Monday, September 30, 2019

Natura Case Study

Individual Natura case study preparation paper Whether Natura, the Brazilian beauty company, based on biodiversity of Brazil, should expand its business in Russian market is the critical issue of this case study. However, it is necessary to inspect pre-issue before we evaluate the international investment strategy. After reviewing whether the company is capable of dealing with globalization, we move on to measure the Natura’s international marketing strategy. Is Russian the best next step for Natura’s international foot for?If yes, we propose the possible alternatives for entering this market by minimizing the political risk and operating risk. (1) Was the company ready to go globalization? Evaluating criteria as follows: * Organization structure culture Natura’s unique organization cultures are open-minded for opinion-expressing, transparent decision-making process, and intimacy with its stakeholders. The strong corporate value shared by every individual within this group make the expatriates from this company could convey the brand DNA in foreign market. * Brand visibility in global marketsNatura has a strong market position in Brazil, and continued building up the brand image in Latin American countries. However, it brand visibility is not strong enough in the rest of world and the brand image is weak in the European countries as well. * Global resourcing and distribution network The raw material, production, product development is all in Brazil. Natura has yet built up the global logistic network; therefore, the distribution cost and inventory management would be the major problem for the company while it steps out globally. Insufficient experience in expansion of global business,† dealing with different cultures, different social structure, and different consumer behaviors† Much of the international business experience of Natura is limited in Latin American countries. Although there is diversification in culture, consumer b ehaviors, the closed countries were easier to deal with the differences and minimize the marketing difficulties. However, for the rest of markets with totally different language, culture background, religion, regulations, Natura has no sufficient experience and knowledge to manage it. Sufficient talents in global management During this period, there have no sufficient managers with global vision and management expertise in Natura. Even though managers from other firms have the skill in running direct selling, they could not convey the company’s value and brand DNA. This shortage of human resource would be another obstacle for Natura’s globalization. Sub-conclusion: After analyzing Natura’s competences in globalization, we found that Natura was just at the beginning stage of globalization although it started its international business from 1982.From the financial result, we still could find out that Natura had no prominent performance in foreign market. (2) Was t he Russia is the best choice to next step in Globalization? Is Russian experience valuable to the Naura’s globalization? Assessment of Russian market * Bureaucratic system * Unawareness of product quality and unconcern about the environment and nature. * Russian was becoming familiar with the direct selling; therefore, the education cost for sales rep. and consumer would be relatively lower than other markets which have low acceptance in direct selling.Assessment of Russian cosmetic and skin-care market * Consumer in Russia did not care about the natural products and knew nothing about Natura. They regarded the international famous brands and local brands. Natura lacked of brand image as strong as P&G or L’Oreal. * It took time to build up its own local network in stakeholders since there is no manager who can deliver the brand DNA knew the Russian market. * Mastering the delivery network in the Russian markets would be the potential problem for Natura. Natura would fa ce the challenges in global logistic while its products were manufactured, shipped from Brazil. The shipping cost, inventory management, timeliness of products, ordering system within subsidiary in Russia and parent company would be the key issue to expand business in Russia. * The weather in Russia is totally different from Brazil. It would be a main concern that Russian would not like to trust a brand from Amazon region. * The local regulation in cosmetics and skin-care should also be taken into account. Sub-conclusion:After assessing the key factors in entering Russian market, we can find that the Russian market is not mature enough to penetrate for Natura which was not equipped with sufficient experience in global business management and had a strong willing to preserve its brand DNA. Since Russian consumers were not respectful the nature and environment, the market did not attached to this brand DNA in that moment. Furthermore, due to the political situation and business enviro nment, the experience in Russia could not duplicate or be applied after micro-adjustment in other western countries. 3) Following preceding question, if yes, what is the best entry strategy for the Russian market? If no, what is the best next step for Natura in globalization? Combined the assessments above, stepping in Russian market would not so urgent or profitable for Natura. For the international development, the best next step in globalization for Natura should focus on the grand American market. There are several main pros to implement this strategy, as follows: * USA market has the similar diversified ethnic background and furthermore, the Latin American is one of the main ethnic origins. American consumers are relatively mature in product knowledge and appreciate the natural skin-care product. Their pursuit in beauty is as vigorous as the consumer in Latin American. * The business model of direct selling in USA is mature and consumers used to shop products in mail ordering a nd direct selling. * Finally, the infrastructure of logistic in local market is consummate. * For Natura, it would be a big step in globalization if it could be successful in USA market. The success in USA market could build up the brand awareness and enhance its position in bio-diversity cosmetic and skin care product.Still, there were cons to enter USA market, such as facing more fierce competition from other international companies and it would be required more CAPEX to invest in the grand market. If Natura take the Russian market as the must-be market, then we would recommend this company cooperate with the local leading company, Kalina, who had the strong retail network and knew the local market very well. Natura could use the franchise model to expand the Russian market and to build up its brand image and awareness through the Kalina’s advantages.After Natura gaining experience and building up strong brand image, it could change its business model and enhance its brand DNA and values. Under this strategy, there exist some potential risks. For example, Natura had to make a completed regulation about the branding in order to preserve the consistency and its values. Natura had to keep tight connection with franchisee to learn more local experience and react to market needs. At the end of cooperation, it might have to pay higher price to buy back the franchising right if its products performed very well in Russia.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Pakistan Case Study Research Paper Essay

The subordination of women is a prevalent issue in many middle-eastern cultures today. The absence of women in the labor force, community and decision making positions in these middle eastern societies is a detrimental drag on their economic and environmental welfare. Longstanding beliefs and traditions in the muslim culture are geared toward oppression of women and minimal civil rights. Such traditions have held these countries back from keeping up with progressive countries around the globe. Saima Muhammad, a young woman featured in Half the Sky lives in the outskirts of Lahore, Pakistan, a country which epitomizes this previously mentioned gender disparity. Gender disparity was a formidable obstacle for Saima in her goal to pay off her husband’s three thousand dollar debt. When Saima would simply take the public bus to a local marketplace in order to sell goods for her family, she was scorned by her neighbors as a loose woman. Loose women contradicted these middle-eastern values, also making life much harder for them. Saima’s house was falling apart to the point where she was forced to send her daughter to her aunt’s house just for safety. Amidst these changes, Saima was constantly beaten by her husband out of pure frustration. Following the birth of Saima’s second girl, Saima’s mother-in-law suggested her husband find somebody else to marry because she wasn’t going to have a boy. These are just a few examples of the environment that Pakistani women, or women in the muslim culture are forced to live in. Widespread poverty in Pakistan was a driving factor in Saima’s financial inability to maintain her house. Such a debt left by her husband was more of a hardship in these impoverished countries than anywhere else. This is because the means of acquiring goods to start a business are scarce due to minimal economic activity. This economic activity being primarily dominated by men is also considerably unfavorable to women, this is to be examined later on. One obvious result of widespread poverty is a drought of capital. Lack of capital was one of the most detrimental characteristics of her impoverished country. With entrepreneurial spirits, Saima needed financing if she was going to support her family. the Kashf foundation made this possible by lending Saima small amounts of money at a time. Demand for saima’s bracelets were exceeding supply. Following her entrepreneurial successes, she was met with respect from friends and family. Saima’s story is unfortunately a rare one. With gender disparity existing in a structural and foundational form, most women of Pakistan and other middle-eastern countries don’t get the opportunity to work outside of their house. Exploitation of women in Pakistan often occurs in many different forms through human rights, education, labor and many other life necessities. Due to longstanding beliefs in this culture, women are responsible for strictly household maintenance. When women are working actual jobs within agriculture or other fields, they are often exploited. Female has always been accompanying male participation within the rural agriculture sector, strictly short-term work available at the time of implant and yield of crops. In Pakistan’s case, women in rural areas are primarily unpaid workers. Women now participate in the political sector but are restricted from any high authority positions in politics due to their low literacy rate which is a result of their subordination. (ESWP) The exploitation of women for free labor, in addition to the restriction of any access to high positions or the decision-making positions is an example of gender disparity in the labor force. The dominance of men in all decision-making positions includes the allocation of natural resources. Women have shown through their agricultural work that they are capable of caring for crops and the environment in a sustainable fashion but they aren’t given the opportunity. The methods of which the men of pakistan have decided are appropriate for their country include overgrazing. With a cow population that is higher than that of its people, resources are diminished through this exploitation. When there is drought along with over-exploitation, it results in poverty. Poverty in turn leads to overexploitation which worsens the problem of desertification, It is a vicious cycle. (Voice of America News) This environmental exploitation is arguably a result of the dominance of men throughout decision-making positions, and the lack of interactive opportunities given to women. Women’s roles in the awareness and education of environmental dangers throughout Pakistan are rare. This is partially a result of an enormous lack of women’s education investments. Increasing women in the workforce is a challenge as well as an opportunity for Pakistan to develop as a country. Clearly Pakistan’s low rate of female literacy is an obstacle to increasing female workforce participation. As education levels rise, labor force participation must also rise for Pakistan to capture fully its return on investment in girls education. (Coleman Pg.1) How can a Pakistani Woman teach her country about their environment, when their country doesn’t teach them how to read? Lack of women’s education throughout these cultures is detrimental to the future of their own economy and environment. With limited opportunities for women, it becomes difficult to enlighten your community about the environment when they won’t listen to you. Opportunities have recently arisen for women in Pakistan in terms of work. These opportunities are aimed to give women in Pakistan a voice, literally. The report is aimed at creating awareness among media managers and working journalists about the importance of women’s role in the media and radio stations in Pakistan essentially giving women a voice which could be seen as a big step for their country.(BBC) This recent opportunity for women could be the next step towards voicing their opinion about environmental matters and having a role in the decisions of society. The environmental health of Pakistan is among the worst in the entire world as a result of ignorant methods of waste disposal and poor allocation of resources. The exploitation of resources has led to deforestation, desertification, and drought. The careless disposal of waste resulted in air pollution, gas emissions, toxic fertilizers, and borderline poisonous water. Pakistan’s environment is in ruins. The mayor of Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, recently announced the city’s water and sewer system on the brink of collapse. Air pollution here as well as in other Pakistani cities is estimated to be 20 times higher than World Health Organization standards consider to be average. The country’s percentage of forested land is among the lowest in the world, and the rate at which it is disappearing among the highest. (Kambler Pg.1) The men in control of environmental operations, operate quite unfavorably towards women. The health of women and children are neglected in most development programs involving the widespread distribution of pesticides or fertilizers. Users are not alerted about the mandatory safety precautions, there is now enough evidence to show that peasant and other poor women share the experience of living in an ever degrading environment. (RCOWE) women naturally possess a more caring and conservative nature of work and it’s shown through their duty in agriculture. The Sindh Rural Women’s Uplift Group helped Pakistani women by allowing ten to fifteen on the farm at a time, under the guidance of female farm supervisors. Paying them the same wages as men and giving them the same responsibilities as men, there was an opportunity for comparison. The women’s agricultural output was greater than that of men’s, women also had an advantage in Mowing, Grasses for mulch, collecting farm leaves etc. Essentially, the policy instrument of which is being implemented in this situation can be seen as charity or gender equality. Charity is what the Sindh Rural Women’s Uplift Group is doing by giving these women an opportunity to be involved . Gender Equality is shown in the allocation of resources towards women for once instead of being put under the control of Pakistani men. The policy instrument of gender equality could be implemented towards economic development whether they sound related or not. In pakistan’s case, gender equality would result in an efficient allocation of resources through the implementation of females in authoritative environmental positions. The allocation of resources is better left in the hands of women for the good of the economy. Gender equity can be a determinant of just distribution of resources and income by allowing the female population of pakistan to rise to autonomy level, for once in history evenly distributing resources and income among women and men. An ecologically sustainable scale of the economy would come in time with the progression of women’s authoritative roles in not only agricultural or environmentally based occupancies, but half of Pakistan’s economy. Works Cited Council on Foreign Relations. (n.d.). Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved from http://www.cfr.org/asia/gender-disparities-economic-growth-islamization-pakistan/p7217 Full Text Electronic Journal List. (2012, November 11). Full Text Electronic Journal List. Retrieved from http://db6fj4sr6x.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004 Kambler, M. (2001, November 27). Pakistan’s Environmental Nightmare. – Page 1. Retrieved November 11, 2012, from http://www.villagevoice.com/2001-11-27/news/pakistan-s-environmental-nightmare/ M. (2012). Employment situation of women in Pakistan. ProQuest. Retrieved November 11, 2012, from http://search.proquest.com/docview/821115923 anhwar, F. (1998, June 15). WOMEN AND ORGANIC AGRICULTURE IN PAKISTAN. World Conference on Horticultural Research. Retrieved November 11, 2012, from http://www.agrsci.unibo.it/wchr/wc5/panhwar.html 2 The regional conference on women and environment. (n.d.). Embracing the Earth. Retrieved November 11, 2012, from http://www.fao.org/docrep/X0173E/x0173e03.htm V. (2006, July 31). Pakistan Combats Growing Environmental Menace. ProQuest. Retrieved November 11, 2012, from http://search.proquest.com/docview/190519623

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Applying Problem Solving Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Applying Problem Solving - Essay Example There are many methods, which can be used to find a perfect solution to any specific problem. Two of the most widely used methods are persuasive thinking and scientific thinking. In this paper, I will show how I made use of these methods to solve some problems, which occurred in my life. After I got my graduation degree from a university, I decided to do job to earn some money and get professional experience. I applied in a number of companies for the job but did not succeed to get a suitable job in accordance with my educational qualifications. Some companies called me for interviews. Wherever I went for the interviews, the selection committee members required some professional experience, which I did not have at that time. In my home city, I applied in almost every renowned company but did not succeed in finding a good job. After almost six months of job search, I found a job in a marketing firm located far away from my living place. I was recruited in the department of outdoor sales and my salary was very less as compared to my educational qualifications. The salary was so less that it was very hard for me to save any money for my family. I was not satisfied with that job. I did that job for almost a year when I decided to go abroad in order to find a better employment. My parents did not support my decision of moving abroad and insisted me to remain in my home country and continue my job search. In the problem, which I discussed above, I made use of persuasive thinking to convince my parents. I had two main reasons of going abroad for employment. One reason was to find a better employment while the second reason was the huge difference between the economy levels of my home country and the country where I was planning to go for employment. My parents were not supporting my decision initially as they insisted me not to go abroad. I told them that it would be wastage of my precious time

Friday, September 27, 2019

The Economic Growth of Developing Countries Assignment

The Economic Growth of Developing Countries - Assignment Example More recently WTO has focused upon the need to sustain an open multilateral trading framework, particularly in the light of the proliferation of regional blocs. In spite of some weaknesses and limitations of its strategies, WTO has benefited the economic growth of developing countries and involves them in free trade relations and international trade. The main question worried many nations and economists "Does WTO really promote free trade or just control the international trading relations and economic order The WTO was established on 1st January 1995 by the Marrakesh agreement. It was a new agreement between the global nations which improved and extended articles of GATT established in 1947. .WTO differs from GATT as it is based on different principles and policies of trade relations. GATT is just a set of rules while WTO is an international institution with governing bodies. In contrast to GATT, WTO commitments are full. GATT rules and principles of trade cover only retail trade while WTO regulates services and intellectual property industries. The main difference is that WTO is based on multilateral agreements applied to all members of the institution while GATT involved selective agreements applied to some local economies. The befit of WTO is that it is undeniable that trade policy leaders have their own bases of support, such as interest groups and the bureaucratic institutions they direct. As they depend on those bases to maintain their current position, policymakers' interests, pr iorities, and responsibilities in policy making are put by their support bases. In fact, the state-oriented approach underlines the importance of the demands of society on trade policymaking. In contrast to GATT, WTO has a stricter system of trade control and does not permit trade violations. Trade violations involve such impotent issues as labor relations and environmental concerns. These rules and principles can be seen as a response to dissatisfaction with the explanatory power of international trade relations that concentrate on international factors or assume country interests to be external. Such attempts are grouped by WTO into four, based on their characterization of the international and the domestic, and the lines of responsibility they draw between these political issues. WTO has a set of laws aimed to restrict the activity of those companies which violate accepted rules and norms of international trade. The domestic and international relations each possess different and distinct features and limitations on country action; thus domestic goals are more effectively pursued with international trade strategies.

Thursday, September 26, 2019

How do notions of the postmodern undermine the truth of the Essay

How do notions of the postmodern undermine the truth of the photographic image - Essay Example ated to bring a revolution in ways of capturing details, critiques argue that photography is not just a mere window on the world but it has become a space for nightmares, obsessions, unconsciousness and an opening of fantasies thorough computer manipulations that stage convincing fictional images (Kostikova,2013,pp.24-28). The manipulation leads into doubts over the originality of photographs. Rather than the manipulation of photographs, other notions of postmodernism such deteriorating discipline, war photography, propaganda and political agendas can be identified to be among the causes of negativity on the truth of the photographic image. To fully understand photography, it is important to understand the origin of photography and its impact on the people of the postmodern age. The presence of photographic practice shows the ability to capture reality at a given time without any intervention by man, indicating a clear distinction from a painting that was an artistic contemplation. There had been some excitements due to the technological innovation that new gadget was capable of achieving. However, two questions were arising concerning the beautiful images produced by the camera. The first question was on the origin of the photograph image. That leads to being curious on the truth about the content of the image (Applin, 2014, pp.387-389). The second question was on the purpose of the photo image; together with the uses it can be subjected. Looking at both questions, the credibility of the photography is undermined due to the various works of art that are not original, and it becomes challenging to verifying their origi nality and the purpose of having reality on them. Hughes argues that, â€Å"Despite its apparent precision, perspective is a generalization about experience. It schematizes, but it does not really represent the way we see.† The argument can be borrowed into photography meaning that its ability to capture original experience of the world is limited

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS STRATEGIES Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS STRATEGIES - Essay Example One of the popular measures of competitive balance is the actual square root of the variance of win-ratios of a certain season and it is compared with the mean root square deviation of the win ratios in the most ‘appropriate’ case where the wins are allocated in a random manner (Owen, Ryan and Weatherston, 2005, pp.4-5). According to Zimbalist, the professional sports teams participating in a league both corporate and compete with each other. The success of a competition is dependent upon the degree of uncertainty of outcomes. It can be stated differently as the degree of competition among the teams acts as a factor in the success of a league. (Zimbalist 2003, Sports as Business, pp. 503). By perfect competition, economists define a market structure under some assumptions which are unlikely to exist in the real world scenario. It talks about a market where the market power of the participants is limited to set the price of a homogeneous product. Some of its characteristics include unlimited number of buyers and sellers, factors are free to move, and perfect information exists to all the participants. When a firm is able to gather higher levels of profits than the average of all other firms existing in its industry, a situation of competitive advantage is said to exist for the firm and it is of mainly two types namely advantage over costs and differentiation advantage. To attain a successful sporting outcome it is required to maintain a certain degree of competitive balance which is described in the hypothesis of â€Å"uncertainty of outcome†. Gate sharing revenue is one of the popular means of improving competitive balance. This means is very common knock out competitions. However some other means of improving the competitive balance includes salary caps, and luxury taxes. The Major League Baseball adopted an equal splitting of gate receipts which were reduced with time. Since 2003 the clubs participating in the American League

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Cloning cdc2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Cloning cdc2 - Essay Example This was used to calculate the transformation efficiency of the experiment.The aim of carrying out this experiment was to try out carry out cloning of E. coli and to calculate how efficient the cloning was. The following are the key words that will be used in this report. To begin with is the word smid pALA2, which represents the plasmid to be used in the experiment. The other word is S. pombe. This in full is known as the Schizosaccharomycespombe. It is a species of yeast that is rod shaped and reproduces by fission. In this experiment on cloning, the yeast has been used in the determination of how the cell responds to DNA replication and destruction. The other key word in this report is cdc2, which stands for cell division control protein 2. This is also referred to by the name Cyclin-dependent kinase 1. It plays the role of encoding the fission yeast S.pombe in this experiment. This section contains a brief description of the tables and figures that will be used in the report. They are as follows; figure one represents the gels showing the purified genomic DNA from S. pombe, compared to the provided DNA sample. Figure two is of the virtual gel showing restriction digest of purified plasmids. Figure three is of plasmid CPP, lane PCR product and purified PC. The forth figure is the control made of the Marker, KpnI cut pALA2 plasmid, the fifth is KpnI cut pALA2, which is a cdc2 orientation of the first plasmid. The sixth figure is the KpnI cut pALA2 that is also a cdc2 orientation of the second plasmid. The final figure is figure seven that shows the plasmid maps. Table one in the report shows the qubit values and the student number. Cloning can be defined in many ways though all these definitions will add up to the same thing. Cloning generally refers to the process of giving rise to organisms that are alike genetically either in nature like in the asexual reproduction of certain

Monday, September 23, 2019

Making a truss adaptive to specific loading condition to save Essay

Making a truss adaptive to specific loading condition to save materials - Essay Example As the active and passive control methods improved the structures under dynamic loads, its requirement for the performance based design was of concern. The use of these systems helps in achieving these objectives optimally in civil engineering. In a passive structural control, the structures have been built from a thermal stable composite material. This system can be isolation systems, shear walls, viscosities dampers and tuned mass dampers. The tuned mass dampers could be used in chimneys, towers and bridges (Sinan Korkmaz, 2011); for example in the Citicorp central New York to control the first mode of vibration (Peterson, N.R., 1979). In the active control, a set of sensors and actuators connected by feedback is used (Berlin Heidelberg, 2011). The stiffness and the physical properties of the active systems can be changed due to the external stimuli so that structural response like the internal flow of forces can be manipulated as the deflections or the vibration are controlled and optimized. The active systems are striking choices to be able to retrofit or increase the strength of the current structure against strong winds, earthquake, water waves or any external force that affect the safety of the structure. The adaptive systems are related to development and manufacturing. There are different material systems designed as smart materials and currently available in a wide range such including ceramics, polymers and alloys (W Sobek and P Tueffel, 2013). As shown in the figure †¦ the sensors get the information and the control intelligence process the information getting from sensors and will feed into actuators. Every material, in principle, has been found to be responsive in a one-to-one relation. For instance, voltage is produced from an input pressure, or it can be produced from a triangulated piece of veneer that displaces the free tip depends on the level of

Sunday, September 22, 2019

The Pearl Harbor Attack Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Pearl Harbor Attack - Research Paper Example There were two in-flight attack waves, toting up 353 aircraft, instigated from six carriers of Japanese aircraft under the leadership of Commander Mitsuo Fuchida. The objective of the strike was protecting Imperial Japan advance to the Dutch East Indies, as well as and Malaya, due to their natural resources like rubber and oil, through the neutralization of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Although the Japanese succeeded in fulfilling the attack, thereby potentially crippling the control of America over the Pacific, this success was only short lived. The following day, America pronounced war on Japan thus leading to the official American entry into World War II (Shelley & David 10). Under the leadership of US, the Western Countries had imposed derisory sanctions on Japan due to its invasion of China thereby impeding the Japanese military operations. As a result, Japan got into diplomatic negotiations along with US in order to break the impasse while using this time in launching an attack on P earl Harbor. Most of the Japanese fleet needed to sail not less than 4000 miles so as to get from its center to where the aircraft carriers intended to set off their planes for Hawaii. These planes got there just ahead of 8AM on 7 December. Before long, five of eight battleships at Pearl Harbor either got sunk or sinking while the rest got damaged. Although the most noteworthy casualty turned out to be USS Arizona, there were a number of other ships, as well as most Hawaii-based war planes also got knocked out with 2388 Americans ending up dead (Sakata 23). There are various reasons as to why Japanese attacked the Pearl Harbor including (Lord): I.) The banning of all exports of scrap iron, steel, as well as oil to Japan by President Roosevelt, which was due to the given Japanese invasion of China. This led to Japan losing not less than 90% of its oil supply. This economic seclusion crippled their economy, together with their military; II.) America had participated in the Second Worl d War yet since they were still stumbling from depression caused by the First World War. However, America still possessed the strongest nautical fleets. Based on this viewpoint, the Japanese were nearly as strong as the American navy. With the passage of time, America favored more and more in line of joining the war. The Japanese had the anticipation of a full-blown naval war together with America thereby deciding to act first by means of bombing Pearl Harbor; III.) Assumptions also involved the fact that the Japanese had the intention of becoming a naval superpower, while, at the same time, wanting to destruct any competition, comprising of American, along with British naval convoy; IV.) The United States intended Japan to abandon northern Indo-China; V.) Opposition from the US about Japanese expansion, together with Japan demands considering that they were not got by diplomacy; VI.) The Japanese were eager on expanding their empire thereby making a decision between giving in or go ing to war along with the United States; VII.) The Japanese wanted the US to consent to their spreading out into Asia; VIII.) Pearl Harbor happened to be the residence of the U.S. Pacific Fleet; therefore Japan did not intend the U.S. within the war since at that time; the greatest Naval force belonged to the United States of America.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Childhood Obesity In America Essay Example for Free

Childhood Obesity In America Essay More and more American children are becoming overweight or obese. Years ago an elementary classroom may have one kid who was overweight but today that has drastically changed. We have a whole new generation of kids who are consuming much more â€Å"junk food† and eating fast food 3 or 4 nights a week and they are not as active as kids used to be. These kids are consuming things like Monster energy drinks, Starbucks coffee, Mountain Dew, chips, candy bars and more on a daily basis. Many of them are coach potatoes, video gamers, social networkers, texters, etc. We need to get this new generation of children to become more active. They also need to be educated on how to be aware of what they are eating and teach them to eat the so called â€Å"junk food† in moderation and incorporate more nutritious foods in his or her diet as well as maintain an active lifestyle. Childhood obesity is on the rise due to the many changes in our society and we need to do something to prevent it before it gets out of hand. Keywords: obesity, children, overweight Childhood Obesity in America Childhood obesity is becoming a problem across the globe and has been declared an epidemic in America. Children are consuming more calories than ever and many are not as active as earlier generations. For the first time in the history of this country, young people are less healthy and less prepared to take their places in society than were their parents. Diabetes is on the rise, American kids are getting sicker, becoming sadder and getting fatter. (W. Sears, M.D., M. Sears, R.N., J. Sears, M.D., R. Sears, M.D., 2006) Many of you probably remember running around the neighborhood when you were younger playing things like tag, hide and seek, capture the flag and many other outdoor games. Then you would get called in to eat, only to go right back out to play until it was time to come in for the  night. Now days you are more likely to find children indoors in front of the television, on the computer, texting a friend or playing a video game, not to mention they may be eating an unhealthy snack, such as a cookie or a bag of chips. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 12.5 million children and adolescents between the ages of 2 and 19 are obese. Obesity is a good indicator of unhealthy lifestyles, characterized by over-eating and lack of physical activity. Who is responsible for this you might ask. Is it the parents, the schools, fast food restaurants, technology, a down economy or even the food industry? We cannot single out and put the blame on any one of these. However, each one can be a contributing factor and the combination of them certainly could be part of the cause. Let’s take a look at how each of them impacts our children’s health. Let’s start with the parents. As I stated earlier, years ago children were outside playing much of the day. However, now parents are not letting the children out to play until they are much older because they worry about their safety. Part of the reason for this is that the world has changed. Ever hear the phrase â€Å"It takes a village†? Well years ago neighbors looked out for each other and their children. Now everyone minds their own business and keeps to him or herself. Even the cars going through the residential neighborhoods do not seem to be as cautious about watching for children. Maybe this has to do with the fact that children are not as often outside playing as they used to be. Families seem to be so much busier today than in the past. Most families are living on two incomes instead of one, which means there is not a stay at home parent making home cooked meals everyday. Not to mention families are having less and less meals together at the table. Instead parents are tired and are relying on quicker meals like frozen pizza’s, banquet chicken, corndogs, fries, hotdogs, macaroni and cheese, microwaveable meals, and even fast food. Many families are a single parent household and may be on a tight budget and may be purchasing the cheaper convenience foods that are typically less nutritious and have more additives and preservatives. Parents are not intentionally trying to make their children fat and/or sick. Most are trying to do the best they can and don’t realize the long-term effects of all the processed foods, especially combined with a less active lifestyle. What about the school’s role in all this? Kids spend a big part of their day at school and some eat breakfast and lunch at school. As a Licensed Family Child Care Provider, each year I have to take nutrition training through the USDA food program. After taking it one year and learning about high fat foods that are commonly served to children, I was looking at my son’s monthly lunch menu for the elementary school and noticed they were serving too many of these high fat foods in one week at lunch. In the same week the kids would be served chicken nuggets, pizza, and a breaded chicken sandwich. These foods are not bad if eaten on occasion and in moderation. However, what I learned in the nutrition training was that we should limit the amount of high fat foods served in one week. My daughter, who attends the high school, told me that everyday if the students don’t like the main option for lunch they could go and get a hamburger or hotdog with french fries as an alternative choice. Middle schools, junior highs, and high schools often have an a la carte line or snack bar at lunch, which consists of ice cream, cookies, juice, and other foods that are not very nutritious for a lunch. Some schools even have soda machines and snack machines. There have even been some schools that are cutting their physical education and sports programs. Technology plays a big role in the children not being as active as they used to be. There are no longer just Saturday morning cartoons. Now with channels like the Disney Channel and Cartoon Network kids can watch cartoons twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Today our children spend many hours on media devices, such as cell phones, Ipads, Kindles, and hand held video games as well as the television, computer, or other game systems such as Xbox. Many kids today would rather be inside on the computer or playing video games than out with a friend or being active. This morning I was at the doctor’s office to have my cholesterol checked. In the waiting room at my clinic they now have a TV up on the wall that is always playing something educational about staying healthy. Today as I was  watching it they were talking about how people who sit more than three hours at a time shave time off of their life. They said after three hours of sitting you should get up and move around for a while before sitting back down. According to this program we have enzymes in our body that help break down fat. However, when we are sedentary or sitting these enzymes are not able to break down the fat in our body. If that is true than these children who are spending hours on the computer, watching TV or playing video games are not burning as much fat as they could be if they took a break every now and then and got up and moved around for a bit before sitting back down. Another contributing factor to childhood obesity is the food industry. Why the food industry? I’ll tell you why. The food industry is packing more and more preservatives, dyes, fat, sodium, sugar and other stuff into our food to make it last longer and taste better, but what are these added ingredients doing to our children? They are literally turning our children into sugar and carb addicts. Products such as chips, cookies, candy and other junk food are being targeted towards our children. Watch a cartoon with your child sometime and pay attention to how many of these commercials you will see. You will be amazed. Something many of you might not think of is the down economy as another contributing factor. Many families are struggling and have had to make plenty of cutbacks on their spending. Yes, that sometimes includes cutbacks on food. It can get expensive feeding a family of four for a week. It is actually cheaper sometimes to buy processed foods and junk food than it is to buy natural and healthy foods. For example, it is much cheaper to buy a box of Little Debbie snacks than it is to buy a small bag of apples or carrots. During my own families rough financial times we discovered that feeding a family of four from McDonald’s $1 menu was not only more convenient but cheaper than cooking many meals as well. If everyone got 2 to 3 items it was less than $15 for the whole family. However, in the long run eating lots of the unhealthy foods and snacks is going to cost you more in healthcare and prescription medications from the consequences of eating an abundance of these foods. â€Å"A family with an obese child spends 30% more in health costs and 77% more in medication costs.† (Parekh, 2012, Prevention is Better than Cure, para 1). Also obesity in childhood often follows into adulthood, which further supports the importance of preventing childhood obesity. (Wang, 2011) Fast food is another big factor for some people. I am not saying you should never eat it at all but some families are eating the stuff three or more times in one week. When I was a kid I was lucky if I got fast food once every six months and that was a treat. McDonald’s seems to have taken the blunt for the fast food industry when it comes to the consequences of eating it too often. They have tried to make some changes like getting rid of the supersize portions and adding apple wedges as an alternative to fries in their kid’s Happy Meal. There even is a documentary that was made about the negative impact McDonalds and the rest of the fast food industry are having on society. The main character, Morgan Spurlock in the movie did a one-month experiment. He ate three full meals a day at McDonald’s, only ordered a super size meal when asked, and never ate food from any other source. By the end of Morgan Spurlock’s month long McDonald’s binge, he had become depressed and exhausted, he was experiencing dramatic mood swings, and his sex life had greatly diminished. He gained 25 pounds, his body fat percentage increased from 11% to 18%, his liver was showing notable signs of damage, and his total cholesterol increased from 168 to 225. However, because of Spurlock’s unrealistic extent of excess calorie consumption, the only thing that this really proves is that overeating is unhealthy. (2009) If eaten on occasion and in moderation as well as eating the right portion size it is not going to harm you and that movie can be misleading. However, it does show what can happen to those who eat it on a daily basis. Parents should limit their child’s meals at fast food restaurants and think of another quick healthy alternative for those other days they may be in a time crunch. Now that I’ve talked about some of the contributing factors of childhood obesity, let’s discuss the effects it has on our children’s health. Children are ending up with health problems such as, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and even type 2 diabetes. This form of diabetes was previously referred to as â€Å"adult onset† diabetes because it used to be more  typical for adults over the age of 40 to get this type. (Schraffenberger, L.A., 2012) Some of these overweight kids are also dealing with being teased by other kids and being called fat. This is leading to more kids being treated for depression. If these kids, some as young as elementary age, are having these kinds of health problems, what does that mean for their health as adults? So what changes have been made to fix this problem of childhood obesity in America? There have been some laws that have gone into effect. One such law has affected me as a childcare provider. The law went into effect in October of 2010 and states that all children over the age of 2 must be served low fat 1 percent milk or fat free skim milk. This law also applies to the schools. The schools have always had minimum calorie guidelines but now there is a maximum calorie guideline the school has to follow as well. This went into effect in July of 2012. Some schools are making changes like taking their soda and snack machines out or having them shut off during lunchtime. Some have even put in new machines with healthier options. Our first lady, Michele Obama has been actively involved in trying to prevent childhood obesity and has even visited some schools that have changed their menus to implement healthier options. Another big advocate in preventing childhood obesity is Rachael Ray. She has started the yum-o organization, which is a non-profit organization. According to the yum-o website, the yum-o organization â€Å"empowers kids and their families to develop healthy relationships with food and cooking.† Wang (2011) explains that the U.S. obesity epidemic can have many serious health and financial consequences if it cannot be controlled, and likely minority and low-income groups are hit harder. Childhood obesity is currently higher than it ever has been and we can do something to prevent it. Parents can help by limiting their child’s screen time, eating more nutritious home cooked meals at the table (not in front of the television) and encouraging their children to be active. For families with busy schedules the parents can take time on the weekends to plan meals ahead of time for the upcoming week. They do not have to be elaborate and can even consist of soup, sandwich fruit and milk. (American Academy of Pediatrics)  The schools can limit the â€Å"junk food† they offer in vending machines and the a la carte line or replace it with healthier options and offer more nutritious meals with the appropriate amount of calories. They can also stop cutting their physical education programs, as keeping children active is very important in preventing obesity as well. Families who are struggling financially can buy fruits and veggies that are on sale or in season and make meals that are cheap yet healthy. Also we should have more restrictions on the food industry, such as maybe a warning label for parents on foods that are way too high in sugar, fat, or sodium. If we all work together to make as many of these changes as we can our kids will be much happier and healthier. References Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012). Obesity rates among all children in the united states. Retrieved September 30, 2012, from www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html Hassink, S. (Ed). (2006). A parent’s guide to childhood obesity. United States: American Academy of Pediatrics Parekh, N., (July 13, 2012). Childhood obesity prevention tips. Prevention is better than cure. Retrieved September 30, 2012, from http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/6-7-2004-55178.asp Ray, R., (2012). Rachael ray’s yum-o cook feed fund. Retrieved September 30, 2012, from http://www.yum-o.org/ Schraffenberger, L.A., (2012). Basic ICD-10-CM/PCS and ICD-9-CM Coding, Chapter 6, Page 123 Sears, W., Sears, M., Sears, J., Sears, R., (2006) The healthiest kid in the neighborhood. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company Wang, Y., (2011). Disparities in pediatric obesity in the united states. Retrieved October 21, 2012, from advances.nutrition.org/content/2/1/23.full.pdf+html

Friday, September 20, 2019

Overrepresentation Of Minority Students In Special Education Programs

Overrepresentation Of Minority Students In Special Education Programs Overrepresentation or disproportionality of minority students in special education programs is an ongoing problem that has plagued our nation for several decades. Overrepresentation can occur in many areas but is most prevalent when considering a students ethnicity. Disproportionality refers to the extent to which membership in a given à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ group affects the probability of being placed in a specific disability category (Oswald, Coutinho, Best, Singh, 1999, p. 198). For example, government reports have revealed that African American students constitute over 14% of the school-age population yet they represent 20% of the students placed in special education (Losen Orfield, 2002). Klinger et al., (2005) reported that African American students are twice as likely than White students to be labeled as mentally retarded, one time more likely to be labeled as learning disabled, and over one and half times as likely to have an emotional or behavioral disorder. Disproportionate representation of ethnic and racial minorities has historical connections to educational segregation and discrimination. Dunn (1968) first raised concerns about this issue in the sixties. He described the disproportionate number of minority students being labeled as mentally retarded and placed in self-contained classrooms which raised significant educational and civil right concerns. Ferri and Connor (2005) have also maintained that disproportionality has historical roots. After schools were integrated in 1954, following the Supreme Courts decision in Brown v. Board of Education, the number of African American students placed in special education programs increased. Students were being grouped or placed according to their academic ability. This practice resulted in many African American students being grouped together in low ability tracks and many were subsequently referred for special education services. Hence, over referring African American students for special education became another way to resegregate students of color. Some people would argue that placing a student in special education would greatly benefit the student because he or she would receive more individualized attention to address their disability and other needs. However, disproportionality often presents negative implications for minority students. Once African American students are identified as having a disability, deemed eligible for special education services, and placed in a special education setting; they are more like to remain in special education classes throughout their years in school. They are more likely to receive a watered down curriculum that is not as rigorous as the curriculum that the students in general education receives. These students are segregated from their general education peers when placed in more restrictive settings. Disabled students are often stigmatized and treated differently by other students in their schools. Lastly, to further exacerbate the problem, overrepresentation may also cause some students t o be misclassified or inappropriately identified as having a disability. Disproportionality is a complex problem that has been linked to multiple factors depending on the school and/or school district. Probable causes of disproportionality include psychometric test bias, socio-demographic factors, unequal opportunity in general education, and cultural mismatch between teacher and student (Skiba, et. al, 2008). Research has also suggested that bias at the prereferral stage of the special education eligibility process is a cause for disparity of African American students being placed in special education (Darley Gross, 1983). As a former special education teacher, I have participated in several meetings with a purpose of deciding which placement is appropriate for a student previously identified as having a disability. On several occasions, I have asked the referring general education teacher his or her reasons for referring the student for special education services and was surprised to receive such vague and potentially bias explanations. For example, on e teacher told me that she referred a student for behavioral issues because at times, he was stubborn and refused to do his work. Another teacher told me that she referred a student because he presented challenging behaviors such as talking out without permission and he often contradicted the teachers answers or explanations to the class which infuriated the teacher. When questioned further about the interventions used before referral, the teachers response were more ambiguous and peppered with a lack of knowledge of appropriate intervention strategies. The purpose of this study is to determine the personal characteristics of the general education teachers that have the greatest influence on their decision to refer minority students for special education. The study will address the following research questions through a mixed method of qualitative and quantitative research: To what extent if any, does a general education teachers years of experience, teaching level, training in classroom management and intervention strategies, education level, ethnicity, age, and gender impact disparity at the prereferral stage of the special education eligibility process? What impact does a general education teachers efficacy and perceptions of minority student characteristics bias their referral of minority students for special education services? What is the placement rate of the students being referred for special education services by the general education teachers? This study will focus on the students being referred for academic and/or behavioral issues because these are the main reasons why minority students are referred for special education services. As a result of this study, I hope to be able to extend the available literature on potential teacher bias during the prereferral stage of the special education process. My ultimate goal is to decrease the numbers of African American students being referred for special education services when the referral is not warranted or questionable. Conceptual Framework Disproportionality is a widespread problem that continues to affect minority students. Patterns of consistent disproportionality are evident and have been studied extensively for years. Oswald et al. (1999) examined the magnitude of overrepresentation by analyzing extant data from the 1992 Elementary and Secondary School Civil Rights Compliance Report to describe the extent of disproportionate representation of African American students labeled as seriously emotionally disturbed (SED) and mildly mentally retarded (MMR). They also wanted to determine the extent to which economic, demographic, and educational variables at the district level were associated with disproportional identification for this ethnic group. Zhang and Katsiyannis (2002) used data extracted from three federal government publications to find out whether or not there have been any recent improvements or changes in overrepresentation of minorities in special education. Although, there has been some debate concerning how disproportionality should be measured and the extent of the problem, overrepresentation continues to occur with no definitive causes. Researchers have also been unsuccessful in ident ifying real solutions to eradicate this phenomenon. Previous studies have examined many aspects of disproportionality including bias in problem solving and the social process of student study teams and teacher efficacy and student problem as factors in special education referral. Yet, research is somewhat limited and has mainly focused on the magnitude and possible causes of disproportionality. There appears to be a gap in the literature when examining personal factors that affect the general education teachers decision to refer a student for special educations services. This study will fill this gap by examining factors that influence referral and subsequently results in disparity. An in-depth analysis of teachers efficacy and perceptions of minority students will also be examined to determine if these factors impact disproportionality. The cognitive theory of social learning coined by Alfred Bandura will inform my approach to understanding the phenomena of disproportionality with regards to teacher efficacy. Teacher efficacy will be analyzing to determine its role in the prereferral stage of the special education process. I will examine the general education teachers belief that he or she may or may not be capable of bringing about desired changes in their students. Teacher efficacy will take account of two dimensions, judgments and personal beliefs. Disproportionality will also be approached from an ecological perspective framework to understand how special education referrals are influenced by personal characteristics of the referring teacher. The teacher factors that will be explored will also note the influence of ascriptive characteristics, characteristics that cannot be changed such as age, gender, ethnicity, etc., on disparity.