Global Warming Causes And Effects - 973 Words

Global warming has become a massive problem throughout the world, and as the population grows so do the effects of climate change. What people do not know is that it is the leading cause of the earth’s end and might be a minor cause of death in the far future. Global warming is one of the many things that humans have caused that has no easy fix. Professors Charles Kennel, V. Ramanathan, and David G. Victor at the University of California – San Diego say that â€Å"Greenhouse gas concentrations are trending far off the path needed to avoid dangerous interference†¦nations are making little progress†¦to cut their emissions† (398). The problem started back in 1800-1870 when the first coalition revolutions started; the use of coal, railroads, and other productions increased greenhouse gas emissions. This may have been the first cause of climate change and from here on it led to the effects. Now, it has become so damaging that it needs to be solved. Solutions need to occur because it causes a threat on the human race and is getting worse each year. The two solutions that will have the finest possible outcomes are putting a tax on carbon and using energy efficient products. There are many different causes of Global warming, and most of them are human induced, meaning that humans cause the problem or make a problem that was already there worse. The main cause of climate change is the emission of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere; this has unfortunately pushed into theShow MoreRelatedGlobal Warming : Causes And Effects905 Words   |  4 Pagesindependent variables that are contributing to the cause of a problem the world is currently faced with, global warming. What is global warming? Well, global warming is a rise in the Earth s average atmospheric temperature that causes corresponding changes in climate and that may result from the greenhouse effect (which I will talk more about.) Which is when our ozone layer has a h ole which gradually increases, and increases heat from the sun. This causes major problems such as the polar caps meltingRead MoreCause And Effect Of Global Warming953 Words   |  4 Pagesunderstand the cause and effect of global warming, but it can take years for scientists to reach a consensus. The claims that global warming is the next apocalypse or is just some fairy tale lack scientific proof. These claims have confused the general public, and leave many citizens’ questions unanswered. Many people are concerned about the overall decline of environmental health due to an increase in man-made greenhouse gas emissions, but experts are now clarifying the debate on global warming with hardRead MoreGlobal Warming : Causes And Effects1369 Words   |  6 PagesGlobal Warming: Clearing up the Confusion to Become Part of the Solution Global warming, often confused with the term â€Å"climate change,† is a problem of worldly proportions that knows no limits, caused in large part by human actions. If it continues unchecked, its effects will be felt around the planet, from human society, to the environment, to the world economy. The purpose of this research paper is to understand the topic of global warming, its causes and effects, in order to help understandRead MoreGlobal Warming : Causes And Effects1325 Words   |  6 Pages Global warming is already taking place. It stopped being a prediction. The temperature at the earth’s surface has averagely increased by around 0.60 C.Both the oceans and the air are warming. It is believed that the greenhouses gases’ concentrations in the atmosphere have increased dramatically since the periods of pre-industrialization. This condition is caused by the activities of human beings most especially through the burning of fossil fuels such as natural gas, oil,Read MoreGlobal Warming : Causes And Effects1206 Words   |  5 PagesGlobal warming is a naturally occurring phenomenon within our planet that needs to be reduced because it is affecting us in many harmful ways. It is one of the most current and widely discussed factors. It has been impacting us negatively in ways such as biodiversity and climate conditions. Several current trends clearly demonstrate that global warming is directly impacting on rising sea levels, the melting of ice caps and significant worldwide climate changes. Over the years, scientists have conductedRead MoreGlobal Warming : Causes And Effects880 Words   |  4 PagesGlobal warming has increased significantly since the 1800s and is becoming a significant impact in our everyday lives. It is considered one of the most challenging environmental problems that exists today. Due to global warming, temperatures on Earth are rising and it’s affecting the way people live. Many people fe el concerned about this issue while others could not care less. Developing countries do not understand the impact global warming has and how they should contribute to it while developedRead MoreGlobal Warming : Causes And Effects1453 Words   |  6 PagesGlobal Warming Introduction A slight change in temperature may not seem that bad but a small rise in global temperature can do a lot of damage. Global warming is an increase in the earth s average atmospheric temperature that causes corresponding changes in climate [11]. This report is going to discuss the many causes of global warming as well as the effects that come with it. It will also discuss ways to prevent global warming from happening. Causes of Global Warming Global warming is whatRead MoreGlobal Warming : Cause And Effect1471 Words   |  6 Pages Global warming (Cause/Effect) Jimareo Kimmons Comp I Dr. Sarthou 10/30/2015 Droughts, lengthy hot spells, heavy downpours, floods, and other extreme weather events are occurring more frequently and intensely every year. Around the world, research teams are analyzing these trends, noting the changes in temperature, rainfall, ice mass, sea level, and many other variables recorded by weather measuring devices. The trends are undeniable: the Earth is getting warmer. Polar sea iceRead MoreGlobal Warming : Causes And Effects1381 Words   |  6 PagesEarth is broken, and we all had a hand in breaking it, inadvertently though it may have been, by adding an abundance of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere that contribute directly to global warming; and we continue to do so every time we start our car, turn up the heat, turn on the lights or throw away trash. Global warming is a problem, caused in large part by human activity, and as it stands, poses a monumental threat to the planet and all of its occupants; while mega polluters do not have an incentiveRead MoreGlo bal Warming: Causes and Effects1422 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿Global warming has been a very contentious issue of late in regards to environmental health and safety. Many pundits and critics alike exclaim that global warming is not as prevalent as individuals claim. One such pundit is that of George Will, whose article, Dark Green Doomsdayers indicates that global warming is simply a hoax. The statistics however prove otherwise. Global warming and its effects are far reaching. Society is affected due to higher frequency of natural disasters and drought.

The Effects Of Cyber Attacks On Cyber Security - 1972 Words

There are often times when a document covering as many aspects as were covered by the 9/11 Commission in which it becomes difficult to say definitively whether the results were effective or ineffective. This is true when speaking about whether the government has met the recommendations that were made by the 9/11 Commission. The federal government has been effective in meeting certain recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, however they have also failed appallingly in certain areas as well. One example in which they failed appallingly is in the cyber realm. As pointed out in the â€Å"10-year anniversary commentary,† the amount of cyber-attacks being launched against American government, military, and civilian companies has increased since 9/11 (Bipartisan Policy Center, 2014). With increasing cyber-attacks and the weak state of America’s cyber security, as evident by the successful attacks on our military and government infrastructures, it is most important that we make every effort to prevent further attacks and strengthen our cyber security. Had the government followed the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Reports, perhaps they could have prevented or delayed the cyber-attack in which Chinese hackers were able to obtain information pertaining to our military’s C-17 transport plane, F-22 and F-35 fighter jets with the intention to sell them to Chinese companies (Bipartisan Policy Center, 2014). The Snowden leak caused major problems for securing the digital realm dueShow MoreRelatedCyber Terrorism1716 Words   |  7 Pages During this attack, government sites were hijacked and some sites suffered a denial of service attack. Most recently, it was suspected that Bank of America was the victim of a cyber terrorism attack; although no definitive evidence is available to substantiate that claim.   Cyber terror attacks pose a threat against the national security of the United States. In order to fully comprehend the threat that cyber terrorism poses, it is essential to understand the background, the effects, the realityRead MoreSecurity Plan For Cyber Security1496 Words   |  6 PagesIn relation to defence spending, it’s visible that there was a positive increase in the year succeeding 2007, directly after the attacks. Though this was dramatically decreased for the following two years, which can be explained by the global economic downturn which begun in 2008 (Grigorà ¢â‚¬ ²ev Salikhov, 2009). Therefore it is not possible to conclude that Estonia directly increased spending on defence by a significant figure because of the events that took place in 2007, but it can be deduced thatRead MoreCyber Security, A Government And Private Industry Affair1686 Words   |  7 PagesCyber-security, a government and private industry affair Introduction The role of computers in business operations is growing with each wake. Computers have helped entities boost efficiency, speed up service and product delivery and take consumer interaction to another level. However, this new wave has not come without its challenges. Cybercrimes pose a threat to information security and privacy, which is a concern for private and public institutions alike. The United States has developed laws thatRead MoreCyber Espionage Attacks And Cyber Attacks1662 Words   |  7 PagesCyber Espionage Attacks This kind of attacks differ from other types of cyber-attacks as they have a different source from where the actual attack comes from, which is mainly from within the organization that is being attacked. It may be the most difficult type of attack in which organizations are able to defend themselves from, for example if the attack is emanating from an individual that holds a high rank within the company. Taking an example of the United States where the government has a processRead MoreInformation Is A Source Of Power In International Relations.967 Words   |  4 Pageswhen any state places enough importance on a resource of power, that resource becomes a target. An attack on informational structures of a state are cyber-attacks or â€Å"the use of computational technologies in cyberspace for malevolent and destructive purposes in order to impact, change, or modify diplomatic and military interactions between entities† Cyber-attacks are increasingly becoming daily security t hreats in both private and public sectors of a state. In 2016, 64% of Americans stated they haveRead MoreCyber Security Is A Growing Concern For Governments Around The World1296 Words   |  6 PagesGlobal Cooperation for Cyber Security Cyber Security is a growing concern for governments around the world. Cyber-attacks pose a direct threat to the security of the nations’ critical infrastructures and Information Technologies (IT) as a low-cost asymmetric warfare element. Most of these nations are aware of the vulnerability of the information technologies and the significance of protecting critical infrastructures. To counteract the threat of potentially disastrous cyber-attacks, nations’ policy makersRead MoreCyber Defense And Security Issues789 Words   |  4 PagesUnderstanding cyber defense and security issues such as cyber-crime and cyber-attacks ensure efficient functioning of information systems. Cyber-attacks are real, unexpected and increasing in numbers according to Naumovski and Kenkov (2014) cyber defense is emerging as a high priority with the increased use of information technology. Naumovski et al. (2014) noted that understanding cyber defense and security issues would ensure efficient o peration of information systems. Naumovski et al. (2014)Read More Cyber Security Policies and Defense Contractors Essay1087 Words   |  5 PagesAbstract Cyber security policies in the private sector have been a challenging issue for major defense contractors, especially after recent attacks. As a result, the U.S. increased its strict enforcement against these companies by justifying its intervention to improve cyber security. The government would like to impose standards for companies who lack the proper protocol. Due to the revised and new procedures, corporations are responding by rejecting any congressional intervention. This has causedRead MoreChina Saper Threat777 Words   |  4 PagesWeak USA Cyber Policy vs China’s Security Threat to the USA? Abstract A cyber spy network based mainly in China hacked into classified documents from government and private organizations. One of the biggest questions still remains unanswered. Should the U.S. Congress conduct an in depth assessment of Chinese cyber spying and consider imposing tougher penalties on companies that benefit from industrial espionage. In this paper I will review china’s cyber threat and possible USA solutionsRead MoreCyber Terrorism And Threats Of Information System1688 Words   |  7 PagesCyber-Terrorism and Threats to Information System National security has been top priority of the United States after World War II. This is due to the fact that the United States before this time was relatively an isolationist country with no influence in the world. As a result national security was not important, this changed post World War II. The United States found themselves among the top, overnight they went from being new and not listened to, to becoming one of the major players in the world

Les Miserables, Theme (Forgiveness, Self Sacrifice Essay Example For Students

Les Miserables, Theme (Forgiveness, Self Sacrifice Essay , and Courage) It is precisely of him that I wished to speak. Dispose of me as you please; but help me first to carry him home. I only ask that of you. Upon examination of Les Miserables, it is clearly evident that the elements of Forgiveness, Self Sacrifice, and Courage are only a few of the main themes Hugo wanted to develop. First off, is the element of forgiveness. In a book of mistrust, poverty, and hateforgiveness thrives in the world of Les Miserables. The first example of this was at the very beginning, when Jean Valjean stayed with the bishop. Valjean stole his silverand ran off. He ends up being caught by police, but when the police questioned the bishop, he claimed to have given the silver to Valjean. Jean was confusedand the bishop claimed that with the silver, he had purchased the convicts soul, and had given it to God, and from that day forward, Valjean must be a good man. Another example of forgiveness goes two ways. Javert, in his relentless pursuit of Valjean, is captured by revolutionaries. In reward for saving the lives of a few of these revolutionaries, Valjean asks for, and gets, permission to take Javert outside, and kill him. Once outside, a small monologue occursand Valjean releases Javert, and lets him go free. Valjean just wanted to be left alone in peace, and hoped this act of kindness would change Javert, and make him realize that Valjean was no longer the man he was. The second wayis that in the end, after Javert finally captures Valjean, he lets him go. Since Javert had broken the law that he loved so dearly, he kills himself shortly thereafter, by jumping into a river. Secondly, we come to the element of Self-Sacrifice. This is also another widely used theme in Les Miserables. One such example of this element is with Valjean. He lets Marius and Cosette marry, and for a while, he seems all right with that fact. Later on however, he goes to Marius, and confesses to his past. He tells Marius his whole story, and thinks it best if he never sees Cosette again. Marius agreesbut allows Valjean the occasional visit. Only at the end, does Marius realize what a good man Valjean isand by then it was too late. Valjean dies shortly after Marius and Cosette visit him to ask him to come back and live with them. Another example would be that of Gavroche and his supreme sacrifice. Gavroche is really Thenardiers son. but he was thrown out as a little boy, because he wasnt bringing in any money. So Gavroche befriends the revolutionaries. During one of the battles, Gavroche goes out to pick the pockets of the dead soldiers for ammunition. The soldiers fighting the revolutionaries immediately open firebut cant hit Gavroche. Thinking he is invincible, he begins to mock the soldiers aim. But, he speaks too soon, and on his way back, he is shot in the back, and dies. And lastly, we have the sacrifice of Eponineone of the daughters of Thenardier. She is in love with Mariusunbeknownst to him. She follows him to the barricades, and while there, saves his life. She put her hand in front of a barrel aimed for Marius, and the bullet went through her hand, and into her body. Of course, this act moves Marius greatly. Eponine admits her love to him, and tells him everything she knows. Before she dies in his arms, she asks him to kiss her on the forehead when she passes onand she says she would feel it. .u2d780fa7e1dc8034196dbf175a279fb7 , .u2d780fa7e1dc8034196dbf175a279fb7 .postImageUrl , .u2d780fa7e1dc8034196dbf175a279fb7 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u2d780fa7e1dc8034196dbf175a279fb7 , .u2d780fa7e1dc8034196dbf175a279fb7:hover , .u2d780fa7e1dc8034196dbf175a279fb7:visited , .u2d780fa7e1dc8034196dbf175a279fb7:active { border:0!important; } .u2d780fa7e1dc8034196dbf175a279fb7 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u2d780fa7e1dc8034196dbf175a279fb7 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u2d780fa7e1dc8034196dbf175a279fb7:active , .u2d780fa7e1dc8034196dbf175a279fb7:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u2d780fa7e1dc8034196dbf175a279fb7 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u2d780fa7e1dc8034196dbf175a279fb7 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u2d780fa7e1dc8034196dbf175a279fb7 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u2d780fa7e1dc8034196dbf175a279fb7 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u2d780fa7e1dc8034196dbf175a279fb7:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u2d780fa7e1dc8034196dbf175a279fb7 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u2d780fa7e1dc8034196dbf175a279fb7 .u2d780fa7e1dc8034196dbf175a279fb7-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u2d780fa7e1dc8034196dbf175a279fb7:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Theater Arts Essay Marius grants her wish. And finally, we reach the element of Courage. The main kind of courage that will be covered is emotional and physical. The first example is when Valjean must enter Paris by climbing the wall that surrounds the great city. Normally, this would be hard enough for anyone. Valjean however, has one more problem added to this; he has Cosette with him, and she is still a small child. Once he finally reaches the top, and Cosette joins him, they must jump from roof to roof to reach safety. They finally end .

Strategies in the Healthcare Sector in France free essay sample

Der Open-Access-Publikationsserver der ZBW – Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft The Open Access Publication Server of the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics Henke, Klaus-Dirk; Schreyogg, Jonas Working Paper Towards sustainable health care systems: Strategies in health insurance schemes in France, Germany, Japan and the Netherlands ; a comparative study Diskussionspapiere // Technische Universitat Berlin, Fakultat Wirtschaft und Management, No. 2004/9 Provided in Cooperation with: Technische Universitat Berlin, School of Economics and Management Suggested Citation: Henke, Klaus-Dirk; Schreyogg, Jonas (2004) : Towards sustainable health care systems: Strategies in health insurance schemes in France, Germany, Japan and the Netherlands ; a comparative study, Diskussionspapiere // Technische Universitat Berlin, Fakultat Wirtschaft und Management, No. 2004/9, http://hdl. handle. net/10419/36410 Nutzungsbedingungen: Die ZBW raumt Ihnen als Nutzerin/Nutzer das unentgeltliche, raumlich unbeschrankte und zeitlich auf die Dauer des Schutzrechts beschrankte einfache Recht ein, das ausgewahlte Werk im Rahmen der unter http://www. econstor. eu/dspace/Nutzungsbedingungen nachzulesenden vollstandigen Nutzungsbedingungen zu vervielfaltigen, mit denen die Nutzerin/der Nutzer sich durch die erste Nutzung einverstanden erklart. We will write a custom essay sample on Strategies in the Healthcare Sector in France or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page zbw Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft Leibniz Information Centre for Economics Terms of use: The ZBW grants you, the user, the non-exclusive right to use the selected work free of charge, territorially unrestricted and within the time limit of the term of the property rights according to the terms specified at http://www. econstor. u/dspace/Nutzungsbedingungen By the first use of the selected work the user agrees and declares to comply with these terms of use. Towards sustainable health care systems Strategies in health insurance schemes in France, Germany, Japan and the Netherlands – A comparative study – 23. March 2004 Klaus-Dirk Henke, Jonas Schreyogg1 Berlin, March 2004 1 Berlin Technical University, Faculty of Economics and Management, Department for Public Finance and Health Economics and Department for Health Care Management, E-mail: k. [emailprotected] ww. tu-berlin. e; jonas. [emailprotected] de,The authors would like to thank Mr. Tom Stargardt for excel lent research assistance. Abstract In all four countries health care expenditures grow while the revenue remains at the same level or even shrinks in many cases. Due to medical progress, ageing and many other factors the gap is widening over time. The pay-as-you-go approach is running against limits either with rising employer and employee contribution rates as is the case in the so-called BismarckSystems or with higher taxes in the so-called Beveridge-systems. There are differences regarding the solutions of each country to tackle the described challenge and they might be able to learn from each other if they are compared. Therefore the study compares the health care systems of France, Germany, Japan and the Netherlands. Due to the complexity of the different institutional settings it seems necessary to select certain criteria in order to make a comparison at all possible. The comparison is divided into three different sections. The institutional and organizational framework as first section compares the general organization of social health insurance in all four countries. It comprises the benefit structure, the enrolment, ownership issues and other criteria. The second section focuses on the funding of social health insurance comparing the different approaches according to criteria like contribution rates, contribution assessment bases, burden of contributions and others. The final section analyses different strategies in the provision and purchasing of health services in the four countries. Next to other hospital ownership infrastructure characteristics play an important role in this section. In the last part of the study certain lessons are drawn from the comparison of the four countries. Furthermore certain developments are described which can be anticipated for the future of social health insurance systems. Abstract (deutsch) Sowohl die demographische Entwicklung als auch vielfaltige medizinische und medizinischtechnische Fortschritte fuhrten in den letzten Jahren zu starken Ausgabensteigerungen in den sozialen Krankenversicherungssystemen. Neben Deutschland sind von dieser Entwicklung auch andere Lander mit sozialen Krankenversicherungssystemen betroffen. Die vorliegende Studie nimmt einen systematischen Vergleich zwischen verschiedenen Landern vor, deren Gesundheitssystem auf einer sozialen Krankenversicherung aufbaut: Deutschland, Frankreich, 2 Japan und die Niederlande. Anhand definierter Kriterien werden die unterschiedlichen Auspragungsformen im Hinblick auf den organisatorischen und institutionellen Rahmen, die Mittelaufbringung sowie die Leistungserbringung bzw. ie Mittelverwendung der einzelnen Lander verglichen. Anschlie? end werden mogliche Handlungsstrategien aus dem Vergleich abgeleitet, um den zukunftigen Herausforderungen zu begegnen und eine nachhaltige Entwicklung der sozialen Krankenversicherungssysteme sicherzustellen. Abschlie? end werden bestimmte Entwicklungen beschrieben, Krankenversicherungssysteme antizipiert werden konnen. 3 die fur die sozialen Contents in short Figures 1. Introduction .. 6 2 . Impacts on health care systems .. 14 2. 1 Trends in expenditures for health care .. 14 2. 2 Causes for expenditure trends 16 2. 2. Demographic characteristics . 16 2. 2. 2 Changes in disease structure . 20 2. 2. 3 Technological Progress 23 2. 2. 4 Economic situation 24 2. 2. 5 Changes in Preferences 7 2. 2. 6 Structural weaknesses of the systems .. 28 3. Comparison between the social health insurance systems of Japan, Germany, France and the Netherlands 30 3. 1 Institutional and organisational framework . 30 3. 2 Funding .. 42 3. Provision and Purchasing of health services .. 55 3. 3. 1 Health expenditures by type of services . 55 3. 3. 2 Hospital Care 57 3. 3. 3 Ambulatory Care. 66 3. 3. 4. Long Term Care . 3 4. Lessons to ensure sustainable social health insurance systems and future developments 76 4. 1 Lessons towards sustainable social health insurance . 76 4. 2 Further Developments 79 References . 5 Contents Figures 4 1. Introduction .. 6 Financial and other current problems 6 Risk management in theory 8 Health policy: goals and entitlements 10 Elements of health care reforms 11 2. Impacts on health care systems .. 14 2. Trends in expenditures for health care .. 14 2. 2 Causes for expenditure trends 16 2. 2. 1 Demographic characteristics . 16 2. 2. 2 Changes in disease structure . 20 2. 2. 3 Technological Progress 3 2. 2. 4 Economic situation 24 2. 2. 5 Changes in Preferences 27 2. 2. 6 Structural weaknesses of the systems .. 28 3. Comparison between the social health insurance systems of Japan, Germany, France and the Netherlands 0 3. 1 Institutional and organisational framework . 30 Membership, Enrolment, Coverage 30 Benefits 31 Ownership, number of sickness funds and freedom of choice 32 Competition and risk structure compensation 37 3. 2 Funding .. 42 Contribution rates, income ceiling and contribution assessment bases 42 Contribution of pensioners 44 Separation of health and long term care 44 Burden of contributions at different income levels 45 Burden sharing between employers and employees 48 3. 3 Provision and Purchasing of health services .. 55 3. 3. 1 Health expenditures by type of services . 55 3. 3. 2 Hospital Care 57 Ownership 57 Access to services 59 Hospital planning and contracting 60 Reimbursement and spending control 62 User charges 63 3. 3. Ambulatory Care. 66 Employment status and organisation 66 Dispensation of pharmaceuticals 66 Manpower planning 67 Contracting 70 Claiming fees 70 2 3. 3. 4. Long Term Care . 73 Planning 73 Benefits 73 Access 74 User charges 74 4. Lessons to ensure sustainable social health insurance systems and future developments 6 4. 1 Lessons towards sustainable social health insurance . 76 Competition vs. regulation of sickness funds 76 Separation of long term care and high cost medical care 77 Private Health Insurance 77 User charges 78 Reimbursing hospital care with DRG’s 79 4. 2 Further Developments 79 Functional approach and comprehensive all-round care 80 Setting priorities in health care 81 New ways of funding health care 82 The future of the European Welfare State and international comparisons 83 References . 85 3 Figures Figure 1. 1: Financing gaps in social health insurance systems .. 7 Figure 1. 2: The current situation of the four health care systems . 8 Figure 1. 3: Risk management and social welfare . 9 Figure 1. 4: Goals of social security 0 Figure 1. 5: Entitlements to Health Care .. 11 Figure 1. 6: Elements of a health care reform 12 Figure 2. 1: Total Health Expenditures per capita .. 14 Figure 2:2: Total Health Expenditures in % of GDP 16 Figure 2. 3: Ageing of population in the four countries 7 Figure 2. 5: Average Life expectancy at birth in the four countries .. 22 Figure 2. 6: Lost life years due to disease in the four countries 24 Figure 2. 7: Standardised unemployment rates in the four countries . 25 Figure 2. 8: Development of state budgets in the four countries . 26 Figure 2. 9: Maslow’s hierarchy of needs pyramid . 7 Figure 3. 1: Different Sources of funding as % of the total health expenditure 46 Figure 3. 2: Contributions at different income l evels according to contribution rates in the four countries 48 Figure 4. 1: Integration of providers in the care for elderly 80 Figure 4. 2: Setting priorities in health care 81 Figure 4. : Financing health care in the future 82 Figure 4. 4: The future of the European welfare state I 83 Figure 4. 5: The future of the European welfare state II .. 84 4 Tables Table 2. 1: Population and population density in 2001 and 2050 Table 2. 2: Body Mass Index in the four countries Table 2. 3: Healthy life expectancy (HALE) from WHO at birth and at age 60, estimates for 2000 and 2001 Table 3. : Membership in different sickness funds in % of total population Table 3. 2: Number of sickness funds according to different schemes Table 3. 3: Comparison of the institutional and organizational framework of social health insurance on the basis of selected criteria Table 3. 4: Change of funding sources as % of the total health expenditure Table 3. 5: Comparison of funding principles of social insurance systems according to selected criteria Table 3. 6: Health expenditures by type of services as % of total health expenditure Table 3. 7: Development of ownership in general hospitals in each country Table 3. 8: Access to inpatient services Table 3. 9: Hospital infrastructure and utilization Table 3. 10: Planning, contracting, reimbursement and user charges in hospital care Table 3. 12: Organisation, Employment status, planning and access of ambulatory care Table 3. 13: Purchasing and contracting of ambulatory care Table 3. 14: Infrastructure characteristics of long-term care Table 3. 15: Long term care: planning, coverage, access and user charges 5 19 21 22 35 36 40 47 53 56 58 60 61 65 69 72 73 75 1. Introduction Apart from differences in health care systems of France, Germany, Japan and the Netherlands the starting points for health care reforms are similar in each country. They refer to the financial gaps in health insurance systems and other current problems of the four countries (figures 1. 1 and 1. 2). The basis for providing and financing health care are the theoretical approaches of risk management and social welfare. Their basic forms and arrangements are basically the same for all countries (figure 1. 3). The goals of social security in general and the entitlements to health care in particular are often codified in social laws and provide the foundations for health policy (figures 1. 4 and 1. 5) and the lements of a health care reform which have to be analyzed (figures 1. 6). Financial and other current problems In figure 1. 1 the financial gaps are easily to be seen: health care expenditures grow while the revenue remains at the same level or even shrinks in many cases. Due to medical progress, ageing and many other factors the gap is widening over time. The overall answer to solve this situation is relatively easy and consists of three app roaches. The nations facing financial gaps may firstly cut back expenditures through budgets and/or exclusion of benefits and services. Secondly they can increase revenue by either higher contribution rates, by using a broader base for financing and/or through higher co-payments and out-of-pocket-expenditures. Thirdly major structural reforms could be the answer to close the financial gap. These reforms can be accomplished from an overall perspective on the basis of the ability-to-pay-principle or with the help of the benefit or insurance principle. These overall approaches occur in all nations at a time. They offer not much more than a simple structuring of the overall roblem that more or less all nations face. But there might be differences depending on how nations are financing health services. Tax-financed systems may perhaps run into heavier financial problems than social health insurance systems in France, Germany, Japan and the Netherlands 6 Figure 1. 1: Financing gaps in social health insurance systems revenue, expenditures expenditures Financial gap due to ageing, medical progress etc. revenue 2000 2050 More specific are other current problems that the four health care systems face in the short and in the long run. The technological change, the medical progress and the demographic development were already mentioned and without going into details one faces with the given demographic challenge an intergenerational equity problem which has to be solved. And in addition, as just mentioned, the pay-as-you-go-method is running against limits either with rising employer and employee contribution rates as is the case in the so-called BismarckSystems or with higher taxes in the so-called Beveridge-systems. None of the two ideal systems are able to regulate themselves quasi automatically. The number of political interventions increases more and more and patchwork repair is the reality everywhere. Major reforms are either too difficult in a more and more overcomplex area or are politically not manageable in a highly sensible area as health care is. This situation describes very shortly why in Europe and in Japan the public is calling for more substantial and longer lasting reforms. Sustainability in health care systems has become more than a mere phrase used by the media. Muddling through on a comparatively high level characterizes the situation we are facing in France, Germany, Japan and the Netherlands. 7 Figure 1. : The current situation of the four health care systems †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Demographic development, technological change, medical progress Pay-as-you-method running up against limits with rising employer and employee contribution rates Systems are no longer able to regulate themselves Spiral of political interventions and patchwork sol utions has not solved basic problems Europe’s and Japanese citizens are calling more and more emphatically for a basic, lasting reform, i. e. sustainability in health care systems. Risk management in theory The analytical background for the overall risk management in social welfare is the same for all countries. To provide the basic needs you may divide two general forms: a more private or a more public approach, each of which has different arrangements and ways of financing. In all systems the existence of social assistance for the unemployed and those who need support for other reasons is essential. These expenditures stem in all systems from general revenue, i. e. mainly taxes. Health expenditures in countries like the United Kingdom or the Scandinavian Countries with national welfare systems are financed mainly through taxes on the basis of the budgetary decisions taken year by year by their parliaments. Although nations with social insurance systems are mandatory social welfare systems as well they are financed differently. Their revenue stems from so-called payroll taxes, which are levied on the basis of wages and salaries as employer and employee contributions. The payroll-tax rates are perceived by the public as labour-costs and they are relevant in the context of international competition between nations. In addition to the parliamentary system some countries, e. g. Germany, have institutionalised so-called self-governmental structures trying to discuss and solve health policy issues outside the parliament and the market. Figure 1. 3: Risk management and social welfare provision of basic needs 1. Basic Forms voluntary individual protection mandatory social welfare options 2. Arrangement savings enrolment in free choice of enrolment in private mandatory insurances insurances 3. Financing out of pocket 4. Relationship between benefits and contributions national social insurance we lfare principle plans riskoriented premiums wage/salary oriented social insurance contributions general revenue i. e. mainly taxes marketoriented benefit principle between costoriented benefit rinciple and ability-to-pay principle social assistance ability-topay principle Source: Zimmermann and Henke (2001). Apart from the different options within mandatory social welfare many nations offer substitutional or in complementary individual protection against the risks of life. Thus the enrolment in private insurances may be mandatory for the total or part of the population. It could also be a free choice to enrol in mandatory insurances or in private ones which are in general more risk- and less income-related in regard to their financing mechanisms. Whilst the risk management on the basis of private insurances relates merely to the tasks of an insurance, the risk management in payroll- or tax-financed systems generally includes elements of income and family redistribution as well. Allocation and distribution is thus not separated from each other. This relationship between benefits and contributions may be described through the market-oriented benefit principle on the one hand and the ability-to- 9 pay-principle on the other hand. And many systems are between these two possible principles of risk management in social welfare. Health policy: goals and entitlements The goals of Social Security are to be seen in close relation with the more theoretical background in figure 1. 3. These goals are probably the most basic elements underlying all systems. They are comparatively general and thus being supported by all the four nations (figure 1. 4. ). But problems will definitely arise, when people or politicians have to decide how „equitable distributionâ€Å", „optimal prevention and rehabilitationâ€Å" or the scope and content of the „most important risks of lifeâ€Å" is interpreted. And even if this will work out the parliament or other bodies have to decide about the weight of the different goals respective criteria. Thus value judgements play a significant role in health care issues and in setting the health policy agenda. Figure 1. 4: Goals of social security †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Adequate coverage of the population against the most important risks to life No arbitrary discrimination As much transparency as possible Optimal prevention and rehabilitation Self-responsibility Equitable distribution of burdens Maximum efficiency and Minimization of administrative costs In the German Social Security Law the legislator wanted to be more precise and codified the six prerequisites in figure 1. 5 for health care in a German setting. Again everybody will probably like these postulates in figure 1. 5 and agree to them. But the problems arise when one tries to operationalize them. What is the „current state of medical scienceâ€Å" in a nation and what is it in a growing common market in Europe? Are patient`s needs everywhere the same? And are adequate services the same in France, Germany, Japan and the Netherlands? In which 10 moment do health services exceed what is necessary? More questions than answers. But nevertheless these goals are codified and the legal basis for claims of the insured population in general and the patients in particular. Thus the courts of justice play more than a minor role in these decisions. Figure 1. 5: Entitlements to Health Care †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Focus on patient’s needs Be equally accessible to all Correspond to the current state of medical science Provide adequate services Be appropriate, effective and humane Not exceed the necessary level of care Elements of health care reforms A last set of starting points refers to a health care reform from the onset. In all countries the health care sector is a labour intensive growth sector. About 10 % of the working population is employed in this part of the economy, where many new professions developed over the years. Good health, fitness, wellness and aging healthily are key concepts in an ageing society. The numbers also impressively demonstrate a desirable trend: the paradigm for the health care system is changing from a cost factor to a fast-growing service sector. While economic growth and increasing employment are generally seen as desirable goals for an economy, mounting health care expenditures are usually seen in a negative light and are always associated ith „cost explosionâ€Å" and undesired oversupply of services. 11 Figure 1. 6: Elements of a health care reform †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Labour-intensive service sector Interest-driven system Risk-structure-equalization Moral-hazard, adverse selection, asymmetric information Mobilisation of efficiency reserves Another point of departure for health care reforms is the fact that there is no overall rationality in a given or planned system. Health care reforms are driven by the interests of all the participants and other driving forces, e. g. the media. The ability to achieve acceptance for proposed reforms does not by any means depend solely on the diverse professional and personal interest of doctors, economists, lawyers and commission members. It is also critically influenced by the driving forces in the health care system – the health insurance associations and the bureaucracy of the ministries. In addition to the political atmosphere the pending elections have to be considered. Ultimately the „chemistryâ€Å" must be right among the few persons who ultimately must pull together under strong, statesmanlike leadership and achieve a politically acceptable, viable, sustainable solution. Finally there are three economic prerequisites for health care reforms. One of them is valid everywhere and at all times. And that is the mobilization of efficiency reserves. There is always structural change, medical progress and political pressure for reform, which means that permanent adjustments will take place in order to avoid an inefficient allocation of resources on the different micro, meso and macro levels. Thus the mobilisation of efficiency reserves is a permanent challenge and not the panacea for financing problems in health care. Furthermore there is agreement that everywhere and within all reforms moral hazard and adverse selection as two forms of misbehaviour should be avoided. Moral hazard ax ante takes place through an unhealthy lifestyle or a behaviour which provokes the event insured against. Ex-post moral hazard happens when a doctor does more out of income interest than is necessary. And the patient requires unnecessary services because he has paid his contributions and wants to make the best out of it. 12 Finally a risk structure equalization or compensation is necessary to avoid adverse selection and to allow fair competition within health care. In addition a mandatory minimum coverage for all is necessary and obligatory so that all sickness funds have to accept applicants without individual risk review. In chapter 2 impacts on health care systems are analyzed on the basis of expenditure trends in the different countries. This will be followed by a classical comparison of France, Germany, Japan and the Netherlands on the basis of financing health care, provision and purchasing health services in the different sectors with the help of selected criteria (chapter 3). The conclusion in the final chapter gives hints for the future development of the four systems compared and of course for other systems as well (chapter 4). 13 2. Challenges for health care systems 2. 1 Trends in expenditures for health care Basically health care expenditures have risen considerably in the past ten years in all four compared countries. However, there are significant differences regarding the scope and the structure of changes. While Japan, Germany and France experienced an average yearly increase in total health expenditures between 1992 and 2001 of 3. 8%, 3. 75% and 3. 98%, health care expenditures in the Netherlands have risen with an average of 6. 18% per year in this period. 1 Nevertheless, expenditures per inhabitant in the Netherlands have still not reached the spending level dedicated to health care in Japan or Germany as shown in figure 2. 1. Figure 2. 1: Total Health Expenditures per capita 2800 2600 in â‚ ¬ 2400 2200 2000 1800 1600 1400 1992 1993 1994 19 95 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 years Japan Germany Source: OECD Health Data (2003). 1 Based on OECD Health Data 2003 and own calculations. 14 France Netherlands 2001 It has to be pointed out that the increase in health care expenditures in each of the four systems is due to different reasons. Between 1992 and 2000 total spending for out-patient care remained nearly the same in Japan (+2%) while at the same time it drastically increased in Germany (+37%), France (+27%) and the Netherlands (+62%). During the same period pharmaceutical expenditures, for instance, even decreased in Japan (-5%), but increased considerably in the three European states (Germany: +25%, France + 60%, Netherlands +50%). All four countries experienced increased expenditure for in-patient care between 1992 and 2000. In Japan it increased by 52%, followed by the Netherlands (+39%), Germany (+37%) and France (27%)2 (see also figure 2. 1. above). Although the differences might be due to a different design of institutional provision or due to different priority setting in health care policy they might also give evidence whether certain actions taken by the governments or the sickness funds have been successful in containing health care expenditures. As revealed in figure 2. 2 the percentage of GDP spent on health care services is increasing in all four countries while Japan experienced the highest rise from 6. % in 1992 to 7. 6% in 2000. Therefore health care is obviously gaining in more importance. Nevertheless a slight tendency in reducing the public share of total health care expenditures is observable. The public health expenditures of the Netherlands, which include sickness funds expenditures as a percentage of total health expenditures, dropped by 9. 5% from 72. 8% to 63. 3% between the years 1992 and 2000. The German government reduced its public share by 2% while the Japanese and the French public share remained at the same level. 2 Based on OECD Health Data 2003 and own calculations. 5 Figure 2. 2: Total Health Expenditures in % of GDP 12 % of GDP 11 10 9 8 7 6 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 years Japan Germany France Netherlands Source: OECD Health Data (2003). 2. 2 Causes for expenditure trends There are many factors which definitely contribute to rising health expenditures although due to the complexity of the health care systems it is hardly possible to identify their impact. 2. 2. 1 Demographic characteristics One major reason for recent expenditures growth in all four countries can be attributed to changes in demographic characteristics. A higher life expectancy combined with lower birth rates led to an ageing population in most industrialized countries. In Japan, the share of people above the age of 65 years has risen from 5. 7% as percentage of the total population in 1960 to 17. 4% in the year 2000. At the same time, the share of young people between 0 and 19 years has decreased from 40. 1% to 20. 1% of the total population. The changes in the three European countries have not been that drastic, but nevertheless the number of people above the age of 65 years has increased as well from 11. % to 16. 4% in Germany, from 11. 6% to 16 16. 1% in France and from 9. 0 % to 13. 6% in the Netherlands as percentage of the total population in 2000 while the number of young people between 0 and 19 years has decreased from 25. 3% to 21. 2% in Germany, from 32. 5% to 25. 5% in France and from 37. 9 to 24. 4% in the Netherlands as displayed in figure 2. 3. 3 Until today, the demographic development had only minor effects on the l abour markets, since the number of people in working age in the four countries stayed about the same. As further factors an increasing number of women in the work force and an increasing immigration are counter-balancing the shortfalls but are not able to fully compensate the development mentioned. Figure 2. 3: Ageing of population in the four countries 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 1960 2000 1960 * 2000 1960 0-19 Japan 1960 2000 20–64 54,2 62,1 France Germany gt; 65 5,7 17,4 0–19 25,3 21,2 20–64 63,1 62,3 1960 Netherlands France gt; 65 11,6 16,4 2000 gt; 65 Germany Japan 0–19 40,1 20,5 20-64 2000 0–19 32,5 25,5 20–64 55,9 58,4 Netherlands gt; 65 11,6 16,1 0–19 37,9 24,4 20–64 53,1 62,0 Source: OECD Health Data 2003, Federal Statistical Office of Germany, Stat. Yearbook 2002. *Germany 1960: 0-19, 19-65, gt;65 3 OECD Health Data 2003. 17 gt; 65 9,0 13,6 In the near future however, it can be predicted that the four pay-as-you-go based systems will face severe problems. Age groups of low birth rates are soon entering the labour market while age groups of high birth rates are going to retire from work. This development is going to continue over the next decades because births per women in all four countries are below 2. 00 (Germany 2001: 1. 29; Japan 2000: 1. 41; Netherlands 2001: 1. 69 and France 2001: 1. 0)4. As a consequence the proportion of the total population over 60 years of age is constantly growing and this population group is to a significant extent no longer part of the labour force. Since, however, the pay-as-you go approach is working on the theoretical basis of an intergenerational redistribution and the major part of the contributions is funded by those members of the population who are still employed, an increasing volume of health care services is to be funded in these systems by a decreasing number of employed people. A third factor combined with the demographic challenge is the development of the population. As presented in table 2. 1 the population for Germany and Japan is predicted to shrink until 2050 while the French and the Dutch populations are estimated to rise slightly. A shrinking population especially has implications on the provision of health care infrastructure. It means for instance for Japan, that much less hospitals will be needed if this development is not offset by a much higher demand for health care of the elderly. At the same time a shrinking population also leads to lower population density which could in the case Japan lower the risk of epidemics. 4 OECD Health Data (2003). 8 Table 2. 1: Population and population density in 2001 and 2050 Japan population in 1,000 (2001) estimated Population in 1,000 (2050) population density (per km? ) estimated population density in 2050 size of area (in km? ) Germany France Netherlands 127,130 82,350 59,188 16,046 100,496 64,973 64,032 18,000 336 230 109 386 265 182 118 433 377,835 357,026 543,965 41,526 Sources: OECD Health Data (2003), Federal Statistic Office of Germany (2000), National Institute of Population and Social Security research, Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques (France). It is difficult to anticipate the impact for the health care system, as cost development especially for the elderly population is not reliably predictable. On the one side, crosssectional data show a clear correlation of health care costs with age as shown in figure 2. 4 in the case of Germany. 5 It can be seen that for instance in Germany the expenditures for people above 60 are almost 3 times as high as for those between 20 and 60. On the other much of this increase with age can be attributed to the larger percentages of persons in their final year(s) of life for whom health care is especially costly. If life expectancy is increasing, this portion of the costs will be shifted upwards. However, currently implicitly applied age limits for using certain diagnostic or therapeutic procedures will also be shifted upwards with increasing health (and life expectancy) of older people which increases costs. This effect can be seen by the so-called â€Å"steepening† of the age-cost curve over time. Finally it is very likely that in pay-as you-go systems the demographic development leads to the problem that the number of net-benefit-receivers is increasing while at the same time the number of net-payers is decreasing. This hypothesis is not undisputed in the literature. Some authors argue that rising costs do not primarily depend on age but on the time of death since they are reach the highest level in the period before death. Zweifel, Meier and Felder (1999). 19 Figure 2. 4: Standardized Expenditures in Germany according to age and gender e xpe ndit ur e pe r day in DM 40 35 30 25 20 men 15 women 10 5 85 gt;= 90 80 75 70 65 60 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 5 10 0 0 age Source: Bundesversicherungsamt (2002). 2. 2. 2 Changes in disease structure Changes in disease structure are partially linked to the demographic development having direct impact on the provision of health care and therefore on the health expenditures. First of all a shift to chronic diseases can be observed. Allergies, asthma and diabetes are becoming widespread. This is only partly due to ageing, but also due to changes in the environment. Environmental pollution in the past decades has decreased in general, but there is a time lag between the uptake of harmful substances and the effects on the health of an individual and the total health care system. For example, the long term effects of pollution in the 1960ies and 1970ies are affecting the health care systems today, while the effects of stronger ultraviolet radiation in 1980ies and 1990ies will be experienced in the future. Due to increased economic welfare excess of weight is becoming more and more a mass disease. Measured as body mass indexes the number of people considered to be overweight e. g. in France has risen from 5. 8% in 1990 to 9% in 2000. The Netherlands and Japan have similar problems as displayed in table 2. 2. This development is alarming since diseases in coherence with skeleton, muscles and circulatory diseases are expected to increase. 20 Table 2. 2: Body Mass Index in the four countries Japan 25lt; Germany 25lt; France 25lt; Netherlands 25lt; BMI BMI BMI BMI BMI BMI BMI 30 gt;30 gt;30 gt;30 gt;30 gt;30 gt;30 17. 5 18. 0 19. 7 19. 6 21. 0 2. 0 1. 9 2. 3 2. 6 2. 9 33. 0 18. 0 39. 4 29. 2 23. 9 26. 4 27. 2 5. 8 7. 0 9. 0 28. 0 28. 8 31. 0 34. 7 5. 0 6. 1 6. 9 9. 4 Source: OECD Health Data (2003); Bundesgesundheitssurvey 1998; Deutsche-HerzKreislauf-Praventionsstudie 1990. In spite of this development life expectancy and healthy life expectancy have increased in all four countries over the last forty years (figure 2. 5; table 2. 3). As revealed above in figure 2. 5 Japan has the highest average life expectancy at birth with 81. 3 (2000) years followed by France with 79. 0 (2000) years and the Netherlands with 78. 0 (2000) years. Germany had the lowest average life expectancy at birth of all four countries since more than 30 years, but has since 2000 a higher average life expectancy than the Netherlands with 78. 4 years. As far as healthy life expectancy (HALE) is concerned the situation changes as one may see from table 2. 3. The healthy life expectancy in citizens in Japan is even 2. 3 years higher than in France which has the second highest healthy life expectancy. This hypothesis is further supported by column 4 and 5 as Japan. Column 4 documents that Japan has the lowest expectation of lost healthy years at birth in 2001 while column 5 shows that is also has the lowest healthy life years lost as % of the total life expectancy. 21 Figure 2. 5: Average Life expectancy at birth in the four countries 82 80 expected life years 78 76 74 72 70 68 66 1960 1965 970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 years Japan France Germany Netherlands Source: OECD Health Data (2003). Table 2. 3: Healthy life expectancy (HALE) from WHO at birth and at age 60, estimates for 2000 and 2001 Healthy life expectancy (HALE) Males Total 2001 population Females 2001 Japan (1) At At birth birth 2000 2001 73. 5 73. 6 (2) At At birth a ge 60 71. 4 17. 1 (3) At At birth age 60 75. 8 20. 7 Germany 70. 1 70. 2 68. 3 15. 0 72. 2 France 71. 1 71. 3 69. 0 16. 1 Netherlands 69. 7 69. 9 68. 7 15. 0 Country Expectation of lost healthy life years at birth in 2001 (years) (4) Healthy life years lost as % of the total life expectancy (5)

The Outsider Essays

The Outsider Essays The Outsider Paper The Outsider Paper Essay Topic: The Outsiders The Outsiders S. E. Hint No rival gangs, only Soc. And you cant win against them no matter how hard you try, because theyve got all the breaks and even whipping them isnt going to change that fact. The Outsiders a novel that was first published In 1 967 by the author S. E Hint Is not only a novel about gang mentality and gang rivalry but is also about how a person could feel like an outsider based on where they live or how much money they have. In Pony Boys case it was his grades that made him feel like an outsider within his own family. Pony Boys a great example of what happens when you are involved with gangs, violence etc. You can become an outsider quite quickly just based on rumors and what people assume that gangs are like. S. E Hint was 16 when she wrote this novel and so Im assuming that she was surrounded by the same thing the character Pony Boy was brought up in. Greaser Greaser Greaser Oh victim of environment, underprivileged, rotten no-count hood. is Just some of the things that people used to describe the greasers, nowadays names like that are still seed to describe the underprivileged people that may not be as well off as the upper or middle classed people. Team tama yang biggie penning turnaround dalai Italians in expertise idea Absurd await moral yang didst immunoassay Dan idea kebabs mutual amnesia yang digress oleo motif The Stranger expertise colonialism menaced pertains Dan focus tama dalai phenylalanine in. Analysis critical yang multiple kalmia deathtrap hero Absurd did man kidnapping diasporas oleo parsnips moral Jells tetrameter Emmanuel The Myth of Sisyphus. Dalai Panamanian in, beebread analog yang minaret mendicant hubbubs idea Albert Campus tenting absurd man Dan idea Nietzsche meaning amnesia super, asked-Danny Menominee persona dalai term impanel moral Dan skips keypad kidnapped. Pertains yang libel tells adverbial keypad team colonialism yang did tarantula did dalai The Stranger. Prefabricating meaning morality idea Absurd Menominee Satan Lansing dean kalmia in Emmanuel meta z TTL K terminus Sis nougat Managua Megan lunar, Dogleg Jug Lana breaker dean kidnapped amnesia did Danni serrate mahatma Ciceronian. Phenylalanine in Jug umpteenth hubbubs mantra kidnapped Albert Campus sending dean idea Emmanuel hashish Korea belief. Penumbra adverbial shucks keypad Cambrian Falstaff belief Dan Pyongyang deathtrap miasmal Algeria. APPROVAL PAGE I certify that I have supervised and read this study and that in my opinion, it conforms to acceptable standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Human Sciences. Degree of Master of Human Sciences. Hazing Md. He is unwilling to be part of this selections and instead takes his sense of honesty as his guide. But this alternative life of his and the morals on which it is based are perverted too. Muralist indulges in gratification of his momentary wishes without giving much thought to the consequences. Lacking inertness and principles he Just slides through his life recording sensations. The course of life he chooses dulls his powers of perception to the extent that even murder becomes the matter of indifference to him. 8 Though Campus tried to disassociate himself from existentialist philosophers (Camber,2002), his mode of reasoning exhibits existential mindset as the essay reveals. The doom and gloom felt throughout his philosophical discourse reflects the all-pervasive pessimism of the war-torn Europe. The impact of the two world wars was so powerful that faith in transcendental nature was shaken to the extent that many people turned away from Christianity. The Myth of Sisyphus, published in 1942, was extremely popular due to the fact that Campus managed to address this moral decline and despondency of the post-war generation and, at the same time, to assert life stripped of illusions and comforting doctrines. He views human existence as utterly meaningless and hopeless. Campus relentlessly attacks religion and those who cling to religious values. The only reality, Campus maintains, is the reality of the here ND now, whereas the unverifiable notions about the hereafter are dismissed as debilitating concoctions. Apart from the two devastating world wars which marked the first half of the 20th century, Camass physical condition, living under the shadow of tuberculosis, as James Christian (2002: 451) noted in Wisdom Seekers, added to the deep pessimism of his writings. Though Camass bitterness and resentment are understandable, his reasoning however, cannot be accepted. Campus tries to set forward a humane moral vision while strenuously arguing in the manner of Nietzsche. The absurd mind dismisses out of hand the existence of God and hope

Computer Tech essays

Computer Tech essays We are living in the era of a knowledge revolution and are entering an informative society. Information capabilities of computers have made possible multinational corporations, and their analytic and imaging capabilities have made possible scientific and engineering breakthroughs. Both at individual and institutional levels, computer technologies suggest fundamental changes in the organization of everyday life. So, what kind of tool is a computer, and in which way do people get engage with computers? Computers are objects that are becoming dominant features in the human environment. Initially, computers were not socially neutral (i.e. residual ideologies when computers were first launched); they were substitutes for humans and were defined as only appropriate for certain social roles belonging to young faculty and graduate students, signifying their lack of resources to hire human support staff. As time passes, people soon began to realize that computers have the potential for uses in diverse kinds of workplaces, diverse applications, and varied transformations in work (i.e. emergent ideologies as people began to understand the importance of computer existence). Now, in general, computers are intended as a dominant medium for introduction of technical pedagogy, problem solving, into education settings and with other pedagogies. Since computers are general-purpose devices, they are used for a variety of applications. There are many disciplines, professions and technologies where computers have become of central importance. For instances, as in education, computers are completely accepted into the mainstream activity. It is also clear that computers will play an increasing large and eventually dominant role in our everyday life. Computers often make more efficient use of resources and hence, they provide the ultimate rationale for precision and efficiency. Indeed, computers are everywhere. People view computers as...

Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 45

Case Study Example This, therefore, means that a twist may be seen in the restaurant industry in terms of what they prepare and avail in menus to customers. The realization of the value of vegetables and the role they play in shaping dietary life implies that people will shift from HÃ ¤agen-Dazs Dazzler to vegetables as many would not wish to gain weight associated with junk foods. The hotel industry integrates a system in which every meal served must have some vegetables on the side (CSPI, 2015). Customers are more likely to feel satisfied only when they eat vegetables along with whatever meal they are taking. This revelation is enough to persuade the restaurant industry to revise and regulate their production in terms of how much HÃ ¤agen-Dazs Dazzler and vegetables they avail to customers. Continued campaign for vegetables over HÃ ¤agen-Dazs Dazzler will sensitize the public about eating right; therefore, the industry will have to comply by the customers’ demands. It is essential to make it clear that the Centre for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is genuine in the claims made. New research discoveries imply that people will definitely change their behaviors and consequently the industries that serve them will have to modify and adapt to the changes. The revelations exposed by the organization in healthy dietary has shed light on what exactly it means to eat whatever one chooses and the possible outcomes to one’s health (Shils, 2005, p.143). The scientific manner in which CSPI carries out its procedures makes it reliable as its outcomes and claims are thoroughly researched. It has been a tradition especially in the American culture for people to prefer fast foods over well prepared and nutritionally rich meals. The emerging reports presented by CSPI give people a different outlook into nutrition matters. The restaurant industry also has to alter its every day way of doing things and adopt new strategies

Review of A Worn Path by Eudora Welty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Review of A Worn Path by Eudora Welty - Essay Example Subsequent to that, she begins to consider it a ghost. Later, she concludes that it was a scare crow. After moving from there, she goes to the ravine and she drinks water. While meditating, a big black dog attacks her. Interestingly, that big black dog does not further chase Phoenix as soon as she throws a cane at the dog. Subsequently, a white man appears with a chained dog. He talks to her. And, at some point of time, she becomes so courageous to face the threat of a pointed gun raised by the white man. In the later part of story, she comes to meet her grandson. This entire story does not depict a reality. Had she wanted to meet her grandson, what caused her to go to hill, go to the field of dead corn, and the ravine? At some point, she becomes so bold to push away an attacking dog! Works cited Welty, Eudora, â€Å"A Worn Path†, New York Times, 1941, Available at: http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/41feb/wornpath.htm [accessed on 20 July, 2011]

Behavior Description Interview Essay Example for Free

Behavior Description Interview Essay You have invested the time of several experienced employees and a good deal of expense to interview a number of promising entry-level accountants. However, you wonder if your interviewing techniques are really helping you hire the job candidates that will be superior performers and help your organization remain profitable. Your concerns may be justified if you are using a typical interviewing strategy in which there is no standard set of questions or a strategy in which interview questions do not explicitly focus on the past behavior of the applicant. Yet, there is an alternative. Studies in human-resource management suggest that behavior description interviewing may help you identify better performers from the rest of the applicants PRINCIPLES OF THE BEHAVIOR DESCRIPTION INTERVIEW The first principle of the Behavior Description (BD) interview is interviewers standardize or structure the interview. The most important aspect of standardization is asking applicants the same or highly Similar questions. This allows all applicants to have a chance to provide information about certain job-related concerns and allows interviewers to compare similar types of information. The alternative of each interviewer asking their own questions will have your organization comparing apples and oranges when trying to make hiring decisions. Often this leads to lower quality hiring decisions. An organization may also seek to standardize the location of the interview, the individual who conducts the interview, etc. Any efforts to ensure similar treatment of applicants should be encouraged. An additional benefit of standardizing interview questions is that the interview is more defensible in court. In the past, organizations that had standardized questions won employment discrimination lawsuits more often than those without standardized questions. The second principle of BD interviewing is to explicitly focus on past behavior. BD enthusiasts believe that past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior. They also believe more recent behavior is a better predictor of future behavior than older behavior and that longstanding trends are better predictors of behavior than isolated incidents. The belief in the effectiveness of using past behavior to predict future behavior leads BD interviewers to ask certain questions. These questions use a superlative adjective (e.g. most, least, toughest, etc.) to focus the applicant on one particular incident of behavior. For example, accounting firms need staff members who are willing to address both internal and client problems. To gather relevant information about an applicant, a BD interviewer might ask the applicant to tell me about the last time a new idea of yours helped an organization or group work better. The interviewer might also be ready with follow-up questions such as how did you develop this idea, how did you convince your supervisor or client to adopt it, and how did it help the organization? The follow-up questions may be answered a s the applicant discusses a particular situation, but their presence alerts the interviewer that this information is important. In another instance, accounting professionals are often called upon to make presentations to groups such as audit committees or boards of directors. Accordingly, an interviewer might ask a job candidate to tell me about the most difficult presentation you have ever had to make to a group of five or more people. Probes might include what was the presentation about, how did you prepare for it, and was the presentation evaluated or graded? In each case, the BD approach to interviewing should yield a large amount of high quality information to the interviewer and can help the somewhat anxious applicant have a particular incident to discuss. The BD approach to interviewing can be strongly contrasted with more typical interviewing strategies. First, typical strategies suggest interviewers let candidates take the interview where they want to, go with the flow, or let the interviewee talk about any subject they desire so that you can best assess their personality. While this advice is encountered frequently, it is highly inaccurate. Studies contrasting BD interviewing to this approach show that the BD interview does a much better job of predicting job performance. In addition, studies that statistically combine the results of 10,000+ interviews from many smaller studies strongly suggest that various styles of interviews that standardize questions or other aspects of the interview work much better than the nonstandardized interview styles. Second, BD interviewing seeks to avoid making judgments of applicants personalities. Assessing personality characteristics in a 345 minute interview would be highly difficult for a psychologist. As a result, many professionals rely on well established tests to measure personalitythey are cheaper to use and much more accurate. Additionally, many personality characteristics do not have a history of predicting job success. Currently, many human resource management professionals believe intelligence and dependability do differentiate higher performers from lower performers. Extroversion, considered by many to be a positive trait for auditing personnel, also differentiates higher versus lower performers in some situations. Other traits should be viewed with caution until they clearly are shown to relate to job performance. Care should also be taken in trying to match the personality type of an applicant to the personality of the office. While it is extremely difficult to measure either of the above, it is also potentially hazardous. The solution to this problem is to avoi d using most personality traits and ask applicants about past behavior that may be similar to behavior required on the job. Finally, the BD interviewer tries to avoid hypothetical and self evaluative questions. In most cases, there is little evidence to suggest that most hypothetical questions actually distinguish between better and poorer performing individuals. This may be due to the difficulty of injecting enough reality in the situation to make it a good predictor of job success. Self-evaluative questions such as describe yourself or are you computer literate also have no history of predicting job performance. In addition, they ask the applicant to do your job for you. You should decide how competent applicants are in a particular area since you are worried about their contribution to your organization. Applicants answers are influenced to a large degree by their desire to land a job. BD interviews differ from situational interviews. Recent literature has confused the two approaches. While the BD interview focuses on past applicant behavior, the situational interview asks applicants how they would behave in future situations (extensive research is used to create real situations). The situational interview can also require different types of rating scales to be used at the end of the interview. While there are several differences between BD interviewing, situational interviewing, and typical interviews, there are also similarities. BD interviewers also believe it is important to break the ice with applicants, that they should ask for an applicants preferred name, that they should take notes, and they should close the interview in a professional manner. These guidelines are important in any style of interview. STEPS TO CONSTRUCTING A BD INTERVIEW Three steps should be used to develop a BD interview. They are illustrated in the following hypothetical example involving the hiring of entry-level accountants in a CPA . Interviewers need to analyze the job and determine the key results areas. Key results areas are the major tasks or behaviors that an entry-level accountant must be able to accomplish. Key results areas may be defined by many different strategies including a discussion among recruiters, managers, and partners. Key results areas might include: 1. Communicate with other individuals-a. In verbal and written forms with other accountants including supervisors and peers; b. In verbal and written forms with clients; 2. Diagnoses organizational problems; 3. Recommend solutions to organizational problems; and 4. Use common computer software (e.g., spreadsheet programs, data retrieval software, on-line services, or tax-preparation packages). The above behaviors or tasks should be examined to determine the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) that will enable them to be accomplished. Thus, an entry-level accountant should have: 1. Written communication skills to interact through letters and reports to clients and other accountants; 2. Verbal communication skills to communicate with clients and other accountants (not necessarily including making presentations to large groups); 3. Ability to diagnose problems in complex situations; 4. Ability to solve problems individually and in groups; 5. Ability to attend to large amounts of detail; 6. Ability to manage multiple tasks; 7. Knowledge of common software programs; The KSAs required lead to a selection plan that involves a series of BD questions. In this example it is assumed that there will be two interviews: a recruiting interview at the school and an invitation to the firms office. To evaluate the candidates KSAs the following questions and probes might be used. 1 Written communication skills a. Ask for a sample of writing from a professional or educational setting before the second interview. 2. Verbal communication skills: a. Watch for verbal communication skills throughout each interview and rate them at the end of the first and second interviews. 3. Ability to diagnose problems in complex situations: a. Tell me about the last time you recognized a problem in an organization in which you were involved. * How did you recognize the problem? * How did you study the problem? * How did you determine a solution to the problem? b. Tell me about a time in the last year in which you were gathering information from a person who was being uncoopeative. * What was the situation? * Why were they being uncooperative? * How did you feel? * How did you get the information you needed? * What was the result in this situation? 4. Ability to solve problems individually and in groups/teams: a. What was the most successful solution that you and a group of other individuals developed to a particular problem? * What was the problem? * What was your role? * What was the result of your solution? b. What is the toughest problem that you as an individual have solved in an educational or work setting? * What was the problem? * What was the result of your solution? 5. Ability to attend to large amounts of detail: a. Tell me about the last time when you had to gather large amounts of information to complete a project. *What was the project? *How did you organize the details? * What was the end result? * Did anyone assign you a grade for the project? b. Which class of yours required the most attention to detail. Please tell me how you dealt with the demands of the class. * How did it require attention to detail? * What was your strategy to deal with the detail? *What was the result? 6. Ability to manager multiple tasks: a. Tell me about how you managed your school work and extracircular activities during your busiest semester. * What made the semester so busy? * Did you have any priorities? * Where there any strategies that helped you cope? * How did the semester turn out (in terms of grades, activities, etc.)? b. Tell me about the last time you had to juggle several different responsibililties when you held a job. * What were the responsibilities? * Did you have any priorities? * Where there any strategies that helped you cope? 7. Knowledge of computer software programs: a. Please tell us about the most involved computer project that you have been involved with in school or in an organization. * What software was involved? * What was your role? * What was the result or grade? 4. Please tell us about the last time you learned a new piece of software. * What did it help you accomplish? * How did you learn it? * Did you enjoy the experience? c. Please tell us about any time that you used a spreadsheet program such as Lotus 1-2-3, Quattro Pro, or Excel. * Was individually or a group? *What did you need to accomplish? * What was the result or grade? Once the questions are developed, recruiters should organize the questions and probes into some logical order on an interview form. The form may provide reminders to greet the applicant warmly and any other reminders desired by the recruiters. It should definitely leave enough room for notes about the answer to each question. These notes can be extremely helpful when recruiters are trying to remember the remarks of each person recently interviewed. We recommend that recruiters practice with the new interviewing form. Recruiters may pair off and take turns playing the interviewer and the applicant, or they may wish to enlist a student to go through an interview. The trial interviews could be recorded on a video camera. The feedback from the video playback is often a very valuable learning experience. Lastly, an interviewer evaluation report should be designed to record ratings for each candidate. The process is relatively simple once the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) required by the job have been listed. We suggest that recruiters list all the KSAs down one side of the paper as seen in Figure 1. (Figure omitted) This will allow a systematic consideration of each applicant against job requirements. Next, recruiters should choose a rating scale. We have chosen a five-point scale anchored by very little of the KSA on one end of the scale and a great amount on the other end of the scale Scales should have from five to seven points and anchors meaningful to the recruiters. A place for notes or comments and a set of simple instructions is also recommended. Finally, there should be a place for an overall evaluation of the candidate. There are several different methods which can be used to generate an overall evaluation score. A recruiter can make an overall evaluation of the candidate on the same scale used for each KSA. Unfortunately, past research has suggested that this method is not very reliable. Another option is presented in the figure on page 77. In this case the recruiters add their ratings to form a final evaluation. This approach is relatively simple and often yields final recommendations quite similar to more complex methods. Furthermore, individual KSAs can be weighted differently. In this case, each KSA evaluation score could be multiplied by its weight. All scores would be summed to obtain an overall score For example, assume that the first four KSAs in the figure were assigned weights of .2 and the last three KSAs weights of .1. A candidate might be given a rating of 5 on the first two KSAs and ratings of 4 on the other KSAs. The candidates overall evaluation score would equal 4.8 (5 x .2 + 5 x 2+ 4 x .2 + 4 x 2 + 4 x .1+ 4 x .1+ 4 x .1). Either of the last two approaches is recommended. The authors would like to thank Paul Osting (Vice-Chairman, Human Resources, Ernst Young, New York, NY), J. Breck Boynton (Director of Human Resources, Elliot, Davis, Company, Greensville, SC) and Patricia G. Roth (Clemson University) for their comments and suggestions.

Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening :: essays research papers

Interpretation of Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening First Response My first response to this poem was that it seemed simple. To me, the speaker is simply stopping by the woods on snowy evening and enjoying the peaceful scenery. His senses are heightened and he is taking in the sounds of the falling snow and the winter wind. However, he cannot ignore urgency that calls him to keep going. He wants to stay in the woods, but realizes how many miles he must travel before he can sleep for the night. As I thought about the simplicity of this poem, I knew that there had to be more to a Robert Frost poem. I began to compare this poem with the way that Robert Frost usually writes. He is known for writing about death and darkness. I decided to reexamine the poem and look for evidence of death. It actually became quite apparent. He describes the woods as lovely, dark, and deep. Death, to some, is lovely. It is definitely dark, and the grave is deep. When he is in the woods he is far away from the city. The city can be considered a symbol of life. There is alway s a lot going on in a city. He knows that it is not his time to die, and he cannot stay in the peaceful woods. His horse reminds him that it is not his time to die by making noise and disturbing the tranquility of his moment or death. At the end of the poem the line referring to miles before he can sleep lets the reader know that the speaker has a lot more life left before his death. Speaker and Tone I think the speaker in this poem is a man for two reasons. First, I picture this poem to take place many years ago. He refers to a village and that his transportation is a horse and carriage. Also, I think it is a man because during this time period a woman would not be alone in the woods. The overall tone of this poem is peaceful. The speaker sets the mood of serenity and total enjoyment with his surroundings. Structure and Form The poem consists of four almost identically structured stanzas. Each line is iambic. Within each stanza the first, second, and fourth lines rhyme. The third line does not, but it sets up the rhyme for the next.

Informative Speech On Nutrition Essay

Public Speaking 230 Informative I. College students are not eating the proper foods or the recommended daily allowances even though they believe they are eating healthy. A. Illustration Suzanne- Started nibbling on potato chips between meals and late at night. – To keep up with studies, she cut back on swimming. – She would prepare her self by eating what she thought was healthy, granola bar or a frozen yogurt. – Larger breakfast- orange juice, bacon, sausage, eggs, hash browns, toast with butter and jam, and black coffee instead of fruit juice, cereal, and skin milk she had always ate at home. – By dinnertime she was starved, she loved fried chicken and a helping or two from the salad bar alternative to french fries. Eric- – Found himself in a similar pattern. – Putting a lot of time into keeping up with his course work – Spending less time than before on sports and bike riding – Eating fast-food restaurants, – Skipping meals from time to time. – Eating candy bars for lunch several times a week Before the semester was over, Eric’s friends started teasing him about the spare tire around his waist, and Suzanne was having trouble zipping up her clothes that fit her perfectly a couple of months earlier. B. The (your college) survey shows students aren’t eating a balanced nutrition; with little time and effort it is possible for students to know and understand their daily allowances. 1. Survey of (your college) Students nutrition 2. History of Nutrition 3.  Food Guide Pyramid C. How many of you feel you are in the same situations as Suzanne or Eric? Whatever the circumstances, many (your college) students are eating wrong and will soon be affected by it. II. A random survey of fifty Cumberland College students reveals that the eating habits of students are often not similar to good nutrition. A Although many students fell like they are eating three meals a day the survey shows many are going without breakfast and picking up an extra meal somewhere else. B. High percentages show that students are not getting enough servings of fruits and vegetables. C. High percentage of student never takes a multiple Vitamin and never eats healthy snacks. III. A brief history of Nutrition and students excessive consumption of fat. A. The first dietary â€Å"standards† were formulated in the US in 1940. During WWII, a food and Nutrition Board was established as a part of the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences (Arlin, M.C. The Science of Nutrition). The objective was to provide standards to serve as a goal for good nutrition. Recommended allowances for nutrients are amounts intended to be consumed as part of a normal diet. B. US Department of Health and Human Services stated in The National Adolescent Student Health Survey that most students know that excessive consumption of fat, sugar, and salt increases one’s risk for specific health problems, and most student cannot choose between common foods on the basis of their fat, sugar salt, or fiber content. IV. The key to good nutrition is a varied diet that includes every kind of nutrient. The Food Guide Pyramid calls for limited daily servings of fats, dairy products, oil and sweets: more servings of fruits and vegetables; and  even greater potions of bread, cereals and pastas. A. Meat, Poultry, Fish Group- 2 servings B. Fruit and Vegetable Group- 5 to 6 servings C. Bread Group- At least 4 servings D. Dairy Group- 3 servings should be included in a daily diet. V. Despite the continual changes in food products, one-factor remains constant- food is the only source of nutrition we have, regardless of how, when and where it is prepared. We can’t always dictate how food reaches us, but we can be nutritionally knowledgeable. We can learn to meet our nutritional need in the reality of today’s eating patterns.

Mel Gibson vs. Kenneth Branaugh as Hamlet Essay

The recent â€Å"box office rebirth† of England’s favorite bard has left Hollywood with much to do about interpreting Shakespeare’s classic dramas. The characters of Ophelia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, the gravedigger, and of course Hamlet himself take new life, as the greatest actors of our time assume these timeless roles. Produced in 1990, Mel Gibson’s â€Å"Hamlet† is a more straightforward, highly edited version of the original text in comparison to Kenneth Brannagh’s lavish rendition of the same tale. At only 135 minutes, Gibson’s â€Å"Hamlet† might be considered â€Å"Shakespeare Light,† the cinematic equivalent of Cliff’s Notes. However, although Brannagh should be commended for sticking to the text, be forewarned about this â€Å"Hamlet†-by including every line of the original play, this movie clocks in at exactly 242 minutes. The setting chosen for Brannagh’s and Gibson’s â€Å"Elsinore Castle† are as different as day and night, quite literally. And these bright and dark castle settings symbolically reinforce the specific â€Å"mood† or themes each director emphasizes. For instance, the lugubrious Gibson feels perfectly at home in his dark and dank mansion, an ideal place for a grieving soul to maintain its ruefull descent. Conversely, the introspective Brannagh is continuously catching glimpses of himself and others (and into their true souls) in the mirror-lined ballrooms of his glistening castle. Since Hamlet is, in its essence, truly a ghost story (so apropos for Halloween week!), each director has handled these â€Å"special effects† quite differently. Gibson gives a more stage-like handling of the ghost of  Hamlet’s father, using only lighting to cast an eerie glow or flickering shadows on its actors. Brannagh, on the other hand, seeks to use every filmmaker’s device possible, including the light blue glowing eyes of Hamlet’s father and the â€Å"dry ice forest,† (both of which stretched the limits of viewers’ imagination). One special effect that worked very effectively was the use of â€Å"flashbacks† in a character’s memory, specifically in scenes which show Hamlet and Ophelia’s romantic (yet clandestine) relationship developing. The greatest aspect of watching the Gibson and Brannagh films together is noticing the subtle differences between each actor’s expression of the same character. Both versions address, or evade, some of the most controversial issues in interpreting this play: Hamlet’s possible madness, his seemingly Oedipal relationship with his mother, and Ophelia’s suicidal demise. Mel Gibson portrays a brooding, sullen-browed young Hamlet–moody, miserable yet clever and cunning, and always lurking in the dark corners of this ever-somber castle. By contrast, Brannagh commands the screen with a Hamlet more brash and emboldened than Gibson’s, a determined young man whose bright and opulent surroundings reflect a very intellectual, socially and politically astute strategist (not to mention pretentious snob!). Both tiptoe the line between sanity and madness, without ever fully crossing over into a psychological abyss. With Glenn Close playing Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother, Gibson intensifies the Oedipal overtones between the queen mother and her son. Beautiful, elegant, and intensely emotional, Gertrude exudes an exuberant yet refined sensuality throughout the early scenes of the film. Does she linger a little too long on the lips of Hamlet, or is this merely a joyous display of affection for her only son? The famous, and perhaps infamous, bedroom scene eventually shows the glamorous duo of Close and Gibson struggling against one another, and the final fencing scene also emphasizes this pair, their constant awareness of the other’s situation. By casting the ethereal Close alongside the handsome Hamlet, Gibson focuses  on the mother-son relationship versus the Ophelia-Hamlet romance, as Helena Bonham-Carter presents an overly passive, almost prepubescent and one-dimensional performance of Ophelia. Too young, too much manipulated by her father, Ophelia in her insanity scene merely shows a weak young woman overcome by her own pitiful plight. Because her relationship with Hamlet is never developed in Gibson’s â€Å"Hamlet,† Ophelia’s suicide is a merely an action that furthers the plot of Hamlet’s fate–it is not given consideration as the fate of Ophelia herself, a complex, passionate, and â€Å"three-dimensional† character in the play. Brannagh’s casting of â€Å"Shakespeare’s women† gives an entirely different interpretation. To begin with, Julie Christie (as Gertrude) is downright homely in comparison to Glenn Close (check out the differences between the early â€Å"consoling scene† of each film in which Gertrude tells Hamlet that death is â€Å"common†). Thus, Christie is perfect for Brannagh’s interpretation–Hamlet seeks to avenge his father’s death not because of his Oedipal attraction to his mother (which would be too emotional and adolescent for this prince), but rather for some higher sense of truth and justice (perfect for the philosophical Brannagh). Christie is not the amiable, all-loving (or sensual) mother that we saw Close to be, and thus Gertrude’s â€Å"motivation† to marry the brother of her dead husband seems more about politics and power than pure passion. Her role in the movie and the sympathy she evokes in the viewers diminis hes greatly as we view her (and her second husband) with suspicion and even aversion. Yet Kate Winslet (also starring in â€Å"Sense and Sensibility,† â€Å"Heavenly Creatures†), cast as Ophelia, is simply breathtaking. Her presence on the screen commands the full attention of viewers, and Brannagh uses her charisma to create perhaps the most fully developed representation of Ophelia to be brought to any film. She is shown as a strong-willed, intelligent and independent young woman who is passionately in love (and lust!) with her eccentric prince. If you have seen and heard her grief expressed in â€Å"Heavenly Creatures,† then you will know that her â€Å"insanity scene† is the most harrowing display of a heart’s devastation that you might ever see. Her ethereal voice, her song of sadness, will be hard for viewers to forget. With a cast of characters including Billy Crystal, Charlton Heston, Robin Williams and Jack Lemmon, Kenneth Brannagh’s â€Å"Hamlet† is a sure-hit among devoted â€Å"Shakespeare-philes.† Yet, the dynamic performances of the characters in Gibson’s â€Å"Hamlet† guarantee that both movies are even better appreciated when viewed, and compared, together. One of the greatest aspects about Shakespeare’s plays is the never-ending interpretations and expressions that can be made–not only by film makers with their elaborate scenery and all-star casts, but also by each of us as viewers and, hopefully, as readers too.

Levittown essays

Levittown essays In the 1950s, Abraham Levitt had a dream. He dreamt of building an organized social community in response to the post WWII population boom and the urge to rebuild social connections. With the mindset of its creator and his familys business, his communities called Levittown grew to be thriving social centers and examples for the ideal American suburb that still stands today. However, there were some discrepancies and minor failures in the roots of Levittown, NY, and other Levittowns to come. Their tendency to stress conformity and the racial segregation that occurred would be viewed negatively today. Levittown's place in American cultural history of post war America is assured in part by the way each part of it was constructed: the site and the neighborhoods, but most importantly the construction of society and the community that resulted. The key figure in the construction of Levittown was Abraham Levitt. He and his sons ran a construction company known as Levitt and Sons. Abraham was born on July 1, 1880 in Brooklyn, New York. At the age of 10, Abraham quit school, despite his avid passion of Philosophy and his astonishing ability to read above his grade level. One of his hobbies was gardening, and his love of foliage and horticulture was later reflected in Levittowns agricultural setting. Abraham did however return to school at the age of 20 and received his education at New York University Law School, and finally earned his degree in real estate law in 1902. Abrahams abilities as a facilitator of land acquisitions by building contractors would lead him to create Levitt his youngest son, Alfred, would be the designer of the homes. William Jaird Levitt, who later became president of Levitt and Sons, was born on February 11, 1907. Just as his father he was educated in New York public schools, and took after his father, being an avi...

Vanity Press How to Dodge Scams Self-Publishing Companies to Avoid

Vanity Press How to Dodge Scams Self-Publishing Companies to Avoid Vanity Press Scams and Self Publishing Companies to Avoid The awful news for authors out there today is that there are plenty vanity press scams and self-publishing companies to avoidunless you want your money stolen, that isIf you are a self-published author, publishing your book today has never been easier. With a quick Google search, you’ll come across dozens of self-publishing companies offering publishing services for authors.But, how do you know if the company isn’t just another vanity press scam?Before making any decisions, you want to check out all your options carefully. If not, you could find yourself the victim of a self-publishing scam, forking thousands of bucks over to a shady publishing company with nothing to show for it.In this post, you’ll learn how to recognize the self-publishing scams when they cold call youand the companies you can really trust to get your book published!Here’s what we’ll cover in this post on self-publishing scams:Why authors fall for vanity press scamsEarly warning signs of self-publishing scamsYour self-publishing optionsTaking down the scammersRed flag list: Self-publishing companies to avoidWriters beware and watchdog groupsEducate yourself in self-publishingAre you ready to self-publish your book?NOTE: If youre ready for a system and method to actually succeed in the self-publishing industry (not to mention keep ALL the money you earn), check out our VIP Self-Publishing Program. Learn more about it hereAs with any lucrative industry, there are a wide range of self-publishing scams in business for one reason: To take your money.A Vanity press publisher charges sky-high prices for author services that includes editing, formatting, cover design, and marketing.But, all of this is outsourced to the lowest bidder and in the end, the author is left with a poor quality book and no way to market it.â€Å"You get what you pay for† doesn’t equate when it comes to vanity press and the publishing scams they represent. You do pay top dolla r, often tens of thousands, and what you get back for your investment lacks anything of value.So, how can you avoid these self-publishing scams?Let’s take a look.Why Authors Fall for Vanity Press ScamsThere could be many reasons why someone would sign up with a scammy publishing company that wants you to pay big money up front.There is no shortage of scams out there when it comes to self-publishing. The biggest reason authors fall into these scams is becausewell, they dont know what they should know to avoid being scammed in the first place.The fact that you have to pay a publisher to get your book published is warning sign enough: The lies are on the wall. Most authors who fall into this trap are not published authors yet.You are either thinking of writing a book, youve started writing it, or you’re done and can’t wait to get it out there.So, when a publisher comes along offering to get their â€Å"just finished† manuscript into the hands of thousands of readers and sell millions of books worldwide, I would grab at it, too. Who wouldn’t want that?As a first time author, you are most likely not going to write a book that sells thousands of copies. And if you do, it will not be through a company that you just paid $5,000-$10 to for this to happen.Most soon-to-be-published self-publishers fall into the lap of predatory publishers because they need help.For someone who wants to become a successful author, your passion to publish is so strong that it overrides the sudden impulse to take the first offer on the table.Here are several reasons why you might fall for the vanity press trap:You are desperate for the know-how of book publishing.The publishing process is too complex.You are scared of â€Å"not publishing† and want it done right now.You are not tech-savvy and would rather pay someone to overcome the hurdles.Your friends keep asking you â€Å"When is your book coming out?†You know nothing about book marketing and need to hire the experts. Guess what: Vanity publishers don’t know much about it either and youll have to market no matter the avenue of publishing you choose.You watched a video of a self-published author who just signed a 6-figure deal with a large publisherand you think that is what usually happens.Before you make any hasty decisions, stop and breathe. If you need help with publishing your book [and everyone does] there is a right way and†¦The other way that steals all your hard-earned dollars.My hope is that you read this post before signing anything. If you can know the danger signs to watch for, you’ll pull yourself back from making a decision that costs you thousands of dollars, not to mention the heavy burden of regret later.Early Warning Signs: The Lies of Vanity PressVanity presses are generally a bad idea all around, but well cover some specific ways they can scam you and why theyre often on the list of self-publishing companies to avoid.How Vanity Press Publishers Scam YouIt is actually easy to spot a predatory publisher. I only hope you get to this post before they get to you. Here are the 5 big signs you are at risk of being scammed.#1 - The company asks for publishing fees. This should be enough right here. Although Hybrid Publishers require authors to pay for all the publishing services upfront, they usually split the fees later.A vanity press publisher will charge thousands for a publishing package. You are told that the book sales will be recouped later through book saleswhich almost never happen. Don’t listen to the so-called â€Å"reviews and testimonials† on the websites. These are rigged, of course.#2 - â€Å"We will publish your book for you on Amazon.† Let me be clear about this: Publishing on Amazon is super easy, even if you have limited tech skills. Not to mention Amazon has an excellent support system in place. The response time to inquiries is less than 24 hours and they are very detail ed when it comes to responses.A vanity publisher will make this sound more complicated than it really is. They will â€Å"take care of everything† and upload the book for you. What this also means is you lose control over making any future changes to the book. The only person that should be uploading the book to Amazon is YOU under your own account.#3 - Charges for A Reading Fee. Never. This just isn’t done. A traditional publishing house never asks for this. If you are told by the sales rep they will read your book for a certain fee, red flag this. The â€Å"reading fee† scam is less common today, but just in case you do run up against a company that tries this old scam.With a real publisher, nobody makes money until the book is selling. Actually, this practice has fallen the wayside these days and it would be rare to come across. But there is always someone willing to try†¦#4 - The publisher will buy you an ISBN [because they are so hard to get]. You ca n buy an ISBN through Bowker.com if you reside within the USA. The cost is $125.00. In the U.K. you go through Nielson. In Canada ISBNs are free through ISBN Canada. If you buy this through IngramSpark they offer a slight discount. Again, this is just another ploy to make you think it is a difficult process that is better off left to the â€Å"professionals.†#5 - â€Å"We will take care of all the marketing, because we know how difficult it is.† Yes, marketing is difficult, especially for authors. But a vanity press company won’t market the book to sell, they will do the bare minimum required so it appears as if the book is being placed in the proper channels.My advice: Grab a book on marketing for authors or enroll in a course. Learn it. You can even outsource it out so that you do Sell More Books. But in the end nobody is better at marketing their own book than the author.#6 - Excessive use of flattery. The first time I spoke to a vanity press sales rep I re member the praise she gave me for my book. I felt as if I had written a book that was going to sell thousands of copies in the first week.The rep was quoting passages from the book and referencing everything from the first page. Mind you, I later realized, everything she was quoting was from the first few pages. So did she read it? Of course not.#7- A sales rep calls you several hours after you sign up to their newsletter with a sales pitch. I tested one of these sites by enquiring about their services, and I downloaded a freebie. The next day I received a call from my â€Å"Publishing consultant† ready to help me fulfill my dreams as an author. Wow. The sales pitch was impressive, but if you already knew the situation, it was a total scam. You can smell it.But, for a new author excited to be part of the publishing journey, listening to someone else tell you how excited they are to publish your boom is a very tempting catch. In the end, they don’t care about your book or you. Whether it is Author Solutions or another of the dozens of publishing scammers out there, they get your money and keep milking it with constant upsells.#8 - Make â€Å"over the mountain promises† to get you endorsed by Hollywood. It is not unusual for these companies to tell you that your book has a shot of being featured in Oprah’s book club, or that they will send your manuscript to one of their agents in Hollywood for review.I can promise you one thing- Your book will never see the inside of a movie studio. Not unless you are a well-established author who has already proven themselves, and even then, it will not be through a vanity press company that you get there.#9 - Promises to get your book into barnes and noble and other bookstores. In this case what happens is, they put your book into a large catalogue where bookstores and libraries can order it. But realistically, you’ll be hard pressed to sell a single book in any bookstore if you publish t hrough a vanity press company. Libraries and bookstores won’t even consider it in most cases.#10 - Insists you sign a contract handing over exclusivity. If this final dose doesn’t make you run the other way, I don’t know what will. By any and all means, as a self-published author, you do not sign over your material rights to anyone. This gives the vanity publisher the right to further exploit your work and profit from all sales. The author, in this case, gets a lower end percentage.Now that you’ve seen the red flags, you are well-informed to make a decision if you come across what appears to be a shady publisher. You don’t need to sign anything or pay huge amounts of money for the publisher to â€Å"publish you to Amazon† or set you up with a movie deal.Now, let’s take a look atYour Self-Publishing OptionsWe are not living in the 1990s anymore. Back then, choices to self-publish were limited. You either paid a company- like a vanity press- a lot of money. Or, you went on your own and hired a printing company to run off tons of copies that were not cheap.Today, you will see that you have many good choices these days that make it easier for you to get your book published.#1 - Self-Publishing CoursesThere are quite a few reputable self-publishing courses out there. You buy the course, and work through the modules to write and ultimately publish your own book.There are costs to publish your book, including creating it, cover design, editing, and launching your book. You still have to pay for these services, but at least you get to choose who is working on your book.It is up to each individual author to outsource his or her own book. Publishing courses provide the content you need to get it all done, but you do all the work and take on additional costs outside the cost of the course.You have to pay for the basics that any author pays for: A good cover design, hiring an editor and formatting, and maybe a budget for marketing services such as book promo sites or a media package.But many new authors are weary about self-publishing and think uploading to Amazon- or other publishing companies- is a complex ordeal. It isn’t. I have been coaching authors for years and, nowadays, the system is built in that all you have to do is plug your book info into the Kindle Direct Publishing Bookshelf and away you go. The cost for actually self-publishing your book is O.The production cost for the average book is about $1500. If you pay $1000-3000 for a course + $1500 for the book production, you are still under $5,000. If you continue to write more books, you’ve already paid for the course that usually gives you access for a lifetime.Taking a self-publishing course is the best option we think. You learn how to do so much of the process yourself, and can rinse and repeat for future books. You still pay for everything but, who you decide to hire is up to you and the creative decisions are all you rs.#2 - KDP [Kindle Direct Publishing]The KDP platform is Amazons book publishing platform. Publishing a book is so much easier now than it ever used to be, especially with Amazon self-publishing.You no longer need to go through painstaking efforts to land a book deal which locks you into unrealistic deadlines and cuts you out of most of the earnings. You don’T have to sign up and fork over thousands to a vanity press company.You can now have complete control of your book – and its revenues – by publishing directly through Amazon self-publishing.Setting up your KDP account is easy, and should be the first step you complete.Here’s how to set up your Kindle Direct Publishing account:Go to https://kdp.amazon.com and register with either your Amazon account or with your email address.Next, click â€Å"Update† in your account information and fill in your tax information. It’s important to note that you need to complete your tax information BEFOR E you can publish your first book. So don’t skip this step!Once your tax information is complete, click â€Å"Finished† and return to the main page.Your profile is complete!#3 - Print On DemandIf you are a new author reading this, with the print on demand services offered by Kindle Direct Publishing and Ingramspark, you can order your own author copies and pay print costs plus shipping to your location. Buy your own ISBN, copyright your book, and own what you create.To start printing your own books with IngramSpark, visit their website and set up an account. Do the same with Amazons’ Kindle Direct Publishing platform. Do it yourself. It’s not the difficult process many would have you believe, and there is lots of support on these sites ready to help you right away.How much is the cost to print a book?It depends on the book size but, for a book that is 30k in length with little to no photos or graphs and text only, expect to pay less than $4 per copy. The average scammy publisher will charge new authors $15-20 dollars per copy.But for them, they print the books at the same cost as an author who sets this up through KDP or IngramSpark.In fact, many vanity press publishers use IngramSpark for the print-on-demand service only just to sell the books back to the author at 5x the print cost.#4 - Vanity Press PublisherVanity press publishing, also called subsidy publishing, differs from selfpublishing in that the author assumes all the risk and pays the publisher for everything.The editing, formatting, cover design, and even marketing the book are paid for by the author through the various packages offered when an author signs up.But, there is a trap here: The costs are more than you initially pay for, and they don’t tell you this until later when you’re mired deeper into the project. Once invested, most authors are compelled to publish the book no matter the costs.The emotional investment is what these companies prey on. Kn owing how you feel about your book, they are ready to help you do anything to get it to marketand that means offering more expensive services.By the time you are done and the book is published, potentially you have just spent $10k. With close to 0 book sales.Vanity publishers make money, not from selling books for you, but from the author buying their own books back from the publisher. It is a scam where the author always loses.#5 - Traditional PublishersThis is not a self-publishing route but, if you want to take the traditional path, you can begin by querying your manuscript with agents. Keep in mind, you may not see your book in print for a couple of year due to the lengthy process of first finding an agent, and then having them submit it to publishers to buy.What is a traditional publisher?â€Å"A traditional book publishing company buys the rights to an authors manuscript. Buying rights from the author is how book publishers have traditionally acquired books. The advance is d educted by the book publisher from any royalties the author receives from the sale of the book.†That’s right, they pay you an advance for the book. You don’t pay them anything. It depends on the publisher’s contract but they will pay for [some] marketing.The editing, cover design and formatting is taken care of by the publisher [in most cases].There are a lot of nightmare stories of authors signing on with traditional publishers, but that usually equates to the publisher not trying hard enough to sell any books. In this case the author may end the contract and, after that, many authors take up with self-publishing and find better success. After all, why not be in charge of building your own book business?#6 - Hybrid PublishersA hybrid publisher is what you will find between a traditional publisher [pay nothing upfront but get paid an advance] or a vanity press publisher [pay for everything upfront and keep all royalties.The hybrid publishers model is simp le: An author pays for everything upfront but gets a bigger cut of the royalties after book sales, upwards of 50%. The initial cost means that the author assumes all the financial risk in order to get the book to market.One other difference between traditional and hybrid publishing is, the hybrid has to pay the author a higher percentage of royalties than a traditional publishing house.In order for a company to be called a hybrid publisher, there are 9 criteria set out by the IBPA (Independent Book Publishers Association) that must be adhered to:In order to not be classified as a vanity press, ALL book submissions must be reviewed. This means if your book does not meet the criteria, it should be rejected. A vanity press doesn’t care. Anything and anybody will do.Hybrid publishers must clearly define a vision to follow for their company.Must report reputable sales on all titles they publish.Authors who sign with hybrid publishers must be paid a higher royalty than that of stan dard traditional publisher rates.The quality of the production- cover design, editing and formatting- must meet industry standards.The publisher must publish as its own defined imprint and request its own ISBNs.Manage all distribution services for the works.Hybrid publisher must manage the rights of the works they publish as well as any subsequent rights acquired.Hybrid publishers must meet the standards and best practices set out by the publishing industry.Butthe vanity press publishers are bad seeds. Lately they are disguising their services as â€Å"hybrid publishers† but still operate with the same scammy tactics.Take caution here that, while a hybrid publisher might look legit on the surface, there is a possibility you could get ripped off if you are not 100% sure.Taking Down the ScammersAs a coach and self-publishing authority, I have worked with at least a dozen authors who’ve come away from a vanity press publisher broke, not just financially, but emotionally a s well.Like most authors, they just wanted to fulfill a dream and publish a book. But as soon as you sign up with a self-publishing scam company, your dreams are ripped apart and so is your bank account. By the time the not-yet-published author realizes it, they are invested by thousands of dollars and bound by a contract.Over the years several class-action suits have been launched against scammy publishers for bad business practice. The worst of these publishers is Author Solutions, a company with a bad rap and a long history of complaints targeted against it by authors who have been exploited.This company boasts on its website â€Å"300,000 authors published.† I would be hard-pressed to believe this and to go a step further, the percentage of those authors who would use Author Solution service again?Chances are if you have been down this road, you realized before you were half way there that you’d taken a bad path.Author Solutions is at the top of the chain of seedy publishing houses promising to get your book to market because the world needs to hear your story. And for a publishing package upwards of $5999 it could all be done for you. Well, initially you are led to believe.Author Solutions is the parent company of several subsidiaries that operate, not only in the US but now have an International reach as they have set up in countries worldwide.How do they make their money?It isn’t from helping authors to sell books.The authors usually end up selling nothing. Instead, they are made to buy the books they want from the publishers at a high cost just so they can have their own copies to sell or giveaway.Recently, several companies have been shut down in class action lawsuits, and this is still continuing today, with authors taking a stand and fighting back against the book publishing thieves.Fortunately, authors are better educated these days on the publishing options available. Vanity publishers are disappearing. But do return â€Å"we aring different clothing†, disguised as the next best company to get you that bestselling book.Red Flag List: Self-Publishing Companies to AvoidI have compiled a list of publishing companies you should avoid at all costs. This is not a complete list but includes names of the major companies flagged by Writer Beware and Alliance of Independent Authors.For a very thorough listing, I would recommend you check with the Alliance of Independent Authors. ALLi stays up-to-date on the scammy reports, warnings and lawsuits taken against bad publishers.Here are some self-publishing companies that have made the list of those to watch out for:Author SolutionsAuthorHouse UKArchway Publishing [Simon and Schuster]LifeRich Publishing [Reader’s Digest]iUniversePalibrio [for the Spanish-speaking community]Dorrance publishingChristian faith publishingWestbow pressBalboa press [a Division of Hay House]Newman Springs PublishingPartridge PublishingTate PublishingTrafford PublishingXlibris [UK , AU, and NZ]Outskirts PressDog ear publishingWriters Beware and Watchdog GroupsRemember: Always do your homework. To make sure if you are buying into a legit business you should check in with these sites listed below.Writer Bewareâ€Å"Shining a bright light into the dark corners of the shadow-world of literary scams, schemes, and pitfalls. Also providing advice for writers, industry news, and commentary. Writer Beware is sponsored by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc.†Preditors and EditorsProviding up-to-date action against possible publishing scammers.ALLi [Alliance of Independent Authors] / Watchdog Postsâ€Å"Each month on the ALLi blog, the excellent Watchdog John Doppler explores key issues regarding the provision of self-publishing services around the world.†The Independent Publishing Magazine / Publishing Service IndexA detailed breakdown of self-publishing companies and their ranking based on service and reliability.Educate Yourself in S elf-PublishingPublishing scams will always be around as long as authors are paying for their services.How do you, as an author, avoid falling into this trap?The self-publishing arena is like a vast oasis of information and a never-ending learning process. Vanity press publishers are banking on you having no idea what to do, which is why you might consider turning to a publishing company in the first place.Our advice at Self Publishing School is this: Educate yourself on how to publish a book. You’d be surprised the things you actually don’t have to pay for.Take control of your self-publishing career today.Are you ready to self-publish your book?Enroll in an online self-publishing courseYou can check out this list of best self-publishing courses. I highly recommend joining an online self-publishing course for achieving all your publishing goals.You will learn how to write and market your book your way and all of it within your control. You won’t have to give up a nything or sign your book rights over to a publisher that will exploit your creativity.