Marketing Plan-Rehab Center for the Elderly

The Center, located in an area with many elderly people, has to have the correct type of marketing for it to be successful. Getting to know the local population and all of the environmental, technological, and social, as well as many others, is a critical element in knowing how to prepare a marketing plan. Utilizing resources properly and evaluating the current and past situation will allow for a better future of The Center as well. This marketing plan lays out all of these factors to show how the next step in how The Center will be moving forward. Situation Analysis Having a rehabilitation center for the elderly in a minimally populated area can present problems for the business, but it also has its perks. Population in this general location is not the only factor that effects business; economical, and technological issues may arise also. These elements can do many things for business such as: help predict future trends of consumers, keep in touch with competition and their strategies, discover your own company’s marketing needs, know the social, political, and demographic aspects, and internal strengths and weaknesses, and external opportunities and threats. Organizational Analysis of Objectives and Resources This rehabilitation center’s objectives allow for persistence in outcomes and ability to reach goals. Maintaining customer satisfaction, reducing the overall cost of rehabilitative services, and reducing the cost of maintaining these services are currently important objectives (Masters, 2011). Another objective The Center is focusing on is providing housing facilities for those whom need long-term rehabilitation care. Many resources are used to sustain these objectives. Management teams and committees have been formed and put into place, as well as working with the ommunity, and using financial, technological, and educational resources. Utilizing these resources properly allow for The Center to run smoothly and efficiently. Getting to know the customer, and figuring out what they seek in a rehabilitation center are ways to maintain customer satisfaction. Research efforts have made it possible to determine that customers, as w ell as their families, enjoy the wide range of services provided along with the highest quality of care. To maintain this satisfaction, the results from research are taken into consideration and put into action as realistically as possible. Some of this research has shown that by allowing customers to be as independent as possible cause satisfaction ratings to stay up. Educational resources are used to train current and future employees on subjects pertaining to care for the elderly. For example, depending on the type of work the employee does, workshops and training sessions are given on a regular basis. All employees are required to attend at least two annually. These classes cover various topics such as how to use new technology, new management strategies, how to make life comfortable before, during, and after rehabilitation, i. . the new living facility, and how to make working conditions more enjoyable for all employees. The local and even regional communities are resources utilized by The Center as often as possible. Many individuals and social groups host fundraisers, social benefit gatherings, and some visit the patients at The Center regularly. In addition to financial support, the community also does volunteer work to keep up the landscaping, fix any minor damage to buildings, and work one-on-one with patients for moral support. Consumer Market Analysis It is an ever increasing trend for elderly consumers to want a more relaxing and convenient way to get through rehabilitation. While we offer outpatient services to our customers, it has been noted that many would benefit from a residential type setting. Furthermore, demographic research has shown an increasing number of elderly people in the local area. In a survey given to residents within a 20 mile radius and age 50 or above, the majority has shown that they are comforted by the option of staying in a housing facility during their rehabilitation. Competitive Market Analysis While other nearby healthcare centers provides rehabilitation services, none provide residential options in addition to their outpatient options. Additionally, the technology used in The Center is the latest available on the market. There have also been additions to the machinery and tools. Upgrades in technology are not the only improvements that have been made; customers wanted to have a more private visit to The Center, so stations have been separated with adjustable walls and curtains. External Market Environment Being a part of an industrial economy with few natural resources to provide for it, The Center depends on the consistency of patients and its resources to survive. The Center focuses on customer satisfaction by listening to the customer and changing the way we operate to better suit them. Another way The Center achieves a high rate of satisfaction is by understanding who the customer is on an individual level. Demographically, the location of The Center is convenient to most people within a 20-mile radius. Also, as stated earlier, the population within this area is aging fairly rapidly. The elderly population has almost doubled over the past 7 years. Machinery is not the only part of the technology upgrades that bring customers to The Center, medicine and surgery options that have been adopted by The Center have shown improvement in rehabilitation outcomes. SWOT Analysis â€Å"The SWOT structure is layered with reporting and communication channels designed to provide a system of communication and accountability† within The Center (Judy N. Muthuri, 2009). With this system, internal Strengths and Weaknesses, and external Opportunities and Treats are examined and categorized. This will allow for the company to better understand what is going on internally and externally. Internal Strengths The Center has many internal strengths, including up-to-date technology, the additional housing facility, some of the top physical therapists are located at this center, and management teams are highly trained and qualified before they are hired. Historically, The Center has been financially stable, ithout many discrepancies in regard to values and beliefs held by The Center and its employees. Recently, The Center has been awarded for its high level of customer service and was recognized as one of the top grossing rehabilitative centers in the South East. Internal Weakness The main internal weakness The Center faces is cost. With the newest technology highly qualified staff and the new housing facility, the cost of running The Center has increased sig nificantly over the past couple of years. Because The Center is fairly large in size, it takes a lot of financial and human resources to operate. Another weakness is being understaffed. Many employees are working extra hours and days so that all positions are covered at all times. Opportunity The Center has been attempting to keep up with changing trends in healthcare, and more specifically rehabilitative care. It is essential for The Center to realize and understand how the population is changing in respect to social trends, lifestyle changes, population size and age, economic factors, legal, political, and financial changes, what the competition is doing, and technological changes (Charles Lamb, 2010). Threat The main threats The Center faces are competition, and the economy. The local competition poses a threat mainly because of the location and the lower costs for some of the same services. It is very easy to find the location of the competition. They are situated in an area that has lower traffic flow and from the interstate the customer will travel less time. Because the competition does not offer as many services, the amount of resources used to operate are much less than The Center. The economy is a threat because healthcare costs are still high. Many of the residents within a 20-mile radius are retirees and income is not very substantial, especially if they are in need of high quality rehabilitation. Marketing Plan Objectives Increasing the number of residents in the new housing facility is the main marketing goal for the next year. Over the next couple of months, The Center plans to increase awareness of The Center and the housing center by placing advertisements in several types of media outlets. Television and newspapers are the main types of media that will be used by The Center. Research has shown that people of all ages still watch TV and many ages 30 and above still read newspapers. The advertisements will appear everyday, two times per day, for the next five months. If a certain percentage of the local population sees the advertisements, the advertisements will be shown less often. Newspaper advertisements will be shown in every Sunday’s edition for five months also. Differentiation and Positioning The new housing facility is a service no other rehabilitation center has. In addition to the new facility, the services provided are of the highest quality. All staff is knowledgeable of daily operations, which allows for efficiency. Customer satisfaction is the basis of values The Center runs on. With the elderly population growing rapidly, it is important that as many services be available to them as possible. The Center has more services to offer than any local rehabilitation center. Marketing Strategy The marketing strategy is to involve the elderly population and their families by promoting the highest quality of rehabilitative care. Advertisements and other types of promotional outlets are used to market The Center and its new housing facility. Target Market Because the focus of The Center is elderly rehabilitation, the target market is those the age 50 or above and within a 20-mile radius. It is also important to target the families of these people. If the families are learning about The Center, they are more likely to propose that their elderly family member choose The Center rather than the competition. The marketing strategy also requires that doctors’ offices and hospitals refer their patients to The Center. With that type of relationship, it is more likely that more customers will go to The Center. The Marketing Mix Product/Service, price, place, and promotion are the â€Å"four P’s† of marketing. The proper combination of these four elements will increase customer ratings and revenues (WebFinance, 2013). The customer satisfaction that The Center strives for is possible because of the four P’s. It is also the reason for it being so successful over the many years it has been a part of the community. Service/Product The product being marketed is the new housing facility. Its many additional services set it apart from, not only the competition, but also any other rehabilitation center in the region. Patients are able to spend time at the rehabilitation center rather than load up the car and drive to a center and leave the same day. If this travelling becomes a burden on the patient, they will have the option of actually spending a night or several nights. Price As mentioned earlier, the price for this type of care can get expensive. But it is also important remember that this is the only place to receive certain types of services. On the positive side, the only part that can get pricy is the housing facility. After all, it is an additional service that is optional. Most of the other services offered by The Center are actually less expensive than those of the competition. There are plans to reduce the price over time after revenue increases. Place The location of The Center is very easy to access. It is relatively close to downtown and is in an area with fairly low traffic. Another factor that makes the location of The Center is navigation. It is easy to navigate the area, even from the interstate or other parts of the city; the customer can easily find The Center. Promotion Advertisement is the biggest form of promotion The Center utilizes currently. In addition to paid advertisements, the social events and fundraisers held by the community also promote The Center. It is very important to The Center to keep these close ties with the community because it is a type of informal communication that keeps the community informed. The Promotional Mix As mentioned previously, the main promotions are advertisements and an additional promotion is word-of-mouth. Advertisements are paid forms of promotion for a good or service, usually in newspapers, television, or on the radio (Dictionary. com, 2013). Promotions are ways to promote a good or service to the public through means of personal appearance, brochures, and posters (Dictionary. com, Promotion, Define Promotion at Dictionary. com, 2013). Advertising Newspapers and television are the main sources of advertisement for The Center. Many other forms are used but are typically considered informal. Word-of-mouth advertising is another useful form that lets people know the services provided by The Center. Personal Selling Personal selling is not a form of promotion that The Center uses regularly. It is much too costly, and from past experiences, it is not very successful. Publicity The fundraisers and social events hosted by the community are the two main ways The Center gets publicity. Such events are open to anyone who wishes to join. They are held every couple of months and bring in a lot of new and prospective customers. They are also beneficial because many of the customers, past and present, join in and tell of their experiences while at The Center. Sales Promotion It is very rare for a rehabilitation company to offer sales promotions in return for healthcare services. It is difficult to allow for customers to not pay for the service they have received because of the cost of rehabilitation; therefore, sales promotions are not offered at The Center. Implementation and Control The marketing plan will be implemented at the beginning of the next quarter. Management teams and all members of the staff have been informed of this and are being trained to properly implement the new strategy. The ideal outcome is that The Center will gain customers and therefore increase revenue. Advertisements and promotions are being used to encourage customers choose The Center.

Ethical Issues in International Software Development Essay

International software development is generally defined as the software work undertaken at geographically separated locations across national boundaries in a coordinated manner. As a distinctive strategy to save on the costs by relocating some of the software developing units in other countries/ regions, outsourcing has gained momentum during the last two decade or so. Globalisation has made it possible for companies to easily gain access to markets and resources around the world. With countries like India and China adopting liberal policies in order to attract investments from abroad, it has become quite convenient for multinational companies to tap the pool of resources at very low costs as compared to the costs in US, Germany, UK, France etc. While analysing the growth of outsourcing during the last 10-15 years, Farrell (2006), the Director of McKinsey Global Institute, states that the vast majority of the offshore service jobs have gone to a limited few locations in India, Eastern Europe, and Russia. Outsourcing: Intensely debated and discussed on many forums The issue comes into sharp focus during the recent presidential elections in US when both the rival groups led by Barack Obama and John McCain started assuring the people about saving their jobs and putting a ban on outsourcing to cheaper destinations. It’s been quite a while since the elections are over and President Obama took over, but the pressure from influential lobbies did not allow new administration to pursue any far reaching policies in this regard. Economic slowdown around the globe, with its severest impact on the developed nations, also became a deciding factor in favour of continuing the prevailing outsourcing policies. These are the indicators towards the inevitability of outsourcing in present day world order. The market dynamics, which makes it mandatory for the companies to go for quality and value addition at least possible costs, has been the key driver favouring the phenomenon of outsourcing. Information technology has been the backbone supporting the processes or functions, with the help of next generation outsourcing, aimed at providing the companies with robust cost containment and more revenue-generating tools. NASSCOM, a reputed trade body and the chamber of commerce of the IT-BPO industries in India, indicates in one of its recent reports that worldwide the BPO spending in 2008 grew by 12 percent, which happened to be the highest amongst all the segment (NASSCOM, 2009). In one of its recent reports the Economist (2010) indicates that technology has been the main culprit behind job losses in US, as automation and outsourcing have claimed a whole class of jobs. This includes routine but vital tasks in the category of labour intensive as well as highly paid manufacturing and number crunching jobs. The report points out that, ‘the US economy now needs workers to do what cannot be by machines or call centres in Bangalore’ (The Economist, 2010). But the irony is, despite having fullest knowledge about the job losses and increasing restlessness amongst the youth in the country, the US administration in not in a position to take any concrete action to halt the flight of jobs to outsourced destinations. Software development is one of the key areas where outsourcing has acquired newer dimensions. Outsourcing the software development task to countries like India and China has benefitted the economies of these countries to such an extent that outsourcing and providing IT enabled services has become an industry in itself. The Economist (2008) enlists three main advantages of outsourcing; i. Realisation of greater economies of scale by a third party in a position to pool the activities of a number of companies ii. A specialist outsourcing firm can keep itself abreast of the latest developments in the related fields iii. It becomes easier for companies to get works done, which are one time in nature, and for which it becomes difficult for the company to justify recruitment of specialist workforce. This trend has certainly benefitted the concerned companies and the economies of the offshore locations. But, there are quite a few instances, which have raised questions marks about the efficacy of outsourcing decisions. Conflicting situations on account of difference in working conditions, social and cultural perceptions, job losses etc. have highlighted the negative sides of outsourcing. Some of the issues which have come to light as a result of outsourcing are; i. Difference in cultural values and beliefs often leads to communication gap amongst the parties concerned. For example, an Islamic nation would like to have a day off on Friday’s or the workers might also like to have couple of hrs away from work to offer the prayers. But, for a company in US or Germany, this is not a priority and they’d like to see that work be done even during these hours. Similarly, the period around Christmas happens to be a solemn occasion and holiday period for Western companies, but not so much in countries like China and India. Though in general, the companies are supposed to take into account these factors, but at times, such things lead to differences of opinion. ii. Harland et al (2005) contend that international outsourcing of finding software solutions involving some policing and security operations to a country having different culture and approach to social issues could cause conflict with citizens’ traditions and beliefs. This in turn would mean that in view of financial and economic concerns, the host country too often continues to ignore the cultural excesses. But, in case of any dispute arising out of such excesses, the issue gets highlighted in the media, which brings bad publicity for the multinational corporation as well as the host country. iii. When companies entrust the important details about their clients to BPOs in some other countries, that decision runs the risk of exposing those clients to people in other countries. This could result in trampling on the privacy of the customers. A study cited in the Washington Post has pointed out that BPO employees who are laid off or leave their jobs for better opportunities, quite often secretly take along proprietary data as well (Krebs, 2009). The report indicates that about 60 percent of those leaving the job steal the important data of the company and its clients. The data being taken included e-mail lists, non-financial business information, customer contact lists, employee records, and financial information. iv. There have been instances, when credit card details of a customer were misused by the BPO workers. A report by KPMG on ‘data security and privacy in the Indian industry’ indicates that the top management in a number of BPO companies are finding it challenging to ‘drive the importance of security and privacy of information down to every level of the organization’ (KPMG, 2009). Such concerns often lead to question marks on the decisions of multinational corporations’ to outsource the data and records of their customers to untrustworthy people. This presents ethical challenge for the Indian IT industry as well, as the IT industry has to allay the concerns of their clients on two counts. First, by providing technologically advanced and updated services, and second by ensuring that the all important data is in safe hands. v. Outsourcing to emerging economies is also believed to be resulting in international exploitation (Harland et al, 2005). In order to attract business from abroad, some economies resort to softer legislations which taking due precaution about the human rights, child labour concerns, dumping of toxic waste etc. When a company wishes to have the software development task to be completed within a very short period of time, or when the task requires daily interaction between the parent company and the outsourced destination, then the workers in outsourced destinations are supposed to work round the clock, in order to meet the deadline. From the perspective of business and profitability, such arrangement work fine till the time such issues are highlighted in the mainstream media and become source of political embarrassment for the concerned economies. vi. Outsourcing software development to critical functions like systems used in nations’ security runs the risk of compromising nations’ security. The manner in which 14 year old hackers often break into the highly guarded computer systems of agencies like NASA etc. indicates towards the vulnerability of handing over the development of such software development into the hands of people who are remotely connected to the nation’s integrity, social and cultural values. Theoretically it might be possible that the software developer company leaves some software code in the programme and starts receiving updates about the security apparatus of the country, once the system starts working on closely guarded secrets. This will result in compromising the security of the country. vii. As per a study conducted by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), one out of ten well-educated Britons is opting to move abroad (CIPD, 2008). This study indicates how the outsourcing phenomenon has altered the equilibrium. There was a time, when educated youth from developing economies used to make a beeline for seeking an opportunity to serve in US, UK or Germany, but now the jobs are shifting to their countries. It has also come to light that the trend of people going out for jobs is prevalent in Germany as well, but to a lesser extent. The study shows that 1. 1 million well-educated Britons are moving out for better job opportunities to other countries as compared to 860,000 from Germany. This sort of reverse brain drain indicates among other things that there are regions which are more attractive from the HR perspective. If the tense industrial relations persists for longer time period, this might result in political upheavals in countries outsourcing the jobs. viii. Entrusting the task of software development to outside locations certainly enables a company to focus more on the core competency and reduce costs, thus helping the company in showcasing a healthy balance sheet and increased flexibility to reconfigure the resources. But at the same time, such decisions often lead to conflicts with the trade unions as a number of jobs get exported to outsourced destinations. In order to look for low cost alternatives, a number of companies resort to steps like retrenchment, job cutting etc. which has adversely affected the working middle class society. Straining of industrial relations in turn reflect poorly on the welfare initiatives undertaken by the company or in upbringing the brand equity of the concerned company. ix. While outsourcing the software development requirements to destinations outside the country, the company has to make huge efforts in developing an understanding with the BPO Company in order to work out a design appropriate for the requirements. Conclusion Outsourcing has indeed become a popular trend during the last decade. While on the one hand this helped in increasing the ability of multinational corporations to meet the changing marketing requirements, and focus more on core competencies, at the same time, it has resulted in creating number problematic situations like altering the political equations at home, job losses and confrontation with trade unions. No doubt the companies come in a position to leverage the economies of scale, but at the same time such decisions result in exploitation of human rights in the countries of outsourcing destination. When the workers in a Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) unit in India or Philippines are entrusted with a task to be completed as per the deadline from the company in US or UK, then the workers are pressed into service for very long hours. During such period, the welfare measures of the workers take a back seat and only thing concentrated upon is the completion of the task and financial aspects. Violations of human rights, cultural and social sensitivities are seldom taken into account while the BPOs attempt to meet the deadlines. Security of the data and the privacy of clients also come in the danger of being compromised by the decision of outsourcing the software development and other such routine jobs. The debate is still going on and as of now the trend of outsourcing is nowhere near reversal. Part of the reason for this unabated growth in outsourcing is the ongoing recession in most of the developed part of the world. Once the economies bounce back and regain the momentum of growth rate, then only the debate will restart. References: 1. CIPD (2008). Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, UK. Britain’s brain drain. Available online at http://www. cipd. co. uk/default. cipd (March 1, 2008) 2. Farrell, Diana (2006). ‘Smarter Offshoring’. Harvard Business Review. Jun 01, 2006. 3. Harland, Christine; Louise Knight; Richard Lamming; and Helen Walker (2005). ‘Outsourcing: assessing the risks and benefits for organisations, sectors and nations’. International Journal of Operations & Production Management. Vol. 25 No. 9. pp. 831-850. Emerald Group Publishing. 4. KPMG (2009). ‘State of Data Security and Privacy in the Indian Industry’. DSCI- KPMG Survey 2009. Available online at http://www. dsci. in/images/stories/data_security_survey_2009_report_final_30th_dec_2009. pdf (May 27, 2010) 5. Krebs, Brian (2009). ‘Data Theft Common by Departing Employees’. The Wasington Post, February 26, 2009. Available online at http://www. washingtonpost. com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/26/AR2009022601821. html (May 27, 2010) 6. The Economist (2008). Idea-Outsourcing. The Economist, Sep 29th 2008. 7. The Economist (2010). ‘The middle-class task- force – As jobs fade away’. May 6th 2010, Washington, DC. Available online at http://www. economist. com/world/united-states/displaystory. cfm? story_id=16060939 (May 27, 2010) 8. NASSCOM (2009). ‘The IT-BPO Sectors in India’. Global Industry Trends available online at http://www. nasscom. in/Nasscom/templates/NormalPage. aspx? id=56966 (May 27, 2010)

Costruction Contracts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Costruction Contracts - Essay Example It is observed that the building projects are seldom completes on the given time due to one reason or the other. Reasons of the delay might be a) delay on the part of contractor b) suspension of work c) non payment to contractor in time and the d) circumstances beyond the control of stakeholders. The contractor as per the agreement, bound to complete the task within the given timeframe. If work is not done within the allocated time, the contractor is obliged to compensate the losses suffered by the employer. In the scenario No.1 where an old cellar was discovered by the Cash ( the contractor) on site which was not identified by Woolley Wilson Developments (WWD)( the employer ) hence, caused extra time and expenses to the contractor, which should be born by the employer. In the scenario No. 2 the contractor had to call in British Gas Company to reposition the main gas pipeline which took near about sixteen days to get the job done, caused a delay of 16 days in the accomplishment of pr oject, therefore, bound to pay compensation to the above said employer. The competent court of law or the arbitrator as the case may be, shall determine the compensatory amount payable to the affected stakeholder keeping in mind the actual losses. Further, the competent jurisdiction or the arbitrator empowers either to increase or to decrease the compensatory amount provided substantial violations of the contract were found. According to UK law, unliquidated damages are determined by the competent court of law provided the loss is proved by the petitioner. Only then claimant shall be entitled for compensation. In the case of Surrey CC v Bredero Homes (1993)2, it was held by the court that damages were not merely awarded on failure of compliance but to the loss suffered. Contrary to that, in the case of Chaplin v Hicks (1911)3, the court of law awarded compensation to the claimant. It transpired from the said judgments that the court even considers those claims where monetary losses are not occurred. In accordance with law, damages are analyzed in order to place the claimant in the same position where they were, if they performed as per the agreed terms. Now the question is how to quantify the damages occurred for the expected losses. Here we found two options to handle the issue a) reason of non performance and b) remedial measures to mitigate the losses. We may refer the cases of Radford v De Froberville (1977)4 and Tito v Waddell (no 2) (1977)5. In referred cases, the court had the diversion views as far as compensation for the damages are concerned. In other words, court of law while deciding the cases of compensation assessed the damages first. Under English law, damages are categorized in two ways a) liquidated damages and b) unqualified damages. As per civil code of conduct, liquidated damages are taken as penalty. In the mentioned situation, liquidated damages clause, if inserted in the contract, is applicable. Breach of a contract attracts compensation under liquidated damages. Provided a) either uncertain or difficult to quantify b) amount of compensation based on actual losses c) adequate remedy e) planted damages. If aforesaid criterions are not fulfilled, liquidated damages clause in the contract has no potential value. Penalty has nothing to do with the

Domestic Violence in New York City Research Paper

Domestic Violence in New York City - Research Paper Example Though the United States of America is a developed country where women’s freedom and equality is highly valued, the problem is rampant in this nation also. While the problem is highly significant as a social and legal issue, more important is its impact on the society as a challenging public health issue of far reaching consequences. The gravity of the problem can be understood from the fact that during 2005, â€Å"1,181 women† have been killed by an â€Å"intimate partner† and that females sustain â€Å"two million injuries from intimate partner violence each year† (The Facts on Domestic, Dating and Sexual Violence, 2009, p.1). Apart from the women who suffer due to the direct consequences of domestic violence, the children and other family members are also affected by domestic violence. However, most importantly, this menace is a serious public health problem which can have significant impacts on the community. The relevance of domestic violence as a maj or public health issue can be evidenced from the fact that females who become victims of this menace are â€Å"80 percent more likely† to suffer from a stroke and â€Å"70 percent more likely† to develop heart diseases (p.2). In addition, evidence also suggests that such women are more prone to diseases like asthma besides the possibility to â€Å"drink heavily† (p.2). In this context, it needs to be appreciated that healthcare costs can have a damaging effect not only on the family budget but also on community funding because when the government has to spend heavily on free medical services to those affected by domestic violence, the resources to be spent on developmental activities will be reduced. This becomes evident from the fact that New York State alone has spent â€Å"$227 million in 2005† on domestic violence, which could otherwise have been spent on developmental activities for the state (City Spending on Domestic Violence: A Review, 2007, p.1). In the specific context of the New York community, it transpires that as of 2005, nearly â€Å"13 percent of all murders† in this city are attributed to domestic violence and the total number of reported incidents comes to â€Å"226,000† (p.2). As stated before, the state spends a hefty sum on combating the problem and the expense primarily goes to â€Å"emergency social services† to females who fall victim to the menace, cost of law enforcement, preventive measures as well as other long term services (p.2). Healthcare is the most basic of the emergency social services provided to victims of domestic violence and community nurses have a key role to play in this effort. The service also needs to focus on preventing the recurrence of the incidence of domestic violence as well as â€Å"programs that assist victims† (p.2). Again, community health nurses have a significant role as a conduit between the healthcare systems and the victims or their families. Als o they can play a pivotal role in creating awareness about the problem within the community. Identifying potential families and providing counseling to them by the public healthcare nurses can go a long way in preventing recurrences. From the evidence emerging from various published materials, it transpires that domestic violence is a major public healthcare issue in the United States in general and New York State in particular. The problem not only costs heavy expenditure on an individual or family level but also places a hefty onus on the state as a result of which funding on developmental

Undecided Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Undecided - Research Paper Example During this process, water becomes produced first from the fractures present within the coal. This process continues until the pressure declines to the level where methane would begin to desorb from the coal surrounding substance itself. The extent of the coalbed fracture stays controlled by the characteristics of the geologic formation, the fluid used in fracturing, and the pressure employed in pumping. The distance at which the fracturing would be performed also comprises geological formation characteristics. The ability for a fracture to grow taller or longer would be determined by the material goods of the surrounding rock. A hydraulically generated fracture would take the route of least resistance through the surrounding rock formations and coal seams (EPA Chapter 1; 3-4). Studies by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Marcellus Shale Team, and the Energy Institute have clearly confirmed the effectiveness of present-day state regulations in protecting water resources. Thi s research paper positions itself to supporting that methane hydraulic fracturing fluids into coalbed wells pose a minimal threat to underground drinking water sources. Discussion EPA conducted a research study into evaluating the impacts of hydraulic fracturing of coalbed methane to underground sources of drinking water. The study employed a methodology covering hydraulic fracturing processes and potential incidents of water quality associated with the process. Also, the methodology would determine hazardous constituents contained in hydraulic fracturing additives and fluids as well as identification of coalbed methane basins hydrogeology. The approach employed a detailed and extensive collection of reviews and information of theoretical and empirical data. EPA also reviewed cases of underground drinking water contamination alleged to have resulted from the injection of methane hydraulic fracturing fluids into coalbed methane beds (EPA Chapter 2; 2). Methane hydraulic fracturing fl uids include foamed gels, acids, potassium chloride water and clear water, cross or linear linked gels and a combined treatment of any two or more of these fluids. On the other hand, hydraulic additives include biocides, friction reducers, breakers, acid corrosion inhibitors and fluid loss additives (EPA Chapter 4; 2-8). Their findings on water quality incidents reflected data from formal studies, in addition to the opinions of, residents living near coalbed methane sites namely Black Warrior, Powder River Basins, San Juan and Central Appalachian. Incidences of contamination could be attributed to common production activities such as surface discharge of fracturing and production fluids, and methane migration through fracturing and drilling made outlets. In addition, contamination could arise from improperly abandoned production well, aquifer dewatering and poorly installed or sealed production wells. Moreover, natural factors, resource development, historical practices and populati on growth also constitute potential sources of contamination to drinking water. However, the follow-up outcomes of the study concluded that underground drinking water sources could not be contaminated by hydraulic fracturing. According to EPA, the production of ground water would minimize the likelihood that chemicals contained in fracturing fluids could impact negatively on underground drink

Investgative Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Investgative Report - Essay Example e terraces to have a better view of both the interior and external sections of the restraint as I took notes of how the premises operates together with other notable things that I would be able to witness. To begin with, the hotel is strategically located in Fort Lauderdale with a perfect view of the ocean whereby the fresh breeze blows off to create a beautiful ambiance for the revelers. Casablanca cafà © is conveniently located in the sense that it is easily accessible and at the same time convenient since anyone who intends to visit the restaurant can conveniently access it either through bus or the numerous taxi that are available along 3049 Alhambra Street. The restaurant is housed in a beautifully restored ancient home that has a perfect finish both in the interior and exterior that creates a sensational ambiance for visitors that come in. The interior dà ©cor is designed in a manner that makes it perfect for dinner outings and romantic dates since it is cozy and with some jazz music playing from the music bar. The cafà © offers a wide variety of cuisines as I would observe from their menu. The range includes food from various cultures for instance; Mediterranean, French as w ell as the indigenous American cuisines. It is an advantage to the restaurant since it does not limit its services to an individual culture of foods but packages its services in a manner that will attract clients across cultures due to the room for choice that is available. The services at Casablanca cafà © are impressive, personally I asked for a coffee latte and within the next one minute my order was already processed and I was enjoying my drink. I notice the joint is a favorite spot for many people reason being the time I spent at the establishment close to one hundred clients checked in a majority of who were coming in for an early dinner. I observed a significant number making out with takeaway food an impressive phenomenon that I noted. It is prudent to notice that some clients may

The Comparison between Stocks of Chinese Companies in U.S. and Stocks Term Paper

The Comparison between Stocks of Chinese Companies in U.S. and Stocks in China using SAS - Term Paper Example The stock market has grown rapidly over the years from the commencement of big firm’s addition in the last few years. Moreover, at the present more than 80% of the overall capitalization of Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE) market that abides to the US rules and regulations and is open to the outside investors. This is in consistence of China as a mainland creating a market of H share. Putting together the listed firms on the list and in trade in these 3 exchanges, the stock exchange of China is the 2nd biggest worldwide, just following the markets of US equity. On the other hand, the equity market of China has become substandard, in particular in comparison to the GDP growth. In December 31, 1991 since as per December 31, 1990 there was barely any listed stock. Ironically, the composite of Shanghai has the most terrible performing index globally. The big question here is; how is it that the world rapidly evolving economy with a realistic growth rate factor of GDP being 8 since the year 1991, gives a bad performance in the stock market. I can say not much research on this has been done to address this big question. This is then, is the aim of this paper. When USA had problems, investors began searching for new markets, in which there would be high probability of earning cash. In the last 30 years China has shown growth economically, though its stock market shows bad results in performance. Consequently, this has caused attraction to quite a number of investors. In spite of its quick growth economically, Chinese stock market fails to show any significant improvement. Moreover, Chinese stock market got particular features that ought to be done analysis and assessment by those wishing to invest. The stock market of China was no go zone for a given period due to the unique characteristics of its market that had cut down its market integrity. I believe this market has been influenced by the

Litigating a tax matter--the judicial process Essay

Litigating a tax matter--the judicial process - Essay Example Power rifts that exist between the legislative and executive branches of government on who is to make decisions also affects citizen, a lot of time is wasted of formulating budgets and it makes it even worse that incase of any changes that are made, long bureaucratic lines have to be made to ensure that the right authority is given. This rift has proven to cause the citizens negatively since as the branches take time to process their budgetary terms, the citizens continue paying the taxes and taking a longer time to get entitlement programs. As citizens, they are entitled to getting grants, loans, operating and capital budgets, but this becomes either easy or hard depending on the process it takes for approval and which program one is applying for. Entitlement programs are given on the basis of how many people or organizations actually meet the requirements of getting the programs. This also is dependant on he government that the person or organization is under since the state and local governments budget on a separately for operating expenses and budgets (S.Rubin). Decisions made that make the budgeting process vary from one state to another easily affects the citizens. Most citizens are likely to live in one state and work in another or be in a situation where their families live in a different state from the one their working in. A good example as explained in the chapter in the difference in budget processes between the state of Texas and Georgia where in Texas the legislative budget board and the governor works together in the budget planning process. Here citizens have to ensure that their application comply with standards of the board and the governor. In Georgia however the process is made easier for the citizens since the legislative institutions have no role in discussing the budget process. With this example it

Gillingham FCs Essay Example for Free

Gillingham FCs Essay Scott Jones is a 27 year old, mediocre footballer, who plays for First Division club Gillingham. Gillingham are an average side who are likely to be in the First Division for a long while as they dont possess the quality to reach the Premiership, but they are too good to be relegated to Division two. Scott enjoys his job as a footballer due to the fact that he is getting paid a lot of money. He does enjoy his football, but the main reason he is a footballer is because he wants lots of money. Scott got recognised as a good footballing talent when he caught the eye of one of Gillingham FCs local scouts. Scott was playing for his Sunday league team at the age of 18, and gave an excellent performance. He had no knowledge of the scouts presence, until the manager said that the scout thought he had serious potential and wanted to sign him for Gillingham. Scott did sign, and within a few months of him joining Gillingham FC, Scott made the first team, and became a regular from there on. Scott has been at Gillingham for 9 years now and has become one of their best players. Scott enjoys playing for Gillingham FC but little does he know that his career is about to take a huge turn. Scott sat anxiously outside the managers office. He adjusted his tie, which he wasnt used to wearing, and sat there thinking to himself what this meeting could be about. He was confused as to whether he had done something wrong or whether perhaps the club wanted to extend his contract. He had no idea and was eager to get it out of the way. Scottie, do you want to come in? We need to have a little chat said Phil Taylor, the Manager of Gillingham Football Club. Scott stood up and entered the room nervously. Now Scott, we wanted your opinion on this and wanted to see how you felt before we did anything. Weve had an offer come in from Fulham for you. It is very generous, for both the club, and for you. You will be able to get a very good contract from them, and youll be able to play Premiership football. What do you say? Do you want to stay, or are you happy to leave? said Phil. Scott, who felt relieved that he wasnt in trouble, then replied Sounds good to me. If its good for the club then Ill go. Scott was extremely excited about the prospect of playing in the Premiership, but he would have to wait 2 months until he could sign, as the transfer window was closed. Scott was even happier about the fact that he would be getting paid an awful lot more money, his wages were being doubled. Scott felt on top of the world! As he was still contracted to Gillingham for 2 more months, Scott still had to train with them; however, he didnt have to play for them as Fulham made an agreement with Gillingham as part of the deal. Scott enjoyed training, even more so now that he knew he was moving to Fulham next season. Scott still trained hard, but didnt take it as serious as usual, as all he could think about was all that money he would be getting. Right lads, well do some 5 a side. Do some stretches then get yourselves into teams said the manager. Scott just wanted to play 5 a side and so didnt bother doing any stretches. This was a silly thing to do. Halfway through the game, Scott was running with the ball at his feet, and just as he was going to shoot, his studs got caught in the ground and he twisted his knee. It looked incredibly painful, and Scott was in agony. The Physio came on and took him back to the medical room, to see what he had done. It was very serious and so Scott had to be taken to hospital. About an hour after taking a look at Scott and doing some tests, the doctor came back with his diagnosis. Im afraid, its bad news. Youve torn cruciate knee ligaments in your right knee and you have also broken your ankle. This will take an enormously long time to recover from, and there is a 50% chance you will not be able to continue your career as a footballer, if indeed you do recover Scotts heart sank. His career was over, as was his dream of playing in the Premiership. At the age of 27 Scott would only have about 5 years maximum left to play as a footballer, but now, he would be out for at least 2 years, and if he did recover, he would be past his best. Scott was absolutely devastated. He would have to stay in hospital over night while they did more tests and then in a week, he would have to undergo a major operation. For the next week, Scott just stayed at home, in bed, thinking of what he could have become and how much money he could have got. He felt sorry for himself but he was also beating himself up thinking that maybe this whole thing would never have happened had he done his stretches before playing 5 a side. Scott was distraught and he had never been so down in his life. He was thinking, what can he do now?

Family Practices Essay Example for Free

Family Practices Essay Parents have the big responsibility of rearing their children in the best way they can. They have a lot of investment towards their children to bring them up in the most righteous way. Parents impart knowledge, values and even some of their known practices which they grew up with. There are so many common practices imparted to us by our parents. These practices revolve maybe on simple things such as eating together during dinner and saying a prayer before we sleep. Our family believes in the power of herbal medicine that would be able to heal our illnesses. Herbal medicines are kind of medicines that come from plants (Bupa’s Health Information Team, 2007). An herb is a plant that is commonly used because of its flavor, scent and medicinal properties. Many of these herbs are processed and are available in the market is various forms such as tablets, capsules, teas, etc. but there are still some herbal medicine that may cause threat is people’s health. Some may cause health problems and some may not interact well with other drugs (â€Å"Herbal Medicine†, 2009). The Western hemisphere has long abandoned the used of the herbal medicines due to the advancement of technology and healthcare that is able to provide a single medicine that will cure illnesses. Many people, professional and lay individuals, do not know that plants may be able to provide useful health benefits. The benefits of the plants are in the form of alternative and complementary medicines and many people consider it as irrelevant part of folk times (Ernst, 2000). This nontraditional health practice has been passed on my family through generations. Not only able to preserve our family solidarity but our health as well. References Bupa’s Health Information Team. (2007, August). Herbal Medicine. Bupa. Retrieved January 20, 2009 from http://hcd2.bupa.co.uk/fact_sheets/html/herbal_medicine.html. Ernst, E. (2000). Herbal Medicine: A Concise Overview for Professionals. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Herbal Medicine. (2009, January 13). Medline Plus. Retrieved January 20, 2009 from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/herbalmedicine.html.

Information Technology In Insurance Industry Commerce Essay

Information Technology In Insurance Industry Commerce Essay Insurance in India can be traced back to the Vedas. For instance, yogakshema, the name of Life Insurance Corporation of Indias corporate headquarters, is derived from the Rig Veda. The term suggests that a form of community insurance was prevalent around 1000 BC and practiced by the Aryans. Burial societies of the kind found in ancient Rome were formed in the Buddhist period to help families build houses, protect widows and children. Bombay Mutual Assurance Society, the first Indian life assurance society, was formed in 1870. Other companies like Oriental, Bharat and Empire of India were also set up in the 1870-90s. It was during the swadeshi movement in the early 20th century that insurance witnessed a big boom in India with several more companies being set up. As these companies grew, the government began to exercise control on them. The Insurance Act was passed in 1912, followed by a detailed and amended Insurance Act of 1938 that looked into investments, expenditure and management of these companies funds. By the mid-1950s, there were around 170 insurance companies and 80 provident fund societies in the countrys life insurance scene. However, in the absence of regulatory systems, scams and irregularities were almost a way of life at most of these companies. As a result, the government decided nationalizes the life assurance business in India. The Life Insurance Corporation of India was set up in 1956 to take over around 250 life companies. HISTORY OF INDIAN INSURANCE MARKET Insurance has a long history in India. Life Insurance in its current form was introduced in 1818 when Oriental Life Insurance Company began its operations in India. General Insurance was however a comparatively late entrant in 1850 when Triton Insurance company set up its base in Kolkata. History of Insurance in India can be broadly bifurcated into three eras: a) Pre Nationalisation b) Nationalisation and c) Post Nationalisation. Life Insurance was the first to be nationalized in 1956. Life Insurance Corporation of India was formed by consolidating the operations of various insurance companies. General Insurance followed suit and was nationalized in 1973. General Insurance Corporation of India was set up as the controlling body with New India, United India, National and Oriental as its subsidiaries. The process of opening up the insurance sector was initiated against the background of Economic Reform process which commenced from 1991. For this purpose Malhotra Committee was formed du ring this year who submitted their report in 1994 and Insurance Regulatory Development Act (IRDA) was passed in 1999. Resultantly Indian Insurance was opened for private companies and Private Insurance Company effectively started operations from 2001. PRESENT SCENARIO OF INSURANCE INDUSTRY    India with about 200 million middle class household shows a huge untapped potential for players in the insurance industry. Saturation of markets in many developed economies has made the Indian market even more attractive for global insurance majors. The insurance sector in India has come to a position of very high potential and competitiveness in the market.   Indians, have always seen life insurance as a tax saving device, are now suddenly turning to the private sector that are providing them new products and variety for their choice. Consumers remain the most important centre of the insurance sector. After the entry of the foreign players the industry is seeing a lot of competition and thus improvement of the customer service in the industry. Computerisation of operations and updating of technology has become imperative in the current scenario. Foreign players are bringing in international best practices in service through use of latest technologies The insurance agents still remain the main source through which insurance products are sold. The concept is very well established in the country like India but still the increasing use of other sources is imperative. At present the distribution channels that are available in the market are listed below. Direct selling Corporate agents Group selling Brokers and cooperative societies Banc assurance Customers have tremendous choice from a large variety of products from pure term (risk) insurance to unit-linked investment products. Customers are offered unbundled products with a variety of benefits as riders from which they can choose. More customers are buying products and services based on their true needs and not just traditional money back policies, which is not considered very appropriate for long-term protection and savings. There is lots of saving and investment plans in the market. However, there are still some key new products yet to be introduced e.g. health products.    The rural consumer is now exhibiting an increasing propensity for insurance products. A research conducted exhibited that the rural consumers are willing to dole out anything between Rs.3,500 and Rs.2,900 as premium each year. In the insurance the awareness level for life insurance is the highest in rural India, but the consumers are also aware about motor, accidents and cattle insurance. In a study conducted by MART the results showed that nearly one third said that they had purchased some kind of insurance with the maximum penetration skewed in favor of life insurance. The study also pointed out the private companies have huge task to play in creating awareness and credibility among the rural populace. The perceived benefits of buying a life policy range from security of income bulk return in future, daughters marriage, childrens education and good return on savings, in that order, the study adds. FEATURES OF INSURANCE INDUSTRY Insurance Policy India provides the clients with the details required for the coverage in the policy, date of commencement of the policy and their adopting organizations. It plays a important role in the Indian insurance sector. The Insurance Policy India is regulated by certain acts like the Insurance Act (1938), the Life Insurance Corporation Act(1956), General Insurance Business Nationalization) Act(1972), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority IRDA) Act(1999). The insurance policy determines the covers against risks, sometime opens investment options with insurance companies setting high returns and also informs about the tax benefits like the LIC in India. There are two types of insurance covers: 1. Life insurance 2. General insurance Life insurance this sector deals with the risks and the accidents affecting the life of the customer. Alongside, this insurance policy also offers tax planning and investment returns. There are various types of life Insurance Policy India: Endowment Policy Whole Life Policy Term Life Policy Money-back Policy Joint Life Policy Group Insurance Policy General Insurance this sector covers almost everything related to property, vehicle, cash, household goods, health and also ones liability towards others. The major segments covered under general Insurance Policy India are: Home Insurance Health Insurance Motor Insurance Travel Insurance NAME OF THE PLAYER MARKET SHARE (%) Name of the Player Market share (%) LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION OF INDIA 82.3 ICICI PRUDENTIAL 5.63 BIRLA SUN LIFE 2.56 BAJAJ ALLIANZ 2.03 SBI LIFE INSURANCE 1.80 HDFC STANDARD 1.36 TATA AIG 1.29 MAX NEW YARK 0.90 AVIVA 0.79 OM KOTAK MAHINDRA 0.51 ING VYSYA 0.37 MET LIFE 0.21 SWOT ANALYSIS Strength Risk protection is provided by this sector only. Insurance having currently good market. Tax exemption. The variety of products is increasing. Insurance to build close relationship with customers. Good amount of RD into insurance 200 million households waiting for householders insurance Weakness Unable to convenience the people about the products. Insurance companies instability Limited working capital Products or services similar to competitors. Higher tax nets for the middle class Opportunities Technology is improving paperless transaction are available. Busy life, customer need flexible and customizable policies. Like mobile banking mobile insurance could be a hit. New innovations in technology-measuring weather variables. Threats Weather cycles. New substitute product emerging. Increasing expenses and lower profit margins with hard on the smaller agencies and insurance companies. Government regulations on issues like health care terrorism can quickly change the direction on insurance. USE OF INRORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN INSURANCE INDUSTRY The present scenario is such that the products sold with the help of Internet. The technological advancement is such that force the companies to take such steps. Still the full-fledged use of Internet is not done in our country. As suggestion earlier the Internet based life insurance will help the companies to reduce the transaction cost and time. At the time it can improve the quality of service to its customers, which is the mission of the company. Internet can be an effective medium for educating the consumers about insurance. It serves as a single window for disseminating product, process and procedural information to the consumers. Product development and target marketing through the Internet: with increase in the number of insurance companies there will be a need for market segmentation and subsequently product designed for each of them. In such a scenario Internet can be a effective channel for pushing product specific information to a particular market segment. Consumer feedback about a particular product as well as suggestions for different types or covers can also be generated through the Internet 1. E-business insurance in India: The Internet has played a vital role in transforming the business of the 21st century. Computers are now being used extensively for creating a storing data, information with the help of complex and sophisticated technological tools in every kind of business. This change having been widely accepted, the advantages are numerous such as fast processing improved. Efficiency, cost reduction among several other benefits. 2. Maintaining the database:- The most important factor that is affecting the insurance industry is the marinating the database of the customers. The insurance industry having a huge list of the customers. In order to maintain it in manual format it is really the work of stupidity. With the change in time the computers has taken the work of this things. Thus with the development of the technology it has becoming possible to maintain such huge database very easily. A person can switch over to the computer and get the details of the customer very easily. Thus maintaining the database has really become easy due to the development in technology. 3. E-Commerce in the Indian Insurance Industry With the advent of the Internet, online processes are replacing conventional models in our society. The greatest impact in online technology has been achieved by e-commerce. E-commerce is attractive both to buyers and sellers as it reduces search costs for buyers and insventory costs for sellers. In this paper we investigate the impact of e-commerce on the insurance industry in India. The recent growth of Internet infrastructure and introduction of economic reforms in the insurance sector have opened up the monopolistic Indian insurance market to competition from foreign alliances. We study the evolving scenario in the insurance industry in India and identify the features of online insurance that improve the conventional insurance model and thus, makes it more attractive for the Indian insurance industry to go online. TECHNOLOGY TREND IN INSURANCE MARKET Computerization: Initially, in the late 1950s the insurance companies used Unit Record Machines (Electro Magnetic Machines) to process data punched into cards. Computers were introduces in the mid 1960s and by the 1980s the Unit Phased Machines were phased out and the entire process was computerized. This brought about greater efficiency and quick service delivery Internet: Today, the internet has completely changed the service delivery process. Internet is today used to even sell insurance policies. Internet is, in fact, proving to be one of the widely used distribution networks for selling insurance policies. Also internet is used for sending premium notices to policy holders through e-mails Companies like LIC (www.licindia.com), ICICI (www.iciciprudential.com) all have websites from which people can get the information about their products, prices, various schemes, and lots of other information. People can also purchase the product through this website. Electronic Clearance Service (ECS): Almost all the big organizations today provide the ECS facility to its customers. A policy holder having an account in any bank which is a member of the local clearing house can opt for ECS debit to pay premiums. The advantage here is that once the option is exercised, the policy holder need not visit a branch for paying the premium or collecting the receipts. On the day indicated by the policy holder, the premium amount will be directly debited to the bank account of the policyholder and the receipt will be issued by the designated branch office. Call Centres and SMS services: Almost all the insurance companies have their own call centres which cater to the phone based queries of the policyholders. This service is 247 and they have the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems at all the branches INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INTRODUCED IN LIC LIC has been one of the pioneering organizations in India who introduced the leverage of Information Technology in servicing and in their business. Data pertaining to almost 10 crores policies is being held on computers in LIC. We have gone in for relevant and appropriate technology over the years. 1964 saw the introduction of computers in LIC. Unit Record Machines introduced in late 1950s were phased out in 1980s and replaced by Microprocessors based computers in Branch and Divisional Offices for Back Office Computerization. Standardization of Hardware and Software commenced in 1990s. Standard Computer Packages were developed and implemented for Ordinary and Salary Savings Scheme (SSS) Policies. INSURANCE SOFTWARE The online Insurance Management System Software solution is a fully automated and integrated policy processing system for both personal and commercial insurance carriers. It is a scalable, reliable, and cost-effective solution for carrying out all business-critical insurance processing functions Insurance Software Solutions provider for all segments of the insurance community and insurance product management. The web based Insurance Management System Software solution helps to solve long-standing time-to-market challenges. The web based insurance management system expertise and solution can dramatically lessen the cost of policy ownership services. DIFFERENT TYPES OF INSURANCE SOFTWARE Insurance Policy Administration System Insurance policy administration system consists of a mathematical notation that captures the relationship between policies and objects and the entities that manage policies for those objects. The Insurance policy administration system is consisting of a number of policy administration domains. The domains are arranged in a hierarchy, representing descending levels of authority. Claims Management Systems This system ensures claims are processed fast and efficiently. Operator flexibility is the key, and we aim to improver operator productivity while processing claims. Real-time status for quick resubmission and faster reimbursements. Unique claim aging tool shows thousands of claims status in one view. Insurance Claims System uses electronic filing system to primary and secondary payers. Each claim is scrubbed with up-to- date Medicare rules. This Claim Processing System helps in quick resubmission for claim Insurance Agency Management System Insurance Agency Management System facilitates an insurance companys ability to address relationships with its product distribution channels. This system helps in managing current Agencies, can add New Agencies or Delete Current Agencies. Insurance Agency Management System is the solution that delivers to manage and grow your insurance agency to assist day-to-day management of your agency. Agency management utilized for small business, individual or enterprise business Insurance Agent Management System Insurance Agent Management System maintains Multiple Agents from Multiple Agencies, keep the track of their activities from Policy Registration to Claim processing. All their data, their commission, their policies status updates, etc. are taken care by this module. This Insurance system helps in smooth functioning of the Agents working and makes the processes faster and efficient. Policy Management System Policy registration is intended to be a vehicle for the exploration and discussion of policy issues and is aimed in particular at enhancing communication between health policy researchers, legislators, decision-makers, and professionals concerned with developing, implementing, and analyzing health policy. Policy renewals and policy cancellation can be managed by the insurance policy management system User Management System A new user registers by filling in a form on your web-site. If necessary, the new user is first place in a waiting list until you approve the new user. After adding the user, the user can login to the system with his or her username and password to make changes. You can use overviews of users for mailing purposes etc.. User Management System manages all the users of the system i.e. Customer, Administrator or Agents. It keeps the track of thee the activities they performs, their data, their access information, etc. Endorsements Management System Endorsements to a title insurance policy are addenda or attachments to the policy that may correct or modify a previously issued title policy, or alter or modify the provisions of the exceptions, conditions and stipulations of the title policy so that the insured party receives greater coverage than would exist under the terms of the unendorsed title policy. Data import / Export system It handles large amounts of data to import and export it securely. It does processing and management of large and sensitive data compression/decompression and/or encryption/decryption allowing the exchange of data through the network with high performance and stability, exchange of data among Web server(s), business application server(s) and database server(s) and account information including user passwords Policy Registration and Quotations Engine Policy registration is intended to be a vehicle for the exploration and discussion of policy issues and is aimed in particular at enhancing communication between policy researchers, legislators, decision-makers, and professionals concerned with developing, implementing, and analyzing health policy. Policy quotations engine is an on demand quotation management feature coupled with detailed profit optimization and approval management engines. With quotation engine you can automate the sales and services processes that are currently being done using a hybrid of spreadsheets, documents and emails with little to no process control. When you have completed your quotation you can use the engine to seek approvals for non- standard pricing and/or terms and conditions. Discounts and loading management. Insurance Administration Management System Insurance Administration Management system can manage multiple administrators and can have the track of the right assigned to them. It takes care that all the Administrators function with the system as per the rights assigned to them ad they can get their work done in efficient manner. Customizable and strong administration system. Insurance Sales Management can be managed by insurance sales system. Content Management System Module Content Management System is used for managing the capture, storage, security, revision control, retrieval, distribution, preservation and destruction of documents and content. Content Management System especially concerns content imported into or generated from within an organization in the course of its operation, and includes the control of access to this content from outside of the organizations processes. Insurance Document Management System Its important to maintain documents so that you can get to them faster, and easily. Even IT offers document management solutions for easy maintenance of your policies, endorsements, quotes, binders and the like. You can design your templates in common word processing tools, and the document management system will integrate and process these templates to generate and maintain documents. The documents can be retrieved at any time and are indexed in a database for quick searches. Insurance Document Management System is a secure file upload management system with built-in audit tracking, and is a plug-in extension to the Power Central Portal. This System will maintain the generation of the various reports which will be provided to the users as per the requirement. The reports like Modification Report, Policy Management Report, Payments Received Report, Agent commission report, etc. Insurance Accounting and Automation Insurance accounting is quite a complicated task, given the fact that there are so many issues with regulation, taxes, filing, commissions, brokers/underwriters, endorsements etc. We can build applications of insurance accounting systems and insurance billing systems that automate part of this task for you and help build better and more flexible solutions. Workflow solutions Workflow solutions that will ease the task of issuing claims, policies, reimbursements, payments etc. You can enforce hierarchical constraints and automate workflow, thereby ensuring that all your checks and balances are in place. Auditing Insurance is a highly regulated industry, so audit controls are very important. For this purpose, Radix can write audit control solutions customized to your purpose that will help you track and control business issues within your organization Business Intelligence Reporting and charting solutions that will make sense of your data. We can help you analyze your past data for better decision-making and help you make more informed decisions. Online Data Back-up System Online Back-up System is used to have the backed of the data on another server so that in case Original Data get Damage, Lost, etc. then the data is available for work. This system helps in the Real Time Data Backup and maintains the data for the future purpose. It also facilities the data back-up at other Geographical location. The benefit of Online Insurance Management System Online Back-up System is used to have the backed of the data on another server so that in case Original Data get Damage, Lost, etc. then the data is available for work. This system helps in the Real Time Data Backup and maintains the data for the future purpose. It also facilities the data back-up at other Geographical location The benefit of Online Insurance Management System Radix is the right technology choice for the vast majority of insurance-selling organizations on line. We have been closely associated with leading insurance players. Radix is essential for successfully managing and growing your business. Our web based insurance management system can manage your insurance business perfectly. Our solution focus is on the following benefits. Compliance Speed- to-market Cost reduction Web-enablement Consolidation Integration Business process flexibility REFRENCES:- WEB SITES www.licindia.com www.google.co.in/indian insurance industry www.irdaindia.org www.equitymaster.com MAGZINES Life insurance vol 1 ICFAI PRESS 2002 Life insurance vol 2 ICFAI PRESS 2002 Insurance industry Emerging Trends ICFAI PRESS 2002 Insurance law and regulation vol 1ICFAI PRESS 2002 NEWSPAPER Economic times Times of India Business standard BOOKS Life-Insurance , by Mc GILL Insurance Industry by ICFAI Publication Insurance in India

Garbage Essay -- essays research papers fc

On May 16, 1988, the Supreme Court ruled that police officers, without a warrant, have the right to inspect curbside rubbish for evidence. â€Å"Justice Byron R. White’s opinion for the majority said the privacy of garbage bags left outside the home and its immediate surroundings is not protected by the Fourth Amendment because people have no ‘subjective expectation of privacy’ in their garbage ‘that society accepts as objectively reasonable’† (Taylor 559-560). The Supreme Court’s ruling on curbside rubbish is fair because people voluntarily leave their trash at the curb for collection.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution states â€Å"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.† This basically means police officers cannot come into a home and just rummage through personal belongings. However, many people feel the Supreme Court’s ruling is a violation of the Fourth Amendment because they feel rummaging through garbage is rummaging through their personal belongings. A person’s trash is private and can reveal very personal information. â€Å"A search of trash, like a search of the bedroom, can relate intimate details about sexual practices, health and personal...

Freedom and Equality in the Comparison of Political Systems Essay examp

Freedom and Equality in the Comparison of Political Systems ABSTRACT: The notions of freedom and equality in a group are precisely defined in terms of individual exertions of influence or power. Freedom is discussed in the version ‘freedom from’ influence rather than in the version ‘freedom to do’ what one wants. It is shown that at the ideal conceptual level complete freedom implies equality. Given the plausibility of the definitions this shows that political ‘folk rhetorics’ in which freedom and equality often are put in opposition are misled and misleading. Quantitative notions of ‘more freedom’ and ‘more equality’ are introduced and shown to be independent of each other. The bearing of these conceptual exercises on the comparison of political systems is discussed. During the last 5000 years the competition and contest of large, human communities or political systems, of which modern states are the pressing example, often was decided by a simple, `evolutionary' mechanism: war and force. However, the increasing destructive power of artifacts which are developed with the help of scientific knowledge seems to diminish the importance of this device—at least among communities with a somewhat rational leadership. For the mere use of modern techniques increases the risk of self-destruction even for that party which otherwise would be said to have won the `contest'. In this situation it would be desirable to have other, less violent criteria to check whether some political system is better than another one. If we could compare the quality of political systems in a purely conceptual way the practical competition among systems could be reduced to attempts at enlightening the citizens of the respective other system. Recent views... ...y remain unchanged. In particular this shows that freedom and equality—even if both are defined in terms of power—yield different criteria for the ranking of political systems. The fact that both these notions can be defined in terms of power does not imply that the comparison of political systems in these two dimensions can be `reduced' to one, more basic criterion formulated in terms of exertions of power. References W.Balzer, 1990: "A Basic Model of Social Institutions," Journal of Mathematical Sociology 16, 1-29. W.Balzer, 1993: Soziale Institutionen, Berlin: de Gruyter. W.Balzer, 1994: "Exchange versus Influence: A Case of Idealization," in B.Hamminga (ed.), Idealization VI: Idealization in Economics, Poznan Studies in the Philosophy of the Sciences and the Humanities Vol 38, Amsterdam: Rodopi, 189-203. S.Lukes, 1974: Power: A Radical View, London.

The Host Chapter 14: Disputed

It was too much for both of us, seeing him here, now, after already accepting that we'd never see him again, after believing that we'd lost him forever. It froze me solid, made me unable to react. I wanted to look at Uncle Jeb, to understand his heartbreaking answer in the desert, but I couldn't move my eyes. I stared at Jared's face, uncomprehending. Melanie reacted differently. â€Å"Jared,† she cried; through my damaged throat the sound was just a croak. She jerked me forward, much the same way as she had in the desert, assuming control of my frozen body. The only difference was that this time, it was by force. I wasn't able to stop her fast enough. She lurched forward, raising my arms to reach out for him. I screamed a warning at her in my head, but she wasn't listening to me. She was barely aware that I was even there. No one tried to stop her as she staggered toward him. No one but me. She was within inches of touching him, and still she didn't see what I saw. She didn't see how his face had changed in the long months of separation, how it had hardened, how the lines pulled in different directions now. She didn't see that the unconscious smile she remembered would not physically fit on this new face. Only once had she seen his face turn dark and dangerous, and that expression was nothing to the one he wore now. She didn't see, or maybe she didn't care. His reach was longer than mine. Before Melanie could make my fingers touch him, his arm shot out and the back of his hand smashed into the side of my face. The blow was so hard that my feet left the ground before my head slammed into the rock floor. I heard the rest of my body hit the floor with dull thumps, but I didn't feel it. My eyes rolled back in my head, and a ringing sound shimmered in my ears. I fought the dizziness that threatened to spin me unconscious. Stupid, stupid, I whimpered at her. I told you not to do that! Jared's here, Jared's alive, Jared's here. She was incoherent, chanting the words like they were lyrics to a song. I tried to focus my eyes, but the strange ceiling was blinding. I twisted my head away from the light and then swallowed a sob as the motion sent daggers of agony through the side of my face. I could barely handle the pain of this one spontaneous blow. What hope did I have of enduring an intensive, calculated onslaught? There was a shuffle of feet beside me; my eyes moved instinctively to find the threat, and I saw Uncle Jeb standing over me. He had one hand half stretched out toward me, but he hesitated, looking away. I raised my head an inch, stifling another moan, to see what he saw. Jared was walking toward us, and his face was the same as those of the barbarians in the desert-only it was beautiful rather than frightening in its fury. My heart faltered and then beat unevenly, and I wanted to laugh at myself. Did it matter that he was beautiful, that I loved him, when he was going to kill me? I stared at the murder in his expression and tried to hope that rage would win out over expediency, but a true death wish evaded me. Jeb and Jared locked eyes for a long moment. Jared's jaw clenched and unclenched, but Jeb's face was calm. The silent confrontation ended when Jared suddenly exhaled in an angry gust and took a step back. Jeb reached down for my hand and put his other arm around my back to pull me up. My head whirled and ached; my stomach heaved. If it hadn't been empty for days, I might have thrown up. It was like my feet weren't touching the ground. I wobbled and pitched forward. Jeb steadied me and then gripped my elbow to keep me standing. Jared watched all this with a teeth-baring grimace. Like an idiot, Melanie struggled to move toward him again. But I was over the shock of seeing him here and less stupid than she was now. She wouldn't break through again. I locked her away behind every bar I could create in my head. Just be quiet. Can't you see how he loathes me? Anything you say will make it worse. We're dead. But Jared's alive, Jared's here, she crooned. The quiet in the cavern dissolved; whispers came from every side, all at the same time, as if I'd missed some cue. I couldn't make out any meanings in the hissing murmurs. My eyes darted around the mob of humans-every one of them an adult, no smaller, younger figure among them. My heart ached at the absence, and Melanie fought to voice the question. I hushed her firmly. There wasn't anything to see here, nothing but anger and hatred on strangers' faces, or the anger and hatred on Jared's face. Until another man pushed his way through the whispering throng. He was built slim and tall, his skeletal structure more obvious under his skin than most. His hair was washed out, either pale brown or a dark, nondescript blond. Like his bland hair and his long body, his features were mild and thin. There was no anger in his face, which was why it held my eye. The others made way for this apparently unassuming man as if he had some status among them. Only Jared didn't defer to him; he held his ground, staring only at me. The tall man stepped around him, not seeming to notice the obstacle in his path any more than he would a pile of rock. â€Å"Okay, okay,† he said in an oddly cheery voice as he circled Jared and came to face me. â€Å"I'm here. What have we got?† It was Aunt Maggie who answered him, appearing at his elbow. â€Å"Jeb found it in the desert. Used to be our niece Melanie. It seemed to be following the directions he gave her.† She flashed a dirty look at Jeb. â€Å"Mm-hm,† the tall, bony man murmured, his eyes appraising me curiously. It was strange, that appraisal. He looked as if he liked what he saw. I couldn't fathom why he would. My gaze shied away from his, to another woman-a young woman who peered around his side, her hand resting on his arm-my eyes drawn by her vivid hair. Sharon! Melanie cried. Melanie's cousin saw the recognition in my eyes, and her face hardened. I pushed Melanie roughly to the back of my head. Shhh! â€Å"Mm-hm,† the tall man said again, nodding. He reached one hand out to my face and seemed surprised when I recoiled from it, flinching into Jeb's side. â€Å"It's okay,† the tall man said, smiling a little in encouragement. â€Å"I won't hurt you.† He reached toward my face again. I shrunk into Jeb's side like before, but Jeb flexed his arm and nudged me forward. The tall man touched my jaw below my ear, his fingers gentler than I expected, and turned my face away. I felt his finger trace a line on the back of my neck, and I realized that he was examining the scar from my insertion. I watched Jared's face from the corner of my eye. What this man was doing clearly upset him, and I thought I knew why-how he must have hated that slender pink line on my neck. Jared frowned, but I was surprised that some of the anger had drained from his expression. His eyebrows pulled together. It made him look confused. The tall man dropped his hands and stepped away from me. His lips were pursed, his eyes alight with some challenge. â€Å"She looks healthy enough, aside from some recent exhaustion, dehydration, and malnourishment. I think you've put enough water back into her so that the dehydration won't interfere. Okay, then.† He made an odd, unconscious motion with his hands, as if he were washing them. â€Å"Let's get started.† Then his words and his brief examination fit together and I understood-this gentle-seeming man who had just promised not to hurt me was the doctor. Uncle Jeb sighed heavily and closed his eyes. The doctor held a hand out to me, inviting me to put mine in his. I clenched my hands into fists behind my back. He looked at me carefully again, appraising the terror in my eyes. His mouth turned down, but it was not a frown. He was considering how to proceed. â€Å"Kyle, Ian?† he called, craning his neck to search the assembly for the ones he summoned. My knees wobbled when the two big black-haired brothers pressed their way forward. â€Å"I think I need some help. Maybe if you were to carry -† the doctor, who did not look quite so tall standing beside Kyle, began to say. â€Å"No.† Everyone turned to see where the dissent had come from. I didn't need to look, because I recognized the voice. I looked at him anyway. Jared's eyebrows pressed down hard over his eyes; his mouth was twisted into a strange grimace. So many emotions ran across his face, it was hard to pin one down. Anger, defiance, confusion, hatred, fear†¦ pain. The doctor blinked, his face going slack with surprise. â€Å"Jared? Is there a problem?† â€Å"Yes.† Everyone waited. Beside me, Jeb was holding the corners of his lips down as if they were trying to lift into a grin. If that was the case, then the old man had an odd sense of humor. â€Å"And it is?† the doctor asked. Jared answered through his teeth. â€Å"I'll tell you the problem, Doc. What's the difference between letting you have it or Jeb putting a bullet in its head?† I trembled. Jeb patted my arm. The doctor blinked again. â€Å"Well† was all he said. Jared answered his own question. â€Å"The difference is, if Jeb kills it, at least it dies cleanly.† â€Å"Jared.† The doctor's voice was soothing, the same tone he'd used on me. â€Å"We learn so much each time. Maybe this will be the time -â€Å" â€Å"Hah!† Jared snorted. â€Å"I don't see much progress being made, Doc.† Jared will protect us, Melanie thought faintly. It was hard to concentrate enough to form words. Not us, just your body. Close enough†¦ Her voice seemed to come from some distance, from outside my pounding head. Sharon took a step forward so that she stood half in front of the doctor. It was a strangely protective stance. â€Å"There's no point in wasting an opportunity,† she said fiercely. â€Å"We all realize that this is hard for you, Jared, but in the end it's not your decision to make. We have to consider what's best for the majority.† Jared glowered at her. â€Å"No.† The word was a snarl. I could tell he had not whispered the word, yet it was very quiet in my ears. In fact, everything was suddenly quiet. Sharon's lips moved, her finger jabbed at Jared viciously, but all I heard was a soft hissing. Neither one of them took a step, but they seemed to be drifting away from me. I saw the dark-haired brothers step toward Jared with angry faces. I felt my hand try to rise in protest, but it only twitched limply. Jared's face turned red when his lips parted, and the tendons in his neck strained like he was shouting, but I heard nothing. Jeb let go of my arm, and I saw the dull gray of the rifle's barrel swing up beside me. I cringed away from the weapon, though it was not pointed in my direction. This upset my balance, and I watched the room tip very slowly to one side. â€Å"Jamie,† I sighed as the light swirled away from my eyes. Jared's face was suddenly very close, leaning over me with a fierce expression. â€Å"Jamie?† I breathed again, this time a question. â€Å"Jamie?† Jeb's gruff voice answered from somewhere far away. â€Å"The kid is fine. Jared brought him here.† I looked at Jared's tormented face, fast disappearing into the dark mist that covered my eyes. â€Å"Thank you,† I whispered. And then I was lost in the darkness.

Poetry Essay

Poetry is a form of literary art and uses particular forms and conventions to suggest alternative meaning in the words and to evoke some emotional responses. There are sound patterns in poetry which create further meaning, such as assonance, alliteration and onomatopoeia. These sound effects have a particular function in a poem. Poems often make heavy use of imagery and word association to quickly convey emotions. [1] Poetry is distinguished from prose because are used some techniques such as rhyme, meter and repetition. The same sounds can convey different meanings and it depends on the context of a poem. Sound patterns can be also discovered in some advertising slogans. In advertisement we have the freedom to change the natural order of the language. It depends on the product and the target group of consumers. The advertising text has to capture the reader’s or listener’s attention. Therefore the natural order of the language is modified, shaped and stylized. One of the most frequently used devices in slogans, catchphrases and article titles is alliteration: Don’t Live a Little, Live a Lotto! 2] The advertising slogans are the most effective means of drawing attention to one or more aspects of the product. In this text we can spot an example of foregrounding. ‘Deviation, which is a linguistic phenomenon, has an important psychological effect on readers (and hearers). If a part of a poem is deviant, it becomes especially noticeable, or perceptually prominent. We call this psychological effect foregrounding’. [3] Most of the writers use the sound of words in such a way that the readers’ attention is immediately engaged. The most common mean which is involved by the writers is repetition. Our attention is captivated and we start analysing the reasons why the writers use it. We can recognise play of sounds : little/lotto. There is also alliteration- the repetition of ‘l’ and ‘t’ sounds. Alliteration refers to tbe repetition of the same or similar consonants. /t/ is a voiceless, alveolar, plosive sound. It is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords, by obstructing the airflow in the vocal tract. /l/ is a voiced, bilateral, retroflex and approximant sound. The vocal cords are vibrating during the articulation and the airstream flows over the both sides of the tongue. When poets construct a poem they carefully choose words for their meanings, connotation and sounds. According to Paul Simpson ‘we make connections between, on the one hand, the physical properties of the sound represented within a text and, on the other, the non- linguistic phenomena situated outside a text to which these sounds relate’[4]. The sound effects of the poetic text are basic to the interpretation of poetry. When a relationship between sound and meaning is obvious, then it can reinforce the significance of a word for speaker and hearer. ‘The way people ‘sound’ their language can, certainly, be an indication of their individual or cultural personalities†¦ Speakers of a different language, from a different culture, might associate different implications with such sounds’. [5] The most critics are interested in the form of the poem and its meaning, and the poet’s message. According to Paul Fussell ‘Poetic forms are like that: they tend to say things even if words are not at the moment fitted to their patterns. As Louis MacNeice has said, â€Å"In any poet’s poem the shape is half the meaning. †Ã¢â‚¬â„¢. [6] Poetic forms refer to different sets of rules followed by poems. The rules describe such ascpects as the meter or rhythm of the poem, the rhyme scheme or the use of alliteration. One of the basic ways in which poetry can be distinguished from prose is the possession of metre. Some critics maintain the idea that the rhythm and metre are the same thing. The difference between both is in the way in which they relate to the whole. The metre is ‘an extra layer of rhythmic structuring’. 7] The rhythm is ‘the apprehension of a series of events as a regularly repeated pulse of energy, an experience which has a muscular as well as a mental dimension’. [8] The following lines aim to discuss the relationship between sound patterns, their function and their contribution towards the meaning a certain poem generates. Attention will be paid to the poem ‘My Last Duchess’, written by Robert Browning. He was an English poet and playwright whose verses of dramatic monologues made him one of the most renowned Victorian poets today. The poem is anthologised as an example of the dramatic monologue, ‘in which an identified character, or person, is the sole speaker: that is, the voice in the poem is ‘playing’ a role as in drama’. [9] The structure and the style of this poem play a significant role. It contains three formal elements – an occasion, a speaker, and a hearer. The words in dramatic monologues not only convey setting and action but also reveal the speaker’s character. The comments which he makes reveal information about his personality and psyche, knowingly or unknowingly. The main focus of a dramatic monologue is the personal information, not the topic which the speaker happens to be discussing. ‘We can see the personality of both poet and speaker in dramatic monologue, and can be aware of them operating as a reflex in the elements of action which is constant picture and vice versa’. [10] Browning defined the poem as a dramatic lyric. It is dramatic because there is an actor in it and performs a scene. However, at the same time it can’t be said that it is a typical lyric poem. The poem appears as one half of a conversation. He is not speaking his thoughts aloud to himself while he is alone. In general poems are written with the ‘full body’ of words and have their own meaning. ‘Meaning is something the reader intuits through the distorting influence of ‘form’, something the writer may choose, but does not necessarily control. ’[11] The goal of Browning is to illustrate a scene. There is a relation between sounds and meanings, the reality which language may represent. In his piece of work Robert Browning uses many techniques – enjambment, a simple rhyme scheme and caesura to convey various characteristics and qualities about the speaker and the situation. Mick Short claims that ‘The basic idea was that poems should enact what they described: ‘the sound must seem an echo to the sense’ (Alexander Pope, ‘An Essay on Criticism’, line 365). Musicality revolves around phonetic and rhythmic effects in particular, and it is thus necessary to be able to do metrical analysis in order to be able to explain important effects in many poems’. [12] ‘My last Duchess’ is written in iambic pentameter in order to imitate natural speech so that the poet is not confused with the persona. Browning’s intention is to imitate natural speech could be to distance himself from the Duke, who is the speaker in the poem.

Description of the educational system in Egypt

The intent of this chapter is to give the reader a general position of the context in which the survey is conducted. The chapter will travel, from planetary to specific, by giving a general description of the educational system in Egypt runing from its doctrine, structuring and finance to curriculum planning, design and development. Emphasis will be given to English linguistic communication instruction ; its purposes, and manner of development. A farther point about higher instruction: current state of affairs and national reform is highlighted. Finally, EFL teacher developing programme, the function of CDELT in accomplishing national ends are brought into focal point for its importance to the whole intent of the probe.2.1 Country profileThe Arab Republic of Egypt lies in the north eastern portion of Africa and Sinai Peninsula in the western portion of Asia. It is about one million square kilometers in size. The population of Egypt was estimated in 2008 as 75,175,062 harmonizing to t he Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics in Egypt. ( Said & A ; Mourad, 2008 ) .2.2 The nature and doctrine of instruction in EgyptEgypt ‘s instruction system is the largest in the Mena part and among the largest systems in the universe. As of 1999-2000, the system reported an registration of about 16 million, of which 7 million are in primary instruction, 4 million in preparative instruction, 3 million in secondary instruction, and over 1.8 million in third instruction. The system besides employs the largest figure of civil retainers in Egypt about 3.8 million employees ( The World Bank, 2007 ) . Some negative features of the Egyptian educational system include what Hargreaves ( 1997 ) termed â€Å" a additive consolidative merger † ; instructors with low degrees both in the cognition of the capable affair and in teaching method ; a mismatch between course of studies and curricula drawn at the cardinal national degree and the existent instruction larning state of affairs ; ritualisation, and mechanistic acquisition and learning methods. Other negative characteristics include: examination-driven direction, politicisation, bureaucratism that hinders the accomplishment of indispensable marks behind schooling, limited resources, centralization, and mal-distribution of educational services amongst the province parts ( Jarrar & A ; Massialas, 1992 ) . Many of the defects of the educational system, and so its failure to convey about effectual long-run reform, have been due to its being extremely centralised, in malice of efforts at decentralization. The system is really hierarchal, with the Ministry of Higher Education ( MOE ) at the top of the pyramid. The system is based on senior status instead than virtue. Due to its extremely centralised and bureaucratic nature, the educational system defines and predetermines what is to be taught, how it is to be taught, the functions of instructors and scholars, every bit good as the intended results of the educational procedure. Given this character, the Egyptian educational system is about imperviable to influences and enterprises from instructors, parents and scholars ( Gahin, 2001 ) . Egyptian instruction has been portrayed. harmonizing to ( Hargreaves, 1997 ) as â€Å" undemocratic † , â€Å" teacher-centred ‘ , â€Å" autocratic † ‘ and â€Å" extremely competitory † . Students ‘ greatest concern is to hive away and keep information so that when it is needed, they pour it out in the test which is held to prove their grounds of larning. Their exam tonss are the exclusive standards for pupils ‘ success.2.3 Higher Education System in EgyptEgypt has a really extended higher instruction system. About 30 % of all Egyptians in the relevant age group go to university. However, merely half of them alumnus. The Ministry of Higher Education supervises the third degree of instruction. There are a figure of universities providing to pupils in diverse Fieldss. In the current instruction system, there are 17 public universities, 51 public non-university establishments, 16 private universities and 89 private higher establishments. T he higher instruction cohort is expected to increase by close to 6 per centum ( 60,000 ) pupils per annum through 2009. ( Higher Education in Egypt: Reappraisals of National Policies for Education, 2010 ) In 1990, a statute law was passed to supply greater liberty to the universities. But still the instruction substructure, equipment and human resources are non in topographic point to provide to the lifting higher instruction pupils. But at that place has non been a similar addition in passing on bettering the higher instruction system in footings of debut of new plans and engineerings. Both at national degree ( inspection systems, scrutinies ) and at local degree ( school degree pupil appraisals ) steps of the success of instruction schemes and the public presentation of the system are weak. ( Ginsburb & A ; Megahed, 2009 ) Although higher instruction was founded much earlier in Egypt before it appeared in Europe ( Metcalfe, 2008 ) , The Government of Egypt recognizes that there are still existent challenges to be faced in the sector, foremost amongst which are the demand to significantly better sector administration and efficiency, increase institutional liberty, significantly better the quality and relevancy of higher instruction plans, and maintain coverage at bing degrees. Recent Government actions to construct political consensus on issues critical to reform hold created a clime that is mature for alteration. The Ministry of Higher Education ( MOHE ) acts as a title-holder for reform. The Minister, appointed in 1997, rapidly established a commission for the reform of higher instruction known as the Higher Education Enhancement Programme ( HEEP ) Committee which drew in a broad scope of stakeholders including industrialists and Parliamentarians. A National Conference on higher instruction reform was held in February 2000, and a Declaration for action emanating from the Conference was endorsed by the President and the Prime Minister. The Declaration identified 25 specific reform enterprises. Due to the dynamic nature of the reform scheme, which entails reconsidering precedences for each period, a Strategic Planning Unit ( SPU ) was established for the MOHE to guarantee the sustainability of planning and undertaking monitoring during the three stages and for future 1s. A Students ‘ Activity Project ( SAP ) was besides initiated as portion of plan accreditation similar to scientific research and station alumnus surveies.2.3.1 Egyptian universities:Universities in Egypt are by and large either state-funded or in private funded. Education in Egypt is free by jurisprudence, nevertheless there are really little fees paid for registration. Public establishments, with few exclusions are by and large overcrowded with a pupil organic structure of several 1000s. Private universities are either Egyptian or foreign, and normally have a much smaller pupil organic structure and with a much higher tuition rates.2.3.1.1 Public UniversitiesPublic universities are under authorities d isposal. Public Higher instruction is free in Egypt, and Egyptian pupils merely pay enrollment fees. International pupils pay full tuition with fees that reach up to ? 1,500 a twelvemonth. In 2004, the Egyptian authorities announced its program to make new public universities from dividing multi-branch universities ( Cairo University, Menoufia HYPERLINK â€Å" hypertext transfer protocol: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanta_University † University ) . This should let the enlargement of these much neglected smaller rural subdivisions and supply infinite for the increasing figure of pupils. There is besides al Azhar University, considered the best university for the survey of faith and scientific discipline.2.3.1.2 Private UniversitiesBefore 1993, merely two private foreign establishments were established decennaries ago. The American University in Cairo, founded in 1919 and the Arab Academy for Science and Technology ( AAST ) . Under a new jurisprudence in 1993, Egyptian private universities were established get downing from 1996. These new universities are accredited from the Egyptian Supreme Council of Universities every 3 old ages, in add-on to accreditation from fo reign educational organic structures in Europe. ( Herrera, 2007 )2.3.2 AdmissionAdmission to public universities and establishments operates through a centralised office, Admission Office of Egyptian Universities. This office receives applications after the consequences from the General Secondary Education Certificate are announced in any of its offices or online. The application day of the months are announced every twelvemonth but normally take topographic point every August. The application is both discipline-based and university-based. Students are asked to make full the admittances application that naming their picks of their coveted subject and university in a descending order of precedence. Students with higher tonss have a better opportunity of procuring a topographic point for themselves in their school of pick. While lower-scoring pupil may â€Å" acquire stuck † in a school or train different from that they desired, which might take them to seek admittance in private universities where competition for topographic points is less ferocious. Admission to private universities is different and is similar to universe broad registration processs.2.3.3 Course of studyIn universities, general or private, course of study are left to lectors and professors to make up one's mind the doctrine, guidelines, and even stuffs that they think pupils should larn. By and large talking, the course of study is centralised plenty to incarnate political and classless rules presented in free instruction and guaranting that all students have entree to the same programme of survey. It aims to raise criterions, guarantee that all pupils attain the aims at each degree, and to make the conditions for increased school and instructor answerability.2.4 English linguistic communication instruction in EgyptEnglish has long been given a particular position in Egypt, whether â€Å" a necessary immorality during the British business † or â€Å" a practical vehicle for educational, economic andaˆÂ ¦ societal mobility ( Schaub, 2000, p. 235 ) † . the chief aims set for ELT are to develop the ability to utilize English for communicating ; to further favorable attitudes towards larning in general and towards appropriate foreign civilizations in peculiar ; to develop an consciousness of the nature of linguistic communication and linguistic communi cation acquisition and hence, achieve cross-cultural consciousness ; to assist pupils ‘ womb-to-tomb acquisition every bit good as develop self-independence and to advance collaborative as a measure towards conveying up citizens who appreciate teamwork ( Schaub, 2000 ) . These are what is stated as the theoretical purposes of instruction. However, As far as the EFL schoolroom is concerned, it is non different from any other school topic, since it is a portion of the whole system. The state of affairs might conceivably be worse, due to the particular nature of the English linguistic communication learning in Egypt. The dominant form in the bulk of schoolrooms is that of an active instructors and inactive scholars. The instructor is the exclusive authorization to make up one's mind â€Å" what † and â€Å" haw † in the instruction and acquisition procedure, based on the cognition spelled out by the stakeholders. In footings of quality, the instruction and acquisition of EFL is characterised by instructors ‘ low proficiency in the mark linguistic communication. Teachers ‘ chief involvement and purpose is to acquire their pupils to go through their tests. Students ‘ Markss in such tests are the grounds of instructors ‘ success along with their governments in accomplishing the purposes of the MOE. That is why it is non surprising to happen a parallel system of instruction called â€Å" private tuition † taking at enabling pupils to go through the test and acquire high Markss. This private and Markss oriented tuition has long been fought by the authorities, which tries difficult to take serious and terrible steps against it. However, these attempts have been in vain up to now. Besides, a big per centum of primary and preparative school instructors are non-specialists ( 41 % ) ( Ibrahim, 2008 ) . In add-on, rating techniques do non get by with the development in acq uisition and learning methodological analysis techniques, and are rather far from the existent appraisal of pupils ‘ public presentation.2.5 Teacher preparation Reform Programme:Egypt has no deficit of instructors, so if anything Egypt has a excess of instructors, with some of 800,000 instructors presently believed to be in the state. ( Abdel-WAHAB, January 2008 ) ( Crookes, 2003 ) concludes that autochthonal Egyptian instructors, though non needfully utilizing activities or schoolroom interaction forms thought most desirable by Second Language Acquistion theoreticians, likely acquire better than foreign teachers ; but that the big category contexts that were new to the Egyptian instruction system ( through non unusual around the universe ) were a challenge met by the visitants. However the techniques used by visitants to pull off theses challenges, Holliday suggests, would be improbable to hold positive long-run effects because they did non construct on autochthonal forms and penchants. ( Holliday, 1996 ) concludes that † merely a new, rationalized-yet traditional- attack, could be to the full effectual in theaˆÂ ¦.culture of Egyptian university big classesaˆÂ ¦.. Exceptions apart, merely local lectors would be able to the full to accomplish this, because it would necessitate a rationalized edifice and re-allocation [ of thoughts and resources ] on an bing traditional footing ( p.100 ) Well aware of the challenges, the authorities is now looking for new ways of making things and has emarked on a big graduated table reform programme of public instruction to give single instituttions greater liberty and engagement to the private sector to assist increase capacity and better criterions. ( The Report: Egypt 2009, 2009 ) The major accomplishments of the Higher Education Enhancement Programme ( HEEP ) have been integrated into the national Education strategic program for the period 2008-2012, which aims to deconcentrate the national the national school construction, present school-based reform and better human resources through professional development programmes. The increased accent on instructor preparation within the model of the National Education Strategic Plan is considered one of the most of import facets of the reform programme.2.6 EFL prospective instructors preparation programme at Menoufia University:Since the focal point in this survey is centred on prospective EFL instructors ‘ perceptual experiences of microteaching, it will be utile to supply an overview of Menoufia university, Faculty of instruction and their readying programme in the school of instruction.2.6.1 Menoufia University: Historical backgroundAn Egyptian Public University founded in 19 76, is located chiefly in Shibin EL Kom, a metropolis in Delta and the capital of the Monufia Governorate. There is besides a subdivision in 1 † Sadat City, founded in 2006. It contains modules: of Education, Agriculture, Arts, Computers and Information, Commerce, Law, and Medicine. Both undergraduate and post-graduate instruction is offered.2.6.2 Menoufia university mission, general intents and strategic aimsMenoufia university ‘s mission is lending to construct the academic and moral construction of people, and developing both the local and national societies by supplying the specialised cognition and accomplishments peculiarly those that are related to the rural and new industrial communities through high quality educational, research, and social services that can assist the university to accomplish a competitory advantage at the national, regional, and international degrees. The general intents of the University represent the cardinal indexs of success of the achieve ment of the University ‘s mission. Seven general intents are identified for Menoufiya University. Each of the old general intents has a figure of strategic aims that reflect them. ( see appendix 1 )2.6.3 Faculty of Education, Menoufia UniversityThe module of Education was foremost established in 1971, affiliated to Ain Shams University. In 1975, it became attached to Tanta University. The module so became attached to Minoufiya University at its initiation in 1976. It contains sections of Educational Psychology. Curricula and Teaching Methods, and Education Fundamentals. Its Bachelors grades are offered in combination with one of the sections in the module of Humanistic disciplines or the Faculty of Science.2.6.4 school of Education English section readying classs:Theoretically, EFL instructors is prepared in the module of instruction through two complementary sets of classs. The first set of classs is chiefly linguistic communication proficiency classs ( capable affair cogniti on like English literature, interlingual rendition, grammar, phonetics, and linguistics ) , and the 2nd set is pedagogical classs ( the instruction proficiency ) , including classs like foundations of instruction ; comparative instruction ; educational psychological science ; along with the learning practicum that aims to fix pupil instructors for the prospective occupation. The practicum is jointly carried out and supervised by the MOE inspectors and instructors along with the staff of modules of instruction.Bettering Pre service teacher developing programmes:The national board for professional instruction criterions ( NBPTS ) identified five features of high-quality instructor: Teachers are committed to pupils and their acquisition. Teachers know the topic they teach and how to learn those topics to pupils. Teachers are responsible for pull offing and supervising pupil acquisition. Teachers think consistently about their pattern and learn from experience. Teachers are members of larning communities. Demand for teacher readying plans at establishments of higher instruction and through a go oning procedure of development and research, the centre for the development of English Language Teaching ( CDELT ) supported by the Integrated English Language Program ( IELP- II ) have integrated information about instructional rules to develop Egyptian criterions for instructors graduating from pre-service English instructor instruction plans ( STEP ) . Through the professional instruction plan, campaigners are expected to run into the criterions at progressively complex degrees. Campaigners are assessed at each degree to show public presentation. The subjects of building cognition, developing pattern, and furthering relationships provide the foundation for each of the criterions. These criterions, which are grouped into five chief spheres schoolroom direction, linguistic communication, direction, appraisal, and professionalism, organize the anchor of our instructor instruction plans. The STEPS undertaking is a countrywide enterprise under the protections of the Center for the Development of English Language Teaching ( CDELT ) in coaction with the Program Planning and Monitoring Unit ( PPMU ) . It is sponsored by the Integrated English Language Project II ( IELP-II ) . Its purpose is to put criterions for instructors of English at pre-service degree. The STEPS undertaking force consists of representatives from 12 Faculties of Education from nine universities and from the Ministry of Education of the Arab Republic of Egypt. The Task Force has drafted a set of criterions in five spheres depicting what freshly qualified instructors from our Faculties of Education should cognize and be able to make.The Role of CDELT to better Clinical supervising during Practicum:Harmonizing to ( Bowers & A ; Gaies, 1997 ) , Five rules underline the clinical supervivsion of CDELT classs. These are: There should be a balance between. theory and pattern, between the †educational † and the † preparation † maps. The feasibleness of proposals for alteration in instructor public presentation should be judged against the existent restraints of the learning context. The personal sensitiveness indispensable to effectual counciling and preparation is best developed within the security of a system or † paradigm † of counselor-teacher interaction. Observation should be systematic and focused, with rating based on grounds available to the instructor. Reding should steer the instructor toward specific, mensurable, and moderate alterations in behaviour. Examination of theses rules offers an indicant of the scheme of the CDELT attack to supervisor readying. The CDELT offers a full-time class of 24 hebdomads. It includes 20 hebdomad class work in four blocks of 5 hebdomads each, and one 4-week block of practical experience, in the center of five blocks. During the first two blocks, along with classs related to linguistic communication betterment, there are talks and seminars in debut to linguistics, theories of English linguistic communication instruction, and learning methods. Theses satisfy the demand to set up perceptual experiences of what linguistic communication is, what instruction is, and alternate attacks to the instruction of English. Over the diploma class as a whole, we aim to integrate into supervisor readying the five indispensable purposes of instructor instruction identified by, which among them guarantee theoretical grasp and practical application: principle, experience, observation, test and integrating.2.7 DecisionThe purpose of this chapter has been to supply the layout of the Egyptian educational system so as to give the reader an overview about the context in which this survey is connected, clarifying why this survey is of import for Egyptian instruction in general and linguistic communication instruction in Egypt in peculiar. Furthermore, the chapter reveals the alterations and fortunes that have been underway for about two decennaries now. These alterations are represented by proposing and planing new attacks, rules and weaponries for the general instruction, and in peculiar, for EFL acquisition and instruction. The undermentioned chapter is chiefly devoted to reexamining the literature related to EFl instructor readying programme and the function of microteaching in bettering their instruction public presentation.Abdel-WAHAB, A. ( January 2008 ) . Modeling Students ‘ Purpose to Adopt E-learning: A Case From Egypt. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education-TOJDE, 9, 157-167.Arbors, R. , & A ; Gaies, S. ( Eds. ) . ( 1997 ) . Clinical supervising of linguistic communication instruction: the supervising as trainer and pedagogue Cambridge university imperativeness.Crookes, G. ( Ed. ) . ( 2003 ) . A practicum in TESOL: Professional Development through Teaching Practice: Cambridge University Press.Ginsburb, M. , & A ; Megahed, N. ( Eds. ) . ( 2009 ) . Comparative Positions on Teachers, Teaching and Professionalism Springer.Hargreaves, E. ( 1997 ) . The sheepskin disease in Egypt: Learning, instruction and the monster of the secondary departure certification. . Appraisal in Education, 4, 1 61-167.Herrera, L. ( Ed. ) . ( 2007 ) . Higher Education in the Arab World: Springer.Higher Education in Egypt: Reappraisals of National Policies for Education. ( 2010 ) . ) .Holliday, A. ( Ed. ) . ( 1996 ) . Large-and small-class civilizations in Egyptian university schoolrooms: a cultural justification for course of study alteration. : Cambrigde University imperativeness.Ibrahim, H. ( 2008 ) . The strategic reading procedures of Egyptian EFL scholars. Exeter University.Metcalfe, A. ( Ed. ) . ( 2008 ) . Speculating Research Policy: A Model for Higher Education: Springer.The Report: Egypt 2009. ( 2009 ) . ) : Oxford concern group.Said, M. , & A ; Mourad, M. ( Eds. ) . ( 2008 ) . Egypt. Baston: Baston College Center for International Higher Education.Schaub, M. ( 2000 ) . English in the Arab Republic of Egypt. World Englishes, 19 ( 2 ) , 225-238.Appendix 1 Menoufia University mission, purposes and Strategic AimsPurposeStrategic aims1A alumnus who is compatible with the modern-day cha llenges Bettering the quality of the educational procedure harmonizing to the both the local and international criterions. Associating theA educationA withA theA issuesA of bothA societyA andA localA environment. Effective leading of pupils. Bettering the wellness and societal attention of the pupils. Increasing the competitory capablenesss of the alumnuss in the labour market.2An first-class staff member. Accurate choice of the instruction and back uping staff members. Sustainability of the integrated development of the instruction and back uping staff members. Effective motive of the instruction and back uping staff members. Continuous public presentation assessment of the instruction and back uping staff members. Advanced systems for advancing the instruction and supportingA staff members.3Advanced academic research to be oriented by the intents of the national comprehensive development programs. Constructing an advanced academic base for the scientific research. Associating the scientific research with the issues of the comprehensive development programs at the national degree.4Promoting values and ideal rules. Developing and intensifying the belongingness to Egypt. Constructing the positive personality. Guaranting the values and committedness. Guaranting and esteeming the university ‘s values and traditions.5Civilized society and developing environment. Directing and utilizing the scientific research to function the development demands of the environment. Freedom of sentiment and protection of rational belongings. Bettering the quality of life. Developing consciousness of the cultural heritage. Developing the sense of beauty and encouraging creativeness. Developing the environmental consciousness. Promoting the behaviours that are compatible with the society development.6Distinguished position of the University in the development procedure of the instruction system. Distinguishing the university from others al both the local and international degrees. Bettering the society ‘s trust and convection of the university ‘s roleA and accomplishments. Triping the university ‘s parts in the local and internationalA academic motion. More effectual function of the university in the current development systems of the higher instruction and scientific research.7Effective administrative system. Bettering the organisation of the university ‘s councils and commissions. Bettering the university ‘s organisational and occupation constructions. Computerizing both the administrative and fiscal systems. Bettering the forming facets of the university ‘s fiscal and private concern units. Bettering the choice procedure of the non-academic leaders and the administrative staff. Continuous development of abilities and accomplishments of administrative staff. Effective motive of the administrative staff. Effective public presentation assessment and controlling of the administrative system.