Budget Targeting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Budget Targeting - Essay Example Absent these inferences, firms would not know how well they are doing, and capital markets would not know how to value them. And absent these inferences, firms would be unable to improve their processes and, as a consequence, improve their economic performance". (Meyer, 2002, p. 24) Budget meeting its target as personal performance measure can be analysed in two broad categories: "First, a budget can be used as a financial plan, utilised by the finance department to ensure that the organisation stays within its operating constraints. Second it is much more widely used in most organisations as a tool of overall management control. Here budget targets are set for individual responsibility centers and their operating managers, so that operating performance can be monitored and controlled". (Neely, Business Performance Measurement) Irrespective of any category, effective budget targets must possess the following characteristics: "Strong incentives for departments and their partners in service delivery to plan over several years and plan together where appropriate so as to deliver better public services with greater cost effectiveness". (Budget-2006) "Data collection and analysis for performance measures are defined to establish a common understanding for the measure, to describe how and when the data will be collected and interpreted, and to ensure the quality and integrity of the data". (Budget-2006a) Performance measures further include the following steps: "Analysis of existing systems (like accounting and auditing) should be conducted in order to determine its performance-basis, if one expects performance data to be used in the system this means that systems that relate to other outdated budgeting approaches need to be replaced to accommodate performance based budgeting". (Andrews & Hill, 2003, p. 135) "The use of performance information

Legalization of Marijuana Essay Example for Free

Legalization of Marijuana Essay The fight to legalize marijuana has been going on for decades now and looks to have no end until the result is that it’s legal. My fight would be for it to be legalized as well. Simply because it’s a drug with more benefits then harm. In some states, and other countries it’s already legal and doctor approved which I believe needs to be applied everywhere. Marijuana users will not stand for marijuana probation, no matter how long it takes, punishments or consequences. One might say press the issue! Make harsher laws! These prohibition views have failed to silence users. Marijuana legalization is a persistent issue that will not just go away. I believe it will be legalized because users are willing to continue to fight until they succeed. This will eventually open people’s eyes that the drug is not all bad. Marijuana has positive attributes; a medical value with very mild side effects. Many people use it because they see it good for them especially those suffering ailments. It relieves pain, nausea, spasticity, and other symptoms for many individuals who have not been treated successfully with conventional medications. I agree that if we do legalize it just for medication that it would leak to other users. But in today’s society many American adults prefer marijuana over alcohol as a way to relax, it has a lot less side effects then alcohol. The use of marijuana in America is a choice that comes with a relatively low dependence rate. Most people develop a tolerance to side effects, and those who don’t usually stop using drugs. Most Americans decide that the benefits of the drug outweigh the risk which the greatest risk is low risk arrest. Legalizing the drug can have more benefits to our county then harming it. If marijuana was legal we could put a tax on it, to make a profit on it. If we look at our crime rate, our law enforcement has more important responsibilities than arresting 750,000 individuals a year for marijuana possession. By doing this we waste jail space, clog court systems, divert time of police, attorneys, judges, and corrections officials away from violent crime. When I say violent crimes I mean being able to focus on the sexual abuse of children, terrorism and other more dangerous crimes. For my study I looked for a country that has legalized marijuana and their reasons for doing so. I found that it is a common knowledge throughout the world, that in Amsterdam you may just enter a coffee shop and buy drugs; you will be handed a menu with drugs of the day, and there might be even a special on the menu. It is all accessible, for four joints you will pay the same amount for twenty cigarettes. Marijuana is legal in Amsterdam because the government there realizes that it is much easier to control when they make it publicly available. This way they can tax it to generate state funding and ensure that they know where it is and whos using it. Its a much more liberal approach than prohibition, which causes any controlled substance to go immediately underground and leaves the governments jurisdiction. Marijuana being illegal is much like the prohibition of alcohol. The Prohibition was a period of nearly fourteen years of U.S. history in which the manufacture, sale, and transportation of liquor was made illegal. It led to the first and only time an Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was repealed. And unlike alcohol and any prescription drugs, marijuana is not lethal. A study in 2009 by U.S. Department of Health and Human Studies published that 69.7 million Americans are current users of tobacco products, 15 million Americans abuse alcohol, and only 4.2 million Americans abuse Marijuana. Everyday 1,000 people die from smoking related illnesses, 550 die from alcohol related accidents and diseases, and less than 20 die of drug related causes. American adolescents use Marijuana twice as much as their counter parts in Holland where Marijuana is legal. It seems that the temptations to do what you’re not supposed to do are too strong to resist. In conclusion, marijuana should be legal. If we are going to continue to offer these drugs that are more harmful then marijuana then why band one that helps? If continuing to keep marijuana as an illegal substance then users are willing to continue to fight. Like the prohibition of alcohol I don’t believe this fight will end until the users win. Maybe they will think their decision over, and realize it would help us more then it harms us.

Effectiveness Impact of Journal Clubs in Medicine

Effectiveness Impact of Journal Clubs in Medicine Abstract Background: Journal clubs` emerging goals are now considered to be teaching critical appraisal skills and learning how to use evidence based medicine in practice. Although journal clubs are well accredited, designing the right format to keep members stimulated and educated remains a great challenge. Methods: We conducted journal club structure modifications in internal medicine residency program of a university affiliated hospital. Initially group-based sessions identified feasible changes and baseline data concerning residents` knowledge of evidence based medicine (EBM) was collected by a questionnaire. Modifications implemented and a second set of group discussions and data collection took place after 12 months. Results: Total number of 78 residents participated. The most important identified changes were schedule adjustments and setting new goals regarding EBM, medical statistics and critical appraisal teaching. Group discussion showed increased satisfaction and questionnaire assessments showed significant improvement in residents` knowledge of EBM. Conclusions: Redesigning journal clubs with emphasis on regularity and setting new horizons basically improves their effectiveness. Assigning entire sessions to augment participants` skills in new areas of knowledge is a unique way to fit journal clubs as a novel and innovative teaching practice. Practice Points Journal clubs are connecting bridges between knowledge and practice. Journal clubs have gradually evolved to be a teaching tool in modern medicine. Considering growing popularity of evidence based medicine, journal clubs can be a way to introduce this discipline into educational programs. Redesigning old journal club structure is somehow necessary to better keep up with growing knowledge of medicine. Furnishing journal clubs with innovative methods might be a reasonable way of reform. Introduction The earliest reference to the origin of the phrase journal club is in memoirs and letters of Sir James Paget, describing a small room near St. Bartholomews Hospital in London in the period 1835-1854 in which pupils met and read journals (Paget 1901). More than a century has passed since Sir William Osler started the first recorded journal club in North America in 1875 as a way of sharing periodicals he could not afford individually and later established a club at Johns Hopkins University to review the latest medical research (Alguire 1998; Sleeman 1990). Today’s journal clubs have evolved a great deal and are found in nearly every medical school and residency training program in almost all fields of medicine (Valentini Daniels 1997; Sidorov 1995; Green 1999). Traditionally journal clubs are educational meetings in which a group of individuals meet to discuss and critically evaluate the current articles in the scientific literature (Mcleod et al. 2010; SVN Research Committee 2009). The major aim of journal clubs was to keep their attendees up to date with the latest medical literature (Valentini Daniels 1997; Forsen 2003; Goodfellow 2004). Gradually they have become a means for teaching critical appraisal skills, improving biostatistical knowledge, getting familiar with epidemiologic methods and most recently promoting the practice of Evidence Based Medicine (EBM) (Valentini Daniels 1997; SVN Research Committee 2009; Woods Winkel 1982). Critical appraisal skills and basing clinical decisions on the best published evidence available (i.e. EBM) have become an important facet in clinical medicine and are part of core general competencies required by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) in all residency programs (ACGME 2009; Yew Reid 2008; Carpenter et al. 2010). In the ensuing years, EBM has enjoyed widespread popularity. Today’s journal clubs are effectively assisting practitioners translate knowledge into practice and serve as an excellent bridge between research and clinical work. While journal club has been a mainstay in postgraduate medical education for many years, several authors have pointed out the diversity of its format (Alguire 1998; Sidorov 1995; Ebbert et al. 2001). The desirability of journal clubs in internal medicine has been reinforced by accreditation requirements that mandate residents` participation in journal clubs. Although the goals and purposes of journal clubs are well established, selecting the right format and setting to keep members stimulated and educated remains a great challenge (Kelly Cronin 2010; Hartzell et al. 2009). With the growing appreciation of evidence based medicine (EBM) and its widespread application in clinical decision making, we thought of revising and implementing possible modifications in our journal club structure to improve quality of sessions and weigh their effects on our journal club program. Methods We conducted revision program into our journal club structure involving internal medicine residents attending the internal medicine residency program in a teaching university affiliated hospital. The modification process consisted of several steps. First we conducted group-based discussion sessions with participation of two clinical experts, two research experts, the program manager and chief resident. Group discussion primarily consisted of brain storming, reviewing similar works and their outcomes and sharing experiences. Five such meetings were held with main purpose of gauging current program features and identifying possible essential changes required to improve the program. Findings of these sessions then were shared with residents` delegates, 2 residents from each year, through three separate sessions. Identified feasible modifications were finally determined out of group-based discussions and implemented to make a new journal club structure. The group-based discussion took place for the second time, 12 months after executing alterations. Group participants were the same. This time the group assessed different aspects of changes made including residents` attendance, residents` satisfaction and the content of new sessions. Furthermore we measured the residents` existing knowledge of EBM by a self-reported questionnaire, designed and internally validated by the discussion group. The questionnaire consisted of three questions to assess three fields: residents` knowledge of statistical significance, their acquaintance with evidence rating and their familiarity with study design. Possible answers were as â€Å"No familiarity†, â€Å"Fair familiarity†, â€Å"Good familiarity† and â€Å"Excellent familiarity†. In order to facilitate further comparison, the first two answers were classified as cluster 1 (limited knowledge) and the two remaining answers as cluster 2 (acceptable knowledge); therefore making comparison between two clusters. Each resident was given the questionnaire before applying changes and again 12 months after running the new program. Residents` responses were also discussed in the second set of group discussion. The results were collected anonymously and data was then imported to Excel software (2010, Microsoft) for examination. We specified the distribution of answers in each cluster before and after modifications and calculated the absolute difference between them using descriptive statistics. Results Seventy-eight internal medicine residents (43 Female, 35 Male) were included into the survey. An almost even participation was observed among residents from all years of internal medicine training. Results of this study can be divided into two phases; before applying changes and after implementing modifications. Phase I Founded on the primary group-based discussions, the acknowledged key points for developing our new journal club structure encompassed program and schedule modification, adding motives, defining new goals, content revision and implementing feedback mechanisms from which, content revision was considered the most critical one. The main aspects of modifications made are explained in details. Our new schedule was designed as weekly sessions on Thursdays (the day before weekend in our country). We planned the sessions to be held from 7 to 8 in the morning (Breakfast time) and on the day with minimal educational and clinical workload to assure maximal attendance. To ensure the regularity and predictability of our program, we already scheduled the sessions for the next entire year. Holidays, exam days and residents` rotations were carefully noticed in planning the journal club calendar and the presenter for each session was specified at the beginning of the educational year. Furthermore we changed the place to a bigger room with better facilities. Also we decided to provide a mini breakfast meal during all sessions as a potential incentive that can increase participants` interest. Defining new objectives was also emphasized by group members. Therefore, we set our new goals not only to keep updated with medical literature and review the current literature, but also to introduce medical statistics to residents, encourage arguments and develop critical appraisal skills and understanding EBM. We changed the composition of our journal club participants to include relevant attending physicians, medical statisticians and experts in EBM and critical thinking as well as internal medicine residents from all levels. In order to achieve the broad goal spectrum, our reformed program consisted of two different types of sessions. Three sessions of each month were dedicated to presenting review articles and discussion about the main topic (analogous with former program). The last week of the month was devoted to evidence based journal clubs in which an original article was presented to the audience and 2 to 3 relevant articles or guidelines were also considered. The main focus of these sessions was to discuss the methodology and to point out statistical points through which critical appraisal skills were practiced and evaluation of the quality and validity of the results taught. Both types of sessions were moderated by an attending physician with experience in medical research and education background. Review article journal clubs were presented by a second year internal medicine resident employing slideshows; hence each resident was provided the opportunity to benefit from this chance at least twice a year. Evidence based journal clubs were presented by senior residents familiar with medical research and statistics and with acceptable teaching skills. These sessions were supervised by a team (at least 2 persons) of expert physicians in EBM and critical thinking skill. A support committee consisting of two senior internal medicine residents, journal club moderator and an EBM expert was formed for evaluating and choosing articles for presentation. The responsible resident had to provide up to 5 papers to the committee, who would then return one or two of them for presentation. The major selection criteria were relevancy and novelty of the topic and being in accordance with the interests of the participants. The other thing considered especially for articles to be presented in EBM sessions was being somehow controversial regarding the methodology or conclusion. At the end of each session a brief explanation was provided including critical points and a conclusion. For EBM sessions the strength and limitations of the article were also emphasized, inspiring the participants to involve in this process valuable in didactic endeavors. The conclusion of each session was then uploaded in the departmental forum of residents and interns for more discussion. Sometimes, a practical question was also provided in order to ascertain that residents have got the point correctly. Phase II Second phase results are described after 12 months of running the new program. Group-based discussion findings for new schedule clearly showed increased attendance and residents were more satisfied with the fixed and pre-defined sessions. Nonetheless we noticed that providing food was not of residents` concerns. Definition of new objectives for journal club sessions persuaded residents to participate more. Experts in the group-based discussions were also satisfied with the new content of sessions and monthly devoting an entire session to EBM and teaching statistical points and critical thinking. Regarding questionnaire assessment, final results showed that in the field of â€Å"evidence rating knowledge†, the number of residents in cluster 1 reduced from 51 to 17 and accordingly the number of residents in cluster 2 increased from 27 to 61 (43.6% absolute change regarding the total number of participants; P Similarly, before-after comparison for the field of â€Å"statistical significance acquaintance† revealed the absolute change to be 23.1%; i.e. the residents` acquaintance with concept of statistical significance was noticeably augmented, changing from limited knowledge to acceptable knowledge, in 18 residents (P Discussion Our conventional journal club structure first started in internal medicine department of Shariati hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences in year 2007. Since then it was running in a small room and on a weekly basis with focus on review article presentation only. Participants were mainly residents, internal medicine interns and medical students and presenters of sessions were selected from first year residents. There are considerable studies describing journal clubs conducted in different settings and for different health providers; yet there appear to be no ‘Gold Standard’ approach for conducting a journal club or assessing its effectiveness. It is therefore an ongoing challenge in designing effective journal club format that assists the participants to translate journal club activities into evidence based practice (Deenadayalan et al. 2008). As residency programs deal with work hour restrictions and implement competency educations (Hatala et al. 2006; Goroll et al. 2004), they need to undergo intense reassessment and possible remodeling to determine if they are meeting their goals. Our questionnaire survey showed that our reformed program made significant change in residents` knowledge and the number of residents significantly shifted from low knowledge to acceptable knowledge. We postulated that holding journal clubs on a regular basis is necessary to achieve continuous educational progress and gradually obtain the desired improvement in residents` competency which is in accordance to most previous studies (Deenadayalan et al. 2008 ). Regularity of sessions basically show the importance of this type of learning, as a new method of education is being introduced to the learners (residents). On the other hand, disorderliness might suggest that the program is not so useful and coordinators are not sure of its value, which in turn will dissuade participants from joining and following the schedule. Pre-defining the whole schedule would be a great way in achieving this goal. Although fixed schedule might seems impractical for many institutes but authors assumed that accurately considering some fine points such as work hour’s prerequisites before scheduling the program may be helpful. In addition, this would assist participants to adjust their time and for presenter to know their schedule and being prepared for that. Regarding best frequency, according to most of studies reporting this, it seems that monthly period is endorsed (Letterie Morgenstern 2000; Burstein et al. 1996). Our reformed structure had a weekly basis, though our new EBM sessions were held monthly, not to shrink residents` enthusiasm for participating in these educational gatherings. Some studies have shown that timing of journal clubs might be of importance considering attendance, especially when they were coincided with meal times (Bazarian et al. 1999; Langkamp et al. 1992). While they advised provision of food as a way to increase attendance, our group-based discussions and residents feedbacks did not show such relation. This might be due to . Authors believed that forward movement without adding new goals and/or lacking enough motivation would not be successful in improving participants` competency. Increasing knowledge of medical statistics and understanding EBM were the primary new objectives of our program which is demonstrated to be well achieved regarding our survey. Participants of journal clubs must be in accordance to the aims and contents of the program. Similar to Hartzell (2009), authors think that inviting attending physicians and involving senior residents may contribute to fulfillment of journal club objectives. This composition would facilitate the arguments and give space for better discussion and reaching a practical point. Assigning an entire separate session to introduction of this new area would also be of great benefit, since innovative thinking and learning new skills necessitates more time. New educational goals for residency programs now include conduction of problem oriented sessions, evidence based journal clubs and also experiencing critical appraisal. Considering that almost all of medical education programs have introduced journal clubs as a routine in their curricula, we thought of it as a useful tool to familiarize our residents with better interpreting medical literature, critical thinking and evidence based medicine. This approach has been supported by previous researches (Hatala et al. 2006; Ghali et al. 2000). Although this survey showed promising results and improvement in residents` knowledge and participation, our results are far from perfect. Yet we must increase our efforts to recognize subtle obstacles and further improve effectiveness of journal club. Conclusion In conclusion, journal clubs are of great value in today`s medical education addressing both clinical practice and evidence based learning improvement. Yet there is no gold standard to achieve the best result with this regard. We have enjoyed revolutionizing our traditional structure of journal clubs and furnishing it with novel objectives and construction and noticed significant improvement in attendance and competency of our internal medicine residents. Declaration of interest The authors report no declarations of interest.

Burrhus Frederic Skinner Essays -- B.F. Skinner Psychologists Psycholo

Burrhus Frederic Skinner People do on a day to day basis, many actions without realizing it, and most of the time, they don’t know why they do them. Certain reinforcements, some positive, and some negative have conditioned their actions and thoughts. All organisms, including humans, are greatly influenced by the consequences produced by their own behavior. The environment holds the key to most of the changes that occur in the way a person behaves and a human’s own behavior brings consequences that change his or her actions (B. F. Skinner). Dr. B.F. Skinner forged the theory of Behaviorism, â€Å"a school of psychology that rejects the unobservable and focuses on patterns of responses to external rewards and stimuli† (Skinner, B. F.). Burrhus Frederic Skinner was born March 20, 1904, and raised in Susquehana, Pennsylvania, where his father worked as a lawyer and his mother was a strong and intelligent housewife (Boeree). Skinner’s parents encouraged him in his schoolwork, and he was well read as a child (B. F. Skinner). B. F. was â€Å"an active, out-going boy who loved the outdoors and building things, and actually enjoyed school† (Boeree). He enjoyed literature and biology especially (B. F. Skinner). Skinner attended Hamilton College in New York State (R. W. Kentridge). â€Å"He didn’t fit in very well, not enjoying the fraternity parties or the football games. He wrote for school paper, including articles critical of the school, the faculty, and even Phi Beta Kappa! To top it off, he was an atheist – in a school that required daily chapel attendance† (Boeree). He continued to read widely and to pursue interests in literature and biology. He began to write a lot of fiction and poetry, and became known as an aspiring poet. After his junior year, he attended the Summer School of English at Breadloaf, where he met Robert Frost (B. F. Skinner). When he graduated, â€Å"he planned to spend a year writing a novel, but found that he had nothing to write about and suffered through what he would later refer to his ‘dark year’†. Skinner considered pursuing graduate study in English, but eventually settled on psychology instead. â€Å"The choice of psychology followed Skinner’s realization that what intrigued him about literature was actually human behavior, a topic he felt could be approached more suitably through science† (B. F. Skinner). The writi ngs of Frances Bacon had interested... ...ood and bad. He tested his theory by inventing the Skinner Box and operant behavior. With his theories and testing, people now know how the many actions they perform throughout the day, and why they perform them. Works Cited A Science Odyssey: People and Discoveries: B. F. Skinner. PBS. 15 May 2000. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh.aso/databank/entries/bhskin.html>. B.F. Skinner. Boise State University. 9 May 2000. <http://education.boisestate.edu/FACHTML/cohort3/skinner.htm>. B.F. Skinner Foundation - Documents - A Brief Survey of Operant Behavior. The B.F Skinner Foundation. 14 May 2000. <http://www.bfskinner.org>. Boeree, Dr. C. George. B.F. Skinner. 9 May 2000. <http://www.ship.edu/~cgboeree/skinner.html>. Leahey, Thomas H. "Skinner, B.F." Academic American Encyclopedia. 1995 ed. R. W. Kentridge. Skinner Box. 17 May 2000. <http://www.biozentrum.uni- wuerzburg.de/genetics/behavior/learning/Skinnerbox.html>. Skinner, B. F. 17 May 2000. <http://www.encyclopedia.com/articles/11954.html>. Skinner, B. F. About Behaviorism. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1974. Skinner, B. F. Science and Human Behavior. New York: Macmillian, 1953.

International Financial Reporting Standards Essay

1. Introduction: With the announced adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for publicly accountable starting 2011 by the Canadian’s Accounting Standards Board (AcSB), issues about the effect on the usefulness of financial statement need serious attention starting on knowing the similarities and differences between Canadian GAAP and IFRS.   Some critics have argued that IFRS will   give up too much reliability in order to achieve relevance, while others have argued that the increased relevance and comparability will promote usefulness of the financial statements.   This paper attempts to address some of these issues as is seeks to analyze the potential effects of Canada Adoption of IFRS by making an opinion as to whether the change will result in more or less decision useful information, thus making securities markets either more or less efficient. 2. Analysis and Discussion 2.1 What is IFRS and its advantages if adopted? IFRS is being promoted by its supporters as a â€Å"single set of globally accepted, high quality accounting standards† (KMPG Canada, 2007), that is adopted by over a hundred countries, including five of the G8 countries (KMPG Canada, 2007).   It appears to have gained the support of a number of countries and with announced adoption in Canada, starting 2011 by AcSB, there is good ground to believed about the benefits of the said set of international accounting standards in Canada compared staying on with the present Canada GAAP.   To cite names of countries, it could be asserted that as early as 2005, publicly listed companies in European Union member countries , Australia, Hong Kong,   and South Africa and have used IFRS (KMPG Canada, 2007).   In the absence of these countries’ plan or indication of returning to where they came from, with more reason and interest it is to know about the improvement from IFRS adoption in the financial statements of Canadian comp anies. Given therefore the similarities of the two standards under Canadian GAAP and IFRS, there is basis to state that Canada has had considerable input and influence in the development of IFRS over the years (KMPG Canada, 2007).   Therefore, Canada’s decision to join the many countries in adopting IFRS carries with it the intention to benefit enterprises in Canada.   That it would provide better access to international capital, funding and investment opportunities should not come as a big surprise.   The realities of samurai bonds or Eurobonds (Hill, 2009) could be asserted to have strong support from the presence of IAS or IFRS in the countries where bonds are floated as companies seek cheaper sources of capital as finding the same outside each homo country   helps in minimization of cost of capital as an objective (Brigham and Houston, 2002).   The improved information in terms of comparability of financial reports across countries could just be easy to accept as many c ompanies pursue international business. Another advantage of using the IFRS is the belief that it   should also more cost effective for the accounting information compared with maintaining a separate and isolated set of Canadian accounting standards (KMPG Canada, 2007).   This could be the same reason for the move by the US to eventually adopt harmonization of its accounting standards with the IFRS since non-US companies, which want to list their stocks in the US stock exchanges, are required still to make translation of IFRS based financial statements into US GAAP based.   From the practical sense of view, it would be easy to see the added cost for companies making still translations in the same way that non-Canadian companies may be required to make the translation   when they go to Canadian stock exchanges. Another advantage of adoption is to make financial results more transparent and consistent for user globally, which will mean using more judgment and providing more disclosure in the short term (KMPG Canada, 2007).   For this reason,   persons involved in the public company financial reporting of Canada will have to   expect to pass under   a steep learning curve (KMPG Canada, 2007).   IFRS and Canadian GAAP compare in just few important lines   but since IFRS standards are comprehensive and principles-based, it is expected that its application would require greater use of professional judgment than Canadian GAAP.   The availability of more accounting policy choices under   IFRS would take companies longer time now to evaluate these choices for each organization and is expected to result in valuable outcomes in the long-term (KMPG Canada, 2007). 2.2 The impact of the IFRS adoption It is believed that the first and most obvious impact of IFRS adoption would be in the effect on the presentation of the financial position of an entity as set out in its financial statements   (Romano and Grewal, 2009).   Since IFRS represents a statement of principles that must be applied based on judgment and assumptions given the facts at hand, it is expected that many principles will change including possibly modifying the many rigid prohibitions or rules that have become part of Canadian GAAP over time   via either practice or prescription (Romano and Grewal, 2009).   To illustrate since IFRS allows for more fair value accounting policy choices, this would open to a greater degree of interpretation and professional judgment.   The new principles underlying the presentation of financial measures will change both the way in which things are measured and what is included in the measurement as wells timing of measurement and needed disclosure (Romano and Grewal, 2009). The impact of the adoption of the IFRS would be in the allowing greater freedom to exercise professional judgment on which will make the financial statements to have greater relevance that will enhance the usefulness of the accounting information.   It may be recalled that the qualitative characteristics of accounting include both reliability and relevance of the accounting information for decision-making (Meigs and Meigs, 1995). A financial information may therefore be too reliable as to approximate a high a degree of objectivity but may no longer be of significance to decision makers since the decision is already done. To illustrate,   a person buying a car   or any typical product may be interested to know what is the estimated cost of production for a car that he or she wants to buy for the buyer for comparing it with the actual price of the product. On the other hand, another buyer may not really know what is the actual cost but he or she has information that the production possess so much value that is it relevant and unique about the product being sold and could be used for commercial production. The second buyer may not have the actual objective cost of production for the product but he or she has a good and businesslike assessment of the situation because of familiarity of relevant information which can generates value and could make a reasonable estimate of the values of possible input cost of the product.   He is therefore more strategically positioned than the first buyer is.   Thus, relevance at this point may be more advantageous than having greater reliability of information.   Adoption of IFRS is however not expected to amount of total loss of reliability of information. The adoption of IFRS is criticized by the fact that it would provide too much management flexibility or the freedom of interpretation that may be adopted with the concurrence of the independent auditors, thus it would reduce the quality of financial reporting.   There is however, no strong evidence to believe that feared consequence of the adoption on these ground.   In fact, this feared consequence remains to be seen (Romano and Grewal, 2009).   On the hand, one great inducement of adoption is for greater international comparability due from a perspective of globalized-investment market place.   There is now movement towards the implementation of the adoption and there are now plans to effect a successful transition (Romano and Grewal, 2009). 2.3 Sample Partial Application of IAS or IFRS to Business about Fair value Accounting One sample interesting effect of adoption of IFRS is the eventual effect International Accounting Standard (IAS) 39.   It is asserted that IAS 39   is   partial application of fair value accounting since the said standard gives institutions the possibility of irrevocably applying fair value valuations to any financial instrument starting from the concept of â€Å"fair value option† (Enria, et al, 2004). It is argued that one fundamental building block of   developed by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB),   the present makers of standards under the IFRS based in UK, is to bring the financial statements up to day with market developments hence, a working group on the issue has proposed the use of Full Fair Value Accounting (FFVA) for all financial instruments.   (Enria, et al, 2004).   While adoption of the IFRS by Canada would not immediately result to adoption of fair value accounting, it will open the great possibility because as stated earlier, the use of international accounting standard would give more flexibility to company’s management and accounting professionals and fair value accounting is part of the IFRS. If it feared that FFVA could produce effects on financial stability of banks, the same arguments could be made applicable to the Canadian companies, which are just to co-exist with other international and global companies in the use of IFRS.   The analysis of authors found confirmation about concerns on the potential wider application of fair value in unduly increasing the volatility of banks’ balance sheets, which could reduce possibly ability of companies to react to adverse shocks.   The adoption of fair value could also result to the pro-cyclicality of the bank lending especially if the application of fair value happens simultaneously with other developments under a new accord.   Thus, one of possible consequence is for encouraging banks to react if values change by use of FFVA through panic selling and tightening lending standard (Enria, et al, 2004).   The effect could be far reaching as it could bring a possible financial crisis at the worst case possibly. From deeper tests, however, the researchers have found no significant impact on volatility by the introduction of FFVA standards for companies studied in the 1980s and 1990w.   However, they cautioned about the need to be interpret the result with caution for several reasons and call for further research citing as one reason the lack of clear-cut choice of the cut-off dates on which banks change from one accounting standard to the other (Enria, et al, 2004). 3. Conclusion To conclude, this researcher   believes that the adoption   by the Canadian Accounting Standard Board of IFRS for companies   concerned starting in 2011 will result to   more useful information that would make securities markets either more or less efficient than not adopting the said international; accounting standard.   The adoption, while could result to possibly losing some reliability,   is expected bring   greater relevance of the financial statements and increased comparability which would then it more useful for Canadian companies and the users of these information.   The possibility of losing some reliability may possibly be counter checked by user still requiring from these companies from which they would like to deal with the production of financial statements prepared under the present Canadian GAAP but they could run the risk of losing the benefit of a decision that would be based on relevant grounds.   The mere fact that CASB has announced the adoption should signal there the advantages could outweigh the disadvantages of IFRS adoption.

Crime in Detroit

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

Writing Tighter How to Cut Your Writing Down to Size

Writing Tighter How to Cut Your Writing Down to Size â€Å"I apologize for writing such a long letter. I didn’t have time to write a short one.† – Mark Twain It’s debatable what the actual quote is and whether it is actually Mark Twain’s, but either way it’s a great statement of the truth. It does indeed take longer - much longer - to write a short letter, blog post, essay, resume, etc. than it does to write a long one. I have frequently taken two-page resumes and cut them down to one without loss of content. Five-page single-spaced personal statements reduce to 500 words. Remarkable right? An example: I worked with a social media marketing expert to create the â€Å"perfect† blog post for LinkedIn. The original draft was 5,504 characters long - 1,777 characters over the LinkedIn limit! In 15 minutes, we had edited the blog down to size. How did we do it? Here are some tips to help you make the grade: Look for anything that could be characterized as â€Å"window dressing.† That’s the stuff you write around the important points! Find the nugget and stick to it! Are you repeating yourself? Stop! Once is enough. We get it. Stay organized. Often the source of rambling language is simply lack of organization and focus. Ask yourself about each and every sentence: How many words can I remove from this sentence and retain its meaning? Go ahead†¦ remove those extra words! You can do it! (Yes, there are extra words in that last sentence. Can you find them?) If you’re really in a bind, remove or reduce the space between bullet points or paragraphs. Only take this drastic measure as a last resort. White space is a prized commodity, especially in a blog or resume! If you remove something and your message no longer transmits, put it back in! Theres always somewhere else you can cut out. The process takes time, but it’s worth it. Your newly trimmed writing will be snappy, punchy and geared to today’s short attention spans! If you are reading this sentence, I’ve followed my own advice.

Orbital Space Debris

Orbital Space Debris Free Online Research Papers Orbital Space Debris The sun rose blindingly over the crest of the earth. The astronaut moved outside the Space Shuttle Discovery’s cargo bay in his Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU). Held by the shuttle’s robotic arm, a damaged satellite hung about 800 kilometers above the earth and a few meters below the astronaut. As the space walker hovered closer to the satellite, he looked down to see clouds covering parts of America, including his home state of Nebraska. The satellite was damaged badly. Sporting only one solar panel, it had a broken metal arm that made merely a stub on the other side. The day earlier, they had intercepted the missing solar panel, burned and smashed beyond repair. Upon inspection of the damages, both in space and back on earth where the satellite was taken, it was confirmed that a small piece of foreign space debris was responsible for knocking out this civilian communications satellite. While in the vastness of space, an accident like this seems only realistic in a Hollywood movie, but this fictional description is more real than what people realize. It has been fifty years since the launch of the first satellite, Russia’s Sputnik. Since then, as is the case with rapidly advancing technology, satellites have only proliferated and become more entrenched in society’s existence. This has created an incredible amount of crowding in the earth’s orbit that will only get worse as time progresses. The current space debris is tracked by both the US Space Surveillance Network and US Strategic Command. They keep a data base of all objects in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) larger than 5 centimeters in diameter and all object in geosynchronous orbit (GEO) larger than one meter in diameter. There are currently 12 000 catalogued objects, of which only 850 are active satellites. Several thousand more cannot be catalogued because their origin is unknown. Several events in recent history have complicated the situation in the skies, however. The main source of orbital debris for the last half century was in fact the ordinary breakup of satellites in orbit, the wear-and-tear of constant use. In the 1980’s, the US and Soviets tested anti-satellite (ASAT) weaponry, leaving much shattered satellite debris. One US test was conducted in September 1985 and the last piece of catalogued debris decayed from orbit only three years ago. However, both the Soviets and the Chinese have resumed their ASAT testing programs earlier this year. In January of 2007, the Chinese used a kinetic-energy ASAT weapon to destroy their dysfunctional Feng Yun-1C, increasing its percentage of the total orbital debris to 20%. The next month Russia exploded a Briz-M rocket booster stage, raising its total percentage to 40%. The implications of this newly created space jam are numerous. While today, satellites are rarely damaged like the fictional account described earlier, orbital collisions are becoming more frequent. Through the nineties and into the current decade, collisions occurred about every five to eight years. Catastrophic collisions, involving total destruction of the objects that collided, were estimated to occur only every nineteen years. For different orbital radii, there are different risk levels. The most crowed highway around the globe is the 800 km elevation. Not only is the most debris concentrated at this altitude, but it is the most common orbital height for civilian satellites. Now, the countless remains of Feng Yun-1C and the Briz-M booster are circumnavigating Earth at that radius as well. The SSN predicts that because of the many small, un-chartable remains of those two satellites, the collision risk would nearly double. Collisions would occur every three to four years and catastrophes would fall in the five to ten year range. However, a majority of these particles, as previously stated, are very small. Therefore, it would seem that the danger posed by these objects is very low and almost negligible. Basic kinetic energy theorems would disprove this notion. These objects orbit with speeds around 10 km/s. Consider most of these to be around one gram. Taking kinetic energy to be the kinetic energy of one of these particles would equal 50 000 Joules. In comparison, a 100 kg mass traveling at 100 km/hr has only 38 580 Joules. Therefore, these collisions are extremely dangerous for orbiting satellites. NASA has implemented ordinances to prevent the spread of orbital debris. Also, in 2002, the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee set guidelines in place covering the production of such debris. The Orbital Debris Program Office issued a study in 2006 (before the Chinese and Russian ASAT tests) that some areas of space had already reached a super critical debris density. Therefore, these guidelines are of the utmost importance. However, there is no law passed to limit orbital breakup. The United Nations patterned guidelines after the IADC, and were seeming to be effective for some time. While there was a steady increase in orbital debris up through the mid nineties, it began to taper off into the new millennium. Unfortunately, the Russian and Chinese ASAT tests have caused a tremendous backslide in the effort to clear up the skies. While it may seem minor and insignificant now, the problem of orbital debris will only deteriorate as time progresses unless action is taken soon to mitigate the situation. The more debris placed into space, the more regions will become super critical in status. The future of safe space travel depends on the control and containment of our orbital junk. Wright, David. â€Å"Space Debris.† Physics Today. 60.10 (October 2007): 35-40 NASA Orbital Debris Program Office. 2007. 8 December 2007. . 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Barack Obama - Oval Office Speech to the Nation on BP Oil Spill Disaster

Barack Obama Oval Office Address to the Nation on BP Oil Spill Disaster delivered 15 June 2010, Washington, D.C. Good evening. As we speak, our nation faces a multitude of challenges. At home, our top priority is to recover and rebuild from a recession that has touched the lives of nearly every American. Abroad, our brave men and women in uniform are taking the fight to al Qaeda wherever it exists. And tonight, I’ve returned from a trip to the Gulf Coast to speak with you about the battle we’re waging against an oil spill that is assaulting our shores and our citizens. On April 20th, an explosion ripped through BP Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, about 40 miles off the coast of Louisiana. Eleven workers lost their lives. Seventeen others were injured. And soon, nearly a mile beneath the surface of the ocean, oil began spewing into the water. Because there has never been a leak this size at this depth, stopping it has tested the limits of human technology. That’s why just after the rig sank, I assembled a team of our nation’s best scientists and engineers to tackle this challenge a team led by Dr. Steven Chu, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist and our nation’s Secretary of Energy. Scientists at our national labs and experts from academia and other oil companies have also provided ideas and advice. As a result of these efforts, we’ve directed BP to mobilize additional equipment and technology. And in the coming weeks and days, these efforts should capture up to 90 percent of the oil leaking out of the well. This is until the company finishes drilling a relief well later in the summer that’s expected to stop the leak completely. Already, this oil spill is the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced. And unlike an earthquake or a hurricane, it’s not a single event that does its damage in a matter of minutes or days. The millions of gallons of oil that have spilled into the Gulf of Mexico are more like an epidemic, one that we will be fighting for months and even years. But make no mistake: We will fight this spill with everything we’ve got for as long as it takes. We will make BP pay for the damage their company has caused. And we will do whatever’s necessary to help the Gulf Coast and its people recover from this tragedy. Tonight I’d like to lay out for you what our battle plan is going forward: what we’re doing to clean up the oil, what we’re doing to help our neighbors in the Gulf, and what we’re doing to make sure that a catastrophe like this never happens again. First, the cleanup. From the very beginning of this crisis, the federal government has been in charge of the largest environmental cleanup effort in our nation’s history an effort led by Admiral Thad Allen, who has almost 40 years of experience responding to disasters. We now have nearly 30,000 personnel who are working across four states to contain and clean up the oil. Thousands of ships and other vessels are responding in the Gulf. And I’ve authorized the deployment of over 17,000 National Guard members along the coast. These servicemen and women are ready to help stop the oil from coming ashore, they’re ready to help clean the beaches, train response workers, or even help with processing claims and I urge the governors in the affected states to activate these troops as soon as possible. Because of our efforts, millions of gallons of oil have already been removed from the water through burning, skimming and other collection methods. Over five and a half million feet of boom has been laid across the water to block and absorb the approaching oil. We’ve approved the construction of new barrier islands in Louisiana to try to stop the oil before it reaches the shore, and we’re working with Alabama, Mississippi and Florida to implement creative approaches to their unique coastlines. As the cleanup continues, we will offer whatever additional resources and assistance our coastal states may need. Now, a mobilization of this speed and magnitude will never be perfect, and new challenges will always arise. I saw and heard evidence of that during this trip. So if something isn’t working, we want to hear about it. If there are problems in the operation, we will fix them. But we have to recognize that despite our best efforts, oil has already caused damage to our coastline and its wildlife. And sadly, no matter how effective our response is, there will be more oil and more damage before this siege is done. That’s why the second thing we’re focused on is the recovery and restoration of the Gulf Coast. You know, for generations, men and women who call this region home have made their living from the water. That living is now in jeopardy. I’ve talked to shrimpers and fishermen who don’t know how they’re going to support their families this year. I’ve seen empty docks and restaurants with fewer customers even in areas where the beaches are not yet affected. I’ve talked to owners of shops and hotels who wonder when the tourists might start coming back. The sadness and the anger they feel is not just about the money they’ve lost. It’s about a wrenching anxiety that their way of life may be lost. I refuse to let that happen. Tomorrow, I will meet with the chairman of BP and inform him that he is to set aside whatever resources are required to compensate the workers and business owners who have been harmed as a result of his company’s recklessness. And this fund will not be controlled by BP. In order to ensure that all legitimate claims are paid out in a fair and timely manner, the account must and will be administered by an independent third party. Beyond compensating the people of the Gulf in the short term, it’s also clear we need a long-term plan to restore the unique beauty and bounty of this region. The oil spill represents just the latest blow to a place that’s already suffered multiple economic disasters and decades of environmental degradation that has led to disappearing wetlands and habitats. And the region still hasn’t recovered from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. That’s why we must make a commitment to the Gulf Coast that goes beyond responding to the crisis of the moment. I make that commitment tonight. Earlier, I asked Ray Mabus, the Secretary of the Navy, who is also a former governor of Mississippi and a son of the Gulf Coast, to develop a long-term Gulf Coast Restoration Plan as soon as possible. The plan will be designed by states, local communities, tribes, fishermen, businesses, conservationists and other Gulf residents. And BP will pay for the impact this spill has had on the region. The third part of our response plan is the steps we’re taking to ensure that a disaster like this does not happen again. A few months ago, I approved a proposal to consider new, limited offshore drilling under the assurance that it would be absolutely safe that the proper technology would be in place and the necessary precautions would be taken. That obviously was not the case in the Deepwater Horizon rig, and I want to know why. The American people deserve to know why. The families I met with last week who lost their loved ones in the explosion these families deserve to know why. And so I’ve established a National Commission to understand the causes of this disaster and offer recommendations on what additional safety and environmental standards we need to put in place. Already, I’ve issued a six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling. I know this creates difficulty for the people who work on these rigs, but for the sake of their safety, and for the sake of the entire region, we need to know the facts before we allow deepwater drilling to continue. And while I urge the Commission to complete its work as quickly as possible, I expect them to do that work thoroughly and impartially. One place we’ve already begun to take action is at the agency in charge of regulating drilling and issuing permits, known as the Minerals Management Service. Over the last decade, this agency has become emblematic of a failed philosophy that views all regulation with hostility a philosophy that says corporations should be allowed to play by their own rules and police themselves. At this agency, industry insiders were put in charge of industry oversight. Oil companies showered regulators with gifts and favors, and were essentially allowed to conduct their own safety inspections and write their own regulations. When Ken Salazar became my Secretary of the Interior, one of his very first acts was to clean up the worst of the corruption at this agency. But it’s now clear that the problem there ran much deeper, and the pace of reform was just too slow. And so Secretary Salazar and I are bringing in new leadership at the agency Michael Bromwich, who was a tough federal prosecutor and Inspector General. And his charge over the next few months is to build an organization that acts as the oil industry’s watchdog not its partner. So one of the lessons we’ve learned from this spill is that we need better regulations, better safety standards, and better enforcement when it comes to offshore drilling. But a larger lesson is that no matter how much we improve our regulation of the industry, drilling for oil these days entails greater risk. After all, oil is a finite resource. We consume more than 20 percent of the world’s oil, but have less than 2 percent of the world’s oil reserves. And that’s part of the reason oil companies are drilling a mile beneath the surface of the ocean because we’re running out of places to drill on land and in shallow water. For decades, we have known the days of cheap and easily accessible oil were numbered. For decades, we’ve talked and talked about the need to end America’s century-long addiction to fossil fuels. And for decades, we have failed to act with the sense of urgency that this challenge requires. Time and again, the path forward has been blocked not only by oil industry lobbyists, but also by a lack of political courage and candor. The consequences of our inaction are now in plain sight. Countries like China are investing in clean energy jobs and industries that should be right here in America. Each day, we send nearly $1 billion of our wealth to foreign countries for their oil. And today, as we look to the Gulf, we see an entire way of life being threatened by a menacing cloud of black crude. We cannot consign our children to this future. The tragedy unfolding on our coast is the most painful and powerful reminder yet that the time to embrace a clean energy future is now. Now is the moment for this generation to embark on a national mission to unleash America’s innovation and seize control of our own destiny. This is not some distant vision for America. The transition away from fossil fuels is going to take some time, but over the last year and a half, we’ve already taken unprecedented action to jumpstart the clean energy industry. As we speak, old factories are reopening to produce wind turbines, people are going back to work installing energy-efficient windows, and small businesses are making solar panels. Consumers are buying more efficient cars and trucks, and families are making their homes more energy-efficient. Scientists and researchers are discovering clean energy technologies that someday will lead to entire new industries. Each of us has a part to play in a new future that will benefit all of us. As we recover from this recession, the transition to clean energy has the potential to grow our economy and create millions of jobs but only if we accelerate that transition. Only if we seize the moment. And only if we rally together and act as one nation workers and entrepreneurs; scientists and citizens; the public and private sectors. When I was a candidate for this office, I laid out a set of principles that would move our country towards energy independence. Last year, the House of Representatives acted on these principles by passing a strong and comprehensive energy and climate bill a bill that finally makes clean energy the profitable kind of energy for America’s businesses. Now, there are costs associated with this transition. And there are some who believe that we can’t afford those costs right now. I say we can’t afford not to change how we produce and use energy because the long-term costs to our economy, our national security, and our environment are far greater. So I’m happy to look at other ideas and approaches from either party as long they seriously tackle our addiction to fossil fuels. Some have suggested raising efficiency standards in our buildings like we did in our cars and trucks. Some believe we should set standards to ensure that more of our electricity comes from wind and solar power. Others wonder why the energy industry only spends a fraction of what the high-tech industry does on research and development and want to rapidly boost our investments in such research and development. All of these approaches have merit, and deserve a fair hearing in the months ahead. But the one approach I will not accept is inaction. The one answer I will not settle for is the idea that this challenge is somehow too big and too difficult to meet. You know, the same thing was said about our ability to produce enough planes and tanks in World War II. The same thing was said about our ability to harness the science and technology to land a man safely on the surface of the moon. And yet, time and again, we have refused to settle for the paltry limits of conventional wisdom. Instead, what has defined us as a nation since our founding is the capacity to shape our destiny our determination to fight for the America we want for our children. Even if we’re unsure exactly what that looks like. Even if we don’t yet know precisely how we’re going to get there. We know we’ll get there. It’s a faith in the future that sustains us as a people. It is that same faith that sustains our neighbors in the Gulf right now. Each year, at the beginning of shrimping season, the region’s fishermen take part in a tradition that was brought to America long ago by fishing immigrants from Europe. It’s called â€Å"The Blessing of the Fleet,† and today it’s a celebration where clergy from different religions gather to say a prayer for the safety and success of the men and women who will soon head out to sea some for weeks at a time. The ceremony goes on in good times and in bad. It took place after Katrina, and it took place a few weeks ago at the beginning of the most difficult season these fishermen have ever faced. And still, they came and they prayed. For as a priest and former fisherman once said of the tradition, â€Å"The blessing is not that God has promised to remove all obstacles and dangers. The blessing is that He is with us always,† a blessing that’s granted â€Å"even in the midst of the storm.† The oil spill is not the last crisis America will face. This nation has known hard times before and we will surely know them again. What sees us through what has always seen us through is our strength, our resilience, and our unyielding faith that something better awaits us if we summon the courage to reach for it. Tonight, we pray for that courage. We pray for the people of the Gulf. And we pray that a hand may guide us through the storm towards a brighter day. Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America. Source: WhiteHouse.gov

Marketing Strategy Formulation Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Marketing Strategy Formulation Assignment - Essay Example It is intended to help the disable people to perform their daily activities, similar to any other normal person. These robotic legs have been invented in a manner that permits effective and comfortable bending and moving of limbs to desirable directions. Apparently, targeted to a noble cause, the degree of influence created by social responsibilities of Parker Hannifin increases substantially also affecting its marketing strategies to a certain extent (Tita, 2014). Correspondingly, this essay intends to assess the marketing strategies adopted by Parker Hannifin when launching its robotic legs, with due consideration to its basic price strategies and overall promotional strategies. Pricing strategies is the most crucial factor to boost sales volume of any marketable devices, which is no exclusion in the case of Parker Hannifin. In the words of the head of its Human Motion and Control Unit. Mr. Achilleas Dorotheou, â€Å"There’s a graveyard of great technologies out there. You need to prove to the payers in dollars and cents that the device saves MONEY†, which apparently signifies the importance of pricing strategies for the device. Accordingly, its pricing strategies have been based on the value of the product addressing the target customers’ basic needs. When introduced, Parker Hannifin’s Indego was marketed through the price skimming method, whereby the price of the device was fixed at between $69,000 to $100,000. Hence, the price of the product was fixed at a higher rate but along with insurance facilities to cover damages and other risks to be borne by its users. This further sufficed the conditions of cost plus pricing strategi es by the company (Kotler, 2002). Besides, the company also considered that offering different kinds of discounts and innovative schemes will help to attract a larger volume of consumer towards the product, further helping the company to penetrate its markets by lowering its prices in the near future to

Modernism and Postmodernism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Modernism and Postmodernism - Research Paper Example The researchers of modernism have always noted a special interest of its members in creating new forms, defiantly opposed to the harmonic forms of classical art, as well as emphasis on the subjectivity of the modernist worldview. The first modernists are the people of the late 19th century raised by the general crisis of European culture. Many of them rejected the methods of social and political radicalism in the change of lifestyle, but they were all ardent supporters of the spiritual revolution, which, in their view, was inevitably born by the crisis of the old world. Spiritual revolution, as a new quality of consciousness and a new concept of life, demanded a new ideological platform. This platform was formulated on the basis of Henri Bergson’s intuitionism, Nietzscheanism, Edmund Husserl’s phenomenology, Sigmund Freud’s and Carl Jung’s psychoanalysis, Soren Kierkegaard’s and Martin Heidegger’s existentialism. The works of these authors no t only cemented the ideological platform of modernist art searches in the period, but allowed this artistic school to act retrospectively, capturing the events of preceding culture, and prospectively, leaving the field for experiments in the future (postmodernism). Modernism, fighting for liberation and renewal of forms in art, could not exist without common ties with the history of culture, recognizing in this way the principles of historicism in its own trend: â€Å"the creation of a usable past was a key means of both coming to terms with and keeping at bay the pressures and the alleged chaos of the modern world at the turn of the twentieth century†.... ly confronted with the further development of the qualities generated not by modernism, but by the Romantic era of the French Revolution and radical sentimentalism of Johann Herder and Gotthold Lessing. This, for example, is the emphasis on the place of the individual consciousness in life in the cosmos. However, the romantic individualism of the 18th century and modernist individualism are fundamentally different phenomena. In romanticism the individual was either the owner of all spiritual riches of the universe, or this individual grieved about the unavailability of absolute values and universal ideals not denying the possibility of their existence. Modernists, on the contrary, recognized the insolubility of these issues, came to a denial of the spiritual and moral â€Å"absolutes.† At the same time, they tried to revive the myth-creating method, which, in their opinion, was able to restore the integrity of the organic and human life in a single cosmological system by the m eans of art. The poetry of modernism had a deep sympathy to the ideas of a new, mystical ideas and myth. In the effort to speak the language of new images the symbolists did not reject the traditions of classical poetry, but on the contrary, tried to build a new language based on ancient archaic images. Modernist poets paid a lot of attention to classical mythology (Paul Valery, Thomas Eliot), national folkloric characters (William Yates), ancient esoteric teachings and their modern modifications, like theosophy or anthroposophy (Yates, for example, created his own mystical system). The foundation of the modernist prose was laid by the Austrian writer Franz Kafka. According to him, the whole world order is most tragic and hostile to man, who is powerless and doomed to suffer. Plots of Kafka’s

Do we need a world treasury to finance peace Essay

Do we need a world treasury to finance peace - Essay Example On the national level these workers are funded for their efforts towards restoring peace. However, in a global perspective, financial resources towards peace-keeping are scarce. In this context, creating a World Treasury would be the first step in working towards global harmony. A WORLD TREASURY: Jan Tinbergen, co-recipient of the first Nobel Prize for economics, observed that almost every ministry at the national level corresponded to some international organization, with the exception of a treasury. Yet without a treasury, which collects taxes and uses them to finance all the other ministries, any government would soon collapse. He therefore proposed the creation of a World Treasury, which could finance peacekeeping, development and protection of the global environment. A World Treasury could raise revenue by auctioning global resources. It would be the logical institution to perform this essential role. Of course, an international board or an elected world parliament, should oversee the proper use of the funds raised in this way and ensure accountability at all levels. Such a method to help finance U.N. peacekeeping operations and sustainable development has five advantages: First, it frees financially pressed governments from paying ever higher contributions. Second, it gives the United Nations and its family of international organizations a more reliable source of funds to meet urgent global needs. Third, it avoids divisive and difficult negotiations over how much each country should contribute, since the richer countries naturally end up paying a higher share. Fourth, it uses market principles to improve the efficiency of allocating scarce resources. And fifth, it helps prevent possible future wars over those resources. (Fischer, Dietrich, p.12). Financing the peace movement and the peace operations from the World Treasury will become imperative. The funds will be used globally for peace-keeping. PEACE

Google's company acquisition and partnership Essay

Google's company acquisition and partnership - Essay Example Google Company has also licensed the platform that has helped limit control over activities that hardware makers do with android. Due to this control, the company has been able to produce androids with unique functions and features that satisfy customer needs (Lee, 2012). Partnership is a legal relationship by which companies formed through signing of an agreement carry on business as co-owners. Samsung and Google signed a ten-year partnership to license each other’s current patients and those filed in the future. As a result, Samsung will now be able to access the patents Google garnered as part of its $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola in the year 2011 (Glasby & Dickinson, 2014). There are various reasons as to why Google is in android takeover. Firstly, it is their growth strategy. Android demand has been increasing and due to this, Google Company will be in a position to develop their business by meeting needs of customers. Therefore, making profits that will enable them expand the business (MCmorris, 2005). Secondly, their acquisition will help them diversify their risks. The addition also helps in meeting customer needs by producing androids with unique features and functions. Android phones have also been on demand to replace iPhones. The replacement of this product would mean increasing sales of androids hence increasing profits. The result will help in the development of the firm and expansion of the company, as well as assist in familiarizing the company products with the consumers. The other primary reason for the acquisition is helping Google advertises their company. Since androids are globally used, adding Google apps may assist the organization to make product promotion feasible. Another crucial reason is the talented engineers in Android Company and their great technology. Google wanted the engineers to help in

Globalization and social change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Globalization and social change - Essay Example In line with the movements of human resources, a lot of people from Asian countries migrate in the US to find a better work opportunity here in our country. Globalization causes a lot of social changes. In line with these changes, most of my Filipino friends have decided to migrate in US because of higher salary and their advantages over the monetary exchange rate. Most of them need to send a portion of their monthly income to their love ones who have been unemployed in the Philippines for many years. Upon analyzing the situation, thousands of skilled labor jobs have been transferred from developed countries to developing countries. Since there is a huge population in developing countries who are uneducated, millions of people who belong to the low-income families remain unemployed. Due to lack of education, thousands of Filipinos are forced to work in developed countries as nanny or caregiver to support the financial needs of their immediate family who are living in their hometown. The story of Argetsinger (2004) and Argetsinger (2003) highlighted the fact that low-income people who live in rural areas or less developed countries often have a large family size. Personally, I strongly believe that there is truth behind her story that the lack of financial resources to support the educational needs of the youth deprives these people from becoming competitive in the labor markets. Each year, millions of students graduate from different universities around the world. This tightens the competition among the existing labor force. For this reason, it is impossible for uneducated individuals to be able to find high paid jobs that will enable them to support the financial needs of their family members. Kenyan tribe is experiencing new hope when Ntaiya was able to become successful in her educational challenges. In line with this matter, Argetsinger (2003) gave

Do we need a world treasury to finance peace Essay

Do we need a world treasury to finance peace - Essay Example On the national level these workers are funded for their efforts towards restoring peace. However, in a global perspective, financial resources towards peace-keeping are scarce. In this context, creating a World Treasury would be the first step in working towards global harmony. A WORLD TREASURY: Jan Tinbergen, co-recipient of the first Nobel Prize for economics, observed that almost every ministry at the national level corresponded to some international organization, with the exception of a treasury. Yet without a treasury, which collects taxes and uses them to finance all the other ministries, any government would soon collapse. He therefore proposed the creation of a World Treasury, which could finance peacekeeping, development and protection of the global environment. A World Treasury could raise revenue by auctioning global resources. It would be the logical institution to perform this essential role. Of course, an international board or an elected world parliament, should oversee the proper use of the funds raised in this way and ensure accountability at all levels. Such a method to help finance U.N. peacekeeping operations and sustainable development has five advantages: First, it frees financially pressed governments from paying ever higher contributions. Second, it gives the United Nations and its family of international organizations a more reliable source of funds to meet urgent global needs. Third, it avoids divisive and difficult negotiations over how much each country should contribute, since the richer countries naturally end up paying a higher share. Fourth, it uses market principles to improve the efficiency of allocating scarce resources. And fifth, it helps prevent possible future wars over those resources. (Fischer, Dietrich, p.12). Financing the peace movement and the peace operations from the World Treasury will become imperative. The funds will be used globally for peace-keeping. PEACE

Globalization and social change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Globalization and social change - Essay Example In line with the movements of human resources, a lot of people from Asian countries migrate in the US to find a better work opportunity here in our country. Globalization causes a lot of social changes. In line with these changes, most of my Filipino friends have decided to migrate in US because of higher salary and their advantages over the monetary exchange rate. Most of them need to send a portion of their monthly income to their love ones who have been unemployed in the Philippines for many years. Upon analyzing the situation, thousands of skilled labor jobs have been transferred from developed countries to developing countries. Since there is a huge population in developing countries who are uneducated, millions of people who belong to the low-income families remain unemployed. Due to lack of education, thousands of Filipinos are forced to work in developed countries as nanny or caregiver to support the financial needs of their immediate family who are living in their hometown. The story of Argetsinger (2004) and Argetsinger (2003) highlighted the fact that low-income people who live in rural areas or less developed countries often have a large family size. Personally, I strongly believe that there is truth behind her story that the lack of financial resources to support the educational needs of the youth deprives these people from becoming competitive in the labor markets. Each year, millions of students graduate from different universities around the world. This tightens the competition among the existing labor force. For this reason, it is impossible for uneducated individuals to be able to find high paid jobs that will enable them to support the financial needs of their family members. Kenyan tribe is experiencing new hope when Ntaiya was able to become successful in her educational challenges. In line with this matter, Argetsinger (2003) gave

The Cooking animal Essay Example for Free

The Cooking animal Essay ?Michael Pollan’s article The Cooking Animal, describes the decline of home cooked meals and its effects. Cooking, he says, is what separates us from animals. It’s how we became civilized. By making us come together and share food, we learn about each other and ourselves. Although its importance, cooking is rapidly declining in modern times. What was once a daily ritual is now becoming a special occasion. Replacing cooking is convenient, yet horribly unhealthy, processed foods thus worsening the already increasing obesity problem. †The more time a nation devotes to food preparation at home, the lower its rate of obesity† (Pollan 583). Pollan explains the importance of home cooked meals and it’s correlation with obesity and how we have fallen in the trap of the corporations. He explains how the mass producers made hard to make meals cheap, processed, and convenient leaving us to be forever doomed unless we made dire changes. Pollen raises many thoughts and facts about the importance of home cooked meals, all of which I completely agree with. Cooking is what separates us from animals. When our ancestors learned the ability to cook the new nutrients allowed them to evolve differently. Cooking not only provided us with much better nutrients but provided us with the means of creating our culture. When we gather with other people and eat together, we share ourselves (Pollan 582). When I first read this article the above statements just clicked with me, it all just made so much sense. I knew that cooking is important but crediting it for mankind’s evolution was new to me. When I read this part of the article I couldn’t help but to imagine a group of Neanderthals eating around a fire, slowly creating their own culture. Cooking is very important to many great cultures and can tell us much about said cultures. My family are big advocates of our Mexican culture so food is definitely very important to us. I’ve eaten with American, Indian, Lebanese, Vietnamese, and Egyptian families all of which had their distinct differences in how they ate and how they interacted with each other on the dinner table. Home cooked meals are being neglected by America causing obesity to become more prominent. The iconic image of the American family gathered around the dinner table is becoming a rare one. Today’s American would much rather pick up a large order of fries than actually get the potatoes and make them yourself, and why not? The restaurants and super markets make it so cheap and easy that you would be a time wasting fool if you cooked it yourself at home. Pollen says that as the preparation time has gone down, calorie consumption has gone up. â€Å"As the amount of time Americans spend cooking has dropped by about half, the number of meals Americans eat in a day has climbed; since 1977, we’ve added approximately half a meal to our daily intake† (583). That’s no surprise considering what goes into the fast food and mass produced foods. I remember I saw a video on what McDonalds chicken nuggets look like before they fry them and I never wanted to eat one ever again. If the chicken looks like pink silly putty, maybe we shouldn’t be eat it regularly. Thankfully I grew up on my mothers cooking. She has a full time job, three kids, and manages to make the best food everyday. I’ve always believed that all my physical and athletic achievements have been greatly attributed by my diet. Apart from home cooked meals being generally far better nutritiously, they generally taste way better. Perhaps they taste better because theyre made with love? That’s up to the consumer to decide. Corporations that mass produce food have one motivation, profit. It’s their job to mass produce food the quickest and cheapest way to earn the most profit so obviously nutrition is going to be neglected. The marketing revolves around habits. If we form the habits of just relying on them for food we will not go back thus more profit for them. It makes me think of an evil villain who’s bent on destroying the human race or at least making us all fat and lazy because that’s what’s happening. We’re becoming lazy which means our children will be lazy and the ability to cook will vanish and it will all go downhill from there. In Pollen’s article, he asked Harry Balzer what we can one do to fix this problem and he said â€Å"Easy. You want Americans to eat less? I have the diet for you. It’s short, and it’s simple. Here’s my diet plan: Cook it yourself. That’s it. Eat anything you want — just as long as you’re willing to cook it yourself† (584). Cooking is something that has been around since the beginning and something that we cannot afford to loose. Cooking is what makes us human, what provides us with the right nutrients and what keeps us from falling into the industries trap. Michael Pollan’s The Cooking Animal reinforced my belief on the importance of home cooked meals and also expands it. Works Cited Pollan, Micheal. The Cooking Animal. The Bedford Guide for College Writers withReader. By X. J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy, and Marcia F. Muth. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins, 2011. 581-85. Print.

Globalisation challenges facing China

Globalisation challenges facing China The aim of this report is to identify the challenges that globalisation presents or is presenting to The Peoples Republic of China, and show Chinas reaction to these challenges. Globalisation as a whole refers to shift toward a more integrated and interdependent world economy. (Hill, 2009, p6). Globalisation can be looked at from a market point and also a production point. A market point referring to creating a global market place where markets that were once separated by different barriers become one. Hill (2009). Globalisation of production refers to the manipulation and taking advantage of the differences related to factors of production worldwide, for example costs of different factors may vary. This is called out sourcing of production. Hill (2009) China is a perfect example for globalisation ,with a population of 1.3 billion people and with a culture dating back 6000 years, these large numbers and strong cultural background form a both a large market and a large work force. Politically, China is governed by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party). (Kahn, 2009) China is still perceived as one of the key players to lead the world out of recession. 1.1Methodology. Secondary research has been used to compile this report. With an aim of getting academic facts about globalisation, and up to date information on China, both text books and internet sources have been used. The main text book for the research for this assignment has been International Business by Charles W.L. Hill. 2. Chinas population With just over 1.3 billion people, china has the biggest population and is the worlds largest country .As the worlds population is approximately 6.7 billion, china represents almost 20% of the worlds population . 2.1 Chinas economy. Since the introduction of the economic reforms in the late 1970s which focussed on decollectivization of agriculture, liberalization of prices, decentralization of economic production, granting more independence to state-owned business enterprises, opening up the country to foreign direct investment; chinas economy has had substantial growth. In the period of 1990-2004, its economy grew at an average rate of over 9.5%,the highest growth rate in the world. In the fiscal year of 2007, chinas GDP stood at US$3.4 trillion making it the worlds third largest economy by GDP, after the United States and Japan (CNN 2009), and in 2009 surpassed Germany becoming the 2nd largest economy in per capita terms, despite global economic slowdown. Much of the success is attributed to chinas slow and steady approach in implementing the reforms. Chinas economy is expected to to grow by 9.5 % in 2010 (The State Council Development Research Centre, a leading state think tank) From figure .2 we see that Chinas output grew by 10.3% in 2010 to, slower than its growth in the previous quarter (11.9%), but not substantially slower. Inflation also eased, going below the central banks official target of 3%. The slowdown is not necessarily bad news, chinas economy is now operating at full capacity. 3. Globalisation Globalisation is is the objective trend of economic development in the world today, featured by free flow and optimized allocation of capital, technology, information and service in the global context. It is the inevitable result of the development of productive forces and advances of science and technology, especially the revolution of information technology since the 1980s and 1990s. (H.E. Ambassador Zha Peixin At Chinese Economic Association Annual Conference (14 April, 2003)) The influence of globalization on countries at different stages of development is very different China has taken advantage of increased globalisation to promote its growth and development. over the past 30 years chinas share in world trade has increased by over 20 times . Trade dependence rose from 10 to 36%. Foreign Direct investment has increased by almost 2009 over the previous year making China the third largest recipient of FDI . According to a modular study on the synergy of FDI conducted by the Development Research Centre of the State Council, Chinas GDP recorded an average annual growth rate of 9.7% over the past 20 years, of which 2.7% was attributed to FDI. These effects of globalisation have helped the Chinese people in terms of improved lifestyle and annual income and china has been labelled the next super economic power. In 1999, the world bank and the united nations development program issued a report which points that the number of poverty stricken people is increasing in many places in the world but china is an exception. The number of rural poor reduced from 250 million in 1978 to 30 million in 2000 and poverty incidence from 30.7% to about 3% in 2000. However, along with these numerous opportunities ,came hefty challenges. This has led Chinese government to adopt a series of strategically significant policies so as to address the challenge of economic globalization We shall look further into these challenges in the following sections 4.CHALLENGES RESPONSES OF CHINA China faces a number of challenges due to globalisation. Some of these include The growing income inequality gap between the rich and the poor. Unemployment, inflation Westernisation and the loss of strong cultural roots, and increase in corruption. Country-wide improvement of transport and communication. However, the more pressing challenges faced by china are analysed in more detail below 4.1 health and education Before the reform, Chinas two key health indicators i.e life expectancy and infant mortality were much better than average for low income countries andmiddle income countries. In the World Health Organizations (WHO) 1978 Alma Ata Conference Health For All by the Year 2000, Chinas primary health care system was featured as a model for the world. Life expectancy increased from 35 to 67 years and infant mortality dropped from more than 200 per 1000 to 42 per 1000. The health care system has gone through several rounds of market oriented reform since the 1980s. Despite high GDP growth rates in recent years, the quality of the health care system has not been improved or even been maintained in many ways. Health care costs skyrocketed 15 fold even after inflation was taken into account (from 14.32 billion yuan to 662.33 billion yuan), as more clinics and hospitals are pressured by the profit motive. Instead of continuing as a leader of health care performance, China has become a leader in the worldwide trend toward private health care financing In July 2005, the Development Research Center of the State Council released an official document admitting that market-oriented health care reform had not been a Success, According to a Peoples Daily Online report in October 2004, China plans to set up a cooperative health-care network by 2010 to enable Chinas 900 million rural residents to enjoy basic medical care.91 In May 2004, China Daily reported that the government will invest 1 billion yuan ($121 million USD) in projects to improve public health infrastructure in rural areas As with health care, education costs have skyrocketed in the last 20 years while the share of government financing has dropped significantly. In 1999, public spending on education was only 2.79 percent of GDP, in comparison to 4.38 percent of the world average. This means that the cost of education has become very high and children from rural poor families asr forced to drop out. Also, with much emphasis being put on higher learning, education is increasingly geared toward book knowledge and college entrance exams, often ignoring community conditions and needs. Education has therefore become a risky investment especially for poor countries as the chances of upward social mobility are limited March 2005, Prime Minister Wen Jiabao announced a fee-exemption policy. The policy will remove fees for 14 million students in the countrys 592 poorest counties. The plan will continue until all rural students receive a free primary education. The government also promised funds to modernize rural schools over the next five years to reflect education in urban centers-supplying technology such as satellite educational programs and educational DVDs. 4.2 Environmental degradation As an economy grows, so does its demand for resources and environmental problems arises. China mainly exports are manufactured goods, and in the process of manufacturing there is always some form of degradation or pollution done to the environment. An estimated 300million people are drinking contaminated water in china, only 20% of solid waste is properly disposed of, and only 10% of sewage is treated according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development These environmental problems are costing 7% of China GDP, and will rise to 13% if this problem is not addressed properly. In 1994, the government began a massive clean up campaign for the Huai River, one of the most polluted rivers in China. After billions of dollars were poured into the cleanup effort, the improvement of the water quality still remains an illusion The development of China has been accompanied by industrial and mining accidents, and severe ecological damage such as deforestation, desertification and soil erosion, the report says. It estimates that 2.64m sq km, or 27.5% of the countrys landmass is now becoming desertified. Some 400 million people are affected by extensive soil salination and blowing sand. This is leading to villages becoming buried, the reduced life of irrigation works and widescale respiratory diseases. (OECD,2007) Chinas air pollution increased this year for the first time since 2005, the environmental protection ministry has said, due to sandstorms, a rise in construction and industrial projects, and more cars. The explosion of private vehicles in recent years (19 percent annual growth) has increased oil consumption. The ministry found that the number of good air quality days in 113 major cities across the nation had dropped 0.3 percentage points in the first six months of the year compared with the same time last year.(physorg.com) More construction and industrial projects that started this year due to economic recovery and the rapid increase in automobiles should also be blamed, Chai Fahe, vice head of the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, told the China Daily newspaper. Theres also increased demand for oil and other fossil fuels occurs implicating a rise in carbon emissions. Both China and India are carbon hungry nations and in the past years, nations consent to purchasing carbon emissions (Carbon Offsets Daily, 2009). The Chinese government has expressed a keen interest in addressing the problem by establishing many different laws and regulation regarding the environmental protection and resources management As a solution to global warming, the Chinese president introduced the carbon intensity measure, in this, the nation is planning to decline its emissions of CO2 per unit of GDP by 2020 (BBC News, 2009). The government is hoping to promote renewable energy resource projects, such as hydroelectric, solar and wind energy, by offering financial incentives. The Chinese government has allowed the proliferation of environmental NGOs, hoping these NGOs can fill in the gap to educate the public on related issues and address the countrys pressing ecological problems. There are about 2,000 officially registered environmental NGOs, with perhaps as many registered as business enterprises, or not registered at all. Many international NGOs such as the Nature Conservancy, Conservation International, World Wildlife Fund, and Greenpeace have established offices in China. Many green NGOs have worked very closely with Chinas State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA). In December 2004, SEPA suspended the construction of about 30 large projects because they lacked the environmental impact assessment required by law 4.3 Competitors Chinas export-led economy has facilitated trading with other countries.. During the global recession prices of exports increased as a result of inflation. This gave way for other low wage countries to gain foreign direct investments from host countries that outsource labour. In 2004, several multinational companies outsourced from India and Bangladesh which offer same or even less wages than china (srinvasan 2004) china formed partnerships with its dominant economies, Brazil, india and Russia ( also known as the Big four) in order to reduce on the competition and create fairer trade conditions for the member countries. 4.4 Domestic consumption China is an export led economy and it faces the challenge of transitioning to one that depends mainly on domestic consumption. An economy cannot rely only on foreign exports for future GDP growth. Domestic demand is weak as Chinese consumption is low. Responding to the dramatic change in the economic climate, China has made a fundamental shift from over-relying on exports to boosting domestic consumption to keep its economy afloat, Chinas Vice President, Xi Jinping, calling for a new direction, argued that we must develop the economy mainly by relying on the domestic market and attach great importance to domestic demand, especially consumption demand, in driving economic development.. This may be achieved by emphasizing private consumption, keeping inflation low and sustaining a strong currency in order to keep the purchasing power of the consumer boosted. The transition, though healthy for the long-term, is unlikely to be smooth. Export-oriented factories cannot suddenly be rebuilt to serve domestic needs. 5. Conclusion Since the economic reform when china opened up its trade barriers to other countries, it has seen high levels of economic growth. Much of this success can be attributed to its large population which provided a large work force, that enabled increase in productivity making china one of the worlds leading exporters. One can reasonably say that chinas advantage in human resources has largely been liquidated. However the number of elderly has increased alongside decreasing fertility rates. leaving the government with the challenge of improving health sector so as to Higher education has increased significantly in recent years, but at the cost of basic public education for most children. One could reasonably propose that Chinas advantage in human resources has largely been liquidated. This also partly explains why Environmental degradation has also been a key setback and the government has encouraged NGOs that focus on environmental issues to sensitises the public.. Chinese environmentalists need to gain independence both financially and intellectually. The heavy dependence on international funding makes them vulnerable to political attacks. Some have been accused of being foreign agents who are trying to stop Chinas development. Instead of learning only from their western counterparts, Chinese groups need to have more exchange and communications with ecological colleagues from other developing countries China is also putting more into research and technological development in order to face the challenge of competition. They hope that by offering superior products they will continue to remain at the top of the export market. But china still has a long way to go in terms of technological development and creativity.)` China now depends so much on exports of labor-intensive products, directly competing with other developing countries. But for china to depend solely on exports is not wise so the government believes that by boosting domestic consumption, it will form a more balanced economy. Globalisation has offered china opportunities as well as challenges. And it is striving to reap benefits from the advantages while avoiding harm from the disadvantages.