Tuesday, August 6, 2019
Polk Company Review Essay Example for Free
Polk Company Review Essay â⬠¢ In this case, would it be better to use the variable or absorption costing method, and why? In this case, it would be better to use the absorption method because this method incorporates only the overhead that is allocated to the 80,000 units sold. The variable method counts fixed overhead as a period expense, meaning that the fixed overhead for this period is calculated on the basis of the 95,000 units produced, if the absorption method is used. The absorption method only calculates fixed overhead on the basis of the 80,000 units that were sold. This provides management with a more accurate picture of the profitability of the fishing lures. Thus, the absorption costing method is optimal. â⬠¢ What are the benefits of the two methods? Under absorption costing system, the product cost consists of all variable as well as all fixed manufacturing costs.. But when variable costing system is used, the fixed cost (both manufacturing and non-manufacturing) is treated as a period cost and therefore is not included in the product cost. The ability to provide accurate information to management about product costs is the main benefit of the absorption method. The variable method is beneficial because it provides an output (net income) that is closer to the cash flow of the business. This is useful in particular for businesses that might be short on cash flow. Further, the variable costing method provides management with a clearer picture of the effect that fixed costs have on the total profitability of the company (AFM, 2012). â⬠¢ Which method would lead to the best decision when a competitor is submitting a lower bid for your product? Absorption costing is particularly useful for firms that do not sell all of their manufactured products during the accounting period, as is the case with Polk. Under absorption costing, the cost of a good is not shown until the good has been sold (Johnston, 2013). This can be a disadvantage if a portion of the goods produced are ultimately not sold, as management would still have to know the cost of those goods.
Monday, August 5, 2019
Nisha Cyclone In India Media Essay
Nisha Cyclone In India Media Essay Communication plays a critical role in disaster prevention and management. A variety of media channels are used for disaster communications, before and during a disaster. For example, communication in the form of visible or audible signals, leaflets, announcements by speaker cars and public events have been known. Mass media in the form of newspapers, television, radio, internet, etc have certain characteristics that make them advantageous for disaster communications. They provide easy access to large population and some of them constitute a robust communication system which remains working even in cases of a partial breakdown of the infrastructure. On the other hand, sources dealing with the media know that media can be difficult at times. There is no direct control over the content and form of information that is being transmitted. Sources who want to communicate with the public have to deal with journalists who do not form a passive information channel but act as gate keepers, int erpreters and commentators. Media hence can support or obstruct the disaster management of government agencies and relief organizations. This research paper analyzes the print media coverage of Nisha cyclone that had hit the coast of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in November 2008. The researcher has done a survey to study public interests in content designing and disaster news presentation through print media. Keywords: natural disasters, prevention, management, warning, communication, print media coverage INTRODUCTION India has been traditionally vulnerable to natural disasters on account of its unique geo-climatic conditions. Indias total coastline is 7,516 kilometers in length, which comprises 5,422 kilometers for the mainland, 132 kilometers for the Lakshadweep Islands, and 1,962 kilometers for the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Floods, droughts, cyclones, earthquakes and landslides have been recurrent phenomena. About 60% of the landmass is prone to earthquakes of various intensities; over 40 million hectares is prone to floods; about 8% of the total area is prone to cyclones and 68% of the area is susceptible to drought. The Indian sub-continent is prone to several types of natural disasters. Major natural hazards include droughts, floods, earthquakes, and tropical cyclones and minor ones include landslides, hailstorms, avalanches, bushfires and forest fires. These disasters take a heavy toll on human lives and resources causing economic, environment and social losses. Natural disasters affect the rural community the most, as they are vulnerable to economic changes, and have no alternate means of livings. Natural disasters destroy infrastructure, cause mass migration, reduction in food and fodder supplies and sometimes leads to drastic situations like starvation. At the global level, there has been considerable concern over natural disasters. Even as substantial scientific and material progress is made, the loss of lives and property due to disasters has not decreased. In fact, the human toll and economic losses have mounted. NATURAL DISASTERS: CYCLONES An event or hazard is called a disaster when it threatens property and lives and is unforeseen and often sudden. The WHO defines a disaster as A severe disruption, ecological and psychological, which greatly exceeds the coping capacity of the affected community. It causes great damage, destruction and human suffering. A disaster is a very complex multi dimensional phenomenon and along many dimensions like social, economic, material, psychological or social, but unlikely to be one along all of these in a specific direction. Often the number of human lives lost is an important criterion for defining a disaster. Disaster is a sudden, calamitous event bringing great damage, loss, and destruction and devastation to life and property. The damage caused by disasters is immeasurable and varies with the geographical location, climate and the type of the earth surface/degree of vulnerability. This influences the mental, socio-economic, political and cultural state of the affected area. It may also be termed as a serious disruption of the functioning of society, causing widespread human, material or environmental losses which exceed the ability of the affected society to cope using its own resources. A Cyclonic Storm or a Cyclone is an intense vortex or a whirl in the atmosphere with very strong winds circulating around it in anti-clockwise direction in the Northern Hemisphere and in clockwise direction in the Southern Hemisphere. The word Cyclone is derived from the Greek, word Cyclos meaning the coils of a snake. To Henri Peddington, the tropical storms in the Bay of Bengal and in the Arabian Sea appeared like the coiled serpents of the sea and he named these storms as Cyclones. Cyclones are categorized as hydro meteorological disasters. Cyclones are intense low pressure areas from the centre of which pressure increases outwards- The amount of the pressure drop in the centre and the rate at which it increases outwards gives the intensity of the cyclones and the strength of winds. CYCLONES IN THE INDIAN SEAS Cyclones form in certain favorable atmospheric and Oceanic conditions. There are marked seasonal variations in their places of origin, tracks and attainment of intensities. These behaviors help in predicting their movements. Figure 1.1.1 Cyclone prone areas in India Source: Compare Infobase Limited (2007) Tropical cyclones, which are severe storms spun off from the Inter tropical Convergence Zone, may affect thousands of Indians living in coastal regions. Tropical cyclogenesis(the technical term describing the development and strengthening of a tropical cyclone in the atmosphere) is particularly common in the northern regions of the Indian Ocean in and around the Bay of Bengal. Cyclones bring with them heavy rains, storm surges, and winds that often cut affected areas off from relief and supplies. In the North Indian Ocean Basin, the cyclone season runs from April to December, with peak activity between May and November. Each year, an average of eight storms with sustained wind speeds greater than 63 km/h (39 mph) form; of these, two strengthen into true tropical cyclones, which have sustained gusts greater than 117 km/h (73 mph). On average, a major cyclone develops every other year. Wind and Cyclones during the period 1877-2005: 283 cyclones (106 severe) in a 50 km wide strip on the East Coast Less severe cyclonic activity on West Coast (35 cyclones in the same period) In 19 severe cyclonic storms, death toll> 10,000 lives During summer, the Bay of Bengal is subject to intense heating, giving rise to humid and unstable air masses that morph into cyclones. 1.25 million lives have been lost in Bay of Bengal till now because of 21 cyclones that had hit the region. The 1737 Calcutta cyclone, the 1970 Bhola cyclone, and the 1991 Bangladesh cyclone rank among the most powerful cyclones to strike India, devastating the coasts of eastern India and neighboring Bangladesh. Widespread death and property destruction are reported every year in the exposed coastal states of West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. Indias western coast, bordering the more placid Arabian Sea, experiences cyclones only rarely; these mainly strike Gujarat and, less frequently, Kerala. Cyclone 05B, a super cyclone that struck Orissa on 29 October 1999, was the deadliest in more than a quarter-century. With peak winds of 160 miles per hour (257 km/h), it was the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane. Almost two million people were left homeless; another 20 million people life was disrupted by the cyclone. Officially, 9,803 people died from the storm; unofficial estimates place the death toll at over 10,000. Pre and Post-monsoon storms are more violent than the storms of the monsoon season. Life span of a severe cyclonic storm in the Indian seas averages about 4 days from the time it forms until the time it enters the land. DESTRUCTION CAUSED BY CYCLONES There are three elements associated with a cyclone, which cause destruction. They are 1. Cyclones are associated with high-pressure gradients and consequent strong winds. These, in turn, generate storm surges. A storm surge is an abnormal rise of sea level near the coast caused by a severe tropical cyclone; as a result, sea water inundates low lying areas of coastal regions drowning human beings and live- stock, eroding beaches and embankments, destroying vegetation and reducing soil fertility. 2. Very strong winds may damage installations, dwellings, communication systems, trees, etc. resulting in loss of life and property. 3. Heavy and prolonged rains due to cyclones may cause river floods and submergence of low lying areas by rain causing loss of life and property. Floods and coastal inundation due to storm surges pollute drinking water sources causing outbreak of epidemics. It may be mentioned that all the three factors mentioned above occur simultaneously and, therefore, relief operations for distress mitigation become difficult. So it is imperative that advance action is taken for relief measures before the commencement of adverse weather conditions due to cyclones. The most destructive element associated with an intense cyclone is storm surge. Past history indicates that loss of life is significant when surge magnitude is 3 meters or more and catastrophic when 5 meters and above. WARNING SYSTEM IN INDIA In the last five decades, government is making attempts to highlight the use of information technology in providing early warning systems for effective disaster management, especially in Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal coasts, which are susceptible to such storms. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) provides cyclone warnings from the Area Cyclone Warning Centers (ACWCs) at Calcutta, Chennai and Mumbai, and Cyclone Warning Centers (CWCs) at Bhubaneswar, Visakhapatnam and Ahmadabad. The IMD has developed the necessary infrastructure to generate and disseminate the cyclone warnings to the cyclone prone coastal areas. It uses a number of communication channels like telegram, fax, e-mails, etc. to communicate warning messages at appropriate levels. Cyclone warning is done in two stages. At first a warning on cyclone alert is issued 48 hours in advance of the expected commencement of adverse weather over coastal areas. The second stage cyclone warning is issued 24 hours in advance. The IMD constantly examines the coastline for the likely genesis of tropical storms with the help of satellite imagery, particularly those from the multipurpose geo-stationary satellite, INSAT. Information from ships and ocean buoys is also taken into consideration. There is a chain of Cyclone Detection Radars (CDRs) that are installed along the coastal belt of India have proved to be an effective tool to the cyclone warning work. These radars can locate and track approaching Tropical Cyclones within a range of 400 km. The National Disaster Management Bill, 2005 also emphasizes the setting up, maintaining, reviewing and upgrading of early warning mechanisms and the dissemination of proper information to the public. The aim of any warning system is to alert people to take appropriate and timely steps for the safety of life and property. A natural disaster cannot be evaded but we need to make effective use of available resources to minimize the loss and aftermath. CYCLONE NISHA Nature unleashed havoc in Nagapattinam and Karaikal districts on 26 November 2008. Heavy rainfall and gusty winds claimed three lives in Nagapattinam besides flooding the dwellings and driving over 78,000 people to 308 cyclone-relief centers. As the cyclonic storm Nisha got nearer, the coastal areas started receiving heavy rains and strong winds. The total rainfall recorded at 8.30 am stood at 2,145 mm, with Vedaranyam registering the highest of 333 mm. In Cuddalore, over six lakhs people were affected by the torrential rainfall in the coastal district as more than 50,000 houses were inundated, paddy and sugarcane crops raised on 200,000 acres submerged and power transmission crippled for more than 15 hours in the district. The rainfall accompanied by strong wind uprooted more than 1,000 roadside trees. In Pamban, while torrential rain continued to lash different parts of the Ramanathapuram district on Wednesday, the fifth cyclone warning signal was hoisted at Pamban port office. Relief Details (as on 27 November 2008) No of people evacuated 106,145 No of relief centers opened 650 No of people in relief centers 89,395 Total no of food packets distributed 548,205 Total cash dole distributed 450,000 Cyclone Nisha caused a death toll of 89 in Tamil Nadu. The toll in rain related incidents in Tamil Nadu during the six days, mounted to 89, with 25 more deaths reported from rain-affected districts till Friday 28 November. It is understood that natural disasters can neither be predicted nor prevented. The problem before us is how to cope with them, minimizing their impact. Tamil Nadu has witnessed havoc caused by cyclones and storm surge in the coastal regions, earthquakes, monsoon floods, landslides, and recently the Tsunami. Increase in urban population coupled with the construction of man-made structures often poorly built and maintained subject cities to greater levels of risk to life and property in the event of earthquakes and other natural hazards. The media and disaster management agencies have important roles to play in crises. Each needs the other in order to perform its function better. Information needs to be presented responsibly, with contextual understanding. Hence, this research aims to study the print media coverage of Nisha Cyclone in Chennai edition newspapers. The objective of the study is to find out the newspapers that have greater readership among the coastal communities and to a nalyze the print media coverage of Nisha Cyclone. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The researcher has adopted Survey and Content Analysis method for performing the research. The tool used for data collection for survey method is questionnaire and the samples were chosen by using simple random sampling technique. The sample size is 300 and the survey was taken among the people in Chennai who read newspapers. The Parameters chosen for content analysis were the total number of news articles appearing relating to Nisha cyclone; the page number in which the news articles appears; pagination of the news article (left or right); placement of news articles (top or bottom); total number of black and white; colored photos; news content (Image or Text or both) for quantitative analysis. For the qualitative analysis, the parameters taken were Context: The type of disaster news article (advice, disaster agent, safety message, damages, countermeasures, restoration); Target audience: The target audience focused based on the geographical areas and that are focused; genre of news: Feature, interview, announcement; Graphic Appeal: The type of the graphic elements used to convey news; Photo Featured: Additional resources such as visual aid (Graphic images or illustrated pictures) supporting the news item; Comprehension: The type of technical and descriptive words used in the content; Approach: News presentation in direct or third person format; Authentication of the news by analyzing the mentioned source of information; Bias: The political bias in the news. The researcher has taken the survey primarily to determine the newspapers on which the content analysis is to be applied. Secondly the survey also intended to find what type and format of the news does people prefer when it comes to disaster and the peoples trust upon the weather forecasts. The researcher has analyzed the news content relating to the Nisha cyclone in the newspaper that has got greater readership among survey respondents. From the survey, it was found that, the number of people who prefer television to receive the disaster related news is found maximal constituting 69%. Newspaper is found to be the next highly preferred medium with 47% and Radio was preferred only by 13% of the respondents. Since the question is a multiple choice, respondents may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%. As seen clearly the most preferred media is television: this is due to the fact that television has penetrated deeply in the society and the access to television is high as the government has given free television sets to almost all rural families. However newspapers have occupied the second place in the preference. The number of people who prefer Tamil as the language to receive the disaster related news is found maximal constituting 63%. English is found to be the next highly preferred language. The preference given to regional language to get the disaster news is very high. And the people who prefer both the languages are found in fair numbers. Dinakaran takes the majority of the news paper readership with 40%. The second most prefered newspaper is Dinathandi. From this survey results, the Tamil daily newspaper, Dinakaran is taken for content analysis. 62% of the respondents prefer reading The Hindu. Hence the English daily newspaper, The Hindu is also taken for content analysis. 66% of the respondents read the weather report rarely and 21% dont read the weather report at all. With respect to the credibility of the weather forecast and reports, the trustworthiness is found to be moderate. The most preferred content for disaster related news is the combination of both text and image News on Disaster preparedness and precautionary measures are much read by the respondents. But such content is found to be minimal. Government interventions and post-disaster news are found to be more. News in the form of Interviews and featured articles are highly preferred in terms of presentation. 85% of the people share information regarding the disaster with their family, friends and relatives. The total number of news articles that appeared in the two chosen newspapers related to Nisha cyclone in the twenty days duration between 22nd November 2008 and 11th December 2008 are: 275 articles in Dinakaran and 67 articles in The Hindu. In Dinakaran, nearly 64% of the articles appeared in the Main page and 36% in supplements. But in The Hindu, all the articles appeared in main page. Dinakaran has presented the news items in random fashion both in main and supplement pages. But in The Hindu the articles were presented only in the main paper. A highest percentage of 36% of articles appeared in the third page of The Hindu which covers regional news. Right side of a news paper is considered to be the side of high readability but equal numbers of news articles appear both the sides. Regarding the position of news articles, it is seen that majority of the news articles related to Nisha cyclone have appeared in upper half of the news papers. More number of pictures appears in color in both the newspapers. The combination of both image and text is found high in The Hindu whereas its low in Dinakaran. Regarding the information covered, In Dinakaran it is found that 49% of the news items were related to effects of Nisha cyclone on people and properties; however warning was first given only in the Dinakaran as a news article in the front page on 22nd November 2008. Only one article was on preparedness. Relief and Rehabilitation news appeared more in number followed by the effects. News involving political parties providing relief funds and people demanding their needs were given more importance. The Hindu carried the first warning message only in the column dedicated for weather report including rainfall indications which were given right from the 20th November 2008 in the same column. Since The Hindu adopts featured articles, the above said context parameters were found in combined state in all the articles relating to the Nisha cyclone. Even in The Hindu, minimal coverage was given to preparedness and more importance was given to relief and rehabilitiation during the post-disaster phase. Regional Information was given more importance in The Hindu. Dinakaran has given a good coverage of information in Chennai and also in the areas around Chennai which was drastically affected by Nisha Cyclone. Dinakaran has presented the news in simple direct style. News items were of specific topic only. But in The Hindu the news articles were completely of the featured news format. In Dinakaran, an underlined common topic was used to identify the cyclone related news and the follow up news articles too appeared in the same common topic. By lines appeared in the background of dual colors. Dinakaran has also used borders and color backgrounds in presenting the news items. The Hindu has not used much of these graphic elements in presenting the news but in small number of news items it has added the borders to separate the related news from the main news. The combination of both image and text is highly preferred among the people; The Hindu follows this combination in presenting the news and additionally it has also used more than one image in this combination. But in Dinakaran, full page photo feature are commonly seen. Dinakaran uses descriptive words for news related Nisha cyclone which is found to be harsh aggressive, whereas The Hindu has used a gag sort of descriptive words. The approach was found to be very direct in Dinakaran but in The Hindu it appears indirect, always. Dinakaran news articles are found to be less authentic as mere voices are presented without any reference but in The Hindu the name and place of the sources are given then and there. The bias is defined in one study as a perceived attribute of a news source whereby the individual news source, or the group the news source represents, has a clear vested interest in a cause or action relative to maintaining or changing the status quoà ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã ¦ (and) a biased journalistic perspective, then, would mean only one side, not two or more sides, of an issue is presented.. Post-disaster News is found to be biased. In Dinakaran, maximum number of articles covered are relief, rehabilitations and politicians visits but its found very less in The Hindu. CONCLUSION Both the newspapers show very poor coverage of news on Disaster Preparedness which is mandatory. Only one article appeared in each newspaper, contradicting the highest of 38% of respondents demand for news on disaster preparedness. Scope for information on the science concepts involving natural disasters are found more. The survey shows that 23% of the people prefer to know the technical and scientific aspects of the disasters, which nearly equals to the number of people who wish to know the statistical information. The credibility of the weather report is very moderate. In The Hindu cyclone warning was given as a segment in the weather forecast from November 20, 2008, whereas Dinakaran gave much importance to cyclone warning by presenting it as an article in the 1st page. The importance for Nisha cyclone coverage is less as the newspaper has carried only a total of four articles in first page. The ratio of the cyclone news coverage in The Hindu and Dinakaran is in the ratio of 1:4 showing the immenseness of Dinakaran in covering the Nisha Cyclone. This indicates that less preference is given in The Hindu for the coverage of Nisha cyclone. Full page photo features were observed more in Dinakaran than in The Hindu. This is mainly due to the fact that picture fills the newspaper easily unlike news articles that demand efforts of news gathering, reporting and editing. The second fact is that use of color and pictures are eye-catchy and contribute to newspaper selling also. The Hindu is found to fulfill the respondents need by presenting news features than filling the pages with mere images. Less than 0.3% of the cyclone related articles were on preparedness, even though people expect such news. From the survey it is found that 34 % of the people demand preparedness, warning and precautionary measures related news. Dinakaran doesnt carry a separate column for weather forecast whereas The Hindu carries weather report every day. Weather forecast in The Hindu appears in much smaller fonts indicating the less importance given to it. The Hindu caries separate column for the weather forecasts that contain both the statistical and technical information daily, but the font size appears too small lessening the readability factor of the weather forecast. The results of the study prove the Agenda Setting Theory. Media agenda setting refers to the deliberate coverage of topics or events with the goal of influencing public opinion and public policy. The media framed most of the cyclone stories by emphasizing government response and less often addressing individuals and communities level of preparedness, warning dissemination, information on precautionary measures or responsibility. Hence, more articles covered response and recovery than mitigation and preparation. The newspapers studied focused significantly more on government response than on key public health roles in disaster management. In future, coordination need to be enhanced among the public health professionals, policy makers and mass media before, during, and after disasters occur. We would also expect members of the general population, including DRM practitioners and policy makers, to view well-publicized issues as more important than those receiving little media attention. SUGGESTIONS Newspaper is still a better preferred medium in this digital age in receiving disaster related news articles; it can be used effectively in educating people regarding disaster preparedness in Indian context. Reporting only at the time of disaster happening has been the trend so far adopted by present media yet this rule has to be changed at this age of increasing disasters. Steps have to be taken upon improving peoples opinion on the weather forecast. This can be achieved only educating people about disaster. Finally, even though the means to the end are evolving, the goals, the values, and the underlying principles of effective disaster communication the need for transparency, increased accessibility, trustworthiness and reliability, and to create partnerships with the mediahave not changed and need to be embraced along with the practical ability to convey information effectively.
Sunday, August 4, 2019
The Link Between Dinosaurs and Birds :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers
The Link Between Dinosaurs and Birds There have been many recent discoveries pertaining to the finding of dinosaurs. However, there has never been a link between dinosaurs and birds at least not like this before. There has been a discovery in China of a remarkable dinosaur with birdlike feathers on its hind legs and tail including others places. A man by the name of Henry Gee has been researching this topic since 1996 and has come up with new discoveries. This four-winged dinosaur has fueled debate over evolution of airborne birds. This subject has re ignited debate over and over again about the origins of birds including feathers and their flights. The researchers believe that this bird has been around for about 124 to about 145 million years. Researchers also believe that these birdlike animals belong to a new species called Microraptor gui, a stem from the previous species Microraptor. The discovery of the fossil was found in the beds of Liaoning Province of the northeast China. They have seemed to measure 77cm long in diameter and lived in trees and survived by using here wing spanned to glide through branches. These birds use inter limb skin flaps to leap from branch to branch. It has been stirring up questions about which extinct reptiles do birds really belong to. ââ¬Å"Microraptor gui: Researchers are keen to study its hip and shouldersâ⬠(Gee). Its been finally agreed upon that dinosaurs, due to recent discoveries, are closely related to birds through there common ancestry To be more specific they are related to small birds carnivores called dromaeodaurs. This group of reptiles includes such names as Tyrannosaurus and others; they are all called theropods. To make an even clearer link between the two, theropods had feathers much like the birds during their time of existence. Theropods are called bipeds; bipeds have long back legs adapted for running. This includes them trying to excape from their enemies using tactics that help them to quickly climb trees. This adds to the hypothesis that birds evolved from a two-legged runner. Also there wings added to there thrust in running and helped in the elementary flight of young birds when trying to excape from enemies. Further discovery suggests when young birds learn to fly it helps for them to just fall out of a tree and let gravity take its course.
Saturday, August 3, 2019
Explain Why It Is Impossible To Derive An Analytical Formula For Valu :: essays research papers
Explain Why It Is Impossible to Derive An Analytical Formula For Valuing American Puts. Explain why it has proved impossible to derive an analytical formula for valuing American Puts, and outline the main techniques that are used to produce approximate valuations for such securities Investing in stock options is a way used by investors to hedge against risk. It is simply because all the investors could lose if the option is not exercised before the expiration rate is just the option price (that is the premium) that he or she has paid earlier. Call options give the investor the right to buy the underlying stock at the exercise price, X; while the put options give the investor the right to sell the underlying security at X. However only America options can be exercised at any time during the life of the option if the holder sees fit while European options can only be exercised at the expiration rate, and this is the reason why American put options are normally valued higher than European options. Nonetheless it has been proved by academics that it is impossible to derive an analytical formula for valuing American put options and the reason why will be discussed in this paper as well as some main suggested techniques that are used to value them. According to Hull, exercising an American put option on a non-dividend-paying stock early if it is sufficiently deeply in the money can be an optimal practice. For example, suppose that the strike price of an American option is $20 and the stock price is virtually zero. By exercising early at this point of time, an investor makes an immediate gain of $20. On the contrary, if the investor waits, he might not be able to get as much as $20 gain since negative stock prices are impossible. Therefore it implies that if the share price was zero, the put would have reached its highest possible value so the investor should exercise the option early at this point of time. Additionally, in general, the early exerices of a put option becomes more attractive as S, the stock price, decreases; as r, the risk-free interest rate, increases; and as , the volatility, decreases. Since the value of a put is always positive as the worst can happen to it is that it expires worthless so this can be expressed as where X is the strike price Therefore for an American put with price P, , must always hold since the investor can execute immediate exercise any time prior to the expiry date. As shown in Figure 1,
Friday, August 2, 2019
Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol :: Charles Dickens Christmas Carol Essays
Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol The editor of one edition of ââ¬ËA Christmas Carolââ¬â¢ wrote ââ¬Å"A story so admirably told, the details of place, of time, of person so dexterously made real for usâ⬠How does Dickens achieve this? How does he ââ¬ËA Christmas Carolââ¬â¢ a story which ââ¬Å"No one could help but enjoyâ⬠In this essay I am going to be writing about the different techniques in which Dickens uses, and by using these bring people, place and time to life. Dickens cleaver use of techniques throughout this book really makes us feel as if we are actually there are selves. I think that the reason why dickens is so good at making this all seem so real to us is because when he was younger he grew up as a child in London himself, which I think would explain why this book has so much detail in it. A lot of what happens in this book most probably happened to Dickens as a boy as he used to be quite poor himself, an example of this is the cratchits Christmas dinner which I think was based on what Christmas used to be like for Dickens. Dickens motive for writing this book was so that he could make people aware of how awful it was to be poor, so he therefore wrote this in a story to try and get his point across. This is why Dickens is so good at using a range of different techniques which really create an image in are heads of what is really going on. I am mainly going to be focusing on the different techniques used in three certain passages from the book; these are going to be the description of Scrooge, the description of the shops in London and Fezziwigs ball. I have chosen these three passages as I think that they have been written in great detail and show us exactly how Dickens brings things to life and how well he does it. Even though I am focusing particularly on these passages Dickens use of techniques is constantly used throughout this book. His constant uses of adjectives throughout really create an image in are head of what something looks like or what is going on. He uses adjectives in a number of different ways but contently uses these same ways all through the book. Dickens will use listing such as ââ¬Å"Great joints of meat, sucking pig, long wreaths of sausages, plum puddings.â⬠He will also list three adjectives and then a noun for example ââ¬Å"Cold, bleak, biting weatherâ⬠and ââ¬Å"Long, bare, melancholy room.â⬠This really helps us to create an
Australian Standard 3.2.3 for Food Premises and Equipment Essay
In Australia, premises where restaurants, bars etc are to be established have to adhere some standards. These standards have been developed by the Australia New Zealand Food Authority [ANZFA] in collaboration and consultation with both the State and Territory health authorities, the other interested institutions, the food industry and general public. For establishing a restaurant cum bar, one has to follow the rules and regulations set out in the standard 3. 2. 3 Food Premises and Equipment. It is to be noted that new standards mirror international best practice on designing and establishing a restaurant cum bar. These standards have become mandatory with effect from February 2001 in Australia. The main objective of the standard 3. 2. 3 is mainly to make sure that the layout of the premises lessens the chances for food contamination. It is the duty of the food business to make sure that the food premises ,fittings ,fixtures , transport vehicles , equipment are designed in such a way that it is constructed to be cleaned and , wherever essential , sanitised. Further, food business must make sure that the premises are offered with the required services of waste disposal, water, ventilation, light, cleaning and personal hygiene facilities, storage space and free access to toilets. The design and construction of food premises should consist the following: ? It should be suitable for the activities for which the building or premise is employed. ? It should contain enough space for the activities to be carried out on the food premises and for the equipment, furniture and fittings employed for the food activities. ? The food premises should be kept clean and if essential , it should be sanitized; and ? It should try to avoid the following : ? Should avoid dust, dirty, smoke, fumes and other contaminants. ? Not to allow the entry of pests; and ? Not to act as breeding grounds for pests. It is to be noted that if a food business operate without licence or without an accredited food safety program, then it will be liable to fined for 1000 units wherein a penalty unit equal to Australian $ 75. The following assumptions have been made for this research essay. a) The toilet facilities comply with the relevant building and plumbing legislation and the position of the facilities is located as detailed in the plans. b) There is a common bulk waste and recyclables storage area in the on the ground floor of a multi-level shopping complex where the proposed restaurant cum bar is to be located. c) The proposed premise meets all town planning requirements and that an application is not required under the Integrated Planning Act 1997. Steps to be perused before making an application for the approval of design and plan; It should be noted that applicant should prior to undertake any commencement of work on his proposed food premises; he should first take approval from the Councilââ¬â¢s health services. The application should include two copies of plan and design for the proposed restaurant cum bar. The plans must adhere to a scale of not less than 1:100 and must include the following:- o Particulars of the proposed layout of the restaurant cum bar exhibiting the position of all benches, equipment, appliances, fixtures and counters. o Details of specification which should list all material to be employed , finishes to floors , ceiling ,walls ,work benches ,cupboards and descriptions /details of all equipments to be employed including the model number and the manufacturerââ¬â¢s name wherever applicable. o Details regarding the types of food involved the specifications if work to be carried out in each area and the total number of proposed employees. o Particulars of capacity of the hot water service which includes the service rating. o Where mechanical ventilation is demanded , additional plans must be forwarded which include: â⬠¢ A full dimensional drawing exhibiting front and end elevation. â⬠¢ Details relating to the filter capacity, rated motor power and provision for make up air. 2. ASSESSING THE APPLICATION AND PLANS; ? It is to be noted that all construction techniques and methods are to be in compliance with the building code of Australia 2005/2006 VOL 1, and should adhere all Australian standards and council building guidelines. ? The walls should be of an approved smooth flat impervious material and finished in light coloured washable glass paint. ? Ceiling to be of an approved smooth non-absorbant imperious material and finished in light coloured glass paint. ? Floors, ceilings and walls should be free from any cracks or crevaces. ? All fittings fixed to the walls shall be sealed with an approved sealant. ? Bench tops should be 1. 2 mm s/s bonded to 18mm waterproof ply backing and painted underside with white glass enamel. ? All ducts ,pipes , electrical wirings and like fittings not concealed in walls shall be mounted on brackets with a minimum 25 millimetres clearance from walls and 150 millimetres clearance from the floor. ? If no approval for a mechanical ventilation system is given separately, then food premises should have only equipment not requiring a mechanical exhaust ventilation system which complies with AS1668. 2:1991, which is permitted within the food premises. ? The food premises should have adequate artificial or natural lighting, Light fittings shall be recessed or flush mounted and fitted with a cover or diffuser and constructed to prevent contamination of food with dust, dirt or other falling matter. ? The food premises should have coving with a minimum radius of 25 millimetres and continued up all fixtures, walls and plinths for not less than 70millimetres. The coving shall be an integral part of the floor surface. ? The food premises should have wheels or castors on all heavy equipment over 16 kilograms to permit easy movement for cleaning of the floor area ? Premises should have impervious barrier, at least 300mm in height in between the double bowl sink and hand washbasin provided within the front area. ? Food premises should be effectively offer pest proof. The following table will help to analyse the significant factors that have to be considered while assessing the application and plans in the case of a new restaurant cum bar.
Thursday, August 1, 2019
The Concept Of Public Health Health And Social Care Essay
The challenges outlined in this definition are the chief duty of wellness attention professionals, particularly public wellness specializers who receive developing from Schools of Public Health ( SOPH ) . SOPH is a term used to depict a section in an establishment of higher acquisition concerned chiefly with proviso of postgraduate Public Health tutoring, chiefly in the signifier of a Masters grade in Public Health ( MPH ) . ( 3 )1.1 Backgrounds:Globally, there have been important alterations in public wellness, with monolithic betterments in developed states, while stagnancy and even diminution has been observed in the wellness position of developing and under-developed states. In states like the United Kingdom, the class of wellness attention during the 19th and 20th centuries focused on proviso of drinkable H2O and bettering sanitation, and clean air. These purposes have mostly been achieved to a sensible criterion, but unhappily, the state of affairs is far from what is desired i n most underdeveloped states. ( 4 ) The current tendency is typified by the ââ¬Å" reverse attention jurisprudence â⬠, where comparatively few schools of public wellness exist in parts with the greatest public wellness challenges and an extra figure exist in the developed universe, where focal point has shifted to face new epidemics of sick wellness ensuing from, for case drug maltreatment, fleshiness and smoke. The key to turn toing these wellness issues, both in development and developed states, lies with the preparation of competent public wellness specializer ; this undertaking lies chiefly with SOPH. ( 3 ) With the apparent importance of public wellness, the preparation of public wellness professionals plays an indispensable function in undertaking these jobs, as it lays the foundation for the hereafter of this sector. Selection is an built-in portion of any preparation programme and its importance can non be overemphasized. It can be described as the first one of the most of import stairss in the bringing of effectual population based wellness attention in this context. The class constructions of most MPH programmes were traditionally centred on capable countries such as ; epidemiology, wellness policy, wellness publicity, wellness direction, environmental wellness, human biological science and wellness economic sciences. ( 5-7 ) Presently nevertheless, the range has been expanded to include topics affecting statistical analysis and the usage of computing machine programmes ; the ability to entree, manage and work with information ; the ability to show and circulate information in an effectual mode ; interview and communicating accomplishments ; sensitiveness to wellness inequalities and societal accomplishments. ( 7 ) Most SOPH in the United Kingdom are organized around the subjects of capacity edifice, multidisciplinary, balanced instruction and research. Information is dissipated in traditional category room scene, either as full-time 12 month programmes, or as portion clip 24-60 months programmes. ( 8 ) Certain SOPH have adopted more advanced agencies of instruction bringing, choosing for electronic agencies for proviso of distance acquisition.1.2 SCHOOLS OF PUBLIC HEALTH: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVESInstitutions of larning concerned with educating pupils in the rules of public wellness started emerging in the early portion of the 20th century. The first of its sort was formed in 1916, when the Rockefeller foundation funded the gift of John Hopkins University in the United States. This establishment differed in its proficient attack to public wellness contrasting with the more societal and environmental attack adopted by Charles Edward Winslow at Yale University. ( 3 ) In line with the Rockefeller foundation ââ¬Ës aims of developing the scientific discipline of public wellness, it went in front to fund the constitution of legion SOPH within the United States and internationally. Its first international legacy was in the UK, where in 1922, it sponsored the formation of the public wellness section in the London school of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine ( LSHTM ) . However, shortly after the Second World War, the Rockefeller foundation shifted its focal point to other precedences. Despite this, there was still an addition in the figure of SOPH, with the World Health Organization join forcesing with National authoritiess specifically to develop and educate public wellness professionals from 1948. These attempts have seen the constitution of about 357 SOPH in 54 states as at 2006. ( 3 )1.3 SCHOOLS OF PUBLIC HEALTH IN THE UNITED KINGDOM:An cyberspace based hunt of the universities in the UK offering different signifiers of public wellness at station alu mnus degree revealed about 70 eight of such establishments. However, there are differences in the quality and focal point of public wellness research offered by these establishments. These differences were highlighted after the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise ( RAE ) , which identified the figure of research active staff and conducted a peer appraisal of the quality of research within different universities. ( 9 ) Another important difference in UK SOPH is the appellation between programmes offering a Masters in public Health ( MPH ) and an MSc in public wellness as differentiated by establishments established before and after 1992. Evans ( 2009 ) identified ââ¬Ëpre-1992 ââ¬Ë universities as establishments that offer intensive classs and are staffed by internationally recognized research workers and have programmes normally labelled as ââ¬ËMasters in Public wellness ââ¬Ë ( MPH ) . The ââ¬Ëpost-1992 ââ¬Ë universities are largely former engineering schools that run largely parttime classs and frequently have less internationally celebrated staff labelling their programme as ââ¬ËMSc in Public Health ââ¬Ë . MPH programme are by and large considered superior to most MSc Public wellness programmes for these grounds. However the full clip MSc public wellness programme the London School of Hygiene and Tropical medical specialty ( LSTHM ) is internationally celebrated and stands as an exclusion to the facts stated above. ( 3 ) Over the last two decennaries, there have been important additions in the figure of postgraduate public wellness classs, particularly in new universities. These classs normally have a wider focal point reflecting the more societal facets of public wellness coupled with an admittance of pupils with multidisciplinary backgrounds. It was n't until 1992 that the LSTHM opened its public wellness grade to pupils with first grades other than medical specialty. It took a twosome of more old ages until the Faculty of Public wellness admitted non-medical alumnuss into its preparation programme in the twelvemonth 2000. ( 10 ) One major challenge of SOPH in the UK has been the issue of equilibrating research with learning. Schools that have really low RAE ranking will more likely lose support. Besides, the focal point on research is driven by the desire for equal reviewed publications as a step of the grade of academic success. This tendency has resulted in the prioritization of research over learning for most establishments of public wellness. However, there has been a nexus between the National Health Service and some SOPH, where the MPH class forms the first twelvemonth of public wellness specializer preparation programme which runs for 5 old ages. This agreement it has been argued will likely assist equilibrate research and instruction. ( 3,6 )1.4 THE PROCESS OF SELECTION:The United Kingdom is home to some of the most reputable acquisition establishments in the universe and as such attracts a diverse group of persons every twelvemonth, who come in hunt of quality cognition. The standards used for pupil choice into a Masters Degree programme in Public Health in has important deduction on future quality of the public wellness sector in the UK, and so the universe sing the big inflow of foreign pupils seeking quality instruction in public wellness. ( 11 ) Student choice is normally based chiefly on academic background/achievements. However, in recent old ages, the standard has been widened to include other factors like single attitudes, involvements, and personal features desired ends and work experience. Selection policies based on the traditional academic ability are fast melting out for a figure of grounds. One ground is the deficiency of grounds demoing a correlativity between old academic public presentation and subsequent success in wellness professional courses/practice. ( 12 ) The purpose of any choice procedure is to choose persons who best tantrum certain defined standards. Therefore an indispensable portion of this procedure is the definition of one or more standard by which appliers can be judged. This measure is highly of import, as SOPH are expected to take and develop future public wellness practicians who will be equipped with the needed accomplishments expected to turn to the challenges of this demanding profession. ( 11 ) Until late in the United Kingdom, developing under the Faculty of Public wellness was unfastened to merely medical practician and as a consequence, handiness of infinites on medically oriented public wellness programmes for non-medical appliers were limited. However, in 2000, the module rank was opened to non-medical alumnuss. Despite this alteration, there has been a diminution in module rank. However, these happenings has prompted inquiries about the accomplishments required to be competent public wellness practicians and if it was necessary to hold a medical grade before analyzing public wellness. ( 13 )1.5 Rationale:The thought for this undertaking was conceived by Dr Tom Marshall ( 14 ) after it was observed that admittances into the University of Birmingham ââ¬Ës MPH classs had increased significantly following the debut of an on-line choice test, as a pre-requisite for entry in March 2009. ( 15 ) Additionally, inquiries generated following a meeting of 12 MPH/MSc programme managers in September 2009 to discourse affairs of common involvement, besides inspired this undertaking.2. LITERATURE REVIEW:This literature reappraisal seeks to place similar work done on the choice standards for pupils meaning to analyze for a Masters grade in Public Health. It will try to place what the current cognition on pupil choice in the UK is, place countries that have already been researched and highlight what aspects may necessitate farther research.2.1 SEARCH STRATEGY:The writer conducted a hunt for articles written in English linguistic communication on the pupil choice standards for postgraduate public wellness instruction. Databases included in the hunt included MEDLINE, ERIC and ISI WEB OF SCIENCE. The electronic footings used entirely or in combination for the hunt included ââ¬Å" Masterss, â⬠ââ¬Å" PUBLIC HEALTH, â⬠ââ¬Å" MPH, â⬠ââ¬Å" MSc, â⬠ââ¬Å" POSTGRADUATE, â⬠ââ¬Å" SELECTION, â⬠and ââ¬Å" CRITERIA â⬠. Search footings combinations were modified utilizing AND/OR and database specific wildcards ( e.g. $ or? ) . The initial hunt provided really limited relevant informations on the topic being researched. Therefore, the undermentioned hunt footings were included ; ââ¬Å" Undergraduate, â⬠and ââ¬Å" MEDICAL SCHOOL. â⬠2.2 MPH AND UNDERGRADUATE MEDICAL Training:The Rockefeller Foundation ââ¬Ës 1916 one-year study noted that the first SOPH was established to supply a sound footing of scientific cognition for the systematic publicity of populace and personal hygiene and besides set up a well defined calling as an attractive force for trefoils interested in the field of public wellness instead than the clinical pattern of medical specialty. These original aims still play a important function in finding who gets selected to analyze for an MPH. The educational course of study of sections of preventative medical specialty of most medical schools is really similar to that of many SOPH ( 16,17 ) and as a consequence the MPH programme was antecedently unfastened merely to alumnuss of medical schools as it was deemed indispensable to posses a medical grade before analyzing postgraduate public wellness. The turning demand for more health care professionals has seen the incorporation of the MPH course of study into the undergraduate medical preparation strategy. In the United States, a few of such programmes exist including classs at Yale, Tulane and John Hopkins. These medical schools run coincident programmes with next schools of public wellness, such that on graduation, pupils possess both an MD and an MPH. Undoubtedly, there is a strong convergence in the choice of undergraduate medical pupils and postgraduate pupils of the MPH programme. Due to the deficiency of literature on the choice standards for graduate student MPH, the writer decided to reexamine the literature on undergraduate medical pupil choice standards in the United Kingdom.2.3 SELECTION CRITERIA FOR UNDERGRADUATE MEDICAL STUDENTS IN THE UK:The standards used for choice of undergraduate medical pupils are mostly vague being more of an administrative exercising to fit the figure of appliers to the available infinites on the class utilizing a movable Markss threshold. The consequences are that the greater the figure of appliers that twelvemonth, the higher the threshold grade used for admittance. ( 18 ) However, most medical schools strive to guarantee that the few available places available for medical pupil admittance are unfastened to pupils who will do the best physicians. With the current consciousness that non-academic personal qualities are basically as of import in the pattern of medical specialty as academic ability, many medical schools require appliers to set about entry trials that step other qualities and features in add-on to academic ability. ( 12,19 ) One of such trial is the personal qualities assessment trial ( PQA ) , which is designed to measure verbal, numerical, and spacial logical thinking. It contains a personality stock list and besides has an ethical logical thinking paper. The PQA has added value alongside the A ââ¬â degrees leting for an nonsubjective appraisal of non-cognitive features of draw a bead oning medical pupils. ( 19 ) Many surveies have been done to measure the qualities of medical pupil which will do them good physicians in the hereafter. ( 19-21 ) A 20 twelvemonth prospective cohort survey was carried out to find whether A- degree classs and intelligence abilities of medical pupils could be used to foretell physician ââ¬Ës callings. The survey was carried out on 511 medical pupils who entered West-minister medical school between 1975 and 1982 with follow up to 2002. The result steps assessed were the clip taken to make different calling classs, postgraduate makings obtained, figure of research publications, and steps of emphasis and burnout related to A- degree classs and intelligence at entry to clinical school. The consequences of the survey showed that an A-level class which has peculiar widespread application in UK pupil choice has long-run prognostic value for undergraduate and postgraduate callings. ( 21 ) Parry J et al carried out a reappraisal of the admittance procedure of five medical classs in UK universities. The aims of the survey were to depict the current methods used by medical schools to place prospective medical pupils for admittance to the five twelvemonth grade class. The reappraisal was carried out on a sum of 20 two universities utilizing documental analysis and interviews with admittance coachs. Their findings revealed that there was a common standard for medical pupil admittance, based on academic ability, coupled with a suited personality consisting motive for medical specialty, leading accomplishments, teamwork abilities and extracurricular involvement. The reappraisal concluded that despite the common implicit in standards for medical pupil admittances, universities differed in their application of their demands for pupil choice. ( 22 )Brown and Lilford in their paper titled ââ¬Å" choosing medical pupils â⬠noted that it cost about ?200,000 lbs to develop ea ch medical pupil in the United Kingdom. However, the deductions, fiscal and otherwise of taking the incorrect pupil to develop in the first case are far greater. Three wide attributes that a suited pupil should hold include ; appropriate cognitive ability, diligence and humanity. However, the current choice tools can merely test suitably for cognitive ability. Most medical schools have introduced aptitude trial based largely on cognitive undertakings. There is grounds to demo that the trial correlative well with presymptomatic scrutiny consequences, but have non been a dependable forecaster of clinical public presentation. They besides questioned the truth of psychological as a forecaster of diligence observing the trouble in finding the appropriate mixture of traits that is most prognostic of persevering service and personal patterned advance. They besides noted that although short medical pupil interviews were effectual enlisting tools, they had low prognostic value. ( 23 ) Anothe r survey noted that while most medical schools may wish to choose future physicians with both cognitive and non-cognitive trial, using the usage of interviews was noted to be labour intensive and clip consuming. ( 19 ) Trial of cognitive ability seemed to be the most valid method with the highest predictive.A recent article proposed a comprehensive theoretical account for the choice of medical pupils based on informed ego choice, academic accomplishment, general cognitive ability ( GCA ) and facets of personality and interpersonal accomplishments. They used informations ( n=1000 ) from existent choice processs to show how their proposed theoretical account can be applied to increase the opportunities of doing accurate and defendable pupil choice. ( 24 )2.4 SELECTION PROCESS FOR MPH ADMISSION IN OTHER COUNTRIESThe choice of pupils into the MPH programme in the United States follows a different format than what applies in the UK. In the US, all SOPH and public wellness plans are accre dited by the nationally recognized Council on Education for Public Health ( CEPH ) . Students meaning to use for a graduate student grade in public wellness direct their application through the Schools of Public Health Application Service ( SOPHAS ) . SOPHAS so completes the application to different schools, on behalf of single pupils. Before pupils can subject their application to SOPHAS, they must sit for an entryway scrutiny. Most schools accept the Graduate Record Exam ( GRE ) , although demands may change for some schools. ( 25 ) It is clear from a reappraisal of the literature that the implicit in rules of pupil choice procedure is geared towards placing persons who are most suited to the entry demands which are designed to choose campaigners that are most likely to win in the class. It besides aims to forestall the credence of campaigners that will most likely constitute a hazard to the profession.2.5 AIMS AND OBJECTIVESThis undertaking aims to measure how pupils are selected for admittance into a Master ââ¬Ës programme by assorted schools of public wellness the United Kingdom. Specific aims will include: To measure the differences in MPH pupil choice procedure used by different Universities. To find the coveted qualities of a suited MPH pupil. To determine if entry demands differ for first twelvemonth public wellness trainees when compared to other pupils To determine if entry demands differ for campaigners with or without medical preparation To analyze the differences in entry demand for place and international pupils To increase our apprehension of why pupils chose certain MPH courses/universities3. Methodology:3.1 STUDY DESIGN:This is an exploratory survey which will affect a qualitative appraisal of MPH class manager ââ¬Ës sentiments, followed by a cross-sectional survey of MPH pupil ââ¬Ës sentiments.3.1 STUDY Setting:The survey will be carried out in different universities in the United Kingdom which offer a postgraduate public wellness grade class.3.2 STUDY POPULATION:UK universities MPH class managers Miles per hour pupils3.3 STUDY TOOLS:A information extraction signifier used to study university web sitesA semi structured telephone recorded interview with MPH class managers.A structured questionnaire for MPH pupils3.4 Sampling:This will get down with an initial study of web sites of all UK universities offering public wellness at postgraduate degree. Universities offering full clip or portion clip MPH/MSc Public Health and/or wellness publicity and classs under alternate names like Global Health will be selected for inclusion in the survey. Exclusion from the survey will be made on Public wellness classs offered at PHD or MPhil degree and Public wellness classs with rubrics such as Public Health Nutrition, Public Health Practice and Public Health policy. Based on the information collated from the website study, universities will be stratified into groups based on the undermentioned features: SOPH affiliated with medical schools SOPH affiliated with schools of nursing/other allied schools of wellness. Sophomore with long distance preparation programmes SOPH with Health Promotion as a strong component SOPH Involved with Public wellness trainees Subsequently, a graded random trying technique will be used to choose participant universities from each group. If an establishment has more than one of the features used for stratification, it will be included in a group with the least figure of universities. The current mark is aimed at choosing 20 universities for the telephone interview stage of the undertaking.3.4.1 UNIVERSITY SELECTION PROCESS:After informations extraction is complete, each university will be assigned a alone designation ( ID ) figure in the Microsoft Access database. Based on the features outlined above, universities will be stratified into different groups. Each group will so be exported into a separate Microsoft Excel dispersed sheet, with the alone ID figure arranged in columns. Subsequently, each column will be indiscriminately sorted utilizing the random generator tool for Excel. ( 26 ) The university at the top of the list from each group will be chosen for the interview procedure. The selected universit y will be excluded from the list, and the procedure repeated ( choosing and excepting the university at the top of the randomly sorted list each clip ) , until the coveted figure of participants has been reached. If there if any trouble contacting or obtaining consent from a chosen university, the procedure will be repeated to choose a replacing.3.4.2 INTERVIEW OF COURSE DIRECTORS:After stratification and random choice of universities, class managers from chosen SOPH will be contacted via electronic mail, and their consent sought for engagement in a semi-structured telephone recorded interview. Questions asked during the interviews will be structured to run into the declared aims of the undertaking. All interviews will be audio recorded with the consent of the respondents. Each telephone interview is anticipated to last between 30 to 45 proceedingss. Notes will be taken during the interview to supplement the sound taped conversations.3.4.3 MPH STUDENT QUESTIONNAIRES:Structured quest ionnaires with be distributed to MPH pupils from two universities affiliated with medical schools, in add-on to the University of Birmingham SOPH, to measure the pupils sentiments on their pick of MPH programmes. The universities will be chosen from those already selected for interview of the class manager. Questionnaires will be distributed via electronic mail to pupils in selected universities.3.5 JUSTIFICATION OF APPROACHThe survey will be executed by blending method, utilizing both qualitative and quantitative attacks. Qualitative methods are suited to for this undertaking as it provides the model for understanding the contexts of societal experience and enhances our capacity for societal account and generalisation. ( 27 ) It besides allows for the incorporation of professional positions, in this survey, those of different MPH class managers. Furthermore, this research method centres strongly on inductive logical thinking when construing informations and normally consequences in findings that were wholly unexpected. ( 28 ) Telephone interviews have been mostly neglected as a qualitative tool by many research workers who prefer face to confront interview. They argue that the deficiency of ocular cues, loss of non verbal informations and trouble set uping rapport brand s telephone interviews less attractive as a information aggregation method. However, it is easier for sensitive information to be disclosed as respondents feel more relaxed. There is besides no grounds demoing that telephone interviews produce lower quality informations than face to confront interviews. ( 29 ) This method is besides rather utile for this undertaking as it is easier to schedule and cheaper, sing the geographical distribution of participant SOPH. Quantitative methods will be used to supplement qualitative methods in this survey, since it has been argued that the logic of qualitative thought can be extended with qualitative methods. ( 27 )3.6 Analytic Method:This will be done utilizing a combination of qualitative and quantitative techniques. Data analyses will get down instantly after informations extraction from surveyed university websites. This will be done utilizing basic descriptive statistics and comparative analyses where necessary. The semi-structured telephone interviews will be reviewed and reported in a structured format foregrounding repeating subjects which will be coded and analysed utilizing a thematic model. Structured pupil questionnaires will be analysed utilizing basic descriptive statistics, rank correlativity and thematic analysis. Statistical bundles which will help in informations managing and analysis include Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel and NVivo.3.7 Anticipated Problem:The most hard facet of this undertaking is the country of informations aggregation. The study of university web sites has been really disputing so far with tonss of trouble originating from screening out of import information from different university web sites. The writer anticipates that another major jobs associated with informations aggregation will be acquiring consent from MPH class managers for telephone interviews, sing their highly busy agenda. There is besides the issue of holding adequate clip to roll up, collate and adequately analyse informations generated for this undertaking. The job with the usage of pupil questionnaires is the issue of non-responders ( response rate possibly every bit low as 20 % ) . This could be addressed by utilizing on-line study tools e.g. study monkey and directing reminders to non-responders. Data analysis will necessitate some expertness in operating package bundles like Access, Excel an Nvivo. The writer has registered for and attended classs on these package bundles organized by the University of Birmingham IT-services section.3.8 ESTIMATED PROJECT TIMETABLE:The university web site study has reached an advanced phase and will be completed before the terminal of March 2010. Stratification of universities based on the standards outlined above has commenced and will be complete at about the same clip website informations extraction is completed. Subsequent choice of participant universities will be done in April 2010. It is expected that consent from take parting class managers will be received before the terminal of the April, and telephone interviews can be scheduled for May 2010. Data analysis will get down at the same time with the interviews and is expected to run through the month of June 2010. Design of pupil ââ¬Ës questionnaires is about complete. Its construction will be refined in April 2010 and distributed by the terminal of the month. Responses should be received during the moth of May 2010. Analysis of pupil questionnaires should get down in June 2010. Compilation of consequences and treatments will be done in July 2010 in readying for concluding entry in August 2010.
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