Country Life vs City Life

Country Life Better Than City Life In my opinion I think country life is better than city life. The city is very busy and crazy! The crowds and traffic generates stress that challenges the human being. Perhaps that is why the city people act like an angry, stressed and unfriendly person. The country is so calm and peaceful, makes the city people want to go down there for vacations. Life in the city is very challenging. The public transportation reduces the demand for your own vehicles and the accompanying expenses. City life provides distractions available in the arts, theater, and other forms of entertainment.Even though there is a lot of activities that you can do like, going shopping on every corner and sidewalk, the city life also carries a heavy price. Housing and food are expensive. Services, such as transportation, are expensive. Worst of all, the most expensive part of life in the city is the fee it takes on your body through stress. Stress is everywhere in the city with ever y waking moment in the city. The crowds, traffic, tight work schedules never calm down. The air in the city is not healthy at all. The poisons of thousands of vehicles overwhelm what little green life remains to clean the air. Crime is very high in most cities.The odds of becoming a victim are high even for simple trips to the local grocery store or bank. Your brain and body are endlessly attacked by environmental pollution that a human inhales. There are very few opportunities to relax, stress builds, and the quality of your life decreases. The city dweller looks forward to a day out of the city. Historically, movement patters have been from the city to the suburbs and later to the country. Escape becomes the order of the day. Each move to the outer boundaries of the urban environment makes life a little more peaceful. The move to the country is the greatest move of all.Peaceful is the most concise description of the country. The night is quiet. Soft insect noises and the plaintive call of an owl rule the stillness. No heavy traffic, no sirens, no rush of the â€Å"madding crowd. † Life is simple and calming. Food is grown locally, instead of remotely. Everyone knows your name, and has been to your grandparents’ house. The country offers advantages to the stressed city dweller that can reduce stress, induce health, and present understanding. The country is for the laid back, no-stress, free living life you always wished for! This is just a few reasons why the country life is better than the city life.

Amish Culture

This means that the husband has control over his wife and the decisions and orders he makes are the ones that she must stick by. Amiss women also are the primary caretakers of the home and also school the children. While this Is not the case In Australian culture; In most cases both men and women are seen as equals In Australian culture even though men (In certain cases) are paid more than women. Marriage Isn't required; It's something two people In the Australian culture choose to do. When a couple chooses arraign they still have equal rights In the relationship and both can make decisions together.Females in the Australian culture are responsible for more decisions and men are now taking on more chores and other chores that were traditionally viewed as female roles. The Amiss culture is based on simplicity and religion, their lives are made to be as simple and natural as possible whilst obeying the bible at all times. In the Amiss culture women are to wear solid colored dresses tha t cover most of their kin, an apron and bonnet with their hair tied back and no Jewelry is to be worn.Women are not to tempt men as their natural beauty and simplicity is what attracts an Amiss man, Amiss men wear long pants and shirts, hats and grow beards. In the Amiss culture they do not allow photographs to be taken of them because they believe that drawing attention to them is a sin. The Amiss aim to maintain farms and earn their money through their farms as a lifestyle and an occupation. Whereas, Australian culture is largely made up of individuality and opportunity.Being different to one another and standing out is encouraged, dress code in the Australian culture is entirely made up on what one feels like wearing. Hair color, the way one dresses and the jewelry worn is up to a person to express themselves. Every day in the Australian culture there are new opportunities and different paths that lead to deferent ways of life, every day can be completely different to the one bef ore. Amiss are ultra conservative Christians who try to follow the Bible instead of worldly society around them.The bible is the Mamma's major source of power and authority and Amiss communities are influenced by their church with minimal Influence from the ‘English World' (outside world) with other religions being unaccepted. At the age of 14-16, a child gets to decide whether they would Like to be baptized back Into the Amiss community or Instead leaves the community to Join the English World at the opportunity of a Reemergence. Most decide to enter the Amiss community with a baptism but If they do not they are shunned from their previous community.If baptismal vows are broken then that leads to a member of the community to being shunned. When a member of the community Is shunned It means that they have been excommunicated with the church so that means that they cannot eat or ride with Shunning is a way of punishment to the Amiss for breaking rules because the Amiss communit y is all that one has after being baptized and being shut out from everything and everyone you love makes them learn their lesson. Males in the family are the main sources of power, as fathers are the primary authoritative figure.Decisions are made solely by the father with authority rarely changing. Australians are worldly, all religions are accepted and in most cases in a family both parents have power, authority and decision making over the family. Not all Australians are Christians or are religious at all in that case, meaning that not everyone is baptized. Even if someone in the Australian culture is baptized does not mean that they have to live by the bible. Each Australian has the opportunity to live whichever way they would like to including their religion, occupation and status.

Information Flow

There are many elements that aid an organization in being successful, however one of the key elements is Information flow. In my Journal Entry I will be describing the levels of communication, both good and bad, that are found within Johnson Matthey, my current employer. I will discuss the three main managerial approaches within my company that I have observed, and the three potential communication barriers as well. The intrapersonal, interpersonal, group, organizational and intercultural levels of communications are all on display amongst the coworkers of Johnson Matthey.There are multiple levels within the headquarters, located in Wayne, PA. They are all providing the same product for the Oil and Gas Industry. Each level contains up to 45 employees depending on the department. Interpersonal communication is continuously conducted within each group so that nothing ever falls between the cracks. Individuals are always communicating with themselves due to the constant changes in mater ials needed, which requires them to be able to adapt to change quickly. The workforce here is largely diverse, mostly all men with degrees in The Sciences, but various backgrounds and educational levels.We all work in groups, each department is tied to the next, therefore requiring tight nit and close communication. Every department is essentially like its own â€Å"clique†, everyone talks about the next department, and it’s kind of like lunch time in the cafeteria during high school. Depending on your department you can be looked at as a friend or an enemy, sadly in my line of work, it’s very hard to find people who support you and back you up unless they are in your department. The woman here are very jealous of each other, they don’t like to be outshined, especially by newbies or those of us who are younger.This kind of behavior can put a major dent on communication skills. Mostly to spite someone, but that’s still not a responsible way to handl e any situation. Information travels generally in one direction from our customer (various Oil and Gas clients) to us. There are occasions when we have a little say so in the actual product but for the most part it is a one-sided show. We have our Regional Manager Andrew, our Offshore Manager Jim and our Operations Manager Roy. The way it starts is, the job comes into Andy, he determines if it is an Onshore or Offshore project.If it is determined to be offshore, it goes to Jim, he works out the schematics of personnel with Chris and myself. Any budget questions, equipment needs etc. have to be cleared by me and then run over by Roy for final approval. The channel used is generally email from the client to one of the site managers. The feedback comes once the work is complete and as long as we get a top notch report, then we get a good â€Å"pat on the back† from upper management, and we move on to the next project. The functions of Y Hierarchy of managerial communications do exist within this organization.Our manager is continuously creating and encouraging a wonderful work environment and providing opportunities for employees to take the initiative and self-direction. Management is always looking for new ways for employees to make significant contributions within the organization. Behavioral, empowerment, and contingency are the three managerial communication approaches that I have observed within the organization that I currently work for. Empowerment is the distribution or entrustment of power or authority to his or hers subordinates within an organization.Generally used when upper management is out of work for certain amount of time. Empowerment also encourages the employees to get more involved with the organization. The contingency approach is seen a lot in our office. Our Operations Manager knows that there is more than one way to get an â€Å"A+† on our work, and whichever way produces the best result with the least amount of money and ti me spent, is generally the path that is taken. This is probably the approach seen mostly around the Johnson Matthey organization because of the results that are produced.Behavioral approach comes with trust and one’s individual character. Managers have been seen trusting and respecting the employees more now than ever due the production that each department has put out for our clients. Personality, emotional, and physical are the three potential barriers to effective communication within not just Johnson Matthey, but most organizations. Everyone here has their own personality and that can sometimes create an issue throughout the business day. Individuals are loaded with many traits that create personal attitudes, approaches, angles,quirks and different views on the world, and how to handle various situations. There are many occasions in which this trait has stalled communication between two individuals and in some case hurt the overall job being done. Emotional barriers can b y far be the worst thing out there, in terms of communication in a company. There are many individuals in my organization that let things go straight to their heads and forget that we are at the workplace. Emotions should not be brought to work with you at all, you should be able to brush things off and move on with the job.Especially personal conflicts and personal issues. Your office and your coworkers are not the place to be dealing with those kinds of things. Managers are often seen using a softer touch to get through to the individuals with emotional issues. Physical barriers are one of the most common around my office though. There are many occasions that we are working with a wall between co-workers and with communication being the key to our success problem will generally arise on occasions. We have made complaints on many occasions with the same results â€Å"deal with it†.

Analyzing Foreign Financial Statements Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analyzing Foreign Financial Statements - Essay Example This poses a problem for financial analysts who do not have access to a copy of the organization’s annual report (American Institute of CPAs, 2010). Language poses another problem for analysts looking to analyze foreign financial statements. Numerous global organizations do not generate financial reports in English, making it hard for analyses with English as their native languages (American Institute of CPAs, 2010). For example, the financial record could remain illegible until a possible translator is hired for assistance. Conveniently, many multinationals present their financial statements in their native languages and English ones as well. A third problem is currency. Non-dollar-pegged countries have firms that release their financial statements in their local currencies (Musher, Wilkins, and Shulman, 2012). An analyst from the United States or a dollar-pegged nation would find it cumbersome to convert all entries into dollars for better analysis. Converting all balances at the exchange rate at the closing of the present fiscal year is tiresome, but a solution nonetheless (American Institute of CPAs, 2010). For example, fail ing to use the existing current exchange rate will distort the analyst’s work. To avoid distortion, analyzing the foreign financial statement using ratios improves the outcome irrespective of the currency applied (American Institute of CPAs, 2010). A third problem is terminology. Different countries use different words of the same language to compose their financial records. For instance, the United Kingdom usually uses the word turnover to refer to sales in the United States. In instances of convenience conversions, companies occasionally include terminology that English analysts are not used to (Musher et al., 2012). In this case, the analyst is forced to be versant with foreign trade and accounting diction to help alleviate this issue. For instance, in 2005, differences in the UK and US terminology in

How are robots involved in medicine Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

How are robots involved in medicine - Term Paper Example The level of technology in the first robotic leg prostheses made it the first artificial leg controlled by the human thought after it integration with an interface. Researchers at the institute acknowledge the fact the technology in the first robotic leg was high-tech. The robotic contained lithium-powered batteries that provided powerful electricity that powered the machine. It also had powerful electric motors and micro sensors that acted as muscles and nerves respectively. Such duplication of the human leg allowed the robotic to a viable alternative for a human leg for amputees (Salisbury, 2013). The first robotics leg prosthesis is better than the passive artificial leg in many aspects. In addition to moving independently and sync with movements of the user, it also recognizes the intentions of the user to switch activities. The robotics allows the user to walk faster, uses less energy and reduces the rate of fall among users. Therefore, the ability of the robotic to move like a natural human leg makes it a viable option to amputees. However, various factors limit the adoption and usage of robotic leg prostheses. There are strict regulatory requirements set by government authorities regarding the use of multi-joint devices such as the first robotic leg prostheses. Clinicians also require additional training in robotics before prescribing the prostheses to patients. After development of the first robotic lower-leg prostheses, the Center for Intelligent Mechatronics also developed an advanced exoskeleton that allows paraplegics to stand and walk upright. The Indego exoskeleton was an award-winning piece of technology in 2013 (Ward, 2013). For people paralyzed from the waist down to the legs, this technology can be a source of hope. The exoskeleton can fit around the torso and extend down to the legs and ankles. The level of technological advancement in this machine is high to the extent that it integrates an individual’s movements

Sweatshops Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Sweatshops - Essay Example Out-of-date facilities and poor labor education often lead to workers being injured. In turn, employers rarely provide health insurance, and the burden of recovery expenses lies entirely on the employee. Lethal cases are also frequent. Thus, over 400 were buried alive after an apparel factory collapsed in Dhaka in May 2013 (Kazmin). Secondly, since the poorer countries are dependent on the foreign cash inflows, huge multinational corporations can satisfy their selfish motifs deriving the most benefit out of the host country. As far as the third-world countries share similarly appalling economic conditions, it gives companies the scope to choose the location of their plant. To win a tough competition, governments and local authorities have to draw the attention of the organizations offering greater financial benefits. Unfortunately, fundamental laborer’s rights, such as a minimum salary and adequate workload are often neglected, and employees get unfairly exploited. Some of the most ludicrous concessions may even include unlimited tax holidays. Additionally, the firms do not bring technology that the local population could take advantage of. The deficit of education mixed with the lack of skill conduces to a situation where no economic growth is possible. Furthermore, employing nearly 165 million children worldwide, sweatshops have a detrimental impact on education. For instance, four in every five Bangladeshi kids aged 10 and below attend school. However, of those employed only 20% are capable of combining work with classes (Salmon). The lack of education limits a person’s further employment opportunities and enables only to be a worker qualified enough for a sweatshop, where mainly low-skilled work is performed. Superficially, it may seem that sweatshops help to resolve the issue of unemployment in the absence of better alternatives, but digging deeper, one realizes that they only launch the vicious

Reflaction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reflaction - Essay Example There are different issues and concepts that can be cited in relation to this which includes the different roles of women in the society most especially inside the home, in marriage and the family. Andre Lorde explored the issue related to the empowerment of women through the concept of the erotic. According to her, erotic is equated to power due to the fact that it can add passion to any type of activity a person is doing. It can be considered that women have the capability of being physically, intellectually and emotionally powerful. As a result, men are very much under the power of well-rounded women to the point that through history this capability of the female members of the population scared the society led by men. Lorde pointed out that erotic element in our daily existence is absent and reduced to a role related to sexual issues when the real sense of the word is related to passion in everything we are doing, e.g. work. Women are made to believe that exploration of the taboo that is erotic is against morality, but exploration of such concept can be related to empowering them (Lorde par.1). In the present modern society where women are more empowered and can practice almost the same rights as that of men such as the right to vote, to work and even to lead, traces of the lower status of women can very well be seen still. Women are expected to take the role of a mother who stays at home and takes care of her family. Even with the women succeeding in different fields, this expectation is still inevitable. For example, in the paper by Rhacel Salazar Parreà ±as, which explores the problematic issues of the mothers working abroad as domestic helpers and leaving families in the Philippines to face what according to the society are situations leading to degradation of culture and morality of the children, shows that even until now women are expected to stay at home with the

COMPETITION Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

COMPETITION - Assignment Example This will help comprehend the accurate outcome of the competition in the framework and growth of varied plant communities. The article entails testing a hypothesis that the competitive effect of multi-species mixtures on a specific objective plant can be illustrated as a plain additive function of the effects of specific species. The graph presents results of a controlled field competition among 4 common species of dry acidic grasslands (Hieracium pilosella, Jasione montana, Corynephorus canescens and Festuca ovina) with an aim of investigating the outcomes of equally, specific and multi-species neighborhoods on the target species H. pilosella. The competition in this graph is measured by the target plant biomass pointing at a competitive level of neighbor species with F. ovinaas being the leading competitor trailed by C. canescens and H. pilosella. In addition, J. Montana has a reduced impact on the target. Ultimately, the study of the competitive effect presents no sign of competitive increase or decrease with a growing number of neighboring

Obamacare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

Obamacare - Essay Example Ryn (2000) asserts that every generation has its governing intellectual and imaginative mind-set and matching design for doing things. The political setup of a country like the US offers a pattern of how a life dominant approach can present itself for the acting out of its possibilities. This depends on the type of expectations and underlying predispositions making up such a society. Obamacare is one such dominant approach enacted to address the pre-existing ailing American healthcare system. This healthcare policy reform was signed into the American law by President Barrack Obama in March 2010 to offer equality in accessing medical care services by reducing healthcare costs. Hence the Democratic Congressional leadership was charged with the responsibility of its implementation (Keller, 2015). They chose to address American healthcare needs by raising entitlement to medical services and controlling the insurance coverage. However, the policy continues to be criticized due to the natu re of the American politics surrounding its implementation. Goals of the ObamacareAccording to Tate (2013), the Obamacare policy seeks to fulfill four main goals. These are to ensure improved healthcare access which many Americans could not attain due to expensive health insurance. Hence they are able to enjoy affordable medical services and monetary assistance. Secondly, it aims at reducing the healthcare costs which had led to poor medical affordability thereby weakening the American economic system.

Difference in the Health Care Systems of the USA and Germany Research Paper

Difference in the Health Care Systems of the USA and Germany - Research Paper Example The combined health care system is the basis of the US healthcare system where both the private and public sectors play a significant role to present a convenient and superlative health care system. In most of the cases, there can be found an apparent authority of public element over the private element. A report says that in 2010, more than 64% of the US population got the private health insurance which means nearly 195.9 million people were covered by this sector. In the year 2011, the percentage of privately insured people was 63.9%. However, in the USA, there are two health care programmes, Medicare and Medicaid, which are supervised by the US federal Department of Health and Human Services. People over 65 years and above get Medicare service whereas Medicaid is a system that offers financial help to the poor. These systems cover nearly 87 million Americans. On the other hand, the act, Health Care Reform Provisions, which is known as Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H. R. 3590)   was passed by the House of Representatives and signed by the U.S. President Barack Obama. The bill was passed on Sunday, March 21 and signed by the President on Tuesday, March 23. The bill, which is regarded as a comprehensive health care reform bill, was formally passed by the Senate on December 24, 2009.  Medicare benefits are provided through traditional fee-for-service handled by the federal government. In 2004, the US government spent $297 billion provided to support 42   million  Medicare beneficiaries. This system covers the people of 65 years of age and above. It includes payroll taxes, general revenue,   premium contributions and taxation of social safety benefits. Payroll taxes have been paid by most of the beneficiaries of standard Medicare during their working period to ensure their participation in Medicare  hospitalization programme.  

Gerlinger Hall Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Gerlinger Hall - Assignment Example There has is surrounded by the university street, pioneer cemetery and Gerlinger Annex. The hall was constructed within the university grounds. There is a wide open lawn on the sides of the hall. The topography of the green is fairly flat which makes it an alternative outdoor classroom. The topography is fairly flat and it features a slight crown which is used to allow for sufficient drainage to take place. The Green is set at an estimated four to five feet above the Street Sidewalk of the university. The field’s interior lawn is completely mowed. At the Northeastern edge there are a row of cypress trees. There is a grouping of native conifers at the Southeastern corner of the interior of the field. Other vegetation include wildflowers, bulbs, madrones, and California Incense cedar and Douglas firs. The southeastern edge and Northeastern edge of the field has trees which are met to provide shade to the building. This prevents entry of a lot of heat and cold. During hot weather, the shade blocks the heat from entering the building while it allows warm air to enter the Hall during cold weather. Sun exposure to the Hall is reduced due to the orientation of the building which prevents direct sunlight form the Hall. The Northeastern edge and Southeastern corner have planted trees to provide shade since those areas are prone to sunlight. The materials used in the construction of the Hall reduces the reflected glare and heat from direct sunlight. Furthermore, the Hall has incorporated enough shade into the space. Scalar adjustment mark the significant adjustment linkage between the spaces beyond and the perimeter of the Hall. The edge of the Green was adjusted in the 1969 when the Gymnasium was demolished and replaced with the Gerlinger Annex. There is a concrete path that separates Gerlinger Annex from the lane. The eastern edge is marked by the University Street defined by large conifers. The southern edge has a steep embankment with

Chinese Attitudes Toward Nature, Time, Good and Evil Essay Example for Free

Chinese Attitudes Toward Nature, Time, Good and Evil Essay As for the attitude of Chinese people toward nature, it is undisputed that it is marked by a strong feeling of harmony, for example, oneness of nature and man. According to Dong Zhongshu, who was the most important philosopher of the Western Han, Heaven had its will and purpose. It was Heaven that made the sun, the moon, and the stars move, the four seasons change, and all animals and plants grow and die. Heaven was kindhearted, so it made things produce one another; Heaven was also severe, so it made things overcome one another. Moreover, Heaven created a ruler to rule over the people. This meant that Heaven wanted the people to be ruled. When a ruler did something wrong, Heaven would be angry and would give the ruler warnings by causing strange natural phenomena to happen, such as eclipses, earthquakes, floods and droughts. This theory——the interaction between Heaven and man——had a clear purpose. On the one hand, it was intended to show that the ruler’s position and power were given to him by Heaven, and should not be questioned; on the other hand, the ruler should be virtuous and benevolent, and govern well, so as not to incur Heaven’s anger. Dong had a well-known saying: â€Å"The Way is great because it originates in Heaven. Heaven does not change; nor does the Way. † I would like to explain the idea clearly by an example. That is Feng Shui. Feng Shui (also known as geomancy) is an ancient Chinese system of aesthetics believed to use the laws of both Heaven (astronomy) and Earth (geography) to help one improve life by receiving positive qi. Maybe many people think it is superstition, but I consider it can reflect the pursuit of harmonious life of Chinese people. There are four purposes in Feng Shui, seeking the harmony of human body; the harmony between people and people; the harmony between people and society; the harmony between people and nature. Let me give a small example about placing a bed. The bed shall be slightly higher than the knee and not near the door. And it shall face to the south and back to the north in order to adjust duxhlt, the aorta and large veins direction of the blood circulatory system, so that people can fall a sleep easily, and have a high quality sleep. The bed can’t facet the west, because the rotation of the earth is from east to west, making the blood rush toward the head, and people can’t sleep soundly. Beam presses which mean air conditioners hang above the pillow, or the lights suspend above the bed, bring about oppression, and cause adverse effect of body and mind. Mirrors can’t face the bed, if not people may be startled easily in midnight, and can’t be peace. It really can express the attitude toward nature, uniting of heaven and humanity. As for the attitude of Chinese people toward time, three features will be mentioned about. The first is round- type time outlook. In the oriental world, farming is the major way of carrying out material and exchanging goods dominates all the economic life of the whole society. This pastoral civilization treats human and the nature as interrelated and interacted,the world as an integer organically linked. So in oriental society the round-type time outlook is that nature and human is integrate. This kind of time outlook holds the view that time is like a circle and all the things in the world return to its origina1 state after a cycle of time, for example, the alternation of day and night, the come and go of the four seasons,the turning of the twelve months, the increase of the age and the growing of plants. This kind of time view makes the Orientals handle the time at their disposal and do things at ease. For instance, when a teacher has not finished an important point in his class,he can prolong his class. At the Chinese wedding feast, few people will come at the time which is written on the invitation card. Moreover, Chinese use time very casually and intangibly. Chinese prefer to say some uncertain words 1ike â€Å"at once†, â€Å"sometimes†, â€Å"a short while†, which a1ways confuse the westerners. Chinese students who are studying English tend to misuse the tense when communicate with foreigners. In a word, Chinese don’t have clear differentiation concept of time. The second is polychromic time system. Polychromic time system means people are very casual in using time. In other words, being punctual is important, but not strict. Polychromic time system is the heritage of traditional agricultural society. People are used to do severa1 different things at the same time and do things emphasizing prime time. Chinese think that everything in the world develops with the cycling of time, so people catch the time that is ripe for acting, which means each step of our action is determined temporarily by our surroundings. So action is poorly planned by Chinese. In some occasions, people can do many things in the same time. A Chinese salesman can check out with the first customer on the one hand,and show the goods to a second one on the other hand, even greet a third One at the same time. However, westerners can hardly accomplish them and also can not accept them. The third is past time orientation. Time orientation is a relatively stable factor in cultural difference. It is connected to the historical background of the. Generally speaking, people who have too heavy tradition, look up to history and past, so their time orientation is past-oriented. Chinese belong to past-oriented. People show great respect to the past. The past experience and 1esson are important reference for today’s success and failure. Chinese show respect to ancestors and teachers. They like to say things by referencing to the old books and stories. That is why Chinese call teachers â€Å"lao shi†. â€Å"lao† means old. People attach importance to age and experience, because they are symbols of power and wisdom, so words like â€Å"lao† and â€Å"da† always mean respect in Chinese. As for the attitude of Chinese people toward good and evil, perhaps the most extreme view of goodness is found in the Buddhist tradition. Buddhism maintains that we are born pure and are closest to what is called â€Å"loving kindness† when we enter this world. Hence, people are good, and our culture is what makes us evil. The view of goodness is also found in Confucianism. Meng Zi made the original goodness of human nature the keynote to his system. To him, the virtue of humanity together with the accompanying virtues of righteousness, rites and wisdom arises from the inner springs of the human heart. These four cardinal virtues come in their seed form—the â€Å"four beginnings†, as the feeling of compassion, shame, modesty, and of the distinction between right and wrong. Such feelings are universal among mankind and they come as naturally ad taste for food, and sight for beauty. This, Meng Zi argued, can be seen in the fact that a child naturally loves his parents and that a man will instinctively experience a feeling into a well. Therefore, human nature is originally good, and will be good if it is guided by its innate feelings, just as water is inclined to flow downward. In contrast to the concept of the goodness of human nature advocated by Meng Zi, Xun Zi declared that human nature is originally evil because human desires inevitably lead to greed and strife if left untrained. Believing that goodness can only be acquired, Xun Zi stressed the value of education and environment. To him it is environment and authority that make the man, and it is obedience of the precepts of the sage-kings that produces the goodness that is in him. In the end, however, not only is the life of virtue a possibility but even sage-hood is within reach. Therefore, Xun Zi said, â€Å"Every man on the street can become like the sage-king Yu†, a perfect orthodox Confucian note. What mentioned about are viewpoints from the ancients. Nowadays Chinese attitudes toward good and evil are very wide and vague, not like Christianity which has a ten commandments, making the general public even those without much cultural literacy has some certain standards, ruling what can do and can not do, their attitudes toward good and evil are absolutely clear. But to Chinese, nothing must been done and nothing can not be done. The boundary between good and evil is obscure, in some condition something is good but in other condition it may be bad. To Chinese the boundary is always about degree, whether it is excessive or not. For example, talking between Chinese friends sometimes contains abusive language, but it doesn’t mean they hate each other, most of time, it is just joking. That behavior is not really evil, but if it is overdone, it will be. Chinese People’s attitude toward nature, time, good and evil have been formed gradually, and they are relatively stable in a long time, but they are not without changes. The better living conditions, the development of the economy, the improvement of the society and the increase of the interaction of people from different cu1tural backgrounds will undoubtedly have subtle effects on their views, although it is also a long process. What I talking about is some basic attitude of Chinese, it will help foreigner to understand Chinese better, but not always apply to every Chinese at every time.

Explaining the Code Clause of the NMC

Explaining the Code Clause of the NMC The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) of the United Kingdom is a corporate body of professional health care practitioners that form a committee called the council. The function of the NMC is to establish standards for nurses and midwives that will provide guidance in education and training also guidance that are principles and is known as the code (NMC 2002:1). The code is a professional duty that is required to provide care to people, client or patient. It secures peoples rights, decisions and choices during their care (Thompson 2006). To explain the code there are details of principles that practitioners should apply to throughout their daily practice to maintain high standards of how to behave, present one self and the principles shown during the care for people. The first stage of the NMC code clause (NMC 2008:1) state, the people in your care, this applies to people and the public that requires the need for healthcare support in a people centred practice. In order to provide care for these people there should be an understanding as to what care mean, who accessing the services, how the care is implemented by providers, what interventions occur during care and why nurses and midwives should care for these people. It is also important to know why nurses and midwives care but is it the reason because of empowerment, choice, decisions, personal care, safety, financial decisions or is it the obligation of the pledge they have made to become a nurse. The second stage of the clause states, people must be able to trust you with their health and wellbeing and the trust is to know your patient well but how can these patient able to provide that trust and how to communicate with them collaboratively and providing the right information on how to establish that trust. There should be continuity to reinforcing the trust in patient through encouragement, and promotion of their health and wellbeing. Not only does that, it stated that trust is to be justified and reasons why, it is to make the care of people your first concern, treating them as individuals and respecting their dignity (NMC 2008:1). Is it by treating people as they are, keeping information confidential and working as a team with families also ensuring patients give their consent but respecting the dignity of people. In discussing the code clause is stated very straightforward to understand but there are challenges introduced to raise expectation of the nurses and midwives bu t keeping up-to-date with technology and encouraging patients to maintain their quality of life. Hence, the purpose of the NMC code is to support nurses and midwives within their role. NMC (2008, p4) states the code protects people that are ill, helpless, vulnerable and requires support in your care. This guidance applies to nurses, midwives, professionals and students. Its purpose is to establish principles for best practice whilst caring of people in all settings (NMC 2009, p5). NMC (2008:1) states that the code has three functions, conduct, performance and ethics. The principles of conduct expresses how nurses are expected to conduct inside and outside the profession, performance is based on the knowledge and skills gained to be confident and consistency to deliver safe practice in the role as a professionals and students. The ethical care are the principles applied towards prioritising patients care which includes concerns, needs and interest for the people. The People in question are the people within your care and they are the one that matters and requires advocacy. Graham (1992 cited in Roper et al 1996) states, advocacy is doing things for patients and nursing has change to a more patient centred care to encourage patient to be more self-sufficiency in making choices and decision about their care. They are the people we refer to as patient, user, individual or client, but their vulnerability requires support from these professionals. Parsons (1951:1987 cited in Stein-Parbury 2005, p9) viewed people as patients or clients and they are ill person with needs for support and advice from professionals, whom they can release all responsibility and decision for their health. However some patient may not be able to make such decision while other patient can be self caring by taking on the role of responsibility for their care Guadagnoli Ward (1998 cited in Stein-Parbury 2005, p.9) Goodman and Clemow (2008) believes that if patient is define d then their value will not be identified. Caring is the spirit of love that is reflected in care, it provides hope for patient of their wellbeing, offering empathy and compassion, by displaying principle and commitment during nursing practice Farmer (1994 cited in Alexander et al 2000:999). Patients have a significant role that is why we put them first but some people are neglected due to barriers by not accessing the service because of isolation and not able to access the information to get the care required. People who are accessing the service are the one that gets the treatment and the service when it is needed (Sale 2005). The process of nursing commence when an assessment is done by gaining as much information about a patient, this is also referred to a nursing diagnosis. The diagnosis is being able to describe the patient problem with the help of the activities of living model for nursing Marks-Maran(1983 cited in Roper et al 1996:57). The model will help identify health issue and the first concern is performing an as sessment to determine if the patient is capable of maintaining a safe environment, able to communicate by the questions asked about daily activities, the level of breathing during physiological measurement, assessment of eating and drinking during meal time and mobility during personal hygiene. From these assessments the nurse is able to identify the actual problem then make a care plan. The care plan includes the problems, goal and intervention. The problem is what the patient admitted with and the goal what the nurse intend to do and intervention should include how the care will be given. The next step is to implement the care by providing the care, including multidisciplinary teams, medication for treatment. An evaluation is made of the patient care against the goal that was set to determine an outcome of achievement if there are changes a re-evaluation can be made of the patients care (Roper et al 1996). The reasons why nurses care are through obligation, ethical and spiritual belief. We cannot as carer avoid the difference in care but why we continue to care is because mainly of three reasons. The first is the pledge we have made as nurses with the obligation to patient (Brykczynska 1997). The pledge is reaffirming the commitment as promised by the nurses and midwives to the people to provide a service to deliver a very high standards of quality in care DH(2010). Secondly, the ethical care of knowing the right question to ask patients when trying to make an important decision or how they should respond when a situation arises but seeing the goodness in the patients (Brykczynska 1997). Nurse use their intuition or inner feeling or just common sense to make decision (Thompson et al 2006:49:50), but as students the knowledge through practical learning teaches to make ethical decisions and remembering from their teachings or the error they should not make by reflecting on the right and wrong to evaluate a good ethical decision. Other ethical reasons to care are, through quality care, a care which is deserved and should be priority in care. The empowerment of patients, by offering the right to make decisions about their care and offering patients choices to develop confidence while receiving hospital care. This confident encourage them to take control of what is happening in their lives. There are difficulties when making choice and being assisted by a nurse is an important decision that will benefit their health. Decisions are important and should involve planning the minute patients are admitted into hospital (Evans and Tippins (2008 cited in E-learning, PEP Module, Decision Making, p.2). The personal care would be assessed following the Roper et al model for nursing. The assessment will include check for safety, nutrition, manual handling and other risk factors. Management has to make decision on staffing team but a team that will provide a balance in the care. The financial decision is important on the expenditure and management of resources to maintain the operation of care but mainly the quality of care for patients. The nurses care is to support spiritual belief by encouraging safe practice during psychosocial distress or pain. Being an active listener, relating to the patient and answering their question truthfully could be comfort or relief for the patient. Anon (2005 cited in Thompson et al 2006), states that nursing is the balm that nourish your restless spirit, while other patients thinks that a balm could solve the problem to their pain. In order for people to trust you, being knowledgeable about the patient is the first step to patients care and being able to communicate and interaction will establishing a relationship that will help to provide a clear understand to the individual. All data must be up-to-date and accurate about the patients care and information should be available for feedback to the patients. The balance in the healthcare is to respect the confidentiality of patients information that they share and through commitment of trust (Hinchliff 2008). A professional relationship is looking after the patients interest and taking on issues of consent, respect, confidentiality but utilising the practical skill, experience and knowledge accordingly. The offering of informed consent is giving permission but the professional line must not be overstepped. Hinchliff (2008:193) Jonsdottir et al.; Gallant et al. (2004;2002 cited in Stein-Parbury 2005, p.9) states that patient and their healthcares needs to work in p artnership during care. DH (2008,p3) reported that people should working collaboratively as a team which includes patient and their families, nursing staff, social carer and the public. Therefore collaborative work with a multi-professional team provides a wider care to patients by communicating with teams and individuals with different training background who shares a common goal to offer a service that include nurses, doctors, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, social workers, dieticians, speech and language therapist, pharmacist, psychologist, ward clerks, cleaner, healthcare assistance, staff management, midwives and IT Technical Support Staff that can be trusted. (Marshall et al (1979 cited in E-learning, PEP Module, Working with others 2009/2010:3). Trust is ethical values that are accepted in the best interest of patients and giving truthful answers to questions about their health. This is what patients expect but a positive behaviour is what inspires the trust from the patient. It is important to ensuring patient is informed to establish trust then in time the patient can be open to reveal information that will help their health and wellbeing (Hinchliff et al. 2008). DH(2010) reported that peoples trust has been destabilised due to poor performance of practice, he believes that with commitment of teamwork trust can be regained. A proposal was made stating that nurses and midwives should reaffirm their commitments to care. The aim of this proposal is to reinforce the trust and confidence in people which will also help to maintain their health and wellbeing. If the patient is ill or well their health should still be promoted with a balance in care and the approach of individuals with psychosocial dilemmas. The nurses role is imp ortant and along with their performance which reflect in the care given to patient. Nurses can maintaining their health and wellbeing by accepting the right support which will result in improvement in practices and wellbeing of patients. To maintain the quality of health and wellbeing for patients the initial care should begin within patients own environment with their family. Living a healthy life is manageable by people who are confident, strong and receiving support from other whilst others struggle to maintain their health due to difficulties in accessing support or refusing to accept any form of support. The NHS mentioned that a strategy is designed to include the care in communities by local authorities and care partners, to help make social changes for the people with the aim of reducing unhealthy living (DH, 2008). The NHS requires people to gain access to the treatment that is most effective for their health. The NICE guidance purpose is to promote health and wellbeing and evaluate the intervention during care. It is stated that treatment should be given to patient after an assessment by a competent and experience nurse (NICE, 2008) providing the patient offer consent to care and in return nurses respecting the patients right to make the choice they desire. A competent nurse role is having awareness but to provide a plan that reflect and analyse the problem. The nurse should be able to cope well from being organised to achieving efficiency during management of nursing care (Benner 1984). Patient safety should be the top of priority for quality care. The trust is gained by maintaining patients safety and one example is to reduce any infectious disease within their environment and safety include the healthcare who are the people that provides care (DH,2008). The nursing team is expected to respect individuals and their families, not to discriminate during care and avoiding any risk or threat to the right or safety of any patient (NMC 2004). We can assume nurses do care but the obligation that nurses have is through the contract of obligation when they first make the pledge to work as nurses. The nurses role involves the concept of care which is to provide a service to patient that is caring, the first stage of learning is from their parents, friends and experiences in life and the training received will improve their caring skills (Brykczynska1997). To be treated as an individual is treating a person with ethical principles such as respecting the rights, autonomy and dignity of patients also to promote the patients well-being (Thompson et al 2006). To offer patient advice on methods to help prevent ill-health and by promoting positive way of living and to have power of owns health (Wills 2007). The patients right during quality care are their entitlement to shorter waiting time for treatment. A targeting system has to be implemented that will motivates nurses to listen to patents and the public to meet their expectation. Patient has the right to have good communication to ensure they understand the treatment to be received (DH 2009). Reflecting on experience with patient whilst working as a student during placement, some of the principles that had to be delivered are respecting patients privacy when washing or dressing by pulling curtains and closing doors and knocking the door before entering patients environment. The rights of patients choice must be acknowledged and not to disclose patients confidentiality which is respecting human rights and dignity. Also patient should have the right to make choices during meal time of what to eat and when to eat or the choice to refuse medication but it is the nurses role to encourage the patient and possible giving more time and listening to reason for refusing medication DH (2010). Walsh and Kowanko 2002, cited in Dougherty and Lister 2008, enquired with patient about describing their dignity and how they expect to be treated with respect, however patients wanted dignity to include being patience and spending more time to listen and acknowledge patients views and considering the reasons for patients emotions. DH 2010) states that nurses must be accountable for their actions, thinking of patients interest, protecting the dignity of patient regardless of choices but treating with equal concerns and respecting belief. Nurses and midwives should find the NMC guidance really straightforward, depending on the level of role and responsibilities, however Tschudin and Jasper (2006; 2002) states, that the NMC code of practice will not be straightforward to escape difficult situation during care. A student nurse or a registered nurse with limited or no experience of a new setting and will begin their role as a novice and requires support by the policies of the workplace along with the NMC code rules to guide their performance during their role of practice. The advance beginner will be able to perform acceptable because of the experience gained and put into practice the principles learnt but taking their role very important. A competent nurse who is experienced for two to three years is a more aware nurse that plans and analyses but needs to develop speed within role. The proficient nurse learns from his or her experiences, reflecting in action and is able to make effective decision immediately. The expert nurse has a very knowledgeable background, remembers patients, recognises changes and manages clinical decision within his or her patients care (Brenner 1984:20-32). The changes that have been made of the framework for the Nursing and Midwifery Council are more straightforward to understand during the professional development of nurses duties and their role of responsibilities. The aim of the code is to protect the health and wellbeing of patients. It will be a continuous development in practice (Hinchliff 2008). The change in the guidelines can cause indecision and could cause unnecessary stress for individuals (Lewis 1951, cited in McEwen and Wills 2007). The use of the Roy Adaptation model could be used as a guide by manager to help nurses become more educate about the changes to the guidelines (McEwan and Wills 2007). Changes however, could cause the guidelines to create challenges for nurses role by raising the expectation also expecting continuous development of the way they should work by providing quality care that will help to extend the life span of patients. Nurses should keep up-to-date with the new technology of accessing patients information by taking on additional training. The challenge for nurses is to encourage patients to improve their health and wellbeing by accepting interventions that will improve their quality of life but not under mind patients choices. The improvement of knowledge about the advancement of treatment and broader area of intervention and increasing standards will result in improved outcomes. High quality work for staff and patient is difficult but ensuring skills are up-to-date and not ignored but the quality of the workplace comes with excellent leadership management that is beneficial for patients wellbeing DH (2010). In summary, the code expects profession conduct from all nurses and midwives during their performance in all situations and should reflect good principles of ethical practice. These ethical principles will deliver the right care and should include patient spiritual belief. The belief in providing the right care is reflected in the roles and responsibility of nurses and midwives, this is very important and a huge responsibility to be in a caring profession. The pathway from a novice to expert requires knowledge and continuous development. Whether or not the guidelines of the code appear simple the NMC has revised the code to make it more straight forward for nurses and midwives to understand and implement into practice of care. Caring is about identifying the people who may be patient, client or individuals and treating them with equal concerns, respecting the diversity of people that are able to access the service. These patients are vulnerable and require trust, security and the pro spect of improving their health and wellbeing and need to make the right decisions and choices whether good or bad but gaining informed consent. The dignity of patient should be respected at all times and gaining consent is an approval of trust to provide care but remaining within the professional boundaries. To ensuring this occurs, the respect for privacy is maintained whilst providing care of personal hygiene. Nurses make diagnosis during patient care with the help of a useful nursing model to gain information from patient which must be kept confidential. Keeping information confidential is a way of showing patient their trust is being respected. Nurses are hoping to maintain the trust that builds partnerships with patient and families that will including the professionals collaboratively to develop the patients health and wellbeing. The NICE guidance is to promote health and wellbeing for patients medication and the NHS (2010:9) promised, to promote high quality care for all. The code should not be difficult but it is a challenge that healthcare professional will work towards by raising the standards to give more power to patient in making decision about their care and safety. It is the nurses and midwives obligation of the pledge they have made to continue reinforcing care and the support will come from managers by providing the training to broaden the knowledge of our professional. The changes will require higher expectation and a service that is keeping up with technology. A change that will be challenging for nurses and midwives is to encourage patient to maintain their life span through health promotion. The code has its fulfilling purpose which is the responsibility to provide guidance to nurses and midwives, of the care that should be given within the professional role.

UK Interest Rates During the Financial Crash

UK Interest Rates During the Financial Crash Central banks always have responsibility to keep a stable economy which includes stable prices, low inflation rate and confidence in the local economy. The main tool used by central banks for these propose is monetary policy which will influence the interest rate, and the way of conduct it varies from country to country. This essay will look into the Bank of England and explain the transmission of monetary policy and how the policy affected by the credit crunch. The Bank of England gained its independent right to set up interest rate according to the target inflation rate since May 1997. The preferred target inflation rate in the United Kingdom is 2% and the Bank of England sets appropriate interest rate to ensure the real inflation rate is moving towards the target inflation rate in an acceptable time period. However, the fixed target inflation rate does not necessary mean a constant interest rate. An Overview of the change of interest rate in UK banks from 1973 to 2009, from which a fluctuate trend could be observed among the whole period and there was a sharply decrease from nearly 15% to 5% during 1989 to 1993 when the United Kingdom was experiencing an economy recession. After 1993, the interest rate was relatively stable until 2008. However, between 2008 and 2009 the interest rate deeply drops from 5.25% to 0.5% for the recent credit crunch. From the data from the Bank of Englands report, the interest rate decreased at a rate of 1% per month constantly from October 2008 to January 2009 after the Lehman Brothers bankrupt. It is well known that a low interest rate represents a loose monetary policy which is aim to increase the inflation rate and the economy. It may illustrate how the interest rate set by the Bank of England conduct the monetary policy. The official rate set by the Bank of England direct influence the market rates includes the repo rate, bond rate, inner bank borrowing rate and so on. Then the market rate sets the asset prices in the financial market which will in turn affects peoples expectations of the economy. Also, the official rates would give people the signal about how will the market moves. For instance, a decrease in official rate will shows a loose monetary policy to the public and people would expect a rise in the price level and then may increase their domestic consuming demand. In addition, the official rate change will affect the exchange rate directly for it alters the domestic investment rate.(Mishkin, 2006). At the second stage, the official rate indirectly affects the domestic demand and net external demand, which forms the total demand, via the market rates, asset prices, expectations and exchange rate. Then the total demand influences the domestic inflation rate. Finally, the domestic inflation and import prices decide the inflation. For example, as mentioned above, a decrease interest rate will increase the publics domestic demand and also would decrease the exchange rate against foreign currencies which may consequently increase the export demand for the goods will be cheaper for foreign consumers. As a result, the total demand will increase and may eventually raise the price level and lead to an increase in inflation rate. Timing effect is another factor that the Bank of England concerns for the monetary policy. That is to say, the effects of changing interest rate are not instantly but take time to fully function. Some channels may be more sensitive to the change while others may not. The Bank of England estimates that a monetary policy may takes up to 2 years to be fully influence the inflation rate. The past statistic data supports this view that the inflation rate was nearly 2.3% in 2007 and increased to 2.9% in March 2009 during which period a sharp decrease in interest rate could be observed. The reason for this sharp decline of interest rate from 2008 to 2009 is mainly accounts for the credit crunch recently. The credit crunch shows a strong shortage in capital supply and declining quality of borrowers financial health (Mizen, 2008). Also, the credit crunch gives very bad expectation to the public about the economy and the price of real estate was declining relatively. Consequently, investors are lack of motivation to invest for the low earnings due to the declining prices and a high risk for the credit crunch. On the other hand, for the householders may feel less wealth for the decreasing prices and lack of sense of the financial safety, they may reduce the consuming and prefer to deposit in the bank. Both phenomena are not preferable for a growing economy in that the Bank of England cut the rate sharply to increase the supply of capital and wish to encourage the amount of invest and consume to cease the recession. In fact, the GDP growth rate from 2008 to 2009 was only 0.7% and the growth rate from 2007 to 2008 was 3% (Fedec, 2009). The growth in the first quarter in 2009 was even worse, which was 4.1%, that may be the reason for the Bank of England cuts the rate to 0.5%, which was only one tenth compared to the same time last year. As the data shows the inflation rate rose in response to the loose monetary police, the GDP growth rate may not be very optimistic for the pessimistic among the public. References: Bank of England, 2008 â€Å"How Monetary Policy Works†, Bank of England, http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetarypolicy/how.htm Bank of England, 2009 â€Å"Base Rate†, Bank of England, http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/statistics/rates/baserate.pdf Bank of England, 2008 â€Å"Monetary Policy Framework†, Bank of England, http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetarypolicy/framework.htm Fedec A,2009, â€Å"No End Yet to British Resession†, TradingEconomics, http://www.tradingeconomics.com/Economics/GDP Growth.aspx?Symbol=GBP Mizen P, 2008, â€Å"The Credit Crunch of 2007 2008: A Discussion of the Back ground, Market Reactions, and Policy Responses†, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review, 90(5). pp.531 67 Mishkin, F.S., Eakins, S.G. 2006, Financial Markets and Institutions, Fifth Edition, Pearson International Edition, pp. 219 244. RateInflation, â€Å"UK Historic Inflation Rate†, RateInflation http://www.rateinflation.com/inflation rate/uk historical inflation rate.php?form=ukir Part B Securitization started from 1970s firstly in the US market and then also trivial in the Europe after the new rules was adopted. It is welcomed by most banks because it brings additional way for banks making profits and it is an off balance sheet activity. However, due to variety risks associated with securitization and the endless re securitization, it may lead to sever financial crises. In fact, this would be the main reason for the Northern Crisis and the recent credit crunch (Mizen, 2008). This essay will first introduce the process of securitization then explain the risks in the process with a special focus on mortgage backed securitization and discuss its effects in the credit crunch. The definition of securitization is quite straightforward: it is â€Å"the process of pooling and repackaging loans into securities that are then sold to investors† (Ergungor, 2003). There are many assets would be securitized such as: mortgages, home equity loans, manufactured housing loans, credit card receivables and so on. By securitization, banks are able to sell those illiquidity assets to different investors. Besides, banks would create derivates by pooling assets together. There are variety types of securitization depending on the backed asset or payment method. For instance, the most popular type of securitization is Mortgage Backed Securitization (MBS), and there are Asset Backed Securitization (ABS), and Collateralized Debt Obligation (CDO). Basically, the progress of mortgage backed securitization creates a mortgage pool and the agency sells shares of the pool to different investors according to their preferences. Then the cash flows from the mortgage passed along to investors (Van, 1998). Agencies usually pooled together mortgage and divide those payments into several parts and develop different cash flows to create different type of securities which may have different maturity or yields, and sell them to investors with different risk attitude. The total sum of cash parts will be equal to the whole. The progress of securitization brings considerable benefits to banks. First of all, as banks are regulated to meet the minimal capital requirement which may reduce profits banks would earn. As a result banks may prefer to engage in securitization which is off balance sheet so that do not require banks to meet the capital requirement and gives a more attractive opportunity for banks earning. On the other side, investors prefer less risky and higher return which could be fulfilled by buying the debts through securitization. It is less risky for it is backed by mortgage and has a higher rate than deposit. Besides, as the Great Depression and bank fails not very long before, investors no longer consider deposit in the bank as a safe heaven (Ergungor, 2003). In this procedure, agencies do not really have cost except transaction costs which will be induced from investors. In addition, if another investor buys a share, he may also securitize it and sell it to others. In that way, one mortgage would be re securitized many times. Consequently, if one mortgage fails to repay, many securities may face the risk of default which to some extend enlarge the risk to the whole financial system. In contrast to default risk, agencies also face repayment risk in the process. To be more specific, for example, if the borrower expects the interest rate would fall then he may repay the debt early to refinance in a lower cost, meanwhile, agency are suppose to produce constant repayment periodically to investors who buy the MBS. As a result, the agency have to reinvest the amount of money repaid early by borrowers and which forces them engage in a reinvestment risk in case the interest rate may fall. Mizen(2008) points out that the credit crunch started from 2007 is very complicated for now there are many financial innovations giving ways to packaging and reselling assets. Then he argues that the main reason for these financial crises is mispricing risk of the products which are mortgage backed securities. Historical events show that the beginning of this credit crunch was a serial of mortgage defaults. Then these defaults bring downgraded subprime related mortgage products which then lead to countrywide mortgage bank losses in the U.S. However, this trend did not stop; it soon spread to European banks which have tight relationship to the U.S. financial markets. It is acknowledged that the Credit crunch of 2007 2008 develops after this the full scale (Mizen, 2008). The amount in billions of dollars of household credit market debt outstanding from 1950 to 2009. It could be seen that the trend of growing was much shaper after 2000 and peaked in 2009 when the approximately $11 trillion is mortgage debt (Bubbles, 2008). It is not hard to imagine that 1% of the total amount of mortgage debt was securitized and only 1% of the securitized debt was re securitized when some of them default, how great the amount of dollars would be involved in. That was what happened in the Credit Crunch, for a trivial subprime mortgage market, financial institutions are tied in a line and the re securitization strength this tie and increase the risk and the price of default. Once one default, the whole will suffer, the globalization also enlarges the scale that will suffer. References: Bubble H,2008, â€Å"A Decade of Slow Growth: Why the United States will Face a Decade of Economic Stagnation and Face a L Shaped Recession. 10 Charts and Pictures as to Why This will Occur.†, http://www.doctorhousingbubble.com/a decade of slow growth why the united states will face a decade of economic stagnation and face a l shaped recession 10 charts and pictures as to why this will occur/ Ergungor E,2003, â€Å"Securitization†, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, August 15, 2008 Mizen P, 2008, â€Å"The Credit Crunch of 2007 2008: A Discussion of the Back ground, Market Reactions, and Policy Responses†, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review, 90(5). pp.531 67 Van H, James C (1998), Financial Market Rates and Flows, Chapter 13, PP 119. Prentice Hall

Marcus Brutus as the Tragic Hero in Julius Caesar :: Julius Caesar Essays

Marcus Brutus as the Tragic Hero in Julius Caesar      Ã‚   There is no such thing as the perfect person.   We may dream of such a person, but sadly, everyone has flaws.   These flaws are what make us human.   Something else that makes us human is our need for heroes.   We attribute 'perfect' qualities to our heroes.   In reality even our heroes are flawed.   The closest thing to the idealized person, or hero, is the Shakespearean tragic hero.   The tragic hero is someone of high standing, good character, and a flaw.   While it may be only one flaw, it is often fatal.   An example of a tragic hero can be best seen in William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar.   Marcus Brutus is a prominent leader and noble citizen of Rome who leads in the assassination of Julius Caesar.   We see that Brutus plays the role of the tragic hero through his noble standing, fatal flaw, and legacy.      Ã‚  Ã‚   Marcus Brutus is of noble standing which adds to his appeal as a tragic hero. At one point Cassius says   "'Brutus' and 'Caesar.' What is so special about the name 'Caesar'........... yours sounds as good." (  Ã‚   )   This indicates that Brutus is held in the same esteem as Julius Caesar.   Most tragic heroes are of high standing because they are easily recognizable.   Tragic heroes are usually portrayed as prominent social figures so when they fall they fall harder.  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   Brutus's fatal flaw is his trustworthy nature.   He joins the conspiracy not because he "loved Caesar less but loved Rome more."   (  Ã‚   )   Brutus joins the conspiracy under the impression that he is preventing Caesar's tyranny and saving the people of Rome.   He also trusts the motives of the other conspirators.   In entering the conspiracy he is also responsible for the death of Caesar and the movement of the plot.   The civil war is a direct result of Caesar's assassination and eventually Brutus's own death.   Brutus's fall is definitely caused by his trustworthy nature.      Ã‚  Ã‚   Through his legacy Brutus leaves the world an important lesson.   Marc Antony remembers Brutus as "the noblest Roman of them all."(  Ã‚   )   Despite his death and loss in the war, Brutus is still remembered as noble, in this he represents the moral of the play.

Finance: Stocks Vs Treasury Bonds :: essays research papers

Historically speaking, stocks have been found to be no more risky than Treasury bonds. Over the past twenty years vast research has been done on this subject. Jeremy Siegel of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School stated that, â€Å"The safest long-term investment for the preservation of purchasing power has clearly been stocks, not bonds.† Since the mid nineteen twenties, company stocks have average annual returns close to 11%, while on the other hand, Treasury Bonds only return with a little over 5%.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Currently stocks are on the rise. Since 1982 the reason for this is the declining risk premium. The return, or â€Å"risk premium,† that is required is much less. This is for several reasons. Investors have realized not to be so fearful of the great unpredictability of stocks. Instead of dropping stocks in the short run, investors are learning to hold out for the long run to see huge benefits. Secondly, Americans are now keeping stocks in accounts that require long-term holding, such as retirement accounts. Also, businesses are becoming much more efficient and the chance of undergoing devastating turn-arounds in a recession are much less. The tax environment is more generous, foreign threats have ceased dramatically, and the government management has vastly improved. The bottom line is that the risk of investing stocks is much less than it ever has been before. The level of the risk premium is heading towards zero, while currently holding at 3%. That 3% is much better than the historical average of 7%. James K. Glassman and Kevin A Hassett, authors of the book, â€Å"Dow 36,000,† claim that the prediction of the Dow reaching 36,000 is not out of the realm of possibilities. If the earnings grow in the long term at the same rate as the GDP and treasury bonds are below 6%, then it is very possible for the Dow to hit a level of 36,000. One critic of â€Å"Dow 36,000,† Burton G. Malkiel, stated that the rise in stocks that has been occurring is the beginning to an adjustment that â€Å"will only be complete when stocks and bonds are priced to offer equivalent returns, and that implies a level of 36,000 for the Dow today with a price earnings multiple of 100.† So the question remains at whether the authors of â€Å"Dow 36,000† are correct or incorrect about the arguments and predictions that they make in their book. They are correct in what they predict in their book, but they need to make sure to not lead some not-so-experienced investors down the wrong road of deception.

Obesity Crisis Speech

Thesis/Central Idea: Obesity Crisis Introduction: Obesity has become a controversial and great medical issue within today’s society. It is defined as a disease in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that health may be negatively affected. In other word, an increase of body fatty tissue mass. It can also be defined as a body mass index of around 30 or above (Mathur, 2007). Many studies show an association between excessive body weight and various diseases, particularly cancers and heart problems which directly relate to increased mortality and lower life expectancy.Body I. Main Point: In many countries, obesity has become a major problem. Obesity is rapidly rising especially in developing countries. A. Subpoint: Statistics indicate that obesity is a high-risk national malaise. 1. According to the World Health Organization, in year 2005, 400 million adults were obese. 2. And predicts that there will be more than 700 million adults will be obese in the world b y 2015. B. Subpoint: Childhood obesity is also at an all time high 1. According to the U. S.Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the percentage of obese children has increased by 54 percent in 6 to 11 year olds and 39 percent among 12 to 17 year olds. 2. That is to say that 16 to 33 percent of Americans within the ages of 6 to 17 are considered obese. 3. Unfortunately for children of the age of 7 who are obese, 40 percent of them will struggle obesity throughout their adulthood and be faced with many health complications. As for the obese adolescents, 70 percent of them will remain obese throughout their adult life. . Another statistic figures children between the ages 10 and 13 have an 80 percent chance of battling through the torments of an obese life as an adult. Transition: What causes obesity?II. Main Point: Genes, eating habits and a slow metabolism rate may all play a part. A. Subpoint: Most often, obesity tend to run in family which leads to genetic cause (Myers, 2004) 1. In one study, adults who were adopted as children were found to have weights closer to their biological parents than to their adoptive parents. . In this case, the person's genetic makeup has more influence on the development of obesity than the environment in the adoptive family home. B. Subpoint: Apart from hereditary factors, obesity also occurs when there is a combination of unhealthy eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle. 1. According to the American Academy of Child ;amp; Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), unhealthy weight gain due to poor dieting and lack of exercise is responsible for over an incredible 300,000 deaths a year. 2.Nowadays, most people indulge in static mental exercise such as surfing the internet, watching television and reading rather than physical activities. 3. This would lead to an increase in the rate of obesity as more and more people become lazier (Myers, 2004) C. Subpoint: Eating habits are essential in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and preven ting the degenerate diseases in which are hand and hand with obesity. 1. The fast-food revolution and the carbohydrate-laden two-minute noodles as convenient substitutes for wholesome food also contribute to weight gain. .This is especially to those who have the eating habits of consuming a big portion of oily and fatty foods all at once. 3. Besides that, too much alcohol may also cause obesity because most alcoholic drinks are high in calories and this can lead to consuming more calories than we should. D. Subpoint: Obesity could also be caused by the slow metabolism rate of a person (Mathur, 2007) 1. Researchers found more metabolic and digestive disorders resulting from over consumption of trans-fats and refined white flour carbohydrates, combined with low fiber intake. 2.These eating patterns are known to interfere with food and energy metabolism in the body, and cause excessive fat storage. Transition: The effect of obesity is that people are getting fatter III. Main Point: Gro wing evidence shows that if you are overweight you are more likely to develop health problems, such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, certain types of cancer, gout and gallbladder disease. A. Subpoint: Being overweight can also cause problems such as sleep apnoea (interrupted breathing during sleep) and osteoarthritis (wearing away of the joints) B.Subpoint: Type 2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes which reduces our body's ability to control blood sugar. 1. Therefore, a person’s blood glucose level will increase and later become obese 2. It is also a major cause of early death, heart disease, kidney disease, stroke, and blindness. C. Subpoint: Heart disease and stroke are the leading causes of death and disability for both men and women. 1. This is because overweight people are more likely to have high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke, than people who are not overweight 2.Very high blood levels of cholesterol and triglycerides (blo od fats) can also lead to heart disease and often are linked to obesity. 3. Being overweight also contributes to angina (chest pain) and sudden death from heart disease or stroke without any signs or symptoms (Mathur, 2007) Transition: There are many things we can do to control obesity IV. Main Point: Becoming more active is the best way to burn more calories and lose weight. A. Subpoint: As a citizen, we could help by walking or running at least 20 minutes a day. This will ensure that our heart stays healthy. . Also, if we know someone who is overweight, we should always try to support and encourage them to exercise. Quite often, people who are overweight will shy away from society, so any support we can give them will be greatly appreciated.2. We should be a role model for the younger generations to follow on how a healthy lifestyle is like. Also, a child could develop a healthier eating habit when they are still young as that’s their best learning time. B. Subpoint: It is imperative that the Government prioritize disease prevention and health promotion. . The government could organize health talks on obesity and publish advertisements through the media to show the damaging effects of obesity. 2. Measures have already been taken thanks to The Health Ministry’s Healthy Lifestyle campaign for promoting physical activity since factors such as environment, sports and recreational amenities influenced people’s inclination in this direction (Crawford, 2004) Conclusion: Obesity has a strong negative effect on the society and therefore, it is harmful.If society can take steps to solve the challenges faced, obesity will decline and people would have a healthier lifestyle. If obesity gets bad, then problems that come with it may be irreversible. Problems such as diabetes and heart conditions are common illnesses suffered by people who are obese. Therefore, there is a need to stop it from becoming a serious threat.Bibliography Crawford, Lester M. à ¢â‚¬Å"Government's role in combating the nation's obesity epidemic. Health & Human Services, June 2004 Mathur, R. â€Å"Obesity†, http://www. medicinenet. com/obesity_weight_loss/article. htm Myers, M. D. â€Å"Causes of obesity†, http://www. Weight. com. World Health Organization http://www. who. int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/index. html U. S. Center of Disease Control and Prevention http://www. cdc. gov/obesity/index. html American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry http://www. aacap. org/cs/root/facts_for_families/obesity_in_children_and_teens

Racism in Canada Essay

Canada is known around the world as an international peacekeeper, a place of liberty, and a loving country that accepts everyone. This reputation is part of our image, and is honoured by many nations. But Canada is not perfect. Racism still exists, sometimes it maybe in the shadows, it does not take a investigative detective to notice the visible racism all around us. In some cases it is social phrases, in some it may be serious bullying, discrimination or even assault, racism is still a problem. Like the United States of America, Canada has a history with racism. In the 1900s to 1950s, there was discrimination against African-Canadians. From the time of settlement into North America, up until a few decades ago, there was serious mis-treatment of First Nation peoples, including genocide, sexual assault and child abuse. Also during WW2, Japanese-Canadians were looked upon as enemies, and treated poorly. Compared to the past, we are much more liberal, and have less racial prejudices. The improvement of civil liberties from the past to now is amazing. But still not enough. Every time I see something racist, it deeply saddens me. In my heart, Canada as a whole has left racism behind, but some people still carry the disgusting tradition. I once saw a bus driver speaking disrespectfully to an older Chinese woman, about how he couldn’t understand her, and she should try to speak in English. I thought to my self how sad it is that an official city worker can be so intolerant of other cultures. I do not like racism, and see it a lot. I see racism when a group of African-Canadians attack a Caucasian man for â€Å"coming to the wrong neighbourhood†. I see racism when people say, â€Å"White people cannot play cricket†, when some of the best cricket players are Caucasian, like Alastair Cook, with over 8000 runs  scored. I see racism in stereotypes. It is clear that racism is a part of our society now, but we need to improve our selves and eradicate it for good. To abolish racism completely, we first need to put personal feelings aside, and agree on facts. Yes, we are all humans. But we need to accept our differences, we are not the exact same. â€Å"Specific genotype gives athletes like Bolt a boost†, dailymail reports scientific research done by University of Szczecin in Poland. Once we separate fact from fiction, we can live without delusion. Secondly, we must call out racism when ever we see it, for example if a bus driver does something wrong, he should be confronted, to avoid it from happening again. If we call out all racism when we see it, we can put an end to it. In conclusion Canada is one of the best countries to live in in the world. It is a leader in civil rights, peacekeeping, and equality. However some racism remains in our community from the past, which should be cleaned up. If we all aim towards a better future, the present could looked upon in future similarly to how the bloody 50s are seen today.

Pulp Fiction: Shortcomings of a “Neo-Noir” Essay

The remarkable stylistic conventions of classical film noir have made it one of the most memorable and recognizable film genres to this day. Each film noir picture is uniquely told though it use of degrees of darkness, contrasting lighting, rain-covered city streets, isolated protagonist, and devious dames that effortlessly lure men into a cold trap of criminal deeds. Pulp Fiction, a film by Quentin Tarantino, is said to be one of film noir’s strongest roots with its setting of a dark, criminal underworld. While the film does play around the edges of traditional film noir, it cannot be accurately be claimed a â€Å"neo-noir† due to several variances it takes with some of the most fundamental elements of film noir. Many visual and narrative devices have taken a different route in such a manner that one cannot classify it as conventional film noir. One of the most obvious breaks that Pulp Fiction makes from traditional film noir is the film being shot primarily in the day time. When one thinks of film noir, they automatically think darkness because it is always the film’s visual theme. The symbolic use of heavy shadows and key lighting is what makes film noir so great and gives the overall grim mood to the picture. When the murders occur the lighting is very dark, and most of the time, only illuminates the killers face as he is firing the bullets such as in The Killers when the two assassins come and kill the Swede. This style shows how emotionless the murders are as we only focus on their face from the lighting, thus giving the audience a very cold and dark feeling. We never get this feeling or situation in Pulp Fiction as all of the killing is done in the daytime, with the room well lit. There are no murders at night; in fact there are only two night scenes shot in the entire movie. There is not as much emotion or overall visual effect that we usually see with murders in film noir. A similarity we see between classic film noir and Pulp fiction that adds to the visual detail of the film is constant smoking. Almost every character in Pulp Fiction smokes and they do it every chance they get. In classical film noir this smoking added to the effect of the darkness and lighting because the rooms where always filled with smoke which increased the feeling of uncertainty and gloom. In Pulp fiction, it has a greatly diminished symbolic effect because of the shots always being in the daytime. The only scene that compares to classic film noir is the shot of Butch in the taxicab with Esmarelda. This shot is the only one in the entire film that comes closest to a typical noir setting. This scene is shot at night in a cab traveling in the city streets of Los Angles. There is heavy contrast lighting from the streetlights and the camera angle is shot from the third-person facing the two characters in the car. From this view the audience gets a great visual picture of their face s because of the contrast of light that only illuminates both Butch and Esmarelda. Butch asks for a cigarette and Esmarelda gives him one right away, striking the match on the dash as we see in most noir films. Now the setting is dark and the car is filling with smoke, which gives a great setting for Esmarelda to ask, â€Å"what does it feel like to kill a man?† This moment is a perfect resurrection of classical film noir because we see the murderer and a questionable femme fatale having strong interest on what it is like to take a life. As Butch claims that he did not know that he killed the man until she told him, there is a pause, and then he tells her that he does not feel â€Å"a damn thing.† This is the cold moment we see from the noir style but they usually last much longer in traditional film noir. In contrast, the scene in Pulp Fiction ends abruptly as Butch leaves the taxi and goes home to Fabienne, whom he is having an intimate relationship with. The mood of the movie completely changes and all possible questions about Esmarelda being the femme fatale are erased as she is now out of the story. This scene is as close as we get to a typical noir setting with all the elements of darkness, lighting, and smoke combined to create a better feeling of how cold Butch is towards killing another man. A film noir with out a femme fatale is hardly a film noir at all. Often called â€Å"spider woman† they play the most important role in all film noir as they weave a trap to which our male antagonist always falls into creating the plot and crime of the story. â€Å"Independence is her goal but her nature is fundamentally and irredeemably sexual in film noir† (Place 6). In Pulp fiction, the audience is drawn in to believe that Mia is our femme fatale as the first time we are introduced to her all we hear is her seductive voice and then the camera flashes to a shot of just her lips, covered in fresh red lipstick. The next shot we see of her is only her feet as she tells Vincent it is time to go. This is a typical visual style we see in noir as it shows how the man begins to get seduced such as the shot of Phyllis’ legs as she goes down the staircase in Double Indemnity. With the background knowledge of Mia being the millionaires, Marsellus Wallace’s wife, we are led to think that she is a typical femme fatale who wants to escape like Kathie in Out of the Past. As they go out on their date, Vincent and Mia have some of the same back and forth flirtatious dialogue that we see in film noir such as when Mia says, â€Å"That’s when you’ve found somebody really special, when you can just shut the fuck up for a minute, and comfortably share a silence.† They have a good time, win a dance competition, and it seems as if Mia is certainly seductive enough towards Vincent to get him trapped when they get home. It is exactly at this point that the typical principles of film noir begin to fall apart. Vincent takes himself in the bathroom and has a self-debate on whether or not to sleep with the boss’s wife. In traditional film noir, rational is completely taken over by impulse and the male-lead always falls into some kind of trap. In Pulp fiction, Vincent decides that he is just going to say goodbye and rejects the advances of the femme fatale, which is completely out of line if we want to classify this film as noir. Immediately after, Mia overdoses which completely changes the entire mood of the movie. We are no longer thinking about Mia seducing Vincent, it has now turned into a climactic struggle to save Mia’s life. Although Mia has her juicy red lips, smooth voice, and powerful sexuality, her downfall proves that there is no place for a character such as a femme fatale in this movie. â€Å"Her failure as an actress and her later overdose leaves her weak, powerless and deathly pale, a far cry from the sexually potent and glamorous fatales of the classical noir period† (Em L, â€Å"Film in Focus†). A feature in Pulp fiction that related to classic film noir was the use of a non-sequential narrative structure. Although Pulp fiction did not use the exact same structure, the events were seen out of chronological order. The structure typically seen in noir is encompassed by on overall flashback that gives detail and explanation of the downfall of the male protagonist. Stories in film noir typically begin at the end or middle, and the flashback us usually narrated by the protagonist. In these fist-person voice-over narrations we learn how the protagonist got to the situation he is in now. Since the character is relating the story directly to the audience, we are able to create a connection with the character, and understand his disturbed thoughts. Pulp fiction takes a different approach, as there is no specific male protagonist in the film. Instead of one person illustrating events from past to present, we are given multiple characters experiences in various timeframes. The audience is show different points of departure from each character in the story and the story rewinds and we experience the same timeframe but from someone else’s point of view. This continues until we come full circle to the robbery scene, where now, all of the pieces of the puzzle have been put together. â€Å"Director Quentin Tarantino said he was aiming to make a trilogy taking elements of the old crime stories and mixing them together† (Blake, â€Å"Linear Narrative†). â€Å"Part of the trick is to take these movie characters, these genre characters and these genre situations and actually apply them to some of real life’s rules and see how they unravel† (Tarantino). Although this was a great style to put the movie together it is unclear if it could be used to show the downfall of the protagonist. The flashback marks the solidified fate of the noir heroes, showing how he was doomed from the start. If the audience has to relate to many characters rather than just one, the powerful connection we get in film noir is lost. The most noticeable and prominent variation from the framework of film noir in Pulp Fiction is the rejection of pessimism expected from the conclusion of the film. All noir heroes are doomed from the start. Since the flashback structure is completely different than classic film noir we do not see how any of the characters are trapped in a fate they cannot escape. In fact, almost everyone does get a happy ending. Jules decides he is done being a hit man after is â€Å"divine intervention† and says that he is not going to kill a man again but become a sheppard for the lord. Butch is free to go after he comes back for Marsellus who was getting raped by Zed. Vincent does die but with the timeline out of order he is killed in the middle in the movie rather than in the end where he walks out of the restaurant with Jules. Even Ringo and Yolanda have a happy ending as Jules teaches them a lesson and they still get away with lots of money. Noir films are supposed to leave the audience with a dark and cold feeling, which was definitely not the case here. The pessimistic tone we get from the confessional nature of the flashback creates the view of negativity that last the entirety of the film. Film noir may even be called it’s own genre because of its many visual and narrative elements that made it like no other style. It was a â€Å" world of darkness and violence, with a central figure whose motives are usually greed, lust and ambition, whose world is filled with fear (Higham 27). Although Pulp Fiction carries some of these elements it should not be classified as a â€Å"neo noir† as it lacks some of the greatest aspects that made film noir so special. If it is the roots of film noir, it greatly undermines the movement that was like no other ever scene in American cinema. Works Cited Em L. â€Å"Film in Focus: Suburban Noir & Pulp Fiction.† Film Student Central. N.p., 11 Oct. 2009. Web. 20 June 2012. . Higham, Charles, and Joel Greeburg. â€Å"Noir Cinema.† Film Noir Reader. New Jersey: Limelight Editions, 1996. 27. Print. Place, Janey. â€Å"Women in Film Noir.† N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print. Blake, CG. â€Å"Linear vs. Non-linear Narrative.† A New Fiction Writers Forum. N.p., 6 Dec. 2011. Web. 21 June 2012. .

Children and adults Essay

The Effective Early Learning Project based at Worcester University highlights two ways in which adults can help children progress; The first is the way the adult encourages the child to be autonomous, to get on and try new things; The second, is the way the adult offers experiences which are stimulating, challenging and interesting. Adults need to be a supporting factor when the child is in a ‘risky’ environment. Children and adults alike enjoy climbing trees; adults know when they are too high as do children. This is a whole other debate in terms of nature or nurture debate. This is where we could explore the idea of children learning to be safe when risk taking or is it already ‘there’. Stephenson (2003) wrote about a child on a swing, ‘Swinging was very popular with these younger children, but more often than the older children their reactions indicated that they felt unsafe and wanted the swing slowed down’. Therefore the child has taken the risk, has agreed a boundary, enjoyed the activity and acknowledged the safety aspect. The adult was there to ensure the safety and also make the activity a positive one by being readily available. Children must face all different kinds of risks in order to support their development and learning. Stine (1997) wrote that to support their learning and development is a complex issue. There always has to be provision for a physical challenge. More and more educational settings are using outdoor play/activity to challenge the children. Although, what is an acceptable risk to one person, may be completely the opposite of another. Bruce and Meggitt (2002) write that ‘outdoor space needs to be available most of the time’; They continue that, safety is the only consideration for keeping children in doors. Children can feel safe in ‘risk taking’ environments and activities in many ways. Initially the adult to child ratio, with a high number of adults’ children can be supported and helped to achieve. Secondly by minimising, if possible, the risk aspect. This could be ensuring the activity is a positive and acceptable environment. Thirdly by giving the children all the opportunities available for physical risk taking, children need a stimulating and challenging environment. And finally, a well maintained balance between the child’s safety and the challenge of the activity. In an educational setting, an adult carer will go to the ‘risk area’ and carry out an assessment. They will check the route to be taken, dangers in the area and also any area that poses extreme concern. An adult carer should also think about the child to adult ratio. A local nursery allows children to climb trees. Due to the child to adult ratio, the nursery feels that the level of risk posed can be curtailed by having by having the children supervised and supported through the activity by adults. The children are therefore enjoying the activity of risk taking, as well as feeling safe in knowing an adult is available to help at any time. Another factor that the adult carer should be aware of is the idea of making a child’s environment completely hazard free. Therefore taking away any risk or danger. Walsh (1993) thought that children in an environment that is completely ‘safe’ could become bored and this could lead to self initiated risk taking that could be dangerous. Durberry (2001) felt that children who grow up in an ultra safe environment would ‘lack confidence in their own physical ability’. This would be due to the poor opportunities for the children to build and extend upon their exiting knowledge. He continued that children had to be both confident and competent physically in order to feel competent emotionally. The ideals on risk taking vary from culture to culture. Although the main aim remains the same. The child needs to remain safe, but feel they are being challenged and stimulated. To minimise hazards there needs to be a high adult to child ratio. Children need opportunities to explore and do so independently. Over the last decade, the child’s freedom of choice has been limited. Adult carers are sometimes over anxious about letting the child experiment with risk taking. The procedures and guidelines that are in place give the adult carer a frame work on which to base their activities upon. The adult carer should exploit and become fluent in the procedures and guidelines in place. This in turn will provide groundwork for safe risk taking. Bibliography Smith, P., Cowie, H. & Blades, M. (2003) Understanding Children’s Development, London: Blackwell Publishing.  Bruce, T. & Meggitt, C. (2002) Childcare & Education, London: Hodder & Stoughton.  DfEE (2003) Early Years (Volume 23, Number 1), London: Taylor & Francis