Commercial Transactions and International Law Essay

Commercial Transactions and International Law - Essay Example UCITA applies to computer information and further defines computer information as "information in electronic form that is obtained from or through the use of a computer" (Grier, Keane, & Gilbert, 2001). When both hard goods and computer information is involved in the transaction, the Acts may overlap. According to Grier et al. (21001), "Many commentators suggest that only after years of litigation will we be able to say definitively which law governs which type of transaction". A license is a permission to use. In the context of computer information, the user is granted permission to use the software or the process of a computer program for a set period of time. They have no ownership of the property and as such they may not be able to review it, divulge it, or modify it. The term of the license is set at a predetermined length of time. If the product is sold, it becomes the property of the purchaser. In most cases, this gives the owner the right to act in several ways that are prohibited by a license. The owner may modify, sell, or discard the product. The definition of computer information is so vastly different from a "hard good", that it does not fit well into article 2. It required a redefinition and a new set of rules to regulate it.

Financial analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Financial analysis - Essay Example The flagship Barclays Bank has around 1700 branches spread across UK and other countries (Hoovers, â€Å"Company Description†). The group has its operation across Europe, Africa, the United States and the Middle East countries. The company deals in financial products and competes within the global financial services industry. The control and authority of an organisation lies with the corporate managers. Undoubtedly, it indicates that the managers must be conversant with the accounting position of the organisation. â€Å"The term management accounting refers to accounting the management i.e. accounting which provides necessary information to the management for discharging its function† (Anbuvelan, â€Å"Management Accounting†). Management accounting provides variable assistance to the management to carry out the managerial functions with more efficiency. There are a number of tools and techniques in Management Accounting arena. The whole process includes gathering required information and analysing them to make decision making process much uncomplicated. A number of companies use ‘Activity Based Costing’ to identify and allocate the cost of the products or services. This includes identifying the cost pools or the activity centres and within the organisation and allocating cost to the activities using the cost drivers. The assignment of the cost is done based on the contribution of various activities in any particular product or service. As this costing process considers multiple cost drivers with different activities, the distortion risk is minimised considerably, providing the required cost information. As ABC indentifies each of the overhead costs with the products and services, produced and delivered to the customers, the process is more advanced than the traditional cost techniques. The significant steps in ABC are identification of the companies’ key activities, identification of related cost amount, establishment

Experiment 9 formal report Lab Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Experiment 9 formal - Lab Report Example Methodology also involves description of procedures like recording of paired values and subsequent calculation of proportionality constants, means and standard deviations. Results section provided tabulated information together with corresponding graphs for the three experiments. This report also contains a discussion section revolving around findings made in the preceding section. Discussion proves whether the hypothetical claim made earlier is true or false. Finally, a conclusion summarizes main concepts of the experiments. Irrespective of their constituent atoms, all gases obey certain relations with environmental parameters of pressure, temperature and volume. Unique relation of gases to these parameters constitutes the three gas laws. This means that gases have similar physical properties, be it CO2, NO2 or H2O (g). While describing behavior of gases in relation to the three physical parameters acknowledged earlier, a forth variable, specifically the number of molecules, is used. The three gas laws explain behavior of gases when two physical parameters are paired. Technically, behavior of gases in relation to any of the three parameters is independent of each other (Myers, 19). In this case, a gas’ behavior with changing temperature can be measured by keeping the pairing variable, either pressure or volume constant. Practically, gases may show slight variation of variable quantities from theoretically expected values. This explains the concept of ideal gas law, a law that combines relationshi p of all the four essential variables of pressure, temperature, volume and the number of moles. Ideal gas law is written as PV = nRT where n = number of moles, P = pressure, T = temperature, V = volume and R = gas constant with a uniform value of 0.0821 L-atm/mole-K. As acknowledged earlier, relationship between two variables can be determined since behavior of each variable in independent of the other variables. In the experiment, the forth

Scientific principles and techniques Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Scientific principles and techniques - Essay Example Mechanics are based on a few laws of nature which are evident without proof or argument. Mechanics is a highly developed branch of physics which is tasked with the determination and description of the motion of bodies and the investigation of the forces that are associated with the motion (Gross, et al. 2009). Suspension system The suspension system of a car is a collection of important systems that are located on the lower part of the car and are part of the chassis. These include the frame, suspension system, steering system and tires and wheels. The suspension of a car is mainly composed of three systems namely springs, dampers and anti-sway bars. Springs are based on four designs: coil springs which are the most common and are made of a heavy-duty bar that is coiled around an axis. They compress and expand when a force is applied on them to absorb the motion of the wheels; leaf springs which are made up of several layers of metal that are bound together to perform as a single uni t. They absorb shock in trucks and heavy-duty automobiles to reduce the force exerted on the wheels; torsion bars which are made of a steel bar that is coiled; and air springs which are made up of a cylindrical chamber of air placed between the wheel and the body of the car. Manufacture The material is commonly used is alloys of steel such as high-carbon, chrome vanadium and stainless steel. The manufacture process of the springs involves coiling, hardening and a final stage of finishing. Leaf springs are made from bars of flat stock and are heated to elevated temperatures. They are then formed by the use of a machine or by hand. Car springs are made by hot winding which involves heating the metal to very high temperatures to make it formable. When red hot, the bar is then coiled around a mandrel until it acquires the required shape then it is quickly removed from the mandrel and dipped in oil to cool and harden it. To ensure the spring acquires the required strength it is heat trea ted appropriately. For the leaf springs, the flat ends are attained by grinding. The bar is mounted in a jig and is held against an abrasive wheel that is rotating until the required flatness is achieved. A coarse wheel is used first then a finer wheel is used to ensure a fine finish and a cooling lubricant is used to ensure a quality finish and to increase tool life. In a subsequent processes, the spring is exposed to bombardment with tiny steel balls that hammer the steel and make it smooth and this ensures that the steel can resist fatigue and cracking after years of use. The spring is then compressed fully in order to achieve the desired pitch and length and this process is sometimes repeated severally. The coating process which is aimed at preventing corrosion of the metal is the next step. The entire surface of the metal is either painted, dipped in liquid rubber or plated with another metal for example chromium or zinc though electroplating. The spring is then tested through various quality control checks to ensure it adheres to the standards. Function They support the weight, absorb and reduce shock and help to maintain contact by the tire on the road surface. 1. Statics. At rest the coil spring is extended with the only force acting on it being the weight of the car. The leaf spring is curved at rest or when no force is acting on it. 2. Strength of materials. The springs in a car are made of a strong heavy-duty bar that is made of steel. This

The Development of Indian-EuroAmerican Relations from Contact to Essay

The Development of Indian-EuroAmerican Relations from Contact to Removal - Essay Example This relationship has consistently been marred by violence, broken promises and mistrust, and remains a key part of the American history. Early Indian-EuroAmerican relations were an ever-changing and involving area, where perceptions on both sides were not static. Indians had the ability to play different European powers off against each other, and, likewise, the Europeans did this with different Indian tribes. At this time, the two groups existed in a continually revolving relationship. Some tribes became nomadic, taking advantage of the newly introduced horses, while others settled down into permanent villages and made use of agriculture supplemented by hunting and gathering. Even before the first contact with the Europeans, Indians represented a diverse set of tribes that had their own interests, waged their own wars and formed their own alliances. Once the contact had occurred, Indians often welcomed alliances with the Europeans, or bought weapons and goods that made their lives easier (Howe 26-28). Relations between Indians and Europeans were marred by a significant effect that the Europeans had on their population. As the Europeans came in contact with Indians, they often passed on diseases which they (Europeans) had resistance to, but the Indians did not. In general, this transference was not intentional, and in most cases the Europeans were probably not aware that they had the diseases, as their immune systems fought against the effects. These diseases resulted in a high number of fatalities (Howe 28). At this point in Indian-EuroAmerican relations, there was a strong focus on integrating the two cultural groups by ‘westernizing’ the Indians. Many Indian tribes adopted aspects of the European culture and often chose which components of the new culture to accept and which to ignore. For example, the Navajo tribe moved from being nomads to weavers, sheepherders and silversmiths. Many other tribes or individuals converted to Christianity while others maintained their traditional religious beliefs. Some believed that they should unify with the Europeans, creating a peaceful coexistence throughout the United States. Others felt that Indian tribes should unify with one another against the Europeans (Howe 27). Some tribes created alliances and treaties with the Europeans to secure their own tribal rights and to work on the creation of a unified culture. One example of this is the Muskogee tribe, known to the Europeans as the Creek Indians. The tribe negotiated with George Washington’s administration to create a treaty, and developed a legal written code and national council. However, the influence of the Europeans on this tribe was not uniform, and a dissident faction called â€Å"Red Stick† arose, which resented the influence that Europeans were having on their culture. The uprising was not successful and resulted in a significant amount of bloodshed (Howe 28-29). The war between the United States and Britain in 1812 also had a significant impact on Indian-EuroAmerican relations. Despite the fact that some tribes attempted to choose neutrality in the war, most were compelled to choose to support one side or another. This resulted in many Indians fighting alongside either Americans or Europeans against Indian families or friends (Howe 29). This was an important factor after the war too, because many Indians fought on the losing

Psychosocial Interventions With Psychosis Essay

Psychosocial Interventions With Psychosis - Essay Example A wide array of nervous system stressors can result in a psychotic reaction both at organic as well as functional level. However, the first line treatment for psychosis is generally associated with the administration of antipsychotic drugs and in some cases hospitalization, but there is increasing research evidence that suggests cognitive therapy; family therapy can be effective in the management of psychotic symptoms. This paper critically reviews on psychological intervention with patients affected by serious and prolonged mental disorders and the strengths and weaknesses associated with such types of therapeutic interventions. Psychosis is a mental state defining a group of mental disorders come into one singe head in psychiatry and it is characterized by certain common fundamental factors such as hallucinations or sensation of non-existent objects or phenomenon; delusions or possessing beliefs not based on reality; thought insertion, withdrawal, thought blocking, thought broadcasting lack of insight or being unable to understand the wrongs in the thinking or activity patterns. However, there are number of controversies associated with the psychiatric classification of psychosis, but usually the most common disorders come under the general title of psychoses are as follows: - Schizophrenia - Schizoaffective disorder - Maniac Depression (Bipolar Disorder) - Mania - Delusion (Paranoid) Disorder - Psychotic Depression Although these disorders differ in their symptoms but they consist of a common parameter that the individual suffering from any of the disease does not experience reality as most of the other people in general. Sample Case Study The patient is a female of 18 years doing graduation in a co-education college. She was brought to the clinic by her mother and sister for lack of sleep, verbal and physical aggressiveness, suspicion that the male faculty members in her college are writing love letters to her and making obscene gestures during the lecture and the fear of becoming a male. She had the habit of peeping into the bathroom when her mother takes bath. Sometimes she blamed her mother of appearing nude before her. Her elder sister and elder brother had innocuous relationship. She did not have any intimate relationship with the member of the same sex. The family disapproved of her friendship with boys of questionable character. Therapeutic Strategies Suggested The patient mentioned in the case study is suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. In the initial phase of the treatment, she was suggested to undergo neuroleptic pharmacotherapy especially antipsychotic drugs. The medication has been found to be effectual in treating the 'positive symptoms' of the disease, the treatment of 'negative symptoms' has not very yet found to be very successful. Later on she was suggested to undergo psychotherapeutic interventions like reality-oriented individual therapy so that she could be able to cope up with stressful thoughts and events encountered which eventually reduce the risk for relapse, cognitive-behavioural approach helps in monitoring and changing the negative patterns of thoughts and behaviours in ways to make her able to regulate irrational thoughts

Preschool Literacy Essay Example for Free

Preschool Literacy Essay This paper is going to outline the myriad of benefits that high-quality preschool literacy programs will afford families, communities, school districts and the world. Today, numerous researchers are delving into HOW to establish an effective and successful pre-school program. In this paper, I hope to answer several questions: ? What is pre-school literacy? ? What benefits do participants in a preschool program receive? ? HOW do we go about establishing a high-quality pre-school literacy program? I am rather passionate about this area. Being a speech pathologist, literacy skills and communication skills are so interwoven it is difficult to separate them. I have to say that while going to school many years ago, we didn’t learn that much about literacy as it related to speech and language development. It is only recently that researchers and educators have identified the importance of how both developmental areas are linked. I feel that establishing successful and highly effective programs that incorporate family and child directed activities are crucial to the success of our young students. That being said, let’s explore pre-school literacy. What is preschool literacy? Most people hear the word ‘literacy’ and equate that with ‘reading’. This would be an adult analogy. For very young children, we don’t, nor should we, expect them to read! Early literacy skills refer to many different things, none of which is sitting down with Mom at the age of two and reading aloud for her. At the youngest ages, early literacy skills refer to children’s exposure and experience with books. The following list is derived from Schickendanz (1999) and Early Literacy (www. zerotothree. com) . It states that early literacy behaviors include: ? Book handling behaviors – handling and manipulating the book ? Looking and Recognizing- how are they paying attention to the book, pictures, words; demonstrating recognition of pictures, etc. ? Picture and Story Comprehension – Imitation of actions noted in a story, talking about a story ? Story-Reading Behaviors – verbal interactions with the books, imitating a pointing a finger at words and/or pictures. ‘Establishing strong early literacy behaviors is essential to literacy development and should be the focus of early language and literacy programs’ (Early Literacy, 2003) It is suggested that these skills develop naturally and unfold as a result of social interactions with parents and caregivers, rather than direct instruction. I agree with this statement wholeheartedly. Ideally, it is everyday interactions with infants and toddlers that include talking and book reading that help establish the crucial beginning stages of literacy development. I recently heard on a radio program (can’t cite it) that children between the ages of 0-3 years should hear approximately 30,000 words a day to build an effective vocabulary! Amazing. Todd Risley, co-author of Meaningful differences in the 3 everyday Experiences of young American children (Mangione, 2005), states that isn’t an intentional teaching of these behaviors but rather embedded in the social interactions. He believes, as do I, that oral language skills appear to be the basis of phonological processing skills, which is a strong indicator for reading readiness in kindergarten. As children move into the preschool realm, (typically described as ages 3 through 5), prereading skills are developing along a continuum, rather than as a set of discrete and separate skills. In the article Critical Issue: Addressing the literacy Needs of Emergent and Early Readers (www. ncrel. org), the authors made a very interesting point I’d like to share with you. They discussed the various stages of literacy development that are not relevant to this article, however, an important transition occurs when a child’s â€Å"‘reading’ of a story changes from sounding like oral language to sounding like written language. This demonstrates a change in ideas from thinking of reading as spoken words to understanding that reading is recreated from written text that has special wordings† (McGee Richgels, 1996;Sulzby, 1991). It is the beginning of the child’s print recognition. With respect to specific pre-school literacy behaviors that we should see addressed in a high-quality preschool program, the most important would be: ? Oral Language- engaging in rich conversational exchange with students, developing oral vocabulary, reading aloud daily, having children develop their own stories by looking at pictures (Tomie DiPola books are excellent for this) ? General Knowledge – what prior knowledge are the student’s coming into school with that they share, encouraging questions and new experiences with in the classroom, ? Print Awareness- being exposed to various written materials, some repetition of early literacy behaviors, point/drag techniques while reading ? Alphabet knowledge – the ABC song, recognizing sounds that letters make, letter recognition. ? Phonological awareness- Increased awareness of the sounds of the letters and how to play with them through rhyme, segmenting, blending, ? Pre-writing skills – later stages of development and exposure to writing mediums (pen, pencil, crayon, markers, paint), using journals with self-made pictures, word walls. (Roskos, K; Christie, J, Richgels, D, www. naeyc. org) How do participants in high-quality preschool programs benefit? I think I could go on for days about the benefits of an excellent preschool experience. For the sake of brevity, I won’t! Numerous studies have been conducted to determine whether preschool programs are beneficial and cost effective. The majority of studies suggest the answer to that is an overwhelming YES. 4 The Chicago Child Parent Center (CPC), the High/Scope Perry Preschool Program and the Abecedarian Project are all examples of highly qualified preschool programs. The CPC is recognized by the US Department of Education as an exemplary early childhood program. A comparison of the benefits of these programs was conducted, yielding what I thought were incredible results. These programs have been in effect since the 1960’s, servicing low-income areas in Chicago and Michigan (Lee, J, www.ccsso. org). In a speech given by Dr. W. Steven Barnett of the National Institute for Early Intervention Research in 2006, three separate studies compared the results of participants enrolled in the above-mentioned preschool programs against a control group that wasn’t enrolled in any preschool program. Their longitudinal studies revealed amazing results, which are credited to the attending of the preschool programs. According to them, participants in the program (as compared with non-participants): ? Were less likely to be enrolled in special education ? Had a higher rate of high school completion ? Demonstrated higher test scores ? Were less likely to repeat a grade ? Had increased earning after completing high school ? Engaged in less criminal activities ? Had a lower incidence of smoking, pregnancy and abortion. These benefits did not stop at the poverty line. They also demonstrated that middle class children benefited from the experience as well. He discussed the well-known fact that disadvantaged children benefit more when they are in class with children from different socio-economic backgrounds. An analysis I found very interesting was that ‘For every dollar invested into the preschool programs described in this paper $7 is saved in public expenditures’ (Lee. www. ccsso. org). WOW, think what that could mean to a superintendent’s budget! When trying to determine whether a preschool program could benefit those in the middle class, the US Dept. of Education, NCES, (1997) article entitled Dropout rates in the United States:1995 determined that middle class children have fairly high rates of the problems that preschool reduces for low-income children. While benefits decrease gradually with an income increase, the overall benefits are greater when ALL children are exposed to PreK. In an evaluation of 5 state prek programs conducted by Barnett,W. S, Lamy, C. and Jung, K. (2005), results revealed that in all programs, whether universal or targeted, students demonstrated gains in language, literacy and math. While all students (various SES backgrounds) gained, the low-income students gained more. Soooooo†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 5 How do we go about establishing high-quality preschool literacy programs? In an ideal world with unlimited funding, it wouldn’t be too difficult. However, we don’t live in an ideal world and much needed financing is often diverted to other important (or not so important! ) causes. Really, what is more important than education? One resolution could be to emulate the success demonstrated by the Chicago and Michigan programs spoken about earlier in this paper. In Rockland County, some school disctricts already offer a district-based preschool program. This year, all districts were alloted slots to participate in a Universal PreK initiative. However, while that is an excellent start to establishing a much needed entity, a lot of work still exists. During my research gathering I read many, many articles that discussed the family-centered literacy approach. Such as at the CPC, involving the parents and providing them with strategies and useful techniques to help their children empowers them and makes them feel useful and successful. Without parental involvement at the preschool level, literacy development suffers. Since the institution of NCLB, many school disstricts are seeking wasys to provide needed support to their students without it becoming a ‘special ed’ component or target program. Instituting a universal prek program benefits all. Looking at the various achievement gaps that Dr. Barnett identified in his paper, while there is significantly more of an achievement gap at the lower SES levels, there are still marked gaps in the middle class level, thus further justifying why ALL students would benefit from the experience. In an effort to establish successful high-quality preschool programs in Texas, the retired CEO of Texas Instruments was aware of the huge impact the Perry Preschool Program had on its communities and he was eager to replicate that success in Texas. Therefore, after establishing a successful pilot program, the participants wanted to be able to spread the success throughout the state and a handbook â€Å"Improving Early Literacy of Preschool Children’ was developed for prekindergarten educators. The authors and editors really were able to target what a high-quality program looks like with suggestions on how to implement them into your existing programs. The following steps are indicated to improve a preschool program: ? Set goals ? Create an improvement plan ? Build a classroom library ? Train the teachers and encourage collaboration. ? Keep rack of student’s progress ? Inform and involve parents 6 ? Communicate with elementary schools the children will attend ? Measure and document results (Dougherty, 1999) All of these steps are so important to developing a program that is successful. It is hard to determine whether one step is more important than another. Personally, I really feel that if the teachers and the teaching assistants and/or aides are given the proper training, every interaction with a child will take on new meaning. The Margaret Cone Head Start Center in Southeast Dallas has serviced predominantly low-income populations. As part of their language enrichment program (LEAP), each teacher attends six weeks of instruction at the nearby university as well as several workshops a year. Because of these teacher trainings, Cone Center children have produced improved scores on a variety of tests targeting vocabulary, language skills and social skills. I believe that involving the parents as much as possible and having them in the classroom for a half-day a week or twice a month lets them see what is happening and provides modeling they can use at home. Obstacles that I can identify at this point to establishing high-quality preschool programs that ALL children can attend include: ? FUNDING ? Private preschool programs vs. school district based programs ? Consistent participation on the part of the parents ? Difficulty providing quality training programs for the teachers and teaching assistants/aides due to lack of funding, time, resources While I feel there are many excellent examples of qualified and successful preschool programs in Rockland County, we do not meet the needs of all the children of the preschool age. As CPSE chair, I am able to provide special education needs to many children that require it. However, there is great variability between the programs that we recommend students attend. Consistent high-quality preschool programs would be beneficial to ALL students involved, not just the special needs children. In conclusion, it is a well-documented fact that preschool literacy education benefits all children involved. The need lies in our ability to establish high-caliber programs that are consistent, with staff that is well trained and caring. I think if we can distribute the information about the long-term effects researched and prove to the masses (school boards! ) that the bottom line would be cost savings to the community, we might see some change. I look forward to that day! References 1. Schweinhart, L. J. Lasting Benefits of Preschool Programs ERIC Digest. ericdigests. org. Retrieved February 25, 2008, from http://www. ericdigests. org/1994/lasting. htm 2. Dougherty, C. , et al. Improving Early Literacy of Preschool Children a Handbook for Prekindergarten Educators. Texas Instruments, 1999. 3. Lee, J. The Benefits of Preschool for High School and Beyond. Council of Chief State School Officers. Retrieved February 25, 2008, from http://www. ccsso. org 4. Roskos, K. A. , Christie, J. F. Richgels, D. J. The Essentials of Early Literacy Instruction. National Association for the Education of Young Children. Retrieved February 23, 2008, from www. naeyc. org/resources/journal 5. Mangione, P. L. (2005). Creating Language and Literacy Experiences for Infants and Toddlers. PITC Graduate Conference. Berkeley, CA. 6. Johnson, D. Sulzby, E. Critical Issue: Addressing the Literacy Needs of Emergent and Early Readers. North Central Regional Educational Library. Retrieved January 21, 2008, from http://www. ncrel. org/sdrs/areas/issues/content/cntareas/reading/li100. htm 7. Barnett, W. (2006, Jan. 10). Research on the Benefits of Preschool Education: Securing High Returns from Preschool for All Children. New York, NY. 8. Brain Wonders. Early Literacy (2003). Zero To Three. Retrieved January 24, 2008, from www. zerotothree. org/BrainWonders.