Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) is the vi Essays

Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) is the vi Essays Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) is the vision of Dr. Albert Ellis. Dr. Ellis, 1913 - 2007, received his masters and doctorate from Columbia University in psychology . Dr. Ellis is no stranger to mental illness nor the effects that mental illness on the family unit. Dr. Ellis's described his mother as "self-absorbed with bi-polar disorder" and his father as "emotionless and distant" . Dr. Ellis parent's inattention positioned him in the role of primary caregiver for his younger brother and sister despite his fragility. Dr. Ellis reported being hospitalized eight times between the ages of five and seven . Despite his shortage of parental support, Ellis did not permit his adversities to alter his disposition. Like most psychologists, Dr. Ellis's early training originated with psychoanalytic perspective. The techniques and focus of psychoanalytic theory left many unanswered questions for Ellis on efficacy and scientific premise on psychoanalytic therapy . Dr. Ellis believed that therapy should have scientific foundation to increase the validity of psychotherapy (Ellis, 1999). During his early career, Ellis critiqued the validity and reliability of personality tests concluding that the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory was the only valid instrument based on research . During the early portion of his career, Ellis utilized psychoanalytic techniques with his clients despite the lingering questions he possessed on efficacy and scientific premise. He sought a more effective interactive alternative means aid his clients. This initiated his pursuit for new methods and techniques focused on efficacy. Ellis noticed that most of his clients labeled as neurotic shared irrational thinking . Ellis observed most individuals are aware of their irrational thoughts but continue to maintain the irrational thoughts even though they are unreasonable . Focusing on irrational thinking, Ellis combined psychoanalytic and behavioral methodologies to form rational therapy . Rational thinking is subjective. What one person considers rational, another may consider irrational. Ellis defines rational as effective cognition. The problem with RT was RT implied rational thinking as logical cognition so Ellis elected to change the name to rational emotive therapy with aspirations of encompassing cognitive and emotive processes. Dr. Ellis changed rational therapy to rational emotive therapy in 1961 . Ellis believed a problem remained even after the name change, rational emotive therapy did not clearly indicate the relationship Ellis imagined. Ellis, again, changed the name in 1995 to rational emotive behavior therapy stressing the reciprocal collaboration between cognition, emotion, and behavior . The premise of REBT is it's not the unfortunate or traumatic event/action that causes increase emotion in individual's but it's the individuals beliefs that increases emotions . Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) is a form of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) which stresses individuals have the capacity to become completely rational, which is innate due to biologically factors, implying most persons have the ability to construct rational wishes and preferences but free-will permits individuals to transfer their wishes and preferences into rigid doctrines . Ellis examined individual's environment, personality, and concluded that learned behaviors, the need to assimilate, and traumatic or unfortunate events help foster irrational thinking in individual's . We develop learned behaviors across our lifespan, which anchor our values, beliefs, morals, and goals. Some learned beliefs convert into "shoulds, oughts, and musts or SOM's" . When we convert our SOM's into needs, we create irrational dogmas. Ellis defined individuals presenting complaint(s) as irrational belief(s) about self, others, and the world (SOW) as the three musts' . Ellis categories the three musts' into three board must categories: "I must achieve outstandingly well in one or more important respects ; Other people must treat me fairly and well or they are bad people!"; "Conditions must be favorable or else my life is rotten and I can't stand it" . When any or all of the musts' statements apply, emotional and/or behavioral disturbances occur. REBT teaches individual's that SOM's are demands not needs and if SOM's are not received or acquired, the world will not end. For example, "If I can't play professional football, I will become an accountant" versus "If I can't play professional football, my life will be over." REBT emphasizes the separation of behavior from the person. For example, "I did a bad thing" rather than "I am a bad

Battle of Glendale (Fraysers Farm) - Civil War

Battle of Glendale (Fraysers Farm) - Civil War Battle of Glendale - Conflict Date: The Battle of Glendale was fought June 30, 1862, during the American Civil War and was part of the Seven Days Battles. Armies Commanders Union Major General George B. McClellanapprox. 40,000 men Confederate General Robert E. Leeapprox. 45,000 men Battle of Glendale - Background: Having commenced the Peninsula Campaign earlier in the spring, Major General George McClellans Army of the Potomac stalled before the gates of Richmond in late May 1862 after the inconclusive Battle of Seven Pines. This was largely due to the Union commanders overly-cautious approach and the incorrect belief that General Robert E. Lees Army of Northern Virginia badly outnumbered him. While McClellan remained idle for much of June, Lee relentlessly worked to improve Richmonds defenses and plan a counter strike. Though outnumbered himself, Lee understood his army could not hope to win a protracted siege in the Richmond defenses. On June 25, McClellan finally moved and he ordered the divisions of Brigadier Generals Joseph Hooker and Philip Kearny to advance up the Williamsburg Road. The resulting Battle of Oak Grove saw the Union attack halted by Major General Benjamin Hugers division. Battle of Glendale - Lee Strikes: This proved lucky for Lee as he had shifted the bulk of his army north of the Chickahominy River with the goal of destroying Brigadier General Fitz John Porters isolated V Corps. Attacking on June 26, Lees forces were bloodily repulsed by Porters men at the Battle of Beaver Dam Creek (Mechanicsville). That night, McClellan, concerned about the presence of Major General Thomas Stonewall Jacksons command to the north, directed Porter to fall back and shifted the armys supply line from the Richmond and York River Railroad south to the James River. In doing so, McClellan effectively ended his own campaign as the abandonment of the railroad meant that heavy guns could not be carried to Richmond for the planned siege. Assuming a strong position behind Boatswains Swamp, V Corps came under heavy attack on June 27. In the resulting Battle of Gaines Mill, Porters corps turned back numerous enemy assaults through the day until being forced to retreat near sunset. As Porters men crossed to the south bank of the Chickahominy, a badly shaken McClellan ended his campaign and began moving the army towards the safety of the James River. With McClellan providing little guidance to his men, the Army of the Potomac fought off Confederate forces at Garnetts and Goldings Farms on June 27-28 before turning back a larger attack at Savages Station on the 29th. Battle of Glendale - A Confederate Opportunity: On June 30, McClellan inspected the armys line of march towards the river before boarding USS Galena to view US Navy operations on the river for the day. In his absence, V Corps, minus Brigadier General George McCalls division, occupied Malvern Hill. While the majority of the Army of the Potomac had crossed White Oak Swamp Creek by noon, the retreat was disorganized as McClellan had not appointed a second-in-command to oversee the withdrawal. As a result, a large portion of the army was log-jammed on the roads around Glendale. Seeing an opportunity to inflict a decisive defeat on the Union army, Lee devised an intricate plan of attack for later in the day. Directing Huger to attack down the Charles City Road, Lee ordered Jackson to advance south and cross over White Oak Swamp Creek to strike the Union line from the north. These efforts would be supported by assaults from the west by Major Generals James Longstreet and A.P. Hill. To the south, Major General Theophilus H. Holmes was to aid Longstreet and Hill with an attack and artillery barrage against Union troops near Malvern Hill. If executed correctly, Lee hoped to split the Union army in two and cut part of it off from the James River. Moving forward, the plan quickly began to unravel as Hugers division made slow progress due to downed trees blocking the Charles City Road. Forced to cut a new road, Hugers men did not take part in the coming battle (Map). Battle of Glendale - Confederates on the Move: To the north, Jackson, as he had a Beaver Dam Creek and Gaines Mill, moved slowly. Reaching White Oak Swamp Creek, he spent the day attempting to push back elements of Brigadier General William B. Franklins VI Corps so that his troops could rebuild a bridge across the stream. Despite the availability of nearby fords, Jackson did not force the matter and instead settled into an artillery duel with Franklins guns. Moving south to rejoin V Corps, McCalls division, consisting of the Pennsylvania Reserves, halted near the Glendale crossroads and Fraysers Farm. Here it was positioned between Hooker and Kearnys division from Brigadier General Samuel P. Heintzelmans III Corps. Around 2:00 PM, Union guns on this front opened fire on Lee and Longstreet as they met with Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Battle of Glendale - Longstreet Attacks: As the senior leadership retired, Confederate guns unsuccessfully attempted to silence their Union counterparts. In response, Hill, whose division was under Longstreets direction for the operation, ordered troops forward to attack the Union batteries. Pushing up the Long Bridge Road around 4:00 PM, Colonel Micah Jenkins brigade attacked the brigades of Brigadier General George G. Meade and Truman Seymour, both of McCalls division. Jenkins attack was supported by the brigades of Brigadier General Cadmus Wilcox and James Kemper. Advancing in a disjointed fashion, Kemper arrived first and charged at the Union line. Soon supported by Jenkins, Kemper managed to break McCalls left and drive it back (Map). Recovering, the Union forces managed to reform their line and a seesaw battle ensued with the Confederates attempting to break through to the Willis Church Road. A key route, it served as the Army of the Potomacs line of retreat to the James River. In an effort to bolster McCalls position, elements of Major General Edwin Sumners II Corps joined the fight as did Hookers division to the south. Slowly feeding additional brigades into the fight, Longstreet and Hill never mounted a single massive assault which may overwhelmed the Union position. Around sunset, Wilcoxs men succeeded in capturing Lieutenant Alanson Randols six-gun battery on the Long Bridge Road. A counterattack by the Pennsylvanians re-took the guns, but they were lost against when Brigadier General Charles Fields brigade attacked near sunset. As the fighting swirled, a wounded McCall was captured as he attempted to reform his lines. Continuing to press the Union position, Confederate troops did not stop their assaults on McCall and Kearnys division until around 9:00 that night. Breaking off, the Confederates failed to reach the Willis Church Road. Of Lees four intended attacks, only Longstreet and Hill moved forward with any vigor. In addition to Jackson and Hugers failures, Holmes made little headway to the south and was halted near Turkey Bridge by the remainder of Porters V Corps. Battle of Glendale - Aftermath: An exceptionally brutal battle which included widespread hand-to-hand fighting, Glendale saw Union forces hold their position allowing the army to continue its retreat to the James River. In the fighting, the Confederate casualties numbered 638 killed, 2,814 wounded, and 221 missing, while Union forces sustained 297 killed, 1,696 wounded, and 1,804 missing/captured. While McClellan was roundly criticized for being away from the army during the fighting, Lee fretted that a great opportunity had been lost. Withdrawing to Malvern Hill, the Army of the Potomac assumed a strong defensive position on the heights. Continuing his pursuit, Lee attacked this position the next day at the Battle of Malvern Hill. Selected Sources Civil War Trust: Battle of GlendaleNPS: Battle of Glendale/Fraysers Farm CWSAC Battle Summaries: Battle of Glendale

Chapter Summaries and case Studies Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Chapter Summaries and Studies - Case Study Example This paper will present a summary of chapters 1 to 5 and tackle the case study questions for the Akron Children Hospital. Chapter one is titled Introduction to Business Research, and in this chapter, the authors offer an introduction on the reasons why the business research should be studied. It highlights the relevance of the information and its significance in giving organizations a competitive advantage in the business world. The authors are keen to introduce the role of research in developing a business strategy as well as in making decisions. An intriguing aspect tackled in this chapter is the hierarchy of information followed by many organizations when making decisions. After offering such an informative introduction, the authors proceed to present a preview of the entire research process. From this review, readers get to understand that, research is not always problem solving based. Qualities of good research are also discussed in this introductory chapter. In a bid to place emphasis on different research methodologies, four different research studies are presented in this chapter and the type o f each research discussed in details (Cooper & Schindler, 2013). Chapter two of the book tackles a significant aspect in research which surrounds ethics. Notably, each field of study has a cord of ethics that researchers must adhere to. Such ethical considerations are critical in promoting the integrity of the research as well as in the development of a favorable relationship between the respondents and the researcher. More critically, some business researchers have sponsors who provide the funds for carrying out the research. Therefore, a cord of ethics also governs the relationship between the researcher and the sponsor (p. 39). Moreover, researchers rely on the efforts of the members to collect and analyze data. The relationship between the researchers and the team members should also be governed by a defined cord of ethics. The authors

Australian Taxation Law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Australian Taxation Law - Assignment Example b) Eddie buys a house in January 2003 and sells it in Jan 2007. Therefore, this is a capital asset, and capital gains tax are applicable in this case (Global Property Guide, 2015). Since the transaction occurs after 21 September 1999, the capital gains taxable amount will be discounted at 50% since Eddie has owned the asset for at least 12 months. Capital gains tax is calculated on the net gain on the capital sale. c) The capital gains tax I this case will be net of $800,000 less the amount that John had paid to purchase the farm. Since John is an individual, the calculations will be done on individual graduated scales of taxation. If it was a company, the tax rate is 30% flat (Global Property Guide, 2015). d) The total capital gains in Quantas shares is (1.56- 0.45) $1.11 per share and that in Westco is (2.10-5.20) a loss of $3.1 per share. The net gain in Quantas in added to the loss in westco and added to other revenues for calculation of tax for the individual. According to income tax assessment act 1997, the tax exempt entities include Community Service organizations, educational services, and charitable organizations (Australian Government, 2012). These entities must be registered under the Australian Charities and not for profit commission act 2012. The capital gains discount where 50% discounting rate is used for assets held for at least 12 months and 33.33% for complying super funds, indexation for assets acquired before 21september 1999 and the third where cost base is deducted from capital proceeds (Austrilian Government, 2012). Jerry is conducting the business of fishing as much as it seems he is doing it as a hobby. Jerry compensates his sons for their efforts thereby creating a monetary value for their work and thus there is income earned by the sons. Jerry also sells extra fish to the available market at prices he wishes and,

Genetically Modified Food Essay Example for Free

Genetically Modified Food Essay In 1973, scientists discovered something that has the potential to change the world we live in forever they discovered Genetic Modification. Genetic modification is exactly what it sounds like it is the modification of genes inside a living organism. This of course could be used on humans or animals but as soon as this discovery was made safety precautions were put into place to stop people using this new technology in the wrong way. The secret to genetic modification of genes lies in the plasmid. A plasmid is a ring of DNA inside bacteria and can be used to change the genetic message inside the bacteria. For example if you were to want to create insulin you would extract the insulin producing gene from the pancreas cell of a human and cut open the plasmid and insert it the gene. This new DNA created is called recombinant DNA. The bacteria would then go on to produce human insulin. Since this is the basis of how this technology works it can also be transferred to foods. Scientists are now looking how they can genetically modify food in the world to make it better and hardier than the food nature produces. Some foods have already been genetically modified and are being grown widely throughout the United States. Crops such as Soya, Cotton, Maize and Potatoes are already modified and sold throughout the country. Scientists have genetically modified these crops to make them resistant to herbicides (weed killers) and to create their own poison that kills pests that eat the crop. These highly advanced crops are more likely to produce food for harvesting than normal crops would. With this new genetically modified food it raises issues about just what can be done with it. Places such as Africa which have lots of drought may find that a crop could be developed that would be resistant to drought and could actually survive the harsh conditions and produce crops. A crop that is being developed right now is rice that contains vitamin A that can easily be absorbed into the body. Since poorer countries have a serious lack of vitamin A this new crop would help them to gain the nutrients they need to be healthy. These two crops could be a huge help to world hunger. More food could be produced and the food would make the people that eat it healthier. However, there cant only be good news about GM food or else it would be put into production throughout the world. Many are concerned that GM crops could have a huge impact on the environment. Many say scientists are playing around with something that they dont understand and could damage wildlife and the environment. Concerns of how the GM crops would affect wildlife are a big concern. It has been found out that the crops that have built in poisons to kill pests could also kill other animals such as butterflies. This could have an impact on the food web that the butterfly is apart of. There are also worries of a superweed being created accidentally by the gene that makes the crop resistant to herbicides. People are worried that this gene could get into a weed and make it resistant to the chemicals that are used to kill it. This would make it very difficult to rid crops of weeds and they could have the potential of spreading across the world. Other worries of GM crops include cross-pollination of other plants with these super crops. Farmers that grow organic food may find that some pollen from a GM Crop has pollinated with their crop and made a new hybrid plant. Overall it would appear that there are both positive and negative aspects to the genetic modification of crops. On the positive side there is the possibility that world hunger could be helped by these new crops. However there are the negative aspects that GM crops could have an irreversible impact on the world and environment in which we live in. If further tests were conducted on how GM crops would affect the world in which we and many other species live, maybe there could be some agreement on how we should go about using this new technology that has been discovered. Eventually genetic modification may be taken to new heights by genetically modifying humans and animals to be stronger and smarter. But hopefully this will not be so because then scientists would really be messing around with something that they are not sure about. This could also have huge impacts on the world.

AIDS and YOU :: Free AIDS Essays

AIDS is a life and death issue. To have the AIDS disease is at present a sentence of slow but inevitable death. I've already lost one friend to AIDS. I may soon lose others. My own sexual behavior and that of many of my friends has been profoundly altered by it. In my part of the country, one man in 10 may already be carrying the AIDS virus. While the figures may currently be less in much of the rest of the country, this is changing rapidly. There currently is neither a cure, nor even an effective treatment, and no vaccine either. But there are things that have been PROVEN immensely effective in slowing the spread of this hideously lethal disease. In this essay I hope to present this information. History and Overview: AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Defficiency Disease. It is caused by a virus. The disease originated somewhere in Africa about 20 years ago. There it first appeared as a mysterious ailment afflicting primarily heterosexuals of both sexes. It probably was spread especially fast by primarily female prostitutes there. AIDS has already become a crisis of STAGGERING proportions in parts of Africa. In Zaire, it is estimated that over twenty percent of the adults currently carry the virus. That figure is increasing. And what occurred there will, if no cure is found, most likely occur here among heterosexual folks. AIDS was first seen as a disease of gay males in this country. This was a result of the fact that gay males in this culture in the days before AIDS had an average of 200 to 400 new sexual contacts per year. This figure was much higher than common practice among heterosexual (straight) men or women. In addition, it turned out that rectal sex was a particularly effective way to transmit the disease, and rectal sex is a common practice among gay males. For these reasons, the disease spread in the gay male population of this country immensely more quickly than in other populations. It became to be thought of as a "gay disease". Because the disease is spread primarily by exposure of ones blood to infected blood or semen, I.V. drug addicts who shared needles also soon were identified as an affected group. As the AIDS epidemic began to affect increasingly large fractions of those two populations (gay males and IV drug abusers), many of the rest of this society looked on smugly, for both populations tended to be despised by the "mainstream" of society here. But AIDS is also spread by heterosexual sex. In addition, it is spread by blood transfusions. AIDS and YOU :: Free AIDS Essays AIDS is a life and death issue. To have the AIDS disease is at present a sentence of slow but inevitable death. I've already lost one friend to AIDS. I may soon lose others. My own sexual behavior and that of many of my friends has been profoundly altered by it. In my part of the country, one man in 10 may already be carrying the AIDS virus. While the figures may currently be less in much of the rest of the country, this is changing rapidly. There currently is neither a cure, nor even an effective treatment, and no vaccine either. But there are things that have been PROVEN immensely effective in slowing the spread of this hideously lethal disease. In this essay I hope to present this information. History and Overview: AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Defficiency Disease. It is caused by a virus. The disease originated somewhere in Africa about 20 years ago. There it first appeared as a mysterious ailment afflicting primarily heterosexuals of both sexes. It probably was spread especially fast by primarily female prostitutes there. AIDS has already become a crisis of STAGGERING proportions in parts of Africa. In Zaire, it is estimated that over twenty percent of the adults currently carry the virus. That figure is increasing. And what occurred there will, if no cure is found, most likely occur here among heterosexual folks. AIDS was first seen as a disease of gay males in this country. This was a result of the fact that gay males in this culture in the days before AIDS had an average of 200 to 400 new sexual contacts per year. This figure was much higher than common practice among heterosexual (straight) men or women. In addition, it turned out that rectal sex was a particularly effective way to transmit the disease, and rectal sex is a common practice among gay males. For these reasons, the disease spread in the gay male population of this country immensely more quickly than in other populations. It became to be thought of as a "gay disease". Because the disease is spread primarily by exposure of ones blood to infected blood or semen, I.V. drug addicts who shared needles also soon were identified as an affected group. As the AIDS epidemic began to affect increasingly large fractions of those two populations (gay males and IV drug abusers), many of the rest of this society looked on smugly, for both populations tended to be despised by the "mainstream" of society here. But AIDS is also spread by heterosexual sex. In addition, it is spread by blood transfusions.

Global Environmental Issues Essay

As the third world countries struggle with famines poverty wars and population growth, the communities in the third world countries are discovering the potential impacts of these problems in the form of increased water, air and land pollution. In most of third world countries pollution is almost unchecked and developed nations dump untreated sewage flows and toxic wastes in to rivers. At many times the choice of third world countries is between poison or poverty and basic needs like clothing shelter and food takes the precedence (Murphy, 73). On the other hand forming and enforcing environmental policies in the third world countries becomes economically disastrous and therefore most environmental issues are therefore not addressed by the governments of the poor countries (Murphy, 73). The health of the environment in third world countries is exacerbated by developed nations which take the advantage of the third world countries dilemma. Developed nations dump hazardous wastes in developing nations (Murphy, 73). Industrialized nations also built industrial premises in developing nation to avoid environmental regulations which they would face at their home countries. Transnational corporations that produce chemicals that are deemed dangerous in developed nation find their market in third word countries. In third world countries the government cannot restrict the use of these chemical because it would be very costly for the citizens in the third world countries in trying to make a living (Murphy, 73). In addition to the problems created by industrialization and development third world countries also suffer environmental difficulties that are caused by war and poverty among other causes. Third world environmental issues are such as air pollution, water pollution, desertification, soil erosion, deforestation and environmental poisoning. Environmental pollution both from developed nations and third world countries come from multiple sources and therefore reduction of this problem has to be tackled by international government, corporations, non governmental organizations and individuals alike (Murphy, 73). The largest single role must be played by the respective governments which will involve regulation and enforcement of anti pollution measures. These decisions are not simple as there may be balance struck between disruption of commerce and reduction of environmental pollution and between ambitious spending programs and conservative fiscal policies. Best intentions in third world countries sometimes lead to contradictory result. For example hoy no circular programs in Mexico was intended to reduce traffic by forbidding driving one day per every week depending on the number of licenses but the program was subverted and may be the result of the increased vehicle sales in this country (Magraw, 82). On the other hand there is no country that can effectively protects its environment and solve the numerous environmental problems on its own (Magraw, 84). No matter how the country is advanced in technology and science or how it is perfect on its means of implementation of the environmental law or how perfect it is in its means of legislation, an independent efforts to reduce environmental problems are not enough (Magraw, 86). Therefore it requires global efforts to reduce environmental problems. Moreover there is no country that can be able to pay costs of environmental degradation on its own including the ever increasing costs of the new technologies that are being developed to remedy environmental pollution (Magraw, 87). Since we share the same environment globally and given that international community is an organic whole we can argue that man endeavors to solve the global environmental issue can not be accomplished and will be to no avail if they fail to bring into play all the positive factors and unite the available forces. Bibliography: Rajan M: Global Environmental Politics: India and the North-South Politics of Global Environmental Issues, 1997. ISBN 0195640489, Oxford University Press. Pickering K & Owen L: An Introduction to Global Environmental Issues: Instructors’ Manua. 1997. ISBN 0415166640, Routledge. Harris F: Global Environmental Issues. 2004. ISBN 0470845619, John Wiley and Sons. Diaz A & West S: Environmental Issues in Latin America and the Caribbean. 2005. ISBN 1402037732, Springer.

Role of the Insurance Industry in Economic Development

What Role has the Insurance industry In Economic development? The insurance industry has come a long way from ship owners, merchants and underwriters gathering in Edward Lloyd’s coffee house in London to discuss their marine voyages to new colonies of the British Empire. Over the years, Insurance has become essential in our everyday lives. Something we just can’t live without. Our Economics and Societies are growing phenomenal rates and have become more and more interconnected on the rest of the world, the risks exposed to us become more unpredictable and hazardous.The need to protect against unfortunate events has been around as long as human beings existed. Individuals have always recognised their need to alleviate risks that have the potential to ruin the. At the dawn of modern history, widely dispersed groups of tightly knit hunter-gatherers, relied almost exclusively on clan relatedness as their only bulwark against the ever-present risk of death, debilitating inju ry and starvation.For those early ancestors, the concept of risk always existed, exclusively in terms of the physical persons of individuals, mitigated by the guarantee of personal and kin relationships, rather than objects and possessions. (Buckham et al 2011, pp. 1-9). According to Lopez and Raymond 1967, in antiquity, a sea loan was the first sign of transferring risk. A number of German and Italian jurists have regarded it as something close to insurance. It involved a ship owner promising to transport goods belonging to a merchant and at the same time providing a loan, somewhat of a guarantee.If the ship and the goods arrived safely to its intended destination, the merchant returned the loan but if they didn’t arrive safely, the loan was not returned. From its origins in ancient times, the insurance industry has evolved into an essential service in our society and a â€Å"key component for economic development† (Liedtke 2007). Our lives are progressing rapidly, th ere is a significant increase in the general population, technology and science is continuously maturing and the world is becoming smaller.The insurance industry is now faced with challenging obstacles through â€Å"the liberalisation of insurance and capital markets, changing demographics, volatile stock markets, the shifting of climate patterns and the rising numbers of natural and manmade disasters and subsequent losses† (Ayadi and O’Brien 2006). â€Å"The global risk landscape is growing and the size of potential losses is continuously increasing† (Coomber 2006). Society has progressed significantly from ancient times and our need of insurance has drastically transformed accordingly.The increasing sense of ambiguity and uncertainty in our lives regarding our future economic prosperity and the devastating impact of catastrophic events has certainly reinforced the need for insurance to shield us against new and emerging risks. This paper asks the imperative qu estion: What role has the insurance industry in our economy development? The Importance of the insurance industry for an economy can only in part be measured by the sheer size of its business, the number of its employees in a given country, the assets under management, or its contribution to the national GDP.But insurance is not just about employment and the financial compensation of Victims. It actually plays a more fundamental role in the workings of a modern society, it creates huge capital assets. Due to the nature of insurance contracts which usually involve long time periods, money coming from insurance, usually stays in the financial market of a given economy for quite some time. It is not a fickle investment capital that rushes around looking for quick gains, it is oriented toward the medium to long term. It creates a stable environment by allocating assets according to market forces where needed (Liedtke 2007).There are six main areas where the insurance industry fosters ec onomic growth. I will now go into detail on these six areas (CEA 2011). Private insurance improves firm’s financial soundness: Insurance allows firms to expand and take on economic risk without the need to set aside capital. If a firm did not have adequate business insurance cover this could be harmful particularly for small firms. Small firms have limited capital and have difficulty in accessing financial markets which make them particularly vulnerable to adverse events.Without insurance large contingency funds would have to be in place to protect firms against risk. For most small firms this would represent more capital than they presently employ which would not be viable for most small firms and this would lead to a reduction the population of firms. Fostering entrepreneurial attitudes, encouraging investment, innovation, market dynamism, and competition: To be innovative you have to take risks. Since entrepreneurs just like ordinary people are characterised by risk aversi on, the willingness to take risks can be considered a scarce resource (Kugler and Ofoghi 2005).More will be produced if greater risk is taking. Well developed insurance markets contribute to the development of an economy by helping to optimise the allocation of the scarce resource of ‘risk taking’ by moving it from a conservative to an innovative and high profits activities. On the other hand uninsured firms are very conservative and generally do not exploit new business opportunities and invest less in innovation and their degree in the global markets is low. Offering social protection alongside the state, releasing pressure on public sector:In all industrialised countries a major problem is not too far down the line. Due to improvements in healthcare and quality of life population’s structures in industrialised countries are changing where people are living a lot longer and at the same time the birth rate has also decreased. People are also expecting to receive a high level of healthcare, pensions, unemployment allowance and other social benefits. This raises great concern as public expenditure will be put under huge pressure and will lead to significant decreases in economic growth.The role of the insurance industry is vital to provide an additional pillar alongside the protection supplied by the state. Insurance products like payment protection insurance play a vital role in protecting household in times of unemployment in an economic downturn. Many industrialised countries such as the United Kingdom provide free healthcare to its citizens. In the future what we are going to see is the health system in these countries being privatised and individuals buying private health insurance. Currently 47% of the Irish population have health insurance (Nolan 2006).Similar systems will have to be introduced to the pension systems. These measures will help reduce government expenditure on these areas and in the long run help with the development of the economy in the countries. Enhancing financial intermediation, creating liquidity and mobilizing savings: Insurers are massive institutional investors in the economy with over 11% of worldwide assets in 2007 (Munich RE 2007). They therefore see benefit in the development of a modern , competitive financial market that facilities firms access to capital and offers a wide range of investment opportunities.In this respect insurance companies look favourably upon initiatives taken by governments to ensure shareholder rights and to maintain high standards of corporate governance. Promoting sensible risk management by firms and households, contributing to sustainable and responsible development: Insurers risk assessment is reflected through in price and policy conditions. In this way they offer firms and households an indicator of their level of risk. Firms and households in can take action to reduce the risk by engaging in risk management.Risk management is the process of gauging or accessing risk and developing strategies to manage it (Squiddo 2012). Therefore by means of risk pricing insurance encourages sensible risk management. Both the client and the insurer benefits from sensible risk management as the client’s premiums are reduced and the chances of the insurance company having a claim are also reduced. This process influences investment decisions and thus contributes to the development of the economy. Fosters stable consumption throughout life: Consumption is the main driver of economic growth as its accounts for over 80% of GDP.By having insurance it offers lifelong financial protection and allows stable consumption throughout an individual’s life. * Insurance for house and other damages allow individuals to secure assets in case of an adverse event. * Liability insurance covers household for damages that might occur to other people. * Life insurance protects relatives in the event of a death and also provides financial support in retirem ent. * Health and accident insurance provides cover when it is needed most. * Credit insurance eases consumption but does protect against excessive debt through pricing and acceptation policies.Another new phenomenon in the insurance industry is Micro insurance. It aims to alleviate poverty, distribute products in new ways and create sustainable financial growth for individuals, families and small scale businesses in underdeveloped countries. The need to provide insurance products is vital if their economies are to develop. People in underdeveloped countries are most at risk to adverse events and they have a significant negative impact on their lives. When a hurricane, flood or other adverse events occur and their homes are destroyed or their livestock is wiped out, these people have no financial compensation.These communities have to start from scratch. Insurance companies recognise that the poor require a range of insurance products that meet their needs. Zurich was an early mover in micro insurance, when it started its first micro insurance programme in Bolivia in 1999. It hasn’t been an easy move due to a lack of trust and confidence by people in underdeveloped countries but if these problems can be resolved there is huge potential for growth in the market and also for a dramatic improvement in economic development in these countries (Pope 2011).Conclusion: When we think of economic development, most attention is devoted to the relationship between the financial markets and economic development with insurance only receiving a passing mention. However in recent times there have been several interesting lines of research into the role the insurance industry plays in economics development. I have shown in this paper how the insurance sector plays a fundamental role in the development of our economy and without insurance we would live in a world that would be less economically developed and much less stable.Insurance supports research and development, i nnovation and new technologies, it supports economic stability and sustainable growth and also supports the sustainable use of resources and helps modernise social protections systems. The evidence suggests that there is substantial potential for the insurance industry to make a greater contribution to economic growth especially in lower and middle income countries. Currently insurance lags behind financial services in the extent of globalisation, but if we can continue to expand the insurance industry we will see substantial growth opportunities.Bibliography Ayadi, R. and O’Brien, C. (2006) â€Å"The future of insurance regulation and supervision in the EU: New developments, new challenges† Buckham, D. , Wahl, J. and Rose, S. (2011) Executive’s Guide to Solvency II, United States of America: The Wiley and SAS Business Series. Coomber, J. R. (2006) â€Å"Natural and Large Catastrophes– Changing Risk Characteristics and Challenges for the Insurance Indust ry†, The Geneva Papers, 2006, 31, (88-95) Kugler, M. and Ofoghi, R. (2005) Does insurance promote economic growth? Evidence from the U. K. University of Southampton Paper, July 2005. Liedkte, P. M. (2007) â€Å"What’s Insurance to a Modern Economy†, The Geneva Papers, 32, (211-221) Lopez, R. S. and Raymond, I. W. (1967) Medieval Trade in the Mediterranean World: Illustrative documents translated with Introductions and Notes, New York: WW Norton & Company Inc. Nolan, B. (2006) â€Å"The Interaction of the Public and Private Health Insurance: Ireland as a Case Study†, The Geneva Papers, 31 (663-649) CEA (2011) â€Å"Better off in Europe: How the EU’s single market benefits you†, available: http://ec. uropa. eu/publications/booklets/move/56/en. pdf Munich RE(2007)â€Å"The fundamental role of insurance†, available: http://www. genevaassociation. org/Portals/0/COP15_Munich_Re_presentation. pdf [accessed 25 October 2012] Pope, C. (2011) â€Å"Do we really need Private Health Insurance†, The Irish Times, 24 Jan, available: http://www. irishtimes. com/newspaper/pricewatch/2011/0124/1224288161882. html Squiddo (2012) â€Å" Principles of risk management†, available : http://www. squidoo. com/the-principles-of-risk-management [accessed 26 October 2012]

Strategies implemented in the Product Life Cycle

Strategies implemented in the Product Life Cycle Introduction There are different stages in the product life cycle. The four stages are the introduction, growth, maturity and decline stages. The company should be strategic in marketing in each stage of the product life cycle in order to get a competitive edge in the market place.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Strategies implemented in the Product Life Cycle specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The Role and Strategies in the Marketing Business Function The marketing function in an organization has several roles. The department is in charge of customer analysis where the company examines and evaluates the needs, wants and desires of the customers. There are several approaches used. The company may carry out research and surveys in order to know information such as customer segmentation and demographic data. This role is necessary in the introduction phase of the product. After launching the product, the comp any may carry out customer analysis to find out the reception of the product by the customers. What did the people think of the product? How are the sales? For a company to be successful, they have to conduct customer analysis in all the stages of the product life cycle. In the growth and maturity stages, the company may seek to know how to improve their products and in the declining stage to investigate the reduction in sales. The marketing team also has the role to employ appropriate selling strategies for the company. The selling strategies include advertising, sales promotion, sales force management, customer and dealer relations and publicity. In the introduction and growth stages of the product, the company has to be intensive in advertising and publicity in order to create awareness of the product and its attributes. In the later stages of maturity and decline the company employs sales promotion and personal selling strategies to increase sales and get intimate with the custo mer to explain the key attributes of the product. The third role of marketing function is product and service planning where the department does product and brand positioning, test marketing, analysis of the packaging, features, style and removal of old products and offers warranties. This strategy is applied only in the mature and decline stages as the company seeks to undertake product development and diversification to increase sales. It allows a company to identify the weak products with low revenue for removal from the product lines so that the company can concentrate on other products bringing high revenue. It also helps the company know any ineffective marketing approaches they may be using. The department is in charge of pricing. There are many factors affecting pricing such as government taxes and policies, competitors, suppliers, distributors and consumers. This aspect affects the product at all stages of the product life cycle.Advertising Looking for critical writ ing on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In the mature and growth stages, the company may lower their prices in order to attract more customers through promotions. In the introduction stage the price depends on the existing prices in the market and the customer segmentation bracket the company is aiming at. In the growth stages the company has secured customers loyalty and goodwill and prices can be set competitively in the market. Distribution, another role of marketing, is the use of different channels to get the products to the consumers. In the introduction and growth stages the company has to use all the distributions channels available as they have to create awareness of the product and demonstrate reliability on the availability of their products. In the mature stage the company may choose to have their goods only in selected locations. Lastly, the department is in charge of cost benefit analysis. T he department looks at the costs, rewards, risks of marketing activities. This is to enable the department to rank the activities that offer the best opportunities due to the profits earned. This is important in all the product life stages. The shareholders at the end of the day want to increase their wealth and management must ensure it. Intensive Strategies There are three kinds of intensive strategies. Intensive strategies in a business are applied when the business wants to improve their firm’s competitive edge. They require a lot of intensive efforts. There are three types of intensive strategies. There is market penetration where the company seeks to increase the market share for the company’s products. Greater marketing efforts are employed in the present markets. The company increases the advertising expense budget and the salespersons in the market. There will be a lot of publicity efforts and promotional campaigns. This strategy is very appropriate when the c ompany’s products in the product life cycle are in the introduction and growth stages. The strategy is used where the current markets have not yet fully been saturated. The company could also have noted that the sales of the company are increasing and the people are now increasing their expenditure on the product significantly. For a product that is in the mature stage, market penetration may not really work. The strategy is also effective when the competitors have been losing ground in terms of sales yet in the whole industry, the statistics show that sales of products are increasing. The company may also find itself with the capabilities in producing in large scale, such that the economies of scale give them significant competitive advantages. The second strategy in intensive strategies is market development. This is when the company goes into new territories with their existing goods and services. This occurs when the company’s products are in the maturity and decli ning stages in the product life cycle in the usual territorial locations. The market is saturated and the advertising and marketing has reached all the people.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Strategies implemented in the Product Life Cycle specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This strategy is effective for the mature and declining stages when the organizational has become very efficient and effective in the production of their goods and services. The company must find new untapped or new markets. These markets must exist for the strategy to work. The company must also have the capability to produce more. It must have underutilized machinery time, labor time and capital resources. The company should not strain at all in handling the expanded operations. There has to be new channels of distribution available for the company to use. The distribution channels should be affordable, effective and reliable. The com pany realizes they have to be global or international as their present markets have become saturated and sales are decreasing. The third strategy in the use of intensive strategies is the use of product development. At this point the company seeks to improve or modify their existing products. This strategy is not used in the introduction or growth period of the product life cycle. It is used in the mature and declining stages in the existing market areas. A lot of expenditure occurs in the company’s research and development departments as they seek to find out from the customers what they like or do not like about their products. Quality research should be carried for effectiveness. The customers in the region know all about the product. The question is â€Å"are they satisfied or happy?† If they use the competitor’s products, why are they doing so? Customer’s surveys may be carried out during this period. What is the rationale of the company in using thi s strategy? The company hopes to attract their existing customers to use their improved products based on the customer loyalty and goodwill that already exists. The company may also use this strategy when they are in an industry with intense technological innovations. The technological advancements necessitate them to constantly and consistently to improve their products. For the strategy to be effective, the company should have adequate research and development capabilities so that quality research is carried out. The company may adopt the strategy when their competitors suddenly launch products that are a better quality at the normal market prices. This strategy is also effective in high-growth industries. The growth stage company may use the strategy only when the rate of growth in sales of company’s product is very high. In the decline stage the company may opt to do personal selling through salespersons in order to increase sales. Market research is a crucial role for th e department. This refers to the company gathering, recording and analyzing the data on the customer needs, preferences and perception of the company’s products. The research is carried out continuously in all the stages in the product cycle. It is a process that shows the company their strengths and weaknesses in the market place.Advertising Looking for critical writing on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Conclusion The company in applying these marketing strategy concepts will become the leader in the marketing place. In the current global market the management has to be strategic.

SAT Test Dates 2015 - 2016

SAT Test Dates 2015 - 2016 SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips We present information about SAT test datesfor the 2015-2016 school year here. We also link to our top articles that you must read before deciding on a test date. Table: 2015-2016SAT Test Dates and Deadlines The 2015-2016 school year's test dates, normal registration deadlines, late registration deadlines, and score availability are posted below. Test Date NormalDeadline Late Registration Online Score Release October 3, 2015 September 3, 2015 September 22, 2015 October 22, 2015 November 7, 2015 October 9, 2015 October 27, 2015 November 26, 2015 December 5, 2015 November 5, 2015 November 23, 2015 December 24, 2015 January 23, 2016 December 28, 2015 January 12, 2016 February 11, 2016 March 5, 2016 * February5, 2016 February 23, 2016 May 10, 2016 May 7, 2016 * April 8, 2016 April 26, 2016 June 14, 2016 June 4, 2016 * May 5, 2016 May 25, 2016 July 12, 2016 * = New SAT Test Dates for all tests March 2016 and forward - see note below The College Board administers the SAT on Saturdays, with more tests offered in the fall. If you can't take the test on Saturday for religious or other reasons, Sunday alternate dates are usually available. Visual Calendar of 2015 and 2016 Dates You shouldn't just put down the next date that's available. To choose the best test dates for you personally, we have created a full guide for you for SAT test date selection. First, here arefour test date factors you should consider. Second, you should plan ahead and think about whether you want to take the SAT more than once. (Note: the chart below is based on older predictions, so while the test dates are accurate, refer above to the offical table for exactly accurate Normal and Late Deadline Dates) (C) 2015 PrepScholar Inc, Use with Link to PrepScholar.com Allowed You can clearly see a few things immediately: SAT test dates are very tightly clustered in the fall. In Spring 2016 the dates were much more spread out, with the exception of May/June. It's difficult to take two SATs in a row: by the time the score comes out, the late registration date has already passed. Besides, you'll want to prep to make the most of a re-test. Warning: SAT Test Dates May ChangeSign up to Receive Free Updates // What's Next? The next step after you've figured out which dates you want is to register for the SAT (read our step-by-step instruction here). Also, if you want to score well, you should consider the different ways to prep for the sat. We consider the pros and cons of different prep methods with our free ebook. Notes about New SAT and Accuracy All the SATsfrom March 2016 forward are in the New SAT (out of 1600) format. Since these tests were still being actively developed by the College Board, they were especially liable for fluctuation - even after official College Board annouces them formally. Last minute College Board date changes can and do happen historically, so we encourage you sign up for our free notifcation through our blog. We'll keep an eye on changes so you don't have to! Other Articles You May Be Interested In Future Years' SAT Test Dates How to Choose the Best SAT Test Dates (updated!) Disappointed with your scores? Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points?We've written a guide about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Security - Essay Example Authority, source and control are the major resources of the information. In fact, the key to success is the right access towards the information. As a result, the social and political relationships are also involved in the development and growth of information systems (Hilton, Se-Hyung "David" Oh et al. 2006). It is more important and ethical that how this information is been utilized by the people. For instance, government levels, headquarters and homes include the electronic systems (Hilton, Se-Hyung "David" Oh et al. 2006). This involvement is increased so much that the people without access to these systems are exaggerated in a particular way. For this reason, new and modern techniques, innovative ethical and lawful decisions are needed in order to balance the requirements and privileges of every person (Stahl 2011). The legal decision lags lies as in modern technological field behind technical development and growth. These gaps are filled through confronting on the issue and by discussing the facts on how to use the electronic information should be proceed. Furthermore, the above observation delineates the ethical issues in a broad way. On the contrary, the deciding laws include some characteristics related to the issues. These legal issues should be resolved in Electronic Information Systems. In relation to the entire community, the ethics consists of moral options choose by the individuals or users. These include standards of acceptable behavior and rules governing members of an occupation. Moreover, these extend to the Electronic Networks, Electronic Databases and significantly to a Geographic Information Systems. The problems that are present particularly in the three areas require a little different type of ethical decisions. In general, the Electronic Systems, Geographic Information Systems and Networks are being described individually in the later section of this study. Starting from a fundamental definition of computer networks, a