Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Theories of Employment Relations in SMEs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words
Theories of Employment Relations in SMEs - Essay Example The researcher of this essay discusses the opinions of researchers and scholars in organisation studies, that often see small firms as the major sources of innovation and the drivers of the major economic change. SMEs are generally believed to be the greatest contributors to national and international economic growth and create an impression of being increasingly beneficial and attractive to potential employees, due to their flexibility, informality, and family-friendly environments, which are impossible in large organisations. These benefits, generate significant criticism: informality and flexibility in employment relations in SMEs are not without their problems. While some theorists position flexibility and informality as the positive factors of employee commitment and labour productivity, others consider flexibility and family-friendly environments responsible for lower job security, lower wages, lower quality of professional training, unsociable hours and even health risks. In t his essay, employment relations in SMEs are mainly underresearched and require developing a systemic framework. The discussion of employment relations in SMEs usually goes along the three distinct lines: the impact of the NMW, the role of informality, and the place of flexibility and family-friendly environments in SMEs. In its current state, the theories of employment relations in SMEs are both interesting and contradictory, but they lay the foundation for the development of a single systemic framework of how employees and employers coordinate.
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Comparing Chinese Herbal Medicine And Modern Medicine Sociology Essay
Comparing Chinese Herbal Medicine And Modern Medicine Sociology Essay This project is to compare Chinese herbal medicine with modern (Western) medicine in terms of culture, sociological and human well-being effects. An online system has been created to showcase a number of popular Chinese herbals in order to gain better understanding on the way that these herbs keep body balance and harmony. The system also help people to check the translation of Chinese herbs Also the users can comment on the web site,and exchange their ideas with others. Also, some sociological and philosophical reasons that can affect peoples opinions are discussed in the research section of this report. 1. Introduction 1.1 Project background The background of this project can be thought asthe points shown below. At any time, healthy is an important element for a human well being. Especially at present, everyone is thinking more about their health while working and living under the pressure of economic recession. Research has shown that most people choose modern medicine, i.e., western medicine to cure diseases. But not only modern medicine costs too much but also it has side defects. In 2009, after the American singer Michael Jackson died, many people have realized that taking more medicines can get sometimes unpleasant side effect, and sometimes, fatal. Furthermore, because of the pandemic of Swine Flu, people have started to think more about disease prevention than just curing them. To this end, Chinese herbal medicine can help and has since become more popular than before, which is a very natural choice. So, more and more people are interest in Chinese Herbal Medicine (CHM). According to World Hearth Organization (WHO) webpage, the following description has been given: During its 3000-yea r history, traditional Chinese medicine pioneered interventions such as diet, exercise, awareness of environmental influences on health, and the use of herbal remedies as part of a holistic approach to health.(1). Chinese Herbal Medicine can be used as in evidence.However,, similar to any other medicine, CHM is complicated, even to Chinese people. To understand Chinese Herbal Medicine is not easy. So, a system thatcan provide the information of Chinese herbal medicine can help people who are not used to CHM in many ways. 1.2 Problem definition From the questionnaire conducted in this project and shown in Appnediex, more than 80% non-Chinese people heard about Chinese Herbal Medicine,.Whereas , more than a half of them prefer modern medicine. So, why donot they like Chinese medicine is the first question to ask. Secondly, According to the questionnaire, more than 60% people use Internet everyday, which means, with the development of e-commerce, Internet can be a tool that provides people with different views on Chinese herbal medicine. But, during the research, until now, just a few web site can support this, which are A) http://www.herbalmedicineuk.com/ B) http://www.holisticchineseherbs.com/ C) http://www.holisticchineseherbs.com/ On the other hand, there are some problems in these three web sites. Figure1: the first web site at http://www.herbalmedicineuk.com/ . The web page A can be used to purchase some herbs on line,i.e., it is a on-line shopping web site. There is not any information regarding the background of these herbs. From this web site, users only can buy the herbs, but can not learn the knowledge of Chinese herbal medicine. Figure 2: the second web site. Similarly, web site B can only provide general information on CM, but not information regarding each individual herb and its functions. Figure3: the third web site On the other hand, webpage C provides amount of useful information on CHM. However, again when it comes to each herb, the knowledge is not there with a number of translation errors. In summary, although there are a few web sites that provide information on Chinese herbal medicine, for people with little knowledge of CHM, a new web sited is needed to work as an educational tool as well as an online shopping site, which is what this project does. 1.3 Aims The aim of this project is to design and build a web site system that allows users with little knowledge of CHM to learn and understand Chinese herbal medicine. Another aim is to start an online discussion forum to find the reasons behind that why so many people dont know or dislike CHM. 1.4 Objectives Gather information on the knowledge of CHM based on questionnaires. Interview with doctors who practice CHM.Carry out research on these topics Design and build an online system. Evaluate the online website. Write final report on project. 2 Literature review This chapter will review three books on Chinese medicine, which include Chinese herbal medicine -A practical guide to the healing power of herbs by Guang Xu (Give reference in the end), Medicine East And West: Two Ways of seeing, two ways of thinking by Ted J.kaptchuk (reference), Chinese herbal medicine Formulas and Strategies by Dan Bensky and Randall Barolet (reference) and Chinese Herbal Legends by Zhu Zhongbao (reference). 2.1 The healing power of herbs In the book written by Guang Xu, the author tries to give a general overview about Chinese herbal medicine. The related chapters can be divided into two parts, one is Chinese herbal medicine history, another one is the elements of Chinese herbal medicine. Chinese herbal medicine has a long history of more than 5000 years. The history can go back to the time of Sheng Nong, when Chinese people used plants to treat the illness further than a few thousand years. As explained by the author, Chinese herbal medicine is rooted in the culture of centuries, it cannot be easily explained or measured by modern scientific language and methods. Without a total understanding of its background and its history, it is very difficult to understand. [reference] . According to Chinese Culture, basically, there are two different elements that can affect Chinese Herbal Medicine. One is Yin (darkness) Yang (brightness), another one is Five-Element Theory. By understanding these two elements, it is easier for people who dont know CHM to comprehend Chinese Herbal Medicine. 2.1.1 Yin and Yang (darkness and brightness) Yin Yang, which is from traditional Chinese philosophy, is the name of two related things that are opposite in the natural world, i.e., everything in the universe can have two opposite, such as sunshine, fire, light, which are Yang. On the other hand, grey, dark, cold, belong to the element of Yin. In Chinese Medicine, Yin-Yang theory is an important element through the whole medicine system and can be employed to explain the body system and guide the treatment. For example: Yin-Yang implies that everything in the world has an opposite, such as sky and land, sun and moon. Although they are opposite, they also can be an unity. Through this unity, the natural world can keep the balance well. Yin-Yang depends on with each other, meaning if there is no Yang, there is no Yin. When the balance of the relationship of the substance of Yin-Yang are destroyed, the life might reach its end. On the other hand, Yin-Yang has a special relationship. If one wanes the other will wax. For example, just as the four seasons, if winter changes to spring, the weather should be warm. It is the process of Yin waxes and Yang wanes. Five-Element Theory The Five-element theory includes fire, metal, water, wood and earth, as well as their motions. The ancient Chinese people found these five elements are the basic substances in universe. These five kinds of elements have relationship of generation and restriction, as found in Chinese Herbal Medicine, Chinese doctors use them to describe the problems of disease as explained in the following: Reinforcing the spleen (earth) to strengthen the lung (metal) ; Failure of water (kidney) to nourish wood (or failure of the kidney to nourish the liver) ; Five movements and six climates; Wood tending to spread out freely; Depression of the liver (wood) generating fire; Fire of the liver (wood) impairing the lung (metal); Fire tending to flare/flame upward ; Excessive fire impairing the lung (metal) ; Failure of fire to generate earth ; Coordination between water (kidney) and fire (heart); In coordination between the kidney (water) and the heart (fire) ; Being restricted and restricting ; Philosophical concept Traditional Chinese herbal medicine, however, can be based on two treatments which are on philosophical concept. 2.1.3.1 The Holistic Concept By this concept, there is a general meaning, i.e., the human body is a unity and a universe is within a body. On the other hand, it has a close interaction with the world. Traditional Chinese Medicine maintains that a human body is composed of different organs with each organ having its own distinct function, as a part of the whole body. Also, Chinese medicine regards the whole body as an organic body. Its constituent parts are inseparable in structure, interrelated and interdependent in physiology. Man has a nature life, and nature provides an environment for mans survival. So, human can be affected by nature. Traditions Chinese Medicine states Physicians have to know the law of nature and geographical conditions when diagnosing and treating diseases . That is the reason of Tradition Chinese Medicine not only stresses the human body is a unity but also regards the interrelationship between the body and nature environment. 2.1.3.2 Treatment by Differentiation of Syndromes Chinese herbal medicine, on the other hand, is also understood as treatment by differentiation of syndromes. The meaning of differentiation is to analyze the diseases by comprehensive, implying that the patients symptoms and signs collected by the following four diagnostic methods are analyzed and summarized in order to identify the etiology, nature and location of a disease, and the relationship between vital qi (air) and pathogens, thereby to determine what syndrome a disease in concern belongs to. According to the relationship between disease and treatment, traditional Chinese medicine is based on two different ways. One is to treat the same disease with different therapies. Whilst another one is to treat different diseases with the same therapy, i.e., different disease can be manifested in the same situation may be treated in the same way. In summary, using different methods for the treatment of the disease is the core of Treatment by Differentiation of Syndromes. 2.2 Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine The book by Ted J.kaptchuk discusses the difference between East and West medicines, such as why some westerners dislike Chinese Medicine? There is a philosophic reason, which is that Chinese culture is hard to understand. But, another reason is sociological. That is the way of western people thinking about Chinese Medicine. In this book, author gives two different views on seeing and thinking via westerners view, If a non-Chinese person can found these two ways, he/she might become interested in Chinese Medicine. The first one is concerned with treatment result. Many non-chinese have strange notions about Chinese medicine, Some of them see it as hocus-pocus-the product of primitive or magical thinking. If a patient is cured by means of herbs or acupuncture, they see only two possible explanations: Either the cure is a placebo effect, or it is an accident. To many people, when they heard about CHM, the first feeling in their mind is that, Chinese medicine is magical, but not science. The reason can be understood that Western medicine is based on data. Western doctors prefer using data to treat disease, whereas Chinese doctors are in favor of their experience. Another way of thinking, as described in the book, is Other Westerners have a more favorable but equally erroneous view of Chinese medicine. Deeply and often justifiably disturbed by many of the products of Western science and culture, they assume that the Chinese system, because it is felt to be more ancient, more spiritual, or more holistic, is also more true than Western medicine. In this way, some Westerners like Chinese medicine, but, because of different background, different culture, different history, their translate Chinese medicine of their own way based on their own culture. Also, they learn Chinese medicine through TV, Internet and some other media. In their mind, that is what Chinese medicine should look like. By and large, there are two groups of people. One group use Chinese medicine, but, think that Chinese medicine is less logical and is not based on science. It depends on a patients fortune. Another group of people think Chinese medicine through their own culture. Their minds are often mixed by this culture and other media. So, in their head, they have a different image of Chinese herbal medicine. But, many times, this image is incomplete. In Summary, the sociological reason that why westerners dislike Chinese medicine is based on a whole system. The Chinese method is based on the idea that no single part can be understood except in its relation to the whole. Understanding this overall pattern, with the symptom as part of it, is the challenge of Chinese medicine. The Chinese system is not less logical, just less analytical. 2.3 Formulas and Strategies The book on Formulas and Strategies by Dan Bensky and Randall Barolet has divided Chinese herbal medicine as Chinese herbal and Chinese medicine. Whereas the book by Zhu Zhongbao on Chinese Herbal Legends focuses on the use of herbs. Recently, more and more Chinese doctors found it hard to translate Chinese herbal names. Because, the herbal name is based on Chinese culture and history, and there are so many acceptable solutions. Since these books work as a reference text, for our project, our information is to reflect as closely as possible the meaning and syntax of the original CHM. We use anglicized Latin names for medicinal substances. The right translations of herbal can be found from these two books. The following examples are given in the webpage designed in this project. 1) Cang zhu Name English name: Swordlike Atractylodes Rhizome Pharmaceutical name :Rhizoma Atractylodis Nature and flavor: Pungent, bitter and warm Actions Dries dampness and strengthens the spleen Dispels wind dampness Induces sweat, releases the exterior Indications Syndrome of dampness stagnation in Middle Burner Impediment syndrome due to wind damp Exterior syndrome of wind , cold and dampness Chickenpox, mumps and scarlet fever Infantile rickets Night blindness and dry eyes Diabetes 2) Jin Yin Hua Name English name: Honeysuckle Flower Pharmaceutical name: Flos Lonicerae Japonicae. Nature and flavor:Sweet and cold Actions Clears away heat and resolve toxin Disperses wind and heat Indications External contracted wind-heat, the onset of warm disease Carbuncle and clove sores Bleeding due to heat toxin More information about translation will be given by chapter 3result and disscuess. Methodology Based on the study of literature review, two methods have been applied in the development of this project. One is to conduct questionnaire to gather information from the point of view of Chinese doctors. The other is to design and develop an internet based information site providing educational tool on the explanation of what each herb does and a prototype of potential online shopping site to deliver the herbs that people require. 3.1 Interview with a Chinese doctor Location: Brent Cross Doctor Herb Student Name: Yuanlei Wang Following the recommendation by the supervisor, Dr. Amaldi, this interview took place at Brent Cross Doctor Herb in order to gain insight useful information from a professional CHM practitioner. The Chinese doctor of the clinic described the changing of Chinese herbal medicine during the last 10 years. After recording, translating, and analysis, the main points can be summarized as follows. As discussed in Section 2, there are two main reasons that Chinese herbal medicine is not as popular as Western medicine. They are sociological and culture. Sociological In the past, because Chinese government had closed door policy, Chinese were hardly known to the other world. Nor was Chinese Herbal Medicine, which has led less people being interest in China culture, history, and Chinese herbal medicine. On top of this, Chinese government imposed a culture revolution and ignored CHM, leading to less and less people know this medicine, even in China. Culture In Europe, every medical practice needs license to ensure patients safety, which can only obtained by field trial through gathering large amount of data. As discussed in Section 2, CHM is mainly based on experience. Therefore CHM cannot be used in many hospitals, but can be used as additional therapy, such as acupuncture. Because the differences in culture, it is hard for non-Chinese people to understand this invasive technique, On the other hand, the UK National Health Service (NHS) has only introduced limited CHM. Many GPs (general practitioner) think Chinese herbal medicine is an accident not a science. Because NHS is free to the UK people, whereas CHM cost a lot, people will think twice before go to a CHM shop. Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) in the UK Since China started an open policy three decades ago, more and more people have visited China and are becoming more and more interested in Chinese culture and therefore CHM. Now, in the UK, there are over 3000 Chinese medicine shops all over the country, an increase by over 30% in the least 30 years. More and more people have started to take Chinese herbal medicine. Furthermore, the UK government has a plan to legitimate Chinese herbal medicine as part of NHS. So, CHM is getting more and more recognized in improving peoples well being and healthy life. (More information will be given in result and discussion ) 3.1.4 Media Effect British Broadcasting Cooperation (BBC) has also made huge contribution to introduce CHM to the UK. For example, in January 2006, BBC Channel 2 did a programme on Acupuncture Deactivates Brain and again on Back-pain Acupuncture Effective in Septmeber. In these programmes, doctors try to use the acupuncture instead the general anaesthetic. During the first programme, it is said: The pain matrix is involved in the perception of pain it helps someone decide whether something is painful or not, so it could be that acupuncture in some ways changes a persons pain perception. But he added: The thing about acupuncture is that it does not work on everyone. It is more likely to be effective if you believe it.I think it is a psychological manipulation technique, a distraction. We are not going to get to the stage where this could be used instead of a general anaesthetic. In the second programme, the message is that acupuncture for low back pain is cost-effective and works, according to medical researchers. According to the interview during the questionnaire time, the doctor remembered that after this TV programme, many people found that Chinese herbal medicine are useful for their body. More and more people have visited Chinese medicine shop. This example has shown that media can provide a good way to spread a news. Other means of media should also be applied in this regard. Design and Build an internet based Herbal Shop Although TV is a extremely useful way to broadcast a news, it has the limitation of time. Like the two programmes discussed in Section 3.1.4, they were shown near mid-night when most people are gone to bed and missed many viewers. Internet, however, is 24-7 and can be viewed at anytime, any location by using any means (e.g, mobile phone, computer, TV, etc). Therefore in this project, an online system has been created to introduce Chinese herbs plus their relevant information. The web page is at http://image.mdx.ac.uk/leilei. Figure 1 display a use-case UML (Unified Modelling Language) diagram showing the design. Figure 1. A UML diagram showing the developed Chinese Herb webpage (http://image.mdx.ac.uk/leilei). The system interface is consisted of three main parts, including product viewing page, search engine, input page, and guest book to send users feedbacks, and has client-server structure. In the server, the database is built using MySQL language, a rational database language. While the web interface is constructed using PHP (Personal Home Page) language, a c-like language. When users use this product, the process can be described as follows. Figure 2. System structure. When users enter data through internet interfaces which are coded in PHP. Then the interface through PHP sends/retrieves data to/from MYSQL database that is resided at the web page server at http://image.mdx.ac.uk . 3.2.1 Functions of the system This system has three parts, including Guest book, information, and history, which are describe in review. Homepage About Chinese herbal medicine Chinese herbals Guest book The history of Chinese herbal medicine. The first function is the information of Chinese herbal medicine., in this web page, users can know the history of Chinese herbal medicine, and other information. Guest book The second function is Guest book, in this function, the users can write some words in the browser. This part just provides a environment for exchanging ideas. Chinese herbal The last function is Chinese herbal to introduce its function, flavor, condition, and many more. 4 Result and Discussion This Section will discuss the results obtained from the interviewing with a Chinese medicine doctor and the developed prototype online CHM shop and information system. 4.1 Results from the interviewing Through the questionnaire and the interview with the Chinese doctor at Brent Corss Clinic, it can be concluded that nearly half of the population dont like to dont know CHM, as illustrated at Figure 6. A considerable number of people have not heard of CHM. And a quarter of people do not know the places to purchase CHM. Many people do even like the taste of CHM, which is similar to many Chinese people who take herbs. Figure 3. Pie chart showing the group of people thinking of CHM. These differences again can be associated to the issues of 1) Culture 2) Translation.3) Media 4) Government 5) The tastes of Herbal. In these data, culture belongs to philosophic reason, whilst media, translation, government and the tastes of herbal relate to sociological reason. Culture Chinese Medicine has following characteristics. Preventing is more important than treatment According to Chinese medicine book Yellow Emperor, people should treat disease before they have it, i.e., people should take care of their body before they have illness. Another book Hua inan zi (Chinese medicine) also claims that a good doctor often treats non-diseases, hence there is no disease. I.e., if a doctor can find a persons disease before this person get it, he will never get this disease. This prevention-oriented medical thought that people should take care of their health from an early age, can transform as a measure of dialectical philosophy, which is the essence of Chinese culture. Nature and Man should be together The overall concept of Chinese philosophy focuses on that human and nature world should be together, like a body. That the world and the human are not isolated, and they are interdependent, interacting, and interrelated. When it comes to Chinese Herbal Medicine, it also has the same pinciple. Chinese herbal medicine advocates astronomy, geography, and persons should be a whole entity. A nature human cannot leave the social world to survive. The factors that influence health and disease, are concerned with not only biological factors, but also social and psychological factors, So, Chinese Herbal Medicine also advocates treatment that should focus on the change of nature world. To adjust the balance of Yin-Yang (YY) Chinese Medicine mentions that the Yin-Yang is two sided, which is relatively representative of the body. The formation and growth is inseparable from the development of YY. In the bodys normal physiological conditions, the relative balance of YY is maintained, which is important. If one is changed, the mis-balance will cause the change/disorder of bodys normal physiological function. All the actions that a human is doing in the nature world are inseparable from the balance of YY. Therefore, the purpose of the coordination shows that traditional Chinese culture focus on symmetry, the bedrock philosophy of the balance. Static and dynamic idea of the constant combining From the early age, Chinese Philosophy already found the relationship between static and dynamic understanding , as stated in the Book of Change (Zhou Yi). The static and dynamic things are happening constantly. The substance in the nature world should keep moving and changing. In the whole human life, everything in the body, should keep changing until the end. Motion is the rule of nature world. It is the basic element of human health. So, Chinese Medicine stresses dynamics that can treat disease. Just as the same way that people know that sporting is good for health. On the other hand, comparing with dynamic view, Chinese Herbal Medicine also found that silence can also be a healthy habit. Qi Gong (i.e., marshal art) is based on this opinion. So, Static and dynamic element should be completed. Translation A good translation can help people with different culture background understand Chinese Herbal Medicine (CHM) better. Because CHM has its own culture and history , sometimes, it is difficult to translate the words exactly, which can cause frustration and lead more people lose their interest in CHM, which is explained below. The philosophic meaning in the medicine name. Some CHM names are based on their own philosophic meaning, such as Yin Yang, Yuan Qi and so on. If people do not know Chinese philosophic culture, it would be hard to translate. For some CHM doctors, when they translate medicine names, they sometimes copy some western medicine names. Whereas actually those medicines are completely different. Because of the long history of China, Chinese Herbal Medicine is based on an old knowledge system. Through more than thousand years, some of them have already lost their meanings with only a few people understanding. So, even to some knowledgeable Chinese people, translating medicine names is a hard job. Other factors include Media. According to data analysis from the questionaire, media is a very important means in order to let more people know Chinese medicine. However media can be limited, such as the wrong time of a TV programme leading to many people missing the show. Another factor is Governmental: In the past, Chinese Government had a closed door policy, which has limited knowledge of CHM. The questionnaire has also concluded that bad taste of herbs may also have some effect to prevent people taking them. Online shopping system Figures 3-6 illustrate the snapshots of web interfaces of the developed prototype online information and shopping system. Figure 4. The interface showing the Herb information. Figure 5. Input interface. Figure 6. Search engine. Figure 7. Guest book for sending users feedbacks. The system now contains more than 20 herbs information. System Evaluation The evaluation of the developed web site is based on heuristic evaluation. That can give a general overview of the web site, also, through this way, it can give a good idea for developers to improve the system design. The purpose of this evaluation is that, users have a task to browse the complete web pages. This task should start on the home page and finish when users get the feedback. Through this way, users can have a general view of the system by following the rules shown below. User control and freedom Users control and freedom can be understood that system can support users undo or do. Through the task we choose, users can find that it is not easy for them to control the web sites. ie, in the comment page, when users submit the words, they will find that there is a button for them to resubmit. Fun and enjoyment According the purpose of this web site, the web site should give the information of the Chinese herbal medicine to users. That means that the web pages should be fun, but these web pages are very plain, i.e., 1) All the background colours are white. 2) The web site is too simply , There is no enjoyment for users. Feedback Feedback is important for users to understand the information of the web site. In this web site, users can comment and see the other feedbacks. Provide short cuts Short cuts are easily for users to find what they want. In general, the web site is useful. Users can find the information regarding Chinese herbal medicine that need from the home page. Aesthetics and minimalist design Normally, users can have a good feeling with a good minimalist design. But, this web site is boring at this point. Through all web pages, there is no colour, no pictures, all the buttons are closed with each other. That might be caused some mistakes of users. On the other hand, there are some positive feedbacks. The users can find buttons easily, especially on the last page, where there is a comment page, providing a good interaction between users and the web site. In summary, this web site is fine, users can get some general information about Chinese herbal medicine from this web site, also, this web site has a guest page. Users can have a good interaction with the system. According heuristic evaluation, there are some negative aspects. Such as, 1)This system is very simply . 2) The colours are not very good. 3) It is boring for users 4) Some steps are not useful. All in all, this web site can give users a general opinion of Chinese herbal medicine. Recommendations There are some aspects which need to recommend. It should change colours of the web pages. The system should not be simple. The web site should increase some enjoyment. It should provide the search function for users. The web pages should give more freedom to users. Conclusion This project aims at introducing people Chinese Herbal Medicine and has developed an online system providing information on Chinese herbs. The design of the system applies client-server structure and employ
Friday, October 25, 2019
Science :: essays research papers
LAW, SOCIAL SCIENCE, LITERATURE, LAW SCHOOL, AND PERSONAL STATEMENTS Law School Admissions: Why Bother? Stately and plump, Harvard Law School admits just 850 to yield a class of 550; for Yale, fewer than 400 admitted brings a svelte class of 170. Ever battling its late entry and the suspectness of a West Coast address -- ââ¬Å"newnessâ⬠coupled with the perception that sunshine vitiates seriousness -- Stanford Law School admitted 435 to make a class of 180 for the class of 1998. For the most part, students admitted to Stanford either go to Stanford, go to Harvard, go to Yale, or donââ¬â¢t go to law school. Five-hundred fifty plus 150 plus 180 equals 880. Eight-hundred eighty is just 30 more than 850, which implies that Harvard, which was first, still is first when it comes to circumscribing the legal elite. In other words, if Harvard effectively locates the 850 students who will be divided among itself, Stanford, and Yale, why bother worrying about what Stanford does, who it admits? As this reasoning goes, Harvard has taken care of things. Harvard defines the 850 students, implying that the admissions procedures of the latter two are superfluous -- like so much, parasitic on Harvard. Not so. First, it matters, year to year, for as long as Stanfordââ¬â¢s and Yaleââ¬â¢s classes are small and Harvardââ¬â¢s is big, who Stanford and Yale reject. Stanford rejects contribute importantly to the Schoolââ¬â¢s reputation. Stanford admits 400 compared to Harvardââ¬â¢s 800. Assuming considerable overlap in application patterns, many of Harvardââ¬â¢s last 400 admitees were likely rejected by Stanford. The perception, widely held, that attendance at Harvard means one could have gone anywhere is false; rejection by Stanford serves as a reminder of the propositionââ¬â¢s falseness. The presence of Stanford rejects at Harvard is another way of saying Stanford is good because, as everyone knows, Harvard is good. More broadly, it is possible to play renegade in this game as Stanford apparently did several years ago by admitting ââ¬Å"olderâ⬠students and reaching outside the 850. Thus it does, or can, matter who Stanford admits in the sense of Stanford making an original contribution to the 850 who will compose the first year classes at Harvard, Yale, and Stanford. What is being rewarded or predicted when an applicant is considered -- particularly something that differs from the competing schools -- can materially alter, for good or for bad, the profession by deliberately attempting to send a different sort of person into the law.
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Finance 3220 Problem Set 1
What is the present value of $150,000 to be received 8 years from today if the discount rate is 11 percent? Question 1 options: | A)| à $65,088. 97| | B)| à $71,147. 07| | C)| à $74,141. 41| | D)| à $79,806. 18| | E)| à $83,291. 06 | Question 2 (2 points) According to the Rule of 72, you can do which one of the following? Question 2 options: | A)| à double your money in five years at 7. 2 percent interest| | B)| à double your money in 7. 2 years at 8 percent interest| | C)| à double your money in 8 years at 9 percent interest| | D)| à triple your money in 7. years at 5 percent interest| | E)| à triple your money at 10 percent interest in 7. 2 yearsà | Question 3 (2 points) On your ninth birthday, you received $300 which you invested at 4. 5 percent interest, compounded annually. Your investment is now worth $757. How old are you today? Question 3 options: | A)| à age 29| | B)| à age 30| | C)| à age 31| | D)| à age 32| | E)| à age 33| Question 4 (2 poin ts) You just received a $5,000 gift from your grandmother. You have decided to save this money so that you can gift it to your grandchildren 50 years from now.How much additional money will you have to gift to your grandchildren if you can earn an average of 8. 5 percent instead of just 8 percent on your savings? Question 4 options: | A)| à $47,318. 09| | B)| à $52,464. 79| | C)| à $55,211. 16| | D)| à $58,811. 99| | E)| à $60,923. 52 | Question 5 (2 points) Shelley won a lottery and will receive $1,000 a year for the next ten years. The value of her winnings today discounted at her discount rate is called which one of the following? Question 5 options: | A)| à single amount| | B)| à future value| | C)| à present value| D)| à simple amount| | E)| à compounded value | Question 6 (2 points) Andy deposited $3,000 this morning into an account that pays 5 percent interest, compounded annually. Barb also deposited $3,000 this morning into an account that pays 5 percent interest, compounded annually. Andy will withdraw his interest earnings and spend it as soon as possible. Barb will reinvest her interest earnings into her account. Given this, which one of the following statements is true? Question 6 options: | A)| à Barb will earn more interest the first year than Andy will. | B)| à Andy will earn more interest in year three than Barb will. | | C)| à Barb will earn interest on interest. | | D)| à After five years, Andy and Barb will both have earned the same amount of interest. | | E)| à Andy will earn compound interest. | Question 7 (2 points) You invested $1,650 in an account that pays 5 percent simple interest. How much more could you have earned over a 20-year period if the interest had compounded annually? Question 7 options: | A)| à $849. 22| | B)| à $930. 11| | C)| à $982. 19| | D)| à $1,021. 15| | E)| à $1,077. 94 | Question 8 (2 points)A year ago, you deposited $30,000 into a retirement savings account at a fixed rate of 5. 5 percent. Today, you could earn a fixed rate of 6. 5 percent on a similar type account. However, your rate is fixed and cannot be adjusted. How much less could you have deposited last year if you could have earned a fixed rate of 6. 5 percent and still have the same amount as you currently will when you retire 38 years from today? Question 8 options: | A)| à $2,118. 42 less| | B)| à $3,333. 33 less| | C)| à $5,417. 09 less| | D)| à $7,274. 12 less| | E)| à $9,234. 97 lessà |Question 9 (2 points) You are investing $100 today in a savings account at your local bank. Which one of the following terms refers to the value of this investment one year from now? Question 9 options: | A)| à future value| | B)| à present value| | C)| à principal amounts| | D)| à discounted value| | E)| à invested principal | Question 10 (2 points) One year ago, you invested $1,800. Today it is worth $1,924. 62. What rate of interest did you earn? Question 10 options: | A)| à 6. 59 percent| | B)| à 6. 67 percent| | C)| à 6. 88 percent| | D)| à 6. 92 percent| | E)| à 7. 01 percent |
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Case Study On HR Planning
Ms. Barnacles has an MBA-Human Resources Management from Winston Churchill University and has been instrumental in formalizing the institution's human resources' policies and procedures. Occupancy rates in the hospital had run between 76 and 82 percent from 1987 to 2012. However, since then, occupancy has fallen to 57 percent. Such declines have not been unusual for this industry during this period due to the emphasis of on outpatient services and increasing competition.However, the decline inning occupancy rate has affected this hospital revenues to such an extent that it ran a deficit for the first time last year. The only response to these changes thus far has been a tightening of requirements for equipment or apply purchases. At the most recent quarterly meeting of the Board of Directors on July 31 , 201 3, DRP. Imides Gigantic presented the rather bleak financial picture. The projected deficit for 2013 was PH 3,865,000. 00 unless some additional revenue sources were identified o r some additional savings were found.The Board's recommendation, based on the immediate crisis and need to generate short-term saving, was that employee layoffs were the only realistic alternative. They recommended that DRP. Imides Gigantic consider laying-off up to 10 percent of the hospital's employee's with an emphasis on hose in ââ¬Å"non-essentialsâ⬠areas. DRP. Gigantic responded that the hospital employees had never been laid off in the history of the institution. Moreover, she viewed the employees as part of the ââ¬Å"family/' and would have great difficulty in implementing such lay-off.Nevertheless, since she had no realistic short-term alternative for closing the ââ¬Å"revenue gapâ⬠, she reluctantly agreed to implement the layoff policy which would be as fair as possible to all employees, with guarantee of reemployment for those laid off, and to find additional revenue sources so that layoffs would be unnecessary in the future. DRP Gigantic called Tees Barnacl es into her office the next morning, shared her concerns, and asked her to prepare both a short-term plan to save PH over next year through employee lay-offs as well as long-term plan to avoid layoffs in the future.Her concerns were that the layoffs themselves might be costly in terms Of lost investment in some of the laid-off employees, lost efficiency, potential lawsuits, and lower morale. She was concerned that the criteria for the layoff not only be equitable, but also appear to be equitable to the employees. She also wanted to make sure that those being laid off received adequateâ⬠notice so they could make alternative plans or so the hospital could assist them with finding alternative employment.Since the hospital has no previous experience with employee layoffs and no union contract constraints, her feeling was that both seniority and job performance should be considered in determining who would be laid off. Tees knew the hospital's performance appraisal system was inade quate and needed to be revamped. While this task was high on her ââ¬Å"to doâ⬠list, she also knew she had to move ahead with her recommendations on layoffs immediately. The present reference appraisal system uses a traditional checklist rating scale with summary rating.Since there is no forced distribution, the average ratings of employees in different departments varies widely. Exhibit 2. 1 . Shows the summary ratings of employee's in each department. Most supervisors in all departments rate most of their subordinates either ââ¬Å"satisfactory' or ââ¬Å"outstanding. â⬠Tees has done a quick review of those employees whose over-all ratings Were ââ¬Å"unsatisfactoryâ⬠or ââ¬Å"questionableâ⬠. Most are employee's with less than three years of seniority, whereas, the ââ¬Å"satisfactoryâ⬠employee has worked for Sat. Filament approximately seven years. Tees is preparing to submit her recommendations to DRP.Gigantic and has come to YOU, HER Consultant, for advice. Exhibit 2. 2 provides a summary of the distribution of employees and payroll expense by department for the most recent year. Questions: 1. Identify the major problem or problems and their causes. 2. What are some alternatives for dealing with these problems? For example is it possible to avoid layoffs through the use of attrition? 3. Develop a plan for implementing employee layoffs over the next year which will generate 3 million pesos is savings. Give specific details concerning apartments affected, the use of seniority versus merit, the amount of notice, and out-placement activities.
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Which Trials
Which Trials The Salem Witch trials which spanded from June to September in 1962 resulted in 19 people, men, women, and children being hung. It was all started by a group of girls and a fearful town. The '"afflicted" girls caused mass hysteria through out the town and soon the word "witchcraft" was being used frequentlyIt all started wuth a small group of girls and a slave. Abigal williams (Parris's Niece) and Betty (Parris's Duaghter) heard stories from tituba about her life, home in Barbados. She told the girls about spells and voodoo.(Hill, 219-224) After hearing this, they were fascinated with iut and practiced with it. Soon other girls joined them and tried love spells, Furture prediction and so on. Typical little girl things. After being caught dancing int he woods, they started having fits and uncontrolable acts.(Hill, 225-228) Once this had spread through town, everyone assumed it was due to witchcraft.Present-day archaeological site of the Salem Villa...Why the girls kept pretending no o ne knows but soon they were forced into naming other "witches". This is where it really got out of control.(Hill, 24-28)About 140 people were accused of being witches. 38 from the Salem Area. Including John Proctor, Giles and Martha Corey, George Jacobs, Sarah Osbourne, and a number of other people. Even though 19 people were hung, a number of others died in prison and Giles Corey was pressed to death.(Hill, 229) He refused to release information that would have innocent people put in jail. The worst part of it all was that the girls, young, immature, uneducated girls wielded the pwoer to end any persons life and they did so without caring.There were a number of reasons who the witchcraft hysteria flourished. In the old days, people strongly believed that the Devil was the cause for all evil. Disease,
Monday, October 21, 2019
How to Style Numbers as Physical Dimensions
How to Style Numbers as Physical Dimensions How to Style Numbers as Physical Dimensions How to Style Numbers as Physical Dimensions By Mark Nichol How to treat numbers in writing in general is a complicated issue dealt with in this DailyWritingTips post and others. The current post focuses on a subcategory of number style: numbers that refer to physical dimensions an objectââ¬â¢s size or the proportion thereof or to nonphysical scientific measurement. Occasional, casual references to dimensions are usually best treated by spelling them out (ââ¬Å"The footbridge is fifty-four feet longâ⬠; ââ¬Å"The temperature dropped overnight to twenty-three degreesâ⬠). However, numbers in content (generally nonfiction) that frequently details measurements, especially in a technical context, are better displayed in numeral form (ââ¬Å"The respective mile-per-gallon performance for the three models is 67, 84, and 53â⬠). In such a case, earlier or subsequent references to the units in question and, ideally, all measurements should be styled consistently, even if they otherwise appear in isolation. Simple fractions (those describing less than a whole, such as one-third) and short mixed fractions (ââ¬Å"one and three-eights,â⬠for example) are easily read in word form, but a concentration of fractions is best styled with numerals (ââ¬Å"The table is 34 1/2 inches high, 24 inches wide, and 42 1/4 inches longâ⬠); again, the form should be consistent throughout a particular piece of content and preferably in a recurring print or online publication. Abbreviations and symbols for units of measure are always accompanied by numerals and never appear in association with spelled-out numbers; the shorthand is often but not always separated from the numeral by a letter space (consult a style guide about the distinctions). Also, when unit terms are spelled out with numerals, a dimension used as a phrasal adjective is usually hyphenated before the noun but never after (ââ¬Å"a 24-inch waistâ⬠; ââ¬Å"her waist is 24 inchesâ⬠), but hyphens are omitted when abbreviations or symbols appear (ââ¬Å"a 10 km raceâ⬠; ââ¬Å"a 120 V systemâ⬠). Note, too, that terms of units of measurement should be abbreviated only when associated with a numeral (ââ¬Å"The lightbulbs differed in actual wattage,â⬠not ââ¬Å"The lightbulbs differed in W.â⬠) Number ranges can be indicated by the word to or an en dash (here, as on many Web sites, represented by a hyphen). To is suitable for numerals and spelled-out numbers alike (ââ¬Å"The temperature range is 45 to 60 degreesâ⬠or ââ¬Å"The temperature range is forty-five to sixty degreesâ⬠), but the en dash is appropriate only with numerals (ââ¬Å"The temperature range is 45-60 degreesâ⬠). Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How Many Tenses in English?Excited ABOUT, not "for" 35 Synonyms for Rain and Snow
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