Amniocentesis Process Essay Example

Amniocentesis Process Essay Example Amniocentesis Process Paper Amniocentesis Process Paper Amniocentesis is a procedure in medicine that involves the extraction of amniotic fluid which is found around the uterus fetus when a woman is pregnant. This fluid can be found around the uterine wall. Generally, amniocentesis is used to identify disorders caused by genetics, chromosomal defects and other disease and problems associated with pregnancy. Apart from this, this procedure is used to determine how developed the unborn child’s lungs are and this is done in third trimester of the pregnancy. This procedure is usually carried out between the 15th and 20th week into the pregnancies of people who are liable to genetic disorders and in women who are close to their menopause. There are some people who have prior history of genetic problems. When pregnant, the baby stands the risk of suffering genetic defect and so this must be carried out to ascertain. Although amniocentesis has its advantages, there is the risk that after this procedure is carried out, there would be a miscarriage. Amniocentesis helps to identify several pregnancy disorders. This could be through the process or use of an ultrasound to guide a hollow-shaped needle into the amniotic sac. This ultrasound could be useful at diagnosing open neural tube defects such as spina bifida and anencephaly which affect several babies in America today. In America, statistics have proven that about 4,000 babies suffer from this defect. Apart from this, there are other pregnancy related disorders that amniocentesis aims to detect. A good is example is the Bilirubin Alpha fetoprotein. Alpha fetoprotein is measured in pregnant women with the use of amniotic fluid or their menstrual blood. This is done in order to identify hepatocellular carcinoma and endodermal sinus tumors. Summarily, amniocentesis has proved beneficial to doctors in the field of gynecology and obstetrics. This is because it helps them to know the disorders that occur during pregnancy. Although it has its side effects, when it is carried out properly and at the right time, it is a medical procedure that saves the life of the mother and makes us prepared for latter eventualities.

Reinforcement in Applied Behavior Analysis

Reinforcement in Applied Behavior Analysis Reinforcement can mean lots of things to different people. In the science of Applied Behavior Analysis, it has a very specific and narrow definition. That it is narrowly defined by its function does not narrow the range of possibilities: it can be money, smiles, warm water or an infinite number of things. Reinforcement and ABA Reinforcement is any stimulus (something that a sensory organ can experience) that will increase the likelihood of a behavior reappearing. Can a high pitched noise be a reinforcer? Yes, if the organism finds it pleasurable. Can a punch in the face lead to reinforcement? Yes, if it eliminates some of the throbbing pain of a toothache. A practitioner of Applied Behavior Analysis will seek out the function of a behavior by questioning how a consequence of the behavior creates reinforcement for the client/patient/student. Reinforcement on a Continuum Reinforcement happens along a continuum from primary reinforcement ( food, water, other physical reinforcers ) to social reinforcers, such as social attention, praise or recognition. Many children with disabilities do not respond to secondary or social reinforcers since they dont actually function to provide reinforcement. A child who has spent money will find a quarter reinforcing whereas a child with severe autism or cognitive disabilities will not find a quarter reinforcing. Typical children and most adults generally respond to secondary and social reinforcement. We work long hours for monetary amounts that are deposited electrically into bank accounts we access online or with a credit card. The goal of ABA is to move children along the continuum to secondary reinforcers, so that they, too, will work for a paycheck and learn to make choices about how they use the result of their own labor. For many children with disabilities, that needs to be taught, and it is often learned by pairing primary reinforcers with social or secondary reinforcers. Choosing Reinforcement Once the replacement or target behavior is defined in an operational way, the ABA practitioner needs to find reinforcers that will drive the students/clients behavior. Children with significant disabilities may need to be reinforced with primary reinforcers, such as favorite foods, but unless this reinforcement is paired with social or secondary reinforcers, it can create an unhealthy and unsustainable reinforcement strategy. Many sensory reinforcers can be successful with children with significant disabilities, such as low functioning autism when you can discover what sort of sensory toy appeals to children. I have used buzzing toys, spinning toys, and even water play successfully as reinforcers with students with significant language and developmental disabilities. Some of these children like to play with musical toys. It is important to create a rich menu of reinforcers, and continuously add items into a childs reinforcement menu. Reinforcement, like all matters of taste, change. Also, students can sometimes become satiated by too much of a single reinforcer, whether its Blues Clues or Reeses Pieces. Often, practitioners will begin with a Reinforcer Assessment which can be done a number of different ways. A successful practitioner will ask parents or caregivers for the childs preferred foods, television shows or characters, activities, and toys. These are often a good place to start. Reinforcers can then be presented in a structured or unstructured way. Sometimes two or three items are placed in front of the child at a time, often pairing preferred items with new items. Sometimes you can present a child with a large number of reinforcers at one time, and eliminate items a child ignores. Reinforcement Schedules Research has evaluated regular reinforcement (on a schedule, from each correct response to every three or four responses) as well as variable reinforcement (within a range, such as every 3 to 5 correct behaviors.) It has shown that variable reinforcement is the most powerful. When a child/client discovers that they are reinforced for every third correct response, they rush to the third response. When they dont know exactly when they will be reinforced, they tend to have stronger responses, tend to generalize across environments and tend to retain the new behavior. The ratio is important: too high a ratio too early may not help the subject learn the target behavior, too low a ration may lead to reinforcement dependence. As a child/subject learns the target behavior, the practitioner can thin the reinforcement schedule, increasing the ratio, and spreading out the reinforcement over more correct responses. Discrete Trial Teaching Discrete Trial Training or Teaching (more acceptable now) is the principal delivery method for instruction in ABA, though ABA is increasingly employing more naturalistic methods, such as modeling and role-playing. Still, each trial is a three-step process: Instruction, Response, and Feedback. The reinforcement happens during the feedback part of the trial. During feedback, you want to name the target behavior ¸ and in initial trials, you want to begin with a one to one reinforcement schedule. You will reinforce every correct response in a one to one schedule, so your student understands that he/she gets the goodies every time they give you the behavior you want. Success in Reinforcement The most successful reinforcement is when a child/client begins to reinforce themselves. That is the intrinsic reinforcement that some of us receive for doing the things that we value or enjoy the most. But lets face it. None of us would go to work without the paycheck, though many of us accept a lower paycheck (as lowly teachers) because we do love what we do. Success, for many students with disabilities, is to learn to find social interaction, praise and appropriate social interaction as reinforcers, so that they acquire age-appropriate social skills and function. Our hope is that our students will gain the level of social and cognitive function that will give them full and meaningful lives. Appropriate reinforcement will help them achieve that.

Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Proposal - Essay Example een remained at high levels in UK and this is an issue that should be taken into consideration by the country’s politicians when designing and applied relevant schemes on the particular regions; the needs of the specific areas for further development should be also highlighted and sufficient funds would be released by the governmental and non-governmental organizations; in any case, such an investment would have the prospects to achieve a significant performance – in accordance with the growth of shipping and tourism industry in Britain and the performance of ports (even of the minor ones) across the country. Current research focuses on the potential of growing of minor ports in the UK and the examination of the current and future situation of ports in the above country. Apart from the above issues, a series of additional themes will be also developed in current research (in accordance with their relevance with the main issue under examination): a) role of ports in the development of Britain through the years, b) industrial areas that are depended on the operation of ports, c) cost of maintenance of ports across the country (at an average level), d) evaluation of the importance of ports in UK for the local economy, e) position of Britain in the international market (regarding the performance of its ports) – a comparison with other countries that are also heavily based on ports is also possible. The research methodology employed in this research will be mainly a secondary one. In other words, no interviews or surveys will be conducted; rather all necessary data and info will be gathered from relevant databases (referring to books, journals and websites). In any case statistical data published by governmental and non-governmental organizations will be used and analysed in this study trying to emphasizing on the importance of ports for the development of local and national economy. The reference to similar studies conducted by other researchers would be also

Should the UK withdraw from the European Convention on human rights Essay

Should the UK withdraw from the European Convention on human rights - Essay Example Sovereignty of the parliament dictates that the parliament has the sole discretion to make and amend laws in the UK. No person or body is recognized by the UK legislation to overrule the law made by the parliament. In this spirit the parliament is seen to be competent to make any laws. Laws that deprive the citizens of their right to property, liberty, voting, and life among others should be seen as valid so long as they have been passed by the parliament. This is done in faith that the parliament can exercise self restraint and only pass laws that are at par with the moral standards. However, this has not been the case always because some politicians have normally put their own selfish interests at the cost of national interests. The ECHR being an international body helps to regulate such offensive or repugnant laws. The citizens of Britain should advocate against their government withdrawal from the convention. This is for the benefit of regulation of the laws that the parliament may pass. The Human Rights Act of 1998 and its Problems The human rights act of 1998 was drafted on the principle of protection of human rights but reconciled with the sovereignty of the state (UK Government, 2012). Under this act, the parliament may make legislations and the courts may not necessarily quash them on the grounds of inconsistency with the European Convention on human rights. In fact, it is only the higher courts that should interpret the legislations and determine their inconsistency. The higher courts may only declare incompatibility where it is very clear. This act was put forward in order to ensure parliamentary sovereignty. ... an Rights Act of 1998 and its Problems The human rights act of 1998 was drafted on the principle of protection of human rights but reconciled with the sovereignty of the state (UK Government, 2012). Under this act, the parliament may make legislations and the courts may not necessarily quash them on the grounds of inconsistency with the European Convention on human rights. In fact, it is only the higher courts that should interpret the legislations and determine their inconsistency. The higher courts may only declare incompatibility where it is very clear. This act was put forward in order to ensure parliamentary sovereignty. However, the enactment of the act has transformed the constitutional environment in which the parliament’s legislative power exists; the legislative powers have been altered. Three features of the act pose problems to its enactment and goes against the ECHR. The first problem is that the act places the power to interpret whether the acts are consistent wi th convention rights in the hands of the judiciary. This greatly alters the process of interpretation of the legislation. This has two implications; it is rare for legislation properly interpreted to go against the human rights norms. The parliament will always use a clearer and precise language if it wishes to abrogate human rights. The use of clear language draws the attention of public and the parliament. The government may put a strong justification of the legislation to win the public support. This legislation may be infringing on the rights of the people but it may escape the eyes of the judiciary which has been given the ultimate power to determine its compatibility with the rights convention (Elliot, 2002). The second problem is that the minister in-charge of the bill should make a

Sanctification Based on Calvins Theology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Sanctification Based on Calvins Theology - Essay Example The first part will try to define morality while the succeeding section will tackle about the different meanings attributed to sanctification, giving emphasis on what is taught by Calvinism. In light of this, the issue that links sanctification with morality will be examined through a discussion on the definition of morality. This paper will conclude with its findings. In the strictest sense, morality refers to "which is innately regarded as right or wrong (Morality 2006)." There isn't a concise meaning associated with morality as it often refers to set of judgments and principles shared by individuals in within the same culture, religion, and philosophical concepts which separates and identifies actions which are right or wrong, acceptable and unacceptable. The concept of morality is often used by groups to regulate the functioning of their circle by setting a specific standard by which their members are subjected. In other words, the concept of morality serves as a regulating factor in maintaining the harmony in a group. We can see a problem of morality given this definition. We can see that morality varies from culture to culture, religion to religion, and sometimes even from individual to individual. Some actions are considered acceptable by a culture, while others see the same action as immoral. Examples of these are abortion, white lie, and euthanasia. Some groups and individuals consider these as permissible while others question the morality of such actions. Calvin's Theology John Calvin is one of the most famous theologian and ecclesiastical statesman. Through his revolutionary beliefs and teachings, he became the major French Protestant Reformer and was dubbed as the "most important figure in the second generation of the Protestant Reformation." His ideas of Christianity are found in his famous work Institutio Christianae Religionis (Institutes of the Christian Religion). John Calvin laid out the foundation of Calvinism which is one of the major factors that influenced the formation of the modern world (John Calvin 2002). One of the most important doctrines contained in Calvin's theology is the doctrine of original sin which is adopted from the Augustinian teachings. This doctrine supports the idea that the whole mankind has fallen before God when Adam and Eve fell prey to the temptation in the Garden of Eden. The sin committed by the first man is denoted as the original sin. At that point, sin entered the heart of men and everyone born on this earth has the original sin. Sin is what separates man from his creator. Therefore, the fall of man in the Garden of Eden makes man a slave of sin and every human being has an inclination to commit sin (The Teachings of John Calvin 2000). Institutes of the Christian Religion states that: When the will is enchained as the slave of sin, it cannot make a movement towards goodness, far less steadily pursue it. (2.3.5) Man alone has no power to save himself from sin. Even though his freewill was not removed from him, he cannot resist the urge to commit sin. However, God's great love and compassion for mankind made a remedy for this situation. Through the Son of God Jesus Christ, man was freed from the burden of sin. Calvin refers to this process as justification. Through this justification, man's original sin is forgiven. John Calvin also put forward that another

Rice brokerage firm

Rice brokerage firm Introduction and historical background Brief description of proposed entrepreneurial venture The venture into consideration is a rice brokerage firm which is a service providing firm regarding selling and purchasing of rice to and from different traders and rice mill owners. This firm will serve as a middleman and do not require investment in purchasing rice but this firm will charge 0.5% commission from each buyer and seller for a single transaction. The above said commission will be charged on account of providing services to rice traders and rice mill owners. Context of the organization The business of rice brokerage firm lies in the service industry. The nature of rice brokerage firm is to facilitate people related to rice business to search for buyers and sellers of rice. This firm is aimed at providing best level of services to the clients while providing them value in every service they are seeking for. There is a huge demand of rice in Pakistan and all around the world, and Pakistan produces enough rice to meet domestic rice needs and is able to export as well. Rice is an essential part of Pakistani meals, thats why consumer preferences is still there and they are ready to buy rice at prices that were never before. It is obvious that rice business and its industry will not end-up easily despite high rate of inflation. If domestic people eliminate rice from their lunch or dinner menu or switch to another commodity, the global demand will still be there because people around world like Basmati which is a product of Pakistan. This means that business of rice within Pakistan seems to be a still growing business with profitable opportunities for entrepreneurs. To have a start-up in the rice business, becoming a rice broker is a good option because trade facilitator are always at the safest edge of any business with a minimum investment of PKR: 10,000/- (in this case). Brief history of the industry Service industry is always there since the very start of every business in any industry. My firm is also in the service industry because this firm facilitates the clients trading in same commodity, which is rice, to get information and availability of rice in the market. When rice mill owners process the rice obtained from landlords in raw form to the finished product, it is then required to be supplied to wholesaler and other traders. To lessen the gap of communication and to ease the supply of rice to different ends of the chain brokerage firms are required. And, such services are demanded by many such like businesses to minimize overhead costs of different distribution channels. Information about economy and different trends Rice is vital cash crop and is one of the major export items of Pakistan. It accounted for 5.9 percent of value added sector and 1.3 percent of GDP in FY09. Pakistan grows ample quantity of rice to meet its domestic requirements and also export the high quality rice around the world. The production soared by a commendable 25 percent that helped Pakistan earn sizeable foreign exchange revenue. Rice exports accounted for nearly 11.21 percent of total export receipts FY09 and growers have achieved a bumper production of rice (6.4 million tons) so far in this crop year. Rice harvest was significantly higher than estimated domestic consumption of 2.5 million tons as growers were encouraged by higher rice price in international market following imposition of ban on rice exports by competing countries. Current status of the rice brokerage firms Every year Pakistan produces a decent quantity of rice and it contributes to major part of our country exports. Taking into consideration this fact, there are more and more people entering into this business because this business can be started with an investment of less than PKR 10,000/- and it is within the reach of common man nowadays. Another reason for the still growing business of rice brokerage is that there are wonderful growth opportunities and diversification of business in the field of exporting commodities to different parts of the world and there are examples of such successful people too in the present market have started from a commission agent to a successful rice exporter and rice mill owners, and hence successful entrepreneurs. So, people found this business very much profitable and most of people are still entering into this business. Aim of the service It is reasonable to say here that everybody in rice business wants to purchase and sell rice at his/her doorstep and there is a need to provide the service of brokerage firm to fulfill that need. Most of the times, it is difficult for rice mill owners to go into the market to search for buyers and it incurs a cost to that mill owners, so they prefer to contact brokers like us to search for buyers because those brokers have already contacts of buyers and their requirement in the market accordingly. This approach saves time and cost of every person involved in this business from rice mill owners to buyers to exporters. In order to provide up-to-date information about market prices of rice to traders and mill owners and to ease the process of searching for buyers and sellers is surmised by me as a good opportunity to start a business with a much lesser investment and greater growth opportunities. List of services to be provided Up-to-date information about prices of rice to clients Quality check-up of rice being bought and sold by client by randomly checking samples from the lot Making rice available to clients at best prices SWOT analysis of rice brokerage business Strengths Low investment Easy to operate ROI is high Weaknesses Ease of entry High competition Low sustainability No consistency Opportunities Diversification International trade opportunities Threats Forward and backward integration by major players in the industry Ease of entry into the business and competitor analysis There is a lot of competition in rice trade business because there is no barriers to entry this business. There is tough competition among all players in this business who provide brokerage services to rice traders as this can be done by anyone who can just coordinate between his/her clients. The only thing that matters in this area is trust and relationship building. This can only be made stronger by providing credible services and delivering on promises you have made to your clients because this will be the only differentiating factor that will set you apart from the competitors. However, there is a lack of value added services in the offerings of current brokers in the market of rice business which creates a gap in the area of this business which can be filled by smart entrepreneurs by putting creative destruction into work. This could be a challenging as well as risky task to stand out in competition in such business where most of the major players run their organization in typical seth-way, but when there is a risk there is an opportunity and if it is seen as an opportunity then an entrepreneur has done almost half of its work. Mission To serve rice buyers and sellers through continuing efforts in bringing clients the very best which is available today and ease their process of prospecting. Providing them value in our services by satisfying their requirements of rice, meeting deadline of lead time, consulting them about changing business environment and placing emphasis on trading properly and making money for clients. Vision To become a leader in commodity brokerage firm business and earn loyalty of our clientele base by assisting them in becoming more successful in their commodity trading through continuous improvement in our services by innovation, professionalism and integration. Management considerations Personal expertise Strengths Problem seeker/ proactive Experience Believe in black and white Leadership skills Communication skills Negotiator Ability to make fun oriented environment Straight forward Multi linguistic Weaknesses Cant wait Taking too much time in evaluating alternatives Do not socialize Straight forward Organizational design The proposed design for the venture is organic because of the smaller size and continuously changing outside environment. This is so because the success of the business depends upon the person who is at front end with the client and that person should be given freedom to customize services according to clients needs coping up with the challenges of uncertain external environment. Organizational culture Innovation and risk taking is very high and it will enable us to outperform others in the present market situation There will be a high degree of emphasis on attention to detail to get work perfectly done because a little mistake can lose out our credibility High degree of outcome orientation is entailed within organizations culture to achieve objectives, milestones and vision People orientation will be optimal because founder of this organization will be at front face from the very start of this business to build and maintain the customer base Team orientation is highly appreciated to carry out operations smoothly A blend of cooperative and competitive strategies will be used to sustain and survive into the industry while embedding a bit of higher level of aggressiveness within organizations culture Stability within the organization will be optimal will be taking into account innovation and progress in order to imply a proactive approach Staffing requirements A lawyer will be hired on annual basis for filing sales tax and income tax returns at the end of each fiscal year. Apart from this, a quality control checker will be employed at a monthly salary of PKR: 10,000/- whose responsibility will be to check quality of rice being bought and sold by our clients and to assure them for timely delivery of that quality of rice as demanded by the clients. Operational management issues The quality of services offered to the clients should be maintained to avoid any disappointment and shrinkage of customer base. Following dimensions of service quality are taken into consideration to maintain the consistency in our services: Timeliness: meeting deadlines of all clients Courtesy: giving clients a â€Å"wow† experience Consistency: same and even better quality of service every time Convenience: providing all services at clients doorstep Completeness: taking feedback after successful completion of each job Accuracy: never making client unhappy by doing and providing non professional services Inventory management methods There is no inventory management in the proposed venture because this venture provides no-goods services and do not invest in purchasing commodities, hence there is no inventory. Equipments required Basic equipments required for this venture are personal computer, printer, fax machine and telephone set. Marketing considerations Marketing plan In the commodity brokerage business, there is a high need of marketing to let people know that a new venture is established in this industry providing value added services other than the core activity of assisting and facilitating clients in buying and selling process of rice. The marketing of this firm focuses more on relationship building, communicating value and delivering on trustworthy promises to clients. Segmentation approaches Demographic Industry type There are no barriers to entry in the rice industry because it is a commodity market which comes into the market every year with no limitations on purchasing and selling this commodity. It is a still growing industry and people are still coming into this industry to settle their business. There are very least government restrictions on this industry because rice contribute to major part of our country exports. Company size Due to fewer barriers to entry, everybody regardless of what capital s/he has in the pocket can enter in this industry and can trade rice. Based on this fact, there are too many variations in company size. There are firms which supply rice to small scale retailers and there are firms which are rice mill owners and large scale exporters. The company size may vary from PKR: 100,000/- to PKR: 100 million worth of firm. Location Almost all rice traders do their business in the area of New Chaali (behind I.I Chundrigarh road) and some of them are in Jodia Bazaar. Rice mills are situated throughout the province of Sind but they fulfill the requirements of nearby areas. The rice mills in the area of Gharo and Hyderabad are major supplier of rice to Karachi. Most of the mill owners have offices in Karachi at the above said areas. Operating variables Technology There is no such technology employed as standard in the rice industry but different firms in this industry are using computer software to maintain their books of records, accounting, billing and other related activities. For a private limited company it is necessary to employ software to maintain operational and non-operational activities. For the rice mill owners, new mills are being set up with latest improved technology equipments/machinery to do rice processing in a more efficient and cost effective manner. Customer capabilities Customer capabilities vary from customer to customer. The trade volume varies from 0.5 metric tons to tens of metric tons of rice. Purchasing approaches Purchasing department Some large scale rice trading firms have separate purchasing department which have a huge annual turnover as compared to others, while small scale traders do not have separate purchase department. Most of the firms in rice industry are seth owned and they run their business in a typical seth way. They are responsible for all buying and selling activities. However, accounting activities are assigned to other employees but activities such as purchasing, negotiation, making payments and collecting payments are done by seth himself. Purchasing policies Almost all buyers purchase rice on credit, there are very few who purchase on cash. In Pakistan rice industry, rice buyers make payments to the suppliers/sellers within 30 days but on an average the credit period may extend to 45 days. Purchasing criteria There is no specific purchasing criterion for buying rice. Rice is being bought and sold in the market in a much simpler way, just make a phone call to a broker, s/he will note down buyers requirements, the broker will arrange rice for the client and negotiate on payment terms and conditions with the buyer, receives advance amount of money to conform the deal, finalize the deal and supply the rice to buyers warehouse. Situational factors Urgency For rice exporters, the concerned bank personnel, through which international letter of credit (ILOC) is opened and maintained by importer sitting abroad, checks the quality of rice being exported to assure whether the quality of rice meets the requirements of the importer. If those quality controllers reject the rice for not meeting the required quality, then in order to avoid disappointed customers and delayed shipments exporters rush to the rice market and rice brokers to fulfill the order of the importer. At this instance, targeting such exporters who make mistakes in performing quality control check of rice may be profitable for rice brokerage venture. Size of order If rice market falls short of rice then every trader will buy rice to stock it and then sell at higher rates to make more profits. This is very critical moment in the market and most of the traders want to take advantage of such opportunity, but such decision are based upon environmental scanning and quantity of rice exported versus domestic consumption and availability. In such scenario the size of order increases from normal orders that rice traders used to place for purchasing rice in normal situations. Personal characteristic Buyer-seller similarity There are a lot of similar characteristics among the traders in the rice industry. A buyer wants to buy and a seller wants to sell and the business goes on. The basic similarity among them is that everybody has to agree upon a specific on going market rate. Attitude towards risk There is no higher level of risk involved in the rice trade business because this is a commodity business. The rates of rice do fluctuate on daily basis but not at a higher level. The major increase in rates of rice occurs due to higher exports local/domestic market fall short of rice. Risk is involved when rice is sold at credit and buyer becomes defaulter in making payments to the supplier/seller. All rice traders are aware of risks involved in this business but they believe that trust is the key driving factor of this business and they trust each other despite of having knowledge of all risks involved. Loyalty There is no brand involved in the rice business to which loyalty can be associated. Business people in this industry are loyal to traders who are providing best services to their clients rather than just selling rice which can be done by providing value in their services. Target market selection strategy The rice brokerage venture will adapt full market coverage strategy to meet the needs of all traders of rice because no such customer group is identified in the market that do not want or need to buy or sell rice to run their business. Marketing mix strategies Service description The service to be provided by the proposed venture is to facilitate buyer and seller to look for each other, to fulfill their business needs of rice and making rice available for them at best prices so that they may run their business profitably. The service charges are 0.5% of the overall amount of the rice being bought and sold, which will be charged from each client for a single deal transaction. This venture also caters to the rice mill owners by helping them to look for potential buyers of their processed rice. The said venture will also provide its services to rice growers and so that farmers and landlords may sell rice to rice mill owners at best rates and after processing the rice will be passed on to different channels for furthering its supply into the market. According to product lifecycle, the rice brokerage business is at growth stage. Pricing The cost of service to be charged from clients is based on going-rate pricing strategy. This pricing strategy is chosen for this venture because all competitors in the rice brokerage service industry are charging same rate of commission from buyers and sellers, therefore premium pricing and other pricing strategies will not be feasible for this type of venture. The value that client will get after using our services will help us to build and maintain our clientele base through word of mouth marketing. At the initial stage, the most feasible pricing strategy will be going-rate pricing in order to survive and maximizing sales growth. Promotion All the promotional strategies for this venture focus on partnering with clients, value added selling, consultative selling and building long term sustainable relationship with the clients. All advertising will be done by personal visits to buyers and sellers premises so that interpersonal relationships can be strengthened by personal selling. To make promotional activities strategies more effective, efficient and result oriented we will try to concentrate on customers, preparing ourselves for gathering information about competition, convince the clients about our services by providing guarantee and by delivering on the promises, offering benefits to the clients and handle objections of the clients by listening to them about our offered services which will help us to mould our services according to each client needs. Place Overall marketing strategy Nowadays, business persons have become smart enough to opt for forward and backward integration. Traders buying and selling at large scale do not necessarily engage a rice broker for their trading operations. In such scenario, creating a place in the industry and market place can be a challenging and trivial task. To gain success, following strategies will be implemented for the business of rice brokerage business. Strategy 1 Continuous visits to large and small scale rice traders for prospecting and give them information about advantages associated with services offered by a rice brokerage firm while providing them value in each service, cutting down costs in warehousing and storage of rice, making process of looking for buyers and sellers easy and enabling them to meet each business entity annual revenue targets and turnover goals. Strategy 2 Creating a database of all existing and potential clients to keep individuals up-to-date record of all previous transactions, their feedback about services they have received which will enable us to take corrective measures to further improve on strategy and level of service. Tactics Regularly monitoring and evaluating of current market activities and to take actions accordingly in order to survive in the challenging business environment. Legal considerations and business structure Type of firm The legal form of entrepreneural venture into consideration is sole propreitorship because there are no complex legal requirements of establishing a rice brokerage venture. At the very start of establishing such service providing venture, we need a high level of direct control over operations and processes of business to convince and satisfy our clients about our services. Terms and conditions Goods are delivered at owners risk Seller of rice isnot responsible for any kind of unpleasant event regarding delivery of rice to buyers destination 50% of service charges, which is commission in this case, will be charged at the rate of 0.5% of trade amount from each party, and the rest will be paid by the parties after successful execution and completion of the deal. Transportation charges are to be borne by the buyer Payment agreement will be carried out according to mutual understanding of both parties The broker itself is not responsible for quality of rice not meeting buyers quality needs and requirements. However, we will try our level best to assure our clients about delivery of rice of reqired quality as decided at the time of finalizing the deal Buyout A successful entrepreneur is the person who plans for a good profitable future and not forgetting to plan for coping up with challenges due to changing external environment. Therefore, in the worst case scenario if the propreitor end up doing business with heavy losses then it is easy to exit from this business by shutting down the firm. Despite increased effective tax rate, unlimited liability and difficulties in raising funds, sole propreitorship form of organization still seems to be feasible for this venture. Legal documents The basic legal documents for a sole propreitor venture are; National Tax Number (NTN) Sales Tax Registration Number (STRN) Tax considerations Financial considerations Startup costs SOURCES OF CAPITAL Owners Investment (name and percent ownership) PKR Raj Kumar 100% ownership 1,635,000 Total Investment 1,635,000 STARTUP EXPENSES Capital Equipment List PKR Furniture (tables and chairs) 15,000 Equipment (computer, printer, fax telephone) 18,650 Fixtures (fans and lighting) 7,000 Total Capital Equipment 40,650 Location and Admin Expenses PKR Rental 15,000 Advance deposit 180,000 Telephone connection charges 600 Mobile phone 1,200 Stationary 2,580 Total Location and Admin Expenses 199,380 Advertising and Promotional Expenses PKR Advertising 10,000 Travel/entertainment 10,000 Total Advertising/Promotional Expenses 20,000 Reserve for Contingencies 20,000 Working Capital SUMMARY STATEMENT Sources of Capital PKR Owners investments 1,635,000 Total Source of Funds 1,635,000 Startup Expenses PKR Capital equipment 40,650 Location/administration expenses 199,380 Advertising/promotional expenses 20,000 Contingency fund 20,000 Working capital Total Startup Expenses 280,030

Graduation Speech: Life is a Blank Canvas -- Graduation Speech, Commen

My father always told me that my life is a blank canvas waiting for me to paint my future upon it. As I stand here before my fellow classmates, cherished friends and beloved teachers, I see more than just a graduating class, I see a group of artists waiting to exhibit their art to the world. See, the beauty of my father's analogy lies in the fact that we have all been given the right to choose our own destiny, essentially to paint whatever we want on our canvases of life. Our parents, teachers and friends have taught us all the techniques we need to embrace a bright and beautiful future, and now with this diploma, we stand alone with a paintbrush, palette and a world waiting our arrival. The question now is how do you go from where you are to where you want to be? I don't think there is a universal answer to this question, but I do think that you'll find an answer for yourself once you understand that even though life may appear to be the highest mountain, you can walk over it taking one step at a time. As a painter, you get to determine what kind of day you are going to have, ...

Gender Dysphoria and the Persecution of Transgender People

The morality of sex has been given wide attention because it is a principle to differentiate between proper sexual behavior and improper sexual behaviour. Since the sexual act is connected with the giving birth to children (human reproduction),it despite being a very private and intimate matter. People normally born with only one sex either male or female. There are people who unsatisfied with their own sex which most probably happen in man,they undergo gender reassignment therapy to make themselves a real woman.In 20th century, issue regarding sex exchange is still a rare and unprecedented case. Einar Mogens Wegener make an outstanding decision that he want to undergoes sex exchange,he is one of the first identifiable recipients of male to female sex reassignment therapy which after that named himself as Lili Elbe. In 1930,the medical technology is still not advanced enough to make sure the sex exchange operation can be successfully done but he still determined with his own decision .He went through a series of five operations over a period of two years. However, three months after her last operation, he died. His cause of death is believed to have transplant rejection. He is a pioneer to the history of sex exchange. In the aspect of psychology,the cause of human being who unsatisfied with their own sex and strong willing to undergo sex exchange is due to ‘gender dysphoria’ but the cause of gender dysphoria is still an unknown.Recently, scientific evidence suggests that there are biological influences before birth. This imply that gender identity, along with other physical characteristics, is established long before environmental factors influence individual socialisation. A recent experiment suggests that both biology and some environment influences may play a role in determining gender identity. In the medical model, transsexual men and women are diagnosed with gender dysphoria and gender identity disorder.In the DSM IV the American Psychiatric A ssociation presents several components of what it calls ‘gender identity disorder’: * a strong and persistent cross-gender identification, which is the desire to be, or the insistence that one is, of the other sex * not merely a desire for any perceived cultural advantages of being the other sex but evidence of a persistent discomfort about one’s biologically assigned sex * clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational or other important areas of functioning. While some forms of gender identity dysphoria may be temporary and thus ranssexualism is immutable. However, the costs of sex reassignment surgery vary. According to the data collected through internet,Female to male surgery in Toronto costs approximately $10,000 to $12,000. In the UK, where the Gender Identity clinic of the Clark Institute of Psychiatry used to sent its clients, male to female surgery costs approximately ? 9,000 (approximately $18,000 Canadian). The information that is available on costs of sex reassignment surgery indicates that in the United States male to female surgery can cost between $10,000 and $28,000 (U.S. ). According to the 1996 British Columbia law reform project on human rights and the transgendered community, male to female sex reassignment surgery ranges from between $5,000 and $10,000. Female to male sex reassignment surgery costs considerably more, ranging from $20,000 to more than $60,000. Under legal and medical issues,the authors note that the legal system and the medical system have engaged in the ‘medicalisation of identity’. For example, the courts ask whether, medically speaking, a person is a woman or a man.In Ontario, the government interpretation of the Vital Statistics Act requires a medical letter and sex reassignment surgery before allowing a change in the birth certificate. Government policies for other documentation vary, but many ask for medical proof that the individual is transsexual instead of ac cept self-identification. Consultees reported instances of court cases such as custody disputes where the transsexual parent was required to undergo medical assessment to confirm the person's gender identity.Next,transgendered person must receive legal recognition from a gender identity clinic, which is not always accessible, in order to receive appropriate service or treatment from the health care system and other organizations that they may come in contact with. General practitioners often do not have suffivcient resources or expertise that provide appropriate services to transgendered patients. As a result, there are many transgendered individuals who self-medicate and self-treat with hormone therapy, which subsequently puts their health at risk.Many individuals in this situation reported that they felt they have no other option due to expensive operation cost and lack of expertise in this aspect. There are some case that a pre-operative transsexual woman and one intersexed woman should always bring along the letters written by their doctors because the letter recommend the individual and advised that the individual had been diagnosed as having ‘gender identity disorder’ so that the people address the individual as a woman.These two individuals indicated that they carried this letter at all times in the event that they were stopped by the police, stopped when using women’s change rooms or washroom facilities, questioned at government agencies or in any other official setting. It is a recent trend that a growing number of people who are transgendered no longer consider sex reassignment surgery as a suitable option for them either due to cost, medical risks, medical barriers or even on principle.Many of them do not wish to assimilate into a society with rigid bifurcated standards of sex and gender congruence, but rather ask that society accepts and adapts to transgendered people. Nevertheless, a large number of transsexuals in Ontario seek sex reassignment surgery but due to a recent change in government policy, economic and medical barriers, they cannot access it. These factors also effectively preclude transgendered people from accessing hormone therapy.Sex change is a term often used for sex change in humans, that is all medical procedures transgender people may pursue, or specifically to sex reassignment surgery, which usually refers to genital surgery only. It is also sometimes used for the medical procedures intersex people undergo or more often are subjected to as children. â€Å"Sex change† is sometimes also used for the whole process of changing gender role and the medical procedures associated with it.Actually,to them, changing of gender role such as living as a woman instead of living as a man, or living as a man instead of living as a woman, is much more important than any medical procedures. There are many different opinion of people nowadays toward the transgender issue. Some people thought that people who really decide to change their gender must be a brave and ambitious people. They give people some positive effect that we must not let our fear to outweigh our desire to make our dreams come true.Thus,they feel that people who undergoes transgender without care on other people’s view is so courageous as the ready to suffer of the pain in operation and in the cold-shoulder of society. However,there are some people who think that people who not appreciate just will unsatisfired with their own gender,we should appreciate what we had as a gift of God. Therefore,there are some family members who not agree with them and feel that it is a shame toward the reputation of a amily thus this causes some of the thransgender persons homeless. This is because transsexual youth who are open about their identity face extreme abuse and rejection from families and peers. Many are forced to leave their home communities and survive on the streets. During the consultation, some individua ls indicated that they were not in conflict with the diagnosis of gender dysphoria. Indeed, the diagnosis facilitated their ability to identify in their felt gender and allowed them to access sex reassignment surgery.One group involved with transgendered individuals who are homeless, street workers or living with HIV/AIDS stated that the medical diagnosis is especially important for lower income transsexuals who cannot afford private medical care or who are employed during the transition from the birth assigned sex to their felt gender. Others were, at the very least, concerned with the negative stereotyping attached to a diagnosis of a psychiatric disability. Most community members stated that access to medical services for sex reassignment should not be barred even if the psychiatric diagnosis is removed.One group made an analogy between the accommodation of medical needs related to aligning one’s physical appearance to one's gender identity on the one hand and the medical care that is required during pregnancy on the other. For instane,The Supreme Court of Canada in Brooks recognized pregnancy as a health issue rather than a disability and required that accommodation be provided on the former basis. Similarly, it is argued that transgendered persons should be able to obtain accommodation without being ‘pigeon-holed’ as persons with disabilities. According to the data,transgender person actually face a lot of morality problems.For example the transgender students face severe discrimination and harassment in schools. 89. 5% of transgender students report feeling unsafe in schools. Transgender students are at higher risk of dropping out of school and of suicide. Next, many transgender and gender non-conforming students have no access to bathrooms. Some are told to use the bathroom that does not correspond to their gender identity. Many are expelled from school because the school does not know where the person should use the bathrooms. Then, more than one quarter of them said they had lost a job due to being transgender or gender non-conforming and half were harassed.Many Americans have a profound lack of understanding of what it means to be transgender. Consequently, transgender people commonly face a wide variety of discriminatory barriers to full equality. They sometimes face difficulties meeting their basic needs such as getting a job, housing and health care or in having their gender identity respected too like in the simple act of going to a public restroom. As a conclude,the transgendered community has to deal with discrimination, physical violence and undue stereotypes in reality. Those are eight main problems face by transgender people: (a) HIV/AIDSHIV/AIDS is a significant health consideration for transgendered individuals who engage in high-risk behaviors such as unprotected sexual activity or intravenous drug use. This issue is highlighted by a research report done in Vancouver, which indicated that 70 to 8 0 per cent of transgendered sex trade workers are HIV positive. (b) Transgendered Youth Transgendered youth have limited access to professionals who understand the nature of gender identity and how to support a transgendered individual. Continued homophobia and transphobia in the social services directed to gay, lesbian and bisexual and transgendered youth compound this.This was stated several times in the consultations. One woman related the story of her incarceration in youth group homes before her sex reassignment surgery. She was told to act like a man, disciplined for not doing so, and survived the process simply by denying her transgendered status. Further, consultees stated that the educational system does not understand transgendered issues. Transgendered youth and transgendered parents both face barriers dealing with the school system. Some social service agencies are beginning to recognize the need to address these issues.For example, the Catholic Children’s Aid of Metropolitan Toronto has developed a policy that includes transgendered youth in its intervention policy. The policy states that all staff care providers and volunteers must undergo training with regard to the needs, concerns, language, symbols and culture of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered youth and families. Issues concerning sexuality that arise in service delivery to transgendered youth should be treated with the same respect, concern, sensitivity, and confidentiality accorded to heterosexual youth and families. c) Services and Media Service delivery to the transgendered community is generally reported to be poor. In consultations, individuals reported that they had been stopped by the police and told to identify who they were. Hospital workers show prejudicial attitudes in treatment once the birth assigned sex of the individual is discovered. Insurance companies give differential treatment once the transsexual identity of an individual is discovered. Transgendered wome n have difficulty accessing women’s shelters and other social service agencies.Families of transgendered people, including spouses, children and parents also lack the resources to obtain the support and understanding they need and to be free from discrimination. The media generally shows a misunderstanding of the issues faced by transsexuals. There is often confusion of terminology used to describe individuals, i. e. not distinguishing between the issues of transsexuals, cross-dressers, etc. The result is that derogatory or sensationalistic language is frequently used when reporting on issues that are related, in whole or part, to transgender issues. d) OHIP Coverage From 1970 to 1998, OHIP coverage had been provided for sex reassignment surgery for individuals approved by the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry. Ontario’s Ministry of Health treated most aspects of sex reassignment surgery, including out-of-province procedures, as reimbursable services under OHIP. Section 7 of the Health Insurance Act] outlines that breast enlargement, augmentation, mammoplasty or breast reconstruction in a male to female conversion is not an insured benefit unless prior authorisation is received from the Ministry of Health.In all cases, health coverage for sex reassignment surgery in Ontario was contingent upon having completed the program at the Gender Identity Clinic at the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry and having been recommended by the Clinic for sex reassignment surgery. In October 1998, the Ontario government decided to remove sex reassignment surgery from the list of services covered by provincial health insurance. This decision was met with public outcry from the transgender community and is interpreted as a statement that the government does not consider the issues of transgendered people as valid, significant, or important.This decision has a profound impact on transgendered people who are part of a highly marginalised community and who are also often in a lower income bracket which means they lack the financial resources to pay for surgery. The Ministry of Health has not provided any rationale behind the decision to delete health insurance coverage for sex reassignment surgery. An article in the Toronto Sun, based on information apparently provided by the government, states that the savings will be applied to cardiac surgery.However, the public funds allocated for sex reassignment surgery are insignificant when compared to the budget of the Ministry of Health. The article ignores the fact that qualified professionals have identified surgery to be a medical necessity. Moreover, the consequences of not covering surgery may include additional or increased costs in other areas such as counselling and health care. It may also result in an elevated risk of suicide in the transgendered community because individuals are unable to obtain appropriate services. e) Fear of discovery Transsexuals and transgenderists fear discovery of their birth -assigned sex. Likewise, for cross-dressers, the fear of being discovered is a significant concern. The repercussions of being discovered can include termination of employment, loss of housing, loss of services, social isolation and other forms of discrimination, harassment and possibly violence. (f) Hate Crimes and Transgendered Individuals Crime statistics indicate that transgendered people are victims of hate crimes that may also involve violence.Furthermore, such crimes may not be taken as seriously or dealt with appropriately. As noted in a draft brief by the Canadian Task Force for Transgendered Law Reform: (g) Poverty There is no statistical data about the rates of poverty for transgendered people. However, it was noted during consultation that transgendered persons experience severe economic hardship. This could be due to the difficulties in accessing medical and insurance services, discrimination in the workplace, and social and economic marginalisation.Mirha-Soleil Ross, t he co-ordinator of ‘Meal Trans’ a program for transgendered people in Toronto, states that 90% of those people who utilise the program earn less than $10,000 a year. (h) International Persecution of Transgendered People The social rejection of transgendered persons manifests itself internationally through cross-border issues of recognition of transgendered individuals as refugees and related issues of returning them to their country of origin under international law. For example, a transgendered woman who claimed refugee status in Canada was deported to Mexico although she alleged fear of persecution if returned.Public and government should give more concern toward transgender people,we must not discriminate those people but give more positive support toward them as it is not easy fot a person to decide to undergo sex exchange,the person must be tough and brave enough. In order to minimize the rate of suicide in the population of transgender people,we should pay more at tention to them and thus give them an equal rights as what normal people got. We should not evade them in public but on the other hand we should respect their choice of undergo transgender.We always erroneously believe that transgender normally is AIDS carrier but in fact they too love themselves and of course will protect themselves for AIDS by having proper sex intercourse. Recent studies have shown that transgender people are at high risk for HIV. Few studies, however, have directly compared the HIV risks and sexual health of transgender persons with that of other sexual minority populations. This study used baseline data of intervention studies targeting transgender persons, men who have sex with men, and women who have sex with women and men to compare their HIV risk behavior and sexual health.No significant differences were found between transgender persons and non-transgender men or women in consistent condom use or attitudes toward condom use. Transgender persons were less l ikely to have multiple partners and more likely to be monogamous than men who have sex with men; no differences were found between transgender persons and the women in this respect. When combining data on condom use, monogamy, and multiple partners, transgender persons did not differ from either non-transgender group in their overall risk for HIV.Transgender persons were less likely than the men or the women to have been tested for HIV. With regard to HIV prevalence, 17% of the men compared to only one transgender person and none of the women reported being HIV-positive. Transgender persons were also less likely than men who have sex with men to use drugs; no differences were found in the use of alcohol. However, with regard to mental health, transgender persons were more likely than the men to have experienced depression and more likely than men or women to have considered or attempted suicide.Finally, transgender persons reported the lowest levels of support from family and peers. Thus, in our sample, transgender persons appear to be at lower risk for HIV but at higher risk for mental health concerns than men who have sex with men. Remarkably few differences were found between transgender persons and women who have sex with women and men-a finding which might reflect the impact of social stigma on sexual health and have implications for the design of future HIV/STI prevention efforts.

Global Variables in Ruby

Global Variables in Ruby Global Variables are variables that may be accessed from anywhere in the program regardless of scope. Theyre denoted by beginning with a $ (dollar sign) character. However, the use of global variables is often considered un-Ruby, and you will rarely see them. Defining Global Variables Global variables are defined and used like any other variable. To define them, simply assign a value to them and begin using them. But, as their name suggests, assigning to global variables from any point in the program has global implications. The following program demonstrates this. The method will modify a global variable, and that will affect how the second method runs. $speed 10 def accelerate $speed 100 end def pass_speed_trap if $speed 65 # Give the program a speeding ticket end end accelerate pass_speed_trap Unpopular So why is this un-Ruby and why dont you see global variables very often? Put simply, it breaks encapsulation. If any one class or method can modify the state of the global variables at will with no interface layer, any other classes or methods that rely on that global variable may behave in an unexpected and undesirable manner. Further, such interactions can be very difficult to debug. What modified that global variable and when? Youll be looking through quite a lot of code to find what did it, and that could have been avoided by not breaking the rules of encapsulation. But thats not to say that global variables are never used in Ruby. There are a number of special global variables with single-character names (a-la Perl) that can be used throughout your program. They represent the state of the program itself, and do things like modify the record and field separators for all gets methods. Global Variables $0 - This variable, denoted by $0 (thats a zero), holds the name of the top-level script being executed. In other words, the script file that was run from the command line, not the script file that holds the currently executing code. So, if script1.rb was run from the command line, it would hold script1.rb. If this script requires script2.rb, $0 in that script file would also be script1.rb. The name $0 mirrors the naming convention used in UNIX shell scripting for the same purpose.$* - The command-line arguments in an array denoted by $* (dollar sign and asterisk). For example, if you were to run ./script.rb arg1 arg2, then $* would be equivalent to %w{ arg1 arg2 }. This is equivalent to the special ARGV array and has a less descriptive name, so it is rarely used.$$ - The interpreters process ID, denoted by $$ (two dollar signs). Knowing ones own process ID is often useful in daemon programs (which run in the background, unattached from any terminal) or system services. However, this gets a bit more complicated when threads are involved, so be wary of using it blindly. $/ and $\ - These are the input and output record separators. When you read objects using gets and print them using puts, it uses these to know when a complete record has been read, or what to print between multiple records. By default, these should be the newline character. But since these affect the behavior of all IO objects, theyre rarely used, if at all. You may see them in smaller scripts where breaking the encapsulation rules is not an issue.$? - The exit status of the last child process executed. Of all the variables listed here, this is probably the most useful. The reason for this is simple: you cant get the exit status of child processes by their return value from the system method, only true or false. If you must know the actual return value of the child process, you need to use this special global variable. Again, the name of this variable is taken from the UNIX shells.$_ - The last string read by gets. This variable may be a point of confusion for those coming to Ruby f rom Perl. In Perl, the $_ variable means something similar, but totally different. In Perl, $_ holds the value of the last statement and in Ruby it holds the string returned by the previous gets invocation. Their usage is similar, but what they really hold is very different. You dont often see this variable either (come to think of it, you rarely see any of these variables), but you may see them in very short Ruby programs that process text. In short, youll rarely see global variables. Theyre often bad form (and un-Ruby) and only really useful in very small scripts, where the full implication of their use can be fully appreciated. There are a few special global variables that can be used, but for the most part, they arent used. You dont really need to know all that much about global variables to understand most Ruby programs, but you should at least know that theyre there.

SAT Scores for Athletes

How Do Ivy League Schools Recruit ACT/SAT Scores for Athletes SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Are you a student-athlete hoping to play for an Ivy League school? Then you’re probably curious about the recruiting process. How do Ivy League schools recruit student-athletes? And how can you increase your odds of getting into an Ivy League school as a student-athlete? Read on to learn what the general college recruiting process looks like and how it differs from Ivy League recruiting. After, we'll go over the basic academic requisites you must have to get into the Ivy League, and show you what the typical Ivy League recruiting timeline looks like. Feature Image: Andrew Turner/Flickr How Does College Recruiting Work? First off, what exactly is college recruiting and how does it work?College recruiting refers to the recruiting of student-athletes. Basically, it’s the process of colleges reaching out to current high school athletes (mainly those who have a lot of potential to do well in college-level sports) with the hopes of getting them to apply to and attend their school. Many college sports teams are part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), a nonprofit organization that oversees more than 1,000 colleges and half a million student-athletes. Here’s how the NCAA describes its recruiting process: "Recruiting happens when a college employee or representative invites a high school student-athlete to play sports for their college. Recruiting can occur in many ways, such as face-to-face contact, phone calls or text messaging, through mailed or emailed material or through social media." While colleges that are members of the NCAA may reach out to student-athletes directly, you, too, may initiate contact with colleges and/or coaches you’re interested in playing for. You can read our other guide to learn more about how college athletics recruiting works, but for now, here’s a brief overview of the general recruiting process: Step 1: College coaches make contact with high school student-athletes (or vice versa) Step 2: Student-athletes visit college campuses to learn more about the schools' athletic programs Step 3: Coaches visit high schools to evaluate student-athletes’ performances in their sports Step 4: Colleges offer scholarships to the student-athletes they want to play for them Step 5: The student-athlete makes a (non-binding) verbal commitment to play sports for a certain school Step 6: The student signs a Letter of Intent,a document stating that the student plans to attend and play sports for a certain college in exchange for a one-year athletic scholarship Next up, we’ll look at how Ivy League schools specifically recruit high school students for their college sports teams. How Does Ivy League Recruiting Work? 4 Key Differences We’ve gone over the general college recruiting process, but what about the Ivy League? For the most part, the Ivy League recruiting process is very similar to the process described above. Like other schools,Ivy League schools take time to reach out to skilled high school athletes and evaluate their abilities in their respective sports.After, students offer a verbal commitment to attend the school before submitting their actual application for review. In spite of these similarities, there are four key ways in which Ivy League recruiting differs from general college athletics recruiting. We’ll go over these here. #1: Higher Academic and Athletic Expectations As you likely know, the Ivy League is famous for its academic achievements, low acceptance rates, and top rankings on college lists. On theUS News Best National Universities list, all Ivies are ranked among the top 15 colleges. In addition,acceptance rates for the Ivies range from just 15% (for Cornell) to as low as 6% (for Harvard).These high stakes are evidently part of the reason that academic expectations are so high for prospective student-athletes. While you might assume that strong athletic skills are all you need to play for an Ivy League school, in reality you’ll need to also have top SAT/ACT scores, evidence of a challenging course load, strong transcripts, and an all-around impressive college application. (We’ll go into more detail later about what you need to have in order to get accepted to the Ivies as a student-athlete.) But it’s vital not to forget the importance of athletics in the Ivy League, too. After all, the Ivy League was originally founded as a group of higher institutions that stressed both academics and athletics. Here’s how the official Ivy League website describes the significance of athletics and student-athletes (all bold emphasis mine): "Ivy League schools share a tradition of academic excellence and broad-based, successful NCAA Division I athletics. The Ivy League annually finishes among the top Division I athletics conferences in national competitive rankings, and Ivy League student-athletes earn the country’s best records in the NCAA Academic Performance Ratings, operating under the Ivy League model of athletics as a significant educational component of the student's undergraduate experience." As this quotation emphasizes, the Ivy League isn’t just known for its academia but also for its NCAA Division I sports teams. (There are three divisions in the NCAA- Division I is the highest.) Therefore, what’s ultimately at stake for Ivy League schools when recruiting student-athletes are both their academic and athletic reputations. Women's basketball, Yale vs Columbia (kkimphotography/Flickr) #2: No Athletic Scholarships- Only Need-Based Unlike other NCAA colleges, the Ivy League schools do not give out any athletic scholarships to prospective student-athletes. Rather, they offer only need-based financial aid, and this goes for all applicants- not just student-athletes. Here’s what the Ivy League itself says about this policy: "Ivy League schools provide financial aid to students, including athletes, only on the basis of financial need as determined by each institution’s Financial Aid Office. There are no academic or athletic scholarships in the Ivy League. A coach may assist a prospective student-athlete to obtain an estimated financial aid award, however only the Financial Aid Office has the authority to determine financial aid awards and to notify students officially of their actual or estimated awards." Ivy League schools often give estimates for need-based aid to prospective students and student-athletes.You may compare these offers with any other offers you receive from different schools (including other Ivies). #3: The Academic Index (AI) In order to determine which student-athletes are strong contenders for Ivy sports and academics, the Ivy League established a system called theAcademic Index (AI). This point-based system is used to rank prospective student-athletes on the basis of academic factors, namely GPA and standardized test scores (SAT/ACT and SAT Subject Tests).(It used to include class rank as well, but since fewer high schools calculate this, it’s no longer part of the AI.) According to an article in TheNew York Times, the Ivies created this system in the 1980s as a way to ensure that "no vastly underqualified recruit has been admitted at a rival institution [another Ivy]." While many are aware of the AI, how this number is ultimately calculated is largely a secret. It’s typically said to have a score range of 170 to 240, though other sources claim it usessmaller scales of 1-9 or 1-6, on which either the lowest or highest number is considered best.Due to the confidential nature of the AI, it can be difficult to determine whether you’re likely to qualify for admission as a student-athlete to an Ivy League school. The New York Times article mentioned above states that student-athletes typically need at least a 3.0 GPA and an 1140 on the SAT (this is for the very old SAT from before 2004, however, so its relevance is debatable). Additionally, the minimum AI required for Ivy League schools can vary widely depending on the institution.In other words, the AI needed for admission to Princeton is likely higher than the AI needed for admission to Penn, as Princeton is a higher-ranked Ivy with a lower acceptance rate. You can look for Academic Index calculators online, but know that most are pretty inaccurate and won’t really help you figure out whether you’re on track to getting into the Ivy League as a student-athlete or not. #4: The Likely Letter The final big difference between the Ivy League recruiting process and the general college athletic recruiting process is what’s called the likely letter. This letter is sometimes issued before an official admission decision is given out and basically just says that a student is very likely to be admitted,provided there are no sudden issues with the student’s college application, academic performance, etc. Here’s what the Ivy League website states about likely letters: "This letter means that as long as the applicant sustains the academic and personal record reflected in the completed application, the institution will send a formal admission offer on the appropriate notification date. Only the Admissions Office can issue a likely letter, and only after receiving a completed application and all required materials. Likely letters may not be issued prior to October 1 of the prospect’s senior year in high school." Likely letters are often issued by Ivy League schools in place of Letters of Intent. Since Ivies don't offer any athletics-based financial aid, they cannot offer Letters of Intent(which specifically agree to give student-athletes admission and a year of athletics-based funding). That said, note that likely letters are not always issued to prospective Ivy League student-athletes, and not getting one doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t be admitted. In addition to Ivy League schools, other tier-one colleges in the NCAA might offer likely letters to student-athletes they want to attend their schools. However, the majority of schools follow the general recruiting process and use Letters of Intent. Women's swimming, Dartmouth (D Allen/Flickr) What Do Recruits Need to Get Accepted to the Ivy League? Just being a great athlete doesn’t guarantee that you’ll get accepted to an Ivy League school; you also need to have a strong academic record, complete with a good GPA and high SAT/ACT scores (including SAT Subject Test scores, if required). And you don’t want to flub your application by submitting a subpar college essay or lukewarm letters of recommendation. Below, we explain exactly what you should have to increase your chances of getting accepted to an Ivy League school as a student-athlete: #1: A Rigorous Course Load All applicants to the Ivies, whether you’re a student-athlete or not, should definitely havea record of succeeding in challenging courses.Here’s what the Ivy League states on its website in regard to admissions criteria for student recruits: "Ivy League schools base admissions decisions on each candidate’s academic achievements as well as personal strengths and accomplishments, such as athletic achievement, other extracurricular activities and community service. Remember: To best prepare for admission to an Ivy League school, and as a strong basis for a rigorous college education, you should take the most challenging high school classes available to you throughout secondary school. The following courses are recommended: four years of English; four years of a single foreign language; three years of history/social science; four years of mathematics; four years of science; frequent practice in writing expository prose. Consult the website of each institution for more specific recommendations" These are the general recommended courses for prospective student-athletes to the Ivy League.As noted, be sure to consult individual schools directly for more information on what specific classes you should take to further increase your odds of getting accepted. #2: A High GPA Besides a rigorous class schedule, you’ll have a stronger chance of getting into the Ivy League if you have a high overall GPA. Ideally, you’ll have at least a 3.0 GPA, or B-average. This is a minimum recommendation, though, so know that it's probably better to aim for something closer to a 3.5 (or even higher).Check out our guidefor tips on how to raise your GPA. #3: Strong Standardized Test Scores Part of your Academic Index number will be based on your SAT/ACT scoresand SAT Subject Test scores(if you took any Subject Tests- most Ivy League schools require or recommend them). But what scores specifically should you aim for? Unfortunately, we can’t give you an exact answer as to what good ACT or SAT scores for Ivy League athletes are. What we can do, though, is show you what kinds of SAT/ACT scores admitted applicants to the Ivy League typically get.The following chart giveseach Ivy League school’s 25th and 75th SAT/ACT percentiles: School 25th %ile SAT 75th %ile SAT 25th %ile ACT 75th %ile ACT Brown 1440 1580 31 34 Columbia 1470 1590 32 35 Cornell 1410 1570 30 34 Dartmouth 1410 1580 30 34 Harvard 1470 1600 32 35 Princeton 1470 1590 32 35 Penn 1450 1570 31 34 Yale 1490 1600 31 35 As a student-athlete, you shouldn’t need to aim as high as the 75th percentile, which, at all Ivies, is extremely close to (if not) a perfect score (though there’s of course nothing wrong with aiming this high!). Rather, it’ll be more helpful to use the 25th percentile score for the Ivies you’re applying to as a general benchmark for what you should aim for. And if you can score higher than that, even better! But what about SAT Subject Test scores? Again, it’s impossible for us to give you exact scores to aim for. Generally speaking, though,most admitted applicants to the Ivy League (including non-athletes) score in at least the 700s (out of 800) on their Subject Tests. While you likely don’t need to aim this high on your SAT Subject Tests, definitely shoot for a score that’s above average- if possible, in at least the 75th percentile. Men's rowing, Princeton (Princeton University Rowing/Flickr) #4: An Overall Impressive Application Finally, you’ll need to make sure that your overall application is impressive. This means you should have the following: A cogent and well-written personal statement/essay A strong extracurricular background (Pro Tip: Don’t worry if most of your extracurriculars are sports-related- in fact, this "spike" is exactly what Ivies are looking for in applicants!) Effective letters of recommendation A good interview (if required) Just like any other Ivy League applicant, you must take care to craft a compelling application that will make the school want to admit you.Don’t just assume that your athletic prowess will automatically get you accepted. Even the most skilled student-athletes can get rejected for things such as sloppy essays or poor interviews! Ivy League Recruiting Timeline Overview Now that we’ve gone over what you need to raise your chances of getting into the Ivy League as a student-athlete, you're probably wondering what the Ivy League recruiting timeline looks like. The exact timeline will likely vary depending on the Ivy League school(s) you’re applying to and on what sport you play. For example, look at the differences between the NCAA’s 2017-18 calendars for Division I Football and Division I Men’s Basketball. For the most part, though, the biggest and most important aspects of recruiting will happen during your junior year of high school. There will also be lots of different periods of recruiting, which are defined as follows: Dead Period: Coaches may not have any face-to-face contact with prospective student-athletes but may communicate by email, mail, and/or phone. Quiet Period: Coaches may only meet in-person with student-athletes on-campus and may not visit students’ high schools. They may communicate by email, mail, and/or phone. Contact Period: Coaches may come to students’ high schools to watch them play and may have in-person contact with them, either on- or off-campus. They may also contact student-athletes by email, mail, and/or phone. Evaluation Period: Coaches may come to students’ high schools to evaluate their athletic performances and skills but may not meet with them in-person off-campus. However, they may continue to reach out to student-athletes by email, mail, and/or phone. Here is a very general overview of what you can expect in the Ivy League recruiting process at each grade level in high school: 10th Grade and/or Earlier Prospective student-athletes can make contact with Ivy League schools and Ivy League coachesto express their interest in applying as a student-athlete. (You may begin this part of the process even earlier, in 9th grade.) Students take unofficial campus visits to Ivy League schools they're considering playing for. Wrestling, Cornell (Jenn Vargas/Flickr) 11th Grade September to November: This is generally a quiet period for college recruiting. This means that while Ivy League coaches may not come to your high school to watch you play, you may visit the campuses directly to speak with coaches and may contact coaches via email, phone, and/or mail. Considertaking your first SAT/ACT at this time. December to February: This is typically a contact period, meaning coaches from Ivy League schools may come and watch you play and may meet with you in-person. Spring: Around this time, student-athletes are typically offered at least one official campus visit.This is also usually an evaluation period during which Ivy League coaches may come to high schools to evaluate prospective student-athletes' skills. There will typically be some dead periods thrown in, too, making this is an ideal time toretake the SAT/ACT. 12th Grade July 1 (before applicant’s senior year of high school): This is when Ivy League coaches may give prospective student-athletes' information, such as their transcripts and test scores, to Ivy League admissions committees for a preliminary evaluation. Fall: Students begin officially applying to colleges/Ivy League schools. Read our guide to learn when the most common college application deadlines are. Consider taking the SAT/ACT one last time before your applications are due. Winter/Spring: If you get a likely letter, you'll get it after October 1 but before the school’s official admission decision (which is usually around March or April). Remember that not all Ivies give out likely letters, so not getting one doesn't necessarily mean you've been rejected. Recap: How Do Ivy League Schools Recruit? The Ivy League has some of the most prestigious colleges and also many successful sports teams. As a result, Ivy League schools often look for applicants who are gifted in both athletics and academics. If you're a student-athlete considering applying to the Ivy League, you’ll need to have a strong GPA, evidence of a rigorous course load, and high scores on the SAT/ACT and SAT Subject Tests. Here are the biggest differences between Ivy League recruiting and general college recruiting: The Ivy League has much higher expectations in terms of academics and test scores The Ivy League offers only need-based scholarships- no athletic scholarships The Ivy League uses something called an Academic Index (AI), a point-based system to rank student-athletes based on their GPAs and test scores The Ivy League (and other NCAA Division I schools) often offer likely letters to prospective student-athletes who are likely to be admitted As for the Ivy League recruiting timeline, expect to have the most important events happen during your junior year of high school. This is when Ivy League coaches may begin contacting student-athletes and visiting high schools to evaluate their skills. What’s Next? Got more questions about the college recruiting process? Take a look at our in-depth guide to college athletic recruiting to learn even more about what the process entails. Curious about the NCAA?Read about the differences between the different NCAA divisions, and get the full lists of NCAA Division I, Division II, and Division III schools. Interested in sports but not sure which ones to pursue? Our guide offers tons of helpful tips to help you pick the best high school sport for you. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

IT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

IT - Essay Example have be used to allow for branching out in different geographical locations, tapping into new markets, reaching out to more customers and to moving outside the country of origin. However, with the increased importance of the data resources some big data issues, which may have negative impact on enterprises, have also emerged. Top in the list is the privacy challenge. Since most businesses are pursuing big data projects, privacy and security of the information is becoming a big concerns especially due to the increased cyber threats. Storage is also a big data challenge. Organizations have huge volumes of information that need to be used and storing the data can also be a challenge. The other major issue is the analysis of the data. The analysis may require highly paid scientists and experts as well as appropriate graphical interfaces and tools and this may increase the operating costs. Cloud computing refers the use of software solutions that are not hosted externally by another datacenter or hosting service provider. The organization will simply access the interface through the appropriate software while leaving the administrative task of managing the content to the hosting company that ensures that the information stored is safe and secure. One area in which the technology can be used is in the storage of big data. When an organization gives the responsibility of storing and hosting data to a second datacenter or a service provider, it is able to reduce the costs associated with putting up storage infrastructure for its IT needs. Moreover, using the cloud computing technology allows the business to have access to the information from any point since it is not specifically stored in the office. For an enterprise to benefit from its IT infrastructure, it needs to strategically align its IT functions with the business goals. This will, however, be influenced by several factors. For such an alignment to take place, there is a need to address the corporate cultural

BI - Business Intelligence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

BI - Business Intelligence - Essay Example Rwanda’s main imports include foodstuffs, steel, machinery and equipment, construction as well as petroleum products. Their main trading partners include Kenya, Germany, China, and Belgium. GDP (PPP): $16.4 billion, 5.0% growth, 6.9% 5-year annual growth, and $1538 per capita. The rate of unemployment I Rwanda is 0.6%, inflation 4.2 %. Rwanda’s major industries are industries that process their agricultural produce for export to the foreign markets. In the past five years, Rwanda’s economic freedom has increased by 2.1. This has been contributed by 20-point improvement from corruption 15-point freedom investment (Rwanda, 2014). One of the key factors that have greatly contributed to fast growth of this country’s economy is the internet use in both local as well as international trade. Most of their imports especially construction and petroleum materials are ordered via the internet. They also get international markets for their products through internet use (Aspray, 2008). Rwanda has established several shopping sites that are used for local and international trade. Examples of these online sites include Gemeya.com, Gurisha.com, Shop4rwanda.com, Comfort Rwanda, and Beautyofrwanda.com. These sites are important to Rwanda’s economy because they are able to sell and buy via these sites and it saves time. These sites are affordable for most citizens and fewer restrictions are placed on their use (Black, 2002). After goods have been purchased online and imported to Rwanda, there are different taxes that the owner of purchased goods is supposed to pay. For goods like vehicles that have been purchased online, the owner is supposed to pay four types of taxes: value added tax (VAT) 18%, customs duty 25%, withholding tax 5%, and consumption tax that has different rates. Uses of technology in business are important because transactions are done within a short time. It is