Business Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 3

Business Plan - Essay Example It serves as a â€Å"bridge way† to three continents Europe, Asia and Africa. It boasts of an educated English-speaking population, moderate living costs, good airlines and telecommunication connections (US Department of State. 2007). Cyprus Financial Limited’s objectives are to make an equal and fair profit in the business-to-business and business-to-consumer financial services industry. This goal is to be reached by attaining the numbers presented in the sales forecast and financial plan topics. 1. Selling and Marketing Power – The services company’s products are made attractive in order to maintain a certain percentage of clients. CFL demonstrates a successful approach in converting its reputation into an excellent brand to ensure the conversion of its clients’ knowledge into their intellectual property, thus creating value for its clients. 2. Create multiple opportunities from a single line of expertise – Cyprus Financial Limited is able to leverage from a single pool of expertise into multiple revenue generation opportunities: business development, market development, personal financial planning, corporate management services, and tax and financial consulting. Cyprus is now living in an interesting era: the process of change from the "old economy" to the "global new economy" brings a tremendous development growth of e-commerce, mobility of capital, and liberalization to the region. Since the new global economy brings new economics, new market structures, new industry structures, and new company structures, the profile of customers has also changed. Customers have evolved from "solution demander" to "value demander," and from "clients† to â€Å"business partners†. CFL is a Private Limited Company and shall be headed by a Director, with two full time Account Managers. These account managers will handle all end-to-end processes, from sourcing clients to providing financial consultancy services, and shall report directly to the Director.

An aspect of Caribbean Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

An aspect of Caribbean Culture - Essay Example Barbados which is a former British Colony can be called â€Å"little England† as its name suggests that is greatly reflects the British culture. Jamaica mostly relies on pre-colonial heritage and is well developed .it maintains a very peaceful environment of the Caribbean. Aruba, another part of the Caribbean reflects a little bit Dutch culture. Dominican Republic which is underdeveloped. Puerto Rico is one of the most modern island of the Caribbean and is greatly influenced by the American and Spanish cultures. The official symbols of the Caribbean include parrot, palm and the shell. The literature of the Caribbean is divided into Spanish, French, and English literature. The music of the Caribbean is a combination of Spanish, French and English people who have added to the music heritage of the Caribbean culture. After the first permanent establishment of Columbus in the Caribbean, the islands have produced their own musicians, composers etc. The main sport of the Caribbean i s very unique which includes football and cricket. Here the football refers to the British football which is known as soccer. Other sport include rugby, softball etc. at present cricket the most important sport of the Caribbean. The theatre of the Caribbean is mind blowing as it attracts the tourists from far off places.

Newspaper Tool To Promote Malaysia Government Propaganda Media Essay

Newspaper Tool To Promote Malaysia Government Propaganda Media Essay 1. Introduction During the pre-election, the election candidates usually will choose appropriate media as their major election tools to disseminate their asserted statements for changing government policies and convey their main purpose of gaining the ruling power from opposition parties, which may sway the voters decision of balloting. So what is media? Why does media so important during the pre-election period? The word of media is included the whole host of modern communication systems, for example cinema, television, newspapers, magazines, advertisements, radio, and interactive multimedia. These developments depend on the use of industrial technology to produce, send and receive message. Country information From the overview coaches and trainees that like working journalists will need to do some intensive research before they arrive in an unfamiliar country. It is enormously beneficial to have a basic understanding on the country. That included their demographics, culture and history, as well as the current political situation and their media environment. This information is important in setting the context for the specific election. They also need to know about the specific conditions of the election. We will able to country information thought todays internet system and also some country-specific guidebooks. Besides that, the local governments websites will also present some basic information on the countrys population, economic conditions and health standards to educational levels. In examining guidebooks, we also can look for information such as life expectancy and number of citizens of voting age, extent of literacy, different ethnic groups, religions and languages, and urban and r ural populations. These are factors to consider in guiding media coverage of an election campaign because they identify important groups of voters, challenges to voter education, and regions or issues which otherwise might be neglected. However in Malaysia, the Sultan is elected by hereditary state rulers to serve a 5-year term. Prime Minister is designated by parliament. In the Senate (Dewan Negara), 44 members are appointed by the monarch to serve 3-year terms and 26 members are elected by the state legislatures to serve 3-year terms*. In the House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat) 222 members are elected by direct popular vote to serve 5-year terms. Political context Political background Election is about few political parties are competing with each other for the popular support and power, so it is essential to know the basic facts about the political history of the country. There may be facts or events which play a symbolic or special role in the parties campaigns because of how they are perceived by the voters. Information such as the date of the countrys independence, major internal and trans-boundary conflicts, and the names of former heroes or villains, who may become an issue or rallying point in the campaign, should be identified. These kinds of considerations also apply in the case of referenda. Other factors to examine include the pattern of stability of previous governments, and the role of the army or other forces, or foreign interventions in the duration of past governments. Beside that, the structure of government and leading figures like presidency, parliamentary democracy, monarchy, and so on. Current political landscape Beside that, the current political landscape or immediate context on the election is an essential knowledge for coaches to know. They need to learn what key issues arose during the term of Coaching Manual for Media Support during Elections. For example, the country information, and the previous government works; on how they were handled and whether they caused this election. Coaches should know the names of the main political parties, their central ideologies and leaders, and relative strength and popularity. This kind of information aids coaches in assessing whether election reporting is balanced. Other factors that under consideration are include the extent of democracy, the strength and activity of civil society in public life, the courts and authorities respect for the rule of law and human rights, extent of corruption and lawlessness, and the economic or political disparity between identity groups. In addition to media reports and country profiles, organisations such as Human Ri ghts Watch and Amnesty International, Freedom House, the International Crisis Group, and the United Nations Development Programmes human develop meant indicators can provide such assessments. Coaches will also usually find the reports and staff of international observer teams monitoring the election to be helpful and well-informed. For Malaysia, it is a country which is seem to be a long and drawn out struggle to what is now some resemblance of a democratic nation much like its neighbours Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and East Timor (admittedly East Timor isnt a direct neighbour but its in the hood).   This country experiences significant problems domestically with extremes in poverty and wealth.   There are seemingly an endless string of problems with labour and workers rights, as well as significant issues with deforestation and continued infringements on human rights.   What makes 2010 significant for Malaysia is that despite its apparent problems, the most significant of them being the domestic political turmoil, there appears to be progress towards better transparency? However the problems for the incumbent leadership really are about domestic issues and how to keep their country from quickly sliding backwards after years of relatively steady economic growth albeit underpinned by the International Mon etary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. With growing extremist populism in politics taking root even in the moderate political parties, the country faces growing isolation as other countries attempt to work to resolve Western sentiment of the region being riddled with terrorism, extremist organisations and terrorist training camps.   There are many unresolved problems between different ethnic groups, especially involving Malaysian Chinese. The media environment The first priority is to identify the principles of the countrys media freedoms and regulations. Coaches must then determine the practical realities of these freedoms and regulations. In some countries there may be wide-ranging protection for media freedoms in the constitution or in legislation but the freedoms are much abused or ignored by authorities or journalists in daily life. Media regulations among the essential media regulations to examine are: Constitutional guarantees for a free press: Do they exist in law? Do the courts protect them effectively against government or other interests harassment, intimidation, assault? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Media regulation bodies (press councils and radio-television regulators): What powers do they have? Are they independent of government? Are they free of corruption? Do they defend media freedoms? Do they fairly discipline irresponsible media? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Content restrictions: Are there laws which censor what the media can report or offer as opinions? Who imposes these restrictions? Is there an appeal to the courts? Are there laws against hate speech? Is criminal libel used to suppress published criticism of government? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The Internet: Is it widely available? Is it regulated or censored? Is it influential? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Ownership restrictions: Is media ownership determined by government, by law, or by free market competition? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Journalist registration/accreditation: Is there any law defining who can be a journalist? Who administers the law? Is this law used to restrict free expression? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Broadcast media: How is it regulated? Is licensing conducted fairly? Is public or state broadcasting treated differently than private broadcasting? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Are there Access-to-Information laws? Are they effective? Are they blocked by secrecy laws, political interference or bureaucratic obstruction? Firstly, newspaper is the best way to research because it is a regularly scheduled publication containing news, information, and advertising, has emerged as one of the important media throughout the entire world. However, its multifunctional purpose has caused it to be manipulated in many forms. In Malaysia, the most obvious manipulation towards newspaper is in the form of political view. Political parties especially the ones who act as the rulers of the country are continuously taking advantage in the name of veto power to use newspaper as the primary tool to promote their propaganda. (Media Stereotyping: Reporting War and Terrorism, 2007). As a definition, propaganda stands for a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position. As opposed to impartially providing information, propaganda in its most basic sense, presents information primarily to influence an audience. Propaganda often presents facts selectively (thus possi bly lying by omission) to encourage a particular synthesis, or uses loaded messages to produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented. The desired result is a change of the attitude toward the subject in the target audience to further a political agenda. It is proven as it is used in the ancient times; the Roman Empire published Acta Diurna, or government announcement bulletins, around 59 BC, as ordered by Julius Caesar. (Acta Diurna, 2010). Looking back during the National Election campaign in 2008, the Barisan Nasional governments launched their massive political campaign through the means of newspaper and other forms of media to sell out their propaganda in order to influence the minds of the citizens to vote for them. To make things easier, they are the rulers of this country and thus, no one can put the barrier on them on what-so-called restriction of press. The determination of press freedom is on their hands. However, in the campaign, they suf fered the most humiliating defeat in the history of Malaysia as they lost five states to the opposition sides, Pakatan Rakyat; Kelantan, Kedah, Perak, Selangor, and Penang. How could it happen? This situation lied on several factors. The non-government newspapers played their role in publishing news on the truth behind every promise made by the governments sold out to the society during the election campaign. This actually worked out as citizens realised that they could not be continuously cheated off by the fake promise. It can be said here that propaganda does not always work the way it should. Currently, the issue of the concept of 1Malaysia is another case regarding the manipulation of newspaper by the authorities to promote their propaganda. The introduction of this concept has been massively spread out to the mass audience via various kinds of mass media including newspapers. The spreading out can be classified as successful as everyone is talking about 1Malaysia now. However, the concept, introduced by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak, is still on the surface and the truth behind it is hidden from the acknowledgement of the public. 1Malaysia conce pt is still blurred and confusing. Everybody seems to accept the propaganda without realising the effects on them. The most obvious effect that will someday happen is that it harms and destroys the special rights enjoyed by the bumiputra especially Malays. Before things turn from worst to worse, Pakatan Rakyat try to stop the citizens from getting carried away by the cheat through the only medium they are able to; newspapers owned by them. Is it going to work? Conclusion In this research, there are three main problem statements that are aimed to be found out. The first problem statement is that newspaper is being used as the primary tool to promote Malaysia government propaganda. The matter that is about to be conveyed is the advantage enjoyed by the government to simply use their veto power to spread their propaganda. Newspapers like Utusan Malaysia, Berita Harian, New Straits Times and many others are owned by the government. The question is that are these puppets being manipulated to do the promotion on behalf of the Barisan Nasional government neither directly or indirectly to set up the minds of the society. The second one is that the use of newspaper as a medium of spreading government propaganda is effective and giving impacts to the society or it is either occurring the other way around. The governments are the ones who act as the gatekeeper to all media including print media like newspaper. They pick what to publish and eliminate news that i s risky to harm them. The question whether it is totally effective or not in manipulating the citizens minds will be answered in the findings of this research. Last but not least, the opposition-own newspapers are also playing their role in revealing the hidden truth behind every propaganda of the ruler of this country and how effective their messages in setting up citizens minds? Newspapers like Suara Keadilan and Harakah are owned by the opposition sides. This research will reveal whether they succeed in showing the truth behind the propaganda of the government in the high-risk situation of do-or-die as there is a very high possibility that the government will misuse their power in stopping these kinds of newspapers to continue showing their true colours. Harvard-style for List of References

The Red Room :: English Literature

The Red Room I am writing an essay, based on the story ‘The Red Room’, and will try to explain what makes it such a good mystery story. Some of the main reasons for why it’s a great story include the vocabulary and words the author has used and the setting that the story is created in. The author uses gothic language, giving the story more suspense; he also sets the story in a haunted setting which builds up tension. The story was written by HG Wells, between the turn of the 20th century. HG Wells was an English author and a political philosopher; he was most famous for his science fiction romances. Wells gets across his ideas of the red room in many ways throughout the story. ‘The Red room’ belongs to the gothic genre. A gothic novel emphasises mystery and horror and it is filled with ghost haunted rooms, just as ‘The Red Room’ does. They also have underground passages, secret stair ways and so on. The genre builds up a mount of tension in the story where the description of the house gives the impression that it is old and abandoned. The old woman says, ‘eight and twenty years you have lived and never seen the likes of this house’. This illustrates that the house must be historic and it could also be decaying. The story of ‘The Red Room’ is written in first person, this suggests that the reader believes it’s from personal experience and knows what they’re feeling. At the beginning of the story, the main character (also the narrator) is open minded and sure of himself. He believes that there are no ghosts. He is very cynical, which is shown when he refuses to believe what the three old pensioners tell him. The anonymous character is referred to as `I’ as we don’t know how these pensioners know him or who he is. This leaves him with no identity, making readers think he’s mysterious. The character says ‘I can assure you said I, that it will take a very tangible ghost to frighten me.’ The author uses very expressive words in his writing and uses the adjective `tangible’; this means you can touch the ghost. You cannot touch ghosts genuinely and this is why the author uses this adjective, because the character believes ghosts are not real. The character feels unsure when the three old pensioners make him feel uncomfortable. He says `the three old pensioners made me feel uncomfortable.' This explains that the character is not made to feel at ease. It also brings out that the old pensioners are quite

Graffiti

One common objection is that graffiti is not art because it is vandalism and hence a criminal act. While it is true that it can be vandalism and a criminal act, these facts would not seem to have a bearing on its status of being art. The mere fact that something is illegal or classified as vandalism hardly seems sufficient to make something fall outside of the realm of art. After all, imagine a state in which music was a criminal act and labeled as a vandalism of the public sound space. It would hardly follow that music would thus cease to be art. As such, this objection fails.The reasons and values for why one might engage in graffiti art are as varied as the artists who produce it. A chief reason is the prospect of fame and recognition of one's artistic talent. Graffiti is also a form of self expression. The art as â€Å"writing† is a creative method of communicating with other writers and the general public. What it communicates is the artist's identity, expression, and ide as. Judgments are based solely on one's artistic ability. This type of communication is of value because it links people regardless of cultural, lingual, or racial differences in way that nothing else can.In addition, producing graffiti art with a crew builds team work in that the crew works together for the accomplishment of a common goal. The feeling of this achievement in league with others is of value to the artist In addition, graffiti art is not a spontaneous activity like tagging in the form of fancy scribble. The completion of a piece or a production involves a great deal of imagination, planning, and effort. The graffitist first does a sketch. Then he or she plans out characters and selects colors.Next, the artist selects his or her â€Å"canvas† or surface and does a preliminary outline, followed by a filling in of colors and ornamentation, and then the final outline is completed. Graffiti can also be analyzed according to the elements of lines, color, and structure s that are present in the work in order to produce a narrative about it. Another significant reason why graffiti art can be viewed as art is by considering the producer's intention. Graffitists intend their work to be apprehended as art that can communicate feelings and ideas to the audience.This is in line with Tolstoy's mandate that art must allow people to express ideas and share in each other's feelings via the artwork. Plus, graffiti art has a function of not only communicating to others, but it also beautifies the community by appearing on areas that normally would be eyesores, such as a wall in a vacant lot or an abandoned building. Furthermore, all of the aesthetic properties and criteria from the base element of color to the complex issue of artist intention which are ascribed to other works in order to characterize them as art can all be found in examples of spraycan art.The only difference between those works in a gallery or museum and graffiti art in terms of how and why the latter is not readily accepted as art is due to its location and presentation. Indeed the issues of location and presentation are the most significant obstacles to a wholehearted acceptance of spraycan art as art. Graffiti art cannot be disregarded simply because it is not presented in the conventional location and manner, i. e. , framed and placed in a museum or gallery. The location of it on a wall or subway without permission only makes it unsolicited art.As such, it can be called vandalism, but again, this does not disqualify it as art. Rather the categorization of graffiti art as unsolicited art that is vandalism only justifies a removal of it from the surface. On the other hand, the vandalism aspect of graffiti art can be considered as a uniqueness and not a detracting feature of the art form because as vandalism, graffiti art is very temporary. A piece which might be sixty feet long, twelve feet high, and take twenty to thirty cans of paint and at least eight hours to pr oduce might be gone in a matter of minutes.We are not used to art approaching us outside of conventional settings such as a museum. Instead of the audience going to view the art form, spraycan art reaches out to the viewer; sometimes in a startling manner. One can only imagine how shocking and surprising it might have been to see a colorful train moving swiftly through the dingy stations and drab boroughs of New York City. Spraycan art is an art form that is completely open to the public because it is not hemmed in by the confines or â€Å"laws† of the gallery system or the museum. Perhaps, this is its only crime.In summary, some forms of graffiti become art according to four criteria. First, graffiti art is separated from everyday graffiti markings by the artist's intention to produce a work of art. Second, graffiti art has an established history of development in style and technique. Third, graffiti art even has been recognized by the art world. A fourth criterion is that t he public response to graffiti art indicates that it is art. Whether or not all of the public agrees that graffiti art is good, bad, or extremely valuable is a different discussion about evaluation and not whether or not graffiti art is art.The evaluative concerns actually play more into where, when, and how graffiti art should be displayed. The above criteria are defensible in so much as they have been used to legitimize other artistic forms. However, what appears to be the most significant answer to describing how and why graffiti art is art is the notion of understanding where the artist and the audience synchronize in agreement about a particular work being an example of art. It is a matter of comprehending what makes a creation art for the artist and what makes this same creation art for the audience.When and according to what criteria that these two viewpoints coincide is what thoroughly determines graffiti art as art. And like other art forms, graffiti art is definitively art when both the artist and the audience agree on the works ability to provide maximal aesthetic satisfaction. While it is almost impossible to formulate a theory of necessary conditions or rules specifying when graffiti art is art, I think it is sufficient to draw on already established aesthetic theories and criteria to point out that some forms of graffiti do qualify as art.Therefore, graffiti in the form of spraycan art is art. It has form, color, and other base properties as well as an arrangement of these elements into structures that qualify it aesthetically as being art. Just doing something with spraypaint might make it graffiti, but it does not necessarily qualify it as art or graffiti art. In addition, when the spraycan art is analyzed according to the artist's intention and value to audience, there is even more evidence to suggest that it is genuine art.The only obstacle that has hindered the general acceptance of graffiti art is its location and presentation. However, the instances of acceptance of graffiti art by the art world shows that conventional methods of presentation are not all that matters in determining if something is art. And graffiti art is not to be disqualified as art simply because it might appear unsolicited. In short, graffiti in the form of spray can art is art like any other work that might be found in a gallery or a museum.

Foster children and family resilience Essay

Foster children refer to minors or young people who have been removed from their custodial adults or birth parents by governmental authority. These children are placed under the care of another family either through voluntary placement by a parent of the child or by the relevant governmental authority if the birth parent has failed to provide for the child. Family resilience on the other hand, is the positive capacity of a family to cope with catastrophe and stress. It is also a feature of resistance to future adverse events. In this sense, family resilience goes hand in hand with cumulative protective factors used to counteract risk factors. Naturally risk factors are against positive development of a child coupled with low academic achievement and behavioral or emotional problems. Examples of some of the risk factors are low socioeconomic status, poverty and parent with mental disorder, drug abuse and abusive caretaking among others. McCord, Joan. (1993) reported that resilient family is the one which remain composed despite being exposed to misfortune or stressful events. Some of the characteristics of family resilience include among others:- †¢ A sense of self esteem which enhances coping effectively with challenges. †¢ Active approach toward an obstacle. †¢ Ability to view difficulty as problems that can be overcame, endured or solved altogether. †¢ Being able to know when enough is enough though after being considerably persistent. Problems with generic present-day parent education programs Most of the parent education programs that are developed target only general situations rather than focusing on specific parent characteristics or situations (Elmquist, 1995; Nelson, 1995}. They try to use general approach to solve all problems which limit effectiveness of parent education program. Also, researches undertaken have given conflicting information and differing theories to approach parent education resulting to conflicting advice to parents (Powell, 1990). The few studies that have been undertaken on family programs have not been comprehensive making it hard to generalize about which strategies are effective, for whom and for what outcome (Powell1989; Small, 1990). On the other hand, some social problems such as teen pregnancy, adolescence suicide, and drug abuse that frequently affect parents in the process of bringing up children are difficult to tackle using a generic program because they need specialized program (Medway 1989, Mullis 1999). Changes in lifestyle and family structure add to complexity of issues involved in raising children hence making it difficult to address using generic parent education programs (Mullis, 1999; Powell, 1990). Why might a very structured family environment work with young children, but cause adolescent children to rebel? Between the ages of twelve and nineteen is a period in a teenager’s life that determines what kind of adult he or she will become. This period of adolescence is known as the â€Å"formative years† and they are vulnerable to peer pressure. At this stage they may experience an urge to rebel against the pressures placed on them as youths. Also, they give in to peer pressure because of an overemphasis on the importance of social adjustment, lack of interest or communication on the part of the parents and teachers, and the unrealistic expectations that these entities create. (Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly and Reed Larson,1984) From another point of view, families are always both functional and dysfunctional. What tend to work for a certain group will somehow not always work for another. A structured family is functional for young children but dysfunctional to adolescents (Huber, 1998; Masten 2001) Families with young children are very structured and this contributes to stable and secure context to live within. This same structure contributes to rigidity and rebellious behavior among adolescences. It’s the balance between the two that’s functional and dysfunctional that determines the success of children rearing Strength of the foster care system The foster care system help parents in finding what their talents and strengths are in their role as parents. It also facilitate parents to use their talents and strengths more frequently to minimize stress, improve family communication and engage their children in problem solving. The system designed to assist children and adolescences whose development is negatively affected by issues such as parental neglect, abuse, emotional and behavioral problems (Benedict and White, 1991). It gives increased attention to emotionally disturbed children and adolescences and concentrates mostly on the necessity for alternative interventions to address their needs (Barbell, 1996; Brandenburg, Friedman and Silver, 1990). The system help on ensuring that, children are well catered for in a conducive environment. The system facilitates the recruitment and training of foster parent for they are considered vital partners in ensuring children gain a sense of self-worth and self-confidence. It also cooperates nationally to review the success of the foster care program. It mostly focuses on specifically designed treatment plans that focus on fulfilling the needs of the treatment foster care child (Hawkins, 1989). Purpose of the family resilience project. Family resilience project focuses on increasing successful behavior by using a family own expertise in addressing issues in treatment of foster care families. It allows families to view their behavior as both a dysfunctional and functional and put more emphasis on increasing functional behavior. Also it offers treatment foster care families specialized and individualized training directly geared toward bringing up children residing with them. On the other hand, another project goal includes creating more positive working relationship between treatment foster care family and biological family. It also creates an understanding among the family members hence enhancing an appreciation for being treatment foster care family. The project provides parent education training that is practical and that could be readily applied. Conclusion Family resilient project advocate reacting to child’s behavior immediately as compared to delaying the reaction because it yield more positive results. The foster care child knows the parent are serious when they don’t allow bad behavior to pass It also advocates use of set of rules that are flexible, concentrating more on what has worked. The project advocates the use of skills which include ability to think reflectively and being able to attempt alternative solutions for social problems. References Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly and Reed Larson. Being Adolescent: Conflict and Growth in the Teenage Years. Basic Books, Inc. 1984. New York McCarthy, John D. and Dean R. Hoge. (1984). The dynamics of self-esteem and delinquency. American Journal of Sociology, 2. 396-410. Mullis, F. (1990) Active parenting: An evaluation of two adlerian parent education programs. The journal of individual psychology. McCord, Joan. (1993). Problem Behaviors. Pp. 414-430 in S. Feldman and G. Elliot (Eds. ), At the Threshold: The Developing Adolescent. Cambridge, MA:Harvard University Press. Rosenberg, Morris, Carmi Schooler,, and Carrie Schoenbach. (1989). Self-esteem and adolescent problems: Modeling reciprocal effects. American Sociological Review, 6. 1004-1018. Scholte, Evert M. (1992). Identification of children at risk at the police station and the prevention of delinquency. Psychiatry: Interpersonal and Biological Processes, 4. 354-369 Powel D. R(1990). Parent education and support programs. Young children 41,47-53.

Writing and Publishing Resources

Writing and Publishing Resources Roundup of Writing and Publishing Resources Here at Reedsy, we’re fortunate that we get to work with some of the finest talent in the publishing industry - and these experts have shared their experiences and knowledge with us in the form of interviews and how-to guides. In fact, we’ve published articles on so many topics that it’s hard to keep track of them all.In this post, we want to share some of the best Reedsy articles so far, sorted in a way that mirrors the publishing journey taken by most authors. Check out Reedsy's roundup of writing and publishing resources! #amwriting To make this information even easier to digest, we've compiled it into our beautiful Book Launch Checklist! You can simply download it for free below, then follow the steps to publication! How Do You Write Your Book?If you have any questions or topics you’d like to see covered on the Reedsy Blog, post them in the comments below.

Persian Jews essays

Persian Jews essays Paradise, a term meaning a place or condition of beauty or happiness, is a good term to describe the times when the Jews of Iran were prospering. During the sixth century B.C.E., King Nebucchadnezzar of Babylon conquered Judea and exiled the Jews to surrounding regions. This marked the start of the Jews in Iran, and history shows that the Jews went though both good and bad times in Iran. To this day, there exists a significant population of Jews in Iran. For most of the period, between the times of Cyrus the Great in 550 B.C.E. to the end of the Sasanian dynasty in 642 C.E., the Jews of Iran did not experience prosperity and suffering due to their religious beliefs, rather this occurred due to the decision made by the Iranian leaders for their own Iranian interest. This paper will emphasize the lives of Judeo-Iranians after their exile from Judea by King Nebucchadnezzar to the time of the Muslim invasion in the seventh century. This paper is divided into three sections to make the paper more accessible to the reader, similar to Habib Levys book. Each section will be relevant to a significant time for the people Iran. The Good Times: The Achaemenid Dynasty [550 B.C.E. 330 B.C.E.] In 550 B.C.E., Cyrus the Great, the third descendent from the Achaemenid family came to power and established the Persian Empire (Olmstead, Pg. 39). Cyrus the Great is portrayed as a smart, noble, and ideal character in Persian history. He is the greatest and most powerful leader in Persian history (Levy, Pg. 45). During his reign, he conquered Babylon, and created an empire stretching from the borders of India to the Mediterranean (Seltzer, Pg. 113). Cyrus respected the faiths of all nations and peoples (Levy, Page46). He freed all the Babylonian captives, including the Jewish captives, and allowed the return of the Jews to Judea to build a new temple (Levy, Pg. 46). There are many passages in the Old Testament regarding...

Case Study about the Capital Gains Tax

In the given case, Dave Solomon age 59 is planning to get retired at an age of 60. He has decided to plan out his assets in the best possible way so that he has enough money at the time he gets retired. With an intention to save maximum amount available with him at the time of retirement, he decides to collect $1,000,000. HE decides to rent a city apartment and withdraw the tax free amount that he has saved in the superannuation fund for the retirement purposes. He was living in St Lucia from the past 30 years. He in order to raise the money that he has decided he plans to sell out his home through an auction. He conducts and auction and sells the house for $850,000 which has cost him $70,000, 30 years back. During the auction process, Dave has forfeited $85,000 from one of the customer, who first agreed to buy the house but after he fails to meet out his commitment. In this process Dave has paid $15,000 to the agent who has helped in fetching the right customer for the process. Cons idering all these points, Dave has made profit of $850,000 for the sale transaction. A person is not required to pay any capital gain tax on the profit that the person has earned on the sale of his residence. The exemption that has been given in the Australian tax laws is applicable only on the property in which the person is living or residing into. Thus, a person is required to pay the capital gain tax only on the property that has been earned by the person only on the property that has been held by him as an investment. In the given case, Dave has been living in his house located at ST Lucia which he has sold for $850,000. Being this property is the only in which Dave is living from past 30 years. Thus, in light to the above provision, being a property which has been used by the person is his own residence does not attract capital gain tax. Thus in that case, the capital gain earned by Dace worth $850,000 is not eligible for capital gain tax. As per the Australian tax laws, a person is not eligible to pay any capital gain tax liability arising on the profit that he has earned on sale of personal and collectible assets. In case of personal and collectible assets we have a separate classification which would be used for such taxation and thus the same in no case should be mixed with the provision of normal capital gain tax laws. The collectable and personal asset in this case includes art work such as drawings, paintings, photographs etc., jewellery, antiques, coins etc. In the given case, the painting of pro hart that has been sold by Dave would be covered in the definition of personal and collectible assets and thus the profit worth $110,000 that he has earned on such sale would be covered under the separate category other than capital gain. A person is not eligible to pay any tax liability on the gain that he has earned on sale of personal assets. The personal assets in this case includes car, resident property etc.   In the given case, the assessee sold motor cruiser for $60,000 which he has purchased for $110,000. In light to the above provision, Dave is not likely to bear any capital gin tax from sale of his personal assets. Although, Dave has incurred loss on the above transaction, thus being the gin is not taxable, the loss so incurred by Dave would also not be carried forward or set of from any taxable capital gain. Dave during the year has taken a loan of $70,000. He has utilized the sales proceeds on purchase of shares which he has sold during the year for $80,000. On this sale, Dave is required to pay brokerage and stamp duty worth $750 and $250 respectively. In case of sale of shares, a person if carrying out the same a business, he would be eligible to bear the tax on ordinary income basis; else the income so earned would be taxable as capital gain. Dave in the above case has to bear interest cost worth $5,000 on the loan amount. While calculating the capital gain tax all the expenses that have been incurred in earning the profit on such sale would be allowed as deduction. However, the interest that the individual has paid on the loan amount that he has utilized for purchasing the shares, would not be allowed as deduction being the same does not have any direct link with generation of income. In this case, Dave made a profit of $9,000 on the transaction. The interest amount of $5,000 would not be allowed as deduction. Considering the above points, Dave during the period has earned the following as capital gain: Dave in the last year has a net capital loss of $10,000 that he has earned on sale of shares. The capital loss so incurred by Dave can be carried forward and will be reduced from the gain made in the current year. The amount that has been earned by Dave during the period would be used by him for meeting his retirement needs.   ATO. Gov, Statutory formula method for Car FBT taxation, viewed on 1 st June 2016. ATO. Gov, FBT Tax rate 2016, viewed on 1 st June 2016. ATO. Gov, Market Interest Rate 2016, viewed on 1 st June 2016. ATO. Gov, Collectables and personal use assets, viewed on 1 st June 2016.

Judicial Process Article Review Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Judicial Process Article Review - Research Paper Example Some states in the US define the juvenile-adult transition at seventeenth birthday, and some few states define the line of transition at sixteen years of age. Generally, states have laid down transfer procedure laws that govern or call for criminal prosecution of young offenders, even if they are considered juveniles under the jurisdictional definition. The laws are intended to reduce or deter further criminal activities. Research has not established any inherent fact that they are effective, questioning their efficiency. Are the laws efficient in deterring crime? Research on effects of the law on deterring crime has produced totally inconsistent results. Prompting the question of their effectiveness. Many studies have not realized a drop in juvenile crime rate that can be associated with the transfer laws. Nonetheless, much evidence demonstrates that transfer laws governing the states have a diminutive or no effect in deterring crime by the juveniles. Possible reasoning attributes it to general ignorance, tendency to ignore risks involved in decision making and low impulse control. A research comparing youths prosecuted criminally and youth processed under the juvenile system demonstrated a counter effect of transfer laws on criminal deterrence. Youths prosecuted criminally were also found to recidivate frequently and sooner into criminal activities. These negative results can be attributed to various causes, which include indirect and direct effects of conviction criminally, absence of rehabilitative means in the criminal correctional facilities, and the risk of association with criminal mentors in the adult correctional system. Studies showing the counter-productive nature of transfer system do not all agree that the effect is true in all types of offences, creating a possible assumption that criminal conviction may be effective on some juvenile offenders and non-effective on some offenders. A research conducted by

Ethical descion making-Healthcare ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethical descion making-Healthcare ethics - Essay Example This paper aims to show two ethical issues/dilemmas in the health care area discussing and identifying the conflicting interests and the applicable ethical theories and principles. The Ascension Health organization website will be used to gather information and ideas for this paper. Ascension Health is the nation's largest Catholic and largest nonprofit health system, serving patients through a network of hospitals and related health facilities providing acute care services, long-term care, community health services, psychiatric, rehabilitation and residential care. The first case presented in this paper is about a rape victim who was brought to Freeman Hospital's emergency room. The hospital authorities refused to disclose facts about the morning-after pill which the rape victim requested for information. The hospital authorities' reason is that they are a Catholic Hospital and they are against abortion. The competing interest now is that the victim/patient has the right to make her own decisions regarding the treatment, and therefore, adequate disclosure of information must be provided so the patient can make an informed decision. However, the Freeman Hospital being a catholic institution refused to disclose information to the patient regarding the pill, claiming that they are against abortion or prevention and termination of pregnancy. The ethical principles and concepts involved in this issue a

Business Plan for BSN Restaurant PowerPoint Presentation

Business Plan for BSN Restaurant - PowerPoint Presentation Example At times, customers have visited restaurants only to find that the kind of food they are served that not have the value for their money, perhaps because it is of low quality, it does not match their interest, or because it is completely not what they could have imagined getting. What’s more, customers have been forced to keep shifting from one restaurant to another because they cannot get staff that can respect them and understands their interest. Yet still, many customers have complained that the price of the foods they are sold is too high, yet the food its self is of low quality. These among many other customer frustrations have seen the need to establish BSN restaurant, which will plug these gaps, to give the customers an experience that is hard to get any other restaurant. BSN restaurant strives to be the leading restaurant in the provision and adaptable and customizable customer experience, in the local market. We strive to ensure our patrons receive outstandingly high-q uality meals and hospitable customer care whenever they visit our restaurant. Not only will our patrons receive high-quality meals, but they will also be provided with an atmosphere full of excitement and relaxation. Customer satisfaction will be our overriding principle. In pursuant of this principle, we shall have our motto reading, â€Å"Our customers first, other things second!† Generally, our services will appeal to a broad population, including singles and families, male or female, and young and old. The welfare of our employee will also take a center stage. All will be treated fairly and with the utmost respect so they can be able to give the customers the best of their services.

The Pros and Cons of the Implementation of Fat Tax in the UK Essay

The Pros and Cons of the Implementation of Fat Tax in the UK - Essay Example This essay discusses that the United Kingdom is becoming ‘fat’. According to the National Health Services (NHS), obesity is one of the biggest problems confronting UK in the 21st century; obesity causes several diseases or health problems. As this problem is growing, there are many attempts to control it. There is a suggestion in the UK that a tax on junk food is the only solution to mitigate this problem. This essay critically evaluates the arguments for and against such proposal. People who support ‘fat tax’ argue that this proposal is likely to be effective because this strategy has been used to alcohol and cigarettes quite successfully. According to Jofre, the UK is considered to be the ‘fattest’ nation in Europe. In line with this, the rate of obesity in the UK is growing steadily, and time is short, which implies that ‘fat tax’ could be the perfect solution for obesity. For instance, Denmark is one of the slimmest countries in Europe because it implemented ‘fat tax’. It is also argued that ‘fat tax’ has an impact on health for it is widely known that sugar and fat are the main reason for obesity. Thus, the basis for the proposal becomes obvious. As stated by Jofre, if the public cannot take care of their health, then the government is obliged to take action. In contrast, people who are against this proposal believe that it is their choice, and not the responsibility of the government. But what are the real advantages and disadvantages of implementing ‘fat tax’ in the UK? An obvious advantage of ‘fat tax’ is the revenue it could generate. ‘Fat tax’ would probably have to be quite large so as to make a difference on food preference, producing additional revenues (Leicester & Windmeijer 2004). Such revenues could be used for obesity prevention and treatment agendas, or to fund the promotion of nutritious foods. There is logical argument for th e possible success of implementing ‘fat tax’ in order to lessen consumption of unhealthy foods. One of the main factors affecting food preference is price, together with ease, quality, and taste, and, to a lesser degree, health (Jofre 2010). ‘Fat tax’ has been proven to be successful in Denmark. However, implementing ‘fat tax’ is difficult. It is hard to determine what foods should be taxed. However, even though difficult to implement, Denmark, and other countries, have shown success in adopting ‘fat tax’. This proposal is disapproved of by other people for wrongly troubling the poor, for poor people consume higher quantities of junk foods and would hence be held back by ‘fat tax’ (Leicester & Windmeijer 2004). Yet, poor people may profit as well since price is more precious to poor people in choosing foods to eat, and thus ‘fat tax’ may result in major change in consumption behaviour for poor people in co mparison with rich ones who can buy nutritious foods. Especially, nutritious food decisions would have to be cheap and easy to get to. If not, poor people, who remain incapable of buying nutritious foods, will either be pushed to starve or shell out more to sustain a harmful diet. If obesity is a real major problem in the UK, it is more helpful to think of other ways, since the ‘fat tax’ proposal looks weak. In particular, ‘fat taxes’ that financially support obesity prevention and treatment agendas, and complaints against food businesses, appear quite financially advantageous for the individuals supporting them, such as attorneys and public health advocates, without essentially solving the obesity crisis (Press Association 2011). What’s more, a lot of people eat wisely, so why should they be burdened of the taxes intended to discipline irresponsible consumers? And there are no sure proof that obesity is caused by the failure of food businesses to in form consumers that hamburgers and ice creams are fatty foods. It appears that the most

Combating Money Laundering Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Combating Money Laundering - Research Paper Example Technological advances are some of the avenues that have made money laundering easier as criminals exploit these technologies to conceal the illegal sources of their valuables such as money and jewels. Fortunately, governments have recognized the menace, which is money laundering and have designed, implemented, and evaluated the effectiveness of these interventions in curbing financial crimes such as money laundering. The United States, for example mandates the Department of Treasury and agencies such as the FinCEN to implement anti-money laundering policies. However, more needs to be done for money laundering to e effectively detected, prevented, and stopped all together. Introduction Recent times have recorded an increase in the rate and scope of international crimes, more so with respect to the financial aspects of crimes. This scenario has been prompted by the globalization and the rapidly advancing technologies. Money related crimes have since become major multifaceted problems for law enforcement and the public. Besides being local and national crime problem, money laundering has become an international problem, prompting major financial and political superpowers such as the United States of America and other Western states to design and implement various strategies and policies to curb the issue (Harvey, 2008). Consequent to this increasing threat of money laundering and other financial crimes, many a state has since embarked on concerted efforts to combat this kind of crime. Included in these strategies is the designing and the enactment of counter-money laundering laws, shared by many agencies, institutions, and countries. Second, some countries such as the United States of America have established stringent bilateral and multilateral agreements to strengthen their monitory policies and practices and to further collaboration among states of similar interests. These collaborative efforts specifically target the creation of awareness of the serious threa t that is money laundering among states. In addition, efforts have not been spared in spreading the message on the importance of acknowledging that money laundering is in deed a problem that affects society directly (Levi & Gilmore, 2002). Furthermore, countries such as the United States of America prevent organizations considered criminals from accessing its financial systems. This paper explains what money laundering is, how it is used, and the steps the United States has taken to curb the crime. Money Laundering Illegal money is often the outcome of most criminal acts, which are mostly driven by greed for profit. Consequent to profits of criminal acts and omissions, illicit money often find their way into the legal financial systems of a country. Generally, money laundering entails concealing given financial assets so that their illegal activities are not detected. In fact, money laundering is one of the factors supporting organized crimes as criminals mix the monetary proceeds f rom their criminal acts with other seemingly legal sources (Kochan, 2005). There are several negative effects of money laundering. These include its effects on fueling terrorists, arms dealers, drug dealers, and other criminals, thus expanding their operations. Additionally, money laundering criminals have managed to manipulate financial systems in the United States and other countries, further

Strategic management final exam bachelor degree Term Paper

Strategic management final exam bachelor degree - Term Paper Example This relationship identifies validity of the statement from the perspective that organizations can focus on their microenvironment and manage the factors to overcome any possible effects of the macro environment. This is because microenvironment such as organizational behavior and employee efficiencies are easily manageable as they are under organizations’ powers. A consideration of a business’ long-term scope and effects of the macro environment however invalidates the statement because micro environmental factors influence many organizational activities. The economic environment that includes economic conditions and economic policies is the first significant factor to organizations. Factors such as inflation rates, unemployment rates, trade regulations, and interest rates have significant effects on productivity of and profitability of an organization and therefore affect sustainability. Political environment is another significant macro environment factor and plays a significant role in influencing success of business organization. Political stability establishes investors’ confidence and therefore facilitates commercial activities, especially at global level and political ideologies and relations with other countries facilitate ties for favorable business environments. Socio cultural environment that include people’s preferences, â€Å"family systems, caste systems, education, marriage,† among other social and cultural factors determines markets and revenue levels to businesses (Mukesh and Trehan n.d, p. 12). Technological environment with its characteristic advantage of facilitating operational efficiency and demographic factors that determine volume and trend of demand for products is also very important to business’ organizations’ lives. The significance of macro environment that dictates sustainability and efficiency of organizations’ internal factors therefore identifies relevance of the environment to businesses. This means

Combating Money Laundering Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Combating Money Laundering - Research Paper Example Technological advances are some of the avenues that have made money laundering easier as criminals exploit these technologies to conceal the illegal sources of their valuables such as money and jewels. Fortunately, governments have recognized the menace, which is money laundering and have designed, implemented, and evaluated the effectiveness of these interventions in curbing financial crimes such as money laundering. The United States, for example mandates the Department of Treasury and agencies such as the FinCEN to implement anti-money laundering policies. However, more needs to be done for money laundering to e effectively detected, prevented, and stopped all together. Introduction Recent times have recorded an increase in the rate and scope of international crimes, more so with respect to the financial aspects of crimes. This scenario has been prompted by the globalization and the rapidly advancing technologies. Money related crimes have since become major multifaceted problems for law enforcement and the public. Besides being local and national crime problem, money laundering has become an international problem, prompting major financial and political superpowers such as the United States of America and other Western states to design and implement various strategies and policies to curb the issue (Harvey, 2008). Consequent to this increasing threat of money laundering and other financial crimes, many a state has since embarked on concerted efforts to combat this kind of crime. Included in these strategies is the designing and the enactment of counter-money laundering laws, shared by many agencies, institutions, and countries. Second, some countries such as the United States of America have established stringent bilateral and multilateral agreements to strengthen their monitory policies and practices and to further collaboration among states of similar interests. These collaborative efforts specifically target the creation of awareness of the serious threa t that is money laundering among states. In addition, efforts have not been spared in spreading the message on the importance of acknowledging that money laundering is in deed a problem that affects society directly (Levi & Gilmore, 2002). Furthermore, countries such as the United States of America prevent organizations considered criminals from accessing its financial systems. This paper explains what money laundering is, how it is used, and the steps the United States has taken to curb the crime. Money Laundering Illegal money is often the outcome of most criminal acts, which are mostly driven by greed for profit. Consequent to profits of criminal acts and omissions, illicit money often find their way into the legal financial systems of a country. Generally, money laundering entails concealing given financial assets so that their illegal activities are not detected. In fact, money laundering is one of the factors supporting organized crimes as criminals mix the monetary proceeds f rom their criminal acts with other seemingly legal sources (Kochan, 2005). There are several negative effects of money laundering. These include its effects on fueling terrorists, arms dealers, drug dealers, and other criminals, thus expanding their operations. Additionally, money laundering criminals have managed to manipulate financial systems in the United States and other countries, further

The Sinews of Peace Essay Example for Free

The Sinews of Peace Essay I am thankful to Westminster College for giving me an honorary degree this afternoon. It is in this institution where I received a very large part of my education in politics, dialectic, rhetoric, and other things. I am thankful also to the President of the United States, despite of his heavy burdens, duties, and responsibilities, managed to introduce me to this academic audience. I am going to offer this Address which I called â€Å"The Sinews of Peace† today to which I have listed solutions to the threats that our countries, and the world, are facing. The first thing that I would like to consider in this speech is the problem with security. Our society faces two great dangers: war and tyranny. These two dangers threaten the millions of people and their dreams of freedom and progress. When these threats are not solved, the future of our people is at stake from what has been called â€Å"the unestimated sum of human pain†. The difference between the Communist East and the Democratic West had resulted to confrontation and deliberate movement to establish a dominion in the world. It resulted to wars and political divisions, especially in Europe where the two major ideologies clash. The famous iron curtain that divides the Europe into two parts, the Democratic West and the Communist East, is one of the results of this differences in ideologies. Russia does not aim for war but desires for the fruits of war which is the indefinite expansion of their power and doctrines and it begins with their control upon the states around the iron curtain where they kept their sphere of influence. To provide security from the threats of war and tyranny, we need to have a unified force in Europe, America, and the rest of the world who will deter any attempts of destabilizing our freedom. This is accomplished through the United Nations Organization. However, due to the increase in power and influence of the Soviet Communist rule, the threats are becoming increasingly perceptible. What we need is an international armed force that will safeguard our freedom. During some serious situations, we know that American military men make an â€Å"over-all strategic concept†. This concept however is simply the safety and welfare, the freedom and progress, of all people in this planet. The next thing they do after having proclaimed the concept and computed the resources is to provide a method. The American people demonstrated its might twice in both wars against the Communist countries who sought expansion of their power and doctrines. The United States sits in the pinnacle of world power today. But the United States was not alone in its struggle for the freedom and progress of all people. The British Commonwealth had long been struggling for unity over the European continent. Its ties with other countries had produced fruitful results. The presence of the Communist sphere of influence prevents us in achieving this goal. However, it shall be known that the future of war and tyranny can be determined by the actions we make today. To the threats of war and tyranny, the United Nations Organization, the successor of the League of Nations, which is aimed at preventing war, must equip itself with an international armed force. This force must come from the countries who share the same ideologies, that is, the preservation of freedom and progress. The United States and the British Commonwealth forces, when combined, will result to an overwhelming assurance of security. We can provide security to our people from the horrors and miseries of war and tyranny that will extend to the future population through unity of the English-speaking Commonwealth and the United States. References: Churchill, W. S. (1946). The Sinews of Peace [Electronic Version]. Retrieved April 24, 2007, from North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) website: http://www.nato.int/docu/speech/1946/s460305a_e.htm

The American Company Kraft Foods Ltd Marketing Essay

The American Company Kraft Foods Ltd Marketing Essay In the current economic situation, companies are putting all their efforts to keep their customers loyal and present market shares. To attain these objectives they are launching new products, implementing new and more interesting marketing campaigns or releasing loyalty programmes. No matter the industry they activate in, all the companies want to build long lasting relationships with their customers, as it is easier and cheaper to keep existing customers rather than acquire new ones. This paper will focus on the operations of one giant in the food industry, the American company Kraft Foods LTD, and all the attention will be centred on the chocolate confectionery branch of the organisation and on its leading chocolate brand in Europe, Milka. After a thorough analysis of the chocolate confectionery industry in the United Kingdom, the introduction of a new product in the Milka range will be discussed. Corporate Objectives Kraft Foods is the worlds second largest food organisation with revenues over $42 billion as they state in their fact sheet published in 2008. It has operations in many subsectors of the food industry such as: snacks, beverages, cheese, convenient meals and groceries (Datamonitor, 2009a). The companys manufacturing plants are located in 70 countries all around the world and it sells its products in more than 150 countries (Kraft Foods, 2009a). Being such a big company in the industry, it has set well defined long term objectives to help its growth strategies. Firstly, the company is well aware of the new trends in its sector and is aiming to offer consumers healthy products, as people have become more health conscious. Secondly, the issue of conserving the environment is intensively discussed nowadays therefore Kraft Foods has decided to implement projects for sustainability. Also, the company wishes to expand even more and increase its world coverage (Kraft Foods, 2009b). To satisfy this last objective the company is acquiring different companies which are operating in key markets. One example could be the recent acquisition of the British chocolate manufacturer Cadbury, which offers the company to opportunity to consolidate in the UK chocolate market (Mintel Oxygen, 2010). Kraft Foods also wants to expand to Southeast Asia as the countries here present high growth rates in the food industry (Mintel Oxygen, 2008) Furthermore, since 2008 the company has decided to implement a restructuring plan designed to lower its cost structure and optimize capacity without affecting the quality of products (Kraft Foods, 2009a). Market Overview As stated before, this paper will focus on the chocolate confectionery operations of Kraft Foods in the UK market and therefore an overview of this particular market is necessary. Datamonitor (2009b) states that the chocolate confectionery industry accounts for almost 67.5% of the total value of the UK confectionery market, which also includes gums, cereal bars and sugar confectionery (Chart 1). Chart 1: Market segmentation in the UK (Datamonitor,2009b) The UK chocolate confectionery industry has been in a permanent growth from 2003 until 2008, increasing by 11.1%. (Mintel Oxygen, 2008b). This particular segment is characterised by fierce competition as some of the most well known food giants are competing here. The main players in 2007 were Cadbury, with 35.3% market share, Masterfoods, with 30%, Nestle, with 14%, Ferrero, with 4% and Kraft Foods with 1.8% as it can be seen in Chart 2. Mintels 2008b forecast on market growth states that it will grow by 17% until 2012, if the prices of chocolate would have remained at the 2007 value. In real terms and taking into consideration inflation this growth will be of just 2%. Chart 2: Manufacturers value shares in the UK chocolate market 2003-2007 (Mintel. 2008b) The report on chocolate confectionery published by Mintel Oygen (2008b) states that current trends in the market highlight the fact that more healthy foods need to be released on the market, forcing in this way companies to produce healthier chocolates. As childhood obesity is an important issue in the UK, there is an absolute need of healthy products and what now is a trend it will later become a way of living. Also, consumers tend to become more educated on chocolate and soon will demand high quality products. Moreover, the same report shows that consumer preferences have started to change and shortly they will ask for new flavoured chocolates. Marketing Audit: Internal and External After getting a brief insight on the chocolate confectionery sector in the UK, an internal and external marketing audit needs to be done in order to identify which are current problems of the company. Firstly, since it has consumer products the overall marketing mix implemented needs to be analysed. Then, the strengths and opportunities must be identified in order to overcome the companys weaknesses and threats. Also with the help of the PEST model and Porters five forces the chocolate confectionery industry will be further analysed. Marketing Mix Kraft Foods is doing business in the consumer products domain, therefore its marketing mix is specially tailored for its consumers. Its main products are food items such as chocolates, biscuits, different beverages, snacks and convenient meals. Some of the companys products have become leading brands worldwide proving that the company offers qualitative products and also knows what its customers want. The company prefers to buy its raw materials from third parties such as agricultural cooperatives and independent producers to ensure high quality of the final product. (Kraft Foods, 2009a) The pricing policy of any company has to be elaborated in such a way that it retains current customers and also attracts new ones (Brassington and Pettitt , 2006 pg.431 ). The company charges acceptable and affordable prices for its products. However these prices are affected by raises in raw materials, as was the case in 2008 when the company had to raise prices to dairy, coffee, cocoa, wheat or nut products as a result of price increases for the raw materials (Kraft Foods, 2009a) When talking about promotion, Kraft Foods invests important amounts of money into well developed marketing campaigns which are meant mainly to attract new customers but also to consolidate its image in the eyes of present consumers. The company uses some of the tools in the promotional mix such as advertising, sales promotions, public relations. The organisations products have a wide distribution, reaching many markets all around the world. The main places where the products can be fund are supermarket chains, wholesalers, convenience stores, retailers, club stores or mass merchandisers (Kraft Foods, 2009a). SWOT As it has already been stated, Kraft Foods operates in different sectors of the food industry and in many markets in the world, so for each sector the company faces particular threats and has different strengths and weaknesses. In the case of the chocolate confectionery industry in the UK, the following SWOT analysis can be elaborated based on information provided by Datamonitor (2008). Strenghts: Kraft Foods has a strong brand image worldwide Well developed distribution network Manages a variety of brands in UK such as Milka Chocolate, Oreo biscuits, Toblerone, Terrys Chocolate Orange and others; well managed brand portfolio The raw materials used for production are always of high quality Weaknesses: Over the years the company had to recall some products, action which has damaged its image Its margins have constantly decreased causing problems in the implementation of new growth plans Opportunities: The acquisition of the British chocolate manufacturer Cadbury offers access to its expertise, research and information on consumer trends in the UK Permanent growth in the demand for healthy products New technologies and developments in the industry Threats: Fierce competition in the UK Governmental laws regarding alimentation Too much divestment, having a large portfolio of brands worldwide might affect the companys cash flow PEST Kraft Foods is doing business in a constant changing environment and as a result it must always know what is happening in the UK environment. The UK business environment is continuously affected by political/legal, economical, social and technological /environmental factors. Political factors The laws in the UK regarding alimentation are quite tough with for companies, but they work in the benefit of the consumer, demanding more usage of healthy products. Any law imposed by the UK government or by the European Union can affect the companys operations and revenues. Economical factors Currently the UK has not entered the Euro Zone and it is still able to have a stronger currency then the Euro Zone. However, in the context of recession, the UK has reported a drop in GDP and in the third quarter of 2009 the GDP contracted by 0.2%, and remained 5.1% lower than in the same period of 2008 (www.statistics.gov.uk, 2010a). The recession has affected greatly this country and as a result the disposable income has decreased, affecting the populations buying habits. Consequently, companies had to reduce prices and implement different schemes to maintain their customers and lose a small percent of sales. Social factors The UK population is very affected by the recession and many of them have lost their jobs. Unemployment rate has reached 7.8% in November 2009, but however there has been registered a decrease in the number of unemployed people (www.statistics.gov.uk, 2010b). Since unemployment is quite high, not many British people afford to spend money on other things that are not of strict necessity, such as chocolates. Confectionerynews.com (2009a) states that women are more likely to have chocolate due to the fact that when they reach menopause they become more stressed and need to get relieved. Technological factors Technological advances always occur in any industry. Companies in the chocolate confectionery sector have to invest in research and development in order to come up with healthier products as customers demand these intensively. Recently, Kraft Foods and Nestle were accused of using palm oil and indirectly encouraging deforestation in Indonesia (www.confectionerynews.com, 2009b) and as a result both companies had to review operations and decided that from 2010 will use only certified palm oil. Porters 5 Forces Analysis The UK chocolate confectionery industry can also be assessed by using Porters five forces. Threat of new entrants The UK industry is quite fragmented with many companies competing within. Since some of the largest companies are present here such as Nestle, Kraft Foods, Cadbury and Mars Inc. it is very difficult for a smaller company to enter this market. However there are also niches, such as premium chocolates which could still welcome new players. This particular threat is considered to be low as it is difficult to enter the UK market. Competition It is common knowledge that the UK market presents high levels of competition. The worlds food giants are in a continuous quest for market shares and increased sales volumes. This particular force might seriously affect Kraft Food since it still doesnt have a high market share, but because of the new acquisition of Cadbury this might change. This force is considered to be high, as there are important companies battling for supremacy. Buyers bargaining power Nowadays British people choose to spend money just on the necessary products and have eliminated premium products from their daily shopping. As a result, this force is considered to be quite high and have serious impacts on the companies activating in the industry. Suppliers bargaining power Over the years companies have built lasting relationships with their suppliers, as a result suppliers work jointly with buyers to ensure productivity. Due to these relationships the suppliers bargaining power is considered to be medium, as raises in raw materials can occur and affect the final products of the company. Threat of substitutes Chocolate can have many substitutes such as gums, candy or ice cream. As new consumer trends show that there is a serious shift to healthy products chocolate could be seriously affected, unless producing companies launch healthier versions. Consequently this threat can be considered as being medium to high. Current year Competition Five years time (assumption) New entrants Power of buyers Substitutes Power of suppliers Figure 1: Porters five forces (current year and five year prediction) Assumptions The VAT has increased to 17.5% (www.hmrc.gov.uk), automatically causing increases in the prices of all products. A further increase might endanger future plans for launching new products and present product sales might be affected. Also, if the UK decides to join the Euro zone serious price changes might occur and people might think they are paying more for a product then when they were using the sterling pound. It must not be forgotten that consumers are changing their buying patterns and preferences so they might choose to replace chocolate with other sweets. Marketing Objectives and Strategies for new product Growth Strategy As it has been previously presented, Kraft Foods does not have a considerable market share on the UK confectionery industry. It should focus more on its leading European chocolate brand, Milka, and make it a preferred chocolate in the UK too. Milka chocolate is present on the UK market in just six assortments (www.milka.co.uk, 2010) while other chocolate brands have more assortments. The need for a new product has been identified, and the proposed product is Poppin Milka. This new product will be alpine milk chocolate and in the interior it will have a bounty of popping candy. Since it is a new product for the Milka brand, Ansoffs new product existing market growth strategy will be followed (Dobson and Starkey, 2002). Marketing objectives Gain more market share on the UK chocolate market Build a strong brand name and image for the Milka brand Attract new customers, while retaining current ones Identification of Alternative Plans In the worst case scenario the new product could prove to be a failure, even though prior research would show that it should have success. Since the product has already been launched Kraft Foods could enhance it by adding new flavours such as melon, strawberry or cherries, fruit flavours which make a good combination with popping candy. Confectionerynews.com (2009c) shows that nostalgia has helped boost the UK food market, and since popping candy was very popular few years back, it could make a comeback. Also, it should be noted that the new product will be targeting children, but their parents are the ones who have to be convinced to buy the product. If the product does not manage to reach forecasted sales for the first months, the marketing plan should be reviewed and changed where it went wrong. Promotional Programme Objectives of the campaign: the main objective of the campaign will be to draw attention on the new Milka product and promote it throughout the year. Also, through this campaign it is intended to raise Milkas brand awareness and help build a stronger brand image. Target audience: the main target audience is children aged 5-13, but indirect target audience is men and women aged 25-40, who have children aged 5-13, since they are the ones who will buy the products, even though they might not be the users. Message: since the product is mainly targeted to children, the message has to be appealing and funny. It will stress on the fact that it is fun to have popping candy together with chocolate, a soft and creamy chocolate like Milka. Budget: the product launch campaign could be quite expensive, but Kraft has to take the risk and invest approximately  £2 2,5 million, to develop an effective and integrated marketing campaign. Since the company is a world giant it should be able to afford such a campaign especially when aiming to gain market share. The company already has a contract with Ogilvy to make the advertisement for Milka, so it can count on the help of a well known advertising agency. (Mintel Oxygen, 2009) Promotional mix: prior to the actual launch of the product (two weeks ahead), a guerrilla marketing campaign will be conducted such as to raise interest in the new product. Teaser ads would be placed in supermarkets and short TV ads will be played on kids TV networks. After the launch, samples will be given to customers of selected supermarkets such as Tesco or Sainsbury for a period of one month. Then full length ads will be played on kids TV networks for the next three to four months. In conjunction with TV ads billboards will be posted close to supermarkets and playgrounds to make sure the target audience becomes familiar with the product. At celebration times sales promotions will run to encourage and increase the product sales. The tagline used in all the ads will be Poppin the magic with Milka and will feature the Milka symbol, the liliac cow dancing on a popping candy dance floor and in the end the dance floor will explode as fireworks, showing the properties of popping candy. Time frame: the marketing campaign is designed for a period of twelve months commencing January, 2010. Measurement, Review and Control Any marketing campaign has to be evaluated before, during and after implementation (Brassington and Pettitt, 2006). The campaign will be evaluated before implementation through focus groups. During the campaign, sales will be closely followed and on-site interviews will take place. In the end, the campaign will be assessed by evaluating sales volumes and revenues, and check if the marketing objectives have been attained. Conclusion Launching a new product in a market where Kraft does not have high market share might be very difficult, but such actions must be done in order to become known on the market. With a well designed product and marketing campaign the new product should be able to reach expectations. Poppin Milka should be a success since Milka chocolate is a European leading chocolate brand, and British people are familiar to the brand.

Essay --

Why? Why should parents have to worry about sending their child to school everyday? Why should students have to sit in class with thoughts in the back of their head like, what if that were to happen here? Why? The question everyone wants answers to is why do school shootings even happen. There is no single, certain answer to these questions. By finding out why school shooting occur, preventing them will be much easier. 1st Sub-topic: Where and why 60% of school shootings in the US happen in small towns. Research on earlier shootings showed the attack is on a school because that is the center stage in a small town, where the shooter can affect the entire community. School shootings are far more frequent in America than in other countries. Although school shootings seem to be on the rise, school is still considered one of the safest places. In 2012 out of all youth homicides, less than 2% occur at school, and this percentage has been stable for the past decade. In 2010, there were about 828,000 nonfatal injuries at school among students 12 to 18 years old. Deaths resulting from schoo...

Should Teacher Pay Be Based On Student Test Scores? Essay example -- m

For years, educators and government officials have argued what the most effective system of payment is for teachers in the United States. Government officials state that a â€Å"merit pay† system, where teacher pay would reflect the students’ test scores, would be the most effective and would increase teacher performance. Teachers, on the other hand, see the merit pay system as a threat to their salaries and fear that they cannot control student performance. The debate will continue for years to come. However, many people will agree that set teacher salary systems are more conducive to teaching students and maintaining a stable learning environment for all. Merit pay, also known as performance pay, systems have existed since 1862. Beginning in England, these systems focused on how many students attended classes and the number of students passing (Harris). The main goal of this particular system, in the Progressive Era, was to attract the finest teachers to certain areas and to make sure that children in the schools were learning a sufficient education. As time progressed, the same basic goals of the program have remained relatively the same. However, the popularity of the pay-for-performance program has wavered since its origination. For example, when the Russians launched Sputnik, there was a drastic push for academic excellence across the United States (Harris). In turn, many merit pay systems were implemented in hopes of giving teachers plenty of incentives and enticing them to perform to the best of their abilities. Most schools that applied the pay-for-performance plan within their school systems had dropped the program in t he next ten years. Many other countries, like Mexico and Bolivia, have also experimented with s... ...ty of Wisconsin-Madison, Aug. 2007. Web. 15 Feb. 2012. . Kobakhidze, Magda N. "Teacher Incentives and the Future of Merit-Based Pay in Georgia." Editorial. European Education 2010: 68-89. Academic Search Premier. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. Rosales, John. "NEA - Examining Merit Pay." NEA - NEA Home. Web. 15 Feb. 2012. . Smarick, Andy. "Diplomatic Mi$$ion." Editorial. Education Next 2011: 56-63. Education Full Text. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. Springer, Matthew G. Performance Incentives: Their Growing Impact on American K-12 Education. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution, 2009. Print Williamson, Ronald. "Education Partnerships, Inc." Education Partnerships Inc. 23 Apr. 2010. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. .

Nursing Laws and Ethics

As nursing profession continuously progresses in its quest for excellence, its nature becomes complex in the light of meeting the standards set forth by the implementing bodies in nursing profession. These standards are indeed the result of careful assessment and observation made to resolve the never ending issues and concerns pertaining to the legal responsibilities and ethical obligations of nurses.Many of these include the duty to interpret and carry out orders, duty to monitor the patient, delegation of authority, consent to medical and surgical procedures, confidentiality of medical records, negligence and others. But among the issues and concerns aforementioned, one of the most controversial issues which caught my attention is â€Å"Malpractice†. Sometimes, nurses, for some personal reason, go beyond their boundaries and exceed the scope of nursing practice they are ought to observe at all times.In abroad, there have been numerous reported incidents wherein Filipino nurs es who happened to be medical doctors here in the Philippines were charged of malpractice and was deported back here for attempting to save a dying patient in the absence of the medical doctor in-charge. Legally speaking, what they did was a â€Å"breach of duty† and basically, they should have been subjected to corresponding sanction.However, as far as nurses’ sworn duty is concerned, it’s also their responsibility to save and protect life at all cost. I understand that, doing the job beyond their legal limitations was hard for them. But because Filipino nurses are typically compassionate, they have set aside the thought of facing consequences of their actions and didn’t think twice when they saw the imminent danger to the patient’s life, considering their knowledge and experience in critical situations as doctors.It is quite paradoxical in nature, to which side they are to choose in the midst of ethical dilemmas like that. In the code of nurses d eveloped by the American Nurses Association, there is no way they condone ethically passive behaviour. But being passive will mean two things at the same time. First, being passive and adherent to the scope of their jobs will mean being firm in their chosen profession and avoid legal responsibilities on their part.Secondly, it will mean depriving them of their own wisdom and freewill to do the right thing and do nothing as if they can’t do anything in the midst of life-threatening situation. As for me, we are all trained and equipped with ethical principles and laws just to guide us in making the right decision for the good of all. But no one can really tell us what exactly to do or which way to go. It is always, our wisdom, wise thinking and judicious assessment of the situation that would lead us to make the correct decision.

Morning Fog

Jennifer Cudmore Prof. L. Gertsma English Composition 1 6 September, 2012 â€Å"Morning Fog† I often wonder how many opportunities I’ve let slip by throughout my life. Countless colorful sunsets, too many moons rising into the night sky to even count, or even something as simple as a glance in the mirror at my own reflection. Far too many times I have been too busy or too tired to stop and notice what I’m missing. On one particular morning a few days ago, I awoke to the piercing sound of my alarm blaring in my ear.Even though the piece of technology had merely sprouted legs of its own to bury itself under my pillow, I could still hear it as clear as a bull horn through my sleepiness. I managed to groggily press the correct button on the flat piece of glass that was the surface of my cell phone. There’s two buttons to choose from and if I’m not careful, I would find myself pressing the button that would allow me to drift off to the land of odd happen ings, to unicorns and fairy dust, and to the place where time seems to stand still.Often times, when this unfortunate mishap has occurred, I would wake in such frenzy that I could feel the labored breaths as they attempted to escape from my lungs. My heart was beating in such a fashion as to erupt straight through my chest. Luckily this was not one of those days and I began to untangle myself from the covers that so gently held me throughout the night. The temperature change was abrupt and waves began to rush over my skin like lake water lapping the rocks of a shoreline. My long, cold fingers reached through the darkness toward the switch on the wall.My eyes quickly clenched shut as if anticipating the searing pain that was about to commence once the switch was turned. With a loud click, electricity rushed the filament of the crystal globe and exceptionally bright light stretched through every corner of my room that was just as dark as dirty oil a moment ago. Making the unbearable a ttempt to adjust to the sudden change from darkness to light, my eyes began to blink repeatedly and tears formed at the corners of each eye. With each blink, it became apparent very quickly that contacts would not be an option today.I could almost hear the pleading of each eye screaming out to me saying, â€Å"Please go back to bed! We’re not ready yet! † With the moon still hanging high outside my window, I turn to my closet. I remember thinking to myself that the moon looked particularly bright this morning and perhaps that was the first sign that I was looking a little closer at what I was doing than I usually did. I quickly chose my outfit for the day and began down the hallway towards the steps. The potent aroma of coffee hit my senses as my feet landed on the fourth step from the top of the narrow stairwell.My â€Å"lifeline† is what I officially dubbed this miracle liquid for no matter how many hours of sleep I had shorted myself the night before, coffee had always helped me push through. I made my way down the remainder of the steps and into the coffee scented kitchen where I find a mug to place sugar and creamer in. I managed to pour a cupful without spilling even a drop of the precious, blistering hot liquid. Even with the first few sips of the coffee within the cup, I start to feel my body slowly awaken from the sudden surge of caffeine and I push forward.With a quick glance at the clock on the wall, I make the decision that there is no time for a piece of toast or bowl of cereal. Almost as if hearing my thoughts, an animal like growling emanated from my stomach in an attempt to change my mind. The plea was quickly ignored and I walked past the refrigerator door. A mental note formed in my mind of yet another missed opportunity, as I walked past my father who was so intently focused on the plate of breakfast sitting in front of him.With cup in hand I enter the bathroom, where I finish getting ready for the day. With a quick glan ce around, as if taking a mental inventory of what would be needed, a hairbrush, toothbrush and toothpaste quickly make their way to the countertop, lining up like patrons at a checkout in a supermarket. It wasn’t until my hair was done and teeth were brushed that I made the connection. How many years had I gotten myself up? How many times had I dressed myself and how many cups of coffee had it taken to get me going in the morning?I had come to the shocking realization that in the past 15 minutes of my 32 years I managed to get myself ready in the presence of 3 different mirrors in 3 separate places of my house but not once did I take the time to gaze into one. I had looked long enough to guarantee that every hair was in its place and that every pearly white tooth got its own little one on one with the toothbrush but not once did I truly look at the reflection that was quietly standing there staring back at me.I stopped and forced myself to truly look and realized that the re flection was the same with the exception of a few extra lines, or that the shine of my hair wasn’t quite as luminescent as it once was. However, when I actually looked into my eyes it came quite apparent that the many years of broken hearts, lost loves, and life experiences had changed them in such a way that it was almost unrecognizable. There was pain there, yet an even stronger wisdom irradiated brighter than the moon or the sun combined. Sometimes, all it takes is a little time to really appreciate who you are and what you have accomplished in your life.

Only One Way to Stop a Bully Essay

Bullying has become a major issue in the past 5 years. This is something we hear of way too often whether it is at school, work, or even on the news. Bullying is not your typical kid who steals a student’s lunch money either; there are several cases worldwide that have ended in suicide for some. When it comes down to the severity of suicide or even physical harm that is when it’s no longer just a simple slap on the wrist, but rather a closer, deeper look into what we can start doing to change this and fast. In There’s Only One Way to Stop a Bully, an essay written by Susan Engel and Marlene Sandstrom they speak about this issue in depth. Sandstrom and Engel speak of specific ways we as a community and faculty at schools should incorporate lessons on how to deal, recognize, and solve bullying in everyday life. The authors also speak of a new law that has been passed in order to address and stop bullying. They support this claim by providing us with examples. One example is telling us of ideas that teachers have put to the test to defeat this issue, such as a teacher enforcing a rule that students could not exclude anyone from their play and the positive impact this brought. Sandstrom and Engel also support this by telling us of a school in Norway that has put much emphasis on this issue and by doing so, have succeeded in lowering the bullying rate. Although the authors brought valid points, there are a few key factors missing from this essay. One being that when Sandstrom and Engel introduced this new law that was passed to target bullying, they did not go into enough detail as far as the specifics of this law. What are the consequences of this law? It states that the most serious cases of bullying should be reported to law officials but at what degree do they consider bullying serious? I found myself asking these questions when reading the essay. This particular law was such a big part of the essay; I felt that more emphasis was needed. Another weakness I found in this essay was that I did not feel like it was so much an argumentative piece of writing but rather an essay informing me of instances and facts. In argumentative writing I always find myself stopping to relate, or to agree/disagree with the author on the topic. Although the authors made great points, while reading this I did not once stop to react to what the author was supposed to be â€Å"arguing†. There were many things that I enjoyed about this essay and brought me a positive outlook on this topic. The author used a lot of examples making it easy to read and make sense of the main claim. For instance, the author spoke of the success this law has made possible by speaking of Norway, a school who has really recognized this issue and applied it to their curriculum. The author also noted a teacher in particular who has enforced a specific rule in helping eliminate bullying. Rather than speaking of instances in a plain matter the author used specific examples and listed persons in particular bringing the realness of the matter to life.

CAPM Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

CAPM - Assignment Example CAPM has theoretical limitation, which include impractical assumptions and instability of the beta values. The Arbitrage Pricing Model and Rolls have criticized the theory indicating that it may be unreliable and invalid. This study will examine the theoretical limitations and criticisms of the theory. Theoretical Limitations of the Theory The theory argues that all investors are risk avoiders and that the returns are normally distributed (Ma, 2011). This is not the case because investors are normally risk takers who are willing to make huge returns when their predictions favor them and lose when they fail. Assuming that returns are normally distributed is also unfounded because investors are not usually sure of the yields on their assets (Ma, 2011). The assumption that assets are free from risk is also unrealistic because it is hard to find such stocks in the real world. The theory argues that short-term securities offered by the government are free from hazards because the state as sures investors certain returns on the assets. This is not the case because the risk on the assets is in the form of inflation, which is the instability of prices in the market (Ma, 2011). Inflation leads to the loss of value of money, and this means that, assets also lose their worth when prices rise in the economy. Since money loses its value then it means that investors face the risk of lower returns when their stock matures. For example, when the state pays 10% on its short-term bonds then inflation rises in the country by 2%, investors get 8% returns on their securities in real terms. This means that investors face the risk of inflation, which reduces their earnings. This also indicates that the CAPM model is applicable in an ideal world, an occurrence that is impossible (Ma, 2011). Roll’s Critique of CAPM Roll criticizes the validity of the Capital Asset Pricing Model equation. The equation is as indicated below: E(Ri) =RF +?i [E(RM) - RF] Where E(Ri) represents the yie ld on security i. RF is the risk free rate of return. Bi is the market risk that security i faces. Roll’s first critique was that the model could not be tested using current data because it is constructed based on historical data. The impossibility of testing the model arises from the fact that it is based on market values of stocks, real estates, jewelers, and labor. Rolls argue that it is impossible to find the market value of this portfolio because no accurate data of these factors exists in reality. Thus, Roll argues that the CAPM cannot be proven right or wrong because of the impossibility of getting accurate data (Ma, 2011). Roll argues that economic models should be easy to test using future data because they simplify the real life. However, according to him, CAPM is complex because of the inability of being tested using future data, and this makes it unreliable. Roll also postulates that it is impossible to get efficient stocks whose values and rates of return have li near relationships ideally (Ma, 2011). Therefore, Rolls argument generally argues that CAPM is unreliable because it has never been tested using real data, and it is still impossible to do so because of uncertainty of prices, which is common in the real world. Arbitrage Pricing Model (APM) The APM addresses the weaknesses of CAPM by doing away with the assumption that the