CIPD Profession Map Essay

Introduction This report is a brief summary of the CIPD Profession Map, the two core professional areas, the specialist areas, the bands and the behaviours. It will be going into more detail in the activities and knowledge specified within the professional area of Performance and Rewards at band 1 level. It will identify the activities and knowledge most essential to my own HR role. The CIPD Profession Map (CIPD, 2013) The professional map is a universal platform for HR professionals, which describes what you need to do, what you need to know and how to do it. It is designed by professionals for professionals. The 10 Professional Areas There are two core professional areas; Insights, Strategy and Solutions and Leading HR, these sit at the centre of the profession and are relevant to all HR professionals in all roles, locations and at all stages of the HR career. These two areas support the direction of the profession as a business discipline. Insights, Strategy and Solutions – Developing an understanding of an organisation and its back-ground in order to style its strategy and solutions and to meet its needs for now and in the future, by reading relevant information and articles to build and broaden an understanding of new initiatives and practices across areas of HR. Leading HR – Act as a role-model to expand the influence HR makes to the organisation both through its own efforts and through supporting, developing and measuring others across the organisation. This can be done by providing advice confidentially based on a sound understanding of the organisations policy and practice. (CIPD, The CIPD Pr ofession Map, pp. 10, 14) The remaining eight professional areas are: Organisational Design – To ensure the organisation is suitably planned to deliver maximum impact in the short and long term. Organisational Development – Identify organisational and individual capability requirements  and support all processes to enhance effectiveness and achieve organisation goals, culture, behaviours and skills Resourcing and Talent Planning – Ensuring the organisation has the right resource, competence, ability and talent to achieve the immediate and strategic goals. Learning and Development – Build individual and organisational capability and knowledge to meet current and strategic requirements. Performance and Reward – Deliver programmes that reward and recognise key employees, in a fair and cost effective manner. Employee Engagement – Strengthen the connection between the organisation and employees so that employees are more fulfilled by their work. Employee Relations – Underpin the organisations culture, practices, policies and relevant law. Service Delivery and Information – Customer focused delivery across the entire employee lifecycle. (CIPD, The CIPD Profession Map, pp. 17-39) The 4 Bands and Transitions The four bands of professional competence outline the influence that professionals make at every stage of their HR career. The transition challenges relate to moving from one band to another. (CIPD, The CIPD Profession Map, pp. 6-7) The 8 Behaviours Below are eight behaviours that each HR professional needs to carry out their activities: 1. Curious 2. Decisive Thinker 3. Skilled Influencer 4. Personally Credible 5. Collaborative 6. Driven to Deliver 7. Courage to Challenge 8. Role Model (CIPD, The CIPD Profession Map, p. 43) The Professional Area of Performance and Reward Performance and rewards is defined as: â€Å"Help create and maintain a high-achieving organisation culture by delivering programmes that reward and recognise key employees capabilities, skills, behaviours, experience and performance, and ensure that reward systems are market-relevant and cost effective† At Band 1 the following activities need to be done: Identify requirements and develop strategy Diversity and compliance Implement pay and reward practice Execute individually tailored and international rewards Communication and performance culture The most essential to my role is Identify Requirements and Develop Strategy, in the last annual appraisals I was tasked with collating the appraisal forms and analysing the data on the forms to provide information to directors as to how employees felt about their future within the organisation and what the organisation could do to further their career progression. The most essential area of my role is: Collate Data Analyse Data After completing the evaluation of My HR Map tool the following areas were identified for development: Become a policy expert Know the organisation by studying the performance and rewards data and familiarise myself with the policies and practices. Keep abreast of relevant employment law Spend time with expatriate employees to understand impact Use my own network to provide feedback. Conclusion This report has briefly summarised the CIPD Profession Map – the 2 core professional areas, 8 specialist professional areas, the 4 bands and 8 behaviours. It has also commented on the activities and knowledge specified within the Performance and Rewards professional area at band 1. Activity 2 How a HR Practitioner should ensure the services they provide are timely and effective: Within my HR role, my three main customers are: 1. Current Employees 2. Future Employees 3. Management Customers Needs Current Employees Information on employment contracts and policies Future Employees Induction – information on company policies Management Guidance and advice on staffing issues Firstly you need to establish what the customer’s requirements are by asking questions and collating the data to understand the customer’s needs. Your service delivery approach should use effective technology and comply with the organisations procedures. It is important to build a customer service culture and measure its effectiveness. Prioritising the needs of each customer can be problematic, as each one can feel their need is greater. For example current employees may need information regarding their benefits such as private medical and future employees may be asking questions on company policies with regard to annual leave before they sign their employment contract, which in turn will mean management will be chasing for this to be resolved as quickly as possible. As an HR professional it would be your job to ascertain which demands were the most urgent, ensuring that customer focus needs are managed in a timely and effective manner. It is important that all customers are kept informed and given realistic expectations of how and when HR can deal with their questions. Effective Communication Below is a table with 3 examples of effective communications to customers: Communication Advantages Disadvantages Telephone Conversation Instant Personal Global Reach Ability to Conference Call Time Zones Unable to Read Body-language Signal Problems No Audit Trail Social Media Instant Large Audience Visual Good for Recruitment Not Confidential Character Size Limit Access Mis-use Post Recorded Personal Confidential Audit Trail Slow Cost Time Consuming Unsure if message has been understood Delivering Service on Time and on Budget For effective service delivery HR needs to prioritise to ensure that any queries are handled in an effective manner according to urgency and what impact it has on the customer and the organisation. To deliver the service  you must ensure you are consistent and that you understand what expectations your customers have. Managing time and current workload is crucial to ensure that the service is delivered on time. An HR practitioner should always be aware of the cost constraints and the organisational financial model supporting service delivery. It is important to have service delivery targets within an organisation, such as a Service Level Agreement, which is an extension of the customer care concept. Dealing with Difficult Customers and Resolving Complaints When dealing with difficult customers it is important to plan your response carefully and to ensure that the following steps are met: Listen to what they are saying – do not interrupt Sympathise / empathise Don’t justify Ask relevant questions Agree a course of action Check the course of action – use their words to clarify If the above is followed, it will make the customer feel valued and promote the HR department for giving excellent customer service. Bibliography CIPD. (2013). www.cipd.co.uk. CIPD. (n.d.). The CIPD Profession Map.

Social Benefits of Audit

Audit emerges because society needed. Auditing has been a regular feature of organized human activity from the earliest times. Indeed evidence suggests that formal audit procedures existed in the economic activities of the most of the early civilization. With the advancement of development, audit emerges as a separate discipline & contributes to the economic & social advancement. Audits serve a vital economic purpose and play an important role in serving the public interest to strengthen accountability and reinforce trust and confidence in financial reporting. As such, audits help enhance economic prosperity, expanding the variety, number and value of transactions that people are prepared to enter into. However, in recent years, and in the light of corporate scandals, we have witnessed ongoing global demands for improvements in audit quality. Changes have been taken place to promote greater transparency in the audit and accountability in auditors but there are continuing demands for further improvements to be made. Definition of audit: The availability and use of resources is strongly influenced by the type of economic policies that entities implement. Modern audit is concerned with citizen’s economic and social benefits. In the jargon of economics, government actions typically ‘distort’ the operation of economies, compared with the benchmark of a competitive market economy, and assumed to be able to operate without any government intervention. Such actions can only be justified by auditor if there are benefits stemming from the action that outweigh its costs. Here is an example of such logic applied to education: To finance better-quality schooling for those who have the least educated parents, and who attend the worse schools, it may be necessary to raise taxes on other people. The basic economic insight that such taxation distorts incentives remains valid. Such policies should be implemented only to the extent that the (present) value of the long-run benefits of greater equity exceed the efficiency costs of funding them. [World Bank, World Development Report 2006 (Washington DC: World Bank, 2006) at page 22. Benefits and costs are typically measured using a money-metric. Education is typically valued in terms of additions to a person’s expected future lifetime earnings, placing a low value on education of people whose expected future lifetime earnings are low, and no value on people for whom such earnings are zero. The same tension can be found if we look at the economy as a whole. Neoclassical economics judges the benefits of economic policies in terms of maximizing the output of goods and services, as measured by the level and rate of growth of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It is assumed that rapid economic growth will lift people out of poverty, and that private ownership and market competition are likely to be the best mechanisms for maximizing economic growth. (This belief is what underpins the advocacy of privatization of public enterprises and services, and liberalization of markets). If some people are left behind, or indeed made worse-off, by policies aimed at maximizing national output, then it is assumed that ‘winners’ can compensate ‘losers’, for instance via taxation and public expenditure ( though these instruments must be used in a way that minimizes so-called ‘distortions’). This might be described as a strategy of ‘first maximize the size of the pie, then hope that it will be sliced up in such a way that nobody is made worse off’. Note that this approach is indifferent as to whether the losers are people who are already very rich, or very poor. Each is equally deserving of compensation. Nor does it pay much attention to the likelihood of compensation actually taking place. If the policy measures are expected to produce the maximum possible extra output, then auditor will express opinion that is enough for them to be judged ‘optimal’. States enjoy a margin of discretion in selecting the means to carry out their obligations. However, in discharging their obligations for the realization of economic and social rights, states must pay regard to the following key points: the requirement for progressive realization; the use of maximum available resources; the avoidance of retrogression; the satisfaction of minimum essential levels of economic and social rights; non-discrimination and equality; and participation, transparency and accountability. These principles can be used as a framework for auditing economic policy. Role of audit to the social perspective: Governments are facing an ever? growing demand to be more accountable and socially responsible and the people are becoming more assertive about their rights to be informed and to influence governments? decision? making processes. Faced with these demands, the executive and the legislature are looking for new ways to evaluate their performance. Civil society organizations are also undertaking ? Social Audits? to monitor and verify the social performance claims of the organizations and institutions. Social Audit is a tool with which government departments can plan, manage and measure non? financial activities and monitor both internal and external consequences of the department/organization’s social and commercial operations. It is an instrument of social accountability for an organisation. In other words, Social Audit may be defined as an in? depth scrutiny and analysis of the working of any public utility vis? a? vis its social relevance. Social Audit has significant role in social development. Purpose of the Social Audit The purpose of conducting Social Audit is not to find fault with the individual functionaries but to assess the performance in terms of social, environmental and community goals of the organisation. It is a way of measuring the extent to which an organisation lives up to the shared values and objectives it has committed itself to. It provides an assessment of the impact of organisations non-financial objectives through systematic and regular monitoring, based on the views of its stakeholders. Salient Features The foremost principle of Social Audit is to achieve continuously improved performances in relation to the chosen social objectives. Eight specific key principles have been identified from Social Auditing practices around the world. They are: 1. Multi? Perspective/Polyvocal. Aims to reflect the views (voices) of all those people (stakeholders) involved with or affected by the organisation/department/programme. 2. Comprehensive. Aims to (eventually) report on all aspects of the organisation? s work and performance. 3. Participatory. Encourages participation of stakeholders and sharing of their values. 4. Multidirectional. Stakeholders share and give feedback on multiple aspects. 5. Regular. Aims to produce social accounts on a regular basis so that the concept and the practice become embedded in the culture of the organisation covering all the activities. 6. Comparative. Provides a means, whereby, the organisation can compare its own performance each year and against appropriate external norms or benchmarks; and provide for comparisons with organisations doing similar work and reporting in similar fashion. 7. Verification. Ensures that the social accounts are audited by a suitably experienced person or agency with no vested interest in the organisation. . Disclosure. Ensures that the audited accounts are disclosed to stakeholders and the wider community in the interests of accountability and transparency. The following figure depicts the principles of Social Audit and universal values: These are the pillars of Social Audit, where socio? cultural, administrative, legal and democratic settings form the foundation to operational social Audit. The Social Audit process is intended as a means for social engagement, transparency and communication of information, leading to greater accountability of decision? akers, representatives, managers and officials. The underlying ideas are directly linked to concepts of democracy and participation. The application of Social Audit at the village level holds tremendous potential for contributing to good local governance and increased transparency and accountability of the local bodies. Applying the Tool The six steps of Social Auditing are: 1. Preparatory activities 2. Defining audit boundaries and identifying stakeholders 3. Social accounting and book? keeping 4. Preparing and using social accounts 5. Social audit and dissemination 6. Feedback and institutionalization of social audit Stakeholder consultation, involving department functionaries and civil society, would be the forum for sharing the Social Audit plan. This consultation would clarify the issues important for Social Auditing, role of stakeholders, as well as commitments from them. The outcome of the consultation would be fed into the process of detailing out: the indicators to be monitored; which existing records are to be used; and how additional information would be collected. The next key step is to fix responsibilities for various activities. The activities include preparing formats for social account? keeping, compilation of data and reporting the same on a monthly basis (internal use). Managers of the department/programmes can use this information for monitoring as well as providing feedback for improving performance and overcoming bottlenecks. Ideally, Social Audit should be conducted regularly, and the method should be developed through a participatory relationship between the auditor and the organisations/departments. The following figure depicts the detailed steps followed in the social audit cycle.

Substance Abouse while in prison Research Paper

Substance Abouse while in prison - Research Paper Example This paper will evaluate the prevalence of substance abuse in prisons and also their health implications to the users. Adequate literature will also be reviewed to identify the effective responses which have been formulated to deal with the problems of substance abuse in prison as well as the evidence of harm reduction strategies. This paper hopes to give insights and motivation for those countries going through the same menace to consider implementing such responses to curb the drug use in their prisons. The prison population is composed of a large percentage of drug users particularly in the developed countries. According to Zurhold, Stà ¶ver, & Haasen, (2004), there is an estimated fifty percent of prisoners who have been involved with substance abuse a time in their history in the European Union and an estimated 80% of prisoners in the USA. Injecting drug users are more than 50% of the entire population of the drug users in prison (Dolan et al., 2007), while in the contemporary community, they account for barely 1-3% which shows that drug use in prison is more dangerous than in the broader community (Aceijas et al., 2004). Many users of drugs in prisons are highly dependent on the drugs as more than 80% of prisoners in developed countries have been reported to have been under the influence of illicit substances while they were in prison. The situation is mostly prevalent because most of the notorious drug users have been in prison at a point in time. The collection of many large scale substance abusers at the same time and at the same place enhances exchange of ideas and practices such that the result of it is a population of heavy abusers of drugs and other illicit substances. Many prisons have put very strict measures to inhibit the entry of drugs in the prisons but in most countries, this has been very unsuccessful. Despite those

Securing the Land Borders and the Coastal Waterways from International Research Paper

Securing the Land Borders and the Coastal Waterways from International Terrorism - Research Paper Example What is clear is that international terrorism is on the rise as many extremists continue to propagate their course. This may be economic, religious, political or even social (Schmid, 2008). The main strategy that will aid in reducing chances of terrorism is by securing the land and all water borders. This paper will look at the benefits that accrue from securing land borders and coastal waterways against international terrorism (Young, 2006). The act of terrorism is carefully articulated by a group of individuals who have targets, goals and objectives. This means that they will go to exceptional heights and extremes to accomplish their motives (Schmid, 2008). The land, water and sky, which represent the open space, are factors that work in favor of terrorist activities, if they are not tightly secured. It is crucial for each country to ensure that they have secured their land borders and their coastal waterways. Many countries have been caught in security breaches that have cost the country lives, destruction of property and the general attempt on the country’s sovereignty (Schmid, 2008). Land borders are secured by screening every person that uses the border as a means to travel from one area to the next. This is accompanied by any supporting document approved by law to represent eligibility of entrance (Young, 2006). Each and every person entering any said country by sea must be screened at the water way or harbor for purposes of screening and confirming their presence in the country, legally. The security of the sea and its ports is represented by the travel initiative that has been adopted in the country in question. In the US, any person entering the country using the sea must have certification that complies with the (WHTI). This is the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative which is a representation of many other documents and certificates of travel (Schmid, 2008). It ensures that the person trying to enter the country using

Uniting Legl Dctrine nd Discurse t Rethink Wmen's Wrkplce Rights Essay

Uniting Legl Dctrine nd Discurse t Rethink Wmen's Wrkplce Rights - Essay Example As the discussion stresses almÐ ¾st since the Ð ¾rigins Ð ¾f the struggle fÐ ¾r wÐ ¾men's rights, disÐ °greement hÐ °s existed Ð ¾ver the mÐ ¾st effective wÐ °ys tÐ ¾ secure wÐ ¾men's equÐ °l stÐ °nding befÐ ¾re the lÐ °w. Despite impÐ ¾rtÐ °nt Ð °dvÐ °ncements, the lÐ °w cÐ ¾nsistently hÐ °s limited wÐ ¾men's rights when cÐ ¾mpÐ °red tÐ ¾ thÐ ¾se Ð °ccÐ ¾rded tÐ ¾ men. The Ð °rticle thÐ °t is being Ð °nÐ °lyzed Ð °pplies feminist reÐ °dings Ð ¾f rhetÐ ¾ricÐ °l theÐ ¾ry Ð °nd the lÐ °w tÐ ¾ help explÐ °in the reÐ °ch Ð °nd ideÐ ¾lÐ ¾gy Ð ¾f legÐ °l lÐ °nguÐ °ge prÐ °ctices thÐ °t perpetuÐ °te structurÐ °l Ð °nd Ð °ttitudinÐ °l bÐ °rriers tÐ ¾ gender equÐ °lity. In unmÐ °sking legÐ °l discÐ ¾urses Ð ¾f pÐ ¾wer used tÐ ¾ mÐ °rginÐ °lize the stÐ °tus Ð ¾f wÐ ¾men wÐ ¾rkers, the Ð °uthÐ ¾r fÐ ¾cuses upÐ ¾n the Supreme CÐ ¾urt's treÐ °tment Ð ¾f wÐ ¾men in Ð ° series Ð ¾f cÐ °ses Ð °ddressing wÐ ¾rker rights Ð °nd Ð ¾ccupÐ °tiÐ ¾nÐ °l freedÐ ¾m. In dÐ ¾ing sÐ ¾ the fÐ ¾cus is cÐ ¾ntended tÐ ¾ the pÐ ¾int thÐ °t CÐ ¾urt decisiÐ ¾ns invÐ ¾lving wÐ ¾men's Ð ¾ccupÐ °tiÐ ¾nÐ °l freedÐ ¾m cÐ ¾ntribute tÐ ¾ the cÐ ¾ntinued subÐ ¾rdinÐ °tiÐ ¾n Ð ¾f wÐ ¾men in the wÐ ¾rkplÐ °ce. This research declares that the structure Ð ¾f the Ð °rticle is simple Ð °nd fÐ ¾llÐ ¾ws the lÐ ¾gicÐ °l thinking Ð ¾f the Ð °uthÐ ¾r Ð °s she is fÐ ¾rwÐ °rding the issues Ð ¾f rights equÐ °lity Ð ¾n the wÐ ¾rkplÐ °ce, in pÐ ¾litics Ð °nd in Ð ¾ther Ð °reÐ °s Ð ¾f life where the men seem tÐ ¾ dÐ ¾minÐ °te. UltimÐ °tely, this pÐ °rt cÐ ¾ncludes thÐ °t by integrÐ °ting the structure Ð ¾f legÐ °l rules with the lÐ °nguÐ °ge used tÐ ¾ express them intÐ ¾ Ð ¾ne Ð °nÐ °lyticÐ °l methÐ ¾d, it is pÐ ¾ssible tÐ ¾ exÐ °mine the discÐ ¾urse thÐ °t cÐ ¾urts hÐ °ve used tÐ ¾ justify cÐ ¾ntinued restrictiÐ ¾ns Ð ¾n wÐ ¾men in the wÐ ¾rkplÐ °ce.

FridgeCom Case Study Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

FridgeCom Case Study - Assignment Example Generally speaking a leader is a one who can lead his or her followers to achieve a common goal (Haslam, 2004, p.53). Scholars on time to time basis made several attempts to define leadership but they realised that â€Å"leadership has been a complex and elusive problem largely because the nature of leadership itself is complex† (Daft, 2007, p.4). Traditionally leadership was viewed as an influence of leader over the followers to achieve the common goal but in contemporary business environment leadership can be considered as â€Å"the process of producing direction, alignment and commitment in collective† (Velsor, 2010). Many a time, people do get confused with the concept of leadership and management. Leadership is just one of the basic characteristic to be possessed by the manager to fulfil their job responsibilities. Apart from the leadership quality, a manger must possess other qualities like motivational skill, time management ability and efficiency to conduct planning, managing and execution of day to day activities (Cherry & Jacob, 2005, p.367). However, it must be understood that a manager may not possess leadership qualities and a leader not necessarily be a leader. The leadership style followed by different leaders varies from individual to individual. These leadership styles are influenced by several internal as well as external factors. The internal factors are specific to a leader and these can be called the leadership traits. Again, the external factors such as the organisational culture, the job responsibility and the internal situations are equally important. In the early days the scholars identified some of the vital traits which must be present in a leader and this theory was called â€Å"trait theory†. This theory was proposed by Sir Francis Galton in 1869. Some of the common teats to be possessed by the leader were need for

Critically examine the role that technology can play in the Essay

Critically examine the role that technology can play in the recruitment and selection proces - Essay Example Many human resource practitioners spend a huge amount of time in handling activities related to recruitment and selection of new employees (Florea & Badea 2013). Most of these activities might include one-off recruitment episodes to grand recruitment campaigns launched to recruit and select replacement staff, trainees, staff with skills, graduates and many more (Martin,Whiting & Jackson 2010). Due to this engagement, the human resource managers find it easy or difficult to meet the required standards of an organization. It is because of this tedious work most human resource mangers undergo that has le d to the mass adoption of technology in the whole process of recruitment and selection. According to available literature studies, almost 98% of all organizations in the world have incorporated the use of technology and internet in carrying out the process of recruiting and selecting new employees into the workforce. With the ever increased advancement in technology, it is arguably true that recruitment is the most technologically influenced sector in any organizational setting. According to Aarhus (n.d), e-recruiting has taken centre stage and has fundamentally influenced the corporate recruiting process starting from the batch mode to the continuous mode, leading to a major change in the way the business is done. Ensher, Nielson and Vallone (2002) contend that most companies have adopted the most elaborative and creative methods to procure the services of the most qualified talents from the ever sinking pool of talent. More specifically, the human resource managers are currently using technology and the internet to enhance the process of recruitment and selection. As reported by the CMA, the use of technology and internet in the recruitment and selection increased from just 29% in 1998 to 88% by the year 2001. Ensher et al. (2002) further points out that the use of technology in the Human reso urce management is witnessed in three broad

Consumer behaviour analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Consumer behaviour analysis - Assignment Example One of the advantages of undertaking an analysis of consumer behavior is that it enables the business to produce goods and services that meet the specific needs of consumers. Businesses have to make a consideration of the buyers’ cultural determinants of their purchase patterns and other factors so that they address them in the product design and development (Kumra 32). In assessing the culture of the target market, consumes have to understand that some products can do well in certain places and not others. In this case, they have to ensure that they avoid those places that they do not stand to sell their products for various reasons. Alternatively, they can design products that fulfill the needs of those populations effectively. A marketing strategy refers to approach designed by a business to increase its sales and achieve a sustainable and reliable competitive advantage in the market place. The strategy comprises of all the fundamental short and long-term activities in the marketing field. A reliable marketing strategy in a company addresses the analysis of initial situations towards the process of formulating, evaluating and selecting market –oriented approaches in tandem with the laid down goals and objectives (Morphitou and Savvas 201). In designing this strategy, cultural considerations that will play a role include the beliefs and values of people pertaining the goods and services (Mooij 35). The company has to design a marketing approach that appeals to the market’s beliefs and practices. For instance, when people believe that smartphones are essential in enhancing the value of their personal and social services, the business has to use promotional tools and language the emphasize on this issues. Secondly, consumer behavior characteristics are also essential in designing the marketing strategies. Consumers’ preferences for certain brands

Childhood Obesity and its Risks Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Childhood Obesity and its Risks - Research Paper Example The introduction of the article gave a brief description of body mass index ( BMI) as a measure of obesity. The historical background of the research is focused on the increased cardiovascular risk for obese children. The importance of measuring BMI and its validity in establishing obesity was a good platform for establishing a good hypothesis. The study was conducted no less than one of the authors with another group of researchers. Studies citing complications that arose from obese children in a 40 yr follow-up study by Jacques et al it was presented. Accordingly, the study by Jacques revealed that childhood obesity did not only result in diabetes but led to increased mortality due to coronary artery disease as well. The present study hypothesized that early childhood obesity along with a sedentary lifestyle increases the risk of diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. This translates to the higher incidence of mortality when these children become adults. For the methods section, a comparative survey that compares the BMI across teens in the US was used. The cited study was done by Lissau et al published in 2003. The method engaged was a cross-comparison of incidence of obesity in teens in the US against teens in Europe. The comparison resulted in the conclusion that the occurrence of obesity in US teens is three times higher than European counterparts. Unfortunately, much cannot be said about statistical data since the study was just referenced in the journal. In addition, the lot of the given conclusions were summaries of compiled studies. In fact, the journal is more like of an informative and persuasive article that warns the public of the dangers of childhood obesity.

Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 34

Philosophy - Essay Example He believed that it was up to every person to contemplate and search into his soul to find out who he or she was. Except for very rare instances cited by a few historians, he hardly ever worked. He also never wrote. He prided himself on the questions he asked. Even this is not entirely true. He didn’t pride himself on anything. He never offered answers. One of his most famous sayings is:†I know that I know nothing.† This is a whole complex issue known as the â€Å"Socratic Problem.† Socrates was extremely cynical and many of his sayings were paradoxical because they contradicted common sense. Some of these are: â€Å"No one desires evil.† "No one errs or does wrong willingly or knowingly." "Virtue—all virtue—is knowledge." "Virtue is sufficient for happiness." "I know that I know nothing noble and good† (Irwin, 64). But by far his most famous saying is â€Å"I only know that I know nothing.† Plato wrote a series entitled Socratic Dialogues (The Republic, Apology of Socrates, etc.) in which he presented discussions between Socrates and other contemporary philosophers and between Socrates and his many students. As the only source of Socrates’ philosophical beliefs is Plato’s writings, it is difficult to distinguish those of Socrates’ beliefs from those of Plato. There are those who believe that Plato did, in fact, have his own philosophical orientation. There is controversy among scholars over what these were because of the difficulty of separating Socrates from Plato in Plato’s dialogues. Consequently, distinguishing the philosophical beliefs of Socrates from those of Plato and Xenophon is not easy and it must be remembered that what is attributed to Socrates might more closely reflect the specific concerns of these thinkers. The matter is complicated because the historical Socrates seems to have been notorious for asking questions but not answering them, claiming to lack wisdom concerning the subjects

Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger Essay Example for Free

Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger Essay In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the author takes us on a journey with Holden Caulfield, a sixteen-year-old boy, going in and out of many boarding schools. When he gets kicked out of Pencey the story begins. In fear of coming home to his parents, Holden takes a trip to New York; which leaves him at the point of mental, physical, and emotional insanity. As the novel goes on his obsession with keeping children from losing their purity grows. The adult world seems fake, and Holden does not respect people who made the transition. In Gerald Rosen’s â€Å"A Retrospective Look At The Catcher In The Rye† he explores Holden’s connection to other characters in the book. He also analyzes the difficulties in crossing over to the adult world. Holden qualms the crossing over due to the fact that losing one’s innocence will force one to face reality, and will at times cause adults to â€Å"fall† into a deeper hole. Holden’s mania of keeping children from transitioning to adult hood shows all throughout The Catcher in the Rye. Rosen explains that during the period of time Holden was in the museum he made it known that everything always stayed the same. The purpose of the â€Å"glass cases† acts as a defense against touching, or tainting. â€Å"Like the children in the museum, to protect the innocent, the catcher must strictly refrain from touching; he must ‘just leave them alone’’’ (Rosen). This moment in the book compares the protected artifacts to the innocence of a child. He feels that if the children had someone to protect them from getting affected (â€Å"touched†) by the hard and cruel times in life they could hold onto their purity for as long as possible. Holden expresses the fact that he wants ensure security and stability during these times in life. This point seems to be the first point in the novel where Holden shows a desire to keep children from corruption. â€Å"Anyway, I keep picturing all these kids playing some game in the big field of rye and allWhat I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start going over the cliff† (Salinger 173). Holden wants to â€Å"catch† the kids from their transition into an adult. He does not want them having to deal with losses they will have to overcome in life. He believes that going into adulthood marks the point where society shows its true face. Since Allie, Holden brother’s, death he sees how reality twists and warps in sick ways. While walking around the museum he sees profanity. â€Å"I went down by a different staircase, and I saw another ‘Fuck You’ on the wall. I tried to rub it off with my hand again, but this one was scratched on, with a knife or something. It wouldn’t come off. It’s hopeless, anyway. If you had a million years to do it in, you couldn’t rub out even half of the ‘Fuck You’ signs in the world. It’s impossible† (Salinger 173).When Holden see those words written on the wall he realizes that the youth has already gone through exposure to corruption and cannot go backwards. Holden now understands his inability to save the children from â€Å"falling†, growing up. Since Holden has spent most of his time refraining other from going into adulthood, he did not see how much he himself has fallen. Holden has many similar qualities to a former classmate, James Castle. â€Å"Holden is identified with Castle by Castle’s having killed himself while wearing Holden’s sweater and by Castle’s appearing just before Holden on the roll call and school. This carries the implication that Holden maybe next in line for Castle’s death† (Rosen). James Castle’s way of and to death influenced Holden’s view of life. He suddenly became ostracized in society surrounded by a bunch of â€Å"phonies†. Death was the start and end of Holden’s loss of innocence. Holden never truly had an adult figure in life. His parents detached themselves from him, in times of his need. Feeling like he needed to communicate with someone he called his former teacher, Mr. Antolini. Holden wants to catch children from falling, where as Mr. Antolini wants to save Holden from a rough way down. â€Å"I have a feeling that you’re falling, a terrible,terrible fall† (Salinger 186).Mr. Antolini says this because ever since Allie’s death Holden has had a series of falls. Even though Allie was younger than Holden, he idolized him and thinks very highly of him. Mr. Antolini symbolizes Holden’s loss of Allie, loneliness, and inability to posess self-esteem. Holden wants to provide insurance for children so they do not experience the reality of society and from â€Å"falling† into a deeper hole. Making sure he succeeds, he does everything to keep them from going over the edge. Holden grows up through the novel, and realized that losing one’s innocence in is an unavoidable part of life. In this stage of life one makes the most mistakes and learns from them. If one never went through experience necessary to grow into an adult, they would seem very naà ¯ve and easily taken advantage of. People that have gone through the difficult crossing over want to protect children from the hard-ships. Works Cited Rosen, Gerald. â€Å"A Retrospective Look At The Catcher In The Rye.† American Quarterly 457-462 Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 1951.

Iq Tests Not Accurate Measure Of Persons Intelligence Psychology Essay

Iq Tests Not Accurate Measure Of Persons Intelligence Psychology Essay The subject of intelligence is a very contentious area of psychology, as an outcome of warmed argument on the components and determinants for several distinct grades of intelligence. Even then, as persons considered and argued, as not a good way to consider the proficiency of persons, or biased supportive those from distinct communal strata so, to start this consideration, we should gaze at the contentious topics and discover both edges of the topic and the inquiry we start with: Why is the delineation and estimation of intelligence to conceive a problem? (Ciarrochi, J, et al 2001) The concept that we can assess human intelligence in the written check method is usually advised the first two psychologists were presented in 1904, Binet and Simon, who were requested to conceive tests to recognize young children who may require added support from by the school scheme because of smaller intelligence quotient (IQ). By 1905, the first test was set up and prepared to be accomplished by a little experiment of students. Tests were then reconsidered for some years, and numerous other trials were chosen to take part in the standardization method (SP). (Ciarrochi, J, et al 2001) AP was initially conceived to assess the intelligence of young children under the age of 16 years, although, when the report come to America of tests, a psychologist at Stanford University, started to modify and acclimatize the inquiries in the test, in order that by 1960, they could not only test of U.S. scholars but the topics were junior than 18 years. The tests have assisted in the 70s and 80s, and extend to be acclimatized, and now an IQ test can be utilized to test the so-called understanding, extending from 2years to 23 years and 11months vintage, which coincidentally is my age time of this writing. Because of the engagement of Stanford University in the development of these tests, the test is now broadly renowned as the Stanford-Binet test. However, there are numerous inquiries and arguments that enclose these and any other kinds of intelligence / proficiency tests, acknowledging their validity, reliability and neutrality in this matter. History In the past, IQ tests have been glimpsed as a way to differentiate who might be the human right to work on the part of employers, although, it was verified that they can only actually assist find workers for certain work, if it entails many of employed papers and what is educated in school. (Fitness, J. 2000) A study undertook on the validity of the tests IQ (Ghiselli, 1966) displayed that there is a association between the supple dough and work capability / achievement amidst brokers (as it is in require, learned ability), while there was little to no association for those applying the policeman (which needs less learned ability). IQ tests are, thus, stay the best signs of how the taught persons who are fundamentally what they were initially conceived for anyway. Perhaps the most widespread condemnation of testing IQ, is that most of them only to contrast two or three distinct localities of thoughtful features, for example mathematical, spatial perception (to some extent), and syntax, but since there is no clear delineation or exact intelligence the inquiry arises: How can you have intelligence test when you manage not understand precisely what to check? Gardners idea of multiple intelligences back up this condemnation, and he recognized eight localities in which a individual may have a certain allowance of proficiency, which makes to interpret one-by-one dissimilarities rather well. It supposes that every individual has a certain amount: linguistic understanding, melodious understanding, mathematical / ordered understanding, spatial understanding, bodily-kinesthetic understanding, interpersonal understanding, intrapersonal understanding, and has lately supplemented a naturalistic intelligence (pattern acknowledgement and classification of na tural objects). If the idea is correct Gardner, intelligence tests, it is conspicuous shortcomings, because it can not verify the natural forces for example agility movements or linguistic skills. Fitness, J. 2000) It is furthermore worth noting that intelligence tests manage not account for the reality of an idiot, researchers and those who are adept only in certain localities, but are not intelligent, while Gardners idea takes them as smart in those exact areas. He contends that those who contradict with his concepts of multiple intelligences just shocked about going away from the concept of normalized tests, and that the linguistic, melodious, and kinesthetic natural forces just talent. Gardner acquiesces with the concept that these districts may easily be the gifts , and exclusive ordered or mathematical natural forces, is furthermore identified as just a talent. In short, the idea for example Gardner interrogated the end of the normalized intelligence tests. Fitness, J. 2000) Its not just the activity that casts question on Test IQ; reliability should be taken into account. For demonstration, some IQ tests are timed to test the pace with which persons can gaze at and explain problems; although, this begs the inquiry, and can the malfunction to entire testing in time for an individual IQ? And what if he is a personal other than psychological difficulty, which hinders pace test man? Older persons, for demonstration, may bear from age-related difficulties for example arthritis or heart difficulties, which are generally slow down some, but not inevitably sway the brain, but if they were inquired to take timed IQ test that they can not get a outcome that reflects the their thoughtful abilities. (Mayne, T. et, al 2001) Criticism Another locality of condemnation over the test IQ is culture-fair test of the consideration, which takes into account the kinds of inquiries that are put to the test. Any verbal inquiries of method, even if they are converted into distinct dialects, generally heritage biased and thus the best way to remedy this position is to conceive inquiries that use the types and realize the matters, the method, but even they occasionally favor one kind of heritage over another, and it is effectively unrealistic to conceive a absolutely heritage free test. (Mayne, T. et, al 2001) The next locality of condemnation is well renowned consideration of environment, which works with effectively all localities of psychology, which habitually has powerful support from both edges, and the concept of the steadiness of intelligence in particular. They state that the natural human brain can not be altered, and that we should just use what we are born with. (Mayne, T. et, al 2001) If we gaze at the tests IQ, as Binet, and Gardners idea of multiple intelligences, we can glimpse that both of these ideas are inclined to support the environment edge of the argument, and while Gardner will gaze at diverse intelligence and gifts, it does not signify that an individual can discover to intelligence. Sternberg (1985), and his Triarchic idea of intelligence (STS) manage not acquiesce with that, and whereas he accepts that there may be diverse types of understanding, it supposes that there are only actually three constituents of understanding, the context of the intelligence, know-ho w and intelligence. Component utilized to interpret the learned edge of the mind, cognitive answer to the difficulty, and the likelihood of processing information. Cherniss, C. Adler, M. (2000) Contextual endeavors to interpret the proficiency to acclimatize to distinct positions, or heritage natural environment, often mentioned to as Street-Smart, and the know-how of one-by-one intelligence is the proficiency to come by abilities and make it routine. Sternberg accepts as factual intelligence is the number of abilities that can support and not many of built-in purposes that can not be changed. He furthermore evolved diverse types of test that values his idea, and the pace with which persons can come by and request new ability is called: Sternberg Multidimensional Abilities Test. The outcomes of this test will assist persons glimpse where they require enhancement and can be much more helpful to participants in the method than IQ. Sternberg finally supposes that intelligence can be advanced, and there are several deductions to support his theory. There were two very contentious study and publications, although, which not only manage not acquiesce with the rudimentary values of the idea of Sternbergs, but furthermore annoyed because they were released. The first publication, which was presumed to lead to a gigantic warmed argument round the world, that the released Jenson (1969), who said that the homeland of source of the Black tallied on mean 15 points smaller than white people. Cherniss, C. Adler, M. (2000) He proposed that this was mostly due to genetic and very dark persons that, though, may have been a factor; the major cause is the heritability of intelligence. The next part of publications that has initiated so much disturbance when it was issued was a curve to Herrnstein Murray (1994), which is reliable with investigations Jenson, and furthermore shows that those of smaller thoughtful proficiency, as a direct, directs a hard life, is more probable will not be sufficient, the parents themselves, and furthermore more probable to turn to drink, pharmaceuticals and crime. Although these facts highly contentious and democratically incorrect, some points that are probable to be factual, and may to some span, interprets why persons find themselves in that place, but it will only be unquestionable if the two components manage not play a gigantic part of the one-by-one intelligence level, heritage, persons are revealed, and the detail that intelligence is not repaired, and that there are numerous investigations that display of support for such assertions. Test that Jenson made very dark and white topics in 1969 was no question a heritage bias in the direction of white topics, due to the grade of welfare and learning that each assembly was exposed to earlier. Further investigations displayed that very dark young children who were taken up by a prosperous white family, and were exposed to the identical grade of learning displayed an boost in evaluation with the grade of intelligence of young children, alike genetic background. Illustration Adoption investigations for example these are often a powerful contention supportive the formation of edge considerations, but at the last locality of anxiety in the environment / nurture argument theme of eugenics. Eugenics is a concept conceived by Sir Francis Galton (1822-1911), who was involved in the achievement of British breeders who breeds power and best canines simultaneously, and conceived many of distinct options. (Leible, T., Snell, W.E., Jr. 2002) He determined to start a action, examined the likelihood of dropping awful persons from the good society to get persons to type with those who have good features and attributes that are very ill, even the proposal of the 19th 100 years, and it was shortly closed down because persons determined to type for love, not genes. Nevertheless, the period eugenics was conceived, and possibly most applicable demonstration of eugenics in the annals of limitations of the Immigration Act (1924), which was taken up in America, President Coo lidge, who was said to have declared: America should be American, as he marked the bill; In this day of eugenics, as is renowned, won one of the greatest technical racist assaults in American history.

Project Management Specification of Services

Project Management Specification of Services Establishment Establish a Project Control Group (PCG) comprising of: A representative of the Principal (BOT Representative); A representative of the Project Manager; The design team leader (to be appointed), by invitation of the BOT Representative or Project Manager; and The Quantity Surveyor (to be appointed), by invitation of the BOT Representative or Project Manager. Assist the BOT Representative with procuring consultants as required, including short listing, interviews, evaluation, recommendations and confirmations of appointments. The Project Manager will set up a management structure to: Define responsibilities; Establish lines of communication and reporting; Deal with authorisation procedures between the Project Manager and the BOT Representative; Work with the design team to define the stages in the design process and, at various stages, seek input from the BOT Representative; and Organise the Quantity Surveyor to undertake a budget review. The Project Manager will attend and minute regular meetings, including PCG meetings, identifying actions and responsibilities as necessary. Set up systems to monitor performance parameters such as time, cost and standard required by the BOT Representative. Research all relevant records. Visit and review the existing site conditions and the proposed location of the new Building. Meet with the BOT Representative to discuss the scope of work proposed. Prepare a project brief for both the overall site development and the specific development requirements in consultation with the design team. Finalise the brief with the design team (including confirmed budgets) and obtain BOT Representative approval. Prepare a preliminary development programme identifying key milestones and completion dates. Manage compliance by the design team, Quantity Surveyor and any other consultants engaged on the Principals behalf, with the terms of their respective contracts with the Principal, and supervise performance of their duties pursuant to such contracts. Concept design Prepare a site development plan with the design team. Obtain endorsement of site development plan from the BOT Representative including proposed site for the Buildings. Develop concept plans for the Buildings. Ensure an initial cost check is undertaken after the design team has completed the initial concept plans, ensuring that the total budget for the Contract Works is not exceeded. If such reviews indicate potential budget overruns, remedial steps will be taken to amend the design to bring it within the budget requirements. All other duties as required to successfully manage the concept design phase. Develop design Ongoing duties as above. Check that the design develops in accordance with the requirements of the BOT Representatives brief and in accordance with the relevant codes of practice and statutory requirements. Check that the design develops within the budget requirements. Co-ordinate the submission of the design, in stages, to the BOT Representative and obtain their approval. Ensure that sufficient information is made available to allow the BOT Representative to make informed decisions, including preparing and co-ordinating option appraisals, peer reviews as necessary. Advise the BOT Representative if the design development will not be to the standard required by the BOT Representative and that adjustments will be required. Other duties as are required to successfully manage the developed design and resource consent documentation phase. Building consent Ongoing duties as above. Oversee and ensure delivery of all necessary consents by the design team. Lodge the Building Consent application on behalf of the BOT Representative once the documentation has been completed and approved. Liaise with statutory bodies on behalf of the BOT Representative where they are required to carry out work on the project. Other duties as required to successfully manage the consents and tender documentation phase. Working drawings and contract documents Ongoing duties as above. Manage the design process so that the contract documentation scope aligns with the cost plan. Liaise with the design team and provide comment on samples and prototypes in consultation with the BOT Representative to ensure all economies can be maintained while ensuring a quality end product. Ensure a full cost check is undertaken after full working drawings have been completed. Liaise with the BOT Representative regarding the preparation of the conditions of contract and contract documents. Advise and assist the BOT Representative in specifying their requirements in regard to obtaining the operating and maintenance manuals. Procurement Ongoing duties as above. Evaluate and advise on procurement options to best deliver the Contract Works within the agreed project objectives. Co-ordinate the input of the PCG in the preparation of lists of suitable contractors from which to invite tenders. Invite Expressions of Interest from contractors, evaluate in accordance with BOT Representative agreed criteria to recommend preferred selected tender list. Ensure that the advertisements for tenderers are correctly placed (if required). Assist the BOT Representative with tender evaluations as required and conduct interviews. Oversee the preparation of tender documents by the consultants and if necessary revise the tender documents to suit. Ensure tender documents require Contractor compliance with all applicable Ministry of Education standards. Invite tenders on behalf of the BOT Representative. Arrange for the direct placement of early offers for long lead in items where necessary and arrange for their subsequent novation if appropriate. Review with the design team any alternative proposals put forward by the contractors and make appropriate recommendations to the BOT Representative. Monitor and adjust the scope of work after tenders are received and instigate appropriate action in the event that the tenders exceed the budgets for particular elements. Monitor the procurement process against the programme and instigate appropriate action to manage the project within the overall budget in the event that the tenders exceed budgets for particular elements. Assist with the appointment of the main contractor (if required). Prepare tender reports and recommendations to the PCG for recommendation to the BOT Representative. All other duties as required to successfully manage the procurement phase. Construction Ongoing duties as above. Prepare and keep updated a master project programme. Monitor the master project programme against contractors progress, and review progress at the regular site meetings. Where delays are signalled, take recovery action as appropriate. Prepare a programme for the construction stage of the project in accordance with the BOT Representative requirements. Advise the BOT Representative regarding insurance obligations on the contracted parties and ensure that such insurances are put in place. Receive monthly reports from the design team confirming the status of Request for Information, notice to contractors and site instruction issues. If required, report these to the BOT Representative. Advise the BOT Representative regarding any statutory responsibilities particularly with regard to health, safety and environmental issues, and ensure the main contractor has an appropriate health and safety plan in place. Advise the BOT Representative on quality control actions including progressive monitoring / remedial action. Examine the contractors proposal for construction of the Contract Works and resolve any concerns that arise. Co-ordinate works, sequence, access and similar matters with the contractor and BOT Representative, to the BOT Representatives satisfaction/approval. Arrange for the preparation of a detailed construction programme(s). Arrange for the preparation of schedules identifying when design information is required for order or for construction purposes and ensure that this is fully co-ordinated with the design programme. Ensure that suitable procedures are put in place to consider variations to the Construction Contract. As a general rule, no variation shall be initiated without the BOT Representatives prior written approval unless the net effect of the variation is neutral or better in relation to the budget quality and programme. Ensure that suitable procedures are put in place to monitor, record, progress and cost to facilitate communication to deal with problems that may occur. Fully brief all contractors and their project managers on their duties, project procedures and the project itself to the extent that the overall understanding will improve their performance. Create a culture of confidence, trust and mutual respect between all members of the PCG. Facilitate regular reporting and review meetings on and off site. Be present on site to inspect all matters of critical importance to the project, and in addition attend on site to observe construction works taking place on a not less than weekly basis. Monitor the construction phase and instigate appropriate action in the event of technical problems, delays, unforeseen difficulties, communication breakdowns and any other events, which threaten the objectives of the project. Agree contractors project team and duties. Approve subcontractors trades named by the contractor. Assist in the resolution of disputes as they occur. Financial Management In consultation with the Quantity Surveyor, check the contractors payment claims including checking materials on and off site as required. Provide confirmation to the BOT Representative that progress payments are a fair reflection of the value of works undertaken and therefore the certificate is approved to the BOT Representative for payment. Monitor the payment process and instigate action in the event of problems. Arrange for the negotiation of all variations approved by the BOT Representative in a timely manner and ensure that the budget, quality and programme implications of variations to the contract are fair and reasonable, and certify approved variations. Monitor the variation process and instigate action in the event of problems. Certify all payments in accordance with the contract requirements. Continuously monitor and manage all costs of the project and, in conjunction with the Quantity Surveyor, take responsibility for the delivery of the project within the allocated budget. In consultation with the Quantity Surveyor (and design team / Contractor, as appropriate), provide a monthly summary to the BOT Representative showing: Contract Works completed to date; Works programmed for the following month; The updated forecast final project cost (cost to complete); The status and value of variations if any; Payments to date; Retentions held; and A cash-flow forecast. Commissioning Oversee the preparation of a detailed systems commissioning and testing programme. Oversee the preparation and schedules of test reports and certificates to be obtained, and ensure they take place in a timely manner. Ensure that all parties are aware of what is required. Monitor the commissioning and testing programme and instigate appropriate action in the event that delays occur. Monitor the results of the tests and agree suitable measures with the team in the event that failures occur. Oversee the preparation of the operating and maintenance manuals and check that they meet with the BOT Representatives requirements. All other duties to successfully manage the construction and commissioning phases. Completion Assist the BOT Representative in any arrangements for a phased handover of the project (if necessary) and the logistics of taking possession of the project. Co-ordinate the activities of inspection personnel from the BOT Representative, consultants, contractors and statutory bodies. Ensure that all necessary reports, certificates (including Certificate of Public Use and Code Compliance Certificate), as built drawings and contractor guarantees, sub trade and product guarantees have been obtained for handover. Advise the BOT Representative regarding any statutory requirements it may be required to comply with on taking possession of the project. Prepare final information and issue final certificates. Complete all necessary Ministry of Education documentation (including PMIS requirements) required by the BOT Representative, in conjunction with the design team. Payment terms The Project Manager shall prepare and render to the Principal a valid monthly GST invoice, in respect of the Fee. To be valid a GST invoice must: Clearly show all GST due; Be in New Zealand currency; Be clearly marked Tax invoice; Contain the Project Managers name, address and GST number, if the Project Manager is registered for GST; Contain the Principals name and address and be marked for the attention of the Principals Contract Manager; State the date the invoice was issued; Name this Agreement and provide a description of the Services supplied, including the amount of time spent in the delivery of the Services if payment is based on an Hourly Fee Rate or Daily Fee Rate; Contain the Principals contract reference or purchase order number if there is one; and Be supported by GST receipts if expenses are claimed and any other verifying documentation reasonably requested by the Principal. General Provide a written report to the BOT Representative, no less than monthly, regarding the status of the project, including but not limited to PCG meetings, progress of the project and any application for a variation, and obtain any necessary decisions. Initiate action in the event that any aspect of the project fails to proceed to plan. Upon consultation with the BOT Representative, agree suitable corrective action and monitor its implementation. Quality Assurance: Each consultant is responsible for checking their specific discipline. The design team and Project Manager will also check the work throughout the project. All contractual obligations relating to quality assurance and remedying defects will be managed by the Project Manager, who will be satisfied that the Contract Works have been completed to the required standard prior to issuing the practical completion certificate and certifying final payments. The BOT Representative may carry out its own independent quality control checks. However, any such checks will not obviate the responsibilities of the contractor, the Project Manager or the consultants. Additional Consultants: The Project Manager will have a key role in the decision making process for the appointment of all consultants (i.e. the design team and the Quantity Surveyor), due to the fact that the Project Manager is responsible for their performance. The design team will nominate his or her own sub-consultants, and the selection of the design team will take into account the quality of those sub-consultants. Ongoing services Where the Project Manager is engaged to deliver a number of projects/services on an ongoing basis (e.g. a number of 5YA projects) in relation to [School] The Project Manager shall work directly with a representative of the Principal to discuss and plan any projects which the Principal may be contemplating at the School. Individual projects will be delivered as per the requirements in sections 1 to 12 of this specification.

Essay --

Caste systems are a necessity in any world, and without hierarchies there would be no order and control. One can say that this hierarchy is usually accompanied by some form of oppression, because with one person having a higher level of power, such as in the government vs. the people, there is always tyranny. In order for any society to run smoothly, there has to be domination, which is typically from the government. The basic idea of caste systems throughout the world is to divide human species into different groups based on physical or behavioral differences. The caste system originated in India and is about a â€Å"hierarchical socioeconomic organization of society that evolved around India's ancient civilizations†, and later spread around the world, â€Å"a new way of life brought with it a need for governance and order, defense and conquest, learning and trade, laborers and artisans. Roles began to be defined and people were classified according to their function, occupation and economic place in society.† (â€Å"Caste System in India.†Anand & Kulbir, 2009.) The Hindu system divided their people into different castes, which showed their levels of dominance as well as inequality. †¨ Much like the caste systems in India, George Orwell's’ 1984 and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World both portray human worthiness based on caste systems, a system which only benefit s the higher authorities within their communities. The totalitarian control in both Brave New World and 1984 can be seen through an oppressive government which controls and strips their people of rights to freedom and prosperity. In brave new World oppression is seen through the use of soma, a drug given to the people to help them cope with life and the societal restrictions, the depr... ...(for "father" was not so much obscene as–with its connotation of something at one remove from the loathsomeness and moral obliquity of child-bearing–merely gross, a scatological [since it rarely occurred] rather than a pornographic impropriety); the comically smutty word relieved what had become a quite intolerable tension† (Orwell.151) The word ‘Father’ clearly had a huge affect on the witnesses because it was almost foreign in their everyday language. Overall some individuality must be suppressed in order to insure stability and ‘happiness’ in a society. Caste systems are also set up too provide organization and hierarchies, and when these two aspects of a community are practiced oppression is nearly inevitable. Brave New World, and 1984 both support the idea that the less fortunate are left to defend themselves in a world where meritocracy is strongly executed.

The World Doesn’t Need Religion :: Free Argumentative Essays

The World Doesn’t Need Religion Religion has screwed us up for a long time and we'd be better off without it. By "us" I mean Americans living in the 21st century. Without religions we would have fewer labels separating us from each other and we wouldn't hate Jews or Catholics or Muslims. If we didn't have religions, we wouldn't have to convert anyone or "save" anyone. If we didn't have religions, people could no longer get caught up in the fine lines of religious rightousness or be trapped in a double-standard morality. And most importantly, we would be truly free of religious engendered guilt that never quite goes away. In America, people are less tolerant than before and words like Jew, Muslim, and Christian set us off and make us mad because we connect these labels with violence and war. We are planning to attack the "axis of evil" and in giving Iraq this label, we assume a moral duty on our part and the devil on theirs. There is no simple answer to the problems in the Middle East which are daily getting more and more out of control. But adding quasi-religious labels pushes us farther apart and increases the tension and opposition on all sides. I grew up in a Catholic family and went to Catholic grade school and high school and I don't regret it. It was an interesting experience and surely formed a great part of my character. But looking back, I see that the system of organized religion is rigged and the deck is stacked more in favor of the church than it is in favor of the faithful. Consider for a moment the Christian need to convert and save people, two more activities that could be done away with if we didn't have religion. Converting more followers keeps the organized religion afloat and promising salvation is the hook that gets people's attention. No one knows what happens after death. But some religions offer a promise of heaven or hell and, like children, we willing believe in this fantastic fairy tale. On another note, the church introduces us to the concept of guilt and tells us we are guilty even before we are born. This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. Nontheless, if we find God, or Jesus, or convert, or confess before we die, we're saved.

Republican Plan Should be Vetoed :: Argumentative Persuasive Papers

Republican Plan Should be Vetoed I think that the Republican should be vetoed because to me, their proposed tax cuts in education, the environment, and other areas are not the way to go. There are probably other government functions that could use a decrease in spending. Raising medicare premiums (http://www.yahoo.com/headlines/951114/news/stories/budget_42.html) seems alright, but there could be a better way. In general, today's Congress is in so much deadlock over balancing the budget, they will end up watching it go to about $6 billion by the start of the new millenium!!! The debt's already too high now. President Johnson was able to halve the deficit and keep his budget under $100 million during his first year in office (http://pathfinder.com/time/special/moy/1964.html); but he achieved this through some manipulation of others - something of which Bill Clinton is not a master. Though the proposed increase of $9 a month may seem small to some,many older Americans in the long run will not be able to keep up with the payments and will trim down their disposable income (isn't this what Keynes would think?) Stimulating the economy at the expense of a certain group of people does not constitute favorable domestic policy for politicans of any party. Why is it that the U.S. has such a hard time trying to keep a stable economy when Germany has historically had pretty strong currency and is perhaps the best economic nation in all of Europe? (http://pathfinder.com/time/international/ 1995/950925/economies.html) They do have tougher regulations, but not a lot of capitalistic ways that we do here. The country's central bank managed to step in after unification with tough-minded economic management; and even though the eastern side of the country has spend a little more than necessary, Germany today remains financially stable (without huge increases in inflation). The temporary stop-gap spending bills that Clinton vetoed, causing the current partialgovernment shutdown, has made the U.S. look bad in the eyes of the world because of party gridlock. I doubt if countries such as Germany ever have this much trouble. Are there any solutions to solving the national debt that will completely satify everyone involved? Probably not. I proved that by stating my support for the President's veto of the Republican's spending bills. However, the oneitem that really bugs me is that if the Republicans want to lower the debt so much, why

Feminism Ophelia Hamlet

Aphelion's struggles in the patriarchal society in which she lives and the loss of her identity as a whole, by not only her father, but other authorial males in her life. Throughout the beginning of the play, Aphelia, is used as somewhat of a pawn by all the male figures in her life, emotionally, physically, and even for sheer politics.Her lack of a mother figure and severe dependence on her father and brother, as well as other males, has literally taken away who she really is, her opportunity to make and act on her own decisions. Aphelia is treated by her father as if she is not only his daughter, but his possession. When Aphelia first speaks to her father about Hamlet, he states â€Å"l do not know, my lord, what I should think,† (1. 2). Polonium responds in an authoritative way, basically attesting himself as the decision maker. When he states â€Å"You do not understand yourself so clearly.. â€Å"(l . 3), he attacks her competence to handle herself. He goes on to say â €˜â€ ¦As it behooves my daughter and your honor†(l . 3), making it clear that it would be in her best interest to behave according to the â€Å"set† standards and how she acts and presents herself, reflects onto him as her father and as a member of the kings court. It is clear he doesn't care for Hamlet and ants his daughter to have nothing to do with him, convincing her that she is nothing to him.. But, after hearing more about Hamlet acted towards her by grabbing her and just staring into her, he takes full advantage of the situation and instructs his daughter to behave according to his best interests, to get closer to the king, Claudia.Aphelia, living in a male dominated world, has over the years, lost herself as a person, as a woman, doing things that she wouldn't normally do, such as be a part of her fathers plan to expose Hamlets reason for his â€Å"madness. † During the time when the play was written, women were marginalia, often dewed as property, even with fathers and daughters. In that society a woman would be required to be a dutiful daughter, wife, and mother, and dare not stray away from those approved roles that were placed upon them. Aphelia, growing up always being the dutiful daughter, obeys her fathers wishes and follows through with the plan.The pitfalls to being a dutiful daughter, in her case, is that she lost the one man that made her happy, her lover, not only says horrid remarks to her, but breaks her down, and any little bit of â€Å"reality' she had was lost forever. The hazards of being a dutiful daughter/mother/wife, are always present. There is the immediate consequences, then there are the ones that over time, as her character â€Å"screams† out to the audience, being oneself becomes obsolete. Her brother, Alerter, who is going back to France, also â€Å"advises† his sister to keep away from Hamlet.Expressing that Hamlet being a prince, would marry for the good of the state and due to the differences in class, Hamlet would not marry Aphelia. Alerter also believes that Hamlet cares for her but â€Å"loves† her only for sexual need. â€Å"Forward, not permanent, sweet, not lasting. † (1. 3). Unfortunately, exposing another â€Å"role† a woman would face in a patriarchal society, sexual roles. He is also concerned with her good name and family reputation, possibly implying that she could get pregnant and he would leave her, thus putting herself in a â€Å"unacceptable† role of a woman; a woman with a past, forever branding her and the family name.Hamlet plays on her emotional strings. He has expressed his love for her and has given her gifts. The sudden death of his father and finding out the reasons behind his death, as well as the disgust of his mother marrying so quickly afterwards, molds Hamlet too man he has never been before; untrusting, and very paranoid about others close to him, and for very good reason. He took out his anger with hi s mother on all who loved him. His only life line was Aphelia, the only one he thought of as true, or tried to make himself believe that she was, by grabbing her and observing her closely, as if he could see right through her.After her ultimate betrayal, by setting him up and lying to him about where her father was, she, cut off his life line. By doing so, he insults her, tells her that he loved her once, and belittles her to no end, until she is ambushed by so many emotions, that she is left in total confusion and heartbreak. With her brother in France, Hamlet rejecting their relationship, Aphelia finds out ere father has been killed by Hamlet. She in a sense, is left â€Å"alone,† and cannot handle herself, without the direction of her father , brother and Hamlet.At this point its clear, Aphelia has gone totally mad, Speaking very little, and if anything it is about her deceased father in chants and song. Now with the males in her life are gone, she has served her purpose i n the story. She starts going down a downward spiral and shortly thereafter, she commits suicide, or at least it was implied that she did, by drowning. In conclusion, although a small, seemingly insignificant character, Aphelia, not only provides the reader to the philanthropic ideals and patriarchal attitudes towards women.But also serves to be somewhat like a mirror to the audience, one by one, â€Å"reflecting† the characters true self/intentions. Maybe being her ONLY purpose in the story to unveil her co-characters motive and who they really are in general. Polonium, her father, uses his daughter as some sort for property, for political gain and interest. Her brother, Alerter, again uses her for political reasons, somewhat, and to protect his name, uses her for the sake of his pride, and introduces sex, as Hamlets true goal with Aphelia.Then Hamlet himself, takes her on a reallocates of love/hate and confusion, labeling her as untrustworthy and corrupt, he destroys her em otional being, rendering her completely helpless and incompetent to handle life on her own. This view was the norm at the time, that many men saw as being true, that a woman will be nothing without a man but also fail to realize that without women men would hardly be anything as well, they need women, as shown in the play, to succeed in their own personal goals, whether financial, political or other. [1180]

Christian Life Education Reflection Paper Essay

Prayer is a way of communication between me and God. It allows me to talk to Him and listen to Him so that I can establish a closer relationship with Him. As I went about my CLE classes, I learned that there were proper ways and intentions that are needed in order to make the most out of prayer, thus I reflected on my prayer life to see if I was praying according to the 4 keys. First, I evaluated Rico’s prayer life since it is by doing this that I can better evaluate my own prayer life. Rico prays to God whenever he needs help like during tests, and he does good deeds in order to make sure that God will answer his prayers. Whenever he doesn’t need Him, he doesn’t set time for prayer since he believes that studying is already a form of prayer. How one sees God affects how he relates to Him. In Rico’s case, he sees God as a vending machine. In vending machines, buyers insert money into the machine and in return, the machine gives the product the buyer desires. Rather than seeing God as a God who loves unconditionally, he sees God as someone who demands that he do good deeds in order for Him to grant the petitions of Rico. Rico promises God to stop cursing, to stop backstabbing and goes to mass whenever there are tests because he believes that God demand he does these good deeds so He will answer Rico’s prayer. Just like a ve nding machine, Rico believes he needs to give â€Å"money† or good deeds in return for the â€Å"product† or petition he wants. Ideally one should see God as an unconditional lover, who loves us despite flaws, since this allows the person to approach God with trust, honesty and love, making the relationship more real and genuine. Instead, Rico doesn’t believe in God’s unconditional love since he chooses to do good deeds to please love and make God love him. In reality, we shouldn’t do good to receive God’ love but we should be open to God’s unconditional love, which will then motivate and transform us to do good. How one sees himself also affects the way he relates with God in prayer since how we see ourselves shapes how we think others see ourselves. If we see ourselves as lovable, we will be open and honest since we know that the other person will love us the way we are. If we see ourselves as unlovable, we will be false and unreal since we will probably hide our true self to make others like us more. Rico’s image of himself is a mixture of both. He sees himself as lovable by God only when he does good deeds and  religious acts. He does these acts to please God and to assure himself that God will answer his prayers since he believes that doing these acts make him lovable by God. Rico doesn’t see himself as lovable when he indifferent towards others and when not doing good deeds. Because of this, he doesn’t find time to pray to God when he doesn’t need help or do good deeds. One assumption is that Rico is ashamed of the cursing, backstabbing and other bad deeds he has done, so he distances himself from God because he feels unworthy of his love. He only prays to God when he promises to do good deeds, so he probably thinks he is not worth listening to by God unless he does good. This will have a negative effect on his relationship with God since he chooses to distance his messy self from God rather than pray to God to improve their relationship because he feels unworthy due to his flaws and doesn’t think that God has unconditional love for him. Instead of all the prayer time he could have spent with God, he misses out on it because of his wrong perception of God and himself. Reading Rico’s sample prayer, I’m not entirely sure if he is honest with God. He appears to be buttering God up so that God will grant his petitions. He tells God he promises to stop cursing and backstabbing, yet he goes back to his indifferent ways during regular school days. For me, it doesn’t seem that he seems sincere in what he is saying, so his relationship cannot progress and remains shallow. He should focus more on expressing what he really feels in order to break down barriers with God and in order to make the relationship with God more real and intimate. Rico also has a hard time integrating prayer with daily life. Rather than making everyday an opportunity to pray to God, he only prays to God when he needs him. This is similar to a relationship with a doctor, wherein one goes to the doctor for his services only without establishing a personal relationship with him. Rico only goes to God when he needs something and doesn’t attempt to establish a personal relationship with him. Occupational prayer is about recognizing God’s presence in daily tasks, but Rico doesn’t do so since he only seeks God when he needs him. Other than those times, he studies and remains indifferent towards others, thus he doesn’t recognize God’s presence unless he needs Him. Spousal prayer is resting from work in order to be totally available to God. â€Å"My work is my prayer† is not an  excuse since we all need to spend at least 15 to 20 minutes everyday to talk to God alone, which will deepen our relationship with him and make occupational prayer more meaningful. Rico is â€Å"busy† and believes that studying is a form of prayer, thus he doesn’t make time daily for spousal prayer, which prevents him from deepening his relationship with God. Rico doesn’t listen to God often during prayer. Prayer is irrelevan t when one dominates the stage and keeps talking and asking for favors from God. Prayer becomes relevant when we use it to listen to God in order to discover what he wants us to do. Often times, what God has to say to us is more important that what we have to say to him, so we must be selfless enough to give him the stage and reflective enough to learn his message. In Rico’s case, he always dominates the stage by praying only to ask for petitions. He doesn’t listen to what God wants of him and only prays for his own personal intentions rather than praying to improve his relationship with God. Rico needs to become more selfless and put what God’s trying to say over what he’s going to say. By listening along with talking to God, prayer becomes a two-way communication, which allows his relationship to flourish with God.

Summary Essay Globalisations Time Is Up

Summary of James Howard Kunstler’s â€Å"Globalisation’s Time Is Up† Within James Howard Kunstler’s article â€Å"Globalisation’s Time is Up† (Guardian Weekly, 12-18 August 2005), he goes against Thomas Friedman’s view that â€Å"globalisation is here to stay†(254), arguing that globalisation is rather unstable. With the supply of cheap resources and world peace, we have the formula for globalisation, subtract either and we are on a crash course. Kunstler builds on this theory by going over events, which time after time have all lead to the same solution.The period of 1870-1914 the â€Å"first phase of globalisation†(254) is described as the era of coal and steam power. This period brought hope; nations were tied together with booming trade, along with the abundant supplies of resources. The introduction of oil without a doubt would override the power of coal. This was closely followed with serious ramifications for those without oil, the First World War. Kunstler’s formula for globalisation proves to be correct in earlier days. Furthermore, the oil era is slowly approaching its demise. Also you can read this summary –  Protecting Freedom of Expression on the CampusIt has brought economies greatly dependent on its production power that we no longer see what will come of our â€Å"McHousing Estates†(255). The suburban housing along with all other oil dependent arrangements will cease to expand when the global oil production well dries up. â€Å"The American Suburban Juggernaut† (255), is Kunstler’s description of how America has misallocated its existence around the oil economy. With this being said he continues to support his theory, the bond of nations is now separating from one another simply to attain control of what oil remains in this world.The abused usage of the era, and the over usage of its resources has led America through a boom, one that will end with a bust leaving everyone scrambling for what is left. Kunstler ends his argument stating, â€Å"the world is about to become a larger place again†(256), we can take from his explanations that he is implying; the breakdown of local communities butchered by large chains, how shopping will simply fade away in the background of life, and the need for cars will be of little to no use. As a result all that had once become in the oil-short era will then restart a cycle known as globalisation.

Experiencing Cities Essay

The text â€Å"Experiencing Cities† by Mark Hutter deals with micro sociology and symbolic interaction theory. This means the way people experience the urban world in relationship to their everyday lives. This would include the interaction with others that would create meaning for them from the physical and human environment of the city. The exercise was to pick up certain aspects of micro sociology and use my life experiences as examples to show my understanding of this theory. The text uses perspectives from other social science disciplines in studying the city. Some of these included urban history, art, architectural history, urban geography and environmental psychology. Global urbanization is discussed in the last chapter, which to me helped me to understand where I am in the context of the world. I am a twenty-one year old, female student. I attend college full-time, work full-time and live with my parents in New York City. I am single and have no children and hope to obtain my degree in Social Sciences. First I would like to discuss symbolic interactionism and the self in society. Functionalism, conflict theory and evolutionism tend to be macrotheories that direct the sociologist toward large-scale phenomena, their relationships and changes in them. To use an example from my life would be the terrorist acts that happen on 911. This is a macrosocial phenomenon but at the micro level it affected me and my family, the family members of the victims and New York City. On the Macro level it affected the United States, and on a wider picture it also affected the globe. Symbolic interactionism, like exchange theory, is a micro orientation. It is a theoretical map that directs the sociologist in quests to understand how individuals interact in face to face relationships, relationships that are the foundation of social life. Unlike exchange theory, symbolic interactionism does not stress concepts of rewards and costs. Instead it is an emphasis on the human self, symbolic communications and interaction between persons based upon symbolic communication. The self is the process that is made up of the interaction of two self-aspects. These are â€Å"I† and â€Å"Me†. This is the knowing of self, the self asking and revising questions in the present or the â€Å"I†. Then there is the self-aspect composed of past experiences and conscious identity, the â€Å"Me†. The â€Å"I† is the self-aspect that exists in the present, which notes the world around it, that questions, that is impulsive, and that suggests my behavior. The â€Å"me† is based on past experience and is judgmental of my impulses. The â€Å"I† is my creative self; the â€Å"me† is my social self. For example I am basically a night person; I am working on this exercise at midnight. Being a night person I believe that the best way to be sure to have a good morning is to sleep through most of it. Because of this I have always tried to have my classes scheduled for afternoon or evenings, when possible. But last quarter I found to my horror, that due to a series of circumstances, I was forced to take a course that met on Monday’s at 8 a. m. This is a time of day I have rarely seen and when I have seen it, it was not because I was up very early, but because I was up very late. When the alarm clock rang at 6:15, the immediate impulsive action of my self arising in my â€Å"I† was to pull the plug on the alarm and go back to sleep. I would have done so, had not the â€Å"me† aspect of my self reminded me that would be a bad idea. As the socially aware, judgmental self-aspect, it reinforced me of the need to get up, shower, and eat so I could meet my responsibilities as a student and my goals. But I was still very tired and my â€Å"I† suggested that I sleep another half hour. My judgmental â€Å"me† aspect suggested twenty minutes more was the maximum time I could sleep if I was to meet my responsibilities. I proceeded to go back to sleep for twenty minutes and at 8:00 a. m. I went to my economics’ class ready to absorb the knowledge. Society is created by interactions between persons first with their selves that allow them to plan and coordinate their own behaviors. But social interaction first requires more than selves and it depends on symbolic communication through language. A verbal symbol is a sound which indicates some object. The spoken word say for example chair means something to sit on. People who are born in the same society learn more or less the same symbols. For example, I went to Ohio once to visit a friend I asked for a soda and was told that she didn’t have soda but she had Pepsi. That’s what I wanted, but in Ohio they ask for a pop. People born in the same society that pick up the same symbols helps conversations between persons in which joint plans are made and communicated. So the existence of the self and symbolic communication makes group interaction possible. Because I have self and can communicate symbolically I can form groups such as my family, my college and my religion. These are the foundation of social life. People will think of the world in terms of symbols that represent objects and these objects can be physical like chairs and books, social like teachers or sisters, and abstract such as truth, liberty, or evil. To understand cities and the development of cities I thought of looking at urbanization first. Urbanization refers to masses of people moving to cities and to these cities having a growing influence on society. Urbanization is worldwide. To understand the city’s attraction the first thing to consider is the pull of urban life. New York City offers an incredible variety of social events such as music ranging from rock to classic, architectural history, and cultural diversity. It also offers anonymity, which I find so much better than the scrutiny and restriction my friend had in her small town in Ohio. But probably the most important factor would be the opportunities in jobs. There are three types that life in cities by choice the cosmopolites, which I fall into, are students, intellectuals, professionals, artists, and entertainers. We are pulled to the city because of the conveniences and cultural beliefs. The single, another group I can associate with, are young unmarried people that are staying in the city because of the job and entertainment. Staying in the city reflects a stage in my life course, because after I marry and have children I have thought of moving to the suburbs. Then there are the ethnic villagers that are united by race-ethnicity and social class. These people live in tightly knit neighborhoods that resemble villages and small towns around New York City. Moving within a close circle of family and friends trying to isolate them from what they view as the harmful effects of city life. There are two groups that have little choice about where they live; they are the deprived and the trapped. Symbolic interactionism focuses on society as an outcome of persons with self-identities interacting with one another. An example of how symbolic interactionism can be applied to me by how I view myself as say; a drinker I have been taught about drinking through interaction with my friends. The learning requires interaction in a number of steps. This process is often accompanied by learning to explain away some unpleasant sensations caused by drinking in excess. Once drinking begins individuals will change their self-concept and thoughts of themselves as an occasional or to regular use of alcohol. So major changes made by alcohol were not caused by the alcohol but by learned changes in self identity. So in addition to other theories critical theory, phenomenology and ehtnomehtodology are also important to experiencing cities. Critical theory focuses on alienation and social contradictions and how they are overcome. Phenomenology focuses on how claims to knowledge about society are constructed. Ethnomethodology looks at how social actors make sense of their own actions and all of these are used to understand society.

Financial Report Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Financial Report - Case Study Example rn on equity output with the industry ratio, the company’s 28 percent ratio is favourably higher than the average industry return on equity ratio of 19 percent. b) Gross profit margin. Both years generated a similar 30 percent output. Comparing the 2013 28 percent gross profit ratio output with the industry ratio, the company performed financially better than the 10 percent average industry gross profit ratio. c) Net profit margin. The 2013 net profit ratio output is 6 percent. On the other hand, the 2012 net profit ratio performance an unfavourably lower 3 percent output. Comparing the 2013 6 percent net profit ratio output with the industry ratio, the company performed financially better than the 3 percent average industry net profit ratio output. d) Current ratio. The 2013 current ratio output is unfavourable at 0.47. On the other hand, the 2012 current ratio shows a more unfavourably lower 0.37. Comparing the 2013 current ratio output with the industry current ratio, the industry average current ratio is better than the company’s 0.47current ratio. The industry average current ratio is company’s 1.70. The ratio indicates there are not enough current assets reserved for the payment of currently maturing debts. e) Inventory (stock) turnover period. In terms of number of days converting inventory into cash, the company’s inventory turnover period for 2013 is 7.53 days. The 2012 annual period’s inventory turnover period, 10 days, is financially less favourable than the 2013 accounting period’s output. Comparing the 2013 inventory turnover ratio of 7.53 days, the company’s turnover ratio is far better than the average industry, 50 days inventory turnover ratio. f) Trade payables’ (creditors’) turnover period. The payables turnover ratio during both years is similarly pegged at 3 days. Comparing the 2013 return on equity output with the industry payables turnover ratio, the industry average’s 20 days payables turnover ratio is favourably