Marginalization of Women During the Cold War Essay -- gender roles, Co

At the height of the Cold War in 1959, Vice President Richard M. Nixon visited the Soviet Union to discuss political ideology with Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev. In what was labeled the â€Å"kitchen debate,† Nixon presented Khrushchev with an American â€Å"model home† that highlighted the merits of capitalism to a global audience. But as the politicians entered the Americanized kitchen, Nixon took a step further. Instead of keeping the focus on economic systems, the Vice President turned the discourse to the two nations’ construction of gender roles. While looking at an American dishwasher, Nixon said, â€Å"This is our newest model†¦In America, we like to make life easier for women†¦ I think that this attitude towards women is universal. What we want to do, is make life more easy for our housewives† (teachingamericanhistory.org). While the accessibility of consumer products that reduced labor for homemakers was an achievement of American capitalism, Nixon’s comments promoted a new American vision of the family. The traditional family in Cold War culture, which featured men as breadwinners and women as homemakers, was now an important component of the American Dream. By referring to women as â€Å"housewives,† Nixon effectively reinforced the pervasive sentiment that women could not only be homemakers in a financially prosperous capitalist society, but that it was also expected of them. As these expectations became fully engrained into the mainstream, gender roles became increasingly rigid, which discouraged many women from considering professional careers, let alone pursue them. As the Cold War era prompted Americans to find refuge in the traditional family, women were expected to operate within the framework of the home and in resul... ...represented an escape from the uncertainty of the future. But with the rise of a new traditional family in America, complete with strict and separate gender roles, women were denied opportunities in the workplace and forced to embrace the task of homemaker. While Nixon argued in the â€Å"kitchen debate† that American strength rested on each member’s ability to rise and fall, the marginalization of woman in Cold War culture masterfully highlights the distance between political idealism and reality. Works Cited Books May, Elaine Tyler. Homeward Bound. Friedan, Betty. The Feminine Mystique. Movies The Home Economics Story. Online Resources â€Å"The Kitchen Debate.† Articles Stevenson, Adlai E. â€Å"A Purpose for Modern Woman.† Chambers, Whittaker. â€Å"Witness.†

Project: South African Aluminum Essay

At the beginning of 1994, Alusaf was considering building the world’s largest greenfield primary aluminum smelter, a 466,000-ton-per-year smelter at Richard’s Bay, a deepwater port on the east coast of South Africa’s province of Kwa-Zulu Natal. Alusaf was the sole primary aluminum producer in South Africa, operating 170,000 tpy of capacity at the existing â€Å"Bayside† facility at Richard’s Bay. Alusaf’s 1993 revenues were $220. 2 million, up 1% from 1992. Income was $8. 6 million, up 122% from 1992. A feasibility study for the proposed â€Å"Hillside† smelter had been completed over the past two years. During this time, South Africa’s political regime had undergone a dramatic transformation with the 1993 passing of the Transitional Executive Council (TEC) Bill. This bill removed absolute power from the hands of whites and created a multi-racial body that would share responsibility for organizing and overseeing the general elections to be held in April 1994. Within days, Nelson Mandela, leader of the African National Congress party, addressed the UN Special Committee Against Apartheid in New York, calling on the international community to lift sanctions against South Africa. The European Union, the Organization of African Unity, Canada, China, Sweden, Singapore, India, and the United States all responded quickly with announcements that they would begin the process of restoring normal economic relations with South Africa. Aluminum prices had fallen dramatically since the feasibility study was begun, as Russian aluminum continued to flood the market. Now, with aluminum prices near their all-time low in real terms in early 1994, Alusaf had to decide whether to embark on this massive project. The South African Aluminum Industry The South African aluminum industry’s origins could be traced to investments made by Alcan in the 1940s. As part of its efforts to create demand for its ingot, Alcan built semifabrication capacity in South Africa to serve the local market. A government-coordinated development effort at the port of Richard’s Bay, together with a desire to reduce dependence on imported ingot, led to construction of South Africa’s first primary production facility nearly 25 years later. The original Bayside plant came onstream in 1972 with ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Professor Kenneth S. Corts prepared this case as the basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. Copyright  © 2002 President and Fellows of Harvard College. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-800-545-7685, write Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA 02163, or go to http://www. hbsp. harvard. edu. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of Harvard Business School. This document is authorized for use only in PGDM 1st Year – 1007 by Rakhi Singh at IILM Institute for Business and Management, Gurgaon (IILM-IBM, Gurgaon) from October 2013 to April 2014. 799-130 Aluminum Smelting in South Africa: Alusaf’s Hillside Project capacity of approximately 85,000 tpy. Less than a quarter of Bayside’s production was exported. Ten years later, the Bayside plant was expanded through the relocation to Richard’s Bay of a similarly sized plant in Niigata, Japan, that had been shut down due to escalating energy costs. Over three quarters of the new plant’s production was exported as ingot. In 1989, South African mining and metals giant Gencor acquired a controlling interest in Alusaf. The other primary shareholders were Swiss aluminum producer Alusuisse and South Africa’s quasigovernmental Industrial Development Corporation (IDC). Gencor was founded in 1980 by the merger of two major mining companies, each founded in the late nineteenth century. Since that merger, Gencor had been a diversified financial, mining and industrial conglomerate. In May 1993, Gencor announced it was spinning off its financial and industrial interests in order to refocus on its mining, metals, and minerals businesses. In addition to Alusaf, the companies retained in the â€Å"unbundled† Gencor included the world’s third-largest gold producer, the world’s second-largest platinum producer, the world’s largest producer of ferroalloys, and the world’s largest supplier of titanium dioxide feedstock. Basic financial results for Gencor are given in Table A. Table Aduction of secondary aluminum had held relatively steady at about 30,000 tpy since 1980. Together with primary production, this brought total domestic production to about 200,000 tpy (see Exhibit 1). In 1994, semifabrication in South Africa remained primarily focused on domestic demand. South African aluminum exports totaled approximately 100,000 tpy, of which 20,000 tpy were semifabricated products and 80,000 tpy were ingot. Domestic consumption totaled about 130,000 tpy, of which about 30,000 was imported products (see Exhibit 2). The Hillside Project Escom, South Africa’s electrical power utility, initiated discussion of the Hillside project with Alusaf in mid-1991. With aluminum prices around $1,300 per ton, Alusaf had suggested to Escom that the Bayside smelter was not economically viable given market conditions and might be shut down. Escom responded with an offer to reduce power rates dramatically if Bayside were kept open and an additional facility at Richard’s Bay constructed. Escom offered to supply the smelter’s approximately 680 Mw electricity requirements under an unusual long-term contract. About half the world’s smelters operated under contracts guaranteeing discounted electricity for multiple years; often these contracts tied the price of electricity to the price 2 This document is authorized for use only in PGDM 1st Year – 1007 by Rakhi Singh at IILM Institute for Business and Management, Gurgaon (IILM-IBM, Gurgaon) from October 2013 to April 2014. Aluminum Smelting in South Africa: Alusaf’s Hillside Project 799-130 of aluminum and employed complicated formulas that imposed caps and floors on prices. The 25year Escom/Alusaf contract was unique in its simplicity: Alusaf would pay Escom 16% of the per-ton price of aluminum for every ton of aluminum produced, assuming the plant produced at its designed efficiency. While the contract did contain provisions protecting Escom from inefficient production, it did not protect Escom against fluctuations in the price of aluminum. Escom and Alusaf were also discussing whether Escom might take an equity stake in the facility. As a result of high growth projections in the 1970s, Escom had built enormous generating capacity of 38,000 Mw, of which 8,000 Mw now stood idle. Rob Barbour, managing director of Alusaf, claimed that the high energy requirements of aluminum production made aluminum essentially â€Å"frozen energy† and that therefore Alusaf â€Å"will become an exporter of South African energy with i high value-added. † For provision of all the basic engineering and technology for the plant, Alusaf planned to contract with Pechiney, the French firm whose technology had been used in over three quarters of all recent smelter projects. Lacking bauxite and alumina operations, Alusaf intended to import the full 900,000 tpy alumina requirement of the new smelter and had negotiated a tentative alumina supply agreement with Alcoa of Australia and Billiton (a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell). This contract tied the price of alumina to the price of aluminum, a common contracting practice employed by about half the world’s smelters. For the Hillside plant, this contract ensured that per-ton alumina and power costs would always amount to 41% of the price of aluminum. Estimates for other operating costs at Hillside are given in Table B. Capital costs were estimated to total $2 billion. Table B Hillside’s Projected Operating Costs ($ per ton) Other raw materials $143 Plant power and fuel 17 Consumables 32 Maintenance Labor Freight 38 68 40 General and administrative 32 Before the feasibility study was complete, Barbour announced that he believed there was a â€Å"high probability† the smelter would be approved. â€Å"In the meantime we hope to deter others from thinking about aluminum smelter projects,† he added. â€Å"We want to frighten them off by convincing ii them that this one is unstoppable. † The Decision In early 1994, tentative contracts for power, alumina, and the smelting technology were all in place, and willing investors had been lined up. The financing plan called for $1. 9 billion of new capital to be raised, about $830 million of it in equity. Gencor was to contribute $340 million in 3 This document is authorized for use only in PGDM 1st Year – 1007 by Rakhi Singh at IILM Institute for Business and Management, Gurgaon (IILM-IBM, Gurgaon) from October 2013 to April 2014. 799-130 Aluminum Smelting in South Africa: Alusaf’s Hillside Project equity, the IDC $270 million in equity, other local institutions $140 million in equity, and Escom $80 million in convertible debt. Three new smelters using the Pechiney technology had been completed in recent months. Now, Hillside was the only planned smelter project, and a number of other proposed projects had been cancelled. Equipment suppliers were quoting Alusaf prices 20% to 30% below those supplied for the feasibility study, and the capital cost of the new plant was now projected to total only $1. 6 billion. At the beginning of 1994, aluminum prices stood at $1,110. Aluminum-producing countries had scheduled meetings in the coming months to address the world glut of aluminum, but it was unclear whether prices would recover anytime soon. Barbour wondered whether he should commit to this enormous and ambitious project in the face of these uncertain industry conditions. 4 This document is authorized for use only in PGDM 1st Year – 1007 by Rakhi Singh at IILM Institute for Business and Management, Gurgaon (IILM-IBM, Gurgaon) from October 2013 to April 2014.

Learning Team Industry Averages and Financial Ratios Essay

Watch the Industry Averages and Financial Ratios video and use the industry classification from the financial services website to locate the company’s SIC code on the U.S. Department of Labor’s website. Find the industry ratios for the company using the Dun &  Bradstreet ® Key Business Ratios link in the Week 2 Electronic Reserve Readings. If your company’s SIC code does not appear in the dropdown menu, choose another company. Assume the inventory ratio is based on a traditional inventory system, but globalized markets and the supply chain make it critical to adopt lean principles to create a more efficient system. Calculate the 14 ratios (show your calculations) for the company using the two most recent annual financial statements found on the financial information website you used earlier. Be careful not to use quarterly information, and include ratios for both years. Note. You can access a downloadable Ratio Guide PDF by clicking the Help Guide link in the upper-right of the Dun & Bradstreet ® Key Business Ratios window. Compare the ratios for the company you selected with the appropriate industry ratios including profitability, solvency, and efficiency ratios shown on the Dun & Bradstreet ® report. Write a 350-word response about how the company you selected performed compared with the industry. Instructor Notes: Also upload the following: Formula and calculations of your company’s financial ratios for most recent two years (Excel) Dun & Bradstreet financial ratios for your company’s SIC code (exported to Excel) (Please delete the text in yellow-highlight above) Industry Averages and Financial Ratios Paper The purpose of this analysis is for our team to analyze how Amazon.com Inc. performed compared with the industry based on financial ratios. In Attachment 1, our team provides the industry ratios for the company using the Dun & Bradstreet Key Business Ratios. In Attachment 2, we provide the Balance Sheet and Income Statement information for the company’s most recent two years. In Attachment 3, our team calculates the company’s 14 financial ratios. In Attachment 4, we compare the financial ratios with appropriate industry ratios including profitability, solvency, and efficiency ratios. Analysis of Company’s Financial Ratios Compared to Industry’s Financial Ratios Xxxx Provide an analysis of the selected company’s 14 financial ratios compared to the industry’s financial ratios. Compare the most recent two years from D&B industry average to the same two years from your calculated financial ratios. Use the â€Å"Median† from the D&B industry average Remember to select financial ratios related to profitability, solvency, and  efficiency ratios. Note: the analysis includes interpreting the importance of the company’s vs. the industry’s financial ratios. 3 points out of 3 possible points (please do not delete these lines with point scoring) Conclusion References [Insert references here.] Attachment 1 Industry’s ratios from Dun & Bradstreet ® Key Business Ratios Solvency Ratios Solvency ratios measure the financial soundness of a business and how well a company can satisfy its short- and long-term obligations. D&B uses six key financial business ratios to measure a company’s solvency: †¢ Quick Ratio, also called â€Å"acid test† or â€Å"liquid† ratio, considers only cash, marketable securities and accounts receivable because they are considered to be the most liquids forms of current assets. A Quick Ratio less that 1.0 implies â€Å"dependency† on inventory and other current assets to liquidate short-term debt. Cash + Accounts Receivable à · Current Liabilities †¢ Current Ratio is a comparison of current assets to current liabilities, commonly used as a measure of short-run solvency, i.e., the immediate ability of a business to pay its current debts as they come due. Potential creditors use this ratio to measure a company’s liquidity or ability to pay off short-term debts. Current Assets à · Cu rrent Liabilities †¢ Current Liabilities to Net Worth Ratio indicates the amount due creditors within a year as a percentage of the owners or stockholders investment. The smaller the net worth and the larger the liabilities, the less security for creditors. Normally a business starts to have trouble when this relationship exceeds 80%. Current Liabilities à · Net Worth †¢ Current Liabilities to Inventory Ratio shows, as a percentage, the reliance on available inventory for payment of debt (how much a company relies on funds from disposal of unsold inventories to meet its current debt). Current Liabilities à · Inventory †¢ Total Liabilities to New Worth Ratio shows how all of a company’s debt relates to the equity of the owners or stockholders.  The higher this ratio, the less protection there is for the creditors of the business. Total Liabilities à · Net Worth †¢ Fixed Assets to Newt Worth Ratio shows the percentage of assts centered in fixed assets compared to total equity. Generally the higher this percentage is over 75%, the more vulnerable a business becomes to unexpected hazards and climate changes. Fixed Assets à · Net Worth Efficiency Ratios Efficiency ratios measure the quality of a business’ receivables and how efficiently it uses and controls its assets, how effectively the firm is paying suppliers and whether the business is overtrading or undertrading on its equity. D&B uses five key financial business ratios to measure a company’s efficiency: †¢ Collection Period Ratio is helpful in analyzing the collectability of accounts receivable or how fast a business can increase its cash supply. Accounts Receivable à · Sales x 365 Days †¢ Sales to Inventory Ratio provides a yardstick for comparing stock-to-sales ratios of a business with others in the same industry. A high ratio may indicate that sales are being lost because of low inventory and/or customers are buying elsewhere. A low ratio may indicate that inventories are obsolete or stagnant. Annual Net Sale à · Inventory †¢ Assets to Sales Ratio shows how efficiently a business is usingits assets to generate revenue. A high ratio may indicate the business is not aggressive or that its assts are not fully used. A low ratio may indicate a company is selling more than can safely fulfilled by its assets. Total Assets à · Net Sales †¢ Sales to Net Working Capital Ratio shows the number of times working capital turns over annually in relation to net sales. A high turnover rate may indicate that the business relies heavily on credit. Sales à · Net Working Capital †¢ Accounts Payable to Sales Ratio shows how a company pays its suppliers in relation to the sales volume being transacted. A low percentage may indicate a healthy ratio. A high percentage may indicate that the business may be using suppliers to help finance its operation. Accounts Payable à · Net Sales Profitability Ratios Profitability ratios measure how well a company is performing by analyzing how profit was earned relative to sales, total assets and net worth. D&B uses three key financial business ratios to measure a company’s efficiency: †¢ Return on Sales (Profit Margin) Ratio measures the profits after taxes on the year’s sales. The higher the ratio, the better prepared the business is to handle downtrends brought on by adverse conditions. Net Profit After  Taxes à · Net Sales †¢ Return on Assets (ROA) Ratio shows the after tax earnings of assets and is an indicator of how profitable a company is. Return on assets ratio is the key indicator of the profitability of a company. It matches net profits after taxes with the assets used to earn such profits. A high percentage rated indicates the company is well run and has a healthy return on assets. Net Profit After Taxes à · Total Assets †¢ Return on Net Worth Ratio measure the ability of a company’s management to realize an adequate return on the capital invested by the owners in the company. Net Profit After Taxes à · Net Worth Median Median is the value from the midpoint that falls halfway between the Upper and Lower Quartiles. Industry Quartiles Industry Quartiles are static values taken directly from the KBR database tables. The value from the midpoint that falls halfway to the top of the list is selected as the Upper Quartile. The value that is halfway between the median and the bottom of the list is selected as the Lower Quartile.

PEACE Domestic Violence Agency Essay

The PEACE Domestic Violence agency’s mission is to â€Å"reduce victim trauma, empower survivors, and promote recovery through direct services† (University of Phoenix, 2012, para. 9). Also, according to University of Phoenix Appendix B (2012),PEACE also strives to reducing the occurrence of sexual assault and domestic violence by educating the abused and the community and proposing ways to fight against social norms and beliefs. It will reside in the city of Portland, a large metropolitan city, that has been experiencing a rise in reports of not only domestic, spousal, and child abuse, but also youth violence, assault, and road rage over the last five years. PEACE is looking for funding from the National Foundation’s funding program and by doing so strives promote the well-being of people whose lives have been affected by domestic violence, improve the quality of life of families with a member in prison, provide people who are (or have been) involved with the criminal justice system with a rehabilitation program where they can obtain the skills and support networks needed to lead fulfilled lives. â€Å"The Small Grants Program offers one-time grants of up to $5,000 to registered charities with an annual budget under $500,000 and the Investor Program is an innovative funding program designed to support six organizations under each of the objectives of the Supporting Families program, with up to $150,000 a year for up to 3 years† (University of Phoenix, 2012, para. 11). The program needs not only proper funding but the ability to allocate that funding in ways that will benefit the community in the fastest and most effective way possible. Because of this, PEACE will be looking into alternative funding. The Community Innovation Challenge is one of the most important ways PEACE will try and obtain nontraditional funding. The Community Innovation Challenge is a grant program that gives approved organizations money so they can enact faster and more efficient ways of serving and bettering the community. This kind of funding would benefit PEACE because a domestic violence agency like PEACE is helpful to the community on so many levels – children to adults to those looking to be rehabilitated. PEACE would be a prime candidate for this grant because of this reason and the money would be used to assist workers in their education on the matters at hand as well as paying for more workers if the organization gets too large for the current staff amount. PEACE will also be looking into outsourcing and setting up charity booths at frequently visited locations like outside a grocery store or at a shopping center. Sending emails and/or letters to local businesses, companies, and even other organizations looking for financial assistance, ideas, and information is definitely helpful and it also allows smaller businesses to get their name on the map and helping out the organization if they were to become something like a sponsor. Setting up charity booths also allows people from many different walks of life to see my program’s cause and contribute something, anything, if they can. Funding from these two sources can normally be used in many ways but it is also not always a large amount. Access to smaller amounts of funding gives PEACE ways to buy low cost items when they are affordable. Things like more seating, chair cushions, water tanks, even coffee and muffins†¦ All these things can help people feel more welcome and safe which is important with organizations like PEACE. Signing up for a few free subscription/database-type sites will give access to funds as well. These websites allow a program to look for nontraditional sources of funding as well as give them updates for when new opportunities come up that apply to the program. This is especially helpful for busy programs that may not have the man power to go out and hunt for funding sources while also working with the program as much as The mission of the PEACE Domestic Violence Agency is to reduce victim trauma, empower survivors, and promote recovery through direct services. Their curriculum is based largely around the need of the community and they set out to provide the best, most varied care they can. Starting with professionally trained staff who are looked over by a small administration PEACE locates those in need of assistance and brings them to a place where those needs can be met on an individual basis as well as on a group basis. The stakeholders for PEACE start with the administration and staff of the agency who put themselves on the line taking care of their clients and looking for sources of funding to make sure things are taken care of. Staff and administration need to have their physical and mental needs taken care of and provided for so they can then provide for the community. This may mean more staff need to be trained and employed to keep everyone at the top of their game or the spaces available for clients needs to be cut so staff do not find themselves over-taxed. Domestic abuse is a very serious thing and it cannot be taken lightly by anyone. One false step – be it a forgotten case notebook, a less-than-attentive staff member, or what have you – can severely endanger the clients. It is imperative that the clients are put into the hands of fully educated, completely able staff. A majority of funding sources are open only to non-profit, 501(c)3 organizations. These organizations must also be in good standing to receive funds and therefore PEACE is eligible to apply for this type of funding. A private foundation is deemed to be any non-profit that supports the work of public charities through the award of grants (2009). In order to receive funds a foundation is required to file a Form 1023 with the IRS. Form 1023 is a 28 page form gives the IRS the information they need to conduct audits of the foundation’s activities. The duty of staff and the administration is to make sure the program meets the requirements of the funders constantly because they would lose funding if they have anything that presents itself as a conflict of interest of it there is anything going on that the funders do not like (2009). Non-profit organizations and their boards are bound to very strict rules and therefore discrimination against an individual or treating a group better than another individual or group can result in the foundation being shut down. Records of a program must be maintained in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), including the filing of an annual Form 990 with the IRS. All members of the staff and management are responsible to the rules for non-profits. Documentation has to be well understood and applied consistently and correctly. The administrators of PEACE have to find evaluators that can ensure the evaluations show an honest picture of the group effort, effectiveness, and c ontribution to the community so granters can rely on the information provided. The Family Violence Prevention and Services Act is an example of such a funding foundation that can create such a picture. Their mission is to decrease the occurrence of domestic abuse as well as to increase well-being and progress in society as a whole. This foundation is federally funded often pulling in quite a few million dollars that are then allocated to them by the government as well as allocated to sister organizations and other funding opportunities. Being federally funded there is a close eye on the limited resources of the foundation so the funders can be sure the money is spent in the most effective manner to benefit the greatest number of people. The Family Violence Prevention and Services Act serves organizations and people all over the United. The foundation has control over where their money is used and they try to concentrate their focus on organizations that will benefit the community around them the most. They, more specifically, tend to fund essential services that sit at the core of ending domestic violence. Emergency shelters, hotlines, and advocacy as well as primary and secondary prevention are all looked at highly. Another stakeholder in the PEACE Domestic Violence Agency is the community itself. Community evaluation will be an active part of the results that affect ongoing funding by attending the program, first of all, and also by giving feedback on the effectiveness of this program and the staff of said program in their community. The input of the community needs to be taken into consideration when looking at progress evaluations and data that has been collected before making decisions to change, mend, or modify the program. Community member have the biggest input on when, where, and how group sessions are bei ng held and, more importantly, when, where, and how private sessions are being held. Children cannot be expected to want to sit through late meetings, parents may not have time during the day because of work†¦ There are so many factors that need to be looked at in order to please the wants and needs of the community. This will be important also keep constant monitoring of to allow individuals and families to have time for different kinds of activities and help, as well as to allow the help they’ve currently received (or have been receiving) to process and sink in. However, the community cannot affect or change the goals of funding institutions. Therefore, they have to work with the funder’s restrictions and requirements so that no single group is held in a higher spot on the list of things that need funding or the list of people that need assistance. Every one of the stakeholders at PEACE Domestic Violence Agency has an effect on the design and implementation of the program. The community, the clients, the staff and finally the administration all s hare a common goal and they all hold the progress and fate of the program in their hands. They all want to see an improvement in the society, they all want to see higher quality of life, and they all want someone (even themselves) to feel safe when they go to sleep at night. This means strong staff, an introduction of life skills, increased community involvement, increased collaboration with funders and the state, a reduction in high risk behaviors, and a decrease in the amount of reported domestic abuse cases. By taking these things into account PEACE Domestic Violence Agency will be a long lasting, effective program. Program planning and evaluation process can provide opportunities for program improvement because they will catch instances of the program not meeting the expectations of the funders, workers, and the community. It is vital for PEACE to carefully create a program plan because, with an organization that is helping a myriad of kinds of victims of domestic abuse, it is easy to give the wrong message to workers and the community. PEACE also provides assistance to people who are looking to be rehabilitated so it would be bad for them if their organization came off as only being there to help the hurt or, in my opinion, even worse: As being there to make sure the people know they did wrong but not actually help them. The evaluation process can keep track of the kinds of clients they get and also what places might need improvement. As the manager of a program anything that improves efficiency and the method for delivery of the service is helpful and those can be found through the evaluation process. As a funder, you would have every right to speak up if you thought your money was not being well spent. This comes into play first in the program planning because if you are looking for a specific kind of program you can gladly put forth an effort to make that happen whether it be with time, money, or both. It also comes into play with the evaluation process. As a funder it would be part of your responsibility to check where funds are going and when and to check if there are more efficient and helpful ways of delivering the funds and how they are spent. Outcome Measure: Reduce the amount of domestic violence report, to assist people and families in dealing with life after abuse, and to help with rehabilitation and reintroduction. * Baseline Data: Portland has experienced increasing reports of domestic and youth violence, spousal and child abuse, assault, and incidents of road rage over the last 5 years. * Evaluation Design: Trained observers, staff * Source of Information/Instrument(s): Police reports, reports from other domestic abuse locations * Who Will Collect the Data: Collection of data will be done by a small team of staff specifically brought together to gather and process data. * Timing of Data Collection: Overall data collection every three months (to look for progress) with an update to data made every forty-five days. * Population or Sample: Population (Applicable men, women and children of Portland) * How Will the Data be Described/Analyzed: Total new/repeat counts of domestic abuse in the form of percentages (increase or decrease) Process Measure: Number of staff trained to handle the abused * Source of Information/Instrument(s): Training sign-in sheets * Who Will Collect the Data: Administration assistant will help participants sign-in * Timing of Data Collection: Before the training session * Population or Sample: Population (all participants) * How Will the Data be Described/Analyzed: Total number of staff properly trained. Process Measure: Number of sessions delivered per group * Source of Information/Instrument(s): Staff session logs * Who Will Collect the Data: Staff * Timing of Data Collection: During and after each session * Population or Sample: Population (all staff will fill out session logs) * How Will the Data be Described/Analyzed: Frequency of sessions per group per staff, as well as an average frequency of sessions across the board. Process Measure: Measures of program fidelity * Source of Information/Instrument(s): Trained observers, staff checklists, client surveys * Who Will Collect the Data: Trained observers, staff, and clients * Timing of Data Collection: Trained observers will attend one session per group each month and staff and clients will fill out biweekly checklists and surveys * Population or Sample: Population (All staff and willing clients as well as observers) * How Will the Data be Described/Analyzed: Qualitative data from observations and data collected from checklists and surveys will be compiled, summarized, and given to administration to show who is being passionate and faithful to the cause as well as what improvements need to be made and where. This evaluation plan will include process evaluation, outcome evaluations, formative evaluations, and summative evaluations. Process evaluations will evaluate all procedures and tasks involved with implementing these programs. Process evaluations will also monitor the program and ensure feedback throughout the length of the program. This is exceptionally beneficial when running a program that is solely need-based and those needs only discovered through dealing with the clients the program is trying to help. Without feedback process cannot be made and goals, no matter how small, cannot be achieved. By performing process evaluations on the effectiveness of the groups as well as the staff themselves and comparing that to data collected by clients the best possible steps can be made towards the goal reducing the effect of domestic violence on Portland. Outcome evaluations will collect quantitative and qualitative data from ongoing programs to document any short-term results that have been achieved as well as open doors to any new short-term goals and changes that have to be made to current ones. Task-focused results such as the number of staff who put their name on the sign-up sheet to be trained, how many clients return, and how many young adults seek help with rehabilitation on their own describe the output of the activity and short-term results, like the percentage of clients that are willing to fill out an end-of-session survey, describe the immediate effects of the program on the community. Information such as an increase in knowledge, changed in attitude, and behavioral shifts are part of a long list of data that can be discovered after an outcome evaluation. Outcome evaluations will come in handy the most when trying to figure out if the community is being reached properly and clients are being treated as best as they can be. It will also be helpful determining what activities are out-of-date or just plain not helpful anymore and what activities can take their place. Formative evaluations, which include pre-testing and competency exams, allow an organization to assess the strengths and weaknesses in their approach to their goals, staff, target audience for their services, and even their advertising campaign! Formative evaluations also help an organization discover if any changes need to be made, if they can be made, or if the program is not going to succeed. By testing messages, products, and services on small groups also helps an organization work out kinks before implementing it on a larger scale. By taking the data gained from a finished formative evaluation an organization can get a better idea of their company, its workers, and its clients and will help them decide if it is better to sink, or hopefully more often, swim. Summative evaluations include any combination of measurements and judgments that allow conclusions about the impact, outcome, and benefits of a program or method. Allowing an organization to stick to such an out of the box, abstract, non-linear form of evaluating it can pick and chose what will get them the most information the fastest. This can be, by far, the most efficient way to help an organization make progress. With an organization that has a lot of different sections, like this one, it can produce the best progress reports because there is not a single mainline format that has to be followed; Just whatever works. I believe I would find pre-post surveys with questions that have people rate things one through five, attendance sheets, and tally sheets to keep record of happenings the most useful. In an organization that has sections that help polar opposite cases (e.g. young adults straight from walking the line of a criminal who wish to find assistance in becoming rehabilitated and young mothers who have been abused and who have children who were abused that are looking for help with learning how to get through their fears and move on with life) there cannot be one set way to document things. Surveys will always be near the top of the data collecting tools list because people can put whatever they want however they want and can truly express themselves if they so chose. An organization cannot necessarily ask two groups, like the two mentioned above, â€Å"How did you feel when the counselor asked you to talk about your personal experiences with being abused,† because the young adult who is looking to be rehabilitated may not have been abused. Attendance sheets are a very important part of an organization as well because it will allow the organization to know how many people they are reaching and if they need to step their game up or not. References Commonwealth of Massachusetts. (2013). http://www.mass.gov/anf/budget-taxes-and- procurement/working-for-you/community-innovation-challenge-grant/. Retrieved from http://www.mass.gov/anf/budget-taxes-and-procurement/working-for-you/community-innovation- challenge-grant/ National Network to End Domestic Violence. (2012). Family Violence Prevention & Services Act. Retrieved from http://www.nnedv.org/policy/issues/fvpsa.html United States Interagency Council on Homelessnes. (2011). Family Violence Prevention and Services Act. Retrieved from http://www.usich.gov/funding_programs/programs/family_violence_prevention_and_services_act/ University of Phoenix. (2012). Appendix B. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, HSM270 – Program Planning and Grant Proposal Writing in Human Services website. Weill Cornell Medical College. (2013). http://weill.cornell.edu/research/grants_and_contracts/research_development/se

Risk Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Risk Assessment - Essay Example The history and ability of terrorists involves any method they have utilized to accomplish their objectives. Secondly, the risk assessment process should identify the building asset value that requires safeguarding, or protection. The third step is conducting a vulnerability assessment (Baranoff, Harrington & Niehaus, 2006). A vulnerability assessment appraises the probable vulnerability of essential assets against a wide range of hazards or threats that have been identified. A vulnerability assessment gives a foundation for establishing measures of mitigation. These may be required to protect essential assets in a building. A vulnerability assessment acts as a connection between hazard or threat, value of asset, and the consequential risk level. Step four is the risk assessment. This stage involves analyzing the threat, value of asset, and vulnerability to determine the risk value of each and every significant asset against any threat that can be applicable. Moreover, a threat that would happen and has extremely little consequence may need mitigation measures that are easy and of low cost. Those that are more likely to occur, but have consequences that are particularly massive may need mitigation measures that are complex, and more expensive (Wheeler, 2011). The risk assessment process should provide a comparative risk profile. ... The purpose of the process of assessment is to realize the protection level required. This is through the execution of mitigation measures in a designed building. The mitigation measures may decrease the risk by denying, detecting, devaluing or deterring the probable threat component before, or during a terrorist attack. In addition, mitigation measures may lessen the risk of injury or damage by imparting a satisfactory protection level if there is an occurrence of a risk. It may also work to dissuade an aggressor further (Crouhy, Galai & Mark, 2005). This paper will look at a risk assessment of the Seattle Space Needle building. Threat Identification and Rating   There are many hazards that are manmade. This makes necessary to comprehend the individuals who have the intention of harming others. On the other hand, it is fundamental to be familiar with an aggressor’s tactics, weapons, and tools. The Seattle Space Needle building designers recognize that tactics, tools, and we apons can change quicker than the building can be customized against the threats that are posed. They acquired the hazard or threat assessment information from local emergency management, local enforcement, the Homeland Security department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Crouchy, Mark & Galai, 2000). For risks or hazards that involve technology, they got information from the Local Emergency Planning Committee, State Emergency response Commission, hazardous materials unit, and the local fire department. These organizations isolate facilities that are significant in zones that are vulnerable and create management plans for emergencies. Moreover, many fire departments have information on industries in a local area that have many of the materials

Economic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Economic - Essay Example These factors go on to achieve economic objectives, promote economic growth, and shape fiscal policies. The term ‘money’ includes paper money, coins and checking accounts. The demand and supply of such assets determine the interest rate in an economy. The equilibrium interest rate is determined by the point where real money supply equates the real money demand. The money supply is controlled by the central bank. Real money demand is influenced by the interest rate and is positively correlated with real GDP. Influencing and changing the interest rate from the equilibrium rate results in conversions from (to) interest bearing deposits to (from) money. This allows the government to influence money holdings by the public. Interest rates are also positively related to the price level in a country. Keeping all other factors constant, a rise (fall) in the real interest rates brings about a rise (fall) in the real GDP. Hence economic growth could be promoted through interest rat es and therefore economic objectives could be achieved. The money market shows the equilibrium interest rates while the foreign exchange market shows the exchange rate. Combining the two markets yields a money forex diagram.

Noise is the enemy of communication Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Noise is the enemy of communication - Article Example Claude’s discovery has impacted the modern world since it is the basis of all communication that exists today. The challenge of noise had was a big limitation during World War II but he managed to solve the problem by developing a universal communication method where all people could understand one another. During the World War II, the military utilized radio communication, which was one of the factors that made the war push to all corners of the globe. There were significant advancements in Cryptography since I was necessary to send messages very fast and keep them secret. Airplanes were being used in the war and there was need to be able to detect them before they appeared in the horizons. Claude was designing a mechanism to perform this role. He was also determined to device a means of shooting down a plane immediately it appeared (Andrew, 2012). He managed to make a breakthrough but it was not useful since it was not accurate. The challenge made him and others think of information propagation after the war. He was torn between, radar signals, phone calls, television and videos since he wanted an accurate method of communication. Having a perception that noise was not favorable for communication, he was focused on storing and transmitting information that rejected noise. He knew that communication was equally challenging as mathematics and engineering and hence focused a lot on his mission. His basic idea was that any mode of communication should have minimal uncertainty for it to be effective. He understood that here being many languages, some words had a lot of meaning to some people than others. Shannon discovered that establishing various codes and symbols would solve the problem and people speaking diff languages could understand each other well. His discovery was a unifying factor since the world war involved different people and they had no common communication language. Shannon coding systems was based on reducing