Saturday, August 31, 2019

Stay at Home Moms vs Working Moms

Many women have careers before they began their family. But once the first child arrives, it is time to decide whether to be a stay-at-home mom or to go back to work. There are many factors that go into this decision and it is different for every family. Making a decision to stay at home with the children or join the workforce can be a difficult process. I have been fortunate to experience being a stay-at-home mom for three years. I’ve come o realize the benefits of becoming a stay-at-home mom versus a working mom is having more time with the children, less stress, and it saves financially. One of the biggest and most obvious benefits of being a stay-at-home mom is the amount of time available to spend with the children. A stay-at-home mom is assured her children are being raised in a healthy, positive environment. Stay-at-home moms can expect fewer doctor bills, some children don’t come in contact with as many viruses and bacteria at home than at a daycare. If they do get a cold or the flu, the parent at home does not have to scramble to find care or ask for a day off of work. They are already at home with the child. Mothers at home have their busy days, but also have days where they spend time doing things just for the kids. They can go to the park at a moments notice. As a stay-at-home mom, I have the time to sit with my children and read books, play with race cars, and teach them the letters of the alphabet. Some benefits of being a stay-at-home mom is the mother is able to teach and educate her children, and have more consistent discipline. By staying at home, mothers can ensure that their children have the best start in life, by giving them the love and support they need. Staying at home can mean reduced stress to a slower, less frantic pace. While the world around us is going a million miles an hour, my children’s world is calm and stable. There is no morning rush to get everyone out the door and there are no chaotic evenings where we are not sure who is going to cook supper. I can give my children the time they deserve instead of cramming in time here and there. It is true that raising children can be stressful, but mothers who stay at home have less stress upon them than the working moms. Probably one of the biggest factors helping to decide if a parent should stay at home with the children is whether it is economically feasible. In many small ways, my being at home enables us to live on less (which means we have less income). Because I am at home, I have the time to keep track of our finances month-to-month and put together a detailed shopping list which helps keep our grocery bill to a minimum. Transportation expenses also often drops for stay-at-home moms. This can also decrease the premiums of auto insurance. A benefit of staying at home has the ability to save on or even eliminate the cost of child care. One of the most easily forgotten factors is taxes will decrease with the loss of that second income. After all, the decrease in taxes is not only in terms of dollars but also in the tax bracket. A stay-at-home mom eats out less often on average. Also the amount a stay-at-home mom spends on clothing generally goes down significantly. There is little need for a stay-at home mom to constantly buy new clothing. When a mother decides to stay-at-home, she can cut the hidden cost of work funds. Stay-at-home parenting is a full time occupation and definitely not and easy one. For my husband and I, we felt that taking a more active role in our children’s care, raising them up in the things we believe, and teaching and loving them for those precious early years would be beneficial to them. The best part of staying at home is setting my own schedule and getting to do fun things with my kids. Each set of parents has an idea of how they want their children to be raised. No one can raise children the way parents want except the parents themselves. There is a special bonding and interaction that grows and takes place between parents and children when either parent is able to stay at home. Sharing everyday life with kids, seeing them growing on a daily basis and giving the love and attention the need can make both parents and kids happy.

Friday, August 30, 2019

The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Nine

Where r u? Elena texted impatiently. Stefan was supposed to meet her at her dorm room more than twenty minutes ago. Surely his study group was over by now? She was starving. She paced around the room, occasional y glancing at the dark tree branches beyond the windows. It wasn't like Stefan to be late. She checked her phone. It was too soon to try to reach him again. Outside, something dark moved, and she gasped. Then she shook her head. It was just the branches of the trees out there, waving in the breeze. She moved closer, trying to see past the reflections on the glass. Their room was on the third floor; there wouldn't be anyone sitting that high up. At least not anyone human. Elena shuddered. â€Å"Elena,† said a cool, clear voice from outside. With a squeak that sounded like a frightened rabbit, Elena jerked backward, pressing one hand to her pounding heart. After a moment, she stepped up to the window and threw it open. â€Å"Damon,† she said. â€Å"You scared me to death. What are you doing out there?† There was a flash of white teeth in the shadows. A mocking tone rang through his answer. â€Å"Waiting for you to invite me into your room, of course.† â€Å"You don't need an invitation,† Elena said. â€Å"You helped me move in.† â€Å"I know,† Damon said, smiling. â€Å"I'm being a gentleman.† Elena hesitated. She trusted Damon, of course she did, but this seemed so intimate. Damon outside in the dark, Elena alone in her bedroom, neither of her roommates around. He'd been in her room at home, but Aunt Judith and Robert had been just down the hal . She wondered if Stefan would mind her being alone here with Damon, but she shook off the thought. He trusted Elena, that was what mattered. â€Å"Elena,† Damon's voice was soft but insistent. â€Å"Let me in before I fal .† Rol ing her eyes, she said, â€Å"You'd never fal . And if you did, you'd fly. But you can come in anyway.† With a soft whoosh, faster than her eye could fol ow, Damon was suddenly beside her. She had to step back a pace. Eyes and hair as dark as night, pale luminous skin, perfectly cut features. He even smel ed good. His lips looked so soft†¦. Elena caught herself leaning toward him, her own lips parting, and pul ed away. â€Å"Stop it,† she said. â€Å"I'm not doing anything,† Damon said innocently. When Elena arched a skeptical eyebrow at him, he shrugged and shot her a brief, bril iant smile. There, Elena thought. That's why Stefan might mind Damon being here. â€Å"Oh, al right. I'm only teasing you.† He looked around the room and quirked an eyebrow of his own. â€Å"Why, Elena,† he said, â€Å"I'm almost disappointed. You and your friends are running so true to type here.† Elena fol owed his eyes. Bonnie's side of the room was a mess, a tumble of stuffed animals, rejected outfits, and Dalcrest paraphernalia. In contrast, Meredith's area was rigidly tidy, books lined up alphabetical y, a single silver pen on the desk next to her slim silver laptop, her bed neatly draped in a silk duvet in subtly patterned gray and white. Her dresser and closet were closed, but inside, Elena knew, Meredith's clothes would be organized by type, color, and season. Damon was right: just by looking at their parts of the room, you could tel that Meredith was rational, sophisticated, careful y control ed, and private, while Bonnie was fluffy, fun-loving, and disorganized. What about Elena's own things? What did they say about her? She looked over her part of the room with a critical eye. Framed art prints from her favorite exhibits, her silver brush and comb lined up on her dresser, deep-blue sheets that she knew set off her eyes and hair. Someone who held on to what she liked and didn't change easily? Someone who was very aware of what suited her? She wasn't sure. Damon smiled at her again, without the mocking edge this time. â€Å"Don't give it a second's thought, princess,† he said affectionately. â€Å"You're more than your possessions.† â€Å"Thanks,† Elena said shortly. â€Å"So, did you just drop in my window to say hel o?† He reached out and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. They were standing very close together, and Elena backed away a little. â€Å"I thought maybe, now that you're a col ege girl, we could go out tonight and have some fun.† â€Å"Fun?† Elena said, stil distracted by his mouth. â€Å"What kind of fun?† â€Å"Oh, you know,† he said, â€Å"just a little dinner, a few drinks. Friend stuff. Nothing too daring.† â€Å"Right,† Elena said firmly. â€Å"It sounds nice. But I can't tonight. Stefan and I are going out to dinner.† â€Å"Of course,† Damon said. He gave her a firm little nod and what was so obviously supposed to be a supportive smile that she had to stifle a giggle. Supportive, friendly, and unassuming were not natural looks on Damon's face. He was trying so very hard to be her friend even though they al knew there was more than that between them. Since he had died and come back, he had been trying to change his relationships with Stefan and with her, she knew, to be with them in a way he never had before. It couldn't be easy on poor Damon, trying to be good. He was out of practice. Elena's phone chimed. She read the text from Stefan: I'm sorry. The study group's running late. I think it'll be at least another hour. Meet later? â€Å"Problem?† Damon was watching her, the same innocent, friendly smile on his face, and affection for him washed over Elena. Damon was her friend. Why shouldn't she go out with him? â€Å"Change of plans,† she said briskly. â€Å"We'l go out, but just for a little while. I need to be back here to meet Stefan in an hour.† She texted Stefan quickly to let him know she was going to grab some food and looked up to see a triumphant smile on Damon's face as he reached to take her arm. Bonnie walked across campus, practical y skipping in time to the happy tune in her head. A date with Zander, la la la la la. It was about time, too. She'd been eagerly anticipating seeing Zander again al week, and although they'd talked on the phone, she hadn't laid eyes on him around campus at al , even though of course she'd been looking. At last she was about to see him. La la la la la. Lovely, gorgeous Zander. She had on jeans and a sort of silvery, draping top that at least made it look like she might have some cleavage. It was a good outfit, she thought, understated enough for just hanging out but also a little bit special. Just in case they decided to go out clubbing or something at the last minute. Zander hadn't told her what he'd planned, just asked her to meet him outside the science building. La la la la la, she hummed. Bonnie's footsteps slowed, and the tune in her head died off as she saw flickering lights il uminating a group of people up ahead. They were gathered in the courtyard in front of one of the dorms. Approaching, she realized it was a group of girls holding candles. The wavering light from the candles sent shadows across their serious faces. Propped against the wal of the dorm were three blown-up photos, two girls and a guy. Al across the grass in front of them were heaped flowers, letters, and teddy bears. Hesitant to break the silence, Bonnie touched the arm of one of the girls. â€Å"What's going on?† she whispered. â€Å"It's a candlelight vigil for the missing people,† the girl whispered back. Missing people? Bonnie scanned the faces in the photographs. Young, smiling, about her age. â€Å"Are they al students here?† she asked, horrified. â€Å"What happened to them?† â€Å"Nobody knows,† the girl said, her gaze serious. â€Å"They just vanished. You didn't hear about this?† Bonnie's stomach dropped. She knew that a girl was attacked – or something – on the quad the first night, but she hadn't known about any disappearances. No wonder her gut instinct had warned her to be scared walking across campus the other day. She could have been in danger. â€Å"No,† she said slowly. â€Å"I didn't hear anything.† She dropped her eyes and bowed her head, silent as she sent out a fervent hope that these three happy-looking people would be found, safe and sound. In the distance, a siren began to wail. â€Å"Something's happened.† â€Å"Do you think someone was attacked?† A babble of frightened voices rose as the sirens got closer. A girl near Bonnie began to sob, a hurt, scared sound. â€Å"Al right, what's the trouble here?† said a new, authoritative voice, and Bonnie looked up to see two campus police officers shouldering their way through the crowd. â€Å"We †¦ uh†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The girl who had spoken to Bonnie gestured at the photos and flowers against the wal . â€Å"We were having a vigil. For the missing people.† â€Å"What are those sirens for?† another girl asked, her voice rising. â€Å"Nothing to worry about,† said the officer, but his face softened as he looked at the sobbing girl. Bonnie realized with a slight shock that he wasn't much older than she was. â€Å"Miss?† he said to the crying girl. â€Å"We'l help you get home.† His partner looked around at the crowd. â€Å"It's time to break things up and head inside,† he said sternly. â€Å"Stick together and be careful.† â€Å"I thought you said there was nothing to worry about,† said another girl angrily. â€Å"What aren't you tel ing us?† â€Å"There's nothing you don't know already,† the man said patiently. â€Å"People are missing. You can never be too careful.† If there's nothing to worry about, why do we have to be careful? Bonnie wondered, but she bit back the words and hurried away down the path, toward the science building where Zander had suggested they meet. The idea of trying to have a vision, to see if she could learn anything about the missing people, nudged at Bonnie's mind, but she pushed it away. She hated that. She hated the loss of control when she slid into one of her visions. It was unlikely to work, anyway. Her visions had always been about people she knew, about immediate problems facing them. She didn't know any of the missing people. She bit her lip and walked faster. The excitement about her date had fizzled out, and she didn't feel safe now. But at least if she got to Zander, she wouldn't be alone. When she arrived at the science building, though, Zander wasn't there. Bonnie hesitated and looked around nervously. This corner of campus seemed to be deserted. She tried the door of the science building, but it was locked. Wellof course it was – there weren't any classes this late. Bonnie shook the handle of the front door in frustration. She reached into her bag, then groaned as she realized she'd left her phone back in her room. Suddenly, she felt very exposed. The campus police had said to stick together, not to wander around alone at night, but here she was, al by herself. A cool breeze ruffled her hair and she shivered. It was getting awful y dark. â€Å"Bonnie. Psst, Bonnie!† Zander's voice. But where was he? Bonnie saw nothing but the dark quad, streetlights throwing little circles of light on the paths. Above her, leaves rustled in the wind. â€Å"Bonnie! Up here.† Looking up, she final y spotted Zander on the roof, peering down over the side at her, his pale hair almost glowing in the moonlight. â€Å"What're you doing up there?† she cal ed to him, confused. â€Å"Come on up,† he invited, pointing to the fire-escape ladder on the side of the building. It was lowered to just a couple of feet above the ground. â€Å"Real y?† said Bonnie dubiously. She walked over to the fire escape. She could make it onto the ladder, she was pretty sure, but she was going to look clumsy and awkward scrambling up on it. And what if she got caught? She hadn't actual y read the campus regulations thoroughly, but wouldn't climbing the fire escape up to the roof of a closed building be against the rules? â€Å"Come on, Bonnie,† Zander cal ed. His feet clanging loudly against the iron steps, he ran down the fire escape, shimmied down the ladder, and leaped to the ground, landing catlike on his feet beside her. He went down on one knee and held his hands out together. â€Å"I'l boost you up so you'l be able to reach.† Bonnie swal owed, then stepped up onto Zander's hands and stretched for the ladder. Once she swung her leg up onto the bottom rung, it was a piece of cake, although the slightly rusty metal was rough against her hands. She spared a moment to thank al the powers of the universe that she had decided to wear jeans rather than a skirt tonight. Zander trailed behind her up the fire escape from one landing to another until final y they arrived on the roof. â€Å"Are we al owed to be up here?† Bonnie asked nervously. â€Å"Well,† Zander said slowly, â€Å"probably not. But I come up here al the time, and no one's ever told me not to.† He smiled that warm, wonderful smile at her and added, â€Å"This is one of my favorite places.† It was a nice view, Bonnie had to admit that. Below them, the campus stretched, leafy and green and mysterious. If anyone else had brought her up here, though, she would have complained about the rusty fire escape and the concrete roof, suggested that maybe a date should involve going somewhere. This was a date, wasn't it? She froze momentarily in a panic, trying to recal exactly what Zander had said when he suggested meeting here. She didn't remember the words themselves, but they definitely had a date-y feel to them: she wasn't a kid anymore, she knew when she was being asked out. And Zander was so cute, it was worth making an effort. â€Å"It's pretty up here,† she said lamely and then, looking around at the flat dirty concrete, â€Å"I mean being so high up.† â€Å"We're closer to the stars,† Zander said, and took her hand. â€Å"Come on over here.† His hand was warm and strong, and Bonnie held on to it tightly. He was right, the stars were beautiful. It was cool to be able to see them more clearly, here above the trees. He led her over to the corner of the roof, where a ratty old army blanket was spread out with a pizza box and some cans of soda. â€Å"Al the comforts of home,† he said. Then, quietly, â€Å"I know this isn't a very fancy date, Bonnie, but I wanted to share this with you. I thought you would appreciate what's special about being up here.† â€Å"I absolutely do,† Bonnie said, flattered. A secret little cheer went up inside her: Hurray! Zander definitely knows we're on a date! Pretty soon Bonnie found herself tucked up against Zander's side, his arm around her shoulders, eating hot, greasily delicious pizza and looking at the stars. â€Å"I come up here alone a lot,† Zander told her. â€Å"One time last year I just lay here and watched a big fat ful moon get swal owed up by the earth's shadow in an eclipse. It was nearly pitch black without the light of the ful moon, but I could stil see its dark red shape in the sky.† â€Å"The Vikings thought eclipses were caused by two wolves, one who wanted to eat the sun, and one who wanted to eat the moon,† Bonnie said idly. â€Å"I forget which one wanted to eat the moon, but whenever either a solar or a lunar eclipse happened, people were supposed to make a lot of noise to scare the wolf away.† Zander looked down at her. â€Å"That's a random piece of information to know.† But he smiled as he said it. Bonnie wriggled with delight under the sheer force of his smile. â€Å"I'm interested in mythology,† she said. â€Å"Druid and Celtic, mostly, but myths and stories in general. The Druids were into the moon, too: they had a whole astrology based on the lunar calendar.† She sat up straighter, enjoying the admiring look on Zander's face. â€Å"Like, right now, from late August to late September, we're in the month of the Artist Moon. But in a couple of weeks, we'l be in the month of the Dying Moon.† â€Å"What does that mean?† Zander asked. He was very close to her, gazing straight into her eyes. â€Å"Well, it means it's a time of endings,† Bonnie said. â€Å"It's al about dying and sleep. The Druid year begins again after Hal oween.† â€Å"Hmm.† Zander was stil watching her intently. â€Å"How do you know so much, Bonnie McCul ough?† A little smile played around his mouth. â€Å"Um, my ancestors were Druids and Celtics,† Bonnie said, feeling stupid. â€Å"My grandmother told me we were descended from Druid priestesses, and that's why I see things sometimes. My grandmother does, too.† â€Å"Interesting,† Zander said softly. His tone grew lighter. â€Å"So you see things, do you?† â€Å"I real y do,† Bonnie said, seriously, staring back at him. She hadn't meant to tel him that. She didn't want to weird him out, not on their first date, but she also didn't want to lie to him. So blue. Zander's eyes were as deep as the sea, and she was fal ing farther and farther into them. There was nothing above her, nothing below, she was ceaselessly, gently fal ing. With a wrench, Bonnie pul ed her eyes away from Zander's. â€Å"Sorry,† she said, shaking her head. â€Å"That was weird. I think I almost fel asleep for a minute.† â€Å"Don't worry about it,† Zander said, but his face looked stiff and strange. Then he flashed that warm, enchanting smile again and got to his feet. â€Å"Come on, I want to show you something.† Bonnie stood slowly. She felt a little strange stil , and she pressed her hand briefly against her forehead. â€Å"Over here,† Zander said, tugging her by the other hand. He led her to the corner of the roof and stepped up onto the narrow ledge running around it. â€Å"Zander,† Bonnie said, horrified. â€Å"Come down! You might fal !† â€Å"We won't fal ,† Zander said, smiling down at her. â€Å"Climb on up.† â€Å"Are you crazy?† Bonnie said. She'd never liked heights much. She remembered crossing a high, high bridge once with Damon and Elena. They'd had to if they were going to save Stefan, but she never would have been able to do it, except Damon had used his Power and convinced her she was an acrobat, a tightrope walker to whom heights were nothing. When he'd released her from his Power, after they crossed the bridge, her retroactive fear had been nauseating. Stil , she'd made it across that bridge, hadn't she? And she had promised herself she would be more confident, stronger, now that she was in col ege. She looked up at Zander, who was smiling at her, sweetly, eagerly, his hand extended. She took it and let him help her climb onto the ledge. â€Å"Oh,† she said, once she was up there. The ground swam dizzyingly far below her, and she yanked her eyes away from it. â€Å"Oh. No, this is not a good idea.† â€Å"Trust me,† Zander said, and took her other hand so that he was holding on to her securely. â€Å"I won't let you fal .† Bonnie looked into his blue, blue eyes again and felt comforted. There was something so candid and straightforward in his gaze. â€Å"What should I do?† she asked, and was proud when her voice was steady. â€Å"Close your eyes,† Zander said, and when she'd done that, â€Å"and pick your right foot up off the ledge.† â€Å"What?† Bonnie asked, and almost opened her eyes again. â€Å"Trust me,† Zander said again, and this time there was a rich undercurrent of laughter in his voice. Hesitantly, Bonnie lifted her foot. Just then, the wind picked up, and Bonnie felt like it was about to scoop her off the ledge and throw her into the sky like a kite whose string had snapped. She tightened her grip on Zander's hands. â€Å"It's al right,† he said soothingly. â€Å"It's amazing, Bonnie, I promise. Just let yourself be. Life isn't worth living if you don't take risks.† Inhaling deeply and then letting the breath out, Bonnie forced herself to relax. The wind was blowing her curls everywhere, whistling in her ears, tugging at her clothes and her raised leg. As she relaxed into it, she felt almost as if she was being lifted, gently, into the sky, the air al around supporting her. It was like flying. Bonnie realized she was laughing with sheer delight and opened her eyes, gazing straight into Zander's. He was laughing, too, and holding on to her tightly, anchoring her to the earth as she almost flew. She had never been so conscious of the blood thrumming through her veins, of each nerve catching the sensations of the air around her. She had never felt so alive.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Property Taxes

Property taxes – local taxes, immovable property/land tax, motor vehicle tax . (Lukas Szita) A property tax also known as millage tax is a charge on possessions that the holder is obligatory to pay. The tax is imposed by the governing authority of the area in which the property is placed; it can be a national government of country, a federated state, a county/region, or a municipality (In Slovak Republic property tax is the most important income for municipalities).We basically distinguish four general kinds of property: land, improvements to land (which are immobile man-made objects, such as buildings), personal property (transportable man-made objects), and intangible property. Combination of land and developments are called real estate or reality. Under a property tax system, the governing authority implements assessment of the financial value of every single property, and tax is measured in quantity to that value. Methods of property tax utilized differ significantly among different countries.Tax on property is often confused with special assessment tax. There are two basic forms of taxation which are the most popular: first (ad valorem tax) depends on the fair market value of the property. The second one other also called special assessment depends on a special enhancement also named a â€Å"benefit† for its reason. The property tax rate is frequently specified as a proportion. To compute the property tax, the local government uses multiplication of the evaluated value of the property by the mill rate and then divide by 1,000.For instance, a property with weighed value of 100,000EUR situated in a municipality with a mill rate of 20 mills would have a property tax bill of 2,000EUR per year. Property tax in Netherlands is imposed on homes on a municipal origin in two fragments: for the individual who lives in the household, and for the landlord of the house. Individuals who rent house are accountable only for the living part of the tax. Austral ia’s property taxes are known as property or parcel rates. Parcel rates and regularity of payment are set by local municipialities or councils.Each council has employees who value the land's price. The land value is value of the just land; they do not include existing non-moveable buildings on property. The measured worth of the land is base for the total charges of rates. Those charges differs from $100 per quarter to 1$, and frequencies of payments are differs according locality. Water rates are also common charges for property owners in Australia. Australia furthermore has stamp duty, used at the time when a property is sold.Fee is paid by the purchaser to the Office of State Revenue. Moreover to mentioned stamp duty there is also a Land Transfer Charge under the NSW State Revenue Legislation Amendment Bill 2010. Stamp duty rates are from 1% to 6. 75% based on the value of property and the state of Australia. Denmark has much simple system for taxing property. There it is 1% fee for property appreciated at less than DKK 3 million and 3% rate for above DKK 3 million. In Greece, property tax is set upon floor-area and bills for electricity.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Starbucks Success Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Starbucks Success - Essay Example In the history of Starbucks, the company has never lowered the prices of the coffee so as to attract new customers and maintain the loyal customers but rather the company has been increasing the prices of coffee. In some cases, the company has been able to maintain their product price level with high-quality coffee. If the price of coffee is increased, it is due to the rising labor costs and non-coffee commodity cost. Reduction of prices is done when the supply is high and the cost is still low in other countries. The pricing strategy that the company use is the right customer and the right market, making sure that the brands are of high quality leaving the loyal high-income consumers that perceive the brand as an affordable luxury which everyone cannot go without. Another pricing strategy that is used is product versioning and price communication where the company is able to enjoy the profit from the customers who buy the large sized packed coffee that is as a result of price hike ( Quelch, 2008). The price communication is based on how the company is able to attract the consumers where the price communicates through an increase to manipulate the customer perception of the coffee. Dunkin Donuts is a major competitor of Starbucks together with Tim Horton’s which offers the same product like Starbucks. Stiff competition is experienced since the companies still have expanded to other locations where they usually use the same strategies like the Starbucks.

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Compare and contrast the persecution of Jews with the persecution of Essay

Compare and contrast the persecution of Jews with the persecution of others in Nazi Germany on the grounds of racial hygiene - Essay Example The German scientists2 did legitimize this propaganda and in that regard, the Nazis went on to do away with all Jews that were residing in Europe in the infamous holocaust through brutal killings and mass murders.3 What began as an initial target of the Jews, soon spread to other people who were not of German descend and thus they also became serious victims of unprecedented persecution and mass murder around German strongholds in Europe and in concentration camps that were set up for that sole purpose of racial hygiene. It was actually a notion of cleansing Germany of the individuals that were seen as threats to the health of German society.4 This paper looks at this incidence of racial cleansing as the idea behind the massive persecutions that took place in that period of 1933 to 1939 and seeks to establish the persecution of Jews in comparison to that of the other non-German people by the Nazi government. For us to critically evaluate and answer this question, we need to analyse t he idea of racial hygiene, before embarking on looking at the impact that these actions had on both the two groups, Jews and others5; look at how the persecution was carried out; and the after effects of the persecution. The above issues will be well analysed and discussed before a conclusion is made. Nazi’s Idea of Racial Hygiene The racial hygiene was crafted by Hitler while he was in prison at Landsberg. In his imagination, he thought that for Germany to become stronger again there was need to cleanse it and get rid of inferior races through racial hygiene and eugenics. To him the nation was weaker and very corrupted by the infusion of some degenerate elements into the bloodstream of this nation. Neutralization of the weaker race became his decision. In 1920s growth of population was equated to having racial fitness and the idea of national strength. Racial hygiene was proposed as the only way to avert the problems. The doctors did play an important role in propagating Naz i policy because of the realignment of the medical profession with the Nazi after it took over power. Genetic health courts were also created and major Acts on racial legislation were passed in Germany starting from 1933 onwards geared towards elimination of the weak, while at the same time increase the birth rate by secluding women to homes and family where they were to bear many children, and strengthen the Aryan race. The persecution The persecution of Jews and other communities was based on the assumptions that Nazis could attain a pure race by having a cohesive national community, which did not have less valuable races or those from foreign regions. Persecution initially took the general discrimination of the races that were found not to be German through the scientific labelling process that considered family genealogies, observations, physical measurements, and the application of intelligence tests. As a result, all people were ranked as either inferior (non-Germans) or super ior (German or Aryan race). Another form of persecution that was used was the subsequent sterilization of the inferior race so that they do not give birth to more inferior people so that costs such as those of education could be saved. At this point, we cannot

Discrimination Based on Religion and National Origin Essay

Discrimination Based on Religion and National Origin - Essay Example Accordingly, as it is made known to her that customers need English speaking sales professionals, Mary was aware of the needs of the customers as well as her responsibilities, which include speaking in English. Additionally, the Spanish language was not prohibited as long as it is used to communicate with a Spanish-speaking customer. In the context of Mary’s case, it can be said that the imposition of the â€Å"English Only Policy† is to prevent misunderstanding between employees and customers. Murray and Bernard mentioned that with the diversity in the workforce today, there is a need to impose a preferred language to ensure effective and comprehensible communication among customers and employees (1). Additionally, Mary’s dismissal is not merely based on her language, but it is based on the idea that she did not use the prescribed language preferred by the company. For this reason, Sears did not violate the law that protects employees against racial, ethnic, and religious discrimination. Based on Title VII, Tucker and Haddad flesh out that the concept of religion, in the juridical context, includes all the religious practices, observances, and beliefs of an individual (217). With this definition, it can be said that religion has a wide scope that accommodating all of the employees’ religious preferences may be difficult. Furthermore, although it is a general rule that employers should not discriminate an employee’s religion, service industries and religious-related organizations are exempted from the limitations prescribed in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Service industries and organizations associated with a particular religion can discriminate an employee’s religion. For instance, the airline industry, in its service-oriented business process, is allowed to disregard the religious practices of their employees and oblige them to work especially when the work is a business necessity. Considering the rationale of the exception, I

Monday, August 26, 2019

Cross Cultural Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Cross Cultural Management - Essay Example Cultural intelligence was described by Creque & Gooden (2011, p. 143) as a set of skills, from fundamental to advanced, which allow a person to demonstrate effectiveness in transferring social skills from a particular cultural context to the another. Cultural intelligence is indeed critical in business especially for a manager dealing with people from different cultural backgrounds. In international business, managers are called upon to relate with partners from different countries and therefore cultural intelligence is needed for good working relations and successful interaction among partners. In light of this, cultural intelligence would be an important to the manager of Global Alliance Company to work with the different cultural backgrounds and enhances their functioning within a particular setting. Culturally Intelligent Persons Triandis (2006, p. 20) outlines various things that an intelligent persons should do. He asserts that a culturally intelligent person should suspended j udgments until he acquires adequate information beyond the ethnicity of the other person given that personality attributes like idiocentrism-allocentrism have to be considered (Triandis, 2006, p. 20). A practical example to explain this is a situation in which during the first meeting with international business partners, they may have low negotiation skills and therefore want they point to be taken. However, it would be wrong to argue that people from his ethic group behave that way but it would be wise to try and explore the personality of the person. Failure to do this would negatively affect future relations with people from this group. Trandis (2006, p. 23) explains that an intelligent person seeks training to overcome ethnocentrism. He notes that an intelligent person seeks cognitive, behavioral and affective training. An example of training for a person involved in international business would be to seek from the internet the cultural behaviors of people with whom you anticip ate to interact with from available literature and the internet. The other aspect described by Triandis (2006, p. 24) of intelligent person is that they are able to tolerate different organizational attributes. An example of this is a person who is transferred to a new company where they have to report everything to the manager in the evening although at his previous posting each employee enjoyed autonomy. An intelligent person would be able to adapt to this changes. Although Triandis outlines the various things that an intelligent person should do, he fails to list tools for measuring cultural intelligence. The challenges in developing tools for measuring cultural intelligence is on whether the tools will be able to meet he quality standards in terms of reliability and validity (Tung & Verbeke, 2010, p. 1259). The other challenge is determining the most appropriate research questions in a given context (Tung & Verbeke, 2010, p. 1259). CQ as a Functional Tool Management of any given organization usually use various tools in order to achieve the set organization tools. However, not all tools achieve similar purpose because some of them fail to be functional. It is important to know if a tool works or not. One of the management tools that most organizations use is cultural intelligence (CQ). Ward and colleagues have attempted to explain CQ whereby they have come out critiquing it as a functional tool. They argue that, to date, CQ has

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Website Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Website Review - Essay Example through incorporating effective web design measures that form the main aim of the study to analyze the criteria foe effective web design and comparison of two corporate websites. There are certain characteristics that a business must have to be considered effective in terms of design to be a driving force in meeting advertising and information delivery needs of the business. These characteristics include: Professional brand driven design: a website has to have a professional look and convey the brand image ensuring clients have a very easy time understanding the business and the access to information should be easy and quick. Professional design  allows the client to have access to required information in an effective and efficient manner in the website. Usability: designing a website to ensure the presence of links that are easy to recognize, moderate visuals, and a clear structure allowing the client easy navigation on the website in the other effective web design criteria. Websites are more effective when users can easily find their way through the information and links provided than when the websites are difficult to use. Use of effective writing: the writing style on a website has to be adjusted to meet user’s browsing habits and preferences. This can be achieved through using concise and short phrases, plain and objective language to allow the users make their en decision on the purchase, and merging textual and visual elements on the website. Effective writing makes use of bullets, content categories, and multiple subheadings in a website. Simplicity: providing a simple rather than a complex website is effective in meeting the needs of the clients. Using a simple design with icons providing additional information, headers, footers, and content in a simple manner, and lack of advertising allows for a good web experience for the clients. Content: the other criteria for an effective website are provision of useful and valuable information to the users.

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Human Relationships in Todays Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Human Relationships in Todays Culture - Essay Example The first part of the article from a man’s perspective for a male audience starts off with the claim that a man’s ego stands in the way of successful resolution to many conflicts, including conflicts that arise from poor communication (Mitchell). Typical â€Å"male† forces force men to pursue an often-destructive path toward â€Å"being right†, which creates problems in relationships. For that reason, the author claims that men are worse at relationship-based communication, but not much worse than women. As a result, the author recommends first to make time for each other. That includes taking the time to sit together, cook together, travel together, and to eat together and being open and honest about the things that trouble the relationship while reassuring that the overall relationship is strong. Another piece of advice is to be an active listener, which includes having patience, concentration, and modesty. It is easy to get distracted while other people (not just women or a relationship partner) are talking. Modesty is also important because it allows others to take the floor in a discussion, which gets back to the author’s original assertion that a man’s ego often gets in the way of productive communication between relationship partners. Men are also advised to focus on nonverbal forms of communication, including body language indicative of negative emotions. Men, on the advice of the columnist, must overcome their natural insensitivity to serve as a true emotional partner.

Friday, August 23, 2019

Explore the Problems Behind Sexual Deviance, Violence, or Crime and Essay

Explore the Problems Behind Sexual Deviance, Violence, or Crime and Poverty - Essay Example Majority of the world’s population today has been living in the state of poverty. In fact, the 2009 World Bank has shown that almost three billion people around the world are earning less than two dollars and fifty cents a day and 1 billion children live in starvation. There are also more or less 30,000 people around the world who dies everyday because of no food to eat (Shah, 2009). There has been no record found showing the origin of the word poverty. Nevertheless, scholarly authors believed that this term became apparent first in biblical accounts claiming that the poor will always be near in God’s heart. It has also been classified into two, absolute and relative poverty (Byrns, n.d.). Absolute poverty is cited as the state wherein the people don’t have any of the basic necessities and are totally impoverished. On the other hand, relative poverty is likened to a situation in which the people have the basic necessities but were not enough to satisfy them. Nonetheless, this classification is measured after the determination of the country’s poverty line. The late Pope John Paul II has written that poverty is the main force in armed conflicts which gravely threatens peace and security (as cited in Frederick, 2009). Significantly, two economists stated that poverty as a concept has qualitative and quantitative dimensions (Mabughi & Selim, 2006). The qualitative aspect is evaluated in terms of the standard of living while the quantitative dimension is assessed by the level of consumption. Despite these varying ideas, the World Bank has introduced a comprehensive yet radical definition which became the guiding principle of understanding poverty in the international community. Such definition emphasized the importance of an active and purposeful action towards change from both the wealthy and poor sections of the society (World Bank, n.d.). An online movement to fight poverty enumerated its causes and consequences. The causes

Thursday, August 22, 2019

The Two Frogs Essay Example for Free

The Two Frogs Essay Once upon a time in the country of Japan there lived two frogs, one of whom made his home in a ditch near the town of Osaka, on the sea coast, while the other dwelt in a clear little stream which ran through the city of Kioto. At such a great distance apart, they had never even heard of each other; but, funnily enough, the idea came into both their heads at once that they should like to see a little of the world, and the frog who lived at Kioto wanted to visit Osaka, and the frog who lived at Osaka wished to go to Kioto, where the great Mikado had his palace. So one fine morning in the spring they both set out along the road that led from Kioto to Osaka, one from one end and the other from the other. The journey was more tiring than they expected, for they did not know much about travelling, and half way between the two towns there arose a mountain which had to be climbed. It took them a long time and a great many hops to reach the top, but there they were at last, and what was the surprise of each to see another frog before him! They looked at each other for a moment without speaking, and then fell into conversation, explaining the cause of their meeting so far from their homes. It was delightful to find that they both felt the same wishto learn a little more of their native countryand as there was no sort of hurry they stretched themselves out in a cool, damp place, and agreed that they would have a good rest before they parted to go their ways. What a pity we are not bigger, said the Osaka frog; for then we could see both towns from here, and tell if it is worth our while going on. Oh, that is easily managed, returned the Kioto frog. We have only got to stand up on our hind legs, and hold on to each other, and then we can each look at the town he is travelling to. This idea pleased the Osaka frog so much that he at once jumped up and put his front paws on the shoulders of his friend, who had risen also. There they both stood, stretching themselves as high as they could, and holding each other tightly, so that they might not fall down. The Kioto frog turned his nose towards Osaka, and the Osaka frog turned his nose towards Kioto; but the foolish things forgot that when they stood up their great eyes lay in the backs of their heads, and that though their noses might point to the places to which they wanted to go their eyes beheld the places from which they had come. Dear me! cried the Osaka frog, Kioto is exactly like Osaka. It is certainly not worth such a long journey. I shall go home! If I had had any idea that Osaka was only a copy of Kioto I should never have travelled all this way, exclaimed the frog from Kioto, and as he spoke he took his hands from his friends shoulders, and they both fell down on the grass. Then they took a polite farewell of each other, and set off for home again, and to the end of their lives they believed that Osaka and Kioto, which are as different to look at as two towns can be, were as like as two peas. [Japanische Marchen. ]Â   This story was extracted from the Project Gutenburg e-text of The Violet Fairy Book, edited by Andrew Lang. The pictures to go with it were posted on Usenet several years ago, and I dont have any copyright or attribution information for them.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Events Management Report on Fan Expo - Canada Essay Example for Free

Events Management Report on Fan Expo Canada Essay This report has been commissioned by James Armstrong of Hobby Star Marketing to critically analyse and evaluate the Fan Expo Canada event. A general overview of the event will be provided as well as the event category it falls under and the implications of this. The event will then be analysed in terms of its social impact, the stakeholders involved and economic implications. This report is limited to the event information available on the internet and in the prescribed text for theory based arguments. This report aims to advise Hobby Star Marketing on the current and future states of their event and as related to tourism theory, what impact this may have on social and economic factors, as well as impact on event stakeholders as a whole. In conclusion recommendations will be put forward as to the best approach for event organisers to take in the future to ensure all stakeholders are kept satisfied as well as the wider community. 2.0 Description of EventFan Expo Canada is held annually at the end of each summer in Toronto Canada and features three days of non-stop festivities in the areas of video games, anime, science fiction, horror and comic books. The expo has been running for 12 years with its name recently being changed from the Canadian National Expo. Fan Expo is held primarily in the Toronto Metro Convention Centre and last year boasted over 37 000 admissions. Fan Expo is a unique event targeted to a specific range of markets. Having been dubbed in the past the Nerd Prom, the Fan Expo draws visitors from all around the globe to Toronto Canada, enhancing awareness of the region and its status in gaming, anime, science fiction, horror and comic book realms. Due to these factors it is suitable to classify this expo as a Hallmark event. This type of event is typically defined as a major one time or recurring event of limited duration developed primarily to enhance awareness or appeal and profitability of a tourism destination in the short or long term. In order to obtain success such events rely primarily on their uniqueness, status or timely significance to create both interest and to attract attention (Ritchie, 1984, p.2; Getz 1997 pp.5-6 in Allen et al. 2005). Fan Expo is highly significant to its target markets and provides the host venue, community and destination as a whole with a competitive  advantage over other conventions of a simu lar nature in North America (third largest event of its kind in this region) (Hobbystar 2006). 3.0 Social Impact 3.1 Social BenefitsAll events have a direct social and cultural impact on their participants and sometimes on the broader host communities (Hall, 1989; Getz, 1997 in Allen et al. 2005). In terms of the Fan Expo, the social impacts are expansive and many benefits come to fruition as a result of the event taking place. One in particular is the validation of community groups associated with the event. A positive impact can be seen here through the acknowledgment of local comic book artists, with the talents of the normally ostracised minority being recognised and applauded at an international level. As the community is one of the major event stakeholders, not only are these groups validated but further encouragement of community participation also results due to the overwhelming achievements of specific community members. Social constancy and community pride are again other factors that result in benefits to the community of Toronto. Fan Expo brings tourists from all over the world to one epicentre of likeminded people. Through this experience the local community may volunteer and band together to present their city in the greatest state possible to expo visitors. The impact this effect has on the tourists is also significant as it encourages migration attractiveness as well as an increased positive image tourists have about the city of Toronto. This has a two fold effect as the community also notes the economic gain of for example encouraging a major video game expert to relocate to Toronto (stronger and more competitive local economy). In retrospect the community is more socially aware of itself and its visitors and is more likely to retain and develop higher visitor rates due to its strengthened welcoming culture. The convergence of these likeminded industry experts also facilitates an arena for the development of new ideas and partnerships both within the industry and between expo visitors. Tourists that bring already existing ideas to the expo then can have that idea realised through the resources of local and visiting industry experts (i.e. a gaming designer that wants to  sell his or her idea to a major video game corporation). The potential for economic growth due to this convergence is quite extraordinary. 3.2 Social Costs Of the research conducted about what social cost Fan Expo has had to the local community, one common theme that was realised was the apparent facilitation of strongarm tactics. In an overview of what was discovered, local comic book retailers were being forced by expo organisers either feature solely in their expo (not other competing expos) or not feature at all. The local community backlash from this decision was quite significant with many key industry leaders in the community moving to boycott the Fan Expo event. The ramifications of this monopolistic type approach on the community can cause not only resentment towards event participants and tourists, but also commodification of the event because of the lack of attendance of original industry leaders and pioneers (eg. instead of the creator of the comic book The Phantom attending in person, Fan Expo constructs a video montage of the comic book creator and his work instead). This can cause dissonance between fans and organisers as what was once expected and a major highlight of the event is now replaced with a display that for most fans, the information presented is not uncommonly found on say the internet. On a whole, community resentment for the event taking place in their city can occur but also tourist resentment for the visiting the destination in the future is also a possibility. Social consequence such as criminal activity may occur as a result, specifically if some visitors have travelled a significant distance to attend the event. 4.0 Stakeholders In regards to the stakeholders for Fan Expo Canada, a number of categories can be used to separate the role and objectives of each. In terms of the host organisation, the Toronto City Council is a major figurehead as the support from local government for funding and other regulatory and staffing concerns is vital to the success of this event. Hobby Star Marketing as a corporation is also another obvious stakeholder as they are the primary event organisers and have substantial amounts of  resources injected into fate of this event. The Toronto Metro Convention Centre is also another key stakeholder as the event is being held at their premise. Their objectives for the event will be to ensure their function areas function as they should throughout the expo as well as working closely with Hobby Star to ensure all logistical requirements are executed without delay or error. Toronto as a community is also a primary stakeholder as its involvement and expectations for the event are additionally significant. For Hobby Star, their understanding of the local community is a key factor for the event to be a success. Specifically in this case, the understanding of local community comic book or gaming groups and societies will enable event organisers to develop the event to cater for the needs of these groups. Furthermore representatives from these groups could provide recommendations and assistance for future event ideas. In doing so the community expectations can be more accurately met and overall dissonance of the event significantly reduced (Allen et al. 2005). In terms of the media, local television, radio and print associations are also termed stakeholders as they have been invested in and have also dedicated resources to either cover the event progress or advertise the event in the weeks leading up. Due to the events widespread appeal, web media would also be considered an important stakeholder as accurate information needs to be communicated to tourists planning on attending. Web media is also important to monitor because as noted earlier, backlash or community opinions are not contained within the community when the web is involved, and negative impacts can occur quickly through use of the internet. Other stakeholders include event staff, volunteers and centre management and staff. Their role is to ensure the event plan is executed effectively and their presence as a required resource must also be nurtured through not only being catered for and looked after during the event, but also recognition for their contributions once the event has ended. One way this is performed is by volunteers being given free access to any event over the three days before and after their allotted shift time (Happy Star 2006). For any event  to be truly effective, the vision and philosophy of the event must be shared by all of the team (Allen et al. 2005). The participants of the event which include guest speakers, retailers, performers, industry professionals and the general public are also significant stakeholders. To make the event memorable and meaningful, the event manager must ensure all of these figureheads are satisfied in terms of what they want to get out of the event, which includes their physical needs of comfort, safety and security. At Fan Expo in 2006, it is the 40th anniversary of the birth of Star Trek and the key guest speakers are two famous stars from the original television series. Their involvement and satisfaction of how the event is run and managed will be reflected on how well they address the audience and subsequently the level of enjoyment the spectators receive. 5.0 Economic Analysis The economic standpoint in regards to events is the make or break factor events must generate revenue to be successful. Therefore one of the most important impacts is the tourism revenue generated by an event (Allen et al. 2005). External visitors not only spend money on the event itself such as tickets and merchandise but also on items such as travel, accommodation and other goods and services available in the host city. This economic influx is sometimes depended on in many smaller communities however in the case of Toronto, effective tourism can result in visitors that are in town for the event to extend their stay and consequently increase spending (Allen et al. 2005). As described in Section 3.1, many business opportunities are possible through the interaction of local and visiting industry members. Furthermore their interaction with the local community and its economy may also give way for tourists to increase stay or indeed make a bid to stay permanently. For the expo, this could mean opportunities for more qualified industry leaders to be a part of the planning process for the following years expo. The overall benefits for Fan Expo could include for example the cast voices for the latest Star Trek game to be sourced and recorded in Toronto due to Microsoft Games setting up headquarters after negotiations. In hindsight whilst the  majority of the Fan Expo is based around a market and display type setup, there are also many exclusive forums and networking conferences that occur over the weekend to further facilitate the creation of business opportunities (Hobby Star 2006). Higher rates of employment can also result from this event employment requirements for Fan Expo itself but also local industry members showcasing their talents then being offered work at a major firm. This can also have a negative effect as the local talent is snapped up and shipped out to other cities or countries, possibly damaging the part of the local economy they were once involved in. On the other hand if nurtured the community member could leave to gain more knowledge then return to the city, bringing with them a wealth of knowledge and experience that could significantly increase the economy of the city and region. On the agenda of negative economic impacts, opportunity cost can clearly be linked to the issues described in Section 3.2 in regards to strongarm tactics allegedly being used by Hobby Star Marketing. With retailers being forced to choose between festivals, the chance for economic gain is lost. Spectators that cannot attend the Fan Expo are left with no alternatives to view and purchase expo items and retailers in general loose out because of reduced exposure. This consequently forces retailers to ascertain which festival would be more financially beneficial to them, hence reducing exposure and possible loss of business opportunities. As stated in Section 3.2 this can generate a negative reputation for Happy Star and the Fan Expo in general and have many negative social and economic impacts. 6.0 Conclusions This report has provided an overview of the Fan Expo Canada event and classified into the Hallmark event category. The event was then analysed in terms of its social impact, the stakeholders involved and economic implications. This report has found that Fan Expo appeals to a unique market and draws visitors to the town of Toronto. It has outlined relevant stakeholders and their goals and found that increased integration of local community groups with the planning process of the expo could be beneficial to future success and reduced dissonance. This report described the importance of economic planning and how decisions that are made in the best interests of the event may not be in the best interests of the wider community. This report aims to advise Hobby Star Marketing on the current and future states of their event and as related to tourism theory, what impact this may have on social and economic factors, as well as impact on event stakeholders as a whole. In conclusion recommendations will be put forward as to the best approach for event organisers to take in the future to ensure all stakeholders are kept satisfied as well as the wider community. 7.0 Recommendations In hindsight to this report, the following recommendations are made:Increase communication with community industry leaders to ascertain the best approach in organising the event so maximum exposure can be generated. Further develop networking events at the expo and facilitate the creation of business opportunities and discovery of new talent in the local community. Promote to industry leaders the benefits of setting up operations in the community and tie this in with a major showcasing of their products at the following years expo. Work closer with Toronto City Council to further promote local and regional tourism to increase longer stays and increased economic activity. Reduce dissonance by operating competitively and ethically with other expos. List of References Allen, J OToole, W Harris, R McDonnell, I 2005, Festival and Special Event Management, John Wiley Sons, Milton. Hobby Star 2006, Fan Expo Canada, viewed 20 August 2006, Getz, D 1997, Event Management and Event Tourism, Cognizant Communication Corporation, New York. Wikimedia Foundation 2006, Fan Expo Canada, viewed 6 August 2006,

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Romanians And Romanian Culture History Essay

Romanians And Romanian Culture History Essay In the name of the Romanians is reflected the reminiscence of their ethnic origins which are connected with the period when their country was part of the Roman Empire. Although the Romanians speak a language whose basis is spoken Latin, Romanian culture is permeated with traits that stem from periods predating the presence of Romans. Romanian culture owes much to the legacy of the earliest European civilization, the Danube civilization of the sixth and fifth millennia B.C.E. Scientists have often wondered how the Romanians could have maintained their Romance language through long periods of foreign domination and external influence. Similarly, one can wonder how certain cultural patterns of much older periods persisted to form an organic whole with more recent innovations, of what is known as Romanian culture. Most of the 26 million Romanians live in two states with a predominantly Romanian-speaking population. The great majority (Romà ¢nii) inhabit Romania (20.5 million) where they account for 90 per cent of the population. Among the minorities in Romania are (>) Roma (Gypsies), (>) Hungarians, (>) Germans, (>) Tatars and other ethnic groups. Neighboring Moldova is the home country of some 2.8 million speakers of Romanian who call themselves Moldovenii (Moldavians) and these make up 76 per cent of the population. Other ethnic groups living in Moldova are (>) Ukrainians, (>) Russians, (>) Gagauz and others. Romanian minorities are scattered outside the two states with concentrated Romanian population, in Ukraine (0.35 million), Serbia (0.25 million), Greece (0.25 million), Russia (0.18 million), Hungary (0.1 million), Bulgaria. There is a populous Romanian minority in Israel (0.25 million). Since the tenth century the development of the various groups of ethnic Romanians follows different trajectories. Four regional groups with distinct cultural patterns and local varieties of Romanian language can be discerned: 1)Daco-Romanians (the Romanian population north of the Danube, in Romania, Moldova, Ukraine); 2) Aromunians or Macedo-Romanians (in Macedonia, Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia and in the historical region of Dobruja, south of the Danube); 3) Megleno-Romanians (Romanian minorities in the South of Bulgaria and in the Northeast of Greece; these groups originated, in a secondary ethnic process, from Aromunian populations); and 4) Istro-Romanians (Vlachs of Istria; Romanian minority on the Istria peninsula in Croatia). Romania is among the areas in Europe where the Neolithic inhabitants adopted agriculture at an early date. The beginnings of plant cultivation and animal husbandry go back to the sixth millennium B.C.E. The western region of Romania, Transylvania, is the cradle of metal-working. There, copper artifacts were worked hundreds of years earlier than in western Asia or Mesopotamia. Early evidence for the tradition of metallurgy in Transylvania dates to around 5500 B.C.E. The art of the ancient Danubians was prolific and varified in style and ornamentation. What strikes the eye in the archaeological record is the multitude of figurines, most of them female, that were found in sanctuaries, together with altars, and in areas of the households reserved for domestic rituals. The aesthetic impression of those figurines has not lost any of its attraction throughout the ages and their timeless aesthetic appeal inspired artists in later periods. In the early twentieth century, the Neolithic spirit was revitalized in the works of modern art. The Romanian-born Constantin Brancusi is among the best-known representatives of this trend. The civilization of Old Europe was overformed by the culture of the Indo-European nomads who migrated westward out of the Russian steppe and established themselves in the areas of the agriculturalists. Old European traditions, though, continued albeit in a fragmentary way. The legacy of the ancient Danubians was not limited to the technology of metal-working or to forms of the visual arts. Old European traditions also persist in certain architectural forms and in the narrative themes of Romanian folklore. And just as certain features of prehistoric shrines eventually evolved into basic parts of Christian churches (), much of what we know as mythology derived, more or less directly, from the ritual-cultural life of prehistoric peasants (Poruciuc 2010: xiv). Those who transmitted the Old European traditions into later periods were the Dacians, themselves descendants of the Indo-European tribes that came to populate Southeast Europe in the fourth and third millennia B.C.E. At the time when the Romans conquered the Balkans and were organizing administration in the provinces of Southeast Europe the Dacians were the strongest military power north of the Danube. At intervals the Dacians and Romans were in alliance but the interests of the indigenous population and the Roman colonizers differed fundamentally so that, eventually, military confrontation was unavoidable. In a long and hard war the Romans subdued the Dacians under their king Decebalus and established their power in Dacian lands, in 106 C.E. The Roman province was named after the people that inhabited the region, Dacia. New villages and towns were founded by the Romans, among them the administrative and economic center of Dacia. That was Sarmizegetuza in Transylvania, named after the former capital of the Dacian kingdom, located at some distance from the Roman town. Living-conditions in Dacia favored acculturation and assimilation, and within a few generations the majority of Dacians had experie nced a shift to Roman lifeways, including a shift from Dacian to spoken Latin. During the period of Roman rule groups of Dacians had been forcefully relocated by Roman authorities to areas south of the Danube, following rebellions of local Dacian tribes against Roman rule. Those Dacians who continued to live south of the Danube assimilated completely to Roman lifeways. During the tenth and eleventh centuries their descendants moved back into the region from where their ancestors had come. The kind of Latin spoken by the Dacians was different from the Latin in Italy or in the western provinces of the Roman Empire, and it absorbed words of the Dacian language before that was no longer spoken and vanished altogether. The development of the Latin speech as used by the new Romans deviated further when Dacia was abandoned by the Roman administration and the military in 271 C.E. and contacts with the Roman world were cut off. The Latin of Roman times gradually changed to become a local Romance language. Those who continued to speak it were ordinary people. This means that Romanian ethnicity finds its roots in the medieval communities of illiterate peasants and shepherds. Written Latin, the language of civilization and of the church in western Europe, played no role in early Romanian society. The medieval Romanian language lacked the medium that roofed local Romance dialects in the West and provided a source for literacy. The Romanian language and the Christian religion have been the major markers of Romanian identity since the Middle Ages. The development of the Romanian speech community, though, was quite uneven in the regions with Romanian populations. Transylvania has been a contact zone since antiquity. After the Romans had abandoned Dacia this region was settled by Germanic peoples, by Gepids (allies of the Huns) and Visigoths, later by Slavic tribes and Hungarian populations. German settlers arrived in the area in the twelfth century, leaving their imprint on culture and political history. Slavic, Hungarian and German influence shaped the interaction with local Romanians whose communities grew in size to eventually become the most populous of the ethnic groups in Transylvania. Political sovereignty was achieved, in the course of the fourteenth century, in other regions with Romanian population, in Moldavia and in Wallachia. The ruler of Wallachia, Mircea the Great (d. 1418), was aware of the po litical trend of his period which saw the rise to power of the Ottoman Turks and he advised his successor to come to terms with the Turks. Stephan the Great (d. 1504) of Moldavia tried to negotiate political relations with the powerful newcomers but, in the end, all of Wallachia and Moldavia were forcefully integrated into the Ottoman colonial territories of Southeast Europe. The region with German settlements in Transylvania (called in German Siebenbà ¼rgen the region with the seven fortified towns) retained some kind of autonomy, albeit under Ottoman supremacy. From 1709 until the 1820s, Romania was ruled by Greek governors (Phanariots) in Turkish services. This period is remembered by Romanians as one of oppression and exploitation. Gradually, Ottoman hegemony in Southeast Europe weakened in the wars with Russia that extended its territory at the cost of the Turks. In 1812, Russia occupied the eastern part of Moldavia, Bessarabia. The development of the Romanian communities in that part was different from the rest of Romania. Russia encouraged anti-Ottoman movements among the Romanians in Wallachia and western Moldavia and, in 1858, these two regions were united under a Russian-supported hospodar, Cuza. The year 1861 saw the proclamation of a Romanian state. The first king to rule the country was Carol I (reigned 1866 1914), a German-born prince of the House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. Romanias infrastructure (i.e. railway system, army, school system, exploration of oil fields) was mostly developed according to the model of contemporary Prussia and later the German Empire. For several decades after World War I that ended in 1918, the countrys territory included Transylvania and eastern Moldavia and was reminiscent of a Greater Romania. As a result of World War II that ended for the Romanians in 1944 eastern Moldavia had to be ceded to the Soviet Union but Transylvania remained within the borders of Romania. Under the communist regime of Ceausescu (d. 1989), the Hungarian and German minorities of Transylvania became victims of a forceful Romanization campaign and many left Romania as emigrants. The demise of communism in Romania and the shift to a parliamentary democracy in 1989 did not change the high-handed attitude of Romanian governments toward minorities. Neither Hungarian nor German are acknowledged as official languages and Romanian, as state language, is the only official medium in administration and education throughout the country. Romanian is a Romance language and forms, with Italian, the eastern group. Its character as a Romance language is apparent in the grammar although less than half of the vocabulary has been preserved from spoken Latin. Nevertheless, these words of Latin origin are among the lexical elements of high frequency and they dominate everyday Romanian. Some 60 per cent of the Romanian lexicon are of Slavic, Germanic, Hungarian and other origin, reflecting the manifold contacts of Romanian with other languages in Southeast Europe throughout one and a half thousand years. Romanian remained unwritten until the sixteenth century. The earliest documents of written Romanian are a letter dating to 1521 (containing some 200 words) and a Lutheran catechism that was printed in Sibiu (the town in Transylvania that was founded by Germans under the name of Hermannstadt), in 1544. During its history, Romania has been written in two scripts. For about three hundred years the Cyrillic script predominated when writing Romanian. Although the Latin alphabet was already used in Transylvania in the late sixteenth century, it competed with Cyrillic well into the nineteenth century. With the rise of Romanian national awakening, the Roman heritage and the Latin script became celebrated. An orthographic system with Latin letters was adopted in Wallachia, in 1860, and in Moldavia, in 1863. The competition between the Latin and the Cyrillic tradition of writing Romanian was renewed in the twentieth century and, this time, it was politically motivated. Some groups of the Romanian-speaking population that lived east of the river Dniestr had remained on Soviet-Russian territory while eastern Moldavia had been united with Romania in 1918. Soviet language planners created a written standard, with Cyrillic orthography, for the Soviet Moldavians, as an ideological counterweight to language use in neighboring bourgeois Romania. When Moldavia was annexed to the Soviet Union in 1940 (and factually in 1944), the Moldavian standard language was used in all of Soviet Moldavia. The revised Cyrillic orthography for Romanian in Moldavia was in use until 1989 when the parliament in Chisinau, the capital of Moldavia, decided to shift to the Latin script and write according to the norms of Romanian in Romania. This regulation means that Romanians and Moldavians use the same standard langu age and write with Latin letters. The 1990s saw the division of the Romanian-speaking population in two independent states (i.e. Romania and Moldova) where they form the majority. Recent development in the two countries has followed very different trajectories. Romania joined the democratic integration movement of Europe and has been a member state of the European Union since 2007. Moldova has remained outside this process because of its weak economy, and it is in this country that ideas about communism still play a vital role in election campaigns. Harald Haarmann Further Reading Fernà ¡ndez-Armesto, Felipe (ed.). The Times Guide to the Peoples of Europe. London: Times Books, 1994 (Romanians: pp. 261-267). Goebl, Hans et al. (eds.). Contact Linguistics, vol. 2. New York: Walter de Gruyter, 1997 (Romania: pp. 1458-1486, Moldavia: pp. 1933-1941). Haarmann, Harald. Balkanic Linguistics, vol. 1: Areal Linguistics and Lexicostatistics of the Balkanic Latin Vocabulary (in German). Tà ¼bingen: Gunter Narr, 1978. Pernicka, Ernst and David W. Anthony. The Invention of Copper Metallurgy and the Copper Age of Old Europe. In The Lost World of Old Europe. The Danube Valley, 5000-3500 BC, ed. David W. Anthony, 162-177. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2009. Poruciuc, Adrian. Prehistoric Roots of Romanian and Southeast European Traditions. Sebastopol, CA: Institute of Archaeomythology, 2010. Treptow, K.W. A History of Romania. Iasi, 1999.

Video-psychology-past, Present Essay -- essays research papers

Past, Present, and Promise   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  'Past, Present, and Promise'; is the first volume in the twenty-six volume set. The video begins by introducing the series and going over basic definitions such as the definition of psychology. The video continues on by giving an example of a disorder that psychologists may work with- multiple personality disorder. A woman who has an extreme case of this disorder is introduced. At times she believes she is a scared seven year old girl named Carol, and at other times she has a coarse personality of a man named Devan. After describing the characteristics the host explains how this disorder is usually caused by childhood traumatic/sadistic experiences and is used to mask emotions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In introducing behavior, the video shows several clips from Candid Camera back in the 50s. Junior High boys and girls have conferences with their new teacher who is either a handsome man or an attractive woman, pairing the boys with the woman and the girls with the man. Once the teacher walks away both the girls and boys either break out into laughter or smile embarrassingly. Why did they act this way? The video states that two factors affect personality: dispositional and situational. Dispositional factors are those that are a part of us and internal such as genetics, attitude, and personality. Situational factors are those that come from the environment such as sensory stimulation, rewards, and punishments.  ...

Monday, August 19, 2019

what we need :: essays research papers

â€Å"What we need†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Summer Olympics a venue that the world looks forward to every 4 years. Various sports that athletes train hard for day in and day out to achieve the coveted gold medal. An opportunity arises the chance for a given city; â€Å"your city† to hold the 2012 summer Olympic games. One dilemma, the city that they might pick is in dire need for psychological and physical uplifting. Is this the right opportunity to do so for the city of New York and try to give new life too much changed city after the September 11 tragedies? Is this a good choice for the Olympic games to be held in our own New York City, or is this an invitation for terrorist groups too spoil plans and moral once again? As well as add too the congestion of an already chaotic traffic system?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many different opinions are voiced in a situation that can affect a city of 8 million people for the better or for the worse. Most of the people of New York City are very optimistic of the possible coming of the Olympic games. The pros of this proposed idea are many and very beneficial for the city as well as the people. A great benefit that comes from this event is jobs. In a time of economic decline and people loosing their jobs are the main positive things that the Olympic games will bring; Kevin Fleming said that the Olympics would probably put money in his pocket. â€Å"I think it’s great, I’m looking forward to getting a lot of work from it.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Other great aspects of the Olympics possibly being held in New York City is that the city will get the much needed â€Å"face-lift† in areas of the city that was already planned but it will just get done sooner. â€Å"Most of the things the Olympics need, the city needs anyway,† mayor Bloomberg was quoted to say. Businesses will boom and jobs will there for the willing to work. Some risks that we take will be well worth it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  People are also worried about the traffic and the gridlock that would be caused by the Olympics but New Yorkers deal with it day in and day out the whole traffic is well worth it because when it is all said and done the Olympics go down in history and â€Å"you â€Å" will be one of the lucky ones to see history in the making.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

My Passion for Business Essay -- Admissions Essay, College Application

There are many dreams revolving around us, some that seem impossible to reach and other that are easily grasped. The diversity of this world is great, and not one person has the same story to tell as another; including me. Ever since I can remember I have been finding ways to be independent; my own women, or in this case, â€Å"little lady.† I would always try to do things my own way. There is a huge list of examples that I could give, but I have decided to discuss what I believe to be the one that would bring out a bit of awe and an understanding of what type of person I have been since a child. When I was younger, around the age of four, I would gather all of my toys that I possibly could. After a great amount accumulated, I would place them on blankets in the playground of our apartment. Then I would lay out papers by each toy with a price that I thought was fair but that would also bring in some, â€Å"mullah† for me. At the end of the day all of my toys were sold to the children that gathered in the playground; and I was able to buy new better toys with the earnings I had made. I ...

Saturday, August 17, 2019

A Chronicle of the Plague

The Black Death: A Chronicle of the Plague by Johannes Nohl (1882–1963) is an illustrative book that traces down the flux of plague and its effects in Europe over the centuries. It examines this malady from historical and sociological perspective. The major contribution of Johannes Nohl is that he does not rely on secondary sources but has researched the contemporary chronicles to locate the pathos and miseries that this epidemic afflicted on the populations of Europe over the centuries.Scope of work is both intensive and extensive as he has provided an in-depth study that encompasses four centuries (1337-1720) and a vast geographical area from Western Europe to Russia and from Nordic ice-burgs to the Mediterranean Sea. In addition to being a historian, Johannes Nohl was also a psychoanalyst. So The Black Death: A Chronicle of the Plague is not a mere chronicle of the plague & its effects but also it further analyzes the socio-cultural, psychological and economic effects of th is epidemics on the whole European civilization that persist in certain societies hitherto.It beautifully blends the comprehensive accounts of the pandemic that caused almost 40 million deaths a single century during the fourteenth century alone with durable socio-cultural impact. The book also locates that how people countered these epidemics and what practical measures were adopted to tackle the problem at large scale. Nohl illustrate that Black Death changed the patterns of life and affected all facets of culture as people migrated from one geographical location to the other to escape themselves from this epidemic.First two chapters, The Aspect of the Plague and The Precursors of the Plague describe the nature of plague as it was understood by the contemporary societies. Nohl has explored through contemporary chronicles that Plague was considered a celestial phenomenon as plague use to visit the European societies sporadically in the form of a natural disaster. Furthermore, Nohl explores that most usual route of these epidemics were from India to Central Asia and then to Europe through trade groups and in Europe it used to spread along with waterways in the shape of a natural catastrophe.In the next two chapters The Medical Profession and Plague Remedies, Nohl discovers the available medical remedies in the medieval societies and how medical professionals reacted to it. Contemporary chironicles suggest that mostly people used to rely on religious conviction and pilgrimages rather than visiting a doctor. Most medical treatment was based on plant extracts. Availability and affordability of medicines were another problem due to mass scale spread and impact of the disease. Nohl looks into the various other socio-political aspects of the epidemic.For example, aadministrative precautions mostly included individual and group exclusion from the community of the hale and hearty. A systematic effort in this regards was not possible as plague used to erupt abruptly, s o it was administered intermittently. Nohl has not only provided the official and royal manuscripts and chronicles but to present the conditions and miseries of the general public, he has included chronicles of travelers, contemporary historians. These clearly manifest that plague had different effects of different social classes and each class was treated in a different way both socially and administratively.In addition to socio-cultural and political effects, epidemic of plague had cast their disturbing impact on the worldview Christian community. Church responded in its own way to the pandemic. The Church labeled it as a reaction of sins and their only remedy was ritualistic deliverance that would purge the sins. So ritualistic practices were used to organize at the individual and collective level. Some other Christian followers were of the view that world is overtaken by the evil as Divinity itself was a friend of mankind and how it could afflict it with such pathos and miseries .Another section of orthodox sect, The Luciferians were of the view that God had toppled down Lucifer, their lord, and had taken over heaven. So this is a natural response of this tragedy. (Nohl 1924, 161-163). Some other compared the disease as an Arial and celestial phenomenon that was beyond the strength and capacity of mankind. This view was further reinforced by the fact that prior to the Black Death, in 1117, the eruption of plague was coincided with a cosmic phenomenon that medieval mind was unable to comprehend. Nohl states in this regard thatIn 1117, in January, a comet passed like a fiery army from North toward the orient, the moon was o’ercast blood-red in an eclipse, a year later a light appeared more brilliant than the sun,. This was followed by great cold, famine and plague, of which one-third of the humanity have said to have perished. Nohl further describes same coincidences in 1568, 1582 and 1606 when Netherlands, Prague and Vienna were badly affected with pl ague. This shaped the general mentality that plague is an extra human phenomenon and mankind had no control over it. The social fabric of the whole European society was transformed by these notions and beliefs.Nohl depicts that beside human causalities, first social causality was breakdown of social order. There was â€Å"an incapacity to believe that so uncanny a disease as the plague could be attributable to natural causes† which led â€Å"the fateful misconception of [its] artificial production† (Nohl 171). This belief molded their worldview and they become more recluse and a believers in the fictitious remedial rituals. Nohl also illustrates an interesting but tragic fact that plague was intentionally passed on to others. He located the motive for this deliberate infection as infectants did not want to undergo the agonies alone.Furthermore, it was common belief that one could liberate oneself of his contagion by transmitting it to others (Nohl 171). Nohl also provi des evidences when someone infected his/her rival or enemy due to sheer malice and enmity. Sometime, Lutherans were blamed for this curse but more often Jews were labeled as propellants of this deadly disease. So they were persecuted on mass level to purge the society from this malady but it is a fact that Jews used running streams for their sanitary purposes unlike Christian who used contaminated public wells that were often a prime cause for dispersal of various diseases.Toward end, the book has an interesting chapter, The Erotic Element in the Plague that relation sexuality with deadly disease. This book covers all aspects of Black Death pertaining to the contemporary medieval societies and all these are supported with the contemporary chronicles. It not only provides a synopsis of whole epidemic history but provides an in-depth analysis of the entire phenomenon. References Nohl, Johannes. 1924. The Black Death: A Chronicle of the Plague. Translated by C. H. Clarke. New York: Har per and Brothers Publishers.

Friday, August 16, 2019

B2B Marketing Theory and Relevant Examples

In Business to Consumer marketing, the consumers purchase the product because they derive pleasure out of it or because they need it in their everyday consumptions and not because they very much in need of it for improvement and to gain profit. Whereas in Business to Business marketing, business purchaser buys a product because they need it for them to become competitive, cost-effective and triumphant in the business line they chose (Smith, 2002). Another difference would be Business to Consumer marketing involves only â€Å"small transactions† since they are only concerned with the individual transactions.While Business to Business marketing conducts â€Å"large transactions† since their market includes another business entity or company (Oliva, 2007). The mode of selling of Business to Consumer marketing is only linear. Meaning, there is a direct and simple way of conducting a transaction. Whereas in the Business to Business marketing the purchasing process of a certa in company for a certain product would have to take series of processes before ordering the chosen product (Oliva, 2007).Another exceptional difference of the two would be, in Business to Consumer marketing, the customer of the company has a limited perception on the product that the company is providing. While in the Business to Business marketing, since the company is dealing with the intellectual persons, they have the capacity to fully understand the value of the product. Because of this, low profile advertisement or marketing communication will not take any effect on your target business customer (Smith, 2002).Under the Business to Business marketing, business entities are â€Å"information seekers† and always on search for new ideas that would improve their firm or company, have higher investment return or any information that would bring them to the top of their career. Whereas, individual consumers in Business to Consumer marketing are always contented with what is al ready available in the market. they lack initiatives to look for new ideas since they are just purchasing the company’s product/s for pleasure and not for improvement (Smith, 2002).Lastly, in B2B marketing, you have to be direct with your customer regarding your product. You cannot make some ‘flowery’ features just to have their ‘yes’ on your product. What you need is to be precise, direct to the point and state all the reasons why your customer should buy your product. On the other hand, in B2C marketing, the firm can add ‘colors’ to their presentation to attract the customers. The more creative you present it, the higher is the probability that your good will be purchased (Smith, 2002).The above said differences has to be consider by a Business to Business marketing type of firm fro them to easily gain the market share of their target customers or consumers. Like for instance, you are selling computer units to a telephone company. In t he presentation that you are going to do, you don’t have to hire commercial actors or actresses to present the features of your product. What you should do is to prepare a demonstration or presentation that will educate the telephone company regarding what will be the help of your computer to further improve their services.Sometimes you have to be technical with the term since that is the easiest way for the intellectuals to fully understand what you are saying. Role of Personal Selling in Business to Business Marketing Personal selling is the communication of the sales person with their possible customer done verbally for the purpose of closing the deal with the customer. The main focus of personal selling is to develop a good relationship with the potential buyers most especially the â€Å"will† to close the deal (tutor2u. com, 2007).One of the roles of sales person under the Business to Business marketing is the prospecting or trying to find new customers or consume rs. Since we are considering here a Business to Business type of marketing, it is important for the sales person to clearly identify the right type of customers for their product. The sales person should focus on business type customers and not individual customers. Therefore sales person should be direct when presenting the goods to the company managers or any other important person from the prospect company.What the sales person needs is to be precise, direct to the point and state all the reasons why the company should buy the product should buy your product. Another role of sales person is having communication with the current and probable customers regarding their product. Company managers are information seekers and thus, sales person should communicate from time to time to their potential and current customers regarding the latest information on the products of the sales person.For example, colorful or creative ads of, let say, your software company did not attract the busine ss entities to buy your products until you send them e-mails and journals that explains the features of your products in technical terms. Sales person should know the right means of communicating based from the type of their customers. An additional role of a sales person is the selling of the products, which includes getting in touch with their customer as well as responding to the questions and aiming to close the deal with the customer. For instance the sales person is selling computer units to a telephone company.What you should do is to prepare a demonstration or presentation that will educate the telephone company regarding what will be the help of your computer to further improve their services. Sometimes you have to be technical with the term since that is the easiest way for the intellectuals to fully understand what you are saying. Servicing is the third role of the sales person. Based from this role, the sales person should provide support and service to the customer from the delivery up to the post sales of the product. Providing products to a business customer is not enough.Often time, the sales person is being required to entertain additional questions upon delivery of their goods. Company officials are known for their being specific with the details. The sales person should be able to answer all the questions that might rise by any officials of their business customer. Sales person are also being tasked to gather information on their market in order for them to make necessary adjustments to their plans and other strategies. Customer businesses are very dynamic when it comes to choosing products for their company.It is important for the sales person to gather information on the current demand trend of their prospect company in order to make appropriate strategies and plans. The last but not the least is the allocation especially during the times of shortage. Sales person must have the ability to think on the ways by which he/she would allocate th e available stocks of the company.REFERENCES OLIVA, R. (2007) Business-to-Business Marketing Overview.SMITH, T. (2002) B2B Marketing? TUTOR2U. COM (2007) promotion – personal selling.

Thursday, August 15, 2019

HSC 037 Promote and Implement and Safety in Health and Social Care Essay

At our home the main aim is to ensure the effective operation of the health and safety system in the home and to ensure all staff work safely and report any hazards that they encounter. Our manager ensures that we have the following available to our clients, staff and they are displayed at the entrance to our home, they are: The Health & Safety Policy, QP-05 The home’s certificate of employers liability. Health and safety manual that includes the latest updated Health and safety policy, QP-05. The Fire Safety Policy, QP-03. The Smoking Policy, QP-12. COSHH Regulations, C4-020. Our main health and safety responsibility within the home is to ensure all our staff are suitably trained to safely and effectively carry out their duties. The manager is responsible for ensuring that all staff is aware of their role and responsibilities in relation to health and safety in the home. The manager should also ensure that individual staff working alone is risk assessed. This is risk assessment should follow the lone working policy, QP-25. Our manager should ensure that a suitable number of appropriately trained staff is available to deal with accidents and health emergencies. Staff will receive training in first aid, and there will be a suitable first aid box provided by the home, and appropriate records will be maintained in accordance with the homes first aid policy, QP-22. All staff is responsible for adhering to the requirements of the environmental policy, QP-30. All substances governed by the COSHH regulations should be stored safely and securely in the designated storage area which is kept locked. The manager should include health and safety training as part of the homes training plan to ensure all staff have received the appropriate level of training. Our health and safety training covers: induction training on-going training, which is specific to the work undertaken by staff on a daily basis. Refresher training to ensure that certification for time limited accreditation remains current and embraces updated practices. First aid. Food hygiene. Manual Handling. Fire safety. Only staff who are authorised by the manager may be asked to supervise new staff. The manager ensures that regular checks of the home are made to identify potential hazards and to confirm the continuation of safe working practices. The manager should carry out inspections at frequencies stated in the health and safety inspection schedule and ensure all areas identified are included in the health and safety inspection check list. Where the checks highlight the need for action to be taken, the manager should take the action necessary to remedy the situation or document the reasons why actions cannot be taken. The manager is responsible for maintaining a system of recording which records all reports of accidents, incidents and hazards. In some cases there is a legal obligation to use forms which must conform to the requirements of the health and safety executive. All staff should be aware that they are responsible for reporting any accident, incident or hazard to the senior member of staff on duty. The manager should be aware of the requirement to report to the care quality commission any event which is covered by regulations 16,17 and 18 of the care quality commission (registration) regulations 2009. Information regarding these notifications can be found in the CQC statutory notifications procedures, MA-22. The manager is responsible for ensuring that any accident, incident or hazard is reported to the relevant enforcing agency in the proper way. These agencies will include: The health and safety executive, RIDDOR notification form F2508,C4-085. Environmental health department, report of infectious or communicable disease form, C4-074. Care Quality Commission, using the relevant statutory notification form. As a minimum, the manager should ensure that the following records are maintained in the home to ensure legislative compliance and support the health and safety system in use at the home: An accident/incident report form A supply of RIDDOR notification form Senior staff communication book Significant events of importance book. Before any contractors begin work within the home, they must have been made aware that they must comply with all statutory health and safety requirements for the work being done. To ensure this happens, the manager should ensure that the contractor is included on the approved suppliers list, and has properly completed the approved supplier’s application. This will ensure that the necessary acknowledgements have been signed prior to work commencing. The home provides a living and leisure environment for older persons, some of whom are frail, and are especially vulnerable to a variety of risks. The manager or delegated responsible person is someone who has control or a degree of control over the premises and fire prevention systems and they will ensure that there is a fire management plan which will be implemented and maintained. The manager will ensure that risk assessments are carried out where required using the fire safety risk assessment form. Clients and all staff should all have a copy of this fire policy and the fire management plan, which forms part of the crisis management and service continuity plan. In addition, it is posted on notice boards around the home. The local fire authority will be consulted to see that they are satisfied with the safety measures that we have put in place and we will seek their advice on where improvements should & could be made.