How can we overcome the limitations of financial statements?

Financial statements are an important source of information to multiple groups of people. These people may belong within the organization or they may be outsiders. The internal users of financial statement include managers, financial analysts, CFOs and accountants. Whereas external users may include government agencies, such as tax agencies and the securities and exchange commission, financial consultants, investors, creditors, etc. Now there are certain limitations that financial statements have, and this may cause problems in making intra and inter-company comparisons. In order to minimize or overcome the short-comings of financial statements investors, accountants, CFOs have all developed different analytical tools and techniques. For internal users, especially managers, performance measures have played a significant role in minimizing the effects of these limitations. Analysts now use tools that aid in valuing company’s performance beyond financial results, bringing factors like leadership, patents, specialized workforce, brands and human resources into the picture. Technology has removed a lot of barriers, especially with respect to finance, as companies today are also implementing financial data warehouses the use of which makes it a lot easier for organizations and individuals to make decisions that are logical and in most cases correct. Moreover, some companies are also voluntarily disclosing information about their strategy, key success factors and their management objectives in supplements to their financial statements. This gives the investors, creditors, and other external users of financial statements more of an idea of what the firm is about and where it may be standing in a couple of years from now. REFERENCE Helfert, Erich A. (2001). Financial Analysis Tools and Techniques: A Guide For Managers. McGraw-Hill. Â  

Freedmen’s Bureau Act of 1865 Essay

The Freedmen’s Bureau was a government agency enacted March 3, 1865. The purpose of this organization was to aid and protect the newly freed slaves in the south after the Civil War. This was a very influential agency and some people would find it to be a major influence in the life of newly freed slaves. In this paper I will explain to you the purpose, the events that led up to the Freedmen’s Bureau, and the people that influenced the Freedmen’s Bureau. The purpose of the bureau was to provide food and medical care to the freedmen of the south. This bureau was only supposed to be in effect for one year; however, congress extended it contrary to the veto Andrew Johnson. In addition to providing food and medical care to the freedmen of the south; the bureau also helped to manage abandon property, establish schools, and regulate labor. The bureau was successful in educating the freedmen, but was very unsuccessful in establishing land. It was very hard for the newly freed slaves to own land or anything for that manner and it took a very long time to establish anything major for them. Later on after the act was established the freedmen were granted 85,000 acres of land but President Andrew Johnson revoked the land and gave it to the Confederate landowners. After the land was revoked the bureau focused on employment for the freedmen. They were able to acquire employment working on plantations; however, this became a problem when they became sharecroppers and tenant farmers. The bureau had many problems but all in all they did work hard to help the newly freed slaves establish the rights that they weren’t able to obtain. The freedmen’s bureau was established on the sympathy of a Civil War hero. He felt sorry for the blacks that had to transition from captivity to freedom so suddenly. After President Johnson unconstitutionally vetoed the bill, congress passed the bill over his veto. Whites in the south were opposed to African Americans having rights, and the bureau didn’t have the proper military force in place to establish any authority. Eventually the military had the move to the western frontier. The bureau’s work stemmed the establishment of the government involving themselves with social welfare and labor relations. I will now explain the people that played a significant role in influencing and implementing the freedmen’s bureau. The freedmen’s bureau was initiated by former President Abraham Lincoln. It was also headed by Union Army General Oliver O. Howard. George Ruby was an African American teacher and administrator that was the bureau’s inspector. He helped to establish school for African Americans and he also inspected the field officer’s that worked within the bureau. Unfortunately under the leadership of President Ulysses S. Grant, the bureau was disbanded. According to history the freedmen’s bureau was not very successful. Out of all of the promises that were made to the newly freed African Americans, very few were kept. Essentially they were left to fend for themselves. Promises such as employment and some education were kept. The promises for land and racial equality were not kept and this enraged the supporters of the bureau and the African Americans themselves. If the bureau would have had the proper financial backing and the proper number of staff it probably would have been very successful. Being that the bureau let the freedmen down by not providing the necessary funds, land, and education they lost faith in the United States government. The bureau has been labeled a failure by historians. In essence the Freedmen’s Bureau was a relief organization set in place to help freedmen transition from slavery to the free world. Many promises such as land, employment, racial equality, and education were promised; but very few promises were kept. The bureau was underfunded and undermanned and the necessary resources hadn’t been set in place for it to thrive like it was supposed to.

Alcohol Consumption Should Be Banned. Agree or Disagree Essay

Alcohol consumption should be banned. Argue for or against the statement. Alcohol is one of the most widely used and abused drugs in the world. It is a legal drug that can be found just about anywhere, restaurants, liquor stores and even in some supermarkets. It is a drug that is used by many, some just to relax, others to party with the intention of getting drunk and those that are addicted and who abuse the drug like no other. Alcohol causes several problems and injures the lives of many, it is the fifth most dangerous drug in the world being higher than LSD and ecstasy, yet it is a drug that society allows to be used everyday. Alcohol is a drug, which is classified as a depressant. This means that after being consumed it slows down the body’s vital functions, if taken in too much, it may result in slurred speech, problems with perception and unsteady coordination. It is known as a downer, which means that it actually puts the mind in quite a depressed state. It affects the mind, in the case of reducing a person’s ability to think rationally and it impairs judgment. (http://www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/alcohol.html). Alcohol is a legal drug, meaning that, it is allowed to be consumed freely with a few laws that prohibit people from driving and consuming it under a certain age. Yet it is a drug that has been proven to cause the most harm to users and others around them. It is not listed as a class A, B or C drug, yet it is listed as the fifth most harmful drug, being higher on the list than LSD, ecstasy and cannabis. Yet all these three drugs are seen as class A or B drugs, making them highl y illegal. (http://www.listology.com/list/top-twenty-most-dangerous-drugs-according-bbc-horizon). Recent studies have shown that the consumption of alcohol is worse to its users and to the people around the users than any other drug. It has shown that when all factors are taken into consideration, alcohol comes out at the top as the most costly drug towards society and it causes the biggest harm. In a study done by Professor David Nutt, he created a bar graph showing the most harmful drugs to users and the society. When conducting his study he took into account all the harms that the drug creates, including mental and physical damage, addiction, crime and costs to the economy and communities. His study showed that alcohol was even worse than heroin when  all factors were taken into consideration. Professor Nutt’s study has showed that the drug classification system, currently in place, have little relevance to the actual harm that is caused by the drug. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11660210). Many studies have now been taken into consideration and a ‘deeper’ look has been taken in to establish exactly how and which drugs cause the most harm. With all these studies, alcohol has been seen as a very high-risk drug. With all these studies there has been the debate in many countries across the globe as to whether alcohol consumption should be banned completely. It has been shown that alcohol is one of the leading causes in death amongst young adults, aged between 15 to 25 years of age, in the cases of accidents, homicides and suicides. Statistics in the USA in 2005, show that 6.6 of the population who are 12 or older, so around 16 million people, are heavy drinkers. In the same study it was shown that out of the 3.9 million people who received treatment for substance abuse, 2.9 million of them were receiving treatment for alcohol abuse. A later study in the USA in 2007 showed that 12998 people had died in car accidents due to alcohol. In the USA alone there are around 1.4 million drunken arrests every year. Studies from England in 2005 showed that there were 6570 deaths caused by alcohol and a later study in 2006 showed that the death toll, from alcohol, had risen to 8758, this shows a gradual increase of 7% each year in alcohol related deaths. Worldwide it was shown that in Europe, out of the 490 million people, 23 million of them were dependent on alcohol. In 2005 out of all traffic deaths 39% of them were alcohol related and 40% of violent crimes occur under the influence of alcohol. (http://www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/alcohol/international-statistics.html). Statistics show that alcohol appears to be a very negative drug. Taken on a worldwide scale alcohol causes more deaths than any illegal drug. But this is not to say that all alcohol consumption is bad. Statistics have shown that wine, in moderation, is actually healthy for a person. Red wine has been proven to actually help the heart and lessen the risk of heart disease. Studies shown have indicated that red wine contains antioxidants, which actually help prevent heart disease by increasing levels of ‘good’ cholesterol and protecting the heart against artery damage. Although this has been seen, doctors still do not encourage people to start drinking as all alcohol can, in the long term effect, cause problems towards health. Red View as multi-pages

The call to good conduct in Christ Research Paper

The call to good conduct in Christ - Research Paper Example As a scholar in the making, it is imperative that I take a standpoint on the debate at hand, by postulating that the answer to the argument entails both elements of a yes and a no. First, by referring to the ways and thinking of the Gentiles as being darkened in understanding St. Paul means that the Gentiles lost consciousness of the presence of the true God. This can be explained by the fact that God in Genesis 12 had chosen the nation of Israel as an instrument of His revelation to the world and thereby handed the Law, the Scripture, religious traditions and above all Jesus the Christ through Israel. As such, unlike the gentiles who had no uniform source of specific and divine revelation of the true God, Israel had a covenant which consisted of the law and the prophets. In the Law there was the (old) covenant, the sacrificial system, circumcision on the eighth day of a male child’s life, the kosher law, law on dressings and law which governed man-man relations and man-God co ntacts. Besides these, the Jew had been blessed with the prophets who called them to repentance, reproved them, exhorted them, and gave them divine oracles concerning God’s will at a specific time. ... Biblically, deadness does not denote inexistence, it means separation. Thus, the loss of the consciousness of God is spiritual death and the effect is a life that is fashioned by the will of the natural man. The natural man is dictated by debase passions and extremes such as lust, anger, lasciviousness, idolatry, strife dissensions, simulations, fornication, and debauchery, because his mind is focused on natural things, yet these vices are natural. It is the life by the will of the natural man that is scripturally referred to as the works of the flesh. It is these works of the flesh that are spoken against as having the potency to inhibit entrance into eternal life; while life after the natural life is referred to as enmity with God – not the ethno-cultural values that a given gentile community may be living by. According to Dunn (2006), it is also not proper to assume that in Ephesians 4: 17-25 an interest to standard conduct on the part of God is shown. The fact that God is not interested in behavioral uniformity is a matter that is well underscored by the events and outcome of the Jerusalem Council in 50 AD. The Council of Jerusalem comes against a backdrop of a heated and gradual disagreement between Apostle Paul and members of the Pharisees who had converted to Christianity. These Pharisees wanted the gentile Christians to subject themselves to the ceremonial laws of Moses, much to St. Paul’s disagreement. The matter raised enough controversy to elicit a strong public rebuke from Paul to Peter, in the Gentile Church in Antioch (Galatians 2:11-14). Upon the matter being taken to Jerusalem for a uniform decision by the 12 apostles, it was decided that it

Criminal law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Criminal law - Essay Example 9). As it seems, Carlan et al. essentially categorize two key elements that comprise the notion of felony: (1) crime and (2) punishment. First, felony is considered as a crime. And one of the three components of the term â€Å"crime† is that it is a â€Å"commission of an act prohibited by law† (Carlan et al., 2011, p. 8). In contrast to thought or imagining, a crime is an act in itself. (An intention to commit crime is arguably another element of crime.) A person commits a crime only if he or she does something that is contrary to law. Examples of crime under the felony classification are manslaughter, murder, and rape (Sanbar, 2007, p. 517). And second, felony constitutes a punishment. Besides death penalty, the salient feature of punishment under felony is the imprisonment of one year or more. Misdemeanor is another classification of crime. As opposed to felony, the concept of misdemeanor is broadly defined as a crime â€Å"lower than a felony and is generally punis hable by fine or imprisonment† (as cited in Siegel, 2008, p. 143). Meaning to say, misdemeanor is far from being a serious crime and, thus, its punishment is somewhat mild -- in particular, imprisonment as a punishment is usually less than a year. Further, misdemeanor has many scales of seriousness -- e.g., petty and gross misdemeanors. The main difference between the notions of misdemeanor and felony is the seriousness of the crime. Siegel (2008) provides an example by stating that hitting someone with a fist is categorically a misdemeanor while hitting a person with a club is considered as a felony (p. 146). Evidently, both cases (i.e., hitting) are crimes punishable by law. Nevertheless, they vary largely in the approach of committing the crime. The term â€Å"offense† such as petty offense is generally viewed as a subset of misdemeanor classification (Miller & Jentz, 2008, p. 182). Miller and Jentz (2008) define this legal concept as a minor violation; examples of p etty offences are jaywalking, violation of building code, among other offenses (p. 182). Obviously, offences are far from being a serious crime. What is interesting, though, about a petty offence is that it is considered as a crime. Indeed, the willful violation of following the standard building code is a crime. It must be noted that a national building code is a law per se. Carlan et al. (2011) argued that one of the elements of a crime is the â€Å"omission of an act required by law† (p. 8). Thus, the omission of incorporating the guidelines, which are stipulated in the building code, in the design structure is, by definition, a crime. Treason and espionage are both crimes directed against national security (Scheb, 2009, p. 320). Despite their similarity, nonetheless, the notions of treason and espionage are substantially distinct. On one hand, the term â€Å"treason† is categorized as a serious crime committed when one levies â€Å"war against them† or adher es to their enemies such as â€Å"giving them aid and comfort† (as cited in Scheb, 2009, p. 320). That is to say, a person commits treason when he or she helps the enemy of the country in which he or she lives or serves. Scheb observes that no person has been tried and convicted of treason since the World War II. In spite of the misconception of treason verdict, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted not of treason but of espionage. On the other hand, the term â€Å"

Critically compare and contrast the methods and aims of Husserls epoch Essay

Critically compare and contrast the methods and aims of Husserls epoch with Descartes method of doubt - Essay Example Anything that surpasses this method is considered as certain by Descartes. For him, the universe fails to survive this method at this juncture. Rather, the only thing that seems to survive according to Descartes is a pure individuality of his cogitations. It is mainly for this that he has perceived as a form of unconditionally unquestionable survival (Taylor, 2009). Descartes perceives this as indubitable since in phrases such as â€Å"I think† or â€Å"I doubt† there exists a being that performs the act of thinking or doubting. In this regard, it would be contradictory for one to doubt of their existence since one must first exists in order to doubt. It is through this ego, as well as its guiding tenets that an objective universe can be deduced. In contrast, Husserl queries whether Descartes’ postulations are worth an investigation because they may not augur well with the current time. Indeed, Husserl acknowledges that those sciences that ought to be grounded in absolute certainty by Descartes have accorded little attention to them. It is notable that in the recent times, the sciences have become faced with several obscurities of their very foundation. By regressing back to concepts of pure ego, Descartes had developed a new form of philosophy that tends to strive towards a situation where true self may be demonstrated in a genuine science. According to Husserl, the failure by Descartes to unify philosophy as a science can be discerned in the modern-day philosophies. Rather than a unitary philosophy, there is a philosophical literature that has superseded all boundaries without coherence. One notable difference in Husserl’s epoch is that as a philosophizing ego, he does not regard the world or other objects as existing. Instead, he only accepts them as mere phenomena. Because these objects are not apodictic, he resorts to parenthesizing of putting them aside in order to perceive what can be left.

W6 Asign BA541 Customer-Based Metrics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

W6 Asign BA541 Customer-Based Metrics - Essay Example For example, at the peak of their popularity with people willing to buy coffee with a more expensive price tag, Starbucks spent a lot of money opening several stores, expanding rapidly locally and internationally. In 2008, however, it was forced to assess which stores were making profit and proceeded to close 600 stores in the Unites States. (The Associated Press, 2008) Not all customers have the same value to a company. A company should be able to know who among their customers they should create relationships with to earn revenue. Some customers may buy big ticket items occasionally, but are less significant when compared to customers you regularly buy less expensive items. The customer equity test must be applied to know the degree of marketing efforts to be exhausted in acquiring and retaining customers. (Peppers, D. & Rogers, M., 2011) Seeing that Starbucks is able to maintain a loyal following, this metric appears to have been satisfied. The company offers a variety of products, dependent on the location of the store. For instance, some of their products in the United States are not available in their branches overseas. With this scenario, it can be said that the company was able to understand what their loyal customers like about them and thus made sure those items were available. An issue with this is in order to be competitive and have an edge in the industry, the company needs to come up with other ideas. One of these is providing alcohol at a certain time of the day to reach a possible market and this is problematic because as a survey has shown, some of those who have quit drinking gather at Starbucks for their support group meetings and drink coffee. (Williams, G., 2014) Knowing what the customers want is a very important strategy in a business. Customers need to feel important and needed. Thus, a company that wants to build lasting

Social Networks in Work Places Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Social Networks in Work Places - Essay Example On the other hand, there are no given limitations that employees can deal with the websites that are work related without involving themselves with the recreational or personal sites that influence their level of output. The involvement of employees and employers in the online networks facilitates the publicity to malware, lack of privacy and other related factors and hence the concentration of the employees on their daily routines are affected and influenced negatively. This results to decreased production and profit levels.2 Since the discovery and introduction of technological advanced, electronics that are used to ease the communication gap between different individuals from different locations there has been complaints from many employers of the effects of these social networks on the productivity of the employees. There has been debates on the effects of these social networks on the general economical development and growth of different companies. The online social networks hav e been regarded as the most influential since their access is commonly by use of mobile phones or computers. The employees in most companies have access to these electronic gadgets and to the internet in their work places.3 This illustrates that the employees can engage themselves with the social networks online during working hours. This usually causes negative effects on the level of their productivity and the levels of realized profits from the employers. This aspect has caused most of the employers to install other gadgets to regulate and control the use of the internet in their companies. Some of the employees as a barrier or abuse can regard this to privacy and social life involvement. On the other hand, the employers see it as a way of controlling and sealing the degree of idleness and loopholes that influence productivity. The rights of both parties, employees and employers, seem to be violated but there should be an understanding between rights, privileges, work responsibil ities and abuse of work contracts. The realization and introduction of aspects that involves the concepts of the employers’ expectations from the employees with respect to their social life should be addressed in advanced and in most cases included in the employment contracts. Consequently, a closer look on the effects of employees involvement to social networks, mostly online should be critically analyzed since they are at times beneficial to the company or organization if used properly.4 The fact that the employees at times visit the websites that are not work related does not mean that they do this every time they access the internet. The social networks that are usually accessed online can assist in the beneficial part of the organization or company. From a deeper perspective, social networks can be termed as areas where people obtained all sorts of data and information.5 The interconnection of the system allows the users to assist one another, take steps to achieve goals and objectives and transmit the different information from one section to another. Social networks cannot be abolished in the work places due to their importance and improvement degree on the business world. On the other han

Technology in diplomacy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Technology in diplomacy - Research Paper Example This has resulted in Austria shifting to paperless records, during late 1990s, while MFA of Latvia was awarded for the best web-site in 2003.(â€Å"Information and Communications Technology† 193) Foreign ministries around the world are still struggling to engage the benefits of information technology in their management of external affairs. However, some of the countries have realized the potential of using â€Å"Web 2.0†. A good example in this direction is Denmark, which has created a â€Å"virtual working group†. The function of the group is to arrange meetings of all members, from all corners of the world, using video-conferencing. This way the working group has better coordination; as it has members from all units, which are relevant to the working of country’s MFA, along with its branches in Africa, America, UN and EU countries. Utilizing the full potential of information communications technology (ICT), Denmark has identified the five principals of E-management, mainly applicable to a MFA manager. These include usage of intranet, on daily basis, for sharing ideas and communication. The concerned manager is required to make use of best practices, using IT tools, to set an example for the staff. In addition, the manager must ensure that the staff members are fully familiar with information technology, having the required skills. The manager is required, personally, to be fully conversant with the E-Government Strategy of MFA; while understanding its contents, perfectly well, which would help in contributing to the policy guidelines, in a positive manner. Canada, being the other country, which is utilizing the full potential of ICT, started an e-exercise, called ‘Public Diplomacy Network’, which involves offering of suggestions and other tips to the government on its foreign affairs policy. Accordingly, public awareness has been created among the people, through this network, regarding the government policies on inte rnational issues. Mexico is yet another country, which has growing network of foreign consular posts, in United States, sharing the best consular practices, while mutually learning, through the foreign ministry’s intranet. (â€Å"Information and Communications Technology† 194-5) With the rapid developments in the field of ICT, it is essential that all concerned keep pace with same, while understanding the changes, in a positive manner; which can help solving the problems, almost instantaneously. The social network sites, like face-book, have set an example for others, regarding best use of ICT. ICT applications After the use of computers as simple machines, their versatility increased with use of ‘local area network’ (LAN), which made inter-connections possible. Hence, many MFAs are using this technology even now, to stay connected. Then came the use of ‘wide area network’ (WAN), which meant keeping different ministries and departments of a co untry connected. Most European countries have adapted to this technology, in 1990s. However, many are still hesitating to use it, as they fair leakage of sensitive data, particularly pertaining to their MFAs. ‘Virtual private network’, or intranet, has been used to cover all the embassies of a country, as it widens the scope of WAN. However, many smaller countries are not able to go for such technology, due cost and skilled manpower constrains. Countries like China, Japan and India have

Research Article Presentation Speech or Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Research Article - Speech or Presentation Example Additionally, the research has a number of strengths in the research data collection and computation. The research uses the cluster sampling technique known for its cost effectiveness in the identification of the research participants. An effective selection of the research participants gives an effective representation of the research target audience thus authenticating the claims of the new information. The cluster sampling techniques groups similar respondents together thereby making them easily accessible to the researcher. Additionally, the research employs the three different data collection techniques a feature that pools together the strengths of the three techniques thus making the research more effective. The use of a sample representation gains its validity from the impossibility of investigating every member of the public targeted by the research, the researcher therefore defines the research title and formulates a scope of the study. With these, he or she therefore devis es ways of accessing the respondents and using their responses to allude to the rest of similar population. Additionally, the research uses graphical presentation of its finding. This does not only make the research more presentable but also makes the interpretation of the research. ...This develops the information need that the researcher therefore seeks to satisfy by conducting the research. Through the elaborative background, the researcher provides a link between Neurogenic Bowel in spinal cord injuries and the quality of life that such member of the society lead. This descriptive introduction gains relevance for the research and the different methodologies that the researcher uses in developing his arguments in the conclusion. The research had a number of weaknesses too key among which included cluster sampling methodology. Despite being cost effective, the sampling technology hastily generalizes the respondents a feature that makes the research less relevant to the target popu lation. Additionally, the use of the three data gathering techniques is also redundant and makes the research repetitive thus time consuming. The use of questionnaires is largely similar to the use of interview in most cases, the researcher employs the two concurrently which makes the research process more costly and more repetitive. However, the descriptive research methodology that the researcher employs has a number of weaknesses all of which influence the effectiveness of the research findings thus the efficacy of the conclusion statement. This research structure is normally more theoretical in the description of the effects of the research variables in which case are the Neurogenic Bowel in spinal cord injuries and the quality of life. Both of the concepts in this research that constitute the variables are abstract and the researcher does not interpret these into effective mathematically computable variables. The failure by the researcher to achieve this makes the research proc ess less legitimate, the researcher

Read this document and after answer this 3 questions Essay - 2

Read this document and after answer this 3 questions - Essay Example Besides the teachers focus on the student thinking and concluding in the same way as they do, he also reports on the how the very teachers oblige their students to conceptualize facts in a snapshot by hinging their concerns on mere raw facts at the expense of understanding the concepts of what is at stake. This he compares with the notorious activity in the lower levels of study when the children are made to recite words before the class; this he says jeopardizes the morale of the students who are not sure of the words they are made to read as they want to avoid making mistakes before the class (Perry 76). This he says has made most of the children to associate reading books with other negatives and thus deem it as a way of punishment. In conclusion, Perry discusses the challenges the student and the teachers face in their endeavors to excel academically. He explores both implicit and explicit factors that are contributing to this and the mitigation that can be employed to curb the contributing factors to the

Childhood Obesity Essay Example for Free

Childhood Obesity Essay Childhood obesity has increased over the years due to genetics, environment, and cultural. There may be a combination of these factors that contribute to the widespread epidemic that is affecting our country today. Most people never take the time to figure out the problem and come up with a solution. Obesity is caused by lack of physical activity, poor eating habits, and genetics. In order to escape the recurring disease; some changes need to be made. Obesity is when a child is well above the normal weight for his or her age and weight. The problem is that children are becoming more obese. Understanding the causes of childhood obesity would be most beneficial in addressing the problem. While playing video games and watching television children have a tendency to want to snack. There is nothing wrong with it, but they need to go outside and play afterwards. They aren’t burning off any calories. Moderate intense regular physical activity is essential for the prevention of overweight and obesity (Raj 2010). Children should engage in some type of physical activity daily. Kids are more apt to do activities if they think of it as fun. Children should be prescribed physical activity that is safe, developmentally appropriate, interesting, and practical and has a social element (Raj 2010). Genetic makeup plays a role in obesity. There is considerable evidence to suggest that, like height, weight is a heritable trait (Sadaf Farooqi 2007). Having obese family members can very well have a lot to do with obesity in children. A recent article reported an odds ratio of 4 for the development of childhood obesity when there is a family history of obesity (Signorino Winter 2008). White adipose tissue (WAT) is the principal target tissue in obesity (Mitchell 2009). The environment in which one lives in can have something to do with becoming obese. Environmental risk factors for overweight and obesity are very strong and inter-related (Raj Kumar 2010). The food choices children intake should be monitored. The amount of a food should be monitored as well. Children have tendency to want to eat foods that are high in fat. Children and adolescents of poor socio-economic status tend to consume less quantities of fruits and vegetables and to have a higher intake of total and saturated fat (Raj Kumar 2010). There are risk and complications that come along with being obese. Being obese you run the risk of have cardiovascular problems, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes. Obesity significantly contributes to morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease (Raj Kumar 2010). Not only are there risks, but obesity affects a child’s self-esteem. Obese children are a target for being bullied and picked on. They tend to feel worthless about themselves. Their perception of themselves becomes damaged. It can sometimes affect their grades. Obesity can be managed and controlled with the right treatment and diet. For successful obesity management, the child should be assessed and treated by a multidisciplinary team, including a physician, dietitian, exercise expert, nurse and behavior therapist (Nowicka 2005). With that said, with the right treatment a child who is obese can get help. The ultimate goal is to bring the weight down to where it should be. Eating the right amount as well as the right foods helps with dropping weight. Eating out is a quick fix and should be cut down to a minimum. There should be a plan for healthier snacks, balanced diet, and adequate intake of more fruits and vegetables to avoid high calorie/high fat foods. Obesity in children often leads to obese teenagers who then become obese adults. Health as well as self esteem is often compromise when dealing with the lives of obese children and adults. Identifying and managing obesity in childhood is pertinent in slowing this epidemic down before it is too late to do anything about it. Reference Farooqi, S. (2007). Insights from the Genetics of Severe Childhood Obesity. Hormone Research, 68(S5), 5-7. doi:10. 1159/000110462 Mitchell, G. A. (2009). Genetics, physiology and perinatal influences in childhood obesity: view from the Chair. International Journal of Obesity, 33S41-S47. doi:10. 1038/ijo. 2009. 16 Nowicka, P. (2005). Dietitians and exercise professionals in a childhood obesity treatment team. Acta Paediatrica. Supplement, 94(s448), 23-29. doi:10. 1080/08035320510035537 Raj, M. , Kumar, R. (2010). Obesity in children adolescents. Indian Journal of Medical Research, 132(5), 598-607. Signorino, M. R. , Winter, W. E. (2008). Childhood Obesity and Diabetes. Current Medical Literature: Diabetes, 25(1), 1-16

Sickle Cell Anaemia: Causes, Symptoms and Treatments

Sickle Cell Anaemia: Causes, Symptoms and Treatments Blood disease is a disorder or disease which will affect one or more parts of the blood, preventing our blood from performing its job in an effective rate. Sometimes, it is also known as blood disorder (Martin, E.A., ed., 2010). Nowadays, there are many types of blood diseases and they are growing public health problems affecting many countries, races and also ethnic groups. They can be classified into acute or chronic. Some of the them are inherited and can cause death. Sickle cell anemia (SCD) is a serious inherited genetic condition which affects the haemoglobin molecule within the red blood cells. It is a condition in which there are lack of healthy and normal red blood cells to carry sufficient oxygen throughout our bodies. The people with sickle cell anemia normally have deformed red blood cells which look like sickles or crescent moons (Mayo Clinic, 2011). This is because the sickle cells contain haemoglobin S or sickle haemoglobin which is an abnormal haemoglobin (MedlinePlus, 2010). The unusual C shaped cells which look like a farm tool called sickle give the disease its name (CDC, 2011). The alternative names for sickle cell anemia are sickle cell disease or sickle cell disorder, haemoglobin SS disease and HbS disease (NHLBI.NIH, 2011) . Today, millions of people have been diagnosed with sickle cell disease. This type of blood disease is much more common in Africa and Mediterranean (PubMed Health, 2012). About one of every 12 African Americans will carry the sickle cell trait in a persons genes (MedlinePlus, 2012). Apart from that, it is estimated that 90 000 to 100 000 people in the United States mainly Blacks or African Americans are affected by sickle cell anemia. About one of every 500 Black newborns and one out of every 36 000 Hispanic-American newborns will have this blood disease (CDC, 2011). There are two risk factors that can increase the chances of getting sickle cell anemia which are inheritance and mutation. First of all, sickle cell anemia is an autosomal recessive genetic blood disease which the sickle cell gene will pass from generation to generation. To have this disease, the defective form of the gene must be inherited to a child from both of the parent. A child will have sickle cell trait if the sickle cell gene is passed from only one parent. A person is known as the carrier of sickle cell anemia if he or she has one normal haemoglobin gene and one defective form of the gene. In addition to, the defective gene can be passed to next generation and affect them. While, if both of the parent are carrier, a 50% chance of getting a child who is carrier, 25% chance of having a child who is normal and another 25% chance of having a child with sickle cell anemia (FamilyDoctor.org, 2006). Besides, substitution is a kind of gene mutation which cause this blood disease to occur. The gene mutation is caused by the mutagens which are physical or chemical substances that can affects the genetic material of an organism. Hence, the person who always stays in environment with a lot of radiation or mutagen, he or she has higher risk of getting this disease (Gan Wan Yeat, 2010). This type of blood disease can be prevented if the married couples who both carry the sickle cell trait gene do not have any children. By doing this, the recessive gene will not passed from a generation to another generation . A normal person has haemoglobin A genes which are HbA. If the person who suffers from sickle cell disease, he or she has two haemoglobin S genes (HbS) which are inherited from both parent. These HbS genes are caused by the gene mutation. The base sequence in the DNA for the synthesis of haemoglobin is changed by a single substitution. Hence, the glutamic acid codon is now instead of valine codon (BBC, 2010). When the oxygen content of an affected persons blood is low, the sickle cell hameoglobin will aggregate into long rods that deform red cells into a sickle or crescent shape which are abnormal haemoglobin (Reece, J.B., et. al., 2011). Besides, these sickle red blood cells are rigid and sticky. This results in less oxygen is delivered to the bodys tissues (MedlinePlus, 2012). The symptoms and signs of sickle cell anemia usually become more obvious after an infant is 4 months old and they are varying. The most common symptom of this disease is painful events. They are sudden pain that happens in different parts of the body. This pain is also known as sickle cell crisis. Usually, the sickle cell crises can cause pain in the hands, bones, legs, abdomen and so on. This is because the sickle cell get stuck in the small blood vessel as they travel, interrupting the healthy blood flow (National Marrow Donor Program, 2007). People who suffer from sickle cell anemia normally have anemia which will make them feel tired and weak. This is caused by the shortage of red blood cells. Furthermore, they will look pale (WebMD, 2010). Apart from that, the other symptoms of sickle cell anemia may include shortness of breath, blindness, delayed growth, hand-foot syndrome and so on. If it is not treated, stroke, infections, acute chest syndrome and organ damage are the effects of sickle cell anemia (genomics.energy.gov, 2005). Bone marrow transplant is the only cure for sickle cell anemia. However, it is difficult to find a donor who is matched with the recipient and the procedure has serious risks and can even cause death. There are many types of treatments for this blood disease including medication. Children with sickle cell anemia can be treated by using antibiotic penicillin in order to help prevent infections. While pain relieving medications are responsible in relieving pain during sickle cell crisis. The frequency of painful crisis also can be reduced using hydroxyuera. Moreover, blood transfusions are another type of treatments for sickle cell anemia. The blood transfusion can help to relieve anemia by increasing the number of normal blood cells in circulation (Mayo Clinic, 2011). This is because the sickle shaped cells live only 10 to 20 days which is much shorter than the normal red blood cells. Furthermore, a balanced diet is needed. The supplements of folic acid, vitamin D and zinc should be taken in order to help make new red blood cells. Alcohols and cigarette smokes should be avoided (FamilyDoctor.org, 2006). As a conclusion, sickle cell anemia is a chronic blood disease that cannot be underestimated. This is because there is no cure for the people with this blood disease. Nevertheless, there are many types of treatments and prognosis can help to prevent further problems which are associated with this blood disease. Prevention is better than cure. Hence, people from all walk of life should working out preventive action to avoid them from getting this severe and rare disease.

Education in the age of globalisation

Education in the age of globalisation Introduction What does education have to do with globalisation? The answer is simple: everything. The most recent wave of globalisation, which began in the 1980s, is being driven by the knowledge economy and, in turn, this knowledge economy is being facilitated by globalisation. Without education, the knowledge economy collapses. So anyone talking about globalisation is also talking about the knowledge economy and education. First, globalisation. Sometimes the concept seems like a many-headed dragon (Giddens, 2000). To some, the phenomenon is as old as the world itself just think of the great kingdoms of antiquity, the voyages of discovery, the great waves of migration in the 19th century, etc.. After the world wars, international institutions were created which were supposed to lead to global governance, a type of world government which would establish a new world order. However, the most recent wave of globalisation has swept over this like a deluge. As a result of increasing internationalisation in production and distribution networks, sovereign states are suddenly being downgraded to water-carriers of international big business. The laws of the free market are imposed upon them, for fear of being ignored by investors. Some institutions that were supposed to guarantee the creation of the new world order are themselves preaching deregulation and worldwide competition. In other words, in debates about globalisation, we are not usually talking about the globalisation trend in its generic sense (the increasing trend towards worldwide interdependence, driven by telecommunications). The model of globalisation that is so controversial that it has become the target of fierce demonstrations, is one that is coloured by neo-liberal ideology. It is the globalisation of the free market, driven by competition and the quest for profit. Both heads of the monster also refer to the knowledge society. In the first definition, the Internet and the media play a key role: ideas move at the speed of light around the world and ensure that every innovation that catches on also takes on worldwide proportions. This means that anyone who can master the Internet and the media is at the source and acquires power. In the second definition, the establishment of the global neo-liberal market economy, knowledge, IT and information play just as important a role. A great many services that do not require physical proximity (such as information processing, accounting, financial services, translation, etc.) can indeed be produced anywhere in the world and delivered to the other side of the globe. Moreover, markets are connected across the world so that information about production, prices, innovations, etc., is distributed over the Internet in the blink of an eye. This significantly increases the transparency of the markets and boosts co mpetition. Our leaders have also understood that our competitive advantage in the global market economy no longer rests on the possession of raw materials or manpower, but on our grey matter: knowledge. The Lisbon Strategy: knowledge as both competitive weapon and social cement? During the 2000 spring summit in Lisbon, EU leaders elevated the knowledge economy to the ultimate goal of the decade: making the EU into the largest and most dynamic knowledge economy in the world, with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion. The exegesis of this text is a fascinating activity. At first sight, one sentence contains the most obvious contradictions: on the one hand, the desire to be a winner in the global competitive struggle is clear while, on the other hand, we find the desire to counteract the social and regional polarisation that results from the neo-liberal market economy, using the same investments in knowledge. It seems to be a typically political sample compromise between heads of state on right and left, all wanting to put their eggs in the EU basket without checking whether their agendas are in any way reconcilable. The fact is that the Lisbon agenda can be taken in many different ways. For the marketeers, it is first and foremost about playing out comparative advantages on world markets. According to the Heckscher-Ohlin theorems of international trade theory, free trade will spontaneously cause trading partners to specialise in producing those goods and services in which they have a comparative advantage. Where necessary, the government may lend a helping hand. If we assume that Europe is relatively poor in raw materials and labour, but rich in brain power, then investing in education, research and development is indeed the recipe for success. Investment in RD has to be increased, up to 3% of gross domestic product. The innovative climate has to be nurtured, including by establishing innovation platforms, incubation centres, public investment in eco-technology, etc.. Information and communication technologies are key areas of economic development. The number of scientifically and technically educated people at secondary and higher levels must be dramatically increa sed. The connection between education and the labour market must be improved. The flow of unqualified school-leavers must be cut by half. Participation in life-long learning must be increased and every adult must have access to basic IT skills. By specialising in knowledge-intensive sectors according to the forecasts of neo-classical trade theory the European economy will grow further and the Third World will also benefit as a result because the flipside of the coin is that labour-intensive activities will be outsourced to low-wage countries. Both sides, North and South, can only benefit as a result. The World Bank looked and saw that it was good: according to the Bank, the new globalisers a group of 23 developing countries that have opened up their borders (China, India, Brazil and others) saw average economic growth in the 1990s (per head of population) of 5% per year. In the rich countries, where globalisation was promoted, this growth was 2% per year, while the stragglers, countries that sealed themselves off, experienced negative average growth (World Bank, 2002). At the same time, the OECD and the EU learned from research that the knowledge economy was once again to set them on the path of sustainable growth. Temple (2001) found that every additional year of education by the working population increases national income by about 10%. This effect can be broken down into a level effect and a growth effect: the former means that the working population is more productive and therefore generates more income. The growth effect can be attributed to the fact that the more highly e ducated have also learned to learn: even after leaving the classroom they continue to behave creatively and flexibly under changing circumstances, producing a snowball effect as a result. As far as investment in research and development is concerned, the figures are just as telling: Sakurai et al. (1996) estimate the average rate of return from RD activities at 15%, with exceptions up to 40-50% in some countries and sectors. In other words, every euro a company or government invests in RD is fully recovered in an average of 7 years. The observation that few investments are as profitable as investments in education and research is perhaps one of the most important findings to come out of social sciences in the past decade. The European Commission has also received this message loud and clear (de la Fuente Ciccone, 2002). So much for the good news. However, the way in which globalisation and the knowledge economy can be reconciled with social cohesion within the EU is not specified anywhere. Even the built-in pattern, that the global free market actually undermines social cohesion within Europe, is not discussed anywhere in EU documents. Indeed, the associated specialisation in knowledge-intensive sectors boosts the demand for highly specialised scientists and technically educated labour. The increasing shortages in these labour market segments will exert upward pressure on the wages of these workers. On the other hand, the outsourcing of low-skilled, labour-intensive production processes leads to reduced demand and a structural surplus of unskilled labour, which means that the wages and working conditions of these groups are also gradually undermined (Wood, 1994). Whether this polarisation on the labour market is caused by globalisation itself or by technological evolution or the tertiarisation of th e economy is more like a discussion of the gender of the angels: the three trends are after all dimensions of the same knowledge economy. Inequality in Europe, even in the whole of the rich North, has been systematically increasing since the mid-1980s (Fà ¶rster, 2000). According to Pontusson et al. (2002), some countries are still managing to curb inequality by a strong trade union movement and/or public employment, but these counteracting forces are coming under increasing pressure. The Lisbon strategy therefore seems like trying to square the circle. The more the member states encourage it, the less social cohesion there is. The EU does have structural funds available to promote social cohesion (both between regions and between the highly skilled and unskilled). Since the enlargement of the EU, however (itself also a stage in globalisation), these structural funds themselves have lost some of their influence because they have not grown in proportion to the size of the Union, certainly not in proportion to the drastically wider gap within the EU28. In our opinion, the only way to reconcile the knowledge economy with the objective of greater social cohesion and is through mass investment in education. The difference between this approach and the previous is that investment in education influences the supply side of the labour market, while globalisation and intensification of the knowledge-intensive production sectors influence the demand side. This difference is essential: perhaps it requires some explanation. RD investment and specialisation in knowledge-intensive trade (IT, financial services, pharmaceuticals, eco-technology, etc.), as we have said, boost the demand for highly skilled workers, while the outsourcing of unskilled production sectors causes a decline in the demand for unskilled workers. All other things being equal, this shift in the demand for labour causes a reverse redistribution of employment and income, from unqualified to highly qualified. Rather than stimulating this (spontaneous) trend, policy must be geared towards bringing about similar shifts on the supply side of the labour market. Education and vocational training are actually geared towards converting unskilled workers into more highly skilled workers: if this process can (at least) keep pace with the shifts on the demand side, inequality can be kept in check, or even reduced. It is a race against time and, if we claim that large-scale investment in education is needed, the distribution of this investment itsel f among the various sections of the population is also of great importance. The deeply ingrained Matthew effect in education and life-long learning actually threatens to undermine the effectiveness of this strategy. From a social perspective, the first priority in education policy is to eliminate the flow of unqualified school-leavers from education; the second priority is the literacy plan and the third is to increase the supply of engineers and those with scientific and technical skills. Not everyone will agree with this ranking. It is a question of social choice. The Lisbon strategy does not actually contradict this approach but nor does it lead automatically to the desired result. As we wrote in the introduction to this section, it seems like a sample compromise between diverging national priorities. Anything is possible with such compromises. We can characterise the contrasting policy alternatives described above as knowledge-intensive versus knowledge-extensive. The knowledge-intensive path, which gives priority to the development of advanced technology, will boost economic growth in the short term, but gradually become bogged down on the labour market, further dualisation of society and social unrest. The knowledge-extensive path, which gives preference to a raft of basic skills for as many people as possible, will perhaps deliver less visible results in the short term but, in the longer term, lead to more sustainable growth. The debate surrounding the correct mix has, to our knowledge, not yet been explicitly pursued. Free movement of education services The education sector is not only an involved party in the globalisation process; it is itself also partly the subject of it. In the 1990s, the WTO (World Trade Organization) launched an offensive (in the Uruguay round and again in 2001 in the Doha round) to involve a number of subsidised services in the negotiations about trade liberalisation as well. In principle, every service over which the government does not have a genuine monopoly can be discussed at the negotiating table. Education services are included here as soon as private organisers of education are admitted, even if they are 100% subsidised by the state. This is certainly the case in Belgium, given that the free education network alone is larger than the two official networks combined. International trade in education services can take various forms: from distance learning across national borders, international student or lecturer mobility, to the establishment of campuses abroad (Knight, 2002). Of course, it is up to the members themselves to decide, through free negotiations, whether they want to open up their education sectors to international competition. The EU commissioner for trade, who acts during the GATS negotiations on behalf of all EU member states, had given undertakings during the Uruguay round for privately financed education (in other words the commercial or at least unsubsidised education circuit). All compulsory education and most higher education therefore fall de facto outside the scope of GATS. Only entirely private schools and commercial initiatives in adult education were liberalised. What does this mean in practice? We are not used to talking about trade in educational services, even less about their liberalisation. After all, import tariffs are never charged Trade barriers do not, however, consist solely of import tariffs, but also of what are known as non-tariff obstacles (e.g. quota restrictions, quality standards, recognition procedures for fore ign qualifications, etc.). Once a party has opened up its borders, it must at least apply the general principles of GATS in this respect. Market access means that no quantitative barriers may be imposed, such as a ceiling of x foreign students or y branches of foreign schools. The most-favoured clause means that no privileges can be denied to one member if they are committed to another member of the WHO.  [1]  The principle of national treatment implies that, when there is free access to foreign service providers, no different standards or subsidy rules can be imposed on provisions of domestic or foreign origin. Furthermore, undertakings are irrevocable and WHO members hand over jurisdiction over any conflicts to a panel of international trade experts. The GATS initiative was not exactly welcomed with great enthusiasm. Its intentions were good: to increase prosperity by bringing burgeoning service sectors out of their national cocoons and to allow matching between demand and supply to take place across national borders. Liberalisation means diversification, greater freedom of choice, more efficiency and quality incentives and perhaps also less of a burden on the government budget. On the international stage, the major Anglo-Saxon countries were clearly in favour of the initiative. After all, they have had a strong comparative advantage right from the start because the working language of their education systems is the most important world language. E-courses, whether or not supported by specialist call centres, are very attractive as an export product because they are associated with huge economies of scale. However, the reception of foreign students can also be a lucrative business. For example, Australia is making big bucks with the tens of thousands of Asians attending university there. Even if this export education is partially subsidised, return effects can still be gained from other spending by foreign students and, if the best brains can then be retained in the host country, the picture is even more favourable. As importers, some major developing countries, led by China, can also make money from liberalisation. Thanks to the meteoric growth of its economy, the Chinese government cannot satisfy the increased demand for higher education. Hundreds of thousands of Chinese students begin their studies abroad every year, possibly with a grant from their government. Most of them come back with Western qualifications and join the countrys scientific and technological elite. The Chinese government saves on higher education because most migrants pay for their studies abroad themselves. In some cases, multinationals investing in China establish their own colleges to train suitable executives. By contrast, in the European education sector, liberalisation and commercialisation meet with great reticence, not entirely without justification (OKeeffe, 2003; Hanley and Frederiksson, 2003). Not for nothing do governments curb market effects in education because of the risk of market failure. A free, competitive market also requires homogenous goods (a nursing qualification in country A should have the same value as in country B); at the same time, all those involved must be well-informed about the quality and cost price of the goods. Power concentrations (e.g. of large universities or associations) are out of the question, etc.. None of these conditions for healthy competition is truly fulfilled. Education is a very complex, opaque market. If all this applies to domestic provisions, how much more then to foreign provisions? Will liberalisation not lead automatically to privatisation and price increases? Does globalisation of the education sector not open the door to the suppressi on of national culture? It is not actually clear to what extent all these objections are founded. It is a fact that the EU pursues a somewhat ambiguous strategy in this area. It portrays itself to the outside world as the defender of a regulated, protected education sector but, internally, despite its subsidiary role regarding education, it promotes liberalisation by all means available. The Bologna process and the Copenhagen process should create a European educational space for higher and vocational education respectively, in which supply and demand can move freely. Harmonisation of structures, recognition of qualifications obtained elsewhere and the development of a uniform, transparent European Qualification Framework should help to enable EU citizens to brush up or refine their skills in other member states. Erasmus grants should boost student mobility and, last but not least, the EU services directive (the infamous Bolkestein directive) has led to the free movement of educational services within the E U, which that same EU is fighting at the GATS negotiating table. So what effects should we expect? To begin with, remember that compulsory education is also not subject to the services directive or the GATS rules, so that a great deal of movement should not be expected at this level. Secondly, higher education will also remain largely subsidised in the future. Free movement in this sector will perhaps lead to a downwards levelling off of subsidies (or an upwards levelling off of registration fees). After all, in an open educational space, a member state cannot allow itself to offer cheaper education than its neighbouring countries for very long. In the long term, thousands of students from other member states could benefit from this transnational generosity. After all, different prices cannot be charged to EU students and to domestic students. In higher and adult education, an increased registration fee is not actually undemocratic: it counteracts the misplaced redistribution currently ravaging these segments because the better-off make disproport ionately more use of education which is partly funded by less well-off taxpayers. The democratisation of higher and adult education is not threatened if increased registration fees are coupled with higher study grants. The creation of a more transparent, uniform European educational space can, we believe, only be regarded as a positive phenomenon. It is the task of the government, where the market fails, to ensure that the educational supply is more transparent. This allows the user to choose more freely. The competition between provisions is also heightened as a result, which should lead to better quality and/or lower cost price. Nonetheless, the impending commercialisation of higher education may also have detrimental effects: in this context, education is gradually reduced to its most utilitarian dimension. As the student himself finances a larger share of the cost of education, he will also be more likely to choose the more lucrative studies. In particular, humanities and cultural sciences could come under pressure as a result. If society attaches importance to an adequate balance between courses of study, it will also have to build in the required incentives for this (e.g. by differentiated registration fees). Another risk the intensification of the brain drain is covered in the final section of our paper. Last but not least, at international level, the risks of any forms of market forces in education are of course present, specifically increasing polarisation in quality and prestige among educational establishments. The Cambridges, Paris VIs, Munichs and Stockholms are undoubtedly becoming even more of a major draw within a unified European higher education space. It will not be long before they increase their registration fees and tighten up their entry conditions in order to cream off the European elite. Regional colleges, by contrast, will see a weakening of the target audience as a result of the same mechanisms. If access to higher education (and, even more so, adult education) is to remain democratic, European directives will also have to be enacted, as was also necessary for the liberalisation of other public welfare services. For example, Flemish higher education is already feeling the consequences of entry restrictions in the Netherlands. The question is whether this will be s ustainable in a context where international student mobility is on the increase. On the whole, the free movement of educational services does not look as scary as many make it out to be. It is important that a distinction be made between compulsory education, on the one hand, which belongs to the field of basic social rights, and further education and training on the other hand. In these latter segments, partial commercialisation should not automatically lead to social breakdown. It can even contribute to a more balanced financing mix, which is necessary to cope with the growing participation trend in the future. EU legislation will still have to ensure the required limit conditions to prevent negative social side effects. Education and Third World development In the above sections, we have largely confined ourselves to the European perspective. What do education and the knowledge society mean for the Third World? Curiously enough, the theory regarding the social role of education in the development literature is much richer and more subtle than in Western education literature. Whereas the Chicago economist Becker (1964) labelled education as an individual investment in human capital, with a financial return in terms of future income, the Bengali Sen (Sen, 1999) teaches us that education can also be regarded more broadly as an investment in capabilities which subsequently enable higher levels of functioning to be attained at the levels of health, family life, social participation, etc.. Empirical research underpins this position and demonstrates that a higher level of education also leads to better nutrition, health (e.g. AIDS prevention), housing, sex education, etc. (MacMahon, 1999; Saito, 2003). Moreover, investment in education generates many spill-over effects on the wider society. People learn from one another. Education also has a positive influence on security (prevention of high-risk and delinquent behaviour), social commitment, civil responsibility and the quality of democratic decisions. Research increasingly points to the role of education in the development of social capital (de la Fuente and Ciccone, 2002). These positive social effects are most clear in the context of gender-specific anti-poverty programmes. For instance, more education for women is associated with better family planning and better nutrition, health and training for children (for a summary of the results, see Behrman, 1997). In order to break through the vicious circle of poverty and disease, education and training programmes for girls and women are essential. In this context, UNICEF talks correctly of the multiplier effect of education for girls (UNICEF, 2004). These positive external effects ar e an additional reason for government intervention in education and training. Sufficient evidence exists that educational investment in developing countries produces a higher return than in developed countries (Psacharopoulos and Patrinos, 2004). This difference is a direct indication of the need for education in the acquisition of basic skills. In addition, Behrman (1997) points out that, as far as subsequent educational investments in their children are concerned, basic education or basic literacy for women is more important than achieving higher levels of education. Sen (2002) also emphasises the role of basic education and the role which this plays in increasing the required human security and further human and social development. Cost-benefit analyses have demonstrated that investments in pre-school education and basic education have a higher rate of return than spending on secondary and higher education particularly in developing countries (Psacharopoulos and Patrinos, 2004; Cunha et al., 2006). In multilateral development cooperation, these findings have been well received. At the World Conference in Jomtien (Thailand), in 1990, the Education For All (EFA) initiative was launched under the auspices of UNESCO. All parties agreed with the position that universal, compulsory, free, public and good-quality basic education is the cornerstone of an education strategy which also includes secondary, further, vocational and adult education. During the international Education Conference in Dakar (2000), the importance of education for all was again underlined and 6 objectives were formulated, two of which were later adopted as millennium objectives (completion of basic education by all young people and equal educational opportunities for girls and boys at all levels by 2015). The key target groups of the EFA campaign are the 80 million children who have never been to school and the 800 million illiterate adults in the world. Every developing country participating in EFA draws up a na tional education action plan that fits in with the national poverty reduction strategy (Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper) and gives priority to basic education. This action plan is tested on all relevant social actors. A set of indicators is envisaged which can be used to test effective implementation. Monitoring and evaluation are entrusted to one single financier by the international community, per receiving country. In an attempt to accelerate the EFA train further, in 2002 the Fast Track Initiative (FTI) was launched, encouraged by the World Bank, which both international financial backers and receiving countries can join on a voluntary basis. In addition to endorsing the EFA principles, donors are asked for an additional commitment to long-term financing and receiving governments are asked to commit to transparent evaluation. The least that can be said about EFA and FTI is that they have the wind in their sails. Participation and invested resources are rising phenomenally. Since 2000, official development help for education worldwide has more than doubled. Nonetheless, the challenges are still considerable: the major enemies of education are poverty (and, associated with this, child labour), war, the debt burden, migration, mismanagement and disease. In crisis regions, education simply grinds to a halt. In some countries, the ravages of AIDS on teaching staff are so severe that it is barely possible to replace sick and deceased teachersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. In addition, it has to be said that the interests of financial backers and receiving countries, even if both groups have noble objectives, do not always coincide. The governments of developing countries are happy to make use of international support so that they can spend some of their own budgets on other priorities. On the other hand, the leading role of the World Bank in the FTI is not totally altruistic. One of the conditions for support, specifically, is that the national EFA action plans be linked to poverty reduction plans (PRSP): the latter are the World Banks key aid instruments. This means that multilateral educational aid serves as a lever to reinforce the influence of the World Bank on its customers. It is known that this external pressure is not always popular. Along with development aid, pro-globalist, liberal policy ideas are also dished out to receiving countries. In the past, for example, they were often obliged to reduce their import tariffs or food subsidies, which hit farmers and consumers particularly hard. Brain drain One of the reasons why the return on higher education in developing countries is relatively low has to do with the brain drain from developing countries to the rich North a phenomenon that does not exactly mesh with the predictions of international trade theory. In the first section of our paper, we referred to the theory of comparative advantages: every country will specialise in exporting goods and services for which the production factors are present in relative excess. Robert Mundell (1957) demonstrated that the international mobility of production factors can be regarded as a substitute for trade in goods, and with the same effect. In specific terms, this would mean that if developing countries have a surplus of unskilled labour and rich countries relatively large numbers of highly skilled people, we would expect a South-North migration of unskilled workers and a North-South migration of highly skilled workers. In both cases, migrants are attracted by the fact that, in the host country, they are relatively better paid than in their own countries because they are relatively scarcer there. In reality, the dominant pattern is a South-North migration of both unskilled and highly skilled workers. In 2005, around 4 million legal migrants (and an unknown number of illegals) flooded into the rich OECD countries (OECD, 2007). These figures do not include temporary migration. Upon closer inspection, the contradiction between theory and practice can be explained by a series of factors, of which we highlight only the most important. Firstly, the rich North dominates the world economy to such an extent that it also depresses demand for highly skilled people in the Third World. Secondly, governments in the North do not pursue a liberal policy when it comes to immigration. When push comes to shove, they place restraints on the laws of neo-classical trade theory, erect barriers to unskilled immigrants and are even actively recruiting the more highly skilled workers to fill existing bo

Jews Demand Holocaust Reparations :: essays research papers

American Dissident Voices Broadcast of April 7, 2001 As Ye Sow . . . . By Dr. William Pierce Hello! First, I want to admit to an error I made in last week's broadcast. I attributed to the circus impresario P.T. Barnum the statement that no one ever lost a nickel by underestimating the intelligence of the American public. At least two alert listeners have since pointed out to me that the statement actually was made by the journalist and writer H.L. Mencken. The statement for which P.T. Barnum should be remembered is that a sucker is born every minute. Last week we talked about the rewards of increasing "diversity" in America. The primary reward is the growth in alienation as young Americans fail to develop a healthy sense of racial identity and fail to find satisfactory role models. Diversity goes up, and homogeneity simultaneously goes down. And as homogeneity goes, so goes the individual's sense of community, of belonging, of identity. And we also talked about many of the side benefits of diversity: rising suicide rates, a greatly increased incidence of neuroses and psychopathologies, more schoolyard shootings, a growing pregnancy rate among unwed White teenagers, the confusion and loss of values, lowered academic standards, the trashing of the history and literature curricula in our universities, and a number of other consequences of the diversity being visited upon us by the government and the Jewish media. And America is not the only nation ruined by the diversity-mongers. If you've been paying attention to the news of what's happening in the Balkans, you will have noticed that the bloodshed and misery begun there by the determination of Madeleine Albright and the Clinton government to ram multiculturalism down the throats of the Serbs is still spreading. The killing going on in Macedonia now is a direct consequence of the Clinton government's bombing of Belgrade in order to force the Serbs to accept the multiculturalization of Serbia's Kosovo province. If you remember, the excuse given by Madeleine Albright and her kosher crew was that the wicked Serbs were mistreating the Albanian minority in Kosovo, who merely wanted to live in multicultural bliss with the Serbs. Well, of course, the Albanians wanted no such thing. They wanted exactly what the Serbs wanted: namely to have Kosovo all to themselves. So as soon as Madeleine's hired gunmen shifted the balance of power in Kosovo and forced the Serb army out, the Albanians, instead of hugging their Serb neighbors began killing and terrorizing them. The Serbs fled for their lives, and now the Albanians run Kosovo, except for a few all-Serb

The Little Prince :: essays research papers

THE LITTLE PRINCE The Little Prince was one of the first books that got me interested in reading. I got it as a present from my mother when I was nine together with Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Since then, I have gotten it as gift four times and read it at least ten times. After each reading, I seem to come away with different insights from the book depending on what stage of my life I was in or what my situation was. It strikes me that this book, first published in 1943, holds timeless truths on many different levels. It tells the truth of love, the truth of perspective, and the truth of childhood innocence, to name just a few. Of all the people who teach us about life’s meaning it is not the Socrates or the Platos of the world that we find truly touching or moving. Instead, we find that simple naà ¯ve people can offer us the most profound insights into life because of this very simplicity. They offer us a new perspective on things that we take for granted or things that we fail to even stop to look at. The beauty of a flower or a friendship can be easily overlooked unless it is brought to light through the eyes of a child or character possessing the same qualities of untainted observation that children so often have. It is this innocence and simplicity that sticks to my mind and that impacts me the most. It reminds me to go back to basics and to re-learn to relax and to appreciate the simple pleasures that life brings. Sometimes I get too caught up in everyday realities that I forget what is really important to me – my family and friends. How many times do we miss the message of love that people send to us because we are too busy? How many times have we missed the signs that people around us are seeking desperately for a simple gesture of love - a smile, a wave, a kind touch on the hands or shoulders or simply a gentle look? I sometimes forget how these simple gestures can change or affect lives of people around me. I do not have to knock myself out to help others; I simply have to show I care. The Little Prince is a good novel, in great part, because it has very entertaining characters.

What would happen if he ate McDonalds for 30 days straight?

Morgan Spurlock wanted to see what would happen if he ate McDonalds for 30 days straight. Every meal, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, he was not allowed to eat or drink anything that was NOT from McDonalds. He has to eat everything on the menu at least once. And, on top of all that, if they asked him to supersize it, he had to do it! His journey has begun.Morgan weighed 185 pounds at the beginning of his journey. His girlfriend is a vegan chef, which is someone who does not eat meat, fish, dairy products, or eggs. She completely disagrees with the choice that Morgan has made, and thinks that he is going to kill himself doing it.The fattest nation in the world, you could guess, is America. The fattest state is Mississippi. The fattest city is Houston, Texas. Texas has 4 of the top 10 fattest cities in the Nation. And in Manhattan alone, there are 83 McDonalds. Every day, more than 46 million people are served worldwide!It is predicted that in the future, obesity will be the leading caus e of death, behind smoking. People who eat McDonalds once a week are called ‘heavy users’. Nutritionists say that never eating McDonalds in your entire life is the healthiest choice you can make.Morgan gained 25 pounds over 30 days of eating McDonalds. At second weigh in, he had gained 18 pounds, which was 203 pounds. At third weigh in, Morgan had actually lost one pound, putting him 202 pounds. At his fourth and final weigh in, Morgan had gained another 8 pounds, putting him at 210 pounds. Over this 30 day period, Morgan had consumed about 30 pounds of sugar.Eating fast food is very unhealthy. It can also be very addicting. These huge fast foods have all the money in the world to pay for advertising to attract a variety of age groups to come and buy their products. Every company does this, they have to advertise in order to stay in business!

No Guns †fewer Shootings Essay

Allowing guns on campus would be a dreadful idea, it would increase more violent acts as well as putting staff and students at risk of being injured or even result in death. Not only this but students, as well as everyone on campus, would feel extremely unsafe. By allowing guns on campuses we would we be supporting violence, as well as giving shooters a higher opportunity to commit a crime. This would leave the victims defenseless and at risk of being murdered, raped, kidnapped, or be hurt in any other method. Not only this but anyone who is not mentally stable can misuse a gun and this can even lead to a suicide. Guns on college campuses ought to be banned because they will simply increase the problem with regards to shootings, unnecessary deaths and increase crime rates. We all have to keep in mind that colleges already have a high-risk factor for drugs, alcohol, and stress in academics. Including weapons would cause a bigger problem on a college campus and put everyone in danger. This can result in the misuse of the weapon and fire a gun by accident or simply shoot someone because you truly dislike a person. Many adolescents will commit a crime and sometimes don’t think of the consequences that are going to come with their actions. Jade Reindl and Jean Cocco mention in their CNN piece, â€Å"Say no to guns on college campuses† explains how if a gun is present at the moment of a sexual assault or any form of assault it is more likely that the person will die. This is suggesting that if a gun is in existence at the moment of a crime there is a higher risk of a fatal accident happening. We understand that some students might feel safer knowing they have a way of protection, but how will this make other students on campus feel? They will f eel unsafe in an environment that is supposed to be â€Å"safe† for all students. Also, knowing that someone is carrying a gun will make a student feel like they need to be careful around them. As a community, we also have to take in consideration that some people are not mentally stable: whether they are depressed or suffer from anxiety and will most likely misuse the weapon. This can result in a person committing suicide or attempting for their life.   Furthermore, having guns on campus will not solve any problems, if anything it will create more. On the contrary, proponents of guns within campus advocate that they will be more safe and protected if they were able to carry a concealed handgun in a college campus to protect themselves in case of a shooting, or even from a sexual assault. Also, those citizens who are responsible enough should have the opportunity to protect themselves against a shooter. By allowing the students as well as staff, to carry a gun there won’t be as many victims whereas if they didn’t have any weapon to defend themselves there would be a higher chance of being the victim. Neal Hutchens in his GOOD EDUCATION piece â€Å" 11 States Allow Students To Carry Guns On College Campuses. More could be Next† he mentions that allowing students and faculty to carry a gun with them will decrease the number of shootings as well as decreasing the number of deaths. Also, it has been said that there is a higher possibility of a shooting happening somewhere else rather than a college campus so why not allow people to carry a gun. Subsequently allowing guns on campus can help people defend someone who is at risk of being hurt resulting in saving lives. Not only this but supporters believe that a gun in a classroom would not affect anyone’s learning or concentration in class. Not only this but students believe that they should have the right to protect themselves with a weapon in case it is necessary. In addition, supporters of concealed guns will advocate for guns since they think it is the best way to protect themselves and knowing that at least they have a gun to protect themselves from any potential threat. Lastly, they believe that allowing guns on campus should be a right given to everyone for the safety of everyone that can help reduce many deaths. Despite the fact that allowing guns on campus would be a terrible decision made by the voters who agree with guns on campus we would simply be encouraging mass shooting and many other horrific incidents. An example of a horrific accident that happened is the mass shooting at Virginia Tech University in 2007. This left many families devastated due to the loss of a loved one. Although proponents of guns believe that a gun in a classroom would not distract anyone, in reality, it would because if any classmate knew that someone had a gun on them they would feel tense and nervous all the time. Even if a person had a gun on them to protect themselves they might not know how to use it adequately and cause more problems. Concealed guns overall are hardly ever used in the appropriate form and that is why we always are having horrific scenes of violence, and mass shooting which just simply terrorize our community. People simply misuse a gun often either because they are angry or maybe even fee l sad or depressed. When affecting our whole community, the children are growing up afraid and scared as well as the parents, knowing that at any moment a bullet can just end someone’s life in a second. Not just this but even though college students believe that by giving them the opportunity to carry a gun we are treating as the adult. The thing about this is that even though we are treating them like the adult by giving them this huge responsibility, there are still some adult who misuse a weapon. Therefore, not giving college students the ability to carry a concealed gun would have more benefits rather than allowing them to carry a gun. In short, not allowing guns on campus would make everyone feel in a safe environment where they don’t have to be afraid of the constant shooting happening. Not just this, but they will be able to focus on their studies and in class rather than thinking all the time that they can be shot at any moment. Sometimes people think the best way to protect themselves on a college campus is the best way but in reality, it can result in many accidents occurring. Students and staff will ultimately feel safer in a free gun zone rather than a place that is surrounded by a gun every corner you walk around. Carrying a gun is a huge responsibility and not everyone is willing to accept the consequences if they use the weapon inappropriately, so it would just be better to save ourselves that problem and not allow guns on campus.

Bed & Breakfast Pet Hotel

When people go on vacation or on a business trip, sometimes it is impractical to bring the family pet. Not long ago many would just ask a neighbor to keep an eye on the pet while the family was gone. Others would leave the pet with enough food and water to survive during the trip, although this was impractical for long trips.These options each come with advantages and disadvantages, but they fail to ensure that the family pet is not just watched, but pampered. This concept of pampering the family has sprouted a whole new industry of pet facilities.With more people seeing the pet as of a family member, the care of the pet is becoming more important. In 2006 families spent approximately $38 billion on their pets and around 63% of household own at least one pet (Koncius, 2006).This has brought about a rise in pet hotels / pet bed and breakfasts. PetsHotel, a division of PetSmart, is a leader in this rising industry. PetSmart purchased a pet hotel in 2000 in the Tucson, AZ area and has e xpanded it to over 50 stores since then. PetSmart’s goal is to eventually have over 400 PetsHotel facilities nationwide and in Canada.However, PetSmart is not the only company getting into this rapidly expanding industry. This report is evaluating PetsHotel and its place in the industry. Specifically this report will demonstrate its position in the market through a Strength, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats analysis, or SWOT analysis.This analysis will provide a clearer picture of what PetsHotel is facing in regards to the competition, trends, and future expansion. It will demonstrate where PetsHotel has a significant advantage over its competitors and where it has shortfalls. StrengthsThe most notable strength PetsHotel is the strong brand name and familiarity of its parent company, PetSmart. According to PetSmart’s website, the company has almost one thousand stores in the United States and Canada (PetSmart, 2007).PetSmart entered the pet hotel industry in 2000 w hen it recognized â€Å"its huge potential and it fits perfectly into [its] strategy of providing the lifetime needs of pets and their parents† (PetSmart, 2008). Customer loyalty and name recognition provides assurance for those customers who may not want to take a risk with a local, known pet facility.With how important pets have become to the owner, many owners will not want to take the risk of a bad facility. Jim Krack, founder of American Boarding Kennels Association, or ABKA, stated that â€Å"Pet owners expect the same type of amenities from their pet care providers as they receive from their child day care providers† (Shim, 2007).It is assumed that most people would not just place their children in any childcare facility without first ensuring a certain level or standards and safety. The name brand of PetSmart gives PetsHotel that instant recognition. In the fiscal year 2007, PetSmart posted $4.2 billion in sales and has $209 million in cash (Yahoo! Finance, 200 8). This cash cow can aid in the design and construction of new facilities. This will allow PetsHotel to quickly expand into competitive areas and into new, untapped market areas. Other competitors will not have the cash available without going into substantial debt to expand as quickly as PetsHotel can.Economies of scale also provide PetsHotel with a significant strength. Since smaller pet facilities will be unable to purchase items in the bulk level that PetsHotel can, the per item cost will be much greater than PetsHotel.Overhead and other expenses can be spread out amongst the over 50 PetsHotels already built. In comparison, Wags Hotel only has three stores to spread its costs around. Weaknesses Although the size PetsHotel is an advantage, it also lends itself to outside threats.The perception by some is larger companies many not provide as intimate and caring service for the pets. Consequently, many will prefer smaller, local services over the big corporate service of PetsHotel . Others will not want to go to the corporate establishment in favor of the local â€Å"ma and pa† pet facilities.The reasons for this could be the perception of intimate pet care with the smaller facility or it could just be hatred toward corporate America. Another weakness is a lack of accreditation. The American Boarding Kennels Associate, or ABKA, is a non-profit organization that seeks to assure high standards in pet care.ABKA provides pet owners with a set standard of quality of different hotels and kennels through a Pet Owner’s Bill or Rights and certifying different pet hotels. Out of 93 accredited pet facilities, none of them are PetsHotel brand pet facilities.To obtain certification the facilities must be â€Å"in compliance with the standards of the ABKA Voluntary Facilities Accreditation Program and have successfully completed an on-site evaluation by ABKA† (ABKA, 2008). A lack of certification from a reputable firm such as ABKA is a strong weakness for PetsHotel.ABKA’s website does list PetsHotel as a facility that can house a pet, but it also lists their lack of accreditation. This could sway a potential pet owner customer away from PetsHotel in favor of a pet facility that is accredited. OpportunitiesThe nearly 1000 PetSmart locations provide ample opportunity for quick expansion of the PetsHotels. By utilizing the PetSmart facilities, PetsHotels can quickly set up operations and provide services already at the PetSmart stores such as grooming, training, and Bansfield pet hospital. Some of these features have already been added to PetsHotel’s Add-On features.These features include nail clipping, bath time, and access to a Banfield clinic in an emergency (PetsHotel, 2008). By utilizing PetSmart’s other services, PetsHotel could offer other services such as pet training and grooming beyond a simple bath.In 2006, PetsHotel announced that it wanted to reach a total of 435 hotels throughout the United States and Canada (PetSmart, 2008). This is an achievable goal in part because of the huge cash flow PetSmart can generate through its other business segments and because of the already established name brand in those areas. Companies such as Wags Hotels only recently added two more hotels.Those two new hotels are still within the general geographic area of central California (WagsHotel, 2008). However, PetsHotel is already in 26 states and plans three more openings in the next few months (PetsHotel, 2008).Threats PetsHotel’s website lists its hours of operations 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM Monday thru Saturday and 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sundays. PetsHotel has a check-in and check-out time of 12:00 PM (PetsHotel, 2008). The problem that PetsHotel can run into is a 24-hour service such as Wags Hotel. By offering 24-availability, Wags Hotel allows travelers who arrive late at night to pick up their pet once they arrive. PetsHotel’s model would force the traveler to pick up their pet the next day and charge them for that extra night.Smaller pet facility companies are seeing the need for emergency veterinarian services. PetsHotel uses Banfield which is partnered with PetSmart. These smaller companies are starting to team up with the local veterinarians to provide the same quality service.Although the overhead for this service is spread out amongst the larger PetSmart Corporation, PetsHotel will further have to demonstrate that its corporate services are as good, caring and intimate as the local facilities and veterinarians. An example of this is Wagg Inn Pet Hotel with the Animal Hospital of Ashwaubenon, WI.At home pet nannies are another source of threat to PetsHotel’s business. People have been turning to high-class pet hotels because of how much they care about their pets. However, many feel reservations about leaving their pet in a facility at all.The alternative is to leave the pet at home and hire a pet nanny. One concern is whether the other â€Å"gues ts† at the pet hotel are current on their vaccinations. If the pet is left at home, there is no concern at all. Also, the pet will be comfortable in its normal routine and happy places.This alleviates any concerns of trying to settle the pet back into normal routines, especially where to go to the bathroom. Conclusions and Recommendations PetsHotel is in a very good strategic position compared to its competition.Availability of cash in conjunction with the strong brand recognition of PetSmart means it can place a facility anywhere in the United States and Canada and have instant credibility as a company that will provide quality pet care. PetsHotel should continue to innovate in pet quality and care through better designs of its facilities and services.It needs to continue to emphasize its high pet care and quality of service of both PetsHotel and PetSmart. Because PetsHotel is a division of PetSmart, and damage to the brand reputation of PetSmart will instantly translate into damage to the PetsHotel reputation. If the quality of service at the PetSmart stores declines, the perception will be that quality has also decreased in its pet hotels.Where PetsHotel needs to be concerned is in its accreditation and availability. Although AKBA is just one organization, PetsHotel can ill afford to ignore any organization devoted to pet facility quality and care.For people who want to ensure their pets are well taken care of, the lack of accreditation could mean a loss in customers. If the people are happy with both the service of AKBA and the local pet hotel, PetsHotel could lose more potential customers through word of mouth. By gaining accreditation, PetsMart not only retains its corporate brand of quality, but it is substantiated through AKBA.PetsHotel must also find a way to address those who do not want to disrupt their pet’s routine. PetsHotel and other pet hotel websites do list how the pet will re-enter its routine once it goes home.However, more is needed than just a small blurb on the website. PetsHotel needs to reassure anyone who inquires about this and possible provide examples through customer satisfaction surveys and testimonials. References American Boarding Kennel Association. (2008). American Boarding Kennel Association.Retrieved on January 25, 2008 from http://www. abka. com/abka/. Koncius, Jura. (Apr. 2006). Pet Hotels Really Puttin' on the Dog. The Washington Post. Retrieved on January 25, 2008 from http://www. projo. com/pets/content/projo_20060430_petshotel.80bdaa6. html. Petsmart, Inc. (PETM). (2008). Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved on January 26, 2008 from http://finance. yahoo. com/q? s=PETM. Shim, Joan. (Sept. 2007). Pampered pooches, fat cats living large in luxury pet hotels. CNN. Retrieved on January 25, 2008 from http://www. cnn. com/2007/LIVING/worklife/09/12/travel. pets/index. html. Wagg Inn Pet Hotel. (2008). Wagg Inn Pet Hotel, LLC.Retrieved on January 25, 2008 from http://www. wagginn. com/. Wags Hotel. ( 2008). Wags Hotel. Retrieved on January 25, 2008 from http://www. waghotels. com/.