are gay or lesbian. So there's about twenty-eight people in this class, am I right? So that's at least two people that are gay, technically. But if your friend was gay, would you hate them for it?Would you turn around to be the face of injustice and all that is unfair? Would you be the person translating hate to your friend because he or she is homosexual? Would you be the so-called ‘friend' that is the image of degrading human rights? There's this other statement too, which really gets me. A heterosexual woman can get four or five marriages in her life, when two same-sex lovers can 't even get one. How does this work? Oh, religion, religion, religion, you crack us up in so many ways. Apparently, in the Bible, gay marriage is sin. Yet, you say: â€Å"God loves everyone. Yet, it's alright to SELL your children into slavery. Yet, it's alright to DISCRIMINATE someone because he or she likes the same sex. In some cases, religious people stroll around the streets of England with signs stating: â€Å"GOD HATES FAGS. † Is this fair? As Russell Howard once said: â€Å"Jesus isn't gay or straight, he's bisexual because he's in everyone. † What I'm about to say is a true story. Imagine a twenty-one year old student, blonde hair, brown yes, almost six feet in height and has a chiselled chin. This young lad's name is Matthew Shepard.Your average university student, am I right? One the night/morning of the 6th and 7th of October, he was attacked and brutally tortured. He passed away on the 12th of October from fatal head injuries. During the trail, witnesses expressed that Matthew was homosexual. Ask yourselves, is it right to slaughter an innocent person because they like the same gender? The two murderers, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson robbed, pistol-whipped and tortured Matthew, and then tied him to a fence in a rural area, leaving him to rot and bleed to death all on his own.After this, Aaron and Russell acquired Matthew's home address and were intending to burglarize his own home. My fellow students, look at me in the eyes, is this more humane than accepting your friend for being gay? Bullying is a common occurrence when students and teenagers admit they are homosexual. Stupid expressions like: â€Å"OI FAG, GO CRY ON YOUR BOYFRIEND'S SHOULDER! † can emotionally disturb someone. A so-called joke such as: â€Å"Eww, lok, there's the local lezzo. † can tear someone to pieces. Are you going to be that self-centered, halfwit who bullies someone because of their sexuality?Let me tell you this, this is one of the stu pidest mistakes you can make in life. Bullying someone is low. In fact, you could high-five the Devil because you stooped that low. In some cases, bullying takes a unusual turn of events and the victim bites back. Like Frankie Boyle said: â€Å"I would have loved to have a gay dad. Do you remember at school, there were always kids saying â€Å"My dad's bigger than your dad, my dad will batter your dad! † â€Å"So what? My dad will have sex with your dad. And your dad will enjoy it. â€Å"I envision a world where people can openly admit they are gay without feeling oppressed or scared of the reaction. I envision a world wherein homophobia ceases to exist. I envision a world where a same-sex marriage occurs without any fuss from religion and/or politics. I envsion a world where families will not abuse their child for being homosexual. This is why we should legalize gay marriage. By doing this, you are bringing more equality to the world, and you are bringing smiles to the fa ces of those who can now marry their dearly beloved.By accepting homosexuality instead of denying it, we are now creating a healthier atmosphere for all. I want to go home next week thinking that we have made a change for the lesbian, bisexual, gay and transsexual community for all. So, please, next time you see a gay or lesbian couple walking down the street, accept them and don't shout crude words at them. Next time, if you see a fellow student in school which rumours tell him or her is a ‘fag', don't jump on the abuse bandwagon. Because all this world needs is a bit of love. Thank you all for listening.

Individual and Group Test of Intelligence

Individual vs group test Individual intelligence tests * There are two major types of intelligence test, those administered to individuals and thsoe administered to groups. * The two main individual intelligence tests are the: Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test (see Murphy & Davidshofer, 2001, Chap. 13) Wechsler tests, i. e. WISC for children and WAIS for adults (see Murphy & Davidshofer, 2001, Chap. 13) * These are individual intelligence tests which require one-on-one consultation with the child.The tests involve various verbal and non-verbal subtests which can be combined to give an overall IQ, but which also provide valuable separate subtest scores and measures based on the behavioural responses of the child to the test items. * Some of the content of these tests is clearly culture-loaded, hence there is the:Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children – a more recent test which attempts to minimize cultural bias.The test also attempts to separate crystallised and fluid intellige nce. Group intelligence tests * Group-administered intelligence tests involve a series of different problems and are generally used in mass testing situations such as the military and schools. * Examples of group tests are: Multidimensional Aptitude Battery, The Cognitive Abilities test, Scholastic Assessment Tests * There has been a trend towards the use of multiple choice items.Many of theses tests have separately timed sub-tests. A major distinction made between types of items is verbal and non-verbal. In recent years there has been a trend away from verbal and mathematical items towards non-verbal represented problems in pictures. * Part of the reason for shifting away from verbal-based tests, in particular, is the issue of culture-loading. Advantages of group tests: * can be administered to very large numbers simultaneously * simplified examiner role scoring typically more objective * large, representative samples often used leading to better established norms Disadvantages of group tests: * examiner has less opportunity to establish rapport, obtain cooperation, and maintain interest * not readily detected if examinee tired, anxious, unwell * evidence that emotionally disturbed children do better on individual than group tests * examinee’s responses more restricted normally an individual is tested on all items in a group test and may become boredom over easy items and frustrated or anxious over difficult items * Individual tests typically provide for the examiner to choose items based on the test takers prior responses – moving onto quite difficult items or back to easier items. So individual tests offer more flexibility.

Education and Unemployment Essay

1. In your own opinions, suggest how you can manipulate the supply of educational opportunities as a policy variable. 2. Suggest policy considerations for the government in respect to educational expansions. 3. State the implications for international donor agencies. INTRODUCTION: Edgar Edwards and Michael Todaro argue that an investment in education past the literacy stage is an investment in idle resources. They have some good and bad arguments and below, I am going to critique their arguments critiquing their points with the help of facts, statistics and logical reason. Their main argument is that an investment in education is an investment in idle resources, since the number of unemployed has been rising as the number of people who pursue post-literacy education. ARGUMENT: The two writers have both good and not so good points in their argument against post-literacy education. Firstly, by saying that â€Å"the average level of education among the unemployed and underemployed appears to be rising, suggesting that the growing investment in educational systems is increasing an investment in idle resources†, it’s actually true. The average number of people who have pursued education higher than the primary school level, in this case, the literacy level, has been rising over the past few years. The table below shows the trends, as compiled by Kenya National Bureau of Statistics and UNESCO. | 1999| 2000| 2001| 2002| 2003| 2004| 2005| 2006| 2007| Primary School| 6,078,024| 6,078,024| 5,941,610| 6,062,742| 7,159,523| 7,394,763| 7,591,528| 7,632,113| 8,229,266| Secondary School| 724,758| 762,414| 753,525| 781,601| 882,513| 926,149| 934,149| 1,030,080| 1,180,267| TOTAL| 6,788,858| 6,840,438| 6,695,1335| 6,844,343| 8,042,036| 8,320,912| 8,525,677| 8,662,193| 9,409,533|. | 2003| 2004| 2005| 2006| 2007| 2008| 2009| Enrolment in University| 82,100| 91,500| 92,316| 112,229| 118,239| 122,847| 177,735| From the table, we can see that as from 2002 when the government introduced free primary education, the number of children enrolled in school sky rocketed, and so did the number of people who got the chance to attend secondary school. Edwards and Todaro also argue that â€Å"rapid expansion of formal education beyond literacy levels without constructive efforts to create meaningful employment opportunities is likely to generate political as well as educational unrest†. This is so because the number of people graduating from our universities is higher than the number of jobs being created in any specific year. Politics plays a big role in the educational sector, since the MP’s are the decision makers and moreso because the corrupt few reduce the funds available for development, or more funds are directed to developed areas rather than to the marginalised so as to help them develop. According to the book â€Å"Education and development in Africa†, it’s stated that so as to improve African countries, it’s not only the provision of education that matters, but also the quality of it. This is a determinant in the levels of unemployment, since those from well-off schools are regarded in higher esteem, as compared to those from schools that are not known for academic excellence, even though both candidates have the same credentials. This results in the candidate from a renowned school getting a job, while the other candidate misses out, creating unemployment. Unemployment is†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ while underemployment is†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..

Book Review: To Room Nineteen

In this way, Suntan's high and low points are drastically influenced by her social and physical situations. Suntan's life Is sprinkled with a series of high points all centered on her level of independence at that particular time. For example, her happiest moments In life transpire when she leads a semi-separate life from Mathew, she has a separate Job, friends, and apartment; her social and physical situations overlapped but were not dependent on Mathews at this time. Suntan's next moment of relief ensues when she comes across Mrs..Downtrend's motel, although the room itself was, â€Å"ordinary and anonymous† (Leasing 878) it's the social environment here that Susan craves; feeling detached from herself and almost reinvented gives her the temporary relief she needs to go home and be content with her life with Mathew and the children. Like a drug addict looking for her next fix Mrs.. Downtrend's motel will no longer feed Suntan's crave for solitude anymore, so she instead look s for a new relief and finds it in Fried's motel. Fried's motel is frequented by hookers and is a much worse establishment Han Mrs..Downtrend's, but here Fred lets her be and gives her the feeling that, â€Å"she was alone and no one knew where she was† (Leasing 883), which satisfies the social privacy she desires. Suntan's final moment of relief occurs when she decides to take her life away In Freed motel; In this way she leaves the world content with the relationships she's left behind including her husband and children, while ultimately entering a permanently new social and physical environment giving her the fresh start she was looking for.Although Susan had many high points that were influenced by her social and physical environments she also had many low moments that were influenced by the same factors. Susan experienced many low moments; all of these unfortunate events were in some way influenced by her social and physical environments at that time. The first low point Susan faces occurs after she becomes Mrs.. Railings and they start a family. After having children Susan quits her Job and transitions into becoming fully dependent on Mathew, this change In social and physical atmosphere coupled withMathews Infidelity causes the first crack In Suntan's character. Subsequently, years later Suntan's next low experience occurs when the twins go to school, instead of on her, this change in the social situation drives her to a new low mood. The next low point strikes when Susan finds out that Mathew knows about Fried's Motel, as it is no longer hers, â€Å"The peace in the room had gone. She was constantly trying to revive it, trying to let go into the dark creative trance (or whatever it was) that she found here. (Leasing 886); her last area of peace has been found causing the final break in her character. In conclusion, Susan Railings death can be seen as the fate of a women who couldn't handle the life of a housewife and loses her sense of self onl y to find it in death, which acts as the ultimate change of social and physical environment. To conclude with a quick recap, â€Å"To Room Nineteen† by Doris Leasing is a story of the events leading to a woman's death due to post marital depression.

Sport in Lithuania Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Sport in Lithuania - Essay Example (Klimas, V. & Baublyte, M. 1997) The country's economy is based on a free market that has capitalistic principles. The government of Lithuania pursues a flat rate tax and the rate of unemployment in this country is very low and this has further led into the notion of the Baltic tiger. However the country has been in transition fro an economy that is communistically planned but it has also faced crisis in its financial sector partly because of the financial crisis in Russia. The country's GDP has grown by a rate of 7.5% since the year 2005 whereas the rate of inflation grew by 3%. The country's purchasing power parity is approximately $48.49 billion and the per capita income is estimated to be $15, 858. On the other hand the industrial composition of this country is estimated to be 33% the countries industries are inclusive of machine tools and metal cutting, television sets, food processing computers, optical equipment amongst others. The earliest inhabitants in Lithuania date back to 10,000 BC. The Lithuanians are neither Germanic nor Slavic even though the country's union with Germanic, Poland and Russian colonization as well as settlement left the religious and cultural influences. (K. Dawisha, B. Parrott 997) In the country of Lithuania the homogeneous population is the Lithuania and according to census that was conducted in the year 2001 84% of the population positively identified themselves as Lithuanians, 7% as the poles, 6% as the Russians, and 1.5% as the Belarusian's and 2% as the members of the other ethnic groups. The high percentage of the Lithuanians in the country could be highly influenced by the fact that in the 1990s the Lithuanian government embarked on granting citizenship to any person who lived in the country and also wished to have the country's citizenship. (Kaunas medical academy 1998) In the country's Vilnius region there is a higher concentration of the Poles. On the other hand the Russians in the country even though they are not very numerous such as the poles they are more evenly scattered even though they lack strong political parties. The ethnic composition in Lithuania has however undergone very dramatic changes with the most prominent changes being the extermination of the Jewish population during the holocaust. It is easier to obtain citizenship in this country than in the many other European countries. All the citizens in this country have had the liberty to freely participate in any sporting activity that exists in the country. However some of the sporting events have either marginalized the males or the females. For instance the country's football teams consist of only male parties whereas the majority participants in the cycling sport are the females. Religion. Majority of the Lithuanians belong to the Roman Catholic Church which has been the

Is there a best age to begin kindergarten Research Paper

Is there a best age to begin kindergarten - Research Paper Example Every child is brilliant and intelligent. That is a fact. There is no doubt that he will perform well in school. Nevertheless, the real concern is not related as to whether the child has the talent or not but is related to the child's emotional and social preparedness. Basically, these things affect or manipulate each other. Some of the most common child modifications are contingent to the teacher’s manner of teaching and some other factors that influence how a child may perform in the classroom - factors like the attitude and the personality of the teacher as well as the method in which the class is being managed. If the child is more inclined to social interactions and on his personal volition would be willing to submit to the instructions of his or her teacher, then he may easily conform and adapt to this new test by the age of five. [Student’s Last Name] 2 Psychologists, sociologists, researchers and policy makers have poured in an overwhelming effort in order to de termine whether there is a best age for children to start school. In the United States alone, the usual age of kindergarten children is around five years old and obligatory attendance age plays between the ages of five and eight years old. Many policymakers in the United States expressed their dissenting opinions regarding the acceptable age for school admission and many schools based their decisions on the child’s birthdate. ... Due to the intricacy and the difficulty of the educational system that we have today, most of us, especially educational institutions for pre-schoolers place a strong substantial significance on the child’s competence in reading and mathematical sciences. Is the determination of the ideal age to begin kindergarten important? Does it really matter? The significance of early and repeated standardized tests for young children in order for them to meet the academic challenges in school is being accentuated and supported by education reforms and more so by The No Child Left Behind Act of 2002. While this was ratified in order to ensure the academic success in high school as well as in college, the testing begins early in order to guarantee that the children are headed in the right direction when it comes to â€Å"grade-level requirements†. A comparatively easy approach to enhance the performance in earlier years of education is to increment the average age of children enroll ing for kindergarten classes. Accordingly, this can be done by setting a â€Å"cut-off date† for kindergarten admission or by [Student’s Last Name] 3 advising parents to delay kindergarten admission for an additional one year (1 year). Mostly, school administrators and pre-school teachers are positive that the more mature the child is once he is admitted in kindergarten classes, the more potential there is for academic success. A lot of parents have faith in the idea of delaying the kindergarten entry of their children because they concede that it will contribute to their children’s edge in terms of academic performance. This is what they call as â€Å"redshirting†. In most cases, children who were admitted to kindergarten classes develop boredom and disinterest in school activities than those