Global Sourcing Challenge Case Questions Essay

1. Marianna Barner should decline the invitation for IKEA to have a representative appear on the upcoming forecast of the German video program. The producers of the documentary invited them to take part in a live discussion during the airing, and while this offer does sound beneficial for IKEA to educate the public and the producers of the current efforts taken to fight child labor, it would not be in their best interest. This is attributed to the fact that the producers refuse to let IKEA preview the video beforehand and that they are aware that the producers â€Å"planned to take a confrontational and aggressive approach† directly aimed at them. As a result, there is a very high possibility that the representative would then be blindsided with questions and then IKEA’s message of their efforts would not be portrayed accurately. Instead, IKEA should respond to the allegations by releasing their own statement allowing them to explain their efforts once they have had the opportunity to review all evidence and verify the credibility. 2. In regards to the supply contract that IKEA has with Rangan Exports, it would be best if Barner terminates the contract, should sufficient evidence prove that they do indeed use child labor. They stress the importance of taking responsibility for their suppliers, and in the IWAY (IKEA Code of Conduct), it clearly states that they do not accept Child Labourm, otherwise their contract will be terminated. The well-regarded company (Rangan) had signed an addendum that explicitly forbids the use of child labor, so it is important that IKEA upholds their standards and codes in order to maintain a fair position with their other suppliers. It would also be wise for her to then issue a statement or press release about the severed ties with the company, stating the reasons for the decision and maintaining integrity by upholding their own policies regarding child labor, so that the public and other suppliers see that they won’t tolerate unethical behavior or violations to their contra ct. 3. It is suggested that IKEA stays in India and continue operations. The long-term strategy that Barner should take regarding continued operations includes maintaining their code of conduct to uphold their image of being responsible for their suppliers and the environment, while also contributing to an improved quality of life for those in India.

Cost of War on Terror for Pakistan Economy Essay

The conclusion was that the War not only caused serious damage to the economy, but also to the social fabrics of Pakistan. Obviously, continuity of War will continue to bleed the economy and society of Pakistan. At the start of the War, the cost of it to Pakistan was estimated at $ 2.669 billion in fiscal year 2001-02. This calculation was based on the assumptions that: (i) The War in Afghanistan that begun on October 7, 2001 will end swiftly by December 2001: (ii) normalcy will resume from January 2002; (iii) the Taliban government will be ousted and some low intensity fight will continue but life in Pakistan will remain normal; and (iv) the additional increase in freight cargo and war risk premium will be removed. The abovementioned assumptions were not materialized and instead the war on terror continued to gain momentum and became more precarious for the entire region in general and Pakistan in particular as it shifted to its settled areas to disrupt all kind of investment and economic activity. Pakistan became more insecure in its efforts to make the world a safer place to live. Pakistan continued to pay a heavy price in terms of both the economic and security terms. A large portion of its resources, both men and material are being consumed by this war for the last several years. The economy was subjected to enormous direct and indirect costs which continued to rise from $ 2.669 billion in 2001-02 to $ 13.6 billion by 2009-10, projected to rise to $ 17.8 billion in the current financial year (2010-11) and moving forward, the direct and indirect costs to the economy is most likely to rise further. The comparison of cost for 2001-02 and 2010-11 is given in Table-1 and the year-wise cost of war on terror is documented in Table-2: Pakistan’s economy is under pressure of the War on Terror intensifying for last four years in Afghanistan. Since 2006, the War has spread like a contagion into settled areas of Pakistan that has so far, cost the country more than 35,000 citizens, 3500 security personnel, destruction of infrastructure, internal migration of millions of people from parts of northwestern Pakistan, erosions of investment climate, nose diving of production and growing unemployment and above all brought economic activity to a virtual standstill in many part of the country. Pakistan had never witnessed such devastating social and economic upheaval in its industry, even after dismemberment of the country by direct war. After 9/11 Pakistan had to assume the role of a frontline state in the War against Terror. The onset of the War disrupted Pakistan’s normal trading activities, as the cost of trading increased substantially because of higher insurance cover. Consequently, economic growth slowed demands for imports reduced with consequential decline in tax collection and inflows of foreign investment were naturally adversely affected, accentuated by the travel bans issued by western governments to its entrepreneurs. While the economic situation was worsening, a new elected government took power in 2008 and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs constituted an inter-ministerial committee to assess the direct and indirect cost of the War on Terror on Pakistan. The Ministries of Finance, Interior, Commerce and some other relevant government departments plus the representatives of two provinces bordering turbulent Afghanistan participated in these deliberations. After few sessions and valuable inputs from all sides, the committee estimated the cost of War on Terror and its impact on Pakistan’s economy and society. The events that transpired after 9/11 in Afghanistan worsened the security environment in the country. As a result, the western countries including the United States continued to impose travel ban for their citizen (investor, importers etc.) to visit Pakistan. This has affected Pakistan’s exports, prevented the inflows of foreign investment, affected the pace of privatization program, slowed the overall economic activity, reduced import demand, reduced tax collection, expenditure over-run on additional security spending, domestic tourism industry suffered badly, hundreds; and thousands of jobs could have been created had economic activity not slowed as well as thousands of jobs were lost because of the destruction of domestic/foreign tourism industry; destruction of physical infrastructure (military and civil) massive surge in security related spending; migration of thousands of people from war affected areas and the associated rise in expenditure to support internally displac ed persons. Pakistan’s investment-to-GDP ratio has nosedived from 22.5 percent in 2006-07 to 13.4 percent in 2010-11 with serious consequences for job creating ability of the economy. Going forward, Pakistan needs enormous resources to enhance productive capacity of the economy. The security situation will be the key determinant of the future flow of the investment. Pakistan economy needs an early end to this war.

MGMT442 U1 IP Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

MGMT442 U1 IP - Research Paper Example The candidate may quote how he had to let go of a team member after all his coaching failed. In real life, a team leader has to switch between a person who can control and someone who participates in work if required. The role is won through experience and knowledge but maintained by instilling trust and promoting candor between amongst the team members (Collins, 2001). Another aspect important in this job is promoting a high performing culture; the team members should compete amongst themselves for rewards based on merit. Here, the candidate must elaborate his knowledge and skills related to customer services. The means used to maintain and monitor service levels along with quality of customer services provided. It is also important that the incumbent must be aware of trends and technologies used in the service area by the firm’s competitors. Furthermore candidate must be aware of skill requirements both short and in long term (Krogerus & Tschappeler, 2008). It is important that the interviewer must present the challenge that comes with this job. A demotivated, nervous and immature candidate would exhibit uncertainty, while the right incumbent would lay out a blue print of the plan right there and then. Furthermore it is important that the incumbent must elaborate what initial steps he would take in order to setup this department along with an approximate time period. This answer would indicate how the incumbents perform planning, organizing and controlling functions (Krogerus & Tschappeler,

Legal Method Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Legal Method - Essay Example Under Section 5(1) of the RTA 1988 it would be an offence to drive a motor vehicle on a road after consuming alcohol and producing a breathe test containing 35 mcg of alcohol and above. Under Section 5(1), the Secretary of State has permitted the Lion Intoximeter 3000 to be used as evidence against driving under the influence of alcohol. Under Section 69 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, any evidence that is provided by the Computer would not be accepted as evidence unless there is no reasonable ground that the statement was inaccurate due to improper use or functioning, and that the computer was operated properly. Ms. Tick was driving erratically on 21 May 1993 and was taken to the Sun Hill Police Station and provided a breathe test using the Lion device. The time the test was done was about 00:13 am but was given as 11:00 pm on the computer printout. Both the samples given by Ms. Tick exceeded 78 mcg of alcohol, above the permitted limit of 35 mcg, and Ms. Tick was char ged under Section 5(1). The inaccuracy in time was noted and Srgt Cryer was called to testify in court. It was found that the reading or functioning of the Intoximeter was not affected by the functioning of the clock and both were independent. Dr. ... After taking into consideration by Dr. Know and Srgt Cryer, there was nothing that could displace the printout evidence. Since the clock and the breathe analysis mechanisms lay in the same box, it could be said that since there was an error with the time, there could be an error with alcohol analysis, and this was even the intention of the legislation. However, the evidences that were available against Ms. Tick were admissible to convict her. 2. Explain, in your own words, the legal issue(s) in the case. Here the legal question being asked was whether the evidence presented by the Lion Intoximeter breathe analysis was permissible under section 69(1) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. It is important to take into consideration the other evidences that were available including that of Srgt Cryer, the constable and Dr Know regarding Ms. Tick use of alcohol above the permissible limit whilst driving and also the error committed by the machine. Here the question was being asked regarding the admissibility and validity of a computer statement as evidence. Under section 69 a computer device must be functioning properly and if there is any evidence that the device was not functioning properly, it cannot be taken as evidence in criminal cases. If a computer is malfunctioning, the same should not be relevant and should not affect the generation of the evidence. From evidences presented, it was clearly shown that the functioning of the clock was independent of the results of the breathe analysis obtained. However, since the clock and the alcohol analysis components were in the same box, there were some doubts. However, Judge Hoffmann took into consideration that the information of time supplied by the clock had not effect on the generation and processing of the

Demonstration of the Value of Health, Safety and Environmental Essay

Demonstration of the Value of Health, Safety and Environmental Programs in Corporate Settings - Essay Example 75 million working days are lost because of on-job-hazards. $50 billion are given as compensation for injuries and deaths in organizations. $50 billion is spent on indirect costs like replacement, training and so on (Bohlander, 2004). On average $23,000 per serious accident- is the cost incurred by an employer in U.S.A. When a boiler explosion killed 6 workers at Ford's Rouge Power Plant, Ford was fined $1.5 million and directed to spend $6million on safety measures. The staggering number of work-related accidents is alarming. 6,026 U.S workers died recently in workplace incidents at work and 6.2 million suffered from workplace injuries and many go unreported. In 2004, 5,703 fatalities have been reported of which 1004 were due to contact with equipments,815 because of falls, 459 due to exposure to harmful substances and 159 due to fire and explosions. Organizations should ensure a safe work environment which protects employees from physical hazards, unhealthy situations and violence from other personal. This can be achieved by Safety and Health Programmes which strives to preserve the physical and emotional well-being of the employees. This is important because employees are the Human Resources of an organization who contribute towards organizational success. The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) was passed in 1970 to assure so far as possible every working woman and man in the Nation safe and healthy working conditions and to preserve human resources. The Occupational Safety and Health Act in 1970 created (OSHA) the Occupational Safety and Health Administration within the Department of labour. The importance of such laws can be well documented by the statistical survey of Occupational hazards. In 2000, 5.7 million injuries were reported in private sector alone. 5,915 fatalities were reported in 2000 alone due to industrial injuries. The Occupational Safety and Health Act laws cover all the employers and their employees except a few federal governments, or states or political sub-divisions of a state. However, even in such cases, each federal agency is required to establish a Safety and Health program monitored by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. One of the key responsibilities of the Occupational Safety and Health administration has been the development of mandatory job safety and health standards, enforce these standards and monitor them. These standards have been classified into four categories. 1. General Industry 2. Maritime 3. Construction and 4. Agriculture. These standards cover the workplace, machinery, material, power sources, processing, protective measures, first aid and administrative requirements. The 'Federal Register' is the main source of information on proposed, adapted, amended and deleted OSHA standards. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has the power to set standards on its own account or on petition from other parties, namely, The Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Other bodies like state and local governments, nationality recognized standards organization, employer or labour representative can also initiate standard setting. The Secretary of labour is the person authorized by OSHA to conduct inspections of workplaces, to

Bible Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Bible - Essay Example De Duve (2005) proposed that "Science is based on the postulate that the universe obeys natural laws and is intelligible within the framework of those laws," and this belief is commonly shared by an ever-increasing global populace encompassing both theists and atheists, natural scientists and non-scientists alike. In fact, while pseudo and legitimate religious groups grow in wide diversity from New Age to Panentheism, the Christian belief of God and the Savior remains one of the most enthralling religious wonders of our time. Humbling and altogether enlightening when deeply understood. Thomas Aquinas summed up the answer for the question "Why did the Son of God have to suffer for us" when he wrote: It can be considered in a twofold way: in the first place, as a remedy for sin, and secondly, as an example of how to act." Aquinas argued that "in the face of all the evils which we incur on account of our sins, we have found relief through the passion of Christ. Yet, it is no less an example, for the passion of Christ completely suffices to fashion our lives. Whoever wishes to live perfectly should do nothing but disdain what Christ disdained on the cross and desire what he desired, for the cross exemplifies every virtue." He added that "If you seek the example of love: Greater love than this no man has, than to lay down his life for his friends (New Testament). Such a man was Christ on the cross. And if he gave his life for us, then it should not be difficult to bear whatever hardships arise for his sake." Together with the virtue of love, Aquinas cited other virtues represented on the man and the cross: patience for enduring the pain, sorrow and suffering, humility for allowing himself to be judged by the angry mob and Pontius Pilate, obedience to the will of His Father, and immateriality. Finney (1851) in his argument presented 24 reasons why Jesus had to suffer on the cross but this discussion shall present only those which conveys governmental underpinning as: First, he reasoned, is due to God's great and all-encompassing love quoting John (New Testament) "God so loved the world, that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have Everlasting Life" (John 3:16). Second, "His great love to the universe at large [] inasmuch as it was impossible that the atonement should not exert an amazing influence over moral beings [e.g., angels]" Third, "That an infinite amount of suffering might be prevented. The relation of Christ to the universe rendered his sufferings so infinitely valuable and influential, as an expression of God's abhorrence of sin on the one hand, and his great love to his subjects on the otherAs a governmental expedient it is easy to see the great value of such a substitute; that on the one hand it fully evinced t he determination of the ruler not to yield the authority of his law, and on the other, to evince his great and disinterested love for his rebellious subjects." In this argument, Finney (1851) quoted the

Coordination and Control in Multinational's Essay

Coordination and Control in Multinational's - Essay Example From this essay it isclear that  a Multinational corporation or enterprise’s trait characteristic is their presence in more than at least two countries. Some claim, Knights Templar, founded in 1118 was the first multinational when it started banking. Others claim Dutch East India Company, founded in 1602, was the first multinational. Multinationals are known by a variety of names such as a Multinational Corporation (MNC), Multinational Enterprise (MNE), Transnational Corporation (TNC) or simply Multinational Organization (MNO).  According to the report findings  a corporation, once it has achieved success at a local level, slowly branches out. Next it manages to attain power and influence and become an active member in shaping globalization. Multinational corporations are known to have very large budgets that even have the ability to exceed the budgets of many counties. Multinationals can be highly influential politically as they play an active role in International rela tions. This is mainly due to two factors that, Multinationals have a huge economical influence upon politicians’ representative districts and that multinationals have huge economical resources available for public relations and political lobbying.  Countries are competing with one another to win the attention of MNC’s so they could be considered by these corporations. The setting up of multinationals in a country would mean tax revenue, employment and economic activity.

Qualitative Executive Summary Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Qualitative Executive Summary - Research Paper Example ple, they feel unappreciated in their communities and hence engage in immoral activities such as premarital sex, drug addiction, robbery, murder, and rampage strikes in schools. Due to increase of such activities among high school students it was necessary for us to conduct a research on the reason for all these. The main reason of the study is to find out why such immoral activities happen mostly in high school. What is the main contributing factor towards such activities? In the same environment of study are there any high school students who don’t participate in immoral activities? What is the difference between this student and the others? The audience for our study will be determine on the following basis, that include people who interact with the high school students mostly ,i.e. parents of the students ,class teachers, their guardians, elder brothers and sisters. These people will help us answer certain questions about the high school students and how they behave. The main individual under study is the high school student and so the comments made will also be treated as a data towards achieving our goal of the study. The critical part of the study is lack of openness among high school students to other people. This is attributed to many factors such as the wide gap of age difference, advancement of technology in the modern world for instance face book, twitter and other social network making it hard for them to have one on one talk with their counselors. The question is what would most improve your guidance program? According to the study we are trying to engage the high school students to open up and share with us on how we can be of help to them in order to be a better person in the society. In the data we find that out of the 125 high school correspondents, 60 students prefer to be listened to and this is a huge number, it was followed by lack of good advisory on career choice, availability of counselors came in third. In this analysis, we can

History of Computers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

History of Computers - Essay Example The study would even outline trend of computer science profession in next 10 years. The beginning stage of computers has its roots in 19th century. Its history is closely knitted with an English mathematics professor called as Charles Babbage. He was able to frame the design of an analytical machine. On basis of this framework computers are being designed in present scenario. Computers can briefly be categorized into three generations. Each generation basically lasts for a specific time frame. These generations individually has delivered improved and new computer or rather further modifications on existing ones. First generation was from 1937 to 1946. Electronic digital computer firstly was designed in 1937 by Clifford Berry and Dr. John V, Atanasoff. It was known as ABC or Atanasoff-Berry Computer. During 1943 for military purpose an electronic computer was designed called as Colossus. It was followed by wide range of other developments encompassing general purpose digital computer. This device was also known as Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer or ENIA C. It was stated that this computer had a total of 18,000 vacuum tubes and weighed 30 tons. These were mainly used for purpose of processing. Computers belonging to this generation were able to perform only one task at a time and possessed no such operating system. Second generation can be outlined from 1947 to 1962. In this generation vacuum tubes were discarded and transistors were utilized due to high reliability. The first computer mainly for commercial usage was introduced in 1951 and this was called as UNIVAC 1 or Universal Automatic Computer. IBM or International Business Machine 700 and 650 series had set their mark in world of computers. In this generation particularly more than 100 programming languages were created. This generation computers possessed operating systems and memory (Dale and Lewis, 2007). Storage media like disk and tape were effectively used along with

Corrections Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Corrections - Essay Example W., n.d.). With the dreaded conditions stated above and with the fact that crime is being associated with the poor economic background of people, politicians and the general public deem that bending prison policies such as the mandatory sentencing and punishing of technical parole violations rather than extending parole time would be best to not only effectively curb criminal cases despite limited resources but at the same time help these criminals to be able to pay the legal consequences of their acts immediately and at the same time be able to move on with their life without delay which will also help them support their families better and not worsen the problem of budget challenges (Criminal Justice USA, n.d.). This is because of the fact that in most cases, those who have been incarcerated have slashed annual earnings because many employers would refuse to hire them and given the fact that most of those incarcerated are the breadwinners of their family, delaying parole time is not the solu tion for both the criminal and the society. This is something that Justice Anthony Kennedy affirmed, pushing for the review of political outcomes and processes to improve the problem of overcrowding, prison medical and mental health, and most especially, the post incarceration impacts in a criminal’s life and society as a whole. 10 Stats You Should Know About Our Prison System - Criminal Justice USA. (n.d.). CriminalJusticeUSA.com - Criminal Justice Careers, Jobs and Degree Information. Retrieved August 24, 2012, from http://www.criminaljusticeusa.com/blog/2011/10-stats-you-should-know-about-our-prison-system/ Miller, D. W. (n.d.). The Drain of Public Prison Systems and the Role of Privatization, ProQuest Discovery Guides. CSA. Retrieved August 24, 2012, from

Communication Strategies for Leaders Essay Example for Free

Communication Strategies for Leaders Essay A leader must be able to communicate effectively. When asked to define leadership, theorists and practitioners alike frequently use the words â€Å"influence,† â€Å"inspire† and â€Å"transform,† all of which depend on communication, verbal and nonverbal. Leaders lead through their words and actions. This text focuses on both, thus the emphasis throughout on emotional intelligence, the ability to understand the self and others (Barrett, 2011). Effective leadership communication requires the ability to anticipate to the potential interruptions in the transmission of the message, appreciate the context, understand the audience, select the right medium and craft a clear message that allows the meaning to reach the specific receiver as intended (Barrett, 2011). In my quest to achieve superior communication leadership skills I have had the opportunity to assess and evaluate my effectiveness in communication leadership. This personal assessment has indicated I must become more strategic as strategy is the foundation on which any effective communication depends on. Leaders must be able to analyze their audience in every situation and design a communication strategy that facilitates accomplishing their communication. Communication is critical to every organization and for any aspiring leader. I plan to be strategic in developing a plan to be a more effective communicator by reaching out to external constituents as that is an area for communication improvement. Overall, effective communication strategy depends on ones thinking and planning strategically understanding your audience, and structuring your communication for different situations, delivery methods, and audiences to ensure that you connect with your audience and deliver your intended message (Barrett, 2011). III. As a leader and manager in my organization I take pride in being an effective leader and communication. I have been at my non-profit organization for the  past 6 years and have made significant improvement and learned to grow my communication skills. Owens (1998) mentions two key features of leadership which are: (1) the engagement of persons in a process that identifies them with goals, and (2) the potential to change the institutional environment (e.g. values, beliefs, etc.) by implementing diversity goals into the organizational culture. At the same time, I am a leader that promotes integrity to motivate ethical behavior across the entire organization. Also, it is important for me to create an open environment in which followers and employees feel free to speak up and come forward to me when any action needs to take place. Overall, I am always striving to be a better communicator in all situations as it teaches as I want to be recognized by others as a transformational leader. IV. Score Skill Area 3 Communication Strategy 2 Written Communication Skills 1 = substantial need to improve 3 Oral Communication Skills 2 = some need to improve 3 Ethos/Image 3 = little need to improve 3 Skills at Dealing with Others 4 = no need to improve at this time 3 Observation and Feedback Skills 3 Team Communications and Dynamics Skills 3 Skills at Dealing with Your Own Feelings 3 Internal Corporate Communication 2 External Corporate Communication I consider my oral public speaking skills to be my major strength when communicating to internal colleagues at my organization. I am always poised to conduct presentations and participate in public speaking engagements. I always maintain a sense of confidence and take pride in my public speaking skills. At the same time, I feel much more comfortable in situations where I can communicate effectively with my team members and demonstrate my dynamic skills to engage them effectively. I tend to be a coach and a motivator among my employees. I use different means to get my employees to want to be better at their duties and take full ownership of their tasks and goals. I also have a lot of confidence in being able to utilize my skills in dealing with others feelings and communicating with them solutions to help them with their particular situation. I would consider my interpersonal communication skills with external relations as an area for improvement. I tend to be an extrovert when it comes to public speaking and very confidant with communicating with large audiences but I tend to be introverted when it comes to communication in smaller groups or individual communication with members of external organizations. Barrett (2011) suggests that selecting the right spokesperson to deliver external messages can be almost as critical as the message themselves. I need to work on this part of my communication leadership by participating in more social and networking events to work on my confidence in communicating with external constituents. I also plan to travel more with my executive leadership team and attend meetings and events to get a better understanding of how to communicate more effectively in my external communication. Improvement Goal Action Steps to Achieve Goal (Program) Deadline Method to Measure Success Develop better oral communication skills with external corporate relations Attend more external corporate events and meetings with the executive team. Solicit feedback from executive team members concerning areas for improvement and change any behavior based on feedback Participate in more networking events with external constituents. December 31, 2013 Attend various events. Listen to the feedback given and start to implement that feedback in my future interactions. Achieved: No Further development of my written communication skills Solicit feedback from my supervisor and other employees about my written communication. Conduct more proofreading and be more strategic in my research. December 31, 2013 Compare written material from previous months. Have others review my written communication. Effective leadership communication requires the ability to anticipate to the potential interruptions in the transmission of the message, appreciate the context, understand the audience, select the right medium and craft a clear  message that allows the meaning to reach the specific receiver as intended (Barrett, 2011). I always maintain a sense of confidence and take pride in my public speaking skills. At the same time, I feel much more comfortable in situations where I can communicate effectively with my team members and demonstrate my dynamic skills to engage them effectively which include motivating and coaching. I would consider my interpersonal communication skills with external relations as an area for improvement. I tend to be an extrovert when it comes to public speaking and very confidant with communicating with large audiences but I tend to be introverted when it comes to communication in smaller groups or individual communication with members of external organizations. I have action steps in place to help me in my leadership development which include attending more external corporate events and meetings with the executive team. Solicit feedback from executive team members concerning areas for improvement and change any behavior based on feedback. Also, I plan to participate in more networking events with external constituents. References Aamodt, M. (2013). Industrial/Organizational Psychology: An applied approach. Seventh edition. Cox et. al (2007). Evaluating organizational-level work stress interventions: Beyond tradition methods. Work Stress, 21, 348-362. Ebbers, L., Conover, K., Samuels, A. (2010). Leading from the middle: preparing leaders for new roles. New directions for Community Colleges.Wiley Periodicals. Frese, M (2009). The changing nature of work. In N. Chmiel (Ed.) An introduction to work and organizational psychology (2nd ed., pp. 397-413). Oxford: Blackwell publishing. Lawler, E.E. (2001). Organizing for high performance. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Owens, Robert. (1998). Organizational Behavior in Education (6th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Various Aspects Of Integrated Logistics Economics Essay

Various Aspects Of Integrated Logistics Economics Essay A New Zealand entrepreneur is planning to launch a business in Western Europe; Japan; China and CIS/Eastern Europe and they have appointed you as a consultant to advice on opportunities and challenges facing firms seeking to perform logistics activities in the above mentioned countries. (Your answer should not exceed 1500 words) Global Logistics Opportunities and Challenges Western Europe consists of United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Austria, Switzerland, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Malta and microstates of Vatican City, San Marino, Monaco, Andorra and Liechtenstein. Western Europe is considered as major contributor of the European economy. Its determining characteristics are common currency, tax equalization, political homogenization and standards homogenization. Logistically speaking Western European markets offer a great opportunity for exploiting economies of the scale and size in moving goods throughout the Europe opting from a number of transportation modes. European transport networks have grown because of deregulation of transportation; shipments, optimal route and plan scheduling, and the development of national services. The number of long-distance transports has grown significantly with the largest share of freight transports as road transports. The preferred mode s of transportation in the area are roads and rails, closely followed by sea freight. In addition, the Chunnel links the UK with the rest of Europe reducing the transportation cost to a great extent. Figure 1: Logistics Hubs in Western Europe Source: (DHL Discover Logistics, n.d.-a) The logistics systems in Western Europe are characterized more by political change associated with EU enlargement than by geographic features. In Western Europe transport, storage, packaging and administrative jobs are becoming noticeably more efficient due to uniform regulations. The transport networks are very well developed but average shipping distances have grown principally in the wake of the European Unions enlargement. Outsourcing activities are increasingly affecting logistics in Western Europe because companies no longer consider logistics to be a core business. Instead, larger distribution networks are developing at a rapid pace. Global firms prefer vertical integration and go for direct marketing and distribution in order to reduce inventory and total logistics costs. The changes in the logistics sector have generated challenges of increased efficiency in shipping, packaging and labelling. Here, the reduction of customs processing plays a critical role. In addition, techn ological improvements throughout Europe are almost uniform and not just clustered in individual countries. As a result, order processing, inventory management, warehousing and IT technology are being further centralized. In nutshell, the competitive situation in Western Europe is intense as compared to the rest of Europe. Japan Japan has evolved into an economic powerhouse of Asia and created a highly developed logistics system in spite of challenging geographic conditions. On one hand, such a system is necessary to offset the Japanese islands lack of raw materials. On the other hand, it is the foundation for expanding the positive growth of the export nation. The countrys main manufacturing and therefore, logistics hub lies in a triangle around the cities of Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka on the island of Honshu. Air transport, in particular, plays an important role here. The most important means of freight transport in Japan are road transports and coastal shipping. Almost ninety percent of the transport is carried by trucks. The role of rail transports is almost non-existent. But this could change in the years ahead. A portion of sea freight has been shifted to air transport in recent years. As a result of this shift, international air transports on trans-Pacific routes have climbed tremendously. Compared with other industrial countries, Japans distribution system is very complex and inefficient leading to high distribution costs. Most aspects of goods distribution in Figure 2: Logistics Hubs in Japan Source: (DHL Discover Logistics, n.d.-b) Japan is tightly regulated by the government. Joint distribution is typical; competitors who make deliveries to the same businesses tend to use joint delivery capacities and trucks. The logistics market in Japan is opening up to international service providers which are already successfully competing against Japanese companies in areas such as storage, distribution and complex contract logistics. The major logistics challenge is traffic congestion in metropolitan areas around the industrial hub. Just-in-time systems require small and frequent shipments to meet customer requirements. The distribution system in Japanese market is characterised by non-store channels, carrying least inventory. It is helpful in introducing new products through mail order, catalogue sales, and tele-shopping. Shared distribution system is common among competitors. Uniform palletization is used to avoid complicacy in operations. China Chinas logistics market is opening up gradually to the outside world. Logistics enterprises are reorganizing and integrating in the competitive environment. It is more and more obvious that state owned, private owned and foreign funded enterprises are surviving and thriving in the competitive markets. With the increasing demand of logistics, the logistics service for enterprises is changing from low value fundamental services to the high value added services. Logistics infrastructure, integrated logistics, traffic and transportation, and delivery services provide huge investment opportunities. However, the related risks must be put into account, and firms should be cautious when choosing investment projects. Figure 3: Logistics Hubs in China Source: (DHL Discover Logistics, n.d.-c) In some parts of China, due to advancement in technology, the road network now approaches Western standards. Modern freeways have been built in the Pearl River delta as well as in Shanghai and Beijing. Parts of this network extend far into the countrys interior but the standards and quality of the road drops as we move away from the cities particularly in the areas located away from the metropolitan areas. As a result of the underdeveloped infrastructure outside the metropolitan areas, logistics costs are high in an international context. In comparison to other means of transport, the rail network is almost inappropriate for logistics operations due to poorly built rail lines. For example, a container takes five days to journey by train from Hong Kong to Shanghai (DHL Discover Logistics, n.d.-c). A transport by ship takes about the same amount of time, but is much cheaper. Rail transports play a major role only in the shipment of bulk cargo like coal or iron ore. As a result, rail tr ansports are not particularly attractive to international companies for general logistics operations. The key challenges for the Chinese logistics industry are: Poor infrastructure: insufficient integration of transport networks, information technology (IT), warehousing and distribution facilities. Regulation: exist at different tiers, imposed by national, regional and local authorities and often differ from city to city, hindering the creation of national networks. Bureaucracy and Culture: companies need to build links with political agents at various levels. Moreover, it is difficult to repatriate profits back to home country. Poor training: in logistics sector and the manufacturing and retailing sectors, both at a practical level, i.e., IT, transportation and warehouse as well as at a higher strategic level. Information and communications technology: lack of IT standards and poor systems integration and equipment. At a very basic level, there is no consistent supply of energy. Undeveloped domestic industry: logistics sector is fragmented and dominated by commoditized and low quality transport and warehousing, unable to meet the growing supply chain demands for industrial and commercial enterprises. High transport costs: almost 50% more than Japan, Europe and North America, mainly due to high tolls on roads. Logistics costs (including warehousing, distribution, inventory holding, order processing, etc.) are estimated to be two to three times the normal. Poor warehousing and storage: high losses, damage and deterioration of stock, especially in the perishables sector. Regional imbalance: of goods flows from the developed east of the country to the more undeveloped west leading to higher costs for haulage companies which are then passed on to their clients. Domestic trade barriers: besides lowered trade barriers such as tariffs and quotas for international shipments, there are still problems such as unofficial border tolls from an inland manufacturing location to a port city or vice versa. Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Eastern Europe Four out of fifteen former Soviet Republics belong to CIS are in Europe: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova. Eastern Europe is made up of Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Albania, and the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. The countries of Eastern Europe occupy a strategically central position on the continent and are located at Western Europes interface with Russia. As a result of the European Unions enlargement to the east, they are increasingly serving as a bridge. As a result, many manufacturing companies have moved their production facilities to Eastern Europe for cost reasons. Logistics service providers entered either following these companies or to exploit the new markets by carrying out mergers or acquisitions. The opportunities for the companies interested in entering these markets vary significantly from country to country. Although, these countries have relatively well developed transport ne tworks but they do not meet western European standards. Despite the rapid growth of road transports, railroads remain the dominant means of transport. Figure 4: Logistics Hubs in Eastern Europe Source: (DHL Discover Logistics, n.d.-d) The Eastern European logistics market is characterized by wide regional differences. While the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary and Poland have made major strides, Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia are trailing far behind. The infrastructure is in even worse shape farther to the east. The road-based freight transports have limited ability to meet the demands of European industry in a cost effective manner. The causes of these limitations include traffic jams, the limited potential for expanding network capacity, rising energy costs and growing intermodal competition from railways. Eastern European harbours, particularly the major sea ports in Poland, perform a significant amount of trans-shipping and are being increasingly expanded. The European Unions enlargement and the increasing transport volumes have resulted in intensified storage and distribution activities in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. One of the major challenges is to overcome the barriers that exist between Eastern and Western Europe, including the transport infrastructure. Further, they would like you to advice them on several strategies available to them to enter the above mentioned markets. Discuss all available strategies and give your specific recommendations. (Your answer should not exceed 1500 words) Foreign Market Entry Strategies Foreign market entry strategies are mainly categorized into: Indirect exporting Direct exporting Manufacturing strategies Cooperative strategies Risk and Control in Market Entry Control Risk Risk Indirect Exporting Piggybacking Trading Companies Export Management Companies Domestic Purchasing Cooperative Strategies Joint Ventures Strategic Alliances Direct Exporting Distributors Agents Direct Marketing Franchising Management Contracts Manufacturing Own Subsidiary Acquisition AssemblyFigure 1: Foreign Market Entry Strategies Source: (Doole Lowe, 2001, p.249) Indirect Exporting Piggybacking An established international distribution network of one manufacturer may be used to carry the products of a second company without such a network. The second manufacturer is said to be piggybacking on the first in these cases. The first company has an established reputation and contacts in an international environment. It handles the logistics and administration costs of exporting for the second manufacturer. Piggybacking can offer many advantages to firms; such as cheaper and quick access to new markets, an established knowledge base of the foreign markets and economies of scale with regards to administration, shipping, marketing and distribution. Piggybacking may lead to unsatisfactory marketing arrangements such as lack of strategic fit, providing technical support, and after sales services for buyers potentially leading to disagreement. This method of exporting too is not ideal for building a long-term foreign market presence. Trading Companies A trading company trades on its own account. It performs many functions as; buying and selling as a merchant, handling goods on consignment, or it may act as a commission house for some buyers. Trading companies match sellers with buyers and manage all the supportive functions such as export arrangements, paperwork, transportation, and legislative requirements. Firms initially choose this mode, because of TCs extensive contacts, experience, operations and long-term commercial relationships in many different trading regions in the world. After some experience in the international market, exporting firms want more control over decision making, so TCs are not their long-term partners. Export Management Companies Export Management Companies are specialist companies that act as export department for a number of companies. They provide companies with access to foreign buyers, take orders from those foreign buyers, purchase finished products, and handle the transporting and distribution of the goods in the foreign market. Their core competency is in export logistics and deals with the necessary documentation and extensive knowledge of purchasing practices and government regulations in the foreign markets. This is a less risky and fast penetration strategy suitable for new entrants in the international market in the short-term. Disadvantages of EMCs include; export strategy conflict among both parties, lack of manufacturers control over foreign market decisions and market knowledge. Due to expertise in exporting, the EMC has complete control over all foreign market decisions. In addition, EMC may even export products that are in direct competition with each other. Therefore, manufacturers need to devote resources to monitoring the performance of an EMC and invest in managing the business relationship. As the manufacturers revenue from exporting increases, moving away from the EMC or eliminating EMCs from the business may prove harmful due to lack of foreign buyer contacts or market knowledge or because of contractual agreements. Domestic Purchasing Domestic purchasing is a method of market entry which involves the least company involvement. This export method often involves an unsolicited purchase request from a foreign commercial buyer. The company may not even have considered the export potential of their products until approached from the foreign buyer. In general, companies can use this method to sell off excess stock with the least inconvenience. It generates a relatively low level of revenue and the company is completely dependent on the foreign buyer. The company gains limited knowledge of the international markets, as it has no direct contact with them. The foreign buyer often picks up the goods at the factory gates and proceeds to transport the goods, market them, and distribute them in one or more overseas market. Direct Exporting Distributors Export distributors differ from agents in that they take ownership and responsibility for the goods. Distributors usually take limited rights for the sales and servicing of a particular territory where they represent the manufacturer in all respects. The capital investment can be particularly high for a firm exporting goods requiring specialist handling. Due to this large investment both parties undertake to maintain a long-term relationship. Agents Export agents are usually individuals or firms operating in a foreign market, contracted by the firm, and paid a commission to obtain orders for the product. After entering into a contractual agreement, sales targets are usually agreed with agents by the firms. Agents are usually contracted to carry non-direct competing products therefore providing a lower exposure to risk. Although agents are the cheapest and quickest form of market entry, the long-term profitability is moderate to low with a short payback period. Agents can be beneficial to the company in that they have local market knowledge, established relationships and provide adequate feedback regarding further product or market development strategies. Agents do not owner goods which limits their motivation to improve performance. They can take the form of brokers, manufacturers representatives, managing agents and compradors performing specific functions (Cateora Graham, 2002). Direct Marketing Using database marketing tools such as mail order, telemarketing, media marketing, direct mail and the internet can be a useful technique to expand a firms customer base abroad. Usually, this market entry method is very useful when there are high barriers to entry exist in a foreign market or where markets have insufficient or underdeveloped distribution systems. Success using direct marketing can only be obtained if the standard product/service is customized to meet the personal needs of the target market in different markets. Issues of product promotion and privacy needed to be addressed when engaging in telemarketing, direct mail or Internet commerce. Franchising In franchising, the firm grants the legal right to use branding, trademarks and products, and transfers the method of operation to a third party (the franchisee) in return for a franchise fee. Franchising is less risky and less costly due to the nature of the agreement. The franchisee provides the local market knowledge, capital, time and resources needed to develop the franchise. The two types of franchise agreement used by franchising firms are that of a master franchise and licensing. A master franchise often operates a multi-unit franchising agreement or it may take the form of a trading company whereas in licensing the franchiser uses the property, trademark and intellectual rights for a royalty or fee. Management Contracts Management contracts usually involve selling the skills, expertise and knowledge of firms in an international context. The contracts undertaken are usually those for installing management operating and control systems and the training of local staff to take over when the contractors are finished (Doole Lowe, 2001). Manufacturing Strategies Own Subsidiary This form of market entry requires the maximum commitment in terms of management and resources and offers the fullest means of participating in a market. Before investing huge capital, the firm must evaluate the pros and cons of the business as the cost of withdrawing from the market would be significant. Although sole ownership provides high level of control, the firm may not only incur the costs if withdrawal is eminent but also the companys reputation can be damaged both in the foreign and domestic market. The advantage is of avoiding communication and conflict of interest problems which may occur through other methods like acquisitions and joint ventures. Acquisition Acquisition occurs where an organization develops its resources and competences by taking over another organization. It is a faster entry strategy in new product or market areas. A firm may acquire cost efficiencies, immediate access to a trained labour force, recognized brands, existing customer and supplier contacts, an immediate source of revenue and an established distribution network or otherwise as a result of acquisition. In return, the acquiring company may have to make certain sacrifices. Assembly Assembly involves establishing plants in foreign markets simply to assemble components manufactured in the domestic market by the firm. This method of market entry is attractive for certain companies when they see that the importation of components is subject to lower tariff barriers than assembled goods which eventually decrease their costs. Moreover, it can be more advantageous if the finished product is large and transportation costs are high. The domestic plant in addition, can focus on development and production skills and investment, hence, profiting from economies of scale. Assembly firms also take advantage of lower wage costs and government incentives. Cooperative Strategies Joint Ventures Joint venture (JV) is a market entry option in which the exporter and a domestic company in the target country join together to form a new incorporated company. Both parties provide equity and resources to the JV and share in the management, profits and losses. The JV should be limited to the life of a particular project. This option is popular in countries where there are restrictions on foreign ownership, e.g. China. Its advantages include; acquisition of competencies or skills not available in-house, risk sharing of a large project with other firms, faster market entry/penetration and payback, and avoiding technical trade barriers. Its disadvantages are; divided management control, difficult to recover capital invested, disagreement on new export markets, and different views of partners on expected benefits. Strategic Alliances Strategic alliances are a wide range of cooperative partnerships and joint ventures which unite to follow a set of important, agreed goals while in some way remaining independent subsequent to the formation of an alliance. The partners share both the benefits of the alliance and control over the performance of assigned tasks during the life of the alliance. The partners contribute on a regular basis in one or more key strategic areas, for example, technology or products. Strategic alliances are usually formed in three areas technology, manufacturing and marketing. The main reason behind strategic alliances is competition. Other reasons include; the reduction of risk, the attainment of economies of scale and complementary assets such as a brand name and government procurement. Firms, which employ strategic alliances, have the advantage of simultaneously penetrating several of their key markets. Specific Recommendations The decision of, which foreign market to enter, depends on firms external as well as internal factors and foreign countrys market conditions. The strategy to be adopted should be based on firms short and long-term corporate objectives. Initially, the firm should choose among direct or indirect exporting leading to cooperative and then manufacturing strategies. If exporting is a long-term goal of the firm, then indirect exporting methods may not prove to be the wisest strategic choice. In long-run, the firm has to trade off among costs and control over the decision making. Explain why it is usually more difficult for a firm to provide the same level of customer service in its international markets that it provides in its domestic markets. Under what circumstances may an organization actually be able to provide better customer service to international markets than to domestic markets? (Your answer should not exceed 1250 words) Customer Service When a firm becomes extensively involved in international business, logistics is seen as a critical part of the strategic planning process and a deterministic factor of customer service level. The complexity of the international business environment, including different business customs, inadequate/inappropriate transportation infrastructure, restrictive regulatory frameworks, and different levels of logistics services, presents barriers that make operations in foreign countries far more complicated and less controllable than in domestic markets. Generally, existing or emerging barriers result in longer order cycle times, higher logistics costs, and greater customer dissatisfaction. The customer service level chosen for use internationally is based on expectations encountered in each market. These expectations are dependent on past performance, product desirability; customer sophistication, and the competitive status of the firm and industry. Therefore, additional logistics costs are required to support operations which may be so important that, if not handled properly, they may offset any potential cost savings from using inexpensive labor and other resources in foreign countries. The need for cost-service trade-off analysis becomes inevitable for the managers in such an indifferent situation. Under these circumstances, logistics barriers obviously make it difficult for firms to gain a competitive advantage from their international operations. Table 1 summarizes the firms major external factors affecting its logistic performance (and therefore, customer service) at domestic and global level. It also depicts how difficult it becomes for the firms to provide same level of customer service at international level. Another major external (and therefore, uncontrollable) factor which has made international logistics more vulnerable and complex is security risks after 9/11 terrorist attacks. As a result security clearance procedures have lengthened and transit times of shipments have extended. Insurance rates for cross-border shipments have also climbed. Some factors internal (and therefore, controllable) to the firm, for example, centralized logistics activities, do not make the customer service work best, as it can be under local control in foreign market. Financial aspects such as working capital, inventory, capital investments in buildings and equipments, and accommodation of merchandise are also difficult to manage in the cas e of international operations. The managerial capability of logistics management in deciding optimal cost-service mix plays a major role in determining the customer level. Table 1: External Factors Affecting Customer Service Level Factors Domestic Conditions Global Conditions Culture Homogeneous Heterogeneous Currency Uniform Different currency and exchange rates Economy Stable and uniform May be variable and unpredictable Government Stable May be unstable Labor Skilled workers available Skilled workers may be hard to find Language Generally a single language Different languages and dialects Marketing Many media, few restrictions May be fewer media and more restrictions Transport Several competitive modes May be inadequate Source: (Marilyn Gale, 2006) In order to establish an efficient logistics system to support international operations, especially customer service, a firm should be able to evaluate when and where logistics barriers may disrupt materials flows in the distribution channel. The identification of barriers is important in designing an effective international operations network. A better understanding of those barriers enables a firm to take actions to reduce or avoid them so that it can improve its competitive position in international markets. The firms entering in the international market should obtain as much as possible information about the business conditions and operating expenses of potential markets. As the customer service levels and hence the cost incurred, vary between countries, the firm must examine the service requirements of customers in each foreign market. A flexible and responsive global customer service strategy is based on inventory policy and control procedures, packaging and containerization, sourcing raw materials, managing export shipments and terms of trade. International logistics is characterized by inventory points at more levels between suppliers and customers making it much complicated than at domestic level, leading to longer transportation times. Depending on the length of transit time and more inventory volume needed to cover the resultant delays, the firm can develop inventory policies and control procedures most appropriate for each market area. Another component of customer service is the products physical condition (must be in right condition). Packaging and containerization are important for product handling, climate effects, potential pilferage, communication and language differences, freight rates, and customs duties when a product moves across the borders. The quality of a product is determined by the quality of its raw materials. International sourcing may enable a firm to optimize products quality at lowest possible cost. The services of many facilitator organizations involved in international logistics activities are continuously utilized by almost all of the firms operating internationally. These organizations include export distributors, customs-house brokers, international freight forwarders, trading companies, and non-vessel-operating common carriers (NVOCC). These organizations are highly professionalized in performing their functions and operate at economies of the scale. A firm involved in exporting for the first time would likely utilize the services of a facilitator organization. There are a number of shipment modes/terms, each one of them having its own pros and cons. These terms of trade/shipment used in international logistics are Ex-Works, FCA, FAS, FOB, CFR, CIF, CPT, CIP, DAF, DES, DEQ, DDU and DDP. Terms of shipment have a major impact on a firms logistics performance as each of them yields a different cost of shipment and value to the customer. Finally, integrated logistics management (ILM) is the ultimate strategy to deal with the international customers efficiently. ILM integrates all the logistics activities; facility location and network design, information management, transportation management, inventory management, warehousing management, material handling, and packaging into a single activity or process of logistics directed towards servicing the customer effectively and at the lowest total cost of all the functional activities taken together. The methodology of integrated logistics conforms to the logistics objectives; getting the right item to the right customer, in the right quantity, in the right condition, at the right place, at the right time and at the right cost. Customer service level of a firm is the representation of managerial capability of its management team. A firms executive management is likely to use any or a combination of some or all of the above mentioned customer service strategies to deliver value

Socio-economic Factors and Postnatal Depression Relationship

Socio-economic Factors and Postnatal Depression Relationship (a) Objectives of the project and any related information The aim of his project is to study the relationship of socio-economic factors with postnatal depression in Spanish mothers. This will be done both at individual and area–based level. The main hypothesis of the research is that unemployed mothers, with low education and low income have higher risk of developing postpartum depression. Besides a geographical comparison among four different areas within the Spanish cities of Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid and Seville will be done. An area-based deprivation index will be used for testing the complementary second hypothesis of the study which is that the communities more deprived have higher prevalence of postpartum depression than the less deprived ones. (b) Work which has led up to the project Postpartum depression is one the most common disorders suffered from mothers within the first 12 months after childbirth. Several studies places its average prevalence around 10-15% (24) and needs to be considered as a public health problem that can affect, besides to the mother and to her environment, to the emotional development and well-being of the children. Postpartum depressions also needs to be differenced from the baby-blues and the puerperal psychosis, a more severe type of depression. The baby blues is mainly caused for the hormonal alterations and, although might have the same impact on the mood as a depression, the symptoms normally disappear within two weeks after giving birth without any treatment. The puerperal psychosis affects on average to a 0.1 – 0.2 % (24) of mothers and hospitalisation is usually required. The postpartum depression and can last several weeks or months and, if not treated, can lead to a chronic recurrent depression. The most common symptoms of the postpartum depression are sadness, emptiness, exhaustion, low energy, feeling incapable of taking care of the baby, guiltiness. The signs are similar to any other depression disorder, but with a special focus on the life changes and relationship with the new born. Regarding the causes of the there are many research that have studied the predictors or risk factors for developing a postpartum depression, and based on two existing literature reviews on the topic (22) (24) the main predictors of postpartum depression could be categorised as follows: Physical and biological factors: poor physical health, negative body image and bodyweight. Psychological factors: antenatal depression, previous psychiatric illness and childcare stress. Social factors: low education level, low income, unemployment and social support. This study will focus on the social factors and within them, the ones related to the socioeconomic status: education level, income and employment. They can lead to unequal rates in postpartum depression that, as socially determined, could be avoidable. In the past the relationship of socioeconomic status and depression has been underlined in many studies worldwide (10) (18) (22) but in the particular case of Spain no research that take into account these factors and their impact in postnatal depression prevalence have been found. Spain is one of the European countries that is suffering the most consequences of the global recession that begun in 2007. The economic crisis is having dramatic impact in the labour market, public sector and therefore in population lives. The socioeconomic status is related with higher psychiatric morbidity, but in an economic crisis context, because of the additional uncertainty about the future, the mental health of the population tends to get worse. There are already studies taking place in Spain that are founding increases in mental health problems since 2007, especially in families that are experiencing unemployment (17). The current unemployment rate in Spain is 23.2% raising until 24.3% in case of women versus 22.2% in men and up to 50.7% in population younger than 25 years old (14). But these rates are not equally geographically distributed. There are Spanish regions that because of their past productive framework are suffering bigger economic struggles. As said above no studies that relate postnatal depression and socioeconomic factors in Spain are known, that is why this research will test the association between socioeconomic status and postnatal depression at the individual level and then will compare with Spanish areas with unequal deprivation indexes. On top of this there are studies that encourage to use both the area deprivation index and individual socioeconomic status, as these two measures make independent contributions to the health outcome (28). Although the results of this study will not be able to be compared with past records on postpartum depression this could be a starting point for further studies of the impact of the crisis on the mothers’ mental health and about its geographical disparities. (c) Study design and methods to be used in investigating this problem and potential limitations Design A longitudinal cohort study will be conducted for this research. Because of the nature of the outcome this is the most appropriate type. The onset of the postpartum depression is within 12 months after birth, and the longer periods of evaluation will predict higher prevalence (24). A single point of collection of data would minimise therefore the results. Study population and sample Pregnant women that are 18 years old or older and who are registered in the Spanish maternity services and live in Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid or Seville will be invited to participate in the study The exclusion criteria will be individuals with psychiatric illness in the previous year. The sample size was calculated based on equivalent measures found in existing literature regarding the socioeconomic individual exposures (income, employment status and education) (LITERATURE) and in an area-based deprivation index and their association either with postnatal depression or similar outcomes. The desired power of the sample (90%), the potential non-responders and the loss over the course of the follow up was also considered in the calculations. The area-based deprivation index that will be used in this study was created in 2001 in Spain (8) in order to identify the socioeconomic conditions of the measured areas. The information needed for feeding the index is available in the National Census Institute (INE) and could be updated with the data of 2014. This index allows to identify the more disadvantaged areas within a city. Although it was associated in its origin with rates of mortality, it was created with the aim of studying wider range of social inequalities in health in Spain. This area-based deprivation index is created from the following socioeconomic indicators: manual workers, unemployment, temporary workers, total low education, and youth low education. The geographical units for the composition of the index are the census tracts of the cities of Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid and Seville. (2.358 in Madrid, 1.491 in Barcelona, 510 in Seville y 288 in Bilbao). The index will be divided in 4 quartiles from the more deprived to less deprived measure. In each city one census tract for each quartile will be selected. The sample will be selected through multi-stage cluster sampling. The census tract will be the primary sample unit. Then sample of individuals will be selected from a primary care centres where pregnant women living in each one of the tract are registered. Four primary centres in each city will be selected. SAMPLE SIZE   THE POPULATION BETTER DEFINED Data collection Spain has a universal health system, everyone has the right and free access to it. When a women becomes pregnant it is registered and monitored by her assigned general practitioner, gynaecologist and paediatric medical doctors, during and after her pregnancy, in the primary care centre of her neighbourhood. Every pregnant women in the centres selected will be invited to participate in the study, with the exclusion criteria of women who had any psychiatric disorder in the previous year. They will be informed about the study in their first visit to their GP and appointments for filling in the questionnaires during their next visit and during pregnancy will be planned. 3 questionnaires will be used during the 4 interviews scheduled. During pregnancy: Baseline questionnaire with socio-demographic questions, employment status and type, income, education, marital status, number of children and address of residence. Three months after delivery: Social support questionnaire and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale questionnaire Six months and twelve months after delivery: Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale questionnaire All the questionnaire will be self-reported. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale is a 10 items questionnaire used to screen postpartum depression. The validated Spanish version will be used (9) The social support questionnaire is the Spanish abbreviated version (6 items versus 19) of the MOS Social Support Survey (23). Statistical analysis The main outcome of the study is postpartum depression defined as a categorical variables derived from the results of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. The cut-off point of the validated Spanish version for a positive outcome is 11. Cases will be considered when women report positive outcome the 3 times of follow-up against women who reported zero, once or twice (non cases). Main exposures are level of income, education, and employment status (socioeconomic status measures), and area-based deprivation. Other covariates selected for the baseline and social support questionnaires will be included as possible confounders or effect modifiers. The sample characteristics will be describe through univariate and bivariate statistics. Multivariable logistic regression will be used for testing the association between main exposures and outcomes adjusted for the others covariates. Initially each main exposure will be modelled individually with the outcome, only age-adjusted. Secondly each exposure it will be adjusted by other covariates, then by covariates and other socioeconomic status exposures and the area-based deprivation. Finally the model will be fully adjusted with all exposures and covariates together. The statistical software STATA will be used. Other Potential limitations As in all the longitudinal studies there is the risk of loss during the follow–up. This is already considered in the calculation of the sample size. The self-reported questionnaires could lead to the common limitations of these types of tools: response bias, the restrictive nature of the scale-based questionnaires, understanding, lack of introspective ability etc. The social support questionnaire is a reduced version because this study wants to focus in the socioeconomic risk factors of postpartum depression. It was included because social support is considered also an important predictor of postpartum depression. More extensive version could be included in future studies. Also, further analysis that include structured interviews to measure the outcome could be performed. However the positive results of this questionnaires for finding significant associations it is validated by multiple previous studies (CITATION). Study organisation The principal applicant is the main coordinator of the study, has extensive experience in social epidemiology and is specialised in socioeconomic determinants on health. It is also a lecturer in statistic in for medical science and will be responsible of the data analysis. The co-applicant is a UCL member of the social epidemiology department and a visiting lecturer of the Basque Public University (UPV) in Spain. It will be responsible of the coordination and communication with the Spanish team. The local co-applicant was a member of the research group who developed the area-based deprivation index used on this study and a professor on social epidemiology in the UPV. It will coordinate the Spanish team who will conduct the field work. The research assistants will conduct the field work and the logistics and communications with the primary care centres. One research assistant will be recruited in each city. (d) Timetable using Gantt chart or similar diagram (e) Ethical issues All participants will be informed and will need to sign a written consent prior to any analysis of the data. All the data will be anonymous and treated confidentially following the current Spanish and UK laws of Protection of Data. Ethical approval will be submitted to the UCL and the UPV. I am still a bit confused with sample calculation: For example in the paper below, that is measuring social support and PPD as a binary outcome.Which effect should I focused in? If I calculate the sample size from it, would I alsoneed to use in my study the same questionnaire they are using in this paper and same follow up time? http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4390689/ ANNE here is the useful info that I found in the paper (copied and pasted direct from paper) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Incidence of depression was calculated in women who were not depressed at baseline based on proportions of new cases at follow-up in that sample. 55 of the 386 without antenatal depression had depression at follow-up, indicating case incidence of 13.9%. table 1 unadjusted association between education/income and incidence of depression (ie new events). So suggests OR=0.49 (low versus high ie high > low OR=2) and even steeper for income But these are unadjusted so after adjusted the measure of effect would probably be attenuated ie smaller. If there is no better data, then you could use this, for examplelow educ vs high educsampsi0.174 0.093, p(0.9) but see if you would have power to look at low > middle education etc. For income as above using numbers from table 1 And for the sample calculation of area based deprivation and PPD, I could use papers of association between income inequality and PPD? OR What about this one? http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24392759 The undjusted results are: low-SES community 26.2% (104/397) had depression, compared with 14.8% (24/162) high-SES community If I do calculation in STATA sampsi 0.26 0.14, p(0.8) My sample size would be for each group N1= 190 N2= 190 But when I use my are based deprivation index I might use different percentiles to categorise lower and higher deprived areas (four at least) What would be the sample size in this case for each percentile? ANNE if you use quartiles for deprivation, then you would need to consider not just low > high, but as for education low > middle, then middle > high, and high > higher. If incidence is 26% in highest deprivation and14% in lowest, then if you think the association is linear, then you can estimate inicidence in intermediate groups e.g. 26, 22, 18, 14%. So you need to choose the sample size for these e.g. sampsi 0.26 0.22, p(0.9) etc. After all these sample size calculations, choose the largest. Then in your proposal just report that you based sample size on the sample size per group needed to find the smallest difference between SE groups. remember if your sample size calculation says 3200 per group, and you have 4 groups, then your sample size with be 32004. You will also need to include extra in the sample because there will be non-responders eg 40%. Also maybe 20% loss over the course of your follow up. For example, if number per group is 3200, and 4 groups possible, and 60% response and 20% loss during follow-up,then you will need (3200 x 4) / (0.6 x 0.2). You also asked if you need to use the same measures as the paper uses if you use if for sample size calculation. As long as you state thatyour measures are comparableit is okay. Q10 REFERENCES

Fuzzy Systems and Machine Intelligence Essay -- Artificial Intelligenc

Fuzzy Systems and Machine Intelligence Abstract: Our natural language is perhaps the most powerful form of communicating information for any given problem or situation. Combining natural language and numerical information into fuzzy systems provides the framework to represent knowledge, constraints and inference procedures. Fuzzy systems provide advantages in the development of systems solutions that perform tasks such as automatic modeling, prediction, pattern recognition, and optimal decision making, control and planning. With this, fuzzy systems are an essential tool for industrial and manufacturing systems engineering. Fuzzy logic is a different approach to representing uncertainty - it emphasizes the double meanings of words in describing events - rather than the uncertainty about whether an event will occur, and allows decision-making under that uncertainty. Fuzzy logic attempts to capture the imperfect way we describe concepts, and works with them to form conclusions. The wonderful thing about fuzzy logic is how you can apply everyday language to a problem. A descriptive sentence such as: "a little noisy, a lot of dirt, and deep carpet", can be decoded by a fuzzy logic system to perform various tasks based on the knowledge derived from the terms. An interesting thing about fuzzy logic is that it is always trying to work, and by tweaking the system, the programmer is simply "showing" the system how to do a better job. The operator is still in control, but the fuzzy logic is mimicking how an operator would react given the same situation. Introduction to the topic: Fuzzy logic is a system analysis and modeling approach that allows an easier transition between complex human thought processes and the ... ...sed to answer specific questions and provide definitions and examples of applications. Addresses are provided to those locations. The Fuzzy Logic Frequently Asked Questions Archive: ht tp://www.uni-passau.de/archive/faq/comp.answers/fuzzy-logic/ Brubaker, David I. "Fuzzy Rules and Membership Functions from Data," Huntington Technical Brief, July 1993, No. 40. Cox, Earl. The Fuzzy Systems Handbook: A Practitioner's Guide to Building, Using, and Maintaining Fuzzy Systems. Academic Press, New York, 1994. Kosko, Bart. Neural Networks and Fuzzy Systems. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, 1992. Mcneill, Daniel, and Freiberger, Paul, Fuzzy Logic, Simon and Schuster, 1992. Zadeh, Lotfi A. "Fuzzy Sets." Information & Control, Vol. 8, 1965, pp338-353. Zurada, Jacek M. Artificial Neural Systems. West Publishing Co., New York, 1992.

People and Problems Essay example -- essays research papers

INTRODUCTION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Domoral A.E. is a carpet dealer with stores in Thessaloniki and Athens. Eleftherios Eleftheriades founded the company in 1922 when he moved his family and business from Asia Minor to Thessaloniki. At that time Mr. Eleftheriades brought over 100 looms with him and set up a carpet factory. The carpets were sold primarily wholesale to clients in North America and Northern Europe. The export business flourished until the early 1980’s when inflation and inappropriate government fiscal policies led to the dramatic increase in costs that drove the Greek carpet manufacturing industry out of the market. By that time Eleftherios’ son John assumed management of the company and began to import hand made carpets from Iran. By the early 1990’s, John had established Domoral as one of the leading wholesale carpet distributors in Greece. In 1996 he opened a new store in Athens where he hoped to establish Domoral as one of the leading retail carpet distributors in Greece. Although for the first 3 or 4 years retail sales steadily increased, over the last 5 years the Athens store has been suffering declining sales. There are various contributing factors but one of the most crucial factors is the relatively poor customer service provided. This can be justified by virtue of the fact that Mr. Eleftheriades and his staff were always more in tuned with servicing wholesale clients rather than retail customers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ...

hackers Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Computer hackers in today’s world are becoming more intelligent. They are realizing that people are constantly developing more hack proof systems. This presents the hackers with a bigger challenge and a bigger thrill. The government is realizing this and is working on making harsher laws to, hopefully, scare away potential hackers. With the increase in hacking and the hackers intelligence, governmental regulation of cyberspace hasn’t abolished the fact that it’s nearly impossible to bring a hacker to justice.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hackers do not have consequences because of the laws that the government has passed. Most hackers are good enough to cover their backs, and their trails, and phone calls. If a hacker is caught, he or she can face a long jail sentence. Unfortunately, they do not spend a long jail sentence. It is extremely hard to determined how to penalize a hacker. First we need to determined if this crime has effected anyone, and whether or not this crime has caused damages and loss of money to the victim. What it comes down to is the age of the hacker, I feel that their age should not be taken into consideration. Because hacking is extremely difficult to accomplish, so the hacker has knowledge of what he or she is doing. Hacking is extremely complicated crime to commit, it takes years to learn to how to hack correctly. When one hacks for pleasure or for profit they should both have the same con...

Importance of Muhammad for the Success of the Arab Conquests Essay

When considering the question of the Prophet’s success in the Arab Conquests there are various factors that must be taken into consideration. These factors shape the success, give reason for the rapidity of the spread and illustrate why Arabia was so responsive to his message. Factors such as the state of Arabia and its pagan tribes, recent historic events and the dissatisfaction of the peoples, shape this drastic and historic change in the area. Arabia was in a constant state of war due mainly to the power struggle between the Sasanian and Byzantine empires; the emperors spoke different languages and believed in other religions than their peoples. There was little loyalty and it did not much matter to the folks under which rule they lived. The lack of community, a sense of unity between the various tribes in Arabia and multiple wars were predominant factors that made way for the imminent success of Muhammad in the Arab Conquests. From the time of the Prophet’s first re velation in 610 to the death day of the Prophet in 632, Arabia had undergone a drastic and, for such time limitations, incredible changes. Starting with the geographical aspects it must be elaborated in context how the state of Arabia, the birthplace of Muhammad, was functioning and what its beliefs were pre-Islam. It must also be mentioned that in comparison to the rest of the Middle East, Arabia was considered fairly primal. It lacked any form of government or state policies as every clan was totally independent and had its own rules and leaders, called Shaykh. Such leaders acted as mediators to disputes and needs of the tribe. The tribes mostly lived off pasturage as opposed to agriculture, excluding the harams that were implemented on travel routes, in oasis and in junctures to neighbouring areas. These served as a common point for economic, social and political trade, as well as worship. Arabia was home to various pagan tribes, including the Banu Hashim into which the prophet was born, spread over the area in no apparent kind of structure. Thus, it is fair to say that Arabia was a socially and culturally less developed area than the rest of the Middle East. Secondly, Arabia was subject to numerous power struggles, which fragmented it severely. From local tribal wars, to clashes between Yemeni, Nabatean and Roman kingdoms (sixth century BC – 271 AD ) to finally the main exhaustion of the region in the early seventh century – wars  between Sasanian and Byzantine empires. Only the rise of Mecca in the late sixth century as a centre for economic trade and pilgrimage, could establish a semi treaty between the leading tribe called Quraysh, Byzantines and Bedouins to ensure safe passage of goods, which was beneficial to all. Mecca won recognition as a commercial and political influence in Arabia. However, most of Arabia was still home to incompatible Bedouin communities, which opposed each other in political, social and religious views. This resulted in many conflicts and portrayed, once again, Arabia as a torn and unstable area. Having illustrated the state of Arabia, it portrays â€Å"a world waiting for a guide† around the time of the rise of Islam. A new form of existence, social trend and way of life was to be largely appreciated by rivalling tribes. The main documents of Islam, which emerged or deal at the time of the Prophet, include the Qur’an, a divine revelation of God’s words through the angel Gabriel to Muhammad himself around 610 and the hadiths, traditions and sayings of and about the Prophet. In 613 Muhammad first started to publicly preach and attracted early converts of mostly socially and economically weakened classes to whom this monotheistic message offered salvation from the falling order in Mecca. The sheer force of Muhammad’s inspiration and beauty of speech, as he was illiterate, seemed to persuade people as well as raise universal opposition. Muhammad and his followers shortly became a threat to the Quraysh clan whose pagan religions were challenged by his message, that there was one God only. Muhammad was still able to preach, protected by his uncle Abu Talib and his tribe the Banu Hashim and flourished as a leader of the community. The Quraysh declared Muhammad as a madman and discredited his preaching, boycotting his motions. When it became apparent that his word was no longer considered reliable and that he was not gaining more converts, Muhammad was in search of a political base that could shelter him and his followers from the attacks of ridicule and harassments. This base would act as a home for the community. The Prophet’s forceful and leading persona was attractive to solve Medina’s anarchic feuding. The year 622, after the pledge of al-‘Aqaba to defend Muhammad, is known as the most dramatic event in Muslim history and the first year in the Islamic calendar. This year marks the hijra, the migration and the entry  into a community of Muslims. Due to no existing leadership or effective rule in Medina and through the portrait of an â€Å"Arab Elite† most communities wanted to pertain to, as this included fiscal and job protection advantages, remaining pagans learned Arabic and soon converted to Islam. Jewish clans that rejected the Qur’an and Muhammad as a Messenger of God were either executed or forced to exile, their properties taken into claim. Not only had Muhammad, in 10 years, managed to attract a large amount of converts, but he had also created a base for his Brotherhood, called the umma. Here, the fellow Muslims shared the same beliefs and they were given clear structure by the five pillars of Islam. The Zakat, almsgivings, were a way for everybody to assume responsibility for their brothers within the community and support the less fortunate. In addition, Muhammad changed social norms by giving the patriarchal family a greater importance and rewarding women and children with more rights. Furthermore, he implemented rules for fair business transactions. Thus, Medina was an exemplary state, which prided itself with patriarchal values and a confederation for political and economic legislations. The Umma brotherhood integrated individuals, clans, cities, disparate peoples and ethnic groups into a community under a common law and political authority. Creating this Muslim community, consisting of the early followers muhajeruun and Medinan converts ansar, and a monotheist religion alongside Judaism and Christianity was a vital accomplishment, which marked Muhammad as a man of great influence and importance for the Arab Conquests. Having established a foundation for Islam, Muhammad proceeded with spreading Islam throughout Arabia. At the battle of Badr in 624, the Prophet’s army attacked an important Meccan caravan and claimed victory. The battle described as â€Å" a sign of divine favour† , earned Muhammad a renowned reputation around Arabia and marked an important defeat of Mecca since the hijra. This was succeeded by two more battles, Uhud in 625 and Khandaq in 627, which both had rather positive outcomes in extending his influence and eliminating further Jewish clans. Finally, at al-Hudaybiya, in 628, while Meccans intercepted Medinan pilgrims, a truce between Muhammad and the Quraysh was established enabling Muslims to pilgrim to the Ka’ba. This was  the first sign of recognition of defeat by the Meccans. Merely two years later, in 630, Muhammad gained complete rule over Mecca without resistance and managed to claim the Ka’ba as the holiest shrine of Islam. Through his divine revelations, his preachings and his persuading character, Muhammad was all around respected and worshiped as the Messenger of God. He made his â€Å"religious visions operate in the body of a whole society† enabling a complete social habitual change in Arabia. Through tactic moves such as the hijra, the building of the first Muslim confederation in Medina and the Islamization of larger parts of Arabia he laid out the first step for Islam. Needless to say that without his effective leadership, it seems unthinkable that the communities of Arabia would have been able to act in such unison. Muhammad did not only perform as a religious messenger but also as a political leader, unifying the tribes and clans under one belief and a set of rules. He formed such a powerful bond between the umma that even after his death in 632, the Muslim Caliphates continued to spread Islam and conquered virtually the entire Middle East, parts of southern Spain, India and Northern Africa. Muhammad’s enormous influence in the success of the Arab Conquests and as the Messenger of God in the rise of Islam is indisputable. Bibliography 1.A History of Islamic Societies – Ira M. Lapidus 1988 2.A History of the Arab Peoples – Albert Hourani 1991 3.The Arab Conquests – Kennedy 4.What do we know about Muhammad – Patricia Crone 10 June 2008 5.Muhammad and Jenghiz Khan – Khazanov 1993

My so-Calld Life Essay

My So-Called Life What is the underlying meaning of the title of the series? The title of the show, My So-Called Life, suggests the understanding of meaninglessness that many teenagers experience. It shows us how it is to feel judged by others and it encapsulates the main theme of the series. The show depicts the teenage years as being difficult and confusing rather than a light, fun-filled time. This series deals with the expectations that people have of teenagers. The main character, Angela felt like she was being expected to do certain things even though she had ust become a teenager and she was still trying to figure out who she was for herself. In high school, Angela found two new friends named Rayanne and Rickie, who are not the best students and don’t seem to be very good influences on her. As a result, Angela started to skip classes with them and didn’t focus on her school work as much anymore. Her parents expected her to keep up with her school work and do well in her classes, the things she had always done; but being a teenager in high school had changed Angela. In the show, a main focus is how people are judged by their appearance.Angela felt misunderstood and judged when she dyed her hair red after it being blonde her whole life. Angela didn’t want to be seen as that â€Å"goody goody blonde girl† anymore, she wanted to stand out and make a change. Her personality had changed; the people she hangs out with had changed, so why not change her hair too. But her parents and old friends judged her because of it. The show covers all of the characters going through rough times; each and every one of them was put into different situations where they felt meaningless or unwanted. They all ook turns feeling uncomfortable and not knowing how to deal with their situation. At the beginning of the series, Angela felt unwanted by Jordan. Later on, Rickie felt alone after he was involved in a shooting and had no one to talk to about it. Also, Rayanne was jealous of Angela when she found out how great her father was and that Angela didn’t even appreciate it. In a more recent episode, Jordan was frustrated because the substitute teacher picked on him in class. Throughout the series, Shannon felt neglected and hurt when Angela left her and started hanging out with Rayanne and Rickie instead of her.Finally, Brian felt used when he found out that Angela only came over to his house to meet with Jordan outside. As this series shows us, the teenage years are not easy to deal with. Teens have to figure out who they are and who they would like to be friends with. They have to deal with the expectations people have for them; and be put into situations where they feel meaningless, misunderstood or judged. The title of the show, My So-Called Life, is used to show that the typical teenager's life is not easy and it isn't how it usually is put out to be.

Individualism as an American Cultural Value Essay

American culture is often associated with some images related to general stereotypes such as assertiveness, optimism, boldness, a sense of enterprise, and a solid handshake. However, these characteristics are only general observations about the American society. Given this, the mentioned characteristics may be present to only some Americans and cannot be attributed to everyone. But there is one value that nearly every American possesses and that is individualism. In defining the American culture, individualism is the immediate concept that comes to mind. Because of this, â€Å"outsiders† like immigrants, foreigners or people from different backgrounds will have a difficult time to become accustomed with this kind of culture. In fact, in the early period, outsiders found it hard to adapt to the American value of individualism because of the differences in cultural values. The idea of a family often poses as the source for confusion or misunderstanding between cultures. In the US, bringing happiness to every family member is the main purpose of having a family. This can be carried out by giving each family member the right to express themselves and pursue their dreams and passions in life. However for other cultures, the emphasis on the achievement of an individual’s happiness without the help of the others may be perceived as rude or inappropriate. It could be a sign of disrespect or lack of love. But for many Americans, it is simply just an act of encouragement for a person to reach his or her utmost potential. For instance, a typical American would usually start to live independently after highs cool by going to college and living in campus dormitories. Also, Sponsol had a similar experience when he attended a summer camp for the East-West Center participants. One of the supervisors brought his wife and kids. The ten month old son of the supervisor acquired the most attention because of his cuteness so everyone wanted to play. During this interaction, the kid fell down and everyone tried to help him get up. But the parents became and asked the students to leave the kid alone who eventually got up on his own and stopped crying ( Sponsol 423). Moreover, privacy is definitely another aspect that an â€Å"outsider† would find unusual in the American culture. Majority of the American population value their privacy. It has been observed that most Americans just say hello and seldom pursue a conversation with other people. For â€Å"outsiders,† this can be a sign of being impolite particularly for those who grew in a setting wherein asking private questions are accepted. Because of this, many find it hard to be friends with Americans. Sponsol explained that in the book, Americans do not like to be asked in with private questions or pried on their personal affairs. For instance, asking questions like, How long have you been divorced? Or Are you going to marry a Thai again or American? Or How much do you earn? or How long have you been married? , can be recognized as an invasion of one’s privacy (421). A lot of people could experience having cultural shock when they visit the US for the very first time. As a result, it would be difficult for them to get used to the American culture. There are many reasons why this happens but cultural background plays a major role in drawing the line between the Americans and â€Å"outsiders. † Some may have a privileged life in their home lands but when they migrated to the US, they had to work in order to sustain their daily living. Furthermore, in the US culture, an individual has to be independent and hardworking to earn money in order to pay for the bills and other necessities such as food, home and education. In other cultures, some individuals do not have to work in order to survive because their parents are the ones taking care of their finances. It is very hard for an â€Å"outsider† to adapt and imbibe the American Culture. In the experience of Hanan Al-Shaykh, a Lebanese, she was filled with shock when she visited her sister in the US. Their family was accustomed to the good life in Lebanon but in the US, her sister lived a minimum wage earned. She felt pitiful for the living condition of her sister in the Land of Milk and Honey. Her sister even found it hard to get a job in the US even though she has a good educational background (Hanan 287). As a foreigner, I also experienced some difficult times in getting immersed and accustomed with American society and culture. In Saudi Arabia, my life was easier. In my native land, dependence to others is a common practice. For instance, my family employed helpers to take care of all our needs at home. Their duties mainly evolved on domestic chores such as cleaning clothes, cooking food and many others. Because of this, easy and carefree lifestyle, I had trouble adapting to the American culture when I moved there. I had to learn to look after myself wherein all the duties of our helpers back home, I had to them on my own in the US. Finally, because of the cultural values of the Americans, an â€Å"outsider† will find it hard or at least will need a longer time to adapt to theses values. Besides the assertiveness, optimism, boldness, a sense of enterprise, and a solid handshake, individualism will always be a crucial value of the Americans that will aid in developing and achieving their dreams and passion.