Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Nursing Shortage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Nursing Shortage - Essay Example A few nurses are ready to help the distressed individuals due to many reasons and scarcity of nurses is creating many impacts on patients as well as the healthcare industry. This study has been selected to scrutinize the impact of nurse scarcity on the health care industries to convey ample health care assessment, diagnosis and treatment services to patients. The evaluation of the required number of nurses because of the patient to nurse ratio and availability of floor nurses is crucial in terms of getting the right considerations to the problem (Dinsdale, 2004). Chapter 2: Literature Review†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦..14 Nursing Staff Shortage and the Hospital Management†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...14 Post Training†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦15 The shortage of acute care nurses is one of the primary concerns in the healthcare industry across the world. The issue has created a substantial impact on the fitness activities efficiency in hospitals and healthcare centers. Several studies have shown that the nursing graduates entering in the nursing profession and those who are still in the occupation are not enough to facilitate the hospitals and patients. The healthcare professional shortage is one of the chief impediments in the achievement of United Nation’s Millennium Development goals to remove poverty, hunger, improvement of education systems, reduction in morbidity, and mortality as written in the guidelines of the year 2004 that are provided by the international nursing council (Littlejohn, Campbell & Collins-McNeil, 2012). The problem of shortage of acute care nurses has a relation to the past historical staffing, appointment, resources, nursing demand estimation, and nursing concerns for healthcare services of a country. The issue of shortage of nurses is not easily measureable and demands extraordinary planning and requirements. The relative
Monday, October 28, 2019
Rent-A-Captive Insurance Company Development
Rent-A-Captive Insurance Company Development A Critical Analysis of the Benefits, Risks and Implications of Creating an Off-shore Rent-a-Captive Insurance Company in Bermuda. Contents (Jump to) Abstract Chapter 1  Methodology Chapter 2 – Research Process Chapter 3 – Findings and Evaluation of Findings 3.1 Captive 3.2 Analysis of Benefits, Risks and Implications 3.3 Rent-A-Captive 3.4 Pestle Analysis 3.5 Porter’s Five Forces Abstract The potential for utilizing a rent-a-captive facility in Bermuda represents a method that is a business proposition to examination the risks, benefits and implications of utilizing this as a viable strategy. Inherent in equating any strategy are its suitability, ease of entry and exit as well as costs and weighing these against the learning curve and relative benefits that will accrue in best and worst case scenarios. To reach such a determination, the examination will employ a number of strategic as well as financial tools, along with the advantages and disadvantages of the methodology to determine its viability in a general, specific and overall sense. The use of any business strategy has either direct and or indirect implications which represent variables that must prove their worth in their ability to further the overall aims, objectives and purpose of the entity and to be particularly of benefit in adverse economic conditions and or unforeseen occurances. The preceding tough evaluative climate represents the acid test via which to effectively prove or disprove its potential worth to the enterprise. A ‘captive insurance company’ represents an entity that is set up for the limited purpose by parent insurance companies to finance risks from the main organization and or its subsidiaries (Bawcutt, 1997, pp. 8-9). Rather than representing a new concept, captive insurance companies have been around since the mid 1870s, borne out of ‘protection and indemnity’ clubs of that period which offered marine insurance in coverage of third party liabilities as well as expenses emanating from either operating or owning ships as a principle (Braithwaite and Drahos, 2000, p. 157). The preceding was a result of the passage of the Lord Campbell Act of 1846 (Alabama Law Review, 2004, p. 884), which â€Å"†¦ was enacted by the English Parliament †¦Ã¢â‚¬ and titled the ‘Fatal Accidents Act of 1846’ whose purpose was â€Å"†¦ to alleviate the harsh results †¦Ã¢â‚¬ from either serious injury or death on ships during that period (Alabama Law Review, 2004, p. 884). Claim liability potential was increased as a result of the flood of immigrants traveling to the United States as well as the higher value of cargos and injuries to crew members. The Protection and Liability Clubs pooled resources to cover claims arising from the passage of the act and minimize exposure for the primary insurance carriers such as Lloyd’s of London (Alabama Law Review, 2004, p. 884). Captive insurance companies can be utilized to provide insurance coverage for commercial purposes, as well as industrial and governmental entities to insure either all or part of the risks facing an organization (Geisel, 2004). Captive insurance companies also can be formed as a result of companies that have similar business risks joining together to pool said risks in a cost effective manner to have the needed insurance coverage for these types of areas (Geisel, 2004). The increased growth in this industry segment is a result of the change in the way businesses and organizations see the way to finance their risks as it represents a more flexible approach against potential losses, augmenting catastrophic risk that is covered via conventional means (Sammer, 2001). Critical to the preceding is understanding that insurance represents â€Å"coverage by a contract binding †¦Ã¢â‚¬ one party to â€Å"†¦ indemnify another against specified loss †¦Ã¢â‚¬ as a return for pr emiums paid covering said insurance (Houghton Mifflin, 2006). It, insurance, represents a form of ‘risk management’ that is a hedge against some type of financial loss that has a probable incidence of occurring, thus insurance represents the transfer of this risk from one entity to another as a result of the exchange of premiums calculated based upon the potential of occurrence. The preceding summary will provide an understanding of the purpose and niche regarding captive insurance companies as well as how they fit into the overall realm of the insurance industry represents important background information that is germane to the topic of ‘a critical analysis of the benefits, risks and implications of creating an off-shore rent-a-captive insurance company in Bermuda’. Chapter 1 – Methodology The methodology that will be utilized in this examination will consist of understanding the nuances involved in the process of single parent captives as well as rent-a-captives to determine the subtle and or obvious differences that represent either positive or negative factors which a company would need to be aware of as well as consider to have a full understanding of the process. Inherent in such is the understanding of the legal, business, regulatory, financial, operational and administrative facets of the process and how these impact upon each other in the utilization of a rent-a-captive facility. The preceding represents a broad based understanding as well as in depth with regard to the benefits, risks, implications and related factors. In equating such this examination will employ such tools as Porter’s Five Forces framework, a SWOT analysis, as well as a Pestle Analysis and a discussion of the Balanced Scorecard to aid in reaching a determination of the foregoing. The limitations to the methodology may be in that the tools of analysis are not directly suitable to analyze the process, and or they may be too many business, operational and or industry variables to enable equating if the process is or will be effective in all or most instances. The methodology is limited by the complexity of the problem in that the decision branch tree factor may be too large to adequately cover all of the potential nuances and aspects which might be important. As the basis for the study is the suitability of a certain structure for potential utilization, the methodology is thus simplified into gathering and comparison as a means to uncover the basics and related detail factors which appear in multiple sources. Chapter 2 Research Process The research process will consist of secondary measures utilizing books, journals and online sources to provide a wide cross section of ideas, viewpoints, concepts, theories and practices to ensure that the salient foundational information is based upon the true and actual conditions present. Through a comparative analysis entailing systematic methodologies of collecting, review and analysis of data, the foregoing will provide for such an outcome. Yin (1994) advises that in conducting research, one should seek to equate the positioning of such against real life phenomenon by virtue of gathering a number of viewpoints to reach a balanced understanding. Yin (1994) also adds that the broader the examination, the better will be the grasp of the information and thus conclusions reached. Maxwell (1996) supports Yin’s (1994) approach and cautions that quality is more important than quantity, thus the research process will seek to weed out lesser sources in favor of more established ones through a comparative process. The preceding represents the suggested approach as put forth by Lieberson (1991), as well as King et al (1994). As the subject represents a pragmatic consideration whereby theory is less important, the comparative analysis of sources is easier as the base information should be relatively close, if not identical, depending upon the jurisdictional locale. Said variable renders the research process as relatively straight forward. Chapter 3 – Findings and Evaluation of Findings In examining the subject matter, background information as well as facts, details and information pertaining to the field of captive insurance companies is an important foundation to understanding the benefits of a rent-a-captive as a comparison. The forgoing includes an understanding of the jurisdiction in which the rent-a-captive is located. 3.1 Captive 3.1.1 Bermuda Bermuda’s entrance into the international insurance market got its start in 1947 when it was selected by C.V. Starr â€Å"†¦ as the location for his American International Company, Limited (Bermuda Market Solutions, 2005, p. 3). The captive concept was promulgated by Fred Reiss in the mid 1960s as â€Å"†¦ an insurer owned by a non-insurance parent †¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Bermuda Market Solutions, 2005, p. 3) which was established to finance the insurable exposures of the parent. Bermuda is the global leader in the captive insurance market, growing dramatically during the 1980s as a result of group captives that were created to permit smaller companies to align with those of similar interests to thus gain greater control over their insurance through the pooling of risks (Bermuda Market Solutions, 2005, p. 3). One of the largest of these was the OIL Insurance Ltd. that was formed by petroleum companies in the early 1970’s as a result of difficulties they were facing in the property insurance market. Table 1 – Total Insurance Assets for all International Insured’s (in billions) (Bermuda Market Solutions, 2005, p. 3) Bermuda, is the premier domicile for captive insurance companies as well as rent-a-captives with in excess of 1700 insurers (Lowtax.net, 2004). The captive insurance market has slowed over the last couple of years in contrast to its rapid growth pace of the late 1980s and 1990s with other locales offering similar advantages thus effectively bringing its share of the global market down to approximately one third of all captives from a high of 40% in the mid 1990s (Crombie, 2005). Locations such as the Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Hawaii, Guernsey, and Barbados as well as Dublin, along with an addition 45 other jurisdiction as well as a number of states in the U.S. have slowed Bermuda’s growth and market share as a result (Crombie, 2005). Other factors in this trend have been (Crombie, 2005): the increased popularity of risk retention groups whose small size, in general, does not make them really suitable for location in Bermuda, increased marketing by new jurisdictions such as Hawaii and Vermont which have the advantage of being American states, developments in the varied types of corporate vehicles that are available, notably segregated account companies, and lastly, the ways in which some jurisdictions count their captives, including those that have formed and not removing them once they have been dissolved. Another important consideration is cost. Bermuda is expensive and thus since cost does matter to smaller captives as well as those operating on slimmer margins, there selection of locale takes this facet into account. Bermuda’s client base primarily consists of large U.S., European and South American companies whose presence has been in that location for some time (Crombie, 2005). The cost is offset by Bermuda’s reputation, quality of professional expertise as well as the ease of access thus minimizing the cost variable over the long term as a result of the foregoing and the locale’s stability. Another factor that must be considered with respect to Bermuda’s global positioning in terms of the attraction of new captives is the limited infrastructure on the island for residences, schools and traffic. Bermuda is basically more of an exclusive club which is based upon quality as opposed to quantity (Crombie, 2005). As the third largest insurance local after Ne w York and London, Bermuda’s new business formations in 2004 saw approximately 50% in the form of captives (Lowtax.net, 2004). The country is the number one location for segregated account companies with 83 that include 6,234 cells within cells as compared to 126 protected cell companies in all other locations as of 2003 (Lowtax.net, 2004). Table 2 – Captives by Domicile Year End 2002 (Towers Perrin, 2004) Table 3 – Leading Captive Domiciles (Elliott, 2005) The preceding represents data on captives as of year end 2002, thus accounting for the higher figures indicated above, showing captive numbers for domiciles mentioned as a comparison. 3.1.2 Rent-a-Captive Insurance Companies A rent-a-captive insurance company provides ‘captive’ insurance facilities to other companies for a fee and protects itself from any losses via individual programs that are further isolated from losses via other programs in the same company (Banham, 2001). Banham (2001) provides the analogy of thinking of a rent-a-captive insurance company â€Å"†¦ as a mall of stores †¦Ã¢â‚¬ and each store represents â€Å"†¦ the self insurance program of a particular company†. The rent-a-captive concept represents the fact that a company does not have to go through the procedures and regulations entailed with incorporating its own captive as it is able to lease one instead. The preceding represents a business rationale for creating an off-shore rent-a-captive insurance company, leasing out its existence. The concept of the rent-a-captive provides much of the same benefits that corporate owned captives do in that it provides (Banham, 2001): increased control regarding losses as a result of improved claims management, the ability to derive a profit from underwriting along with investment income from the funds that are set aside for claim reserves, various tax benefits, and avoidance of accounting and audit issues, which are the responsibility of the rent-a-captive sponsor. The advantages of the establishment of a rent-a-captive insurance company depend upon a number of factors on the part of the interested company. These aspects shall be discussed in the analysis of the benefits, risks, and implications of a rent-a-captive. 3.2 Analysis of Benefits, Risks and Implications In equating the reasons, as well as benefits, risks and implications of forming a rent-a-captive it is important to have an understanding of the reasons as to why captives are formed, thus providing an understanding of the benefits of a rent-a-captive. The following represent the foregoing (Elliott, 2005): To reduce and or stabilize cost Generally, the financing of risk under a captive lowers overall cost and aids in stabilizes costs long term as a result of being less susceptible to changes in the insurance market. Examples of cost savings are represented by the fact there is: no profit load, the reduction and or elimination of commissions to brokers, lower costs for administration, the owners in a captive share in all of the earnings through policyholder or shareholder dividends, a captive avoids costly insurance regulations as well as the exclusion of payments into residual market pools and premium taxes, savings in loss – cost is another area as captives serve to increase the awareness of risk management as well as cost awareness among top management. The savings benefits, in general, exceed the expense of both setting up the captive as well as administering it. Increase capacity and provide access to reinsurance A captive can access the capacity of reinsurance markets and might be able to provide more coverage limits than available within the retail market. An example of the preceding is whereby multiple insurers participate in what is termed as a slip to offer millions in added capacity which would not otherwise be available. A ‘slip’ is a binder that often includes more than one insurer. An example of the preceding is provided by Lloyd’s of London whereby the slip is passed from underwriting to underwriter to initial and subscribe to specific parts of a risk (captive.com, 2006). Control One of the reasons for the origin of captives is due to insurance buyers that were tired of the vagaries of the market regarding insurance and looked for more control concerning underwriting, rates, investments and claim settlements. Captives provided them with these benefits. Coverage An advantage of captives is that they can provide coverage to subsidiaries and other firms that might not otherwise be possible or available for such areas as professional liability, certain business risks and punitive damages. Rate and form freedom The benefits of special constructed wording can be written by captives as a guide for reinsurers to follow to thus provide coverage’s for obscure areas. Establishment of better than average claim experience As the claim history for a captive insured may be improved or batter than the overall class of business for an insurer in the commercial category, this aspect makes a sound argument for retention of that risk in this framework as opposed to the broader and poorer claims experience as a whole. Recapture of investment income and to accelerate and or manage cash flow The investment income derived from a captive may be completely or partially retained by the captive as opposed to staying with commercial insurers thus providing revenues that would otherwise be lost. Insurance accounting Special tax treatment accrues to insurance companies, such as tax deductible reserves for claims not paid and in the instance of life insurance reserves no taxes are paid on the internal build up of interest income. Tax deductibility Other tax advantages are possible such as in the case of multiple owners or insured as well as in the cases where the insured and shareholders are not the same. Another area is in the deductibility of premiums along with the deferred taxation of insurance income. Careful consideration of tax benefits need to be investigated prior to adding such advantages to the list of benefits. Perceived safety of formalized services As the books and records of captives are audited along with the claim reserves being under constant review by actuaries, investments managed by professionals and accounts that are maintained by managers that are independent, these services represent checks and balances with so many differing external factors checking the books and accounts that the system has extra measures of safety that in most cases is superior to other means whereby a number of these functions is performed in-house or by the same company. Favorable regulations Many captives are formed offshore to avoid certain unnecessary regulations concerning solvency. However, just as in onshore solvency regulations, offshore captive solvency regulations are designed to protect policyholders. In some instances this regulation is weak in offshore locales, which is not the case for Bermuda as well as the state of Vermont in the United States. Administrative tool for funding retentions In many instances, large organizations create captives to fund differences between their large corporate deductibles or retention and smaller deductibles or retention of its individual business units. Under the captive format the main organization is able to offer fixed cost rates that are above the smaller deductibles and balance the equation of as a result overall larger rate, thus spreading the deductible or retention and achieving savings. Risk management Captives provide the risk manager with more leverage than the annual cost allocation process. Innovative deals Captives can increase the access to certain deals, such as more creative loss portfolio transfers achieved by transferring liabilities from one balance sheet to another. Warehouse data Being in a captive can provide a tool for the collection of better as well as more data in support of its cost management efforts. An example of this is that a captive can be the central repository for what is termed common disability cost management for instances when an organization elects to finance certain employee risk benefits as well as worker compensation risks. Strategic partner support Coverage can be made available by organizations for their various business partners as represented by key suppliers and or customers, as well as independent contractors, etc. when the normal market pricing and or terms are not favorable. The preceding may very well provide tax management as well as profit advantages. Profit In some instances captives are created to underwrite the risks of a customer or to provide third party insurance. Such undertakings can provide and or add value to an organization as a result of tying the customer to the owner. Some of the preceding areas represent clear financial aspects as well as non financial operating areas which can in certain instances turn out to be as important or more important than the financial considerations in creating or utilizing a captive. The understanding of the benefits, advantages and implications of a captive are integral in the discussion of a rent-a-captive in that the reasons and rationales that are found in the former also apply to the latter. As such, a discussion of the structuring of captives is an important aspect to be considered in this context, as such aids in the understanding of a rent-a-captive. There are three primary aspects of captives, the financial, operational and of course personnel. Captive financial resources consist of premiums along with capital and investment income. The premiums and or capital can consist of non-investment instruments such as a letter of credit and these financial resources must be sufficient to accomplish three tasks (Geisel , 2004). First is the facet of financing the legal obligation as part of the insurance and or reinsurance agreements. Secondly, the financial resources must be sufficient to finance a reasonable level attributed to adverse development, and lastly, the financial resources needed to fund the expenses of operating the captive. It is important to understand that captives, as well as rent-a-captives operate in a somewhat similar fashion as traditional insurers. It, the captive, directly issues policies to insured’s, and or reinsurers via a fronting insurance company (Geisel, 2004). It also collects the premiums and pays claims as well as setting reserves aside to pay for legal obligations stemming from its insurance and or reinsurance agreements, and pay for the captive’s operating expenses, and dividends (Geisel, 2004). One of the advantages is that captives usually utilize a captive management company to run the day to day operations, maintain books and serve as the liaison with the regulators and Board of Directors (Towers Perrin, 2004). Captives also can and often do utilize specialty service providers, accountants, legal council and actuaries to aid in the operational aspects thus eliminating the need for finding, retaining, and setting up office space to house these aspects, which represent a considerable cost savings in internal administration. In terms of managing costs, captives have the following benefits and or advantages (Elliott, 2005): Actuarial Bermuda requires an actuarial analysis as an aspect of the feasibility study concerning the area(s) of insurance and or reinsurance being contemplated for setting up a captive. The premiums as well as losses are thus based upon this information and when the actuarial review has established a level of confidence in these figures, the captive will thus make a better impression on regulators, tax advisors and reinsurers. Bermuda requires ongoing actuarial analysis. Expenses In most circumstances a captive should be able to operate in a more efficient manner than commercial insurance companies. The captive’s expenses should be in the area of below twenty percent of premiums, unless loss control dictates a higher ratio. Investment It is a general practice among captives to set premiums to reflect the time value of cash in the assumption that the investment returns will closely approximate the amortization of the premium discount over time. The captive investment policy should thus be in keeping with the assumptions that are utilized to set premiums. 3.3 Rent-A-Captive The foregoing analysis and details concerning captive insurance companies provides the needed foundational and structural information to better understand the nature of the entity and thus the implications, benefits and other facets associated with electing to utilize a rent-a-captive format. Given the preceding, the reasons and rationales for electing to choose a rent-a-captive format takes on increased meaning. Rent-a-captives represent the fastest growing segment of the captive category and the indications are that they will continue this trend and become even more broadly utilized in the future (International Risk Management Institute, 2004). Large corporations usually establish a captive to aid in the underwriting of its risk as well as to assume portions of its losses based upon the prospect of making or deriving a profit from these operations (Elliott, 2005). In essence, the corporation enters the business of insurance in an attempt to gain control over its losses as well as t o lower the cost of its insurance as a result of deriving a return of profit from underwriting and or investment income. Smaller companies lacking the financial resources to cover the costs of setting up and meeting requirements for a captive can derive much the same benefits through renting a captive as the alternative to receiving the indicated benefits from their insurance program(s). Rent-a-captive insurance companies are in general funded, created and â€Å"†¦ rented by insurers, brokers or groups of affiliated businesses†(International Risk Management Institute, 2004). The determination as to whether a rent-a-captive represents a viable as well as sound proposition is dependent upon a number of facets that can be summarized as follows (Geisel, 2004): size of the company considering utilizing a captive, or rent-a-captive, the amount of losses it ha
Friday, October 25, 2019
School Violence :: School Violence Essays
Youth Violence: A Report of the Surgeon General. Chapter 4-Risk Factors for Youth Violence. 2000. ww.surgeongeneral.gov/library/youthviolence/report.html This Web site explains that risk factors for violence are not static. Their predictive value changes depending on when they occur in a young person's development, in what social context, and under what circumstances. Risk factors may be found in the individual, the environment, or the individual's ability to respond to the demands or requirements of the environment. Some factors come into play during childhood or even earlier, whereas others do not appear until adolescence. Some involve the family, others the neighborhood, the school, or the peer group. Some become less important as a person matures. Somewhat informative but not sure if I want to use this source. Alexander Volokh with Lisa Snell. School Violence Prevention: Strategies to Keep Schools Safe. www.rppi.org/ps234.html. This site addresses that school violence is a serious problem, especially in public schools. Improving the quality of American education is difficult without also addressing school violence, since regardless of how good the teachers or curriculum are, violence makes it difficult for students to learn. School violence wears many faces. It includes gang activity, locker thefts, bullying and intimidation, gun use, assaultâ€â€just about anything that produces a victim. Violence is perpetrated against students, teachers, and staff, and ranges from intentional vendettas to accidental killings of bystanders. Often, discussions of school violence are lumped together with discussions of school discipline generally, as both involve questions of how to maintain order in a school. This is a well informed site. Monica Davey and Jodi Wilgoren. Signs of Danger were missed in a Troubled Teenager’s Life. 24 Mar. 2005. www.nytimes.com .Some who knew Jeff Weise say they wonder why someone did not see his eruption coming months, or even years, ago. Here was the threat Mr. Wse, 16, once made on his own life, sending him away from his home on the Red Lake Indian Reservation for psychiatric treatment. There were the pictures of bloodied bodies and guns he drew and shared freely with classmates. There was the story he apparently wrote about a shooting spree at a school in a small town. This doesn’t seem to be such an important source for a paper. Dr. Peter. R. Breggin. Eric Harris Was Taking Luvox ( A Prozac-like drug) at the Time of the Littleton Murders. 30 Apr. 1999. www.breggin.com/luvox.html. In this site Dr. Breggin confirms that Eric Harris, was taking Luvox.
Thursday, October 24, 2019
A long way Gone and Refugee Boy
Ishmael Beah’s A Long Way Gone and Alem Kelo’s Refugee Boy are both exceptional books on the lives of two different people in two different countries undergoing almost similar events in life.Both of the stories portray life from the perspective of two vulnerable children caught up in circumstances that are not pleasant. However, the only difference between the two is that while Beah’s events are actual events, Alem Kelo’s are fictitious. However they both succeed in portraying the hard life of a child trying to fit in to a society that is alien to him.A Long Way Gone: memoirs of a boy soldier.Ishmael Beah, in his autobiography recounting the war years in his country, Sierra Leone, details how he became a child soldier. He says that when the war started, his mother and his father, who were from different tribe, which happened to be at war with each other, were separated. Though he does not give much detail as to how and why they separated, he records that t hey went separate ways.After the militia invaded their village, and he narrowly escaping being forcefully recruited into the militia, he realizes that there is no other way to escape the war and its only a matter of time before he either join the army or the rebel forces. So he opts to join the army citing the reason that in doing so he could atleast avenges his relatives who were killed by the rebel forces.In the army he also survived by taking ‘brown brown’, a mixture of gun powder and cocaine. This he says they were influenced to take due to the various brutal and sometimes vicious they had to do.The story is quite remarkable in that Ishmael Beah tends to remember almost all the little tiny details, which are remarkable, considered that most of the things he went through were quite early in life. For example he can vividly recount the events that marked the beginning of civil war in their village; he can remember the details like a woman carrying a bullet ridden chil d, a Volkswagen that brought the first people to be affected by the war and so on.Refugee Boy:Refugee boy is a fictional book by Benjamin Zephaniah. It tell the life of a young boy from a mixed family, the father being an Ethiopian while the mother is an Eritrean, it happens that these two countries are at war and Ethiopian army is demanding that foreigners, especially from Eritrea to leave the country.In the story, Kelo, being of mixed blood, cannot be accepted in either Ethiopia or Eritrea. The soldiers who come to compel them to leave call him â€Å"a mongrel†. So in search for safety for their son, Kelo’s father takes him to London in what to Kelo seemed like a holiday. Kilo is however rudely shocked when he realizes that the holiday was not really a holiday after he is abandon in a hotel room by his father.His predicaments are just beginning since he has to move to children’s home then to a foster home at the Fitzgeralds. In between he fights to get asylum in UK. He is tossed in the hands of social services and the Refugee Council of England.ReferencesZephaniah, B. (2004). Refugee Boy. New York: Turtleback Books.Beah, I. (2007). A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Limited.
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Mini Usa
MINI USA After working together for almost five years, MINI USA’s advertising agency, Scheid, Roberts, and Reicher (SRR) decided to resign the MINI account in order to pursue a larger account with Volkswagen. MINI USA had developed a significant successful client-advertising agency relationship with SRR since the launch of MINI Cooper in USA, and MINI’s advertising had been highly unconventional. For Trudy Hardy, marketing manager for MINI USA, the first challenge was starting over and finding a new but unique advertising agency before the end of the year.The selection process would be the crucial part. This analysis will discuss about the development of MINI and SRR, the alternatives of campaign strategy, and the recommendations to the MINI USA. For the last 40 years, MINI has become a cultural icon in all of those automobiles. Originally, MINI was deigned for those people who seeking frugal transport. After the acquisition of BMW, the new MINI model had been designed with a more evolutionary approach in terms of design combined with BMW’s reputation for delivering high-performance, driver-oriented cars.However, MINI was still seen as a less expensive car to compete at luxury end of a maturing world market. Before the official launch of US’s Marketing, plans were to position the MINI as a Premium small car because MINI Cooper was smaller and more expensive than some of the better-established compact cars made by Honda, Toyota, and Nissan. According the initial MINI marketing material and media reports, the MINI Cooper was described as â€Å"fashionable accessory to an affluent, urban-hipster lifestyle. This report suggested that the target market for the MINI was not limited to a specific demographic group or socioeconomic class but rather was more of a lifestyle choice or mind-set. From this report, MINI and BMW AG decided that the psychographic might have a significant impact on the purchase of a MINI. Also, the new MINI should b e marketed as a particular segment of car buys. By allowing buyers of MINI to add optional features and color schemes and limiting MINI’s advertising to traditional media such as television and radio, MINI was reinforcing the image of its otential buyers seemed less interested in being part of the mainstream. In 2001, SRR become the ad agency for MINI. The perfect relation between MINI and SRR enable SRR grew to more than 300 employees from fewer than 50. And MINI’s unit sales from 24,590 in 2002 increased to 40. 820 units in just 4 years. In addition to the strong sales figures, a consumer survey indicated that brand awareness for the MINI among the car-buying public was as high as 25%. This win-win situation was driven by a lot to the innovative and classic advertisement campaign produced by MINI and SRR.MINI and SRR’s advertising since the launch of the Cooper had been highly unconventional: they insisted using print and nontraditional marketing technique suc h as outdoor marketing instead of using television or radio, which was not cost effective. Meanwhile, they developed a booklet, The Book of Motoring, convey the message that what does MINI meant. Also, the SRR and the MINI marketing team designed a series of promotional events and publicity stunts to create additional buzz for the brand.For Trudy Hardy, there are several ways to rescue the jeopardy situation: The first choice would be try their best to find a new advertising agency. MINI could choose if they want to follow the old marketing strategy or go to a completely new one base on the selection process. The problem is MINI might not be able find any agency could be either follow the old marketing strategy or contribute a new idea. The second way for MINI is develop their own Marketing & advertising department. The MINI had been launched in US for almost five years.The crew of MINI should have a better understanding of MINI cooper than any other advertising agency. The in-house marketing department would be able to convey the spirit and message of MINI perfectly. However, developing an in-house department is not easy. Company has to spend a large amount of money on some specify talented people just for one –time project. And also, MINI didn’t have enough time to build a team in short period of time. Lastly, trying to get SRR back would be a way to solve the problem. SRR decided to resign to pursue a larger account with a competing German automobile manufacturer.If SRR is just for a larger account or a higher compensation, MINI could raise the price or compensation for SRR. If SRR is for another reason, MINI could also negotiate with SRR and try to figure out what is the real reason and get SRR back. From these three choices, the first one would have less impact on MINI’s future business. First of all, MINI knows its product better than anybody else, and MINI cooper is such a unique product. As long as MINI is able to convey the core v alue of MINI cooper and the way they want to market itself, it shouldn’t that hard for other agencies to catch the idea.Also, MINI could change the service any time. From the cost’s perspective, the first choice would cost less than any other options. Developing its own in-house marketing department or raising the compensation to get SRR back will case a significant high cost for MINI USA. Usually the average time of cooperation between companies and their advertising agencies is two to three year. This is just a normal business transition. MINI should focus on their future marketing strategy and how to convey this to the potential advertising agencies.What if MINI selected to find a new advertising agency, however, they found that none of those potential could meet MINI’s requirement? MINI should also have a contingency in case they couldn’t find the advertising agency or they picked a agency could not make a good campaign or promotion. I will have two s uggestions: one is keep using the old marketing strategies had been proved their successes until they find a new advertising agency could meet their requirement. Or to brainstorm and come up with some creative but less cost ideas by MINI USA’s own marketing department and take advantage of those unconventional outlets.
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