Summary Of The Mcpheron Brothers - 1121 Words

The McPheron brothers, Raymond and Harold, are the go-to guys of the small town of Holt. It is a safe haven to the pregnant teenager they take in. It is a place of comfort for two young brothers much like themselves, named Ike and Bobby. Raymond and Harold are two brothers who live together on their ranch and take care of their farm animals. The McPheron’s wore jeans and boots, canvas chore jackets, and hats with flannel earflaps. They have a barn full of cattle that they spend most of their time with. They have never been married and their parents were killed when they were longer which left them to raise themselves. They have never had a female live with them nor have they been around any children. They have been independent and lonesome for years. They sit around their table and read the newspaper while drinking coffee. Then they spend most of their days outside in the barn. Even in the cold frigid winter months, they still spend their time outside maintaining the farm. Tom Guthrie who is a friend of the McPheron’s brought his sons, Ike and Bobby, to the farm one day to help out. Ike and Bobby would not give the McPheron’s an hourly wage to be paid; they weren’t sure what to say so they just shrugged their shoulders. After Tom said the boys would help, Harold lubed up his arm and shoved it in the cow to feel for a calf. He pulled out green manure and continued to shove his arm in to see if he could feel anything. When Raymond pulled his arm out of the heifer it was

Labor movement Free Essays

Labor movements is a term that refers to a group of working people who have come together so as to fight for better working terms from their employers. Labor movements started as early as the 18th century and they were faced with a lot of resistance from both the government and other institutions who were opposed to the idea. Some people share experiences and share the same interests and as a result they tend to come against other s whose interests are different from theirs. We will write a custom essay sample on Labor movement or any similar topic only for you Order Now This leads to people with the same ideas coming and together and fighting for their own welfare hence leading to the creation of labor movements. Formation of labor movements even in the early days was faced with several challenges. The major hindrance to these movements is their lack of power to negotiate properly for the workers. Once a workers union has been formed its main duty is to negotiate for better terms for its members but this is not usually an easy task. In America, there’s a process through which a workers union can negotiate with employers for better terms and it’s known as ‘collective bargaining’. For a union to be recognized by the employer it must be an elected one or the employer may recognize it voluntarily. This act requires the employer to bargain in what is known as ‘good faith ‘and this clearly proves to be unfair and not friendly to the labor unions since the employer is not under any pressure to agree to the workers demands but the agreement reached must also be favorable to him.The terms of this process are not also friendly to workers as it provides that all workers including even those who are not members of the union must bargain through this union and at no time can the employer negotiate with individual employees. Whenever negotiations are taking place and the two parties need to come to an agreement, it’s usually a nightmare for the employees’ representatives. This is the case mostly when there needs to be a written agreement between the employees and the employers because the employers bargain without any commitment or willingness to reach an agreement . The employers engage in a hide and seek game with the labor unions .In most cases they cancel meetings with the employees unions and in some cases, they may agree to minor proposals or proposals that are of little importance to the employees while giving considerations to others that are of little importance to the union members . Another hindrance to the labor movement is the refusal by employers to offer counterproposals to the proposals of the unions and they sometimes come up with new ones just when it appears like the two parties are reaching an agreement also in some cases they take back on some agendas that had already been agreed upon. These types of delays are only intended to frustrate the efforts of the unions and eventually force them to give up on their demands. The labor laws in many countries do not provide adequate restrictions or measures to stop these actions by the employers which can be said to be unethical and in bad faith. The labor unions some times become demoralized due to pressure they get from the employees who are always looking upon it to negotiate with the employers on their behalf. A good example is a case where the union goes to court only for the ruling to take too long to pass the judgment and the employers takes advantage of this by putting the blame on the unwillingness or the lack of commitment from the union. During these delays and other hindrances to the employee’s justice, some of the union members may quit, get sick, or even die and this only serves to weaken the union. The law is mainly to blame for all the woes and problems facing workers unions in many parts of the world. This weakness can be seen in cases where the court rules in favor of the employees because the employer is not ordered top pay any monetary fines but is just to go back to the negotiating table with the employees. Mostly, majority of the cases that are forwarded by employees to the courts are ruled in favor of the employers and this discourages new members from the joining the union and all that the union gets from such cases is just recognition. The growth of labor unions during the 19th century The growth of unions during this time took a different direction from what was previously known. Before this time, only skilled laborers or workers were allowed to join unions hence locking their counterparts who were not skilled out of any workers union that could voice their grievances. Before this time too, most of the labor unions were made up specific ethnic groups and they also allowed female employees to join the union unlike in the past where females were locked out of any unions. The old tactics of applying militant like tactics so as to voice grievances were done away with and the new generation of labor unions embraced the new approach of using negotiations as a tool in fighting for their rights. This didn’t work for long since soon afterwards, there rose the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) which didn’t like the approach used previously and it advocated actions like mass actions and strikes to forward the workers grievances. This new union didn’t discriminate anyone and it was made up of workers (skilled and non skilled) and it also didn’t discriminate members on either race or gender. This new union fought for the freedom of speech for workers which were not allowed there before. Later afterwards, there rose NLRA which came into an agreement with the government. The agreement saw both parties agree that, employees were to forward their complains through unions instead of taking direct actions. In 1950s labor unions became more powerful and were able to negotiate with large companies through a small number of union officials and the members were notified later after the final details of the agreement had been reached. The workers desisted from mass actions and embraced this new idea. Anyway, the union could call strikes anytime the employers showed unwillingness to listen to them. Since this union brought together almost all workers, the employers had little or no workers to replace those who were on strike and so they couldn’t break it. Currently, things have changed in favor of the employers. This change can be attributed to slack labor markets and unfair legal setups. Many modern companies do not encourage labor unions and do not fear actions like strikes since they see them as opportunities to hire replacements. The advancement in technology has also played a role in collapsing of labor unions since machines have taken jobs that were previously done by people. The most effective tool that the labor unions have been left with is negotiations. For good results to be realized, the union needs to establish unity among its members and prepare a document that outlines its goals, and a timetable for the actions it plans to take. These are essential incase the union is engaged by a potential employer over an employment contract. Modern labor laws, unlike the ancient ones, differentiate between mandatory and permissive subjects of bargaining. Lastly, when the terms of the contract between the labor union and the employer have been   Ã‚  finalized, the two parties signs a collective bargaining agreement which serves as the law throughout the duration of the contract. References 1. David Green Lawrence Cromwell (1984) Mutual Aid or Welfare State. Australia’s Friendly Societies. 2. Beverly Silver: (2003) Forces of Labor. Worker’s Movements and Globalization since 1870, Cambridge University Press. 3. St. James Press (2003) .Encyclopedia of Labor History Worldwide. St. James Press 4.   Ã‚  John Hinshaw and Paul LeBlanc (2003) U.S. labor in the twentieth century: studies in Working-class struggles and insurgency. Amherst, NY Humanity Books How to cite Labor movement, Essay examples

Trends Of Purchasing And Supply Management -Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Trends Of Purchasing And Supply Management? Answer: Introduction Supply chain management is the regulation of information and finances as they move in a process from the supplier to the consumer. It involves coordination of these movements within and amongst companies. The main objective of a supply chain management is to reduce inventory. This technology has been embraced in today businesses to identify, get, share and predict events and transactions to translate into useful information to e used in management. This report is based on Wall Mart. This will entail providing an overview of the business, Supply chain/logistics management from the source to the customers, the linkage between Wal-Mart activities and theories in the supply chain (Modern operations management) and explanation of sustainability throughout the chain. Overview of Wal-Mart Wal-Mart occupies the highest position in the world's largest retailer. In the fiscal year 2012, the company produced $446,950 million revenues (4-traders, 2017). Just like most large retail companies, Wal-Mart has both online and offline business. However, most of its revenues are generated from the five types of physical stores; discount store, Sam's club, supercenters, Wal-Mart Express and outlets like a neighborhood market. Started by Sam Walton, the company had its first store in Rogers, 1962. By 2012, it had developed to more than 10, 000 retail outlets in 27 countries (4-traders, 2017). Although various parameters can be used to measure and explain Wal-Mart's growth, its success is often attributed to efficient supply management initiatives (Seuring, 2013). For example, in 2012, a report compiled by the company showed that its distribution cost was 1.7%of the cost of sales (4-traders, 2017). This figure is twice less of its competitors like K Mart and Sears. They have 3.5% and 5% cost of sales respectively. Wal-Mart Supply Chain Management/Logistics According to Supply Chain Digest, Wal-Mart is a true definition logistical and operational triumph. It stocks products made in more than 70 countries. Moreover, it manages inventory worth $32 million and operates more than 11,000 stores at any time in 27countries (Gilmour, 2013).This shows how having an effective supply chain management strategy has been the backbone for Wal-Mart. Thus, this section provides the company's supply chain activities in three categories; procurement and distribution, logistics management and inventory management. Procurement and Distribution To reduce purchasing cost and provide the best prices to customers, Wal-Mart directly procures goods from manufacturers thus bypassing all intermediaries. The company is known for being a good negotiator. It only decides to procure goods from a particular manufacturer when it is certain that no other manufacturer is offering the same product at a lower price (Ellram, 2013). In an interview, Claude Harris explained the reason Wal-Mart is tough on negotiating (4-traders, 2017). He said that when bargaining and negotiating, they always have the customer in mind. They know vendors have their limit but want the most out of negotiations (Ward, 2016). Therefore, they ensure that the negotiation result to the best customer prices. Wal-Mart uses EDI, computer software for procurement purposes. It connects the company's systems with suppliers'. This enables suppliers to access Wal-Mart purchase orders including store-to-store information (Wynstra, 2013). After that, the suppliers distribute ship the required goods to distribution centers. Logistics Management Wal-Mart logistics infrastructure is widely known for being fast and responsive. With more than 3500 company-owned trucks, they can distribute goods within a short period. To ensure efficiency in this phase, the company hires only experienced drives that have driven for 300,000 miles without being involved in an accident (4-traders, 2017). The main strategy implemented by Wal-Mart in logistics management is Cross-docking. This method has helped it replenish inventory efficiently. It entails the direct transfer of goods and products from inbound or outbound truck trailers without extra storage (Heffner, 2014). Meaning, an incoming semi-trailer truck or railroad car is directly unloaded into outbound trucks, rail cars or trailers without in-between storage. The diagram below retrieved from https://www.walmart.com illustrates the cross-docking strategy. Normally, suppliers deliver goods to Walmart's distribution centers first. Then they are cross-docked and delivered to the company's stores. This strategy of logistics management has enabled Wal-Mart to keep transportation and inventory costs low, eliminate inefficiencies and reduce the time taken to transport goods (Aykin, 2016). Similarly, cross-docking strategy enables products to be transported from suppliers to warehouses. Here, they are shipped to Wal-Mart stores without taking long in inventory. Warehousing is the process of organizing, assorting and storing finished goods or materials (Gilmour, 2013). The process involves the utilization of warehouses; local storage for inbound materials before manufacture/ assembly (Ritala, 2014). Warehouses could also be used to store outbound product prior to shipment to customer (Wynstra, 2013).Unlike the common assumption that warehouses are used for storage only; Wal-Mart uses the process to break bulk. That is, they take large deliveri es from a single source, split, and then recombine them into customer order of different product types (Soltani et al., 2011).They can also be used to provide buffer; the quick unloading of large and low-frequency deliveries is then delivering them at a high frequency to customers (Ellram, 2013). Inventory Management To merchandise inventories and track sales in its stores, Wal-Mart has heavily invested in Information System. In 1983, the company created its satellite communication system. This enabled stores to manage stock, mark prices and reduce pack sizes (Souza, 2013). This reduced the overall inventory levels and increased room for products commonly ordered by customers. Each employee at the stores is given a Magic Wand' to keep track of inventories and deliveries (4-traders, 2017). This is a hand-held computer that uses radio frequency terminals to link in-store terminals. Apart from tracking inventories and deliveries, it also tracks backup merchandise within the distribution centers. The Point Of Sale (POS) system is used for store replenishment of goods and order management. This is a type of information system that enables one to track store inventory levels and trends (Sanders, 2016). This technology led the company to introduce voice-based order filling in 1998. It guided staff to order locations. Another important aspect of inventory management is a movement of goods within the store. To enable faster location of and replenishment of goods, the company uses the link system. Although it was costly to build it ($4 billion), it has enabled the company to track details of transactions per day (Sanders, 2016). The link system was improved into the Internet enabled Supply chain Management system with features of Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment (Christopher, 2016). Apart from enabling tracking of inventory, it also allows Wal-Mart and suppliers to determine product demand forecasting jointly. Modern Operations Management Wal-Mart organization draws its success from using modern forms of operations to carry out business activities. This makes it appropriate to apply the concept of modern operation management on it. There are four theories involved in this concept; Business Process Redesign, (BPR), Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems, six sigma and lean manufacturing. Therefore, this section provides explanations of two of the theories (BPR and RMS) and their link to Wal-Mart's supply chain management. Formulated in 1993, BPR is a strategy that analyzes and designs workflow and business process within the company. This helps to restructure it by providing a flow of business processes from ground to top level (Kahkonen, 2011). Business analysts claim that BPR invention was a necessary element in business models and it has enabled the establishment of a link in organizational structure, tasks, people, and technology. This statement could not be any truer at Wal-Mart. The organization is using information systems like VOF and CPRF to establish communication long the supply chain to the end customer. Similarly, Reconfigurable manufacturing system is a cost-effective strategy that enables businesses to stay on par with competitors in the global market regardless of varying market demand and economic pressures. It rapidly adjusts changes in product functionality and capacity. This enables businesses to produce multiple products hence meeting demand. For example, through the use of Wal-Mart retail link system, suppliers can track product performance, calculate demand and inventory levels (4-traders, 2017). Wal-Mart applies Both BPR and RMS to enable effectiveness and productivity in the business. Using these systems ensure easier tracking of inventory size and determine a gap in supply. Also, they enable forecasting by tracking consumer-buying trends. Sustainability throughout the value chain Wal-Mart is committed to the protection and sustainability of the environment. This ensures that all products are produced and distributed using methods that have the least impact on the environment. Sustainability at Wal-Mart begins at the point of opportunity identification. The diagram below shows the opportunity identification process. In selecting their products, the company considers the whole value chain. This enables it to reduce costs b evaluating the end-to-end supply chain. Moreover, they coordinate with other organizations like NGOs to establish social and environmental issues in products. According to The Sustainability Consortium (TSC), the hotspots for environmental and social issues in products are dominant from the manufacturer down to the consumer (4-traders, 2017). Therefore, the organization partners with big businesses to determine the issues. This involves using various tools like the Sustainability index. It outlines an overview of environmental and social practices and outcomes across a wide range of products. The following figure shows Wal-Mart Sustainability index retrieved from https://www.walmart.com. Table showing Wal-Mart Sustainability Index PRODUCT CATEGORIES Measurement and Transparency Environmental Impact Affordable and healthier Dignity of workers Produce CDP Supply Chain Block chain pilot Upstream and downstream food waste Sustainable packaging design Food safety Nutrition education Easy healthier choice Promoting responsible sourcing Labor conditions improvements Training farmers Meat Diary Brazilian beef monitoring Sustainable beef and dairy Dairy and beef deforestation Responsible antibiotic use Animal welfare Sea food Sustainable sea food Addressing human trafficking in sea food Packaged food Great for labeling Palm oil deforestation Fertilizer optimization Sourcing sustainability Friendly recycling labels Reformulating food Consumable Chemical Ingredient Disclosure Pulp paper deforestation Palm oil deforestation Optimizing packaging Sustainable chemistry Apparel Factory energy efficiency Waste and energy used in mills Safer working conditions General Merchandise Product efficiency Fertilizer optimization Sourcing sustainability Optimizing packaging In the Index above, it is easy to know that Wal-Mart's concerted efforts in ensuring the safety of products to users, workers, and environment. In conclusion, this study was based on Wal-Mart. It is the world's largest retail shop. Instead of using intermediaries, the company sources for products directly from vendors, distribute to its stores through a strategy called cross-docking. Wal-Mart supply chain is made up of sourcing and distribution, logistics management and inventory management. To enable efficiency and workflow, the company uses CPRF and VOF systems. Similarly, the company uses Sustainability Index to assess social and environmental issues related to vendors' products and their activities. In the Index above, it is easy to know that Wal-Marts concerted efforts in ensuring safety of products to users, workers and environment. In conclusion, this study was based on Wal-Mart. It is the worlds largest retail shop. Instead of using intermediaries, the company sources for products directly from vendors, distribute to its stores through a strategy called cross-docking. Wal-Mart supply chain is made up of sourcing and distribution, logistics management and inventory management. To enable efficiency and work flow, the company uses CPRF and VOF systems. Similarly, the company uses Sustainability Index to assess social and environmental issues related to vendors products and their own activities. References 4-traders. (2017, 7 11). Wal Mart Stores: Enhancing the Walmart Sustainability Value Chain. Retrieved September 18, 2017, from 4-traders: https://www.m4traders.com Aykin, N. (2016). Usability and internalization of information technology. CRC Press. Christopher, M. (2016). Logistics supply chain management. Pearson Higher Ed. Ellram, L. (2013). Offshoring, reshoring and the manufacturing location decision. Journal of Supply Chain Management, 3-10. Gilmour, P. ( 2013). Benchmarking supply chain operations. Physical Distribution Logistics Management, 123-135. Heffner, C. (2014, August 21). Classical and Operant Conditioning. Retrieved September 26, 2016, from Allpsych: https://www.allpsych.com Kahkonen, A.-K. (2011). Conducting a case study in supply management. OSCM Journal, 31-41. Ritala, J. V. (2014). Service Chain Risk Management. Operations and Supply Management, 114-120. Sanders, N. (2016). How to Use Big Data to Drive Your Supply Chain. California Management Review, 26-48. Seuring, S. (2013). A review of modeling approaches for sustainable supply chain management. Decision support systems, 1513-1520. Souza, G. (2013). Closed?Loop Supply Chains: A Critical Review, and Future Research. Decision Sciences, 7-38. Ward, P. J. (2016). The Strategic management of information systems: Building a digital strategy . John Wiley Sons. Wynstra, F. (2013). Past, Present and Future Trends of Purchasing and Supply Management: An Extensive Literature Review. A Review and Outlook. A Journey through Manufacturing and Supply Chain, 199-228.

Vietnam Bond Market free essay sample

In recent years, the issue of efficiently mobilizing capital has become the concern of all companies. There are some ways of doing this: borrowing from the banks, issuing stocks or issuing bonds. However, when the interest rate of borrowing from banks is very high due to high inflation, together with the stock market is quite instable; calling for capital from bond market is much more preferred by investors. In the context of this report, some major points regarding the bond market in Vietnam are presented. Firstly, a common picture about the Vietnam bond market is drawn. Next come the types of bonds and major participants in this market. Finally, several ways by which bonds are issued are described in details. I/ Overview of Vietnam bond market The Vietnam bond market was established in 2000, but it only developed sharply after 2002 when the government allowed issuing many types of bonds and especially after the appearance of the Ho Chi Minh stock exchange. We will write a custom essay sample on Vietnam Bond Market or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Recently, the outstanding volume of bonds has increased rapidly, as shown in the graph below. Figure 1. Bonds outstanding volume and bond outstanding/ GDP. Source: Ministry of Finance of Vietnam) Up to the year 2006, the proportion of outstanding bond volume over GDP reached the figure of 13%, in comparison with only 3% in 2001. Nevertheless, compared with the Vietnam stock market that accounts for more than 40% of the total GDP, that of bonds is very low. In particular, this rate of Vietnam is far below the level of other countries in Asia. In most Asia countries, the bond accounts for more than half of the total GDP whereas in Vietnam, it takes less than 15% of GDP. Figure 2. Outstanding bond volume/GDP in some Asia countries. Source: Ministry of Finance of Vietnam) All things considered, one of the main features easily to be realized in Vietnam now is that the bond market has not been attractive enough to most investors. Yet, according to many specialists, it is likely that this market will become an extremely attractive capital-mobilizing channel in the near future. II/ Types of bonds At the moment, there are three main types of bonds in Vietnam: government bonds, municip al bonds and corporate bonds. Here comes the pie chart showing the proportion of each types contributing to Vietnam bond market. Figure 3: Proportion of different types of bonds (Source: Ministry of Finance of Vietnam) As can be seen, the government bonds, which are issued by both the State Treasury of Vietnam and the Vietnam Development Bank, dominate almost the market with 64% and 18% respectively. The municipal bonds currently issued by three local governments including Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh and Dong Nai, account for only 7% of the total. The rest 11% belongs to the corporate bonds which are issued by the companies. Nevertheless, there are many intensive conditions of the government for issuing corporate bonds. Therefore, until now there are only 10 companies who meet enough conditions to issue corporate bonds, such as EVN, Vinashin, Song Da Corporation, etc. In comparison with other countries in the region, the structure of Vietnam bond market is quite different. Figure 4: Structure of bond market in some Asia countries (Source: Ministry of Finance of Vietnam) While in Korea, Singapore and especially Malaysia, the contribution of government and corporate bonds to the market is quite balance, that of Vietnam shows a significant difference. Government bonds dominate more than three forts of the market, and the rest 11% belongs to corporate bonds. That large disparity warns that we are dealing with a strange situation in bond market and some actions need to be taken to balance the two types of bonds. III/ Major participants 1. Individual investors According to the SSC, until September 2008, the number of investors had increased by 47 per cent to 460,000 compared with last December. In fact, when in many other countries, institutional investors usually make up a large part of the securities market, the situation in Vietnam is on the contrary with individual holding 70% of the total accounts. However, Vietnamese individual investors still prove to be unprofessional for some reasons: Main source of capital usually coming from banks, lack of reliable information about the market, limitation in accurate evaluation of the value of bonds and the bond issuing organizations. Therefore, they have tendency to invest following the majority: sell immediately when prices of securities decrease and buy right away when prices increase. This will lead to the high fluctuation of the market, so easily results in the losses suffering of many investors. 2. Fund managers Fund management is the professional management of various securities (shares, bonds etc. ) to meet specified investment goals for the benefit of the investors. Fund management companies play an important part in the development of securities market. Since the establishment of VietFund Management, the first fund management company in Vietnam in 2003, until now, 38 fund managers have been granted operation licenses by SSC. Among them, FPT Fund Management Joint Stock Company has the highest chartered capital with 110 billion VND and Lotus IMC has lowest charter capital with 5 billion VND. . Brokers Broker has recently occupied the position of the hottest career for youngsters, although it is still new in Vietnam. The term â€Å"broker† is used to indicate a qualified and regulated professional who buys and sells all kinds of securities through market makers or Agency Only Firms on behalf of investors. Brokers play a leading role in developing securities market, and since the esta blishment of bond market in Vietnam, the number of brokers has increased rapidly, with hundreds of people working for nearly 100 brokerages (according to vietbao. net). In 2008, due to the new regulation of The Ministry of Finance, brokerages are now the main target for the bond market. However, the lack of knowledge and experience has left Vietnamese brokers with some fatal weakness: limited in quantity, unable to perform all the service (in Vietnam, brokers only concentrate on execution, instead of advisory and discretionary dealing), lack of certificate and qualification, etc. IV/ The number of companies listed There exists an inequality in the number of securities in the Vietnam. Over 300 stocks and 600 bonds are now listed even though the stock market is more active than that of bond. Another noticeable feature is that bond market has only 10 corporate listings, compared to over 600 government listings, in which most issuers are state-owned corporations. V/ Issuance of bonds Basically, there are two ways of issuing bonds: private placement and public offering 1. Private placement This is the direct sale of securities to a limited number of investors, often the institutions such as mutual funds or insurance companies. Compared to public bonds, those bonds are more likely to have call provision. The issuers usually take their bonds back before the maturity date. Certainly, the bonds that are more callable are riskier because the investors whose bonds have been called have to face with reinvestment risk. However, investors can get higher rate of return as compensation for the risk they bear. Definitely, such bonds are more in favor of the risk-lovers. 2. Public offering Public offering means the issuance in which securities can be exchanged widely among the public. The separation of private placement and public offering aims at ensuring that the companies using public offering must have high-quality, good operations in order to protect the public from the default risk. Public offering can take the forms of underwriting or auction. 2. 1. Underwriting When a company wants to go public, the first thing it does is to hire an intermediary known as underwriter. In most situations, the underwriters are the investment banks that act as the middleman between the public and the corporation. If the investment bank and company reach an agreement to do underwriting then investment bank will buy the new securities for an agreed price, and resell them to the public at a markup, bearing all of the expenses associated with the sale. The company gets the guaranteed funds even if the investment bank does not sell all of the securities. Thus, the investment bank takes a significant risk in a firm commitment. 2. 2. Auction Auctions are designed to minimize the cost of financing the corporate debt by promoting broad, competitive bidding and liquid secondary market trading. A review of the auction process from the announcement of a new issue to the delivery of securities reveals how these objectives have been met. However, in the recent times, many of Vietnamese government bond auctions have not been successful. The major cause is supposed that the government can not match the coupon rate of private investors. Creditors usually applied a high level of coupon that the government can not offer. Both customers and suppliers cannot meet at the common point to bring bonds to market. Conclusion There have been much more debate among the issues of Vietnam bond market and some discussion points should be noticed. Regarding the domination of government compared to corporate bonds, two main causes have been drawn. Firstly, there are many intensive conditions for companies to issue corporate bonds. Beside the requirement of owning at least 10 billion chartered capital and making a profit of the previous year, the companies need to have no bad debts over 1 year and prepare the audited financial statements of the last year to ensure transparency for investors. Secondly, default risk is higher with corporate bonds than government bonds that also means a higher interest rate of corporate bonds. Therefore, very few companies can afford this type of cost and few companies issue corporate bonds as a result. Concerning the difference between Treasury Bills and Treasury Bonds, even they are both issued by the Government and bearing no default risk, their maturity dates are far different. Treasury Bills have the short terms of 3 months or 6 months whereas Treasury Bonds have long terms of 5 years, 10 years or more. The issue of high inflation has a significant influence on Vietnam bond market, one of which is the decrease in value of bonds. Apparently, the price of bond is equal to the coupon divided by the bond yield. Coupon is fixed, so when inflation rate is high, leading to high bond yield, the bond price falls accordingly. Noticeably, although bonds have lower default risk premium than stocks, their liquidity risk premium is considerably higher than that of stock. The low liquidity of bonds compared to stocks can be explained by two reasons. Firstly, the stock market is much more active than bond which pushes up the transactions of stocks among investors and increases liquidity of stocks. More importantly, the value of bonds in each transaction is quite large (about 500 million VND for each), few companies can afford them and therefore, makes it harder to exchange bonds in the market. After purchasing those bonds, investors tend to hold them until the maturity dates, which significantly reduces the liquidity of bonds. Moreover, it has been asked the reasons why the rate of individual investors in Vietnam is much higher than other countries (70% and 30% respectively). It is supposed that buying bonds is almost compulsory with individual employees in the workplace. Moreover, investment funds have not yet implemented their roles effectively in Vietnam, so small source of capital can not be gathered to make up the market for institutional investors. It is also important to differentiate between the brokers and market makers or dealers. The dealers act as both buyer and seller of bonds. They purchase bonds from investors and then resell them at a higher price to others. Meanwhile, the brokers do not actually make any purchasing, and only act as intermediaries between investors and dealers. Finally, the question about the difference in interest rate of bonds issued under private placement and public offering was raised. As mentioned in the report, the holders of private placement bonds often bear reinvestment risk, which in turn leads to higher return or higher interest rate. That is the reason why the interest rate of bonds issued by private placement is usually higher than that of public offering. All in all, there still exists a lot of concerning around the topic of the Vietnam bond market. General speaking, this market has not developed accordingly to its potential. However, with the efforts of Vietnam Government to enhance the bond market’ operations, a bright perspective has been open to this field. Vietnam Bond Market free essay sample In recent years, the issue of efficiently mobilizing capital has become the concern of all companies. There are some ways of doing this: borrowing from the banks, issuing stocks or issuing bonds. However, when the interest rate of borrowing from banks is very high due to high inflation, together with the stock market is quite instable; calling for capital from bond market is much more preferred by investors. In the context of this report, some major points regarding the bond market in Vietnam are presented. Firstly, a common picture about the Vietnam bond market is drawn. Next come the types of bonds and major participants in this market. Finally, several ways by which bonds are issued are described in details. I/ Overview of Vietnam bond market The Vietnam bond market was established in 2000, but it only developed sharply after 2002 when the government allowed issuing many types of bonds and especially after the appearance of the Ho Chi Minh stock exchange. We will write a custom essay sample on Vietnam Bond Market or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Recently, the outstanding volume of bonds has increased rapidly, as shown in the graph below. Figure 1. Bonds outstanding volume and bond outstanding/ GDP. Source: Ministry of Finance of Vietnam) Up to the year 2006, the proportion of outstanding bond volume over GDP reached the figure of 13%, in comparison with only 3% in 2001. Nevertheless, compared with the Vietnam stock market that accounts for more than 40% of the total GDP, that of bonds is very low. In particular, this rate of Vietnam is far below the level of other countries in Asia. In most Asia countries, the bond accounts for more than half of the total GDP whereas in Vietnam, it takes less than 15% of GDP. Figure 2. Outstanding bond volume/GDP in some Asia countries. Source: Ministry of Finance of Vietnam) All things considered, one of the main features easily to be realized in Vietnam now is that the bond market has not been attractive enough to most investors. Yet, according to many specialists, it is likely that this market will become an extremely attractive capital-mobilizing channel in the near future. II/ Types of bonds At the moment, there are three main types of bonds in Vietnam: government bonds, municipal bonds and corporate bonds. Here comes the pie chart showing the proportion of each types contributing to Vietnam bond market. Figure 3: Proportion of different types of bonds (Source: Ministry of Finance of Vietnam) As can be seen, the government bonds, which are issued by both the State Treasury of Vietnam and the Vietnam Development Bank, dominate almost the market with 64% and 18% respectively. The municipal bonds currently issued by three local governments including Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh and Dong Nai, account for only 7% of the total. The rest 11% belongs to the corporate bonds which are issued by the companies. Nevertheless, there are many intensive conditions of the government for issuing corporate bonds. Therefore, until now there are only 10 companies who meet enough conditions to issue corporate bonds, such as EVN, Vinashin, Song Da Corporation, etc. In comparison with other countries in the region, the structure of Vietnam bond market is quite different. Figure 4: Structure of bond market in some Asia countries (Source: Ministry of Finance of Vietnam) While in Korea, Singapore and especially Malaysia, the contribution of government and corporate bonds to the market is quite balance, that of Vietnam shows a significant difference. Government bonds dominate more than three forts of the market, and the rest 11% belongs to corporate bonds. That large disparity warns that we are dealing with a strange situation in bond market and some actions need to be taken to balance the two types of bonds. III/ Major participants 1. Individual investors According to the SSC, until September 2008, the number of investors had increased by 47 per cent to 460,000 compared with last December. In fact, when in many other countries, institutional investors usually make up a large part of the securities market, the situation in Vietnam is on the contrary with individual holding 70% of the total accounts. However, Vietnamese individual investors still prove to be unprofessional for some reasons: Main source of capital usually coming from banks, lack of reliable information about the market, limitation in accurate evaluation of the value of bonds and the bond issuing organizations. Therefore, they have tendency to invest following the majority: sell immediately when prices of securities decrease and buy right away when prices increase. This will lead to the high fluctuation of the market, so easily results in the losses suffering of many investors. 2. Fund managers Fund management is the professional management of various securities (shares, bonds etc. ) to meet specified investment goals for the benefit of the investors. Fund management companies play an important part in the development of securities market. Since the establishment of VietFund Management, the first fund management company in Vietnam in 2003, until now, 38 fund managers have been granted operation licenses by SSC. Among them, FPT Fund Management Joint Stock Company has the highest chartered capital with 110 billion VND and Lotus IMC has lowest charter capital with 5 billion VND. . Brokers Broker has recently occupied the position of the hottest career for youngsters, although it is still new in Vietnam. The term â€Å"broker† is used to indicate a qualified and regulated professional who buys and sells all kinds of securities through market makers or Agency Only Firms on behalf of investors. Brokers play a leading role in developing securities market, and since the esta blishment of bond market in Vietnam, the number of brokers has increased rapidly, with hundreds of people working for nearly 100 brokerages (according to vietbao. net). In 2008, due to the new regulation of The Ministry of Finance, brokerages are now the main target for the bond market. However, the lack of knowledge and experience has left Vietnamese brokers with some fatal weakness: limited in quantity, unable to perform all the service (in Vietnam, brokers only concentrate on execution, instead of advisory and discretionary dealing), lack of certificate and qualification, etc. IV/ The number of companies listed There exists an inequality in the number of securities in the Vietnam. Over 300 stocks and 600 bonds are now listed even though the stock market is more active than that of bond. Another noticeable feature is that bond market has only 10 corporate listings, compared to over 600 government listings, in which most issuers are state-owned corporations. V/ Issuance of bonds Basically, there are two ways of issuing bonds: private placement and public offering 1. Private placement This is the direct sale of securities to a limited number of investors, often the institutions such as mutual funds or insurance companies. Compared to public bonds, those bonds are more likely to have call provision. The issuers usually take their bonds back before the maturity date. Certainly, the bonds that are more callable are riskier because the investors whose bonds have been called have to face with reinvestment risk. However, investors can get higher rate of return as compensation for the risk they bear. Definitely, such bonds are more in favor of the risk-lovers. 2. Public offering Public offering means the issuance in which securities can be exchanged widely among the public. The separation of private placement and public offering aims at ensuring that the companies using public offering must have high-quality, good operations in order to protect the public from the default risk. Public offering can take the forms of underwriting or auction. 2. 1. Underwriting When a company wants to go public, the first thing it does is to hire an intermediary known as underwriter. In most situations, the underwriters are the investment banks that act as the middleman between the public and the corporation. If the investment bank and company reach an agreement to do underwriting then investment bank will buy the new securities for an agreed price, and resell them to the public at a markup, bearing all of the expenses associated with the sale. The company gets the guaranteed funds even if the investment bank does not sell all of the securities. Thus, the investment bank takes a significant risk in a firm commitment. 2. 2. Auction Auctions are designed to minimize the cost of financing the corporate debt by promoting broad, competitive bidding and liquid secondary market trading. A review of the auction process from the announcement of a new issue to the delivery of securities reveals how these objectives have been met. However, in the recent times, many of Vietnamese government bond auctions have not been successful. The major cause is supposed that the government can not match the coupon rate of private investors. Creditors usually applied a high level of coupon that the government can not offer. Both customers and suppliers cannot meet at the common point to bring bonds to market. Conclusion There have been much more debate among the issues of Vietnam bond market and some discussion points should be noticed. Regarding the domination of government compared to corporate bonds, two main causes have been drawn. Firstly, there are many intensive conditions for companies to issue corporate bonds. Beside the requirement of owning at least 10 billion chartered capital and making a profit of the previous year, the companies need to have no bad debts over 1 year and prepare the audited financial statements of the last year to ensure transparency for investors. Secondly, default risk is higher with corporate bonds than government bonds that also means a higher interest rate of corporate bonds. Therefore, very few companies can afford this type of cost and few companies issue corporate bonds as a result. Concerning the difference between Treasury Bills and Treasury Bonds, even they are both issued by the Government and bearing no default risk, their maturity dates are far different. Treasury Bills have the short terms of 3 months or 6 months whereas Treasury Bonds have long terms of 5 years, 10 years or more. The issue of high inflation has a significant influence on Vietnam bond market, one of which is the decrease in value of bonds. Apparently, the price of bond is equal to the coupon divided by the bond yield. Coupon is fixed, so when inflation rate is high, leading to high bond yield, the bond price falls accordingly. Noticeably, although bonds have lower default risk premium than stocks, their liquidity risk premium is considerably higher than that of stock. The low liquidity of bonds compared to stocks can be explained by two reasons. Firstly, the stock market is much more active than bond which pushes up the transactions of stocks among investors and increases liquidity of stocks. More importantly, the value of bonds in each transaction is quite large (about 500 million VND for each), few companies can afford them and therefore, makes it harder to exchange bonds in the market. After purchasing those bonds, investors tend to hold them until the maturity dates, which significantly reduces the liquidity of bonds. Moreover, it has been asked the reasons why the rate of individual investors in Vietnam is much higher than other countries (70% and 30% respectively). It is supposed that buying bonds is almost compulsory with individual employees in the workplace. Moreover, investment funds have not yet implemented their roles effectively in Vietnam, so small source of capital can not be gathered to make up the market for institutional investors. It is also important to differentiate between the brokers and market makers or dealers. The dealers act as both buyer and seller of bonds. They purchase bonds from investors and then resell them at a higher price to others. Meanwhile, the brokers do not actually make any purchasing, and only act as intermediaries between investors and dealers. Finally, the question about the difference in interest rate of bonds issued under private placement and public offering was raised. As mentioned in the report, the holders of private placement bonds often bear reinvestment risk, which in turn leads to higher return or higher interest rate. That is the reason why the interest rate of bonds issued by private placement is usually higher than that of public offering. All in all, there still exists a lot of concerning around the topic of the Vietnam bond market. General speaking, this market has not developed accordingly to its potential. However, with the efforts of Vietnam Government to enhance the bond market’ operations, a bright perspective has been open to this field.

Sacco And Vanzetti Essays - Anti-communism In The United States

Sacco And Vanzetti Essays - Anti-communism In The United States Sacco And Vanzetti The case of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti was not about the justice system blaming them for murdering two people, but rather how the justice system murdered two people and got away with it. Throughout the trial the public withdrew from their anti-radical thinking to more of a sympathetic understanding of another human being, no matter their beliefs. World-wide interest was quickly turned to the ill-fated Sacco and Vanzetti. While the judge and prosecution had already delivered the verdict in their minds, Sacco and Vanzetti proclaimed and defended their innocence even till the very end. Before the crime ever took place Sacco worked at the Milford Shoe Factory as an edge trimmer. Sacco was a hard worker; who supported his wife, Rosa, and his son, Dante. Vanzetti worked as a fish peddler. In May 1917, both left their jos to go to Mexico and avoid the draft. Both Sacco and Vanzetti had the same views which were considered radical at the time; therefore they did not advertise them. Understandably, they feared for their safety as well as their friends and families who shared the same ideals (Feuerlicht 11). Although some had suspected that they were of radical ideology, it was not publicaly announced. Having avoided the draft, Sacco and Vanzetti returned from Mexico. Upon their return, organizations and federal agents started to investigate. On April 15, 1920 there was a payroll robbery of the Slater & Morrill Shoe Company. Two men were killed and $15,773. 59 missing. These crimes happened in South Braintree Massachusetts and became known as the Braintree Crimes. There were two people that attacked and killed the payroll employees, then grabbed the money and took off in the escape car. The escape car was described as a black Buick with other partners inside. Eyewitnesses claimed that two of the criminals looked Italian (Altman 70). Crimes like this had been common at the time and had only sparked local interest (DAttilio). It was not until Sacco and Vanzetti were in the courtroom facing charges of murder and robbery, that the Braintree Crimes would become a publicized affair. Sacco and Vanzetti were arrested on May 5, 1920 for the murders and robberies that took place three weeks earlier. They both were anarchistic, atheist, draft dodgers, immigrants, and neither could speak English well (Fabulous 26). This undoubtedly made them an easy target. When questioned they both lied creating a consciousness of guilt in the eyes of the prosecutors and judge (DAttilio). Another aspect that did not help Sacco and Vanzetti were their alibis. Although both had an alibi, their witnesses often could not remember much about the day in question other than they defiantly saw the defendants. Saccos alibi rested on his repeated attempt to get passports to Italy to see his family. Vanzetti was allegedly selling fish and visiting some friends (Montgomery 142-155, 131-141). Percy Katzmann, the prosecutor, had given both a difficult time with the questioning. He used their lack of English skills against them and often twisted their words around. Although Moore, the defendants lawyer would object to this, Judge Thayer would allow it to continue and often encourage it. Judge Thayer was unprofessional by making rude comments during and out of court. He would refer to Sacco and Vanzetti as Dagoes never referring to them as Italians (Feuerlight 202). He would also talk about the case outside of court and brag to others saying Did you see what I did with those anarchistic bastards the other day? I guess that will hold them for a while. (Feuerlight 306). Not only was his behavior questionable, but the fact that he was the judge of the case was questionable, since he had just sentenced Vanzetti for another case a few weeks prior. Fortunately for Sacco and Vanzetti, their lawyer was dedicated and fought for their freedom. Moore raised awareness to the trial worldwide. Supporters protested for Sacco and Vanzettis freedom. After six weeks of trial Sacco and Vanzetti were found guilty of murder and robbery. Though they were found guilty, their lawyer still fought for appeals and continued to spend money on propaganda. Since the anarchist movement had been paying for the trial and all the spending that Moore was doing, they fired him. Moore was replaced in 1924 by William Thompson (DAttillio). Thompson made appeal after appeal, and more and more evidence proving Sacco and Vanzettis innocence surfaced as he fought for an appeal. On November 16, 1925 a man in sitting in Dedham Jail

A Child Is Mysterious and Powerful

Within the child lies the fate of the future. Whoever wishes to confer some benefit on society must preserve him from deviation and observe his natural ways acting. A child is mysterious and powerful and contains within himself the secret of human nature. Explain the above quote with reference to the Montessori philosophy. The term Montessori Philosophy originated from the name of Dr. Maria Montessori, one of the most influential pioneers in early childhood education. She advised an education which combines a philosophy with a practical approach based on the central idea of freedom for the child within a carefully planned and structured environment. To analyze the above quote, we will have to know what it is in essence the Montessori philosophy. Maria Montessori was a soft hearted lady who happened to live through the two world wars. She was very much worried that in spite of the development of science and technology in the world, why men are very much unhappy, cruel and keep fighting with each other. She believed that this is because of the lack of fulfillment of human mind. So she deducted that as the adult comes into being through the child, it is important to consider the human being way down from the very childhood itself. Montessori has once opined that â€Å"It is the child who makes the man, and no man exists who was not made by the child he once was. † (http://www. dailymontessori. com/maria-montessori-quotes/) Montessori, who became the first lady doctor in the history of her country, was appointed as assistant doctor at a psychiatric clinic. From this position she got chances to observe some mentally retarded children. Under her care and love many of these children improved even to a position that they could read and write. After that Maria Montessori got chance to look after some slum children for whom she made a home. This was called Casa Dei Bambini, means childrens house. It was from here that Montessori philosophy actually evolved into being. Montessori made a new way of education in which the child is considered as the centre of education with the adult serving only as one who is helping him to develop as a whole; hysically, cognitively, emotionally, spiritually and socially. She discovered that with such an education a unified personality is formed. According to Montessori philosophy, the child has an unrealized potential within himself when he is born. This potential is what helps him to develop from birth onwards. This is called predetermined psychic pattern. Christoph Schiebold states that Good education is not to follow the pages of a workbook. It’s following the workbook that’s within the child! (http://educationaljournal. wordpress. com/2011/07/02/quote-christoph-schiebold) The predetermined psychic pattern (also known as natural laws of development) is there in the child in an embryonic stage when the child is born. So as only a healthy mother gives birth to a healthy baby, the predetermined psychic pattern in the baby also needs a nourishing environment to grow well. In the given quote it is stated a child is mysterious and powerful and contains within himself the secret of human nature. In reference to Montessori philosophy the potentials present in the child from birth itself is what makes the child mysterious and powerful. That itself is the secret of human nature too. The child is mysterious because there is an internal guide in the child which alone lets these laws to unfold themselves. We the adults are not able to understand what is happening there within the child. We can see only certain signs of these laws of natural development reveal themselves by carefully observing the childs behavior. Now let us analyze why the child is described as being powerful. For this we will have to know what the laws of natural development in essence are. These are law of work, law of independence, development of attention, development of will, development of intelligence development of emotion and spiritual life, development of imagination and creativity and stages of growth. Thus it is said that The child is endowed with unknown powers which can guide us to a radiant future. (The Absorbent Mind ,P2) During the observation of children at Casa Dei Bambini, Dr. Maria Montessori discovered that children prefer work to play. They were able to achieve a self integration through this work. She found that the aggressive and destructive children became calm and peaceful after working with the materials. She concluded that through work the child seemed to get fulfillment of some internal need which made him normalized. Montessori found out that independence is necessary to the childs normal development. The child uses his independence to listen to his inner guide for actions that can be useful to him and one who is served is actually limited in his independence. It is well said that we habitually serve children; and this is not only an act of servility towards them but it is dangerous, since it tends to suffocate their useful, spontaneous activity. (Course manual P. 40). We can help the child attain independence by giving opportunity for him to work with the materials by himself, by directing him towards a given end to develop his will, by giving him constructive work to help him in developing discipline, by letting him know and have an understanding of what is good and bad and also giving him freedom to reveal himself completely by playing only passive role. Maria Montessori stated that at certain stages of development, the child has sensitivity to his environment and he directs his attention to particular objects with high intensity and interest. By giving the child materials to work that engage him wholesomely we can help him develop his concentration and build his personality. When the child has the maximum power to concentration or when he gain good power to attention, he becomes calmer and more controlled and rested. Montessori believed that decision taken by the child on any activity and the action taken by him are the basis for development of the will. When the child is allowed to work with the materials as long as he wants, his self concept and power of concentration develop. Thus the child gains an ability to make his own choice which helps develop his will. The perceptions made by the child with the help of his senses are his intelligence. Obtaining conscious knowledge is done by the childs intelligence, comparing and discriminating between the impressions received by the senses. Dr. Maria Montessori believed that development of imagination and creativity are inborn powers which develop through his interactions with the environment. In regard to development of emotional and spiritual life, Montessori found that the child has an inner power to react to emotional and spiritual experiences from birth itself. Montessori discovered 5 periods of growth in children and each period has specific goal, the directionality towards the goal is fixed and each period has its own sensitive periods. To help them reach their goal by maximizing own potentials, the caregivers and teachers need to know these periods of development. Here, from this detailed analysis of predetermined psychic pattern within the child what we can understand is that the child has many abilities (powers) inside him from birth itself. It is this potential that helps him to self construct himself. With this much of original intrinsic assets it is quite reasonable to assume that the child is powerful. According to the philosophy of Montessori, the potentials within the child unfold slowly during the course of time while child self constructs himself. But certain internal aids and external conditions are necessary for the predetermined psychic pattern to reveal itself. The internal aids are sensitive periods and absorbant mind. The external conditions are environment and freedom. Sensitive periods are blocks of time in the childs life when he is absorbed with one characteristic of his environment to the exclusion of all others. Montessori discovered 6 sensitive periods in child. They are sensitivity to order, sensitivity to learning through five senses, sensitivity to small objects, sensitivity to co-ordination of movement, sensitivity to language and sensitivity to social aspect of life. A child has sensitivity to order during the first year itself. It is because of this sensitivity that the child becomes irritated when he is exposed to unfamiliar objects or people, or insists on putting things back on their places and become happy when they see things in accustomed places. In a precise and determined environment only can a child categorise his perception and form an internal framework with which to understand and relate his world. Montessori found out that the child has a sensitivity to learning through his five senses. The child has a natural curiosity to explore the things around him. So he has to work with this environment to develop his neurological structures for perceiving and thinking which is the basis of intelligence development. When the child is about two to two and half years his attention is drawn towards small objects. This sensitivity to small objets helps him to concentrate his intellectual powers on a specific problem and also helps him to hold his attention for long period of time fostering his ability to focus. The child has sensitivity to movement when he is two to 4 years of age. During this period the child has a tendency to perform and repeat a movement for the sake of gaining greater control. Here the child learns to bring his body under his will. The child become sensitive to human language during the period of sensitivity to language. The sixth aspect of sensitive periods being sensitivity to social aspects of life, explains the childs interest in other children of his age group. This period enables the child to recognize affection and friendship to develop. This way child learns to be part of a group. Montessori philosophy tells us that there will be problems when the child is starved from the right environment in his sensitive periods. When there is no order, the child will feel very insecure and lack confidence. If the child is not allowed to explore his environment during his period of learning through five senses, it will hinder the childs learning, he will become rebellious, with poor will and concentration and it will be difficult for him to compare and judge. By the lack of right environment for sensitivity to small objects, the child will become less curious to learn new things and he will become passive. The lack of environment permitting co-ordination of movements decreases the childs fine and gross motor development which in turn affect the childs balance and agility. If the child is not regularly exposed to language he will lack self confidence and will develop low self-concept due to this inability to express himself. If the child is not allowed to socialise he will feel lonely and become unfriendly and antisocial. Absorbant mind helps the child gain knowledge from his environment. From birth onwards the childs mind starts absorbing everything the he sees and experiences around him. This absorbing takes place by two stages namely unconscious and conscious. When the child is zero to three years of age, he absorbs everything unconsciously and these information absorbed are stored as impressions in his mind. The impressions made by the unconscious mind prepares the childs mind which later will be used by his conscious mind. After 3 years of age the childs mind starts absorbing experiences consciously. In this stage, the child will have memory and has developed a will too. Montessori also believed that environment can help or hinder the childs development. So the environment must be a nourishing place for the childs needs for self-construction. She felt that the environment must be prepared carefully by a knowledgeable and sensitive adult and the adult must be a participant in the living and growing of the child within the prepared environment. An important aspect to be taken care of with regard to Montessori environment is freedom. It is because of 2 reasons. First, it is only in an atmosphere of freedom that the child can reveal himself. Secondly if the child possesses within himself the pattern for his own development the inner guide must be allowed to direct the childs growth. However, the childs freedom is limited in the respect that he is not permitted to interfere on the rights of others and is careful of the materials, environment and himself. Apart from freedom the other basic elements in a Montessori prepared environment are structure and order, respect for others, reality and nature, beauty and atmosphere, the Montessori material and development of community life. The teacher is the link that puts the child in touch with the environment. She prepares the environment and the child uses the environment to construct himself. The teacher has a role in helping the development of predetermined psychic pattern of the child. The teacher observes the child carefully during his activities in the Montessori environment and prepares activities for him according to the childs level of development. According to Montessori the two aspects of the psyche namely the mind and the body(the mental energy and physical energy) should work in unison. Otherwise child will be deviated. A deviation is a warp in the character that will occur in the child during the formative period, (birth-six years) because of obstacles or repressions to his natural development. This we can understand more if we consider the previously explained sensitive periods of the child. We can understand that the child self constructs himself with the aid of his sensitive periods and nourishing environment. If these are deprived, he becomes deviated. During her work with the children at Casa Dei Bambini Montessori found that some mental integration happens within the child when he works with the materials. She referred to this as normalization. In a Montessori classroom children are given nourishing environment and the teacher is careful about the different stages of development of the child and aid him with his internal necessities. Thus the child is able to work according to his will (as his inner guide directs him). So his mental and physical energy work in unison ans the child becomes normalised. Thus a Montessori classroom becomes a gathering of normalised children. In such a group they are naturally full of love, sympathy, and feel for each other. They show respect for the rights of others, they help each other, they support each other morally and there will be a total harmony in the classroom. Montessori termed this as a society of cohesion. As per the analysis of the Montessori philosophy, we understand that the Montessori classroom works based on these principles and that a society of cohesion exists in such a classroom.

Muh.3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Muh.3 - Essay Example ST scans that use IV contrast have a lot of risks associated with them. For instance, if barium extravagates, severe inflammation can result. Other potential hazards include pneumonia and burning in the stomach. Alarm Hazards. This is essentially due to excess of equipment in the hospital. There is a huge variety of equipment in this hospital. This includes patient monitoring, ventilator, dialysis units and much other equipment Cross contamination due to Flexible Endoscopes. Endoscopy is a diagnostic procedure which has set hospital care to a new trend. It is minimally invasive and has revolutionalized diagnostic measures in most modern hospitals. Medical personnel and patients are at a major risk. Patients are primarily at risk because of their unduly exposure to infectious diseases. This is due to failure and negligence of sterilization and cleaning procedures. A re-processing protocol should be made and implemented at the same time. It must be ensure that such a model specific protocol exists for every endoscopy model in the hospital. It must also be ensured that automated endoscope preprocessors are compatible with the disinfecting agents employed. The staff must ensure that the maintenance schedule is also followed and other carelessness should be avoided. Surgical fires. Janie Mc Call who is aged 65 years passed away in a flash fire while conducting a routine surgery in an operating room in September 2005. The incident took place at Heartland Regional Medical Center in Marion III. Surgeons, patients, staff, workers and nurses are at a potential major risk. It is estimated that at least 550-650 surgical fires take place every year. This makes it as dangerous and as frequent as other surgical mishaps for instance wrong-site surgery. The members of surgical team should be well aware of all the components and phenomenon associated with surgical fires such as oxidizers, ignition

Robert Frost Contribution to American Literature Research Paper

Robert Frost Contribution to American Literature - Research Paper Example To support the family, his mother became a teacher and his grandfather was homeschooling Robert and his sister. He was very stern, yet with him Robert received a very solid education. About a year later they moved to Salem where Robert passed examinations to enter Lawrence High School. He finished the school year ahead of his class. When in Lawrence High, his poems first appeared in his school’s Bulletin. In his senior year in High School he became an editor of The Bulletin, he fell in love with Elinor Miriam White. Right after the graduation ceremony Robert asked her to marry him right away, but she decided to postpone the marriage until more appropriate time since both of them were to enter different colleges. Frost was admitted to Harvard, but because his grandfather and mother thought Harvard to be full of freethinkers that could lead Robert astray and also because it was cheaper, in the fall of 1892 Frost entered Dartmouth College, yet he spent there less than a semester and dropped out. (Ketzle) He returned to Salem and became a school teacher. He also worked at various jobs and in 1894 he sold his poem â€Å"My butterfly: An Elegy† to a New York magazine, The Independent. Elated, he visited Elinor and asked her marry him at once, but she wanted to finish college first. After her refusal, depressed, he went on a reckless two week journey to Virginia’s Dismal Swamp. ... At that time he worked on his poem that would make up his first volume. But being a farmer was not Frost’s forte, so he sold the Derry farm and traveled with his family to England. He decided to live there and became a teacher. Shortly after arrival in England, Frost gave his first book of poems to a small London publisher. He also got acquainted with many literary men, such as Rupert Brooke, Earnest Rhys, Ezra Pound, William Butler Yeats,  Robert Bridges, Walter de la Mare, W.  H. Davies, and Ralph Hodgson, and many others. When England entered into the First World Frost returned to United States. He learnt that Henry Hold and Company would publish his book. In America, Frost gave talks and reading throughout New England. He got elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters. He was teaching, advising students at the Michigan University in accordance with accepted fellowship. In 1924 he was awarded his first Pulitzer Prize for New Hampshire. He also earned other nu merous awards and prizes. In 1930 Collected Poems won Frost a second Pulitzer Prize. Later in life he received another two Pulitzer Prize - great honors for achievements in literature. In his life he received total of four such rewards. During the next ten years, Frost became even more honored and revered. Yet, in his personal life, he endured serious of grievous disasters. In 1934 died his youngest and favorite child Marjorie; in 1938 of a heart attack suddenly died his wife. Frost went into heavy depression, having his whole world collapsing. Then, to add to the grief, his son Carol committed suicide. Another daughter suffered from mental disorders. So after this series of tragic occurrences a number of poems in A Witness Tree derived their dark tone, yet some of his best poetry such as

What Love & Logic Means to Effective Parenting Essay Example for Free

What Love Logic Means to Effective Parenting Essay What parents want is to cherish their kids, have fun with them, and enjoy a less stressful family life. There is never a shortage of advice from friends, family and even well-meaning strangers when becoming a parent. Nothing can ever truly prepare parents for the actual experience of raising children. We all want to be great parents and we all want to do the right thing, but in addition to balancing all the advice we’re given against our own upbringing and instincts, we still struggle. As parents we set the rules and expect our children to obey them†¦. In other words: What I say goes-or else. Previous generations took a much more punitive and fear-based approach to parenting, which feeds the illusion that our parents and grandparents didn’t have to do much to earn respect; it was simply an automatic response by their children. The truth is much of that discipline was rooted in corporal punishment or fear –inducing experiences that made their children appear to have respect and did indeed impact their behavior. Love and Logic Parenting offers an affective and beneficial way to parenting without resorting to corporal punishment, spanking or hitting our children. It is no longer considered healthy or socially acceptable to paddle children in school, slap children in the face or spank them with a belt when they do something wrong. In fact, those actions are now typically considered child abuse. Respect nowadays needs to be earned through appropriate discipline techniques not fear. By setting clear rules and expectations, explaining the consequences of their actions, and following through and enforcing those consequences fairly and consistently. Modeling, showing a good example, has been proven to affect children positively in every area of life: academic achievement, employment, health habits, peer and romantic relationships, coping, as well as communication and conflict resolution. And just as modeling good behavior is important, it’s also important for a parent to admit when they have made a mistake, particularly when it comes to their kids. If they see an adult own up to having done something wrong, they, too, will learn to take responsibility when they do something wrong. It may be desirable of parents to hang out with their children or teenagers and be more like friends than parent/child. Being a child’s friend can’t be a priority, our job is to be a good parent! This doesn’t mean that parents can’t enjoy activities and good times with their children, but it does mean that rules need to be made, boundaries set, and consequences enforced. At times, parents may not be the most popular person in the house! Sometimes, what’s right for your child and/or family isn’t what your child wants. When it comes to a parent/child relationship, there is an automatic hierarchy: the parent is in charge. In an actual friendship , both parties ideally get equal say. But parent‘s aren’t exactly a friend. Parents are guides, leader, instructors and disciplinarians†¦ and when the work is done, and then they can hang out with their children. All parents want a close, good relationship with their children and to enjoy time with them. As parent’s we get to say when, how and what happens. There may come a point, if parents have been dealing with their child’s serious problems for a prolonged period of time, at which they simply give up hope that things can change for the better. If parents are coping with serious issues like substance abuse, mental illness, eating disorders, truancy, aggression or even rebellion, parents may feel like anything and everything in their power to change the situation has been tried. At no time in history have parents been unsure of their parental role, even the best aren’t sure about whether they are using the best techniques. Society has changed; therefore the children of this genera tion compared to the children of previous generations have changed. Through the years, parenting styles have changed however, one newer parenting program, parenting with Love Logic offers parent’s simple and practical techniques that aren’t as easily found with other parenting programs such as Total Transformation or The Incredible Years Parenting Program. Parenting with Love Logic helps parents and teachers have more fun and less stress while raising children. Most parents do not understand how the techniques our parents and grandparents used so effectively just don’t seem to work with kids today. A lot of parents today are wondering what to do with their kids and frustrated that the old techniques just don’t seem to get the job done anymore. Many conflicting philosophies and books have been written and many of them sound good, but they haven’t seemed to be able to do the job of helping children become respectful, responsible and a joy to be around. Although, many ideas are offered with the best intensions, they center on making sure our kids are comfortable and feeling good about themselves in order to have self-concept. However, through Love Logic parents have discovered that self -confidence is achieved through struggle and achievement, not through someone telling kids that they are number one. Raising children, who are self-confident, motivated, and ready for the real world, can be a win-win approach to parenting. Children will win because they will have learned to solve problems while gaining the confidence they need to meet life’s challenges. Parents will win by establishing healthy control without resorting to anger, threats, nagging or exhausting power struggles. Love Logic teaches parents to â€Å"lock in â€Å"empathy, love, and understanding prior to telling kids what the consequences of their actions are. It teaches parents to hold their kids accountable for their mistakes. When a child is talking back or yelling at you, instead of yelling back or match wits with the child try something new and unexpected, don’t waste energy simply try telling them â€Å"I love you too much to argue, or â€Å"I will talk to you when you when you can talk in a normal tone of voice;† and see what happens. This will surprise the child when they aren’t getting a rise out of you. Children need to be given the opportunity to make choices even if the choices they make are not always right ones, it is a choice that they made, therefore, they have to face the consequences and be held accountable. Provide choices by avoiding power struggles, letting the child make decisions, and help them learn from their mistakes. This helps improve parent/child relationships and builds the child’s self -confidence. Love Logic offers parents the skills required to feel more relaxed, hopeful and positive with their children. Parents will discover that parenting doesn ’t have to be as hard as it seems to be and parents can teach personal responsibility and respect without losing their child’s love. As parent’s, many only have a few years left to prepare our children for a world that requires responsibility and maturity for endurance. Many parents are continually amazed how Love Logic changes lives and how the principles work not only with children, but also parents and adults. It has converted many people’s parenting philosophies. With Parenting with Love Logic parents have a place in guiding their children to healthy and successful lives. Parents are expected to be experts, but parenting is a learning process, especially appropriate and effective parenting. There is a way through parent training that has been shown to be effective at reducing child behavior problems including rebelliousness. Parent programs may seem like common sense but many needs to learn techniques and implement them consistently. The instructions given are important in determining compliance; the way in which a command is given can often greatly influence the child’s understanding of the command. Parents often give orders that are not specific or clear enough to be truly understood by the child and parents often do not give children sufficient time to act in accordance with requests. Techniques that work with Love Logic are forcible statements, choices, compassion, then consequences, diffusing arguments and guiding children to solve their own problems. Enforceable statements are no threats, anger, frustration and no warnings. Parenting programs are offered to help parents in helping raise our children effectively. Love Logic primarily teaches character. The formula is the child makes a mistake, and the adult responds with compassion instead of anger, the child learns from the consequences of their actions. The rules of Love Logic are adults set firm limits in loving ways, without anger, lecture or threats. When a child causes a problem, the adult hands it back in a loving and consistent way. There are three different styles of parenting. Helicopter parenting, where the parent hovers over children and try to save them from the hostile world in which we live. Drill Sergeant parenting, where the parent commands and directs the lives of the children. The Consultant Parent provides the guidance and consultant services for their children. The helicopter parent never allows their children to suffer the natural consequences of their mistakes and choices, constantly bailing them out. This type of parent requires or expects nothing from their child and does not instill accountability in their child. The drill sergeant parent demands that things be done now and tells the child how to think, feel and handle all responsibilities. The consultant parent uses Love Logic techniques, they give messages of personal worth and strength, provide and help explore alternatives and then allows the child to ma ke his or her own decision, provides time frames in which the child may complete responsibilities. Consultant parents model doing a good job, finishing, cleaning up and feeling good about it. They use many actions but very few words, and allow the child to experience life’s natural consequences. Family values were considerably different than those of previous decades, and to a great extent, this was the intention of previous generations. Other than the fact that teenagers have more technology and more material things nowadays, there is no difference in teenagers now as opposed to teenagers in my generation. Teens have been rebellious, prone to experimentation, impulsive, and in great need of acceptance from their peers. This has led them to teenagers making some not so wise choices, both in the previous generations as well as in the current generation. Every generation of parents has worried and wondered if there is any hope for the next generation. Kids and teenagers also have been enthusiastic, generous, energetic, and creative to their schools and communities. Give our children a chance to do something worthwhile, and most of them will step up. All they need is a little guidance and a sense of meaning in their lives. The driving societal changes in the 80’s and 90’s women’s liberation movements, high divorce rates, and the need for mothers to enter the work force played into the hands of those starting families early in the previous decades of the 20th century. All of these influences directly impacted the families we grew up in, and how the next generation would be raised. More often, than not children are growing up in broken homes. The reality is that more children are born to unwed or teenage mothers. I think that the Love Logic program should be offered as a mandatory program for all parents. Through Parenting with Love Logic introspection gives our children the values they deserve, it guides our children to solve their problems; it helps in making our children responsible for their own actions; and our children will love us for holding them accountable; and it offers parents ways to teach our children. Cline, Foster W. Fay, Jim Rev. ed. of: Parenting teens with love logic. c1992. Fay, Jim. Teaching with Love Logic. Golden, CO: The Love and Logic Press, Inc., 1995 School Discipline, Classroom Management Ginott, Haim G. Between parent and teenager. [New York] Macmillan [1969 Glasser, Howard. Transforming the difficult child: the nurtured heart approach. Tucson, Ariz.: Center for the Difficult Child Publications, c1998. Grandin, Temple. Developing talents: Careers for individuals with Asperger syndrome and high-functioning autism. Shawnee Mission, KS: Autism Asperger Pub., 2004. Grundfast, Kenneth. Ear infections in your child. Hollywood, Fla.: Compact Books, c1987. Haddon, Mark. The curious incident of the dog in the night-time. 1st Vintage Contemporaries ed. New York: Vintage Contemporaries, 2004. Despite his overwhelming fear of interacting with people, Christopher, a mathematically-gifted, autistic fifteen-year-old boy, decides to investigate the murder of a neighbors dog and uncovers secret information about his mother. Hallowell, Edward M. Driven to distraction: recognizing and coping with attention deficit disorder from childhood through adulthood. 1st Touchstone ed. New York: Simon Schuster, 1995. Hamersky, Jean, 1953-. Cartoon cut-ups: teaching figurative language humor. Eau Claire, Wis. : Thinking Publications, c1995. Navigating the Social World. Kajander, Rebecca. Living with ADHD: a practical guide to coping with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: for parents, teachers, physicians, and all those who care for children with ADHD. Minneapolis, Minn. : The Foundation, c1995. Kurcinka, Mary Sheedy, 1953-. Raising your spirited child: a guide for parents whose child is more #intense, sensitive, perceptive, persistent, and energetic. Rev. Ed. New York: Harper, 2006. Kurcinka, Mary Sheedy, 1953-. Raising your spirited child workbook. 1st Ed. New York, NY: Harper to The Effects of the Becoming Perennial, c1998. Leftin, Howard I. The family contract: a blueprint for successful parenting. Washington, D.C. : PIA Press, c1990.

Comparing Death in Do not Go Gentle into That Good Night and Australia,

Rage against Death in Dylan Thomas’ "Do not Go Gentle into That Good Night", and Judith Wright’s "Australia, 1970" Mortality is a subject often contemplated in both traditional and modern poetry. Traditionally, death has been viewed as a great leveler of people, and as a frightening, yet noble experience that is best approached with a quiet, dignified, Christ-like acceptance. In the work of some modern poets such as Dylan Thomas and Judith Wright, however, the message is a different one altogether. These poets advise the dying to not assume the role of the martyr, teaching by quiet example; rather, the dying are instructed to "rage, rage against the dying of the light" (Thomas) and "die like the tigersnake" (Wright) in order to send their messages to the living. While these two poets give these startling instructions with different goals in mind, one idea comes across clearly: that the image of the martyr quietly and knowingly accepting death is no longer an image that will satisfy modern poetry as it looks for reason in its examination of impending mortality. In his 1952 poem "Do not Go Gentle into That Good Night", Dylan Thomas examines the idea that entering quietly into death is not the proper way to leave life; instead, as life draws to a close, he instructs his readers to "rage, rage against the dying of the light" (Thomas). At first glance, this could appear to be futile advice, for raging against an inevitable, unalterable experience such as death obviously does nothing to impede its course, and could therefore be seen as a pointless exercise. However, upon closer examination, it becomes clear that Thomas’s poem does not attempt to fight or ward off death; rather, it attempts to convince others to live fully and ... ...ugh mercilessly taunted by the turncoat crowds, those dying in these poems are instructed to do so violently and wildly, to kick and scream, yet at the same time accept the fact that death is an unstoppable force. By depicting these violent, unorthodox, traditionally ignoble methods in a positive light and instructing others to partake in them, Dylan Thomas and Judith Wright are disassociating themselves with the ‘beneficial martyr’ outlook on life and death adopted by Christianity and instead aligning themselves with a far more rebellious and modernistic school of thought Works Cited and Consulted Stanford, Derek. Dylan Thomas. New York: The Citadel Press, 1986. 116-118. Thomas, Dylan. "Do Not Go Gentle." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 1996 Thomson, A.K. Critical Essays on Judith Wright, ed. 1968. Wright, Judith. Collected Poems 1994. Comparing Death in Do not Go Gentle into That Good Night and Australia, Rage against Death in Dylan Thomas’ "Do not Go Gentle into That Good Night", and Judith Wright’s "Australia, 1970" Mortality is a subject often contemplated in both traditional and modern poetry. Traditionally, death has been viewed as a great leveler of people, and as a frightening, yet noble experience that is best approached with a quiet, dignified, Christ-like acceptance. In the work of some modern poets such as Dylan Thomas and Judith Wright, however, the message is a different one altogether. These poets advise the dying to not assume the role of the martyr, teaching by quiet example; rather, the dying are instructed to "rage, rage against the dying of the light" (Thomas) and "die like the tigersnake" (Wright) in order to send their messages to the living. While these two poets give these startling instructions with different goals in mind, one idea comes across clearly: that the image of the martyr quietly and knowingly accepting death is no longer an image that will satisfy modern poetry as it looks for reason in its examination of impending mortality. In his 1952 poem "Do not Go Gentle into That Good Night", Dylan Thomas examines the idea that entering quietly into death is not the proper way to leave life; instead, as life draws to a close, he instructs his readers to "rage, rage against the dying of the light" (Thomas). At first glance, this could appear to be futile advice, for raging against an inevitable, unalterable experience such as death obviously does nothing to impede its course, and could therefore be seen as a pointless exercise. However, upon closer examination, it becomes clear that Thomas’s poem does not attempt to fight or ward off death; rather, it attempts to convince others to live fully and ... ...ugh mercilessly taunted by the turncoat crowds, those dying in these poems are instructed to do so violently and wildly, to kick and scream, yet at the same time accept the fact that death is an unstoppable force. By depicting these violent, unorthodox, traditionally ignoble methods in a positive light and instructing others to partake in them, Dylan Thomas and Judith Wright are disassociating themselves with the ‘beneficial martyr’ outlook on life and death adopted by Christianity and instead aligning themselves with a far more rebellious and modernistic school of thought Works Cited and Consulted Stanford, Derek. Dylan Thomas. New York: The Citadel Press, 1986. 116-118. Thomas, Dylan. "Do Not Go Gentle." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 1996 Thomson, A.K. Critical Essays on Judith Wright, ed. 1968. Wright, Judith. Collected Poems 1994.

Fundraising Project Essay

Initially, I would like to talk a little about my role in the fundraising project and then mention about how OB concepts played a role in the completion. My role in the project was Purchasing and Procurement Officer and as the name suggests, this was a very demanding job and highly respected by all my peers. This position was very significant for me that, I cannot emphasize enough how much it is going to help me in my field of studies and possibly my career. Being part of the â€Å"Basketball Shootout†, my biggest challenge was to get desirable gifts for the participants and making sure it did not cross the projected budget. In order for me to do the job very efficiently, I had to use my networking skills and track down the right people to provide me with the goods. Through out the development of the process, I came across many vendors and small business owners. However, time and cost were major limitations and provided less room for negotiation. Another interesting part of the journey was to meet people, especially salespersons and their interest to know about the event’s importance. For this, I also had to touch and feel certain areas of marketing where I had no experience before. In spite of the ordeal, I would say my role was a great success and it brought great attention and respect among my peers. In any case, however, I must say that group projects like these are not piece of cakes. The majority of my time was invested to solve group conflicts and also into group decision making. I think majority of us including me were very results oriented and few of us were goal oriented. Under stiff academic pressure and also the option of another project that I could have done (Managerial Interview) which was perceived to be less painstaking made it worse. From the organizational behavior point of view, I knew that things like these are inevitable in decision-making and a lot of this was focused on constructive criticism and as a functional conflict. In fact, this led our group to follow a path that believed in perfection and consideration of every valuable input. Another interesting concept that I came across was that, I personally witnessed myself competing and avoiding to be less cooperative at times and was immediately pulled back to see this. However, I also believe that I brought a culture into the group, which fulfilled the role of a negotiator in order to avoid conflict and save time on decision making. This was to me a breakthrough in my learning experience only because I did not know I had them(skills). I understood the fact that many tradeoffs are made in a project, and a mediator was always in favor of the group. My intuition that our group had an integrative characteristic to its negotiation policies proved right. A lot of this was to make each other happy at the moment and also the fact that we were peers hoping to maintain long term relationship was also a reason. However, it was not possible for me to create a win win situation all the time. I believe that my reasoning and persuasion skills helped to some extent to avoid conflict. This was also a perfect opportunity for me to put a number of other alternatives on the table for discussion and thus exploring my creative side. Overall, I must say that looking back at our achievements, I think it was worth the time and effort and was not bad at all.

Political Philosophy Essay

Barber (1999) refers to strong democracy as one of the democratic responses to contemporary political condition. The author clearly distinguishes the strong democratic type from unitary democracy, pluralist democracy, authoritative, and juridical democracy. All these types of democracy are idealistic, and are never applied to real political conditions in their pure forms, but they represent the five different visions of the democratic order which deserve attention and should be objectively reviewed. Barber (1999) defines authoritative democracy in centralized executive terms. Authoritative democracy exercises the principles of differential citizenry; although authoritative democracy is fully accountable to the democratic community which elects it, this type of democratic order relies on the excellence of elites (Barber, 1999). The two major deficiencies are characteristic of authoritative democracy: first, it tends towards hegemony; second, it tends to camouflage its political representation under the cover of political wisdom. As a result, individuals risk confusing the political virtue with the political excellence (Barber, 1999). Juridical democracy is based on the principles of protecting human rights. Arbitration and adjudication are the necessary preconditions of juridical democracy (Barber, 1999). In juridical democracy, the principle of differential citizenry is expressed through excessive reliance on courts, which resolve and mediate political issues and substantially limit the power of the democratic government. Barber (1999) writes that â€Å"juridical democracy is deficient because it subverts the legislative process†. The author is confident that juridical democracy initially distorts the notions of the natural right and the higher law, using them as the disguise for political reintroduction and representation (Barber, 1999). Pluralist democracy is the most ideal democratic form of all Barber describes in his work. Pluralist democracy is based on the principle of the social contract which free political markets use in the process of political exchange (Barber, 1999). In distinction from the two previous forms of democracy, the pluralist form relies on active (not differential) citizenry. All conflicts and issues are arbitrated with the help of bargaining in which free equal individuals are involved. The pluralist democracy is deficient because the power of the social contract and bargaining is very weak. In Barber’s (1999) view, pluralist democracy is too innocent, and cannot lead to formation of any public thinking. Unitary democracy could initially become the political representation of certain norm as the central element of democratic order. Although unitary democracy promotes the unanimous character of political decisions, it tends to undermine the principles of individual autonomy. The role of citizenry in unitary democracy is vague (Barber, 1999). The problem is in that the unity of political deliberation requires that individuals merge with the rest of the political community. As a result, they risk losing their political individuality, and promote collective political thinking. Unitary democracy cannot foster self-realization; in massive forms, unitary democracy borders on coercion and malevolence (Barber, 1999). In many aspects, unitary democracy is synonymous to â€Å"conformist† type of political order, which mixes tyranny with terror and views community consensus through the prism of collectivity and collective political interests. Barber (1999) is confident that strong democracy is the political order of the future. The author views this type of democratic order as a community which will never be collectivistic, and which is the most compatible with the contemporary society. The core of strong democracy is the self-government, in which citizens govern themselves (Barber, 1999). The conflict resolution is based on self-legislation, and the creation of the political community. The mentioned political community is the key element of strong democracy, and it is the necessary condition for transforming the political conflicts into the useful epistemological tools of public thinking (Barber, 1999). Simultaneously, Barber fails to define the criteria for the creation and existence of the already mentioned political community. If strong democratic community exists to transform political conflicts or implement political decisions (Barber, 1999), it is unclear whether this community will keep its previous form as soon as it achieves its political goals. One can’t but agree with Barber (1999) in that in strong democracy community is invariably linked to the notion of citizenship, but there are striking disparities between the notions of community and participation. Although strong democracy claims striking the misbalance between participation and community, it does not offer any reliable criteria for achieving the democratic world of the common ends, in which conflict serves the dialectical means of turning the masses into the democratic citizenship. Conclusion Strong democracy is viewed by Barber (1999) as the best and the most realistic type of democratic order. Barber (1999) emphasizes the deficiencies which authoritative, juridical, unitary, and pluralist democracies display. Simultaneously, Barber (1999) fails to provide the criteria for creating and supporting the strong democratic community and participation. The relation between community and participation remains misbalanced, and strong democracy will hardly strike it.