Retailing and Direct Marketing Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Retailing and Direct Marketing - Article Example It means sending a message regarding a product directly to the customer through various means like direct email, telemarketing, broadcast, integrated campaigns, direct selling and door to door leaflet marketing. Direct marketing depends on measurable and track-able consumer responses concerning the product. Ethics and social responsibility is a key component of any business enterprise, which ensures that the customers’ needs are addressed in a business’ policies. This paper aims at addressing the impact of ethics and social responsibility in retail and direct marketing. Observation of sound ethics in business practices has been shown to boost consumer confidence in a retail outlet’s products and services. This is because customers recognise these efforts and they in turn reciprocate by being loyal to that retail outlet. A business should always strive to do what is right and good for its clients by upholding their ethical principles of operating business (Pride & Ferrell, 30). ‘Beyond Scarcity’ is an article by Doug Wallace that he wrote for the The Magazine of Corporate Responsibility. In the article, he highlights the ethical dilemma faced by a company of whether to accept a take over bid or refuse the bid. Accepting the bid means making a handsome profit because the take over bid offered to buy the company’s shares at the double their value. By doing this, the company will be abandoning their shareholder’s and customer’s welfare. The company offering the bid only interest is in the company’s substantial reserve fund which they aim to use in boosting their diminishing financial position (Wallace, 14). This is interesting because the prospecting company is likely not to care about Kemper Products’ customer satisfaction. There is also the issue of the fate of junior employees because the prospective company does not offer welfare packages for them as it did for the senior management. This an ethical question because

Economy of the United States Essay Example for Free

Economy of the United States Essay The time is considerably improved for the distinctive American citizen of 2007 than for a citizen of the 1800s. An array of economic policies known as import substitution is frequently quoted as the central reason of Latin America’s crises in the 1980s. The stratagem had outsized harmful upshots on economic growth in the 1980s reacting to the 1970s and 1980s progress. However, in the mid 1990s, import substitution policies had slight hit in renovating Latin American countries into sellers of feigned products. In fact, the condition was even worse in 1980s, as anxieties about non-payment raised; mean yearly price rises climbed radically from 1980 to 1985. And the economic deformations linked with hikes in inflation are stern. From last 1990s, numerous efforts have been carried out to alleviate the dilemma related to Latin America’s huge outside debt. A few restructurings in the 1990s had no brunt or were untied almost immediately as they were brought in. Just the once recent economic development and dependable growth in input output, and output per person commences, it is liable to persist on a usual source and progress public’s being. It is constant with the world’s practice in the 80s and 90s era. For now, in the United States, the introduction of Information technology generated an innovative market that created the hardware and generated the software required to suit the ignition claim for these appliances that had grown to be reasonable to about everybody. That market substituted the previous; a belief of capitalist theory called creative destruction which envisaged that outcome, truly emerged to be operational, even as the economy appeared to be strong. Obstinately, United States government tax policy also offers inducements for U. S. multinational firms to set up abroad. In current tax laws, firms are allocated without letting up to suspend disbursing business revenue taxes on incomes made offshore. The suspension is fine in anticipation of these firms send back the incomes to the home, upon which occasion they are taxed at the typical business income tax charge. However the U. S. business income-tax charge is one of the biggest in the planet, there is an extremely well-built inducement for firms to reinvest those profits outside of the United States. As a result, United States Government; the Congress agreed to provide tax relief per annum, in order that firms could send back incomes back to the home at a lesser tax charge. Firms made it in having this 2004 tax break by saying that it would facilitate them to employ those incomes to invest in the home and make employments for US citizens. Certainly, its almost unfeasible to establish they performed the deed or not. The initial phases of globalization and outsourcing charge millions of U. S. manufacturing employments but different specialists declared us that this was nil to agonize about since they were blue-collar Rust Belt employments. United States of America was converting itself into an overhaul economy, and facilitated all along by the Information technology. Internet tune-ups, cutting-edge research and growth made the transparent, high-paying employments that kept U. S. ahead in the current era. However, supporters of globalization disagree that outsourcing millions of mechanically transportable service jobs will decrease rates and increase productivity in the U. S. Except the assets of globalization dont seem so gentle from the perspective of an American computer analyst or auditor. They have performed what they were expected for but their effort was obstinately spoilt when the home employers hired overseas staff working so cheap. When lucrative manufacturing and service jobs shift abroad, relocated American employees are frequently obliged to accept low pay jobs and upward mobility. Paradoxically, at the instance millions of jobs are being outsourced and millions of unlawful migrants are overflowing into the U. S. , to get away form their domestic scarcity and joblessness; hence purely spoiling U. S. internal economy. Ironically, the good news is that, while United States governed Congress helped out to generate this chaos with poor economic and foreign policies, she can assist to overcome it. Still, U. S. is the best-positioned to make sustainable advantage of the growing world economy in the global marketplace. Modern economic trends, together with a huge trade shortage, on its last legs of norm revenues, comparatively weak job growth, have been to state the slightest rather intimidating. However there is one thing encouraging, the strong growth of productivity in the U. S. Commencing in the mid-1990s, productivity has recovered after 20 years of comparatively meager presentation. Regrettably, economists have hardly any solutions for progressive economic growth, as conservative neo-traditional growth forms pay no heed to technological modernization. On the contrary, a neo-Schumpetarian examination proposes that the revitalization and immobility of productivity are tied to the materialization and succeeding collapse of new techno-economic manufacture procedures. While an old economy attains its perimeters from the perspective of innovation and the dispersal of the technology structure, it grows to be ever more intricate to spin out productivity growth. Just after an innovative technology system suits reasonably priced as much as necessary and invasive adequate is it capable to rejuvenate the engine of productivity patterns. This examination recommends that though the modern information technology based technology system is probable to prolong to impel strong productivity growth for at any rate the coming 20 years, an innovation-exhaustion hold up may be very soon above the prospect. In fact, IT is really improving productivity, however merely in peculiar segments. Since the 1990s, productivity grew 1. 1% per year in segments spending greatly in computers and about 0. 35% in segments spending less. During 1990 and 2003, productivity growth in IT-exhaustive production averaged 3. 03% per annum, in contrast to just 0. 2% per annum in less-IT-exhaustive industry. In effect, the increase in mechanical automation was the really enormous growth of the economy of the era. Since many economists declare that globalization and technology have merged to generate up-to-the-minute tenets for the U. S. economy. However this economist considers old economics still offers the unsurpassed elucidation for current happenings. However, the new-economy model is not only a design that is obviously cleared by a particular economist and an extensive choice of thoughts descends below the new-economy streamer. Relatively than reviewing the concepts of a range of new-economy researchers, the subsequent argument assembles the thoughts into three extensive reports of the new economy; a long-run-growth, a sources-of-growth version, and a business-cycle version, which reveal the combined concept of several economists. Even as these reports disagree in particular calculations and inferences; butt all contribute to a widespread center that constructs them ingredient of the new-economy structure. In the past few years, the U. S. conomy has gained from a pointed deterioration in oil and commodity costs, a well-built American dollar, a tendency on the way to handled concern and reserved health-care prices, an impartial budget, and a fall in military expenses. Each one of these transient causes may have assisted the economy and guided to the unforeseen blend of falling inflation and unemployment rates. While distinguishing between temporary factors and structural changes, it is a hard chore that entails cautious empirical analysis and, additionally significant is a lengthier instant sequence of information. Simply by scrutinizing unemployment and inflation under a broad variety of economic circumstances for several years will it be achievable to wrap up if a structural change has in fact risen? Fast track and fiscal policy for the International Monetary Fund are merely fractions of a better scheme the United States Government must create to facilitate its citizens retain their leadership in what is, incontrovertibly, an accurately global economy. Moreover, the Federal Reserve should reduce interest rates, at this time sprinting at approximately four times the rate of inflation, with no less than one-half of 1%. Moreover, Conformist economics observes economic growth as a consequence of input accumulation and technological growth in a world of nearly invariable come backs to level. At the same time, there is a little argument about how to determine inputs and how to describe technological growth, there is an agreement that a great deal of economic growth engages trade-offs, such as increasing capital means investment, forgone consumption and savings, though increasing labor input needs education expenses and relinquished freedom. Whichever unsolved growth is branded the input of total factor productivity (TFP), also called the famous Solow residual, which reveals technical progress, improved efficiency, spillovers, scale economies, demand side policy, pull inflation and so on. Countless economic studies of foreign direct investment center on the features of the companies in creating its resolution to spend overseas. While the rest employ features of host nations as independent variables, that U. S. oreign direct investment runs to Europe contain such independent variables as growth of market size and size in host countries, levels of protectionism in host countries, and capital control programs of the U. S. Government. The causes for the disparity in corresponding the employment and productivity growth amid the two regions may be vibrant, except mostly dialogue they go down into three types. At the outset, the expansion of the pay, the rental ratio is a typical macroeconomic elucidation for modifications in labour and capital intensity influencing the employment growth productivity. During the 2000-s, pay control and active labour market policies elevated labour force membership statistics in Europe however, simultaneously decreased the growth of labour charge comparative to the capital cost. The quicker employment growth but lower growths of labour productivity are probable consequences of these policies of the U. S. Government. Seeing the initiation of the global economy and amplified tax competition, businesses and other shareholders employ geographically fungible capital to reduce their tax charges by shifting their assets to lower tax regions. Hence the capacity for capital flight compels limitations on the point of taxation that in order compels fiscal discipline on the U. S. Government. However the normative economic research have demonstrated that the optimal tax rate on capital is zero, while the optimal tax rate on labor is positive, proposing that the expressive decline of taxes on capital, during tax competition, would offer wide-reaching advantages in the global market. In addition, in a more competent market, investment will be owed more effectively, escorting to worldwide welfare profits in the all-embracing race. The interconnected concepts comprise nonlinear growth once a critical mass is attained, worthy rounds of positive feedback in manufacturing and communal firms for example Silicon Valley, and declining costs and amplified excellence by means of technology and scale economies. These concepts are not new-fangled to conservative US economics; however the new economy offers them far better magnitude and looks them as the dynamic energy of growth economy-wide (Fretz, 4-15). The recent facts propose that it is yet excessively untimely to let know if a new economy has actually materialized. The new economy is resolutely constructed on the supposition of structural changes in the economy; however there is just not sufficient information yet to differentiate elemental transformations from unconventional accounts, for example transitory shocks can escort to the identical upshots. By building up these concepts at this instant, economists and policymakers would be capable to come to a decision if there truly is a new economy in the United States

Poverty and Humanity in I Had Seen Castles :: I Had Seen Castles

Walk through a door, and enter a new world. For John, raised in home resplendent with comfort and fine things, Ginny’s family’s apartment above the fruit market is a radically different environment than his own. Economic differences literally smack him in the face, as he enters the door and walks into towel hung to dry. â€Å"First lesson: how the poor do laundry† (Rylant 34). In this brief, potent scene, amidst â€Å"shirts, towels, underwear, pillowcases† hanging in a room strung with clotheslines, historical fiction finds crucial expression in the uncomfortable blush of a boy ready for a first date and unprepared for the world in which he finds himself. Rylant juxtaposes Ginny’s poor family, living on a salary that can only be secured within the harsh, unrelenting working conditions of an industrial mill, against John’s family who is oblivious to the fear of poverty or hunger. In this juxtaposition, contemporary issues of economic privilege and workers rights influence the budding war-time romance of John and Ginny, and to us, the audience, peering in at them. By gradually magnifying John’s discomfort in entering Ginny’s â€Å"tattered neighborhood,† Rylant reveals the historical extraordinariness of wealth amidst squalor in the city of Pittsburgh. â€Å"Mills were fed coal and men so Pittsburgh might live,† and Ginny’s father gives his life to the mill so his family might live, albeit in the walls of this tiny rented apartment (Rylant 2). Both historically realistic and entirely fictitious, Rylant’s characters break the â€Å"single perspective† of history texts, fleshi ng out facts with their own stories, and marking our modern time with their experiences (Jacobs and Tunnell 117). I Had Seen Castles primarily chronicles the disillusionment of wartime heroism in the archetypal young solider, John. His illusions of war sustain Ginny’s controversial criticisms, though she infuriates and bewilders him, ultimately demonstrating the chilling effect of patriotic propaganda upon entire American communities throughout WWII. Beyond my diorama depiction of young lovers and a venerable mother meeting beneath clean laundry, the gruesomeness of war lurks and waits. Rylant brings war history to life in detailed, intimate ways, in dismembered, bloody soldiers, in the child with frozen legs that come off in warm bathwater, and in realistic treatment of John’s disenchantment; â€Å"as the war dragged on through 1944, it became more difficult for us to justify to ourselves why we fought† (81). Yet Rylant also offers a picture of the resilience in human beings, through our undeniable bonds to one another, despite nationality, class or war loyalties.

Beliefs About the World Trade Organization

Before reading articles about the World Trade Organization written by activist organizations and the WTO itself, I was aware that the conflicts and the debates surrounding the esteemed organization concern the power differences between the haves and the have-nots in the global economy. I also believed that the WTO is an indispensable entity produced by globalization itself. In my opinion, the WTO balances power between the haves and the have-nots as far as it is possible to do so.And, while the economies of abundance and high economic growth cannot be expected to slow down because of the low growth economies, the WTO at least gives the latter a voice. The articles on the WTO written by activist organizations have changed my beliefs about the organization very little. Indeed, it comes as a surprise to me that the WTO is blamed for putting the rights of big businesses â€Å"to profit over human and labor rights.† Jerry Mander, the president of the International Forum on Globaliz ation, refers to the WTO’s â€Å"mad drive toward corporate led economic globalization. † Yet, I had believed that WTO naturally favors the big economies of the world rather than corporations because the big economies happen to be instrumental in the entire global economy. In fact, without the big economies, the developing world would not even dream of globalization and foreign investment that would eventually make it possible for poor countries to economically grow.Besides, human and labor rights, in my opinion, cannot possibly be discounted by the WTO, seeing that businesses cannot even function without human and labor rights, and at the heart of WTO’s mission lies its interest in the promotion of business around the globe. Articles authorized by the WTO strengthen my belief that the organization works with â€Å"member countries† instead of focusing on corporations. In actual fact, the WTO takes decisions based on a consensus among its member countries .Moreover, it is wonderful to note that the WTO’s system is a promoter of world peace. After all, the organization allows for discussions, even among those member countries that differ in their opinions about the global political economy. I do not believe that I require further information to change my beliefs about the WTO. The organization remains ‘esteemed’ in my humble opinion, promoting the interests of all of its member countries while naturally favoring the big economies that happen to be most helpful for the small economies as well.

Midnight in Paris Analysis Essay

In the movie â€Å"Midnight in Paris†, there are a lot of interesting sights in the most beautiful city in the world. During the film, Woody Allen showed us how Paris is beautiful in the morning, charming in the afternoon, and enchanting in the evening, but it is magic and has a lot of surprising things after midnight. Starting with the Eiffel Tower, there were a lot of iconic shots of Paris at its most touristic points like its beautiful streets under the rain, the famous river in the city ‘La seine ‘, and the broad gardens that makes this city the most beautiful destination for the famous artists who were looking for a quiet place to develop their talent as writers. The movie is a nice combination of Paris in 2010 and Paris in the past, when the famous artists and writers were there like Ernest Hamingway, F Scott Fitzgerald, Picasso, Gertrud Stein, and Salvador Dali. Throughout the movie the director didn’t just show us Paris and its tourist locations, but also took us to destinations out of the city such as Versailles and Monet’s gardens in Giverny. Then, there were all the warmly lit shots of the cafes, restaurants, and the famous shops such as Coco Channel and Dior. In addition, the beauty of the sights and the photos grabbed the viewer’s attention to want to watch this movie and to discover a lot of more information about some of the most famous artists in the early 19th century. The movie â€Å"Midnight in Paris†, had succeed with participation of group of people who were capable and successful in their job as artists. The writer and director was Woody Allen, and the lead actors were: Owen Wilson, Rachel Mc Adams, and Kathy Bates. The cast was by Marian Cotillard, Michael Sheen, Adrien Brody, and Alison Pill. The studio was Gravier Production, Mediapro, Televisio de catalunya TV3, and it was made in May 20, 2011 by Sony Pictures Classics. The romantic comedy fantasy film had many unbelievable moments starting by discovering the city in the moment to traveling back in time each night after midnight. On one hand, the movie had a lot of interesting moments between the past and the present. The story was about an American family who went to France for a business trip, and the two young people Gil and his fiancee were engaged to be married even though their mentality and their thinking were different. She used to argue with him all the time and she didn’t like him to be a writer as much as to work in Hollywood. Gil was the kind of person who likes to write and to be a successful writer, and by the time he was in Paris, he believed that this ity is the only place he will find himself in. Suddenly, and while he was walking around the Parisian streets, he found himself coming back in time to the 19th Century when all the famous writers and painters were there. Thus, this moment Gil had a big change in his life. Starting by breaking up with his fiancee and falling in love with a French woman. He found himself with the stars of art in Paris in its golden time, and he didn’t believe that he had a lot of conversations with the best writer ever, Ernest Hamingway. On the other hand, Paris in its golden time was the best destination for a lot of artists around the world. Ernest Hamingway was an American author and journalist who chose to live in the city of art, Paris in the golden age. His economical and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the mid-1950s, and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. He published seven novels, six short story collections, and two non-fiction works. Three novels, four collections of short stories, and three non-fiction works were published posthumously. Many of these are considered classics of American literature. Hemingway was raised in Oak Park, Illinois. After high school, he reported for a few months for The Kansas City Star before leaving for the Italian front to enlist with the World War I ambulance drivers. In 1918, he was seriously wounded and returned home. His wartime experiences formed the basis for his novel, A Farewell to Arms. In 1922, he married Hadley Richardson, the first of his four wives. The couple moved to Paris, where he worked as a foreign correspondent, and fell under the influence of the modernist writers and artists of the 1920s â€Å"Lost Generation† expatriate community. The Sun Also Rises, Hemingway’s first novel, was published in 1926. In my opinion as a viewer, Hemingway was one of the most interesting personalities in the movie because he had made a change on lot of artists after him and he was a good example for those want to be successful in their life as a Gil, and the most interesting part in the movie was the conversation that was in the old Peugeot car when they were talking about men and their fear of death. Lastly, â€Å"Midnight in Paris†, had package of information everyone should know. Thus, I recommend watching this movie, because it wasn’t just a story like what we usually see in other films, but had much information about some famous artists in the 19th century. Also, we went back with the movie to see how those people used to live in nice and quiet world especially in the art city. Personally, I liked the movie from the beginning to the end, because and while I was watching it, I enjoyed its quiet music they used to listen to. The music and the rain in the Parisian streets had made a beautiful picture about this city and also I enjoyed seeing some touristical places I had visited while I was in vacation there. In addition, I liked the story about Gil and how he was encouraging himself to get on the right way in the art, by having a good self-esteem, even though he had a lot of obstacles with his fiancee and her parents.

12 Cause and Effect Essay Topics on Chinese Students’ Discrimination in the US

12 Cause and Effect Essay Topics on Chinese Students’ Discrimination in the US If you are writing a cause and effect essay on Chinese students discrimination in the United States, there are many facts that you might want to consider integrating into your work. Below is a short list of some recent developments, based on many scientific journals and studies. These might be of use to anyone who needs to include useful information into their existing content, or who is searching for another argument to include in an existing paper: Colleges and universities are being forced to increase the number of international students who attend universities, as a result of the economic crisis and many state and federal level budget cuts. Such a move has resulted in many tax dollars being spent educating students who come from out of state as well as from out of the country. $21.8 billion was spent by international students on their education in the United States in 2011. 70% of international students who enroll in American universities receive their funding from sources which are beyond the boundaries of the United States. Many foreign students, especially from China, are encouraged and recruited by universities to attend so that they generate income for the school and so that they can improve diversity on campus as well as increase cultural exposure enjoyed by other local students. Higher rates of international students have results in higher racial incidents targeted primarily at international students. The rate of incidents increase when issues arise in the news relating to the country where a particular student may originate. In some cases, domestic students may inaccurately place blame or target students incorrectly, such as pointing racial slurs about Koreans to a Chinese student, or vice versa. Recent studies have determined that discrimination faced by Chinese students goes beyond the racial comments from other students and extends into the interactions that students have with their classmates, but with their professors, staff members of the university, and the community at large. Some professors will have little regard for the various cultures, ways of thinking, or academic trainings a Chinese student may have had back home. Professors have been found to ignore Chinese students when they cannot understand them or when the accent is thick, rather than being patient and listening to them. Students will mock the names of foreign students openly, as well as the foods they eat and the smells generated by the said foods. Some university campuses have addressed the issues by encouraging the development of cross cultural activities on campus whereby one-on-one interactions are promoted between domestic students and foreign students. Some universities have gone so far as to offer a credited course which doubles as an orientation to local customs and cultures but runs for one semester instead of just one week. These courses have successfully targeted problems with academic plagiarism, transportation and housing, as well as the resources which are available on the campus. Research indicates that relationships formed by Chinese students with domestic students and other international students alike is paramount to mitigating the risk of depression, improving performance in the classroom, and encouraging overall higher rates of satisfaction with the educational experience. There are racist ideologies as well as stereotypes which are perpetuated in China and America which can interfere with successful cross cultural engagement. In China, for example, those people with darker skin like that of Latinos, Blacks, and Southeastern Asian students are considered culturally to be inferior. This perception can interfere with international students and Chinese students becoming friends. Many Chinese students will revert to associating with other Chinese students and with some U.S. white students, while avoiding the other minorities, and even shunning them. Some campuses fail to require Chinese students to take diversity courses or to complete American history classes. This impacts the perception that Chinese students have about race, interactions with others, and as a result has a negative impact on their school experience. This can seep into all aspects of the campus. As a result of this problem, it is important that students are able to partner with other campus offices or organizations whereby they can fain better education on race relations in America and higher education about other international students. These methods have been applied by a handful of universities with some success. The course content covers things such as gender issues, race, multi-racial identity, and ethnicity. Some academic institutions have encouraged Chinese students to enroll in ethnic studies courses where issues of class, race, gender, and sexuality are presented. By offering students a better understanding of cultural differences and ideologies in America and abroad, they can critically analyze themselves. Many Chinese students who come to America for their education face the challenge of language and behavior first. While they may pass English proficiency exams on paper for entrance into the university, it can be much more challenging to face fast-paced conversations with classmates full of colloquial phrases and odd cultural references, or even fast lectures given by professors. Understanding things such as finances, university programs, health, transportation, and housing are all equally challenging when the forms all require a higher knowledge of legalese. This challenge is one which causes and results in a great deal of uncertainty for the Chinese students. Some students in such situations try to communicate with strangers or those they know, but this results in uncertainty and feelings of insecurity. The uncertainty results from not knowing how to behave and the feelings of insecurity results from language issues. Some Chinese students are much more aware and sensitive to these d ifferences which only encourages anxiety. Chinese students who study abroad have to adapt to a socio-cultural system that is far different than theirs at home, which makes the academic experience about much more than completing course work. This increase the pressure and makes many students hesitant to engage in social events knowing that such differences exist but not knowing how to resolve them. Chinese students really suffer from discrimination and it’s an important issue to write about. That’s why there is also a list of ready-made topics on Chinese students’ discrimination that will help you write a good paper. In addition, you should check out the tips on cause and effect essay writing that will assist you in producing a high quality text. References: Benner, Aprile D., and Su Yeong Kim. Experiences of discrimination among Chinese American adolescents and the consequences for socio-emotional and academic development.  Developmental psychology  45.6 (2009): 1682. Boswell, Terry E. A split labor market analysis of discrimination against Chinese immigrants, 1850-1882.  American Sociological Review  (1986): 352-371. Jung, Eura, Michael L. Hecht, and Brooke Chapman Wadsworth. The role of identity in international students’ psychological well-being in the United States: A model of depression level, identity gaps, discrimination, and acculturation.  International Journal of Intercultural Relations  31.5 (2007): 605-624. Lee, Jenny J., and Charles Rice. Welcome to America? International student perceptions of discrimination.  Higher Education  53.3 (2007): 381-409. Lin, Canchu. Culture shock and social support: An investigation of a Chinese student organization on a US campus.  Journal of Intercultural Communication Research  35.2 (2006): 117-137. Tian, Mei, and John Lowe. Existentialist internationalisation and the Chinese student experience in English universities.  Compare  39.5 (2009): 659-676. Ying, Yu-Wen, Peter A. Lee, and Jeanne L. Tsai. Cultural orientation and racial discrimination: Predictors of coherence in Chinese American young adults.  Journal of Community Psychology  28.4 (2000): 427-441.

How to Maximize Your On-Page SEO in 2017 With One Checklist

How to Maximize Your On-Page SEO in 2017 With One Checklist Let’s face it- there’s nothing sexy about on page SEO. It’s probably the most clinical part of the whole SEO process. Compared to scoring a great link from a top site like USAToday.com or CNN.com or having your content go viral  and hit the front page of Reddit, on-page SEO is downright boring. But if you don’t give make it a priority, your site will never reach its full potential. Now, you might be thinking on page SEO is all about keyword density [Editor’s note: hopefully, no one out there is still worried about keyword density] and meta tags and that you know everything there is to know about all that. But here’s the thing- Google’s algorithms are continuously evolving and what worked just a year or two ago might not work now as we head into 2017. Long gone are the days where shoving a keyword in your title and throughout the article was enough to land you on page one of the search results. Today, you have to consider things like  Google’s Hummingbird algorithm  that takes into account synonyms and context, the evolution of semantic search,  Google’s shift towards mobile-first indexing, user experience, and a whole lot more. In short, on-page SEO is more intricate than ever before. That’s why I’ve put together this checklist you can use when creating content to audit your page and make sure it’s primed to bring in as much organic search engine traffic as possible. How to Maximize Your On-Page SEO in 2017 With One Awesome ChecklistDownload Your Free On-Page SEO Checklist and Template Bundle Improve your SEO efforts with these free resources: An On-Page SEO Checklist to ensure every piece of content you publish is thoroughly optimized. A Keyword Research Template for storing keyword ideas and data. An SEO Rank Tracking Template for measuring your search engine ranking success. Start By Targeting the Right Keywords Keywords are still the foundation of on-page SEO. While stuffing a bunch of keywords into your content is no longer a tactic that yields optimal results, keywords do still matter. Keywords do still matter. #SEOThere are several great tools out now that make it easy to discover relevant keyword ideas and that offer a ton of useful metrics about those terms. Personally, I’ve used the keyword explorer tools from both  Ahrefs  and  Moz, and have found them each to be excellent at helping me generate blog ideas. You can learn more about other keyword research tools  here  in a previous post on this blog, so I won’t waste your time discussing all of the different tools out there. Quick Tips for Choosing the Right Keywords While I’m going to spend most of my time discussing the specifics of how to use keywords properly for better on page SEO, it’s important to make sure you’re actually choosing the right keywords that will attract the type of searchers you want. With that in mind, here are a few simple keyword research tips to guide you. Recommended Reading: How to Improve Your Keyword Research With Latent Semantic Indexing 1 ) Get Better Results By Using Multiple Tools I mentioned above that I’m a fan of both Ahrefs and Moz’s keyword research tools. Additionally, I’ll typically poke around on the Google AdWords  keyword planner  tool,  Ubersuggest, and other tools when doing my research. Why do I use multiple keyword research tools? Because they each have their own strengths and weaknesses and they each pull from different sources to come up with their keyword suggestions. By pulling from multiple sources, you can get a more rounded list of keywords to target, allowing you to better reach your target audience. #SEO Tip: Use multiple #keyword #research tools.2 ) Identify the Potential of a Keyword Not all keywords are created equal. You need to prioritize your keywords based on which ones have the most potential. To do this, you’ll have to consider a few different factors: What’s the search volume of the keyword? How competitive is the keyword? What’s the searcher’s intent (i.e. will this attract the type of person I want?)? How important is this keyword to my business’s and website’s success? 3 ) Group Keywords Together Based On Relevance and Intent Typically whenever I create a new page, I have three or four  keywords I’m trying to target. It’s hard to effectively target any more than that in a single blog post or landing page. The best way to group keywords is by relevance and searcher intent. The best way to group keywords is by relevance and searcher intent.What does that mean? It means the keywords need to be closely related to one another. For example, someone searching for â€Å"basketball highlights† might also search for things like â€Å"nba highlights† or â€Å"nba scores.† They’re all related. The keywords focus on the same topic, and they match a common intent of the searcher. 4 ) Understand That  Keyword Research is an Ongoing Process Keyword research for a page shouldn’t be treated as a one-time task. It’s something you should be regularly revisiting and tweaking to maximize results. Keyword research is an ongoing process.Using Google Search Console can help you see which queries people are searching that bring up your website in the search results. This is an excellent source of data for finding new keyword opportunities for existing pages on your site, so you can bolster your search engine presence. Know How To Use Keywords Appropriately Now, let’s talk about the different places you can use your keywords and some best practices for doing so. 1 ) Include Your Primary Keyword in the  URL In September 2012, Google rolled out its â€Å"EMD Update† that was designed to reduce the weight of exact match domain names that were ranking well simply because they had a keyword in the root domain name. While having an exact match domain isn’t necessarily a strong signal to Google anymore and you’re probably better off choosing a domain name that’s easy to brand, having keywords in the URL extension of content you publish on your site (e.g. www.yoursitename.com/target-keyword) is still a wise best practice. In an interview  at the beginning of 2016, Google’s John Mueller said that keywords in the URL are still a â€Å"very small ranking factor.† My advice? If you’re able to include the target keyword of the page in the URL without it being too long or looking spammy, go for it, but don’t force it. A good URL is one that’s descriptive, and in most cases, using your target keyword will fit the bill, quickly describing what the page is about. A good URL is one that’s descriptive.2 ) Include Keywords in Title Tags Title tags used to play a big role in determining search engine placement. In the old days, you could stuff your title tags with a few keywords and increase your page’s chance of ranking. While Google has obviously caught onto that trick and decreased the importance of exact match keywords in titles (they’ve even stopped bolding phrases in titles that match the search query), it’s still a best practice to include them in your title tags. They send another signal to Google as to what your page is about and can improve click through rates by letting searchers know your page is relevant. Generally, it’s a good idea to put the keyword at the beginning of your title.  Tests have shown  that placing the keyword at the front of the title could be beneficial for ranking better and getting more clicks. Tests show placing #keywords in the beginning of title tags can help rankings. #SEO3 )  Headline and Subheads (H1, H2, H3, etc.) Using your keyword in headlines and subheadings throughout the page is a smart SEO practice for a couple of reasons. First, when you use your keywords in headlines and subheadings, it helps Google better understand what your content is about so that it can classify it properly for relevant search queries. While it’s debatable exactly how much just adding your keyword to an H1 or H2 tag influences rankings on its own, there’s another important facet to consider. By building a great headline  around a target keyword you’ll naturally influence the anchor text (and surrounding text) other sites use when linking to that content, which absolutely can have a significant effect on your rankings. Recommended Reading: How to Boost Traffic With 34 SEO Tips You Need to Know (+ Free Kit) 4 ) Incorporate Keyword Phrases Directly Into Your  Content Optimizing the body of your page for your targeted keywords is a balancing act. Using a keyword too much leads to over-optimization, making your page look spammy and negatively affecting your rankings. On the other hand, it is a good idea to make sure your content has some mentions of your targeted keywords and synonyms since Google now recognizes synonyms. Many experts suggest having the first keyword occurrence within the first 100 words  of the content as a signal of relevancy. #SEO Tip: Include your primary keyword within your first 100 words of content.While I’m not an advocate of obsessing over keyword density (there’s no such thing as a major keyword density), it’s not a bad idea to use a plugin like Yoast  or a tool like Moz’s On-Page Grader  to get some useful analysis of your keyword usage. Both tools do a good job at digging through your text and offering feedback on whether you’ve used your keyword too little, too much, or an acceptable amount. Don't obsess over keyword density. #SEOOne more point to consider when it comes to your on-page content is page length. Numerous tests have found  that Google tends to prefer long-form content. In fact, a study by Backlinko found that the average word count of a Google first page result is a whopping 1,890 words. There are a few theories about why Google prefers longer content. One theory is that long, in-depth content shows Google that a lot of thought was put into your page and that it’s a detailed resource searchers will likely find useful. There’s also the idea that simply having that much text will naturally give Google the ability to better understand your content’s topic, allowing you to rank more effectively. And finally, long-form content tends to get more social shares, which can signal Google that your page is well-received and worth ranking highly. Did you know long-form content tends to drive more #social shares?5 ) Include Keywords Within Image  Alt Tags An â€Å"alt† tag is used to describe what an image depicts. A descriptive, keyword-rich alt tag can help that image rank better in Google Image Search, and some would argue that it could help the whole page rank better for the search term by better allowing the search engine to understand the topic of text surrounding the image. Google offers a great guide to using images  on your website, and suggests â€Å"creating useful, information-rich content that uses keywords appropriately and in context.† In other words, don’t just stuff keywords in your alt tags. Make them truly descriptive and helpful, while naturally integrating the target keyword. 6 ) Write Compelling  Meta Descriptions The meta description is the short snippet that search engines sometimes use in the search results to let users know what your page is about before they click it. I say â€Å"sometimes† because Google is increasingly ignoring meta descriptions and instead just displaying a short snippet of text from the actual content on the page. While meta description tags haven’t been a ranking factor for a long time, I still recommend filling them out when creating your pages and incorporating your keyword into them. Why? While this won’t improve the ranking of your page, it could help improve click through rates. In cases where Google actually displays your description tag, a visitor who sees a snippet that includes the exact term they were searching for, which will be bolded, may be likelier to click on your website as it will appear relevant to their needs. Recommended Reading: How to Attract an Audience With The Best Blog Photography Tips (+128 Free Images) Other Important On-Page SEO Factors Keywords aren’t the only thing you need to look at as on page SEO is concerned. Here are a few other important factors that may influence your rankings. 1 ) Test Your Page Load Speed As Google continues its mission to make the internet more user-friendly, it has begun factoring load time into its algorithm. In fact, page load time may end up being one of the biggest ranking factors (which is a main reason why Google is instituting Accelerated Mobile Pages,  or AMP†¦ more on that later). So what can you do to increase load time on page? Here are a few things to get you started. Use a CDN.  Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) cache your site in data centers across the world. It then serves the site to visitors from the location closest to them. The result? Ultra fast load times and less bandwidth usage. This is a bit technical and requires third party help. Check out a company like Cloudflare  to get started. Reduce the size of   images.  A while back, one of our posts hit the front page of Reddit. The influx of traffic really started to affect site performance around the time about 1000 people were on site. So I called my hosting provider and they pointed out that the featured image on the post was massive and was taking up quite a bit of resources to load for each visitor. So I deleted the image and things sped up considerably. For a more permanent solution, I recommend optimizing images throughout your site using something like EWWW Image Optimizer. Look at your plugins.  If you’re using WordPress, plugins can make your life pretty easy. There are so many useful plugins that you can pretty much build a top-tier site without knowing jack squat about coding. However, some of those fancy plugins, such as sliders and social counters, can load Javascript libraries and CSS files across your site or can hit the database every time a page loads. The result? Things slow down considerably. Try something like P3  to learn which of your plugins are using the most resources. To check your page speed, I recommend you use Google’s PageSpeed Insights Tool. Not only does it show you how fast your pages load on both mobile and desktop, but it also gives you detailed recommendations on how to increase performance. Recommended Reading: How to Make an SEO Content Strategy That Will Improve Your Results By 248% 2 ) Make Your Site Mobile-Friendly Now that more people are searching with mobile devices, Google is moving to a mobile-first index, meaning it will primarily look at the mobile version of your page to rank it. The good news is that if you’ve built a mobile version of your site, or use a responsive theme, then you’re already on the right path. And if you’re following best practices for on-page SEO, you’re well on your way to properly optimizing your mobile pages, especially if your site loads quickly. #SEO Tip: Make sure your site is mobile-friendly.However, there are a few additional steps you need to take to make sure your pages are friendly to mobile users. Consider implementing AMP.  When it comes to speed, Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages are as fast as it gets. And while implementing AMP won’t guarantee you higher rankings, it can give you the edge against other sites. And if nothing else, it could get you in the AMP carousel at the top of mobile results, which can get you more clicks. Of course, the full AMP discussion would take more than a little bullet point here, so I recommend you spend some time  reading up  before trying to implement them. Lose the pop-ups. While pop-up opt-in forms are a great way  to increase signups for your email lists, they’re brutal for mobile users on tiny screens (have you tried clicking one of those tiny X’s?). That’s why Google says it will begin penalizing sites using these pop-ups after the New Year. I recommend disabling them on mobile devices Think â€Å"easy to click.†Ã‚  Those X buttons on pop-up forms aren’t the only thing that’s difficult to press on a mobile screen. So make sure your page is put together in a way where everything is easy to click. For example, make sure your buttons render large enough to click. Don’t use Flash. And finally, for the love of all things holy, if you’re still using Flash, stop. Not only does it load terribly slow, but it won’t work on all mobile devices. If special effects are necessary, opt for HTML5. Is your blog or website optimized for mobile #SEO?3 ) Understand Internal Linking Best Practices If you’re not linking properly in your posts, then you’re missing out. The perfectly optimized page will have a good mix of both inbound and outbound links. Inbound links are important to make your site both easy to navigate, and easy for Google to crawl. And according to Moz, it’s great for â€Å"spreading link juice† across your site. I recommend linking internally whenever relevant, within reason of course. For a good example of internal linking, check out one of my sites, CutCableToday.com, a resource for finding legal ways to watch television without cable. Notice how, while we link out to deals on the home page, we also internally link to relevant pages when the opportunity presents itself. Recommended Reading: The Simple 10-Step Guide to Better Search Engine Ranking for Writers For example, when the page mentions watching a specific channel like ESPN, which we happen to have a landing page for, then we link to that page internally. This helps Google find our â€Å"Watch ESPN† page,  and gets users to click deeper into the site- all great for SEO and usability. However, internal links are only part of the equation. You also want to periodically link out to other sites, as they help search engines determine the theme of your page and help you build relationships with other sites. More importantly, outgoing links can have positive effects on SEO, as it increases your authority when done properly. A few things to keep in mind as you do this: Link out to reputable pages. That means high domain authority and page authority. Consider contacting sites to let them know you linked. This is a great way to network and get backlinks and social shares. Don’t go overboard. Doing so can send traffic away and frustrate your readers. Nofollow outbound affiliate links. Affiliate links, especially in excess, can make your site seem spammy to search engines. By nofollowing these links (add rel=†nofollow† to the code) you’ll prevent Google from crawling the links, in effect making them seem invisible and negating their effects on SEO. And a final word on linking: make sure you routinely check for broken links. Broken links send your users to 404 error pages. This  results in poor user experience, which can make users bounce and ultimately hurt your search rankings. Screaming Frog's SEO Spider is a popular freemium SEO tool that can help with this task. #SEO Tip: fix your broken links!4 )  Understand Page Age and Authority How long your page has been around can affect how high it ranks. There are a lot of factors here, such as higher page authority over time, more backlinks, etc. With that in mind, it’s important to note that sometimes you might want to revamp an older page rather than create a new one. Doing so can potentially push older pages up the search results faster than newer versions. So how can you revamp old content? Change the date.  I’ve personally seen old pages rise in search rankings simply by changing the â€Å"last updated† or â€Å"publish† date. This is the quickest change you can make, hands down. Refresh the content.  This can be adding new info, rewriting the introduction, adding new sections ... whatever makes the most sense to bring that old page up to date. Think about why people are searching.  Look at the current top ranked pages and ensure that your page matches the intent of the searcher even better than those. Recommended Reading: The Skyscraper Technique May Actually Improve Your Content Marketing 5 ) Optimize Images for Search Engines If you’ve read up to this point, you already know that any images you include on your page need to have descriptive, keyword-rich anchor text. But did you know that simply including images on your pages can generate more shares and more page views? The result? Increased social shares and traffic could make your page more valuable and trustworthy in the eyes of Google, leading to improved rankings. Just make sure that every image you include serves a purpose, enhances the user experience, and loads quickly. 6 ) Keep Your Bounce Rate Low For years, SEO experts have been debating whether or not bounce rate affects a website’s ranking. In other words, if someone comes to a page on your website through Google and clicks away from your website without going deeper into it, does that send a signal to Google that your page is providing a poor user experience? Some tests  have said high bounce rates don’t necessarily impact Google rankings, while  others have found  that â€Å"low bounce rates are strongly associated with higher Google rankings.† How can we make sense of it all? It’s important to remember that correlation does not imply causation. Just because pages that rank well tend to have lower bounce rates, doesn’t necessarily mean that bounce rate is a ranking factor. However, we do know that Google wants to provide searchers with the most relevant, useful, and engaging content available. #SEO Tip: remember that correlation does not imply causation.So, at the very least, you should do what you can to lower your bounce rate, keep visitors on site longer, and provide the best possible user experience. Make On-Page SEO a Priority Every Time With so many factors that go into on page SEO, it can be tempting to neglect certain key tasks or to cut corners. But never forget that moving up even a single spot in the search results can drastically increase your clicks. My hope is you'll use this on page SEO checklist as a guide to optimize every piece of content you put on your site so you can put yourself in the best position for success.

Free Online Public Schools K-12 for Colorado Students

Free Online Public Schools K-12 for Colorado Students Colorado offers resident students the opportunity to take online public school courses for free. Below is a list of no-cost online schools currently serving elementary and high school students in Colorado. In order to qualify for the list, schools must meet the following qualifications: classes must be available completely online, they must offer services to state residents, and they must be funded by the government. Virtual schools listed may be charter schools, state-wide public programs, or private programs that receive government funding. List of Colorado Online Charter Schools and Online Public Schools Colorado Calvert AcademyColorado Virtual AcademyDenver Connections AcademyDenver Public School OnlineInsight School of Colorado About Online Charter Schools and Online Public Schools Many states now offer tuition-free online schools for resident students under a certain age (often 21). Most virtual schools are charter schools; they receive government funding and are run by a private organization. Online charter schools are subject to fewer restrictions than traditional schools. However, they are reviewed regularly and must continue to meet state standards. Some states also offer their own online public schools. These virtual programs generally operate from a state office or a school district. State-wide public school programs vary. Some online public schools offer a limited number of remedial or advanced courses not available in brick-and-mortar public school campuses. Others offer full online diploma programs. A few states choose to fund â€Å"seats† for students in private online schools. The number of available seats may be limited and students are usually asked to apply through their public school guidance counselor. (See also: 4 Types of Online High Schools). Choosing a Colorado Online Public School When choosing an online public school, look for an established program that is regionally accredited and has a track record of success. Be wary of new schools that are disorganized, are unaccredited, or have been the subject of public scrutiny. For more suggestions on evaluating virtual schools see: ​How to Choose an Online High School.

Financial And Economic Crisis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Financial And Economic Crisis - Assignment Example sis and policy recommendations from the literature review and data gathered from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and other government agencies of countries such as the United States. Analysis of the charts and tables will also be conducted in order to derive evaluations of the causes and effects of the global financial crisis. REVIEW OF LITERATURE The Theory of Financial Liberalization and the Washington Consensus A theory was developed by the academic community as well as by the government of the United States of how to go about making progress in developing countries. This false concept of development was proposed by a term known as the â€Å"Washington Consensus† originated by an economist named John Williamson (1998). Basically, there were ten policy recommended for developing countries but it did not recognise that developing countries had various issues that required various policy solutions. These ten policy propositions are as follows: 1. There is a huge a nd continuing fiscal budgets in developing countries that lead to rising inflation flight of capital and as such governments should minimize them; 2. Subsidies must be decreased or avoided and that government spending must be prioritized towards education, health and development of infrastructures; 3. The tax base should be broad and marginal tax rates should be moderate; 4. The interest rates must be determined by the domestic financial markets. Positive real interest rates should discourage capital flight and increase savings; 5. A competitive exchange rate must be adopted by developing nations which will promote exports by making it less expensive in other countries; 6. The minimization of tariffs and which should not be applied to intermediate goods required in producing exports; 7. Foreign...The paper tells that the subprime crisis in the United States resulted to the financial disaster in the stock market in the United States as well around the world as indicated by country an d regional stock indices as shown in the charts of this study. The resulting stock index in the markets throughout the globe is proof that the U.S. financial crisis had a tremendous impact on the global economy. In addition, the impact of the U.S. financial crisis caused the GDPs and other macro-economic indicators around the world to decrease indicating that these countries were affected heavily due to globalization. In the developing countries such as South Asia, the global crisis hit these poor countries strong as they had barely recovered the shocks of trade problems that resulted from worldwide food and energy price increases. Their current accounts and fiscal balances worsened sharply and inflation surged to unprecedented levels. Furthermore, their dependence on foreign funding has been relatively large. The global crisis worsened their macroeconomic difficulties as sources of funding declined. The global economic slowdown due to the financial crisis would make them further vu lnerable in terms of their export earnings, tourism receipts, remittances and external financing for infrastructure. The reform agenda of the â€Å"Washington Consensus† and multilateral institutions has results which were not satisfactory. As such, there is a need to evaluate countries or institution in terms of its nature and geography and that there is a need to uniquely determine their institutional structure.

3.4 Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

3.4 - Case Study Example This calls for very careful and prudent credit policies, to avoid losses when clients become bankrupt. The industry operated profitably from 1985 to 1988, but a considerable recession that hit the economy in 1989 caused instability. As a result, the trucking companies lost revenues as manufacturers were reducing their transportation requirements as they cut down their operations. In fact, most of the trucking companies became bankrupt and the few that survived the situation lowered their prices to remain competitive. Although the industry recovered from the recession in 1990s, the transportation industry in southern Ontario remained challenging as there were too many companies competing for few clients. By 2003, albeit the industry experiencing substantial growth, the profit margins remained very low since the prices were still very low. To survive with very low prices, the companies are forced to look for loans so they can operate at high volumes to increase their profits. Besides, the trucking companies maximize the time they spend on the road to increase sales so they can be able to repay the loans and their operating expenses. The Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) had introduced legislation that required all vehicles used by trucking companies to comply with strict safety standards. The ministry impounded any vehicle that failed to comply with these safety measures. Commercial Equipment Financing (CEF) carefully analyses its borrowers before approving loans, with the aim of increasing the recovery rate. This is particularly very important because the industry is undergoing very tough economic conditions and the chance of a company failing to repay the loan is very high. What CEF looks for can be summarized in terms of ‘4 C’s of Credit’ as analyzed below. The financial History of the borrower is referred to as

Critical Review of Photography of Shelby Lee Adams Essay

Critical Review of Photography of Shelby Lee Adams - Essay Example Adam Lee is well known photographer whose pictures are viewed over the internet. His pictures cover large scenes and convey lots of information. This paper analyzes two photographs taken by Lee and makes claim of his skills in taking pictures of various scenes. Though a well-recognized photographer, Adam Lee’s photos fall short of characteristics of good photographs due to their appearance and manner in which they were captured (Shelby and Smith, 68). The first photograph above conveys an old man carrying a naked child. In the picture, it appears the man does not care about the bad scene created by the photograph especially when the child is wholly naked. From the features of a good photograph, the picture fails since it is not subjective and does not make the viewer react. This photo does not convey several information about the scene as it confuses the viewer (Shelby and Smith, 69). For instance, one wonders whether the child’s leg is swollen, thus suffering or it is just the wish of the man to leave the kid naked. Therefore, Adam failed in telling the audience the story through the picture thus not capturing the audience’ emotion even though the picture indicates a harsh reality. Secondly, the photograph fails to narrate the event covered. For instance, the photo fails to make the viewer understand the picture appropriately making failing to draw his emotions as per the scene of a man carrying the naked child with a swollen leg (Shelby and Smith, 70). The viewer fails to sympathize with the kid or condemn the man for carrying the naked child aimlessly. Third, Adam’s photo is not composed since it lacks some techniques in mind. For instance, the classic rule suppose the photo to be broken into three distinct equal parts. The picture contrasts this rule since the sky does not take even two thirds of its frame while the land takes less than a third. The photo lacks linear or cyclical effect thus cannot make the viewer move his eyes t hrough the picture. Therefore, this denies the photographer some extra appreciation from the viewer. Fourth, the photo is not emotional as required by the features of a good picture. For example, the picture of the man carrying the kid does not draw attention of a people suffering or just relaxing as per their wish. Consequently, it does not reveal to the viewer whether the man in the picture is widowed thus cares for the child on his own thus carelessness (Shelby and Smith, 71). Lastly, the photo is visionless as it fails to make the viewer feel its beauty. The picture of the man reveals to some extent that the child carried is crying thus causing a bad scene, which irritates most viewers. Most people feel sad on seeing naked children crying as they associate the scene with suffering. Photos of crying kids are often irritating more so to women who feel the child has been neglected thus making them not concentrate on the picture. Most of the photographs of Lee Adams lack a proper ba ckground. This clearly denotes that Adams is not a good photographer. A good photographer should be someone who understands several, if not all, the basics of taking photographs. Picture background should be one of the basic things that a good photographer must consider when taking photographs. Before taking a photograph, it is of crucial importance that the photographer identifies a good site that can best suit the type

Money & Banking - economics 321 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Money & Banking - economics 321 - Coursework Example It is in these circumstances wherein the so-called boom emerges. This boom in the financial sector as most crises have demonstrated is typified by a fragility that made much worse by credit and speculation. According to Kindleberger, this leads to a series of events such as how price increases leads to a rush for investment as profit opportunities loom large. This is an event that feeds upon itself: the opportunities that promise profit would bring in a new wave of investors and that the positive feedback that is perceived in the process and the outpour of investment increases further profit, which then encourages further investments. He then explained how this leads to what Minsky called as euphoria and when the speculation variable is thrown in, it finally results in overtrading, which aggravate the fragility of the situation. As speculation and overtrading bring in more investors, the probability of crashes increases as speculation for profit drives the ‘manias’ or â €˜bubbles’.† During the feverish economic activity driven by speculative boom, a point is identified to emerge wherein prices start to level and uncertainty start to creep in. This situation, in Kindleberger’s theory creates a period of financial distress, which finally launches a steady downward spiral: There is an inevitable burst as the market started the race to withdraw. In the event of a rush to liquidate, the bubble bursts and further panic ensues. The problem will reach crisis proportions as financial institutions fail, prices decline and the number of bankruptcies spike. This stage, according to Kindleberger, is called revulsion when panic finally seizes the economic system, which is aggravated by liquidity, which, though orderly at times, can actually degenerate and spin out of control, feeding the panic further in the process. The Kindleberger’s revulsion of concept is more popularly known in the nineteenth century as â€Å"discredit.† There are other variables

Manchesters Bohemian Reminder Personal Statement

Manchesters Bohemian Reminder - Personal Statement Example Finally Mari looked up after replacing the hood of his backpack and boomed, "Hey J, care to show me around Manchester" Encountering the streets and the people, we affirmed how Manchester is famed for its tolerant, party-loving attitude and, Mari confessed from his experience at the university, the high-quality academic research. This bohemian character must have what made the city top the "Boho Britain Creativity Index." Demos' new league table is based on a ranking system invented by American academic Richard Florida, and it used three indices to reach its conclusion. One, the city has a thriving gay community, which boosts the establishment of creative businesses due perhaps to openness to radical ideas and considerations. Another factor is the city's large ethnic minority population, clearly manifested by the transcultural element of Rusholme's Curry Mile. And the city has more applications to register new inventions per head. I could not know how it was for him. To have walked our familiar streets then thinking that time would happen he would grow old here, and now knowing the same streets and realizing that he would be leaving it very soon. "That would be dreadful, my man. You must not leave then, if that's the case." I tried to lighten him up, but I knew that a million reasons in the world will not be able to postpone his trip any longer. A different life awaited him in another country. Had Mari been a tourist i... And the city has more applications to register new inventions per head. Manchester's richness in architecture can be verified looking at the structures of the Alcohol Information Centre, the Smithfield Buildings, the Dry 201 bar, the Caf Pop, The Big Issue in the North, Reminder 4 the No. 1 Dorsey Street, The Cord, and the Buddhist Centre, to name a few. Its three universities, namely, the University of Manchester, UMIST, and Manchester Metropolitan University cater to a large and thriving student population. It can thus be figured that the overall enhancement of the city has promoted a drive in creativity and communal confidence. Having now, and perhaps for the last time, tasted the bohemian air of the city, my roommate urged on towards the Northern Quarter, now known as the creative quarter of the city. I could not know how it was for him. To have walked our familiar streets then thinking that time would happen he would grow old here, and now knowing the same streets and realizing that he would be leaving it very soon. "I'm going to be sick," Mari proclaimed. "I'm very certain." And he continued to mutter as we combed the Arndale. "That would be dreadful, my man. You must not leave then, if that's the case." I tried to lighten him up, but I knew that a million reasons in the world will not be able to postpone his trip any longer. A different life awaited him in another country. Reminder 5 "But I can't stay, mum already protested about my prolonged stay." Had Mari been a tourist instead, our little sight-see would have had a different appeal, as we walked the stretch of the Northern Quarter, or N4, along Oak Street, Thomas Street and Tariff Street, sited between Picadilly

Money & Banking - economics 321 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Money & Banking - economics 321 - Coursework Example It is in these circumstances wherein the so-called boom emerges. This boom in the financial sector as most crises have demonstrated is typified by a fragility that made much worse by credit and speculation. According to Kindleberger, this leads to a series of events such as how price increases leads to a rush for investment as profit opportunities loom large. This is an event that feeds upon itself: the opportunities that promise profit would bring in a new wave of investors and that the positive feedback that is perceived in the process and the outpour of investment increases further profit, which then encourages further investments. He then explained how this leads to what Minsky called as euphoria and when the speculation variable is thrown in, it finally results in overtrading, which aggravate the fragility of the situation. As speculation and overtrading bring in more investors, the probability of crashes increases as speculation for profit drives the ‘manias’ or â €˜bubbles’.† During the feverish economic activity driven by speculative boom, a point is identified to emerge wherein prices start to level and uncertainty start to creep in. This situation, in Kindleberger’s theory creates a period of financial distress, which finally launches a steady downward spiral: There is an inevitable burst as the market started the race to withdraw. In the event of a rush to liquidate, the bubble bursts and further panic ensues. The problem will reach crisis proportions as financial institutions fail, prices decline and the number of bankruptcies spike. This stage, according to Kindleberger, is called revulsion when panic finally seizes the economic system, which is aggravated by liquidity, which, though orderly at times, can actually degenerate and spin out of control, feeding the panic further in the process. The Kindleberger’s revulsion of concept is more popularly known in the nineteenth century as â€Å"discredit.† There are other variables

PDP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

PDP - Essay Example While the third section concludes the paper and initiates a thorough analysis between the fact that to what degree there is a match between myself, my personality, my career, my job and its requirements. Moreover, this section would also act my mentor as well as my self-created challenge for coming three to five years of my life to which I could always relate to and formulate a strategy for a successful life, helping me to overcome my shortcomings and further polish my positive traits and unique abilities. Human behavior as many psychiatrists and theorists (Paris, pp. 20-29, 2001) believe is a machine ongoing development and thus going through different and unique phases in its journey of life; while understanding ones personality makes this journey fruitful as it helps unlock elusive human qualities, such as leadership, motivation, and empathy. Self-development theories (Beck, pp. 10-12, 1976) and widely available tests/quizzes are easy to understand and help in the development of self-awareness. Similarly, more than five decades ago, when psychologists and experts (Capuzzi & Gross, pp. 39-47, 2003) were curious to know and understand personalities of people, and how they made each individual different from the other given the basic circumstances of growth, they found out possible to break down a personality into five distinct elements or dimensions (Cormier & Hackney, pp. 70-77, 1993). Five factors they believed were â€Å"Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness, Emotion al Stability or Neuroticism and openness to experience† (Bryon, pp. 5-9, 2006); which helped coin the word â€Å"OCEAN†. The first factor extroversion, aims at finding whether a person is an introvert or an extrovert. Extroverts are carefree, hyperactive active, outgoing, social, and energetic people, who take a great amount of peer pressure (Bryon, pp. 5-9, 2006). On the other hand,

Issues and Traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam Essay Example for Free

Issues and Traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam Essay Religion takes on many different forms and there are several definitions in as many languages used to describe the practices. For the purposes of this paper, the following basic definition will be used. Religion is the belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe. Also, a personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship (Company, 2000). This paper will examine three major religions of today: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. An attempt will be made to identify the top two current issues each religion faces as well as look at two sacred traditions and study the significance and major characteristics of each. Judaism Judaism is monotheistic in nature and has been described as a religion, a race, a culture, and a nation. All of these descriptions have some validity to them but Judaism is best described by some as an extended family (Rich, 2006). This extended family consists of four movements Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, and Reconstructionist. All of which, still find themselves victims of discrimination known as anti-Semitism which is based on stereotypes and myths and often invokes the belief that Jews have extraordinary influence with which they conspire to harm or control society. For those Jews living in the Middle East there is also the very real danger and threats from a powerful country possibly in possession of nuclear weapons. The president of Iran threatened them publicly with annihilation. Discrimination and threats of violence Jews are a very real part of Jewish life but there are just as many positive popular time honored traditions that exists still today. One of which is the wedding tradition. The tradition begins with the husband signing a Ketabuh, the groom’s marital contractual obligation to the bride. The groom is then led to the Chuppah, a tarp this symbolizes their future home together. The bride is led in with singing and dances and then she circles the groom seven and comes to stand to the right of him. After several additional steps the marriage is blessed and ends in a wedding feast. Another Jewish tradition performed prior to Yom Kippur is called the ceremony of kapparot. The practice was first discussed at the beginning of the ninth century. It was believed that the sins of an individual could be transferred to a fowl, a rooster for men and a hen for women. The fowl was to be held over the head and swung in a circle three times while the following was spoken: This is my exchange, my substitute, my atonement; this rooster (or hen) shall go to its death, but I shall go to a good, long life, and to peace. (Schwartz, 2009) The fowl was then donated to the poor and hoped to take on any misfortune that might have occurred to the one who took part in the ritual. The primary sacred text used by the Jews is the Torah. Christianity is currently noted to be the largest religion in the world today, with around two billion followers. Christian beliefs center on the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the son of God. Jesus’ teachings focused on the kingdom of God, love of God, and love of one another. Today there are many different views his teachings and the meaning of some forms of love. One of the most controversial topics in the faith today is that of practicing homosexuality. The Christian bible stems from the Jewish sacred text which banned homosexuality of any kind. The bible even talks of God destroying two cities over homosexual behavior (Clark, 2009). Today many leaders condone the behavior and some are even practicing it themselves. While homosexuality may serve as a religious divider here in the U. S. , persecution is served cold as a divisionary disabling tactic abroad. It is the number one issue facing many Christians today, outright discrimination as in the case with Jews as mentioned earlier. In countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, China, Saudi Arabia, and others Christians are being martyred because of their refusal to denounce Christianity. Everyday there are approximately 465 people killed because they will not give up their faith in Jesus (Dearmore, 2009). Most Christians in the U. S. attend a church service of some kind one to three times a week. This is a time honored tradition, just as the wedding tradition is in Judaism. The reason behind this is to participate in a time of fellowship with one another. Normally, the tradition includes worship service, private and corporate prayer, the study and reading of scriptures, and collection of tithes and offerings. There is also the coming together for celebration of special holidays. The most important Christian holiday is Easter, the celebration of the resurrection of Christ and Christmas the celebration of his birth. Christian practices differ by denomination. Easter is a central theme for most if not all denominations. The origin of the word â€Å"Easter† is not certain but it was probably derived from Estre, an Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring (Dreamweaver, 2009). It is a celebration of the central event of the Christian faith, the belief that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day following his death and burial. It is the oldest Christian holiday and the most important day of the church year. There is evidence that the resurrection used to be celebrated every Sunday until some point in the first two centuries when it was agreed to move it to once a year. The sacred text of Christianity is the Bible. Islam The Islamic religion is monotheistic in nature; they follow one God named Allah. The primary meaning of Islam is peace and the prime message is the Unity of God. Islam identifies Jesus and John the Baptist as prophets. They also believe that there will be no other prophet after the prophet Muhammad. One of the primary concerns facing the Muslim community still today is retribution after the terrorists’ attacks of 11 Sept 2001. Many Islamic followers faced discrimination on all fronts because of the fear of their culture and religious stereotyping (Clark, 2009). The attacks on American soil left a scary imprint of terror in the minds and hearts of many. The media portrayal added fuel to the fire and did nothing to ease the tensions caused by the scary pictures of death left behind. Unfortunately, there is also the fight with fundamentalist ideology and division among their own religious sects. Some groups are teaching others to hate Jews, Christians, and Americans as well as others. In the midst of this hate is a tradition of peace and goodwill towards others. One of the most important traditions is the observance of the Five Pillars of Islam. This involves witnessing to the fact that there is none worthy of worship except Allah. The second pillar is Salat, facing toward Mecca, the Holy Land of Muhammad, five times a day and kneeling in prayer. The third pillar is Alms giving, which encompasses giving charitably to other Muslims. The fourth is the performance of a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lifetime. Last is to observe fasting during Ramadan. Muslims normally worship in Mosque; they kneel prostrate on small prayer rugs. The rugs may look to be small oriental carpets. Muslims kneel as a sign of humility before God. There is only one requirement that the place of prayer be clean. The rug is approximately one meter in length just long enough for an adult to fit on comfortably. When prayer time comes the rug is placed on the ground with the top pointed in the direction of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. After prayer the rug is immediately folded and put away until next time. The Arabic word for a prayer rug is sajada, which comes from the same root word (SJD) as masjed (mosque) and sujud (prostration) (Huda, What are prayer rugs, and how are they used by Muslims? ). This paper discussed three major religions of today and two current issues that they face. It also examined the characteristics of some of their valued traditions. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all have one central theme in common besides the discrimination they all endure; they are all monotheistic in nature. They all believe in their own sacred text, their own version of truth. References http://islam.about.com/od/prayer/f/prayer_rugs.htm http://www.jewfaq.org/judaism.htm http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/kapparot.html

The Heart Of Social Work

The Heart Of Social Work The origins of professionalization of social work date back to post Civil War era and the emergence of two opposing approaches to dealing with the needs and struggles of society: Charity Organization Societies (COS) and Social Reform. Charity Organization Societies (COS) later developed into casework offered a more individual approach, and Social Reform, represented by the Settlement House movement, which focused on addressing the societal causes of poverty. Initially working together for the so much needed social change, both movements eventually separated their actions due to the distinctiveness in their approaches (Axinn Stern, 2008). The end of the 19th century was about individual change and voluntary relief action. Herbert Spencers application of Social Darwinism with its two key attributes struggle for existence and survival of the fittest to social work has gained forceful influence (Axinn Stern, 2008). The widespread perception held that poverty was simply a factor of natural selection and aiding poor would make them indolent and unproductive (Hofstadter, 1955). Over time, however, the scientific charity approach faced an increased hostility because of its administrative methods that lumped together all the poor in order to save tax money (Axinn Stern, 2008). Still, the efforts of Mary Richmond and her Social Diagnosis were a crucial development for the social work profession. The book was an answer to Abraham Flexners report from 1915 declaring that social work was not yet a profession, and turned casework into a major form of social work practice (History of Social Work). The Settlement House movement was more focused on the malfunctioning of society. Guided by the three Rs Research, Reform, and Residence the movement provided a variety of services including recreational, educational, legal, and health services. Settlement workers also became involved in social research and social action. As social reformers, they joined forces with labor, womens organizations, socialists, and others. Many of them, such as Lillian Wald, Florence Kelly and Paul Kellogg, rose to national prominence. Jane Addams became one of the most well known figures in the nation (Axinn Stern, 2008). The Great Depression and New Deal steered the newly created profession toward public welfare. As social workers realized the seriousness of the depression and they re-embraced reform and social work organizations began lobbying the national government for action. New type of social work rural social work was also created (Axinn Stern, 2008). In the early 20th century, social work strove to advance its status, define its purpose, and establish educational standards. With Mary Richmonds efforts of developing training programs, the social work profession was on its way to becoming recognized as a profession. Settlement leaders continued their commitment to social reform, but after Flexners report the practice of social casework was identified as the core of the new profession (History of Social Work). Modern social work practice emanates from both traditions individual and social reform. Today, social work is a professional and academic interdisciplinary field that is dedicated to the pursuit of social change and improving the quality of life of individuals, groups and communities (Morris, 2008; Simon, 1994). The profession strives to help the individual to become the best he can be the community to become the finest and fullest expression of social life that it can be, with no one left behind (Morris, 2008). The History and Role of Field Education Field practice casework has always been a central aspect to the profession of social work. As education for social work became more formal in the 19th century, the field education where classroom knowledge is applied in a social environment with real clients has been regarded as an essential component of social work profession. It is in the field practicum that the student social workers begin to apply knowledge skills, and principles, and grasp the complexities and subtleties of assessment, intervention, and evaluation within diverse social and organizational settings. From the 19th century origins of social work as an outgrowth of charitable organizations working with the poor, field practice in casework has been central to the profession. As education for social work became more formal, a field practicum in which classroom knowledge is applied in a social environment with real clients has been regarded as an essential component. Through Field Education, social work comes alive and students begin to see the real faces and stories behind the important issues they have read so much about, and they also begin to take responsibility for their chance to affect change. SINCE 1968, the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) has required schools of social work to achieve cultural diversity in enrollment of students, hiring of faculty, and development of curricula (McMahon AUen-Meares, 1992). The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) has recently published standards in cultural competence that oblige social workers to strive to deliver culturally competent services to increasingly diverse client populations (NASW, 2001). Through its curriculum policy statement, CSWE provides a broad mandate for the infusion of multicultural content into academic courses (Carrillo, Holzhalb, Thyer, 1993; Julia, 2000). It is, however, in the application of knowledge about cultural differences through a supervised internship or work environment that the training in multicultural competencies is integrated (Van Soest, in press). Although the role of field instructor is considered pivotal to student learning in social work (Bogo, 1993; Kadushin, 1991), little practical information exists to guide field instructors on approaches to infuse cultural diversity issues into the supervision process (Arkin, 1999; Cashwell, Looby, Housley, 1997; Leong Wagner, 1994). The purpose of field instruction is to help you integrate the theory and knowledge base of social work learned in the classroom with the practical experience gained through work in social welfare settings. The purpose of the field education department is to provide students within the MSW program with an opportunity to learn hands-on through an internship work experience. Students that complete the foundation field practicum which focuses on generalist social work practice and arrive in the advanced year with a solid knowledge of theoretical frameworks that guide generalist practice, an understanding and acceptance of social work values and ethics, and well developed skills related to beginning social work practice. Field education in the foundation years provides the student with an opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge of social service systems to access appropriate community resources. In addition, students learn to communicate in urban settings, apply theoretical knowledge to u rban problems such as poverty, and to determine how oral, written, and technological information reflecting professional social work skills. To become effective social work practitioners, students need to experience working directly with individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities and working collaboratively at every client system level to assess needs and to develop plans for addressing them. The field placement provides opportunities for experiential learning consistent with the more cognitive approaches provided in the classroom. This paper reviews the critical importance of field education in social work and will suggest incremental steps through which state, county and university partners may work together to shape a structural plan that will preserve and enhance the quality of the field component and the program as a whole. The goal and purpose of field education The purpose of the field education department is to provide students within the MSW program with an opportunity to learn hands-on through an internship work experience. Students that complete the foundation field practicum which focuses on generalist social work practice and arrive in the advanced year with a solid knowledge of theoretical frameworks that guide generalist practice, an understanding and acceptance of social work values and ethics, and well developed skills related to beginning social work practice. Field education in the foundation years provides the student with an opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge of social service systems to access appropriate community resources. In addition, students learn to communicate in urban settings, apply theoretical knowledge to urban problems such as poverty, and to determine how oral, written, and technological information reflecting professional social work skills. Purpose The purpose of the field practicum is to provide students the opportunity to work in a professional setting to develop and demonstrate skills in social work, to integrate the theories and practices learned in and out of the classroom, to develop a sense of commitment to the social work profession and Code of Ethics, to develop an understanding of the diversity of a community population and the role of diversity in social work practice, to develop an understanding of how administrative processes and policies impact delivery of services, to develop professional relationships within the community to better understand local resources to benefit future clients, and to confirm personal interests and abilities in the social service field. As students undertake learning within the reality of agency life, a vehicle is established whereby use of theory and conceptual frameworks acquired through course work is applied, skills are developed and refined, and attitudes and values are examined. Additionally students are afforded opportunities for analysis of the effects of social welfare policy on programs and services, opportunities for the development of research questions in relation to practice efforts, and opportunities for evaluation of practice interventions. Field practicum courses enable students to personally affirm the validity of content presented in the classroom. The progressive, reciprocal relationship between theory and conceptual frameworks and practice becomes a dynamic in the teaching-learning process of field instruction. Field Instruction enables students to integrate the knowing, feeling and doing aspects of their social work education. It is designed to produce a knowledgeable, skilled, self-evaluating and professionally reflective social worker. Objectives Knowledge: 1. Basic understanding of how generalist social work practice is applied in a specific agency setting. 2. Knowledge about the application of theories to client situations in the agency setting. 3. Knowledge regarding the use of culturally sensitive practice methods with diverse and at-risk populations. 4. Knowledge about the social work system and structure in an agency, and how the structure impacts the provision of social work services. 5. Awareness of practice issues, policy issues, and related research information relating to the students field setting as well as to the placement settings of other students. 6. Awareness of appropriate methods for social action related to the agency purpose and function and participation in these when appropriate. 7. Awareness of social service resources in the area to enable students to broker services to enhance client functioning and well-being. Skills: 1. Enhancement of interviewing skills to enable the student to develop working relationships with diverse types of clients and client groups, to formulate initial and on-going assessments at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels, and to modify relationship styles to fit the client situation. 2. Ability to prepare an appropriate intervention/service plan for actual clients based on person-in-environment and strengths assessment and the availability of agency services. 3. Increased self-awareness of the students own intrapersonal and interpersonal attributes that enhance or interfere with therapeutic relationships or the social work role. 4. Application of practice and program evaluation skills for purposes of accountability, outcome monitoring, improvement of practice, and program development. 5. Development of the ability to use supervision in an appropriate manner for continued growth and development. 6. Development of the ability to work collaboratively with a variety of helping professionals. 7. Development of appropriate documentation skills within the agency setting which are clear, organized, and meet professional standards for the profession and the particular agency setting. Values: 1. Respect for an individuals worth and dignity and their unique characteristics. 2. Importance of advocating for the client with organizations and systems to ensure protection of rights and procurement of needed resources. 3. Appreciation for professional ethics, especially confidentiality, regarding clients, peers, agencies, and recognition of the individuals right to self-determination and active participation in the helping process. Council on Social Work Educations 2008 Education and Policy Standards (promotes classroom and field learning as equally important for student learning) its effect/impact on SW field education The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) is the entity that accredits all social work programs in U.S. universities at the BASW and MSW levels. All California university graduate social work programs have CSWE accreditation. In its recent educational policy statement, the CSWE concluded as follows: Signature pedagogy represents the central form of instruction and learning in which a profession socializes its students to perform the role of practitioner. Professionals have pedagogical norms with which they connect and integrate theory and practice (Shulman, 2005). In social work, the signature pedagogy is field education [italics added]. The intent of field education is to connect the theoretical and conceptual contribution of the classroom with the practical world of the practice setting. It is a basic precept of social work education that the two interrelated components of curriculum- classroom and field-are of equal importance within the curriculum, and each contributes to the development of the requisite competencies of professional practice.  [1]   Several fields have a signature pedagogy, a method by which knowledge is traditionally imparted to students: the case method and moot court in law, student teaching at the primary school and university levels, even minimum flight hours for student pilots. The importance CSWE attributes to the fieldwork component of any social work program is reflected in the hourly field requirement for each university degree. For a two- year accredited MSW program the requirement is 900 hours of MSW supervised field work. The BASW degree requires the student to complete 400 hours of supervised field. To become an accredited program of social work, a school must, among other stringent requirements, demonstrate how its field program connects the theoretical and conceptual contribution of the classroom with the practice setting, fostering the implementation of evidence supported practice. Further requirements include the candidate schools providing orientation, field instruction training, and continuing dialog with field education settings and field instructors. Structure for Field Practicum The Anatomy of an Internship (short review of a few MSW Internship Programs (or maybe just Rutgerss?) There are two semesters of field practicum for all social work majors. Students typically enter field their senior year. Students complete both semesters of field concurrently in the same agency unless there are extenuating circumstances which necessitate a change. SWK 488: Internship Practicum I and SWK 489: Internship Practicum II each require 225 documented hours, for a total of 450 hours of agency work over the course of two semesters. Even if a student completes 250 hours prior to the end of either semester, that student is required to complete 15 weeks of field placement during both the fall and spring semesters. Students may accumulate internship hours between the fall and spring semesters. This arrangement must be made with the field instructor and approved by the NCU Field Coordinator. If this situation should occur, students may count accumulated hours toward the spring semester, but will still be responsible for completing the 15 week internship at a reduced number of hours per week. Students are not required to work during fall or spring holiday breaks or final exam weeks; however, they may choose to schedule hours with the agency during these periods. SWK 488: Internship Practicum I and SWK 489: Internship Practicum II, meet weekly throughout the entire period of the field placement. In addition, there are other required social work courses students take each semester (Fall: Pysch 460 Research Methods and Spring: Psyc 495 Senior Project). The NCU Field Education Coordinator, in conjunction with the student, and the agency field instructor, will make decisions regarding students changing agency placements at any point. Field Practicum Seminar During a students field placement, he/she participates in a weekly Field Instruction Seminar. The seminar serves a very useful function by combining students from a variety of field of practice settings. This enables the student to have a broader perspective in terms of practice settings, client populations, and treatment methodologies than they might not otherwise experience. Each seminar class is organized around a theme, such as racism within society, the value of practice evaluation and evaluation techniques which can be easily implemented and enrich practice, sexism within the profession, and goal setting and contracting with clients. The student may be assigned readings related to each topic. Discussion is geared toward enhancing students experiences in their internship, assisting them in making linkages between the knowledge they have obtained in the classroom and their experiences in the field, and facilitating their ongoing professional development. A weekly component of each field seminar is a group discussion of the students experiences during the week. The discussions enable the student to share the high points and low points of their week, successes and frustrations. The students serve as a support system and provide constructive feedback to each other. This aspect is considered by the students to be an especially valuable component of the class. In addition to the discussions, there are written components to field instruction seminars. For instance, students are required to submit weekly logs in which they describe and analyze the activities of the week in their field placements. Confidentiality of clients is protected as identifying information is omitted. Each student is required to do a comprehensive analysis of the policies that operate in the agency. All assignments and the grading scale are identified in the course outline. Individualized Learning Plan In addition to the goals and learning objectives of the Internship Practicum, it is very important that each student be aware of and verbalize individual goals for field instruction which are pertinent to personal learning needs and the particular field agency. Near the beginning of each semester of placement, the student develops an individualized learning contract that includes learning goals, objectives, activities/tasks, and evaluation measures that address areas of professional knowledge and skills in need of development or improvement. Agency field instructors and the NCU Field Education Coordinator are available to assist students with this process. Students complete three copies of the Individual Learning Plan. One copy is submitted to the agency field instructor and one to the faculty liaison. The third copy is to be retained by the student. The learning goals can be modified or others added at any time during the placement, and progress toward goals is evaluated at regular intervals. Recommended Field Learning Experiences Each field agency offers a unique opportunity for students to experience social work in all its many facets. Populations served will vary as will the make-up of the staff and the types of services provided. Within this broad range of field learning experiences, it is highly recommended that certain types of experiences be made available to students in field instruction settings. The following is a list of recommended field learning experiences: Orientation to the agency includes staff, facility, office procedures, filing system, types of services provided, agencys place in the social service network, methods of intervention, etc. Experiences in developing and managing effective relationships includes opportunities for students to observe a number of staff with their own individual styles of intervention, participation in a variety of helping relationships, and the use of supervision to assist students to determine how they can develop an effective working relationship with a variety of client systems. Recording experience includes case summaries, letters to clients and other agencies, process recordings of interviews, and eventually direct entry of students recordings into the agencys records, etc. Administrative experiences includes observation/participation in staff meetings, funding hearings, public relations functions, budget planning, grant writing or reading grants already funded, lobbying efforts, board meetings, contracting requirements, etc. Experience in resource/referral management includes overall orientation to services available to client population being served by the field agency; telephone contacts with other agencies providing support services to clients; scheduled visits to key agencies with whom linkage for clients is most common; and learning procedures for effective referrals. Interviewing experiences includes observing, planning, and conducting interviews for a variety of purposes (intake, with staff, for volunteer programs, assessment, intervention, etc.), with diversified client systems in a variety of places (agency, home, school, hospital, etc.) The use of process recordings, observation, and tape-recorded sessions provides the field instructor with data to aid students in further developing interviewing skills. Experience with procedures for evaluation of individual practice and agency programs includes designing a plan for evaluating own practice, client progress, and effectiveness of interventions; data collection and analysis; becoming familiar with procedures for agency program evaluation; and conceptualizing/ developing a system for program evaluation if none exists, such as evaluation of service by clients. Experience with groups includes observation and participation in groups such as client groups, staff meetings, client staffing, and groups available in the broader community for the purpose of developing an understanding of group processes and skill in interacting in groups as a member or facilitator. Experience in community activities includes observation and/or participation in assignments that facilitate understanding of the community and its social service network, the field agencys role in the community, as well as assignments that draw attention to unmet community needs and provide opportunity for community planning. All learning experiences have, as a long range goal, the opportunity for students to develop increased skills, a greater level of independent functioning, and the development of a sense of professional identity with its accompanying values and guidelines under which the profession operates. Enabling the student to learn to utilize the supervisory relationship is central to the students growth in this area as well as all the other areas recommended for field learning experiences. These suggestions can provide the student with sufficient opportunities to experience all facets of the agency as well as to create a structured learning experience. Other experiences of particular interest to a student can be incorporated into the students individual learning goals and contract at any time during the placement. Current delivery of field education contextual factors affecting field education the nature of professional social work practice theories and evidence-based practice related to field education formats and methods of field instruction the nature of student learning and effective approaches to student learning and competence in field education the important relationship of the field instructor and student Evaluation of student competence and methods of measurement in field education It is recommended that the field site supervisor and the student review the evaluation tool used in the practicum as one of the first tasks of their supervisory sessions. This will help focus the teaching and learning of both parties. The field practicum is graded on an A F scale. This grade will be determined by the NCU Field Work Coordinator with input from the field site supervisor. The NCU Field Work Coordinator will meet with the student and the field site supervisor at least twice during the semester and more frequently, if needed. The regularly scheduled meetings will occur around mid-semester and again at the end of the semester. The student evaluation form should be completed prior to the evaluation meeting. Students final grades will be determined by the overall evaluation from the agency and progress made on their learning plans that are developed early in the semester. (Learning plans can and should be modified throughout the semester with mutual consent from the student, faculty, and NCU Field Work Coordinator.) If, at the midterm evaluation meeting, the field supervisor and Field Work Coordinator agree that the student is not displaying appropriate social work skill and therefore at risk of failing the Practicum, the student (with input from the field supervisor and Field Work Coordinator) must write a corrective action plan to address deficient areas. This plan must be signed by the student, field supervisor, and the NCU Field Work Coordinator. Challenges and Potential Solutions Field education is the primary interface between the school, the agency and the community within which both reside (Glassman, 2008). Field work provides the occasion for the students application of knowledge, values, theory, problem-solving skills, and affect to inform his or her practice ( Schon, l987). Stressing the essential character of field education for the future, authors Reisch and Jarman-Rohde observed, As economic safety nets are dismantled, remaining agencies will have more clients but fewer staff to address their needs . . . field instruction will become an even more significant component of social work education. (2000). To meet the needs for well-prepared staff members in economically challenged agencies, these authors argue that enhanced university-agency cooperation is needed to make certain students have the skills, values, experience and personal qualities to work effectively in an increasingly stressful work environment (Reisch Jarman-Rohde, 2000). In addition to providing students the opportunity to acquire practice skill, field instruction is also the primary domain for informing curriculum and faculty of practice issues and needs, particularly practice effectiveness (Glassman, 2008). The positive aspects of a high-functioning, agency-university field program reverberate to the benefit of all involved: students, agency staff, faculty, and community. Consequently, greater interface and field program development that involves all partners to the educational process is particularly appropriate and valuable to a program like CalSWEC, in which the future employer has the direct opportunity to participate in preparing the new recruit. Under current economic conditions, CalSWEC agency and university partners will need to rethink how best to structure field programs around the state and more clearly articulate the roles of the individual entities involved. A high quality field work experience is essential to give the entering child welfare social worker the tools to use both his/her education and the agency and community resources effectively. The NASW has noted that practitioners and researchers are continually challenged by the difficulties agencies face in recruiting and retaining a competent child welfare workforce. Part of that challenge is insuring that entering staff are equipped with adequate practice in working with actual clients under realistic agency conditions. Preparation in the form of high quality supervised field work has a beneficial effect on workforce retention, as demonstrated by the excellent CalSWEC retention rate of its MSW graduates, all of whom have experienced field practice as well as classroom preparation ( California Social Work Education Center, 2007). Conclusion the importance of integration of theory and practice in social work CalSWECs Title IV-E Program, noted as a national model for agency-university partnerships in social work education, is at a crossroads. National economic forces that threaten the operation and staffing of social services agencies throughout the country now threaten the Programs capacity to supply its students with the kind of high quality field experience they require to become effective child welfare social workers. In this climate, schools of social work may need to reconfigure the university-agency relationship, develop more field -centered education, and re-assert the community-based origins of the profession (Glassman, 2008). Schools of social work need to consider the possible benefits of creating rotating field sites, developing new agency forms for the purpose of education, and modifying existing agency structures to integrate service, education and research more effectively ( Reisch Jarman-Rohde, 2000). Recommendations: For the large and diverse state of California, a number of different models may need to be devised for conducting field education and building placement capacity to accommodate regional needs and resources. Rather than a reactive, crisis-based response to changing economic conditions the following set of recommendations are proposed to move forward: Initiate a multiyear CalSWEC initiative to develop a systematic, long-term structural plan for creating and sustaining high quality field placement opportunities statewide. The initiative would encompass the following: Engage agency directors and university faculty in dialogue to examine regional needs and resources then develop field placement models that meet the regional needs and resources. Models may include rotating field sites, field units and unified content and competency development that will be operated by agency and university partners, at pilot sites designed to address particular regional needs. Through careful pilot development, test the efficacy of the models. Leverage the university/county/CDSS partnership