Diary of an Eating Disorder

The Book of Chelsea Browning Smith entitled â€Å"Diary of an Eating Disorder†. A mother and daughter share their healing journey greatly helped my outlook on eating disorders. This book also contains some compiled diaries of her in adolescent stage of her life. All along I thought that these were all just ordinary diseases that most women undergoes but as I read through the book, it exposes that it is more than having a problem with regards to foods but it is more on the emotional aspect. Everyday of every year many women becomes victims of these diseases due to emotional instability.Emotional instability may be cause by some aspects that most women sees everyday, may it be in terms of physical attributes they see perceive that are more acceptable towards the society, their families and most of all their loved ones. We can really never judge someone who is undergoing these disorders, namely anorexia and bulimia. She was very much open to everything that her openness helped th e readers realized the goodness of God. I really appreciated her transparency with regards to this matter.It is a fact that many of the women nowadays are fighting this dilemma and as humans we need someone to hold on to, to regain our confidence and strength. Every word in the book just depicts what exactly a normal human being feels. We all know that anorexia and bulimia nervosa has received a great deal of attention in the popular media in recent years. This disorder is listed under the category of disorders of childhood or adolescence in DSM-III. Anorexia consists of extreme weight loss due to a reduction in eating.It occurs most frequently in female adolescents; only about 1 in 10 people with anorexia are male. The disorder is believed to be rate, but one study found an incidence of 1 case out of 200 adolescent girls. The person often has major problems in self-esteem and concerns about physical appearance. Weight reduction may be one way for the person to feel in control of he r or his behavior, and to improve self-esteem. However, for anorexics, dieting gets out of hand. They develop an unreasonable fear of eating, and often suppress hunger by engaging in repetitive activity such as frequent exercising.When anorexics must eat because others (e. g. , parent) demand it, they often will induce vomiting after meals to get rid of the food ingested. At the other end of the spectrum from obesity is anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder associated with self-imposed starvation. The already underweight person continues to restrict food intake, often to the point where death is a genuine concern. One of the most distinguishing traits of people who have anorexia nervosa is that they do not see themselves as thin.When they look in a mirror, they actually perceive themselves to be overweight or gaining weight. In the latter case they may go out and jog 5 miles or stay up all night jumping jacks. The resulting weight loss and attendant physical stress often lead to an a bsence of menstruation among females, and the person may look pallid and gaunt. Having this overview in mind, I really can relate towards her feelings. It was not easy to experience the disorder but she managed to overcome and succeed her weakness.The book just touches the very heart and soul of the readers, especially those that are experiencing the same disorder. This book somehow gives them hope that as long as they have God and they have the will to overcome it, and then truly they will succeed. The book will really make you cry knowing how she struggled so much and knowing this, those who are also suffering these disorders will be strengthened in such a way that they know that they are not alone, that they are not the only one who is experiencing such troubled times.The author also believes that faith is a very important ingredient especially when are in tough times. It is through faith that we can be able to surpass all the waves that are before us. As adolescents, Chelsea emp hasizes the importance of having a relationship with the Almighty. Through that relationship we have in Him, we would not feel any pressures and insecurities at all because we see ourselves as precious creatures and beloved masterpieces of God, knowing these in mind we would do our best to take care of ourselves.The author’s choices of words acts as a medicine or a healing ointment that helps those who in bondage will be freed and will no longer be enslaved by self inflicted hurts and hatred. She was so brave; I salute her for her courage. It is not that easy to tell the struggles, troubles and hurts one has experienced but Smith stood up. Through her braveness many people were blessed and also encouraged. Smith and Runyon have done a wonderful deed when this book was published. The book is very point blank.Each detail that Smith exposes when she suffered anorexia and bulimia for two years was so vivid that all readers could clearly feel the intense emotions behind it. It is somewhat a living testimony that because of what Smith has undergone she has become a dignified and composed woman that she is right now. The book also shows how successful and happy Chelsea was but no one knew what was really happening within her, all her hatred, struggles and frustrations that eventually lead to her eating disorders that eventually she was able to recover.Her recovery also gave the readers joy as she survive the travails, the readers will really be able to relate with the whole book. Smith tells in her book everything that she felt at the different episodes of her struggle with the eating disorder. She shared in this book the treatments she had and how she felt with the process. Chelsea’s perseverance was so great that anyone who reads the book will really be blessed and encouraged by this life changing material. Reference: 1. Smith, Chelsea & Runyon, Beverly. (1998). Diary of an Eating Disorder: A Mother and Daughter Share Their Healing Journey. Taylor Publishing, New York.

Change in the Nuclear Family Essay

Everyone on the planet has a family, but not everyone sees eye to eye about what constitutes as a â€Å"real† family. Since WWII, the structure of the American family has been constantly changing. The â€Å"normal† American family is known as the nuclear family, with a mother, father, son, daughter, and occasionally, a pet. But as time has progressed, the nuclear family has had to make room for larger families, single parent families, biracial families, and families with step and half relatives in them. After WWII, the American family’s structure changed drastically, with many types of families appearing, aside from the nuclear family structure. The baby boom led to larger families and an increase of child births and the women’s right movement and counterculture played part in the rise of single parent households. With minorities gaining more rights, more biracial households started to appear, while couples’ decisions to get divorces led to step families and half siblings in families. The definition of a â€Å"normal† American family has been continuously changing since the 50s, but no matter what anyone says, it is still a family. During World War II, American families were disarrayed. With approximately 16 million soldiers leaving their families and going to war, households in America were left in distress (nationalww2museum). Many men had to abandon their work positions to go to war, which left many jobs vacant. The women of America had to step up and fill the missing men’s positions in the work force, meaning many children were left parentless during the day, â€Å"In 1940 only 8. 6% of mothers with children younger than 18 were in the work force† (Boschee). Though 8. 6% does not seem high, it is higher than the percent of women employed ever before at that time. Employed women with children under the age of 18 were leaving many â€Å"latchkey children† unsupervised during working hours, causing the rate of juvenile delinquency to rise (Todd). Other children were left under the watchful eye of close friends or relatives while their mother was working. Older sons and daughters in the family also had to assume new and unfamiliar roles to help support their family while the money maker in the family was away at war. Once the war ended, and the surviving soldiers returned to their home soil in the U. S. , he familial structure in America started to change with a massive increase of births. After World War II finally came to an end, a new era started; which raised the number of children born into American families. This period of time in America’s history is known as the Baby Boom and it is when the number of births increased dramatically. During the first year of the Baby Boom, the birth rate was incredible, â€Å"In 1946, the first year of the Baby Boom, new births in the U. S. skyrocketed to 3. 47 million births. New births continued to grow throughout the 1940s and 1950s, leading to a peak in the late 1950s with 4. million births in 1957 and 1961† (Todd). The increase of births meant that more households that previously didn’t have children now housed kids and houses that already had children contained even more. The air smelled of enthusiasm and confidence during the years immediately following WWII, â€Å"Exhilaration and optimism after the war seemed to combine with a general feeling of affluence in a booming postwar economy, and generous provisions for returning GIs, to make young couples feel able and willing to support children† (Macunovich). The Baby Boom era paved a path for the nuclear family to be created, with the mother, father, son, and daughter living in a quiet little suburb with a picket white fence and a golden retriever playfully chasing the kids. But to many closed-minded American’s horror, the nuclear family succumbed to â€Å"out of the norm† family structures, with more and more single parents appearing. The rise of single-parenthood was partly on account of the counterculture, which was created because of the social and political events that happened in the 1950s. The counterculture movement â€Å"prompted many people to question traditional boundaries† (Roberts). This meant that many people had freer attitudes towards cultural norms like hairstyles, types of music, and drug use. Also, a teeming amount of people under the age of 30 had freer attitudes towards sexual relationships, with one poll showing that almost two thirds of Americans over the age of 30 were against sex before marriage, while a majority of Americans under the age of 29 were not (Roberts). Because so many Americans were having premarital sex, single parent households started to show up more often. With the two who took part in the once sacred act usually going separate ways after they had sex, the female was always left alone with a baby to bear, if she was to become pregnant. The counterculture also led to an increase of out-of-wedlock births (Himmelfarb). Both things being something most Americans living in that time period were not used to seeing. Although the counterculture movement played a big role in introducing more single-parent households into American society, it is not the only event that catalyzed more changes in the structure of American families. By the end of the 1960s, a new movement called the Women’s Rights Movement, also contributed to the rise of single-parent homes in the nation. During this second wave of feminism, women were more determined to gain equal rights. In 1963, the Equal Pay Act was passed, which ended gender discrimination in the work force, including wage (Women Deserve Equal). Because the women felt like they could depend more on themselves, they did not have to marry a man to support her family. Many militant feminists referred to marriage as â€Å"slavery† and â€Å"legalized rape† (Mintz). Some of the women that felt that way still wanted children though; just not a man to bind her to the house. Thus, creating another reason that single-parenthood started to make more appearances in American households. The counterculture and the second women’s rights movement changed the structure of American family structure in a way that made single parents more abundant throughout the nation; the civil rights movement changed the familial structure by mixing races. When African Americans gained more rights, it caused consternation to bubble up in racist Americans, while the accepting American community rejoiced and felt a better sense of security if they were to form a biracial family. The Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1964 were two major acts passed by the U. S. government that gave minorities more rights and protection against racist groups like the Ku Klux Klan (Lapsansky-Werner). Biracial families were once illegal in some states, â€Å"Forty years ago, the U. S.  Supreme Court overturned a state law in Virginia that prohibited whites from marrying non-whites. The ruling in Loving v. Virginia invalidated similar bans in 15 other states† (Powell). After biracial couples could get married legally, mixed race households became more apparent. The ruling in Loving v. Virginia made a big impact on the familial structures in America. The statistics of biracial marriages has definitely rose, as seen in these statistics, â€Å"†¦black-white marriages increased from 65,000 in 1970 to 422,000 in 2005, according to Census Bureau figures† (After 40 Years). More black-white marriages have led to more children with both black and white genes. In addition to more biracial families being introduced into American society, more families with more complex structures started to appear, as well. When married couples get divorced they usually get remarried, which can lead to step and half relatives. During the 60s, fifty-two percent of women who got married were pregnant and they got married to avoid having a child out of wedlock (Shiono). This being said, it is safe to say that over half of married couples had at least one child during their marriage. Forty-five to fifty percent of first marriages end in divorce (Baker). Many people get remarried after divorcing their first spouse, with seventy five percent of people who have gone through a divorce becoming remarried (Stewart). When the father or mother gets remarried, there is always a chance his or her new spouse has children of their own already, creating step-siblings for the child they had during their first failed marriage. If the two new spouses decide to have another child, half-siblings are born. With more and more divorces and remarriages, families with half and step siblings are more likely to be found throughout the nation’s homes. Many people call homes that suffer from a divorce a â€Å"broken home,† but in reality, it is just another chance for a family to have one more shot at finding its â€Å"Happily Ever After. † Change is something that comes with life and it is something that the American family structure is no stranger to, going through constant changes throughout the years. Going from the nuclear family structure to families with more than two kids, families being raised by one parent, and families with step and half siblings, are all changes that the familial structure in America has encountered. Change in the nation’s family structure is inevitable, whether it is being brought on by an increased number of births, movements that challenge everyday thinking or ones that demand more rights. Even something like a failed marriage’s result have brought about changes in family structure in the U. S. Every family is built from different bricks but they all have the same mortar- love.

Constitution - Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances Essay

Constitution - Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances - Essay Example The legislative branch of the government of the US has the legitimate power of creating rules and regulation that govern the nation and has the right to keep a complete check and balance of the actions of the executive branch (Northrup, 2003, p.44). They have the ability to override a particular president’s power to veto by gaining a majority vote comprising of two thirds majority. They even have the ability to finances several actions conducted by the executive branch and can remove a residing president through the process of impeachment. They even are the ones who approve the appointments conducted by a particular president and treaties signed. The legislative branch can maintain checks and balances over the judicial branch be creating lower courts and removing judges through the process of impeachment and they even are the ones who approve and disapprove of appointed judges. On one end is the legislative branch that makes the laws, the legislative branch is responsible for carrying out laws. It can exercise check and balance on the legislative branch through their power to veto and hold extra special session for the congress and they even participate in law making by recommending legislative amendments and they can even appeal to the people of the legislative branch. They even conduct checks and balances on the judicial branch as the judges of the Supreme Court as well as federal level judges are appointed by the President of the United States. Similarly, the judicial branch has the ability to conduct checks and balances on the legislative and executive branch. They monitor and control the executive branch as judges that are appointed cannot be controlled by the executive branch and have the right to make decisions without any influence and they can use their power of judicial review to judge actions conducted by the executive branch as

Managerial Decision Making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Managerial Decision Making - Essay Example I have also been asked to perform a self evaluation of the decisions made and to evaluate them myself as to whether I think they were a success or failure for the organization. My supervisor has asked me to email him this evaluation as part of my own yearly evaluation which will be used to decide my yearly bonus, so I have decided to make it as professional as possible. Discussion In posting my self evaluation regarding some recent decisions that I have made for the college, I have decided to evaluate each decision in terms of the six steps mentioned by Bazerman and Moore (2008) in their text and use this as a guide to determine whether each decision was a success or a failure. In this context I would like to define success as being an outcome where it has resulted in a reduction of effort on the part of staff or automated a process or reduced cost or improved the quality and efficiency of the college and its staff. If it did none of these things, I would regard it as a failure. The Office of Fiscal Affairs where I work is responsible for receiving and allocating funds for college use, as well as safeguarding financial assets. We must also conform to all Federal and State laws as well as maintain adequate internal control over the assets with which it has been entrusted. As the Senior Accountant, my objective has always been to minimize burdensome and time-consuming procedures in order to affect the flow of business transactions as smoothly and conveniently as possible. In this post, I will share with you some of my findings from the audit and how I intend to fix them as well as avoid repetitions of these errors in the future. Finding 1: Grant Expenditures Coded to Operating Expenses During my audit I noted that there were no set procedures for the invoicing of grant expenditures. Many costs that were allowable as Federal and State grant costs were recorded as general costs instead. The Finance Director and the Grants Manager did not coordinate and review the e xpenditures for inclusion as Federal or State grant expenditures. The current invoicing practice has contributed to the College’s delay in recording revenue in a timely and accurate manner. The optimal decision would be to correctly code allowable costs to the proper Federal and State grants so as to increase cash collections and better maintain the accuracy of the Grants Receivable balance. I strongly suggest that management investigate this problem and I further suggest that a formal policy and procedure be adopted to classify revenues, costs and expenses so that accounting personnel have a clear responsibility and involvement in the approval of invoices sent to the College’s grantors. In fact the College has procedures in place for processing grant expenditures. The previous administration elected not to use these processes which include collaboration with the grants department, administration and the business office. The College is reviewing this process and taking appropriate action to ensure that clear responsibility for the approval and classification of expenditures are understood in expenditures of Federal and State grants. The review process includes more involvement of the Grants Office and the Accountant in the Business Office that is responsible for accurate expenditure and billing for

Duchamp prefigure Walter Benjamin's thesis Essay

Duchamp prefigure Walter Benjamin's thesis - Essay Example The essay "Duchamp prefigure Walter Benjamin's thesis" examines in what ways did the work of Marcel Duchamp prefigure Walter Benjamin's thesis. If for nothing at all, everyone has an appreciation for a good work of art and this makes all people artistic. It is against this backdrop that the development of art has remained a very crucial and important point for discussion for many years. Art has evolved since it was first discovered and the reason behind all these forms of evolutions is to ensure that the production of works of art suit the aesthetic needs of the people to whom it is presented. A key point in global art history in terms of evolutionary art is the early 20th century when Benjamin Walter hypothesized and further came out with an essay on art in the age of mechanical reproduction. In this paper, the ways in which the work of Marcel Duchamp prefigures Walter Benjamin’s thesis in his essay shall be analyzed. Marcel Duchamp has been a major contributing icon to the w ork of art, especially in the 20th century. The 1887 French born had the opportunity of having his first exhibition in 1908 in what was termed Salon d’Automne through the influence of his brother. But since then, Duchamp took a lot of control over what he could do as an artistic personality. It is not for nothing that Perloff notes that Duchamp’s readymades now commands sky-high prices, with people applying for permission to reproduce some of his related images in a scholarly book on modernism paying as much as $200 apiece.

The Role of Emotion-focused Theory in Functional Assessment Essay

The Role of Emotion-focused Theory in Functional Assessment - Essay Example New models of marital suffering, such as Gottmans model, also have grounding in the observation and the coding of exact interactions flanked by intimates, as do models of adult close relationships such as accessory theory. Moreover, it is perhaps not astonishing, then, that there is consonance in the middle of EFT as a model of intervention, researched evocative models of distress, and relational theories such as accessory. Distressed couples taught Les Greenberg and me, the inventor of EFT, how to describe the procedure of alter outlined in EFT and the interventions that endorse this change procedure. Moreover, the primary EFT manual was written as part of the first result study, which compared EFT to untreated couples and couples who finished a behavioral communication and skills training intrusion. The consequences of EFT in this primary study were imposing sufficient to spark another two decades of research on EFT(Elliott, R., Watson, J. C., 2004). No doubt, this study utilized evocative assessment methods to expand hypotheses regarding the function of lunchtime behavior troubles for three characteristically developing children. No doubt, functional treatment was assessing in the natural setting through caregivers as change agents. In general, results of the evocative assessment suggested that every childs difficulty behavior was upheld by flee and, to a lesser extent, attention. In adding, this study optional that straight observation was more dependable than a behavioral interview or survey in acquiring the information essential to expand hypotheses on factors maintaining a childs mealtime behavior evils. Lastly, a functional treatment wrap up consisting of death, stimulus fading, and strengthening of suitable eating behaviors put into practice by the caregivers was effectual in decreasing the mealtime behavior evils for two of the children who continued in the study, thus given that

Rights Under the Employment Law Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Rights Under the Employment Law - Case Study Example In addition to a decrease in sales work on the road, Andy was told he must take a course in electronics in order to make after-sales repairs. His hours were increased: he would no longer have a half day on Fridays and would be on call one weekend in six. Andy wants to know if he must agree to the changes made by his employer. He has been with the company for two and a half years. Several issues have been presented here, but it would be necessary to know what Andy's terms of employment were when he took this job. Because of the length of his employment, he does have specific options. Will these changes affect his salary Is he on commission only What financial losses will he incur with these changes Will the company pay for his electronics course Is he willing to increase his knowledge in the area of electronics The answers to these questions will begin to determine whether the changes would be mandatory or might be adjusted in Andy's favor. As soon as an employee accepts a job offer, he is considered under contract, even if he has no written contract (Advice Leaflet 2005; "Contracts of employment," DTI, 2005). Terms of employment, however, can be changed by mutual agreement. The terms under a contract of employment that might be affected by changes in Andy's case are pay, hours of work, fringe benefits, and job duties and responsibilities ("Changes to employment contracts," 2004). Andy and his employer might be able to agree on a compromise. If there is a written statement in the form of an employee handbook that describes his duties and responsibilities as they existed when he was hired, it might help Andy's case (Rights at work, 2005). When an employer makes any changes to Andy's duties and responsibilities, the employer must give him a written statement, not just verbal, within a month, stating planned changes to his original duties (Advice Leaflet 2004). In the case where Secure It gives Andy no option but to accept the changes, he can object and end his employment which is called "constructive dismissal". He would then have the right to make an employment tribunal complaint which would give him the same rights as if his employer had dismissed him (Contracts of Employment 2005, DTI, sec. 8). This would not have to be done if Andy was willing to accept some changes and make an effort to reach a compromise with his employer. Breach of Contract Since Andy does not expect any compromise from his employer, he would like to know what his next step should be. He says he thinks his employer wants him to leave the firm. Andy said he was told by his employer that he had better be good at electronics because his sales figures showed what a rubbish salesman he was. Andy would prefer to leave the company and wants to set up a rival security firm with his friend Lou. He wants to know if he can do that since there is no actual written contract. Advice Andy should understand that he can start planning a rival company, but until his issues with the company are resolved, he cannot do anything about it. As noted before, he is under contract even if it is not in writing. The question here would be does he want to leave, or would it be possible for him to accept changes through mutual

A study of the superstitions of college students Speech or Presentation

A study of the superstitions of college students - Speech or Presentation Example As a measure of precaution against errors in the research, some additional ten questions were added into the thirty questions. It was noted earlier before the research that some students who were bright enough could end up answering the questions not using the truth in them but their intellectual capabilities. Such clever students were bound to offer correct responses as indicating that a statement is ‘false’ for the purpose of the test yet in them, the superstition could be very much true. The ten factual questions therefore proved to be a source of huge hindrance or cover up for a larger source of errors in the research study. Sample The sample that was used in conducting the research consisted of students from two main categories or backgrounds. One group of the students involved a class of 103 students who had enrolled in taking studies in a general psychology class in the College of Liberal arts in Northwest University. In this category of students, the researchers indicate that the majority of them were freshmen and attended the program as full time students. This creates a picture in the mind that these students in the first group were mainly youths beginning their adult life. On the other hand, the second category of students was 46 students who were studying general psychology in a School of Commerce. ... ll, it can be concluded that the first and the second category of students in the research were a typical representation of typical academic students and intelligent non-academic students respectively. In both classes, the test that had been previously mentioned as consisting of 30 superstitions and prejudices together with 10 factual questions was presented to the students at the beginning of their respective courses. No any discussion was done by the instructors who offered the test in regard to the test and any reasons as to why the students had been assigned the test. At the end of the semester, the same test was offered to the two sets of students still without any explanation being offered as to why they were being offered the test. In both tests the scoring method that was used was the same. The scoring was based on the questions among the superstitions that had been marked as ‘true’. By this, a student who had ten questions marked as ‘true’ had a sco re of ten. This basically meant that the other ten factual questions that had been included in the ten had no consequence when it came to scoring as they were only control questions. The ten questions were not given any considerations when determining the scoring of the student. Results and interpretation As is indicated in the table recorded in the PowerPoint, it is very clear that in both classes, the trend that was set by the students in terms of scoring in the second and the first test happens to be relatively on the same wavelength. The score in both classes can be noted to be far much les after the completion of the psychology course that it was recorded in the first test that was conducted at the beginning of the course. This is the result that the research is aimed at coming up with and offering an

Ratio Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ratio - Essay Example In the example, this year's quick ratio is 0.4:1, which means that the company's liquid assets are at four tenths of the value of its current liabilities. The company will not be able to pay current debts with its current liquid assets. The debt to net-worth ratio measures how much the company is in debt. This ratio compares what the business owes to what it owns. It is a measure of the company's ability to meet both its creditor and owner obligations in case of liquidation. The formula is: (total debt or liabilities) / (tangible net worth). The company's inventory turnover ratio measures the number of times the inventory is sold out, or "turned over", in a year. This ratio describes whether business inventory is understocked, overstocked, or obsolete. The formula is: (cost of goods sold) / (cost of the average inventory). The company's average collection period ratio describes the average number of days it takes customers to pay bills. The formula is: (days in accounting period) / [(net sales) / (accounts receivable)]. The net-sales to working-capital ratio measures how many dollars in sales the business makes for every dollar of working capital, where working capital = current assets - current liabilities. This ratio tells you how efficiently working capital is being used to generate sales.

Hilton Hotel Differentiation Essay Example for Free

Hilton Hotel Differentiation Essay Hilton Hotels is one of the biggest players in the US lodging industry. It contributes to about 9% of the total rooms in US lodging market. It has presence in over 78 countries with more than 2500 hotels. Lodging industry is highly capital intensive industry, so to reduce capital expenditure Hilton Hotels opted for self-owned Hotels as well as franchising model with the real estate owners. One of the key features of lodging industry is low switching costs for customers. There is very little margin to differentiate from the major competitors in the industry which include Marriott international, IHG, Accor etc. Key success factor in lodging market is quality of service one provides. Hilton Hotels are highly focused about their service level by providing excellent care to the customers. Traditionally, standardization of service delivery operations has been one of the very difficult tasks in the industry as one has to operate in different geographies. To resolve this issue and to maintain consistent service delivery across different hotels they installed an integrated technology infrastructure called OnQ. CRM system built over OnQ helped the firm to provide excellent service to the customers and provide competitive advantage over its competitors. OnQ facilitated the firm’s CRM (Customer Really Matters) initiative at each customer touch point. Reason for successful implementation of CRM * The major organizational factor that facilitated the CRM initiative is that the firm had the same technology platform and distribution footprint throughout the brand. * Sharing the risk with the hotel owners and avoiding separate technology charges encouraged the owners to adopt the CRM system. * Moreover its focus on delivering efficient service to customers also laid the foundation among the people for the acceptance of CRM initiative. Issue faced in CRM Implementation The major problem during the implementation of CRM initiative was the delivery of consistent services across each brand event after the CRM systems were in place. This was mainly due to the large number of diversified hotels in the chain across the globe Issues resolved by CRM package * With the help of CRM along with recognition of the customer providing personal services was also possible. This helps in tailoring the experience according to customer needs and creating a long term relationship. For eg. Rooms can be pre-assigned and prepared according to customer preferences. * It was also possible to classify customers along different levels (Gold, Diamond etc.) and providing them with differential services. Tiered system allowed the hotels to prioritize pre-assignment and service delivery by identifying most valuable guests. This results in improving efficiency of service by focusing more on most valuable customers. * To maintain brand name uniform services are to be maintained across the hotel chain. With centralized OnQ infrastructure, it became possible for Hilton Hotels to replicate their services across the various hotels across the globe. * The CRM systems helped the company in differentiating its service as well as optimizing some of the activities which lead to the reduction in operational costs. For eg. OnQ Reservation used data from the CRM, allows the agent to access callers’ personal dossier and update their preferences. This helped in reducing the call time as well as promoted the cross selling. Another example is having information prior to arrival of customer helped the firm in maintaining efficiencies especially during later in the evenings when less staff is available. * It also helped in service recovery. If a client had some problem during the last visit, identifying the problem helped in responding better next time. * The SALT (Satisfaction and Loyalty Tracking) survey helped in getting essential feedback from the customers. * Monitoring of the various brands across the chain for quality assurance also became easy. It also enabled the firm to open new hotels at a faster pace and consistently deliver the same service. Summary of Analysis CRM system implementation at Hilton hotels provided with various benefits in term of improved services, cost reduction improved efficiency. Maintenance cost of CRM system is low as compared to the overall revenue of the firm. Currently Hilton Hostels are able to leverage CRM system better than competitors. They still need to search for further options available in improving service using CRM.

Financial Performance of Morrisons PLC

Financial Performance of Morrisons PLC Part 1 Project Objectives and Overall Research Approach 1.1 Introduction Markets across the world are gradually lifting themselves out of the doom and gloom of recession. Most markets in the UK have shown relative resiliency as they try and recover. Consumer spending and confidence have been fairly low due to adverse pressures created by the implementation of stringent fiscal and monetary policies by the government. The past couple of years have seen the worst effects of recession, hence businesses had to improvise and develop strategies which would focus on retaining existing customers while attracting new customers simultaneously. WM Morrison Supermarkets plc (herein after simply Morrison) has been a success story amidst all the large scale corporate failure and has managed to remain profitable while its competitors and businesses in general have struggled a great deal. Morrisons was founded by William Morrison in 1899, operating as an egg and butter stall in Bradford, North West England. From its humble beginning Morrisons grew rapidly both in terms of its size and its product portfolio. It was only in 1967 that Morrisons was first floated on the London Stock Exchange. As per TNSglobal.com (Nov 08) Morrisons accounted for 11.8% of the total retail supermarket share in the year 2008, making it the smallest of the big â€Å"four† supermarkets. Morrisons operated predominantly in Northern England and it was only in 2004 that Morrisons expanded its operations in the southern part of the UK through the acquisition of Safeway superstores. Further, as per the Annual Statements published in 2010, Morrisons turnover stood at  £15.4bn which was generated from 420 superstores all across the UK. Morrisons operates entirely in the UK market. 1.2 Reasons for choosing the topic Morrisons mission statement which states â€Å"Keeping things simple† has often fascinated me as to how could such a massive organisation operate effectively by keeping things simple at all times. Therefore I choose to analyse the financial statements of Morrisons PLC over a three year period which would provide me answers to my personal curiosities whilst also completing an important research report in my academic career. Most of the knowledge required to compile the research report was acquired through my ACCA studies but this report took me one step further as it provided me with a platform from where I could apply my knowledge in a real life scenario. 1.3 Project Objectives This project report aims to achieve the following objectives: Analysis of the business and financial performance of Morrison PLC over a period of three years i.e. from the 1st of February 2007 to 31st of January 2010. A reflective analysis of the year on year performance of Morrison PLC with critical analysis of the effectiveness of current business strategies and their adequacy to deal with future business and market challenges. Evaluation of Morrisons competitive market position in comparison with its major competitors (with particular emphasis on J Sainsbury PLC, herein after simply Sinsburys). 1.4 Research Questions The project report aims to answer the following research questions: Effectiveness of Morrisons operational and financial strategies over the three year period in review. How well did Morrison perform in comparison to its major competitors (through the use of analytical analysis tools such as ratio analysis)? 1.5 Research Approach Following is the research methodology adopted while compiling this research report: Evaluating Morrisons business performance through the use of business models such as â€Å"PESTEL†, â€Å"SWOT† and â€Å"Porters 5 forces†. Comparative analysis of Morrisons PLC financial statements through the calculation of key ratios such as: profitability, liquidity, gearing, investor returns and efficiency. Accessing Morrisons competitive position with its major competitors (mainly Sainsburys) through the ratios calculated. Part 2 Information Gathering and Accounting/ Business techniques 2.1 Sources of Information 2.1.1 Annual Reports and Summary of Financial Statements The main source of information utilised for compiling the research and analysis report was the annual statements of Morrison PLC. The annual reports consisted of all the relevant financial information for ratio analysis. 2.1.2 Books on interpretation of Financial and Business Data Numerous business study books and articles were read to mainly understand the scope of business analyses models and their effectiveness in analysing Morrisons performance for the last three years. Books were also consulted to ascertain key ratios and comprehend them. I also had to understand what the ratios meant in the retail supermarket sector and realise the limitation of ratio analyses. 2.1.3 Media and Internet sources Electronic and print media were the most important sources of information. The annual statements were downloaded from the internet and expert views on Morrisons performance were consulted from the Financial Times and other authentic business journals. 2.2 Methods used in collecting information The entire research is based on secondary data (i.e. data collected by someone else for their own purposes). The reasons for basing the research upon secondary resources were that no obligation to conduct primary research and the limited time period in which the research had to be conducted and then the compilation of the report. Almost all the literature reviewed and consulted was done with certain amount of scepticism (critical review) so at to ensure that the information collected presented a balanced overview. Therefore the research data was collected from various sources. Internal management view was ascertained from the detailed annual statements, as the directors are responsible for producing such documents. A standard unqualified opinion by the auditors gave further authenticity to the financial information on which almost the entire report is based. As Morrison is also a constituent of London Stock Exchange independent media and expert views were available providing key insight in the companys past and present performance and the future outlook. 2.3 Limitations of information gathering As mentioned in the earlier sections of the report the research was entirely based on secondary data therefore a very slight possibility remains that the data might have been inaccurate and unreliable. Even though the research data has been very carefully selected the chances of error remain but the majority of the work can be deemed authentic and accurate. Further, the amount of information available through various resources was immense and therefore impractical to critically review all of it which might indicate that certain key information was either missed or overlooked. Almost all the information in the annual statement is historical in nature and therefore just reviewing past performances might not truly reflect present and future expectations. 2.4 Explanation of the accounting and/or business techniques The research report focuses on evaluating the business and financial performance of Morrison over a period of 3 years. The financial side of the evaluation will be done through the use of key performance related ratios, whilst the business performance will be examined through PESTEL, SWOT and Porters 5 forces models to evaluate macro and micro activities of the business. 2.4.1 Business Performance 2.4.1.1 PESTEL analysis PESTEL is abbreviated for Political, Economical, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal framework. According to Johnson et al. (2008)[1] it involves an examination of the macro environment of an organisation with a view to identifying the factors that might affect a number of vital variables that are likely to influence the organisations supply and demand levels and its costs. 2.4.1.2 SWOT Analysis Johnson et al (2008) states that SWOT analysis is used to appraise the companys internal strengths, weaknesses, external opportunities and threats. Strengths and weaknesses are usually associated from processes within the company and opportunities and threats arise from factors outside the companys control. 2.4.1.3 Porters 5 Forces Analysis Porter (1980) states that it is essential for companies to have a detailed knowledge of competitors influence on the market and that if a company considers the â€Å"five competitive forces† it will be able to appreciate the structure of its industry and thereby be able to put itself in a position to withstand competitor pressure. 2.4.2 Financial Performance: 2.4.2.1 Ratio Analysis Financial ratios can be calculated by comparing two figures in the accounts which are inter-related in some way. The following ratios will be used to evaluate and analyse the financial performance of Morrison: 2.4.2.2 Liquidity Ratios BPP (2009) states that liquidity ratios illustrate the solvency of a business i.e. whether it is in a position to repay its short term debts. They focus on short term assets and liabilities. Creditors are likely to be interested in liquidity ratios to assess whether they will receive the money that they are owed. The ratios that will be calculated under this category are: * Current Ratio= current assets/ current liabilities, Providers of short term credit prefer a high current ratio. * Quick Ratio= current assets-inventory/ current liability Also commonly known as acid test ratio, it is a more severe test of liquidity as it does not include inventory as a liquid asset as they are not guaranteed to be sold, they may become obsolete or deteriorate. 2.4.2.3 Profitability Ratios According to BPP (2009) stakeholders such as shareholders, owners, managers, employers and potential investors are all likely to be interested in the profitability and efficiency of a business. The ratios calculated under this category will be: * Return on Capital Employed= profit before interest and tax/ capital employed The ROCE relates to the profit generated from operating activities with the capital employed. Capital employed is generally the net assets of the company and is also referred to as shareholders fund plus long term borrowings. * Gross profit margin= gross profit/sales * 100% Shows the gross profit made on sales turnover. * Net profit margin= net profit/sales * 100% The ratio helps to measure how well a business is controlling its overheads. 2.4.2.4 Activity/ Efficiency ratios BPP (2009) states that activity or asset utilisation ratios allow a business to measure how effectively it uses its resources. The ratios that would be calculated under this category will be: * Receivables Turnover = credit sales/ trade receivables * Receivables period = receivables/ sales * 365days Receivables turnover and receivables period would be used to assess time taken by Morrisons to reclaim its short term debt on average. * Inventory Turnover = cost of sales/ inventory According to BPP (2009) this ratio measures the number of times during the year a business sells the value of its stocks * Inventory holding period = inventory/ cost of sales * 365days Stock turnover can be expressed in terms of the number of days it takes to sell inventory. 2.4.2.5 Gearing Ratio BPP (2009) states that the gearing ratio looks at the balance of funding in the capital structure of a business. Under this category the ratios that will be calculated are following: * Debt-equity ratio = total debt/ total equity This ratio establishes the total amount of shareholders fund (equity capital) in comparison to the total amount of borrowed capital (i.e. long term loans). * Interest cover = profit before tax and interest/ interest payable According to BPP (2009) the gearing ratio (i.e. debt-equity ratio) is a statement of financial position measure of financial risk. Interest cover is an income statement measure. The ratio assesses the businesss ability to pay interest by comparing profit and interest payments. 2.4.2.6 Investors Ratio Investors are interested in the returns or dividends they may get from holding shares. BPP (2009) states that a number of ratios can be used to measure these returns. The following ratios will be calculated under this category: * EPS= profit available to shareholders/ no. of shares ranked for dividend BPP (2009) defines EPS as a measure of how much each share is earning. It reflects how much is available to be paid to shareholders. * Price Earnings ratio= share price/ earnings per share According to BPP (2009) the price/earnings ratio is said to reflect the confidence shown in the company It shows how many years, at current earnings, it will take an investor to recover the cost of the share. * Dividend Yield= dividend per share/ market price * 100% BPP (2009) defines the dividend yield ratio as a measure of the value of the return on share for an investor. It shows the dividend per share as a percentage of the market price. 2.5 Limitation of ratio analysis BPP (2009) states that ratio analysis is not necessarily a complete measure of assessing a company financial performance. Limitations that can be associated with ratio analysis are as follows: Accounting principles followed whilst preparing financial statements should represent a true and fair reflection of the company and should be consistently applied over a period of time. Ratio analysis looses its credibility when management deliberately uses accounting policies to manipulate financial statements. Businesses are faced with unique risks even though they operate in the same industry. Hence the way businesses deal with there risks vary, limiting the scope of ratio analysis. BPP (2009) states that ratios on their own are meaningless. They have to be used as a benchmark to compare performance of the organisation against a similar company operating in a similar industry. Certain ratios are of a subjective nature therefore having standard definitions and formulae might not always be possible. Macroeconomic factors such as inflation rates, interest rates, changes in accounting policies and procedures are not accounted for when calculating ratios. Ratios also fail to recognise changes in corporate strategy and risk exposure of the company. 2.6 Limitation of SWOT / PESTEL / Porters Five Forces Results of SWOT analysis cannot be standardised as a threat for one organisation can be an opportunity for the other in a completely different environment. * One of the main disadvantages, as described by Dess et al (2004), is that â€Å"SWOT analysis is primarily a static assessment. It focuses too much of a firms attention on one moment in time.† Hence a SWOT analysis may ignore changing circumstances. * SWOT, PESTEL or Porters 5 Forces   does not describe factors in terms of quantitative performance indicators. Part 3 Results, Analysis, Conclusions and Recommendations. 3.1 PESTEL analysis 3.1.1 P- POLITICAL As per the Annual Statement (2010) Morrisons did not make any political donation which is the Group policy. However this does not mean that Morrisons operation are not affected by the political decisions made by the government in the UK. Consumer spending power, both in the long and the short term are dictated by the governments fiscal and monetary policies. The UK economy like most other global economies suffered adversely due to the global recession which was directly linked with the global credit crunch crisis. During tough economic times consumer spending power is generally low due to soaring unemployment and uncertainty in the economic environment. Government in the UK has taken important measures to stimulate growth such as reducing VAT (indirect taxation) from 17.5% to 15% in the year ending December 2009, quantitative easing (i.e. pumping money in to the economy) and keeping interest rates low, encouraging people to spend rather than save. Morrisons activities in the retail supermarket industry are regulated by the Competition Commission which keeps a close eye on the activities of the so called big â€Å"four† supermarkets. This ensures that supermarkets do not enter in to price wars or collude to fix prices. Morrisons is also bound by UK and European legislations such as Health and Safety at work Act and National Minimum wage Act. Morrisons cannot legislate for changes in government policy but should pre-empt decisions and ensure that it is ready to face challenges which might result from changes in government policies. But it is safe to assume that Morrisons operates within a very coherent political set up and faces no barriers to trade due to governments political decision making. 3.1.2 E- Economical Morrison operates only within the UK retail supermarket industry and is therefore directly affected by the macroeconomic environment. The UK economy has been under recession over the past few years, which means contraction in the economy, leading to unemployment and weak consumer spending power due to reduction in disposable income. The direct affect of this is that customers look for bargain shopping rather than spending on premium quality products. But as Morrison operates in the retail grocery market the demand for most of its products remains largely in-elastic due to the fact that people have to feed themselves and provide for their daily needs no matter how hard their budgets are squeezed. Additionally people tend to buy food from supermarkets and eat at home rather than spending money in restaurants. Morrison has massively improved its own brand products which offer value for money and appeals to consumers who are willing to buy bargain products rather than premium quality products especially during tough economic times. Annual Statement (2010) states Sales of our own label â€Å"Value† range grew by 34% as consumers tightened their belts in a challenging economic environment. The following table taken from the Annual Statement 2010 further illustrates how Morrisons has consolidated its position in the UK market during the past few years: Therefore it can concluded on the basis of the above figures that Morrisons was able to enhance its position with the retail supermarket industry during adverse economic climate due to the fact it was able to supply quality products at modest prices than its competitors. 3.2.3 S- Social The social trend in UKs grocery market is that families shop almost regularly every week, mostly on the weekends targeting large supermarkets which provide them with all their family requirements under one roof. As stated in the Annual Statement 2010 Morrisons operates from 425 mega stores all across the UK catering towards the social trend of the market. Furthermore there is an ever growing emphasis towards health eating and a sustained fight against obesity. People are getting more and more conscious about what they eat. Morrisons remained a step ahead of its social demands and re-launched its â€Å"Eat Smart† product range and as per the Annual statement (2010 pg 21) Sales were up by 7% reflecting consumers continuing demand for a healthier diet and their concern over the nutritional value of the food they eat. 3.2.4 T- Technology Businesses across the UK are spending heavily on technological advancements, in order to gain competitive advantage over their competitors. Customers in the grocery market are increasingly using the internet to shop for their grocery needs therefore Morrisons has developed a very efficient (website) and robust (delivery system) mechanism to cater for such customers. Morrison has also launched self service check-outs in almost all of its large supermarkets resulting in improved customer service (i.e. decrease in waiting time to be served) subsequently increasing sales. Morrison is also rolling out the use of â€Å"Voice-picking† technology across all its grocery warehouses which has proved particularly successful in increasing depot productivity and pick accuracy and hence improving in-store product availability. (Grocerytrader, 2011) 3.2.5 E- Environmental Businesses across the world are under intense pressure to reduce their carbon footprints on the environment and adopt eco-friendly and sustainable processes. Morrisons thoroughly understands its environmental responsibility and has taken important steps to reduce its carbon footprints and subsequently become â€Å"GREENER†. Below is a graphical representation of decrease in Morrisons carbon footprint as stated in their Annual Review 2010 (pg14) (Source Morrison Annual Review 2010, pg 14) Morrison Annual Report and Financial Statements (2010) states that during the year, free reusable bags were issued to customers, and as a result of this and other initiatives carrier bag consumption was reduced by 126 million bags.   Morrisons during 2010 also completed the conversion of filling station pumps to highly efficient vapour recovery pumps which emit much reduced levels of fuel vapour in to the atmosphere. Morrisons Halifax store was awarded an excellent rating from the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method indicating as to how much Morrison regards the environment in which it operates. (Morrisons, 2011) 3.2.6 L- Legal Morrison is obliged to operate in accordance with the British and European law. It has to ensure that labour and employment laws are not compromised in handling staff affairs. Any violation would result in expensive lawsuits and negative publicity. Morrison has to satisfy the minimum wage requirements. 3.3 SWOT analysis: 3.3.1 S- Strengths: Morrison has been regarded as one of the best providers of fresh quality food items. Morrisons business strategy of being the â€Å"The food specialist for everyone† distinguishes it from other grocery chains. Morrison takes immense pride in the provision of quality fresh food which is prepared in-store. This allows customers to choose from a variety of fresh food items such as: baked bread, meat cut to order, fish, seasonal deli selections and a range of delicious cakes and treats. Such diverse fresh food range is a major strength of Morrison and is also widely acknowledged by its customer base. Following is an illustration of the three distinct brand values of Morrison that strengthen their vision as stated in Annual Statement 2010 (pg 6): (Source Morrison Annual Review 2010, pg 6) As it is evident from the above diagram, Morrisons overall business strategy of â€Å"Keeping things simple† allows Morrison to concentrate on its historical strengths which is providing fresh quality food at reasonable prices. 3.3.2 W- Weaknesses: Morrison only expanded its operation in the Southern part of the UK in 2004 after the acquisition of Safeway superstores and still heavily relies on the Northern part of the UK which accounts for the major chunk of the sales revenue (55%). This leaves Morrison vulnerable to any adverse fluctuations in the economic activity of the Northern part of the UK. The following illustration taken from Annual Statement 2010 (pg 7, Courtesy Kantar World panel) depicts Morrisons market share by geographical region in the UK: (Source Morrison Annual Review 2010, pg 5) Morrison does not operate a loyalty scheme which rewards customers for shopping repeatedly in Morrison stores. This is a major weakness as some of the other loyalty schemes operated by competitors such as Tesco (Tesco Club card) and Sainsburys (Nectar Card) are able to attract secondary shoppers and retain primary shoppers through attractive rewards. Morrison at present largely operates through megastores whereas its competitors are increasingly investing in smaller convenience stores which are able to cater for local businesses and day to day shopping requirements. Tesco, Sainsburys and ASDA are increasingly capturing the local convenience stores market and if Morrison does not follow suit it risks losing a major chunk of the grocery market to its competitors. Morrison only operates in the UK market. Its main competitors ASDA and TESCO operate globally and are in a better position to offset their UK losses against any foreign gains whereas Morrison will have to bear the losses. The current recession indicated that developing economies such as India, Brazil and China were still posting strong growth patterns whereas the UK economy might be heading towards a double dip recession which would further dent Morrisons profitability. 3.3.3 O- Opportunities Morrison can further improve on its own brand products. In 2010 sales of own brand products were up by 34% indicating strong growth. During tough economic times customers tend to buy value for money products rather than premium quality products. Morrison can cater for such customers and further improve its revenues. E-commerce is increasingly becoming socially popular and more and more people are shopping for their grocery needs on-line. Morrison can improve its website and develop a more robust delivery system. Hence it can improve on its revenues and market share. Morrison should expand its operations in to lucrative developing economies and take its trusted brand over to countries such as India, China, Russia and Brazil and further consolidate its position as a highly trusted supplier of quality fresh food products. 3.3.4 T- Threats As the current UK government aims to reduce budget deficit it is introducing austerity measures and has also increased VAT (from 17.5% to 20%), putting more pressure on disposable income. Many experts fear a double-dip recession which might prove disastrous for businesses in the UK. Morrison has to ensure it remains a step ahead and continues to provide products which offer value for money or otherwise will risk losing sales and its market share to its competitors. This is validated by the fact that there has been a significant increase in demand of value goods compared to premium goods. (Source Morrison Annual Report and Financial Statements 2009, pg 16) Morrison so far seems reluctant to expand through convenience stores and depends largely on opening new megastores. There remains an imminent threat that Morrison might fail to seek planning permission from local authorities and might fail to expand. But however this further advocate towards the fact that Morrison should look to expand through both megastores and convenience stores. As per the TNS report of December 2008 the market was affected from the ALDI effect, this meant people were hunting for bargain products rather than quality products at premium pricing. Even though discount brands such as LIDL and ALDI represent a very small segment of the market Morrison should remain vigilant of their presence as they can easily erode in to Morrisons market share. (Source: http://adage.com/article/news/u-k-supermarket-chains-feel-aldi-effect/131086/, Accessed 20th March 2011) 3.4 Porters Five Forces 3.4.1 Threat of new entrants The threat of new entrants in to the UK retail grocery market remains largely low due to the massive amount of capital outlay required and the power of the existing so called â€Å"big-four†. TESCO, ASDA, Sainsburys and Morrisons operate very powerful marketing and advertisement campaigns making it very difficult for new entrants to gain a foot hold in the market. Following is a diagrammatic illustration of the big four dominance in the UK market: (Source Morrison Annual Review 2010, pg 5) Furthermore supermarket giants like TESCO and Sainsburys operate a very sophisticated and rewarding loyalty schemes. This ensures that customers stay loyal and do not switch to other brands. Large supermarket chains such as Morrison are able to offer significant price reductions and a large product portfolio. This also acts as a significant barrier to entry. Even though the threat of new entrants is low, Morrison has to be proactive to new competition and steps should be taken to neutralise their affect on the market.   3.4.2 Bargaining power of suppliers According to the Competition Commission report published in 2008 suppliers in the grocery/retail sector have little or no influence on the ‘big four supermarket chains. The reason for such lack of influence is that supermarket chains such as Morrison can achieve a high volume of turnover on a very short period of time and therefore can dictate product prices to their suppliers. Suppliers have little or no choice but to enter in to such agreements with large supermarkets as they ensure regular cash-inflows and large orders. (Source: http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/rep_pub/reports/2008/538grocery.htm, Accessed 27th March 2011) Morrison ensures that it has a very cordial relationship with all its suppliers as the products they supply are of a paramount importance to the Morrisons brand name. As per Morrisons (2010 pg 13) the board adopts a policy which is to be fair and honest in dealings with farmers and suppliers. As of 2010 Morrisons average credit period stood at 29 days as compared to 33 days in 2009. Suppliers who constantly ensure quality products are supplied on time are given necessary incentives. 3.4.3 Bargaining power of customers The bargaining power of customers in the retail grocery market remains significantly high. Although the customers are not in a position to directly affect the price of an individual product but due to readily available alternatives they can alienate Morrison without any prejudice or prior notice. Therefore Morrisons has to remain very proactive when forecasting market trends and should always try and innovate ways through which it can look after its customers. 3.4.4 Threat of substitutes The threat of substitute products and retailers is significantly high as cost of switching products or suppliers is virtually non-existent. Customers in the retail grocery market do not follow a predictive trend and get disillusioned very quickly ,without any specific reason. Morrisons business strategy of â€Å"Keeping things Simple† and â€Å"being the Food Specialist† goes a long way in attracting customers to its megastores all across the UK. But regular incentives such â€Å"Eat Healthy†, â€Å"Special Offers† and â€Å"Discounts† should also be utilized to attract new and retain existing customers. 3.4.5 Rivalry amongst competitors Rivalry amongst the â€Å"top-four† competitors remains very aggressive and direct. Apart from the direct competition from the big four Morrison should also be vary of local (Iceland) and European (ALDI and LIDL) discount brands as they can also erode in to Morrisons market through aggressive pricing policies. Even though customers buying patterns are unpredictable but generally during tough economic times customers tend to hunt for bargains and therefore are prone to be attracted towards discount brands but Morrison should further diversify its own brand range and cater for such customers. As Morrison solely focuses on the provision of fresh quality food items it can eliminate aggressive rivalry by further improving on product quality and pricing. 3.5 Ratio Analysis Ratios on their own are meaningless and provide little information unless they are benchmarked against something appropriate. Therefore Morrisons ratio will be

Stagecoach Essay -- essays papers

Stagecoach An Interpretation of 'Stagecoach' In 1939 John Ford masterminded a classical western film by the name of Stagecoach. This film has the integrity of a fine work of art. Being that it could be considered a work of art, the impression left on a viewing audience could differ relying on the audience's demographics. However, it is conceivable to all audiences that Ford delivers a cast of characters that are built on stereotypes and perceptions conjured from 'B' westerns that preceded this film's time. Each character is introduced to the audience in a stereotypical genre, as the film progresses, these stereotypes are broken down and the characters become more humanized. This is apparent with a handful of characters being portrayed better than others. One can investigate each individual character to correlate such a pattern. The characters are, in no particular order: Curly, Hatfield, Gatewood, Peacock, the stagecoach driver, Dallas, Lady Mallory, and of course Ringo. Robert Slotkin writes in Gunfighter nation, " . . . by 1890 it was clear that the industrialization of the economy had produced a social order in which wealth and power would increasingly be concentrated in the hands of relatively few men . . . "(p 31). It was this social order that influenced iconography of many 'B' westerns. Such iconography would create the ideal of the crooked banker, or the shoot em' up outlaw and even a brothel prostitute, all of which are found in Ford's Stagecoach. The social classes that each character can generally be categorized as an upper, middle and lower class. In Stagecoach the upper class is composed of Gatewood and Lady Mallory. Gatewood is first introduced as a stern and modest character and part remains to be for most of the film. He exemplifies the 'B' western icon of the crooked banker in every manner. His crooked behavior is not revealed until the end of the film climaxing at his arrest as the stagecoach reaches town. His actions are arrogant and always in line with a financial mind set. His main focus was bag full of money, nothing else. Even as the stagecoach was under siege by the savage Indians, the audience could catch a glimpse of Gatewood clasping his bag rather than brandishing a firearm. Gatewood's character is one of those that does not stray from the 'B' side icon. He is clearly plays the stereotype of the financia... ...le and by Curly. On the contrary when Ringo is first seen in the movie he is not violent nor is he much of a menace. He seems to be a real gentle man, as one may have noticed in his actions toward Dallas even after finding what her line of work was. He is not ill mannered nor tempermental. He is on a mission to seek revenge as any man rightfully would. He is a far cry from his gun toting tobacco spitting counterpart in the ‘B' westerns. The stagecoach driver is the last of these unique characters. Typically, he is charactered in ‘B' westerns as being filthy, blockheaded and offensive. Despite his crackled voice and foolish nature, the stagecoach driver was anything but these descriptions. Granted, at times he may not have said the smartest of things or have been the bravest of men during the film, but he does come off as a sensible good minded man. Every character of Ford's Stagecoach was derived from the ‘B' westerns to years before. Each one is usually introduced in that genre of the ‘B' western. Ford has a unique way he portrays these characters. He shed new light on stereotypes that are not commonly broken. It truly was one of the many factors that made this film unique.

Leonardo Pisano :: essays research papers

Leonardo Pisano   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I researched a scientist or rather a mathematician that made contributions to his discipline such that they have affected a majority of the people that have lived on this earth since his time. His name is Leonardo Pisano. It is hypothesized that Leonardo was born in the town of Pisa which is in modern day Italy circa 1170. Leonardo moved at a young age with his father to a town in northern Algeria. Leonardo’s father held a diplomatic post where his job was to represent the merchants of the republic. At a young age Leonardo worked with numbers learning the in and outs of accounting and balancing books. In Algeria and other countries that he visited with his father he learned different numbering systems and how they had advantages to the one that he grew up with. In Algeria from the Arabs he learned the base 10 system and was responsible to spreading this system across Europe which in turn was spread across the world and is now the most widely used number sys tem (Connor 1998). Most people today know Leonardo by his nickname Fibonacci.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  By the turn of the century Fibonacci had returned to Italy and began to write texts. He wrote on number theory, geometry, algebra, and documented problems and proofs. Fibonacci lived before the printing press had been invented and all copies of his books had to be had written copies from his own hand written copies. Today we still have four of his books; Liber abaci (1202), Practica geometriae (1220), Flos (1225), and Liber quadratorum.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to an article by Keith Devlin, Executive Director of the Center for the Study of Language and Information at Stanford University, Fibonacci’s first book Liber abaci is â€Å"the book that gave numbers to the western world†. Fibonacci was born in the Roman Empire and therefore was taught in his youth the Roman numeral system which is very limiting when one wants to calculate complex equations. As mentioned earlier Fibonacci traveled extensively in northern Africa with his father where he learned the base ten system from the Arabic people who in turn learned it from the people of India who developed it sometime in the first millennium. In his book Liber abaci or â€Å"The Book of calculation† he documented the system in detail that he learned from the Arab traders including its efficiency in performing arithmetic (Delvin 2002).

Conventionality vs Instinct in Daisy Miller and The Awakening Essay

Henry James's Daisy Miller and Kate Chopin's The Awakening were first published twenty-one years apart, the former in 1878 and the latter in 1899. Despite the gap of more than two decades, however, the two works evince a similarity of thought and intent that is immediately evident in their main themes. Both works display characters whose lives have been governed almost solely by the conventions of their respective societies. Furthermore, both works also attempt to demonstrate to the reader what happens when these conventions are challenged by individual instincts, which more often than not are in direct contradiction to the dictates of convention. The theme of conventionality versus instinct predominates both works. In Daisy Miller the theme is embodied in the character of Frederick Winterbourne, an ex-patriot American living in Europe. The Awakening's Edna Pontellier serves as the means through which Kate Chopin examines her version of this theme. Both Winterbourne and Edna are trapped in conventional worlds, and both are affected by a deep, instinctive need to break free of the bonds that restrain them so absolutely. The portrayal of this theme, however, is accomplished in different ways by Henry James and Kate Chopin. The main reason for this is that although the theme is common to both works, the protagonists' experience of it are not. Conventionality has entrapped them in different ways, and their instinctive reactions arise out of differing circumstances. Frederick Winterbourne, for example, comes to a realization of his internal struggle between conventionality and instinct not in and of himself, but because of Miss Daisy Miller. Winterbourne meets the young Miss Miller in Vevay, Switzerland, while v... ...life, a life where her instincts hold ultimate sway. Yet the theme in both works is similar in one way. For, while the weight of judgement does fall against the ex-patriots in Daisy Miller, we realize that they are not wholly in the wrong, for they do recognize Giovanelli for what he is. And although we praise Daisy for her refusal to submit to their conventions, we realize that she was not necessarily perfectly correct in ignoring all of the conventions. Similarly, we praise Edna for breaking free from the conventions that a patriarchal society forced upon her. In the end, however, she is forced to leave that world, since she cannot accept any of its conventions. The true theme in both Daisy Miller and The Awakening, then, is not that it is better to flout convention and live by instinct, but that life must necessarily be a synthesis of convention and instinct.

Subway Verses the Tube Train

Subway and The Tube Train George Tooker, an American artist painted â€Å"Subway† in 1950. Cyril E. Power, a British artist, created â€Å"The Tube Train† in 1934. With a quick glimpse of the eye, one may think these two pieces of artwork are similar. After all, a subway and a tube train are basically the same thing. To a trained eye, one can see the many differences in the two pieces. Tooker was associated with the Magic Realism movements, and is best known for his depictions of alienation in modern city life (Artnet).Tooker focused on urban loneliness and disillusionment. His subjects are often obscured by heavy clothing and appear sagging and shapeless, trapped within their own dull worlds (Leninimports). Tooker adopted a method of using egg yolk thickened slightly with water and then adding powered pigment, a medium that was quick drying, tedious to apply, and hard to change once applied, called egg tempers (Leninimports). â€Å"Subway† depicts office workers trapped in a maze of prision-like passageways (Artnet).The central figure in â€Å"Subway† is a middle aged woman with short, gray hair, cut and curled in the style of 1950s (Whitney). Her facial expression is fearful, appears anxious, and looks depressed. Tooker paints her in midstride as she walks toward an unseen destination. She is wearing a bright red dress. The surroundings are dark and dull and of neutral colors. The viewer’s eye is drawn to the woman because of the positioning of the other figures in the painting and because the walls and railings of the subway create a fanlike effect around her (Whitney).The other female figures in the painting are in the distance and hard to be seen by the eye. The men in the painting are threatening figures who lurk in the background, wearing long coats, all identical except for the color (Whitney). Some of the men are looking suspiciously around the walls of the booths at the woman. The woman wears red, white, and blue whi ch may symbolize the desperate desire of American women in the 1950s to become more modern and independent (Whitney). Power was elected Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 1925.That same year he helped set up Grosvenor School of Modern Art. It was here where he learned about lino cutting (Lenimports). Linocut is a printmaking technique where a design is cut into the linoleum surface with a sharp knife, with the raised areas representing a mirror image of the parts to show printed. The linoleum sheet is inked with a roller and then pressed onto paper or fabric. Power’s work was generally printed in color, with separate blocks for each color of ink (Nydam). â€Å"The Tube Train† is made of four colors, yellow, red, light blue, and dark blue.It is a representation of life in London as workers go home on the underground train. The seated rider’s heads are buried in newspapers. A few people are standing in the front of the train. Both men and women are seen in the print. The viewer is looking down the isle of the train, as if they are sitting in the back. This print is an example of a one point perspective. They print also uses a lot of repetition. The deiling design is repeated is all the ceiling tiles. All the seated riders are holding a newspaper. The men on the train are all wearing hats.One can now see how a quick look at a piece of artwork can be deceiving. Although the subject matter of art may be alike, the fine details, which give art its true meaning, can differ greatly from one piece to another. http://www. leninimports. com/cyril_e_power. html http://www. leninimports. com/george_tooker. html http://whitney. org/Education/Teens/RaidTheMuseum? GeorgeTookerByVita3052 http://www. artnet. com/artists/george-tooker/ http://nydamprintsblackandwhite. blogspot. com/2011/05/cyril-powers-tube-train. html http://query. nytimes. com/gst/fullpage. html

Disability Form

Good day! I am writing this letter to shed light on a recent incident that I have unfortunately been tied up in. as you may well know, I have been working for Borgota for five years. Over this time, I have been efficient and effective in the discharge of my functions and responsibilities. As fortune would have it, I have found myself in disability for the first time. As such, I was not fully aware nor was I apprised of the necessity of filing certain disability claims in order for me to receive my disability check.This led to the failure of the Department of Labor to process my disability checks for the past six weeks. I have never been one to shirk on my responsibilities and neither am I one to blame my misfortunes on other people. Yet, in this instance, I feel that my predicament warrants my action on this matter. Given my disabled status, I have had several difficulties adjusting to normal life and to normal routines.Understandably, it was difficult for me to adjust as I had to de al with this situation on my own. I am not asking for pity or sympathy but rather the understanding for somebody who is in my situation. Times are difficult and this disability of mine does not make things easier, as such, I am imploring your aid so that I can try to move on from this circumstance and soon pick myself up so that I can once again be a productive member of society.

Definitions Paper

Definitions Paper OI/361 Innovation, Design, and Creativity for a Competitive Advantage March 18, 2013 Innovation is important for progress. Without companies and people to drive new ideas in the workplace there would not be progress. The American Heritage Dictionary defines innovation states, â€Å"The acting of introducing something new† (American Heritage Dictionary 2008). Many forms of innovation exist, however, in business it is link to the sharing of information through desire and passion to deliver results.Furthermore, innovation does not have to be this spectacular new product. However, the innovation needs to benefit the public or business. This paper will show the definition of every term, discusses their business implications, and a comparison and contrast. Design is a tangible thing that is created from an activity. According to the University of Phoenix text, â€Å"Design is the conscious decision-making process by which information (an idea) is transformed into an outcome, be it tangible (product) or intangible (service)† (2008).Design is the link to the corporate industry because many people relate to industry. However, design is also a decision to change something. Creativity comes from the mind; the company or companies have a vision in which they want to show they have the best products on the market. What bothers these companies is they rely on raw data, evidence of success. Mohawk Carpets has brought many innovations to the flooring industry. The organization has a reputation for leading the industry in technology and quality within the flooring business.In 1997, Mohawk purchase a large ceramic tile company from Dallas Texas named Dal tile to compete in the entire flooring industry. Since the purchase Mohawk Carpets became the largest flooring manufacture in the United States through technology and innovation, design and creativity, such as self-design programs on line which allows homeowners to put in a DVD and use there creat iveness and build the rooms they want resurfaces. This innovation gave Mohawk Carpet customers the ability to make decisions from home and not feel pressured while at the floor shop.Furthermore, the customers would know exactly what they want when they purchase the flooring products. Or at least have the knowledge of what questions to ask. These three facets play critical roles in organizational objectives, in today’s trends regarding business implications; companies must have an idea and be able to implement it for the success of such company. These ideas are crucial to keep an aggressive margin or stay firm against the competing businesses.Most all companies will hire an employee with creative ideas that would give the business an advantage in the trade it is in. References Contrast Innovation, Design, and Creativity Paper. StudyMode. com. Retrieved March 18, 2013, from http://www. studymode. com/essays/Contrast-Innovation-Design-And-Creativty-Paper-486741. html Von Stamm, B. (2008). Managing innovation, design, and creativity 2nd ed. Retrieved March 18, 2013, from www. ecampus. phoenix. edu

Child Abuse in Vietnam

Banking Academy of Vietnam International Training Program (ITP) ——-o0o——- CHILD ABUSE IN VIETNAM Course Title:Academic writing Advisor: Student: Class: Hanoi, July 2012 1 ABTRACT In many countries, children are considered as the future of nation and should be provided with the best things, best condition for the development and nutrition. This is quite true and in fact, in developed countries such as the United States of America, France, Britain, Austria, etc. , children are always ranked as the highest priority more than other people.As â€Å"the future of country†, they must be protected far away from violence, infringement and exploitation. However, in contrast to developed countries, children in developing countries are not provided with good conditions and sometimes they are affected from something called abuse. Vietnam is also one of those countries suffering from this situation. So what is the real situation, causes and which solutions could best deal with that problem are what this paper will look into. Moreover, through it is expected that through the research the awareness of people regarding children could be much improved.Key words: child abuse, violence, infringement, exploitation, neglect, physical abuse, emotional abuse. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION 1. Research background: In Viet Nam, child abuse is a very hot topic and attracts a lot of attention from public. As a developing country, children in Vietnam are not provided with good condition and sometimes they are also considered as a kind of labor force. That could be happened everywhere from the city, mountainous areas, or countryside. 2. Research purpose: This research will identify the situation of child abuse in Vietnam and their causes, consequences as well as relevant solutions.Through it, reader may have better understanding of the situation and further contribute to the prevention of child abuse, at least in their family. 3. Definition of the key terms: In t his research, key terms are used and understood as follows: †¢Child abuse: child abuse or maltreatment constitutes all forms of physical and/or emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect or negligent treatment or commercial or other exploitation, resulting in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, survival, development or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or power. Child neglect: Neglect is the failure to provide for the development of the child in all spheres: health, education, emotional development, nutrition, shelter, and safe living conditions, in the context of resources reasonably available to the family or caretakers and causes or has a high probability of causing harm to the child’s health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.This includes the failure to properly supervise and protect children from harm as much as is feasible †¢Physical abuse: Physical abuse of a child is that which results in actual or potential physical harm from an interaction or lack of an interaction, which is reasonably within the control of a parent or person in a position of responsibility, power or trust. There may be a single or repeated incidents. Emotional abuse: Emotional abuse includes the failure to provide a developmentally appropriate, supportive environment, including the availability of a primary attachment figure, so that the child can develop a stable and full range of emotional and social competencies commensurate with her or his personal potentials and in the context of the society in which the child dwells. There may also be acts towards the child that cause or have a high probability of causing harm to the child’s health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.These acts must be reasonably within the control of the parent or person in a relationship of responsibility, trust or power. Acts include restriction of movement, patterns of belittling , denigrating, scapegoating, threatening, scaring, discriminating, ridiculing or other non-physical forms of hostile or rejecting treatment. †¢Sexual abuse: Child sexual abuse is the involvement of a child in sexual activity that he or she does not fully comprehend, is unable to give informed consent to, or for which the child is not developmentally prepared and cannot give consent, or that violate the laws or social taboos of society.Child sexual abuse is evidenced by this activity between a child and an adult or another child who by age or development is in a relationship of responsibility, trust or power, the activity being intended to gratify or satisfy the needs of the other person. This may include but is not limited to: ? The inducement or coercion of a child to engage in any unlawful sexual activity; ? The exploitative use of child in prostitution or other unlawful sexual practices; ? The exploitative use of children in pornographic performances and materials. Exploitat ion: Commercial or other exploitation of a child refers to use of the child in work or other activities for the benefit of others. This includes, but is not limited to, child labor and child prostitution. These activities are to the detriment of the child’s physical or mental health, education, or spiritual, moral or social-emotional development. (Source: World Heal Organization) 4. Significance of the research: As children will be the people who make up the future, when they are not provided with good conditions, that could lead to serious consequences to family and society.The situation will worse when they are abused, the research, therefore, is aiming at find out the root causes, identify the possible consequences and solution. It can help readers to better understand the problem and have right behaviors such as: helping other children, having better behaviors to children. The best results could be raising awareness of the whole society and decreasing the child abuse in V ietnam. 5. Methodology: In this research, the following methods are used: Data collection from books, magazines, internet to get statistics, data and general understanding of child abuse in Vietnam as well as to review other researches in this topic and identify which aspects are still missed. †¢Questionnaires have been distributed to 100 of people of over 20 years old to collect their opinion and understanding about child abuse as well as to find some suggested solutions. Procedures: At first, researcher finds books, magazines and all sources of information related to child abuse to get statistics, data about the problem.From this activity, researcher has identified what is child abuse, its consequences, and the existing situation. Further more, it can help researcher to determine which aspect is still missed and needed to be studied more. After that, questionnaires are developed and distribute to 100 people from the age of 20 to identify their understanding about child abuse and also to collect some suggestions for the solutions. The questionnaires provides the researcher with practical point of view to compare with those written in book or magazines. CHAPTER II. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 1. Situation of Child Abuse in VietnamFor children, family is the most solid and quiet shelter in their early years. To live with their parents and relatives and enjoy love as well as physical and mental care are the inalienable rights of every child. However, in fact, there are many children in Vietnam, who can't live like that. Even though Vietnam is one of the first members of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, the situation of children affected by violence still occurs at serious level. It has actually become an anxiety for both society and family and does occur with not only girls but also boys.For our country, the situation of violence against children or child abuse in recent years tends to increase in both number and extent. Here are some st atistics on the media: From 2008-2009, there were 5956 cases of child abuse (an average of 3,000 cases a year), over 100 child murders and 50 kidnappings, child trafficking were detected and processed. Many children suffered from violence from their parents, family members, teachers, employers and the persons responsible for foster care. (em tim them mot so dan chung, so lieu ve lam dung tre em o Vietnam nhe) 2. Causes:Through collection of information and conduct of questionnaires, the following causes of the child abuse in Vietnam has been identified: Poverty Insufficient legal system Inappropriate teaching method Family break (em tim them mot so nguyen nhan nua nhe) Two main reasons are the same thing repeated: -First, The law is not sufficient deterrent. -Second, despite the law, but we do not comply in. Article 110 of the Penal Code on charges of torturing other people who have defined cruelty with an audience of dependent children shall be subject to warning, non-custodial ref orm for one year to three years.This is the sentence too light. While child abuse cases are often repeated in a long time that children not only affected physically but also mentally affected very badly, sometimes those that haunt the children for life. – At school, the punishment by using whips from customs, cultural traditions from the previous generation to the â€Å"Trade for the whip, to jump. † Under the old way of thinking of Vietnam, the teacher is very powerful, the idea that parents â€Å"should be the new hit†. So, should the majority support him, his teacher spanking children as a punishment to help them know the next time the error does not recur again.In addition to the teacher, the teacher with the indifference of pedagogy, the lack of knowledge of social, legal, psychological †¦ These factors led to the application of whips or insulting words to physical and spiritual children. – At home, along with the traditional view â€Å"Trade f or whip, to jump†, the parents reported that the use of whips children is their right, largely due to the education of children, with family present from 1 to 2 children, the parents are expecting children, investing heavily in education leading to heavy pressure with the children, using whips to force the children to achieve results as your parents want.Besides, there are many different reasons for parents to use whips for children, husband and wife hit me angry, angry with her husband also hit me, hit me daughter in response to her husband, son in law does not by his mother and wife also brought me out to battle †¦ in addition, a form of violence in the family, it is the excessive demand for their age and development of children and with words or actions that cause children to be mental damage, outraged, abandoned, rejected love . There are also many cases of children being beaten by parents' own childhood by their parents also lead to violence so traumatic and they als o teach children to use violence. The boys live in family violence, father or mother type . Long days also affected the character of father . (nhung ly do em neu o day chua thuyet phuc, em tim lai nhe) 2. Consequences: (tim lai cac hau qua, anh huong cua child abuse, phai ro rang theo tung muc vi du nhu: anh huong len gia dinh, anh huong len xa hoi, anh huong len giao duc, anh huong den tinh mang cua tre em, vv.. Violence against children is traumatic for children in psychiatric severity. The psychological research on children indicates that children are not cared for and caring will be taught psychological deviations unruly freedom, prefer to use violence. – The boys live in family violence, father or mother type †¦ Long days also affected the character of father. Many children are growing up and harsh, rude, even cruel to women like father or the child is more violence against women published. aking crime when enticeme. For girls, the most often aloof, afraid of men, a fraid of marriage, illness self-esteem, depression, panic neurological †¦ that is, the girls would be difficult to integrate with the community than the boys. – Both boys and girls often witnessed violence in the family, make sure the child is likely to have violence, poor education, may be arising negative intentions, and psychological operations are passive, there be prone to headaches, stomach pain and neuralgia style schizophrenia. Vulnerable age group is 5-10 years old †¦Domestic violence causes mental trauma in children, injuries that can last a lifetime, causing deep wounds in the minds of children â€Å". 3. Solutions The cases sexually abused children, domestic violence recently has once again sounding bells, there should be drastic measures to protect children. Along with that, in the current situation, policy system, legal protection, child care need to be completed quickly. Crimes against the immediate future, especially violence against children is to be heard with strict penalty, more closely.Need to build inter-sectoral coordination mechanisms at both central and unified basis in the detection, treatment, intervention, help abused children, domestic violence. Propaganda and dissemination of policies and laws of the State and measures to prevent and combat violence against children should be taken regularly to the executive committee, government, communities, schools, families and children. To ensure that in future, prevent and gradually reverse the violence, child abuse should focus on the weaknesses in the coordination of activities between ministries, sectors, localities and communities society.They also need to be urgently overcome the weaknesses in the overall investment structure and the overall budget for child protection; research established the National Commission on children to contribute to prevention of violence against children in the future. The authorities and relevant agencies should also consider the problem as a factor in the development of local society. Moreover, we should focus on building child protection system in which to strengthen and consolidate the team of civil servants, social workers engaged in the protection, care and forming services social protection young to be systematic and professional.System policies and laws on the protection and care for children should be completed quickly, clearly defining the responsibilities of all levels and branches in this area, can even study the construction of the law. For localities should do better propagation and dissemination of knowledge and education on violence against children and raise awareness of parenting for parents. Parents also must quickly try to correct the pragmatism that is affecting families, such as overly pampered children or children at the mercy †¦ And each family member should review yourself, do not blame each other.Need to devote more time to stay inside their loved ones, to understand and share with each o ther, especially when conflicts occur. Despite many difficulties and challenges, but in the next period by the resolution of legal, judicial, administrative and other measures of education, social conformity to stop and eventually reverse the violence power, abuse of children. In summary, to prevent violence against children requires the close coordination, synchronization between the three family environment, school and society. CHAPTER IV. CONCLUSION ReferencesAppendix Questionnaires used for the research: That survey researches about child abuse in Vietnam. This survey questionnaire aims to find out your knowledge child abuse. Therefore, your help is not only useful for me to complete my research, but also useful for futher this problem. Please complete all the following questions. Thanks you for your help! I. Personal Information (Please circle your choice) NAME: †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. DOB:†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 1. Gender? Male Female 2. What is your age-group? 18-23 24-54 over 54 II.Multiple choice: Choose and circle the best answer 1. What do you think about reality child abuse in Vietnam? Very serious Normal Other answer 2. Who did talk to you about the event about child abuse in Vietnam? The mass media People around me Don’t pay attention 3. If you are in one of the child abuse. At this time happen, did you feel? Always calm (Luon binh tinh ) feeling scared It never happened to me 4. If you suspect or know of a child being abused. What would you do? Nothing Intervene and dissuade (Can thi? p va ngan c? n) Report to political power (Bao cao v? quy? n l? c chinh tr? ) 5. Child abuse- who is having responsibility about child abuse? Family and Social Themselves Both A and B III. Short answered questions: Give short answer of these below questions 1. In your opinion, what is cause of child abuse? 2. What should you do if you are young and you think you are being abuse d by your parent? 3. What do you say to a teen who is telling you that they are being abused? 4. Many parents think that spare the rod, spoil the child. What do you think about that opinion? Do you agree or disagree? Why?