Infomercial Analyis

Insanity Infomercial The Beach Body Insanity program boasts as being the hardest workout on DVD. This comes across different than most programs offering to assist with weight loss and exercise. Most info commercials, today try to lure the consumers in by how easy the program is to follow and how effortless the workout is; and some even claim that a lifestyle change is not necessary. The Insanity program has people saying how hard this program is, that the program requires dedication and a decision to change your lifestyle.Incorporating the Insanity program into an individual’s lifestyle will take a commitment to make 45 minutes a day for the workout and to plan to eat healthy. Most people can make time for this workout; especially since it does not require any special equipment; you use your body as resistance, stretching and is a very high cardiovascular exercises. Whether you are in shape or a coach potato, this comes across as not for the faint at heart; not many programs t rying to sell it to someone trying to get in shape that people have thrown up on the first day.One of the benefits about Insanity is that there are DVDs, while there is a preplanned work out on a printed calendar to follow, can be customized to fit any fitness program by pausing the program or taking the necessary breaks one needs and to start back. Most people can stick to a program for 30 days, with this program it indicates that you will see results in that time frame; as well as seeing a body that would take most people a year to achieve in 60 days. This program seems to be expensive, with shipping and handling it cost $145. 0; if you take into account that a gym membership is $20. 00 a month, then the membership alone would $240. 00 for a year. To be able to achieve the results that the commercial states a physical trainer would need to set a workout program for most people at an additional cost. Taking the cost of a year’s membership at a local gym and a program that st ates you can see the same results in 60 days, the amount of time that would be saved this program is comparable and cheaper than other fitness programs.I believe that the Insanity program has truthfully presented the potential benefits of the program because it is not promising an easy fix. It clearly states that dedication and a commitment is necessary. It also comes across as not easy by offering a reward for completing the 60 day program. It also, discusses that a nutritional change is required. An alternative to Insanity would be a workout totaling 45 minute workout.I would recommend doing the following: * 1500-caloric intake diet high in protein and fiber; low in fat and sugar. * Exercising 6 days a week * High intensity exercises with less rest time 4 days. * Yoga the other 2 day. Making lifestyle changes and adding an exercise program is going to be hard and take dedication. Whether you decide to purchase a program from an infomercial, walk in your neighborhood or join a gym; it is important to just commit and allow room for error but make the necessary changes to have a healthier lifestyle.

Tax Evasion & the Black Economy

TAX EVASION It is the general term for efforts by individuals, corporations, trusts and other entities to evade taxes by illegal means. Tax evasion usually entails taxpayers deliberately misrepresenting or concealing the true state of their affairs to the tax authorities to reduce their tax liability and includes in particular dishonest tax reporting, such as declaring less income, profits or gains than actually earned or overstating deductions.Tax evasion is an activity commonly associated with the informal economy and one measure of the extent of tax evasion is the amount of unreported income, namely the difference between the amount of income that should legally be reported to the tax authorities and the actual amount reported, which is also sometimes referred to as the tax gap. Tax avoidance, on the other hand, is the legal utilization of the tax regime to one's own advantage to reduce the amount of tax that is payable by means that are within the law.Both tax evasion and avoidan ce can be viewed as forms of tax noncompliance, as they describe a range of activities that are unfavorable to a state's tax system, though such characterization of tax avoidance is suspect, given that avoidance operates lawfully, within self-creating systems Smuggling Smuggling is importation or exportation of foreign products by unauthorized means. Smuggling is resorted to for total evasion of customs duties, as well as for the importation of contraband items.A smuggler does not have to pay any customs duty since the products are not routed through an authorized customs port, and therefore are not subjected to declaration and payment of duties and taxes. Ten countries with the largest absolute levels of tax evasion per year. It is estimated that global tax evasion amounts to 5 percent of the global economy. During the latter half of the twentieth century, value added tax (VAT) has emerged as a modern form of consumption tax through the world, with the notable exception of the Unit ed States.Producers who collect VAT from the consumers may evade tax by under-reporting the amount of sales. The US has no broad-based consumption tax at the federal level, and no state currently collects VAT; the overwhelming majority of states instead collect sales taxes. Canada uses both a VAT at the federal level (the Goods and Services Tax) and sales taxes at the provincial level; some provinces have a single tax combining both forms. In addition, most jurisdictions which levy a VAT or sales tax also legally require their residents to report and pay the tax on items purchased in another jurisdiction.This means that those consumers who purchase something in a lower-taxed or untaxed jurisdiction with the intention of avoiding VAT or sales tax in their home jurisdiction are in fact breaking the law in most cases. Such evasion is, especially, prevalent in federal states like the Nigeria, US and Canada where sub-national jurisdictions have the constitutional power to charge varying rates of VAT or sales tax. In Nigeria for example, some local states enforce VAT on each goods sold by trader. The price must be clearly stated and the VAT distinct from the price of the good purchased.Any act by the trader contrary to this (like including VAT in the price of the goods) is punishable as attempting to syphoning the VAT. Borders between tax districts in the same nation usually lack the resources to enforce tax collection on goods carried in private vehicles from one district to another, so states only pursue sales and use tax collection on high-value items such as cars. Government response The level of evasion depends on a number of factors, one of them being fiscal equation.People's tendency to evade income tax declines when the return for due payment of taxes is not obvious. Evasion also depends on the efficiency of the tax administration. Corruption by the tax officials often render control of evasion difficult. Tax administrations resort to various means for plugg ing in scope of evasion and increasing the level of enforcement. Corruption by tax officials Corrupt tax officials cooperate with the tax payers who intend to evade taxes. When they detect an instance of evasion, they refrain from reporting in return for illegal gratification or bribe.Corruption by tax officials is a serious problem for the tax administration in a huge number of underdeveloped and southern European countries. Level of evasion and punishment Tax evasion is a crime in almost all developed countries and subjects the guilty party to fines and/or imprisonment. In Switzerland, many acts that would amount to criminal tax evasion in other countries are treated as civil matters. Dishonestly misreporting income in a tax return is not necessarily considered a crime. Such matters are handled in the Swiss tax courts, not the criminal courts. In Switzerland, however, some tax misconduct is criminal, for example, deliberate falsification of records. Moreover, civil tax transgressi ons may give rise to penalties. It is often considered that extent of evasion depends on the severity of punishment for evasion. Normally, the higher the evaded amount, the higher the degree of punishment. BLACK ECONOMY / BLACK MARKET Is the economy in which illegal goods are traded. Due to the nature of the goods traded, the economy itself is forced to operate outside the formal economy, supported by the established state power.Typically the totality of such activity is referred to with the definite article as a complement to the official economies, by market for such goods and services, e. g. â€Å"the black market in bush meat†. The black market is distinct from the grey market, in which commodities are distributed through channels which, while legal, are unofficial, unauthorized, or unintended by the original manufacturer, and the white market, the legal market for goods and services. Worldwide, the underground economy is estimated to have provided 1. 8 billion jobs. Back groundThe literature on the black market has avoided a common usage and has instead offered a plethora of appellations including: subterranean; hidden; grey; shadow; informal; clandestine; illegal; unobserved; unreported; unrecorded; second; parallel and black. This profusion of vague labels attests to the confusion of a literature attempting to explore a largely uncharted area of economic activity. There is no single black economy; there are many. These black economies are omnipresent, existing in market oriented as well as in centrally planned nations, be they developed or developing.Those engaged in underground activities circumvent, escape or are excluded from the institutional system of rules, rights, regulations and enforcement penalties that govern formal agents engaged in production and exchange. Different types of underground activities are distinguished according to the particular institutional rules that they violate. Five specific underground economies can be identified: 1. Illegal Economy 2. Unreported Economy 3. Unrecorded Economy 4. Informal Economy 5. Criminal Acts 1. ILLEGAL ECONOMYThe â€Å"illegal economy† consists of the income produced by those economic activities pursued in violation of legal statutes defining the scope of legitimate forms of commerce. Illegal economy participants engage in the production and distribution of prohibited goods and services, such as drug trafficking, arms trafficking, and prostitution. 2. UNREPORTED ECONOMY The â€Å"unreported economy† consists of those economic activities that circumvent or evade the institutionally established fiscal rules as codified in the tax code.A summary measure of the unreported economy is the amount of income that should be reported to the tax authority but is not so reported. A complementary measure of the unreported economy is the â€Å"tax gap†, namely the difference between the amount of tax revenues due the fiscal authority and the amount of tax revenue a ctually collected. 3. UNRECORDED ECONOMY The â€Å"unrecorded economy† consists of those economic activities that circumvent the institutional rules that define the reporting requirements of government statistical agencies.A summary measure of the unrecorded economy is the amount of unrecorded income, namely the amount of income that should (under existing rules and conventions) be recorded in national accounting systems (e. g. National Income and Product Accounts) but is not. Unrecorded income is a particular problem in transition countries that switched from a socialist accounting system to UN standard national accounting. New methods have been proposed for estimating the size of the unrecorded (non-observed) economy. But there is still little consensus concerning the size of the unreported economies of transition countries. 4.INFORMAL ECONOMY The â€Å"informal economy† comprises those economic activities that circumvent the costs and are excluded from the benefits and rights incorporated in the laws and administrative rules covering property relationships, commercial licensing, labor contracts, torts, financial credit and social security systems. A summary measure of the informal economy is the income generated by economic agents that operate informally. The informal sector is defined as the part of an economy that is not taxed, monitored by any form of government, or included in any gross national product (GNP), unlike the formal economy.In developed countries the informal sector is characterized by unreported employment. This is hidden from the state for tax, social security or labor law purposes but is legal in all other aspects. On the other hand, the term black market can be used in reference to a specific part of the economy in which contraband is traded. Pricing Goods acquired illegally take one of two price levels: They may be cheaper than legal market prices. The supplier does not have to pay for production costs or taxes. This is us ually the case in the black economy.Criminals steal goods and sell them below the legal market price, but there is no receipt, guarantee, and so forth. They may be more expensive than legal market prices. The product is difficult to acquire or produce, dangerous to handle or not easily available legally, if at all. If goods are illegal, such as some drugs, their prices can be vastly inflated over the costs of production. Black market can form part of border trade near the borders of neighboring jurisdictions with little or no border control if there are substantially different tax rates, or where goods are legal on one side of the border but not on the other.Products that are commonly smuggled like this include alcohol and tobacco. However, not all border trade is illegal. Prostitution Prostitution is illegal or highly regulated in most countries across the world. These places form a classic study of the black economy, because of consistent high demand from customers, relatively hig h pay, but labor intensive and low skilled work, which attracts a continual supply of workers. While prostitution exists in every country, studies show that it tends to flourish more in poorer countries, and in areas with large numbers of unattached men, such as around military bases.Prostitutes in the black market generally operate with some degree of secrecy, sometimes negotiating prices and activities through codewords and subtle gestures. In countries such as the Netherlands, where prostitution is legal but regulated, illegal prostitutes exist whose services are offered cheaper without regard for the legal requirements or procedures— health checks, standards of accommodation, and so on. In other countries such as Nicaragua where legal prostitution is regulated, hotels may require both parties to identify themselves, to prevent the rise of child prostitution. WeaponsFire Arms trafficking The legislatures of many countries forbid or restrict the personal ownership of weapon s. These restrictions can range from small knives to firearms, either altogether or by classification (e. g. caliber, automation, etc. ), and explosives. The black market supplies the demands for weaponry that cannot be obtained legally, or may only be obtained legally after obtaining permits and paying fees. This may be by smuggling the arms from countries where they were bought legally or stolen, or by stealing from arms manufacturers within the country itself, using insiders.In cases where the underground economy is unable to smuggle firearms, they can also satisfy requests by gunsmithing their own firearms. Those who may buy this way include criminals to use for illegal activities, gun collectors, and otherwise law abiding citizens interested in protecting their dwellings, families or businesses. Illegally logged timber Illegally logged timber is a huge problem. According to interpol, the illegal logging industry is worth almost as much as drug production industry, in some count ries. Animals and animal productsIvory trade / Wildlife trade In many developing countries, living animals are captured in the wild and sold as pets. Wild animals are also hunted and killed for their meat, hide, organs, †¦ Organs and other animal parts are sold for use in traditional medicine. Alcohol / Tobacco It has been reported that smuggling one truckload of cigarettes from a low-tax US state to a high-tax state can lead to a profit of up to $2 million. The low-tax states are generally the major tobacco producers, and have come under enormous criticism for their reluctance to increase taxes.Biological Organs Trade Organ trade is the trade involving inner organs (heart, liver, kidneys, etc. ) of a human for transplantation. There is a worldwide shortage of organs available for transplantation, yet trade in human organs is illegal in all countries except Iran. The problem of organ trafficking is widespread, although data on the exact scale of the organ market is difficult to obtain. Whether or not to legalize the organ trade, and the appropriate way to combat illegal trafficking, is a subject of much debate. Software piracyStreet vendors in countries where there is scant enforcement of copyright law, particularly in Asia and Latin America, often sell deeply discounted copies of films, music CDs, and computer software such as video games, sometimes even before the official release of the title. A determined counterfeiter with a few hundred dollars can make copies that are digitally identical to an original and suffer no loss in quality; innovations in consumer DVD and CD writers and the widespread availability of cracks on the Internet for most forms of copy protection technology make this cheap and easy to do.

History of Football Essay

Football, American, distinct type of football that developed in the United States in the 19th century from soccer (association football) and rugby football. Played by professionals and amateurs (generally male college or high school teams), football is one of the most popular American sports, attracting thousands of participants and millions of spectators annually. The forerunner of American football may have been a game played by the ancient Greeks, called harpaston. In this game there was no limit to the number of players. The object was to move a ball across a goal line by kicking, throwing, or running with it. Classical literature contains detailed accounts of the game, including its rougher elements, such as ferocious tackling. Most modern versions of football, however, originated in England, where a form of the game was known in the 12th century. In subsequent centuries football became so popular that various English monarchs, including Edward II and Henry VI, forbade the game because it took interest away from the military sport of archery. By the middle of the 19th century football had split into two distinct entities. Still popular today, these two sports included the football association game, or soccer (the word being a slang adaptation of the three letters, s-o-c, in Association), and rugby, in which players ran with the ball and tackled. Modern football evolved out of these two sports. The Playing Field and the Ball The football playing field is rectangular in shape, measuring 100 yd (91. 4 m) long and 53. 5 yd (48. 9 m) wide. At both ends of the 100-yard dimension, white lines called goal lines mark off the entrances to the end zones. Each team defends one end zone. A team must carry, pass, or kick the ball into the 10-yd (9-m) end zone on the opponents’ half of the field to score. Lines parallel to the end zones cross the field at 5-yd (4. 5-m) intervals. These lines give the field a resemblance to a large gridiron. Another set of lines, known as the sidelines, runs along both sides of the field. In addition, two rows of lines, called hash marks, run parallel to the sidelines. The hash marks are 53 ft 4 in (16. 3 m) from each sideline in college and high school football, and 70 ft 9 in (21. 6 m) from each sideline in the National Football League (NFL). Each play must begin on or between the hash marks. Before each play, the officials place the ball either between the hash marks or on the hash mark closest to the end of the previous play. Situated in the middle of the rear line of each end zone are goalposts, consisting of a 10-ft (3-m) vertical pole topped by a horizontal crossbar from which two vertical upright posts extend. In college and professional football, the posts are 18 ft 6 in (about 5. 6 m) apart. The football consists of an inflated rubber bladder encased in a leather or rubber cover. The ball is an extended spheroid, having a circumference of 28. 5 in (72. 4 cm) around the long axis and 21. 25 in (54 cm) around the short axis. It weighs between 14 and 15 oz (397 and 425 g). Playing Time A game of football is divided into four periods, known as quarters, each consisting of 15 minutes of playing time. The first two periods constitute the first half; the second two comprise the second half. Between the halves, a rest period, usually lasting about 15 minutes, is permitted the players, who may leave the field. The teams change halves of the field at the end of each quarter. The clocks stop at the end of each quarter and at certain other times, when particular events occur or when designated by the officials. The Players Football is played by two opposing teams, each fielding 11 players. Each team tries to move the ball down the field to score in the end zone defended by its opponents. During a football game the teams are designated as the offensive team (the team in possession of the ball) and the defensive team (the team defending a goal line against the offensive team). Players involved in kicking situations are known as the special teams. The 11 players of the offensive team are divided into two groups: 7 linemen, who play on the line of scrimmage (an imaginary line designating the position of the ball) and a backfield of 4 players, called backs, who stand in various positions behind the linemen. The lineman whose position is in the middle of the line is called the center. On his left is the left guard and on his right is the right guard. On the left of the left guard is the left tackle, and on the right of the right guard is the right tackle; similarly, on the ends of the line are the tight end and the split end. The back who usually  stands directly behind the center and directs the play of the offensive team is known as the quarterback. In a balanced backfield formation, or â€Å"T-formation,† the fullback stands behind the quarterback, and the left and right halfbacks stand to either side of the fullback. Teams often use wide receivers in the place of tight ends, split ends, halfbacks, or fullbacks. Wide receivers line up on the line of scrimmage but wide of the rest of the formation. The defensive team consists of a row of linemen, who comprise the defensive line, a row of linebackers, and a collection of defensive backs, known as the secondary. The defensive line can use any number of players, though most teams use three or four linemen. Defensive linemen principally are responsible for stopping the opposition’s rushing attack and, in passing situations, putting pressure on the quarterback. The linebackers line up behind the defensive line and, depending on the situation, are used to stop runners, pressure the quarterback, or cover the opposition’s receivers. Teams usually employ three or four linebackers. The secondary is comprised of cornerbacks, who cover wide receivers, and safeties, who cover receivers, offer support in stopping the rushing attack, and pressure the quarterback. The secondary commonly consists of two cornerbacks and two safeties. Protective Equipment To protect themselves from the often violent bodily contact that characterizes football, players wear elaborate equipment, including lightweight plasticized padding covering the thighs, hips, shoulders, knees, and often the forearms and hands. Players also wear plastic helmets with guards that cover most of the face. The Officials Play is supervised by impartial officials. Professional and major college football programs use seven officials: a referee, an umpire, a linesman, a field judge, a back judge, a line judge, and a side judge. The officials carry whistles and yellow penalty flags. They blow the whistles or throw the flags to indicate that an infraction of the rules has been committed. The referee is in charge of the game at all levels of play. The referee supervises the other officials, decides on all matters not under other officials’ specific jurisdiction, and enforces penalties. The referee indicates when the ball is dead (out of play) and when it may again be put into play, and uses hand signals to indicate specific decisions and penalties. The umpire makes decisions on questions concerning the players’ equipment, their conduct, and their positioning. The principal duty of the linesman is to mark the position of the ball at the end of each play. The linesman has assistants who measure distances gained or lost, using a device consisting of two vertical markers connected by a chain or cord 10 yd (9 m) long. The linesman must particularly watch for violations of the rule requiring players to remain in certain positions before the ball is put into play. The field judge times the game, using a stopwatch for this purpose. In some cases, the stadium scoreboard has a clock that is considered official. Game Procedure At the beginning of each game, the referee tosses a coin in the presence of the two team captains to determine which team kicks off or receives the kickoff. At the start of the second half, these conditions are reversed—that is, the team that kicks off in the first half receives the kickoff to start the second half. During the kickoff, the ball is put in play by a place-kick from the kicking team’s 35-yd (32-m) line, or the 30-yd (27. 4-m) line in the National Football League (NFL). The NFL kickoff was moved from the 35-yd line in 1994 to increase the importance of the kickoff return. The kicking team lines up at or behind the ball, while the opponents spread out over their territory in a formation calculated to help them to catch the ball and run it back effectively. If the kick stays within the boundaries of the field, any player on the receiving team may catch the ball, or pick it up on a bounce, and run with it. As the player runs, the player may be tackled by any opponent and stopped, known as being downed. The player carrying the ball is considered downed when one knee touches the ground. Tacklers use their hands and arms to stop opponents and throw them to the ground. After the ball carrier is stopped, the referee blows a whistle to stop play and places the ball on the spot where the runner was downed. Play also stops when the ball carrier runs out of bounds. A scrimmage (action while the ball is in play) then takes place. Before scrimmage begins, the team on offense usually gathers in a circle, called a huddle, and discusses the next play it will use to try to advance the ball. A coach either signals the play choice  to the team from the sidelines, or the team’s quarterback chooses from among the dozens of rehearsed plays in the team’s repertoire. The defensive team also forms a huddle and discusses its next attempt to slow the offense. Each play is designated by code numbers or words, called signals. After the teams come out of their respective huddles, they line up opposite each other on the line of scrimmage. If the quarterback analyzes the defensive alignment and decides that the chosen play should be changed, the quarterback can call an audible and shout the coded directions for a new play. Play begins when the center crouches over the ball and, on a spoken signal, snaps it—generally to the quarterback—by handing it between his legs. Based upon the chosen play, the quarterback can pass the ball, hand it off to a teammate, or run with it. During the scrimmage, the players on the offensive team may check the defenders using their bodies, but they are constrained by specific rules regarding the use of their hands or arms. The player running with the ball, however, is allowed to use an arm to ward off potential tacklers. The offensive players check defenders, or try to force them out of the way, by performing a maneuver known as blocking. Good blocking is considered a fundamental technique in football. Perhaps the most spectacular offensive play is the forward pass, in which the ball is thrown in a forward direction to an eligible player. The ball is nearly always thrown by the quarterback, and those who may catch it include the other three backs and the two ends. A forward pass may be made only during scrimmage, and then only from behind the line of scrimmage. A lateral pass may be made anywhere on the field anytime the ball is in play. The defending team tries to prevent the attacking team from advancing the ball. The defending players may use their arms and hands in their attempt to break through the opponents’ line to reach the player with the ball. The defending team tries to keep the offense from gaining any distance, or to stop the offense for a loss by tackling the ball carrier before the ball carrier reaches the line of scrimmage. The offense must advance the ball at least 10 yards (9 m) in four tries, called downs. After each play, the teams line up again and a new scrimmage takes place. If the team on offense fails to travel 10 yards (9 m) in four downs, it must surrender the ball to its opponent after the fourth down. A team will often punt on fourth down if it hasn’t gained at least 10 yards (9 m) in its previous three tries. In punting, the kicker drops the ball and kicks it before it touches the ground. By punting, a team can send the ball farther away from its own end zone before surrendering it, thus weakening the opponent’s field position. Methods of Scoring. The object of the game is to score more points than the opposing team within the regulation playing time. In college football, a game can end in a tie if both teams have scored the same number of points at the end of regulation time. In case of a tie in an exhibition or regular-season professional game, the teams play an overtime period, known as sudden death, in which the first team to score is declared the winner. If neither team has scored at the end of this 15-minute overtime period, then the tie is allowed to stand. In professional playoff games no ties are allowed, and the teams play until one scores. A team scores a touchdown when one of its players carries the ball into the opposing team’s end zone or catches a pass in the end zone. A touchdown is worth 6 points. After a team has scored a touchdown, it tries for an extra-point conversion. This is an opportunity to score an additional one or two points with no time elapsing off the game clock. In college football, the offensive team lines up 3 yd (2. 7 m) from the goal line of the opponents and passes, kicks, or runs with the ball. A running or passing conversion in which the ball crosses the goal line counts for 2 points. A conversion by place-kick that propels the ball between the goalposts and over the crossbar counts for 1 point. In professional football, the offensive team lines up 2 yd (1. 8 m) from the goal line. A conversion attempted by place-kicking the ball is worth 1 point. In 1994 the NFL introduced the running or passing 2-point conversion. On offense, teams may also attempt to score by kicking a field goal, which counts for 3 points. A field goal is scored by means of a place-kick, in which one player holds the ball upright on the ground for a teammate to kick. For a successful field goal, the ball must be kicked between the goalposts and over the crossbar. After each field goal and extra-point conversion, the scoring team must kick off to its opponents. Finally, a defensive team earns two points for a safety when it causes the team on offense to end a play in possession of the ball behind its own goal line. If the offensive team downs the ball behind its line intentionally, in certain situations, such as after receiving a kickoff, the play is known as a touchback and does not count in the scoring. When the offensive team suffers a safety, it must punt the ball to the opponents to restart play. Modern Football American football was made popular by teams representing colleges and universities. These teams dominated the game for most of the first 100 years of football in the United States. Even today, despite greatly increased interest in professional football, intercollegiate contests—played by some 640 team—are attended by more than 35 million spectators each year. Many college stadiums hold more than 50,000 spectators; one stadium, at the University of Michigan, holds more than 100,000. Many of the major universities are now grouped in conferences, such as the Big Ten (northern midwest), the Big Eight (midwest), the Pacific Ten (western states), the Southeastern Conference, and the Ivy League (northeast). The birth date of football in the United States is generally regarded by football historians as November 6, 1869, when teams from Rutgers and Princeton universities met in New Brunswick, New Jersey, for the first intercollegiate football game. In the early games, each team used 25 players at a time. By 1873 the number was reduced to 20 players, in 1876 to 15 players, and in 1880 to 11 players, where it has remained. In the 1900s, college football became one of the country’s most popular sports spectacles. Ranked among the greatest United States sports heroes of the 20th century are such student athletes as Jim Thorpe of Carlisle Institute; George Gipp of the University of Notre Dame; Red Grange of the University of Illinois; Tom Harmon of the University of Michigan; Doak Walker of Southern Methodist University; Glenn Davis and Doc Blanchard, the â€Å"Touchdown Twins† of Army (the U. S. Military Academy); Joe Namath of the University of Alabama; and O. J. Simpson of the University of Southern California. In 1935 the Downtown Athletic Club of New York City established an award honoring one of the outstanding college football coaches in the country, John William Heisman. Heisman is credited with legalizing the forward pass in 1906. The John W. Heisman Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the outstanding college player of the year, as decided by a national poll of sportswriters. After World War II ended in 1945, college athletes began to receive football scholarships, often paying the player’s room, board, tuition, and incidental expenses while enrolled in college. College Bowl Games and National Champions. College teams generally play about 11 games during the fall. The best college teams are awarded trips to so-called bowl games, matching outstanding teams in games that conclude the season’s competition. The tradition was begun in 1902 at Pasadena, California, when Stanford University invited the University of Michigan to come to California for a New Year’s Day contest. This event soon became the celebrated Rose Bowl game. Bowl games now represent the climax of the college season. Other notable bowl games include the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas; the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida; and the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana. In recognition of the great public interest in these games, major corporations now sponsor many of the bowls. Today, the champion college team is selected by national polls of coaches and sportswriters. In the accompanying table, the teams from 1889 to 1923 were Helms Athletic Foundation selections; from 1924 to 1930, Rissman Trophy winners; from 1931 to 1935, Rockne Memorial Trophy winners; from 1936 to today, Associated Press (AP) poll selections; and from 1950 to today, United Press International (UPI) poll selections. In cases where two teams won the honor in separate AP and UPI polls, a note has been made. Many members of the football community debate whether a poll of writers and coaches should determine a champion or whether the colleges should institute a more formal playoff system. Detractors of a playoff system argue that with such a system, the popular bowl games would lose their identity. In addition, players’ seasons would extend by one or two months, cutting into academic time. However, advocates for a playoff point to the controversial 1993 season in which the Florida State Seminoles won the number-one ranking over Notre Dame, a team that beat the Seminoles convincingly earlier in the season. Beginnings of Professional Football The first professional football game in the United States took place in 1895 in the town of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, between a team representing Latrobe and a team from Jeannette, Pennsylvania. In the following ten years many professional teams were formed, including the Duquesnes of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; the Olympics of McKeesport, Pennsylvania; the Bulldogs of Canton, Ohio; and the team of Massillon, Ohio. Among noted college players who took up the professional game during its early years were Willie Heston (formerly at the University of Michigan), Jim Thorpe (Carlisle Institute), Knute Rockne (University of Notre Dame), and Fritz Pollard (Brown University). The professional game attracted only limited public support during its first 30 years. The first league of professional football teams was the American Professional Football Association, formed in 1920. The admission fee was $100 per team. The teams pledged not to use any student player who still had collegiate eligibility left, as the good will of the colleges was believed to be essential to survival. The teams also agreed not to tamper with each other’s players. Jim Thorpe, a player-coach for one of the teams, became president of the league during its first year. The American Professional Football Association gave way in 1922 to the National Football League (NFL). Red Grange, the famous halfback from the University of Illinois, provided a tremendous stimulus for the league when he joined the Chicago Bears in 1925 and toured the United States that year and the next. His exciting play drew large crowds. Thereafter, professional football attracted larger numbers of first-rate college players, and the increased patronage made the league economically viable. Strategically, the early NFL game was hardly distinguishable from college football at that time. There was no attempt to break away from collegiate playbooks or rule books. For 13 years the NFL followed the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Rules Committee recommendations. In the league’s early years, players considered the low-paying NFL a part-time job and held other jobs during the day. Thus, while college coaches could drill their players daily for hours, professional football coaches arranged practices in the evenings, sometimes only three or four times a week. Development of Offensive Strategies The offensive techniques and formations prevalent in the contemporary game developed from the ideas of early and mid-20th century coaches such as Walter Camp, Alonzo Stagg, Pop Warner, Fielding â€Å"Hurry Up† Yost, Bob Zuppke, Knute Rockne, and Paul Brown. Following very few historical precedents, these men innovated unique strategies that changed the nature of football forever. Stagg, operating out of the early T-formation, originated the between-the-legs snap from center to quarterback and put a player in motion in the backfield before the snap of the ball. In 1906 Warner unbalanced his line, placing four players on one side of the center and two on the other side, while shifting the backfield into a wing formation. The quarterback functioned as a blocker, set close behind the line and a yard wide of the center. At the same depth, but outside the line, was the wingback. Deep in the backfield was the tailback, who received most of the snaps, and in front and to the side was the fullback. This formation became known as the â€Å"Single-Wing,† and it remained football’s basic formation until the 1940s. From the Single-Wing emerged Warner’s â€Å"Double-Wing,† with wingbacks set wide on either side of the line. This formation forced the defense to spread itself across the field in order to protect against the pass, thus creating favorable conditions for the offense to execute unexpected running plays. The strategy is the same as today’s â€Å"draw† and â€Å"end-around† concepts, but Warner’s teams could also pass from the formation. Warner would also open up the lines completely, splitting the ends into modern â€Å"slot† positions, inside the wingbacks. This was a four-receiver formation that evolved into the â€Å"Shotgun† offense, popularized by the San Francisco 49ers of 1960. Like the double-wing, the â€Å"Shotgun† utilized two wideouts and two slot players, with the passer set deep in the backfield next to a running back. The NFL’s newest formation of the 1990s, the â€Å"Run and Shoot† offense, also resembles Warner’s formation. With Warner’s innovations, wing formations came to dominate the NFL. Coach Zuppke at Illinois ran single- and double-wing formations, often sending four or five receivers downfield in pass patterns. Some teams would use a short-punt formation, with the quarterback and wings set on different sides, providing a more balanced look. At Notre Dame in 1923 and 1924, Rockne instituted his famous Four Horsemen offense. At the beginning of a play, Rockne set up the backs in a four-square, box alignment on one side. Then, in the famous â€Å"Notre Dame Shift,† the backs would shift out of the box and into a single or double wing. In later years, other coaches imitated Rockne’s innovation and achieved similar success. For example, former Washington Redskins’ coach Joe Gibbs implemented an offensive strategy called the â€Å"Explode Package. † Modeled after Rockne’s Notre Dame Shift, the Explode Package helped the Redskins defeat the Miami Dolphins in the 1983 Super Bowl. In Gibbs’s system, the backs and receivers would jump into new positions before the snap, thus unsettling the defense. Although talented, the quarterbacks of the 1930s and parts of the 1940s seldom completed 50 percent of their passes, while many were even less successful. A major cause of these low percentages was the primitive nature of pass-blocking schemes. With little protection, passers always had to throw while avoiding incoming rushers. In the 1940s Paul Brown, the coach of the Cleveland Browns, installed a blocking system which transformed the passing game forever. Brown changed the system by arranging the linemen in the form of a cup. They pushed most incoming pass-rushers to the outside. Anyone who penetrated the line was met by a firmly planted fullback named Marion Motley. From that point on, the passing game achieved a new significance. Other teams implemented strong blocking lines, providing the quarterback with more time to release the ball. The contemporary game of the 1980s and 1990s is noted for its exciting and effective passing plays in both the professional and college ranks. Artificial turf, the surface in many of the nation’s stadiums, provides excellent footing for quarterbacks and receivers. With strong protection, talented quarterbacks make a perceivable difference to a game. For example, quarterback Joe Montana keyed the San Francisco 49ers’ three Super Bowl victories in the 1980s. Montana, who benefited from good protection, could instinctively read defenses and had the ability to deliver the ball accurately to his receivers while on the move. In college football, the University of Miami Hurricanes dominated the game in the late 1980s with a flashy passing game and a quick defense that could react effectively to the pass. Development of Defensive Strategies One striking aspect of modern football is its emphasis on defense as well as offense. This trend began after World War II (1939-1945), when college teams were allowed free substitution of players—that is, a player could enter and leave the game an unlimited number of times, as long as the ball was not in play during the substitution. This feature of the game led to the modern two-platoon system, in which one group of 11 players enters the game to play offense and a second group enters to play defense. Such a system has fostered the development of individual skills and specialization among players. Defensive football has acquired an extensive terminology of its own. In some ways defense is more complicated than offense, because defensive teams have fewer restrictions on their manner of lining up. Generally, however, the defensive formation is determined by the way the offense lines up. For example, when defending against opponents who are expected to throw many forward passes, a team might use a formation with a four-player line of two ends and two tackles. Three linebackers would stand directly behind the front four. In addition, two cornerbacks placed wider and farther back could defend against mid-range assaults. Two safeties would position themselves deeper to protect against longer aerial attacks. Most of the innovative thinking by coaches in the NFL during the 1970s came on defense. Offensive statistics plummeted as defenses dominated. The newer game demanded speed at every position, in addition to strength and bulk. Great linebacker units with catchy names such as Doomsday in Dallas, Pittsburgh’s Steel Curtain, Minnesota’s Purple People Eaters, and the Rams’ Fearsome Foursome dominated offenses. Teams turned the free safety position over to ferocious hitters such as the Raiders’ Jack Tatum and Dallas’ Cliff Harris. Rough, physical cornerbacks such as Pittsburgh’s Mel Blount and Oakland’s Willie Brown employed tight bump-and-run techniques on receivers downfield. Professional Football Today. The present-day NFL game is immensely popular. It is played during the late summer, through autumn, and into January. Professional teams play 4 exhibition games before the start of the regular season, followed by 16 games in the regular season and then playoff games, when they qualify for the playoffs. Teams play one game each week, using the time between games to recover, practice, and prepare for the next game. Each team receives one week without a game, known as a bye, during the season. The NFL is a big business for players, owners, advertisers, and other industries tied to the sport. NFL franchises generate huge revenues for host cities, in addition to promoting civic pride and national exposure. Thus, cities often compete for teams, offering prospective teams bigger and better stadiums, guaranteed fan support, and various economic incentives. In the 1980s three NFL teams relocated: the Raiders moved from Oakland, California, to Los Angeles in 1982; the Colts moved from Baltimore, Maryland, to Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1984; and the Cardinals moved from Saint Louis, Missouri, to Phoenix, Arizona, in 1988. Other teams have agreed to stay only with the promise of new facilities by their host cities. Throughout the years, other consortiums have sought to capitalize on the economic potential of the sport. For three years in the 1980s a new professional spring league, the United States Football League (USFL), competed with the NFL. The NFL lost players to the USFL, and NFL teams had to pay higher salaries to keep other players from leaving. However, the USFL soon folded, with much of its more talented personnel entering the NFL. Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the final contest of the professional season and determines the league’s annual champion. Currently the Super Bowl routinely finishes among the all-time top 50 programs in television ratings, and the 1994 game reached an estimated 750 million viewers around the world. Now probably the most important single-day sporting event in the United States, the Super Bowl had more modest beginnings. In 1967 the champions of the American Football League (which merged with the NFL in 1970) and the NFL met in what was called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game. The name was later shortened to Super Bowl, named after a child’s toy, the Super Ball. In this first game, the Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 35-10. The Los Angeles Coliseum, site of the game, fell far short of a sellout, although tickets were only $10 each. In comparison, the highest ticket price at the 1994 Super Bowl reached $250, with scalpers illegally charging more than twice that much. Rule Changes and Modern Developments The game of football has a history of constant rule changes. Rule changes have been implemented to bolster the excitement of the game of football and to increase the game’s safety. By 1906 the game was extremely rough, and many injuries and some deaths had occurred. Educators considered dropping the sport despite its popularity on campuses. United States President Theodore Roosevelt, an ardent advocate of strenuous sports, declared that the game must be made safer. As a result, football leaders revamped the game, and many of the rougher tactics were outlawed. In a constant attempt to maintain public interest in the game, NFL rulemakers review trends in their sport. For example, in the early 1970s, the rulemakers brought the hash marks in closer to the center of the field to give offenses more room to throw wide. The move, which increased scoring and made the game more exciting, also helped bolster the running game. Ten NFL runners gained more than 1000 yards in one season (1972) for the first time in history. During the next season, Buffalo Bills’ running back O. J. Simpson rushed for more than 2000 yards, the first time a player had gained that many yards in a single season. However, the passing game eventually suffered as defenses quickly adjusted. The Pittsburgh Steelers had a stranglehold on the NFL during the 1970s, with four Super Bowl victories. The dominant defensive athletes the Steelers put on the field shut down the wide-open passing attacks that had developed in the previous era. By 1977 scoring was the lowest it had been since 1942, while offensive touchdowns had fallen to their lowest levels since 1938. The rulemakers enacted serious measures after this low-scoring 1977 season, fearing a loss of public interest in the defense-dominated game. They established a zone of only five yards from the line of scrimmage in which a bump by a pass defender was permitted.

An investigation of the relationship between CSR strategies and public Essay

An investigation of the relationship between CSR strategies and public affairs in Hungary - Essay Example International guidelines, corporate best practices and a large volume of professional literature have together created the system which today is referred to as CSR. The relationship between CSR and public affairs (PA) has not been sufficiently studied (Nelson, 2008). This seems to be attributed to the fact that the world is coping with a number of complex global and local problems like poverty, population increase, the lack of drinking water, etc. and overcoming these problem poses an increasing challenge for nation states. The sustainability of the economic, social and natural environment is indispensable for the long-term, value creating operation of businesses (Nelson, 2008). As a result of these phenomena and processes, the interests and responsibilities of the state meet the interests related to the sustainable operation of businesses. According to Kargaci-Kovats (2012), CSR is still considered a novelty in Hungary. While, CSR was already a known concept in the country, its popularity gained momentum following the Hungarian Business Leaders Forum in 1990 when the forum made CSR one of their topics or agenda for discussion (Lakatos, 2013). The value of public affairs in CSR relates to the decree passed in 2006 in Hungary with the Promotion of Employers’ Social Responsibility alongside the creation of the National Council of Sustainable Development as supported by the Parliament, its delegates and business as well as science, civic, abd religious representatives. Through the council, various functions were considered. The first function refers to its role in informing the Government about sustainability risks in different proposed legislation and second, the council also takes part in supposting the national sustainability strategies (Lakatos, 2013). Even with political support and sufficient business engagem ent, there is still insufficient elaboration and clarity for Hungarian organizations on what CSR actually covers (Lakatos,

Influence of Job Satisfaction on Staff Turnover Dissertation

Influence of Job Satisfaction on Staff Turnover - Dissertation Example Graham defined job satisfaction as, "The measurement of one's total feelings and attitudes towards one's job"(Graham, p. 68, 1982). Some specialists state job satisfaction as â€Å"any combination of psychological, physiological, and environmental circumstances that causes a person truthfully to say, ‘I am satisfied with my job’† (Hoppock, p. 47, 1935). One more defines job satisfaction as â€Å"an affective (emotional) reaction to a job that results from the incumbent’s comparison of actual outcomes with those that are desired† (Cranny et al., p.1, 1992). Dissatisfied employees are always complaining about their physical health like stiffness in muscles and joints (O’Driscoll & Beehr, 1994). Job satisfaction is a key factor that affects the employee’s turnover intention and, â€Å"Job satisfaction is important for organizations to address due to its impact on absenteeism, (1) turnover, (2) and pro-social â€Å"citizenship† beha viors such as helping coworkers, helping customers, and being more cooperative with all social ties† (Karl & Sutton, p.515, 1998). Dissatisfaction of the employees when reaches a certain limit, it gives rise to turnover intention. Most of the studies show a reasonable connection between job satisfaction and turnover intentions (Samad, pp. 1-5, 2006). Turnover intention is the intent of the staff to quit their organization. The ratio of the figure of members of organization who leave during a specific period divided by the average number of employees in that organization is the rate of turnover (Price, p.10-25, 1977). Dissatisfaction of employees is a major issue for the organizations as they suffer a lot if a competent individual quits the job due to dissatisfaction. Turnover can cause serious damage and destruction to the organization by bringing extra direct or indirect cost to it. Expenses incurred on the assortment, staffing, initiation and training of new workers is direct cost (Staw, p. 253-273, 1980). Cost of knowledge, abridged morale, stress on the existing staff and the loss of social capital are the i ndirect costs suffered by the organization (Des & Shaw, p.446-456, 2001). Therefore, the organizations must take steps to identify the factors causing job dissatisfaction in the employees. A number of aspects influence the job satisfaction of the employees. The matter of knowing about the factors affecting the job satisfaction of the individuals working for the organization is of utmost importance. The two types of the factors that manipulate the job satisfaction of an individual are factors involving the work environment and the demographic characteristics. Education, gender, age, and term of employment are the demographic measures while the difference of roles, task variety, remuneration, and relationship with colleagues are the work environment measures (Allen, pp. 27, 2002). It is obligatory for the organization to provide best possible working environment to the employees so that they feel comfortable. Dissatisfied employees are a cause of numerous problems for the organization s and are not productive. A recent study reveals the consequences of job dissatisfaction through which one can conclude that if disgruntled workers stay in the organization they may take on counter-productive activities (Spector, 1997). Roznowski and Hulin contend that overall job satisfaction measures are "the most informative data a manager or researcher can have for predicting employee behavior"(Roznowski and Hulin, 1992, p. 26). Job satisfaction of an individual directly affects his or her turnover intention. Experts have been

Den Arts Center Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Den Arts Center - Essay Example This is evident from the fact that gross attendance remains the same each year i.e., 15,000. This also depicts stability of the center, as the center has built up a certain reputation. This includes HRM practices in the areas of recruitment and selection, training, performance appraisal, development of human resource (HR) policies, and maintenance of HR records. (Kotey & Slade, 2005) Today multinational enterprises (MNEs) conduct business in context with being global and follows the slogan "No place to hide", this enables local as well as multinational businesses to keep up the pace in two aspects. First, they emphasize upon their "product" quality to maximize customer satisfaction, secondly they require reshaping their HRM policies and practice accordingly. The Head of Center must hire a manager who possess multidimensional perspective along with multienvironment experience, so that he could realize the need for change in the environment of Den's Arts Center and improve their quality in terms of their performers and services. This is only possible through effective recruiting of artists and performers from different countries. The manager must possess the capability to quickly and easily adapt into the foreign culture, individual with as much cultural mix, diversity, and experience as possible. The manager must possess the ability to indulge into effective people skills in dealing with a variety of cultures, races, nationalities, genders, and religions. This would enable the Arts center to perform more professionally and on an international platform. (Briscoe & Schuler, 2004, p. 238) The Arts Center is lacking global recruitment due to which they are limited to the choice of young people and not the elderly ones. They must enhance thei r capabilities to increase the circle of their target audience to mature people. Whether the local HR manager is from the country of the parent company, from the country of the local subsidiary, or from a third country, he or she is sandwiched between his or her own culture and the 'foreign' cultures of the firm. Human resource managers at the local, regional, and headquarters levels must integrate and coordinate activities taking place in diverse environments with people of diverse backgrounds. And they are usually looked to for expertise in helping other managers be successful in their international endeavors, as well. (Briscoe & Schuler, 2004, p. 27) Den's Arts Center is in desperate need of a change in their policies in umpteen ways. There is a need to hire 'multicultural' trainers including local as well as international drama specialists, drama artists to train and groom their youngsters. They must hire renowned choreographers. Den Arts Center should promote Students' arts, crafts and paintings in their dramas based on 'merit' factor from various primary and secondary schools. This on one hand where provide them with an opportunity for ease of selecting quality work, on the other hand it would motivate the students to perform better. This would help them in future to select trainers from among those talented student individuals, which worked for them in the past. Over the years, as

Determining causes and effects Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Determining causes and effects - Essay Example It is a fact without doubt that indeed most of the campus students spend a substantive time on campuses leading very stressful lives. Because students have to establish a balance between their studies, examinations, extra-curriculum activities, and some work, it is clearly an aspect of stress. Ideally, stress permeates from numerous aspects in the society, with stress among the teenagers, most especially in those in campus taking the greatest percentage. Despite the fact that stress has become part of human life, stress could be minimized through numerous ways. Indeed, stress in colleges and many teenagers is a significant problem considering the effects associated with it. Based on such a perspective, this paper discusses pressure of academic performance and finances as the causes of stress on college students, and a look into their effects. Stress among college students results from numerous causes, each of which has different effects depending on the circumstances involved. Of all the causes, the pressure of the academic problem is usually the greatest contributing factor to the numerous instances of stress among the campus students (Heidenreich, 2009). Whenever every student goes to campus, one of the primary requirements of the teenager is to perform excellently in the academics. Equally, parents usually encourage their children to have the best of performance in their studies. However, little is always told on how to achieve the academic excellence status.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Genetic Testing Term Paper

Strengths and Weaknesses of Genetic Testing - Term Paper Example It has the ability to detect the problem precisely and bears a huge potential. Advancements in the field would bring a great future in the medical care. However, some societal responses towards the genetic testing are not entertaining. Genetic testing is basically a most modern technique of checking genetic disorders in which direct enzymes and other proteins have been taken. Genetic testing is used for various reasons that are career screening, pre implantation genetic diagnosis, prenatal diagnostic testing, newborn screening, genealogical DNA test, predictive and pre symptomatic testing, forensic testing and parental testing. There are various types of genetic testing that are newborn screening, diagnostic testing, carrier testing, prenatal testing, pre implantation genetic diagnosis, predictive and pre symptomatic test, forensic testing, parental testing, research testing and pharmacogenomics. Newborn screening test is done just inspection of DNA molecule, proteins and definite metabolites have been taken for the detection of hereditary diseases such as genotypes, mutation and phenotypes. Biochemical tests are also included in genetic testing in which microscopic testing of stained or fluorescent chromosomes and gene product as after the birth of baby for checking genetic disorder phenylketonuria (mental illness) and congenital hypothyroidism (disorder of thyroid gland). Diagnostic test is a genetic testing can be done in a whole life of a person. It is done when physical mutation and its symptoms appear. Carrier testing is done to check in both of the parents who carry genetic mutation and after checking that the tests give information regarding the risk of having a child with the same genetic mutation. Prenatal testing is done before the birth of child. It detects transformations in fetus genes before the birth of child. After this test people gets information regarding the risk to having baby. In addition, after that test they decide whether to give birth to baby or abort. Preimplantation genetic diagnosis is done on human embryos in vitro fertilization process. Predictive and presymptomatic testing is done to check that type of genetic mutations that appear after birth such as cancer (Sequeiros and Guimaraes, 2008). In predictive testing, the tests give information regarding the developing chances of the same mutation, which your ancestors (genes) have but not find in you while testing. In presymptomatic test, the test give information that genetic mutation will appear in the person or not. Forensic tests are done for recognizing the person uses DNA sequences such as for catching the thief and for creating relationships among people e.g. paternity. Parental testing is used for recognizing the similar inheritance pattern among related individual by using DNA markers. Moreover, through these DNA markers u can easily test the parent individually. Re search testing is done to know that how genes work. Pharmacognomics test is done for checking the changing in genes after using drugs. A normal human may have 20,000 to 25,000 genes in their genomes. A little mutation in the genes may result in cancer or could be as little as retardation (Imgargano, 2009). Genetic testing has many types. Among these types, the commonly known is the parental genetic testing, which involves the detection of any genetic mutation before the birth of the child. However, the detection method is quite risky and can be a reason for the miscarriage. Introduction: Genetic testing is the possible future tool for the medical care. If advantages are considered, the genetic testing may be a helpful tool in recognizing a person’

In the instruction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

In the instruction - Essay Example The cartoon is specifically designed to portray the reasons that made Omar J. Gonzalez illegally enter into statehouse. In the cartoon, the fence jumper is certain that his access to higher utility is blocked by the fence. People on the other side are better off but slightly neglect the rest; he says â€Å"I bet they have Great candy there.† Phil leaves it to the reader to make a conclusion whether the man had been humiliated or not, given that his luggage is labeled ‘trick or treat.’ As matter of fact, since the war against Iraq started, many veterans came home wounded while some had severe mental incapacities despite the president making great promises to curb their mistreatment. In this cartoon, Phil targets the public, who are criticizing the man’s effort to seek some recognition. His friend represents the general public who can’t see the nice buildings on the other end and thus demotivates the fence jumper from accomplishing his mission. Handy, Phil. "Fence jumper." Wisconsin state journal 25  Oct.  2014: n. pag. Web.

Tata Motors Essay Example for Free

Tata Motors Essay The Tata group comprises over 100 operating companies in seven business sectors: communications and information technology, engineering, materials, services, energy, consumer products and chemicals. The group has operations in more than 80 countries across six continents, and its companies export products and services to 85 countries. The total revenue of Tata companies, taken together, was $100. 09 billion (around Rs475,721 crore) in 2011-12, with 58 percent of this coming from business outside India. Tata companies employ over 450,000 people worldwide. The Tata name has been respected in India for more than 140 years for its adherence to strong values and business ethics. Every Tata company or enterprise operates independently. Each of these companies has its own board of directors and shareholders, to whom it is answerable. There are 32 publicly listed Tata enterprises and they have a combined market capitalisation of about $89. 53 billion (as on June 6, 2013), and a shareholder base of 3. 8 million. The major Tata companies are Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tata Power, Tata Chemicals, Tata Global Beverages, Tata Teleservices, Titan, Tata Communications and Indian Hotels. Tata Steel is among the top ten steelmakers, and Tata Motors is among the top five commercial vehicle manufacturers, in the world. TCS is a leading global software company, with delivery centres in the US, UK, Hungary, Brazil, Uruguay and China, besides India. Tata Global Beverages is the second-largest player in tea in the world. Tata Chemicals is the world’s second-largest manufacturer of soda ash and Tata Communications is one of the world’s largest wholesale voice carriers. In tandem with the increasing international footprint of Tata companies, the Tata brand is also gaining international recognition. Brand Finance, a UK-based consultancy firm, valued the Tata brand at $18. 16 billion and ranked it 39th among the top 500 most valuable global brands in their BrandFinance ® Global 500 2013 report. In 2010, BusinessWeek magazine ranked Tata 17th among the 50 Most Innovative Companies list. Founded by Jamsetji Tata in 1868, Tata’s early years were inspired by the spirit of nationalism. It pioneered several industries of national importance in India: steel, power, hospitality and airlines. In more recent times, its pioneering spirit has been showcased by companies such as TCS, India’s first software company, and Tata Motors, which made India’s first indigenously developed car, the Indica, in 1998 and recently unveiled the world’s most affordable car, the Tata Nano. Tata companies have always believed in returning wealth to the society they serve. Two-thirds of the equity of Tata Sons, the Tata promoter holding company, is held by philanthropic trusts that have created national institutions for science and technology, medical research, social studies and the performing arts. The trusts also provide aid and assistance to non-government organisations working in the areas of education, healthcare and livelihoods. Tata companies also extend social welfare activities to communities around their industrial units. The combined development-related expenditure of the trusts and the companies amounts to around 3 percent of the groups net profits in 2011. Going forward, Tata is focusing on new technologies and innovation to drive its business in India and internationally. The Nano car is one example, as is the Eka supercomputer (developed by another Tata company), which in 2008 was ranked the world’s fourth fastest. Anchored in India and wedded to traditional values and strong ethics, Tata companies are building multinational businesses that will achieve growth through excellence and innovation, while balancing the interests of shareholders, employees and civil society.

Customer Relationship Management In Hospitality Industries Tourism Essay

Customer Relationship Management In Hospitality Industries Tourism Essay Customer Relationship Management, or CRM, has many perspectives and definitions that illustrate its fundamental thrust, that of trying to present a holistic strategy for managing customer relationships by getting to know the customers and their needs better, communicating with them more effectively and trying to fulfil these needs (Payne, 2005, Pp. 1 2). Because CRM is about getting to know customers and their needs better, it is about implementing specific Information and Communication technology projects within an organisation to process organisational data to deliver knowledge about customers and their needs. It is now possible for organisations to implement more effective and sophisticated technology solutions for processing customer related data because computers are now far more powerful and cheaper compared to what they used to be, with a vastly increased storage capacity. In addition, businesses and organisations can now store vast amounts of data about their customers on co mputerised systems that can communicate more effectively with individuals and other computer systems using technologies for the Internet. Companies in all sectors, including the hospitality and tourism sector, now routinely engage their customers on the World Wide Web and process customer data to deliver more useful products and services at competitive rates (Gretzel, 2010, Pp. 1 48 63 72). Thus, CRM presents opportunities leading to higher profitability and superior competitive advantage (Roberts, 2005, Pp. 315 316). It is important for modern hospitality organisations to try to increase customer occupancy rates and customer experience in a tough and rapidly changing business environment that presents intense competition (Minghetti, 2003, Pp. 141 143). Thus, managers associated with the hospitality sector, including the hotels and tourism sector must have a deep knowledge of customers needs, behaviours, and preferences to offer services that deliver value to create customer retention, value and loyalty. In addition, it is important to try to communicate effectively with customers in a timely manner and to encourage them to engage in a dialogue with an organisation that can benefit everyone. Thus, customer-centric information systems are important for the hospitality industry, which must use these systems to develop effective relationships with customers to serve them better, encourage them to use more offerings from an organisation and to get to know about their needs in order to satisfy them an d to retain them. It is important to understand that customers are the lifeblood of an organisation and without customers, there will be no revenues and no organisation. Customers who are not satisfied or fulfilled leave to benefit from others who can offer more and this means that efforts directed towards trying to maintain effective customer relationships are now essential for all organisations, including those operating within the hospitality and tourism sectors. It is far more expensive to try to get a new customer than it is to retain and to earn from an existing customer (Buttle, 1996, Pp. 155). The collection and use of customer information, its effective analysis and use for delivering to customers are now more important than ever before (Minghetti, 2003, Pp. 1 2). To understand better the importance of CRM in hospitality industries, it makes sense to try to carry out an in-depth investigation into the topic of discussion from the perspectives of customers, managers and other stakeholders, including employees, from within the context of a place with established hospitality industry that has achieved a reputation for excellence around the world. Edinburgh, in Scotland is a suitable location for such an investigation, not only because the author of this dissertation studies nearby, but also because in addition to being the United Kingdoms favourite domestic holiday destination, Edinburgh is now a world renowned destination for its festivals, events and conferences (Susan, 2008, Scotland A World Class Product). Susan (2008, Scotland A World Class Product) goes further to state that Edinburgh is the most favourite city in the United Kingdom to hold a conference and the demand for rooms for guests is fast outstripping supply. Edinburgh is at the forefront of hospitality and tourism in terms of innovation and quality and the hospitality sector in this city employs 31,000 people, which is nine percent of the workforce (Edinburgh Tourism Action Group, 2010, Edinburgh Tourism Framework for Growth 2007-15). According to the previously mentioned publication, Edinburgh won the Guardian / Observer Travel Award as the UK best city for seven consecutive years and tourism generates more than  £ 1.7 billion expenditure in this city. Efforts are ongoing to maintain Edinburgh as a competitive tourism destination of world class and to try to expand on its potential. Thus, it makes sense to try to examine how the hospitality industry in Edinburgh uses CRM to attract customers and to deliver more to Edinbu rgh and its tourists. The research presented in this dissertation attempts to examine the importance of CRM for the hospitality industry in Edinburgh by presenting a review of selected literature, a customer survey, insights from senior managers and executives from the hospitality and tourism industry in Edinburgh and opinions from those who have the real ground-level knowledge, the employees working within the hospitality sector. 1.1 A Discussion of the Problem for Research Marketing is important for the hospitality industry and for marketing for a successful hospitality organisation should touch the customer (Buttle, 1996, Pp. 155 157). The hospitality product is highly personalised with a substantial intangible content judged on experience. Relationship marketing is important for hospitality because the hospitality market with its ongoing and periodic demand in the face of competition presents a greater need for relational efforts and an understanding of the needs of customers. A need for the personal touch exists in hospitality and information technology provides opportunities for using information about customers to deliver the personal touch in novel ways. However, it is important to deliver correctly the CRM effort, based on the right information analytics and using the right channels to make a positive impact for the customer and the hospitality organisation. Despite the fact, that CRM has continued to present a promise of effecting improvements in corporate profitability, performance, customer retention and customer satisfaction, the proper implementation of CRM in an organisation is essential for success (Van Bentum, 2005, Pp. 28). CRM literature not only reports successes, it also reports a large number of failures in situations when well thought ought CRM solutions were not implemented correctly to impact the customer and to benefit an organisation. Thus, it is important to try to find out how the hospitality industry in Edinburgh is effectively making use of CRM in its efforts to compete with destinations from the rest of the United Kingdom, Europe and the world. It is far easier to articulate CRM than it is to implement it (Dickinson, 1999, Pp. 11 12). Today, the hospitality industry needs exceptional marketing that has the capacity for delivering the long-term customer who profits the business over time to emerge as a business partner. Thus, it is important to know the right way for CRM in hospitality and to get to know how the winners are making use of this new marketing reality for hospitality. For the small business operator in the hospitality sector, a customer information database that has evolved over time is likely to serve well using personal computers and internet connectivity if business continuity persists. However, for a large luxury hotel chain, resort or hotels involved with hosting and arranging conferences, the equation becomes more complex. In the present day and age, the design of CRM system emphasises linking knowledge management in organisations with CRM to try to enhance operational and strategic efficiencies (Xu, 2005 , Pp. 955 956). Thus, hospitality organisations and businesses must not only try to use CRM implementations effectively, but it must also be ensured that the right CRM implementation is serving an organisation by capturing the right data to perform the right analysis to present the most useful of results. With the passage of time, the lifestyles and preferences of customers change, customers become more demanding, new customers become involved with organisations and the business environment places new demands on businesses. Thus, it is not possible to say that knowledge acquisition for CRM in hospitality will be a once only exercise that will not be required on a continuous basis. A requirement exists for understanding CRM implementations, processes, practices and techniques with a view for making projections for the future to benefit most from this essential and important component of hospitality marketing. 1.2 Rationale for the Study It is important to consider the fundamental reason or reasons serving to account for something, or a statement of reasons when contemplating a research study because such an approach serves to elucidate, the aims of a research project or that which is required to be researched. For this dissertation, rationale for undertaking research into CRM in hospitality industries in Edinburgh is important because this influences the thrust of research into the topic of discussion. Clearly, an understanding of CRM and its implementation is not only of importance to the researcher who intends to make a career in the hospitality management, but it is also important for Edinburgh, Scotland and all destinations with an interest in enlarging and enhancing hospitality and tourism industries. Thus, a research project involving CRM in hospitality will benefit the industry and the place where the research is carried out to present new insights into what hospitality management should aim for in the future. Many of the more successful and ambitious hospitality establishments from around the world have practices in place to manage customer relationships (Lo, 2010, Pp. 139 156) and (Pechruttanamunee, 2008, Pp. 134 142). Not only is it likely that the more traditional forms of CRM will continue to play an important role in the evolution and success of hospitality organizations, but it is also likely that eCRM, which is made possible by advances in computer and communicatio n technologies, will present a new global meaning to marketing for hospitality at a destination. Thus, the right way to deliver, manage and to drive the CRM effort in hospitality will make the difference and is worth researching in depth. 1.3 Significance of the Study An examination of literature available in learned journals and books on the subject suggests that a very large body of published literature is available for CRM in organisations and the number of published research studies on CRM in hospitality is increasing. However, although a keen interest exists in Edinburgh and Scotland for promoting and further enhancing the hard won competitive advantage in hospitality and tourism for this city, little is available in terms of what role CRM plays in hospitality industries in Scotland and how better, more effective CRM strategies may be implemented for greater success. Thus, it is likely that this study will not only serve to add to the knowledge about CRM in hospitality, but it will also serve to highlight and to emphasise the importance of CRM in the hospitality industries of Edinburgh and Scotland. It is very likely that an effort to examine CRM practices and implementations in the hospitality industry in Edinburgh will present new insights and ideas that will be use to all with an interest in the management of hospitality and tourism. 1.4 Purpose and Research Questions The following research questions are of interest in the research presented for this dissertation: What is the thrust of CRM strategies in the hospitality industries of Edinburgh? What impact has CRM made on the hospitality industries in Edinburgh and is it possible to improve or to innovate further? What are the critical factors that influence deployment, development, planning and implementation of CRM in the hospitality industry in Edinburgh? What role does technology play in the delivery and implementation of CRM in the hospitality sector in Edinburgh? How has CRM shaped the corporate culture and vision for the hospitality sector in Edinburgh? What rewards has CRM presented to the hospitality sector in Edinburgh? How has CRM influenced the design and delivery of competitive and superior services for the hospitality sector in Edinburgh? What essential framework for the implementation of CRM has emerged in the hospitality sector for Edinburgh? What is the alignment that characterises CRM success for hospitality industries and businesses in Edinburgh? A literature review that attempts to examine and to present relevant perspectives on the importance of CRM in hospitality industries is in the next chapter. Chapter 2 Review of Relevant Literature and Research In the tourism and hospitality industries in general and the hotel industry in particular, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) becomes important as travellers become more price sensitive, less brand loyal and more sophisticated (Sigala, 2005, Pp. 391 392). In the present day and age, information technologies have made it possible for shoppers to make instant comparisons between hospitality and tourism offerings on websites and this means that it is important to implement CRM efforts to ret to retain customers and to provide them with better than what the competitors offer. The hotel industry around the world in particular is experiencing increased globalisation, competition, higher customer turnover, growing customer acquisition costs and rising customer expectations not only because the financial recession and competition but also because prospective customers can quickly make comparisons. Depending on the nature of hospitality business in which an organisation is involved, proc esses for automated data collection and analysis for influencing engagement with the customers are possible. Ryals (2001, Pp. 531 535) states that CRM in hospitality and service industries is important because efforts directed towards trying to enhance customer relationships pay in terms of offsetting high customer acquisition costs for those customers that use certain types of service offerings frequently. After covering acquisition costs, a stream of profit flows emerges for the previously mentioned customer and the longer a customer stays with a hospitality firm, the higher the profit. Thus, CRM helps to offset acquisition costs and to generate higher profits. In addition, the return from CRM increases even further when satisfied customers refer other potential customers who add to the bottom line for an organisation. Because efforts to develop a relationship with customers have generally positive effects on customers, a relationship with a hospitality organisation has a value for customers who associate with a brand to become price insensitive. The impact of efforts to enhance CRM in hospitality organisations are likely to result in the following (Ryals, 2001, Pp. 535): Long-term retention of selected customers Gathering and integrating information on customers An emphasis on data mining and analysis of customer data An emphasis on customer segmentation in terms of lifetime value Identification and micro-segmentation of markets for types of offerings Efforts towards enhanced customer value creation An emphasis on the delivery of customer value through channels optimised for serving various market segments A shift in emphasis from management of product portfolios to the management of portfolios of customers, resulting in efforts directed towards optimising an organisation to serve better customer segments Sigala (2005, Pp. 409 410) goes further to suggest that profound change in service marketing, including marketing for hospitality and tourism, demands that an emphasis exist for customer retention, customisation of products and customer focused processes that incorporate Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for collecting and processing customer data. Processed data is required to deliver customer insights, superior customer relationships and design of superior products and services. The previously mentioned author suggests an integration of ICT, knowledge management and CRM for hotels and the hospitality industry. However, CRM can and does exist in small hospitality and tourism establishments without the implementation of elaborate ICT applications, and it is important to try to have a good fit between the CRM implementation and the business. It is important to understand that with a good fit, the integrated CRM system will present opportunities for improving staff skil ls, competencies, the working environment and services in addition to enhancing customer relationships. The advent of e-commerce has meant that online intermediaries on the web present a threat to hospitality operators because although such intermediaries do present opportunities to customers to select after comparing a number of offerings, they do not always correctly depict the true value of offerings (OConner, 2004, Pp. 474 476). By implementing CRM efforts, hospitality establishments are in direct contact with customers and they can try to sell the value of their offerings to customers with a personal touch that is missing with online intermediaries. To illustrate the point, it is possible to suggest that by mailing a hotel magazine to selected customers who qualify, it will be possible for a hotel to keep customers informed about developments and at the same time to offer new or discounted products to try to maintain and enhance customer interest. In the age of Internet and the World Wide Web, post visit presentations, including magazines or other advertising literature from hosp itality establishments will neither be expensive to deliver nor late in a fast changing world full of new developments. CRM in the hospitality industry has the potential for reducing marketing expenditure and for increasing sales, but it is important to ensure that potential data-ownership dilemmas are in control so that CRM can work optimally at the brand level (OConner, 2004, Pp. 480 481). Effective data mining using artificial intelligence and sophisticated statistical techniques for data analysis on warehoused data is important for CRM, especially for the large hospitality organisations. However, the previously mentioned author suggests that the regional proliferation of Internet and interest in web-based interactions determines how effective eCRM will be when focusing on a region. The developed world with a more prolific proliferation of the Internet is far more suited to eCRM compared to regions in the developing world with limited access to ICT. In addition, large multinatio nal hotel chains must practice and present effective knowledge sharing for international hotel joint ventures (Magnini, 2008, Pp. 249 252). Hence, clearly CRM implementations in hospitality present both risks and opportunities. OConner (2004, Pp. 482) states that the hospitality industry spends millions of dollars on information technology acquisitions every year, but not much published material exists about the management of acquired information technology resources. According to Ozgener (2006, Pp. 1356 1358), senior management commitment and adequate budgets are important for CRM implementations in the hospitality industries. CRM implementations in the small and medium hospitality firms are likely to feel the effects of innovation quality, customer relations, communication-distribution infrastructure and business dynamics. Business dynamics, which refers to change imposed on businesses due to economic, social, technological and environmental change, is important for CRM because it is such change that demands new offerings from businesses to retain customers in the face of competition. Although the smaller hospitality firms will have less to spend on CRM, they are likely to be more interested in having CRM systems because existing customers are far more important to the smaller businesses compared to the larger ones. Thus, within the context of the hospitality industries existing in a city or a region, CRM implementation within small and large h ospitality businesses may vary, depending on the peculiarities of the place. The previously mentioned, together with barriers for the implementation of CRM in hospitality, is likely to be something that will be worth investigating in the small-scale research project for the importance of CRM in Edinburgh. In addition, the more important goals for implementing CRM in hospitality are also worth investigating because the relative reasons for an interest in CRM are likely to differ. It is possible to use CRM systems in hospitality firms for decreasing costs, sustaining competitive advantage, improving customer services, improving customer retention, acquiring new customers or for increasing profits. However, the relative priority reasons for CRM implementation may vary from firm to firm. Oronsky (2007, Pp. 944) suggests that CRM implementations in hospitality industries are not just limited to hotels, resorts, airlines or travel agencies because it is possible for restaurants to benefit from such implementations and a strategic thrust for CRM. The previously mentioned author suggests that chain restaurants and independent full-service restaurants may benefit from information technology and CRM implementations that effectively use IT for engaging customers and better understanding their needs. Within the restaurant sector, information technology has made an impact on the dining experience of customers and the way in which meals are prepared, even though according to the previously mentioned authors, some researchers suggest that the hospitality industry is not technology oriented. However, it is clear that if information technology for implementing CRM systems can benefit large hotel chains, then there is no reason why the same technology cannot benefit chain restaura nts. Oronsky (2007, Pp. 942) states that within the restaurant industry, information technology has the potential for minimising costs, providing support for superior employee and revenue management, enabling analysis of customer preferences and optimising menus for target costs that will appeal more to customers. Thus, despite reservations expressed by some researchers about hospitality not being a technology industry, other researchers suggest that it is likely that more than 50% of the change that will have an impact food service within the hospitality sector will involve technology influences. Thus, it is clear that a potential exists for using information technology and CRM systems within the food service sector in hospitality organisations. According to Oronsky (2007, Pp. 944), customer feedback and analysis of customer needs is as important for restaurants as it is for any other hospitality operation. Like hotels, airlines and tour operators, restaurants too can engage customers using websites and receive comments, feedback, suggestions or survey results presented on the web. For large restaurant chains, it is possible to implement systems for deciding about how well menu items are doing across the entire chain, and it is possible to enhance customer relationships by using imaginative ways, including deal offerings, special promotions, joint offerings with other businesses or offerings related to food events, etc. Thus, clearly technology facilitates information management, knowledge management and engagement with the customer even in the food service sector. In the business environment that prevails today, CRM is as important for airlines as it is for other hospitality industries because serving and having the customer counts and influences the bottom line (Cheng, 2008, Pp. 487 490). CRM is likely to make a difference for airlines in their effort to retain and attract the frequent flyers because relationship marketing emphasises maintaining long-lasting relationships with customers and a significant proportion of airline customers, even during the tough economic times, are business travellers who fly more frequently than tourists do. Thus, it is clear that the character of airline service offers many opportunities for practicing the relationship marketing approach and many airlines do maintain frequent flyer databases that are useful for deciding about customer requirements and for engaging the customer. Because airline operations present a substantial dependence on computers and information technology for reservation systems, schedulin g and maintenance activities, it is quite possible to incorporate effectively CRM implementations as an addition to existing information technology support systems. For airline CRM that delivers results, it is important to ascertain what keeps customers loyal to airlines and how airlines can respond better to offerings presented by competitors (Cheng, 2008, Pp. 488 489). Loyal customers do appreciate rewards for patronage by loyal customers if airlines present competitively priced offerings that are comparable in quality to offerings from competitors. Although, it is very likely that the touch, the thoughtfulness, benefits and the effort will count in CRM for airlines, customers must be satisfied with the price for quality and type of service offerings. Thus, enrolling customers in frequent flyer programs is not a guarantee of customer loyalty because service quality and service recovery policies in case of service disruption are important for frequent flyers. Clearly, a frequent flyer is likely to prefer an airline that checks them into a decent hotel and presents meals instead of leaving them to wait it out in a departure lounge if a substant ial flight delay persists. A balance must exist between rewards for frequent flyers with the care that airlines can offer to such customers who must constantly be on the move to attend to important business matters. In the present day and age, the digital market on the World Wide Web made possible by the Internet is important for airlines, and it is important that airlines lean closer to their customers to try to cut off agents and other intermediaries. In addition, the previously mentioned author suggests that airlines need to emphasise customer orientation, domain expertise, interpersonal relationships, service recovery performance and the judicious use of information technology to make an impact with customers that will result in superior relationship quality. From a customer perspective, domain orientation or the quality of offerings made by an airline and the quality of its employees are of the greatest importance to customers and this means that it is important to tune the CRM system for presenting superior offerings that benefit customers most. 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 The chapter, which follows, presents a discussion about the methodology for this dissertation. Chapter 3 Methodology / Methods Used 3.1 Research Approach for the Thesis 3.2 Preparation of a Literature Review Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Discussion A discussion about the conclusions derived from the results of the literature review and the interviews are in the next chapter. Chapter 6 Conclusion, Recommendations and Suggestions for Further Work Appendix A (This page intentionally left blank)

Changing Nutritional Requirements for Children

Changing Nutritional Requirements for Children HEALTH PROMOTION AND DEVELOPMENT UNIT Ubah A adan 1. The food for babies in the United Kingdom is normally set on particular guidelines, which must be followed in order for the babies to develop in a normal and healthy way. The First six months. Infant normally feed on breast milk or infant formula. For the first six months breast milk is most nutritious and highly recommended. It contains a unique mix of fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, lactose, amino acid, enzymes and others. Important factors that combine they make perfect food for babies, its nutritious and easy for digestion. It has every thing baby needs, Brain development, healthy growth and protection from illnesses. If the mother chooses not breastfeed the baby, best option available is infant formula. Introducing solid food to the baby should only start after six months. It’s recommended by health practitioners and also the government policy in the UK, but if the baby feels hungry so often weaning can start before six months but only with foods recommended by an infant nutritionist. There are foods which must be avoided at all cost for example: shellfish eggs fish liver nuts wheat and gluten seeds unpasteurised and soft cheese salt sugar honey and whole nuts 6 to 9 months When the weaning is started a baby’s diet should include the following types of foods: milk and dairy fruit and vegetables meat and fish egg and beans pasta and rice starchy foods There are many types of prepared baby foods and cereals that have been specially designed for babies, but these foods can also be easily prepared and pureed at home with the use of a food blender, frozen individually into ice cube trays and used as needed. 9 months + The recommended guidelines for servings of solid food portions at this age are: 2 servings per day of meat, fish, eggs or pulses 3-4 servings per day of fruits and vegetables 3-4 servings per day of potatoes, bread and rice Formula or breast milk can still be given along with healthy fruit and cereal snacks. VITAMINS The Department of Health advises that although children should get the required amount of vitamins from their food, they may be lacking in vitamin A, C and D which can be supplemented in the form of vitamin drops. Vitamin A: helps children to see in dim light, supports and strengthens the immune system, and ensures healthy skin is maintained. Vitamin C: helps with the absorption of iron, and supports the immune system. Vitamin D: helps to strengthen bones, and assists with the absorption of calcium. 2. TYPES OF FOOD THAT SHUOLD BE AVOIDED BY YOUNG CHILDREN There are many different food types which are considered to be unsuitable for babies and young children. Parents and childcare providers must be very careful the food that is cooked for the children, and the once that is ready made. SALT Babies don’t need salt. Their kidneys are too immature to cope with any added salt; even the small amount of salt can damage their kidneys. Therefore salt should never be added to any food that is cooked for a baby. The guidelines provided by the food standards Agency for salt consumption for children are: HONEY Honey contains bacteria which can produce toxin in a baby’s intestine leading to infant botulism which is a very serious illness. It’s best not to give babies honey until they over 1 year old. Honey is a sugar so avoiding it will also help to prevent tooth decay. SUGAR Baby doesn’t need sugar by avoiding it you will prevent tooth delay and unnecessary weight gain. Sugar causes tooth decay in young children and can be easily prevented. By avoiding sugary drinks and snakes you will help to prevent tooth decay. Children should be encouraged to drink milk and water. NUTS Whole nuts including peanuts should not be given to the children under the age of five, as they can choke on them. As long as there is no history of food allergies or other allergies in the baby’s family they can consume peanuts once they are six months old as long as they are crushed or grounded. LOW FAT FOODS Fat is an important source of calories and some vitamins for babies and young children. It’s better for babies and young children under 2 to have full fat milk, yogurts and cheeses. After the age of two; amount of fat in diet can be gradually decreased. EGGS Eggs can be given to children over the age of 6 months, yolks and whites should be well cooked to reduce the risk of salmonella infection. RAW SHELLFISH Raw shellfish can increase the risk of food poisoning and are considered to be potentially allergenic foods it also harbours salmonella bacteria. So it’s best to avoid it. SWORDFISH, SHARK AND MARLIN It is best to avoid these foods as the amount of mercury in these fish can affect a baby’s growing nervous system. 3. SPECIAL DIETARY REQUIREMEN AND CULTURAL REQUIREMENTS When children come together at meal or snack time everyone should be eating the same foods. However, there are some circumstances in which some children cannot eat the same foods. For example of some special dietary needs including: Sugar in all forms may be limited for a diabetic child. Fats and cholesterol may be limited for overweight children. Specific foods or additive may cause allergic reactions in some children. Cultural or religious preference may restrict specific foods. Any dietary needs should be identified and documented and it’s important that staffs are trained in the importance of sticking to these needs or restrictions. Some food allergies can be life threatening all staff should know the specific food or ingredient restrictions, possible consequences and symptoms of food reactions and recommended first aid. Any dietary requirements should be gained from parents and recorded and any food allergies documentation should be request from the child’s doctor. Some children in child care have cultural and religious food preferences the child care provider and the parents need to work together in order to make sure that children with especial dietary needs receive appreciate foods. Examples of some cultural and religion practice: When recording special dietary requirements, there are many types of information that should be documented for example: child’s name parents name and address emergency contact emergency instructions should ingestion of an allergic food occur necessary medication doctor or health professionals name address, telephone number parental and childcare provider signature In the case of emergency medication being required the childcare provider should have this information documented on a separate medical form and keep the medication in a locked container. A Child record form for a new child joining a home at child care setting with specific dietary requirement may look as followed: 4. CHILDHOOD CHRONIC DISEASES There are many health problems during infant and childhood, but mostly they are mild and they do not interfere with their daily life and development. For some children however chronic health conditions affect everyday life throughout their childhood, Including asthma, diabetes, cystic fibrosis and cerebral palsy. 1. ASTHMA Asthma is a long term condition that can cause a cough, wheezing and breathlessness. The severity of the symptoms is different from person to person. Approximately 1 in 10 children being affected asthma in the UK. The cause of asthma is not fully understood, however trigger can bring symptoms of asthma, and anything that irritates the airways brings on symptoms of asthma. These are different from person to person and people with asthma may have several triggers. Triggers include house dust, animal fur, pollen, tobacco smoke and others. Asthma is caused by inflammation of the airways these are the small tubes called bronchi which carry air in and out of the lungs. If you have asthma the bronchi will be flamed and will be more sensitive than normal. Asthma may also affect children emotionally as the attacks may be frightening them. 2. DIABETES Diabetes is life long conditions that cause persons blood sugar level to become too high. In the UK approximately 2.8million people are affected by diabetes. There are two types of diabetes type 1 and type 2. *Type1 is usually diagnosed in adolescence and is controlled insulin injections. * Type 2 is usually diagnosed in adulthood and is controlled by diet and tablets. Symptoms common to both types of diabetes are weight loss, feeling very tired and feeling very thirsty and urinating frequency. 3. CYSTIC FIBROSIS Cystic fibrosis is a genetic condition in which lungs and digestive system become clogged with the thick sticky mucus. Symptoms start in early childhood and include cough, chest infections and poor weight. There is no cure for cystic fibrosis so the aim of the treatment is to ease the symptoms and make the condition easier to live with. Treatments include therapies, diet, medication, exercise and physiotherapy to remove mucus from the lungs. 4. CEREBRAL PALSY Cerebral palsy is a general term covering a number of neurological conditions that effect a child’s movements and coordination. Neurological conditions affect the brain and nervous system. Cerebral palsy is caused by damage to the brain which normally occurs before, during or soon after birth. It is estimated that 1 in every 400 children in UK is effected by Cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy can put a great deal of strain on the body which can cause problems in later life. There is no cure cerebral palsy but the many of treatment can help relieve symptoms and increase child’s independent and self-esteem. These include physiotherapy, occupational therapy and medications. GUIDED ACTIVITY https://osclinks.com/84 https://osclinks.com/85 https://osclinks.com/86 https://osclinks.com/87 https://osclinks.com/88 https://osclinks.com/89 https://osclinks.com/90 https://osclinks.com/91 https://osclinks.com/92 https://osclinks.com/93 https://osclinks.com/94