Personal statement, Career and Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Personal statement, Career and Education - Essay Example I am attracted to the University of Las Vegas because of the faculty, the curriculum, and particularly because of the opportunities for hands-on training and education. Actually, I have been interested in the research and the application of scientific techniques to the health care field for many years. At Santa Ana College, for instance, I studied Pharmacy Technology in addition to focusing on chemistry and biology. Even before I decided to earn my degree in chemical engineering, I was interested in how my scientific background might be applied in the health care environment. My attractions to this field of study are essentially twofold. As an initial matter, I am fascinated by problem-solving projects. Using my theoretical knowledge to diagnose conditions and to resolve problems is an extraordinarily fulfilling task. Second, knowing that people would benefit medically from my research and work is also attractive. Ideally, I would like to use my education and training as a basis for further research. My goal is to become an expert in the field and to pursue advanced study. As mentioned before, I have a particular interest in research and development. I am interested in publishing and perhaps becoming an instructor in the future.

Factors Impacting on Nursing Care Quality

Factors Impacting on Nursing Care Quality Introduction Nurses play an indispensable front-line role in patient care within the NHS. However, issues such as role ambiguity, management concerns, training deficiencies, and a limited evidence-base raise serious questions about the quality of health care nurses dispense. This essay considers some of these issues. Role Ambiguity Although nurses offer a wide variety of patient care services, there is considerable ambiguity about specific work responsibilities in some areas of nursing (Goll-McGee, 1999; Rask Hallberg, 2000; Hinsby et al, 2004; Dickens et al, 2005; Needham et al, 05; Sekula, 2005). Forensic psychiatric care is a good example. In a comprehensive survey of nurse’s views about their job responsibilities, Rask and Hallberg (2000) found significant differences between licensed mental health nurses and registered nurses in the emphasis attached to key nursing roles, such as assessment, medical tasks (e.g. giving medication), and actions relating to patients ‘daily living activities’. Nurses often feel uncertain about whether they can undertake certain tasks autonomously without incurring the wrath of doctors. For example, much has been written about nurse-initiated thrombolysis for cardiac patients (Rawles, 1994; Smallwood, 2000; Smallwood et al, 2004; Kelly, 2004). Patients pres enting at an A E unit with cardiac symptoms may benefit from nurse-administered thrombolysis prior to formal medical screening. This would include performing an electrocardiogram and administering a thrombolytic agent via a standard protocol. Although nurse-induced thrombolysis may significantly reduce door-to-needle times, until recently there was no precise definition of this role in nursing literature. Nurses are often unsure precisely what roles they are expected to perform to deal with problems like teenage pregnancy and STD transmission (Campbell, 2004). This situation is confounded by the fact that sexual health needs vary considerably across specific patient groups (e.g. HIV incidence is significantly high and access to health access seemingly more limited amongst African/immigrant communities) (DOH, 2001, 2002; 2005a, 2005b; also see Erwin et al, 2002). The net effect of this haziness is that nurses may not always be entire certain of their role at critical moments, or may feel too stressed out, in situations where immediate patient care is paramount. Workload, Time Management Training Issues The issue of work-related stress (Ewers et al, 2002) is directly implicated in workload time management. It is no secret that nursing staff in the UK can be overworked at times (Kilfedder et al, 2001; Hinsby Baker, 2004; Hughes Umeh, 2005). A major reason for this is the severe time constraints created by the multiplicity of tasks nurses are required to perform. The Nursing Stress Scale (Plant et al, 1992; Tyler Cushway, 1995), a standard measure of work stress experienced by nurses incorporates workload as one of several separate and distinct sources of stress, highlighting the importance of this factor in nursing care. The workload problem was emphasised in a recent article about school nursing (Martell, 2005). School nurses are heavily under resourced but yet face an arduous workload, more so for those working in the pubic sector. Staff shortages and a multiplicity of responsibilities means that not enough time is spent on health promotion and in the classroom. More than half o f school nurses report feeling ‘emotionally drained’, and work excess hours on a daily basis, several times a week. The level of stress seems to vary considerable across different nursing fields. A recent study found that registered nurses report higher levels of stress compared with psychiatric nurses especially in the absence of social support (Hughes Umeh, 2005). Then there is the issue of training. Nurses in the UK receive extensive training before being employed to work on the ‘frontline’ (Campbell, 2004). However, questions have been raised about the adequacy of existing nursing education in various aspects of patient care. For example, although it has been suggested that nurses can play a crucial role in evaluating and caring for victims of sexual assault, nurses in the UK currently receive no formal training in this area (Dinsdale, 2005). Another area of training deficiency is in HIV prevention. Although the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) appr oves specific training courses for nurses in this area, universities and colleges are not compelled to offer them, â€Å"Pre-registration training for nurses does not include mandatory education relating to sexual health services. Nurses working in sexual health gain post-basic education in an ad-hoc manner through working in the specialty, and by undertaking specialist post-registration courses (Campbell, 2004, p.169). Nurses often receive limited (if any) training in the care of specific patient groups. For example, few nurses have special knowledge of the health care needs of ethnic minorities communities (DOH, 2000b; Andalo, 2004). Those who by chance spend some time working in such communities may gain some of the necessary expertise, but otherwise most nurses may be uninformed in this area. School nursing is another area in which training needs are not being met (Harrison, 2004; Martell, 2005). Martell (2005) reports that school nurses often have limited access to essential training for their role. Research Evidence-based practice As with other branches of health care there is increasing emphasis in nursing care on evidence-based practice (Lewis Latney, 2003; Thompson et al, 2004; Ring et al, 2005). Feasible evidence-based practice requires an adequate evidence base (Lewis Latney, 2003). However scientific literature in certain areas of nursing care is often patchy, delaying the development of appropriate ‘best practice’ statements that will ensure consistency in the quality of care nurses dispense across all sectors of the NHS and private sector (Hoskins, 2000; Serrant-Green, 2004). The importance of evidence-based ‘best practice’ guidelines cannot be overstated. The Nursing and Midwifery Practice Development Unit (NMPDU) emphasises their importance in achieving consistent care delivery across nursing sectors. Unfortunately, even where best-practice guidelines have been widely developed for nursing care, as is the case with NHS Scotland, implementation is often slow and inconsisten t (Ring et al, 2005). Nurses rarely refer to an evidence base when making decisions about patient care (Thompson et al, 2004). For example, midwifes often fail to offer antenatal HIV testing to women for ethnic minority backgrounds, to avoid appearing discriminatory (Gibb et al, 1998), even though such testing is a standard recommendation of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), DOH, and Nurse Agencies National Minimum Standards (DOH, 1994, 2000a). Guideline execution can be hampered by many factors including resource deficiencies, lack of training, resistance to change, lack of emphasis or prioritisation, absence of local nurse ‘leaders’ who can champion best-practice ideology, and resistance to change. Fulbrook (2003) notes that nursing knowledge and care often derives from more experiential and in-depth one-to-one interactions with patients, rather than formal scientific doctrine. Thus, it is questionable whether existing best practice statements, wh ich are rooted in positivist literature, are indeed appropriate for nursing care. Conclusion The quality of nursing care patients receive may often be compromised by workload issues, training deficiencies, a paucity of an adequate research evidence base, inconsistent implementation of clinical guidelines, and poorly defined job responsibilities. It appears these problems are rather more pressing in the public compared with private sector. A recent study of the work-related perceptions of nurses working in non-NHS facilities found that nurses in this sector reported greater levels of support, cohesion, job clarity and physical comfort (Dickens et al, 2005). However, they also indicated greater work pressure. There appears to be significant variation across various nursing specialties in the importance attached to key aspects of nursing care, such as patient assessment. Furthermore, certain nursing domains, for example school nursing, suffer from severe staff shortages, a multiplicity of responsibilities, and significant training issues. Overall, nursing care in the UK appears to lack the support it needs to meet expectations. References Andalo, D. (2004) How to sell. Nursing Standard, 18, pp.14-17. Campbell, P. (2004) The role of nurses in sexual and reproductive health. Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care, 30, pp.169-170. Department of Health (1994) Guidelines for Offering Voluntary named HIV Anti- Body Testing to Women receiving Antenatal Care. London, Department of Health. Department of Health (2000a) Nurse Agencies National Minimum Standards: Nurse Agencies Regulations.London, Department of Health. Department of Health (2000b) Black and ethnic nurses midwives and health visitors leading change a report of the Mary Seacole leadership award the first five years. London, Department of Health. Department of Health (2001) The National Strategy for Sexual Health and HIV. London, Department of Health. Department of Health (2002) The National Strategy for Sexual Health and HIV: Implementation Action Plan. London, Department of Health. Department of Health (2005a) Integrating the National Strategy for Sexual Health and HIV with Primary Medical Care Contracting. London, Department of Health. Department of Health (2005b) HIV and AIDS in African Communities: A Framework for Better Prevention and Care. London, Department of Health. Dickens, G., Sugarman, P. Rogers, G. (2005) Nurses’ perceptions of the working environment: a UK independent sector study. Journal of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing. 12, pp.297-302. Dinsdale, P. (2005) Pioneering nurse-led assault service. Nursing Standard, 19, p.9. Erwin, J., Morgan, M., Britten, N., Gray, K. Peters, B. (2002) Pathways to HIV testing and care by black African and white patients in London, Sexually TransmittedInfections, 78, 37-39. Ewers, P., Bradshaw, T., McGovern, J. Ewers, B. (2002) Does training in psychosocial interventions reduce burnout rates in forensic nurses? Journal of Advanced Nursing, 37, pp.470-476. Fulbrook, P. (2003) Developing best practice in critical acre nursing: knowledge, evidence and practice. Nursing Critical Care, 8, pp.96-102.Gibb, D.M., MacDonagh, S.E., Gupta, R., Tookey, P.A., Peckham, C.S. Ades, A.E.(1998) Factors affecting uptake of antenatal HIV testing in London: results of a multicentre study. British Medical Journal, 316, pp.259-261. Goll-McGee, B. (1999) The role of the clinical forensic nurse in critical acre. Critical Care in Nursing Quarterly. 22, pp.8-18. Gray-Toft, P. Anderson, J.G. (1981) The nursing stress scale: development ofan instrument. Journal of Behavioural Assessment. 3, pp.11-23. Hinsby, K. Baker, M. (2004) Patient and nurse accounts of violent incidents in a medium secure unit. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing. 11, pp.341-347. Hughes, H. Umeh, K. (2005) Work stress differentials between psychiatric and general nurses. British Journal of Nursing. 14, pp.802-808. Kilfedder, C.J., Power, K.G. Wells, T.J. (2001) Burnout in psychiatric nursing. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 34, pp.383-396. Harrison, S. (2004) School nurses pivotal to achieving health targets. Nursing Standard, 19, p.7.

Cyberculture and the Future of Print :: Writing Technology Technological Papers

I remember a time, when I would actually sit down and write out an assignment, with a pencil and paper before going to the computer and typing it. Those days are long gone. Now when I have a writing assignment to do, I simply go to my computer desk, sit down, and begin to type. The technologies that once were have become something of the past, and we are faced with these high powered machines that connect to the World Wide Web in a matter of minutes, or link you to anyone across the United States for a one on one instant message conversation. Within a ten year time period, we have become a very cyber centered society, and I dont expect a change any time soon. The purpose of this paper, is to explain how cyberculture has changed the way that we think about writing, and ourselves in particular as writers. As young adults, it is always instilled in us, that there is a right way to do something and a wrong way to do something. I was taught growing up to sit down and write out a draft for my paper(s) along with an outline before getting started. That was the right way. Doing it this way was supposed to provide the main idea and key points that I was going to use in my paper. Now 4 years later, I find that when I have to write a paper, I donwrite anything out. I sit at the computer and let it flow. I am not saying that this is the right way of doing things, its just my way. A way that has, for the most part worked for 4 years I try to think of myself as a very objective person. Just because I can appreciate all that a computer can do, does not mean that I do not see any problems with it. Many people argue that just sitting down and typing your assignments with no previous drafts wont work because people tend to think faster than they can write. This is true. But I feel that just as easily as you can forget to type a word, you can forget to write it. Landow said it best, when he said that All the strengths of electronic text, including adaptability, infinite duplicability, and speed of transport make these changes ultimately a means of saving time, energy, and other resources, particularly paper (Landow, p.

Durkheim Marx and Weber’s argument of society Essay

Durkheim concept of anomie differed from Marx and Weber’s concepts of alienation on the idea of how modernity rose. That is, they differed on their argument about how the old system isolated people from humanity. Durkheim argued that the shifting of the society to modernity was through disorganization and societies achieved modernity as they tried to adapt to disorganizations. Marx’s argument on society modernity was based on class conflict while Weber argued on political causes. Durkheim argued that the division of the society based on classes helped in creating interdependence (Macionis, 2013). Although social stratification was a social problem, Durkheim viewed as normalness (anomie) in the society. He believed that anomie was a characteristic of disorganized society or one that was undergoing changes. People lived in the same place in the past as communities and shared the same beliefs. However, changes in cultural, social, political, and religious systems started occurring in the society (Macionis, 2013). Since the changes were slow and had no significant effects on the people, they started experiencing anomie. The results of anomie were suicide, crime, and other social evils that became prevalent in the modern society. Unlike Durkheim who focused on class division and society disorganization, Marx’s argument on alienation focused on conflict between classes as the cause of modernity in the society (Macionis, 2013). The conflict between capitalists and working class brought a gap in the society. The capitalist started accumulating profits through exploitation of the working class. The capitalist dominated in the society and alienated the working class and thus the latter had to depend on the former to provide for their families. The result was competition in the society, which became the major characteristic of modernity. Consequently, Weber argument on alienation differed from Durkheim anomie argument in that he based his argument political factors (Macionis, 2013). According to Weber, legal authority governed the society through rules. Although the rules were the most efficient form of authority, decision by the society to follow the rules fully would result in faulty checks on the authority. As a result bad governance and oppression of the society emanated. Reference Macionis, J. (2013). Sociology. Pearson Education Source document

Sub Prime Crisis

imeContent Page Sub prime crisis http://banking. about. com/od/mortgages/a/mortgagecrisis. htm http://www. lewrockwell. com/rozeff/rozeff203. html http://www. slideshare. net/satanic/subprime-crisis-presentation-785636 http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Causes_of_the_2007%E2%80%932012_global_financial_crisis http://www. investopedia. com/articles/economics/09/lehman-brothers-collapse. asp http://ezinearticles. com/? Merrill-Lynch-and-the-Subprime-Mortgage-Market&id=1600761 http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=kb6g3S4scy4 http://moneymorning. com/2008/09/22/credit-default-swaps-2/ ttp://money. cnn. com/2008/09/16/news/companies/aig_questions/index. htm http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Credit_rating_agencies_and_the_subprime_crisis Discuss the cause of the Sub-Prime crisis and the parties responsible for causing such a crisis. There were different complex factors that may have contributed to the Sub-prime crisis during 2008-2009. They were easily associated with the investment banks and governm ent sponsored enterprise, such as Fannie Mae, on how to have dealt with their liquidity issues and Subprime mortgage loans that got them back-fired.One of the largest contributors to the expansion of the high-risk-loans was Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. When majority of the banks first started off with low credit interest and easy conditions loans, property was seen as an appreciating asset. Banks offered adjustable-rate-mortgage (ARMs) and Subprime loans to all kind of people with good or bad credits scores as they wanted higher revenue when they resell the bundled subprime mortgages called the Collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) and Mortgages-backed securities (MBS) to the other Investors around the world.The subprime crisis had shaken Northern Rock bank so badly that they had a hard time seeking help to keep the business going. The British banks Lloyds TSB group Plc had bought over HBOS Plc whom is the largest mortgage loans lenders. Bradford & Bingley took control over by UK Go vernment while their branches were taken over by Spain’s Santander. Germany struggled to save Hypo Real Estate while Nomura Holdings Inc was being bought over by Lehman’s franchise in many countries such as Europe, Asia Pac, Japan and Australia.The Crisis caused shockwaves and sent panic to the other neighbouring countries causing shares to drop sharply over a short period of time. Commercial Banks, investment banks, investors and people suffered great losses resulting in certain foreclosure or even bankruptcy. Large amount of loan was also taken from hedge funds to assist banks that are falling apart. When banks fell from its former glory, tons of people lost their jobs and banks became more cautions when dealing with any loans to business, properties or even to other banks.Traditionally, banks would go deep into analysing every single loan applicant, from their credit scores, to their employment details, net disposable income and even to check their ability to pay of f their mortgage loans before financing the applicant with sufficient funds to purchase their desirable property. Thorough checks had to be done before granting them with the loans as some of the applicants that came forward may have high probabilities of defaulting their loan or would leave for other competitions for loan which would eventually cause a property downturn in the market.These methods were often the safest choice but banks were restricted to their growth. The traditional methods were soon discarded by the newer generations. Hence, the newer generation were willing to take higher risk loans for higher revenues. Assuming that prices for property continue to appreciate, they would be enjoying higher profits thus willingly offered larger amount of loans at low interest rates to the borrowers. Before subprime mortgage was implemented, prime mortgages were sold to banks investors which they would bundle them up as CDOs and sell it to outside investors after securitising it.S ecuritization became a demand as it provides the opportunity for rating agencies to rate, or in another words to repackage or beautify those poor credit score investment assets from the collateral pool into AAA grade credit score investment assets. Investors whom are not well versed with these bundled subprime mortgages called the CDO were exposed to high risk investment unknowingly as they assumed that what they were handling was a group of people who have good credit scores.As banks at wallstreets began to greed, mortgage underwriting standards de-proved during this period where the banks failed in these 3 sectors; Failure to examine if the borrowers is able to repay the amount, implemented automated loan approval (which allows users to get through even without proper documentations) and fabricating information or fraud by both banks and applicants. This simply showed how devious and irresponsible the banks were when they try to gain huge profits through the loopholes of the poor standard mortgage underwritings over a short period of time.Studies showed that the difference between normal prime mortgage interests declined greatly comparing to subprime mortgages as Subprime mortgages offer better returns than the normal prime mortgages. The rise of the property increase greatly until the subprime mortgages began to default; after repaying of the first two years, Federal interest rate rose and adjusted. Subprime loaners soon encounter difficulties in refinancing their houses due to ARMs, which eventually led to foreclosure after a few warning letters.As the bank investors included Subprime mortgages, which are defaulted, in the CDOs they are dealing to the outside investors. The outside investors soon suffer losses as the CDOs became worthless over a short period of time and U. S property’s prices dipped as more foreclosure occurred. Economy was affected as few of these U. S. banks such as e. g. Peter Lehman which was refused by the Federal government to be bail out; Bear Stearns, an investment bank, which was acquired by J. P. Morgan Chase lost US$1. billion; Washington Mutual was closed by the US Government their assets was bought over by J. P Morgan Chase. With reference to President Obama speech on his take on banks â€Å"Too big to fail†, â€Å"The American people who are already struggling in their own right were forced to rescue financial firms facing crisis largely of their own creation†. The actual meaning of such is that the tax payers have become the safety net of the financial institutions which went into crisis and the tax payers are paying off their debt on behalf of them.President Obama also states that banks should not use tax payer’s money to trade for profit or abuse the funds coming from the tax payers as subsidy for investment. It is unfair to those tax payers as it will cause conflict of interest between the bank’s and the customers. President Obama also said that the Americans have to cut down on their luxuries to help in this crisis. The parties that are responsible for the crisis are, Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers Investment Bank, Merrill Lynch & Co and AIG. Bear Stearns used to be a conservative firm and see conservation as a defensive move.Eventually, they are discovered of risking the hedge funds for higher turn-over which they miscalculated investing huge amount (without setting aside a sum for event risk) in CDOs and insuring Credit default swaps (CDS) bonds in a short period of time and the cash back was too slow for them to have a turnover in time of crisis which brought them to their failure. To put it in a simpler way, they purchase CDOs that are deemed to be rated â€Å"AAA† by rating firms, sells them to investing banks (usually in bundles and at the cheaper rates) and then again sells them to investors.This allows the bank to free itself from the principles and interests they are getting for the borrowers gaining lump sum from the investor s, called Mortgage backed securities. The CDS bonds works with 3 parties which are the CDS buyer, the bond issuer and the CDS seller. Assuming that if bond defaults when the CDS issuer is unable to pay back the principle and the interests at the maturity date, the CDS buyer may pay a certain amount of interest to the CDS seller (for instances, Bear Stearns) to purchase a CDS as an insurance for the invested amount.Therefore, if the bond issuer is unable to pay up, the CDS buyer that made his purchase of CDS with the CDS seller will be compensated by the CDS Seller. This strategy is known as the absolute return strategy, if everything flows smoothly and economic continues to boom, which was not the case. Problem began to arise when the subprime mortgages didn’t work out and property value dipped tremendously. When the property price dipped, Bear Stearns managers realised that they do not have sufficient funds to protect the losses.It’s a domino effect when public was en lightened of Bear Stearns crisis. They started selling the bonds at lower price to fund their losses and more bonds are sold when they realise that the losses increase exponentially causing the price of the subprime bonds to drop tremendously and eventually led to the down fall of Bear Stearns. Soon after the downfall of Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers filed the largest amount of debt throughout the history, debt of $619 Billion dollars. As the U.S government refuses to bail them out, Lehman Brother, one of the few largest banks in U. S. faces their downfall and sent 25,000 Americans jobless. This tremor caused by Bear Stearns directly result in the decreasing value of CDOs prices day by day. CDS bond causes banks to fail as more and more defaults are happening. Subsequently, it led to the bank liquidity issues and went into a credit crunch while being unable to sell their CDOs to sufficiently assist the losses they face.Lehman’s stocks plunged as investors pull out on them and their liquidity pool depletes. Lehman then tries to sell their firm to prevent further losses but potential partners turned them down as such, led to their bankruptcy. Right after the downfall of Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers Investment Bank, Merrill Lynch & Co followed up, facing the crisis as they are into generating commissions, subprime loans, CDOs and such which are similar with what Bear Stearns and Lehman brother dealt with.On top with what they are dealing with, they took an extra path by providing loans to investors for the purchase of their bundle of CDOs right after they have been securitized. Some of the CDOs are even brought over from nonbank institutions and sent for a much risky asset backed securitization (ABS), before providing more loans to the investors for the purchase of the bond. This was also the reason why Merrill Lynch was able to survive as they are the most aggressive when dealing with subprime market.Merrill was the investment banks that make the high est amount of loans to any nonbanks as long as they sell the mortgages to Merrill eventually. Before Merrill falls, they actually tried to get Bear Stearns to pay them back the $850 million from the hedge funds which Bear loans hoping to make a turn over. However, the hedge funds collapsed and started the economic crisis. It was when Lehman brothers was still struggling, the government refuses to bail them out but instead requested The Bank of America to buy over Merrill Lynch as they see them both a potential assistance to the subprime crisis.Merging Merrill Lynch and Bank of American, it made them the ninth largest corporation in the world and presently called the Bank of American Merrill Lynch. American International Group Inc (AIG) was the largest insurance company that grew aggressively in U. S. The problems arise when AIG started to lose money in the investment they dealt with like CDOs, CDS, Pool of subprime mortgages and pool of Alt-A mortgages. Without a doubt they were ear ning a huge amount of premium incomes from their invested products, they came crashing when the prices of the properties falls.Increasing rate of foreclosure and amount of the loan pools it had insured cannot be leveraged and realized that their company do not have enough money for pay-outs. The Securities and Exchange Commission also found out that AIG had got low integrity as they shifted from the main balance sheet to the off balance sheet to cover up the problem. There weren’t transparency as the company tries to move or shift the amount that was supposed to be shown on the main balance sheet to the written off balance sheet, abusing the loopholes of the off balance sheet to beautify the main ones.They suffered the largest amount of losses when the rating firm’s such as Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings Inc lower the company’s rating. AIG was already on the edge of bankruptcy when all the counterparties started to d emand for their cash which they do not have. AIG was greedy and irresponsible and failed to assure that there was enough fund to pay-out all the insured parties. The U. S Government cannot let AIG fall as they are one of the largest insurance company, if they were to declare bankrupt, U.S will fall into a financial crisis and the insurance regulator will have to take over the firm and compensate the insured and it would create a tighter credit market for consumers and businesses trying to get loans. Thus, the U. S government cannot allow the economy to go down any further, they will have to use the tax payer’s money as a safety net to bail AIG out. Credit rating agencies such as Standard & Poor’s (S&P) have been reprimanded as they are also one of the crucial groups of people that contributed to the subprime crisis.They handled complex securities such as the MBS and CDO which are from the loaners with bad credit scores and rated them highly so it could be sold to the i nvestors. The underrated MBS and CDOs that the investors purchase caused them to suffer great losses. It comes hand in hand, as without the rating agencies doing, the bank would not be able to resell the CDOs and MBS. It was ridiculous as a subprime loaner with a bad credit score can be securitized and rated as AAA ratings. It was also said that part of the revenue that the banks got from selling the CDOs and MBS are shared to the agencies.Competitions happened between different rating agencies as all of the wants to enjoy the high influx of revenue which eventually caused the rating standard to drop tremendously due to the conflict of interests. A source from (from where) also states that due to the low standardization in the ratings from the agencies, the AAA CDOs and MBS that went through securitizations doubled the amount as it used to be. As rating the CDOs and MBS is the rating agencies job, they are not held responsible for the compensations to the investors as ratings, was only a piece of advice from them to make references to.TO sum it up, investment banks was unable to rectify the illusion of how property value would climb continuously thus causing a domino effect that ultimately caused their downfall. When there is rise, there will always be a fall. As the bank did not foresee such circumstances affecting the prices of property, hence continued with the high-risk-loans to everyone and anyone that applies for a grant to purchase a property. It all falls into place when rating agencies started lowering their rating standard to compete with their competitions due to favouritism of their own interests.

Health, Safety Environmental Management. The WritePass Journal

Health, Safety Environmental Management. 1.0 INTRODUCTION: Health, Safety Environmental Management. 1.0 INTRODUCTION:1.1 SCOPE OF THE REPORT:2.0 EMS AND ECO CAMPUS:2.1.0 TYPES OF EMS:2.1.1 ISO 14001:2.1.2 ECO- MANAGEMENT AUDIT SCHEME (EMAS):2.1.3 IEMA – Acorn Scheme:2.2.0 ECO- CAMPUS AND HOW IT RELATES TO EMS:2.2.1 THE AWARD WINNING CRITERIA:3.0 POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF THE SYSTEM:4.0 EVIDENCE OF BRONZE AND SILVER MEDALS5.0 STEPS TO ACHIEVE THE GOLD MEDAL1. Resources, Roles and Responsibilities2. Competence and Training  Ã‚   3. Communication4. Documentation/Control of documents5. Operational Control6. Emergency Preparedness and Response 6.0 CONCLUSION: 7.0 REFERENCES:Related 1.0 INTRODUCTION: We are living in an era described as an environmentally conscious age, where every deed acted by humans in terms of development, the effect is being weighed in relation to our environment. Consequently this has prompted a substantial number of environmental regulations being endorsed to hold business organizations more accountable for their environmental responsibilities. These policies tend to focus on tackling such problems from the source, with the knowledge of how certain insignificant decisions taken by such organizations can have a detrimental effect on the environment as a whole. (Darnall et al 2008). One of the strategies adopted by these organisations was to introduce a tool known as Environmental Management System (EMS) that can be used to achieve a high degree of environmental protection within the context of sustainable development. (Bansal and Bagner.2002). This tool was first developed by the British Standards Institute (BSI) identified as BS7750 published in 1992. By 1994 the European Commission published another management tool known as Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS). According to Bansal and Bagner after an increasing demand for improved environmental performance by the United Nations, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) was mandated to create an internationally recognised environmental management system called ISO 14001 which is being used up to date. Over the years EMS has been seen as part of a policy frame work for establishing any type of organisation from Schools, hospitals to even shops. However, within the years researchers are beginning to question the authenticity of EMSs since organisations claim to have one, when infact they make no attempt to reduce their environmental damage. â€Å"In instances where EMSs enhances an organization’s environmental performance, critics argue that improvements are likely to occur within the organization’s operational boundaries rather than being extended throughout the supply chain.† (Darnall et al 2008). Despite these emerging misconceptions EMS has been effective in reducing environmental impacts within and outside the organisations especially as fines and penalties are being enforced on non compliance of organisations by the regulatory bodies. 1.1 SCOPE OF THE REPORT: This report will focus on EMS and how it relates to Eco campus, a tool established by Glasgow Caledonian University to regulate its environmental impacts. Furthermore, it will look at the positive and negative aspects of adopting an EMS, and the evidences of bronze and silver medals won by the GCU through implementation of eco campus and the steps towards achieving a Gold medal. 2.0 EMS AND ECO CAMPUS: According to Coglianese and Nash an EMS can be described as a set of in-house policies, reviews, plans and functioning actions affecting the entire organization and its relationships with the natural environment. They went on further to say even though the specific institutional description of EMSs differ across organizations, all EMSs entail setting up an environmental policy or plan which goes through internal evaluations of the organization’s environmental impacts including computation of those impacts and how they have changed over time, creating quantifiable goals to reduce those environmental impacts, providing resources and training workers, checking implementation progress through systematic auditing to ensure that goals are being reached, correcting deviations from goal attainment and undergoing management review. Absolute incessant improvements are done on the model, which are anticipated to help organizations insert environmental practices deep within their operatio nal frameworks so that protecting the natural environment becomes a fundamental component of their overall business strategy (Shireman, 2003). Environmental management systems function under the Shewart and Deming cycle of continual improvement which can be actualized by a step by step procedure. . It is repetitive and based on the PLAN – DO – CHECK – ACT system. First of all, a re-evaluation of the institution is done and a plan is set out on how the review made can be improved. Next is to develop how to execute the plan and once the system has been implemented, it is verified frequently to see if it is performing successfully. Finally, any suggestions for improvements are implemented. The cycle then begins again so that the system is repeatedly improved and refined to have room for future changes. (ecocampus.co.uk). The figure below illustrates the process further. Source: www.ecocampus.co.uk    2.1.0 TYPES OF EMS: Presently there are quite a few recognizable standards in Environmental Management Systems, but most the recognised and certified are the: ISO 14001: 2004 International Standard for Environmental Management. Eco – Management Audit Scheme (EMAS). IEMA – Acorn Scheme. (www.iema.net) 2.1.1 ISO 14001: ISO14001 objective is necessitating an organisation to implement an Environmental Policy within the organisation fully supported by the top management, and outlining the policies of the company, not only to the staff but to the public. The policy has to be in conformity with Environmental Legislations that may affect the organization and stressing a commitment to continuous improvement. Emphasis should also be placed on policy as this provides the direction for the remainder of the Management System. (Hillary 1999). Furthermore, ISO 14001 has grown at a very fast rate, and has gained acceptance as the â€Å"model T† among management systems perhaps not as a flashy or advanced as others, but prescriptive, reliable, affordable (in terms of cost and effort) and perhaps most importantly it gets you there. 2.1.2 ECO- MANAGEMENT AUDIT SCHEME (EMAS): The EU Eco Management and Audit Scheme recognized as EMAS is a voluntary market based instrument designed to inculcate better environmental performance from all types of organisations. EMAS has also been intended to completely be well-suited with international standard for environmental management systems ISO 14001, but goes further in its requirements for performance improvement, employee involvement, legal compliance and communication with stakeholders. Uniquely EMAS requires organisations to produce an independently verified report about their performances. (www.iema.net) 2.1.3 IEMA – Acorn Scheme: It has been mentioned by the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) that Acorn Scheme is an officially accepted EMS standard suggested by the government, which offers a suitable step by step approach to environmental management using the British Standard BS8555. IEMA also described the scheme as a coherent practical tool that contains five stages of EMS implementation. Each stage is further subdivided into other individual stage profiles which match up to the schemes principle. 2.2.0 ECO- CAMPUS AND HOW IT RELATES TO EMS: Eco campus has been defined by the ecocampus website as both an environmental management system and an award scheme for the higher education sector. The scheme allows institutions to be acknowledged for adopting certain sustainable key issues. The main aim of the eco campus scheme is to encourage, reward and provide tools to assist institutions in moving towards environmental sustainability through good operational and management practices. The eco campus programme consist of four phases; Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. By working through these phases, the university will -:    Renew its current environmental performance and plan how it can be improved.    Develop procedures to implement the plan    Check actual progress    Ensure any recommendations for improvement and implement them. The Eco campus like the EMS, share the same objectives which is to inculcate, promote and integrate steps, ideas, plans that have less effect on the environment.   In terms of implementation Eco campus works in the same manner with the EMS which is the application of the four key steps â€Å"Plan- Do-Check-Act† and off course with the criteria of continual improvement. Basically an eco campus is a tool that helps institutions achieve sustainability through an EMS approach, the relationship being an eco campus is an EMS with a different name because it functions in an institutional organisation. The only difference between the two would be the award winning criteria your institution tends to gain by adopting eco campus, whereas EMS does not reward implementation especially in that manner (bronze, silver, gold and platinum). 2.2.1 THE AWARD WINNING CRITERIA: The eco campus award criterion is based on the PLAN – DO – CHECK – ACT system and these four stages are awarded sequentially by the four medals assigned by the scheme. Bronze (planning), Silver (implementing), Gold (operating) and Platinum (checking and correct). The bronze phase basically complements the â€Å"planning† and this has to do with how devoted the senior management are towards attaining a sustainable institution. Environmental awareness, training, baseline environmental reviews and drafting an environmental policy are the main key elements of the bronze phase. An institution must be able to show these four basic commitments before they can be certified a bronze worthy. The Silver however is referred to as â€Å"implementing† and it requires the execution of the elements highlighted in the policy. It`s key elements include: legal and other requirements, significant environmental aspects, objectives, targets, programmes, and environmental policy. The gold is recognised as â€Å"operating† and consist of resources, roles and responsibilities; competence, training and awareness; communication; documentation and control of documents; operational control; emergency preparedness and response. Finally the platinum which is the checking correcting requires monitoring, measurement of the success so far followed by the evaluation of compliance in terms of abiding by the restrictions placed the non conformity, correctiveness, and preventive action. Furthermore control of records is required, internal auditing and finally the management review.(GCU Envirocampus, 2007) 3.0 POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF THE SYSTEM: According to Glasgow Caledonian University/sustainability website EMS has the following beneficial qualities: assists in obtaining a licence to operate and complying with legal and other requirements such as planning consents; improves relationships with regulators; helps to prevent enforcement or civil actions; reduces hidden costs associated with legal action (including substantial draw on management time); avoids fines and damages awarded from legal action through criminal or civil courts improves operational and process efficiency; reduces operating costs and resource use thereby increasing profitability; reduces outlay on waste disposal; gives the institution a long-term sustainable future; develops relationships with stakeholders by satisfying investors’ lenders’ and insurers’ environmental performance requirements; helps to obtain insurance at a reasonable cost; enhances the internal and external image of the institution, making it more marketable; helps attract and retain quality staff and students; Reduces pollution and improves the environment. And EMS has the following drawbacks: requires human and financial resources; takes time to convince people that it is worthwhile; requires good communication and training; can be time-consuming to implement and maintain From the above mentioned list, it clearly signifies how the advantages of an EMS overshadow the disadvantages, and for an effective and organised improvement of an institution’s environmental activities, it is most recommended.       4.0 EVIDENCE OF BRONZE AND SILVER MEDALS According to the GCU/Sustainability website on June the 12th 2009 Glasgow Caledonian University received a bronze medal. It was presented by the eco campus Director, Dr Peter Redfern of Nottingham Trent University to Jim McQueen who received it on behalf of Glasgow Caledonian University eco campus team during workshop number 5 at Bournemouth University on the 1st of July 2009. It was on a time scale of 2 and 3 month and it covered the â€Å"planning stage†. It had an upfront cost of  £9000 for purchase of training tools. These tools are: web trainer tool, review tool, significance calculator tool and document control tool. The silver medal was later awarded on the 28th of April 2010 after successfully completing the â€Å"implementation stage†. The certificate was presented to Therese Fraser and Jim McQueen on May the 18th 2010 at Nottingham Trent University in correspondence to their Workshop 9 attendance. This was undoughtedly accomplished based on the commitments the staff and students of GCU had put in.   Presently, the institution focuses on programmes to reduce carbon dioxide emissions under the supervision of the university in areas such as administrative, accommodation, and leisure buildings. It also has in place a carbon management plan which was approved by the carbon trust on 30th April 2010. (gcu.ac.uk/sustainability). As part of their commitment towards creating a sustainable and carbon free campus, GCU has joined the carbon trust scheme in addition to the eco campus plan. Besides that, their commitment goes as far as reducing their adverse impacts on the environment under the mandate set up by the Scottish government which involves an action to reduce carbon dioxide emission and to the climate change Bill 2007, commitments has been made to reduce emissions nationally by 69% by 2050. The School is also committed to promote projects which enhance society’s management of waste through collaborating with an environmental body that utilizes landfill tax credits called SCORE. (gcu.ac.uk/sustainability). In terms of drafting an environmental policy under the bronze criteria GCU have been active in that department, a lot have been drafted but just to mention a few. The policies include: Incorporate recycling initiatives within our waste management review, increase recycling by 5% year on year. Develop the use of recycled materials and increase recycling initiatives. Prevent pollution by reducing emissions and discharges. Reduce the negative impacts associated with our travel by 4% in this year while developing partnerships with travel groups. Reduction in water by 10% over the next 2 years by increasing automatic metering. As mentioned in the policy document, it is underpinned by the values of the University and is subject to annual review by the Executive Board which is also another criteria for award attainment (environmental reviews) together with â€Å"implementation† of these plans which is the silver stage.   The university achieved this through its collaborative effort between the EMS manager and certain specialists in each area of GCU. They reviewed aspects like electricity which has severe negative impacts especially as it is produced by burning fossil fuels. (gcu.ac.uk/sustainability). Regarding the issue of awareness, trainings workshops, GCU has achieved a lot in that area quite a number of awareness weeks trainings have taken place like its carbon footprint programme that was held on Environment day May the 5th. Other awareness campaigns followed such as facilities management department held an Environmental Energy awareness day on Thursday November 1st 2007.   Amongst them the most successful one that took place was the Energy awareness day of September the 19th 2006. It was estimated that over 1,000 staffs and students passed through the exhibition. 5.0 STEPS TO ACHIEVE THE GOLD MEDAL The Gold phase of the eco campus covers â€Å"operating† as mentioned earlier and is depended upon the institutions commitment. Operating consists of the following:-    Resources, roles, responsibilities and authority;    Competence, training and awareness    Communication    Documentation    Control of documents    Operational control    Emergency preparedness and response. (eco campus Audit criteria 2005-2008) 1. Resources, Roles and Responsibilities The university will have to provide evidence of appropriate resources put in place in order to implement the environmental management system. Roles and responsibilities should be allocated to member staffs and students; this will enable the institution to finalise the outline management structure. 2. Competence and Training  Ã‚   All training records shall be collated, recorded and stored. Assessment shall also be made on the competency of persons whose work may have a significant impact on the environment. Both staff and students especially those that are part of the eco campus team should have adequate training to ensure they understand the environmental issues relating to the institution and their roles and responsibilities for implementing the environmental management system. The same Training should also be done to any new persons joining the team and all training should be recorded and updated. 3. Communication Procedures must be adopted for documenting and responding to environmental communication received from within and outside the institution. This can be achieved through presentations, briefings, lectures etc and key environmental impacts and relevant legal issues should be communicated to team members. Also, roles and responsibilities should be communicated to all relevant persons in order to meet the commitments made in the environmental policy and objectives and targets 4. Documentation/Control of documents The institution shall develop an EMS manual describing how the EMS operates and cross referencing to relevant documentation. A procedure for controlling environmental management system documentation shall be established. This entails -documents shall be defined. i-  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   An authorised person shall approve system document prior to release and the date of approval shall be shown on the document. ii-  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Record of changes made to documents shall be maintained. iii-  Ã‚  Ã‚   Responsibilities, authorities and processes for disposing of absolute documents shall be defined. iv-  Ã‚  Ã‚   An authorised person shall approve system document prior to release and the date of approval shall be shown on the document. 5. Operational Control Having control over all operational activities is a vital role in achieving the Gold medal. This can be made possible by looking at the guide as follows:- A procedure should be developed to outline the management of operational control procedures; procedures that address significant aspects in line with objectives and targets should be developed. These procedures shall demonstrate how the institution controls those areas of its activities which could have an effect on the environment. 6. Emergency Preparedness and Response System to identify and respond to emergencies which could result in damage to the environment must be put in place. A schedule of emergency procedure test drill should be established, this will help to describe how the institution review and test emergency preparedness and response. Glasgow Caledonian University through some of its activities like being part of the carbon trust and the commitments to sustainability and creation of greener campus has already tackled some of the basic elements listed above. However, there is still more to be done to ensure the institution becomes a sustainable institution. Some key issues like waste management and creating awareness through campaigns still needs to be addressed. Most students are either not aware or refuse to comply with the waste management strategy. There seem to be a waste segregation and recycling that is going on but due to lack of awareness most of students do not know therefore, there is still much that has to be done in order to attain the Gold level and achieve a sustainable university. And a target for that should be the international students which GCU has quite a few, source segregation for example needs to be made aware especially during the first weeks of orientation about how it works and its import ance. Water management and electricity consumption is another issue that needs to be addressed, motion light sensors and water meters should be installed in hostels because that is where most of the consumption takes place. Students should be enlightened on the impacts of such actions and the need to develop a secure, safe and sustainable institution for learning. I also recommend placing parking ticket fee or stamps to parking spaces this will help reduce emissions from staff and students from coming with cars and at the same time make subsidies and promos on bus fares to school.    6.0 CONCLUSION: All institutional activities have an impact on the environment and there is need to review our mannerisms if we are committed in reducing the effects. This can best be achieved through the incorporation of an environmental management system which appears to be the most logical and effective way. The success of the systems without a dought takes a little while to be actualized but there are a lot of gains attached to it, such as the Eco campus award schemes, National Recognitions, an efficient structured management system and above all the Management of our Environment. And again the success as mentioned in the report requires the devotion of the People within the organisation. So it is about time Government Steps in and make EMS a more Standardize requirement for organizations especially schools where most of the daily activities occur in terms of resources usage.    7.0 REFERENCES: Caledonian Environmental Centre (CEC): 2007; implementing an environmental management system in Glasgow Caledonian University Coglianese, C. Nash J.2001. Regulating from the Inside team can Environmental Management system Achieve Policy Goals?   Washington: Resources for the future Press. Darnall, N. Henriques,I.   Sardosky, P.2008. Do Environmental Management systems Improve business Performance In an International Setting? Journal on International Management, 2008, 14, pp364-376 Eco campus Audit criteria 2005- 2008; Available on blackboard via health and safety assignment materials Ecocampus. (2010). Ecocampus [Online]Available at: ecocampus.co.uk/EMS.htm[ Accessed on 4 November 2010] GCU.(2010). Sustainability[Online] Available at : http// www.gcu.ac.uk/sustainability/susprochtml.[accessed 3 November 2010] Hillary, R. (1999). Evaluation of Study Reports on the Barriers, Opportunities and Drivers for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in the Adoption of EMSs. London: Network for Environmental Management and Auditing. Paper submitted to UK Government. Department of Trade and Industry: Environment Directorate (5/10/99). Institute Of Environmental Management Assessment.[Online] Available on iema.net.[Accessed 3 November 2010]. Shireman W. 2003. A Measurement Guide to Productivity: 50 Powerful Tools to Grow your Triple Bottom Line. Asian Productivity Organization: Tokyo

Cmo contactar con el Centro Nacional de Visas (NVC)

Cmo contactar con el Centro Nacional de Visas (NVC) El Centro Nacional de Visas –NVC, por sus siglas en inglà ©s– tiene un papel esencial cuando se solicita una tarjeta de residencia permanente por razà ³n de familia o de trabajo para un extranjero que se encuentra fuera de Estados Unidos y, por esa razà ³n, necesita una visa de inmigrante para ingresar al paà ­s. Y es que el Servicio de Inmigracià ³n y Ciudadanà ­a –USCIS, por sus siglas en inglà ©s– aprueba una peticià ³n de tarjeta de residencia hasta que la oficina consular procesa la visa de inmigrante, la solicitud se encuentra en el NVC. Quà © hace el Centro Nacional de Visas: formularios y tarifas El NVC tiene varias tareas. En primer lugar, actualiza cada mes las fechas de prioridad que determinan quà © visas de inmigrante pueden procesarse o, por el contrario, quà © solicitudes deben esperar. En este artà ­culo ms abajo se explica en detalle cunto se tarda para la cita para la entrevista en el consulado. Adems, el CNV es el organismo encargado de comunicarse con el solicitante del la tarjeta de residencia, con el beneficiario o con su abogado o agente para solicitarle que rellene ms formularios, envà ­e documentacià ³n financiera de apoyo y pague nuevas tarifas. Para ello es esencial que el CNV tenga actualizados los datos del correo electrà ³nico de al menos una de las siguientes personas: abogado del caso, si se tiene, solicitante o beneficiario. Debe comunicarse en la pgina del CEAC cualquier cambio en dicha direccià ³n para evitar demoras innecesarias. Entre los formularios que deben rellenarse en este momento a peticià ³n de CNV estn el DS-260, que es la aplicacià ³n electrà ³nica de la visa de inmigrante y el correspondiente a la declaracià ³n jurada de sostenimiento econà ³mico, tambià ©n conocido como affidavit of support, y que puede requerir una o varias planillas, segà ºn las circunstancias de cada caso. Asimismo, el CNV requiere el pago de dos tarifas: Visa de inmigrante por familia (I-130): $325 o visa de inmigrante por trabajo (I-140): $345Affidavit of support: $120 Los pagos deben hacerse digitalmente en la pgina de CEAC y contra una cuenta corriente o de ahorro de un banco en Estados Unidos. Para realizar el pago seguir las instrucciones del NVC e incluir los datos de nà ºmero de factura aportados por el mismo. Una vez que los pagos estn hechos y los formularios y documentacià ³n enviados, el NVC enviar la informacià ³n para la entrevista en el consulado para obtener la visa de inmigrante.  ¿Cunto tarda el Centro Nacional de Visas en enviar la cita para la entrevista en la oficina consular? La respuesta varà ­a desde apenas unas semanas a aà ±os, incluso ms de 20. Todo depende de la categorà ­a a la que pertenece la solicitud de la visa de inmigrante y, en algunos casos, incluso la nacionalidad del beneficiario. Asà ­, por una parte los familiares inmediatos de ciudadanos no estn sujetos a cupos de esperas para que exista una visa de inmigrante disponible para ellos. Son familiares inmediatos los cà ³nyuges, el pap, la mam y los hijos solteros menores de 21 aà ±os. En estos casos, el CNV se comunica inmediatamente con el solicitante, beneficiario o abogado nada ms recibir de USCIS el envà ­o de la solicitud aprobada. Por el contrario, en todos los dems casos es necesario esperar a que existan visas disponibles en la categorà ­a a la que pertenece la persona solicitada. Por ejemplo, un hijo de ciudadano estadounidense que est soltero y es mayor de 21 aà ±os es un F1 se pueden aprobar un total de 23.400 visas de inmigrante por aà ±o fiscal. Como el nà ºmero de solicitudes es muy superior al de visas disponibles esto significa que cada aà ±o se acumulan retrasos y hay que esperar por estricto orden a que una visa de inmigrante està © disponible. El orden lo determina la fecha de prioridad y puede consultarse cada mes en el boletà ­n de visas quà © fechas se estn procesando en el CNV para cada categorà ­a de peticià ³n. Adems, hay que tener en cuenta que adems del là ­mite que existe dentro de categorà ­a por aà ±o fiscal existe otro que limita el porcentaje de visas sobre el total que pueden darse en cada paà ­s. Esto afecta negativamente a paà ­ses con altas tasas de migracià ³n hacia Estados Unidos, como por ejemplo, Mà ©xico, China, India o Filipinas, para los que las demoras en cada categorà ­a son ms grandes que para los ciudadanos del resto de paà ­ses.  ¿Se puede verificar el estado del caso mientras se encuentra en el NVC? En realidad no se puede verificar porque el NVC no decide si se aprueba la solicitud. El primer paso que es determinar si la solicitud cumple los requisitos bsicos, lo realiza USCIS y la à ºltima decisià ³n corresponde a la oficina consular. Mientras el caso est paralizado en el NVC esperando por una visa disponible en la categorà ­a que se ha solicitado no se le hace nada al expediente. Es decir, est como dormido y no hay nada que verificar. Cà ³mo contactar con el NVC: telà ©fono, fax, correo Si fuera necesario contactar con el NVC, estas son las opciones Telà ©fono: Marcando al 603-334-0700. Es un sistema automatizado que opera las 24 horas del dà ­a los siete dà ­as de la semana. Se necesita introducir los dà ­gitos del caso segà ºn el NVC o el nà ºmero de recibo que te envià ³ el USCIS en la carta que se conoce como NOA. Para hablar con una persona, marcar al mismo nà ºmero entre las 9:00 am y las 9:00 pm hora de la Costa Este de Estados Unidos, de lunes a viernes, excluyendo festivos federales. En la actualidad la demora de un representante del NVC en contestar el telà ©fono puede alcanzar los 30 minutos. Fax Marcando al 603-334-0791 Correo ordinario Para solicitar informacià ³n sobre caso; National Visa CenterATTN: WC31 Rochester Avenue, Suite 200Portsmouth, NH 03801-2915USA Para enviar documentacià ³n, fotografà ­as o planillas (formas): NVCATTN: DR31 Rochester Avenue, Suite 100Portsmouth, NH 03801-2914USA Incluir siempre el nà ºmero de caso y los nombres completos y fechas de nacimiento de beneficiario y de la persona que realiza la peticià ³n o de la empresa, si se trata de una peticià ³n por trabajo. Correo electrà ³nico Escribir a: NVCINQUIRYstate.gov. Escribir en asunto el nà ºmero de caso segà ºn el NVC.En el texto incluir el nombre del beneficiario y el del solicitanteIncluir las fechas de nacimiento de ambos.Si se trata de una peticià ³n realizada por una empresa, incluir su nombre. Si el correo lo escribe el abogado a cargo del caso, hacerlo constar asà ­ e incluir una copia escaneada de la planilla G-28 y el nombre de la oficina de abogados para la que se trabaja y la direccià ³n de la misma. Finalmente destacar que el email debe escribirse en inglà ©s. El NVC considera que à ©sta es la mejor forma de contacto y la prefiere sobre las otras. En la actualidad, la media de tiempo que NVC se demora en contestar es de 15 dà ­as. La razà ³n por la que no se debe viajar a las oficinas del NVC El NVC est ubicado fà ­sicamente en Portsmouth, Nuevo Hampshire. Sin embargo, sus puertas no estn abiertas al pà ºblico. Es inà ºtil que viajes hasta allà ­, ni te van a dar informacià ³n ni van a aceptar que entregues documentacià ³n en mano. Simplemente te van a recordar las formas enumeradas en este artà ­culo para que contactes asà ­ con ellos. De NVC a consulado Una vez que se recibe la notificacià ³n del NVC sobre la entrevista en el consulado, el beneficiario de la solicitud debe seguir las instrucciones que se le dan. Entre otros asuntos deber: agendar y realizar un examen mà ©dicoregistrarse con el servicio de mensajerà ­a que utilice el consuladoreunir documentos originales y copias y traducirlos al inglà ©s, si fuera necesarioObtener fotografà ­as recientesasegurarse de tener un pasaporte con al menos 6 meses de validezpresentarse en la oficina consular el dà ­a y la hora seà ±alados En la entrevista el oficial consular decidir si aprueba la visa de inmigrante, la cual puede negarse por un nà ºmero amplio de razones, con carcter temporal o definitivo. En algunos casos, ser posible solicitar un waiver, tambià ©n conocido como permiso o perdà ³n. En la mayorà ­a de los casos, la visa de inmigrante es aprobada. El beneficiario tiene 6 meses para ingresar a Estados Unidos. En el momento de ingresar su pasaporte se sellar y dicho sello puede utilizarse como tarjeta de residencia permanente mientras no se recibe la de plstico. Contactar con el Centro Nacional de Visas Telà ©fono: 603-334-0700Fax: 603-334-0791Correo electrà ³nico: NVCINQUIRYstate.gov. Este es un artà ­culo informativo. Non es asesorà ­a legal.

Why Youre Not Getting Paid More Money

Why Youre Not Getting Paid More Money Employers love to be vague about the salary they’re prepared to offer for any given position. You’ll often see â€Å"Commensurate with Experience† or â€Å"Dependent on Experience,† or other similar wordings. Basically, what you’re offered will depend on where you came from and what you’ve worked on. You may look at such a job posting and count up all your innumerable years of experience and think: gee, I have a ton of experience. I’m going to make bank. But the calculations can be on the fickle side.Experience ≠  Years WorkedThe major takeaway is this: the salary such an employer is prepared to offer you will depend upon a range of factors- including but not limited to your experience. Even if the job description asks for a specific number of years experience in a specific role, if you have more- or more targeted- experience, you might be eligible to make slightly more than an incoming hire or candidate with just the minimum.Be c areful to make sure what you’re calling â€Å"experience† is the kind of experience the employer has in mind. You might have five years experience managing a team of employees at a boutique company, but they might be looking for someone who oversaw multiple teams at multiple locations across a much larger company. In that case, your â€Å"experience† wouldn’t make for a massive salary bump. Before you go into an interview boasting what you think is an impressive history (and it very well might be!), make sure it will be impressive to your  interviewer. In this specific case, he or she has the only opinion that matters.Your Former Stats MatterAn employer will also take into account your previous salary history, your level of education (and sometimes even the â€Å"level† of your institution). They’ll also measure your geographical location and the cost of living there, so two positions in suburban Ohio and New York City, respectively, would be compensated differently.You’re Working Within a WindowUsually, most employers have a salary range in mind. Where you fall on that predetermined range will be decided based on all these factors we just mentioned. So â€Å"commensurate with experience† in this case doesn’t mean â€Å"sky’s the limit† if you happen to be super experienced. It might, however, mean you’ll make more than the slightly less experienced new hire with your same job description. Or less than the slightly more experienced one.That said, whenever you see the phrase â€Å"commensurate with experience,† or something like it, be prepared to negotiate, at least a little. That salary is not set in stone. You might not have much leverage, but it’s at least a crack in the window for you to give it a try. Make sure to do your homework about the cost of living in your area, what other people at your level seem to be making, what the range of salaries at that com pany appears to be, etc. And remember to take extra care when detailing your work history in your application- both on your resume and in your cover letter. Figure out your strengths as precisely and as powerfully as you can, knowing they’ll be scrutinized when deciding where you’ll fall on the salary spectrum once you’re hired.

Legal History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Legal History - Essay Example The law is no longer a fabric of clearly-defined spectrums, but is rather a patchwork quilt of various shades of gray. This framework is important in that it stimulates self-interrogation. It does away with the all-too-convenient givens of a legal system - that there is but one set of "correct" rules and that legal decisions are but logical outcomes of tested principles that are empirically-replicable. This is perhaps the best frame to undertake as we wade through the murky waters of legal history - navigating through Roman and anglo-saxon law; and moving towards and studying the various subtopics such as criminal law and justice, tort and restitution law, and gender law. Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, covering more than one thousand years from the twelve tables to the Corpus Juris Civilis. Animated in large part by the great thinkers of its time, this provides ready example that the law is more a patchwork quilt of the evolving mindsets of the day, than a steady and solid rock. For example, the great thinker Cicero maintains that there was no distinction between that which was morally good and what was useful to man. To quote from Cicero, "Virtue is a habit of the mind, consistent with nature and moderation and reason." [Rhetorical Invention (bk. II, sc. LIII)] Much of this has been influenced by Platonic philosophy which is hinged on moral virtue as practiced by just rulers. As such, the concept of government and duty has underlain much of ancient law and has aided the people of the time in charting their destiny. The interface between law and literature and the arts provides insights into how legal history was shaped during the past. Much of the law was influenced by the cultural milieu of the time. To quote from Green (1929): It is generally understood that the plays of Plautus, based on Greek models and avowedly translations of Greek comedies, have been so adapted for presentation to a Roman audience that they present a mixture of Greek and Roman elements. But the extent to which materials of each kind are used has been the subject of considerable discussion rather wide disagreement. Especially is this true as to the legal questions involved in the questions presented. The law of restitution Another field of law which would demonstrate how the law indeed is borne of subjective experiences and interpretations, rather than fixed principles is the law on restitution. The road towards accepting free acceptance as an iron-clad principle in the law of restitution may appear tantalizing to some, but as many legal scholars have pointed out, it is a road fraught with many dangers. Indeed, even the larger fulcrum on which it rests - the broad concept of unjust enrichment - has been the source of vociferous disagreement. So murky are the waters that judicial acceptance of the concept through the years has been less than overwhelming. The farthest it has reached, according to Hedley (1995) is this: a considerable number of judges now recognize that there is an important subject called restitution and that in general terms, it concerns the removal of benefits that would otherwise unjustly enrich the defendant. It is not difficult to imagine that jurisprudence surrounding the much more limited principle of free acceptance is even narrower. To aspire for universality or even, less

Pinciples of Assesment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Pinciples of Assesment - Essay Example The idea here is to ensure the complete transfer of knowledge to the learner and the purpose of assessment is to deduce the level of success that has been achieved in this transfer of facts, for e.g. a history teacher tested students on the topic of American Revolution in order to find the amount of information grasped by the students on the subject, an obvious affect of this assessment would be a feedback and a possible repetition of the lecture for students who scored poorly on the test. It leaves no ambiguity in the fact that The Victorian standards aim at helping out the appraisee rather than the appraiser. In comparison to this the Griffin & Gills principles of assessment aim to measure the collective affect on a group i.e. the person being evaluated and the group which is being affected by his/her performance. Moreover the Griffin & Gills methods can be utilized in the selection and recruitment or in case of students for admitting them into an institution as implied by the following principle "able to be used for purposes of selection and recognition; encourage learning of higher order skills", though the second part of the statement refers to the case of individuals who already a part of the institution or an organization the first piece is in contradiction to Victoria standards which intend to evaluate existing pupil. Victoria principles for assessment stress on the evaluation procedure to be an ongoing process i.e. students should be tested throughout the semester to use the test result attained throughout the period to be used as a basis for assessment. In contrast to this the Griffin & Gills seem to be referring to an episodic process of testing. Victoria's principles are open to moderation in times of need whereas the Griffin & Gills are based on fixed measures and these are beyond the influence of the appraiser unlike the Victorian standards. Assumptions Victorian Essential Learning Standards It has been assumed that assessments affect the students and parents and the outcome of assessment on the institutional goals and standards has been ignored. It can be seen throughout the course of points none of which relate to the effect on the teacher or the institution in the event of an unreliable or biased assessment. One major assumption made is that teachers could moderate their evaluation procedure if they cite the need for it. One should not forget that individuals have different personalities and thus they set different goals for the subject they teach moreover no two courses in the curriculum are exactly similar to have same goals. For e.g. History and Mathematics are in no way similar and the instructors in these courses might not have identical plans for assessing students. Under these circumstances the protocols of an institution would press on conformity in the procedure of assessment and hence the idea of moderation in techniques by individual teacher is rarely functional. Griffin & Gills set of principles It has been assumed that there exists a possibility of drafting plans that would completely reliable and would eliminate alternative explanation for results. This principle is a mere hypothesis which on test might not hold to be true. External influences always exist in the evaluation and research has proved that

Article review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Article review - Essay Example Possible outcomes of the trend Stevens, Kitterlin and Tanner (14) found out that students in hospitality prefer learning by doing. As such, academic institutions offering hospitality programs would use such findings to align their curricula in line with the preferred mode of learning among the students so as to remain competitive and relevant in the market. They could provide equipment and teaching aids that propagate practical learning. Theoretical component of learning could be minimized and practical learning be incorporated more including practical internships. Students could seek to enroll in institutions geared towards practical teaching with the aim of excelling academically. Similarly, relevant authorities could seek to streamline the education system with regard to hospitality and formulate rules and regulations promoting practical skills more. Effect of the trend on the industry Aligning the teaching mode to the kinesthetic learning style of the students in hospitality woul d ensure that institutions offering hospitality programs produce practically equipped students ready for the market. These students would have gained much knowledge while learning because the mode of delivery would have been aligned with their understanding environment. More so, this adaptation would see more students enroll for hospitality programs and increase the number of successful completion of the courses being offered. The increase in supply of students could see the cost of hospitality courses decrease. This could trickle down to provide abundant supply of human resource in hospitality. On the other hand, there could be an increase in institutions offering hospitality courses to take advantage of the increased demand due to an increase in interest among prospective students. This could cause rogue institutions coming up which could eventually result in poorly equipped students. Furthermore, the influx in hospitality labor could eventually cause lack of interest in the cours e as with high supply of labor, the lower the compensation package the market would be willing to offer. Stevens, Kitterlin and Tanner (14) also note that kinesthetic learners tend to rush and pay less attention to detail. Therefore, in as much as institutions would adopt mechanisms to propagate practical learning, measures should be put in place to ensure that the quality of education does not get compromised. My position I agree with the findings of this research study. As a student, I have a preferred way of learning which if provided, then, learning becomes interesting and understanding increases. Instructors who provide such an environment have gained acceptance among their students which eventually causes improved academic performance. Practical approach, particularly in hospitality programs provides an opportunity to interact with real-life practice and therefore enhance learning. A lot of theoretical studies make little sense to students without practical application. Even w ith this knowledge, gender sensitive studies should be conducted in other institutions to solidify the findings of this study. Learning experience With the vision of furthering my studies in hospitality, I would consider institutions that offer adequate practical activities in its hospitality programs if I am to excel academically. Stevens, Kitterl

Reforming America 1815-1860 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Reforming America 1815-1860 - Essay Example She was a staunch defender of the true message and essence of the Declaration of Independence. As others saw the independence movement as the liberation of the American people from the colonial government and the dominion of great American men in shaping the nation’s early history, women activists such as Girmke were critiques of men’s monopoly over the political affairs of the country. She published her letters in 1838 during the administration of President Martin Van Buren of the Democratic Party. The historical context of her letters was indeed important because the existing federal government supported the policy of slavery in the southern states. Girmke’s letters, in line with the liberal principles of the Abolitionist movements, were justifiable as women were looked down upon not only in terms of political field but also in the society. The collection of Girmke’s letters was addressed to the president of the Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society, Mary S . Parker. In this respect, the prominent activist was addressing her concerns to the whole women population of the American nation who, like her, experienced discrimination and oppression based on gender biases.2 In her first letter to Parker entitled â€Å"The Original Equality of Woman†, she admits that according to the Bible God (Jehovah addressed in her letters) created man as the resident and caretaker of His Paradise. This means that man is superior to all living things including animals, plants and others that dwell in the world. However, the Scriptures tell that the opposite sex is not an inferior being to man. God created woman second to man in this chronological order alone, but never second in God’s favour. Girmke goes on by citing Biblical stories to defend her thesis. She retells the case of Adam and Eve as her example. She argues that Adam and Eve fell into sin and damnation but never from equality. The author admits that it was woman who commits sin firs t and influences man into temptation by following her example of eating from the Tree of Knowledge. Therefore, man and woman worked hand-in-hand in their decline from God’s Word. Inequality and bias towards men would only be justified if Adam had scolded Eve in her succumbing to temptation and ultimately if Adam had persuaded Eve to repent and ask God for forgiveness.3 In her second letter to Parker entitled â€Å"Woman Subject only to God†, Girmke deepens her argument not only with the illegitimate construct of man dominating the woman but also with the thought that woman was never subject to man’s obedience. She argues that before the establishment of a patriarchal society, the Scriptures themselves manifest that woman was created as an independent being, free from the clutches of men.4 Clearly, the examples of Girmke’s letters take evidence from the Scriptures which make her thesis more compelling due to the gravity of the Holy Word. She makes use of B iblical cases that clearly show that from the very beginning, there was no formal or official establishment of a patriarchal society. She makes it clear that God had created man and woman in equal terms and was supposed

Internet Banking Degree Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Internet Banking Degree - Assignment Example The benefits can include faster learning, greater productivity, fewer errors and greater satisfaction. Consistent interfaces also benefit the industry by promoting greater acceptance of products and services. Follow real-world conventions, making information appear in a natural and logical order (Nielsen, 2002, page 1). Affordance - Provide consistent and predictable responses to user actions within the online service. Make interactions consistent, both throughout the site and with commonly used interaction metaphors used throughout the Web. For example, similar layout for user interface components is used throughout your site, similar user interface components are labelled with similar terminology, controls that look the same are designed to act the same, operating system, language, or application conventions likely to be familiar to the user have been followed, unusual user interface features or behaviors that are likely to confuse the first-time user are documented. Navigation - Providing responses to user actions is important feedback for the user. This lets them know that your site is working properly and encourages them to keep interacting. When the user receives an unexpected response, they might think something is wrong or broken. Some people might get so confused they will not be able to use your site. ContControl - Users need to feel secure when doing Internet banking. Sites need to be secure, make security measures visible and explain to users how to use sites in the most secure manner, providing appropriate warnings where necessary. Are there adequate site maps, navigation bars, menus and so on, to help users find their way around the site (Shneiderman, 1998) Are menus broad and shallow Avoid deep, narrow and hierarchical menu structures that force users to immerse themselves into the depths of the structure (Zaphiris and Mtei, 1997; Larson and Czerwinski, 1998), and thus cannot be easily navigated without practice and route memorisation. Feedback - The system should always keep users informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback within reasonable time (Nielsen, 2002, page 1). The feedback however, must not detract from the perceived or actual security of the Web site. The system should speak the user's language, with words, phrases and concepts familiar to the user, rather than system-oriented terms. Recovery - Users often choose system functions by mistake and will need a clearly marked "emergency exit" to leave the unwanted state without having to go through an extended dialogue. Support undoes and redoes". (Nielsen, 2002, page 1). Users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing. Follow platform conventions" (Nielsen, 2002, page 1) - that is to say, do not just make the site internally consistent, but consistent with the majority of other sites (Nielsen, 1999). Even better than good error messages

Types of Presentation Aids Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Types of Presentation Aids - Essay Example The use of pictures and sound can be communicated and remembered more effectively and efficiently than a speech or presentation without presentation aids. Presentation aids help the important parts of a presentation stand out. The selection of a presentation aid is based on the type of audience, the speech content, and the occasion where the presentation is being given. There are many different types of presentation aids like, objects, models, pictures, graphs, audio clips, videos clips, handouts, and multimedia clips. A presentation can include either one type of presentation aid or many different aids together. Using presentation aids can help make your presentation interesting and it also help you remember your key points easily. Pictures are a very effective presentation aid as it is easier to remember what you see than what you hear. Pictures are of different types such as, diagrams, maps, posters, graphs, pictograms, and the like. A picture can be a two-dimensional image of something or it can also be a schematic drawing that explains how something works. Pictures are best used hen a presentation is lengthy. The audience often looses interest and attentiveness when a presentation in long. The use of pictures can keep the audience engaged and help them remember the key ideas of the presentation. Diagrams, graphs, pictograms help the audience understand the concept of the presentation better. ... Statistical information can be presented much more effectively with the help of graphs, diagrams and charts than just through verbal communication. Pictures can brilliantly describe an event, scene, or object immediately. Using pictures as a presentation aid can also have its own disadvantages. If your picture is not clear and does not completely represent your concept, it can mislead the audience. If the pictures used are too complex and have too much information it does not serve the purpose of keeping the audience engaged, as the audience tend to loose interest if the picture shown is too complex. Also, it is important to have knowledge of graphs and charts when preparing a presentation using graphs or charts as a presentation aid, as it is necessary to use the right kind of chart or graph to present certain kind of data or it can misinform the audience. Another useful presentation aid is objects. Though the use if objects is not very common it is a very handy presentation aid. It is usually suitable for a science presentation or a presentation where the object is helpful in illustrating the actual subject of the speech or one of its main features. Objects can be inanimate or live things, for example, in a science presentation about the human body, a model of the human body can be used as a presentation aid to help the audience understand the presentation better. The use of objects as presentation aids can be advantageous when the topic of the presentation is complex and is difficult to explain just verbally. When an object is used in a presentation the audience is more attentive and engaged in what the speaker is saying as they see and hear the explanation at the same time. Objects also give a

Internet Banking Degree Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Internet Banking Degree - Assignment Example The benefits can include faster learning, greater productivity, fewer errors and greater satisfaction. Consistent interfaces also benefit the industry by promoting greater acceptance of products and services. Follow real-world conventions, making information appear in a natural and logical order (Nielsen, 2002, page 1). Affordance - Provide consistent and predictable responses to user actions within the online service. Make interactions consistent, both throughout the site and with commonly used interaction metaphors used throughout the Web. For example, similar layout for user interface components is used throughout your site, similar user interface components are labelled with similar terminology, controls that look the same are designed to act the same, operating system, language, or application conventions likely to be familiar to the user have been followed, unusual user interface features or behaviors that are likely to confuse the first-time user are documented. Navigation - Providing responses to user actions is important feedback for the user. This lets them know that your site is working properly and encourages them to keep interacting. When the user receives an unexpected response, they might think something is wrong or broken. Some people might get so confused they will not be able to use your site. ContControl - Users need to feel secure when doing Internet banking. Sites need to be secure, make security measures visible and explain to users how to use sites in the most secure manner, providing appropriate warnings where necessary. Are there adequate site maps, navigation bars, menus and so on, to help users find their way around the site (Shneiderman, 1998) Are menus broad and shallow Avoid deep, narrow and hierarchical menu structures that force users to immerse themselves into the depths of the structure (Zaphiris and Mtei, 1997; Larson and Czerwinski, 1998), and thus cannot be easily navigated without practice and route memorisation. Feedback - The system should always keep users informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback within reasonable time (Nielsen, 2002, page 1). The feedback however, must not detract from the perceived or actual security of the Web site. The system should speak the user's language, with words, phrases and concepts familiar to the user, rather than system-oriented terms. Recovery - Users often choose system functions by mistake and will need a clearly marked "emergency exit" to leave the unwanted state without having to go through an extended dialogue. Support undoes and redoes". (Nielsen, 2002, page 1). Users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing. Follow platform conventions" (Nielsen, 2002, page 1) - that is to say, do not just make the site internally consistent, but consistent with the majority of other sites (Nielsen, 1999). Even better than good error messages

'In today's Britain, people vote less on who they are than on what Essay

'In today's Britain, people vote less on who they are than on what they percieve.' Evaluate this statement - Essay Example These two eras as classified are: the time period between 1945-1970, which is signified by a stability in all forms of electoral decisions; while the second era being from 1970 till date, which can be described as the era of decreasingly less identification on the part of voters with any fixed political parties. With increasingly complex behaviour of the voting patterns that were being observed in the contemporary general elections both in UK and worldwide, psephologists came up new voting models that also quite often involved statistical calculations to explain voting behaviours and patterns, and in 1990 we find that W. I. Miller propounding that voting behaviours could be easily differentiated into 6 main models. In my article I will study the shift in the UK voters’ attitude and the perceived changes in the voting patterns, by analysing the various elections that has been held in the recent times and studying the different voting models and political dealignment in British politics.  It will also analyse as to whether strong leadership within party politics does reflect in the vote results, and  if policies of the political parties play an effect in influencing the voting patterns. ... These two parties had strong ideological differences that characterised and became their symbols they stood for, and people voted according to this ideological symbolisation. As for example, the labour party believed in â€Å"high taxation, redistribution of income and wealth, a welfare state characterised by universal public services and benefits, and nationalisation of the country’s major industries[that is, a socialist state]... [While] their opponents believed in the free market in which the state played a regulatory role, with some public services and benefits for those unable to provide for themselves.†2 Thus, the Labour party’s supporters were mainly drawn from the working class level, while the Conservatives’ had their staunch supporters in the non working classes; with some support from the rural sections. The equation was very simple, with the election results depending on how much the two parties were able to get together their own staunch suppo rters while also persuading the voters that were not committed to any parties (these were labelled as the ‘floating voters’) to vote for them instead of their opponent party. This was especially seen in 1945, when a large number of the voters turned over to the Labour party, as the Conservatives were connected with the depression of the 1930s, and the voters en masse thought that giving the socialist Labour party a chance might work out things better for the general populace. In the next elections that took place (1951) we find that Conservatives took away a major share of the voters, as people found that the Labour party had become a little complacent. From this picture it is very evident that

Entrepreneur creates healthy ethnic frozen food

Entrepreneur creates healthy ethnic frozen food Tuck-In will bring healthy ethnic frozen food to the young, fast living city students door steps. Terra Tuck-in is scheduled to begin operations on September 20th 2010. Tuck-in will be a partnership, owned and operated by a group of graduate city university students; Shariq Pervaiz, Nadia Mohamed, Omer Qureshi, Faduma Karshe, Tiwalade Odulawa and Pawel Prochot. The owners of this company specialize in different areas of business which will make this venture a very exciting yet profitable business. The graduates have all got experience in different fields of the business. Location, offices headquarters, branches. Tuck-in will be located at: Tower Bridge Business Complex, 100 Clements Road, London, SE16 4DG The office space/light industrial space is leased and will accommodate the necessary office equipment such as computers, fax machine, photo copier and fridge/ freezers. There is a copy of the information in Appendix C. Definition of the business The Product/Service that ‘Tuck-In offers is a delivery service of frozen food from a variety of different world cuisines. The function of this new business venture would be to provide students who live away from home, food that is healthy, tasty and easy to cook. The idea is that students can enjoy food from different parts of the world in the easiest way possible. There is and always will be a market need for good quality frozen food and ‘Tuck-In would provide a service that would meet this market need by taking the idea of frozen food to the next level. ‘Tuck-In would make students more aware of the benefits of frozen food, it would reduce wastage. What makes ‘Tuck-in so unique is the quality and convenience of this food. It offers a delivery service to your front door with an online ordering and payment system, it will have never been made easier to order from ‘Tuck-In. Customers will want to buy products from ‘Tuck-In as it is different from your everyday frozen meal from the supermarket. It is more affordable, with the meal packages offered, it is good quality. The food offered helps with portion control and reduces wastage. Company History- Tuck-In was created on the 11th of November 2009 by Shariq Pervaiz, Nadia Mohamed, Omer Qureshi and Faduma Karshe in London, UK. The name â€Å"Tuck-in† was suggested by Shariq Pervaiz during a team meeting, and that suggestion stuck in everyones minds. Thus Tuck-in was then the name of the company that would change the lives of hundreds of students who live in student accommodations. Tuck-in was made official by the submission of the company contract; we invested in 2 further bodies, Tiwalde Odulawa and Pawel Prochot. Both bodies strengthened the company and brought vast experience to the company. Company goals To provide high quality healthy food To maintain a healthy, respectful, challenging and rewarding environment for employees To cultivate sound relationships with other organisations an individuals who are like minded. To cultivate adaptability to change in economic, social and environmental conditions, to allow Tuck-in the opportunity to survive long term. Future plans The primary objectives of Tuck-in over the next year are to: Obtain commercial financing of  £30,000 to cover start up costs and initial operating expenses; Generate one new client contract a month by networking with key industry leaders, conducting seminars and workshops, and joining key environmental agencies; Generate a net profit of  £100,000 in the first year of operations by developing a strong client base and keeping overhead costs to a minimum; Over the next 3-5 years we plan to grow our business by having other outlets aside City University hall residences. To achieve this, we aim to: Introduce our food services to other university hall residences around the area. So doing we hope to introduce new products. Also we aspire to increase our target market, i.e. to reach out to working-class people. As part of our growth plan we hope to have our proposed hot vending machines of food in different offices and workplaces in the City. They can easily get food from this machine at the end of the day after work. Furthermore we aim to get our services to be delivered to small local grocery stores around the area. Tuck-ins mission statement is to: The Tuck-in Promise: â€Å"Tuck-in exists to benefit and refresh every student who lives at halls of residence whilst at university. The basic proposition of our business is simple; we have a passion to serve the highest quality ready to cook frozen foods and make sure that every customer who shops with Tuck-in leaves happy. We are committed to using the finest ingredients in our recipes and no food leaves our kitchen that we ourselves would not eat. That is the key to fulfilling our ultimate obligation to provide consistently attractive returns to the owners of our business Product and Service description Tuck-In will sells delicious, high quality, nutritious frozen readymade meals from around the world to students who live away from home, complying with the health regulation. We will offer unique cuisine with international flair, offering frozen meals from Italy, Mediterranean, Asia, Europe and Africa, responding to the needs of students. Students are usually too busy or lack the skills to cook. Tuck-In will provide those students with a healthy, easy to cook meals that taste home-made and is ready in few minutes. As we are located in City University we can take advantage of the diverse students who are living in halls. We hope that this will help us in gaining an additional advantage over our competitors and help us provide greater customer satisfaction. It will also make it easier for students to pickup their meals when they are going home or for us to deliver the meals within a few minutes. The key benefits that can be obtained from using our service are: Less money on groceries and eating out Healthy home-made style meals Meals will take less than 15 minutes to prepare No washing dishes, everything is in disposable containers Provide international food We will be offering lunch and dinner that will include a frozen meal with a choice of drinks to choose from. Please Refer to Appendix A for the menu. Sourcing http://www.supremefoodscatering.co.uk/retail.htm The ready-made meals and drinks will be purchased by marketing manager at supreme food catering. There will be one staff that will make sure the meals are of high quality and are packed correctly. The marketing manager will be overlooking and make sure that everything is in order. Technology Our primary method of ordering meals will be via our website but we can also be contacted by phone. The company website is built and maintained by ‘Toucher an established web design company. The website will include a full menu, information about the company and an online ordering service. Target Market Tuck-ins target market can be generally described as a group of students living away from home, mainly in halls of residence. Those students share following characteristics which influence their consumer behaviour: They often have or decide to spend little time preparing food (28 out of 40 subjects asked) Form of the food is a secondary factor fresh, chilled or frozen (26 out of 40 subjects asked) Have culturally driven food habits ethnic food (32 out of 40 subjects) Currently eat frozen/chilled ready meals once or more times a week (27 out of 40 subjects) Order food for delivery more than once a week (26 out of 40 subjects) Eat out/order delivery of ethnic food more than once a week (27 out of 40 subjects) Would consider purchasing reasonably priced ethnic frozen food delivered to halls of residence more than once a week (28 out of 40 subjects) The anonymous survey was conducted by the Peartree Court hall of residence between 7th and 11th of December. Please Refer to Appendix B for the survey template. The target market is much localized as show below â€Å"A† indicates the main University building. Other indicators represent Walter Sickert Hall(Liberty Hall 142), Francis Rowley Court(220), Finsbury Heyworth(320) and Willen House (157) total of 839 bedrooms in student accommodation. The above also shows that within the radius of between 400 to 1200 meters (depending of the Tuck-in location) there are 839 student rooms. It also indicates a potential competition density of just under 30 takeaways per square kilometre. Competition As indicated on the map above there is around 30 small takeaways in the immediate area. Also there are 3 supermarkets and tens of small off-license shops. It is important to note that the university building offers a catering service to the students. The main factor that sets Tuck-In apart from the local takeaways and university catering is that Tuck-in food can be prepared in no time at students convenience and this in combination with right price will give Tuck-in an edge. Market Growth and Forecast The market growth is currently seen as increase in range of Tuck-In for new halls of residence. The prospective growth is expected to strongly depend on the future halls of residence targeted but short term (1 year) growth will oscillate in the area of 25%-50% increase in the size of the target market (range increase). Segmentation Target market is segmented to students: Eating out at the university in restaurants Eating in takeaways ready meals chilled and frozen cooked meals Other (unspecified) The segments that Tuck-In will be focusing on are students eating in takeaways, ready meals chilled and frozen, and cooked meals. SWOT Positive Negative Internal Strengths Weaknesses Free delivery Good ethnic food Always fresh food Small dynamic Multiple suppliers Close to the client Premises can be located virtually anywhere in the area (no kitchen etc.) Limited experience Summer holidays break External Opportunities Threats Takeaways Home delivery usually costly or high order minimums Fast-food chains New takeaways Changing customer tastes Increasing popularity of home-delivery of supermarkets Marketing Feasible marketing channels consist of Student union leaflets, halls of residence leaflets, presence at student events, and simple internet presence with SEOd for high ranked localised internet searches. Strategy and implementation summary The strategy we have implemented is quite straight-forward, the success of Tuck-In is based on a cuisine service providing authentic ready to cook meals for students living in university accommodation. This is combining healthy foods in a student area environment (halls) and these foods appeal to a wide range of ethnic groups. We aim to launch our business in a unique and obvious way to ensure that our target (the students living in halls) can actually notice us and be aware of the service we have to offer and how they can benefit from it. Our promotion strategy is to have a grand opening in the beginning of a new academic session. During this opening, we aim to give out trial foods, so as to go try our ready-to cook meals and see what it is all about. In order to succeed we will have to make sure that the food is at its best as the saying goes: first impression lasts longer. We would like to give an impression of a catering service that provides healthy ready-to cook frozen food as well as it been very tasty. We will have to keep our standards high and execute the launch, as the students testimony of our food services will be our main marketing strategy at the start. Pricing strategy: we dont aim to be cheap, but we aim to be cheaper than most alternatives the students might have however the quality and nutritional values will be far greater than our competitors. Marketing strategy is the most important in every business, to achieve this we aim to emphasize on the products we have to offer, and build some sort of a relationship business with our target market. As stated in our growth plan, we aim to increase our target market to working-class people, doing this the price of our food is going to be to some extent higher than what we offer to students, because they work and can afford good quality food at the price that is worth it. Tuck-ins competitive edge Having an understanding of how to launch the business Provide a diverse ethnic ready-to cook frozen food for students. So they do not miss home too much. Focus on target market Training of employees An area to keep the refrigerators and freezers purposely to preserve our food is in place. We do not have direct competitors, but our circuitous competitors will be supermarkets and take away restaurants e.g. Sainsburys or the local chicken and chips. The edge we have over them is the fact that we are situated very close to the halls and we offer these healthy yet tasty foods at a cheaper price. This is because they are our only target market at the moment therefore our service is solely tailored for them so is the price. While our competitors have a wide range of target market to cater for so been a student you do not have a chance to pay less, the price is general. Management Team â€Å"Tuck-In† from our managerial courses does have a great understanding of what it means to have an excellent management team for this business. How well we do is solely depends on our staff. Tuck-In is a small business and the creative idea is from us, because it is a new business it involves a basic managerial and organisational structure. However, there is a hierarchy, but before a decision is made we all have to meet and discuss about the situation and make the decision together. We might have to hire a more experienced general manager as part of our growth plan to help Tuck-In to grow further. Management positions: Operational service of the business will be performed by Shariq Pervaiz and Nadia Mohamed, as hands on manager and assistant. Floor/store manager Omer Qureshi Finance/accounting manager Tiwalade Odulawa Marketing manager Faduma Karshe Service manager Pawel Prochot Financial analysis This financial projection of approximately  £30,000 investment, represents to the best of managements belief, the expected results of operations and cash flow for the projection period would commence on or about 01/09/2010. The assumptions disclosed are those that management believes are significant to the projection. There will usually be differences between projected and actual results, because events and circumstances frequently do not occur as expected, and those differences may be material. The Companys revenues will be derived from sales of units. The Company will recognize initial fees such an insurance, premises and stock holding. Costs Cost of Product. Cost of product consists primarily of the costs of royalties paid to third-party suppliers, materials, personnel-related costs, admin costs and insurance. Cost of Service . Cost of service consists primarily of personnel-related costs incurred in providing telephone support, consulting to customers. The primary component of the cost of sales is labor. Skilled, professional personnel used directly in the companys operations are expected to maintain the company website. Property and Equipment. Property and equipment are to include costs of the premises, insurance, equipment and stock. Selling and Marketing Expenses.The principal types of expenses within this category are salaries, and professional services. Salaries are projected on an individual-by-individual basis, using expected salary rates throughout the projection period. Research and Development Costs.The principal types of expenses within this category are salaries, rent, telephone, travel, supplies, and professional services. Generally, management expects to charge research and development expenditures internally. General and Administrative Expenses.The principal types of expenses within this category are salaries, facilities and occupancy, travel, professional services, and insurance. Salaries are projected on an individual-by-individual basis, using expected salary rates throughout the projection period. Bank Credit Facility The companys management intends to borrow  £15,000 from a bank loan using owned property and security as the company grows, this amount is expected to increase. The amount will be borrowed on a two year repayment plan. Interest expense. Interest expense on borrowings is calculated at the fixed rate of 7.5%.This rate has been set by the bank itself. Expense detail Bank Loan having obtained a bank loan of  £15,000 to be paid back over a period of two years with an interest of 7.5%. Payments of  £695.30 being made every month. Rent of premises  £1078, insurance  £315 pa, security retainer  £3000, admin fees  £150, service charge  £500pa, bills  £3,000, Business rates  £1680. Furniture and computer equipment  £3000 Freezers  £6784 With an investment already confirmed of  £9,000 and a personal investment of  £6000 we aim to start up with  £30,000 including the bank loan. Each unit of food we buy, we aim to have a mark up of 50% after costs. Website costing  £350 to set up and maintain. As a team of 6, 3 of us are still in part time work and 3 of us are working completely in the business taking a small wage (enough to live on) to ensure we have as much money in the business as possible. Stock in the amount of 5000 units at 80p a unit =  £4000 Altogether are total cost as stated above in the first month of business =  £18,819.46 A lot of the start up costs are one of cost and the running cost every month after the first should decrease by ay least  £4,000. Financial objectives To achieve our financial objectives, Tuck-In seek medium-term commercial loan. This external funding will be used to cover the initial investment costs Based on the strategic objectives, we target the following financial goals: Steady increase of annual sales Keep the gross margin on sales 50% No debt leverage by year 2 Exit strategy Business exit Here, our aim is to maximize the value we can obtain from selling the business to potential investors. After complex business assessment, we embark on the following major selling points: strong brand, solid customer base, cash-rich business, and no leverage. As an exit strategy, we agreed to approach the following possibility: Partial business divestment (selling 50% of the business). Partial divestment: As customers are the heart of our business, the values as well as the number of customer relationships are essential to our business. The customer-focused approach of our business is consistent with our differentiation strategy and represents a strong negotiation point by the means of true sell. We aim to attract a venture capitalist to enter the business in order to expand capacity and market share, as well as to boost financial performance.