Innocence Within To Kill a Mockingbird Essay

There are many times where childhood and adolescence, whether they be in metaphors or depicted by actual characters, are used in literature in order to convey different times in the work. Sometimes they can be used to convey tribulation or they can be used to convey times of prosperity. With Haper Lee’s story, To Kill A Mockingbird, she uses adolescence to be able to challenge the perspective of a Southern town still stuck in their older ways. She does this many times throughout the book, however in this essay; we will only discuss three instances that shape the story as a whole. The first instance that we will refer to is when in chapter 10, Scout and Jem get their rifles for Christmas. Once they receive their rifles, Atticus says,† ‘I’d rather you shot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird. ’† Scout is confused by the saying and so a few sentences later, she asks Miss Maudie, their help, about why it was a sin to kill a mocking bird. Miss Maudie replies with a â€Å"’Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird. ’† At first one might read this and think that on face value, they are simply talking about birds; however, if you look closer at the text, the mocking bird can be a depiction of children or a child’s innocence. By saying that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird, because of the very heavy presence that childhood and adolescence takes within the book, one could take the saying as â€Å"it’s a sin to kill or smash innocence† and a mockingbird is a depiction of innocence in the book. It is a sin or rather a sad thing to take away a child’s innocence because it does no harm to anyone. In another chapter, it explains how Scout thinks of herself as an important figure in her household because she figures that without her, Atticus and Miss Maudie would have no clue what to do, while later on is explained in the same chapter that Dill has become aware of his insignificance of his household and is not better off for having that bit of innocence changed. This is one way the book is shaped is that it shows that innocence is a key element in the work and that Atticus throughout the book does not wish to taint the innocence of the children before it is time for them to grow up. Another instance in the book where innocence plays an important role in shaping the work, is in chapter 15 when Atticus is sitting at the jail where Tom Robinson is being held captive for his own protection while awaiting the trial. In the scene, Atticus has a lamp and a chair sitting beside the cell outside and is there to guard Tom Robinson before the trial. As the evening progresses, a crowd shows up with the intention to harm Tom Robinson and to harm Atticus if he does not step aside. During this scene, Scout happens to have been spying on her father and she rushes up to where her father is at, and ends up talking the crowd down with her innocence. In this scene, it is because of her innocence and the way that she speaks with Mr. Cunningham that remind the man that Atticus is a man with a family and that he is a neighbor and not some form of enemy. In this way, the innocence on Scout’s part shapes the work because it shows that no matter how callous someone might be, that innocence can penetrate through the hardened heart. It also shows that the townspeople do realize that Atticus is their friend and not someone who is out to get their women and children. And then the third way that innocence shapes the book is in chapter 19 when Dill cries after seeing the way that the prosecutor addresses Tom Robinson just because of his color. He sees that there is no reason to talk to a person despite race. This shapes the work because it shows that naturally even children can see injustice and it shows that we as adults sometimes lose sight of what’s right and wrong because our views can be tainted and skewed by callousness on our part. There is another instance in the book where Scout’s classmates speak poorly of Atticus for defending a man of color. During this time, Atticus shows Scout that regardless of color, that it was Atticus’ duty to defend anyone if they are innocent and that it should be Scout’s duty as well. This also shapes the work because it shows that no matter what, we should lose sight of what the morally right view is. Throughout the book, innocence is used in numerous occasions and pertaining to different instances in the book. Some of the most important instances where innocence is used is during Tom Robinson’s trial and where the children, Scout, Jem, and Dill can see that the way that the town is treating Tom Robinson is incorrect. At the time Haper Lee wrote To Kill a Mockingbird, it would have been a touchy subject to speak out on because of the Civil Rights Movement, and so the author uses the natural innocence of children to show us just how wrong the case and the treatment of Tom Robinson was throughout his trial and up until his death.

Comparative Research on Cross-Cultural Families Essay

1. Reference or bibliographic entry of your selected article in APA style (see example in the first assignment guidelines): Toro-Morn, M., & Sprecher, S. (2003). A cross-cultural comparison of mate preferences among university students; the united states vs. the people’s republic of china (PRC). Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 34(2), 151-170. 2. What are the aims and/or research questions of the study? The research of the cross-cultural study aims their question at comparing mate preferences of young adults in the People’s Republic of China and those young adults of the United States. This study correlates to the research done in 1998 by Goodwin, which examine the political and economic structure in a particular culture and the effect it had on relationships, in particular mate preferences. 3. What concepts or ideas did the authors want to study? How were they defined in the study? Read through the literature background or the introduction part. The article states the researchers have three concepts they wish to obtain from the study. One, within each culture analyzes gender variation in mate preferences. Second, differentiate the two cultures in which they are satisfied with gender differences in mate preferences. Third, differentiate the two cultures of the significance of diverse partner characteristics. The concepts were outlined and explain through a questionnaire to 648 university students in the United States and 735 university students in the People’s Republic of China. The United States questionnaire contained 422 females, 219 males, and 7 did not specify their gender. The People’s Republic of China questionnaire contained 343 females, 352 males, and 40 did not specify their gender. The questionnaire contained a section called â€Å"Traits Desired in a Mate.† Through the results, researchers could determine which traits were least and most important. Also the differences and similarities within each culture, including the mate preferences of women versus males within each culture. 4. Describe the participants of the study. Since you are supposed to choose an article of a cross-cultural study on families, the participants for this study should have different cultural backgrounds. What are these cultural backgrounds? What are the demographics of the participants? This study contained two different participants, our very own young adults from the United States and young adults from the People’s Republic of China. In the late 1970s, The People’s Republic of China began having social and economic reforms. Not only did they began having reforms, but these reforms stimulated the growth of social science research. Which as a result, allowed researchers to research the mate preferences of young adults in the People’s Republic of China. The People’s Republic of China is recognize as the largest country in the world. Thus, having an immense population. These people live in a country were social and historical forces play an important role in their expectations of their potential partner. In addition they live in a country were government enforces family polices. This study contain people who were currently in a university; thus their age would range from eighteen to twenty three. 5. What is the authors’ methodology? How did the authors collect their data? What are the measurements or research tools that they used? The author’s methodology is based on a method, a procedure, measurements of the procedure, and results. The author collected their data by a questionnaire given to university students in the United States and the People’s Republic of China. The measurements the researchers used were in a section on the questionnaire called â€Å"Traits Desired in a Mate† which determine what characteristics they found important in a potential mate. 6. What kind of analytical procedures did the authors use? Describe each as to how they can answer the research questions or achieve the aims of the study. The author uses three types of analytical procedures. They first gather their research by determining which of the twenty-five traits were most and least favored overall. They put this data into a table, which  portrays the importance rating for the total sample. Secondly, they compared the similarities and differences within each culture. As a result, they are able compare each culture traits that hold high or low importance and see if any of them are the same. Third, they compare the mate preferences for women and men in each culture. 7. What are their general findings and conclusions? The study concluded that participants would rather have a mate who is honest, kind, healthy, and have an energetic personality. Researchers found that participants felt that intrinsic personality traits were more important then status characteristics. Males were more entranced with attractiveness as a role in finding their mate. Well women in both culture were looking for men with earning potential and wealth. The major difference between the United States and Chinese cultures was the importance of having children to both parties. As you could imagine, it was important to the American culture and was fairly unimportant to the Chinese counterparts. 8. After the findings and conclusions, what recommendations were made by the researchers? I don’t know if there were recommendations made as much as thoughts for the future. The researchers though that the past has shaped both countries enough that what they look for in a potential mate will stay true. These differences between the two countries should still hold true, disregarding the fact that the Untied States culture is widely accepted in China. If anything they came to the conclusion that China’s one-child policy has a major effect on how the Chinese look for a mate. 9. What learning did you gain from this assignment or from reading this kind of a paper? I definitely enjoyed reading this particular article because it compared the United States culture (which is the country I lived in) to another culture, the People’s Republic of China. Through the researchers questionnaire, I was able to see the comparisons between the two cultures in their mate  preferences. I felt it was interesting to see how important social and economic factors are in other cultures.

Banking Industry in Nigeria

Against the backdrop of the role of banks as financial intermediaries and their function as the engine of growth of the economy, this paper examines the extent to which the banking industry has helped to stimulate economic activities in Nigeria and what the prognosis looks like in the post-consolidation era.The paper notes that the banking industry in Nigeria witnessed a remarkable growth in terms of deposit base, number of branches, total asset and volume of loans and advances, especially since the de-regulation of the financial services sector in the last quarter of 1986. However, given the potentials of the market, banks need to do more, particularly in financing the real sector of the economy.It is argued that the consolidation programme is expected to have a positive effect on employment in the long-run, and that has drastically altered and redefined the nature of competition in the banking industry. Furthermore, it argues that mere size would no longer be a critical factor in t he customers’ choice of which bank to patronize. Rather, emphasis would shift to the ability to deliver superior value to customers. THE BANKING INDUSTRY AND THE NIGERIAN ECONOMY POST-CONSOLIDATION By DR. B.B. EBONG GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR/CHIEF EXECUTIVE UNION BANK OF NIGERIA PLC 1. 0 INTRODUCTION Banks facilitate economic growth in a variety of ways. In the first instance, they act as financial intermediaries between the surplus generating units and the deficit spending ones. This is a two-fold function involving the mobilisation of savings from the former group which are then channelled to the latter to support productive economic activities. This intermediary role is important in two respects.First, by pooling together savings that would have otherwise been fragmented, banks are able to achieve economies of scale with potential benefits for the users of such funds. Secondly, in the absence of banks, each person or business seeking credit facility would have had to individ ually look for those with such funds and negotiate with them directly. This is a cumbersome and timeconsuming process of double coincidence of wants. By matching the preferences of savers with those of borrowers therefore, banks help in overcoming such difficulties.It is pertinent to note that it is from this intermediation function that banks normally not only earn the bulk of their income by way of interest margin but also pay out returns to savers, compensating them for the opportunity cost of their money. It is important to bear this point in mind because, as we shall see later, if any bank is unable to recover the funds it lends out, its own existence as a going concern would be undermined rapidly and ultimately. This is to the extent that its ability to meet the withdrawal needs of depositors would be impaired.It is for this reason that the officials of any bank cannot afford to toy with the management of its risk assets. Towards ensuring that the funds they lend out are recov ered, banks have found it expedient to provide business advisory services to their customers. The essence of availing their clients these services is to assure themselves that the beneficiaries adopt modern management policies and practices in running the affairs of their respective companies which benefit from borrowed funds. The ultimate goal is to guarantee that these customers are in a position o service their loan obligations as and when due. This, in turn, would enable banks meet their obligations to depositors while also earning a narrow margin to ensure business continuity and corporate growth. Banks also play a pivotal role in an economy by providing a mechanism for producers/buyers and consumers/sellers to settle transactions between themselves. They do this not only within a country but also across national boundaries through a highly efficient and technologically enabled payments systems.In the process, banks encourage specialisation and division of labour, a major advan tage of which is the enhanced production and economic growth of the country. Furthermore, banks act as a conduit for the transmission of monetary policy. They provide a veritable platform when it comes to the implementation of monetary, credit, foreign exchange, and other financial sector policies of the government. Among other things, monetary policy is designed to influence the cost and availability of loanable funds with a view to promoting non-inflationary growth.The instruments available to the Central Bank to achieve this include open market operations (OMO), the cash reserve ratio (CRR), liquidity ratio (LR) and of course, moral suasion. The capacity of the banking industry to perform these functions effectively is, to a large extent, determined by the financial health of the individual institutions themselves and soundness and viability of the industry as a whole. For instance, where the majority of banks are adjudged to be weak and unhealthy, that will impair the ability of the industry to lubricate economic growth and vice versa.Against this background, the objective of this presentation is to examine the extent to which the banking industry has helped to stimulate economic activities in Nigeria and what the prognosis looks like in the post-consolidation era, come January 2006. To achieve its objective, this paper is organised into five parts. Following this introduction, we review the performance of the Nigerian banking industry between 2000 and 2004 in section II. The challenges facing the banking industry, which the current reform programme was designed to address, are highlighted in section III.In section IV, we present the prognosis and outlook during the post-consolidation era while section V contains the concluding remarks. 2. 0 THE PERFORMANCE OF THE NIGERIAN BANKING INDUSTRY IN 1990 – 2004 PERIOD. The banking industry in Nigeria has witnessed a remarkable growth, especially since the de-regulation of the financial services sector in t he last quarter of 1986. In terms of headcount for instance, the number of banks increased by about 154. 8% from 42 in 1986 to 107 in 1990. It further increased by about 12% to120 in 1992.By 2004, however, the number had reduced to 89. This was because, some banks had to be liquidated on account of their dwindling fortunes. The number of bank branches also rose from 1,394 in 1986 to 2,013 in 1990, 2,391 in1992 and by 2004 in spite of the reduction in number of banks, it had reached 3,100. This translates to an inter-temporal increases of 44%, 18. 8% and 29. 7%, respectively. Given this scenario, the pertinent question agitating the critical mind is the extent to which the expansion in the number of banks and their branch network had impacted on the economy.Another way to evaluate the performance of banks is to carefully examine the credits they granted, both in terms of volume, distribution by sectors, and the maturity profile. The data on banks’ credit to the economy are sho wn in table 2 below. Table 2: Banks’ Credits to the Economy, 1990 – 2004 Year Aggregate banks’ credit (Net) (N billion) 42. 58 49. 41 59. 25 125. 75 162. 83 194. 05 266. 44 Growth rate (%) Net Domestic Credit Target (%) 13. 5 10. 6 13. 2 17. 5 9. 4 11. 3 12. 0 Actual (%) 17. 1 45. 3 69. 1 91. 4 29. 2 7. -23. 4 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 16 19. 9 112. 2 29. 5 19. 2 37. 3 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 302. 31 378. 08 608. 44 807. 01 1,033. 64 1,302. 2 1,591. 2 2,078. 1 13. 5 25. 1 60. 1 32. 6 28. 1 26. 0 22. 2 30. 6 24. 8 24. 5 18. 3 27. 8 15. 8 57. 9 25. 7 24. 5 -2. 8 46. 8 30. 0 -25. 3 79. 9 64. 6 29. 1 12. 0 Source: Central Bank of Nigeria, Annual Report and Statement of Accounts, (various years) As the figures show, the rate of growth of aggregate bank credit (net) to the domestic economy ranged from 13. % in 1997 to 112. 2% in 1993. However, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria, in its 2004 Annual Report and Statement of Accounts, an ana lysis of the sectoral allocation of these credits revealed that the less productive sectors of the economy continued to be favoured. For instance, in 2003, those sectors comprising agriculture, solid minerals and manufacturing got only 40. 2% of the credits. The situation worsened in 2004 as this figure further declined to 37. 0%.The corollary of this is that, on average, it was more attractive for banks to lend to such sectors as distributive trade, especially import financing, because the risks associated with such lending were relatively lower. The turn around time was equally shorter. Furthermore, as shown in the last column of table 2, actual domestic credit (net) consistently deviated from target for most of the years for which data was shown. If we take the targets to be representative of societal preference, what this means is that the flow of credit for each of those years was far from what was socially desirable.The quality of these risk assets has worsened progressively s ince 2002 as the statistics in table 3 demonstrate graphically. Table 3: Asset Quality of Nigerian Banks, 1990 – 2004 Year Ratio of non-Performing Credit to total Credit (%) Ratio of non-Performing Credit to Shareholders’ Funds (%) 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 44. 10 39. 00 45. 00 41. 00 43. 00 32. 90 33. 90 25. 81 19. 35 21. 5 16. 9 21. 3 21. 6 23. 08 344. 00 222. 00 299. 00 380. 86 567. 70 496. 00 419. 80 253. 09 89. 20 92. 2 77. 1 85. 9 89. 105. 3 Source: Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, Annual Report & Statement of Accounts, Various Issues The data in table 3 reveal that the ratio of non-performing credit to total credit declined from 45% in 1992 to 23. 08% in 2004. This means that of every N100. 00 lent out during these years, banks lost an average of N30. 60. These losses contributed in no small way to the erosion of shareholders’ funds as shown in the table. These bad accounts represented 567. 7%, 419. 8 % and 105. 3% of shareholders’ funds in 1994, 1996 and 2004, respectively.In deed, in the years 1990 to 1997, the shareholders’ funds had been impaired by non-performing risk assets in several multiples. The factors responsible for the poor quality of risk assets range from inadequate appraisal of credit proposals, unfavourable environmental factors that adversely affected the cash flow of the clients’ businesses to sheer unwillingness to repay credit facilities on the part of borrowers and the corresponding ineffectiveness of the rule of law to catch up with pathological loan defaulted some of whom moved round and ravaged one bank after the other.The deterioration in the quality of banks’ risk assets took its toll on the health of the industry as the outcome of the rating of all licensed banks by the Central Bank of Nigeria using the CAMEL parameters has shown. The result of that exercise, which is reproduced in table 4 below, has shown glaringly that th e performance of banks in the country has deteriorated since 2001. Table 4: Rating of Banks Using the CAMEL Parameters, 2001 – 2004 2001 No. of % of Banks Total Sound 10 11. 1 Satisfactory 63 70. Marginal 8 8. 9 Unsound 9 10. 0 Total 90 100. 0 Category 2002 No. of Banks 13 54 13 10 90 2003 No. of Banks 11 53 14 9 87 2004 No. of % of Banks Total 10 11. 5 51 58. 6 16 18. 4 10 11. 5 87 100. 0 % of Total 14. 4 60. 1 14. 4 11. 1 100. 0 % of Total 12. 6 60. 9 16. 1 10. 4 100. 0 Source: Central Bank of Nigeria, Annual Report and Statement of Accounts, 2004 From the table above, it can be seen that the banks adjudged to be sound was consistently less than 15% of the total number for the four-year period.In addition, those whose performance was considered satisfactory represented as high as 70% of the total in 2001. By 2004, however, this group represented only 58. 6% of the total number of banks covered by the exercise. Apart from poor quality assets, other factors responsible for th is state of affairs include under-capitalisation, weak corporate governance practices, and the challenges of ethics and professionalism. It is these factors that the on-going reform agenda seeks to address with a view to totally overhauling the system.These issues are examined in more details in the next section. 3. 0 CHALLENGES FACING THE BANKING INDUSTRY IN NIGERIA The current banking sector reform in Nigeria was designed to promote the viability, soundness and stability of the system to enable it adequately meet the aspirations of the economy in terms of accelerated economic growth and development. The reform agenda was motivated by the need to proactively put the Nigerian banking industry on the path of global competitiveness to enable it effectively respond to the challenges of globalisation.The overall objective is to guarantee that the economy and Nigerians do not remain fringe players in the context of a globalizing world. The major challenges that the reform was targeted at include inter alia, the following: Weak capital base. Most banks in Nigeria had a capital base that was less than US$10 million while the largest bank in the country had a capital base of about US$240 million. This compared unfavourably with the situation in Malaysia where the smallest bank had a capital base of US$526 million.The small size of most local banks, coupled with their high overheads and operating expenses, has negative implications for the cost of intermediation. It also meant that they could not effectively participate in big-ticket deals, especially within framework of the single obligor limit. The challenge of ethics and professionalism. In a bid to survive the stiff competition in the market, a number of operators had resorted to unethical and unprofessional practices. Strictly speaking, some even went into some businesses that could not be classified as banking.In appreciation of the enormity of the problems caused by the failure to adhere to professional and ethi cal standards, the Bankers’ Committee set up a sub-committee on â€Å"ethics and professionalism† to handle complaints and disputes arising from unwholesome and sharp practices. Poor corporate governance practices. There were several instances where Board members and management staff failed to uphold and promote the basic pillars of sound corporate governance because they were preoccupied with the attainment of narrowly defined interests. The symptoms of this included high turn over in the Board and management staff, inaccurate reporting and on-compliance with regulatory requirements. Gross insider abuses. One area where this was pronounced was the credit function. As a result, there were several cases of huge non-performing insider-related credits. Insolvency. The magnitude of non-performing risk assets was such that it had eroded the shareholders’ funds of a number of banks. For instance, according to the 2004 NDIC Annual Report, the ratio of non-performing cr edit to shareholders’ funds deteriorated from 90% in 2003 to 105% in 2004. This meant that the shareholders’ funds had been completely wiped out industry-wide by the non-performing credit portfolio.Over-reliance on public sector deposits. These deposits accounted for over 20% of total deposits in the system. In some institutions, such public sector funds represented more than 50% of total deposits. This was not a healthy situation from the viewpoint of effective planning and plan implementation, given the volatile nature of these deposits. On account of the huge reliance on public sector funds, a number of players did not pay adequate attention to small savers who normally constitute a major source of stable funds which should be channelled to finance the real sectors.Instead, they concentrated on a few high networth individuals, government parastatals and blue chip companies. It was in response to this situation coupled with the need to accord the small and medium ent erprises sub-sector the priority it deserves that the Bankers’ Committee came up with the Small and Medium Enterprises Equity Investment Scheme (SMEEIS) with a view to redirecting credit flows to the sub-sector Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, the foregoing captures the situation in the banking industry at the time the reform agenda for the sector was conceptualised and introduced.One has taken time to highlight the challenges that the industry was grappling with to enable us better appreciate the rationale for the reform in terms of what it is intended to achieve. Even though the consolidation programme has thirteen basic elements, it is those relating to the minimum capital base for banks and mergers and acquisitions that have received the most attention in the ensuing public discourse on the subject. In the light of this, it might be useful to enumerate these elements, more so that they are at the centre of this discussion.These planks of the reform programme are: Incre ase in the minimum capital base of banks from N2 billion to N25 billion with December 31, 2005 as deadline for compliance; Consolidation of banks through mergers and acquisitions; Phased withdrawal of public sector funds from banks, beginning from July, 2004; Adoption of a risk-focused and rule-based regulatory framework for the industry; Adoption of zero tolerance in the regulatory framework particularly in the area of information rendition/reporting. All returns by any bank must now be signed by the Managing Director;The automation of the process for rendition of returns by banks and other financial institutions through the electronic Financial Analysis and Surveillance System (e-FASS); Establishment of a hotline and confidential internet address to enable Nigerians wishing to share confidential information with the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria to do so; Strict enforcement of the contingency planning framework for systemic banking distress; The establishment of an Asset s Management Company as an important element of distress resolution;Promotion of the enforcement of dormant laws, especially those relating to the issuance of dud cheques and the law relating to the vicarious liabilities of the Board members of banks in cases of bank failure; Revision and updating of relevant laws, and drafting of new ones relating to the effective operations of the banking system; Closer collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in the establishment of the Financial Intelligence Unit and the enforcement of the antimoney laundering and other economic crimes measures; andRehabilitation and effective management of the Mint to meet the security printing needs of Nigeria, including the banking system which constitutes over 90% of the Mint’s business. The likely impact of these measures on the banking industry and the economy are examined in the next section. 4. 0 ANTICIPATED IMPACT OF THE CONSOLIDATION PROGRAMME ON THE BANKING INDUSTRY AND T HE NIGERIAN ECONOMY In this section, we will attempt to paint a scenario regarding the probable impact of the consolidation programme on the banking industry and, hence, the economy.In doing so, it is important to reiterate that even though the reform agenda is targeted at the banking industry, its ultimate focus is the Nigerian economy. In view of this, and in order to put the discussion in proper perspective, we would like to begin this section with a brief review of the performance of the economy between 2000 and 2004 which data are presented in table 5 hereunder: Table 5: Nigeria, Selected Macroeconomic Indicators, 2000 – 2004 Indicator Real GDP Growth Rate (%) Oil Sector Non-Oil Sector Manufacturing Capacity Utilisation (%) Gross National Savings (% of GDP) Gross Fixed CapitalFormation (% of GDP) Inflation Rate (%) External Reserves (US $ million) 2000 5. 4 2001 4. 6 2002 3. 5 2003 10. 2 2004 6. 1 11. 3 2. 9 5. 2 4. 3 -5. 7 7. 9 23. 9 4. 5 3. 3 7. 5 36. 1 39. 6 44. 3 45. 6 45. 0 NA 11. 3 15. 6 13. 6 15. 3 7. 3 7. 2 9. 1 12. 0 16. 2 6. 9 9,910. 4 18. 9 10,415. 6 12. 9 7,681. 1 14. 0 7,467. 8 15. 0 16,955. 0 Source: Central Bank of Nigeria, Annual Report and Statement of Accounts, 2004 The data in table 5 reveal that, in real terms, the rate of growth of domestic output ranged from 3. 5% to 10. 2% between year 2000 and 2004. The average annual growth rate for the period was 5. 6%, which falls far short of the 10% minimum that is required for the country to meet the targets set in the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). Furthermore, the service sector and wholesale & retail trade still account for a disproportionate share of total output, considering our stage of economic development. On the other hand, the real productive sectors like agriculture and manufacturing are yet to assume their pride of place in the economy. As can be seen from the statistics, capacity utilisation in the manufacturing sector was consistently below 50% throughout the five ye ars.Among other things, this is a reflection of the undue competition that local manufacturers have had to face from their relatively more mature and efficient overseas counterparts. These are not healthy developments from the viewpoint of a developing country that is desirous of achieving sustained economic growth. Given the low level of domestic output, coupled with the rising demand, it is not surprising that the authorities were not able to keep the inflation rate below double digit as intended.It is this parlous state of the economy that the banking sector reform was designed to address at the end of the day. The expectation is that the reform programme will impact positively on the banking industry and thus put the economy on the path of sustainable growth. While most analysts have expressed serious concerns regarding the adverse impact of the consolidation programme on the level of employment, the authorities at the Central Bank of Nigeria have allayed such fears.While acknow ledging that employment opportunities in the industry would shrink, at least in the short run, the management of the Bank is optimistic that the long-term positive effects of the reform programme on the labour market will be more far- reaching. The thrust of the argument is that at the end of the day, the consolidation programme will lead to a stronger and more robust banking industry that will adequately support the expansion of economic activities, especially in the real sectors of the economy. In this process of rejuvenating the economy, more job opportunities will be created.The consolidation programme will drastically alter and redefine the nature of competition in the banking industry. By significantly increasing the minimum capital base for banks, the policy has not only raised the barriers for new entrants, it has also reduced the number of banks in the system through the mergers and acquisitions. It will be recalled that hitherto, competition in the industry was essentially between those players that one may safely refer to as the â€Å"industry giants† on the one hand, and those popularly referred to as the new generation banks, on the other.Going forward, however, what we will witness is a battle for survival among the ensuing mega banks, all with extensive branch network. In the new dispensation, stability of individual institutions and, hence, safety of depositors’ funds is not likely to remain a major consideration in customers’ choice of which bank to patronise. Rather, emphasis will shift to the ability to deliver superior value to clients and stakeholders generally as well as the prices for bank products and services. As pointed out earlier, many banks in Nigeria had relied heavily on the public sector as a source of funds.Consequently, they did not aggressively explore available potentials in other market segments. This situation will, however, change with the withdrawal of public sector funds from the vaults of banks as part of the policy shift. We therefore expect that banks will focus more on those sectors that were hitherto underserved like the real, informal sectors, including the consumer market. They need to devise creative ways of effectively tapping into the opportunities in these market segments, both in terms of deposit mobilisation and the provision of credit facilities.Going forward therefore, banks are more likely to provide better support for sustained economic growth in Nigeria. The pressure to aggressively explore those market segments that were hitherto underserved will be reinforced by the desire on the part of the management of each bank to continue to generate attractive returns to shareholders. Currently, the average return on invested capital (ROIC) in the Nigerian banking industry is estimated at 38%. With the substantial increase in shareholders’ funds, however, each bank will need to generate a minimum of N9. billion in profit before tax in order to maintain the same rate of return. This is a daunting challenge that calls for creativity. To meet the challenge, banks will need to radically redefine their business models and strategies. The status of corporate governance in the banking industry is expected to improve remarkably following the change in ownership structure. This is because, even though poor governance practices cut across the industry, they were more pronounced in the privately owned institutions.Given the dilution of ownership in the new dispensation, the situation where individuals and their cronies had overbearing influence in the running and management of banks will become a thing of the past. Moreover, as public companies, each bank will now be subjected to a higher standard of governance in terms of information disclosure. 5. 0 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION In this paper, we have examined the probable impact of the on-going banking sector reform on the Nigerian economy.In the process, we drew attention to the challenges facing opera tors in the banking industry that need to be addressed for the industry to make desired contributions to the orderly growth of the economy. These challenges encompass those of unethical and unprofessional behaviour, poor corporate governance practices, weak capital base, and over-dependence on public sector deposits. From the analysis, it is clear that the consolidation programme will impact positively on the economy for a number of reasons.First, the development is expected to have long-term beneficial effects on the level of employment considering that it will facilitate enhanced production in diverse sectors of the economy. The reform programme will also redefine the nature of competition in the banking industry such that each institution will have no choice but to assign priority to its capacity to deliver superior value to its clients, since this is what will ultimately make the difference between losers and winners. By denying anks access to public sector deposits, the reform will make it imperative for them to shift focus to those market segments that were largely unbanked and untapped hitherto. Furthermore, it is envisaged that the consolidation programme will have salutary effects on corporate governance practices in the industry. In concluding this discussion, it is important to reiterate that the realisation of these outcomes would depend on the effective implementation of the programme. In particular, it would depend on how the banks that have embraced mergers and acquisition handle the post integration challenges that will face them.Where these issues are nor properly handled, the anticipated synergy may become elusive.BIBLIOGRAPHY Central Bank of Nigeria, Annual Report and Statement of Accounts, (various issues. ) Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, Annual Report and Accounts, (various issued) Statement of Mckinnon, R. I. (1973), Money and Capital in Economic Development Washington, D. C. : The Brookings Institution. Oboh, G. A. T. (2005), Sel ected Essays On Contemporary Issues In The Nigerian Banking System. Ibadan: University Press Plc.

Tromp Loeil &the Interior (Renaissance) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Tromp Loeil &the Interior (Renaissance) - Essay Example Their creation was art and architecture whose sole motive was to deceive the eye on the reality of a painting. This was to be known as Trompe l’oeil, which in French is literally â€Å"to deceive the eye† (Damisch, 1984)1. This trompe l’oeil paintings and architecture have existed since then and are a crucial part of modern art and architecture. Trompe l’oeil is a style of art that was developed and popularized in the Renaissance era (Kristeller, 1965)2. The main technique used by these ancient artists was using perspective manipulations to achieve paintings that were self-reflective. The second crucial technique was in using art to develop deception through double wonderment (Damisch, 1984)3. The principle of double wonderment focused on two perspectives. The first perspective was to make the viewers of these images whether the paintings were real. Second wonder aroused by the painting was the question of just how the artist achieved such an effect The us e of oils was another prominent technique used in the renaissance paintings. Oils enhanced representation of distance using a gradation of tones. Light colored oils were used in the foreground picture flame. One of the main techniques of trompe l’oeil was linear perspective. This was a means of representing far away objects to scale with the close objects. Shading was also an indispensable technique for trompe l’oeil. ... Artists in the Renaissance era used techniques in painting that created a perception of depth. To achieve depth they had to employ a three dimensional perspective. One of the main techniques used by these artists was to overlap objects. When an object is drawn in front of another and overlapping it, the first object appears to be in front. In the Renaissance paintings, overlapping was the strongest indication of distance, and as objects are overridden continually, the perceived distance increases. Another technique used in the trompe l’oeil interiors of the renaissance era was use of diminishing scale. Objects were drawn into scale of size using this technique. Where two objects of the known same size are drawn one bigger than the other one, the bigger image is perceived to be closer. This was used extensively in the renaissance era especially with the Trompe l’oeil interiors (Tzonis, 1986)5. The artists in the renaissance era also used technique of diagonal lines to ac hieve diminishing scale. Where lines are drawn to narrow as they go further away, they create an illusion of depth. This is perhaps the most used technique in the Trompe l’oeil paintings. Diagonal lines were painted as they moved towards each other creating a perception of depth and diminishing scale. Another technique was the use of colors. A common assumption in art and architecture is that people see bright colors as being close. Such colors such as red and yellow are deemed to be close. The most commonly application of this technique in the renaissance was in drawing and painting of landscapes. For landscapes, to achieve depth, blue is used to haze far away objects giving an illusion of

International Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

International - Research Paper Example Besides, it will help the company to build its name and have a good reputation in the eyes of the public. The staffing alternatives to be adopted by the company in a foreign country include the hiring of locals and expatriates both on permanent and contract basis. The employment of the locals is a necessary requirement for all multinationals operating in any country. Since one of our goals will be to create employment opportunities, we will have to engage the locals either as senior managers, junior managers or subordinate staff. On the other hand, expatriates are employees assigned to a foreign country to offer specialized services which may be lacking in the foreign country in which the company has established its subsidiary (Ulrich, 2011). In my opinion, high-quality mentoring system should be a necessity for international assignees. It helps in providing and equipping the expatriates with all the important information that they need to know about their new assignment. It is only through mentoring that assignees can know much about their roles, responsibilities and the challenges that they might experience in the new country in which they are attached. At the same time, mentoring can help in enlightening them on the socio-cultural and political conditions of the new country in which they are to serve (Inkson, K. et al., 2009). Such adequate preparation can help in preparing the assignees to succeed. An example of a high-quality mentoring program should be based on a solid research, be integrated and realistic. This is the only way through which it can cover all the necessary issues to be tackled. As a HRM, I would like to suggest the use of cash flow method to help in measuring my company’s ROI. It is a very simple activity that does not necessarily require a lot of training. If procedurally used as outlined, it can be useful in helping the company to quantify the value of return on its investments on services like advertising which of course, can

Soc.#5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Soc.#5 - Essay Example They wanted the world to be a safe place to live in and every peace-loving nation had a right to live their own life, determine their own institutions and be assured of justice. For the sake of world peace the United States developed a Fourteen Point Program. These included granting independence to all the important European states. The US determined that how the other nations treat Russia in the coming months would be an acid test of their good will. It would also demonstrate to what extent Russia was needed by these European nations and whether they needed Russia’s sympathy at all. The Fourteen Point Plan also demanded that the invaded portions in every nation should be restored by Russia and that the United States would be partners with all such governments that fought against the imperialists. This made the Soviets become distrustful towards the United States. Another reason why the soviets developed distrust in the United States was when they refused to help Russia’s reconstruction after the war under the Lend-Lease Act of 1941. By the end of summer of 1945, after the WWII had ended, the United States knew that the Soviet economy was in a state of near collapse. The Soviets had lost 20 million soldiers during the war and another 20-30 million during Stalin’s decade of purge trials. Any number of factories and railroad tracks had been destroyed. Stalin had been able to fulfill his promise of industrialization during the Five Year Plan to his people but all that been achieved were now in a devastated condition. Because of all the destruction that had taken place in Russia, United States knew they were in a stronger position and when the Soviets approached the United States for the much-needed economic aid for recovery, they were denied this privilege. The Soviets’ request for a six billion dollar loan had already been denied. Under the Lend-Lease Act of 1941, earlier the United States had shipped

Canon Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Canon Case Study - Essay Example siness the company is to pursue, with the nature of the activities it intends to be and the nature of the economic and non-economic contribution it intends to make to its shareholders and stakeholders†. In effect, it corporate strategy maps out a sense of direction for a company’s activities. Corporate strategy in effect maps out the businesses in which an organisation intends to compete in (Andrews, 1997, Lynch 2006). To formulate its corporate strategy, many researchers have call on organization to assess their strengths and weaknesses, as well as its environmental threats and opportunities, so as to give the organization an edge in chosen among alternative courses of action. (Hofer and Schendel, 1984) cited in Schneider, (1998). Thus, it is recommended that an organization performs a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis prior to formulating corporate strategy. Today’s numerous challenges have pushed companies not to compete as individual companies but to try and corporate with other businesses in their activities (Wu & Chien 2007:2). Canon an electronic company began in Japan with a typical and traditional Japanese business form having customer’s satisfaction and profit as its center of attention while specializing in the production of business machines, cameras, optical and other electronics. The company was founded by the first Chief executive officer Gerard in Japan and the father who later recruited a team of outstanding professionals to support its activities. In less than three decades of operation, the company assumed leadership role in the electronic market (Lynch 2006). Thanks to its innovative focus ideas, huge investment on research and development, good employee’s retention, and differential focus strategies, Canon innovative ideas and the company’s cost focus and differentiation strategy earned it that position. Canon case has been analyzed using some analytical models. From figure one above, Porter

International Business Plan for Medican (Canada) Essay

International Business Plan for Medican (Canada) - Essay Example Marketing plan includes the main aspect of market penetration such as: location, target audience, HR, product modification, advertising and promotion activities. The research suggests that the real value of strategic planning may be more in the future orientation of the planning process itself than in any resulting written strategic plan. The research also includes analysis of the financial data and recommendations for further market penetration of MediCan. Corporate Profile and Nature of the Business MediCan (fictitious company) is a manufacture and distributor of high-tech medical equipment. Medical equipment industry is one of the profitable industries today and, as predicted, in future. An industry with this kind of rapid change presents several challenges for medical equipment and, namely production costs, property owners, and monopolies. Customers and technology are the primary driving factors of this industry. Company profile The company was founded in 1913 in Calgary as a private owned business. In 1990, the company owners identified the need for simple, inexpensive and portable blood test equipment which could be marketed to the medical profession. A device was developed cheaply. Sales did not come easily at first, but the breakthrough came in March 1993 when the first electronic blood test was delivered to a hospital. With orders flowing in, the present company, MediCan concentrates on manufacturing and marketing the new electronic medical devices. More routine production had been relocated to a new factory near Calgary in response to local planning restrictions, and for many years it benefited from low wage rates and tax concessions. No tax was payable for the first five... From the report it is clear that MediCan is originated manufacture of the equipment and has all the rights of ownership. MediCan decides to penetrate into Asia market, and China was selected as the most promising country. The product for promotion is inexpensive and portable glucose test device for people with diabetics. This product combines the properties of high effective glucose test device with low cost production proposed by MediCan. As the essay states MediCan (fictitious company) is a manufacture and distributor of high-tech medical equipment. Medical equipment industry is one of the profitable industries today and, as predicted, in future. An industry with this kind of rapid change presents several challenges for medical equipment and, namely production costs, property owners, and monopolies. Customers and technology are the primary driving factors of this industry. The company sells high-tech medical equipment for hospitals and individual patients. The basic equipment is intended for laboratories, anesthesiology and dental equipment, monitors etc. During the late 1990s the company had expanded con ¬siderably and its blood test equipment is being used in 50 countries around the world in hospitals, general practices, company health-care services and specialist test ¬ing laboratories. It has five factories located around the country. A program to develop new technology was undertaken at 1990s. MediCan had ow n research department. In some years a new part-electronic blood test was developed.

Budgiting db3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Budgiting db3 - Essay Example The important aspects will help finalize the budget by implementing the budget styles as well as developing alternative strategies and systems for delivering the business products. The last thing to draw is the budget. The other important aspect is obviously a report of the revenues thus expenditure of the past accounting periods in the industry (Kerzner 2003). The following are circumstances that may lead to the need of a contingent budget. An increase in the prices for raw material together with the inadequate productivity due to unused capacity causes an increase in the operating costs. The stock out costs, lead time costs, and even reduced production leads to market loss. The inadequate capital or access to capital finances calls for unexpected costs. When the firm is operating a risk appetite policy, the ascertained costs will act as the contingent budget elements as well as determine the level of contingent budget. The other instance is about labor and entrepreneurial factor inputs. When there is inadequate monitoring of the firm’s innovation and cash flow, as well as the inadequate labor, the firm unexpected costs such as labor turnover costs, high liquidity, and reduced production capacity rises. Where there is technology advancement rendering existing technology obsolete, thus replacement costs have to be incurred, especially to maintain the competitive edge in the service industry. The main costs lie on the occurrence of immobility of some factors of production. Frederic & James (1983) laid out that some contingent costs are uncertain, but occurrence can be determined statistically thus contingent budgeting The contingent budget runs on the best practices of budgeting, where thorough guidelines of budgeting form a basis for activity planning and timely reporting to responsible personnel. The budget serves contingent costs and liabilities involving the whole organization. Using modern management practices makes the manager abandon the set budgets.

Mental health nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Mental health nursing - Essay Example Please write down the questions that you asked and the responses that were given. This information will then be summarised and presented to a group of peers and an assessor in your PBL 1 assessment The service user in his own opinion believes that he suffers from some sort of depression. He claims that his problems at the moment were that he was suffering from anxiety and in the morning panic attack. He believes that this response was because he is worried about his father ie if dad pass away who is going to take care of me. when asked if he did have any auditory hallucination he went on to say that he did here voices but did not want to talk more about it. I started with the humanistic approach so as to make the client at ease and for him to be able to express himself more. I then went onto the medical model to try to figure out what he was suffering. Some data from the interview give evidence service user has p[sychotic symptoms, e.g. auditory hallucinations. ... He claims that his problems at the moment were that he was suffering from anxiety and in the morning panic attack. He believes that this response was because he is worried about his father ie if dad pass away who is going to take care of me. when asked if he did have any auditory hallucination he went on to say that he did here voices but did not want to talk more about it. Conceptual Model Analysis I started with the humanistic approach so as to make the client at ease and for him to be able to express himself more. I then went onto the medical model to try to figure out what he was suffering. Some data from the interview give evidence service user has p[sychotic symptoms, e.g. auditory hallucinations. There is acknowledged that patients with mental disorders are not able to percept their condition critically and usually underestimate the severity of disease. This patient believes he has depressive state thus he is ready to perceive the model of "sick person" and wish to regain his health. There is known that psychotic symptoms in schisophrenia could be related to dopaminergic hyperactivity in the brain structures. Thus medical interventions based on the use of antidopaminergic drugs (e.g. Ziprasidone (Geodon), Quetiapine (Seroquel) could be effective in the disease management. It seems that the psychotic symptoms reported by the client have the endogenic origin, i.e. they are not caused directly by external causes. What does the service user believe are the causes of his/her present crisis Service user believes that the cause of his present crisis is due to the wrong chemical release in his brain and added that it is genetic as he got a family history of metal illness in his family. Thus his mother was treated in mental hospital

How Communication With Children And Young Essay Example for Free

How Communication With Children And Young Essay Children at different ages require different levels of attention, younger children will need more support which would mean more physical support, as children get older they need help with explaining and discussing their thoughts and issues they may have. When talking to different ages of children your vocabulary will need to change as younger children wont understand you if you were to use big words, so small and simple words would need to be used, as children get older turning into young people your vocabulary would develop more. Children and young people who may have communicational difficulties would need a whole different approach in the way you talk to them and the way they may communicate back. Some children and young people may be shy and quiet which would effect the way you would communicate with them, you need to adapt and respect how different children and young people are and their own individual needs. Some children and young people have a stammer or another type of speech disorder, when the child or young person are talking to you, you need to give them time to talk, never butt in to try and complete what they are saying you have to be patient and understand their speech disorder, if you try and rush them it will only make things worse as the child or young person will feel anxious and may find it harder to communicate with you. Working with children or young people who have special educational needs, you may need additional training such as sign language or makaton to help with communication. â€Å" Myself and the other staff use makaton in school, which is a big part of communication towards the pupils â€Å" The reason why makaton is used within the environment of special needs is that it is made up of simple words and signs, makaton is used for all ages who have learning difficulties, sign language is used for the deaf and it has its own vocabulary which is why it wouldnt be appropriate for the different age ranges who have learning difficulties it would be to hard to  grasp. In my school the pupils use pecs book which are made up of pictures that they can relate to. The pecs books are all pictures and a â€Å" i want â€Å" picture so when they request something at snack some children will point to â€Å" i want â€Å" and then to what they have chosen to have for snack, but some children will only pick out what picture they want like â€Å" a apple† and they will put it into my hand, i will then respond by saying the â€Å"childs name wants apple good talking† followed by giving the child a piece of apple. Some children use these pecs books at home to help with communication. Picture symbols are shown and given to the pupils on every transition, if for instance we were going to PE there would be two picture symbols on a schedule they would be a picture of a classroom and of PE, this shows them that after PE it is back to the classroom. This is such a great way of communication.

Superfund sites Essay Example for Free

Superfund sites Essay Superfund sites are defined as any land in the U. S that has been polluted by hazardous wastes and requires cleanup process as it poses as risk to human health and the environment, (Environmental Protection Agency, (EPA), 2007). One of the sites in the state of Texas (Superfund Information Systems, 2007), is the â€Å"BAILEY WASTE DISPOSAL† (EPA ID: TXD980864649). National Priorities Listing (NPL) had got the site listed on 5th October 1984. According to BAILEY WASTE DISPOSAL (ORANGE COUNTY) TEXAS(2008), the site has a population of 7,600 people which is within 3 miles. The site is a marshy area near the Neches River and the Sabine Lake, occupying 10 acres. Some of the main contaminants in the area are benzene, metals, phenols, chlorinated hydrocarbons in soil, arsenic compounds, naphthalenes and pyridines. The waste volume is about 156,000 cubic yards. The contaminated media was sediments and solid waste. If the site is not suited for human exposure then a study is undertaken to check for contamination and the posing risk to human health. Some of the risks posed by these contaminants are as follows, direct contact (causes cancer), surface contact (marsh have been effected) and ground water (contains organic compounds and metals). The remedy was put into place in June 1998 which consisted of consolidation of sediments that were affected from marsh, drains, channels and drum disposals. The next step involved stabilization of waste and construction of to cover the stabilized waste. Some of the other remedial activities undertaken were evaluation of soil and waste, relocation and consolidation of shallow wastes, clay dike construction, construction of roads, closing of piezometers wells and wastewater treatment plant constructions that includes decontamination of water active area storm waters and dewatering operations from ground water. There is also a constant monitoring of air to check if action levels are not exceeded on the site. Some of the activities that were achieved during 8th February 2006 and 1st May 2006 are excavations of affected and waste sediments which were transported or relocated to industrial landfills for disposal and solidification, verification of waste and sediments. This process also included placement of soil cover. The deletion process has been successfully done on the 15 October 2007. The non-residential land included 10 acres. The major milestones of the site are present status of the site are Final Assessment Decision was taken on the 15 October 1984. This is followed by the Final remedial action on the 16th December 1996. The human exposure control is underway presently. The contamination groundwater migration under control report says that this site is not a ground water site and finally the construction has been declared complete as of 14 September 1998. After the complete remedial process some of these sites may or may not be used for recreational purposes. These sites then come under non-residential use, residential use or land reuse. Once the complete risk analysis is done the EPA takes the action of controlling any human exposure until the cleanup process is done. At the BAILEY WASTE DISPOSAL (ORANGE COUNTY) TEXAS, site as of now has human health and environment protections and safety under control and there is no potential risk to human health or the environment. References U. S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (2007). Superfund. What is a Superfund site?. Retrieved on 22 February 2008 from http://epa. custhelp. com/cgi-bin/epa. cfg/php/enduser/std_adp. php? p_faqid=172p_created=1065036363p_sid=OMReyNZip_accessibility=0p_redirect=p_lva=p_sp=cF9zcmNoPSZwX3NvcnRfYnk9JnBfZ3JpZHNvcnQ9JnBfcm93X2NudD0xMDUmcF9wcm9kcz0mcF9jYXRzPSZwX3B2PSZwX2N2PSZwX3NlYXJjaF90eXBlPWFuc3dlcnMuc2VhcmNoX25sJnBfcGFnZT0xp_li=p_topview=1 Superfund Information Systems (2007). Superfund Site Progress Profile BAILEY WASTE DISPOSAL (EPA ID: TXD980864649). Retrieved on 22 February 2008 from http://cfpub. epa. gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo. cfm? id=0602911 BAILEY WASTE DISPOSAL (ORANGE COUNTY) TEXAS (2008). EPA ID# TXD980864649. Site ID: 0602911 Bridge City. EPA REGION 6. CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 02. Retrieved on 22 February 2008 from http://www. epa. gov/earth1r6/6sf/pdffiles/0602911. pdf

Marketing strategy at ASDA

Marketing strategy at ASDA This chapter includes the conclusions drawn from the analysis that contributes towards fulfilling the purpose of this project. Also find out the key analysis from the various chapters of research. At the end of this chapter give the outlined the limitation of research and recommends some point that Asda can provide its better services and increase profits. Chapter 1 give the brief introduction of research topic. The purpose of the study is how technology is used as a marketing strategy to increase sales and better operation of specific retail store and taken case study of Asda. The researcher has started with concept of technology and describes how effectively changes coming in retail industry through technology. also show effect of the adoption of new technology on the whole retail industry. It shows how the internet technology useful to do online business. The chapter outline the rational behind the study and how retail stores can use technology to gain competitive advantages again their competitor. It also highlighted the problem behind study, technology helps the organisation but technology is very expensive tools and must be deal with professional way to take advantages from it. The researcher has outlined the structure of whole study in chapter. Chapter2 is about the literature review; in this chapter researcher talk about Asda used its technology advancement in different field to satisfy their customer needs and requirement. New technology has helped to quicken and improved business in this global market. The nature of human are always changing they want better products and technology has helped company to satisfy their customers needs and wants.UK grocery market is very competitive and Asda has been ahead of this competition. The researcher also talks about the different types of technology used by Asda to gain competitive advantage in various fields. Asda uses scanning machine and RFID technology in their stores, which is helped to keep up to date data and also providing the security to its customers. The literature review outlines Asda uses various technologies like ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) and security system like Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM).they also uses Net Framework technology for safe and sec ure transaction over internet. Asda provide top class online services and has gain competitive advantage over its rivals, online service also comfortable shopping, because customer order products directly to their homes without visiting the busy high streets. The researcher has pointed out the importance of Marketing Mix which is basic of any business, thats four Ps are very useful to gain competition advantage and Asda has been very successive to adopted the four Ps according to their customer needs and requirements. In this chapter also discuss that Asda give the priority to provide the best services to their customers. According to kotler (2003) you should happy to all business partners, customers, suppliers and distributors for earning and long time business and Asda has been do this very successfully. Asda provide loyalty schemes to attract the customers and customers gain benefits on their purchases. Its adaptive websites has a 24hours online service which solves the customers problem online. Asda has well trained staffs for customers to serve better. The chapter also shows Asda focus on customer retention instead of the new customer acquisition, its depend on making long term relation and always try to maintain it. Asda are using database technology to keep up to date records of customers who visit its stores and serve better for next time. According to Kotler(2003) pointed out that e-marketing is more skilful for database marketing and customer relationship. The chapter also focus on how logistic technology has helped retail sector and discuss Asda invested money for high class logistic technology and well planned supply chain management systems. This helped to Asda for goods transportation in time. In addition some people criticism phase by Asda to used RFID microchip to scan products used at their stores but it has helped to provide better security at their supermarkets. Chapter 3 gives the overview of the United Kingdom Country, The retail sector of UK and the company of Asda. The study of this chapter shows the important fact of company, retail sector and country. It also pointed out the technology used by Asda. Its also show how Asda increase the market share in the industry. In short this chapter gives the general information of the country, the retail industry and the Asda Company. Chapter 4 is about the Research Methodology. In this chapter researcher pointed out the aim of the research, the approach of the research to collect data methods, the research design, data collection methods, different sampling methods and the analysis of the data. The aim of study is too know how technology helped to improve the operation of Asda and achieve their business objectives; the research design is detail plan of conducting the market research object and requires needed information to make structure for solve different marketing research problems, and it includes descriptive, empirical and exploratory research. Research has generated primary data through the questionnaire, The UK local public has filled the questionnaire and researcher used of this collected data to analyse the findings. The researcher collected secondary data from the different books, journal articles, news and websites. It was both types of qualitative and quantitative data. In this chapter researcher poi nted out the sampling methods and also suggested and recommend things to Asda so it can do improvement in its services. In this study, non probability judgemental sampling method used by researcher. Questionnaire set was distributed among the Asda customers. The researcher also pointed out the limitation of study. Chapter5 is about the finding and analysis, the researcher has analysed the collected data with the use of different graphs and charts. The researcher found out from the questionnaire which completed by people that pointed out they were happy and satisfied with the overall services and facilities provided by Asda to them, the main problem for concern was the online payment method they were worried about that their personal information might be misused and thefts might occur in their bank accounts. The other fact which came out from finding was that people were not happy about the Asda website as it was complicated and it was difficult to locate the exact goods that customer needed, but people were more happy about the charges of delivery which are less compare to other retail stores. So overall result of questionnaire was very positive and customers were happy with the services provided by Asda to them but have to improve their services in certain fields. Research aims and objectives The activities concerned with Marketing Research starting with the objectives to carry out the research and this research proved that technology used by ASDA reach these objectives and outline given below To study how technology has helped retail sectors to give better customer service and maintain customer loyalty. To observe that if the use of better logistics technology improved ASDA sales. Has online services provided by ASDA helped people shop more easily. To show that how important is marketing mix in retail sector. Research questions are as follows How online technology has improved the way business is done in the retail sector? How technology helps in better customer service and satisfaction in retail industry? How logistics technology has helped ASDA retail market to gain competitive advantage against its competitor? 2.5 Logistics Technology and E-scm at ASADAAAA Logistics technology plays a key role in the successful management of the retail business. Logistics services are a channel of the supply chain with the value of time and place utility. The internet integrates business information between supply chain partners. Logistics Technology and supply chain is managing the flow of products, their transformation in to finished products to the final buyer. The main functions are production, transportation, inventory procurement, customer satisfaction. Logistics Management plays a key role in the retail sector like ASDA have their business in different areas and supply of products and services must be efficiently carried out, there are require good relation with the suppliers of the products. /* ASADAAAA has developed the ASADAAAA Information Exchange (TIE) in association with GE Information Services (GEIS) it is an extranet solution that allows ASADAAAA and it suppliers to collaboratively exchange trading information. Information such as Electronic Point Of Sale EPOS) data, track sales and internet telephone mail (Chaffey,2007).The huge competition between the supermarkets giants like ASADAAAA and Sainsbury led to the growing importance of the Logistics Technology and Supply Chain Management. /* UK major food retailers are giving more concentration on technological development and innovation. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is the automatic identification technology that uses radio waves to automatically tracking and identifies objects. In RFID technology uses tag for logistics purposes, this tags are bound with individual products in warehouses. They can be used as scanners with the range under 6 metres (ibid).after the used of rfid in the uk retail industry they have advantages of better tracking and forecasting ,greater efficiency and speed in stock operations. (Jones et al,2005). /*RFID technology used by ASADAAAA came into huge criticism and had to acquire permission from the European Union Legislation to use it.(ibid).People felt that if affected their privacy as the chip scanned through the individual personal bag. on 07/11/09.ASADAAAA knew the importance of satisfying the customers due to the increasing number of business that was done through its website, ASADAAAA felt the need for better after sale delivery services and made a contract with TNT Logistics UK for delivery services for its ASADAAAA Direct stores.TNT logistics has software system that include HDi home delivery system, Red Praines Dlx warehouse management system, Paragon route planning and Pen Pod for collecting electronic signatures, which makes business processes efficient and easy to have customer satisfaction(www.shippingline.biz)retrieved 07/11/09. */ E-SCM. It is apparent that supply chain management involves a firms suppliers and customers, as well as the processes used to transfer a product or service from an order in inventory to delivery. An E-SCM must also integrate technology, especially the internet, in an effort to speed communication and information flow throughout the supply chain. The internet has allowed collaboration among supply chain partners to become automated, providing access to real-time information and fostering a communication-based network for businesses to operate throughout its supply chain. ////// Figure : The IT Technologies adopted in a retail Supply chain. Nowadays Retail sectors are adopting the new application of the It technologies in supply chain management. From the figure we can see that POS (Point of Sales) is used for the retail store to sell products to customers.EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) are mainly used for the data exchange between the SC participants. RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) widely used for data capture in warehouses; and DM (Data Mining) is used in the back office for data collection of customers. The figure show the used of IT technologies in the retail sector in supply chain management and their functionalities and features. Electronic data interchange(EDI) EDI can be define as computer to computer data transmission of standardised business transitions (Walton and Marucheck, 1997), EDI is widely used to collect highly precise and very efficient information through internet and its useful to increase their orders and transaction process. Accordingly Bamfield (1994) EDI can be use for enhanced companys planning and control to a lower inventories with timely data or information. EDI is play very important roles in retail organisation because it is useful for fast business transaction ,EdI replace old traditional methods like exchanging documents such as different purchases orders, order confirmations, payment of goods, invoices. EDI also reduces other cost like postage and paper based work(Ferguson et al., 1990, Murphy and Daley, 1999).By using the EDI ,organisation like Asda has improved their business ,in sense of shorted lead time,quickly reduce stock out and improve demand forecasting of products(Vijayasarathy and Tyler, 1997). Furthermore, EDI is also beneficial in supply chain. It has one additional feature which are useful for integration and coordination ( Hill and Scudder, 2002) through frequency and automatic transfer of information to supplier and distributers which is improving information accuracy and communication between them(Murphy and Daley, 1999).This improved communication provides timely information of transaction status to customers which improves customer service of Organisation (Angeles, et al., 1998).Accordingly Ellram et al.(1999) supplier and retailers must work together to implement compatible systems in order to realise the benifits of EDI Data Mining Data mining is a way to observing large volumes of data collected in databases. firstly ,company using computer collect the all business data like retail sales, banking data/records and manufacturing data reports (Lee and Siau, 2001).then after all collected data goes to warehouses where the make database and analyser analyse the data and explore the total business situations. DM is also useful to analyse the different effect of 4Ps Price, place, promotion, Production and market share. DM is also useful to recognise that which customers group will be highly responsive to market promotion campaign. Asda also used this technology in strategic and tactical decision such as making competitive strategies ,to find out market opportunities, launch new products in markets, customer acquisition, retention and that all are useful to cost reduction. DM technique is useful for SC applicants to make intelligent marketing strategy on market targeting, segmentation, positioning and differentiation (Forcht and Cochran, 1999).By analyse point of sale data and other research data of database, the Marketing manager can able to segmentation of customer market, evaluate market segment and select particular target market segment by using DM knowledge in retail industry. The application of DM techniques is beneficial for efficient retail supply chain management, warehouse management and distribution system. The information about previous order, supplier performance and previous price are utilized by procurement unit for judging and selecting suppliers.DM techniques also useful for analyse the warehouse stock in manner to goods type, goods location and its management. DM technique is integrated existing software and hardware which provide existing information resources. RFID: It is useful for Real time data collection. RFID is give the information of products to the manager, how much stocks are available in store and how much sold to customers. According to Attaran (2007), Organisations should consider RFID if they want to increase their revenue growth, lower cost, reduce inventory, better utilise fixed assets and gain favour over its rivals. RFID is used for provides both time based and content based information. As a result retailer can get the precise, relevant and absolute information of products and their customers (Jones et al., 2005(a)).which will useful to improve their customer services. By the use of RFID , organisation has fast and reliable information transmission so reduce the manually inventory costs and increased accuracy and efficient of transport. Which automatically make the better warehouse management and reduced other operation cost (Jones et al., 2005(b)). RFID is also improved the quickly response to product request of customers. So, we can say that RFID bring wide range of benefits to retail sector supply chain, After the RFID technology introduced in the retail sector that Revolutionizing retail Supply Chain and developed the longer term strategic based on decisions which show to be a valuable component of RFID adoption . So we can say that in other words UK major food retailers are giving more concentration on technological development and innovation. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is the automatic identification technology that uses radio waves to automatically tracking and identifies objects. In RFID technology uses tag for logistics purposes, this tags are bound with individual products in warehouses. They can be used as scanners with the range under 6 metres (ibid).after the used of rfid in the uk retail industry they have advantages of better tracking and forecasting ,greater efficiency and speed in stock operations. (Jones et al,2005). RFID has some limitations. Parker (2003) states that, Caspian a US shoppers rights group has called for worldwide boycott of Gillette for its use of RFID technology. Because they thought it was going to interfere customers personal life. The customers personal transactional data being held in the RFID tag after the POS may be misused, accessed unauthorised or disclosed, which is a potential challenge in adopting RFID. Logistics technology is expensive so industry must use it perfectly for gain benefit against their competitors. If the elements of logistics not controlled effectively than its remarkably expansive.(FernieSparks, 1988).The products or stock also expensive and if damage might become out date or might not sell. Distribution centre and ware house are costly to maintain and operate, also use for transportation vehicles are expensive and require maintenance. Companies always want to get their goods to the market fastest, try to minimize the their inventory costs and the most mileage from their services and delivery fleets are the one that succeed and most super market are connecting their logistics process with buyers and supplier.(Aghazadeh, 2004) ASDA has large scale purchasing power and established well planned supply chain management and logistics system, so it can control it suppliers and distribution, it has latest information system and associated with leading software solution providing companies and deliveries of products has helped it get advantage over its rivals. the trained staff of asda use this logistics technology to serve the consumer better and make them to satisfy. The competitive nature of the UK retail sector has organized supply chain and logistics management very important and the vast investment put into in by company like ASDA emphasizes its importance.

Learning and Development Essay -- Education, Family Participation

â€Å"All people want to be treated with respect, want to be valued and accepted, loved, and cherished, and made to feel they are making important contributions to society and that their wishes and desires are heard and respected (Berg and Steiner, 2003 as cited in Patel, Corter ad Pelletier, 2008, pp 23)†. Parents often feel this way and want to have a say in how and what their child is being taught. Partnerships between educators and families help parents be able to voice their own wishes and desires while allowing teachers and children to be valued, respected and accepted. This literature review will discuss what has been written in regard to family educator partnerships. Reference will be made to a range of literature on the topic of partnerships in a school and centre setting. Rationale for building effective reciprocal relationships with parents and whÄ nau The literature states that partnerships between parents and families helps children feel safe within the learning environment. Porter (2008) discusses how through interactions between parents and educators, educators gain access to knowledge and support and gain a sounding board for any concerns about the child. Children also gain ‘permission’ to develop confidence and trust with the teachers (Porter 2008). With trust and confidence with and in their teacher’s children feel a sense of safety which allows them to be able to engage in learning to their fullest ability. Arthur, Beecher, Dealth, Dockett and Farmer (2007) and Patel, Corter and Pelletier (2008) agree with Porter and add that parents and whÄ nau often have different values and expectations and that partnerships enable all involved to promote the sharing of information to enhance the children’s learning (Patel, C... ... the child’s learning. Educator should endeavour to ensure that the families’ culture is included in the centre or school. Studies have shown us that by included families into centres or schools children’s social and emotional development benefits greatly. Families often experience multiple stress in their life’s these stress can often affect their child’s learning and educators need to be sensitive to family situations. Educators should always maintain professionalism when dealing with parents. Educators should know their boundaries and should never yell or get into arguments with families members. Educators, schools and centres should be regularity reflecting on their own practices and policies. Challenging attitudes and beliefs allows educators to become more open to others attitudes and beliefs and allows educators to form effective partnerships with parents.

Abraham Lincoln :: essays research papers

Abraham Lincoln   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was very important to the past history of our country. He helped to abolish slavery in this country and kept the American Union from splitting apart during the Civil War.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At 22, he moved to New Salem, Illinois. With his gift for swapping stories and making friends, he became quite popular and was elected to the Illinois legislature in 1834. In his spare time, he taught himself law and became a lawyer. In 1847, he was elected to the U.S. Congress, but returned to his law practice until 1858, when his concern about the spread of slavery prompted him to return to national politics and run for the U.S. Senate.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lincoln rose to greatness from a humble beginning. Born in 1809 in a log cabin in Kentucky, Lincoln spent most of his childhood working on the family farm. He had less than a year of school but managed to educate himself by studying and reading books on his own.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He believed that slavery and democracy were fundamentally incompatible. In an 1858 speech, he said: What constitutes the bulwark of our own liberty and independance? It is not our frowning battlements, our bristling sea coats, our army and our navy . . . Our defense is in the spirit which prized liberty as the heritage of all men, in all lands everywhere. Destroy this spirit and you have planted the seeds of despotism at your own doors. Familiarize yourself with the chains of bondage and you prepare your own limbs to wear them (World Book Encyclopedia).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He lost his campaign for the Senate, but during the debates with his opponent Stephen Douglas, he became well known for his opposotion to slavery. The southern states, which believed they depended upon slavery to remain prosperous in the cotton, tobacco, and rice industries, threatened to secede from the nation if Lincoln won the election. Lincoln was inaugurated on March 4, 1861, and by April 12, the southern states had formed the Confedrate States of America and the Civil War began.

Investigating the effect of Temperature on the reaction between Sodium Thiosuphate and hydrochloric acid :: GCSE Chemistry Coursework Investigation

Investigating the effect of Temperature on the reaction between Sodium Thiosuphate and hydrochloric acid  · Planning I am investigating the different temperatures on the reaction between Sodium Thiosuphate and Hydrochloric acid. The factors I could investigate would be temperature, concentration and substances. I have chosen to investigate Temperature. I predict that the higher the temperature the more rapidly the cross would obscure. This is because the higher the temperature the more often the particles collide and react, when the particles collide more often they would collide harder because they have more energy, making the collisions bigger and faster, the collision success rate is higher. I will make my investigation a fair test by keeping the quantities of the Hydrochloric acid at room temperature and Sodium Thiosuphate heated as accurate as possible. Also make sure the stop clock is started at the same point each time a measurement is taken. I will carry out the investigation by: 1. Set up the Diagram 2. Put the test tubes of Sodium Thiosuphate into the beaker above the Bunsen burner 3. Put a thermometer into it 4. Remove the test tube once its reached the desired temperature and pour contence into the empty beaker 5. As you begin to pour the test tube of Hydrochloric Acid contence into the beaker start the stop clock 6. When the cross on the paper becomes obscured stop the clock and record the result 7. Rinse out the beaker where the reaction took place 8. Repeat with five different temperatures, using ice to cool down the Sodium Thiosuphate, and repeat it all twice. The equipment I will use is:  · Hydrochloric acid  · Sodium Thiosuphate  · 2 x Measuring cylinders  · 2 x Test tubes  · stop clock  · 2 glass beakers  · 2 thermometers  · Bunsen burner  · water  · tripod  · heat mat  · gauge  · paper with pencil cross I will make sure my results are accurate by referring to graphs, e.g.: if one point is greatly out of alignment, it should be repeated. Also I will make sure that the meniscus of the hydrochloric acid and Thiosuphate is flat and not to one side of the test tube or measuring cylinder. I will take five measurements with a 10 gap interval and I will repeat this twice and take an average to make my results more accurate. Back ground Research - Trial Experiment I conducted a trial experiment to find out the correct quantities of sodium thiosulphate and hydrochloric acid for the main experiment. We were aiming for the cross to disappear in around one minute. We found the more hydrochloric acid the slower the X disappeared.

Blue Ocean Strategy Essay

Businesses are always striving to be the better contenders than their competitors. Different theories have been thrown out to see which the best one would be. The Blue Ocean Strategy theory says that companies would be better looking for ways in which they compete against themselves and that is all. W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne wrote a book called â€Å"Blue Ocean Strategy†. There is a term called Red Ocean which consists of businesses are viciously fighting against each other for their place in the specific marketplace. These two authors then came up with the idea of the Blue Ocean Strategy where organizations are able to find a way to work in the marketplace that isn’t bloodied by the competition and is free of competitors. The Blue Ocean Strategy is based where a study of 150 strategic moves spanning over 30 different industries. In the book, the authors argue that leading companies will succeed not by battling competitors, but by steadily creating â€Å"blue oceans† of recognized market space ripe for growth. The strategy is the simultaneous pursuit of differentiation and low cost, with the theory behind it not to out-perform the competition in the existing industry, but to create new market space or a â€Å"blue ocean,† thereby making the competition unrelated. Toyota Motor Corporation has moved from being a process innovation to becoming a product innovator thanks to its Value Innovation Strategy. Value Innovation is the simultaneous pursuit of differentiation and low cost, creating a leap in value for both buyers and the company. Because value to buyers comes from the offering’s utility minus its price, and because value to the company is generated from the offering’s price minus its cost, value innovation is achieved only when the whole system of utility, price, and cost is aligned. A Red Ocean Strategy is a strategy which is aims to fight and beat the  competition. In this case Toyota would mainly be focusing on their competitors and what their competitors are doing and how their company would be able to be first in that specific car industry. A Red Ocean Strategy ultimately leads to an organization choosing to follow one of two strategies – differentiation or low cost. Whichever is chosen the organization must align all activities with one of these strategic directions. Companies try to outperform their rivals to grab a greater share of existing demand, usually through marginal changes in offering level and price. As the market space gets crowded, prospects for profits and growth are reduced. Products become commodities, and cut-throat competition turns the red ocean bloody. No matter what decision a company makes there will still be competition for business. Now a day no matter what industry you are in there will always be strong competition. For the industry that I am in there so much competition and so many companies that do the same thing. Although we clearly want all the business that just does not happen. Even though our industry is so large everyone knows each other where we are able to co-market and help each other out. A good friend of mine is a competitor of my company, he has been in the industry way longer than I have and he told me that he would love to help me out. One of the things that he told me was I will help out and there will always be insurance agents that will use different people but as long as we stay on the rotation list then it is all good. It is important for me to gain the relationships and really keep my names and face out there that way clients will know me and eventually I can get a good job out of it. If you stay competitive and not bite the heads off of your competitors you should be ok that way everything stays clean and not messy.

Abortion and Ethics Essay

For this week’s discussion/ presentation we discussed the topic â€Å"abortion†. Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by the removal or expulsion of a fetus or embryo from the uterus of a woman. There are two types of abortion procedures; the first is called medical/ chemical which involves the use of drugs to terminate pregnancy and can only be used during the first trimester. The second type of abortion is surgical which involves the use of a vacuum, either manual or electrical. Birth control is also known as contraceptive or fertility control and is a common method used to prevent pregnancy. I will be discussing recent developments in birth control. Does implantable birth control open the door to outside control of a woman’s body? My answer is yes. Birth control allows a woman to control unexpected pregnancies to happen. I personally think it is the best way to improve our communities and it helps lower the percentage of people living in poverty due to u nplanned pregnancies. Implantable birth control is entails a small device inserted into the uterus to help prevent conception. See more:  First Poem for You Essay Implantable birth control is widely known for its â€Å"get it and forget it† use. Implantable birth control is what most modern day women use in our current decade and surprisingly it is widely accepted. People have used birth control methods for thousands of years. Today, we have many safe and effective birth control methods available to us. All of us who need birth control want to find the method that is best for us. And each of us has different needs when choosing a method. Learning about each method may help you make a better decision for you and significant other. Is the morning-after pill equivalent to abortion? In my opinion the morning -after pill is not equivalent to abortion. My reason for this statement is that the morning after pill is used before conception, in other words I consider it to be a preventable measure. The morning after pill is also known as â€Å"plan B† the plan B pill was first approved by the FDA in 1999 for emergency contraception use, wa s originally manufactured by Barr Pharmaceuticals. It contains a hormone that has been used in birth control pills for more than 35 years. Today, it’s made by Teva Pharmaceuticals who bought Barr. In 2006 the agency approved Plan B for over-the-counter use in women aged 18 years and older. It’s now available over-the-counter for women 17 and older. The pill can be used up to 72 hours after unprotected sex to prevent a pregnancy. What about still-unavailable methods like contraceptive vaccines or pills or a patch that render a man infertile? Contraceptive vaccines are a long-acting form of progesterone, a hormone that is naturally manufactured in the ovaries. The shot is given as an injection in the upper arm or in the buttocks once every 3 months to protect a woman from becoming pregnant. A birth control patch has the same effect except there is no injection. These kinds of birth control methods all serve the same purpose â€Å"to control the possibility of becoming pregnant†. To conclude this topic, birth control of course, has serious side effects and should always be taken into careful consideration before use or insertion. In my opinion, it is a safe way to prevent pregnancy and it is not considered abortion. Abortion is killing an innocent human being with life. Birth control is simply a prevention method. We all have different opinions, views, personal and religious backgrounds. I am not, nor will I ever force or impose my thoughts on abortion and the use of birth control on others. This is a free country and we as humans pick and choose our battles. References Dombrink, J., & Hillyard, D. (2007). Sin No More : From Abortion to Stem Cells, Understanding Crime, Law, and Morality in America. New York Univeristy Press. Rose, M. (2008). Abortion : A Documentary and Reference Guide. Greenwood Press. Swedin, E. (2005). Science in the Contemporary World : An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO.

Great Filipino Music Artists (80’s †Present) Essay

Basil Valdez Like many Filipino singers in the 1970s, Valdez started solo on his career as a folk singer. In 1972, he joined the Circus Band and after it was disbanded, he released Ngayon at Kailanman, his first solo album. In the Circus Band, he met Ryan Cayabyab, who was then part of other band. When Valdez was preparing his album Ngayon at Kailanman, he asked Cayabyab to give a few songs, he did. Cayabyab stands as Valdez’s musical director for 27 years. In the 80’s, Valdez republished himself as a singer of movie theme songs; some of them are â€Å"Paano Ba Ang Mangarap,† â€Å"Muling Buksan Ang Puso† and â€Å"Paraisong Parisukat.† A circumstance which sidelined his singing career occurred in 1990, when he found himself as a â€Å"healer†. Valdez then sought the guidance of his Jesuit friends. They explained to him that he has gift of healing. Ryan Cayabyab A great Filipino music artist known as the Executive and Artistic Director of the defunct San Miguel Foundation for the Performing Arts. He was also a resident judge for the solo season of Philippine Idol in 2006. A versatile artist with his works ranging from commissioned full-length ballets, theater musicals, choral pieces, a Mass set to unaccompanied chorus/congregation, and orchestral pieces, to commercial recordings of popular music, film scores and television specials. Cayayab’s current project includes the Ryan Cayabyab Singers (RCS), a group of seven young adult singers comparable like his group Smokey Mountain in the early ’90s. After FreemantleMedia decided not to renew the Philippine Idol franchise, Cayabyab decided to transfer to rival show Pinoy Dream Academy (Season 2), replacing Jim Paredes as the show’s headmaster. PDA 2 started on June 14, 2008. Nonoy Zuà ±iga Nonoy Z’s singing career spans more than 3 decades; as a folksinger from 1971 to 1975 and then as one of the lead singers of the Family Birth Control Band  which performed in the best nightspots and hotels like Philippine Plaza, Holiday Inn and the Manila Hotel from 1975-1980. To hone his skill, he took special voice training from the late Aurelio Estanislao, a well-known tenor singer and music-voice professor at the University of the Philippines. With his clear baritone voice he started to attract the attention of music buffs. His style and rendition of different songs especially love songs made him acquire a number of distinct awards, Bayang Barrios Lumad origin, born on June 12, 1986. A Filipino musician who hails from Bunawan, Agusan del Sur, and is known for her use of indigenous instruments and styles. In 2005, Barrios’ song Isipin Mo Na Lang was used in end credits of the indie Filipino film Ang Pagdadalaga Ni Maximo Oliveros (The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros). In September 2008, she launched her fourth album entitled â€Å"Biyaya†. Ramon Jacinto Jacinto has always tried to put music and business together. He started to enter the world of entrepreneurship at the young age of 15. He built up his first enterprise called RJ Enterprises, a company which dealt with producing and release records. RJ Enterprises pioneered multi-track recording in the country and eventually became the primary studio choice for many artists and advertising agencies at that time. Two years later, Jacinto ventured to establish what would become a legendary radio station in the Philippine broadcasting industry – DZRJ. It served as a venue for on-air experiments of radio concepts which were never heard before in Philippine entertainment history. Manned by students, mostly coming from Jacinto’s high school class, the radio station introduced alternative music to the Filipino youth. It was the first station to play songs from rock legends such as the Beatles, the Ventures and the Beachboys. The radio station also gave emphasis on playing the music of local talent. Apart from DZRJ, Jacinto also established the now defunct, DZUW. Pepe Smith a Filipino singer-songwriter, drummer, and guitarist. More commonly known alternately as Joey Smith and Pepe Smith, he is an icon of original Filipino rock music or â€Å"Pinoy Rock†. Gary Valenciano Born 6 August 1964, better known as Gary Valenciano or Gary V., is a Filipino musician. Also known as Mr. Pure Energy, Valenciano has released 26 albums, and won the Awit Awards for â€Å"Best Male Performer† eleven times. In 1998, he became UNICEF Philippines first National Ambassador. His most notable songs include â€Å"Di Bale Na Lang† (â€Å"Never mind†), â€Å"Eto Na Naman† (â€Å"Here we go again†), â€Å"Sana Maulit Muli† (â€Å"Hope it repeats again†), â€Å"Natutulog Ba Ang Diyos?† (â€Å"Does God sleep†), â€Å"Gaya ng Dati† (â€Å"Just like before†), â€Å"Pasko Na, Sinta Ko† (â€Å"It’s Christmas already, my love†), and â€Å"Narito† (â€Å"Here†). He is currently part of ABS-CBN contract actors, and is frequently tapped to sing theme songs for the network’s soap operas and films. Fr. Eduardo Hontiveros Fr. Honti, as he is fondly known, was educated at the Capiz Elementary School and the pre-war Ateneo de Manila in Padre Faura, graduating from high school in 1939. From 1939 to 1945 he was at San Jose Seminary. He entered the Society of Jesus after the war in 1945, pronouncing first vows at Sacred Heart Novitiate in Novaliches in June 1947. He finished his studies of philosophy there and then proceeded to Ateneo de Zamboanga for his three-year regency, teaching religion, Latin, and English, and moderating the Choir String Band. In 1951, he traveled to the United States to study theology, and was ordained in 1954 by Francis Cardinal Spellman. After earning a doctorate in theology from the Gregorian University in Rome, he returned to teach in the Philippines in 1958. He pronounced final vows in the Society of Jesus in 1960. Fr. Honti’s initiatives have been recognized with the Ateneo de Manila University’s Tanglaw ng Lahi Award (1976), the Asian Catholic Publishers’ â€Å"Outstanding Catholic Author† (1992), and the Papal award Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice (2000), among many other awards and citations. He suffered another major stroke in early January 2008, and died  on January 15th. At his funeral Mass at the Ateneo’s Church of the Gesu, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was present to honor him with the Presidential Medal of Merit (awarded posthumously). Fr. Manoling Francisco Fr. Manoling Francisco SJ entered the Society of Jesus after second year in college in 1985. As a child he had aspired to be a concert pianist; nevertheless he decided to discontinue his classical piano training at the age of 14 to devote his time to school and socio-civic activities. It was in his First Year High that he composed Hindi Kita Malilimutan. has been popularized by Mr. Basil Valdez. During the past 17 years he has composed more than a hundred and fifty songs such as Tanging Yaman, Sa ‘Yo Lamang are being sung all over the country – indeed, whatever there are Filipinos gathered together in prayer and liturgical celebration. Today, he is easily one of the most gifted musicians in the country.