Child Development

Introduction Child development can be defined as changes that occur in a human being starting from the time they are born extending to the close of adolescence. These changes include both biological and psychological which are influenced by various factors which may include; environmental, learning, genetics and pre-natal life.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Child Development specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The major ones that contribute to these changes are environmental and genetics defined as maturation. These two interactively lead to a healthy child growth. Developmental stages may be divided into several periods depending with the child’s age. These include; newborn 0-1 month, infant 1month-1yr, toddler 1-3yrs, pre-schoolar 3-6 yrs, school- age 6-13 yrs, teenage/adolescent 13-20yrs. All these sages are important as specific development are expected to take place, therefore all the necess ities should be but in place to enhance a healthy growth. Development is a continuous process where one stage leads to the next and as such, success is to be endeavored at all the above mentioned stages. It is a common thing for some children to attain certain developmental millstone earlier or later in relation to the given average time frames. Several theories have been formulated such as the attachment, behavioral, ecological system theories and many more all in attempt of explaining child development. During the age of 1-3yrs;toddler, much growth is achieved and great changes also take place, the child also have opinions and can solve problems and important of all is that the child learns to be independent. Toddlerhood is therefore, the most critical stage in a child development. Various aspects of development in toddlerhood In the society, child development is very crucial and therefore knowing the Cognitive, motor, social, emotional, moral, physical appearances and language de velopment and the strategies that can be employed to enhance this development at this various stages is very crucial. Cognitive development of a toddler Play and imitation form major activities in cognitive growth. Toddlers are very curious of what takes place in the world for example, they can try mixing several ingredients as they see adults do and at some times they try to explore various things on their own, for instance they can opt to discover what happens if one drops a glass or throws something like a ball into water. At this stage, the child does things repeatedly as a method of learning. It is in this stage that adults find challenges in bringing up a child as he/she will always imitate even the most dangerous activities and also try to discover through various experiments (Charlesworth 2010).Advertising Looking for critical writing on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More At the age of 18 months representationa l thinking develops whereby a child is in a position to think over a problem before taking any action. For instance if the child wants to reach a ball placed on top of a table he/she stretches and when unable, stops and thinks over how to solve the problem then, finds a chair to step on it as he/she stretches to reach the ball, contrary to the previous stage where he/she could stop thinking the moment he/she failed to get the ball. It is also at this stage where the child likes to discover things hidden from them when they are seeing and especially when they are hid in the same place always. At a much latter stage, 18 months or latter they can be able to find things that are hidden without them seeing. Also the child starts to develop language by naming the toys used for playing as it is the stage she/he uses more than one toy as compared to the earlier stage where only one was manageable. Speech is important in concept development and as such adults should help, support and guide t he child reach his/her cognitive potential. Usually, learning is through manipulation of objects and language develops in connection to these objects. During this stage concepts such as size, weight, length, time and others are learnt. As the child encounters so many objects in their day to day life, they learn the different characteristics of these objects in a more meaningful manner hence enhancing their brain development (Charlesworth 2011). At 12-18 months child’s brain develops, whereby their memory span expands. Toddlers are able to master what they see the adults do and repeat at a much latter stage. This is known as deferred imitation where repetition is done hence improving brain connections (Charlesworth 2011). At 18-24 months, the brain becomes more developed where many circuits that enable the child jump, scoop and such more activities become complete. Language and play provide new skills in problem solving and the older ways of doing things are now re-molded. At three years of age, the child’s brain is approximated to be 80% that of an adult. It is at this age that a child molds object\s to represent the reality, for example the use of a folded sweater as a child. Many opportunities should be presented to the child at this stage to help improve their skills in solving problems. Children should be bought materials such as toys, recycled containers, paints and many more. Moreover children should be given some space to try and to discover things on their own as this will improve their brains compared to when they are assisted wholly. Some activities that they should be left on their own to explore on their own include mixing different colors to see the outcome.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Child Development specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Concepts relating to categorization and classification are also learnt at this stage. Children can now be in a pos ition to discover objects with a like features and classify them. At times this classification is incorrect, for example all objects to them may be generalize as vehicles which at long run may not be true, therefore, adults should label the objects , guide them in noting their differences and similarities to help them avoid generalizing when it comes to classification. Pretend play becomes common such as making a call using a spoon or a maize cob, drinking from empty cups and many others form of pretence. During this time, adults should lower themselves to the toddler’s level and engage in a collaborative play (Charlesworth 2011). Motor development of a toddler This is concerned with issues of body movement. The coordinated movement of arms and legs is termed as gross motor skills, while those movements that involve hands and fingers are referred to as fine- motor skills; to improve these two types of development, the child should be provided with more opportunities to crawl, play and jump by providing an extensive playing ground (Goldberg, 2001). Motor development is influenced by many factors such as genetics which determines the size of the body parts and their strength. Nutrition and exercise are also crucial in determining the strength and the ease in movements. The child should also be provided with play objects such as toys, a pair of scissors and others that will require manipulation by use of hands and fingers to strengthen the young muscles which will encourage and improved the motor development. Usually, motor development takes place in a sequential manner whereby the child starts with crawling at the age of 6-8 months. They then stand and walk while supporting themselves with objects. They then learn to stand without any support and eventually walk a few steps (Charlesworth 2011). Social development of a toddler; the major aspect in social development is play. At this stage the child has learnt how to walk and communicate and it is the time that he/she proofs very playful. Though according to the adults, these children may not be physically fit to play alone, they like doing their things independently. Toddlers play near other children though they don’t know how to intermingle with them, they have not yet learnt to share and enjoy in pretence games. Toddlers also become anxious about strangers and places they fear could be dangerous. They will usually find an attachment to the object they find comfort such as toys. Social development in a toddler is of great value because all the values instilled to the kid at this stage are even portrayed at adulthood. When the child grows socially, he/she finds it easy to interact with other toddlers and also adults, thus easily making friends.Advertising Looking for critical writing on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More One important aspect of the social aspect of a kid is that when well guided through this stage the child develops self confidence which can be molded by praising the child in every other attempt she/he makes. Important to mention also is language, training a child to use courtesy words such as please, thank you, sorry cultivates discipline in a child and makes it easier for him or her to socialize. When language is understood well, then, expressing ones feelings become friendly than when it is done physically. Language is a way of communicating which is vital in social development .Toddlers majorly learn through mimicking and as such according them respect and also treating others well will lead to a healthy social growth as they will always do what their parents or caregivers do. As mentioned earlier, toddlers are forgetful and they learn when something is repeatedly done, therefore one should be consistent in instilling a certain skill or value, but not just doing it once and assu ming that the child has grasped everything right (Charlesworth, 2011). Emotional development of a toddler It is in this stage that the child become more independent and very possessive. The child expresses his/herself in many ways such as crying, pointing at want they want and throwing tantrums. Also the child recognizes him/herself and has preferences to certain things such as cloths. Due to the sensitive at this age it is good to create a good relationship with the child by expressing what you feel on his/her action, not punishing them harshly and using humor in correcting them rather than shouting and use of harsh words. Important of all is to control emotions as the child will imitate adults emotional behaviors thus affecting their growth (shaffer, 1995). Moral development of a toddler This stage of development is crucial because through imitation, a child develops morals. It is therefore important for the adults to have good morals so that they can act as role models to the tod dlers. Also feelings of guilty, empathy and other moral feelings are also pronounced. Learning moral concepts at this age such as truth is important as this will have an influence in a child’s life. Parents should be very conscience in all they do because at this stage the child is very observant as he/she is curious of all that takes place in the surrounding. It is good to instill punishment immediately the child does wrong and even setting out the mistake very clearly so that the child can appreciate what he /she is punished for. Opportunities for doing things that were previously done wrong should be provided. Moral development is very important as it has far stretching effects into a child’s future endeavors (Shaffer, 1995). Physical development of a toddler This is a very important stage in child development and it is perceived to be the most troublesome stage as the child will always stand by his/her opinion with a no answer at hand. This stage includes children from one to three years where by in each year some physical and biological changes occur. In this paper toddler stage has been selected as the stage of address and all the millstones, physical changes activities and rationale to promote development at this stage have been considered herein. One year old; curious, imitate sounds, name people they know, point at what they want, frequently use no answer, follow simple directions, pronounce one or two words. Two year old; think before acting, don’t know how to make decision, low concentration span, use two to three words combined, join in singing, memorizes short poems or songs. Three years old; the child is more active. uses several words to in combination to construct a sentence, can memorize a verse or a short stanza, becomes interested in learning by using a pencil to scribble, he/she becomes more independent in activities such as toileting, dressing in some occasions and feeding. At this stage, children are known to eat very little but after every short time span throughout the day. Children at this stage should be allowed to play most of their time and playing objects such as toys should also be provided, parents should tell the short stories about them or of other children of the same age, sing to them short songs, providing a balanced diet every time they need to feed, playing games such as hide and seek with them and other forms of exercise so as to enhance their physical growth (Malley, 1995) Language development of a toddler At the age of 10 months most children have their first words come out of their mouths, they are the simplest ones such us mummy and daddy. This is the most exiting moments to the parents. As the child starts to walk, these words may be forgotten owing to the fact that the child cannot concentrate at two things as mentioned earlier. At the age of two years the child learns new words in his/her day to day encounters and is now able to construct simple sentences and at the age o f three the child has a vast number of new vocabularies. Parents need to do a number of things so as to help the child learn and master language. This may include, echoing a word correctly immediately the child pronounces it, restating a word used by the child in various ways and even using the word to construct a sentence, shout the name of a new object severally and encourage reading and writing as this will improve language skills and mastering (Malley, 1995) Conclusion Toddlerhood is therefore, the most critical stagein a child development. This is seen in the various aspects of growth that take place during this stage. It is in this stage that determines how the child will be like in the future, therefore, proper care should be taken in the manner of bringing up the child at this stage ensuring that all aspects have been well nurtured References List Charlesworth, R. (2011). Understanding child development. (8th Ed). Wadsworth: Cengage Learning Malley, C. (1995). Toddler Develo pment. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts. Web. Shaffer,D,R. (2009). Social and personality development. (6th Ed). Wadsworth: Cengage Learning. This critical writing on Child Development was written and submitted by user Javion C. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here. Child Development Introduction Child development is an essential process that takes place in the life of an individual. This process commences immediately after birth when an individual highly relies on others for sustenance and ends towards the end of adolescence when the said individual approaches independence (Graham, 2010). In the process of child development, there are various factors that determine the cognitive and psychological development of an individual.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Child Development specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The genetic constitution and prenatal care are some of the factors that influence the development of an individual during this phase of development. Consequently, ecological factors also play a significant role in child development. This paper will therefore focus on the impact that ecological factors have on child development. Ecological Factors In the process of development, there are various factors that determine the rate of development in a child. According to Urie (2006), ecological factors play a significant role in the process of child development since a child responds to various environmental cues that surrounds him/her. Thus, there are various environmental systems that a child interacts with that are influential in his/her development. The microsystem is the first environmental system that determines child development. This system comprises of the institutions and groups that immediately surround a child. The family is perhaps the most influential segment of this system. The behavior and personality of a child highly depends on the influence that arises from his/her family (Urie, 2006). In this respect therefore, family members have always been encourage to offer support and positive guidance to children to support their process of development. Consequently, educational and religious institutions also play a significant role in the process of child development especially in setting up their values, morals, goals, and beliefs. The influence that a child gets from his/her peers also determines his/her process of development. In most cases, children tend to imitate or adopt behaviors from their peers. For instance, the interaction that children have plays a significant role in speech development (Graham, 2010). Thus, a child who interacts more stands a high chance of learning how to speak fluently as compared to a child who does not interact with children of his/her age. The macrosystem is another environmental system that affects the process of child development. The macrosystem highly concentrates on the culture in which a child is brought up in. The level of economic development in the nation/region that a child is brought up in plays a significant role in determining his/her level of development.Advertising Looking for critical writing on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More For instance, a child who is brought up in an industrialized country that is economically stable is expected to be different in terms of cognitive and psychological development as compared to a child who is brought up in a third world country. The child in a developed nation has a lot of resources and opportunities that will enhance his/her process of development. Ethnicity and cultural background are also significant factors in the process of development. An African American child is expected to have different values and beliefs as compared to a White American child despite the fact that they might be living in the same neighborhood. The chronosystems involves the transitions that a child experiences in the process of development. It has been identified that transferring a child to a new school or moving him/her to a different neighborhood, state, or nation will have a psychological effect that will definitely affect his/her development. Consequently, issues such as divorce, separation, and death will have effects that will affect the psychological and cognitive development of a child. Conclusion This paper has therefore identified that there are several ecological factors that affect the development of a child. It is therefore essential that necessary measures are taken to ensure that a child is exposed to the right environmental cues to ensure that his process of development is effective. This will play a significant role in ensuring that the child grows to be a morally and psychologically stable individual as an adult. References Graham, D. (2010). Environmental Factors Affecting the Growth of Children. The  American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2(1), 44-50. Urie, B. (2006). Ecology of the Family as a Context for Human Development: Research Perspectives. Developmental Psychology, 22(6), 723-742 This critical writing on Child Development was written and submitted by user Leah Osborne to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Ruths Chris Data Table Analysis Essay

Ruths Chris Data Table Analysis Essay Ruths Chris Data Table Analysis Essay Country Beef Population Urbanization Rate GDP Beef 2010 Beef 2011 Beef 2012 U.S. 124.8 298444 80 41800 12045.8 11983.3 11848.6 Bahamas 123.6 303 89 20200 0 0 0 Spain 118.6 40397 77 25500 606.6 604.1 591.3 Ireland 106.3 4062 60 41000 558.2 545.9 495.4 France 101.1 60876 76 29900 1530.3 1566.5 1491.7 Belgium 86.1 10379 97 31400 263.2 272.3 262.3 Israel 97.1 6352 92 24600 108.1 116.7 116.9 Switzerland 72.9 7523 68 32300 142.9 143.9 144.3 Netherlands 89.3 16491 66 30500 388.6 381.6 373.5 U.K. 79.6 60609 89 30300 908 936 885 Singapore 71.1 4492 100 28100 0 0 0.1 China 52.4 1313973 39 6800 6554.1 6490.6 6576.2 Germany 82.1 82422 88 30400 1205 1170.4 1146.3 Italy 90.4 58133 67 29200 1075.3 1011 981.7 Greece 78.7 10688 61 22200 77.5 79.2 75.1 Argentina 97.6 39921 90 13100 2630.2 2497.3 2500 Portugal 91.1 10605 55 19300 93.2 96 93 Hungary 100.7 9981 65 16300 27.6 26.4 25.4 Brazil 82.4 188078 83 8400 9115 9030 9307 Czech Republic 77.3 10235 74 19500 74.3 72.1 66.1 Poland 78.1 38536 62 13300 400.9 391.2 383.7 Japan 43.9 127463 65 31500 515 550.4 518.7 Malaysia 50.9 24385 64 12100 28.9 29.8 30.3 Chile 66.4 16134 87 11300 210.7 191 195 Kuwait 60.2 2418 66 19200 2.6 2.6 2.7 Russia 51 142893 73 11100 1727.3 1625.5 1641.5 South Korea 48 48846 80 20400 247 280 300 Panama 54.5 3191 57 7200 79.4 86.3 88 Costa Rica 40.4 4075 61 11100 97.5 96 87.5 South Africa 39 44187 57 12000 847.5 828.6 843.9 Turkey 19.3 70413 66 8200 622 646.5 801.1 Vietnam 28.6 84402 26 2800 384.3 386.5 393.3 Standard Deviation 27.17 232513.361 16.27386585 10350.3 2741.2451 2718.8868 2733.2399 Mean 75.11 88778.3438 71.25 20656.3 1330.2188 1316.8031 1320.8 Income Cost to import Z beef 50741.2 1289 1.83 68440 1770 1.78 27298 1400 1.60 34401.6 1121 1.15 42692.7 1445 0.96 44452 1400 0.40 30437.4 565 0.81 79478.3 1440 -0.08 43046.7 975 0.52 42166.8 1050 0.17 31246.9 440 -0.15 5203.3 800 -0.84 44687.8 1050 0.26 34671.3 1145 0.56 20554.6 1135 0.13 10090.8 2320 0.83 20219.6 925 0.59 10658.7 845 0.94 8931.9 2322.8 0.27 14727.6 1215 0.08 11426.5 1025 0.11 31904.6 829.3 -1.15 7127.4 560 -0.89 11649.2 860 -0.32 15733.8 1250 -0.55 9549.9 2594.5 -0.89 20400.4 695 -1.00 7283 1030 -0.76 8410.1 1070 -1.28 5388.6 2080 -1.33 9317.6 1235

Biotechnology techniques Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Biotechnology techniques - Assignment Example Is this statement TRUE or FALSE, explain? (5 points) Electroporation is used to introduce DNA in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. This is the general method of introducing the foreign DNA into the desired cells. This method uses the electrical pulses to create a pore in the cell membrane and through these pores the foreign DNA molecule is inserted. 3. What are the 3 main sources of Stem Cells? (10 points) The 3 main sources of stem cells included Bone marrow, Bloodstream or peripheral blood and finally umbilical cord blood from the newborns. Bone marrow particularly those in the pelvis’ bones have rice supply. Blood normally has few stem cells, and when hormone like substances called growth factors are given to individuals, stems cells grow faster and move from the marrow to the blood. Blood left in the placenta and the umbilical cord of the newborns can be retrieved, store and utilized for future.   4. What is meant by humanization of mouse antibodies and what is the need for "humanization"?  (10 points) While using therapeutic antibodies or murine antibodies isolated from mice in humans, immunogencity problem arose due to the differing protein sequence. To alleviate this issue, specific regions within a mouse antibody called complementarity determining regions (CDR) are identified and transferred into human variable regions and this process is called humanization. When this is done, it will confer binding and so the resultant humanized antibodies can function without major immunogencity problem.   5. Which technology cannot be used to determine the function of a gene? Explain. (5 points) Stem cell technology cannot be used to study the gene function because, it is a method to produce the entire cell and study the organs and it is not the direct method of analysis of gene function.    6. cDNA microarray technology specifically evaluates the gene expression levels of ONLY microRNA in cells and tissues. Is this statement TRUE or FALSE? Explain? ( 5 points) No cDNA microarray technology is used for the analysis of all the genes and its function. cDNA technology is used to analyse the functions of known and unknown gene.    7. Which of the following gene expression strategies increase the number of different proteins available to the cell without increasing the total number of genes encoded by the genome?(5 points) Translation is used to increase the number of different proteins in the cell without increasing the total number of genes in the genome. By varying the mRNA translation, the protein synthesis is modified.    8. In the sequence given below, how many EcoRI recognition sites are present? Please circle them. (10 points)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  5’-ATGGAATTCCCAATTGAATTCCGGCTGAATTCAAA-3’   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3’-TACCTTAAGGGTTAACTTAAGGCCGACTTAAGTTT-5’ There are three EcoRI recognition sites in the given sequences. They are   5’-ATGGAATTCCCAATTGAATTCCGGCTGAATTCAAA-3’   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3â⠂¬â„¢-TACCTTAAGGGTTAACTTAAGGCCGACTTAAGTTT-5’ 9. What is meant by the statement, "Complementation screening of genomic eukaryotic clones will not work in E.coli because of absence of splicing machinery?" (10 points) E.coli is a prokaryote. The bacterial systems cannot remove the introns from the mRNA sequences. Complementation screening is the technique used to identify the mutations in the gene of interest. In this method, the selection is based on the capacity of the gene to get back the phenotype. The splicing mechanism is not present in the

The Social Construction of Sexuality and Gender Article

The Social Construction of Sexuality and Gender - Article Example The categorization of men and women into two binary groups is a universal phenomenon which in many societies favors men thus creating power imbalances and gender inequalities. In Britain as well as throughout much of the world, notions of sexuality and gender have historically been for granted and perceived to be natural. According to Jeffrey Weeks, We learned very early on from many sources that "natural sex" is what takes place with members of the opposite sex...The social processes through which this is taking place are complex. But the implications are clear, they're the ones we still live with. In the first place, there is the assumption of a sharp distinction between the sexes, a dichotomy of interest, even an antagonism ('the battle of the sexes', which can only be precariously bridged. Men are men and women - and rarely the twain shall meet (Weeks, 1990, 13). Accordingly, while the sex of an individual is innate and established at birth, gender and human sexuality are now understood to be shaped by social forces and socially constructed concepts with important societal ramifications. Social constructivism is the belief that certain ideas, beliefs, behaviors, and concepts are socially constructed and shaped by environmental factors. The argument that gender roles were socially prescribed did not appear in scholarly literature until the 1940s with Klein’s The Feminine Character and thus began an exploration into the arbitrariness of the social categories of male and female. Influential scholars such as Judith Butler, Jeffrey Weeks, and Michel Foucault have sought to shed light onto the socially prescribed nature of gender categorization, and onto the lives men and women throughout the world with an eye to the in the ramifications of the sexual and gender binary.

The Scream Essay Example for Free

The Scream Essay â€Å"I was walking along a path with two friends-the sun was setting-suddenly the sky turned blood red-I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned on the fence-there was blood and tongues of fire above the blue-black fjord and the city-my friends walked on, and I stood there trembling with anxiety-and sensed an infinite scream passing through the nature† (Munch qtd. in Fineman). These were the words of the Norwegian painter Edvard Munch who, after a stroll along a road in Oslo, was inspired by his visionary experience and managed to come up with the world-renowned painting, â€Å"The Scream. † Munch’s work became one of the most recognizable art forms in history and was regarded as one of the most contemporary cultural icons. The art became much popular because of the parodies and copies that were reproduced and have appeared on various objects such as t-shirts, key-chains, mouse pads, coffee mugs, and even became a favorite subject for tattoos (Fineman). see more:essay pt3 english The scream is well known as a lithograph that was finished in 1895. However, before the final version came to its final touches, the scream was the result of a process of evolutions. Edvard Munch painted four versions of The Scream, all of which were done in 1893. The earliest trace of the art form was done out of a single drawing on a cardboard, and the final form was done as an oil painting (Taylor 176). The Scream was a part of Munch’s most important expressionist painting series, â€Å"The Frieze of life† which he produced during 1890’s. According to researchers, the â€Å"Frieze of life† series centers on the artist’s usual theme such as love, darkness, death, and anxiety. The latter was evident in his most famous painting which is The Scream (Porter and Prince 116-117). Aside from being the most popular painting of Edvard Munch, The Scream is also considered as the most famous painting of Norway. Yet, it is also said to be the most vulnerable among the many artworks in the world because The Scream has been the object of theft twice. The Scream Theft 1994 During the onset of the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, the National Art Museum in Oslo was robbed with its most important piece of art, The Scream. According to reports, two men climbed in a ladder and smashed one of the windows in the museum’s gallery and immediately stole the painting. The thieves used a wire cutter in order to remove the painting from the wall. Shortly after stealing the painting, the two men fled from the scene, leaving behind the cutters and the short ladder. The whole incident was caught by the museum’s security camera. During that time, Knut Berg, the director of the museum, pointed out that the exact value of the painting was impossible to be agreed upon, and it is also impossible to be sold (British Broadcasting Corporation [BBC]). Based from documents, the alarm of the museum went off at around 6:30 local time. This alerted the security guard who immediately called upon the authorities. Police officers started searching for a Mercedes vehicle which was thought as the getaway vehicle of the thieves. Speculations were made that the thieves were somehow connected to the Olympic events, and the theft was pulled by campaigners as a publicity stunt. Due to the incident, the art museum received criticisms for the lack of security. It was found that Munch’s masterpiece was originally placed in the first floor of the museum which was said to be more secured. However, The Scream was then placed at the museum’s ground floor for exhibition and as a highlight for the Norwegian Culture Festival, which was done as a part of the Winter Olympics (BBC). According to sources, a Norwegian anti-abortion group initially claimed that they were responsible for stealing the painting. However, authorities doubted their claim and continued the search for the missing masterpiece. In March 1994, the gallery received a ransom demand from the thieves. The perpetrators demanded for  £700,000 equivalent to $1,000,000 in exchange of The Scream. The board members of the gallery as well as the Norwegian government refused to pay because of the uncertainty of whether the demand was genuine or not. Two months after the gallery received the ransom demand and through the cooperation of Norwegian and British police, the painting was recovered unscathed. The painting was found in a hotel room located at a seaside town outside of Oslo. It was said that the area of recovery was the place where Edvard Munch created most of his masterpieces. By 1996, four men were arrested and convicted from stealing Edvard Munch’s most important version of â€Å"The Scream† (BBC). The Scream Theft 2004 In August 22, 2004, another version of The Scream was stolen at the Edvard Munch Museum. The armed and masked thieves barged in at the said museum in broad daylight. Eventually, the robbers ripped The Scream and another of Munch’s painting, â€Å"The Madonna,† from the gallery’s wall right in front of the stunned visitors and museum staffs. The robbers hurriedly loaded the art pieces into a vehicle. Hours after the incident, Oslo police recovered the get away car as well the paintings’ frames (Associated Press [AP]). According to reports, the museum was lightly guarded, and the police who immediately responded to the scene received tips from different people. The event led to a nationwide hunt for the missing artworks. Specific motives were unclear. However, experts claimed that the paintings must have been stolen for the thieves to demand ransom or to serve as a â€Å"trophy robbery† in order to impress other art thieves and criminals, yet no words were heard from the thieves (AP). Just like The Scream heist in 1994, The Scream version in Edvard Munch Museum has no set price. According to John Oeyaas, the managing director of Oslo Forsikring, the company which insured the paintings against damage, the work of Munch was not insured against burglary. Apart from this, Oeyaas noted that the artworks were irreplaceable and were impossible to be sold. Thus, insurance of an artwork is nothing because the loss of an irreplaceable piece cannot be compensated by anything (AP). In May 2006, three men were arrested and were found guilty of stealing the two paintings. A court in Norway pressed the verdict against the perpetrators. The thieves were identified as Peter Tharaldsen, who was the driver behind the heist, Bjoern Hoen, identified as the theft mastermind, and Stian Skjod, one of the gunmen who barged in the museum. Tharalsden and Hoen were both sentenced for nine years in prison while Skjold received five years of imprisonment. The other gunman died from drug overdose in that same year (â€Å"Scream Thieves†) Three months after the arrest of the thieves, the Olso police retrieved Munch’s two paintings. Both the items had minor marks and tears but were totally in good condition. By September of 2006, The Scream, alongside The Madonna, was once again exhibited and was later on restored in the museum with the protection of heavy glass boxes (BBC). It is evident that Edvard Munch’s the scream is one of the most important art pieces of today. Likewise, it serves as an inspiration for many artists and continuously pervades the popular culture (Porter and Prince 117). The Scream is one of the few artworks that truly expresses and discusses the meaning of anxiety in life. As such, this fragile piece of art has been so popular that after two times of becoming the object of theft, it was able to scream for escape and survived the ordeal to be seen by people who truly appreciate the depths of life. Works Cited Associated Press. â€Å"Munch’s famous ‘Scream,’ ‘Madonna’ stolen.† MSNBC. 23 August 2004. 08 October 2008 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5787000/#storyContinued. British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). â€Å"1994: Art thieves snatch scream.† BBC News. 12 February 2008. 08 October 2008 http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/12/newsid_3591000/35919 94.stm. Fineman, Mia. â€Å"Existential Superstar: Another look at Edvard Munch’s The Scream.† Slate. 22 November 2005. 08 October 2008 http://www.slate.com/id/2130897/. Porter, Darwin and Danforth Prince. Frommer’s Norway. Norway: Frommer’s, 2007. Taylor, Mark. Tears. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press, 1990. â€Å"The Scream Thieves Jailed.† Art News Blog. 24 April 2007. 08 October 2008 http://www.artnewsblog.com/2007/04/scream-thieves-jailed.htm.

Top Glove Corporation Berhad Analysis

Top Glove Corporation Berhad Analysis Globalization opens new opportunities to every one of us. At the same time, it intensifies the challenges before us. This report begins by introducing globalization and the rise of the multinational corporation. Subsequently, it would discuss the benefits and indentify the challenges that the selected company (Top Glove Corporation Ltd) encountered when doing business internationally. This multinational company is the worlds largest rubber glove manufacturer operates in three principal geographical areas of the world. It will conclude by presenting a brief consideration for a multinational corporation in operating business abroad. A multinational corporation is refers to any business that has productive activities in two or more countries. Typically, a multinational corporation develops new products in its home country and manufacturers them abroad. An international trade is refers to an exchange of goods and services with foreign countries. The falling barriers to cross-border trade made it easier for todays firms to sell internationally. Still, foreign direct investment (FDI) is when a firm making a physical investment into building a new factory to produce or market a product in another country. During the 1920s and 30s, various trade barriers raised by worlds nation government have contributed to the Great Depression of the 1930s (Hill, 2009, p.11). However, the emergence of global institutions such as GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) and WTO (World Trade Organization) has successfully lowering the trade and investment barriers between countries and enabled more companies involved in international trade and investment. Besides, technological, market, cost and competitive factors had contributed to the growth of globalization. Many opportunities had produced in an international business. A multinational company can expand its revenues by selling products and services worldwide by producing in nations where key operation costs such as labor, are cheap. As markets globalize, organizations increasingly engage in cross-broader trade and investments indicating that managers need to recognize that the task of managing an international business is differs from that of managing a purely domestic business in many ways. In international settings, manager in a multinational company is confronted with a range of issues that the manager in pure domestic business that would never confronts. Countries differences in political systems, economic systems, culture, legal systems pose a challenge to the manager because these differences require the manager to vary its practices country by country. Corporate Profile Top Glove was established and founded by the husband and wife team of Dr. Lim Wee Chai and Mrs. Tong Siew Bee in year 1991. Dr. Lim Wee Chai was appointed as the Chairman of Top Glove Corporation Ltd on 4 September 2000; he has more than 20 years of experience in the rubber and latex manufacturing business. Co-founder Mrs. Tong Siew Bee was appointed as an Executive Director of Top Glove on 4 September 2000, she has more than 10 years experience in the information technology field. The history of Top Glove stretches back 18 years when Dr. Lim brings a wealth of experience in the marketing of consumer products whilst he was the Sales Manager of a subsidiary company OYL Industries Ltd to set up Top Glove Pte Ltd in 1991. In spite of his first own glove manufacturing and trading business with only three production lines, the manufacture has gone through many changes in its corporate direction, the company survived through chaotic times during the Asian financial crisis in 1997 to 1998. The company was successfully listed in the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange in year 2001. In a short span of slightly more than a year, Top Glove Corporation Ltds listing has been successfully promoted from the Second Board to the Main Board of the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange on May 16, 2002. Since its inception in Malaysia in 1991, Top Glove had evoked from 1 factory in 1991 with 3 production lines to 20 factories in 3 countries and expanded this business to be the worlds largest rubber glove manufacturer. There are 14 factories in Malaysia, 2 factories in China, 2 glove manufacturing factories and 2 latex concentration plants in Thailand. With 379 glove production lines, Top Glove has a huge production capacity of over 33 billion pieces per annum. Today, Top Gloves customers consist of glove importers and distributors from all over the world, mainly from the U.S. and Europe. The company has comprehensive range of top quality products such as Latex Examination Gloves(powdered and powder-free), Latex Examination Gloves(Powder free), Colored and Flavored (Mint)Gloves, Soft Nitrile Gloves, Surgical Gloves, Vinyl Gloves, Household Gloves, Polyethylene(PE) gloves, Stretchy Vinyl Gloves, Clean room Gloves, and Polyethylene(PE) Aprons. These top quality products used in variety industry such as medical, food and services, dental, automotive, electronic and laboratory sectors. Top Glove has a market capitalization of RM3.7 billion as at 31 August 2010. The corporation posted a sales revenue of RM2.08 billion in FYE2010, it was an increase of 36% from RM1.53 billion last year while profit after tax of RM250 million rose 49% from RM168 million. (Top Glove, Annual Report 2010). The company continuous invests in RD and collaborates with Rubber Research Institute (RRI) and the Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB), Top Glove is at the forefront of new development in rubber research technology. The upgrading and collaborations of RD is to enable Top Glove to be a world class of cost effective producer with the most extensive range of premium quality glove products. Benefits As a result of the falling barriers to the free flows of goods and services, declining telecommunications and transportation costs, the volume of cross broader trade and investment has been growing rapidly indicating that there are many companies go global. All these factors made it easier for companies to invest abroad and resulted the growth of multinational companies. This section is to elaborate possible benefits that Top Glove acquires while venturing abroad. Benefits of Globalize Production According to Hill (2009, p.7), the globalization of production refers to the sourcing of goods and services from locations around the globe to take advantage of national differences in the cost and quality of factors of production (such as labor, energy, land and capital). By doing this, a multinational company would be able to lower down overall cost structure and improve the quality of its products offering. According to Mr. Lim Cheong Guan (Executive Director of Top Glove Corp), he said that foreign workers account for about 50 to 60 percent of the groups total workers. Although the cost of hiring foreign workers slightly higher, it is not significant as it can be offset by improvement productivity through the huge base of workers (Top Glove, 2010). For example, when setting up plants abroad particularly in China, the large young and literate labor force available in China provides more choices for the company to recruit the skilled labors that are inaccessible in Malaysia. Thus, with this characteristic, the production in China can be enlarged in a low cost manner. Furthermore, lower land acquisition cost coupled with lower administrative cost grants Top Glove operate its business economically and desirable in the host country. On top of that, having factories in foreign market (e.g. Top Glove (Zhangjiagang) Co. Ltd in China and Great Glove (Thailand) Co., Ltd in Thailand) would enable the company to realize location economy because the high transportation costs can be avoided and it is more preferable for the company to distribute its products within the country besides than exporting. Expand Sales and Income Globalization can provide Top Glove a new source of income. As a multinational corporation, apart from serving the local needs, the firm can also enjoy the sales from the overseas business. For example, Top Glove has more than 900 customers and its products are exported to more than 180 countries. Based on the company website, most of its products cater for export market, sales revenue mainly from Europe 33%, North America 29%, Latin America 20% and Rest of the World 18%. Therefore, the overall business profit can be multiplied through the increasing revenues outside of the home country. International Diversification As mentioned earlier, Top Gloves has a wide export markets. Thus, as the company diversifies its market, it becomes less vulnerable to the changes in local demand. In other words, it spread risk by avoiding having all eggs in a single basket. For instance, in the case of local market goes saturated or other factor such as interest rate raised by local government, when operating in such a huge market can insure Top Glove against such risks. According to Shapiro and Sarin (2009, p.19-20), the foreign cash flows generally are not perfectly correlated with those of domestic investments, the greater riskiness of individual projects overseas can well be offset by beneficial portfolio effects. This has meant that a multinational company like Top Glove would be able to reduce taxes and avoid tight currency control through foreign direct investment having relied on the existence of financial market imperfections. We have better profit, good cash flow and a very healthy balance sheet said by Chairman Dr. Lim Wee Chai in an interview (Porter and Li, 2010). This also implies that the greater cash flow would enable the corporation to acquire potential business or to pay out dividends to its shareholders. Competitive Advantages With regards to the glove industry manufacturers like Kossan Rubber Industries Berhad, Supermax Corporation Bhd, Hartalega Holdings Berhad are the major competitors in the local market. However, operate business globally can aid in minimizing such competitive risks. For example, when profits made by the export sales can be used to upgrade or strengthen the domestic business toward less vulnerable on local competition. Challenges This paper does not focus solely on the benefits of doing international business but also addresses concerns about the challenges that Top Glove have experienced when venturing abroad. These challenges are thus discussed in depth in this section. Difficulty in International Management Based on the company website, currently Top Glove has 20 factories in 3 geographical areas include Malaysia, China and Thailand with a total number of 10, 900 employees. However, its size could also work against its favour as it is more difficult for the management to keep a close eye on all its operations. Most importantly, the differences levels of economic development and legal system among countries complicated the staffing and compensation activities. According to Lane (2009), most countries have an official language, a single basic legal system, a system of government, yet these practices and relationship are often different from those in the country next door. Country is thus a very important type of culture to account for an international business. For example, the journey in the ventured countries not smooth as Top Glove had to deal with different cultures and mindsets, particularly in China with its ever-changing policies. Latex Output and Price Fluctuations For any manufacturers, raw materials are the main concerned. Based on the annual report 2010, raw material like latex is the major costs components of glove products. They were concern over high raw material cost as the latex prices remained at a high of more than RM8 per kg. The crude oil price movement and speculation are the factors that make latex price fluctuate irregularly. Moreover, the output of latex may be shrunk due to weather impact. The varying on latex output may affect the gloves production. Thus, latex price volatility will affect the corporations costs and margins, and there will be time lag on passing on the gloves to customers in different geographical areas when shortage of latex. Competitors As mentioned earlier, Top Glove is facing several major local competitors within the glove industry. In global marketplace, the company is also facing with numerous global competitors such as Kimberly-Clark Corporation (U.S.), Ansell Ltd (Australia), Allfun Enterprise Co., Ltd. (China) and many others. These manufacturers are thus geared towards increasing capacity and offering gloves at the lower prices. Therefore, the domestic competition coupled with global competition result in difficulty in securing orders from overseas markets. Environmental Issues Another challenge is where all operation decisions have some kind of environmental impact. The addition of chemicals in latex compounding, discharge of residual latex containing toxic chemicals and disposal of rejected gloves i.e. not meeting product specifications are the headstream of generating waste materials. These waste materials resulted water pollution, health-related problems for workers and local community. The environmental issues not only challenge the local operation, but also a tough issue when producing gloves in overseas such as in China and Thailand. As a result, the manufacturer is looking ways in reducing and minimizing wastes. Currency Exposure Top gloves main income came from its export sales and all its exports are denominated in U.S. dollar. The reporting currency for the company is the Malaysian Ringgit (MYR). In fact, MYR was actually strengthening against the dollar throughout the year 2010. This may put the company in an unfavourable position as the profits would be contracted when converted from U.S. dollar to RM. According to Top Gloves executive director Lim Cheong Guan, he said that the weakening US dollar hurt the company financial results; the company has incurred forex losses totaling RM21 million in FY10 (Top Glove,2010). This is such a challenge to the corporation to grow at the rate they have been growing in past few years. Moreover, currency fluctuation can impact competitive positions, product prices, payable and receivable and ultimately the value of the firm itself. Conclusion Discussion above has revealed that benefits and challenges are associated with doing business internationally. According to a research done by Foong (2010), Malaysia produces 65% of the worlds latex gloves. Top Glove is in the leading position in the industry with 23% global market share. This was the contributions from its wide range of product offering coupled with export markets. It also indicates that Top Gloves management team truly understands that most of the markets opportunities are outside of the home country, thus only doing business internationally can provide growth opportunities and allow firms to receive substantial sales and income. It can be seen that the firm mainly rely on exporting entry mode into foreign market although has few factories in overseas. Generally speaking, export may help the firm to experience economic of scale and avoid substantial costs of establishing manufacturing operations in the host country. By producing in a large volume and exporting to other national markets may enable the firm to realize substantial economies from its global sales volume. However, it is believed that its exporting has pitfall too. High transportation costs are associated when its products are exported over a long distance such as Latin America, Europe, and Africa. Additionally, abrupt trade policy such as tariffs imposed by host government may prevent international trade which is very risky to the company as well. Managers within international business must develop strategies and policies for dealing with such interventions. As stated in the annual report, Top Glove has a great cash flow. Hence, it would be good for the company to make a merger and acquisition (MA) as it gives immediate access to trained labor force, existing customers and an immediate source of revenue. This requires the international manager to conduct a detailed research otherwise a bad acquisition can be costly. In addition, it can be seen that Top Glove is confronting with quite a number of challenges. It is quite challenging when managing a large number of workforces. Managers in Top Glove have to decide how to staff key management post in the company, how to develop managers so that they are familiar with the subtle differences of when they are based in different countries, and how to compensate people as to retain highly skilled labors. After all, managing a global business is not that easy, it requires manager to see things globally, that is, see the bigger and broader picture by constantly scanning the geographical horizon to learn more about potential markets, competitors as well as technological changes. In a nutshell, a multinational company in complex international settings not only overcoming challenges; but should always prepared for market opportunities. References Foong, M. (2010). Rubber gloves. Gloving the world. Deutsche bank global market research company. Retrieved Nov 25, 2010 from the World Wide Web: http://www.google.com.my/url?sa=tsource=webcd=4ved=0CCwQFjADurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.supermax.com.my%2Fhtml%2Ffiledownload.aspx%3Ffile%3DDEUTSCHE%2520BANK%2520-20100510.PDFei=EvrxTOiPLIGwvgP5rtDJDQusg=AFQjCNGCxYKsiGoK8eHAsnwf5s0NYvRT2w Hill, C. W. (2009). International business: competing in the global marketplace (7th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Lane, Henry W.. International management behavior: leading with a global mindset. 6th ed. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley, 2009 Porter, B. and Li, S. (2010). Top Glove Targets 40% Profit Distribution This Year (Update1). Bloomberg Business Week. Retrieved Nov 24, 2010 from the World Wide Web: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-01-21/top-glove-targets-40-profit-distribution-this-year-update1-.html Shapiro, A. C., Sarin, A. (2009). Foundations of multinational financial management (6th ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley Sons. Top Glove Co, Ltd (2010). Retrieved Nov 28, 2010 from the World Wide Web: http://www.topglove.com.my/index.htm Top Glove Co. Ltd. (2010). Retrieved Nov 22, 2010 from the World Wide Web: http://www.topglove.com.my/news/2010/news_208.htm Top Glove Co. Ltd. (2010) Annual Report 2010. Retrieved Nov 27, 2010 from the World Wide Web: http://www.topglove.com.my/IR-ar.htm Top Glove expects growth to slow in 2011. (2010) TheMalaysianinsider.com Retrieved Nov 24, 2010 from the World Wide Web: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/business/article/top-glove-expects-growth-to-slow-in-2011/

Path Builder Essay

During my experience with the path builder I organized and planed my time by taking two days to complete each subject giving myself enough time to take breaks in-between modules so I won’t get to overwhelmed. My impressions of the tools and the process were that the tools were very use full and helped a lot during the process of the learning path. I learned that my weaknesses are Whole numbers, decimals, linear equations and inequalities; absolute value, I also learned that my strengths are usage and style, the craft of writing, and research. The learning path topics that I completed were Whole numbers, decimals, linear equations and inequalities; absolute value, reading fundamentals, reading introductory, reading intermediate, usage and style, the craft of writing, and research. If I had to complete the suggested Learning Path topics in the future No I do not think I am self-motivated at a level to complete the suggested Learning Path topics in the future because it was a lot to complete in so little time. I believe that AIU resources a counselor and or a mentor can assist with self-motivation, I also believe that I will use College Algebra in my academic journey. In the work place of law enforcement you might use Measuring when measuring the weight of an illegal substance confiscated during a search and seizure. Or In determining the sequence of events that occurred at an accident scene, officers are called upon to take measurements and discern angles in order to compile the necessary evidence to reconstruct the event.