Fairchild v Glenhaven Funeral Services Ltd Essay

Fairchild v Glenhaven Funeral Services Ltd - Essay Example The purchase and installation were conducted and within a few days of ordinary usage and subsequent airing, the flue overheated and ignited some nearby towels starting a fire. Expert evidence (see the annexed report by Robert Brown) that the flue failed to comply with British Standard specifications, and that the defendant was negligent in fitting the flue in the claimant’s cupboard thereby exposing the flue to the accumulation of dangerous temperatures. The defendants basically admit these failures only remarking that they had discharged their responsibility to the plaintiff by warning of the danger of using the flue in close proximity to articles of clothing. By virtue of Rule 24 of the Civil Procedure Code 1998 the claimant’s application for summary judgment is required to show that the defendant’s answer to the claim contains a) no real prospect of success; and b) there is no other substantial or compelling reason why the case should be disposed of in a trial.1 By virtue of Practice Direction 24, summary judgment can be obtained in one of the following three situations:- It is important to note that the court will make its determination based on ‘the evidence which can reasonably be expected to be available at trial or the lack of it’.3 Since the defendant purports to be relying only on the strength of the contract itself in evidence, it will have no evidence capable of contradicting the claimants charge that the flue and its subsequent was negligent. The basis of this claim is founded on the principles enshrined in the tort of negligence rather than any contractual terms and is tantamount to no defense at all.

Ethics, Sustainability & Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Ethics, Sustainability & Culture - Essay Example Many times in life, people ignore and underestimate the importance of moral values in attaining happiness and the well-being of the society. However, Kant has put forward two concepts entirely independent and he thinks that they are the heart of ethical life. Despite severe criticism, he notes that moral principle and moral obligation concepts are rational in the understanding of ethical life. Kants objective was to deduce the ethical theory using a priori reasoning from the concept that refers human beings as a rational agent (Aluchma, 2008). The ability of human beings to utilize reasoning in decision-making expresses the basics of the metaphysical principle under which Kants ethical theory has been built. Kant argues that, "Nothing can be conceived in the world, or even out of it, which can be called well without qualification, except a â€Å"good will."Kants argues that in life, there are those things that people seek and those that they avoid. Those things, that they dearly seek, can be said to be "good" while those things they dislike and tries to evade are called â€Å"bad.† The good things are classified into two; the first class is for things that are means to some further end and the others are good being ends in themselves. Thus, he further adds that different personalities are motivated by different ends, so they find different things either good or bad (depending on the needs that they have).For example, eating a lot of food is good for malnourished person, but it is â€Å"bad† for a person who is obese (Arvidsson, 2014). For something to be considered as good â€Å"without qualification†, it is not compulsory for it to be merely "good" that is merely meant to one end but "bad" as means in another end. The meaning is that something should be sought as good and being independent of acting as anything else but being "good in itself.† A particular thing

Analyis of financial objectives, financials projecttions and Essay

Analyis of financial objectives, financials projecttions and investment decisions - Essay Example These objectives are designed and reviewed at fixed intervals, discrepancies are identified and finally based on reviews suggestions are employed to meet the desired gaps. In same trend management of the company in the year end 2012 called up board meeting and planned company objectives for the next three years. This report is based on the review of the planned objectives. For the purpose, this report provided critical analysis of the set forth objectives along with its comparison with competitors’ objectives. Section II of the report has developed financials (comprising of income statement and balance sheet) for the next three years i.e. 2013- 2015 and has made an attempt to review level of alignment between objectives and financials. Section III of the report provides review of investment decision that company intends to make pertaining to cost of capital and its impact on shareholders wealth. Lastly, the report provides concluding remarks based on the overall review. 1- OBJ ECTIVE EVALUATION In the board meeting held in the ending of the current year, management has highlighted corporate objectives and future direction for the next three years. These objectives have been set based on the financial position for the current year 2012. Financial objectives for the next three years are as follows: 1- To maintain the profit margin around 24% 2- To ensure the current strong financial position is maintained 3- To satisfy shareholders by maintaining the dividend payout ratio of 50% ANALYSIS OF THE FINANCIAL OBJECTIVES Apparently the objectives appear to be suitable for the overall business. However, since the case do not provide detailed financial information, therefore, it is difficult to accept these objectives in alignment with the overall objectives across departments. For instance, maintaining profit margin at 24% refers that Aztec Catering has either plans to maintain the strong control over cost or would increase its prices to maintain to meet the objec tive or increase sales. Both options have their implications mainly for following factors: 1- Level of competition 2- Inflation 3- Only in case if all other things remain same Keeping under consideration, Aztec Catering is competing with Compass group which comparatively bigger business concern. Therefore, increasing price would divert its customer to the competitor and there is ample chance for Aztec Catering to lose customer base. On contrary, reducing overall cost or developing stronger control over cost items is the other option. As stated in the given option, objective of Compass group is to provide the best services to its customers refers that Compass group would provide more value added offerings to its customer. Providing value added products would increase cost while being bigger concern it can easily attain the benefit of economies while Aztec Catering in order to remain competitive has to increase its offerings as well that resultantly would rise in cost. Hence, there ar e all chances that cost would increase in a greater proportion than sales. Therefore, cost control appears somewhat difficult option. Considering the third option of increasing sales also require increased marketing and other activities that would also increase cost. Therefore, it with the given information it is difficult to infer the ways Aztec Catering would maintain the profit margin of 24%. The given information has also not accounted the other factors that increasing cost. For instance, for the target that have been set the given informa

Establishing a Teen Court Program Essay Example for Free

Establishing a Teen Court Program Essay Inspired on discussions with the parents-teachers associations, the Teen Court Program has been established to allow the young to deal with issues that bother them. With this program, the school initiates an establishment of a court where teenagers are the judges, prosecutors, and defendants handling cases of fellow teenagers. This court shall handle minor offenses, usually those which are done inside the school premises. Thus, the teen court will affect the school as a whole. The students who are taking part and those for which the teen court will be imposed upon as well as the officials and parents of the students will be involved in the program. The Teen Court Program will be established with the student council. The participants will be required to attend a one-day seminar with the Juvenile Division Parole and Probation Center to familiarize themselves with court procedures. After the seminar, a selection will be done as to who shall be jurors, court clerks and bailiffs. Others will be given assignments as attorneys from which cases can be ascribed and consulted with. They will be manning case proceedings in such a way that adults do them. The only difference here is the age. The Teen Court Program will take of next year, beginning with the seminar slated at the Juvenile Division Parole and Probation Center on January 15, 2008. It will be followed by a series of qualifying tests and interviews to divide responsibilities among the members of the group. Primarily, the members of the teen court will come from the student council. However, non-members of the student council can likewise serve as volunteers. Should they aspire for positions, they will be asked to attend a pre-set seminar and go through he same tests and interviews. If they are volunteering as support assistants, all they need to do is be a bona fide student of the institution to be able to apply and qualify. Adults such as parents may also volunteer for administrative functions such as billing, management, and planning. The Teen Court Program is expected to improve the juvenile justice system in the school. It will also upgrade the treatment on minor offenders in the community. With it, minors are arrested and tried on the court in front of a teenage representation. Ultimately, it allows minors to be the leaders and defendants of justice in their own right. The school decided to create the Teen Court Program to allow teenagers to deal with their own issues. Believing that adults may lack or have no understanding of the issues surrounding teenagers given the difference in age and activities, the school has taken this step. It also creates leaders, and allows teenagers to take part in such important activities. The juvenile court program will proceed on offenses that are considered minor to be taken to the non-juvenile courts. These offenses include minor fights where there are no casualties, stealing, all forms of cheating, and other misbehaviors. The program is beneficial at that it allows offenders to be tried according to a due process instead of being confined with the judgments of the local school board (made up of adults); the peers of offenders will be able to testify and give their sides, and learn lessons as well. School officials will also be less burdened by these minor offenses, and in general the community benefits because the minors being tried in these juvenile courts are handled accordingly and receives no exposure to real criminals. It has also been found that juvenile courts are cheaper to operate.

The Effect Of Games On Vocabulary Learning

The Effect Of Games On Vocabulary Learning Learning another language has always been problematic for learners. How and what skills should be learned has been a matter of inquiry. It is true that integrating language skills and component is against the nature of language and language should learn holistically, but some components of language, like vocabulary, are the building block of learning. Vocabulary learning and teaching has had a long history in second language learning field, sometimes it has been the focus of attention and sometimes its margin; but it has never been absent. About six hundred experimental reports published over the last twenty -five years, indicates the significant role of vocabulary in L2 learning (Brown, Rodgers, 2002). In addition, different scholars mentioned the central role of vocabulary; Vocabulary knowledge is crucial to reading comprehension(Mosher, 1999, p.9;cited in klepper,2003,p.4); Mastering English vocabulary is crucial for ESL student to become language competent (Avila Sadoski, 1996; cited in Gaudio, 2003, p.18); Without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed( David Wilkins; cited in Thornbury, 2002, p.13) . If you spend most of your time studying grammar, your English will not improve very much. You will see most improvement if you learn more words and expressions. You can say very little wi th grammar, but you can say almost anything with words (Dellar Hocking; cited in Thornbury, 2002, p.13). L2 learners are the ones who struggling with learning and the first weapon used in this struggle is dictionary (Krashen, 1997; citied in Brown, Rodgers, 2002) so it is evident that they are more aware of vocabulary role than scholars and researchers. Sometimes, I am a lack of useful vocabularies to express my opinions. And too often my speaking is hard caused by missing word; these are how learners mentioned their needs of vocabulary in Thornburys book (Thornbury, 2002, p.13). What has been done in this field, remains no doubt in the importance of vocabulary on both scholars and learners side. However, which approach to take in order to make vocabulary teaching more effective, is still a question. According to scholars, learning vocabulary through games is one effective and interesting way that can be applied in any classrooms( Thanh Huyen, Thu Nga,2003 , Learning Vocabulary Through Games,para.1) Using games as an educational tool is not something new and had a long history in language teaching. Games were used for more repetition in Audio lingual; they were introduced in Desuggestopedia as role-play activities or other activities aiming to reduce language barriers; most activities in TPR were game like ones to insert fun in classroom environment; and they found to be handy in Cooperative language teaching, in order to maximize the learner- learner interaction. This long story may prove the effectiveness of games; however, what is the role of games in vocabulary learning? Moreover, do games truly have educational value? To answer this question systematically, as Klepper suggested (2003), to form a basis for researching the effectiveness of games used in vocabulary instruction (p.4), it would be useful to review researches done in related idea; like the effect of games on student retention and memory, and motivation. To start, it would be a good idea to review games and memory in vocabulary teaching and learning. One of the teachers desires is to see their students retain what have been taught. To realize this wish, learners should memorize and recall the information in this field (vocabulary) accurately. Frequently asked question by student is how to memorize and recall what they have learned. Even highly motivated learners facing the difficulty of memorizing vocabulary lose their motivation, because memorizing requires them to make efforts to keep increasing vocabulary accurately. Vocabulary needs great repetition drills to establish (Atake, 2003). It is true that drills are sometimes boring, but there is a simple solution for this problem, insert games to make drills fun. Games bring in relaxation and fun for students, thus help them learn and retain new words more easily( Thanh Huyen, Thu Nga,2003 , Learning Vocabulary Through Games,para.1). For learning vocabulary, learners need to be able to remember long term. Information, first is held in short-term memory and by lack of attention, it is quickly lost. In order for the information in the short term to be retained, enough rehearsal and elaboration is needed. The more that the knowledge is rehearsed in the memory the more likely it is to be retained in long term memory (Klepper, 2003). It is important to keep student attention, in order to increase their ability to retain words. One way to keep students attention as scholar suggested is emotion. When an educator creates emotion, such as in a game format, music, or drama, then the students attention is most likely to remain with the material and task at hand. In addition, using this strategy directly after a lesson increases the chances that the material will be recalled later.(Meyen, et. al.1999,cited in Klepper, 2003) The other related field is games and motivation. We know that motivation is the root problem in learning. Without due attention to motivational inputs, they [output or ends of learning] are rarely achieved (Clark, 2007, p.11). In order to achieve learning goal, teachers should pay attention to motivating strategies and One of these strategies used by teachers, as Hootstein (1994) mentioned, is using games. While you are teaching, sometimes you feel your students are just physically in the class, and what happen to attention? Not even a sign of it, what is the reason? As Ersoz (2002) mentioned, language learning is a hard task which can sometimes be frustrating. Constant effort is required to understand, produce, and manipulate the target language (p.1). It is hard for students to keep trying to overcome their frustration and unfortunately, it is possible for students to easily lose their motivation (Atake, 2003, p.9). When learners face so many essential words to comprehend and produ ce a language, they will find learning a burden. This burden is so heavy that makes even highly motivated learners, demotivate. Research shows that games can serve to motivate and interest student in learning (Hogle, 1996, p.8-10). Most scholars ( Wright, Betteridge , Buckby , 1984; Ersoz , 2000; Su Kim, 1995; Uberman, 1998; Lee,1979;Richard-Amato, 1988; Hansen, 1994; Wierus and Wierus, 1994; Zdybiewska, 1994; Thanh Huyen Thu Nga, 2003; Yong Mei Yu-jing, 2000; Lewis, 1999;Tyson, 2000; Lengeling Malarcher, 1997) believe in the significant role of games in EFL field specially vocabulary development in addition some complained about the negligence of its importance; as Lee stated, a game should not be regarded as a marginal activity filling in odd moments when the teacher and class have nothing better to do (Language teaching games and contests, 1979; cited in Using Games in EFL Classes for Children,2000 ). He also says that games should be treated as central not peripheral to the foreign language teaching program. Thanh Huyen and Thu Nga,also aptly mentioned the advantages of using of games: Games have been shown to have advantages and effectiveness in learning vocabulary in various ways. First, games bring in relaxation and fun for students, thus help them learn and retain new words more easily. Second, games usually involve friendly competition and they keep learners interested. These create the motivation for learners of English to get involved and participate actively in the learning activities. Therefore, the role of games in teaching and learning vocabulary cannot be denied. ( 2003 , Learning Vocabulary Through Games,para.1) However, considering games, as the central activity does not mean it is a safe way to stick to it and call it super technique. It can be said that games are an effective tool, but as Thanh Huyen and Thu Nga themselves observed, a matter of caution still remains: However, in order to achieve the most from vocabulary games, it is essential that suitable games are chosen. Whenever a game is to be conducted, the number of students, proficiency level, cultural context, timing, learning topic, and the classroom settings are factors that should be taken into account.( 2003 , Learning Vocabulary Through Games,para.1) So games are effective as long as their style, as Dunne (1984) reported, match with subject matter and types of student.

Effects of Alzheimers On Response Times

Effects of Alzheimers On Response Times John C. Hemby Physiological Psychology Dr. Colleen Miron There are many advances in science that has allowed us to understand, cope and in some cases treat certain diseases of the brain. However, there is much we still do not know about many of them. Alzheimer’s would be one of these disorders. The text states that Alzheimer’s is defined as a persistent, degenerating disorder that inhibits the brain’s cells or neurons and thus resulting in memory loss, language skills and rapid changes in behavior (Kalat, 2012). This usually occurs in the older aged population, around the age of sixty-five and isn’t considered to be a normal part of the aging process. According to an Alzheimer’s organization website, a person is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s every sixty-seven seconds and that there are currently more than 5 million Americans that have this disease (Help End Alzheimer’s, n.d.). One of the issues of having this disease deals with enumeration or recollection of numbers by counting. The text states that individuals with Alzheimer’s cannot recall learning certain skills i.e. golfing and are often surprised when they do well (Kalat, 2012). This research in this article is important because it shows how well a person with Alzheimer’s can quickly recall how many numbers are in a certain area just by looking at it. This is a simple experiment in that it will be easy to measure the reaction times and the task of counting isn’t that complex in comparison to golfing. According to the article, individuals that have Alzheimer’s sometimes have difficulty with visual enumeration. This means that a person with Alzheimer’s has difficulty counting visual numbers or tracking down a number in a specific area, i.e. looking for number 42 in a numerical list of 1-100. This study is unique in that finding the reaction time difference between olde r adults that have Alzheimer’s and those that don’t would be a quantifiable aspect and gives more proof to the damage that the brain receives from this disease. The researchers in this article are doctors Maylor, Watson and Muller and they studied the subject of visual enumeration in patients with Alzheimer’s in the year 2005. The hypothesis of the study was that the participants’ with Alzheimer’s would have a significant increase in response time in counting numbers, subitizing numbers(readily knowing a number just by looking at the amount of figures in a picture) and finding numbers in comparison to older adults that did not have Alzheimer’s (Maylor, Watson, and Muller, 2005). The study was conducted using participants from a resident home that specialized in the care of people with dementia. These participants were already diagnosed with dementia by professional health providers (Maylor, Watson, and Muller, 2005). There were a total of 12 participants whom had Alzheimer’s and their average age was 81 years old with 4 men and 8 women in the study. The other participants had an average age of 79 and only 8 participants; with only 3 being men and 5 were women. The researchers also gave the participants a Mini-Mental State Examination or MMSE, and the control group scored higher than the Alzheimer’s participants; 17.3 was the average for the Alzheimer’s participants and 29.4 was the average for the control group (Maylor, Watson, and Muller, 2005). Last, all of the participants were voluntary and did not receive any payments for their participation. The researchers used a laptop to be used as a visual for the participants. The laptop also measured response times (RT) and synched the displays. The participants utilized the spacebar key on the laptop as the response button. They put the screen at eye level with a distance of 60 cm. Then a researcher put in the responses with their own keypad. The stimuli on the screen were red circles displayed on a black background. They randomly generated the stimuli in order to avoid any counting ahead (Maylor, Watson, and Muller, 2005). The experimenter conducted the tests individually in a room that was either at the resident facility or at the home of the control group participant and the room had nothing but the laptop and the two people conducting the experiment. The initial test was the MMSE and then an enumeration task, a block of demonstration on the task, 3 turns of practice trials and last, there were 3 turns of experimental trials (Maylor, Watson, and Muller, 2005). The participants were required to press the spacebar for how many circles they saw. The results of the study indicated that the Alzheimer’s participants were slower than the control group, 1.4 seconds to be exact. The data was analyzed by using ANOVA’s to demonstrate the difference in response time and the accuracy of the numbers between the two groups. However, they had the same accuracy in seeing how many items were currently present on the monitor (Maylor, Watson, and Muller, 2005). There were some differences in the results with the numbering portion of the experiment. The participants with Alzheimer’s had a significant reduction in response time in comparison to the control group in the subitization part. The second part, counting, the Alzheimer’s participants were significantly slower than their counterparts as well. The hypothesis was supported by the results of the experiment (Maylor, Watson, and Muller, 2005). The conclusion of this study shows a definitive, qualitative answer between Alzheimer’s and normal older adults’ response time. This in turn shows where to start on how to improve those with Alzheimer’s response time especially since there isn’t any issue with their accuracy (Maylor, Watson, and Muller, 2005). There were several issues with this study. First, instead of using a cross sectional study, the researchers should have utilized a longitudinal study; that way they could see how slower the participants got overtime as their Alzheimer’s progressed. The second issue is that they should have acquired individuals that had just become diagnosed with early stages of Alzheimer’s; in the study they give no indication on what stage these participants were at. Last, there was an issue with the amount of participants in the study. The average was too generalized and needed a larger group to narrow down the averages (mean) in order to acquire a hi gher quality of data. There are some different avenues of approach for future studies on this particular subject. The first approach could be that men and women may suffer from Alzheimer’s differently, therefore in the future the men and women should be separated into different groups. This would show if there were any differences between the sexes. The next idea is that according to the text, those that drink coffee are less likely to have Alzheimer’s (Kalat, 2012). So for a future research idea, one should have the participants drink coffee for a while before starting the experiment. This could show if the effects of Alzheimer’s are mitigated when given a stimulant, i.e. caffeine. The last idea would have to be instead of utilizing numbers, use matching words. For example, gauge a participant’s reaction time by having a word on the screen and then the participant has to choose a synonym for that word i.e. happy equals jovial. This would show if a participant with Alzheimerâ⠂¬â„¢s can recall a larger vocabulary and in a timely manner. References Help End Alzheimers. (n.d.). Retrieved December 19, 2014, from http://www.alz.org/ Kalat, James W. Biological Psychology, 11th Edition. Cengage Learning, 01/2012. VitalBook file. Maylor, E. A., Watson, D. G., Muller, Z. (2005). Effects of Alzheimers disease on visual enumeration. The Journals Of Gerontology. Series B, Psychological Sciences And Social Sciences, 60(3), P129- P135.

international trade Essay -- essays research papers

Privatization of social security Today, United State is on the edge for a huge change, President George W. Bush second term agenda to reform the Social Security has left us to think about a question that will have a huge impact on the future of United State, Should Social Security be privatized? Enacted in 1935, under the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and modified many times since-including major change in 1983-Social Security provides benefits to workers and their family members upon retirement, disability, or death. Since the program's origin, the size of those benefits always has depended on the earnings of workers. If the social security is privatized the amount that’s collected from each worker’s pay check as a Social Security tax upon retirement instead would depend on the size of investments in his or her own personal account. Under the current recession period, privatizing Social Security will increase the federal deficits and debt significantly hence the national savings will decline and of all it could reduce long-term economic growth and the size of the economic pie available to pay for the retirement of the baby boom generation. After privatization for every dollar of national savings that it injects into the economy, the government will have to take another dollar out of the national savings market in the form of Treasury Bonds, thus negating the effect of privatization on the supply of private capital. Therefore interest rates are likely to...