The Concept of Globalisation Free Essays

There are a plethora of factors that have played a role in influencing world politics in the 20th century. There are the political ideologies, each with their own agenda, conflicting or similar, such as Communism, Fascism, Nationalism, Capitalism and Socialism. There are the various worldwide treaties and agreements, such as the Treaty of Versailles, the League of Nations and the United Nations. We will write a custom essay sample on The Concept of Globalisation or any similar topic only for you Order Now Accompanying these are economic agreements, which have an ever-increasing role in world politics, like the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), plus regional trade agreements and customs unions such as the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA), the European Union (EU) and the Asia Pacific Economic Community (APEC). Even the two World Wars have had an influence. However, the single force that has had the greatest impact on world politics in the 20th century is Globalisation. Globalisation is a concept with many differing definitions. Bayliss Smith (1998, p. 15) define globalisation as the ‘intensification of worldwide social relations which link distant localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa. † Globalisation is a process that entails the movement of capital, goods, services and labour around the world. Globalisation is the massive control of the world†s economy by big business, transcending national boundaries. The underlying factors in all of these definitions are that globalisation involves worldwide integration of both political and economic ideals. Furthermore, Strachan (1998, p. 159) argues that it involves legal and cultural integration also. But does such integration undermine a country†s sovereignty? Can such integration be achieved without violence and conflict? In order to answer these questions, this essay will examine the driving forces behind globalisation, its downfalls and cultural adaptability. Globalisation is an ever-increasing force, even today, as technological advances literally make the world smaller by increasing communication and decreasing travel times, or what can be referred to as the ‘Communication Revolution† (Durst, 2000, p. 5). Through massive and rapid improvements in the Information Technology industry; telecommunications, exponential increases in computing power coupled with lower costs and the development of electronic communications and information networks such as the Internet, communications are now possible almost instantaneously between any two points on the globe. The threads of global web are computers, facsimile machines, satellites, monitors and modems-all of them linking designers, engineers, contractors, licensees and dealers worldwide (Sims, 1989, p. 21). Physical distance is now irrelevant. This improvement of communications this century from sailing ship to satellite has contributed directly to the globalisation of the world†s economies and political systems (Rimmer, 2000, p. 3). This has taken place across cultural and physical boundaries, effectively eliminating the capacity of countries to isolate themselves from the rest of the world. A prime example of this is China. For most of its existence, China has kept its doors closed to the rest of the world. No outside influences reached China and it remained unchanged and untouched. In recent times however, China has relaxed its legislation to accommodate foreign investment and trade. Its economy has improved and new information on how to do things more efficiently has been introduced. Borders no longer act as boundaries, especially with respect to the movement of information and finance. Furthermore, borders are becoming increasingly difficult for governments to define and maintain. Regional conflicts are arising everywhere; Sierra Leone, the coup in Fiji, Chechnya, Southern Lebanon and Kosovo. As a result, national governments are being forced to redefine their roles, responsibilities and policy relationships. Thus, globalisation has raised fears that the sovereignty of nation states is being undermined. If sovereignty can be defined as the ability to exercise control without outside interference, then nation states are clearly experiencing diminished sovereignty. Governments have no choice but to recognise and work on the assumption that most issues they are required to deal with are affected by or will affect the international competitiveness of the country. Government†s own responses to globalisation or the search for joint solutions to global problems have further effects on sovereignty. Participation in international organisations or the adoption of international agreements puts limits on policy options available to governments (Rimmer, 2000, p. 5). Instead of independence, the world is now pursuing interdependence. Proponents of globalisation argue that unilateral action is not the most effective way to achieve policy goals. In combating environmental problems and international crime, the interests of individual nations can only be protected by collective action. This belief has led to competition between countries on almost all fronts. International investment is encouraged by the activities and mobility of multinational corporations, meaning that most domestic policies such as education and training, taxation, social protection, economic regulation and labour legislation have become international. Even a country†s domestic management policy is a matter of great concern to its trading rivals, because this will ultimately affect a country†s efficiency and competitiveness. Therefore, government policies must increasingly be made more consistent with, or competitive to, those of their trading rivals. Robert Reich is a strong supporter of globalisation, publishing the book entitled ‘The Work of Nations†. In his book, Reich argues that it is already too late to stop globalisation. His view is supported by Joan Spero, US Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, who states that capital now moves around the world with startling speed. Each day over US $1 trillion is traded in a global foreign exchange market that never closes. (Spero in Strachan, 1998, p. 156). Reich (1991, p. 112) argues that there is no such thing as an American product anymore, giving the example of an ice hockey stick. It is designed in Sweden, financed in Canada, assembled in Cleveland and Denmark out of alloys patented in Delaware and fabricated in Japan and finally distributed in North America and Europe. There are many criticisms of globalisation and Edward Herman (1999, pp. 3-5) classifies his criticisms into a number of categories. Two of those are that, firstly, globalisation is undemocratic and secondly, that it is an assault on labour. In the United States, public opinion polls showed the general public was against NAFTA, even after incessant propaganda, but the mass media supported it and it was passed. In Europe as well, polls have shown persistent majorities opposed to the introduction of the Euro, but a powerful elite supports it, so it moves forward. Globalisation has been a tool serving elite interests. This contradicts the democratic and egalitarian utopia that these regions have been relentlessly encouraging during the 20th century. Globalisation has also steadily weakened democracy because the containment of labour costs and scaling down of the welfare state has required the business minority to establish firm control of the state and remove its capacity to respond to the demands of the majority (Herman, 1999, p. ). One of the main objectives of Transnational Corporations (TNC†s) movement abroad, for example Nike manufacturing shoes in Korea, has been to tap cheaper labour sources. Labour is often cheapest, and least prone to cause employer problems, in authoritarian states that curb unions and enter into virtual joint venture arrangements with foreign capital, as in Suharto’s Indonesia and PRI’s Mexico. Once again, this directly contradicts government†s agendas. Publicly, politicians speak out in support of foreign aid, human rights and equality, while behind closed doors they are endorsing and funding TNC†s operations that exploit cheap labour in third world countries. Another criticism of globalisation is that it is against the very nature of culture. Culture derives its diversity from the differences between different human communities and the distinctions between their respective geographical roots and historical experiences. Globalisation disregards these factors and ultimately aims to treat the entire world population as if they have the same tastes, personalities, customs, traditions and language, through a universal government system. If this were to be so, the world would be a very boring, robotic, monotonous place, devoid of any form of culture. The ramifications of this are wide-ranging. Diversity, variety and room for change are lost and forgotten. Identities of oneself are lost; ‘I† is replaced with ‘we†. Power is placed into the hands of a select elite few, very oligarchic and undemocratic. If a group of countries were to unite under a common government, equality would not be established. Such a grouping would encompass a wide spectrum of political views, ideologies, religions, races and colours. Instead of one whole body, there would be many minority groups. This transfers an unequal balance of power throughout the states. As the regional conflicts in East Timor, Yugoslavia and Chechnya have shown, conflict shall arise. There are too many barriers to overcome which only leads to frustration and violence. A Commission on Global Governance (COGG) has been established since 1992. In a report published in 1995 entitled ‘Our Global Neighbourhood†, the commission argued that countries have to accept that in certain fields, sovereignty has to be exercised collectively (Strachan, 1998, p. 155). Once again we have a contradiction in terms; by definition, collective and sovereign are exact opposites that are mutually exclusive. Having stated all the above criticisms, it is important to mention that there is no perfect system in society today that is capable of running a country absolutely efficiently. In fact, conflicting ideologies often correct each other. Communism corrects the equality problem of democracy and democracy corrects the problem of efficiency of communism. By choosing one system or the other, up risal and discontent from the people is inevitable. But is it possible to combine the two? Hitler and Mussolini argued that fascism was the ‘third way†; an alternative to capitalism and socialism. However, fascism led to the death of more than six million Jewish people, so it justifiable to be wary of anyone offering a third alternative. So globalisation has had the greatest impact on world politics in the 20th century, mainly because of the technological advances in telecommunications and information technology. This is most likely to continue through this the 21st century. The criticisms of globalisation are that it undermines sovereignty, exploits third word countries and is undemocratic. However, there is no feasible alternative at this time and globalisation is already well-spread and embedded in economics and politics. For now, the world will just have to go with it. How to cite The Concept of Globalisation, Essay examples

Patient Communication Nursing Profession

Question: Discuss about thePatient Communication for Nursing Profession. Answer: Introduction Communication plays an integral role in any profession, and when it comes to the nursing profession, the communication skills to be possessed by the nurse becomes doubly important. There is no denying the fact that the consumers of the service of the health care sector, such as the patient and his family are usually under stressful conditions, and hence a positive, friendly and composed style of communication is desirable here (Rigolosi, 2013). There are various types of communication that is likely to occur between the nurse and the clients. However, usually the interpersonal communication style is the most effectively used communication style in the healthcare sectors. While a nurse communicates mostly with the client and his family orally, verbal communication plays an important role. While interacting with the patient or his family, the nurse should be relaxed and patient. In case of sensitive situations, such as a situation that involves a dying patient, the nurse must adopt a cool relaxed, and empathetic style of communication, so that she can offer proper moral support to the clients (Rigolosi, 2013). A variety of factors can affect the communication experience between the patients and the nurses. One of the factors that affect this is the cultural difference between the patient and the nurse. Often people with cultural differences end up having an undesirable situation with the clients. Another important factor affecting the relation can be a wide gap of age difference between the nurse and the patient. The age difference can potentially hinder the provision of the health care service. The greater the age difference, the harder the provision of medical attention (Keating, McDermott, Montgomery, 2013). It will require an elderly nurse to come up and help in the process. This is because one party will view the other to be inferior in the provision of quality health care. Again, language barrier can also be an important factor here. Besides, the free flow of communication between the nurse and the patient can be affected in case the doctor employs the use of too many jargons, while communicating the symptoms or diagnostic methods of a complex disease (Keating, McDermott, Montgomery, 2013). Hence, it is important that the nurse simplifies the complicated medical terms, and communicates the health issue of the patient, the diagnostic process or the medications required in an easily comprehensible style. The communication experience must be clear to the patient availing healthcare. One of the advantages is that the patients will be able to analyze the treatment and provide the feedback to the process. It will facilitate the health care institution to comprehend the ways that they should emulate in future to improve the consumer experience. Consequently, this will help the organization improve the quality of service it delivers to the clients. With the help of this process, the organization will be able to gauge its performance. It will be useful in the determining whether the organization has reached the goals and aims. Hence, it is not sufficient to ask the nurses to behave in an effective way, as it is equally important to observe the extent to which such communication processes are successfully followed by the nurses. Hence, it is good to recommend the use of the suggestion box so that the patients or the clients family can communicate their feedback and inform the hospital author ity the change that the nurses should bring in their behavioral pattern or interaction skills (Keating, McDermott, Montgomery, 2013). Communication between the nurse and the patient is very crucial in the provision of quality health care. One of the strategies that can be used is the provision of undivided attention to the individuals while the communication process is taking place. Especially, the supervision of the freshly appointed nurses will help in monitoring their performance as far as their communication is concerned. The supervisor will be mindful of the communication style adopted by the nurse for communicating to the other party. In the use of this process, it will enable the individuals to mind the body language and the verbal words said, while communicating to the client. It will in turn help in enhancing the process of better provision of the health care. Besides, asking the patients to rate and review the performance of the nurses whose service they availed, could be beneficial in understanding the flaws in the communication style of the nurses (Grol, Wensing, Eccles, Davis, 2013). By improving the communication skills of the nurses, the specific health sector organization will be able to broaden the scope of interaction between the nurse and the clients. More and more people from the broad social divide will come together for the enhancement of the communication process. While the nurse will not be biased while serving people belonging to various sexes, they will be adept in serving the diverse group of people with different spiritual ideologies for the sake of better health care provision. Besides, people belonging to different age groups will interact for the benefit of the process.Thus; it will be possible to ensure an inclusive and diverse place for health care provision (Grol, Wensing, Eccles, Davis, 2013). With the help of the use of proper methods of communication, it will be ensured that all the individuals will be treated fairly irrespective of the social class or cultural group they belong to. With the help of this strategy, the health care sector will be free from any errors (Grol, Wensing, Eccles, Davis, 2013). In order to improve the nurse patient communication in future, it is important that the nurses are being provided with training programs that can enhance and improve their interpersonal communication skills. The nurses can also be asked to participate in different soft skill grooming seminars and workshops that can also help in nurturing the interactive skills of the nurses apart from inculcating virtues such as patience and composure. Besides, the rating system will also make the nurse feel supervised and consequently they will tend to improve their interactive skills. References Grol, R., Wensing, M., Eccles, M., Davis, D. (2013). Improving patient care (1st ed.). Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell/BMJ Books. Keating, M., McDermott, A., Montgomery, K. (2013). Patient-centered health care (1st ed.). Rigolosi, E. (2013). Management and leadership in nursing and health care (1st ed.). New York: Springer.

12 Freelance Writing Experts Reveal Their Best Way to Land Gigs

Are you new to freelance writing and have no stinking clue how to snag a client? Well, 12 top freelance writers are going to tell you their number one way for landing clients. You might be surprised by some of them, but all of them have worked hard to develop their writer platform and credibility as an expert in their field. But, before we dive into reading how these freelance writers get writing gigs, I thought Id break down how I land clients. My Number One Way of Landing Clients I went through of all my current and past clients and found my number one way of securing writing gigs is through referrals. I landed 7 clients strictly from referrals. Two clients have multiple websites and they asked me to also write on those websites. One other referred me to a family member with a blogging gig. Two other freelance writers (thanks Keri and Gina) referred me. I was under the impression my primary way of landing gigs was through my writer website and posts, but in reality referrals is the clear winner. Referrals is actually one of the best ways to land clients since, You dont have to pitch You already know the client Youve positioned yourself as the writer to go to in the eyes of the client So, lets find out how my list of expert writers find writing work. 1. Ariel Rule – Blogger, Copywriter, Hubspot Certified Inbound Marketer Warm pitching is my number one way of securing a writing gig. I tend to avoid the common blog job boards; everyone goes there to get jobs. Instead, when reading a blog in one of my writing niches I search the site for an area that says something like Jobs, Work with Us, Contribute or that sort of thing. If they do in fact want to hire writers or I think that I can bring something extra to the table as a writer, then I know Im golden. From there I follow them on social media to keep track of whats going on with their company, interact with them on those channels, and then look for a time to send a warm pitch email. 2. Alicia Rades – Freelance Blogger My best way to land clients is through inbound marketing. Let’s be honest. I don’t like marketing myself in the traditional sense. Most of the time, it feels like a waste of time. But tweaking my website for SEO, writing guest posts, and networking with other writers doesn’t feel like a hassle to me, so I’d much rather go that way than reach out to clients through job board ads or cold calling. So, what do I mean by inbound marketing? Many of my clients have found me through a Google search. Another ongoing client found me through a referral, and a more recent one saw the work I was doing on another site and was impressed enough to contact me. The great thing about this is that there’s not a whole lot of work on my part—at least not work I don’t enjoy doing. Plus, almost everyone who contacts me is looking for on-going work, so I don’t have to constantly look for one-off jobs. AND it saves a ton of time because the people who contact me have a real interest in working with ME, and I’m not spending time competing for positions on job boards or contacting people who may or may not need a writer. The only problem is that this tactic doesn’t work immediately. If you’re just starting out, it’s going to take some time to build up your site around specific keywords, write guest posts, make connections, etc. BUT it definitely can work once you’ve established yourself in the field, which doesn’t have to take more than a couple of months. Follow me @aliciarades. 3. Gina Horkey – Professional Writer and Business Consultant Ive had a lot of success building my freelance writing business using job boards. Currently, Im subscribed (and loving!) The Client Connection, by Carrie Smith of Careful Cents. You have to apply to this platform, which is more of a service than a job board and the cost is $120 per quarter. There is currently a cap of 20 members and in Carries own words: I strive to keep a good balance of 2-3 freelancers applying for the same job, so you have around a 50% chance, or higher, of landing the gig! The service is pretty heavy on freelance writing and editing, with a good amount of leads for VAs. Im working on increasing the amount of social media, design, and other freelance niche leads. The service may be slow growing but I aim to make it SUPER valuable. Carrie cares A LOT about the quality of the products and services she puts out and its evident in the way TCC works. I receive at least one email per week with a few job listings from people that have personally contacted Carrie for writing services. Since her client roster is full, she passes them on to members of TCC. Its a great personal connection! Ive heard back from almost everyone Ive sent an application to and contracted with a few clients over the last few months. In fact, I just landed $1,000 project last week! Highly recommended. 4. KeriLynn Engel – Freelance Business Writer and Blogger My number one way to find freelance writing jobs is to let prospects come to me. All of my inquiries nowadays come from either people who have seen my writing on other websites, or people who have searched for a writer on Google found my site. I make sure to write for blogs where prospective clients will see my bylines, use keyword links in my author bios, and I also target specific search keywords with my website. If you want your website to be seen, it’s smart to learn the basics of search engine optimization. You don’t need to get super-technical; just taking an hour or two to learn the basics is enough to get you far in a lot of niches. 5. Corinne Kerston – Freelance Writer and Blogger The number one way I find work is through referrals, from both clients and colleagues. To get referrals from clients, I just throw it out there that if they like my work, I’d really appreciate a referral if they know anyone who needs a writer. I find that those who market online tend to know others who do as well, and there’s a good chance they will know someone who could use a good writer and some point in time. I have also gotten referrals from online colleagues. My advice is to just network and make connections. Visit blogs, comment on posts, share their posts on social media. Build a relationship, and they are more likely to recommend you if they know someone looking for a writer with your specialties. Follow me @corinnekerston. 6. Ashley Gainer – Freelance Writer and Editor While lot of my freelance work has come from sending pitches and LOIs (Letter of Introductions), the majority of it has come from people I know. Having a solid network of fellow freelancers who know what I do, are familiar with my skills, and know that I’m actively looking for clients has been the best thing for my business. And making myself known as a writer in my personal circles has done the same thing. I’ve had gigs come to me from landlords, church ladies, friends from college, and even a really nice project with a guy who grew up down the street from my ex. Marketing yourself is critical and needs to be done, but a network that knows you is invaluable. Follow me @AGEditorial. 7. Carrie Smith – Freelance Writer and Freelance Expert The number one way that I find freelance writing jobs is through my network. I spend a lot of time doing passive marketing (interacting on social media, via email, and sharing engaging comments) so that when Im ready to take on more clients I can simply ask the editors, startups, and business owners that I personally know, if theyre looking to hire anyone. I also reach out to fellow freelance writers since most of freelancers have an abundance of work, and turn down offers that can be passed along to other writers (like me!). Follow me @carefulcents. 8. Whitney Sherwood – Freelance Blogger I use a few different approaches (job boards, local businesses), but the Brians Scotts Freelance Writing Morning Coffee eNewsletter (from FreelanceWriting.com)   has always been my number one way of landing gigs. Its a valuable resource for hunting down writing gigs, aside from contacting local businesses. It’s delivered to your inbox Monday through Friday and includes a weekly deadline newsletter for paid writing contests and magazines. A majority of these postings are decent to well-paid. You do have to sift through dodgy postings here and there, but it makes job hunting easier. The eNewsletter even includes remote and non-remote gigs.   Its a popular, trusted (established in 1998), and curated list of postings from all over the web. Thus far, Ive had success gaining a few clients I contacted. 9. Pinar Tarhan – Freelance Writer and Blogger I find writing jobs through a variety of sources including referrals from other writer friends, job ads and job leads from forums like Be a Freelance Blogger. I also pitch to online publications with article ideas. And my favorite, sometimes clients find me through Linkedin. But, my best way of landing jobs is through Tom Ewer’s Paid to Blog Jobs, which I reviewed for The Write Life. Some jobs can be low-paying, but the variety is really good, and you can find some pretty decent blogging clients if you love niches like language learning/teaching, lifestyle, travel, dating and so on. For a while I was a member of Freelance Writer’s Den. While the forums and products are incredibly helpful and informative, I couldn’t find any jobs to apply to in the few months that I was a member as I stay away from industries I don’t find interesting and copywriting. I had to quit during a wrist injury as I was unable to use the forum at all. I might be weird, but I really like pitching, whether its a one-time guest post or a staff blogging job. 🙂 Follow me @zoeyclark. 10. Lauren Tharp – Freelance Writer The number one way I find freelance writing work is via referrals from other freelance writers. No joke! Thats why Im always encouraging my mentees to not think of other writers as the competition. Other writers are not only going to be one of your best support systems (who else are you going to complain about clients from hell with, am I right?), they could also be your best source of employment. As writers get to know each other and what theyre each good at, client swapping begins to happen and theyre usually clients who are pretty well tailored to your interests! Its a beautiful thing. Follow me @LittleZotzWrite. 11. Robyn Petrick – Copywriter The number one way I find freelance writing work is by following free groups or websites that curate quality job postings on a regular basis. For example, Facebook4Freelancers.com posts a link on their Facebook page every day to the newest job postings they’ve found. Similarly, FreelanceWritingJobs.ca posts new writing jobs on their blog every day. I’ve added their blog to my RSS reader, which makes it even easier for me to stay on top of new opportunities. By following a couple of these already curated lists, I avoid having to search for jobs individually on several different sites. This saves a ton of time and frees me up to get more writing done! Follow me @robynpetrik. 12. Katharine Puljug – Writer and Blogger My number one way of landing consistent work is through referrals. I always try to keep in touch with the clients Ive already worked with. I let them know what Im up to, ask them how business is going, and send them articles or videos that I think they would find interesting and relevant to their business. If I have a slow month coming up, Ill mention that I have space free in my schedule if they need anything done. Sometimes they have a project they need help with; sometimes they refer me to a friend who needs a writer. But its far easier to reach out to a client who already knows the value of your work than to convince someone new to hire you, so dont let those connections lapse. Follow me @kpaljug. So, There Ya Go! As you can see referrals are a popular way for landing continuous freelance writing work. But, dont discount other methods.

Understanding the Difference Between Lend and Loan

Understanding the Difference Between Lend and Loan In formal usage (especially in British English), lend is a verb and loan is a noun. In informal  American English, the use of loan as a verb is generally considered acceptable (particularly when it concerns the lending of money). See the usage notes below. Only lend has figurative uses, as in Lend me your ears or Lend me a hand.Also see:Commonly Confused Words: Loan and Lone Examples: Borrow trouble for yourself, if thats your nature, but dont lend it to your neighbors. (Rudyard Kipling)A bank, so the old saying goes, is a place where you can always get a loan- when you dont need one. Usage Notes Although most expert users of English dislike loan as a verb (I loaned him my pen), except in financial contexts, it must be acknowledged that the usage is sanctioned by dictionaries. If you are not offended by Friends, Romans, countrymen, loan me your ears or by Distance loans enchantment, you may go along with the dictionaries and you will always have a defense.(Theodore M. Bernstein, Miss Thistlebottoms Hobgoblins, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1971)Some people are bothered by the word loan as a verb, preferring to use lend in its place. Theres not much reason for the anxiety- loan has been a verb since around the year 1200, and I think an 800-year probation is long enough for anyone- but its now little used in America. My advice: dont be bothered by loan as a verb but, if you want to avoid irritating those who have this hangup, its never wrong to use lend.(Jack Lynch, The English Language: A Users Guide, Focus, 2008)The verb loan is well established in American usage and cannot be c onsidered incorrect. The frequent objections to the form by American grammarians may have originated from a provincial deference to British critics, who long ago labeled the usage a typical Americanism. Loan is, however, used to describe only physical transactions, as of money or goods; for figurative transactions, lend is correct: Distance lends enchantment. The allusions lend the work a classical tone.(The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed., 2000) These are sometimes interchangeable, sometimes not. Only lend carries the figurative senses of adding or giving, as in lend strength to the cause or lend color to an otherwise routine event. But for other senses, as when property or money pass temporarily from one owner to another, either word could be used. . . . In American and Australian English, the verb loan is readily used as an alternative to lend in such applicationsbut not so much in contemporary British English. The word was used in Britain up to C17, but a curious resistance seems to have developed there during C18 and C19, when the Oxford Dictionary (1989) citations are all from the US, and the word somehow acquired provincial associations. Fowler (1926) noted that it had been expelled from southern British English, but that it was still used locally in the UK. Yet Gowers writing after World War II found it returning to British government writing (1948, 1954) and weighs in against it in his 1965 edition of Fowler as a nee dless variant (1965). This seems to be the basis on which British usage commentators argue that loan must be used only as a noun (except in banking and finance) and lend as a verb. Some British dictionaries (Collins, 1991) and the Canadian Oxford (1998) still echo the inhibition, while data from the BNC [British National Corpus] shows that many British writers are comfortable with it. (Pam Peters, The Cambridge Guide to English Usage, Cambridge University Press, 2004) Practice   (a) Never _____ your car to anyone to whom you have given birth.(Erma Bombeck)(b) Gus asked Merdine for a _____. Answers to Practice Exercises (a) Never  lend  your car to anyone to whom you have given birth. (Erma Bombeck)(b) Gus asked  Merdine  for a  loan.

Poverty in European Union Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Poverty in European Union - Essay Example According to Draxler, absolute poverty levels have continuously fallen in a uniform manner in the entire of the European Union as well as generally in the countries of OECD in the recent past. On the other hand, relative levels of poverty have been escalating. Further, he argues that this has a high connection to the predicaments of the creation of employment. He continues to argue that the social exclusion issue and the downright establishment of the underclass impacts several functions of the policies of society and more specifically and of essence to it are the policies of education. This predicament as Draxler continues to argue, may be having some outdated structural causes. It manifests itself in the numerous new ways, though. Most of the risks socially are highly correlated with the habits of the lifestyle. Some of the examples he has given are society’s post-scarcity, smoking and overfeeding on junk food. Such habits are further correlated with disparities socially. The problem of obesity according to him is of the ones with a status of low-income and has increased in terms of its impact on society, especially to UK. In UK, due to the effect of obesity on society, efforts are underway to change the legislative stipulations to ban the marketing of junk food. Policies relating to lifestyle are highly becoming a component of essence to the intervention by the state. (Draxler, 2006 pp31, 32) In this same line of the item of argument. The article by think-tank says that, UK and Germany form the largest economies of the EU member states. It further states that UK has the biggest levels of relative poverty in the entire EU as well as the largest disparity of incomes. On the other hand, in accordance to think-tank, Germany’s situation is the rise in levels of unemployment as well as child poverty. The approach of explanation by think-tank is that poverty is a predicament approached with three models of programs of

Viking Ceramo ST Comparison Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Viking Ceramo ST Comparison - Lab Report Example Additionally, the brakes are not recommended for heavy duty towing but have the added advantage due to the extended wear. Atkins, Anthony G., and M. P. Escudier. A dictionary of mechanical engineering. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013. Print. The book acted as mechanical dictionary that provided access to the brake rotor, discs, and various inputs that can be used in their production. Beer, David F., and David A. McMurrey. A guide to writing as an engineer. Fourth ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2013. Print. The book provided writing knowledge such as formats and citations of the report. Haj-Assaad, Sami. "Why You Should, Or Shouldnt, Upgrade to Carbon Ceramic Brakes." The article is from AutoGuide.com and provides both customers and engineers with in-depth knowledge on the ceramic brakes. The features of the brake pads were analyzed, and lab tests were carried out to prove the provided information. Additionally, an examination of consumer ratings provided verification on the mechanical characteristics of the brake pads. Tests revealed that the metallic brake pads had a short lifespan due to the excess strength it provided when the vehicle braked. The strength factor made it recommended for high duty machinery. Other non-mechanical factors such as noise and dust prevention rated the ceramic brake pads at the top with a longer life due to the less energy produced during stopping. Observable and other customer related features have been presented in the diagrams below. Based on the provided information, the team came up with a conclusion that the metallic pads had a better performance than the ceramic ones. The metallic pads are more aggressive and can last a long time without replacement. They also ensure the management of the rotor due to contractions leaving it to cool and preventing wearing. The metallic pads are best suitable for heavy machinery that requires fast responding

Capital Structure Evaluation of Sample Firms Essay

Capital Structure Evaluation of Sample Firms - Essay Example Such sustainable growth requires increasing investment in long term assets, which in turn needs to be financed by long term funds. The two conventional long term sources of fund are debt and equity. The proportion of such debt and equity determines the capital structure of the firm. There are benefits and shortcomings of both the funding options. While debt funds are considered to be less costly owing to the interest tax shield that they provide, equity funds are considered to be more expensive owing to its inherent risk profile. Though debt funds reduce an organization's weighted average cost of capital (WACC), such funding increases the risk profile of the organization owing to long term commitments secured by asset collaterals, which could seriously increase the bankruptcy risk of the organization during an economic downturn. The modern thinking on capital structure is primarily based on the seminal work done by Franco Modigliani and Merton Miller. The Modigliani-Miller theorem (1958) states that in an ideal world, the value of a firm is independent of its capital structure. When a firm increases its gearing ratio, the overall risk to the equity holders increase thus increasing the cost of equity, thereby having no net effect on the value of the firm. One important aspect of this theorem is that it ignores the bankruptcy and transaction costs, and assumes information is freely available to all firms. The optimum leveraging point of an organization is, therefore, always a source of debate, and has been subject of various continuously evolving theories and models. Some of these recent theories and classical models are examined and validated by analyzing the capital structures of five organizations (PLCs) from four different industry sectors. The firms chosen are as below. Table 1-1 Company Name Industry Sector TESCO Food manufacturing and products BP Oil, gas and energy Exxon Mobil Oil, gas and energy BHP Billiton Metals and mining British Energy Utilities TESCO is a giant in the food manufacturing sector with an annual turnover of 47.3 billion. TESCO was founded in 1919 in the UK, and has since grown to set up footprints across the world in the Asia, Europe, and the US. It is one of the leading food retailers of the world, and has diversified into petrol retailing. BP is primarily in the business of oil exploration and refining, and operates out of several countries. Its other businesses include alternative energy, and shipping. It has an annual turnover of $361 billion. Exxon Mobil is also in the business of oil exploration/ production, gas, and power. Its downstream business includes oil refining, and marketing of fuel products and lubricating oil. Its annual turnover is $390 billion. BHP Billiton is the world's largest diversified natural resources company with businesses including alumina, aluminum, copper, energy, coal, iron ore, nickel, manganese, oil and gas and uranium, as well as gold, zinc, lead, silver and diamonds. It employs