Race and Prejudice Essay

I think it affects everyone, even if it occurs at a subconscious level. I will be the first to admit that I am prejudice: I judge people daily by how they dress, talk, and look. Prejudice has a heavy psychological impact on the ones to whom it is directed at; it shows the ignorance of the person displaying the prejudice; and yes, I believe prejudice can be lessened, but I it will never be eliminated. There is no reason for us to judge people based on their looks, they didn’t get to choose to whom they were born. Yet so many times I find myself doing this, everyone does, even if they don’t admit it. Prejudice can have a wide range of implications on the person to whom it is directed at. I believe that lots of times we don’t see these effects immediately, but they show up later on in the person’s life. An example of this would be a black person who grows up in an all white community. Throughout his life, he is made fun of because he acts â€Å"white† ( he tries hard in school, gets good grades, is smart). This kid could always feel alone, because his black friends disown him for acting white, and his white friends are subconsciously prejudice against him simply because he is black. This is a tough situation, and is extremely true in the lives of a lot of kids. Not to pick on black people or anything, but I heard a report some time ago that only 2% of black kids make it out of the â€Å"hood†. It is extremely hard for them to overcome everyone making fun of them because they don’t conform to being a â€Å"gangster†. The person displaying the prejudice shows the ignorance of that person. Most kids get their prejudice roots from their parents at a very young age; it can come from a ton of different situations where the parent makes a comment, joke, etc, about a certain group. It also can come from the environment, in which the child grows up, and different situations that the child is involved in or witnesses. That being said, it is not an excuse for the person to be racist against the entire group, be it ethnic, social, or any other grouping. Ayn Rand says: â€Å"A genius is a genius, regardless of the number of morons who belong to the same race – and a moron is a moron, regardless of the number of geniuses who share his racial origin.† I strongly agree with this statement: we must judge only on a person’s productive ability. This is hard to do, but when it comes down to it, the only thing that matters is a person’s ability and how well he can work. In conclusion, there is no way that prejudice will ever be abolished in any society; it is futile to even try. As you can see from the previous paragraphs: prejudice has a dramatic impact on a person’s complex. Prejudice only shows the ignorance of the one who is displaying it, and prejudice can be lessened, but will never be absolutely destroyed.

Cell Phone Technology Essay

Technology had become engrained in our society. Everywhere people are using cell phones, including children and teenagers. Cell phone technology and technology in general have change the way we do everything in our society. Technology has dramatically altered our world. They have become a necessary part of everyday life so much so that it is leaking into the education world as a new tool despite the concern of the negative effects of cell phone technology. There is a new wave in some schools around the United States. There are some districts that are embracing the use of cell phones in the classroom. Some administers have come around to the thinking that the use of this technology in the classroom can be of benefit in the learning setting. There are also concerns that the same technology can be too distracting for students. However, the use of cell phones in the educational world is worth looking at despite some of the concerns that many adults share. Texting has become the preferred method of basic communication between teenagers and their friends. Seventy-five percent of 12-17 year olds own cell phones, which is up from forty-five percent in 2004 (Lenhart, 2010). Phones have no doubt become an indispensable tool in communication for teens. Eighty-eight percent of teen cell phone users are text messengers (Lenhart, 2010). More than half (fifty-four percent) are daily texters. Among all teens, the use of texting has overtaken the frequency of every other form of communication. The concern about the overuse of cell phones is that it may have negative consequences in teenager’s education.  ¼ of text messages that teens send are sent during class. A survey conducted by Beneson’s online poll, polled 1,013 teens- eighty-four percent that have cell phones-show that a significant number of stud ents have information stored on their phones or has texted answers to their friends. The same poll also found teens send 440 text messages a week on average, 110 of them sent during class (Toppo, 2009). For this reason cell phone use is prohibited for use during the school say within most public schools in the United States. Most administrations and teachers feel that cell phone usage is a negative distraction and deterrent to learning. Administrators are often concerned about the inappropriate use of cell phones, which is the reason that there are restrictions of cell phone (according to Obringer & Coffey, 2007, St. Gerard, 2006). Cell phones ringing can present unwanted distraction and for some students, sending and receiving text messages that can lead to cheating (according to Gilroy, 2003). There is also the real possibility of students posting improper pictures is a concern (according to Obringer & Coffey, 2007). However, many are choosing to look at cell phones as a new learning tool in the classroom setting. Over the years we have seen on the news about students posting improper photos and language on social networking sites, which causes administrators and teachers to have a real concern. These concerns that many have are valid, and should be addressed. There have been many cases in which the abuse of cell phones has been a huge problem, but administrators want to take a chance on using cell phones in this setting. The important thing to keep in mind that there is down side, yes, but there is a way to monitor the use of this technology too. PPCD teacher Debra Vela, who has 17 years of teaching experience says, â€Å"Sexting, posting of improper photos and cheating may be a legitimate worry, but the benefits outweigh these negative points.† Students today are referred to as â€Å"Digital Natives† (according to Prensky, 2001). They have grown up with technology and multitasking, and in the habit of quickly processing information (Humble-Thaden, 2011). However, as cell phone technology expands with the possibilities of texting, web browsing and gaming have increased over the recent years and administrators are still worried about the distractions of electronic devices. A survey of students and parents by the group Common Sense Media found that almost seventy percent of schools around the country ban cell phone use during the school day (Schachter, 2009). There are some districts and administrators, though that are beginning to realize the potential of cell phones. It is a part an â€Å"anytime, anywhere† learning movement (Schachter, 2009). This leaves laptops and even smaller netbooks behind, in favor for more mobile, affordable and reliable handheld devices like â€Å"smartphones† that can run such programs as Windows Mobile. â€Å"Technology has finally progressed to where mobile devices are cheap and powerful enough to use,† observes Elliot Soloway, a professor at the University of Michigan (Schachter, 2009). A study of twenty-five mobile learning initiatives worldwide by the Joan Ganz Cooney Foundation Center at Sesame Workshop anointed them the wave of the future. â€Å"Just as Sesame Street help transformed television into a revolutionary tool for learning among young children four decades ago, advances in mobile technologies are showing untapped educational potential for today’s generation,† the report author’s wrote (Schachter, 2009). In 1969, the way children learned changed when Sesame Street aired on PBS. The loved Muppets of the educational show captured the hearts and attention of toddlers. The show taught them the basics of 123’s and ABC’s to the importance of friendships. Before the age of four, children had already learned the basics for their future education by watching this television show. The same is happening today with the use of cell phones. It is drastically changing the face of the way children learn and take information in. Fifth graders at Trinity Meadows (Keller, TX) spent most of their days on their HTC 6800 smartphones, using the GoKnow’s platform. Fifty-five students led the way in a pilot program using the new generation of cell phones and their advanced technology for educational ends. For example, students can draw the solar system on their devices and animate them to show them in real obit. Students can also upload assignments the teacher sends to the server and then the teacher can grade them and submit them back to the student electronically (Schachter, 200). At an early age, children are learning the advantages of technolog y, and will carry it into the future. They are learning to use cell phones as a learning tool, and making the best of what this technology has to offer. Children today have a chance to express themselves creatively and learn in a way that they are familiar with. They are at an advantage since they are already so use to using the technology the world has to offer. â€Å"Allowing children to use cell phone technology in the classroom will provide them with the tools for more creativity to create wonderful projects,† Vela says. This pilot program has shown that the use of cell phone technology in the classroom can be of benefit to the students. Not only that the teachers have a new method of reaching students that they otherwise would not have. With the use of cell phone teachers have new ways of teaching lessons, and the interactivity of these lessons are more likely to reach the minds of students. With the use of cell phone technology in the classroom the children that need a more creative outlet this provides them with platform to do so. Children that need this outlet can create and not be tied down to pencil, paper, marker, c rayons and glue. This allows them to be able to express themselves using the medium that they know best. Using cell phones in the classroom settings as a tool enables them to stay focused and interested in the things that they are learning. Technology is such an important part of everyday life, especially in cell phone technologies. And because of the increasing improvement of cell phone technology has allowed the next generation to use them in a whole new way to learn. Although, there is concern about the overuse of cell phones, the benefits may outweigh the negatives. â€Å"I still think students need to learn the ‘old fashion’ way because what happens if technology becomes unavailable to them? Also students need to be able to use their brains for higher learning,† says Vela. Technology is a wonderful tool to use in the classroom for all age groups. They can benefit from the interactivity of the Internet and all the information that the World Wide Web has to offer students as well as teachers. Children in today’s classrooms have an opportunity that past generations did not have. They have the chance to make a big impression on their lives by allowing themselves to use cell phones to their advantage not their disadvantage. The technology of cell phones has taken over almost every aspect of human activity. Adults as well as children have been consumed by the use of them, and now it has leaked over into the world of education. There are many concerns about the overuse of this technology, but many districts are taking the chance to embrace it and try it out in the classrooms. It has been shown that there are benefits for school children. Although, there is some debate about this issue it is important to remember that there is a need for balance. Reference Lenhart, Amanda. (2010). Teens, cell phone and texting. Pew Research Center Publications. Retrieved 3 June 2012 from http://pewresearch.org. Humble-Thaden, Beth. (2011). Student Reflective Perception of High School Educational Cell Phone Technology Usage. Journal of Technology Studies. Retrieved 3 June 2010 from http://web.ebscohost.com. Toppo, Greg. (2009). Survey: Many teens use phones in class to text or cheat. USA Today. Retrieved 3 June 2012 from http://www.usatoday.com. Schachter, Ron. (2009). Mobile Devices in the classroom. District Administration Magazine. Retrieved 4 June 2012 from http://ww.eric.com. Interview: Debra Vela, PPCD Teacher, 17+ years teaching.

A Cry from the Grave by Leslie Woodhead Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

A Cry from the Grave by Leslie Woodhead - Essay Example This mass killing is indeed a very horrible and a very traumatic occurrence in Bosnia. The experience of Bosnian Muslims during the period of war is of course a tragic one. Nobody except the Bosnian community could understand what it was like to be there in a place where it had seemed that death was the only thing that could happen to them at the end of the day. Nonetheless, the documentary â€Å"A Cry from the Grave† which has captured the dread and terror of the hour by hour story of the July 1995 Srebrenica genocide during the Bosnian war conveys a message that even if the war is over, it is not enough because there were more than 80,000 Bosnian Muslim who were still crying for justice from their graves. The images from video clippings of the camcorder and from the photographs of the Bosnian war, without a doubt, served a function of being the strongest element in the documentary itself to express that disastrous incident. Images of people seeking for refuge, images of peop le trying to escape their danger from the Serbian forces, images of people wounded, and the images of people killed have captured and covered not only the Bosnian genocide but can also elicit sentiments of sorrow, grief and fear from the testimonies of the survivors of the said war. The Bosnian war had all begun when the Bosnian Serbs attacked the lands where the Bosnian Muslims were residing. They attacked such zones in order to secure the Serb’s territory. This was followed by â€Å"ethnic cleansing†. The Serbian forces systematically eliminated the Muslim population within their territory. They separated the men from the women and children. Some of them were forced to escape the zones which the Serbs had considered to own. Nonetheless, this also resulted to thousands of deaths among the Bosnian Muslims. In addition to that, the series of constant attacks made by the Serbian army had likewise resulted to thousands of killings. Meanwhile, the United Nation declared th at Srebrenica was a safe area in 1993. Nonetheless, two years later, this â€Å"safe area† had started to deteriorate in 1995 and marked the beginning of the traumatic genocide. The documentary showed how those protecting the Bosnian Muslims had started to withdraw their support in Srebrenica. Basic resources including food and medicine, as well as the fuel and ammunition, had started to lowered. Bosniak civilians suffered from famishment. A few also had been killed because of starvation. The humanitarian situation of Bosnian Muslims turned to be the worst. It is the case that even the United Nation forces in the Srebrenica had been affected from such withdrawal of support. The United Nation forces were no longer patrolling using their means of transport but were just on foot as they guarded the enclaves. Likewise, from 600 Dutch soldiers, it had dropped to only 400. Moreover, the Serbian forces were now within their territory. Their forces had become stronger and stronger an d were out of control. On the one hand, the forces governing the safety of the Bosnian Muslim civilians had also lowered. Support from the air forces was also rejected. They were made to hope about the support which never had come. The situation had become worse and worse every single day for the lives of the Bosnian Muslims who all had their lives and nothing else. The situation was far from achieving a peaceful Srebrenica. What happened was an environment of total insecurity. There was no hope for the lives of the Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica asking for refuge. The documentary had illustrated the thousands of refugees from Srebrenica gathered around in the compound of United

TYCO Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

TYCO - Essay Example Lack of plan will leave leaders and staffs clueless on where the company is headed and what strategies are best get there. In order to highlight these statements, this paper will take a deeper look at planning function of management in Tyco International (Tyco). The first section will be a brief introduction to the business organization in order to fully recognize the issues that it faces. Secondly, this paper will identify and analyze the legal issues, ethics and corporate responsibility which have a profound impact on its planning function. Lastly, it will analyze three factors which influence its tactical, operational, strategic, and contingency planning. Tyco International is "is a highly diversified global company that provides thousands of products and services vitally important to residential and commercial customers" (Tyco 2008). The business organization's product line is diverse which range from electronic security and alarm monitoring to fire-fighting equipment and breathing apparatus, and from water purification and flow control solutions to galvanized steel tubes and armored wire and cable. The company is organized into five business segments namely ADT Worldwide, Fire Protection Services, Safety Products, Flow Control, and Electrical and Metal Products (Tyco 2008). The operation planning function of management in Tyco has always been influenced by the legal issues that can surface from the decision that it makes. It should be noted that being a prominent and one of the largest companies in the world, Tyco faced the legal implications of its actions as it is always under the scrutiny of its stakeholders including the government, its stockholders, and its customers. With its quest in conquering the global business arena by opening up operations in countries all over the world, Tyco maintains its commitment in adhering to the laws and regulations implemented in the geographical regions where it operates. The company has always considered upholding its legal standards through its adherence to the financial reporting standards which is set by the governing bodies. It should be noted that while large companies like Enron and HealthSouth faced legal battles in 2001-2003, Tyco retains its credibility by emphasizing its commitment to report its activi ties utilizing the preset standards (Tyco International 2008). In this, it can be seen that Tyco's initial plan to be successful in its operation by being mindful to the various legal constraints becomes visible. Until now, the legality of the operation of the company and its different processes is a primary concern in its planning activities. Ethics have also been an important part of the culture of Tyco which also becomes a tenet in its long-term and short-term plans. Through its commitment of upholding moral excellence among its directors and leaders, the business organization have had taken actions in order to eliminate dishonesty and abuse of power. It should be noted that during 2002, Tyco filed federal suit against its former executive president Mark Swartz and corporate counsel Frank Walsh for

Accounting Management at Shell Company Case Study

Accounting Management at Shell Company - Case Study Example Management accounting information is the information which is necessary for the higher management to take into consideration when making important decisions regarding the organization. It allows the management to make well-informed decisions which can drastically help the company to achieve improved results. Management accounting information is future-oriented which means that unlike financial accounting, it does not just report the past performance of the company but also highlights the sections which can be improved to achieve greater efficiency and profitability. There are basically three types of management accounting information which can be significant for business decision making. This information can be classified into three statements or reports which include the cost allocation reports, budget reports, and forecasting statements. The first type of management accounting information that can be used by Shell management is the cost allocation reports. This report consists of t he information regarding the money invested or supposed to be invested, in particular projects. Organizations today have limited resources and they need to evaluate very carefully the projects they invest in. In the case of Shell, most of its projects involve huge investments and they cannot afford to make a mistake in choosing the right project. Therefore, Shell management can use the cost allocation reports to evaluate the projects which give the highest possible return and also are in line with its company goals and strategy. The second type of management accounting report is a budget report which usually has to be formulated and presented at the start of the financial year. A budget report will consist of the money the business should invest in each business operation and function. Managers usually refer to master, standard and flexible budgets to take decisions. Master budgets include all the allotted resources for expenditures of the whole company as well as for separate depar tments. On the other hand, a standard and flexible budget can help the management to compare the actual and budgeted expenses of the company which can again provide very useful information to the Shell management.

The U.S. government reaction to the Enron Scandal Research Paper

The U.S. government reaction to the Enron Scandal - Research Paper Example This paper focuses on response made by the government as a result of Enron scandal. The chaos caused economic losses to it stockholders and people have lost trust to the financial community. It has rendered the Code of Conduct and Ethics an insubstantial piece of covenant that could be disobeyed by seniors when they chose to do so. This paper used published literatures and materials in order to review government’s reaction on the said scandal so that risks of same incident are apprehended. An aftermath of the investigation showed perpetrators of the crime were persecuted, and the creation of a legislative Act that offered strict regulations and changes on the financial reporting. Enron was the 7th biggest corporation in the United States in 2001. It was founded in1985 and was involved in electricity, natural gas, communications and paper companies. The collapse of Enron in 2001 created ripple effects to its investors, its creditors, banks, employees, and the government. It has shattered the confidence of people to the financial markets and brought financial losses to its stakeholders, unemployment, and closure of two giant corporations, the Enron, and Arthur Anderson (AA). AA was also one of the largest accountancy and auditing firms in the world, and was the auditing firm of Enron. A long period of time has passed since then, and it is the duty of the government to take action on this big financial mess. Focus of this paper is to know what have been the reactions of the U.S. government toward this. Methodology Qualitative research using secondary sources of information, published articles, and journals will be used to establish information required. Knowing what the government has done to give justice to the people who lost money and employment will rebuild its trust to the financial system. Background Enron was the 7th biggest corporation in the United States in 2001. It was founded in1985 and was involved in electricity, natural gas, communications an d paper companies, but was better known for its matchless style of business operation of futures trading of gas and electricity and creation of new unusual markets of commodities as broadcast time for advertisers, internet bandwidth, and weather futures. From a $9 billion revenue in 1995, its annual revenues rose to over $100 billion in 2001. So, the world was shocked to find out that it has filed for bankruptcy in the mid -2001. What was unknown to the public before the bankruptcy was that Enron’s reported financial condition was covered with systematic, organized and planned activities to cover up the losses of Enron. The drop of Enron’s stock price from $90 per share in the mid-2000 to less than $1 per share at the end of 2001 caused 11 billion dollars of losses to shareholders (Yuhao Li, 2010). Findings and discussions a. Violations of Ethical Practices Causes of bankruptcy in Enron is a tangled web of unethical practices committed by the Auditor, senior management , laxity of government rules, investment houses, banks and board of directors, stock analysts who kept on pushing Enron’s stocks and media frenzy.(Tesfatsion, L. 2011) Causes of bankruptcy is also deeply seated on breaking the rules of The Code of Conduct and Ethics wherein truthfulness was not followed by management by not announcing the true health of the company and conflict of interest. There was conflict of interest between the role of Andersen as Auditor and as a Consultant for Enron. The report of accounting irregularities on reports of Enron, and the admission of AA’s employees tearing of documents and evidences related to Enron’s involvement had totally eroded AA’s reputation and the quality of his audits on the Accountancy field were put to doubt by his clients. As an Auditor and Consultant of Enron, AA has the duty to inform the shareholders the correct information as the report influences economic benefits for its shareholders. But in this ins tance, Anderson chose to betray the stockholders for his best

Project Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words - 2

Project Management - Essay Example Projects also enable the development of new products and services and help the organization to respond to changes in the external environment like development of information technology. In today’s scenario, project management indulges in the use of information technology to communicate and develop projects effectively. Projects are designed to enhance the organizational performance and continuously update the systems as they are continuously developing. But in reality, many projects are scrapped or dumped as they are not able to function properly or have incurred heavy expenses during the production space. The aim of this report is to make the readers understand the different reasons behind the failure of a project. The report is divided as follows: section 2 will present an overview of project management; section 3 will discuss risk management and its importance in project management. Section 4 will discuss why a project fails and in section 5, deeper understanding would be gained by the analysis of a case of UK passport processing agency. This report will present why the project to implement new information system failed in the Agency. A project is defined as â€Å"a collaborative enterprise, frequently involving research or design that is carefully planned to achieve a particular aim† (Oxford Dictionary). It is defined as â€Å"a unique venture with a beginning and an end, conducted by people to meet established goals within parameters of cost, schedule and quality† (Buchanan and Boddy, 1992). Few examples of some well published project is the Apollo program which landed the man on moon (Nasa, 2010), the Genome project which mapped the human genome (Genome, 2010). The characteristics of the project is that it is temporary i.e. it has a definite beginning and end, it creates unique deliverables, creates capability to perform a service and is developed in steps. It is different from operations as the processes in operations are ongoing and

Economic Analysis Paper The Professional Sports Industry Essay

Economic Analysis Paper The Professional Sports Industry - Essay Example Growth of public significance of modern sports (mainly big-time sports) allows to consider the sports as a complecated process. Sports as a separate and self-developing phenomenon has not yet become an object of â€Å"classical† sports theory researching. Professionalism of sports at last quater of XX century has got the general character and now it is considered like a natural process. The events and people’s activity in professional sports attracts much attention of population of any country. Sports influences all spheres of life such as economics, poticy and culture. And touches many ethical problems of nowadays environment. It is considered that professional and big-time sports increases the state prestige, peace consolidation, and even popular sports. It is difficult to tell about the health problems which many sportsmen have. It is a fact that most of the sportsmen have serious deseases. Full-time trainings (especially for women and children), off-centred methods which include dopes and stimulators, various injuries, contests and fightings for the first place – all these things hurt morally and physically greatly. It is not a secret that very often a criminal cases take place in the professional sports industry. The sports economy has got important quantative and qualitative changes lately. The new technologies of market are in use now and the interaction looks in such a way – sports – fan, and sports – customer. The instruments and methods of management and marketing are actively used now. Along with the perfection and stirring up of the traditional instruments of influence on people (such as cost policy, advertising and quality) new trends got the impulse to development, the promotion of which became possible only with the help of Internet. A new virtual system of â€Å"new economics† began to develop. This system includes a complex of branches and groups of innovation economical activity. In structure of virtual economics of sports the

Public Safety Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Public Safety Management - Research Paper Example In eliminating these problems and heightening the performance of the public safety department, a leader needs to move back and forth between the four styles identified by Hersey & Blanchard in their situational leadership model. A leader capacity to offer support for the workers depends on his or her capacity to offer a motivating environment. In this context, employees should receive support and coaching needed to carry out their tasks, this would build morale among the workers. This hands-off approach employed by a situational leader with committed and highly skilled workers can motivate the workers to work at their full capacity. A situational leader offers a supportive work environment to workers of every skill level. Employing this leadership approach can increase workers morale, and create a productive working environment. The basic assumption of situational leadership is that leaders have to adjust their style to the maturity of the follower depending on the readiness and will ingness to carry out the required duties (Mackay, 2007). There exist four styles of leadership that accompany the four combinations of low/high willingness and readiness. The four styles suggest that leaders should put less or greater attention on the task (task orientation) in question and/or the relationship between the follower and the leader (relationship orientation). The leader efficacy in this case would result from employing a behavioral style that is fitting to the environmental demands to increase morale, lessen or diminish hostility and discrimination, and reduce or diminish ill treatment of minority groups. According to the situation leadership framework, the leader’s effectiveness would result from employing a behavioral style that is fitting to the work... The paper tells that the type of budget management approach suitable for this case is the participative or bottom up approach. In the participative approach, employees are normally more readily to accept the budget, morale is also improved, and the budget input is offered by numerous persons. The budget process is normally initiated by the top management using general budget guideline, nonetheless, it is the lower level personnel’ that drive the budget development for their particular units. Connecting the budget to the entire corporate strategy as represented by numerous key business drivers would also be an advantageous budget. In using the linking approach, it is much more complex for leaders to twist the budget as they wish because this clearly weakens the organizational strategy. When all the available funds are allocated into the targeted activities, it becomes clear when someone tries to redirect funds into the development of unnecessary areas. Incorporating business dr ivers into the budget also tends to decrease the duration needed to complete the budget as less time is spent on budgeting minutia and political battles. The personnel issues relating to promotions and race relations would be addressed by barrier-elimination measures to get rid of or change discriminatory practices against the minority groups, and also positive or special measures, which can eliminate the residue for past discrimination especially for the minority group.

Assessment Three Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Assessment Three - Case Study Example On Mar 19, Del was also able to enter a large contract to install tracking for a building society. On March 29, Del found out through phone inquiry that Boyse was not able to finish the van modification. Boyse promised to deliver by March 30, although reluctant. After the van was delivered and Boyse have left, Del found out that the front seat would not tip forward to allow access to the passenger seat. Likewise, the name printed on the side of the band read "Trickers" and not "Trackers." In the process of delivering the van without the modifications specified, Boyse already committed a grave mistake towards his customer. And the fact that Del, the customer was compromised to loss or acquire damages due to the negligence of Boyse all the more added weight to Boyse's failure to deliver as promised or agreed upon. In common law jurisdictions under contract law, misrepresentation are the false statement of fact made by one party that effect to induce another party into the contract. This is with the premise that three elements are necessarily established under the contract. Contract in this context is a legally binding exchange or agreement between parties that the law will enforce based on the Latin phrase pacta sunt servanda1. These elements are: offer and acceptance, consideration and intention to create legal relations. In the Offer and Acceptance In the case of Boyse and Del, Boyse made an offer to modify the van he was selling and the offer was accepted that is why there was a sale. The offer of modification include adjustment or removal of the passenger seat in its original location, adjustment of the passenger seat behind the driver's seat, and modification of the driver's seat which is to make it tip forward to allow access to the passenger seat. Another offer was to print the sides of the van with a specified name which was "Tracker". The last offer of course, was the delivery of the van on March 30. Nevertheless, basing on the case of Gordon v Selico (1986) 18 HLR 219 it is possible to make a misrepresentation either by words or by conduct, yet not everything said or done constitute a misrepresentation. In many cases, statements of opinion or intention are not statements of fact in the context of misrepresentation2. In the case of Boyse and Del, Boyse seem to have committed negligent misrepresentation, the following applies from the Misrepresentation Act 1967 under damages for misrepresentation: "(1) Where a person has entered into a contract after a misrepresentation has been made to him by another party thereto and as a result thereof he has suffered loss, then, if the person making the misrepresentation would be liable to damages in respect thereof had the misrepresentation been made fraudulently, that person shall be so liable notwithstanding that the misrepresentation was not made fraudulently, unless he proves that he had reasonable ground to believe and did believe up to the time the contract was made that the facts represented were true. (2) Where a person has entered into a contract after a misrepresentation has been made to him otherwise than fraudulently, and he would be entitled, by reason of the misrepresentation, to rescind the contract, then, if it is claimed, in any proceedings arising out of the contract, that the contract ought to be or has

Abnormal Psychology and Therapy Essay Example for Free

Abnormal Psychology and Therapy Essay Psychology can be described as examination of ideas, intuitive feeling, and the way someone thinks and uses his or her wits be it physical, mental, or cognitive. Abnormal psychology is ideas or conduct causing the individual troubles. The deficiency may be sadness, potential fight, or simply uncomfortableness in the individuals daily life. Mental disorders or mental disease are practices not in general associated with a person. A number of these disorders can harm others or the one who is battling with the disorder. There are a number of therapies for these disorders and are different in each case. A closer look and contrast of normal and abnormal psychology is need along with mental disturbance and mental disease from a psychology position polishing off by way of a look at different therapies useful for normal and abnormal psychology. Abnormal and Normal Psychology are likewise, also the two look into behaviors, and because of individuals different cultures and beliefs some behaviors are normal. Then again oftentimes they could be different for the behavior is not really typical or something out the ordinary. To know the difference between normal and abnormal psychology helps with acknowledging mental disturbance from a psychological perspective. To help illustrate our research on abnormal psychology, this section will compare and contrast normal and abnormal psychology. Normal psychology focuses on the different ways different people see life and want to live life, rather than relying on generalizations made about whole populations of people. See more:  Mark Twains Humorous Satire in Running for Governor Essay These generalizations can often do harm because without proper consideration they can often imply norm of behavior inimical to a person’s existence. A normal psychology in this way doesn’t imply a perfect individual existence, nor that there aren’t any pathologies. Abnormal-is the branch of psychology that studies unusual patterns of behavior, emotion and thought, which may or may not be understood as precipitating a mental disorder. The field of abnormal psychology identifies multiple causes for different conditions, employing diverse theories from the general field of psychology and elsewhere, and much still hinges on what exactly is meant by abnormal. Mental disorders and mental illnesses This next section will examine mental disorders and mental illnesses from the perspective of psychology. Adjustment disorders of mental disorders is related to an identifiable source of stress that causes significant emotional and behavioral symptoms. Anxiety disorders are those that are characterized by excessive and abnormal fear, worry and anxiety. In one recent survey published in the Archives of General Psychology 1, it was estimated that as many as 18% of American adults suffer from at least one anxiety disorder. Cognitive disorders are psychological disorders that involve cognitive abilities such as memory, problem solving and perception. Some anxiety disorders, mood disorders and psychotic disorders are classified as cognitive disorders. Alzheimers disease †¢Delirium †¢Dementia †¢Amnesia Therapies Psychotherapy is a general term that is used to describe the process of treating psychological disorders and mental distress. During this process, a trained psychotherapist helps the client tackle a specific or general problem such as a particular mental illness or a source of life stress. Depending on the approach used by the therapist, a wide range of techniques and strategies can be used. However, almost all types of psychotherapy involve developing a therapeutic relationship, communicating and creating a dialogue and working to overcome problematic thoughts or behaviors. †¢Psychoanalytic: An approach to therapy that involved delving into a patient thoughts and past experiences to seek out unconscious desires or fantasies. Cognitive-behavioral: A type of psychotherapy that involves cognitive and behavioral techniques to change negative thoughts and maladaptive behaviors. Humanistic: A form of therapy that focuses on helping people maximize their potential. Medical therapy for mental disturbance and sicknesses change between each philosophical system. The earlier style of psychotherapy were the psychodynamic therapies. Psychodynamic therapy tries to change personality practices through perceptiveness and the therapist-patient relationship (Kowalski Westen, 2009). Inside this subdivision of therapy dwell the proficiencies of psychoanalysis and psychodynamic psychotherapy. These particular therapies ask the patient to lie on a sofa or sit opposite with a therapist and talk about what one thinks of, a technique known as free association. The two most adept humanistic therapies are Gestalt therapy and the client centered therapy. Gestalt therapy is somewhat like psychodynamic psychotherapy. The most commonly known technique of the therapy is the empty chair technique. Through this method the patient exercises emotional expression by visualizing that the individual him or her wants to converse with is in the chair. The second humanistic therapy is the client centered therapy. Through this technique the therapist exhibits an position of full credence for the patient by listening emphatically. Therapeutic change occurs as the patient hears his or her own thoughts or feelings reflected by the nonjudgmental listener. Conclusion There are a number of therapies for these disorders and are different in each case. Abnormal and Normal Psychology are likewise, also the two look into behaviors, and because of individuals different cultures and beliefs, some behaviors are normal. Lastly, normal and abnormal look into behavior, this behavior may be causing the individual troubles, confrontation, or simply uncomfortableness in daily life. Mental disorders including schizophrenia and Obsessive compulsive disorder can harm others or the individual battling with them. Mental illnesses comprise of perturbations of mentation, experience, and emotion cause operative disability making it very hard to nurture relationships, keep a job, and can lead to suicide. Treatment will change with regards to the form of disorder a individual has and the individuals commitment to look for assistance with a therapist. References Kowalski, R., Westen, D. (2009). Psychology (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Nami ( National Alliance on Mental Illnesses, http://www.nami.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Mental_Illnesses/Depression/Mental_Illnesses_What_is_Depression.htm retrieved December 01, 2012. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/mental-illness/ retrieved December 01, 2012. www.uidaho.edu/psych101/abnormal6.pdf. Retrieved December 02, 2012 Wood, S. E., Wood, E. R. The World of Psychology. Boston, MA: A Pearson Education Company. Page 538

Impact of Weather on Dengue Disease

Impact of Weather on Dengue Disease Dengue is the most tropical infectious disease that is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. The dengue disease incidence rises as a serious public health problem with 2.1 billion people at risk. In Malaysia, the dengue disease over the last 40 years has become worst epidemic in the countrys history. This study aimed to analyses relationship between weather parameters and increase of dengue incidence among university Putra Malaysia students, to identify the direct or indirect effect of weather on dengue incidence and to determine the relationship of dengue disease located in UPM (SERDANG). The objective of this study was to assess the effect of meteorological parameters variation on the dengue virus transmission between UPM students. We obtained data on monthly weather parameters including relative humidity and median mean temperature and rainfall amount and monthly dengue cases. Analysis was conducting by employing correlation and regression, plotting. A total of 7 years of den gue occurrences since 2005 to 2011 were plotted, 2005 and 2010 were the highest years with dengue cases rates while, 2006 and 2007 were the lowest dengue incident rates. Analysis of monthly mean temperature data for UPM indicated that the months which having very warm days has higher dengue rates while, the precipitation months has more direct effect on these rates. On the other hand, humidity is the most factors have highest impact on dengue incidence between UPM students. Keywords:  Weather impact, dengue incidence, UPM students. INTRODUCTION Dengue fever (DF) and Dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) possess recurred as 1980s and rapidly come to be a main epidemiological menace worldwide; especially in South East Asia and Western Pacific Region. Dengue fever is rampant in more than 120 countries alongside approximated 2.4 billion populations at the chance and annual dengue infection of 52 million cases according to World Health Organization, (WHO, 2005). Of this, Asia Pacific Area shares the biggest burden of dengue alongside approximated above 75% of the 2.5 billion populaces at chance living in the region. As yet, the particular causes for the re-emergence of dengue are not completely comprehended. Though, the U.S. centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recognized factors such as weather factors and accelerated urbanization, poor areas, increased global excursion, and lack of competent vector manipulation arrangement as a few of the main determinants that possess gave globe rise of DE/DHF as a main area condition burd en (U.S. C.D.C.P,2007). In Malaysia Dengue considered as endemic disease with four serotypes of dengue viruses. Dengue is the most threaten disease to public health in Malaysia. Around the world 50 million cases are reported each year about the dengue disease infection (WHO, 1999). Dengue is endemic in Malaysia the first case was recognized in Penang 1902, while the first dengue hemorrhagic fever outbreak was reported in 1962, likewise in Penang (Ska, 2006). . In the year 2005 MALAYSIA experienced the worst past outbreak of dengue incidence alongside 326.5 cases each 100,000 populations. The overall dengue cases in Malaysia augmented from (39,597 person) and (84 person deaths) in 2009 to (45,037 person) and (133 person deaths) in 2010 (HM, 2010). It is notifiable that Selangor state has the highest (dengue cases) followed by (Johor and Sarawak) for 2010 (MOH, 2010). The urban and also rural areas of Malaysia are the greatest predominant habitations for the spread of the (yellow fever mosquito) species which is Aedes aegypti (Mohd et al., 2006). The mosquitoes of yellow fever can be found in the area of stagnant water and also in severe drainage (Mohd et al., 2006). The patients of dengue will suffer symptoms include vomiting, rashes on the skin, headache, nausea and muscle pain (NCID, 2005). Recent Studies have shown that temperature could have an impact on feeding characteristics, population size, maturation period and survival rate of Aedes mosquitoes and pupae, and larvae mature female mosquitoes mortality rate as a function of temperature Between 11  °C and 42 °C. (Hii, Y et al .2009). Many Studies shown that the high temperature have an impact on the population magnitude and maturation period, the survival rate of Aedes mosquitoes and the Feed characteristics. Aedes mosquitoes on temperature which ranging from 16 °C to 31 °C, experience lower mortality rates , a study in French Guiana illustrated that at favourable environment condition Aedes mosquitoes capable to live 76 days . On the other hand, heavy rain decrease survival rate of female mosquitoes and destroys larvae in short time but in long term, it creates plentiful breeding resources. Simultaneously, Aedes mosquitoes at a higher temperature 32 °C rises feeding frequency more than twofold compared to the temperature at 24 °C. Extremely Low rainfall rates will increase surroundings temperature, usage of water storage and water and air-coolers may serve as breeding habitats. Finding the relationship between weather factors mainly (temperature, rainfall, humidity) It can be useful for prioritizing prevention in public health sector decision making.. A threat prediction of dengue outbreak can be produced so local health officials can expect the number of cases and make proper strategy to control it. Example The dengue disease epidemic has become more serious problem in serdang with increasing about 14 percents for 2011 (Mstar, 2011). Selangor state recorded highest cases of dengue incidence compared to other states (MOH, 2010). For Seri Kembangan area, the dengue disease epidemic noted the 75 cases on 2009 while for year 2010, a total of 158 cases were reported (Mstar, 2011). The major source of Aedes mosquito breeding is in factories, abandoned housing projects, from the construction sites and vacant plots land (Thammapalo et al., 2001). The aim of this study an association amid dengue incidence and mean temperature, humidity and rain also more discuss how meteorological conditions impact on the rise of dengue in Universiti Putra Malaysia across the period 2005-2011 and to identify the most high risk years with dengue incidence. The result of this study will be highlighting the connection between dengue cases and weather parameters within Seri kambangan 2005 2011. Health sector planners and policy makers benefit from this kind of studies as it generates useful information which further can be used for the creation of schematic approaches for disease prevention, interceptive studies and control programmes. This study is important as it can help in delaying or reducing the incidence of disease and its related socioeconomic implications at the individual and the community level as a whole. Results achieved were used to recognize the patterns of dengue cases and the degree of dependence of dengue incidences on the weather parameters. In this study, we tried to provide additional details on relationship between dengue rates with weather parameters. Attention was focused on four years with lowest dengue incidence (2006 and 2007) also the highest two years with dengue cases (2005 and 2010) were inspected, and statistical analysis has been done to find evidence on the degree of correlation between the dengue and climate factors (precipitation, relative humidity ,temperature). METHODOLOGY 2.1 Study area Universiti Putra Malaysia is a public school which is approximately 22 km south of capital city Kuala Lumpur by road which located at latitude of 2 °59 ´57Ë  N and longitude of 101 °42 ´28Ë  E. The main campus of UPM is located at Serdang, Selangor state which cover an area of 1,200 hectares of spectacular natural landscape and the topography is between 49m to 52m above sea level (figure 1). Universiti Putra Malaysia has a population of 29,724 in first semester of 2011/ 2012 session. The staff population is 6,100 that include academic, non-academic and sporting staff while that of student is 23,624 which include post graduate and undergraduate students. Out of the total population of students, only 14,108 are residing on campus while others stay off campus. The Malaysian peninsula has a typical equatorial climate characterized by constantly high annual temperature and heavy rainfall. Temperature range is practically the same all over Malaysian peninsula throughout the year and is only governed by the height of the land above sea level; there are important differences in the amount and seasonal distribution of the rainfall in different part of the country. An average mean rainfall is about 2489mm which distributed throughout the year, with the bulk of the rain concentrated in the month of October and November, and its rains comparatively less in May to September (dry season) than October to April (wet season).Monthly average temperature are high on the month of April and May while December and January are the months with the low average temperature. Mean daily dry season (May to August) temperature range from 31 °C to 34 °C and the mean daily wet season (November to February) temperature range from 29 °C to 32 °C. 2.2 Data Source The Weather parameters data of UPM (2005- 2011) was obtained from Malaysian meteorological department (MMD). Temperature had estimated This data was distributed into monthly data per year. This parameters which include (rainfall, humidity, mean maximum temperature) has been used to understand degree of dengue fever dependence on weather parameters (Morrison et al., 1998). Dengue epidemiological data monthly basis and annually was obtained from UPM PUSAT KESIHATAN from (2005 to 2011). dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) or dengue fever (DF) were recognized as clinical dengue cases with confirmed laboratory blood tests of dengue viral infection of any serotypes Under the Infectious Diseases Act in Malaysia, it is needed for all medical practitioner must inform all confirmed or recognized dengue cases within 24 hours to the Ministry of health. (Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act 1988). The only data which obtained from UPM PUSAT KESIHATAN were number of monthly and annual cases. 2.3 statistical analyses All the dengue cases were plotted in the graph by using Minitab 16 version. Calculating and investigating the variability of rainfall, humidity and temperature indices, creating scatter plots and charts of Dengue fever cases against meteorological conditions variables, correlation analysis.( Amarakoon et al.,2004). Here we analysed the association of rainfall and temperature, Humidity alongside dengue transmission in every single year in University Putra Malaysia. We only exclude 3 years owing to the very small dengue cases. The cases of dengue disease were examined includes geographic distribution and spatial gender distribution (Srivastava et al., 2009). The purpose of geographic distribution is to determine the distribution of dengue cases among Kuantan district. Apart from that, the gender distribution was categorized into two groups which were male and female. The statistical significant between both gender were analyzed by using t-test. 2.3.1 Spatial distribution The spatial distribution of dengue incidence within concession of Kuantan was observed. The spatial autocorrelation method measures the relationship among values of variable according to the spatial arrangement of the values (Chang, 2010). The Morans I method was selected to test whether the dengue cases within Kuantan district is spatially correlated or not (Er et al., 2010). The area units where numerical ratio or interval data were available were the area where the Morans I normally applied (Nakhapakorn Jirakajohnkool, 2006). It considers both point locations and variation of an attribute at the location and finally it can evaluate whether the pattern of dengue cases within Kuantan district were clustered, dispersed or random. The Morans I measure can be compute by (Er et al., 2010): Where N is the number of cases, is the mean variables, is the variable value at particular location I, Xj is the variable value at another location j, and Wij is a weight indexing location of I relative to j. in Morans I range, a strong negative spatial autocorrelation is in the range of -1 and a strong positive autocorrelation is in the range +1. The value 0 means it is spatially random pattern. 2.3.2 Distance Analysis The Average Nearest Neighbour (ANN) is one of the techniques for point distance analysis. It was used to analyzed the distance between each point, to determine whether the point pattern is clustered, random or regular (Clark Evans, 1994). In this study, the ANN was tested to predict whether the dengue incidence is cluster or not. The ANN analysis predicts the distance between each feature centroid and its nearest neighbour centroid. If the average distance is less than 1, the point pattern was considered clustered whereas if the average distance is greater than 1, the point was considered dispersed. The average nearest method is computed by: (1) Where is the observed average distance between each feature and their nearest neighbour. is the expected average distance for features given a random pattern. The average neighbour analysis also can produce the ZANN score, which indicates the likehood that the pattern could be a result of random chance. The ZANN score is computed by: (2) Where: (3) 2.3.3 Buffer analysis Buffering is a system operation that generates zones that consist of area within the specific distance with selected features (Chang, 2010). In this study, buffering was conducted to determine the extended neighbouring buffering method is used. The 500 meter radius of buffer were carried out from the dengue disease cases point as the mosquitoes flies at the maximum distance of 600 meter from the breeding site (Madanayake et al.,2010). A study conducted by de Freitas and de Olivera (2009) found that 50%-90% of female A. Aegypti flew up to 350 meter and 500.2 meter and their maximum displacement was 690 meter. 2.3.4 Hot Spot Prediction The Kernel density estimation interpolation was used to predict the hot spot locality (Jeefoo et al., 2011). Kernel density estimation is one of the method that applied to identify high risk areas within point patterns of disease incidence and also can defines the level of the high risk of that area (Bithell, 1990). Kernel density estimation is an interpolation that compatible for single point locality. The Kernel density estimation is the better hot spot identifier than cluster analysis. It can measures the density of point feature in each of the output raster cell .This method has been applied in previous study on spatial mapping on dengue disease to locate hot spot for dengue cases in the district of Hulu Langat (Er et al., 2010). Jeefoo et al, (2011) has used the kernel density to locate the spatio-temporal diffusion of dengue pattern and prove that the hot spot area have an influence on the spread of an infectious disease. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 3.1. annual Dengue incidence years (2005-2011). During the study time, dengue cases (Fig. 1) increased from 37 cases were reported in year 2006 to 75 cases reported in 2009, after which, annual reported dengue cases have amplified alongside greater temperature and humidity alongside record of 52 cases in year 2008 and peaked in year 2005 alongside 159 cases. The incidence next cut to 40 cases in 2007 and resurged in 2011 alongside 48 cases. In the study period the highest dengue cases were described in August of year 2010 with 44 cases. The extremely months with high dengue occurrence were between July December. Results obtained in this discover are given in tables 1 to 4, and figures 1 to 12. Tables contain results for correlation of dengue occurrences alongside meteorological conditions parameters. While, figures show relationship between weather factors and dengue cases. reveals period sequence of weekly meteorological conditions predictors and dengue cases. Singapore experienced the highest weekly mean temperature of 30.48C in year 2005 followed by 30.38C in year 2002. The highest weekly mean temperature in the discover era was recorded in week 17 of year 2005 alongside zero weekly cumulative precipitation. As the most extended dry spell of 40 dates transpired in the early two months of 2005, highest weekly cumulative precipitation was recorded as 388 mm in week 51 of year 2006. Overall, weekly mean temperature for year 2000-2003 fluctuated from 25.7 to 30.38C; as the scope was 25.530.48C for 20042007. Concurrently, weekly cumulative rain in years 20002003 fluctuated from 0 to 260 mm alongside average 42 mm and the scope was 0388 mm alongside average 44.5 mm for years 20042007. Our results of this study indicates that precipitation and temperature were positively associated with monthly dengue cases informed in University Putra Malaysia (Table 1) which mean they seems to have played an important role in increase of dengue cases . Although, humidity hazy days and foggy days were have suspicious association with dengue cases occurrence but still not powerful as other parameters. 3.2 Correlation and Regression coefficients. Both Humidity and Temperature display positive role in cases number and the humidity shows suspicious response with high significant effect (P-value Correlation results are very significant in relation to mean maximum temperature (P-value = 0.860) and dengue occurrences. It is clear that rainfall associated with dengue cases (R ² = 85.5) which mean 85.5 % rainfall associate with dengue cases. In particular mean median humidity seems to have moderate positive role in dengue transmission compared to the other variables with (P-value = 0.779) and (R ² = 60.7) Figure 1, simplify rainfall amount for year 2006, shows that the precipitation playing very strong contributor factor for increase and decrease of dengue cases, while box plot confirms table 1 results (p-value) which is represents the percentage of total rainfall vs. dengue occurrence. Even though rainfall scale has increased over the last seven decades precipitation does show statistically significant (r square = 92.0 and p- value = 0.970). As shown in Fig. 2, dengue rate has increased linearly with monthly mean temperature at January and December with 7 and 6 cases as temperature increasing; plot confirms that temperature is participating factor of transmission of dengue virus owing to the positive relationship between temperature and dengue cases . Simplify relationship between humidity and dengue cases. As Fig3 illustrated humidity play doubtful contributor of increasing dengue diseases occurrence. From 70.1 % to 71.1% only one case has been recorded, while percentage of fogy months increased cases of dengue rises instantly. At 74.1 per cent 4 cases were informed and 7 dengue cases when humidity reached 76.3%. CONCLUSION The weather factors that affected the rising of dengue disease incidence have been identified, which were the temperature and humidity and rainfall. The study showed that the most weather conditions factors which contributed to the high incidence of dengue cases within UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA area among seven years 2005-2011 were rainfall and temperature which were have very strong correlation with dengue cases. The result of the graphs plot shows that the three studied weather elements where positively associated with increase of dengue cases among students of UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA area and The data presented in this study are important because it give baseline information on the main factors contributed of transmitting dengue virus for a particular zone. It is recommended that collecting forecasting data for the three specific factors to predict potential future cases to make efficient plan to control dengue transmission in case of epidemic and expect the number of dengue occurrence. When these strategies are implemented, the diverse costs associated with dengue cases will decrease. All of these results should be considered in the future patterns prediction of dengue transmission. Early warnings of dengue epidemics based on climate information are effectively communicated to public health decision makers and Climate accounts for some variation in dengue risk, Important to account for confounding factors. For future work incorporate better understanding of disease transmission process. The lack of information about specific factors which playing main role of high dengue disease incidence will lead to improper Vector surveillance and control management in case of dengue outbreak in specific zone and may loss many of lives. Understand connection between weather and dengue transmission will develop capability of national dengue management and diagnostic and impacts assessment of dengue mosquito vectors. The spatial distribution of dengue incidence within Kuantan district for 2011 has been mapped included geographic distribution and gender distribution. The geographic distribution has shown the highest distribution of dengue cases in Kuantan. The gender distribution has revealed that male population has the higher incidence of dengue cases. The buffer analysis was conducted to see the most high risk area for dengue fever incidence. It was identified that the high risk area were 500 meter radius from the dengue cases incidence. By using the statistical analysis, the pattern of spatial distribution of dengue incidence can be determined by spatial autocorrelation and was supported by distance analysis. The hot spot locations for dengue incidence were located by using kernel density estimation. As a conclusion, the Geographic Information System (GIS) provided a very useful tool in the health mapping. Furthermore, the GIS has played an important tool for effective surveillance and prediction of the dengue outbreak in order to reduce the number of dengue cases. Acknowledgement The author thanks to University Putra Malaysia (UPM), Kuantan District Health Office Pahang, Department of Town and Country Planning ,Kuantan who provided the data and advices. Anker, M. Arima, Y. 2011. Male-female differences in the number of reported incident dengue fever cases in six Asian countries. Western Pacific Surveillance and Response Journal. 2:2. doi:10.5365/wpsar.2011.2.1.002. Barrera, R., Delgado, N. Rogi, M.G., (2000). Stratification of a city with hyperendemic dengue hemmorrhagic fever. Retrieved on 6th November, 2010 from http://www.popline.org/docs/1354/153852.html Bithell, J.K. 1990. An Application of density estimation to geographical epidemiology. Statistics in Medicine.,9,691-701 Chang, K.T. 2010. Introduction of Geographical Information System. New York: McGraw Hill. Clark, P.J., Evans, F.C. 1994. Distance to nearest neighbour as a measure of spatial relationships in populations. Ecology. 35:445-453 Curriero, F.C., Patz, J.A., Rose, J.B Subhash, L. 2001. The association between extreme precipitation and waterborne disease outbreaks in United States. American Journal of Public Health. 91(8): 1194-9 Eong, O.E. 2001. Changing pattern of dengue transmission in Singapore. Dengue Bulletin,2001, 25:40-44 Er, A.C., Rosli, M.H., Asmahani, A., Mohamad Naim, M.R. Harsuzilawati, M. 2010. Spatial mapping of dengue incidence: a case study in Hulu Langat District, Selangor. International Journal of Human and Social Sciences. 5(6):410-414 Halstead, S.B. 1995. Dengue in the health transition. The Kaohsiung Journal of Medical Science. 10:2-14 Harian Metro,2010. Kes Denggi meningkat,133 kematian tahun ini. http://www.harian-metro-online.com./kes-denggi-terus-meningkat-tahun-ini (retrieved on 23 October 2011) Jeefoo, P., Tripathi, N.K., Souris, M. 2011. Spatio-Temporal Diffusion Pattern and Hotspot Detection of Dengue in Chachoengsao Province, Thailand. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 8:51-74; doi:10.3390/ijerph8010051 Madanayake, M.P, Gunatilake, J., Haji, A., Iqbal, M.C.M. 2010. A GIS approach to generatea dengue risk map. Msc. Thesis. University of Peradeniya, SriLanka. Martinez, R. 2006. Geographic information system for dengue prevention and control. Working paper for the Scientific Working Group on Dengue Research, convened by the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases, Geneva, 1-5 October 2006 Mohd, D.M.A., Shaaban, M.G., Taib, N. Leman, N. 2006. The study of dengue disease by GIS software in urban area of Petaling Jaya Selatan. International Conference in GIS and public Health. Hong Kong, June 27-29. Pp16. Morrison, A.C., Getis, A., Santiago, M., Rigau-Perez, J.G. Reiter, P. 1998. Exploratory space-time analysis of reported dengue cases during an outbreak in florida, puerto rico, 1991-1992. Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 58(3): 287-298. Mstar,2012 More dengue campaigns in schools and residential areas , SERI KEMBANGAN http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/3/5/nation/10854555sec=nation (retrieved on 5 March 2012) Nakhapakorn, K., Jirakajohnkool, S. (2006). Temporal and spatial autocorrelation statistics of dengue fever. Dengue Bull 30: 177-183. Nakhapakorn, K. Tripathi, N.K. 2005. Using GIS technology to identify risk area of dengue fever (DF) and dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF). 8th Annual International Conferences, Indonesia, August 22-26 National Centre for Infectious Diseases, 2000. Travellers Health. Virginia. Otero, M., Solari, H.G. Schweigmann, N. 2005. A stochastic population dynamics model for Aedes aegypti: formulation and application to a city with temperate climate. Bulletin of Mathematics Biology. Pejabat Tanah Jajahan Kuantan,2011. http://ptjk.pahang.gov.my/keluasan.php (accessed 18th March 2012) Skae, F.M 1992. Dengue fever in Penang. British Medical Journal. 2:1581-1582. Shekhar, KC. Huat, O.L. 1993. Epidemiology of dengue/dengue hamorrhagic fever in Malaysia-A retrospective epidemiology study 1973-1987. Part I: Dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF). Asia-pasific Journal of Public Health,6:15-25 Srivastava, A., Nagpal, B.N., Joshi, P.L., Paliwal, J.C., Dash, A.P. 2009. Identification of malaria hot spots for focused intervention in tribal state of India: a GIS based approach. International Journal of Health Geographics, 8:30 doi:10.1186/1476-072X-8-30 Thammapalo,S., Chongsuwiwatwong, V., McNeil,D. Grater, A. 2005. The climate factors influencing the occurrence of dengue haemarrhagic fever in Thailand, Southeast Asia. Journal of Tropical Medicine and Public Health. 36 (1):191-7 Tran, A. Deparis, X. et al., 2004. Dengue spatial and temporal patterns, French Guiana, 2001. Available from:http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol10no4/03-0186.htm retrieved 6th November, 2010. Wagatsuma Y., Ali, M., Emch, M. Breiman, R.F. 2003. Use of a geographic information system for defining spatial risk for dengue transmission in bangladesh: role for aedes albopictus in an urban outbreak. Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 69(6): 634-640. World Health Organization, WHO 1997. Dengue haemorrhagic fever: Diagnosis, treatment, prevention and control, 2nd Edition. Geneva World Health Organization, WHO 1999.Strengthening implementation of the global strategy for dengue fever and dengue haemorrhagic fever, prevention and control. Report of the Informal Consultation. Geneva, October 18-20 Yew, Y.W. 2009. Seroepidemiology of dengue virus infection among adults in Singapore. Annals of the Academy of Medicine. 38:667-275 Hii, Y., Rocklà ¶v, J., Ng, N., Tang, C., Pang, F., Sauerborn, R. (2009). Climate variability and increase in incidence and magnitude of dengue incidence in Singapore. Global Health Action, 2. doi:10.3402/gha.v2i0.2036 Notification requirement under section 10(2) Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act 1988.

Developing Leadership and a Team

Developing Leadership and a Team What is Team? According to Dee Hock (1999), Founder and CEO Emeritus of Visa International says, Control is not leadership; management is not leadership; leadership is leadership. If you seek to lead, invest at least 50% of your time leading yourself for your own purpose, ethics, principles, motivation, and conduct. Invest at least 20% leading those with authority over you and 15% leading your friends. If you do not understand you work for your mislabelled â€Å"subordinates,† then you know nothing of leadership. You know only tyranny (an absolute power). Team Development Participating in or observing the development of a team is absolutely interesting, sometimes it is disturbing, often both. So many factors influence the process, whether the team is to work face to face or electronically or in some combination of contexts. Developing by Stages It is traditional to talk about phases of team development, if each group or team followed a nice linear growth sequence. Most teams however, are not that predictable. Each develops through its own process but each also manage issues that brings its members together, drive them apart, push them to accomplish goals, hold them back, move them forward. These issues arise in different sequences for different teams, being aware of them can help to share leadership as we recognise the development issues in your team. Consider the following â€Å"phases† not as specific periods but as development issues that vary from team to team. Phases as Development Issues Researcher has noticed that short-term groups not teams proceed through orientation through groups, conflict, emergence of a proposed decision and mutual reinforcement as well as commitment of the group to a decision (Fisher, 1970). Other observations have similarly classified stages as forming (orienting to one another), storming (conflicting), norming (becoming a team with processes for managing strife), performing (getting the job done), and adjourning (saying good bye). (Tuckman and Jenson, 1977). Source: Self-Copied from http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/InfoKits/infokit-related-files/tuckman-model-pic Developmental Issues for Specific Team The developmental patterns just discussed to understand the processes a group might experience, but the most useful information is that how your team develops depends in part on its type and its purpose or purposes. Gersick (1988) observed real world project teams, fund raising committees, corporate and health care teams and university teams. All had specific projects and tasks, used shared leadership and met for an extended period of time. Gersicks observations directly relate to the kinds of teams most people experience, He found a general pattern: 1. At their first meetings, teams activities varied with their respective tasks 2. Several meetings dealt with conflicts, getting information, and working through issues 3. The mid point crisis meeting was focused according to the teams purpose. Various teams dealt with decisions about goals, revising drafts of reports, outlining programs or managing conflicts. 4. After this transition, teams went through another series of meetings to wo rk out details of their tasks. 5. This led to the final completion meeting, in which each team finalised its work according to the type and purpose of the team. Leadership skills, approaches and strategies Most recently, two theories of leadership has emerged. Bass (1990) first distinguished between two of them: transactional leadership, which exchanges rewards for performance and transformational leadership, which elevates, motivates, inspires and develops the team. Transactional leaders set goals, clarify desired outcomes, provide feedback and give subordinates rewards for good work. On the other hand, transformational leaders motivate their followers through more subtle- but very effective means and these strategies tend to result in high worker satisfaction (Sparks and Schenk, 2001). The key achieving sustainable business success is to have excellence in leadership at all three levels. Strategic, operational and team leaders need to work harmoniously together as the organisations leadership team. The most common and most expensive error that organisations are making at present is to focus leadership development on their more senior managers, so that become their entire ‘strategy. In doing, they are completely ignoring their team leaders. Yet it is the team leader who is closest to the customer. Make sure that the strategy embraces all three levels. There is useful distinction to be made between strategic thinking and strategic planning. Leadership strategy should evolve and guided by a small steering group as a part of overall business strategy. It should be longer term, for a strategy worth the name should be three dimensional: †¢ Importance-it really has to matter †¢ long term- it takes time to grow trees †¢ multi factored-it takes more than one element or approach to make strategy Different Leadership styles This style works just fine for a team of real experts who want to share leadership and charge ahead. For other teams, however, productivity, quality, involvement and satisfaction suffer. Authoritarian (or autocratic) leadership is just what it sounds like. The authoritarian leader keep tight control, runs meetings by the book, sets schedules, and may use coercive or reward power. Authoritarian leadership often increases productivity in the short term, but it also increases aggression and turnover rates among members. Some people equate authoritarianism with leadership, however and their expectations are met by an authoritarian leader. Democratic leadership fits the western ideal. The democratic leader ensures that everyone is heard, guides and facilitates discussion and decision making, and shares power. Democratic leaders do three important things. First, they make sure everyone in the group feels responsible for outcomes. Second, they enhance the groups feelings of empowerment. Finally, they create processes through which the team can make effective decisions. Overtime, each member in the group develops the expertise (and, hopefully, the desire) to perform these ro les as well; ultimately everyone can take turns serving as both leaders and followers. According to Likert, R. in 1961 distinguished between four key styles or systems of leadership. System 1: Exploitative autocratic- which is the essence of authoritarian style System 2: Benevolent authoritative- is basically paternalistic style. There is a limited element of reward, but communication is restricted. Policy is made at the top but there is some restricted delegation with in strictly defined procedures. System 3: Participative-The leaser has some incomplete confidence in subordinates, listens to them but controls decision making, motivates by reward and a level of involvement and will use the ideas and suggestions of subordinates constructively. System 4: Democratic- Management gives economic rewards, rather than pats on the head, utilises full group participation and involves teams in goal setting and improving work methods and communication flows up and down. There is a close psychol ogical relationship between superiors and subordinates. Decision making is permitted at all levels and is integrated into the formal structure with reference to the organisational chart. He recognised that each style is relevant in some situations; for example in a crisis, a system 1 approach is usually required. Alternatively when introducing a new system of work, system 4 would be more effective. It shows that effective managers are those who adopt either a system 3 or a system 4 leadership style. Both are seen as being based on trust and paying attention to the needs of both the organisation and employees. Developing Leadership skills It is very easy to explain leadership, but it is hard to practise it. Action comes first in leadership and then skills. People always like to follow the good leaders because they trust and respect them, rather than following the leadership skills they have. Leadership depends on the skills of Management but it is quite different from Management. Management really depends on the planning, company and communication skills. Leadership should have such type of qualities like integration, honesty, and commitment; also have knowledge to share the ideas with his team members and mutual understanding, sincerity, passion. New and experienced leader alike, decision making has gown more complicated then ever. Leaders must make choices quickly often with the small information at hand. If we want to develop a greater tolerance for ambiguity and be willing to constantly reinvent the way your teams operate. Also want to gather more input on key decisions from people at every level of your organisation, as well as learn how to assess the reasons behind a decision before taking the force and implementing it. In 1999, for example, management thinkers and executives from the private and non profit sectors gathered at a conference summon by the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), a think tank in Greensboro, NC. The goal was to examine current leadership practices and needs. Participants focused on the fact that changing conditions in many organisations require leaders to develop new skills and perspectives. References: Businessballs.com Harvard Business School, (2005). Becoming an effective leader, Publish in USA ISBN: 1-59139-780-9 The Role of Communication in Leadership Strategic communication has never been more important than it is today. Employees expect to know about their companys plans, and they assume that they will participate in their companys growth. That means that leaders must take communication a personal priority and drive its value throughout the organisation. Mai and Akerson argue that leadership communication is not simply a technical skill, but â€Å"the critical leadership competency for guiding organisations through conditions of heightened transition and turmoil.† Any competitive company they said has three critical goals: †¢ To attract and retain talent †¢ To maintain a steady course through transitions †¢ To stay at the leading edge of its industry through constant innovation and renewal To accomplish these goals, leaders must do three key things: 1- Create a Community First leaders must be community developers, fostering trust and creating meaningful work environment. A direct approach often works well. Saturn, where plant or unit managers take the time to welcome each new hire and explains the companys philosophy. Employees coming from organisations where they had never spoken one-on-one with a senior manager are pleasantly surprised by this. Such personalised face-to-face communication with employees conveys honesty and sincerity. Transparent, honest communication is essential: when leaders communicate candidly, employees are likely to reciprocate, extending confidence back to the company. 2- Steer a Steady Course Leaders should act as navigators, setting direction and instigating action, particularly during times of transition. At the annual meeting, the companys leaders met in groups to discuss the organisations future, stimulated by worksheets that provided them with information about deregulation across other industries, statistics and possible new company configurations. After the meeting leaders took the work sheets and held similar meetings of their own with in their individual divisions. 3- Commit to continual renewal Case Study of Tesco Tesco uses critical success factors as a basis for its management and leadership competencies. According to Helen Cecil, head of HR, the emphasis at senior management level is on developing leaders rather than managers. This aim, she says is based on the companys recognition that â€Å"the difference we deliver to our customers is through our people. Management levels in stores have been reduced from seven or eight down to three and She also said that Staff now expects much more from managers. Managers have to be able to inspire, initiate change and motivate staff to deliver results. The company also recognises that the potential benefits of new technology, new management systems and new organisational structures cannot realise without effective leadership. Tesco is developing global leaders as the business becomes more international. The company uses business schools and external consultants, with in company assessment panels that identify future leaders whose development is focused on strategy, operations and human resource management.

Drugs - Does America Have a Future? Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive

Does America Have a Future? Can you picture this? Children and teenagers suffer from irreversible brain damage. Children go to school high, if they even to go school at all. Crime rates soar to outrageous proportions. Businesses fail because of decreased productivity and increased absenteeism. Families break up because a parent is in prison. Courtrooms and prisons are overcrowded with criminals convicted of drug-related crimes. These scenes could reflect America in the future if drugs such as cocaine and marijuana are legalized. One argument for the legalization of drugs is that crime rates would be reduced. Former Surgeon General, Dr. Joycelyn Elders, stated on December 8, 1993, that "we could markedly reduce our crime rate if drugs were legalized." Her rationale is that drug users would not kill other people for drugs or drug money of drugs were legal. The logic is simple: if much of our growing crime rate is due to attempts by drug dealers to obtain and market drugs, and to attempts by addicts to obtain the money to buy their drugs at inflated prices, then legalizing drugs and controlling the cost would reduce the current crime rate. However, legalizing drugs would most likely increase the crime rate, not decrease it. A close look at the dynamics involved reveals that legalizing drugs would bring nothing but disaster for our future. First, legalizing drugs would promote further drug use. Current users would probably use drugs more often if they were legal, and people who do not currently use drugs might be tempted to try them for the same reasons. The National Institute of Drug Abuse reports that two-thirds of Americans between the ages of twenty and forty have used illegal drugs in the past... ...If that were not enough, parents under the influence of drugs are simply unable to make logical decisions or give children the guidance they need. What will happen, then, if more parents were suddenly able to obtain drugs for their "recreational use," most often in their homes? With such disastrous effects, why would anyone believe that legalizing drugs would benefit this country? Even if one or two of these predictions turned out to be true, would we be better off than we are now? If drugs are legalized in this country, this country would rapidly deteriorate in the midst of the millions and millions of drug-using Americans. Crime rates would escalate, and individuals, families, and society would disintegrate. Drugs are already consuming America. The future of America looks even more dismal if drug use were further legalized and its use further condoned.

The Battle of Crecy :: Essays Papers

The Battle of Crecy The Battle of Crecy is one of several battles fought during the Hundred Years War between England and France. William I was the first to intertwine England and France. He did this by separating his French and English holdings between his two oldest sons, Robert and William II. This led to intermarriage of French and English, which eventually created land disputes, dramatic affairs and inadvertently led to the Hundred Years war and the Battle of Crecy. The Battle of Crecy took place on August 26, 1346. The battle was waged by two kings, the English king, Edward III, the French king Philp VI and their respective armies. The French forces are thought to have consisted of around thirty-six thousand men, including thousands of Geonese from Italy. On the other side the English are suspected of only having around twelve thousand soldiers. Although the English were outnumbered by thousands of French knights they proceeded to savagely defeat the French that day. On the day of the battle the English were in a defensive position awaiting the attack of the French forces at a place known as Crecy Ridge. The English armies were "trained, disciplined, well-armed and confident" meanwhile the Frenchmen and Geonese were "largely untrained, hastily collected and lacking cohesion" (Burne 186). The English were also thought to have had a crude form of a cannon, the first ever used in a battle. They also had excellent archers who easily defeated many of the French cross bowmen and knights from a distance with a longbow. The English win was enormous, and it is said that "Phillip VI fled the battlefield" (Allmand 15). Jean Froissart helped to to sensationalize and romanticize the battle in his "Chronicles of the Hundred Years War". With this work he helped to create legends about the "Black Prince", Edward III's son who first gained honor through the Battle of Crecy. The work idolizes the warriors who fought in the battles and exaggerates the cowardice of the French.

George Lucas And Movies: No Future? Essay -- essays research papers f

George Lucas and Movies: No Future?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When looking into the future people see many different things. Whether it be flying cars, buildings floating in the air, or people walking around in space suits, everyone has their own idea. Most of the time when people look into the future they look far into it, not in the next several years. The future is usually defined as twenty or more years beyond the present. Many movies and stories written about the future world seem to have the common theme that technology will play a big part in the development of the future. The development of technology will lead to the advances that will take the world into the next century and beyond. George Lucas' film THX 1138 and Robert Zemeckis' Back to the Future are both examples of movies that portray technology and the advances of the future. THX 1138 and Back to the Future both portray technology as a danger to society that could ultimately lead to its downfall.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  George Lucas made THX 1138 long before he became famous in his later movies. He based the film on his movie that he used as his graduate project and thesis. It was his first attempt at directing and producing a Hollywood film. His goal was to create a film that would show the future state of the world if it was to continue on its path of the search for perfection of everything. He shows the future as a place that many people would probably not want to live or to be associated with.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lucas shows that everyone will be the same. People will wear the same clothes and have the same haircut. Names are no longer a part of society. In the movie each person is given a prefix of letters followed by a number. They are basically drones who follow orders. Technology has advanced so far that every motion or action of the person is monitored. Anytime that one of them does something wrong it immediately appears on the computer screen as to what they are doing and what their number is. It is possible for the computer to monitor all of their vital signs and mental activity. Each person is carefully monitored and watched. The people are told what to do and act based on how they were trained. They work in shifts of labor and are almost extensions of the computer that tells them what to do. There is no more guessing about disease or how a person is feeling... ...This would mean that there would be no set future for the world. Each person would try to change the future so that everything would benefit themselves. This would lead to the eventually destruction of society and maybe no future at all.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  George Lucas and Robert Zemeckis both portray the future in their films. The future however is very different between the two movies. In THX 1138 everyone is controlled by the technology that has created computers that can control things. In Back to the Future each individual person has the option to control the future of the world. Both movies give too much power to one thing. Either Technology or the individual have too much power to have society run smoothly. Both of these things would most likely lead to the destruction of society as it is. A point must be reached somewhere in the middle or there may not even be a future for people to dream about. Works Cited Back to the Future. Dir. Robert Zemeckis. Perf. Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson. 1985. Videocassette. Universal Pictures, 1986. THX 1138. Dir. George Lucas. Perf. Robert Duvall, Donald Pleasence. 1970. Videocassette. Warner Brothers, 1971

Food and Beverage Control

Objectives of F&B control * Analysis of income and expenditure performance can be expressed in gross profit, net margin (gross – wages) and net profit (net margin – rent, rates, insurance†¦) * Establishment and maintenance of standards. SOP (standard operational procedures) * Pricing * Prevention of waste * Prevention of fraud * Management information Problems of F&B control * Perishability of food * Business volume unpredictability/sales instability Menu mix unpredictability * F&B operation short cycle -> little time for many control tasks * Departmentalization – several production and service departments -> separate trading results Fundamentals of control Planning phase Policies: pre-determined guidelines * Financial policy – level of profitability, subsidy and cost limits from each department * Marketing policy: target group * National identity * Customer profile Market share – same or more percentage of ‘our’ market * Turnover – sales volume increased by x% on previous year * Profitability – profit increased by each unit by x% on previous year * ASP (average spending power) increased by x% or to achieve a new ASP of no less than â‚ ¬x * Product – same high standard * Customer satisfaction – net result must be the satisfaction of every customer * Catering policy – main objectives of F&B facilities and describe the methods of how this is achieved * Type of customer * Type of menu * Beverage provision necessary for operation Food quality standards * Method of buying (contract, cash†¦) * Type and quality of service * Degree of comfort and decor * Hours of operation Operational phase * Purchasing * Product testing (tasting) * Yield testing * Purchase specifications – concise description of quality, size, weight etc. * Method of buying * Clerical procedures (who places orders, what documentation necessary for control) * Receiving * Quantity inspection * Quality inspection * Clerical procedures (acknowledgement of the receipt, delivery signature) * Storing and issuing * Stock records Pricing of items * Stocktaking (how much stock to be held, rate of stock turnover etc. ) * Clerical procedures (what documentation in necessary) * Selling * Checking system (number of items sold) * Control of cash * Clerical procedures Post operation phase * F&B cost reporting (daily or weekly) * Assessment – compare reports with budgets and with previous performance * Correction if necessary Reality of control: never 100% efficient Setting the budget and break-even analysis * Budget – plan which reflects policies and determines the business perations for a particular trading period * Budgetary control – control with particular responsibility for budget results is assigned to managers and continuous comparison between the actual results and the budgeted figures is made * Objectives of budgetary control * To provide a plan of action, to keep business with its policies and to maximize the full use of resources * To set standards of performance * To set out levels of cost responsibility and to encourage cost awareness * Capital budgets – assets, equipment etc. * Operating budgets – day-to-day income and includes sales, cost of sales, labour, maintenance etc.Stages of budgeting 1. Determination of net profit, capital invested and risks involved 2. Preparation of sales budget – volume of sales necessary to achieve desired net profit. Also influences budgeted cost for food, labour etc. 3. Preparation of administration and general budgets (office expenses, advertising etc. ) 4. Preparation of capital expenditure budget (new equipment, furniture) 5. Preparation of cash budget (cash inflows/outflows, cash balance) 6. Preparation of master budgets (trading account, profit loss account and balance sheet) Costs, profits and sales Material costs = opening stock + cost of purchases – closing stock â€⠀œ cost of staff meals * Labour costs = wages and salaries * Overhead costs = all other costs Four kinds of costs * Fixed – always the same * Semi-fixed – depends on volume of sales but not in same proportion (fuel, telephone costs) * Variable – in proportion to volume of sales * Total – sum of above Profit * Gross profit – total sales – cost of materials * After-wage profit/net margin – total sales – material – labour * Net profit – total sales – total costs (material, labour, overhead cost) Break-even analysis * Based on: Selling price, product mix and unit costs remain the same * Only one product is made/sold * Break-even = C/(S-V) * C = total fixed costs * S = sales price * V = variable cost Software systems * Menu planning (popularity and profitability) * Production control (quantities) * Stock management (maintain stock levels) * Purchase ordering (order automatically when minimum stock) * Menu analys is (individual customer menu choices recorded) * All of these systems together: EPOS system Basic concepts * Planning, standard yields, recipes, portion sizes -> PYRS * Production planning (or volume forecasting) Goal: cost control, purchasing, reduce waste, production on demand, comparison between actual and potential volume of sales * Standard yields * Is the usable part of that product after initial preparation, or the edible part of the product after preparation and cooking * Goal: know how much to buy, safeguard against wastage – measurement of efficiency of production, accurate food costing * Standard recipe * Goal: accurate costing, important to know nutritional value, useful in kitchen * Standard portion size * Aid to food costing Methods of food control Control cycle * Purchase order * Delivery note Invoice (usually send directly to accounts department) * Requisition Weekly/monthly food cost report * For small business * Simple and quick to make * No intermediate inf ormation (only after 7 or 28 days) Daily food cost report * For small to medium-sized business * Simple and easy to follow * Detailed * Corrective action can be taken early in the month * Accuracy is important * Ignores staff meals, food that goes to/from bar -> not accurate Calculation of potential food costs 1. Multiply number of each menu item during a sample week by potential food cost per portion -> total potential food cost of a week 2.Same with sold portions and menu prices -> potential total sales 3. Divide total potential food cost by total potential sales -> potential food cost percentage * Necessary information for above calculation: * Number of items sold and their selling prices * Standard recipe cards of all menu items * Summary of potential food cost obtained from recipe cards * Average market price for main ingredients Methods of beverage control * Six basic types: control of purchasing, receiving, storing and issuing, planning, establishment of standard yields, reci pes, portion sizes and inventory * Par stock or bottle control system Beginning stock * Number of empty bottles to be counted and requisitioned for the day * Potential sales based on quantities issues and compared to actual revenue received * Adjustments made to selling price if necessary * Potential sales value system * Revenue value of each bottle based on standard size of drink, contents of bottle and selling price for each drink * Full bottles of spirits: potential sales value is the same as selling price * Spirits sold by glass: number of drinks x price per drink = potential sales value * Millimeter system * Most accurate EPOS reporting Menu item preference – to identify potential menu items that aren’t doing well and eliminate them from the menu * Menu item profitability * Sales by meal period – to know when to hire more staff or for marketing * Sales by server – to identify members of staff who need further training * Category report * Table waitin g times Profit sensitivity analysis (PSA) * Identifying the ‘critical’ or ‘key factors’ of a business and how they influence the net profit * Method of PSA: 1. Identify key factors (number of covers, F&B costs, labour costs†¦) 2. Assume a change in one key factor at a time 3.Calculate resulting change in net profit 4. Calculate ‘profit multipliers’ PM = % of change in net profit / % of change in key factor 5. List the PM’s in order of size 6. Analyze results Menu engineering * Evaluation of menu with regard to its present and future content, design and pricing * Highlight the good and poor performers on a menu * Customer demand – number of customers served * Menu mix – customer preference for menu item * Contribution margin (GP% – gross profit %) of each menu item (how much earned from item) * Stars – popular menu items and high GP% * Plowhorses – popular but low GP% Puzzles – low popularity but high GP% * Dogs – low popularity and low GP% Systems of revenue control * Manual or automated * Sales checks: each item ordered and the selling price to be recorded in check pads * Cashiers role: check and record the check pads in a ‘check number issue sheet’ and check pricing of all checks and add taxes Computerized items * Pre-checking systems: waiter has own machine key * Pre-set pre-checking system: each item on menu has its own key on machine * Electronic cash registers (ECR): EPOS is better so now only for small operations * MPOS: handheld/mobile EPOS systemForecasting * How many customers and what will they eat at what time * We need: * Sales and turndown history * Cancellations and no show trends * Competitor data * Market trends * Weather forecast * Methods of forecasting software * Non-linear regression: used when time is the independent variable * Multiple regression analysis * Trend analysis * Adaptive filtering Operating ratios * Total F&B sales * Recorded and checked against budgeted sales figure * Done daily for large businesses * Departmental profit * Expenses = costs of F&B labour * Profit = % of departmental sales Ratio of separate F&B sales to total sales * ASP – number of items recorded on till roll and total sales * Sales mix – food-beverages, appetizers-coffees-mains * Payroll costs – % of sales – higher if more service * Index of productivity – sales/payroll * Stock turnover * Rate of stock turnover = cost of F&B consumed / average stock value at cost * Number of items that average level of stock has turned over in a given period * Sales per seat available – sales value that can be earned by each seat * Rate of seat turnover – number of times that each seat is used * Sales per waiter * Sales per m?